danger was nigh; the snake also lays eggs: I have seen and handled them
often; they are not covered with a hard, brittle shell, like that of a
hen, but with a sort of whitish skin, like leather; they are about the
size of a blackbird's egg, long in shape, some are rounder and larger.
They are laid in some warm place, where the heat of the sun and earth
hatches them; but though the mother does not brood over them, as a hen
does over her eggs, she seems to take great care of them, and defends them
from their many enemies by hiding them out of sight in the singular manner
I have just told you. This love of offspring, my dear child, has been
wisely given to all mothers, from the human mother down to the very lowest
of the insect tribe. The fiercest beast of prey loves its young, and
provides food and shelter for them; forgetting its savage nature to play
with and caress them. Even the spider, which is a disagreeable insect,
fierce and unloving to its fellows, displays the tenderest care for its
brood, providing a safe retreat for them in the fine silken cradle she
spins to envelope the eggs, which she leaves in some warm spot, where she
secures them from danger; some glue a leaf down, and overlap it, to ensure
it from being agitated by the winds, or discovered by birds. There is a
curious spider, commonly known as the nursing spider, who carries her sack
of eggs with her, wherever she goes; and when the young ones come out,
they cluster on her back, and so travel with her; when a little older,
they attach themselves to the old one by threads, and run after her in a
train."

Lady Mary laughed, and said she should like to see the funny little
spiders all tied to their mother, trotting along behind her.

"If you go into the meadow, my dear," said Mrs. Frazer, "you will see on
the larger stones some pretty shining little cases, quite round, looking
like grey satin."