LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Shelf_._..,H57 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. GLIMPSES OF NORSELAND IN THE NiEKOFJORD. Glimpses of Norseland BV . HETTA M. HERVEY BOSTON Published for the Author by J. G. CUPPLES / \ \ \ ^ Copyright, 1889, By J. G. CVPPLES. All Rights Reserved. .w^'^ To My Hostess and Friend, s. or. B., IN AFFECTIONATE KPJJMEMBKANCK OF A SUMMER SPENT WITH HER IN "GAMLE NOKGE." ^^- VX. PREFACE The account of Norway, and of the customs of its sturdy, honest people, given in this Httle volume, is the result of a two- months' sojourn in that northern land. X Preface. Although my journeyings were Hmited to the west coast and its fjords, yet they led me through some of the grandest and most enchanting scenery of the world, and af- forded me many a glimpse of the home- life of the peasants. Private hospitality is so much the same, the world over, among cultivated people, that no allusion has been made to this feature of our summer's sojourn in Norway, except in one or two instances of purely local character and interest. If these pages serve, in a slight measure, to refresh the memories of those who have been in the land of the Vikings, and also give to the general reader some conception of the information and benefit to be derived from a journey through its wonderful fjords, the object of the writer will be accomplished. ROWING TO THE SHORE. CONTENTS, PAGE CHAPTER I. The Start — Erratic Steamers — Rain — Sail to Bergen — Creation of- Norway — First Glimpse of the Weeping City — Difficulties of Landing — The National Bed ......... i xii Contents. CHAPTER 11. Bergen — A Rainy City — Scenes in the Fish Market — Peasants' Shoes — Quaint Shops — A Disdainful Maiden — Native Jewelry — Scenes in the Strand Gade — Picturesque Cos- tumes — A Drive with the Mayor — Fine Roads — License System — Beautiful Scenery — Leprosy — Hanseatic Museum — Schools — Ole Bull's Grave 13 CPIAPTER IIL Up the Hardanger Fjord to Odde — Plan of the Tour — A Breakfast on the Steamer — Ubiqui- tous Cheese — Bread — Unique Tariff of Fares — Wonderful Scenery — Hardanger Peasants. 47 CHAPTER IV. Odde — Sandven Vand — Difficulties with the Language — A Norwegian Saddle — Buarbrae Glacier — Buar Farm — Stolk jaerre — Laatefos — A Remarkable Horse Vocabulary — Kind- ness to Animals — Stores — Length of Days . 63 Contents. xiii CHAPTER V. Odde to Vik — Norwegian Constitution — Legal Code — Eide — Norwegian Hospitality — Ride over the Mountains — Trouble with the Horse — National Proverb — System of Bag Weights — Roving Ponies — Ulvik — An Appetizing Meal— Row to Vik — Eagle Nest Huts — Ollendorfian Conversation — Vik 85 CHAPTER VI. Visit to the Voringsfos — The Maabo Farm — • Methods of Conversation — Sure - Footed Ponies — Hoi Farm — Peasant Proprietorship — Norwegian IMusic — Confirmation Service — Old Church — Speeding the Parting Guest. 107 CHAPTER Vn. Down the Sogne Fjord — Vik to Laerdalsoren — After-Dinner Coffee — Busy Little Eide — Nor- wegian Carriole — Posting System — An Acci- dent on the Road — Carrioling to Vossevangen — Norwegian Honesty — Posting to Gud- xlv Contents. PAGE vangen — Stalheimsklev — Naerodal — A Won- derful Gorge — Weird Scenery — Gudvangen — Naero Fjord — Laerdalsoren 125 CHAPTER VIII. Laerdalsoren — A Splendid Highway — A Full Account of. Saeters — Hospitable Maidens — Bonder Etiquette — The Marvellous Bor- gund Church — Drawbacks of Riding — Hay- making — Rude System of Agriculture — Method of Storing Grain — Onto Maristuen. 145 CHAPTER IX. The Return — An Amusing Character — Peas- ants* Generosity — Glimpse of a Bonder Farm — Food of the Bonder — A Curious Custom — Hospitality — Characteristics of the Bonder — J ack-of- All-Trades — Church of Laerdalsoren. 167 CHAPTER X. The Sogne Fjord — Comparison of the Har- danger and Sogne Fjords — Awe-inspiring Scenery — An Immense Avalanche — Bale- strand — Bergen 187 Contents. xv PAGE CHAPTER XL Railway Journey to Nisten — Life on the Farms — Lysekloster — Vegetation at the North — Hard Life of the Pastors — An Old Church — The Ruins — Harald Haarfagre's Wife — A Romantic Marriage — Fish Pudding — End of our Journey 197 CHAPTER XH. A Beautiful Island — An Evening Fete — The Spring Dance — The Hailing . . . . . . 217 CHAPTER XHL Norway's Attractions — Its Facilities for Travel- ling — What to Wear — Norwegian Currency — Advantages of the Posting System — Char acteristics of the Peasants — Conclusion . . 235 STOLKJ/ERRE. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, In the N^rofjord Frontispiece En Route ....'....... Title-page Norwegian Road viii Leif Ericsson \_After Afiss Whitney's Statue'] . ix Rowing to the Shore xi TOLLEKNIV AND BiLT Xvi Stolkj/erre xvii Old Cream Bowl xviii Peasant Costumes 30 Interior of S^eter 150 Spring Dance 228 A Remembrance 243 CHAPTER I. THE START. GLIMPSES OF NORSELAND, CHAPTER I. The Start — Erratic Steamers — Rain ! — Sail to Ber- gen — Creation of Norway — First Glimpse of the "Weeping City" — Difficulties of Landing — The National Bed. HE Land of the Vik- ings ! What a halo of romance and le- gend wreathes its rocky shores ! To- day, as I look out over the broad ocean toward the sunrise, and let memory have its way, scenes and Glimpses of Norseland. events come back to me with a com- pleteness of joy that my Norway days, even though lengthened by the sunbeams of the midnight sun, were all too short to fully grasp. The eastern horizon line seems to fade away, and in its stead there rises before me visions of great, glittering arms of the sea, that stretch far inland, of gay 'hamlets rimmed with narrow emerald settings, of wild ravines, of countless catar- acts, of mighty cliffs, of grand glaciers, and of *' Bleak, tremendous hills Where Winter sits and sees the summer burn In valleys deeper than yon cloud is high." We had been spending the summer with a friend at her beautiful island home not far distant from Bergen, where we read the The Start. Sagas ; and pored over the histories of " Gamle Norge," until our souls were fired with a great desire to tread on historic ground; to see the valley where Frithiof won his Ingeborg; and to walk through the streets that Olaf the Silent built The desire is often father of the action as well as of the thought, and a favorable opportunity offering, one gloomy day saw us en route for Bergen and the far-famed fjords. The small steamers that ply in these arms of the sea for local traffic can never be depended on to arrive or depart at their advertised time, for in a land where daylight reigns nearly the whole twenty-four hours, there is always time enough and some to spare, and a delay of an hour or two causes no inconvenience to the leisurely going na- Glimpses oj Norscland, tives, though travellers from other countries have to learn to possess their souls in patience. In our case the little '' Bjorn " was an hour late, and it seemed as if Jupiter Pluvius had chosen the day of our departure to display his lordly powers, for it was rain- ing in sheets as we steamed out of the Lyso Fjord to take our devious way to Bergen. In and out we sailed, zigzagging from side to side, now^ seeming to steer straight for the towering hills, now gliding through a " field of boulders with the ocean let in." We seemed floating aimlessly, gray sky above us, and emotional gray sea beneath us. As