Dr. Forster observes, in his “Perennial Calendar,” that about this time
spiders begin to appear in the gardens, for in winter, they are only
seen in houses; and that the species which inhabits our dwellings, is
quite distinct from the garden spider. These are a very interesting
tribe of insects, in spite of their ugly appearance, and the general
dislike which most persons, especially females, attach to them, in
common with earwigs and other unsightly insects. Naturalists have found
out this curious propensity in spiders, that they seem remarkably fond
of music, and have been known to descend from the ceiling during
concerts, and to retire when the strain was finished; of which the
following old verses, from the “Anthologia Borealis et Australis,”
remind us:--
_To a Spider which inhabited a Cell._
In this wild, groping, dark, and drearie cove,
Of wife, of children, and of health bereft,
I hailed thee, friendly spider, who hadst wove
Thy mazy net on yonder mouldering raft:
Would that the cleanlie housemaid’s foot had left
Thee tarrying here, nor took thy life away;
For thou, from out this seare old ceiling’s cleft,
Came down each morn to hede my plaintive lay;
Joying like me to heare sweete musick play,
Wherewith I’d fein beguile the dull dark lingering day.
* * * * *