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 VISIT TO NAHANT, 
 
 BEING A SEQUEL 
 
 WONDERS OF THE DEEP. 
 
 BY A LADY 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 LEWIS COLBY, & CO. 
 
 122 NASSAU STREET 
 
 1 847.
 
 Entered, arcording to A*" ' "'— •-"fn in the year 1339, by John "W. 
 Mitchell, (as Treasurer oi '— *tm-'at Prottsfaiit Episcopal sundar 
 School Union,) in the Otfice oi me ulerk of the Southern District ol* 
 New York. 
 
 frrim'Trr-iv ut 
 FRANCIS F. RIPLEY, 
 
 New Yorjc
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT; 
 
 A SEQITEL TO THE WONDERS OF THE DEEP. 
 BY A LADY. 
 
 Job 38: 16. "Hast thou entered into the springs of the seal 
 or hast thou walked in the search of the depth 7" 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " The helm to his strong arm consigned, 
 Gave the reefed sail to meet the wind, 
 
 And on her altered way, 
 Fierce bounding, forward sprung the ship, 
 Like greyhound's starting from the slip, 
 
 To seize the flying prey. 
 Awaked before the rushing prow. 
 The mimic fires of ocean glow, 
 
 Those lightnings of the wave ; 
 Wild sparkles crest the broken tides, 
 And flashing round the vessel's sides, 
 
 With shining lustre lave. 
 While far behind, their hvid light. 
 To the dark billows of the night, 
 
 A gloomy splendor gave ; 
 1*
 
 S A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 It seems ad if old wean shakes 
 From his ihrk brow the hvid flakes, 
 
 In envious pageantry, 
 To match the meteor light that streaks 
 
 Grim Ilccla's uiidniiiht sky." 
 
 On a bright afternoon in the siimmei of 
 1830, the steamboat CVV— t left the harbor 
 of New-Yorlc for Providence, R. I., having 
 her deck crowded with passengers. Some 
 of these individuals were carried to the 
 North by business, some went in tlie pur- 
 suit of health, while others still, were only 
 actuated by a restless desire of change. 
 Among the former class was a lady of the 
 name of Stanley, with her son and two 
 daughters, who were returning from New- 
 York, to their residence in IMassachusetts, 
 from whence the mother liad been sum- 
 moned by business of importance. This 
 had been satisfactorily arranged, and the 
 youthful members of the family were ani- 
 mated with innocent joy, as they contem- 
 plated the pleasant journey wliich was be- 
 fore them ; more particularly, as a sea- voy- 
 age was a novelty to them, for they had
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT 7 
 
 made an inland journey from Boston to 
 New- York. 
 
 At the hour of 4, p. m., the vessel was 
 released from her hold on the wharf, and 
 proceeded on her course, between the beau- 
 tiful banks of the East river, which are 
 studded with charming country seats, and 
 pleasant villages. After a short time had 
 elapsed, preparations v/ere made for pass- 
 ing through Hurl-gate ; this strait, how- 
 ever, no longer inspires the terror that it 
 did in former days, and whicli is implied in 
 its vulgar name, for the modern navigator 
 has learned how to disarm it of its terrors, 
 by passing it when the tide covers the for- 
 midable rocks. 
 
 When Mrs. Stanley pointed out to her 
 children that part of the strait designated 
 so long as the pot, or caldron, her son re- 
 marked, "This is certainly, dear mother, no 
 longer an object of terror, but it interests 
 me much because it is the first whirlpool I 
 have ever seen ; and while I watch the 
 water v/hich is eddying round so quickly, 1 
 think I can form a better idea of the formi-
 
 8 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 dable Maelstrom on the coast of Norway, 
 the accounts of which have so often filled 
 my mind with terror." 
 
 " You imagine that you understand it 
 better. Edward," replied his mother, "but 
 the awful reality of that scene, is said to be 
 inconceivable by those who have never 
 witnessed it. The Maelstrom is one, among 
 the many sublime spectacles which God 
 has permitted to exist in our world, to show 
 us what immense and resistless power He 
 can impart to mere material objects when 
 He wishes to do so. When we think of 
 our entire helplessness, and inability to re- 
 sist such a force as that imparted to the 
 waters of the Maelstrom, or the torrent of 
 Niagara, which force has been communi- 
 cated by the Creator, should it not make us 
 tremble, and fear exceedingly to provoke 
 the wrath of that great and glorious God, 
 when He shall come in all His majesty to 
 judge the world 1 
 
 " I remember reading an account of the 
 tragical fate of a vessel which was unwarily 
 drawn within the attractive power of the
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 9 
 
 current of which we have been speaking*. 
 There was another ship near, which had 
 sailed in company — they were separated ; — 
 one of the crew of the vessel which was 
 spared, when giving the detail, remarks, 
 tliat their horror was extreme, when they 
 saw, from a distance, the companions of 
 their voyage drawn into the devouring 
 Maelstrom: they beheld them in anguish 
 as tlieir sails went fluttering in the circling 
 eddies of the whirlpool, wliose power is be- 
 yond the resistance of human art ; they saw 
 them drawn nearer, and nearer, till finally 
 they were entirely concealed in the distant 
 horizon, and the unhappy crew went down 
 amidst the dark vortex and awful moans of 
 the Maelstrom. This awful spot seems to 
 me a fit emblem of the dreadful abode, 
 where the impenitent will be consigned to 
 the ' blackness of darkness forever.' When 
 we consider this solemn subject, let us pray, 
 my beloved children, that we may all be 
 kept from the bitter pains of eternal death. 
 Look at those agitated waters, and remem- 
 ber that God's word declares the unrenew-
 
 10 A VISIT TO N All ANT 
 
 ed heart of man is like a irouhlod sea, 
 whose waves cast up mire and dirt con- 
 tinnally. Good hishop Leiuliton compares 
 the heart of the ('in'i.^tian, and that of the 
 sinner, to two wells of water, the latter of 
 which iins mnd and dirt at the hottom. 
 When nothin^: distnrhs tlicm, they may 
 both appear calm and clear at the snrface, 
 but only let some temptation occnr to stir 
 up the water, and then the diflerencc will 
 be apparent; one, though agitated, will re- 
 tain its beauty, while the other will become 
 muddy and offensive." 
 
 The steamboat C 4ft ^ t at the time we r^ 
 fer to was sadly out of repair, and she la- 
 bored along very slowly, causing great dis- 
 satisfaction to many of the passengers. The 
 Stanley family, however, were not among 
 the nuipber, and as the twilight deepened 
 into the darkness of evening, they were 
 still to be seen on the deck, surrounding 
 their mother, eagerly intent upon watch- 
 ing the beacon fires, as they were kindled 
 one after anotlier, in the numerous liglit- 
 honses that enliven the shores of Connecticut
 
 A M5IT TO NAIIANT. 11 
 
 Emma, tlie eldest daughter of Mrs. 
 Stanley, expressed her regret that they 
 should have no moon on that evening to 
 add to the beauty of the scene. Her mo- 
 ther smiled, and replied, " I think it proba- 
 ble, Emma, that I shall find you, before 
 long, congratulating yourself on the ab- 
 sence of the moon. You are incredulous ; 
 perhaps Edward can explain the reason 
 why I anticipate pleasure from the dark- 
 ness of the evening?" 
 
 He paused a fevv^ mon]ents, and then de- 
 clared that he could not imagine to what 
 his mother referred. 
 
 " Do you not remember," said his mother, 
 "one day last winter, reading to me from 
 Stewart's Journal, an account of the lu- 
 minous appearance which the sea-water 
 presented, durinof his voyage in the Pacific, 
 and a conversation which took place be- 
 tween us on that occasion ? I told you then 
 that I would, at some leisure moment, read 
 to you a very satisfactory explanation of 
 this phenomenon of the sea, which I had
 
 la A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 met with in the travels of the Abbe Spal- 
 lanziiii." 
 
 " I now recollect the fuct distinctly, mam- 
 ma," replied Edward, " and we shall all of 
 us be very happy to hear any thing farther 
 from Spallanznii : at least, if it is as mter- 
 esling as his history of the coral insect, and 
 the coral fishery, which you related to us 
 during our visit to the sea-shore."* 
 
 " At present," said his mother, '• you 
 must try to be contented with observing 
 this phenomenon for yourselves, and you 
 will then be better prepared to listen to the 
 description of our friend the traveller." 
 
 The passengers of the C /\ t were at 
 this moment suninioned to the supper ta- 
 ble, and when they returned to the deck, 
 the darkness had very much increased, 
 and the young Stanleys had an opportunity 
 for gratifying their curiosity. 
 
 Their mother led them to the stern of 
 the vessel, and as she did so, expressions of 
 
 ♦ For this account of the labors of the coral worm, see 
 •' Wonders of the Deep," published by the P. E. S. S. 
 Union, forming volume 50 of their library.
 
 A VISIT TO NAttANT. 13 
 
 delight burst from their lips at the beauty 
 of the scene. The deep bkie of the heavens 
 was studded with innumerable stars ; and 
 on turning tlieir eyes from thence, to the 
 dark expanse of water, through Avhich the 
 vessel was ploughing her way, they beheld 
 the path she had lately traversed, marked 
 by a track of fire : the foaming waves, 
 which rushed from under the massy, re- 
 volving wheels of the C ^\ t, were crest- 
 ed with light, and as the spray scattered 
 its thousand tiny drops in every direction, 
 they glowed like golden spangles in the 
 sunbeams. 
 
 " Oh ! mother," '' dear mother/' exclaim- 
 ed Emma and Anna Stanley, as in their ex- 
 citement of feeling thej spoke both at once, 
 " you were indeed right, this scene is more 
 beautiful and gratifying than one by moon- 
 light could have been, and we long to know 
 what produces this extraordinary light." 
 
 " I can only tell you now, that it is sup- 
 posed to be caused principally by those ma- 
 rine insects called medusas, to some species 
 of which the Calabrian seamen give the 
 2
 
 14 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 expressive name of (,\inclcllivri di Mar i, or 
 Candles of tlie Sea " 
 
 "Can t])is be possii)le, mamma!" said 
 Emma; "my ])ati('nce wi!il)e indeed pnt to 
 the test, till I can hoar their history." 
 
 Mnch dissatisfaction was expressed by 
 
 many of the passengers of the C 1, when 
 
 the noise of hammers resounded throngh 
 the vessel during tho'evening; and still in- 
 creasing murmurs were heard, when it was 
 discovered that the Captain considered it 
 prudent to anchor during the night near 
 the mouth of the Thames. Edward and 
 his sisters, however, considered the suspen- 
 sion of their voyage, so far as they were 
 concerned, a subject for congratulation, 
 smce it would enable them to enjoy the 
 scenery by daylight. The vessel rolled 
 much during the night, but this only dis- 
 turbed for a short time the shimbers of the 
 young travellers, and they returned before 
 sunrise to the deck, with renewed hfe and 
 spirits. The landscape before them was 
 glowing with beauty ; in front of the ves- 
 sel lay " the glad waters of the dark blue
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 15 
 
 sea ;" the huge waves were rolling their 
 heavy masses of water towards them, as if 
 to punish the presumption of those who 
 had ventured to navigate its houndless sur- 
 face ; in the far horizon appeared Block 
 Island, only distinguishable from tlie 
 neighboring piles of fleecy clouds, by its 
 remaining stationary ; to the right, was 
 discernible the dim outline of Montauk 
 Point, as it bounded, with its streak of blue, 
 the ocean to the southeast ; while to the 
 left extended the shores of Connecticut, 
 with the two lighthouses which mark the 
 sides of the Thames, as it empties its tribute 
 of waters into the Sound, and at a little 
 distance the picturesque group of islands, 
 of which Fisher's is the largest ; behind 
 them, as far as the eye could reach, was to 
 be seen the beautiful Sound, through which 
 they had passed on the day previous. While 
 Edward and his sisters were o^azinsf in si- 
 lent admiration on the lovely prospect, the 
 sun peeped like a golden crescent from the 
 bosom of the mighty deep, expanding each 
 instant more and more, until his whole
 
 16 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 disk appeared, throwing a rosy tint over the 
 white crests of the waves, and coloring 
 also the light and fleecy clouds. Before 
 many hours had elapsed, the C-JK— t was 
 doubhno: Point Judith, and reeling: to and 
 fro in the formidable waves, which arc 
 almost always to be met with at that part 
 of the coast. Soon after, she was navigating 
 the beautiful waters of Narraganset Bay, 
 and Providence river, and when night 
 closed in, it found Mrs. Stanley and her 
 children comfortably sheltered under the 
 roof of her brother, Mr. Benson, who was 
 an inhabitant of Boston, the justly cele- 
 brated capital of the North. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " The floor is of sand, like the mountain drift, 
 
 And the pearl-shi Us spangle the flinty snow ; 
 From coral rocks, the sea-plants lift 
 
 Their boughs where the tides and biilows flow; 
 
 The water is calm and still below, 
 For the winds and waves arc absent there; 
 
 And the sands are bright as the stars that glow 
 In the motionless fields of upper air ;
 
 A VISIT TO N AH ANT. 17 
 
 There with its waving blade of green, 
 The sea-flag streams through the silent water, 
 
 And the crimson leaf of the dulse is seen 
 To blush like a banner bathed in slaughter," 
 
 When Mrs. Stanley arrived at the house 
 of Mr. Benson, she found him preparing to 
 remove to his pleasant cottage at Nahant 
 during the hot months, and at his earnest 
 request she and her children accompanied 
 him there on a visit. After a short, but 
 agreeable voyage, the travellers approached 
 Nahant, and beheld that bold promontory 
 rising from the fair bosom of the ocean, 
 with its picturesque gray rocks, dotted with 
 beautiful white villas, or pretty cottages, 
 presenting a scene to delight the eyes of the 
 painter or the poet. 
 
 Soon after their arrival the youno: Stan- 
 leys seated themselves on the rocks near 
 their uncle's dwelling, and gazed Vv^ith ex- 
 treme interest on the charming prospect ; 
 the sky was of a deep melting blue, and the 
 ocean reflected its beautiful coloring ; nu- 
 merous vessels were to be seen, some just 
 spreading their broad sails to court the 
 2*
 
 IS A VISIT TO N A II ANT. 
 
 breeze, which was to waft them from their 
 native land, while others appeared hke dark 
 specks on the horizon. Multitudes of small 
 fishing boats were also observable, one 
 moment rising on tlie crest of the billow, 
 and then apparently buried beneath the 
 waves. 
 
 There is one beautiful peculiarity in the 
 coast of New England, which is in vain 
 sought for along the sandy beach of the 
 middle and southern states, and which arises 
 from the profusion of sea-weed that covers 
 its rock-bound shore. This feature in the 
 landscape of Nahant can only be seen in 
 full perfection under a cloudless sky, and 
 when the ocean is in a state of placidity. 
 At such periods the remarkable transpa- 
 rency of the sea-water, enables the spectator 
 to contemplate objects to a great depth be- 
 low the surface, and as the rays of the sun 
 shine through the clear expanse of water, 
 they strike upon the rich covering of sea- 
 weed which clothes the rocks, and reveal 
 their beautifully varied tints, which are of-
 
 A VISIT TO NAHaInT 19 
 
 ten to be seen vying with the most delicate 
 productions of the flower geirden. 
 
 Mr. Benson directed the attention of his 
 young relatives to this point, and bade them 
 mark the long, pliant branches of one spe- 
 cies of the Fucus, or sea- weed, which were 
 raised from their rocky bed by each ad- 
 vancing v\^ave, like the tresses of hair on 
 the head of a child as it sports in the 
 breeze. 
 
 On their return to the house he exhibited 
 to his guests a large collection of dried 
 specimens of Fuci, or sea-weed. Many of 
 them had been collected on the coast of 
 New England, while others had been 
 brought by him from distant regions. They 
 were of various shapes and hues, some be- 
 ino^ of the most delicate rose color, others 
 of a deep crimson or purple, while another 
 class formed a beautiful gradation, from a 
 delicate pea green to a dark green, or ohve. 
 He told them that he had " seen some spe- 
 cies so minute as to require the aid of a 
 microscope, while others were to be met 
 with in the Southern Ocean growing to the
 
 so A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 enormous length of several hundred feet. 
 Many of the inhabitants of the islands in 
 the Pacific, he informed them, made use oi 
 sea-weed as an article of nourishment, 
 while in this country and in Europe it was 
 employed in vast quantities as the article 
 from which the useful soda is manufac- 
 tured." 
 
 Among other species of sea-weed, Mr. 
 Benson exhibited to Edward Stanley a spe- 
 cimen of the Fucus natans, which does not 
 attach itself to the rocks, but vegetates in 
 immense floating masses in the tropical 
 seas, sometimes in such quantities as seri- 
 ously to obstruct the course of vessels. 
 
 " I wish you, my dear children," observed 
 Mr. Benson, "to notice the substance of the 
 sea-weed, which is so unlike the vegetable 
 productions of the land. Examine these 
 plants which Ihave just plucked ; you ob- 
 serve they are so leathery and tough that 
 they will not break, in spite of my bending 
 them." He then selected a dried specimen 
 of the same species, which had lost all this 
 leathery character, and had become very
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 21 
 
 brittle, and of a black color. " I informed 
 you, Edward," he continned, " that the 
 South Sea islanders make use of the sea- 
 weed for food, and that we employ it in the 
 manufacture of soda, but I had forgotten to 
 tell you that it affords nourishment to in- 
 numerable quantities of marine worms, 
 shell-fish, and fishes of various kinds, even 
 to the enormous whale, the monarch of the 
 deep. Tiius you see, my dear children, 
 another proof that the Creator of the uni- 
 verse has made nothing in vain ; but has 
 with infinite wisdom mutually suited the 
 various parts of creation to each other, 
 which is to my mind one of the most strik- 
 ing proofs of the existence of just such a 
 God as the Bible describes." 
 
 In the course of the evening, during 
 which the conv. rsation turned on the va- 
 rious objects that had eno^aged their atten- 
 tion during the day, Edward mentioned the 
 great transparciscy of the water, and asked 
 his uncle whether he had observed it else- 
 where. 
 
 In reply, Mr. Benson described the beau-
 
 22 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 tifiil appearances which are presented to the 
 eyes of the sailor, as he navigates certain 
 parts of the ocean. He exhibited a fine 
 coralline specimen which he had brought 
 from the West Indies, and which had ar- 
 rested his attention as it lay many feet be- 
 low the surface of the water. " One of his 
 sailors," he said, " heard him admire it, and 
 diving for it, severed it from the rocks as a 
 compUment to him. Talking of this sub- 
 ject," he continued, " reminds me of some 
 interesting remarks which I lately met with 
 in Elliot's Letters from the North of Eu- 
 rope, and which Edward may read for our 
 mutual gratification."' Mr. Benson took 
 down from his bookcase the volume re- 
 ferred to, and having found the passage, 
 placed the book in Edward's hands, who 
 read as follows. " There is perhaps no- 
 thing which strikes a northern traveller 
 more, than the singular transparency of the 
 waters : and the further he penetrates into 
 the arctic regions, the more forcibly is his 
 attention riveted to the fact. At a depth of 
 20 fathoms, or 120 feet, the whole surface
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIVNT 23 
 
 of the ground is exposed to view. Beds 
 composed entirely of shells, sand lightly- 
 sprinkled with them, and submarine for- 
 ests, present through the clear medium, 
 new wonders to the unaccustomed eye. It 
 is stated by Sir Capel de Brooke, and fully 
 confirmed by my observations in Norway, 
 that sometimes in the fiords of Norway, 
 the sea is transparent to a depth of 400 or 
 500 feet ; and that when a boat passes over 
 subaqueous mountains, whose summits rise 
 above that line, but whose bases are fixed 
 in an unfathomable abyss, the illusion of 
 the eye is so perfect, that one who has 
 gradually, in tranquil progress over the sur- 
 face, ascended wonderingly the rugged 
 steep, shrinks back with horror as he cross- 
 es the highest point, under an impression 
 that he is falling headlong down the pre- 
 cipice. The transparency of tropical wa- 
 ter generally, as far as my experience goes, 
 is not comparable to that of the sea in these 
 northern latitudes : though an exception 
 may be made in favor of same parts of the 
 China seas, and a few isolated spots in the
 
 24 A VlrilT TO N All ANT. 
 
 Atlantic. Every one who has passed over the 
 bank, known to sailors as the Sayade Mai ha, 
 10 degrees north of the MauritiuSj must re- 
 member with pleasure the world of shells 
 and corals which the translucid waters ex- 
 pose to view at a depth of 30 or 40 fathoms." 
 
 When Edward had closed the volume, 
 he told his uncle that this description of the 
 beauties of the ocean, had increased his de- 
 sire to traverse its vast surface, and behold 
 them for himself. "How much that is 
 wonderful and admirable, dear uncle," he 
 continued, " would be exhibited to us if we 
 could be permitted to see the deep recesses 
 of the sea !" 
 
 " Yes, my dear nephew, we should in 
 deed see much to call forth our praise, 
 though man in his pride of heart is prone 
 to say, why all this profusion of ornaments, 
 created only to be buried beneath the 
 waves ? Many a mournful tale would also 
 be revealed, could we read the mysterious 
 secrets of the deep, for of how many pious, 
 brave, noble, and beautiful beings, has it 
 not been the grave !
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 36 
 
 • Unseen, unsepulchred, but not unwept, 
 
 By lover, friend, relation, far away, 
 
 Long wailing their return to home and country, 
 
 And going down into their fathers' graves 
 
 With their gray hairs, or youthful locks in sorrow, 
 
 To meet no more till seas give up their dead ; 
 
 Some too — ay, thousands — whom none living moum'd, 
 
 None missed — waifs in the universe, the last 
 
 Lorn links of kindred chains forever sundered.' 
 
 " Never can this sad catalogue be accu- 
 rately made out to mortal eyes, till ' that 
 great day comes for which all other days 
 were made,' when ' the sea shall yield up 
 the dead that are in it, and death and hell 
 also the dead which are in them,' and when 
 we shall all ' be judged, every man accord- 
 ing to his works.' Many awful deeds of 
 wickedness will be discovered to have been 
 perpetrated on the fair bosom of the ocean, 
 which were indeed dexterously shrouded 
 from the eyes of man, but which that day 
 will prove to have been known and regis- 
 tered in heaven by Hnn who ' searches us 
 out,' and knows us perfectly, even when on 
 the wings of the morning we flee to the 
 uttermost parts of the sea." Mr. Benson 
 3
 
 as A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 here drew out his watch, remarking, that 
 the hour for evening prayer had now ar- 
 rived ; and when his household were col- 
 lected, they sang at his request the follow- 
 ing verses of a Psalm, taken from the 139th 
 of David. 
 
 ** Thou, Lord, by strictest search hast known 
 My rising up and lying down ; 
 My secret thoughts are known to thee, 
 Known long before conceived by me. 
 
 Thine eye my bed and path surveys, 
 My public haunts and private ways : 
 Thou knowest what 'tis my lips would vent, 
 My yet unuttered words' intent. 
 
 From thy all-seeing spirit, Lord, 
 What hiding-place does earth afford 1 
 Oh ! where can I thy influence shun, 
 Or whither from thy presence run 1 
 
 If I the morning's wings could gain, 
 And fly beyond the western main ; 
 E'en there, in earth's remotest land, 
 I still should find thy guiding hand !"
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 '* The insect that with feeble wing 
 Just floats along the summer ray ; 
 
 The flowret that the breath of spring 
 Wakes into life for half a day ; 
 
 The smallest mote, the slenderest hair, 
 
 All feel our common Father's care." 
 
 On the following morning Mr. Benson 
 invited his guests to a walk on the long and 
 narrow beach or ridge of sand which sepa- 
 rates the promontory of Nahant from the 
 main land ; to which proposal the party 
 gladly acceded. When they reached it, the 
 young people advanced with rapid steps, for 
 they were intent on discovering shells and 
 other marine productions. Edward's eager 
 steps were soon arrested, apparently by 
 some very interesting object, which he was 
 closely examining when his mother and 
 uncle appeared. When he observed them, 
 he exclaimed, " Dear uncle, can you tell me 
 what this curious thing can be, which I 
 found lying on the beach ? To me it ap- 
 pears like a mass of jelly, shaped in the
 
 SB A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 form of a fungus, but Emma tells me that 
 she saw somethinof of the same kind when 
 we were at the sea-shore, and when she 
 showed it to our kind friend old Robert, 
 she is certain he called it a sun-fish." 
 
