100 THE DAY EKDED 



was changed to the home day, which begins at mid- 

 night ; and, conscious that w^e had reached the divid- 

 ing; hne between the summer sunUorht and the winter 

 darkness, we settled ourselves for the struggle which 

 was to come, resolved to get through it with the cheer- 

 fulness becoming resolute men, and to make ourselves 

 as comfortable as possible. And the personal charac- 

 teristics of my associates augured well for the future. 

 While there was sufficient variety of disposition to 

 insure a continuance of some novelty in our social in- 

 tercourse, there was enough esprit to satisfy me as to 

 the continuance of harmony in the performance of 

 individual duty. 



The sun sank out of sight behind the southern hills 

 on the 15th of October, not to be seen again for four 

 long months. The circumstance furnished the subject 

 of our conversation in the evening, and I could easily 

 read on the faces of my companions that their thoughts 

 followed him as he wandered south ; and a shade of 

 sadness fell for a moment over the table about which 

 we were grouped. We had all been so intent upon 

 our cares and duties, during the past five weeks, that 

 we had scarcely noticed the decline of day. It had 

 vanished slowly and as if by stealth ; and the gloom 

 of night following its lengthening shadow made us 

 feel now, for the first time, how truly alone we were 

 in the Arctic desert. 



