Though I've heard of prisoners befriending the mice and rats who might visit their lonely cells, this is the first time I've heard of spiders joining in. . .
An officer confined to the Bastille, at Paris, begged to be allowed to play on his lute, to soften his confinement by its harmonies. Shortly afterwards, when playing on the instrument, he was much astonished to see a number of mice come frisking out of their holes, and many spiders descending from their webs, and congregating round him while he continued the music. Whenever he ceased, they dispersed; whenever he played again, they reappeared. He soon had a numerous audience, amounting to about a hundred mice and spiders.
-- from Goodrich, S. G. 1793-1860. (1849). Illustrative anecdotes of the animal kingdom. Boston: Rand and Mann. 173.
1 comment:
It's seems rare for anyone to befriend spiders. Maybe it shows just how devastating isolation is?
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