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Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper lef i hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte d des tjux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichi, 11 est film6 i partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 FBIDTIOF M iiN SEN I WORKS BY FRIDTIOF XANSEN. THE FIRST CROSSING OP GREENLAND. With numerous Illustrations and a Map. Crown 8vo. 3s. Gd. ESKIMO LIPR With 31 lUustrations. 8vo. 16s. LONGMANS, GKEEN, * CO. London, New York, and Bombiiy. J^'rontupieoe FUIDTIOF NANSEN {From a phntwjraph ) ieot> FBlDTlub' NAN SEN 1893 W -.'iJDVHL ROLF8EN .'- !']::{; WITH hUMF. ''I'lOKs AND MAPS LONirJIANS, i I-ONOOX, NEW -VND CO. At; riKlits ,''S 't'.'U.' .VANSKN PEIDTIOF NANSEN 1861-1893 BV W. C. JillOGGEK AND NOEDAHL ROLFSEN TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM ARCHER WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS I LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. LONDON, NEW YORK, AND BOMBAY 1896 All riglits rfiseryed l^ i^'^Vva-.v^'A "^ PEEFACE Wjikn 1 iviid and began fo translate the following pages enrly last summer, I could not hut feel that the authors were somewhat over bold in assuming as a matter of course a fort unate issue to Fridtiof Hansen's latest enterprise. I could not but wonder, here and there, whether Fate might noi already have written an ironic comment on some of their serenely confident forecastings. Events have entirely put to shame my apprehensions. Fridtiof Nanscn has done what he set forth to do, and has practically solved the enigma of the polar regions. If it be objected that he has not reached the Pole itself, let me simply refer to his own words before the Koyal Geographical Society, cited upon page 282 of this volume. To stand upon the axis of the earth is in itself no very great matter. Nansen or another will do this also in due time. What Nansen has done, in the teeth of scepticism and discouragement harder to face, perhaps, than the Arctic ice-pack and the month-long night, is to lead the way into the very heart of the polar fastnesses, and to show how, with forethought, skill, and resolution, they can be traversed as safely as the Straits of Dover. While other explorers have crept, as it were, towards the Pole, each penetrating, with VI LIFE OP FRIDTIOP NANSEX increible toil, a degree or Uvo farther than the last, Nansen has at one stride enormously reduced the unconquered dis- tance, and has demonstrated the justice of his theory as to the right way of attacking the problem. Nor is this the crown of h.s achievement. As the Duke of Wellington ' aained a hundred fights, and never lost an English gun,' so Nansen has now come forth victoriou.s from two campaigns, each mcludmg many . hard-fought fray, and has never lost a Norwegtan li<-.. We have only ,o read the tragic record of Arctic e:;p:oration in the past to realise the magnitude of this exploit. It ,s in no way lessened by the fact that Nansen has profited by the hard-earned experience of his pre- decessors. Jn the contrary, it is the chief glory of this expedition that absolute intrepidity went hand in hand w-ith consummate inteUigence. The following account, then, of Fridtiof Hansen's character and training cannot but be read with all the more interest, since events have so amply justified his countrymen's confidence in his genius and his lucky star.' London : September 26, 1896. W. A. CONTENTS nrAPTER I. Ancestry II. Childhood • • ' III. NORDMARKEN IV. In the Polar Sea V. In Bergen VI. In Naples * • • • . VII. Fridtiof Nansen as a Biologist. By Gustaf Ketzius . VIII. Greenland IX. The Great Ice Ag*. X. Hansen's Greenland Expedition-Preparations-Plan- Equipment ... XI. AcKoss Greenland .... XII. The Scientific Significance of the Greenland Expedition Xril. Eva Nansen-an Ill-starred Interview. By Nordahl EOLFSEN .... • • • XIV. Arctic Expeditions from the Earliest Times. By Aksel Arstal XV. The Contributions of Norwegian Seamen to Arctic Geo- graphv. By Professor H. Mohn . • • • • XVI. With the Current .... XVII. At Home and Abroad .... XVITI. Baron E. von Toll and the Nansen Expedition •. XIX. New Siberia and the North Pole. By Baron Edward von Toll XX. On- ]3oAiiD THE Fjum. By W. C. BRiiGGEit . Index .... TAOR 1 17 37 51 74 100 112 123 139 159 178 201 210 224 2G3 277 287 825 848 868 887 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS PLATES Fridtiof Nansen. From a Photograph . Mrs. Nansen The Drawing-room at Godthaab Nansen's Study Liv Fridtiof Nansen. From a Drawing by E. Werenskiold The Launch of the Fram .... Otto Sverdrup Front i82)iec(. To fact 2)agc 210 tl „ 212 >. „ 21.