COt HUMAN FIGURE IN ICE. 



which commenced on the llth, the figure of a man W3S ob- 

 served on the surface of the ice, and upon the event being 

 communicated to several gentlemen in the neighbourhood, they 

 visited the spot, and examined the circumstances most likely to 

 indicate the cause, and its mode of operation. 

 fcy* The pond shelves gradually down from its border to its centre, 



litv. Tut- ice where the depth is about five feet, and the water is discoloured 



of Ae figure of a reddish brown, by a strong impregnation from an 

 was Hear, ,. . . , . . . , , . . . _ , . 



hard, and adjoining dung mixen which drains into it: of this 



transparent, colour also was the ice upon the pond, excepting that which 

 brown, soft composed the figure. This appeared black and was very clear 

 and impure, like the purest water, the discoloured water being visible 

 through it j the ice of the figure was extremely slippery 

 and hard, while the rest of the ice was comparatively crumbly 

 Snow on the and soft. It must also be observed, that a slight fall of snow 

 pot 'on the ^ad covered it all, with the exception of the figure, which 

 figare. by that means became strikingly defined. But at the com- 



mencement of the frost, three days before, the snow was 

 seen uniformly covering the whole pond. An opake line 

 surrounded the figure, consisting of ice different in appear- 

 ance from the rest, and whiter. Fig. 2. plate vi. represent* 

 aris oi the ice which were taken out of the pond in three 

 The ice was pieces, and laid upon the grass near its bank The body of 



tl™body o"tne tlie man was l (,osened irom ,ne mud at tne bottom of the 



inan taken up. pond' by a pitch-fork, and rose at once head foremost with the 



hat on. It was quite stiff and showed no signs of putrefaction. 



One of the arms was bent, the hand being inserted under a 



round Sussex frock he had on ; one of the feet pointed upwards, 



The figure and the other down, and the legs were straight. The figure 



corresponded on t [ ie ice corresponded with the outline of the body excepting 

 m situation , f 4 • , ' , 



with that of t! at the head in the former was terminated abruptly by a 



the body,— ]; ne answering to the bottom of the hat. There did not appear 

 whichhadnot ° , . , , , . , , ., . 



before risen. an y reason to suppose the body had risen beneath the ice $ 



not only because it was discovered fast in the mud, but because 



the ice was quite flat on both sides, and of the same uniform 



thickness, namely eight inches. When the ice was held up 



to the light, the difference of its quality was very singular, 



the figure being clear and transparent, though greenish, and 



the other part foul and obscore like the water of the pond : 



The man's head lay: towards the south-east as was aiso that 



of 



