fen Nn na A Nm Aon Ae Im ENA eR SANNA RANA ————- af HARDY TI Harpy Division of Moflusks Sectional library Division of Mollusks Sectional Library yey 7 te ww: 5G St Hppletons’ home Reading Books EDITED BY WILLIAM T. HARRIS, A.M., LL. D. UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION DIVISION I NATURAL HIsTory eens ABALONES. 1. 3, 4, Cerianthus membranicus— different varieties. 2, Shell and living animal, Haliotis tuberculata. 5, 10, Actinia equina. 6, Actinia cari. 7, Empty shell of Haliotis rufescens. 8, Haliactis bellis. 9, Eloactis mazelii. QL ee APPLETONS’ HOME READING BOOKS Vala iF ————$—$— TT THE HALL OF SHELLS / BY MSH B.S. HARDY AUTHOR OF THREE SINGERS APR 06 i988 LIGRARIES NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1897 a = ae | g 3 2 a wa AAS >" as INTRODUCTION TO THE HOME READING BOOK SERIES BY THE EDITOR. THE new education takes two important direc- tions—one of these is toward original observation, requiring the pupil to test and verify what is taught him at school by his own experiments. The infor- mation that he learns from books or hears from his teacher’s lips must be assimilated by incorporating it with his own experience. The other direction pointed out by the new edu- cation is systematic home reading. It formsa part of school extension of all kinds. The so-called “ Univer- sity Extension” that originated at Cambridge and Ox- ford has as its chief feature the aid of home reading by lectures and round-table discussions, led or conducted by experts who also lay out the course of reading. The Chautauquan movement in this country prescribes a series of excellent books and furnishes for a goodly number of its readers annual courses of lectures. The teachers’ reading circles that exist in many States pre- scribe the books to be read, and publish some analysis, commentary, or catechism to aid the members. Home reading, it seems, furnishes the essential basis of this great movement to extend education Vi vi THE HALL OF SHELLS. beyond the school and to make self-culture a habit of life. Looking more carefully at the difference between the two directions of the new education we can see what each accomplishes. There is first an effort to train the original powers of the individual and make him self-active, quick at observation, and free in his thinking. Next, the new education endeavors, by the reading of books and the study of the wisdom of the race, to make the child or youth a participator in the results of experience of all mankind. These two movements may be made antagonistic by poor teaching. The book knowledge, containing as it does the precious lesson of human experience, may be so taught as to bring with it only dead rules of conduct, only dead scraps of information, and no stimulant to original thinking. Its contents may be memorized without being understood. On the other hand, the self-activity of the child may be stimulated at the expense of his social well-being—his originality may be cultivated at the expense of his rationality. If he is taught persistently to have his own way, to trust only his own senses, to cling to his own opinions heedless of the experience of his fellows, he is pre- paring for an unsuccessful, misanthropic career, and is likely enough to end his life in a madhouse. It is admitted that a too exclusive study of the knowledge found in books, the knowledge which is aggregated from the experience and thought of other people, may result in loading the mind of the pupil with material which he can not use to advantage. EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION. vil Some minds are so full of lumber that there is no space left to set up a workshop. The necessity of uniting both of these directions of intellectual activity in the schools is therefore obvious, but we must not, in this place, fall into the error of supposing that it is the oral instruction in school and the personal influ- ence of the teacher alone that excites the pupil to ac- tivity. Book instruction is not always dry and theo- retical. The very persons who declaim against the book, and praise in such strong terms the self-activity of the pupil and original research, are mostly persons who have received their practical impulse from read- ing the writings of educational reformers. Very few persons have received an impulse from personal con- tact with inspiring teachers compared with the num- ber that have received an impulse from such books as Herbert Spencer’s Treatise on Education, Rousseau’s Emile, Pestalozzi’s Leonard and Gertrude, Francis W. Parker’s Talks about Teaching, G. Stanley Hall’s Pedagogical Seminary. Think in this connec- tion, too, of the impulse to observation in natural sci- ence produced by such books as those of Hugh Miller, Faraday, Tyndall, Huxley, Agassiz, and Darwin. The new scientific book is different from the old. The old style book of science gave dead results where the new one gives not only the results, but a minute account of the method employed in reaching those re- sults. An insight into the method employed in dis- covery trains the reader into a naturalist, an historian, a sociologist. The books of the writers above named have done more to stimulate original research on the Vill THE HALL OF SHELLS. part of their readers than all other influences com- bined. It is therefore much more a matter of importance to get the right kind of book than to get a living teacher. The book which teaches results, and at the same time gives in an intelligible manner the steps of discovery and the methods employed, is a book which will stimulate the student to repeat the ex- periments described and get beyond these into fields of original research himself. Every one remem- bers the published lectures of Faraday on chemistry, which exercised a wide influence in changing the style of books on natural science, causing them to deal with method more than results, and thus to train the reader’s power of conducting original research. Robinson Crusoe for nearly two hundred years has stimulated adventure and prompted young men to resort to the border lands of civilization. A library of home reading should contain books that stimulate to self-activity and arouse the spirit of inquiry. The books should treat of methods of discovery and evo- lution. All nature is unified by the discovery of the law of evolution. Each and every being in the world is now explained by the process of development to which it belongs. Every fact now throws light on all the others by illustrating the process of growth in which each has its end and aim. The Home Reading Books are to be classed as follows: First Division. Natural history, including popular scientific treatises on plants and animals, and also de- EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 1X scriptions of geographical localities. The branch of study in the district school course which corresponds to this is geography. ‘Travels and sojourns in distant lands; special writings which treat of this or that animal or plant, or family of animals or plants; any- thing that relates to organic nature or to meteorol- ogy, or descriptive astronomy may be placed in this class. Second Division. Whatever relates to physics or natural philosophy, to the statics or dynamics of air or water or light or electricity, or to the properties of matter; whatever relates to chemistry, either organic or inorganic—books on these subjects belong to the class that relates to what is inorganic. Even the so- called organic chemistry relates to the analysis of organic bodies into their inorganic compounds. Third Division. History and biography and eth- nology. Books relating to the lives of individuals, and especially to the social life of the nation, and to the collisions of nations in war, as well as to the aid that one gives to another through commerce in times of peace; books on ethnology relating to the manners and customs of savage or civilized peoples; books on the primitive manners and customs which belong to the earliest human beings—books on these subjects be- long to the third class, relating particularly to the hu- man will, not merely the individual will but the social will, the will of the tribe or nation; and to this third class belong also books on ethics and morals, and on forms of government and laws, and what is included under the term civics or the duties of citizenship. xX THE HALL OF SHELLS. Fourth Division. The fourth class of books in- cludes more especially literature and works that make known the beautiful in such departments as sculpture, painting, architecture and music. Literature and art show human nature in the form of feelings, emotions, and aspirations, and they show how these feelings lead over to deeds and to clear thoughts. This de- partment of books is perhaps more important than any other in our home reading, inasmuch as it teaches a knowledge of human nature and enables us to un- derstand the motives that lead our fellow-men to action. To each book is added an analysis in order to aid the reader in separating the essential points from the unessential, and give each its proper share of atten- tion, W. T. Harris. WasuHineTon, D. C., November 16, 1896. PREFACE. Tue changing greens of the ocean, the wim. ple of its waters when at peace, abide among the pleasantest memories of my early childhood. Glimpses into the sea, as pictured by Fouqué, still have fascinations surpassing fact or fiction of these later days. This little book is published with the hope that it may lead to a fuller study of some of the most interesting and most beautiful crea- tions in Nature. Books upon marine shells, either not too expensive or too learned for com- mon use, are few; hence it is hoped that this little volume may help to awaken an interest in the sea and its treasures, which can but grow with the years and afford an ever-widening and deepening source of delight and of profit. Pearls let slip from their broken string, led —in the story—to the hidden casket. So may X1 Xi THE HALL OF SHELLS. these simple studies be like bits of pearly wampum, leading to a thesaurus wherein is a treasure trove. Mrs. A. S. Harpy. UNIONVILLE, OHIO, July, 1897. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I._—FourR PEOPLE AND THE HALL OF SHELLS IJ.—THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE . Il].—Purpuras.—MUREXES I1V.—MIcRoscopic SHELLS . V.—IANTHINA.—TRITONIA VI.—SEA SECRETS VIL—A PortTuGUESE MAN-OF-WAR.—THE MEDUSZ FAM- ILY VIII.— PEARLS.— MoTHER-OF-PEARL IX.—F LOWERS OF THE SEA.—STORY OF THE MERMAID’S EBACE . 3 P F : : X.—Tue ARGonNAUT.—THE NAUTILUS . : XI.—RocKED IN THE CRADLE OF THE DEEP . XII.—Gay, SAD SCHEVENINGEN . XIII.—AN ANCIENT FAMILY. XIV.—BARNACLES : XV.—A SEA FAN AND A SEA PARABLE . ‘ XVL—A _ storM.—RazorR FISHES.—ByYSSUS SPINNERS.— STONE EATERS,—LIGHTED TOMBS. rh =: XVII.—OLIvVEs : : : : XVIII.—GrRowTH OF SHELLS . XX “"TRINGS UNRECK’D OF” 2 «. : XX.—TROUBLE . : : : 3 : ; xiii LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. FACING PAGE Abalones . ; ; 2 . Frontispiece Listening to the smooth- ipa shell; Triton variegatus . 19 Pilgrim wearing his badge of knighthood . » 22 The legend of the Tyrian dye. d : . ; - 28 The comb of pearl . : ‘ : F : : yee ““One-seated shallops whose boatmen have departed” . <7 cee Hydroids and jelly-fish . ‘ : : : : : - | 236 Pearl-producing shells. ‘ ; ; . 64 The mermaid’s lace . : : ; ca hates The argonaut . - ‘ : of Scheveningen shell-gatherer . ; : ; : : . 106 A sea lily. : : : : : : Pye | Fishing for sea cucumbers in the Philippine Islands; Holo- thuride . : : ; : ; : : : ‘pokis Barnacles . ; : : : : ; d : : x 18 A fan gorgon; Hermit crab . : : : : : 4 dot Ianthina communis, or violet snail, with fioat supporting eggs; Patella vulgata; Empty shell of Ianthina; Ensis ensis, or razor shell . ; : ‘ ; : . 139 Conus textile; Conus imperialis ; Oliva ee Oliva por- phyrea; Phasianella ventricosa; Murex princeps . » lot XV ANALYSIS OF HALL OF SHELLS, WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY. THE following paragraphs are intended more as helps to those who may wish to continue studies here begun than as any perfect analysis of chapters. The books which have been especially helpful in preparing these studies are here indicated, and their helpfulness acknowledged. As will be seen, authorities are sometimes referred to and studies suggested which do not relate to shells at all, but from the nature of this little volume have seemed to belong here. CHAPTER I.—Introduction of our friends the Bremelys to the new minister, and the ocean whose name is Peace. Interest in the starfish and the Haliotis begun ; the mouth and stomach of the former indicated, and the nervous sys- tem of the latter. For further understanding of these con- sult zodlogies and encyclopedias. For runes of the North- men read the Sagas, Scandinavian mythology, and Odin, by Carlyle. The works of Fouqué, whom Richter chris- tened ‘The Valiant,” furnish weird and graceful tales of the sea. Read the classics, in original or translations. CHAPTER II.—The Pecten and Patella have been used as plates and drinking vessels at different times and by various nations ; the former served as a badge of knight- hood. The beauty and wonderful construction of the 2 xvii XV THE HALL OF SHELLS. mollusks tenanting these shells surpass the marvelously contrived houses-in which they live. The power of adhe- sion possessed by the Patella and its ability to sustain great weights should be tested by those who have access to seacoasts. Read Mollusca, their Shells, Tongues, Eyes, and Kars, by Philip Henry Gosse, F. R.S. Examine com- mon garden snails, comparing their eyes with those of the Pecten upon the seacoast. CHAPTER III.—The extensive use of Purpuras and Murexes in the ancient dying of purples is shown by the little mountains of shells still lying in vicinities where this industry was plied. The coloring matter—but a drop —contained in a veinlike sac. The Purpura the crest of the city of Tyre. Study Tyre, and learn of the caldron- like cavities in the rocks where these shells were crushed. Compare the shells of this family, noting how the whorls of some of these shells are thickened by varices or nodes, indicating rest periods in growth; also the immense de- velopment of the last whirl in some; the elongated spines in others. CHAPTER IV.—Observe with a strong microscope the beauty of coil and polish in the most minute shells. Where living specimens can be examined the tenants of these diminutive shells will be found to possess as compli- cated and delicate organisms as those of larger growth. Study sand from any sea beach. Shake the sand and atoms from sponges on sale, then count and examine the treasures you will find. CHAPTER V.—Undine finds a “sea horn” among her shells. It is the shell Neptune’s trumpeter is fabled to have used to still the tumult of the sea. Tritonia tritonis used as a teakettle, the operculum its cover. Ianthina fra- . gilis, preserved through the beating of waves and the grinding of sand, bears its egg capsules beneath a float, and buoyed up upon the tossing seas the delicate creatures are born to the purple. The horny operculum of land snails may be seen, and an a! i, ANALYSIS OF HALL OF SHELLS. X1x its connection by strong muscle with the animal tested. Look up in an encyclopzedia how the cartilaginous air vesi- cles composing the egg float of the sea snail are secreted and how attached. CHAPTER VI.—The dip net brings up marvels un- dreamed of before ; the brine and mud become full of les- sons; hydroids, scalaria, stomapod, and Sapphirina give up their secrets. The sea bottom is shown by science to be more than a fairyland. A dip net may be used in study in either salt or fresh water. Read The Bottom of the Sea, by T. Sourel. CHAPTER VII.—The Physalia or Portuguese man-of- war is sometimes driven up from the tropic seas and stranded. It is one of the most interesting of the Meduse family ; armed with poison-filled tentacles which are its weapons of defense, and by them its food is obtained. The study of the Meduse, either in books or actual life, wateh- ing development, will fill many days with delightful em- ployment. In fresh water, common Hydra may be found under leaves of aquatic plants. Cut them in pieces and see their power of reproduction from the severed pieces. Turn them inside out and see the result. CHAPTER VIII.—Origin of pearls was formerly ac- counted for by drops of dew becoming solidified. Pearls are formed over hard, offensive matter within the folds of the mantle, also secreted and used as nacre by the animal in mending points of irritation. Pearls most highly esteemed by all nations and at all times. Pearls are of various colors and each color has its peculiar votaries. The pearl Cleopatra drank questioned by science. The rainbow shells of the Haliotide called Awabi in Japan, abalone in California. The iridescence of their nacreous lining due to the laminations of nacre secreted by the animal and irregularly overlapping in delicate films. Read Precious Stones, by Harry Emanuel. CHAPTER IX.—Term Alge now includes much less than formerly, many specimens once held as vegetable on THE HALL OF SHELLS. now consigned to animal kingdom. Have been variously classified, and the old classifications abandoned or giving place to those relating more particularly to structure and development. Alge draw their sustenance from the water, loving best the quiet seas of temperate zones, and depending upon light for their coloring. Find authority for the story in studies upon the ancient art of Venetian point lace. To secure and preserve the most delicate varieties of seaweed, slip a paper under them while floating in the sea ora dish of water, raise carefully, arranging any imper- fect points with fine camel’s-hair brush or the point of a pin. Kelp must be pressed between oiled paper or pieces of muslin on account of the glue it contains. A gatherer of seaweeds when questioned regarding many varieties replied, ““Oh, nobody knows!” Here, then, is a realm waiting and luring investigation. CHAPTER X.—Argonaut and nautilus—both cephalo- pods—are quite unlike in many points, yet their names have been indiscriminately used. There is a similarity in the form of their shells; that of the argonaut is, however, thin and {brittle, while the shell of the nautilus is thick and strong. This latter is divided into chambers, hence called the chambered nautilus. It is interesting to study the fossil species of these shells. CHAPTER XI.