Lofty designs must close in like effects:
Loftily lying,
Leave him—still loftier than the world suspects,
Living and dying.
—Robert Browning.
We had still some work to do before finally setting course for Tristan da Cunha.
Before leaving Gritviken I entrusted our last lot of letters and messages for home to Mr. Binnie, the magistrate, who, together with the other Government representatives on the island, had been very helpful to us in many ways.
We went alongside the little pier where we hardened up[12] the water tanks. Mr. Jacobsen paid a last visit to the ship and presented us with a parting present in the form of a fine young sow, which was carried aboard in a box, receiving the excited attentions of Query. I did not kill her at once, intending to keep and feed her up so that we might have some fresh meat when at sea. Someone gave her the name “Bridget,” and so she was known until her demise some weeks later at the hands of Dell, who did our butchering.
We received also from Mr. Jacobsen some packets of dried Swedish oaten cakes, which were of particular interest in that they had formed part of the stores of Filchner’s German expedition which had come to grief and been abandoned here. They were still, after eleven years, in excellent condition.
We left on May 7th and had been some hours at sea when we discovered a stowaway aboard. This was “Micky,” a small black-and-white dog belonging to Mr. Binnie, the magistrate. He was discovered by Macklin who, whilst descending into the hold, stepped in the darkness upon something which moved and yelped and which proved, upon being dragged to the light for inspection, to be this animal. We lavished upon him no loving remarks, but knowing that Mr. Binnie set great store by him I put back and in the small hours of the morning sent Jeffrey with the boat to put him ashore, having previously tied to his neck a message to Binnie, explaining his disappearance and requesting him as a magistrate to award a punishment of at least three days jail for having caused us so much trouble and loss of time.