Andree and his Balloon. By Henri Lachambre and Alexis Machuron.
(A. Constable and Co.)—A pathetic interest—the interest of hope deferred, and of hearts now sickening, it may be feared, to despair—attaches to this simple, enthusiastic, and not elaborately scientific book, from the pens of men who were associated in different ways with Andre() in the work which pre- ceded the actual launching of his enterprise. We gets, sufficiently full account of the life of Andrea and of his experiments, in- cluding his abortive attempt in 1896. What strikes one most in the book, and especially in the narrative specially contributed by M. Lachambre, is the kindly fraternity which bound together all who were in any way associated with the remarkable attempt to reach the North Pole. Every tenth page or so one reads that "champagne sparkled in the glasses" when "something had been attempted or something had been done," which seemed to merit a little "celebration." The book sparkles all through with the champagne of brotherhood. Of course, M. Lachambre was associated with Andree immediately after the necessary £7,000 for the North Polar adventure from Spitzbergen had been sub- scribed by the King of Sweden, Baron Dickson, the late Mr. Nobel, and one or two others. It came to a question of the tissues to be used in the making of Andree's balloon. "He felt interested in the English and German products, but gave pre- ference to the French industry. Finally his choice fell on Chinese pongee silk, cemented together in double, threefold, and fourfold layers and varnished, this tissue having been advocated and experimented with for several years past by M. H. Lachambre, to whom Andree entrusted the construction of the balloon, on condition that M. Lachambro should follow the expedition to Spitzbergen, where the benefit of his experience would be at Andree's service." So it came about that M. Lachambre went to Spitzbergen with Andree, and was with him and his two equally daring companions till what most people still fear to be the last. The book is written with simple truthfulness, and gives such an idea of the new developments of Polar enterprise as before could not have been obtained.
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