212 HISTORY Of 



inside of churches, with arches, pillars, and Win- 

 dows ; and the blue coloured rays darting from 

 within, presented the resemblance of a glory. 



If we inquire into the origin and formation of 

 these, which, as we see, are very different from 

 the former, I think we have a very satisfactory 

 account of them in Crantz's History of Green- 

 land j and I will take leave to give the passage, 

 with a very few alterations, " These mountains 

 of ice," says he, " are not salt, like the sea water, 

 but sweet ; and therefore can be formed nowhere 

 except on the mountains, in rivers, in caverns, and 

 against the hills near the sea-shore. The moun- 

 tains of Greenland are so high, that the snow 

 which falls upon them, particularly on the north 

 side, is, in one night's time, wholly converted 

 into ice : they also contain clefts and cavities, 

 where the sun seldom or never injects his rays : 

 besides these, are projections, or landing-places, 

 on the declivities of the steepest hills, where the 

 rain and snow water lodge, and quickly congeal. 

 When now the accumulated flakes of snow slide 

 down, or fall with the. rain from the eminences 

 above on these prominences ; or, when here and 

 there a mountain-spring comes rolling down to 

 such a lodging-place, where the ice has already 

 seated itself, they all freeze, and add their tribute 

 to it. This, by degrees, waxes to a body of ice, 

 that can no more be overpowered by the sun j and 

 which, though it may indeed, at certain seasons, 

 diminish by a thaw, yet, upon the whole, through 

 annual acquisitions, it assumes an annual growth. 

 Such a body of ice is often prominent far over 



