SIR, TO THE EDITOR OF THE MONTHLY MIRROR. Ir is too late in the day for me to study trigonometry, but having lately admired a practitioner in that way, I send you my thoughts on the architect. Perhaps, had I endeavoured to alter the form of my memorandums from what they appear in my book, I should only have got rid of one fault, a homespun way of telling a story,—without gaining an equivalent. If you should find it wor thy of insertion, or any naturalist find himself inclined to set me right where I am wrong, I should feel greatly obliged to both. Yours, Sir, truly, Dec. 4, 1803. ROB. BLOOMFIELD. REMARKS ON THE GARDEN SPIDER. Extracted from a Book of Memorandums. August 14, 1801. "THIS morning, observed a Garden Spider, who had one of his own species in durance, holding him suspended, but without much appearance of a web. The prisoner was alive, but a mere skeleton. After a while he was suffered to fall, or the wind forced him from his captivity; but, in falling, he unfortunately struck against a halfformed web, the architect of which I had just been watching, and observed, that all the lines leading from the centre to the extremities, were finished; and he was busy, going a continued circle, and joining each with a fresh web, which he drew from his posteriors, at regular strokes, by an extension of his longest legs behind. The beforementioned prisoner fell against his web, and he immediately left work to secure him, being still alive, and having legs not at all diminished, though his body was wasted. His new conqueror seized him, and, rolling him up in a strong web, dragged him to the centre, and there left him secure, and returned to his work, which he soon completed. I had observed him about a quarter of an hour previous to this adventure, and remarked that he caught a number of very small flies, which abounded on every weed, after, much rain in the night; and I was not a little surprised that these minute creatures did not stop his progress, but were instantly devoured; not as I expected, by sucking their bodies dry: he took them up very orderly, and very distinctly, and devoured them, wings and all, without leav BVOL. XVII. ing the smallest appearance of a fragment. He had eaten seven of these flies before the spider fell in his way." August 20, 1801. "A spider of this kind, of an enormous size, has now a web, of about a foot in diameter, hung with spoils, against a wooden fence in the yard. I have repeatedly seen them working their webs, but Inever could see them begin it. The insect, here mentioned, has attached his work, on one side, to the fence, from which it projects obliquely, and is suspended to a branch of a vine, at the distance of five feet from the circle of the web. As the suspending lines are very strong, and rún exactly horizontally, without any intermediate support, it is wonderful to me to think how they could have been carried so far. A double five foot line, which leaves the fence in this direction, must have been a curious work for him. "In the outline here given, the upper sketch is looking down on the work; the under one is looking horizontally. "The body of the spider being nearly half an inch in length, he has more than twenty-four times his length in one foot, and, consequently, one hundred and twenty times in his suspending lines. Now, taking the standard of a man at five feet six inches, one hundred and twenty times his length will be six hundred and sixty feet, or two hundred and twenty yards; about three times the height of the Monument. If we were set to tie the tops of the steeples of London together with a cord, without scaffolding, should not we be put to it to hit on the means? We should go to school to spiders, and ants, and bees; but of these the spider does his work alone." September 9, 1801. "This morning, extricated a bee from a web, but without any signs of life. Another web contained a bee larger than the common honey bee; he appeared completely enveloped in a winding-sheet of the web of a very large spider, whose premises he had unfortunately trespassed upon. Thus, it is evident that this tiger of an insect devours creatures larger than itself. If the means by which he is enabled to do it were common to the beasts of the forest, how dreadful would be a net spun by the lion or the tiger, from which the horse® and his rider could not disentangle themselves, no more than a strong bee can from this pest of the garden.” Ir is astonishing how little is known of the origin and intention of the customs which distinguish this festival. It is understood to bring with it good eating and drinking, and few families are anxious to ascertain any thing more, than the parties they are to visit, or to receive, on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and Twelfth Night, For the information of those, therefore, who may not be contented with mere beef and pudding, I transmit you the following curious historical and traditionary illustrations. THE CUSTOM OF DRESSING CHURCHES AND HOUSES AT CHRISTMAS WITH HOLLY, &c. &c. STOw, in his Survey of London, tells us, against the feast of