81 



CHAP. V. 



THE OCEAN. 



Aspect of the Ocean. Sunrise and Sunset. Extent. Relation 

 to Kivers and Lakes. Medium of Intercourse. Depth. 

 Colour. Saltness. Circulation in the Ocean. Coral Eeefs, 

 fee, 



How magnificent the spectacle which the ocean 

 presents from its shores ! Every one who is 

 in any degree capable of creating for himself the 

 "inner world of thought" must acknowledge 

 that no external object is more calculated to ele- 

 vate the mind, and to fill it with grand and 

 sublime ideas, than the vast and boundless sea. 

 Casting our eyes towards the distant horizon, 

 where sea and sky, air and water, seem to meet 

 and blend together, it is impossible for us, if we 

 are at all alive to ennobling impressions, not to 

 perceive in the boundless and unbroken prospect 

 a striking and sublime image of infinitude. 



Let us wander down to the beach before sunrise 

 on a spring or summer morning. There is not a 

 breath of wind stirring. The fishermen's boats 

 anchored a little way from shore lie motionless 

 in the calm water. The shores are deserted. 

 Even their feathered visitants, so busy during the 



G 



