304 AQUATIC MECHANISMS. 



guidance, in other words, in peculiar accordance with Divine 

 tuition ; if we see in their perfect tools and unerring me- 

 chanisms so many palpable tokens of the Divine " contriving 

 mind/' then are all our involuntary imitations of these imple- 

 ments and works so many unconscious copies from Divine 

 models, and, as suck, so many corroborative tokens of our 

 proudest distinction, that of having been formed, mentally, 

 after the Divine image. 



Now, ladies and gentlemen, our preparatory lecture ended, 

 it is time to point out to you, as we promised, a few of the 

 most striking objects in our exhibition the miniature gallery 

 of practical science with whose programme we commenced. 



Following an arrangement something similar to that adopted 

 at the "Polytechnic," let us begin by a survey of what we 

 shall denominate our hall. Around it flows an artificial canal, 

 on the surface of which, stationary or in movement, we see a 

 variety of what look, at a little distance, like diminutive model 

 boats. Here are some of them propelled seemingly by oars 

 self-moving oars for no rowers are discernible. Each craft, 

 through some internal mechanism, is self-acting, is its own 

 rower ; it is, in fact, as we perceive on closer scrutiny, a living 

 thing, one of the things which, under another aspect, that of 

 murderous pirates, we have elsewhere glanced at.* These 

 living boats, of which the like may be seen gliding in summer 

 on the surface of every pond, are, in short, none other than 



* See " Water-Devils." 



