A POUTUGUESB MAN-OP-WAR. 55 



creatures resembling droj)s of animated ice, 

 tiny crystals of jelly, or floating Jewels. Close 

 study reveals in them organisms quite as mar- 

 velous as are possessed by sea beauties of larger 

 growth. Some looking like translucent glob- 

 ules are fui'uished with bands of membranous 

 fins or pellucid paddles whose ever-varying mo- 

 tion, under the play of light upon their glitter- 

 ing surfaces, gives them all the hues of a prism. 



" Others are like faiiy umbrellas of clearest 

 crystal dotted with yellow specks along the 

 margin ; these the sages say are eyes. Fring- 

 ing tentacles, more than a dozen times the 

 length of the disk, float about them and shim- 

 mer like threads of fine-spun glass. To com- 

 plete the fairylike umbrella the queer little 

 stomach of the medusa hangs like a tiny 

 handle from its center with the knoblike 

 mouth at its extremity. Through the trans- 

 parent canals we can see what this medusa 

 had for breakfast and watch the process of 

 digestion. 



"The helpful lens enables us to trace the 

 jellyfish through all its glittering transitions — 

 from the egg or gemmule to the time when, 

 tired of a sedentary, budding existence, it re- 

 turns to the ' original type ' and shoots o£E in- 

 dependently. 



