[Page 56]
But what a land! On the swelling mounds of snow above them there
was not one break, not a feature to give definition to the hazy
outline. No scene could have been more perfectly devised to produce
optical illusions. And then, while there was so much to observe,
a thick fog descended, and blotted out all hope of seeing what
lay beyond the ice-foot. During the afternoon of January 30 the
fog was less dense, but still no sign of bare land could be seen,
and it was not until the bell had sounded for the evening meal that
two or three little black patches, which at first were mistaken
for detached cloud, appeared. 'We gazed idly enough at them till
someone remarked that he did not believe they were clouds; then all
glasses were leveled; assertions and contradictions were numerous,
until the small black patches gradually assumed more and more definite
shape, and all agreed that at last we were looking at real live
rock, the actual substance of our newly discovered land.... It is
curious to reflect now on the steps which led us to the discovery
of King Edward's Land, and the chain of evidence which came to us
before the actual land itself was seen: at first there had been
the shallow soundings, and the sight of gently rising snow-slopes,
of which, in the nature of things, one is obliged to retain a doubt;
then the steeper broken slopes of snow, giving a contrast to convey
a surer evidence to the eye; and, finally the indubitable land
itself, but even then surrounded with such mystery as to leave us
far from complete satisfaction with our discovery.'

[Page 57]
The temptation to push farther and farther to the east was almost
irresistible, but with the young ice forming rapidly around them,
Scott, on February 1, decided to return, and on their way back