extending them at pleasure, and also of adhering by the flat disk at their base to any substance it might be near; the part which may be called the sole of the foot acting like a sucker.

"What poor helpless creatures these Star-fish seem to be!" said Agnes; "I wonder how they contrive to live, for they seem to have no means of catching anything."

"You will be surprised, then, to hear that they are accused of catching oysters; and that it is asserted in many books on natural history, that there was formally a penalty inflicted by the Admiralty Court on every dredger who caught a Star-fish and did not kill it."

"But how could the poor Star-fish with its soft body attack an oyster, protected as it is by two strong shells?"

"It was said to wait till the oyster gaped, and then to thrust one of its rays in between the valves to suck out the oyster."

"Oh, mamma!" cried Agnes, laughing; "how very stupid the oyster must have been not to shut its shell and crush the ray, instead of letting itself be sucked out!"

"The story is as old as Aristotle; and, like many other stories told by the ancients, it has been handed down to our times, without any one, till lately, taking the trouble to examine whether it was true or false. I believe the fact is, that when oysters or any other molluscous animals become sickly, they are attacked by Star-fish and other similar creatures, just as a dying snail is attacked and devoured by slugs; but I think with you, that if a Star-fish were bold enough to attack a healthy oyster, it would soon have reason to repent it."

"I have often thought, mamma," said Agnes; "what miserable lives oysters and other similar creatures must lead in the sea; fixed as they are to rocks, and incapable of hearing or seeing anything around them."

"You forget," replied her mother, "how often I have told you that our Beneficent Creator has provided not only for the nourishment, but for the enjoyments of all his creatures. I think it is Paley who remarks, that when we recollect the happiness we feel when in perfect health and high spirits, without any particular cause, we may easily comprehend the enjoyments of the inferior animals."

"I can understand that, mamma; and so I suppose that these poor oysters enjoy the warmth of the sun and the flowing of the tide, as much as I do the fresh breeze when it blows against me as

"Exactly so. Every creature has a capability of happiness adapted to the situation in which it is placed; and when we do not perceive how this is effected, we may rest assured that the fault is in ourselves, and not in the system of Nature."

While they were conversing in this manner they had strolled to a considerable distance along the beach, and were beginning to think of turning back, as they were going from the Chine, which they intended to visit before they returned to the inn, when Agnes' attention was attracted by a splendid mass of tangle, that had been thrown on the beach by the sea; and catching hold of it, she picked up at the same time a little crab not bigger than the end of her finger. The little crab was of a pale yellow, and as soon as it was caught, it began to run sideways as fast as possible. Agnes had often heard of crabs running sideways, but she had never seen one do so before; and the motions of this little

creature struck her as so very odd that she burst into a violent fit of laughter. Mrs. Merton came up to know what was the matter; and when she saw the little crab running sideways as fast as possible with only half of its legs, and then back with the other half, she could not forbear smiling also. The next moment, however, she checked herself.

"We ought not to laugh at this little creature," said she," since there is nothing really ridiculous that is natural; but it only strikes us as absurd because we are not used to it."

"What curious creatures crabs are?" cried Agnes.

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They are called Crustaceous animals," returned her mother," because they are covered with a crust or shell; and they are said to be articulated, because their limbs are jointed so that they can throw one off without suffering much inconvenience."

"Lobsters can do the same thing, can they not?" "Yes, they also belong to the Crustacea, and so do shrimps, and prawns, and cray-fish, besides many other creatures you are not acquainted with. All the Crustacea have also the power of throwing off their shells when they have grown too large for them, and forming new ones, as I think I explained

to you some years ago when we were speaking of cray-fish."

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They must suffer a great deal of pain when they change their shells."

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They do; and some are said even to die under the operation; but I suppose they must also suffer a good deal from the old shell being too tight for them, before they throw it off."

Agnes now picked up some sea-weed which struck her as being like what her mother had once taken, boiled with milk, for a troublesome cough.

"It is the same," said Mrs. Merton; "the popular name is Carrageen, or Irish moss, but it is a kind of Fucus."

"And what is this pale brown?" asked Agnes.

"That is called Duck's Foot

Conferva," said Mrs. Merton,

Fig. 20.

"and when burnt it smells like IRISH MOSS, or CARRAGEEN

lemons; but it is not a true

Conferva."

(Fucus crispus).