-3 .. „ 222 »» „ 288 »» » 311 »» „ 3(i() ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT Hans Nansen Baron Christian Frederik Vilhelm Wbdel-Jarlsreuc. Baroness C. F. V. Wedel-Jarlsberg (Nansen's Grandmother.) Fridtiof Nansen and his Father .... Nansen's Fathei: Nansen's Mother Great Froen— The Dwelling-house ... The Farm Buildings at Great Froen Nansen as a Child Nansen as a Boy Nansen as a Youth Nansen as a Student In the I'olau Sea, I In the Polak Ska, II In the Polar Ska, III Dr. Daniklssen 3 y 11 17 18 21 23 24 25 26 31 39 53 66 LIl^E OF FEIDTIOF NANSEN Portrait .... Stone Tck ... Portrait ... The Members of the Greenland Expedition . puisortok . . . , Under Sail in the Moonuoht-Crevasses Ahead!. Nansen and Sverdrup in the Canvas Boat Feidtiof Nansen. Bust by Leasing Elling Carlsen Sivert Kristian Tobiesen . * * • • • Edward Holm Johannesen Nansen on th,.; Ice (Snnimer Dress) Nansen on the Ice (Winter Dress) .... Sketch by E. Werenskiold Nansen's Home .... Sketch by E. Werenskiold Nansen and Mrs. Nansen on Snow-shoes Sketch by E, Werenskiold Von Toll's Expedition to the New Siberia Islands . At Urassalach .... The Fram in Bergen .... Scott Hansen . , , Jacobsen; Hendriksen . . . _ Mogstad .... Amundsen; Nordal .... johansen .... JUELL Blessing * ' ' " • Pettekson . . , _ Sketch in E. Werenskiold PAoa . U8 . 168 . 169 . 179 . 188 . 192 . 194 . 228 . 264 . 265 . 268 . 280 . 281 . 287 , 296 803 317 Q9.B 333 338 359 362 364 365 368 309 371 376 382 385 LIST OF MAPS Greenland according to latest Authorities Tn / IcK Agi; The Por.Ai; Aiiii.v . . „ 139 • • • » „ 224 I'AdK . 113 . 153 . 169 . 179 . 188 , 192 194 228 264 265 268 280 281 287 296 303 817 39,3 333 338 359 364 365 868 869 871 376 882 885 cc page ll)\ 224 LIFE OF FEIDTIOF NANSEN CHAPTER I ANCKSTRV ^i^KLY throe centuries ago, in the same Polar darkness wluch has now, winter after winter, brooded over Fridtiof Hansen and his sliip, a boy of sixteen watched the Northern Lights shimmering and shooting over his head. In his eves they were ' vaponrs wliich the snn draws ni, from tlie ea^th into the an-, some in the upper, some in the lower atmo- sphere. They tlien become ignited and burn ; wlience the many fiery marvels seen in the skies.' It was Fridtiof Hansen's ancestor, Hans Xansen ^ who had come to the White Sea in his uncle's ship, hailing from ilensborg_in those days quite an adventurous enterprise liiey had practically no charts, they were scantilv supplied with mstrumenls, and they had to keep cannon and cutlasses m readiness. In the course of the voyage, indeed, thev had heen twice overhauled and phnuha-ed bv the I]nSt'o Dinink liiafofish Ti/7ilti'ff ^ it r . i> n ■ , name":;;; K:::rx.;;;;:„'r ^^t--^^' t'^ -^^ ^^••^"^^^"^«- »- '^'^•-- '' I! 2 LIFE OF FIIIDTIOF NANSEX be depressed, lie employed the time in learning Russian, and in the summer, wlien tlie uncle Ijent his course southward again, his nephew did not accompany him. He preferred to stay behind and learn more. He travelled alone ' through several districts of Russia to the town of Kuwantz.' From Kuwantz ' he took ship in September for Copenhagen. His character came early 'to maturity, and his poM^ers could not brook inaction. He had not completed his twenty- first year when King Christian IV. placed him at the head of an expedition to the rich fur regions about the Petschora. 13ut the ice was too much for him. He had to make up his mind to winter at Kola. Here he received a connnission from the Czar of Russia, and undertook, by imperial order, an exploration of the coast of the White Sea. Not until he reached Archangel did he rejoin his ship. After that he held a command for eighteen seasons in the service of the Iceland Company. He was by nature a keen observer and a born leader of men, full of alert practicality, and yet with a strong literary bent. And he was eminently disposed to share with others the fruits of his reading. ' When I had nothing else to do,' he writes, 'I copied out extracts from the Bible, and from various C(Jsniographical and geographical works, to serve as an index and connnon- place-book for future reference. . . And when, a little while ago, I read it through again, I thought that perhaps there might be others who would be glad to know these things, but who, on account of other