Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 103, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 April 1913 — Page 3

THE ISLAND OF CRIMSEY AND JAN MAYEN by THE DUCHESS BEDFORD

RCTIC i literature has always had a fascination for me, and it has long been my ambition to see something of the great frozen North; but, with the exception ,of a visit to Spitsbergen in 1902, when I went as far as Amsterdam Island and was stopped by ice, I have not been able to gratify my wish. In 1910 I visited Iceland. I find that when one has been to that country it is always assumed that one must have been Reyklavik

and the Geysirs. But Reyklavik and the Geysirs had no attractions for me, as.l was anxious to visit less well-known parts. The north and east coasts of Iceland and the Island of Grimsey were the object of my voyage.

Grimsey lies thirty miles north of the north coast of Iceland, and is just within the Arctic circle. It has about seventy inhabitants, who, with the exception of the pastor, live in turf huts. There is a very small wooden church, across the interior of which

a large beam supports the walls some two or three feet above the pulpit If the pastor stands upright the beam must come immediately in front of his face, and I regret that I was unable to attend a service to see how the difficulty was solved. The island is best know,n as the onl; breeding-place in Europe of the little auk. I was told that the inhabitants are noted chess and are sent to play in tournaments far from their own home. As an island of chess players, Grimsey may continue to be far famed, but as the home of the little auk 1 fear it is doomed.

During my visits I never saw more than a dozen of these interesting little birds. Their breeding* places are among the boulders on the most accessible parts of the shore, and an egg collector, who has lived a great number of years at Akureyri (the principal port on the north coast of Iceland) boasted to me that there were no little auks left breeding in Orimsey, as he had taken every egg. Fortunately, a few have escaped him, but the birds have evidently enormously decreased since the island was visited by Hantsch, the German naturalist. v Snow buntings, in their beautiful black and white summer plumage, were the commonest birds round the huts. Red-necked phalaropca, purple sandpipers, meadow pipits and ringed plovers were very abundant Eider ducks nest all round the dwelling houses, and are so tame that the islanders stroke them when sitting on their eggs, f

The commonest of the cliff breeders are the fulmars, puffins, kittlwakes, razorbills, and Brunnich’s guillemots, grey phalaropes, wheatears, white wagtails, ravens and other birds are seen In smaller numbers. About three hundred and ten miles N.N.E. of Iceland and two hundred and forty miles from the coast of Greenland, lies the Island of Jan Mayen. I had read about it in various vooks of Arctic travels, and in 1910 suggested half jokingly to my captain that I should like to go there. As the construction of my yacht is not adapted for encountering Ice, he treated my suggestion even less seriously than I had hoped, and for the tltne being I had to agree. However, the thought that I had been within twenty-six hours of that coveted goal lay at the back of my second visit to Iceland the following year, though I did not mention it until I saw what the weather was like at Grlmsey. 1 took the precaution of providing myself with the Austrian chart of Jan Mayen, which I knew my captain would consider unnecessary. Owing to bad weather, I had to wait some time at Akureyri (North Iceland) before I could go over to Grimsey, and during this time a naval lieutenant, who bad been with the ill-fated Mlkkelsen expedition to Greenland, came to call upon me. Unfortunatly, | was not on board, and he Interviewed the captain Instead, told him that Ice had been seen off Grlmsey four days before our arrival, and, of course, scorned the Idea of our going to Jan Mayen. The prospect did not seem hopeful, but as the ice was so near I told my captain that I should like to go and see It, and turn round as aoon as we met with it As we had perpetual daylight this suggestion found favor. We went over to Grlmsey, where the Inhabitants only confirmed what we had already heard, and expected we should meet with Ice about forty miles north of the Island. At «a. m on July 29th we weighed

