So from the mould 1
Scarlet and Gold
Many a Bulb will rise－
Hidden away, cunningly, From sagacious eyes.
So from Cocoon 5
Many a Worm
Leap so Highland gay,
Peasants like me,
Peasants like Thee
Gaze perplexedly!
Scarlet and Gold
Many a Bulb will rise－
Hidden away, cunningly, From sagacious eyes.
So from Cocoon 5
Many a Worm
Leap so Highland gay,
Peasants like me,
Peasants like Thee
Gaze perplexedly!
(F.110/J.66)
[2] Scarlet:: color of certain fireflies.
[2, 3] Gold, Bulb:: firefly's eggs are golden and round (as a bulb).
[4] Hidden:: eggs are laid just below the surface of the ground.
[6] Worm:: a glow-worm, hinted by Scarlet and Gold.
[7] Leap:: to pass abruptly from one condition to another (OED v. 6a); from cocoon to firefly.
[8] Peasants:: ignorant people.
Even the beautiful fire-fly must be spoken of as a "Lightning-bug;" and English readers will remember Edgar Poe's "Gold-bug," or gold-beetle. ─ Once a Week, Volume 7 (1862)