The Argosy — page 232: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

About Norway. 215 near the edge as possible, we picked up pieces of white stone to bring away as trophies: mementoes of our expedition to the North Cape, which, at this moment, was a failure. Everyone’s teeth chattered with cold. One lamented that he had not brought up his cardinal’s blanket ; another declared he felt paralysis gaining upon him. Every- one’s jaws, I say, chattered in quite a laughable way, and everyone’s face turned pale. As for the ladies, whilst braving it all with daunt- less courage, they were to be pitied: it was an unfit experience for them. Yet they loudly (you will always find the weaker the cause the louder the tone) declared that it was quite delightful and refresh- ing: whilst some so far parleyed with conscience as to say they pre- ferred this frightful wind and raging storm to the glories of the midnight sun. Struggling back to the other side of the Cape, we found the sailors and the stewards trying to light a fire and boil the kettle; but trying in vain. ‘They had taken up half-a-dozen different positions behind huge rocks, but wherever they went the wind went also, and no fire could live through it. So the ladies drank champagne out of wine- glasses, and some of the gentlemen had a little brandy to restore circulation and ward off paralytic attacks; but for the most part no one took anything at all. To all intents and purposes the servants had had their trouble .for nothing. Nevertheless, next morning the stewards handed round a little bill to each of the passengers, ladies excepted, of 5s. 74d. for ‘‘ Refreshment at the North Cape.” Some protested and paid; others, remembering that the men had really worked hard in the common cause, paid without protesting. When matters came to be investigated by the protestors, it turned out that sundry bottles had been broken in the transit, but how broken and how disposed of it was thought advisable not to consider too closely. Frozen, half petrified, quite drenched, altogether uncomfortable and wholly miserable, everyone now prepared to go down the moun- tain. It looked a formidable undertaking, and I, for one, wished myself safely on board the steamer: the only thing of life and animation visible on the great wide waste of waters. In twos and threes, small groups, or solitary units, the little band of martyrs toiled downwards. To our right was a large patch of frozen snow: the very patch over which we had watched the string of reindeer in their majestic walk, as they followed each other like sheep. Upon this stood the chief oificer of the Michael Krohn, but, knowing his ground, he had taken care to make two deep indentations. Less wise than he in such matters, or perhaps more thoughtless, I walked on to the top, and immediately began a sliding process without any chance of stopping. In rolling over precipices, one’s fall may be broken by a friendly root or tree, but the snow does not put forth anything of this sort. There was, however, a living branch at hand, in the shape of the chief offices; and as I was flying past he caught and landed me on terra COMMICOOOKS.C©