CHAPTER XV 



THE LABYRINTH SPIDER 



Y^THILE the Epeirae, with their gor- 

 » » geous net-tapestries, are incomparable 

 weavers, many other Spiders excel in ingenious 

 devices for filling their stomachs and leaving 

 a lineage behind them : the two primary laws 

 of living things. Some of them are celebrities 

 of long-standing renown, who are mentioned 

 in all the books. 



Certain Mygales^ inhabit a burrow, like the 

 Xarbonne Lycosa, but of a perfection un- 

 known to the brutal Spider of the waste-lands. 

 The Lycosa surrounds the mouth of her shaft 

 with a simple parapet, a mere collection of 

 tiny pebbles, sticks and silk; the others fix a 

 movable door to theirs, a round shutter with 

 a hinge, a groove and a set of bolts. When 

 the Mygale comes home, the lid drops into the 

 groove and fits so exactly that there is no 

 possibility' of distinguishing the join. If the 



' Or Bird Spiders, known also as the American Taran- 

 tula. — Translator's Note. 



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