DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

(91) gravelly soil, into which moisture does not easily penetrate. Slowly, diligently, and artistically, like the most ingenious engineer or architect, they bore a vertical hole, which is always duly proportioned to their size. Could you penetrate into the little subterranean domicile, you would be astounded by its neatness, and almost fancy yourself in a lady’s drawing-room. You would find on the walls the softest hangings, formed by the threads spun by the indefatigable worker. But you could not easily penetrate into this sanctum were you ever so diminutive in size, for the spider has constructed at its entrance a trap- door which only opens from the inside. This trap- door artfully revolves on hinges, and is made, as well as the hinges themselves, out of a piece of damp clay mixed with threads, on the same principle as cow-hair is put in mortar to make it strong. In the secrecy of her apartment the spider tends her young family, and lives in comparative security. It is only at night, when nature is still and peacefully slumbering, that the spider sallies forth in quest of her food. But it often happens that some wily creature scents the spider from a distance, and makes an assault on her fortress. How is it that the trapdoor cannot be pushed back? The spider has guarded against this con- tingency by boring imperceptible holes in the trap-