BELOW-ZERO DISCOMFORTS 27 



fact which we observed was that the snow-bunting^ 

 occasionally perches in trees. We saw two in the forest,, 

 one of which perched in a spruce fir. 



We found jackdaws very numerous at Mezen, but 

 Piottuch told us that it is only during the last four or five 

 years that the bird has been seen in this neighbourhood. 

 He said that it is now a resident there. Piottuch in the 

 days of his exile lived some years at Mezen, and had 

 a considerable circle of acquaintance in the town, who- 

 made merry on the occasion of his revisiting them. 



We left Mezen on Sunday morning at nine, glad tt> 

 get away, as Piottuch's old friends were too many for 

 him, and far too hospitable, and he was drinking more 

 champagne than we thought prudent. During the pre- 

 vious four-and-twenty hours we had had violent wind 

 and snowstorms, but the morning had cleared up, the 

 sun shone brilliantly, and it was not cold. But at night 

 snow came on again and continued till Wednesday 

 evening, when the weather suddenly cleared up again, 

 the thermometer falling from freezing-point to zero. 

 During the three days, about four inches of snow had 

 been added to the couple of feet already on the ground. 

 Travelling during even a slight snowstorm is by no 

 means so pleasant as when the sun shines on a mild 

 day ; but travelling in a sledge with the thermometer at 

 zero is decidedly unpleasant, even with brilliant sunshine 

 and no wind. If you expose your face to the air your 

 nose is in danger, then the icicles that form continually 

 upon your moustache are anything but comfortable, and 

 the condensation of your breath upon your neck-wrap- 

 pings is always irritating; while, if you subside altogether 

 into your furs, the sense of semi- suffocation is almost as 

 bad. On the whole, however, we did not suffer so much 

 from the cold as we expected. 



