WONDERS OF A NEW LAND 211 



of these small lakes was weirdly beautiful. A 

 large mass of clear and transparent ice had 

 fallen into it from the glacier. It was 

 grounded on the bottom below, with its top 

 twenty or more feet above the surface. For 

 several miles the bank of the river opposite 

 us made a sheer descent — from the ice caps 

 above direct to the water. But no one can 

 imagine the varied forms, colors, and shades 

 that succeeded one another along this change- 

 able wall of granite, sandstone, and shale, 

 with here and there beds of lignite. 



In one place what appeared to be basaltic 

 columns, looking like the front of a cathedral 

 tower, astonished us. This was immediately 

 followed by a reproduction upon a large scale 

 of a mystic House of Parliament. Then 

 Turkish Mosques, Kiosks and Minarets came 

 into view. Look where we would, the chang- 

 ing sunlight upon the mass of variegated rocks 

 kept transforming the scene into a kaleido- 

 scopic view, brilliant in color and of marvel- 

 ous beauty of form. I cannot find words to 

 describe the feeling of awe and wonder that 

 followed each new scene of splendor. It is 

 indeed a fairyland upon a gigantic scale, 

 known unfortunately to but a handful of peo- 

 ple — maybe less than a hundred. As far as 