we sat on the dripping deck, fortified with umbrellas and mackintoshes, and gazed on the gloomy landscape around us, this legend of the creation of Norway seemed very pro- Legend of Norway, bable : When God had finished making the world, so the story goes, and was resting from His labors, the Devil became envious of the wonderful new world and determined to destroy it. To accomplish his purpose he seized an immense jagged rock, and with all his strength hurled it downward toward the European continent with such force that it threatened to break the axis of the earth. But the Creator arrested it in its course, and, fixing it firmly just below the surface of the waters to the north of Eu- rope, scattered over its myriad jagged points the few handfuls of earth that He had left, not enough by any means to cover it de- cently ! As a proof of this tale, there were the islands all around us, hundreds in sight at Glimpses of Norseland, once, varying in size from the little rocky ones where the sea-birds have their nests, to the large green ones where the farmer builds his red-roofed cot and tills his hand's- breadth patch of grain. Everything else seemed colorless and shadowy through the rain, though now and then we could catch chaotic glimpses of snow-clad peaks gleam- ing out of black clouds, or huddles of small farmsteads on stretches of barren shore. No sound broke the monotonous dripping of the rain and the plashing of the waves but the occasional shrill whistle of the steamer or the cries of the sailors. For three hours we sailed in and out of the labyrinthian passages of this dim rocklet and islet world ; and the midnight bell was sounding when at last we began to descry, Approach to Bergen. through the mists, the scattering lights of Bergen. Slowly we steamed past the rows of old Dutch warehouses dimly looming through the fog, past black hulls around which hung the aroma of ages of fish, threading our way through the closely packed harbor, until, being unable to reach the wharf on account of the limited dock accommodations, we were obliged to stop alongside of two other steamers. To regain terra firma it was necessary to leap over the watery spaces that separated the boats. This was a feat which, in our drenched and benumbed condition, required considerable courage to attempt ; but with the assistance of the captain, who kindly guided our hesitating steps and encouraged us with unintelligible Norwegian words, we 8 Giimpses of Morseland. accomplished it in safety. Usually there are no carriages so late as this on the wharf, but a friend had thoughtfully sent one to meet us, and we were soon at the hospitable Hotel Norge, drying our drenched garments and enjoying a hearty repast. Our rooms we found to be large and w^ell furnished; and here we had our first ex- perience of the national bed. Why these Northern people should have such a limited idea of a bed one cannot imagine ! They evidently believe in the truth of the adage : " Man wants but little here below, nor wants that little long ! " and agree with Alexander the Russian " that nothing is too little for a great man," for their beds are only five feet long, or even less, and narrow in proportion. It would seem that they were more suited National Bed. to the diminutive Lapps than the long- limbed Norsemen, but fashion here as else- where probably is more powerful than the consideration of comfort. Their make-up is as peculiar as their size. First, at the head of the usual mattress, there was a curious pillow arrangement in the shape of a wedge about two feet long, sloping down from a thickness of eight inches to one ; above this was placed a broad square pillow, and a loose sheet was flung over the whole; another pillow and loose blankets, and finally a fourth pillow, a coverlet, and an eiderdown puff ! As none of the coverings were tucked in, the bed looked in a decidedly incomplete state. We did not, however, delay long to ex- lo Glimpses of Norse land. amine the furnishings of the rooms, but soon, tired out with our long, rainy sail, sank to rest under the pile of coverings. CHAPTER 11. A DAY AT BERGEN. CHAPTER II. Bergen — A Rainy City — Scenes in the Fish Market — Peasants' Shoes — Quaint Shops — A Disdainful Maiden — Native Jewelry — Scenes in the Strand- GADE — Picturesque Costumes — Drive with the Mayor — Fine Roads — License System — Beautiful Scenery — Leprosy — Hanseatic Museum — Schools — Ole Bull's Grave. BERGEN, the town that good King Olaf Kyrre founded, is situated be- tween those two great arms of the sea, the Hardanger and the Sogne Fjords, and it is said to be built, hke ancient Rome, on seven hills. It is a quaint old town, with many narrow, steep streets 14 Glimpses of Norseland. bordered with faded red houses, which are crowded so closely together that it seems as though a slight jostle of the top- most building would set them all a-sliding down the hill. Some of them date back to the time of the great Hanseatic League, and, with their sharp-peaked roofs and gable ends towards the street, remind one imme- diately of old German dwellings. The roofs are all red tiled ; the gable-ends red tiled also ; the diamond-paned windows open outward like shutters, and every win- dow-sill is filled with masses of sweet old- fashioned blossoms. None of the buildings seem to have the same frontage line ; some boldly elbow their neighbors back from the street, while they push their own steps away out on the pavement ; others bashfully Quaint Buildings. 15 retreat as far as possible, and have their entrance in the basement. The angles and corners made by these freaky houses is the perfection of the beauty of irregularity, and this, when added to their soft old colors and irrepressible gables and ridges, gives them a most fascinating and picturesque appear- ance. Bergen was once the capital of Norway, and it is said to be still the commercial rival of Christiania. Although one is rather in- clined to doubt this statement, there can be no question but that it surpasses the new capital in the abundance of its fish and the quantity of its rain. It is said that the rain- fall here is six feet a year, and there were certainly enough umbrellas and waterproofs displayed in the stores of the city to warrant 1 6 Glimpses of Norselaiid. the statement. As a matter of course in such a damp state of affairs, the umbrella plays an important part in the everyday life of the Bergenser, and its value is recognized even in that service that marks such an im- portant era in the lives of Norway's youth, the service of confirmation ; for the com- municant who has passed a satisfactory ex- amination, and listened to the usual exhor- tation, is not considered to be fully equipped for a proper entrance upon the battle of life until he has received, in addition to the Bible given by the pastor, the more material but necessary gift of an umbrella to shield it on his way to and from church. However large the trade in umbrellas may be, it is exceeded by the trafific in fish. Off of, as well as on, fish do the Norwe- Fisheries. 