occupations and so forth, had neither time nor opportunity to stud}- the great Avorks on cosmography. For the benefit of such persons I have given to the press this brief digest.' The title ran: Com- pencUum Cosm(>/iicnin ; behig a short description of ' Possibly Kowno, at tlie confluence of the Wilnii witli thoKienien. ig Russian, southward )refeiTed to e ' through tz.' From igen. his poM'ers his twenty- t the head Petschora. lake up his jomuiission ^rial order, ot until he sons in the ure a keen racticahty, eminently s readinjj. ^ojjied out ograpliical connnon- little Avhile laps there jse thincfs, forth, had 2at works tis I have ran: Com- ription of ieiiien. AXCESTIJY g the entire eartli-inchuling, in particular, matters relating to tlie heavens, the sun and moon, and tlie other planets and stars, then- movements and tlieir courses, as well as the four elements and tlieir differences, and the world with its divers kingdoms and countries, and its principal cities. Treatiue said to Iimvc done service down to the very liiresliold of the time wIk'H Wm de.sceiidaiil, was i)repariiii«- to add new 'coiiises' to those h(! had so dilioemly hiid down -' coiirs(!S ' across ({reeuhiiul and to the Xorlh I'ole. At the n^e of I'orty. ilniis Xansen begins to rise in the world: and soon he exchaii rise ill the <>i' a sliip's 1. He iirst rgoiuastcrs, !' the four, coininaiid, ener<;y, he adiii^f part, c hired war ralace, (he d tlu'iii in iiisvver that tliick and leir assent. stake, but 3 foUowinjj )uncil was good as a icraftsnien Liiiificance. ili'ges,' he nd duriiio- 'Ml had no o be con- :iuartered. ANCKHTIfV J the Ijuioliers drilled and eoninianded, and public order pre- served in the midst of a coneonrse of people crowding into liie <-ily from every side. 'We find him now at home, opening his plate chest and his money-box, placing great sums at the king's disposal, lending l.ini his carri.-rge^.md horses, and all the time doing his best to keep up the^spirits of his own family; now in the Town Hall sitting in coum-il or on the bench ; now in the CHiamber, n„w with the king; then again at a regimental inspection, or on the fire-watch' tower, or at the outworks, with the bullets picking men off on every side; now listening to the sermons wldch were preached on the ramparts, now goino- the rounds with the mght patrol' ' And when it comes to meeting the enemy outside the fortifications, the indefatigable Hiirgomaster is still in the van. This leader of his fellow-townsmen and champion of their privileges shows the same promptitude and presence of mmd in the days of the revolution which makes of Denmark an hereditary kingdom. As we see him meeting Otto Ivra iarv I'orce, lie disposal k'lUif, and he bonaht GrifU-nleld I residence ■ai- (1GS4), of Count niander-in- cd the re- liristiania), le frontier ■getie and randfather ^onieraiiia. )nnnanded ral Haner, grandson adventure daring a lIs( iji was -al leader Norway. 'ds, belonged ('cunt Herman IkkI a younger brotlier, Haron Ciuistian Kredcrik Villielni of Forneho, whose daughter was the mother of Fri(lii..f Xansen. 'Hius, if pride and spirit of adventure may l)e said lo lit; at the root of tlie father's family-tree, ll.VItON CIiniSTIAN V. V. WKDKL-.IARLHBKno (NANSEN's GRANDFATHER) evciy branch of the mother's bears evidence of the same ([uaHties. A few words more about tlie Xansen family. Hans Xansen, Municipal President, Privy Councillor, and Judge "f the Supreme Court, died at Copeidiagen, Xoveuiber J 2, 1^07. A daughter of liis eldest son, Michael Xansen, was r i 1 1 'ij I I* i II ■ i 10 l.il'K (]]■ I'llllJTKll- .NAXsl.N mar„«l u, ,,,0 cvlcl-rated IV,..,- G,-i(r.„a.ld. A vo„„„e,- n H„,s ^a„sc.„ w,,. jru,.ioi„a. IVe.i,,..,,, o.' (,,„■„„„:: a he tme of h,s deati, i„ I7JS. Ui,s g.-ani,,,, :,, Anel,er A,,,h„„y Xa„.e„, „,,l, wl,o,„ ,1,. 1,1, li„, ^ or 0,,«. feog,,, a,Kl ,he,,. ,„a,...ie,l a lad, o,' the ..lae of Le,erdahl, a „,e,„be,- of ,he Gec.h„„yde„ fa.nily. Iti. „„, ' son was called Ha,.s Leierdald Kaa.e,,. This „a,„c. is kI .".k„ow,,,„ ,,e political his,,on.of Norway, and al ho, d .l.« l.o.n s 01 rese,„bla„ce boveen his cha,ac,c.