SOME ETHNOGRAPHIC PHASES OF CONCHOLOGY. 879 



tlie affinities traceable between primitive and modern arts and cus- 

 toms. 



Among tbe productions of nature employed as materials for orna- 

 ment and use, scarcely any bave commanded more universal accept- 

 ance tban tbe sbells vs^Mcb abound, under such varied forms, on every 

 sea coast, as well as in tbe deposits of fresh-water lakes and rivers. 

 To tbe Concbologist tbey present an interesting and singularly beau- 

 tiful department of nature, inviting to research amid tbeir seemingly 

 endless forms, and to inquiry into tbe babits of tbe " living will " 

 tbat once tenanted eacb lovely cell : — 



Did he stand at the diamond door 

 Of his house in a rainbow frill ? 

 Did he push, when he was uncurl'd, 

 A golden foot or a fairy horn 

 Thro' his dim water- world? * 



To tbe geologist tbe sbells of tbe testaceous mollusks offer a de- 

 partment in palgeontology of very wide application and peculiar value. 

 Tbey constitute, indeed, one of tbe most important among those 

 records which tbe earth's crust discloses, whereby its geological his- 

 tory can be deciphered. But to the ethnologist and the archaeologist 

 also, they have their phases of interest, not unworthy of attention. — 

 Tbe mere beauty and variety of many marine shells sufficiently ac- 

 count for their selection as ornaments, or objects specially prized by 

 their possessors, whether civilized or savage. These, indeed, consti- 

 tuted at first tbe sole attraction to the most intelligent collector, when 

 enriching bis cabinet with rare and costly sbells, and laying the foun- 

 dations for the science of concbology. To bim these coveted trea- 

 sures were each only " a thing of beauty," or, as in the French title 

 of Knorr's celebrated work : " Les Delices des Tens et de I'Esprit." 

 But the concbologist is not singular in this respect. Other sciences 

 besides bis have bad tbeir origin in the mere aimless cupidity of tbe 

 collector, which has thus amassed tbe materials wherewith to build a 

 new temple to truth. 



Like the precious metals, sbells have been used, both in tbe old 

 and new world, not only for ornament, but as a recognised currency. 

 Of such the cypraa moneta is tbe most familiari Tbe cowrie sbells 

 used as currency are procured on the coast of Congo, and in the 

 Philippine and Maldive Islands. Of the latter, indeed, they consti- 

 tute the chief article of export. On the Gruinea coast, and through- 



♦ Tennyson's Maud. 



