A REMONSTRANCE. 



495 



" He will pore by the hour 



O'er a weed or a flower, 



Or the Slugs that come crawling out after a shower. 

 Black-Beetles and Bumble-Bees Blue-bottle Flies, 

 And Moths, are of no small account in his eyes ; 

 An ' Industrious Flea ' he 'd by no means despise ; 

 While an old ' Daddy-long-legs,' whose long legs and thighs 

 Pass the common in shape, or in colour or size, 

 He is wont to consider an absolute prize." 



Nay, sometimes the commiseration of our friends 

 assumes a tone of still severer reproof, and with 

 admirable thriftiness we are reminded that, 



" 'Tis better learn to save one's clothes, 



Than cherish Moths that eat them." 

 Eh bien I 



" trahit sua quemque voluptas " 



Every one to his liking! and as unfortunately we 

 have nothing but snails and slugs to talk about in the 

 present chapter, we patiently submit our shoulders to 

 the castigation of those who, despising such low 

 pursuits, strive to rhyme us into better manners, and 



thus 



"ballad us out o' tune." 



Now, we must confess, that, in the perverseness of 

 our imagination, we are in the habit of regarding 

 these so-called " vermin " as very elegant and inter- 

 esting objects ; nay, we fearlessly uphold, that some of 

 them are so conspicuously beautiful as to be amongst 

 the most ornamental inmates of the aquarium, and 

 doubtless, did space allow us, could enumerate a very 

 lengthy list of examples confirmatory of this asser- 

 tion; the gorgeous Sea-ear*, with its painted plumes 

 * Haliotis. 



