362 - THE SPIDER. 



the lion or the tiger. If, however, the affault be com-. 

 mitted by an enemy llronger than himfelf, the fpidec 

 keeps clofe co'icealed in his fortrefi ; and it is not till 

 the danger is over, th.;t he ventures forth to repair the 

 damages which his projierty his fuftained. 



By fuch accidents, as well as the force of the wind, 

 the labours of many days are often inlluntly dellroyed; 

 and eitlier the conftru^lion of a new web, or a repair of 

 the old, becomes abfoluteiy neceil'ary. Here the I'pider 

 has again recourfe to that glutinous fubllance with which 

 he was originally provided. The life of this animal 

 fcems chequered w^ith misfortunes. The time feldom 

 fails to arrive, when the referves of gluten, by repeated 

 draining, become entirely exliaufted ; and the poor fpider 

 is left to all the chances and viciffitudes of want, which 

 often bring him to an untimely end *. 



The natural longevity, hovvever, of the fpider, 13 

 greater than feems to have been granted to the generality 

 of the inicch tribes. The length of his life is not exact- 

 ly afcertained ; but it probably endures for feverai years. 

 The female, it is faid, doe's not begin to lay her eggs till 

 ilie has completed her fecond year ; and even then, her 

 brood is not fo numerous as when fhe has attained her 

 full maturity. When that period arrives, flie has been 

 known to produce near a thoufand eggs in a fingle feafon. 

 The eggs being thus depoiited, the animal prepares a 

 ill ken bag for their reception, till tliey are hatched. Thus 

 packed up, Ihe glues them to her body, by means of the 

 f^m^e adhelive matter with which the web is fpun ; and 



lii 



* GoIJfmidi's Nat. Hift. Vol, VII. 



