“To which he replied:— “‘Yes, I am Nansen.’ “With much heartiness I shook him by the hand and said, ‘By jove, I’m damned glad to see you!’” Such, then, was the unexpected meeting between two explorers who were both trying from different directions to solve the problem of the frozen north. It was as well for Nansen and his companion that that meeting took place, for they had to confess that they were hopelessly lost, and small wonder, for Payer’s map of the north of Franz Josef Land was quite unrecognisable, while, as their watches had run down, they were unable to discover their longitude. Now, however, their troubles were at an end, and they were saved from the necessity of attempting that awful voyage to Spitzbergen in two frail kayacks, a voyage which must almost inevitably have resulted in their deaths. Jackson lost no time in taking the two weary travellers back to his hut, where they were refreshed with a good meal and a wash and brush up—the first in which they had been able to indulge for a year. We are told that so begrimed were they after their journey, that the first application of soap and water had almost as little effect upon them as it had upon the historic tramp who washed and washed till he came to a flannel shirt. Time and honest endeavour, however, made their due impression, and Nansen and Johansen were soon able to boast that they cut as respectable figures as any of their companions. The two explorers had, of course, much in common, and they soon became such fast friends that Nansen’s pleasure at the arrival of the _Windward_ on July 26 and the prospect of an immediate return to the civilised world which it brought with it, was tempered by very real regret. However his course was naturally obvious, and when the ship, after discharging the stores which she had brought for Jackson, sailed once more for England, she took with her Nansen and Johansen, as well as Blonkvist, whose health would not stand another winter in the Arctic, and Fisher, the botanist, who had now completed his researches into the flora of Franz Josef Land. During the ensuing year Jackson continued his exploration of the new land, and his labours were always attended by the happiest results. The sum of them was to prove that it consisted of a cluster of islands, separated from one another by channels in which ran exceedingly rapid currents. These currents, keeping the ice constantly in motion, often made travelling exceedingly difficult, but they ensured open waterways, in which walruses abounded. He further proved that several countries hitherto marked on the maps, such as Gillies and King Oscar Lands, did not exist at all, and made countless scientific observations of the greatest value.