296 THE WALKS ABROAD OF 



Havre, as the result of some piece of awkward man- 

 agement one of these cases fell into the sea. A. 

 squad of negroes was immediately set to work to 

 recover it. And it happened that one of these 

 negroes fell, as if into a trap, into the sponge in 

 question, which was just deep enough and large 

 enough to contain the whole body of a man. 



"The poor devil, maddened with fright, thought 

 himself lost. By a desperate shock he succeeded in 

 detaching the sponge from its attachment, and both 



PIECE OF WOOD PEBFOBATED BY SHIP-WORMS. 



of them rose to the surface together, the man in the 

 sponge. This negro-eating sponge is, I believe, the 

 largest specimen that has ever been secured." 



" Now that we are talking of big things," said 

 Eene, " can you tell me what are the largest of all 

 the shells?" 



" A species of Tridacna giant clams, or holy-water 

 basins as they are called. These sometimes attain a 

 diameter of three feet. They are obtained chiefly in 

 the Indian Ocean." 



