i8o The Life of the Spider 



a fresh fall, followed by a fresh pendulous 

 swing that lands her a little farther afield. 

 Thus, in short tacks, for the thread is never 

 very long, does the Spiderling go about, seeing 

 the country, until she comes to a place that 

 suits her. Should the wind blow at all hard, 

 the voyage is cut short : the cable of the pen- 

 dulum breaks and the beastie is carried for 

 some distance on its cord. 



To sum up, although, on the whole, the tactics 

 of the exodus remain much the same, the two 

 spinstresses of my region best-versed in the 

 art of weaving mothers' wallets failed to come 

 up to my expectations. I went to the trouble 

 of rearing them, with disappointing results. 

 Where shall I find again the wonderful spectacle 

 which the Cross Spider offered me by chance ? 

 I shall find it — in an even more striking fashion 

 — among humbler Spiders, whom I had neglected 

 to observe. 



