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NORWAY,
AND HER LAPLANDERS,
in 1841.

London :
Printed by A. SroTTiswooDE,
New-Sti-eet-Square.

NORWAY,
AND HER LAPLANDERS,
in 1841:

A FEW HINTS TO THE SALMON FISHER.

BY
JOHN MILFORD,
st. John's college, Cambridge ;
AUTHOR OF " OBSERVATIONS ON ITALY," " PENINSULAR
SKETCHES," ETC.

' Of hill and valley, rivers, woods and plains :
Now land, now sea, and shores with forests crown'd,
Rocks, dens, ;ind caves !"— Milton, B. xi. 1. 116.

JOHN MURRAYTATBEWXRLE STREET.

MDCCCXLII.

Eds*,l. 8U-l.IL

TO
WILLIAM NATION, ESQ,
THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED,
WITH EVERY FEELING OF REGARD AND ESTEEM,
BY
HIS OLD FRIEND AND FELLOW COLLEGIAN,
JOHN MILFORD.

Coaver, Exeter,
Aug. 1842.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Introduction. — Leave Hull. — Sea-sickness. — Light
house. — Rocky coast. — Arrive at Christiansand.
— Mr. Peter Frellsen. — Appearance of the streets.
— Honesty of the Norwegians. — Wooden houses.
— Commodious inn. — Mr. Murch the English con
sul. — Desolate appearance of the streets — Theatre.
— Shakspere in Norway. — Start for Vigeland. —
Companions. — Our equipages. — Beautiful scenery.
— Wild fruits. — The Hel Foss. — Timber floats.
— Hay-making. — Anti-teetotalists. — Vigeland. —
Unsuccessful fishing. — Salmon traps. — Vinesland.
— Peasant's hut. — Luxurious dinner. — Saw mills
at Vigeland. — Norwegian hospitality. — Snow-
ploughs. — Mode of clearing the roads. — Return
to Christiansand. Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Start for Christiania. — Steam-boat. — Lillesand. —
Grimstad. — Accident to an English angler. —
Arendal. — Calamitous fire. — Romantic scenery.
— Oster Risoer. — Juvenile sailors. — Kragerve. —
Narrow channel. — A finish  Norwegian nobles.
A 4

V1U CONTENTS
— Baron Vedel. — Fredericksvarn. — Naval school
— Laurwig, — Lobsters. — Sannesund. — Large vil
lage. — Saltworks at Vallen. — Steam-boat travellers.
— Sporting agent. — Norwegian hawks. — Mode of
capturing them. — Hawking club in Holland. —
Arrive at Christiania. — Large trade in deals. —
University. — Appearance of the town. — Palace
of the Crown Prince. — Tardy supplies. — Table
d'hdte. — Wood the staple produce of Norway. —
Skill of the native carpenters. — Effects of the new
tariff — Hardiness of the pine. — Majestic foliage.
Page 14
CHAPTER III.
Start for Tronjeim. — Our carrioles. — Posting in
Norway  Necessity of an avant-courier. — Force
of finkel. — Norse ponies. — French barouche 
Lake Myosen  High state of cultivation in the
province of A ggerhuus. — Rapidity of vegetation.
— River Laur. — Sylvan scenery. — Malthus. —
Strength of the country for defence. — Kringelen
defile  Destruction of Colonel Sinclair and 900
Scots. — Cruel perfidy. — Norwegian post-houses.
— Difficulty of obtaining provisions. — Supposed
pleasures of " roughing it." — Change of carriages.
— Dangerous roads. — Narrow escape. — Largaard.
— The Viceroy of Norway. — Mountain pass. —
Polite beggar- boy  Reach Jerkin. — Change of
climate. — Abundance of game. — Height of the
mountains. — A hilly stage to Konsvold  Slow
work with the barouche. — Golden plovers. — Inns.
—Iron, copper, and silver mines. Page 30

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Lower classes of the Norwegians. — Hideous old wo
men. — Hay and corn harvests. — Native dress. —
Extreme heat. — Delays in posting. — Value of
hay. — Substitute for it. — Steinberg. — View of
Tronjeim. — Arrival in the capital. — The cathe
dral. — Its destruction by fire. — Saxon, Norman,
and Moorish architecture. — St. Olaus. — His wise
government. — Endeavours to convert his people. —
Their rebellion. — His martyrdom — And burial.
— His shrine plundered by the Danes. — Loss of
the booty. — Service in the cathedral. — Popery and
Lutheranism. — Thorvaldsen's statue of Christ. —
Bishop Pontoppidan. — Population of Tronjeim.
— Its buildings. — Extensive fire. — Difficulty of
obtaining lodgings. — Mr. Knudtzon. — Valley of
Lerdal. — Gammel- orse cheese. — Furs. — Advan
tage of acquaintance with the language  Leave
Tronjeim for the Namsen. — Difficulty of travelling.
— Arrive at Ekker. — The Namsen. — Successful
fishing. — A poacher. — The cobbes. — Mr. Belton's
work on Norway. Page 50
CHAPTER V.
Ekker. — Village church. — Services. — Bossuet. —
Free-will offerings. — Income of the clergyman 
The sabbath in Norway. — Dancing. — The Nor
wegian females. — A day's shooting. — Scarcity of
game. — A mountain dairy. — A handsome shep
herdess. — Virtue of the Norwegians. — Our hous-
hold. — Provisions. — The moltebeer. — Private
distillation allowed by the government. — Its ill
effects. — Expences of living. — Looms. — Manu-

X CONTENTS.
factures of the country. — A Lapp girl. — Skins 
Government reward for killing bears and wolves. —
Attacks of a bear on the herds, — Expedition
against the offender. — Failure, and narrow escape
of the assailants. — Anecdote of a bear-hunt. —
Beasts of prey. — Destroyed by traps. — The bear-
killer. Page 74
CHAPTER VI.
Salmon fishing in the Namsen. — Lateness of our
arrival. — Superiority of the Namsen over the
Scotch and Irish salmon streams. — Method of
fishing. — The Fiskum Foss. — Excitement of the
sport. — Boatmen. — The fishing stations. — Rapid
increase of anglers. — Destruction of the fishing in
the Namsen. — New rivers. — Tackle. — Flies. —
Necessaries. — Fishing season. — Birds. — Their
scarceness in Norway. — The alk. — Wild fruits. —
Unpleasant adventure. — Law in Norway. — A
lawyer's bill. — A Norwegian landowner. — Malthus
on Norway. — The soil and climate. — Succession
to property. — Pasture lands. — Dearness of hay. Page 92
CHAPTER VII.
Character of the Norwegians. — Influenced by the
climate and scenery around them — Bishop Pont-
oppidan. — National costume. — La mode de Paris.
— Love of dancing among the Norwegians. —
The gay world. — A ball. — Unshod figurantes. —
The waltz. — Hand-shaking. — Finkel. — Houses in
Norway. — Skill of the natives in carpentering. —
House at Ekker. — Noise. — Incessant singing. —
Norwegian native music. — Looms. — Seasons. —

CONTENTS. V
Continual intrusion of the Norwegian ladies. —
Their curiosity  Their modesty. — A Lapp. —
His costume. — His dog. Page 111
CHAPTER VIII.
Start in search of the Lapps. — Our cavalcade. —
Difficult route. — The crops. — Fiskum. — A family
circle. — The schoolmaster abroad. — A drunken
guide. — Halt for the night. — Magnificent cascade.
— Fatal accident. — Grouse. — Wasps' nest. —
Halt at Tracken. — Cradle. — Forest roads. — Lapp's
hut. — A mishap. — Severe illness. — Jersviken. —
Halt for the night. — Curiosity of our hostess. —
Signs of the Lapps. — Rorvigen. — Wooden church.
Half-yearly services. — Funerals. — Halt. — Bark
bread. — Von Buch. — Pontoppidan. — Our host. —
Scarceness of soap. — Fox- skins. — Return of our
guides*. — Near approach to the Lapps. Page 135
CHAPTER IX.
Bad weather. — Lake Limingen. — Soetter hut. — Our
guide. — Arrival at a Lapp encampment. — Kind
reception. — Lapp tent. — Its contents. — Peter
Johansen and family. — A young herdsman. — Rein
deer milk. — Venison. — Costume of the ladies. —
Lucifer matches. — Finkel — Habits of the Lapps.
— Religious observances. — A night among the
Lapps. — Close-packing. — The rein-deer. — Milk
ing. — Leave-taking. — The origin of these children
of the mountain. — Their wandering lives  The
moss. — Its great utility. — The Lapland breed of
dogs. — Anecdote. — Von Buch. — The reindeer. —
Hospitality of the Lapps. — Von Buch's opinion of

CONTENTS.

them. — Care taken of his reindeer and dogs by the
Laplander. — Migrations of the Lapps. Page 157
CHAPTER X.
Lake Limingen. — Change of weather, — Narrow
escape. — Return to Ekker. — Granite road. — Bi
vouac. — Troness. — Exorbitant charges. — Honesty
of our host. — Englishmen fleeced everywhere. —
Troubles of posting in Norway. — Arrive at Ekker.
— Tronjeim. — Cathedral. — Christenings. — Hos
pitality. — A social priest. — Sunday in Norway. —
Lutheran Sabbath. — Madame Hombert. — Envi
rons of Tronjeim. — Start for Christiansand. — Mag
nificent scenery. — Island of Heteren  Christian
sand. — Peasants. — Molde. — Barren country. —
Aalesund. — Native simplicity. — Rocky coast. —
Fellow passengers. — Wild fowl. — Eider duck. —
Rough weather. — Arrive off Bergen. Page 177
CHAPTER XI.
Superstitions of the Norwegian fishermen. — Bishop
Pontoppidan. — His credulity. — His account of the
' sea monsters.' — The merman, his wife and family.
— The kraken. — The sea serpent. — Its mode of
attacking boats. — Means of eluding its pursuit. —
Dimensions of the kraken. — A Norwegian priest —
His duties and emoluments. — National airs. —
Chorus. — Delay in steam-boats. — Bergen  Its
situation  Trade in cod fish.— Its houses.— Shops.
— An ancient ' Charley.' — Marquis of Waterford. —
Cod fishery  Herrings. — Governors of Bergen. —
Their salaries. — Constitution of Norway. — The
storthing or national assembly. — Its democratic

CONTENTS. Xlll
tendency. — Its defective machinery. — The royal
prerogative. — The system of representation ill de
vised. — Its probable failure in times of difficulty. Page 190
CHAPTER XII.
A country house. — Mr. Carl Konows. — Trade. —
Taxes. — Cathedral  Sunday. — Negligence in the
observance of the day  The castle. — A balloon. —
Theatres of the town of Bergen. — Costumes. —
Quit Bergen. — Scenery. — Stavanger  Cathedral.
The southern extremity of Norway. — Gammel
Norge. — The west coast of Norway. — Fellow pas
sengers. — Character of the country. — Revenue. —
Poor quality of the soil. — Forests. — Jealousy
between Sweden and Norway. — Revenue of Nor
way. — Its poverty. — Vast property of the king. —
Vicissitudes of his life. — The crown prince. — Sce
nery of Norway. — Manners of its inhabitants. —
Christiansand  The bishop. — Incomes of the
clergy. — Their limited numbers, — and consequent
onerous duties. — Jews. — Novel boat. — Cathedral
at Christiansand. — Scotch fir. — Church-yard. —
Temperance society. — Route to and from Norway.
— Danger of the steamers  Passports. Page 211
CHAPTER XIII.
Route to Bergen. — Picturesque and rocky scenery. —
Vivid colouring of the Norway landscapes. — Burning
forest. — Brooten. — Norwegian horses. — Difficulties
of the route. — Glacier. — Perilous ascent. — Mag
nificent view. — Comfortable quarters. — Bear-skin.
— Mr. Leigh. — The Sogne Fiord. — Falls. — Beautiful

XIV CONTENTS.
scene. — Costumes. — Inn  Attacked by banditti.
— Bergen. — Luther and John Huss. — Museum. —
Old picture. — Start for the Hardanger. — Forests.
— Hurricanes. — Various modes of travelling. —
Practise as a doctor. — Good intentions. — Glacier
of the Folgefonde. — Ascent of the height of Har
danger — Provost Hertzberg. — Singular effects of
a tempest. — The Voringfoss or waterfall. — Course
of the river. — Frail bridge. — Phosphoric appearance
of the sea. — Comic Tragedy. — A wandering whale.
— Whales no longer considered safe anchorage. Page 231
CHAPTER XIV.
Mundheim. — Cairns. — Doubtful origin. — Elves. —
The printer's devil. — A heavy fall. — Peasants'
houses. — Love of finery. — Red deer. — Scarcity
of animals in Norway. — Birds. — Adaptation in
colour of the coverings of animals to their haunts.—
Night attack. — Christiania. — Professor of Mine
ralogy. — A studio. — Museum. — Travellers' fare. —
Hut of a jager or hunter. — The Glommen. — The
Aurora Borealis. — Salmon fishing. — " Burning the
water." — Costume of the peasants. — Norse wed
dings. — The bride's wardrobe. — Hereditary orna
ments. — The Kors Fiord. — Detention from the
weather. — Inhabitants. — Their occupation. — A
bride. — Her dress. — Heavy metal. — Headgear. —
Marriage procession. — Mermaidens. — Their nautical
accomplishments. — A perilous voyage- — Contrary
winds. — Disasters at sea. — Rumours at Bergen. —
Kind conduct of Mr. Konow. — Hospitable and
simple character of the Norwegians. Page 266

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.

Quit Christiansand. — The Skagerack. — Arrive at
Gottenburgh. — Its houses and streets. — Trade. —
Population. — Start for Copenhagen. — Elsinore. —
The prison of Cronenberg. — The citadel of Fre-
derikhaven. — Copenhagen. — Beauty and extent
of its buildings. — The Amelien Platz. — Public
institutions  The academy of arts. — Works of
Thorwaldsen. — His apartments. — Botanic garden.
— The palace of Christiansburg. — Museum ol
northern antiquities. — Picture gallery. — Museum
of natural history. — The church of the Virgin. —
Thorwaldsen — Statues of the Saviour and his Apos
tles. — Baptismal font. — Statues of Luther and
Melancthon. — Castle of Rosenberg. — Cemetery.
— The English ambassador. — Christian VIII. —
His popularity. — State visit to the theatre. — His
troops. — Character of the heir apparent. — Kiel
Hamburg. — Review of my wanderings. — Wildness
of the country. — Simplicity of the inhabitants. —
Their affinity to the English. — Provision for paupers.
— Pernicious effects of finkel.- Conclusion. Page 296

NORWAY AND ITS LAPPS.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction. — Leave Hull. — Sea-sickness.— Ttigftt*-
house. — Rocky coast. — Arrive at Christiansand.
— Mr. Peter Frellsen. — Appearance of the streets.
— Honesty of the Norwegians. — Wooden houses.
— Commodious inn. — Mr. Murch the English
consul. — Desolate appearance of the streets. —
Theatre. — Shakspere in Norway. — Start for
Vigeland. — Companions. — Our equipages. —
Beautiful scenery. — Wild fruits, — The Hel
Foss. — Timber floats. — Hay-making. — Anti-
teetotalists. — Vigeland. — Unsuccessful fishing. —
Salmon traps. — Vinesland. — Peasant's hut. —
Luxurious dinner. — Saw-mills at Vigeland. —
Norwegian hospitality. — Snoiv-ploughs. — Mode
of clearing the roads. — Return to Christiansand.
The motives which induced me to under
take an excursion into Norway, the details
of which are given in the following narra
tive, were of a private and painful nature.

A heavy sorrow, which had preyed on mind
and body, had clouded my home with re
collections of unhappiness ; and I was
anxious by change of scene, and the ex
citement of travelling, to divert my thoughts
from their sad channel, and by constant
exercise tore-invigorate my shattered nerves,
and unstrung frame : I selected Norway as
partaking more of nature fresh and unso
phisticated, than those polished and lux
urious countries which are more usually re
sorted to. The travels of my early youth
had led me towards the sunny regions of the
south, to Spain, Portugal, and Italy ; I
now turned towards the hardy bracing
north, in the expectation of finding a per
fect contrast, both in the country and its
inhabitants, to all I had hitherto seen.
I sought the mountain, and the cataract,
the river and the fiord ; nor did I omit to
take with me my fishing-tackle, hoping to
find in the gentle pursuit of honest Izaac
Walton additional motives for wandering
through the fresh meadows, and amid those

grand and lonely scenes in which I knew
that Norway abounded.
My son, who in a few months was to
commence his career at Cambridge, was
my companion. Pleasure, instruction, and
health would, I felt convinced, result to him
from being associated with me in this ex
cursion. We left Hull on Saturday the 24th of
July, and anchored in the harbour of Chris
tiansand, nearly the southernmost point of
Norway, at two o'clock on the morning of
Tuesday the 27th, after a passage of sixty-
two hours, about ten above the usual
average, the wind having been unfavour
able. There was not much of it until the
last night, when a stiff breeze arose, and I
experienced much more of the swell of the
north sea than was agreeable to so bad a
sailor. I remained in my berth fifty-six
hours out of the sixty -two, and scarcely
took any nourishment. Sea-sickness is,
however, the best of all physic for those
b 2

constitutions which have strength to endure
it. The lighthouse, situated on a rock
close to the water, and washed by the roll
ing floods of the German ocean, was dis
tinctly seen for some hours before our
arrival, and the first sight of it greatly
rejoiced me as I lay tossing and rolling in
my berth. The land which we first made
in Norway was not so bold as I had been
led to expect, less grand certainly than the
north of Spain, where the Gallician moun
tains, like dark clouds, bound the horizon.
The coast was, however, strikingly beautiful,
being indented with bays, and fringed with
small rocky islands, and was picturesque,
although bare of vegetation. We could
not have beheld this coast at a more favour
able moment than during that twilight
which immediately precedes sunrise. It
was as clear as mid-day, without any glare,
soft and beautiful, leaving such an impres
sion on the mind as can never be effaced.
Till you immediately come upon it, Chris
tiansand is concealed from the view by a

projecting rock. Shortly after entering the
fiord (frith or loch) the water becomes
quite smooth and glassy. The land-locked
harbour in front of the town, which is sur
rounded by hills partially covered with pines
and stunted birch trees, has a very pleas
ing appearance. We rowed on shore, and
had no sooner set foot upon land before
Mr. Peter Frellsen, the landlord of the inn
to which we had been recommended, shook
us cordially by the hand, and bade us wel
come to old Norway (Gammel Norge).
As we walked to the inn through the wide
and ill-paved streets we were struck at
observing many of the windows of the
ground-floor wide open, as they had evi
dently been all night, and close to one of
them was a writing-desk and several smaller
articles, which could with perfect ease have
been taken away by any person passing by ;
a strong proof of that honesty for which the
Norwegians are so remarkable.
Several magpies were flying about, and
settling on the roofs of the houses, as tame
b 3

and impudent as a smoked London sparrow.
These birds are respected here, as the stork
is in catholic countries.
The houses are built entirely of wood,
except that in some cases the foundation is
of stone ; and most of them have a neat
appearance, being kept clean, and well
painted : this is the case particularly with the
custom house and other public buildings.
The accommodations we found at the
inn were very tolerable, the proprietor
having been in England, and consequently
acquainted with the tastes of our country
men. He is an obliging and respectable
old man, although the charges upon our
first landing were higher than we expect to
find them as we advance into the interior.
We paid our respects to the English con
sul, Mr. Murch, an old Norwegian, who
spoke our language well, although it was
fifty years since he had been in Great
Britain.

The streets of Christiansand run at right
angles to each other ; they are of immense
length, in consequence of the numerous
gardens which intervene between the houses,
and have a desolate appearance, few pedes
trians being seen, and never more than one
or two carrioles, drawn by one horse,
passing at the same time. In short, I
should say this must be a dull town,
although the inhabitants have a theatre to
enliven them, in which a company of
Danish actors were now playing one of our
immortal Shakspere's tragedies, translated
into Norse.
On Wednesday, 28th July, we set out
at nine for Vigeland, a distan ce of ten miles
(English), in the hope of getting a little
fishing, as the steamer does not start for
Christiania till the 30th. Our two country
men, Captain L  and Mr. Charles R  ,
who had been our fellow-passengers from
Hull, accompanied us. We travelled in
two carrioles, drawn by excellent cream-
coloured Norse ponies. The man sat
b 4

behind, whilst I drove, armed with an
English whip. Our friends at home would
have been amused at the appearance of our
rude equipages. There is a finely wooded
pass along the side of the river ; the rocks
are clothed with Scotch fir (pinus sylves-
tris), and every now and then bold masses
of granite appear through the foliage, with
occasional farm-houses, meadows, and plan
tations of oak, ash, poplar, willow, alder,
and birch on all sides. The wild plants by
the side of the road were most of them of
the same classes as those in England ; and
amongst them were the small campanula,
chickweed, millfoil, with rich patches of the
larger species of St. John's wort. The
woods were full of bilberries, wortle-berries,
wild strawberries, and raspberries, all at
maturity. Finding the weather too bright for fishing
in the middle of the day, we strolled for
two miles to the Hel Foss*, a boiling
* Waterfall.

9
abyss, where we first saw the timber de
scending the rapids. A few yards below
the fall the river was blocked up by a
quantity of timber, under which, however,
a passage was kept by the stream. It was
curious to watch a tree float gradually down
the river, descend the tremendous foss,
dive under the obstruction, and come out
on the other side. Men have to get from
the banks upon those floating trees, in order
to clear the channel, and send the timber
to its destination. To accomplish this they
clamber down naked and almost perpendi
cular rocks, and are provided with a long
pole with a spike at one end of it.
The peasantry were busily engaged in
saving their hay, and during the heat of the
mid-day sun I saw no less than twenty
females enter the house of their employer,
who, by way of restorative, gave each of
them a glass of finkel*, and this, which is
repeated in the evening, he informed me,
* Spirit distilled from corn, and potatoes.

10
they prefer to every thing else. As we
proceeded on our journey, I afterwards saw
the manufacture of this liquid fire at several
of the post-houses where we changed horses.
We slept at Vigeland, in a small cottage,
and were lulled to sleep by the noise of the
neighbouring waterfall. Rising the next
morning at half past three, we fished for some
hours before breakfast, but there was some
thing ungenial in the weather, and from
this or from some other cause the salmon
would not rise ; neither do I believe the
fishing here to be very good, as the pool
does not extend for more than a quarter of
a mile, and the river is netted every even
ing. The salmon, when taken, are put into
a trap, and kept ready for sale. Eighty
pounds were sent from hence to Christian
sand on the day of our arrival. My son
killed one salmon of four pounds, and
missed a much heavier fish, from being a
tyro in the art, and striking too hard, in
consequence of which he lost his fly and
part of his line ; he also took a trout of a

11
pound and a half. I was less fortunate,
and could only boast of a rise from one
salmon. I however killed a few small
trout in a lake formed by the river Ottran,
upon which we rowed for a couple of hours.
These fish are of the same dark colour as
the water. At one extremity of this lake
is another small village, called Vinesland,
with a diminitive wooden church. We
entered the wretched dwelling of one of
the peasants, from whence the smoke was
escaping through a large chimney at the
top. We returned to Vigeland, and dined
on a good-sized and well-flavoured trout.
The rye-bread was so sour that I could not
eat it, but the coffee and eggs, with the wild
strawberries, raspberries, and cream, were
delicious. The property at Vigeland belongs to a
company, who have here several saw-mills.
The wheel which moves the saw is of course
turned by water, and the apparatus is very
simple ; there are six double and two single
wheels, and twenty-two saws altogether.

12
When any timber is wanted, the agent
writes up the country for it, and in the
course of a week it is floated down the
river, with the owner's mark upon it. It is
stopped close to the mill, where it is placed
on wheels, and pushed up to the saws ; the
two sides are first cut off, so as to form a
slab of the tree; this is then cut into
planks, which are sent down an inclined
plane, and at the bottom, either arranged,
and exposed to the wind, or sent float
ing down the stream to another station :
all the outside slices are thrown away.
The agent, who resided on the spot, spoke
English, and the civility of the female who
had the management of the household
affairs was very striking. Here we had the
first instance of Norwegian hospitality, for
after we had all partaken plentifully of the
good things I have enumerated, the worthy
lady refused to accept any remuneration
whatever. We, however, at length insisted
upon her taking a small coin of the value
of a shilling from each of us, for which she
was very grateful. Her sister was remark-

13
able for the beauty both of her face and
figure, and would have been considered a
fine woman in any country. This day we
met with masses of the spruce (pinus abies)
fir, which we had not seen before, and also ob
served by the side of the road several wooden
milestones and snow-ploughs. The latter
are made of boards, and form a triangle,
with which the snow is cleared away in
winter; each farmer having charge of a
certain portion of road, and being bound
to keep open the communication.
In the evening we returned to Christian
sand by water, having hired a boat for the
purpose. We performed the distance in
about two hours, although the river was in
some parts so full of floating timber as
greatly to impede our passage.

14

CHAPTER II.
Start for Christiania. — Steam-boat. — Lillesand. —
Grimstad. — Accident to an English angler. —
Arendal. — Calamitous fire. — Romantic scenery.
— Oster Risoer. — Juvenile sailors. — Kragerve.
— Narrow channel. — A finish. — Norwegian
nobles. — Baron Vedel. — Fredericksvarn. — Naval
school. — Laurwig. — Lobsters. — Sannesund. —
Large village. — Saltworks at Vallen. — Steam
boat travellers. — Sporting agent. — Norwegian
hawks. — Mode of capturing them. — Hawking
club in Holland. — Arrive at Christiania. — Large
trade in deals. — University. — Appearance of the
town. — Palace of the Crown Prince. — Tardy
supplies. — Table d'hote. — Wood the staple pro
duce of Norway. — Skill of the native carpenters.
Effects of the new tariff. — Hardiness of the pine.
— Majestic foliage.
On Friday the 30th July we left Christian
sand for Christiania in a well-appointed
steamer, the Constitution. Every thing
on board was admirably arranged and
beautifully clean, the wines, Sauterne and

15
St. Julien, 2s. 6d. a bottle, were excellent,
the dinner well dressed in the French style,
and the captain speaking that language.
Soon after starting, as we were passing
close along the coast, I saw a seal, which I
took for a porpoise, until it lifted its dog
like head above the water. This is a very
intricate navigation. We had a Swedish
pilot on board, and sailed between nume
rous islands, with sunken rocks on each side
of us, over which the sea was breaking.
The steamer calls at a number of small
places for passengers, and anchors in some
snug harbour every night. You can sleep
either on board or on shore. The first
place at which we stopped was Lillesand,
which stands in a creek sheltered from every
wind. There were two or three trading
vessels at anchor. On several of the rocks
by which we passed I remarked a few
small cottages, and every now and then a
patch of vegetation.
These steamers, so convenient for the
tourist, were established thirteen years

16
since. They only run during the summer
months, and I was informed that they do not
as yet answer. The charge for each person
from Christiansand to Christiania is about
thirty shillings ; this includes his luggage,
but not his provisions.* You may now
go from Hamburgh almost to the icy cape,
at least as far as Hammerfest, by steam.
Grimstad, with its snug little harbour, con
taining a few small craft, was the second
village at which we called. Brooms appear
just above the water to point out the
zigzag course the vessel must pursue, in
order to avoid the many Scyllas and Cha-
rybdisses in her way.
About a fortnight ago, an English gentle
man named L  s, killed thirty-seven
salmon in one day, at a place about ten
miles from Christiansand, belonging to a
* A parent and child only pay one and a half fare
by this steamer. In many parts of Norway they have
this custom of charging two or more members of the
same family less than the same number of other per
sons ; thus, two pay for one and a half, four for three,
and so on.

17
lady, the niece of the English consul, who
only gives permission to fish to persons
particularly introduced to her. Mr. L 
having hooked a large salmon, in playing
him unfortunately fell over a rock, and
dislocated his shoulder, and was compelled
in consequence of the accident to return
by the steamer to England.
Arendal is the largest and prettiest town
we halted at, and here many of our passengers
landed. The arrival of the steamer caused
much activity, and well-dressed females
were seen at every window. There is
some little trade at this place, there being
iron mines in its neighbourhood. A year
since Arendal was much injured by fire,
one half of the town being consumed, but it
is already rebuilt. It contains several large
houses, one in particular, belonging to a
gentleman who has also a pretty country
seat at the entrance of the harbour. The
theatre (for this seems to be considered as
a necessary appendage to most towns in
Norway) is a prominent wooden building

18
close to the quay, with a figure of one of
the muses over the facade.
On leaving Arendal our course for seven
miles was up a kind of lake, with well
wooded and rocky islands on each side.
Some of the country houses belonging to
the inhabitants of the town are beautifully
situated. One of the passengers on board our
steamer was the son of Mr. Murch. He
spoke ' French well, and likewise a little
English, and from this intelligent and
well-informed gentleman I obtained much
local knowledge during the voyage. As
I paced the deck I greatly admired the
clearness of the sea, filled with myriads of
asteriae, echini, and other mollusca of a
scarlet colour.
We next anchored in the harbour of the
small town of Oster Risoer, which is very
prettily situated, and slept on shore, having
found clean beds and good accommodation.

19
Most of the passengers, however, remained
on board. About seven English miles from
hence there are some iron works, and much
of the ore is exported to Hull. This is also
a great fishing-place, which our olfactory
nerves soon discovered, as we passed through
its narrow and ill-paved streets. In the har
bour we observed several children, not more
than eight years of age, rambling about in
their canoe-shaped little boats, thus early
acquiring that taste for a seafaring life for
which the Norwegians are so remarkable.
The point of the highest rock is washed
with lime as a landmark, and seen at a
considerable distance from the sea. We all
agreed that the inhabitants were a very
good-looking race ; amongst the better
class of females, especially, there were
several very pretty faces.
On the 31st July we again started at
six a.m., and the first place where we took
in passengers was Kragerve. The coast is
flatter and less striking for a short distance,
till the rocks at length approach so near,
* c 2

20
and the channel becomes so narrow, as to
leave only sufficient space for the passage
of the vessel. The skilful Swedish pilot on
board stood on a plank between the paddles,
and by a wave of his hand directed the
steersman. We had a capital breakfast of beefsteaks,
after partaking plentifully of which I ob
served a Norwegian gentleman drink a
bottle of porter and a glass of brandy, by
way of finish.
The second officer on board was the son
of a Norse baron. There are only three
barons left in Norway, and these will be
the last of their race, as in 1814 the orders
of nobility were annulled, and the law of
primogeniture abolished. At Brevig, where
we next stopped for a few minutes, we saw
one of these few remaining nobles, Baron
Vedel, a fine-looking man of about sixty.
He holds a situation under government, as
director of the customs, worth from between
•s£300 and ^400 sterling per annum, being

21
one of the best appointments in this poor
country ; he also possesses some landed
property. His brother was a count, and
recently governor of Norway. On his death,
last year, at the baths of Wis Baden, the
king sent a steamer to bring his corpse for
sepulture to his native country. " Baron
Vedel," said Mr. Murch, " is somewhat
exposed to ridicule here, as we do not
approve of orders of nobility."
At one we anchored at Fredericksvarn,
a Norwegian fort, and a training school for
the navy. Some of the young mids came
on board our steamer from a Swedish cor
vette, now in the harbour ; and many others,
I was informed, were cruising on the coast,
acquiring a practical knowledge of navi
gation. As we had to wait four hours for the
arrival of the other steamer which plys
between this place and Christiania, we
landed, and hiring two carrioles, drove for
about five miles to the fishing town of
c 3

22
Laurwig, from whence more lobsters are
sent to England than from any other port
in Norway ; several thousand are forwarded
at a time to the London market, and are
kept alive in the wells of boats containing
salt water, and constructed for the purpose.
The road between Fredericksvarn and
Laurwig is excellent, and the variety of
wood and pasture ground reminded us of
England. The beech, oak, alder, moun
tain ash, and spruce grow here, but do not
arrive at any great size, in consequence of
being so near the sea.
At six p.m. we proceeded in another
steamer about twenty miles farther along
the coast, and reached Sannesund at eight,
where we slept, in one of the four houses
of which this hamlet consists ; three of
these belong to pilots, and the fourth to
an innkeeper, who, fortunately for us, had
recently made an addition to his log-
house, and we were among the first occu
pants of his new rooms. The beds were

23
clean, and the people very civil and atten
tive. After a few hours sound sleep, we
rose about three, and before four o'clock on
Sunday the 1st of August sailed for Chris
tiania, having already entered its fiord, which
is seventy miles in length, and one of the
most beautiful in Norway, enclosed with
woods and rocks, and studded with islands.
We passed by some extensive salt-works at
Valleu, on our left. The salt is extracted
from sea-water, and afterwards mixed with
imported rock-salt.
Numerous passengers came on board at
the different places of call, and our steamer,
the Carl Johan, very inferior in cleanliness
to the Constitution, which we had quitted
yesterday, was greatly crowded. I have
strong objections to travelling on the sab
bath, but under the present arrangement of
the steamers it is difficult in this country
to avoid doing so occasionally.
How curious are the characters and how
various the professions of those persons
c 4

24
whom you meet with on board a steam-
vessel ! How different are the objects which
they have in view ! A man has just entered
into conversation with me who has been
sent by Prince Alexander, the second
son of the King of Holland, the Duke of
Leeds and several other Englishmen fond
of hawking, a distance of 700 or 800
miles, to Jerkin, on the Dovre faeil, for
the sole purpose of capturing some Nor
wegian hawks. He told me he should
remain at the last-mentioned spot for a
month, and expected to catch about half a
dozen of these birds. He was taking some
live pigeons with him for this purpose, all
the way from Amsterdam to the highest
mountain pass in Norway. His method is
to build a shed in a wild situation, in which
he may conceal himself, and then to con
fine a pigeon to the ground close to an
expanded net ; the hawk is attracted to the
spot, and easily captured. This person had
been for twenty years falconer to Lord Ber
nard, and had lived in Suffolk, but was now
employed by a hawking society in Holland.

