one or several forms of life, but not always pre- 

 cisely the type that is wanted for the purpose im- 

 mediately at hand. So it is that the observer of 

 Nature learns after long experience somewhat of 

 philosophy if not much of the problem he has set 

 upon to solve — he learns to take things as they 

 come. 



And so it was that I began my investigation of 

 the habits of the serpent-star, an animal than 

 which few creatures of the sea lead a life more 

 simple; yet a creature and a life history whose very 

 simplicity baffled my every attempt over a consid- 

 erable period to gain an intimate acquaintance; 

 and, I may add, it was then I began that series of 

 blunders of which I have spoken, blunders into 

 which I was betrayed by my believing everything 

 I read in the books. 



Indeed, my discovery of the serpent-star was the 

 only worth-while result that attended the expedi- 

 tion on that cold and windy afternoon. When the 

 tub of seaweed was examined in the laboratory, 

 there was not a single Caprella to be found — for 

 that is the name of the little amphipod whose 

 acquisition was the primary object of our venture. 

 Caprella, sometimes called the "skeleton-shrimp," 



[48] 



