ring of 1870, before the breaking out of the Franco-German
war, Germany sent out two ships, the _Germania_ and the _Hansa_, with
the hope of reaching the North Pole. As is usually the case in Arctic
expeditions, little could be done during the first season, and the
ships were obliged to take up their winter-quarters off the east coast
of Greenland. They had already been separated, so that the crew of one
vessel, had no idea of the condition of the other. An officer upon the
_Germania_ gives the following interesting account of their Christmas
festivities in the Arctic regions:--

"To the men who have already lived many weary months among the
icebergs, Christmas signifies, in addition to its other associations,
that the half of their long night--with its fearful storms, its
enforced cessation of all energy, its discomfort and sadness--has
passed, and that the sun will soon again shed its life and
warmth-giving beams on the long-deserted North. From this time the
grim twilight, during which noon has been hardly distinguishable from
the other hours, grows daily lighter, until at length all hearts are
gladdened, and a cheerful activity is once again called forth by the
first glimpse of the sun. Christmas, the midnight of the Arctic
explorer, thus marks a period in his life which he has good cause to
consider a joyful one.

"For days before the festival, an unusual activity was observable all
over the ship; and as soon as the severe storm which raged from
December 16th to the 21st had abated, parties were organised, under
our botanist, Dr. Pansch, to certain points of Sabine Island, near to
which we were anchored, where, in a strangely sheltered nook, several
varieties of a native Greenland evergreen plant, _Andromeda
tetragona_, were to be found. A great quantity of this plant was
conveyed on board, to be converted into a Christmas-tree. Under the
orders of Dr. Pansch, the Andromeda was wound round small pieces of
wood, several of which were attached, like fir-twigs, to a large
bough; and when these boughs were fastened to a pole, they formed a
very respectable fir-tree.

"After dinner on Christmas Day, the cabin was cleared for the
completion of the preparations; and on our recall at six o'clock, we
found that all had assumed an unwontedly festive appearance. The walls
were decorated with the signal-flags and our national eagle; and the
large cabin table, somewhat enlarged to make room to seat seventeen
men, was covere