706 



THE SEA-MOUSE. 





but when seen in its living state, or even when preserved in spirits of wine, proves to 

 be one of the most gorgeous inhabitants of earth. 



The SEA-MOUSE, as the creature is called from its hairy coat, possesses beauties which 

 never fail to strike even the unobservant eye of a casual passenger, as the wondrous hues 

 of ruby, emerald, sapphire, and every imaginable gem, flash from the coat of this breath- 

 ing rainbow. Each hair of the Sea-mouse is a living prism, and when held singly before 

 the eyes is a most magnificent object in spite^of its small dimensions, flinging out 

 gleams of changing colors as it is moved in the fingers, or the direction of the light is 

 changed. I have often thought that if Shakespeare had only known of the Aphrodite, 

 he might have furnished Queen Mab with a still more fairy-like conveyance. 



Yet the habits of the creature seem to be quite out of accordance with its exceeding 

 beauty. When the sunlight falls on its surface, the many-hued hairs give forth a 



PORCUPINE SEA-MOUSE.-ApAnxtfte hystricella. 



SEA MOVSE.-Aphrodlte aculeate. 



chromatic radiance which is almost painful to the eyes from its very intensity ; and 

 it would be but natural to conclude that the Aphrodite made its home in the sunniest 

 spots, and welcomed the dawn with gladness. Such, however, is not the case ; for this 

 beautiful creature, which wears all the colors of the humming-bird and seems equally 

 a child of the sun, passes its life under stones, shells, and similar localities at the muddy 

 bottom of the sea. 



The whole group of the Aphroditacea is separated from the rest of the order by rea- 

 son of the curious mode in which its respiration is conducted. If the beautiful hairs 

 be pushed aside, a series of scales will be seen upon the back, which are guarded by a 

 covering of a loose felt-like substance, composed of interwoven hairs. This felt, if it may 

 be so called, acts as a filter, which is very necessary, considering the muddy localities 

 in which the creature lives, and permits the water to pass in a purified state to the 

 breathing apparatus, which is set beneath the scales. These scales or plates move up 

 and down something like the gills of a fish, and by their alternating movements have 

 the power of admitting the water and then expelling it in regular pulsations. If a 

 recent specimen be examined, a considerable quantity of mud is always to be found 

 entangled in the felt-like covering of the scales. 



