nd soft like far off sweet music. I stand and look out over
this desolate expanse of ice with its plains and heights and valleys,
formed by the pressure arising from the shifting tidal currents of
winter. The sun is now shining over them with his cheering beams. In
the middle lies the Fram, hemmed in immovably. When, my proud ship,
will you float free in the open water again?

"'Ich schau dich an, und Wehmuth,
Schleicht mir in's Herz hinein.'

Over these masses of ice, drifting by paths unknown, a human
pondered and brooded so long that he put a whole people in motion
to enable him to force his way in among them--a people who had
plenty of other claims upon their energies. For what purpose all
this to-do? If only the calculations were correct these ice-floes
would be glorious--nay, irresistible auxiliaries. But if there has
been an error in the calculation--well, in that case they are not
so pleasant to deal with. And how often does a calculation come out
correct? But were I now free? Why, I should do it all over again,
from the same starting-point. One must persevere till one learns to
calculate correctly.

"I laugh at the scurvy; no sanatorium better than ours.

"I laugh at the ice; we are living as it were in an impregnable castle.

"I laugh at the cold; it is nothing.

"But I do not laugh at the winds; they are everything; they bend to
no man's will.

"But why always worry about the future? Why distress yourself as to
whether you are drifting forward or backward? Why not carelessly let
the days glide by like a peacefully flowing river? every now and then
there will come a rapid that will quicken the lazy flow. Ah! what
a wondrous contrivance is life--one eternal hurrying forward, ever
forward--to what end? And then comes death and cuts all short before
the goal is reached.

"I went a long snow-shoe tour to-day. A little way to the north there
were a good many newly formed lanes and pressure-ridges which were
hard to cross, but patience overcomes everything, and I soon reached
a level plain where it was delightful going. It was, however, rather
cold, about 54 deg. Fahr. below zero (-48 deg. C.) and 16 feet of wind from
N.N.E., but I did not feel it much. It is wholesome and enjoyable
to be out in such weather. I wore only ordinary clothes, such as I
might wear at home, with a sealskin jacket and linen outside breeches,
and a half-mask to protect the forehead, nose, and cheeks.