I902] NIGGER MINSTRELS 281 



' To-night the choruses and plantation songs led by Royds 

 were really well sung, and they repay him for the very great 

 pains that he has taken in the rehearsals. Of course in the 

 choruses of " Marching through Georgia," " Golden Slippers," 

 " Suwanee River," and such songs, the audience felt that they 

 must also " lend a hand," and did so with such a will that the 

 rafters shook. The jokes were nearly all home-made and 

 topical, but amused us none the less for that ; everyone had 

 some sly shaft of wit aimed at him, but all in the best of good 

 humour, and so the merry jests went round until something 

 had been said about the ship, the dogs, the windmill, the 

 people, and every imaginable or unimaginable thing about us, 

 and on the whole they afforded us a good deal of hearty 

 laughter. 



' I can remember but few of these jocular efforts; I recollect 

 that the cook was likened to a cooper round a cask — because 

 he was always going round " doing a tap." Another question 

 which puzzled me for some time was, " Can you told me, 

 Massa Bones, what am de best way to clear lower-deck in de 

 Dishcubry?" Bones suggested that it was to turn on a 

 southerly wind (when the stoves begin to smoke badly), but 

 the correct answer was much truer : " You tak' an' open a tin 



of 's Brussels sprouts." Another, and perhaps better, 



question was, " Can you told me what am de worst vegetable 

 as we took from Englan' ? " One naturally thought that some 

 such answer as the above might have fitted here, but the proper 

 reply was stated to be " The Dundee leak." When we got 

 back to the ship after the performance we decided that in spite 

 of the cold we had spent an extremely pleasant evening.' 



'•August 7. — The cold snap continues, and to-day is calm. 

 Barne is far out with a small sledge and sounding machine ; 

 Shackleton and Hodgson still further, digging up a fish trap. 

 Many others are scattered about in various directions, and all 

 rejoicing in the absence of wind. The sky is clear overhead 

 and the light fairly good, but to the north hangs a yellowish 

 brown haze, now rather common. It seemed to grow colder 

 as I went outwards over the floe, and a light wind persistently 



