OF THE CRICKET. 101 



In the play of " Cymbeline," where, at midnight, 

 lachimo commences his survey of the chamber where 

 Imogen lies sleeping, his first words refer to the 

 chirping of crickets, rendered audible by the repose 

 which at that moment prevailed throughout the 

 palace : — 



"The crickets sins', ^^^ man's o'er-labowr'd sense 

 Repairs itself by rest." — Act II. Sc. II. 



And in Hogg's " PUgrims of the Sun," " the cricket's 

 call" is introduced into one of the most solemn pas- 

 sages in the poem — the part where Mary, in her 

 shroud and funeral vestment, returns to Carelha. 



" A dim haze shrouded every sight. 

 Each hair had life, and stood upright ; 

 No sound was heard tliroughout the hall, 

 But the beat of the heart, and the cricket's call." 



But the song of the cricket has done more than 

 supply material to the poet for heightening the effect 

 of his mirthful or his tragic scenes. On one occa- 

 sion, if we may credit the historian, the song of an 

 insect of this genus was the means of saving a vessel 

 from shipwreck. The incident evinces the perilous 

 situation of Cabeza de Vara, in his voyage towards 

 Brazil, and is related by Dr. Southey in his history 

 of that country : — 



" When they had crossed the Line, the state of the 