25
I saw the list of the members. They meet
during the months of April, May, June,
and part of July of every year. Amongst
the names were those of many both of the
Dutch and English nobility.
After calling at Hamestrand and Drobak,
on opposite sides of the fiord, which here
forms a noble expanse of water, we arrived
at Christiania. This is the most modern of
the four capitals of Norway, and is a fine
town, with wide streets and lofty houses,
most of them built of stone, and with great
regularity. The harbour is excellent, and
the trade extensive, this being the great
mart for deals, the superiority of which
over those of other countries is said to con
sist, how truly I know not, more in the
mode of sawing than in the quality of the
timber. At one time the commerce in this
article was so large that one merchant
alone, Bernard Ancker, exported to the
value of ^180,000 a year. Christiania con
tains an university, founded in 1811, where
there are several hundred students ; and the

26
town being the seat of government, several
of its buildings are on a large scale. Its
general appearance, however, is gloomy,
and I passed through many streets without
meeting with any description of vehicle,
and scarcely half a dozen people. The
number of its inhabitants, nevertheless, ex
ceeds 12,000.
Just before we cast our anchor at the
extremity of the fiord, we saw on our left,
and very near the town, the new palace for
the Crown Prince, now in course of erec
tion. It is a long time since the building
was commenced, and it is not expected to
be completed for ten years to come, the
progress of the work entirely depending on
the supplies voted by the storthing, which
are few and far between. It as yet pre
sents little more than bare walls, but it is
calculated that before it is completed it will
cost upwards of a quarter of a million ster
ling. The situation is beautiful, com
manding an extensive view of the splendid
fiord, and backed by high mountains. It

27
is said the Viceroy will eventually take
up his residence in this capital, but he will
have to wait a long time before his palace is
in a fit state for his reception.
The Hotel du Nord was the best inn that
we had met with, and we dined at its table
d'hote with sixty or seventy other persons,
some belonging to the town, and the rest
travellers like ourselves.
Wood seems to be the staple produce of
the land, the source of its well-being at
home and of its commerce abroad. The
Norwegians, as might be expected, are
admirable carpenters ; practice has made
them perfect, and they have rendered the
material subservient to every possible
purpose, with an ingenuity that is asto
nishing. The recent alteration in the tariff, which
has long been advocated by the most en
lightened political economists of every
party, will give an impetus to the Ian-

28
guishing trade of Christiania, and draw
closer the bonds of unity between Norway
and Great Britain. The Norwegians are
already well disposed to like us, and to
look with a sort of paternal pride and
affection upon a nation which, once peopled
by themselves, has now risen to be the
leader of civilisation, and to be victorious
alike by sea and by land. Their great
object is (saving the pun) to deal with us,
to supply us with their raw produce, which
is superabundant and excellent, and to take
back in return our manufactures, which are
equally cheap and good, and in which they
are utterly deficient. It is impossible to
predict the mutual advantages which will
arise from this wise and liberal measure.
Norway, indeed, will benefit the most,
because she has the most lee-way to make
up, being to a certain degree uncivilised.
Now that our ports are again to be opened,
commerce will revive, and in her train
assuredly will come industry, order, and
wealth ; then will follow luxury, artistical
and literary attainment, and all the highest

29
ranges of social and intellectual develop
ment. The Norwegian pines are the weed of
the soil, they grow on almost soil-less crags
(" moored in the rifted rock"), and planted
by the hand of nature, where none but
nature could dare to place them, and where
nothing but nature's aid could support
them. Their dark tone of colour is in har
mony with the scenery around, while their
elfin branches, flung over the cataract, form
the appropriate fringes to scenes which
recal the witch and demon glens of the
Freyschutz.

30

CHAPTER III.
Start for Tronjeim.. — Our carrioles. — Posting in
Norway. — Necessity of an avant-courier. — Force
offinkel. — Norse ponies. — French barouche. —
Lake Myosen. — High state of cultivation in the
province of Aggerhuus. — Rapidity of vegetation.
— River Law. — Sylvan scenery. — Malthus. —
Strength of the country for defence. — Kringelen
defile. — Destruction of Colonel Sinclair and 900
Scots. — Cruel perfidy. — Norwegian post-houses.
— Difficulty of obtaining provisions. — Supposed
pleasures of" roughing it." — Change of carriages.
— Dangerous roads. — Narrow escape. — Lar-
gaard. — The Viceroy of Norway. — Mountain
pass. — Polite beggar-boy. — Reach Jerkin. —
Change of climate. — Abundance of game. —
Height of the mountains. — A hilly stage to Kons-
vold. — Slow work with the barouche. — Golden
plovers. — Inns. — Iron, copper, and silver mines.
The distance between Christiania and
Tronjeim is about 350 English miles. We
purchased carrioles, which, together with
the harness, cost si A each. They are little

31
vehicles with low wheels, very convenient
and snug, being just large enough to hold
one person, whose feet rest against the cross
bar, whilst his legs are protected by a large
leathern apron. These light carriages are
tolerably easy, for although they have no
springs there is much play in the shafts ;
there is, however, no covering, which is a
somewhat awkward circumstance in case of
rain, but they are solely intended for sum
mer travelling. The only place for your
luggage being upon the board behind, the
less you encumber yourself with the better,
particularly as upon it the proprietor of the
horse occasionally takes his seat, and in
more than one instance the contents of my
carpet-bag were wofully crushed in con
sequence. We proceeded on our journey, travelling
post, the horses being provided by the
landed proprietors of the country (bonder),
at the rate of about a shilling a Norse mile
(seven English miles) for each animal, which
is about the same expence at which you can
* c 8

32
travel in England by a public conveyance.
Each carriole is drawn by one horse, and
you are obliged to send on a forebud, or
avant-courier, in a cart, ten or twelve hours
before you start, to carry your additional
luggage, and to have the horses, which are
fetched from the plough or from other work,
in readiness by the time of your arrival ;
but you frequently overtake this functionary,
in consequence of the temptation which
finkel offers to him at every post-house ;
and although a book is kept for the purpose
of making known to the proper authorities
any complaint either of incivility or delay,
the traveller passes on, and seldom avails
himself of such an uncertain mode of redress.
The duty of the forebud is to leave a printed
ticket at each post station, informing the
proprietor when you may be expected to
arrive, and what number of horses you require.
For the trouble of sending to the farmer for
these animals the said proprietor is allowed
a fixed charge of four skillings (about two
pence), which is called order money, and
you have also to pay him a few more skil-

33
lings for every hour you are after your
time. The little horses are stiff built, well made,
full of spirit, very fast, and sure-footed, and
on level ground go at a good rate ; the
roads, however, although well kept, are
generally so hilly that, including stoppages
(each change occupies twenty minutes), we
never went more than from five to six miles
in the hour.
These Norse ponies, some of the
hardiest and best bred in Europe, are fre
quently exported to England. We saw a
beautiful pair on board the steamer at
Christiansand, which had been purchased
by Sir Hyde Parker for about £20. They
would answer well for a low phaeton, or to
ride shooting ; but I was informed their
hoofs are apt to crack upon our hard roads.
We were much pleased with the indepen
dence and convenience of carriole travelling.
Our countryman, Mr. S., joined our party in
his French barouche, and the tout ensemble
D

34
of our cavalcade, as we drove through Chris
tiania, would have afforded a good subject
for a comic pencil.
About seventy-five miles from Christiania
you cross the river Vormen by a ferry at
Minde, where the Lake Myosen (Miosen
Soe) commences. It is a fine sheet of water,
in the province of Aggerhuus (or Chris
tiania), nearly sixty English miles in length
andeight in breadth, with splendid scenery
on its borders, and the land around it is con
sidered to be in a higher state of cultivation
than in any other part of Norway, produc
ing barley and oats in abundance. So
rapidly does the corn grow during the in
tense heat of their short summer, aided by
the reverberation of the sun's rays from the
sides of the mountains, that the grain is
fit to reap in a few weeks after sowing,
and they frequently have two crops in a
season. A little steam-boat now plies between
the two extremities of this lake every

35
three weeks during the summer months.
The days of its starting are published in the
newspapers . at Christiania, for the conve
nience of travellers. We saw it on the
Vormen. As we drove along by the water's edge
the landscape was strikingly beautiful. We
next passed through Lillehammer, the only
town between the two capitals, Christiania
and Tronjeim, and that a very small one,
consisting of a single street.
We now followed the banks of the river
Laur, a boiling torrent rushing over its
rocky bed, and growing more and more
impetuous in its course, with high perpen
dicular mountains on each side, clothed
with lofty pines, the monotony of which
is relieved by the ash, weeping birch, and
aspen, —
" A sylvan scene : and as the ranks ascend
Shade above shade, a woody theatre
Of stateliest view 
Luxuriant, meanwhile murmuring waters fall
Down the slope hills, dispersed, or in a lake
Unite their streams." Par. Lost.
D 2

36
Such wildly picturesque scenes as these
fill the mind with admiration at the in
exhaustible wonders of creation.
This valley of Gulbrandsdale extends
for nearly thirty Norse miles, and its nume
rous and varied beauties are highly extolled
by travellers, and many have considered
them equal to the sublime and majestic
scenery of the Swiss Alps and of the
Pyrennees ; but I cannot admit that any
part of Norway merits to be compared with
those stupendous regions, where, on a far
grander scale than anywhere else, man
beholds with religious awe and astonish
ment the works of his Creator.
" The mountains of Norway are in
general not habitable. The only peopled
parts of the country are the valhes. Many
of these vallies are deep and narrow clefts
in the mountains, and the cultivated spots
in the bottom are surrounded by almost
perpendicular cliffs of a prodigious height.
Some of these vallies are strikingly pic-

37
turesque. The principal road from Chris
tiania to Tronjeim leads for nearly 180
miles through a continued valley of this
kind, by the side of a very fine river, which
in one part stretches out into the extensive
Lake Myosen. I am inclined to believe
that there is not any river in all Europe the
course of which affords such a constant
succession of beautiful and romantic
scenery. It goes under different names in
different parts. The verdure in the Norway
vallies is peculiarly soft, the foliage of the
trees luxuriant, and in summer no traces
appear of a northern climate." *
Such is the nature of the country of
Norway, says an intelligent writer, that by
the pre-occupation of different passes the
destruction of an invading army is fre
quently almost inevitable. Bodies of re
gular troops have been more than once
destroyed in some of these passes by the
peasantry. * Malthus.
D 3

38
In the midst of this rudely sublime
mountainous scenery, at a celebrated defile
called Kringelen, Colonel Sinclair and 900
Scotchmen were slaughtered in the year
1612. In this neighbourhood was Sinclair's
grave, pointed out by a tablet destroyed
by the floods in 1789, and afterwards re
stored by the boors, A. Viberg and N.Viig.
On it was this inscription : " Here lies Co
lonel Sinclair, who, with 900 Scotchmen,
was dashed to pieces, 'like earthen pots,'
by 300 boors of Lessoe, Vaage, and Froen.
Berden Segelstadt of Ringeboe was the
leader of the boors." Sinclair fell at the
narrow pass of Kringelen. The road was
narrow, and cut out of the solid rock, and
overhung the steep and precipitous banks
of the river, which rushed along the bottom.
Sinclair had nowhere met with any opposi
tion, for almost all the youth of the country
had been drawn to the Swedish war in the
south of Norwaj^. He had no suspicion of
any attack here, and carelessly pursued his
way. The boors, with great address, pro
ceeded unperceived over the rocks, and

39
dexterously detached a small division to
the opposite side of the river, which made
its appearance over against the Scots on a
large meadow, and with considerable irre
gularity kept firing on their enemy below.
The Scots dispersed this ineffectual attack,
and passed on, but their attention was,
however, directed to the meadow on the
opposite side of the river. The boors sud
denly made their appearance on the rocks
in every direction ; they closed up every
avenue of advance ; they prevented every
means of retreat. Sinclair fell in the fore
most ranks, and the rest were dashed to
pieces like earthen pots. And thus let the
enemy and the world learn what Norwegian
valour, firmness, and fidelity are capable of
in their native rocks. About sixty of the
Scots interceded for life, and were taken
prisoners. They divided them among the
hamlets, but they forgot that prisoners are
no longer enemies ; they soon grew tired
of feeding an enemy, and the defenceless
Scots were collected together in a large
d 4

40
meadow, and murdered in cold blood. Only
one escaped.
But how came the Scots into Norway,
and to penetrate so far into the Norwegian
mountains ? In consequence of a plan,
which, as experience has shown, was of too
bold a conception.
King Gustavus Adolphus, in his first
unsuccessful war with Christian the Fourth,
despatched Colonel Munckhaven, in the
spring of 1612, to enlist men in the Nether
lands and in Scotland. Colonel Sinclair
landed at Romsdalen. He had already pro
ceeded many miles through Romsdalen,
Lessoe, and down the valley below Dovre
fiael, and might well believe the Swedish
frontiers at hand, when he was destroyed
by the circumspect and daring attack of
the boors in Kringelen.
" Sinclair came over the salt sea,
" To storm the cliffs of Norway." Von Buch.

41
We rested for a few hours at night, on
the average not more than four or five, at
the post-houses, which generally stand quite
alone, and which, both in external appear
ance and in internal accommodation, are
about on a par with the posadas I had been
accustomed to in Spain and Portugal. You
generally find one large comfortless room,
the whole furniture of which consists of a
table, a few chairs, and a couple of beds,
and in this you both eat and sleep, if not
prevented from enjoying "tired nature's
calm restorer" by fleas, musquitoes, bugs,
et hoc genus omne of annoyances, with the
addition of an infinity of villainous smells,
arising from the dirty habits of the people,
and but partially counteracted by the strong
odour of the tops of the spruce and juniper,
which are spread over the floor of every
cottage in Norway, for the purpose of
keeping it clean.
Wo be to the English traveller who does
not bring some portable soup and good
biscuit with him for this journey, or indeed

42
for any other which he may make in Nor
way, even from one capital to another.
The keen northern air and the hard exer
cise will sharpen his appetite, but he will
find nothing to satisfy it, excepting such
unsubstantial food as eggs and coffee. The
former you can generally get ; the latter
always, even in the smallest cottages, but
you must wait, although half starving, for
a full half hour after your arrival before
you can procure even this, for it has first
to be roasted, then ground, and afterwards
boiled. Now and then we had the addi
tional luxury of bad bacon, for the Nor
wegian pigs resemble " des anatomies
vivantes." Those who travel over maps in their
own comfortable study at home, and then
set forth, under the pleasing delusion, that
foreign journey ings are productive of
nothing but comfort and delight, should
not visit Norway, for it will stagger their
passion for adventures ; but, by others who
are less fastidious, this occasional roughing

43
is soon forgotten in. the excitement and
admiration which a new country and noble
scenery produce. These temporary diffi
culties are of advantage also, as teaching
us doubly to appreciate the comforts of
home when we return to them again. We
travelled occasionally in Mr. S.'s barouche,
lending him and his friend our carrioles, by
way of variety ; but going down such
tremendous hills was a trial to the nerves,
as this French carriage was not at all suited
to such a country as Norway. We con
tinued our journey all night, having been
much delayed from many a loose screw in
its ponderous fabric. I must confess that
I by no means relished the danger we ran
during this night, the road winding round
a mountain, with a frightful yawning abyss
on one side, and of a width only just suffi
cient to admit the large and heavy barouche,
probably the first of the kind that had ever
passed over it. In descending some of
the most precipitous hills, I deemed "dis
cretion the better part of valour," and
jumped out, and our courier and the other

44
attendant had much difficulty in preventing
the ponderous carriage from tumbling into
the river. On one occasion, notwithstand
ing all their exertions, it fairly mastered
them, and ran back ; but fortunately a
bank prevented its going the whole way
down the hill. These adventures are more
pleasant to talk of than to experience,
and I was not a little glad the next morn
ing to resume the independent and safe
mode of carriole travelling.
On the 5th August we arrived, at
8 a.m., at the post house of Largaard, where
we met the Viceroy of Norway, with whom
I had some conversation in French. He
said he should long remember the night
which he had passed in that wretched inn ;
he was extremely courteous and polite.
His aide-de-camp was a fine young man,
and spoke a little English. As they were
going to Tronjeim, they kindly offered to
order horses and beds for us. Humble as
was the inn at Largaard, its inmates con
trived to give us an excellent breakfast,

45
consisting of good coffee, fine trout, eggs,
&c, with the addition of some of Mr. S.'s
portable soup. Thus refreshed, we started,
with new vigour, on our journey.
On leaving Largaard the road goes round
a mountain, and there is another precipitous
hill, of two miles in length. This is a
long mountain pass, and we observed snow
on the neighbouring heights.
At the next stage the horses were
brought out to meet us by the side of the
road. A little urchin in tattered garments,
and hair bleached to whiteness from ex
posure to the sun, came gravely up to me,
and asked me for two skillings (one penny).
Upon my complying with his request, he
not only gave me a nod with his head,
but also put out his hand immediately,
and shook mine, in order to express the
cordiality of his thanks.
After a tedious journey over the Dovre
fiael, an elevated tract of ground, twenty-five
* d7

46
miles across, bounded by towering heights
on the right and left, upon the sides of
which the snow appeared in patches, we
reached Jerkin, a good inn, with a farm
attached to it, standing on a hill, and
apparently isolated from the rest of the
world. Here we slept.*
The day had been fine, and the heat of
the sun very fervent, but as we passed the
foot of Snoe-hatten, covered with the snow
of ages, the climate of summer had
suddenly changed to that of winter, and
before our arrival at Jerkin I was glad to
get out of my carriole and run up the hills,
to increase the circulation. The effect of
the setting sun, combined with the wildness
of the scenery, was beautiful in the extreme.
Several Englishmen have occasionally taken
up their residence here for some time.
* " The pass at Jerkin exceeds in height almost all
the known passes over the northern mountains. This
is properly the head of the principal chain of the
Dovre fisel, and it is by far the greatest elevation of
the northern peninsula." Von Buch.

47
The inn is tolerably good, but the charges
are considered dear. Abundance of ptar
migan are found in the neighbouring moun-
tains, and trout in the river. Comparatively
speaking, the mountains appear insignificant
to the traveller whose eye has rested on the
sublime Alps.
Snce-hattan is only 8,000 feet above the
level of the sea, whilst Mont Blanc towers
to a height of 15,000 ! After a very short
night's rest, we left Jerkin, on the 6th of
August, and passed over the highest part
of the Dovre fiael (about 4,600 feet above
the sea) to the post-house called Drifstuen,
a distance of only six miles from Konsvold.
It was the most hilly stage I ever travelled.
My countryman, who followed us in his
barouche, took ten hours in performing it,
although he had eight horses and as many
men to assist them. Indeed the landlord at
Jerkin expressed great doubts whether so
heavy a vehicle could be dragged up such
steep hills, or let down the rapid descents,
without considerable danger, the extremely

48
narrow road being only suited for horses,
and in many places is actually on the very
verge of the precipice.
Between Jerkin and Konsvold, as we
were crossing some marshes, we heard the
whistle of the golden plover, and afterwards
saw several of these birds near the road ;
we halted in consequence, and taking my
gun out of its case, I was successful in
killing a couple in a short time, and could
I have remained longer I might have had
good sport. En route to Drifstuen we also
amused ourselves by fishing, and although
the water was low, and the weather very
bright, we killed a dozen small trout.
At the inns at Jerkin and Konsvold I
remarked a handsomely embossed tankard
of silver, in which was some beer for each
traveller to taste en passant. The fur
niture of these houses, and of most of the
others where we changed horses, although
of the rough order, was in good taste, the
wardrobes, chests, kitchen clocks, and chairs

49
being carved, and very much resembling in
shape those used in England 200 years ago
There were numerous inscriptions on the
walls. Iron is found in this countrv, and
copper at Roraas, on the Dovre faeil, where
the mines are very productive ; but the
silver mine at Kongsberg, according to the
latest accounts, is now worked at a loss.

50

CHAPTER IV.
Lower classes of the Norwegians. — Hideous old
women. — Hay and corn harvests. — Native dress.
— Extreme heat. — Delays in posting. — Value of
hay. — Substitute for it. — Steinberg. — View of
Tronjeim. — Arrival in the capital. — The cathe
dral. — Its destruction by fire. — Saxon, Norman,
and Moorish architecture. — St. Olaus. — His wise
government. — Endeavours to convert his people. —
Their rebellion. — His martyrdom — And burial.
— His shrine plundered by the Danes. — Loss of
the booty. — Service in the cathedral. — Popery
and Luther anism. — Thorvaldsen's statue of Christ.
— Bishop Pontoppidan. — Population of Tron
jeim. — Its buildings. — Extensive fire. — Diffi
culty of obtaining lodgings. — Mr. Knudtzon. • —
Valley of Lerdal. — Gammel-orse cheese. — Furs.
— Advantage of acquaintance with the language.
— Leave Tronjeim for the Namsen. — Difficulty
of travelling. — Arrive at Ekker. — The Namsen.
— Successful fishing. — A poacher. — The cobbes.
¦ — Mr. Belton's work on Norway.
On the 9th August we left Drifstuen, and
proceeded in the direction of Tronjeim,

51
eleven Norse (seventy-seven English) miles,
which we hoped to reach at night. The
lower classes are dirty in their persons, but
by no means an ill-favoured race ; and
amongst the young girls I remarked many
a pretty face, but some of the old women
were absolutely hideous, and might have
personated the witches in Macbeth without
any stage embellishments. When we ar
rived late at the post-house at Jerkin I saw
several of these antiques get out of their
wooden pallets and shake themselves.
Whilst they were preparing our coffee they
put on their stockings, if they had any, for
many are constantly barefooted. The
effluvia in the kitchen arising from their
cheese (still stronger than chapsiker),
their butter, and other causes, I found
occasionally almost overpowering, when the
doors were closed.
As we drove along to day in our snug
carrioles, the weather was .delightful, and
the peasants were getting in their hay in
high condition. I observed several fields of
e 2

52
barley beginning to assume a yellow tinge,
so that the hay and corn harvests quickly
succeed each other. Amongst the labour
ing classes the men all wear scarlet cloth
caps, and the women a kind of open jacket,
with a man's shirt, but without stockings.
We changed horses almost every seven
English miles at solitary houses by the side
of the road. I never felt the scorching heat
of the sun in England to such an extent as
we experienced it this day. Notwithstand
ing our sending on a forebud last night to
give notice of the time of our arrival at the
different stations, we were detained an hour
and a half at one and a considerable time
at another. All the farmers horses were
engaged at this busy season in carrying the
hay. This system of posting is bad, for
notwithstanding all the precautions you
may take you can never calculate with
certainty as to the period of your arrival
at your journey's end. We travelled with
three horses, one for each of us, and one for
our interpreter. The expense is about

53

9|^- for each horse for seven English
miles. We were struck at the neat manner in
which the fields are mown in this country ;
they are cut as close as a parterre in
England, so valuable is hay for the cattle
during the long winter. I saw the peasants
collecting a quantity of leaves and small
boughs of alder and other trees, for the
same purpose. Fodder for cattle is so
scarce all over Norway, that even at
Christiania, some years since, large quan
tities of hay used to be imported from
England ; and various writers have men
tioned that on the coast a compost is made
offish-bones, horse-dung, and other mate
rials, which the cows eat with avidity, and
fatten upon it.
We were again detained on the road for
want of horses, and did not reach the
height, Steinberg, which commands a view
of Tronjeim, till nearly three o'clock on the
morning of 8th August. The still surface
e 3

54
of the broad fiord, at the northern extre
mity of which the city stands, was illumined
by the rays of the rising sun, and resembled
a river of gold, whilst the broken rocks
threw their shadows into the polished
mirror ; — a glorious prospect, which we all
stopped to admire. It was one which can
never be forgotten, but which no language
can describe. " Who can paint
Like nature ? Can imagination boast,
Amid its gay creation, hues like hers ?
 If fancy then
Unequal fails beneath the pleasing task,
Ah ! what shall language do ? ah ! where
find words
Ting'd with so many colours ?"
Thomson.
The situation of Tronjeim, with the little
isle and fortress of Munkholm rising out of
the water, is strikingly beautiful ; and its
well-sheltered bay and harbour are bounded
by mountains covered with snow.
We found some difficulty in procuring
accommodation, the Hotel du Nord, the

55
only one in the place, having been burnt
down. We at length obtained rooms in a
private house, and after taking a few hours
sleep, repaired to the cathedral, " that last
remnant of northern magnificence," as it
has been appropriately called, and the only
edifice in Norway which has any preten
sions to architectural beauty. It was re
built in the eleventh century, but a consi
derable portion of it was destroyed by fire
300 years ago ; since which, at different
times, it has been restored, but in bad
taste. Many parts of the ancient struc
ture, however, remain, and the Saxon arches
are elaborately worked, and in a high state
of preservation. Here we meet with the
zigzag Norman pattern, and some of the
ornaments called to my recollection the
Moorish buildings in Spain. How singular
is this coincidence ! Can it be that some
builder who had returned from Palermo
brought with him something of the oriental
taste ? This combination does not surprise
one in Sicily, where the rude soldiers of
Roger were compelled to employ Saracenic
e 4

56
architects and builders, who naturally, while
they endeavoured to work out the wishes
of their Norman employers, would intro
duce much of their own exquisite and
peculiar style. The tower is not high
enough for the roof, but the Chinese-
looking cupola at one end has a good
effect, although it does not harmonize with
the rest of the building. There is some
thing venerable and impressive in the
general effect of this sacred edifice," though
one of the bishops was such a tasteless
barbarian as to whitewash a portion both of
the exterior and the interior. This cathe
dral is dedicated to St. Olaus or St. Olave,
King of Norway, who, we are told by the
best authorities, delivered his country from
the tyranny under which the Swedes and
Danes had for some time held it. In 1013
he sailed to England, and successfully as
sisted King Ethelred against the Danes.
St. Olave brought back with him from
Britain several devout and learned priests
and monks, one of whom, named Grimkele,
was chosen Bishop of Drontheim, his capital.

57
The pious king did nothing without the
advice of this prelate, and by his counsel
published many wholesome laws, and abo
lished such ancient ordinances and customs
as were contrary to the Gospel ; nor did he
limit these ameliorations to Norway only,
but extended them to the isles of Orkney
and Iceland. This religious king, having
settled his dominions in peace, set himself
to extirpate out of them the abominable
superstitions of idolatry. He travelled in
person from town to town, exhorting his
subjects " to open the eyes of their souls
to the bright light of faith." A company of
zealous preachers attended him, and he
demolished in many places the idolatrous
temples. The heathens resisted these inno
vations ; they rebelled, and with the as
sistance of Canute the Great defeated and
expelled him. St. Olave fled into Russia,
whence he soon after returned, and raised
an army, in order to recover his kingdom,
but was slain by his rebellious and infidel
subjects in a battle fought at Stichstadt,
north of Drontheim, on the 29th July 1030,

58
after having reigned sixteen years. These
traitors seem to have been in the interest
of Canute, who arrived from England in
Norway, and made his nephew Hacken,
and afterwards his son Sweno, Viceroy of
Norway. St. Olave's body was honourably
buried at Drontheim, and the year fol
lowing Bishop Grimkele commanded him to
be honoured in that church with the title
of martyr, and enrolled among the saints.
His son Magnus was called home from
Russia in 1035, and restored to the throne.
He laboured successfully to increase the
devotion of the people to the memory of
his father the martyr, who was accordingly
chosen the titular saint of the cathedral.
This church was rebuilt with such
splendor and magnificence as to have
become the glory and pride of all the
north. Grimkele has given us a minute
description of it after Lutheranism was
introduced, but it was soon after burnt by
lightning. The body of St. Olave was found
incorrupt in 1098, as it again was in 1541,

59
when the Lutherans plundered the shrine,
which was adorned with gold and jewels of
an immense value, a treasure nowhere
equalled in the north. The ship which
carried the greatest part of this sacrilegious
booty foundered at sea in the road to
Denmark ; the rest was seized by robbers
on land, so that nothing of it came into
the King of Denmark's hands.
The Lutherans treated the saint's body
with respect, and left it in its inner wooden
case, in the same place where the shrine
had stood. In 1568 they decently buried
it in the cathedral. His shrine became
famous for working miracles, and he was
honoured with extraordinary veneration
throughout all the northern kingdoms, and
was titular saint of several churches in
England and Scotland.*

* It appears by the Ordinale compiled by Bishop
Grandison for the use of the Exeter cathedral, that
Saint Olave was baptized at Rouen, and that his
murder or martyrdom took place on the 29th of July
A.D. 1028.

60
The congregation consisted of about 300
persons ; the number of females greatly
predominated, and most of these, belonging
to the lower orders, sat in pews on one
side of the aisle, entirely, to themselves ;
opposite to them were the men. The
service commenced by the deacon, as he
stood before the principal altar, giving
out a psalm, which was well sung, and in
which every one present joined. The lower
notes of the organ are rich, full, and
harmonious, but the upper rather thin and
wiry. The sermon followed, not a word
of which unfortunately could I understand.
The preacher not being in full orders,
the blessing was given from the altar by
another minister. The Lutheran religion
is established by law, but the form of
worship struck me, in many respects, as
being decidedly Roman Catholic, particu
larly that part where the priest, turning
his back on the congregation, bows to
the altar, singing the prayers in Latin.
His dress was a black robe, and around
his neck he wore a kind of Queen Eliza-

61
beth's ruff. The pews for the higher orders,
which run up on both sides almost to the
roof, are boxes much resembling in appear
ance those at a minor theatre, except that
they are painted plain white, and have
curtains in front. At the chief altar is a
cast of the colossal statue of Christ, by
the celebrated Thorvaldsen, the effect
of which is extremly imposing ; but
those of the twelve apostles, in the sur
rounding niches, are very inferior, and
ought never to have been placed there.
The good Bishop Pontoppidan lies buried
in this cathedi'al, where a Latin inscription
records his virtues, and the principal acts
of his life. As I walked through the
churchyard, I was struck with the neat
manner in which many of the graves were
ornamented with bouquets of fresh flowers,
which had evidently been brought there
during the morning.
Tronjeim contains about 12,000 inhabi
tants. Its streets are wide, and in the

62
centre of many of them are fountains of
fine water. The houses are handsome, and
built with tolerable regularity ; and several
of those belonging to government, and in
which the public offices are held, are
spacious, and have a grand appearance.
Last April there was a dreadful fire in this
city, 350 of the best houses, forming an
entire street fronting the water, were
consumed. The King of Norway, in his
recent speech at the opening of the tenth
Storthing, on the 11th February of the
present year 1842, mentions "this mis
fortune which has struck the ancient town
of Tronjeim," and whilst he regrets the
calamity, " remarks with pleasure the noble
sentiments of humanity and benevolence
which have been manifested on that
occasion. The loss has been severe, but,
divided chiefly among proprietors, it has
been less felt, and has offered them in
compensation the consolation of having
saved the lives of a great number of their
grateful fellow-citizens."

63
From the nature of the materials of which
most of the houses have been built, exten
sive fires are very prevalent in all the towns
of Norway. This part of the city was now
being rebuilt ; but the only inn having been
burnt, we should have fared but badly had
not some friends assisted us in finding lodg
ings. Several private individuals receive
travellers into their houses ; but, after
knocking up Madame Hombert's servant at
three o'clock in the morning, she informed
us to our discomfort (for it was raining hard
at the time) that there was no room.
Mr. Jorgen Knudtzon, brother of the English
consul, to whom I had brought letters of
introduction from Lord Henry Kerr and
Sir Thomas Acland, is a man of polished
manners, having travelled in most parts of
Europe, and lived for a considerable period
in good English society ; he consequently
spoke our language perfectly, and, after
having very kindly invited us, and the
gentlemen who had been our fellow-tra
vellers from Hull, to dinner next day, he
was obliged to leave us, being engaged to

64
meet the Viceroy, whom, as I have already
mentioned, we had seen on our way to
Tronjeim. On Monday the 9th August we drove to
Mr. Knudtzon's country house (for his town
residence, as well as that of his brother, had
been consumed by the fire), and he kindly
accompanied us to the waterfalls in the
valley of Lerdal, a distance of three miles
from Tronjeim. There are two falls, both
highly picturesque, the upper one espe
cially ; we may see larger ones as we pro
ceed, but probably few more beautiful. The
stream is precipitated over a mass of rocks,
whilst clouds of fleecy vapour rise from
below. We admired the view from a window
of a copper mill, which building greatly
detracts from the wild interest of the spot.
The copper found in this neighbourhood is
here smelted.
The only viand at Mr. Knudtzon's well-
appointed table upon which I will make a
remark, as being national, was the gammel-

65
orse cheese. It is green in colour, and has
a very strong smell, which to many persons
is disagreeable, but when eaten with butter
is excellent. Mr. Knudtzon informed me
that he spends every winter in England,
Italy, Germany, or France, as the society
which Tronjeim at present affords is ex
tremely limited, being entirely confined to
the persons connected with the government.
It is evident to me, that what the Norwe
gians most feel, is the injustice of their se
paration from Denmark in 1814, and their
having been annexed to the crown of Swe
den ; although they admit, that, indepen
dently of the act itself, the government is
carried on well.
At Tronjeim, the traveller who may be
about to encounter the rigours of a northern
winter may purchase his furs to advantage.
We saw a great variety, particularly those
of the wolf, lynx, and ermine. The price of
the latter was very reasonable ; about two
pence each ; but those of the bear and wolf
were extremely dear. We were asked forty

66
dollars, jf 8, for a beautiful full-sized cloak
of wolf-skin, such as is commonly used for
sledge travelling.
As nothing but the Norse language is
spoken, and as few travellers have time or
inclination to master it, although from its
affinity to the English the task is very easy,
it is obvious that, as in the east, a dragoman
is an article of indispensable necessity. The
great point is, to obtain a person who can act
both as a servant and as an interpreter, and
a bilingual Norwegian is a rara avis. He
may, however, be met with in the sea-ports,
where, from intercourse with England and
Scotland, some of the sailors have picked up
the language. A servant is of much greater
importance during a tour in Norway than
elsewhere ; he becomes, in fact, the friend,
the adviser, the companion, the mouthpiece
of his solitary master, whose ears and tongue
would, without him, be of little use. It is
from being unacquainted with the language
of the people that the book of their inner
real life is a sealed one to the traveller.

