The tender Nautilus that steers its prow,
The sea-born sailor in its light canoe.
* * * * *
He, when the lightning-winged tornadoes sweep
The surge, is safe; his home is in the deep.
He triumphs o’er the armadas of mankind,
That shake the world, but tremble in the wind.
The curious inhabitant of this elegant shell has, from the earliest
ages, excited the admiration of the student in natural history; and,
at the same time, its real place in the system has eluded the research
of the most acute observers. The animal agrees, in many points, with
the sepia, or cuttle fish, which never possesses a shelly covering, so
that, had it been found without that beautiful addition, naturalists
would have referred it, without hesitation, to that particular division
of the dwellers in the deep; it is, however, always met with along
with the shell; and, although there appears to be no bond of union
between the tenant and its dwelling, still the purposes to which it
applies it, imply, at any rate, a long-continued occupancy, if they do
not absolutely point out the Nautilus as the original architect of the
shell.
The name Argonaut has been applied to this sea-born navigator from its
resemblance, when floating on the surface of the waves, to a vessel in
full sail, Argo being the name of the ship, which was supposed to have
been the first fitted out for commercial adventure.
[Illustration: THE ARGONAUT, OR PAPER NAUTILUS.]
In calm Summer days, these beautiful little creatures may be seen, in
considerable numbers, steering their little barks on the surface of the
waters of the Mediterranean. The words of the ancient Roman naturalist,
Pliny, give a pleasing description of its habits. “Among the principal
miracles of nature,” says he, “is the animal called Nautilos, or
Pompilos: it ascends to the surface of the sea, in a supine posture,
and, gradually raising itself up, forces out, by means of its tube,
all the water from its shell, in order that it may swim more readily;
then, throwing back the two foremost arms, it displays between them a
membrane of wonderful tenuity, which acts as a sail, while, with the
remaining arms, it rows itself along, the tail in the middle acting as
a helm to direct its course, and thus it pursues its voyage; and, if
alarmed by any appearance of danger, takes in the water and descends.”
Although the Argonaut has never yet been discovered attached to its
shell, some observations which have been recently made on the Pearly
Nautilus, which very nearly resembles it, have almost proved that
such a connexion does really exist. But whether the shell is formed
by itself, or only used to assist the creature in its movements, the
instinct displayed is not the less wonderful, or worthy of observation.
The Mediterranean, and warmer parts of the Atlantic, abound in these
interesting animals, and one species is also found in the Indian Ocean.