INFLUENCE OF THE GULF STREAM UPON CLIMATES. 53 
again. He recognized them as the same, for he had never before 
seen any hke them ; and on both occasions he frequently hauled 
up buckets full and examined them. 
Now the Western Islands is the great place of resort for whales ; 
and at first there is something curious to us in the idea that the 
Gulf of Mexico is the harvest field, and the Gulf Stream the 
gleaner which collects the fruitage planted there, and conveys it 
thousands of miles off to the hungry whale at sea. But how per- 
fectly in unison is it with the kind and providential care of that 
great and good Being which feeds the young ravens when they 
cry, and caters for the sparrow ! 
66. The sea has its climates as well as the land. They both 
change with the latitude ; but one varies with the elevation above, 
the other with the depression below the sea level. Each is reg- 
ulated by circulation ; but the regulators are, on the one hand, 
winds ; on the other, currents. 
67. The inhabitants of the ocean are as much the creatures of 
climate as are those of the dry land ; for the same Almighty hand 
which decked the lily and cares for the sparrow, fashioned also the 
pearl and feeds the great whale. Whether of the land or the sea, 
they are all his creatures, subjects of his laws, and agents in his 
economy. The sea, therefore, we infer, has its offices and duties 
to perform ; so may we infer, have its currents, and so, too, its 
inhabitants ; consequently, he who undertakes to study its phe- 
nomena, must cease to regard it as a waste of waters. He must 
look upon it as a part of the exquisite machinery by which the 
harmonies of nature are preserved, and then he will begin to per- 
ceive the developments of order and the evidences of design which 
make it a most beautiful and interesting subject for contemplation. 
68. To one who has never studied the mechanism of a watch, 
its main-spring or the balance-wheel is a mere piece of metal. 
He may have looked at the face of . the watch, and, while he ad- 
mires the motion of its hands, and the time it keeps, or the tune it 
plays, he may have wondered in idle amazement as to the char- 
acter of the machinery which is concealed within. Take it to 
pieces, and show him each part separately ; he will recognize 
neither design, nor adaptation, nor relation between them ; but 
put them together, set them to work, point out the offices of each 
spring, wheel, and cog, explain their movements, and then show 
