The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-10-24
Mr.. FOrcep's Experiment,

We recently published an item to the
effect that amusement for the home
circle could be obtained by setting up
stick in a basin of water, and placing a
spider on the top of the stick. The
amusement consists in watching the
spider throw strand of web to the
edge of the basin, and by it crawl to
shore. 1t is q pretty experiment, we
have been told. Mr.. Forceps tried it
Sunday afternoon. He made the ar
rangements complete. Then he caught
a spider, big fellow, and put it on top
of the stick. He did it for the amuse-
ment of the whole family, but they
having neglected to answer his calls,
the thing was fixed without their pres
eRce, and he was in quite furry of
excitement getting them together. His
wife was up stairs trying to think where
she had put the pillow cases for the
front bedroom, and was not exactly in
the humor of spider watching, but he
tried little vigorous language, and she
came down. Then he hunted up his
daughter Julia, who was sat the gate
with young gentleman. He brought
them IN, looking anxiously at the spider
who had not yet moved, thank heaven,
and commenting in a surprised manner
at the singular lack of appreciation on
the part of his family. Then he
plunged into back room wheTe'his son,
Adolphus, was making a sloop, and
called him. But Adolphus didn't care
to see a spider, and the impatient and
sorely-tried parent was obliged to take
him by the collar and jerk him out into
the dining-room, and cuff him on the
head two or three times, before the
young man felt a yearning to look into
the intricacies of the experiment. Hav-
ing got them all together, Mr.. Forceps
got down on his knees, feeling the full
weight of his responsibility in the
matter, and eyed the spider with painful
intensity. A half houl passed, still the
spider did not move. Mrs. Forceps was
suddenly struck with an idea. There !"
she exclaimed - FOrceps looked up
eagerly bet those pillow-cases are
in the chest in the back bedroom" she
added. Mr.. Forceps grated his teeth,
and turned again to the spider. "Iu
bet he's asleep" volunteered Adolphus.
Mr.. Forceps intimated that he would
split any one open who took the wager,
and silence was again restored. Still
the spider did not stir. 1t is likely it
had not seen the item in the papers, and
didn't know what was expected of 1t.
Mr.. FOrceps grew more nervous and i'm
patient every moment. The longer the
spider delayed moving, the harder Mr..
FOrccrs stared at it. He was thus en-
gagged when Mrs. Forceps emitted n
sharp cry, and he looked up Just in
time to save himself. Adolphus, with
the knife he had used on the sloop in
his hand, had become so oppressed by
the magnitude of the experiment, that
he had actually fallen asleep, and losing
his balancehe struck against his mother,
and bounced thence over into the midst
of the group, the knife describing a
circle in its descent, and in a direct line
with the back of Mr.. Forceps' skull.
He looked up just in time to save him
self, but not the experiment. The I'M
happy youth went down in the BASIN
with crash, knocking the contents
over the family and driving the point of
the stick into his fathers knee. The
shock awoke him, and with that instinct
peculiar to boys, he apprehended dis
turbance, and promptly darted out of
the house. The old gentleman went
directly to his room, took off his clothes,
and we NJ to bed, leaving Mrs. Forceps
to clean up the muss and explain to
to those who cared to know, that the
house would look like a hog pen in spite
of all her efforts. Dan6luy NcW8.
Horace GrpeIay,s Habits of DrnSS