anchor, and steamed away in pursuit of the Ice, but I stipulated that our course should He straight in the direction of Jan Mayen. The weather was bright and clear, and at 8 a. m. we sighted a distant iceberg between ourselves and the Greenland coast. At 11 a. m. there was no other sign of ice, though we had come over fifty miles. Birds were very scarce, generally only one or two fulmars were in sight, and I had seen two guillemots, two Arctic skua, and a few puffins. At 2p. m. we had steamed eighty-five miles. No ice had been seen, and only a few fulmars and kittlwakes came within sight of the yacht. 7:20 p. m. Log 148 miles. A northerly breeze dprung up, and the temperature of the water was 40 degrees. It had been 42 degrees two hours earlier. I had only seen one - Razorbill in the afternoon and a few fulmarß and kittlwakes. 9:15 p. m. Log 180 miles. Very clear weather. The sun set at about 11:15 p. m. The wind was westerly, and as there was a very heavy swell, little sleep was to be had. Bright sunshine cheered me when I looked out in the early hours of the following morning. There was no sign of Ice, and evidently none had been seen, or I should have heard of it. I knew that Jan Mayen could not be far off. At 7:15 a. m. I again looked out, and saw a dim outline of cliffs ahead, lost above in mist and cloud. Great numbers of Brunnlch’s guillemots, fulmars and a few kittlwakes were flying round, a sure sign of the proximity of land. The thermometer on deck registered 45 degrees Fahrenheit and the log 290 miles. Gradually the beautiful snow-covered volcano, Beerenberg, appeared above the cloud. All below was shrouded in mist, except just above Bea level, where one could trace the dim outline of land. As we approached, a long, low-lying peninsula stretched out to the southwest, and as the mist cleared off and opened up the high cliffs in front of us, we could see that the tops were covered with vegetation, and snow lay only in patches in the deep ravines. The whole island is apparently studded with craters, and the tops of the cliffs form huge rugged basins. The cliffs are a curious rusty red color (suggestive of iron) mixed with the black lava. I am not sure whether It was only the sight of them which frightened my captain, but. at all events, he believed his compasses to be affected, and was not enjoying himself as much as I was. Along the short was a line of broken ioe. The temperature of the water at 9 a. m. was 41 degrees and at 10:50 a. m. 86 degrees. As we steamed along from South Cape to South East Cape w« saw that Beerenberg. which at first appeared part of the cliffs in front of us, was separated from them by a low stretch of land, one mile and a half wide, and apparently little above sea level. Had there been no surf. It looked an easy place to land, but under the circumstances It was Impossible. By the time we reached this Isthmus the whole Island was clear, except for a few fleecy clouds over the southern end. Leaving the Isthmus behind us, we passed the remarkable crater. Egg Bluff, onoe, I believe, an Island, but now apparently connected with the shore. One side of It has been worn away by the sea. It Is 600 feet high, and from Its Inner wall steam Is said to be always rising.

It was the warmest day we had had since leaving England, and I spent the whole morning on the bridge without a coat Shortly after passing Egg Bluff, we steamed under Beerenberg. which, on this glorious, cloudless day, was daasllng In Its snowy whiteness. At noon the thermometer registered 40 degrees, the temperature of the war

by THE DUCHESS Of BEDFORD

the shore, and had it been good holding ground it might have been possible to anchor, but as we were right in front of the Wille glacier, which comes down to the sea, it was doubtful what the bottom would be like, and in any case it would have been unwise for us to do so. The cliffs on this coast are very precipitous, and, could I have landed, it would only have been possible to walk about half a mile along the narrow strip of beach. As it was, we found, as we approached it in the *dinghey, that there was too much surf to allow of our attempting it, and I had to content myself with rowing along within a few yards of the shore. Floating ice stopped us in one direction, and heavy surf in the other. Numbers of glaucous gulls were sitting above high-water mark, and of course were very tame. Hundreds of Brunnlch’s guillemots and fulmars flew around us, and I saw one black guillemot, probably U. mandtl. Not until I fired my gun had I any idea of the number of birds on the cliff above me. Probably owing to the nature of the soil, and the fact that the lava slopes are less precipitous than the granite cliffs where seafowl generally congregate, the usual evidences of a great breeding resort were absent. The glaciers are not as fine there as in Spitsbergen, as they are covered with lava dust, and the wonderful blue ice, which is sa characteristic of that country, is absent Neither are the tops of the mountains so jagged, and I cannot agree with Scoresby that It reminded me in any way of Spitsbergen. As it was inadvisable to go down the west coast, we returned by the southeast coast, leaving the Wille glacier at 1:40 p. m. As we steamed round the South East cape, we could see the whole of this weird and wonderful Island from end to end lp cloudless sunshine. But for the surf, no one could have seen It under more perfect conditions, and probably without the wind we should have had fog. Already It was creeping up to eastward of us, and at 5 p. m., when we were well away from the island, we rag into It. After the fog we had an easterly gal 6 and dangerous sea, which obliged us to change our course for a time. But I had seen Jan Mayen, and did not greatly care what happened!

