ESKIMO POSING BEFORE THE CAMERA 



the book of Nature and record the causes and effects of 

 nearly all phenomena, for then the mysterious halo which 

 surrounds everything polar disappears. 



Each point of attraction which at first bewilders us by 

 its strangeness becomes a written page to be added to the 

 future annals of science. There are a hundred things 

 which, in this way, daily present new aspects and urge the 

 mind out of its lethargy of monotony into a state of fascina- 

 tion. Now we can see some peculiar strip on the sky, a 

 striking series of clouds, a rare fog effect, an unusual sun- 

 burst or an aurora; now it is something connected with the 

 sea, or with its burden, the ice. Perhaps the surface will 

 seem motionless, while at a little distance a small, blue- 

 ridged berg will bound and dance as if animated by some 

 strange submarine spirit; or perhaps one of the bergs, with 

 whose face we are familiar, will suddenly turn, offering a 

 new face and a curious color. Again a berg is seen with 

 black spots and discolored stratifications. What is the 

 origin of this? Is it the output of a volcano, or is it natural 

 glacial debris? We see the effects, but what are the 

 causes? 



And so the questions run. Hardly have we learned one 

 lesson when another is brought to our notice. This time, 

 perhaps, it is some speck of life, curiously embedded in a 



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