ON BOARD THE "AURORA" 163 



however, the wind turned toward North and grew strong- 

 er. The days which followed this change brought us 

 considerable work on board, as sai.ls had to be changed 

 back and forth on account of the variable winds. But 

 Wednesday, the twenty-fourth of December, Christmas 

 Eve., a severe N. N. E. wind set in and compelled us to 

 strengthen the mars-sails. The sea rose high, but our ves- 

 sel was too well laden and too well built to be in any way 

 greatly disturbed by the whistling, whirling winds; and 

 the hot punch and pancakes with which our good ( laptain 

 treated us, in due commemoration of the day, were so 

 well received that we scarcely thought of our watery 

 road-bed, but enjoyed the celebration as if we bad been on 

 shore. Was I happy? No! Not I. Notwithstanding the 

 general merriment, I could not enter into the spirit of the 

 hour, and was glad when everybody had retired, as it en- 

 abled me to spend an hour undisturbed, promenading up 

 and down the deck, accompanied only by the faithful 

 friend — my cigar. Watching the floating wave-forms 

 carry the glittering lights which appeared and disap- 

 peared like ghostly jack-o-lanterns upon the black roar- 

 ing sea, had such a soothing effect upon my mind that I 

 sought the mattress sooner than I had anticipated. My 

 dreams, however, did the work, for they carried me home, 

 where holiday-bells were inviting the God-fearing peo- 

 ple to Divine Service. 



The weather during the two Christmas holidays was 

 as beautiful and warm as one could possibly desire. Even 

 the sea behaved well, with the one exception, that a heavy 

 down-pour which came from the North, was permitted to 

 disturb our equanimity for a few minutes. One experi- 

 ences these down-pours throughout the Pacific from the 

 twelfth to the fifteenth degree of Northern latitude to 

 Behring-Strait all the year round, 1 am told. Until the 

 last day of the year we sailed with good steady North- 

 Eastern winds and we had nice, clear weather and nothing 

 extraordinary to relate. The thirty-first— Sylvester day 

 —brought us another complete calm, while the air was 

 rather sultry. We amused ourselves most of the day by 



