rays, slanting down upon the sleeping host,
warmed them into life and activity. They commenced to crawl, to hop
about, and then, as if by one impulse, myriads rose into the air. The
breeze impelled them in the direction in which it was blowing,--in the
direction of the devoted maize-fields.

In less than five minutes, from the time they had taken wing, they were
over the kraal, and dropping in tens of thousands upon the surrounding
fields. Slow was their flight, and gentle their descent, and to the
eyes of those beneath they presented the appearance of a shower of
_black_ snow, falling in large feathery flakes. In a few moments the
ground was completely covered, until every stalk of maize, every plant
and bush, carried its hundreds. On the outer plains too, as far as eye
could see, the pasture was strewed thickly; and as the great flight had
now passed to the eastward of the house, the sun's disk was again hidden
by them as if by an eclipse!

They seemed to move in a kind of _echellon_, the bands in the rear
constantly flying to the front, and then halting to feed, until in turn
these were headed by others that had advanced over them in a similar
manner.

The noise produced by their wings was not the least curious phenomenon;
and resembled a steady breeze playing among the leaves of the forest, or
the sound of a water-wheel.

For two hours this passage continued. During most of that time, Von
Bloom and his people had remained within the house, with closed doors
and windows. This they did to avoid the unpleasant shower, as the
creatures impelled by the breeze, often strike the cheek so forcibly as
to cause a feeling of pain. Moreover, they did not like treading upon
the unwelcome intruders, and crushing them under their feet, which they
must have done, had they moved about outside where the ground was
thickly covered.

Many of the insects even crawled inside, through the chinks of the door
and windows, and greedily devoured any vegetable substance which
happened to be lying about the floor.

At the end of two hours Von Bloom looked forth. The thickest of the
flight had passed. The sun was again shining; but upon what was he
shining? No longer upon green fields and a flowery garden. No. Around
the house, on every side, north, south, east, and west, the eye rested
only on black desolation. Not a blade of grass, not a leaf could be
seen--even the very bark was stripped from the trees, that now stood as