—The family Veneride contains many beauties long ago dedicated to Venus. Varieties of these shells are numerous, but all more or less beautifully seulp- tured and pictured. The value the aborigines attached to the round clam of the Atlantic coast has been preserved in its name Venus mercenaria. Clams may be studied in salt and fresh waters, the number and character of the teeth in their hinges observed. ‘The nervous system can be, with care and patience, worked out in the clam or fresh water mussel.” The family Chitonide are curiously constructed, en- ANALYSIS OF HALL OF SHELLS. Xxi abling the animal to accommodate itself to rounded sur- faces. Its shell consists of eight pieces. CHAPTER XII.—Scheveningen, Holland’s famous and fashionable resort, has its two villages and its two lives. The character of its people seems invigorated by their hard- ships. Its sand dunes, its sand beach, and its novel bath- ing arrangements are well given in Holland and its Peo- ple, by De Amicis. CHAPTER XIJI.—The EHchidermata is a spiny family as well as a family of distinction and beauty, all adhering more or less closely to the example and characteristics of their ancient ancestry. If possible, study living starfish, the fossils of this family, and compare the plan of the leath- ery exterior of Holothurians with the delicate plates of the Echinus miliaris, and examine the spines of the latter and their wonderful adjustment. CHAPTER XIV.—In external appearance barnacles re- semble mollusks, in organism they are crustaceans. The changes accomplished in their various stages are explained in works upon zoology. CHAPTER XV.—The Gordonide, which were long be- lieved to be singular and gorgeous sea plants, are now known as the home and work of polypi. Some grow in long branch- like extensions, others look like network of jewels. Their relatives are the polypi—creators of the corals. The soft bodies of these builders are uniform in structure and close- ly adhere to their enlarged type—the sea anemone. Ex- amine and compare structure of different corals. CHAPTER X VI.—Storms destroy many shells while oth- ers equally fragile are lifted to places of safety upon the crest of the waves. Some burrow in the sand, as the S7- phonida, and are discovered by the jets of water they spout out when disturbed. Others are moored by cables of their own spinning : these are the byssus spinners, and notches may be observed in shells of this kind allowing of the passage of the byssus, which the animal attaches at will. Borers also excavate retreats in wood or rock, even some- xxii THE HALL OF SHELLS. times completely burying themselves in sepulchers of their own making. See tke work of pholades in the columns of the ancient temple of Serapis, at Pozzuolis. CHAPTER X VII.—Among the most beautiful of shells _are those of Olivide. The markings of some suggest delicate cuneiform and picture writing. The external sur- face of these is pictured entirely different from the deco- rations on layers just below. These mollusks have the ability to dissolve away earlier formed volutions. Study olives and cone shells in Structural and Systematic Con- chology, by George W. Tryon. CHAPTER X VIII.—Shells were once parts of the mantle or delicate films secreted by and thrown off from it: these harden, and unite with other tissues previously thrown off. Observe these layers joined to each other as shown in the more solid shell—the Cassides, for example. The color of shells also the secreting work of the man- tle ; tints dependent upon light. Still, how is a mystery. Observe under valves of shells where light has not reached. CHAPTER XIX.—See Land Shells, published by Ameri- can Tract Society, for lessons upon the eyes of snails, and apparent affection among them. Sounds are produced by some varieties of sea slugs. Auditorial nerves are dis- covered in some shellfishes. Their whole surface ex- tremely sensitive. CHAPTER X X.—In the family Cypreide we find the beautiful porcelain shells which change their exquisite markings with different stages of growth. In this family members of the genus Ovulum are beautifully enameled, but lack the coloring of the Cyprea. FOUR PEOPLE AND THE HALL OF.SHELIS. O ever-solitary sea, Of which we all have found Somewhat to dream or say—the type Of things without a bound— Love, long as life, and strong as death ; Faith, humble as sublime; Eternity, whose large depths hold The wrecks of this small Time. Miss MULOCK. And Nature, the old nurse, took The child upon her knee, Saying, “ Here is a story book Thy Father has written for thee.” LONGFELLOW. 2 i: FOUR PEOPLE AND THE HALL OF SHELLS. “Op Neptune’s napping!” said Tom, as he watched the waves that played as lightly as a baby’s fingers with the sands upon the shore. Far out, the sea was blue as bluest ame- thyst; slowly circling toward the land the ~ Waves grew green and opaline; their jewels flashed a moment in the sun and were drawn back again into the sea. Miss Bremely, to whom Tom had spoken, seemed under the same spell as the ocean; her eyes held in their blue depths a dreamy look of peace; the sunshine touched her hair to gold, gave a glint of richness to brow and cheek, and fell in light caress upon her folded hands. _ She answered Tom with a smile, then rous- ing from her reverie, she said, “Our ocean is” for the nonce living up to Magellan’s good opinions and to the name the old navigator gave it so long ago.” 4 THE HALL OF SHELLS. Almost before her sentence was finished, Tom, who spied a stranger working a dip net down the beach, with true boyish instinct had sped away to the scene of interest. Still Miss Bremely mused in the hazy sun- shine, the water lappmg lightly against the rock upon which she sat. Bending over its ledge she gathered tangles of sea kelp the waves laid at her feet. “Thank you, dear old Sea,” she said; “you are gentle and sing like a siren to-day; to-mor- row you may roar like an army of Titans. Ah, well, your calms and silvery tides are all the dearer to us because of your depths we can not fathom, your storms we can not | quell.” Kneeling upon the sand she bent her head until the mecoming waves touched her forehead with their crystal chrism, then rising she took her hamper of shells and started along an as- cending pathway to a cottage not far distant among acacia trees. ‘The cottage was her home. Turning from its main entrance she chose a winding flight of steps leading to a small balcony. There she paused before an open door and a childish voice greeted her with, “O Cousin Ellen, you look lke a mer- maid !” FOUR PEOPLE AND THE HALL OF SHELLS. 5 Miss Bremely’s hands were filled with treasures from the beach and her cheeks flushed to the delicate tint of sea shells, while the kelp she had wound about her hat, trailing down, had caught in the loose wefts of her hair and fell in tangles of color over the gray folds of her gown. But far better than the charm of a mermaid was the gentle grace of a loving spirit which brought sunshine into the room and joy to the child face that lay among the pillows. Following Miss Bremely came Tom. Tom was preciously human, There was no hint of mermen about him. His trousers were rolled to the knees and gave evidence of having been touched by the waves. He carried his hat piled with limpets, spirals, and shining aba- lones, while his many bulging pockets sug- gested scores of hidden treasures. Undine, the child among the pillows, was Tom’s little sister,—though Undine was not her name at all. She was christened Gertrude. It had been her mother’s name, and seemed to _ belong to the little girl whose cheerful spirit and gentle grace made her so like the sweet mother who had been borne away over the mystical seas by the same bark that brought the little girl to earth. Her father’s niece, Miss Bremely, was as mother and companion 6 THE HALL OF SHELLS. to the child, and, seeing her love for the sea, it was she who had called her Undine; and Un.- dine she had become to every one saving her father. To him she was always Gertrude, and the name fell from his lps with a caressing tenderness as if he spoke to the sweet mother in heaven as well as to the child upon earth. Tom’s little sister was as frail as he was sturdy, and to alleviate the child’s weariness when constrained to lhe for months among her pulows, Miss Bremely wove her tales of the sea. At one time it was arune of the North- men, terrible with dragon ships, jétuns, and stormy seas, but beautiful with love and valor. At another it was a bit of classic lore made so simple and charming that Undine forgot her pain and longed for the time when she could read such wonderful stories herself. But even more fascinating than these were the descrip- tions of coral groves through which the Undine of Fouqué’s charming stories walked, and the gardens, fathoms down, where gay-tinted flow- ers of the sea unfolded their delicate frondlike branches, independent alike of sunshine and shower. She had wondered why such gardens grew far from any mortal sight, and Miss Bremely answered : FOUR PEOPLE AND THE HALL OF SHELLS. 7% “There may be eyes that read these gospels Other than the eyes of men.” When the child was busy, one day, sorting her shells, Miss Bremely told her of Ossian’s lordly cave with its “hall of shells where kings and warriors feasted,” and Undine had asked that, because of her love for the sea and be- cause her name was that of a sea maiden, her room might be a hall of shells. Her cousin consented upon the conditions that Undine learn the names and what she could of the haunts and habits of her treasures. So Un- dine’s room, opening toward the ocean, became a little hall of shells, and those who loved her brought their treasures into it, until it was growing to look like an ocean cave or a mer- maid’s dae room, It was here that Miss Bpahely and ‘Tom came after their walk upon the strand. Miss Bremely placed her basket of shells upon a table by the bed, while Tom, with more devo- tion than discretion, dumped his dripping treas- ures upon the coverlet before his sister. Miss Bremely’s smothered “O Tom!” was unheard as Tom, with hands deep in his bulging pockets, exclaimed : “Old Pacific must have been thinking about you, Undine; our cove was full of 8 THE HALL OF SHELLS. shells. Guess [ve found you some new ac- quaintances. Just look at that beauty—pink as a flower! The new minister was down on the beach. He said that shell was a great tray- eler and had come from the tropic seas. “Undine, that minister knew me! Said he saw me at church. I didn’t s’pose ministers ever saw boys. Our other minister never did. I wouldn’t wonder if Dr. McLean—that’s the new minister’s name—knew “inost as much as Cousin Ellen does about the ocean and its in- habitants. He showed me where to look to find the mouth and stomach of a starfish; they are right handy together, I tell you! He says starfish are very fond of oysters. You wouldn’t s’pose they could open an oyster shell, would you? But they can; they just put that queer mouth of theirs close to the closed edge of the oyster shell and inject a bitter liquid into the shell; Mr. Oyster don’t like the dose and opens his valves, in walks the starfish and eats ‘oys- ter on the half shell’ without as much as a thank you! Dr. McLean says these starfish have a cousin that grows on a long stem like a flower. “See all these rainbow colors,” he con- tinued, displaying a brilliant Halotis. “ Dr. McLean says the animal that lived in this shell FOUR PEOPLE AND THE HALL OF SHELLS. 9 had a heart and a digestive and nervous sys- tem. He told me what these little ‘ portholes’ along the top are for, and showed me where to look to find a limpet’s eyes. “T never knew before that ministers cared about shells. I didn’t s’pose they could talk about much, ’cept ’Gyptians, Hebrews, and orig- nal sin!” After a moment’s pause, he added con- vincinely, “ Dr. McLean’s very interesting for a minister.” | By this time Tom’s pockets were emptied, and Undine’s eyes sparkling over her treasures ; the strands of kelp, too, were untangled from Miss Bremely’s hat and hair. They proved to be very fine specimens, and were placed in a press to dry, with strips of muslin on either side to prevent their adhering to the paper of the press. Shells are at once the attraction of the untutored sav- age, the delight of the refined artist, the wonder of the philosophic zodlogist, and most valued treasure of the geologist. They adorn the sands of the sea-girt isles and continents now; and they form the earhest “ footprints on the sands of time” in the history of our globe.—CarR- PENTER. . . . L have seen A curious child applying to her ear The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shel], To which, in silence hushed, her very soul Listened intently and her countenance soon Brightened with joy ; for murmuring from within Were heard sonorous cadences, whereby, To her belief, the monitor expressed Mysterious union with its native sea. W ORDSWORTH, 12 um i is THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE. Nature reveals most wonderful secrets to those who love her. Undine, bending over her treasures with glowing face, uttered many an exclamation of surprise and delight as she discovered new friends, or had charming se- crets revealed to her from the lips of old. She amused herself by arranging upon her tray a score or more of shells, delicately tinted, fair and shining as the rarest china, and not very dissimilar in shape to many of the dainty dishes of the day. “Come, Cousin Ellen,” she exclaimed, “and see my mermaid’s tea service !” “Others than the Nereids have eaten and drank from beautiful vessels like these,” said her cousin. “This,” she continued taking a shell from the tray, “is a Pecten, or scallop. One variety of Pecten served as a drinking cup in early times, and when the ancient chief- tain, Ossian, with his ae cuests, ‘struck his 14 THE HALL OF SHELLS. ~ sounding shells,’ and when in his hall the ‘shell of kings was heard,’ it was probably such scallop cups the warriors clashed. “ Another Pecten was called the pilgrim’s shell, and was used by the early Crusaders as both plate and goblet. This shell was some- times from four to five inches broad, and found in abundance on the coast of Palestine. It was also worn upon the front of the hat as a badge of knighthood by those who had performed the sacred pilgrimages or visited a shrine of St. James. This latter gave it the additional name of St. James’s shell, its proper name being Pecten Jacobeus. “The name Pecten means comb, and has been given these shells because of the appear- ance of ribs ornamenting the surface of many varieties. “But beautiful as are these shells, the mol- lusks living in such houses as these are even more beautiful and instructive. “By quick opening and shutting of its valves the little animal moves through the water. When ‘at home’ the pretty creature hes upon one side, its two valves open far enough to admit of our peering in; there we see delicate white frmges waving this way and that, withdrawn and again floating over the THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE. 15 edge of the shell. These are called tentacles, and among them can be discerned tiny and brilliant points which are shown by the lens to shine like diamonds, each rimmed in a setting of red. These are the eyes of the scallop, and Divine thought has protected them by the over- hanging shell rim as kindly and carefully as human eyes are shielded. “ We sometimes find the bright yellow eggs of this little animal, looking not unlike the roe of some fishes, but carefully deposited among the ruffles of the interior. “The dainty dishes of your tea service are not all Pectens, however; here are limpets tinted and polished above the most famous china. Patelle, or limpets, are found in many varie- ties ; one upon the western coast of South Amer- ica is a foot in diameter, and often serves as a dish. Indeed the name Patella signifies a dish. “One is called the ‘cup-and-saucer limpet’ because of the cuplike formation in the inte- rior’ of the saucerlike shell. Another here upon your tray is called the ‘keyhole limpet’ on account of the tiny aperture you see in the apex of the shell. “Shells of this family have long been used as ornaments as well as dishes. Necklaces 16 THE HALL OF SHELLS. have been strung of them, and such are found in some of the most ancient sepulchers. “When you are well enough to go down to the beach you will wonder at the power of adhesion possessed by these little limpets, for it is impossible to remove them from the rocks without breaking their shells unless they are surprised by sudden seizure. “Some authorities say this is owing to the large round foot of the Patella, hie is very muscular and possessed of a viscous secretion which aids it as a sucker. The perfectly even edge of the shell keeps it tight agaist the rock, while ‘the power of treating a vacuum’ a problem too old for your young head— is said also to enter imto the operation. Others attribute the adhesion to no.muscular action, but chiefly to the ‘invisible glue which exudes from the granulated base of the sole of its foot,’ as the expansion upon which the ani- mal moves is called. We find upon removing one.of these little creatures from the rocks that a sticky secretion is left where the limpet clung. This gluelike substance is soon dis- solved by the action of the sea water. “A weight of from twenty-eight to thirty pounds has ‘been suspended from the shell of a limpet attached to a stone; the weight was THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE. 17 sustained by the plucky little animal for some seconds. Whatever theory may be correct in accounting for the strength with which these little creatures cling to their rocky home, we can wholly agree with Wordsworth who wrote: — | ‘“ Should the strongest arm endeavor The limpet from its rock to sever, Tis seen its loved support to clasp With such tenacity of grasp, We wonder that such strength should dwell In such a small and simple shell! “When the water covers his weather-worn dome, the limpet does a-walking go; but always returns to the same spot upon the rock and re- mains fixed while the tides are out, as its gills were never made for breathing air. When the rocks are soft, the little limpet wears away not only his ‘door stone,’ but its circular little dome reposes in a cavity which its muscular foot scoops out, and which the shell exactly fits. “Who would guess this silent little creature possessor of a tongue twice as long as its shell ? Stranger still, this ribbonlike tongue is fur- nished with rows of teeth. The Patella vulgaris of the British Isles has one hundred and sixty rows of teeth upon its tongue, and twelve teeth in a row, making its entire ‘set’ to consist of 18 THE HALL OF SHELLS. nineteen hundred and twenty