BOOK OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2432, 10 April 1915, Page 5

BOOK OF THE DAY.

THE VOYACES OF CAPTAIN SCOTT,

The four bulky and costly volumes in whioh aro recorded the splendidly adventurous expeditions to the Antarctic of Captain Scott and his heroic companions are possessions much treasured by all who are lucky enough to own copies, but to thousands of readers "who are interested in the subject matter of jjThe Voyage of the Discovery" and "Scott's Last Expedition," these earlier and more expensive editions are unattainable. It ivas therefore a specially commendable enterprise on the part of Messrs. George Bell and Sons to arrange for the appearance of a condensed, but, as to all strict essentials, a complete account of the two expeditions in one handy-sized and moderately-priced volume. The project met with favour from Scott's relatives, and was entrusted to Mr. Charles Turley, tLe result being a volume enitled "The Voyages of Captain Scott; Retold from 'The Voyage of the Discovery' and Scott's Last Expedition.' " Mr. Turley has quoted liberally from the original works and has produced an easily flowing, compact, and most readable record of the line work and noble achievements of the taan whom Englishmen will ever mourn as one of the most gallantly courageous of their race. It is a record which should never want for readers, a book which should be prized in thousands of British homes as an eloquent testimony, alike to Scott himself and his companions, and to those sterling qualities of endurance, coolness in time of peril, and unquenchable enthusiasm for the cause of Antarctic exploratioi and discovery which thoy displayed. The illustrations form an attractive feature of the book, including as they do a fins photogravure portrait of Scott and; 28 pages of beautifully executed pictures, in colours and half-tone, • reproduced,' mainly, from photographs taken by members of the Terra Nova Expedition. There is also a facsimile of the last page in Captain Scott's journal, and a useful "track chart" of the main southern journey. To many readers a special interest will at-tach-to the book in that Mr. Turley's well-planned and well-written narrative is prefaced by an introduction by Sir J. M. Barrio, Bart. Sir James, who is e/early proud of the fact that Scott's ancestors hailed from "across .the Border"—"his great grandfather was the Scott of Brownhead, whose estates were sequestered after tho '45"—gives an interesting account of the future explorer's boyhood and school life, and adds some equally interesting personal reminiscences of the explorer-hero. -Scott, he says, was naturally a mixture of the dreamy and the practical, and never more practical than immediately after he had been dreamy. Sayß Sir James;— He forgot time and place altogether when thus abstracted. I remember the first time he dined with me, when a number of well-known men. had come to meet him, he arrived some two hours late. He had dressed to come out, then fallen into one of his reveries, forgotten all about the engagement, dined by himself, and gone early to bed. Just as ihe was falling asleep lie remembered where he should be, arose hastily, and joined us as speedily as possible. : It was equally characteristic of him to say of the other guests that i{ was pleasant to a sailor to meet so many interesting people. When I said that to them tho sailor was by far the most interesting person in the room, he shouted for mirth. It always amused Scott to find that anyone thought

him a person of importance. In his days as a nava! cadet, Scott was, so Sir James Barrie says, "still Old Mooney," as his father had l dubbed him, owing to his dreamy mind; it'wa-s an effort to him to work hard, ho cast a wistful eye on "slackers," he was not a good .loser, he was untily to the point of. slovenliness, and he had a fierce temper. How, through sheer force of patient determination, he in later life mastered, or at least held in severest check, these defects of his youth, all know full well who have read the fascinating narratives .of Scott's work in the Antarctic. Although Mr. Turley's book is not written specially for youthful readers, I can conceive of no better addition to a boy's library than this handsomely produced and ;n every way admirable publication.