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diff --git a/old/67401-0.txt b/old/67401-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b241b5d..0000000 --- a/old/67401-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,16010 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Forest Scenes in Norway and Sweden: -being Extracts from the Journal of a Fisherman, by Rev. Henry Garrett -Newland - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Forest Scenes in Norway and Sweden: being Extracts from the - Journal of a Fisherman - -Author: Rev. Henry Garrett Newland - -Release Date: February 13, 2022 [eBook #67401] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST SCENES IN NORWAY AND -SWEDEN: BEING EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF A FISHERMAN *** - - - - - - -[Illustration: BEAR-HUNT. - -_Front._] - - - - - FOREST SCENES - IN - NORWAY AND SWEDEN: - - BEING - Extracts from the Journal of a Fisherman. - - BY - THE REV. HENRY NEWLAND, - RECTOR AND VICAR OF WESTBOURNE, - AUTHOR OF “THE ERNE: ITS LEGENDS AND ITS FLY-FISHING,” ETC. ETC. - - The Second Edition. - - LONDON: - G. ROUTLEDGE & CO. FARRINGDON STREET; - NEW YORK: 18, BEEKMAN STREET. - 1855. - - - - -TO MY MUCH-ESTEEMED FRIEND, THE PUBLIC. - - -MY DEAR PUBLIC,— - -I have frequently heard you remark, in that quaint and pithy manner so -peculiarly your own, that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” -If you should happen to find the book which I here present to your notice -to be really of such a character as your friend Jack might have written -under these distressing circumstances, I am afraid I cannot plead this -very sensible observation of yours as my excuse; for I must confess, -which I do with thankfulness, that in my time I have enjoyed quite as -much play as is good for me, or for any one, in this working-day world of -ours. On this point, therefore, my book must stand on its own merits. - -But, as I am extremely solicitous of your good opinion, and should be -very sorry to see you err on the opposite extreme, imagining, as indeed -you might, that mine has been “all play and no work,” I must request you -to look at the Parson at home as well as the Parson abroad,—in short, to -read my “Confirmation and First Communion,” as well as my “Forest Life;” -a proceeding which, if it does not benefit you, my dear Public (and I -sincerely hope it may), will, at all events,—through the medium of his -Publisher,—benefit, and that materially, - - Your faithful Servant, - - THE AUTHOR. - -WESTBOURNE VICARAGE, _July 7th, 1854_. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - INTRODUCTION _Page_ 1 - - CHAPTER I.—Preparations 8 - - CHAPTER II.—The Voyage 18 - - CHAPTER III.—The Shipwash Sand 26 - - CHAPTER IV.—The Landfall 38 - - CHAPTER V.—Christiansand 49 - - CHAPTER VI.—The Torjedahl 61 - - CHAPTER VII.—The Encampment Mosse Eurd 78 - - CHAPTER VIII.—Making a Night of it 92 - - CHAPTER IX.—The Hell Fall 108 - - CHAPTER X.—Departure from Torjedahl 122 - - CHAPTER XI.—The Mountain March 141 - - CHAPTER XII.—The Homestead 158 - - CHAPTER XIII.—The Church 172 - - CHAPTER XIV.—Breaking up the Encampment 193 - - CHAPTER XV.—Eider Duck Hunting 203 - - CHAPTER XVI.—The Coasting Voyage 220 - - CHAPTER XVII.—Gotheborg 238 - - CHAPTER XVIII.—Trollhättan 253 - - CHAPTER XIX.—Gäddebäck 267 - - CHAPTER XX.—Wenern 280 - - CHAPTER XXI.—The Meet 295 - - CHAPTER XXII.—The Commencement of the Skal 305 - - CHAPTER XXIII.—The Satterval 318 - - CHAPTER XXIV.—Making another Night of it 333 - - CHAPTER XXV.—The Watch Fire 349 - - CHAPTER XXVI.—Beating out the Skal 367 - - CHAPTER XXVII.—The Ball 377 - - CHAPTER XXVIII.—The Wedding 389 - - CHAPTER XXIX.—Homeward Bound 402 - - - - -FOREST LIFE: A FISHERMAN’S SKETCHES IN NORWAY AND SWEDEN. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -Sketches in Norway and Sweden! Are they fact or fiction? are they to be -instructive or simply entertaining? These are questions which the public -has a right to ask, and which the author means to answer as truly as he -can. He hopes there will be a little of both. At least, in making this -selection from his own and his friends’ journals, he has had both these -objects in his eye, and he trusts he has been able to keep his eye upon -them both at the same time, and that without any very great amount of -squinting. The framework which he has adopted is that of a very popular -description of authors—the historical romancers, and, if he might venture -to say so, of a certain equally popular historian: that is to say, -fiction founded upon fact. He has laid down absolute facts, or what he -believes to be facts, for his groundwork, and has dressed them up to suit -his fancy. - -These Northern Sketches are, in truth, a continuation of a former work, -“The Erne, its Legends and its Fly-fishing;” as the expedition which -gave rise to them was in every respect the same as the old Belleek -fishing-association, with a simple change of scene. They are therefore -written upon the same plan, which the author has found extremely -convenient and very suitable to his purpose. - -That purpose was not only to preserve the recollections of a most -enjoyable time, but also to convey as much real information on the -subjects treated on as he could compass; and with such an object before -him, absolute fiction would have been useless. - -His descriptions, therefore, in that book were real descriptions, his -anecdotes, real anecdotes—the incidents of the story did actually happen; -his instructions in the art of fly-fishing and the hydrography of the -river were the results of his own experience, and the fairy legends -were his own collections. Unless these things had been true, his book -would have been merely a book of entertainment,—and he was ambitious of -something beyond that. Everything of this kind, therefore, was recorded -accurately; and in the few instances in which the requirements of the -story compelled the author to transplant his incidents, their real -localities were always given. - -All this was important to the public, or, at least, as important as the -subject itself; but it was of no consequence to any one, except for the -gratification of mere curiosity, to be able to identify the precise -Captain A. who broke the weirs of the Laune, while such information -would not have raised Captain A.’s character at the Horse-Guards. The -Liberal member for B. might enjoy the recollection of the row he got up -at Kildoney, but might not find it convenient to be reminded of it on the -hustings. Attorneys might look askance at Barrister C., who for a whole -summer had directed his studies to the practice of Club-law; while Parson -D., who had passed three months of his life waist-high in the Erne, might -possibly expect, were he identified, to have cold water thrown upon him -by his Bishop for the rest of his life. - -With all these matters, interesting enough to the characters themselves, -the public had nothing whatever to do: it was sufficient for them that -they had their information and their story; and, provided the incidents -of that story happened to some one, it signified little to them, which, -of all the letters of the alphabet, composed his name. The public should -feel grateful to any fisherman who has truly revealed the silks and -feathers of his favourite fly; it is what very few fishermen will do: let -them be satisfied with that: they shall never know—they have no right to -know—which of all the “Squires” that haunted the Erne it was who landed -the “Schoolmaster” on the “Bank of Ireland.” - -In the present sketches the author has not so much reason to conceal the -names of his characters; he can hurt no one. He has no rows or “ructions” -to record; more’s the pity, for there is nothing so interesting to -read about. Still, there are advantages in carrying out the same plan: -first, it makes the continuation obvious—some of the Erne characters -are again introduced: and this is not a fiction; for when rail-roads -began to multiply, and sporting cockneys began to infest the innocent -Erne, frightening its salmon and exacerbating its proprietors, that -pleasant coterie of fishermen, who, in earlier and better times, were -wont to concoct their punch and tell their stories at Mother Johnstone’s -fire-side, and hang their great two-handed rods upon her hospitable -brackets, actually did betake themselves to the exile of foreign lands. - -But, in the second place, it conveys the same information in a more -entertaining manner: the author is able to piece his characters; making -them, like _Mrs. Malaprop’s_ Cerberus, “three gentlemen at once,” by -combining into one the incidents that happened to many. The author has -thus availed himself of other journals and other note-books besides his -own, and has been able to appropriate their contents, and to distribute -whatever was characteristic of the country, into a series of connected -sketches, instead of perpetually changing his locality and introducing -new characters. He by no means intends to identify himself with his -fictitious Parson, nor will he even undertake to say, that he was himself -in all instances personally present whenever the Parson comes upon the -scene: he will answer for the truth of nothing beyond the detached -incidents and descriptions. - -Neither can these Sketches be used as an itinerary. Now and then, -though not often, names of places have been even suppressed or altered, -and incidents transplanted. They will, indeed, give glimpses—slight, -but true as far as they go—of northern scenery, costume, travelling -peculiarities, and, above all, sport. They will contain practical hints -and available directions, but it is only in a general way. They are -not at all intended as a guide-book, nor will they at all supersede the -indispensable Murray. - -The traveller, following upon the author’s footsteps, will find himself -lost at two points of the narrative—the village of Soberud, and the -locality of the Skal. In the former of these the reason is evident -enough—the author wishes to convey an idea of what sort of men the -Norwegian clergy are, not to draw the attention of subsequent travellers -to any individual clergyman. In the case of the skal there is another -reason. Although Mr. Lloyd, the author of “Northern Wild Sports,” being -a great hunter, has always contrived to get a shot at the bear, it is, -nevertheless, true, that an ordinary man sees about as much of a skal as -a regimental officer does of a battle—that is to say, he sees about a -dozen men on each side of him: and, it may well happen, that the share -of any given individual in the most successful of skals, will amount -to hearing a great deal of firing, and, at the end of three or four -days’ hard work, seeing five or six carcasses paraded at the nearest -village. In order, therefore, to give his readers a graphic sketch of a -skal, without violently outraging probability, it was necessary for the -author to _make his ground_, that is to say, to imagine ground of such a -description that it was possible for his characters to see what was going -on. It is not altogether fictitious either, for the traveller will find a -good deal of it in the Toftdahl Valley, though this was never, so far as -the author knows, the scene of a summer skal. - -Similarly, also, though there is no such village as Soberud, that -being the name of a district near Larvig in which Sir Hyde Parker’s -fishing-lodge is situated and where the author caught a good many -salmon and trout, yet the traveller will be able to patch together -the fictitious country from real and actual elements. The church is -Hitterdahl—but as there is no lake at Hitterdahl, one has been borrowed -for it from the country between Larvig and Frederiksvärn—the “Lake of the -Woods” is, really, about four miles north-east of the village of Boen; -the little lake where the diver was shot, together with the forest about -it, about as far to the west of the same place; and the dark sombre pine -wood is, really, situated in the valley of the Nid. This last has been -slightly altered to suit the locality, for it is next to impossible to -lose oneself in the Nid forest, the river itself being sufficient guide; -but the rest is all drawn as accurately as the author’s recollections, -aided by his journals, will enable him to depict it. With respect to -the characters, Tom, Torkel, and Jacob were attendants on the author -and his companions, and, though “a little rose upon,” to use a nautical -expression, are drawn from actual life, and in their own proper names. -The Captain and Parson, as has been said before, are not to be considered -actual characters; that is to say, characters responsible as having -done and said all that they are represented to have done and said, but -merely as pegs upon which to hang the author’s personal experiences, or -pieces of information which he may have received. The same may be said -of Birger. It was necessary to associate with the party an intelligent -Swede, and Lieut. Birger was chosen to fill that office. Bjornstjerna -is wholly fictitious. Hjelmar is a real character; and his adventure -in the Najaden frigate was related by him exactly as they are conveyed -to the reader, the steamer following out among the islands the precise -track of the chase. The author, however, will not undertake to say that -the actual name of Hjelmar will be found on the watch and quarter bills -of the frigate, though Hulm was actually her captain, and was actually -buried near Lyngör, where his monument may be seen to this day. Moodie is -a real character, though his name, also, is fictitious; or, rather, it -is derived from a nick-name that the author understands he has acquired -either by his courage or his foolhardiness: the appellation Modige, -which is pronounced very like our English name, Moodie, is translatable -either way. He does not, however, live at Gäddebäck, which is the name -of a house formerly occupied by the celebrated Mr. Lloyd, the author -of “Wild Sports of the North,” and “Scandinavian Adventures,” to whose -kindness the author is indebted for his being able to describe, from -experience, the fishing of the Gotha, which is drawn as accurately as -the author’s recollection served him. The traveller need not, however, -fear the quicksand which engulphed poor Jacob; that scene, and a very -ridiculous one it was, occurred on the Torjedahl just below Oxea. The -fisherman is cautioned not to be guided in his choice of a river by the -author’s success on the Torjedahl. It is too clear, too much overhung, -and too steadily and regularly rapid to be a first-rate river under any -circumstances. There are few shallows in it, for there are no tributaries -below the Falls of Wigeland, and no salmon can get above them; therefore, -its breeding-ground is very limited indeed; probably the flats of Strei, -Oxea, and Mosse Eurd, form the whole of it. The author’s success must be -attributed to the fact of his fly having been the first of his kind that -ever floated on those transparent waters. - -The songs which are put into the mouths of the different characters, -are really Norwegian or Swedish, and are given as specimens. They are -translations by Hewitt, Forester, Knightley, and others. Scandinavia has -always been remarkable for its lyrical poetry from the earliest times; -and the _Gammle Norgé_ of Bjerregaard, which is given in chapter viii., -would seem to show that the cup of poetic inspiration which Odin stole -from the keeping of Gunlauth, and stored up in Asgard, is not yet empty. -By far the best of the modern poets of the North is Grundtvig, but his -subjects are, for the most part, of a nature too solemn for a work so -light as this; a short specimen from his hymns is given in chapter xviii. -The Evening Hymn, in chapter xxiii., though in common use in Norway, is -not Norwegian; it belongs to the ancient church, and is said to be as old -as the days of Ambrose and Augustine. - -The legends are collected from all manner of sources: many of them -from Tom and Torkel, some from the Eddas and Sagas, some from Malet -and Knightley; they are all, however, legitimate Scandinavian legends, -believed implicitly by some one or other. - -One word about the voyage out. It signifies little to the public when and -where those incidents really happened—whether in the North Sea, or in the -Bay of Biscay, or in the Mediterranean; but it signifies to them a great -deal, to know that these things actually did happen once, and may happen -again at any time. - -The main incidents adapted to that fictitious voyage are strictly and -literally true. A large steamer was upon one occasion in the precise -situation ascribed to the _Walrus_,—and—in the absence of its skipper, -who for the time had mysteriously disappeared—was saved by the promptness -of one of the passengers, precisely as is described in the narrative. -And it is also true that the same vessel, after a run of not more than -five hundred miles, did find herself fifty miles out of her course. -The compasses, no doubt, being in fault, as they always are on such -occasions—poor things! - -These are important matters for the public to be made acquainted with; -for the public do very frequently go down to the sea in steamers, and -therefore any individual reader may at any time find himself in the very -same situation. - -The author has enlarged upon this, in the faint hope of drawing attention -to these matters. He would suggest that some sort of superintendence -would not be altogether superfluous, and that it is not entirely right -that the lives of two or three hundred men on the deep sea should -be entrusted to a skipper not competent to navigate a river, nor be -committed to a vessel so parsimoniously found as to be unable to -encounter casualties which might happen any day in a voyage to Ramsgate. - -On a subject so important as this, the author thinks it his duty to state -that these incidents, extraordinary as they may appear, are in no way -fictitious; that they did happen under his own eye; and that the mate, -the only real sailor on board, did request of him, after the escape, a -certificate that he, at least, had done his duty. If that man should -be still alive, he possesses a most unique document, a certificate of -seamanship, signed by a clergyman of the United Church of England and -Ireland. - -The skipper’s name the author does not think it necessary to record. He -is not likely to be employed again; for he is one of those who have since -immortalised themselves in the public prints, by losing his vessel—a -circumstance which, it will readily be believed, did not excite any very -great feelings of surprise in the mind of the author. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -PREPARATIONS. - - “In every corner - Carefully look thou - Ere forth thou goest.” - - _Hávamál._ - - -There is no saying more true than that “he who would make a tour abroad, -must first make the tour of London.” There are miscellaneous articles -of appropriate clothing to be got together; there are bags, knapsacks, -portmanteaus, to be fitted. Above all, there are passports to be -procured; than which no plague more vexatious, more annoying, or more -utterly useless for any practicable or comprehensible purpose, has been -devised by modern ingenuity. - -But if this is a necessary preliminary on ordinary occasions, much more -is it necessary when the contemplated expedition has for its object -sporting, and the northern wildernesses for its contemplated locality. In -addition to the cares of ordinary travel, there are now tents, blankets, -cloaks, guns, rifles, to be thought of; rods, reels, gaffs, lines, to -be overhauled and repaired; material-books to be replenished, and the -commissariat department to be adequately looked to. Deep and anxious, yet -not without their pleasures, are the responsibilities which rest on the -shoulders of him who undertakes the conduct of such an expedition as this. - -Such were the thoughts that crossed the mind of the Parson, as—business -in his musing eye, care on his frowning brow, and determination in his -compressed lip—he stood under the archway of the Golden Cross; his hands -mechanically feeling for the pockets of his fishing-jacket, which had -been exchanged for a clerical frock-coat more befitting the locality, -and his mouth pursing itself up for his habitual whistle, which, had he -indulged in it where he then stood, might have been considered neither -appropriate nor decorous. - -“Don’t you think this list rather a long one,” said the Captain, who -had now joined him from the interior of the hotel, holding in his hand -a pretty closely-written sheet of foolscap. “These are all very good -things, and very useful things no doubt, but how are we to stow them, and -how are we to carry them? Yours is anything but light marching order.” - -“Why should it be?” - -“My principle is, that no traveller can be too lightly equipped.” - -“And a very good principle, too,” said the Parson. “Heavy and useless -incumbrances are the invariable attributes of travelling Englishmen. You -may know them by their endless train of household goods, as you would -know a snail by its shell.” - -“I believe,” said the Captain, “that foreign rail-roads are regulated -precisely so as to tax us English tourists. Travel on whatever line you -please in England, except that grasping Brighton and South Coast, and you -may take just exactly what luggage you like; while abroad, the fare is -so low and the charge for luggage so high, that an Englishman generally -pays double; while the Frenchman, whose three spare collars and bottle -of hair-oil are in his pocket; and the German, whose great tobacco-bag -and little reticule of necessaries are so constructed as to fit the -allowance, are permitted to go free.” - -“Upon my word, I do not object to the tax; it is a tax upon folly. -What can be so absurd as such a miscellaneous collection as Englishmen -generally carry with them? What can a traveller want beyond a dry suit of -clothes and half-a-dozen shirts and stockings?” - -“There is a slight incongruity between your words and your actions,” said -the Captain, holding up the list. - -“Tush! put that paper into your pocket, and tell me what we are going to -do. When I went on my reconnoitring expedition to Norway last year, my -fourteen-foot rod, my fly-book, and a change of clothes constituted all -the cares of my life; and I contend, as you do, that no traveller whose -object is information has any business with more. But we are going now -more in the character of settlers: we are not going to explore, but to -enjoy that which has been explored for us. Why should we not, therefore, -take whatever may make life enjoyable?” - -“Only for fear we may be called upon to choose between leaving them -behind or leaving our purpose unaccomplished,” said the Captain. - -“Do you think I have calculated my ambulances so badly? But come along. -We must consult Fortnum and Mason first. I can explain all that on our -road. - -“Considering how wild and uninhabited the greater part of the country -is, both in Norway and Sweden,” the Parson resumed, as they crossed the -pavement under Nelson’s pillar, “it is astonishing how easily you may -travel, and how little impediment are your _impedimenta_. The posting -regulations are admirable. On every road there are posting stations -at convenient distances, and, by writing to these, the traveller may -command, at stated prices, every horse and cart in the district.” - -“And at moderate prices?” said the Captain, whose means were not so -abundant as to make him indifferent to expense. - -“No, not at moderate prices; for I do not call a penny an English mile a -moderate price, and this is what you pay in Sweden; and in Norway it is -not more than three-halfpence, except in favoured spots in the vicinity -of towns, where they are permitted to charge three-fold. My plans, -therefore, are these. We are not going to travel, but to visit certain -fishing stations, most of which are at no great distance from the coast; -let us take, therefore, everything that will make us comfortable at these -different settlements. As long as we coast, we have always traders of -some sort or other, and generally as nice and comfortable little steamers -as you can desire. When our road lies along the fjords or lakes, boats -are to be had from the post stations on the same terms as you get the -carts, a rower reckoning the same as a horse; and when we want to take -to the land, we have but to order as many carts as will hold our traps.” - -“And how do we travel ourselves?” said the Captain. - -“There is no carriage in the world so pleasant for fine weather as the -cariole; and I propose that we each buy one. If we have to get them new, -they do not cost above thirty specie-dalers—that is to say, about seven -or eight pounds—with all their harness and fittings, in the very first -style; and you may always sell them again at the end of your journey. -That is the way the natives manage, and they are terrible gadabouts. -You always find some jobber or other to take it off your hands. But the -chances are that we shall meet with a choice of second-hand carioles to -begin with. I gave twenty specie-dalers for mine last year, and sold it -for fifteen. Drammen is the place for these things, up in Christiania -fjord: it is the Long Acre of Norway.” - -“What sort of things are these carioles?—Gigs, I suppose, to carry two.” - -“Not they—barely one: and no great room for baggage either. A -Scandinavian is of your way of thinking, and does not trouble himself -with spare shirts. One horse draws one man, and that is all. If your gig -carries two, you are charged a horse and a half for it. In Sweden they -have a sort of light spring waggon, drawn by three horses, which will -take our followers admirably, with as much luggage as we like to stow; -and by having the collars of the harness made open at the top, they will -do for all the variety of horses we may meet with on our road. This is -better than the Norwegian mode of engaging the farm carts; for in this, -so much time is lost at every stage in restowing luggage, that it becomes -a serious hindrance. However, in Norway we must do as the Norwegians do. -The light waggon would make a very unpleasant conveyance down some of -their mountain roads.” - -“And how do you manage crossing the fjords and lakes?” - -“Easily enough. Every ferry-boat will take a cariole; and as for -coasting, a cariole ranks as a deck passenger—that is to say, about ten -skillings for a sea mile, you paying for your own passage in the cabin -about twenty.” - -“You travellers get so confoundedly technical. What the deuce do you mean -by a sea mile and a skilling? And how am I to compare two things neither -of which I know anything about?” - -“A regular traveller’s fault,” said the Parson. “There is not a book -written that does not abound with these absurdities. Well, a skilling is -a halfpenny in our money, and a sea mile is four of our miles, and a land -mile eight, nearly.” - -“Pretty liberal in their measures of length,” said the Captain. - -“Why, they have plenty of it, and to spare; as you will find when -you come to travel from one place to another. But their money is not -plentiful, and they dole it out in very small denominations indeed.” - -“But here we are at Fortnum and Mason’s; and now for the stores.” - -“I observe, you always go to the most expensive places,” said the Captain. - -“That is because I cannot afford to go to the cheaper ones,” said the -Parson. “On such an expedition as this, you should never take inferior -stores. One hamper turning out bad when unpacked at the end of a thousand -miles or so of carriage, will make more than the difference between the -cheapest and the most expensive shop in London. But, to show you that I -do study economy, I will resist the temptation of these preserved meats; -and, let me tell you, it is a temptation, for up the country you will -get nothing but what you catch, gather, or shoot. This, however, is a -necessary,” pointing to some skins of portable soup; “there is not a -handier thing for a traveller; it goes in the smallest compass of any -sort of provisions; it is always useful on a pinch, and some chips of -it carried in the waistcoat pocket on a pedestrian expedition, make a -dinner, not exactly luxurious, but quite sufficient to do work upon. -This we must lay in a good store of; in fact, if we have this, we need -not be very anxious about anything else. Other things are luxuries: -this is a necessary of life. Tea we must take: there is nothing more -refreshing after a hard day’s work, and you cannot get it anywhere in the -country. At least, what you do meet with is altogether _maris expers_, -being a villanous composition of dried strawberry leaves and other home -productions. Oil, too—we must take plenty of that; we shall want it for -the frying-pan.” - -“Have they no butter, then?” said the Captain. - -“Yes, they have, and in great plenty too; of all varieties of quality, -from very bad, down to indescribably beastly. They call it smör, -pronouncing the dotted _o_ like the French _eu_; and I can assure you -their very best butter tastes just as the word sounds.” - -“Well, then, I vote for some of these sardines, to take off the taste.” - -“With all my heart,” said the Parson; “they flavour anything, when they -are not made of salted bleak, as they generally are—so does cayenne -pepper. We may as well have some cocoa paste, and a Bologna sausage or -two may prove a useful luxury.” - -“What do you say to a cask of biscuits?” said the Captain. “What sort of -bread have they?” - -“Do you recollect that old story told of Charles the Twelfth, when he -said of the bread brought to him, that it was not good, but that it might -be eaten? No one can tell the heroism of that speech who has not eaten -the Swedish black bread, which is generally the only representative of -the staff of life procurable. It is gritty, it is heavy, it is puddingy; -if you throw it against a wall it will stick there—and as for sourness, -O, ye gods! they purposely keep the leaven till it is uneatably sour, and -then fancy it becomes wholesome.” - -“Well, I suppose it does,” said the Captain. “The Squire used to say, -that everything that was good, is unwholesome or wrong; and I suppose the -converse is true. But why not take the biscuits?” - -“Because we can get that which will answer our purpose perfectly when -we arrive at the country, and that without the carriage, and at a much -cheaper rate. There is not a seaport town in all the coast where you may -not get what they call Kahyt Scorpor, a sort of coarse imitation of what -nurses in England feed babies upon, under the name of tops and bottoms. -They are made of rye, and are as black as my hat; but they are very good -eating, keep for ever, and are cheap enough in all conscience, being from -four to six skillings to the pound, that is to say, threepence. In Norway -they call them Rö Kovringer.” - -“We will take some rice, which very often comes in well by way of -vegetables in a kettle of grouse soup; and a good quantity of chocolate, -which packs easily, and furnishes a breakfast on the shortest possible -notice. And this, I think, will do very well for the commissariat -department of our expedition.” - -“And now for arms and ammunition,” said the Captain. - -“Everything we are likely to want in that department, we must take with -us—guns, of course. Shot certainly may be got at Christiansand, and the -other large towns; up the country, though, you will get neither that nor -anything else: but powder can be got nowhere, at least, powder that does -not give you an infinity of trouble in cleaning your gun, on account of -the quantity of deposit it leaves. That little magazine of yours, with -its block-tin canisters and brass screw-stoppers, will hold enough for us -two, unless we meet with very good sport indeed, and in that case we must -put up with the manufacture of the country.” - -“And for guns?” said the Captain. “I shall certainly take that little -pea-rifle I brought from Canada. I want to bring down a bear.” - -“We shall be more likely to get a crack at a seal, where we are going,” -said the Parson. “Bears are not so plentiful in Norway as is generally -supposed. People imagine that they run about in flocks like sheep; -however, it is possible that there may be a bear-hunt while we are there. -As for rifles, I own I am partial to our own English manufacture. Those -little pea affairs are sensible things enough in their own country, where -one wanders for weeks on end through interminable forests and desolate -prairies on foot, and where a pound of lead more or less in your knapsack -is a matter of consequence: but where we have means of transport, I see -no great sense in them. A pea, no doubt, will kill, if it hits in the -right place; but, like the old Duke, I have myself rather a partiality -for the weighty bullet. However, each man to his fancy. The great merit -of every gun, rifle, or pistol, lies behind the stock,—a truth that -dandy sportsmen are apt to forget; a pea sent straight is better than a -two-ounce ball beside the mark.” - -“Well,” said the Captain, laughing, “I think I can hold my little Yankee -pretty straight; but we shall want shot-guns more than rifles. I may as -well take that case I had from Westley Richards, if you do not think it -too heavy.” - -“Not at all; you can always leave the case behind, and take one gun in a -waterproof cover when we go on light-armed expeditions. This will furnish -us with a spare gun in case of accidents. I shall take my own old one, -and a duck gun—which last will be common property, and I think with this -we shall be pretty sufficiently armed. Pointers and setters are of no -great use, unless it is a steady old stager, who will retrieve; for you -must recollect there is no heath, and very little field shooting. The -character of the country is cover, not very thick anywhere, and in many -places interspersed with glades and openings. We shall do better with -beaters: a water-dog, however, is indispensable. Lakes and rivers abound, -and so do ducks, teal, and snipes.” - -“Have you thought about tents?” said the Captain. - -“Well,” said the Parson, “I am not sure that tents are indispensable, -and they certainly are not a little cumbersome. While we are fishing we -can do very well without them: by the water-side we can never be without -a cottage of some sort to put our heads under if it should come on bad -weather, for every house in the whole country stands on the banks of -some lake or river. I must say, though, when you get up into the fjeld -after the grouse and the ducks, or, it may be, bigger game, it is another -affair altogether. You may then go twenty or thirty miles on end without -seeing a human habitation, unless you are lucky enough to meet with a -säter, and you know what a highland bothy is, for dirt and vermin. But, -even in the fjeld, I do not know that we should want tents; you can have -no idea of the beauty of a northern summer’s night, and the very little -need one has of any cover whatever. I remember, last year, standing -on one of their barrows, smoking my pipe at the foot of an old stone -cross, coeval, probably, with St. Olaf, and shadowing the tomb of some -of his followers that Hakon the Jarl thinned off so savagely. It was -deep midnight, and there was not a chill in the air, or dew enough on -the whole headland to fill the cup of a Lys Alf. The full round moon was -shining down upon me from the south, while a strong glowing twilight was -still lighting up the whole northern sky, where the sun was but just hid -under the horizon. The whole scene was as light as day, with the deep -solemn stillness of midnight all the while. I could distinctly make out -the distant fishing-boats; I could almost distinguish what the men were -doing in them, through the bright and transparent atmosphere; but at the -same time all was so still that I could hear the whistle of the wings, -as flight after flight of wild-fowl shot over me in their course to -seaward, though they were so high in the air that I could not distinguish -the individual birds, only the faint outline of the wedge-like figure in -which they were flying. I remember, that night, thinking how perfectly -unnecessary a tent was, and determining not to bring one; and, that night -at all events, I acted up to my conviction; for, when my pipe was out, I -slept at the foot of the old cross till the sun warned me that the salmon -were stirring.” - -“All very pleasant, no doubt,” said the Captain; “very enjoyable indeed: -but does it never rain at night in this favoured land of yours?” - -“Upon my word, it does not very often,” said the Parson; “at least, not -in the summer-time. Besides, you cannot conceive how well the men tent -themselves with pine-branches.” - -“I do not quite like the idea,” said the Captain. “It is all very well to -sleep out when anything is to be got by it; but, when there is nothing to -be got by it but the rheumatism, to tell you the honest truth—unlucky, as -the old women say it is—I rather prefer contemplating the moon through -glass.” - -“Well, I will tell you what we can do,” said the Parson, “and that will -be a compromise. We can get some canvas made up into two lug sails. -These will help us uncommonly in our passage over lakes and fjords, for -their boats are seldom well provided in that respect; and when we get to -our destination, lug sails—being square, or, to speak more accurately, -parallelogrammatical—will make us very capital gipsy tents, with two -pairs of cross-sticks and a ridge-pole, which we shall always be able -to cut from the forest. I think we may indulge ourselves so far. As for -waterproof jackets, trousers, boots, and so forth, I need not tell you -about that: you have been out before, and know the value of these when -you want to fish through a rainy day. We shall not have so dripping a -climate here as we had in Ireland, certainly, but we shall have one use -for our waterproof clothing which we had not there, and that is, when we -bivouac, vulcanised India-rubber is as good a defence against the dew and -the ground-damp as it is against the rain. A case of knife, fork, and -spoon apiece is absolutely necessary, for they do not grow in the fjeld. -A light axe or two, and a couple of hand-bills, a hammer and nails, -which are just as likely to be wanted to repair our land-carriages as -our boats. If you are at all particular in shaving—which, by-the-by, is -not at all necessary—you may as well take a portable looking-glass. You -will not find it so easy to shave in the reflection of a clear pool—a -strait to which I was reduced when I was there last year. And now, I -think, we have everything—that is to say, if you have taken care of the -fishing-tackle, as you engaged to do.” - -“I have not taken care of your material-book.” - -“No,” said the Parson; “but I have taken very good care of that myself. -Fly-making may be a resource to fall back upon, if we meet with rainy -weather, and my book is well replenished.” - -“Everything else,—rods, books, reels, gaffs, and so forth,—I have packed -in the old black box which we had with us at Belleek, with spare line, -and water-cord, and armed wire, and eel hooks, and, in fact, everything -that we can possibly want; and a pretty heavy package it makes, I can -assure you.” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “we may go to sleep now with a clear conscience. -But so much depends upon a good start, that a little extra trouble, on -the first day, will be found to save, in the end, a multiplicity of -inconveniences.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE VOYAGE. - - “Hurrah! hurrah! up she’s rising,— - Stamp and go, boys! up she’s rising,— - Round with a will! and up she’s rising, - Early in the morning. - - What shall us do with a lubberly sailor?— - What shall us do with a lubberly sailor?— - Put him in the long-boat and make him bale her, - Early in the morning. - - Hurrah! hurrah! up she’s rising.”— - &c. &c. _ad infinitum_. - - _Anchor Song._ - - -Clear and joyous as ever a summer’s day came out of the heavens, was the -12th of June, 18—, when the good ship _Walrus_, with her steam up, her -boats secured, and everything ready for sea, lay lazily at single anchor -off Blackwall-stairs. The weather was as still and calm as weather might -be. The mid-day sun, brilliant and healthful, imparted life and animation -even to the black and unctuous waters, that all that morning had, in -the full strength of the spring tide, been rushing past her sides. The -breeze, light and fitful, just stirred the air, but was altogether -powerless on the glazy surface of the stream, which sent back, as from a -polished and unbroken mirror, the exact double of every mast, yard, and -line of cordage, that reposed above it. The ships lay calm and still. The -outward-bound had tided down with the first of the ebb, and were already -out of sight, and the few sails that still hung festooned in their bunt -and clew-lines, lay as motionless as the yards that held them. Like light -and airy dragon-flies, just flitting on the surface, and apparently -without touching it, the river steamers were darting from wharf to wharf; -while ever and anon a great heavy sea-going vessel would grind her -resistless way, defying wind and tide, and dashing the black wave against -the oily-looking banks. - -Steamer after steamer passed, each steadily bent on her respective -mission; and the day wore on—yet there lay the _Walrus_, though her -sea-signalling blue Peter had hung from her fore-truck ever since -day-light, and the struggling and impatient steam would continually burst -in startling blasts from her safety-valves. The tide was slackening -fast; the chain cable, that all that forenoon had stretched out taut and -tense from her bows, like a bar of iron, now hung up and down from her -hawsehole, while the straws and shavings and floating refuse of the great -capital began to cling round her sides. - -“It is a great honour, no doubt, to carry an ambassador, with Heaven -knows how many stars of every degree of Russian magnitude in his train,” -said the Parson, who, seated on the taffrail, with his legs dangling -over the water, had been watching the turning tide, and grumbling, as -ship after ship in the lower reaches began to swing at her anchors, -while three or four of the more energetic craft were already setting -their almost useless sails, and yo-ho-ing at their anchors, preparatory -to tiding up; “it is a very great honour, and I hope we are all duly -sensible of it; but, like most great honours, it is a very particular -nuisance. These Russian representatives of an autocrat majesty must fancy -they can rule the waves, when all the world knows it is only Britannia -that can do that. They have let the whole of this lovely tide pass -by—(the Parson cast his eyes on the greasy water)—and fancy, I suppose, -that daddy Neptune is bound to supply them with a new one whenever they -please to be ready for it.” - -“Why, Mate!” said the Captain, as a smart sailor-like looking fellow -fidgeted across the quarter-deck, with an irregular step and an anxious -countenance; “is this what you call sailing at ten a.m. precisely? Most -of us would have liked another forenoon on shore, but your skipper was so -confounded peremptory; and this is what comes of it.” - -“What is one to do, sir?” said the Mate, who seemed fully to participate -in the Captain’s grievance. “These Russians have taken up all the private -cabins for their own particular use, and occupy half the berths in the -main and fore-cabins besides—we cannot help waiting for them. They have -pretty well chartered the ship themselves—what can we do? But,” continued -he, after a pause, during which he had been looking over the side, as the -steamer now began evidently to swing in her turn, “I wish we had gone -down with the morning’s tide.” - -“We should have been at the mouth of the river by this time,” said the -Captain, “if we had started when we ought.” - -“Yes,” said the Mate, “and we should now be crossing the dangerous -shoals, with fair daylight and a rising tide before us.” - -“Why, surely you are not afraid,” said the Parson; “that track is as well -beaten as the turnpike road.” - -The Mate shrugged his shoulders, and stepped forward, giving some -unnecessary orders in a tone unnecessarily sharp and angry. - -“Well, Birger, what news? Do you see anything of them?” - -The individual addressed was a smart, active, little man, with a quick -grey eye, and a lively, pleasant, good-humoured countenance, who was -coming aft from the bridge of the steamer, on which he had been seated -all the forenoon, sketching, right and left of him groups of shipping on -the water and groups of idlers on the deck. - -“Anything of whom?” said he. “Oh! the Russians. No, I don’t know. I -suppose they will come some time or other; it does not signify—it is -all in the day’s work. Look here,”—and he opened his portfolio, and -displayed, in wild confusion all over his paper, the domes of Woolwich, -the houses of Blackwall, the forests of masts and yards in the Pool, -two or three picturesque groups of vessels, a foreign steamer or two, -landing her weary and travel-soiled passengers at the Custom-house—and, -over leaf, and in the background as it were, slight exaggerations of the -ungainly attitudes in which his two friends were then sprawling. “If -you had found something as pleasant as this grumbling to fill up your -time with, you would not be wasting your eyes and spoiling your temper in -looking for the Russians. They are going back to their own country, poor -devils! no wonder they are slow about it. Did you ever see a boy going to -school?” - -“Birger is not over-fond of the Russians,” said the Captain. - -“Few Swedes are,” said Birger; “remember Finland and Pomerania.” - -“Besides, it is not over-pleasant to have a great White Bear sitting -perpetually at one’s gate, always ready to snap up any of one’s little -belongings that may come in its way. The Russian fleet is getting -formidable, and Revel and Kronstadt are not very far from the mouth of -the Mälar.” - -“I don’t know anything about that,” said Birger, gallantly; “we are the -sons of the men who, under Gustaf, taught that fleet a lesson.” - -“You are a gallant set of fellows,” said the Parson; “and Sweden would -be a precious hard nut to crack. But your long-armed friends over the -water know the value of a ring fence, and would dearly like a seaboard. -Only fancy that overpowering country, which is now kept in order by -the rest of Europe, only because, just at present, it lies at the back -of creation, and cannot get out of the Baltic, Black, and White Seas, -to do harm to any one,—only fancy that pleasant land, with its present -unlimited resources, and Gothenborg for its Portsmouth, and Christiania, -and Frederiksvärn and Christiansand for its outports—a pleasant vision, -is it not, Mr. Guardsman? Don’t you think it probable that something of -this sort has soothed the slumbers of the White Bear we were speaking of, -before this?” - -“Did you ever hear of Charles the Twelfth? He taught that White Bear to -dance.” - -“He taught that White Bear to fight,” said the Captain, “and an apt -scholar he found him. There was more lost at Pultava than Charles’s -gallant army.” - -“There are men in Sweden yet,” said Birger, slightly paraphrasing the -legend of “Holger.” - -“There are,” said the Parson; “and if you could only agree among -yourselves, you might have hopes of muzzling the White Bear yet. Another -union of Calmar?” - -“O, hang the union of Calmar; there is no more honesty in a Dane or -a Norseman than there is in a Russ. We are not going to have another -Bloodbath at Stockholm. My mother is a Lejonhöved,[1] and I am not likely -to forget that day.” - -“I should have thought you more nearly connected with the Svinhöved -family,” said the Parson; “but depend upon it, unless you men of the -north can make up your quarrels, the White Bear will chop you up in -detail, and us after you.” - -Birger, who, in some incomprehensible way, traced his descent from the -founder of Stockholm, the great and terrible Earl Birger, was a smart -young subaltern in the Royal Guards, and though his present dress—a -modest and unpretending blouse—was anything but military, his well-set-up -figure, firm step, and jaunty little forage cap stuck on one side of his -head, sufficiently revealed his profession. From his earliest youth he -had discovered a decided talent for drawing, and in accordance with a -most praiseworthy custom in the Swedish service, he had been travelling -for the last twelvemonth at the expense of the Government, and was now -returning to the “Kongs Ofver Commandant’s Expedition,” with a portfolio -filled with valuable sketches, and a mind no less well stored with -military knowledge, which he had collected from every nation in Europe. -The Captain had fallen in with him at the Swedish ambassador’s, and, -being himself something of an artist, had struck up on the spot a sort of -professional friendship with him. The pleasant little subaltern was thus, -from that time forward, enrolled among their party; and though their -acquaintance was not yet of twenty-four hours’ standing, was at that -moment talking and chatting with all the familiarity of old and tried -friendship. - -“Here come those precious rascals at last,” said he, breaking off the -conversation, as a train of at least half-a-dozen carriages rattled -down to the landing-place, and counts, countesses, tutors, barons, -children, dogs, governesses, portmanteaus, bags, boxes, and trunks were -tumbled out indiscriminately on the landing-place. “Heaven and earth! -if they have not _impedimenta_ enough for an army! and this is only -their light marching baggage either. All their heavy articles came on -board yesterday, and are stowed under hatches. I’ll be bound we draw an -additional foot of water for them. Hang the fellows! they are as bad as -Junot, they are carrying off the plunder of half the country.” - -“Like the Swedes under Oxenstjerna,” said the Parson; “but what need -you care for that? The plunder—if it is plunder—comes from England, not -Sweden.” - -“It will lumber up the whole cabin, whether it comes from the one or the -other,” said Birger; “we shall not have room to swing a cat.” - -“We don’t want to swing a cat,” said the Parson; “that is a Russian -amusement rather than an English or a Swedish one, if all tales be -true; and you may depend upon it we shall fare all the better for their -presence: our skipper could never think of setting anything short of -turtle and venison before such very magnificent three-tailed bashaws.” - -“Yes,” said Birger, “they are going to Petersburgh, too, where the -chances are, the bashaws will find some good opportunity of squaring -accounts with the skipper for any ill-treatment, before the steamer is -permitted to sail.” - -All the while this conversation was going on, the illustrious passengers -were rapidly accomplishing the short passage from the shore to the -steamer, a whole flotilla of boats being employed in the service, -while the hurried click of the pauls, and the quick revolutions of the -windlass, as the chain-cable was hove short, showed that in the Captain’s -opinion, as well as that of the Mate, quite time enough had been wasted -already. - -But the golden opportunity had been lost. English tides respect no man, -not even Russian ambassadors, and old Father Thames was yet to read them -a lesson on the text— - - If you will not, when you may, - When you will, you shall have Nay. - -While the vessel was riding to the ebb tide, as she had done all the -morning, a warp which had been laid out from her port quarter would -have canted her head well into the stream; and the tide, acting on her -starboard bow while the after-part was in comparatively still water, -would have winded her downwards, almost before her paddles were in -motion, or her rudder could be brought to act. But the turn of the tide -had reversed all this. The vessel had indeed swung to the flood, which by -this time was rattling up at the rate of five or six miles an hour, and -thus her bowsprit was looking the way she wanted to go; but a strong eddy -was now bubbling up under her starboard bow, and pressing it towards the -left bank, while a great lumbering Indiaman lay just ahead of her, and a -Hamburgh steamer, which had anchored a little higher up on her starboard -quarter, forbade all reversing of the engine and thus getting out of the -mess stern foremost. - -The moment the anchor broke ground the helm was put hard a-port, and the -paddles were set in motion; but though from the tide alone the rudder had -some effect, the strength of the eddy was too much for her; round came -her head to port, as if she were going to take a leap at the embankment. - -“Hard a-port!