172 LETTERS TO MARCO xxvi 



tensity, its long continuance being its chief 

 peculiarity ; there were now and then slight 

 thaws, but never of length sufficient to break 

 up the ice in any way. The sight from our 

 house was most curious, the river being 

 turned into a regular highroad. 



The final thaw began on 2oth January, but 

 it took nearly a week to break up the ice on 

 the river entirely. The ice in front of our 

 house gave way in a remarkable manner. 

 At about 8.30 on the morning of the 24th 

 January, as I was dressing, on looking out 

 from my bedroom window I suddenly became 

 aware that the whole surface of ice was 

 moving in one mass down stream. It had no 

 doubt given way below somewhere, and crack- 

 ing off from the edges of the banks simul- 

 taneously, the vast sheet of ice moved off en 

 masse ; in a very few minutes the whole was 

 gone, and there was the river again running 

 as we had not seen it doing for more than a 

 month. Wallingford Bridge of course kept 

 back the ice above for a short time longer, 



