THE BOOK ABOUT THE SEA GARDENS 



of unsuitable employment. Sometimes I am glad 

 they are so useless to man, their beauty is so 

 transitory ; kill them and they become ugly at once, 

 maltreat them and they become offensive. Alive 

 and in their own place they awaken our tireless 

 wonder and respect, unrelated to stomach or 

 pocket. It is good that there should be something 

 in the world so separate and different from busi- 

 ness life, so intensely beautiful and dignified! 



The sea lily has five fingers also, of varying 

 length. It is a buff-coloured starfish, fragrant 

 without being tempting, and, like its prototype of 

 the fields, it is seldom seen to toil or spin. 



Under every stone and among the rocks which 

 in New Providence, by the way, are nearly all of 

 Oolitic limestone another creature may be seen 

 resembling five emaciated centipedes attached to 

 a button. It is called the "queen starfish," and can 

 crawl rather rapidly when disturbed. It is quite 

 harmless. 



One of the oddest creatures in the sea is the 

 sea pigeon, a long black shape as thick as a small 

 cable, the head of which is like a crown of very 

 soft feathers, and is very often seen in shallow 

 muddy stretches near the shore. It has a near 

 relative that is colourless, and resembles the 

 diaphanous intestines of some surprisingly airy 

 sheep. They also have a certain power of loco- 

 motion and can withdraw their plumes like a sea 



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