—hard a-starboard!—ease her!—stop her!—turn her a-head!” -were the contradictory orders bawled out almost simultaneously. If noise -and shouting could have got the steamer out of the scrape, there was no -lack of it; but all these cries, energetic as they were, produced no -effect whatever, beyond exciting a little suspicion in the mind of our -travellers (some of whom having been at sea before, knew the stem of a -ship from the stern) that the skipper was not altogether a “deacon in -his craft;” and thus giving a point to the Mate’s silent but expressive -shrug when the Parson had alluded to the shoals at the river’s mouth. At -last, an indescribable sensation of grating, and a simultaneous volley -of heterogeneous oaths, such as sailors shot their guns with on grand -occasions, announced the fact that she had taken the ground abaft. - -This, however, as it turned out, was about the best thing that could -have happened, for it gave the skipper time to collect his senses; or, -what was more to the purpose, gave the Mate time to whisper in his ear; -and the rising tide was sure to float her again in ten minutes. By this -time a warp had been got out to a ship anchored upon the Surrey side, -an expedient which any sailor would have thought of before tripping -his anchor in the first instance. The end of it was passed round the -windlass and hove taut, and as the rising water slowly lifted the unlucky -vessel from her sludgy bed and a few turns brought a strain upon her, -she gradually slewed her head outwards. The steam was turned on, the -paddles went round; the black water began to fizz under her counter, as -if a million of bottles of stout had been poured into it—she was at last -a-weigh and fairly on her course, only about six hours after her proper -time. - -“I tell you what,” said the Parson, as he dived down the companion to -inspect the submarine arrangements of the cabin, “I leave this vessel at -Christiansand, and I wish we were fairly out of her. This fellow knows no -more of sea-craft than a tailor. Kind Providence shield us, or we shall -come to grief yet!” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE SHIPWASH SAND. - - “Our ship, - Which but three glasses since we gave out split, - Is tight and yare and bravely rigged, as when - We first put out to sea.” - - _Tempest._ - - -One by one the travellers crept down to the cabin. It was as -uncomfortable as cabins usually are, perhaps more so, as being more -lumbered and more crowded; and the ordinary space for locomotion had been -miserably curtailed by a large supplementary table, which the steward was -lashing athwart ship for the dinner accommodation of the supernumerary -passengers. These were standing about here and there, as helpless and -uncomfortable as people always are on first starting, and were regarding -one another with looks of suspicion and distrust, as people who start by -a public conveyance always do regard one another. - -In this the English part of the community was prominently conspicuous. -Denizens of a free land, it would seem as if they considered it as their -bounden duty to be continually exhibiting their Magna Charta in the -eyes of foreigners, and to maintain their just rights to the very death -against all comers. - -No rights, however, were invaded—there was no opportunity of asserting -the Magna Charta; all were equally shy and equally miserable; till, by -degrees, as the steamer crept slowly down the river against the tide, -they shook into their places, and the ladies began to smile, and the -ladies’ maids to look gracious. - -The Parson was an old stager. Knowing full well the value of light and -air in the present crowded state of the cabin, he had very willingly -assented to the apologetic invitation of the steward, and had established -himself comfortably enough on the transom itself, upon which was spread -for his accommodation a horsehair mattress. There was no great deal to -spare in the height of his domicile, for it was as much as he could -conveniently manage to sit upright in it; but it was, at all events, -retired, airy, and not subject to be suddenly evacuated by its occupant -under the overpowering influence of a lee lurch or a weather roll. - -Totally disregarding the bustle and confusion in the cabin below him, he -was occupied in arranging and beautifying his temporary home. The sill -of one window formed his travelling library, the books of which he had -been unpacking from his stores, and securing by a piece of spun yarn -from the disagreeable consequences of any sudden send of the ship in a -rolling sea. The next formed his toilet-table and workshop, exhibiting -his reels and fly-books, and the huge and well-known “material book,” the -replenishing of which had occupied so much of his attention. The third -was left empty, so as to be opened and shut at pleasure. - -Stretched on his mattress, with a guide-book in his hand, and the map -of Norway and Sweden at his side, he looked from his high abode on the -turmoil of the cabin deck, with all the calmness and complacency with -which the gods of the Epicureans are said to regard the troubles and -distresses of mortals below. - -And thus wore on the day. Dinner, tea, had been discussed—some little -portion of constraint and shyness had been rubbed off—small knots of men -were formed here and there, discussing nothings and making conversation. -Night sank down upon the steamer as she ploughed her way across the Nore, -and the last of the talkers rolled himself up in his bedclothes, and -tried, though for a long while in vain, to accustom himself to public -sleeping. - -It was still dark—for the time was hardly three in the morning—when -the Parson—who, accustomed to all the vicissitudes of travel, had been -making the most of the hours of darkness, and had been for some time fast -asleep—was suddenly startled from his dreams by a furious concussion on -the rudder-case against which his head was pillowed. The vessel became -stationary, and the fresh breezey hissing of the water in her wake and -the tremulous motion everywhere suddenly ceased. - -“By George, she’s hard and fast!” said the Captain; who, taking hint -from the comfortable appearance which the Parson had given to his own -berth, had occupied the same position on the starboard side, and was now -invading the Parson’s territories from abaft the rudder-case. - -“What the devil is to be done now?” - -“Nothing at all,” said the Parson; “it is no business of ours; and I am -sure it is not time to get up yet.” - -“Well, but she has certainly struck on a sand.” - -“I know that as well as you,” said the Parson; “but you can’t get her -off. Besides, there is not a bit of danger yet, at all events, for the -sea is as smooth as a mill-pond. There they go, reversing their engine: -much good that will do. If there was any truth in that bump I felt, -she is much too fast aground for that. And the tide falling too!”—he -continued, striking a lucifer and looking at his watch. “Yes, it is -falling now, it has turned this hour or more.” - -By this time the hurried trampling and stamping on deck had roused up the -passengers, few of whom could comprehend what had happened, for there -was no appearance of danger, and the ship was as steady and firm as a -house. But there is nothing more startling or suggestive of alarm than -that rushing to and fro of men, so close to the ear, which sounds to the -uninitiated as if the very decks were breaking up. - -“Is it houraccan storrm?” shouted Professor Rosenschall, a fat -greasy-looking Dane, whom Birger had been hoaxing and tormenting all -the day before, partly for fun, and partly because he considered it the -bounden duty of a true Swede to plague a Dane—paying off the Bloodbath by -instalments. - -“Steward!” shouted the Professor, above all the din and confusion of the -cabin, “Steward, vinden er stærkere? is it houraccan storrm?” - -“Yes, Professor, I am sorry to say it is,” said Birger, who had rolled -himself up in a couple of blankets under the table, upon which was -reposing the weight of the Professor’s learning. “It is what we call an -Irish hurricane—all up and down.” - -“All up! O what will become of me—and down! O, my poor wife. Hvilken -skrækelig storrm,” he screamed out, as half-a-dozen men clapped on to the -tackle falls over his head, with the very innocent purpose of lowering -the quarter-boat, and began clattering and dashing down the coils of rope -upon the deck. “Troer de at der er fore paa Færde?—do you think there is -any danger?” - -What with the Professor’s shouting, and what with the real uncertainty of -the case, and the natural desire that every one, even the most helpless, -has to see their peril and to do something for themselves, every -passenger was by this time astir, and the whole cabin was buzzing like a -swarm of bees. - -The Parson’s idea of sleeping was altogether out of the question; -and, the Captain having gone on deck, he very soon followed him; for, -notwithstanding his assumed coolness, he was by no means so easy in his -mind as he would have his friends to understand. He had been at sea -before this, and was, at least, as well aware as they, that grounding out -of sight of land, is a very different thing from grounding in the Thames. - -The scene on deck was desolate enough. The steamer had struck on the -Shipwash, a dangerous shoal on the Essex coast, distant about twenty -miles from land; and a single glance was sufficient to tell that there -was not a chance of getting her off for the next twelve hours, though the -Skipper was persisting in trying a variety of absurd expedients. The crew -were looking anxious—the passengers were looking frightened; while the -Skipper himself, who ought to have been keeping up every one’s spirits, -was looking more wretched and more frightened than any one. - -The day was just breaking, but a fog was coming on, and the wind showed -every symptom of freshening. The vessel, indeed, had begun to bump, but -the tide leaving her, that motion left her also, and she began now to -lie over on her bilge. From some unfortunate list she had got in her -stowing (Birger declared it was the weight of the ambassador’s despatch -boxes), she fell over to windward instead of to leeward, thus leaving her -decks perfectly exposed to the run of the sea, if the wind should freshen -seriously. - -When the Parson came on deck, the boats had just returned from sounding. -The Skipper had, indeed, endeavoured to lay out an anchor with them—an -object in which he might possibly have succeeded, had he tried it at -first and before there was any great rush of tide, for the steamer had -struck at the very turn of the flood; but he had wasted his time in -reversing his engines and in backing and taking in sails which there was -no wind to fill; and thus, before he had got his anchor lashed to the -boat, which, like all passage steamers’ boats, was utterly inadequate for -the work, the stream was strong enough to swamp boat, anchor, and all, -and it was fortunate indeed that no lives were lost. - -It appeared from the soundings that the ship had not struck on the main -shoal, but on a sort of spit or ridge, the neck of a submarine peninsula -projecting from the S.W. corner of it. Almost under her bows was a deep -turnhole or bay in the sand about two cables across, communicating with -the open water, beyond which, right athwart her hawse, lay the main body -of the shoal, so that the beacon which marked its northern extremity, -and which was now beginning to show in the increasing light of the -morning, lay broad on her port bow, while the other end of the shoal -was well on her starboard beam; at half a cable length astern, and on -her port quarter and beam was the deep water with which the turnhole -communicated,—this being, in fact, the channel she ought to have kept. - -It was perfectly evident that nothing could be done till the top of -the next tide, and whether anything could be done then was extremely -problematical with the wind rising and the sea getting up; experience -having already shown that there was not a boat in the steamer fit for -laying out an anchor. - -However, for the present the water was smooth enough; they were for the -time perfectly safe and comfortable, lying, as they did, under the lee of -the shoal, patches of which were now beginning to show just awash; while -the seas were breaking heavily enough certainly, but a full half-mile -to windward of them. The passengers, seeing nothing to alarm them, and -feeling their appetites well sharpened by their early rising, began to -lose their fears and to be clamorous for breakfast; and the meal was -served with a promptness which, under the circumstances, was perfectly -astonishing. - -Those who know nothing fear nothing, and the jokes which were flying -about and the general hilarity which pervaded the whole meeting, conveyed -anything rather than the idea of shipwrecked mariners; though, truth -to say, this feeling did not seem to be fully participated in by the -Skipper, who presided at what might very fairly be called the head of the -table, for it was many feet higher than the foot; he looked all the while -as if he was seated on a cushion stuffed with bramble bushes. - -The Parson, by way, he said, of utilising his moments, was preparing for -fishing—calculating, and rightly too, that the whiting would congregate -under the lee of the stranded ship. - -He had made his preparations with characteristic attention to his own -comfort and convenience. The dingy, which was hanging at the stern -davits, formed at once his seat and his fishing-basket; and as he had -eased off as much of the lee tackle fall as brought the boat to an even -keel, the taffrail itself afforded him a shelter from the wind, which was -now getting high enough to be unpleasant. - -There he sat, hour after hour, busily and very profitably employed, -heeding the gradual advance and strengthening of the tide only so far as -its increasing current required the use of heavier leads. - -The Captain and Birger had been trying to walk the sloping deck, a -pursuit of pedestrianism under difficulties, for it was very much as -if they had been trying to walk along the roof of a house. Time hangs -heavily on the hands of those who have nothing to do, and there was -nothing to do by the most active of sailors beyond hoisting the ensign -union downwards, and that might just as well have been left undone too, -for all the notice that was taken of it. Ship after ship passed by—the -foreign traders to windward, the English through the shorter but more -dangerous channel that lay between them and the main land. Many of them -were quite near enough for anxious passengers to make out the people in -them reconnoitring the position of the unfortunate _Walrus_ through their -telescopes. But if they did look on her, certainly they passed by on the -other side; it never seemed to enter into the heads of one of them to -afford assistance. - -“Pleasant,” said Birger, “very. Is this the way your sailors help one -another in distress?” - -“I am afraid so,” said the Captain. - - “Gayer insects fluttering by - Ne’er droop the wing o’er those that die; - And English tars have pity shown - For every failure but their own.” - -“You do not mean to say that they will not help us if there really is -danger?” said the Swede. - -“Upon my word, I hope there will not be any real danger; for if you -expect any help from them, I can tell you that you will not get it.” - -“Not get it!” said Birger, who did not at all seem to relish the prospect -before him. - -“That you will not. Sink or swim, we sink or swim by our own exertions. -Those scoundrels could not help us without losing a whole tide up the -river, a whole day’s pay of the men, and so much per cent. on the cargo, -besides the chance of being forestalled in the market: do you think -they would do that to save the lives of half-a-hundred such as you and -me? Why, you have not learned your interest tables; you do not seem to -understand how much twenty per cent. in a year comes to for a day. A -precious deal more than our lives are worth, I can tell you.” - -Birger looked graver still; drowning for a soldier was not a professional -death, and he did not relish the idea of it. - -The Captain continued his words of comfort. “I was very nearly losing a -brother this way myself,” he said. “He was invalided from the coast of -Africa, and had taken his passage home in a merchant vessel. They had -met with a gale of wind off the Scillies; the ship had sprung a leak, -and when the gale had subsided to a gentle easterly breeze dead against -them, there were they within twenty miles of the Longships, water-logged, -with all their boats stove, and their bulwarks gone. Timber ships do not -sink very readily, and incessant pumping had kept them afloat, but it -was touch and go with that—their decks awash, and the seas rolling in at -one side and out at the other. While they were in this state, the whole -outward-bound fleet of English ships passed them, some almost within -hailing distance, and all without taking more notice of them than those -scoundrels are taking of us. They would, all hands, have gone to the -bottom together, in the very midst of their countrymen, if a French brig -had not picked them off and carried them into Falmouth. It was so near a -thing, that the vessel sank almost before the last boat had shoved off -from her side. - -“Well,” said Birger, “if there is a selfish brute upon earth, it is an -English sailor.” - -“Natural enough that you should say so, just at present,” said the -Captain; “though, as a Swede, you might have recollected the superstition -that prevails in your own country against helping a drowning man. But -the fact is, the fault lies not so much with the sailors as with the -insurance regulations at Lloyds’. Likely enough, every one of these -fellows has a desire to help us; but if they go one cable’s length from -their course to do so, or if they stay one half-hour by us when they -might have been making their way to their port, they vitiate their -insurance. Man is a selfish animal, no doubt—sea-going man as well -as shore-going man—and it is very possible that some of them would -rather see their neighbours perish than lose the first of the market; -but laws such as these render selfishness imperatively necessary to -self-preservation, and banish humanity from the maritime code.” - -“I wish all Lloyds’ were on the Shipwash,” said Birger, “and had to wait -there till I picked them off.” - -“Yes,” said the Captain; “or that the House of Commons were compelled to -take a winter’s voyage every year in some of these company’s vessels. -I think, then, they might possibly find out the advantage of certain -laws and certain officers to see them put in force, in order to prevent -their going to sea so wretchedly found. There is nothing like personal -experience for these legislators. This vessel has not a boat bigger than -a cockle-shell belonging to her. Did you not hear how nearly the Mate was -lost last night,—and he is the only real sailor in the ship—when they -were trying to lay out an anchor—a manœuvre which, I see, they have not -accomplished yet?” - -“Hallo! this is serious,” said Birger, as a heavy sea struck the weather -paddle-box, and broke over them in spray: for the tide had been gradually -rising, without, as yet, raising the ship; and, as she lay over to -windward, the seas that now began to break upon her starboard bow and -side, deluged her from stem to stern. - -“Upon my soul,” said the Captain, “I don’t like this, myself; and there -sits the Parson, fishing away, as quietly as if he were on the pier at -Boveysand. By Jove, Nero fiddling while Rome was burning, is a fool to -him! Why, Parson, don’t you think there is some danger in all this?” - -“‘Er det noget Færde?’ as your friend the professor would say,” said the -Parson, laughing. “I do not think it improbable that the _Walrus_ will -leave her bones here, if you mean that.—Stop, I’ve got another bite!” - -“Confound your bite! If she leaves her bones here, we shall leave ours -too; for she has not boats for the fourth of us, the devil take them! and -as for expecting help from these rascally colliers——” - -“You may just as well fiddle to the dolphins,” said the Parson. “I know -that; but do you see that little cutter,—that fellow, I mean, on our -quarter, that has just tacked? and there beyond her is another, that is -now letting fly her jib-sheet. I have been watching those fellows all -the morning, beating out from Harwich. They are having a race, and a -beautiful race they make of it: you cannot tell yet which has the best of -it. If those cutters were going over to the Dutch coast, you may depend -upon it they would not make such short boards. There—look—the leading one -is in stays again. Those fellows are racing for us, and with our ensign -Union down, as we have it, we shall make a pretty good prize for the one -that gets first to us. Those two are pilot-boats. You may depend upon it, -we are not going to lay our bones here, whatever comes of the _Walrus_.” - -The Parson’s anticipations were realised sooner than he expected, for a -long low life-boat, that nobody had seen till she was close alongside, -came up, carrying off the prize from both competitors—and preparations -were begun, which ought to have been completed hours before, for laying -out an anchor. - -Before long, the cutters also had worked up and anchored on the lee edge -of the shoal, to the great relief of every one on board; for the seas -were by this time making such a breach over her, that no one could be -ignorant of the danger. - -Suddenly, and without preparation, she righted, throwing half the -passengers off their legs, and very nearly precipitating the Parson into -the sea; who took that as a hint to leave his seat in the dingy. Soon -afterwards she began to bump, first lightly, and then more heavily, and -the paddles were set in motion. The windlass was manned and worked; -but the shifting sand afforded no good holding-ground for the anchor, -which had not been backed—nor, indeed, had any precautions been taken -whatever—and as soon as there was any strain upon it, it came home and -was perfectly useless. - -The ship now was hanging a little abaft the chess-tree, on the very top -of the spit; but the stern was free, and the bows were actually in the -deep water of the turnhole, while at every bump she gained an inch or -two: just then, the anchor coming home, and the tide taking her under the -port bow, she ran up in the wind, and pointed for the very centre of the -shoal. - -“Why the devil don’t you set your jib?” bellowed out the Captain, who had -begun to get excited. “Where the deuce is that know-nothing Skipper of -yours?” - -“Upon my soul, sir, I do not know,” said the Mate, who was standing at -the wheel, and was looking very anxiously forward. - -“Then why don’t you go forward and set it yourself? We shall be on the -main shoal in two minutes, if she floats.” - -“I know it, sir,” said the Mate; “but I dare not leave my post. We shall -all have to answer for this; and if I am not where the Skipper has placed -me, he will throw the blame upon me.” - -“Then, by George, I don’t care _that_ for your Skipper. Come along, boys, -we’ll run up the jib ourselves.” - -And away he rushed, pushing and shouldering his way along the crowded -decks, among idlers, and horses, and carriages, followed by his own -party, and a good many of the foreigners also; till he emerged on the -forecastle, when, throwing down the jib and fore-staysail hallyards from -the bitts and clattering them on the deck, while the Parson went forward -to see all clear, he called out to the Russian servants, who, wet and -frightened, were cowering under the carriages— - -“Here, you slaveys, come out of that—_clappez-vous sur ceci_—clap on -here, you rascals—_rousez-vous dehors de ces bulwarks_. What the devil is -Greek for ‘skulking?’” - -Whether the Russians understood one word of the Captain’s French, -or whether they would have understood one word of it had they been -Frenchmen, may be doubted; but his actions were significant enough; and -the men, who only wanted to be told what to do, clapped on to the jib and -fore-staysail hallyards as well and as eagerly as if they had known what -was to be done with them; here and there, too, was seen a blue-jacket, -for the seamen had no wish to skulk, if there had been any one to command -them. - -“Gib mig ropes enden!” shouted Professor Rosenschall, who had caught the -enthusiasm, and was panting after them, though a long way astern. - -“Birger will do that for you,” said the Parson, laughing, but without -pausing for one moment from his work—“Birger! the Professor wants a -rope’s-end.” - -“Vær saa artig!” said Birger, tendering him the signal hallyards, -the bight of which he had hitched round a spare capstan-bar on which -he was standing. For Birger, like most Swedish soldiers, had passed a -twelvemonth in a midshipman’s berth, where, whatever seamanship he had -picked up, he had, at all events, learned plenty of mischief. - -“Away with you!” roared the Captain. “Up with the sails—both of them.” - -“Skynda! Professor, Skynda!” echoed Birger, leaping off the capstan-bar -as he spoke, and thus causing the Professor to pitch headlong among the -trampling men. - -“Up with it! up with it, cheerily! look there, she pays off already!” -as the two sails flew out; the jib, which was not confined by any stay, -bagging away to leeward and hanging there, but still drawing and doing -good service. “Up with it, boys—round she comes, like a top! Hurrah, -that’s elegant!” as a sea struck her full on the quarter, which, by her -paying off, had now become exposed to it. On it came, breaking over the -taffrail and deluging the idlers on the poop, but at the same time giving -her the final shove off the ridge. “Off she goes! Shout, boys, shout! and -wake up that Skipper, wherever he is!” - -And amid the most discordant yells that ever proceeded from heterogeneous -voices—Danish, Dutch, Swedish, German, and Russ, above which, distinct -and ringing, rose the heart-stirring English cheer—the steamer, once more -under command of her rudder, buzzed, and dashed her way into the open -sea. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE LANDFALL. - - “Bewilderedly gazes - On the wild sea, the eagle - When he reaches the strand: - So is it with the man; - In the crowd he standeth - And hath but few friends there.” - - _Hávamál._ - - -“Nothing gives one so lively an idea of eternal, irresistible progress—of -steady, inexorable, unalterable fate, as the ceaseless grinding of these -enormous engines.” Thus moralised Birger, as, two days after the events -recorded in the last chapter, he stood with his brother officer, the -Captain, on the grating that gave air into the engine-room. “In joy or in -sorrow, in hope or in fear, on they go—grinding—grinding, never stopping, -never varying, never hurrying themselves:—the same quiet, irresistible -round over and over again: we go to bed—we leave them grinding; we get -up—there they are, grinding still; we are full of hope, and joy, and -expectancy, looking out for land and its pleasures—they go no faster; -they would go no faster if we went to grief and misery. If you or I -were to fall dead at this moment, the whole ship would be in an uproar, -every man of them all showing his interest, or his curiosity, one way or -other—but still would go on, through it all, that eternal, everlasting -grinding.” - -“Everlasting it is,” said the Captain, who was not at all poetical, -and who was anxious to be at his journey’s end. “This steamer is the -very slowest top I have ever had the misfortune to sail in. By every -calculation we should have made the coast of Norway ages ago; I have -been on the look out for it ever since daylight; but six, seven, eight, -nine, and no coast yet. Breakfast over, and here are your everlasting -wheels of fate grinding away, and not one bit nearer land, as far as -I can see, than they were before. I’ll be hanged if the wind is not -getting northerly too,” he said, looking up, as the fore and aft foresail -over their head gave a flap, as if it would shake the canvas out of the -bolt-ropes. “I thought so. Look at them brailing up the mainsail! wind -and steam together, we never got seven knots out of this tub; I wonder -what we shall get now—and the sea getting up too?” - -Several consecutive pitches, which set the horses kicking, and prostrated -one-half of the miserable, worn-out, dirty-looking deck passengers, -seemed fully to warrant the Captain’s grumbling assertion, and they -scrambled back to the poop; upon which most of the passengers were by -this time congregated, for the sun was shining out brightly, and the -wind, though there was plenty of it, was fresh and bracing. - -They had evidently by this time opened the north of Scotland, for the -slow, heaving swell of the Northern Ocean was rolling in upon them; and -this, meeting the windwash knocked up by the last night’s south-easterly -breeze, was making a terrible commotion in the ship, and everything and -everybody belonging to it. - -“Land! land!” shouted the Parson, who had climbed upon the weather -bulwarks, and was holding on by the vang to steady his footing. “Land, I -see it now; where could our eyes have been? There it is, like blue clouds -rising out of the water.” - -There was a general move and a general crowding towards the spot to -which he was pointing, but just then the ship pitched bowsprit and bows -under, jerking the Parson off his legs; upsetting every passenger who had -nothing to hold on by, and submerging half-a-dozen men on the jib-boom, -who were occupied in stowing the now useless jib. They rose from their -involuntary bath puffing and blowing, and shaking the water from their -jackets, but continuing their work as if nothing had happened. - -There, however, was the land, beyond a doubt. No Cape Flyaway, but -land—bold, decided, and substantial. Whether it was that people had -not looked for it in the right direction, or had not known what to look -for; or whether, as was most likely, a haze had hung over the morning -sea, which the sun had now risen high enough to dispel; whatever was the -cause, there stood the hitherto invisible land, speaking of hope and joy, -and quiet dinners, and clean beds, and creating a soul under the ribs of -sea-sickness. - -Long, however, it was before they neared it,—hour after hour; and -Birger’s everlasting wheels went grinding on, and the mountains seemed no -higher and no plainer than they were when the Parson had first descried -them. But the day had become much more enjoyable, the wind had moderated, -and the swell was less felt, as the land began to afford some protection. - -The Captain and his friend Birger had by this time established themselves -on the break of the poop, with their sketch-books in their hands, -nominally to sketch the outline of the land, really to caricature the -Russian magnates during their hours of marine weakness. While Monsieur -Simonet, one of the numerous tutors, a venturesome Frenchman, climbed -warily up the main shrouds to get a better view, creeping up step by -step, ascertaining the strength of each rattlin before he ventured his -weight upon it, and holding on to the shrouds like grim Death. Quietly -and warily stole after him the Mate, with a couple of stout foxes hitched -round his left arm. - -“Faith,” said Birger, “they are going to make a spread-eagle of him. -Well, that is kind; it will prepare him for his new country; it is in -compliment to Russia, I suppose, that they turn him into the national -device.” - -But the Mate had reckoned without his host. The Frenchman made a capital -fight for it, and in the energy of his resistance, entirely forgot his -precarious position; he kicked, he cuffed, he fought gallantly, and -finally succeeded in seizing his adversary’s cap, a particularly jaunty -affair with gold lace round it, in imitation of her Majesty’s navy, of -which the Mate was especially proud. This, the Frenchman swore by every -saint the Revolution had left in his calendar, he would heave overboard; -and before the Captain had completed the little sketch he was taking of -the transaction, a capitulation was entered into by the belligerents upon -the principle of the _statu quo_, and the discomfited Mate descended, -leaving his adversary to enjoy at once his position and his victory. - -By this time sails, unseen before, had begun to dot the space which still -intervened between the steamer and the iron-bound coast before it, which -now rose stern and rugged, and desolately beautiful, clothed everywhere -with a sort of rifle-green, from the dark hues of the fir and juniper, -for none but the hardy evergreens could bear the severe blasts of even -its southern aspect; few and far between were these sails at first, and -insignificant did they seem under the abrupt and lofty mountains which -rose immediately out of the sea, without any beach or coast-line, or -low-land whatever; but, as they neared the land, the moving objects -assumed a more conspicuous place in the landscape. - -There was the great heavy galliasse with pigs from Bremen or colonial -produce from Hamburg—a sort of parallelogram with the corners rounded, -such as one sees in the pictures of the old Dutch school two hundred -years ago—not an atom of alteration or improvement in its build since -the days of old Van Tromp; the same flat floor and light draft of -water—the same lumbering lee-boards—the same great, stiff, substantial, -square-rigged foremast, with a little fore and aft mizen, which looked -like an after-thought; she might be said to be harrowing the main instead -of ploughing it, according to our more familiar metaphor, with a great -white ridge of foam heaped up under her bows, and a broad, ragged wake -like that of a steamer. - -And there was the Norwegian brig returning from Copenhagen with a cargo -of corn for Christiansand; rough and ill-found, nine times in ten not -boasting so much as a foretop-gallant sail, yet tight and seaworthy, and -far better than she looked; built after the model of a whale’s body, -full forward and lean aft, with a stern so narrow that she looked as if -she had been sailing through the Symplegades, and had got pinched in the -transit. - -Then came a fleet of a dozen jagts from the north, the tainted breezes -advertising their fishy cargo, as they came along. These were the -originals of the English yacht, which unspellable word is merely the -Norwegian _jagt_, written as it is pronounced in the country, for Norway -is the only nation besides England that takes its pleasure on the deep -sea. With their single great unwieldy sails, their tea-tray-shaped hulls, -and towering sterns, they looked like a boy’s first essays in the art of -ship-building. - -But Bergen furnishes a far more ship-shape description of craft—sharp -fore and aft vessels are the Bergeners, looking as if they had all been -built on the same lines, with little, low bulwarks, and knife-like -cutwaters, as if they were intended to cut through the seas rather than -to ride over them, sailing almost in the wind’s eye, and, when very -close hauled indeed, a point on the other side of it—at least, so their -skippers unanimously assert, and they ought to know best,—at all events, -ensuring a wet jacket to every one on board, be the weather as fine as it -may, from the time they leave the port to the time they return to it. - -Then came, crowding all sail and looking as if they were rigged for -a regatta, with their butterfly summer gear and tapering spars, the -lobster smacks from Lyngör, and Osterisö, and Arendahl, and Hellesund: -and a regatta it was on a large scale, with the wide North Sea for a -race-course, omnivorous London for the goal, and its ever-fluctuating -markets for a prize. These were sharp, trim-looking vessels, admirably -handled, and not unworthy of a place in the lists of any Royal Yacht -Club for beauty or for speed; somewhat less sharp, perhaps, than the -Bergeners, but scarcely less weatherly or sitting less lightly on the -seas. - -The near approach to the land, which had been for so many hours looked -for in vain, seemed to bring no great comfort to the unfortunate Skipper, -who kept fidgetting about the decks with a perplexed and anxious -countenance. Glasses were brought on deck, and rubbed and polished over -and over again, and directed in succession to every mountain peak that -showed itself, and every inlet that opened before them. Then, little -mysterious consultations were held between the Skipper and his First -Mate; then, one man was sent for, then another; then more whispering, -and more mystery, more shaking of the heads and examination of charts; -then an adjournment to the bridge, on which the Parson was then standing, -taking his survey of the craft in sight, and enjoying the sunshine. -At last, the whispering took a more objurgatory tone; more in the way -of a growl, with now and then a short, emphatic sentence of eternal -condemnation on somebody’s eyes, or blood, or other personalities,—as is -the custom of those who “go down to the sea in ships.” - -The first distinct words which met the Parson’s ear, came from the lips -of the Skipper, pronounced in a sharp, acid, querulous sort of tone; such -as superiors sometimes indulge in, when they are fixing on the shoulders -of an inferior the blame they shrewdly suspect all the while, ought, if -justice had its due, to rest on their own. - -“You are not worth your salt, sir,” he said; “you are not worth your -salt—you ought to be ashamed of wearing a blue jacket, you know-nothing, -lubberly ...” and so forth; expressions by no means unusual at sea, -certainly, but sounding somewhat misplaced in the present instance, -inasmuch as if there was any one in the whole ship not worth his salt, -the speaker certainly was the man, in his own proper person. - -“Upon my soul, sir,” said the man addressed, “if I tried to tell you -anything about it, I should be only deceiving you. I know the coast about -Christiansand as well as any man. I have traded to that port for years, -and taken the old brig in and out twenty times; but the land before us is -all strange to me. I never saw those three hummocky hills before in my -life. This is not Christiansand.” - -“Well, but if it is not, does Christiansand lie east or west of us—which -way am I to steer?” - -The man raised his glass again, and took a long and anxious survey, but -apparently with no better result. - -“Really, sir, I cannot say. I cannot make it out at all; there is not one -single sea-mark that I know.” - -“Then what the devil did you ship for as a pilot, if you knew nothing -of your business?” Here followed another strong detachment of marine -expletives. - -“I shipped as a pilot for Christiansand, sir; and, for the Sound, and for -Copenhagen; and can take the steamer into any one of them, if she drew -as much as a first-rate; but this place is neither one nor the other of -them, and I never called myself a coasting pilot.” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “this seems to me sad waste of breath and -temper; if you are a couple of lost babes, why do you not ask your way? -There lies a pilot-boat, as you may see with your own eyes,” pointing to -a little cutter exhibiting in the bright sunshine a single dark cloth in -a very white mainsail, which, with her foresheet to windward, lay bobbing -about in the swell right ahead of them. “That is a pilot-boat, and I -suppose she knows the way, if you do not—why do you not hail her?” - -The Skipper looked askance at the Parson, as if he meditated some not -very complimentary reply about minding one’s own business; for, conscious -of the estimation in which he was himself held by the fishing party, who -were in no way chary of their remarks, he regarded them with anything -but friendly feelings. But the advice was too obviously sound to be -neglected, and the Skipper was not by any means anxious that the magnates -on the poop should become acquainted with the fact that he was at sea in -more senses than one. - -In a few minutes the steamer was alongside the little shrimp of a cutter, -taking the wind out of her sails by her huge unwieldy hull. - -A short conversation passed between them, which as one-half was sworn -down the wind in very loud English, and the other half came struggling up -in broad Norske, was not attended with any very satisfactory results. - -Birger offered his services. - -“You may as well ask them what they will take us into Christiansand for,” -said the Skipper; “that will soon make them find their English.” - -A few more unintelligible words were exchanged, and Birger burst out -laughing. - -“They cannot do it,” he said: “they cannot take us into Christiansand: -not only they are not able, but they are not licensed to ply so far.” - -“Why! where are we, then?” said the astonished Skipper. - -“Off Arendahl!” said Birger. - -“Arendahl!” broke in the Parson, “why, that is fifty miles to the -westward of your course.” - -“Well, I cannot conceive how that can be,” said the Skipper. “Something -wrong, I am afraid, with the compasses. We ought not to be so far out; we -steered a straight course, and—” - -“That did you not,” said Birger, “whatever else you did; the Captain and -I have been studying the theory of transcendental curves from your wake.” - -“I can tell you how it is,” said the Parson; “you have steered your -course as you say, and have not allowed for the easterly set of the -current, and you imagine how this must have acted upon us under the -influence of these rolling swells which we have had on our port bow ever -since daylight, every one of which must have set us down a fathom or -two to leeward. Don’t you recollect that we lost three line-of-battle -ships coming home from the Baltic by this very blunder. Compasses!” he -continued, _sotto voce_, “a pretty lot of blunders are thrown on those -unfortunate compasses, in every court-martial. However,” he continued, -aloud, “there is no help for it,—thankful ought we to be it is no worse; -there is but one thing to be done now, and what that one thing is, you -know as well as I.” - -This the Skipper did know. A close survey of the remaining coals took -place, and it was decided that notwithstanding the expenditure that took -place on the day on the Shipwash, there might, with economy, be enough -for six hours’ consumption, Birger inquiring innocently, “whether the -Skipper had not anything that would burn in his own private stores?” - -The steamer’s course was accordingly altered nine or ten points, for -the coast from Arendahl to Christiansand trends southerly, and she had -actually overshot her mark, and gone to the northward as well as to the -eastward of her port, so that land which had hitherto lain before them, -was thus brought abaft the starboard beam. - -To those who, like our fishermen, were not exactly making a passage, -but exploring the country, and to whom it was a matter of indifference -whether they dined at five or supped at eleven, the Skipper’s blunder was -anything but an annoyance. It afforded them an opportunity, not often -enjoyed, of seeing the outside coast of Norway; for in general, almost -all the coasting trade, and all the passenger traffic, is carried on -within the fringe of islands that guard the shores. An absolute failure -in the article of fuel, and a week or so of calm within a few miles of -their port, might have been a trial to their tempers; but there was no -such temptation to grumbling on the present occasion; and, besides, the -afternoon and evening were bright and warm, the wind had sunk to a calm, -and though the ever restless sea was heaving and setting, the swells had -become glassy, soft, and regular. - -Cape after cape, island after island of that inhospitable coast was -passed, and not a sign of habitation, not a town, not a village, not even -a fisherman’s cottage, or a solitary wreath of smoke was to be seen. The -land seemed utterly uninhabited, and, as they drew out from the stream of -trade, the very sea seemed tenantless also. - -The fact is, that the whole coast of Norway, and of Sweden also, is -fringed with islands, in some places two or three deep, which are -separated from the main and from each other by channels more or less -broad, but always deep. Of these islands, the outer range is seldom -inhabited at all, never on the seaward sides, which, exposed to the first -sweep of the southwester, are either bare, bold rocks, or else nourish on -their barren crags a scanty clothing of stunted fir or ragged juniper, -but afford neither food nor shelter, and where that necessary of life, -fresh water, is very rarely to be met with. - -The whole of the coasting trade passes within this barrier, and the -houses and villages, of which there are many, lie hidden on the sheltered -shores of the numerous channels; so that, however well peopled the coast -may be—and in some places population is by no means scanty—neither house, -nor boat, nor ship, except the foreign trade as it approaches or leaves -the coast, is ever seen by the outside coaster. - -The shades of evening were already falling, and that at midsummer in -Norway indicates a very late hour indeed, when the glimmer of a light -was seen through the scrubby firs of a cape-land island, occasioning a -general rush of expectant passengers to the bridge, for some had begun -to doubt the very possibility of discovering this continually retreating -port, and to class it with the fairy territories of Cloudland and Cape -Flyaway; while others, with more practical views and less poetical -imaginations, had been contemplating with anxiety the rapidly decreasing -coals in the bunkers. Both parties, poets and utilitarians alike, had -their fears set at rest when, on rounding the point, the long-lost -lighthouse of Christiansand hove in sight—tall, white, pillar-like, -looking shadowy and ghost-like, against the dark background behind it. -The poets might have thought of the guardian spirit of some ancient sea -king, permitted to watch over the safety of his former dwelling-place, -for Christiansand is renowned in story. To the utilitarians it might, and -probably did, suggest visions of fresh vegetables, and salmon, and cod, -and lobsters, for all of which that town is famous. - -A bare, low, treeless slab of rock forms its site, a mere ledge, about -a quarter-of-a-mile long, and sufficiently low, and sufficiently in -advance of the higher islands, to form in itself a danger of no small -magnitude during the long winter nights. It maintains on its withered -wiry grass half-a-dozen sheep and a pig or two, the property of the -lighthouse-keeper, which being the first signs of life and vestiges -of habitation which had greeted the travellers during the afternoon’s -steaming, were regarded with an interest of which they were not -intrinsically deserving. - -In a very few minutes, the heaving of the outside sea was exchanged -for the perfect calm and deep stillness of the harbour, with its -overhanging woods, its long dusky reaches, its quiet inlets, and -mysterious labyrinthine passages, among its dark, shadowy islands. These -became higher and more wooded as the steamer wound her way among them, -deepening the gloom, and bringing on more rapidly the evening darkness. -All, however, looked deserted and uninhabited, till suddenly, on -opening a point of land, high and wooded like all the rest, the town of -Christiansand lay close before them, dark and indistinct in the midnight -twilight, without the twinkle of a solitary lamp to enliven it, or to -indicate the low houses from the rocks which surrounded and were confused -with them. - -“Hurrah!” said the Parson, as the plunge of the anchor and the rattle of -the chain cable broke the stillness of the night. “Some of us are not -born to be drowned, that is certain.