SHELLS. 329 



to pay her out without danger of detection, he 

 collected an enormous number of snails and put 

 them in her garden. Next morning the old lady was 

 surprised to find a perfect plague of snails upon her 

 plants and shrubs. But she was not in the least 

 annoyed or disgusted. She gathered them carefully 

 and carried them indoors to cook. A bonne aubaine ! 

 Burton's revenge was a failure. The distinguished 

 Irishman found that if you have maiUe 4 partir with 

 an elderly French lady, it's no use trusting to snails ! 



The diameter of Pomatia is given by Captain 

 Brown (" Conchology ") as a little under two inches, 

 but Wood says that this species may grow to the size 

 of a man's fist. What a dainty morsel, by St. Pansard, 

 patron des goinfres ! 



The empty shells of this large species are used 

 to illuminate most tastefully the village windows, 

 balconies, and terraces during the Summer fetes. On 

 the window-sill you place a row of little damp clay 

 mounds. On each of these you stick a shell, mouth 

 upwards, and into every shell you pour a little oil, as 

 Morgiana did into those forty jars. A bit of cotton 

 ssrves as a wick. The effect of these little elf-lights 

 is bewitching, and the cost is almost nil. 



The French "Limace" and "Limacon" come 

 from the Latin " Limax." Varro derives " Limax " 

 from " limus," mud ; " Limax a limo, quod ibi vivit " ; 

 because it lives in the mud. But snails do not live 

 in the rnud, like eels. What muddle-headed fellows 

 these ancient philologers were, to be sure ! It is 

 much more likely that " Limax " comes from " lini-us " 

 because the animal is " s-lim-y." The northeners are 

 fond of beginning words with an "S"; compare 



