400 THE SCARLET AND 



the Tunnels, forming walls and pinnacles of danger- 

 ous abruptness, with deep, almost inaccessible cavities 

 between. Into one of these, at the very verge of the 

 water, I had managed to scramble down ; and found 

 round a corner a sort of oblong basin about ten feet 

 long, in which the water remained, a tide-pool of three 

 feet depth in the middle. The whole concavity of 

 the interior was so smooth that I could find no restincr 

 place for my foot in order to examine it ; though the 

 sides all covered with the pink lichen-like Coralline, 

 and bristling with Laminarise and zoophytes, looked 

 so tempting that I walked round and round, reluctant 

 to leave it. At length I fairly stripped, though it 

 was blowing very cold, and jumped in. I had exam- 

 ined a good many things, of which the only novelty 

 was the pretty narrow fronds of Fliistra chartacea in 

 some abundance, and was just about to come out, 

 when my eye rested on what I at once saw to be a 

 Madrepore, but of an unusual colour, a most refulgent 

 orange. It was soon detached by means of the ham- 

 mer, as were several more, which were associated with 

 it. Not suspecting, however, that it was any thing 

 more than a variation in colour of a very variable 

 species, I left a good many remaining, for which I 

 was afterwards sorry. All were affixed to the perpen- 

 dicular side of the pool, above the permanent water- 

 mark; and there were some of the common Caryo- 



r 



phyllia associated with them. 



The new species may be at once recognised by its 

 brilliant colours. The whole of the body and disk, 

 exclusive of the tentacles, is of a rich orange, yellower 

 in young specimens, almost approaching to vivid 



