Icebergs come to a lower latitude by 10° from the south pole than from the north, and appear to be larger; they have been seen near the Cape of Good Hope, and are often of great size; one observed by Captain D’Urville was 13 miles long, with perpendicular sides 100 feet high; they are less varied than those on the northern seas, a tabular form is the most prevalent. The discovery ships under the command of Sir James Ross met with multitudes with flat surfaces, bounded by perpendicular cliffs on every side, from 100 to 180 feet high, sometimes several miles in circumference. On one occasion they fell in with a chain of stupendous bergs close to one another, extending farther than the eye could reach even from the mast-head. Packed ice too is often in immense quantities: these ships forced their way through a pack 1000 miles broad, often under the most appalling circumstances. It generally consists of smaller pieces than the packs in the comparatively tranquil North Polar seas, where they are often several miles in diameter, and where fields of ice extend beyond the reach of vision. The Antarctic Ocean, on the contrary, is almost always agitated; there is a perpetual swell, and terrific storms are common, which break up the ice and render navigation perilous. The floe pieces are rarely a quarter of a mile in circumference, and generally much smaller. A more dreadful situation can hardly be imagined than that of ships beset during a tempest in a dense pack of ice in a dark night, thick fog, and drifting snow, with the spray beating perpetually over the decks, and freezing instantaneously. Sir James Ross’s own words can alone give an idea of the terrors of one of the many gales which the two ships under his command encountered:—“Soon after midnight our ships were involved in an ocean of rolling fragments of ice, hard as floating rocks of granite, which were dashed against them by the waves with so much violence, that their masts quivered as if they would fall at every successive blow; and the destruction of the ships seemed inevitable from the tremendous shocks they received. In the early part of the storm the rudder of the Erebus was so much damaged as to be no longer of any use; and about the same time I was informed by signal that the Terror’s was completely destroyed and nearly torn away from the stern-post. Hour passed away after hour without the least mitigation of the awful circumstances in which we were placed. The loud crashing noise of the straining and working of the timbers and decks, as they were driven against some of the heavier pieces of ice, which all the exertions of our people could not prevent, was sufficient to fill the stoutest heart, that was not supported by trust in Him who controls all events, with dismay; and I should commit an act of injustice to my companions if I did not express my admiration of their conduct on this trying occasion. Throughout a period of 28 hours, during any one of which there appeared