RETURNING LIGHT. 
155 
lar pellicle on its surface. Spirit of naphtha froze at 
—54°, and oil of sassafras at —49°. The oil of winter- 
green was in a flocculent state at —56°, and solid at 
—63° and —65°.* (34) 
The exhalations from the surface of the body in¬ 
vested the exposed or partially-clad parts with a 
wreath of vapor. The air had a perceptible pungency 
upon inspiration, but I could not perceive the painful 
sensation which has been spoken of by some Siberian 
travellers. When breathed for any length of time, it 
imparted a sensation of dryness to the air-passages. 
I noticed that, as it were involuntarily, we all breathed 
guardedly, with compressed lips. 
The first traces of returning light were observed 
at noon on the 21st of January, when the southern 
horizon had for a short time a distinct orange tint. 
Though the sun had perhaps given us a band of illu¬ 
mination before, it was not distinguishable from the 
cold light of the planets. We had been nearing the 
sunshine for thirty-two days, and had just reached 
that degree of mitigated darkness which made the 
extreme midnight of Sir Edward Parry in latitude 
74° 47'. Even as late as the 31st, two very sensitive 
daguerreotype plates, treated with iodine and bromine, 
failed to indicate any solar influence when exposed to 
the southern horizon at noon; the camera being used 
in-doors, to escape the effects of cold. 
* I repeated my observations on tbe effects of these low tempera¬ 
tures with great care. A further account of them will be seen in tho 
Appendix. 
