266 BRISTLES OF THE APHRODITE 



slow and sluggish in its movements (at least accord- 

 ing to our experience) when kept in confinement. 

 Some writers, however, affirm that the Aphrodite 

 possesses the power, although seldom exercised, of 

 both running and swimming through the water with 

 considerable speed. 



In general the animal loves to tenant the slimy 

 mud, and wherever the writer has happened to come 

 upon a specimen at the sea-shore, its back has 

 always been thickly coated with sand or dirt. The 

 Sea-Mouse, then, unlike the peacock, can never be 

 deemed an emblem of haughty pride, yet has nature 

 in her lavish beauty endowed this humble inhabitant 

 of the deep with a richness of plumage, so to speak, 

 fully equal in its metallic brilliancy to that which 

 decorates the tail of the strutting bird we have 

 mentioned. As the bristles of the Aphrodite are 

 moved about, tints green, yellow, and orange, blue, 

 purple, and scarlet all the hues of Iris play upon 

 them with the changing light, and shine with a 

 metallic effulgence. Even if the animal, when 

 dead, is placed in clear water, the same varied 

 effect is seen as often as the observer changes his 

 position. 



Not only are the Seta?, worthy of notice on account 

 of their lustrous beauty, but also for their shape, 

 and the important part they play in the economy ol 

 the animal. These lance-like spines seem to be used 

 by the Aphrodite as weapons of defence, like the 



