.TELI.T-FISnES. 353 



CIIAFTER XYII 



JELLY-FISHES. 



As tills afternoon was delightfullj calm and warm 

 — the veiy model of an autumnal day — I took my 

 muslin ring-net and walked down to the rocks at the 

 margin of the quiet sea. Kor was I disappointed ; for 

 the still water, scarcely disturbed by an undulation, 

 and clear as crystal, was alive with those brilliant little 

 globes of animated jelly, the Ciliograde and Naked- 

 eyed Medusae, apparently little more substantial than 

 the clear water itself. Multitudes of them were float- 

 ing on the surface, and others were discerned by the 

 practised eye, at various depths, shooting hither and 

 thither, now ascending, now descending, now hanging 

 lightly on their oars, and now, as if to make up for 

 sloth, darting along obliquely with quickly-repeated 

 vigorous strokes, or rolling and revolving along, in the 

 very wantonness of humble happiness. 



After gazing awhile with admiration at the undis- 

 turbed jollity of the hosts, I made a dip with my net, 

 the interior of which, on lifting it from the water, was 

 lined with sparkling balls of translucent jelly. Tliey 

 were far too numerous to allow me to transfer them all 

 to captivity ; they would soon have choked up and 

 destroyed one another ; I therefore selected the finest 



