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the presence of a colony of polyzoa, or corallines, 

 and a dwarfed form of some red seaweed which 

 seemingly in stubborn desperation still retains its 

 foothold in the rotten relic. Throughout the ex- 

 terior it is seamed and scored with the corrosion of 

 time; and where the nacreous substance is exposed, 

 it is darkened by decay. But I well know that it is 

 in such unprepossessing precincts that many 

 minute folk are wont to dwell. 



My first peep through the binocular proves my 

 convictions. Only a small portion of the whole 

 area of the shell shows in the field of view; but 

 within this space I see several gem-like creatures 

 swarming over a miniature mountain of pearly 

 pink then down into a ravine of delicate shimmer- 

 ing orange. Nor are the living jewels less delight- 

 ful to the eye than their setting. They are so totally 

 unlike anything of common experience that no 

 comparison for descriptive purposes is possible. 

 The most that can be intelligibly expressed, may 

 be contained in the brief statement that they are 

 entomostracans that remotely resemble in form 

 that of the possibly distantly related horseshoe- 

 crab. But here all likeness stops. No crab-like crea- 

 ture that can be seen with the naked eye is pos- 



[132] 



