230 
HONOUR TO THE DREDGE. 
in by-gone ages, some living representative of an 
extinct fauna ! 
The sailors term the dredge, the ‘‘ drudge ; ’’ 
and so, indeed, it is to them, for only the labour 
is theirs, and no small amount of that, in hauling in 
the implement of science ; the rare delight of view- 
ing with appreciative eye the treasures when first 
brought to light, is the naturalist’s. The pretty sea- 
0 
stars and the shells with vivid tints are the only 
strangers in the dredge that claim any notice from 
the lookers-on; all queer sober crabs, and all muddy 
amorj)hous organisms in, for the time being, a quies- 
cent state, are regarded with stolid indifierence or 
with positive dislike. A living fish may give a 
spasmodic flirt with its tail and excite a moment’s 
interest, or should the claAv of a crab fasten on the 
doctor’s finger, there is a gleam of fun, but the 
transient smile dies away, and the unpopular imjfle- 
ment, emptied of its contents, is pitched overboard 
with something like an imprecation. 
But Jionour to the dredge, say I, rough, unsightly, 
coarse indeed to \dew, but a true and dear friend 
