160 UPSET OF AN ICEBERG. 



crystal vaults, which sometimes appear of a 

 deep ultramarine blue, and at others of an 

 emerald green colour; they look as if they 

 were the fitting abodes of mermaids and 

 all sorts of sea-monsters, but practically no 

 animal ever goes into them ; the water dash 

 ing in and out through these icy caves and 

 tunnels makes a sonorous but rather mono 

 tonous and melancholy sound. In moderately 

 calm weather, many of these excavated bergs 

 assume the form of gigantic mushrooms, and 

 all sorts of other fantastic shapes ; but directly 

 a breeze of wind conies they break up into 

 little pieces with great rapidity. 



Christian and myself very nearly got a 

 dangerous ducking yesterday from the sudden 

 break-up of a large iceberg on which we were 

 standing to look out with the telescopes ; a 

 large piece of it suddenly, and without the 

 least warning, became detached under water, 

 and the berg, in consequence, losing its equili 

 brium, began to rock so violently, that we had 

 some difficulty in scrambling down again to 

 the boat ; immediately after we had got off 

 it, the berg capsised altogether with a tre 

 mendous noise and splash, breaking up into 

 half a dozen pieces as it did so. 



