e experienced. There is appreciably
less light every day; soon there will be none; but the good spirits
do not wane with the light. It seems to me that we are more uniformly
cheerful than we have ever been. What the reason of this is I cannot
tell; perhaps just custom. But certainly, too, we are well off--in
clover, as the saying is. We are drifting gently, but it is to be
hoped surely, on through the dark unknown Nivlheim, where terrified
fancy has pictured all possible horrors. Yet we are living a life of
luxury and plenty, surrounded by all the comforts of civilization. I
think we shall be better off this winter than last.

"The firing apparatus in the galley is working splendidly, and the cook
himself is now of opinion that it is an invention which approaches
perfection. So we shall burn nothing but coal-oil there now; it
warms the place well, and a good deal of the heat comes up here
into the work-room, where I sometimes sit and perspire until I have
to take off one garment after another, although the window is open,
and there are 30 odd degrees of cold outside. I have calculated that
the petroleum which this enables us to keep for lighting purposes
only will last at least 10 years, though we burn it freely 300 days
in the year. At present we are not using petroleum lamps at the
rate assumed in my calculation, because we frequently have electric
light; and then even here summer comes once a year, or, at any rate,
something which we must call summer. Even allowing for accidents,
such as the possibility of a tank springing a leak and the oil running
out, there is still no reason whatever for being sparing of light,
and every man can have as much as he wants. What this means can best
be appreciated by one who for a whole year has felt the stings of
conscience every time he went to work or read alone in his cabin,
and burned a lamp that was not absolutely necessary, because he could
have used the general one in the saloon.

"As yet the coals are not being touched, except for the stove in the
saloon, where they are to be allowed to burn as much as they like this
winter. The quantity thus consumed will be a trifle in comparison
with our store of about 100 tons, for which we cannot well have any
other use until the Fram once more forces her way out of the ice on
the other side. Another thing that is of no little help in keeping
us warm and comfortable is the awning that is now stretched over the
ship. [68] The only part