24 



LESSON V, 



SHELLS. 



Teacher. Well, did you find the study of 

 the mollusca as uninteresting and unprofitable 

 as you expected it to be ? 



Child. Oh no, we have, on the contrary, 

 learnt much that has interested and surprised us. 



Teacher. And what useful lesson may you 

 apply to yourselves from the mistake you first 

 made ? 



Child. Not to look upon any of the works 

 of God with indifference or contempt, but to 

 feel convinced that if they fail to excite our 

 admiration, it is on account of our ignorance. 



Teacher. The more you study Natural His- 

 tory, the more you will be inclined to acknow- 

 ledge this truth. Now I wish you to examine 

 the coverings of the mollusks, are there any 

 parts of other animals that can be compared to 

 shells ? 



Child. The hard coverings of beetles are 

 something like them. 



Teacher. What strikes you as being the 

 principal difference between shells and the case 

 in which some insects are enclosed ? 



Child. Shells are like houses ; but the cover- 

 ings of insects fit the different members of their 



