I have often seen them round the ship, looking like so many moons, and emitting light enough for me to read by, some on the surface, and others at various depths below it. Their appearance was exquisitely beautiful when the weather was still and the night dark; but as I thought about it, I could not help having something of a melancholy feeling at the strange kind of half-life these creatures lead. They might enjoy themselves, but I could not tell how, for they had no sight nor hearing; they loved no light except their own selfish light; they moved about in the open sea, without seeming to enjoy their freedom, for they did not care which way they moved; they had no fixed homes or neighbourhoods to love, like the coral insects; and above all, they did not care for their kind, for they appear to come near each other only by chance as the wind or the waves may drive them. But as they were created by God, their life was given them for some wise end, and no doubt they have something to do in creation, and they are capable of enjoyment, though perhaps of nothing that would be enjoyment to us. [Illustration] [Illustration: PLATE XV. SEPIAS] CHAPTER IX. THE CUTTLE FISH. Have you ever seen the bone of a cuttle fish? It is a flat, white, very light thing, about the shape and size of a small sole, or flat fish, which may be often picked up on the sea-shore. One side is covered with a very hard substance, which stands out and forms a border all round; but the other side, which has no covering, is so soft that you can easily scrape it into powder with your nail. It is often used for making tooth-powder, and polishing certain things, such as hard woods and tortoise-shell. [Illustration] This comes from some of a most curious family of fishes, called by the general name of _Cephalopods_, from the Greek words for head and feet, because their feet are placed round their heads, and they walk along with their heads downwards.