98 



THE OPAL SEA 



Lookinfi 

 seaward 

 from Mexi- 

 can high- 

 lands. 



shows where the swell is breaking on glittering 

 beaches; and farther out, through loopholes in 

 the haze, may be seen the flash of little waves. 

 The smaller movement of the surface is ap- 

 parent as through a veil. The idle, uncertain 

 wind ruffles the water in great fields of green 

 or amethyst, a vagrant cloud, white as Oriza- 

 ba's cap, trails its reflection in the deep; and 

 far and wide upon the outstretched waters 

 is the rain of sunlight falling in a silver 

 shower. 



But there is a greater movement beneath 

 the surface that shows at its best only on cool 

 days and with a clear horizon line. This move- 

 ment is the deep ocean swell that seems always 

 rising and sinking in or near the Trade Wind 

 regions of the Pacific. The surface may be like 

 glass, but underneath there is the heave of long 

 far-traveling undulations. These are not very 

 high, and rise to no distinct crests; but they 

 are often six or eight hundred feet in thick- 

 ness, measuring from hollow to hollow; and 

 resemble more the rolls of a Dakota prairie 

 than the storm waves of the North Atlantic. 



The glide forward of these long silent ridges, 

 the ease of their movement, are astonishing, 

 Eidge follows ridge and hollow succeeds to 

 hollow without the slightest sound or effort. 



Ocean 

 *wells. 