- a,ul hil gra„dso,,s are few a„d not easy to specify, „.. ,„ nevertheless give some account of hi,,, He ™s only a year old when his father died, and he passe, more than thirty years in De„ma,-k-the vcar of h,s educat,on and of his early official oa,-ce,-,,e , returned to Norway. He himself ha, with ample re, s™ described tins period of his life as far iron, h'.pp, 2 was d,vorced f,-o„, his fi,-st wife, who ,11,,! in Is,,, ,, Abbess of ,he Convent of Estva,lgaa,d in I.enn.ark Pand he l,vo,-ce was by no ,neans ,he only „„„ble that f'ell to Ins lot 111 tliese years. It was in Den,„ark that he ass„n,..d th,. s„„o,ons title of ,ovn,e,al Judge, which he conhl „..ve,- ahcr b,. induced to arop,ahhough he held ..he,- offices of ve,,- dilferen , more extensive jurisdiclion. On his retu,„ to Xorway he becan,,.. i„ .S.p„.„,be,- iS(l9 distr,ct.n,ag,st,-a„. „f Gul.hd, i„ the p,„vi,„,, of T,oudl,iem' a post winch he nU,.d for .h,.ec yca,s a„,l a half. .., ,,,,:; the rep„t,.„on of a zealous ,uagis„.a„. and a ,.ecable member , soc,e,y. He was a leading ..pi,,, i„ ,|,e IVondhieu has calh.,1 these h,s happiest days. a„,l when h,. was ...Rued AXCESTIJY A }'(.)uiio-er Copeiiliageii iiulsoii was lie line re- niagislrate le name of Tlis only name is not d althouo'h er ami his w^ must ed, and lie e years of -l)efore he >le reason, jppy. lie 18(i2, as lark ; and hat fell to us title of luluced to irent and ber 1 809, ondhiem, '. eai'nino- igi-eeable ■oudlu'em e liimself LS oflered 11 l)ronu)tion to anollier dislrict. lie hesitated wliether to accept it. It Nvas at this time, too, that ho entered political hfe. I'AiioNKss r. 1.. V. \vi.;hKi,..,Ain.s,u;ii,; (nanskn's GiiANi-MornKn) When liostilities witli fSwedeu broke out in IS]-], he <•( posed a war song for the soldiers of 'I'rondliieni : )m- ' Alt Stridslioni.l fr\>,'tclij,' Iv(l(>i'. At (llJlKC fill clskiHlf Iljc.u Ind-. I'd- OK Optiwulfi- (U't Indcr <)^' ilc til r.fdiiif^'sfifrd ficiii.' ' ' ■ Alrcad.y tho ^^u•.l,orn ^in^^s (o.-th t.rrild.v. It s.umuons the mon of Inner (^.c.. ,uul I pp... Trondlnon. to ,uit th..i. beloved hou.c, and dash to™{ 12 LIFJ.: OF FI'JDTIOF XANSEN Tlie song is an average specimen of the martial rliyniin-. of tlie penod. Its author fdt, in common with most of the people of Trondhiem, that the issue at stake was whether t^ieir provmce should pass under Swedish rule or remain Aorwegian. Therefore it is that his muse speaks in terms of provmcial no less than of national enthusiasm : ' . . . bliiinlt Fiemlens ta'tteste Haabe frein, Tr..mler ! liiiiaiuleii tilraabo. Ok 1 >.vn-.'r af faldne og Str^mme af Blod slval vulne, at seirc.ule Trrfiuler der stoil.' ■ It was this enthusiasm for the unity of Xorway which inspired ^ansen's political action when, on the conclusion of the leace of Kiel, the Viceroy, Prince Kristian Frederik, undertook his famous winter journey to Trondhiem .vansen's name is not appended to the address with which the people of the province prepared to greet the prince, setting forth the popular desire for constitutional govern^ ment. J 1 n s is not, as might be supposed, a mere chance. Xansen did not believe that the time had come for this move ; he thought the first point was to secure bevond all fo,- the "cottrage and lyric fervour of n. eharac er, ,t ,„ust be frankly confessed that his ton.ne was an nnruly nten.ber, and that he was reckless botlU ^peech and ,n .ritin,. LW n,en in our public life av b en so ready to cast grave aspersions on Iheir opponents A the san>e tnne these charges were no donbt based on honest conv.oon, arrived at a little too easily lowards V. F. K. Christie he was biuerly hostile denouncntg 1„„, a. a henchman of the Sw-edish ^a hy . tush, as ,t were, a n.otion for removing to Ber.^en he headquarters of the Norwegian Jiank. JfanLu thwa^ .s ..s ep,.ode wlnch is still daily recalled in tite counnon ' A'o/Y/cv Hisforie cffcr isi', l«"Kev thought (;hri.stie '. stalwart' en, , 'i, v ^"^•'' ^^■''^■" ^''^^ Opposition no I'lU'lis Kot a Koldoii cup When l-roLHloni first drew broatli : W itli wnie ho fille,] it up, And drank tiie Inintlin^s death. AXCKSTJtY the revision ice towards lie Cabinet. ',' says the oicinn- over ' they had e past, and nent really life, but in ric fervour his tongue 5s both in life have opponents. based on y hostile, dish and to carry o Beroen thwarted L'e. It is connnon ?okl loving- l condncted ^position )io "Oil i)i the I I'rcsideiit, 15 sMvino-: -vKirersund is a pretty Httle town, and that's wliere / live," said Judye Xansen.' At the close of a prolonged sitting of tlie tStortiiing, on >hiy I, 1S:>|, Xai.sen was seized with a paralvtic stroke, and died on the lifteentii of the same mouth, ^at midday' His funeral took pla- ^•harming and hospitable house was a social centre in Chnst.ania from 1845 to 1808, the meeting-place of a larcre circle, pnncipally composed of well-known and respected official families. SeNeral times, on the occasion of Mrs. ' -The nobility of tli.v heart. h^iiMulship's pled-,. chiIcI „nt l.