1 7 gians live, and if Catholicism should pass away, Norway would be reduced to abject poverty, for every year enormous quantities of its cod and herring are sent to the south- ern parts of Europe. The great majority of the inhabitants of the coast are fishermen and sailors, and this accounts for the fact that many of their tales possess a strong flavor of the salt sea and its changing moods, and that their favorite heroes are found among the dauntless Vikings. The cod fishermen usually start out in February, or sometimes as early as January, for the grounds off the Lofoden Isles, where, until March, it is estimated there are fully thirty- five hundred boats, employing upwards of twenty thousand sailors, engaged in fishing. The men live in huts along the shores of 1 8 Glimpses of Norseland, the islands, and the business is carried on under the supervision of the Government, v^hich uses every precaution to render this dangerous occupation comparatively safe. In stormy weather the fishermen are pro- hibited under penalty of a fine from ventur- ing out to the fishing grounds to set their nets, and even in suitable weather they are obliged to wait until the requisite signal for setting out is displayed by the officers in charge. Resident physicians are appointed each year, and trading vessels from the mainland supply them with the necessary provisions. But despite the utmost care and vigilance this business can never be anything but dangerous, and few are the families who have not lost some dear ones in fearful hand-to-hand conflicts with black Fisheries. 1 9 fogs, short, raging cross seas, and roaring northwesters. These codfish are such stu- pid, conservative fellows, swimming year after year in the same waters, off the same old shores, and greedily nibbling the same tempting kinds of bait, that their name has become a synonym for stupidity, and instead of deriding a man by calling him a goose, the Norwegian stigmatizes him as a Torsk or cod ! The herring, Norway's other important export, are more erratic in their shining movements, and as soon as the glittering shoal makes it appearance in a favorable place, word is sent to the waiting fishermen, whose prosperity depends upon the catch of these elusive fish. The methods used for discovering the presence of the herring are 20 Glimpses of Norseland, very ingenious. In the daytime a sort of submarine telescope, four or five feet in length, not unlike an enormous speaking- trumpet in form, with the broader end glazed, and the other large enough to cover the face, is placed under the water, and the man in charge can easily discover whether the piscatorial prizes have arrived. At night the simple contrivance of a piece of lead attached to a fine cord and let down into the sea is all that is necessary, for if the shoals are large they may be felt jost- ling against the lead. It is a most pictur- esque sight to see \}^^jagts come home after a successful season, with pennons gayly streaming and decks piled high with finny prizes ! As they glide up to the wharf, doz- ens of friendly hands are in readiness to Fish-Market Scenes. 21 catch the hawsers, while many a woman's face is bathed in happy tears as she pHes her weather-beaten husband or lover with eager questions. It was our good luck to be present on one of the market days at the Torv or fish- market. It w^as not a building but an open market-place on the quays, where the market-men were sailors and the stalls were fishing-boats. The customers were for the most part women, who came in crowds, carrying tin scuttles on their arms in which to place their purchases. The water-spaces between the ships were packed closely with little, darting boats filled with a wriggling mass of mackerel, herring, salmon, eels, and other small fish, which the skippers offered for sale, while some of the vendors sold their 2 2 Glimpses of Norseland, squirming, jumping beauties from tubs on the quays. In boat and on shore was ges- ticulating, shouting, and scolding. A house- wife would plunge her hand into one of the tubs and draw out a struggling fish ; if it did not please her or the price was too high, she would throw it back with a splash and demand another. Whenever a new boat made its appear- ance there would be a rush in that direction and a renewed clamor of voices. Besides the tubs of fish, there wxre tables of vegetables, fruit, and flowers, presided over by dames with keen eyes and brawny arms. Every woman that had a pint of berries, a string of onions, or a bunch of flowers, tried to sell it, and while waiting for a cus- tomer her busy hands were occupied in Antique Articles. . 23 patching the ever-yawning stockings or knitting new ones. And no wonder ! The peasants wear wooden shoes, hol- lowed out of a single piece of wood, with no heel and only a little toe ; how it is pos- sible ever to have a whole stocking is a mystery ! Leaving the fish-market we strolled down the quaint Strandgade, the " Regent Street " of Bergen. Some of the odd stores that bordered it were raised a little above the level of the street, and had below them other rather inferior ones. The shops were filled with antique articles, or what purported to be antique ; but, after several months of travelling, the observing woman 'comes to the conclusion that some of the most an- 24 Glimpses of Norseland. cient in appearance are manufactured in this nineteenth century of ours : — Quaint, heav)^ silver spoons with large bowls and short handles ; silver drinking cups, their rims ornamented with dangling disks ; old beakers shaped and colored like hens ; gay, red trunks, like those we saw in every peasant's home ; fascinating little luncheon boxes called tines, with some legend like : " Leave me empty," painted on them, and gayly colored bowls which seemed to have drifted from Algiers. What a wealth of jewelry the old Norse people wore ! Heavy silver rings, massive silver bracelets, and dozens of silver buttons ; one finds them in all the stores, although the peasants now know their value and part with them only when compelled to do so by necessity. A Wealthy Peasants. ^5 friend of mine, whose travelling suit was trimmed with steel buttons, was at one time travelling in Gudbransdal, the richest district of Norway, and had there a rather amusing encounter with a Norsk girl, at whose simple home she had stopped in order to rest the weary post-horses. As she waited in the living room and turned over a book of loose photographs, mentally re- marking on the simplicity of these people, who evidently believed everyone to be as honest, as themselves, her attention was at- tracted by the admiring gaze and exclama- tions of the landlady and her daughters, who had formed a circle about her and were fur- tively examining the bright buttons of her dress. ** These be silver?" one of the girls at 26 Glimpses of N or s eland. last had courage to ask. " O no/' said the lady, " those are steel.'' At this the girl shrugged her shoulders disdainfully, and, after explaining to the others what my friend felt to be a humiliating fact, she left the room and returned with a red bodice which was profusely ornamented w^ith gen- uine silver buttons. There are many rich peasants who pre- serve a primitive simplicity in their manners and customs; and no one stopping at this station would have suspected that the family was either wealthy or of ancient lineage, but such was the fact, for Herr Toftemoen is a lineal descendant of the great Harold Haarfager, the first king of Norway, and is the possessor of a wonderful service of sil- ver. For centuries it has been the custom Wealthy Peasaizis, ^7 of the Toftemoens