84 TERMINATION OF THE YEAR, [December, 



cheerfully, singing during the evenings appearing to be 

 the prevailing humour among the messes. Last night 

 heavy sounds were distinguished in the direction of the 

 outer ice, consequent on splitting, by tidal or other 

 causes. The pack outside of us is also much cut up by 

 the unequal pressure of the masses, exhibiting some very 

 awkward cracks for travellers. At noon the light was 

 sufficiently bright to read small print, the atmosphere 

 also very clear. 



The principal exercise and amusement now, for it is 

 very hard to make men amuse themselves, or to find 

 matter on which to work, is skittles, which is played in 

 the Crystal Palace. A wolf has paid frequent visits, and 

 at times appeared inclined to fight our dogs ; but Lady 

 Fanny, ever on the alert, is sure to arrive in time to 

 rescue poor Punch, who, though game enough, is very 

 uneasy on his pins, and has but few serviceable teeth re- 

 maining. 



December 31. They are now singing the year 1853 

 out ; but, from all I can collect, the greater number are 

 inclined to do the thing more sensibly by sleeping the 

 New Year in. 



Fortunately a change of temperature enables us to 

 place our thermometers in the snow bank, but the pe- 

 riod was but short, falling during the operation to 10 : 

 the result will appear hereafter in a separate Plate, when 

 they are read off. On this occasion they were in a more 

 sheltered position, filling up the angle formed by the 

 western and northern sides of the Crystal Palace and 

 the Observatory. As the numbers will indicate, they 

 were placed respectively that distance in feet below the 



