THE NYMPHON GRACILE. 21^ 



at the wealth promised by this abundance ; and is not 

 abundance of animals worth a few hours' discomfort on 

 board the packet? Nay (now that it is past), what 

 was that discomfort ? A hurricane of blows upon the 

 chisel answers with contemptuous emphasis. 



It is laborious work this chiselling away of Ane- 

 mones from the granite. The grey-slate of Ilfracombe 

 was troublesome ; the limestone of Tenby worse ; but 

 this granite opposes us with quite another stubbornness, 

 and needs energetic patience to overcome it. In spite 

 of March winds I am forced to take off my coat after a 

 little of this hammerino- • and durino; summer heats the 

 exercise would create a vapour bath, giving unpleasant 

 extension to the faculty of perspiring, which is exerted 

 by the twenty-eight miles of tubing (such is the calcu- 

 lation) possessed by our skins. After filling our bas- 

 kets with as many of these Anemones as satisfy present 

 desires, we begin turning over the stones. Presently 

 we descry two specimens of marine spiders, or daddy- 

 long-legs {Nymphon gracile), very curious to behold. 

 They have no body to speak of ; a mere line, not 

 thicker than one of their legs, representing the torso. 

 Tie a piece of silk thread, about one-fourth of an inch 

 long, into four equidistant knots, and that will repre- 

 sent the body ; from each of these knots let much 

 longer pieces of the same thread dangle, and you have 

 the legs ; split the tip of the thread into three filaments, 

 and you have the head ; gum bits of dirty wool, about 

 as large as a pin's head, on the second legs, and you 

 have the egg-sacs : and with this the animal is complete. 