67
Half the quarrels and misunderstandings on
both sides, the complaints of the stranger
against native rudeness or extortion, the
indignation of the Norwegians against the
violence, ill-temper, and discontent of their
visitors, arise from neither party being able
to explain any thing. The safest and best
plan is to apply to some respectable banker
or merchant on landing, and to engage for
the whole of your excursion the person
whom he recommends. Those, however,
who have their ears open, and have any
facility in learning a language, will soon
pick up a smattering of Norse ; and the
more an individual acquires a language, so
much the more, in the words of Charles the
Fifth, " is he a man."
After expressing our best thanks to
Mr. Broder and to Mr. Jorgen Knudtzon,
for their many kind attentions, we left
Tronjeim on the afternoon of the 10th of
August. The distance to the Namsen is
150 English miles. For the first part of the
journey the country is rich, fertile, and
f 2

68
highly cultivated. The small town of Le-
vanger, fifty miles from Tronjeim, may be
said to be the extreme boundary in this
direction of the civilised world. We re
marked a gentleman's house on a large
scale about a mile from it, and iii its neigh
bourhood are some farms which, for Nor
way, may be termed extensive, producing
oats, barley, hemp, and flax. These farms
appear to be well managed, and to each a
small hop-garden is attached.
We halted at Steinkjar, a village situated
at the end of the long Tronjeim fiord, and
near which is some good salmon fishing.
As we proceeded the country became very
hilly, and the roads, which abound with
lofty pines and deep shades, are impassable
to any vehicle except a carriole. We had
for several miles passed through natural
woods of immense extent, and the mass of
trees which had been laid low by the hur
ricane two years ago produced a very pic
turesque effect. They were torn up by the
roots, and many had fallen at right angles

69
to others near them, forming a tangled and
almost impenetrable barrier. I frequently
turned round to admire the wildness of the
scene — a primeval forest enclosed on both
sides by rugged rocks.
On the 12th August we reached Ekker,
where we intended to remain for some time.
On our road we had to cross several ferries,
and before we arrived at our destination
both the shafts of my carriole were broken,
from the raw colt which I had to drive
having kicked going down one of the hills,
almost within sight of Ekker. /t\V
On Friday and Saturday the I3th\and
14th we had glorious sport in fishing ir^
the far-famed Namsen, killing upwards of
100 lbs. of salmon. We greatly enjoyed,
for the first time, the excitement this de
lightful sport affords. One of the fish
I killed, after playing him for as many
minutes, weighed 23 lbs. ; another, after I
had hooked him, leaped twice out of the
water in the middle of the stream, ran down
f 3

70
a rapid, and then returning, went under
our boat, when I thought I had lost him,
but he again took to the open river, and
showed much play before he was brought
to the gaff, when, not a little fatigued with
the exertion, which is considerable, I was
glad to rest.
In the midst of this magnificent sport,
sometimes an audacious poacher interferes,
who mars your enjoyment. The awful
sound of " coble " still rings in my Devo
nian ears. I had at first associated the
well-known name with those mud-built but
peaceful abodes in which the happy pea
santry of my native and beautiful county
pass their tranquil lives from one genera
tion to another. Judge, then, of my horror,
gentle reader, at beholding the grizzly head
of a villainous seal emerging above the
waters, and, like myself, looking out for the
finny tribe. He races up, in an incredibly
short space of time, from the mouth of the
Namsen to the Fiskum Foss, beyond which
neither he nor the salmon can go; and

71
when he is once in the river all your sport
is at an end, and you may as well lay down
your rod in despair, and go home to your
dinner and siesta — " Othello's occupation's
o'er !" — for although there may be hundreds
of salmon in the river, not one will rise at
a fly, be it never so tempting ; they have
an instinctive feeling of the presence of
their deadliest enemy, which entirely takes
away their appetites ; young and old, large
and small, all alike dread the seal ; they
plunge into holes and corners, and hide
themselves like a squandered cowering
covey, " Which cuddles closer to the brake,
Afraid to move, afraid to fly,"
when a hawk hovers over them. A glimpse
of a seal clears the river ; the salmon are
stupified with fear, or occupied too much
with self-preservation, to allow even Izaac
Walton to catch them. I arrived at this
conviction by frequent disappointments, and
gave up all hope of sport at the appearance
of this unwelcome and uninvited visitor.
These aquatic monsters are to the salmon
f 4

72
what the otter is to the trout ; and as they
roll by his boat, the angler should always
have his double-barrel and swan-shot at
hand, as the only effectual method of warn
ing them off. He and the cobbes are too
much of the same trade ever to agree.
It is not needful for me to enter into
minute piscatory details, or to make many
suggestions as to the best method of insuring
success, as Mr. Belton has given us a most
true and graphic insight into the raptures
of a lover of the angle ; and his two volumes
should form part of the tackle of every
future Norwegian traveller*; indeed it is
to be feared that they have done so already,
and by expatiating on the merits of Nor
way, its facilities, and unexampled sport,
have peopled the once lonely river banks
with our erratic countrymen. The fishing
will every day diminish ; the ferae naturae
of course recede before civilization ; man is
doomed to be their master and destroyer.
* " Two Summers in Norway. London, 1840."

73
The Norwegians, who are excellent in
copying, although slow in invention, have
already began to imitate those processes
which the English angler has taught them.
They now construct rude flies ; and if they
cannot kill many fish, either by their aid,
or by that of the worm or the net, they
nevertheless, by constantly troubhng and
worrying the waters, drive the salmon
away, make them shy, and spoil the sport
of the scientific professor, who has come
more than a thousand weary miles only to
find himself anticipated by those who, like
the heron, live on the river bank, and
never miss an opportunity.

74

CHAPTER V.
Ekker. — Village church. — Services. — Bossuet. —
Free-will offerings. — Income of the clergyman. —
The sabbath in Nonoay. — Dancing. — The Nor
wegian females. — A day's shooting. — Scarcity of
game. — A mountain dairy. — A handsome shep
herdess. — Virtue of the Norwegians. — Our
household. — Provisions. — The moltebeer. — Pri
vate distillation allowed by the government. — Its
ill effects. — Expences of living. — Looms. —
Manufactures of the country. — A Lapp girl. —
Skins. — Government reward for killing bears and
wolves. — Attacks of a bear on the herds. — Expe
dition against the offender. — Failure, and narrow
escape of the assailants. — Anecdote of a bear-hunt.
— Beasts of prey. — Destroyed by traps. — The
bear-killer.
On Sunday the 15th August, at Ekker, we
went to the village church, which is about
a mile and a half distant, and where service
is performed only once a month, as the

75
elergyman has two other parishes under his
charge, which are distant from each other
many miles, as necessarily must be the
case in these hilly tracts, where villages are
scattered only here and there, and these
few and far between. This church, like
most others in Norway, is built entirely of
wood. Its pointed spire has a picturesque
appearance in the distance. The entire
building is painted outside of a dark red
colour; the inside is left unpainted. The
congregation consisted of about a hundred
of the peasantry, the males occupying one
side, and the females the other. The priest's
personal appearance was striking. His figure
was commanding, and his countenance hand
some ; his voice clear and powerful, and his
manner earnest and impressive. After the
sermon, which lasted more than half an
hour, and finished with a quotation of poetry,
the sound of which was very harmonious,
two infants were brought to the baptismal
font, and christened. They were accompa
nied by their mothers, and sponsors of both
sexes, twelve in number. It was a longer

76
ceremony than ours, but did not differ
materially. Next followed the administra
tion of the holy communion. The priest,
having preached in a black stuff gown, per
formed the christening in a fine white
surplice, and the sacrament of the Lord's
Supper in a handsome embroidered purple
robe, with a large golden cross on the back.
This part of the costume, as well as his
occasionally crossing himself, and bowing
towards the altar, again strongly reminded
me of the Roman Catholic worship. The
cross is seen on the altars in both the
Catholic and Lutheran churches ; and
Bossuet, in the first volume of his work,
entitled, " Variations des Eglises," says,
" Luther regarda la croix comme une
monument de piete, et comme un salu-
taire avertissement qui nous rappeloit dans
l'esprit la mort et la passion de Jesus Christ.
Et je ne men etonne pas qua la tete de tous
les volumes de ses ceuvres on l'ait peint
avec son maitre l'Electeur a genoux devant
un crucifix." In giving the bread, the
priest used these words, " Christ and his

77
flesh ;" and on presenting the cup, " Christ
and his blood."
During the whole of the ceremony the
clerk and all the congregation joined in
singing Luther's hymn. Many of the com
municants, as well as other persons, after
wards passed round the back of the altar,
and deposited in a box a few skillings each,
as a free-will offering to the priest, who
bowed in acknowledgment to those who
paid him this compliment. Every person
present joined in the psalms, and sung in
tune ; and there was an apparent devotion
and earnestness in the manner in which the
whole of the service of the day was per
formed which I could not but admire. After
church I was introduced to the priest, whose
manners are such as to fit him for the best
society. I had some conversation with
him, as he spoke a little French ; and I said
that I hoped to have the pleasure of paying
my personal respects to him on a future
day, and of bringing him some fish. I under
stand his income is about £100 per annum,

78
and that he belongs to one of the old noble
families. His wife was dressed very much
in the English fashion, and was a quiet
simple-mannered person.
Sunday is not considered here as with us,
a day of rest, nor observed as such for the
whole twenty-four hours ; the public service
of the church being over, the remainder of
the day seems to be devoted in Norway, as
it is in Roman Catholic countries, to amuse
ment and merry-making. I found after the
christening that there was a dance, which
lasted till one o'clock the next morning ; and
had it not been Sunday night I should have
made a point of witnessing the scene. Two
Englishmen were of the party, and waltzed
all night with the Norse belles, who dance
remarkably well.
I saw many handsome countenances
amongst the females ; the eyes are their
finest feature, but their greatest charms are
their extreme modesty and virtue ; the
conduct of the married as well as of the

79
single women is without reproach. Some
of our countrymen who had frequently at
tended their merry meetings informed me
they had never witnessed an instance of
irregularity, nor even the slightest levity of
conduct. On Monday, 16th August, we went out
shooting on the hill, at the foot of which
our abode at Ekker stands. It is entirely
covered with a pine wood, and the ground
was so marshy that we frequently sunk up
to our knees in mud, and a heavy rain
coming on in the middle of the day we were
drenched to the skin.
Previous to this, however, after trying
much of the cover, we found amongst the
rocks a pack of eight ptarmigan. I killed
one, and one of my companions another,
and this was the whole of our sport. Game
is not abundant in Norway, and is scattered
over such an interminable extent of forests,
that it is very difficult to find it, particu
larly at this season of the year ; but in the

80
winter ptarmigan in a frozen state are sent
for sale to the towns in immense quan
tities. As far as I can as yet judge, how
ever, I should say it is scarcely worth the
travellers while to bring his gun with him
to Norway, except, indeed, for the purpose
of keeping the " cobbes " in order. There
are a few capercailzie in this neighbourhood,
but there is no getting at them without the
aid of a good pointer.
We had a very laborious walk to-day,
and were glad enough to rest awhile, and
partake of some delicious milk, a large
depot of which our guide discovered, high
up in the hills. It was a mountain dairy,
and consisted of a low log-hut. We depo
sited a few skillings in a bowl in payment
for what we had taken ; but as we were
leaving the place, the old woman who had
the care of the cows which graze on this
high ground during the summer months
came up to us. She was full of gratitude
for the small pittance which wTe had left for
her, and said we were welcome at any time

81
to as much milk as we pleased. Thib kind
of hut is called a soetter. One of our
party a few days since, whilst taking a soli
tary ramble in the midst of the wildest
mountains in this neighbourhood, suddenly
came upon a similar soetter, the guardian
of which was a lovely girl of sixteen, with
fine full black eyes, a beautiful counte
nance, and one of the finest forms in
nature ; she tended the cattle with no other
companions but a little boy of eight years
old and a dog ; and here the livelong day
and night, unconscious alike of her beauty,
or the danger to which it might expose her,
did this artless unprotected child of nature
pass the summer months. But, indeed,
such is the virtue and simplicity of charac
ter in these remote, unsophisticated regions,
that no instance has ever occurred of
violence being offered to one of these lonely
shepherdesses. It may be that the custom
of thus leaving their daughters and sisters
to the care of an all-watching Providence
has tended to foster a feeling of honour in
the men of Norway, and induced them to
G

82
respect all unprotected females. But they
are not unprotected ; the invincible strength
and charm of modesty are their safeguard ;
" She that has that is clad in complete steel,
And, like a quiver'd nymph with arrow keen,
May trace huge forests, and unharbour'd
heaths,
Infamous hills, and sandy perilous wilds,
Where, through the sacred rays of Chastity,
No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer,
Will dare to soil her virgin purity." Milton.
Our return home was attended with diffi
culty, and some little danger, in descending
the mountain by a different route. After
forcing our way through tangled brush
wood, and walking over the trunks of many
large trees which had been felled by the
wind, we arrived at a spot where the rock
was so nearly perpendicular, and the foot
ing so precarious, that I made the guide
halt, and insisted on his taking a more cir
cuitous path, which we at length, after
much trouble, succeeded in finding.
Our household at Ekker consists of a
man and his wife, their two sons and three

83
daughters, and a servant ; they all alike
take their share of the domestic duties.
The daughters, two of whom were full-
grown women, wore their hair in long
plaited tails, reaching halfway down their
backs ; they were clean and neat in their
appearance, and all the individuals of the
family were respectful, civil, and obliging.
We lived, like Robinson Crusoe, on the
produce of our guns and fishing rods ; sal
mon was our daily food, for breakfast as
well as dinner and supper. Some of our
countrymen, however, who were staying
at a farm-house ten miles distant, killed a
sheep on one occasion, and sent us part of
it. We also shot some grouse and ptarmi
gan. Our ship biscuit, of which I had
furnished myself with a large bag full at
Hull, was invaluable to us at all our meals ;
indeed we should have fared but ill without
it, as both the rusks, and the rye, barley,
and oaten bread of the country, are sour,
and so strongly flavoured with aniseed as
to be very disagreeable to an English palate.
Ekker only provided us with chocolate,
G 2

84
which is good, and generally to be procured
in the cottages, coffee, eggs, abundance of
milk, all excellent of their kind, and the
yellow moltebeer or cloudberry (rubus
chamaemorus), of which the woods are full;
they are delicious when made into a pre
serve, and mixed with cream and sugar.
The purple whortleberry (vaccinium) is
equally abundant, but not so well flavoured;
the potatoes also were tolerably good. All
we drank, except the pure water, was the
brandy and wine which we brought with us
from Tronjeim, as the only beverage to be
procured in this region is the ardent spirit
called finkel, for the manufacturing of which
every peasant is allowed by government to
have a private still on his premises. This in
dulgence may truly be said to be the curse
of the country, as it offers so great an en
couragement to the national vice of intem
perance. Beer is only made in small
quantities, and of inferior quality ; we
never saw it, except in the silver tankard,
already mentioned, at the principal farm
houses.

85
Our bed-rooms were clean, and provided
with all the comforts that we required,
although we found the eider-down quilts
somewhat warm for this season of the year.
The charge for our comfortable lodging,
food, attendance, and all other expenses, at
Ekker, was about six shillings a day for
myself, my son, and our interpreter.
In every farm-house or cottage that we
had yet seen one of the rooms was occupied
by a loom for weaving coarse linen, in
which manufacture we observed these
industrious people frequently engaged.
They also weave the strong dark grey
woollen cloth of which their clothes are
made, and stout gloves, of which I bought
a pair. They likewise manufacture their
own shoes, although in a rude manner.
I purchased two pair of Lapp boots, made of
the undressed skin of the rein-deer, with the
hair turned outwards ; they are very warm,
and used chiefly in sledge-travelling. g 3

86
A young Lapp girl spent an evening in
our house ; she was in service about a
Norse mile off, and had been living in the
same place for three years. Being an orphan,
she had left sixteen rein-deer, her whole
fortune, to the care of her countrymen,
and had come into the valley to gain a
livelihood, where she told us she had
learnt the Norse language, and was now
quite reconciled to the change. She also
said there was an encampment of Lapps
only ninety English miles from us, and
she could always find them out " by the
scent of the rein-deer /" We asked her
to be our guide in the journey which we
were contemplating to make in search
of them, to which she replied with a
smile, that she should be afraid to accom
pany us.
At the entrance of our house at Ekker,
and of most others, were hung up several
fine bear-skins, well prepared and lined,
affording in winter to the sledge-traveller
a comfortable protection from the cold.

87
We also admired several handsome wolf
skins, preserved in the same manner. The
former are sold for £3 sterling ; the latter
for £1 each. The government allow £1 12s.
English money for killing a bear, and 16s.
for killing a wolf, and the official stamp is
put upon the skin.
Bears are frequently found in the imme
diate vicinity of Ekker. On the night of the
l6th instant, one of these animals killed two
bullocks, belonging to the father of our
boatman, Johannes, in the mountain, only
three miles and a half from our residence.
They come down from the rocks and
forests at this season, to attack the numer
ous herds which are pasturing in all
directions, and also to feast in the corn
fields, in which they are frequently killed
by means of a trap. The dead bullocks
having been left in the wood, we were
invited to repair to the spot the following
evening, when the bear, it was said, was
sure to return to his beef supper. I, for
my part, had no ambition to encounter
g 4

88
such a monster, or to hand down either
my enterprise or courage to posterity ;
but I had some difficulty in checking
the ambition of my youthful companion.
To spare my anxiety, however, he gave
up his wish to join so perilous an
expedition. Two other Englishmen, both young and
adventurous spirits, went, and in their way
had to climb up almost perpendicular rocks,
and to swing by branches of trees, to avoid
falling down the precipices. They arrived
at eight o'clock, and turning a corner sud
denly, found the bear in the act of devour
ing one of the carcases ! At this critical
moment, when only thirty yards from the
animal, and when with beating hearts they
were preparing to fire, a peasant who had
accompanied them, in his eagerness unfor
tunately discharged his gun too soon, and
the beast made off, roaring tremendously,
without their having an opportunity of firing
at him. They frankly confessed that they
felt more joy than sorrow at his departure,

89
for there was a good deal about his ap
pearance which did not make them wish for
a more intimate acquaintance. These
gentlemen may be said to have had a for
tunate escape, for had they hit the bear
without wounding him in a vital part, their
doing which was a mere chance, the animal
would to a certainty have turned upon
them, and one of their lives in all proba
bility would have been sacrificed ; for few
animals are more tenacious of existence
than this tribe, of which I soon after heard
an instance from Mr. F  , who himself
was the hero of the adventure. He is a
great chasseur, and after making all the
necessary inquiries from persons accustomed
to the sport, and studying the habits of
the genus Ursus, he repaired about a year
since to wait (like the two gentlemen
whom I have just mentioned) for the ex
pected coming of the bear to a certain
spot. Mr. F  , however, had laid his
plan better than our two friends, and was
a man of great nerve; he was accom
panied by a single servant, for the pur-

90
pose of awaking him if he fell asleep, which
he happened to do, after reading for half
an hour, by way of occupying his time.
Bruin arrived ; Mr. F  was suddenly
called from his slumbers, and in an instant
fired a ball, which broke the spine of the
beast. The bear thus disabled could not
move, and to this fortunate circumstance
may the sportsman's escape be attributed.
The huge monster sat erect on his haunches
grinning defiance, and before he was killed
no less than twelve balls were lodged in his
body! Bears at this season of the year are very
bold and ravenous, and we heard frequent
instances of the depredations they had
committed amongst the cattle, which for
security are every evening driven down from
the mountains into the valleys. It is stated
by the inhabitants that this animal, soon
after the end of September, seeks some
rocky cavern, where he passes the winter,
and remains in a dormant state till the
spring.

91
In winter wolves infest many parts of this
country ; the lynx is common ; and they
have the glutton also, but this latter is
more rare. To destroy these beasts of prey
loaded guns are laid close to the carcase of
some animal, and discharged by means of a
string attached to the trigger. We were
informed that bears are often found in corn
fields near to which the cattle are feeding.
These are manfully attacked by the farmers ;
and one old bonder in particular was
pointed out to us, who had given proof both
of his skill and courage, by the capture
of a greater number of them than any other
person in the district.

92

CHAPTER VI.

Salmon fishing in the Namsen. — Lateness of our
arrival. — Superiority of the Namsen over the
Scotch and Irish salmon streams. — Method of
fishing. — The Fiskum Foss. — Excitement of the
sport. — Boatmen. — The fishing stations. —
Rapid increase of anglers. — Destruction of the
fishing in the Namsen. — New rivers. — Tackle.
— Flies. — Necessaries. — Fishing season. —
Birds. — Their scarceness in Norway. — The alk.
— Wild fruits. — Unpleasant adventure. — Law
in Norway. — ¦ A lawyer's bill. — A Norwegian
landowner. — Malthus on Norway. — The soil and
climate. — Succession to property. — Pasture lands.
— Dearness of hay.

Ekker, August the 21st.— Although we
caught upwards of two hundred weight of
fine salmon in seven days, weighing from

93
seven to twenty-three pounds each, we were
six weeks too late to expect the same
glorious sport which four of our country
men had enjoyed, who left the place a few
days after our arrival. They had resided
here upwards of two months, and had killed
more than a thousand pounds weight each.
Their largest fish weighed no less than forty-
seven pounds.
The sportsman who can spare the time,
and has no objection to encountering the
rolling floods of the north sea, will find the
Namsen the best salmon river in Europe,
and be fully repaid for any difficulties to
which he may have been exposed in getting
to it. The Tay, the Tweed, and several
other streams both in Scotland and in Ire
land, are strictly preserved, and occasionally
offer a good day's sport ; but if you reach
the Namsen at the proper season there is
no surly keeper to warn you off, and the
water is so well stocked with fish that your
success becomes a matter of certainty.
Neither is there much science required to

94
take from 100 lbs. to 150 lbs. of salmon,
grilse, and trout in a day. In most of our
rivers at home, where the fisherman of
necessity is stationed on the bank, no slight
degree of skill is necessary in throwing the
fly to the most ' likely ' parts ; but you can
command the whole of the broad and magni
ficent stream to which I now allude from a
boat, which gives you a great advantage, and
is a very killing method of fishing. When
ever you see a salmon leap you immediately
row near to the spot, and if you have the
right fly you are almost certain of a rise.
But when once hooked, if it be a large fish,
considerable time and patience are required
before it can be brought within reach of
the gaff. You now depend chiefly on your
boatmen in following the salmon either up
or down the stream, frequently amongst
rocks, and sometimes so close to the Fiskum
Foss that there is some danger of the boat
being swamped, and no little nerve is re
quired to continue the pursuit. The noise
of the cascade here is so great that the
human voice can scarcely be heard, and the

95
spray rising from beneath forms a beautiful
and continued rainbow ;
" Nor can the tortured wave here find repose,
But raging still amid the shaggy rocks,
Now flashes o'er the scatter'd fragments, now
Aslant the hollow'd channel rapid darts,
And falling fast from gradual slope to slope,
With wild infracted course, and lessen'd roar,
It gains a safer bed, and steals at last
Along the mazes of the quiet vale." Thomson.
It requires some courage, as I have just
remarked, to venture into the pool at Fis
kum, where the water forms a dangerous
eddy, and renders the management of the
boat very uncertain ; but your sport makes
you forget all risk, and it is difficult for
me to convey to my readers an idea of the
excitement produced by seeing occasionally
this part of the river as it were alive by
the leaping of the numerous salmon from
ten to thirty pounds each ; indeed no one
but a brother of the angle can enter into the
feeling. Your two boatmen, to whom you pay
about 4 orts (3s. Ad.) a day, when not- on

96
the water are employed in agricultural
pursuits. They expect to have the fish you
do not require for your own use, and they
divide it amongst the people who live at
the three fishing stations of which the river
may be said to consist ; namely, at Fiskum,
beyond which the salmon cannot go up on
account of the fall, at Gartland, and at
Ekker ferry. For the information of those
who may follow me to the Namsen, I
should say that there is only room for six
rods and as many men, two at each of the
above-mentioned villages, where they will
meet with the greatest civility, and as good
accommodation as a thorough-bred sports
man would wish for. The water the best
suited for fishing is not more than from six
to eight miles in extent, but this is suffi
cient for the number of persons I have
mentioned, without any risk of their inter
fering with each other, although they must
of course try the same pools and runs every
day, which is somewhat objectionable. The
luxury would be to have the whole stream
to yourself ; and in such a case you might

97
probably kill more salmon here than in any
other river of the world. But such a privi
lege as this can never be expected in future,
unless indeed you purchase the ground on
each side, together with the exclusive right
of fishing, which more than one of my ex
travagant and monopolizing countrymen
have contemplated.
The Namsen was discovered to be full
of salmon about ten years ago, since which
time it has not been so much fished as to
have diminished the sport, but Mr. Belton's
recent publication has so eloquently cele
brated its praises, that in future I expect
whole cargoes of fishermen will every
season be brought by the steamers direct
from England to Tronjeim, and thence will
proceed in three "days by land to the Nam
sen. If so, the glorious sport which it now
affords will soon come to an end.
Those who have once enjoyed such fish
ing as I have imperfectly attempted to
describe must seek out new rivers to satisfy
H

98
them ; indeed a gentleman I met with had
been spending the last two years in Sweden
for this purpose, and informed me that the
streams in that country were so full of sal
mon that on a bright day hundreds might
be seen, but that the water was still and
clear, and the fish, generally speaking, would
not rise at the fly, but were caught, proh
pudor ! in large wooden traps. Of the cor
rectness of this account I have no doubt,
but it can only apply to certain streams in
Sweden, and there are others both in that
country and in Norway which have never
been fished, and where, consequently, the
efficacy of an artificial fly still remains to
be ascertained.
Nothing in the shape of tackle can be
procured in Norway ; it will therefore be
necessary for the angler to take with him
the following articles : —
120 yards of oiled silk line of the best
quality, which Eton of Crooked Lane, Lon
don, will supply, and which was used with
out once breaking by two of our country-

99
men on the Namsen, who I have previously
stated killed so large a weight of fish ;
whereas we lost many fine salmon, which
carried off portions of our weak lines, toge
ther with the collar and fly, a sad mortifi
cation, which I should wish others to avoid.
The fish are both heavy and strong, and
the best tackle is required ; an eighteen
foot rod, the top joint to splice ; a simple
rod to correspond ; a two-handed trout rod
and reel ; a couple of strong gaffs made of
wrought iron ; four dozen salmon flies ; four
dozen smaller flies, for grilse and trout ;
six casting lines ; some minnow tackle ;
some hooks, and materials for making your
own flies. These last are, as every fisher
man knows, most important to ensure
success. We found a gaudy red fly, made of
worsted and gold twist, with grey drake
wings, the most killing in the morning and
during the middle of the day, and a white
moth, composed of silver twist with black
h 2

100
worsted body, the best of an evening, as
the most easily seen by the fish ; but when
salmon are inclined to sport they will rise
at almost any fly. Evatt, of Warwick
Street, has the reputation of turning the
best flies, and as far as our experience went
we found him deserving of it.
The following articles are also indispen
sable for the traveller's comfort : — A ham
mock, a pair of blankets, and a- cotton bag
as a protection from musquitoes ; two
shooting or fishing suits, three pair of
strong shoes, &c. &c, with boots to cover
the whole of the leg and thigh ; some pocket
knives, scissors, and needles, as presents
for the natives ; a certain stock of provi
sions must not be forgotten ; ship biscuits
and portable soup must be brought from
England, as well as good tea and sugar;
but excellent French brandy at two shil
lings and sixpence a bottle, sherry at a
moderate price, well-flavoured hams, rice,
&c, may be procured at Tronjeim. If you

101
omit to provide yourself with these, your
diet on the Namsen will be almost confined
to fish and coffee.
July and August are generally con
sidered the best months for fishing in Nor
way, but this year the season was unusually
early, and we arrived too late, as the sal
mon had risen most freely in June and
July ; at that time, however, the weather
was so hot, and the stin so bright and
scorching, that those sportsmen who pre
ceded us were obliged to lay down their
rods for some hours in the middle of the
day, and repose on the bank of the river,
finding the siesta as requisite in these
northern latitudes as it is in Spain or
Portugal. There are very few birds in Norway in
comparison to the number which the tra
veller meets with in most other countries.
We only saw in these interminable forests
the fieldfare, the chaffinch, tomtit, grey
(Royston) crow, magpies in great numbers,
h 3

102
hawks, a few eagles, and the rarest of all,
the great black woodpecker*, and on the
Namsen, that beautiful bird, the red-
throated divert, wild ducks, &c. The pau
city of birds in this country is remarked
by every traveller ; but during the summer
months, and near the habitations of man,
we are greatly enlivened by the tribes of
swallows, those interesting birds, the har
bingers of fine weather and of genial
seasons. Woodcocks and snipes breed here,
but are evidently scarce at this time of the
year, as only one of the former has been
seen by any of us. On the coast, however,
the number of alks and other sea birds is
so astonishing, that one of the writers on
Norway fancifully says they hide the sun
like a cloud when they fly out from the
rocks, and that the noise of their wings
makes a roaring in the air like a storm.
The river at the time of our visit was
very low, and as the fish would not rise in
* Picus Martius, found in the large fir woods.
f Colymbus Septentrionalis of Latham.

103
the middle of the day, we occasionally left
our boat, and landed on the rocks. Some
eggs were procured from a neighbouring
farm-house, on which, with the addition of
the biscuits we had brought with us, we
used to make our repast, which, frugal as
it was, we greatly enjoyed.
In all the woods bordering on this
beautiful stream are to be found quan
tities of raspberries, red currants, and
strawberries, now at maturity, and of the
most delicious flavour, quite equal, ex
cept in size, to those grown in our English
gardens. I this day saw an eagle flying over the
rocks with amazing rapidity, till he was lost
in the clouds.
The only unpleasant adventure I had in
Norway was that of being obliged to dis
burse fifteen dollars (three guineas English)
for law expenses, in consequence of my
refusing to pay one dollar for the hire of a
h 4

104
post-horse. This animal, as I have already
mentioned, being young, and unfit for har
ness, kicked when the man was leading
him down a hill, and broke both the shafts
of my carriole. Upon my arrival at Ekker
I told the proprietor of the horse that I
declined settling with him till he had re
paired my carriage. This he refused to do,
and we parted, he having previously asked
my name. Two days after I received a
summons to go four miles to answer the
complaint. I sent my interpreter (Peter),
the sailor whom I had engaged at Tron
jeim, to represent me ; and my ambassa
dor in the evening brought me back a
bill of costs from the court, adjudicating
me to pay fourteen dollars, eight to the
crown, and the remainder for the attend
ance of witnesses, &c. &c, the demand
being accompanied with a message, that if
the amount were not forthcoming before
the sitting of the court on Saturday next
it would be considerably increased. I ac
cordingly repaired the following week to
the house of the amtman (judge or gover-

105
nor for the district), and fortunately over
took his worship as he was driving in his
carriole to the court, a distance of three
English miles. We had a parley on the
road for half an hour, and I in vain pleaded
the hardship of my case, the courier of one
of our friends acting as my interpreter.
I stated that I was a county magistrate
in England, and that if I had committed a
breach of the laws of Norway I had done
so in ignorance, and was sorry for it. All
my logic, however, proved a waste of words,
the laws of Norway are imperative, and the
only satisfaction I obtained was, that of
being very politely informed by the amt
man, that if the case was allowed to come
into court I should have to pay at least
eight dollars in addition. I therefore made
a virtue of necessity, and gave him the
fourteen dollars, with another for the loss
of my prosecutor's time this day. The
magistrate was particularly well-bred, and
courteous in his manner, and although he
allowed the case to be a hard one, and that
the rough boor was to blame, assured me I

106
had no remedy, not having any witnesses
to prove that the right was on my side.
In short, my prosecutor was heard, and
his false statement believed and acted
upon ; whilst I, the accused party, was not
allowed to say a word in my own defence.
Such is the administration of justice in
Norway !
The bill of costs was so curious a docu
ment, that had I not unfortunately left it
in the hands of the amtman, I would publish
it, as a warning to future travellers of what
they are to expect from Scandinavian law.
Amongst the items I remember was
" Eight dollars for opening the court," so
much for the attendance of witnesses, sta
tionery, sealing wax, &c. &c. The judge
assured me that I was fortunate in being
let off so easily ; that what I had to pay
was a mere trifle ; and, as a proof of
his disinterestedness, he added, that by
thus compromising the matter he gave up
his own fees. It is remarkable that in this
rude land the government and judicial per-

107
quisites are heavier than in our civilised
country at home.
Mine host at Ekker was the principal
proprietor of land in the parish. He had
sixteen cows and eight horses on his farm,
which he had engaged to give up to his
son next year, and to go and reside himself
on another property that he possesses in
the neighbourhood. Yet this man was
walking about his own farm-yard the greater
part of the day without either shoes or
stockings, whilst his daughters exposed
themselves bare-headed to the heavy rain
which we had this week, with as little
concern as they had done to the hot sun
shine of the previous one.
The few observations Malthus makes on
Norway are correct and sensible. He says
the climate is remarkably free from epidemic
sicknesses, and in common years the rate
of mortality is lower than in any other
country in Europe, the registers of which
are known to be correctly kept. The

108
peculiar state of Norway throws very
strong obstacles in the way of early mar
riages. There are no large manufacturing
towns to take off the superabundant popu
lation of the country ; and as each village
naturally furnishes a supply of hands more
than equal to its own demand, a change of
place in search of work seldom promises
any success. There is but little division of
labour in Norway ; almost all the wants of
domestic economy are supplied in each
separate household. Not only the common
operations of brewing and baking are
carried on at home, but the farmers and
country people in general spin their own
flax and wool, and weave their own linen
and woollen cloths. Fairs are held at
certain seasons of the year, and stores of all
kinds of provisions that will keep are laid
in at these times.
The greatest part of the soil in this coun
try is absolutely incapable of bearing corn,
and the climate is subject to very sudden
changes, which are frequently fatal to the

109
crops. One of the principal reasons of the
low rate of mortality is, that the towns are
inconsiderable and few, and that not many
people are employed in unwholesome manu
factories. According to the law of succes
sion, all the brothers divide the property
equally, and it is a proof how slowly the
population has hitherto increased, that the
estates have not become more subdivided
than they are.
The Norwegians depend very much upon
their cattle. The high grounds that border
upon the mountains are altogether unfit to
bear corn, and the only use to which they
can be put is to pasture cattle upon them,
for three or four months during the summer.
The farmers accordingly send all their
stock to these grounds at this time of the
year, under the care of part of their families ;
and it is here that they make all the butter
and cheese for sale, and for their own con
sumption. The great difficulty is to
support the cattle during the long winter,
and for this purpose it is necessary that a

110

considerable proportion of the most fertile
land in the valhes should be mown for
hay. Almost everywhere the cultivation of
potatoes has succeeded, and the agriculture
of Norway has advanced considerably of
late years.

