Ceylon Niulibrancliiate Molluscs, and Zoophytes. 87 



they so much despise are among the most elegant objects of 

 the sea, and that, although a shell will preserve its colour for 

 an almost indefinite period, the rich and variegated colours 

 of these semi-gelatinous creatures, though shorter lived, are 

 not less charming, or less worthy of admiration. It may, 

 therefore, be hoped, that the interest recently created will 

 continue to be attached to the naked Mollusca of Ceylon, and 

 that, in a few years, they will be as well known to the Natu- 

 ralist, as the European species. Although it may be long 

 before we shall find an Alder or a Handcock to pourtray 

 gracefully, and faithfully record their characters and habits, 

 still it will always be gratifying for me to feel, that I was the 

 pioneer to the labours of others more competent to do justice 

 to the Ceylon Nudibranchiata. 



It has always been my endeavour, though, I must own, often 

 unsuccessfully, to describe in familiar language to my friends 

 in Ceylon, the Natural History of animals found in the Island, 

 and therefore, if I have not attained this object in the following 

 pages, it will not be from the want of a wish to impart to 

 others some of the pleasure I have derived in such congenial 

 pursuits, or from the absence of a desire to be amusing as 

 well as instructive. 



Popular accounts of the Natural History of a country 

 generally follow a scientific one. But I shall endeavour to 

 combine both in one communication, for I cannot but suppose 

 that, among many inquirers, there will be found even a few 

 who are anxious to dive deeper into the characters of an 

 animal than its colour or form. Having this object in view, 

 I cannot introduce the following descriptions of sea slugs, or 

 sea nymphs, by a more intelligible and useful preface, than an 

 abridged description of the Anatomy and Physiology of the 

 Class Nudibranchiata, given in the English Cyclopaedia ; pro- 

 mising, in the course of my own descriptive account of the 

 species found in Trincomalie, to detail faithfully their habits 

 and characters. 



