8 



mind with awe ; and it is wonderful to think that, 

 powerful and uncontrollable as it appears, man 

 should be able to pass over it to the most distant 

 regions, and to guide his ships through its stormy 

 and turbulent waves. 



In speaking of the sea, Captain M. remarked 

 how admirably the consistence of water, or as he 

 calls it the viscidity, is adapted to its various 

 purposes, and to the support of floating bodies. 

 " How little," said he, " do we observe the ob- 

 jects which are always before our eyes : we see 

 without surprise masses of dust raised by the 

 wind, and carried to a great distance ; and we 

 see also that water, though much lighter than 

 dust, is not carried off by the winds in the same 

 manner. If it were, every strong breeze from 

 the ocean towards the land would bring an inun- 

 dation ; navigation would be impossible, and the 

 banks of rivers and seas would be uninhabitable. 

 The adhesion of the particles of water to each 

 other is the cause of its preservation in masses ; 

 it would otherwise evaporate like tether, or be dis- 

 persed like dust. Such is the simplicity employed 

 by Nature in all her works." 



Sih. We have twice seen the stormy petrel, 

 but as yet it has not been the forerunner of 

 storms ; it is black, with a very little white near 

 the tail. One of the officers told me it is called 

 petrel, after St. Peter, from his having walked 

 on the sea. 



