120 



THE OCEAN. 



spires, like steeples ; sometimes taking the form of a 

 conical hill; sometimes that of an overhanging cliff, 

 of most threatening brow. I have seen some resemble 



Iceberg seen in Baffin's Bay. 



the form of a couching lion ; but, perhaps, the most 

 ordinary form is that of an irregular mass, higher at 

 one end than at the other. In the Arctic seas they 

 often present sharp edges and spiry points ; but in 

 their progress southward, the gradual influence of 

 climate smooths their unevenness, and gives their 

 surface a rounded outline. The action of the waves 

 on the portion beneath the surface, undermining the 

 sides and wearing away the projections, continually 

 alters the position of the centre of gravity; and 

 sometimes the effect of this is to cause the whole 

 gigantic mass to roll over with a thundering crash, 

 making the sea to boil into foam, and causing a swell 



