266 Chapter VI. 



excellent, especially since we rigged up the air sail, which 

 sends a whole winter's cold in through the ventilator ; yet 

 in spite of this we sit here warm and comfortable, with 

 only a lamp burning. I am thinking of having the stove 

 removed altogether ; it is only in the way. At least, as 

 far as our protection from the winter cold is concerned, 

 my calculations have turned out well. Neither do we 

 suffer much from damp. It does collect and drop a little 

 from the roof in one or two places, especially astern in 

 the four- man cabins ; but nothing in comparison with 

 what is common in other ships ; and if we lighted the 

 stove it would disappear altogether. When I have 

 burned a lamp for quite a short time in my cabin, every 

 trace of damp is gone.* These are extraordinary fellows 

 for standing the cold. With the thermometer at 22 F. 

 below zero Bentzen goes up in his shirt and trousers to 

 read the thermometer on deck." 



" Monday, November 2/th. The prevailing wind has 

 been southerly, with sometimes a little east. The 

 temperature still keeps between 13 and 22 below zero ; 

 in the hold it has fallen to 12." 



It has several times struck me that the streamers of the 

 aurora borealis followed in the direction of the wind, 

 from the wind's eye on the horizon. On Thursday 



* When we had fire in the stoves later, especially during the 

 following winter, there was not a sign of damp anywhere neither 

 in saloon nor small cabins. It was, if anything, rather too dry, for the 

 panels of the walls and roof dried and shrank considerably. 



