84-8 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



most strongly developed the Norseman's wild delight in conquering diffi- 

 culties. As a hoy he struggled with cold and ice and with other hoys 

 hardy like himself. He spent his money for tools and chemicals when 

 he was expected to yield to the seductions of toys and gingerbread, A 

 hard problem was his delight, whether it was mathematics, the mechanism 

 of a sewing machine, or how to make the longest leap on snowshoes 

 and he never rested till he got to the bottom of it. Then he threw all 

 thought of it to the winds and attacked another. After he had devel- 

 oped a decided taste for science and chosen zoology for his specialty, 

 almost his first training in descriptive research was gained in a sealing 

 voyage undertaken by the advice of Prof. Collet. In the seal hunting 

 and bear hunting on the ice he acquired training for his famous feats of 

 exploration and his first decided bent in that direction. After his return 

 he studied first at the Bergen Museum and then at the Zoological Station 

 at Naples. There are several contributions in the volume by other hands 

 than those of the principal authors. One of these, by Gustav Retzius, 

 tells what Nansen has done as a biologist, showing that he has j)erformed 

 good service in sevei'al directions. The account of the Greenland expe- 

 dition is prefaced by two chaptei'S giving a general description of the coun- 

 try and of the great ice age which, one may say, still persists there. The 

 authors tell us how he made known his plan to Nordenskiold, Rink, and 

 others, how earnestly he answered all objections, and, after making careful 

 preparations, set out on his dangerous undertaking and brought it to a suc- 

 cessful issue. Nansen's home must be an eagle's nest, and his wife a fitting 

 mate to the intrepid explorer, if we are to trust the glimpse of her given 

 by one of the authors, Nordahl Rolfsen. He describes humorously a visit 

 to Mrs. Nansen for the purpose of interviewing her about her husband at 

 the time the rumor was current that Nansen had reached the pole. The 

 interviewer found her gay and severe by turns, but uncommunicative 

 through it all. " Like a figure from the Sagas," he describes her, pi^oud, 

 high-strung, and as strong in her way as her husband. A special historical 

 value is given to the book by the sketch of arctic expeditions from the 

 earliest times, contributed by Aksel Arstal, and the chapter by Prof. H. 

 Mohn summarizing the contributions of Norwegian seamen to arctic geog- 

 raphy. A geological description of the New Siberia Islands is contributed 

 by the Baron Edwai^d von Toll. The remaining chapters are devoted to 

 Nansen's plan of his polar expedition, his preparations, and his start. 

 With the main features of these matters the world is now well acquainted, 

 but the details have an absorbing interest, especially when told with the 

 vim and color of our northern authors. The volume is illustrated with 

 many portraits of Nansen, his family and companions, and many views of 

 scenes connected with his doings. There are also three folded maps of 

 northern regions. 



The questions which have been raised by the experimental investiga- 

 tion of automatic movements, recently carried on in France and England, 

 are among the most interesting with which contemporary science has to 

 deal. In this sphere, as in so many others, the naive belief in the essential 

 simplicity and reasonableness of Nature, which in the scientist is the coun- 

 terpart of the child's faith in the native goodness of grown folk, has suf- 

 fered a shock. Although at present we can scarcely do more than say that 



