I lO BY THE SEA. 



began to lose its vitality, it would at intervals 

 thresh itself about almost furiously, as if impa- 

 tient at receiving such meagre fare, or swing by 

 its muscular stalk from the pendulous to a hori- 

 zontal position, in which it would remain for some 

 time, clawing among the zoophytes that were 

 attached to the floating fragments of sea-weeds. 



One is constantly in a pleasant state of expect- 

 ancy while rambling over this wondrous boundary 

 line between earth and ocean. He knows not 

 what marvels may come to him at any instant, 

 and his senses are all agog in his ardent desire to 

 examine them. He peers and pries into every 

 hole and corner. The stones that have sermons 

 in them, also often have exceedingly interesting 

 memoirs, discourses and riddles beneath them, 

 and he eagerly turns over the ponderous tomes 

 to read and study what may be written on the 

 nether cover. Who would expect to find here 

 worms with scales on their backs ? Yet here 

 is one crawling slowly along and trying to hide 

 among the rock-weed. It is nearly two inches 

 long, and has twelve pairs of round, dark-brown 

 felt-like plates which are placed opposite to each 

 other and regularly imbricated. When it is 

 touched it immediately rolls itself into a ring, as 

 do certain caterpillars and myriapods, but it soon 

 uncoils as it is placed in the jar. The under 

 parts of this curious, mud-loving sea-worm appear 



