Nautilus and Ammonite. 127 



' Who was the first sailor ? tell me who can ; 



Old father Jason ! — no, you're wrong, 

 There was another ere Jason began, 



Don't be a blockhead, boy ! Tightly and strong, 

 Over the waters he went — he went, 

 Over the waters he went. 



u Ha ! 'tis nought but the poor little Nautilus- 

 Sailing away in his pearly shell ; 

 He has no need of a compass like us, 

 Foul or fair weather he manages well ! 

 Over the water he goes — he goes, 

 Over the water he goes." 



Many more poems of the like nature we might 

 quote, for this little shelled cephalopod lias been a 

 favourite with, the poets time out of mind, and in 

 some instances they and the less imaginative natu- 

 ralists have disagreed in their accounts of its form 

 and operations ; for instance, Pope says— 



" Learn of the little Nautilus to sail, 

 Spread the thin oar and catch the driving gale." 



" Catch a fiddle-stick/' say some naturalists, the 

 little Nautilus does nothing of the sort ; and if you 

 go to him to learn navigation, you will never be 

 much of a sailor. He may teach you how to sink 

 to the bottom and rise again, and that kind of 