 "Emma is correct in her opinion," re- 
 plied Mr. Benson, "this thing which to your 
 eyes, Edward, appears like a mass of jelly, 
 is, or was once a living creature, belonging 
 to the genus called, by Linna3us, Medusa. 
 They have sometimes received the expres- 
 sive name of sea-jellies, by others they are 
 called sun-fish, or sea-nettles. This last 
 name, I presume, is derived from the fact 
 of their imparting a slight tingling and ir- 
 ritation to the flesh on handling them. I 
 have seen these animals thrown wantonly 
 into a pail of fresh cold water, which appa- 
 rently caused them great suffering, for on 
 such occasions the whole mass contracted, 
 and expanded again convulsively: instead 
 of the transparency exhibited while in 
 health, they became opaque and full of 
 white milky fibres." 
 
 " This Medusa, my dear children," said
 
 ▲ MEDUSA, GELATINE, OR JELLY-FISH. 
 
 a. 
 
 a. The body of the animal 
 6. h. b. The arms or tentacula. 
 
 Taken from Kirby's B. T.
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 81 
 
 Mrs. Stanley, "reininds me of the promise 
 I made you during our voyage up the 
 Sound, and which I have not forgotten." 
 
 " We did not think, dear mother," repUed 
 Anna, " that you had forgotten it, because 
 you never, I believe, make us a promise 
 without remembering to keep it ; but we 
 were saying this morning that we should 
 be very happy to hear about the bright lit- 
 tle worms of the sea, when you were at 
 leisure to tell us." 
 
 " I have only waited that I might get 
 time to clothe the travellers ideas in some- 
 what more simple language than he made 
 use of; to night, however, I shall be ready- 
 to gratify you." 
 
 When evening came the young Stanleys 
 seated themselves around their beloved 
 mother with more than common pleasure, 
 because their anxiety was very great to 
 hear what she had to tell them. 
 
 Mr. Benson also arranged himself in a 
 comfortable position in his large chair, and 
 smiled on his young relatives, as he told
 
 32 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 them he too was going- to be a boy again, 
 and ask permission to hear a story. 
 
 "You no doubt recollect," said Mrs. 
 Stanley. « my telling you that the spark- 
 ling appearance of the sea-water, which 
 you admired so much during our voyage, 
 was supposed to be principally caused by 
 the presence of one particular family of 
 marine animals. These were called Me- 
 dusa3 by Linnaeus, and the name was 
 adopted by following writers, until the cele- 
 brated Cuvier, and the disciples of his 
 school, introduced them under other names, 
 in their different classifications of the ani- 
 mal kingdom. Baron Cuvier ranged them 
 as a group with some other genera, under 
 his class of Zoophyte. Lamarch separates 
 .them from many of these, and enumerates 
 them among his Radiaries, as forming a 
 household by themselves, to which he gives 
 the expressive name of Gelatines^ or Sea- 
 jellies. I will not perplex your minds, or 
 burden your memories at present with these 
 different systems, and will speak of them to 
 you by their old-fashioned name of Me-
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT 33 
 
 dusae, since it is by this term you will find 
 them recognized by Spallanzini, on whose 
 account I shall depend in giving their his- 
 tory. As the Medusae are in many re- 
 spects such singular creatures. I shall de- 
 scribe one of them to you more particularly. 
 I have not been able to find in any work 
 that I have been able to consult, so clear a 
 description of them as that furnished by 
 Spallanzini of the species in which he was 
 peculiarly interested. He says himself that 
 he had never been able to meet with any 
 *but imperfect accounts of the life ana 
 habits of these curious animals.' No au- 
 thor that he had consulted ever mentioned 
 their luminous appearance, excepting Lin- 
 naeus, and he only in one passage, in which 
 he asserts that some learned man had seen 
 ' in the sea between Spain and America. 
 Medusae dispersed over the water when 
 calm, and shining in the night like so many 
 candles.' Our traveller had found diifer- 
 ent species of them in the sea of Genoa and 
 in other places, which showed no brilliancy 
 at night, but he was fully gratified when
 
 34 A VISIT TO N A II ANT. 
 
 he beheld those of Messina. The body of 
 this species was shaped hke the head of a 
 fungus or mushroom, being convex or 
 round above, and concave or hollow be- 
 neath ; they vary in size from two to four 
 inches across ; round the edges they be- 
 come thinner like the fungus, and have the 
 appearance of being cut into a fine fringe ; 
 and where that is joined to the stalk, the 
 Medusa had four long, round, hollow bo- 
 dies, called Tentacula, or feelers,* of a large 
 size, and eight smaller ones : these feelers 
 all ran lengthwise, and adhered to the low- 
 er part of the animal, which answered to 
 the under and hollow side of a fungus ; the 
 surface of the body was very smooth, and 
 was covered with a slimy matter ; at the 
 highest point of the upper side was a large 
 opening leading into a cavity, which look- 
 ed like a jelly-like purse ; at the bottom of 
 
 * " Tentacula, or feelers: organs supplying the place ot 
 hands and arms to the animal, intended both for feeling, 
 and for seizing and holding food and other substances, 
 and for conveying it to the mouth." See index to WareV 
 edition of Smellie's Philosophy of Natural History.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 35 
 
 this were four small holes, by which the 
 water passed out that entered in at the large 
 opening, which Spallanzini supposed was 
 the mouth of the animal. Tell me whe- 
 ther either of you can form a conjecture as 
 to the use of the purse T 
 
 Emma and Anna were silent, and looked 
 to Edward as if they expected him to speak. 
 After a few moments of thought, he an- 
 swered, " This Medusa was so unlike com- 
 mon animals, dear mother, that I hardly 
 know what to say. If it was a living crea- 
 ture, however, it must have found nourish- 
 ment of some kind, though I am sure lean- 
 not imao^ine what sort of food would have 
 been suitable, or delicate enouofh for such a 
 jelly-like gentleman. If he ate, he must, I 
 suppose, have had a stomach, and I cannot 
 think where that could have been unless 
 this purse was it." 
 
 '• You are right in your conjecture, Ed- 
 ward," replied his mother, " this cavity or 
 purse was in reality the stomach of the Me- 
 dusa. With respect to the kind of food on 
 which it depended for sustenance, Spallan-
 
 3$ A VISIT TO NAIIANT 
 
 zini was inclined to think that it lived on 
 'mall fish and marine worms, as he once 
 found a Medusa with a little fish tightly 
 grasped in its feelers, and the seamen ol 
 Messina informed him that such a sight 
 was by no means uncommon. He farther 
 informs us that the substance of these ani- 
 mals was so tender that it could be cut 
 with a thread, and was at the same time as 
 transparent as glass. Throughout the 
 greatest part of it, even when examined 
 with a microscope, no vessels or fibres 
 could be perceived like those of other crea- 
 tures, except at the top of the purse, or sto- 
 mach, where he found four sniall bunches 
 of long, thin bodies twisted together, re- 
 sembling in some respects the intestines of 
 other animals." 
 
 At this part of the narrative Mrs. Stanley 
 paused for a few moments, and Emma took 
 advantage of the opportunity to inquire 
 eagerly, how the Medusa moved through 
 the sea. 
 
 Her mother answered, " They have nei- 
 ther hands nor feet, Emma, and yet they
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 37 
 
 contrive to travel from place to place. They 
 are proved to be animals principally by 
 their possessing powers of motion, and 
 these depend almost entirely on their ability 
 to enlarge and contract the outer part of the 
 body. The traveller tells r.s that from a 
 boat he watched the motions of a swim- 
 ming Medusa : he perceived that it turned 
 the round part of its body towards the sur- 
 face of the water in a slanting direction, and 
 that the fringed edges occupied the space 
 behind. Every few minutes it drew in the 
 latter, and then swelled them out again. 
 As the animal is always below the surface 
 of the water, it will of course have its open 
 mouth and stomach full of it. As it draws 
 in its body the water is pressed out of the 
 four holes that I have mentioned, and thus 
 forced against the edges : this gives it an 
 impulse, which is sufficient to make it pro- 
 ceed onward, while at the same time all its 
 twelve feelers are stretched beyond the 
 edges of the body like feet." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley here closed her papers, say- 
 ing at the same time, " I have taken so long, 
 4
 
 38 A VISIT TO N All ANT. 
 
 brother, to describe the appearance of the 
 Medusa, that I think I had better defer the 
 account of the h'ght it exhibits until another 
 time." Mr. Benson assented, teUing her 
 as he did so, that it was not because he felt 
 no incUnation to hear whut she had to say, 
 Dut because he was afraid they might be 
 detained until too late an hour. 
 
 " I have been more particular, brother," 
 she said, '• in this part of my narrative, be- 
 cause 1 wish my children to mark the skill 
 which has been shown in the formation of 
 this curious creature, which is ranked 
 among the lowest orders of animals. From 
 what you told them of the sufferings in- 
 flicted on the Medusae by throwing them in 
 cold fresh water, they will see that they 
 were created expressly to inhabit salt wa- 
 ter. When we think of all these things, 
 can we hesitate, my dear children, to say 
 that the Being who formed them was full 
 of mercy and consideration for the comfort 
 of his creatures, even the most feeble? And 
 when we see Him exercising so mucfi 
 thought, in always remembering to place
 
 A VISIT TO NAUANT. 39 
 
 the poor little Medusae exactly in the ele- 
 ment suited to them, let us be comforted 
 and strengthened in our belief, that if we 
 are among liis people he will be sure to cast 
 our lot exactly in the circumstances which 
 are best suited for us. Our blessed Re- 
 deemer bids us look at the little sparrow, 
 and observe how well they are taken care 
 of, in order that we may learn to trust our 
 heavenly Father entirely. We 'are of more 
 value,' He assures, 'than many sparrows/ 
 and yet not even ' one of them falls to the 
 ground' without God's notice." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " With scarce inferior lustre gleamed the sea, 
 Whose v/aves were spangled with phosphoric fire, 
 As though the lightnings there had spent their shafts, 
 And left the fragments glittering on the field." 
 
 " How very glad I am the sun has set, 
 mother," said Emma Stanley, as she watch- 
 ed it anxiously from her uncle's piazza on 
 the following evening. 
 
 " Why are you so much pleased, my
 
 40 A VIclIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 dear ? have you spent the day in such a 
 manner, that you have no stings of con- 
 science in looking back upon it?" 
 
 Emma blushed, for she remembered that 
 her mother had been obliged during that 
 day to reprove her seriously several times. 
 " I did not indeed think so, dear mother, for 
 no day passes that I don't do something 
 naughty. It seems to me that if I try with 
 all my might, I am sure to do wrong a 
 great deal oftener than Anna or brother ;" 
 and while she spoke the tears of contrition 
 stood in her eyes. 
 
 Her mother stroked her forehead tender- 
 ly, and replied. " You know, my daughter, 
 I often tell you that if you only strive in 
 your own might you will be sure to fail. 
 You know well where you must go for 
 strength. I suppose your pleasure at the 
 sight of the setting sun, arose from the 
 thought that you would soon be gratified 
 by hearing more of the Medusae of Messina. 
 But in your desire after promised enjoy- 
 ments, you should not forget that we shall 
 have to give an account on the great day,
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 41 
 
 of each waking hour as it passes along, and 
 therefore it is wrong to wish to hurry over 
 any of them." 
 
 While Mrs. Stanley and her daughter 
 were thus engaged in conversation of a re- 
 ligious kind. Mr. Benson tapped at the par- 
 lor window to summon them in. They 
 inomediately rose and walked into the 
 house, where they found the table arranged 
 with lights for them. 
 
 " You see, sister," said Mr. Benson, " I 
 am almost as impatient as your children, 
 to hear the sequel of the history of the Me- 
 dusae." 
 
 " And I am quite ready to gratify your 
 wishes," she replied, and producing her 
 notes, she continued as follows. " I think 
 I cannot better introduce this part of my 
 subject than in the following words of the 
 traveller. ' If in the beginning of the even- 
 ing we enter the strait of Messina in a low 
 boat or bark, coasting near the land where 
 the water is perfectly calm, the Medusag, 
 which are usually very numerous there, 
 begin to shine with a light, which acquires 
 4*
 
 42 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 intensity and extent as the darkness in- 
 creases ; every Medusa resembling a bright 
 torch, that may be seen for some paces 
 round ; on approaching, the brilUant phos- 
 phorus shows the form of the body. This 
 light, when the evening twihght is distinct, 
 is of a lively white, which strikes the eye 
 when the animal is 35 feet below the sur- 
 face.' » 
 
 Mrs. Stanley stopped for a few moments 
 and looked at Emma, as if she expected her 
 to speak ; at last she said, " If any thing 
 that I have said puzzles you, my dear, do 
 not be afraid to speak." 
 
 " I would like, dear mother," she replied, 
 " to know what you mean by the phospho- 
 rus of the Medusae ; last evening I heard 
 one of the gentlemen who were here speak 
 of the phosphorus of the fire-fly." 
 
 " 1 expected an inquiry on this point, and 
 you know I am always ready to gratify 
 you when you ask me at proper times. 1 
 am pleased that you did not do so last even- 
 ing when strangers were present, because 
 on such occasions I always wish young
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 43 
 
 persons to keep in the background, and not 
 trespass upon the patience of otliers. When 
 we speak of the phosphorescence of ani- 
 mals, we mean the property which those 
 bodies possess of giving U^rht without burn- 
 ing. A great many minerals have this 
 power, some in an astonishing degree : thus 
 if a piece of lime is placed on charcoal be- 
 fore the compound blow-pipe of a chemist, 
 it will emit a light of so briUiant a kind that 
 it can scarcely be looked at. Putrid fish 
 often exhibit a great degree of phosphores- 
 cence, and so does a certain kind of light 
 decayed wood, which you have often 
 amused yourselves in playing with, and 
 called lightning-wood. ' Phosphorus is a 
 simple substance,' to use the words of a 
 popular writer,* ' that was formerly un- 
 known. It is found in all animal substan- 
 ces, and is now chiefly obtained from the 
 powder of burnt bones by chemists.' It is 
 so combustible that it will take fire from 
 the heat of the fingers, and if a small piece 
 
 * " Conversations on Chemistry."
 
 44 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 of phosphorus is cut off and put in a glass 
 receiver of a cliemist, it may be set on fire 
 by merely touching it with a piece of red 
 hot iron wire, when the most brilliant blaze 
 will be produced. We will now return to 
 Spallanzini and his observations on the 
 MedusLc of Messina. He observed, there 
 would be in them sometimes a display of 
 light for half an hour or more, and then 
 again it would disappear, and not be visi- 
 ble until after a long interval. These in- 
 terruptions led him to think whether the 
 brilliancy might not depend in a consider- 
 able degree on their being kept in motion. 
 And he was strengthened in this belief, by 
 his recollection of the fire-fly, which never, 
 you know, shows any light when in a state 
 of perfect rest." 
 
 When Mrs. Stanley ceased speaking, 
 Anna remarked, " I have been trying, mam- 
 ma, to think how this gentleman was able 
 to examine the Medusae so well, since you 
 told us they would not live in fresh water, 
 and also, that the phosphorus could only 
 be seen in a dark place."
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 45 
 
 " Do you not remGniber, Anna.** said her 
 brother, " how nicely Spallanzini managed 
 to watch tlie coral worms when at work. 
 I dare say he found out some way quite as 
 clever to examine these animals." 
 
 " He acknowledges,-' said Mrs. Stanley, 
 '•that he found great difficulty in ascer- 
 taining: the true history of tlic Medusae. 
 But he finally succeeded, and in the fol- 
 lowing manner: 'he applied himself,' he 
 says, ' to examine these animals, by placing 
 a number of them in vessels filled with sea- 
 water, in which situation they would re- 
 main alive for several days, provided the 
 water was changed frequently, and care 
 was taken at the same time to have the ves- 
 sels large.' Under such circumstances he 
 found that the light was very little inferior 
 to that which the animals possessed at sea : 
 so Ions: as their tremulous motion con- 
 tinned the light appeared, though he uni- 
 formly found it more striking when they 
 were contracting, than when they were ex- 
 panding." 
 
 " That accounts, mamma," said Edward,
 
 46 A VISIT TO N A II ANT. 
 
 "for the light changing so much in the 
 sea : you told us that it was by sweUing 
 themselves out, and then drawing in again, 
 that they were able to move througn the 
 water, and if the light was always greater 
 when they were enlarging themselves, of 
 course, it would be (dtering constantly. 1 
 suppose, of course, the Medus.e which were 
 so bright in the Sound moved very much 
 like those of Messina, though they were not 
 near as large." 
 
 " I suppose there was a good deal of simi- 
 larity in their movements, Edward, for we 
 generally find that animals which belong to 
 the same genus or family, are "formed with 
 like habits of almost every kind." 
 
 "How very much, mamma, I should 
 love to have a few of the Messina Medusae 
 to watch," said Anna, "now that you have 
 told us about them." 
 
 " As that is a pleasure which is out of 
 your pov/er to enjoy, my dear," replied her 
 mother, "you must not covet it too anxious- 
 ly. The Bible rule is the best rule for 
 duty and happiness on all occasions, and
 
 A VISIT TO NAITANT. 47 
 
 its words arc very positive upon the point 
 of covetousness. ' Be content with such 
 things as ye have.' You cannot indeed 
 examine these animals for yourself, but you 
 can listen to the account of one who was 
 far better able to do so" 
 
 '• I want to ask one question," observed 
 Edward, "and this is, whether there was 
 any brilliancy about the Medusae when 
 they were quite at rest?" 
 
 " The traveller tells us," said his mother, 
 " that at such times the light was so faint, 
 that a careless observer would have sup- 
 posed that it had ceased. I will here give 
 you in his own language, some interesting 
 facts with reofard to his niofht viofils in the 
 cause of science. ' In the chamber in which 
 I slept at Messina, I had kept for several 
 days a number of Medusae in buckets filled 
 with sea-water. The water in one of these 
 was through neglect unchanged, and con- 
 sequently the animals it contained suffered 
 greatly, and no longer exhibited any treniu- 
 lous motion when I returned to them soon 
 after sun-set. The light too no longer ap-
 
 48 A VISIT TO NAHaNT. 
 
 pearedj except when by handling them they 
 were made to move for a short time. Du- 
 rinof the successive hours of that niffht Ire- 
 mained in the same chamber, sitting at a 
 table to note down the observations I had 
 made in the course of the day, and during 
 that time having twice cast my eyes at the 
 bucket, I found it entirely dark, though the 
 candle had been removed into another 
 room. But rising before day, I approached 
 the bucket, which stood in one corner of 
 the room, and perceived that the dying Me- 
 dusae still emitted a pale, but decided light. 
 It was easy to repeat the experiment on 
 others, and such repetitions were of im- 
 portance, for the results were uniformly the 
 same. I found likewise that these crea- 
 tures do not entirely cease to shine until 
 they are dead, and have begun to putrefy. 
 I therefore concluded that the phosphores- 
 cence of these animals cannot properly be 
 said to be interrupted ; but that while in 
 motion it is stronger and more lively, 
 though a feeble light still continues in the 
 intervals of rest, but at times so weak that
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 49 
 
 it cannot be discernedj unless the eye be 
 cleared of the impressions of light from 
 surrounding objects, as was mine, when 
 after having slept in a dark room, I pro- 
 ceeded to make observations of this kind.' " 
 
 At this point Mrs. Stanley remained si- 
 lent, to give her children an opportunity 
 for making inquiries with regard to any 
 thing which might have perplexed their 
 minds. 
 
 After a pause of a few moments Edward 
 inquired whether the traveller described 
 the appearance vrhich the animals present- 
 ed when out of water, remarking, that his 
 curiosity was excited to know whether in 
 such a situation they would show any 
 light. 
 
 " I am happy," said his mother, " in be- 
 ing able to state some singular facts ob- 
 served by Spallanzini, with regard to the 
 very point to which you allude. A Medu- 
 sa having been left by him for twenty-two 
 hours on a sheet of white paper, had ceased 
 to live ; the greater part of it was dissolved 
 into a liquor, and every luminous trace had
 
 £0 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 vanished. A large glass of well-water was 
 standing on the table, and he, without hav- 
 ing any particular object in view, chanced 
 to throw the remnants of the Medusa from 
 the paper into the jar ; it immediately sank 
 to the bottom, and there remained motion- 
 less ; but to his astonishment instantly 
 shone with so bright a light that he was 
 able to read by it print of tolerably large 
 size. The water at the same time became 
 luminous, and when he placed his finger 
 in the glass it became plainly discernible. 
 Supposing that the light would be increased 
 if sea-water was used, he threw out the 
 well-water, and filled the jar with sea-wa- 
 ter ; but the result disappointed him, as 
 darkness followed. Subsequently he pour- 
 ed off the water from the ocean, and sub- 
 stituted that from the well, when a beauti- 
 ful light again appeared." 
 
 " This was very extraordinary, mamma," 
 said Emma, "but, of course, Spallanzini 
 could explain it." 
 
 "With all his genius and ingenuity he 
 was baffled, and acknowledges himself
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 61 
 
 wholly unable to assin^n a reason for this 
 extraordinary fact, as well as another of the 
 same kind, which occurred during his visit. 
 When we behold a man of liis talents and 
 attainments, thus obliged to confess his in- 
 ability to solve a simple phenomenon of 
 nature, it should teach us all humility. It 
 should make us feel the infinite distance 
 which subsists between men of tlie strong- 
 est minds, and who have made the greatest 
 acquisitions in human science, and the 
 great God of the universe. The word of 
 God assures us that our Lord ' knew what 
 was in man ; and needeth not that any 
 should testify of him.' He knows too all 
 the secrets of nature ; He constructed the 
 whole universe, and is perfectly acquainted 
 with the vast system of machinery v/hich 
 He has put in operation. Ever since the 
 creation men have been puzzling them- 
 selves to try and ascertain what the princi- 
 ple of life is, but in vain. Man finds it 
 every where, and often wantonly destroys 
 it, but when once extinguished, where is 
 the human bemg so mighty, so highly gift-
 
 02 A. VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 ed, as to be able to restore it even to the 
 most diininiitive insect." 
 
 "Will yoLi be so kind, dear mother," 
 asked Anna, " as to tell us what other won- 
 derful things those were v/hich the traveller 
 observed at Messina, besides those you 
 have ali-jady related to us." 
 
 " Certainly, my dear," said her mother, 
 ^' if you wish to hear the narration ; I 
 thought you might possibly be a little weary 
 of the subject." 
 
 When Mrs. Stanley received the assu- 
 rances of her brother and children, that 
 they felt no decrease of interest, she again 
 opened her manuscript, and read as fol- 
 lows. " Another Medusa which was dead, 
 and had not been luminous for some time, 
 was lying out of the water in the Avindow 
 of my chamber. During the night a slight 
 rain fell, and every drop which touched 
 the Medusa was changed into a brilliant 
 spangle, till in a short time it was studded 
 all over with such shining points. I could 
 produce no such effect by sprinkling with 
 sea-water in imitation of rain."
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 53 
 
 Mrs. Stanley here remarked, " In Spal- 
 lanzini's eager desire to ascertain facts 
 which advance the cause of science, he 
 tried experiments on these poor Medusae, 
 which I certainly would not wish you to 
 suppose that I approve of, or would imitate. 
 So far as we can sfather information with 
 respect to God's creatures, hy observing 
 them as closely as we can without inflict- 
 ing pain, I consider it not only innocent and 
 interesting, but profitable to us, as intelli- 
 gent beings, and as Christians to do so, since 
 it leads us to more adoring views of Him 
 ' who hves, and moves, and breathes in all.' 
 But I cannot reconcile it to my conscience 
 wantonly to deprive the unoflending crea- 
 tures whom God has made, of life, for my 
 own gratification, or unnecessarily to dis- 
 tress them. On this account, therefore, I 
 shall pass over the account of such experi- 
 ments made on the innocent Medusas." 
 
 '• I do not wonder, mamma," said Emma, 
 
 " that the seamen of Messina should call 
 
 these bright little creatures ' the Candkis of 
 
 the Sea,' for they seem to deserve the name 
 
 5*
 
 64 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 very well, since their light enabled the 
 traveller to read in a dark room.'' 
 
