monotony of our surroundings; but in reality
I am unjust. The last few days, dazzling sunshine over the snow-hills;
to-day, snow-storm and wind, the Fram enveloped in a whirl of foaming
white snow. Soon the sun appears again, and the waste around gleams
as before.

"Here, too, there is sentiment in nature. How often, when least
thinking of it, do I find myself pause, spell-bound by the marvellous
hues which evening wears. The ice-hills steeped in bluish-violet
shadows, against the orange-tinted sky, illumined by the glow of
the setting sun, form as it were a strange color-poem, imprinting an
ineffaceable picture on the soul. And these bright, dream-like nights,
how many associations they have for us Northmen! One pictures to one's
self those mornings in spring when one went out into the forest after
blackcock, under the dim stars, and with the pale crescent moon peering
over the tree-tops. Dawn, with its glowing hues up here in the north,
is the breaking of a spring day over the forest wilds at home; the
hazy blue vapor beneath the morning glow turns to the fresh early
mist over the marshes; the dark low clouds on a background of dim
red seem like distant ranges of hills.

"Daylight here, with its rigid, lifeless whiteness, has no attractions;
but the evening and night thaw the heart of this world of ice;
it dreams mournful dreams, and you seem to hear in the hues of the
evening sounds of its smothered wail. Soon these will cease, and the
sun will circle round the everlasting light-blue expanse of heaven,
imparting one uniform color to day and night alike.

"Friday, April 6th. A remarkable event was to take place to-day which,
naturally, we all looked forward to with lively interest. It was an
eclipse of the sun. During the night Hansen had made a calculation that
the eclipse would begin at 12.56 o'clock. It was important for us to be
able to get a good observation, as we should thus be able to regulate
our chronometers to a nicety. In order to make everything sure, we
set up our instruments a couple of hours beforehand, and commenced to
observe. We used the large telescope and our large theodolite. Hansen,
Johansen, and myself took it by turns to sit for five minutes each at
the instruments, watching the rim of the sun, as we expected a shadow
would become visible on its lower western edge, while another stood
by with the watch. We remained thus full two hours without anything
occurring. The exciting moment was now