228 British Antarctic Expedition. 
from the point outwards towards the west. The 
wind had worn the ice and snow a good deal. 
The high ice barrier which rose through the screwing 
of the ice on the north-western side of our peninsula 
had diminished considerably. 
In the open sheet of water the penguins who 
had a holiday from parental duties seemed to amuse 
themselves by water sports. They jumped about, 
dived and turned near the surface, and seemed 
also to be playing at hide-and-seek amongst the 
hummocky ice-floes; they did not seem to be in the 
water for feeding purposes at all; in fact, those 
penguins which were off eggs were seen to wash 
themselves in the cavities on the surface of the ice 
where the green polar ice formed both the bottom 
of this their natural tub, and a looking-glass for 
them toilet. Phe penguins seem very vain birds, 
and if one had a soiled spot on its white waistcoat, 
were it ever so small, it was at once noticed by 
the others and made the most of in their small 
way. It was very funny to see them seemingly 
criticising each other. 
It was strange to see those penguins who had 
just arrived from the shore at the water's edge. 
They always came in shoals, and the first arrivals 
awaited until the complete number of their mates 
from the colony had arrived. Each shoal seemed 
to number from fifty to sixty. Arrived at the 
waters edge, the birds behaved just like some 
people before going into cold water; they hesitated, 
shivered, and generally seemed to pull themselves 
together before deciding to plunge into the cold 
crystal-clear water underneath. The remarkable 
