The Perfect Stillness
Of The Sea And Sky Added Very Much To The Solemnity Of
The Scene; Almost Every Breath
Of wind had fallen, scarcely
a ripple tinkled against the copper sheathing, as the
solitary little schooner glided along at
The rate of half
a knot or so an hour, and the only sound we heard was
the distant wash of waters, but whether on a great shore,
or along a belt of solid ice, it was impossible to say.
In such weather, as the original discoverers of Jan Mayen
said under similar circumstances, - "it was easier to hear
land than to see it." Thus, hour after hour passed by
and brought no change. Fitz and Sigurdr - who had begun
quite to disbelieve in the existence of the island - went
to bed, while I remained pacing up and down the deck,
anxiously questioning each quarter of the grey canopy
that enveloped us. At last, about four in the morning,
I fancied some change was going to take place; the heavy
wreaths of vapour seemed to be imperceptibly separating,
and in a few minutes more the solid roof of grey suddenly
split asunder, and I beheld through the gap - thousands
of feet over - head, as if suspended in the crystal sky - a
cone of illuminated snow.
[Figure: fig-p121.gif]
You can imagine my delight. It was really that of an
anchorite catching a glimpse of the seventh heaven. There
at last was the long-sought-for mountain actually tumbling
down upon our heads.
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