LOCUSTS 159 



satisfied. It rubs its sides very much as we rub our hands 

 together in sign of contentment, with no intention of making 

 a sound. That is its own particular way of expressing its 

 joy in life. 



Observe the Locust when the sky is partly covered with 

 clouds, and the sun shines only at times. There comes a rift 

 in the clouds. At once the thighs begin to scrape, becoming 

 more and more active as the sun grows hotter. The strains 

 are very brief, but they are repeated as long as the sunshine 

 continues. The sky becomes overcast. Then and there the 

 song ceases ; but is renewed with the next gleam of sunlight, 

 always in brief outburst. There is no mistaking it : here, in 

 these fond lovers of the light, we have a mere expression of 

 happiness. The Locust has his moments of gaiety when his 

 crop is full and the sun is kind. 



Not all the Locusts indulge in this joyous rubbing. The 

 Tryxalis, who has a pair of immensely long hind-legs, keeps 

 up a gloomy silence when even the sunshine is brightest. I 

 have never seen him move his shanks like a bow ; he seems 

 unable to use them so long are they for anything but 

 hopping. 



The big Grey Locust, who often visits me in the enclosure, 

 even in the depth of winter, is also dumb in consequence of 

 the excessive length of his legs. But he has a peculiar way of 

 diverting himself. In calm weather, when the sun is hot, I 

 surprise him in the rosemary-bushes with his wings unfurled 

 and fluttering rapidly, as though for flight. He keeps up this 

 performance for a quarter of an hour at a time. His flutter- 

 ing is so gentle, in spite of its extreme speed, that it creates 

 hardly any rustling sound. 



Others are still worse off. One of these is the Pedestrian 

 Locust, who strolls on foot on the ridges of the Ventoux amid 

 sheets of Alpine flowers, silvery, white, and rosy. His colour- 

 ing is as fresh as that of the flowers. The sunlight, which is 

 clearer on those heights than it is below, has made him a 

 costume combining beauty with simplicity. His body is pale 



