THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

205

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Spiders fond of Music.

pipers have been known to exhibit

a great deal of pleasure in hear-

ing music. A captain of a regi-

ment in Navarre was once con-

fined in prison six months, for having
spoken too freely to a nobleman. Du-
ring his imprisonment, he requested the
governor to allow him permission to send
for his lute, so that he might play on it
once in a while, for his amusement. The
favor was granted, and the captain used
frequently to play on the instrument.
After afew days, according to his story,
as soon as he commenced playing, the
spiders would come down from their
webs, and form a circle around him, so
as to hear the music more distinctly.
When he stopped playing, the spiders
went back to their webs. This was re-
peated every time he played. For some
reason or another, he did not take up
his lute for nearly a week, during which
time the spiders were not seen to leave
their webs; but as soon as he began to
play again, they all came out as before.
This anecdote may seem rather too
strange for belief; but there is another
one from a different source, of the same
character; and, on the whole, I am in-

clined to think the facts actually took

place. The other anecdote to which I
allude is told by a Frenchman who was
in the habit of watching the movements
of insects very closely, whose character
for truth is said to have been above sus-
picion. This man went into his chamber
one day, and took up a violin to amuse
himself until supper-time. He had not
played fifteen minutes, before he saw
several spiders descend from the ceiling.
As he continued playing, they came and

berries there.

ranged themselves on the table before
him, where they stayed until the bell
rang for supper, when he stopped play-
ing, and they all went back again to
their several webs. After this, he fre-
quently amused himself and his friends,
by bringing out these spiders, whenever he
chose to do so, by a tune on his violin.

4

Jemmy Thompson and the Blackberries.

party of girls and boys went

one afternoon to pick blackber-

ries. Each of the party had a

basket or a tin cup, and were

soon among the brambles. Jemmy
Thompson had the smallest vessel of
them all, and expected soon to fill it, and
help his playmates. He went right in
among the thickest of the bushes, pick-
ing one or two of the sweet berries here
and there, and striding along to find
some that were larger and finer. He
trampled many branches down, and
seemed less ready to stop at a proper
place and set properly to work to fill his
cup. In this way he wandered all over
the ground, till he was quite tired, and
began to think there were no good black-
When he returned to his
party, he found nearly all of them had
filled their cups, and were now filling
themselves, while the bottom of his cup,
which was smaller than all, was scarcely
covered. The children gladly put their
hands together, and soon gave him a full
cup to carry home with the rest of them.

Here are good lessons to be learned :

1. To get knowledge, or anything else
worth the getting, you must set about it