314 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

clinging to its web, and the construction of that web in the
habitations of man. Solomon, of course, referred to the
house spider, though the species, in all probability, differed
from the too-familiar denizen of our dwellings. The claws
on the foot of the spider are of great use in her delicate
work, being in many cases furnished with comb-like teeth,
which enable her to keep the threads separate when neces-
sary. The foot has also a third claw, on which the spider
winds up the superfluous silk. The under surface of the
foot is in general furnished with a thick kind of brush,
formed of slender bristles, fringed with delicate hairs. This
is an exceedingly beautiful and interesting subject for mi-
croscopical investigation.

Hitherto the spider’s web has been used as a type of
fragility; in Isaiah lix. it is spoken of as a snare, and m
the highly metaphorical language of the East the wicked
are said to “weave the spider’s web ;” and the prophet
continues, “ Their webs shall not become garments, neither.
shall they cover themselves with their works; their works
are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their
hands.” Whoever has watched a spider lying concealed in
her cell, and darting out the moment an unwary insect is
entangled in the meshes of her net, grappling it in her