Page:Aratus The Phenomena and Diosemeia.pdf/81

Rh The  looks up and snuffs the coming showers, E'er yet with pregnant clouds the welkin lowers: Dragging from vaulted cave their eggs to view Th' industrious their ceaseless toil pursue; While numerous insects creep along the wall, And through the grass the slimy earth-worms crawl, The black earth's entrails men these reptiles call. Cackles the, as sounds the dripping rill, Combing her plumage with her crooked bill.

When flocks of or  in clouds arise, Deafening the welkin with discordant cries; When from their throats a gurgling note they strain, And imitate big drops of falling rain; When the her outstretch'd pinion shakes; When the shrill screaming the ocean seeks: All these prognostics to the wise declare Pregnant with rain, though now serene, the air.

When keen the —a plague to man and beast— Seek with proboscis sharp their bloody feast; When in the wearisome dark wintry night The flickering torches burn with sputtering light, Now flaring far and wide—now sinking low— While round their wicks the fungous tumours grow; When on the hearth the burning glows, And numerous sparks around the throws: