70 CILARMING PORTRAITS.

painted, the other described. In their work they
had but one soul, and neither wished to exalt him-
self at the expense of the other.” At the end of
five months they reached the Isle of France, where
they completed their stores for the Antarctic seas;
and some of the naturalists, being dissatisfied with
the treatment they received andthe gencralarrange-
ments, declined to proceed; but Peron considered
himself bound by his engagements. Arrived on
the western shores of New Holland, the expedition
skirted along the coast, surveying many harbours,
and anchored for refreshment at the island of
Timor. It is chiefly to Peron’s stay in this place,
so little known to naturalists, that we are indebted
to his labours on the mollusca and zoophytes. The
sea is shallow, and the excessive heat seems to
multiply prodigiously these singular animals, and
to adorn them with the most brilliant hues.
Nothing can exceed the rapturous descriptions
given of them by our enthusiast. He waxes elo-
quent as he paints their beauties, and the reader
is disposed to share his admiration while he studies
his charming portraits. “What shall I say,” he
exclaims, “of these various species of zoophytes
which, by the singularity of their form, their extra-
ordinary organisation, the beauty of their hues, and
the variety of their habitudes, so richly merit the
attention of the enlightened part of the commu-