teeth. When not in use mowing the rocks which are coated with seaweed, the tongue with its rows of shin- ing teeth is comfortably coiled away in its mys- terious and wonderfully contrived interior.” “T never guessed my mermaid’s dishes held such a feast of wisdom,” laughed Undine. “ Your pretty shells are finer than the rarest china, and suggest others that have been simi- larly used in the early days of our country. “There are two varieties of pear conch upon the Atlantic coast—the Fulgur carica and the Fulgur canaliculatus—which the aborigines used as drinking vessels. From the pearly sur- faces of these shells their white wampum was cut, which was the shell money as well as charmed ornament of the Indians; knives were also cut from these shells.” Through the open door Undine caught glimpses of the sea and exclaimed : “Dear old Ocean, how I love you! What treasures you send me! And, Cousin Ellen, you are my good genie who charm away my pains; the stories you tell me are better than fairy tales and make me forget that I am not strong. I seem, like the old German’s Undine, to wander away with the ocean sprites and to know their mysterious and happy life. The ql LISTENING TO THE SMOOTH-LIPPED SHELL. TRITON VARIEGATUS. THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE. 19 sea shouts and laughs and beckons to me, even my shells are full of sea songs;” and she held a chambered shell to her ear, talking of its plaintive murmur, so like the breaking of Waves upon a far-off coast. : A few minutes later she was asleep, the shell still held to her ear, and a smile upon her lips—a sign of the pleasantness of her voyage over sleep’s mysterious sea. This is what she saw: A quaint little crea- ture came up out of the waves and stood upon the sand. It looked like a bit of a crumpled veil, a weird little wraith made up of frills and rutiles, but with a foot so large as to sug- gest a mistake had been made in the adjust- ment. Undine, with her love for all manner of sea tenants, smiled a welcome, then waited curiously, uncertain what might be the next propriety in view of her guest being incognito, Presently a voice, finer than the vibration of a spider’s silken string, came to Undine between the noise of the waves, and the little visitor announced : “7 built that pearly palace you are holding in your hand ; J painted its walls and tinted the ceiling of its chambers. It was my home for years, how many you can tell by counting the 90 THE HALL OF SHELLS. thickened varices upon its surface, each of which marks a year of my life and the season of rest that came to me after my toils. I pride myself no one could have fashioned a fairer dwelling, and when at length I was torn from it I left its halls filled with memories. ‘Those smallest coils echo with the songs of life’s morning; its joys as well as its sorrows are all repeated there. Upon one side you may see a pearly scar. It was there that a borer pierced my walls while the shell was yet tender. The thrills of horror of that moment still haunt those small chambers, Rescue came and I lived to mend the broken wall, but you will see the scar remains. “Later the walls of my citadel were again pierced and the horrible borer once more sought my life; but again I was delivered. This time I had grown too large for these small chambers, and if you will carefully ex- amine the interior of my house you will see a partition is built shutting off the broken and outgrown chambers. ‘Those are painful memo. ries, and mingled with the merrier music in the coils you may hear cries that are wild and plaintive. “Upon the island sands where I was cast I once heard a wise man say, ‘Sorrow gives some od THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE. 21 of the sweetest strains to life’s music.’ I do not know. You may listen and learn for yourself. “The next room is filled with the singing of sirens and laughter of sea nymphs as they leap from crag to crag under the sea. If you listen well you may catch, too, the sigh of a sailor boy as he fell asleep. “The outer whirls and the vestibule re- tain the pleasant murmur of winds through palms and spice trees of a sea-girt island, the pleasant lapping of waves upon the sand, and the laughter of bathers in the surf. Through all and above all is heard the ceaseless roar of the ocean. “T can not explain to you the mysterious union between myself and my native sea, whereby sighs and sobbings as from a heart oppressed become forever my heritage. “But the gray old sea has a secret, a mys- terious and terrible sorrow. By the thought of it he is transformed, and white with rage he breaks rocks to atoms and tears continents ir his fury. Again he falls to sobbing so piteous- ly that we all sob with him. ‘The secret of his sorrow is a long, sad tale; but I will tell it to you, and why he moans and raves, why he sobs and sighs. Listen!” 22, THE HALL OF SHELLS. At this up sped a white wave from the sea. It caught the little ruffled and frilled wraith of the shell, and with a single sweep drew her into its darkest depths, out of sight forever. A limpet, Patella vulgata, with its dome- like house, is shown in our engraving, in which are also the sea snails and the razor-shell. The illustration of the Palmer or Pilgrim shows the manner in which scallop shells were worn as badges of a holy knighthood. An empty St. James’s shell—/Pecten Jacobeus— hes in the left foreground of the picture, while in the right is a shell with its living immate, displaying the delicate fringelike tentacles as seen playing lightly in the water when the valves of the shell are shghtly opened. Between these lies a /’usus or spindle shell, well named—long, slender, thin-lipped, and without varices. Upon each side are arranged several species of Serpula, which look like little stone ser- pents with their plumed and crimson crests. Annelids they are, their shelly, twisted tubes twining round and fastening themselves upon shells, stones, and other submarine objects, sometimes completely covermg them. The dwellers in these calcareous, contorted tubes Pe: \ PILGRIM WEARING HIS BADGE OF KNIGHTHOOD. THE MERMAID’S TEA SERVICE. oo are themselves gay with color; indeed, the sea folk in general delight in rich and delicate hues, if we may judge from their beautifully painted bodies and dwellings. The tubelike homes which these gay sea worms inhabit, are of their own construction from lime and cement which their bodies se- crete, and each is furnished with a curious door which the owner of the fortress is able to close upon the slightest alarm with lhghtning rapidity. The different varieties of Serpula are inter- esting and attractive embellishments to our aquariums, and the marvelous arrangement of delicate membranes and muscular fibers of these extremely sensitive organisms well repay our study. XES. i E 7 7) a re PURPU t w= bh Ft 3 Pe - one LY f ny: er a My : Zo ata . . ave ve! ive 4 ayy i ‘eo a y » > ; eee dele) vn ®t bee The beggar wears thy purple as his own. Miss MULOCK. Who would be A mermaid fair, Singing alone, Combing her hair Under the sea, In a golden curl With a comb of pear] ? TENNYSON. 26 HE PURPURAS.—MUREXES. Looxrne over the shells upon the table, Miss Bremely found a pretty tuberculated shell of the Muricide family. She told Undine its name— Purpura emarginata. “Tt has a pretty relative,” said Miss Breme- ly, “which is used by the South Sea Islanders as a drinking cup, and both belong to that famous family which yielded the royal purple dye anciently so highly prized by those who wore ‘soft raiment’ and dwelt in ‘kings’ houses.’ “'The dye was a colorless fluid which became purple upon exposure to the sun; it was but a drop, and secreted in a veinlike sac near the head of the little AZwrex. No wonder that purple stuffs were costly, being valued, we are told, as high as two hundred dollars a pound. “To-day, beside the ruined city which gave its name to these pulps he other ruins—piles 4 98 THE HALL OF SHELLS. of shattered homes of the Mu urex trunculus or Tyrian rock shell. “The centuries have preserved a pretty the colormg of purple. It has an idyllic charm, and brings the people of that old city, whose crest was a Purpura shell, near enough to be our kin. depre dators. ' MICROSCOPIC SHELLS. ‘. ay Pat re-wl iq aN oe ate : Nothing imperfect or deficient left ‘ Of all that He created. MILTON. Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God ; But only he who sees takes off his shoes. Mrs. BROWNING. 82 INV. MICROSCOPIC SHELLS. Tue sand among the shells was brushed into a tray, and with a microscope Undine found it contaimed tiny shells with colors and coils equaling even the large spirals and irides- cent abalones which had so taken 'Tom’s fancy. Miss Bremely told her that in a pound of sand taken from the Adriatic, by computation two hundred thousand individuals were found ; many more must have suffered wreck from the rough tossing and rubbing of the waves and sand. In an ounce of sand from Cape May it was estimated over thirty-five thousand indi- viduals of a single species were discovered. She was told that the sands of some beaches are composed almost entirely of shells, vari- ously and perfectly formed, while the compli- cated organisms and harmonious contrivances of the animals inhabiting them must fill the beholder with amazement. Undine sat for a long time picking one 33 34 THE HALL OF SHELLS. speck after another out of the sand, her aston- ishment and delight ever mcreasing as she found such tiny spirals beautifully polished or - clear as glass, with every coil perfect. Baby bivalves were there with carvings so delicate only a strong glass could trace them. From some of the shells finest of threadhke feelers protruded, showing such living atoms as per- fect and as wonderful as are the houses they inhabit. “QO Cousin Ellen!” she exclaimed, as the revelation overwhelmed her, “how precious our world must be to God! He has crowded even its unseen places with such beauty and made so perfect, things no human eye can see!” “His wonderful works teach of him with- out whom ‘was not anything made that was made,” replied her cousin. “In them he gives us glimpses of his character. In his creations, ‘never more great than when m1- nutely great,’ he shows us his love for what is perfect—the beautiful we callit. He keeps these examples everywhere before us, as if he would lure us to love what is perfect and to become such ourselves.” IANTHINA.—TRITONIA. a Gs. ‘ Se ee Bete a * a cs ‘ 2 Walled by ranks of steadfast giants, 2 Fringed by leagues of shining sea. = Anon. 2 b Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea, E45 % Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. apes : WORDSWORTH, ia 36 ; ‘5 a oe Gg |) oe VW IANTHINA.—TRITONIA. In another land—beloved of the Bremelys —it was winter. In their California home the petals of flowers fell light as snowflakes, and the roaring of the ocean was to them in place of the tumult of the north wind. To the east of them blue mountains en- camped, with their feet among flowers and their broad shoulders to the siroccos that swept over the plain. Mr. Bremely hoped in this valley of flowers, roses might flush his little daughter's cheeks, where through all the ten years of her life only hlies had bloomed. , At the close of his busy days her room was the sacred spot to which he hastened, and while he bent over her couch or her golden | head rested upon his shoulder, he looked with a longing that was pain, for signs of coming strength which physicians had prophesied might follow this sojourn by the sea. | 37 38 THE HALL OF SHELLS. Every evening the child rejoiced in receiv- ing some simple token of the love that had filled his thoughts all day. Sometimes it was fruit grown mellow and sweet in California’s amber sun, or a cluster of roses fragrant as love. This evening of which we write a box of shells was before her, and her father rejoiced in seeing her eyes sparkle as the eyes of happy children who are well. She took a long, pointed shell from the box, exclaiming, “Cousin Ellen, papa has brought me a sea horn to call my mermaids to their banquet!” And placing the shell to her lips she blew mimic rounds upon her horn until a flush came into her cheeks, and seeing it her father’s eyes were dim for Joy. “You pretty purple thing,” she said, as she selected another shell from ae callecnen her father had brought her, “are you a shell at all, I wonder, or are you a sea violet?” The greater part of the shell that she held in her hand was purple as the veins in her wrist, but to add to its delicate beauty the spire was shaded to white. “ Tanthina fragilis is its name, or the ‘sea snail’ it is sometimes called,” said her Cousin Ellen. “It is one of the daintiest and most IANTHINA.—TRITONIA. 39 fragile things that sails the seas. Its thin, pellucid, gossamerlike shell can not bear the rough handling of the waves. The snail that lives in this amethystine house swims by means of an air float secreted by and attached to its foot. To the under side of this float the egg capsules are securely fastened, and here the baby Janthina is ‘ born to the purple.’ “Your trumpet shell 1s a Zrdtonza, and in- stead of sounding for a banquet, mythology says the Tritons who lived in a golden palace at the bottom of the sea often blew it at com- mand of Neptune to soothe the restless waves.” “J have read that the largest of these trumpet shells are used as tea kettles by the people of the Typinsan Archipelago,” said Mr. Bremely. “The shell has a wire or thong at- tached to each extremity, and is hung upon a hook above the fire. The operculum is the lid of this artistic tea kettle, while the spire serves as its spout.” “We might imagine sea gods resenting this common use of their ‘wreathed horn,’ and “To the smooth, bright sand beguiled, raising a ‘tempest in the tea kettle,’ ” laughed Miss Bremely. “On the contrary,” replied her uncle, “I 40 THE HALL OF SHELLS. fancy the shell that has been honored in my- thology, painted by artists, and sung in poet’s lays, now appreciating the beauty there is in homely use, and when the fire is on and the water hot, sending forth sweeter songs than when at the mouth of even Neptune’s trump- eter himself.” The scientific name of this artistic tea kettle is Triton tritonis. Another variety, smaller but beautifully variegated and mottled, is the Zriton varie- gatus, whose habitat is the tropic sea in vicinity of the Philippine Islands. on) 2 oe je) e a = DQ pau es neice ee ew Sop Cn a) ey When bearded mists divide, ’ | Leave another’s eyes and fetch your own. . EMERSON. } . ‘ What swimmeth below os : , When the tide comes in ? a i Anon. { 42 | "FPN yh SSD ol] ; : . m bi 4 th Weve om " 4. ial “ul 5 4 all ce A? Al (ae “ ra Pee ANA MMT deere See PT came ViQc TS PY VI. SEA SECRETS. Weeks passed quickly into months. Every hour was charmed. Undine no longer spent the long golden days among her pillows, but with rounded cheeks and lips growing red as cherrres she grew each week more and more like the rich roses and sun-kissed fruits of that happy valley. As for Tom, his interest in the sea and in min- isters steadily deepened. He spent many hours upon the beach with ever-increasing delight, often in company with the new minister. “Dr. McLean don’t feed a fellow on the bare bones of wisdom,” he assured Undine. “He tells just what one wants to know, and makes it so plain a poor chap like me under- stands what he’s talking about. I’m s’prised that ministers know so much about such inter- esting things.” “ Cousin makes things very plain, and tells 5 43 44 THE HALL OF SHELLS. charming stories, too, about the sea,” ventured Undine. “Oh, course Cousin Ellen’s nice,” responded Tom; “but she can’t go out and dig in the shoals and dredge and dip like the doctor.” Undine had no desire to depreciate their good friend, for she, like Tom, had learned to love him dearly, and was greatly interested in what he told them of the old sea’s secrets, Dr. McLean was a faithful pastor and a diligent student. His hours upon the strand were his recreation, and the little dip net and improvised dredge brought up for him many things other than “elices and hydroids. To him the ocean with its vivid and changing pages was full of the thoughts of God, and he went down to its study reverently, with the thought in his heart, “The sea is his and he made it,” and it thus became to him full of sweet sermonry. To the boy and girl whose lessons had been tossed to them by the waves in the shape of shells and seaweeds, these implements—the dip net and the dredge—opened a new world of wonders. ‘To the ignorant, the brine and mud in the trawl would have disclosed only wrig- cling bits of transparency, tiny beads of glass, opaque or shining, atoms of quicksilver, and i SEA SECRETS. A’ wisps of nothingness; but science detected hydroids, delicate scalaria, worm cases, salpz, infant scallops, and marvels of embroidered embryo known only to science. The most precious and promising of these in jars of sea water awaited honorable investigation, while as to the remainder, with a flat rock serving for their table, the three strained and stirred, mag: nified and marveled over the common looking sand and muddy looking mud, “the maximum of interest being reached,” Cousin Ellen de- clared, “when a boy actually forgot the de- mands of his own stomach in investigating the stomach of a stomapod !” When the auspicious day dawned in which the treasures waiting in their tanks of sea water were to give up their secrets, the teacher and the children sat at a long table with strainers, saucers, pincers, and microscopes before them, while expectation and delight were upon their faces. After examining and explaining’ several minute organisms and admiring delicate and snow-white scalaria, so small as to tax the mi- croscope and yet perfect in every convolution, “This,” said the man of science, extricating from its muddy cradle an atom of transpar- ency, “is the Sapphirina ovatolanceolata.” 46 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “Oh, please drop his baptismal name,” in- terrupted Tom. “Can’t see such a little chap if he has a whole alphabet piled up before him !” When the small individual with the dis- tinguished name was arranged for inspection the doctor explained: “It is one of the glow- worms that at night frmge the waves with gold or hang their lamps m the coral groves and the seaweed gardens.” His listeners were eager for another of the fairy tales of science, and he continued: “ Beautiful as are the ocean depths by the hght of day, it is left for mght to reveal marvels of beauty and_ brillianey transcending the most vivid and gorgeous of earthly panoramas. “Tt is not strange that fairy lore and tales of wonder ascribe to the sea charmed gardens and palaces glittermg with gold and gems. Even their wealth of imagery fails to picture the brilhancy of the scene when under the canopy of night a strange carnival of light begins. The sea, then, has no dark and shadowy cor- ners. Unattractive little brown beings searce- ly noticed before, are changed as by magic into flowers of fire and fruit of gold upon the branching coral trees. Sea anemones hang their gorgeous blossoms over the reefs or wave SEA SECRETS. 