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -CHRISTIANSAND. - - “Dark it is without, - And time for our going.” - - _Skirnis Fär._ - - -At the time the _Walrus_ dropped her anchor, all seemed as still and -lonely as if no sound had ever awakened the silence of the harbour. The -chain cable, as it rattled through the hawse-hole, had even a startling -effect, so solitary, so unusual was the sound. The place seemed as if -it had been uninhabited since creation; for though the town lay close -before it, the houses, low and lightless, looked like a collection of -fantastic rocks; but scarcely had she felt the strain of her cable, when -her stern swung into the middle of a group of boats, which seemed as -if they had risen from the depths of the sea, so sudden and unexpected -was their appearance, and crowds of earnest, business-like, trafficing -Norsemen were clambering up her sides at every practical point. Norway -has no inns, and Norway is said to be a place of universal hospitality, -where every one is delighted to receive the wandering guest—and so every -one is, and delighted to receive the wandering guest’s money also, with -two or three hundred per cent. profit on the outlay. The real fact is, -every house in Norway is an inn, to all intents and purposes, except the -license; and in places like Christiansand, every man is his own touter. -Whatever is the noise and confusion of a vessel arriving at a French or -Flemish port, on this occasion it was doubled, not only from the number -and assiduity of hospitable hosts, but also from the unusual quantity and -quality of the passengers. It was not every day that a Russian ambassador -graced with his august presence, and his distinguished suite, an obscure -trading town of Norway; and its citizens, inferior to no nation in the -world in the art of turning an honest penny, were in two moments as well -aware of the fact, and as fully determined to profit by it, as the Dutch -landlady, who, having charged our second George the value of ten pounds -sterling English for his two eggs and his bit of toast, informed him that -though eggs were plentiful in her country, kings were not. - -The confusion which pervaded the _Walrus’s_ decks and cabins, the cries, -the calls, the screams that were flying about unheeded; the extraordinary -oaths that jostled one another, out of every language of Saxon, Russian, -or Scandinavian origin; the obtrusive civilities of the touters; the -officiousness of volunteering porters; the mistakes about luggage; the -anxieties, the rushings to and fro, in which everybody is seeking for -everybody, may easily be imagined; and none the less was the confusion of -tongues; that night had thrown her veil over this floating Babel of the -North. - -But through it all the three friends sat on their carpet bags of -patience, smoking the cigar of peace, now and then making a joke among -themselves, as the steward’s lantern flashed upon some face of unusual -solicitude, but totally unconcerned amid the fluctuating hubbub that -surrounded them. - -“Well,” said the Captain, “I have had enough of this fun, and am hungry -besides; I vote we go on shore. I suppose your man is here?” - -The Parson got up, and, putting his head over the side, shouted in -a stentorian voice, through his hand, which he used as a speaking -trumpet—“Ullitz! Ullitz!” - -“Hulloh!” returned a voice from the dark waters, in the unmistakably -English man-of-war’s fashion—“Hulloh!” repeated the voice. - -“Shove alongside here, under the quarter,” said the Parson. “Who have you -got in the boat along with you? Tom Engelsk for one, I am sure.” - -“Only Tom and Torkel; I thought that would be enough,” said a voice from -the waters below, in remarkably good English, in which the foreign -accent was scarcely perceptible. - -“Quite enough,” said the Parson; “look out there!” as he hove the slack -of the quarter-boat’s after-tackle fall, which he had been making up into -coils as he was speaking. “Tell English Tom to shin up that, and come on -board: it is nothing for an English man-of-war’s man to do, and one of -you hold on by the rope.” - -Tom, active as a cat, and delighted at being spoken of as an English -man-of-war’s man before so many English people, scrambled up the side and -stood before them, with his shallow tarpaulin hat in hand, as perfectly -an English sailor, so far as his habiliments were concerned, as if he had -dressed after the model of T. P. Cooke. - -The man’s real name was Thorsen, and his birthplace the extreme wilds -of the Tellemark; but having served for five years on board an English -man-of-war, he had dropped his patronymic, and delighted in the name of -English Tom; by which, indeed, he was generally known. - -“Tom,” said the Parson, “you see to this luggage; count all the parcels; -see that you have it all safe; pass it through the custom-house, and -let us see you and it to-morrow morning. And now, he who is for a good -supper, a smiling hostess, a capital bottle of wine, and clean sheets, -follow me.” - -As he spoke, he dropped his carpet bag over the side which Ullitz caught, -and disappeared down the rope by which Tom had ascended, followed -implicitly by his two companions. - -“Shove off, Ullitz,” said he, as the Captain sat himself down and poised -Tom’s oar in his hands, pointing it man-of-war fashion as Tom himself -would have done, and when Ullitz had got clear of the steamer, seconding -ably the sturdy strokes of Torkel. In a few moments the boat touched the -quay of the fish market, and the party sprang on shore with all the glee -that shore-going people feel when released from the thraldom of a crowded -vessel. - -Ullitz and Torkel remained behind, in order to secure the boat in some -dark nook best known to themselves; for there were several idlers on the -fish-market quay, who, except for want of conveyance, would have been at -that moment unnecessarily adding to the crowd on board, and were not very -likely to be over-scrupulous about Torkel’s private property. - -The three friends, in the meanwhile, in order to extricate themselves -from two or three groups of drunken men (drunkenness, the Parson -remarked, was the normal state of Norway, at that time of night), pressed -forward, and walked ankle-deep through the sandy desert, which, in -Christiansand, is called a street, the Captain stuffing the little black -pipe which, as was his wont, he carried in his waistcoat pocket. - -“Well,” said Birger, “no one can appreciate a blessing until he has been -deprived of it. I declare, it is a luxury in itself to be able to go -where one pleases, after having been cribbed and cabined and confined -as we have been, and to plant one’s feet on the solid earth once more, -instead of balancing our steps on a dancing plank.” - -“Pretty well, to call this solid earth,” said the Captain; “I should call -it decidedly marine.” - -“Something like the Christiansanders themselves,” said Birger, “who, as -all the world knows, are neither fish nor flesh, nor good red-herring; -but I dare say Purgatory would be Paradise to those who arrived at it -from the other way. Well, what is the matter? what are you stopping -about?” - -These last words were addressed to the Parson, who having been sent -forward on the previous summer to spy out this Land of Promise, had -volunteered to act as guide. - -“If there is one thing more puzzling than another,” said he, “it is this -rectangular arrangement of streets. I wish those utilitarian Yankees, who -claim the invention, had it all to themselves. It is fit only for them.” - -“The English of that is, you have lost your way,” said the Captain. - -“No, not lost my way,” said the Parson, who piqued himself on his organ -of locality; “but the fact is, I cannot remember, in the dark, which of -all these rectangular crossings is the right one. I wish I could see -that great lump of a church they are so proud of. I say, Birger, knock up -some one, and ask ‘if Monsieur Tonson lodges there.’” - -“Not I,” said Birger. “You are the guide; besides, they must be coming -ashore, some of them, from the steamer by this time; and, in good truth, -here are a couple of them.” - -This couple, much to their relief, turned out to be Ullitz and Torkel, -who pointed out the road at once, but looked rather grave at the -Captain’s pipe, which was now sending forth a bright red glow through the -darkness, and occasionally illuminating a budding moustache which he was -cultivating on the strength of being a military man. - -Had the acquaintance been of longer standing, they possibly would have -spoken out; as it was, they contented themselves with a muttered dialogue -in their own language, in which the Parson soon made out the words, -“Tobacco” and “Police,” both of which being modern inventions, bear -nearly the same name in every language in Europe. - -“By the by, I had forgotten that,” said he. “Captain, I am sorry to put -your pipe out; but the fact is, you must not smoke.” - -“Not smoke! why not?” - -“For fear you should set fire to the town,” said the Parson,—“that is -all. You need not laugh; the law is very strict about it, I can tell you.” - -The Captain did burst out laughing; and, in truth, where they were -standing, it seemed a ridiculous law enough, though it is pretty general -both in Norway and Sweden. The street was one of unusual width, being -one expanse of sand from side to side, and the houses, none of which -boasted a storey above the ground floor, seemed absurdly distant,—almost -indistinct in the darkness. - -The Captain, however, obediently put his pipe into its receptacle, -and resumed his route, muttering something about Warner and the long -range—his estimate of the Norwegian legislative capacity being in no way -raised by the sight of certain small tubs of very dirty water standing by -the side of every house door, which the Parson informed him was another -precaution against fire. - -“Whether there really is to be found any one, well authenticated instance -of a town being set on fire by a pipe of tobacco,” said Birger, “I will -not take it upon myself to say, nor whether legislating upon pipes and -leaving kitchen fires to take care of themselves, be not like guarding -the spigot and forgetting the bung; but the fires here, when they do -occur, are really awful. You talk in your country of twenty or thirty -houses as something; we burn a town at a time. Everything here is of -deal, every bit of this deal is painted, and in a season like this, -everything you meet with is as dry as tinder, and heated half-way to -the point of combustion already. Hark to that!” as a sharp, startling -crack sounded close by them; “that is the wood strained and expanded by -the roasting heat of a long summer’s day, yielding now to the change of -temperature; we shall have plenty of these towards morning. Light up but -one of these little bonfires of houses in a moderate breeze, and see -how every house in the town will be burning within half-an-hour. Six -months ago, the capital of my own province, Wenersborg, contained 10,000 -inhabitants, and I believe now the church and the post-house are the only -two buildings left in it.” - -Here Ullitz, who was leading, came to a dead halt before a substantial -porch containing wood enough to build a ship, from the open door of -which a bright light was streaming across the street. Taking off his -hat—every Norwegian is continually taking off his hat to everybody and -everything—he made a profound bow to the party in general, and with the -words, “Vær saa artig,” ushered them into the house. - -The room into which they entered was long and low, the ceiling supported -by a mass of timbers like the decks of a ship; every part of it was -planked with bright deal,—floor, walls, and roof alike,—putting one -something in mind of the inside of a deal box. It was, however, well -furnished with birchen tables, birchen sofas chairs and cabinets (for -birch is a wood that takes a high polish), the whole having rather a -French look. The floor was uncarpeted, as is the case in almost all -Norwegian houses, for they have no carpet manufactory of their own, and -the duty upon English woollens is so enormous that it is impossible -to import them; but it was strewed with sprigs of green juniper, which -diffused a pleasant fragrance; and these, in token that the family were -keeping holiday, were spangled with the yellow heads of the _trollius -europæus_, which the pretty Marie, the daughter of the house, had been -gathering all the morning, and had scattered over them in honour of the -expected guests. - -Neither Marie nor her mother could speak one word of English—few of their -women can—but their deeds spoke for them; for the hospitable board—and -in this case it was literally a board, placed upon trestles, and removed -when the supper was over—groaned under the weight of the good cheer. -There were fish, not only in every variety, but in every variety of -cookery; there was lobster-soup, and plok fiske, and whiting cakes, and -long strips of bright red salmon, highly dried in juniper smoke and -served up raw; enormous bowls of gröd,—a name which signifies everything -semi-liquid, from rye-stirabout to gooseberry-fool;—with cream, as if -the whole dairy was paraded at once,—some of it pure, some tinged with -crimson streaks, from the masses of cranberry jelly that floated about it. - -Nor were the liquors forgotten, which, in Norway, at least, are -considered indispensable to qualify such delicacies. There was the corn -brandy of the country, diffusing round it a powerful flavour of aniseed, -without which no meal of any kind takes place; there, too, was French -brandy, freely partaken of, but so light both in colour and taste, that -it suggested ideas of a large qualification of water; there was English -beer, and a light sort of clarety wine, that was drunk in tumblers. -Madame Ullitz, indeed, presided over a marshalled array of tea-cups, of -which she was not a little proud, for it is not every house that can -boast of its tea equipage; but this was as an especial compliment to the -English strangers. The tea-cups and saucers might be Staffordshire,—they -had a most English look about them; but the tea was unquestionably of -native growth, being little else than a decoction of dried strawberry -leaves, not at all unpleasant, but by no means coming up to English ideas -of tea. - -“Vær saa artig,” said the lady of the house, with an inviting smile and -a general bow, intimating that supper was ready; and the whole household -and guests of various degrees, including Torkel the hunter, and Jacob -the courier, and two or three stout serving-girls, and half-a-dozen -hangers-on of one sort or other, placed themselves round the table, as -indiscriminately as the viands upon it. - -The house of Ullitz made a feast that day. - -“Vær saa artig,” said Marie, handing to the Captain a plate heaped up -with brown, crisp, crackling whiting cakes. - -The Captain did his best to look his thanks as he took the plate. “What -on earth do they all mean by that eternal ‘Vær saa artig?’” said he to -the Parson, aside. “I have heard nothing else ever since we dropped -our anchor. First, I thought it meant ‘Get out of the boat,’ or ‘Go up -the street,’ or ‘Come in-doors,’ or ‘Sit down to supper,’ or something -of that sort; but then those drunken porters on board were shoving and -elbowing one another about with the very same words in their mouths; and, -now I recollect, this was the very speech Birger made to the Professor on -the day of the wreck, when he gave him that slippery hitch.” - -“In that case,” said the Parson, laughing, “‘vær saa artig’ must mean -two black eyes and a bloody nose, for that, as you know, is what the -Professor got by it. But the fact is, ‘Vær saa artig,’ with variations, -is the general passport throughout all Scandinavia. Some writers ascribe -a mystic force to the words, ‘Vackere lilla flycka’—pretty little girl; -and I am sure I am not going to deny the force of flattery. But among -the natives, certainly, no one ever thinks of telling you what they want -you to do. ‘Have another slice of beef?’ ‘Come in?’ ‘Take off your hat?’ -‘Take a seat?’ or whatever it is; all that is dumb show, preceded by -the universal formula, ‘Vær saa artig,’ ‘Be so polite.’ All the rest is -understood.” - -“Vær saa artig,” said Ullitz, unconsciously, from the other end of the -table, holding up a bottle of claret, from which he had just extracted -the cork. - -“Jag har äran drikka er till,” replied the Parson, who had picked up -some of the formularies during his former visit. “There,” he said, -“that is another instance: an Englishman would have said, ‘Take a glass -of wine,’ in plain English. He holds me a bottle, and tells me to ‘be -polite.’ My belief is, that when Jack Ketch goes to hang a man in Norway, -he is not such a brute as to tell him to put his head into the halter; he -merely holds it up to him, and, with a bow, requests him ‘Att være saa -artig.’” - -“Yes,” said Birger, breaking in, “that is very true; it used to be the -case; but the Storthing has abolished that piece of politeness, and -capital punishment along with it. The fact is, the Norwegians are so -virtuous now, as everybody knows, that they never want hanging.” - -This sarcasm, which was spoken in a little louder tone than the -conversation which preceded it, threatened rather to interfere with -the harmony of the evening, which it probably would have done had the -language been generally understood. But the Parson acted as peace-maker. - -“Now, Ullitz,” said he, not giving that worthy time to reply, “tell us -what arrangements you have been making for us. Shall we be able to start -to-morrow?” - -“I have done everything according to the instructions transmitted to me,” -said Ullitz, speaking like a secretary of state, and with the solemnity -warranted by the importance of his subject. “There are two boats now -lying at the bridge quay, with their oars and sails in my porch, and we -can easily get another for the foreign gentleman” (so Ullitz designated -his Swedish fellow-countryman—a little trait of Norske nationality -at which Birger laughed heartily). “As for boat furniture, we have -everything you can possibly want, in the shop; you have but to choose. -And as for provisions, we may trust Madame Ullitz for that.” - -“Yes,” said the Parson, “I know Madame Ullitz and her provision-baskets -of old.” - -Madame smiled, and looked pleased; making a guess that something was said -about her, and that that something must be complimentary. - -“Then, as for attendants, I made bold to detain this most excellent and -well-born Gothenburger, Herr Jacob Carlblom”—(with a polite bow to Mr. -Jacob, returned by a still more polite bow from that illustrious and -well-born individual). “Herr Jacob is a traveller of some celebrity by -sea and land”—(the Parson afterwards found out that he was a Gothenborg -smuggler)—“and would be happy to attend the gentlemen in the capacity of -courier, cook, interpreter, and commissary, for the remuneration of a -specie-daler per diem, with his food and travelling expenses.” - -“Very well,” said the Parson; “I suppose we must have a cook, so we will -try your friend Mr. Jacob in our expedition up the Torjedahl, and see -how we like him. And what says Torkel? are we to have the benefit of his -experience?” - -Torkel looked as if earth could afford no higher pleasure, for, in his -way, he was a mighty hunter—he was not only great at the Långref,[2] and -skilled in circumventing the Tjäder[3] in his lek, but he had followed -the Fjeld Ripa[4] to the very tops of the snowy mountains, had prepared -many a pitfall for the wolf and fox, and had been more than once in -personal conflict with the great Bruin himself. - -“Torkel shall be my man, then,” said the Parson, who had a pretty good -eye to his own interest. - -“And English Tom, who speaks the language so well, will be just the man -for the highborn Captain,” said Ullitz. - -“Very good,” said the Parson, “so be it; and whenever we have to do with -lakes and sailing, Tom shall be our admiral, and shall put in practice -all the science he has learned in the British navy.” - -“Tom is as proud of belonging to the English navy, as if it were the -Legion of Honour,” said Ullitz, whose father had belonged to the French -faction, and who was rather suspected of holding French politics himself. - -“It _is_ the Legion of Honour,” said Birger, “and I give Mr. Tom great -credit for his sentiments. Well, you must look me out a man, too. This -will not be so very difficult, as I speak the language pretty well for a -foreigner.” - -In fact, Birger had been practising the language a good deal already, -and not a little to the Captain’s envy, by making fierce love to the -daughter of the house; an amusement with which guardsmen, Swedish as well -as English, do occasionally beguile their leisure moments; and, to the -Captain’s infinite disgust, Marie did not seem to lend by any means an -unfavourable ear to his soft speeches. - -“Oh,” said Ullitz, “we shall have no difficulty whatever in finding a -man; if there is anything these people love better than gain, it is -pleasure, and here we have both combined. My only difficulty lies in -making the selection. I have reckoned that each of the highborn gentlemen -will want a boatman besides his own man; but I have engaged these only -for the trip to Wigeland, as you will no doubt like to change them there -for men who are acquainted with the upper river; but you can keep them if -you like, they will be but too happy to go.” - -“All right, then, we will start to-morrow afternoon, and get as far as -Oxea before we sleep. The morning, I suppose, must be devoted to hearing -Tom’s report from the Custom-house, making our selections for the trip, -arranging our heavy baggage that we are to leave here, and seeing that -our outfit is all right. I like to make a short journey the first day, in -order that if anything is forgotten, it may be sent back for.” - -“Not at all a bad general maxim,” said the Captain: “and now to bed; -for the broad daylight is already putting out the blaze even of Madame -Ullitz’s candles.” - -“With all my heart,” said the Parson, “it is high time;” and rising from -his seat and going round to where Madame Ullitz sat, he took her hand, -and bowing low, said, “Tak for mad”—thanks for the meal. - -“Vel de bekomme,” said the lady,—well may it agree with you. - -In this ceremony he was followed by the whole party, who, shortly after -separating, sought their respective sleeping-places. - -The beds were queer concerns, certainly: beautifully clean, and fragrant -with all manner of wild herbs; but as unlike the English notion of a bed -(which in that country is always associated with ideas of a recumbent -position), as is well possible. A thick, straw mattress, shaped like -a wedge, occupied the upper half. Upon this were placed two enormous -pillows, fringed with lace. The rest of the bed was simply a feather-bed -placed on the ticking, and so much lower, that the sleeper takes his rest -almost in a sitting position. The whole, including the quilt, was stuffed -luxuriously, not with feathers, but with the very best eider-down; for -Madame Ullitz, in her maiden days, had been at least as celebrated a -beauty as her daughter was now, and unnumbered had been the offerings of -eider-down made by her hosts of admirers, who had braved wind and wave -to procure for her that most acceptable of all presents to a Norwegian -girl—at once the record of her past triumphs, and the glory of her future -home. The prudent traveller in Norwegian territories will always do -well, if he has the chance, to choose for his residence the house of a -_ci-devant_ beauty. - -Little, however, did the travellers reck of mattress or feather-bed, -Madame Ullitz’s past conquests, or her daughter’s present bright eyes—a -sea-voyage, four or five restless nights, a long day’s work, and a -plentiful supper at the end of it, equalize all those things; and, though -the sun was shining brightly through the shutterless and curtainless -windows, five minutes had not elapsed before it was indifferent to them -whether they had sunk to rest on eider-down or poplar leaves; or whether -their beds had been strewed for them by the fair hands of the bright-eyed -Marie, or by those of the two lumps of girls who had assisted at the -grand supper. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE TORJEDAHL. - - “Foresight is needful - To the far traveller: - Each place seems home to him: - Least errs the cautious.” - - _Hávamál._ - - -“And now for work,” said the Parson, as, somewhat late on the following -morning they rose from a breakfast as substantial and plentiful as had -been the supper of the night before. The ordinary meals of a Norwegian -are, in fact, three good substantial dinners per diem, with their -proportionate quantity of strong drink: one at nine or ten, which they -call “Frökost”; one at two or three, which is termed “Middagsmad”; and -one in the evening, called “Afton.” But, whatever they call them, the -fare is precisely the same in all; the same preliminary glass of brandy, -the same very substantial hot joints, the same quantity of sweetmeats, -and, at Christiansand at all events, the same liberal supply of fish. Tea -and coffee are not seen at any of them, but generally form an excuse for -supernumerary meals an hour or so after the grand ones. - -The strangers were not yet acclimated; they lounged over their morning’s -meal as if the recollections of their yesterday’s supper were yet green -in their memories. Not so the natives. No one would suppose that they had -supped at all—they ate as if they had been fasting for a week. - -All things, however, come to an end,—even a Norwegian’s breakfast; -and the Parson stood in the porch receiving English Tom’s report from -the custom-house, and cataloguing the packages as they arrived. These -included two dogs; one a very handsome brindled bay retriever, called -“Grog,” belonging to the Captain; the other an extremely accomplished -poaching setter, his own friend and constant companion. These, wild with -joy at their newly regained liberty and restoration to their respective -masters, from whose society they had been separated during the whole -voyage, were grievously discomposing the economy of Madame Ullitz’s -well-ordered house. - -A small assortment of necessaries was packed in deal covered baskets -or boxes,—for they looked as much like the one as the other. This -manufacture is peculiar to the country, and is equally cheap and -convenient. These, with the rods, guns, ammunition, and boat furniture, -including the sails which were to form tents on the occasion, together -with Madame Ullitz’s liberal supply of provisions (among which the rö -kovringer were not forgotten), were arranged in the porch, and one by one -were transferred by the boatmen to the bridge quay, where the boats were -lying. The weightier articles were consigned to the keeping of Ullitz, -and were lodged in his ample store rooms. - -“Now, Captain,” said the Parson, as they stood on the bank of the noble -river, “do you take a spare boat and a couple of hands, and pull as far -as the first rapids; let Torkel be one of them, and he will show you the -place. There is on the left bank of the river, a sort of rude boat canal, -which is not always passable. If we can contrive to get through it, we -will sleep at Oxea to-night: but, if the boats require to be hauled over -land, we must be satisfied with that for one day’s work, return here to -sleep, and carry our things over land to-morrow morning. It will take -me a couple of hours, at the least, to fit these things, but I shall be -ready for you by the time you return. And, to tell you the truth,” he -added, in a whisper, “I wish you could take Birger with you. He is doing -nothing but laugh and joke; and he makes the men so idle, that I shall -get on twice as well without him. Set him to harl for salmon—anything, to -get rid of him. It will be of use, too; for if he meet with anything down -here we may be sure that Wigeland is alive with fish. You will see a reef -of rocks on the right bank, a quarter of a mile above the town: it is -not a bad throw—set him to work there.” - -Birger was delighted at the idea, and, as the Parson would spare none of -the boats or boatmen, he took a small praam that belonged to one of the -men, and prepared to accompany the Captain on his expedition. - -Birger certainly was no fisherman: he could but just throw a clumsy -fly, and had never caught a salmon in his life, or seen one, except at -table: but harling is a science open to the meanest capacity. It is the -manner in which cockney sportsmen catch their salmon in the Tweed, and -consists of traversing and re-traversing the width of the river, with a -rod and twenty yards of line hanging out of the stern of the boat. The -fly thus quarters the water backwards and forwards without any exertion -of the fisherman, and even the salmon that seizes it effectually hooks -itself before the rod can be taken in hand. On the Tweed, the fisherman -has actually nothing to do, but to pay his boatmen, who, by choosing -their own course, perform the very little science which this operation -requires. In the present case, Birger, having to manage his own boat, -was far more the artificer of his own fortune; but his success depended -on his skill, not as a fisherman, but as a boatman—an accomplishment in -which no Northman is deficient,—rather than on his science and dexterity -as a fisherman. - -As soon as the exploring party had left, the Parson, with his lieutenant -and interpreter, Tom, and the remaining three boatmen, addressed himself -seriously to work. Every Norseman is a carpenter; indeed, every Norseman -may be set down as a Jack-of-all-trades; and under Tom’s interpretership -they very soon began to understand what was wanted. - -Under the starboard gunnel of each boat, and close to the right-hand of -the sitter, were screwed two copper brackets for the gun, protected by -a short curtain of waterproof. On the opposite side was a sort of shelf -or ledge for the spare rods; and in the stern-sheets a locker for books, -reels, powder-flasks, odds and ends, and, above all, any little store of -brandy that they had,—an article which it was very dangerous indeed to -have loose in the boat. - -Norwegian boats are built like whale boats, with both ends alike, which -is not altogether a convenient build for harling—a mode of fishing, -which, however much to be deprecated in known rivers, is very useful, -indeed almost indispensable, to explorers. To remedy this, a ring and -socket was fixed on each quarter of the boat, in order to receive the -butt of the rod, and to hold it in an upright position when the fishermen -should be otherwise engaged. Under the thwarts of each boat were -strapped an axe, a handbill, a hammer, and a bag of nails; and several -coils of birch rope were stowed forward. Birch rope, which is a Swedish -manufacture from the tough roots of the birch tree, is peculiarly adapted -to these purposes, since it has the property of floating on the water, -which hempen ropes have not. - -Upon the principle of “business first and pleasure afterwards,” so long -as anything remained to be done, the Parson had scarcely raised his eyes -from his work, or thought of anything else; and so well and so ably had -he been seconded, that everything was completely fitted, provisions -brought down and stowed, and all ready for starting, a full half-hour -before the time specified. His friends were, however, still absent; and -thus, having nothing to do, he left the men to take care of the boats, -and lounged across the beautiful bridge that connects the town with the -opposite shore. - -The bridge of Christiansand may well be called beautiful; not, indeed, -as a piece of architecture, for it is built, like almost everything in -the country, of wood, though with a solidity that would put to shame -many of our buildings of far more durable materials. Its beauty lies in -its situation, spanning as it does with its eleven broad flat arches, -the clear swift stream of the Torjedahl. The depth was such that ships -of some burthen were lying on each side of the bridge, the centre -compartment of which was moveable; but so clear was the water, that -the very foundations of the piers could be seen as the Parson looked -over the parapet; and among them a beautiful school of white trout, as -clearly defined as if they had been swimming in air, which, much to -his satisfaction, he discerned working their way up from the sea. This -sight was doubly satisfactory, for he had been ominously shaking his -head at the peculiar ultra-marine tint of the waters,—a sight in itself -abundantly beautiful, as any one who has seen the Rhone at Geneva can -testify, but far from welcome to the eyes of a fisherman, as indicating, -beyond a doubt, the presence of melted snow. - -The Parson had reached the last arch, and was sitting on the parapet, on -the look-out for the returning boats; admiring in the meanwhile the quiet -little amphitheatre which forms the last reach of the Torjedahl after -its exit from its mountain gorge, and scanning the quaint, old-fashioned -town, with its dark-red wooden houses, overtopped by its heavy cathedral, -on the tower of which the Lion of Norway, and the Axe of St. Olaf, were -glittering in the sun; and occasionally peering into the gabled sheds of -its dockyard, from each of which peeped out the bows of a gun-boat,—that -formidable flotilla which, during the late wars, had hung on our Baltic -trade like a swarm of musquitos, perpetually dispersed by our cruisers, -and as perpetually re-united on some different and unexpected point. -Beyond this was the island citadel, a place of no strength, indeed, for -the strength of Norway does not lie in its fortifications, but a point of -considerable beauty in the eye of an artist. The whole of this picture -to seaward as well as to landward, was set in by a frame of miniature -mountains—not hills, nor anything like hills, but real fantastically -shaped mountains, with peaked heads, some of them showing their bare -rocks, with little splashes of mica slate sparkling like diamonds, but -most of them covered with dark fir to their very summits, only shooting -out occasionally a bare cliff, so arid and so perpendicular that no tree -could find root on it. - -So intently was the Parson gazing on the scene, that it was some time -before he caught sight of Birger’s praam, which was rapidly approaching -the place where he was sitting, and some time longer before he made out -the very uncomfortable position in which his friend was placed. Birger, -dexterous enough in the management of a boat, even that most ticklish -of boats, the Norwegian praam—a dexterity which any one will appreciate -who has ever attempted the navigation of a Welsh coracle, or can picture -to himself what it is to be at sea in a washing-tub—had proved an apt -scholar in the science of harling; and the Captain, having seen him make -two or three traverses without upsetting his boat or entangling his -flies, had proceeded on his mission and left him to his own devices. The -boat was hardly out of sight when a heavy fish rose at the fly. Birger -seized his rod, as he had been directed, but in his agitation forgot -to secure his paddles, both of which dropped overboard, and, unseen -and unheeded, set out on an independent cruise of their own,—and thus -the salmon, of course, had it all his own way. It so happened that he -headed to seaward, and the light praam offering very little resistance, -and the stream, which was sweeping stilly and steadily at the rate of -three or four miles an hour, forwarding him on his way, there was every -probability of his reaching it. - -No sooner had the Parson realised the true state of things, than he -rushed across the bridge for his boat; but the bridge was by no means a -short one, and the Parson was at the farthest end; and long before he -reached it, salmon, Birger, praam, and all had disappeared under one of -the centre arches. - -The boatmen had, of course, lounged away from the quay, probably to the -nearest brandy shop; but the Parson sprang into a boat, cut the painter, -seized the paddles, and shoved off furiously into the stream. - -Fortunately, this had been seen by the Captain, who was at that moment -returning; and he, though of course perfectly unaware what was the -matter, changed his course, and dashed through the nearest arch, in -pursuit. - -By this time the praam was fairly at sea; but the boats were nearing her -fast, and the Captain, having the advantage of oars, passed the Parson’s -boat, and then, checking his speed, lest he should capsize the friend he -meant to aid, grappled the praam with his boat-hook, and, winding his -own boat at the same time, towed her quietly and steadily to a little -sandy beach. Upon this, both he and Birger landed. The latter, whose arms -were aching as only a salmon-fisher’s arms can ache, was glad enough to -transfer his rod to the Captain. - -The Parson calling in vain for a gaff, which implement in the hurry had -been left in one of the other boats, threw himself into the water, which -there was not much over his knees. But the salmon, seeing his enemies on -every side, collected his energies afresh, as that gallant fish will do, -and rattled off fifty yards of line into the deep blue sea before the -Captain could turn him. He had, however, a practised hand to deal with. -Slowly and carefully did the Captain reel him up, guiding him to the spot -a little above where the Parson was standing as still and motionless as -the rocks around him. There was as yet a considerable current, arising -from the flow of the river, and the Captain, taking advantage of this, -let the fish tail down quietly and inch by inch, to where the Parson was -standing motionless and stooping so that his hands were already under -water. Slowly, and without effort, the fish came nearer and nearer, till -at last, gripping firmly with both hands the thin part just above the -insertion of the tail, the Parson, half-lifting the fish from the water, -dragged him to land, and, despite his struggles, threw him gasping on the -snow-white beach. - -“Well done, Birger!” said the Captain, laying his rod against a rock, and -running down, steelyard in hand; “there is the first fish of the season, -and you are the prize-man.” - -“Hurrah,” said Birger, admiring his own handiwork,—for the steelyard had -given a full two-and-twenty pounds,—“this is the first salmon I ever -caught in my life; and upon my word, when I had him, I thought I had got -hold of Loki himself.” - -“And upon my word,” said the Parson, “it looked as if Loki had got hold -of you; I thought he was taking you off to his own realms. If we had -not come up, you would have been by this time half way to the Midgard -Serpent!”[5] - -“Well,” said Birger, “it took all the Œsir together to land the -aboriginal salmon; and, I must say, Thor himself could not have handled -him better than you did.” - -“What is your story?” said the Captain; “sit down there and tell it -us. You will lose no time,” he added—for Birger, having once tasted -blood, looked very much as if he wished to be at work again—“you will -lose no time, I tell you, for I must crimp this fish for our dinners. -Who can tell if we are to catch another to-day? Parson, lend me your -crimping-knife; I left mine in the boat.” - -The Parson produced from his slip-pocket that formidable weapon, -called by our transatlantic brethren a bowie knife; and the Captain, -having first put the fish out of his misery, proceeded to prepare him -scientifically for the toasting-skewers. - -“Now, Birger, for the story. So much I know, that it is something -about diabolical agency. Loki, I believe, is the Devil of Scandinavian -mythology.” - -“Not exactly,” said Birger; “though we must admit that he and his -progeny, the Wolf Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent, are the origin of -evil, and will eventually cause the destruction of the world. But Loki -really was one of the Œsir, or gods, and had sworn brotherhood with Odin -himself; and thus, though he often played them mischievous tricks, they -seem to have associated with him, as one is in the habit of doing with a -disreputable brother-officer—not exactly liking him, far less approving -of his ways, but still consorting with him, and permitting him to be a -participator of their exploits. At last, however, when he had gone so -far as to misguide poor blind Hodur, so as to make him kill Baldur, they -determined that this really was too bad. Baldur was a general favourite; -everything good or beautiful, either in this world or in Asgard, was -called after him; and the unanimous vote was, that Loki should be brought -to justice, and made to suffer for this. Loki, however, who rather -suspected that he had gone too far, himself, was no where to be found. He -had quitted Asgard in the form of a mist,—whence, I presume, we derive -the expression ‘to mizzle,’—and had betaken himself to the great fall -called Fränängars Foss, where he lived by catching salmon;—for Loki, it -is said, was the first inventor of nets.” - -“I have not a doubt of it,” said the Captain. “I always did think that -those stake nets must have been invented by the Principle of Evil -himself.” - -“Well, so it was, at all events,” said Birger. “Odin, however, one day, -while sitting upon his Throne of Air, Hlidsjälf, happened to fix his eye -upon him—I say eye, for you know Odin had but one, having left the other -in pledge at the Mimir Fountain. No sooner did he see him, than he called -to Heimdall, the celestial warder, to blow his horn, and summon the gods -to council at the Well of Urdar. - -“Loki, perceiving that something was suspected, burnt his nets, and, -changing himself into a salmon, took refuge under the fall; so that, -when the gods arrived at Fränägngar, they found nothing but the ashes -of the nets. It so happened, however, that the shape of the meshes was -left perfect in the white ash to which it was burnt, and the god Kvasir, -who, I presume, must be the god who presides over the detective police of -Heaven, saw what had happened, and set the gods weaving nets after the -pattern of the ashes.