THE IVIXTER NIGHT 357 



"'Would'st thou be free from care and pain. 

 Thou must love nothincj here on earth." 



" But longing — oh, there are worse things than tliat ! 

 All that is good and beautiful may tiourish in its shelter. 

 Everything would be over if we cease to lono". 



" But you fell off at the end, old year ; you hardly 

 carried us so far as you ought. Still you might have 

 done worse; you have not been so bad, after all. Have 

 not all hopes and calculations been justified, and are we 

 not drifting away just where I wished and hoped we 

 should be } Only one thing has been amiss — I did not 

 think the drift would have gone in c[uite so many zig- 

 zags. 



" One could not have a more beautiful New-year's- 

 eve. The aurora borealis is burning in wonderful colors 

 and bands of light over the whole sky, but particularly in 

 the north. Thousands of stars sparkle in the blue fir- 

 mament among the northern lights. On every side the 

 ice stretches endless and silent into the night. The 

 rime-covered rigging of the Frani stands out sharp and 

 dark against the shining sky. 



"The newspaper was read aloud; only verses this 

 time; among other poems the following: 



"•TO THE NEW YEAR. 



"'And you, my boy, must ji;ive yourself trouble 

 Of your old father to be the double; 

 Your lineage, honor, and fight hard to merit 

 Our praise for the habits we trust you inherit. 