47 their mimic rose-hued petals in what seems a gentle breeze. Dainty fronded ‘sea ferns,’ too delicate it would appear to bear their own weight, are strung with what look like jeweled beads, or hung with infinitesimal electric lamps — that burn and flash with intensest brilliancy. “Under such floods of phosphorescent light the pink and purple of the seaweeds take on more vivid tints, and what was brown before grows rich-hued as tints of autumn are. “Upon ‘the diamond ledges that jut from these dells,’ the self-luminous Meduse and mi- croscopic crustaceans seem signaling to each other by lights of every hue which flicker and wane but to flash again with brighter glow.” God hath so many ships upon the seas! His are the merchantmen that carry treasures, The men-of-war, all bannered gallantly, The little fisher boats, and barks of pleasure— On all this sea of time there is not one That sailed without his glorious name thereon. CARL SPENCER. Beneath the sunlit wave she swims concealed By her own brightness ; only now revealed To sage’s eye that gazes with delight On things invisible to vulgar sight. DRUMMOND. 50 = | 7 br Mi nye ay a ahaa i ad . aes 1 ON s*. i i ““QNE-SEATED SHALLOPS WHOSE BOATMEN HAVE DEPARTED.” VET. A PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR, THE MEDUSA FAMILY. “A PortrucursE man-of-war has been stranded below on the beach,” announced Mr. Bremely, one evening upon his return home. “Tt will pay you all to go down and see it.” Tom hastened to impart the information to Dr. McLean, who promised to join the excur- sion in the morning. He came and met Un- dine with the words: “I have brought a Crep- dula in which to convey our Aphrodite to the scene of interest; it would be too long a walk for her.” Undine laughingly answered: “I know what a Crepidula is! I have some of the shells in my cabinet; they look like fairy boats with a seat in one end, and Cousin Ellen told me they had been called ‘one-seated shallops whose boatmen had departed.’ You mean I am to ride in something nice; but why call me Aphro- dite? I don’t know about that long word.” 52 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “ Aphrodite,” explained the doctor, “was a maiden lovely and loving, whom the old Greeks said sprang from the foam of the sea: her car was represented as drawn by a dove or a spar- row or sometimes a swan. Who or what will keep us company and be like the dove or the swan I’m sure I don’t know.” “Cousin Ellen is like a dove,” lovingly whispered Undine. Dr. McLean glanced across at the gentle lady in the soft gray gown, and the expression upon his face told that he agreed with Undine. Tom questioned, “What kind of a boat 1s the Portuguese man-of-war? I can see neither steam nor sail along our beach,” he added dis- appointedly. “We shall find our craft none the less,” re- phed Dr. McLean. After passing down the beach for some dis- tance ‘Tom suddenly darted toward the water's edge, shouting: “The loveliest tangles of sea- weed! All colors!” “Tom, stop! Don’t touch that!” exclaimed Dr. McLean in a voice so stern and command- ing that Tom stopped at once, startled and troubled. He never had heard the minister speak with such severity before. Coming to Tom’s side the party now saw a singularly A PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 53 beautiful object stranded, just low enough to be washed over by the waves. Long ribbon- like streamers and fringes, purple and rosy pink, floated out for yards beyond its richly colored body. Dr. McLean explained that the Portuguese man-of-war was a jellyfish be- longing to the class Acelephe, which means nettles, many members of this class possessing a stinging power which makes the name appro- priate. “Tom,” he continued, “those beautiful threadlike filaments, which at a glance you took for seaweeds, are filled with little cells, and each cell is a tiny armory where its death-dealing weapon is kept. If you had touched but one of those beautifully fringed appendages, even very softly, every little cell thus touched would have burst open, thrusting its poison-charged weapon into your flesh. “These poison-filled tentacles are its weapons of defense and are also used in obtaining its food. ‘The sea animal wounded by a sting from these lasso cells soon dies and is devoured by this singular creature. “The home of the Portuguese man-of-war is in the tropics, and only occasionally does one drift so far into the colder currents. Another day we will return and see how much is left of this gay privateer. 54 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “The whole Medusw family are very curi- ous and interesting, but none more so than the Physalia—our acquaintance of to-day,” con- tinued the doctor, losing no opportunity of instructing the children, who were delighted with the tales he told then. “Instances of the stinging powers of this inoffensive-looking crea- ture are given, which show that Tom may con- gratulate himself that he was prompt i obey- ing orders. There is a story told of a young sailor who, attracted as Tom was by the beauty of this jellyfish, sprang into the sea to capture it as it passed near the ship. When he reached it the creature entangled him in its threadlike filaments; in an agony of pain he cried for help and had barely been drawn on to the vessel when the intensity of the inflammation pro- duced by the stings of these tentacles occa- sioned brain fever. “The different members of this family in- habit all seas. Some of them are very large, reaching to. two feet across the disk, with their tentacular appendages extending like threads of many colors; others of diminutive size float in immense shoals, and with their phospho- rescence illumine the sea till every wave is ‘a flash of golden fire. There seems no end to the number and variety of these brilliant little . el de util : A PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 55 creatures resembling drops of animated ice, tiny crystals of jelly, or floating jewels. Close study reveals in them organisms quite as mar- velous as are possessed by sea beauties of larger erowth. Some looking like translucent glob- ules are furnished with bands of membranous fins or pellucid paddles whose ever-varying mo- tion, under the play of light upon their glitter- ing surfaces, gives them all the hues of a prism. “ Others are like fairy umbrellas of clearest crystal dotted with yellow specks along the margin; these the sages say are eyes. Fring- ing tentacles, more than a dozen times the length of the disk, float about them and shim- mer like threads of fine-spun glass. To com- plete the fairylike umbrella the queer little stomach of the medusa hangs like a tiny handle from its center with the knoblike mouth at its extremity. Through the trans- parent canals we can see what this medusa had for breakfast and watch the process of digestion. “The helpful lens enables.us to trace the jellyfish through all its glittering transitions— from the egg or gemmule to the time when, tired of a sedentary, budding existence, it re- turns to the ‘original type’ and shoots off in- dependently. 56 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “The immense shoals of these microscopic animals not only help at night to produce what is called the ‘phosphorescent sea,’ but by the light of day give their color to the waves. Thus the variety known as ‘whale food’ red- den the sea for miles, and when whalers per- ceive their ruddy hue upon the waves they realize they have reached the ‘pastures of the whales.’ ” By this time their walk had ended and Tom announced his “think tank full.” When the party again visited the spot where they had left the Portuguese man-of-war, the chil- dren could find no trace of their singular ac- quaintance, and but for wiser companions would have returned home in disappoimtment. They were shown, however, several filmy ob- jects, scarcely more than an inch across, flat, flabby, and semitransparent. These they learned were the air sacs of their jellyfish, and were told that even a medusa, weighing several pounds and with many yards of tentacles, when he dropped his “mortal coil” left only sea water and air sacs; these latter Tom presented to Undine as “the skeleton of the Portuguese man-of-war.” The colony of Hydroids growing about a truncated harp shell in our engraving gives a ND JELLY-FISH. HyYDROIDS A A PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 57 very good idea of the delicacy and beauty of some of these organisms, while above the Hy- droids and the harp shell float what look like shimmering balloons, airy, fairy enough to bear “sylphs and fays beyond the moon.” These are jellyfish—JM/eduse—first pro- duced as buds upon the Hydroid, where they enlarge, until at length they become detached and float away. Some Hydroids cast upon our sea beaches and preserved in collections might be taken for seaweeds, they are so delicate, were it not for their horny external coverings. The cockelle, with heavenly dew so clene Of kynde, engendereth white pearls rounde. Old poem. When we see such forms as these we hardly like to think that they are secreted by some slimy mollusk, but would imagine that the mermaids tear off pieces of the rainbows where they touch the sea, and carry them to the cold depths to congeal them into shells—H. A. Ward’s Catalogue of Species. 60 VLE PEARLS.—MOTHER-OF-PEARL. F'ascINATING as was microscopic study, Tom lost none of his admiration for the abalones, so lustrous and iridescent, while Undine looked for seed pearls in every bivalve that came into her hands. Dr. McLean told them the pearly lining of the abalones was called mother-of-pearl, or nacre, while true pearls were the product of different bivalves, the best “solidified drops of dew,” as the Orientals call them—being found in the pearl oyster (Avicula margarv- tifera). “ According to an ancient fable,” continued the doctor, “oysters rose to the surface of the water, opened their shells, and received the drops of dew which were speedily transformed to ‘white pearls rounde.’ In recognition of this fable Thomas Moore wrote: ‘Precious their tears as rain from the sky That turns into pearls as it falls in the sea. 61 62 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “ Another theory has been that pearls were always the result of a grain of sand or some irritating substance entering the shell; the ani- mal, unable to discharge it, converted it into a pearl. Hence we are told: “Learn from yon Orient shell to love thy foe, And strew with pearls the hand that brings thee woe. This is beautifully suggestive, yet seems to be only haif the story. While irritating sub- stances are known to be covered by nacre it 1s believed all pearls are not the result of irrita- tion, but are secreted by the mollusk and held ready to be dissolved by powerful acids, which are also of the animal’s secretion, for spreading over openings made in their shells by the borer. “Injured shells are often found with their points of irritation covered with thin lamina- tions of this nacreous matter. “ Pearl fishers tell us the little pearl maker is, sometimes at least, able to expel his jewel at will, and often does so when captured ; un- derstanding this, the fisher places his hand over the shell so as to close its valves or secure the pearl if ejected. “ After possessing himself of all the pearls in old mussels—the old being the most produce- tive—the gatherer sometimes deposits the mol- PEARLS.—MOTHER OF PEARL. 63 lusks in safe and convenient coves where he may gather the pearls for several years in suc- cession from the same shells. “The Chinese, understanding the ability of these pearl mussels to cover hard substances with their fluid secretion, which soon hardens into mother-of-pearl, or nacre, bring their wiles to bear upon a species of fresh-water mussel— the Unio Hyria—compelling it to manufacture pearls to their order. “They keep the little Unto in tanks, and place small shot, bits of shell, and other sub- stances between the mantle and the valve; these particles are soon converted into pearls by the industrious little gem maker. “They carry their ‘ways that are dark’ still further, and by means of the work of the innocent little Unio they impose upon the credulous and superstitious minds of their people. They insert a metal image of their god Buddha within the valves of the mussel, and in process of time it becomes coated with the nacreous secretion and—presto !—the im- age of Buddha in pearl and adhering to the shell of a mussel! The image commands a good price and promises great advantage to the ignorant dupe who sees in it an unanswerable affirmation of Buddha’s divinity. 64 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “The pearl oyster which produces the finest pearls of all the pearl-growing bivalves is found at considerable depth im large shoals in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Persia, some parts of the Pacific Ocean, etc. About thirty thou- sand people find employment in the pear! fish- erles of the Persian Gulf alone. “ As many as one hundred and _ fifty pearls have been gathered from a single shell. “Among the other bivalves producing pearls is the Pinna or wing-shell, the valves of which are often two feet long; the best known variety is the P. nobilis, which inhabits the Mediterranean, and is especially curious on account of its byssus. “Another singular variety is the ham- mer oyster—Malleus vulgaris—whose ham- mer-shaped shell is beautifully laminated with mother-of-pearl. “But Tom must hear about his beautiful abalones,” said the doctor, seeing he held sev- eral in his hands. “This rainbow shell belongs to the family FHlaliotide, of which there are many species, named according to their slight variations and the localities which they inhabit. “ Abalone—the name which we upon this California coast familiarly use—is a name the PEARL-PRODUCING SHELLS. @° fs ay we fee. > y PEARLS.—MOTHER OF PEARL. 65 early Spanish settlers gave, and is of doubtful meaning. . “Shells of this family have their center of distribution in Australian and adjacent seas. Quantities abound upon the coast of Japan, where they are known as ‘ Awadi.’ Other names by which they are often called are ear- shell, green ear, Omer shell, ete. “ Haliotis splendens and 1. tuberculata are the names science has given to the beauties you have in your hands, Tom. “ An enormous traffic is carried on in these shells so useful in delicate inlaying, in lacquer, and other ornamental work. The animals in- habiting these palaces are considerably sought after for food, while fine pearls have been found within the mantle of some. The irides- cent tints of these shells are produced by the fluid secretion with which the interior of the shells are lined; this hardens quickly and be- comes nacre, presenting a beautifully smooth and polished surface to the tender body of the animal within. They are also due to the ex- cessively thin laminations, irregularly overlap- ping, laid on in delicate semitransparent films. The thinner the laminations of this nacre mem- brane the more transparent, and hence the more lustrous and beautiful, the shell. 66 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “You are aware, Tom, with what tenacity these abalones cling to the rocks, so they can only be removed by taking the little house- holder unawares and giving dextrous and sud- den knocks.” “Yes,” said Tom, “the people here tell of a Chinaman who, putting his fingers under one of these shells in his attempt to pry it from the rock, was held there by the abalone until the tide came up and the man was drowned.” “This tight huggmg of the rock,” ex- plained the doctor, “is accounted for, I believe, by the large suckerlike sole of the animal. It consists of a rounded disk of muscular tissue, which has marvelous power of adhesion and brings not a little atmospheric pressure to bear upon the shell. Like the limpet, it has a very viscous secretion, which is a strong factor in holding it to the rock. “The apertures along its dome suggest round windows high up in some old castle wall. They are the openings through which the gills of the animal are kept in communica- tion with the surrounding water. The earlier openings you see are closed—filled up with shelly matter—but some are always kept open.” | As the doctor laid down the abalones, Un- PEARLS.—MOTHER OF PEARL. 67 dine, with a womanly penchant for the dainty and delicate, reverted to pearls, twirling the while a ring upon her finger and displaying the soft luster, the purity, and slight transpar- ency of its pearly setting. “I have read,” she said, “ that Cleopatra once dissolved and drank a pearl. In the story she was called very beau- tiful, but I can not see how a woman so fool- ish and vain could have been very beautiful.” “Yet it is true,” replied Dr. McLean; “her beauty and power to charm so influ- enced rulers and warriors that it has been said if Cleopatra’s nose had been half an inch longer (so spoiling her beauty) the history of the world would have been different ! “Nevertheless science is not a little skep- tical about the pearl which it is recorded she dissolved and drank. It was one of a pair and was valued at one hundred and fifty thousand golden crowns. It is now affirmed upon excel- lent authority that so large a pearl could not have been dissolved except by means of a pow- erful acid, and so large a quantity would have been required that it could never have been drank with impunity. “The mate to this pearl, so the authorities say, was sawn in twain by order of the Em- peror Severus and dedicated to Venus, being 68 THE HALL OF SHELLS. used in decorating her statue in the Parthe- non. | “ Nevertheless the dissolving and drinking of such a costly draught would scarcely have surpassed the extravagancies indulged in by the ancient nations of wealth. Fabulous sums were paid for pearls, and they were used with greatest prodigality. Whole crowns were made of them; idols and images were studded and encrusted with them; and they were wrought into the most delicate and beautiful of fabrics. The earliest records concerning the use of gems among the ancient Babylonians, Egyp- tians, and Persians show that pearls were re- garded as among the richest gifts of Nature. By the Romans the mania for their possession was even greater. “ Mithradates, the formidable opponent of the Romans, as you were reading this morning, was also not only a lover of wars, but a con- siderable lover of the arts as well. When he was conquered by Pompey and his magnificent collection of gems was taken, quantities of pearls were found, some of them wrought into most exquisite and elaborate designs. Among them was a portrait of the king himself cun- ningly fashioned entirely of pearls in mosaic. “The settings of your ring, Undine,” said PEARLS.