At this conjuncture it came to me why the female 

 was without the usual regalia of her kind. (The 

 reader has no doubt guessed that the sea-lettuce 

 masked a male.) In accordance with a custom pre- 

 vailing among crabs generally, this creature could 

 receive the attentions of a mate only during her 

 time of molting. This is to say, she was in the 

 so-called "soft-shelled" stage. Having just cast off 

 her old shell, with its adhering decorations, she 

 must await the hardening of her integument be- 

 fore donning another disguise. Moreover, it is 

 conceivable that were she able to affix anything to 

 her soft hooks, her wearing of such artificial rai- 

 ment would somewhat hinder the nuptial embrace. 

 In fact, for purely protective purposes, she now 

 needed no such cover : the panoply of the male was 

 ample to hide them both from view. 



I awaited no longer. With a sweep of the dip- 

 net, the pair were caught and lifted into the boat. 



Thus, it seemed, my laboratory was destined to 

 be graced by the presence not only of the Queen, 

 but the King also would be there to shed some 

 glory around the lot. 



With such a prize in my possession, I was not 

 slow in reaching the shore and acquainting my 



[214] 



