Harper's New Monthly Magazine: No. XVI.—September, 1851—Vol. III.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine: No. XVI.—September, 1851—Vol. III.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
A short time later, instead of waiting until he had withdrawn, it ran
immediately and with boldness to the fly, and did not even take the
trouble to drag it within to eat it. Curious to know how far this
familiarity might be carried, he took a fly by one of its wings and
presented it to the spider. The first time it returned frightened to its
nest, and remained there closely concealed; but the next day, pressed by
hunger, it rushed on the fly with the speed of an arrow, seized it, and
hurried away with it to the recesses of its apartments. Once and again
and again, the observer repeated this trial. At the end of this time,
the spider fed on the fly in the fingers of the observer. It went so far
even as to come out of the vase by the help of the finger its master
presented. Thus free, it ran along the wrist, the arm, and the breast of
the naturalist to get a fly which he held in his other hand as far off
as possible.
The observer took a lively interest in his pensioner, and loved it
almost as much as Pelisson did his. He procured then some books on
natural history, in order to find out to which sex the spider of the
glass vase belonged. He ascertained that it was a female by the filiform
pulps which were lengthened near her jaws, and by the legs of the thorax
being shorter and broader than those of the abdomen. Having made this
discovery, he resolved to marry the recluse, and for this purpose sought
a male of handsome appearance and worthy of the tenderness of so lovely
a conquest. He had little difficulty; for it was spring time, and love
moved the Arachnides as well as the rest of nature.
Once in possession of a fine male with pulps well swelled, limbs long
and slender, eight bright eyes, and a conquering and off-hand address,
he brought it in triumph to his guest. He laid him softly on the web, at
the extremity opposite the spider's nest, and withdrew to a little
distance, yet so that he could still observe all that took place.
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