118 TASMANIA AND THE ANTAKCTIC 



less for Several Seconds before he Could Speak to the man 

 next to him. 



Beholding with Silent Surprize the great and wonderful 

 works of nature in this position we had an .opportunity to 

 discern the barrier in its Splendid position. Then i wishd. 

 i was an artist or a draughtsman instead of a blacksmith 

 and Armourer We Set a Side all thoughts of mount Erebus 

 And Victoria's Land to bear in mind the more Imaginative 

 thoughts of this rare phenomena that was lost to human 

 view 



In Gone by Ages. 



When Captn. Eoss Came on deck he was Equally Sur- 

 prizd. to See the Beautiful Sight Though being in the north 

 Arctic Kegions one half of his life he never see any ice in 

 Arctic Seas to be Compard. to the Barrier. So that the 

 South Pole must be degrees colder than the North pole is 

 evident from the Enormous thickness of the ice. An Ice 

 island floats on the water with J under water, consequently 

 the ice islands we have Seen two hundred feet hight above 

 the Surface of the water must be Sixteen hundred feet high. 

 That is exactly four times than the Cross of St. Paul's 

 Cathedral in London. To view an iceberg when the Sun 

 shines clear on it for any time is very injurious to the Eyes 

 for the Avalanches in the Ice presents a deep blue and 

 greenish hue. From a concussion of air that generally 

 casts a dimness on the Sight and leaves the object the greatest 

 Source of wonder and admiration. It would take a man 

 of Talents to describe this unequal Sight For no imagi- 

 native Power can convey an adequate idea of the 

 Eesplendant Sublimity of the Antarctic Ice wall. It is 

 quite Certain and out of Doubt that from the seventy eight 

 Degree to pole must be one Solid continent of Ice and Snow. 

 The Fragments as i call the floating Islands though Large 

 Enough to build London on their Summit must through a 

 Long Succession of years have parted from the Barrier they 

 could never accumulate to such Enormous hight otherwise. 

 Some bergs from one mile Sqre to ten miles and Some Larger 

 but i could not ascertain the sqre of them. 



A lighter scene emerges on the return to Hobart Town, 

 April 7 to July 7, 1841. While the ships were cleaned and 