[6] - -“When all was ready, they dragged the river; but Loki placed his head -under a stone—as that clever fish, the salmon, will do,—and the net -slipped over his smooth, scaly back. The Œsir felt him shoot through, and -tried another cast, weighting the net with a spare heap of new shields, -which the Valkyrir had brought the day before from a battle-field, in -order to mend the roof of Valhalla. Loki, however, leaped the net this -time gallantly, and again took refuge under the foss. - -“This time the gods dragged down stream; Thor wading in the river behind -the net. Thor did not mind wading; he was obliged to do that every day -that he went to council, for the bridge of Bifrost would not bear him. In -the meanwhile Vidar, the God of Silence, in the form of a seal, cruised -about at the river’s mouth. - -“Loki had thought to go to sea and take refuge with his daughter, -Jörmungard the Serpent, but, in assuming the form of a salmon, he had -assumed also, of necessity, the natural antipathies and fears of the -fish. He turned at a sight so terrible to a salmon, and again sprang -over the net. But Thor was ready for him, and while he was in the air, -caught him in his hand, just above the insertion of the tail; and you -may observe that salmon have never yet recovered from that tremendous -squeeze, but are finer and thinner at the root of the tail than any fish -that swims.” - -“Well,” said the Captain, “that is quite true; it is a fact that every -salmon-fisher knows; and he knows also that the root of the tail is the -only part of the salmon by which it is possible to hold him, and that -it _is_ possible to hold him by that the Parson showed you just now -practically. But it is very satisfactory to find out the reason of such -things, particularly when the reason is such a very good one. What did -the gods do with Mr. Loki when they had got him; crimp him, and eat him?” - -“They could not kill him,” said Birger, “because of the oath of -brotherhood which Odin had one day incautiously sworn with him (I -presume, when they were both drunk); so they laid him on his back on -three pointed rocks in a cave, and bound him with three cords which they -afterwards transformed into iron bars; and there he will lie, shifting -himself, every now and then, from side to side, and producing what -mortals call earthquakes, until that day, known only to the Nornir, when -the twilight shall fall upon Asgard, and the conflagration of the world -is at hand.” - -“Serve him right, too,” said the Captain; “I am delighted to hear that -the inventor of salmon-nets perished—like Perillus and other rascals—by -his own invention. I hope the gods will keep him purgatory, or whatever -they call it, as long as rivers run toward the sea. However, here is -our Loki (holding up, by the tail, the scored salmon), and, as we have -not been geese enough to swear brotherhood with him, he will do for our -dinner. What shall we do, in the meanwhile, to crimp him?” - -“Make him fast to the boat, and tow him a-stern for ten minutes,” said -the Parson; “the water of the Torjedahl is cold enough to crimp a live -fish, let alone a dead one. And, I will tell you what: let Torkel go with -the praam for the other boats, and meet us on the left bank, just above -the bridge. I want to show you a view of our route to-day that is worth -seeing.” - -So saying, he led the way up a steep, rugged path, just discernible among -the rocks of the rugged ridge which divides the amphitheatre in which -Christiansand is situated from the wild coasts of the Fjord; and, passing -through a sort of natural opening cut in the summit ridge, pointed to the -scene before them. “There,” said he, “what do you think of that?” - -Birger was an artist; and, anxious as he was to begin his career as a -fisherman, his ever-ready sketchbook was drawn out of his pocket; nor -did he express a wish to move till the rugged foreground upon which they -stood, the luxuriant park-like middle distance, with its clumps of trees, -and dark-red houses, and neat English-looking church, and the background -of fir-clad mountains, range beyond range, and the deep narrow gorge -through which their journey lay, which the blue lake-like river seemed to -fill from side to side, were transferred to the paper. - -A few minutes’ walk brought them to where the boats were waiting, with -the whole house of Ullitz, handmaidens and all, who had come to see them -off. Hand-shaking all round—the fishermen took their places—the boats -shoved off—Marie threw after them her kid slipper, for luck, (for that -custom is of Scandinavian origin)—English Tom gave three cheers, after -the manner of her Britannic Majesty’s navy—and the expedition started on -its voyage up the Torjedahl. - -The Parson, who was anxious to reach the proposed encampment at Oxea, -while there was yet light to pitch the tents, would suffer no harling, -notwithstanding Birger’s remonstrances, until the first rapids had been -safely passed; and, indeed, with the exception of the single throw where -the Lieutenant had hooked his fish that morning, that part of the river -was scarcely worth the trouble. - -The rapids, however, which had been surveyed beforehand by the Captain, -were passed, under his skilful pilotage, in much less time than had been -allotted for the operation, and then, with one consent, the flies were -thrown upon the water. - -Above the rapids, the river forms what is technically called a “flat;” -a spot carefully to be sought out by the exploring fisherman, as the -likeliest to reward his search. A flat is where the water rolls on with -its acquired velocity and the pressure of that which is behind it, rather -than on account of any declivity in the bed through which it flows. In -the present instance, indeed, the bed of the river actually rose instead -of sinking, for the ridge of rocks which form the head of the rapids, had -retained the stones and loose earth washed down in the winter floods. -This gradually shallowed the whole river, spreading it out, at the same -time, like a lake, so as to fill the level of the valley from mountain -to mountain. These rose abruptly on either hand, in bare, inaccessible -cliffs, as if they had been forced asunder by some convulsion of Nature, -to make room for the rush of waters, and exhibited a bare splintered face -of rock. - -At the end of an hour—for the Parson would allow no more—all fears were -at an end for that night’s supper; no other salmon, indeed, had risen, -but trout after trout had been handed into the boats, some of them, too, -of a very respectable size: even Birger had not been without his share of -success. - -But the stream was strong, the day was waning, many miles intervened -between them and their camping-ground, the Parson was inexorable; so the -casting-lines were exchanged for harling-tackle, and the squadron formed -in order of sailing. - -The difference between a common casting-line and the harling-tackle which -one rod in each boat should carry in every exploring expedition, consists -principally in the length of the gut. The harling line carries five or -six flies, in order to show, at once, as great a variety as possible of -size and colour, and is joined to the reel-line by a swivel, in order to -prevent it from kinking—while two, or, at the most, three, flies will be -found quite sufficient for casting. - -The order of march was this:—Birger led, with his gun in his hand, ready -for a stray duck or teal, many of which would whistle over their heads, -as evening drew on. He was directed to keep, as near as possible, to the -middle of the stream; while, on either flank, and about twenty yards -behind him, came his two friends, with one rod in each boat for harling, -while, with the other, they whipped into the likely ripples. Shooting and -fishing, however, were made altogether a secondary condition to progress: -they might catch what they could, and shoot what they could, but the -rowers were to pull steadily forward. - -And thus they opened reach after reach of the beautiful river, for the -most part pent in by inaccessible cliffs, on which the birch trees seemed -to grow on each other’s heads, and to support above them all a serrated -crest of spruce and fir. But, now and then, they would come to little -semicircular coombs, where the mountain wall would recede for a space, -leaving flats of twenty or thirty acres, which were carefully cultivated -to the very water’s brink, and planted at the roots of the mountains with -white poplar, the dried leaves of which were to serve for beds in the -summer and hay in the winter. Here would be dark-red wooden houses with -overhanging eaves, and tidy, compact, little farmsteadings, with their -granaries, and store-rooms, and cattle-sheds, all complete in themselves: -and they had need be, for they were completely isolated from the rest -of the world. There was no road, not even a footpath; no possibility of -ingress or egress, except that which the river afforded. The mountains, -except here and there, were inaccessible; and at every turn of the river, -seemed to beetle over it, shutting out each little amphitheatre from its -neighbour. The winter is the Torjedahler’s time of liberty: then it is -that their vehicles are put into requisition; then it is that their corn -and cattle, if they produce any beyond their own consumption, are brought -to market; for the river, which has hitherto been their boundary, forms -now their railroad and frost-constructed channel of communication. - -The shadows were darkening on the clear river, and the arms of even -Norwegian rowers were beginning to ache, when the last point was rounded; -and the Parson’s joyous shout gave notice that their camping-ground was -at last reached; and at the welcome signal, the lines were reeled up with -alacrity, and the boats’ heads were directed to the shore. - -The spot had been selected by him and Ullitz the year before, partly as -lying conveniently near to Mosse Eurd, their proposed head-quarters, -which it was considered expedient to reach before noon on the morrow, -in order to afford time for their men hutting themselves and foraging -out the resources of the place; but principally from its own beauty and -convenience. - -So precious is level land by the banks of the river, that it is rare to -find any portion of it uncultivated of sufficient extent for such an -encampment as they required. But here, at the foot of a winter torrent, -whose dry bed gave access to the uplands in summer, and brought down -rocks and uprooted trees in the winter, was a rough plain, formed, no -doubt, originally from the debris brought down by the torrent, but now -covered with short turf and cranberry-bushes, with a few thick, bushy, -white poplars, the leaves of which had not yet been stripped for hay; -while here and there a graceful birch-tree formed a natural tent with its -weeping branches. - -“Tom, bring the sails with you,” said the Captain, who had leaped ashore -to reconnoitre the ground; “we will have our tent under this rock.” - -“Capital place!” said Birger; “and bring the axe with you, Tom, as well: -that fir will make a first-rate ridge-pole, and it blocks up the place -where it stands.” - -The Captain, not accustomed yet to the trifling value put upon timber, -hesitated to chop up a very promising young tree,—which, indeed, was -unnecessarily large for the purpose, and which stood but very little in -the way, after all. - -“Why,” said Birger, “the very best fir-tree that ever grew is not worth a -specie daler here; and as for that stick——” substituting the action for -the word, he struck deep into its side, and in a dozen strokes or so it -came crashing down among the under-stuff. - -There was no lack of fuel: there never is in Norway, where outsides of -timber float down the rivers unheeded; and trees, uprooted by the winter -storms and land-slips, rot where they fall. Before half the things were -out of the boats, three or four fires were throwing round their cheerful -light, some for cooking, some for wantonness, for the evening was -anything but cold. Birger, however, who, as a Swedish soldier, had had a -good deal of experience in bivouacking,—an exercise to which they are all -regularly drilled,—set his own two men to gather and pile fuel enough to -last through the night; observing that they would all find it cold enough -before morning, when those scamps had burned up the fuel at hand. - -The Captain and the Parson were occupied in collecting and weighing the -fish, and apportioning them and the other provisions among the men, while -Jacob, the courier, seated on a stone, apart, was plucking and preparing -half-a-dozen teal that Birger had shot during the passage. These, to the -Parson’s surprise, he deliberately cut in pieces, and consigned to the -great soup-kettle, along with a piece of salt-beef from the harness cask, -and various condiments which he made a great secret of. - -It may be observed that in Norway fresh meat is seldom eaten, unless -it be on grand occasions, or by those who are well to do in the world. -October is called in the north the Slaughtering Month, and every family -there is occupied in salting, not only for winter, but for the rest of -the year. A harness cask, therefore,—that is to say, a small cask with a -moveable head, containing salt-beef or pork in pickle,—is a very common -thing to meet with, and in fact had formed the _pièce de resistance_ of -Madame Ullitz’s stores. - -“Look here, Jacob, my man,” said the Captain; “I will show you a trick in -cookery that has never reached Gottenborg yet, nor London neither, for -that matter; it is worth a hogshead of your teal-soup.” - -He called to Tom, who had been preparing under his superintendence -certain square sods of turf, and some long white skewers; which, in -the absence of arbutus—in Ireland considered indispensable on such -occasions,—he had been directed to cut from the juniper. - -Birger’s salmon, the flakes of which had actually curled under the cold -of the waters, preserving all their curd between them, was cut into what -he technically termed fids; each one of these was spread open by the -skewers and fixed upon the turfs. These the Captain ranged round a great -heap of hot embers, which he had raked from the fire, and set English Tom -to turn as they required, basting them pretty freely with salt and water. - -The remaining fish had been given to the men, by whom they were subjected -to a variety of culinary operations; one of which was making soup of -them; and the fires began to grow bright and cheery in the increasing -darkness, when Jacob paraded his kettle of teal-soup, and Tom set before -each of the fishermen a turf of toasted salmon. - -In return, they received the men’s rations of brandy, the only part of -the provisions on which any limitation was affixed. This in Norway, -perhaps, was considered but a small modicum: it would have been, however, -quite enough to make twice the number of Englishmen roaring drunk. - -The men collected round their fires, looking like so many gipsies; -provisions were dispatched in enormous quantities, pipes were lighted, -horns produced and filled with pure brandy, in which each man drank “du” -with his neighbour,—an ancient Scandinavian ceremony, which entitles -the drinkers henceforward to address one another in the second person -singular, and to consider themselves on terms of intimacy. - -In the meanwhile, the principal personages of the expedition sat at -the door of their tent, for which the Captain received his due meed of -praise, he having brought the canvas. They tempered their brandy with a -little water, after the custom of their country, and they smoked somewhat -better tobacco than the Norwegians; but after their kind, they indulged -in very nearly the same relaxations as their attendants. - -And thus fell the shades of night upon the first day of the expedition. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ENCAMPMENT MOSSE EURD. - - “Our good house is there, - Though it be humble: - Each man is master at home.” - - _Hávamál._ - - -“Rouse out, Birger, my boy,” said the Captain; “recollect we have got -the Rapids of Oxea to pass before we get any breakfast, and that we have -our breakfast to catch into the bargain. Come, come,” continued he, as -Birger stretched himself on his Astrakan cloak, as if he was thinking of -another spell of sleep, “‘shake off dull sloth, and early rise,’ as Dr. -Watts says—see me rouse out those lazy hounds down there!” And that he -did, in good earnest, by firing off both barrels within a foot of their -ears; a salutation responded to by a chorus of yelping from the dogs, who -imagined, of course, that shooting was begun already. - -This had the effect of speedily setting the whole party in motion; and -Jacob, who, with provident care, had prepared, over-night, a kettle of -coffee, raked together the embers of the still burning fires, presented -each with a full horn of it, a very welcome introduction to the day’s -labour; and then, as wood was plentiful, threw on some logs for a parting -blaze. - -The river itself formed the fishermen’s washing-basin, and the boat’s -thwarts their toilet-tables. Bitter cold, indeed, was the water; whatever -the air may be, there is seldom much caloric to spare in the water till -autumn is pretty well advanced; but, at least, it had the effect of -thoroughly waking them, and causing them fully to appreciate the luxury -of the now blazing fires to dress by. - -[Illustration: OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. - -p. 78.] - -No one who has any regard for his health should think of going on -a fishing expedition, however short, without a complete change of -clothes,—one set for work, and one for dining and sleeping in. No man -has any business, indeed, on such an expedition at all, who is afraid of -water; but whether he is afraid or not, he will be sure to be wet, at one -time or other, during the day. This, while the limbs are in exercise and -the sun above the horizon, is all well enough; but let no man, however -hardy he may think himself, sleep habitually in wet clothes, or in -clothes hastily and imperfectly dried by the camp fire. The very bracing -of the nerves during the day, which prevents the fisherman from taking -injury by what would be called imprudence by his stay-at-home friends, -makes the relaxation and reaction during the night more complete; and -during that time he is exposed to a host of dangers which vanish before -the face of the sun. With all his precautions, no man gets up from his -night’s sleep in the open air without a little stiffness in the limbs for -the first minute or so, though it may vanish at the first plunge into -the water of his morning’s ablutions. But without these precautions, he -is not unlikely to cut short his own expedition by any one of a dozen -diseases which no amount of animal courage will enable him to bear up -against, and thus he will be defeating his own object. It is very well to -bear hardships cheerily when they are unavoidable—cheerfulness itself is -a preservative. But it is only very young sportsmen indeed, who will seek -out hardships for the pleasure of undergoing them. - -Our fishermen were not young sportsmen, they were men of experience. The -Parson and the Captain had both of them learned their lesson in Ireland, -where people soon begin to understand what wet means; and Birger was a -Swedish soldier, and had learnt these matters professionally. Before -they started, they had settled the invariable rule of a complete dress -for dinner, under any circumstances whatever, which implied, of course, -as complete a dress in the morning: it is necessary almost to bind -oneself to some such vow, there are so many temptations to break it; in -Norway especially, where, though the summer days are hot—hotter by many -degrees than they are in England, and the evenings in the highest degree -enjoyable, the morning air is generally sharp and bracing, and the water -which comes down from the snowy ranges bitterly cold. - -Jacob, in the meanwhile, whose toilet did not take very long, and who -rarely occupied himself in any work which did not especially belong to -his own department, had been parleying with a young fellow, who, roused -by the Captain’s gun, had pulled across in his boat from the opposite -side, while the rest of the men were occupied in preparing the boats and -re-arranging the articles that had been taken on shore the preceding -evening. - -They came up together to where the Parson was standing by the fire, -busily engaged in exchanging his salmon casting-line for one better -adapted for trout. - -“The young man says that the river is dangy,” said he; for though he -spoke English well enough, he has his own particular words, which it was -necessary to make out. - -“Dingy,” said the Parson, without any very clear comprehension of what -was meant, but rather reverting in his mind to the azure transparency of -the waters; which, in truth, he would gladly have seen a little stained -by mud. “Well, that is a good job. But I fear he will find himself a -little mistaken.” - -Jacob evidently had not conveyed his meaning: he looked round for Tom or -Torkel to assist him, but they were both in the boats, working busily -under the Captain’s orders; so Jacob tried his hand again. - -“The young man says that there is a great deal of water in the river from -the snow. He says that boats are very often sunk at Oxea.” - -“Humph!” said the Parson, who began to suspect something. - -Here the young man himself broke in with a long story in Norske. - -“He says,” interpreted Jacob, “only last week, one boat was upset, and -two men were drowned.” - -“Aye? aye?” said the Parson; “what! sober men?” - -Jacob did not see the inference, or would not. “This young man is a -river-pilot,” said he; “he will take you up for two mark each boat.” - -“I tell you what it is, Mr. Jacob,” said the Parson; “I will teach you -a lesson. When you engaged as our courier, you meant to fleece us all -pretty handsomely. Well, I have nothing to say against this. As courier, -it is your undoubted privilege so to do. But remember this, it is equally -your duty, as courier, to prevent any one else from fleecing us. And -if I find you only once again failing in that respect, off you go at a -minute’s notice. Now send your friend home again.” - -Without looking behind him, the Parson, who had now finished fitting his -flies, took his place in his own boat, and, directing Torkel to shove off -to the other bank, threw his line across the mouth of a small tributary -to the great river, which he had marked the year before as abounding with -trout. Jacob looked for a moment inclined to rebel, but no man was more -alive to his own interests than the ex-smuggler. He had engaged in the -trip, not like Tom and Torkel, from sheer love of sport and adventure, -but as a profitable speculation. So, pocketing the affront, much as -“ancient Pistol” did his leek, he crept down to Birger’s boat, which was -his place in the line of march, where he sat sulky, but utterly wasting -his sulkiness; for Birger, anxious to keep up his yesterday’s character -of a fisherman, was much too intent upon the—to him—difficult manœuvre of -keeping his flies clear of the oars, to observe whether he was pleased or -not. - -The Captain took the inner line skirting the shore on the right bank, for -it had been agreed that the flat below the Oxea rapids should be well -tried, in hopes of getting some fresh fish for breakfast. - -Though last in the field, he drew the first blood, hooking and, in a few -minutes, landing a small salmon, and thus securing a breakfast. And by -the time the boats came together again, the Parson had brought to bag a -very fair supply of fjeld öret, or brook trout, from the little streamlet -he had been trying. And now began the serious business of the day. - -Notwithstanding Mr. Jacob’s information, the rapids of Oxea are -perfectly safe to sober men. It is impossible that an accident can happen -in them, except from carelessness; for the water, though swift, is -everywhere deep. The stream falls with some force over a slanting ledge -of smooth, slaty rock, some three or four hundred yards long or perhaps -more, and acquires in its slide considerable velocity; but the bottom -is smooth, and the surface nowhere broken by sunken rocks. The stream, -therefore, is a steady current, surging up against the numerous islands -which dot the river, as if they had been pieces of a ruined bridge. Each -of these was crested with its half-dozen or so of ash or birch, which -looked as if it was they that were in motion, and not the clear stream -that was racing past them. - -The passage was a sheer trial of strength, requiring no great amount of -pilotage, or local experience, or even skill. The ropes were got out and -made fast to two or three thwarts, to take off the strain; the boats were -lightened of their living incumbrances—except so far as the steersmen -were concerned,—and were then tracked by main force one by one, every one -of the party lending a hand, except, indeed, Jacob, who considered it his -duty, having once said the rapids were dangerous, to act as if he thought -so, and who had, therefore, been despatched by land to the head of the -rapid, with orders to light the fires and get the breakfast ready, as -nothing else could be done with him. - -The principal difficulty arose from the uncertainty of the footing among -the crags, and the gnarled ash-trees that every here and there shot -almost horizontally from between the fissures of the rock, dipping their -branches into the stream. These rendered it necessary, every now and -then, to make fast the boat to the tree itself, and then to float down a -line to it from some point above the obstacle, for the river fortunately -ran in a curve at that place. Thus, by giving a broad sheer into the -stream, while the rest of the party hauled upon the rope, the boat would -swing clear of the impediment. - -But all this was very hard work, and, as the sun was now high in heaven, -very hot work; and, moreover, it had to be repeated three times before -all the boats were in safety. Fully as much justice was done to Jacob’s -breakfast as had been done to his supper on the preceding evening; and -most luxurious was the hour’s rest which succeeded it. - -The remaining part of the voyage was easy: there was a sharp current, -no doubt, too sharp for anything to speak of to be done with the flies; -but it was all plain travelling, and, with an occasional help from the -ropes, before noon their destination had been reached. This was the foot -of a low fall, or something between a fall and a rapid, called “The Aal -Foss,” in the middle of which was a picturesque rocky island, covered -with trees, and on the left bank an equally picturesque peninsula, which -was destined to be the head-quarters of the expedition, and the basis of -subsequent operations. - -“There,” said the Parson, fixing his rod in the stern-rings, and -springing on shore as the boat’s keel touched a sandy, slaty beach in the -isthmus of the peninsula— - - “Thus far into the bowels of the land - Have we marched on without impediment. - -Here is the limit of my survey. Thus far have I borne the baton of -command; and I beg you to observe that we have reached the appointed spot -twenty minutes before the appointed time.” And he held out his watch in -proof of it. “I have, as you see, performed my promise; and thus I resign -the leadership of the expedition.” - -“With universal thanks and approbation,” said the Captain; “and I propose -that now the leadership devolve upon Birger; he is the man of camps and -bivouacs, for he has experienced what we have only read about.” - -“Well,” said Birger, “I will not affect modesty. Like others, I have -passed my degrees, and it would be a great shame if bearing his Majesty’s -commission, I did not understand what every soldier is taught.” Then, -suddenly recollecting that the Captain was a military man as well as -himself, he steered adroitly out of his scrape, continuing, as if his -concluding paragraph had been part of his original speech—“You have only -to wait for a war, Captain, and you will be in a situation to give us all -a lesson. No one understood these things better than your old Peninsula -men; but Sweden thinks her soldiers ought to learn their business before -we are called out to fight, and not afterwards.” - -To pass the degrees—“gradar,” or rather “gradarne,” for no one ever -thinks of speaking of them without the definite article “ne,” as if there -were no other degrees in the world—is anything but a joke in Sweden. -Military service, so far, at least, as the Guards and the Indelta[7] are -concerned, is extremely popular. There is ample choice in candidates; -and very good care is taken that the officers shall be men who know -their business, and shall not be at a loss in what situation soever -they may be placed. The “gradar” consists of a series of lectures and -extremely strict examinations, in everything connected with the service, -both intellectual or physical, from the construction of an equilateral -triangle up to the sketch of a campaign, and from the musket drill to -a year of sea service. Passing out in seamanship is indispensable; for -Sweden, reversing our principle of hatching ducklings under hens, hatches -her young death-or-glory cornets and ensigns on board her ships. Properly -speaking, the Swedish navy has no midshipmen. The cadets, who fill pretty -numerously the midshipman’s berth, may possibly enter the navy, if they -are so inclined; but nine-tenths of them are candidates for commissions -in the army, and are thus learning a lesson which may be of use to them -hereafter, when they have troops of their own to embark or manage on -ship-board. - -Birger had passed his degrees with credit, or he would not have been -selected as a travelling student; and his companions were now likely to -profit by this circumstance, for one of those degrees comprehends all -these mysteries of camping, and hunting, and cooking, and provisioning, -and, if scandal may be trusted, a sort of Spartan stealing, which goes -under the euphemism of “availing one’s self of the resources of the -country;” these little matters being taught by a three weeks’ actual -practice in the field every summer. - -Birger was altogether in his element. “Now,” said he, “the first thing I -must do is to borrow all your boatmen, for I shall want every man I can -lay my hands upon; some for the camps, and some for cutting and drawing -fuel; I can find something to do for them all, and for more too if I had -them. And here, you Jacob, take a basket with you, and see what you can -forage out from the cottages and woods about, in the way of milk, bread, -butter, berries, and so forth; and hark you, Jacob, no brandy, if you -please; that is the first thing those scamps always put their hands upon.” - -“You have not reckoned us,” said the Captain, “among your effective -strength; we shall not be of much use in foraging, as we cannot speak -Norske, but we have hands and heads too.” - -“Do not forget how scantily the camp is provisioned,” said Birger; “we -have not had time or opportunity to catch or shoot anything since we left -Oxea, where, I am sure, we ate up most of our fresh fish. It will not do -to be drawing too largely from our supplies.” - -“I have no objection, I am sure,” said the Parson; “but you must let us -have one boat, Birger; even if we are to fish this river from the shore, -there is half a mile of open space, certainly, between this and the great -falls of Wigeland; but best throws lie on the right bank, and we really -must have the power of crossing.” - -“Well,” said Birger, “I cannot spare you Torkel, that is certain—he -is much too valuable; take your own boatman; you may halloo out ‘Kom -öfver elven,[8]’ if you want him, and happen to be on the wrong side; -and if he cannot hear you, say ‘Skynda paa mid baaten sáa skall du faa -drikspengar,’[9] and I will warrant he hears fast enough, deaf as he may -be to the first call. We must have one of the boats above this fall,” -he continued, musing; “and we may as well do it at once. We will set all -hands to launch it over this isthmus, before we do anything else, and -then you can use it for your passage-boat. And now for the camp. Tom, -Torkel, my own man Peter, my boatman and the Captain’s will be little -enough for what I have to do, though there are some good hands among -them, as I saw last night and this morning too at Oxea.” - -“We must fish, then,” said the Captain; “for there is no use going about -after grouse, in this thick forest, without Torkel, or some one that -knows the place; we should be but wasting our time, poking about these -trees at hap-hazard.” - -“And, I am half-afraid that we shall not do much in fishing either,” said -the Parson, as they got a sight of the upper reach of the river, which -lay calm and shining before them. “The sun is as bright as if Odin[10] -had got his other eye out of pledge, and were shining on us with both at -once.” - -The Captain whistled a few bars of the Canadian Boat Song. - -“Yes,” said the Parson, “it is very true, as you whistle, but, though -the sun be bright, and, though ‘there be not a breath the blue wave to -curl,’ we must try what we can do. It adds considerably to the interest -of fishing, when we know that our supper depends upon it.” - -“If this were the old Erne,” said the Captain, “we might whistle for our -supper, in good earnest; but, it must be confessed, that the fish here -are very innocent; we may deceive one; it is not impossible; for, as Pat -Gallagher used to say, ‘there are fools everywhere.’ But—look here,” he -said, as he cast across the stream, “positively, you may see the shadow -of the line on the bottom, deep as the water is.” - -“Let us cross,” said the Parson. “‘Gaa öfver elven,’ as Birger says, -for I see they have got the boat up: near the great fall there are some -strong streams that will defy the sun and the calm together.” - -Thanks to the innocence of the salmon, which the Captain had hinted at, -their pot-fishing was not entirely without success: the upper part of -the reach, where the waters had not yet recovered their serenity after -undergoing the roar and fury of the great fall, did actually furnish -them with a graul or two; but the salmon that had arrived at years of -discretion were very much too cautious to be taken. They had never, it -is true, been fished for in their lives with anything more delicate than -a piece of whipcord and a bunch of lobworms, as big as a cricket-ball; -but, for all that, they were quite old enough to draw an inference, and -were perfectly aware that natural grasshoppers were not in the habit of -swimming about with lines tied to their noses. - -Towards evening there sprang up a light air of wind, and the rises began -to be more frequent. The Captain, by making use of Birger’s prescribed -form of words, had got the boatman to land him on the rocky island which -divides the Aal Foss into two branches. There, concealed by a stubby fir, -not quite so high as himself, he was sending out twenty yards of line -that fell so lightly that it never seemed to touch the water at all. - -There is no doubt that, of all the Erne fishermen, it was the Captain who -threw the longest and the lightest line, and well was the Captain aware -of that fact: but there is an axiom which “far and fine” fishers would do -well to bear in mind, and which, though apparently evident to the meanest -capacity, is very seldom borne in mind by any one; and that is, that it -is of very little use to fish “far and fine,” when the fish themselves -are lying, all the while, in the water close under your feet. This was -precisely the Captain’s position; the waters, divided by the rock on -which he was standing, were naturally deepest close to the rock itself, -and, as naturally, the best fish lay in the deepest water. The Captain -understood this well, but he could not deny himself his length of line, -and, therefore, contrived to fish the water close to him by raising his -arms, bringing the point of his rod over his right shoulder, and then -whisking his flies out for a fresh cast with a dextrous turn of the wrist -which no man in England but himself could have performed. - -“I will tell you what,” said the Parson—who, not having met with much -success, had stuck up his rod, and had got himself ferried over to the -island—“it is not very likely that a fish of any size will rise this -evening, but if such a thing should happen I would not give much for your -rod.” - -“I wish the biggest fish in the river——” - -The sentence was never finished, for, at the word, the wish was granted; -and, if not the biggest fish in the river, certainly the biggest fish -they had yet seen, rose at the fly when it was not a foot from the rock. - -The rod never stood a chance. Raised at a sharp angle over the Captain’s -shoulder, the whole strain came upon the top-piece, which, as he struck, -snapped like a flower-stalk, without effort or resistance; and away -rushed the fish forty or fifty yards up-stream with the top-piece, which -had run down upon the fly, bobbing against his nose. - -The Captain did all that man could do. Carefully did he watch his fish, -anticipating every movement; instantly did he dip his rod, as the salmon -sprang madly into air—instantly did he recover it; promptly was the -line reeled in at the turn; tenderly was it given out at the rush; but -it was of no avail—the rod had lost its delicate spring; and, despite -the Captain’s care, every now and then the fish would get a stiff pull -against the stump, thus gradually enlarging the hold which the hook had -taken in the skin of the jaw, till, at last, just as the Parson, who had -been hoping against hope, was taking the cork off the point of his gaff -and clearing away the brambles to get a good standing place for using -it, the line came up slack; the hold had given way. - -The Parson had the generosity to be silent about his warning that had -received so immediate a fulfilment. - -“Well,” he said, “you have recovered your top; that is something, so many -miles from Bell Yard; and as for the fish, depend upon it that there are -more where he came from.” - -The Captain mused a little. With the exception of Birger’s chance-medley, -they had not seen a full-grown salmon[11] since they had come upon -the river, and the loss was no light one. “I suppose,” he said, -interrogatively, “it would be hardly worth while to fetch another top -from the camp?” - -“Not at all worth while,” said the Parson; “the wonder is, that you rose -one full-mouthed fish on such a day as this. You are not going to rise -another. Besides,” he added, “look at the sun! It is time for us to think -of cooking, rather than catching. Birger will be wondering what is become -of us.” - -They were at no great distance from the camp, which, to their surprise, -they found tenanted by Jacob alone, who, having got over his morning -sulks, was busy in what he called a Långref, a miniature variety of which -is not altogether unknown to our Hampshire poachers; but Jacob’s was a -tremendous affair, more like what in sea-fishing is called a spillet or -bolter, consisting of three or four hundred yards of water cord, and half -as many hooks. - -“Halloo,” said the Captain; “what has become of them all? Why, Jacob, -where is Lieutenant Birger?” - -“He is gone with the men to make an offering to Nyssen,” said Jacob. - -“Who the devil is Nyssen?” said the Captain. - -Jacob looked distressed. It is not lucky to mention the mundane spirits -and those of hell in the same sentence; in fact, the less people -talk about either of them the better, so, at least, the Swedes think, -and therefore imprecate their curses by saying, “The Thousand take -you,” leaving it for your own conscience to determine whether they are -consigning you to saints or devils. - -“There they are, you may see them yourself,” replied he, evading the -question, and pointing to a bare rounded rock which rose above the wooded -summits about a mile down the river. - -The Parson’s telescope was in his hand in a moment; but all he could make -out was, that they put something on the ground which they left there, -and immediately entered the thick wood, which hid them from his sight. -Jacob could not, or at all events would not, satisfy their curiosity, and -they had nothing for it but to amuse themselves with admiring Birger’s -handy-work, till that individual on his return should make his own report -of himself. - -And really the Lieutenant would have extorted praise from the head of the -Kong’s-öfver-commandant’s-Expedition himself, so well and so orderly was -the encampment made. - -The sails were formed into three several tents, not very large ones, -certainly, and scarcely admitting of the inmates sitting upright, except -in the centre, but quite sufficient to shelter a man lying at full -length. At the back of these, where the ground rose a little, a neat -trench was cut, in order to carry off the drainings of any unforeseen -shower. These were the sleeping tents; and in front of them were spread -out a quantity of poplar leaves, which were eventually to form the beds, -and which were then pretty rapidly undergoing the process of desiccation -in the hot and bright sunshine which had hitherto been so unfriendly. -A birch trimmed in its weeping branches, and thickened above with a -few supplementary boughs of spruce-fir, was evidently arranged for the -dining-room, and several of the stores were gathered round its trunk -and thatched with fir-branches, while at some distance below, and not -far from the sandy beach, stood three or four neat green huts, built -with a framework of fir-poles, and thatched closely, both in roof and -walls, with the upper branches of the trees that had been cut down for -the frame. Not far from where Jacob was sitting over his långref, there -was an elaborate kitchen, built of rough stones against a natural rock, -with a cross-beam on the top to swing the kettle from, and beside it -rose a goodly pile of fuel, cut into lengths, and stacked into what is -called in the country fathoms, that is to say, square piles, six feet -long and three high. This had evidently been their last work, for the -axes and saws were still lying on the unfinished pile. By the river’s -bank at the edge of the peninsula was a curious erection, which Jacob -called the smoking-house. It was a pyramid constructed of outsides of -deals, hundreds of which, rejected from the saw-mills, were floating -about unheeded in the river, and drifting into every corner that was -sheltered from the current. This was by no means a place constructed for -the luxury of smoking tobacco, an amusement in which every individual of -the party indulged in every possible place and in all places alike. It -was erected for hanging up superfluous salmon which had previously been -slightly salted, in order, with the help of smoke from the green juniper, -to convert them into what in London is called “kipper.” - -There was little use for it that evening, however, for the grauls brought -in by the fishermen would have been but scanty allowance, even for the -present supper, had they not been helped out by other provisions. But -Jacob had by no means been idle in his vocation. On a shelf of rock not -very far from the kitchen, and shaded by a friendly tree, stood gallons -of milk and piles of flad bröd, with a few raspberries, which were just -then ripening, and an actual little mountain of strawberries, for the -woods were carpetted with their bright green leaves and scarlet berries. - -Jacob, as was his duty, rolled up his långref as quickly as such a -combination of tackle could be stowed away, and commenced preparing the -fish for dinner, while the fishermen changed their clothes, and hung them -to dry round a supplementary fire which had been lighted for the purpose. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -MAKING A NIGHT OF IT. - - “Ale’s not so good - For the children of men - As people have boasted; - For less and less, - As more he drinketh, - Knows man himself. - - The kern of forgetfulness - Sits on the drunken - And steals the man’s senses,— - By the bird’s pinions - Fettered I lay - In Gunlada’s dwelling. - - Drunken I lay, - Lay thoroughly drunken, - With Fjalar the wise. - This is the best of drink, - That every one afterwards - Comes to his senses.” - - _High Song of Odin the Old._ - - -Many minutes had not expired, during which brief space the fishermen had -been luxuriating in their dry clothes, when the boats were seen working -their way back across the tail of the Aal Foss rapid, as they returned -with the party from the right bank, which, after bobbing about on the -ripples and cross currents, shot into their little harbour beneath the -encampment. - -Birger came up the bank, half-laughing, yet looking as if he had been -doing something he was ashamed of. - -“Where the deuce have you been, Birger?” said the Captain, as that worthy -threw himself on the turf under the birch-tree: “Jacob says you have been -sacrificing to Nyssen, whoever he is.” - -“So I have,” said Birger; “but don’t speak so loud. I will tell you all -about it.” - -“Not speak so loud,” said the Captain; “why not?” - -“Well,” said Birger, rather hesitatingly, “Nyssen does not like to be -spoken of. That is to say, the men don’t exactly like to hear people -speaking of him, at least by name, if it is above the breath.” - -“Come, come, Birger, be honest,” said the Parson. - -“Well, if you must have it, I do not quite like it myself. I do not -believe in such things, of course; but there is no good in doing what -everybody thinks unlucky.” - -“Well, well,” said the Captain, “but tell us what you have been about. I -am quite in the dark as yet about this mysterious gentleman or lady.” - -“Why, the Nyss,” said Birger, sinking his voice at the word to a whisper, -“is a spirit of the air, just as the Neck (a similar whisper) is a spirit -of the water.” - -“The very familiars of the Lady of Branksome,” said the Parson:— - - It was the Spirit of the Flood, - And he spoke to the Spirit of the Fell. - -“Very likely, but our spirits, like our people, are not indifferent to -the pleasures of eating and drinking; and therefore, whenever we start on -an expedition, we propitiate them with an offering.” - -“And the offering consists of——?” - -“What we like best ourselves, cakes and ale.” - -“But what had you to do with it,” said the Captain; “I suppose you do not -believe in spirits?” - -“The men asked leave to go, when they had done their work, and wanted me -to go with them, to that high rock you see down there,—for they always -choose out some bare and elevated locality, as best adapted to a spirit -of the air; and so—well, I went with them; don’t laugh at me.” - -“That will I not,” said the Parson; “you could not have done a wiser -thing. Always fall in with men’s superstitions; there is nothing that -attaches them so much as humouring their little illegitimate beliefs; to -say nothing,” he added slily, “of believing a little in them yourself.” - -“How is this offering made?” said the Captain: “what are the rites -belonging to the worship of a spirit of the air?” - -“They are simple enough,” said Birger, “and not at all like those you -would see on the stage of London,—no blue fires or poetical incantations: -they consist in simply placing the cake on the most exposed pinnacle you -can find, pouring the ale into the nearest hollow that will hold it, and -then retreating in silence, and without looking behind you.” - -“While some thirsty soul, after the manner of Bel in the Apocrypha, plays -Nyssen and accepts the offering,” said the Captain. - -“What! eat Nyssen’s offering! Tom, what do you say to that?”—for the -men were still fidgetting about the fire,—“what do you say to that? The -Captain thinks that one of you will eat up Nyssen’s cake; what do you say -about it?” - -“Well,” said Tom, “we have bold men in Norway, as all our histories will -tell you; but bold as we are, I do not think you will get a man in the -whole country to do that.” - -“There was a young fellow once who did it in my country though,” said -Jacob, “and dearly he paid for it. The family used to place the yearly -gifts to Nyssen under the sails of their windmill every Christmas -Eve;—you Norwegians do not know what windmills are; you grind all your -corn by water, poor devils!” - -Here Tom and Torkel, both Tellemarken men, broke in simultaneously; the -one swearing that, in the Tellemark, windmills were as plenty as fir -trees; the other vociferating, somewhat incongruously, that no nation -two degrees from actual barbarism could ever think of such a piece of -machinery at all. - -Birger stilled their national animosities by wishing “The Thousand” would -take them all three, and their windmills into the bargain, and Jacob went -on with his story. - -“The eldest son,” he said, “was a sad unbeliever; he had been a very good -boy as long as he had lived with his father and mother at Lerum, but -when he grew up he had gone to Copenhagen and got corrupted; for, as his -honour Lieutenant Birger knows, they are all sad infidels at Copenhagen.” -Here was likely to be another outbreak; for the Danes, though it is quite -true that a great many of them are not only sceptics in fairy mythology -but in religion also, are yet vehemently regretted by the Norwegians, who -were in no ways pleased with that act of the Congress of Vienna which -separated them from Denmark; a fact which our friend Jacob was perfectly -aware of. - -Peace was again effected by a vigorous kick from his fellow-countrymen, -together with some observations respecting a donkey in a state of eternal -condemnation; and Jacob went on as if nothing particular had happened. - -“Well,” said he, “the young man found that the best ale and sweetest -cake were always given to Nyssen, so he slipped out and gobbled them -up himself. During the whole year that followed that Christmas, no -great harm came of it, only there was always something wrong about the -windmill; now a sail blown away, now a cog broken; there was plenty -of grist, trade was lively enough, it was always something to do with -the wind, and, as far as that was concerned, nothing went right. Still -no one suspected the reason, till Christmas Eve came round again, and -another sweet cake and another bottle of strong ale were placed under -the mill for Nyssen. The night was as still and as quiet as this evening -is,—quieter if possible; there was not a breath of wind, and the snow -looked like a winding-sheet in the moonlight. Well, the young man slipped -out again; but scarcely had he stooped to pick up the bottle, when a -furious gust of wind arose, scattering the snow like flour out of a sack; -the sails flew round as if they were mad; it was said that a figure in -a pointed cap and a red jacket sat astride on the axle, and one of the -sails taking the young man on the side of the head, threw him as far as I -could fling a stone. He sank into the snow, which closed over him, and no -one knew what had become of him till the thaw came on. It was very late -that year, for the ground was not clear till Walpurgis’ Night, and then -they found him, and Nyssen’s broken bottle still in his hand. It was by -that they found out how it had happened. I would not be the man to touch -anything belonging to Nyssen.” - -“Nor I neither,” chimed in the two Norsemen. - -“Johnstone and Maxwell both agree for once,” said the Parson, laughing; -“and I will tell you another thing, neither would I. But now, Mr. Jacob, -that we have done everything that can be expected of us by the spirits -of the air, who, I hope, in common gratitude, will give us fishermen a -cloudy sky and a little bit of a breeze to-morrow, I must say I should -like to take my turn at the cakes and ale; so let us have whatever you -have got in your big pot there, and bring us a bucket of strawberries and -cream for dessert.” - -The dinner was by no means so elaborate an affair as that of yesterday; -this was occasioned, in some measure, by their want of sport, but, -principally, because all had been far too much engaged in the necessary -business of the camp to think much of eating. The solids, such as they -were, that is to say, beef and pork, out of the harness cask, were -soon despatched, and the huge camp kettle, one of the old-fashioned -ante-Wellingtonian affairs, as big as a mortar, and nearly as heavy, -was sent down to the men, while the fishermen lounged at full length -on the turf, enjoying their rest over Jacob’s plentiful provision of -strawberries and cream. - -Fénélon has, somewhere or other, a fable about a man who had the power -of procuring, “_pour son argent_,” as the good Bishop says, half-a-dozen -men’s appetites and digestions. The man does not seem, in the fable, to -have made a very good use of his extraordinary powers, or to have derived -any extraordinary pleasure from them. If he had only come out campaigning -in Norway, he might have had his five appetites for nothing, and been -much the better for them all. - -Meanwhile, the lower table did not at all seem to be in want of an -appetite; the kettle was emptied, and whole heaps of flad-bröd, sour as -verdjuice, and pots of butter, such as no nose or stomach, out of Norway, -could tolerate, were fast disappearing beneath the unceasing attacks -of seven gluttonous Scandinavians—while, as the twilight darkened, and -diminished the restraint they might possibly have felt at the presence -of their superiors, the noise grew louder and louder. Jacob began some -interminable ballad about the sorrows and trials of little Kirstin, a -very beautiful lady, who went through all sorts of misfortunes, and did -not seem a “bit better than she should be;” but that goes for nothing -at all in Swedish song, and very little in Swedish life. This he sang, -chorus and all, to his own share. It seemed to affect the worthy man very -little, that he was almost his own audience; no one seemed to attend -him, but his song went on, stanza after stanza, uninterruptedly, forming -a sort of running accompaniment to the shouts and screams of “Gammle -Norgé,” “Wackere Lota, or, Kari,” which startled the echoes alternately, -according as love, or patriotism, was the prevailing sentiment. - -At last, they began drinking healths—“Skaal Herr Carblom,” “Skaal for -the well-born singer;” for, like the old Spanish nobility, though they -addressed one another as Tom, Piersen, and so forth, they always gave the -interloper his full title. - -“Jeg takker de,” said Jacob, solemnly, without, however, pausing for one -moment in his song. - - “Little Kirstin, she came to the bridal hall,— - We will begin with the wooing,— - And a little page answered to her call, - My best beloved, I ne’er can forget you”— - -Here broke in Tom, beating time to his music with a horn which he had -replenished to the very brim, and of which he was imparting the contents -very liberally to the turf round him— - - “Wet your clay, Andy! - Out with the brandy! - We live in jolly way,— - Here’s to you, night or day! - Look at sister Kajsa Stina, - See her bottles bright and clear-ah! - Take the horn, good fellow! grin-ah! - Grin and swill and drink like me!” - -Jacob’s voice was again audible— - - “She tied her horse in the garden there: - We will begin with the wooing”— - -“Skaal Thorsen! skaal Tom Engelsk! skaal for the British navy!” - -“Rule, Britannia!” shouted Tom. Jacob went on— - - “We will begin with the wooing: - She brushed and—” - -Here a general chorus— - - “To the brim, young men! fill it up! fill again! - Drain! drain, young men!—’tis to Norway you drain. - Your fathers have sown it, - Your fields they have grown it; - Then quaff it, young men! for he’ll be the strongest - Who drinks of it deepest and sits at it longest.” - -Jacob’s voice became audible, like a symphony, between the verses— - - “She brushed and combed her golden hair,”— - -when again rose up the wild chorus, overwhelming it under the volume of -sound: - - “To the brim, old men! fill it up! fill again! - Drain! drain, old men!—’tis to Norway you drain. - There’s health in the cup,— - Fill it up! fill it up! - And quaff it, old men! for he’ll live the longest - Who drinks of it deepest and likes it the strongest.” - -“By the Harp of Bragi,” said Birger, “I’ll back old Jacob against the -field,—that fellow has such bottom!” for the honest toper’s voice came -again dreamily up the hill where they were sitting, during the pause that -followed this outburst. - - “Little Kirstin then passed out from the door,— - We had best begin with the wooing: - She said, I shall hither come no more,— - My best beloved! I never will forget thee. - - Forth she went to the garden there,— - We had best begin with the wooing: - She hung herself with her golden hair,— - My best beloved! I never can forget thee.” - -“Skaal for Birger! skaal for the brave Lieutenant! skaal for the royal -guard!” shouted one, waxing more bold as the night drew on. - -“Gammle Norgé!” screamed back an opponent, and immediately Torkel burst -out, with his fine bass voice, into the national song, drowning entirely -poor Jacob’s melancholy ditty, which never got much beyond the wooing -after all. - - “The hardy Norseman’s house of yore - Was on the foaming wave, - And there he gathered bright renown— - The bravest of the brave. - O, ne’er should we forget our sires, - Wherever we may be; - For they did win a gallant name, - And ruled the stormy sea. - - What though our hands be weaker now - Than they were wont to be - When boldly forth our fathers sailed - And conquered Normandy? - We still may sing their deeds of fame, - In thrilling harmony; - They won FOR US that gallant name, - Ruling the stormy sea!”