 " I was reading an account, sister," ob- 
 served Mr. Benson, -'li^c iong since of the 
 beautiful appearand; which the waters of 
 Yenicc present at nii^ht, arising, the writer 
 said, from the presence of the marine glow- 
 worm in great quantities. Does your tra- 
 veller make any allusion to this locality, for 
 I am inclined to think the marine glow- 
 worm of my author is the same with the 
 Candellieri di Mari of yours /" 
 
 " Spallanzini mentions these ' glow 
 worms of the sea,' brother," replied Mrs. 
 Stanley. " but considers them as a different 
 animal from the 'Candles of the Sea,' and 
 I will read you a few lines of his on the 
 subject, to convince you of the distinction 
 between them. He says, ' in my voyage 
 from Lipari to Messina I was three times 
 obliged to pass the night on the water. The 
 sea was shallow, and tiie bottom abounded 
 with sea-weed. In the darkness of the 
 night these plants shone with sudden bright 
 flashes, which became more numerous
 
 A VISIT TO NA HAN'T. 66 
 
 when I moved them with the end of tlie 
 oar. and induced me to suppose they con- 
 tained marine glow-worms. Ilavinfj drawn 
 up some tufts of them from llie bottom, I 
 found these animals attached to them: and 
 this convinced me that they were the cause 
 of the himinous appearance there, as well 
 as in the Venetian Lagune. That I might 
 examine them more accurately, I carried 
 them with me to Messina and liipari in 
 vessels of sea-water. When I arrived there, 
 and was in a dark room, I detached the 
 glow-worms from the sea-weed, either by 
 taking them off gently witii my fingers, as 
 their light showed me the precise spot 
 where they were, or by shaking the leaves 
 of the plant in the water, first placing a 
 cloth at the bottom of the vessel. They 
 were heavier than the sea-water, and fell to 
 the bottom, and the cloth then appeared 
 studded with brilliant points, which were 
 the animals I wished to detach, and which 
 I ascertained to be the shining Nereis.' " 
 
 Mrs. Stanley received the thanks of the 
 whole party for her narrative ; for her
 
 56 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 brother declared he had been equally in- 
 terested with the young Stanleys. 
 
 "I must make a request in my turn," 
 said the lady, " which is, that Edward or 
 his sisters will endeavor to draw a moral 
 lesson from the subject of our conversation 
 this evening." 
 
 A long silence ensued, which Anna was 
 the first to break, by saying timidly, " Dear 
 mother, I cannot think so well as brother, 
 but may I tell you some lines that have 
 been in my mind all the while you have 
 been talking of these beautiful Medusae. 
 You will not think a child presumptuous, 
 mamma, in just altering a little^ part of one 
 of your favorite hymns. 
 
 * The spacious firmament on high, 
 With all the blue ethereal sky, 
 And spangled sea, a shining frame, 
 Their great Original proclaim. 
 In reason's ear they all rejoice, 
 And utter forth a glorious voice, 
 Forever singing as they shine, 
 The hand that made us is divine.' " 
 
 As Mr. Benson and his sister watched the 
 glowing check of Anna, and listened to the
 
 A VIsIT TO NAHANT. 87 
 
 tremulous tones in which she gave utter- 
 ance to her feehngs in the language of the 
 hymn, they were assured there was no in- 
 tention on her part to make aiuj exhibition 
 of sciitinipjit^ and therefore they rewarded 
 tJie Uttle girl by an approving smile, which 
 effectually dispelled her agitation. 
 
 •• I am waiting, Edward, very patiently 
 for your commentary," said Mr. Benson. 
 
 "1 was thinking, uncle, that real Chris- 
 tians were like the MeduscC, shedding bright 
 light around them wherever they moved, 
 and that sometimes their example was 
 brighter, and more useful to others after 
 death, than when alive and full of strength." 
 
 '• Yes, my son," said JMrs. Stanley, " that 
 is indeed often the case ; and by the bless- 
 ing of God, (without which no human 
 efforts can be of any avail in the work ot 
 salvation,) the beautiful light of a holy ex- 
 ample made known to others after the 
 death of the individual, may be the means 
 of leading them to the reading of God's 
 word, by which the darkness of unbelief is 
 dispelled, and souls once dead in sin, are
 
 B8 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and 
 ' through the grave and gate of death, are 
 made to pass to a joyful resurrection, for 
 his merits who died, and was buried, and 
 rose again for us.' " 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi- 
 ness in great waters ; these see the works of the Lord, 
 and his wonders in the deep. For He comraandcth, and 
 raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves there- 
 of." Psalm 107. 
 
 In the early part of his life, Mr. Benson 
 had made many sea voyages, and having 
 an observing mind, his memory was stored 
 with incidents connected with such scenes, 
 and while he was relating them for the 
 amusement or instruction of his nephew 
 and nieces, the time appeared to them to 
 pass by most swiftly. One afternoon they 
 were seated together in their uncle's par- 
 lor, the windows of wliich commanded a 
 fine view of the ocean : the sky had been 
 dark and low^ering all day, and the dense
 
 A. VISIT TO NAHANT. e» 
 
 masses of black clouds, which seemed piled 
 one over tlie other, portended a terrible 
 storm. Numerous fishing boats were to 
 be seen with their sails spread, hurrying 
 towards land as if the occupants dreaded 
 to remain on the ocean, during the strife of 
 the elements that was approaching : the 
 sea fowl, apprized of the impending danger, 
 by the instinct which their kind Creator 
 has imparted to them, were scudding quick- 
 ly alonof the brink of the waves to seek 
 shelter in some retired cove ; while the 
 wind moaned in long and melancholy notes, 
 and seemed to say it mourned at the de- 
 vastation it was bringing over nature, at 
 the commands of Him who bringeth •' the 
 \vinds out of His treasures," and who mer- 
 cifully overrules all such events for the 
 final good of his creatures. 
 
 Mr. Benson for some time observed the 
 heavens with a most watchful e^^e, when, 
 at length, starting up, he exclaimed quick- 
 ly, at the same time pointing with his hand 
 towards a certain part of the horizon, 
 " Look yonder, Edward ! v.'cre I at sea, I
 
 00 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 should say that appearance was indicative 
 of a water-spout." 
 
 " A water-spout, dear uncle !" exclaimed 
 the young people all at once, " and have 
 you ever seen a water-spout ? Please to tell 
 us something about it." 
 
 " I have seen them more than once, and 
 shall not readily forget my feelings of awe 
 at such times, and the breathless suspense 
 with which I watched their progress. I 
 have been in many situations of peril both 
 at land and sea, but I can assure you, Ed- 
 ward, I never felt such sensations as when 
 
 1 have seen a water-spout approaching. 
 This is not a time for me to give you an ac- 
 count of this phenomenon, for the tempest 
 which is approaching would drown my 
 feeble voice, but when it abates I will try 
 to gratify you." 
 
 The young Stanleys had been early ao- 
 customed by their excellent mother to ac- 
 commodate their wishes to those of others, 
 and when they found their uncle preferred 
 deferring: to another time the relation of the 
 narrative which they were anxious to hear,
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 61 
 
 they did not look sullen or displeased, but 
 cheerfully acquiesced. Soon the storm 
 burst wilh violence upon them ; the thun- 
 der roared with deep and solemn sound, 
 and the forked liohtning played up and 
 down the heavens with fearful brilliancy, 
 but the party at the cottage exhibited no 
 weak or childish fears. Their mother had 
 endeavored from their earliest years, to im- 
 press upon their hearts a lively faith in the 
 watchful care of God extended over them 
 at all times. In their morning devotions 
 they were accustomed to pray for God's 
 protection through the day, and to praise 
 Him for having kept them safely through 
 the defenceless hours of the night ; and be- 
 fore they retired to rest in the evening simi- 
 lar devotions occupied them. Thus, while 
 they were solenm and silent during the 
 raging of this storm, they were not fright- 
 ened, for they knew it was their 
 
 " God who rules on high, 
 And thunders "when he please, 
 
 That rides upon the stormy sky, 
 And manages the seas." 
 (
 
 'IB A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 Night closed in, and found them engaged 
 m watching the huge waves as they broke 
 upon the rocks, one moment covering them 
 with white foam, and the next, exhibiting 
 their dark and ragged surface. Gradually 
 the storm subsided, like a sullen child who 
 is overpowered by superior force, but not 
 subdued into good humor. 
 
 When the family assembled round the 
 table in the evening, the young Stanleys 
 waited in silence to know whether their 
 uncle would remember his promise about 
 the water-spout. They were anxious to 
 hear it, but they did not tliink.it proper for 
 them to remind him of it. 
 
 At length Mr. Benson broke the silence 
 by observing, " Edward, what do you sup- 
 pose are the causes which produce water- 
 spouts ?" 
 
 Edward modestly replied, '• Ihave always 
 supposed, uncle, that they were brought on 
 by very much the same circumstances as 
 those which on land produce whirlwinds." 
 
 " 1 believe your idea is correct, Edward," 
 replied Mr. Benson, " and it would be difJi-
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 63 
 
 cult to decide which is the more appalling 
 sight of the two. 'J'hese phenomena are 
 more common in the southern than in the 
 northern hemisphere, though from what 
 cause I am ignorant. On one occasion 
 while on a voyage in the Pacific. I had an 
 opportunity of seeing a water-spout in per- 
 fection. When our attention was first 
 turned to it, we observed an appearance at 
 a certain spot at some distance from us, as 
 if the ocean was boiling violently ; above 
 this rested a cloud of smoke, something 
 like the steam you have seen hanging over 
 a boiling pot ; accompanying this was a 
 loud noise like the rushing of a torrent of 
 water ; this noise was associated with ano- 
 ther, which I can compare to nothing but 
 the hissing sound which you have noticed, 
 when the engineer of a steamboat first at- 
 tempts to check the steam, when his vessel 
 is about to land passengers : almost imme- 
 diately after the sound reached our ears, 
 we perceived a column of steam arising 
 with amazing velocity towards the heavens, 
 apparently not thicker than a man's arm,
 
 64 A VISIT TO N AHA NT. 
 
 and through the steam we all thought we 
 could see water rising upwards in a spiral 
 manner ; this continued for the space of 
 from ten to twenty minutes ; then another 
 rose ; finally, a third : they approached our 
 vessel, while our crew remained almost 
 breathless with dismay, for we should pro- 
 bably have been destroyed had we come in 
 contact : finally, they passed on, and the 
 hearts of all of us, even the most thought- 
 less, were lifted up in praise to Him who 
 had preserved us from so dreadful a fate." 
 " Dear uncle ! were you not very much 
 frightened by these awful water-spouts?" 
 inquired Anna. "Not exactly frlghte?ied, 
 Anna, but my mind was in a most solemn 
 state, as I gazed at this phenomenon of the 
 sea, and realized that I might possibly be 
 on the verge of eternity." " Do you re- 
 member, brother," inquired Mrs. Stanley, 
 " the fine description of a similar scene to 
 that you have related, given in the Rev. 
 Mr. Ellis's Polynesian Researches ?" 
 
 " I do," said Mr. Benson, " and I can 
 assure you that I listened to it with feelings
 
 A VISIT TO N VHANT. 66 
 
 of peculiar interest, and should have no 
 objection to hearing it again, if Edward 
 feels disposed to read it." 
 
 Edward pladlv assented, and taking the 
 volume from his mother's hands, (who had 
 brought it into the parlor in anticipation of 
 the conversation of the evening,) he read 
 the following passages, which she had 
 marked out. 
 
 "Early in 1819 circumstances rendered 
 it desirable for us to visit Raiatea, (one of 
 the Society Islands.) About 9 o'clock in 
 the morning Mr. Barff and myself, accom- 
 panied by five natives and an English sail- 
 or, embarked for Huahine. Though the 
 settlements were about thirty miles apart, 
 yet as the width of the channel was not 
 much more than twenty miles, the moun- 
 tains and coast of the opposite island were 
 distinctly visible. The wund being fair, we 
 expected to reach the Raiatean shore in three 
 or four hours, and to arrive at the residence 
 of our friends long before the close of the 
 day. We had not, however, been an hour 
 at sea when the heavens began to gather
 
 66 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 blackness, and lowering clouds intercepted 
 our view of the shore we had left, and of 
 that to \vhich we were bound. The wind 
 became unsteady and boisterous, the sea 
 rose, not in long, heavy billows, but in 
 short, cross, and broken waves. We had 
 no compass on board. The dark and 
 heavy atmosphere obscuring the sun pre- 
 vented our discerning the land, and ren- 
 dered us unconscious of the direction in 
 which the storm v/as driving us. We took 
 down our large sails, leaving only a small 
 one in the forepart of the boat, merely to 
 keep it steady. The tempestincreasing, the 
 natives were alarmed, and during the occa- 
 sional intervals in which the wind abated 
 its violence, the rain came down in tremen- 
 dous torrents. The rain calmed in a de- 
 gree the broken and agitated surface of the 
 ocean, that had raged with threatening vio- 
 lence. Our boat being small, not above 
 eighteen feet long, and the edge, when the 
 sea was smooth, not more than a foot or 
 eighteen inches above its surface ; every 
 wave that broke near threw its spray over
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 67 
 
 lis, and each billow in striking our little 
 bark forced part of its foaming waters over 
 the bow on both sides. Happily we had a 
 bucket on board, by means of which we 
 were able to bale out the water. In this 
 state we continued, I suppose, about two 
 hours, hoping that the clouds would dis- 
 perse, and the winds abate ; but instead of 
 this the storm seemed to increase, and with 
 it our danger. Most of the natives sat down 
 in the bottom of the boat ; and under the 
 influence of fear, either shut their eyes or 
 covered them with their hands, expecting 
 every moment that the waves would close 
 over us. We were not unconscious of our 
 peril, and as a last resource took down our 
 little sail and our mast, tied tlie masts, bow- 
 sprit, and oars together in a bundle with 
 one end of a strong rope, and fastening the 
 other end to the bow of our boat, threw 
 them into the sea. The bundle of masts, 
 <fec. acted as a kind of buoy or floating an- 
 chor, and not only broke the force of the 
 billows that were rolling towares the boat, 
 but kept it tolerably steady while we were
 
 68 A VISIT TO N AH ANT. 
 
 dashed on the broken waves, or wafted we 
 knew not whither by the raging tempest. 
 
 " The rain soon abated, and the northern 
 horizon became somewhat clear, but the 
 joyful anticipations with which we viewed 
 this change, were soon superseded by anew 
 train of feeUngs. Ure^ ure, tea, moana ! 
 exclaimed one of the natives ; and looking 
 in the direction to which he pointed, we 
 saw a large cylindrical water-spout, ox- 
 tending like a massive column from tlie 
 ocean to the dark and impending clouds. 
 It was not very distant, and seemed moving 
 towards our apparently devoted boat. The 
 roughness of the sea forbade our attempt- 
 ing to hoist a sail in order to avoid it ; and 
 as we had no other means of safety at com- 
 mand, we endeavoured calmly to await its 
 approach. The natives abandoned them- 
 selves to despair, and either threw them- 
 selves along in the bottom of the boat, or 
 sat crouching on the keel with their faces 
 downwards, and their eyes covered Avith 
 their hands. The sailor kept at the helm, 
 Mr. BarfF sat at one side of the stern, and 1
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. C9 
 
 on the other, -watching the alarmmg object 
 before us. While thus employed, we saw- 
 two other water-spouts, and afterwards a 
 third, if not more, so that we seemed al- 
 most surrounded by them. Some were 
 well defined, extending in an unbroken line 
 from the sea to the sky, like pillars resting 
 on the ocean as their basis, and supporting 
 the clouds ; others assuming the form of a 
 funnel, or an inverted cone attached to the 
 clouds, and extending towards the sea be- 
 neath. From the distinctness with which 
 we saw them, notwithstanding the density 
 of the atmosphere, the farthest could not 
 have been many miles distant. In some 
 we imagined we could trace the spiral mo- 
 tion of the water as it was drawn upwards 
 to the clouds, which were every moment 
 augmenting their portentous darkness. The 
 sense of personal danger, and immediate de- 
 struction if brought within the vortex of 
 their influence, restrained in a great degree 
 all curious, and what in other circumstan- 
 ces would have been interesting observa- 
 tions on the wonderful phenomena around
 
 79 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 iiSj the micrhty agitation of the elements, 
 and the terrific sublimity of these wonders 
 of the deep. The roaring of the tempest, 
 and the hollow sounds that murmured on 
 the ear as the heavy billow rolled by in 
 foam, or broke in contact with an opposing 
 billow, seemed as if ' deep called unto deep,' 
 and 'the noise of v/ater-spouts miglit al- 
 most be heard, while we were momentarily 
 expecting that the mighty waves would 
 sweep over us.' The hours that followed 
 were among the most solemn I have ever 
 passed. Although much recurred to me- 
 mory that demanded deep regret and the 
 most sincere repentance, yet I could look 
 back upon that mercy which had first 
 brought me to a knowledofe of the Saviour 
 with a gratitude deeper than I had ever 
 felt before. Him^ and Him alone, I found 
 to be a refuge, a rock in the storm of con- 
 tending feelings, on which my soul could 
 cast the anchor of its hope for pardon and 
 acceptance before God : and although not 
 visibly present as with his disciples on the 
 sea of TiberiaSj we could not but hope that
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 71 
 
 He was spiritually present, and that should 
 our bodies rest till the morning of the resur- 
 rection in the unfathomed caverns of the 
 ocean, our souls would be by Him admitted 
 to the abodes of blessedness and rest. I could 
 not but think how awful my state would 
 have been had I in that hour been ignorant 
 of Christ, or had I neglected or despised the 
 offers of his mercy : and while the reflec- 
 tion induced thanlcfulness to Him, through 
 whom alone we had been made to share a 
 hope of immortality, it awakened a tender 
 sympathy for our fellow-voyagers, who sat 
 in mournful silence at the helm and bottom 
 of the boat, and who seemed averse to con- 
 versation. Our prayers were offered to 
 Him who is a present help in every time of 
 danger, for ourselves, and for those who 
 sailed v/ith us: and under these or similar 
 circumstances several hours passed cway. 
 The storm continued during the day ; at 
 hitervals we beheld through the clouds and 
 rain one or other of the water-spouts, the 
 whole of which appeared almost stationary, 
 until at length we lost sight of them alto-
 
 12 A VISIT TO N AH ANT. 
 
 gether, when the spirits of our native voy- 
 agers evidently revived. 
 
 " Throughout the Pacific, water spouts 
 of varied form and size, are among the most 
 frequent of the splendid pheiiomena, and 
 mighty works of the Lord, which those be- 
 hold who go down to the sea in ships, and 
 who do business upon the great waters. 
 They are sublime objects of interest when 
 viewed from the shore ; but when beheld at 
 sea, especially if near, and from a small and 
 fragile bark, as we had seen them, it is al- 
 most impossible so to divest the mind of a 
 sense of personal danger, as (o, contemplate 
 with composure their stately movements, 
 or the rapid internal circular eddy of the 
 waters."* 
 
 Here Edward paused, and returned the 
 volume to his mother, for he perceived that 
 the pencilled lines with which she was ac- 
 customed to mark such passages as she 
 wished them to read, extended no further. 
 As he gave it to her, he said, " Thank you, 
 
 ♦ Vol. II. Polynesian Researches,
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT 78 
 
 dear mother, for thinking of this account of 
 Mr. Ellis, and giving it to me to read ; it 
 has brought the scene so completely before 
 me, that I actually felt as if I could see the 
 water-spouts with my own eyes, and I long- 
 ed to be in the boat with them." 
 
 " Oh, brother !" exclaimed Emma, •' how 
 could you wish to be there ! I am sure all 
 the time you were reading, I could not help 
 thinking how glad I was that I was in un- 
 cle's nice parlor, instead of being tossed 
 about on the ocean in that dreadful storm. 
 Even hearing of others having been there, 
 made me tremble all over." 
 
 " Remember, my daughter," said her mo- 
 ther with a smile, " Edward belongs to the 
 stronger sex, and has by nature a very 
 courageous disposition, though I cannot but 
 think if he were to find himself at this mo- 
 ment transferred to a frail bark, which was 
 tossing about on the tempestuous ocean, 
 and an awful water-spout before him, he 
 too might wish to be on the safe and quiet 
 land." 
 
 '• I think still, dear mother," he replied, 
 7
 
 74 A VISIT TO. NAIIANT. 
 
 "that I should like to be present at such a 
 scene, but I will not be too siire^ because 
 you have taught me to see what a deceit- 
 ful heart I have." 
 
 " There is one thing, my dear children," 
 observed Mrs. Stanley, " that I wish to no- 
 tice particularly in Mr. Ellis's narrative, 
 Avhich is the description that he gives of the 
 peace of mind which faith in Christ imparts 
 at such moments. You will most probably 
 never be placed exactly in similar circum- 
 stances, but sadden death may threaten us 
 on land as well as on the stormy ocean ; a 
 thousand events may occur to place your 
 lives suddenly in peril, and believe me, my 
 children, such moments are not the ones to 
 make your peace with an offended God. 
 The soul is too much agitated, too full of 
 terror, to be master of its powers. So much 
 is felt necessary to be done, that the mind 
 becomes bewildered, and too often nothing 
 is done. I fear, effectual to salvation, and 
 the poor thoughtless despiser of God's 
 word, or the negligent hearer of it, pass 
 from these scenes stupified almost with ter-
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 7B 
 
 ror, and only regain their full powers of 
 consciousness, when it is too late, and they 
 find themselves alone and helpless — self- 
 condemned sinners before the throne of 
 God. Mr. Ellis remarks that he found in 
 the prospect of death, ' Christ, and Christ 
 only, could be a refuge for his soul.' Oh ! 
 let us pray continually, that the 'Almighty 
 and everlasting God would mercifully look 
 upon our infirmities, and that in all our 
 dangers and necessities, He would stretch 
 forth His right hand to help and defend us, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord.' 
 
 ' While I draw this fleeting hreath, 
 When mine eyehds close in death, 
 When I rise to worlds unknown, 
 And behold thee on thy throne, 
 Rock of Ages ! cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in thee '' '*
 
 78 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 CHAPTEll VI. 
 
 " Gem, flower, and fish, — the bird, the brute 
 
 Of every kind, occult or known, 
 (Each exquisitely fonned to suit 
 
 Its humble lot, and that alone,) 
 Through ocean, earth, and air fulfil 
 Unconsciously their Maker's will, 
 Who gave without their care or thought 
 
 Strength, beauty, instinct, courage, speed ; 
 While through the whole His pleasure wrought 
 
 Whate'er His wisdom had decreed," 
 
 It is always delightful, in whatever situ- 
 ation we may be placed, after having re- 
 tired to rest in the midst of a tempest, to 
 awake on the following: morning: and find 
 the storm has vanished, and the night of 
 darkness has given place to a day of bright 
 sunshine. But though this change is most 
 grateful every where, it is particularly so 
 to those who at such times may be station- 
 ed near the ocean. Its waters then appear 
 of a more beautiful blue, and the waves, 
 not recovered from the agitation of the past 
 storm, are dashed with greater power and 
 majesty on the beach. The spectator feels
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 7t 
 
 his spirits raised in a more than ordinary 
 degree, and he is almost tempted to think 
 he is better than usual, because he is hap- 
 pier. 
 
 The party at the cottage, as they looked 
 out on the face of nature on the morning 
 after the storm, seemed inspired with feel- 
 ings of this kind. Every one appeared full 
 of life ; and when, after breakfast, Mr. Ben- 
 son's voice was heard as he summoned his 
 guests, saying, " To the beach ! to the 
 beach ! I prophesy that you will find some 
 spoils that are worth gathering, after the 
 tempest of yesterday," the cheerful sum- 
 mons was joyfully met and answered by 
 the happy voices of Edward and his sisters, 
 and in a few moments the party were wend- 
 ing their way to the sea. 
 
 Mrs. Stanley remained at home to attend 
 to something which required her presence, 
 and while she was thus engaged in a back 
 room, she heard the light and rapid foot- 
 steps of a young person crossing the piazza, 
 and in a moment after, Anna entered the 
 apartment in which her mother was sitting. 
 7*
 
 78 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 Her hat was thrown back, and her generally- 
 mild and gentle countenance was flushed 
 with pleasure, as she opened her apron to 
 show her mother the treasures she had been 
 collecting. " See, dear, dear mother, what I 
 have found ; they look very much like the 
 sea-eggs which you have in your cabinet ; 
 can they be the same kind of thing? 
 Yours have not these sharp green things 
 like thorns over them, and are prettier 
 than mine ; but I hope these will look 
 whiter when 1 have washed the sand off 
 them." 
 
 Her mother took one of Anna's new found 
 treasures into her hand, and after she had 
 looked at it for a few moments, she said, 
 " You have indeed been very fortunate in 
 finding these things, my dear. They are, 
 as you supposed, sea-eggs, or as they are 
 sometimes called, sea-urchins ; and though 
 they are not so white as those which you 
 have seen in my cabinet, they are much 
 more valuable. Yours have been killed 
 very recently, probably by being thrown 
 violently on the beach during the tempest
 
 ECHINUS, OR SEA-URCHIN 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 Shell, with a few spines remainiiig. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 Lower part of the shell, showing the mouth and five teeth 
 
 Fiff. 2, taken from Kirby's Bridgewatw Treatise.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 9 
 
 last evening. They contain the animal in 
 the inside, and will give us an uncommon- 
 ly good opportunity for examination." 
 
