118 
CRUISE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
we might probably have caused to his jetty and bol- 
lards, if a south-easter should come on, which seemed 
very likely at this season ; so we had to be visited 
at this distance, with all the inconveniences of again 
reaching the shore. 
A ball was given during our stay in the Com- 
mercial Buildings. Our guests told us that nothing 
so perfect and complete had ever been held before. 
Concerning the decorations, they were particularly 
enthusiastic, for there were, as novelties, trophies of 
dredging and sounding apparatus, with flags, flowers, 
and evergreens, giving certainly a very pleasing 
effect. Suffice it to say, all passed off most agreeably. 
The following night the citizens of Cape Town gave 
a return ball in the same building, when everything 
was done by them to insure success, and, without 
any flattery, nothing could have exceeded the com- 
pleteness of the arrangements or the hospitality of the 
givers. * * * The next day the ship was swung 
in the Bay for magnetic corrections, after which 
we proceeded to Simon’s Bay to complete stores and 
refitment. This was finished by the 16th December, 
and the next day we steamed out of Simon’s Bay for 
our Antarctic cruise. 
The weather was beautifully fine, and as Cape 
Point was passed, and the high land of the Table 
Mountains receded from our sight, a southerly 
course was shaped; and on the 19th, 80 miles to 
the southward of the Cape, we entered the Agulhas 