„f i ., fV..nd. hoans to thee; .. thou did.t coLbiL ^^tt^:'l^ ^:^^ never (haw back a ham] oiK-eoiitsf.-etch.-d,' ' ' '1*^"".^' 'i'"! duU f: ik 16 LIl'l': OF IKIDTIOF XANWKN Hansen's birthday (May 2ud), private tlieatricals were given, tlie prime mover in which was .Aliss Augusta Hagerup, the sister of one leading statesman and "iinnt of another, and a niece of Henrik Sledens.' We may possibly trace in Fridtiof Kansen, under ditlerent forms, certain characteristics of his grandfather and grandmother.' He too can be reckless, albeit in an absolutely different fashion ; he too has a strong poetic tendency, though it seeks absolutely different modes of expression. °And ahhough his love of action and his scientific talent are his salient characteristics in the pul)lic eye, he has also, as we shall see in due time, a strong taste for literature and art, combined with marked ability as a popular author. But whatever uncertainty there may be as to the inherited elements in his character, there can be no doubt as to the influence exercised upon him by the home of his childhood. 1/ * CHILDHOOD tricals were -iss Augusta in and aunt .' Wo may erent forms, •ranclmotlier. ely (litrerent r, though it ssion. And ' talent are he has also, V)r literature ular author. ? as to the l)e no doubt home of his 17 CIIAl'TEli 11 CMILDIIOOU pAX.si:x liimself says in one of liis letters (March 30, 1885) • h Is It not really ^.onderful? If any one naay be excused for behevmg in his lucky star, it is surely I-so often have ex- [traordmary chances happened, rjust at the crucial moments of Imy life, which seemed to point [the way for me.' The truth of ^this utterance will amply appear Jin the following pages; but leven at this point we need not ihesitate to affirm that his lucky |star was m the ascendant from |his cradle upwards ; gave him Jjust the home he needed, and Jprecisely the natural environ- ^lent which, without any Jbrcsight on his part, disciplined tjand prepared him for lonf^ journeys and lofty goals. i Fridtiofs father, Baldur FKIDTIOF NANSKV AND HIS FATHER Fndtiof Xansen, was born in Egersund in 1817 \fter the death of his father in the twenties, JJaldur Hansen's ^mother removed from Egersund to Stavanger, for fhe sake c 18 LIFE OF I'ltlDTiOF XANSIIX I of her son's ediicaliou. Here she lived till 183.'), when he matriculated at the University of Christ iania. ' lie was industrious,' says that friend of the family whom we have just quoted, ' Avell-behaved and exenii)lary in every resi)eet. Uis abilities were not brilliant, but, being strictly and plainly brouf.dit up, and stimulated by the influence of his clever mother, he passed all his examinations with a cer- NANSEN'S FATHKU tain distinction, and became an accomplished jurist. He had none of his parents' wit and fancy ; l)ut he was noted for his thoroughly refined, amiable and courteous manners and disposition.' lie became lieporter to the Supreme Court ; but he was principally emi)lov('d in iinance and conveyancino-. lie enjoyed unbounded confidence. CMILDIIOOI) ISo'"), when lio I. le family wliom ij)l.ary in every , being strictly lie inflnence of ons with a cer- 11) (1 jurist. He lie was noted eons manners t ; l)u( he was ^'ancino-. He Those who have only kjiown by si«rli( the slightly built little man, so precise in all his ways, a gentleman^of the old school, and one to whom the pleasures of sport were entirely ^foreign, may be inclined to think that there could scarcely be a sharper contrast, mental and phvsical, than tint [between the father and the son. But a closer examination . AviU reveal a pouit of reseml,lance. Fridtiof Nansen's desi<^ns are brilliant ; but he would never have been able to carry them out had he not from early childhood trained and de veloped his p,nvers to the uttermost. This is apparent in his |61)ortmg exploits, no less than in his scientili,. studies A eer Gynt can conceive the plan (,f Hooding the Sahara nth the waters of the Atlantic,' but the man who is to do ft IS not content Avitli the luminous idea of his fertile brain ^nd it is just this immutable steadfastness to his oM-n ideals h.s passionate, and at the same lime conscientious absorp- ^lo.i m all the details of his work, whether in the way of ^pliysical traimng or mental development, that is so cliarac -teristic of Fridtiof Nansen. This