PANORAMA OF THE POLAR REGIONS. Or all the various scenes
that the pencil of Mr. BURFORD has so vi- vidly brought before the eye of the "stay-at-home traveller," this of Captain Ross's sojourn at the North Pole is the most striking.
" Strange and new is all that meets the wondering gay..."
The visitor stands, as it were, in the midst of a desert of snow, in "the thrilling regions of the thick-ribbed ice." But lonely and desolate as is the scene, it is rendered not only curious but beautiful, by the singular natural phenomena which characterize it. It is noon on a day in January; the sun is below the horizon, above which it never rises ; its place being indicated by a lurid crimson glare in that quarter of the heavens; the stars are shining with intense brilliancy through at cloudless sky; and the aurora borealis, appearing like a luminous baud or bread streak opposite the sun, emits a pale and mellow light, varied by dazzling coruscations of prismatic colours, that shoot (or seem to shoot) upwards with inconceivable velocity, tinging with their hues the snowy summits of the high ground in the distance. The snowy plain is broken into irregularities by numberless crags or hum- mocks of ice, assuming thntastic shapes ; some resembling animals ; others having the appearance of the dollies and towers of a city in the distance ; while to the eye of fancy, the wreaths of snow blown upwards by the wind look like the smoke of some habitation. No signs of ve- getation are visible in this dreary and comfortless region. Stillness reigns undisturbed. The scanty hours of the polar day are marked by a kind of twilight. A white bear prowling about in search of prey, and the huts of an Esquimaux village, looking like a cluster of snow- balls, are the only appearances of life that are to be met with. These huts are hemispherical domes, formed out of blocks of snow, and contain a bed and fireplace of the same material ; a long narrow passage serves as an entrance, and the twilight is admitted through a window of ice.
Captain Ross's ship, the Victory, is seen frozen in Felix Har- bour, and covered up for the winter a wall, built of blocks of frozen snow, shelters her crew from the blast and snow-drifts. On the shore are erected two observatories, of blocks of snew,—one for astronomical, the other for magnetic observations. These and the ship are decorated with flags, in honour of the first visit of the natives, whom Captain Ross and his crew are conducting to the ship. This gives animation to the cheerless scene ; and shows that these barren shores are not wholly inhospitable. Two of the Esquimaux, an old man and one who has lost a leg, are dragged in sledges ; the rest are dancing along, and by uncouth gestures testifying their wonder and delight at the sight of the ship and her gay flags. The name of Sheriff BOOTII, who furnished Captain Boss with the means of fitting out his expedition, has been immortalized in return for his liberality,—this part of the continent of America being named after him, Boothia Felix. Mr. BooTa's flag floats over a granite peak near time North Pole, while his name is seen emblazoned over the doors of many a gin temple in London. The supposed site of the magne- tic pole is indicated in the key to the description, and the visitor stands tinder the identical tent that sheltered the intrepid voyager. The painting is executed with Mr. BURFORD'S skill, from the drawings and under the superintendence of Captain Koss ; and many parts exhibit a high degree of finish, notwithstanding the rapidity with which it has been bra2ght out. Mr. &ammo, and his coadjutor, Mr. Si.ous, have been indefatigable in their endeavours to produce it : while the public interest was yet lively. It is indeed well-timed anti the sight of ice and snow, even rn a picture, seems seasonable. The cold and sombre twilight effect is admirably represented in time tone of the painting; and the various reflections of light on the surface of the snow are beautifully imitated. But the most vivid and striking is the effect of the stars, which are absolutely luminous. They are astro- nomically correct in locality, size, and hue ; and they sparkle like gems, with rays of the ruby, sapphire, topaz, and diamond. This panorama bids fair to be universally popular. It will give a new interest to Captain Ross's discoveries.
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