Page:Insect Literature by Lafcadio Hearn.djvu/310

Rh have voices outside of their bodies instead of inside, the fact ought not to surprise anybody,

I have not yet succeeded in finding any Japanese verses alluding to the stridulatory apparatus of semi,—though I think it probable that such verses exist. Certainly the Japanese have been for centuries familiar with the peculiarities of their own singing insects. But I should not now presume to say that their poets are incorrect in speaking of the "voices" of crickets and of cicadae. The old Greek poets who actually describe insects as producing music with their wings and feet, nevertheless speak of the "voices," the "songs," and the "chirruping " of such creatures,—just as the Japanese poets do. For example, Meleager thus addresses the cricket:

"O thou that art with shrill wings the self-formed imitation of the lyre, chirrup me something pleasant while beating your vocal wings with your feet!………"

Before speaking further of the poetical literature of semi, I must attempt a few remarks about the 註