THE SEA. 203 
‘* T think, ye beautiful shells, of the wave, 
That birth to your peerless beauty gave ; 
I think of the rolling waters, that sweep 
Over your brethren of the deep : 
‘« And I think of the pearl, or the tinted shell, 
As it lies enshrin’d in its native cell ; 
And I dream of the Nereid’s fabled song, 
That floats those sparry halls along : 
«© T remember the venturous diver, who first 
Beheld you amid the sea-weeds nurst, 
And snatch’d you eagerly away, 
To smile again at the smiling day : 
*«« And I think of the tranquil, tranquil sea, 
When the stars are burning steadily, 
As if they were looking the clear wave through, 
To see if their glances could rest on you. 
‘* But there are better thoughts than these, 
That rise when I see you, shells of the seas. 
Ye are like pure spirits, that dwell through life 
Unharm’d, amid its billows and strife. 
‘* And there is a hand that shall bear them away 
At last, to the light of a cloudless day, 
And treasure them more than ocean’s gems, 
And crown them with heavenly diadems.” 
It now remains to notice the unassuming Sa- 
bella,* or Sand-shell, the last and most insignificant 
* The Sand-shell is included by Linnezus among the shell 
tribe, although omitted by some modern naturalists. 
