A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. 307 



temperature so low that it will freeze.' There, then, was our fate, 

 sealed in clear incontrovertible terms ! 



At this stage of the proceedings we began to rack our brains 

 to know what in the world we were to do with all this beautiful 

 pastry, if it was no use baking it in Christian fashion ; but, try as 

 we would, we could find no solution to the problem. At last in 

 desperation we resolved to take our chance, and, at any rate, bake 

 some small cakes. 



Consumed with anxiety, we fell to work, and watched the 

 course of events, prepared for the worst. It was a long time 

 before we ventured to look into the oven ; but at last we cautiously 

 opened the door, and, putting our heads together, peeped in. 

 Schei had on his glasses, and certainly this time they were not 

 dim from moisture. 



Things inside looked much better than we had dared to hope. 

 The wretched little bits of pastry that we had put in had risen 

 to miniature balloons. We drew a sigh of relief and went on 

 with courage to greater undertakings ; and before Hassel came in 

 in the morning and drove us out we had the satisfaction of seeing 

 the whole big lump of pastry transformed into the most beautiful 

 cakes. In three nights we had made an incredible number of 

 ' fattigmandsbakkelse,' 'terter,' 'sandbakkelse,' and 'hjortetakker;'* 

 while, in addition, we made for each man a large open tart filled 

 with prunes, and ornamented with the initials of the destined 

 recipient. 



There has been so much discussion as to what the polar bear 

 does with itself in the middle of winter, that it may be of 

 interest to give here some account of the last bear we saw in the 

 autumn, and the first in the spring. Personally, I agree with 

 those who think that, like the common bear, it takes a nap at the 

 darkest time of the year. Were not this the case, it would be 



* These peculiarly Norwegian Christmas delicacies require a word of mention. 

 Of the half-dozen kinds of cakes usually made, fattigmandsbakkelse are perhaps 

 the most general; they and hjortetakker are bits of cake-pastry thrown into 

 boiling lard, while terter are plain pieces of puff-pastry, and sandbakkelse a kind 

 of sponge-cake. 



