Book contents
- Frontmatter
- INTRODUCTION
- Contents
- CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT
- CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE
- CHAPTER III ST. HELENA
- CHAPTER IV WHAT ASCENSION LOOKED LIKE
- CHAPTER V ASCENSION PAST AND PRESENT
- CHAPTER VI ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
- CHAPTER VII A NIGHT ON THE CLINKER
- CHAPTER VIII CHANGE AND CHECK
- CHAPTER IX MARS BAY
- CHAPTER X A SUNDAY SCENE
- CHAPTER XI THE OPPOSITION OF MARS
- CHAPTER XII THE SEA-SHORE AND THE ROLLERS
- CHAPTER XIII GREEN MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XIV SUNDAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XV WHY WE HAD ONLY A GALLON OF WATER
- CHAPTER XVI TRIPS FROM GARDEN COTTAGE
- CHAPTER XVII MARS BAY WITHOUT A COOK
- CHAPTER XVIII WIDE-AWAKE FAIR
- CHAPTER XIX LAST DAYS AT MARS BAY
- CHAPTER XX CHRISTMAS IN GARRISON
- CHAPTER XXI ABOUT THE KROOMEN
- CHAPTER XXII CLINKER CEMETERIES
- CHAPTER XXIII CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
- CHAPTER XXIV THE DEVIL'S RIDING SCHOOL
- CHAPTER XXV HOMEWARD BOUND
CHAPTER VIII - CHANGE AND CHECK
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
- Frontmatter
- INTRODUCTION
- Contents
- CHAPTER I WHY WE WENT
- CHAPTER II THE VOYAGE
- CHAPTER III ST. HELENA
- CHAPTER IV WHAT ASCENSION LOOKED LIKE
- CHAPTER V ASCENSION PAST AND PRESENT
- CHAPTER VI ROUND ABOUT GARRISON
- CHAPTER VII A NIGHT ON THE CLINKER
- CHAPTER VIII CHANGE AND CHECK
- CHAPTER IX MARS BAY
- CHAPTER X A SUNDAY SCENE
- CHAPTER XI THE OPPOSITION OF MARS
- CHAPTER XII THE SEA-SHORE AND THE ROLLERS
- CHAPTER XIII GREEN MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XIV SUNDAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
- CHAPTER XV WHY WE HAD ONLY A GALLON OF WATER
- CHAPTER XVI TRIPS FROM GARDEN COTTAGE
- CHAPTER XVII MARS BAY WITHOUT A COOK
- CHAPTER XVIII WIDE-AWAKE FAIR
- CHAPTER XIX LAST DAYS AT MARS BAY
- CHAPTER XX CHRISTMAS IN GARRISON
- CHAPTER XXI ABOUT THE KROOMEN
- CHAPTER XXII CLINKER CEMETERIES
- CHAPTER XXIII CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
- CHAPTER XXIV THE DEVIL'S RIDING SCHOOL
- CHAPTER XXV HOMEWARD BOUND
Summary
At daybreak on the 1st of August, David was hard at work with the men, dismantling the snug little Observatory. Again the sound of tools was heard outside Commodore's Cottage, but not, it seemed to me, with the same pleasant ring, and I longed to run away somewhere beyond the noise. However, I had fortunately little time to indulge in fancies. Camp gear, stores, earthenware, glass, kitchen utensils, everything must be packed before 3 p.m., and stowed on board the steam-launch in readiness to sail at 6 o'clock the following morning.
I often wonder how we got it done. I think it must have been, not only by the zealous assistance of officers and men, but by the stimulus we ourselves received from the invigorating atmosphere of sympathy and good will which surrounded us. At all events, before sunset, Commodore's Cottage was ruthlessly plundered of such of its contents as would fit our camp, and the croquet ground again stood empty as we had found it. I felt “rooted up” and miserable; but without a doubt that we were on the right way. So, to cover my nervousness and restlessness, I went to bed.
Next morning, as the sun rose, a rare procession passed down the coast. A steam-launch, with Captain Phillimore and David on board, towed along two wellladen lighters and a sailing pinnace, and carried, moreover, quite a tail of little surf-boats, or “dingeys.”
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- Information
- Six Months in AscensionAn Unscientific Account of a Scientific Expedition, pp. 94 - 104Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1878