DARWIN AXD DELlJSIOX. 17 



to be made a deep, tlioiigli small jnecc of water. 

 No sooner did she see her enfrancliised frog strike 

 merrily off, than head foremost she plunged in 

 after him, directly in his Avake ; but, alas ! 

 imitating her preceptor too closely, she stuck her 

 arms against her sides, with her hands on her 

 hips, and, striking out only with her legs, went 

 head foremost to the bottom. 



My readers will learn from this anecdote that we 

 must not too readily adopt every old-womanish 

 idea about our close approximation to jelly-fish, 

 monkeys, or frogs, any more than we must put 

 faith in those nursery tales whicli amuse the earlier 

 years of boy and girl, often leading to mischievous 

 consequences. 



There is no doubt that all creatures in emhrijo 

 must, in some points, resemble each other. Life 

 must be subject to one governing principle, in 

 position; in that, if healthful, it seldom varies. 

 This principle is carried down to the chicken in 

 the Q^gg^ and even to the vegetable world, for the 

 frond of the rising fern is bent like the neck of the 

 unhatched chicken, to lift and break through the 

 substance that confines it. 



Of course, scientific practitioners know more of 



VOL. I, c 



