it is an opiate, and unlocks for us new states of 

 mind in which we wander, as in halls of alabaster 

 and mother-of-pearl, but where, alas, we may not 

 linger. We can as readily sound the ocean as 

 fathom the feelings it inspires. It is too deep for 

 thought. As often as the sea speaks to us of the 

 birth of Venus and of Joy, so also does it remind 

 of Prometheus bound and the thrall of Nature. 



Who can recall those impressions of the sea 

 which were his as a child — a relish, a vividness, 

 perhaps never experienced in after life? What 

 wonderful thing was the pure white sand; what 

 fascinating objed:s the sea-shells — and the boom 

 of the surf, what thrilling music ! No longer is it 

 that simple strain, but inwrought with hopes and 

 fears and memories. The children on the beach 

 play in an ocean of their own ; we cannot put foot 

 on their shore, try as we will. Sometimes, as the 

 salty fragrance is wafted over the sands, one is on 

 the point of regaining that lost consciousness, and 

 then it eludes and is gone. Never again shall we 

 find that alluring and altogether wonderful sea 

 upon which we happened in childhood. Yet who 

 knows but in some auspicious moment we may 

 come upon one still more entrancing. 



197 



