AECTIC FLOEA, AND GRAVES. 523 



humile (Willd.). Sucli blossoming splendour we had not 

 yet seen in Greenland, and for the moment forgot that we 

 were in the far North ; we had already known the plant 

 in Germaniaberg and Klein Pendulum, but there it was 

 nothing to this luxuriance ! The vigorous pinnate leaves 

 were more than half a foot long, the blossom the bulk 

 of a good-sized apple, and on this the flowers were 

 crowded of the clearest and most lovely blue, and at 

 some considerable distance we could smell the aromatic 

 perfume of its leaves. 



The south-easterly projection of the Cape rose in steep 

 low cliffs sheer fi^om the water, so that we were forced 

 to climb and go along the ridge. Here was plentiful 

 vegetation, but nothing new. We also came upon some 

 tent-rings and some rectangular graves, most carefully 

 built, which had evidently never been opened ; indeed, 

 these traces of the natives must have been very ancient. 

 We should have liked to open the graves, and many 

 sitting at home in a warm room may think it inexcusable 

 that we did not do so ; but our head-quarters were our 

 end and aim, and the sky warned us not to delay our 

 march. It was possible that we might have both rain 

 and fog, neither of which would conduce to the success 

 of our enterprise, nor to the march over these unknown 

 mountains ; so we hurried on down the hills to the shore. 

 Here we had a fine glimpse of the mainland with its blue 

 heights, though far more imposing were the steep moun- 

 tains of Jordan Hill Island which rose before us. A 

 small rocky point projecting into the water was inte- 

 resting from the statue-like form which the basalt had 

 assumed. The inaccessible heads of the most isolated 

 columns offered a favourable breeding spot for many 



