332 A DAY AT FRAMHEIM 



do was to pump two Primus lamps that were placed 

 just under the bath up to high pressure, and then dis- 

 appear. What a lesson an actor might have had in 

 watching the face before me! It began with such 

 a pleasant expression well-being was written upon 

 it in the brightest characters then by degrees the 

 smile wore off, and gave place to seriousness. But this 

 did not last long; there was a trembling of the nostrils, 

 and very soon it could clearly be seen that the bath was 

 no longer of a pleasant nature. The complexion, from 

 being normal, had changed to an ultra-violet tint; the 

 eyes opened wider and wider, and I was anxiously 

 awaiting a catastrophe. 



It came, but in a very different form from that I had 

 expected. Suddenly and noiselessly the bath was raised, 

 and the steam poured out, laying a soft white curtain 

 over what followed. I could see nothing; only heard 

 that the two Primuses were turned down. I think it 

 took about five minutes for the steam to disappear, and 

 what did I see then? Hassel, bright as a new shilling, 

 dressed in his best for St. Hans' Eve. I availed myself 

 of the opportunity to examine the first, and probably 

 the only, vapour-bath on the Antarctic Barrier. It was, 

 like everything else I had seen, very ingeniously con- 

 trived. The bath was a high box without bottom, and 

 with a hole, large enough for the head, in the top. All the 

 walls were double and were made of windproof material, 

 with about an inch between for the air to circulate. 



