8 SEASIDE DIVINITY. 



and various. They all belong more or less to 

 Natural History in its more comprehensive accep- 

 tation ; and Natural History is itself a charming 

 study. 



Then we have to consider the aspect, the 

 character, and the structure of our sea-shores ; the 

 ocean itself, with its special laws and history; 

 marine vegetation and littoral plants ; and a great 

 variety of living beings which either make their 

 abode continually on our shores, or only visit them 

 from time to time. Such objects, so many and so 

 various, invest our sea-shores with the greatest 

 novelty; for the most diligent and industrious 

 observer cannot with all his labour exhaust the 

 store even of the microscopic objects alone which 

 the sea-beach affords. Be it observed, however, 

 that to reap the full advantage which such studies 

 are capable of conferring, some particular know- 

 ledge is requisite, as well as diligence and at- 

 tention. 



A very simple illustration will be sufficient to 

 explain this. Let us suppose, for example, the 

 case of a person entirely ignorant of the botany 

 of field flowers. He never heard of the artificial 

 system of Linnaeus, or the natural system of 

 Cuvier., He has no more acquaintance with one 

 flower than another, as regards its structure, its 

 functions, its habits, or its qualities. To such an 

 individual a ramble through the fields or woods in 

 spring presents little more than the fact, that the 

 hedge-rows, the meadows, and the trees are again 

 assuming their verdant garniture, and that, after 