that the son who in- herited the farm should make with his own hands a silver drinking-cup, and no ancient coat-of-arms could be so impressive as this precious heirloom of a hundred and fifty battered and dented beakers. When the present king passed through Gudbransdal on his way to Trondhjem, it is said that he was invited to sup at this station by the bonder, who informed him that it was unnecessary to unpack his silver, for there was enough in the house for him and all his retainers ; and then when the repast was served, ignor- ing the present difference in rank, the sturdy old farmer, with the independent spirit of his ancestors, quietly sat down beside his royal guest. What a picture for a poet or a painter to immortalize ; two descendants of 28 Glimpses of Morseland. kings, one in royal apparel, the other in plain homespun, supping together in a low, smoke-stained room, with the flickering flames of the hearth-fire touching brightly the faded embroideries that adorn the walls and playing among the rows of silver beakers from which many a legendary old hero quaffed mighty draughts ! But leaving fancies and returning to our subject of jewelry: — The modern silver ornaments cannot be compared with the old in artistic workman- ship, but they preserve, in a measure, the old- time style and its characteristic feature of hanging dangling disks and crosses in every available space. Almost all of the new jewelry has more or less of filigree ornamen- tation, an art that was originally learned Scenes on the Strandgade. 29 from two Genoese who wandered up to Trondhjem ; but thougli the Norwegian fiU- gree is of artistic design and good workman- ship it hardly equals that made in South- ern Europe. As a whole the national jewelry is odd and interesting, but not par- ticularly desirable for personal wear. We, however, like all travellers, bought a num- ber of characteristic pieces as souvenirs. This Strandgade on a market-day is a most fascinating place ! Groups of peasants pass and repass. Here a group from the Hardanger Fjord, the women with plain dark skirts, full-sleeved cotton waists, and gay bodices ; the men looking like sailors with their wide trousers and slouch hats. There, some from the Tellemark district, the men with knee-breeches and open, rolling shirt 30 Glimpses of Norseland. collars, the women with scarlet petticoats and black jackets; and there, some men from the Saeterdal, easily recognized by their extreme height and their peculiar cos- tume, which consists of trousers reaching A Drive about Bergen, 31 from the ankle to the armpit, above which is a short vest much ornamented with silver buttons. The women from this district wear very short skirts showing their bright garters, and are evidently proud of their shapely limbs. Now a pastor in a long black gown and high white ruff hurries by ; now a wrinkled dame bending under a load of juniper boughs; there, goes a peasant trudging beside a little cart piled high with sacks of vegetables ; here, a sturdy girl clatters past, firkins of butter swinging from the wooden yoke on her shoulders. So they come and go, and we would fain have spent the day in watchincr them if we had not had the pleasure of a drive before us ; but the Mayor, whose invitation we had previously 32 Glimpses of Norseland, accepted, arrived, and we speedily took our seats in his roomy barouche, which the sturdy little ponies seemed to find little trouble in drawing, and quickly bowled away from the business streets. Our way, which led up the slopes of a mighty hill called the Floifjeld, was a mar- vel of engineering. Five great bends the road made, and even then the way was so steep that we were obliged to leave the carriage and walk, in order to rest the horses. Truly these Norwegians vie with the Swiss in their wonderful road-building ! " The roads are made in this way," said the Mayor. '' First a foundation of heavy boul- ders, then great slabs of granite, and lastly, a thick covering of fine gravel. The sides are of solid masonry and the edges are pro- Liquor Traffic. 33 tected as you see by pointed rocks set at regular intervals. You were also asking why this road was called the Drammens Vei : it was so called from the fact that it was built from the profits received from the sale of liquor. Bergen, like most of the Nor- wegian cities, now controls the liquor traffic herself, having but one place of sale and allowing that only to be open during certain hours. No liquor can be drunk on the pre- miseSj and not less than a bottle is sold at a thne. Wine may be ordered at the hotels except on fete days or holidays, but then it is impossible to procure it anywhere. Since this system has been adopted drunkenness has greatly decreased in Norway." As he finished we reached the summit of the hill, and below us, bathed in the light of the 34 Glimpses of Norseland. summer sun, lay the beautiful quaint city, its gay-colored houses with their red-tiled roofs standing out sharply against the masses of gray rock that rose hundreds of feet behind them. The harbor was filled with craft; the jagts with their high prows and firm square sails reminding one of the Long Serpent of Olaf and the days of the Vikings. Here and there glittered broad blue bays broken by green curving promontories ; tiers of blue and gray hills towered majestically from the sunlit fjord ; snowy peaks gleamed in the purple distance ; islands, islands everywhere, hundreds in sight at once ! As soon as we began to descend the hill, however, the trees intercepted the beautiful view, and at the foot we came upon the Lepers HospitaL 35 grounds and buildings of the Lepers' Hos- pital. This dreadful disease is the scourge of Norway, and the most earnest and scien- tific efforts so far have proved unavailing in eradicating it. There are five hospitals devoted to lepers in Norway, and all those families in which the disease has declared itself are closely watched by the Govern- ment, none of the members beincr allowed to marry, for though not generally consid- ered to be contagious, there is no doubt but that leprosy is hereditary. The pa- tients mostly come from the fishing dis- tricts, where the disease is caused by expos- ure to wet and cold, a too exclusive use of fish food, and a lack of fruits and vegetables. The physicians say that the number of lepers is decreasing, but, alas, there are still 36 Glimpses of Norscland. fully fifteen hundred of the miserable beings in the country ! We drew a breath of relief as we passed the gloomy buildings and rolled along the broad King Oscars Gade, w^iere are the homes of the prosperous merchants of Ber- gen. A few moments more and we drew rein before the pleasant summer home of our host. As soon as we entered, a trig little maiden in peasant costume, her fair hair braided with ribbons and wound about her head, hastened in, bearing a silver salver on which were bottles of wine and lemonade and a dish of sweet cakes. It is the eti- quette in Norway to offer these refresh- ments whenever a friend calls, and also to greet them with retrospective thanks in the phrase " Tak for sidst '' (Thanks for the last A Pleasant Call, 37 time we met). We ate our cakes and sipped our wine and lemonade sitting on the broad piazza which overlooked the glittering fjord, while our host told us how he had saved two youths from drowning the