XIII. 



AN ANCIENT FAMILY. 



" Old Neptune's a spendrift ! See the 

 ' sand dollars lie's thrown away ! And here's 

 a devil's pincushion ! What does theology- 

 say about that ? " asked Tom merrily. 



"Theology and science take that spiny 

 thiag," answered the minister, " and read in its 

 eventful history ' by what wonderful, what un- 

 expected roads God arrives at the completion 

 of his designs. One does not discern the slight- 

 est resemblance of form between the little 

 slow-swimming dome (the infant sea urchin) 

 and the spined and boxed urchin which crawls 

 over the rocks.' 



" So accustomed are we to the thoughts and 

 to the skill of the Creator as manifested in 

 his works, we are indifferent to the lessons 

 they teach or to the prophecies they may con- 

 tain. So much for your text, Tom ! 



" The sea iu*chia has several names besides 

 the one which you bestowed upon it. Sea 



109 



