380 THE AQUARIAN NATURALIST. 



the whole animal is a delicate red, or reddish cream- 

 colour. The creature is very timid, inactive, and 

 extremely susceptible of atmospheric changes. On 

 the slightest shock the limbs contract, and it will lay 

 supine and motionless, as if dead, or counterfeiting 

 death, for an extraordinary length of time. It feeds 

 readily upon mussel, and is easily kept in the aqua- 

 rium, where specimens have been known to survive 

 fourteen months. Perhaps some of our readers may 

 be enabled to furnish a new episode in its poetical 

 history. Poetical speculations, however, are very 

 dangerous examples to the student ; false facts are far 

 more dangerous in science than false theories ; neither 

 can it ever be too deeply impressed upon the mind of 

 the aspirant to zoological reputation, that 



" those who greedily pursue 



Things wonderful instead of true ; 



That in their speculations choose 



To make discoveries strange news ; 



And natural history a gazette 



Of tales stupendous and far-fet ; 



Hold no truth worthy to be known, 



That is not huge and overgrown, 



And explicate appearances, 



Not as they are, but as they please ; 



In vain strive Nature to suborn, 



And for their pains are paid with scorn." 



It may, however, be just possible that the Pinno- 

 theres is by no means so disinterested in her atten- 

 tions to her bivalve landlady, and that the molluscous 

 owner of the house would have no objection to get 

 rid of her lodgers ; for there are some crabs, as Oppian 

 tells us, that are very fond of oysters ; but being quite 