day be- fore. As he described the swift run from the house, the quick row to the spot where they had sunk, and the rescue, his eyes sparkled and his face glowed with feeling ; one would have thought him an emotional Italian rather than a dweller of the cold North. The Norwegian, despite his prudence and reserve, has a strong vein of romance in his nature, which his rock-ribbed surround- ino'S serve to cfuard rather than crush. With the cordial '' Tak for idag" (Thanks for to-day) of our hostess ringing in our ears o 8 Glimpses of Norseland. we left the house and began our drive back to the hotel. It was about noon, and the sidewalks were crowded with school children returning home. Each child had a little knapsack full of books on his back and in his hand the usual umbrella. " We are very proud of our schools/' said a Norwegian gentleman to me ; and well they may be. Besides receiving thorough instruction in the usual branches, the boys are required to practise athletic and military exercises, in order to prepare them for the army, in which every Nor- wegian youth is required to serve a certain length of time. It is probably owing to the exercises in these schools that the Norwegian men are so erect and well developed. Hanseatic Miiscitin, 39 Then the girls have a large industrial school where they are taught all the arts that will fit them to be good housewives. Sewing, darning, knitting, and so forth occupy one-half of their school hours, and studies the other half. This school has over five hundred pupils, and their work is so well done that there is. always a demand for it if they care to sell. As a few moments remained before it was necessary for us to return to the hotel, vv^e determined to spend them in the Hanseatic Museum. A quaint old place it was, in one of the buildings of the Hanseatic League. The arrangements and furniture of the rooms retained their old Hanseatic character, and there were many curious relics of the period 40 Glimpses of Norselaiid. when that formidable German trading com- pany ruled Bergen and monopolized the commerce of Northern Europe. Off of one of the rooms was a closet which had originally been a bedchamber, though it was so small that it hardly contained the usual impossible bed and a tiny stool. We noticed that on the side next to the hall, about on a level with the bedstead, was a curious square aperture of no apparent use. On inquiry, however, we learned that it was constructed for a specific purpose. It seems that when the League was formed, all the officers were sworn to celibacy, and it was determined that no woman should penetrate into the sacred precincts of their buildings farther than the hall, for fear that they might intermarry with the susceptible Hanscatic Afuseum. 41 Germans and so alienate them from their vows. But although the masculine mind seemed to have been capable of grasping the mysteries of cooking, the art of bed- making was evidently too much for their comprehension, for these apertures were made in order that through them the maids might perform this office. None but a Norwegian bed could have been made in this way, for the openings were hardly large enough for the admittance of both arms at once ! The pots, pans, and kettles used in the culinary department were carefully pre- served, and among them we noticed a brass urn so heavy that we could hardly lift it with both hands. "Ah!" said the old guide, in German, a language spoken by 42 Glimpses of Norseland. nearly all the better-educated Norwegians, "how we have degenerated since the time of the League ; we never perform our ablutions in clean water now." After enjoying for a time our natural surprise, he explained that standing water can never be so pure as running water, and that we now cleanse our hands in basins of water, while the ancients laved theirs in streams poured from these urns. Here was what purported to be an accurate diagram of Noah's Ark, with the building-plans carefully drawn in case of there being any necessity of constructing another ! there a pile of heavy silver rings or- namented with quaint devices. Old buckles, brooches, and chains, silver beakers dented and broken from the wassails of genera- tions, swords battered and stained in mem- Ole BicWs Grave. 43 orable battles, — all these and many more curious objects of interest the quaint mu- seum possessed; but we could give them only a cursory glance, for our plans necessi- tated an early return to the hotel. In the afternoon we visited the old graveyard where rests the dust of one of Norway's greatest sons, Ole Bull. Interments in this cemetery had been forbidden for some time previous to the death of the violinist, but his native city claimed that he should be buried within its limits and offered the cen- tral spot of the old graveyard for his last resting-place, to be permanently reserved when all the other graves, in the course of time, should be levelled and the ground con- verted to a park. Several shadowy paths lead up to the spot, through whose vistas 44 Glimpses of Norseland. one obtains glimpses of the blue, wood- framed lake, and a grand offlook toward the. everlasting hills. The monument is a mas- sive bronze vase, six feet in height, orna- mented only by the inscription and the tangles of ivy that grow at its base and clasp its sides with green, leafy arms. Seen as we saw it in the golden light of cross sunbeams, it stood a fitting memorial to the artist who slept beneath, "a man who had ever loved his Gamle Norge and ever will be beloved of her." CHAPTER III. UP THE HARDANGER EJORD TO ODDE. CHAPTER III. Up the Hardanger Fjord to Odde — Plan of the Tour — A Breakfast on the Steamer — Bread — UBiqyi- Tous Cheese — Unic:^je Tariff of Fares — Wonder- ful Scenery — Hardanger Peasants. THE best things in this life seem always snatched on chances/' says one writer, and so we found it in our trip through the fjords. As we looked over our guide-books and mapped out our plans, it was by mere chance that we decided on a route which afterwards we learned was the only one on which we could have seen so 48 Glimpses of Norseland. many objects of interest in the short space of ten days. It led us from Bergen up the Hardanger Fjord to Odde, near which place are many noted waterfalls and glaciers. By steamer again to Eide ; over the mountains to Ulrik ; across the Ulrik's Fjord to Vik and the famous Voringfos ; back to Eide, and by posting routes to Vossevangen and Gudvangen ; up the Sogne Fjord to Laerdalsoren; to Borgund Church and Maristuen ; back to Laerdals- oren and through the Sogne Fjord to Ber- gen ; by train and carriole to Lysekloster, and by row-boat back to the island of Lyso. A wild thing it would seem to many, for two lone women, without even a "diamond edition " knowledge of the Norwegian Ian- National Dishes, 49 guage, to make a tour through a sparsely settled country, where steamers come and go at their own sweet will, bound by no laws of time, and accommodations are by no means of the best. But what would be an utter impossibility in any other country under the sun, is in this honest land of the North both possible and easy if one has the courage to attempt it. It was a lovely day in July when our good ship " Hardangeren " left the populous shores of Bergen and steamed through the channels of a northern Archipelago toward the mouth of the Hardanger Fjord. Hardly had we started, when the gong sounded for breakfast ; and, as it was our first distinctly national meal, we examined with much interest the many odd dishes that were 50 Glimpses of Norseland. arranged up and down the centre of the coarse table-cloth. There were ten kinds of cheese, of all ages and of all colors, nine kinds of long sausages, smoked reindeer tongues, sardines, and smoked raw salmon. This collection, which probably took the place of the Swe- dish smorgas or appetizer, had an aged look, as though it had made many voyages on the steamer, and we turned from it with delight to the savory, hot dish which the steward set before us. It was a kind of meat ball, so he told us, made of the best beef chopped finely and mixed with suet, eggs, milk, cracker crumbs, and spice. The hash was then moulded into balls and fried in butter. The lax or salmon was also very palatable ; but as it was served to us in Varieties of Cheese. 