ACTINIA OR SEA-ANEMONE. 495 



wonders, those beauties which are bountifully scattered over her 

 surface, as if to invite us to further acquaintance. As an expres- 

 sive countenance displays the workings of the mind within, 

 combined with the beauty which itself possesses, and attracts us 

 to the study of the mind which animates it, so should the varied 

 beauties which abound on the face of Nature, lead us to the 

 contemplation of that Mind which at first formed and which is 

 continually acting through all. It is only when either of the 

 tendencies above alluded to is indulged in its exclusiveness, that 

 it can interfere with the other. Much will depend upon early 

 education and habits ; much upon subsequent self-training. For 

 ourselves, we admire the feeling of Le Sueur, who walked for 

 some time on the shore of the calm ocean, indulging his admira- 

 tion of the beauties which it exhibited, before he could prevail 

 upon himself to make even a slight interruption in the brilliant 

 spectacle, of which he was the sole witness. 



1061. The Actinice which attach themselves to rocks, some- 

 times adhere so firmly, that they cannot be removed without the 

 laceration of their base. This fleshy disk adapts itself perfectly 

 to the inequalities of the surface ; and even sends down little 

 prolongations into any pits or fissures that may exist in it. 

 There is an interesting species inhabiting the British seas, the 

 Actinia maculata, which attaches itself to dead shells, forming 

 from its base a kind of horny expansion, that partly extends over 

 their aperture. It has been remarked by Dr. Coldstream that 

 in all the specimens which came under his notice, a Hermit-Crab 

 had taken up its abode in the shell. It would seem, therefore, 

 as if the addition made by the Actinia rendered the shell pecu- 

 liarly suitable for the habitation of this tenant. Some species of 

 Actiniae confine themselves to the smooth sands, on the surface of 

 which they spread out their tentacula, and beneath which they 

 withdraw when danger threatens. Although the body has, in 

 general, no further covering than the leathery envelope already 

 mentioned, there are a few species (such as the Actinia verrucosa 

 of the British seas) which, by means of a glutinous exudation 

 from the body, form a kind of case by attaching together bits of 

 shell, grains of sand, and other small substances. This casing 



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