 <' Please, dear mother," said Anna, " to 
 give us this evening some account of them, 
 for it would be such a pity for you to tell 
 me about them now, when brother and 
 Emma are away. You know they will 
 enjoy hearing of the sea-urchins very 
 much." 
 
 By and by, the rest of the party returned, 
 but when they had each brought their offer- 
 ings, Anna's were pronounced decidedly 
 the most valuable. Mrs. Stanley watched 
 the countenances of her children with some 
 anxiety, for she was fearful lest some una- 
 miable feelings might be displayed by them 
 on this occasion. Though the prize gained 
 was in this instance a small one, she knew 
 the corruptions of the human heart too well 
 not to be aware that the most trifling ad- 
 vantage possessed by another, will some- 
 times be suflicient to rouse envy in the 
 breast. But the heart of the Christian mo- 
 ther was gratified in seeing how warmly
 
 SB A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 Edward and Emma sympathized in the 
 pleasure of Anna. She had found several 
 sea-eggs, and she insisted on dividing them 
 with her companions : after they had been 
 examined for a time they were put by un- 
 til the evening, when Mrs. Stanley pro- 
 mised to give her children some little his- 
 tory of them. 
 
 When the young Stanleys received a 
 message from their uncle after tea, sum- 
 moning them to the drawing-room, they 
 immediately came into the house, and when 
 they entered it, they observed he had ar- 
 ranged Anna's sea-urchins on the table, and 
 by their side had placed some beautiful 
 white ones of his own, which were entirely 
 free from spines. 
 
 " The Echinus, or Sea-egg," said Mrs. 
 Stanle^^, "is a very large genus of animals, 
 included like the Medusae, until lately, un- 
 der the class of Zoophytes. These ani- 
 mals all have round or oval-shaped shells, 
 though they are divided into a great many 
 species. Many of these are now only found 
 in a fossil state, numerous specimens of
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 83 
 
 which are to be seen in all the large muse- 
 ums of this country. These I will not 
 trouble you with at this time, and will only 
 describe some of those which are found 
 abundantly at the present day in a living 
 state, in different parts of the world. I told 
 you some evenings since, that the Medusae 
 have been separated by some modern 
 naturalists into an order to which they 
 give the name of Gelatines ; another order 
 is added to this, and both together form 
 Lamarch's class of Radiarics. It is under 
 the second that the Echinus, or sea-urchin 
 is placed, with some other very interesting 
 sea-animals, that I hope to be able to tell 
 you about hereafter, as they are quite as 
 interesting as any you have yet heard of." 
 Mrs. Stanley nowtook up one of the shells 
 of the sea-urchin which her brother had 
 given her, in order to explain its singular 
 formation to her children. It was not, like 
 Anna's, covered with spines, nehher was it 
 closed at the bottom, but was beautifully 
 white, and entirely hollow throughout. She 
 told them that the empty sea-urchin shells
 
 84 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 had probably been beating about on the 
 shore for a longtime, and had been whiten- 
 ed by the effect of the heat of the sun. 
 
 " I am going to call in the aid of a very 
 powerful assistant," said Mrs. Stanley, '-in 
 my attempt to describe the singular forma- 
 tion of the sea-urchin, since I find his work 
 contains more valuable information than 
 that of any other author I have consulted ; 
 and I shall be enabled also to avail myself 
 of some of his interesting plates in addition. 
 The author to whom I allude is the Rev. 
 William Kirby of England, in his number 
 of the Bridgewater Treatises. I will give 
 you, in as simple language as I can, the ac- 
 count of ' the wonderful manner in which 
 the house that these animals reside in, is 
 constructed by its Divine builder,' to use 
 his own language. The shell of the sea- 
 urchin is formed by two coverings or mem- 
 branes, one outer and thicker, and the 
 other very thin. Between these is a shell 
 of a limy kind, composed of a great num- 
 ber of many-sided pieces, which you will 
 perceive by looking at this shell which I
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 86 
 
 have broken ; you observe it does not crack 
 in a straight hue. or in an irregular crooked 
 one, but in pieces which have the same 
 zigzag shape uniformly. I can explain 
 the construction of this shell better by tak- 
 ing one apart, and your uncle has been so 
 kind as to give me a shell on purpose to 
 break for you." 
 
 "Thank you, dear uncle, for your kind- 
 ness," said all the young people. 
 
 " I will now separate it," continued Mrs. 
 Stanley ; " you observe that I have divided 
 it into many little strips shaped somewhat 
 like the slices of a muskmelon when cut 
 for table. Edward may count the number." 
 
 He did so, and told his mother that there 
 were twenty of these pieces. 
 
 " You will observe," said she, " that ten 
 of these pieces are covered with round 
 lumps sticking out from the shell, some of 
 which are larger than others ; the remain- 
 ing ten are pierced with rows of little holes, 
 like pin holes ; it is from the rows of holes 
 that the tentacles or feelers of the animal 
 are thrust out, while the rows of little pro- 
 8
 
 85 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 tuberances or lumps were covered with tho 
 spines. Observe when I phick ofl' a spine 
 from one of Anna's sea-urchins ; under- 
 neath it is one of these Uimps. Each one 
 then in these rows had once a spine fitted on 
 it hke a ball and socket. The animal, when 
 alive in the inside of the shell, was able to 
 move the spines at pleasure, or thrust its 
 feelers through these tiny holes.-' 
 
 " I believe, mother," said Edward, «• that 
 the sea-urchin uses these spines to turn 
 itself about with, like the spokes of a wheel ; 
 at least I have read of their doing so." 
 
 "It is, I believe, generally thought so," 
 replied Mrs. Stanley ; " and Mr. Kirby says 
 expressly, that he thinks the sea-urchin em- 
 ploys its spines in moving itself about, using 
 some as legs to advance forward, and others 
 to prevent itself from being thrown back 
 again. And he tells us, that it is by means 
 of the spines that they bury themselves in 
 the sand on the sea-shore. Spallanzini, 
 however, was of a different opinion, and if 
 you are disposed to listen to him again, 1 
 will tell you how he came to this conclusion."
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 87 
 
 " I will give my vote," said Mr. Benson, 
 "to allow the traveller a hearing, as I have 
 not forgotten his history of the Medusae. 
 What say the young people ? All who are 
 in favor of my motion will say aye." 
 
 The young Stanleys gave their votes 
 in the affirmative, and Mrs. Stanley went 
 on with her narrative. 
 
 " The traveller declares that the fact of 
 the sea-urchins being armed with thick 
 spines, and also furnished with a prodigious 
 quantity of feelers which they thrust forth 
 or conceal at pleasure, is too well known 
 for any one to attempt to dispute. While 
 this is evident to all who will take the trou- 
 ble to examine the animals, it has been by 
 no means so settled a matter, which of these 
 two parts of its body it uses in moving from 
 place to place. Some time before writing 
 this account, Spallanzini tells us that he 
 had an opportunity of examining a number 
 of sea-urchins, in the Gulf of Spezzia, and 
 the result of these experiments convinced 
 him, that if the animal is taken out of the 
 water, (in which state it will live but a short
 
 88 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 time,) it will move itself solely by its spines ; 
 but on the contrary, so long as it remains 
 in its native element, its removal from place 
 to place will be effected entirely by means 
 of its tentacula or feelers. He took five 
 sea-urchins, which v^ere brought up by the 
 coral fishermen when fishing for coral, and 
 put them immediately into a bucket of sea- 
 water, in order to examine them on his re- 
 turn to Messina, a few hours afterwards. 
 While he was returning he observed, that 
 notwithstanding the agitation of the water, 
 caused by the motion of the bark, all five 
 of them had ascended from the bottom of 
 the bucket up the sides, almost to the top, 
 where they remained fixed by means of 
 their feelers. This convinced him that the 
 feelers were not only of use to fasten the 
 animals, but also to enable them to move 
 about. He then separated them, though 
 with a good deal of difiiculty, from the 
 bucket, because he wished to watch them 
 ascend, and see how they managed matters, 
 and placed them at the bottom of a glass 
 bucket, witn smooth, straight sides. One
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. » 
 
 of them he placed with its mouth upwards, 
 which is an unnatural position for the sea- 
 urchin, for when at home, in the bottom of 
 the sea, they always have their mouths 
 downwards. This poor thing, feeling un- 
 comfortable in the position in which the 
 traveller had placed it, made a violent effort 
 to recover its natural posture. On one side 
 it thrust out fifty or more of its feelers, 
 spreading them as much as possible, and 
 fixing them to the bottom of the vessel. It 
 then drew them in, and by so doing some- 
 what raised its body. It was now, as it 
 were, on one side, and it remained in that 
 position by holding fast with its contracted 
 feelers. It then put forth other feelers on the 
 same side, drew in these also when firmly 
 fixed and let go the others first thrust out, 
 and made a still farther turn of its body. 
 When it had performed this curious ope- 
 ration several times in succession, it suc- 
 ceeded finally in getting its mouth in its 
 natural position, downwards. " Now what 
 do you think of our little friend's contri- 
 vance ?" asked Mrs. Stanley, with a smile. 
 8*
 
 90 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 "I think," said Edward, " that he is an 
 uncommonly smart fellow, and really seems 
 to have hold a will of his own." 
 
 His mother remarked, " We may indeed 
 say with Kiiby, ' Who can say that the all- 
 wise Creator did not foresee all the situa- 
 tions into whicli this animal would be 
 thrown, so as to provide it witli every thing 
 that it would require.' We will now go 
 back to Spallanzini's five urchins which we 
 left in the glass bucket. He tells us that after 
 the one which I described to you succeeded 
 in getting back to its natural position, it, 
 with the rest, travelled rapidly up the sides 
 of the bucket, until they all reached the 
 top of the water. In the ascent, he ascer- 
 tained by a means which I cannot approve 
 of, that the animals only used the feelers — 
 it was by cutting off the spines of one of 
 them ; when, notwithstanding this loss, it 
 turned itself over and moved up the bucket 
 by its feelers alone, as well as the others 
 which still possessed their spines." 
 
 "You told us, mother," said Edward, 
 " that after the sea-urchins had risen to the
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT, « 
 
 top of the water, they fastened themselves 
 to the sides of the bucket. I do feel very 
 curious to know by what means they 
 could fasten themselves to the smooth glass 
 so as to make it difficult to take them off 
 again." 
 
 " I do not wonder that your curiosity is 
 excited, Edward," said Mr. Benson ; " I am 
 sure mine is, and I could hardly credit the 
 fact, did not your mother give it on 
 such good authority : and were I not fully 
 convinced of the infinite wisdom and love 
 of our Heavenly Father, in meeting the 
 wants of the most humble of his crea- 
 tures." 
 
 '• I must own," said Mrs. Stanley, " I was 
 deeply affected with the proof of ' that ten- 
 der mercy which is over all His works,' 
 when I read this part of the narrative of 
 Spallanzini ; and I could not but feel a most 
 painful void in it, when I foimd him descri- 
 bing with such minuteness the skill of the 
 contrivance, and yet not offering one mo- 
 mentary tribute of praise to Him who had 
 designed it. I found myself saying invol-
 
 92 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 untarily, * Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and 
 all that is within me : Praise His holy 
 name !' He mentions a fact which proves 
 the tenacity with which the sea-urchins 
 adhered to the sides of the smooth glass 
 bucket. While one of the creatures was in 
 this position, he laid on its spines a lead 
 weight of 32 oz. ; notwithstanding which, it 
 still kept a tight hold ; and before he could 
 force it down, he was obliged to add an ad- 
 ditional 7 oz. piece of lead. After men- 
 tioning this, he says, ' But what shall we 
 suppose to be the cause of so strong an ad- 
 hesion to bodies of so great smoothness as 
 glass ? The following observations will 
 serve as an answer : If we view the feelers 
 of the sea-urchin through the sides of the 
 glass vessel at the time the animal stretches 
 them out, and before he fixes them, we shall 
 find that they are of a white color, and 
 that each of them terminates in a little pro- 
 tuberance, having a hole in the middle of 
 it. When one of the feelers is viewed 
 through a microscope, it is found that there 
 is a little canal leading all the way down
 
 ▲ SECTION OF THE INSIDE OP THE SHELL OP THE 
 ECHINUS, OR SEA-URCHIN. 
 
 A. One of the frames to whicli the jaws are attached. 
 
 B. The outside of one of the jaws. 
 
 C. The inner and furrowed side of the jaw. 
 
 Taken from Kirbv's B. T.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. % 
 
 the feeler from its root in the body of the 
 animal, Mid ending in this little hole, in 
 what ue call the foot. If the feeler is 
 pressed with a piece of wire, there will be 
 found issuing from this small hole, a very 
 little drop of extremely sticky liquor. With 
 this glue, as it were, the animal fastens it- 
 self where it pleases. Spallanzini tells us 
 that the feelers were so very transparent, 
 that he Avas enabled by the aid of a micro- 
 scope, to see the means which the sea-ur- 
 chins employ to obtain so strong n hold ; 
 they press their little feet strongly against 
 the glass, and thus force away the sea-wa- 
 ter, and then stretching them they form a 
 little cavity with the bottom of them, into 
 which they force immediately the glutinous 
 matter which fastens them so firmly." 
 
 " This is indeed wonderful, mother," said 
 Edward, " and is it not peculiar to the sea- 
 urchin ?" 
 
 " No, my dear, it is not," said ter mother. 
 " There are many other varietiee of shells, 
 which attach themselves in a sia/ilar man- 
 ner. The common marine mus< le posses-
 
 96 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 ses the power in a striking degree. Smellie, 
 iti his interesting work on Natural Histor3'', 
 asserts some extraordinary facts with regard 
 to this animal, which I will relate to you 
 on another occasion. At present, we must 
 confine ourselves to the sea-urchin ; at least, 
 if you feel inclined to hear any more of 
 the won ers of its dwelling house." 
 
 " I am sure we all are anxious to do so," 
 replied Edward, " I was only afraid there 
 was no more to be told." 
 
 " You have been informed of many of 
 the proofs of the skill and tender considera- 
 tions of God, which are displayed in the 
 formation of this humble inhabitant of the 
 mighty deep, but other and still more strik- 
 ing ones, remain to be told. Kirby assures 
 us, ' that the most powerful and complex 
 organs with which the Creator has fur- 
 nished them, are their jaws and teeth.'" 
 
 Emma and Anna both showed symptoms 
 of surprise and amazement, at the mention 
 of these organs in the sea-urchin, and 
 Emma took one of the sea-urchins which 
 her sister had found, and turned it round
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 97 
 
 and sround with a bewildered look. Ed- 
 ward laughed outright. " Poor Emma," said 
 he, " you look quite as much puzzled as you 
 did that famous day when I tried to make 
 you look at some clams feeding." 
 
 She bore her brother's smile very good- 
 naturedly, and turning to her mother, begged 
 that she would be so good as to show her 
 where the mouth and jaws of the sea-urchin 
 were. Her mother took up one of the shells 
 and showed Emma in the bottom of it, a 
 little space directly in the middle, which 
 seemed to be formed of something like 
 parchment. In the centre were 5 small 
 white teeth, (plate 3, fig. 2.) These she 
 told her were the mouth and teeth of the 
 animal, but its jaws were in the inside. 
 Mrs. Stanley then took one of Anna's shells 
 and asked whether she might open it. Anna 
 cheerfully consented, and her mother took 
 it apart in order to explain the wonderful 
 manner in which it was made.* It con- 
 sisted of five pieces, each of which formed 
 an arch, and the whole a frame which she 
 
 * Kirby's Bridgewater Treatise, page 112.
 
 98 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 said had been compared to a lanthorn with- 
 out a skin," (plate 4, fig. a.) To these were 
 attached the moveable part of the appara- 
 tus, consisting of 5 jaws, each containing a 
 long tooth, (plate 4, fig. b, c,) the teeth con- 
 verging so as to close the mouth. Alto- 
 gether, this complex machine consisted of 
 25 pieces, moved by 35 muscles." She 
 told them that this apparatus was of a much 
 more powerful kind, than that furnished 
 by God to the mighty whale, that it was 
 supposed the little sea-urchin really lived 
 on food that was more difiicult to bruise 
 and chew, than that which supplied the 
 wants of the great monarch of the deep. 
 
 " I cannot omit," said Mrs. Stanley, " in 
 conclusion, to quote a few lines from Mr. 
 Kirby, where he closes his account of the 
 sea-urchin, since it will furnish a most ap- 
 propriate termination to the conversation 
 of the evening. After describing all their 
 various organs, he continues, ' The work- 
 manship also, in these animal structures, is 
 as beautiful and striking, as the contrivance 
 manifested in them is wonderful. Their
 
 A VISIT TO NaHANT. 99 
 
 |jrotuberances, their variously sculptured 
 spines, their tentacular suckers, all by their 
 perfect finish and admirable forms declare 
 — ' The hand that made us is divine/ since 
 they exceed in these respects, the most 
 elaborate human works.' " 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 '•One spirit — His, 
 That wore the platted thorn with bleeding brows, 
 Rules universal nature." 
 
 One evening, when the party at the cot- 
 tage were seated at the open windows, ga- 
 zing at the beautiful ocean, which was 
 tinged with silver by the beams of a new 
 moon, Mrs. Stanley inquired of her bro- 
 ther, if fie had ever been so fortunate as to 
 find any of the Sea-anemonies, or animal 
 flowers, in their open state, as she said she 
 had been told they were occasionally met 
 with on the rocks of Nahant, at very low 
 water. 
 
 '• So I have been told," replied Mr. Ben- 
 son, " though I have never been so fortu- 
 nate ns to see them. It requires younger
 
 100 A. VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 and more adventurous limbs than mine to 
 scale these precipitous rocks." 
 
 When Mr. Benson had ceased speaking, 
 Emma, who was the most inquisitive, ea- 
 gerly inquired what animal flowers were, 
 and begged to know if her mother would 
 not be so kind as to tell them about them. 
 
 " If you can have patience, my dear, to 
 wait until to-morrow evening," said her 
 mother, "I will try to gratify you. You 
 know I always like to collect my materials 
 beforehand, so that I may be able to give 
 you as much information as I can upon 
 every subject." 
 
 They were quite ready to wait their 
 mother's convenience, and did not impor- 
 tune her with entreaties to gratify them at 
 that present moment, as many young per- 
 sons are accustomed to do. 
 
 The long wished for hour at length arriv 
 ed, and the young Stanleys took their places 
 by their mother's side, with minds eagerly 
 intent on receiving all the information she 
 had to communicate with regard to the 
 new object of inquiry — the Sea-anemonies.
 
 ACTINIA, OR SEA ANEMONE 
 
 A. Stalk. 
 
 B. Flower. 
 
 Taken from Plate in 
 
 C. Animal. 
 
 D. Rock to which it is attached. 
 
 ' Sketches of Naval life." 
 9*
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 101 
 
 " If you had not already told us of so 
 many * wonders of the deep,' mamma," said 
 Anna, " I should hardly know what to 
 make of such a thing as an animal flower. 
 I suppose it must be some kind of creature 
 that looks very much like a flower." 
 
 " Yes, Anna," replied her mother, " these 
 animals do indeed resemble flowers, so 
 much so, that they were for a long period 
 classed with the members of the vegeta- 
 ble kingdom. I remember when I was 
 a little girl my curiosity was very much ex- 
 cited by a description of these extraordinary 
 creatures, which was given me by a gen- 
 tleman who was a friend of my father's, 
 and had passed much of his life in the West 
 Indies. He told me that these curious flowers 
 grew on the rocks of St. Yincent, and that 
 they looked so beautiful with their gay 
 colored blossoms, that he had a strong de- 
 sire to pluck one, and examine it more 
 closely : he stepped cautiously out on the 
 wet and slippery rocks to pick one, but to 
 his amazement, as his hand approached the 
 object of his desire, the flower vanished.
 
 104 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 Getting somewhat irritated at being thus 
 repeatedly baffled in his attempts, he struck 
 one quickly with his cane, but in vain. At 
 last he perceived a round piece of coral 
 with a hole, from which one of these bright 
 visions appeared ; he stretched forth his 
 arm quickly and gained the coral indeed as 
 his prize, but the genii of the stone had dis- 
 appeared. He was not aware of the fact 
 that plunging it in sea-water would have 
 made the animal re-appear, and therefore 
 he preserved the coral without having his 
 desires gratified. This prison-house of the 
 animal flower he showed me, and my 
 childish curiosity was excited to a great 
 degree, and I gazed upon it as I would on 
 some mysterious being, for I was at that 
 time entirely ignorant of the existence of 
 such an animal as that which is called the 
 Sea Anemony." 
 
 " I remember, mother," observed Ed- 
 ward, " your telling me of an account of 
 the animal flower which you had read in 
 Mr. Jones's Naval Sketches, and your 
 speaking to me of the plate of one, which
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT 106 
 
 he had copied from life. I am really very 
 curious to know how they are able to put 
 on these beautiful forms, mamma, and hope 
 you will be so kind as to give us their his- 
 tory." 
 
 " You probably recollect," said Mrs. 
 Stanley, "that I told you when describing 
 the Echinus, or sea-urchin, that it had been 
 classed by modern naturalists, with some 
 other interesting marine creatures, under 
 the general name of Radiaries. Now the 
 Actinia, or Sea-anemony, is among these 
 genera. It differs in some respects from the 
 sea-urchins, and the Gelatines, or Medusae ; 
 whereas these two genera of creatures roam 
 about in search of food, the latter of the two 
 only attaching themselves to the rocks for 
 safety, the Sea-anemony adheres to themuni- 
 formly, and only separates on extraordina- 
 ry occasions. I do not know whether I could 
 in any way give you so good an idea of the 
 Actinia, as by reading the description of 
 one of them furnished by the author of 
 Naval Sketches, to which Edward has re- 
 ferred. He introduces us to those which
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 grow in the harbor of Port Mahon, in these 
 words. < Let me describe a curiosity I saw 
 in the harbor a day or two since. As 1 
 sauntered along its shores my attention was 
 drawn to a beautiful flower at the bottom, 
 where the water was near a fathom in 
 depth. It grew on a stalk about three 
 eights of an inch in diameter, and about 
 ten inches in length ; was in shape like an 
 inverted cone, about five inches in diame- 
 ter, and was variegated with brilliant 
 colors, red, yellow, and purple. It was a 
 beautiful thing, and I wanted it ; so I de- 
 termined to knock it off, hoping some 
 chance might bring it to the shore. I threw, 
 and saw that I had struck it, but when the 
 water cleared up the stalk was there, but I 
 could not discover the flower. After a vain 
 search I went on further, and came to ano- 
 ther near the shore. I thought I was sure 
 of this, and got a stalk to draw it to me, 
 when, as I touched it — quash — the whole 
 disappeared. It was all animal, flower and 
 all. I have since procured several, and 
 have preserved them. The stalk is formed
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 107 
 
 by concentric coats of gristly matter, which 
 are transparent when the outer one is re- 
 moved : it is attached to the rocks below. 
 It forms a tube, in which is an animal about 
 seven inches long, with two rows of feet in 
 its whole length ; at its upper end is the 
 head, and rising from the latter, the flower 
 I have spoken of. This is formed by a 
 vast number of very delicate fibres, each 
 with an exceedingly '^ne and variegated 
 fringe, placed like thav of a feather : they 
 do not form a single cup, but several, one 
 inside of the other, and their roots so 
 ranged as to produce a spiral channel 
 reaching to the animal's mouth. They 
 have a strong sensitive power, and as soon 
 as touched are dragged by the animal into 
 the stalk. After a few minutes it ascends 
 again, and the flower spreads out as before : 
 doubtless they are intended for taking food. 
 A touch will spoil them, so delicately are 
 they formed. I cut off the flower, and pass 
 a paper under it in water ; then by laying 
 it on a board and pouring water on it, 
 spread it out as I wish it ; when dried it
 
 108 A VISIT TO NAIUNT. 
 
 looks like a painting. They are called 
 water-pinks by the natives.' " 
 
 " Oh ! mamniaj" said Emma, " what a 
 nice description that is which you have 
 given us ; 1 think I can see the flower be- 
 fore me now." 
 
