186 THE RING OF NATURE 



children afraid to touch him. Doubly armed, for 

 the agility of the gunnel to evade pursuit is truly 

 wonderful. 



The little soles met with in the shallow edges 

 of the sea waves are just like the sand on which 

 they lie, say, like bits of paper to which grains of 

 sand have been fixed all over. The older soles 

 are a far less perfect match, till we remember that 

 they live not in the shallow sunshine, but in the 

 depths where the shadows run together more. 

 Follow the little soles into the deep sea and we 

 are in an enormous world almost unexplored. 

 We can dredge up a few monsters or their 

 integuments, haul a few out with rod and line, 

 wait for the waves to wash up prizes like the 

 lesser forkbeard or the wonderful opah naming 

 with all the colours of the rainbow. But at the 

 edge of the sea we stand for ever on the border 

 of a world of life richer in wonder than the land 

 behind us, and contrived to yield its treasures so 

 slowly and spasmodically as to last many lifetimes. 

 Like Newton, we can only hope to pick up a very 

 few shells before it is time for bed. 



