A NARROW ESCAPE. 



677 



and inducing an intense desire to sleep. This lie could over- 

 come only by a resolute effort of his will. Meanwhile his 

 tugging at his wrists had been successful ; the air had escaped 

 and lessened his bulk. With the energy of despair he makes 

 one more supreme effort. It is successful, and he was drawn 

 to the surface dazed, drowsy and only half conscious of the 

 peril he had undergone. 



These instances, however, are exceptional, and arose only 

 from their peculiar conditions. At other times there is a 

 pleasure in diving, thus protected ; and the divers consider it, 

 as it is, the only true way to visit the submarine world. 

 The first sensation in descending is the sudden, bursting roar 

 of cascades in the ears, caused by the air driven into the hel- 

 met from the air-pump. As the flexible hose has to be strong 

 enough to bear a pressure of twenty-five to fifty pounds to the 

 square inch, the force of the current can be estimated. The 

 drum of the ear yields to the strong external pressure. The 

 mouth opens involuntarily, the air rushes in the eustachian 

 tube and strikes the drum, which snaps back to its normal 

 state with a sharp, pistol-like crack. The strain is for a mo- 

 ment relieved, to be again renewed, and again relieved by the 

 same process. 



Peering through the goggle eyes of glass arranged about 

 his helmet, the diver sees the curious, strange beauty of the 

 world about him, not as the bather sees it, blurred and indis- 

 tinct, but clearly, and in its own calm splendor. The first 

 thought is unspeakable admiration of the miraculous beauty 

 of everything about him. Above him is a pure golden can- 

 opy, with a rare glimmering lustrousness, something like 

 the soft, dewy, effulgence which is seen when the sun-light 

 breaks through an afternoon's shower. The soft delicacy of 

 that pure straw yellow, which prevades everything, is crossed 

 and lighted by tints and glimmering hues of accidental and 

 complementary colors, which are indescribably elegant. The 



