316 Chapter VI. 



" ' Would'st thou be free from care and pain ? 

 Thou must love nothing here on earth.' 



" But longing Oh, there are worse things than that ! 

 All that is good and beautiful may flourish in its shelter. 

 Everything would be over if we cease to long. 



"But you fell off at the end, old year ; you hardly 

 carried us so far as you ought. Still you might have 

 done worse ; you have not been so bad after all. 

 Have not all hopes and calculations been justified, and 

 are we not drifting away just where I wished and 

 hoped we should be ? Only one thing has been 

 amiss I did not think the drift would have gone in 

 quite so many zig-zags. 



" One could not have a more beautiful New Year's 

 Eve. The aurora borealis is burning in wonderful 

 colours and bands of light over the whole sky, but 

 particularly in the north. Thousands of stars sparkle 

 in the blue firmament among the northern lights. On 

 every side the ice stretches endless and silent into the 

 night. The rime-covered rigging of the Fram stands, 

 out sharp and dark against the shining sky." 



The newspaper was read aloud ; only verses this time ;, 

 among other poems the following : 



"TO THE NEW YEAR. 



"And you, my boy, must give yourself trouble 

 Of your old father to be the double ; 

 Your lineage, honour, and fight hard to merit 

 Our praise for the habits we trust you inherit. 



