When alive they are a brownish
green, but when boiled they are the colour of the ordinary crab, and are
exceedingly full in flesh, and delicate. The shell is extremely hard
compared to the small size, and the claws must be broken by a sharp blow
with the back of a knife upon a block.
We frequently had them first boiled and then pounded in a mortar to a
paste, then mixed with boiling water and strained through a sieve; after
which cream should be added, together with the required seasonings for a
soup. I imagine that the common green crabs of the English coasts, which
are caught in such numbers and thrown away by the fishermen, would be
almost as good if treated in the same manner for potage.
The calm monotony of a life at Trooditissa was disturbed every now and
then at distant intervals by trifling events which only served to prove
that peculiar characters existed in the otherwise heavenly atmosphere
which showed our connection with the world below.
One night a burglar attempted an entrance; but the man (who was a
carpenter) having been previously suspected, was watched, and having
been seen in the middle of the night to place a ladder against the outer
gallery, by which he ascended, and with false keys opened a door that
led to the store-room of the monastery, he was suddenly pounced upon by
two strong young priests and fairly captured.
Pages:
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464