42 THE OCEAN. 
shape, somewhat flattened, about an inch and a 
half in diameter, very variable in colour: some- 
times being of a brilliant scarlet with pale warts, 
like rows of ornamental beads; at other times it 
is of asulphur yellow, or pale green, with stripes 
of orange colour; and I have seen specimens of 
a lively rose-pink, studded with green dots. When 
expanded, it displays three or four circles of ten- 
tacles, which are rather short and thick, and varie- 
gated with white and red in alternate rings. 
_ Sometimes, by imbibing a large quantity of water, 
it becomes distended to twice its usual dimensions, 
and is then nearly transparent. There is an in- 
stinct displayed by this species, which one would 
not expect to find in a creature of so low an organ- 
ization, and which is worthy of our admiration, 
as showing how mindful the gracious Creator and 
Preserver is of His creatures’ well-being. Such 
individuals as have taken up their residence upon 
the half-submerged rocks, where the daily recess 
of the tide exposes them to observation, are covered 
with rough warts, and blotched with dusky brown 
and dull orange, and are coated with fragments of 
shells, sea-weed, and gravel, which adhere to the 
skin by a glutinous secretion, so strongly as not 
to be washed off; and being thus veiled, the ani- 
mals defy detection. On the other hand, those 
specimens which live in deep water,.as if aware 
that the necessity for concealment no longer ex- 
ists, have nothing of the kind, their skins are 
smooth and naked, and adorned with the vivid 
tints which make this species so beautiful. The 
