14 The Life of a Spider 



face like that for two minutes, during which 

 they had doubtless provoked each other by 

 glances that escaped my own, I saw them 

 fling themselves upon each other at the same 

 time, twisting their legs round each other and 

 obstinately struggling to bite each other with 

 the fangs of the mandibles. Whether from 

 fatigue or from convention, the combat was 

 suspended ; there was a few seconds* truce ; 

 and each athlete moved away and resumed his 

 threatening posture. This circumstance re- 

 minded me that, in the strange fights between 

 cats, there are also suspensions of hostilities. 

 But the contest was soon renewed between my 

 two Tarantulae with increased fierceness. One 

 of them, after holding victory in the balance for 

 a while, was at last thrown and received a mortal 

 wound in the head. He became the prey of 

 the conqueror, who tore open his skull and 

 devoured it. After this curious duel, I kept 

 the victorious Tarantula alive for several weeks.' 



My district does not boast the ordinary 

 Tarantula, the Spider whose habits have 

 been described above by the Wizard of the 



