Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1895-04-20

IN little paper boxes, pair III COX.
I ship them in a crate with many
holes for air. Maybe l send two,
three, four hundred spiders. For
them l ask half a franc each, $40 q
hundred. In two months you would
think his cellar was not disturbed
for the last fifty years. 1t has cost
him $40 or $50 maybe, but he may
sell the wine for $1,000, yes, more
than that, above what they had
brought without my pets had dress
ed the bottles 10 the robes of the
long ago.
'The merchant takes the parvenu
and the noveaux richie, who are easy
TO play with. He leads them down
into the dark cellar. By the eight of
the candle the customer sees the row
of bottles. Their necks are deep in
dust. 1t is easy to blow over them
dust. The cobwebs drape them
they stretch from cork to cork-itis
plain that there is her great age. All
my cobwebs, monami. The custom
err has what you call the pulling of
the leg to him. lie is proud.
But it is good for him. Good wine
is only meant for the man who
knows it,"
"Perhaps man has quickly made
great wealth and keeps a grand es-
adjustment. He must have q fine
wine-cellar. Perhaps he buys him
self old wines, dnsty and cobweby.
But the cobwebs are broken and en-.
deshabille when the bottles are NOV
ed to his cellar. They have not the
tone, the look of the real old age, of
the long years of gentle rest in the
undistnred dark, nest ce pas? Then
he drives out to see old Pierre, or
writes from New York or Chicago.
do a grand business in Chicago.
Sapristi, ! send him my pets. They
work for him. Soon he can take his
rich friends into his cellar, and they
say Mon Dieu, this is superb, 1t is
magnificent. We give you congrat-
ulations, my boy This is what
money cannot buy. Ny pets stop
working and they do what you cali
wink the other eye. Then they re-
sumo their toll"
g" Tell US how you raise them and
feed them, Pierre ?" asked the visi-
tor insinuatingly.
Corbleu, it is science, this rails
ing ofspiders. I have on hand at
one time about 10000 spiders, old
and young. 1 brought some eggs
from France. and the choicest web.
makers to be found. Here is the
queen of them all. Her children
are superb spinne:s. Many hundreds
of my pets are her descendants. 1t
is the kind bred by my great uncle
in France"
The old man led the way TO glass
dome in the corner, beneath which a
filmy web ofbeautiful pattern stretch
ed across nearly t6o feet. Pierre
touched one of the meshes and
huge black spider danced nimbly out
from her downy nest and ran up the
vibrating thread up the old mans
finger. lie gave her a fly and she
tripped back within doors with her
booty.
"This is Sara" said Pierre. "She
has the grace, the chic, the slender
beauty of the divine Bernhardt.
She is the pride Of all my pets.
Alb, here is lola looking at you.
A hideous, hairy monster had
crawled up the fine wire netting that
kept him within bounds and stared
sardonically not foot away from
the writer's nose. A start and ex-
clamation were natural, but Pierre
looked grieved.
81 do not blame you much," said
he. "Zola is good natured and
would not hurt You, but he has the
horrible look. He has fits of bad
temper sometimes. Then, ventre-
bleu, look you out. He is the bird
spider of Suranium. His body is
two inches long and he catches and
eats small inches and sparrows when
in his woods. His bite is bad poi
sen. | doubt not it would kill you.
But | tame him with kindness. Yet
he is not pleasant to think Of run
ming around the room. He might
have the bad temper. He would
eat all my pets in one day. But he
is king of all spiders-le grand mon
archie. Therefore ] call him Zols,
the most superb of writer's.
IN THE NURSERY.
"When the mother spider wishes
to lay her eggs she makes little
web, ia a broad crack. See, here is
one weaving her nursery. Then she
lays fifty eggs perhaps, like petit
jelly drops. Then she covers them
up in a soft silk cocoon, and leaves
them. In two weeks, longer in win
| ter, they begin to hatch. 1t is very
difficult. 1t takes one OF two days.
The egg shell or skin cracks off in
rags. Mon Dieu, but there is a
great struggle for the infante. Then
they grow, and in a week look like