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Evening Star, Issue 12164, 7 April 1904, Page 4

Tite intensely interesting series of articles that we have been able to The . publish, direct from the hand Farthest and lips of Captain Scott, the South. modest and intrepid leader of that gallant party of pioneera to "the Farthest Sonth," will hare been studied with the keenest appreciation. It is given only to a few to be able to follow the strictly scientific aspect of such an arduous and nerve-testing experience with an adequate comprehension of its full import to humanity at large, but one and all—from the intelligent youth to the grey-haired sire—can trace with eager .eye and throbbing pulse the clear, consistent, and self-effacing narrative of the man who headed the expedition. Stories of adventure have a fascination for all. The deeds of travellere and explorers, whether in the torrid or frigid zone 3, command the largest and most lasting army of readers. The names of the conquerors of feverhaunted swamps and ice-locked regions are as familiar as those of any royal dynasty, and the charm and the terror of their doings will never lose their hold upon the healthy mind. Perhaps, though we do not affirm it positively, the mystery and grandeur that havo ever surrounded the North and Sonth Poles, the Arctic and Antarctic regions, have appealed to wider ajidiances than have those of Central Africa or Asia. Not that any contrast need be made. It would be an invidious and an unnecessary task. The bones of the hero-explorer are to be found amid the jungles and forests of Africa, in the inhospitable mountains of Asia, and in the waterless deserts of Australia, as well as in the snow-swept spares of either Pole. Yet there is beyond doubt a peculiar and distinctive attraction for all classes throughout Christendom in tales of adventure in the ice-locked Poles. The cry has been with ua since childhood, when we were exhorted to

Up. up, let us a voyage take, ' Why sit we here at ease? Find us a vessel tight and snug, Bound for the Northern seas.

And though with the passing of the years men's minds have turned more often than formerly to the Far South, each continues to dominate the thoughts and inspire the ambition of the explorer. Captain Scotf s story, as published by us, is not a mere record of dry, if important, facts. It is instinct with life and being; it is the tale of a simple man simply told. Fluent, graphic, sustained; lit up by touches of descriptive power of no mean order* marked by a love and sensibility to the ■wonders of that land -which in all probability were for the first time beheld by human eyes when the narrator, standing in reverent awe, looked forth and saw them; destitute of the remotest semblance of personal laudation, and blessed with that touch of humor which makes the whole world kin, the tale is a memorable one. The seeming failures are emphasised equally with the successes. The chief points of geographical interest the expedition were called upon to clear up were "to explore the Ice "Barrier of Sir James Ross to its eastern " extremity; to discover the land which was "believed by Boss to flank the Barrier to " the eastward, or to ascertain that it does "not exist, and generally to solve the very "important physical and geographical ques"tions connected with this remarkable ice "formation." And of this, their chief work, Captain Scott says, after reviewing the situation: "Can.we now give a definite "answer to the question? I fear that it "must be considered we cannot; but, on " the other hand, we have accumulated such ' strong presumptive evidence as to its "nature and movement that there can re- " main little doubt with regard to it. ... "The extent of this Great Barrier must

"rest principally in surmise. We know there is land to the eastward, and, "what is of equal importance, that there fare shallow banks which account for the " disturbed appearance in that region. The " rest most be speculation." The admission is characteristic of all genuine explorers in the field of knowledge, be it physical or intellectual. An absence of dogmatism, a modest estimate of what has actually been done, these are the evidences of the scientific spirit. It is, however, in the record of the journey itself, in the cheerfulness, selfsacrifice, generous give and take, and the unselfishness of the officers and men that the normal reader will find matter worthy of consideration. Picture for a moment that little band of sorely-tried and hungrygrown men, solitary amid that limitless sweep of snow-bound wastes, each trying to devise some means so that his comrade may have the greater portion of their common stock of food. Many a one will have experienced -a catching in the throat as he read that intensely pathetic incident, which is heightened yet more by the delicate vein of humor that runs through it all. There was no shirking of work among the men of the Discovery; no complaint, no demur, but from first to last a happy, joyous spirit that banished anxiety, even as the drenching fog, mists cleared before the Antarctic wind. And then the quiet, impartial summing up of aQ! "I cannot but sum up by "saying that despite our troubles and de- " spite our hunger we enjoyed it No "lurking sense of disappointment can take "from our memory the pleasure of having " trodden new paths, found new lands, and " looked upon new scenes. Something has " been added to our knowledge, and some- " thing to the settlement of those problems "which we were commissioned to solve. " Men of the future will <a>me and tread in "our footsteps, and, I hope, pass far be- " yond, but it will be by the benefit of our "experience, with the knowledge gained "from our pioneer labors, hardships, and " troubles." Such is the" spirit that has animated the heart of the true disciple in all ages, and we may well leave our tribute to the officers and men of the Discovery at this point They have, in truth, learned that

No great deed is done By faiterers who ask for certainty. No good is certain but the steadfast mind, The undivided will to seek the good, 'lis that compels the elements, and wrings A human music from the indifferent air. The greatest gift the hero leaves his race Is to have been a hero. Sav we fail!

We feed the high tradition o"f the world, And leave our spirit in our children's breasts.