Ill

CHAPTER VII.
Character of the Norwegians — Influenced by the cli
mate and scenery around them. — Bishop Pontop
pidan. — National costume. — La mode de Paris.
— Love of dancing, among the Norwegians. —
The gay world. — A ball. — Unshod figur
antes. — The waltz. — Hand-shaking. — Finkel.
— Houses in Norway. — Skill of the natives
in carpentering. — House at Ekker. — Noise. —
Incessant singing. — Norwegian native music. —
Looms. — Seasons. — Continual intrusion of
the Norwegian ladies. — Their curiosity. —
Their modesty. — A Lapp. — His costume. —
His dog.
The mode of life, and the variety of the
scenery around the simple peasants of the
Norwegian mountains, render their faculties
richer in conception, and their hearts warmer

112
in affections, than if they dwelt amidst
uniform plains, and gave themselves up to
luxury ; so true is it that man, unless altered
by education and society, resembles the face
of nature around him. Here their distance
from populous places, and the scattered
situation of their cottages, keep them more
closely to their own domestic circle, pre
serve their manners pure and original, and
dispose them to reflection. The openness
of heart which they display, their benevo
lence and affection, together with the good
humour and native simplicity legible on
their countenances, must endear them to
every friend of humanity. How do such
scenes fill and warm the heart ! In these
delightful spots I have even felt myself
contented and happy.*
As I shall have occasion, on my return
homewards by the western coast, to notice
* Similar were the feelings which I experienced in
much earlier life when visiting the Alpine vallies, and
their renewal in the glens of Norway was inexpressibly
pleasing to me.

113
some instances of the worthy bishop of
Bergen's credulity, I am bound in justice
to state, that in many respects his authority
on the natural history of Norway is the
highest this country possesses. The in
fluence of mountainous scenery on national
character is too universal and too well
known to require any lengthened notice,
but what he says on this point is quite true.
" It seems as if the hard and rugged rocks
which the Norwegians have continually
before their eyes inspired them with a con
tempt of dangers and difficulties. The
great number of beasts of prey seen in these
parts oblige them to carry arms betimes,
which they know how to handle from their
childhood. They are inured to trouble
some and fatiguing journies, and ordinary
coarse diet serves them as well as the most
delicate." Without going the whole length of Mon
tesquieu's theory of the influences of climate
on national character, the invigorating, ele-

114
vating effect of a mountainous country is
undoubted, in all times and in all places ;
witness the unconquered Cantabrian, the
bold unsubdued Basque, and the hardy
Swiss. The vast fastnesses of nature have
ever been the cradle of personal liberty and
independence. Pontoppidan's description of the costume
of the peasantry is equally correct, and just
as applicable to the present day as it was
when he wrote, eighty years ago. " The
Norwegians wear a flapped hat, or a little
brown, grey, or black cap on their heads.
They have shoes of a peculiar fashion,
without heels or what may be properly
called soles ; they consist of two pieces,
namely, the upper leather, which, sits close
to the foot, to which the other is joined, in
a great many plats and folds." I particu
larly remarked the large flapped hat at
Bergen ; and the peculiar shoes are worn by
all the men in the neighbourhood of the
Namsen. From their distant and isolated
position, and the little intercommunication

115
with foreigners, this ancient costume has
been handed down unchanged from father
to son, from very early times, and it is
pleasing to see this picturesque and peculiar
form of apparel, when we reflect upon the
fatal inroads la mode de Paris is making
throughout Europe, by obliterating all dis
tinctive dress, destroying nationality, and
reducing mankind to one hideous unifor
mity of round hats and long-tailed coats, a
combination of form so diametrically op
posed to the beautiful, that nothing but the
perverse ingenuity of a Frenchman could
have devised it, and nothing but the
tyranny of fashion could have rendered it
endurable. Terpsichore has many votaries in Nor
way. The long winter evenings render
in-door and domestic amusements a matter
of primary importance. Now the dance,
from time immemorial, has been considered
to be an admirable method of keeping up
the circulation, of preventing chilblains, and
of promoting a little innocent flirtation
i 2

116
between the youth of both sexes, under the
patronage and inspection of admiring pa
rents and grandmothers. The performance
at these rude Norse balls makes up in vigour
of movement and in intensity of enjoy
ment for the want of the appurtenances and
appliances of Messrs. Weippert and Gunter.
There is none of the languor and bore of
the fastidious sated capital. These assem
bled peasants are indeed the gay world,
and deserve the epithet far better than
many a fashionable crowd upon which it is
bestowed. The pleasures of these moun
taineers are simple, the sinews of their legs
strong, and they go to work with the hearty
good- will and the abandon of children ; their
whole soul and body are in their holiday,
and they never throw away any chance of
indulging on the " light fantastic toe." It
happened that an Englishman on his travels
last year, being tired of his own company,
and anxious to see what the aborigines were
like, as the best mode of collecting them
together, ventured on the experiment of
getting up a ball. One single bad fiddle

117
collected them in swarms, and he was more
pleased than if he had seen all the bears in
Norway which Mr. Lloyd did not shoot.
The performers, on their side, were enrap
tured, and the evening has become a
" bright spot in memory's waste " for them
to look back upon. This year, learning that
another Englishman was in these parts, and
having associated the abstract idea of a free-
born Briton with a fiddle, just as the French
do with a rost-bif de mouton, they sent a
deputation to the stranger, to beg him to
give them a little dance, for the sake of
charity. He was nothing loth, and accord
ingly one evening there assembled some
twenty couples, and two crazy fiddles. The
fair Helen of Fossland was the decided belle,
and whatever might be the judgment of
Paris, her pirouettes were the admired of all
admirers on this occasion. Some of her
fair companions were as innocent of shoes
and stockings as the dancing hours in the
Aurora of Guido of the Rospigliosi palace
at Rome, but they had equally pretty feet,
and knew how to use them ; and how much
i 3

118
more picturesque is the real unsophisticated
foot, the work of nature, than the slipper,
be it even a Cinderella's, which is but the
work of nature's journeyman ; then there is
the novelty of the nudity, to say nothing
of its being so classical, so Grecian, so
antique. These unshod figurantes excelled
particularly in the waltz, and circled round
the humble saloon, revolving like sparkling
stars. The merest child waltzes with the
greatest ease, and the women display a
grace and an elegance in this apparently
national dance which could not have been
surpassed even at Almack's. They keep
the most perfect circle, and even in a small
room so regular was the order they ob
served that not a single concussion took
place during the whole evening. When a
couple have completed their gyrations, in
stead of retiring, they step forward into the
centre, and all that are dancing waltz
round them, which is a far better plan
than retiring behind the dancers, as with
us. The Norse belles are particularly
decorous in their behaviour ; and after

119
you have danced with one of them, she
shakes you by the hand, by way of express
ing her thanks ; as they all . likewise did
after partaking of the refreshment with
which they were supplied, and which they
stood much in need of after all their exer
tions, for they dance with the greatest
spirit, not only the waltz, but also a variety
of reels. They are extremely quick in
learning new dances, and upon the pre
sent occasion were taught Sir Roger de
Coverley, which they managed remarkably
well. The gentlemen imbibed a considerable
quantity of finkel ; whilst the ladies sipped
tea, or at least what passes in this country
for the herb of China, with a slight dash of
the national aquafortis by way of cream
and sugar. In consequence of copious
indulgence in these potations, the gentle
men of the party, about that period of the
morning when Aurora tinges the east with
' roseate hues,' became uproarious, and it was
deemed expedient to still the tumult by a
i 4

120
somewhat unceremonious dismissal of the
fiddlers. Barring the extra animation in
duced by the " finkel," nothing could be
more correct, or comme il faut, than the
conduct of all parties during this evening,
which was quite as amusing to the foreigners
as to the natives.
In a country of wood, such as Norway,
it will naturally be expected that this ma
terial should enter largely into the con
struction of the dwellings of the inhabitants.
Two purposes are answered by the cutting
down the trees which grow spontaneously
in every direction ; first, ground is thereby
cleared for cultivation and pasture ; se
condly, a ready means is provided for
erecting places of shelter for man and beast.
The same process that is going on in the
primeval forests of Canada and North Ame
rica has also long been in operation among
the Norwegians. They, however, construct
their log-houses or wooden residences with
much more skill and durability than is
usual with the settlers in the new world,

121
who, coming to a country totally different
from their own, have, as it were, to learn
their trade. This is not the case among
the sturdy denizens of a Norwegian wood ;
they have been born and bred hewers of
timber, and have inherited the knack of
constructing their houses with it, just as
naturally as the birds build their nests.
They build solidly and simply, and fill up
and caulk the interstices between the large
logs of wood very neatly with moss, while
the roofs are covered with birch bark, and
that again with turf, on which grows a
plentiful crop of grass, thus keeping out
the piercing cold of their long and severe
winters. They very wisely look more to
the interior comforts than to the exterior
decoration, and in consequence of this their
dwellings are far inferior in appearance to
the picturesque cottages of the Swiss ; they
have, however, no tourists of taste to
admire them, no artists and young ladies
to sketch them, and therefore attend only
to essentials. Their foes are the snow
storm and the icy blasts of Boreas, and

122
their houses are so many citadels of defence
against them.
A description of the house we lived in at
Ekker, and which was one of the best in
the whole district, will give an idea of the
usual arrangement of them all. It is only
one story high ; its outward appearance is
plain and neat, and it is coloured with
ochre. In the centre is a large chimney;
the roof is of tiles, and the entrance-door, as
well as the windows, are, at this season of
the year, kept open all night. On the
ground-floor are two rooms, each twenty
feet long, and one smaller one, with stoves
in each, and the kitchen and pantry are in
the centre. From the hall you ascend, by
a convenient staircase, to the upper rooms,
in which are several good sleeping apart
ments, chiefly occupied by the family. My
dormitory, however, was at one end of the
house, and, although the largest of all,
could only be reached by a ladder. Beyond
it was another chamber, containing the loom,
to which the family had free ingress and

123
egress, passing through my room at all
hours of the day and night, without knock
ing. Some of these rooms were panelled,
and others not. The windows were both
numerous and large, containing a great
quantity of glass, which is manufactured in
different parts of Norway, but is of an
inferior quality. The stock of provisions
for the winter was kept in a small detached
building in the yard, standing on four stone
pillars, like our corn chambers, to keep
out their indigenous rats. In this store
room was an immense pile of oaten cakes,
thin as wafers, and the size of a large dish,
with bacon, salt fish, dried salmon, eggs,
cheese, butter, meal, &c. Another separate
building was a wash-house, and adjoining
to this was a succession of outhouses, barns,
and stables for the cattle.
These houses are admirably adapted to
the wants of those for whom they were put
up, and who, from long habit, are recon
ciled to inconveniences which annoy the
stranger. The two most serious evils are

124
the noise, and the total want of privacy,
the impossibility, in fact, of ever enjoying
the luxury of being quiet and alone. The
inmates seem to have entered into a con
spiracy " to murder sleep." " Blessed be
the man who invented sleep," exclaims
Sancho Panza ; " it wraps a man up as it
were in a cloak." This wrapping up may
be easy enough in his indolent siesta-loving
land, but it is quite a different thing in
Norway, although in winter the night
extends over many more days than it does
hours in the south. Wood, as every one
knows, is a potent conductor of sound, and
in these tree houses there is nothing to stop
it when once it is started ; there are no
brick walls, nor even lath and plaster ; and
the smallest whisper pierces through the
log partitions like a gimlet.
The Norwegian females are full of un
taught harmony. Whenever their hands
or legs are in active employment (that is
nineteen hours out of the twenty-four) their
minds are idle, and this absence of thought

125
is indicated by singing, just as it is by the
ceaseless whistling of our English plough-
boys. In truth, everywhere a song
seems to dispense with sense, from the
Italian opera downwards : — " Ce qui ne
vaut pas la peine d'etre dit Ton le chante,"
is one of the fundamental principles of the
philosophy of music. The tunes to which
their unmeaning Norse ditties are set are
melancholy and plaintive, and remind me
of the modinhas of Portugal, and the cease
less doleful song of the Spanish muleteer.
It is quite clear that the songs of the
Norwegian maidens are as old as their hills.
All writers on music are agreed that in its
early unsophisticated state the airs were
slow, sad, and devoid of ornament, flourishes,
and variations. It was the voluptuous taste
of Italy, and the complicated intellect of
Germany, which first corrupted pure and
simple harmony, and introduced by degrees
the present forced, elaborate, and scientific
system. The Norwegians know nothing
of all these novelties and niceties ; nor have

126
their ears ever been scarified by French
performances, those " niiaulements et tinta-
marre du diable" as Gray justly defines the
Grande Opera de Paris, and which Rous
seau compares to the cries of the colick :
" Laisse done pour jamais cet ennuyeux
et lamentable chant Frangais, qui ressemble
aux cris de la colique, mieux quaux trans
ports des passions."
No teachers or masters ever give lessons
to the vocal sisterhood of the foss and the
fiord ; they warble out their " wood notes
wild " like the feathered tribes of their own
forests. Love and war, passion and pathos,
have ever been the theme of the national
ballads of all countries in their unsophisti
cated state ; the melancholy plaintive tone
is everywhere the same, and may be traced
alike on the banks of the Indus, the Nile,
the Tagus, and the Namsen. It is only
where the artificial process of civilisation
has interfered that these natural notes are
no longer heard. Climate exercises no
influence on the character of these aborigi-

127
nal melodies ; and where there is no dis
turbing and counteracting element, they are
handed down unchanged from generation to
generation ; they are the first lessons taught
to the retentive ear of infancy, which is
lulled to rest by the prescriptive tunes of
the nursery ; and however that effect may
unfortunately be changed in Norway, as
regards adult and insomnolescent strangers,
the tune continues the same. These Nor
wegian songs flow out in an everlasting
flood, which is comparable alone to the
ceaseless flow of their own rivers. The
ordinary accompaniment to them is but
slightly musical ; it is the shuttle and click
of the busy loom. In these rude districts
commerce has scarcely penetrated, and each
family manufactures every thing for itself;
the fields grow the flax, and the females,
old and young, spin and weave it into the
cloth for their coarse and simple garments.
Whenever a woman has a moment to spare,
in the day or night, she rushes to her loom,
and commences her song and her work.
The loom affords also occupation for the

128
long winter, which extends over six or
seven months, when the earth is deep in
snow, and the sun seldom rises above the
horizon. But Providence, which tempers
the wind to the shorn lamb, has, in its
wise adaptations, rendered this long winter,
at the very mention of which we English
tremble and shudder, the season of enjoy
ment and relaxation to the Norwegians.
They then repose after the unceasing la
bours of the summer, during which, like
their sun, they hardly ever set, or know
night and rest. The long continuance of
daylight acts upon vegetation like the
forcing heat of a hothouse, the growth of
every thing is most rapid, and therefore
much labour is crowded into a very short
space ; no time is to be lost ; the seed must
at once be sown ; it grows up, it ripens in a
moment, and must be cut and harvested
as quickly, or the summer is over. Then
there are the cattle to be attended to ; in
short, the arm and foot of labour are never
still. If, however, they work hard during
their long day, they take a full allowance

129
of compensating rest during their still
longer night. Confined to their warm
houses, then is the period of junketting and
domestic merry-making ; but be it summer
or be it winter they are always singing and
weaving ; indeed this latter occupation
comes nearer to perpetual motion than any
thing else. Byron talks of the delight of
being lulled to sleep by falling waters ; but
although we are in the land of the stream
and the cataract, their sleep-promoting
effect is neutralized by this fatal contrivance
for making bad linen, and whenever by any
accident mother or daughter, mistress or
maid, leave the loom, vain is the hope that
they will " leave me, leave me to repose,"
for they are always fidget ting in and out of
the stranger's bed-room on some idle pre
tence or another. Their houses were not
made for receiving guests; and therefore
when one arrives he is put with well-meant
civility into the best room, and this best
room is unfortunately the place where their
little stores and stock of household and
necessary articles are stowed away ; and
K

130
as something is always wanted to be got
out or to be put back, the result is an
eternal treadmill of intrusion, with a con
comitant creaking of floors, opening and
slamming of doors, shutting of drawers,
and fastening of presses, all of which, of
course, convert the first nodding ap
proaches of slumber into all the lengthened
horrors of complete wide-awake vigilance.
As they are accustomed to live all to
gether, almost like sheep in a fold, they
have no idea of privacy, or that there is
any indiscretion or rudeness in breaking in
upon that of others ; and those who go
1,500 miles to see them, and to stare at
their outlandish ways, must remember,
that marvellous as a Norwegian or a Lapp
may be to a steam-imported Londoner, his
amazement is nothing when compared to
the wild curiosity which is displayed on
their parts, as regards himself. The
stranger is indeed strange to them ; his
sayings and doings are like nothing which
they have ever heard or seen before ; and
therefore all that a traveller puts on or

131
puts off, all that he does, -and every thing
he uses, are to them matters of surprise,
and elements of useful and entertaining
knowledge. Nor are they contented with
merely feasting their eyes ; they next
proceed to touch and to try, to rummage
and turn over, being determined to ascer
tain whether all before them be not an
unsubstantial vision. Toothbrushes indu
bitably are among the inventions of a high
state of civilisation ; the Norwegian boor
knows no more of them than does his
bear ; and as to personal lavations, the
water is much too cold, and generally in
too solid a state, for the idea of using it
to enter into their imaginations ; they
leave the undivided enjoyment of the ele
ment to the seal and the salmon. These
investigations of our toilets were some
times so elaborate that it became neces
sary to use a gentle violence, and eject the
fair intruders politely by the door ; but
into what place will not the powerful
energy of female inquiry penetrate ? " Na-
turam expelles furca, tamen usque recur-
k 2

132
ret ;" they are soon back again, and as this
is a country in which Bramah could not
earn bread, there is no keeping them out.
Curiosity, like love, " laughs at locksmiths,"
even in lands where there are plenty of
locks and padlocks, all of the best make,
and double patent ; here nothing is patent
but the doors, which are never closed ;
but to make up for this, honesty reigns
supreme ; every thing you possess, your
purse included, is as perfectly safe in their
hands as if it were in " a ten times barred
up chest."
Nor is there in all their intrusions and
peepings a grain of indecency or malice
prepense ; they live with such perfect free
dom among themselves, that many things
which our refinement has led us to con
sider as indelicate are not felt to be so by
them. Their moral sentiments are pure ;
no foul idea harbours in their bosoms ;
they are in act and thought as chaste as
their own icicles ; but as the Norse ladies
will pass backwards and forwards through

133
the bed chamber of the stranger, let him
look as much surprised and horror-stricken
as he will, it may be as well for the pecu
liarly modest traveller to bring out with
him one of those portable padlocks, which
may soon be fixed into the timber door ; he
well then feel, as every Briton should feel,
that the wooden walls are his best defence.
A thorough-bred Lapp has spent a few
hours with us this evening ; he appeared
to be a regular chasseur, and to be pas
sionately fond of his vocation. He had left
the encampment of his countrymen ten
weeks since, and had come to the mouth of
the Namsen in pursuit of otters and seals ;
he had shot five of the latter, and we pur
chased two skins of him. In his pocket he
carried a stick, in which were inserted seven
circular pieces of metal, to mark the number
of bears he had killed. To his girdle was
appended a formidable knife, always kept
open, and a small piece of leather, in which
he kept a needle for mending his shoes. He
wore a loose dress entirely made of leather,
k 3

134
and over this a blouse of coarse linen. He
was very muscular, but his stature was much
under the common size, and his remarkably
expressive countenance denoted both acute-
ness and intelligence. I never before beheld
such eyes ; they appeared to look through
you, so small, dark, and piercing were they,
and yet there was nothing malevolent or re
pulsive in their expression. Altogether he
was one of the most extraordinary looking
beings I had ever seen. I was desirous of
hiring him as a guide, to conduct us to see
his countrymen ; and indeed he engaged to
do so, but broke his word, and went away
alone during the night, anxious, no doubt,
to join his wife, children, and rein-deer, as
soon as possible. We gave him a little
English gunpowder, which he seemed to
value highly, and for this present cordially
shook us by the hand. He was accom
panied by a sharp dog, which he told us had
more than once saved his life by worrying
the bears, when about to attack him, and
thereby giving him the opportunity of
making good his fire. He carried two guns.

135

CHAPTER VIII.
Start in search of the Lapps. — Our cavalcade. —
Difficult route. — The crops. — Fiskum. — A
family circle. — The schoolmaster abroad. — A
drunken guide. — Halt for the night. — Magnifi
cent cascade. — Fatal accident. — Grouse. — Wasps'
nest. — Halt at Tracken. — Cradle. — Forest
roads. — Lapp's hut. — A mishap. — Severe ill
ness. — Jersviken. — Halt for the night. — Curi
osity of our hostess. — Signs of the Lapps. —
Rorvigen. — ¦ Wooden church. — Half-yearly ser
vices. — Funerals. — Halt. — Bark bread. — Von
Buch. — Pontoppidan. — Our host. — Scarceness
of soap. — Fox-skins. — Return of our guides. —
Near approach to the Lapps.
On the 23d of August, we set off in
search of the Lapps, who, we had been in
formed, were encamped about seventy
miles off. Our two acquaintances, Captain
L  and Mr. R  , joined our party;
k 4

136
and we had the schoolmaster, who for
twenty years had gone every summer to
instruct the Lapps in reading and writing,
as our guide ; our interpreter, and the two
owners of the horses, who always attend
them, completed our cavalcade of eight
persons. In starting from Ekker, the wild
appearance of the horses, the rudeness of
the saddlery, and the varieties of costume,
presented a curious scene. Our baggage
was carried by a sumpter horse.
The road followed the course of the Nam
sen the whole of our journey this day of
four Norse miles, through almost one con
tinued forest, intersected by grassy tracts,
and spaces cleared for oats and barley.
The peasants were engaged in reaping
some fields of the latter grain, which they
have a simple but effectual mode of drying,
binding it round a high pole in such a form
that the upper sheaf alone can get wet, or
be injured by the weather. The crop was
excellent this year, and the potatoes looked
very promising.

137
We halted for half an hour, after passing
through Fiskum and Gartland, two hamlets,
the former having a neat little church,
situated on the top of a high hill, and
commanding a pretty view of the serpen
tine course of the river below, with its
banks clothed with woods of pine, birch,
and alder, down to the very edge of the
water. We stopped also to admire the Fiskum
Foss, where the river has an unbroken
fall from a considerable height ; but we
all agreed in opinion that this cascade
was not equal in picturesque beauty to
the upper one at Lerdal. Whilst we were
baiting our horses, I went into a cottage,
which reminded me of an Irish hovel ;
in the one, as in the other, the suffo
cating smoke made its partial escape
through a large aperture at the top.
By the fire sat an old patriarch of the
age of eighty, with his wife by his side,
who had arrived at very nearly the same
advanced period of life, and a large group

138
of their children and grand-children. The
old man had an expression of placid con
tentment so forcibly marked on his coun
tenance, that I could not help saying, how
glad I felt to see him looking apparently so
happy ; he said in reply, that he really was
so, and told me with pride that he had no
less than sixty descendants ! Whilst our
milk was boiling, I was ^much amused by
studying the manners and deportment of
this large family, of which an artist might
have made a very interesting sketch. The
style of dress of several of the females
somewhat approached to a state of nudity.
The younger girls had pretty countenances ;
and I presented two of them with a skilling
each, for which, as usual, they shook my
hand. Our guide, the schoolmaster, had been
our avant-courier, but this demure iooking
man, so quiet and steady when I engaged
him yesterday, we found upon our arrival
here to-day to be already " o'er all the
ills of life victorious." In other words,

139
he had become completely intoxicated
from the immoderate use of " finkel,"
and was dancing about like a mad harle
quin. This vice of drunkenness, as I have
before remarked, is the besetting sin of the
Norwegians. With this drunken guide we proceeded
through forests and over marshes, frequently
up to our horses knees in mire ; but drunk
as he was he seemed to know his way
thoroughly, and always waited for us when
we came to any difficult pass.
We had now left both road and path,
and struggled onwards, through " the
blind mazes of the tangled wood," our
progress being every moment impeded by
the roots of the numerous trees which had
been blown down by the hurricane, and it
was eleven o'clock before we reached our
resting place for the night.
The weather, however, was very favour
able, and although there was no moon,

140
yet it was not very dark, and our sure
footed horses carried us safely through
one of the most dangerous passes that I
ever saw. The fatigue of riding for four
teen hours in such rude saddles, and
through such a country, was very great,
and we were not a little rejoiced when
we at length arrived at a solitary tenement
called Troness, where we had to disturb all
the inmates out of their first sleep. A good
fire soon blazed, the provisions we had
brought with us were spread out, and we all
heartily enjoyed our meal.
Our two companions swung their ham
mocks, and I and my son occupied the
only spare beds the place afforded. We
here found the calico bags which we had
brought with us of great service, there
being no sheets. Our covering was a
clean sheep skin. Our two attendants were
sisters ; pretty girls, apparently of seventeen
and eighteen, with good complexions, and
remarkably fine eye-brows and lashes, their
beautiful flaxen hair hanging in ringlets

141
over their shoulders I was surprised to
hear that one of them was a married
woman, and had an infant. We enjoyed
five hours rest, and I escaped catching
cold, although ^Eolus and all his subject
winds came in at the broken window,
and through the innumerable crevices of
the room.
The church, in which service is performed
once a year, stands in a small open plain
near the road. During this day's journey
we crossed several ferries. In one place
the river forms a kind of lake, four miles in
length, at the end of which it discharges
itself from a considerable height, in one
unbroken sheet of water, between black
rocks rising hke pyramids. The thunder of
this noble cataract is heard at a great dis
tance, and seems to shake all the surrounding
rocks. We went through a fine grove, and
clambered down the rocky precipices, to get
a view of this magnificent foss, one of the
many sublime objects in this country of
wonders.

142
A melancholy catastrophe happened here
not long since : a poor girl, quite alone,
after rowing down the lake in a small boat,
had not strength to resist the force of the
current, but was drawn into the whirlpool
which the rapids form, and carried headlong
over the foss ! Such was the rapidity of
the stream, that her body was found several
miles below. Some peasants distinctly
heard her cries as her frail bark approached
the fall, but no earthly power could have
saved her from destruction. As we rowed
past the eddy, we had remarked how dan
gerous it was, and we shuddered when we
afterwards heard the account of this fatal
accident. On the 24th of August we set off at eight
in the morning, and passed through the
same kind of country, and over the same
bogs, a perfect flat, and one continued
forest. We found some hazel hens, or
hazel grouse*, and also a brood of caper-
* Tetrao bonasia. This bird is not much bigger
than a partridge, and its colour is a combination of

143
cailzie.* I killed one of the former, but
could not find it. Captain L  was
far more successful ; he bagged five caper
cailzie and a leash of hazel hens. We
observed a curious wasps' nest hanging to
one of the fir trees, and many large ant
hills from three to four feet in height.
We made a short journey this day of
only two Norse miles ; and, leaving our
horses, took a long walk of six hours
through the woods. The weather was so
hot that we were all greatly fatigued, and
I unfortunately met with no sport. A
capercailzie, sitting on a tree only twenty
yards from me, gave me a famous chance,
but my gun missed fire twice. My son,
however, was delighted at kilhng one of
brown, white, grey, and red. It inhabits the thickest
woods, and its flesh is delicious.
* Tetrao urogallus : wood grouse. It inhabits ex
tensive and mountainous woods, and is the largest bird
of this order, bigger even than the turkey. It is
slate coloured, and finely striped across with black.
Naturalists state that it is found in northern Asia as
well as Europe. It is imported into England from
Norway during the winter in a frozen state.

144
these noble birds. They do not afford
much sport, flying heavily when they rise,
and frequently sitting in a tree, from which
they stupidly look at you.
In the evening we reached a solitary and
small house at Trachen, romantically situ
ated on a green spot between two woods.
It was occupied by a poor labourer, who
kept a few cows, and eked out a miserable
livelihood by occasionally catching trout in
a neighbouring lake. He had a wife and
one young child ; and the tenement and its
inhabitants were equally poor and dirty.
The house afforded no other beds but
hay, on which we slept for the first time in
our lives, our bed-room being in a loft
rudely built of logs of wood. Getting into
my cotton bag, without however taking off
my clothes, and with a rein-deer skin by
way of counterpane, I slept soundly, in
spite of the heat, and the bites of those
unmerciful blood-suckers the musquitoes,
with which the air was filled. We cared

145
little for these hardships, having fine wea
ther, and an object of great interest in
view. We remarked a singular kind of cradle
here, in which the infant was swung ; it
exactly resembled a mummy-case, except
that it was covered with leather, the head
only of the child being visible.
On the 25th we continued our route
through the wood, greatly impeded by the
branches of the trees, through which we
had to force our way ; and it was astonish
ing that our horses could keep their footing.
On one occasion the animal that Peter rode
stuck up to his middle \n the mud, and it
required the strength of four men to pull
him out ; another horse fell, and the rider
slipt off his back without injury.
We now quitted the fir woods, and
crossed by a long and tedious ascent a high
and barren mountain. On the sides were
occasional patches of birch, which is a more

146
hardy tree than the fir, but even these at
length disappeared, and we saw nothing
around us but granite rocks, partially
covered with clouds, and many small lakes,
one of which was about a mile in length.
Soon after leaving Tracken this morning,
we found, in the midst of a large wood, a
Lapp's hut, of a conical shape, and entirely
constructed of the bark of trees, with an
entrance on one side. It was just high
enough for a man to stand upright in, and
the only thing it contained was a wooden
bowl. Our guide informed us that this hut
had been made in the spring of the present
year, and was occupied by a Lapp who
brought his reindeer to the neighbourhood
in search of pasture, and sometimes, for
this purpose, took them nearly as low down
as Ekker.
I had been walking for some miles to
day, and desired my servant to go in
advance, and bring back my horse ; but he
misunderstood me ; and the road turning

147
suddenly, I found I had lost sight of the
whole party, and was left in the rear. I
wandered about for an hour and a half,
and could no longer distinguish the path,
which was marked by stones, piled on the
top of each other. The clouds were gather
ing around me, and a thunder-storm, ac
companied with rain, commenced. My
situation was any thing but agreeable ; and
to increase my discomfort, I was far from
well. After some reflection, I determined to
remain near the spot where my companions
had separated from me, in the assurance
that they would all return to seek me.
At length the shouting from one of my
party sounded most musically to my ear,
and I soon again joined them. They had
been under considerable alarm on my ac
count ; some thought, knowing I was ill,
that I had fainted, and others that I was
lost in one of the clouds which hung upon
the mountain. Had the latter been the
case, they were so dense that I must have
passed the night on the bare rock. After
this contretemps I proceeded slowly on
l 2

148
horseback six English miles further, to the
quarters which we were to occupy for the
night at Jersviken, a solitary tenement
situated on a lake, in the centre of a basin
formed by the surrounding hills, the lower
parts of which are thinly covered by scat
tered trees, principally birch. My whole
system was out of order, and during all my
rambles I never was in a situation where I
could less afford to be laid up by illness.
However, thanks to that gracious Provi
dence which has so long blessed me with
good health, my indisposition soon passed
off. I had the comfort of knowing that I
had brought some medicines with me in
case of need ; but happily I did not require
them ; a sound sleep on a good bed of hay,
and reindeer skins again, in lieu of blankets,
restored me to health. We did not occupy
a loft, as we had done the previous night,
but slept, all four of us, in one of the two
rooms of which the miserable cabin con
sisted. It was filled with a compound of
villainous smells, and as dirty as can well
be imagined. The cross-planks above our

149
beds were a receptacle for a much greater
variety of articles than I can enumerate :
wooden bowls, baskets, a pair of shoes,
spectacles without handles, a spinning ma
chine, buckets, copper boilers (in which we
made our capercailzie soup), brooms, bottles,
candlesticks, rakes, ladders, &c, &e, all
dingy and black from continual smoke.
The fish I could not see, but our olfactory
nerves were affected by it in no small
degree, and I afterwards found that it was
kept under the floor of our room, in a large
well covered by a trap-door. We kept up
a good fire to purify the atmosphere as far
as was possible. After preparing some
bouillon for my supper, and taking all the
care of me which affection could dictate,
my son had to sleep on the hard table, with
only a cloak to cover him.
I was much amused in watching the
proceedings of the old woman of the house,
and a young girl who was with her. When
we were all supposed to be wrapt in the
mantle of sleep, they paced through our
l 3

150
room with a silent step, and minutely exa
mined our dressing-cases, and all the con
tents of our carpet-bag ; a very natural
curiosity, considering we were probably the
first tourists, and certainly the only English
men, that had passed this way. We found
some reindeer horns to-day ; a sure sign that
the Lapps had been in these parts.
On the next morning our guide, the
schoolmaster, proceeded alone, at half past
three, in search of the Lapps, not having
been as yet able to ascertain where they
were encamped, as they very frequently
shift their position. Some of our party
started at eleven o'clock by land, and had
good sport, having met with a flock of wild
geese, and an abundance of ptarmigan ;
whilst Captain L. and I went across the
lake in a small boat, a distance of six
English miles, to Rorvigen, where our
avant-courier was to join us, as soon as he
had obtained the necessary information.
This lake, named Limingen, is upwards of
twenty miles in length. We landed, and

151
went to a very decent log-house, with
several outbuildings around it, belonging
to a small farmer. There was also a church,
the humblest edifice of the kind I ever re
member to have seen, built entirely of wood,
as they generally are, with its pretty spire,
tapering to a fine point. Its situation was
lovely, — on the margin of the lake, with
mountains all around, — some barren, others
clothed with birch and aspen, with here and
there a patch of snow in the hollows. We
entered this primitive temple. At the back
of the altar hung a piece of blue linen, with
some paper ornaments around, and a cross
above. On the communion table was a
small goblet of silver, and by the side a
rudely executed painting of our Saviour,
attended by an angel ; near this were hung
the surplice and robe of the priest, of ma
roon coloured velvet ; there was also a
small font. The pulpit and benches ap
peared new ; but there was no paint used
in any part of the interior ; every thing was
remarkably plain and simple. In the church
yard were several graves, surmounted by
l 4

152
crosses, with the names of the deceased on
some of them, and on others only the ini
tials. A priest comes here once and some
times twice a year ; his visit is generally in
the summer, when the Lapps come down
from their mountains to attend the service,
and it must be a highly interesting sight to
witness such a congregation so engaged,
and in so secluded and beautiful a region ;
afterwards marriages are solemnized and
infants are christened, and finally the fune
ral service is read by the minister over the
bodies of all those who have been buried
by the Lapps themselves since his last
visit. Whenever a death takes place the
relatives bring the corpse down to the
nearest church, and the spot of sepulture is
marked by a stick stuck into the earth.
When the schoolmaster is here he reads
the prayers and the psalms in the church ;
and during his absence he has a deputy,
who generally performs the same duty.
We took up our quarters for the night at
this farm, and after what we had expe-

153
rienced the day before every thing appeared
neat and clean. The log-houses of this
country are not well finished, nor pic
turesque in their appearance, like the cha
lets of Switzerland, but are rudely con
structed of firs, with the insterstices
between them filled up with moss, which
very imperfectly keeps out the wind. Two
of our party occupied a building almost
new, and consisting of a kitchen and bed
room, which the priest always lived in
when here, whilst my son and I slept
soundly on hay and reindeer skins, after
having supped luxuriously on the highly
flavoured game we had killed. The kettle
which we had brought with us from Ekker
to boil our tea and coffee in was invalu
able. Yesterday we tasted bark bread for the
first time. The process of making this most
wretched of all human food is thus de
scribed by Von Buch : — " When the young
and vigorous fir trees are felled, to the
great injury of the woods, the tree is

154
stripped of its bark for its whole length ;
the outer part is carefully peeled from the
bark, the deeper interior covering is then
shaved off, and nothing remains but the
innermost rind, which is extremely soft and
white. It is then hung up several days in
the air to dry, and afterwards baked in an
oven ; it is next beat on wooden blocks, and
then pounded as finely as possible in wooden
vessels ; but all this is not enough ; the
mass is yet to be carried to the mill, and
ground into coarse meal like barley or oats.
The meal is mixed up with hexel, with
thrashed-out ears of corn, or with a few
moss seeds, and large and thin cakes,
called ' flad brod,' are formed of this com
position, which keep for many months."
Pontoppidan, with some humour, terms the
use of the bark bread " a disagreeable but
sure method of preserving life." To-day,
however, we fared much better, for our
landlord kept seven cows and a few sheep,
and we ordered one of the latter to be
killed. Its price was four marks (three
shillings and four-pence English), and its

155
weight about forty pounds. The farmer, a
widower with three children, lived almost
entirely on his own resources, having to
send ten Norse miles to purchase barley
(as no grain will grow so far north as this
district), with which he mixes the bark just
mentioned. We saw his stores for the
winter, which consisted of ill-flavoured
cheeses, and candles of his own manufac
ture ; but we inquired in vain for soap,
which seemed to be a luxury never heard
of in these parts. He had a variety of fox
skins, all belonging to the Lapps, and sent
here to dry. For one of these, of a brown
colour, and beautifully marked, he asked
three dollars ; a high price, which, however,
he seemed confident of obtaining by sending
it to Sweden. The lake affords abundance
of fish, so that, with the exception of good
bread, our host has not much reason to
complain of being in want of the common
necessaries of life.
Our schoolmaster returned this evening,
accompanied by the Lapp who had deserted

156
us so unceremoniously at Ekker. He in
formed us that the objects of our search
were only two Norse miles from us, three
fourths of which distance we could go in_a
boat, and the remainder on foot. We con
sequently determined to set off as early as
four o'clock the next morning, in order that
we might be able to return the same night
to our quarters at this farm-house.

