The vapour arising in this room did not reach the deck on which the men lived, but was conveyed through a trap hatch leading into the fore-peak to a large space under the top-gallant forecastle, inclosed by a snow wall and made its exit through an up-take formed of a piece of funnelling. The compartment was heated by a stove, the fire in which was kept burning night and day. The very difficult question of ventilation below was carefully considered. It is one of the most important and serious matters that can come under the consideration of the commander of an Arctic expedition. Nothing is so essential to the preservation of health as the pure and free circulation of air on the living deck. In this respect we were not so well off as our predecessors, for they, being supplied with the Sylvester heating apparatus, were able to admit a more constant current of air, and thus keep their habitable deck in a better state and more free from condensation than ours. We found it a very difficult matter to prevent in the slightest degree the accumulation of moisture on the beams overhead, caused by the condensation formed by the number of people living on the deck, and by the vapour arising from the galley fire. Several up-takes and down-takes were fitted in holes cut through the upper deck in our attempts to remedy this serious defect, but as a rule they had little effect in counteracting it. Men were incessantly employed during the winter in wiping the moisture off the beams with cloths. If the hatchway doors were kept open, even for a short time, this moisture was at once converted into ice, which, of course, thawed and dripped immediately as the temperature was raised. This drip was a constant source of annoyance to us during the whole winter, and it was one to which we had, in part, to submit. Whilst all these necessary preparations for the safety and warmth of the ship were being carried out, the comforts of those who were about to brave the rigours of an Arctic winter were not forgotten. Warm garments were issued, consisting principally of a complete suit of seal-skins and warm woollen guernseys. It must not be supposed that our seal-skins were of the same material as those soft fur jackets so much in vogue with the fair ones at home. Ours were obtained from the ordinary Greenland seals, whose skins are covered with coarse bristly hairs. They were, nevertheless, quite as warm, and were indeed our favourite articles of clothing after the unpleasant aroma, which seems inseparable from clothing of this description, had worn off, or until we had become so accustomed to it as to fail to notice it!