A MODERN VIKING

Evening Star, Issue 20483, 14 May 1930, Page 9

A MODERN VIKING

In a character sketch of Dr Nansen recently, the writer said: Old man as } l6 i s —or nearly so, for he is now sixtyeight—Dr Fridtjof Nansen is still looking for fresh fields to conquer, and has been loaned the Graf Zeppelin, which recently completed a successful journey round the world, with which he hopes to explore the Arctic regions, and, incidentally, visit the North Pole. Thirty years ago he was the hero and holder of the record f„r the “ Farthest North,” and thousands acclaimed him in all parts of the world. His very presence seemed coloured with romance, and the sight of him reminded people that courage, heroism, and fortitude under suffering were still extant. Since then he has come and gone unnoticed, until just recently, when he came hack once more almost unheralded, though he wears new laurels for even greater services, won at no less cost. As High Commissioner of the League of Nations and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1921-22, he has carried round the world a message _of peace, which has included sympathy, understanding, charitableness, and, more than all, of kindliness oven if understanding failed. In spit© of his years he is the same Nansen who thrilled the world in years almost forgotten, which is amply proved by the fact that he has decided to again tempt Fortune in the icy North, this time from the air, though he is now sixtyeight year old. The first glance at Dr Nansen shows him to be a man of adventure. and no other country but Norway could possibly have produced him. Take a Viking, one of those _ great, stark Norsemen whose voyages in tiny ships have formed the basis of some of the world’s greatest adventure stories, leaving ail his heroic strength but softening him with idealism and the cause of humanity, make him a clear-brained scientist and add something of the polish of civilisation, and there you have Fridtjof Nansen. He is a good 6ft tall, with broad shoulders and a soldier’s carriage in spite of his years. His leanness is that of the athlete, not of age. Ho is big-boned, his fact) is weathered and wrinkled, his head held high, and the first feeling is that he must have left helmet, shield, and trusty sword in the hail. His head — now grown bald—his stern mouth, the wrinkles around the eyes, each show strength and decision, and even a brief acquaintanceship with him but serves to confirm these impressions.