the sea.

The sea is the real birthplace of the clouds and the rivers, and out of
it come all the rains and dews of heaven. Instead of being a waste and
an incumbrance, therefore, it is a vast fountain of fruitfulness, and
the nurse and mother of all the living. Out of its mighty breast come
the resources that feed and support the population of the world. We
are surrounded by the presence and bounty of the sea.

It is the sea that feeds us. It is the sea that clothes us. It cools
us with the summer cloud, and warms us with the blazing fires of
winter. We make wealth for ourselves and for our children out of its
rolling waters, though we may live a thousand leagues away from its
shore. Thus the sea, though it bears no harvest on its bosom, yet
sustains all the harvest of the world. If like a desert itself, it
makes all the other wildernesses of the earth to bud and blossom as the
rose. Though its own waters are as salt and wormwood, it makes the
clouds of heaven drop with sweetness.

The sea is a perpetual source of health to the world. Without it there
could be no drainage for the lands. It is the scavenger of the world.
The sea is also set to purify the atmosphere. Thus the sea, instead of
being a waste of waters, is the very fountain of life, health and
beauty.

LESSON LIV

WONDERLAND

Many of you have read of the remarkable geysers of Iceland and the more
remarkable ones in New Zealand, of grand canons in Arizona, of deep
mountain gorges in Colorado, of stupendous falls in Africa, of lofty
mountains covered with snow in Europe, of elevated lakes in South
America, of natural bridges in Virginia; but who has ever conceived of
having all these wonders in one spot of the earth, and forever free as
a great National Park, visited each summer by thousands of native and
foreign travelers?

Travelers report that this corner of the earth seems to be not quite
finished by the great Creator. Through all this region volcanic action
has been exceedingly vigorous. The effect of fire upon the rocks is
plainly visible and widely spread. Whole mountains of volcanic rock
exist. Floods of lava everywhere abound. The last feeble evidence of
this gigantic force is to be seen in the hot springs on Gardiner River
and on many other streams, and in the strange action of the geyser
basins.

There are sixteen important geysers in this section, and innumerable
inferior ones. One geyser is called the "Giantess.