68 



ANNELIDANS. 



now ; lose no time in examining it. See how it crawls along the 

 bottom of the vessel, with its thousand feet moving rapidly for- 

 wards. See what beautiful plumes adorn the sides of the body: 

 these are the branchiae, or organs of respiration, which become 

 vermilion as they are swelled by the blood, the course of which 

 you may trace all along the back. Look at that head enamelled 

 with the brightest colours : here are the few tentacles, delicate 

 organs of touch, and here, in the midst of them, is the mouth, 

 which at first sight seems merely like an irregularly puckered slit. 

 But watch it for a few moments ; see how it opens and protrudes 

 a large proboscis, furnished with three pairs of jaws, and possess- 

 ing a diameter which equals that of the body within which it is 

 enclosed, as in a living sheath. Well I is it not wonderful ? Is 

 there any animal that can surpass it in decoration ? The corslet 

 of the brightest beetle, the sparkling throat of the humming-bird, 

 would all look pale when compared with the play of light over 

 the rings of its body, glowing in its golden threads, and sparkling 

 over its amber and coral fringes. Now let us take a lens of 

 higher power, and move the lamp in such a manner as to let its 

 rays fall on the reflector of our microscope, and examine a few 

 of the hairs taken from the sides of the Annelid we have been 

 describing. To the outer edge of every foot are appended two 



FIG. 62. PUSHING-POLES OF SERPULA. 



bundles of hairs (setce} ; these are far stiffer than ordinary hairs, 

 and appear to be placed on either side of the animal to defend it 

 from its enemies. A moment's consideration will suffice to con- 

 firm this view, for there is perhaps scarcely a weapon invented 

 by the murderous genius of man whose counterpart could not be 

 found amongst this class of animals. Here are curved blades, 

 whose edges present a prolonged cutting surface, sometimes on 

 the concave edge, as in the yatagan of the Arab, sometimes on 

 the convex border, as in the Oriental scimitar. Next we meet 

 with weapons which remind us of the broadsword of the cuirassier, 

 the sabre, and the bayonet ; here are harpoons, fish-hooks, and 

 cutting blades of every form, loosely attached to a sharp handle : 



