AN ARCTIC RESIDENCE 268 



and seem to know little about seamanship, the oil 

 motor having changed all that. They do not even 

 take the trouble to repair their rotten harness, or 

 to caulk their boats — an atmosphere of cheap 

 second-rateness hangs like a pall over everything 

 they do and everything they possess. Their houses 

 and shops are paltry, and filled with cheap German 

 rubbish. There is little life, warmth or colour in 

 their lives or ambitions, and only a rise of half 

 a kroner in the price of cod rouses the smallest 

 enthusiasm. More handsome girls are to be seen 

 in five minutes in a street in London or Florence 

 than in a year in northern Europe, and severe out- 

 door life in their drab surroundings seems to be 

 the ruin of female charm. 



I have a note in my Hammerfest diary of 1916 

 that seems to be a reminiscence of Norwegian 

 manners and customs — 



" Norwegians sleep all the winter from October 

 to May, only waking up occasionally to eat a 

 little ' delicatessen,' ' gammleost,' and other dis- 

 gusting things. Summer is the time for talk and 

 blasting operations. 



" 1 a.m. is the hour for heated discussions on 

 the price of fish. If the house is built of wood 

 and has no carpets they hammer on the floor at 

 short intervals. Since from six to eight commercial 

 travellers can easily occupy one bedroom, the din 

 may be increased to an almost unlimited extent. 



" 2 a.m. is the correct hour for a game of rounders, 

 which should always be played by lusty boys in 

 front of an hotel. Little girls also play in the 

 streets at this hour. 