— - -Enthusiasm was at its height, as the full chorus thundered forth from all -the voices— - - “Never will we forget our sires, - Wherever we may be; - They won for us that gallant name, - Ruling the stormy sea!” - -Whether Jacob joined in it, or persevered in the sorrows of little -Kirstin, it is impossible to say; but the loud-ringing alto of Birger -came in tellingly from the house of the Nobles, accompanied by the -bass of his two friends. The compliment was taken at once, “Skaal for -the high-born Fishermen!” “Skaal for the noble gentlemen!” “Skaal for -Vict_ou_ria!” “Skaal for Carl Johann!” “Skaal for England!” - -“Skaal for Sweden,” shouted Jacob at last. - -“Gammle Norgé! Gammle Norgé! Sweden and Norway!—Sweden and Norway for -ever! Skaal! Skaal!” - -“Upon my word,” said the Parson, “some one must have been shelling out in -good earnest. There goes something stronger than water to all that noise.” - -“Well,” said Birger, “it is very true: they did their work this afternoon -like men, and then, instead of going and buying brandy, and making beasts -of themselves, they very properly sent Torkel as spokesman to me, and -asked my permission to get drunk, which, as they had behaved so well, of -course I granted them, and gave them five or six orts to buy brandy with.” - -The Parson burst out laughing: “Well, Birger, it is very kind of you, to -save them from making beasts of themselves: rather a novel way of doing -it, though.” - -“O, it is all right,” said Birger; “that is the way we always do in my -country, we get it over at once: they will be as sober as judges after -this—if we had not indulged them when they knew they had deserved it, -they would always have been hankering after brandy, and dropping off -drunk when they were most wanted: they will be as sober as judges after -this, I tell you,” he reiterated, observing a slight smile of incredulity -on the faces of both his companions. - -“I do not feel quite so confident of their being as sober as judges -to-morrow, as I do about their being as drunk as pigs to-night,” said the -Captain; “though, to be sure, I do not know what judges are in Norway; -but it does seem to me that five or six orts[12] are rather a liberal -allowance, in a country where one can get roaring drunk for half-a-dozen -skillings.” - -“That is just the very thing I do not want them to do,” said Birger. -“Whenever a Norseman gets roaring drunk, he is sure to kick up a row: it -is very much better that they should get beastly drunk at once; then they -go to sleep and sleep it off, and no one the wiser.” - -“I should have thought, though,” said the Captain, “that you gave them -quite enough for that, and a good remainder for another day into the -bargain.” - -“It is little you know of the Norwegian, then,” said Birger, “or, for the -matter of that, of the Swede either: he is not the man to make two bites -of a cherry, or to leave his brandy in the bottom of the keg. Besides, -they will consider themselves upon honour. They asked my leave to get -drunk on this particular night, and I gave them the money to do it with; -it would be absolute swindling, to get drunk with my money on any other -occasion.” - -“Upon my word,” said the Captain, “this a terrible drawback to your -beautiful country. Our fellows in Ireland used to get drunk now and then, -to be sure, but they had always the grace to be ashamed of it. These -scoundrels do it in such a business-like way.” - -“Your countryman, Laing, sets that down to the score of our virtues,” -said Birger. “He considers it much better to act upon principle, like our -people, than to yield to temptation, as your English and Irish sots do. I -must say, though, that he is not half so indulgent to us poor Swedes.” - -“My countryman, Laing,” said the Parson, “though a very observant -traveller, is, also, a very extreme republican and a very prejudiced -writer. He gives us facts in monarchical Sweden, as well as in republican -Norway, and he gives them as he sees them, no doubt; but, he looks at the -two countries through glasses of different tints. Now, my idea is, that, -in point of drunkenness, there is not a pin to choose.” - -“Yes, but there is, though,” said Birger. “The Norwegian is quarrelsome -in his cups; and you will seldom find that in any part of Sweden, unless -in Scånia, and the Scånians are half Danes yet. I had the precaution to -take away those gentlemen’s knives when I gave them the money for their -brandy (and, I must admit, they gave them up with very good grace), -or, the chances are, that we should have lost the services of that ass -Jacob, and given a job for the Landamptman to-morrow. Why, half the -party-coloured gentlemen in the castle at Christiania have earned their -iron decorations in some drunken brawl or other.”[13] - -“Well, that may be,” said the Parson. “I have not experienced enough to -gainsay you; but you must admit that as far as simple drinking goes, the -two nations have the organ of drunkenness pretty equally developed.” - -“I should think it must be a barrel organ, then,” said the Captain, “if -we are to judge by the quantity it contains.” - -“Thank your stars it has got a good many stops in it. The Scandinavian -does not drink irregularly, like your people whom you can never reckon -upon for two days together. He has his days of solemn drunkenness—some of -them political, such as the coronation; or the king’s name day; or, here, -in Norway, the signing of their cursed constitution. Some of them, again, -are religious—such as Christmas, and Easter, and Whitsuntide: these are -days in which all Scandinavia gets drunk as one man. And there are a few -little domestic anniversaries besides—such as christenings and weddings; -but, this is all, except a chance affair, like this; so that, by a glance -at the calendar, and a little inquiry into a man’s private history, you -may always know when to find him sober, and fit for work.” - -“Sober, meaning three or four glasses of brandy?” said the Parson. - -“Yes,” said Birger. “He seldom goes beyond that, on ordinary days; and, -therefore, on festivals like this, I think him very well entitled to make -up for it.” - -“I think, though,” said the Parson, “when I was in Sweden, last year, I -did see such things as stocks for drunkards, at some of the church doors.” - -“Yes, you did, at all of them; but, you never saw any one in them. How is -a mayor to order a man into the stocks, for drunkenness, when the chances -are, that he was just as drunk himself on the very same occasion?” - -“How do you account for this universal system of drinking spirits?” said -the Captain. - -“It is easy enough to account for it,” said the Parson; for Birger rather -shirked the question. “Every landed proprietor has a right to a private -still; the duty is a farthing a gallon, carriage is difficult, and brandy -is much more portable than corn. Will not this account for some of it? -I do not happen to know what may be the return for Sweden; but, for -Norway, it is somewhat over five million gallons a-year, in a country -which does not grow nearly enough of corn to support itself; and this, -as the population does not come up to a million and a-half, gives three -and a-half gallons per Christian, to every man, woman, and child, in the -country.” - -“Come, come,” said Birger, “if you go to statistics, look at home. Your -Mr. Hume moved, last session, for a return of all the men that had -been picked up, drunk, in the course of the preceding year; and, in -Glasgow alone, there were nearly fifteen thousand—that is to say, one -out of every twenty-two of the whole population. Do not talk to us of -drunkenness. Did you ever hear of the controversy between the pot and the -kettle?” - -“The Scotch are no more our countrymen, than the Norwegians are yours,” -said the Parson; “and, if I recollect right, that very return gave no -more than one in every six hundred, picked up, drunk, in our Manchester; -and Manchester is not what we call a moral place, either.”[14] - -“In that very place, Glasgow,” said the Captain, “where, for my sins, I -was quartered last year, I was actually taken up before the magistrates, -and fined five shillings, for what the hypocritical sinners call -‘whustling on the Saubboth,’ and it was only Saturday night, either—the -rascally Jews! They are fellows to - - Compound for sins they are inclined to - By damning those they have no mind to. - -The scoundrels couldn’t whistle a tune themselves on any day of the week, -‘were it their neck verse at Hairibee;’ they have no notion of music, -beyond the bagpipe and the Scotch fiddle.” - -“Five shillings?” said the Parson, musingly; “that is just the sum they -fine people, in London, for being drunk and disorderly.” - -“Then, in all human probability, the Captain made one individual item in -Mr. Hume’s fifteen thousand himself.” - -“Very possibly,” said the Captain. “It was Saturday night, and I will not -say I might not have been a little screwed. When one is in Turkey one -must live as turkeys live.” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “I believe all northern nations have a -natural turn for drunkenness, but laws and regulations may increase or -diminish the amount of it; and the laws of both these countries tend -most particularly to increase it. With you it is a regular case of -‘Drunkenness made easy.’ Besides, public opinion sets that way too. If -I were suspected of anything approaching to the state of our friends -down below, I never could face my parish again. Your parish priest might -be carried home and tucked into bed by a dozen of his faithful and -hard-headed parishioners on Saturday night, and if the thing did not come -round too often, would get up not a pin the worse on Sunday morning, -either in health or in reputation.” - -“I think,” said the Captain, “public presents are a very fair test of -public propensities. In the snuffy days of the last century and the -beginning of this, every public character, from the Duke of Wellington -down to William Cobbett, had the freedoms of all sorts of things -given them in golden snuff-boxes. Now, look at your people. When your -king paid a visit to the University of Upsala, the most appropriate -present he could think of making to that learned body, was an ancient -drinking-horn,—of course, by way of encouraging the national tastes. -And when he made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Odin and Freya, the most -appropriate present which that learned body could make to him in their -turn, was another ancient drinking-horn, which had the additional value -of having once been the property of those heroic, but, if there is any -truth in Sagas, exceedingly drunken divinities.” - -“Well, well,” said Birger, good-humouredly (and it must be said that his -was a case of good-humour under difficulties), “every nation has its own -national sins to answer for, and it is no use for me to deny that ours is -drunkenness. But what else can you expect from a people whose ideal of -the joys of heaven used to be fighting all day, and after a huge dinner -of boiled pork, getting beastly drunk upon beer? Gangler, in the prose -Edda, asks Har, ‘How do your Heroes pass their time in Valhalla when -they are not drinking?’ And Har replies, ‘Every day, as soon as they -have dressed themselves, they ride out into the court, and fight till -they cut each other in pieces. This is their pastime; but when meal-time -approaches, they return to drink in Valhalla.’ Or, if you will have the -same in verse, this is what the Vafthrudnis Mal says:— - - The Einherjir all, - On Odin’s plain, - Hew daily each other - While chosen the slain are; - From the fray they then ride, - And drink ale with the Œsir.” - -“After all,” said the Parson, “this is nothing more than a ghostly -tournament; and I have no doubt but that the haughty tournaments of the -middle ages, if deprived of their mediæval gilding, would be very like -the hewings, ale swillings, and pork banquetings of the Einherjir. I -hope, though, that they brewed good ale in Asgard.” - -“I dare say,” said the Captain, “that, after their carousal, they wanted -a little sleep to fit them for the toils of the next day; I am sure I do, -and I vote we try what sort of couches Birger has prepared for us. Our -once merry friends below seem to be as fast asleep as swine now, and as -quiet. To tell you the truth, I am a little tired with our day’s work, -and we certainly have another good day’s work cut out for us to-morrow.” - -“With all my heart,” said Birger, finishing off what, from its colour, -might have been a glass of water, but was not. As Odin says— - - “No one will charge thee - With evil, if early - Thou goest to slumber.” - -“Come along, then,” said the Captain, “turn in; and may the Nyss to whom -we have sacrificed send us to-morrow ‘a southerly wind and a cloudy sky.’” - - There are several national songs in Norway. That which Torkel - sings is an ancient song, and has been adapted and arranged - as a chorus, by Hullah; but it is not that which is generally - known as “Gammle Norgé.” This, though eminently popular, is but - a modern composition. Its author is Bjerregaard, a Norse poet - of some eminence. It has been thus rendered into English by Mr. - Latham:— - - Minstrel, awaken the harp from its slumbers! - Strike for old Norway, the land of the free! - High and heroic in soul-stirring numbers, - Clime of our fathers, we strike it for thee! - Old recollections - Awake our affections,— - They hallow the name of the land of our birth; - Each heart beats its loudest, - Each cheek glows its proudest, - For Norway the Ancient, the Throne of the Earth! - - Spirit! look back on her far-flashing glory, - The far-flashing meteor that bursts on thy glance, - On chieftain and hero immortal in story, - They press to the battle like maids to the dance. - The blood flows before them, - The wave dashes o’er them, - They reap with the sword what they plough with the keel; - Enough that they leave - To the country that bore them - Bosoms to bleed for her freedom and weal. - - The Shrine of the Northman, the Temple of Freedom, - Stands like a rock where the stormy wind breaks; - The tempests howl round it, but little he’ll heed them,— - Freely he thinks, and as freely he speaks. - The bird in its motion, - The wave in its ocean, - Scarcely can rival his liberty’s voice; - Yet he obeys, - With a willing devotion - Laws of his making and kings of his choice. - - Land of the forest, the fell, and the fountain,— - Blest with the wealth of the field and the flood,— - Steady and truthful, the sons of thy mountain, - Pay the glad price of thy rights with their blood. - Ocean hath bound thee, - Freedom hath found thee,— - Flourish, old Norway, thy flag be unfurled! - Free as the breezes - And breakers around thee— - The pride of thy children, the Throne of the World! - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE HELL FALL. - - “If thou hadst not been leading a life of sin— - The sun shines over Enen— - Thou wouldst have given me water thy bare hand within— - Under the linden green. - Now, this is the penance that on thee I lay: - Eight years in the wood shalt thou live from this day, - And no food shall pass thy lips between, - Save only the leaves of the linden green; - And no other drink shalt thou have at all, - Save the dew on the linden leaves so small; - And no other bed shall be pressed by thee, - Save only the roots of the linden tree. - When eight long years were gone and spent, - Jesus the Lord to Magdalene went— - Now shall Heaven’s mercy thee restore— - The sun shines over Enen— - Go, Magdalena, and sin no more - Under the linden green.” - - _Svenska Folk-visor._ - - -Whether the Spirits of the Flood and Fell considered themselves -complimented by the homage which had been paid to them, or whether things -would have turned out exactly the same had there been no offering at -all, is a mystery of mythology which we will not take upon ourselves to -determine. Certain it is, that when the next morning was ushered in with -a soft westerly breeze and a dull cloudy sky, interspersed with bright -transient gleams of joyous sunshine, such as salmon love, the Nyssar got -the credit of it all. Not that the Norwegians were at first aware of the -extent of their blessings, for the barbarians are all unversed in the -mysteries of fly-fishing, but they were not long in finding it out, from -the smiling looks and congratulatory expressions of their employers. - -Englishmen might have felt dull and heavy after the consumption of such -enormous quantities of brandy: English heads might have ached, and -English hands might have felt shaky during the operation of getting -sober. Thor himself could not have risen from the challenge cup, set -before him by Loki Utgard, with more complete self-possession than did -Tom and Torkel, and the mighty Jacob. Sleep and drink had fled with the -shades of night, and it was a steady hand that served out the coffee that -morning. - -The party had long separated to their respective pursuits, for the -impatience of the fishermen and the actual dearth of provisions in the -camp did not allow of idling. - -Towards noon the breeze had entirely sunk, and the sun, having succeeded -in dispelling the clouds, was shining in its summer strength into the -confined valley, concentrating its rays from the encircling rocks upon -the channel of the river, and pouring them on the encampment as on the -focus of a burning-glass. - -It was not, however, a depressing, moist, stewing heat; there was a -lightness and elasticity in the air unknown in southern climes, or if -known at all, known only on the higher Alps, and in the middle of the -summer. Men felt the heat, no doubt, and the thermometer indicated a high -degree of temperature; but there was nothing in it enervating, nothing -predisposing to slothfulness or inaction; on the contrary, the nerves -seemed braced under it, and the spirits buoyant. Work and exercise were a -pleasure, not a toil; and if the Parson did stretch himself out under the -shade of the great birch tree, it was the natural result of a well-spent -morning of downright hard work. Wielding a flail is a trifle compared to -wielding a salmon rod; and he and the Captain had, both of them, wielded -it that morning to some purpose, for the salmon had not been unmindful -of the soft breeze and the cloudy skies, but had risen to the fly with -appetites truly Norwegian. - -Jacob and Torkel, with one of the boatmen in the distance, were up to -their eyes in salt and blood, cleaning, splitting, salting, and otherwise -preparing the spare fish for a three days’ sojourn in the smoking-house; -while three or four bright-looking fresh run salmon, selected from -the heap, and ready crimped for the kettle or toasting skewers, were -glittering from under the green and constantly-wetted branches, with -which they were protected from the heat of the day. - -Birger, who was much more at home with his gun than with his fishing-rod, -had gone out that morning early, attended by his two men, in order to -reconnoitre the country, and see what its capabilities were; for the -Parson’s report had been confined to its excellencies as a fishing -station. The Captain was still on the river; every now and then distant -glimpses of his boat could be seen as he shifted from throw to throw, and -occasionally condescended even to harl the river, by way of resting his -arms. Such a fishing morning as they had enjoyed, is not often to be met -with, and the Captain would not take the hint which the cloudless sun had -been giving him for the last half-hour. - -The Parson, whose rod was pitched in a neighbouring juniper, and whose -fly, a sober dark-green, as big as a bird, floated out faintly in the -expiring breeze, was stretched at full length on the turf, occupied, so -far as a tired man who is resting himself can be said to be occupied at -all, in watching the motions of a little red-headed woodpecker, that was -darting from branch to branch and from tree to tree, making the forest -ring again with its sharp succession of taps, as it drove the insects -out of their hiding-places beneath the outside bark. Taps they were, -no doubt, and given by the bird’s beak, too, but by no means like the -distinct and deliberate tap of the yellow woodpecker, every one of which -may be counted: so rapid were they, that they sounded more like the -scrooping of a branch torn violently from the tree, and so loud, that it -was difficult to conceive that such a sound could be caused by a bird -comparatively so diminutive. - -The woodpecker, which seemed almost tame and by no means disconcerted -by the presence of strangers, pursued its occupation with the utmost -confidence, though quite within reach of the Parson’s rod. - -“Take care,” said the Parson, as Torkel approached, “do not disturb it.” - -“Disturb what?” said Torkel. - -The Parson pointed to the woodpecker, which was not a dozen yards from -them. The bird paused a moment, and looked at them, but evinced no -symptoms of timidity. - -“What, the Gertrude-bird?” said Torkel; “no one would disturb her while -working out her penance, poor thing! She knows that well enough; look -at her.” And, in truth, the bird did seem to know it, for another loud -rattle of taps formed an appropriate accompaniment to Torkel’s speech; -though Birger and the Captain at that moment came up, the one with his -last fish, the other with a couple of ducks, a tjäder, and two brace -of grouse, of one sort or another, which he had met with during his -morning’s exploration. - -The Parson nodded to the Captain, congratulated Birger, but, ever ready -for a legend, turned round to Torkel. - -“What do you mean by a Gertrude-bird, and what is her penance?” said he. - -Birger smiled—not unbelievingly, though; for the legend is as well -known in Sweden as it is in Norway; and few people, in either of these -countries, who believe in anything at all, are altogether sceptical on -matters of popular superstition. - -“That bird,” said Torkel, “or at least her ancestors, was once a woman; -and it is a good lesson that she reads us every time we see her. God -grant that we may all be the better for it,” he added, reverentially. - -“One day she was kneading bread, in her trough, under the eaves of her -house, when our Lord passed by, leaning on St. Peter. She did not know -that it was the Lord and his Apostle, for they looked like two poor men, -who were travelling past her cottage door.” - -“‘Give us of your dough, for the love of God,’ said the Lord Christ; ‘we -have come far across the fjeld, and have fasted long!’ - -“Gertrude pinched off a small piece for them, but on rolling it on her -trough to get it into shape, it grew and grew, and filled up the trough -completely. She looked at it in wonder. ‘No,’ said she, ‘that is more -than you want;’ so she pinched off a smaller piece, and rolled it out as -before; but the smaller piece filled up the trough, just as the other -had done, and Gertrude put it aside, too, and pinched a smaller bit -still. But the miracle was just the same; the smaller bit filled up the -trough as full as the largest-sized kneading that she had ever put in it. - -“Gertrude’s heart was hardened still more; she put that aside too, -resolving, so soon as the strangers had left her, to divide all her dough -into little bits, and to roll it out into great loaves. ‘I cannot give -you any to-day,’ said she; ‘go on your journey, and the Lord prosper you, -but you must not stop at my house.’ - -“Then the Lord Christ was angry; and her eyes were opened, and she saw -whom she had forbidden to come into her house, and she fell down on her -knees; but the Lord said, ‘I gave you plenty, but that hardened your -heart, so plenty was not a blessing to you; I will try you now with the -blessing of poverty; you shall from henceforth seek your food day by day, -and always between the wood and the bark.[15] But forasmuch as I see your -penitence to be sincere, this shall not be for ever: as soon as your back -is entirely clothed in mourning this shall cease, for by that time you -will have learned to use your gifts rightly.’ - -“Gertrude flew from the presence of the Lord, for she was already a bird, -but her feathers were blackened already, from her mourning; and from that -time forward she and her descendants have, all the year round, sought -their food between the wood and the bark; but the feathers of their back -and wings get more mottled with black as they grow older; and when the -white is quite covered the Lord Christ takes them for his own again. No -Norwegian will ever hurt a Gertrude-bird, for she is always under the -Lord’s protection, though he is punishing her for the time.” - -“Bravo, Torkel,” said the Parson. “I could not preach a better sermon -than that myself, or give you sounder theology.” - -“You seem always on the look-out for a superstition,” said the Captain. - -“So I am,” said the Parson. “There is nothing that displays the -character of a people so well as their national legends.” - -“But do you not consider that in lending your countenance to them, and -looking as if you believed them, you are lending your countenance to -superstition itself?” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “what would you have me do? laugh them out of -it, like Miss Martineau? And if I succeeded in that, which I should -not, what should I have done then? Why, opened a fallow for scepticism. -Superstition is the natural evidence of the Unseen in the minds of the -ignorant; to be superstitious, is to believe in a Being superior to -ourselves; and this is in itself the first step to spiritual advancement. -Inform the mind, teaching it to distinguish the true from the false, and -superstition—that is to say, the reverence for the unseen—brightens into -true religion. Take it away by force, or quench it by ridicule, and you -have an unoccupied corner of the soul for every bad passion to take root -in. Superstition is the religion of the ignorant.” - -“Well, there is truth in that,” said the Captain. “When a boy becomes -a man, he will not play prison-base, or go a bird’s-nesting; but -prison-base and bird’s-nesting are no bad preparation for manly daring -and gallant enterprise.” - -“Very true; and when the boy is capable of the latter he will leave off -his prison-base and bird’s-nesting without any trouble on your part.” - -“There are good superstitions as well as bad,” said Birger. “To be afraid -of thinning down a noxious bird, like the magpie, as our people are, -because the devil has them under his protection, is a bad superstition. -It is a distrust in the power and providence of God; but, though it is -equally a superstition to imagine that one bird is more a favourite with -God than another, yet the boy who, in your country, in the ardour of his -first shooting expedition, turns aside his gun because - - Cock-robins and kitty-wrens - Are God Almighty’s cocks and hens; - -or, in our country, from the Gertrude-bird, because she is working -out the penance which Christ has imposed upon her, has, in so doing, -exercised self-denial, has acknowledged the existence of a God, and has -admitted the sanctity of His protection. Many a superstition has as good -a moral as a parable, and this is one of them.” - -The approach of dinner at once scared away the Gertrude-bird, and put an -end to Birger’s moralising; and as they discussed the pink curdy salmon, -the produce of the morning’s sport, and revelled in the anticipation -of strawberry and raspberry jam, the fumes of which every now and then -were wafted to them from the kitchen, and in the certainty of roast game -and smoked fish for future consumption, they laid their plans for the -afternoon’s sport. - -The sun was still shining in its strength and cloudlessness, and bade -fair so to shine for the rest of the day; and the breeze, which had been -for some time failing, had now sunk into a perfect calm. No salmon or -trout were to be caught by the usual means—that was clear enough. Jacob, -however, who had procured what might be called with great propriety a -kettle of fish, for he had borrowed from a neighbouring farm-house one -of the kettles in which they simmer their milk, and had got it full -of minnows and other small fry—proposed setting his långref. This was -unanimously assented to, for occupation is pleasing, and so is variety; -and eels, pike, and flounders, which were likely to be its produce, were -no bad additions to a larder less remarkable for the variety of its -provisions than for their abundance. - -But the grand scheme was one proposed by the Captain, who had been -reconnoitring the higher parts of the river, and had discovered a very -likely place for a bright day, but one which could not be reached from -the shore, or by any of the ordinary means of propelling a boat. It was -a fall terminating, not as falls generally do, in a huge basin, but in a -shoot or rapid of considerable length, like a gigantic mill race, which, -after a straight but turbulent course of a couple of hundred yards, shot -all at once into the middle of a round and eddying pool. It was called -the Hell Fall, probably from its fury, for the word is Norske; but -possibly also, from Hela’s Fall, Hela being the Goddess of Darkness; and -well did the yawning chasm, through which the waters rushed, deserve that -name, overshadowed as it was by its black walls of rock. It was upon this -that the Captain had reckoned; whatever were the case with the rest of -the world, sunshine or storm must be alike to it, and to the tenants of -its gloomy recesses. - -The Captain was confident the thing could be done, and the Parson was -as confident that if it could be done, and the fly introduced into the -numerous turn-holes round which the water boiled and bubbled, the rapid -would require neither cloud nor wind to make it practicable. And Birger, -who was a great man at contrivances, asseverated strongly that it should -be done. - -The first job, however, was to set the långref, and that was a mode of -poaching with which they were all familiar. The långref, a line of two or -three hundred fathoms in length, with a snood and a hook at each fathom, -was baited from the minnow kettle, and coiled, so that the baited hooks -lay together on a board; and one end having been made fast to a stump -on the landing place, the boat was pulled diagonally down and across -the stream, and the line gradually paid out in such a manner that the -hooks were carried by the current, so as to hang free of the back line; -the other end, which came within a few yards of the farther bank, was -anchored by a heavy stone, backed by a smaller one, and the whole affair -left to fish for itself. - -In the meanwhile, some of the men had been sent forward with ropes, and -with the boat-hooks and oars belonging to the expedition; for, though -boats are always procurable in a place where the river forms the usual -means of communication, their gear is not always to be relied on in cases -of difficulty. - -The fishermen selected their short lake rods, as better adapted to the -work they were going about than the great two-handed salmon rods with -which they had been fishing that morning; and having fitted fresh casting -lines, which, in consideration of the work they were going about, were -of the strongest twisted gut they could find, they took the path up the -river. - -“I wonder what are the proper flies of this river,” said the Captain. “In -Scotland every place has its own set of flies, and you are always told -that you will do nothing at all, unless you get the very colours and the -very flies peculiar to the river.” - -“You seem to have done pretty well on this river, at all events,” said -Birger, “without any such information.” - -“No information is to be despised,” said the Parson. “The oldest -fisherman will always find something to be learnt from men who have -passed their lives on a particular stream, and have studied it from their -boyhood. There is, however, only one general principle, and that will -always hold good. By this the experienced fisherman will never be at a -loss about suiting his fly to the water. Here is the Captain now; we -have had no consultation, and yet I will venture to say that we are both -fishing with flies of a similar character. What fly did you catch your -fish with, this morning, Captain?” - -“I have been using my old Scotch flies,” said the Captain, “such as they -tie on the Tay and Spey,[16] and the largest of the sort I could find.” - -“To be sure you did; and tell Birger why you did not use your Irish -flies.” - -“They were too gaudy for the water,” said the Captain. - -“That, Birger, will give you the principle,” said the Parson. “The -Captain has been very successful with flies belonging to another river; -now, look at mine, which I tied last night, while I was waiting till -you came home from sacrificing to Nyssen. Except in size, this is as -different as possible from the Captain’s; and yet its principle is -precisely the same; mine is a green silk body, black hackle, blackcock -wing, no tinsel, and nothing bright about it, except this single golden -pheasant topping for a tail. Now, the Tay flies are quite different to -look at; they are mostly brown or dun pig’s wool bodies, with natural -red or brown hackles and mallard wings; but the principle of both is the -same; they are sober, quiet flies, with no glitter or gaudiness about -them; and the Captain shall tell you what induced him to select such as -these.” - -“I chose the largest fly I could find,” said the Captain; “because the -water here is very deep and strong; and as the salmon lies near the -bottom, I must have a large fly to attract his attention; but I must not -have a gaudy fly, because the water is so clear that the sparkle of the -tinsel would be more glittering than anything in nature; and the fish, -when he had risen and come near enough to distinguish it, would be very -apt to turn short.” - -“You have it now, precisely,” said the Parson; “the depth of the water -regulates the size of the fly, and the clearness of the water its -colours. This rule, of course, is not without exceptions; if it were, -there would be no science in fishing. The sun, the wind, the season, -the state of the atmosphere must also be taken into consideration; for -instance, this rapid we are going to fish now, is the very same water we -have been fishing in below, and therefore just as clear, but it is rough, -and overhung by rocks and trees. I mean, therefore, to put on a gayer fly -than anything we have used hitherto. But here we are,” he said, as they -looked down upon the rush of waters, “and upon my word, an ugly place it -is.” - -The Parson might well say that, for the waters were rushing below with -frightful rapidity. Above them was the fall, where the river, compressed -into a narrow fissure, shot through it like an enormous spout, into a -channel, wider certainly than the spout itself, but still very narrow; -while the perpendicular walls reminded the spectators of an artificial -lock right in the middle of the stream; at the very foot of the fall, was -a solid rock, on the back of which the waters heaped themselves up, and -found their way into the straight channel by rushing round it. In fact, -without this check, their rapidity would have been too great for anything -to swim in them; and as it was they looked anything but inviting. - -“A very awkward place!” said the Parson! “and how do you mean to fish -this?” - -“Come away a little from the roar of the waters,” said the Captain, “and -I will explain my plans. You see that flat ledge of rock below us, just -above the rush of the water; that spot we can reach by means of the rope. -Make it fast to that tree, Tom: you learned knotting in the English navy, -you know.” - -Tom grinned, and did as he was told, and the Captain ascertained the -strength of his work practically, by climbing down the face of the rock, -and reconnoitring personally the ledge he had pointed out. - -“Now,” said he, when he had returned, “we will get the boat as near as -we can to this rush of water, and then veer out a rope to her from this -rock: birch ropes will float, and the stream is quite sufficient to carry -it down. If we make the boat fast to this, we may command every inch of -the rapid, and you see yourself, how many turn-holes are made by the -points of the rock which project from either side. You may depend upon -it, every one of these contains a salmon, and the water is so troubled -and covered with foam, that not one of these fish will know or care -whether the sun is shining or not.” - -“I think your reasoning is sound enough,” said the Parson; “but if the -boat capsizes, the best swimmer in Norway would be drowned, or knocked to -pieces against these rocky points.” - -[Illustration: HELL FALL. - -p. 119.] - -“But what is to capsize the boat? I am not going to take young hands with -me; we all know our work; at all events, I mean to make the first trial -of my own plan myself, you have nothing to do but to stand on the rock, -and haul up the boat.” - -The Parson looked at Birger. - -“I do not think there is much danger,” said he; “and if the Captain will -manage the rod, I will see to the boat. Tom shall take the other oar.” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “you have left me the safest job; but I do not -quite like to see you do it. However, I suppose you will; so here goes to -see that you run no more danger than is absolutely necessary.” So saying, -he eased himself down the rope to the flat rock, followed by Torkel and -Pierson, who had previously thrown down a coil of birch rope; while the -Captain, Birger, and Tom went down to the place below the rapid, where -the boat was moored to a stump of a tree that grew over the river. - -The birch rope floated on the top of the racing water, and soon reached -the great turn-hole below the rapid, where the current was not so furious -but that the boat could easily be managed. After one or two misses, -Birger caught the end of it with his boat-hook, and, passing it round all -the thwarts, secured it to the aftermost one; placing an axe in the stern -sheets, in which the Captain had seated himself with his short lake-rod -in his hand, Tom sat amidships with the paddles, while Birger himself -stood forward with the boat-hook, to fend off from any point of rock that -the eddies might sheer the boat against. - -When all was ready, he waved his cap—for no voice could be heard amid the -roar of water—and the Parson and his party began steadily hauling on the -rope. The boat entered the dark cleft, and, though her progress was very -slow, cut a feather through the water, as if she were racing over it. - -Tom, by dipping one or other paddle, steered from side to side, as -he was bid; and the Captain threw his fly into the wreaths of foam -which gathered in the dark corners; for in the most furious of rapids, -there will always be spots of water perfectly stationary, where the -eddies, that have been turned off by projecting rocks, meet again the -main current; and, in those places, the salmon will invariably rest -themselves, accomplishing their passage, as it were, by stages. - -From side to side swung the boat—now at rest, now hauled upon by the -line, according to the messages which Birger telegraphed with his cap; -but, for some time, without any result, except that of convincing the -Parson that the dangers he apprehended, were more in appearance than in -reality; so that they were beginning to think that their ingenuity would -be the sole reward of their pains. At length, there was a sudden tug at -the line, the water was far too agitated to permit the rise to be seen, -and the Captain’s rod bent like a bow. - -“Haul up, a few fathoms,” said he, raising his rod so as to get his line, -as much as possible, out of the action of the water, which was forcing it -into a bight. “Now, steer across, Tom, to the opposite side. We must try -the strength of the tackle—‘Pull for the half,’ as we say in Ireland.” - -The fish had not attempted to run, knowing that its best chance of safety -was in the hole in which it lay, but had sunk sulkily to the bottom. -No sooner, however, did the boat feel the current on her bow, than she -sheered across to the opposite side; and the Captain, stopping his line -from running out, drew the salmon by main force from its shelter, who, -feeling the strength of the current, for a moment attempted to stem it; -but soon, the Captain, adroitly dropping his hand, turned tail and raced -away, downward, with the combined velocity of the stream, and its own -efforts. - -The Captain paused a moment, to make sure that the fish was in earnest, -and then cut the rope; and boat, fish, and all, came tumbling down the -rapid into the turn-hole below. - -Once there, it became an ordinary trial of skill between man and -fish—such as always occurs whenever a salmon is hooked in rough water—and -that the Captain was well up to. It was impossible for it again to head -up the dangerous ground of the rapid, or to face the rush of the waters -with the strain of the line upon it; so it raced backwards and forwards, -and up and down in the deep pool, while Tom took advantage of every -turn to paddle his boat quietly into still water. At last, the Captain -succeeded in turning his fish under a projecting tree, upon which the -Parson, who, as soon as he had seen the turn matters were likely to take, -had shinned up the rope, and hurried to the scene of action, was standing -gaff in hand to receive it. - -“Well done, all hands!” said the Captain, as the Parson freed his gaff -from the back fin of a twenty-pound salmon, and Birger hooked on to the -tree, and brought his boat to shore. “Well done, all hands! it was no -easy matter to invade such territories as that; but one wants a little -additional excitement after such a fishing morning as we have had.” - -“I think we may set you down as _bene meritus de patriâ_,” said the -Parson; “it is just as well to have a fresh resource on a bright -afternoon like this; the time may come when we may want it.” - -“Now, then, for another fish,” said the Captain; “Birger shall try his -hand at the rod this time.” - -Birger would have excused himself on account of his want of skill, but -was very easily persuaded, and, thus they took turns, now securing a -fish, now cutting a line against an unseen rock, now losing one by -downright hard pulling, till, when the light began to fail, and the -dangers to grow more real from the darkness, they made fast their boat -to the stump, and returned victorious to the camp, having added three -or four fish to their store, and those the finest they had caught that -day.[17] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -DEPARTURE FROM TORJEDAHL. - - “Og Trolde, Hexer, Nysser i hver Vraae.” - - _Finn Magnussen._ - - And Witches, Trolls, and Nysses in each nook. - - -“Hallo! what is the matter now?” said the Captain, who had been out -with his gun that morning, and on his return caught sight of the Parson -sitting disconsolate on the river’s bank. By the waters of Torjedahl we -sat down and wept. “What has gone wrong?” - -“Why, everything has gone wrong,” said the Parson peevishly; “look at my -line.” - -“You do seem to have lost your casting line, certainly.” - -“Yes, I have, and half my reel line beside.” - -“Very tinkerish, I dare say, but do not grieve over it; put on a new one -and hold your tongue about it; no one saw you, and I promise not to tell.” - -“How can you be so absurd?” said the Parson, “look at the river, and -tell me how we are to fish that; just look at those baulks of timber -floating all over it. I had on as fine a fish as ever I saw in my -life,—five-and-twenty pounds if he was an ounce, when down came these -logs, and one of them takes my reel line, with sixty yards out, and cuts -it right in the middle.” - -“Well, that is provoking,” said the Captain, “enough to make a saint -swear, let alone a parson; but, hang it, man, it is only once in the way. -Come along, do not look behind you; I am in a hurry to be at it myself, I -came home on purpose, I was ashamed to waste so glorious a fishing day as -this in the fjeld.” - -“That is just the thing that annoys me,” said the Parson; “it is, as you -say, a most lovely fishing day,—I never saw a more promising one; and I -have just heard that these logs will take three days floating by at the -very least, and while they are on the river I defy the best fisherman in -all England to land anything bigger than a graul.” - -“Why,” said the Captain, “have the scoundrels been cutting a whole -forest?” - -“This is what Torkel tells me,” said the Parson; “he says that in the -winter they cut their confounded firs, and when the snow is on the ground -they just square them, haul them down to the river or its tributaries, -where they leave them to take care of themselves, and when the ice melts -in the spring, down come the trees with it. But there are three or four -lakes, it seems, through which this river passes—that, by-the-by, is -the reason why it is so clear; and, as the baulks would be drifting all -manner of ways when they got into these lakes, and would get stranded on -the shores instead of going down the stream, they make what they call -a boom at or near the mouth of the river, that is to say, they chain -together a number of baulks, end-ways, and moor them in a bight across -the river, so that they catch everything that floats. Here they get hold -of the loose baulks, make them into rafts, and navigate them along the -lakes, launching them again into the river at the other end, and catching -them again at the next boom in the same way. They have, it seems, just -broken up the contents of one of these booms above us. It will take three -days to clear it out, and another day for the straggling pieces.” - -“Whew!” said the Captain, “three blessed days taken from the sum of our -lives; what on earth is to be done?” