346 



ABOUT COMMON WATER. 



Sparks of light, apparently generated by the beam, 

 immediately appeared along its track. 



Examining the ice afterwards with a magnifying- 

 lens, I found that every one of those brilliant points 

 constituted the centre, or nucleus, of a beautiful liquid 

 flower of six petals. There was no deviation from this 

 number, because it was inexorably bound up with the 

 crystalline form of the ice. 



Thus, in a region withdrawn from the inattentive 

 eye, we find ourselves surprised and fascinated by the 

 methods of Nature. 



