122 GRAND ASPECT OF SURF. 



was not wholly expended, two or three heavy lines 

 of ripple continually traversing the reef, and break- 

 ing here and there against the knobs and blocks of 

 coral, that rose higher than usual. There was a 

 simple grandeur and display of power and beauty in 

 this scene, as viewed from the forecastle of the 

 wreck (about thirty feet above the water), that rose 

 even to sublimity. The unbroken roar of the surf, 

 with its regular pulsation of thunder, as each suc- 

 ceeding swell first fell on the outer edge of the reef, 

 was almost deafening, yet so deep- toned as not to 

 interfere with the slightest nearer and sharpi r 

 sound, or oblige us to raise our voices in the least. 

 Both the sound and the sight were such as to impress 

 the mind of the spectator- with the consciousness 

 of standing in the presence of an overwhelming 

 majesty and power, while his senses were delighted 

 bv the contrast of beautiful colours afforded bv the 

 deep blue of the ocean, the dazzling white of the 

 surf, and the bright green of the shoal water on the 

 reef. 



The reef, when closely examined, appeared to 

 consist of a sandy floor, on which were thickly-clus- 

 tered clumps of coral, scattered closely but irregu- 

 larly about it. The corals appeared principally 

 rounded masses of astraea and maeandrina, covered 

 with their green-coloured animals in a state of 

 expansion; there were, however, many finger-shaped 

 madrepores of beautiful purple colours, and leaf-like 

 expansions of explanaria and other branching corals. 