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “that is exactly what we must see about, for it -is quite certain that there is nothing to be done on the water. Before I -began grumbling I sent off Torkel to look for Birger—for we must hold a -council of war upon it. O! there is Birger,” said he, as they crossed the -little rise which forms the head of the Aal Foss and came in sight of the -camp and the river below it; “Torkel must have missed him.” - -“Hallo!” said Birger, who was with Piersen in one of the boats, fishing -up with his boat-hook the back line of the långref, and apparently he had -made an awkward mess of it—“hallo there! get another boat and come and -help me, these baulks have played Old Scratch with the långref; it has -made a goodly catch, too, last night, as far as I can see, but we want -more help to get it in.” - -The Parson had the discretion to keep his own counsel, but the fact -was, it was he who was the cause both of the abundant catch and of the -present trouble. The small eels had been plaguing them, for some nights -successively, by sucking off and nibbling to pieces baits which they -were too small to swallow, and thus preventing the larger fish from -getting at them. The Parson had seen this, and had set his wits to work -to circumvent them. By attaching corks to the back line, he had floated -the hooks above the reach of the eels, which he knew would never venture -far from the bottom, while pike, gös, id, perch, the larger eels, and -occasionally even trout, would take the floating bait more readily when -they found it in mid-water. - -This would have done exceedingly well, had he looked at it early in the -morning; that, however, he had not exactly forgotten, but had neglected -to do. Time was precious, and he was unwilling to waste it on hauling -the långref. Jacob, whose business it was to haul it, had been sent down -to Christiansand on the preceding day, with two of the boatmen, for -supplies, and had not yet returned; and the Parson, holding his tongue -about his experiment, and proposing to himself the pleasure of hauling -the långref when the mid-day sun should be too hot for salmon-fishing, -had gone out early with his two-handed rod. In the meanwhile the baulks -had come down, and the very first of them, catching the centre of the -floating bight, had cut it in two, and had thus permitted the whole -of the Parson’s great catch of fish to entangle themselves at their -pleasure. - -[Illustration: p. 124.] - -It was these _disjecta membra_ that Birger was busying himself about; -the task was not an easy one; and if it were, the guardsman was not -altogether a proficient. But, even when the reinforcement arrived, there -was nothing to be done beyond lifting the whole tangle bodily into the -boat, releasing the fish from the hooks, and then, partly by patience, -partly by a liberal use of the knife, to get out the tangle on shore. -The further half gave them the most trouble to find; it had been moored -to a stone, and the back line had been strong enough to drag it some way -down the river before it broke. It was, however, at last discovered and -secured, and the catch was of sufficient magnitude to ensure a supply of -fish, notwithstanding the logs. - -“Stop a minute,” said the Captain, as the boats’ heads were put up the -stream on their return; “we have not got all the långref yet, I am sure; -I see another fish; just pull across that ripple, Parson, a few yards -below the end of that stranded log. Yes, to be sure it is, and a salmon, -too, and as dead as Harry the Eighth. Steady there! hold water!” and he -made a rake for the line with his boat-hook. “Why, what have we got here? -it is much too fine for the långref. As I live, it is your own line. To -be sure; here it runs. Steady! Let me get a hold of it with my hand, it -may not be hitched in the wood firmly, and if it slips we shall lose it -entirely. That will do: all right. That must be the log that broke you; -it must have stranded here after coming down the Aal Foss, with the fish -still on it—and—hurrah! here is the fish all safe—and, I say, Parson, -remarkably fine fish it is, certainly! not quite twenty-five pounds, -though,”—holding up the fish by the tail, and measuring it against his -own leg; for his trousers were marked with inches, from the pocket-button -downwards,—a yard measure having been stitched on the seam. “You have not -such a thing as a steelyard, have you?” - -The Parson, laughing—rather confusedly, though,—produced from his slip -pocket the required instrument. - -“Ah! I thought so, ten pounds and a half; the biggest fish always do get -away, that is certain, especially if they are not caught again; it is a -thousand pities I put my eye on this one. I have spoilt your story?” - -“Well, well,” said the Parson, “if you have spoilt my story, you have -made a good one for yourself, so take the other oar and let us pull for -the camp.” - -“Birger,” said the Captain, when the boats had been made fast, and the -spoils left in the charge of Piersen, “Torkel has been telling the Parson -that we are to have three days of these logs. If the rascal speaks the -truth, what is to be done by us fishermen?” - -“The rascal does speak the truth in this instance, I will be bound for -it,” said Birger; “he knows the river well, and besides, it is what they -do on every river in Norway that is deep enough to float a baulk.” - -“What is to be done, then? there is no fishing on the river while this is -going on.” - -“I will tell you what we can do,” said Birger; “two or three days -ago—that day when I returned to the camp so late—if you remember, I told -you that I had fallen in with a lonely lake in the course of my rambles. -There was a boat there belonging to a sœter in the neighbourhood, which -Piersen knew of, and I missed a beautiful chance at a flight of ducks. -However, that is neither here nor there; the people at the sœter told -me that the great lake-char was to be found there; so the next day I -sent Piersen, who understands laying lines if he does not understand -fly-fishing, to set some trimmers for them. I vote we shoot our way to -the lake, look at these lines, get another crack at the ducks, and make -our way to the Toftdahl (which, if the map is to be trusted, must be -somewhere within reach), fish there for a day, shoot our way back again, -and by that time the wooden flood will be over.” - -“Bravo, Birger,” said the Captain, “a very promising plan, and here, in -good time, comes Commissary-General Jacob with the supplies. I see his -boat just over that point, entangled among a lump of logs. I vote we -take him with us; no man makes such coffee. I have not had a cup worth -drinking since you sent him down the river.” - -“You cannot take the poor fellow a long march to-day,” said the -Parson, considerately, “he has just been pulling up the stream from -Christiansand.” - -“He pull! is that all you know of Jacob? I will venture to say he has not -pulled a stroke since he started; look at the rascal, how he lolls at -his ease, with his legs over the hamper, while the men are half in the -water, struggling their way through the obstacles.” - -“I see the scamp,” said the Parson; “upon my word, he puts me in mind of -what the nigger observed on landing in England; man work, horse work, -ox work, everything work, pig the only gentleman; Jacob is the only -gentleman in our expedition.” - -“I admire that man,” said Birger; “that is the true practical philosophy, -never to do anything for yourself if you can get other people to do it -for you. But I think those fellows had better make haste about it. I have -known such a hitch of timber as that bridge the whole river, from side to -side, in ten minutes; they accumulate very rapidly when they once take -ground—ah! there goes the boat free; all right; but I certainly began to -tremble for my provisions.” - -“Well, then, we will take gentleman Jacob,” said the Captain, “I cannot -give up my coffee.” - -“I think so,” said Birger; “we will leave our three boatmen here in -charge of the camp; Tom, Torkel, and Piersen can carry the fishing-rods -and our knapsacks, which we must pack in light marching order. Jacob -shall provide for the kitchen, and we will each of us take a day’s -provisions in our havresacs, and our guns on our shoulders; the odds -are, we knock over grouse and wild fowl, by the way, enough to supply us -nobly. And even if we do not meet with sport, we shall at all events have -a pleasant pic-nicking trip, and see something of the country, while the -Parson, who is so fond of open air, may indulge himself with sleeping -under a tree, and contemplating the moon at his ease.” - -Torkel, who had come up while they were watching Jacob’s progress, -and had learnt their plans, informed them of a sœter which lay nearly -in their proposed course, and in which he had himself often received -hospitality. - -“Well, then,” said the Captain, “that will do for us, and we will leave -the Parson, if he prefers it, - - “His hollow tree, - His crust of bread and liberty.” - -“You may laugh,” said the Parson, “but the time will come when you will -find out certain disagreeables in a Norwegian dwelling, which may make -you think with less contempt on the hollow tree.” - -“The Parson is of the same mind as the Douglas,” said the Captain, “he -likes better to hear the lark sing, than the mouse squeak.” - -“I like clean heather better than dirty sheep-skin,” said the Parson. - -“And musquitoes better than fleas,” added the Captain. - -“Bother the musquitoes: I did not think of them.”[18] - -“They will soon remind you,” said Birger, “if we happen to encamp near -standing water.” And he went on packing his knapsack to the tune of -“Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot,” which he whistled with considerable -taste and skill.[19] - -Arrangements, such as these, are soon made; the three boatmen were -left in charge of the camp, with full permission to get as drunk as -they pleased; and, before Jacob had well stretched his legs, which had -been cramped in the boat, he was stretching them on the mountain-side, -marching a good way in the rear of the party, and grumbling as he marched. - -The mountains, which, all the way from Christiansand, hem in the river, -so that not even a goat can travel along its banks, at Mosse Eurd and -Wigeland recede on both sides, forming a sort of basin; and here, in a -great measure, they lose their abrupt and perpendicular character. Close -by the water-side, there are a hundred, or two, of acres of inclosed -ground comparatively flat, and either arable or meadow; not by any means -in a ring fence, but spots cribbed here and there from the fjeld, which -looks more like a gentleman’s park than anything else, with these little -paddocks fenced out of it. The houses, too, are quite the picturesque -houses that gentlemen in England ornament their estates with, so that the -untidy plank fences seemed altogether out of character with the scenery. -What one would look for here, is the neat park palings of England, or its -trim quickset hedges. - -Beyond this, the ground becomes more broken and wooded, but without -losing its parkish character; it is something like the forest grounds -of the South Downs in England, only broken into detached hills and -deep rises, with, occasionally, a bare ridge of rock forcing its way -through the short green turf. The forest was mostly birch, with a few -maples and sycamores, and, here and there, a fir; but every tree big -enough for a timber stick, had long ago been floated down to the boom at -Christiansand. The character of the whole scene was prettiness rather -than beauty. The mountains, however, were no lower than they had been -further down the river; it was as if their perpendicular sides had, in -some antediluvian age, given way, and that, in the course of centuries, -the fragments had become covered with trees and verdure. - -Among these broken pieces of mountain it was extremely easy for the -traveller to lose his way; there was not the vestige of a path, that is -to say, a path leading to any place to which he could possibly want to -go. The grass was particularly good and sweet there, and sheep and cows -are intensely conservative in their idiosyncracy; so stoutly had they -kept up the principle of _stare super antiquas vias_, that the appearance -was as if the whole region was thickly inhabited and intersected with -foot-paths in every direction, while every animal that helps to make them -rings its own individual bell, and carries its own individual brand, but -pastures in uncontrolled liberty. A cow is a very good guide to a lost -man, for, if he has patience to wait till evening, she is sure to feed -her way to the sœter to be milked; but woe to the man who puts his trust -in bullocks or in sheep; they feed at ease, and roam at pleasure, till -the frosts and snows of approaching winter bring them home to the fold, -the stall, and the salting-tub. - -Much of the shrubbery appearance of the scene is produced by the numerous -plants of the vaccinium tribe, the bright glossy leaves of which look -like myrtle; and the blue aconite, and the gentian, and the lily of the -valley, flowers which we seldom meet with in England, absolutely wild, -and the familiar leaves of the raspberry, and black currant, suggest -ideas of home, while the turf on which the traveller treads, looks as if -it had been mown by the gardener that very morning. - -The course, though varied by quite as many ups and downs as there were -ins and outs, was, upon the whole, continually ascending; and, as the -higher regions were attained, and the facilities of transport diminished, -the tall stately fir began to assert its natural supremacy among the -northern sylva. Still, however, there was enough of birch, and even of -the softer woods, to diversify the foliage, and preserve the park-like -aspect. Heather, of which the Parson had anticipated making his couch, -there was none; but, on the other hand, there was no furze to irritate -the shins, or brambles to tear the clothes. The latter does grow in -Norway, and is much more prized for its fruit than either raspberry or -strawberry, but the former cannot stand the winters. Linnæus is said -to have sat for hours in delighted contemplation of an English field -of furze in full bloom, and the plant is generally seen in Swedish -conservatories to this day, or set out in pots as oranges and myrtles are -with us. - -The mid-day sun had scattered the clouds of the morning, as, in truth, -it very generally does on a Norway summer day, and, shining down in -patches of brilliant light through the openings, added to the beauty of -the scene, and diminished in an equal proportion all regrets at leaving -the Torjedahl behind; for it was quite evident that, except in the Hell -Fall, or the pools, little or nothing could be done on so bright a day, -had the baulks been entirely out of the question. - -It was an hour or two past noon when they arrived at the ridge which -divides the valley of the Torjedahl from that of the Aalfjer—not that -ridge is the proper expression, for the ground had, for some miles, -become so nearly level that, were it not for a little rill, whose line -of rushes had been for some time their guide, they would not have known -whether they were ascending or descending. The country still preserved -its character of beauty, but its features had gradually become more tame, -so that the inequalities which, in the beginning of their journey had -looked like fragments of mountains, were now rounded and regular, like so -many gigantic mole-hills. - -Between two of these, the turf of which was green and unbroken to the -summit, and shorter and more velvety, if that were possible, than any -they had passed over, was the source of the rill, a black, boggy, rushy, -uninviting bit of ground, but covered with myrica bushes, which diffused -through the still air their peculiarly aromatic and refreshing scent; -in the centre of this was a deep still hole—it could be called nothing -else—it certainly was not a spring head, for there was not a bubble -of springing water; it was perfectly still and motionless, and looked -absolutely black in its clearness. - -It was a welcome halt to all, for the sun was hot and the way was long. -The well-head was a noted haunt of the dwarfs or Trolls, indeed it was -said to penetrate to the centre of the earth, and to be the passage -through which they emerged to upper air. - -This was the reason why, though everything around was scorching and -dropping in the withering heat, and though the unshaded sun fell full -upon the unprotected surface, the water was at all times very cold, and -yet in the hardest winter no ice ever formed upon it—its cold was that of -the well of Urdar which waters the roots of Yggdrassil, the tree of life; -no frost can bind these waters, neither can they be polluted with leaves -or sticks, for a dwarf sits continually on guard there, to keep open the -passage for his brethren. - -“Well,” said Birger, “I can readily believe that these are the waters of -life, I never met with anything so refreshing, it beats all the brandy in -the universe.” - -Jacob put in no protest to this heresy, but expressed a practical dissent -by applying his mouth to a private bottle and passing it to Tom. - -The Captain was proceeding to wash his face and hands in the well-head, -but the men begged him not to pollute it; the rill below, they said, did -not so much signify. - -The place had been noted by Birger for a halt, and right glad were they -all to disembarrass themselves of their respective loads, and to stretch -themselves in various attitudes of repose picturesque enough upon the -whole, under the great white poplars whose restless leaves fluttered over -head though no one could feel the breeze that stirred them, and shaded -the fairy precincts of the haunted well. - -The Parson threw himself on his back upon the turf with his jacket, -waistcoat, and shirt-collar wide open, his arms extended, and his -neckerchief, which he had removed, spread over his face and bare neck -to keep off the musquitoes. He was not asleep exactly, nor, strictly -speaking, could it be said that he was awake; he was enjoying that quiet -dreamy sort of repose, that a man thoroughly appreciates after walking -for five or six hours on a burning hot summer’s day. His blood was still -galloping through his veins, and he was listening to the beat of his own -pulses. - -“This is very delightful, very,” he said, in a drowsy drawling voice, -speaking rather to himself than to Torkel. “A very curious sound, one, -two, three, it sounds like distant hammers.” - -“Oh, the Thousand!” said Torkel, “where are we lying?” - -The Parson, when he threw himself down on the hill side, had been a -great deal too hot and tired to pay much attention to his couch, beyond -the evident fact that the turf was very green and inviting, and that -it contained no young juniper or other uncomfortable bedding: roused by -Torkel’s observation, he sat upright, and seeing nothing very remarkable -except a good rood of lilies of the valley at his feet, the scent of -which he had been unconsciously enjoying, and which did not look at all -terrible, stared at him. “Well,” said he, “what is the matter? where -should we be lying?” - -“I do not know,” said Torkel, “that is, I do not know for certain; but -did you not say you heard hammers? Stay,” he said, looking as if he had -resolved to do some desperate deed—“yes, I will, I am determined,” and -he took a piece of clay that was sticking on his right boot, and having -patted it into the size of a half-crown, put it on his head and dashed -his hat on over it. Then shading his eyes with his hand, he looked -fixedly at the hill, as if he were trying to look through it. “No,” said -he, “I do not see anything, I hope and trust you are mistaken.” - -“What can you be about?” said the Parson impatiently, “have you found a -brandy shop in the forest?” - -“I thought it must be the Bjergfolk,” he said, “when you heard the -hammers. I never can hear them myself, because I was not born on a -Saturday, and I thought perhaps you might have been. It is a very round -hill too, just the sort of place they would choose, and they have not a -great deal of choice nowadays, there are so many bells in the churches, -and the Trolls cannot live within the sound of bells.” - -“No?” said the Parson, “why not?” - -“None of the spirits of the middle earth like bells,” said Torkel, -“neither Alfs, nor Nisses, nor Nechs, nor Trolls, they do not like to -think of man’s salvation. Bells call people to church, and that is where -neither Troll nor Alf may go. They are sometimes very spiteful about it, -too.” - -“In the good old times, when it was Norway and Denmark, and we were not -tied to those hogs of Swedes as we are now” (sinking his voice, out of -respect to Birger, but by no means so much so that Birger could not -hear him), “they were building a church at Knud. They pitched upon a -highish mound near the river, on which to build it, because they wanted -the people to see their new church, little thinking that the mound was -the house of a Troll, and that on St. John’s eve, it would stand open -supported on real pillars. Well, the Troll, who must have been very young -and green, could not make out what they were going to do with his hill, -and he had no objection whatever to a house being built upon it, because -he reckoned upon a good supply of gröd and milk from the dairy. He could -have seen but very little of the world above the turf not to know a -church from a house. However, he had no suspicions, and the bells were -put up, and the Pröbst came to consecrate. The poor Troll could not bear -to see it, so he rushed out into the wide world, and left his goods and -his gold and his silver behind him. - -“The next day a peasant going home from the consecration saw him weeping -and wringing his hands beyond the hearing of the bells, which was as near -as he could venture to come. And the Troll told him that he was obliged -to leave his country, and could never come back, and asked him to take a -letter to his friends. - -“I suppose the man’s senses were rather muzzy yet—he could hardly have -had time to get sober so soon after the ceremony; but somehow or another -he did not see that the speaker was a Troll, but took him for some poor -fellow who had had a misfortune, and had killed some one, and fancied he -was afraid of the Landamptman, particularly as he had told him not to -give the letter to any one (indeed it had no direction), but to leave it -in the churchyard of the new church, where the owner would find it. - -“One would naturally wish to befriend a poor fellow in such a strait; so -the man took the letter, put it into his pocket, and turned back. - -“He had not gone far before he felt hungry, so he took out a bit of flad -bröd and some dried cod that he had put into his pocket. They were all -wet. He did not know how that could be; but he took out the letter for -fear it should be spoiled, and then found that there was wet oozing out -from under the seal. He wiped it; but the more he wiped it, the wetter -it was. At last, in rubbing, he broke the seal, and he was glad enough -to run for it then, for the water came roaring out of the letter like -the Wigelands Foss, and all he could do he could only just keep before -it till it had filled up the valley. And there it is to this day. I have -seen it myself—a large lake as big as our Forres Vand. The fact was, the -Troll had packed up a lake in the letter, and would have drowned church, -bells, and all, if he had only sealed it up a little more carefully.” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “this beats our penny-post; we send queer things -by that ourselves, but I do not think anybody has ever yet thought of -sending a lake through the General Post Office.” - -“Is there not some story about Hercules cleaning out the Admiralty, or -some such place, in a very similar way?” said the Captain. - -“No,” said the Parson, “I never heard that the Admiralty has ever been -cleaned out at all since the days of Pepys. If ever it is done, though, -it must be in some such wholesale way as this—I do not know anything else -that will do it.” - -“The hill-men are not such bad fellows, though,” said Tom, on whom all -this by-play about the Admiralty was quite lost, British seaman as he -was; “and, by the way, Torkel, I wish you would not call them by their -names, you know they do not like it, and may very well do us a mischief -before we get clear of this fjeld. Many people say that there is no -certainty of their being damned after all—our schoolmaster thinks they -certainly will not, for he says he cannot find anything about damning -Trolls in the Bible, and I am sure I hope it will not be found necessary -to damn them, for they often do us a good turn. There was a Huusbonde -in the Tellemark who had one of their hills on his farm that no one had -ever made any use of, and he made up his mind to speak to the Troll about -it. So he waited till St. John’s eve came round and the hill was open, -and then he went, and sure enough he found the Bjergman. He seemed a -good-humoured fellow enough, but he was not so rich as most of them; he -had only a very few copper vessels in his hill and hardly any silver. - -“‘Herr Bjergman,’ said the Huusbonde, ‘you do not seem to be in a very -good case, neither am I, but I think we may make something of this hill -of yours between us—I say between us, for, you know, the top of the soil -belongs to me, just as the under soil belongs to you.’ - -“‘Aye, aye!’ said the Bjergman, ‘I should like that very well. What do -you propose?’ - -“‘Why, I propose to dig it up and sow it, and as we have both of us a -right to the ground, I think in common fairness we ought both of us to -labour at it, and then we will take the produce year and year about. The -first year I will have all that is above ground and you shall have all -below; and the next year we will change over, and then you shall have all -that is above and I will have all that is below.” - -“‘Well,’ said the Troll, greatly pleased, ‘that is fair; I like dealing -with an honest man. When shall we begin?’ - -“‘Why, next spring, I think; suppose we say after Walpurgis night,[20] we -cannot get at the ground much before.’ - -“‘With all my heart,’ said the Bjergman—and so they did. They worked very -well together, but the Bjergman did twice as much work as his friend; -they always do when they are pleased; and they sowed oats and rye and -bear; and when harvest came the Huusbonde took that which was above -the ground, the grain and the straw which came to his share, while the -Bjergman was very well contented with his share of roots. - -“‘When next Walpurgis night came round they dug up the ground again; and -this time the Bjergman was to have all that was above ground, so they -manured it well, and sowed turnips and carrots; and by and by, when the -harvest came, the Huusbonde had a fine heap of roots, and the Bjergman -was delighted with his share of greens. There never came any harm of -this that I know, each was pleased with his bargain, and the Huusbonde -came to be the richest man in the Tellemark. You know the family, Torkel, -old Nils of Bygland, it was his grandfather Lars, to whom it happened.” - -“Well,” said Torkel, “it is quite true, then, I can testify, I only wish -I had a tenth part so many specie-dalers in the Trondhjem Bank as old -Nils has.” - -“And our Norfolk squires,” said the Captain, “fancy it was their sagacity -that discovered the four-course system of agriculture! The Trolls were -before them, it seems.” - -“The system seems to answer quite as well in Norway as ever it did in -England,” said the Parson, “If all that Tom tells us about Nils of -Bygland be true.” - -“There is not a doubt of that,” said Torkel, “all Tellemarken knows Nils -of Bygland, and it is a great pity, when we were crossing the lake the -other day, that we did not stop at his house; he was never known to let a -stranger go to bed sober yet.” - -“I should think he was seldom without company, then,” said Birger. - -“It seems to have answered very well in this particular case,” said -Jacob, “but I do not think you can trust beings without souls, after all. -It is best just to make your offering to Nyssen, and to the Lady of the -Lake, and two or three others, and then to have nothing more to do with -them.” - -“You certainly had better keep a sharp look-out,” said Torkel, “But -I think we Norwegians know how to handle them, and so do our gallant -friends the Danes. Did you ever hear how Kallendborg Church was built?” - -The Englishmen, at all events, had not, and Torkel went on. - -“Esberne Snorre was building that church, and his means began to run -short, when a Troll came up to him and offered to finish it off himself, -upon one condition, and that was, that if Snorre could not find out his -name he should forfeit his heart and his eyes. - -“Snorre was very anxious to finish his church, and he consented, though -he was not without misgivings either; and the Troll set about his work -in earnest. Kallendborg Church is the finest church in the whole country, -and the roof of its nave was to stand on four pillars, for the Troll -drew out the plan himself. It was all finished except half a pillar, and -poor Snorre was in a great fright about his heart and his eyes, when one -evening as he came home late from the market at Roeskilde he heard a -Troll woman singing under a hill— - - “Tie stille, barn min, - Imorgen kommer Fin - Fa’er din, - Og gi’er dig Esberne Snorre’s öine og hjerte at lege mid.”[21] - -“Snorre said nothing; but the next morning out he goes to his church, and -there he meets the Troll bringing in the last half pillar. - -“‘Good morning, my friend FIN,’ said he, ‘you have got a heavy weight to -carry.’ - -“The Troll stopped, looking at him fiercely, gnashed his teeth, stamped -on the ground for rage, flew off with the half pillar he was carrying; -and so Snorre built his church and kept his heart and eyes.” - -“Do not believe a word of that,” said Jacob, “there is not a word -of truth in the story; and as for Esberne Snorre building a church, -everybody knows he was no better than he should be at any time of his -life.[22] He was not the man to build a church, much less to give his -eyes for it.” - -“It is true,” said Torkel, “I have been at Kallendborg Church myself; and -have seen the half pillar with my own eyes. The roof of the nave stands -on three pillars and a half to this day.” - -“More shame to the Kallendborgers, who never had religion enough to -finish it,” said Jacob, “nor ever will. Do you mean to deny that the -Devil carried off Esberne Snorre bodily? I think all the world knows that -pretty well.” - -“That shows that he thought him worth the trouble of carrying,” said -Torkel, “he would never put himself out about carrying off you, because -he knows you will go to him of your own accord.” - -“Come, come, Torkel,” said the Parson, “do not be personal, and take your -fingers off your knife handle; we cannot spare our cook yet, and you seem -to like Jacob’s gröd yourself, too, judging by the quantity you eat of -it; and now, Jacob, do not grind your teeth, but let us hear why you do -not believe Torkel’s story, which certainly is very circumstantial, not -to say probable.” - -“Because every one knows that it was Lund Cathedral that was built by the -Trolls, at the desire of the blessed Saint Laurentius,” said Jacob; “it -was he who promised his eyes for it, and had them preserved by a miracle, -not by a trumpery trick. Esberne Snorre, indeed; or any Dane, for matter -of that! A set of infidels! It is only a Swede who would give his eyes -for the church.” - -“I should like to know who Scånia belonged to at the time when Lund -Cathedral was built,” said Tom, “I do not think it was to the Swedes; and -I should like to know who took away its archbishopric when they did get -it, and made the great metropolis of all Scandinavia a trumpery little -bishopric under the see of Upsala?” - -“And I should like to know,” said Torkel, “who made bishops ride upon -asses, and drink ‘du’ with the hangman. The Swedes give their eyes for -the church, indeed! That for the Swedes!” snapping his fingers, and -spitting on the ground. - -This was a poser. Jacob was not only in the minority, but clearly wrong -in matter of fact. At the dissolution of the union of Kalmar, Scånia, -though situated in Sweden, was a Danish province, and its archbishop was, -as he always had been, the metropolitan. - -At the present time it is quite true that Scånia is a Swedish province; -but this is a comparatively modern arrangement. In the days when the -cathedral was built, though geographically a portion of Sweden, it was -politically a province of Denmark; nor was it till its union with the -former state that its capital, Lund, was deprived of its ecclesiastical -primacy. And the treacherous conduct of Gustavus Vasa towards Canute, -Archbishop of Upsala, and Peter, Bishop of Westeras, and the contumelies -to which they were exposed, previous to their most unjust execution, are -a blot even in that blood-stained reign, which Geijer himself, with all -his ingenuity, cannot vindicate, and which the Norwegians, from whose -protection the bishops were lured, are continually throwing in the teeth -of their more powerful neighbours. - -Birger himself was a little taken aback, not exactly liking that the weak -points in his country’s history should be thus exposed to strangers. - -“Never mind them, Jacob,” said he, forcing a laugh, “they are only -Tellemarkers, and know no better. You and I shall see them, some of these -days, climbing the trees of Goth’s garden themselves.”[23] - -This bit of national slang, which fortunately was lost on the Norwegians, -had the effect of soothing the ire of the sulky Jacob, who drew near to -his countryman with a happy feeling of partisanship. - -“The sooner the better,” said he, bitterly. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE MOUNTAIN MARCH. - - “Onward amid the copse ’gan peep, - A narrow inlet still and deep, - Affording scarce such breadth of brim - As served the wild duck’s brood to swim; - Lost for a space through thickets veering, - But broader when again appearing,— - Tall rocks and tufted knolls their face - Could in the dark-blue mirror trace; - And farther as the hunter strayed, - Still broader sweep its channels made.” - - _Lady of the Lake._ - - -“How shall it be? Will you look your lay-lines to-day or to-morrow?” -said the Parson, who, though not a little amused at the tilting between -the rival champions, and by the manner in which Birger had suffered -himself to be drawn into the squabble, began to think it had gone quite -far enough for the future peace and unanimity of the expedition. “Come, -Jacob, shoulder your knapsack, and march like a sensible Swede.” - -“There never was but one sensible Swede,” said Torkel, in a grumbling -aside, “and that was Queen Kerstin, when she jumped over the boundary, -and thanked God that Sweden could not jump after her.”[24] - -Jacob had sense enough not to hear this laudatory remark on his late -sovereign’s discrimination, but, with his ordinary phlegm, resumed his -load and his place in the line of march. - -“By the way,” said the Parson, as they resumed their journey, “what was -it, Torkel, that made you scrape the mud from your right foot and put it -on your head in that insane manner, just now?” - -“I can answer that,” said Birger; “you know that the whole tribe of Alfs, -white, brown, and black, and the Trolls, and in fact the whole class -that go under the generic name of Bjerg-folk, or Hill-men, live under -the earth. To see them, therefore, on ordinary occasions, you must put -yourself—at least, typically—in a similar condition. That upon which -you have trod must cover your head; and you take it from the right foot -rather than the left, partly as being more lucky, and partly because the -left being a mark of disrespect, would incense the dwarfs, who would be -sure to make you pay for it sooner or later; in fact they are a dangerous -race to meddle with at all, they take offence so very easily. I believe, -however, this is the safest plan, for they are not aware, unless you -betray yourself, that the veil is removed from your sight. Did you never -hear the story of the Ferryman of Sund?” - -The Englishman, of course, had not heard it, neither had any of the men, -for the legend is Danish and local; and though anything Danish is much -better known in Norway than stories or legends relating to Sweden, it so -happened that it was new to them all, and they closed up to listen to it. - -“One evening, between the two lights,[25] a strange man came to the ferry -at Sund and engaged all the boats: no sooner had the bargain been made, -than they began to sink deeper and deeper into the water, as if some -heavy cargo had been put into them, though the astonished boatmen could -see nothing, and the boats looked quite empty. - -“‘Shove off,’ said the stranger, ‘you have got quite load enough for one -trip;’ and so they had, for the gunwales were not a couple of inches from -the water, and the boats pulled so heavily, that it was as much as the -men could do to get to the Vandsyssel side; if the water had not been -wonderfully calm, they could not have done it at all—but it was calm; -and all under the wake of the moon it looked as if it was covered with a -network of silver filigree, to chain down the ripples. - -“As soon as the boats touched the Vandsyssel shore, they began rising -in the water again, as if their freight had been taken out of them, and -then the stranger sent them back again; and so it went on throughout the -whole night, and very hard work the ferrymen had, bringing over cargoes -of emptiness. - -“Then the day began to break, and the eastern sky to whiten; and just as -the coming sun shot up his seven lances to show the world that King Day -was at hand, the stranger, who had arranged all this, paid the ferrymen, -not counting the coins, but filling their hats with them with both hands, -as a boy shovels out his nuts. - -“‘What had they been bringing over?’ asked one of them. ‘Cannot you be -quiet, and know when you are well off,’ said the stranger; ‘you need not -be afraid of the custom-house dues; they will have sharp eyes to see -anything contraband in what you have carried over last night; put your -money in your pockets and be thankful—you will not earn so much in the -next three years.’ - -“But in the mean while one of the ferrymen, a sharper fellow than his -neighbours, jumped on shore, and did just exactly what Torkel did just -now—put a piece of clay from the sole of his shoe on the crown of his -head. His eyes were opened at once; all the sandhills about Aalberg were -alive with little people, every one of them carrying on his back gold and -silver pots, and jugs, and vessels of every description—the whole place -looked like one gigantic anthill. - -“‘O-ho,’ said he, ‘that’s what you are about; well, joy go with you, we -shall not be plagued with you any more on our side of the water; that’s -one good job, anyhow.’ - -“But it was not a good job for him; it is very possible to be too sharp -for one’s own good. All his gold money turned to yellow queens,[26] -and his silver money to chipped oyster-shells, and he never got rich, -or anything more than a poor ferryman of Sund, while his companions had -their hats full of ancient Danish gold and silver coins, and bought ships -of their own, and went trading to Holland and the free towns, and became -great men.” - -“Upon my word, Torkel,” said the Parson, “you are too venturesome; it is -just as well that there were no Trolls to be seen just now at the well; -but you must not try it again, or you will never become a great man, or -command a ship—not that this would suit you very well, I suppose.” - -“Torkel would undertake the command of the _Haabet_, just now, I’ll -engage, little as he knows about seamanship, if he could only get young -Svensen out of her,” said Mr Tom, with a knowing grin; to which innuendo, -whatever it might mean, Torkel playfully replied by kicking out behind at -him with one foot, after the manner of a donkey. He missed Tom, however, -to his and Piersen’s intense mirth; but what was the precise nature of -the joke, there was now no opportunity of explaining, as the descent had -become so steep that the assistance of the hand was necessary, in order -to keep their footing. - -At a few hundred yards from the dwarf’s well, they had fallen in with a -little streamlet, running eastward, on a pretty rapid descent, even from -the first, but which now began to form a series of diminutive cascades, -leaping in so many spouts from rock to rock, while the ground, over which -it ran, seemed as if it was fast changing from the horizontal to the -perpendicular; indeed, had there not been plenty of rocks jutting out, -and a good crop of twisted and gnarled trunks and roots, many portions of -the journey might have been accomplished with more speed than pleasure. - -The rapidity of the descent soon brought them to the bottom of a deep -hollow valley, far above the level of the sea, indeed, but low compared -with the abrupt heights that surrounded it. It was one of those singular -features in Norwegian scenery, a valley without an outlet; its bottom -occupied by a deep, black, still lake, whose only drain—if it had any -drain at all except the porous nature of the soil—was under the surface. -As the ground rose rapidly on every side, it did not answer to cut timber -which could never be carried, and the forest here was left in the wildest -state of desolation. Solid, substantial firs, of ancient growth, were the -predominant tree; but the soil was rich and the valley sheltered, and -there was a plentiful sprinkling of birch and wych-elm, interspersed with -a much rarer tree, the stubborn old oak himself. - -Beneath this mingled canopy was a plentiful undergrowth of juniper, and -enormous ferns. There was a still, calm desolateness about the whole -scene, for many of the trees were dead, not by accident or disease, -but from pure old age, and stood where they had withered, or reclined -against the younger brethren of the forest, exhibiting their torn and -ragged bark, and stretching forth their bare and leafless arms: the very -rill—their lively and noisy companion hitherto—seemed to be sobered down, -and to partake here of the general sadness, as it soaked its still way -among the rushes and weeds that encumbered its course. - -Where it ran, or rather crept, into the lake, a small marshy delta was -formed of the sand carried down in its course; and here was moored an -old crazy boat, half full of water, with a couple of old primitive oars; -the whole had a bleached and weather-stained appearance, well in keeping -with the general character of the scene. The boat belonged to a sœter -some three or four miles off, on the western slope of the mountains, and -was used occasionally by the inhabitants, when, at rare intervals, they -amused themselves by setting lay lines for the char, for which the lake -had a local celebrity. The sœter belonged to Piersen’s brother, and it -was he who had induced Birger to visit the spot. - -Having baled out the boat with their mess tins, they pulled out into -the lake, which turned out to be very much larger than they expected to -find it. The spot where the boat was moored, and which indeed looked -like a small, deep, still tarn, was in fact only a bay, or inlet, and -the whole lake was a body with numerous arms, none of them very large in -themselves, but making a very large piece of water when taken together. - -Of course it had a name; every rock, and stream, and splash of water in -Norway, has a name of one sort or other; but whatever it might have been, -it was unknown to the fishermen, and this dark pool was entered into -their diaries by the appropriate appellation of the “Lake of the Woods.” -Mountains surrounded it on every side, steep, abrupt, plunging into the -deep dark water, and wooded from base to summit with a dense black mass -of wood wherever tree could stand on rock. There was not beach or shore -of any kind; the mountain rose from the water itself, so steep as to be -scarcely accessible, and, in many places, not accessible at all. As for a -bird, Avernus itself could not be more destitute of them. Not a sound was -heard, except the splash of the cumbersome oar, and the creaking of the -rowlock, and that sounded so loud, and so out of place in the universal -stillness, that the rowers tried to dip them quietly, as if they feared -to awaken the desolate echoes. - -“Ah,” said Birger, in a whisper, “this is just the place for the ‘Lady -of the Lake;’ I hope she will do us no harm for trespassing on her -territories.” - -The men looked uneasy, and a little whispering went on between Tom and -Piersen, who were pulling, they resting on their oars the while, from -which the drops trickled off and dripped into the silent water. Tom -brightened up. “I do not think she will hurt us,” he said; “she had a -very fine cake from Piersen’s family last Christmas, and she will not -hurt any one while he is with us.” - -“What a confounded set of gluttonous sprites you have in your country,” -said the Captain; “mercenary devils they are too.” - -“Hush, hush, don’t abuse them, at all events while you are on their -territories. The fact is, the ‘Lady of the Lake’ is the easiest -propitiated of all the sprites: she is an epicure, too, and not a -glutton; she likes her cake good, but she does not care how small it is. -On Christmas Eve you pick a very small hole in the ice, and put a cake by -the side of it, only just big enough to go through it; and if you watch, -which is not a safe thing to do if you have any sins unconfessed,[27] -you may see, not the lady herself, for she is never seen, but her small -white hand and arm, as she takes the offering and draws it down through -the hole in the ice. Those see her best who are born on the eves of the -holiest festivals.” - -“That is all nonsense,” said Jacob, “I never could see her at all, often -as I have looked, and I was born on Easter Eve.” - -“Why you precious rascal,” said the Captain, “how could you expect it? -When were your sins shriven, I should like to know?” - -The men were not by any means displeased at Jacob’s rebuff, who seemed -much more disconcerted by it than the occasion at all required; when -Birger took up the conversation. “There is danger in that,” said he, “not -that you should miss seeing the Lady, but that you should suffer for -your rashness. The fact is,” he continued, turning to his friends, “the -Lady of the Lake is the impersonation of the sudden squalls which fall -unexpectedly on open spaces of any kind in mountainous countries, and her -small white hand and arm are the dangerous little white breakers that -are stirred up by the gusts, which, though diminutive when compared with -the mighty rollers of the ocean, very often do draw men down, just as -the hand draws Torkel’s cake. There is a similar spirit for the rivers, -called the Black Horse, and another for the sea. This latter is called -King Tolf, and is represented as driving furiously across the Sound, -his chariot drawn by water-horses, and cutting right through any ship -or boat that may lie in his path. But they all signify the same thing, -in different situations to which their several attributes are very well -adapted.” - -“And that thing is?” - -“Death, by drowning.” - -“Here are the corks,” broke in Piersen in very indifferent English; “we -shall have gjep for supper to-day, I see the floats bobbing.” - -The corks which he had pointed out were, in reality, a string of -birch-bark floats, which on being examined, were found attached to lines -anchored in the very deepest spot of the whole lake; for the gjep, or -great lake char, unlike any of its congeners, and indeed unlike any -fresh-water fish whatever, except the common char, the eel, and the -fictitious mal,[28] is never found but in the deepest waters. - -Birger, who was the hero of this fishing, caught the nearest float in the -crook of his gaff, and began hauling in—evidently there was something, -for at first the line twitched and twitched and was nearly jerked out -of his hand; but as he hauled on (and in good truth the line seemed as -long as if some one, as Paddy says, had cut off the other end of it), it -came lighter and lighter, and before he had got it in, a large ugly fish, -three or four pounds weight, with an enormous protuberant belly, lay -helpless on the surface. - -“That’s the fellow,” said Piersen, pouncing on him,—but the fish made -little effort to get away; it was almost dead before he got hold of it. -The gjep, though classed as a char by the learned, is as little like the -bright crimson char of our own lakes or of the mountain lakes of Norway -as can well be imagined; never met with except in water of immense depth, -never found out of his hole, never caught except with a still and (so the -Swedes assert) a stinking bait, he bears the colours and character of -his local habitation, a sober dark olive brown back, a dark grey side -shot with purple, which turns black when the fish is dead; no red spots -or very minute ones, no splashes of red or anything red about it, except -one bright line along the edge of the fins. The most remarkable point -about it, its enormous belly, from which it derives its name, _Salvelinus -ventricosus_, is really no distinguishing mark at all, except of its -habitat. The fact is, drawn suddenly and against its will from the depths -of the lake, its air-bladder swells so enormously as to kill the fish, -and give it that peculiarly inelegant appearance. - -Inelegant as it looks, and disagreeable as it is to catch, it is by far -the best eating of any Swedish fish, and, from its rarity, and from the -difficulty of catching it, bears, when it is to be had at all, which is -very seldom, by far the highest price of any fish in the market. In fact, -to eat it at all in perfection, a man must go after it; it will never -answer to catch it for amusement; but the men may easily be set to lay -lines for it while other sports are going forward. - -Four or five of these highly prized fish were hauled in one after another -by Birger, who looked as proud of his exploit as if he had landed a -schoolmaster.