intive mew of the
Arctic sea-swallow as it wheeled over my head, or the gentle echo made
by mother ocean as she rippled under some projecting ledge of ice. The
snow, as it melted amongst the rocks behind, stole quietly on to the
sea through a mass of dark-coloured moss; whilst a scanty distribution
of pale or delicately-tinted flowers showed the humble flora of the
north. The sun, sweeping along the heavens opposite, at a very low
altitude, gilded as it rose the snowy crests of the mountains of Disco,
and served to show, more grim and picturesque, the naturally dark face
of the "Black Land of Lively." From thence round to the east, in the
far horizon, swept the shores of Greenland, its glaciers, peaks, and
headlands, all tortured by mirage into a thousand fantastic shapes, as
if Dame Nature had risen from her couch in frolicsome mood. Between
this scene and my feet, icebergs of every size and shape, rich with
fretting of silvery icicle, and showing the deepest azure tint or
richest emerald, strewed a mirror-like sea, glowing with the pale pink
of morning.

The awful silence was impressive: unwilling to break it I sat me down.

"I felt her presence by its spell of might,
Stoop o'er me from above--
The calm majestic presence of the night,
As of the one I love."

Suddenly a distant roar boomed along the water and echoed amongst the
rocks: again and again I heard it, when, to my astonishment, several
huge icebergs in the offing commenced to break up. A fearful plunge of
some large mass would clothe the spot in spray and foam; a dull
reverberating echo pealed on; and then, merely from the concussion of
the still air, piece after piece detached itself from icebergs far and
near, and the work of demolition was most rapid: truly did Baffin
boast, that he had laid open one of Nature's most wonderful
laboratories; and I thought with Longfellow, in his Hyperion,--

"The vast cathedral of nature is full of holy scriptures and shapes
of deep mysterious meaning: all is solitary and silent there. Into
this vast cathedral comes the human soul seeking its Creator, and
the universal silence is changed to sound, and the sound is
harmonious and has a meaning, and is comprehended and felt."

[Headnote: _GODHAAB._]

After many difficulties, which called for some obstinacy on my part to
master, I was allowed to go to Disco, and Captain Ommaney, hearing of
my intention, kindly made up a party. Ta