THE TEMPERATURE 69 



her own law, Nature was really fulfilling 

 her design. The law that water when 

 frozen is expanded, and so floats, was in- 

 applicable to the phenomena under re- 

 view. All the contents of the watercourse, 

 those which were fluid and those which 

 were stable, were chilled below the freez- 

 ing-point ; and one of the contents might 

 almost as well as any other have been at 

 the bottom, or in the middle, or on the 

 top. 



All nature is but art unknown to thee, 



All chance direction which thou canst not see, 



until you look with care. The apparent 

 breach of the law was explained by the 

 consideration that the water, all of it 

 so cold that no part was heavier than 

 another, remained in motion only because 

 the necessity of falling a thousand feet in 

 five miles did not allow it to appear in its 

 true character, which was that of ice. 

 The secret was revealed whenever it had 

 something to rest behind, or to cling to : 

 as when it became frankly ice in the lee of 



