40 HISTOEY OF BRITISH ZOOPHYTES. 



marine productions of the same kind, commonly found on 

 the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland ' " A work," says 

 Dr. George Johnston, a most competent judge, " so com- 

 plete and accurate, that it remains an unscarred monument 

 of his well-earned reputation as a philosophical inquirer, 

 and is even to this day the principal source of our know- 

 ledge in this department of natural history." 



As a proof of the rapid spread of the reputation of this 

 work, we may mention that, before a year elapsed, a trans- 

 lation of it into the French language was published at the 

 Hague, dedicated by M. Hondt, the translator, to her ma- 

 jesty the Queen of Sweden. I have a copy of that work 

 published in 1756, with illustrations from the same plates 

 that were employed in the original work. And yet, precious 

 as the work is, even in a translation, it is mortifying to find 

 that it has never been read, for it has remained uncut. This 

 would say little for the popularity of the treatise, did we not 

 conjecture that it must have fallen into the hands of per- 

 sons unacquainted with the French language, and therefore 

 ignorant of the value of the treasure in their possession. 



It is very interesting to learn from the relation which 

 Ellis himself gives, the way in which the light broke in upon 

 him. About the close of the year 1751 (and one hundred 



