THE WONDERS OF THE SHORE. 39 
allurement which men of the highest attainments 
have found, and still find, in it. And when to this 
we add the marvels which meet us at every step 
in the anatomy and the reproduction of these 
creatures, and in the chemical and mechanical 
functions which they fulfil in the great economy 
of our planet, we cannot wonder at finding that 
books which treat of them carry with them a cer- 
tain charm of romance, and feed the play of fancy, 
and that love of the marvellous which is inherent 
in man, at the same time that they lead the reader 
to more solemn and lofty trains of thought, which 
can find their full satisfaction only in self-forgetful 
worship, and that hymn of praise which goes up 
ever from land and sea, as well as from saints and 
martyrs and the heavenly host, “O all ye works 
of the Lord, and ye, too, spirits and souls of 
the righteous, praise Him, and magnify Him for 
ever!” 
I have said, that there were excuses for the old 
contempt of the study of Natural History. I have 
said, too, it may be hoped, enough to show that 
