THE WINTER NIGHT 249 



ine the state of the ice, its pressure, etc. At i o'clock 

 all were assembled for dinner, which generally consisted 

 of three courses — soup, meat, and dessert ; or, soup, fish, 

 and meat; or, fish, meat, and dessert; or sometimes only 

 fish and meat. With the meat we always had potatoes, 

 and either green vegetables or macaroni. I think we 

 were all agreed that the fare was good ; it would hardly 

 have been better at home ; for some of us it would per- 

 haps have been worse. And we looked like fatted pigs; 

 one or two even began to cultivate a double chin and a 

 corporation. As a rule, stories and jokes circulated at 

 table along with the bock-beer. 



After dinner the smokers of our company would march 

 off, well fed and contented, into the galley, which was 

 smoking-room as well as kitchen, tobacco being tobooed 

 in the cabins except on festive occasions. Out there 

 they had a good smoke and chat ; many a stor)^ was 

 told, and not seldom some warm dispute arose. After- 

 wards came, for most of us, a short siesta. Then each 

 went to his work again until we were summoned to sup- 

 per at 6 o'clock, when the regulation day's work was 

 done. Supper was almost the same as breakfast, except 

 that tea w^as always the beverage. Afterwards there ^^'as 

 again smoking in the galley, while the saloon was trans- 

 formed into a silent readino-room. Good use was made 



O 



of the valuable library presented to the expedition by 

 generous publishers and other friends. If the kind donors 

 could have seen us away up there, sitting round the 



