The
new inhabitants stayed some time, and fed and sung; but wandered
away by degrees, and were heard at a farther distance every
morning; so that it appears that on this emergency they made use of
their wings in attempting to return to the spot from which they
were taken.
One of these crickets, when confined in a paper cage and set in the
sun, and supplied with plants moistened with water, will feed and
thrive, and become so merry and loud as to be irksome in the same
room where a person is sitting: if the plants are not wetted it will
die.
Letter XLVII
To The Honourable Daines Barrington
Selborne.
Far from all resort of mirth
Save the cricket on the hearth.
MILTON'S Il Penseroso.
Dear Sir,
While many other insects must be sought after in fields and woods,
and waters, the gryllus domesticus, or house-cricket, resides
altogether within our dwellings, intruding itself upon our notice
whether we will or no. This species delights in new-built houses,
being, like the spider, pleased with the moisture of the walls; and
besides, the softness of the mortar enables them to burrow and
mine between the joints of the bricks or stones, and to open
communications from one room to another.
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