540 FARTHEST NORTH 



transformation that I had undergone, I no longer rec- 

 ognize my comrade of the long winter night, and search 

 in vain for any trace of the tramp who wandered up and 

 down that desolate shore, beneath the steep talus and 

 the dark basalt cliff, outside the low underground hut. 

 The black, sooty troglodyte has vanished, and in his 

 place sits a well-favored, healthy-looking European citi- 

 zen in a comfortable chair, pufifing away at a short pipe 

 or a cigar, and with a book before him, doing his best 

 to learn Enorlish. It seems to me that he Qrets fatter 

 and fatter every day, with an almost alarming rapidity. 

 It is indeed surprising that we have both gained con- 

 siderably in weight since we left the Frain. When I 

 came here I myself weighed about 14A- stone, or nearly 

 22 pounds more than I did when I left the Fraiu ; while 

 Johansen weighs over 1 1 stone 1 1 pounds, having gained 

 a little more than 1 3 pounds. This is the result of a 

 winter's feeding on nothing but bear's meat and fat in 

 an Arctic climate. It is not quite like the experiences 

 of others in parallel circumstances; it must be our lazi- 

 ness that has done it. And here we are, living in peace 

 and quietness, waiting for the ship from home and for 

 what the future will bring us, while everything is being 

 done for us to make us forget a winter's privations. 

 We could not have fallen into better hands, and it is im- 

 possible to describe the unequalled hospitality and kind- 

 ness we meet with on all hands, and the comfort we feel. 

 Is it the year's privations and want of human society, is 



