FIRST EXPERIENCES. 
103 
hummocks of ice have formed. The first impression 
naturally is that the barrier is impassable for a ship, 
and this depressing effect is hardly relieved by the 
wonderfully beautiful appearance of the obstacle. 
Here the opposition is seemingly constructed out of a 
multitude of gigantic gems glittering in all the splen¬ 
dour of the diamond, emerald, and sapphire. The great 
waves of the sea strike against the glistening diadem, 
and as the spray dashes down its surface, the sun’s rays 
catch up all the prismatic hues of the frozen facets, and' 
so reflect them with redoubled lustre. Nor is the mind 
contented with the contemplation of these vast riches 
of rubies and opals. There are fantastic forms floating 
over the surrounding sea which have an interest of 
their own nearly equal to the lustre of the ice itself— 
we mean the air and water-worn portions of the 
ice, which, in their dissolution, grow into the 
resemblance of quaint forms, but the constant 
wasting of these objects is very striking; their 
destruction is rapid, owing to their evaporation from 
the causes mentioned; and not only is the sense 
of sight affected by the prospect, the ear is tortured 
by the thundering sound of the disrupted masses as 
they tilt against each other and are rent asunder. 
All this time we are sailing towards the densest part 
through a fringe of broken ice in a heaving sea. The 