157

CHAPTER IX.
Bad weather. — Lake Limingen. — Soetter hut. —
Our guide. — Arrival at a Lapp encampment. —
Kind reception. — Lapp tent. — Its contents. —
Peter Johansen and family. — A young herdsman.
Reindeer milk. — Venison. — Costume of the ladies.
Lucifer matches. — Finkel. — Habits of the
Lapps. — Religious observances. — A night among
the Lapps. — Close-packing. — The ' reindeer. —
Milking. — Leave-taking. — The origin of these
children of the mountain. — Their wandering lives.
The moss. — Its great utility. — The Lapland
breed of dogs. — Anecdote. — Von Buch. — The
reindeer. — Hospitality of the Lapps. — Von
Buch's opinion of them. — Care taken of his rein
deer and dogs by the Laplander. — Migrations of
the Lapps.
The next morning, 27th August, was rainy,
and the hills were all covered with clouds ;
we breakfasted at four, on broiled caper
cailzie, and brandy and water, but were

158
weather bound at Rorvigen till three o'clock
p.m., when we embarked in two small and
crazy boats on Lake Limingen. There was
far more motion than I liked, the nature of
our vessels being duly considered. We
were, however, safely landed on some rocks,
after a row of about ten English miles, and
then set off to walk four more, partly
through woods. In our route we passed by
a soetter hut, where, as I have before re
marked, the peasants who pasture their
cows in the neighbourhood keep their milk,
cream, and cheeses. We next crossed some
barren mountains ; and at about half past
seven our guide (the Lapp) desired us not
to fire at a pack of ptarmigan which got up
close to us, for fear, he said, of disturbing
the reindeer, as he every moment expected
to find his countrymen. Soon after, as we
were all walking in single file, and keeping -
perfect silence, he stopt suddenly, and
pointing with his finger directed our atten
tion to some smoke just seen through the
twilight, curling up the side of the opposite
hill. The man's manner and attitude were

159
quite dramatic, and we had the satisfaction
of feeling that our object was about to be
attained. The Lapp now tied up his dog,
and ran off, evidently much rejoiced at the
idea of rejoining his wife and family, after
an absence of several months. He was also
anxious to inform his countrymen who we
were, and what brought us here, as he had
some fear lest they would take alarm, and
move off with their herd. He soon, how
ever, returned, and at the same time we
saw a large number of reindeer driven up
the valley to their quarters for the night,
by a man and boy, accompanied by a dog,
whose occasional bark seemed to keep them
under perfect control. Upon our arrival
we found the encampment consisted of two
circular tents built of poles joined together
in the centre, in form of a cone, with cloth
stretched over them. The door of the
larger one, in which we took up our abode,
was so low and small, that we had some
difficulty in crawhng in. The whole scene
was highly picturesque. Each tent was
occupied by a Lapp family; every indi-

160
vidual gave us a most kind reception, and
heartily shaking us by the hand, at once
offered us a share of their tent, the only
night's lodging they had to give. We thank
fully accepted their hospitality, and soon
found ourselves laying on skins before a
large and cheerful fire. The inhabitants of
the hut comprised three generations of
Lapps ; namely, a middle-aged man and his
wife, with four children and an old grand
mother ; to these were now added our
party, consisting of four Englishmen, their
two interpreters, and two other atten
dants. The tent was made of coarse dark
cloth, and the outside of it was covered
with turf; around the inside were hung
cheeses, bladders, dried gut of reindeer,
guns, and various other useful articles. The
chief part of the smoke escaped through
a large opening at the top, but enough
remained painfully to affect our eyes, and
to give the copper countenances of the
Lapps a shade as dark as those of Indians.
The second family, who occupied the
smaller tent, namely, our late Lapp guide,

161
Peter Johansen, his wife and two children,
soon came to pay us a visit. I have already
described his person. His wife and daugh
ter had light hair and fair complexions, and
were pleasing in their appearance, and his
little boy was an intelhgent and interesting
child, and although under ten years of age
took his turn with the men in watching the
reindeer during the night. He was dressed
in his best clothes, entirely made of skins,
with a girdle round his waist, and such a
protuberance in front as to give him the
appearance of being stuffed, and greatly to
excite our laughter. He wore his knife in
its case behind, and several small ornaments
by his side ; thus forming a complete Lilli
putian Lapp in full costume.
We were soon presented with a large
bowl of reindeer milk, which is much richer
than that of the cow, and has a delicate
and aromatic flavour, with a pleasant taste,
resembling the milk of the cocoa-nut ; but
I found I could not take much of it with
impunity, as it was more like drinking
M

162
cream than milk. They also boiled for us
a reindeer ham, which had only been salted
two days before. We found it so good,
that upon taking our departure next morn
ing we were glad to add it to our scanty
store of provisions. It has a wild flavour,
and is quite equal to our park venison.
The old grandmother was as shrivelled
as a mummy, but the other two women
were by no means ill looking. Their dress-
was of dark woollen cloth, with silver orna
ments in front, as well as in the girdle
round the waist, to which sewing imple
ments were suspended. These ornaments
were in good taste, and well finished ; and
the buttons were similar to those used by
the peasantry in Spain. I have no doubt
this smart costume was put on in compli
ment to us. The dress of the men con
sisted of leather coats, and tight trousers of
the same material, with reindeer skin boots.
All the females smoked ; and the old woman
seemed more pleased with having her pipe
filled with tobacco brought from England

163
than with any thing else that we gave her.
Some boxes of Lucifer matches which we
presented to them were also highly prized ;
they had evidently never seen them before,
and expressed no small astonishment at the
manner in which ignition is effected. We
regretted we had no fish-hooks, which they
inquired for ; but we gave them a glass of
finkel each, which the octogenarian appeared
to relish more than any of her descendants.
The head of the family (Johan Nielson)
was a grave sedate-looking man ; decision
of character and intelligence were marked
on his fine countenance. In reply to the
questions I put to him through my inter
preter, he said they were happy in the
enjoyment of their wandering pastoral life ;
that they confined themselves to the moun
tainous ridge which separates Norway from
Sweden, the boundary line between these
countries being only two English miles
from the spot where they were then en
camped ; that they had been there about
eight days ; intended to remain a fortnight
longer, and should then move onwards for
m 2

164
a change of pasture for their reindeer. He
told me that in summer they conduct these
animals, .which constitute their wealth, to
the elevated parts of the mountains, and
in the winter they descend to the level
country. His herd consisted of about 300,
and it appears that a family requires nearly
that number for its support. The great
proportion of them were his own property,
but some belonged to Peter Johansen, and
ten to a middle-aged single woman, who
lodged with them. These Lapps, although
" dwellers in tents " all the year round, are
in many respects far from being uncivilized.
They strictly observe the sabbath, the best
reader of the family officiating as priest, and
going regularly through the Lutheran ser
vice. Occasionally they attend the church
of the nearest village on the frontier of
Sweden. Our guide, the schoolmaster, is employed
by the missionary society, and twice in
the course of every summer attends the
Lapps for the purpose of instructing them.

165
He stays for three weeks on each occasion,
and divides his time between the different
families who are encamped many miles
apart. This man told me that all the
children could read, write, and say their
prayers. The Lapps have but few wants,
and appear perfectly satisfied ; having no
bread, they subsist almost entirely on the
produce of their herds, with the occasional
assistance of fish and game. We saw no
other description of food whatever, neither
have they any candles ; and when we re
quired additional light, one of the women
took a firebrand in her hand and held it up
for us. On one occasion we wanted to
pour some of their delicious milk into our
small keg of finkel ; in an instant they very
ingeniously made a funnel of some of the
birch bark which hung round the tent.
The sun and stars are their only clock.
They had no spirituous liquors, but it is
well known that they are generally addicted
to inebriety ; and doubtless, when the op
portunity occurs of going down into the
vallies, either of Sweden or of Norway,
m 3

166
they indulge in this their one besetting

sin.

Both Nielson and Johansen are great
hunters, and occasionally are absent from
the encampment for many weeks together,
in search of bears, seals, and game. It
was nearly midnight before our interesting
conference with Johan Nielson was brought
to a close. He at length asked us in a
civil, I might almost say in a polite manner,
whether we felt disposed to sleep. To this
we assented ; and when all was quiet, and
most eyes were closed, I surveyed with no
little interest the singular scene around me.
Our host lit his pipe, by way of a soporific,
laid down his head on his hard pillow, and
comfortably puffed himself to sleep. One
of the children coming in late, the old
grandmother lifted up her large rein-deer
covering, and inclosed the young herds
man within its ample folds. It was a fine
night, and we felt no inconvenience either
from heat or cold. We were, however,
as closely packed all round the tent as

167
negroes in a slave ship, and it would
have been difficult for a single additional
person to have found a berth. I slept
soundly notwithstanding. We were so
near the fire, that my foot would have been
burnt, had not one of my companions
awakened me, and pointed out the danger.
It will be long before the details of this
night will be forgotten by any of us ; and
we all regretted that there was no artist
amongst us to have sketched some of the
more characteristic features of the scene.
We rose at five on the 28th of August,
and after breakfasting on the flesh and milk
of the reindeer, went up the hill to see the
animals themselves. The whole herd was
brought together for our inspection ; they
had sleek skins, and were in the finest con
dition imaginable, many of their branching
antlers being of immense size, and covered
with the softest velvet. We were informed
that they suffered more from heat than
from cold. Nielson's eldest boy, a fine
youth of sixteen, now threw a species of
m 4

168
lasso round the horns of one of the deer,
and the process of milking the herd began.
They yield a very small quantity of milk,
but this is made up for by the richness of
its quality. These animals are remarkably
quiet and gentle, and the Lapps are almost as
fond of them as of their children. We made
a present of a few skillings to each of the
httle boys, as their parents had only charged
us one ort, or ten-pence English, for the
lodging, milk, and several pounds of veni
son with which they had furnished us.
After purchasing some skins, horns, and
lines which we saw the women making
from strips of the sinews of the rein-deer,
by chewing the ends and twisting one piece
on to another till it was of sufficient length,
we with regret bade adieu to the Lapps,
highly gratified with our visit to these
children of the mountain.
Very little is known of the origin of
these honest, simple, and hospitable people ;
they are considered by some to be de-

169
scended from aboriginal Norwegians, and
still to observe the manners and customs of
their ancestors ; but by others they are sup
posed to have sprung from a colony of Finns,
although at the present day they are very
unlike that race in their physical appearance.
From the earliest times they have evinced a
roving unsettled disposition, and have led a
nomade life, like the ancient Germans, so
minutely and admirably described by Tar
citus, or like our modern gypsies. Their
movements, however, are chiefly regulated
by the quantity of moss (lichen rungiferus)
which the different localities afford for their
reindeer, and which is more abundant in
Sweden than in Norway ; but the tempera
ture of the former country is found to be
too mild for these animals, who require the
bracing air and eternal snows of the latter
to preserve their health. How wise and
how beneficent are all the dispositions of
Providence ! how exact the adaptation of
every country to the wants of the crea
tures who are destined to inhabit it ! The
very circumstances which in warmer cli-

170
mates would be fatal to animal and vege
table life are here, not only not injurious,
but absolutely essential to their health and
even to their existence. The moss can
flourish only amidst snow, and in a climate
the temperature of which is uniformly very
low ; without the moss the reindeer would
perish, and on their herds of reindeer en
tirely depends the prosperity, nay, the very
existence of the Lapps. It is this animal
which supplies them with clothing, food,
the means of locomotion, and the means of
obtaining whatever else their simple habits
of life require. No other climate will suit
these animals ; the experiment of intro
ducing them into Scotland has been fre
quently tried, and has invariably failed;
the strangers, deprived of their favourite
moss, and of the perpetual snow of their
native hills, have pined and died.
The Lapps have a peculiar breed of
dogs ; they are small, but very sharp and
intelligent, and strongly resemble a fox in
their general appearance. Of the sagacity

171
and value of these dogs Von Buch mentions
a striking instance which occurred in the
winter of 1806. A Lapland mountaineer
sent his two children a distance of seven or
eight miles, to one of those grassy spots
where vegetation appears to go on under
the snow during the whole winter ; the
boys scratched up the snow, filled their
nets with grass, and hastened back ; but in
descending from the fieldt or mountain they
were both buried under an immense mass
of snow, an avalanche in miniature, which
rushed down into the valley ; their dog,
one of this breed, which had run on before
them, returned to the spot where they were
completely buried under the snow, and
kept scratching so long and so vigorously
at it that at last one of the boys was able
to get out. He immediately sought for
his brother, but not in the right place ; the
instinct of the dog succeeded better ; he
found out the exact point, and uninter-
mittingly dug at it till at last he uncovered
the other boy also, who was lying on his
face, unable to assist himself.

172
The milk of the reindeer, as I have
already stated, is highly valuable ; its flesh
also supplies a nutritious food during a
great part of the year ; its sinews are made
into thread and cord ; its horns into spoons
and other domestic utensils, and its skin
furnishes the main portion of the Lapp's
dress. This animal bears a great resem
blance to the stag, but is rather smaller ;
it possesses much elegance of form, and
has even an air of grandeur when viewed
in certain attitudes. The females are driven
home morning and evening to be milked,
and yield about the same quantity as a
she goat.
The lichen rungiferus, the reindeer
moss, as it is called, grows almost every
where in great abundance ; this useless
looking vegetable, which to appearance
dies under a long continuance of heat and
drought, immediately recovers new life
from the rain. Dry and valueless as it
appears, it is one of the most important
gifts which the beneficent creator has be-

173
stowed on this wild region, for it is the
chief support of many thousands of rein
deer on the barren summits of the moun
tains through all the severity of the winter.
The deer remove the snow with their feet
to get at this to them delicious food, and
they cannot thrive without it, nor even live
for any length of time.
Von Buch does not appear to have met
with so hospitable a reception from the
Laplanders as we did; our having been
accompanied by one of their own people,
as well as by the schoolmaster, to whom
they were much attached, was doubtless
greatly in our favour.
Von Buch says, " We found the hut or
gamme at the foot of the hill. They
received us, but not in a friendly manner.
The Laplanders are not Arabs. Where the
spruce and Scotch firs and where birches
will not succeed, the nature of man seems
equally defective ; he sinks in the struggle
with necessity and the climate. The

174
finer feelings of the Laplanders are to be
developed by brandy ; and as in eastern
countries a visit is announced by presents,
the glass alone here softens their hostile dis
positions. Then indeed the first place of
the tent, opposite to the narrow door, is
conceded to the stranger. We lie around
a room of not more than eight feet in
diameter. The fire in the middle causes
the draft from the door to ascend, and
consequently the back part of the tent (or
room) is the most comfortable place, and
is occupied by the master and mistress of
the family. , The children sit next to them,
and the servants next to the door.
" When a stranger demands entrance, the
Lapland custom is, to keep him standing just
in the inside of the door, and sometimes even
before a half opened door. The master of
the house then asks him the cause of his
arrival, and also the news of his country ;
and if he is pleased with the answer he
receives, he at last invites the stranger to
approach nearer ; he then becomes a mem
ber of the family ; a place is allotted to

175
him, and he is entertained with reindeer
milk and flesh. The Arab, on the contrary,
invites you into his hut, and asks no
questions. " Men and boys, wives and daughters,
take the post of watching by turns, and each
goes out with several dogs. The welfare
and the security of the flock depends almost
entirely on these dogs ; by them alone is it
kept together in the situation selected for
it, or, when necessary, driven to another ; it
is by these dogs also that the wolves, the
enemy most dreaded by the Laplanders,
are driven away from the reindeer. The
timid animal runs frightened up and down
the wild mountain when the wolf approaches,
and it is only by the exertion of the dogs
that the flock is kept together ; it is seldom
that the wolf will venture to attack these
courageous guardians. The dog is to the
Laplander what the plough is to the hus
bandman. When he returns wearied to his
gamme, he always willingly shares his rein
deer flesh and his soup with his dog,
which he will hardly do with either father
or mother."

176
The Lapps whom we visited shared all
their food with their dogs, and caressed
them most affectionately. These people
could not prosper in Sweden, if they were
prevented from annually roving over the
mountains on the Norwegian coasts ; for
few of the plains in Sweden are high enough
to protect the reindeer from the heat and
insects of summer ; the animals soon grow
weak, decline, and die ; but Norway gives
them an opportunity of reaching snow even
in the warmest month in the year. The
two kingdoms are, as it were, connected by
the periodical migrations of the Laplanders,
and whoever shall restrain this race from
roaming from the one to the other will not
merely destroy their prosperity, but will
wholly annihilate them.

177

CHAPTER X.
Lake Limingen. — Change of weather. ¦¦— Narrow
escape. — Return to Ekker. — Granite road. —
Bivouac. — Troness. — Exorbitant charges. —
Honesty of our host. — Englishmen fleeced every
where. — Troubles of posting in Norway. • — Arrive
at Ekker. — Tronjeim. — Cathedral. — Christen
ings. — Hospitality. — A social priest. — Sunday
in Norway. — Lutheran Sabbath. — Madame
Hombert. — Environs of Tronjeim. — Start for
Christiansand. — Magnificent scenery. — Island of
Heteren. — Christiansand. — Peasants. — Molde.
— Barren country. — Aalesund. — Native sim
plicity. — Rocky coast. — Fellow passengers. —
Wild fowl. — Eider duck. — Rough weather. —
Arrive off Bergen.
We now retraced our steps to Lake Limin
gen. The weather had hitherto been fa
vourable ; but soon after we had embarked
upon the lake the rain commenced, and
continued in heavy showers during the five
hours it took us to row a distance of fifteen
N

178
miles. The wind was easterly and very
cold. Towards the termination of our
voyage we were nearly swamped, as on
rounding a little promontory a heavy squall
caught us, and the waves broke over and
into our frail and leaky boat. We were
obhged to keep her head to the wind, and
constantly to bale out the water. For a
short time we were in a state of some
danger ; but happily the distance from the
shore was not great, our two rowers pulled
lustily, and we at length landed in safety,
but wet to the skin, and perishing with
cold. The miserable quarters which we
had occupied two nights before now ap
peared a most welcome asylum to us, and
there we again slept.
On the 29th of August we started early
on our return to Ekker, and our sure-footed
horses carried us in safety over ten miles of
bare granite rock, a great part of it so
shppery that horses not accustomed to it
could not have kept their footing. Some
of the party did occasionally fall, without,

179
however, sustaining any injury. In the
middle of the day we halted in a wood, and,
after making a large fire, sat around it
like a party of Lapps, and eat our venison
with that appetite which the fine bracing
atmosphere of the North is sure to produce ;
" Oh, there is sweetness in the mountain air
And life, that bloated ease can never hope
to share."
We slept at Troness, in the same cottage
where we had rested the night after our
leaving Ekker.
The next morning, the 30th August, we
had a long dispute with our host, respecting
his exorbitant charge of seven dollars for
supplying us with bread, coffee, and beds for
two nights. At length he accepted, but some
what sulkily, our offer of three. After we
had taken our departure, and had proceeded
some hundred yards into the wood, he came
running after us, and we fully imagined it
was to make some fresh demand ; but to our
surprise and pleasure we found that his sole
n 2

180
object was to bring us four silver spoons
which we had left behind us. This was
one among the numerous instances that we
witnessed of the honesty of the Norwegians
of all classes, and I have great satisfaction
in recording it. At the same time I must
confess that I was somewhat surprised and
annoyed at the gross attempt at imposition
which I have just mentioned. Englishmen
are everywhere supposed to have much
superfluous cash, and are fleeced accord
ingly in all the beaten tracks ; but I confess
I did not expect to have met with such
sharp practice so far North. Extortionate
charges are among the chief drawbacks to
the pleasure of travelling in most countries ;
but in Norway a much greater, and one of
much more frequent occurrence, is the an
noyance you are so constantly exposed to
from the farmers to whom the post-horses
belong, and who, if you drive them faster
than they think expedient, not only re
monstrate in a very rough manner, -but
frequently seize the reins, stop you on
your journey, and will not allow you to

181
proceed till you have pledged yourself to
slacken your pace. In the evening we once
more arrived in safety at our comfortable
quarters at Ekker.
We had visited the Lapps too late in the
season, and this had greatly increased the
fatigue and difficulty of our journey. I
was, however, highly gratified at having
been enabled to see a little of the habits,
of so interesting a people, and altogether
the excursion has left a vivid impression on
my mind. The scenery also, in many parts
of our route, was on the grandest scale, of
bold rugged rocks, amidst interminable
forests. At the same time I doubt whether
I should have undertaken the expedition,
had I been aware of the dangers and diffi
culties which attended it.
We continued at Ekker during the
31st of August and the 1st of September,
and on the 2d quitted, with regret, the
honest and warm-hearted Johannes Ekker,
and his respectable family, and set out on
n 3

182
our return to Tronjeim, where we arrived
on the 4th of September.
The next morning, being Sunday, we
went to the cathedral, and after the morn
ing service was finished witnessed the cere
mony of christening several children. One
of the mothers was an interesting looking
woman, belonging to the first class of
society, who, accompanied by her nurse and
infant, afterwards returned home in an old-
fashioned carriage gaily painted and gilded,
which strongly reminded me of a faded
lord mayor's coach.
Tronjeim is noted for the hospitality of its
inhabitants. In the evenings of the 5th and
6th of September we dined at the house of
Mr. Knudtzon, and met the priest whom we
had seen in the morning officiating at the
altar. The venerable gentleman smoked his
pipe, and entered into all the gaiety of the fa
mily circle with much complacency. After
the service of the church was once over, Lu
ther was not so strict as Calvin, in making a

183
distinction between the Sabbath and other
days. In the highly respectable family of
which I am speaking (one of the first in
Tronjeim), the young ladies on Sundays
played waltzes on the piano, and danced,
the same as on any other day of the week.
Laing remarks that the evening of Satur
day and the morning of Sunday make the
seventh day, or Sabbath, according to the
Lutheran church. This probably accounts
for the gaiety of the Sunday evenings in
Norway. Whilst at Ekker I saw cards
introduced occasionally. During their long
winter ; the better classes are very fond of
playing the game of Boston, a kind of
whist, and it is the occupation with which
they chiefly fill up the intervals between
their eating, drinking, and smoking ; their
chief amusement, however, at that season,
is their sledge parties.
We again lodged in a private house,
and indeed we had great difficulty in getting
any accommodation whatever, as the city
was very full, in consequence of the arrival
N 4

184
of two steamers, and the great fire of last
year has sadly narrowed the accommoda-.
tion for travellers. We took our meals at
the old established lodging-house kept by
Madame Hombert, who speaks a little
English ; she is a respectable woman, and
her charges are moderate, which is far from
being the case at the house of Madame
Niellson, who formerly kept the Hotel du
Nord. The neighbourhood of this town is
studded with numerous villas, beautifully
situated on the shore of the bay, as well as
on the sides of the mountains.
On the 7th of September at a very early
hour we left Tronjeim for Christiansand in
the fine Norwegian steamer " The Chris
tiania " ; the weather was delightful, and as
the sun rose the view of the fiord, encom
passed by ridges of bold rocks, was truly
magnificent. The voyage is generally per
formed in nine days, including the two
during which you remain stationary at Ber
gen ; you keep near the coast the whole way,
and anchor in some harbour every evening.

185
We passed about mid-day the island of
Heteren, the chief part of which is a barren
rock, but it has some few wooded vallies.
In this island are numerous wild deer, which
our countrymen sometimes come to shoot,
but there is some difficulty in obtaining
permission to enjoy this sport. A boat put
off with an ample supply of venison, which
we had for dinner, and found it excellent.
At six p.m. we anchored for the night in
the harbour of the little town of Christian
sand. On the surrounding heights were
groups of peasants to witness the entrance
of the steamer through the narrow channel ;
their appearance had a very picturesque
effect. We slept on board, the accommo
dation and viands being unusually good,
and on September 8th, at six a.m., we again
got under weigh. The morning was rainy,
and as we kept rather farther off the coast
there was more sea, and consequently more
motion in the vessel than was quite agrees
able, but the water scon became calm, and
all symptoms, of landsmen's miseries va
nished. At mid- day the steamer anchored

186
for an hour close to the town of Molde,
and we went on shore. Its situation is
lovely, and on both sides of the fiord,
through which our course lay, the noble
mountains lift their heads into the clouds ;
many of their summits are broken into most
fantastic shapes, and here and there are
clothed with wood, but the country in
general was much more barren than any
which we had previously seen. We anchored
for the night in the harbour of Aalesund ;
its village, surrounded by the wildest rocks,
was still more beautifully situated than
Christiansund, which we had left in the
morning. We landed, and scrambling up
the side of a high mountain, enjoyed a mag
nificent view of the setting sun. Aalesund
is a retired little hamlet, with no church
within two miles of it, and till last year its
inhabitants had never seen a steamer, so
that the wonderment had scarcely yet
subsided. On the 9th, at six o'clock a.m., we again
sailed. The weather was most favourable,

187
and the sea so calm that we greatly en
joyed our day's cruize, although we steered
farther from the land than we had previously
done. The scenery on the western coast
of Norway (one of the most mountainous
countries in Europe) became bolder as we
advanced. This rugged coast has been most
appropriately said to be iron-bound ; one
range of mountains was piled up behind
another, and the day being clear the sum
mits of some of the most distant were dis
tinctly seen mantled with snow.
A new importation of passengers was
taken on board at Aalesund, and amongst
them four priests and two physicians. I
had some conversation with one of the
former, who spoke French a little. His
large pipe was hanging from his coat pocket,
and he wore an old and ill-shapen white
hat. I was amused at his asking me
whether I was not of the same cloth as
himself, I having on at the time a light
coloured velvet shooting jacket. In the
course of the morning I saw these six

188
members of the learned professions drink
ing porter, and heard them singing most
jovially, but whether psalms or not I did
not attempt to ascertain.
We anchored at Maloen in the middle of
the day, and in the evening, the weather
continuing delightful, we took a boat and
rowed about the fiord in pursuit of the
numerous tribes of wild fowl with which it
was covered. We killed some of the large
species of gull, an eider duck*, and a small
variety of sea bird, which was new to me,
and somewhat resembled a grebe.
On the 10th September we had an un
pleasant voyage to Bergen, which we did
not reach till eleven at night, there having
been a strong wind from the land, which,
* Edderduck (Edderfugl). This bird, of which the
north sea is generally considered to be the habitat, is
in shape and size between the goose and duck ; the
cock is of a black and green colour, the hen brown
and grey mixed. The edderdown quilt is a covering
like a feather bed, and is commonly used in this country
instead of counterpanes and blankets.

189
however, did not produce much swell at
sea, and it rained without intermission.
We coasted it the whole of the voyage,
one fiord succeeding another, bounded on
each side by barren rocks and islands.
Many of the black mountains rose abruptly
from the sea, and some were perpendicular
to an amazing height ; the character of the
scenery was both wild and grand in the
extreme. The navigation being very in
tricate, and the night extremely dark, I
was glad when we reached the harbour of
Bergen. Every precaution had, however,
been taken to secure our safety ; the cap
tain and the two experienced Swedish pilots
were stationed on the platform between the
paddle-boxes, the mate and another sailor
stood at the helm, and one man was con
stantly in the shrouds on the look out.

190

CHAPTER XL
Superstitions of the Norwegian fishermen. — Bishop
Pontoppidan. — His credulity. — His account of
the ' sea monsters.' — The merman, his wife and
family. — The kraken. — The sea serpent. — Its
mode of attacking boats. — Means of eluding its
pursuit. — Dimensions of the kraken. — A Nor
wegian priest. — His duties and emoluments. —
National airs. — Chorus. — Delay in steam-boats.
— Bergen. — Its situation. — Trade in cod fish. — Its
houses. — Shops. — An ancient ' Charley.' — Marquis
of Waterford. — Cod fishery. — Herrings. — Gover
nors of Bergen. — Their salaries. — Constitution
of Norway. — The storthing or national assembly.
— Its democratic tendency. — Its defective ma
chinery. — The royal prerogative. — The system
of representation ill devised. — Its probable failure
in times of difficulty.
The Norwegian fishermen, like most other
seafaring men, are very superstitious, and
even the worthy bishop of Bergen (Pontoppi-

191
dan), although in other respects the highest
authority on the natural history of his
country, gives, in his work on Norway,
many amusing instances of his credulity.
Although at the risk of repetition to
those who are already familiar with the
bishop's amusing pages, I will extract, for the
benefit of my readers, his description of some
of " the sea monsters," as he calls them ;
and it is to be borne in mind that the good
bishop has previously stated in his preface,
" that the reader will meet with many
strange, singular, and unexpected things,
but all strictly true."
" Amongst the many sea monsters which
are in the North Sea, and are often seen, I
shall give the first place to the merman,
whose mate is called mermaid. Of the mer
man's offspring some are as big as a child
of three years old. Of this last size there
was one lately taken in Selloe-Sogn ; the
upper part was like a child, but the rest
like a fish."

192
" Here a fisherman told me he had seen
a much more surprising monster close to his
boat ; the body was as broad and big as
a vessel of fifty lasts burden, and the tail,
which seemed to be about six fathoms
long, was quite small and pointed at the
end." " The sea snake, or serpent of the ocean,
is a wonderful and terrible sea monster ;
the kraken is considered as the most extra
ordinary in length. Hundreds of fishermen
and sailors have annually seen them."
" Two seafaring men deposed upon
oath at the Bergen sessions before a ma
gistrate, to the effect that about six miles
from the Molde they saw a sea snake before
them. The head, which it held more than
two feet above the surface of the water,
resembled that of a horse ; it was of a
greyish colour, and the mouth was quite
black, and very large ; it had black eyes,
and a long white mane, that hung down
from the neck to the surface of the water.

193
Besides the head and neck they saw seven
or eight folds or coils of this snake, which
were very thick, and as far as they could
guess there was about a fathom distance
between each fold. All that have seen this
creature are unanimous in affirming, as far
as they can judge at a distance, that it
is of the length of a cable " (i. e. 100 fa
thoms, or 600 English feet !)
" The north traders inform me of what
has frequently happened to them, namely,
that the sea snake has raised itself up
and thrown itself across a boat, and some
times even across a vessel of some hundred
tons burden, and by its weight has sunk
it down to the bottom. These creatures
shoot through the water iike an arrow out
of a bow. The fishermen usually tack
about, so that if the snake will pursue
them, it must look against the sun, which
its eyes will not bear ; the sailors provide
themselves also with assafoetida and castor,
by way of defence against these hurtful sea
monsters. People have been poisoned with

194
the excrements of the sea-serpent, which are
found floating on the water."
*' Another man saw a snake at a dis
tance, which appeared to be as thick as a
pipe of wine, and had twenty-five folds."
" In those seas (about Bergen) there is
a snake 200 feet long, and 20 feet round,
which lives in the hollows of the rocks, and
goes out in moonlight nights to devour
calves, sheep, and swine. It has a mane
two feet long ; it is covered with scales, and
has fiery eyes ; it disturbs ships, and raises
itself up like a mast, and sometimes snaps
some of the men from the deck."
<•' The kraken is the largest creature in
the world ; its back, or upper part, which
seems to be in appearance about an English
mile and a half in circumference, (some say
more, but I choose the least for the greater
certainty,) looks at first like a number of
small islands, surrounded with something
that floats and fluctuates like seaweeds.

