36 



ARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION. 



ized. When first seen it was perhaps ten miles off, and appeared 

 about 130 feet high, judging from a calculation made. As, to- 

 ward evening, we approached, it appeared a mountain of alabaster 

 resting calmly upon the bosom of the dark blue sea. Behind it 

 was the setting sun just dipping its nether limb in the waters, 

 while its upper reached some thick, heavy clouds extending half 

 around the horizon, bathing them in a flood of crimson ! Close 

 by, and peering out from a break in the sky, were Yenus and 

 the new moon, making a scene of sublimity and beauty fit for 

 a poet's pen or the pencil of an artist. Not before ten o'clock 

 P.M. were we alongside this magnificent pile of ice, and then, as 

 it were, I had an opportunity of shaking hands with the first ice- 

 berg I had ever seen. It is said that lovers like darkness better 

 than light, and the hour named would seem to indicate that dark- 

 ness was upon the face of the deep when I and my ' idol' met. 

 But not so ; light abounded : not that of noonday, but that 

 of early eve, when the sun had withdrawn his glowing face. 

 Then it was we met. Iceberg was silent; I too was silent. I 

 stood in the presence of God's work ! Its fashioning was that of 

 the Great Architect ! He who hath builded such monuments, and 

 cast them forth upon the waters of the sea, is God, and there can 

 be none other !" 



After this, numerous icebergs were seen, one of which we pass- 

 ed within a stone's throw. At a distance it had appeared of a 

 pyramidal form, but on coming close its 6utline wholly changed. 

 This I find to be a characteristic of most all views — of none more 

 strikingly so than that of an iceberg. ''Distance lends enchant- 

 ment to the view," so goes the old saw, and, to a certain extent, 

 this is true. 



But, on another occasion, I had a more minute inspection of one 

 of these icy monsters of the deep. A large solitary berg at one 

 time was not far from us, and, as the weather permitted, a boat 

 was sent in charge of the mate that I might have the opportunity 

 of examining it. 



On arriving near, it was found of irregular form at the base, 

 with several "tongues" or spreading pieces below the water. 

 With some difficulty I got on to it at a sloping part, and began 

 to mount toward the summit. Several pinnacles, ravines, gorges, 

 and deep cavities were displayed as I ascended; but decay was 

 already making rapid progress, and evidently not long would 

 elapse before the whole mass must fall to pieces. I succeeded, 



