A BIRDS-EYE VIEW. 



29 



glances of fire ; the moonbeams find in it a pathway of silver, 

 where they dance to and fro, with the breezes and the waves, 

 through the livelong night. It has a light, too, of its own, — a 

 soft and sparkling light, rivaling the stars; and often does the 

 ship which cuts its surface leave streaming behind a Milky Way 

 of dim and uncertain lustre, like that which is shining dimly 

 above. It harmonizes in its forms and sounds both with the 

 night and the day. It cheerfully reflects the light, and it unites 

 solemnly with the darkness. It imparts sweetness to the music 

 of men, and grandeur to the thunder of heaven. What land- 

 scape is so beautiful as one upon the borders of the sea ? The 

 spirit of its loveliness is from the waters where it dwells au<d 

 rests, singing its spells and scattering its charms on all the 

 coasts. What rocks and cliffs are so glorious as those whii:;h 

 are washed by the chafing sea? What groves and fields and 

 dwellings are so enchanting as those which stand by the reflect- 

 ing sea ? 



"If we could see the great ocean as it can be seen by no 

 mortal eye, beholding at one view what we are now obliged to 

 visit in detail and spot by spot, — if we could, from a flight far 

 higher than the eagle's, view the immense surface of the deep 

 all spread out beneath us like a universal chart, — what an in- 

 finite variety such a scene would display ! Here a storm would 

 be raging, the thunder bursting, the waters boiling, and rain 

 and foam and fire all mingling together ; and here, next to this 

 scene of magnificent confusion, we should see the bright blue 

 waves glittering in the sun and clapping their hands for very 

 gladness. Here we should see a cluster of green islands set 

 like jewels in the bosom of the sea; and there we should see 

 broad shoals and gray rocks, fretting the billows and threaten- 

 ing the mariner. Here we should discern a ship propelled by 

 the steady wind of the tropics, and inhaling the almost visible 

 odors which diffuse themselves around the Spice Islands of the 

 East ; there we should behold a vessel piercing the cold barrier 