195
It is said that if the creature's arms (ten-
tacula) were to lay hold of the largest man-
of-war, they would pull it down to the bottom.
If the axiom be true, that greatness or little
ness makes no change in the species, then
this kraken must be of the polypus kind,
notwithstanding its enormous size."
The cautious bishop thus concludes :
" If I was an admirer of uncertain reports
and fabulous stories, I might add much
more concerning this and other Norwegian
sea monsters, whose existence I will not
take upon me to deny ; but I do not choose,
by a mixture of uncertain relations, to make
such accounts appear doubtful as I myself
believe to be true and well attested." Pont
oppidan, Natural History of Norway, 1751.
I will only add, by way of relieving the
alarm of those of my countrymen who may
chance in future to sail in these seas, that
I searched in vain for the kraken, both on
the coast and in the fish-market at Bergen.
Having quoted the above high ecclesiastical
o 2

196
authority, I will not fatigue my readers by
repeating the more recent accounts which
have been given in the American news
papers, nor by entering into a long argu
ment as to the probability that these marine
monsters could exist without their being
met with by any of our own numerous
ships, navigating, as they constantly do,
every sea in the known world.
Let each person exercise his own judg
ment on this knotty point ; notwithstanding
all that has been advanced by former tra
vellers, I say, " Credat Judaeus Apella,
" Non ego." *
* I have lately received the following letter from an
intelligent friend at Bergen, and although the infor
mation it conveys is somewhat at variance with what
I have stated, it is interesting, as giving the opinions
entertained, up to the present time, by the well-educated
and best informed persons in Norway respecting these
marine monsters. My own sentiments on the subject,
however, remain unaltered.
" I have consulted " (says my correspondent) " a
gentleman of much learning, and intimate knowledge of
every thing belonging to Norway, Stiftamtmund Chris
tie, whose name is so much connected with the political

197

It being a rainy day we were confined to
the cabin, and had an opportunity of form-

institutions of Norway from the year 1814. I espe
cially asked his opinion about the sea serpent, and he
assured me, that not only do the peasants feel con
vinced of its existence, but that he himself believes
that it exists ; that the bishop of Bergen, a few years
ago, published an article in an antiquarian paper,
which comes out occasionally, by the directors of the
Bergen Museum, containing information in corrobo
ration of this belief ; that the inhabitants of the island
Herroe at Sondmor see the serpent every year for a
couple of months, in summer, whenever the weather is
fine and the sea calm ; and that a very trustworthy
man, in whom Stiftamtmund Christie places confidence,
has assured him of having been pursued or hunted,.
while in a boat with a couple of men, by a sea serpent ;
and, after having run the boat ashore, they saw the
monster winding round several islands, and then dis
appear. With regard to the sea serpent, I must still
add, that in spite of what I have said before, its
existence is doubted by many. What most supports
the doubt of its existence is, that this still continues to
be doubtful, although the attention has been directed
towards it for centuries. Certain it is that the sea
serpent now-a-days is not common. Formerly it was
to be found in almost all lakes ; now it is only talked of
on the coast, and even there not by every body, but
only by the oldest, as a phenomenon of their youth.
It is not long ago since the sea serpent had a rival in
another monster, the kraken ; but this must have been
o 3

198
ing some estimate of the character of our
numerous passengers. With one of them
of a more irritable disposition, having turned its back
to our pigmy world, and gone down to that abyss from
whence he will never return. And the sea serpent
will probably have the same fate, when thought,
which has already unveiled and extinguished so many
phantoms, attains general and acknowledged power.
One might entertain a doubt about the existence of the
sea serpent, if the testimony could be published of only
one trustworthy man in favour of it ; but no, the belief
rests only on tales from ignorant superstitious fishermen.
" On the island Sartor, on the coast west from
Bergen, there is a lake, in which the peasants firmly
believe a monster to exist, though they have no idea
as to its shape or qualities. There is no end to the
superstitions of the peasants in this part of Norway,
and in this respect they remain in statu quo as they
were centuries ago. They are quite different from the
peasants on the other side of the Filefield, and farther
east in Norway, where the costumes have not been
retained as they are here. These vary in almost every
parish, and by the dress it can always be known from
what part of the Bergen Steft the peasants come. The
use of corn brandy is not carried to that extent here
as it is in other parts of Norway. The purity of the
manners increases with the distance from the towns ;
and in some parishes this purity is still so strictly pre
served, that even the custom of females, who have had
children without being married, wearing a peculiar
head dress, has not been done away with. The clergy

199
I had a long conversation in Spanish, a lan
guage with which he was perfectly familiar,

have, of course, a great influence upon the peasants ;
and a conscientious fulfilment of the duties incumbent
upon them, in a legal as well as in a moral sense, is on
that account of more than momentary benefit."
It appears that the belief in the existence of these
sea monsters is not confined to Norwegians, for the
Rev. Donald Maclean, of Small Isles, in a letter ad
dressed to the Wernerian Natural History Society of
Edinburgh, states, " According to the best of my
recollection, I saw it (the monster) in June 1808, not
on the coast of Egg, but on that of Coll. Rowing
along that coast, I observed, at the distance of about
half a mile, an object to windward, which gradually
created astonishment. At first view it appeared like a
small rock. Knowing there was no rock in that situa
tion, I fixed my eyes on it close. Then I saw it
elevated considerably above the level of the sea, and,
after a slow movement, distinctly perceived one of its
eyes. Alarmed at the unusual appearance and magni
tude of the animal, I steered so as to be at no great
distance from the shore. When nearly in aline betwixt
it and the shore, the monster, directing its head,
which still continued above the water, towards us,
plunged violently under water. Certain that he was
in chase of us, we plied hard to get ashore. Just as
we leaped out on a rock* taking a station as high as we
conveniently could, we saw it coming rapidly under
water towards the stern of our boat. When within a
few yards of the boat, finding the water shallow, it
o 4

200
having recently returned from Bilboa, where
he had resided for some time as a mer-

raised its monster head above water, and by a winding
course got, with apparent difficulty, clear of the creek
where our boat lay, and where the monster seemed in
danger of being imbayed. It continued to move off
with its head above water, and with the wind, for about
half a mile, before we lost sight of it. Its head was
rather broad, and of a form somewhat oval ; its neck
somewhat smaller ; its shoulders, if I can so term them,
considerably broader, and thence it tapered towards
the tail, which last it kept pretty low in the water, so
that a view of it could not be taken so distinctly as I
wished. It had no fin that I could perceive, and seemed
to me to move progressively by undulations up and
down. Its length I believed to be from 70 to 80 feet.
When nearest to me it did not raise its head wholly
above water, so that the neck being under water I
could perceive no shining filaments thereon, if it had
any. Its progressive motion under water I took to be
rapid, from the shortness of time it took to come up to
the boat. When the head was above water, its motion
was not near so quick; arid when the head was most
elevated, it appeared evidently to take a view of dis
tant objects. About the time I saw it, it was seen
about the island of Canna. The crews of thirteen
fishing-boats, 1 am told, were so much terrified at its
appearance, that, in a body, they fled from it to the
nearest creek for safety. On the passage from Rum
to Canna, the crew of one boat saw it coming towards
them with the wind, and its head above water. One

201
chant ; but the person who interested me
the most was a priest, a man of considerable
acquirements and much local information.
He spoke French, and had a familiar know
ledge both of Latin and Greek, which lan
guages, he informed me, all Norwegian
students who are intended for the ministry
are required to speak, as well as read, before
they leave the University of Christiania.
Upon inquiring into his history we found
he had originally performed service in the
little church on the borders of the Limingen
Lake, near the Lapp country which we
had recently visited, and had instructed the
people who lived around it. He had a
wife and nine children, one of whom, a
very interesting young woman, was with
him. Although his public duties were
onerous in the extreme, he expressed him-

of the crew pronounced its head as large as a little
boat, and each of its eyes as large as a plate. The
men were much terrified, but the monster offered them
no molestation. From those who saw it, I could get no
interesting particulars additional to those above men
tioned."

202
self as quite satisfied with his lot. He
had three churches to serve ; one, four
Norse miles distant from his residence, to
which he was always obliged to go on
horseback, it being high up in the moun
tains ; to another, which was somewhat
nearer, he could drive in his carriole. His
stipend is about £120 sterling per annum,
upon which he managed to bring up his
large family respectably and well, and to
send to the university his eldest son, who
is intended for the ministry. This kind-
hearted and agreeable man, whose name is
Kragh, showed great hospitality to Mr. Bel-
ton, which he gratefully acknowledges in
his recent work on Norway. Amongst
my new friend's other acquirements he had
a knowledge of music, and sang a good
song, of which we had an opportunity of
judging on the night of our arrival off
Bergen ; he gave us several beautiful na
tional airs in good style, the music of which
I should have been glad to have obtained ;
a large party joined him in the chorus, and
the mirth was kept up till past midnight.

203
I listened to it from my berth, to which I
had retired at an earlier hour. One of the
Englishmen present was called upon to
sing " God save the Queen,'' and after this,
and each of the other songs, the whole
party stood up, and brought their wine
glasses into contact, as was formerly not
unusual in our own country. I parted with
regret from Mr. Kragh, who left us at
Bergen. On taking his leave, after respect
fully bowing to an English widow on board,
whose husband had unfortunately been
drowned by the upsetting of a boat near
Hammerfest, he feelingly and in the most
delicate manner expressed his regret for
the late loss she had met with in his coun
try, and prayed that she might find future
happiness in her own.
We were constrained to remain at Ber
gen during the 11th and 12th of September,
the present arrangement respecting the
progress of the steamers being very defec
tive, as far as expedition is concerned.
Our friend and fellow passenger, Mr. Knudt-

204
zon, kindly acted as our cicerone, and
from his society, not only at Bergen, but
during the voyage, we derived much
pleasure and information.
This city, beautifully situated at the
bottom of a long bay, enclosed on all sides
by rugged and barren rocks, forming nearly
an amphitheatre round the harbour, ranks
with Christiania, Tronjeim, and Christiansand
among the capital s of Norway. Its population
is 22,000 souls ; and its trade, far more con
siderable than that of any other place in
this country, is principally confined to cod
fish, which is sent to Spain and Portugal,
and all parts of the Mediterranean. Her
rings are also caught here in great abund
ance. The houses at Bergen, which are
remarkably neat and nicely painted, extend
round the extremity of its fiord, in the shape
of a horse-shoe. Most of them are built of
wood, but some are of brick, and nearly all
are covered with red tiles. Many of the
buildings are of considerable size, particu
larly the bishop's school, and the seamen's

205
hospital, as well as the residences of the
Austrian and Spanish consuls. The whole
town wears the aspect of opulence, and
offers a great contrast in this respect to
Christiania and Tronjeim. It is bustling
and full of activity ; you encounter both
the sight and the smell of dried fish at
every turn ; the warehouses were full of
the same commodity, and numerous vessels
in the harbour were being laden with it.
The streets are much narrower than those
of Christiania, but equally clean, and many
of them, being on a declivity, are well
washed by the frequent rains which fall
here. The shops are tolerably good, and
over most of them are signs, by which are
indicated the articles sold within. We
passed a watch-box, on which was a vene
rable representation of the genus watchman,
armed with his " morning star," a formida
ble weapon of wood headed with brass, and
loaded with iron, which a few years since
was so vigorously applied to the pericranium
of the Marquis of Waterford, and from the
notice which was taken of that event in the

206
public papers, has since obtained an Euro
pean celebrity.
Cod are taken along the whole of the
north coast ; when dried, a great quantity
is sent, under the name of baccalao, to
various catholic countries. As soon as the
fish are caught, the livers are collected, and
put into barrels, and an oil, superior to the
whale oil, is extracted from them ; the best
quality is used for table lamps. Herrings
are taken within two Norse miles of Bergen,
and a small species of whale frequently
enters the fiord in pursuit of them.
This herring fishery commences in the
month of February, and continues during
the winter.
There are three governors in the city ; an
ecclesiastical one, namely, the bishop,
whose income, as head of the church, is
about £1,000 sterling per annum; a civil,
and a military one. The stipends of the
two latter are £600 a year each. Bergen
returns four members to the storthing.

207
Their election would take place in about a
fortnight's time, and I was informed that
the candidates likely to be successful were
two judges, a merchant, and the gentle
man who is at the head of the principal
scholastic establishment here.
" The government of Norway is a limited
monarchy, hereditary in the male line
of the royal family of Sweden. The king
is irresponsible, and his person inviolate ;
he must conform to the Lutheran religion,
which is that established by law. In the
absence of the king the government is
administered by a viceroy, residing at
Christiania. The executive power belongs
exclusively to the king ; the legislative is
shared by the storthing, or national assem
bly, which meets at Christiania in the
beginning of February of every third year.
Its members are chosen by electors nomi
nated by the burghers and landholders,
and their number may not exceed one hun
dred, nor fall short of seventy-five."* " In
* Encyclopasdia Metropolitana.

208
this house," says Laing, " the lagthing, or
division, is elected by the storthing, which
is equivalent to a house of peers, in
which the deliberative functions of the
legislative body are invested. This con
sists of one fourth of the members of the
storthing, voted for by the whole body,
and forming a separate house. The stor
thing in fact consists of three houses : the
lagthing, of twenty-four members ; the
odelsthing, of seventy-two ; and the entire
storthing, consisting of the whole ninety-
six united in one house."
Many of the most judicious of the Nor
wegians are convinced that this storthing
is too democratic in its construction, and
that the machine, however well it may
work in quiet times, will prove insufficient
in the hour of need. The session of the
storthing does not exceed three months,
and as it takes place only once in every
three years, very injurious delays frequently
occur, in enactments ultimately connected
with the public good. The legislature has

209
jealously excluded all the best and most
intelligent persons from its halls, by dis-^
qualifying every one who is connected with
the court or the government, or who is in
the receipt of any income derived from the
national purse, whether in the shape of
salary or pension, and thus those individuals
who from their position must naturally be
the most conversant with public affairs are
interdicted from all legislative power.
Although some individuals connected with
the church and the law are elected, the de
puties principally consist of yeomen, whose
views, as is common with tillers of the soil,
are somewhat too practical, — somewhat too
economical ; their niggardly votes of sup
plies hamper all local and general improve
ments ; and they have carried measures,
such as the abolition of hereditary distinct
tions, the equal division of property among
children, &c, which, according to our notions,
must sap the very foundations of a limited
monarchy. Of this the Norwegians them
selves are perfectly aware ; but they
contend that the government of Norway is

210
a pure democracy, and that as their country
has been appended to Sweden, without
their consent having been sought or
obtained, the present system of legislature
is the only one which gives them any
chance of maintaining their national inde
pendence. As there is no intermediate
house between themselves and the crown,
and as a bill which has passed a third
storthing becomes a law, without the king's
signature, the crown only possesses a veto
which when twice exercised ceases ; and
there is in fact no barrier whatever, no
protection for the upper classes, or for the
supreme chief. Hitherto, as they have had
peace at home, and no foreign war, things
have gone on smoothly, and the ill-con
structed machine has kept together ; but
should invasion, rebellion, or any power
fully disturbing element arise, to shake the
fabric of society, their system of represen
tation would be exposed to a trial which it
is little fitted to sustain ; in short, the
duration of this ill-devised government
seems very problematical.

211

CHAPTER XII.
A country house. — Mr. Carl Konows. — Trade. —
Taxes. — Cathedral. — Sunday. — Negligence in
the observance of the day. — The castle. - — A
balloon. — Theatres of the town of Bergen. —
Costumes. — Quit Bergen. — Scenery. — Stavanger.
— Cathedral. — The southern extremity of Nor
way. — Gammel Norge. — The west coast of
Norway. — Fellow passengers. — Character of the
country. — Revenue. ¦ — -Poor quality of the soil. —
Forests. — Jealousy between Sweden and Norway.
— Revenue of Norway. — Its poverty. — Vast
property of the king. — Vicissitudes of his life.
— The crown prince. — Scenery of Norway. —
Manners of its inhabitants. — Christiansand. —
The bishop. — Incomes of the clergy. — Their li
mited numbers, — and consequent onerous duties. —
Jews. — Novel boat. — Cathedral at Christiansand.
— Scotch fir. — Church-yard. — Temperance society.
— Route to and from Norway. — Danger of the
steamers. — Passports.
On Sunday the 12th September we break
fasted with Mr. Carl Konow, one of the
principal Bergen merchants, at his country
p 2

212
house, which is beautifully situated on the
borders of the fiord, and close to the water's
edge. 'We also passed the evening with
him, and he gave me much local informa
tion. He was educated in England, and is
a very sensible man ; he is well acquainted
with the Duke of Rutland, who, about six
years since, came to Bergen in his yacht.
Considerable fortunes were formerly made
in this town by the fish trade, which, how
ever, is now more equally divided between
it and other towns on the coast. The only
taxes which fall upon the inhabitants for
the support of the city are a house and an
income tax ; the latter impost, I was in
formed, is as unpopular here as it is in all
other countries. The income arising from
the export duties goes entirely to the
crown. We went to the cathedral, but found it
closed ; and it is not, I think, creditable to
the bishop that service should be only per
formed there once on Sundays. In the

213
edifice itself there is nothing worthy of
remark. We attended service at one of
the parochial churches ; the congregation
did not exceed fifty persons. There is also
a German church here ; but after the morn
ing service the observance of the sabbath
appeared to be at an end. In the evening
all the lower classes of the inhabitants
repaired to the castle, where there was an
exhibition of dancing on the tight-rope,
with a band of music ; but the principal
amusement was the ascent of a wretched
balloon, which just crossed the water and
descended on the other side, amid the
shouts of the people. There is a pretty
walk on the hill, above the ramparts ; it is
tastefully planted with trees, which must
afford a delightful shade during the heat of
summer. Altogether I was pleased with Bergen
during the two days we spent there ; it is a
clean and thriving town, and its excellent
harbour was filled with vessels. The streets
are much better paved than at Tronjeim,
p 3

214
and are lighted by large lamps, hung across
them, as at Paris.
We were much amused in noticing the
costumes of the peasantry, which are almost
as picturesque as those in Switzerland ;
they have been kept up in this part of
Norway, but entirely abandoned both at
Christiania and Tronjeim, which is much to
be regretted. The countrywomen confine
their hair by a narrow scarlet band across
the forehead, and their cloth petticoats
have a border of the same gay colour ; their
figures are somewhat out of the line of
beauty, as they wear no stays, but the
light curly hair of the little girls, plaited,
and hanging down their backs, was very
ornamental. The dress of the fishermen is
also remarkable ; they wear leathern coats,
high sugar-loaf hats, and immense boots,
and their long hair reaches over their
shoulders. We left Bergen on the 13th of September,
and performed our voyage of one hundred

215
miles in about twelve hours, the usual time
allowed for steamers. The weather was
remarkably fine ; but although we saw
several glaciers on the mountains to our
left, the scenery in general was not so bold
as that which we had lately quitted. It
consisted of barren islands, and rocks run-
ling along the coast, where the birch, the
only tree, appeared struggling for life.
During the day we stopped to take in pas
sengers at two small fishing villages, and
in the evening anchored in the port of
Stavanger, where we landed, and enjoyed a
long walk. This town, for its size, has
also a considerable trade in fish; and the
catch of herrings last season was beyond
the usual average. The only object worthy
of record at Stavanger is the cathedral,
which is said to be of an earlier date than
that of Tronjeim, and indeed the oldest in
Norway. It is well preserved, and some
parts of it, particularly the Gothic arches,
and the ceiling at the east end, are in good
taste. The interior is dark and gloomy;
the pulpit and pews are all elaborately
p 4

216
carved in wood ; there are some fine monu
ments, and the whole edifice, both exter
nally and internally, is interesting from its
antiquity. The architecture is a mixture
of Gothic and Saxon, the arched doorways
being of the latter order. We examined
the sacristy and the private chapels used in
popish times. The tower has been partially
whitewashed, and some modern windows
have been barbarously added to the aisle,
which detract sadly from the general effect.
We this day reached the southern extre
mity of Norway, and some students on
board, who were going to the university at
Christiania, drank the health of Gammel
Norge (old Norway), and sung the national
anthem, a general practice on passing this
spot. On the evening of the 14th September
we arrived at Flekkefiord, a very small
town, and on the 15th at Christiansand, the
point from whence we had commenced our
rambles.

217
We had now completed our voyage along
the west coast of Norway, and had seen to
great advantage the magnificent views with
which it abounds, the weather having in
general been very^ favourable to us. The
steamer was crowded with passengers, every
berth occupied, and some hammocks swung
in the cabin at night ; there was, however,
no confusion, the arrangement throughout
the vessel having been excellent ; and I
found the society of the persons with whom
I conversed very agreeable and lively.
There were several elegant Norwegian
ladies on board, but with them, unfortu
nately, we could scarcely exchange a word.
I never remember seven days on board ship
passing so rapidly as these ; and with Shak-
speare and Cowper as my companions, in
addition to the society I have already men
tioned, I did not find a moment hang
heavily on my hands, for the beauty of this
rocky scenery never flags, and even its bar
renness was interesting, as contrasted so
strongly with the woody region which we
had so lately quitted beyond Tronjeim.

218
; The fir tree has been quaintly, but truly,
said "to grow as naturally in Norway as
hairs on a man's head*;" but the great
characteristics of this country are rivers,
rocks, fiords, fosses (waterfalls), and moun
tains, and such being the case, it naturally
follows that it must be a very poor country.
Indeed its whole revenue does not exceed
that of one or two of our most opulent
English noblemen, namely, about ^350,000
sterling per annum. The bold and rocky
part of Norway is intersected by deep
fiords, which extend from fifty to eighty
miles inland, and abound in fish, which is
the chief food of the inhabitants, who are a
hardy race of people, and excellent sea
men. More . than three fourths of Norway
are unfit for cultivation, except in a few
sheltered places in the narrow vallies be
tween the masses of rock. The forests are
inexhaustible, and constitute the chief
* There are two species, the Scotch fir (pinus sylves-
tris) and the spruce (pinus abies), but the latter is by
far the most common, and may be called the weed of
the country. We saw very few larch (larix Europcea).

219
wealth of the country. Its exported timber
goes principally to Great Britain.
We were now about to touch upon Swe
den, at Gottenburgh, and, in illustration of
the great jealousy which always exists
between nations immediately bordering on
each other, an intelligent friend mentioned
the following singular fact. Up to the
year 1814, the period at which the federal
union was established between the two
countries, there was not a single instance
of a Norwegian woman having married a
Swede, but since that time several Swedes
have been united to Norse females.
The revenue of Norway is larger than
its expenditure ; not so that of Sweden,
whose exchequer has more than once been
in a state of bankruptcy, notwithstanding
its receipts are much greater in amount
than those of Norway. The king's private
income is said to be immense ; and I was
informed, upon good authority, that at the.

220
time of the marriage of his eldest son,
Oscar, it was ascertained to amount to a
million sterling ; how he came possessed of
it is another affair. Carl Johan is now in
his seventy-sixth year, but does not appear
disposed to abdicate in favour of the crown
prince. We are told that Stockholm is a
dull court, and that the aged monarch
remains in bed till four o'clock in the after
noon, and transacts most of his public busi
ness there. This extraordinary man must be
considered as among the ablest of the kings
of Europe, for, surely, when we reflect what
he formerly was, a common soldier in the
French army, and what he now is, a reign
ing monarch, with his dynasty to all ap
pearance firmly estabhshed, we cannot but
allow that he has evinced great tact and
judgment, and forms a worthy colleague to
his shrewd countryman, Louis Philippe.
Oscar, the Crown Prince of Norway, is very
popular ; he has a large family, and is gene
rally represented as being not only amiable,
but also a man of considerable talent and

221
literary acquirement. He has recently pub
lished a work on prison discipline.
Norway has been accurately and forcibly
described as a country which stands pre
eminent in attraction, by the combination
of so many grand objects ; large mountains,
large rivers, large forests may all be found
separately in other countries ; here alone are
they to be seen united, and in profusion.
It is not one mountain, or one great cluster
of lofty rocks, that we pass in the course of
a day's journey ; there are miles beyond
miles of rock and mountain stretching away
till fancy flags in attempting to follow them,
— an entire kingdom of grandeurs ! The
forests are endless ; not broken woods, but
whole regions of pines, where you may
travel for days, and still find nothing but
wood, wood, wood. The very solitude is
deeper, more impressive than that of any
other country. How voiceless, how awful
is the silence of these retreats ! The
listener is appalled when he rests for a
moment in the midst of it — The small cry

222
of the smallest bird would be a relief'
" Those who go to see this country will never
repent the time they spent in it.*
The account which Pennant also gives
of this country is so graphic and true, that
I am tempted to transcribe it. " Norway"
(he says) "extends about 1,500 miles in
length, and exhibits a most wonderful
appearance of coast. Millions of islands,
large and small, skerries or rocks, follow
the greatest part of this wondrous coast.
The islands are rude and mountainous.
The sea near the islands is so deep and
rocky that the Norwegian kings caused
vast iron rings to be fastened with lead to
the sides, to enable ships to moor in security,
or to assist them in warping out. The
mountains and islands break into very
grotesque forms, and would furnish admira
ble subjects for the pencil. Not to
mention the tops of many, broken into
imaginary forms of towers, and Gothic
* Bremner's Excursions in Norway, &c.

223
edifices/ forts and castles, with regular
Walls and bastions. It is the sea that
yields them a harvest, and near to it stand
all the capital towns. The herring, the
cod, the ling, and the salmon are the
maritime wealth of this country. The
severity of the climate has not checked
the growth or distorted the human form.
Man here is tall, robust, of just symmetry
in limbs. The male peasants of the moun
tains are active in body, clear and intelli
gent in their minds."
This interesting country I was now about
to quit, after a tour, which, from its novelty
and excitement, will ever leave a vivid and
pleasurable impression on my mind. Much
as I was delighted with its scenery, I was
no less so with the free, open, and unsophis
ticated manners, the simple mindedness and
honesty of its inhabitants.
Christiansand, where we were detained
from the 16th to the 20th of September,
waiting for the English steamer to convey

224
us to Gottenburgh, is a quiet and dull city,
the seat of a bishop, and containing upwards
of 5,000 inhabitants ; but there is so little
commercial activity or opulence here at
the present time, that it is said not more
than five families possess an income of as
many hundred pounds sterling each. The
bishop died recently, and the election of
his successor took place only six weeks
since. He is said to be well qualified for his
office, is in the prime of life (about forty
years of age), and has been more than once
elected a member of the storthing. At
this time he was absent from Christiansand,
on a progress through his diocese, to
inspect the schools, and perform his other
public duties. There is a bishop in each
of the four provinces of Norway, Tronjeim,
Bergen, Aggerhuus (or Christiania), and
Christiansand, and their incomes are from
£800 to £1,000 sterling per annum each,
whilst the stipend of the inferior clergy is
from £150 to £250 sterling each. No
other profession in this country is so well
paid. I should say that one of the principal

225
defects of their church establishment is the
small number of clergymen. Those whom
we met complained to us of the onerous
duties they had to fulfil, in consequence of
the great distance between the different
churches which they serve, and the long
and fatiguing journies they had to make,
across the mountains, in all seasons of the
year, and in every kind of weather. The
result (and it must be most detrimen
tal to the progress of religion) is, that
service is only performed occasionally ; in
some parishes about Ekker once a month,
and in others which are more remote only
twice a year.
Jews are not allowed to reside in any
part of Norway ; and I could not but
feel that this want of religious toleration
is not only illiberal, but totally incon
sistent with that boasted liberty and inde
pendence in which the Norwegians consider
themselves superior to all the rest of the
world, but how often does practice belie
the most specious theories !
Q

226
We noticed here a novel substitute for a
boat, in which many of the natives crossed
the harbour. It consisted of two planks,
about six feet long each, and fastened
together by a plate of iron at each end,
with a space of about eighteen inches
between the planks. The adventurous indi
vidual who trusted himself to this fragile
machine had to stand with one foot on each
plank. Bending rather forward, he paddled
along with a pole, at each end of which was
a flat round piece of wood, and went at a
good rate.
On Sunday I attended the morning ser
vice at the cathedral. There is the same
want of energy and zeal here as at Bergen,
service being only once performed on the
Lord's day. The cathedral is plain and
neat, without having any thing remarkable
about it, either externally or internally.
After the sermon, many children of both
sexes were confirmed by the provst, or
rural dean, who first made an extempore
address to them of an hour's length, and

227
then questioned them separately. I sat in
one of the pews, forming a kind of gallery,
which, from its unsightly shape, entirely
destroys, in this as it does in most other
churches in Norway, all architectural effect
and beauty. The watchmen, as they are
here called, but whom we should term
beadles, as well as the soldiers, remain
during the service with their caps on. In
the churchyard is a Scotch fir of great
antiquity, which escaped the ravages of the
fire which consumed the church itself two
centuries ago. This tree, accompanied by the
lion of Norway, is represented in the brass
vane which surmounts the tower, and also
is the stamp used on all public documents.
Many of the graves around the church are
prettily adorned with periwinkle, which
entirely covers the green sward. One tomb
in particular was ornamented with various
flowers, which were quite fresh, and had
evidently been strewed over it that morn
ing ; no doubt a tribute of affection from
the relatives or friends of the deceased. Not
a weed was to be seen ; and two dwarf ash
q 2

228
trees were so trained as to shade the whole.
The sabbath is very little more observed
here than in Roman catholic countries. In
the morning we saw two officers going out
shooting ; and in the evening a sailor, to
whom we wished to speak, was at a public
dance, and at last came to us quite in
toxicated. Drunkenness, as I have before
remarked, is the prevailing vice of Nor
way; but I was glad to hear there are at
present no less than 700 members belong
ing to the " Temperance Society," which
was established in this town a few years
since. I have already stated that we embarked
for Norway from Hull, and landed at Chris
tiansand, and this is certainly the easiest
and best way ; but as the steamers are of
small size, the traffic between the two
countries not being considerable, and are
also somewhat aged, I should advise the
tourist to return to England, as we did, via,
Hamburg, by which means he will not
only see the fine Danish capital, but also be

229
conveyed to his native shores by some one
of the best boats in Europe. There is
always a certain swell on the turbulent
North Sea (or German Ocean), and as the
period of the equinox approaches, the steam
ers which ply between Norway and Hull
are little suited to withstand the gales
which they have to encounter. Whilst I
was at Christiansand one of these vessels
had a very bad passage, and was detained
there to repair the injuries her machinery
had sustained ; and our friends, who re
turned a fortnight later than we did, had to
contend against a storm during the whole
of their four days passage ; some of the
cabins on deck were washed overboard, a
paddle-box was stove in, and one of the
sailors was much injured.
Notwithstanding what other travellers
have stated respecting the annoyance aris
ing from the regulations regarding pass
ports in this country, I think it right to
say that we did not bring any from Eng-
q 3

230
land, nor did we procure them in Norway
till we were about to leave Tronjeim on
our way home. On no occasion were they
inquired for. It was my intention to have
extended my tour to the glaciers and
through the central parts of Norway ; but
circumstances which I could not control
prevented my so doing. The kindness of
the Honourable Francis Scott has enabled
me to supply this deficiency ; he has fa
voured me with a perusal of the lively and
most graphic journal which he kept during
his excursions in those rarely-visited dis
tricts, a privilege which it is to be hoped
he will some day permit the public to
enjoy.

231

CHAPTER XIII.
Route to Bergen. — Picturesque and rocky scenery. —
Vivid colouring of the Norway landscapes. — Burn
ing forest. — Brooten. — Norwegian horses. — Diffi
culties of the route. — Glacier. — Perilous ascent. —
Magnificent view. — Comfortable quarters. — Bear
skin. — Mr. Leigh. — The Sogne Fiord. — ¦ Falls.
— Beautiful scene. — Costumes. — Inn. — Attacked
by banditti. — Beigen. — Luther and John Huss.
— Museum — Old picture. — Start for the Har-
danger. — Forests. — Hurricanes. — Various modes
of travelling. — Practise as a doctor. — Good
intentions. ¦ — Glacier of the Folgefonde. — Ascent of
the height of Hardanger. — Provost Hertzberg. —
Singular effects of a tempest. — The Voringfoss or
waterfall. — Course of the river. — Frail bridge. —
Phosphoric appearance of the sea. — Comic tragedy.
A wandering whale. — Whales no longer considered
safe anchorage.
September 22d. — Leaving the Christiania
road at Laurgaard I travelled westward to
Bergen. The route led through the wildest
part of Norway, and a great portion of it
was impassable for carriages. My course
Q 4

232
was up a narrow valley, the mountainous
and rocky sides of which were clad with
pine trees, which grew where one would
have thought that no tree could have in
serted a root or fibre, many of them throw
ing their branches over a small lake. I
shall not easily forget the beauty of this
secluded valley. I have often observed in
the most mountainous parts of Norway the
extreme depth of the shadows which are
cast by the dark rocks and steep acclivities,
contrasting strongly with the bright gleams
of sunshine partially thrown athwart the
sides of the hills. The vivid effect of
colouring which results from this exceeded
any thing I had ever before seen in nature,
and proved the truth of Robson's colouring,
which I had always before considered to be
extravagant. Here a rapid stream, issuing
from a lake overhung by rocky hills, and
winding amid numerous green islands
clothed with alders, and bordered by heights
studded with fine birch and other forest
trees, a hamlet and church, half seen
amidst the trees, with lofty hills and moun-

233
tains rising in the distance, formed a varied
and picturesque landscape of singular
beauty. Having parted with my carriage,
which could be no longer useful, I pro
ceeded on by the lake of Vaage to Skiager,
and not by the light of the moon only, for
the forest on my right had taken fire
two or three days before, through the care
lessness of a person who had burnt some
moss. The flames were spreading far and
(vide, and blazed in a terrific manner. It
;vas a splendid sight ; and if the wind had
continued it was evident that no human
power could have arrested its progress.
By its light I went to bed, if the berth
which I occupied in a hut could be called a
bed, and I arose before day-break. The
flames were still raging and the timber
crackling at a little distance, whilst a dense
volume of smoke rolled along the hill and
enveloped the whole forest. Leaving the
poor peasants, who were in a state of.no
small dismay, I proceeded through the
wood, with a devouring fire burning behind

234
me, and the dreadful evidence of a former
one in front of my path. The forest track
was strewed with the decaying trunks of
huge trees, partially destroyed by fire some
years since, which lay scattered beneath
the growth of a younger forest, while here
and there a blackened trunk stood, a melan
choly and sickly evidence of the ravages
which had destroyed its contemporaries.
Beyond this scene of conflagration was the
village of Brooten, where I got fresh horses
and a guide, and continued my route along
the same valley to the Lia Lake, where the
scenery became still wilder and more
grand, the rocks more rugged, the snow-
capp'd mountains higher and nearer to me,
the vegetation more scanty, and the path
among the rocks and through the woods
more difficult and laborious. I again passed
the night in a hut, and the next morning at
day-break continued my journey in spite of
the rain and mist, the horses, which, by the
bye, are the cleverest and most docile little

235
creatures imaginable*, scrambling through
the tangled wood, and over the fallen trees
which lay around, and over much rocky
and boggy ground, to the head of the Lia
Lake, where the waters are gathered toge
ther from the snowy mountains before they
take a southerly course to the Miosen
* I cannot forbear adding my testimony in favour
of these useful and active animals. It is quite asto
nishing at how rapid a rate these pretty little cream-
coloured ponies scamper over the steepest and
roughest roads, and trot down the most precipitous
descents with perfect ease and confidence ; the tighten
ing of the rein producing no other effect than to make
them go the faster. They scarcely ever make a false
step, and throughout all our journey I only saw
one knee which was marked. They are the most
docile and tractable animals in the world, and attend
to their owner's voice far more than to the reins or
whip in the hands of the traveller, who, according to
the custom of the country, drives himself, and the
owners of the horses, who are exceedingly attached
to them, either accompany them or send a lad to
bring them home again ;' and almost the only time
that I saw a Norwegian peasant really out of temper,
was when he fancied his horse had been ill used. I
regret to say that the conduct of some English tra
vellers has rather injured our character for humanity
in the estimation of the primitive Norwegian horse-
dealers.

