THE DARK ROOM 
233 
knowledge could be gleaned without a visit to the open 
air was an obvious advantage to those who were clothing 
themselves to face it, whilst the ability to study the 
variation of a storm without exposure savoured of no 
light victory of mind over matter. 
The dark room stands next to the parasitologist's 
side of the bench which flanks Sunny Jim's Corner — an 
involved sentence. To be more exact, the physicists 
adjust their instruments and write up books at a bench 
which projects at right angles to the end wall of the hut ; 
the opposite side of this bench is allotted to Atkinson, who 
is to write with his back to the dark room. Atkinson 
being still absent his corner was unfurnished, and my 
attention was next claimed by the occupant of the dark 
room beyond Atkinson's limit. The art of photography 
has never been so well housed within the Polar regions 
and rarely without them. Such a palatial chamber for 
the development of negatives and prints can only be 
justified by the quality of the work produced in it, and 
is only justified in our case by the possession of such an 
artist as Ponting. He was eager to show me the results 
of his summer work, and meanwhile my eye took in the 
neat shelves with their array of cameras, &c, the porcelain 
sink and automatic water tap, the two acetylene gas burners 
with their shading screens, and the general obviousness 
of all conveniences of the photographic art. Here, indeed, 
was encouragement for the best results, and to the 
photographer be all praise, for it is mainly his hand which 
has executed the designs which his brain conceived. In 
this may be clearly seen the advantage of a traveller's 
