Yea, foolish mortals, Noah's flood is not yet subsided; two thirds of the fair world it yet covers.
Panting and snorting like a mad battle steed that has lost its rider, the masterless ocean overruns the globe.
These are the times of dreamy quietude, when beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.
