The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-10-04
Once There Was a Spider.

Once there was a spider. There is |
nothing very startling about this fact,
unless you are of a nervous turn and !
the said unruly insect drops down into
your face while you are trying to go to
sleep, or you are easily cast down by
running into his web thrown across Il
doorway. Spiders are chiefly domestic
in their habits in this latitude, and have
q weakness for rounding out the corners
of rooms and filling the chinks in out OF
the way places with q substance which,
if it had been little stronger, would
have won them an honorable place in
the arts and made them as popular as
they are now obnoxious.
One evening the Individual subject of
this history was discovered spreading
| his nest across an open window
that had been raised to give the supper
! table more pleasant surrounding ana
us he had not proceeded far when his
plans were observed, close watch was
! kept on his movements and the follow
ing notes taken on the process: The up
| per limit of the web was the halt-raised
sash, and enough of the space below was
taken to make a structure about foot
square, which was mapped out BY
! single lines fastened to the window
| frame. Inside of this a few strands
were thrown, which crossed at the
center, where an irregular bulps-eye
like case of operations was formed by
cross-webs put in very inartistically. The
spider then added more spokes to his
Wheel until he had twenty, and then
accomplished the feat of joining these
altogether by circular webs about an
inch apart. These kept the rays
in place like set of guy ropes,
that made a deel of climbing and calcu-
lation necessary.
Next, beginning at the outside, this
practical acrobat began running circu-
lar webs around the structure, about
five to the inch, each inside circular toll
erably regular as regards the outer one
md all fastened to each cross line by
bit of waxy substance secreted by The
animal himself AS each preliminar,
circle was reached it was found more
md more that they took somewha
different direction from the new ones
Or, to be exact about it, were throw
{ about a different center. So as to ayoi'
| | n ridiculous crossing of these circula
lines the first set were taken up and ap
S parently devoured by the workmen
Nothing but the waXy points where the
1 | had crossed the rays showed where the
had been. The spider did not try t
4 Fpring from one ray to the other o
\ shoot out his web, but took tri
f around by the shortest route and wake
tho newly spun line to the ray befor
:. setting out again. Several times d
@ broke off the line and made q trip to tn
e center, where he inspected the wor
/ with the air of a master builder, an
d once was observed to give the who
a fabric mighty shake, as though testin
r the capacity for holding winged victim
Q md bearing up his own piratical Sc
j, when he chose to go on foray. SOM
d Times on returning to his work he forg'
s where he had left off, and began in
e new place, which left rather awkwai
e break in the fabric, though it was NJ
II conspicuous as whole.
o Nearer and nearer the center woi
d proceeded, until the master-workmi
3 tame to the conclusion that it won
answer its purposes, and suddenly brol
If off the process of drawing his web o
Y, of himself, and settling down composed
20 at the focus of the affair with a goo
G. appetite, doubtless, and an approvil
If conscience, due to one who has LAHORE
is faithfully, according to his own ligt
" and not greatly the worse for not beii
N obliged to 90 abroad for building m
n terial Already his efforts had Dor
lie fruits, for two giddy flies had dropp
Id into the web and were tlutterings in t
breeze, as helpless as though held
)" the spiders claws, but their grim ca
tor wasn't in any hurry for his supp
Or and let them flutter. He had work
n at his best rate for Il full malt hour, u
of couldn't exhaust himself further il
b. now by. running after game that W
It. quite safe where it was.
IT. A careful estimate showed that I
re whole web was not far from sixty fl
n long, all of which had been eVoly
a from the builders consciousness a
he physical self in this short space of tin
to But it was getting late. The sun h
C. already gone. Suddenly some one 81
elk down the window, bringing ruin on I
h carefully built fabric and transform
Il. our late industrious architect, pir
all and robber into trembling fugiti
re glad to get off at any price. Such
ilV life-Ll LHatO ETDreSS.