66 RELIGIOUS APPLICATION. 



art was used to heighten their native hues, and, it may be, 

 to rub down whatever were deemed deformities. This taste 

 spread from the museum ; and figures of the same kind, but 

 of large size, were introduced into the garden, where Tri- 

 tons, Mermaids, and Neptunes arose, wholly fabricated of 

 shells, spouting water all very fine and blowing conchs most 

 mightily.* Bonanni in his book entitled "Recreatio Mentis 

 et Oculi," has given a few figures illustrative of this rude 

 taste as they were to be seen in the royal gardens at Ver- 

 sailles, and which he lauds as the perfection of art and beauty. 

 When carvings in wood came into fashion, shells were again 

 favourite objects of imitation ; and, at a later period, they 

 were admirably copied by workers in plaster, so that I have 

 repeatedly, in some of our old chimney-pieces, studied with 

 pleasure the groups of shells represented there ; and so well, 

 that it has not been difficult in many cases to identify the 

 species. This pretty work is now rarely seen, which I do 

 regret, although the expression of it exposes me to the 

 charge of a certain vulgarity in taste. But no artist ever 

 applied a shell to so noble a purpose (and the fact is a fine 

 example, that genius rests its high efforts on no uncommon 

 or new facts peculiar to its own sphere of observation, but 

 on every day and familiar processes, which she views with 

 her own heavenly light,) as Mr. Brunei did when the borings 

 of a Teredo revealed to him the plan of tunneling the 

 Thames ! On a visit to this distinguished engineer by Pro- 

 fessor Pictet and Dr. Brewster, he mentioned to them that 

 the idea upon which his new plan of tunneling is founded, was 

 suggested to him by the operations of the Teredo. -f- Is this 

 not sufficient compensation for all the ravages of that worm ? 



A few shells have been applied to religious purposes. The 

 Achatina perdix, (Lamk.) is said to be so highly valued in 

 the East Indies that its exportation has been prohibited 

 under pain of death, possibly owing to some superstitious 



* " Coenileum Tritona vocat ; conchaque sonanti 

 Inspirare jubet, fluctusque, et flumina signo 

 Jam revocare dato." — Ovid. 



t Edin. Encyclop. xviii. 656. After alluding to the numbers and variety 

 of the species of the genus Cerithium, Lamarck adds, " Or, comme 1'extreme 

 diversite des parties protuberantes de la surface de ces coquilles, ainsi que 

 la re'gularite et l'elegance de leur distribution, ne laisse presque aucune forme 

 possible dont la nature n'orfre ici des exemples, on peut dire que l'architec- 

 ture trouverait dans les especes de ce genre, de meme que dans celles des 

 pleurotomes et des fuseaux, un choix de modeles pour l'ornement des colon- 

 nes, et que ces modeles seraient tres-digne d'etre employes." — Avim. s. 

 Vert. vii. 64. 



