THE UNFORTUNATE MIRANDA 



On the following day we encountered a seemingly un- 

 ending procession of icebergs, of all sizes and shapes; 

 some of them assumed most exquisite contours, and I 

 shall never forget the striking beauty of one large mass 

 of ice that slowly passed us. In shape it resembled the 

 ruins of a vast cathedral, from which a stately tower rose 

 and glittered and gleamed in the sun. It seemed as if 

 some great Arctic Michael Angelo must have spent his 

 life in giving shape and beauty to so grand a pile. An 

 iceberg at a convenient distance is a magnificent sight 

 that adds a real charm to the vast expanse of sea; but 

 distance lends enchantment to the view, as we shortly 

 discovered. 



The next day it was foggy, very foggy, and the white 

 curtain that fell about the ship seemed to be growing 

 heavier and heavier. Just after breakfast, a number of us 

 were on deck, when suddenly the signal to reverse the 

 engine was given, and simultaneously through the dense 

 fog an immese mass of ice loomed directly ahead of us 

 and in a moment we had struck it full and square. 



The iron prow of the ship ran right into the berg for 

 fully seven feet, and the ice crumbling and breaking from 

 the shock fell in a great mass upon the forward deck. 

 The reverse action of the propeller then began to draw us 

 away from the ice, and the Miranda backed and careened 

 to one side. There was an uncomfortable moment of 

 suspense, and then the vessel righted itself. 



It was quickly ascertained that, notwithstanding the 

 severity of the shock, the damage that had been done was 

 not sufficiently serious to endanger the ship. We had 

 fortunately struck a projecting portion of the berg above 

 our water-line, so that the blow came upon the upper star- 

 board bow-plates; three of these were stove in, the hole 

 running upward about fifteen feet above the water line. 

 It was a great piece of luck that we did not strike the 

 great mass of ice below the water, which forms the greater 

 part of an iceberg. It was the projecting ice above that 

 saved us from tearing out the bottom of the ship by strik- 

 ing the vast mass below; had we hit upon this, my readers 

 would have been spared this narrative. 



We were off the coast of Labrador, and it was decided to 



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