Page:Physical Geography of the Sea and its Meteorology.djvu/387

Rh region make the sunset so enchanting. The dark-blue water, in which many and strange kinds of echinas sport in the sunlight, and, when seen at a distance, make the sea appear like one vast field adorned with flowers; the regular swellings of the waves with their silvery foam, through which the flying-fishes flutter; the beautifully-coloured dolphins; the diving schools of tunnies—all these banish afar the monotony of the sea, awake the love of life in the youthful seaman, and attune his heart to goodness. Everything around him fixes his attention and increases his astonishment.

675. Sailing through the trade-wind.—"If all the breathings out of heartfelt emotion which the contemplation of nature forces from the sailor were recorded in the log-books, how much farther should we be advanced in the knowledge of the natural state of the sea! Once wandering over the ocean, he begins to be impressed by the grand natural tableau around him with feelings deep and abiding. The most splendid forecastle is lost in the viewless surface, and brings home to us the knowledge of our nothingness; the greatest ship is a plaything for the billows, and the slender keel seems to threaten our existence every moment. But when the eye of the mind is permitted to wander through space and into the depths of the ocean, and is able to form a conception of Infinity and of Omnipotence, then it knows no danger; it is elevated—it comprehends itself. The distances of the heavenly bodies are correctly estimated; and, enlightened by astronomy, with the aid of the art of navigation, of which Maury's Wind and Current Charts form an important part, the shipmaster marks out his way over the ocean just as securely as any one can over an extended heath. He directs his course towards the Cape Verde Islands, and is carried there by the lively trade-wind. Yet beyond the islands, sooner or later, according to the month, the clear skies begin to be clouded, the trade-wind abates and becomes unsteady, the clouds heap up, the thunder is heard, heavy rains fall; finally, the stillness is death-like, and we have entered the belt of calms. This belt moves towards the north from May to September. It is a remarkable phenomenon that the annual movements of the trades and calm belts from south to north, and back again, do not directly follow the sun in its