2 26 A SKETCH OF THE 



yellow orchis {Ophrys lutea), and the large wood orchis (O. longi- 

 bracteatum). Several other orchids had appeared above the ground, 

 but, not having yet come into flower, we could not ascertain to what 

 species they belonged. 



But of all the specimens of natural history found near the 

 Corniche road, the trapdoor spiders are the most famous. They 

 abound in every shady bank, and their curious nests, with a hinged 

 door above, are sought for by every traveller who comes that way. 

 Their history has been partly written, but much remains unknown 

 regarding their habits and domestic economy, and their reason for 

 making doors to their houses, unlike the other members of their 

 tribe. Although apparently a sluggish race, they have spread to 

 every quarter of the globe, and have representatives in Africa, 

 California, Jamaica, Australia, and India. 



We had now come thirty-four miles, and the sea had been upon 

 our right below us all the way. On the left were precipices and 

 mountains, with here and there peeps of snow, which crowned the 

 distant Alps. At six o'clock we reached Alassio, as the gong of our 

 hotel was calling travellers to the table d'hote. 



After dinner we visited a cafe chantant, in order to observe how 

 the Italians amused themselves by night. There were about fift}^ 

 well-dressed people in the room, listening to a comic singer who 

 was illustrating, in song, the proverb " that the course of true love 

 never did run smooth." A pert little damsel was running about, 

 distributing coffee or bock-beer, and cigars to those who smoked. 

 Next to us there sat a mollusc-looking little man, a member of the 

 race "whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders," and whom, 

 with the anthropophagi, Desdemona loved to hear about. He called 

 for beer, and when the damsel brought it, claiming the privilege of 

 an old acquaintance, he squeezed her hand. He then demanded a 

 cigar, and squeezed her hand again. He drank a little of the beer, 

 lit his cigar, and then fell fast asleep, heedless of the music and 

 noise around, and he slumbered till we left. Truly my companion 



