Animal of Argonauta. 61 



" and upsets his boat, which fills with water and goes down: but when 

 *' the danger is past, he returns to the surface, bends his sails again, and 

 " once more rows gallantly along. 



" The tender Nautilus who steers his prow 

 " The sea-born sailor of his shell canoe, 

 " The ocean Mab, the fairy of the sea, 



******* 



" He, when the lightning- winged tornadoes sweep 

 " The surge, is safe — his port is in the deep." 



Byron. 



" Recent observations have vindicated the character of this clever little 

 " sailor from the aspersions heretofore cast on it, of being a mere pirate, 

 " who having killed and devoured the former inhabitant, seizes on his 

 " vessel : they have proved that he is lavpful ovmer, and his ovm indus- 

 " trious shipwright, and beautiful is the model on which his little frail 

 " bark is constructed." 



In 1825, M. de Ferussac published his " Notice sur 1' animal du Genre 

 " Argonaute" in the " Memoires de la Societe d'Histoire Naturelle."* 

 Arguing for the legitimate title of the animal to the shell in which it is 

 found, he ranges himself on the side of those who are of opinion that it is 

 no parasite, and thus concludes his memoir, " Les nouveaux faits et les 

 *' reflexions que nous avons presentees dans la note precedente nous ont 

 " semble faire pencher la balance pour I'opinion opposee a celle de 

 " M. de Blainville; peut-etre le parti que prend M. Ranzani est-il le 

 " plus sage; ilne court du moins aucun risque, au lieu que necessaire- 

 " ment une des deux opinions extremes sera frappee de reprobation 

 " lorsque des faits decisifs viendront mettre un terme a cette discussion 

 " qui dure depuis Aristotle." f 



• To this memoir is appended a note which is presented to the reader, 

 *' Parce qu'elle confirmepar des observations directes I'opinion que nous 

 *' avions voulu etablir, et qu'on pent regarder enfin cette longue et active 

 *' controverse comme terminee." Then follows " la traduction litterale" 

 of the note, which, according to M. de Ferussac, is to be productive of 

 such happy results ; but the strength of it is very much shaken by one or 



* Tome II. p. 160. f p. 173. 



