Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-08-04
FRANKS OF A PET SPIDER.
Nightly Visits of y sociabie Insect--IIis
Rescue from q Dangerous Rnthtub.

Nightly Visits of u sociable Insect--H
Rescue from a Dangerous Bathtub.
:, We named him Belshazzar on the occ,
sion OF his first visit to us. though hay
forgotten what suggested the name. II
was big black spider with shiny ia
body. suggestive of an abundance of flies
but for all this appreciation Of the goot
things of life he was of scholarly turn O
mind
We were all seated around the stud,
table, preparing the next days lessons anc
tasks, when Minnie gave scream tina,
made me jump, and even the boys looked
mp startled. There was a big black spider
calmly seated on Latin dictionary re
gardnR us intently. tapped paper at
him. but he only drew In his legs with a
slightly contemptuous air and did not stir
| Let him alone, sister," said Tom "I've
been studying about spiders, and here is
good opportunity for observing their hab
| it's"
As II encouraged by this championship,
3elshazzsr descended from the dictionary
and crAwled slowly over the open page of
an algebra, rs II trying TO make out what
IL was From this he went over all the
books. inspecting them ali with the same
critical air, and at last settled on n phys
ica geography as most worthy of his at
tention. Every now and then he would
refresh himself with a drink out of Alexis
Ink bottle
All at once we missed him, and as he
had last been seen drinking from the edge
OF the bottle suspicion Immediately arose
that he had fallen in. He had, and was |
tounderng helplessly about in the black |
pool He was rescued and placed on a |
scrap OF waste paper, with injunctions to |
remain there until dry, but this he had no |
intention OF doing On the contrary, he
showed fixed determination to walk over
Toms neatly written Latin exercise
You sha'n't, SIR said Tom, gently
hosting him with the feathered end OF
quill pen on to his scrap Of paper
And then, for the next few minutes, ws
forget all about him, till Toms cry OF dis.
may called attention to his exercise II wa.
ined and refined and lined again with Bel
tracks He had not left an inch
and was even looking very
ompiacent over his nice black tracings
'hen our EXPLANATIONS Of sorrow and an
'er seemed to arouse him to sense OF
name, and be scrambled down the table
md was gone in the twinking of an eve,
We thought we had seen the last of him
nut the next night he came again and the
ext, until we looked for him as a regular
isitor, and placed the physical geography
pen for him, for his fancy for it seemed To
ist. The accident of his fall into the ink
ottle was repeated several times, for he
'ouid drink the ink, and once, for soma s
linutes, we feared that he was drowned :
ut he gradually revived. and beyond ap >
caring rather subdued was little tba
orse for the adventure. :
But whenever he had been In the ink
Ter that first night nothing could induce
IN to stir off the paper on which he was Il
aced TO dry, though he would run over a
at and seemed to take pride in the de c
GINS with which he ornamented it, h
what became of our queer pet we never n
iew, but one night he failed to make bis =
'pearance, and we were surprised TO find !.
wv much we missed him. We hoped y
'weyer, that he would come the next II
ening, but he never did, and somehow 81
9 study hour after that seemed longer W
d duller, and not to DO looked forward W
Times nj