The Bridal Web
A spray of gorse..hns been sent me by parcel post, with a lyrical description of its bridal appearance,; and the pheno- menon of its, decoration is very eloquent of the date, It,. is the time when a sudden activity possesses the tribe, of spider, especially perhaps the species which has a, peculiar fondness for the whirs. The gauze of its net conceals the more solid lair or home behind it This species is much more common in the West than in the East of England, and appears to nurse a special devotion for the Cymric variety of autumn-flowering gorse. One narrow valley 'in the West, leading down to the sea, used to be so beset by the multitude of webs on the gorse that the general scene was transformed ; and it was a changing scene, for the gorse-covered sides of the slope sparkled in steadily decreasing brilliance as the sun, evaporated the dewdrops. suspended on every.web. It happened on occasion that this multiplication of webs -was noticed almost simulta- neoisly with an outerop of so-ealled thunder-flies.
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