62 LETTERS TO MARCO x 



it in their mouths, as a cat will a bird or 

 mouse, for some time, gorging it afterwards 

 slowly. 



I wish I knew a little more about spiders ; 

 I am sorry to say I am very ignorant on the 

 subject. Of course I have read the gossipy 

 books about the gossamers, the trap-door, 

 the water, and the jumping spiders, and 

 their spinnerets and so on ; but the 

 information in these books which my boys 

 have given them always stops short of what 

 I want to know : for instance, what are 

 those round -bodied spiders with very long 

 hair-like legs ? Harvestmen, I think I have 

 heard them called ; perhaps they are not 

 spiders at all ; at any rate they are inexplic- 

 able to me : what they live on, how they 

 catch it, whatever it is, where they go to in 

 the winter, etc. I have only found them 

 myself in summer time ; behind old boards, 

 on old walls and rubbish heaps, any amount 

 of them of all sizes can be found. They run 

 with speed on being alarmed, and seem not 



