170 REAPPEARANCE OF THE SUN. 



On the 3rd of Febuary our narrator, overjoyed 

 at the reappearance of that luminary so essential 

 not to comfort only, but to life itself, exclaims — 



" Aurora smiled once again upon us with her 

 golden face, for now the glorious sun, with his 

 glittering beams, began to gild the highest tops 

 of the lofty mountains ; the brightness of the sun, 

 and the whiteness of the snow both together 

 were such as would have revived a dying spirit." 



The return of the sun to a part of the earth 

 from which it has totally disappeared, and espe- 

 cially for so long a period as occurs at Spitz- 

 bergen, is attended with many exhilarating 

 circumstances, and we cannot wonder at any 

 raptures which may be indulged in by persons 

 who are witnesses of its effects. The pleasure 

 of being able to stir abroad in daylight; the 

 cheerfulness which the sunshine sheds over the 

 country around ; the modifying tendency of his 

 rays upon the atmosphere; the return of the 

 animals, and the prospects which it opens out, 

 all operate upon the mind, and produce a com- 

 bined sensation of joy and thankfulness which can 

 only be fully appreciated by those who have 

 experienced it. To add to the happiness of the 

 party, two bears were seen upon the ice, and 

 they succeeded in taking one, which was a valu- 

 able acquisition; but they suffered from eating 