236
Soe and the Christiania Fiord. It is almost
impossible to give an idea of the difficulty
which I experienced in surmounting the
chain of mountains which divides the course
of the rivers west and south. My guide
had never before travelled this road with a
horse, indeed he was totally unacquainted
with the greater part of it, having only
been once or twice on the hills in search of
wild rein-deer, which are here very common.
Our difficulties and dangers were also
greatly increased by the rapid melting of
the ice and snow ; and when we had ac
complished half our task the only prac
ticable mode of proceeding appeared to be
over the face of a steep glacier. My ser
vant led his horse up, whilst I and the
guide, slipping and scrambling at every
step, attempted to follow ; but my pony
soon came down again, and falling against
the animal which carried the luggage, up
set him, and away rolled both the horses
to the bottom, where they were stopped by
a mass of rock, and had not the rein-deers
horns, which were on the top of the luggage,

237
broken the fall, considerable injury, if not
death, must have ensued ; as it happened,
however, they were only bruised and
scratched. My servant, after he had
reached to a considerable height, found he
could advance no further, as the rifts
in the rock and ice were impassable ; the
only thing therefore which he could do
was to retrace his steps down the shppery
descent. The horse, moreover, was so
much frightened that for some time he
could not move, but stood trembling; at
length we turned him towards the hill of
ice, down which he slid on his haunches
at a tremendous pace, and much to my
joy, reached the bottom in safety. After
some time we discovered, not a path,
but some openings through the rocks, by
which it might be possible to climb the
mountain ; our horses fell sometimes, and
at others either got their legs in a hole, or
fixed them between the large stones ; at
length, however, we surmounted all these
obstacles, and arrived at the summit.
Never can I forget the view that then

238
burst upon us ; I can only compare it to
some of the wildest I have seen of Lapland
or Siberia, but it was still wilder and more
desolate than those. A precipitous rock,
or rather an abrupt mountain side, sunk
beneath me, and far below on my right
was a wide sea-green lake, bordered by
snowy ridges and peaks which overhung its
waters ; and a cluster of small specks in the
distance, which my guide told me were
a herd of rein-deer, added interest to
the scene. In front rose the Ludalscope,
the loftiest mountain of the range, to a
height of many thousand feet, between
which and the point where I stood was a
ravine filled by a huge glacier, and on
my left was the vale of Justedal. The
stream which rushes through it issues by
a cataract from the lake which is, I believe,
called Stug Soe. My way was through
this valley, and it was a sufficiently difficult
one. Night was coming on apace when I
reached the celebrated glacier of Justedal
Myelvar Brcee, and as our horses were
completely jaded, I fully expected that we

239
must have bivouacked for the night in the
woods ; which, after such a day's work,
would have been any thing but agreeable.
At length we determined that the guide
and I should urge our tired ponies, whilst
my servant proceeded on foot with all the
speed he could along an intricate path
which was hardly discernible in the twi
light, in order to discover, if possible, some
habitation in the valley. We followed
by the side of the river, and for some time
I thought we had lost all trace of him, and
that we were benighted in earnest. How
ever, after a while I heard him shouting to
the full extent of his lungs ; we answered
him, and after a lengthened interchange
of signals we at last rejoined him close to
a peasant's hut which he had fallen in with,
and to my infinite joy and relief I was soon
seated before a blazing fire with a group
of wild mountaineers standing around, and
gazing at me with astonishment ; here I
dried my clothes, and after a good supper
of boiled milk mixed with the rice I had
brought with me, slept soundly on the

240
boards, with no other covering than a
couple of skins.
At this cottage I purchased a bear's skin
for eleven dollars ; the animal to which it
belonged had only been shot a few days
before, close to the glacier by which I
passed. September 25th. My journey to-day was
very short, only seven English miles, to the
house of the priest of Justedal, M. Leigh,
to whose lady I had brought a letter of
introduction from a young Norwegian lieu
tenant who had accompanied me during a
part of my journey. The worthy pastor
pressed me to delay my departure until
the morrow, the distance to the next posting
station being 21 miles, the hour late,
and the rain falling in torrents. I was not
long in complying with his request, and
had no reason to regret doing so, for I
never slept under a more hospitable roof, or
experienced greater attention and kindness;
Our conversation was more edifying than

241
animated, as the whole of it was carried on
in Latin, the only language common to
both. On the following morning I was
awoke by my host, who, as he entered my
room smoking his pipe, uttered the follow
ing words, which carried me back at once
to my school-boy days, ' Jam tempus est
surgendi, sexta advenit hora !' after a
hearty breakfast, seasoned with much simi
lar latinity, I continued my route, loaded
with presents of cheese, &c. from the kind
lady of the hou se.
Having reached the end of the valley of
Justedal, I took boat at Marefiere, and
proceeded along the Sogne Fiord to Leir-
dalsoren. The views during the passage
are extremely fine, the hills on either side
being abrupt and lofty. The next day I
hired a boat with three men, and reached
Gudvangsoren, a distance of twenty-eight
English miles ; from Gudvangsoren to
Stalem my course lay up a ravine, through
which ran a rapid and foaming river, the
character of which continues unchanged till
R

242
it meets the sea ; at length the glen ends
abruptly, and the waters of two rivers fall
over precipitous rocks, and join each other
near their base. The names of these two
cataracts are Stalem and Sibelem, and,
though I have seen larger bodies of water,
yet the wild scenery of the rocks, clothed
with birch and pine, the high and naked
mountains, of the boldest forms, and with
their summits covered with snow, formed
altogether a picture more sternly beautiful
than any I had ever before beheld. The
view up the glen embraces from the same
spot these two magnificent waterfalls, which
rush into the stream below with a thunder
ing noise, and form a cloud of spray. The
bridge where the streams meet, the road
winding up the face of the rocky hill
between them, and the cottages perched on
a green space above, would form a beautiful
subject for an artist. An old man, who was
fishing in the stream below, had just caught
a salmon of about three pounds, with no
better tackle than a stick, string, hook, and
worm, but he asked me a higher price for

243
it than I was disposed to give ; I was after
wards sorry I had not purchased it, for food
on the roads in Norway is not as plentiful
as blackberries ; however, I obtained a
couple of cheeses and some butter at the
next hamlet. I procured also, the costume
of a peasant girl at Stalem ; red is the general
colour of the boddice, which is trimmed
with velvet or green cloth ; tin ornaments
are worn round the neck, and a knife some
times in the girdle ; the hair is braided with
ribbon, and hangs in two long tails over the
shoulders, whilst the head is covered with
a starched linen cap, singularly shaped ; a
leather jacket very often completes the
dress. The men wear their h'air long,
hanging over their shoulders from under a
hat or a red cap ; their waistcoats are, for
the most part, red, trimmed with blue or
green, the button holes being embroidered.
You frequently see two or three bright
colours bordered with another equally gay.
Their coats and nether garments are of
leather, and they wear large buckles in
their shoes ; but it is no easy task to
r 2

244
describe the costume of the peasantry, its
varieties are endless, and there is nothing
more striking than the strange assortment
of dresses which are seen in a town on a
market or fair day ; this I remarked parti
cularly at Lierdalsoren, through which I
passed on the day of a great fair, which lasts
a week, and to which the peasantry come
from a distance of 100 English miles to buy
cloth, dried fish, tobacco, &e, and also to
drink brandy with astonishing perseverance.
Some of the costumes reminded me of
those in the Tyrol and in Russia, whilst
others resembled the dress in which the
English and French are represented in old
pictures of the early part of the last
century. I walked from Stalem to Vinjie, along
the edge of the Oopheim Vand, and from
thence to Vossevangen. As I approached
the Voss Lake the country became gradu
ally less wild, the mountains less abrupt,
and there was a greater appearance of cul
tivation and comfort. I had stopped at

245
Vossevangen because I had been informed
it was the most comfortable inn on the road,
but such it certainly did not prove, for I had
not been two hours in bed before the insect
garrison fairly dislodged me, and I was
obliged to get up and dress, and retreat to
the table, on which I dozed out the re
mainder of the night, wrapt up in my great
coat. 30th September. I started early on a
fine clear morning, such as frequently
succeeds stormy weather when the sky has
been cleared by a tempest. The grey mist
was slowly rising from the lake, and rolling
lazily up the mountain sides before the sun,
and disclosing the surface of the water as
pure as crystal, and undisturbed by a
breath of wind ; it reflected the sky and all
the surrounding scenery as vividly as a
mirror. The sloping sides of the hills
which bounded the lake consisted of fields
well cultivated, and of pasture lands
stocked with cattle. The scenery recalled
to my mind the picturesque beauties of
r 3

246
Coniston Water, and the lakes of tl>e north
of England. This beautiful road continued
for about twelve or fourteen miles, skirting
a succession of lakes or rivers, the waters
widening or contracting according to the
extent of the passage through the rocks.
Partly by water and partly by land I pro
ceeded to Bolstadoren, where I hired a boat
and three men to row me along the fiord
to Bergen, a distance of forty-two English
miles. For the first twenty miles after
leaving Bolstadoren the fiord is more like
a succession of small lakes than an arm of
the sea, and has all the characteristic fea
tures peculiar to Norway. It winds along
between lofty and rocky hills, which meet
the water at right angles, and raise their
partially wooded sides and naked summits
to a great height. As you proceed, these
bills one after another close in the view ;
sometimes projecting as though no passage
could be found between, and then widening
and disclosing an extensive sheet of water,
into which many white and foaming torrents
fall precipitously down the mountain side,

247
each in a single column. The whole scene
was one of wild and solitary grandeur.
Nearer Bergen the fiord widens, the hills,
though equally rocky, are less lofty, and
receding from the shore leave space for a
considerable quantity of pasture land around
the town.
Bergen has some fine churches, of Gothic
architecture ; but the town has been so
often injured by fire, that little ancient
building, except the mere foundations,
exists at present. The only one which is
in any degree ornamented in the interior is
the German church, a fine old building,
with so many curious pictures, and so much
carving and gilding, as to resemble a Roman
catholic church. There is an old portrait
of Martin Luther, in his doctor's robes,
with a goose by his side, which alludes to
John Huss, the great Bohemian reformer
(his name signifying goose, in the language
of that country), who exclaimed at his
execution, " They are now going to broil a
goose, but within one hundred years they
r 4

248
shall hear a swan sing who will live in spite
of them all."
I was introduced to Mr. Christie, a highly
accomplished man. He showed me the mu
seum; of which, at its first establishment, he
had been the chief promoter, and is now one
of the directors. There are many curious and
valuable pieces of antiquity collected here,
which have been found in tumuh, chiefly in
the neighbourhood of Vosse ; they consist
of pieces of armour, sepulchral urns of talc
and brass, heads of spears and hammers
used before metal was in use, a part of. a
model of a ship, also found in a tomb.
There are also specimens of bits for horses,
rings, cross-bows, firelocks, &c. There are
above 3,000 coins, commencing from Hacon
Edelredste, in the middle of the tenth
century, called Edelredste because edu
cated under the eye of Ethelred king of Eng
land, at whose court he had long resided,
and several coins, I understood, of Harold
Haarfager (the fair-haired), about the year
1020. The department of natural history

249
is as yet very imperfect, and the entire
space allotted for the museum is far too
small. There is also one very remarkable
painting found in an old church near Ber
gen. It is of the eleventh century, the date
being shown by the inscription round each
of the eight compartments, into which the
whole is divided. These compartments
represent the Persian king Chosroes carry
ing off the holy cross from Jerusalem ; the
emperor Heraclius attacking and slaying him,
recovering the cross, and replacing it on the
altar, at which the dead are raised up from
the tombs beneath. The colours are very
vivid, and the whole forms a strange mixture
of apocryphal history and popish legends.
I started at six o'clock on a fine sunny
morning on an excursion to the Hardanger,
and drove three Norse, 21 English miles,
without halting, and a very beautiful drive
it was. The road passed through a very
wild mountainous country, and on approach
ing the sea at Hertrujen a glorious view
opened upon my sight. The road wound

250
along the side of the hill, amid forest trees
of every description ; but birch, ash, hazel,
mountain ash, and alder, chiefly prevailed.
They clung to every crevice of the rocks,
while pines clothed the summits, and over
hung the crags ; and every now and then
extensive views of the various arms of the
sea which intersect this wild country, were
spread before me ; and sometimes I came
upon a small tarn or mountain lake, into
which a hundred petty streams hurried,
brawling down the rocks, and falling in
white columns of foam into the still water,
where reposing as it were for a while they
gather greater force to continue their
course to the sea. Here too the sea itself
changes its character and appearance, and
adapts itself to the singularly wild and
beautiful scenery which surrounds it, often
appearing, when seen from the summit of
some lofty mountain, as a succession of
lakes with no visible communication be
tween them, the narrow openings in the
rocks which afford a passage for the tide
being frequently invisible until you are

251
near them. But at times the sea asserts
her own dignity, and rises in waves of
dreadful violence, and indeed the huricanes
which not unfrequently visit these valleys
are very dangerous to those who happen
to be in boats upon the fiords when they
occur. My journey on Tuesday from
Bergen to the house of the clergyman
(Mr. Hammer) at Strandebarm was per
formed for the first three miles, to Heloyer,
in a carriole, then over the fiord to Opstad,
afterwards on horseback across a hill to
Serwold, which commands a fine view,
thence to Shagstad by sea, again by one
lake to Aza, and by another to Ovre and
Boldstadoren, along the Hollansdal ; I
then walked with my guide one mile over
a rocky hill, named Bergsenden, by a very
difficult path, to Strandebarm, being pro
bably as many changes of locomotive power
as ever occurred to a traveller in a single
day. At Strandebarm my letter from
C. Konow procured me a hearty welcome
and a good night's lodging. The following
morning I went out to look after the fish,

252
and missed a salmon with a leister. I then
put myself in a boat for Jonsdal, two miles
from which I shot a duck or two, besides an
eider fowl, the latter I could not get.
Here two horses were in attendance to take
us up Korsdal to Copperen, where I slept
in a peasant's house. The simple moun
taineer beneath whose roof I rested, believ
ing, like the orientals, that no one can be
educated without possessing a knowledge of
medicine, told me with much concern, that a
friend and relative of his in the village was
dangerously ill, and actually insisted on my
going to see him before I started. I did so,
and his whole family followed me anxiously
to the house, expecting^great things from my
prescriptions. I saw the poor man miserably
attenuated, and stretched upon a hard pallet,
from which I fear he was destined never to
rise again, I did what little I could ; I
left my loaf of wheaten bread, a luxury
they never tasted, and a portion of the tea
which I carried in a small leathern pouch;
and bade them apply soothing fomen
tations to ease his sufferings ; I knew this

253
could do no harm at all events. I left the
poor folks, tears of gratitude streaming
from their eyes, and their tongues eloquent
in my praise, which I grieved to think I
had so little deserved. Indeed my feeling
at the time was one of deep regret, that
while I had bestowed so many hours on
useless acquirements, and thrown away en
tirely a still greater number, I had devoted
none to that art which might have taught me
to alleviate the sufferings of my fellow
creatures. At the moment I firmly resolved
that when I reached home, I would go
through a course of study that might enable
me to assist the distressed ; but alas ! this
determination was soon forgotten. For the
honour of my countrymen, I am happy to
say that there is now in Norway an English
medical gentleman who devotes his whole
time gratuitously to heal the sick.
From Copperen I proceeded on foot
over the heights of Hardanger, and past the
glaciers of the Folgefonde, which are very
extensive, and reaching, as I was informed,

254
from east to south-west, about fifty miles,
with a breadth of nearly ten miles. The
view from the summit of Clipsax was mag
nificent. Beneath me was a lake bounded
on all sides either by glaciers which over
hung and stretched into it, or by naked
ridges of bare rock, which protruded
through their snowy mantle. The lake was
partially frozen, and here and there lay
huge masses of ice (they might almost be
termed icebergs) which had been severed
from the surrounding glaciers. The whole
required only some wild swans and white
bears to complete the arctic scene. A white
hare was there, but whether she contained a
Lapland witch or not I cannot positively
assert ; certain, however, it is, that both
the charges of my double-barrelled gun
were directed against her head in vain, and
away she skipped in a most awful manner,
while I marched on towards another lake,
and thence down to the fiord at Blei. My
ascent to the height of Hardanger was not
only painfully fatiguing, but someWhat
perilous, and certainly would not do for

255
those who have not a steady head and a
firm foot. I climbed up nearly perpen
dicular rocks, with sometimes but very
slight projections upon which to rest the
feet, and over places which at a distance
appeared impracticable ; and
" Where oft the foot was fain
Assistance from the hand to gain."
Labouring onwards, sometimes among
rocks, and sometimes over slippery ice and
snow, I at length attained a height of about
5,000 feet. After resting on the summit
for some time, I commenced the descent,
which was nearly as fatiguing as the ascent
had been, for the path was so steep in
many places that it was necessary to cut
steps to receive the feet. Descending thus
for upwards of 4,000 feet, I came to the sea
at Blei. I was often surprised in reaching
a spot from whence I could espy some
rivulet which fell down the rocks, to find
that so small a stream had occasioned such
a tremendous noise as I had at times heard
for a great distance before the cause was

256
visible ; but the echop-regnant hollows
which the streams have worn reverberate
and increase the sound.
From this place a boat took me to
Ullensvang, where I found the good Provst
Hertzberg, of whom I had heard so much,
and who certainly is a very extraordinary
man. He is 73 years of age, but ap
pears 20 years younger, and is the father of
a child four years old ; he said he had
within a short time bathed in the sea, and
swam some distance, which at his time of
life is somewhat remarkable. He ranks
high amongst the persons most distinguished
in Norway for science and general know
ledge, and is one of the most agreeable men
I ever saw, full of animation and mirth, and
withal truly good and hospitable,
" Crnda (Deo) viridisque senectus."
He had never tampered with his consti
tution amid the vices and luxuries of the
over-crowded city.
October 7th. The provst showed me a
remarkable instance of the effect of a

257
hurricane which passed along the valley in
1804. It lifted a heavy grave-stone full
six feet long and four wide, threw it some
distance, and dashed it into several pieces.
The same tempest unroofed and threw
down several buildings. My host's room
is hung with many curious drawings exe
cuted by himself of the scenery around,
and of the antiquities at Angvaldras, where
stand the ruins of a church built by Hacon
Haconson, and the grave-stones of five
kiemper, besides seven tumuli, in which
pieces of woollen clothing have been
found. Farewell to Ullensvang, and farewell to
the worthy old Provst and his amiable family.
This good and respectable man has under
taken to support the children of his brother,
who is lately dead ; his heart, indeed, ap
pears to overflow with all the kinder feel
ings, and some beautiful prayers which he
has composed in Latin appeared to me as
touching and impressive as any I had ever
read.

258
I bathed this morning for the second
time in the Fiord, and after a substantial
breakfast, set off in a boat with three
rowers to the Voringfoss, the height of
which the Provst tells me is between 700
and 800 Norse feet. It certainly is one of
the grandest waterfalls I ever beheld, and
is placed amidst scenery which is actually
terrific. For nearly an English mile before
I reached the cataract, my trackless way
lay across a barren moorland heath, where
birch and stunted firs occasionally disputed
the lonely superiority of the heather, and
in some degree relieved the uniform mono
tony and desolation of the scene. The eye
receives no intimation of the vicinity of the
fall, which is perhaps the loftiest in Europe ;
and were it not for the tremendous roar of
the falling water, the traveller would have
no idea whatever of his approach to any river
until he reaches the very brink of the pre
cipice which overhangs the cataract, so
deeply has the mountain torrent worn its
bed amidst the hollow rocks. But when at
length the verge of the chasm is attained,

259
then indeed the sight breaks suddenly upon
him in all its lonely sublimity. Three or
four ragged pines cling to the scanty cover
ing of soil which barely conceals the rock :
beneath one of these I stood, and looked
down nearly a thousand feet into the' abyss
below me, into which a foaming column of
water, of the colour of the snow from
which it derives its source, was plunging
with a deafening and appalling noise, and
raging in the turbulent pool beneath, rose
again in clouds of white spray, to the height
of many hundred feet, bedewing the rocks
on either side the chasm with a ceaseless
shower. I can imagine few moments of more
awful sensation than those during which
the spectator stands leaning over such a
cliff, and gazing into the dark ravine down
which so vast a body of water is thundering
with impetuous violence.
Leaving the Voringfoss and the scanty
stream near it, which, gliding like a silvery
s 2

260
thread down the face of the opposite rock,
forms a striking contrast to the larger
waterfall, I returned to Eidfiord, clamber
ing down the rocky path which we had
with much difficulty ascended, in order to
gain the height from which we viewed the
fall. This ascent is up the rugged side of
a mountain, at the extremity of a beauti
fully wild valley through which the Voring
river rushes among rocks and stones. The
river enters the valley by an abrupt chasm
in the side of the hill, which is not percep
tible until you approach close to it, so that
you are at a loss to conceive whence the
stream issues ; its fury has worn the
channel along the bottom of this ravine for
the distance of an English mile from the
foot of the cataract. The ascent is so steep
that the summit can only be gained by a
number of zigzag traverses. It was dark
when I again descended this dangerous
pass, and my servant followed the guide to
the village where we had engaged him, and
near which the river empties itself into a
lake, where its waters repose awhile before

261
they again hurry onward to the sea. No
thing could be more solitary, wild, and
grand than the whole of this secluded
valley, nor anything more rugged and
scanty than the track we had to follow ; but
of all the features of the scene, one of the
most striking was the long and narrow
bridge which at a dizzy height stretched
athwart the foaming stream. The trunks
of the immense pine trees, balanced at either
end on rudely constructed props, formed
the uncertain footing which rocked visibly
beneath the herd that crossed it on- their
homeward way. No animals except those
accustomed to it would venture on such a
trembling path. I followed the herd,
which passed leisurely along in single file,
and it required some nerve to cross the
airy bridge without a sense of danger, there
being no rail to steady the hand, while the
torrent was boiling and roaring far be
neath. Andreas and I rowed back to the
further end of the lake in a leaky boat,
and from thence walked to Eidfiord, where
we arrived about 10 o'clock p. m., to the
s 3

262
no small surprise of our hostess, who had
not expected us before noon on the fol
lowing day. She had indeed, told me
before we started that it was madness to
attempt to visit the foss that evening, as we
should not reach it before night, the dis
tance being twelve miles : but we proved
her to be a false prophet. The next morn
ing at a very early hour I bathed in the sea
by starlight. The brilliancy of the phos
phoric light which plays upon the waters
of these northern seas when agitated, is one
of the things which most forcibly strikes
every traveller who visits Norway. The
water, as I beat it with my arms in swim
ming, played around me like liquid fire,
and its foam sparkled like emeralds.
When ready to proceed, I could not
find our boatmen ; they also had reckoned
on our not returning before noon, and had
very contentedly gone to rest for the night,
at the house of some friend ; we, nowever,
hauled them out at length, and spreading
the reindeer skin in the bottom of the boat,

263
I stretched myself upon it, and gazed with
delight on the strange and beautiful scene
which surrounded me. It was still dark,
and as we passed close below the giant
hills, the fantastic outlines of which were
alone visible, the oars of our active rowers
rapidly sweeping back over the water,
showered down ten thousand brilliants into
the sea, whilst the furrow which closed
behind us glowed with a lambent light.
By the aid of our stout crew, and a light
wind which just filled our sail; we soon
made our way along the Fiord to Otne,
where I met a komedie spiller (actor), who
had dropped into the Provst's house at Ul-
lensvang on the same day as I did, and
who, being rather short of cash, was de
lighted to procure a cheap conveyance to
Bergen, where he was to appear on the
stage in the solemn and tragic drama of
Hugo Grotius in a trunk ! ! ! From Otne
I and my comic companion rowed along
the Hardanger Fiord, basking in the boat
under an intensely hot sun, during such a
s 4

264-
day as is seldom seen in so northerly a re
gion. The mountains on either side rose
abruptly to a great height, while on every
ledge of rock were narrow terraces that
nourished in their scanty soil those hardy
pines and stunted oaks, which, clinging to
them, formed one of the chief beauties
of this alpine wilderness. A huge fish of
the whale species, which, as the boatmen
said, had missed its way, was frolicking in
the sea, splashing and rolling about its un
wieldy length many a rood, and often not
far from our boat, naturally recalling to my
mind Milton's noble lines.
" That sea-beast
Leviathan, which God of all his works
Created hugest that swim the ocean stream :
Him haply slumb'ring on the Norway foam
The pilot of some small night-foundered skiff,
Deeming some island, oft, as seamen tell,
With fixed anchor in his scaly rind
Moors by his side under the lee, while night
Invests the sea, and wished morn delays."
Since the poet's time, however, the Nor
wegian pilots appear to have greatly im
proved in ichthyology : they are now by

265
no means apt to mistake their black visitors
for islands, but know not only what they
are, but what they are worth, and, instead
of the anchor, fix the harpoon " in his scaly
rind " to some purpose ; every fisherman
has his tackle for killing the whale, and his
caldron for boiling the oil, and many of
these fish are annually taken.
This night, also, the phosphoric light on
the water was most splendidly beautiful.
It sparkled round the boat, and hung in
silvery dew-drops along the blades of the
oars.

266

CHAPTER XIV.
Mundheim. — Cairns. — Doubtful origin. — Elves.
— The printer's devil. — A heavy fall. —
Peasants' houses. — Love of finery. — Red deer.
— Scarcity of animals in Norway. — Birds. —
Adaptation in colour of the coverings of animals
to their haunts.— Night attack.- — -Christiania. —
Professor of Mineralogy. — A studio, — Museum.
— Travellers' fare. — Hut of ajager or hunter.
— The Glommen. — The Aurora Borealis. —
Salmon fishing. — "Burning the water." — Cos
tume of the peasants. — Norse weddings. — The
bride's wardrobe. — Hereditary ornaments. —
The Kors Fiord. — Detention from the weather.
— Inhabitants. — Their occupation. — A bride.
— Her dress. — Heavy metal. — Head-gear. —
Marriage procession. — Mermaidens. — Their
nautical accomplishments. — A perilous voyage.
— Contrary winds. — Disasters at sea. — Ru
mours at Bergen. — Kind conduct of Mr. Konow.
— Hospitable and simple character of the Nor
wegians.
On the evening of Sunday the 9th of
October I reached Mundheim, having ac-

267
complished 42 English miles that day in
my boat, and slept soundly in a peasant's
house by the water-side.
On nearly every Naes, or small promon
tory on the Hardanger Fiord, are to be seen
cairns, or heaps of stones laid upon the
rock, which were placed there (as the
peasants say) informer times to be used as
missiles in battle. But it is much, more
probable that they mark the, burying-place
of some renowned robber or sea-king. At
a place 10 miles from Mundheim, called
Scobbostein Naes, and not long, ago, the
skeleton of a man was found in a kind of
coffin concealed under a heap of such
stones. . During this coasting trip I heard many
wonderful: stories of the elves or. mountain
sprites of the Hardanger. Fqr instance, of
one, a literary elfin I suppose, spilling the
contents of his inkrbottle, all over a. hill in
his hurry to escape a thunder-storm, the
black stain being still visible ; and of another

268
making a hole in the rock by falling back
on the mountain, in consequence of his rope
breaking as he was trying to puU an island
ashore, &c. This magic indentation is
now a noted seat, resorted to by all those
who have sufficient courage to approach the
spot. I continued my route- along the vale of
Mundheim to Skongstei, and afterwards to
Eggedalsousen, where I killed some trout ;
off which, and a brace of ptarmigan, I
supped luxuriously at the house of a farmer
with whom I took up my abode for the
night. At these peasant's houses the best
sleeping-room is always the wardrobe ; it is
a building separate from the farm-house,
and not quite so tremendously infested with
fleas as the rest of the premises. The
number of dresses which these poor people
always have, and their predilection for
finery, is quite inconceivable. Scarlet and
blue are the most usual and favourite
colours, the women wearing scarlet stock
ings and blue petticoats ; their boddices and

269
skirts are both of scarlet, and generally the
skirts decorated in front with silver rings, to
which they fix long chains, and other or
naments of the same metal.
I had intended to have gone off the road
to Lyse Clostre, where there are many red
deer, and to have tried to shoot one ; but
a deluge of rain throughout the day pre
vented me, and I learnt also that the pro
prietor, Mr. Foreman, is very strict in
preserving them : it appears, however, that
the wolves are the worst poachers he has to
contend with. It is curious that these
animals, which for a period of nearly 60
years had not been known in this part of
Norway, have, during the last year or two,
returned to the neighbourhood of Bergen-
stift in great numbers ; they are now very
troublesome in the winter, descending into
the villages to the great dismay of the inha
bitants. One of the most frequent grounds of
complaint urged by all travellers through

270
this country is the absence of living things.
This gives an additional loneliness and
solemnity to the forest and the waste ; but
I much doubt whether multitudinous troops
of wolves would be considered as an im
provement. At present wild beasts of any
sort are rarely met with, and even the
feathered tribe is scarce. The birds chiefly
seen are those of prey, which may in part
account for the scarcity of others, and for
the want of song amid the woods. Amongst
the former I met with were several species
of the large and small hawk ; falcons ; white,
grey, and brown owls, and ravens : indeed
hawks are very common ; and when hawk
ing was a favourite pastime of the kings of
Norway, the Dovrefiel was a noted place
for taking falcons.
Mr. Jesse and many other naturalists
have expatiated on the beautiful provision
of Nature in giving animals furs or plumage
of the same colour as the haunts they fre
quent, and the places where they conceal
themselves : thus grouse are the colour of

271
heather, and hares of dry grass ; but I was
never so forcibly struck with this provident
arrangement as in the instance of the ptarmi
gan (Ryper), in pursuit of which, I went early
one morning over a part of the Dovrefiel;
the similarity of colour is so great, that it is
scarcely possible to distinguish them from the
grey stones and moss where they are found.
In hke manner, the foxes on the tops of
these mountains are as white as snow. I saw
several of them when in search of wild deer.
I was not so fortunate as to fall in with these
latter animals, although I met with the
tracks of many of them ; and on more than
one occasion the dog I had with me ran
upon their scent. After a long day of fruit
less toil I slept, at night in a saetter, where
I had to endure the torture occasioned by
the bites of myriads of animalcuke. The
place was 4 feet high and 8 feet square.
We had the good fortune, however, to find
by moonlight some dead brushwood on the
moor, which I tied up in a bundle, and car
ried to the hut to kindle a fire. I rose
before daybreak the next morning, and after

272
raking the embers together, and substituting
a stone for a fryingpan, I dressed the re
mainder of some bacon, the other part of
which I had eaten raw the day before.
Whilst bathing after breakfast in the river,
a large grey earn hovered over my head,
and looked at me with a hungry eye. I
also saw an ermine, which ran along among
the bushes near me as I was coming out
of the water ; unfortunately my gun was not
at hand — just at the moment that I most
desired it.
At Christiania I became acquainted with
a professor of mineralogy, and in his com
pany saw, to great advantage, the museum
of natural history in that city : but the pro
fessor himself, and his abode, struck me as
being among the chief curiosities of the
place. I found the learned gentleman in a
low room about 10 feet square, at the end
of a dark covered way which was entered
from the street, and across which was a gate
witn broken hinges : the window of this
apartment looked on a dirty court-yard lum-

273
bered up with tubs, an old cart, and a barrel
or two of earth containing ore to be analysed.
But the room itself was even worse than its
situation, and its multifarious contents more
difficult to analyse than the ore. If con
tained in one corner a small dirty bed ; and
on one side was a bookcase, from the dusty
top shelf of which, by mounting upon one
of the three old crazy chairs, he handed a
book down to me. On another side stood
an antique clock, its face covered with
figures and divers circles, emblematic, no
doubt, of the mystic religion of Norway.
On the wall were hanging thermometers,
barometers, and hydrometers, and every
other sort of ometer, numberless, dusty, and
mysterious ; loadstones with weights attached
to them ; scales, pendulums, and an endless
et cetera. Opposite to these was an old
bureau full of mineralogical curiosities,
among which he showed me an earth pre
viously unknown which he had lately dis
covered, and a crystal not yet observed by
any other person, and such-like marvels.
All these were lying in confusion con-
T

274
founded, amidst pots and pans, basins, cru
cibles, receivers, retorts, bottles of every
sort, shape, and size, and flanked with
glasses of every kind and form : his large
table, covered with tablets, manuscripts, and
books, cups, funnels, and every denomin
ation of vessels, baffled all description.
When I disturbed him he was engaged in
analysing some specimens of minerals ; but,
to my taste, he was by far the most extra
ordinary specimen of all.
Fancy a little dirty old man, with blear
eyes, whose face looked as if it had not
been washed any more than his originally
white, now dark brown night-cap, since
his spectacles were made, and the furrow
they had worn upon his nose showed their
use had been of some years' standing, and,
to augment his beauty, a huge black
plaster was stuck on one temple : he wore
a dirty shirt crusted with snuff", a gay
coloured waistcoat reaching over his hips,
a brown coat and trowsers far too wide for
his shrunken shanks, while a pair of im-

275
mense slippers completed the costume of
this subterranean octogenarian, or I may
say mediterranean prodigy. Despite his
rough and unpromising exterior, his man
ners were not only agreeable, but polished ;
and he very kindly showed me his collec
tion of minerals, which is valuable and well
arranged. He was a pupil of Werner's, and
is a man of considerable talent. I should
be inclined to think myself not justified in
so minutely describing this veteran philo
sopher, had not experience convinced me
that these elevated geniuses are of nothing
more proud than of their difference in
dress and appearance from ordinary mortals.
After exhibiting his treasures, he accom
panied me to the public museum, where he
showed me a collection of antiquities, found
in different parts of Norway : the most in
teresting were shirts of mail, and iron
helmets of the same age. There were also
numerous spears, at least 200 swords, clay
mores, rusty coats of armour, brass orna
ments, and rings of gold, which king Haco
mentions to have been used in the thir-
t 2

