446 WITH SCOTT: THE SILVER LINING 



result of similar appeals in this and other states, the Empire 

 contributed most generously to the Captain Scott Fund. 



The Federal Government kindly granted me leave to 

 collaborate with the scientific members in London ; and 

 Priestley and I returned home in the Mongolia. We arrived 

 in London in time for the Albert Hall meeting in May. 

 Commander Evans here described to the large and deeply 

 interested audience the chief features of the 1910 Antarctic 

 Expedition. 



The office in Victoria Street was the rendezvous of the 

 surviving members of the Expedition, who were nearly all 

 reunited within the next month or two. Simpson was too busy 

 in India to visit England, Day was in Sydney ; but with these 

 exceptions we were all present at Buckingham Palace when 

 the King's medal was presented in July. The men under 

 Lieutenant Rennick marched from Victoria Street, and joined 

 the officers in the Palace. Here we were marshalled in three 

 lines — naval officers, scientific and other officers, and seamen. 

 Lady Scott and Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Bowers, Mrs. Evans, and 

 Mrs. Brissenden,* were received first by His Majesty. The 

 others were presented by Prince Louis of Battenberg, and as 

 each advanced the King shook hands, gave him the medal, 

 and said a word or two. 



We returned to the Caxton Hall, and after drinking some 

 farewell healths, the expedition, as a whole, was disbanded. 



But the scientific work will take several years to complete, 

 and thanks to the generosity of the public, the means for 

 carrying this out are adequate. No less than £75,000 was 

 placed at the disposal of the Committee, while in addition to 

 this the Government is paying out various sums from the 

 Pension Fund. 



Some £34,000 was allocated from the Public Fund to the 

 widows and dependants of the lost explorers. A bonus was 

 paid to the officers and men ; the debt of the Expedition was 

 paid, and £17,500 was set apart for the publication of the 

 scientific results. 



Some £18,000 remains for a memorial to the men who 

 died. Of this amount half will be expended on a suitable 

 monument, which will probably be placed in Hyde Park, and 

 on a tablet in Saint Paul's. The balance will be devoted to 



* Brissenden, one of the seamen, was drowned in New Zealand. 



