314 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
but they show a decided preference for habitations which are long 
and spiral. 
The hermit is very timid—most cowards are—and at the least 
noise he draws himself into his shell, closing the aperture with his 
large claws, and so tightly does he cling to his stolen house, that 
A HERMIT IN HIS CELL. 
(Dredged up from thirty fathoms.) 
you may almost pull him limb from limb before he can be 
dislodged. One great means of this adherence resides in the tail, 
which has the power of adhering to the walls of the shell. And 
yet with all his timidity he is a great glutton, eagerly devouring 
anything which comes in his way. He does not hesitate to attack 
live creatures, and when put into an aquarium, he has been known 
to throw the whole of its peaceful inhabitants into the utmost 
confusion by his insatiable rapacity. 
