MOLLUSCA. 39 



to be liable to injuries, or else have placed them 

 out of the reach of danger ? 



Teacher. Doubtless God could have done 

 either. But all creation, as it is now constituted, 

 reads us the lesson which we ought never to 

 forget, that the work which was pronounced 

 " good," when it first came from the Almighty's 

 hand, has been marred. Every where we trace 

 the consequences of the fall all nature, in its 

 tendency to decay, shows the sentence of death 

 passed upon it ; but yet amid the sad history it 

 proclaims, it bears even in its fallen state the 

 impress of divine love and mercy. Now ex- 

 amine again the shells before you, and try and 

 discover where any of them have been repaired. 



Child. Several appear patched, and some 

 have regular seams. 



Teacher. These seams mark where the animal, 

 in consequence of its own growth, has made an 

 addition to its residence. Observe this shell. 

 (Buccinum flammium.) Can you not trace the 

 gradual extension of the shell from a very small 

 one ? 



Child. Yes, it is marked by a' rib like that 

 at the opening. 



Teacher. You will find a great many shells 

 which show that they have been enlarged in the 

 same manner. The fresh layers are parallel to 

 the margin of this opening called the mouth, and 

 the meeting of the edges of the new and old 

 matter is often marked by a ridge more or less 

 elevated. 



The shell of the adult animal is often armed 



