In Apathetic August 45 



ties, for instance. Their very names cause a 

 shudder ; but why ? The question is seldom 

 asked. Their deviltry is taken for granted. 

 But those things that we ordinarily call ugly 

 and shun, because hideous in our eyes and 

 suggestive of all that is to be avoided for 

 peace of mind if not for safety of the body, 

 really possess little if anything of the feat- 

 ures our ignorance attributes to them. 

 Omitting to see the fitness to their surround- 

 ings of the creatures in question, we are 

 ignorant, and must remain so, of much of 

 which, had we better knowledge of it, would 

 afford us endless pleasure. An imprisoned 

 snapper in a restaurant-window rouses no 

 interest, and may excite disgust, as it clum- 

 sily moves to and fro in hopes of finding a 

 path to liberty. But meet this creature in 

 the marsh and attempt to dispute its passage, 

 you will then be forced to admire its bravery, 

 and it will dawn upon you how admirably 

 does its brown shell, with adhering bits of 

 mud and weeds, blend with the beaten paths 

 of its nightly rambles ; or, if you are stand- 

 ing by open water and should see this same 

 turtle lift its head above the surface, and you 

 have a good look at its brilliant but devilish 



