218. The Ram Ironsides 685 219. Torpedo Explosion 687 220. Life Raft 691 221. Ocean Yacht Race, _Henrietta_, _Vesta_ and _Fleetwing_ 694 222. Fancy Sail Race 695 223. Appearance of Ice at the Poles 710 224. Light Ship 711 225. A Coral Island 712 [Illustration: ASIATIC DELUGE.] [Illustration: THE HAND OF SATAN UPON THE SEA OF DARKNESS.] Section I. FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA. CHAPTER I. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK--THE OCEAN IN THE SCRIPTURAL PERIOD--THE MARVELS OF THE SEA--THE CLASSIC LEGENDS--THE FANTASTIC NOTIONS ENTERTAINED OF THE NORTH AND THE EQUATOR--THE GIANT OF THE CANARIES--THE SEA OF SEA-WEED--THE SPECTRE OF THE CAPE--THE GRADUAL SURRENDER OF THE SECRETS OF THE SEA--IT BECOMES THE HIGHWAY OF NATIONS--ITS PRESENT ASPECT--ITS POETICAL SIGNIFICANCE--ITS MORAL LESSONS. A history of the ocean from the Flood to the Atlantic Telegraph, with a parallel sketch of ship-building from the Ark to the Iron Clad; a narrative of the rise of commerce, from the days when Solomon's ships traded with Ophir, to the time when the steam whistle is heard on every open sea; a consecutive chronicle of the progress of navigation, from the day when the timid mariner hugged the coast by day and prudently cast anchor by night, to the time when the steamship, apparently endowed with reason, or at least guided by instinct, seems almost to dispense with the aid of man,--such a theme seems to offer topics of interest which it would be difficult to find in any other subject. The reader will readily perceive its scope when we have briefly rehearsed what the sea once was to man, and what it now is,--the purpose of the work being to narrate how from the one it has become the other.