378 SEA- SIDE STUDIES. 



than it was before ; it must, therefore, give place to 

 the pressure which the heavier water exerts to push 

 it aside, and occupy its place ; and it must conse- 

 quently travel about and mingle with the waters of 

 the other parts of the ocean, until its proportion of 

 solid matter is returned to it The sea- 

 breeze plays upon the surface ; it converts only fresh 

 water into vapour, and leaves the solid matter behind. 

 The surface thus becomes specifically heavier, and sinks. 

 On the other hand, the little marine architect below, 

 as he works upon his coral edifice at the bottom, 

 abstracts from the water there a portion of its solid 

 contents ; it therefore becomes sj^ecifically lighter, and 

 up it goes, ascending to the top with increased velocity 

 to take the place of the descending column, which, by 

 the action of the winds, has been sent down loaded with 

 fresh food and materials for the busy little mason in 

 the depths below.'' 



Was I not justified in saying that the Mollusc was 

 deeply interesting in its relations to the great forces of 

 the Universe ? Does not this one example show how 

 the great AVhole is indissolubly connected with its 

 minutest parts ? The simple germination of a lichen 

 is, if we apprehend it rightly, directly linked with the 

 grandest astronomical phenomena ; nor could even an 

 infusory animalcule be annihilated without altering the 

 equilibrium of the universe. 



''Nothing in this world is single ; 

 All things by a law di\'ine 

 In one another's being mingle." 



