68 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION LM* 



We have felt the want of an alarm clock, as in such a small 

 party it seems undesirable that anyone should have to remain 

 awake the whole night to take the 2-4 A.M. observations, but 

 Browning has come to the rescue with a wonderful contrivance. 

 It consists of a bamboo spring held back by a piece of cotton 

 rove through a candle which is marked off in hours. The other 

 end of the cotton is attached to the trigger of the gramophone, 

 and whoever takes the midnight observations winds the gramo- 

 phone, ' sets ' the cotton, lights the candle, and turns the trumpet 

 towards Priestley, who has to turn out for the 2 A.M., and then 

 turns in himself. At ten minutes to two the candle burns the 

 thread and releases the bamboo spring, which being attached 

 to the trigger starts the gramophone in the sleeper's ear, and 

 he turns out and stops the tune. This arrangement works beauti- 

 fully, and can be timed to five minutes. 



Other things we should have brought are fencing masks and 

 foils. As it is, Abbott has manufactured some helmets out of 

 old flour tins and also some bamboo sabres, and there have been 

 desperate encounters out on the snow. 



The prismatic skies we get during the day now are perfectly 

 lovely, and last night we had, I think, the best coloured aurora 

 we have seen. It was a great curtain across the northern sky, 

 the colours being red, green, and yellow. 



This spell of fine weather continued until June 18, when 

 the glaciers were obscured with drift, and we could hear the 

 rumbling of pressure on the other side of Cape Adare, a sure 

 sign of wind, although with us it was still quite calm. 



We counted twenty-six seals along the tide crack to-day, 

 whereas for some weeks before we had not seen any. 



June 19. Last night about 8 it came on to blow a full gale, 

 with heavy drift and squalls of hurricane force. The hut worked 

 a good deal and some of the outer planking was ripped off. It 

 was my turn for the midnight rounds, and I got my nose rather 

 badly frostbitten, so to-day it is one big blister. 



On the morning of the 2Oth the wind went down and we 

 were able to repair the hut. The sea ice stood the blizzard 

 well, but again it had been forced back about a hundred yards 

 from the north shore. 



On June 22 we celebrated Midwinter Day with the usual 

 festivities. 



