186 STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST. 



caverns of the shore, and in the dark mysterious abysses 

 of the ocean itself, has fancy always delighted to pic- 

 ture the residences of supernatural beings, — some of 

 whom are appointed to guard the seaman, in his peril- 

 ous course ; while others, inhabiting some green sum- 

 mer isle, are employed in tempting the voyager to turn 

 aside from his destination, to seek dangerous pleasures 

 among its fruitful fields. 



The sublimity of the ocean, whether we behold it 

 from the shore, or from midwaters, has always been the 

 delight of those who take pleasure in lofty conceptions. 

 Here is the boundless expanse of the ocean on one side, 

 allied with our ideas of infinity, and awaking senti- 

 ments of grandeur and melancholy ; and on the other, 

 green banks adorned with groves and shrubbery, and 

 fringed with thousands of plants peculiar to the situa- 

 tion. Scenes of beauty and pastoral delight, being 

 thus placed in opposition to this wide waste of waters, 

 affect with a double charm both the eye and the mind. 

 The sea-shore is a spot that has ever been sacred to 

 musing. The contemplative man finds in its solitude 

 a pleasant companionship with the whispering wave, 

 and with the echoes that have ever dwelt in its clefts 

 and dingles. The dashing of waves has a deep solem- 

 nity of expression, unlike any other sound in nature, as 

 they come with a loud weltering upon the strand, and 

 then slide back, with a diminishing sound, and a thou- 

 sand rippling notes among the pebbles. After being 

 disturbed by a tempest, the ocean seems to convey in 

 its sullen roar, a dim suggestion of the perils of the 

 deep, and of the sufferings of those who have encoun- 

 tered shipwreck upon its merciless bosom. 



In connection with these sights and sounds, certain 

 fancies will come to the mind while musing by the sea- 



