230 NATURAL APPEARANCES 



of the ocean, and then produce, near the horizon, 

 that bright, white appearance, called, by the mari- 

 ners, the blink of the ice. These float in the sea like 

 so many rugged mountains, and are sometimes live 

 or six hundred yards thick ; but the far greater part 

 is concealed beneath the water. These are continu- 

 ally increased, in height, by the freezing of the spray 

 of the sea, or of the melted snow which falls on them. 

 Those which remain in this frozen climate receive 

 continual growth; others are gradually wafted, by 

 the northern winds, into southern latitudes, and melt, 

 by degrees, by the heat of the sun, till they waste 

 away, and disappear in the boundless element. 



The collision of the great fields of ice, in high la- 

 titudes, is often attended with a noise that, for the 

 time, takes away the power of hearing any thing 

 else; and the meeting of the lesser fields is attended 

 with a grinding of unspeakable horror. The water 

 which dashes against the mountainous ice freezes 

 into an infinite variety of forms, and gives the voy- 

 ager ideal towns, streets, churches, steeples, and 

 every shape which imagination can frame. 



The icebergs or glaciers of the north-west of Spitz- 

 bergen, are among the capital wonders of the country. 

 Frost sports with these icebergs, and gives them 

 majestic, as well as other most singular forms. 

 Masses have been seen assuming the shape of a go- 

 thic church, with arched windows and doors, and 

 all the rich tracery of that style, composed of what 

 an Arabian tale would scarcely dare to relate, of 

 crystal of the richest sapphiring blue. Tables with 



