24 THE SEA. 



LESSON V. 



THE SEA, RIVERS, ETC. 



THE water which encompasses the land is called 

 the sea. This purifies the earth from unwhole- 

 some vapours by drawing them into itself, and it 

 is for the most part of vast depth. Its depth, 

 however, is very unequal ; for, like the surface of 

 the land, the bottom of the sea consists of moun- 

 tains and valleys. Wonderful masses of rode are 

 often raised from the bottom of the sea, in which 

 little animals make their habitations. 



As the boundless extent of the sea, and its 

 majestic movement, fill the mind with delight, as- 

 tonishment, and awe, so in the dark, its luminous 

 appearance is inexpressibly grand. Very often 

 the sea, as far as the eye can reach, seems to be on 

 fire. This wonderful appearance is produced by 

 very small animals, scarcely so big as a pin's head, 

 with an extremely delicate, transparent, jelly-like 

 body, mixed with others, called Medusas and Sea- 

 nettles, which emit light from their long feelers, 

 while their bodies remain quite dark. 



The saltness of the sea water renders it less liable 

 to freeze than other water. But the sea at both 



