chance of success in the
Ross quadrant than in any other region. Concerning instructions
on such a voyage as the _Discovery's_ it may be thought that, when
once the direction is settled, the fewer there are the better.
Provided, however, that they leave the greatest possible freedom
to the commander, they may be very useful in giving him a general
view of the situation, and in stating the order in which the various
objects are held. If scientific interests clash, it is clearly to
the commander's advantage to know in what light these interests
are regarded by those responsible for the enterprise. Of such a
nature were the instructions Scott received before sailing for
the South.

During the time of preparation many busy men gave most valuable
assistance to the expedition; but even with all this kindly aid it is
doubtful if the _Discovery_ would ever have started had it not been
[Page 30]
that among these helpers was one who, from the first, had given
his whole and undivided attention to the work in hand. After all
is said and done Sir Clements Markham conceived the idea of this
Antarctic Expedition, and it was his masterful personality which
swept aside all obstacles and obstructions.

[Page 31]
CHAPTER II

SOUTHWARD HO!

They saw the cables loosened, they saw the gangways cleared,
They heard the women weeping, they heard the men who cheered.
Far off-far off the tumult faded and died away.
And all alone the sea wind came singing up the Bay.
--NEWBOLT.

On July 31, 1901, the _Discovery_ left the London Docks, and slowly
wended her way down the Thames; and at Cowes, on August 5, she
was honoured by a visit from King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
This visit must be ever memorable for the interest their Majesties
showed in the minutest details of equipment; but at the same time
it was natural for the members of the expedition to be obsessed
by the fear that they might start with a flourish of trumpets and
return with failure. The grim possibilities of the voyage were
also not to be forgotten--a voyage to the Antarctic, the very map
of which had remained practically unaltered from 1843-93.

With no previous Polar experience to help him, Scott was following
on the track of great Polar explorers, notably of James Cook and
James Ross, of whom it has been well said that the one defined the
Antarctic region and the other discovered it. Can it be wondered
therefore that his great anxieties were
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