52 



THE OPAL SEA 



Darkness of 

 the depths. 



Jn the pit. 



would be even less useful than eyes, save as a 

 means of balancing in ascents and descents; 

 for 



"There is no sound, no echo of sound, in the deserts 

 of the deep, 

 On the great gray level plains of ooze where the shell- 

 burred cables creep." 



Nothing there ever breaks the eternal silence 

 or varies the vast monotony. 



It is thought, again, that no vegetation of 

 any kind lives in those depths, though this may 

 be an error; and that no visible colors enliven 

 its floors, though that, too, may be a false con- 

 clusion. There are no seasons, no springtime 

 or harvest, no day or night. Time is as naught 

 in this kingdom of the sea, where no king sits 

 in state and no law is known but the law of 

 self-preservation. And yet, hideous as it may 

 seem, this deep, dark pit, without air or sky, 

 where serpentine things creep and grapple and 

 devour each other, should have its purpose in 

 the economy of nature. Nothing is builded in 

 vain. Out of the ooze and slime of the sea, 

 who shall say what forms of life-repulsive stalk 

 into nobler being! 



But again the deadly chill of it! All the 

 warmth of the sea lies on the surface. The 



