SUMMER SPORT IN NOVA ZEMLA. 75 



lies a treacherous shoal, on which now no ocean swell 

 nor even a grounded floe-berg marks the danger which 

 lurks below. That is the shoal which knocked off 

 the Hope's false keel and sprang her sternpost ; and 

 who knows what other mischief it might not have 

 done had not the friction of countless floe-bergs 

 ground its surface smooth as a board 1 Further still 

 to the left lies the broad expanse of the Arctic Ocean, 

 looking as if it never could become the solid block of 

 ice which it will be in a few short weeks. And there, 

 below, lies the river through whose icy cold waters 

 we have so lately waded, and from which this even- 

 ing we hope to see some salmon pulled forth. But 

 looking at that river reminds us that we are wet, and 

 that our feet are getting cold ; so knock out the pipes, 

 and on after the reindeer. The chase of the reindeer 

 is as the stalking of the Highland stag, with the addi- 

 tional charms of an absolute freedom of action. Go 

 where you will do as you please. There is no law 

 here but your own pleasure, and you may kill as 

 many deer as your skill and perseverance will allow 

 of. It is rather hard, though, to have to practise ab- 

 stention so rigorously when a flock of some fifty geese 

 gets up suddenly as we make for a slope on which we 

 have observed a small herd of five deer quietly brows- 

 ing. How well a roast goose would look on our 

 mess-table to-night, and how much better he would 

 taste than stewed looms and salt horse ! 



It is not always entertaining to read the chronicle 