51 some form or other three times a day during our whole trip, it soon lost its charms. The Norwegians have the same proverb for cheese that we have for fruit : " Gold in the morning; silver at noon/' and they live up to it religiously. The favorite cheese is mysost or goat's cheese. It is made from the whey, which is boiled till all the water has been evaporated and it be- comes a dark brown color, then it is taken from the pot and moulded into bricks weighing from three to four pounds each. Another popular cheese is the gammel ost, a fermented cheese made from sour skim milk, and of so strong an odor that only a few slices are ever placed on the table at once. Then there was the kummiii ost, and the ptilt ost, and many other osts too 52 Glimpses of Norseland. numerous to describe. The bread was prin- cipally made of rye or barley, although there were some rolls of white bread called kringlers ; these, however, are considered great delicacies, and the usual bread we found to be kaverings, or rye biscuits, which had been dried in a very hot oven until they became brittle. All the Norwe- gian dishes are highly spiced, and as cream enters largely into their composition, they have a rich, sweet flavor. There is one custom that obtains on these steamers which would be abused in any country but Norway: it is the custom of paying only one and a half fares where a parent and child or a husband and wife travel together. Whether this custom was instituted to induce families to travel to- Rcdiiced Fares. 53 gether, or to lighten the expenses of a mafried man, I do not know, but it is only one of the many proofs that everywhere abound of the Norwegian's faith in his fellow-man. After seeing our simple luggage, which consisted of two bags and a parcel, safely placed in the upper cabin, we went on deck, and, with phrase-books in hand, tried to fill our empty minds with Ollendorfic Norwe- gian. A sudden exclamation from my com- panion caused me to lift my eyes from the book : *' What do we care," she ex- claimed impatiently, " whether the little boy has eaten the apple of his father or not, when we have such scenery around us ? " And from that time till we reached Odde the phrase-book was relegated to the bag, 54 Glimpses of Norseland. while we drank in the beauties of the enchanting scenery. Words are not adequate to describe it — this lovely fjord. As I write there comes before me a series of ever-changing, ever- meltinsf views. Grand old hills rise on either side of an opaline fjord, their tops capped with fields of eternal snow, while at their feet nestle little hamlets whose red-tiled roofs stand out sharply against a background of sombre firs. Mountain streams galore; some like beams of sunlight sparkle dowm toward the glittering fjord; some, like ravelled clouds, seem only an extension of the mighty gla- ciers far up in the sky ; and some, like mad rivers jumping and roaring, plunge down steep, serrated precipices, their devious Loveliest of all the Fjords. 55 paths being marked by lines of vivid ver- dure. The fjord, ever changing, ever reflecting the elusive tints of the foliage ; translucent greens and yellows in the narrows, glittering blue in the openings. Little huts, like eagle-nests perched on dizzy heights ; little bobbing boats with loads of passengers dressed in character- istic costumes ; — everything strange, fasci- nating, dreamlike. As the great sun set, a feeling of solem- nity came over us ; the mountains, which had glowed with opal and ruby tints, grad- ually faded into a deepening purple; the tremulous water reflected the dark blue of the sky; one by one the cold gleaming stars appeared ; stern and dark loomed the bleak. 56 Glimpses of Norseland, tremendous hills, their blackness broken only by great belts of sparkling snow. O Hardanger! with your fjords and fjelds, your glaciers and cataracts, well may you be the theme of poet and painter forever ! It was with a feelino: of orratitude that we arose the next morning from our comfort- able berths in the little upper cabin that a friend had engaged for us, and looked into the crowded ladies' saloon, where, on lounges, the less fortunate had been obliged to spend the night. " Odde at twelve, and then the Buarbrae Glacier and the Laate- fos," said we gleefully, as we gained the deck. It was strange that, like Dickens's Oliver Twist, we always wanted more ; the feast of yesterday had been most generous, yet with eager interest we anticipated the Amphibiotts Norzvcgia7is, 57 glories of the morrow. An hour before we reached our destination we stopped off a Httle hamlet and took on board a boat-load of peasants. The steamers seldom come alongside the wharves at the small stations, but simply slow down and wait for the passengers to be rowed out to them. The Norwegians are as much at home on the water as on the land ; they think noth- ing of leaping from one rocking boat to another; and men, women, and children in loading and unloading their small boats fearlessly stand, jump, and move about with only a board between them and a fjord hundreds of feet deep. What makes their confidence the more remarkable is the fact that hardly any of them know how to swim. After having seen their dexterous man- 58 Glimpses of N'orseland. oeuvres we were more inclined to put cre- dence in that feat of Olaf Trygveson chron- icled by old Pontoppidan in the words : " He was so nimble that he could walk outside of a boat upon the oars while the men were rowing.'' These peasants were all dressed in the Hardanger costume, which is one of the most picturesque in Norway. It consists of a dark skirt bordered with bright velvet and tinsel, a long white apron finely worked, a bright red bodice cut low in the back and front and showing the full sleeved white shirt, a heavily beaded breastplate and dangling silver ornaments. The married women wear a peculiar winged headdress of finely crimped cambric that is fastened closely around their faces and rolled over a Costumes of Har danger Women. 