A R A N E A. 
bitten by tarantulas, except fuch as for evil ends feign 
themfelv.es .to be fo, are for the moft part young wanton 
girls, whom the Italians call dclci difale (half-witted); who, 
by fome particular indifpolition falling into this melan¬ 
choly madnefs, perfuade themfelves, according to the vul¬ 
gar prejudice, to have been dung by a tarantula.” 
Dr. Serao, an Italian phyfician, has written an ingenious 
book, in which he has effectually exploded this opinion as 
a popular error ; and in the Philofophical Tran factions, 
Mo. LX. for the year 1770, p. 236. is a letter from Domi- 
nico Cirillo, M.D. profeffor of natural hiflory in the uni- 
veriity of Naples, wherein, taking notice of Serao’s book, 
he fays, That having had an opportnnity of examining 
the effeCts of this animal in the province of Taranto, 
where it is found in great abundance, he finds that the 
furprifing cure of tire bite of the tarantula by mufic has 
not the leaf! truth in it; and that it is only an invention 
of the people, who want to get a little money by dancing 
when they fay the tarantifm begins. He adds, “ I make 
no doubt but fometimes the heat of the climate contri¬ 
butes very much to warm their imaginations, and throw 
them into a delirium, which' may be in fome meafure cured 
by mufic ; but feveral experiments have been tried with 
the tarantula, and neither men nor animals after the bite 
have had any other complaint than a very trifling inflam¬ 
mation upon the part, like that produced by the bite of a 
lccrpion,’which goes off by itfelf without any danger at 
all. In Sicily, w here the fummer is flill warmer than in 
any, \ art of the kingdom of Naples, the tarantula is never 
dangerous; and mufic is never employed for the cure of 
the pretended tarantifm.” 
Mr.'Swinburne, when in the country of the tarantula, 
was deflrous of inveftigating minutely every particular re¬ 
lative to that infeCt; but tire feafon was not far enough 
advanced, and no tarantati (perfons bitten, or pretending 
to be bitten, by '.lie tarantula) had begun to dir. He pre¬ 
vailed, how ever, upon a woman who had formerly been 
bitten, to aCt the part, and dance the tarantata before him. 
A great many muficians were f ummoned, and (lie perform¬ 
ed the dance, as all prefent allured him, to perfection. At 
firlt (he lulled Itupidly on a chair, while the inftruments 
were playing fome dull mufic. They touched, at length, 
the chord fuppof'ed to vibrate to her heart; and up fhe 
fprung with a molt hideous yell, daggered about the room 
like a drunken perfon, holding a handkerchief in both 
hands, railing them alternately, and moving in very true 
time. As the mufic grew brilker, her motions quickened, 
and fhe fkipped about with great vigour and variety of 
'fteps, every now and then fhrieking very loud. The fcene 
was far from pleafant; and, at his defire, an end was put 
to it before the woman was tired. Wherever the tarantati 
are to dance, he informs us, a place is prepared for them, 
hung round with bunches of grapes and ribbons. The 
patients are dreifed in white, with red, green, or yellow, 
ribbons, for thole are their favourite colours ; on their 
fhoulders they cad a white fcarf, let their hair fall loofe 
about their ears, and throw their heads as far back as 
they can bear it. They are exaCf copies of the ancient 
priededes or Bacchus. The orgies of that god, .whofe 
worfhip, under various fymbols, w r as more widely fpread 
over the stlobe than that of any other divinity, were no 
doubt performed with energy and enthufiafm by the lively 
inhabitants of this warm climate. The introduction of 
Chriffianity aboliihed all public exhibitions of thefe hea- 
thenifh rites, and the women durft no longer aCt a frantic 
part in the character of Bacchantes. Unwilling to give 
no fo darling an amufement, they devifed other pretences; 
and pofl’efiion by evil fpirits may have furnifhed them with 
one. Accident may alfo have led them to a difeovery of 
the tarantula; and, upon the drength of its poilon, the 
Puglian dames dill enjoy their old dance, though time has 
effaced the memory of its ancient name and inditution ; 
and this Mr. Swinburne takes to be.the origin of fo drange 
a practice. If at any time thefe dancers are really and in¬ 
voluntarily affected, he fuppofes it caa be nothing more 
than an a-ttack upon their nerves, a Ipecies of St. Vitus’s 
dance; and lie inclines the more to the idea, as there are 
numberlefs churches and places throughout thefe provin¬ 
ces dedicated to that faint. 
