6 4 
FROM EDINBURGH TO THE ANTARCTIC 
private stores for the voyage were covered in the same 
way, so the men were pretty well bound to resort to 
the agents soon after their return. The companies, with 
the humanity characteristic of companies in general, and 
for the men's benefit, no doubt, forbade the agents to 
send men on board with supplies of drink. As there were 
no objections made to their being supplied with soap, 
the agents got over the restriction by giving the men 
whisky and iteming it In their accounts as bar soap, so the 
amount of bar soap taken on board these ships by the 
men was alarming. When the men were well over summer 
Plimsoll line with the equivalent for bar soap,they naturally 
found some difficulty in getting on board, especially as it 
was the custom to take with them anything of value that 
came in their way that was neither too hot nor too heavy. 
Our narrator described his bringing on board one of the 
men who is with us here, — who, in this happy condition, 
had gone astray and wandered in£o the country and 
looted a farm-house of all the ducks. It must have been 
a strange picture, this stuffy little black-haired, red-faced 
sailor staggering along the shore with our sixteen-stone 
blond pirate on his shoulders, quite unconscious, but 
grimly hanging on to the ducks. 
Plum-dufif day is a conspicuous day in the week, 
distinguished from the other six by this very delightful 
pudding being served to all the ship's company. The 
name is slightly misleading, as it is at least suggestive 
of plums. But sea plum-duff, though it is very good, 
especially with treacle on the top of it, is in no way 
connected with plums. We have, however, more modern 
