A MERRY CHRISTMAS AXD A HAPPY NEW YEAR. 311 



consisted chiefly of children's toys. The evening passed off as cheer- 

 fully as we could in any way expect. Our spirits were good, and 

 the conversation was unflagging until late in the evening. Some 

 songs were sung, and Isachsen played on his violin. 



According to our good old Norwegian custom, we were called 

 on Christmas morning with coffee and cakes, to which was also 

 added a dram. The serving of it was seen to by the steward, with 

 Fosheim as his assistant. 



Hard as we had worked all through the autumn and winter, 

 up to the present time, Christmas bid fair to be no less of an 



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exertion as far as most of us were concerned, though in quite 

 another way. We set to work to over-eat ourselves in true 

 Norwegian fashion. The one who suffered most, however, was our 

 young steward, on account of the many courses he had to dish up 

 for breakfast, dinner, and supper. Of course he could over-eat 

 himself on Christmas Day, just as much as the rest of us, but 

 while we were taking a well-earned after-dinner nap he had to 

 stand out in the galley and wash up. 



Simmons, poor fellow, was lying ill all this time with fever 

 and headache ; so, in order not to disturb him, we moved, when 

 supper was over, to the after-cabin, there to enjoy songs and 

 music, and the delicious but insidious bowl concocted by Baumann. 



