fully realise these things, and with all his intelligence and energy
will produce little unless he has that extended experience.

The sky cleared at noon, and this afternoon I walked over the North
Bay to the ice cliffs--such a very beautiful afternoon and evening--the
scene bathed in moonlight, so bright and pure as to be almost golden,
a very wonderful scene. At such times the Bay seems strangely homely,
especially when the eye rests on our camp with the hut and lighted
windows.

I am very much impressed with the extraordinary and general cordiality
of the relations which exist amongst our people. I do not suppose that
a statement of the real truth, namely, that there is no friction at
all, will be credited--it is so generally thought that the many rubs of
such a life as this are quietly and purposely sunk in oblivion. With
me there is no need to draw a veil; there is nothing to cover. There
are no strained relations in this hut, and nothing more emphatically
evident than the universally amicable spirit which is shown on all
occasions.

Such a state of affairs would be delightfully surprising under any
conditions, but it is much more so when one remembers the diverse
assortment of our company.

This theme is worthy of expansion. To-night Oates, captain in a smart
cavalry regiment, has been 'scrapping' over chairs and tables with
Debenham, a young Australian student.

It is a triumph to have collected such men.

The temperature has been down to -23 deg., the lowest yet recorded
here--doubtless we shall soon get lower, for I find an extraordinary
difference between this season as far as it has gone and those
of 1902-3.

CHAPTER X

In Winter Quarters: Modern Style

_Monday, May_ 15.--The wind has been strong from the north all
day--about 30 miles an hour. A bank of stratus cloud about 6000 or
7000 feet (measured by Erebus) has been passing rapidly overhead
_towards_ the north; it is nothing new to find the overlying layers
of air moving in opposite directions, but it is strange that the
phenomenon is so persistent. Simpson has frequently remarked as a
great feature of weather conditions here the seeming reluctance of
the air to 'mix'--the fact seems to be the explanation of many curious
fluctuations of temperature.

Went for a short walk, but it was not pleasant. Wilson gave
an interesting lecture on penguins. He explained the primitive
characteristics in the arrangement of feathers on wings and body,