36 HEIGHT OF WAVES. 



ships fell in with the wreck and relieved the crew. 

 This, however, was not known at the time by the 

 anxious friends on shore. The cutters sailed on 

 their mission, and reached the indicated spot in the 

 sea, where, of course, their assistance was now 

 unnecessary. But when the vessels that had relieved 

 the crew of the wreck arrived in harbour and 

 reported where the wreck had been last seen, it was 

 found to be within a few miles of the spot indicated 

 by Maury ! 



Thus, upon very slight data, a man of science 

 and observation was enabled, while seated in his 

 study, to follow the drift of a wrecked vessel over 

 the pathless deep, and to indicate to a rescue party, 

 not only the exact course they ought to steer, but 

 the precise spot where the wreck should be found. 



The waves of the ocean are by no means so high 

 as people imagine. Their appearance in the Atlantic 

 or Pacific, when raised by a violent storm, is indeed 

 very awful, and men have come to speak of them as 

 being " mountains of water." But their sublime 

 aspect and their tumultuous state of agitation have 

 contributed much to deceive superficial observers as 

 to their real height. Scientific men have measured 

 the height of the waves. 



Not many years ago a vessel, while crossing the 

 Atlantic, was overtaken by a violent storm. The 

 sea rose in its might ; the good ship reeled under the 

 combined influence of wind and waves. While the 

 majority of the passengers sought refuge from the 



