44 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' 



size which is rarely, if ever, used in these days. And yet 

 when all these elaborate precautions had been taken we could 

 not banish magnetic objects from the sacred ring, for as a 

 critic might well have pointed out in the first place, the pro- 

 vision-rooms within it could not possibly have their contents 

 preserved in brass. 



Nevertheless, this care in building was by no means lost. 

 The magnetic observations taken on board throughout the 

 voyage required astonishingly little correction, and though the 

 condition of perfection looked for was not achieved, it was 

 certainly more nearly approached than it would have been in 

 an ordinary wooden steamship. 



There were several curious results of this magnetic ordi- 

 nance. I might mention, for instance, that the officers outside 

 the circle slept on modern spring mattresses, whilst those 

 within had to content themselves with wooden battens. There 

 was quite a small stir, too, when the buttons of some cushions 

 were found to be made of iron, and these were immediately 

 ripped off and replaced by leaden ones. Of course, also, the 

 magnetic regulations caused some amusement : at one time 

 those who lived within the circle were threatened with the 

 necessity of shaving with brass razors. The careful rounds 

 made by the navigator before he commenced his observations 

 were another subject of jest : knives and all sorts of instru- 

 ments had to be summarily confiscated and placed beyond the 

 pale, much to the annoyance of their owners ; and on our way 

 home from New Zealand I remember one awful case where it 

 was discovered that throughout a whole set of observations a 

 parrot had been hanging on the mess-deck. It was not the 

 inoffensive bird that was objected to, but the iron wires of its 

 cage. 



The general distribution of ourselves and our stores inside 

 the ' Discovery ' can be seen in the plan. The wardroom was 

 a good-sized apartment, about thirty feet long and nearly 

 twenty feet across ; on each side were comparatively roomy 

 cabins for the officers, whilst at the after-end, between it and 

 the engine-room, lay my own cabin and that of the navigating 



