1902] RETURN OF THE SUN 289 



forward on such ungainly rollers can be well imagined. This 

 new toy continued to give pleasure to the inventor, and inci- 

 dentally to many others, for some hours ; and as I came in, 

 Barne was assisting Shackleton to rig it with the dinghy's sails — 

 I do not know with what success, but I can very well imagine.' 



Of course this machine was very soon neglected and for- 

 gotten, but in justice to the inventor it ought to be added that 

 there were times when the snow surface about us was so hard 

 that it would have been quite possible to resort to wheeled 

 traffic, and I am sure that for many purposes a very light cart 

 with broad-tyred wheels would have been extremely useful. 

 But I cannot conceive that a rum-cask would ever prove a 

 desirable addition to a vehicle ! 



1 August 21. — . . . The sun returns to us to-day, but, alas 

 and alack ! we could get no sight of it. A few hours of calm 

 in the morning were succeeded by whirling snow-squalls from 

 the south, and each lull was followed by a wild burst of wind. 

 I was glad enough to have everyone on board under such 

 unsettled conditions, and at noon when we had hoped to 

 be far over the hills, we could see only vast sheets of gleaming 

 snow. 



1 August 22. — ... An ideal day for our first view of the 

 long-absent sun : the sky was gloriously clear, and in its vaulted 

 arch the strong returning light of day hid all except the 

 brightest stars, and these wore but a pale semblance of their 

 winter aspect. The air was mild and the temperature ranging 

 up to 5 , as, in high spirits, many of the officers started to 

 mount the steep hill-slopes, determined to have a good look 

 at our long-absent friend. I went myself to the top of Crater 

 Hill, a thousand feet above the floe, to watch for the returning 

 orb ; at noon, when it was due north, it rested behind the long 

 foot-slope of Erebus, but as it travelled westward its altitude 

 decreased far less rapidly than that of the slope, and gradually 

 the refracted glowing ellipse crept from behind that obstacle 

 and stood clear, dazzling our unaccustomed sight with its 

 brilliancy. For long our blinking eyes remained fixed on that 

 golden ball and on the fiery track of its reflection j we seemed 

 vol. I. u 



