446 FARTHEST NORTH 



beautiful, and then wait for the summer. ... By the light 

 of the lamp she sits sewing in the winter evening. Be- 

 side her stands a little maiden with blue eyes and gold- 

 en hair, playing with a doll. She looks tenderly at the 

 child and strokes her hair; but her eyes fill, and the big 

 tears fall upon her work. 



" Johansen is lying beside me asleep ; he smiles in his 

 sleep. Poor fellow ! he must be dreaming he is at home 

 at Christmas-time with those he loves. But sleep on — 

 sleep and dream, while the winter passes ; for then comes 

 spring — the spring of life ! 



"Sunday, December 2 2d. Walked about outside for 

 a long time yesterday evening, while Johansen was hav- 

 ing a thorough clearing in the hut in preparation for 

 Christmas. This consisted chiefly in scraping the ashes 

 out of the hearth, gathering up the refuse of bone and 

 meat, and throwing it away, and then breaking up the ice, 

 which has frozen together with all kinds of rubbish and 

 refuse into a thick layer upon the tioor, making the hut 

 rather low in the roof. 



" The northern lights were wonderful. However often 

 we see this weird play of light, we never tire of gazing 

 at it ; it seems to cast a spell over both sight and sense 

 till it is impossible to tear one's self away. It begins 

 to dawn with a pale, yellow, spectral light behind the 

 mountain in the east, like the reflection of a fire far 

 away. It broadens, and soon the whole of the eastern 

 sky is one glowing mass of fire. Now it fades again. 



