TOILERS IN THE SEA. 



it is conceded to be a legitimate project to en- 

 deavour to arouse a greater interest in the minute 

 inhabitants of the ocean, which construct and leave 

 behind them such marvellous structures, as evidence 

 of their ingenuity and perseverance, it would have 

 been most unwarrantable to have excluded one of 

 the most interesting and remarkable groups. There 

 are many charming books for the seaside, with which 

 we had no ambition to compete ; most delightful 

 companions which any lounger at our numerous 

 watering-places could not fail to appreciate and 

 enjoy. The Rev. Charles Kingsley's " Glaucus, or 

 Wonders of the Shore," is one of the most fasci- 

 nating little volumes for young readers. Mr. P. H. 

 Gosse is a veteran in the field of marine zoology, 

 with half a dozen volumes ; and we cannot forget 

 Mr. G. H. Lewes's " Seaside Studies," besides a host 

 of others, with more or less pretensions, and yet 

 none of these appeared to touch, or more than 

 touch, that phase of marine life to which these pages 

 are devoted. And yet this can hardly be called a 

 " seaside book " after the manner in which they are 

 seaside books, although some knowledge of ordinary 

 marine life would, perhaps, render it the more in- 

 telligible. 



It is wholly unnecessary to advance any plea on 

 behalf of the study of marine life, in the face of 

 abundant evidence that every year increases its 



