“The hour of dinner arrived, and we may imagine the astonishment of Madame R——, who could not comprehend the strange metamorphosis of her plate. She delivered herself of a thousand painful conjectures on the subject. M. R——, on his part, returned home happy with his shell, which he had committed to the safe custody of a box placed in his coat pocket. But as he approached the house he paused, and began for the first time to think of the reception he might meet with. The reproaches which awaited him, however, were compensated when he thought of the treasure he carried home. Finally, he reached home, and Madame R——’s wrath was worthy of the occasion; the poor man was overwhelmed with the grief he had caused his wife; his courage altogether forsook him. He forgot his shell, and in his trepidation, seated himself on a chair without the necessary adjustment of his garment. He was only reminded of his treasure by hearing the crushing sound of the breaking box which contained it. Fortunately the damage done was not very great—two spines only of the shell were broken; but the good man’s grief made so great an impression on Madame R——, that she no longer thought of her own loss, but directed all her efforts to console the simple‐minded philosopher.” It may be added that these curious bivalve molluscs are very commonly associated with branches of coral, to which they adhere firmly. CHAPTER XII. THE OCEAN AND ITS LIVING WONDERS (_continued_). The Univalves—A Higher Scale of Animal—The Gasteropoda—Limpets—Used for Basins in the Straits of Magellan—Spiral and Turret Shells—The Cowries—The Mitre Shells—The Purpuras—Tyrian Purple—The Whelk—The Marine Trumpet—The Winged‐ feet Molluscs—The Cephalopodous Molluscs—The Nautilus—Relic of a Noble Family—The Pearly Nautilus and its Uses—The Cuttle‐ fish—Michelet’s Comments—Hugo’s Actual Experiences—Gilliatt and his Combat—A Grand Description—The Devil‐Fish—The Cuttle‐Fish of Science—A Brute with Three Hearts—Actual Examples contrasted with the Kraken—A Monster nearly Captured—Indian Ink and Sepia—The Argonauta—The Paper Nautilus. And now, the bivalves having had their turn, let us direct our attention to a higher class of animals, to which nature has been more generous. They, unlike the first‐named molluscs, have heads. “This head,” says Figuier, “is still carried humbly; it is not yet _os sublime dedit_; it is drawn along an inch or so from the ground, and in no respect resembles the proud and magnificent organ which crowns and adorns the body of the greater and more powerfully organised animals.” The Acephalous, or “headless,” must now make way for the Cephalous, or headed mollusca. These again are divided by the scientists into three great classes, the _Gasteropoda_, _Pteropoda_, and _Cephalopoda_.