59 wooden frame. It flares broadly at the sides and then hangs down the back in a long point. The girls wear their hair braided with ribbons, and sometimes a co- quettish little beaded cap rests on their flaxen heads. Each one carried a gayly colored tine in her hand, and they were evidently bound on a day's pleasuring, for their blue eyes sparkled and their sun- burned faces were wreathed in smiles. " Farvel ! farvel ! " they cried to the sturdy boatmen who had brought them to the steamer, and who now stood upright on the thwarts of their boats waving adieus, '' Paa gjenseyn " (Till we meet again), and then seating themselves in a gossipy circle they carefully spread out their gowns and took from their pockets the ever-present 6o Glimpses of Norseland. knitting, and their bright needles clicked merrily until we reached Odde. " And one was singing the ancient rune Of Brynhilda's love and the wrath of Gudrun ; And through it, and round it, and over it all Sounded incessant the waterfall/* CHAPTER IV. IN AND ABOUT ODDE. ■'/IS^Sf 'J^3^^ 'm^M^m M&^ ^*>- ^>s£r^ ^.> ^^2iS^^ f:.^ -0^' m^^^^sa^j^ T^^lUBi jj^-/~k_ Wv •1' '^''§^^£"' '^'^'T ^Sr \^ ^i, %V^' i^i^; M^^^ ^^> ^ tt CHAPTER IV, Odde — Sandven Vand — Difficulties with the Lan- guage — A Norwegian Saddle — Buakbr/E Glacier — BuAR Farm — STOLKj.iiRRE — Laatefos — Remark- able Horse Vocabulary — Kindness to Animals — Stores. KVERY fjord has at its upper end a green valley watered by streams that flow from the mountains around it. Such a place is Odde. Not particularly interesting in itself, it is a good spot from which to make excursions; and, after a hurried lunch, we started for the Buarbra: glacier, under the guidance of a i)atri- 64 Glimpses of Norseland, archal old man with long white hair and keen blue eyes. He was evidently a friendly old fellow, but from force of circumstances our con- versation was limited to signs. A twenty minutes' walk under a burning sun brought us to the glittering Sandven Vand (lake), which being fed by glacial streams, is so cold, it is said, that not even cold-btooded fish can live in it. It was but a few minutes' row to the little hamlet of Jordal, where we expected to procure saddle-horses for the ascent; but here began our first difficulty with the language. We had previously remarked that many Norwegian words sounded similar to their English equiva- lents, such as : have (have), bring (bring), see (see), vil (will), komme (come), varme (warm), Similarity of Langttages, 65 alle (all), syg (sick), glv mlg 7nln Hat (give me my hat), etc., remnants evidently of that language which the Norse invaders carried to Britain and introduced into the Anglo- Saxon ten centuries ago. But notwith- standing the similarity of some old word- stems, these people could not or would not understand us, and even to our Phrase Book request for " To Heste " (two horses), the gaunt peasant to whom we applied paid no further heed than to silently and firmly point at one shaggy pony with an extraordi- nary arrangement on its back, evidently a saddle, though it had instead of pommels a back and sides like those of a chair; and instead of a stirrup a horizontal bar on which one could rest both feet. It would have been almost impossible for 66 Glimpses of Norseland. a rider to have fallen out of this contri- vance, but it was by no means " a flowery bed of ease;" for, being very large, at each movement of the horse we would be pitched forward on his neck. As we looked at the stolid peasant, I could not forbear hum- ming : " Do we not learn from runes and rhvmes Made by the gods in elder times, And do not still the great Scalds teach, That silence better is than speech ? " However, as nothing else could be ex- tracted from the silent man, we determined to take turns in riding the steed, and not to be daunted at the commencement of our journey. Up, up we struggled, following the course of the brawling Buar river uniil at last we A Tale of Olden Time, 67 reached a little cot on the very edge of the glacier. Around its low doors frisked a number of goats, and as we passed, yellow- haired children peeped shyly through the tiny windows. Not a very cheerful home, surely, for imaginative children, if they had ever heard of the legend which is told of the ghastly blue glacier which, like some huge octopus, stretches its deathly arms to their very doors. The tale runs in this wise : Long, long ago, in place of this mighty ice- field, there was a beautiful valley so large and fertile that the families of seven parishes found homes and food on its verdant bosom. At first the inhabitants were righteous and godly, but as times went on and their pros- perity increased they became, like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, so idle and wicked 68 Glimpses of Norseland, that the Lord's anger was aroused and He determined to destroy them. Instead of accomplishing His purpose by means of fire, as in those fated Eastern cities, He decided to use the colder elements in the destruction of fair Folgedal. So for seventy days He caused a great snow-storm to rage till the valley was a mountain of snow and every human being in it had perished. For some time after this awful judgment, strange birds, with plumage of red and black and green and yellow, were seen to hover about its edge, the spirits, so the pious peasants said, of the wicked inhabitants of the valley. Even now at times timorous travellers who have crossed the Folgefond will recount strange tales of the tolling of bells and barking of dogs heard in its snowy wastes. The Bitarbrce Glacier. 69 The Buarbrae is one of the arms of this immense glacial shroud, and during the last fifty years it has been advancing slowly but irresistibly, pushing before it a ridge of earth and stone, and tearing away parts of the solid mountain walls that obstruct its path. As we looked at this narrow glacier and saw the mighty boulders it had rent from the solid granite, we could under- stand better how water in the form of ice had ploughed a passage through mighty hills, leaving behind it the great gorges and wonderful fjords of Norway. The cavern of the Buarbrae was remarkably beautiful, being of a greenish-blue tint merging into intense dark blue, and the contrast of the foaming white river leaping from it was striking. We penetrated a little way into JO Glimpses of Norselajid. this amethystine hall, but only a little way, for the guide followed us, and by his ener- getic remonstrances and expressive face warned us of danger from the falling of boulders which were imbedded in its icy vault. A little way below the glacier, from which we beat a hasty retreat, was the Buar farm, famed for its milk and cheese ; but the owner was in great distress of mind on account of the incertitude of the future. Already had the resistless mass swallowed up some of his woodlands, and it was only a question of time, if the glacier continued to advance, before the entire farm would share the same fate. He had tried to sell it, but could find no purchaser. Poor man ! We could only hope the mass would, like Meeting Aequaintances. 