man, from a chemical analysis, had compounded some artificial sea water, in which his anemones had lived and been as happy as in their native element. Notwithstanding, as our maid suggested that we had some empty wine bottles with us, which might be packed full just as well as empty, we had them filled with sea water, and then my mother had her bottles corked, and put her milk-can into a basket; as for me, I got my dressing-box entirely divested of its contents, and then fitted into it eight empty jam pots, into each of which I put one anemone with a little water; and I packed my weed into a basket, each frond growing on its own fragment of rock, or piece of shell. Could any thing more have been demanded by the most exacting zoophytes!

We set off for the steamer, in one of the open carriages of the island, and lest my zoophytes should die for want of air, I carried the dressing-case on my knee, with the lid open. It certainly was a trouble, but who would not take trouble on behalf of animals of such interest!

I

We reached the Ryde Pier, and here I allowed my box to be put on the truck with the other luggage. It was a fresh day, and I am bound to say that I did not notice my anemones during the short voyage. did not, indeed, think of them again till our maid brought the box to the door of the railway carriage where we were sitting, and declared, with just pride, that she had never had it out of her arms all the time she was on the steamer, and while she was looking after the luggage.

It so happened that all the way from Gosport to London we had a railway carriage to ourselves; we therefore gave our zoophytes the benefit of plenty of fresh air, for as my mother had at least a hundred, they were of course crowded, and looked, I must admit, rather unpleasant creatures; their feelers being displayed, they appeared like a tangled mass of miniature snakes. My zoophytes, on the contrary, looked like

specimen flowers at a rural show, where one sees them cut off short, with their stalks pushed through little holes and their heads displayed to the company.

We reached home and carried them into the house. It wanted an hour to dinner time, and we had given due notice of what we were bringing home, and had requested that certain bell glasses and fish bowls should be ready to receive our treasures. The large hamper containing the bottles of salt water was therefore unpacked, and my mother was proceeding to unload her cargo of anemones from the tin can with a silver spoon, when our two brothers came in, and after the family greetings were over, they were proudly led up to our property and desired to admire it.

I had my suspicions that our treasures would not be appreciated, and therefore was not unprepared for the exclamation, "I suppose we are not going to dine, mamma, till these-a-hem!-these wretches are cleared away ?"

"Wretches!" exclaimed my mother. "My dear, they are the most beautiful things in the world!" "Oh!" said one-slowly; and standing at a respectful distance, he took a cautious glance into the cans. 'Fish," said the other; raw fish, I declare! I thought I perceived a fishy smell when I came into the (It is a remarkable proof of the prejudice which often warps the human mind, that we never could persuade our brothers that the anemones did not smell of fish.)

room."

They then walked round the table in the back dining-room, where our zoophytes were, and after looking at them with an air of slight curiosity and strong disfavour, they looked at each other in a manner which said unutterable things. "I thought you would admire them so much, my dears," said my mother; who, though hurt at their dislike to her pets, could hardly help laughing. Thereupon, with filial readiness, the elder declared that he thought the creatures would not be at all disagreeable when they were removed to

the little greenhouse; while the younger offered the consolatory remark, that these things did not look at all more horrid than some that he had seen about a week previously at Granville. After this, they said Didn't we think the folding-doors had better be shut while we were at dinner? We said, Yes, we did; thereupon they were quickly closed. We began to dine, and the subject was dismissed.

The next day we made a beautiful arrangement, as we thought, for our anemones, and the yellow winkles, and other animals; we divided the tiny bits of rock and weed between two large bell glasses and a clean wooden tub. Into my bell glasses I put my twelve anemones, and the few other zoophytes that I had brought, and my mother put hers into the tub. My weed consisted of some very small specimens of the green laver, some pieces of that delicate little red weed (Polysiphoniæ parasitica), the Corallina officinalis, which looks slightly like coral and more like the small claws of a lobster, though with the joints multiplied manyfold; and a fine green and brown weed, whose name I have not yet ascertained.

For the first week all the zoophytes throve, though the destruction caused in the greenhouse by the salt water was disheartening, for I had read various things in the books that we consulted as to the necessity of aërating the water; accordingly, every day I spent a quarter of an hour in making it froth by taking it out in a cup and dashing it down again; every drop that touched a plant caused a whitish mark to come on the leaf, and the plants which grew close to the aquaria soon died down. Finding the mischief we were doing, we next adopted the expedient of baling out nearly all the water daily, and taking it away from the greenhouse, when we poured it from one jug to the other, till it was thoroughly pervaded with minute bubbles of air. I must admit that we found this very troublesome, but we supposed it to be necessary, therefore we made a point of doing it; but when we had preserved

the zoophytes about a week, we determined to visit the Zoological Gardens, and inspect the Aquaria there.

We found numbers of anemones, the sea-daisy, the althea, and the common crimson actinea; they looked flourishing and lively, but they were all paler in colour than ours. We inquired of the person in charge of them whether he did not find it very troublesome to aërate the water.

"Never aërate it at all," was his answer.

"What! do you leave it quite stagnant till you change it ?" we asked.

"Never change it at all," was the second reply ;never think of such a thing."

We came home resolved to give ourselves no further trouble; but two days after, coming down to breakfast, I observed that the water in one of my great glasses, which contained only three anemones and four winkles, was black, literally black and opaque. We knew this must be changed. So we sent to our chemist, and asked him to send us some artificial sea water, made according to our receipt; this shortly arriving, we threw away all the stale sea water, and put our zoophytes into the new concoction. In another week it turned black a second time, and several of the anemones appearing to be dead we threw them away. We were told afterwards that they ought to have been preserved, as they were never to be accounted dead unless they came to pieces. A great many more died. I then consulted the chemist, who said that he had no doubt it was because we had no iodine in the receipt, and he advised that some should be introduced. We said he might introduce some: we used it, and in a few days it turned the water of the most brilliant saffron colour.

We now began to grow rather weary of our pets, and we left them to themselves for a week; at the end of which time, as mine had a most unpleasant smell, I had them and the weed thrown away. My mother, however, preserved her red anemones, which appeared

to be as lively as ever; and we saw that the aquarium contained now multitudes of young ones, no larger than a pin's head; these, in the course of a few weeks, grew and were very amusing. They were never fed, and all that was done for them was to change the water once in ten days.

We now considered that though all the finest of our zoophytes were dead, those which remained were likely to live an indefinite period; but we were destined to be disappointed, for a cold day coming, the stove was lighted, and in a few hours the anemones threw off their red robes, which we found floating about in the water, and remained sticking to the rock in their white under garments; they looked so deplorably miserable, so ugly, and so sickly, that we resolved to do away with them, as the most merciful and proper course to pursue. So we threw them away, and they had led us such a life, that I must say, we were rather relieved than otherwise to find ourselves free from any further responsibility respecting them.

W. A. E.

THE FIRST STEP ON THE WAY TO

HEAVEN.

"THE first step on the way to heaven!" I think I hear some anxious inquirer say: "Oh, that must be something for me. I want to know how I may get there; I want to know what I must do to become a Christian. Yes, dear friend, I have a message for you; but before you listen to it, ask of God to make it His own word to your soul.

How many mistakes are made at the outset for want of taking counsel of God, and seeking direction from the Scriptures of truth! Jesus Christ has said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." If, then, we desire to find peace, and joy, and salvation, it must be by Christ, and by Him only. "By the works of the law shall no flesh living be justified." All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, unfit to meet the eye of a holy God. Our whole nature is defiled, and incapable of