In Ocean Depths 



after another, with crests perhaps one foot apart, 

 we may suppose that the water is disturbed by 

 those ripples to a depth of about one foot. Or, 

 if we are watching larger waves, with crests 

 twenty feet apart, we may suppose the disturb- 

 ance to reach down to a depth of some twenty 

 feet. And if our gaze is fixed on dignified 

 Atlantic rollers, with crests six or eight hun- 

 dred feet apart, we may suppose that the sea 

 is affected to a depth of six or eight hundred 

 feet — less and less affected the deeper we go 

 down. 



Six or eight hundred feet, compared with six 

 miles, are hardly more than a man's skin com- 

 pared with his body. And beyond the shallow 

 depths where wind and wave have sway, we 

 come to a region of profound calm. 



This repose does not mean stagnation. 

 Ocean's waters are ever on the move, travelling 

 this way and that way. Currents exist far 

 below, as well as at the surface ; but they are 

 generally slow and placid, not rough and 

 hurrying. Old Ocean's excitability lies all out- 

 side. Superficially he is soon upset ; but deep 

 down he is composed. 



A great deal of discussion has taken place 

 as to possibilities of Light in those depths. Are 



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