"
A few years ago, when _Antony and Cleopatra_ was reproduced at a
London theatre by an eminent actor-manager, it was reported that his
mind was much exercised over the lines referring to the flight of
Pompey's galley:
"The breese upon her, like a cow in June,
Hoists sails and flies."
It was suggested that for "cow," the correct reading should be "crow,"
who might very well spread her wings to the breeze and fly. The
difficulty was caused by the word "breese" (the gad-fly)--no doubt
presumed to be an archaic spelling of "breeze." Shakespeare knew all
about farming, as about nearly everything else, and a year on a farm
would illustrate many of his allusions which the ordinary reader finds
somewhat cryptic; anyone who has seen the terrified stampede of cattle
with their tails erect when attacked by the gad-fly, will recognize
the force of the simile. The gad-fly pierces the skin of the animal,
laying its eggs beneath, just as the ichneumon makes use of a
caterpillar to provide a host for its progeny. No doubt the operation
is a painful one, but the caterpillar may survive, even into its
chrysalis stage, and the cow in due time is relieved, after an
uncomfortable experience, by the exit of the maggot or fly.
A branch of the Roman road, Ryknield Street, commonly called Buckle
Street, leaving the former near Bidford-on-Avon and running over the
Cotswolds via Weston Subedge, was known in former times as Buggilde or
Buggeld Street, derived possibly from the Latin _buculus_, a young
bullock.
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