THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 161 



that the spider darts upon its prey ; the other fills the office 

 of a trap-door. 



The spider takes the greatest care never to leave on its 

 web the carcasses from which it has sucked the blood ; such 

 a charnel-house would alarm its living prey. So soon as 

 ever a fly has been immolated, the insect seizes it, drags it 

 to its tunnel, and ejects it by a lower opening. Thus, when 

 we look at the part of the floor below, we are astonished at 

 the numbers that have fallen victims to the sanguinary 

 spider. Sometimes, also, this hidden exit serves for it to es- 

 cape by when menaced by some serious danger. But this 

 is a very rare case ; its especial use, its exclusive purpose, 

 is to receive the debris of the spider's repasts, a fact, I 

 believe, not noticed by any observer. 



The disgust inspired by the spider is not well founded. 

 No insect possesses more intelligence or a more wonderful 

 structure ; its ugliness is forgotten so soon as we look at it 

 without prejudice. The fear with which it petrifies some 

 persons is quite beyond reason. It is true there are spiders 

 the bite of which is as formidable as that of our vipers, but 

 they only inhabit tropical countries. The species found in 

 France and England are almost harmless. The spider found 

 in cellars is the only one the bite of which can be consid- 

 ered as attended with danger, and the results of its bite, 

 although some cases are related in which it has been fatal, 

 are limited to a sharp pain and some swelling and inflam- 

 mation. 



The notorious Tarantula itself, when more closely studied, 

 loses its strange prestige ; its bite has ceased to produce the 



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