MARBLE ISLAND. 193 



Ave happened to be going straight towards the island, none of us at fii-st 

 recognized it on account of the very singular appearance which it pre- 

 sented. All the other shores ^e had been visiting looked nearly black, 

 but we had also become accustomed to plenty of whiteness in the form 

 of snow, ice and fog-banks. On approaching it in the early morning, 

 at first sight we naturally supposed, from its extent and whiteness 

 that what we saw before us must be one of these objects ; but still, on 

 closer observation, it did not correspond with any of them in shape or 

 other characters. It was too large for an ice-berg (even if there were 

 any in Hudson's Bay, which is not the case), too stationary in position 

 and outline for a fog-bank, and too high for field-ice. Then the 

 extraordinary dark lines and patches which we saw here and there, 

 puzzled us very much. As we drew nearer to it, however, we con- 

 cluded it must be the far-famed Marble Island, but we had not 

 anticipated seeing such a gigantic mass of marble ; and its clean, 

 smooth, white appearance was as wondei'ful as its extent, for the 

 weathered surface of marble is seldom smooth and white. When 

 within a short distance of the shore, the morning sun shone out and 

 the gorgeous appearance of the steep slopes of pure white rock, washed 

 by the bright sea, with screaming gidls sailing about in the air, was 

 ■beautiful in the extreme. On entering the harbour behind Deadman's 

 Island, the evidences of the work of civilized man which met the eye, 

 were in singular contrast to the monotony of nature in these desolate 

 regions of the north. A bank of shingle, rising a few feet above the 

 spring tides, forms the highest part of the island. Along this ridge 

 is a row of recently erected white monuments, which stand out in bold 

 relief. Some of them are high columns, but the majority resemble 

 ordinary headstones. They looked like white marble, and where this 

 material was so abundant, it was natural to suppose that they had 

 been formed from it. But appearances, as well as names, are some- 

 times very deceptive. On going ashore, we found the marble monu- 

 ments and headstones only painted wood and the marble hills solid 

 white quartzite, as hard as flint. But in spite of the fact that this rock 

 proved to be something very different from white marble, yet even on 

 close inspection, every detail in its appearance was still that of marble. 

 All the most beautiful varieties were there — the pure white, dove- 

 colored, veined, mottled and streaked, lovely lilac and pink, and deli- 

 cate tints of green and rose color and many other shades, which would 

 charm the most aesthetic eye. 



