WORK AT THE SEASHORE. 247 



The morning sun casts shadows deep and long 

 From lofty Whitenose, — over with your dredge ; 

 When 'neath your keel the verdant sea-grass waves, 

 The keer-drag try for nudibranchs and wrasse." 



The man with whom he habitually sailed was a fisher- 

 man of the name of Jonas Fowler, who was glad to be 

 hired day after day, and who took a pride in association 

 with the naturalist. " Me and Mr. Gosse " were a pair 

 of knowing ones, in the eyes of Jonas, whose portrait has 

 been painted thus by his companion : — 



"There is nobody else in Weymouth Harbour that 

 "knows anything about dredging (I have it from his 

 " own lips, so you may rely on it) ; but he is familiar 

 "with the feel of almost every yard of bottom from 

 " Whitenose to Church Hope, and from Saint Aldhelm's 

 " Head to the Bill. He follows dredging with all the 

 "zest of a savant; and it really does one's heart good 

 "to hear how he pours you out the crack-jaw, the 

 "sesquipedalian nomenclature. 'Now, sir, if you do 

 "'want a gastrochoena, I can just put down your dredge 

 " ' upon a lot o' 'em ; we'll bring up three or four on a 

 "'stone.' ' I'm in hopes we shall have a good cribella or 

 " ' two off this bank, if we don't get choked up with them 

 " ' 'ere ophiocomas? He tells me in confidence that he has 

 "been sore puzzled to find a name for his boat, but 

 " he has at length determined to appellate her • The 

 " Turritella'. — 'just to astonish the fishermen, you know, 

 " ' sir,' — with an accompanying wink and chuckle, and a 

 "patronizing nudge in my ribs." 



Every haul of the dredge was an excitement and a 

 delight. Its results were widely different, according to 

 the nature of the bottom. Rough stones, sand, shells, 

 even broken bottles, would form the base of the matter 

 dragged up — no fragment of all this to be lightly thrown 