276
teenth century instead of money, huge
rings for the finger, a variety of drinking
horns, and some altar and other church
ornaments of a date earlier than the re
formation. Among them were the notched
sticks covered with hieroglyphics, which
were once used as almanacks, like our tallies
in the Exchequer : they were carved with
Runic characters, indicating the seasons,
and days of the year.
Having seen the wonders of the capital,
and paid due thanks to my philosophical
guide, I proceeded on my way. Travellers
in Norway must be contented with the
simplest fare and the most rugged roads.
My road lay towards Roraas, and on my
journey I hved chiefly on oatcake, herring,
barley broth, and potatoes.
On one occasion when I set off on foot
from Moklelye towards Vestergaard, it was
dark, and the people tried to persuade me
not to proceed until the next day, as the
road lay through forests, and over moun-

277
tains and ravines ; but I was stubborn, and
crossing the Glommen by torch-light in a
ferry boat, a mode of travelling more agree
able to describe than to perform, my guide,
perhaps to deter me from advancing, told
me that a jager had within a few days shot
an elk in the forest, and that we should
pass near his house, and be sure of good
lodging and refreshment. On the strength
of this report I left my horses and carriage
in the road, and went down a by-path to
the hunter's house, taking care to provide
myself and my party with good thick sticks
in the event of his dogs attacking us outside
his door : but, alas ! both they and he were
absent hunting in the woods. His wife
however was at home, and by dint of knock
ing long and loud we at length beat her up
at midnight, and I informed her that I had
come with the hope of accompanying her
husband to the chase, but as that could not
be, I must content myself with purchasing
some trophies of his former successes in the
forest. Upon this she kindled her lamp,
silenced the solitary old hound, who lay
t 3

278
grumbling and growling at our most un
seasonable intrusion, and preceded us to
her storehouse, where she displayed several
very fine skins of elks, bears, wolves, and
Other animals, and I purchased an elk skin
and a pair of elk horns for a mere trifle.
The cottage lay in the wood with the Stor
Soe below it.
After leaving Roraas, we traced the
Glommen till it became a mere mountain-
stream, tumbling over rocks and forming
continual waterfalls, inconsiderable in size,
but as beautiful as when we first saw it a
majestic river flowing as clear as crystal
from the Myosen Soe. Such is the purity
of the water in the Norse rivers, that you
may count every pebble at the bottom, even
in the rapid streams : they can only be
equalled in clearness by the Norwegian
nights. I was frequently much struck with
the briUiancy of the aurora borealis, but
particularly so on the night of the 12th of
September, between the hours of nine and
ten. At first it appeared like an arch di-

279
vided by several pale streaks of light, and
stretching from east to west in the northern
quarter of the heavens; it then became
more uniformly bright and broader, and
leaving the north quite dark, it shed a
bright light over my head, and so strong
was the reflection on the sea beneath, that
I could count the ships in that direction,
although every other part was enveloped in
entire darkness. Presently the light ad
vanced southward, the eastern portion en-
creasing in briUiancy and concealing the
stars, so that the Pleiades were barely dis
cernible through the brilliant but transient
veil ; the eastern part lost its brightness
first, and soon after the whole disappeared.
But these were not the only northern lights
which I encountered; for in my journey
by the river sides at night I frequently saw
the lights of the people " burning the
water/' in the same manner as is practised
in Scotland, and they call it here taking
salmon with the leustre or ustre. The ear
at once detects the simUarity of the Nor
wegian term with the word leister or
t 4

280
Waester, as the salmon spear is. called in
Scotland. Few objects are more exciting to the
lover of field sports, or more interesting to
the admirer of the picturesque, than the
rugged banks of a mountain torrent, lit up
by gleaming torches, whilst the foaming
stream glitters and sparkles as it bursts
amid the rocks here and there at intervals,
every object standing out prominent in a
blaze of light, whUst at other points of the
stream every thing is shrouded in the
blackest darkness, the whole forming a
scene to which no painter that ever lived
could render justice. But I must hot allow
my sportsman propensities to run away with
me, and wiU only add that the brilliant and
gay colours of the Norwegian peasants'
dress gives an animation, and even a degree
of splendour, to the scene which we cannot
boast of in Scotland. Indeed, as I have
before remarked, the costume of these
people is often very picturesque ; between
Roraas and Tronjeim it is especially so, the

281
men often wear a uniform suit of blue from
head to foot, with a red border to their cap,
and garters of the same colour. At other
times you see an entire suit of grey ; grey
coat, waistcoat, breeches, and stockings, set
off by a red cap, from underneath which
their long hair hangs down upon their
shoulders : they have large plated buttons,
and huge shoe-buckles. The women wear
their hair tied back off their foreheads
under a close cap, quite plain, and made of
some dark coloured stuff; these fair ones
have often red waistcoats under green or
blue jackets, fitting close to the body, and
fastened in front with hooks and eyes as
far as the waist; the lappets which fall
over the hips are slit up and slashed, and
beneath is a skirt of green or blue stuff or
cloth. In my travels through the country,
I had many opportunities of observing not
only the variety of the costume of the
peasants, but the abundant wardrobe and
store of clothing which each family pos*
sesses. Although riches are rare, poverty
is seldom met with, and the circulation of

282
money being very small, the wealth of this
primitive and interesting race* whose wants
are few, consists principaUy, as in the east,
in an abundance of household stuffs.
But it is upon the occasion of a marriage
taking place that the display of finery and
of simple splendour becomes most conspi
cuous. At Drifstuen, at the northern base
of the Dovrefiel, I had an opportunity of
admiring the preparatory arrangements of a
Norse wedding, the. coUection of cheeses
and other household stores for the establish
ment of the young couple, who were about
to be married, all of which were the gifts
of friends and neighbours, was absolutely
prodigious. I was however most struck
with the wardrobe department in aU its
branches, the trousseau portions of which
were presented to the bride by aU who
knew her. Where virtue prevaUs esteem
is general, and the friendly readiness to
give mutual assistance, which ought to be
one of the strongest bonds of society in
every stage, is no where more apparent

283
than among the primitive peasantry in
Norway. Purity of conduct and of morals
forms one of the most prominent character
istics of the people of Norway. With them
marriage is looked upon as a most solemn
ceremony, and at the same time as an event
which gives scope for much innocent fes
tivity. Upon these occasions, the friends
of both the famUies being all gathered to
gether, the bride makes her appearance
attired in a costume of marvellous magnifi
cence, a part of which is her own property,
and a part hereditary in her family, the
ornaments being not unfrequently heir
looms which descend from generation to
generation, to be used only on those festive
and solemn occasions.
A marriage took place in the Hardanger
Feld whUst I was there. On this occasion
the fair one appeared in a many-coloured
dress of singular construction, adorned with
beads and other ornaments, and a head
dress of plumes of feathers, arranged like a
crown around her head, in a manner more

284
striking from its novelty than pleasing in
its effect, while a profusion of various co
loured ribands hung down upon her neck.
But it was during a wearisome detention
of some weeks in the Kors Fiord that I had
the best opportunity of rendering myself
conversant with the marriage arrangement
of this part of Norway.
The Kors Fiord is the southernmost of
the two friths by which vessels can ap
proach Bergen. The navigation is some
what intricate and dangerous ; vessels have
to thread their way amidst an archipelago
of wUd and rocky isles, which form as it
were natural outworks or breakwaters to
defend the north-west coast of Europe from
the fury of a boundless ocean. As this
chain of islands is not unlike the Hebrides
in its relative position to the larger country,
so they are simUar in their wUd and sterile
appearance, and in the niggardness of their
soil. Our ship, the Freya, named after the
goddess who presides over Friday, and who
answers in Northern mythology to our

285
Venus, the immemorial patroness of sailors,
— " sic te Diva potens Cypri," and so forth,
though no beauty, certainly asserted her
supremacy, by detaining us wind-bound
above fourteen days, at the back of a little
rocky islet named Bakkesund. To a more
wretched place no mortal was ever exiled,
and yet there lived there, apparently in
great contentment, a solitary old woman,
whose husband was almost constantly at
sea. I was her guest during this tedious
fortnight, and shared her dwelhng with her
cow, her goat, her cock, and her magpie,
the sole inhabitants besides herself of her
domain of Bakkesund. Indeed I may say
the goat not unfrequently shared my bed,
an unwelcome intruder certainly, and an
oft-kicked out, rather than an oft-invited
guest. The population of some of the other is
lands composing the group was rather more
numerous, and, as I had but little to do ex
cept watching the weather, I roamed from
one sterile spot to another, and soon be-

286
came familiarly acquainted with many of
their inhabitants. It was the sea and not
the earth which sustained them, for all are
fishers, men, women, and chUdren ; the
net and the harpoon supply the place of
the spade, the mattock, and the plough ;
nor is the Norfolk husbandman more ex
pert in tilling the soil than these contented
islanders, in extracting food from the deep.
It was on one of these morning calls, that
I saw a fair young mermaid, if I may so call
one of these sea-maidens, decked in all the
glory of her bridal attire, and truly it was a
sight well worthy of being seen and re
corded. The young woman's father was one of
the wealthiest of these peasants, and counted
his possessions by his numerous boats and
nets. His ancestors had occupied the same
low-built dwelling for many generations,
for centuries I might say. However, there
was no external show ; every thing was
humble and lowly, such as might be ex
pected in the hut of a solitary fisherman ;

287
all his pride of family was reserved for, and
concentrated in, the display of rude silver
ornaments and other antique braveries, in
which his daughter was decked out on her
marriage-day. His great-grandmother had
no doubt worn the self-same dress, save
that from time to time further decorations
had been added to the massive fabric.
The jerkin or boddice was of scarlet
cloth, and fitted to the body, meeting in
front only at the waist, and without sleeves ;
trimmed at the edges above and round the
shoulders with many coloured beads strung
together, and sewed fantastically on the
garment, and giving it a rich and not in
elegant appearance. Beneath this she wore
a white cambric stomacher, fastened in
front with various large sUver brooches,
resembling rather the huge plated buckles
of antique horse furniture, than the wed
ding ornaments of a youthful bride. In
addition to these metallic masses, she had
on a necklace or coUar of silver that would
have weighed down a London alderman.

288
and over the whole a long and heavy chain
of the same metal. Around her arms were
armlets above the elbow, and bracelets at
the wrist, all of sUver, and far more remark
able for the massive solidity of ancient
workmanship, than for any of the delicate
filigree of their texture. The petticoat,
which was of dark-coloured cloth, and over
which feU an apron gorgeously though
rudely embroidered, was gathered into
manifold plaits, and compressed at the waist
beneath an immense belt or zone, con
structed of large silver rings and clasps ;,
for I know not in what other terms to de
scribe this antique and very cumbrous
girdle. The hose and the gloves also were
of scarlet, gaily embroidered, and her high
shoes were fastened with large buckles of
silver. But the most singular of all was the
head-gear of this maiden. A large and
lofty crown of brightly polished silver sur
mounted her head ; it rose into various
peaks or summits, and was adorned all

289
around with rows or strings of silver coins
and medals, and ornamented with ribands of
divers colours, which flowed, like northern
streamers, upon her neck and shoulders.
It would not be gaUant to bestow so
much attention on the dress, and none on
the wearer ; suffice it however to say, that
she was fair and comely, with all the fresh
ness of health, and that best of charms,
good-humour. Some strength was required
to wear such an attire without fatigue, and
this she possessed ; for hers was a frame
that could ply the oar as easily as the
needle, and both accomplishments are in
dispensably necessary in these wild regions.
After all, and despite these metallic in
fringements on good taste, it was a fair sight
to behold our young bride thus decked out
and seated conspicuous in the boat which
was to convey her through intricate and
narrow channels, to the church where the
simple but solemn rite would unite her in
holy wedlock, and where vows would be

290
made which would neither be broken or
forgotten. Her kinsmen, all arrayed in
their best garbs, rowed the boat in which
the bride was seated, and accompanied her
in other chaloupes, chanting a merry stave
in unison to their oars. The bridegroom I
did not see, but I have no doubt he was a
miniature Potosi.
I have spoken of the nautical accomplish
ments of these mermaidens ; an instance
occurred not long ago in which these were
put to the test. Two young peasant girls
were accustomed morning and evening to
row in a small boat a considerable distance
to milk their herd of cattle ; one evening,
as they were returning in their little open
boat, they were overtaken in the Fiord by
a heavy squall from the eastward, which at
once drove them out to sea. During the
night the gale increased, and continued the
whole of the next day with unabated vio
lence. The two poor girls, without even a
cloak to shelter them from the tempest,
and with no other support but that which

291
their milk pails afforded them, were drifted
without sail or rudder to the coast of Scot
land. It was by a miracle almost that they
reached the shore and landed in safety,
though exhausted by hunger and exposure
to the cold. Before long an English vessel
took back these unintentional wanderers to
their own country, and, as may easily be
supposed, the astonishment and joy of their
friends were unbounded, as they had na
turally supposed their destruction to have
been inevitable.
Our ship was safely anchored in one of
the little rocky bays amidst the labyrinth
of islets, but day after day- the autumnal
gales continued with unabated violence,
and I began to fear that I had too long de
layed my departure from this dangerous
coast. Morning, noon, and night, I watched
in vain for a change of wind ; stiU a heavy
sea rolled in from the dark south west.
Several times we weighed anchor and en
deavoured to get beyond the rocky bar
rier, but were as often compelled to return
u 2

292
to our former station. On one occasion
we had well nigh cause to repent our rash
ness ; the combined force of the heavy cur
rent and the strong wind having driven us
so near the rocks before the anchor brought
us to, that nothing but the reflux wave
from the deep water at the foot of the
perpendicular cliffs saved us from ship
wreck. The fishermen daily brought in fresh ru
mours of shipwrecks, and reported that the
shores were strewed with shattered timbers ;
and we had soon ocular proof that these
disastrous accounts were not devoid of
truth. On one occasion we had the satis
faction of assisting a vessel in distress, by
sending some hands on board her for a few
hours to aid in working the pumps, her
own crew being completely exhausted and
worn out by their long-continued exertions.
Rumours of the loss of the vessel in which
I sailed had reached Bergen. It was said
that we had been seen in distress on the
coast towards Stavanger, and that it was

293
impossible we could have outlived the night.
This report gave occasion to a trait of cha
racter which I shall always remember with
feelings of gratitude. It was not only said
that we had been cast away, but it was as
serted that a portion of the wreck had been
picked up upon the shore. A "gentleman
of Bergen, whose acquaintance I made dur
ing my brief stay there, and whose warmth
of heart must win him the regard and esteem
of aU who have the good fortune to visit
that mart of cordiality and kindness, as well
as of merchandise, Mr. Carl Konow, one
of the principal merchants of the place,
hearing these tidings, sent for two saUors
and engaged them forthwith to go with
their boat along the shore for not less than
30 miles, and search the coast diligently,
and enquire of all the fishermen if they
had seen the body of a foreigner who
had been wrecked in the Freya. If they
could obtain the corpse they were to wrap
it up with great care and convey it to Ber
gen, in order that he might have the last
rites performed in a Christian manner to the
u o

294
stranger, whom during his sojourn in Nor
way he had every way befriended. I shall
never forget the few lines I received from
him in reply to my letter, telling him that
I was still in the land of the living ; they
were full of the kindest feelings, and ex
pressed with a warmth and truth which
made them doubly pleasing to me.
In bidding farewell to Norway, I am
anxious to give my testimony in her favour,
worthless as it may be. Every thing I saw,
every thing I heard, convinced me that
under a rugged exterior she contains much
that is estimable and elevated. The climate
may be cold, but warm hearts dwell beneath
a chilly sky ; the winds are boisterous, but
the minds of the natives are pure and un
tainted as their fresh mountain air ; the
coast is iron-bound, rugged, and inhospitable,
but it protects the dwellings of those who
are ingenuous, frank, and ever ready to be
friend the stranger.
If their national character becomes im-

295
paired, it wiU be the fault of foreign con
tamination ; and it wiU be an indelible
shame to England, and aU other nations
whose civilisation is more advanced, if, by
their increased intercourse with this primi
tive and innocent race, they lower and de
base its present high standard of morality.

u 4

296

CHAPTER XV.
Quit Christiansand. — The Skagerack. — Arrive at
Gottenburgh. — Its houses and streets. — Trade. —
Population. — Start for Copenhagen. — Elsinore.
— The prison of Cronenberg, — The citadel of
Frederikhaven. — Copenhagen. — Beauty and
extent of its buildings. — The Amelien Platz. —
Public institutions. — The academy of arts. —
Works of Thorwaldsen. — His apartments. —
Botanic garden. — The palace of Christiansburg.
— Museum of northern antiquities. — Picture
gallery. — Museum of natural history. — The
church of the Virgin. — Thorwaldsen. — Statues of
the Saviour and his Apostles. — Baptismal font. —
Statues of Luther and Melancthon. — Castle of
Rosenberg. — Cemetery. — The English ambassador.
— Christian VIII. — His popularity. — State
visit to the theatre. — His troops. — Character of
the heir apparent. — Kiel Hamburg. — Revieu'
of my wanderings. — Wildness of the country. —
Simplicity of the inhabitants. — Their affinity to
the English. — Provision for Paupers. — Perni
cious effects of finkel. — Conclusion-
On the 21st of September we sailed for
Gottenburgh, in the " Express " steamer,

297
which had brought us from England. The
weather was like that of summer, and our
voyage of 150 miles across the broad gulph
called the Skagerack delightful. On the
morning of the 22d we anchored about two
miles from the extremity of the fiord, on
which Gottenburgh is situated, near the
mouth of the large river Gotha. As we
rowed up to the town we passed on our left
a large bed of rushes, a mile long and half
a nine broad, full of wild fowl, where, I
was informed, there is excellent shooting.
In the lower harbour were several large
ships of various nations.
This is the finest city we saw during our
tour, and far superior to any in Norway.
Instead of wood, which is so general in the
latter country, it is entirely built of stone
or brick, as in 1810, when a succession of
fires occurred, a law Was enacted against
any other material being used for this pur
pose. The streets are wide and handsome,
several of them have convenient trottoirs
for foot passengers, and through the centre

298
of the principal one (Great Harbour Street)
runs a canal, which was filled with small
boats laden with wood for fuel. The
houses are generally four stories high, built
with regularity, and with good architec
tural effect; and the Swedish and German
churches are fine buildings. The large
square was crowded with peasantry attend
ing the fair, and there was every where an
appearance of bustle and activity. Several
fine capercailzie were offered me for sale
at about three shillings (English money)
each. During the late war, a considerable trade
was carried on at Gottenburgh, and I was
glad to hear that it had partially revived.
The quantity of deals exported is very
considerable. The town contains about
20,000 inhabitants, and the number of our
countrymen who reside here, and are
engaged in commerce, is not less than
200. There is an English consul, and our
church service is performed every Sunday,
by an English chaplain. I was much

299
pleased with all that I saw of Gottenburgh
during the short time that I remained there.
We sailed for Copenhagen (a distance
of 128 miles) in another steamer, the
Prins Carl, and were again fortunate in
having a pleasant voyage across the
Cattegat, the weather continuing fine, and
the water smooth. The vessel was much
crowded with passengers, principally ladies,
all of whom, after the supper tables were
removed, slept without undressing, on mat
tresses on the floor of the chief saloon ; and
it was to us rather a novel sight to see the
fair assembly thus spread out far and wide,
as we passed to our berths in the cabin
below. We reached Elsinore, a small town
beautifully situated, early on the morning
of the 23d, and as we passed by the classic
ground I took Shakspeare out of my
pocket, and read Hamlet, as I was in duty
bound to do. Near Elsinore is the castle
and fortress of Cronenberg, an imposing

300
looking edifice, with a high tower. It is now
used as a prison, and is interesting to an
Englishman from the circumstance of its
having been the place of imprisonment of
the innocent but unfortunate Princess
Caroline Matilda, sister of our king,
George III. It commands a fine view of
the sound, or roadstead, which extends the
whole way to Copenhagen, a distance of
twenty-five miles. We anchored close to
the quay of the city, after passing on the
left the citadel of Frederikhaven, also
called the Trekroner, a low five-sided
battery, of immense strength, which is
considered impregnable. Our luggage was
landed at the custom house, but passed
without much examination, and we soon
found comfortable quarters at a large hotel
called the Stadt Hamburg.
Copenhagen*, although a dull court and
capital, in comparison with many others in
* Copenhagen stands on the eastern part of the
island of Zealand, twenty miles to the south of the
sound leading to the Baltic. It contains a population
of 100,000 souls.

301
Europe, may justly claim to be considered
a fine city, from the beauty of its palaces,
the extent of its squares, the width and
length of some of its streets, and the
handsome appearance and regularity of
its houses, many of which, like those in
Paris, are of great height.
Good frequently comes out of evil, and
to the very destructive fires which ravaged
this city during the last century may its
present regularity in a great degree be
attributed, as in consequence of those
disastrous events a law was enacted
prohibiting the erection of any buildings,
but those formed of brick or stone.
The public edifices are in general on a
grand scale, but the finest part of Copen
hagen is a large open octagonal space
called the Amalien Platz, containing several
palaces and public buildings, one of the
former being the residence of the king,
and another that of the prince royal. On

302
one side of the platz is a fine equestrian
statue of Frederick V.
The situation of the city is low and
flat, and the Baltic in consequence fre
quently overflows, and causes destructive
inundations. The port (called Christians-
haven) is spacious, and capable of con
taining 500 ships.
It is not my intention to give an account
of the royal library, the exchange, the
tapering spire of one church, or the round
tower, with an observatory attached to it,
of another ; nor will I dilate on the uni
versity, founded in the fifteenth century,
well endowed, and having at the present
time many celebrated professors, and 700
students ; neither do I intend to touch
on the Jews' synagogue, the house of
correction, the theatre, the grand hotels,
and numerous coffee houses, where cards
and billiards are played, in humble imita
tion of the Palais Royale. These and

303
various other objects, some of which are
highly deserving of notice, the traveller
will find correctly and well described in
Murray's " Hand Book," or he may put
himself under the guidance of an erudite
laquais de place. I shall confine myself
to a few passing remarks on those things
which appeared to me to be the most
interesting. We first went to the academy of arts
(formerly the palace of Charlottenburgh),
to see the studio of the celebrated Thor
waldsen. The most beautiful work now
there is the statue of Ganymede holding a
cup to an eagle. It is beyond all praise.
The bird, in particular, is inimitable ; and
its plumage has the feathery lightness of
reality. Mars, with Cupid at his side,
although a work of great merit, I did not
admire so much ; but there is a noble figure
of Hercules, and a most magnificent lion,
of colossal size, copied from one at Rome ;
there are also several fine casts from bassi
relievi. We were shown the apartments

304
occupied by this first of all living sculptors,
when he visits his native city. In his bed
room are several pleasing paintings, by
modern Italian artists, and in the next
apartment to it is a small but choice col
lection of amphorae, funereal lamps, and
various articles of domestic use, found at
Pompeii. Adjoining to this palace is the
botanic garden.
We next went to the palace of Christians-
burg, one of the largest in Europe, and
built originally, at an enormous expense, as
a royal residence, but it is not at present
occupied by the court. One end of it con
tains the museum of northern antiquities,
the most extensive and perfect in the
world, and one of the objects best worthy
of the traveller's attention during his sojourn
in the Danish capital. It is enriched by
many thousand specimens discovered in Jut
land, Norway, and Greenland, and occu
pies no less than seventeen rooms. The
collection consists of arms, coats of mail,
ornaments, every kind of implement of

305
ancient cookery, weapons of all descriptions,
made of stone, before the use of iron, clubs,
axes, swords, hammers, funereal urns found
in tumuli, and filled with human bones, and
an endless et cetera. The curator is a gen
tleman of great antiquarian skill, and is
extremely anxious to afford all necessary
information to the visitor. In another suite
of rooms in the same building is the royal
collection of pictures ; they are very nume
rous, but I remarked only a few of dis
tinguished merit : amongst these were a
Salvator Rosa, representing Jonah preach
ing to the Ninevites ; the Judgment of
Solomon, by P. P. Rubens ; a Winter scene,
by Ostade ; St. Catherine, by Leonardo da
Vinci ; and a Christ, and a Madonna, by
Carlo Dolce. In an adjoining gallery are
the celebrated bassi relievi, by Thorwaldsen,
of Alexander taming Bucephalus ; they
were sent by the sculptor from Rome, and
are of transcendent merit.
The museum of natural history is rich
in its collection of stuffed birds, and also of

306
fishes, insects, and reptiles from all parts
of the world. The most beautiful of the
birds are the hawks, falcons, owls, and
waders, of all which there is a great variety.
There are also many seals from Greenland,
and a fine specimen of the walrus.
In the royal collection of minerals are
some brilliant specimens of pure virgin sil
ver, from the mines of Konsberg ; some of
the masses are of considerable size.
The church " of the Virgin " (vor Frue
kirke), which was almost destroyed by the
bombardment of the English in 1807, has
been rebuilt, and, with the exception of its
iU-shaped tower, is a handsome edifice. Over
the portico is a beautiful alto relievo, by Thor
waldsen, representing St. John preaching in
the wilderness. The interior of the church
is quite plain, but admirably proportioned ;
it contains statues of ten of the twelve
Apostles, in marble, by Thorwaldsen, eight
feet high, and the remaining two, of Andrew
and Judas, in plaister. That of St. John is

307
considered to be one of the finest; the
benign expression in the countenance is
indeed admirable. At the principal altar is
a colossal statue, eleven feet high, in marble,
of Christ, by the same celebrated artist.
Our Saviour is represented in the act of
blessing the people, and saying, "Come
unto me, ye that labour and are heavy
laden." There is a heavenly look in the
face, the hair hangs gracefully over the
shoulders, the attitude is easy and natural,
and the drapery light and elegant. This
noble piece of sculpture is placed in a niche
with a gilded back ground, in order to
increase the effect, but there is a want of
sufficient light for it and for all the rest of
these invaluable works. The artist also
has been unfortunate in the selection of his
material, the blue veins in the marble
being conspicuous in nearly the whole of
them. The baptismal font represents
an angel kneeling, and holding a large
shell ; a beautiful idea, and admirably ex
pressed. The face is lovely, and the hair
is confined by a wreath of flowers. The
x 2

308
plumage of the wings, — the attitude, — in a
word, the whole effect of this beautiful
figure, rivetted us to the spot for a con
siderable time, and made us pronounce this
the master-piece of the great Danish sculp
tor. We gazed on it again and again, and
always with fresh pleasure, and lingered
until the curtain by which it is pro
tected, was replaced, and hid it from
our view. I procured a good engraving of
this exquisite work. Near the entrance,
and over two boxes which are destined to
receive the contributions of the charitable,
bassi relievi are placed, inscribed with the
words, " Remember the poor." One repre
sents maternal love — a female carrying one
child, whilst another runs by her side ; the
other, an angel, with his hand resting on
the head of a young boy. Statues of
Luther and Melancthon are intended to
occupy the two vacant niches in this church,
which contains no sculpture by any other
hand than that of Thorwaldsen. There is
an English chapel here, which we attended,
but the congregation did not exceed twenty

309
persons in number, and several of those
were Danes.
The castle of Rosenberg was built by
Inigo Jones ; its gardens near the north
gate of the city are open to the public, and
form an agreeable promenade. I took a
walk of two miles beyond the gate, and
visited the public cemetery, a large piece of
ground covered with graves, each of which
was strewed with flowers. It is nicely kept,
and I saw many groups of persons contem-
plating the funereal urns of their departed
relations and friends.
The environs of Copenhagen are for the
most part very flat, and offer no picturesque
beauty. We, however, enjoyed one good
view from the only high ground in the
neighbourhood, near the castle of Frede-
ricksberg. We dined with our ambassador, Sir Henry
W. Wynn, who through all changes of ad
ministration at home has held his appoint-
x 3

310
ment as our representative at the court of
Denmark for the long period of seventeen
years. He received us with much courtesy,
at his country-house, about three miles from
the city, the gardens of which are laid out
in the English style, and command a fine
sea view.
His present majesty, Christian VIII., is
about sixty years of age. He ascended the
throne three years since, possesses much
natural good sense, and is deservedly popu
lar. In early life he resided for some time
in England, and is said to have profited
from what he saw there and in other coun
tries, and to govern with justice and mode
ration. We saw him go and return from
the theatre in state, accompanied by his
Queen. The household troops forming the
body-guard are fine-looking and well-ap
pointed men ; on state occasions they wear
handsome cuirasses, and are maintained at
a considerable expense to the country ;
their commander is a Danish nobleman.
The king was well received as he passed

311
through the streets, which were lighted by
torches, and every house illuminated. The
pageant was rendered more interesting to
the public from his Majesty having recently
recovered from a serious illness. The car
riage was surrounded by a number of
ragged boys, holding torches close to the
windows, and expressing their loyalty by
making the most outlandish noises imagin
able. This detracted not a little from the
splendour of the scene.
The heir apparent does not bear a good
character. He was banished for some years
from the capital, for having in a state of
intoxication drawn his sword in the presence
of the late king. He has been twice mar
ried, but has no children ; his first wife he
divorced. It is to be feared that whenever
he ascends the throne he will prove a
despotic ruler, and be surrounded by his
former ill associates. At the present mo
ment, therefore, it is the anxious wish of the
public that the reigning monarch may be
induced to grant a new constitution, so fixed
x 4

312
and well secured that it shall not be in the
power of his successor to alter it.
Embarking from Copenhagen in a good
sized steamer, we reached Kiel in about
eighteen hours, a town beautifully situated
in a bay of the Baltic, and after being de
tained there two hours for the examination
of our luggage, a double-bodied and cum
brous vehicle, called an eilwagen (or dili
gence), took us in ten hours more to Ham
burg, a distance of sixty-five miles.

" Hie finis chartaeque viseque."
And now, in laying down my pen, how
many, and how agreeable are the recollec
tions of the scenes and events which I
have attempted to describe. All the little
dangers, discomforts, and inconveniences
inseparable from a wandering over these
primeval and unfrequented districts are
forgotten, or only remembered with a smile,
while the novelty, excitement, and fresh
ness, all, in short, that was pleasurable,

313
remains indelibly fixed on the mind. Nor
were the occasional hardships and priva
tions which we endured during our tour
without their compensating advantages.
They added a sort of dignity of adventure,
a raciness, to the events of the day, which
is wanting in the macadamized highways
of more civilised countries, and amidst
the lazy luxuries of splendid hotels. If
Norway and her rude children lack some
what of the indulgences of civilisation,
they are at least free from the concomitant
vices by which it is too dearly purchased.
They are a primitive people, living among
themselves, and preserving their national
characteristics. To an Englishman, these
descendants of the bold Northmen, by
whom Great Britain, France, Italy, and
Sicily were over-run, must always be
objects of interest, although, in the changes
and chances of events, those nations whom
they once subdued now rule the ascen
dant, and scarcely know the land of the
forest and fiord, the frozen womb of
nations from whence their conquerors

314
emerged. Commerce, literature, politics,
wars in every quarter of the globe, and
a thousand other causes of change, have
modified the English character, and grafted
on the Norman stock both blossoms and
fruit which have been denied to the
original tree ; the off-set has been planted
in a more favourable soil, and has ex
panded into a new and wider growth, but
still we trace with pleasure amongst the
Norwegians the fundamental principles of
the English character; they are kind,
honest, loyal, hospitable, and sincere ; in
dustrious, hardy, and independent ; and,
what is still more important, and still
higher to be praised, they are deeply
and sincerely imbued with sentiments of
religion, and love of personal liberty, those
best foundations of all moral and civil
virtues. In this country, all those who from
age, infirmity, or accidental causes are
unable to earn their own livelihood are
supported by the public, and spared the

315
misery and degradation of beggary. Men
dicity is scarcely known in Norway, and
the traveller is consequently freed from
one of the greatest drawbacks to the
pleasures of continental excursions, espe-
ciaUy in Roman Catholic countries, where
the well-meant but mistaken charity of
the convents holds out a premium to
idleness. None who have been much in
the south of Spain or Italy can ever
forget the eternal and unceasing nuisance
of importunate paupers, who are attracted
by the stranger's purse as flies are to
honey, and whom it is impossible to avoid
or satisfy, for their name is legion. Such
scenes of human debasement and misery
never pain the eye in Norway ; we scarcely
saw a single mendicant during our whole
tour.*

* Although Norway is more free from beggars than
most other countries, yet it must not be supposed that
poverty and pauperism do not exist in it. Here, as in
other lands, there are many who are needy and help
less ; their number varies greatly from year to year,
according to the productiveness of the harvest, and
still more of the fisheries, which afford the principal

316
The besetting sin of the Norwegians
is intemperance ; the cheap and pernicious
finkel, which, like whiskey among our
highlanders, is within the reach of the
poorest, is the poison of the north. Yet,
injurious as is the excessive use of this
spirituous liquor to the Norwegians, it is
less so than it would be elsewhere. The
necessity of some sort of stimulant would
appear to be more urgent in the gloomy,
wintry north, than in the milder regions
of the south ; nor is the morale of the
sustenance of the lower ranks. In regard to the agri
cultural population, great activity and frugality in some
degree make up for the unproductiveness of the soil.
The storthing has passed numerous laws respecting
the poor. In the towns and districts there are com
mittees which estimate the income of each resident ;
and every one, in proportion to his means, is made to
contribute his share to the fund for their support, the
ratio of the payment increasing with the amount of
the payer's income. A tax also is levied on landed
estates, towards the maintenance of the poor, and there
are many charitable institutions for aged pajipers,
the funds for the support of which are principally de
rived from the bequests of charitable persons. These
establishments very closely resemble our English alms
houses.

317
natives so much corrupted by their indul
gence in this vice as might be imagined.
Scattered over the land, and living far
apart and few between, the Norwegians
have not the same facilities and tempta
tions to other excesses which the crowded
vicious city offers to those who have put
into their mouths that which robs them
of their senses. The fresh cold air of the
mountains does wonders also in dispelling
the intoxicating fumes of their darling
beverage, and health is the characteristic
of the land ; health to those who are
born and live there, - and health also to
the care or disease-worn traveller who
comes among them. To a mind ill at
ease, the soothing and invigorating effects
of a Norwegian ramble are almost magical ;
the mind, occupied with a succession of
new and delightful objects, cannot turn
back on itself, or let the iron of corroding
thoughts eat into the soul ; " early to
bed and early to rise," a spare diet, exer
cise, and constant living in the open air,
nerve the frame, and give a new tone and

318
vigour both to body and mind ; and while
wandering amid the lonely majesty of
these mountains, where no sound breaks
the silence, save the distant cataract,
whilst watching the summer start into life,
and recreating in the long and glorious
days when the sun scarcely sets ; who can
regret the thick, the close pent city, who
but would feel himself elevated in his
own estimation, by being thrown on his
own resources, and forced to rely upon and
call into action aU those energies which
hitherto, in a life of indolence and tran
quil comfort, have remained dormant and
undeveloped ?

THE END.

London :
Printed by A. Spottiswoode,
New- Street- Square.

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