The Mighty Deep 



work as he is, night and day, sending upward 

 supplies of water, bringing to our shore stores 

 of tropical heat, softening the westerly breezes 

 which excel. 



Is English weather really so bad as is 

 popularly supposed ? There are climates and 

 climates in the world ; some worse, some better. 

 May it not be that ours really is, in many 

 respects, not worse but better ? Perhaps a slight 

 digression here will be pardoned, for the sake 

 of Old Ocean's good name, in his dealings with 

 the British Isles. 



Foggy days, dull and damp days, are apt to 

 make a more lasting impression upon some 

 people's memories than sunny days. One reason 

 for the generally mournful idea of British weather 

 may be due to the fact that foreigners, French- 

 men especially, are by nature more light-hearted 

 than Englishmen, and that they keep chiefly in 

 mind their sunny days, while we perhaps keep 

 chiefly in mind our dull days. 



To gain a fair estimate of average British 

 weather, lonor and careful observation is neces- 

 sary. There is absolutely no safe criterion, save 

 that of record-keeping. Not many people have 

 the perseverance to do this for any length of 

 time, and few non-scientific people have the 



96 



