SEALS 183 



I returned aboard in despair at having lost 

 this magnificent specimen, fearing I might 

 never meet with another so large. I vowed 

 that never again would I fire at a seal unless I 

 was certain of being able to plant a ball in its 

 brain whilst it was still on the ice. It was 

 better a thousand times to permit the animal 

 to escape than to massacre it uselessly ! 



A good night's rest, however, consoled me 

 for my loss ; I had passed several of the most 

 interesting hours one can imagine in hunt- 

 ing these seals amid fantastic scenery and 

 surrounded by a marvellous panorama. 



Not a catspaw marked the surface of the sea, 

 smooth and shining as some large, polished steel 

 mirror. Immense icebergs, liberated by the 

 thaw, raised their strange architecture high above 

 the sea, their columns displaying every con- 

 ceivable variation of blue against the golden 

 light of the sun just ascending the horizon. 



Between these floating islands of so many 

 hues and colours we passed, lying at the bottom 

 of the boat, while Jonas, silently steering, leant 

 upon his oars astern. The surrounding scene 

 called to mind a dream Venice of white and 

 blue marble palaces arising from limpid canals ! 



Add to this the presence of a marine monster, 

 seen from the distance stretched on the ice like 