 " Look at this plate with which the au- 
 thor accompanies the account, (see plate 5,) 
 and then I think you will probably form a 
 correct idea of the Sea-anemony,'' said her 
 mother, as she showed her children the 
 engraving. " I have some farther notices 
 to give you of these singular creatures on 
 the authority of Mr. Smellie. He tells us 
 that the animal assumes such a variety of 
 figures, that it is difficult to describe it un- 
 der any particular form. In general, their 
 bodies have a resemblance to a cone with 
 the point cut off. A cone, Emma, is longer 
 than it is wide, it is circular at the bottom, 
 and continues to taper off in a round form 
 to the top, where it ends in a point. With 
 regard to color, some of the Sea-anemonies 
 are red, some greenish, some whitish, and 
 others are brown. When the mouth, which
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 is very large, is fully open, its edge is sur- 
 rounded with a great number of fleshy 
 threads, or horns, like those of the snail. 
 These horns are disposed in three rows 
 round the mouth, and give the animal the 
 appearance of a flower. Through each of 
 these horns it squirts jets of water. What 
 is peculiar in the formation of these crea- 
 tures is, that the whole interior of their 
 body or cone, is one cavity or stomach. 
 When searching for food they extend their 
 horns, and entangle any small animals 
 which may happen to lie in their way. 
 When they meet with their prey they in- 
 stantly swallow it, and shut their mouths 
 close like a purse. Though the animal- 
 flower should not exceed an inch and a 
 half in diameter, as it is all mouth and sto- 
 mach, it will swallow large shells, which 
 sometimes remain in the stomach for several 
 days. Their nutritious parts are at last, 
 however, extracted : but how does the ani- 
 mal get rid of the shell? The creature 
 has no other opening in its body but the 
 mouth, and this is the instrument by which 
 10
 
 no A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 it both receives nourishmentj and gets rid 
 of the unprofitable parts of its food. When 
 the shell is not too large the animal-flower 
 has the power of turning its inside out, and 
 by this strange manoBuvre the shell is 
 thrown out of the body, and the animal re- 
 sumes its former state. I have," said Mrs. 
 Stanley, "given you this account almost 
 exactly in the language of Mr. Smellie ; 
 but I cannot forbear at this point interpo- 
 sing a few words, in order to lead you, my 
 dear children, to observe the kind consid- 
 eration of our heavenly Father towards the 
 least of his creatures. While His infinitely 
 exalted mind is directing the course of His 
 providence, whose ways are often, as the 
 prophet beautifully expresses it, ' so very 
 high that they are dreadful,' setting up one 
 mighty empire, and putting down another, 
 He yet does not become unmindful of the 
 feeblest insect, or the animals which seem 
 to hold the lowest place in creation, and 
 who are buried under the mighty ocean. If 
 He were not as infinite in love as He is in 
 wisdom, would He thus have considered
 
 A VISIT TO NAUANT. HI 
 
 such apparently trifling circumstances as 
 the one I have just mentioned with regard 
 to the Sea-anemony. The animal He re- 
 membered was unprovided with many 
 things which other creatures possess ; He 
 saw what was to be its food, and that it 
 might often be subjected to pain and incon- 
 venience, by having its stomach filled with 
 the hard parts of the shell -fish on which it 
 was to subsist, and therefore in tender con- 
 sideration for its comfort, He kindly gave it 
 a power not furnished to higher animals, 
 that of turning its own body inside out, and 
 in this manner enabled it to get rid of the 
 troublesome matter. This is still more 
 strikingly displayed by another part of its 
 formation. I have told you that it could 
 thus empty its stomach, but I ought to have 
 said in addition, that it can only do so when 
 the shell is presented in one position, which 
 is the common one ; but Mr. Smellie ob- 
 serves, ' what is extremely singular, near 
 the lower part of the body it splits, as if a 
 large wound had been made with a knife, 
 and through this gash the shell is thrust
 
 112 A VISIT TO NAHANT 
 
 out, if it has so happened that it has been 
 presented in a wrong position.' I men- 
 tioned to you that the Sea-anemony pos- 
 sessed the power of moving itself from the 
 rocks to which it is generally fixed, though 
 it seldom has occasion to exert it, and it 
 does so in the following manner. 'The 
 outside of its body is furnished with nu- 
 merous muscles, these muscles are tubular, 
 and are filled with a fluid which makes 
 them project in the form of prickles. By 
 means of these muscles the animal is ena- 
 bled to perform its very slow movements. 
 It can also, when it pleases, loosen its base 
 from the rock, place what was its head 
 downwards, and employ the horns round 
 its mouth as so many limbs. Still, how- 
 ever, it moves very slov/ly.' " 
 
 When Mrs. Stanley had concluded her 
 narration of the appearance and habits of 
 the Actinia or Sea-anemony, she received 
 the warm thanks of the group by whom 
 she was surrounded, and Anna begged to 
 know if there were any other marine ani- 
 mals which put on such beautiful forms as
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 113 
 
 those did, which her mother had just de- 
 scribed. 
 
 Her mother told her that there were 
 many others equally handsome, which 
 were already known to naturalists, though 
 the anemonies were the most numerous, 
 and bore as a class the most striking re- 
 semblance to the vegetable world. And 
 she also informed her children that there 
 was great reason to suppose, there were 
 many lovely marine productions that were 
 still unknown to man, and which "the dark 
 unfathomed caves of ocean bear." " There 
 is one of these marine beauties described by 
 Mr. Kirby, which I cannot forbear to tell 
 you of," said Mrs. Stanley. " He informs 
 us that an engraving of it has been given 
 in the transactions of the Linnean Society 
 of London, under the name of Tubularia 
 Magnifica. The horns or rays of this ani- 
 mal he describes, ' as fixed on a common 
 base, and forming one glorious and radi- 
 ant crown, with rings of the most beautiful 
 red and white ; of these there is a double 
 circle, the inner ones being shorter than 
 10*
 
 114 A VISIT TO NAHANT 
 
 the outer ones ; when they are all expand- 
 ed, it is nearly six inches in diameter from 
 one side of the flower to the other. When- 
 ever the animal is alarmed it withdraws 
 this splendid figure, and the tube itself into 
 its burrow in the Uving rock, as a safe re- 
 fuge from its enemies.' He tells us also 
 that any one who has had an opportunity 
 of comparing this expanded animal-blos- 
 som with some species of the passion-flower, 
 would be struck with the resemblance. He 
 thinks the principal object of the uncom- 
 mon length and number of their horns or 
 rays, may be for capturing, as in a net, the 
 numerous animals necessary for their sup- 
 port, who may perhaps also be attracted by 
 their great beauty." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley here drew out her watch, 
 and finding she had a half hour to spare, 
 she told her children that she would, if 
 agreeable to her brother, tell them about 
 some other brilliant beauties of the sea, that 
 she had alluded to formerly. "By all 
 means," said Mr. Benson, " I believe I am 
 taking almost as much pleasure as your
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 115 
 
 children, in listening to your conversation ; 
 I find not only enjoyment, but profit also, 
 for it quickens my gratitude to our gracious 
 Lord, to have these proofs of His love pre- 
 sented to my mind." 
 
 The lady then continued, " When we 
 were speaking of the luminous appearance 
 of the sea, I told you, I believe, that it was 
 supposed to be principally occasioned by 
 the presence of the families of the Gela- 
 tines or Medusas. There are, however, 
 some other very striking instances of ma- 
 rine animals which possess the power of 
 giving light, which appear more closely al- 
 lied to the animal-flowers in their forma- 
 tion than to the Medusae. They belong to 
 a class of animals to which some learned 
 men have given the name of Tunicaries. 
 They are thus characterized as a class. 
 * The animal either leathery or gelatinous, 
 is covered by a double tunic or envelope. 
 The outer one somewhat similar to the 
 shell of other marine creatures, is provided 
 with two apertures ; the inner one some- 
 what like the fleshy animal which inhabits
 
 116 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 these shells. Body oblong — divided into 
 many little cavities, without a head. These 
 marine creatures are sometimes solitary, in 
 other species many are attached together.' 
 Kirby thus speaks of the latter, ' The Cre- 
 ator when He filled the waters of the great 
 deep with that infinite variety of animals, 
 of which every day brings genera and spe- 
 cies before unknown to light, willed that 
 many of them should, as it were, form a 
 common body, consisting of many individ- 
 uals separate and distinct, as inhabiting 
 different cells, but still possessing a body 
 in common, and many of them receiving 
 benefit from the enlarging and contracting 
 of a common organ : thus presenting a type 
 of those animal communities where nume- 
 rous wills unite to efiect a common object. 
 The land as far as I can recollect, exhibits 
 no instance of an aggregate animal ; nor 
 the ocean of one, which like the beaver, 
 ant, wasp, white ant, and bee, forms bands 
 to build and inhabit a common house, and 
 rear a common family. Instead of sending 
 the social marine animals forth in myriads
 
 A VISIT TO NAHAXT. 117 
 
 to collect food and materials for their sever- 
 al buildings, God took the vegetable world 
 as the model for their general structure, in 
 many cases fixed them to the rock or stone, 
 united them all into one body, which under 
 a common cover, contained often innumera- 
 ble cells, from which were sent forth by the 
 occupant of each a set of organs to collect 
 food, from which by some curious process 
 they could prepare materials to enlarge 
 their common house, and often cause that 
 influx and reflux, to compare small things 
 with great, resembling the tides of the 
 ocean, and by which the sea-water is at one 
 moment drawn in, and then thrust out by 
 these animals : this ofiice in some of the 
 Tunicaries seems to be eflected by a cen- 
 tral organ or pump, which is common to 
 the whole community.' Some of these ani- 
 mals are phosphoric, and so transparent 
 that all their internal organs and move- 
 ments can be plainly seen. Sometimes 
 rows of from forty to fifty of one species 
 called the Salpes, are to be seen fastened 
 together. These are perfectly regular;
 
 118 A VISIT TO NAUANT. 
 
 that is to say, all the individuals are of the 
 same height, and the heads of one row are 
 turned to the same side, and those of ano- 
 ther to the opposite. Sometimes they are 
 carried by the waves in a spiral line, and 
 again in a straight one. In the sea, during 
 the day, they look like white ribands, and 
 during the night, like ribands of fire, which 
 are now rolled up, and then spread out 
 again. We can only form a conjecture of 
 the object of Divine Providence, in endow- 
 ing these animals with an instinct so sin 
 gular. Perhaps it may be to preserve them 
 from being destroyed by the force of the 
 waves, as they are so very frail^ or perhaps 
 the stronger light which they thus produce 
 may be for defence. Though several of 
 these animals belonging to the class of Tu- 
 nicaries, are interesting on account of their 
 singularity and beauty, I shall only select 
 two, says Mr. Kirby, (for I am quoting his 
 words almost exactly, only altering them 
 when I made my extract to use more simple 
 ones.) One of these is peculiar] y striking, and 
 I have copied Mr. Kirby's plate of it, in order
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT 119 
 
 to render this description more plain." She 
 then showed the little party this painting. 
 Her children exclaimed at the sight, " Sure- 
 ly, mother, this cannot be meant for an 
 animal ; we should have taken it for al- 
 most any thinj^ else rather than for a living 
 creature." 
 
 " I do not wonder," said Mrs. Stanley, 
 " that you who are so inexperienced in such 
 matters, should be a little incredulous as to 
 the fact of this plate being intended to re- 
 present living creatures. The celebrated 
 Lamarch, v/ho has devoted so many years 
 and so much talent to the study of natural 
 history, when speaking of this animal, and 
 the painting of it, from which Mr. Kirby's 
 was originally taken, remarks, ' Who would 
 think that the Pyrosome' (which is the 
 name he gives it) ' was an assembla2:e of 
 little aggregate animals : any one that look- 
 ed at it, or at the plate of it, might mistake 
 it for a simple polype, with a number of 
 leaf-like appendages growing from its skin ; 
 but a closer examination of it would give 
 him a very different idea, and he would
 
 120 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 discover, with wonder, that it Avas a mass 
 filled with animals united by their base. 
 The common body that contains these 
 creatures, resembles a hollow cylinder,* 
 closed at the upper extremity and open at 
 the lower. This body, or mass, is gelati- 
 noust and transparent ; a number of little 
 tubercles, or pimple-like lumps, of a firmer 
 substance than the tube, but at the same 
 time transparent, polished, and shining, 
 cover the surface ; some of them are termi- 
 nated by a lance-shaped leaflet.' " 
 
 " How large are these wonderful crea- 
 tures, mother ?" inquired Edward. 
 
 " They are said to vary in size according 
 to the different situations in which they are 
 found," she replied. «' Those which inha- 
 bit the Atlantic are about five inches long, 
 while the Mediterranean species, one of 
 which this plate is intended to represent, 
 sometimes attain the length of fourteen 
 inches. Mr. Kirby tells us * that their 
 power of emitting light is so great, that in 
 
 * See plate 6. 
 
 t Ofthe nature of jelly.
 
 PYROSOMA GIGANTEUM. 
 
 11
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIaNT 123 
 
 the night they cause the sea to appear on 
 fire.' Nothino; can exceed the dazzhnsr 
 lidit and briUiant colors that these floatUio: 
 bodies exhibit — colors varying in a way 
 tliat is truly admirable, passing rapidly 
 every instant from a dazzling red to saffron, 
 to orange, to green, to azure, and thus re- 
 flecting every ray which is exhibited by the 
 heavenly bow." 
 
 "Oh, mamma," exclaimed Anna, " how 
 beautiful, how splendid these creatures 
 rmist be ! Please now to tell us how they 
 contrive to move along in the ocean. Do 
 they use these little things that look like 
 leaves for feet ?" 
 
 '• No, my dear, they do not, I believe ; 
 they lie in the water lengthwise, like a 
 piece of wood, and are carried along in the 
 same manner by the current. Each one 
 of these little inhabitants of the common 
 dwelling can contract and then expand it- 
 self, and combine together to use their com- 
 mon pumps to draw in water into the tube, 
 or else drive it out. They are said to pos- 
 sess a singular, mode of defence. When
 
 124 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 the fishermen take them up in their hands, 
 probably somewhat roughly, they will fre- 
 quently draw in the tube and thus thrust 
 out the water so forcibly through the nume- 
 rous small openings into the faces of their 
 capturers as to blind them, and they, in 
 their astonishment, drop the creatures from 
 their hands." 
 
 The young Stanleys were highly amus- 
 ed at this strataorem. " We must not al- 
 ways judge, mother," said Edward, "of 
 persons' sense by their looks. I am sure I 
 should never have flmcied, from the ap- 
 pearance of these good little people, that 
 they could have so much cunning." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley now laid aside her papers, 
 saying, " that she feared she had already 
 detained them too long, but she hoped that 
 the consideration of the works of God 
 would dispose them to listen most attentive- 
 ly to his word."
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. ]S5 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Now the deep lets loose ' 
 Its blithe adventurers, to sport at large, 
 As kindly instinct taught them. So He ordained, 
 Whose way is in the sea, His path amidst great waters." 
 
 "Mamma," said Anna Stanley, "come 
 with me, if you please, to that spot on the 
 beach where Edward and Emma are stand- 
 ing, for we have found something to show 
 you that we have never seen before, aiid 
 that is very curious." 
 
 " Pray tell me, my dear," said her mo- 
 ther, "what it is you mean, for I am so 
 comfortably fixed on this rock, that I do 
 not particularly wish to move." 
 
 "Oh ! mother ! it is a sight well worth 
 seeing, for there are a parcel of shells walk- 
 ing down to the water as nicely as we 
 could, and yet they have no feet." 
 
 Her mother smiled, and permitted Anna 
 
 to lead her away, saying as she did so, " I 
 
 understand what you mean now, Anna ; 
 
 and I must tell you that conchologists have 
 
 given the name of foot to that organ of 
 11*
 
 126 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 these inhabitants of the shell, by which 
 they are enabled to move from place to 
 place." 
 
 They soon approached the spot which 
 Anna had pointed out, and beheld a number 
 of shells, with the spiral part upwards, mov- 
 ing down to the water. Mrs. Stanley bade 
 her children observe the motions of these 
 animals. At each step they thrust out at 
 the opening of the shells (which were of 
 the stelia or snail family) a fleshy lip, as it 
 were, and then drew it in again. When 
 their mother took up one of them, the ani- 
 mal drew in its fleshy fringe, and the whole 
 of the opening was entirely closed in an 
 instant by a horny and partly transparent 
 door. This fleshy organ, she told them, 
 had been named a foot, because it perform- 
 ed, in some degree, the same offices to the 
 shell, that the human foot does to the body 
 to which it belongs. '-Do you not recol- 
 lect," she continued, "during one of our 
 visits to old Robert, my showing you one 
 of the Razor shells m his collection, and 
 telling you in what manner it was said to
 
 A VISIT TO NAUANT. 127 
 
 sink its shell in the wet sand, or raise it 
 again when necessary ?"* 
 
 " Oh yes, mamma," replied Emma, " 1 
 remember very well that you told us it 
 formed its foot mto the shape of a little 
 trowel, and pushed it out at the bottom of 
 the shell, where the two pieces of it gaped 
 and lowered itself in that way. But I did 
 not know then what sort of thing the foot 
 of a shell was. Now that you have show- 
 ed us one, I can understand it better." 
 
 " Is this horny thing which the animal 
 draws in so closely, mamma," inquired 
 Anna, "part of its foot? See, mother, 
 how tight the little thing has fastened it- 
 self in ; it will not let us see the least part 
 of its flesh now." 
 
 " This horny substance, Anna," replied 
 her mother, " is called the operculum, or 
 mouth-piece of the shell, and varies in ge- 
 neral appearance and in thickness very 
 much in different shells. Many are trans- 
 parent, horny, and very thin, like the one 
 
 ♦ For this account, see " Wonders of the Deep."
 
 128 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 we have been just examining ; while others 
 are more than half an inch thick, and re- 
 semble the texture of the other parts of the 
 shell. Were this moutn-piece separated 
 from the animal, you would perceive that a 
 spiral line, similar to that on the shell, is 
 marked both on the upper and lower sur- 
 face. Some conchologists imagine that 
 this mouth-piece is formed on the neck of 
 the animal, which thus performs the part 
 of a mould, and increases in size with the 
 increasing size of the animal." 
 
 When the party reached home, they 
 were eagerly intent upon showing their 
 kind uncle the shell which they had 
 brought from the beach, with its closed 
 door. It was not however a new sio^ht to 
 him, for he had frequently seen such be- 
 fore, and he now brought the young people 
 into his study, and showed them a number of 
 shells of the same kind, varying in size from 
 the diameter of half an inch to that of two 
 or three inches ; each had its own opercu- 
 lum, or mouth-piece, which fitted the open- 
 ing exactly. Anna told her uncle how they
 
 VIOLET SNAIL. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 A. The Animal. 
 
 B. The shell. 
 
 C. The air bubbles used to propel it. 
 
 CHITON, OR COAT OF-MAIL SHELL. 
 
 Fig. 2.
 
 A VISIT TO NAUANT. 131 
 
 had seen the Uttle creatures moving, and 
 v/hat her mamma had said of the wonders 
 they were able to perform with their feet. 
 
 "I can tell you of something still more 
 curious. What will you say when I tell 
 you that the animals which inhabit shells 
 not only know how to walk with their feet, 
 but that some species are also so industrious 
 as to sit within their shell houses and spin 
 with their feet a kind of silk, which is after- 
 wards manufactured into 2:loves and stock- 
 
 ings ?" 
 
 '•' Oh, uncle !" said Emma, with a smile ; 
 '•we have heard of their making silk, 
 though we did not know that they used 
 their feet for that purpose." 
 
 "Well, I am sadly afraid that your mo- 
 ther has left me nothing to tell that will 
 have the charm of novelty," said Mr. Ben- 
 son. "Let me see, what can I find that is 
 curious in my cabinet?" After looking for 
 a while, he took up a very pretty purple 
 shell, and asked them if they had ever 
 heard of the violet snail ?* When an an- 
 
 * For the original account, sec Kirby's Bridgewater 
 Treatise.
 
 132 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 swer was given in the negative by all the 
 young Stanleys, their uncle told them that 
 he should then be able to find something to 
 relate that Avould, he was certain, engage 
 their attention. " This shell of mine," said 
 Mr. Benson, " was brought from South 
 America. When the sea, in certain places 
 of that region, is quite calm, fleets of the 
 violet snails, as I have read, may be seen 
 floating over the surface, by means of a 
 most singular contrivance, with which God 
 has furnishea them. Their foot is flat, and 
 is provided witli a transparent and most 
 delicate set of little bags of different sizes ; 
 these little bags the animal can at pleasure 
 fill with air by means of its foot. Look at 
 this painting of the violet snail, with the 
 animal which inhabits it, and its set of little 
 bags as they appear when filled with air, 
 (plate 7, fig. 1.) You will observe, if you 
 examine the shell which I have just shown 
 you, that it is remarkably thin and light, 
 quite as much so as those of the Paper 
 Nautilus. Doubtless they were both made 
 so by their merciful Creator, in order that
 
 \ VI3IT TO NAIIANT 133 
 
 their weiofht misfht not interfere with the 
 movements of the animal when sailing. I 
 must not forget to tell you how kindly the 
 violet snail has been taught to avoid the 
 dangers of a rough and stormy ocean. It 
 has been furnished with the power on such 
 occasions of drawing in the air from these 
 little bladders, which then shrink into an 
 excessively small compass, the skin being 
 scarcely thicker than the covering of a soap 
 bubble. After having forced out the air, it 
 sinks itself into the ocean, and is thus safe 
 from the threatening storm." 
 
 " Thank you, dear uncle," was echoed 
 from the lips of Edward by his sisters, 
 when Mr. Benson had ended his account 
 of the violet snail. 
 
 He afterwards resumed the conversation 
 in the following manner. "Both of the 
 shells whose motions we have been con- 
 sidering belong to what conchologists term 
 the univalves, or shells consisting of only 
 one piece ; would you like me to tell you 
 of the movements of some of the bivalves, 
 
 12
 
 VSi A VISIT TO NAHANT 
 
 or those which have two parts, like the 
 clam or oyster 7" 
 
 Being urged to do so, Mr. Benson took 
 out of his cabinet a common muscle shell, 
 both sides of which were perfect, and the 
 hinge which united them was there also. 
 " This shell,'' he observed, •' has no beauty 
 to boast of, and yet from the contrivance 
 exhibited in the formation of the animal 
 which inhabits it, it is worthy of your at- 
 tention. Mr. Smellie informs us, ' that it is 
 provided with a fleshy organ of a red color, 
 which projects from the lower part of the 
 shell, which is its foot. When inclined to 
 remove from its present situation, the river 
 muscle opens its shell, thrusts out its foot, 
 and while lying on its side in a horizontal 
 position, digs a small furrow in the sand. 
 Into this furrow, by the operation of the 
 same foot, the animal makes the shell fall, 
 and thus brings it into an upright position. 
 We have now got our muscle on end ; but 
 how is he to proceed ? He stretches for- 
 ward his foot, by which he throws back the 
 sand, lengthens the furrow, and this prop
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 135 
 
 enables liim to proceed on his journey.' 
 This account,'' said Mr. Benson, " I thought 
 so well worth preserving that I copied it, as 
 you observe, and keep the paper folded up 
 under my muscle shell for the benefit of the 
 visiters to my cabinet." 
 
 " Here is another shell, uncle," said Ed- 
 ward. " with a little piece of paper under it, 
 that has some writing on ; may I read it to 
 my sisters?" His uncle £:ave him permis- 
 sion, and he proceeded to give the follow- 
 ing extract from iMr. Smellie's work. 
 
 '■ The scallop has the power of progres- 
 sive motion on land, as well as that of 
 swimming on the surface of the water. 
 When the animal happens to be deserted by 
 the tide it opens its shell to its full extent, 
 then shuts it with a sudden jerk, by which 
 means it often rises five or six inches from 
 the ground. In this manner it tumbles for- 
 ward till it regains the water. When the 
 sea is calm, troops or little fleets of scallops 
 are often observed swimming on the sur- 
 face. They raise one valve of their shell 
 above the water, which becomes a kind of
 
 136 A VISIT TO NAHANT 
 
 sail, while the other remains under the wa- 
 ter, and answers the purpose of an anchor, 
 by steadying the animal and preventing its 
 being overset. When an enemy approach- 
 es they instantly shut their shells, plunge 
 to the bottom, and the whole fleet disap- 
 pears. By what means they are enabled to 
 regain the surface we arc ignorant." 
 
 " I must tell you," said Mr. Benson, " that 
 it was a shell of this latter kind which was 
 worn in former times by Catholic pilgrims 
 in their caps ; so essential indeed was this 
 ornament considered to their dress, that one 
 of the most popular of our modern poets, 
 when he wishes to describe the appearance 
 of a pilgrim palmer, says, 'He wore St. 
 James's cockle shell.'" 
 
 " Here, Edward, close by the scallop, you 
 will find an English pecten ; which two 
 families of shells are closely allied. The 
 latter was celebrated even among the old 
 Roman writers for its movements. One of 
 them says that the pecten can leap and flut- 
 ter out of the water, and dive. Its mode of 
 walking, or moving, is so similar to that of
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 13/ 
 
 the scallop, that it is needless for me to de- 
 scribe it particularly. Several other of the 
 bivalved shells use their feet in moving 
 themselves from place to place. But I have 
 already told you of so many, that I am 
 afraid you will be wearied with the sub- 
 ject. I will therefore give you permission 
 to select for yourselves any specimen in my 
 cabinet that strikes you as curious, and you 
 may bring it to me for an explanation." 
 
