90 GLAUCUS ; OR, 



hard fighting; and at last the gentle creature, 

 after swallowing and disgorging various large 

 pieces of shell-fish, found viands to its taste in 

 " the lean of cooked meat, and portions of earth- 

 worms," filling up the intervals by a perpetual 

 dessert of microscopic animalcules, whirled into 

 that lovely avernus, its mouth, by the currents 

 of the delicate cilia3 which clothe every tentacle. 

 The fact is, that the Madrepore, like those glo- 

 rious sea-anemones whose living flowers stud 

 every pool, is by profession a scavenger, and a 

 feeder on carrion ; and, being as useful as he is 

 beautiful, really comes under the rule which he 

 seems at first to break, that handsome is who 

 handsome does. 



Another species of Madrepore* was discovered 

 on our Devon coast by Mr. Gosse, more gaudy, 

 though not so delicate in hue as our Caryo- 

 phyllia ; three of which are at this moment pout- 

 ing out their conical orange mouths and pointed 

 golden tentacles in a vase on my table, at once 

 grumbling and entreating for something to eat. 

 Mr. Gosse's locality, for this and numberless 

 other curiosities, is Ilfracombe, on the north 

 coast of Devon. These last specimens came from 

 * Balanophyllia regia, Coast of Devon, p. 399. 