First Boob—Whacha do last summer? Second Boob—Worked In the lumbering and staving business. First Boob—Yea? Second 800b —Yep. Lumbering down the street and staving off my creditors.—Cornell Widow.

Willis —How do you suppose Jacob happened to see that ladder stretching up to heaven In his dream?

Gills—He had probably spent all afternoon going up to his seats In row ZZZ in the stand at some football game!—Puck.

*T don’t believe Gridley has a single red ©orpuscle in his veins.” "What makes you think so?"

“He can sit through a football game without once raising his voice above a conversational tone.”

Drees Sergeant (after worrying Brown, the new recruit, for two hours)—Right about, face. Brown —Thank goodness, I’m right about something at last—Tltrßlts. v

ter 87 degrees, and there was a 3 fresh, northwesterly breezeWe continued our voyage round the east coast, and here the sea was' so calm that we went fairly close m shore, as It seemed probable that I could land. We stopped in

sixteen fathoms of water, nearly a mile from

Colloquy of the Boobs.

A Long Route.

Unemotional.

Hopeful Sign.

DESIGNS ARE VARIED

WIDE CHOICE ALLOWED IN THE MATTER QF NECKWEAR. -\ '■ \r : V-. Medici Shapes Probably the Prettiest es the Many That Have the Approval of Fashion—Selection a Matter for Care. Not all the collars rolling away from the throat belong under the Robespierre heading, though that j classification has become elastic enough to cover the host of shapes that have not the remotest kinship with the original Robespierre model. The socalled Medici shapes have followed close upon the hels of the Robespierre fad and now one sees quantities of collars, which, instead of rolling slightly and then turning down in deep points, flare out from the throat and roll at the edge without turning down. Of course in all such shapes there is some faint echo of the famous Medici collar, and so the name clings to all the variation on the theme. Some of the Medici models are exceedingly attractive and, if becoming at all, are extremely so. They vary greatly in width, spread of flare and closeness to the throat, some of them hugging the throat quite close at the base and flaring only toward the top, others being set lower and standing away from the throat a little all around. One collar standß high at the sides and back, rolling slightly at the upper edge, and the flare widens at the sides. The sides of the collar slant toward the front at the base and fasten with a soft bow of silk. There is also an attached frill of lace which falls to the waistline in cascade effect.

Many of the Medici models are made up in satin and worn outside a transparent close collar, or are resolved into a flaring Medici frill topping a close stock of satin or velvet But a wired lace collar such as described is, if made up cleverly and of lovely lace, a very picturesque and delightful bit of neckwear. Apropos of the high close stocks and frills, much is done with that sort of thing and when the throat of the

wearer la slender and fairly long the effect Is usually good, but the short* necked woman should avoid the stock with top frill as she would the plague. When the frill goes across the back merely, the collar is more generally becoming than when it runs all around, and these net or lace frills at the back are often quite deep, falling far below the base of the neck. The all around frill varies in width from an inch to the depth of the collar. * /

The craze for Bulgarian or Oriental colorings shown in frocks and blouses has reached the realm of neckwear, and collars of coarse linen or voile are embroidered in Oriental

