254 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 



boot. To this attach a stiff point, i.e. 

 a nail. 



(B) Pull back awl and push through next 



hole. 



(C) Make two loops of the awl thread (see 



sketch) inside the boot, and put the nail 

 through the loop, whose end is attached 

 to the boot (the other loop is in the 

 supply thread), and so on. 



Then I darned four socks, using string instead of wool, for 

 With, four pairs on, and with our hardened skin, the roughness 

 was immaterial. 



Whit-Sunday came along in due course, and we had Church 

 service. This consisted of the usual Morning Prayer with the 

 special Antarctic Collect and two hymns. Absolutely the chief 

 lack in the hut was a hymnal with tunes ! We had a Broad- 

 wood piano and a dozen hymn books, but no music except 

 three or four songs, such as " Asleep in the Deep," " Old 

 Madrid," and "Alcala." 



Captain Scott asked me to vamp some tunes for the hymns. 

 I could really have risen to hymn music, but was unable to 

 vamp, and told him so. I tried to invent an accompaniment 

 or two but failed dismally. Cherry next negotiated it, and 

 managed one or two quite successfully ; but each fresh tune 

 needed such a lot of practice that he gave it up after a few 

 Sundays. 



However, there seemed no end to the tunes known to 

 Scott and Bowers, and these with Wilson, Debenham, and 

 Lashley formed quite a respectable choir. 



The Owner was very keen on the hymns. On one occasion 

 he gave out " Onward, Christian soldiers," and was so dis- 

 satisfied with the result, that he specially repeated the same 

 hymn next Sunday till we were more in unison. 



The South Polar Times was now finished as far as the letter- 

 press, and was in the hands of the binder. The whole pro- 

 duction was supposed to be a secret, but it was necessarily 

 a very open one ! We could all see Day manipulating seal- 

 skin and Venesta board — in his bunk ; though I don't think 

 that any one expected he would make such a really artistic job 

 of it as he did. Ponting printed four of his finest photo- 

 graphs on very large sheets and then moulded them and 



