THE REPORT OF THE 



iy 



He flung himself down in low despair, ae grieved as man could be ; 



And after a while as he pondered there, " I'll give it all up," said he. 



Now just at that moment a spider dropped, with its silken cobweb clew, 



And the king in the midst of his thinking stopped to see what the spider would do. 



'Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome, and it hung by a rope so fine, 

 That how it would get to its cobweb home, King Bruce could not divine. 

 It soon began to cling and crawl straight up with strong endeavour, 

 But down it came, with a slipping sprawl, as near the ground as ever. 



Up, up, it ran, not a second it stayed, to utter the least complaint, 



Till it fell still lower, and there it laid, a little dizzy, and faint. 



It's head grew steady — again it went, and travelled a half yard higher, 



'Twas a delicate thread it had to tread, and a road where its feet would tire. ' 



Again it fell and swung below, but again it quickly mounted, 

 Till up and down, now fast, now slow, six brave attempts were counted. 

 " Sure," cried the king, " that foolish thing will strive no more to climb, 

 When it toils so hard to reach and cling, and tumbles every time." 



But up the spider went once more, ah me, 'tis an anxious minute, 

 He's only a foot from his cobweb door, oh say, will he lose or win it? 

 Steadily, steadily, inch by inch, higher and higher he got, 

 And a bold little run, at the very last pinch, put him into his native spot. 



" Bravo, bravo ! " the king cried out, " all honor to those who try ; 



The spider up there defied despair, he conquered, and why shouldn't I ? " 



And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind, and gossips tell the tale, 



That he tried once more as he tried before, and that time he did not fail. 



Pay goodly heed, all you who read, and beware of saying "I can't," 

 'Tis a cowardly word, and apt to lead to Idleness, Folly and Want. 

 Whenever you find your heart despair of doing some goodly thing, 

 Con over this strain, try bravely again, and remember the Spider and King. 



EB£C<>The spider's web (Fig. 54) so frequently represented in pictures is that of the Geo- 

 metrical Spider, Ep'eira diadema. It is formed with great regularity and is a beautiful 

 object. Strange to say it is made up of two kinds of silk. The long, convergent, anchor- 

 ing threads are not viscid, but the cross threads are thickly set with minute gummy drops, 

 which secure the unfortunate insects that strike upon them. 



Fig. 55. 



There is a species of spider (Agalena labyrinthica) which forms a closely woven web 

 spread horizontally over the surface of the ground, and having a retreat at one corner of 

 it (Fig. 55). It has been said of this, that, in the early morning, when the webs are 

 white with dew, one might fancy that the fairies had been having a washing-day and had 

 spread their sheets over the meadows to dry.* 



The Gossamer Spider, Neriene vagans, often sets a fine silken thread floating at hap- 

 hazard on the air. (Fig. 56). When this becomes entangled at the further end the 

 spider secures the nearer one, and make3 use of the thread as a bridge by which to 



•Jlfr. Mygale's Hobby, R. T. S. p 89. 



