124 THE ARGONAUT. 



above the water, turns upon his back, and raiseth or heaveth 

 himself up by little and little : and to the end he might 

 swim with more ease, as disburdened of a sinke, he dis- 

 chargeth all the water within him at a pij^e. After this, 

 turning up his two foremost claws or amies, he displaiceth 

 and stretcheth out betweene them a membrane or skin of a 

 wonderful thinnesse : this serve th him in stead of a saile 

 in the aire above water : with the rest of his arms or claws 

 he roweth and laboreth under water, and with his taile in 

 the mids, he directs his course, and steereth as it were with 

 an helme. Thus holds he on and maketh way in the sea, 

 with a faire shew of a foist or gaily under saile. Now, if 

 he be afraid of anything in the way, he makes no more ado 

 but drawes in water to ballace his body, and so plungeth 

 himselfe down, and sinketh to the bottom." * 



This picturesque description is, I regret to tell you, in a 

 great measure, imaginary. The verisimilitude of the Argo- 

 naut to the sail-governed shij) was first lessened by Rum- 

 phius, who may have been a witness of its proceedings ; -f 

 but the shock which his testimony gave to the history, and 

 the metaphysician's dream, might have been counterpoised 

 by that of Bosc, J had not the whole account of this latter 

 naturalist been so obviously erroneous, although said to 

 have been made from personal observation. But recent 

 discovery has greatly reduced its marvelousness. The 

 Argonaut, when submerged, crawls along the bottom, like 

 other cuttles, by the aid and contortions of its simple arms, 

 holding the shell, back upwards, in the grasp of its two 

 velated arms, which are retroverted for this purpose, and 

 closely applied along the keels, the extremities being at 

 the same time so dilated and spread out as to embrace and 

 conceal the shell entirely. § " During calm weather," says 

 Madame Jeannette Power, " and in quiet water, if not feel- 

 ing themselves observed, they make a parade of their many 

 beauties, rowing wdth full sails, tinged with beautiful 

 colours, and resting the extremities of the sail-arms on the 

 two sides of the shell, or embracing the shell with them. 

 It is then that their different movements and habits may be 

 observed ; but I was obliged to act with the greatest 

 caution in order to enjoy this spectacle, for the creatures 

 are extremely suspicious, and no sooner find themselves 

 observed, than they let themselves fall to the bottom of the 



* Holland's Plinie, i. 250. t Griffith's Cuvier, xxxix. 300. 



X Hist, (les Coquil. iii. 255. 

 <^ Jones's Anim. Kin:^d. 444, fi". 207. 



