270 Chapter VI. 



side of the arch, soon spreading over the whole arch. 

 And now from the far-away western horizon a fiery 

 serpent writhed itself up over the sky, shining brighter 

 and brighter as it came. It split into three, all brilliantly 

 glittering. Then the colours changed. The serpent to 

 the south turned almost ruby-red, with spots of yellow ; 

 the one in the middle, yellow ; and the one to the north, 

 greenish-white. Sheafs of rays swept along the sides of 

 the serpents, driven through the ether-like waves before 

 a storm-wind. They sway backwards and forwards, now 

 strong, now fainter again. The serpents reached and 

 passed the zenith. Though I was thinly dressed and 

 shivering with cold, I could not tear myself away till the 

 spectacle was over, and only a faintly-glowing fiery 

 serpent, near the western horizon showed where it had 

 begun. When I came on deck later the masses of light 

 had passed northwards, and spread themselves in incom- 

 plete arches over the northern sky. If one wants to 

 read mystic meanings into the phenomena of nature, 

 here, surely, is the opportunity. 



" The observation this afternoon showed us to be in 

 78 38' 42" N. lat. This is anything but rapid progress. 



"Wednesday, November 29th. Another dog has been 

 bitten to death to-day--' Fox,' a handsome, powerful 

 animal. He was found lying dead and stiffen the ice at 

 our stern this evening when they went to bring the dogs 

 in, ' Suggen ' performing her usual duty of watching 

 the body. They are wretches, these dogs. But now I 



