102 LECTUKE YIII. 



seated in a boat, and, after a pleasant pull of 

 half-a-mile out to sea by a good honest fisher- 

 man, then preparing for sport. The water seems 

 to laugh and sing, as the Psalmist described the 

 waving corn, and sparkles in the morning sun, 

 and dances around as the anchor a heavy 

 stone is cast amidst the gently-swelling waves. 

 Eager for the sport, the lines are prepared; 

 there is a tug at the hook, and, hauling up the 

 lengthened string, expect a prize ; when lo I 'tis 

 but a villainous star-fish that has seized the bait, 

 gorging it deep and fast. Again we try, and 

 with the same result. Bait after bait is thus 

 devoured, till I begin to think that shoals of 

 star-fishes are waiting there on purpose to annoy 

 me. No whiting for breakfast! Who would 

 keep his temper under such a trial ? 



But still they are some of God's useful crea- 

 tures, and that to a great extent. The appetite 

 of the star-fish is for carrion. Their restless in- 

 dustry is constantly employed in hunting out 

 and swallowing all dead and tainted matters 

 that approach the shore, and which, if permitted 

 to accumulate, would soon pollute the very ocean, 

 defile the air, and thus render the earth almost 

 uninhabitable. Silently and quietly the work is 



