6 ADVANTAGES OF CLIMATE 



suppose, we should be buried in snow, and 

 have to lead a terrible winter life. Our valleys 

 stand but little above the level of the sea : this 

 circumstance, and the proximity of the sea on 

 either side, and our deep lakes and other col- 

 lections of water, such as the smaller lakes or 

 tarns, and the innumerable springs and streams, 

 may account for the absence of intense winter 

 cold, and in part also, though not so distinctly, 

 for the little snow that falls. 



AMICTJS. Your explanation seems satisfac- 

 tory; collections of water seeming to be the 

 great moderators of temperature, absorbing heat 

 in summer, giving it out in winter, and so 

 conducing to an equilibrium. I have often 

 thought how great are our obligations to the 

 sea, and that we are hardly grateful enough 

 for its benefits. 



PISCATOII. For which of our common benefits 

 are we sufficiently grateful, whether it be 

 the beautiful face of nature that delights us, 

 the atmosphere with its vital air that we 

 breathe, or the fertile earth that supports us ! 

 As to the sea, I may mention another circum- 

 stance in connection with it, affording further 

 scope for gratitude. There was, there is good 



