THE SPIDER. 165 



the socialists have not adopted the spider as the badge and 

 emblem of their creed, in recognition of the identity of their 

 principles. 



Unhappily, a far darker blot than this rests upon the 

 character of the female spider, who is much larger and 

 more powerful than the male. She is an excellent mother, 

 and will defend her bag of eggs with her life ; but she is a 

 mournful example of the working of the rights of women 

 carried out to the fullest extent. This can never occur in 

 the human race, because, fortunately for man, he is the 

 stronger. Were .it otherwise, we may be sure that that 

 section of females who clamour for equality would be 

 content with nothing less than absolute supremacy. The 

 female spider lives up to this. Being the stronger, she does 

 not argue with her husband, but when she has no further 

 use for him she simply kills him and eats him. Looking at 

 the matter from man's point of view, we are unable to find 

 any justification for this conduct. Our escape from the fate 

 of the male spider is largely due to the fact that our females 

 are less strong than we : indeed, in spite of physical weakness 

 they not unfrequently hold us in subjection, and occasion- 

 ally rule us with a rod of iron. Metaphorically, they may 

 devour us by their extravagance ; but they have, happily, 

 no ability to carry out to the fullest the methods of the 

 female spider. The spider, it must be owned, stands 

 almost, if not altogether, alone in the commission of this 

 crime of uxoricide. So strange an exception is this to the 

 general rule of nature, that one is driven to suppose that 

 the female spiders must, perhaps in remotely distant times, 

 have suffered from terrible treatment and ill usage at the 

 hand of the males, and that having in course of ages 



