CHAPTER XIV 



NORTHWAUD 



Atter two days of bustle in getting on board the things 

 we were to take with us, we managed to be ready for 

 sea on the afternoon of January 30. There could 

 scarcely have been anything at that moment that 

 rejoiced us more than just that fact, that we were able 

 at so early a date to set our course northward and 

 thus take the first step on the way to that world which, 

 as we knew, would soon begin to expect news from us, 

 or of us. And yet, I wonder whether there was not 

 a little feeling of melancholy in the midst of all our 

 joy? It can hardly be doubted that such was really 

 the case, although to many this may seem a fiat con- 

 tradiction. But it is not altogether so easy to part 

 from a place that has been one's home for any length 

 of time, even though this home lie in the 79th degree 

 of latitude, more or less buried in snow and ice. We 

 human beings are far too dependent on habit to be 

 able to tear ourselves abruptly from the surroundings 

 with which we have been obliged to be familiar for 

 many months. That outsiders would perhaps pray all 



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