gift of thoroughness he ;.aoubtless owes to his father. The elder i\ansen possessed another quuIitN- which i-omes out strongly in his private correspondence, "lie wis I father in the most emphatic sense of tlie word. He could ^e strict, because he instinctively applied to the brin..ino- ^V of Ins children the principles which had governed" his ou-n. He could wield the cane in the good old stvle ; but he had a fine and sensitive nature, and was full of "watchful ^are for his child's future. He never made his will an r^bstacle in the way <.f the boy's development. He was always inclined (for this we have much documentary B^•Klence) to waive his own views for the sake of his son's ' Ibsen, l\'cr ihpit. Act IV. .sc. 5. c 2 tf^^M 20 MIK OK I'lniniUF NANSKN S II * iulvanccnicnt. \\\^ will (iiiotoliciv a fovv lines wliich iiulicaUf liis I'ccliiii'- lor his son. Tlioy form llic bc^'iiiiiin^r of ;i letter written on September 4, 1882, shortly al'ler Fridtiof Naiisen liad become Curator of the ]kM'n;(Mi Museum, and a month after his return home from his first Arctic voyai^'e with the sealer Vik'nui. ' Dear Fridtiof. — I Avrile these lines to let you know something that you certaiidy have no suspicion (»f, 1 ani longing for you intensely, and T miss you more and more every day. Wlieu you were away for live months on your Arctic adventures, of course I missed y(m too. Ihit I was always looking forward to our meeting, thinking, "The time will soon pass. Our Saviour will graciously preserve him on his way, and when I do get him back again, no doubt 1 shall be able to keep him with me all the longer." Then, too, the happy confiih-nce that the journey would be particularly advantageous to your future kept up my spirits. Jhit all that is changed. Our paths are now almost completely sundered, so far iu this world goes. The days will seem terribly em})ty for the old man. Jhit I must console myself exactly as I did during the Arctic voyage. People who understand these things all declare that this post will be of innnense service in advancing you in the world, and will enormously facilitate your studies. . . '. ' Baldur Nansen's lirst wife was the daughter of j\lajor- (leneral Sorensen, and sister to tlie wife of the poet Jori^^eu Moe. His second Avife (Fridtiof's mother) was Adelaide J()hanna Isidora, )i('e Wedel-Jarlsberg, who also had been married before. lAlrs. Adelaide Xansen is described as a tall and stately lady, capa1)le and resolute, even-tempered and straightforward, without any i)retension on the score of l)irtli and ancestry. She had a masculine will. It was f li *, CUWAtlUHH) 21 iirriiWy ii^raimt (lie wishos of her sfricL mikI .-iristcTHli,. fMllicr flwit, she married a baker's son lor licr first, hiisl.aiul. Ilowovvr, she carried her point, and her inoMicr appears in liave sided witli lier in this a/Hiir of (lie l„.ari. 'I'lio parents I were not a( the niarriauc, alllionol, ll.cy had ^riven their consent. NANHEN'S MOTUKU Asa young o-i,l she had defied opinion and .-uUivated that sport which her sou was afterwards to render uorkl- |imons. She was devoted to snow-slu.eino- which was at that time tlionght unwomanly and even imi,roper. As a housewife, she was one of those wlio know every uook and corner of the house from atth- ,o cellar-active, inaiuunno- •)■) Mil': OK I'lilinioF NANSKN |« t^ rcjuly with Iut limuls jind not afraid of the coarsest work. If the servant had hhsti-icd her liiifjrers, the lady of the liouse would herself take hold and wriii;«' out the wet linen. She worked in the <,'ar(h'ii, and she made her boys' clothes. They had no other tailor until they were ei^diteen years old. Xevcrtlu'lcss, siie found time to acciuire the knovvled<'e she had not stored up in early youth. Her will power and love of a(,'tivity, her intrepidity, her practical and resolute nature, have descended to her son. Mr. and Mrs. Xansen, after their marriage, settled down upon a small propeity beh)n,i>in«jf to her at Great Friien, in West Aker. Here Fridtiof was born on October JO, IcSGI. In the choice of his birthphice, his lucky star, as we have said before, had ordered thin«rs for the best. Here was country life, here were cows and horses, geese and hens, hills for snow-slioeineir mnscles and the firm, lithe carriage of their bodies. I saw that this was the only proper way. Until I had mastered it, I wouldn't have any prize ' -sttc of Fndttof Nansen from his earliest childhood. He never ,„s,sted on trifles-never sulked or bore ill-will. What was past was past-blown to the winds. In this comtectton tt .s n.teresting to read what the faithful friend of h.s chddhood relates of the origin of their friendship. kJ'v r ^''-^"''J' 'i'"'« =" l"™e at the school when Karl, „s future comrade, arrived. They were both in the second orn, „t te lower school. Fridtijf was the stronges o the boys and lorded it over ,hen> all; but Karl tvas strong as well. They eyed each other askance, these two and each kept to his own domain. One day howev r' during the recess, Karl began throwing a ball at the other boys, each ,n turn. ' You nn.stn't do that,' said Fridtiof HTf '■ ;,^";.