15G THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



take place in a few days. The time seemed dreadfully 

 long. Some sailors practised wood-carving. We amused 

 ourselves with the chess-board and carving the pieces; 

 Bade worked at a king in robes and crown ; others turned 

 to some useful employment, such as twisting fishing-lines 

 eighty fathoms long, in the hope of hauling up a cod fish 

 wherewith to enrich our pitiful meals. 



The 24th of May was glorious weather. The sun shone 

 on us from a cloudless sky, and where its rays fell the 

 thermometer was 96° Fahr. It was a welcome oppor- 

 tunity of drying our washing and clothes thoroughly, 

 which had been in a chronic state of wet, and we eagerly 

 embraced it. The boats, too, were laid open, and steamed 

 under the heat of the sun. All the men turned out. 

 Mr. Bade, the purser, mindful of his duty, was with some 

 of the men hunting for something for dinner. But, alas ! 

 seals would not show themselves, fishes would not take 

 the bacon-bait, and the stupid northern- divers were at all 

 events clever enough to keep beyond the reach of 

 shot. A successful attempt to reach the Island of 

 Illuidlek, which was about three miles distant, and lay 

 from 140 to 150 yards high, was made by Mr. Plilde- 

 brandt and the sailors Philipp and Paul. After three 

 hours' exertion, at about one o'clock, they set foot on 

 firm ground. They were with us again by four o'clock. 

 Their return was quicker. In the sailor Heine's day- 

 book it says : — " The fine weather has lasted. Mr. 

 Hildebrandt, Paul, and I tried to get to land; we suc- 

 ceeded with great difiiculty. We ran more than we 

 walked, and sometimes sank deep in the snow. We 

 perspired all over, and the water ran into our boots, so 

 that we had to empty them continually and wring our 



