HIS RESIDENCE. 167 



8tory, which, if I mistake not, was originally told hy 

 old Du Tertre of some American species. I have had 

 the pleasure, however, of confirming its accuracy, at 

 least in some points. 



Looking at my Aquarium I saw that the Soldier 

 was in a difi'erent Whelk-shell from his own. Both 

 were surmounted, as I have said before, by the Para- 

 sitic Actinia, but a diversity in the colour of the 

 tentacles rendered these distinguishable from each 

 other at a glance. I shall call the Crab's own origi- 

 nal Whelk, No. 1, and the other No. 2. My curio- 

 sity was excited of course, and I sat down to watch. 

 The Crab kept fast hold of shell No. 1, by placing his 

 walking feet within its aperture, all the time he was 

 within No. 2. Presently he slipped out his plump 

 posteriors from the new tenement, and in a moment 

 popped back into his old one, which was indeed the 

 larger of the two, and hobbled away. 



The next day I saw the attempt renewed, and this 

 time witnessed the procedure ab initio. The Soldier 

 on. his rambles blundered on a third Whelk-shell 

 invested by the beautiful Adamsia, but untenanted. 

 This he seized, rolled over, and turned about in all 

 directions, feeling it in all parts, both within and 

 without. The Adamsia he seemed not to like, and 

 tried repeatedly to scrape it o£f the shell with his pin- 

 cers, labouring hard at the work, though ineffectually : 

 the rude operation appeared to produce little incon- 

 venience to the soft and delicate, but tough-skinned 

 Anemone, which withdrawing its tentacles, and con- 

 tracting its body, offered a passive resistance to the 

 persecutor. At length he was satisfied that the shell 