—MOTHER OF PEARL. €9 the doctor, seeing the little girl still twirling the pearls upon her finger, “are white and. lus- trous and have the polish that pertains to the very finest pearls. It has been suggested that this wonderful polish and perfection of luster which art can not imitate, may have been caused by the continued friction of the soft body of the oyster. “We hold such pearls as these in the high- est esteem, but, since there is no accounting for tastes, we find the inhabitants of some other countries differ from us in their estimation of these gems. We have been accustomed to think of pearls as white alone, and we have thought of them as Nature’s expression of purity. This is not the case with all admirers of pearls. The people of India and of China, for example, see greater beauty in those of a bright yellow color, while others prefer those that are pink. Pink pearls, as they are called, are not all pink, but range in hue from pink to red or even pale yellow or a dull dead white. They are generally neither very beautiful nor very perfect. Others of a black or leaden-gray color are also sometimes met with, and when perfect and of a good shape are highly valued. “As you already know, the Pacific Ocean yields a rich harvest of these gems, and it 70 THE HALL OF SHELLS. seems highly probable that the regions of Call- fornia and Panama were known to the ancient inhabitants of America as rich fisheries. The hearts of Cortes and his followers were fired with anticipation and with envy when they saw the wealth of gems, many of them pearls, with which the draperies of the wealthy Aztecs were embroidered and fringed, and their gold and feather work sprinkled with jewels. By the conquests of the Spaniards in Mexico and Peru great quantities of pearls were obtained. Old Spanish historians have recorded wonder- ful stories of the wealth of the Aztec kings in pearls, immense numbers of which were exceed- ingly fine. They also affirm the familiarity of these people with the localities from which they were obtained.” No words that I know of will say what these mosses are—none are delicate enough, none perfect enough, none rich enough. ... The traceries of intricate silver and fringes of amber, lustrous, arborescent, burnished through every fiber into fitful brightness and glossy traverses of silken change, yet all subdued and pensive, and framed for simplest, sweetest offices of grace.—RUSKIN. Hearts there are on the sounding shore, Something whispers soft to me, Restless and roaming forevermore, Like this, the weary weed of the sea; Bear they yet on each beating breast The eternal type of the wondrous whole, Grace unfolding amid unrest, Grace informing with silent soul. C. G. PENNER. ro in C, ul i y FLOWERS oF: = S THE SEA. w i = B= = B STORY OF | L/ “THE MERMAID’S = LACE? \WHEN next * the} ourfriends Hideah r1ered/in the (ages it, was irea ‘an- rel Of seaweed M™ which Undine had placed in her aquarium, calling all to ad- mire her flowers y of the sea and to listen to the sea song she had learned about them: V4. THE HALL OF SHELLS. On the surface, foam and roar, Restless heave and passion dash, Shingle rattle along the shore, Gathering boom and thundering crash, Under the surface loveliest forms, Feathery fronds with crimson curl, Treasures too deep for the raid of storms— Delicate coral and hidden pearl. These, the strands of a carpet soft, Richer than mortal ever trod ; Freed by the current and borne aloft To show us the hidden work of God. She begged Dr. McLean to tell of these delicate sea flowers. He began by saying: “The term A/qge, or seaweeds, is much more restricted than formerly; it used to embrace many ma- rine specimens now consigned to the animal kingdom, Many are the gay dissemblers in the sea, and we can almost imagine them laugh- ing together at their successes in so long de- ceiving the very elect of scientists. “Linneeus, a Swedish naturalist, with great love for Nature and great skill in guessing her riddles, was one of the first to see that many so-called sea plants were sensitive to human touch, and possessed the organs of animal life. He catalogued fifty species which he regarded as seaweeds; we now know of several thou- FLOWERS OF THE SEA. 15 sand, though our knowledge of many of these is quite limited. “ Alge have been regarded as belonging to one of three classes, according to their color: the Melanospermeee embraced the olive brown and black; the Lhodospermece were the purple and the red; while the Chlorospermee were the green. This arrangement has been discarded and various others substituted, relating more particularly to the structure and development of the Algw. These classifications, however, are still very imperfect, and the nomenclature of many groups is still undetermined. Wheth- er man understands and gives them a name or not, they grow in grace and beauty, perfectly understood by their Creator and accomplishing his will. “They draw their sustenance from the wa- ter, being without roots, often fastening them- selves by a kind of sucker to rocks, shells, and sea bottoms. Not unfrequently their hold be- comes loosened or their branches broken, so we find them tossed by the waves upon the strand or carried in tangles through the waters, far from their native colonies. So great are these masses as sometimes to hinder the pas- sage of ships im their courses. Varieties of kelp in vicinity of the Falkland Islands are 7 "6 THE HALL OF SHELLS. twisted by the waves into enormous vegetable cables several hundred feet long and thicker than the human body. There are bays where thousands of people have found employment gathering these spoils after an ocean storm. “The Sargassum bacciferum is the Gulf weed, which always floats and is not unfamil- lar to voyagers upon the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The localities where this seaweed is most abundant are called Sargasso Seas. “Seaweeds love best the quiet waters of the temperate seas, avoiding the cold waves of the frigid zones and the more heated currents of the torrid. If found in these, they lack the delicacy of the mosses in the temperate zone. Different seas and different localities have their distinct sea flora, often found in such immense colonies as to give their color to the sea. “They are dependent upon light, hence are not found below one thousand feet, or the depth to which hght ceases to penetrate. Light is their painter also: mosses near the surface, catching its fullest rays, are green like terrestrial vegetation; the brilliant reds and delicate pinks are to be found upon rocks at no great depth and near the coasts; those in the deeper seas grow brown and abundant, and their somber hues but enhance the bril- FLOWERS OF THE SEA. 74 liancy of those that have enjoyed more of the kisses of the sun. They wave like plumes, like gayest ribbons are tossed in the currents; some as fine as frostwork can scarcely be dis- cerned, while others in mimic forests grow to a thousand feet.” Miss Bremely remarked: “There is one variety of seaweed which has passed into his- tory because of its influence upon the industry and the lives of a far-away people. Shall I tell you about it?” She read her answer in the eager faces turned toward her; that of the good doctor beamed with especial pleasure as he listened, and Undine wondered that she had not known before that Dr. McLean liked seaweeds so well. “THE MERMAID’S LACE.” The little island of Burano lies like a gem in the blue Adriatic. In the early days its inhabitants were simple fisher folk, spreading their nets at night in the coves of the sea; in the morning, carrying their fish in rude gon- dolas to the markets of Venice. The women mended the broken nets or netted new ones, little guessing they were catching a trick of netting which should one day form the founda- tion of a fabric to be the pride of royalty. 78 THE HALL OF SHELLS. But all were not content with this quiet island life. There was one, a youth, who heard strange voices in his soul, luring him away from this httle anchorage. The great world, that drew him with a power he could not resist, prepared a bark for him she called, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. At last, in the far south seas, his heart bade him tear from its briny fastness an un- known seaweed whose beauty attracted him strangely. He had sailed far for this unknown plant. As our hearts prompt us to bestow upon our best beloved the most beautiful gifts at our command, so the heart of this man, who was performing a mission, though he knew it not, bade him carry this trophy of his voyage to a maiden who waited in far Burano. With the utmost care he preserved the deli- cate Alga, and after weeks long and many of weary sailing, he laid the plant, perfect and beautiful, in the hand of the waiting maiden. But, alas! there came a day when the treas- ure began to fade; and the maiden saw that, notwithstanding her greatest effort, her gift must perish. The same spirit that prompted to its gathering inspired the little fisherwoman. THE MERMAID’S LACE. ees Ns » et = a _ vn FLOWERS OF THE SEA. "9 ~Tirelessly she worked, matching the skill her fingers had acquired in netting of seines with a quenchless desire to. preserve a semblance of her fair but perishable treasure. Finally there dawned a morning when the plant lay black and withered. All the beauty which had held the two hearts by its magic was gone; but im the hand of the maiden lay its delicate counterpart, woven of the finest of threads. | The little sea plant which, it is said, actu- ally furnished designs for the original Venetian point lace, the netting of which the women of Burano and of Venice were anciently so fa- mous, has since been known as mermaid’s lace. cf 85 ke 2 a Zi fea to 1 2 * > t ISLANDS. NE THE PHILIPPI tA CUCUMBERS IN HoLoTHuRIDa. SE NG FOR FIsHi AN ANCIENT FAMILY. 113 cucumber is rudimentary calcareous matter ar- ranged on the same plan as in the skeleton of its more attractive relatives. “Tn color it is green, brown, or red, and its delicate tentacles are arranged over its sur- face, corresponding to the tiny points mark- ing the vegetable which it so strongly resem- bles as to have received its name. In deep-sea dredgmgs specimens are often brought up about the size of a marketable cucumber. “ Although these strange creatures eat and. drink they appear to attach very little impor- tance to their stomachs, sometimes actually vomiting up their whole internal structure, and yet live on undisturbed ; in a few months the organs are reproduced. “The sea cucumbers are found in many seas, but gain their greatest distinction on the coasts of China and Africa, where they are highly appreciated as articles of diet. In China they are prepared for market under the name of ‘ trepang.’ “Although upon first acquaintance these flowerlike animals do not appear to resemble each other, nevertheless we find they preserve the family characteristics of their distinguished progenitors, the stone lilies, so abundant in past ages that whole beds of marble have been 114 THE HALL OF SHELLS. formed almost entirely from their broken stems and flowers. “Once the glory of the sea, they have dwindled to a few species, inhabiting for the most part the deepest seas.” The following may be helpful in giving an understanding of the classes of Hehinodermata. First we have the Crinoidea, which are really stalked starfishes, the body mounted upon a stem which is jointed and hollow; second, the A steroidea, which are free and have five arms; third, Achinoidea, having a spherical body, with long spines; fourth, the Holothuroide, having elongated bodies, with skin soft or muscular. There are castles by the sea; All their domes are porphyry. Tell me who ae builders be Of these castles by the sea. 116 pA BARNACLES. “TERE we come to a pygmies’ village,” said Miss Bremely one day when the party were upon the beach. “I can scarcely step without shattering their tiny towers, they stand so thick upon the rocks.” “When the little tenants of these castles ‘take the curl papers out of their hair, and opening their two-valved doors look over their turrets, any small knight might be charmed into riding a tilt in their behalf,” laughed the doctor. “Don’t barnacles live in these little cas- tles ?” questioned Undine. “Yes,” replied Dr. McLean ; “though if you were to ask them who they were I fancy they would never know what to say. They have so many transitions I wonder if they know whether they are themselves or somebody else. In external appearance they resemble the mol- lusks ; in more important parts of their organ- isms they are crustaceans. 117 118 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “Tn their first form these little castle hold- ers, but dancing atoms, have one big black eye, three pairs of legs, and on the forehead a pair of flexible horns. If we did not know the end we should say a mistake had been made in their legs, which seem to grow more and more unfit for use either for land or water. ‘As- cending the scale,’ the body with its frmged legs, to which are added two pair more, is now inclosed in a tiny two-valved shell lke a mus- sel. Its one eye becomes two, its head and antenne increase in size, and it now prepares to make the most wonderful change of all. It ‘stands on its head’ literally and fastens itself head downward to the rocks by means of a cement itself secretes. Its bivalve shell is no longer needed, its shield becomes the beginning of its castle walls, and its group of legs become tentacles which wave gracefully backward and look lke delicate curls of hair. It is these which give the name Cirripeda to this group, cirrus meaning a lock of hair and pedes a foot. “They now are true barnacles, and their castles by the sea are like turrets crowding one upon another. “ All barnacles are not the same kind, and their turrets are not all upon the rocks. Many are attached to pieces of wood, hulls of ships, Z a cas eae , - Bey: y, iy? ‘NE > BARNACLES. Murex haustellum and Harpa imperialis, with attached barnacles. Infant barnacles. BARNACLES. 119 etc. Not infrequently vessels put into port and have these incrustations which grow bur- _densome, removed. Others, more nomadic per- haps in their dispositions, attach themselves to the bodies of whales, of sharks, etc., and while stationary are still among the greatest of tray- elers. “When myths and science were much in- termingled, the barnacle was believed to be the embryo of a goose, hence called the barnacle goose. We find one of the learned men of the sixteenth century describing: ‘A thing mm form like a lace of silke finely woven, the first that appeareth when the shell gapeth open. A little later the legs of the bird hang out. In short space of time it cometh to maturity and falleth into the water, where it becometh a fowl.’ While science has dissolved this fable, it is known notwithstanding that the barnacle does pass through transitions quite as wonderful.” The children fell to examining barnacles, the doctor to musing, presumably upon science. Miss Bremely sat watching the waves that came riding up the sand like restless, foaming steeds. Presently she began singing softly Sid- ney Lanier’s exquisite lines entitled 120 THE HALL OF SHELLS. BARNACLES. My soul is sailing through the sea, But the Past is heavy and hindereth me. The Past hath crusted, cumbrous shells That hold the flesh of cold sea-mells. About my soul The huge waves wash, the high waves roll, Hach barnacle clingeth and worketh dole And hindereth me from sailing ! Old Past let go and drop i’ the sea Till fathomless waters cover thee ! For I am living, but thou art dead ; Thou drawest back, I strive ahead The Day to find. Thy shells unbind! Night comes behind, I need must hurry with the wind And trim me best for sailing. The face of the singer was toward the sea, and she did not know as she might if she had looked into the doctor’s eyes that he had ceased to meditate upon science. What the cloud doeth The Lord knoweth ; The cloud knoweth not. What the artist doeth The Lord knoweth ; Knoweth the artist not.. SIDNEY LANIER. Take therefore the talent from him—for unto every one that hath shall be given; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.—Bvible. 122 D. Gig A SEA FAN AND A SEA PARABLE. Unprne discovered a fan gorgon in the doe- tor’s cabinet and begged to know what it was, while Tom was no less delighted with the va- rieties of coral the cabinet contained. “Oh, that,” said the doctor to Undine, “was a mermaid’s fan, and no belle of terra jirma could boast of a fan so gorgeous. Its tints were rose and yellow, green and lavender, and bedight with jeweled filigree it flashed until its glitter made a sort of daylight under the sea. It is called a fan gorgon, Undine, and when alive was even more dainty and charming in color, and far more glittermg than I have described or can lead you to imagine. Dainty and beautiful enough it was to be called a mer- maid’s fan. “Tt was long considered a singular and gor- geous sea plant, but the microscope has re- vealed it to be the home and the work of little polypi which naturalists had thought were 10 123 124 THE HALL OF SHELLS. flowers. The polypier, or polypus stalk, of the sea fan, surrounded by only a semicalcareous crust, 1s flexible, the whole structure tough and elastic. Different species show various, but all beautiful formations. Sometimes the branches appear nearly straight, at others they are a mazy network of the most delicate and itri- cate tracery, and when their colonies of jewel- like polypi are in bloom they seem the realiza- tion of a fairy dream. “Gorgonide are found in all seas, but are most abundant in those of warm climates, as is the case with all species of polypi. “These fan manufacturers were cousins to the polypi who wrought those miracles m stone,” continued the doctor, turning to Tom and the corals. “All these little workers have been known as Zodphytes, or flower animals, They might have been called Phi- losopher’s Puzzles, for such they have long been, and even now they keep many of their pretty secrets safe in their own little stomachs, this anatomical locality bemg at present regarded by the sages as the ‘seat and center’ of personal identity in these pretty polyp. “Tn their living and active state each little worker looks like a tiny star with its rays ar- A SEA FAN AND A SEA PARABLE. 