BRIGHTER PROSPECTS. 
293 
a most admirable manner. Vigilant, cool, and atten¬ 
tive, lie bandied tbe vessel most skilfully, and never 
seemed to lose bis presence of mind in any emer¬ 
gency. It is true the silk tartan still corruscated on 
Sabbaths, but its brilliant hues were quite a relief to 
tbe colourless scenes which surrounded us, and the 
dangling chain now only served to remind me of what 
firm dependence I could place upon its wearer. 
Soon after, the sun came out—the mist entirely 
disappeared, and again on the starboard hand shone 
a vision of the land; this time not in the sharp peaks 
and spires we had first seen, but in a chain of pale 
blue egg-shaped islands, floating in the air a long way 
above the horizon. This peculiar appearance was the 
result of extreme refraction, for—later in the day—we 
had an opportunity of watching the oval cloud-like 
forms gradually harden into the same pink tapering 
spikes which originally caused the island to be called 
Spitzbergen: nay, so clear did it become, that even the 
shadows on the hills became quite distinct, and we 
could easily trace the outlines of the enormous glaciers— 
sometimes ten or fifteen miles broad—that fill up every 
valley along the shore. Towards evening the line of 
