  Experiments on the temperature and time dependence of the response function
and the field cooled magnetisation of a Cu(Mn) spin glass at temperatures below
the zero field spin glass temperature are used to explore the non-equilibrium
nature of the underlying spin configuration. The results imply that a certain
spin configuration is imprinted on the system as the temperature is decreased
at a constant cooling rate. The cooling rate governs the magnitude of the FC
magnetisation (M_{FC}(H,T)). Any intermittent halt at a constant temperature,
T_{i}, imprints an extended spin configuration, a process that is reflected
e.g. in a downward relaxation of M_{FC}. On continued cooling at the same rate,
the magnitude of M_{FC}(T) remains at a lower level than that of a continuous
cooling curve. These results are put into the context of the corresponding
behaviour of the response function as observed in measurements of the
relaxation of the zero field cooled magnetisation.
