Coming now to the actual courtship of these brilliant spiders, the authors placed pairs of several species in square wooden boxes, having a cloth bottom, on which they could easily move about. One of the species experimented on was _Dendryphantes elegans_ mentioned only a moment ago—such a name is not to be forgotten—whose beauty is thus described: “The male is covered with iridescent scales, his general colour being green. In the female the colouring is dark but iridescent, and in certain lights has lovely rosy tints. In the sunlight both shine with the metallic splendour of humming-birds. The male alone has a superciliary fringe of hairs on either side of his head, his first legs being also larger and more adorned than those of his mate.”[133] Yet the extra vigour from which this special growth is supposed to have sprung has not, as we shall see, affected his growth in general. “The female is much larger, and her loveliness is accompanied by an extreme irritability of temper, which the male seems to regard as a constant menace to his safety; but his eagerness being great and his manner devoted and tender, he gradually overcomes her opposition. Her change of mood is only brought about after much patient courting on his part”.[133] And now comes the minutely interesting description of this iridescent, _couleur de rose_ courtship. “While from three to five inches distant from her he begins to wave his plumy legs in a way that reminds one of a windmill. She eyes him fiercely, and he keeps at the proper distance for a long time. If he comes close she dashes at him and he quickly retreats. Sometimes he becomes bolder, and when within an inch pauses with the first legs outstretched before him, not raised, as is common in other species; the palpi also (in insects it would be the antennæ) are held stiffly out in front, with the points together. Again she drives him off, and so the play continues. Now the male grows excited, as he approaches her, and while still several inches away whirls completely around and around; pausing, he runs closer, and begins to make his abdomen quiver as he stands on tiptoe in front of her. Prancing from side to side, he grows bolder and bolder, while she seems less fierce, and yielding to the excitement, lifts up her magnificently coloured abdomen, holding it at one time vertically and at another sideways to him. She no longer rushes at him, but retreats a little as he approaches. At last he comes close to her, lying flat, with his first legs stretched out and quivering. With the tips of his front legs he gently pats her; this seems to arouse the old demon of resistance, and she drives him back. Again and again he pats her, with a caressing movement, gradually creeping nearer and nearer, which she now permits without resistance,”[133] and so on, “Till the happy ‘yes’ falters from her mouth,” almost as exciting, though not quite so detailed, as the climax scene of a latter-day novel.