MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE. 531 



beaten ; they had strange, wild costumes ; there was 

 no possibility of recognition. Dr. Kane, standing up- 

 right in the stern of the first boat, with his spy-glass 

 slung round his neck, was the first identified ; then the 

 big form of Mr. Brooks ; in another moment all hands 

 of them were on board of us, 



"It was curious to watch the effects of the excite- 

 ment in different people, the intense quietude of some, 

 the boisterous delight of others ; how one man would 

 become intensely loquacious, another would do nothing 

 but laugh, and a third would creep away to some out- 

 of-the-way corner, as if he were afraid of showing how 

 he felt. How hungry they all were for news, and how 

 eagerly they tore open the home letters ; most of them, 

 poor fellows, had pleasant tidings, and all were pre- 

 pared to make the best of bad ones. We were in the 

 harbor, with a fleet of kayaks dancing in welcome 

 around and behind us, before the greetings were half 

 ended, for they repeated themselves over and over 

 again. 



" Our old friend, Mr. Olrik, was with the new comers, 

 and as happy as the rest. His hospitality, when wo 

 reached the shore, was absolutely boundless ; and his 

 house and table were always at our service. Altogether, 

 I never passed three more delightful days than those 

 last days at Lievely. Balls every night ; feasts and 

 junketings every day ; and, plea-santest of all, those 

 dear home-like tea-tables, with shining tea-urn and clear, 

 white sugar, round which we sat, waiting for the water 

 to boil, and talking of Russia and the Czar, and the 

 world outside the Circle ; while Mrs. Olrik would look 

 up from her worsted-work, and the children pressed 

 round me to see the horses and dogs I was drawing for 

 them. It was enough to make one forget his red flannel 

 shirt and rough Arctic rig ; Melville Bay and the pack 