Many fenfible people in the country, however, differ in 
opinion from Dr. Serao and other authors, who have ridi¬ 
culed the pretended diforder, and affirmed that the venom 
of this fpecies of fpider can produce no effects but fuch as 
are common to all others. The Brindifians fay, that the 
tarantulas fent to Naples for the experiment were not of 
the true fort, but a much larger and more innocent one ; 
and that the length of the journey, and want of food, had 
weakened their power fo much, as to fuffer the doCtor or 
others to put their arm into the bag where they were kept 
with impunity. They quote many examples of perfons 
bitten as they (lept out in the fields during the hot months, 
who grew languid, fiupid, deprived of all courage and 
elafficity, till the found of fome favourite tune roufied 
them to dance, and throw off the poifon. Thefe argu¬ 
ments of theirs, however, Mr. Swinburne thinks of little 
weight ; tor they acknowledged that elderly perfons were 
more frequently inibCled than young ones ; and that moft 
of them were women, and thofe unmarried. No perfon 
above the lovveft rank in life was ever feized with this ma¬ 
lady, nor is there an inftance of its caufing death. The 
length of the dance, and the patient’s powers of bearing 
Inch excefiive fatigue in the canicular feafon, prove no¬ 
thing ; becaufe every day, at that time of the year, pea- 
fants may be feen dancing with equal fpirit and perfeve- 
rance, though they do not pretend to be feized with the 
tarantifm. The illnefs may therefore be attributed to 
hyfferics, excefiive heat, ftoppage of perfpiration, and other 
effects of fleeping out of doors in a hot fummer air, which 
is always extremely dangerous, if not mortal, in mod parts 
of Italy. Violent exercife may have been found to be a 
certain cure for this diforder, and continued by tradition, 
though the date and circumftances of this difeovery have 
been long buried in oblivion ; a natural pafiion for dancing, 
imitation, cuftom of the country, and a defire of railing 
contributions upon the fpetlators, are probably the real 
motives that infpire the tarantati. Before Serao’s expe¬ 
riments, the tarantula had been proved to be harmlefs, 
from trials made in 1693, by Clarizio, and in 1740, at 
Lucera, by other naturalifis. There are feveral fpecies of 
the tarantula, fome hairy, and fome fmooth. The figures 
a , b, c, d, in Plate II. reprefent four of thefe fpiders, 
brought from Tarenti, in Italy, where they very much 
abound, and from whence it is luppofed the name taran¬ 
tula is derived. 
The avicularia, or great fpider of America, is one of 
the largeft fpecies of the aranea tribe. Its back is covered 
with an hard, thick, brown, coat, hollowed at the iides, 
and clelt tranfverfely acrofs the middle, as if it had an 
hole in that place. The head is fmall, and with difficulty 
difiinguifhed from the corfelet. The mouth is furnillied 
with brown, hard, and crooked, teeth. The body is large 
and rotund, growing out into two parts. The whole body, 
except the back, and all the fix feet, are covered with 
long bulhy hair ; an exaft reprefentation of which is deli¬ 
neated in the annexed Piate, at letter e. Linnaeus has 
given it the name of avicularia., becaufe it principally at¬ 
tacks the little birds, called colibris. It tears them to pie¬ 
ces in a cruel manner to get at the blood, and afterwards 
fucks their eggs. The bite of this infeft is laid to be as 
venomous as that of a ferpent. 
The Almighty has fo arranged the economy of nature, 
that one ipecies of animals (hall.be nourifhment for ano¬ 
ther. It is fo in this cafe. There is in America a fpecies 
of large ant, great numbers of which frequently Pally forth 
from their hills, and by troops traverfe through the houfes, 
fo that the inhabitants can efcape only by flight. Thefe 
ants devour every other in left that comes in their way. 
Now thefe large fpiders are equally expofed to perfecu- 
tiou; for, although they fometimes catch and deftroy many 
of thefe ants as they are crawling on the trees, yet are 
3 th e y. 
