SEA FABLES EXPLAINED. 



THE "SAILING" OF THE NAUTILUS. 



ONE of the prettiest fables of the sea is that relating to the 

 Paper Nautilus, the constructor and inhabitant of the 

 delicate and beautiful shell which looks as if it were made 

 of ivory no thicker than a sheet of writing paper. 



FIG. 28. THE PAPER NAUTILUS (Argonauta argo} SAILING. 



It is an old belief that in calm weather it rises from the 

 bottom of the sea, and, elevating its two broadly-expanded 

 arms, spreads to the gentle air, as a sail, the membrane, 

 light as a spider's web, by which they are united ; and that, 



