Easily，withafewconvulsivequirks，theygiveuptheirwateryghosts，likeamortaltranslatedbeforehistimetothethinairofheaven。
　　AsIwasdesiroustorecoverthelonglostbottomofWaldenPond，Isurveyeditcarefully，beforetheicebrokeup，earlyin’46，withcompassandchainandsoundingline。Therehavebeenmanystoriestoldaboutthebottom，orrathernobottom，ofthispond，whichcertainlyhadnofoundationforthemselves。Itisremarkablehowlongmenwillbelieveinthebottomlessnessofapondwithouttakingthetroubletosoundit。IhavevisitedtwosuchBottomlessPondsinonewalkinthisneighborhood。ManyhavebelievedthatWaldenreachedquitethroughtotheothersideoftheglobe。Somewhohavelainflatontheiceforalongtime，lookingdownthroughtheillusivemedium，perchancewithwateryeyesintothebargain，anddriventohastyconclusionsbythefearofcatchingcoldintheirbreasts，haveseenvastholes“intowhichaloadofhaymightbedriven，“iftherewereanybodytodriveit，theundoubtedsourceoftheStyxandentrancetotheInfernalRegionsfromtheseparts。
　　Othershavegonedownfromthevillagewitha“fifty-six“andawagonloadofinchrope，butyethavefailedtofindanybottom；forwhilethe“fifty-six“wasrestingbytheway，theywerepayingouttheropeinthevainattempttofathomtheirtrulyimmeasurablecapacityformarvellousness。ButIcanassuremyreadersthatWaldenhasareasonablytightbottomatanotunreasonable，thoughatanunusual，depth。Ifathomediteasilywithacod-lineandastoneweighingaboutapoundandahalf，andcouldtellaccuratelywhenthestoneleftthebottom，byhavingtopullsomuchharderbeforethewatergotunderneathtohelpme。Thegreatestdepthwasexactlyonehundredandtwofeet；towhichmaybeaddedthefivefeetwhichithasrisensince，makingonehundredandseven。Thisisaremarkabledepthforsosmallanarea；yetnotaninchofitcanbesparedbytheimagination。Whatifallpondswereshallow？
　　Woulditnotreactonthemindsofmen？Iamthankfulthatthispondwasmadedeepandpureforasymbol。Whilemenbelieveintheinfinitesomepondswillbethoughttobebottomless。
　　Afactory-owner，hearingwhatdepthIhadfound，thoughtthatitcouldnotbetrue，for，judgingfromhisacquaintancewithdams，sandwouldnotlieatsosteepanangle。Butthedeepestpondsarenotsodeepinproportiontotheirareaasmostsuppose，and，ifdrained，wouldnotleaveveryremarkablevalleys。Theyarenotlikecupsbetweenthehills；forthisone，whichissounusuallydeepforitsarea，appearsinaverticalsectionthroughitscentrenotdeeperthanashallowplate。Mostponds，emptied，wouldleaveameadownomorehollowthanwefrequentlysee。WilliamGilpin，whoissoadmirableinallthatrelatestolandscapes，andusuallysocorrect，standingattheheadofLochFyne，inScotland，whichhedescribesas“abayofsaltwater，sixtyorseventyfathomsdeep，fourmilesinbreadth，“andaboutfiftymileslong，surroundedbymountains，observes，“Ifwecouldhaveseenitimmediatelyafterthediluviancrash，orwhateverconvulsionofnatureoccasionedit，beforethewatersgushedin，whatahorridchasmmustithaveappeared！
　　“Sohighasheavedthetumidhills，solowDownsunkahollowbottombroadanddeep，Capaciousbedofwaters。“
　　Butif，usingtheshortestdiameterofLochFyne，weapplytheseproportionstoWalden，which，aswehaveseen，appearsalreadyinaverticalsectiononlylikeashallowplate，itwillappearfourtimesasshallow。SomuchfortheincreasedhorrorsofthechasmofLochFynewhenemptied。Nodoubtmanyasmilingvalleywithitsstretchingcornfieldsoccupiesexactlysucha“horridchasm，“fromwhichthewatershavereceded，thoughitrequirestheinsightandthefarsightofthegeologisttoconvincetheunsuspectinginhabitantsofthisfact。Oftenaninquisitiveeyemaydetecttheshoresofaprimitivelakeinthelowhorizonhills，andnosubsequentelevationoftheplainhavebeennecessarytoconcealtheirhistory。Butitiseasiest，astheywhoworkonthehighwaysknow，tofindthehollowsbythepuddlesafterashower。Theamountofitis，theimaginationgiveittheleastlicense，divesdeeperandsoarshigherthanNaturegoes。So，probably，thedepthoftheoceanwillbefoundtobeveryinconsiderablecomparedwithitsbreadth。
