On June 22, 1915, Hussey and the crew staged a four-hour ``smoking concert'' and costume party, during which Hussey dressed as a black minstrel. Roland Huntford recorded in Shackleton of Hussey's tendency to be ``determinedly cheery to the point of egregiousness''. The instrument, weighing twelve pounds, was rescued from the wreck of the Endurance as ``vital mental medicine'' by Shackleton, who made an exception of his ``2 lb per person'' instructions so that it could be saved.
Roland Huntford
Hussey