Count would not fuffer him to go to Germany, where he now refides, till he had devoted every Morning, for a whole Year, in the Study of Natural Philofophy, or the most amiable Parts of Nature; and befides this, his Afternoons were generally, employed in obferving, as well as learning, to a certain Degree, the nobleft Trades and Profeffions, without difdaining even the moft common. He never paffed a Week, without going to School at fome Shop in Paris, not in a fuperficial Manner, but by making it his ferious Endeavour to get a competent Idea of the real Object and most valuable Method of each particular Trade. He attended a Gold-Wire-Drawer, a Printer, a Clock-maker and a Dyer, for near three Weeks. He beftowed as much Time on a Joiner, a Smith, and even a Carpenter; and never left his Man, till he had feen him in all the Forms and Undertakings of his Profeffion. The re

peated View of the fame Works, the plain Converfation of the Artifans, the Approbations or Complaints of the Mafters, the various Difficulties, Precautions and Remarks of the Buyers, made every Art and Trade fo familiar to him, that at prefent he knows each Particular that reJates to the Commerce of Life, as well as even thofe by whofe Labours it is fupplied: He knows the Names and Ufe of all the Tools, is acquainted with the Materials employed by the Workmen, as well as the Countries that produce them; he understands the Marks of their good or bad Qualities, and what they are worth, either at firft or fecond hand. He can diftinguith the Touches of an Artist, and difcern the Difference between a Work of Solidity and good Tafte, and one that only ftrikes the Eye, and is of a flight Texture. A difhoneft Workman can never impofe upon him, but then he likewife knows how to do Juftice

to

to the Performance of an able Mafter: Nay, he goes farther, he is an Artift himself, and makes whatever he has occafion for, with his own Hands,

Countess. I allow you to enlarge on my Son's Commendations, because you have fo great a Share in them yourself. I have infinite Obligations to you, Sir, and can't imagine what peculiar Dexterity you practife; but when you used to difengage yourself a few Hours fometimes, from your common Employment, to take a Walk with my Son, you gave him a Taste of the Manufactures and Sciences, in a manner that charmed him. Your Method, as it appears to me, was not fo much to make him understand, at once a Set, of Sciences, as to raise in him a Desire to understand them; your Intention was to make him curious, because Curiofity is an active Paffion, that can never be indolent; and when this Point is once accomplished, all the reft come without Reluctance or Distaste. I have frequently taken Notice, that your Difcourfes and Compliances, nay your very Diverfions, only tended to fharpen the Youth's Curiofity. It was very pleafant, for Instance, to fee the Curate and his little Parithioner difputing, fometimes by the Water-fide, which Stones were the flatteft; and then to obferve each of them raise his Heap, and, with a kind of Emulation, skim the Stones along the Surface of the Water; and when they were weary of their Employment to fit down and make Differtations on the Descent of Bodies, the Level of the Water, the Lines of Incidence and Reflexion, as I think they called them, the Preffure of the Air, and feveral other Matters that are flipp'd out of my Memory. When this Dialogue was over, they went to work with their Sticks, on the first smooth Bed of Sand they faw, there they traced out the Holy Land, Italy, or France, and even proceeded to the Indians and Ca

F 4

dane;

nada; and if they wanted Sand, they made Ufe of Stones, Leaves, and Apples, with which they fketch'd out Provinces, Mountains or Cities: Every Day produced fome new Invention. 'Tis impoffible to defcribe the Air and Delight with which my Son repeated thefe Performances in my Prefence; every Thing was fo familiar to his Imagination, and fo well methodized in his Mind, that whatever he learned in this amusing Manner, was repeated to me in a very exact Order, and the Prior, without knowing it, gave Inftructions to two Persons inftead of one.

Prior. As I was his Paftor, I could not bestow my Time better, than in devoting fome of my Care, to his Improvement; but when one meets with a fine Genius, it is impoffible to be too fedulous in preferving it from every disagreeable Impreffion. And I can affure your Ladyship have employed no Part of my Time with fo much Advantage, as thofe Hours I have paffed away in little Amusements with this amiable Youth.

