128 DIRECT INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECTS, 



nobleman, bribed a man to undergo the same experi- 

 n^.ent, in wliom tlie only result was a swelling in the 

 hand, attended by intolerable itching. The fellow's 

 sole remedy was a bottle of wine, which charmed away 

 all his pain Vtitl.out the aid of pipe and tabor*. 



There is however a spider {Aranea IS-giittata Rossi) 

 the bite of which is said to be very dangerous, and even 

 mortal. Tliiebaut de Berneaud, in his Voyage to Elba '', 

 affirms that in the Volterrano he knew that several 

 country people and domestic animals died in conse- 

 quence of it. And according to Mr. Jackson, a spi- 

 der, called there the Tendaraman, is found in Marocco 

 which has venomous powers equally formidable. The 

 bite of this insect, Vvhich is about the size and colour of 

 a hornet but rounder, and spins a web so fine as to be 

 almost invisible, is said to be so poisonous that the per- 

 son bitten survives but a few hours. In the cork fo- 

 rests the sportsman, eager in his pursuit of game, fre- 

 quently carries away on his garments this fatal insect, 

 which is asserted always to make towards the head be- 

 fore inflicting its deadly wound '^. 



I suspect you will think this list long enough ; and I 

 believe it includes the most remarkable insects that as- 

 sail the surface of our bodies, to answer either the de- 

 mands of hunger or the stimulus of revenge. There is 

 however a third class of insect annoyers, as I observed 

 at the beginning of this letter, which, though they nei- 

 ther make us their food, nor attack us under the im- 

 pulse of fear or revenge, incommode us extremely in 

 other ways. These must now be detailed to you. 



* Aiiioreux, 217-226. See also 67-70. " p. 31. 



'^Jackson's 31arocco, second edit. 



