140

boomed it awa

without her re

The height of

sides of it prese quisite polish,

boasted Parian cerulean colour, I of an elegant ver splendid and ma colours afforded 1

coming even to S

Much has fre

grand and impos and the fantastic s

tains, gilded by together wit

part justif

the sun not,

e here; and when he does their borrowed splendour, ning more than huge masses st to the spectator, except as obThe"fairy palaces with glit omes," which fancy pourtrays in their forms, vanish with the departure of the and the sunbeams which " give them

DECEPTIVE DISTANCE.

141

We saw some very large icebergs in the course of the day, many between two and three hundred feet in height, and double that in extent. One that we subsequently saw was estimated at two miles in length, and between three and four hundred feet in height; but they are frequently magnified by the delusive medium of the hazy atmosphere through which they are seen. Sir Edward Parry, in one of his northern voyages, makes an observation on the subject of this deceptive appearance in the following terms: "We had frequent occasion to remark the deception which takes place in estimating the distance and magnitude of objects when viewed over an unvaried surface of snow. It was not uncommon for us to direct our steps towards what we took to be a large mass of stone, at a distance of half a mile from us, which we were able to take up in our hands after a minute's walk." It is much the same with some icebergs; and these, with the birds upon them, as they sail along before a light breeze, generally appear larger that they really are.

But if the magnitude of some of these icebergs produces astonishment in the beholder,

142

FLOATING ICEBERGS.

how much would this be increased, when we consider that only one-seventh part of them may appear above the surface of the water! Thus an iceberg two hundred feet high above the surface, may have fourteen hundred feet below it, making a total height of sixteen hundred feet! This conclusion has been formed from experiments in the north, made with solid cubic pieces of ice; but it is one that cannot hold good entirely with icebergs, because they are far from being cubes, and must in consequence of their varied forms have much less weight above water, and consequently will not float so deep. Having made some experiments of this nature, I deduced from them that in cubic pieces of ice one-seventh part only remained above the surface of the water. I also placed a cone of ice on a cubic piece from the same iceberg, and found that the cube easily floated and sustained the little pyramid, the height of which was more than double the depth of the cube below the water. I also floated irregular-shaped masses, and found their heights above the surface to vary considerably; in some it was equal, in others greater than the depth below it; proving that no inference can

FLOATING ICEBERGS.

143

be safely drawn as to the depth to which an iceberg extends from the surface with reference to its height above it, and that all depends on its form.

In corroboration of this I may further observe, that while we were in contact with the iceberg off the island, we determined its height by a reference to the vessel's masts to be not less than fifty feet. Now this would have required a depth of three hundred and fifty feet to float in, according to the conclusion deduced from a cubical piece; but it was floating in ninety-six feet; for we obtained soundings at the same time with sixteen fathoms of line.

Icebergs are justly termed marine avalanches, and are formed in deep ravines, being a collection of snow and ice accumulated in some sheltered precipice. In course of time the part next to the precipice becomes melted, and it is launched by its own weight with a prodigious crash into the sea beneath it.

CHAPTER VII.

Deception Island.-The Chanticleer moored.-Comparison of Scenery.-Formation of the Island.-Hot springs.Jack's comparisons.-Birds of Deception Island.-Climate. Its preserving nature.-Aurora Australis.

IN the course of the evening Captain Foster returned on board, having found a cove in the interior of the island which he considered would afford sufficient protection to the vessel; and we accordingly directed our course for the

entrance. As we proceeded through the narrow passage which forms it, and is about six hundred feet wide, the scene before us was that of a dreary and gloomy waste covered with penguins innumerable, the noise of which was not unlike the distant bleating of folded flocks of sheep. The contrariety and admixture of colours, and the strata of tufa, with the black ashes and the snow, were striking. On the northern side of the entrance, a single rock about thirty feet high stood conspicuous by