Anonymous

“ The great sight was the enormous waves, which seemed to grow up out of the water a long way out, to rise higher and higher, and to rush on faster and faster, till, in their haste to reach the land, they fell forward, and, dashing into a sheet of foam, swept far up on the sand; then, growing [29] weaker and weaker, they made one last sweep, and drew back as if afraid, but were driven on again by the new waves, which had formed themselves meanwhile.
Mr. Miller said that about every ninth wave was larger than the rest. Henry and he counted together ”

“ Some were like snail-shells, but more solid. Mr. Miller knew the names, but as he thought that Henry would not be able to recollect them, he only told him that they crawled about rocks and sea-weeds, very much as snails do on land, some living on sea-weed, and others [41] on dead fish, or any animal substance they can find. Those which are named periwinkles and whelks are gathered by people who live near the sea, and sold for food, but they are neither nice nor wholesome. Others were what Mr. Miller called bivalves; that is, each animal had two shells, fastened together by a hinge. ”

“ Miller, “a wonderful little animal? It can work its way in the dark, through solid wood, taking care never to turn a quarter of an inch too much towards the right or towards the left. It is taught by God to line its house with shell, but no one knows how it works, or what materials it employs; and, worm as it is, the boldest sailor would refuse to go to sea in a ship which it had taken hold of. It may lead us, too, to despise nothing that God has made, however trifling it may appear.”
BARNACLES.
The next thing picked up was a piece of cork, covered with barnacles. ”

“ Whether they were bones or shells he could not tell. “This,” said Mr. Miller, “is the backbone of a cuttle-fish. The animal, when alive, is soft, and nearly transparent. It has a large head, on which there are a number of long arms stretching out. It lives on small fish, which it chases, and then catches hold of by the help of many small suckers on its arms. [33] When chased itself, it spurts out a quantity of black fluid, like ink, making the water so thick and dark that its enemy loses sight of it, and is obliged to give up the chase. ”

“ Barnacles are small shell-fish, growing on long leathery stems, by which they fasten themselves to [38] floating wood, or the bottoms of vessels. They are not so mischievous as the worms mentioned before, as they do not actually eat the wood; but when, as is sometimes [39] the case, they thickly cover the bottom of a ship, they prevent it from going quickly through the water. It is sometimes found necessary to take a ship into a dock, in order to scrape off the barnacles.
A piece of stone picked up by Henry, looking like a coal-cinder, but white, Mr. Miller said was pumice-stone. ”

“ Here they are certainly [22] useful, for they eat away parts of the rock until they are not able to bear the force of the waves, when they break away and are driven on to the beach. I dare say that a great many years ago the rocks about this place were much higher than they are now, and were in the way of boats [23] sailing to and fro. But when the little animals choose to make their houses in quays or sea-walls, they do much mischief by eating away the foundations.
“I once came here when the water was low, and as I stepped from rock to rock I broke off several pieces with my foot. ”

“ The wind was blowing very freshly above, but here it was quite calm and mild. One might have thought the season to be spring, or even summer, for all signs of winter, such as mud, bare trees, and stunted grass, were left behind. ”

“ Miller wished to pass round a rocky point, in order to see what it was that drew together a large flock of gulls beyond, some of which were flying round in circles, now and then dipping into the water, some swimming, and some perched on the dark rocks.
The tide had gone down a good deal, but had not left the rock. Mr. Miller managed to climb round, and told Henry to wait for him, as this work required longer and stronger arms than his. He soon came back ”

“ Miller; “a bird who, at this season, has a much better chance of catching fish than a gull, for he can not only swim but dive, and stay under water for a very long time. A little does not satisfy him, but when he has had enough, [12] he flies along close to the water, until he has found a safe rock, where he spreads his [13] wings to dry in the sun or wind, and then goes a fishing again.”
CORMORANT.
Henry recollected having been once told not to eat like a cormorant ”

“ They are very pleasant to walk on when the tide is out, but it will be high water to-day just at the time when we reach the coast, so that I am afraid we shall not be able to have a very long walk on the sands, unless we wait some time. ”

“ This, too, was a sea-weed. He reminded him, too, of a book which he had seen at home, filled with crimson, purple, [20] green, and brown leaves, which he said were also sea-weeds. They do not send their [21] roots into the ground like garden weeds, but cling to the rocks or to each other, and are nourished by the water in which they grow.
SEA-TANGLE.
The purse of the skate was secured, to be carried home as a prize, and a stem of a large sea-weed was soon made into a whip. ”