July 4.--It is the day of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. With characteristic Belgian thoughtfulness the Commandant has ordered a special feast and has sent up the Stars and Stripes to float over the _Belgica_ to be waved by the virgin antarctic breezes. America and American affairs are the topics around which our ideas revolve to-day. It is curious to watch our thoughts wheel around the incidents of current events. The beauty contest in April was succeeded by heated discussions and sentimental philosophy for several weeks. This was followed by the serious sentiments caused by the last sight of the sun and the death of Danco. Then followed a lot of light talk about “Nansen,” the cat, and his future. Has he a soul and is there a Heaven for him? To-day we are building up a United States of Europe, and are dreaming of annexing Canada and all of South America into one grand Union of States. There is a strong, steady, westerly wind charged with great quantities of drift snow. The ice is separating, leaving wide, endless, ice-free leads running north and south. In these we have seen a few finback whales, spouting, and sporting, and courting, in the midday twilight. The increasing light at noon is now very evident. From 10 A. M. to 2 P. M. on bright days it is clear enough to make _ski_ runs over the pack, without tumbling over the many hummocks which a week ago were invisible. Though the curtain of night is lifting, the men, when carefully examined, show an alarming physical condition. Almost everybody when questioned vows that he feels well, complaining only of a lack of ambition, but the actual condition is otherwise. We are pale and green about the facial folds. A slight exercise makes us gasp for breath, and the heart runs at an alarming speed. We now make it a rule to take an hour’s walk outside in a path about the bark, and during these walks the men easily freeze parts of the face, the fingers and toes, without knowing it. The reason for this is the blunted condition of our senses and the enfeebled circulation, with imperfect blood.