198 MORNING DEW. 



the dew drops are large on the grass, and the 

 sun's rays low and slanting, they would, by just 

 sitting or standing a few minutes with their back 

 to the sun, get a gratis sight of a far finer casket 

 than any monarch on earth can boast of possess- 

 ing. Many people make a boast of having been 

 at Court, and having seen the Queen in her jewels; 

 but if they would get up in time, they might, 

 almost any sunny morning, see the Queen of Na- 

 ture in her jewels, and gain both health and time 

 by the sight. 



One of the most beautiful displays of dew is 

 that on the web of a spider ; and perhaps that of 

 the sceptre spider, or large mottled garden spider, 

 is one of the best, as the web is large and strong, 

 and the rainbow tints of the web are seen along 

 with the glitter of the dew-drops, if the proper 

 light is chosen and any one may catch it by 

 moving from side to side a little. At a more 

 advanced period of the season, the drops freeze, 

 and the main braces of the web may be taken by 

 the ends and examined like little strings of seed 

 pearls. The spider is not on the web in the dew, 

 and it is dead, or in its winter retirement, before 

 the frost. 



Before the heavy dews of late autumn set in, 

 the spiders have all vanished from the gardens, 

 but their webs remain for a considerable time 

 after, and if the frosts are constant, they may be 

 observed for a great part of the season, not only 

 gemmed with the little pearl drops of ice, but ab- 

 solutely bristled with hoar frost. The quantity of 

 these webs, in gardens and fields, is immense ; and 

 it would be a curious inquiry to ascertain what pur- 

 poses the wrecks serve in the economy of nature, 



