4 Dwellers of the Sea and Shore 



expansion, and this acts as a wedge forcibly splitting 

 the rock apart. The fractured rock may not at once 

 fall, being held in its place by the binding action of the 

 solid ice, but when a thaw comes the weakened material 

 gives, way and is precipitated to the beach with a 

 mighty roar. Here the waves take up the work of 

 further disintegration; at every storm the rocks are 

 rolled around and jostled against each other until they 

 are broken into smaller fragments and ground down 

 into pebbles and sand. 



No other region offers so pleasing a variety of pic- 

 turesque scenes as does the seashore. On the one side 

 is the colorful water, incessantly in motion, ever-chang- 

 ing in its aspect; on the other, the rugged cliffs or 

 maybe quiet coves or bays fringed with a beach of 

 glistening sand and backed by hills and fields bedecked 

 with verdure. The frequent changes in the character 

 of the land further increase the variety of these scenes. 

 Where it is composed of soft or loose material we find 

 the coast line transformed into graceful curves, and the 

 beach is an unbroken stretch of very fine sand; but 

 where rocky cliffs exist, the aspect is often wild, and 

 the shore is strewn with stones and bowlders of every 

 size. And with what delight do we watch the incoming 

 waves as they roll over the sand and pebbles or wash 

 around the rocks ! 



The picturesque in nature is attractive even to the 

 most passive observer, and many who see no beauty 

 in small things are constrained to pause with admira- 

 tion In the presence of natural spectacles. But the true 

 lover of nature will find many other attractions than 

 scenic beauty to allure him to the shore. He loves to 



