Tlie eleventh Booke of 



{he Intfindcth. See withall, how ftacke and hollow the net is madcjto abide the \^ind, for feare of G 

 breaking: and thereby fo much the better alfo to fold and enwrap whatfoever commcth within 

 her reach I What a craft is this of hers to leave the upper part thereof in the front undone^ as if 

 (he were weaxie (for fo a man may guefle, when he can hardly fee the reafon) and (as it is in h un- 

 ters net and toile) that Co foone as thofe nets be Humbled upon, they fhould caft the flies head- 

 Ibng into the lap and concavitie of the net ? To come now unto her neft and hole : Is there any 

 Architedure comparable to the vault and arched frame ? And for to keepe out the cold, ho wis 

 it wrought with a longer and deeper nap than the reft ! What fubtilcieis this of hers, to retire 

 into a corner fo farre from the mids, making femblance as though fhe meant nothing leile than 

 that (he dothjand as if iTie went about fome other bufineflc ! Nay,how clofe iyeth ihe, that it is 

 impoffible for one to fee,whether any bodie bee within or no ! What fliould I fpeake of the 

 ftrengththat this web hath torefiftthe piiffesand blafts of winds? of the toughnclle to hold 

 and not breakc^notwithftanding a deale of duft doth weigh ai-id beareit downe ? Many a time ye 

 fhall fee a broad web reaching from one tree to another : and this is when (he learneth to weave 

 andbeginncth topradife and trieher skill. She ftretcheth a thread, and warpeth in length from 

 the top of the tree downe to the very ground 5 and up again flie whirles molt nimbly by the fame 

 thread : fb as at one time, fhe fpinnech and windeth up her yarnCiNowifit chaunce that any thing 

 hght into hernet,how watchfull,howquick-figbted, howreadieisflieto run ?Be it never fo lit- 

 tle fnared even in the very skirt and utmofl edge thereof, ihe alwaies skuds into the mids ; for fo 

 by fhaking the whole net5llieentangleth the die or whatfoever itbe,fo much the more. Looke 

 what is flit or rent therein, fhe prefently doth mend and repaire, and that fo even and fmall.that 

 a man can not fee where thehole wasdernedanddrawneupagaine. Thefe Spiders hum alfo af- I 

 ter the yong Lizards : firft they enfold and wrap the head within their web : then^they catch hold 

 and tweake both their lips togither, and fo bite and pinch them. A worthy fight and fpedaclc 

 to behold^ fit for a king, even from the ftately Amphitheatres, when fuch a combat chanceth. 



Moreover, there bee many prefages and prognoflications depend upon thefe Spiders : for 

 dgainft any inundations and overflowings of rivers, they weave and make their cobwebs higher 

 than they were wont. In faireandclearc weather, they neither fpinnor weaves upon thicke and 

 cloudiedaics,they be hard at worker and therefore many cobwebs be a fjgne of raine. Some 

 ihinke, it is the female that fpinneth and wcaveth 5 and the male, which hunreth and gettethiii 

 the provifionfor thefamilie : thus ordering the matter equally in earning their living, as man 

 and wife togicher in one houfe. Spiders engender togither with their buttocks, and litde worms K 

 they doe lay like egs* For,conildering that the generation of alllnfedsbefides,in a mannercan 

 be declared and fliewed no otherwife, I mufl not deferrc the relation of it, being fb admirable 

 as it is. Well then, the{e egs they do lay in their webs,but fcattering here and there^becaufe they 

 iifetoskip andleapewhcn they thruft them forth. The Phalangius onely fitteth upon the cgges 

 within the very hole, and thofe in great number : which begin notfofoon topeepe^but they eat 

 the mother, yea and oftentimes the father likewiie, for he help eth her alfo tocoove. And thefe 

 kind of Spiders bring commonly 300 at a time: whereas all the reft have fewer.They fit ordina- 

 rily thirtie daics. As for yong Spider s^they come to their full growth and perfe«ilion in 4 weeks. 



L 



Chap. xxv. 



^ of Scorpions 



SEmblably, the land Scorpions doe lay certaine little worms or grubs in manner ofegs ;and 

 when they have fb done, perifhlikewife for their labour, as the Spiders. Their ftingsbeas 

 venomous and daungerous,as chofe of ferpents t and albeit there enfue not thereupon fb 

 prefent death, yet they put folke to more paine a great deale, infbmuch asihcy languilliand lie 

 drawing on three daies before they die. If a maiden be ftung with one of them,flTie is fure to die 

 of it : other women alfo for the moft part catch their death therebyjand hardly efcape. Yea and 

 Inen alfo find their poifbn to be mortal! and deadlyjif they be ftung in a morning by thcni when 

 they creepe newly out of their holes,faf^ing, and before that they have difcharged their poifbn by 

 pricking one thing or other firft.Tbeir fting lier h in their rails, and readie they arc with it alw^ii^s 

 loftrike.There isnotaminute of an houre but they praclife andtrie how thcycan thruftitforth, 

 (fo malicious they be) becaufe they would not looic and mjCe the firft opporcunitie pr^knied 



unco 