Countess. There are but too many whofe Amufements are no more than Trifles, and indeed few are capable of giving them an agreeable Turn, or know how to mix Defign with there Diverfions, and promote Virtue by the Mediation of Pleasure.

Chev. I must give you, Madam, another Inftance of the Prior's Abilities. When he had explained to me, Yesterday, all the Parts of a Loom, and fhewn me how they were used: Well Mr. James, faid he to one of the Workmen, will you let me have your Place? It is my Turn To-day. Upon which he inmediately put the Treadles and the Shuttle in Motion, promifing to pay Ten-pence for every Thread he fhould happen to break. After which he asked me, if I would handle the Loom on the fame Terms? Why not, replied I? Up

on

on which the Gentleman gave me his Place, and I began to work; but

Countess. Didn't you spoil all?

Chev. It went on very indifferently at first, and I paid the Fine agreed upon, which coft me fome Money; but I was in a little time as dextrous as another. Our good People were highly delighted to see their Work all wrong, and every broken Thread was as good to them as a Victory.

Prior. Well, let us talk no more of the Prior and the Weavers, but come to a Web of another Make, that requires neither Loom nor Shuttle ; her Ladyship will not be offended if I defcribe the Spider and her Tools, before I speak of her Work.

Countess. Go on, Sir; you may talk of Dragons and Serpents, who are as little difagreeable to me: For the Defcription of the most frightful Objects is capable of creating Pleasure.

་

Prior. There are five Sorts of Spiders *: First, the House Spider, who hangs her Web in neglected Apartments; fecondly, the Garden Spider, who weaves, in the open Air, a little round Web, the Center of which is her Situation in the Daytime; thirdly, the Black Spider, to be met with in Cellars and the Cavities of old Walls; fourthly, the Wandering Spider, who has no fettled Neft, like the others; fifthly, the Field Spider, which they call the Long-legs.

Áll these Animals have fomething in common with each other, and likewise something that diftinguishes them. Let us, in the first Place, confider what they all agree in.

Every Spider has two Parts, of which the Fore one, that contains the

The Forepart of a Spider. Head

M. Homberg.

* Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences. Leeuwenhoek's Arcan. Nat. Tom. iii. Ep. 135. Lifter de Aran.

Head and Breaft, is feparated from the Hinder-, part or Belly, by a Ligature, or very slender Thread. The Fore-part is covered with very strong Scales, and fo are the Feet, which are inferted in the Breaft. The hinder Part is cloathed with a very fine and fupple Skin, and the whole invefted with Hair. In different Parts of their Head they have feveral fine Eyes, generally eight, and The Eyes. fometimes no more than fix, two in the Fore-part, two in the Hinder, and the reft in the Sides. They are all without Eye-lids, and are covered with an hard, polished, and tranfparent Cruft. As thefe Eyes are immoveable, they have been multiplied in this Manner, to give them Intimations, on all Sides, of whatever relates to them. All these Creatures, in the Fore-part of the Head, have two Stings, or rather Branches, The Stings. fhagged, or indented with ftrong Points, like a couple of Saws, and ending in a Nail made, like the Claw of a Cat. Near the Point of the Nail is a small Aperture, through which, it is evident, they eject a very violent Poison. They have no Arms fo formidable to their Enemies as these. They open and extend their two Branches as they have Occafion, and when they no longer make ufe of the Nails, they bend and bring each of them down upon its Branch, like a Pruning Knife clapfed upon its Handle. They all likewife have eight Legs, jointed like those of Crabs; and at the Extremity of these Legs, three crooked and moveable Claws; that is to fay, a fmall one placed on one Side, like a Spur, by the Affiftance of which they faften themselves to their Thread; and two others of a larger Size, the internal Part of whofe Curve is indented, and which ferve them to fix themfelves where they please, and enable them to flide either obliquely, or with their Back downwards, by grafp

The Legs. The Claws.