MAKING OUR EASTING DOWN 39 
from all the pleasures of civilization. As Scott wrote in 
The Voyage of the Discovery, where one of the officers 
used to play each evening: “ This hour of music has be- 
come an institution which none of us would willingly for- 
go. I don’t know what thoughts it brings to others, though 
I can readily guess ; but of such things one does not care 
to write. I can well believe, however, that our music 
smooths over many a ruffle and brings us to dinner each 
night in that excellent humour, where all seem good-tem- 
pered, though ‘ cleared for action’ and ready for fresh 
argument.” 
The wind freshened to our joy ; Scott was impatient ; 
there was much to be done and the time for doing it was 
not too long, for it had been decided to leave New Zealand 
at an earlier date than had been attempted by any previous 
expedition, in order to penetrate the pack sooner and make 
an early start on the depot journey. The faintest glow of 
the Aurora Australis which was to become so familiar to us 
was seen at this time, but what aroused still more interest 
was the capture of several albatross on the lines flowing out 
-over the stern. 
The first was a ‘sooty’ (cornicoides). We put him 
down on the deck, where he strutted about in the proudest 
way, his feet going flop—flop—flop as he walked. He was 
a most beautiful bird, sooty black body, a great black head 
with a line of white over each eye and a gorgeous violet line 
running along his black beak. He treated us with the 
greatest contempt, which, from such a beautiful creature, 
we had every appearance of deserving. Another day a little 
later we caught a wandering albatross, a black-browed alba- 
tross, and a sooty albatross all together, and set them on 
the deck tethered to the ventilators while their photographs 
were taken. They were such beautiful birds that we were 
loath to kill them, but their value as scientific specimens 
outweighed the wish to set them free, and we gave them 
ether so that they did not suffer. 
The Southern Ocean is the home of these and many 
species of birds, but among them the albatross is pre- 
eminent. It has been mentioned that Wilson believed that 
