Page:A voyage round the world, in His Britannic Majesty's sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4, and 5 (IA b30413849 0001).pdf/86

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by the greatest magnifier we discovered the orifice of a little tube, which entered the body of this little atom, within which were four or five intestine bags connected with the tube. Having examined several of them, which had much the same appearance, I endeavoured to catch some in water, and bring them under the microscope in a concave glass, where its nature and organs might be better examined: but these minute objects were always hurt with our touch before we could place them in the concave glass, and when dead only appeared as an indistinct mass of floating filaments. In about two hours time the water had lost its luminous appearance. We had another bucket full of it drawn before that time, but all our attempts to catch one of the little atoms in the glass proved ineffectual. Accordingly we hastened to draw the appearance of the first globule, and to write down our observations. The most probable conjecture which we could form concerning these little atomical animalcules was, that they might be the young fry of some species of medusa or blubber, though it may likewise be possible, that they are beings of a distinct genus.

There was a singularity, and a grandeur in the display of this phænomenon, which could not fail of giving occupation to the mind, and striking it with a reverential awe, due to Omnipotence. The ocean covered to a great extent, with myriads of animalcules; these little beings,