Do you think that if the Sepia were a murderer and a thief, in possession of what does not belong to him, according to the notion of some naturalists which I was telling you of just now, that he could be so happy,—so in every way at home,—in his silver boat? If you had seen him as I did, I am sure you would agree with me in saying that he could not be any other than the rightful owner.
After "the small marinere" had sailed some distance, he folded up his sails and packed them and his oars close into his shell, and went down like a stone.
The Paper Nautilus is mostly found in hot climates. It is never seen on the surface unless at a long distance from land, and it is very shy of danger, so that it is not often you can get such a good chance of observing one as I had. I have been told by a person who was to be trusted, that sometimes the Sepia will lay hold of a piece of drift wood, a large leaf, or any other floating substance, and use it as a raft, when it is not inclined to take the trouble of balancing its shell with its feet, and spreading its sails.
And now, my little friends, what I have told you respecting these marvellous Sepias, reminds me of something on which I may give you a useful caution. Many people are very fond of congratulating you on the great wisdom and knowledge of the times in which you live, and of making very light of what the ancients knew, or thought they knew, especially respecting natural history. In doing this they are not just to those who lived before us, and very often deceive themselves in regard to the present state of our knowledge. Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great, did more in investigating the nature of the Nautilus, and all other kinds of Cuttle fish, than any other naturalist has done, and in his writings, (if you could read them,) you might find nearly all the particulars I have mentioned, and a great many besides. As to some foolish things that may be found related by him and other old writers, which are held up for your ridicule, it is not at all unlikely that future ages may find flaws and follies in what writings we may leave behind us, as we now do in what our predecessors have left us.
THE PEARLY NAUTILUS, &C.
There is another kind of Nautilus, the shell of which is very strong, and marked with brown streaks. You will see it in [plate XV], fig. 4. It also differs from the Paper Nautilus, in being divided into a succession of cells or chambers, in this manner.
In this respect it is like the immense family of extinct shells called Ammonites, or Cornua Ammonis; but the partitions of the chambers of the latter are undulated, thus
