OTfstront. 205 



turned from wandering about a wood near Vien- 

 na, where he listened long to this aerial melody, 

 he composed the grand Pastoral Symphony. 

 This same sound puzzled the Selborne rector, 

 in the Money-dells, over a century ago. Did 

 this not also suggest the sound 



That sometimes murmur'd overhead, 

 And sometimes underground, 



of Hood's " Elm-Tree " Hood's lines being de- 

 scriptive of the characteristic rising and falling 

 of this woodland voice ? 



I remember hearing it repeatedly, years since, 

 on still, hot days, in a small copse on a high ele- 

 vation ; and on revisiting the locality, recently, 

 the same mysterious music followed me through 

 the wood. Who are the performers of this gos- 

 samer-spun sound, this invisible harpsichord, 

 this elfin music of the air ? I have not seen a 

 cause ascribed tb it by the naturalists, though, it 

 would seem, it must proceed from the trembling 

 wings of myriads of midges, engaged in the 

 dance of rivalry and love. Swinton's exhaustive 

 volume on "Insect Variety," which treats so 

 fully of the noises and dances of insects, throws 

 no new light on the subject. Insects, and the 

 swallows who pursue them, soar higher as the 

 temperature becomes hotter ; and it is, therefore, 



