THE AECTIC SEAS. 



107 



sunk. Tliese floating icebergs are various in form ; 

 sometimes rising into pointed spires, like steeples ; 

 sometimes taking the form of a conical hill ; some- 

 times that of an overhanging cliff, of most threatening 

 brow. I have seen some resemble the form of a 



ICEBERG SEEN I.N BAFFIN S BAY. 



couching lion ; but, perhaps, the most ordinary form 

 is that of an irregular mass, higher at one end than 

 at the other. In the Arctic seas they often present 

 sharp edges and spiry points ; but in their progress 

 southward, the gradual influence of climate smooths 

 their unevenness, and gives their surface a rounded 

 outline. The action of the waves on the portion 

 beneath the surface, undermining the sides, and wear- 

 ing away the projections, continually alters the posi- 

 tion of the centre of gravity ; and sometimes the 

 effect of this is to cause the whole gigantic mass to 



