The advantages of the canal to the commerce of the world are very great. The old routes have been partially abandoned for the new one, and at present the movement of steamers through the canal averages more than a hundred a month each way, not to speak of sailing ships and smaller craft. The saving of distance by the canal may be shown by the following table. VIA CAPE OF VIA DISTANCE GOOD HOPE. SUEZ CANAL. SAVED. England to Bombay (nautical miles), 10,860 6,020 4,840 New York to Bombay, “ “ 11,520 7,920 3,600 St. Petersburg to Bombay, “ “ 11,610 6,770 4,840 Marseilles to Bombay, “ “ 10,560 4,620 5,940 IX. ADVENTURES OF DIVERS. GOING UNDER WATER.—PEARL DIVING.—COSTUME OF THE DIVERS.—HOW THEY DESCEND.—OBTAINING THE PEARL OYSTERS.—DIVING-BELLS.—HOW THEY ARE MADE.—ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.—ADVENTURES IN DIVING-BELLS.—SUBMARINE ARMOR.—ITS CONSTRUCTION AND USE.—A DIVER’S ADVENTURE.—A HORRIBLE SIGHT.—THE DIVER’S STORY.—A PEARL DIVER AND A SHARK.—A NARROW ESCAPE.—STRATEGY IN THE WATER.—PEARL DIVING.—PREPARATORY STEPS TO BE TAKEN.—PREPARING FOR THE SEVERE TASK.—TRAINING THE PAPOOSES IN MEXICO.—HOW TO AVOID SHARKS AND DOG-FISH.—THE WAYS THAT ARE DARK, AND THE TRICKS THAT ARE VAIN. To go under the water is pretty nearly as difficult as to go under the earth. Man is not made to live in the water, although he has been known to pass many hours there without touching land. A great many persons seem to have a dread of water in any shape. They rarely bathe, and never drink the liquid when they can obtain anything stronger. It frequently becomes necessary for men to go beneath the surface of the water, exploring the wrecks of ships, and searching for valuable things that are to be found with a varying quantity of fathoms above them. In the East Indies, and in South America, and other parts of the world, the primitive form of diving without any apparatus whatever has been popular for many hundreds of years. The pearl divers of the East are dressed in a costume somewhat resembling that of the famous Greek Slave, minus her fetters. The diver, when preparing to go below, arms himself with a pick, with which to break away the pearl oysters. He is provided with a stone weighing forty or fifty pounds, and attached to a rope several feet in length. Filling his lungs with air, he grasps the rope in his hand, and then jumps from the side of the boat into the water. The weight of the stone carries him down. When he reaches the bottom, he detaches the oysters from the rocks, places them in a bag at his side, and then rises with his prize to the surface. Ordinarily he does not remain more than a minute, or a minute and a half, below the surface, though instances have been known of pearl divers who would remain as long as four or five minutes under the water.