h the same unpleasant weather, so that we were obliged to
pass New Year's day in the house. We had now used up all our split
wood, and on account of the cold, were unable to go out to procure
more. On the 5th of January, the weather at last moderated, and we got
the door open, cleaned the house out, and split some more wood, as we
were afraid that we should again be buried by the snow. After working
hard all day, we began in the evening to talk about home, and it
occurred to us that our countrymen were at that very moment
celebrating one of their merriest festivals, namely, that of the Three
Kings. We determined, therefore, to forget our sad lot for a while,
and prepare a little feast. Each one of the men put by some of his
biscuit, and the captain gave some wine. We now made a good wine soup,
and prepared also some pancakes, which we made of a couple of pounds
of starch which had been taken on board for the purpose of pasting
cartridges, and some oil; the biscuits we soaked in wine. We now
celebrated the evening in fine style, and for the time, forgot our sad
lot, and imagined ourselves once more surrounded by our friends and
relations. In this way we enjoyed our humble meal as much as if it had
been a sumptuous feast. We got into such a good humor that we chose a
king, as it is customary to do on such occasions, and saluted him by
the title of "Lord of Nova Zembla," a kingdom which though of
considerable size, is not very well provided with either inhabitants
or revenue.

"On leaving the hut next day, we found the air a little less keen, and
felt that since the snow had ceased to fall, the cold had somewhat
abated. We could now hope to see the sun before long, and on the 8th
of January we really perceived a faint glimmering in the sky, at which
we rejoiced not a little. Eight days later we perceived a reddish
tinge, which we hailed as the harbinger of the near approach of the
sun. We perceived, also, a slight warmth in the wind, which, joined to
the heat of our fire, partially melted the ice on the walls of the
hut, which, until now, had remained perfectly solid. As the glimmering
light grew stronger every day, we at length ventured, well-armed, to
the ship, which still remained in the same position as formerly, but
had been frequently visited by bears, as their footsteps in the snow
plainly showed. We took a light, and descended into the hold, where we
found the water a foot in depth, and frozen perfectly tight.

"