TWO YOUNG NATURALISTS. 57 



" Alas, another suicide ! " said Le'on, " and I 

 believe it was our last remaining specimen." 



But as he turned his botanical box over, a large 

 hermit-crab concealed in a corner fell out of it on to 

 the table. 



"The last is the best," said the young naturalist ; 

 and, taking hold of his captive by the shell, he con- 

 tinued: " Here we have the most depraved, the most 

 immoral, the most cynical, of all the banditti and 

 corsairs of the sea." 



" And yet bearing a venerated designation," said 

 Kene* timidly. 



"Yes, but very inapplicable, unless you are willing 

 to imagine that the stolen shell it bears upon its back 

 is a hermitage." 



" Stolen ! Is the shell, then, not its own making ? " 



"It is completely incapable of making anything 

 whatever. This hermit is the personification of lazi- 

 ness, and a shameless parasite, living at the expense 

 of all about him. However, we must not forget (for 

 justice is a good thing even in the case of shell-fish) 

 that nature has been a little unkind to it. Its body 

 is, in opposition to that of all its allies, soft and 

 undefended by armour, except on the head, legs, and 

 claws. Now look." 



And lighting a match he slightly warmed the shell. 

 The effect of this proceeding was soon apparent : 

 annoyed by the heat, the hermit hurriedly left its 



