human
But that is not so astonishing as those servant girls, or our own countrymen,
gpt
I beg your pardon, replied Clawbonny;
human
What is the mean temperature, Mr. Clawbonny, of animated beings?
gpt
That varies with the species, replied the Doctor.
human
Birds have the highest, especially the duck and the hen. The mammalia come next, and human beings. The temperature of Englishmen averages 101°.
gpt
I am sure Mr. Altamont is going to claim a higher rate for his countrymen,
human
Well, sure enough, we've some precious hot ones among us, but as I never have put a thermometer down their throats to ascertain, I can't give you statistics.
gpt
There is no sensible difference, said the Doctor,
human
Then the heat of our bodies is the same here as in England,
gpt
Just about it. The other species of mammalia are generally hotter than human beings. The horse, the hare, the elephant, the porpoise, and the tiger are nearly the same; but the cat, the squirrel, the rat, the panther, the sheep, the ox, the dog, the monkey, and the goat, are as high as 103°; and the pig is 104°.
human
Rather humiliating to us,
gpt
Then come the amphibia and the fish, resumed the Doctor,
human
All this is very well, interrupted Hatteras, who had hitherto taken no part in the conversation,
gpt
I can enlighten you on that too, replied the Doctor.
human
There are a great number of memorable winters, which appear to have come at intervals of about forty-one years. In 1364, the Rhone was frozen over as far as Arles; in 1408, the Danube was frozen throughout its entire extent, and the wolves crossed the Cattigut on firm ground; in 1509, the Adriatic and the Mediterranean were frozen at Venice and Marseilles, and the Baltic on the 10th of April; in 1608, all the cattle died in England from the cold; in 1789, the Thames was frozen as far as Gravesend; and the frightful winter of 1813 will long be remembered in France. The earliest and longest ever known in the present century was in 1829. So much for Europe.
gpt
But here, within the Polar circle, what is the lowest degree?
human
My word! said the Doctor.
gpt
I think we have experienced the lowest ourselves, for one day the thermometer was 72° below zero, and, if my memory serves me right, the lowest temperature mentioned hitherto by Arctic voyagers has been 61° at Melville Island, 65° at Port Felix, and 70° at Fort Reliance.
human
Yes, said Hatteras,
gpt
You were stopped, you say?
human
Yes, in our voyage west,
gpt
Then the maximum and minimum temperatures, said Altamont, resuming the conversation,
human
But if the sun were suddenly extinguished, suggested Johnson,
gpt
There is no fear of such a catastrophe; but, even should it happen, the temperature would be scarcely any different.
human
That's curious.
gpt
It is; but Fourrier, a learned Frenchman, has proved the fact incontestably. If it were not the case, the difference between day and night would be far greater, as also the degree of cold at the Poles. But now I think, friends, we should be the better of a few hours' sleep. Who has charge of the stove?
human
It is my turn to-night,
gpt
Well, pray keep up a good fire, for it is a perishing night.
human
Trust me for that, said Bell.
gpt
But do look out, the sky is all in a blaze.
human
Ay! it is a magnificent aurora, replied the Doctor, going up to the window.
gpt
How beautiful! I never tire gazing at it.