The Pompyi 



tered the verdant cylinder, the Spider's 

 dwelling, and pursued the Spider direct, in 

 her own house, instead of remaining outside, 

 going from one door to the other. With 

 such swiftness and dexterity as hers, it 

 seemed to me impossible that the stroke 

 should fail: the quarry moved clumsily, a 

 little sideways, like a Crab. I judged it to 

 be an easy matter; the Pompilus thought it 

 highly dangerous. To-day I am of her opin- 

 ion: if she had entered the leafy tube, the 

 mistress of the house would have operated 

 on her neck and the huntress would have be- 

 come the quarry. 



Years passed and the paralyser of the 

 Spiders still refused to reveal her secret; I 

 was badly served by circumstances, could 

 find no leisure, was absorbed in unrelenting 

 preoccupations. At length, during my last 

 year at Orange, the light dawned upon me. 

 My garden was enclosed by an old wall, 

 blackened and ruined by time, where, in the 

 chinks between the stones, lived a population 

 of Spiders, represented more particularly by 

 Segestria perfidia. This is the common 

 Black Spider, or Cellar Spider. She is deep 

 black all over, excepting the mandibles, which 

 are a splendid metallic green. Her two 

 poisoned daggers look like a product of the 



II 



