Shells are at once the attraction of the untutored sav- 

 age, the delight of the refined artist, the wonder of the 

 philosophic zoologist, and most valued treasure of the 

 geologist. They adorn the sands of the sea-girt isles and 

 continents now ; and they form the earliest " footprints 

 on the sands of time" in the history of our globe. — Oae- 



PENTEE. 



... I have seen 

 A curious child applying to her ear 

 The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell. 

 To which, in silence hushed, her very soul 

 Listened intently and her countenance soon 

 Brightened with joy ; for murmuring from within 

 Were heard sonorous cadences, whereby. 

 To her belief, the monitor expressed 

 Mysterious union with its native sea. 



WOEDSWOETH. 



13 



