FROM EDINBURGH TO THE ANTARCTIC 
IS 
woods of the Kinross, the Ochils lit up, and far away 
over the silvery bends of the Forth, Ben Ledi and Ben 
Lomond raised their grey heads into the yellow western 
sky. 
As we took our departure at such an early hour, the 
citizens of Edinburgh did not turn out in force to bid us 
farewell, but one Hall man, who had been working all 
night for Jtiis final, came out of his lamp-lit room into the 
daylight as we rattled our boxes down-stairs, and generously 
said nothing about the horrid racket we must have made 
all night just above his head, but shook flippers and 
wished us God-speed. I see him now, a tall, woe-begone 
figure, in a red and yellow blazer, with a wet towel round 
his head like a turban. Poor fellow ! we felt that he 
needed good wishes more than we did. We wished to 
make a sensation somehow or other, so we mentioned in 
an off-hand way to our jarvie that we were going to the 
Antarctic, and you, should have seen how he stared, and 
how carefully he hoisted our boxes on to the dickey. He 
had heard about the expedition in the papers. As it was 
a long road, we suggested that he had perhaps better 
hurry a little, and by Jove he did ; the way we clattered 
up Bank Street to Riddle's Court to get the last of our 
baggage was a thing to be remembered. 
The lady students had flown with the summer, 
and the housekeeper and her maids went about the 
deserted rooms sweeping up bows, ribbons, etc., making 
preparations for the return of the winter residents. 
We wolfed a hurried breakfast there in the common 
room, bundled into the cab again, and rattled down 