125 ranged about the central poimt, which is the mouth. “We are apt to regard such minute organ- isms as Insensible to surrounding conditions, and unable to communicate with each other even if they might be conscious of anything to communicate, but we find Nature clothes her ‘feeble folk’ with mystery and endows them with faculties we can not understand; and if you were to injure or disturb one of the polyps m a piece of coral like this, quick as a flash would the danger be telegraphed to every member of the little colony, and you would see each tiny animal instantly curl back as if he had been the one who suf- fered. “An enormous traffic is carried on in the different varieties of coral, affording employ- ment for hundreds of vessels and thousands of fishermen, It is broken from the sea bottom by means of beams or irons attached to the boats used for that purpose, and brought up by grappling irons; divers also are employed in these coral fisheries. I once saw them in the Mediterranean gathering red coral (Corallium rubrum), the divers themselves looking like very unattractive mermen, or sea monsters, as they came up from the depths with the great 126 THE TALL OF SHELLS. nets swung from their shoulders im which they had deposited the coral. “The bulk of coral used for ornamentation is fished from the Mediterranean Sea, and some- times at a depth of seven or eight hundred feet. “The red is susceptible of a fine polish, and is much sought after by many Eastern nations for personal adornment, for sword hilts, for amulets, which are superstitiously believed to have power to avert evil. The name given it by the Greeks commemorated their belief that it was originally the blood drops that fell upon the seashore from the head of Medusa, hardened and planted in the sea by ocean nymphs. “Formerly the red commanded the highest price of all the corals, but this pomt has been yielded to the delicate pink, which vies in color with the tinted petals of the queen of flowers. “Besides the red, pink, and white coral, there are many shades of green, brown, yellow, and black. All are more or less beautiful, both in life and in death. “The flowerlike inhabitants have disap- peared, but their workmanship remains in these exquisite marbles before you, Tom,” continued A SEA FAN AND A SEA PARABLE. 197 the doctor in a more serious vein. “ During their lives this dainty tracery was hidden, but now we can see the true beauty of the homes into which their lives were wrought. This calcareous substance secreted by these polypi is ‘partitioned into cells with mathematical regularity, and, studding the entire surface, produces a most beautiful effect. The spe- cific variety of these coral homes is almost endless, yet each species builds after its type. The lesson has been learned, and the crea- tures live up to it throughout endless genera- tions.’ ” * While Dr. McLean displayed the different varieties of coral which his cabinet contained, Miss Bremely said, “The quotation you have just given suggests to me a sea parable which I think contains a beautiful lesson.” The doe- tor turned to her with a pleasant interest, and, interpreting his wish in the smile he gave, she repeated the followmg * Henry A. Ward, in Catalogue of Corals, Gorgons, ete. Ora. as: te, And the _waxewid v tho Sify Perec est ae on, Tati ex Arab, snappul Ye Biv se: pid lot you corals caret ics gic ater joy than to sett \\ WA) WZ pone zi bck yd ale udge your, ligi\y y, LIZA, AN » ge pay Z)) 'ynds ‘ite et yok pres dpe it A Ay cae vs on 227 ar. , or Wed, as wifhy a4 CT OC Esfes” | + het" \ A LBD / i My OEET UDR iv gy “ You sper Z CZa boOSS en / Vf TAKS STR aN ei rt Ka Your insets ue a nee not séem to inp 1% A OG) 9) RO) \(\ ev 1M LOV ed our disposition said 2 im] your dis} a ida eceding wav OF “OY oware ZA Last Losing the tals . A SEA FAN AND A SEA PARABLE. 129 yours at the beginning. Have acare! I warn you!” And the wave with the silvery crest sped on. “Tt is true we are small and can do but lit- tle,” whispered the Coral; “but the Master of . Life created us for a glorious purpose. He has deigned to give us lovely visions, and has said to us in a voice sweeter than song, ‘Build ye!” “Yes,” assented the Corallium rubrum) pre- cious coral), “his presence suffused the clouds with a glow surpassing the beauty of the morn- ing; fair tints commingled and veins of crim- son and scarlet intertwined like delicate twigs. We are a feeble folk, and we knew not that we could be of any use, but a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘ Lueld yr on this wise!’ We knew not how, but in strong desire and overpowering love we dwelt upon the vision. Of ourselves we are no longer aware. We lose ourselves in obedience to the beautiful vision, and we feel an assurance that all is well.” A. Wave touched lightly the pink and crim- son biouterve of the coral bed and whispered to the polypi: “In losing yourselves ye find honor and become the setting of crowns. 130 THE HALL OF SHELLS. There is a crown whose jewels, like yours, are wrought in obedience and love, and of them it is said, ‘They shall shine forever and ever!’” And the wave with the silvery crest sped on. The Zubipora musica (organ-pipe coral) continued: “It was near the morning of crea- tion; upon the sand stood One whom the earth and the sea adore, and at whose feet the white waves bow their heads. He gathered the hol- low reeds that grew at his feet, and, pressing them together, he said to us: ‘Luild yr on this wise !’ “We knew not how; yet the sea and all things that are therein praise him and do his will. We gave ourselves to the work, and be- hold! he hath blessed it, and that hath made it good.” A wave touched the tiny “organ pipes” of coral and a wind breathed upon them; a soft melody arose, in key with that harmony heard when the morning stars sang together. The wave with the silvery crest sped on. “And to us,” said one of the arborescent corals—the Mandrepora formosa— the vision was given on this wise: The branching trees of the forest were reflected in the mirror of the ocean, and while in our feebleness we won- BNE aN "” y fe 2 g sae? ne ee mo ee => ~~, MIS ALE L) TT ~ ay Re 7 ERMIT CRAB. H AN GORGON. AF A SEA FAN AND A SEA PARABLE. Toe dered a power came upon us to build. We gave ourselves; we could do no more. The vision is ever before us. We would that we could better accomplish the work that was given us to do.” A wave circled among the branches of coral and whispered to the little polypi: “I come from laving a beautiful island where palm trees grow and homes of mankind are clustering. It was you, little ‘reef builders,’ who laid the foundations of that island. Ye builded better than ye knew.” And the wave with the sil- very crest sped on. Upon the sand crawled a crab—he with the “compound faceted eyes”! He of the race of armored knights! But, alas! by generations of indulgence and selfishness, lost was half his coat-of-mail—which had been a family heir- loom—two of his sets of claws, made strong for service, had become enfeebled by disuse or wholly followed the lost armor. He crawled in terror upon the sand, seeking safety from his legion of enemies. Spying the shell of an industrious mollusk, he hastily devoured the helpless creature and backed crabbedly into its empty shell. The crab had become the half-naked vagabond tramp of the seashore! A wave broke upon the sand. It gave the ioe THE HALL OF SHELLS. hermit crab a sad but disdainful toss, and said: “T warned you long ago! This comes of not doing your best with gifts the Creator bestowed upon you!” And the wave with the silvery crest sped on. A STORM.—RAZOR FISHES. When winds are raging o’er the upper ocean, And billows wild contend with angry roar, Tis said, far down, beneath the wild commotion, ~ That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore. Far, far beneath, the noise of tempests dieth, And silver waves chime ever peacefully, And no rude storm, how fierce soe’er it flieth, Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea. So to the heart that knows thy love, O Purest! There is a temple sacred evermore : And all the babble of Life’s angry voices Dies in hushed stillness at its peaceful door. Far, far away the roar of passion dieth, And loving thoughts rise kind and peacefully, And no rude storm, how fierce soe’er it flieth, Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in thee. Mrs. H. B. STOWE. 134 KV, A STORM.—RAZOR FISHES.—BYSSUS SPINNERS. —STONE EATERS.—LIGHTED TOMBS. In grandeur an approaching storm strode through the heavens, walked upon the waters, and thrilled the palpitating air. Tom threw himself upon the ground under the very lashings of the ocean spray, but happy as a storm petrel he watched the marshaling of the tempest. Dr. McLean stood with uncovered and up- lifted head. He felt the power and the pres- ence of one mighty— Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: Who maketh the clouds his chariot : Who walketh upon the wings of the wind. As the wind sweeps through a casement and smites an A‘olian harp placed there by the builder, and of which till then the householder knew not, so were touched chords in this man’s soul—chords placed there by the Master Build- er, to be used one day ye the house should be 136 THE HALL OF SHELLS. larger and the wind the “breath of the spirit.” He who in reverence and humility stood with uncovered head was a quickened spirit. His whole being thrilled with the consciousness of these greater powers—of senses till then un- recked of. Whether in the body or out of the body, he knew his immortality—that he stood before the face of the Eternal. He felt his kinship. A chill little hand was slipped into his. He yearned for the fuller, further communion, for the larger vision; but he turned from the glory, from the vision, and bent to the child at his side. He could only so be true to his kin- ship; and so the vision stayed in his soul. Undine stood trembling; her pale face told how the black storm clouds and the furious sea terrified her. | “Tt all makes me feel so small and weak,” she said; “as if the wind could carry me away into the darkness and storm as it would carry a leaf.” “Fudge!” exclaimed Tom, as he lay upon his back, kicking his heels into the sand. “I like it! It’s grand! It makes me feel as if I were an eagle and heard the swoop of eagles overhead. My! don’t the wind and the sea roar !” A STORM.—RAZOR FISHES. 137 But Dr. McLean and his little charge were halfway to the cottage, she tellig how troubled she felt for the dear people in ships out on that troughy sea, while he gently soothed her burdened little heart, leading her to rest her care on him who “ruleth the raging of the sea.” He repeated the grand words of the Psalmist, whose inspiration touched all subjects and all ages ; “They that go down to the sea in ships, That do business in great waters ; These see the works of the Lord, And his wonders in the deep. He maketh the storm a calm, So that the waves thereof are still.” They were none too soon in seeking shel- ter; just as they gained the veranda the van- guard of the storm struck them. Even Tom was constrained to leave his contemplation of “eagle wings” and make good use of a pair of stout legs. The shadows were gone from Un- dine’s eyes, and they were full of merriment as she watched Tom dashing through the storm, sending back defiant peals of laughter to the gusts of wind and billows of rain that followed him. The ‘trio stood at the window watching the 138 THE HALL OF SHELLS. waves and the rain “clap their hands together,” as Tom expressed it. “T should think such hammering waves might break all the shells in the ocean,” said Undine, whose heart ever turned to her treas- ures, “Many of them will be broken,” answered the doctor, “but not unfrequently some of the most fragile are lifted upon the crest of a wave and laid upon the sand, far out of danger ; some are buried in the sand. You know how the limpets and abalones cling; more are down in the region of calms below the storm, while others are moored by stout cables of their own spinning.” At mention of shells buried in the sand, Tom pulled a razor shell from his pocket, say- ing: “When I was wading in the shallows this morning a jet of water struck my foot. I dug this fellow out of the sand.” “T once saw men searching for razor fishes in the Bay of Naples,” said the doctor. “They were finding them with their feet, as you did this one; but I venture you did not resort to their method of bringing them to the surface. “When they discover a Solen—another name for their razor fish—they bring it up be- tween their toes; and as the shell has a razor- ‘ITAHS UOZVU WO “SISNA SISNY “VNIHLINV] dO TITHHS ALAWY ‘“VIVOTONA VITELVG ‘SODU ONILUOddNS LVOTA HLIM “TIIVNS LAIOIA HO ‘SIND WWOD VNIHINV] A STORM.—RAZOR FISHES. 139 like edge, and the owner of it makes a fierce struggle for liberty, the poor fisherman often has his foot badly cut before the prize is secured. “Razor fishes belong to the order Siphoni- _da, some members of which are dubbed ‘ wa- tering pots,’ on account of their strong siphons, many inches in length. In fact, in the Glyci- meris generosa of our own coast the siphon attains to a full yard. “Their habit of spouting out jets of water when disturbed is one way by which they are discovered, and gives them the additional name of ‘spoutfishes.’ ” As the doctor finished, Undine asked: “What did you mean by saying, ‘some shells were moored by cables of the animal’s own spinning ?’” “Oh, those are the byssus spinners!” said the doctor, and going to a shelf he took sev- eral shells from it. First he displayed a pearly Anomia, the undervalve of which was flat, with a hole near one extremity to allow of the pas- sage of the byssus tuft for attachment; then he showed them a scallop with a notch through which the stout byssus fiber was passed; then a mussel, saying: “The inmates of these shells knew how to spin a tuft of fibers which in 11 140 THE HALL OF SHELLS. some were fine as silk, in others stiff and horny. These were attached by strong mus- cles to themselves, and thence to rock, reef, or wreck, as pleased the little spmner. “These threads are spun by the foot of the little animal, and are so stout as to withstand _ the shock of the incoming seas. When wish- ing temporary anchorage, or fearing the stress of waves, it has only to throw out its byssus cable and rest secure. Sometimes this little bark with its silken moorings is freighted with pearls,” said he, pomting to a mussel; “the pearls of these shells, however, are generally of an inferior order. “The Pinna, or fan mussel, is a byssus spinner, having valves two feet long; and the beautiful silk of its byssus has been used in spinning rich and costly fabrics. “We find among these not only the spin- ners of silk, but borers of wood and stone, and hence some of them have received the name ‘wood eaters’ or ‘stone eaters.’ “ How these little creatures are able to bore into hard substances has long been a question of wonder and speculation. The serrated or filelike edges of some shells might seem to account for it in a measure; the abrading foot with its strong muscles, sometimes assisted by A STORM.—RAZOR FISHES. 141 grains of sand which it rubs against the rock, might be sufficient; the cilia of others are said to be used in the boring. But none of these seem sufficiently to account for incisions made in flinty rocks or hardest of shell-like sub- stances. Hence it has been suggested that the work may be sometimes slowly but surely ac- complished by the means of an acid secreted by the bivalve for this purpose. “Borers sometimes entirely bury themselves in rocky sepulchers of their own excavation. “In tombs of men whom the world honors hghts are sometimes kept burning. Nature honors equally these little miners, to whom she has given lamps while living; and after their busy days are over, their work done, and no man knoweth their sepulchers, still the hight of their little lamps may be seen, for these borers are luminous; and it is said that the Pholas at least retains its phosphorescence so long as a piece remains; even if that piece be hard and dry it will again give out its light when moistened by the waves. is wi a 4 but s a Nat 7 FO ha gam its raheem aj ip }2 Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me, All the old romantic legends, All my dreams come back to me. LONGFELLOW. Pages no better than blanks to common minds, to his are hieroglyphical of wisest secrets.— WILSON. 144 EVIL, OLIVES. “Way has no lover of Nature discovered the ‘cipher’ by which to read the hieroglyph- ics on these olives?” said Miss Bremely, after expressing her admiration for those glossy and finely polished shells. “There is an exquisite pleasure in holding them in my hand and in hearing the rhythmic sound they make touching against each other. I have always been fond of them and always wished there might be such a thing as a clew to their pretty ‘ picture writing.’ ” “Perhaps they are tablets of the Nereids, and report their calls, engagements, and con- quests,” suggested the doctor. “Accept me as your oracle,” he added, taking an Olwa scripta from her hand. “I will be a mouth to it. Its long-locked secrets shall speak to your heart. “T affirm and declare this to be an ancient tablet from his Majesty Oceanus to her Royal 145. 146 THE HALL OF SHELLS. Highness Tethys, written in his fiery youth, and full of titles of endearment. Behold this one, oft repeated !” he said, pomting to certain similar markings more delicately and regularly traced than work on Babylonian brick or Egyptian obelisk. “Tts reading is this: ‘O maiden by my heart cherished! The sea halls are desolate. The jasper throne awaits thee. O maiden by my heart cherished! The singing nymphs can not charm me. Stay thy sliding chariot. Listen and draw near. O maiden by my heart cherished ! Speaks not my heart to thee?’ And here,” he said, “is inscribed the name with all its titles and the ancient seal of the great Oceanus.” While assuming to read the olive tablet the doctor’s eyes were really reading this later maiden’s face, and its blushes pleased him. But she lightly answered : “J read another story in this delicate cunel- form. It is an ocean rune full of mystery and tells how the waves learned their motion; how the moon draws the crystal tides ; why the sea moans ; and this one has a sea song engraven on it; and, presto!” she exclaimed, taking from the shelf an elegant harp shell (Alarpa ventricosa), “ here is the sea nymph’s harp to OLIVES. 