MY SPIDER. 519 



spider of ancient lineage, who did valiant battle in his ancestral cob- 

 webs against predatory wasps. Perhaps he had won Esau's young 

 affections, and become master of her charms. Perhaps it was some 

 errant knight, who had vowed the extermination of the whole race of 

 parasites which infest the spider's body. Perhaps it was some wealthy 

 spider, who owned vast demesnes of netting, which extended over 

 many a rafter, and offered hunting-ground for many a retainer. Per- 

 haps her spouse was remarkable for his personal beauty, and had car- 

 ried off her heart by his comeliness. I know that no spider base-born 

 could have been the father of her offspring. Her behavior to Uriah 

 Heep forbids so gross a surmisal. 



Then, how was it that she was alone on the hat-peg ? The aristo- 

 crat might have spurned her from his home from the prospect of a 

 more advantageous alliance. The enthusiast might have doubted her 

 intensity, and so deserted her. Dives might have been jealous, and 

 have procured an act of separation ; Adonis probably spirited away by 

 some light of love. 



Her history is open to conjecture alone. The fact remains, that 

 she laid eggs, and they were hatched. 



If my memory be not deceived, the small spiders appeared a fort- 

 night or three weeks after I first noticed the eggs. When first born, 

 they were small, yellowy-white, and indefinite, like cheese-mites just 

 what one would imagine spider-babydom to be. They moved at a 

 pace almost imperceptible from its slowness, and their gait was weak 

 and vacillating. As well as I could make out with the naked eye, 

 they were constantly tumbling on their sides for the first few days. 

 They seemed to meet with obstacles which are not apparent to our 

 gross vision. 



I thought the sun would be grateful to them, and their jar was 

 placed on the window-sill. Either the warmth suited them, or baby 

 spiders gain strength rapidly; for, before three days were over, Esau's 

 offspring became marvels of agility. When they were at one end of 

 the piece of paper, urgent business called them to the opposite ex- 

 tremity of the cone, and they ran as fast as their small legs could 

 carry them. If they were on the floor of their home, urgent reasons 

 induced them to promenade the ceiling. Occasionally one little chap 

 would take a long journey around the floor of the jar, while another 

 would start off on a commission of inquiry, and investigate the con- 

 struction of the cobweb with the minutest care. A third would mount 

 its mother's back, and crawl over her out of sheer curiosity. No pair 

 of them ever seemed to do the same thinor at the same time. I never 

 saw them feed ; but during the next week or two they increased in 

 size and strength. Esau contemplated them with pleasure ; her char- 

 acter was softened. Dozens of flies were put into the jar, but few 

 were killed. Some became entangled and died in the toils, but the 

 majority occupied the top of the jar, and especially affected the mus- 



