68 



1HE IRRIGATION AGE. 



funereal experiences elsewhere. 

 The safest passport to success in 

 ventures of a dubious nature in 

 the "saleslady's'' domain seems to 

 be to allow the presiding divinity 

 to enlighten the purchaser without 

 hindrance as to the special article 

 he desires, no matter what, the 

 proper amount he should disburse, 

 etc etc. True, he might find that 

 he had borne away the wrong trifle; 

 yet the thought of a perfectly har- 

 monious transaction would be ex- 

 hilarating to the distressed predic- 

 ament of man under circumstances 

 .so wholly foreign to his natural 

 genius. Should Eliza Jane affect a 

 chiding mood, her beaming spouse 

 could persuasively descant upon the 

 'Celerity and comfort of his exploit. 

 If by accident he has added to the 

 family stock of blue ribbon or 

 clothes- wringers, having been com- 

 missioned to purchase cotton flan- 

 nel and nutmegs, they will keep, 

 keep, you know, and are sure to 

 come into play, if not in this in 

 some succeeding generation. 

 There's nothing like proper recog- 

 nition of the "saleslady's" omni- 

 science and the calm of a mercan- 

 tile accord. 



The abyss of waters 

 ocean Depths, lying beneath us as we 



cross the ocean is sel- 

 dom realized. ccording to an au- 

 thoratative statement by Sir John 

 Murray, in an address before the 

 British Association, it is knowm 

 that considerably more than half 

 of the sea floor lies at a depth of 

 2000 fathoms, or more than two ge- 

 ographical miles. The charts of 



the noted Challenger expedition 

 record as "deeps'" all areas exceed- 

 ing 3000 fathoms, forty-two such 

 being known, twenty four in the 

 Pacific, fifteen in the Atlantic, three 

 in the Indian, and one in the Ant- 

 arctic ocean, comprising about 7 

 per cent, of the entire water sur- 

 face upon the globe. Of more than 

 250 soundings twenty-four exceeded 

 2000 fathoms, three being upwards 

 of 5000 fathoms. Eight of these 

 deeps show more than 4000 fath- 

 oms, or four geographical miles. 

 Depths exceeding 5000 fathoms 

 have been found in the south Pa- 

 cific, eastward of the Friendly is- 

 lands, the greatest depth being 

 5,155 fathoms, or 530 feet more 

 than five geographical miles. This 

 enormous depth of ocean is illus- 

 trated by the fact that it is 2000 

 feet more below the level of the 

 sea than the summit of Mount Ev- 

 erest, in the Himalayas, is above 

 it. Not an exhilarating thought 

 for the Pacific missionary on his 

 way to enlighten, or to be enlight- 

 ened by, the heathen. Yet even 

 profounder depths than this may 

 be revealed by future explorations. 



Whatever be their short- 

 ooi comings, Americans, in 



the opinion of thought- 

 ful travellers, are gifted with one 

 supreme virtue amiability of 

 temper. Seldom indeed is the 

 native wrath or peevishness ex- 

 cited and in his most excited 

 moments the American, of all men, 

 is amenable to the mollifying influ- 

 ence of a bit of badinage which in 

 an instant transforms his "dander" 



