Christmas presents streamed in from all sides; I suppose we had about five hundred on board.  Christmas-trees and decorations for them, with many other things to amuse us at Christmas, were sent with us by friends and acquaintances.  People have indeed been kind to us, and I can assure the givers that all their presents have been, and are still, much appreciated.

We were well supplied with wines and spirits, thanks to one of the largest firms of wine-merchants in Christiania.  An occasional glass of wine or a tot of spirits were things that we all, without exception, were very glad of.  The question of alcohol on Polar expeditions has often been discussed.  Personally, I regard alcohol, used in moderation, as a medicine in the Polar regions —­ I mean, of course, so long as one is in winter quarters.  It is another matter on sledge journeys:  there we all know from experience that alcohol must be banished —­ not because a drink of spirits can do any harm, but on account of the weight and space.  On sledging journeys one has, of course, to save weight as much as possible, and to take only what is strictly necessary; and I do not include alcohol under the head of strictly necessary things.  Nor was it only in winter quarters that we had use for alcohol, but also on the long, monotonous voyage through raw, cold, and stormy regions.  A tot of spirits is often a very good thing when one goes below after a bitter watch on deck and is just turning in.  A total abstainer will no doubt turn up his nose and ask whether a cup of good warm coffee would not do as well.  For my part, I think the quantity of coffee people pour into themselves at such times is far more harmful than a little Lysholmer snaps.  And think of the important part a glass of wine or toddy plays in social gatherings on such a voyage.  Two men who have fallen out a little in the course of the week are reconciled at once by the scent of rum; the past is forgotten, and they start afresh in friendly co-operation.  Take alcohol away from these little festivities, and you will soon see the difference.  It is a sad thing, someone will say, that men absolutely must have alcohol to put them in a good humour —­ and I am quite ready to agree.  But seeing that our nature is what it is, we must try to make the best of it.  It seems as though we civilized human beings must have stimulating drinks, and that being so, we have to follow our own convictions.  I am for a glass of toddy.  Let who will eat plum-cake and swill hot coffee —­ heartburn and other troubles are often the result of this kind of refreshment.  A little toddy doesn’t hurt anybody.

The consumption of alcohol on the Fram’s third voyage was as follows:  One dram and fifteen drops at dinner on Wednesdays and Sundays, and a glass of toddy on Saturday evenings.  On holidays there was an additional allowance.

We were all well supplied with tobacco and cigars from various firms at home and abroad.  We had enough cigars to allow us one each on Saturday evenings and after dinner on Sundays.