Their few successes, however, have the
effect with weak minds of inspiring confidence, in defiance of the
failures which they do not take the trouble to observe."
"At what rate does the wind travel?"
"The speed of the wind is very variable; when it is scarcely felt, the
velocity does not exceed a foot a second; but it is far otherwise in
the cases of hurricanes and tornados, that sweep away trees and
houses.
"And sink his Majesty's ships," observed Willis.
"In those cases the wind sometimes reaches the velocity of forty-five
yards in a second, or about forty leagues in an hour."
"Therefore," remarked Jack, "the wind is a blessing that could very
well be dispensed with."
"Your conclusions, Jack, do not always do credit to your
understanding. The wind re-establishes the equilibrium of the
temperature, and purifies the air by dispersing in the mass
exhalations that would be pernicious if they remained in one spot; it
clears away miasma, it dissipates the smoke of towns, it waters some
countries by driving clouds to them, it condenses vapor on the frozen
summits of mountains, and converts it into rivers that cover the land
with fruitfulness."
"It likewise fills the sails of ships and creates pilots," observed
Willis.
"And brings about shipwrecks," remarked Jack.
"It conveys the pollen of flowers, and, as I had occasion to state the
other day, sows the seeds of Nature's fields and forests.
Pages:
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98