"My dear boys, I am very much pleased with your conduct; and, what is far better, my children, God is pleased; for he has commanded you to honour your father and mother: but you need not go home to ask permission, for you may depend upon it I would not take one of you upon the water without the consent of your parents: so I went yesterday, while you were all at school, and have got permission from your friends for every one of you to go--only I asked them to tell you nothing about it." "Oh dear, Uncle Philip, you are so very, very good: thank you, thank you, a thousand times over." "Once is enough, boys. There is but one Being who deserves a thousand thanks, and he, in truth, deserves a great many more than a thousand; but I fear that from a great many he is just the Being who gets the fewest,--it is our Heavenly Father: but come on, boys, let us be going to the boat. We shall soon reach her. Ah, yonder she is; I see her through the trees." "Oh, what a beauty she is, Uncle Philip, with her green sides and white belt near the top. We shall have a charming voyage." "Come, then; get in, my little sailors, and seat yourselves yonder in the stern. Now we are all ready; shove off, men, and use your oars. I will take care of the helm." "Oh, Uncle Philip, how smoothly we go along! this is charming. Is this the way a ship goes, Uncle Philip?" "A ship floats, boys, just as the boat does; but she is not rowed with oars; she has sails, and the wind blowing upon them sends her along." "Uncle Philip, there are no ships among animals, are there?" "Oh no; but there is a very curious little animal which lives in the water, and manages to rig out something like a ship, and to sail." "What is it, Uncle Philip? pray let us hear of it." "It is called the nautilus, and I saw a great many of them in the Mediterranean sea. The shell is nearly round, and six or eight inches across, not much thicker than paper, and of a whitish colour: it has, too, a keel or ridge upon each side. When it wishes to sail, it stretches upwards two of its legs: these have a very thin skin at the end, which the nautilus spreads out for sails, and the other legs hang over on each side of the shell for oars or rudders. When the sea is calm, a great many of them may be seen playing about; but as soon as a storm arises, or they are disturbed, they take in their sails and sink to the bottom. But, boys, the most curious boat that I know, made by one of the dumb creatures, is the work of the little insect that played the doctor the other day, and stuck his lancet into us. Do you remember what insect that was?" "Oh yes, very well, Uncle Philip, it was the gnat."