147 furnish the accompaniment. But I hear my own little Sea-Maiden calling me.” And Miss Bremely was gone. Oliva scripta, which the doctor had selected as best illustrating his idea of an ancient tablet or epistle from the royal Oceanus to his well- beloved Queen Tethys, was delicate enough to have been indeed a gift from a sea king to the most lovely nymph either of the ocean or the earth. This shell was over an inch in length, shining as if polished by the jewel makers of the deep. Its delicate fawn-colored surface, suffused with soft shadings of brown, was writ- ten over in fine zigzag lines of a pale chestnut tint, bearing also in stronger drawn _hiero- glyphic figures what seemed as if they might be words or sentences to be emphasized; and these oft repeated were the markings which the doctor had ingeniously rendered into ex- pressions of endearment, while just above the aperture of the shell, which was a mingling of the blue tint of the waves and the soft white- ness of pearls, a strongly marked inscription he affirmed to be the royal signature and seal. The name given this Olive—seripta— showed that others before had recognized in its curious and delicate markings a resemblance to writing. 148 THE HALL OF SHELLS. Soft tints, a shining and porcellaneous sur- face, and handsome markings are some of the characteristics of the shells of the family Olivi- de. The animals of this family are exclusive- ly tropical, and upon sandy flats of warm seas they revel, moving about with considerable quickness, burrowing under the wet sand when the tides are low, and leaving no trace of their hiding places. The number of both fossil and livig spe- cies is large, and it is impossible to tell all the shades of coloring and the various patterns of banding and nebulous painting to be found upon them. A curious characteristic of this group of mollusks is its dual picturing. Underlying the external porcellaneous and decorated sur- face of the shell is another layer decorated with an entirely different pattern, the two lay- ers making their different growths at the same time. This under layer is, however, never ex- posed except by the outer one becoming worn off or when acids are used in removing it. The external colorings and markings of these shells have also been obliterated by the application of heat. So the Pacific islanders, who delight in these shells for ornamenting their bracelets and belts, but prefer them pure OLIVES. 149 white, have resorted to this trick in their ex- tremely crude laboratories. Another interesting peculiarity has been discovered in the olives in common with some other animals having similar shells, that is, the ability the little creature has of dissolvmg away the earlier formed volutions of the shell, and so according to its needs enlarging its place of habitation. The islanders of the Indian Ocean fish the Olivide extensively, using a number of lines baited with pieces of fish. They allow these lines thus baited to sink to the sandy shallows, the habitat of the olives. Not a very long time is required for the little animals to dis- cover the feast thus spread for their use, and they gather upon the pieces of fish in great numbers, and are drawn up to be sold in the markets. The Olivella, or little olive, is distinguished from the typical olive by a smaller shell, more extended spire, and the presence of a thin and horny operculum. It is also said that the olive has eyes while the Olivella has none. The Indians of the Pacific coast attached a mercenary value to one variety of these small shells—O. biplicata—which they called “col- col,” 150 THE HALL OF SHELLS. There is another species which excels as a swimmer. Expanding quickly the lobes of its foot, it strikes the water suddenly with these and darts swiftly away in sportive fashion through the waves, or speeds at will from one sandy shoal to another. Belonging to a subfamily of the Olividee we find the harp shell, to which Miss Bremely referred as fitting to furnish the accompani- ments to sea songs, which she fancied to be en- eraven upon the pretty olives. These harp shells are in truth beautiful enough to be sug- gestive of conceptions of harmony, of music, and of delight to sea nymphs and “ ocean swells.” The shells are prominently ribbed, and decorated with well-defined dark lines of inter- costal painting. Most of them are highly col- ored, banded, and festooned in the richest man- ner. Harpa ventricosa and Harpa articularis are among the most beautiful. Unlike some other beauties the Harpinze all appear to delight im their large feet. So large are they in fact that their possessors are unable to accommodate them to their shells ; so after the fashion of Cinderella’s wicked sis- ters, who “would not need to walk when they were queens,” they are said to detach a portion of the foot in emergencies. yy ‘SdHONIUd XAUAYY ‘VSOOINLNAA VITANVISVH ‘VANAHANOd VAITC) ‘VIidIUOS VAIT() ‘SIIVIUAdMKI SANOD ‘ATILXGL SANOO OLIVES. Toe As if the spirit of beauty had taken pos- session of the Harpinw and permeated them through and through, we find the animals them- selves, as well as their shells, bright with bands and blotches of color. There is a resemblance between some of the olives and the cone shells, as shown in our illustration; yet the differences in the hving animals, as well as in the shells themselves, place them in distinct families. The Olivide are destitute of an epidermis, which is one dit- ference, as this characterizes the members of the Conidw. Other distinctions mark them, yet each have the beautiful shining and pic- tured surfaces, as also has the Phasianella, the pretty pheasant shell of our engraving. GROWTH OF SHELLS. Nature is man’s best teacher. She unfolds Her treasures to his search, unseals his eyes, Illumes his mind, and purifies his heart ; An influence breathes from all the sights and sounds Of her existence ; she is Wisdom’s self. STREET. But the cunning Little People, The Puck-Wudjies knew the secret. LONGFELLOW. 154 XVIII. GROWTH OF SHELLS. “HERE'S a pretty palace with a good stout front door,” announced Tom, displaying a pearly Zrochus. “The name of that ‘front door,” said his cousin, “is the operculum. . Many shells are fur. nished with opercula, but not all are so strong and horny as this. You see it is even thicker than the walls of the shell itself. It is devel- oped upon a part of the foot of the animal and moved by strong muscles, which enable the little householder to shut his door quickly at the approach of an enemy. “Tn the baby Zrochus this operculum can be discerned, and grows with the growth of the animal and the other shell covering.” “T don’t see how shells grow, anyway !” exclaimed Tom. “Very likely you don’t,” said Miss Breme- ly. “Nature does not make a parade of her fine work, but if we care enough about her and 12 155 7 156 THE HALL OF SHELLS. her mysteries to seek diligently for them she rewards us generously. You have learned that some shells secrete layers of nacre, with which - many of our most beautiful ones are lined and which composes a great part of others. You remember, too, how injuries inflicted by borers are repaired. These facts open our eyes to a part of the mystery. Shells were once a por- tion of the mantle or delicate films which were. separated from it. These gradually harden, becoming united to tissues previously thrown off by the mantle. So layer is joined to layer in forming shells so delicate a wave may break them or solid like these Zrochi. “ Ridges, verices, and spines indicate some time has elapsed between the deposition of the layers. “Tf shells are broken we can sometimes see the process of shell growth, if patient enough to watch the work and to wait the completion of the delicate repairmg. First a moist exuda- tion—a secretion from the injured part of the _ little animal—covers the spot. Gradually this exudation becomes filmy upon exposure to the air, and, as the process continues, grows calcare- ous or horny according to the character of the shell undergoing repairs. “Tf the injury is sustained upon the walls GROWTH OF SHELLS. 157 of a chamber which the animal has outgrown and vacated, he does not again enter the ‘halls of the past,’ but deliberately shuts out the past and its injuries alike, by building a shelly wall or partition entirely across that part of the shell, “The different depositions or layers are sometimes shown when the edges of a shell be- come broken. They are also seen in the cameo shells, in which the laminations are of different colors, You will see what I mean by this,” she said, unfastening from her collar a brooch of shell cameo. Holding it to the light she displayed the delicate translucence of the orange ground over which figures were carved from the next layer in white relief. “This shows the strata of the shell,” she said, “and also how the colors have been turned to account in carving the jewel. The shell from which this was cut was known as Cass¢s cornuta ; its habi- tat was the Indian Ocean. “ All cameos are not colored like this. Some are a pale salmon on an orange ground. Such are cut from the Cassis rufa. Others, from C. Madagascariensis and C. tuberosa, have white figures on dark claret-colored ground. Some are cut from the Strombus gigas, which is the pinky queen’s couch of the West Indies. These 158 THE HALL OF SHELLS. have raised figures of yellow on a_ pink oround. “As has been seen, the shells used for these jewels and called cameo shells are generally the large Cassides. The carving of the cameos is a fine art, carried to an exquisite perfection by the Roman cameo cutters.” “ What gives the different colors to shells?” asked Tom. “That is another of the mysteries in which Nature has been chary of her confidences,” an- swered Miss Bremely. “It seems to be in some way the result of a secreting work done by the border of the mantle. Light also 1s their painter. We observe that shells near the shore are richer and brighter in colorimg than those which are shut out from the sunlight in deep ocean beds. Tropic seas yield us the most brilliantly colored shells, as tropic groves produce birds of gayest plumage. “George W. Tryon tells us in his Conchol- ogy that ‘bivalves which habitually he upon one side have the upper valve colored and pictured, while the under valve is white and colorless. He also quotes authorities who seem to have discovered in certain cases an adaptation in the color of shells to the color of objects upon which they rest. GROWTH OF SHELLS. 159 “ After all that has been said the mystery remains. The delicate tracery upon the olives, the mottled surfaces of the Cyprwa, are myste- ries still, and even this remains unaccounted for,” she added, taking a Verita from the shelf. “This tooth, like a point of ruby upon the col- umella, is a pretty secret which we can not ex- plain. This little jeweled point has given the name of ‘bleeding tooth’ to the shell. We can not resist the wish that we might be near enough to Mother Nature’s heart to be taken into her counsels. We would like to know how and why she gave the little Verita this single red jewel. There are many things we would like to know.” Pa “THINGS: UNRECK’D: OF” Great and gorgeous as is the display of Divine power and wisdom in the things that are seen of all, it may safely be affirmed that a far more extensive prospect of these glories lay unheeded and unknown till the optician’s art revealed it. Like the work of some mighty genius of Oriental fable, the brazen tube is the key that unlocks a world of wonder and beauty before invisible, which one who has once gazed upon it can never forget, and never cease to admire.— PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. SHAKESPEARE, 162 XIX. “THINGS UNRECK’D OF.” “You have told us of little specks called eyes in some of our mollusca, but, Cousin Ellen, can these little animals really see and hear and do they ever speak to each other?” asked Undine. “Some of them at least have organs of sight,” answered Miss Bremely, “and eyes which have been considered rudimentary may simply be so because our own are not delicate enough to study them sufficiently. “The eyes of the common snail are upon long stalks which are raised or lowered, turned this way and that as the animal travels, giving it quite the air of an interested observer. These eyes are very exposed upon their raised tentacles, and Nature has provided a very curi- ous device for keeping them from injury— which is only another way of saying that the kind Creator has a care for even the eyes of a little snail. The point of these long stalks 163 164 THE HALL OF SHELLS. upon which the eyes are located can be drawn down through the tubes, as the finger of a glove is drawn in. The tubes are so trans-. parent one is able to see the black eye as it descends through the shortening tube to the little case under the skin of the head where it is safe, “These little tentacles or eye stalks are so sensitive of danger that the least impression is telegraphed through the nervous organism of the animal, and in an instant the eyes are out of sight, and if danger still seems imminent, the cautious little creature glides quickly into his fortress, “As proof of the clear vision of snails it is affirmed that they will go around obstacles in their path, and they appear to be attracted by bright colours. “ Among bivalves tiny specks have been detected near the borders of the mantle, some shining like jewels, others too small to be per- ceived except by a most careful scrutiny with a strong lens. These are supposed with good reason to be eyes. It has been observed that a sea urchin will sometimes turn its spines as if for self-defense in the direction in which a hand approaches to capture it. “The razor fish, even when buried in the “THINGS UNRECK’D OF.” 165 sand with only the siphonal orifices exposed to the light, perceives the shghtest shadow falling upon the water. This has led to closer study of the siphonal margins where what seem tiny eye specks have been detected. “We are told that some of our shellfishes are supplied with auditorial nerves, while an external ear is credited to some. Yet their whole external surface is so extremely sensitive, aside from the especially sensitive tentacula, that they perceive the approach of any object by vibration; hence naturalists tell us we need not expect a very strongly developed sense of sound. “Your last question I can best answer by reading you what some wise students have written concerning these interesting little crea- tures. ‘If you ask what can be the use of ears to a class of animals which are invariably dumb, I answer though this is true with respect to the great majority, yet it may be only that our senses are too dull to perceive the delicate sounds which they utter, and which may be sufficiently audible to their more sensitive or- | gans; and, besides, some mollusca can certainly emit sounds audible to us. Two very elegant species of sea-slug—viz., /olis punctata and Tritonia arborescens (now called Dendronotus 166 THE HALL OF SHELLS. arborescens )—certainly produce audible sounds. Prof. Grant, who first observed the interesting fact in some specimens of the latter which he was keeping in an aquarium, says of the sounds, that they resemble very much the click of a steel wire on the side of the jar, one stroke only given at a time and repeated at in- tervals of a minute or two. . . . The sound is longest and oftenest repeated when the Tri- toniz are lively and move about, and is not heard when they are cold and without any motion. .. . The sound when in a glass vessel is mellow and distinct . . . and obviously pro- ceeds from the mouth of the animal; at the instant of stroke we observe the lips suddenly separate as if to allow the water to rush into a small vacuum formed within.’ “The following instance of affection among snails has been recorded by a naturalist who observed it: ‘A pair of [/elix pomatia, or Ro- man snails, were put in a garden for safe keep- ing. One of them escaped, but, finding its companion did not follow, it returned in quest of its fellow-prisoner.’ ” Fy a = fo) 2) a ES Life is full of ends, but every end is a new beginning, and we are constantly coming to the point where we may close one chapter, but we can always turn and open a new and better and diviner chapter.—PHILLIPS BROOKS. 168 pO. TROUBLE. “Coustn Extien has a new ring,” confided Undine to Tom soon after. “That so?” responded Tom, in an uninter- ested voice. “Tt’s lovely,” continued Undine; “a dear little diamond and some pearls.” “Don’t see what she wants of any more rings!” ventured Tom, with more esprit. “She’s more rings now than she can wear. Td a thought she’d rather have a double-lens micro- scope, or an alligator—J/ would !” Without appearing to notice Tom’s prefer- ence, Undine gently touched the heart of the matter, and Tom’s heart as well, by her next announcement: “I guess Dr. McLean gave it to her.” Tom’s face grew troubled; he was silent a moment and then asked, “Undine, you don’t s’pose Dr. McLean cares anything about Cousin Ellen, do you?” : 169 170 THE HALL OF SHELLS. “JT don’t see how he can help it, Tom; she’s so lovely. Dr. McLean is nice, too,” continued Undine; “the nicest man I ever saw—’cept papa,” she added slowly. “That’s so,” exclaimed Tom, “if he is a minister ! ” “But, Tom, we can’t spare Cousin Ellen,” continued Undine, with dimming eyes. “Course we can’t!” agreed Tom. “Nor we can’t spare the doctor either!” Evidently the children’s problem was deepening. At last Undine said with a sigh of mingled trouble and relief, “ll talk with papa about it when he comes; he always helps us.” And Tom, with hands deep in his pockets, went out whistling Three Blind Mice. That evening with her head upon her father’s broad shoulder, Undine sobbed out her story of the beautiful ring and the anxieties assailing her loving little heart. Mr. Bremely laid his bearded face against her cheek and for several minutes was silent. His heart was far away with his own sweet, sad past. A tear upon his hand recalled him to the child to whom he must not only give strength and protection, but motherly comfort as well. Patting her cheek and smiling he agreed with her that “they could not spare TROUBLE. 