A TRIP TO CAPE RUSSELL 151 



recollection brought with it an utter sense of loneli- 

 ness. Fancy drew for me vivid pictures of the scenes 

 at home, of my family and friends, and I longed to 

 be with them as I had never longed before. The 

 sudden recollection, with the picture my imagination 

 drew, made me very homesick. Here I was alone in 

 this Arctic solitude. No man could be farther re- 

 moved from the Christmas spirit. Oh! how I longed 

 then for friends and home! The dark, ceaseless 

 night, the absolute silence, the hopelessness of getting 

 away from it, palled on me. I believe I had not until 

 that moment fully realized my exile. 



But it was quite futile to get lonely or homesick 

 here. There was no retreat from the conditions. So 

 I resolved to make the best of it. I drank the good 

 health of family and friends at New Haven, at New 

 York and at Dungeness, and wished one and all a 

 Merry Christmas. But this was not enough; there 

 must be a celebration, and shortly before midnight I 

 sent a request to the igloos for all the people to join 

 me. 



