Life of Fridtjof Nansen; Scientist and Explorer Including an Account of the 1893-1896 Expediton (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1897 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XVI. A Talk With Dr. Nansen, September, 1896. Rewritten and Enlarged from the "Christmas Strand Magazine," 1896. On the gth September, 1896, I was one of the foremost of the vast assembly at the picturesque.capital of Norway which welcomed back Dr. Nansen after his long absence in the polar regions. The reason why I, a Britisher, living far away from the coast, took a journey to Christiania to mingle with the enthusiastic crowd, may be stated in a couple of sentences. I was in Christiania in June, 1893, and had a long and pleasant chat with Dr. Nansen a week before the "Fram" started. My wife and I visited Mrs. Nansen at Lysaker a few.days after the doctor had set sail. I heard the Norwegian people express their grave doubts concerning the return of the "Fram," and stating their opinion that Nansen was foolish to the verge of insanity; so, when the news came of Dr. Nansen's return, I hastily packed my traps and set out for Christiania, determined to be amongst those who welcomed the intrepid traveller to his native land. I arrived at the capital in time to take part in the brilliant reception that was accorded to Dr. Nansen and his twelve brave companions, and was fortunate, immediately afterwards, in securing an interview with Dr. Nansen, and obtaining from him not merely an account of his voyage, but also his opinions regarding the results of his Arctic discoveries, which can hardly fail to be of interest. The landing of Dr. Nansen at Christiania is now a matter of history, and very few words will suffice concerning it. The "Fram" was met, far down Christiania Fjord in the early hours of the morning of the 9th September, by" a flotilla of seventy passenger steamers and a small squadron of the navy, which escorted the paintless "Fram" up the fjord ...