514 
SPIDER. 
prejudices, and therefore neglect what would am- 
ply repay them for their trouble. This antipathy, 
which we believe to be as often natural as acquired, 
is so strongly implanted in the minds of some per- 
sons, that they shudder whenever the animal ap- 
pears ; and we know one instance, where a person 
of strong mental powers, and, in other respects, of 
great personal courage, will at any time leave the 
room rather than encounter a spider. Naturalists 
themselves have been impressed with the same feel- 
ings, and not even the ardour of the pursuit could 
induce either Roesel or Goze to examine these in- 
sects minutely, till they were accustomed to observe 
them at a distance. 
Before we attend particularly to the manners of 
the house spider, we shall describe those parts 
which are common to the species in general, some 
of the most curious of which we shall notice here- 
after. 
Every spider has two parts, of which the fore 
one that contains the head and breast, is separated 
from the hinder part, or belly, by a very slender 
thread. The fore part is covered with strong scales, 
and so are the feet, which are inserted in the breast. 
The hinder part is clothed with a very fine and 
supple skin, and the whole invested with hair. 
They have several eyes ; but they differ in number, 
some species having eight, others six, and some no 
more than four. In all they are immoveable, and 
covered with a hard polished crust. The whole 
tribe have two stings, or rather branches, pro- 
