234 INTRODUCTION TO CONCHOLOGY. 



Among sucli is the Haliotis, wliicli Linnaeus regarded as 

 affording a transition from the non- spiral to the spiral shell ; 

 the Isocardia, an elegant species, distinguished by its cordate 

 symmetry, and forming an accurate transition from the 

 Carclia to Cardita ; Cyprina, in like manner, which esta- 

 blishes a close affinity between the fluviatile and marine con- 

 chacea, and Psarmnobia, that serves to connect the genera 

 Sangiiinolaria and Tellina ; lastly, the Mi/aria, which forms 

 a natural link between the Solenacea and Mactracea, and 

 partakes of the characters of both. 



It is therefore evident that different kinds of creatures are 

 most harmoniously arranged, rising, in regular gradations, 

 with such a gentle and easy ascent, that the little transitions 

 are almost imperceptible ; that class is linked to class with a 

 just and admirable precision, by means of orders, having 

 affinity with both; one order to another; and genera to genera, 

 by innumerable and beautifully- constructed links; and that 

 creation is thus bound together, as it were, by a glorious 

 chain, that encircles its length and breadth. 



"Oh, my God,^^ said the admirable Fenelon, ''he who 

 does not see Thee in thy works, has seen nothing. He who 

 does not confess thy hand in this well-ordered world, is a 

 stranger to the best affections of the heart. He exists as 