　　AsIsoundedthroughtheiceIcoulddeterminetheshapeofthebottomwithgreateraccuracythanispossibleinsurveyingharborswhichdonotfreezeover，andIwassurprisedatitsgeneralregularity。Inthedeepestpartthereareseveralacresmorelevelthanalmostanyfieldwhichisexposedtothesun，wind，andplow。
　　Inoneinstance，onalinearbitrarilychosen，thedepthdidnotvarymorethanonefootinthirtyrods；andgenerally，nearthemiddle，Icouldcalculatethevariationforeachonehundredfeetinanydirectionbeforehandwithinthreeorfourinches。Someareaccustomedtospeakofdeepanddangerousholeseveninquietsandypondslikethis，buttheeffectofwaterunderthesecircumstancesistolevelallinequalities。Theregularityofthebottomanditsconformitytotheshoresandtherangeoftheneighboringhillsweresoperfectthatadistantpromontorybetrayeditselfinthesoundingsquiteacrossthepond，anditsdirectioncouldbedeterminedbyobservingtheoppositeshore。Capebecomesbar，andplainshoal，andvalleyandgorgedeepwaterandchannel。
　　WhenIhadmappedthepondbythescaleoftenrodstoaninch，andputdownthesoundings，morethanahundredinall，Iobservedthisremarkablecoincidence。Havingnoticedthatthenumberindicatingthegreatestdepthwasapparentlyinthecentreofthemap，Ilaidaruleonthemaplengthwise，andthenbreadthwise，andfound，tomysurprise，thatthelineofgreatestlengthintersectedthelineofgreatestbreadthexactlyatthepointofgreatestdepth，notwithstandingthatthemiddleissonearlylevel，theoutlineofthepondfarfromregular，andtheextremelengthandbreadthweregotbymeasuringintothecoves；andIsaidtomyself，Whoknowsbutthishintwouldconducttothedeepestpartoftheoceanaswellasofapondorpuddle？Isnotthistherulealsofortheheightofmountains，regardedastheoppositeofvalleys？Weknowthatahillisnothighestatitsnarrowestpart。
　　Offivecoves，three，orallwhichhadbeensounded，wereobservedtohaveabarquiteacrosstheirmouthsanddeeperwaterwithin，sothatthebaytendedtobeanexpansionofwaterwithinthelandnotonlyhorizontallybutvertically，andtoformabasinorindependentpond，thedirectionofthetwocapesshowingthecourseofthebar。Everyharboronthesea-coast，also，hasitsbaratitsentrance。Inproportionasthemouthofthecovewaswidercomparedwithitslength，thewateroverthebarwasdeepercomparedwiththatinthebasin。Given，then，thelengthandbreadthofthecove，andthecharacterofthesurroundingshore，andyouhavealmostelementsenoughtomakeoutaformulaforallcases。
　　InordertoseehownearlyIcouldguess，withthisexperience，atthedeepestpointinapond，byobservingtheoutlinesofasurfaceandthecharacterofitsshoresalone，ImadeaplanofWhitePond，whichcontainsaboutforty-oneacres，and，likethis，hasnoislandinit，noranyvisibleinletoroutlet；andasthelineofgreatestbreadthfellverynearthelineofleastbreadth，wheretwooppositecapesapproachedeachotherandtwooppositebaysreceded，Iventuredtomarkapointashortdistancefromthelatterline，butstillonthelineofgreatestlength，asthedeepest。Thedeepestpartwasfoundtobewithinonehundredfeetofthis，stillfartherinthedirectiontowhichIhadinclined，andwasonlyonefootdeeper，namely，sixtyfeet。Ofcourse，astreamrunningthrough，oranislandinthepond，wouldmaketheproblemmuchmorecomplicated。
　　IfweknewallthelawsofNature，weshouldneedonlyonefact，orthedescriptionofoneactualphenomenon，toinferalltheparticularresultsatthatpoint。Nowweknowonlyafewlaws，andourresultisvitiated，not，ofcourse，byanyconfusionorirregularityinNature，butbyourignoranceofessentialelementsinthecalculation。Ournotionsoflawandharmonyarecommonlyconfinedtothoseinstanceswhichwedetect；buttheharmonywhichresultsfromafargreaternumberofseeminglyconflicting，butreallyconcurring，laws，whichwehavenotdetected，isstillmorewonderful。Theparticularlawsareasourpointsofview，as，tothetraveller，amountainoutlinevarieswitheverystep，andithasaninfinitenumberofprofiles，thoughabsolutelybutoneform。
　　Evenwhencleftorboredthroughitisnotcomprehendedinitsentireness。