71 __ ^j so many others, either remain stationary or retire. As we descended the hill we stopped at the little cot for crackers and wine, and there we met some of our Norwegian ac- quaintances. It is one of the features of travel in Norway that one is ever meet- ing familiar faces in out-of-the-way places. Every one takes a different route in going through the fjords, and, every one is sure that his is the best way^ and whenever he can find a listener, expatiates on its beauties. So it was some time before we could tear ourselves away, and it was five o' the clock before we reached the hotel. The trip to the Buarbrae had taken us four hours, and to go to the waterfall would require as many more, for it was about the same dis- 72 Glimpses of Norscland, tance from Odde, but we decided to make it, for, in the long opalescent twilights that Norway has during the summer months, one never thinks of the time, seven o'clock in the evening being as pleasant a time to set out as seven o'clock in the morning. We had asked the landlord for a cart and driver, and soon one of the national vehicles made its appearance. The stolkjcerre, as it was called, was a small, two-wheeled, spring- less cart, with long thick shafts extending far enough behind the axletree to make a support for the board on which the post-boy sat, while the wooden seat was perched on two wooden bars which stretched obliquely upwards and backwards from the front of the vehicle. Near the dasher were two stirrup-shaped irons on which the driver A National Conveyance. 73 might brace his feet if the horse went so fast as to make his seat unsteady, but we found Httle need for them except in de- scending steep hills. The harness was as simple as the carriage, being without traces, breeching, check rein, or blinders ; and the sturdy, cream-colored pony, with his long, flowing black tail and short-cropped, bushy, black mane, was fastened to the shafts only by the saddle tugs. He looked too fat and small to do more than walk, but no sooner had the driver given the signal than the little fellow gave a toss to his head and started off at a great pace. Away we bowled over a splendid road ; on one side of us massive hills rose perpendicularly hun- dreds of feet high, and on the other glittered the cold blue waters of the Sandven Vand. 74 Glimpses of Norselaiid. Little emerald isles rose here and there from its surface, and 'mid fields of golden grain appeared red farm-houses with sodded roofs. On either side from the top of the cliffs dashed countless fosses, some of them well worth a special visit At regular in- tervals along the roadside were set short, red posts, something like those that the Tyrolese erect to commemorate an escape from danger or to mark an accident. It is the custom in Norway for each peasant to keep a part of the road in proper repair, and these posts recorded the names of the farmers to whom each portion fell. If the bonder prefers, he can pay a highway tax instead of working it out, but the Norwe- gian peasants are usually too frugal to spend their hard-earned money for what Laatefos at Sunset, 75 their own hands can do. The Laatefos, the object of our trip, consisted of two beautiful cataracts which burst from the summit of a giant cH£f, and when about half-way down united their seething waters in a column of foam. As the mass plunged down the inky sides of the cliff the air was full of its thundering and the spray dashed far over the broad road. The sun was sinking as we took our seats again in the stolkjaerre ; and bathed in its solemn light, the fall was most beautiful, for the water took on odd prismatic colors and looked like a shattered rainbow against its back- ground of inky rock. The return drive w^as more like a dream than a reality. All nature seemed sleeping ; the fleecy clouds rested low on the purple 76 Glimpses of Norseland. hills ; the trees stood out sharply like etch- ings against the saffron sky; the mountain streams gleamed like flashes of lightning adown the sombre precipices. " The western waves of ebbing day Rolled o'er the glen their level way. Each purple peak, each flinty spire, Was bathed in floods of livins: fire. But not a setting beam could glow Within the dark ravines below, Where twined the path in shadow hid Round many a rocky pyramid, Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splintered pinnacle.'' Why are the sublime and the ridiculous always so near together .^^ The ridiculous assumed the form of our driver. He was a good-natured man, but possessed of an enormous horse vocabulary. The first time Our Driver. jj he raised his stentorian voice he gave vent to a long brur-r r, a kind of roar- ing purr. I clutched my companion, and trembling we awaited developments. The steed stopped; and what would probably have the effect of causing our American horses to run away seemed to have a sooth- ing effect on these Norwegian animals. At times the guide would speak cheerfully and encouragingly to his pony, then, that being of no avail, he would sadly plead ; usually, however, the air would be filled with his vehement gutturals. Through it all the horse kept the even tenor of his way, trot- ting when he pleased, and walking when he pleased. One feature that is ver}^ noticeable among these peasants, and which some assert is a 78 Glimpses of Norselaiid. proof of their Oriental origin, is their con- sideration and care for their animals. In all our travels we never saw a thin, hungry- looking horse ; and the use of the whip seemed almost unknown. At every little rising in the road the driver would dis- mount and walk, and often we were obliged to do the same. The little animals appear to be in perfect sympathy with their owners, and when they stop to rest, as they some- times do, they will turn their intelligent eyes on the driver as though to say: "In a moment, master, we w^ill trot on again." Our little fellow brought us back to Odde in time to do some shopping at the two stores of the place. Hammer's and Hell- strom's. The latter belied his name, as he offered not fire but silver, and that, too, at The Bridal Crown, 79 very reasonable prices. In the windows of each store were large dolls dressed as peasant brides. Their gowns were similar in make to the every-day dresses of the women, but of a much finer material ; over their hands were laid three or four hand- kerchiefs and on their heads were silver-gilt crowns. The great feature of the bride's costume is the wedding crown. It is usually made of beaten silver, with many fantastic points and dangling disks, in which are set bright imitation jewels, and sometimes its appear- ance is made still more showy by the addition of brass trimmincjs. Almost all of the old families of Norway possess one of these crowns, which is used by its daughters for generations. No virtuous Norwegian 8o Glimjyses of Noi^seland. maiden will be married without the gaudy crown, and if her own family are not rich enough to possess one, she borrows the precious heirloom from a neighbor. This of course applies to the peasant class, although in the cities the higher born damsels w^ear a wreath, or crown of flowers, which answers the same purpose of invest- ing them with royal adornments for once in their lives. Although it was ten o'clock in the even- ing when w^e left the stores, there was no need of artificial lights, for it was not yet sunset. The summer days in the vicinity of Bergen are nearly four hours longer than in the latitude of Boston, and as one travels farther north the hours of daylight increase, until at the North Cape, for up- Length of Days. 8i wards of two months the sun never sinks below the horizon. The Norwegians be- come so accustomed to sleeping in light rooms that window-shades are seldom pro- vided in their houses ; but at well-travelled Odde we were fortunate enough to find these useful articles, and that night we sunk to rest in a darkness that reminded us of American nights. CHAPTER V. OVER FJELD AND FJORD TO VIK. w^ SKTSS m