gQ J. Lindhard. 



to begin work seriously; the pipe was lit and the pen filled, but 

 one got no further. The pen became dry and was again dipped in 

 the ink; the pipe was smoked out, refilled and started again; always 

 in the belief that some thing really was to be done or being done. 

 It was only when the bell rang for dinner some hours later, with 

 nothing done, that the inevitable conclusion was accepted, that one 

 was unable to work. The "mental" work that suited us best was 

 playing at cards; the object here to some extent corresponded with 

 our powers. 



Home-sickness in the true sense was not felt; but with some 

 there was a tendency to have "dark forebodings" with regard to 

 their homes. This was how^ever only a form taken by the mental 

 depression and discomfort. Feelings of depression were experienced 

 by almost every one, but only in a single case did these deepen to 

 slight melancholia. One felt oneself under the influence of the 

 weather; depressed when the weather was bad, lighter when it again 

 cleared up; and some investigations indicate that the meteorological 

 factors really had an appreciable importance on the state of health. 



One felt irritable and not disposed to be friendly, and the same 

 qualities magnified were read into others. Conversation at table 

 had a tendency to become fragmentary or even to assume a pointed 

 form. 



It may be admitted that certain outer conditions, which are not 

 necessarily connected with the polar night and whicb were also not 

 altogether unknown during the light period, may have had some- 

 thing to do with the state mentioned. The lack of cleanliness, for 

 example; thus, the common feeding and living room was likewise 

 used as the working room, as also for various other purposes, often 

 not quite æsthetic; manners at table were as a rule "conspicuous 

 by their absence" and the service was extremely primitive, at times 

 unappetising. There can scarcely be any doubt, that when all forms 

 are dispensed with in the common living room and on meeting, it 

 will be difficult for any one, w^hose experience and training have- 

 not taught him complete self-control, always to show a presentable 

 side to the surroundings. 



There can be no doubt, however, that the polar night, the cold 

 and the dark, especially the dark, were indeed the true cause. The 

 same discomforts were all present in the summer, though in less 

 degree, and yet one's w'hole existence both outside and inside was 

 quite different during the light period. We did not feel so overcome 

 and crushed by the natural forces as in the dark period; even with 

 an open eye for all that was grand and imposing in nature one 

 felt an impulse to exertion and to play our part. There was a 



