The Ocean and its Wonders

The Ocean and its Wonders, by
R.M. Ballantyne

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Title: The Ocean and its Wonders
Author: R.M. Ballantyne
Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21754]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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OCEAN AND ITS WONDERS ***

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THE OCEAN AND ITS WONDERS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.
CHAPTER ONE.
WHAT THE OCEAN HAS TO SAY--ITS WHISPERS--ITS

THUNDERS--ITS SECRETS.
There is a voice in the waters of the great sea. It calls to man
continually. Sometimes it thunders in the tempest, when the waves leap
high and strong and the wild winds shriek and roar, as if to force our
attention. Sometimes it whispers in the calm, and comes rippling on the
shingly beach in a still, small voice, as if to solicit our regard. But
whether that voice of ocean comes in crashing billows or in gentle
murmurs, it has but one tale to tell,--it speaks of the love, and power,
and majesty of Him who rides upon the storm, and rules the wave.
Yes, the voice of ocean tells but one tale; yet there are many chapters in
that wonderful story. The sea has much to say; far more than could
possibly be comprehended in one volume, however large. It tells us of
the doings of man on its broad bosom, from the day in which he first
ventured to paddle along shore in the hollow trunk of a tree, to the day
when he launched his great iron ship of 20,000 tons, and rushed out to
sea, against wind and tide, under an impulse equal to the united
strength of 11,500 horses. No small portion of the ocean's tale this,
comprising many chapters of deeds of daring, blood, villainy, heroism,
and enterprise. But with this portion of its story we have nothing to do
just now. It tells us, also, of God's myriad and multiform creatures, that
dwell in its depths, from the vast whale, whose speed is so great, that it
might, if it chose, circle round the world in a few days, to the languid
zoophyte, which clings to the rock, and bears more resemblance to a
plant than to a living animal.
The sea has secrets, too, some of which it will not divulge until that day
when its Creator shall command it to give up its dead; while others it is
willing to part with to those who question it closely, patiently, and with
intelligence.
Among the former kind of secrets are those foul deeds that have been
perpetrated, in all ages, by abandoned men; when no human ears
listened to the stifled shriek, or the gurgling plunge; when no human
eyes beheld the murderous acts, the bloody decks, the blazing vessels,
or the final hiss of the sinking wrecks.

Among the latter kind of secrets are the lives and habits of the creatures
of the deep, and the causes and effects of those singular currents of air
and water, which, to the eye of ignorance, seem to be nothing better
than irregularity and confusion; but which, to the minds of those who
search them out, and have pleasure therein, are recognised as a part of
that wonderful, orderly, and systematic arrangement of things that we
call Nature: much of which we now know, more of which we shall
certainly know, as each day and year adds its quota to the sum of
human knowledge; but a great deal of which will, doubtless, remain for
ever hidden in the mind of nature's God, whose ways are wonderful,
and past finding out. It is the latter class of secrets to which we purpose
directing the readers attention in the following pages.
On approaching so vast a subject, we feel like the traveller who, finding
himself suddenly transported into the midst of a new and magnificent
region, stands undecided whither to direct his steps in the endlessly
varied scene. Or, still more, like the visitor to our great International
Exhibition of 1862, who,--entering abruptly that gigantic palace, where
were represented the talent, the ingenuity, time wealth, and industry of
every people and clime,--attempts, in vain, to systematise his
explorations, or to fix his attention. It is probable that, in each of these
supposed cases, the traveller and visitor, resigning the desire to achieve
what is impossible, would give themselves up to the agreeable
guidance of a wandering and wayward fancy.
Let us, reader, act in a somewhat