388 A VOYAGE IN THE NORTH SEAS. 



came to a narrower part of the channel, which was there not above 

 five or six miles across ; and, finding that the ice had totally dis- 

 appeared, they closed in with the land, looking anxiously for some 

 creek, by which they might reach the beach without danger from the 

 shoals that guarded it. Presently, rounding a rocky promontory, they 

 reached the wished-for spot, and beheld a scene more gay and delight- 

 ful than they had thought it possible these inhospitable regions could 

 present. A deep bay, or cove, the waters of which were as smooth 

 as a mirror, lay inclosed on each side by high rocks, while, from the 

 edge of the graceful curve which it formed on the shore, the land, 

 covered with grass and mosses, sloped upwards with an agreeable 

 acclivity. A considerable stream, the noise of whose waters they 

 had for some time heard, formed a picturesque fall down rocks 

 fringed with flowers of the most beautiful tints ; and, on the other side, 

 an ice-cliff, the growth perhaps of a century, shone in the sunbeams 

 as if the whole mass with its fantastic pinnacles and fret- work had 

 been carved out of one solid diamond. Here and there the black 

 rocks jutted out, and contrasted strongly with the irregular icy 

 masses which were imbedded in their cavities, giving to the whole 

 the singular appearance of waterfalls, arrested in their course by 

 the genius of frost, and now wearing the similitude of what Cole- 

 ridge calls " Motionless torrents ! silent cataracts ! " 



With a cry of joy, Flora and Arundel hastened to the land ; and 

 embracing each other, they kneeled down, and devoutly poured 

 forth their gratitude to Him whose are " the treasures of darkness 

 and the hidden riches of secret places." 



After their long imprisonment in the boat, the very treading on 

 the land communicated the most delightful feeling of freedom to 

 their frames ; and, as they walked on to enjoy their delicious sensa- 

 tions, they felt 



" The common sun, the air, the skies, 

 To them were opening Paradise." 



They had rambled a few hundred yards from the boat, when they 

 saw, at a little distance, something which seemed like the ruined 

 walls of two or three huts, erected on a level part of the ascent. 

 They eagerly advanced, hoping to discover traces of the inhabitants, 

 who might assist them in devising some scheme of returning to their 

 native land. A small troop of deer, that had apparently been re- 

 posing in the shade behind the low walls, sprang up at their ap- 

 proach, and, after trotting off to the distance of a few yards, turned 

 round and gazed quietly at the intruders. They had clearly never 

 felt the tyranny of man, or been taught to shun him; but now looked 

 at his image as before the curse. Within the inclosure there were 

 the remains of hollow structures like bee-hives, which the Esquimaux 

 Indians use for stores. Two or three broken bone-headed arrows, 

 a few other worn-out implements, and some small figures, which 

 might possibly have been the household gods of the former dwellers, 

 lay about the ruins ; and a number of short pieces of whalebone, 

 which had probably at one time formed part of the roof, had been 

 deposited in a corner. When he found that the ruined huts were 



