CHAPTER XII 



Coming 

 down to 

 the sea. 



The native 

 element. 



iJl 



SHIPS THAT PASS 



Coming down to the shore, threading a way 

 through hills or fields or dunes, with what 

 a thrill of joy, of exultation, we at last behold 

 the outstretched sea! The sight gives one 

 pause. The far-away shimmer of the surface, 

 the great body of color, the myriads of dancing 

 waves, the vastness of the expanse, hold the at- 

 tention spell-bound. For the nonce the smell 

 of salt air, the sound of surge, the wash of 

 breakers, the scream of tern and gull, keep 

 beating at our senses in vain. Perhaps we are 

 silent or overcome or at least fearful lest we 

 cry out with emotional feeling. And if we did 

 wfe should not be exceptional or singular. 

 When Xenophon and the retreating Ten Thou- 

 sand finally came within sight of the Euxine 

 the whole army shouted. The sea no doubt was 

 a glimpse of home to them; and in a larger 

 sense it may mean the same thing to us. For 



"All mankind is thus at heart 

 Not anything but what thou art 

 And Earth, Sea, Man are all in each." 

 244 



