being bitten, he caught by the back; its claws, though they stretched
wide open, as if they had the cramp very badly, being utterly harmless.

"This is a Crustacea," cried Gregson, holding him up in pride; "and if
not a lobster, it may well be called one. I have often caught two or
three dozens of them, and found them capital for tea or breakfast. In
my opinion, if a person has his senses about him, and will but study
natural history, he would be able to live entirely on the herbs and
fruits of the field, the birds of the air, and the animals of the earth
and water."

"Ho, ho! a pretty sort of existence that would be!" exclaimed Bouldon.
"I suppose you would have us to eat grass, like sheep or cows, or
snails, or vermin, or tadpoles."

"No, no! Tom, but I will undertake to place a capital dinner before
you; and, except the trouble of catching the animals, it shall cost
nothing beyond a halfpenny, which I will expend in mustard and pepper.
I cannot grow the pepper, so I shall buy a farthing's-worth of that and
a farthing's-worth of mustard seed, which I would grow, and could then
give you mustard to eat, and also a salad."

"What would you do for salt?" asked Buttar.

"I would make that very quickly by the seaside. A few pails of
salt-water thrown into any clean hollow of a rock would soon evaporate
and leave some excellent salt," answered Gregson. "Then I would give
you several sorts of fish, and crayfish, and, if I can get to the sea,
fish of all sorts, and lobsters, and crabs, and shrimps, and oysters,
and every variety of shell-fish, and sea-weeds also, some of which are
excellent and very nutritious; but I can do very well without going to
the sea. Of animals in England there are not many; but I can snare
rabbits, and so I could hares, but that would be poaching, and therefore
I cannot give you hares; but you shall have all sorts of birds--larks,
and blackbirds, and sparrows, and young rooks, and wildfowl, and many
others; and then there is no end of vegetables. Nettle-tops, when well
boiled, are excellent, and so are a number of other plants which are
looked upon as weeds; and you have no idea of the number of roots which
grow in the fields, and hedges, and hill-sides, which are fit to eat.
Then, to give flavour to our birds and rabbits, I can find mushrooms in
abundance, and, indeed, several flavoury seeds and roots. While I think
of it, I can do without pepper; we have some native pepper. I can make