2 ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY. 



Or, in tlicir pearly shells at case, attend 

 Moist nutriment ; en- under rocks their food 

 In jointed armor watch : on smooth the seal 

 And bended dolphins play: part huge of hulk, 

 Wallowing unwieldy, enormous in their gait, 



Tempest the ocean. 



To whatever elevation we attain on the mountain-sides, to whatever depth in the ocean we may 

 sink the lead, everywhere shall we find traces of animal existence, everywhere find ourselves 

 surrounded bj living creatures, in a profusion and variety which may well excite our wonder and 

 admiration. 



Nor arc these phenomena confined to any region of the earth; on the contrary, the diversity of 

 climate only adds to the variety of objects which the zoologist is called upon to contemplate. Thus 

 the hold voyager of the inclement regions of the north, in losing sight of those productions of 

 nature which met his eyes at home, finds, as it were, a new creation in his new abode, — seals, by 

 the hundred, basking in the scanty rays of the Arctic sun, or diving into the deep waters in search 

 of their finny prey, — the whale, rolling his vast bulk in the waves, and ever and anon driving high 

 mto the air his curious fountain — water, be it remembered, strained from the myriads of small 

 animals which constitute the food of the leviathan. The air is peopled by innumerable flights of 

 marine birds; the sea by still more countless swarms of fishes; and the land affords a habitation to 

 the elk and the reindeer, the Arctic fox, and other creatures peculiar to those regions. 



If we turn our regards southward, to the tropical regions of the earth, the abundance and variety 

 of animated beings increase more and more. Here the colossal elephant and the unwieldy 

 rhinoceros, crash through primeval forests; the lion and the tiger, and other predatory beasts, 

 prowl through the thickets, seeking for their prey ; on vast plains, countless herds of antelopes 

 browse in fancied security, or dash swiftly past at the approach of danger; gigantic snakes Jie 

 coiled in horrid folds among the bushes, or hang from the trees awaiting their victims. The air 

 and trees swarm with birds of gorgeous plumage, and insects of strange forms and brilliant colors. 

 Nor are the waters less bountifully provided with inhabitants: every form with which we are 

 acquainted in our own seas is here represented, but with still greater profusion and variety. 



" Full nature swarms with life. * * * 

 * * * Through subterranean eells, 

 Where searching sunbeams scarce can find a way, 

 Earth animated heaves. The flowery leaf 

 Wants not its soft inhabitants. Secure 

 Within its winding citadel, the stone 

 Holds multitudes. But chief, the forest boughs, 

 That dance unnumbered to the playful breeze, 

 The downy orchard, and the melting pulp 

 Of mellow fruit, the nameless nations feed 

 Of evanescent insects. Where the pool 

 Stands mantled o'er with green, invisible, 

 Amid the floating verdure, millions stray. 

 Each liquid too, whether it pierces, soothes, 

 Inflames, refreshes, or exalts the taste, 

 With varying forms abounds. Nor is the stream 

 I If purest crystal, nor the lucid air, 

 Though one transparent vacancy it seems, 

 Void of their unseen people." 



And there is a feature in this abounding animal life of the sea, which strikes the mind as one 

 of the mosl beautiful provisions of nature. At night, the ocean sparkles with a brilliancy which 



rivals the splendor even of a tropical sky; and this phent aon, which may be witnessed, although i 



in an inferior degree, in more temperate climes, is due to the presence of vast multitudes of minute 

 phosphorescent animals, whose very existence would frequently remain unknown, but for their 

 power-, of illuminating the waves by night. 



And when we haw exhausted the study of external nature, there is yet another world to which , 

 we may turn. Within our bodies, and those of every species of animal, from the highest to nearly 

 the very lowest, exist various forms of parasites, preying upon our substance or our food : creatures 



