280 SCOTT'S LAST EXPEDITION [September 



the first picture is rarely counted good enough, and in some 

 cases five or six plates are exposed before our very critical 

 artist is satisfied. 



This way of going to work would perhaps be more striking 

 if It were not common to all our workers here; a very demon 

 of unrest seems to stir them to effort and there is now not a 

 single man who is not striving his utmost to get good results 

 in his own particular department. 



It is a really satisfactory state of affairs all round. If the 

 Southern journey comes off, nothing, not even priority at the 

 Pole, can prevent the Expedition ranking as one of the most 

 important that ever entered the polar regions. 



On Friday Cherry-Garrard produced the second volume of 

 the S.P.T. — on the whole an improvement on the first. Poor 

 Cherry perspired over the editorial, and it bears the signs of 

 labour — the letterpress otherwise Is in the lighter strain : Taylor 

 again the most Important contributor, but now at rather too great 

 a length; Nelson has supplied a very humorous trifle; the illus- 

 trations are quite delightful, the highwater mark of Wilson's 

 ability. The humour is local, of course, but I've come to 

 the conclusion that there can be no other form of popular 

 journal. 



The weather has not been good of late, but not sufficiently 

 bad to interfere with exercise, &c. 



Thursday, September 14. — Another interregnum. I have 

 been exceedingly busy finishing up the Southern plans, getting 

 instruction in photographing, and preparing for our jaunt to 

 the west. I held forth on the 'Southern Plans' yesterday; 

 everyone was enthusiastic, and the feeling is general that our 

 arrangements are calculated to make the best of our resources. 

 Although people have given a good deal of thought to various 

 branches of the subject, there was not a suggestion offered for 

 improvement. The scheme seems to have earned full confidence: 

 it remains to play the game out. 



The last lectures of the season have been given. On Monday 

 Nelson gave us an interesting little resume of biological ques- 

 tions, tracing the evolutionary development of forms from the 

 simplest single-cell animals. 



To-night Wright tackled ' The Constitution of Matter ' with 

 the latest ideas from the Cavendish Laboratory: it was a tough 



