32 Life Beneath the Waves. 



delicate and fragile in appearance than 

 those of the former, they have no protec- 

 tion in the way of a stopper when hidden 

 in their tubes. The elegance, lightness, 

 and gracefulness of these gills of the 

 Sabellae are indeed beyond description; 

 like the Serpulae, they vary in colour. 

 Those I have sketched were delicate gold, 

 with brilliant scarlet dots; some are pale 

 green, streaked with black, and when fully 

 opened, and waving backwards and for- 

 wards in the water, they are most ex- 

 quisite and beautiful objects. Another 

 distinction between the Annelids of which 

 I am writing is, that whilst the Serpula5 

 are usually found in groups adhering to 

 broken shells or pieces of rock, the SabellaB 

 I have drawn are, as a rule, seldom to be 

 obtained even in pairs. And whilst the tubes 

 of these SabellaB adhere but partially to their 