FOR A PRIZED PHOTOGRAPH

Pretty Frame Not at All Hard to Construct and an Attractive Adjunct to Boudoir. % A pretty little photograph frame containing the portrait of the donor makes a most acceptable gift, and dainty frames can be easily made at home In a great variety of shapes and designs. In the accompanying sketch may be seen quite a simple frame,

that even a novice can undertake without fear of failure. In making It, when the else has been decided upon, a square piece of thick carboard should be obtained, and a dr cular bole cut exactly in the center, then that side which Is to be the front is padded with a thin layer of cotton wool, and smoothly covered with pink silk, upon which the design shown has been worked in various shades of

colorings and designs. In many case* the background of white colored eon broidery. 'Very wide and plaited frills are used! with many of the low rolling collars,i but there 3 are narrower models, too„ and" the number of arrangements 104 net and lace covering the greater parti of the blouse with which they are worn is large. These may be high, necked j>r low necked, but whether 1 there is a high close stock or turndown collar, some sort of plastron or* bib or bertha goes with the collar, falling low over the front of the bodice and well over the shoulders and back. Such a collar, If dainty and of fine material and well designed, islikely to be rather expensive, but will do wonders toward freshening a worn, blouse and looks extremely well between open coat fronts. - - MARY DEAN.

Beauty Hint.

When the water used for the facial bath is bot enough to sting the skin it is too hot to be beneficial. It Is likely to cause the skin to become ultra-* sensitive, so that when it is exposed to the sun or wind it will bum and glow red. Hot water for bathing the face should be Just hot enough to bo used with perfect comfort After playing golf or motoring It la well to use a cleansing cream, rubbing it well into the skin and removing it after four or five minutes with a piece of absorbent cotton. Then dip a soft cloth in warm water and hold it against the face for a minutd or two. Dry the skin gently with a' towel with a gentle rotary movement Follow the massage by dipping a soft cloth in very cold water, using It as directed above, and a feeling of re* freshment will well repay the trouble.

Paint and Powder.

Why on earth will women daub pow. der on their faces until they look as if they had been unskillfully whitewashed, and then go out on the street imagining that they look beautiful? As for rouge, there isn’t one woman in a thousand that knows how to put it on properly. The effect is generally the same as in the case of bleached hair —every line and blemish of the face stands out, and the rouged woman looks about ten years older than she naturally would. If a woman can put it on so that it blends Into the skin and we can’t tell whether she is rouged or not —well that’s her own business. But It takes an artist to do It, and the average woman shouldu’t flatter herself that she has especial talents along that line. —Woman’* World.

New Waistline.

The new waistline, much higher In front than at the back, that has been gradually evolved during the past few seasons, is now strongly emphasized In coats which lengthen narrowly at the back, rounding from a high bnst line above a short waistcoat or a high folded girdle. That It is excessively ngly and awkward does not seem to. matter In the least. One of the French designers of fashion carries* this line Into skirts as well, catting' them much shorter in front than at the back. In a long skirt this effect) is rather good, adding significance to* a pretty foot

Compact Manicure Sets.

Even if you do not customarily carry a shopping bag, you need not go about without a manicure set, for they now come In so compact a form that they will go Into a Jacket without unduly crowding It One case In leatherette holds a burnt wood box filled with scissors, orange stick, file, emery boards, buffer and bottle* of nail bleach and polish. Another case, of English ivory, contains a tiny box of nail polish, a buffer, file and cuticle knife.

Crepe Hats Trimmed With Flowers.

Hats of English crepe In pink, rose, blue and maze are trimmed with hand* some floral effects.

green. The material can be turned over at the edges and fastened on at the back with Seccotlne, or some other strong adhesive. Diagram A illustrates this. A small brass ring is attached to the top at the back by means of a loop of tape and a little glue, and a glance at diagram B shows how this can be done. The frame Is entirely outlined with a dark green silk cord of a fancy pattern carried into a loop at each corner, turned inwards. The photograph, with a piece of glass arranged in front of it, can be placed behind the opening and secured In Its place by packing a piece of dark green paper across the back, with the result shown In diagram C. Diagrams D and E give the detail of the embroidery, E Illustrating the four leaves at the top of the frame, and D a section of the chain of leaves that runs round the opening. \

The New Ribbons.

The characteristics of the new ribbons are richness of coloring and very large bold patterns. Large designs, poppies and orchids and roses sow typical. In the velour ribbons dark floral effects will be especially in fa vor. Moire brocaded ribbons with floral backgrounds in rich tones, lost will be used for millinery.

Patchwork Quilt.

A patchwork quilt may be made from castoff coats, pantaloons, dresses etc. One thickness of ticking for a lining Is sufficient and easier to wash. On acoount of the material b* lng heavy It will be best to cut the pieces In large blocks.