ft 



318 



WITH SCOTT : THE SILVER LINING 



I have given the history of Wilson's pathetic poem 

 previously. We used to talk a good deal about the advan- 

 tages of " wireless," and I tried to embody the idea in a poem 

 of sorts, which here follows, in which are mentioned scenes 

 familiar to various members, such as Oxford (Cherry) ; 

 Cambridge (Wilson, Wright, Nelson, Taylor) ; Ski-ing in 

 Norway (Gran) ; the Canadian muskeg (Wright) ; Austra- 

 lian Alps (Debenham, Taylor) ; Japan (Ponting, Meares) ; 

 India (Simpson, Oates, Bowers). 



I. 



When the southern blizzard surges from the white plains of the 

 Barrier, 

 Covering all with deadly snow-wreaths, blotting out both land 

 and sea : 

 Can it break the magic cables linking us to every region 



Where we spent our days of study, days of youth and revelry ? 

 Half the world is our possession, nought can curb imagination, 



Though we're wrapped in folds of deerskin, camped amid a field 

 of ice, 

 By the blessed help of fancy, still we're free to wander gaily 



Through the wooded lanes of England — true explorer's paradise. 



