Arachne and the Poets. 203 



owls' hootings or the balefulness of toads' spittings. But 

 never surely so delightfully set forth as in Spenser's original 

 exposition of the Vanities : 



"An hideous dragon, dreadfull to behold, 

 Whose backe was arm'd against the dint of speare, 

 With shields of brasse that shone like burnisht golde, 

 And forked sting, that death in it did beare, 

 Strove with a spider, his unequall peare ; 

 And bad defiance to his enemie, 

 The subtill vermin, creeping closely neare, 

 Did in his drinke shed poyson privilie ; 

 Which, through his intrailes spredding diversly, 

 Made him to swell, that nigh his bowels burst, 

 And him enforst to yield the victorie, 

 What did so much in his owne greatnesse trust. 

 O, how great vainnesse is it then to scorne 

 The weake, that hath the strong so oft forlorne ! " 



And King Endymion had a cohort of gigantic spiders, 

 and they spun a web from the Moon to the Morning Star, 

 and upon this, the Field of Gossamer, was fought the most 

 fantastic fight that ever the gods saw. Three days it raged, 

 the Moon-folk and the Sun-folk fighting; till King 

 Endymion cut away the web, and thus, in one appalling, 

 overwhelming act, closed the fearsome strife. Do you 

 remember, too, how in Laputa the professor intended that 

 spiders should supersede silkworms, for, said he, they not 

 only spin silk but they weave it as well ; and how to make 

 the tissue complete, he fed them on beautifully tinctured 

 flies ? And why should he not have done so ? 



" I've plans for weaving velvet 

 From the spider's web so thin." 



In the Islands of the Blessed they are apparelled in spiders' 

 webs, naturally stained purple, for Idmon, the dyer in purple, 

 was father of Arachne. 



" Weaving spiders come not near ; 

 Hence, you long-legged spinners, hence ! " 



Poor spiders ! Titania wore their web, and yet would not 

 have her weavers near her. 



