is nothing the matter with these men’s appetites.  The cups are carefully scraped, and the enjoyment of bread and water begins.  It is easy to see, too, that it is an enjoyment —­ greater, to judge by the pleasure on their faces, than the most skilfully devised menu could afford.  They positively caress the biscuits before they eat them.  And the water —­ ice-cold water they all call for —­ this also disappears in great quantities, and procures, I feel certain from their expression, a far greater pleasure and satisfaction than the finest wine that was ever produced.  The Primus hums softly during the whole meal, and the temperature in the tent is quite pleasant.

When the meal is over, one of them calls for scissors and looking-glass, and then one may see the Polar explorers dressing their hair for the approaching Sunday.  The beard is cut quite short with the clipper every Saturday evening; this is done not so much from motives of vanity as from considerations of utility and comfort.  The beard invites an accumulation of ice, which may often be very embarrassing.  A beard in the Polar regions seems to me to be just as awkward and unpractical as —­ well, let us say, walking with a tall hat on each foot.  As the beard-clipper and the mirror make their round, one after the other disappears into his bag, and with five “Good-nights,” silence falls upon the tent.  The regular breathing soon announces that the day’s work demands its tribute.  Meanwhile the south-easter howls, and the snow beats against the tent.  The dogs have curled themselves up, and do not seem to trouble themselves about the weather.

The storm continued unabated on the following day, and on account of the dangerous nature of the ground we decided to wait awhile.  In the course of the morning —­ towards noon, perhaps —­ the wind dropped a little, and out we went.  The sun peeped through at times, and we took the welcome opportunity of getting an altitude —­ 86deg. 47’ S. was the result.

At this camp we left behind all our delightful reindeer-skin clothing, as we could see that we should have no use for it, the temperature being far too high.  We kept the hoods of our reindeer coats, however; we might be glad of them in going against the wind.  Our day’s march was not to be a long one; the little slackening of the wind about midday was only a joke.  It soon came on again in earnest, with a sweeping blizzard from the same quarter —­ the south-east.  If we had known the ground, we should possibly have gone on; but in this storm and driving snow, which prevented our keeping our eyes open, it was no use.  A serious accident might happen and ruin all.  Two and half miles was therefore our whole distance.  The temperature when we camped was -5.8deg.  F. Height above the sea, 9,780 feet.