els, divers,
halcyons, and pigeons in countless flocks. I also saw--but beyond
aim--a giant petrel; its dimensions were truly astonishing. This
was one of those called "quebrantahnesos" by the Spaniards. This
bird of the Magellanian waters is very remarkable; its curved and
slender wings have a span of from thirteen to fourteen feet, equal
to that of the wings of the great albatross. Nor is the latter
wanting among these powerful winged creatures; we saw the
dusky-plumed albatross of the cold latitudes, sweeping towards the
glacial zone.

On the 30th of November, after observation taken at noon, it was
found that we had reached 66 deg. 23' 3" of latitude.

The _Halbrane_ had then crossed the Polar Circle which circumscribes
the area of the Antarctic zone.

CHAPTER XII.
BETWEEN THE POLAR CIRCLE AND THE ICE WALL.

Since the _Halbrane_ has passed beyond the imaginary curve drawn at
twenty-three and a half degrees from the Pole, it seems as though
she had entered a new region, "that region of Desolation and
Silence," as Edgar Poe says; that magic person of splendour and
glory in which the _Eleanora's_ singer longed to be shut up to all
eternity; that immense ocean of light ineffable.

It is my belief--to return to less fanciful hypotheses--that the
Antarctic region, with a superficies of more than five millions of
square miles, has remained what our spheroid was during the glacial
period. In the summer, the southern zone, as we all know, enjoys
perpetual day, owing to the rays projected by the orb of light above
its horizon in his spiral ascent. Then, so soon as he has
disappeared, the long night sets in, a night which is frequently
illumined by the polar aurora or Northern Lights.

It was then in the season of light that our schooner was about to
sail in these formidable regions. The permanent brightness would not
fail us before we should have reached Tsalal Island, where we felt
no doubt of finding the men of the _Jane_.

When Captain Len Guy, West, and the old sailors of the crew learned
that the schooner had cleared the sixty-sixth parallel of latitude,
their rough and sunburnt faces shone with satisfaction. The next
day, Hurliguerly accosted me on the deck with a broad smile and a
cheerful manner.

"So then, Mr. Jeorling," said he, "we've left the famous'
Circle' behind us!"

"Not far enough, boatswain, not far enough!"

"Oh, that will come! But I am disappointed."

"In what way?"

"Because we