™"-™'' ''' -""-1 '- o'l-. aimed at iricltiof, and hit him. A battle royal ensued; the fur flew and the blood spurted nntU Aars, the head master, arrived on the scene seized the two small figli.iug-cocks by the wing., and..ut' hem in the empty class-room. - Xow just sit there, Cou two, he said, ' and look at eacii other, and be ashamed of }ourselves. Thev J'r,\'"'""'''°'" ''-•^•P«'='"""-but it succeeded. They did look at each other; the second part of the masters injunction they neglected, but they began to ulk' CIlILDIIOOl) 29 By the time Aars caine back, they were sitting with their arms round each other's shoulders, reading out of the same book. From that day forward they were inseparable. There was always war with the Balkeby^ boys when the two Nansen brothers were on their way home from school. Fridtiof, indeed, was peaceably disposed and never precipitate ; but when the moment came, he went in with a thorough contempt for consequences. The youth of Balkeby was not very particular in its choice of weapons. One of the brothers was once hit on the back of the head with a stone fastened to a leather strap. When Fridtiof saw the blood he was furious, set upon them, and put the whole band to rout. Even in early childhood his thoughts were more to him than his dinner ; and when he was absorbed in anythintT lie was oblivious to his surroundings. One day when the family were all at table, one of the children cried out, ' Why, Fridtiof, that egg of yours is all green ! ' And so it was ; but he was quite unconscious of the fact. llis upbringing was Spartan. The children were made to take turns in waiting at table. Even when they were quite big boys, their monthly allowance of pocket money did not exceed sixpence apiece, and of that they had to render a strict account. J3ut these Spartan measures struck a responsive chord in Fridtiof's own character. He was not more than seven or eight when he and his brother were for the first time allowed to go to the fair by themselves. In those days Christiania Fair still presented a variety ' A suburb through whicli the boys hud to pass. li ir 80 LIFE OF FlMltTfOF XAXSK.N of attractions to the iinsopliisticatecl. There were jucralers' booths fmd clowns, not to speak of toys, and whole "sUcks of gingerbread cakes. The f^ur was the children's promised land, and one of the greatest festivals in the year. Once, when a Christiania clergyman asked a candidate for con- firmation what were the feast days of the ecclesiastical year the boy could think of none r .istmas and ' Fair-day ' ' On this occasion, Fridtio. .. ]us brother were com- paratively generously supplied with funds ; they had re- ceived sixpence each from father and mother, a shillin<.- from grandmother, and one from aunt. But all the fun of the f^iir, the theatres, the toy Ijooths and the mountains of gingerbread, they passed by with ascetic resolution. On their return home it was found that thev had laid out all their money in tools. This made such an impression that each of the home authorities came down with a fresh ..rant to the original amount. Back they trudged all the way to Young's Market Flace in order to supplement the outfit of tools. When, on their way home, they passed the baker's at Ilegdehaugen, they had only twopence left, and this was invested in coarse rye cakes. It must be admitted that no Christiania boy, at fair-time, has ever come nearer the Spartan ideal. He was a terrible one for falling into brown srudies Between putting on the first and the second stocking of a morning, there was always a prolonged interval. TlLi his brothers and sisters would call out, 'There's the duffer at it again! You'll never come to any good, you're such a dawdler.' ^ He was always bent on getting to the bottom of every- thing. He asked so many questions, says one of his older friends, that it made one absolutely ill. • Many a time liave CHILI )ii(.)oi) 31 I given him a thundering scokling for this everhisting " "Why ? — Why ? — Why !