 This was considered a great privilege, 
 and the young people were soon intent on 
 their search. Edward, after examining the 
 different articles for a long time in silence, 
 took up one, which riveted his attention 
 from its being a novelty to him. It was 
 about three inches in length, of a reddish 
 brown color, and consisted of many small 
 pieces fastened together by a gristly sub- 
 stance ; the shape was oval, not unlike a 
 baker's loaf, and, like that, rounded above ; 
 it was, however, entirely hollow. Edward 
 carried it to his uncle, and begged to know 
 its name, though he said he scarcely thought 
 it could be a shell, as it was unlike any 
 
 12*
 
 138 A VISIT TO NAIIANT 
 
 thing of the kind he had ever before seen. 
 (Plate 7, fig. 2.) 
 
 " Nevertheless, Edward," said his uncle, 
 " this creature is ranked as a shell by con- 
 chologists, who give the genera to which it 
 belongs the name of Chiton, or coat-of-mail 
 shells, from the striking resemblance which 
 they bear to the coats of armor in which 
 the soldiers of olden times were accustomed 
 to clothe themselves when going to battle. 
 Chitons are generally found under stones, 
 but often fasten themselves to rocks, or in- 
 sert themselves into their cracks. Mr. 
 Trembley, a gentleman who had great op- 
 portunities for studying the habits of those 
 Chitons which inhabit the coast of Chili, 
 says, ' that when not apprehensive of dan- 
 ger they attach themselves very slightly to 
 the rocks, and that by pushing them gently, 
 they easily slide from the surface to which 
 they are attached ; but if a direct attempt is 
 made to unfix them by force, they will part 
 with a portion of their shells sooner than 
 let go their hold.' They also secure them- 
 selves strongly to the bottoms of vessels,
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 139 
 
 and in this situation, as well as in others, 
 they are much exposed to the violence of 
 the waves, and the attacks of formidable 
 marine enemies : on these accounts most 
 probably it was, that He who made all 
 things, and remembers the peculiar neces- 
 sities of each, furnished the Chitons with 
 their coats-of-mail, by which they are pro- 
 tected in safety from all dangers." 
 
 When Mr. Benson had finished his ac- 
 count of the Chitons, his young relatives 
 returned to the cabinet and laid the shell 
 carefully in its proper place. Before many 
 minutes had elapsed, Anna was arrested 
 by a large genus, some of which she said 
 she had often seen before, though she was 
 'ignorant of their names. There were many 
 species, differing in color and marking, and 
 also in their degrees of roughness, some 
 being covered with ridges and little pro- 
 jections, while others were nearly smooth. 
 In shape, however, there was a general re- 
 semblance among the species, and in this 
 respect they varied from the rest of the col- 
 lection. They were generally oval, but
 
 140 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 all were uniformly formed of single pieces, 
 and looked, Anna thought, a good deal like 
 saucers turned upside down ; the upper 
 and round surfaces of these shells answer- 
 ing to the bottom of a saucer, were the 
 parts which were colored and marked ; the 
 hollow parts were white, like the inside of 
 other shells ; and in the centre many of 
 them had small holes, which looked as if 
 they had been pierced. " Pray, dear un- 
 cle," said Anna, " be so kind as to tell me 
 the name of this family of shells, and how 
 the animals contrive to live in them." 
 
 " They all belong," he replied, " to the 
 genus Patella, and are known commonly 
 by the name of Limpets.* This family of 
 creatures, like that of the Chitons, attach 
 themselves to the rocks ; their rounded and 
 ornamented surfaces are placed upwards, 
 and when one looks at a rock thickly peo- 
 pled with them, he is reminded of a tented 
 camp in miniature. The animals which 
 inhabit these shells are secured by theii 
 
 * Plate 8, fig. 1.
 
 A VI3IT TO NAHANT. 141 
 
 substantial tents from the violence of the 
 waves above, and they are fastened firmly 
 to the rocks beneatli by means of numerous 
 little threads, which answer the purpose of 
 cables. Emma looks so knowing, that I 
 think she must have some information to 
 communicate. Pray tell me what it is, my 
 little niece." 
 
 " Your account of the Limpets, dear un- 
 cle,*' she modestly replied, "makes me 
 think of what the African servant says of 
 them, in Mr. Richmond's pretty tract. Now 
 that you have been so kind as to show us 
 these Limpet shells, and tell us how they 
 are fixed on the rocks, I can understand 
 what poor William said better than I did 
 before." 
 
 " I should like to hear what it was," said 
 Mr. Benson, " for it is a long while since I 
 read the tract of the African servant." 
 
 " If you will be so kind as to let me get 
 the volume in which it is, I will read it to 
 you, uncle," answered Emma. 
 
 " I would much prefer hearing it in your 
 own language, Emma."
 
 142 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 The little girl hesitated for some minutes, 
 and then said, " UnclCj you remember one 
 day Mr. Richmond went to see William, to 
 talk with him, before he ventured to bap- 
 tize him. Before he got to his master's 
 house he sav/ William seated on the rocks 
 by the sea-shore, reading his Bible. Mr. 
 Richmond left liis horse and sat down by 
 him, and then this conversation about the 
 Limpets took place. Poor William told 
 Mr. Richmond what a sinful heart he had, 
 and said nobody had such a naughty one. 
 He said, 'Look at those Limpets, master, 
 and see how fast they keep hold of the 
 rocks ; just so sin sticks fast to my heart.' 
 Mr. Richmond bade him go, with all his 
 sins, and take hold of the cross of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ by faith in him ; and then, he 
 said, as the waves could not force the Lim- 
 pets away from the stones on which they 
 had fastened themselves, so neither should 
 any thing separate him from the love of 
 Jesus." 
 
 " Thank you, my dear Emma," said Mr. 
 Benson ; " I am pleased to find you remem-
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. i43 
 
 ber the anecdote so well, for these simple 
 illustrations of the truths of the gospel are 
 very useful to us all, and I am grateful to 
 the excellent Mr. Richmond forgiving such 
 a truly Christian lesson from the history 
 of the humble Limpet. You have already 
 been told of several kinds of shells, which 
 have been taught by their divine Maker 
 to secure themselves in an extraordinary 
 manner, and I will show you another of 
 somewhat similar habits." He then took 
 up a large and beautiful shell, and asked 
 Edward if he knew its name. "Yes, sir," 
 replied Edward, " my mother has several 
 of the same kind, though much smaller, 
 which she calls ear-shells. Siie told me 
 this name had been given to them because 
 they were thought to resemble a human 
 ear." 
 
 " As you have seen these shells before," 
 said Mr. Benson, " you have no doubt ob- 
 served the line of small holes which are 
 uniformly found in them under the fold of 
 the ear. Can either of you give me a rea-
 
 144 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 son why you suppose they have been 
 made ?" 
 
 Neither Edward nor his sisters were able 
 to offer one. Their uncle then laid one of 
 these shells on the table, with the pierced 
 side up, which he told them was their natu- 
 ral position, and bade them take notice that 
 it did not lie so close to the table as the 
 Limpets. "They, however, fasten them- 
 selves to the rocks," he said, " in the same 
 manner as those shells do, and keep up a 
 communication with the air, or water above 
 them, entirely by means of these little 
 holes." He then showed them one of the 
 shells of the Haliotes, or Sea-ear family, 
 which had upwards of a dozen of these 
 apertures ; more than half of which were, 
 however, closed ;* these were at the upper 
 end of the shell, and were much smaller 
 than the open ones. '• They were made," 
 observed Mr. Benson, "when the animal 
 was young, and its habitation small ; as 
 they increased in age and size it stopped up 
 its small windows, and made larger. You 
 
 * Plate 8, fig. 2.
 
 PATELLA, OR LIMPET SHELL, 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 HALIOTIS, OR EAR SHELL. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 19
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 147 
 
 have now, I think, had quite enough matter 
 for your young heads to digest on one day, 
 and so I shall dismiss you from my study." 
 So saying, Mr. Benson locked up his cabi- 
 net, and the young people took their leave 
 of him for the present, after thanking him 
 warmly for all the trouble he had taken for 
 their gratification. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Gbn. 1 : 20. " And God said, Let the waters bring 
 forth abundantly the moving creature that hath hfe." 
 21. " And God created great whales and every hving 
 creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth 
 abundantly after their kind" — " and God saw that it was 
 good." 
 
 A DAY or two after the visit of the young 
 Stanleys to their uncle's study, which was 
 recorded in the last chapter, while Mr. 
 Benson was reading his newspapers there, 
 he observed the heads of his nieces peeping 
 in, as if to ascertain whether he was en- 
 gaged. When they found that he was busy, 
 they very properly withdrew in silence.
 
 119 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 They were not, it must be confessed, very 
 sorry to hear their uncle's voice recalUng 
 them, before they had gone far from his 
 door, for these Httle girls dearly loved to be 
 with their kind friend. 
 
 When they came in, they stood by his 
 side in silence for a few minutes, as if they 
 were a little unwilling to tell him what was 
 their object in making the visit. Mr. Ben- 
 son, too, said nothing for a while ; but at 
 last he gave one of his good-humored 
 smiles, and drew them both towards him. 
 After looking at them steadily, he asked if 
 he should guess what they came for ; they 
 told him to do so, if he pleased. 
 
 " Well," said he, " I must try my powers 
 of sifting matters. Let me see — Anna and 
 Emma Stanley were so much pleased with 
 the sight of their uncle's cabinet the other 
 day, that they are greatly inclined to look 
 at it again. Anna being the most timid, is 
 afraid to make the request herself, and so 
 Emma has come, supported by her sister 
 to ask the favor. Edward, I suspect, 
 thought it would look too childish for him
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 149 
 
 to be seen in front of the detachment ; but if 
 I am not mistaken ; he is lying in ambush 
 behind, ready to be summoned. Have I 
 not stated matters pretty nearly right ?" 
 
 The laugh of the little girls was echoed 
 by a merry peal from the hall, and soon 
 Edward appeared. " You have not guessed 
 exactly what we came for, dear uncle," 
 said Emma. " It was not so much to see 
 your cabinet, as to ask you if you would be 
 so kind as to tell us of some more of the 
 curious anecdotes you know about shells 
 and other creatures which are found in the 
 sea." 
 
 " Ah !" said Mr. Benson, " it is a more 
 serious favor then, you have to beg of me ; 
 but as I always like to gratify the rational 
 desires of young people, when made known 
 at proper times, and in a right manner, I 
 will not deny you if you give me a little 
 while to collect my materials. You may 
 go and amuse yourselves, or employ your- 
 selves this morning, and this afternoon, at 
 four o'clock, you may return to my study." 
 
 Just as the hall clock struck the last note 
 
 13*
 
 150 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 of four, Mr. Benson heard a gentle tap at 
 his door, and when he gave the summons 
 to enter, Mrs. Stanley and her three chil- 
 dren appeared. "I hope you will admit 
 one more into your audience than you 
 promised," said that lady, "for I ahvays 
 like to take every opportunity possible, of 
 gaining information that may benefit my 
 children." 
 
 " I certainly shall not do so rude a thing," 
 replied her brother, " as to turn a lady out 
 of my presence ; more especially, as I think 
 it very likely I shall have to call in her as- 
 sistance. Among all the ' wonders of the 
 deep,' which have been described since your 
 visit, I have heard no notice taken of the 
 various species of fish ; and as some of them 
 are in their habits very curious, and as all 
 exhibit traces of His wisdom and love, who, 
 when they were first created, pronounced 
 them ' good,' I have determined to speak of 
 this branch of the animal kingdom this af- 
 ternoon, in preference to any other. Fishes 
 are ranked with the other animals which 
 possess a skeleton of bones, but they are
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 151 
 
 distinguished from them all by their mode 
 of breathinor. You are all aware that hu- 
 man creatures, birds, and beasts, are fur- 
 nished by God with lungs, by which they 
 draw in the air, and then expel it again : 
 but as fishes were created to inhabit the 
 water, their apparatus for breathing is very 
 different : this consists of their gills, which 
 are formed, to use Mr. Kirby's words, ' of 
 long pointed plates disposed like the teeth 
 of a comb, attached to bony or gristly bows; 
 each of them covered by a tissue of innu- 
 merable blood vessels.' I will read you a 
 short passage from the twenty-first chapter 
 of Mr. Kirby's Treatise with reference to 
 this subject, since I think his remarks are 
 truly worth remembering by all of us. ' We 
 know by experience,' he says, 'how soon 
 an animal that breathes by lungs, if it re- 
 mains only a few minutes under water, and 
 is cut off from the atmosphere, is suffocated 
 and dies ; and that all aquatic animals that 
 have not gills, or something like them, as 
 all the water-beetles, <fcc. are obliged to seek 
 the surface of the water for breath. Whence
 
 152 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 we may learn what an admirable contri- 
 vance of divine wisdom is here presented 
 to us, to enable the infinite host of fishes to 
 breathe as easily in the water as we do in 
 the air.' He afterwards tells us, that wherx 
 we sum up the various characteristics by 
 which this class of creatures we are now 
 considering is distinguished from other 
 branches of the animal world, ' we can 
 trace at almost every step — so plainly, tha<- 
 almost he that runs can read — infinite pow- 
 er in the construction, infinite wisdom in 
 the contrivance and adaptations, and infi- 
 nite goodness in the end and object, of the 
 peculiar modes by which they are enabled 
 to live and move, and carry on the various 
 animal functions. What else than such a 
 God as the Bible represents, ' could have 
 peopled the air and the waters with a set 
 of beings so perfectly and beautifully con- 
 trasted with each other, as the fishes and 
 the birds. Sprung originally from the same 
 element, they each move, as it were, in an 
 ocean of their own, and by the aid of simi- 
 lar, though not the same means. The
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 163 
 
 grosser element they inhabit, required a dif- 
 ferent set of organs to defend, to propel and 
 guide, and to sink and elevate the Jish, from 
 what were requisite to effect the same pur- 
 poses for the bird, w^hich moves in a rarer, 
 (that is, thinner, more delicate,) and purer 
 medium.' — Kirhy. As a specimen of the 
 wisdom and love of God, displayed in suit- 
 ing the bodies of fishes to the element in 
 which they were intended to live, let me 
 point out to your notice the peculiarities in 
 their eyes. We all know that the sensation 
 felt on opening onr eyes in water, is very 
 painful, and only overcome by long prac- 
 tice, but this organ in the head of the fish is 
 formed like ours ; how then is it enabled 
 to move in water so pleasantly and readily ? 
 Kirby informs us, t-hat 'the substance of 
 which it is made makes the access of water 
 no more troublesome to it, than that of the 
 air to land animals.' The common eel, 
 which was intended to live a great deal 
 buried in the mud, was provided by the 
 goodness of the Creator, with a transparent 
 curtain which it can at pleasure draw over
 
 IW A VISIT TO N AH ANT. 
 
 its eye, to shield it from the mud. Another 
 singular kind of eye is found in a fish wliich 
 inhabits the rivers of Surinam, and is called 
 by the natives the four-eyed fish : it is fur- 
 nished with four pupils, and four of the 
 iris : the iris is, you know, that part of the 
 eye which is colored difi^erently in various 
 persons, some being blue, others black, ha- 
 zel, or gray. Mr. Kir by conjectures that 
 ' the object of divine wisdom in this ex- 
 traordinary formation, may have been, to 
 enable the animal to see near and distant 
 objects at the same time — the little worms 
 below it, that form its food, with one pupil 
 and iris, and the great fishes above it or at 
 a distance, which it may find it necessary 
 to guard against, with the other.' " 
 
 '• Is the eel the only kind of fish, uncle," 
 inquired Edward, "that is furnished with 
 a curtain to draw over its eyes 7" 
 
 '• It is certainly not the only one, Ed- 
 ward," replied Mr. Benson ; " on the con- 
 trary. Dr. Good in his Book of Nature, tells 
 us not only that the elephant, opossum, seal, 
 cat-kind, and all birds, but that all fishes
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 153 
 
 are provided with what he calls a third eye- 
 lid, by which they are enabled to cover 
 their eyes with a thin transparent veil, 
 either wholly or in part, and tlius defend 
 those organs from danger." 
 
 " I wish, brother,-' said Mrs. Stanley, 
 '•' that yon would be so kind as to tell my 
 children something about the formation and 
 use of the fins of fishes, as Edward has 
 been making many inquiries on the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 "I will with pleasure," answered Mr. 
 Benson, '-'for it is a point well deserving 
 our consideration, and certainly one of the 
 most essential and striking characteristics 
 of fishes, from the little minnow, which a 
 child may hold in the hollow of its hand, 
 to the mammoth whale. Fins appear to 
 have been given to these creatures, as far 
 as we can ascertain, entirely as instruments 
 of motion : they assume a variety of shapes 
 and sizes, but could we examine each 
 individual fish, we should see that the 
 Almighty Creator has taken care that 
 the fins of every one should be specially
 
 156 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 adapted to its particular weight and mo* 
 tions. Mr. Kirby observes, ' Nothing is 
 more graceful and elegant than the motions 
 of fishes in their own pure element. Not 
 to mention the shifting radiance of their 
 forms as they glance in the sunbeams, their 
 extreme flexibility, and the ease with which 
 they glide through the waters, give to their 
 motions a character of easy progress which 
 has no parallel, unless, perhaps, in the va* 
 ried flight of the wing-swift swallow among 
 birds. How rapidly do they glide, and are 
 lost to sight by a mere stroke of their tail ! 
 at another time, less alarmed, how quietly 
 do they suspend themselves, and cease all 
 progressive motion, so that we can discover 
 them to be alive only by the fan-like mo- 
 tion of their pectoral fins,* an action which 
 seems in some sort connected with their act 
 of breathing ; for they move them, as I 
 have observed, more rapidly when in sultry 
 weather they seek the surface.' I must 
 try," resumed Mr. Benson, " to give you a 
 
 * Pectoral fins are those which are nearest the head, 
 and close by the gills.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. . 7 
 
 brief description of their fins : they are com- 
 posed of a covering of skin which is gene- 
 rally supported by bony or gristly rays, like 
 the strips of cedar in a paper or silk fan, 
 and like that, they can open or shut, more 
 or less. Fishes are usually provided with 
 two pair of fins ; those nearest the head an- 
 swer the same purpose with the forelegs of 
 other animals ; the pair next the tail cor- 
 respond with their hind legs : they have 
 also, in many instances, a fin along the 
 back ; ' and the tail itself terminates in 
 another, which is the most powerful of all.' 
 This last they use not only as an instru- 
 ment of motion, but as a rudder to guide 
 them in their course. Some kinds of fish 
 are said to possess the sense of hearing in 
 an uncommon degree ; and I recollect 
 reading of some carp, or salmon, I do not 
 remember which, that were kept in a pond 
 by some English nobleman, which had 
 been taught to rise regularly to the surface 
 of the water for their dinner at the sound 
 of a bell. Mr. Kirby quotes the naturalist 
 Lacepede's assertion of some facts of this 
 
 14
 
 158 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 kind, which, I must own, seem to me a little 
 incredible : this gentleman not only de- 
 clares. ' that in many parts of Germany fish 
 of the trout, carp, and tench kinds, are sum- 
 moned to their food by the sound of a bell,' 
 but also, that ' some were kept in the basin 
 of the Thuilleries for more than a century, 
 that would come when called hy nameJ " 
 
 The young Stanleys were highly amused 
 at this account, and seemed much amazed 
 that any fish ever lived to be an hundred 
 years old. 
 
 '^ If you think an hundred years so ex- 
 traordinary an age for a fish to attain, my 
 young friends," said Mr. Benson, " what 
 will you say to the pike which was taken 
 at Kaiserslauten, on the Rhine, 1754 ; 
 which, from a ring fastened in its gill, was 
 proved to have been put there in 1487, by 
 the order of one of the emperors of Germa- 
 ny, and which was consequently upwards 
 of 267 years old ? This venerable patriarch 
 measured 19 feet in length, and weighf^d 
 350 pounds."* 
 
 * Kirby's Bridgewater Treatise, p. 392.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 1J» 
 
 " Oh, uncle !" said Edward, laughing, 
 "that was certainly the Methuselah of fish- 
 es. No doubt such a venerable personage 
 must have been wiser than any you have 
 mentioned before. But, seriously, how can 
 the age of a fish be known when it is with- 
 out such a contrivance as the ring? I am 
 sure I cannot think how it can be possibly 
 told." 
 
 « Mr. Smell ie informs us," said Mr. Ben- 
 son, "that two methods have been devised 
 for ascertaining the age of fishes. One is 
 by examining their scales with a micro- 
 scope, which will be found to consist of a 
 number of circles, one within another, 
 somewhat like the rmgs in the inside of the 
 trunk of a tree ; each one of these circles 
 answers to a year in the life of the animal. 
 The other mode is to cut the back bone of 
 the fish across, and observe the number of 
 rings in the surface of one of the joints, 
 each of which is said in like manner to 
 correspond with a year in the age of the 
 fish to which it belonged. Before giving 
 you any description of particular species of
 
 160 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 fish J I cannot oniit noticing one feature in 
 their history, and that is the extensive jour- 
 neys which many of them make at certain 
 seasons of the year. This instinct fishes 
 possess in common with many other ani- 
 mals, but in tlieir case it is productive of 
 peculiar benefit to man, and may indeed oe 
 ranked as a great blessing to our race.'' 
 
 " I do not understand, uncle," observed 
 Edward, " what you mean when you say 
 that that instinct of fishes which makes 
 them travel in large bodies to distant places, 
 is such a great advantage to mankind ; ex- 
 cept that at such times they afford abun- 
 dant and cheap food to many poor people, 
 as well as rich ones." 
 
 " Wait a little while, Edward," said his 
 mother, " and do not be too forward in giv- 
 ing your opinion. I have no doubt that 
 your uncle is amply provided with facts, 
 by which he can support his assertion." 
 
 "I will only instance," observed Mr. 
 Benson, " a few particulars connected with 
 the history of the herring, and then Edward 
 will be convinced that 1 have not spoken
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 161 
 
 hastily. This fish is said to be a native of 
 the arctic or frozen seas of Europe, Asia, 
 and America. When the ice begins to melt 
 in those waters in the spring of the year, 
 immense shoals of the herring, consisting 
 of many millions^ so closely compacted 
 that the fish touch each other, set off on 
 their journeys in search of food, and to de- 
 posite their eggs. Mr. Kirby tells us that 
 ^ these shoals are many fathoms in thick- 
 ness ; (a fathom is six feet.) The largest 
 and strongest fish lead the shoals, which 
 seem to move in a certain order, and to 
 divide in bands as they proceed, visiting 
 the shores of various islands and countries, 
 and enriching their inhabitants. Their 
 presence and progress are usually indicated 
 by various sea-birds, sharks, and other ene- 
 mies. One of the other species of fish, call- 
 ed the sea-ape, is said to accompany them, 
 and is thence called the king of the her- 
 rings. They throw off also a kind of oily 
 or slimy substance, which extends over 
 their columns, and is easily seen in calm 
 weather. This substance, in gloomy, still 
 14*
 
 162 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 nights, exhibits a phosphoric light, as if a 
 cloth a little luminous was spread over the 
 sea. Some conjecture may be formed of 
 the infinite numbers of these invaluable 
 fishes that are taken by European nations, 
 from what Lacepede relates — that in Nor- 
 way twenty niillions have been taken at a 
 single fishing; that there are few years 
 that they do not capture four hundred mil- 
 lions, and that at Gottenburgh and its vi- 
 cinity seven hundred millions are annually 
 taken : but what are these millions, he re- 
 marks, to the incredible numbers that go to 
 the share of the Englisb, Dutch, and other 
 European nations.'" — Kirhy, B. T. p. 61. 
 
 " Dear uncle," said Edward, blushing as 
 he spoke, " mother was indeed right ; for I 
 spoke very hastily, and I am afraid in too 
 forward a manner. I am sorry that I in- 
 terrupted you. and ventured to give my 
 opinion on a subject, on which I find that I 
 knew so little. I am astonished to hear 
 that the herring abounds in such monstrous 
 quantities." 
 
