Note 3 — Chapter VI · THE LANGUEDOCIAN SCORPION: THE PAIRING

Who committed the murder? The Scorpioness, evidently. These are the atrocious customs of the Praying Mantis:3 the lover is stabbed and then eaten, if he does not retire in time. By the exercise of nimbleness and decision, he can do so sometimes, not always. He is able to release his hands, for it is his that squeeze; by lifting his thumbs, he unclasps them. But there remains the diabolical little mechanism of the combs, an apparatus of sensual pleasure, now a trap. On both sides the long teeth of this interlocking gear, closely fitting and perhaps spasmodically contracted, refuse to come apart as promptly as could be wished. The poor fellow is lost.