CHAPTER II 



THE BANDED EPEIRA 



IN the inclement season of the year, when 

 the insect has nothing to do and retires 

 to winter quarters, the observer profits by the 

 mildness of the sunny nooks and grubs in the 

 sand, lifts the stones, searches the brushwood; 

 and often he is stirred with a pleasurable ex- 

 citement, when he lights upon some ingenious 

 work of art, discovered unawares. Happy are 

 the simple of heart whose ambition is satis- 

 fied with such treasure-trove ! I wish them 

 all the joys which it has brought me and 

 which it will continue to bring me, despite the 

 vexations of life, which grow ever more bit- 

 ter as the years follow their swift downward 

 course. 



Should the seekers rummage among the 

 wild grasses in the osier-beds and copses, I 

 wish them the delight of finding the wonder* 

 ful object that, at this moment, lies before 

 my eyes. It is the work of a Spider, the nest 



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