PERSEVERANCE OF THE SPIDER. 287 



with the predatory race notable, like herself, for love of off- 

 spring. Herein the " wolf spider " does but image and emu- 

 late the wolf. 



Perseverance is another admirable trait for which the spider 

 is eminently conspicuous. No one can deny it ; no one who 

 has ever watched a garden spider in the construction or the 

 reparation of her geometric web, who has noticed her doubling 

 and redoubling the lines by which her fabric is to hang sus- 

 pended, testing repeatedly their power of support by suspen- 

 sion from them of her own weight as she drops herself, now 

 here, now there, from different portions of the thread. See 

 her in construction of her woven wheel, measuring carefully 

 by her provided ruler one of her own legs each spoke or 

 radius, and each circular mesh which interlaces them; and 

 behold, finally, after all is completed, so neat, and trim, and 

 regular, how that when her cords are sundered by the strug- 

 gles of some powerful captive may be, by a Samson blue- 

 bottle she will set to work again so cleverly, so patiently, to 

 repair her broken snare. No ; not one of us who have seen 

 her so employed can deny to the spider, apart from her en- 

 trapping object, the meed of our admiration and our praise ; 

 the latter only a balance awarded in very fairness against the 

 obloquy, unjust, extravagant, which has been heaped upon 

 her by ungrateful man, in return for all her fly-catching ser- 

 vices in his behalf. Amongst her revilers is La Fontaine, 

 who, in one of his worst fables, " La Goutte et FAraignee," 



s 2 



