He had a strong and peculiar odour at times, which became more apparent
if he was annoyed. He was infested with a small mite, and though these
were frequently cleared away with water and a camel's-hair brush, they
always reappeared in a day or two, clustering under the thorax between
the first pair of legs, and at times they might be seen racing over his
body with great rapidity. Once Cheops nearly escaped, for I had placed
his box in the sun, and the warmth so excited and waked him up that he
opened his wing-cases, used his gauze-like inner wings, and with a
mighty hum was all but gone in search of his native land, but
fortunately I was near enough to intercept his flight and place him in
safe quarters. After keeping this curious creature in perfect health for
sixteen months, I was much vexed to find him one morning lying in a
shallow pan of water in his box, quite dead. He had overbalanced on to
his back, and, being unable to turn over, had been drowned, though the
water was scarcely half an inch deep. Poor Cheops is enshrined in a
pyramid-shaped box, in which he is often shown and his life-history told
to interested visitors.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS.]

SPIDERS.

Of all the varieties of "creeping things" spiders seem to be the most
universally disliked. I knew well the kind of expression I should see on
the faces of my friends when I produced the box which contained my pet
Tegenaria, a large black spider, long-legged and very swift, a
well-known kind of house-spider.

Happily the box had a glass lid, so the inmate could be seen in comfort;
and when the spider's history was told there was always an interest
created in even this poor despised creature.

When first placed in its new home the Tegenaria began spinning tunnels
of white silky web in various directions across the box. They were
almost as close in texture as fine gauze, and had openings here and
there, so that they formed a kind of labyrinth.

The spider always lived in one corner, curled up, watching for prey, and
when a blue-bottle was put in, and began buzzing, she then rushed up one
tunnel and down another until she could pounce upon her prey.

The fly was quickly killed by her poison fangs, and then carried to the
corner to be consumed at leisure. Unlike the habit of the garden or
diadem spider, no cobweb was rolled round the victim; only the wings
were cut off and the body carried away. After some months I not