86 Natural Theology. 



that one form shall not even suggest another to us ; 

 but when each one is presented, it perfectly com- 

 mends itself to our judgment in all its relations. 

 The pinna was made for the waves, and her wide, 

 thin shells would seem to be the sport of the waters. 

 But she spins long silken cords, beautiful and strong, 

 and with these glossy cables anchors herself securely. 

 The saxicavas bore into the corals and solid rocks 

 to form a secure resting-place. The myas and kin- 

 dred tribes bury themselves in sand. The pearly 

 nautilus finds water-tight compartments built in his 

 tiny vessel by the very law of his growth. Before 

 the Argonauts sailed, or the ark floated upon the 

 waters, this modern invention of ship-building was 

 freely used in adapting shells to the wants of their 

 occupants. 



Another group, not less remarkable for complex- 

 ity of relation, are the articulates. The earth-worm 

 that gropes in the soil, the crustacean of the waters, 

 and the countless host of insects, make up this 

 grand division of the animal kingdom. The earth- 

 worm is perfectly fitted for his mode of life. His 

 brothers, made to inhabit the ocean, are perfectly 

 adapted to that place. Some move freely, well pro- 

 vided with organs of locomotion, while others secrete 

 for their protection a solid tube of lime, exposing 

 only those organs used in securing food and purify- 

 ing the blood. The study of each one of these low 

 forms of life shows a distinct but beautiful adapta- 

 tion of means to ends ; a perfect provision for these 

 humble beings. The crustaceans are the most 



