Tia THE SEA 371 
extends far upwards towards the summit of 
the mountain. The surface forms an inclined 
plane of smooth unsullied snow, the beauty 
and brightness of which render it a con- 
spicuous landmark on that inhospitable shore. 
From the perpendicular face great masses of 
ice from time to time break away, 
Whose blocks of sapphire seem to mortal eye 
Hewn from cerulean quarries of the sky.? 
Field ice is comparatively flat, though it 
may be piled up perhaps as much as 950 feet. 
It is from glaciers that true icebergs, the 
beauty and brilliance of which Arctic tray- 
ellers are never tired of describing, take their 
origin. . ) 
The attempts to reach the North Pole have 
cost many valuable lives; Willoughby and 
Hudson, Behring and Franklin, and many 
other brave mariners; but yet there are few 
expeditions more popular than those to “ the 
Arctic,’ and we cannot but hope that it is 
still reserved for the British Navy after so 
many gallant attempts at.length to reach the 
North Pole. 
1 Montgomery. 
