IN THE OPEN 



pleasant to see advertised. But the sea is unim- 

 proved. It is the universal solvent, and dissolves 

 the trivial, the commonplace, the mean, and gives 

 an heroic cast to whatever it touches. One needs, 

 however, to observe it from the shore and to have 

 that vantage which is derived from being on land. 

 In mid-ocean it is too entirely dominant there 

 is nothing to afford contrast. It is like the moon 

 so fair at a distance, such desolation upon its sur- 

 face. One can be alone on the mountains and find 

 them friendly, but who would choose to be alone 

 in mid-ocean? There is a sense of isolation, a dis- 

 association, as if one had, in fa<5l, severed connec- 

 tion with earthly affairs altogether; hour after hour 

 and day after day the same inscrutable desert of 

 water, which begins everywhere and ends nowhere. 



Yet how inviting it appears when the glittering 

 sunbeams dance on a gently rippling surface. It 

 seems an expression of irrepressible gaiety as if all 

 the joyousness in Nature had come to the surface 

 here. The twinkling dance of the innocent waves 

 who can recall the tragedies now? 



The gulls appear to enjoy some favoritism, as 

 ^though they were kin to the sea its very own. 

 To them it is altogether friendly; they find it 



202 



