You will remind me of the
experiment of that illustrious philosopher who measured the velocity of
a great storm by a flight of small feathers. My dear madam, I grant all
your propositions--"
"I beg your pardon, sir," said Mrs. Lecount; "you kindly attribute to
me a knowledge that I don't possess. Propositions, I regret to say, are
quite beyond me."
"Don't misunderstand me, ma'am," continued the captain, politely
unconscious of the interruption. "My remarks apply to the temperate zone
only. Place me on the coasts beyond the tropics--place me where the wind
blows toward the shore in the day-time, and toward the sea by night--and
I instantly advance toward conclusive experiments. For example, I know
that the heat of the sun during the day rarefies the air over the land,
and so causes the wind. You challenge me to prove it. I escort you down
the kitchen stairs (with your kind permission); take my largest pie-dish
out of the cook's hands; I fill it with cold water. Good! that dish of
cold water represents the ocean. I next provide myself with one of our
most precious domestic conveniences, a hot-water plate; I fill it with
hot water and I put it in the middle of the pie-dish.
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