s of all, because he who was the head of
all was silent and dejected. What a change within a few hours! But the
evening before the field-cornet and his little family were in the full
enjoyment of happiness.

There was still one hope, though a slight one. Might it yet rain? Or
might the day turn out cold?

In either case Swartboy said the locusts could not take wing--for they
cannot fly in cold or rainy weather. In the event of a cold or wet day
they would have to remain as they were, and perhaps the wind might
change round again before they resumed their flight. Oh, for a torrent
of rain, or a cold cloudy day!

Vain wish! vain hope! In half-an-hour after the sun rose up in African
splendour, and his hot 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 _echelon_, 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