Christmas, every man's house, as also the parish churches, were decked with holme, ivy, bayes, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green: The conduits and standards in the streets were likewise garnished, In the ancient calendar of the church of Rome, I find the following observation on Christmas Eve: "Templa exornantur;" "Churches are decked." Mr. Gay, in his Trivia, describes this custom : When rosemary and bays, the poet's crown, Are bawl'd in frequent cries through all the town; Christmas, the joyous period of the year. Now with bright holly all the temples strow, With laurel green, and sacred misletoe. There is an essay in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1765, in which it is conjectured that the ancient custom of dressing churches and houses, at Christmas, with laurel, box, holly or ivy, was in allusion to many figurative expressions in the prophets, relative to Christ, the branch of righteousness, &c. or that it was in remembrance of the oratory of Wrythers Wands, or Boughs, which was the first christian church erected in Britain. Before we can admit either of these hypotheses, the question must be determined whether or no this custom was not prior to the introduction of the christian faith amongst us. The learned Dr. Chandler observes, that, "It is related where Druidism prevailed, the houses were decked with ever-greens in December, that the sylvan spirits might repair to them, and remain unnipped with frost and cold winds, until a milder season had renewed the foliage of their darling abodes." CHRISTMAS BOX. We are told, in the Athenian Oracle, that the *Christmas-BoxMoney is derived from hence. The Romish priests had masses said for almost every thing: If a ship went out to the Indies, the priests had a box in her, under the protection of some saint: And for masses, as their cant was, to be said for them to that saint, &c. The poor people must put something into the priest's box, which was not to be opened till the ship returned. The mass at that time was called Christmas; the Box, Christmas Bor; a money gathered against that time, that masses might be made by the priests to the saints, to forgive the people the debaucheries of that time; and from this, servants had the liberty to get box money, that they too might be enable to pay the priest for his masses, knowing well the truth of the proverb. "No penny, no paternoster." NEW YEAR'S DAY. Bishop Stillingfleet informs us, that " among the Saxons of the Northern Nations, the feast of the new year was observed with more than ordinary jollity: thence, as Olaus Wormius and Scheffer observe, they reckoned their age by so many + Iolas; and Snorro Sturleson describeth this new year's feast just as Buchannan sets out * This is still retained in public houses and barber's shops; it is put against the wall, and every customer puts in something. Mr. Gay mentions it thus: Some boys are rich by birth, beyond all wants, And one day makes them rich for all the year. Gay's Trivia. Iola, in the Gothic language, signifies to make merry. the British Saturnalia, by feasting and sending presents, or new year's gifts, one to another." The poet Naogeorgus says, * that it was usual, at that time, for friends to present each other with a new year's gift; for the husband, the wife; the parents, their children; and masters, their servants; which, as † Hospinian tells us, was an ancient custom of the Heathens, and afterwards practised by the Christians. The very ingenious Scotch writer, Buchannan, presented to the unfortunate Mary queen of Scots, the following singular kind of new year's gift. History is silent concerning the manner in which her majesty received it. Ad Mariam Scotia Reginam: Hoc leve si credis, paribus me ulciscere donis : TWELFTH DAY. The rites of this day are different in divers places, though the end of them is much the same in all; namely, to do honour to the memory of the eastern magi, whom they suppose to have been kings. In France, one of the courtiers is chosen king, when the king himself, and the other nobles, attend at an entertainment. In Germany, they observe the same thing on this day in academies and cities, where the students and citizens create one of themselves king, and provide a magnificent banquet for him, and give him the attendance of a king, or a stranger guest. Now this is answerable to that custom of the Saturnalia, of masters making banquets for their servants, and waiting on them; and no doubt this custom has in part sprung from that. Not many years ago, this was a common Christmas gambol, in both our universities; and it is still usual in other places of our land, to give the name of king or queen to that person whose luck hits upon that part of the divided cake, which is honoured above the others with the sacred name of majesty. More particulars will be learned of the manner of drawing king and queen, from a letter preserved in the Universal Magazine, Iani------Calendis, Atque etiam strenæ charis mittuntur amicis: Conjugibusg; viri donant, gnatisq; parentes, Hosp. de Orig. Fest. Christ. P. 41, + Hospin. ibid. |