one of the many groups of minuscules which at 

 night-time impart a phosphorescent aspect to the 

 sea. 



Under the microscope, on a dark field, their 

 nearly transparent bodies reflect many delicate 

 colors. As if in the manner of a kaleidoscope, when 

 I shift but slightly the position of the slide, the 

 colors change, dissolving into other, yet equally 

 delightful tints. Mere words, of course, are utterly 

 useless in any effort to convey the likeness of these 

 prismatic irradiations. Nor would pigments be any 

 better. To visualize for others such sorceries of 

 color, one must acquire something more than a 

 knowledge of the palette: one must learn the se- 

 cret of fixing to his canvas the luminous essence of 

 the rainbow, or of phantom-fire. 



The slide is strewn with various species. Near 

 the edge of the circular field is one form which at 

 first sight resembles a many-hooped cask; but more 

 careful inspection reveals that the places of the 

 hoops are really depressions engirdling the ani- 

 mal. Lying in each depression can be seen a long, 

 hair-like lash. On one side of the creature a deep 

 groove runs along the whole length of its body; 

 within this groove lies another lash, longer and 



[114] 



