Devout Cannibals. 329 



to the Times about the sand-hoppers, when he 

 was very needlessly corrected for calling them 

 shrimps. The Latin name of the species referred to 

 is Talitrus locusta. In regard to this species, Bate 

 and Westwood tell the following anecdote : 



" Upon the sands of Whitsand Bay, our friend Mr. 

 Swain informs us that one day, at a picnic party, he 

 saw 'not millions, but cartloads' of this species 

 lying piled together along the margin of the sea. 

 They hopped and leaped about, devouring each other 

 as if for very wantonness. A handkerchief, which a 

 lady let fall amongst them, was soon reduced to a 

 piece of open work by the minute jaws of these small 

 creatures." 



Now, considering that Archdeacon Paley imagined 

 that the leapings and springings of these little 

 creatures, as in the sect of the jumpers, were so many 

 acts of devotion, it was unkind of Mr. Swain to re- 

 present them as cannibals, eating one another out of 

 mere frivolity ! He accuses them also of riddling a 

 lady's handkerchief, a thing so unchivalrous ! Nor is 

 it easy to believe that these creatures would prefer 

 cambric to shrimp, or be even induced to think of 

 the former commodity when they were surrounded, 

 according to the story, by a glut of the latter. 

 Whether moved by these or other considerations, Mr. 

 Robertson determined to try the handkerchief ques- 

 tion, and the result was that he could not get the 

 Scotch sandhoppers in any way to appreciate or utilize 

 such a diet. 



The voracity of the pike is established by a long 

 series of anglers' stories and weighty traditions. It 



