Whatever of beauty the sea possesses it owes primarily to the winds—to the free breath of heaven which sweeps joyously¹ over those vast lonely breadths, ruffling² them with tiniest ripples³ by its zephyrs⁵, and hurling⁶ them in headlong fury for thousands of miles by its hurricanes. It may be said that the term “ocean” cannot rightly be applied⁷ to winds at all, since they are common to the whole globe, and are not, like waves and currents, confined to the sea. But a little consideration will surely convince that it is just and right to speak of distinctive⁸ ocean winds which by contact with the great, pure plains of the sea acquire a character which a land wind never has or can have. In fact, it may be said with perfect truth that but for the health-bearing winds from the sea, landward folk would soon sicken and die, for our land winds are laden⁹ with disease germs, or, as in the mistral, the puña, the sirocco, and the simoom, to mention only a few of these terrible enemies to life, are still more deadly in their blasting effect upon mankind. From all these evil qualities ocean winds are free, and he who lives remote from the land, inhaling¹⁰ only their pure breath, knows truly what health is, feels the[261] blood dance joyously through his arteries¹¹, aerated¹² indeed.