THE DEAD OF WINTER. 201 



Decemher 2^tli, Satui^day. — Measured the thickness 

 of the ice again to-clay. The growth of the new for- 

 mation, from November 25th to December 11th, was 

 twenty inches ; to-day the same ice measured in the 

 fire -hole is thirty inches, showing an increase of ten 

 inches in ten days. 



This afternoon we had a sHght crashing and moving 

 of ice to the northward of us, but it did not last very 

 long and gave us no concern. 



Nindemann brought in a seal to add to our delicacies. 



December 21st, Sunday. — A blowy day. 



December 22d, Monday. — The shortest day in the 

 year. Although we cannot say, " Now is the winter 

 of our discontent made glorious summer," we can say 

 that our Arctic night is half gone, and that we shall 

 now have an increasing light to contemplate instead of 

 a failing one. The earliest sign of a gleam of daylight 

 was at 8.40 A. m., but of course it was nothing to speak 

 of. At 9.15 one could be sure that there was a sun 

 somewhere ; at twelve that we had daylight to, and 

 60° beyond, the zenith to the northward ; at one that 

 day was fading ; at three it had faded, while at 3.40 

 not a speck of twilight was left to us. At noon Snel- 

 len's types, which are ordinarily read at thirty feet 

 distance, were distinguishable at twenty-three feet ; 

 perfectly favorable conditions of atmosj^here, the types 

 held towards the south. Though this is but an approx- 

 imation toward measuring the amount of twilight, I 

 know of no better. As we had the bright light of a 

 moon nine days old, and 18° in N. declination, our light 

 was mixed even as late as an hour before and as early 

 as an hour after noon. But that the daylight was 

 stronger than the moonlight was proven by the fact 

 that, in walking, our shadows were thrown from the 



