During the winter Captain Nares, assisted by his officers, did his very best to keep the crew not merely employed, but amused. A school was organised; and Captain Markham states, to the credit of the Royal Navy, that out of fifty-five men on the _Alert_ there were only two who could not read when they came on board. On both vessels there were small printing presses, which were used specially for printing the programmes of their entertainments, and occasionally even for striking off bills of fare. Each Thursday(15) was devoted to lectures, concerts, readings, and occasional theatrical performances. On the opening night—if any such distinction could be made when all was night—the programme commenced as follows:—“The Royal Arctic Theatre will be re-opened on Thursday next, the 18th inst. (18th November), by the powerful Dramatic Company of the Hyperboreans, under the distinguished patronage of Captain Nares, the Members of the Arctic Exploring Expedition, and all the Nobility and Gentry of the neighbourhood.” [Illustration: WINTER QUARTERS OF THE “ALERT.”] Meantime, on the _Discovery_ something very similar was occurring. As soon as the ice would bear it, they commenced erecting houses, including a magnificent observatory, an ice theatre, and a smithy. The theatre was opened on December 1st. It was the plan for plays to be produced by officers and men alternately. The entertainments were varied by songs and recitations, not a few of these being original. On November 5th they had a bonfire on the ice, and burned the “Guy,” according to the usual custom, with rockets and blue lights. The Rev. Charles Hodson, chaplain of the vessel, says:—“As soon as the ice was sufficiently firm, a walk of a mile in length was constructed by shovelling away the snow. This place was generally used as an exercise ground during the winter. We also constructed a skating-rink there. A free hole in the ice was always kept near the ship. From time to time this gradually closed up, and it then had to be sawn with ice saws or else blasted with gunpowder. The dogs lived on the open floe all the winter. The changes in the temperature are very rapid, and I have known the variation to be as great as 60° in a few hours. The coldest weather we had was in March, when one night the glass showed 70½° below zero.