48 THE CAM, OF THE SEA 



emerald glass in the early spring, turns to every 

 tinge of carmine. 



Rev. S. Baring-Gould. 



A Sea Cavern -^^ "Cy -Qy 

 (From Malcohn) 



TT E had forgotten how beautiful it was, and 

 stood amazed at the richness of its colour, 

 imagining he had come upon a cave of the serpen- 

 tine marble which is found on the coast ; for sides 

 and roof and rugged floor were gorgeous with 

 bands and spots and veins of green and rusty red. 

 A nearer inspection, however, showed that these 

 hues were not of the rock itself, but belonged to 

 the garden of the ocean ; and when he turned to 

 face the sea, lo! they had all but vanished, the 

 cave shone silvery grey, with a faint moving 

 sparkle, and out came the lovely carving of the 

 rodent waves. All about, its sides were fretted in 

 exquisite curves, and fantastic yet ever graceful 

 knots and twists ; as if a mass of gnarled and 

 contorted roots, first washed of every roughness 

 by some ethereal solvent, leaving only the soft 

 lines of yet grotesque volutions, had been trans- 

 formed into mingled silver and stone. 



George Macdonald. 