[29] When the lines had been all coiled up and deposited in -the boat, Birger proposed visiting some rushes that he remembered, in -a hope of meeting with wild fowl; a hope in which he was disappointed, -not at all to the surprise of his brother fishermen, for the whole lake -looked so black and gloomy that no duck of ordinary taste would think of -pitching there; it was, however, an interesting voyage among the sad and -silent intricacies of the lake; but it so happened, that in returning -they took a turn short of their point and wandered into another deep and -narrow inlet, very like that from which they had started, but still not -the same. - -So like was one spot to another that they had pulled some considerable -distance before the mistake was found out, and when it was, so much time -had been lost that they were unwilling to pull back. - -“Piú noja un miglio in dietro che dieci in avanti,” said the Captain; -“let us pull on and see what luck will send us.” - -Piersen, on being consulted, as best acquainted with the country, did not -seem to know a great deal about it, but imagined that if once on shore he -could cut into the right track; and the fishermen having taken a look at -their compasses, and the sun, and the wind, what little there was of it, -decided that at all events the adventure should be tried. - -Hardly had this conclusion been arrived at, when the boat grounded on a -bed of spongy rushes, so like that from which they had embarked, that it -was with difficulty they could persuade themselves that it was not the -very same—there was the same little soaking rill, the same mossy, soppy -turf, and when they had gone on a little further, there was the same -leaping, sparkling brooklet, bounding from rock to rock, just like that -by which they had descended. - -A good stiff pull it took them to reach the top, and then it was evident -enough that the spot they had attained was not the same as that from -which they had descended. There was no hill on the other side, properly -so called, but a wide smooth plain of light sand, shelving, certainly, -towards the east, but shelving so gradually, that the declivity was -scarcely perceptible; it was completely overshadowed by large massive -well-grown pines, not growing together closely but in patches (as is -generally the case both in Norway and Sweden), so as to leave grassy -glades and featherly copse-wood between the groups, but regularly and -evenly, as if they had all been planted at measured distances. The -branches formed a complete canopy over head, shutting out both air and -sunshine, and effectually destroying everything like verdure beneath: the -tall straight monotonous trunks with a purplish crimson tint on their -bark, effectually walled in the view on every side, and the whole ground -was carpeted with a slippery covering of dead pine-leaves. - -“I hope this will not last long,” said the Captain, “the place is so dark -and the air so close and stifling, that it seems like walking through -turpentine vaults. However, our road lies this way, that is certain,” -putting his compass on the ground so that it could traverse easily, “and -at all events we must come to a water-course sooner or later.” - -But they did not come to a water-course; whether there were none, the -sand being sufficiently permeable to sop up the rain, or whether they -were travelling on the rise between two parallel brooks, did not appear; -but mile after mile was skated and slid over with considerable fatigue -and exertion, and the same scene lay before them, and around them, and -above them. Tall clear branchless stems, with long vistas between them -opening and closing as they went on, vistas which led to nothing and -terminated in nothing but the same bare, branchless, dead-looking poles. -Their compasses and a slight declivity told them that they were not -travelling in a circle, and their reason enlightened them as to the fact -that everything except a circle must have an end; but after three hours’ -very hard work and some dozen of tumbles a piece, that end seemed as far -off as ever. - -The only variety was a dead tree, and the only apparent difference -between the living and the dead was, that in this case the straight -perpendicular lines were crossed by lines as straight, which were -diagonal; for the dead trees for the most part reclined against their -living neighbours, very much to the detriment of the latter. As for a -bird, it did not seem as if birds could live there; nor could they in the -close space beneath that dark-green canopy; but every now and then there -was a tantalizing whirr of wings, as a black-cock threw himself out from -the topmost branches, and, far above their heads, skimmed along in that -bright sunshine which could not penetrate to them. This is a favourite -haunt of the black-cock, for the pine-tops and their young buds are its -most welcome food, and often render its flesh absolutely uneatable from -the strong turpentiny flavour they impart to it. - -At last, and after they had well-nigh begun to despair, the trees began -to be thinner. Here and there a patch of sky relieved the monotonous -black, here and there a sunbeam would struggle down; then a little -grass, weak and pale, would cast a shade of sickly green over the ashy -brown of the dead fir leaves, and afford a somewhat steadier footing; a -patch of birch was hailed with the joy with which one meets a welcome -friend; cattle paths, deceptive as they are, afforded at least a token -of civilization: and now the whort and the cranberry began to show -themselves, and the hospitable juniper too, the remembrancer of bright -crackling fires and aromatic floors, and— - -“Oh, positively we must have a halt now, for the difficulties are over,” -said Birger, and, though he had plenty of tobacco in his havresac, out of -sheer sentiment he stuffed his pipe with the dead strippy bark of that -useful shrub, which is generally its mountain substitute. - -A few minutes were sufficient for their rest; breathing the fresh air -again was in itself a luxury, and treading the firm elastic turf a -refreshment. As they went on, the landscape began to resume its park-like -character, glades to open, trees to feather down, gentians to embroider -the green with their blue flower work, and lilies of the valley to -perfume the air. They were as much lost as ever, but the country looked -so like the beautiful banks of the Torjedahl, that they could not but -think themselves at home. - -“This will do,” said Torkel, at last, who apparently had recognised some -well-known landmark, “we shall soon find a night’s lodging now, and a -kind welcome into the bargain.” - -The track into which he had struck, did not at first appear more inviting -than any of the numerous cattle-paths which they hitherto passed on their -way; but Torkel followed it with a confidence which, as it turned out, -was not misplaced; for it soon widened out into a broad green glade, at -the further end of which stood a sœter of no mean pretensions. - -The portions of cultivated and inhabited land in Norway are almost always -mere strips, the immediate banks of rivers or of lakes—most of them are -actually bounded by the forest; and in no case is the wild unenclosed -country at any great distance from them. Every farm, therefore, has, as -a necessary portion of its establishment, its sœter, or mountain pasture, -to which every head of cattle is driven as soon as the grass has sprung, -in order to allow the meadows of the lower farms to be laid up for hay. -At these it is often a very difficult thing to get a mess of milk in the -summer, for almost all the cheese and butter of the kingdom is made at -the sœters. They are generally abundantly stocked with dairy furniture, -but, as they are abandoned in the winter, they seldom exhibit any great -amount of luxury. They consist generally of rude log-huts, of sufficient -solidity, no doubt, for these logs are whole trunks of pines roughly -squared and laid upon one another, morticed firmly at the corners, but -of very little comfort indeed, notwithstanding. They contain generally a -single room, a chimneyless fire-place, and a mud floor, in most places -sufficiently dirty, with a few sheds and pens surrounding the main hut. - -The present sœter, however, was one of far greater pretensions, it -was built of sawn timber, and boasted of an upper floor, implying, of -necessity, a separation between human beings who could climb a ladder, -and cows and pigs who could not. This projected some two or three feet -on every side beyond the lower storey, forming at once a shade and a -shelter for the cattle, according as the weather required one or the -other, and, in its turn, was crowned with a low-pitched shingled roof, -whose eaves had another projection of two or three feet, so that, seen -end on end, it had the appearance of a gigantic mushroom standing on -its stalk. The dairymen had been men of taste as well as of leisure, -for the barge-boards which protected its gables were ingeniously carved -and painted with texts from Scripture, and the heavy corners of the -projecting upper storey terminated in pendants no less grotesque than -elaborate. There was one window in each gable and two in the side, the -sills of which had been planed and painted with some date, text, or -motto, like the barge-boards. - -Round these sœters there are generally some patches of enclosed ground -where hay is made, or where the more tender of the herds or flocks are -protected, but here there seemed to be a complete farm; full forty -acres had been redeemed from the forest, and enclosed by the peculiar -fence of the country; which, except that it is straight, is in its -general appearance not unlike the snake fences of America. It is formed -by planting posts in the ground by pairs at small distances between -pair and pair, and then heaping a quantity of loose planks and stems, -and any other refuse timber which comes to hand, between them, the tops -being kept firm by a ligature of birch-bark or some such material. These -fences, when they begin to rot, which they do very soon, are the harbour -of all sorts of small vermin, and are, in fact, the great eye-sores of -Swedish scenery. - -In the present instance, this was pre-eminently the case; not only the -fences, but everything else, was in a terrible state of disrepair—in -many places the posts were gone, in others the birch ropes had rotted -through, and the miscellaneous timber which had formed the fence was -lying about entwined with a spiry growth of creepers and brambles, a mass -of rottenness. The house itself was in a more promising state; it was -evident that it had been partially repaired and put in order, and that -very recently, for many of the timbers showed by their white gashes, the -recent marks of the axe, and the axe which had made them was lying across -the door sill. - -Torkel lifted the latch—that was easy, for there was no bolt or lock to -prevent him—but the place was evidently uninhabited—he looked on Tom with -a face of disappointment. - -“Faith!” said he, “this is too bad. Torgenson told me that the Soberud -party were to drive their cattle to the fjeld on Thursday last, and the -weather has been as fine as fine can be. Well! there is no trusting -people.” - -“There is no trusting Torgenson’s daughter, at all events,” said Tom, -“for I suspect it was from her that you had the information; Lota is -much too pretty to be trusted further than you can see her; and I have -no doubt she made some excuse herself for not coming last Thursday. It -was natural enough too; of course she would not like to come to the sœter -before young Svensen sailed.” - -“The Thousand take young Svensen, and you too!” said Torkel, turning -round as sharply as if Tom had bitten him in earnest, but catching a grin -upon the latter’s countenance which he had not time to dismiss, looked -very much as if he meditated making him pay for his ill-timed joke, when -a loud, clear voice was heard in the glade below, making the leafy arches -of the old forest ring with the ballad of master Olaf— - - “Master Olaf rode forth ere the dawn of day, - And came where the elf folk were dancing away, - The dances so merry, - So merry in the green-wood.” - -Torkel stopped to listen, and Tom laughed. - - “The elf father put forth his white hand, and quoth he, - Master Olaf stand forth, dance a measure with me, - The dances so merry, - So merry in the green-wood.” - -“Here they come at last,” said Tom; “pretty Lota is not half so false -as you thought her, Torkel. The _Haabet_ has sailed, I suppose,” added -he, in a stage whisper. Torkel, however was much too happy to pay the -smallest attention to his malicious insinuations, but took up the song -for himself. Whether Lota put any particular meaning on the words of it, -we will not take upon ourselves to say— - - “And neither I will, and neither I may, - For to-morrow it is my own wedding-day,” - -shouted he, at the full pitch of his voice, while the whole party took up -the chorus— - - “The dances so merry, - So merry in the green-wood.” - -By this time the approaching party had emerged from the forest, and came -along the glade in an irregular procession, putting one in mind of the -Nemorins and Estelles of ancient pastorals, and all the more so from -their picturesque costumes. The men wore certainly absurdly short round -jackets, but they had rows of silver buttons on them, and brown short -trousers worked with red tape, very high in the waistband, to match the -jacket, but coming down no further than the calf of the leg, which was -ornamented with bright blue stockings, with crimson clocks. - -The women had all of them red kerchiefs on their heads, the ends of -which hung down their backs, and red or yellow bodices with great silver -brooches on them, and blue petticoats trimmed with red or yellow. Both -sexes adorn themselves with all the silver they can collect; the men’s -shirt buttons are sometimes as big as a walnut, and on gala days they -will wear three or four of them strung one under another. - -All the party were loaded with the utensils necessary for following their -occupations in the fjeld; the women were carrying the pails, while the -men’s loads, which consisted of all sorts of heterogeneous articles, were -topped with the great iron kettles in which they simmer their milk, after -the Devonshire fashion, in order to collect the whole of the cream. - -There were little carts, too, that is to say, baskets placed upon two -wheels and an axle, and drawn by little cream-coloured ponies; stout, -stubby little beasts, very high crested, and with black manes and -tails—the former hogged, the latter peculiarly full and flowing. A Swede -generally values his horse according to the quantity of hair on his tail. -These were loaded—it did not take much to load them—with meal for the -summer’s gröd, and strings of flad bröd, a few sheep skins, particularly -dirty, though in very close proximity to the provisions,—and now and then -the black kettle, which its owner was too lazy to carry. Then came the -goats and sheep, and the little cows following like dogs, now and then -stopping to take a bite, when the turf looked particularly sweet and -tempting—little fairy cows were they, much smaller than our Alderneys, -finer in the bone, and more active on their legs; they looked as if they -had a cross of the deer in them. They were all of one colour—probably -that of the original wild cattle—a sort of dirty cream colour, -approaching to dun, and almost black on the legs and muzzle. - -The party was a combined one, and was bound eventually to several other -sœters besides this, but they had agreed to make their first night’s halt -in Torgenson’s pasture, and beside the regular herdsmen and dairymaids, -as many supernumeraries as can possibly find excuse for going, accompany -the first setting out of the expedition, which is always looked upon in -the light of a holiday and a merry-making. - -And a holiday and a merry-making it seemed to be, judging by the shouts, -and screams, and laughter, and rude love-making that was going on among -the gentle shepherds and shepherdesses of the north; but, for all that, -there was a good deal of real work too. Sœter-life may be a life of -pleasure, but it certainly is anything but a life of ease. - -The Soberud division, bestial as well as human, evidently seemed to -consider themselves quite at home; and the cows belonging to it, which -looked as if they recognised the old localities, roamed at liberty; -but the parties bound to the more distant mountains were occupied in -hobbling, and tethering, and knee-haltering their respective charges, -mindful of their morrow’s march and of the difficulty of collecting -cattle and even sheep, which, except that they keep together, are just as -bad, from among the intricacies of a strange forest. Some were forming -temporary pounds, by effecting rude repairs in the dilapidated fences, -chopping and hewing, for that purpose, great limbs of trees and trees -themselves, with as little concern as, in England, men might cut thistles. - -Streams of blue smoke began now to steal up through the trees, and fires -began to glimmer in the evening twilight, while the girls brought in -pail after pail of fresh milk, and swung their kettles, gipsy fashion, -and, opening their packages, measured out, with careful and parsimonious -foresight, the rye-meal that was to thicken it into gröd. Meal is -precious in the mountains, though milk is not. - -Whether the _Haabet_ had sailed, or what had become of poor Svensen, did -not transpire; but certain it was that the damsels from Soberud, after -looking in vain for their mistress, were obliged, that evening, to act -on their own discretion—and equally certain it was that the Parson, -whose knife had been inconsiderately lent to Torkel on the preceding -day, was obliged to eat his broiled gjep with two sticks, the knife and -the fortunate individual in whose pocket it was, being, for the time, -invisible. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE HOMESTEAD. - - “’Tis a homestead that scarce has an equal, - Plenteous in wood and corn-fields, with rich grassy meadow and moorland— - This won my father, long since, in wedding the farmer’s fair daughter; - Here, at length he grew old, like a summer’s eve calmly declining, - Here he spent the best years of his life, and dwelt like a king, amid - plenty. - Servants he had by the score—men servants to plough with the oxen, - And maids in the house besides, and children, the joy of their mother— - Thus sowing and reaping, in comfort, from season to season, abode he, - Envied by all around—but having the good will of all men.”— - - _The Elk Hunters—Runeberg._ - - -Sunrise found the whole bivouac in a stir; the habits of the Norwegian -are always early—at least in the summer time—and many of the parties had -to travel to the yet distant sœters and wilder uplands: cows are not very -fast travellers, and the load which a dairyman carries on his back when -he is bound to those fjelds, which are inaccessible to carts, is by no -means a light one: ponies sometimes carry the heavier loads, but this is -not often, as they are useless in the fjeld life, and in the summer are -generally wanted for posting, as well as for agricultural purposes; the -loads are generally carried by the men—sometimes by the women even,—and -the milk-kettle which crowns the pack is alone a weight which few would -like to carry far, even on level ground. - -The white smoke was already curling about the trees in long thin columns, -and the girls were already bringing in their pails of new milk, a very -fair proportion of which would be consumed with the morning’s gröd, which -was already bubbling in the kettles. - -Gröd, in high life, means all sorts of eatables that are semi-liquid; -but in the fjeld it is invariably made thus: the water is heated in the -great milk-kettle to a galloping boil, and its temperature is raised to -a still higher point by the addition of salt; meal, generally rye-meal, -is then thinly sprinkled into it, the great art being to separate the -particles, so as to prevent them from forming lumps. As soon as the -contents of the kettle are thick enough for the bubbles to make little -pops, the gröd is taken off the fire and served up with milk. When that -milk is fresh, no one need desire a better breakfast; but when, as is -generally the case, they mix it with milk that has been purposely kept -till it is curdled over with incipient corruption, in which state they -prefer it, it is as disgusting a mess as ever attained the dignity of a -popular dish. - -In the present instance they were obliged to put up with fresh milk, no -other being procurable; and the fishermen, having grilled the remains of -their gjep (an especial delicacy), and added to it some of the contents -of their havresacs, sent a deputation, headed by Birger, to invite Miss -Lota and her hand-maidens to partake of their breakfast. This was a -proceeding which Torkel regarded with very questionable pleasure. He -was flattered, no doubt, at the attentions paid to his lady-love by the -fishermen, who could not speak Norske; but, at the same time, was rather -jealous of those of Birger, who could. - -Lota, however, was in no way disconcerted; she came smiling and blushing, -indeed, but without any sort of affectation or bashfulness, and listened -graciously, and without laughing, to the blundering compliments paid her -by the Englishmen; and without any great amount of coquetry, considering -the rarity of guardsmen in the Tellemark, to the tender elegance of the -Swede. Torkel had very good reason to be proud of her, and none at all to -be jealous, particularly as the knapsacks were already packed up for the -march. - -The fishermen were in no particular hurry: the track to Soberud was -perfectly known; even if the droves of cows and the flocks of sheep -that had come up it the day before had not already marked it very -sufficiently. The way was not long either, for it was but a day’s journey -to the herds; the breaking up of the bivouac was very picturesque; Lota -was very pretty, and Birger found her very entertaining. It is no wonder -that they lingered. - -However, the shadows of the trees began to shorten. Party after party -came up with their merry “farvels;” the songs and the laughter, and the -tinkling of the bells, sounded fainter and fainter from under the arches -of the forest; and, last of all, the fishermen, reluctantly shouldering -their knapsacks, took their journey down the glade; with the exception of -Torkel, who, having something to adjust about his straps, was not exactly -ready, and in fact was not seen for a couple of hours afterwards. He did -not join them, indeed, till the party had made their first halt near the -banks of a mountain lake. - -The halt was called somewhat sooner than usual, for the Captain, who, -with his gun in his hand and old Grog at his heels, was a little in -advance, and had first caught sight of the lake, had caught sight also of -an object floating quietly along in the middle of it, which his practised -eye at once assured him was that very rare and beautiful bird, the -northern diver. - -He threw himself flat on the ground, an action in which he was implicitly -imitated by the rest of the party, who, though they had not seen the -bird, were quite aware that there was some good reason for the caution. - -In truth, there are few birds more difficult to kill than the northern -diver; to the greatest watchfulness he unites the most wonderful -quickness of eye and motion, and, large as he is, he is fully able to -duck the flash, as it is called,—that is to say, to dive between the time -of seeing the flash and feeling the shot. - -They retired a hundred yards or so and smoked the pipe of council, thus -giving Torkel the opportunity of coming up with them. - -Torkel was well acquainted with the ground, as was natural, not only -because the lake was celebrated for ducks and the country round it for -tjäder, but also because it happened to lie on the mountain track between -his own home and Torgenson’s farm, a road which business (he did not -state of what nature) required him to travel very often. - -His plan was founded on a well-known characteristic in the nature of -diving birds: during their dive they cannot breathe, and therefore on -rising to the surface for a moment or so, they cannot make any immediate -effort either to dive or to fly. He proposed, therefore, that the Captain -should conceal himself among the understuff, and that the rest, taking -different positions about the lake, which was not large, should break -twigs and slightly alarm the bird, who would naturally edge away toward -the point occupied by the Captain, and the object being a valuable prize, -an hour or so was not grudged, as there was plenty of time to spare. The -party having first reconnoitred their ground, marked the position to be -occupied by the Captain on the lee side of the lake, and ascertained -that the bird was still resting on the water, separated, taking a wide -circuit, lest they should alarm it prematurely. - -The Captain, with his gun ready cocked, lay at full length on the top of -a little ledge of rock about six feet high, which sloped away from the -water, forming a sort of miniature cliff. It afforded very little cover -apparently—there was nothing between it and the water but a light fringe -of cranberry bushes—but the cover was perfect to a man in a recumbent -position, and the Captain being dressed entirely, cap and all, in Lowland -plaid, the most invisible colour in the world, looked, even if he had -been seen, like a piece of the rock on which he lay. This place had been -selected with forethought, for the bird is wonderfully suspicious, and -will not approach any strong cover at all. - -For half an hour after the Captain had wormed himself to the edge of the -rock, the bird lay as still as if it had been asleep, which it certainly -was not; at the end of that time there was a quick turn of its neck, and -its eye was evidently glancing round the margin, but the body remained as -quiet and motionless as before; there was not a ripple on the water, and -it was only by observing the diminishing distance between it and a lily -leaf that happened to be lying on the surface, that even the practised -eye of the Captain could tell that it was in motion, and was nearing him -imperceptibly. There had been no sound, nor had the bird caught sight of -anything; but the Parson had come between it and the wind, and the light -air, that was not sufficient even to move the surface, had carried down -the scent. - -The Parson had caught sight of the lily, as well as the Captain, and, -seeing the bird in motion, had halted, leaving it to the scent alone to -effect his purpose. But in a few minutes it was evident that the bird had -become stationary, having either drifted out of the stream of scent, or, -possibly, having imagined that it was now far enough from the suspected -shore. - -A slight snapping of dry wood just broke the stillness; again that sharp, -anxious glance, and the imperceptible motion, was renewed; another -and another snap, and now the water seemed to rise against the bird’s -breast, and a slight wake to be left behind him,—but it was still that -same gliding motion, as if it were slipping through the water: at last, -when the distance was sufficiently great to secure against flying, a cap -was raised, and responded to by two or three hats at different places; -the bird had disappeared, while the calm, quiet water showed no trace -of anything having broken its surface. Half-a-dozen pair of eyes were -anxiously on the look-out, and long and long was it before the smallest -sign rewarded their vigilance. At last, and many hundred yards from the -point at which they had lost sight of it, a black spot was seen floating -on the water, as quietly and unconcernedly as if it had never been -disturbed. It was, however, a good way to the right of the line in which -they were endeavouring to drive it; the hats had disappeared, and for -ten minutes the lake was as quiet as if the eye of man had never rested -upon it. Then came again the glance, the move, the dive,—then an anxious -moment of watchfulness,—then a white puff of smoke and a stream of -hopping shot playing ducks and drakes across the water,—then the sharp, -ringing report, caught up and repeated by echo after echo,—and there -lay the bird, faintly stirring the surface, in the last struggles of -death,—and there was gallant old Grog, plunging into the lake, and making -the water foam before him in his eagerness. Four or five ducks, which had -hitherto been basking unseen among the stones, sprang into air; and a -flight of teal appeared suddenly whistling over the water, and, turning -closely and together as they came unawares within a dozen yards of the -Parson, received his right and left shots among them, and, with the loss -of three or four of their company, scattered hither and thither among the -trees. - -“Hurrah, Grog!—bring him along, boy! bring him along!” shouted the -Captain; and on every side, instead of the quiet, gliding, creeping -figures, just peering about the understuff, were seen forms bounding and -tearing through the cover. - -The prize was one which the Captain, a taxidermist and a veteran -collector, had long desired to possess, and great was the care with which -it was secured on the top of Jacob’s knapsack; it being entrusted to him, -as the most phlegmatic of the party and the least likely to be led away -by any excitement of sport,—for at last they had arrived into something -like shooting country: the character of the ground was more open and free -from timber than anything they had seen, and the understuff of whort and -cranberry was proportionally thicker and more luxuriant; it was ground -which a dog could quarter without any very great amount of difficulty, -particularly as it was absolutely free from brambles, and that furze was -unknown in those latitudes anywhere outside of a greenhouse. - -It was more for the amusement of the thing, and for the sake of -ascertaining the resources of the country, that the party extended -themselves into a line and beat their way onwards, for it was too early -in the year for shooting anything but wild ducks. Game laws in Norway -exist, certainly, but are utterly disregarded; still the broods of -grouse were, as yet, too young to take care of themselves, and it would -have been sheer murdering the innocents to injure the grey hens, which, -into the bargain, are at this time not fit for eating. This proceeding -seemed very absurd to Torkel and to Tom, for a Norwegian has no idea of -preserving the game—in reality, he can eat and relish much that most -civilized people cannot; but, besides that, he is a selfish animal, and -the poor lean bird that he secures for himself in spring, is better than -the fine, fat, plump, autumnal one that he has left for his neighbour. - -Hen after hen got up and tumbled away before the dogs, who were too well -broke to disturb her, had they even been deceived by her antics, but no -shot was fired to convert her pretence into reality. Now and then, it -must be confessed, when an old, selfish, solitary cock, as black as a -hat, and as glossy as a whole morning’s dressing could make him, whirred -off as if he cared for no one but himself and had not a wife or family in -the world, he paid the penalty of his selfishness, and fell fluttering on -the cranberries—deservedly, perhaps; at all events, he left no one behind -him to lament his fate, for the black-cock is a roving bird, and never -pairs: but no exclamations of Torkel’s could induce the English sportsmen -to sever the loves of the smaller description of grouse, and Birger, -though a Swede—for very shame—was obliged to imitate their forbearance. -But, every now and then, a blue Alpine hare was knocked over without -mercy; once an unlucky badger came to an untimely end, and, upon the -whole, the bags were getting quite as heavy as the men approved of, when -a light, graceful, elegant roe, for once in its life was caught napping, -though there had been noise enough, not only from shots, but from talking -also, along the whole line, to have awakened a far less watchful animal. -It sprang from a thicker piece of covering than common, which probably -had been the means of deluding it into staying, in the false hope that it -could possibly escape the keen scent of old Grog, whose flourishing tail -said as plainly as tail could speak (and dogs’ tails are very eloquent), -“look out, boys; I have got something here for you, this time, that is -worth having.” - -Jacob was pretty well strung with hares, and remonstrated against the -additional load, which was finally slung around Torkel’s body like a -shoulder-belt, and he was dismissed at once with directions to follow the -path to Soberud, a place where he was well known, and to prepare, as well -as he could, for the reception of the party, and their provisioning. - -Torkel undertook the mission readily enough, and went off gaily under a -load of game that would have been quite enough for a pony, casting back -a knowing look to Tom, who seemed perfectly to understand him, implying -that he had some project in his head by which he intended to astonish the -strangers. - -The day wore on in this pleasant exercise—perhaps the halt for Middagsmad -might have been a long one, and the pipe after luxurious; in fact, -there is not so luxurious a couch in this sublunary world as a heap -of heather, and no sensation so luxuriously happy as that of basking, -half-tired, in the warm, pleasant sunshine, after a well-spent morning -of honest exercise, with our gun beside us, and our dogs half sleeping, -like ourselves, around us; but the sun was not a very great way from the -horizon when the party gained the first view of the village which was to -be their resting-place for the night. - -The fjeld was not high, for it had been sloping away gradually to the -eastward ever since they left the high mountains which surround the Lake -of the Woods, but, as it almost always does, it terminated abruptly -in a sort of cliff, portions of which were precipitous, and the rest -extremely steep. The path which Torkel had taken, following the course -of a largish brook, had found an easy access to the valley, practicable -even for the carts of the country; but at the point at which they had -struck the valley, there was nothing for it but a stiff scramble down the -face of the hill, a proceeding which their loads rendered anything but -pleasant and easy. It was a beautiful scene that lay before them, and -perfectly different from anything they had seen before, though they had -been passing through scenery of wood and lake ever since they left the -Torjedahl. - -In the present instance the broad, still lake, broad as it was, filled -up but half the amphitheatre of the wooded mountains. There was an ample -margin of cultivated land round it, fields rich with the promise of -autumn, and green quiet meadows; here and there a wooded spur shot out -from the frame of highlands, forming sometimes a cape or promontory in -the water, while, in return, narrow secluded valleys would wind back into -the recesses of the mountains, each with its own little brook and its -own secluded pastures. Besides the village, there were several detached -farmsteadings and scattered cottages, all looking trim and tidy and well -to do in the world, and through the middle of them ran a well-kept but -very winding road, with a broad margin of turf on each side. The fences -might have been a dissight a little nearer, for they were the post and -slab fence so common in the north, but, at the distance, they looked like -park paling; and the swing poles for opening the gates across the road, -formed a picturesque feature in the landscape. - -Close by the lake-side was the church, a grey and weather-stained -building, which looked like one solid mass of timber, supporting on -its steeply-pitched and shingled roof, three round towers of different -heights, each surmounted with its cross. Dominating over the whole sat a -huge golden cock, which, newly gilded, glowed in the light of the setting -sun as if it were a supplementary sun itself. The houses of the village -were a good deal scattered, but, with the exception of the Præstgaard, or -parsonage, did not hold out any very magnificent hopes of accommodation -for the night. - -This, however, was of little importance to men whose last night’s abode -had been the shelter of the thickest tree; and they proceeded, with very -contented minds, to descend the steep hill-side, in order to reach the -path they ought to have taken, which they now discovered, far below them, -winding along the edge of the cultivated ground. - -“And now,” said the Captain, as they reached it and rallied their forces, -which had been a good deal scattered during the sharp descent, “where to -bestow ourselves for the night? I should like to sleep in a bed, if it -were only for the novelty of the thing; and here, in good time, comes -Torkel, who looks as if he had made himself pretty well at home already.” - -Torkel, considerably smartened up—however he had contrived it—and -sporting a clean white shirt-front, like a pouter pigeon, with his -silver shirt buttons newly polished, came up the church path in close -conversation with a respectable, fatherly, well-to-do-in-the-world sort -of farmer, or huusbonde as he was called, in whom, as he introduced him -by the name of Torgensen, the fishermen recognized the father of the -pretty hostess of the sœter. Not one word of English could the good-man -speak, though he looked as like an honest rough-handed English farmer -as one man could look to another; but he wrung their hands, as if, like -Holger, he meant to test their manhood by their powers of endurance, and -smiled, and looked pleasant, which Torkel interpreted to mean that he -heartily desired to see the whole party under his hospitable roof that -night, and would be right glad to make them all drunk in honour of his -roof-tree. And poor Torkel looked so excessively happy, that it was easy -to see that, in spite of the _Haabet_ and her skipper, he had not only -sped in his wooing at the sœter, but had contrived to ingratiate himself -with the elders of the household. - -A grand place was that homestead, which, hidden by a projecting point, -and occupying a secluded valley of its own, had hitherto escaped their -observation,—a good, snug, wealthy farm it really was, even as compared -to others in the country; but in Norway, so much cover is always wanted; -and building—at least timber building—is so cheap, that moderate-sized -farm-houses, with their appurtenances, are little villages; and the house -itself looks always larger than it is, as an habitation, because the -whole upper storey, frequently called the rigging loft, is invariably -used as a store-room for their provisions, and hides, and wool, and flax, -and apples, and sometimes corn, in the winter, and not unfrequently as a -ball-room, when they have eaten out sufficient space in it. - -The house, like all the rest, a wooden building with a planked roof and -gabled ends, was unusually painted. Torgensen, in his youth, had himself -commanded the _Haabet_, and had traded in her for provisions and corn -along the coast of Scånia, and from it had imported Scånian fashions. -Instead of the deep, dull red, which harmonizes so well with the tints -of the country, he had painted his house in figures, blue, and yellow, -and white, and black, which had a singular, but, upon the whole, a -not unpleasant effect. Texts of Scripture in rough black letter, and -dates, and monograms of himself, and wife, and children, were written -under every window and every gable; and the barge-boards and ridge -timber-ends, were carved as elaborately and grotesquely as those of the -church. - -There was but little delicacy in accepting Torgensen’s hospitality; his -house was large enough for a barrack, and its doors were as wide open as -those of an inn. A large room, that could not exactly be called kitchen, -hall, workshop, or dining-room, but served equally for any one of these -offices (and occasionally for a ball-room also, when the store-room -was too full to be used in that capacity), was open to all comers; -half-a-dozen boards, as thick almost as baulks of timber, and placed -upon trestles that might have supported the house, formed the principal -table; two great chairs, like thrones, elaborately carved, and looking -as if they required a steam-engine to move them, stood on a sort of -dais;—these are not uncommon pieces of furniture in old houses; they are -called grandfather and grandmother chairs, and are the seats of honour, -though very seldom occupied at all, unless the master and mistress of the -house are old enough to have lost their active habits. The more ordinary -seats were substantial benches, with or without backs, and three-legged -stools. Here and there was a great chest, a sort of expense magazine for -stowing away the wool, and the flax, and the skins, which were in process -of being converted into linen, wadmaal, or shoes, by the farm servants. -Over these a series of shelves, like an ancient buffet, containing pewter -drinking-vessels, large brass embossed plates with the bunch of grapes -from the promised land or the expulsion of Adam and Eve glittering upon -them in all the brightness of constant polish. Over these, again, were -slung a row of copper cauldrons and pots; and on the opposite side -a chest of drawers, carved and painted with grotesque figures, was -ornamented with heaps of blue and white dishes, and pewter dinner-plates, -and rows of brass candlesticks. - -All this was beautifully clean and tidy, for the Norse men and women keep -all their cleanliness for their ships and houses, and waste none of it on -their persons. - -A strong aromatic smell pervaded the whole room, from the fresh sprigs of -fir and juniper with which it was strewn every morning, as old English -halls were with rushes; it might indeed have well passed muster for -an English hall in the olden times, but for the absence of the great -gaping fire-place with its cozy chimney-corner and fire-side benches; the -place of all this was ill supplied by the pride of Torgensen’s heart, -which he pointed out before they had been in the room for five minutes, -and called his “pot-kakoluvne”—a great pyramidal heap of glazed tiles, -portraying Scripture subjects in Dutch costumes, and doing duty as a -stove. This being an importation from foreign parts was of course of -additional value; its pyramidal shape indicated Denmark as the country -of its manufacture, for in Sweden the corresponding piece of furniture -is cubical; and both are great improvements on the cast-iron stoves of -Norway, which get nearly red hot, dry and parch the skin, crack the -furniture, and fill the rooms with a description of gas, which, whatever -it may do to a native, ensures to the stranger a perpetual headache. - -It is rare to find in Norway a farm, and consequently an establishment -of the size of Torgensen’s, though in Sweden it is common enough. The -Odal law, which enforces equal division of property among the children, -prevents any accumulation of territorial property, and will ultimately -reduce Norway to a population of agricultural peasants with a commercial -aristocracy. The homesteads of the old Norwegian nobility are deserted -and decaying, like their families, but Torgensen had been educated as a -merchant and shipowner, as elder sons frequently are, and having been -fortunate in his speculations, had been able to buy out his brothers, and -to keep up unimpaired the old hospitalities of his father’s mansion; and -thus fourteen or sixteen farm-servants, and as many girls, with, it must -be confessed, an indefinite number of children that had found themselves -by chance in the establishment without any fathers at all, sat daily -round that mass of timber which was called the meal-board (_mad borden_), -and supped their daily gröd and drank their daily brandy. - -Although the head of so great an establishment, Frue[30] Kerstin—as -Madame Torgensen was usually called, though in truth she had no great -right to the title—did not consider herself exempt from household duties; -in fact she was but the principal housekeeper of the establishment, and -wore a bunch of keys big enough for an ordinary jail as a badge of this -distinction. It was not a very easy matter to catch her unprepared, for -frugality was by no means the order of the house; but this day was really -an exception to the general rule, and she saw with some dismay the party -which her husband was bringing home with him. Lota was at the sœter, and -with her were most of the young girls and, of course, their admirers. -There had been hay-making at the Præstgaard during the past week, and, -it being Saturday night, two-thirds of the remainder were dancing and -drinking there, and thus the party at the homestead being a small one, -the supper was none of the best. Good humour and real welcome, however, -supplied all deficiencies, which after all, were more in Frue Kerstin’s -imagination than in reality. The evening passed off admirably in songs -and conversation; Torkel was an evident favourite,—and indeed his manly -character, his ready stories and songs, his fine voice and constant and -cheerful good humour well entitled him to the distinction, to say nothing -of a broad strath in the higher Tellemark, and a lake, and a stream, and -a saw-mill, and a “hammer” as it was called, that is to say, a smelting -furnace for iron, to which, being the only son, he was undoubted heir, a -qualification which prudent parents are not apt to overlook; but he had -evidently risen in their esteem from the fact of his having brought such -popular characters as English gentlemen to the homestead, and from the -consideration with which those gentlemen treated him. - -Torgensen might have been better pleased had more justice been done to -his brandy, which was real Cognac and admirable, and might have been a -little scandalized at the admixture of water, but his broad, jolly face -never lost that glow of good humour which made his guests feel they were -doing him a pleasure by drinking his brandy and eating his good cheer. A -lively conversation was kept up through Birger and Torkel till late at -night, and when the fishermen, having duly thanked their hostess, after -the customs of the country, retired to rest in the great square boxes of -fragrant poplar leaves, they sank into such a mass of eider down, that -told well for the _ci-devant_ attractions of the Lady Christina. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -THE CHURCH. - - “Mighty stands the cross of God, - Smiling homeward to the soul.” - - _Almquist._ - - -One reason why the fishermen were so anxious to reach Soberud was, that -the next day was Sunday, and they wanted a day of rest, and a church -to go to; and that was not to be met with, on the Torjedahl, nearer -than Christiansand itself. Hitherto their church had been a remarkably -tall fir-tree, which had, somehow or other, been overlooked by the -wood-cutters, and stood some little way within the forest. It had been -chosen on account of its fancied resemblance to a church spire, as it -towered above the rest of the foliage; and the lower branches having been -cut away, and the space round its trunk enclosed and decorated with green -boughs—as all Swedish churches used to be decorated on high days before a -royal ordinance was passed which forbade it,—and the ground strewed with -fresh juniper and marsh-marigolds—as church floors are to this day,—it -did make a very fair forest church for fine weather; and as all the party -could sing, more or less, the service was performed a good deal more -ecclesiastically than it is in some of our English cathedrals. - -Norway is not in communion with England; indeed, strictly speaking, -neither Norway nor Denmark are churches at all,—they are merely -establishments. Sweden may, by some stretch of imagination and a little -implicit faith in its history, be considered a church, and is so -considered by the Bishop of London, who has authorised the Bishop of -Gothenborg to confirm for him. But though neither the Englishmen, nor -even the Swedes, considered themselves at liberty to communicate in the -church of Soberud, there was no reason whatever against their joining in -either the ottesång or the aftensång (morning or evening service), or -even against their being present at the högmässe, or communion itself. -The men, who had no very accurate ideas of theology, had joined in the -English service very readily, and, indeed, had taken a good deal of -pains in decorating the forest church, for both Tom and Torkel could -read English as well as they could speak it; and Jacob pretended to do -so. They were, however, all of them, extremely pleased at having the -opportunity of going to a consecrated church. - -Perhaps one of the most remarkable features of the country is the respect -and reverence which all classes pay to their churches, combined with the -very little effect which religion has on their conduct. Norwegians will -face all sorts of weather, in order to be present at the högmässe of -Sunday. Large sums of money—that is to say, large in comparison with the -wealth of the parishes—are spent upon their churches, which are always -in perfect repair, and always most carefully swept, and trimmed with -rushes or green sprigs. A man would lose his character at once, and would -be shunned by his acquaintance as a hopeless reprobate, if he neglected -confirmation, or the Lord’s supper. Nothing, indeed, is more common than -to see, as an advertisement—“Wanted, a confirmed cook or housemaid;” -which advertisement in no ways relates to the capacities of the servant, -but simply to her age, it being taken for granted that a person of a -certain age must have been confirmed. Indeed, the legislature interferes -with this: few offices can be held by unconfirmed people, or by those -who are not communicants; and the legislature is only the interpreter of -public opinion. No man is at present molested for any religious opinions -he may please to hold; he simply loses his civil rights by seceding from -the national religion. In fact, Norway is the most complete illustration -of the establishment principle which exists in the world. - -At the same time, education, as it is popularly called—that is to say, -secular instruction—is almost universal. No one ever meets with a -Norwegian unable to read and write. It may fairly be said that there is -no country in the world in which the standard of popular education is -so high, and the standard of popular morality so low,—where the respect -for religion is so very great, and the ignorance of religion so very -profound,—as it is in Norway. Sweden may be second in this paradox, but -Norway is by far the first. - -It is not difficult to account for both these phenomena. Few countries -suffered more extensive church spoliation in the good old Reformation -times than Norway and Sweden; and when, after that convulsion, men began -to gather up the fragments, they had to choose between an ill-paid -clergy whose social position would be inferior to that of almost all -their parishioners, and a sufficiently paid clergy with enormous and -unmanageable parishes. They chose the latter, perhaps wisely, as more -likely to preserve the character and influence of the church till better -times should come. They, therefore, grouped the parishes into districts, -few of which were under ten or twelve miles long, and wide in proportion, -some very much larger, and one more than a hundred miles in length. -These districts are a collected group of parishes, whose churches are -still kept up under the name of Annexkyrker, and service is occasionally -performed in them, as a sort of protest of their right. - -Over these districts they placed rectors (Pfarrherrer), whose revenue, -though not what we should call large in our country, is, nevertheless, -greater than that of most of their parishioners; they gave them good -parsonage houses (præstgaards), and, in almost every case, provided -a dowager house and farm for their widows. And, while they rendered -their position an object of competition, they provided that it should -be adequately filled, by establishing the most searching examinations -and the most careful provisions. The consequence of this is, that the -Norwegian clergy are almost invariably very superior people, and, in a -country where the election is absolutely free, they are very generally -chosen members of the Storthing; while, in Sweden, they form an integral -estate of the realm, and possess their own independent house of -parliament. - -In a country where there is so much ceremonial, so much that speaks -to the understanding of the uneducated by speaking to their eye, it is -impossible but that the externals of religion should be respected—the -position of its ministers being such as is calculated to add to that -respect, and not, as is too frequently the case in Roman Catholic -countries, such as to diminish from it. - -But, from the enormous size of the parishes, the externals are all that -can possibly come to the majority of the people. The Scandinavian Church, -learned as its individual ministers may be, is not the teacher of the -people, nor can it be—no man can teach over fifty miles of country. -Education, on the other hand, there is plenty of, such as it is; for, -not only do the frost-bound winters give plenty of opportunity, but the -Church is the establishment, and the laws of the land are such as to make -reading and writing necessary to all. At the same time, this education is -absolutely secular, it has nothing to do with the doctrines of religion, -and, consequently, nothing with the morals of the people, except to -increase their power of doing anything. Knowledge with them, as with all -others, is power: but, disjoined from religion, this is generally the -power of doing wrong. Whether this be, or be not, a correct solution -of the paradox, at all events, the fact remains, and it has never been -accounted for: Norway is pre-eminent in the education of its people, and -is also pre-eminent in the statistics of crime. - -But this is not the external view of the case: the mere visitor in Norway -would speak of the very religious habits of the people. They certainly -are a people of religious habits, and will continue to be so as long -as the externals of religion are preserved with a magnificence and -ceremonial sufficient to keep up their reverence. But they are, merely, a -people of religious _habits_—they are not a people of religious feelings. -The marriage between faith and works with them has been “dissolved by Act -of Parliament, and neither their faith nor their works are the better for -it.” - -Nothing of this, however, was visible on that Sunday morning, as the -Parson, when the hospitable and substantial breakfast of the farm-house -had at last come to an end, walked quietly and musingly along the broad -natural terrace which led to the church, and commanded a beautiful view -over the wide valley and its quiet lake. - -The church was a good-sized building, with nave, and aisles, and -transepts, and chancel. It was handsome and striking, but very quaint -and singular; every part of it was of wood—not planks, but great solid -beams of absolute timber; centuries had passed over them, and there was -no perceptible decay,—they were merely weather-stained, and harmonised -in their colouring; and the whole edifice looked as if the day of -judgment would find it as firm and as eternal as the Church it was -built to represent. The whole was a confused collection of acute gables -and high-pointed roofs, covered with diamond-shaped pine shingles. The -windows were small, square-headed, and few in number, barely enough, -indeed, to give light to the interior, and in no way contributing to the -architectural beauty of the church. No Norwegian ever breathes more fresh -air than he can help, or thinks of opening his church windows; it is not -very often that he opens even the windows of his house.