UNIVALVES, 177 
Limpet, some kinds adhere to the surface of the 
rocks; others, as the Haliotis, or Sea-ear, are appa- 
rently but one remove from these; a third descrip- 
tion, possesses no other senses than those of feeling 
and of taste; a fourth, are furnished with an addi- 
tional one of hearing; a fifth, of smelling. The whole 
chasm of nature is thus filled up with different 
kinds of creatures, rising, in regular gradation, with 
such a gentle and easy ascent, that the little tran- 
sitions are almost imperceptible. Class is linked 
to class, with a just and admirable precision, by 
means of an order, trespassing on both; order to 
order, by an intermediate genus; genera to genera, 
by a doubtful species; one species to another, by 
continual varieties. The mineral, and vegetable king- 
doms, are united in like manner, by the Amianthes 
and Lithophytes ; Zoophytes, form a connecting link 
between animals and vegetables. Tube-worms unite 
insects to shells and reptiles; the latter are joined to 
fishes, by sea-eels and water serpents. Flying fish 
connect the finny natives of the deep, with those 
that skim the air; and bats, associate birds and qua- 
drupeds with each other. 
“« Thus the vast chain of being, though widely extended, 
Unites all its parts in one beautiful whole, 
In which grandeur and grace are enchantingly blended, 
Of which God is the centre, the life, and the soul.” 
BaRTon. 
N 
