The Labyrinth Spider 305 



Spider is not found in my district. The My gale, 

 the expert in hinged doors, is found there, but 

 very seldom. I saw one once, on the edge of a 

 path skirting a copse. Opportunity, as we 

 know, is fleeting. The observer, more than 

 any other, is obliged to take it by the forelock. 

 Preoccupied as I was with other researches, I 

 but gave a glance at the magnificent subject 

 which good fortune offered. The opportunity 

 fled and has never returned. 



Let us make up for it with trivial things of 

 frequent encounter, a condition favourable to 

 consecutive study. What is common is not 

 necessarily unimportant. Give it our sustained 

 attention and we shall discover in it merits 

 which our former ignorance prevented us from 

 seeing. When patiently entreated, the least 

 of creatures adds its note to the harmonies of 

 life. 



In the fields around, traversed, in these days, 

 with a tired step, but still vigilantly explored, 

 I find nothing so often as the Labyrinth Spider 

 (Agelena labyrinthica, Clerck.). Not a hedge 

 but shelters a few at its foot, amidst grass, in 

 quiet, sunny nooks. In the open country and 



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