20 THE OOEAN. 



for ; and tliis seems the more inexplicable, because 

 one would suppose that the air over the burning 

 deserts of Arabia and North Africa would be much 

 more heated, and that the direction of the supplying 

 current would be south-east. Strange, however, as 

 the fact is, it is perfectly uniform in its occurrence, 

 and is obviously a very gracious ordination of God's 

 beneficent providence, in diminishing the uncertainties 

 of navigation. 



There is yet another phenomenon connected with 

 the wind, in the climates of which we speak, that 

 requires notice ; it is the alternation of the land and 

 sea breezes. Every one who has resided near the 

 coast in tropical countries is aware of the eagerness 

 with which the setting in of the sea-breeze is looked 

 for. Usually about the hour of ten in the forenoon, 

 when the heat of the sun begins to be oppressive, a 

 breeze from the sea springs up, invigorating and 

 refreshing the body by its delightful coolness, and 

 continues to blow through the whole day, gradually 

 dying away as the sun sinks to the horizon. Then, 

 about eight in the evening, an air blows off the land 

 until near sunrise ; but this is somewhat variable 

 and irregular, always fainter than the sea-breeze, and 

 dependent on the proximity of mountains. The ap- 

 plication of what has been already said of the causes 

 of wind in general will readily be made to these 

 particular cases, the air on the surface of the water 

 being cooler during the day, and that on the moun- 

 tains during the night. Either is a grateful allevia- 

 don of the oppressive sultriness of the climate. 



But for the winds, the surface of the sea would 