　　WhatIhaveobservedofthepondisnolesstrueinethics。Itisthelawofaverage。Sucharuleofthetwodiametersnotonlyguidesustowardthesuninthesystemandtheheartinman，butdrawslinesthroughthelengthandbreadthoftheaggregateofaman’sparticulardailybehaviorsandwavesoflifeintohiscovesandinlets，andwheretheyintersectwillbetheheightordepthofhischaracter。Perhapsweneedonlytoknowhowhisshorestrendandhisadjacentcountryorcircumstances，toinferhisdepthandconcealedbottom。Ifheissurroundedbymountainouscircumstances，anAchilleanshore，whosepeaksovershadowandarereflectedinhisbosom，theysuggestacorrespondingdepthinhim。Butalowandsmoothshoreproveshimshallowonthatside。Inourbodies，aboldprojectingbrowfallsofftoandindicatesacorrespondingdepthofthought。Alsothereisabaracrosstheentranceofoureverycove，orparticularinclination；eachisourharborforaseason，inwhichwearedetainedandpartiallyland-locked。Theseinclinationsarenotwhimsicalusually，buttheirform，size，anddirectionaredeterminedbythepromontoriesoftheshore，theancientaxesofelevation。Whenthisbarisgraduallyincreasedbystorms，tides，orcurrents，orthereisasubsidenceofthewaters，sothatitreachestothesurface，thatwhichwasatfirstbutaninclinationintheshoreinwhichathoughtwasharboredbecomesanindividuallake，cutofffromtheocean，whereinthethoughtsecuresitsownconditions——changes，perhaps，fromsalttofresh，becomesasweetsea，deadsea，oramarsh。Attheadventofeachindividualintothislife，maywenotsupposethatsuchabarhasrisentothesurfacesomewhere？Itistrue，wearesuchpoornavigatorsthatourthoughts，forthemostpart，standoffandonuponaharborlesscoast，areconversantonlywiththebightsofthebaysofpoesy，orsteerforthepublicportsofentry，andgointothedrydocksofscience，wheretheymerelyrefitforthisworld，andnonaturalcurrentsconcurtoindividualizethem。
　　AsfortheinletoroutletofWalden，Ihavenotdiscoveredanybutrainandsnowandevaporation，thoughperhaps，withathermometerandaline，suchplacesmaybefound，forwherethewaterflowsintotheponditwillprobablybecoldestinsummerandwarmestinwinter。Whentheice-menwereatworkherein’46-7，thecakessenttotheshorewereonedayrejectedbythosewhowerestackingthemupthere，notbeingthickenoughtoliesidebysidewiththerest；andthecuttersthusdiscoveredthattheiceoverasmallspacewastwoorthreeinchesthinnerthanelsewhere，whichmadethemthinkthattherewasaninletthere。Theyalsoshowedmeinanotherplacewhattheythoughtwasa“leach-hole，“throughwhichthepondleakedoutunderahillintoaneighboringmeadow，pushingmeoutonacakeoficetoseeit。Itwasasmallcavityundertenfeetofwater；butIthinkthatIcanwarrantthepondnottoneedsolderingtilltheyfindaworseleakthanthat。Onehassuggested，thatifsucha“leach-hole“shouldbefound，itsconnectionwiththemeadow，ifanyexisted，mightbeprovedbyconveyingsome，coloredpowderorsawdusttothemouthofthehole，andthenputtingastraineroverthespringinthemeadow，whichwouldcatchsomeoftheparticlescarriedthroughbythecurrent。
　　WhileIwassurveying，theice，whichwassixteeninchesthick，undulatedunderaslightwindlikewater。Itiswellknownthatalevelcannotbeusedonice。Atonerodfromtheshoreitsgreatestfluctuation，whenobservedbymeansofalevelonlanddirectedtowardagraduatedstaffontheice，wasthreequartersofaninch，thoughtheiceappearedfirmlyattachedtotheshore。Itwasprobablygreaterinthemiddle。Whoknowsbutifourinstrumentsweredelicateenoughwemightdetectanundulationinthecrustoftheearth？Whentwolegsofmylevelwereontheshoreandthethirdontheice，andthesightsweredirectedoverthelatter，ariseorfalloftheiceofanalmostinfinitesimalamountmadeadifferenceofseveralfeetonatreeacrossthepond。WhenIbegantocutholesforsoundingtherewerethreeorfourinchesofwaterontheiceunderadeepsnowwhichhadsunkitthusfar；butthewaterbeganimmediatelytorunintotheseholes，andcontinuedtorunfortwodaysindeepstreams，whichworeawaytheiceoneveryside，andcontributedessentially，ifnotmainly，todrythesurfaceofthepond；for，asthewaterranin，itraisedandfloatedtheice。Thiswassomewhatlikecuttingaholeinthebottomofashiptoletthewaterout。Whensuchholesfreeze，andarainsucceeds，andfinallyanewfreezingformsafreshsmoothiceoverall，itisbeautifullymottledinternallybydarkfigures，shapedsomewhatlikeaspider’sweb，whatyoumaycallicerosettes，producedbythechannelswornbythewaterflowingfromallsidestoacentre。