SELF-MUTILATION. 235 



and it had appeared quite at home, and was as lively 

 as could be desired. It had three full-sized rays, and 

 two very small ones, doubtless reproducing. Sud- 

 denly, without any apparent provocation, it threw off 

 one of the large rays. I did not see the process, but 

 I had looked at it a moment before, and at the next 

 glance the patient was marching calmly on as before, 

 with one of his legs an inch behind him. The suckers 

 of the rejected ray were still as active as hefore, alter- 

 nately loosening their hold and adhering, just as 

 before ; hut there was no advance. 



Seven hours afterwards, when I retired to bed, the 

 suckers of the ray were still moving, and the ray 

 maintained its adhesion to the perpendicular side of 

 the glass ; as it did also when I got up the next morn- 

 ing. But by this time three more rays were separated, 

 and were adhering by their suckers to the upright 

 glass just where they had been left : while the body 

 pm'sued its solitary jom-ney, solaced by the fidelity of 

 its sole remaining ray, — one of the large ones. 



My curiosity had been excited by the fact that I 

 could not determine with certainty the point from 

 which the first rejected member had separated. I 

 examined the animal minutely, but so entire seemed 

 the whole skin, and so equi-distant the remaining 

 rays, that I could not satisfy myself, though I retm-ned 

 again and again to the scrutiny. I did not, however, 

 choose to handle the animal much. But now that so 

 many limbs were gone, the points of separation were 

 just visible ; yet the contraction of the surrounding 

 parts was so great that the wounds were exceedingly 

 small. The separation was in each case exactly the 



