THE WINTER NIGHT 373 



helps me is writing, trying to express myself on these 

 pages, and then looking at myself, as it were, from the 

 outside. Yes, man's life is nothing but a succession of 

 moods, half memory and half hope. 



"Thursday, January iSth. The wind that began yes- 

 terday has gone on blowing all to-day with a velocity 

 of 1 6 to 19 feet per second, from S.S.E., S.E., and E.S.E. 

 It has no doubt helped us on a good way north ; but it 

 seems to be going down ; now, about midnight, it has 

 sunk to 4 metres ; and the barometer, which has been 

 rising all the time, has suddenly begun to fall ; let us 

 hope that it is not a cyclone passing over us, bringing 

 northerly wind. It is curious that there is almost always 

 a rise of the thermometer with these stronger winds ; to- 

 day it rose to 13° Fahr. below zero ( — 25° C). A south 

 wind of less velocity generally lowers the temperature, 

 and a moderate north wind raises it. Payer's explana- 

 tion of this raising of the temperature by strong winds 

 is that the wind is warmed by passing over large open- 

 ings in the ice. This can hardly be correct, at any rate 

 in our case, for we have few or no openings. I am rath- 

 er inclined to believe that the rise is produced by air 

 from higher strata being brought down to the surface of 

 the earth. It is certain that the higher air is warmer 

 than the lower, which comes into contact with snow and 

 ice surfaces cooled by radiation. Our observations go to 

 prove that such is the case. Add to this that the air in 

 its fall is heated by the rising pressure. A strong wind. 



