BRILLIANCY OP THE ACALEPILE. 215 



On the subject of the luminosity of the sea, 

 Professor Rymer Jones thus eloquently expresses 

 himself, speaking of the phenomenon as witnessed 

 by himself in the Mediterranean : " The light 

 is not constant, but only emitted when agitation of 

 any kind disturbs the microscopic medusae which 

 crowd the surface of the ocean ; a passing breeze, 

 as it sweeps over the tranquil bosom of the sea, 

 will call from the waves a flash of brilliancy 

 which may be traced for miles; the wake of a 

 ship is marked by a long track of splendour ; the 

 oars of your boat are raised dripping with living 

 diamonds ; and if a little of theVater be taken 

 up in the palm of the hand and gently agitated 

 luminous points are perceptibly diffused through 

 it, which emanate from ^innumerable little aca- 

 lephse, scarcely perceptible without the assistance 

 of a microscope. All, however, are not equally 

 minute ; the Beroes, in which the cilia would seem 

 to be vividly phosphorescent, are of considerable 

 size, and the Cesium Veneris, as it glides along, has 

 the appearance of an undulating ribbon of flame 

 several feet in length. Many of the larger forms 

 shine with such dazzling brightness that they 

 have been described by navigators as resembling 

 ' white-hot shot,' visible at some depth beneath 

 the surface." 



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