184 HIGHWATER MARK. 



stump, are the little round velvet cushions of Tor- 

 tula, the seats, doubtless, of the august assembly ! 



The gaping capsules of the fetid iris are displaying 

 here and there their orange seeds crowded within like 

 glowing coals of fire ; the crimson haws, and the 

 scarlet hips of the dog-rose hang thick on the thorns 

 and briers ; and here, under the shadow of the ferns 

 at the bottom of the bank, shoots up from the damp 

 moss a tiny vermilion agaric. We must take a closer 

 glance at this. How delicately tender ! The most 

 cautious touch of our fingers crushes its succulent 

 stem : but what a beautiful little conical cap ! bright 

 scarlet without, like coral ; and within, oh ! how per- 

 fectly beautiful the order and arrangement of these 

 radiating plates ! We pluck away the stalk, and 

 then, if we did not know the origin and texture of 

 the object in our hand if we saw it under a glass 

 shade we should not hesitate 'to affirm that it was 

 actually a madrepore, one of those cups which we 

 may find affixed to the caves of yonder shore, the 

 concavity of which is lined with plates of stone, the 

 very counterparts of these ! Here are the several 

 cycles of cloisons, each intercalated according to its 

 subordination, exactly as we see them in the zoophyte. 

 So curiously has the wisdom of God repeated, as it 

 were, in remote regions of creation, the same idea of 

 grace and beauty ! Nor is this by any means a 

 singular example. 



Now, emerging from our winding mossy lane, the 

 sea in its boundlessness suddenly breaks upon us. 



