The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
LObster's Toilet.
From the London Fireslde.

FROM the LONDON tlI6Siue.
1t has not happened to every one to see
a lobster cast his shell. Last SUMMER I
had an opportunity of watching the pro-
cess. L was staying for several weeks in
a secluded little village on the south coast,
and one day, when the only fisherman in
the place returned after taking up his
pots he flung upon the beach a speci-
men too small for sale or homo consump-
ton. The prize was taken possession Of
by a boy, who presented il to my impro-
Vised aquarium, for which all the little
boys of the village were enthU siastic col
lectors. kept the water well aerated, and
devoted a great deal of tiT1e and atten-
ton to my various live stock, and at last
my reward came.
AT the time of his capture my lobster
had already begun to think about getting
a new suit; and, as the days went by, the
old shell became so small for him that he
could no longer avoid discarding his ever
tightening armor. One morning, therefore.
l found my lobster apparently in his last
agonies. He lay on his back and rubbed
his legs convulsively together as if in pre-
tense of pain; and then he Wriggled about
or jerked himself violently upwards by
means of his tail. / suppose that these ac-
lions had for their object the loosening of
the claws and limbs in their sheaths. The
rapid movements somewhat disturbed the
sand and couded the water; but as the
patient lay close to the glass, never en-
tirely lost sight of him. Nevertheless l do
not quite know how it all occurred The
throes continued for an hour or more, and
efforts were apparently made to burst the
shell open from Within but il was not I'M
til / saw that the lobster had actually di-
vested himself of his head-covering that
| understood what my guest was about. A
great deal more wriggling and squeezing
no in,
| himself, as it were, out of the shoulders of
his suit of armor.
The operation locked as if it were ex-
tremely painful and exhaustins; but at
last l had the satisfaction of seeing my
lobster and his discarded shell lying side
by side The latter looked much the small
Ter Of the two and, save that it was mo-
tioness, it might have been mistaken for
a live and healthy crustacean in full dress
The oritice through which the ancient ten
ant had evcted himself was very small
and the headpiece had not been complete
ly thrown off, but was left hanging, as by
! a hinge. But now the naked lobster did not
look Mt all like his old self. His colors
were so bright as. to suggest that he had
been parboied, and he had the tender ap-
pearance of human flesh from which the
skin had just been removed. took out the
she'll and found that my guest had got rid
not only of the major part of his eyes, but
also of the lining of his stomach. including
his internal teeth, and of some of the bones
of his thorax; yet be seemed to be little
the worse for his thorough turnout. On
my return from luncheon 1 touched him.
and found that, although quite soft, he
was covered with an incipent shell of the
approximate solidty OF oiled tissue-pa-
per. He did not like being touched. Dur
ing the three following days the shrimps
worried him a great deal; but he grew
with marvellous rapidity until he was full
ly half as big again as he had been, and
when L once more touched him the shell
on his big claws was sufficiently hard to
enable him to give re a nip.
81 am proud to say that my grandfather
made his mark in the world" observed