Proves the Ingenuity of Seals, and Shows That the Great Polar Bear Is No Respecter of Persons.
"When we were last time cruising in the _Alice_, I think I told you all about the Arctic winter,--did I not?" said the ancient mariner to his little friends, when they were met once more.
"Yes," answered William (who was always ready to act as spokesman for the party),--"yes, Captain Hardy, all about the Arctic winter, and the aurora borealis, and the wonderful moonlight, and the darkness, and how you and the handsome little Dean lived through it, and what you talked about, and how you passed the time, and what a doleful life you led, and what a dreadful thing it was, and how it made you shiver now to think of it; and--all that, and a great deal more."
"Certainly," replied the Captain, "certainly, that's it,--all told off nicely, my lad, just as if you were boxing the compass or repeating the multiplication table;--all about how we protected ourselves from cold, and kept ourselves from hunger, and prepared a home for ourselves on the Rock of Good Hope. And this seemed likely to be our home for life too,--so far, at least, as we could see; for it appeared clear enough to us that our condition would never change except with death, which we, like everybody else, whether they have ever been cast away or not, wanted to put off as long as possible, having no wish at all to die, and not liking either to freeze or starve: so you see we had good motives for energy and patience."
Here little Alice, in her quiet way, interrupted the Captain to say that the aurora borealis had troubled her dreams all night, and that she would like to know, if the Captain pleased, why anything should have such a strange name.
"That I will tell you with pleasure, my dear," answered the Captain; "I'll tell you all about it,--of course I will. Aurora borealis,--that means northern light; and the name comes from a pagan goddess called Aurora, who was supposed to have rosy fingers, and to ride in a rosy chariot, and who opened the gates of the East every morning, and brought in the light of day; and thus, in course of time, any great flush of light in the heavens got to be called Aurora. And then there was a pagan god called Boreas, who was the North Wind, and had long wings and white hair, and made himself generally disagreeable. So you see Boreas, from being the pagan name for north wind, got to mean the north; and Borealis, from that, became Northern, and Aurora Borealis became Northern Light."