72 GLAUCUS; OR, 



Now, for the tapering brown spires. They are 

 Turritellse, snail-like animals (though the form of 

 shell is different), who crawl and browse by thou- 

 sands on the beds of Zostera, or grass wrack, which 

 you see thrown about on the beach, and which 

 grows naturally in two or three fathoms water. 

 Stay : here is one which is " more than itself" On 

 its back is mounted a cluster of barnacles (Balanus 

 Porcatus), of the same family as those which stud 

 the tide-rocks in millions, scratching the legs of 

 hapless bathers. Of them, I will speak presently; 

 for I may have a still more curious member of the 

 family to show you. But meanwhile, look at the 

 mouth of the shell ; a long grey worm protrudes 

 from it, which is not the rightful inhabitant. He 

 is dead long since, and his place has been occupied 

 by one Sipunculus Bernhardi ; a wight of low 

 degree, who connects " radiate " with annulate forms 

 — in plain English, sea-cucumbers (of which we 

 shall see some soon) with sea-worms. But how- 

 ever low in the scale of comparative anatomy, 

 he has wit enough to take care of himself; mean, 



