SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 11 



would have entangled him in the complex 

 machinery of the web, and involved him in 

 ruin. It was only the works of the smaller 

 spider that he durst attack, as the larger sort 

 rose to the defence of their citadels, when the 

 besieger would shoot off like a sunbeam, and 

 could only be traced by the luminous glow 

 of his refulgent colours. The bird generally 

 spent about ten minutes in this predatory ex- 

 cursion, and then alighted on a branch of the 

 Avocata to rest and refresh himself, placing 

 his crimson star-like breast to the sun, which 

 then presented all the glowing fire of the 

 ruby, and surpassing in lustre the diadem of 

 monarch s. Europeans who have seen only 

 the stuffed remains of these little feathered 

 gems in museums have been charmed with 

 their beautiful appearance; but those who 

 have examined them whilst living, displaying 

 their moving crests, throats, and tails, like the 



peacock in the sun, can never look with plea- 



4 



