104 LEAVES FROM THE BOOK OF NATURE. 



of the sea-lettuce, with large, porous lichens, and many- 

 branched, hollow algse, full of life and motion in their rosy- 

 little bladders, thickly set with ever-moving, tiny arms. 



These plants form sub-marine forests, growing one into 

 another, in apparently lawless order, here interlacing their 

 branches, there forming bowers and long avenues; at one 

 time thriving abundantly until the thicket seems impene- 

 trable, then again leaving large openings between wold 

 and wold, where smaller plants form a beautiful pink turf. 

 There a thousand hues and tinges shine and glitter in 

 each changing light. In the exuberance of their luxuriant 

 growth, the fuci especially seem to gratify every whim 

 and freak. Creeping close to the ground, or sending long- 

 stretched arms, crowned with waving plumes, up to the 

 blessed light of heaven, they form pale green sea groves, 

 where there is neither moon nor star, or rise up nearer 

 to the surface, to be transcendently rich and gorgeous 

 in brightest green, gold, and purple. And, through this 

 dream-like scene, playing in all the colors of the rainbow, 

 and deep under the hollow, briny ocean, there sail and 

 chase each other merrily, gaily painted mollusks, and bright 

 shining fishes. Snails of every shape creep slowly along 

 the stems, whilst huge, gray-haired seals hang with their 

 enormous tusks on large, tall trees. There is the gigantic 

 Dugong, the siren of the ancients, the sidelong shark with 

 his leaden eyes, the thick-haired sea-leopard, and the slug- 

 gish turtle. Look how these strange, ill-shapen forms, 

 which ever keep their dreamless sleep far down in the 

 gloomy deep, stir themselves from time to time! See, 

 how they drive eacfi other from their rich pastures, how 



