IV PREFACE. 



may go out to the coasts of their native land, to watch 

 the silvery waves dancing upon the rocky or the 

 pebbled shores, and to gather the gems which these 

 bright waves are ever casting at the feet of the 

 beholder, or leaving exposed to the view, as in their 

 diurnal courses they recede from the higher boundary 

 of their approach. 



To the careless observer there is nothing attractive 

 in the tangled lines of " sea-weeds " which are seen 

 rolling about under the lashing of the white surf: but 

 let such a person once "stoop to conquer" the fault 

 of indifference, and he will be rewarded by the 

 discovery of gems which, the more he scrutinises, the 

 more he will admire ; and it is the purpose of our 

 book to lead him on from step to step in a pleasing 

 pursuit, until at last he will wonder that he has so 

 long neglected the treasures which lay inviting his 

 inspection. 