171 Cousin Ellen nor Dr. McLean—nor anybody,” and promised he would look into the matter. Undine’s confidence in her father was only equaled by her love, and soon she was laugh- ing gleefully while she searched his pockets for the strange money he told her he had brought her. One pocket she found filled with cowries, yellow and shining. “Money cowries,” her father told her they were called, because of their commercial value in some parts of Asia and Africa, to which places many tons weight have been carried annually by traders. “Orange cowries,” said her father, “are the crown jewels of the Friendly Islanders, and are worn as marks of chieftainship. But go further, Un- dine; you will find other Cyprwa that will please your fancy.” And truly the elegant “porcelain shells” she found m another pocket, with their exquisite enamel and beautiful mot- tling, called forth expressions of the greatest delight. Among the richly colored was a shell of purest white, all the fairer for its lone- ness. It was the Ovulum ovum, or “ poached ego,” as it is often called. Another very curi- ous to her was the Ovulum volva, or “ weavers’ shuttle,” as 1t is named, because of the prolon- gations of both ends of the shell. 18 172 THE WALL OF SHELLS. From another pocket she brought out a handful of tiny points. “What are these?” . she asked. “Are they ivory tusks of fairy elephants, or horns of baby unicorns?” And the rippling sound they made as they passed through her fingers pleased her ears as perhaps the “jingle” of these Dentalian “guineas” please the ear of the Indian money getter. The value of Dentalia, or “ toothshells,” she learned, was determined by the length of the shells. Later that evening, when Undine and Tom had sailed away to the universe of dreams, Dr. McLean with Miss Bremely paused before the open door of the library. Mr. Bremely sat within, a book was open before him, but he could not read. His heart was stirred with a mighty past. An angel had come down that evening and troubled its waters. The flush upon Miss Bremely’s cheeks was again like the pink tint of shells, and dimples played among her blushes, while Dr. McLean looked as happy as a king; yet enigmatical as it seemed, they assured Mr. Bremely they came because they were in sore trouble. The doce- tor had learned, like Undine, that he could not spare Miss Bremely; and she that she could not spare Dr. Lean; and both, like the chil- dren, that they “could not spare anybody.” TROUBLE. 173 The consultation was long, but it was final- ly decided that Dr. McLean should leave his boarding house, and that the cottage among the acacia trees should for a time at least be- come the manse. Mr. Bremely especially urged this, since business called him soon to South America for an absence of months. Twice for the Bremelys, had the acacia trees lit their pale tapers of bloom. LEre they faded the second time, there was a wedding in the cottage and the acacia trees waved like palms with glory-lighted tops. Trouble bad passed. Dr. and Mrs. McLean walked in the heavenly peace of a true marriage. Undine was serenely happy. Tom was jubilant. Mr. Bremely, with sad, glad eyes, blessed those whose love in turn was his blessing. Among the gifts upon the occasion were two, for which the doctor was responsible, marked for the children: Undine found her package to contain the long-desired microscope, while Tom rejoiced over the coveted young alligator. < 4 : iS - = z : 7 TNX. Abalona, 64. Acelephe, 53. Algee, Chap. IX. Ammonite, 86. Anomia, 139. Argonauta Argo, 83. Argonaut, Chap. X. Asteria, 111. Avicula margaritifera, 61. Awabi, 65. Barnacles, Chap. XIV. Borer, 20, 140, 141. Byssus spinners, Chap. XVI. Cassides, 165. Cassis cornuta, 157. Cassis rufa, 157. Cassis madagascariensis, 157. Cassis tuberosa, 157. Cerripeda, 118. Chitonide, 95. Chiton Katherina, 95. Chlorospermee, 75. Comatula rosacea, 111. Conidee, 151. Corallium rubrum, 125, 129. Cornua Ammonis, 87. Cowries, 171. Crepidula, 51. Crinoideg, 111, 114. Cyprea, 171. Dendronotus arborescens, 165, Dentalia, 172. Echinoidea, 114. Echinodermata, Chap. XIII. Echinus, Chap. XIII. Feathery star, 111. Fulgur canaliculatus, 18. Fulgur carica, 18. Glycimeris generosa, 139. Gorgonide, 124. Gorgon, Chap. XV. Haliotis, 8, Chap. XVIII. Haliotidee, 64. Harpa articularis, 150. Harpa ventricosa, 146. Helix pomatia, 166. Hermit crab, Chap. XV. Holothurian, 112, 113. Holothuride, 114. Hydroids, 45, 56, 57. Tanthina fragilis, 37, 38. Limpet, 5, 16, 17, 66. Mactra solidissima, 94. Malleus vulgaris, 64. Mandrapora formosa, 130. 175 176 THE HALL OF SHELLS. Meduse, 47, 57, Chap. VII. Melanospermee, 75. Mermaid’s cradle, 93, 97. Mermaid’s lace, 79. Microscopic shells, Chap. LV. Murex brandis, 28. Murex palma-rosa, 29. Murex princeps, 30. Murex radix, 29. Murex tinuispina, 29. Murex tribulus, 29. Murex trunculus, 28. Murexes, Chap. III, 27. Razor fishes, 22, Chap. XVI, 164. Rhodospermew, 75. Salpee, 45. Sand dollar, Chap. XIII. Sapphirina ovatolanceolata, 45. Sargasso Sea, 76. Sargassum bacciferum, 76. Sealaria, 45. Scallop, Chap. IT, 18, 14, 15. Scheveningen shells, Chap. XII. Sea fan, Chap. XV. Sea slugs, 166. Sea snails, 22. Nautilus, 84, 86, Chap. XI. Sea urchin, Chap. XIII. Serpula, 22. Siphonida, 139. Solaster popposus, 111. Solen, 138. Snails, 163, 164. Starfish, 8, Chap. XIIL Strombus gigas, 157. Oliva biplicata, 149. Oliva scripta, Chap. XVII Olivella, 146. Olives, Chap. X VIII. Operculum, 154. Ovulum ovum, 171. Ovulum volva, 171. Oyster, 8, Chap. VIII. Tradacna gigas, 95. Triton tritonis, 40. Triton variegatus, 40. Tritonia, 39. Tritonia arborescens, 165. Tritonia, 166. Trochus, 155. Patella, Chap. II. Patella vulgatus, 22. Pearls, Chap. VIII. Pecten, Chap. I, 13, 14, 15. Pecten Jacobzeus, 22. Phalos, 141. Tubipora musica, 130. Phasianella, 151. : Physalia, 54. Unio Hyria, 63. Pinna, 140. Pinna noblis, 64. Venus Californiensis, 94. Portuguese man-of-war, Chap. VII. | Venus mercenaria, 94. Purpuras, Chap. ILI. ; Worm cases, 45. THE END D. APPLETON AND COMPANY’S PUBLICATIONS. APPLETONS’ HOME-READING BOOKS. Edited by W. T. HARRIS, A.M., LL D., U. S. Commissioner of Education, A comprehensive series of books presenting upon a symmetrital plan the best available literature in the various fields of human learning, selected with a view to the needs of students of all grades in supplementing their school studies and for home reading. It is believed that this project will! fully solve the long standing problem as to what kind of reading shall be furnished to the young, and what will most benefit them intellectually as well as morally. NOW READY. 7 HE STORY OF THE BIRDS. By James New- TON BASKETT. 65 cents et. ‘Mr. Baskett’s book is not to be easily disposed of in a few words; it is out of the common run of popular ornithology, and decidedly original. We attest the author's competence for clear statement of facts, and the thorough readability of his whole book.” —The Nation. HE PLANT WORLD: Jts Romances and Realt- ties. Compiled and edited by FRANK VINCENT, M.A., author of ‘Actual Africa,” etc. 60 cents ze¢. ““Tts interest will extend to every member of the family, to every one who loves Nature, for its information regarding the plant world will make the mysteries of spring- time the more significant, the more beautiful.” —ABostonx Times. HE STORY OF OLIVER TWIST. By CHaruzs DICKENS. Condensed for home and school reading by ELLA Boyce KIRK. 60 cents wet. ** The language is unchanged, expressions are not modified, but everything a child would be likely to skip has been elided. The action is thus accelerated to suit the most impatient reader.” —Chicago Evening Fost. N. BROOK AND. BAYOU ; or, Life in the Sill Waters. By CLARA KERN BAYLIss. 60 cents et. In this volume the author introduces her readers to some of the interesting inhabit- ants of the microscopic world by the aid of numerous plates and full descriptive text. The account of the evolution of these minute creatures and their struggle for existence is given in a remarkably entertaining way, and makes the book as fascinating as a novel. IVE PRES Se CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. By JAMES CARTER BEARD. CRUSOE’S ISLAND. By F. A. OBER. ONCLE SAM’S SECRETS. By O: PB. AUSTIN. NATURAL HISTORY READERS, 5 vols. By J. F. TROEGER. THE FPALLE.OF SHELLS, By, Mis:°A. S. HARDY. (Others in preparation.) D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. D. APPLETON & CO.’S PUBLICATIONS. THE. LIBRARY -OF. USEFUL STORIES: Each book complete tn ttself. Ly writers of authority in their various spheres. 16mo. Cloth, 40 cents per volume. NOW READY. HE STORY OF THE STARS. By GoV Casas BERS, F. R. A.S., author of ‘‘ Handbook of Descriptive and Practical Astronomy,” etc. With 24 Illustrations. “The author presents his wonderful and at times bewildering facts in a bright and cheery spirit that makes the book doubly attractive.” —Boston Home Fournal, He STORY OF “PRIMITIVE” MAN vee EDWARD CLODD, author of ‘‘ The Story of Creation,” ete. _ “No candid person will deny that Mr. Clodd has come as near as any one at this time is likely to come to an authentic exposition of all the information hitherto gained regarding the earlier stages in the evolution of mankind.” —New York Sun. jhe SLOR (OL TATE AP LAL TS. By GRANT ALLEN, author of “ Flowers and their Pedigrees,” etc. ‘‘ As fascinating in style as a first-class story of fiction, and is a simple and clear exposition of plant life.”,—Boston Hone Fournal., P Pp eee STORY OF THE HART yea SEELEY, F. R.S., Professor of Geography in King’s College, London, With Illustrations. “Tt is doubtful if the fascinating story of the planet on which we live has been pre- viously told so clearly and at the same time so comprehensively.’’—Soston Advertiser. Je STORY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEI ee G. F. CHAMBERS, F. R. A. S. ‘‘ Any intelligent reader can get clear ideas of the movements of the worlds about us. . Will impart a wise knowledge of astronomical wonders.” —Chicago lnter-Ocean. UE SLORY OF A. PIECE OF COAT. Tee MARTIN, F. G. S. ‘©The value and importance of this volume are out of all proportion to its size and outward appearance.’’—Chicago Record. Jah x STORY, OF ELECTRICITY. By ajoga Munro, C. E. ““The book is an excellent one, crammed full of facts, and deserves a place not alone on the desk of the student, but on the workbench of the practical electrician.” — New York Times. ‘HE STORV OF EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EAST. By RosBertT ANDERSON, M.A., F.A.5S.,; author of “ Early England,” “ The Stuart Period,” etc. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. De APPLETON: &-€O!S PUBLICATIONS. AMITIAR. FLOWERS OF FIELD AND GARDEN. By F. ScHuYLER MATHEws. Illustrated with 200 Drawings by the Author, and containing an elaborate Index showing at a glance the botanical and popular names, family, color, locality, environment, and time of bloom of several hun- dred flowers. 12mo. Library Edition, cloth, $1.75 ; Pocket Edition, flexible covers, $2.25. In this convenient and useful volume the flowers which one finds in the fields are identified, illustrated, and described in familiar language. Their connection with gar- den flowers is made clear. Particular attention is drawn to the beautiful ones which have come under cultivation, and, as the title indicates, the book furnishes a ready guide to a knowledge of wild and cultivated flowers alike. ‘ PUBLICATIONS BOOKS BY “WILEIAM:0, STODDARD: HE: WINDFALL ; or, After the Flood, Wis" trated by B. WEST CLINEDINST. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. *The young hero and heroine of Mr. Stoddard's stirring tale of mining life and of adventures by field and flood, teach lessons of pluck and resourcefulness which will im- part a special and permanent value to one of the best stories that this popular author has given us. HRIS, THE MODEI-MAKER. A Story of New York. With 6 full-page Illustrations by B. WEesr CLINEDINST. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. ‘The girls as well as the boys will be certain to relish every line of it. It is full of lively and likely adventure, is wholesome in tone, and capitally illustrated.”’"—P//a- delphia Press. Gad THE OLD FRONTIER. With to full-page Illustrations. r2mo. Cloth, $1.50. ‘*A capital story of life in the middle of the last century. . . . The characters in- troduced really live and talk, and the story recommends itself not only to boys and girls but to their parents.”,—New Fork Times. HE BATTLE OF NEW YORK. With 1r full- page Illustrations and colored Frontispiece. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50, “Young people who are interested in the ever-thrilling story of the great rebellion will find in this romance a wonderfully zraphic picture of New York in war time.” — Boston Traveller. . Ji ss SMOKE. A Story of the Sioux Indians. With 12 full-page Illustrations by F. S. DELLENBAUGH, portraits of Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and other chiefs, and 72 head and tail pieces representing the various implements and surround- ings of Indian life. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. “Tt is not only a story of adventure, but the volume abounds in information con- cerning this most powerful of remaining Indian tribes. The work of the author has been well supplemented by the artist.””-— Boston Traveller. ROWDED OUT O' CROFTIELD. -The'story oie country boy who fought his way to success in the great metropolis. With 23 Illustrations by C. T. HILL. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. ““There are few writers who know how to meet the tastes and needs of boys better than does William O. Stoddard. ‘This excellent story teaches boys to be men, not prigs or Indian hunters. If our boys would read more such books, and less of the blood and- thunder order, it would be rare good fortune.” — Detroit Free Press. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. By APPLETON: &.-CO.S PUBLICATIONS. BOOKS BY HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. HE WAMPUM BELT ; or, The Fairest Page of History. A Tale of William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians. With 6 full-page Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. The series of graphic historical pictures which Mr. Butterworth places before the readers of his new book includes scenes among the Delaware Indians, the coming of William Penu, the making of the Great Treaty, and other phases of Penn’s life as the founder of a commonwealth and one of the ‘‘ Creators of Liberty.” me RNIGT TT OF LIBERTY, “As Vale-of the Fortunes of Lafayette. With 6 full-page Illustrations. 1I2mo. Cloth, $1.50. ‘¢ The work abounds in noble sentiments and lofty ideals. A book that may be read with profit.” —Detrozt Tribune. “‘No better reading for the young man can be imagined than this fascinating narra- tive.” —Bostoux Traveller. Ee -PATRIOT SCHOOLMASTER. A Yale of the Minute Men and the Sons of Liberty. With 6 full-page Illustrations by H. WINTHROP PEIRCE. I2mo. Cloth, $1.50. ‘‘ Exciting history, and it is rendered fascinating to boy readers. . Can be rec- ommended as a terse, stirring, and admirable story, and it throbs throughout with the best spirit of Americanism.” —New York Mail and Express. Sl LAE BOVAOOD OF LINCOLN. ~ A Storvatr the Black Hawk War and the Tunker Schoolmaster. With 12 Illustrations and colored Frontispiece. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. “€One of the best stories for youthful readers that has ever been written.’’—Sostoxz Budget. ‘© A work which should be put into the hands of every American boy.” —Philadel- phia Item. / We BOVS OF GREENWAY COURT, A Story of the Early Years of Washington. With tro full-page Illus- trations. 1I2mo. Cloth, $1.50. “The book is replete with picturesque incidents and legends of hunting exploits and adventures, and the figure of young Washington is shown in a light which will be sure to enlist the interest of young readers.”’—Chicago Herald. me OG SCHUOL-HOUSE ON THE GCO- LUMBIA. With 13 full-page Illustrations by J. CARTER BEARD, E. J. AUSTEN, and Others. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. “This book will charm all who turn its pages. There are few books of popular information concerning the pioneers of the great Northwest, and this one is worthy of sincere praise.’’—Seattle Post-Intelligencer. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D- APPLETON & ‘COv’S) PUBLICATIONS: YOUNG HEROES OF OUR NAVY. ee FARRAGUT, By JAMEs Barnes, author of “ For King or Country,” etc. Illustrated by Carlton T. Chapman. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00. The adventures of Farragut’s first years in the navy and the brilliant cruise of the Essex under Captain Porter are pictured by an author who has had exceptional advantages in the preparation of his graphic and stirring story. Vig TUR AND SOMERS. By Motty ELuior SEAWELL, author of “Paul Jones,” “ Little Jarvis,” etc. With 6 full-page Illustrations by J. O. Davidson and Others. I2mo. Cloth, $1.00. ‘« The tale is exceedingly well told. It is fullof interesting incidents, and the in- terest is maintained throughout. It is in every way a book which boys will enjoy, and which it will be well for them to read.””— Milwaukee Fournal. ees UL JONES. By Mottiy Evuiot SEAWELL. With 8 full-page Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00. “Tt is both romance and history, and will retain the attention of either the boy or man who begins to read this account of the most dashing sailor that ever wore a uni- form.”—St. Louis Republic. “© A concise, clear sketch of the ranking officer of the Continental marine, who in his day played a large part and did it so well as to command the applause of every patriotic American. To forget the name of Paul Jones would be an act of national ingratitude.’’—Chicago Inter-Ocean. Oe PAULDING. A ‘true story Ge the War of 1812. By Motiy ELLIoT SEAWELL. With 6 full- page Illustrations. I2mo. Cloth, $1.00. ‘The story is told in a breezy, pleasant style that can not fail to capture the fancy of young readers, and imparts much historical knowledge at the same time, while the i lustrations will help the understanding of the events described. Itisan excellent book for boys, and even the girls will be interested in it.” —Bvookiyn Standara-Union. / ITTLE JARVIS. The story of the heroic mid- shipman of the frigate ‘* Constellation.” By MoLty ELLIor SEAWELL. With 6 full-page Illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, $1.00. “Not since Dr. Edward Evcrett Hale’s classic, ‘The Man without a Country,’ has there been published a more stirring lesson in patriotism.’’—ostox Beacon. “‘Itis what a boy would call ‘a real boy’s’ book.” —Charleston News and Courier. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. a