298 METEORS. REFRACTION. 
Between six and eight o'clock in the evening of the 
2d, we had a magnificent though nearly colorless ex-* 
hibition of the aurora; and on the 7th, at lOh. 20m. 
A.M., the southern sky presented the appearance of a 
day aurora attending on the sun. The ohservations 
which I made of these two phenomena may be the 
subject of a distinct chapter ; I will only say here, that 
it was difficult to doubt their identity of character or 
cause. We had several displays of the paraselene, too, 
in the earlier days of the month, and an almost con- 
stant deposition of crystalline specks, which covered 
our decks with a sort of hoar-frost. The rate of this 
deposition on the vessel was about a quarter of an inch 
in six hours ; but in an ice-basin on the floes, surround- 
ed by hummocks, and thus protected from the wind, I 
found it nine inches deep. 
"When accumulated in this manner, it might, on a 
hurried inspection, be confounded with snow ; but it 
differs as the dew does from rain. It is directly con- 
nected with radiation, and is most copious under a 
clear sky. Snow itself, the flaky snow of a clouded 
atmosphere, has not been noticed by us when the tem- 
perature was lower than —8° or at most —10°. Our 
last snow-fall was on the 1st of February and the day 
preceding. It began with the thermometer at —1°, 
and continued after it had sunk to —9°; but it had 
ceased some time before it reached —13°. 
"February 9. To-day we had a sky of serene purity, 
and all hands went out for a sanitary game of romps 
in the cold light. Presently three suns came to greet 
us — strange Arctic parhelia — and a great golden cross 
of yellow brightness uniting them in one system. Un- 
der the glare of these we played foot-ball. 
"At meridian we made a rough horizon of the ice, 
