XVI. NATURE'S JEWELS. 



" I hold it of little matter 



Whether your jewel be of pure water, 



A rose-diamond or a white, 



But whether it dazzle nie with light." 



" Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, 

 Then Beauty is its own excuse forl>emg." EMERSON. 



A GLASS slide, on which are mounted a number 

 of Diatoms, carefully selected and artistically ar- 

 ranged, suggests the heading of this vignette. To 

 the naked eye, the whole group appears as but the 

 faintest speck on the glass. Only a relatively low 

 power enables us to see them all at one glance 

 under the microscope but this view is enough to 

 evoke the joyful acclamation, " Gems! Jewels! 

 Who would have thought it ? " We increase the 

 magnifying power, and now we can see only one 

 at a time, but by shifting the stage we bring them 

 one after another under observation ; and now a 



