ged and irregular patches by the wild gales which every where race 

 over the Antarctic seas : the sun as it rises or sets, slowly and ob- 

 liquely in the southern horizon, sends its rays through the many 

 openings between, tinging them here and there with every variety 

 of hue and colour, from whence they are thrown in mild and beau- 

 tiful reflections upon the extensive fields of snow which lie piled 

 on the surrounding hills, giving to the whole scene for a greater 

 part of the long summer day, the ever varying effect of a most 

 gorgeous sunset. 



Although many of the scenes about those islands are highly ex- 

 citing, the effect produced on the mind by their general aspect is 

 cold and cheerless to an unusual degree, for on their lonely shores 

 the voice of man is seldom heard: the only indication of his ever hav- 

 ing trod the soil, is the solitary grave of some poor seaman near 

 the beach, and the only wood that any where meets the eye, are 

 the staves that mark its dimensions ; no sound for years disturbs 

 the silence of the scene, save the wild screech of the sea-birds as 

 they wing their way in search of their accustomed food — the inces- 

 aent chattering of the congregated Penguins — the rude blasts, 

 tearing among the icy hills — the sullen roar of the waves, tum- 

 bling and dashing along the shores, or the heavy explosions of the 

 large masses of snow falling into the waves beneath, to form the 

 vast ice-bergs which every where drift through the southern ocean. 



The shores of these islands are generally formed by perpendicu- 

 lar cliffs of ice frequently reaching for many miles, and rising from 

 ten feet, to several hundred in height. In many places at their base, 



broadly arched roofs, under which the ocean rolls its wave with a 

 subterranean sound that strikes most singularly on the ear, and 

 when sufficiently undermined, extensive portions crack off with an 

 astounding report, creating a tremendous surge in the sea below, 

 which as it rolls over its surface, sweeps every thing before it, from 

 the smallest animal that feeds on its shallow bottom, to those of the 

 greatest bulk. Entire skeletons of the whale, fifty or sixty feet in 

 length, are not unfrequently found in elevated situations along the 

 shores many feet above the high water line, and I know of 

 no other cause capable of producing this effect. Whales are 

 very common in this vicinity, and in calm weather great numbers 

 of them may be seen breaking the surface of the ocean in the ma- 

 ny intervals which occur between its numerous ice-bergs, some- 

 times Bending forth volumes of spray, at others, elevating their 



