THE TERRA NOFA GOES SOUTH 49 



remembered. Moreover, it is etiquette to pull only during the 

 chorus. No wonder the sailorman loves this chanty. At the 

 conclusion of the hauling some mysterious signal passes along 

 the " centipede " of sailors, and the experts let go, while the 

 novice is jerked forward off his feet by some one coiling the 

 rope rapidly round the belaying pins. Then we troop back to 

 the wardroom, leave our oilskins and sea boots in the 

 " balcony," and resume our reading, writing, or embroidery. 

 This last may seem unusual, but was a fact. 



Many of the after-guard were provided with silken sledge 

 flags given to them by friends before leaving. Others had 

 had them made in Christchurch. One of the officers, nothing 

 daunted by feminine and professional examples, boldly set to 

 work and evolved a fine one under the jeers of his com- 

 panions. The first sledge flags were carried in the north on 

 the Franklin Relief Expeditions, and they are all made on the 

 same pattern. They are three feet long and one foot wide, 

 the end having a triangular notch a foot deep. At the staff 

 end is worked a square St. George's Cross (red on white) 

 while any desired design, such as a private crest, school shield 

 or professional emblem, occupies the centre of the flag. A cord 

 or ribbon of appropriate colour runs all round the flag. Some 

 are very ornamental, and they will make a brave show down 

 south. A maple leaf, and a map of Australia are patriotic 

 signs. A flash of lightning adorns the meteorologist's banner. 

 Shields of the Cambridge colleges are numerous, and several 

 well-known schools, both in Australia and England, are 

 commemorated. 



Members of the party were soon seized by Dr. Levick in 

 the interests of science. He was armed with a wonderful 

 array of slips of coloured glasses, and with a simple telescope, 

 across which the glasses could be inserted. With these he 

 examined the colour of all our eyes, for it is maintained that 

 there is a perceptible change in the iris after a sojourn in polar 

 regions. I do not suppose green eyes would change into the 

 more popular violet, but on our return we may find we have 

 moved up or down his scale of colours ; just as one learned 

 ethnologist declares that the hardy Norsemen are Africans 

 decolorised by a changed environment ! 



In the evening a few of the after-guard may bring out 

 novels, but there has been little time except a day or two in 



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