New-York tribune., 1896-11-29

Dobrn. were productive Of admirable but not un-
usual contributions to the literature OF pioos!'
What Daniessen at Bergen and Dohrn at Naples
gave him first and last was not 80 much an i''-
netus .n scientific triumphs as a spur TO the ac-
compshment Of much more stirring 'h'ns''
Both friends were men OF peculiar perseverance
and initiative. Nansens was just the 'efhPei"
ment to be fostered by association win thei"'
and he seems To have been in constant ie'ei'
craving travel and adventure as most poys crave
amusement. The incidents to whch aiius'o" ""'
been made above are indicative OF the harush'pS
he has always sought. and for which ne mas al
ways been plucky prepared
People have called him foolhardy. The cross
ing of Greenland WAS a feat in which his coun-
trymen had little interest at the time ne pro-
posed it, in spite of the interesting work oohe
by Nordenskold. Peary and others. ana whiie
Nansen was fighting hard to raise the money
for his venture one Journal in Bergen printed
this announcements "Notice.-In the month OF
June next, Curator Nanscn will give snow
shoe display. with long jumps. on the Inland
Ice Of Greenland. Reserved seats IN the c'e-
vases Return ticket unnecessary. NeVer'he-
less Nansen made the crossing. ana II its i"i''
were not Of transcendent importance to science
he at least emerged from the affair with iaurcIs
which will take long to fade. The sunerings oi
himself and his COMPANIONS were great anu
though this fact is not alone sufficient to make
him a hero there is still something heroic 10
the point Of romance in the spectacle OF the ex-
plorers abandoning their boats on tho east
coast and setting their faces across the walls
and seas of ice with resolution that never iai-
tered. The west coast was won. and with this
ctrn nt,nh
fitness to undertake the great task from which
he has lust returned. This book contains some
particularly readable pages on the explorers APP
pearancc before the Royal Geographical Society
in London TO explain his plan for seeking the
North Pole through judicious employment OF
the very forces which Arctic adventures have
hitherto tried to resist He would drift with
the current. he said. and trust to the stanch-
ness of the Fran And when Admiral Mares
protested that an Arctic expedition ought al
ways to have a sccur, line Of retreat. he replied
undaunted Il am Of the opposite opinion. My
Greenland expedition proved the possibility or
carrying out such an enterprise without any
line Of retreat for I'm that case we burned out
ships and nevertheless made our way across
Greenland / trust shall have the like good
fortune this time even II we break the bridges
behind us"
There speaks as Sir Leopold McClntock said
the old Viking blood and 1t is for their vivid
picture of modern Viking that we are Indebted
to Messrs Br3gger and Rolfsen. They celebrate
their hero. IL is true. with an almost lyrica ex-
cess of alteration. II needs a sense or humor
TO keep the readers patience. and when Mrs'
Nansen Is brought In and Mr.. Rolfsen writes a
special chapter about her over his own sigma
ture one is tempted 10 throw the book neatly
into the fire. ON the other hand. a thoroughly
svmpathetic attitude toward Manson will
quench this impatienc'. and II Is soon per
ceived that he IL exactly the man To be consid-
cred with relation to domestic things. He has
the simplicity and the naivete associated In our
minds with the hardest figures In Nors" ro-
nance There H. n delightful picture OF the
visit he paid in his successful manhood 10 Mar
tina Larsen the old servant who had been In
his fathers house at Great Froen when II" was
a child ''Do you remember Martha he asked
her that time when came - YOU streaming
with blood from cut In the leg
Indeed do-you had fallen on some brok
glass"
"No-T can tell you the truth now. Martha.
You see. We had got the new sheath h-knives.
both Alexander and |. and IA | was slash!ng
the heads of thistlcs with my new knife. ! ran
you that"
1T wasn't Ike you 10 tell me lie" says
Martha with mild reproach.
NO. but there's lIml; 20 everything Mar
tha; and couldn't have the new sheath knit"
taken from me
In the last batch Of letters which he sent
from the Fran" on his way 10 the Pole. the
stcadfas' young explorer rev erts 10 his old
friend and sends her brief greeting 10 thank
her for all her goodness 10 him. The incident Is
,ty,f,n ri apf Ian
has been SAID AT the outset. the volume on the
expedition Of the Fran which Is coming from
the press before long WIZ gain considerably In
effect II the biography now under review II
read with II and with such details az this re-
membered Nansen's book may not prove that h,
has done Mr. Archer says he has done.
shown how with forcthought. skill and resolu
tion the polar Businesses can be- trav"rsed 'as
safely the Straits Of Dover" But IL viii
inspire confidence in his ability to make the patti
absolutely plain and safe some day II the read
or understands what kind Of man n that
embarked upon the Fran in 1893 and
turned in safety after "A struggle with the Arctic
ice which has few parallels in the history ~
northern adventure for gaantry and In results
achieved.