The Winter Night. 315 



dominoes, halma, music, and story-telling how should 

 any one be ill ? Every now and then I hear remarks 

 expressive of perfect satisfaction with the life. Truly 

 the whole secret lies in arranging things sensibly, and 

 especially in being careful about the food. A thing that 

 I believe has a good effect upon us is this living- 

 together in the one saloon, with everything in common. 

 So far as I know, it is the hrst time that such a thing 

 has been tried, but it is quite to be recommended. I 

 have heard some of the men complain of sleeplessness. 

 This is generally considered to be one inevitable conse- 

 quence of the Arctic darkness. As far as I am 

 personally concerned I can say that I have felt nothing 

 of it ; I sleep soundly at night. I have no great belief 

 in this sleeplessness, but then I do not take an after- 

 dinner nap, which most of the others are addicted 

 to ; and it they sleep for several hours during the day, 

 they can hardly expect to sleep all night as well. 

 ' One must be awake part of one's time,' as Sverdrup 

 said." 



' Sunday, December 3 i st. And now the last day of 

 the year has come, it has been a long year, and has 

 brought much both of good and bad. It began with 

 good, by bringing little Liv, such a new, strange 

 happiness that at first I could hardly believe in it. But 

 hard, unspeakably hard, was the parting that came later ; 

 no year has brought worse pain than that. And the 

 time since has been one great longing. 



