nes and jewels have
cut most exquisite cameos, or faces, from the kind of conch-shell that
has two layers, one dark, the other light.

The word "cameo" is said to mean one stone upon another. The "queen
conch" is a splendid shell, with two distinct layers, one white, the
other pink. Out of the white layer is carved perhaps the face of a
woman, with a crown of flowers on her head, or it may be the head of a
knight, with a helmet on.

But think of the fineness of the tools that must be used, the tiny files
and chisels in carving the lovely, delicate shells. The shell cameos
with the pink lower stone and white upper figure, are most expensive of
all; other shells have brown or black lower layers, and these are not as
choice.

But when you see your grandma or great-auntie wearing a lovely
old-fashioned breastpin, bound around with gold, and holding a pink
stone, shining like crystal, with a white carved head or other figure
standing out from the lower stone, you may know it is a very valuable
ornament, and was probably made from one of the finest shells found in
the sea. Imitations are made from porcelain, but very likely grandma's
or great-auntie's will be the real conch-shell.

Perhaps you did not know that there are fair and beautiful gardens in
my watery home. You may have picked up sprays or bunches of seaweed when
running along the beach, and some were perhaps quite pretty, while
others had turned brown and looked much like leather.

Would you like to come with Lord Dolphin and take a swim through an
ocean garden? You would doubtless see such a sight as you had never
dreamed could be seen down in the blue water.

All right, I'll turn into a fairy godfather, clap you on to my back,
give you the lungs of a mermaid, to prevent your choking in the water,
and then, come on! Or, rather, I should say, come down!

"Why, why! A fairylike scene indeed!" you cry.

Now you have not taken on "the evil eye" in coming to the bottom of the
sea, but you have taken a "fish eye." Folks usually hate fishy eyes, but
no matter, you couldn't see the first thing down here with your own
natural peepers, so be thankful that for a time you can see with eyes
like mine.

Now, this is not a coral grove, it is a garden of flowers, and when you
exclaim again, "Oh, but I had no idea of this!" I should have to reply,
"Of course you hadn't; no more had I of the strange and beautiful
things on the land, until I had to live there a little whil