 " Your apology is accepted, my dear
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 163 
 
 boy," replied his uncle ; " I have, however, 
 some facts to state with respect to the her- 
 ring fishery, which will still more strons'ly 
 confirm my assertion, that the migration of 
 fishes is a great blessing conferred by God 
 on our race. '• Three thousand decked ves- 
 sels of diflferent sizes, besides smaller boats, 
 are stated to be annually employed in the 
 herring fishery, with a proportionable num- 
 ber of seamen, besides a vast number of 
 hands, that, at certain seasons, are occupied 
 in curing them.' — Kirhy. Then, again, 
 Edward, barrels and boxes are to be manu- 
 factured to pack them in ; this sfives em- 
 ployment to many coopers and other me- 
 chanics, so that not only do these fisheries 
 furnish food for the numerous people who 
 eat the fish, but ihey also provide work for 
 a vast concourse of different kinds of honest 
 tradesmen, and so become a blessing in va- 
 rious ways. I have mentioned the herring 
 as being the most remarkable instance of 
 migration, but there are various other kinds 
 of fish which might be noticed, such as the 
 cod, mackerel, haddock, salmon, A:c. The
 
 164 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 latter has been designated as ' the king of 
 the river migrators.' It is, however, be- 
 sides, frequent in almost every sea all over 
 the globe, though it is said not yet to have 
 been seen in the waters of the Mediterrane- 
 an. ' It traverses the whole length of the 
 largest rivers. It reaches Bohemia by the 
 Elbe, Switzerland by the Rhine, and the 
 Cordilleras of America by the mighty Ma- 
 ragnon, or river of Amazons, whose course 
 is more than three thousand miles. In 
 temperate climates the salmon quits the sea 
 early in the spring, when the waves are 
 driven by a strong wind against the river 
 currents. It enters the rivers of France in 
 the beginning of the autumn in September, 
 and in Kamschatka and North America 
 still later. In some countries this is called 
 the salmon wind. They rush into rivers 
 that are freest from ice, or where they are 
 carried by the highest tide, favored by the 
 wind ; they prefer those streams that are 
 the most shaded. They leave the sea in 
 numerous bands, formed v/ith great regu- 
 larity. The largest individual, which is
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 165 
 
 usually a female, takes the lead, and is fol- 
 lowed by others of the same sex, by tv/o 
 an two, each pair bein:c ^i^ the distance of 
 from three to six feet from the preceding 
 one ; next come the old, and after them, die 
 young males in the same order. The noise 
 they make in their transit, heard from a 
 distance, sounds like a far-off storm. In 
 the heat of the sun, and in tempests, they 
 keep near the bottom ; at other times they 
 swim a little below the surface. In fair 
 weather they move slowly, sporting as they 
 go, at the surlace, and wandering again and 
 ac^ain from their direct route ; but when 
 aiarmed, they dart forward with such ra- 
 pidity that the eye can scarcely follow 
 them. They employ only three months in 
 ascending to the sources of the Maragnon, 
 the current of which is remarkably rapid, 
 which is at the rate of nearly forty miles a 
 day ; in a smooth stream or lake, their pro- 
 gress would increase in a fourfold degree. 
 Their tail is a very powerful organ, audits 
 muscles have a wonderful energy ; by
 
 166 A VISIT TO NAIIANT 
 
 placing it in their mouth* they make of it a 
 very elastic spring, for, letting it go with 
 violence, they raise themselves in the air 
 to the height of from twelve to fifteen feet, 
 and so clear the cataract that impedes their 
 course ; if they fail in their first attempt, 
 they continue their efforts till they have ac- 
 complished it.' — Kirhy. Hark 1" said Mr. 
 Benson, " there is the bell summoning us 
 to tea ; I must, of course, postpone what 
 else I had to say until to-morrow." 
 
 * This idea of the salmon placing their tails in their 
 mouths, Mr. Smellie expressly contradicts, and declares it 
 a vulgar notion, and asserts that they spring straight up 
 with a tremulous motion ; the young reader must decide 
 between Kirby's and SmcUie's statements.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 167 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " While the last bubble crowned the dimpling eddy, 
 Through which mine eye still giddily pursued it, 
 A joyous creature vaulted through the air, — 
 The aspiring fish that fain would be a bird. 
 On long light wings, that flung a diamond shower 
 Of dew-drops round his evanescent form. 
 Sprang into light, — and instantly descended." 
 
 Mrs. Stanley had. at the earnest re- 
 quest of her brother, prolonged her visit to 
 Nahant much beyond the time she had an- 
 ticipated when she first went there, until 
 she found she could remain no longer ; and 
 on the morning succeeding the day we de- 
 scribed in the last chapter, she informed 
 him at the breakfast table that it would be 
 absolutely necessary for her to leave him 
 the day but one after, though she said she 
 should do so with more regret than she 
 had ever experienced before on such occa- 
 sions. While she thanked him for all his 
 kindness to her and to her children, and 
 particularly for the trouble he had taken to 
 instruct and amuse them, by describing the 
 works of God to them, and leading them to
 
 168 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 see His hand in their wonderful structurej 
 the tears of grateful affection rolled down 
 her cheeks. " I try, dear brother," she said, 
 " to look beyond this short life to that world 
 of blessedness and holiness, where I trust 
 we shall spend an eternity together, in dis- 
 coursing of God's great and glorious per- 
 fections, and in singing the great song, 
 which ascribes glory, and honor, and pow- 
 er, to our blessed Redeemer forever and 
 ever. While I think of that scene, I am in 
 some measure reconciled to our painful 
 separation here." 
 
 Mr. Benson became visibly affected also, 
 and he dwelt on the pleasure he had de- 
 rived from seeing his sister and her chil- 
 dren at his house. He told her that her 
 visit had given him quite a disguct, or 
 rather distaste for his solitary habits of life ; 
 so much so, that he had been seriously con- 
 sidering, whether she and her children 
 could not leave their old residence, and 
 come to live with him. " You know 
 Anna," said Mr. Benson, " that I have no 
 wish to marry, and never have had, since
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT m 
 
 the object of my early affections was taken 
 from me." He remained silent for a lonsr 
 time, and seemed absorbed in a train of 
 painful recollections, as his memory revert- 
 ed to those happy days of early manhood, 
 when he was anticipating a union with 
 one who was peculiarly calculated to throw 
 a charm around domestic life. Disease 
 fastened on his beloved Mary, and she was 
 removed from him to another and better 
 world ; but he had loved too tenderly and 
 too long to form a second attachment, and 
 had gradually settled down as a confirmed 
 old bachelor. His quiet habits of life for 
 the last eight or nine years had made him 
 indisposed to travel, and his sister and he 
 had not met for that length of time. He 
 had been greatly delighted at seeing her 
 again, and had become so much attached to 
 her children, that the thoughts of a separa- 
 tion from them, and a consequent return to 
 a solitary parlor and a silent table, was 
 very painful to him. He had been for 
 some days seriously considering his project, 
 until he thought he had met and answered 
 15
 
 170 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 every objection on his own part ; he now, 
 therefore, waited somewhat anxiously to 
 hear what his sister would say to the pro- 
 posal. She told him, after due deliberation, 
 that she felt no disinclination to the plan, 
 and she was sure that her children would 
 be as happy to remain with their dear un 
 cle as she could be, but that she felt a good 
 deal of delicacy in burdening him with so 
 great an increase to his family. " But I 
 tell you, Anna," he said playfully, " it will 
 DC real charity in you to come to me ; I am 
 beginning to feel the approach of age, and 
 I often experience a sad want of a kind fe- 
 male friend to soothe and comfort me in 
 sickness. Edward shall be my assistant in 
 my counting house, and my dear httle girls, 
 at home ; your children shall have every 
 advantage in their education, and from 
 henceforth shall be considered as my own." 
 The mother's feelings were touched and 
 comforted, for she was often tempted to be 
 anxious about them, though she tried con- 
 tinually to commit them to Him, who has 
 so tenderly encouraged the timid parent to
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 171 
 
 cast her fatherless children on Him for pro- 
 tection. She had, from motives of delica- 
 cy, not made her difficulties known to her 
 brother, and he, from long absence, had 
 ceased to think of them, as he once had 
 done. A long conversation ensued, and 
 tlie result was, that it was determined Mrs. 
 Stanley should relinquish her humble coun- 
 try residence, which she had selected from 
 motives of economy, and not from choice, 
 and should come to preside over her bro- 
 ther's house. She was to leave him, as she 
 first proposed, and go home for a few weeks 
 to make her necessary arrangements ; after 
 that, she was to return and remain with Mr. 
 Benson. The young Stanleys entered into 
 their uncle's scheme with all the enthusi- 
 asm of youth, and were soon busy in lay- 
 ing their future little plans. 
 
 After dinner Mr. Benson summoned them 
 to his study, telling them that as they were 
 about to be separated for some weeks, they 
 must come and have a little more conver- 
 sation with him on the subject he had com 
 menced on the afternoon previous, in ordei
 
 172 A ViyiT TO NAHANT. 
 
 that, by occupying his time, he might not 
 have leisure to get melancholy at the 
 thought of being alone again. " We have 
 a good deal to talk of," he said, " and our 
 time is limited, so that I shall only be able 
 to make selections of certain kinds of fish 
 to describe to you. Anna, my dear, you 
 shall choose our first subject ; what shall it 
 be?" "It is hardly fair, dear uncle, to let 
 the youngest have the first choice," she re- 
 plied. "We are both willing that you 
 should do so," said Edward and Emma at 
 once, " for you are always so ready to give 
 up to us." 
 
 Anna selected the flying-fish as that 
 which she would most like to hear about. 
 
 " Ah !" said her uncle, " you want to 
 have a description of that 'aspiring fish 
 that fain would be a bird,' as Montgomery 
 the poet calls him. To render my account 
 the more interesting, I will show the wings 
 of one of these pretty creatures, which I 
 cut from a dead flying-fish, who destroyed 
 himself by his adventurous flight into my 
 vessel, during one of my voyages in the
 
 A VISIT TO NAIL\.NT. 173 
 
 Mediterranean." Mr. Benson took the wings 
 to which he referred from his cabinet, and 
 showed them to his nephew and nieces. 
 The largest was about six inches in length ; 
 the rays were very small and delicate, and 
 the texture of the wing resembled a sheet 
 of thin transparent mica, or isinglass. " Th3 
 jSsh," he said, " to which this belonged, flew 
 with some others of the same kind into our 
 vessel. They had probably been alarmed 
 by the attack of some larger fish, for they 
 came with great rapidity, and looked as if 
 under the influence of terror. This poor 
 thing in its haste ran its head against part 
 of the vessel and killed itself. It was about 
 a foot in length ; the wings were the fins 
 nearest the head, and were formed of this 
 light transparent substance, in order, no 
 doubt, that their weight might not interfere 
 with the motions of the animal. We ate 
 the flesh, and found it delicate and agreea- 
 ble. Mr. Kirby is not quite willing that 
 we should apply the texm Jlj/ing, to the mo- 
 tions of these pretty creatures in the air ; 
 he says the word is not a correct one, fo'* 
 
 15*
 
 174 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 that these fish really do not use their fins 
 to fly with, but as a support in the air, when 
 they are driven from the sea by the attacks 
 of their rapacious enemies. I have told 
 you of a fish that flies, would you hke to 
 hear of some that can walk, and even climb 
 trees i" 
 
 " Oh, uncle !" said Emma, "surely you 
 are not in earnest !" 
 
 " Yes, I am, Emma," answered Mr. Ben- 
 son, " really and truly in earnest, and I 
 have the best authority for my assertion. 
 Not to mention others, I will merely tfejl 
 you that both Dr. Good and Mr. Kirby de- 
 scribe such animals of the fish kind. 1 will 
 read you some extracts from the latter 
 gentleman's work, which are as follows. 
 'Other fish, when reduced to extremity, 
 desert their native pool, and travel in search 
 of another that is better supplied with wa- 
 ter. This has long been known of eels, 
 which wind by night through the grass in 
 search of water, when so circunistanced. 
 Dr. Hancock, in the Zoological Journal, 
 gives an account of a species offish, called
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. OB 
 
 by the Indians the fathead hassar, which 
 is instructed by its Creator, when the pools 
 in which they commonly reside, in very 
 dry seasons lose their water, to take the re- 
 solution of marching by land in search of 
 others which contain water. These fish 
 grow to about the length of a foot, and 
 travel in large droves with this view ; they 
 move by night, and their motion is said to 
 be like that of the two-footed lizard. A 
 strong serrated* arm forms the outer ray of 
 the fin nearest the head. Using this as a 
 kind of foot, it would seem, they push 
 themselves forward by means of their elas- 
 tic tail, moving nearly as fast as a man will 
 walk leisurely. The strong plates which 
 envelope their body make their progress 
 more easy ; in the same manner as those 
 under the body of the serpent, which in 
 some degree perform the office of feet It 
 is affirmed by the Indians that they are fur- 
 nished with an internal supply of water 
 sufficient for their journey, which seems 
 
 * Serrated — having an edge toothed like that of a com- 
 mon saw.
 
 176 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 confirmed by the circumstance that their 
 bodies when taken out of the water, even if 
 wiped dry with a cloth, become instantly 
 moist again. Mr. Campbell, a friend of 
 Dr. Hancock's, resident in Essequibo, once 
 fell in with a drove of these animals, which 
 were so numerous that the Indians filled 
 several baskets with them.' ' Another fish 
 found by Daldorff in Tranquebar, not only 
 creeps upon the shore, but even climbs the 
 fan-palm in pursuit of certain crustaceans, 
 which form its food. (This fish is called 
 the perca scandens, or climbing perch.) Its 
 structure peculiarly fits it for the exercise 
 of this remarkable instinct. Its body is 
 rendered slippery with slime, which ren- 
 ders its progress easier over the bark and 
 among its chinks : its gill-covers are armed 
 with numerous spines, by which, used as 
 hands, it appears to suspend itself; turning 
 its tail to the left, and standing as it were 
 on the little spines of its lower fin, it en- 
 deavors to push itself upwards by the ex- 
 pansion of its body, closing at the same 
 time its gill-covers, that they may not pre«
 
 A VI31T TO NAHANT. WT 
 
 vent its progress ; then expanding them 
 again, it reaches a higher point: thus it 
 continues its journey upwards. The fins 
 can, if necessary, be folded up, and received 
 into a cavity of its body. How exactly does 
 this structure fit it for this extraordinary 
 instinct ! These fins assist it in certain 
 parts of its route, and when not employed 
 can be packed up, so as not to hinder its 
 progress. The lobes of its gill-covers are 
 so divided and armed as to be employed to- 
 gether or separately as hands, for the sus- 
 pension of the animal, till by fijxing its low- 
 er fins, it prepares itself to take another 
 step ; all showing the supreme intelligence 
 and almighty hand that planned and fabri- 
 cated its structure, causing so many organs, 
 each in its own way, to assist in promoting 
 a common purpose.' " — Kirhy. When Mr, 
 Benson had finished reading the above pas- 
 sages, he showed the young Stanleys an 
 engraving in the same volume of a kind of 
 fish called the callicthys, which Mr. Kirby 
 assures his readers possesses the same pow- 
 ers of motion as the flathead hassar.
 
 178 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 " There is another member of this fami- 
 ly," said Mr. Benson, " called the hag-fish, 
 which uses its moving powers in a rather 
 extraordinary manner. It belongs to that 
 class of fishes which Cuvier distinguishes 
 by the general name of suckers. The cele- 
 brated Linnaeus ranked it among worms, 
 but Dr. Good tells us that it has been re- 
 moved from that order with great proprie- 
 ty by modern naturalists, and placed among 
 fishes. That gentleman gives us the fol- 
 lowing description of the hag-fish. ' It is 
 a small lamprey-like animal of not more 
 than eiorht inches lonof, and will convert a 
 large vessel of water in a short period of 
 time mto a size, (or clear transparent glue,) 
 of such a thickness, that it can be drawn 
 out in threads. The form^and habits of 
 this little animal are singular. It is a cun- 
 ning attendant upon the hooks of the fish- 
 erman ; and as soon as it perceives a larger 
 fish to be taken, and by its captivity render- 
 ed incapable of resistance, it darts into its 
 mouth, preys voraciously, like the fabled 
 vultures of Prometheus, on its inside, and
 
 A VISIT TO NAIIANT 179 
 
 works its way out throui^h the fish 3 
 skin.'" — Book of Nature, p. 115. 
 
 "Anna," said Mr. Benson, " you have 
 had your turn in selecting a subject ; Emma 
 shall now choose what fishes there are, of 
 which she would like to hear an account." 
 
 The little girl thought for some moments 
 in silence ; at length she replied, " I was 
 going to say, uncle, that since you have 
 been so kind as to let me name those that 
 would interest me most, I should first say 
 the whale : but I have heard a good deal 
 about that already, and I believe it would 
 be better for me to ask far some that I know 
 less of; so, if you please, I will choose the 
 shark and the sword-fish." 
 
 " Really, Emma," said her uncle, " your 
 selection is somewhat odd, considering you 
 are so peaceable a young lady. ]May I in- 
 quire why you are particularly interested in 
 the history of the voracious and cruel 
 shark?" 
 
 " The reason is, dear uncle, that I heard 
 a gentleman say the other day, that he had 
 very little doubt that it was one of these
 
 180 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 fish, and not a whale, that swallowed Jo- 
 nah ; which surprised me, because T thought 
 the shark was too small to swallow a man." 
 " I believe that opinion is becoming po- 
 pular," said Mr. Benson; "and the fact that 
 they are fully able to swallow as large a 
 body as that of a human being, is, I think, 
 established by no less an authority than 
 Spallanzini. I remember well that he 
 asserts several facts which are very strik- 
 ing on this point. When describing the 
 dangers attendant on the shark fishery, 
 he says, that somewhere about the time of 
 his visit to Messina, one of the fishermen 
 engaged in this occupation, was furiously 
 attacked by a very large shark, who finally 
 succeeded in biting off the poor man's leg, 
 and that when his companions succeeded 
 in killing the voracious creature, the limb 
 of the sufferer was found entire in its sto- 
 mach. He informs us that he was present- 
 ed at Nice with the jaws of a shark, in 
 whom after death the uninjured body of a 
 child had been found. And he also de 
 Clares that many witnesses attested to the
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 181 
 
 fact of an enormous shark having been 
 taken near one of the maritime towns of 
 Italy, in whose stomach were found two 
 tunnies, and the body of a man with his 
 clothes untouched. He accounts for their 
 extraordinary capacities for swallowing, by 
 mentioning the fact of their jawbones being 
 elastic, from which circumstance they are 
 able to open their mouths much wider than 
 they could do otherwise. Dr. Good calls 
 the shark, ' the most dreadful of all the 
 monsters of the sea.' And says, ' the white 
 shark often extends to thirty feet in length, 
 and four thousand pounds in weight, fol- 
 lows ships with a view of devouring every 
 thing that comes in his way, and has been 
 occasionally known to swallow a man 
 whole at a mouthful. But in order to guard 
 us in some degree against the perils of their 
 presence, a peculiar stream of light issues 
 in the dark from their bodies, which can- 
 not well be mistaken ; and as some com- 
 pensation for their rapacity, we obtain from 
 their liver a large quantity of useful oil, 
 and find in their skin a very valuable ma- 
 16
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 terial for carriage traces in some countries, 
 and for polishing wood, ivory, and other 
 hard substances in all countries.' — Page 185. 
 When we first look at this family of vora- 
 cious sea-monsters," continued Mr. Benson, 
 " we may be tempted to ask why the mer- 
 ciful Creator has formed such beings, which 
 are capable of inflicting so many tortures 
 on man? But our perplexities are in a 
 measure removed by the recollection that 
 these accidents, awful as they undoubtedly 
 are, happen but seldom : while the shark is 
 daily performing a work which is highly 
 serviceable to mankind ; for he may be 
 called the scavenger of the ocean, and re- 
 moves all those offensive floating carcasses, 
 which would otherwise greatly annoy, and 
 perhaps seriously aflect the health of many. 
 If the vast families which people the 
 mighty deep had been permitted to go on 
 increasing without being destroyed by each 
 other, the ocean would, as Mr. Kirby ob- 
 serves, have been in time filled with them, 
 and its waters have overspread the land. 
 And even, my dear children, if we ore
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 19 
 
 wholly unable to account for God's dealings 
 with us, or with the rest of the animal 
 world, we ouffht to remember that these 
 very mysteries may have been permitted 
 to exist to exercise our faith. Our blessed 
 Redeemer commended, in anticipation, those 
 who should believe on Him, without seeing 
 Him ; and no doubt He will in like man- 
 ner, reward with his approbation those who 
 continue firmly to maintain an unshaken 
 confidence in His love and mercy, though 
 they know such facts exist as those we have 
 alluded to, in the history of the shark, and 
 other voracious animals, and which they 
 cannot reconcile with their ideas of His 
 love. With regard to the other fish you 
 wished me to describe, Emma, I suppose it 
 is scarcely necessary to state, that the sword- 
 fish receives its name from the long ap- 
 pendage to its head, with which it has been 
 furnished as an instrument for attacking its 
 enemies. The largest species measures, I 
 believe, from 15 to 20 feet. You have, I 
 dare say, heard of a fragment of a vessel 
 which is preserved in one of the museums
 
 184 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 of Londorij containing the sword of one of 
 these fish. This animal, it is said,* fol- 
 lowed an East India vessel, and attacked it 
 with such prodigious force that it thrust its 
 sword entirely through the timber of the 
 vessel, which would have been inevitably 
 destroyed by the leak thus made, had not 
 the animal been providentially killed by its 
 own violence. The sword thus remained 
 in the wood, and when the vessel reached 
 England, the timber containing it was 
 sawed out and taken to the British Muse- 
 um, as a curiosity worth preserving." 
 
 When Edward's turn came, he requested 
 his uncle to describe the curious eel, or fishj^ 
 he did not know which it was, that had the 
 power of giving an electric shock to those 
 who handled it. 
 
