t the end of the week there were several bushels of
ice in the condensers. The weather changed again on the 15th of
November, and the thermometer, under the influence of certain
atmospherical conditions, went down to 24 degrees below zero. It was
the lowest temperature observed up till then. This cold would have
been bearable in a quiet atmosphere, but there was a strong wind which
seemed to fill the atmosphere with sharp blades. The doctor was vexed
at being kept prisoner, for the ground was covered with snow, made
hard by the wind, and was easy to walk upon; he wanted to attempt
some long excursion.

It is very difficult to work when it is so cold, because of the
shortness of breath it causes. A man can only do a quarter of his
accustomed work; iron implements become impossible to touch; if one
is taken up without precaution, it causes a pain as bad as a burn,
and pieces of skin are left on it. The crew, confined to the ship,
were obliged to walk for two hours on the covered deck, where they
were allowed to smoke, which was not allowed in the common room. There,
directly the fire got low, the ice invaded the walls and the joins
in the flooring; every bolt, nail, or metal plate became immediately
covered with a layer of ice. The doctor was amazed at the instantaneity
of the phenomenon. The breath of the men condensed in the air, and
passing quickly from a fluid to a solid state, fell round them in
snow. At a few feet only from the stoves the cold was intense, and
the men stood near the fire in a compact group. The doctor advised
them to accustom their skin to the temperature, which would certainly
get worse, and he himself set the example; but most of them were too
idle or too benumbed to follow his advice, and preferred remaining
in the unhealthy heat. However, according to the doctor, there was
no danger in the abrupt changes of temperature in going from the warm
room into the cold. It is only dangerous for people in perspiration;
but the doctor's lessons were thrown away on the greater part of the
crew.

As to Hatteras, he did not seem to feel the influence of the
temperature. He walked silently about at his ordinary pace. Had the
cold no empire over his strong constitution, or did he possess in
a supreme degree the natural heat he wished his sailors to have? Was
he so armed in his one idea as to be insensible to exterior
impressions? His men were profoundly astonished at seeing him facing
the 24 degrees below ze