JOURNEY ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND. 169 



More quietly than usual could we give ourselves up to 

 sleep. The southern point of G-reenland was, we thought, 

 happily reached ; in a few days we must be in Friedrichs- 

 thal. That horrible spectre which had martyred us for 

 a long four weeks, the prospect of starvation, vanished ; 

 and we set valiantly to work upon the side of bacon and 

 the ham. One must not, however, think, says Dr. 

 Laube, that, on that account, we were careless of our 

 provisions. Captain Hegemann providently kept the 

 bread basket somewhat high. It might still happen that 

 by the ice or some other hindrance we might be de- 

 layed, and with our store of provisions have to prolong 

 our lives for a longer time. Tlie long-missing feeling of 

 satiety, and the joyful knowledge that soon this lingering, 

 troublesome work of deliverance would be successful, 

 helped to put us in the happiest frame of mind. It was 

 already late in the morning, when the voice of the care- 

 ful cook awoke us out of a refreshing sleep with the cry 

 of ' Schaffen ! schaffen ! ' ^ 



" The next thing was to try, if possible, to ascertain our 

 exact position ; the further journey was,, therefore, put 

 off until after the mid-day rest. When the accustomed 

 morning toilette had been gone through (a brook leaping 

 from the mountains gave an opportunity for a thorough 

 cleansing), I employed the time in climbing the over- 

 hanging rocks to look about a little and see what was 

 here offered to the eye. How different the ground 

 already looked here ! No longer those bare masses of 

 rock alternating with everlasting ice ! green moss spread 



* This is the nautical term foi' the summons to dinner (eight bells), 

 and is still kept up at the seamen's anniversary festivals in Bremen. 