 When Edward named his subject of in- 
 quiry, his uncle smiled, and observed, "I 
 am bound to commend your choice, be- 
 cause it happens to be the same which I 
 had made previously, and to describe which 
 accurately, I have been consulting different 
 
 * Good's Book of Nature.
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. ISS 
 
 authors, and collecting all possible infor- 
 mation within my reach. You said, Ed- 
 ward, that you were uncertain whether it 
 was an eel, or another sort of fish, which 
 possessed the extraordinary power of in- 
 flicting an electrical shock. This pheno- 
 menon is not, however, confined to one 
 kind of fish, but is shared by five difierent 
 genera; of these, two are particularly wor- 
 thy of notice. The g^^mnotus electricus, 
 or electric eel, belongs to one of these two, 
 and the torpedo to another. I told you that 
 I had consulted various authors, when pre- 
 paring to give you information on this sub- 
 ject ; not one of these, however, in fulness 
 of description, or in interest, is at all to be 
 compared with Mr. Kirby ; and despairing 
 of clothing his ideas in any language of my 
 own selection, that could be at all equal in 
 clearness to his, I have simply collected 
 such of his observations as I thought would 
 be most interesting, and copied them out 
 for you, and have taken the liberty of sub- 
 stituting occasionally more simple words 
 and expressions than those he makes use of, 
 IG*
 
 186 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 because I thought that by so doing I should 
 render the account more intelligible to your 
 youthful minds. I will now give you my 
 abridgment of Mr. Kirby's history of the 
 electric fishes. ' Amongst all the diversi- 
 fied faculties, powers, and organs, with 
 which supreme wisdom has gifted the mem- 
 bers of the animal kingdom, as a means of 
 defence from their enemies, or for securing 
 for themselves a due supply of food, none 
 are more remarkable than those by which 
 they can give them an electric shock, and 
 arrest them in their course, whether they 
 are assailants or fugitives. That God 
 should arm certain fishes in some sense 
 with the lightning of the clouds, and enable 
 them thus to employ au element so power- 
 ful and irresistible, in the same manner 
 that we make use of gunpowder, to astound, 
 and smite, and stupefy, and kill the in- 
 habitants of the waters, is one of those won- 
 ders of an almighty arm which no inhab- 
 itant of the land is gifted to exhibit. For 
 though some quadrupeds, as the cat, are 
 known at certain times to collect the elec-
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 187 
 
 trie fluid in their fur, so as to give a slight 
 shock to the hand that strokes them, it has 
 never been clearly ascertained that they 
 can employ it to arrest or bewilder their 
 prey so as to prevent their escape. Even 
 man himself, though he can charge his bat- 
 teries with this element, and again dis- 
 charge them, has not yet so subjected it to 
 his dominion, as to use it independently of 
 other substances, offensively and defensive- 
 ly, as the electric fishes do. The faculty 
 of the torpedo to benumb its prey was 
 known to the ancients, and one of them 
 tells his readers, that, conscious of its pow- 
 er, it hides itself in the mud, and benumbs 
 the unsuspecting fishes that swim over it. 
 The Arabians observed this power, and 
 gave the tv/o genera of electric fishes known 
 to them, the name raash, which signifies 
 thunder. The electric organ in one of the 
 four genera we have noticed, extends all 
 round the animal immediately under the 
 skin, and is formed of a coating of fibres in- 
 terlaced together so as to make a network, 
 the cells of which are filled with a jelly-
 
 188 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 like matter. The torpedo is the most cele- 
 brated of all the electric fishes. In this the 
 organ of its power extends on each side 
 from the head and gills, to the lower part 
 of the stomach, in which space it fills all 
 the interior of the body. Each organ is 
 attached to the parts that surround it by a 
 thin skin, and by a number of fibres. Un- 
 der the skin which covers the upper part 
 of these organs, are two bands, one above, 
 the other below ; the upper one consisting 
 of fibres running lengthwise, and the under 
 one of others running crosswise. The lat- 
 ter continues itself in the organ by means 
 of a great number of little tubes, which are 
 hollow ; some of them are six-sided, others 
 five-sided, others four-sided : each of these 
 little tubes is divided in the inside into a 
 number of smaller parts, connected by blood- 
 vessels. In each of the organs, which, as I 
 have said previously, run down the two 
 sides of the torpedo from the head to the 
 lower part of the stomach, from two hun- 
 dred to twelve hundred ofthese tubes have 
 been counted, according to the different size
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 18B 
 
 and age of the animal. The torpedo has 
 all these numerous tubes, which may be 
 compared to long rows of vials charged 
 with electric matter, with which they make 
 attacks. Almost always concealed in the 
 mud, like most of the Rays, they can by 
 these weapons kill the smedl fishes that 
 come within the sphere of their action, or 
 benumb the large ones ; if they are in dan- 
 ger of attack from any voracious fish, they 
 can disable him by invisible blows, more 
 to be dreaded than are the teeth of the 
 shark itself. The gymnotus, or electric 
 eel, is a still more tremendous assailant, 
 both of the inhabitants of its own element, 
 and even of large quadrupeds, and of man 
 himself, if he puts himself in its way. Its 
 force is said to be ten times greater than 
 that of the torpedo. This animal is a na- 
 tive of South America. In the immense 
 plains of the Llanos in the province of 
 Caraccas, is a city called Calaboza, in the 
 neighborhood of which, these eels abound 
 in small streams, insomuch that a road for- 
 merly much frequented, was abandoned on
 
 190 A VISIT TO NAIIANT. 
 
 account of them, it being necessary to cross 
 a rivulet, in which many mules were lost 
 annually by reason of their attacks. They 
 are very common in ponds, from the equa- 
 tor to the ninth degree of north latitude. 
 Contrary to what takes place in the torpedo, 
 the electric organs of the gymnotus are 
 placed under the tail, in a place removed 
 from the vital ones. It has four of these 
 organs, two large and two small, which oc- 
 cupy a third of the whole fish. These four 
 are subdivided into many small parts, thirty- 
 four having been counted in one of the 
 large, and fourteen in one of the smaller 
 organs. It is by this vast fourfold appara- 
 tus that the animal is able to inflict its vio- 
 lent shocks. Humboldt tells us that from 
 placing his two feet on one of these fishes 
 just taken out of the water, he received a 
 shock more violent and alarming than any 
 he ever experienced from the discharge of 
 a large electric jar ; and for the rest of the 
 day he felt an acute pain in his knees and 
 almost all his joints. Such a shock he 
 thinks, if the animal passed over the breast 
 
 I
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 191 
 
 or stomach, might be mortal. It is stated 
 that when the animal is touched with only- 
 one hand, the shock is very slight ; but 
 when two hands are applied at a sufficient 
 distance, a shock is sometimes given so 
 powerful as to affect the arms with a paraly- 
 sis for many years. Humboldt gives a very 
 spirited account of the manner of taking 
 this animal, which is done by compelling 
 twenty or thirty wild horses and mules to 
 take the water. The Indians surround the 
 basin into which they are driven, armed 
 with long canes ; some mount the trees 
 whose branches hang over the water, all 
 endeavoring by their cries and canes to 
 keep the horses from escaping ; for a long 
 time the victory seems doubtfiil, or to in- 
 cline to the fishes. The mules, disabled by 
 the frequency and force of the shocks, dis- 
 appear under the water ; and some horses, 
 in spite of the active vigilance of the In- 
 dians gain the banks, and overcome by fa- 
 tigue, and benumbed by the shocks which 
 they have received, stretch themselves at 
 their length on the ground. There could
 
 192 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 not, says Humboldt, be a finer subject for a 
 painter ; groups of Indians surrounding 
 the basin ; the horses, with their hair on 
 end, and terror and agony in their eyes, 
 endeavoring to escape the tempest that has 
 overtaken them; the eels, yellowish and 
 livid, looking like great aquatic serpents, 
 swimming on the surface of the water in 
 pursuit of the enemy. In a few minutes 
 two horses were drowned ; the eel, more 
 than five feet long, gliding under the bodies 
 of the animals, made a discharge of the 
 electric matter on the whole extent, attack- 
 ing at the moment the heart, and the other 
 vital parts. The animals, stupified by these 
 repeated shocks, fell into a profound stupor, 
 and deprived of all sense, sank under the 
 water, when the other horses and mules 
 passing over their bodies they were soon 
 drowned. The eels h uving thus discharged 
 the quantity of the electric fluid collected 
 in them, then became harmless, and were 
 no longer objects of dread. Swimming half 
 out of the water, they then flee from the 
 horses instead of attacking them ; and it
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 193 
 
 they enter the water the day after the bat- 
 tle they are not molested, for these fishes 
 require repose and plenty of food to enable 
 them to collect again a supply of electric 
 matter. It is probable that they can act at 
 a distance, and that they can intiict a shock 
 through a thick mass of water. It is even 
 asserted that they can do this when the 
 object of their attack is removed from them 
 so far as sixteen feet. There is another 
 little fish of a very difierent tribe, which 
 emulates the electric ones in bringing its 
 prey within reach, by discharging a grosser 
 element at them. It belongs to a genus, 
 the different species of which are remarka- 
 ble for the singularity of their forms, the 
 brilliancy of their colors, and the vivacity 
 of their movements. The species I allude 
 to may be called the fly-shooter, from its 
 food being principally flies and other in- 
 sects, especially those that frequent aquatic 
 plants and places. These, as Sir Charles 
 Bell relates, shoot their prey, as it were, 
 with a drop of water.' " — Kirhy. 
 
 The little girls had entered so completely 
 17
 
 IM A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 into the spirit of the author's narrative, that 
 by the time their uncle had concluded 
 reading it, they had drawn their seats close 
 to him, as if they too feared an attack from 
 these concealed foes, and were desirous of 
 ensuring his protection. 
 
 " Dear uncle," observed Emma, " I felt 
 at first almost sorry when you told us that 
 you intended to choose fishes for tlie sub- 
 ject that you were going to talk to us about, 
 and I thought they were among the last 
 things that I should have fixed on ; but 
 now I am very glad that you did not let 
 nie select for myself, for I am sure I could 
 not have found any thing that interested 
 me more, particularly the account of these 
 electric fishes." 
 
 " It should convince you, Emma," re- 
 plied Mr. Benson, " that all the ' works of 
 the Lord are great,' and worthy of being 
 searched into by all His people. * All of 
 them,' as Mr. Kirby justly observes, ' in 
 their several stations, and by their several 
 operations, glorify their almighty Author, 
 by fulfilling His will. You have heard of
 
 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 196 
 
 many ' wonders of the deep' this summer 
 since your visit to Nahant, and you have 
 mentioned many more that were related to 
 yoUj during your former visit to the sea- 
 shore, by your excellent mother and old 
 Robert ;* I trust that the impression thus 
 made, will not readily be effaced, but on the 
 contrary, may be the means of leading you 
 still further in your researches into the 
 temple of truth, the tv/o doors of entrance 
 into which, have been said to lie, one in the 
 works of God, and the other in His word." 
 When the hour came which was to be 
 the signal of the departure of the Stanley 
 family from the roof of the hospitable Mr. 
 Benson, it found them all reconciled to their 
 separation, from the thoughts of its being 
 so short a time before they would re-assem- 
 ble again in Boston to constitute a united 
 family. Agreeably to this plan, when De- 
 cember arrived they were comfortably fixed 
 in their new residence. The day was 
 spent by Edward in his uncle's counting- 
 house, and by the little girls in the school- 
 
 * For the account of these, see " "Wonders of the Deep.'*
 
 196 A VISIT TO NAHANT. 
 
 room with their excellent mother ; but 
 when night closed in, the happy family as- 
 sembled in Mr. Benson's comfortable par- 
 lor, and the hours rolled by rapidly, while 
 the females of the party were engaged with 
 their needle, and while Mr. Benson and 
 Edward alternately read to them some 
 agreeable or instructive book.
 
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 (retised editions.) 
 
 CHARLES LINN, or How to Observe the Golden Rule 
 ALLEN LUCAS, The Self-made Man. 
 
 GREAT SECRET, or How to be Happy. 
 
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 that was not pleasing and instructive. Combining these 
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 the hearts of her readers, and securing a high and worthy 
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 llf AMERICA AND OTHER PARTS ON TUE WORLD. 
 BY DAVID BENEDICT. 
 
 This work, the result of twenty-five years' 
 labor on the part of the authoj is the only complete 
 history of the denomination ever published. It 
 traces the progress of Baptist sentiments from the 
 beginning, — through all the forms and phases of 
 the Church, — the rise of the Baptist denomination 
 distinctively, and its progress down to our owij 
 time. It consists of three general divisions, viz : 
 
 I. FOREIGN BAPTISTS. 
 U. AUTHORS ON BAPTISM, 
 III. AMERICAN BAP riSTS. 
 
 It contains about 1,000 royal octavo pages 0/ 
 iilosely printed matter, and is embellished with tiuc 
 
 steel engravings. 
 
 RECOMMENDATIONS. 
 From William R. H'illiaeu, D. D. 
 The new edition of the History of the Baptists, by 
 the Rev. Mr. Benedict, is, to a great extent, independ- 
 ent of his earlier volumes, and seems to the subscriber, 
 a work of much value. He has made large extracts 
 from the history of the Mennonito Martyrs. From the 
 great variety of the work which furnished these, the 
 extracts will, to our churches, have, besides their own 
 great intrinsic interest, the additional charra uf no- 
 velty. As to the Baptists of the United States, he has 
 with laborious fidelity compiled a mass of historical and 
 statistic intelligence, no where else to be found : and 
 which would, in the juagmeut of the subscriber, make 
 his volume almost indispensable to every one of our Pas- 
 tors, and abundantly deserving of the patronage aiiJ 
 •tudy of our churches. William R. Williams. 
 
 Neu> York, Feb., 1843. 
 
 From Spencer H. Cone, D. D. 
 From an examination of the work, I cordially unite 
 ^ the above recommendation of Benedict's Hiat<iry 
 •<■ tb^ Baptista, Spkncke H. Cosk.
 
 LEWIS COLBY S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE LONDON APPRENTICE : 
 
 AN AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE > 
 
 WITH A PREFACE. 
 
 BY W. H. PEARCE, 
 Missionary from Calcutta. 
 
 " I should l*e glad if my notice of this little work — * The 
 Happy Transformation' — should induce numbers of young 
 men to purchase and read it." — Rev. J. A. Jameses "Young 
 Man from Home.'''' 
 
 Nothing can be more suitaole for young men leaving 
 home, to engage in business. The work is especially in- 
 tended for the benefit of young persons, about to enter on, 
 or already engaged in, the pursuit of business in cities and 
 large towns. The narrative is also adapted for usefulness 
 to persons of every age, and in the most varied circum- 
 stances. It exhibits in striking colors the unsatisfactory 
 nature, and the bitter consequences, even in this life, of 
 what are falsely called " the pleasures" of yoathi Em- 
 bellished with engravings. 18mo. 31 cent- 
 
 THE WAY FOR A CHILD TO BE SAVED. , 
 
 This entertaining book, which has already had a wide 
 5 circulation, can hardly fail of bemg a means of good to 
 I evf»ry child that reads it. 18mo. 31 cents. 
 
 I 12'4: NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK. 
 ai
 
 DOMESriC SLAVERY 
 
 CONSIDERED AS A SCRIPTURAL INSTITUTION j 
 IN A CORRESPONDE.NCE BETWEEN THE 
 
 REV. RICHARD FULLER, D. D., 
 
 J OF BEAUFORT, 8. C, 
 
 APfD THE 
 
 REV. FRANCIS WAYLAND, D. D., 
 
 OF PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 " In this book meet two great minds, each tried long, known w^'I, 
 clear, calm and strong. The point on which they meet is a great on« 
 —lew so great for weal or wo. Since it first shook car land, the 
 strife, from day to day, has grown more keen and more harsh. It 
 cheers the heart, when there is so much strife, and so free a use of 
 harsh words, to see men like those whose names are at the head of 
 this piece write in a tone so kind, and so apt to turn the edge of 
 strife. But, though its tone be kind and calm, its style is not the less 
 strong. Kach brings to hear all that a clear head and a sound mind 
 can call forth. When two so strong minds meet, there is no room 
 for weak words. Each word tells — each line bears with weight on 
 the main point. — each small page has in it more of thought than 
 weak men can crowd in a large book. 
 
 {^CorrespoTideTit of National IjUelligencer. 
 
 " This is the best specimen of controversial writing on Slavery, oi 
 any other subject, we have ever read. The parties engaged in it are 
 men of high distinction, and pre-eminently qualified for the task ; and 
 the kind and Christian spirit which perrades the entiro work is a 
 beautiful commentary on tiie power of the Gospel. This discussioa 
 is complete, and whoever reads it need read nothing more, to enable 
 him to form a correct view of the subject in question." 
 
 ILutheran Observer. 
 
 " The Christian feeling, the gentlemanly courtesy, the powerfoJ 
 -masoning, and the inspiring eloquence, which have characterized 
 Ihe whole correspondence, conduce, with the importance of the sul> 
 ject under consideration, and the excitement which it always pn> 
 duces in American mindt, to render the volume containing ail the let- 
 ters on botli sides one of the most attractive which has ever besQ 
 Usued in this country." — Baptist Advocate. 
 
 " Its thoroughness, ability, and admirable candor, and the great and 
 growing importance of tlie subject, entitle it to a uniTcrJal circ» 
 tetion.— iV. Y. Evangelist.
 
 A PURE CHRISTIANITY 
 THE WORLD'S ONLY HOPE. 
 
 BY REV. R. W. CUSHMAN, 
 rASTOR OF THE BOWDOIN SQUARE CHURCH, BOSTOIV 
 
 A Practical and Standard Work. 
 
 The events, in the religious world, that mark 
 the present time, show that the day has come 
 when the corruptions of Christianity must be dealt 
 with faithfully, and Christianity itself must be vin- 
 dicated from the surreptitious institutes and usages 
 which have claimed its authority and assumed its 
 name. 
 
 ** This little book is a desideratum — ought to be read by 
 all classes. It is a most able, not to say masterly vindica- 
 tion of scriptural or primitive Christianity, both in refer- 
 ence to ite spirit and its organization and ordinances." 
 
 [Baptist Record. 
 
 ■•* There is in this work a forcible statement of some pre- 
 Talcnt obstacles to the progress of pure religion which 
 ought to be universally studied. The author shows a 
 ■igacious and penetrating mind in his view of the subject, 
 and a degree of boldness and outspoken honesty in setting 
 it forth, quite worthy of a follower of Roger William*. 
 We commend it to all who love religious freedom, as 
 worth study and admiration." — New York Evangelist. 
 
 " It is severe against the errors of the age ; is written 
 with great vigor of style, and spiciness of illustration, and 
 cannot fail to awaken interest " —Baptist Advocate.
 
 -15 
 
 LEWIS COLBY'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 FACTS FOR BOYS, 
 
 SXLBCTZD AKD JLBJL1N09J> 
 
 BY JOSEPH BELCHER, D. D. 
 
 Handsomely bound in c Mh- 18mo 31 cenw. 
 
 Extra Gilt, ^ " 
 
 FACTS FOR GIRLS. 
 
 eY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 And uniform with theabore. 
 
 These txTe very entertaining and useful books for chil- 
 dren — inculcating religious Truth by interesting Farts, 
 Anecdotes, and Stories. It is just the kind of reading 
 which children like. 
 
 EVERY DAY DUTY; 
 
 OR 
 SKETCHES OF CHILDISH CHARACTER. 
 
 The Author, in this book, in plain and simple language, 
 enters into the sports and incidents of childhood, and 
 would show to children that they are always happiest 
 when doing right. Uniform with the above. 
 
 122 NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK.
 
 THE 
 
 POWER OF ILLUSTRATION ; 
 
 AN ELEMENT OF SUCCESS IN 
 
 PREACHING AND TEACHING. 
 
 BY JOHN DOWLING, D. D. 
 
 ** This is au admirable book, though small, and treats 
 of a highly unportant subject, which yet has never, so 
 far as we are awai-e, been handled before in a distinct 
 treatise. Would that there were some law to compel 
 every candidate for the ministry to possess this little 
 volume ! We imagine that there would be less com- 
 plaint of the dullness of sermons." — Boston Recorder. 
 
 " We would recommend its careful perusal, not only 
 to every clergyman and every Sabbath School teacher, 
 but to eveiy public speaker. No one, we thinlv, can 
 give it a reading without being con\nnced of its great 
 advantage, not to say necessity, of illustration, m order to 
 ensure success m teaching or preaching. 
 
 ' The writer attempts to — I. Explain the science of 
 illnstration, and specify the principal classes of analogies 
 which it employs, with examples for the use of each. — 
 II. What is meant by the poicer of illustration, and 
 gives some directions for its successful cultivation and 
 improvement." — Alabama Baptist. 
 
 " Modifications have been made for the general benefit, 
 and to adapt the principle to teachers of every gradation, 
 including especially those of the Sabbath School. The 
 author has done a good sei-vice, by furnishing the preg- 
 nant hints and significant examples, which will raise 
 thought and incite to effort, to make the acquisition of 
 the power of illustration." — Christian Mirror. 
 
 " Dr. Dowling treats his subject coji amore, and we 
 hope, for goodness' sake, he may succeed in convincing 
 a great many clergymen and other public speakers." 
 — Christian Inquirer. 
 
 " Every Minister of Jesus Christ's Gospel should be 
 possessed of this work. It is the most complete insti-uc- 
 lor of parabolical elocution that we have ever studied. 
 The mechanical work of these welcomed volumes is 
 Tcry neat and splendid."— i>ap;;iA;5 Telegra'ph.
 
 LEWIS COLBY & CO.'s PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE JUDSON OFFERING. 
 
 Intended as a toten of Ciiristian Sympathy •with. th» 
 
 Living, and a Memento of Chnstiaui 
 
 Affection for the Dead. 
 
 BY REV. JOHN DOWLIITO-. A. M, 
 Author of " History of Romanism," ice 
 
 [Fifth Thousand ] 
 
 ^P" This edition contains several adJirional articles, in 
 prose and verse, relative to the departure of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Judson for Burmah. 
 
 Notices of t|)e fomxpt SEfiitions. 
 
 It is done up in fancy style, something after the fash- 
 ion of the annuals ; and a handsome engraving, repre 
 senting " The Departure," faces the title. It is neat and 
 spirited, and we doubt not, will meet, as it deserves, an 
 extensive circulation. The fervent missionary spirit that 
 runs through its pages, renders it a valuable work ior 
 the young ; and we hope it will be selected by thou- 
 sands as a holiday present, instead r.f the expensive, but 
 less useful annuals, with which the shelves of the book- 
 stores are plentifully supplied. — Christian Secretary. 
 
 Altogether, it will form an acceptable popular offering, 
 ^ and obtain a wide circulation. Considering the taste and { 
 I perfection of the mechanical execution, the price is low. I 
 i — New- Fork Recorder. > 
 
 „ 122 N.\SSAU-ST., NEW-YORK. "J
 
 LEWIS COLBY & CO.'s PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 The volume before us is a collection of the effusions, 
 in poetry and prose, which have been called forth by the 
 arrival and presence of Dr. Jud^iun in this country ; to- 
 gether with several pieces /vntten expressly for this 
 work, and " Sketches of Missionary Life," by its editor, 
 comprising a brief, connected history of the leading 
 events in the missionary life of Judson. The editor, 
 with whose powers and talents as a writer, the readers 
 of the Watchman have, for sometime, been well ac- 
 quainted, has performed a task which cannot fail to be 
 highly acceptable to the Christian public, and must have 
 been very grateful to his own feelings. His " sketches" 
 are very graphic and touching, and the whole arrange- 
 ment of the volume displays sound sense, good taste, 
 literary skill, and a deep interest in his theme. — Chris- 
 tian Watchman. 
 
 We are happy to commend this volume, both for the 
 beauty of its execution, and for the valuable and inter- 
 esting matter it contains. Christian parents, or others, 
 who may wish to present a token of affection, will find a 
 suitable one in this " Offering." — New-England Puritan. 
 
 The design of this work is to render the tribute, which 
 every Christian heart must feel, to the pious labors and 
 self-denial of Dr. Judson, who has been so long and 
 successfully engaged in missionary labors in Burmah. 
 It consists of various pieces of poetry and prose, chiefly 
 by the editor, of no little merit, and bearing upon the 
 missionary enterprise. It is very neatly printed. — ^eif- 
 York Evangelist. 
 
 It is composed of missionary pieces, from the most 
 pious and gifted poetic and prose writers. The whole 
 breathes a right spirit ; and it is a happy thing that this 
 ' occasion has been seized upon to give popularity and 
 currency to reading of so pure and benevolent a charac- 
 ter.— ^o«io7i Recorder. 
 
 a 
 
 122 NASSAU-ST., NEW-YORK.
 
 LEWIS CijLin S rUDLICATIONS. 
 
 FULLER AND WATLAND ON SLAVERY 
 
 ^ 
 
 DOMESTIC SLAVERY 
 
 CONSIDERED AS A SCRIPTURAL I.NSTITUTION ; 
 
 In a Correspondence between the 
 
 REV. RICHARD FULLER. D. D., 
 
 OF BEAUFORT, S. C, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 PEV. FRANCIS WAYLAND, D. D., 
 
 OF PROVIDENCE, R. I, 
 
 This is a standard text-book upon the subject * 
 
 Let no one say, I have read enough on this sulj^^ct. It 
 fills a place never before occupied — a calm, candid, and 
 very able discussion of the subject in a Christian-like 
 manner. No one bhoold be without it, as it wall long be 
 a book of reference. 
 
 " This is the best specimen of controversial writing on 
 slavery, or any other subject, we have ever read. The 
 parties engaged in it are men of high distinction, and pre- 
 emineutly qualified for the task ; and the kind and Ciiris- 
 tian spirit that pervades the entire work, is a beautiful 
 commentary on the power of the gospel. This discus- 
 sion is oumplete, and whoever reads it need read nothing 
 more, to enable him to form a correct view of the subject 
 in question." — Lutheran Observer. 
 
 It is handsomely executed, and put at a low price. 50 
 cents — 254 pages, ISmo. 
 
 122 NASSAU-ST , NEW-YORK.
 
 THE 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOL MINSTREL, 
 
 DESIGNED FOR SABBATH SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AJXH 
 SOCIAL MEETINGS. 
 
 This collection of musi'*. and hymns has been made 
 with especial reference to the wants of the Sabbath 
 School. The style of the music is simple and devotional ; 
 and while it will gratify those somewhat advanced in the 
 science, it may be learned with facility by even the young- 
 est scholar. The object has been to introduce as large a 
 number of appropriate hymns as possible, varying in 
 length and in measure ; and all adapted to the exer- 
 cises of the Sabbath School, its Anniversaries, Cele 
 bratioiis, &c. 
 
 13,000 copies have already been sold 
 
 ** This is a very good selection of hymns and music for 
 Sabbath Schools and families. Both the poetry and melo • 
 dies are among the best for juvenile use extant." 
 
 [Zio7i's Herald. 
 
 *• With many of the tunes in this collection we are fami- 
 liar, and take pleasure in saying they are good." 
 
 {Boston Miscellany. 
 
 ** We have looked over it with care, and are highly 
 pleased with it. It is excellent, and admirably adapted 
 to the purpose for which it is intended. The thirteenth 
 thousand has already left the press, and we can recom- 
 mend it with a good conscience, which is not the case in 
 regard to some of the books that are sent us for examina- 
 tion." {Luthei-an Observer. 
 
 ** This little volume seems well adapted to advance the 
 knowledge and taste for music, and this is one of the great 
 Vene^t* of Sabbath Scnools. ' 
 
 J. T. Headley
 
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