in a frail little fishing vessel was the first to circumnavigate Spitsbergen (1863). It was from this town that Nordenskiéld, Nansen, Wellmann, Andrée, Sverdrup, Amundsen, and Nobile started out on their adventurous expeditions to Arctic regions. But what about the Midnight Sun? Oh, we saw it before reaching Tromsg¢. In golden red it hung on the edge of the sea in the north, and cast a wondrous mat and mild radiance over isle, fjord and fjell. Everyone was on deck to see this entran- cing phenomenon of the sun shining at night. Gradually it rose higher in the heavens and again became.a veritable day-sun. We leave Troms¢ at noon and reach North Cape a short time before midnight. Here we go ashore and climb to the top of the famous promontory. The view from North Cape, with the Midnight Sun in the northern seas shedding its magic light over land and people, is one of the most beautiful the world can show. At 1.30 p.m. the Stavangerfjord weighs anchor and heads northward almost directly for the mid- night sun, which, however, moves slowly aside to the right and up into the eastern skies. Next day we have a little fog. The great question is whether it will last. Fortunately it does not, for about ten o’clock at night it disperses and the sun shines from a blue sky. The captain tells us that we shall soon be off South Cape — the south- ern extremity of Spitsbergen. 188