he
phosphorescent glow of a putrefying world. We were desperately cold, our
very blood freezing in our veins, and our limbs numb and torpid. To keep
entirely awake was impossible. We talked incessantly, making random
answers, as continual fleeting dreams crossed the current of our
consciousness. A heavy thump on the back was pardoned by him who
received it, and a punch between the eyes would have been thankfully
accepted had it been necessary.

At last, at last, Kolare church on the river bank came in sight; we
crossed to the Russian side, and drove into the yard of the inn. It was
nearly midnight, 47 deg. below zero, and we had been for seventeen hours
exposed to such a temperature. Everybody had long been asleep. Locks and
bolts are unknown, however, so we rushed into the family room, lit fir
splinters, and inspected the faces of the sleeping group until we found
the landlord, who arose and kindled a fresh fire in the milk-room. They
made us coffee and a small bed, saying that the guest's room was too
cold, which indeed it was, being little less than the outside
temperature. On opening the door in the morning, the cold air rushed in
as thick and white as steam. We had a little meat cooked, but could not
eat enough, at such an early hour, to supply much fuel. As for taking
anything with us for refreshment on the road, it was out of the
question. One of our Finns turned back to Muoniovara with the laziest
horse, and we got another from our Russian landlord. But it was a long,
long journey to the next station (twenty miles), and the continuance of
the extreme cold began to tell upon us. This part of the road was very
heavy, as on the journey up--seemingly a belt of exposed country where
the snow drifts more than elsewhere.

At Kexisvara we found two of the three pleasant women, who cooked our
last fragment of reindeer meat, and sent off for horses to Kardis. We
here parted with our other Finn, very glad to get rid of his horse, and
take a fresh start. We had no difficulty now in making our way with the
people, as they all recognised us and remembered our overpayments;
besides which, I had enlarged my Finnish vocabulary at Muoniovara. Our
horses were better, our sledges lighter and we were not long in reaching
the iron-works at Kengis, which we passed at dusk. I should willingly
have called upon the hospitable _bruk-patron_, but we were in too great
a hurry to get out of the frigid zone. We were warmed by our meal, and