164 
A VOYAGE TO SPITZBEEGEN. 
heard for the first time. At first we thought that the ; 
sound proceeded from the ice itself, and as we stood 
listening for the repetition of the noise, we did not fail 
to notice the grandeur of the ice around us. Beauti¬ 
fully iridescent caves rose out of the pure water 
beneath, in whose recesses we saw the upper edges 
festooned in a curious manner with what seemed a> 
network of lace composed of the finest gems; these- 
fringes glistened in the prismatic light with every 
motion of the waves, and the fairy halls were filled 
with sounds as strange as its glittering decorations., 
Each vast block as it surges against its neighbour 
causes a moaning wail to reverberate throughout the 
caverns, and the shock, each time it is repeated, sends 
down thousands of splinters which fall with a crash 
resembling broken glass. But Eddy’s practised ear was, 
not likely to be mistaken ; we now see it plainly. The 
sailors persist in calling the great mammal a “ fish ; ” 
he has no dorsal fin, but is perfectly straight-backed, as 
he sports along the water. We follow him stealthily, 
hoping he may enter the bight where all is calm and 
still; there we may let down our boats, an act which in 
the sea outside would be attended with risk and absolute 
danger. We follow him in vain: after tacking and 
following him for some time he dives and we lose him 
altogether. Sailing into a deep bay formed by the ice ?J 
