The Winter Night. 371 



the central point of these masses of land lie to the north, 

 midway between our meridian and theirs ? I can hardly 

 believe that these remarkably cold winds from the 

 north are engendered by merely passing over an ice- 

 covered sea. If, indeed, there is land, and we get hold 

 of it, then all our troubles would be over. But no one 

 can tell what the future may bring forth, and it is 

 better, perhaps, not to know. 



"Saturday, March 10. The line shows a drift north- 

 wards ; now, too, in the afternoon, a slight southerly 

 breeze has sprung up. As usual it has done me good to 

 put my despondency on paper and get rid of it. To- 

 day I am in good spirits again, and can indulge in 

 happy dreams of a large and high land in the north, 

 with mountains and valleys, where we can sit under the 

 mountain wall, roast ourselves in the sun, and see the 

 spring come. And over its inland ice we can make 

 our way to the very Pole. 



"Sunday, March iith. A snow-shoe run north- 

 wards. Temperature, 50 C. (58 F. below zero), 

 and 10 feet wind from N.N.E. We did not feel 

 the cold very much, though it was rather bad for 

 the stomach and thighs, as none of us had our 

 wind trousers* on. We wore our usual dress of a 

 pair of ordinary trousers and woollen pants, a shirt, 



* So \ve called some light trousers of thin close cotton, which we 

 used as a protection against the wind and snow. 



2 B 2 



