368 THE END OF THE WINTER 



glass. It is true that I had worn nothing but a pair 

 of ordinary spectacles, with light yellow glasses, all the 

 autumn, and that they had proved excellent; but for 

 the long journey I was afraid these would give insuffi- 

 cient protection. I therefore threw myself into the 

 competition for the best patent. The end of it was 

 that we all went in for leather goggles, with a little slit 

 for the eyes. The Bjaaland patent won the prize, and 

 was most adopted. Hassel had his own invention, 

 combined with a nose-protector; when spread out it 

 reminded me of the American eagle. I never saw him 

 use it. Nor did any of us use these new goggles, except 

 Bjaaland. He used his own goggles the whole way, 

 but then, he was the only one who became snow-blind. 

 The spectacles I wore Hanssen had the same; they 

 were the only two pairs we had gave perfect pro- 

 tection; not once did I have a sign of snow-blindness. 

 They were exactly like other spectacles, without any 

 gauze at all round the glasses; the light could pene- 

 trate everywhere. Dr. Schanz, of Dresden, who sent 

 me these glasses, has every right to be satisfied with 

 his invention; it beats anything I have ever tried 

 or seen. 



The next great question was our boots. I had ex- 

 pressly pointed out that boots must be taken, whether 

 the person concerned intended to wear them or not; 

 for boots were indispensable, in case of having to cross 

 any glacier, which was a contingency we had to reckon 



