III. 



The beginning- of conversion The star-fish A curious invasion A way oi 

 eating and a way of running, by no means proper Absorption and 

 afterwards Numerous posterity Animals (hat double themselves by 

 division What may be seen on a shell An aquarium in miniature 

 Fairyland in a glass of water What may be found in oyster-water 

 Uncle Bob himself asks to see Excursion in a new world A fantastic 

 waltz By what means the infinitely small manage to play an infinitely 

 large part A good thing from Michelet The conversion become 

 decided. 



DURING the repast Rene* spoke but little. This 

 strange world, of which he had just caught a glimpse, 

 could not but more or less disturb his mind. A little 

 ashamed of having hitherto scarcely even suspected 

 its existence, he felt his usual carelessness opposed by 

 the desire of knowing, and of being himself able to 

 explain. 



That unseen enigma, that insoluble problem life, 

 in its wondrous manifestations, was already attract- 

 ing him with its mysterious power. There was then 

 after all in natural history something more than a 

 mere glossary of queer words, and it might be possi- 

 ble to inquire into the lives of the beings that surround 

 us with the same sort of interest that one feels in 

 following the plot of a play at the theatre. 



