The Lobster. 215 



liberty; but in such a weak and enfeebled state, that it continues for 

 several hours motionless. Indeed, so violent and painful is the 

 operation, that many qf them die under it; and those which survive 

 are in such a weakly state for some time, that they neither take food 

 nor venture from their retreats. Immediately after this change, 

 they have not only the softness, but the timidity of a worm. Eve- 

 ry animal of the deep is then a powerful enemy, which they can 

 neither escape nor oppose; and this, in fact, is the time when the 

 dogfish, the cod, and the ray, devour them by hundreds. But this 

 state of defenceless imbecility continues for a very short time: the 

 animal, in less than two days, is seen to have the skin that covered 

 its body grown almost as hard as before; its appetite is seen to in- 

 crease; and, strange to behold! the first object that tempts its 

 gluttony, is its own stomach, which it so lately was disengaged 

 from. This it devours with great eagerness; and, some time after, 

 eats even its former shell. In about forty-eight hours, in propor- 

 tion to the animal's health and strength, the new shell is perfectly 

 formed, and as hard as that which was but just thrown aside. 



' When the lobster is completely equipped in its new shell, it 

 then appears how much it has grown in the space of a very few 

 days; the dimensions of the old shell being compared with those 

 of the new, it will be found that the creature is increased above a 

 third in its size; and, hke a boy that has outgrown his clothes, it 

 seems wonderful how the deserted shell was able to contain so 

 great an animal as entirely fills up the new. 



'The creature thus furnished, not only with a complete cover- 

 ing, but also a greater share of strength and courage, ventures 

 more boldly among the animals at the bottom; and not a week 

 passes that in its combats it does not suffer some mutilation. A 

 joint, or even a whole claw, is sometimes snapped off in these en- 

 counters. At certain seasons of the year, these animals never 

 meet each other without an engagement. In these, to come off 

 with the loss of a leg, or even a claw, is considered as no great 

 calamity; the victor carries off the spoil to feast upon at his lei- 

 sure, while the other retires from the defeat to wait for a thorough 

 repair. This repair is not long in procuring. From the place 

 where the joint of the claw was cut away, is seen, in a most sur- 

 prising manner to burgeon out the beginning of a new claw. This, 

 if observed at first, is small and tender, but grows, in the space 

 of three weeks, to be almost as large and as powerful as the old 

 one. We say almost as large, for it never arrives to the full size; 

 and this is the reason we generally find the claws of the lobsters 

 of unequal magnitude. 



' Of this extraordinary, yet well known animal, there are 



