It was on this day that a remarkable phenomenon occurred, which is here worth mentioning; the more particularly as it was followed at night and during the subsequent day by a very heavy gale of wind, whose approach it might, in a manner, be said to have indicated. This was, in fact, the seventh[7] great plague of Egypt, the plague of locusts, which filled the atmosphere in myriads, as far as the eye could reach on every side; and indeed much further, for, during the time it lasted, the very sky was darkened, and the whole air was filled with a sound as of "a mighty rushing wind," by the flapping of their wings. You could scarcely open either your eyes or your mouth, without fear of being blinded or choked by them. Fortunately, the visitation did not last long enough to commit extensive destruction, but it was nevertheless a source of great alarm and inconvenience. In some parts of China, also, the swarms of locusts occasionally produce a great deal of mischief, and are very naturally dreaded, both by the people and the government. But those visitations are not so severe as this was, during the short time it lasted.[8] Large quantities of locusts were collected by the natives for food; and it was a very curious sight, for two or three days afterwards, to watch the different groups of black men, as nearly naked as possible, crowding round their fires, with all the eagerness of hunger, and all the longing of an epicure, to enjoy a feast of locusts. They stripped off the wings and legs, and having slightly roasted or grilled them, appeared to find them a capital luxury, even not unworthy of the dance and song with which they accompanied their repast. FOOTNOTES: [7] It will be remembered that the plagues were frogs; dust turned to lice; swarms of flies; the murrain of beasts; the plague of boils and blanes; the plague of hail, of locusts, and of darkness. [8] In the account given of the Egyptian plague, it is stated "that the locusts were brought by an east wind," and were carried away "by a mighty strong west wind." I was curious to ascertain whether there was anything worth noting in relation to the state of the wind at Delagoa Bay when the locusts appeared, and when they were carried away again. On referring to the ship's log, I find that the day preceding the appearance of the locusts was one of perfect calm; but the morning of the day on which they came was ushered in by a north-east wind, which lasted until the evening, when it changed round to precisely the opposite quarter--namely, to the south-west, and increased on the following day to a strong gale from the same quarter, which carried away all the locusts. Subsequently, it again veered round to the north-east, and continued so for several days, but brought no more locusts. CHAPTER V.