38 
HISTORY OR BRITISH CRUSTACEA. 
left my pocket-knife at the mouth of the crab-hole. I felt 
loath to part with my old knife, and therefore at once put on 
my hat, running hard, for fear the tidt?, which had already 
turned, might be too high. I got to the place however just 
in time, found my knife, and then took another peep at the 
crab : it had not moved, and thinking that if I could not 
eat it myself I might ask my neighbours acceptance of it, 
I drew it out with my fingers, as I had done with the former. 
But lo ! it was a soft Crab, the shell being of the consis- 
tency of w T et parchment, and the colours (all except those of 
the carapace) being pale. It w r as a female too, without any 
sign of spawn, and had lost one claw ; strange, that I had 
not thought of connecting the soft claw that I had drawn 
out before with this crab that I saw at the bottom ; but I 
carefully put the helpless creature into the hole again, and 
saw that it settled its legs and body comfortably in its old 
quarters, and there I left it ; for our crab is worthless for 
the table in this condition, unlike the Land Crabs of the 
West Indies, which are esteemed peculiarly delicate in their 
soft state. What then are we to infer from this association ? 
Do the common Crabs live in pairs ? and does one keep 
guard at the mouth of their cavern while its consort is un- 
dergoing its change of skin ? If this is the case, it is a 
