its sterile soil. The western and
northern sides are absolutely inaccessible owing to their precipitous
character. The Arctic Sea thunders hoarsely against the Cape as we
approach the rough, weather-worn cliff in a small landing-boat. It is
near the midnight hour, yet the warmth of the sun's direct rays envelops
us. For half an hour we struggle upwards at an angle of nearly
forty-five degrees, amid loose rocks and over uneven ground, until the
summit is finally reached, and we stand a thousand feet above the level
of the sea, literally upon the threshold of the unknown.

No difference is observed between the broad light of this Polar night
and the noon of a sunny summer's day in other latitudes. The sky is all
aglow, and the rays of the sun are warm and penetrating, though a
certain chill in the atmosphere at this exposed elevation renders thick
clothing indispensable. This is the objective point, to reach which we
have voyaged thousands of miles from another hemisphere. We look about
us in silent wonder and awe. To the northward is that unknown region to
solve whose mystery so many gallant lives have been sacrificed. Far to
the eastward is Asia; in the distant west lies America; and southward
are Europe and Africa. Such an experience may occur once in a lifetime,
but rarely can it be repeated. The surface of the cliff is quite level
where we stand, and beneath our feet is a soft gray reindeer moss which
yields to the tread like a carpet of velvet. There is no other
vegetation, not even a spear of grass. Close at hand, in all directions,
are frightful fissures and sheer precipices, except on the side where we
have ascended. Presently the boom of a distant gun floats faintly
upwards, the cautionary signal from the ship now seen floating far below
us, a mere speck upon that Polar Sea.

The hands of the watch indicate that it is near the hour of twelve,
midnight. The great luminary has sunk slowly amid a glory of light to
within three or four degrees of the horizon, where it seems to hover for
a single moment like some monster bird about to alight, then changing
its mind slowly begins its upward movement. This is exactly at midnight,
always a solemn hour; but amid the glare of sunlight and the glowing
immensity of sea and sky, how strange and weird it is! Notwithstanding
they are so closely mingled, the difference between the gorgeous
coloring of the setting and the fresh hues of the rising sun seem to be
clearly though d