18 FROM EDINBURGH TO THE ANTARCTIC 
and why there should be but one beautiful spot in such 
a large and wealthy town. But enough of Dundee! 
Thank heaven if you need not work under its smoky 
cowl, and pray for the poor souls who think that they 
must. 
After we had taken our traps on board we went down 
to the shipping office and waited our turn to sign articles. 
This was quite an impressive function. The clerk and the 
skipper stood behind a broad counter and both looked 
very kind ; the crew stood in front and looked rather 
grim. The two parties were separated by a substantial 
brass lattice-work, which I was told serves to prevent 
the men on pay day totting up accounts with their 
masters in other than a legal manner. When several of 
the crew were collected, the clerk read the articles aloud, 
previous to our signing them, rattling them off at such a 
rate that we could form but a vague idea of what he was 
reading about. I could gather that we were to sail on the 
Balaena, bound for the Antarctic and the adjacent seas, 
and there was a something about plum duff on Sundays, 
and beef and split peas on some other day of the week. 
These were the rations the men were signing for ; but 
they could tell no more than I could what the clerk had 
read. 
The men received their first half-month's pay in advance 
wherewith to supply themselves with clothing and a deoch 
an doris. I can vouch for their having had the latter when 
they came on board ; but a good deal of the clothing 
they have bought since from the master's slop chest, for 
which payment will be deducted out of their wages — an 
