A CYCLONE 313 



On March 14 we saw the last iceberg; during the 

 whole trip we had seen and passed between 500 and 

 600 bergs. 



The wind held steady from the north-east for a week 

 and a half, and I was beginning to think we should be 

 stuck down here to play the Flying Dutchman. There 

 was every possible sign of a west wind, but it did not come. 

 On the night of the 17th it cleared; light cirrus clouds 

 covered the sky, and there was a ring about the moon. 

 This, together with the heavy swell and the pronounced 

 fall of the barometer, showed that something might be 

 expected. And, sure enough, on Sunday, March 19, 

 we were in a cyclone. By manoeuvring according to 

 the rules for avoiding a cyclone in the southern hemi- 

 sphere, we at any rate went well clear of one semicircle. 

 About 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon the barometer was 

 down to 27'56 inches (700 millimetres), the lowest 

 barometer reading I have ever heard of. From noon 

 to 4 p.m. there was a calm, with heavy sea. Immedi- 

 ately after a gale sprang up from the north-west, and in 

 the course of a couple of days it slowly moderated to 

 a breeze from the same quarter. 



Sunday, March 5, a hundred icebergs; Sunday 

 March 12, a hurricane; and Sunday, March 19, a 

 cyclone: truly three pleasant " days of rest." 



The curves given on the next page, which show the 

 course of barometric pressure for a week, from Monday 

 to Monday, are interesting. 



VOL. II. 46 



