120 THE OCEAN. 
spires, like steeples; sometimes taking the form of a 
conical hill; sometimes that of an overhanging cliff, 
of most threatening brow. I have seen some resemble 
IcrzerG sEEN In Barrin’s Bay. 
the form of a 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 wearing away the projections, continually 
alters the position of the centre of gravity; and 
sometimes the effect of this is to cause the whole 
gigantic mass to roll over with a thundering crash, 
making the sea to boil into foam, and causing a swell 
