CHARLES. "I am very glad _that_ is not my creed, for I should not at all enjoy life with the continual idea of wicked spirits hovering in the air around me. They might as reasonably believe in ghosts." MRS. WILTON. "In the Indian and China Seas, and in many other parts of the great tropical belt, the periodical winds called 'monsoons' are found. The south-west monsoon prevails from April to October, between the equator and the tropic of Cancer: and it reaches from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of India, China, and the Philippine Islands. Its influence extends sometimes into the Pacific Ocean, as far as the Marcian Isles, or to longitude about 145º east; and it reaches as far north as the Japan Islands. The north-east monsoon prevails from October to May, throughout nearly the same space, that the south-west monsoon prevails in during the former season. But the monsoons are subject to great obstructions by land; and in contracted places, such as Malacca Straits, they are changed into variable winds. Their limits are not everywhere the same; nor do they always shift exactly at the same period, but they are generally calculated upon about the times I have mentioned." EMMA. "Mamma, are not trade-winds something like monsoons?" MRS. WILTON. "So far similar that they are confined to a certain region, and are tolerably regular in their operations. The trade-winds blow, more or less, from the eastern half of the compass to the western. Their chief region lies between the tropics from 23-1/2º north to 23-1/2º south latitude, although in some parts of the world they extend farther; but it is only in the open parts of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that the true trade-winds blow. These winds shift many degrees of latitude in the course of the year; but skilful navigators usually know where to catch them, and make them serviceable in helping to blow their richly laden vessels 'o'er the glad waters of the bright blue sea.'" GEORGE. "Do you know the cause of these regular winds, papa? You say learned men try to discover _why_ such things are so, and generally find out _causes_ from their effects." MR. WILTON. "Exactly so, my boy; and learned _women_ do the same: as an instance, I will quote the learned Mrs. Somerville on this very subject, and give you an excellent reply to your question.