He told Charley to put all these shells together in his Museum, because, in certain particulars, they are alike, and all have, besides their own special names, the same generic name of Gasteropoda. They are so called, because they have something like a foot proceeding from the body which they use for moving about. Some of them have a distinct head, furnished with feelers, and eyes, and some means of smelling and hearing. Commonly the shell has but one valve, but sometimes more. Their shell is secreted or made out of their skin, which is called a mantle. I ought to tell you also, that all these shell-fish have another name, still more general, which is Mollusca, or Molluscs. [Illustration: ADULT SHELLS. YOUNG SHELL. CYPRAEA EXANTHEMA.] The Scallop Charley must have read about before his uncle gave it to him, for pilgrims to the Holy Land, many hundred years ago, used to wear it, as a badge on their hats or caps. It has two valves, like the oyster, which are united by a strong and very elastic hinge. It has also a strong muscle, by which it can, as it pleases, open its valves or keep them tightly shut. It helps to move itself about by rapidly opening and closing its shell. It is found in the European seas and all along the southern coasts of England. [Illustration: SCALLOP.] [Illustration: NAUTILUS] "Here, Charley," said uncle Brown, "is a very beautiful shell for you, called the Nautilus. The animal is very plentiful in the Mediterranean Sea. It has several arms, which, people used to think, it stretched out like the sails of a ship, and so skimmed over the water in its shell. But this is a mistake, for it covers its shell with these arms, and in fact makes the shell by a secretion from them. It pushes itself through the water by throwing water from a tube, which it has. "The shell is always elegant, but the colors of the living animal are very beautiful." "Oh uncle," cried Charley, "what wonderful and nice things you have told me? Can I find such things in books." "Certainly, you can," replied the uncle, "for it is there I got most of what I have told you." "Then," said, Charley, "I mean to read all the books, telling about these things, that I can get, if father will let me, for I should like to do that better, than to be a farmer or a merchant. Do you think, uncle, father will be willing, that I should study and go to college, like our minister Edward?" "Why my lad," replied the uncle, "your father and I can manage it, if you will be a good scholar and a well behaved boy. But remember, that in order to do this, you cannot be idle and careless and too fond of play, but you must be very industrious and study hard, for a good many years, to be a good scholar, and you must also be careful of what you do and say, and keep out of the company of mischievous and bad boys, or their example will lead you astray and make you as bad as themselves. Do you think you have resolution and perseverance enough for all these things?"