89 
AN ABJECT REPTILE 
The abject reptile seemed stunned at first by the bustle 
around him — a countryman in the Strand : then he turned and 
lied — anywhere out of the crowd : he did not wish to “ dwell in 
the midst of alarms.” On cool days he lay perdn among some iris 
roots, but in sunshine he came out and caracoled on the gravel 
with his ungainly rocking action, stopping to explore with his nose 
or crop some ill-advised green thing in his path. In the really 
hot weather he was ravenous, and his bill for lettuces and cresses 
ran to several pence a week, for he loved them crisp and moist, 
to crunch in his toothless jaws. Pieces of stalk which refused 
to go down made him blink and gulp alarmingly, whilst drum- 
ming on his shell seemed hardly local enough as a treatment to 
give him relief. But beyond all he loved strawberries, and for 
one of these he would hurry across the gravel and grab and snap 
at the dainty, all his shyness gone and replaced by a ponderous 
facetiousness which made him seize the fingers which fed him 
and leave a visible pinch on the skin. There was a cornelian 
ring, too, which he supposed to be a succulent fruit, and which 
he would boldly scramble after, and bite vigorously, if the hand 
wearing it was within his reach. Cherries and raspberries he 
also delighted in, hanging on to them till his flat-featured face 
was besmeared with juice up to the eyes, and helping himself 
with his claws when in difficulties. And if the menu was too 
short for him he called for more by standing before me with his 
head up and snapping his jaws ; or, if I sat on the ground, 
climbing on my dress and trying to forage for himself. He 
occasionally drank some water if put in the bird's shallow 
saucer, but preferred moisture in the form of green food. The 
midsummer heat made him very gay, and he would often be 
seen hastening over the gravel with rather more grace and less 
agility than a Vestry mud-cart. 
In autumn weather the shop-people were consulted as to 
where he should winter, for he showed a tendency to bury 
himself in the mould, and they said a greenhouse would suit 
him ; but the only one available, size about 9 feet by 5 feet, 
was never warmed, and after a night there on clammy tiles 
his comatose condition and Alpine temperature were alarming. 
He was then put in a fern box, under tall leaves, and safely 
surrounded by wire netting. This offended him deeply, and 
after various attempts to strangle himself in the meshes he was 
rescued late at night, very indignant and hissing loudly. Kind 
friends made suggestions for his comfort. One said their tor- 
toise, a pet of youth, had always wintered in a kitchen cup- 
board in an old hat ; but one shrank a little from the headgear, 
masculine or feminine, which should have come to a stage when 
it was offered as a hybernaculum, and to visit Jermyn Street 
or Bond Street for the latest fashion seemed an excessive 
yielding to the luxury of the age. There was also mention of 
a tortoise which wintered in a cupboard and was found to be 
only shell — and, well, you may alter one letter ! — in the spring. 
