Wonders of the Sea-shore

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Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1847 - 264 pages
 

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Page 234 - And mountain crags : so shalt thou see and hear The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible Of that eternal language, which thy God Utters, who from eternity doth teach Himself in all, and all things in himself.
Page 188 - Which strike ev'n eyes incurious ; but each moss, Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank Important in the plan of Him who framed This scale of beings ; holds a rank which lost Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap Which Nature's self would rue.
Page 149 - In one place the caves are only to be approached by a perpendicular descent of many hundred feet by ladders of bamboo and rattan, over a sea rolling violently against the rocks. When the mouth of the cavern is attained, the perilous office of taking the nests must often be performed by torch-light, by penetrating into...
Page 66 - I sunk my bucket to a level with the dredge's mouth, and proceeded in the most gentle manner to introduce Luidia to the purer element. Whether the cold air was too much for him or the sight of the bucket too terrific I know not, but in a moment he proceeded to dissolve his corporation, and at every mesh of the dredge his fragments were seen escaping. In despair I grasped at the largest, and brought up the extremity of an arm with its terminating eye, the spinous eyelid of which opened and closed...
Page 186 - My heart is awed within me when I think Of the great miracle that still goes on, In silence, round me, — the perpetual work Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed Forever.
Page 127 - See, as they float along, the entangled weeds Slowly approach, upborne on bladdery beads ; Wait till they land, and you shall then behold The fiery sparks those tangled fronds infold, Myriads of living points ; th' unaided eye Can but the fire and not the form descry.
Page 32 - For, as in hollows of the tide-worn reef, Left at low water glistening in the sun, Pellucid pools and rocks in miniature, With their small fry of fishes, crusted shells, Rich mosses, tree-like sea-weed, sparkling pebbles, Enchant the eye, and tempt the eager hand To violate the fairy paradise, — So to my view the deep disclosed its wonders.
Page 45 - ... alarmed at seeing him, and made every effort to escape. Mr Beale endeavoured to stop it by pressing on one of its legs with his foot ; but, although he used considerable force for that purpose, its strength was so great that it several times liberated its member, in spite of all the efforts he could employ on the wet and slippery rocks. He then laid hold of one of the tentacles with his hand, and held it firmly, so that it appeared as if the limb would be torn asunder by the united efforts of...
Page 143 - Fearful they strowl, and look with panting Wish For the cast Crust of some new-cover'd Fish; Or such as empty lie, and deck the Shore, « Whose first and rightful Owners are no more, They make glad Seizure of the vacant Room And count the borrow'd Shell their native Home; Screw their soft Limbs to fit the winding Case, And boldly herd with the Crustaceous Race.
Page 214 - ... sandy bank, uttering a shrill whistling noise as if in play. I was told that most of the fishermen in this neighbourhood kept one or more of these animals, who were almost as tame as dogs, and of great use in fishing, sometimes driving the shoals into the nets, sometimes bringing out the larger fish with their teeth. I was much pleased and interested with the sight. It has always been a fancy of mine that the poor creatures whom we waste and persecute to death for no cause, but the gratification...

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