•' " ' The arrival of a sewing machine at Friten naturally aroused the demon of curiosity in all his virulence. He must find out what kind of animal this was. So he took it all to pieces, and when his mother came back from town, the machine was the most di.sjointed puzzle NANSKN AS A VOLTH imaginable. If tradition is to be trusted, however, he did not give in until he had put it all together again. As a schoolboy, Fridtiof Xansen was in.dustrious, and passed out of the intermediate school in 1877 with dis- tinction. In the upper school, it is possible that sport and a thousand and one private preoccupations absoi'bed too much of his time. Iri anv case, wc find alieartfelt siulm-oin"- f II 1 IJFI-: OF FKIDTIOF NANSEN up from the luilf-yearly report of liis musters, Aars and Voss, in 187U : ' He is unstable, and in several subjects bis progress is not nearly so satisfactory as might have been expected.' It is true that their expectations were probablv rather hi<^h m the case of a Ijoy Avho astonished his teacher of mathe- matics by giving a geometrical solution of a problem in arithmetic. The fact was that Fridtiof Xansen had many other pro- blems to solve besides those set him at school. The ques- tioning spirit of early childhood grew apace in this period of active development, and took decided and ever new forms. There was scarcely a thing in heaven or earth that he did ]iot probe into. And as soon as he had got to the bottom of it, he whistled all thought of it to the winds and attacked a fresh problem. In the natural sciences, which were his favourite study, he had of course to experiment. When they were about four- teen or fifteen, he and his young companion, who after that first ' explosion ' had become his intimate friend, had some- how got hold of a box of pyrotechnic materials and a mortar, the latter lent to them on condition that they should be exceedingly careful with it. By way of carrying out this injunction, they one evening filled it full of a great variety of fluid substances, the properties of which they had yet to ascertain by experiment. A spark fell into the mixture, and the flames fose to the ceiling of the little attic room in the wooden villa where Karl lived. The youthful investigators took resolute hold of the mortar and tipped it out of the window, smashing it into a hundred pieces. Thus they ful- filled to the letter the recommendation of extreme care. While the sulphur was still running down the outer wall, where it left a mark for many a year as a memento of i'r.a CIIILDIIOOI) 33 advciiliire, liic hoys throw tliomselves cLnvii flat on the floor mid blackened their faces, so that Fridtiofs In-other Alex- ander, on coming in, should think they had been killed lly the explosion. Like all half-grown l,oys, Fridtiof had his tender, inflani- nuil)le moods, and many a mooidit evening has he wandered outside the windows of the chosen one of the moment. But it probably never got as far as a declaration. Indeed there would have been difficulties in the way, for he and Karl often had the same flame, and sighed in the same mooid)eams before the same window. Besides, he was as bashful as he was vulnerable. On the other hand, we have historical testi- mony to his chivalry. One night— he was then about fourteen— he and his brother were coming from a children's ball down in the town In the suburb of Honiansby they passed a lady and her maid. A little farther up the street three 'gentlemen' were standino-. Just as the boys passed, they heard one of the men exclaim, ' That's the girl for me ! ' and all three made towards the two' women. ' We must stand by them ! ' said Fridtiof; and the two Ijoys set upon the three grown men and made a fight of it. Fridtiof got one of the roughs up against a fence, planted one* fist in the breast of his antagonist, and with the other hand tore open his own overcoat. ' Don't you know who I am ? ' he cried, and pointed to the cotillion favours sparklincr i„ the moonlight. The ruse succeeded. The two boys Cere left in possession of the field, and the damsels in distress were rescued. But truth before everything : the lady's name was not Eva, nee Sars,now Mrs. Nansen, and the brother did not marry the maid. This is what happens in novels, but not in Homansby. I D 34 F.ll'H OF I'lMDTlOl' NANSIIN I • \l Fridtiof Nansoii sent his first di-awiii