feature of life during the time spent in the _Discovery_, and the
only man Scott had a word to say against was the cook. 'We shipped
him at the last moment in New Zealand, when our trained cook became
too big for his boots, and the exchange was greatly for the worse;
I am afraid he is a thorough knave, but what is even worse, he
is dirty--an unforgivable crime in a cook.'

Under such circumstances it is obvious that tempers might have
been overstrained, and apart from the sins of the cook the weather
was unexpectedly troublesome. Almost without exception the North
Polar winter has been recorded as a period of quiescence, but in
the Antarctic the wind blew with monotonous persistency, and calm
days were very few and far between. Nevertheless Scott had little
reason to change his original opinion about his companions, all of
whom were prepared to put up with some unavoidable discomforts,
and to make the best of a long job.

During the winter a very regular weekly routine was kept up, each
day having its special food and its special tasks. The week's work
ended on Friday, and Saturday was devoted to 'clean ship,' the
officers doing
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their share of the scrubbing. In the forenoon the living-spaces
were thoroughly cleaned, holes and corners were searched, and while
the tub and scrubber held sway the deck became a 'snipe marsh.'
At this time the holds also were cleared up, the bilges pumped
out, the upper deck was 'squared up,' and a fresh layer of clean
snow was sprinkled over that which had been soiled by the traffic
of the week. Then a free afternoon for all hands followed, and
after dinner in the wardroom the toast was the time-honoured one