268 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [July 



certain, however, that the journal is more ambitious in inten- 

 tion, and far more effective in its realisation, than any of its 

 predecessors of the North Polar regions. On the one hand, 

 we have some reading matter and many delightful sketches 

 that would be appreciated by all ; on the other, it has to be 

 remembered that the humour and many of the references are 

 local and would convey little or nothing to the uninformed 

 reader, however much they may appeal to us " who are in the 

 know." It is obvious that we cannot decide this matter for 

 ourselves, but must take the opinion of outsiders more capable 

 of judging. 



• Before the appearance of the first number of the " S. P. T.," 

 which came out with the departure of the sun, the editor had 

 to face a rather delicate situation : it was announced that con- 

 tributions need not be signed, but must be dropped into the 

 editor's box by a certain date. When the date arrived it was 

 found that the novelty of the venture had aroused such wide- 

 spread interest that the box was crammed with manuscripts, 

 and though there was not much difficulty in making a selection, 

 there was some danger of wounding the feelings of those lite- 

 rary aspirants whose contributions were rejected. In this 

 dilemma the editor decided to issue a supplementary journal, 

 to be named the " Blizzard," and one number of this redoubt- 

 able publication was produced, but fell so lamentably short of 

 the " S. P. T." that the contributors realised that their mission 

 in life did not lie in the paths of literary composition, and 

 thereafter the editor's box contained only what that astute 

 individual required for the original periodical. 



' The anonymity of articles could not long be observed in 

 such a small community, and after the appearance of the first 

 numbers the style of different individuals was more or less 

 easily recognised ; but even the later numbers have contained 

 some articles concerning the authorship of which there has 

 been much erratic guessing. In mentioning the " Blizzard " 

 I ought to remark that it has redeeming features in some 

 capital line caricatures and a distinctly humorous frontispiece 

 by Barne.' 



