390 FARTHEST NORTH 



zero ( — 49.6° C), and immediately one's brow is clouded 

 over, and it becomes a matter of indifference how we oet 

 home, so long as we only get home soon. I immediately 

 assume land to the northward, from which come these 

 cold winds, with clear atmosphere and frost and bright 

 blue skies, and conclude that this extensive tract of 

 land must form a pole of cold with a constant maximum 

 of air-pressure, which will force us south with north- 

 east winds. About midday the air began to grow 

 more hazy and my mood less gloomy. No doubt 

 there is a south wind coming, but the temperature is 

 still too low for it. Then the temperature, too, rises, 

 and now we can rely on the wind. And this evening it 

 came, sure enough, from S.S.W., and now, 12 p.m., its 

 velocity is 1 1 feet, and the temperature has risen to 43° 

 Fahr. below zero ( — 42° C). This promises well. We 

 should soon reach 81°. The land to the northward has 

 now vanished from my mind's eye. 



" We had lime-juice with sugar at dinner to-day instead 

 of beer, and it seemed to be approved of. We call it 

 wine, and we as^reed that it was better than cider. 

 Weighing has gone on this evening, and the increase in 

 certain cases is still disquieting. Some have gained as 

 much as 4 pounds in the last month — for instance, Sver- 

 drup, Blessing, and Juell, who beats the record on board 

 with 1 3 stone. ' I never weighed so much as I do now,' 

 says Blessing, and it is much the same story with us all. 

 Yes, this is a fatiguing expedition, but our menus are 



