MY SPIDER. 515 



For ten minutes, at least, the spider did not move a limb. The 

 palpi forgot to wave, and he abandoned himself to the full and gross 

 enjoyment of his meal. I forgot the fly's agonies. This poor starved 

 creature, safe from the persecution of the house-maid, was reveling in 

 the juices of a luscious fly. The gloom of his life was dissipated by a 

 bright spot. Starvation even had a charm when followed by such a 

 meal. 



At last he fixed the fly against the paper with one foot, and loos- 

 ened his grip, and, after giving a sigh of satisfaction, proceeded to de- 

 capitate his prey. He then held the carcass in such a manner that I 

 thought he was going to blow into it, but he did not. The pangs of 

 hunger were assuaged, and, with an Epicurean manner worthy of Bril- 

 lat-Savarin, he sought for some dainty morsel in the chest. 



Half an hour after, he still lovingly held his prize, although he ate 

 no longer. The child-rhyme was floating in his memory : 



" Oh, what fun ! 

 Nice plum bun ! 

 How I wish 

 It never was done ! " 



I went to bed, and on the morrow another corpse, that of Tim, lay on 

 the floor of the bottle. His expression was placid as in life, and there 

 was that beast of a fly, whom I described before, sucking at the old 

 wound. 



Days went on, and Esau's digestion seemed a laborious process. I 

 watched with eagerness to see whether he would lay his hands on his 

 companion by force or fraud. The spider lay immovable, the fly was 

 idly busy in security. 



Now, the utter disregard of decency paraded by that fly would 

 have sent a cold shiver down the spine of any proper-minded person. 

 He hustled the corpses of his brethren who were dead. He was con- 

 stantly trying to extract from their bodies what juices the spider had 

 left. He turned them on their stomachs. He turned them on their 

 backs. He had no regard whatever for the deceased. 



I sat in my arm-chair and pondered over the levity of that wretch 

 till the dinner-bell rang, and I went sorrowfully to my evening meal. 

 " How much superior am I to that fly ! If a steak from one of my 

 fellow-creatures were laid before me, I should reject it with abhor- 

 rence," thought I, " even if it were garnished with the savory onion 

 or the mushroom ay, even if it were relished with oyster-sauce and 

 the ten'derest asparagus. It is only the worst grades of life which can 

 feed upon their kind." 



We had chickens for dinner. The liver wing was excellent, and 

 the en-dedans of the back afforded pleasant picking. I begged the 

 maid to preserve the bones for a broken-legged dog whom I had 

 adopted. > 



