AN APPALLING SIGHT. 259 



palling horror which we shudder to describe. On entering the 

 kitchen we saw not a living thing, not even Martha old 

 Martha our faithful factotem, upon whom we called, albeit 

 in a trembling voice,, fearful to attract the notice of some hid- 

 den lurker amongst j our new and hideous enemies ; but no 

 Martha replied, as expecjted, from the scullery ; and with a 

 dread of we scarce knew what, well nigh exhausted also by 

 terror arid exertion, we sat us down in her arm chair. The 

 sky was still partially obscured by monstrous creatures on the 

 wing, and evening was now approaching, so that there was 

 little light in the apartment but what proceeded from the fire, 

 which had burnt very low. We had not been seated long be- 

 fore we were startled by a slight noise proceeding from one 

 of the deep and dark recesses on either side the chimney; and, 

 on looking into it, we could just discern, indistinctly, some 

 moving object. What this might be we dreaded to ascertain ; 

 but with a shaking hand we lit a candle by the dying embers, 

 and held it up within the recess. Then, oh ! the spectacle 

 that we beheld ! Supported by her enormous web a tissue 

 of mingled cable sat an elephantine spider, to which our 

 assailant at the house-door was a mere pigmy, a spider of 

 most hideous aspect, her eight glassy eyes sparkling with 

 greedy ecstasy as she gorged upon a fresh-caught, fresh-killed 

 victim, and that victim no heedless, idle fly, but, alas ! that 

 busy bee, Martha -our faithful Martha ! For a moment we 

 stood horror-stricken ; ; then, armed by rage and grief and the 