[31] - -The sharp roofs, which are almost universal in the Norwegian churches, -though extremely ornamental, especially where, as in the present case, -they are shingled, are erected not for ornament but for use. It is -absolutely necessary, in a land where snow falls so abundantly, to have -such a slope that will not permit it to lodge in any quantities in a -building which is not inhabited and constantly cleared. Were the roof no -steeper than those of most of our English churches, the weight of lodged -snow would soon become sufficient to bear down any strength of timbers -they could put into it. - -Although there was but little of ornament about the windows and -doors—those more ordinary objects of ecclesiastical decoration—this -evidently did not arise from want of respect or care for their church; -for every gable—and there were thirty or forty of them, great and -small—was decorated with elaborately-carved barge-boards, the ridge -timber of every one of them projected three or four feet beyond the -face of the building, and terminated in the head of some nondescript -animal, particularly ugly, but still the record and evidence of infinite -pains and labour. The chancel, the nave, and the belfry, constituted -three separate pyramids, rising one above the other, consisting of from -three to five stages each, and terminating in round towers, roofed with -short shingled spires, like so many extinguishers. Each of these carried -its huge cross, for neither Norwegian nor Swede is afraid of that holy -emblem; and high on the top of all was the typical cock—and if it did -not warn all sinners to repent, it certainly was not for want of being -seen, for its size was colossal, and in its new gilding it glittered in -the air for miles on every side. At the entrance of the churchyard, on -the side facing the lake, was a lych-gate, also of solid timber, with a -roof broad enough to shelter a whole funeral. The gate itself, which, -when shut, formed a stile, was shod with iron spikes, to prevent the pigs -from burrowing under. By the side of it was that satire upon Norway, the -evidence of Karl Johann’s fruitless attempts to stem the tide of national -habits—the stocks—of course unemployed—at least, so far as their legal -purpose went;—they formed, however, a very comfortable seat, upon which -Birger was balancing himself backwards and forwards, and trying to cross -one foot over the other. The other fishermen, as decent as they could -make themselves up for Sunday—which was rather dingy, after all, compared -with the bright colours of the peasants’ dresses—lounged about, watching -the assembling congregation. - -It wanted some time to service, but there were scattered here and there -about the churchyard several parties, who had already been for some time -on the ground. Sunday as it was, they had brought with them their garden -tools, and their waterpots, and their baskets of plants, or papers of -seeds, and had tucked up their smart embroidered petticoats, or turned -back their shirt-sleeves, according to their sex, and were busily -employed about the graves. - -These were not oblong mounds of turf, like the graves in our English -churchyards, but raised borders with iron edging, and were, for the most -part, pictures of neat and tidy gardening; wild flowers very often were -all that grew there, little blue gentianellas, or lilies of the valley, -such as might be met with anywhere in the open fjeld; more often than -all, that innocent little white trailer, the anthemis cotula, which they -call Balder’s eyebrow, and to which they attach a peculiar sanctity; -but, even if they were wild, they always bore the traces of care and -cultivation. Now and then a rose would be woven into the semblance of a -cradle, or an edging of convolvolus major, twining round its supports, -would form a pyramid or a canopy, with its fragile blue flowers already -fading, though so early in the day, perhaps an apt type of those who lay -below them. - -In no place does the Norwegian appear to so great advantage as when -busied about the graves of his family; these are cared for by all who -cherish the memory of the dead, as their occupants would be were they -still on earth. Appointments are often made among distant members of -a family, and little parties are arranged to meet at the grave of a -common relative; the first object of all these is invariably to trim its -flowers. These are not sad or solemn meetings; they are rather joyful -reunions, much as if the families were visiting the house of their -relation, instead of his grave. They are not even dressed in mourning, -for their meetings are continued long after the time of mourning is -passed: it is a sort of sober festivity. Much of the good that exists in -the Norwegian character—their family affection, their patriotism, their -attachment to their native country throughout all their wanderings,—may -be traced to their graves. - -Suddenly, the bells struck up, and every man removed his hat, bowing to -the church as if returning its salutation. Other people, besides the -funeral parties, now began to collect from different quarters; here and -there a stray cariole rattled up to the churchyard gate, and an old -grandmother or two was brought along in one of the queer-looking little -carts of the country; but the people of Norway are anything but vehicular -in their habits; indeed, except the main roads—and these are very few -indeed—the country is in no ways calculated for wheeled carriages. - -Boats were a much more fashionable mode of progression; several of these -were already seen approaching from different quarters of the lake, -pulled by two or four oars, and containing a cargo of many-coloured -petticoats, which looked, in the distance, like bunches of variegated -tulips. Every Norwegian, man or woman, learns to row almost as soon as he -learns to walk, and every Norwegian knows something of the principles of -boat-building; and very elegant little craft, of the whale-boat build, -they frequently turn out. - -“Hallo!” said Birger; “we are in luck. I knew it was Communion Sunday, -but we are to have a lot of christenings besides. Look at the little -white bundles in their chrism-cloths, and the elegant white satin bows. -I do believe they would none of them consider their children baptized -without those white bows.” - -“Have you Christening Sundays, then?” said the Parson. - -“Not always: in many places the clergy set their faces against them. But -the Norwegian is a gregarious animal: he dearly loves a set feast, and -hospitably considers the more the merrier. In these country-places you -will often find not only Communion Sundays, but Christening Sundays, and -Wedding Sundays, and—” - -“And funeral Sundays?” suggested the Captain. - -“And funeral Sundays—you need not laugh, I mean what I say; in the winter -we have a little frost here, hot as it is now,—and frost, compared to -which your English frost is but a summer’s day. They cannot very well -bury their dead in the winter, so they very frequently freeze them, and -keep them till the frost breaks up. Whenever that happens it is of course -necessary to bury immediately all that have died since the beginning -of the winter, and thus—though I suspect you asked that question in -pure joke—it really does happen, that besides gregarious communions, -christenings, and weddings, they have gregarious funerals also.” - -The bells now began to “ring in,” and that portion of the congregation -who were not related to any of the little white bundles in satin bows, or -were not destined to be godfathers or godmothers to them, came stumbling -into the church, and arranging themselves as best they could on the -benches. - -To those coming in from the blaze of day outside, the interior appeared -perfectly dark, so that the people were actually feeling for their -places. The little square windows looked like dots of light against the -black walls, but as the eye accustomed itself to the darkness, the scene -came out by degrees: the tracery of the chancel screen—the great crucifix -seen over it—the altar beyond, heavy with carving and gilding—the font -just within the screen—the pulpit just without it—then the congregation -themselves became visible—the men on one side of the nave, the women -on the other. It was high mass; for though the Scandinavian Church be -reformed, she still retains the ancient expressions. - -The short hymn which begins the service had closed, and the priest in his -wide-sleeved surplice—mäss skjorta—was standing by the altar, while the -Candidatus marshalled in the porch a little procession of the christening -parties. When all was ready they entered the church, the congregation -singing, as they advanced towards the chancel, one of the numerous hymns -from the Bede Psalmer—to which little book, unpretending as it is, the -people owe nearly all the very small acquaintance with the doctrines of -their Church, which they possess. - -In our service we recognise but two parties, the priest and the -people—the English choir being, theoretically, at all events, merely -the leaders of the people’s responses; whereas, in Scandinavia there -are three distinct divisions of the service—the prayers of the priest, -the responses of the choir, and the hymns of the people; which last are -collected and arranged for seasons and occasions, in their Bede Psalmer, -a book which, as they all sing more or less, most of them have at their -fingers’ ends. - -While this was proceeding, the Candidatus threw open the richly-carved -doors of the chancel screen and admitted the christening party into the -choir, arranging them round the font which stood at its entrance. The -whole service was very like our own, except that, after the exhortation, -the priest proclaimed his own commission to baptize, in the words of the -three last verses in St. Matthew’s gospel, before reading the gospel from -St. Mark which is used in the English Church; and afterwards announced -the value of the Sacrament itself in the words of St. John—(chap. 3. v. -5, 6). Before the act of baptism, the priest laid his hand on the head -of each child, severally, and blessed it; then, after sprinkling it three -several times as he pronounced the name of each of the three Persons in -the Trinity, he stepped forward to the doors of the choir, and presented -the new Christian to the congregation, saying, “In the name of the Holy -Trinity, this child is now, through holy baptism, received as a member -of the Christian Church, and hath right given him to all the privileges -joined therewith: God give His grace, that he, all the days of his life, -may fulfil this his baptismal covenant.” - -After a general thanksgiving for the new birth of the children, and a -general exhortation to the sponsors on the subject of their duties, the -congregation struck up another hymn from the Bede Psalmer, while the -children were carried round the altar, which does not stand, as in our -churches, close to the well, but has a passage left behind it, possibly -for this purpose, the sponsors depositing on it their offerings as they -passed. - -In the meanwhile the priest, kneeling on the altar steps, was invested -by the Candidatus and Kyrke Sånger (precentor) with the mässe hacke, -a crimson velvet chasuble, embroidered in front with a gold glory -surrounding the Holy Name, and behind with a gold floriated cross. He -remained kneeling, while the Candidatus, paper in hand, went down the -nave, noting those who intended to present themselves at the communion, -in order to be certain that none should partake of it who had not -previously given their names to the priest for approbation, and attended -the early service of confession—called communions-skrift. This was not -so very difficult to do, though none of the congregation had left the -church; for each intended communicant wore something black or grey about -him, in memory of the Lord’s death. When this survey had been completed, -the priest rose, and facing the people, intoned the general thanksgiving, -and then turning again to the altar, made his confession alone, in the -name of his flock, the congregation itself being silent, though the -choir, at the occasional pauses, chanted the Kyrie Eleeson. He then -placed on the altar the “Oblaten Schalten,” or wafer basket, the silver -flagon, and lastly the chalice and patin, which were brought to him with -great ceremony, the Candidatus and Kyrke Sånger, who carried them, being -attended by the whole choir. - -The outer doors of the church were then shut, and the Candidatus in his -black gown and cassock having taken his place on the lower step, the -priest chanted the Gloria in Excelsis, the choir taking it up after the -first sentence. - -After the consecration, the communicants were arranged in four divisions; -the married men, and the married women, the single men and the single -women; these knelt in the centre, while the non-communicants stood -round them chanting softly the Agnus Dei, and bowing their heads as -the elements were administered to each communicant, which was done -individually, as with us. - -There was then a general thanksgiving and a Hallelujah by the choir; -after which the priest dismissed the congregation with his benediction, -making the sign of the cross towards them in the air. This form, which -was universal throughout three kingdoms scarcely more than a hundred -years ago, has almost entirely disappeared from the Swedish Church, -disused rather than forbidden; but many of the old customs which in -Sweden have become obsolete, in Norway are religiously kept up. And -besides this, politics have something to do with the matter; there is -always a great affectation of Danish peculiarities, such as dressing the -church with green boughs on Whitsuntide, among those who are not over -well affected to Sweden. These and many similar ceremonials retained -in Norwegian churches are punishable by fine or deprivation; but the -people will have it so, and the priests are very willing to indulge -them,—members of Storthing and law-makers as many of them are. - -As for theology, the people are profoundly ignorant of that, while the -priests themselves, who, nine out of ten, are learned divines,—thanks to -the severe examination at Christiania which generally weeds out one half -of the candidates every year,—are almost always politicians enough to -borrow their churchmanship from Denmark, are just as much Grundtvigites, -or Mynsterites, according as their bias is high or low, as if they lived -in Copenhagen itself. - -After the conclusion of the service the fishermen were lounging -homewards, taking their time, and enjoying the weather, and the views, -and the sunshine, and the Sunday quiet, and upon the whole, though all -of then ardent sportsmen, by no means sorry for a day of regular rest, -when the Pfarrherr himself, accompanied by his Candidatus overtook them. -The Candidatus was a long, tall youth, fresh from college, conceited and -shy at the same time, who looked, as Birger afterwards observed, as if he -smelt of the midnight oil; but the Pfarrherr was a gentleman-like man, -with a broad, good-humoured, fresh-coloured face, looking more like an -English old-fashioned squire than anything else. He had been priest of -Soberud for many years, and being a regular anti-Swede, was very popular. -He had represented the district in several Storthings, and was likely to -do so in many more, though he did belong to the commercial party, which -in Norway, as in America, is aristocratic and tory, in opposition to the -country party, who in those nations are the radicals. - -In addition to this, he was the probst, or rural dean, which was a -fortunate circumstance for him—for being an enthusiastic admirer of -Grundtvig, he was a great deal too much of a ritualist and antiquarian -for the continually receding Swedish Church, and, under other -circumstances, could hardly have failed in being brought up before the -Church Committee at Christiania, for his little peculiarities; though -it is a fact that most of the ecclesiastical members of Storthing, who -composed it, thought, felt, and, if they dared, would act, precisely as -he did. - -He spoke English readily enough—indeed, English is to the educated -Norwegians what French is to us,—and, as a matter of course, invited the -fishermen to share the hospitalities of the præstgaard. This, however, -would have been a mortal offence to poor Torgenson, who, though he could -not speak to his guests one single word except through an interpreter, -would have been deeply scandalized, and, indeed, would have felt lowered -in the eyes of his countrymen, had they deserted him. The Parson, -however, being a professional man, was an exception, and Pfarrherr -Nordlingen carried him off in triumph, Torkel promising to bring over -his knapsack to the præstgaard. - -The præstgaard was not so large and rambling a building as the hall, -but was infinitely more comfortable; highly-polished birchen furniture, -and well-stored bookcases, gave it an air of habitableness. The room -into which they entered was the summer parlour, whose French windows, -shaded by gauze curtains, were wide open, looking on a broad lawn and a -sparkling little stream beyond it; a good sprinkling of juniper twigs -took off, in a great measure, from the bare look of the carpetless floors -which always strikes an English eye. It is a great absurdity, in a -country which is not favourable for sheep, and whose woollen manufactures -seldom go higher than the wadmaal, that the duty upon English woollens -should be so absurdly high. But the fact is, the Storthing is so entirely -in the hands of the democratic, or country party, that anything beyond a -class legislation is hopeless. The idea is not that all the people should -have warm blankets, but that the democratic and agricultural majorities -should work up inferior wool. Weaving by hand is an agriculturist’s -winter work. - -The Priestess Nordlingen, as she was called, a smiling, pretty-looking -woman, much younger than her husband, was occupied in laying the cloth -for aftonsmad, assisted by the dowager priestess, who lived now on the -other side of the little stream, but being on excellent terms with her -late husband’s successor, spent a good deal more of her time in her -old home than she did in her new one.[32] Servants they had, both of -them, in plenty, for the præster are among the richest in the land; but -no Norwegian wife is above acting as butler and housekeeper, and no -Norwegian damsel, fröken though she be, is above waiting at table. It -does not seem quite the thing to an English gentleman, to have the ladies -waiting upon him; but certainly in the Norwegian grammar, if they have -one, the masculine is more worthy than the feminine. - -Forest life is pleasant, but a contrast is pleasant also, and the Parson, -as he lay back in a peculiarly easy chair, sipping leisurely the dram -which invariably precedes a Norwegian meal, and which, in the present -case, was true cognac of unquestionable genuineness and undeniable -antiquity, considered himself in very great luck indeed; in fact, much -as he admired the rude abundance of the hall, he infinitely preferred -the quiet elegances of the præstgaard. He made some such observation to -Nordlingen. - -“Yes,” replied he, “the Reformation has injured the Church cruelly, as an -endowment, and has cut off five-sixths of its clergy; but we individual -præster have not much to complain of as regards ourselves.” - -“You must have pretty severe duties, though.” - -“Well, they are not severe, because they cannot be done. My parish was -originally six; these have been thrown together under one. If I had -half-a-dozen curates, the parish could not be visited, nor the annex -kyrker properly served; for in former times it supported six priests and -six deacons; so what one cannot do at all, one soon ceases to distress -one’s self about. The work is not done, cannot be done, and no one -expects it to be done. We have work enough—especially those who, like me, -are elevated to the Storthing,—but it is not ecclesiastical work.” - -“Do you know,” said the Parson, “I wonder that, under such circumstances, -you have no dissenters in Norway; our Wesleyans arose from precisely the -same cause. The spoliation of our Church having diminished our number -of priests, and very seriously impaired the discipline which might, in -some measure, have kept the remainder to their work, the people in many -districts became heathens, much like your own people, in fact; and when -teachers rose up among them, men followed them not because they were -orthodox, but because they were the only teachers to be had. But you have -some sort of dissenters, too, have you not?” - -“O, the Haugerites. Yes—they are not dissenters, either. Hauger held a -good many doctrines of that arch-heretic, Calvin: New Birth, as distinct -from Baptism; Predestination, Election, and so forth; but neither he -nor his followers separated from the Church. In truth, religion is at -too low an ebb among us for dissent; we have no more strength to throw -up dissenters, than an exhausted field has to throw up weeds. Hauger -succeeded, because he was not only a pious, but a practical man; he was -rich, too; he set up saw-mills and iron-works, and advanced the money;—it -is no wonder he set up a religious party. But they are going down now.” - -“Ah, I understand—what we call in Ireland, soup Christians; and now -Hauger is dead, the spring has run dry?” - -“No not at all—I do not mean to say that the practical turn of his mind -was not a recommendation to his theology; but though he preached and did -good, his good offices were not confined to his own followers; his sect -is subsiding because it has no distinctive tenets, any more than that of -your Wesleyans. You made a great blunder; by turning Wesley out of the -Church, you forced him to set up a Church government of his own; it is -that government, and not his doctrines, which keeps his followers in a -state of antagonism to a Church with which they have no real doctrinal -difference. We were not such fools with Hauger; he met with a little -persecution himself—for we Norwegians are not tolerant,—but we were wise -enough to leave his people alone, so they did not think it worth while to -differ, and in fact never did.” - -“I think there may be another reason,” said the Parson: “with you a -sectarian loses his rights of citizenship, by the fact of his being a -sectarian.” - -“Well, and why should he not? by leaving the national Church he makes -himself a foreigner; we do not persecute him any more than we persecute -any other foreigners, but we do not allow foreigners to legislate for -us, neither will we let him, or any man choose which of our national -institutions he will adhere to and which he will not—and our Church is -one of our national institutions;—we say to him, and to you alike—you -are strangers, both of you, you are both very welcome to stay here, and -to live under the protection of our laws; moreover, we are very ready to -naturalize either of you, and to receive you as citizens of our country -if you like, but choose for yourselves; you cannot be Norwegians and not -Norwegians at the same time. These are the laws, religious and political, -of Norway, take them or leave them, just as you like, but we cannot let -you divide them. Now where is the injustice of this?” - -“I am sure I will not take upon myself to say,” said the Parson, -laughing; “supposing always, the State meddles with Church affairs at -all; and I, as an Englishman, have no right to find fault with you for -that. But what does your Church itself say to all this; you called -Calvin, just now, an arch-heretic, what do you say about his followers? -Besides, it strikes me that there is a little difference of opinion -between your friend Hauger and St. Paul, on the subject of female -preachers, to say nothing of his unordained preachers, which all of his -people were; but that I suppose does not greatly disturb you, as you -attach so little value to Apostolical Succession.” - -This was a hard hit upon poor Nordlingen, who was a most patriotic -Norwegian, but yet, as a Grundtvigite, was painfully aware of the want of -divine commission in his Church. It was, however, a random shot of the -Parson’s, who, speaking of the Norwegian Church as it then was, certainly -was not aware that the reforms which Grundtvig and Mynster had effected -in Denmark, had already penetrated to a Church politically divided from -them. He took the opportunity of the bustle, caused by the servants -bringing in the aftonsmad, to turn the conversation to less dangerous -subjects, and occupied the rest of the evening, if not more profitably, -at least more to the amusement of the ladies of the family, in drawing -out the solemn Candidatus, who, fresh from his examinations, was brimful -of theology, which, when once cheated out of his shyness, he was spilling -over on every opportunity, and mixing, most absurdly, with the ordinary -subjects of conversation. - - The Church of Norway—if Church it can be called—is in a very - anomalous state. Intensely Erastian, it is dominated over by - the Storthing, and swayed by the political feelings of the - country. These, which are called Norwegian and patriotic, are - really Danish. Norway has never been strong enough, or rich - enough, since the times of barbarism, to form an independent - nation of itself: feeling its weakness, it acquiesced readily - in the dominant position assumed by Denmark, during the Union - of Kalmar, which grated so much against the feeling of the - Swedes only because Sweden was conscious of its own innate - strength and real superiority. When that union was dissolved, - it left very bitter animosities between the two principal - nations, which was participated in by Norway, whose feeling was - with Denmark. These the lapse of time has mitigated, so far as - the Danes and Swedes are concerned. They have been renewed, - however, in Norway, by the forcible annexation of that country - to Sweden, by the Congress of Vienna, in compensation for the - loss of Finland; and thus the Norwegian Church, politically - allied to that of Sweden, is affected by that of Denmark. - - The original Reformation in Denmark, which involved that of - Norway also, was exclusively a political movement; that of - Sweden was political also, but grander interests were connected - with it. Sweden was a country shaking off a foreign yoke, and - the Reformation succeeded because the Reformers were patriots - also. If reformation in religion is to be mixed with earthly - motives at all, it could not have had a grander alliance; but - the Reformation of Norway was a mere change of politics. It - was forced on by the Court against the will of both clergy - and people—the king, at that time, being nearly despotic. It - was not resisted; there was too little religion—Romanist, or - anything else—in the country for the people to feel any sort - of excitement in the matter. After the fall of Christiern, - a new religion was thought to be the most effectual mode of - depressing the remains of his party. A certain German, of the - name of Buggenhausen, was constituted the leading reformer; - and, in fact, the Church of Denmark was not reformed, but - destroyed, and Lutheranism imported in its place, and forced - upon the nation by an arbitrary sovereign. The consequences - were precisely similar to those which followed upon many of the - Reformations in Germany. The Church remained in form, but the - vital energy had gone from it. Many godly persons it had from - time to time in its communion, but fewer and fewer as the time - went on, and the traces it has still left of its vitality are - few in number. - - “Towards the close of the last century,” says Hamilton, “the - progress of stupor was complete, and vital Christianity seemed - to have departed from the land; formalism was at its height, - and, oddly enough, bigotry appeared to accompany it. An attempt - at revival has been made during the present century, by Dr. - Mynster, now Bishop of Copenhagen, and by Grundtvig, who - may to a certain extent be considered as the leaders of the - high and low Church parties; Mynster taking his stand on the - doctrines connected with the Atonement; Grundtvig, on the faith - once delivered to the saints. There does not appear to be any - opposition between them, any more than there is opposition - in the doctrines upon which they take their respective stand - against Indifferentism and Rationalism; but this is the bent of - their minds and the direction of their teaching.” - - Mynster says, in a letter to Oechlenschlager, “I design, God - willing, to open my mouth, and that in divers ways, certainly - first to try what echo will answer my voice; but it shall not - be quite in vain, for I know that I am among the called, and I - muse day and night in watching and praying that I may be also - among the chosen.” - - “This object,” says Hamilton (_Sixteen Months in the Danish - Isles_), “he speedily obtained; and from that time till the - present, there has been no cessation of that gentle, but loud - and solemn voice, persuading men everywhere to repent. In - speaking and writing, Christ crucified has been the beginning - and end, the first and the last.” - - Grundtvig, who, like our Keble, was a poet before he was a - preacher, and who has taught by his poems, no less than by his - sermons ever since he brought the great powers of his mind to - bear against Rationalism, some few years after Dr. Mynster - began to be celebrated. “It seemed to him a sin,” he said, - “that he should be taken up with Mythology, while the pastors - of God’s flock were neglecting their duty;” so he stepped - forward, asserting the Faith against human might and reason. - His leading text, upon which all his preaching hinges, is the - Faith once delivered to the saints,—pure and complete from the - beginning, and incapable of change. “Every change,” he argues, - “is a corruption, and the office of the Church is simply to - restore, either by supplying or by lopping off what has been - superadded to the original Revelation, and to preserve the - faith in its purity.” His style of teaching, therefore, is - necessarily traditional. Grundtvig, himself a most powerful - preacher, has naturally a somewhat exaggerated idea of the - importance of preaching, as opposed to reading. Preaching, he - calls the living word. There is a curious mixture of truth and - fallacy in his idea of never putting the Bible into the hands - of an unconverted person, because there is no hope that such a - person can understand it. “It was written for the Church,” he - says truly; and he infers from this, that it must be expounded - orally by a Churchman, because “faith cometh by hearing:” and - from this text he argues, that the Spirit of God does not - instruct in the reading of the Word. Grundtvig, from the first, - has been the most uncompromising opponent of Rationalism, - and his line of argument much more telling and difficult - to withstand than that of his fellow-worker, Mynster; and, - accordingly, though now popular, he has not passed through his - course without getting into difficulties of a personal nature, - from the opposition of the Rationalist party. He resigned his - living at one time, and for many years was not a pastor of the - Danish National Church at all. - - These great leaders have their followers and their respective - schools; but it is much to be feared that the revival which - they have produced is merely the effect of their own personal - influence and talent, for there is nothing in the system of - the Danish Church which can perpetuate it,—that this Church, - itself severed from the universal Church of Christ, has no - inherent vitality,—and that, as the influence and name of even - Calvin could not prevent even his own Geneva from becoming - Unitarian when other teachers had arisen and his memory had - faded from the recollections of his people, so the teaching of - Grundtvig and Mynster is but a temporary revival of Evangelical - teaching,—the produce of the individual, not of the Church. - - The Swedish Church, as distinguished from the Danish and - Norwegian, has far more pretensions to Churchmanship than - either of these, though it may have lost more of the externals - and ceremonial. Its Apostolic Succession has been doubted, and - certainly the question is not entirely clear. At the time of - the Reformation, Matthias, Bishop of Strengnäs, and Vincent, - Bishop of Skara, had been beheaded by Christiern; and on the - other side, Canute, the Archbishop, and Peter, Bishop of - Westeras, had been beheaded by his rival, Gustavus,—so that, - at the final Diet of Westeras, at which the Reformation was - determined upon, Sweden could muster but four bishops, of whom - it is said that Bishop Brask only had been duly consecrated; - two others, Haraldsen and Sommar, were only bishops elect. - The results of that Diet caused Brask to go into voluntary - exile, and as all communion with Rome was thereby broken - off, the question of the Succession hinges on the fact, that - Gustavus had previously sent the fourth Bishop, Magnussen, - elect of Skara, to be consecrated at Rome. This fact, which is - distinctly affirmed by Gejer, has been questioned, though on no - very good grounds. - - The weakness of the Swedish Church, however, does not lie - here, but in its peculiar connection with the State, which - is perpetually involving it in secular politics, and as - perpetually taking from its spiritual character. This defect - existed before the Reformation just as it does now, and then, - as now, formed its element of weakness: then, the bishops were - treated with by contending sovereigns as the most influential - barons—now, they are tampered with as the most influential - politicians. Sweden is governed by a king and four houses - of parliament—the Nobles, the Clergy, the Burghers, and the - Peasants; and a bill passing any three of these houses becomes - the law of the land. But, though the houses are of equal - authority, the value of individual votes must vary inversely as - the numbers of which those houses are composed: for instance, - the house of the Nobles contains about 1500 members, and the - house of the Clergy 80; the value of any single ecclesiastic’s - vote is, therefore, eighteen times greater than that of any - nobleman’s vote. The effect of this has been precisely the same - as the more arbitrary nature of the Norwegian Reformation: the - Church of Sweden has become—first political, then worldly, - then Erastian; and, at the same time, the enormous size of - the parishes operates precisely as it does in Norway,—the - majority of the people are estranged from their Church through - sheer ignorance of its doctrines,—the prescribed forms of - Confirmation, Communion, and so forth, being gone through as - essentials rather of civil promotion than of eternal Salvation. - - It is not a matter of surprise, therefore, that, year after - year, the Swedish Church is losing some portion of her - Churchmanship, and degenerating more and more every day into a - mere establishment. At this point it would have arrived long - ago, had it not been for Archbishop Wallin, who, not only a - sound divine, which most of the educated clergy are, but by far - the greatest poet modern Sweden has produced, has embodied the - doctrines of the Church in a series of hymns, which now form - part of the Church service, under the name of “Bede Psalmer.” - - Sweden is a musical nation, and these hymns are extremely - popular. So far as the author can find out, they are the only - means by which ninety-nine Swedes out of every hundred have any - knowledge whatever of the Christian doctrine, or in any way - differ from their Heathen ancestors—the worshippers of Odin and - the mythology of Asgard. - - As a specimen of Wallin’s poetry, we will take his hymn on the - Creation—a paraphrase of the 104th Psalm,—perhaps as fine a - specimen of rhythmic illustration as any that exists. We give - it from Howitt’s translation:— - - “Sing, my soul, - The Eternal’s praise,— - Infinite! - Omnipotent! - God of all worlds! - In glorious light, all star-bestrewed, - Thou dost Thy majesty invest,— - The Heaven of heavens is Thine abode, - And worlds revolve at Thy behest. - Infinite! - Omnipotent! - God of all worlds! - Thy chariot on the winds doth go; - The thunder follows Thy career; - Flowers are Thy ministers below, - And storms Thy messengers of fear. - Infinite! - Omnipotent! - O Thou, our God! - - “The earth sang not Thy peerless might - Amid the heavenly hosts of old,— - Thou spakest, and from empty night - She issued forth, and on her flight - Of countless ages proudly rolled,— - Darkness wrapped her, and the ocean - Wildly weltering on her lay; - Thou spakest, and, with glad devotion, - Up she rose with queenly motion, - And pursued her radiant way. - - “High soared the mountains, - Glittering and steep,— - Forth burst the fountains, - And through the air flashing— - From rock to rock dashing— - ’Mid the wild tempest crashing— - Took their dread leap. - - “Then opened out the quiet dale, - With all its grass and flowers; - Then gushed the spring, so clear and pale, - Beneath the forest bowers; - Then ran the brooks from moorlands brown, - Along the verdant lea, - And the fleet fowls of heaven shot down - Into a leafy sea;— - ’Mid the wild herd’s rejoicing throng, - The nightingales accord— - All nature raised its matin song, - And praised Thee—Nature’s Lord: - O Thou, who wast, and art, and e’er shall be! - Eternal One! all earth adoring stands, - And through the works of Thy Almighty Hands - Feels grace and wisdom infinite in Thee! - - “And answer gives the sea,— - The fathomless ocean— - The waste without end— - Where, in ceaseless commotion, - Winds and billows contend;— - Where myriads that live without count, without name— - Crawling or swimming in strange meander— - Fill the deep as it were with a quivering flame; - Where the heavy whale doth wander - Through the dumb night’s hidden reign, - And man unwearied with earth’s wide strife - Still hunts around death’s grim domain— - The over-flood of life. - - “To Thee! to Thee! Thou Sire of all, - Our prayers in faith ascend,— - All things that breathe, both great and small, - On Thee alone depend. - Thy bounteous hand Thou dost unclose, - And happiness unstinted flows - In streams that know no end.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -BREAKING UP THE ENCAMPMENT. - - “To-day shall be spent in drinking,— - We need not spare the ale,— - And we will set sail on the morrow, - Nor will our good luck fail.” - - _Svenska Folk-visor._ - - -The whole party found their quarters in the Soberud valley so extremely -comfortable, and the game so very abundant, that they were readily -induced to prolong their stay; and the Parson struck up quite a -friendship with the worthy Pfarrherr, and talked theology with the -Candidatus. Torkel, who had had long, and, apparently, very interesting -conversations with old Torgenson, the import of which did not transpire, -had asked a temporary leave of absence, which was readily granted—the -Parson having, no doubt, his own suspicions from what he saw at the -sœter, but prudently holding his tongue about them. Indeed, he was no -loser; for Torkel’s place, in every respect, except as an interpreter, -was amply supplied by Karl Torgenson, who, having served his time of -drill, had been just discharged from the corvette _Freya_, and had -arrived, somewhat unexpectedly, on the Sunday evening. Karl spoke a -little English, though not enough for conversation; but, on the other -hand, he was as good a sportsman as Torkel himself, and much better -acquainted with the localities of his own home. - -Under his guidance, the Parson’s flies lured many a trout from the blue -waters of the lake; but the best fish—such fish, indeed, as he had never -before seen—were caught by a discovery of his own. - -The lake lying in a broad valley, many of its shores were shelving -and sandy, or slightly muddy, instead of plumping down in rocky -sublacustrine precipices, and all these shallows were fringed with -weeds. Coming home late in the evening, he saw a number of children in -the water, ladling out, with tins and buckets, and vessels of every -description, hundreds and thousands of little white glittering fish, -which were feeding on the weed. These were the young of the fresh-water -herring, which, whenever they can get them, which is not often, the -Norwegians make into soup. The full-grown fish are not taken till later -in the year, and this is never done except by nets, for they will rise at -no bait of any kind big enough to put on a hook. - -The Parson was looking at the little glittering things as they sparkled -in the moonlight,—and no fish is so brilliantly white as the fresh-water -herring,—when, amid the shouts and screams of the children, a huge -trout was tumbled on shore out of one of the buckets. “O! by George!” -said the Parson to Karl Torgenson, who smiled as if he understood every -word, “that is worth noting; that fellow came to make his supper off the -herrings, and having ventured in too far, has got entangled in the weeds. -There will be some of his great relations come to supper, also, for -certain. Let us try.” - -A light fly-rod, such as the Parson carried, was not the weapon best -adapted for the purpose; but he forthwith unlooped his casting-line, and -taking a trace out of his fly-book—for he was never without trolling -materials—fitted one of the little glittering gwineads on the litch; and -wading quite as deep as was prudent, and a good deal deeper than was -pleasant, considering the time of night and the coldness of Norwegian -waters, he cast beyond the edge of the weeds; the bait had hardly began -to spin, when a fish took him, such as required all his skill to master -with his fly-rod, and long and arduous was the struggle before he -succeeded in leading him captive through an opening in the weeds, and -drawing him quietly into shoal water. - -The fact was, that the whole coast, like that of France during the -late war, was in a state of strict blockade; the little gwineads, like -the chasse-marées, were dodging about in-shore, while the great trout, -unable, from their draught of water, to pursue them into the shallows, -were grimly cruising about and snapping up any adventurous little -youngster that showed his nose outside. The fly-rod was too feeble to -do much execution that evening, for it took half an hour to master a -fish with it; but the discovery was not lost on the Parson, and the next -evening saw him with a twenty-two foot cane trolling-rod, commanding, at -easy cast, the whole fishable water, and supplying the præstgaard, as -well as the hall, with such trout as they had never dreamt of. - -The Captain and Birger were no less assiduous in their own particular -calling, and from the quantity of game, including deer, which they -brought in, might very fairly be said to have paid for their keep. The -fjeld of Soberud was much more open, and better adapted for game, than -the valley of the Torjedahl and its surrounding mountains, and also, as -there were fewer thick trees, better adapted for getting at it. - -Pleasant as all this was, time wore on, and it became necessary for the -party to resume their knapsacks and retrace their steps, Torgensen having -first exacted a promise that they would visit Soberud once more before -their departure. “Perhaps,” said he, mysteriously, “I may have occasion -to muster all the friends of my house before the winter comes on, and -whenever that occasion happens, I hope the present party will honour my -roof-tree.” - -Tom, who interpreted this speech, could not conceive what it alluded -to, though it seemed to make him very merry; but the mystery, if ever -there was one, was soon explained by Lota’s blushes, when the Captain, -on seeing her and the missing Torkel together, as the party arrived at -the Aalfjer sœter that evening, shook his head at them with a knowing -smile. In fact, Torkel had made such excellent use of his time, that -while the party were occupied with the fish and game of the Soberud -valley, he had contrived to settle, and definitely arrange, with the full -approbation of Torgensen, that his marriage should take place in the -autumn. No Norwegian ever thinks of marrying till the work-day summer is -past; besides, Torkel was making a very good thing of it with his present -employers, and if he were not, it is not altogether certain that even -Lota’s attractions would have been sufficient to draw him away from the -sports in which he was engaged. Apparently, he did not find those things -which he had to settle with Lota herself, so easy of arrangement as those -which had been the subject of his discussions with her father; for though -the first Sunday evening was quite long enough to settle everything with -him, it took him three or four whole days at the sœter to arrange matters -with her; indeed, there the party found him when they encamped there on -their return, and, notwithstanding this, he had so much more to say on -the last morning, that the fishermen had arrived for some hours at their -old encampment on the Torjedahl, and had had time entirely to change the -whole plan of the campaign before they saw anything of him. - -During their absence the post had arrived, bringing letters for them -all; these Ullitz had forwarded, and their first occupation, while their -attendants were preparing the supper and exchanging news with those who -had been left behind, was to read their respective letters. Birger had a -whole heap—which he did not deserve—from a host of relations and friends, -whom, in his ardour for sport, he had grievously neglected; all of -these he postponed for a great, square, official looking document, with -“Kongs ofwer Commandant’s Expedition” written in the corner: this he did -deserve, for it contained, along with an acknowledgement for his valuable -portfolio of military drawings, an extension of leave, which the dutiful -lieutenant had asked for on the plea so well known in the British army, -“family arrangements.” - -“Hurrah,” said the Captain, “here’s a letter from Moodie; he wants us -to meet him at Gotheborg, where he is bringing down a cargo of elks and -reindeer, and Northern wild beasts, for the Zoological Gardens; and then -we are to go back with him, he says, to some place which I can neither -spell nor pronounce, where, the chances are, we shall get a crack at a -bear.” - -“You have always had a weakness that way,” said the Parson, “I believe -getting a crack at a bear, as you call it, was your principal reason for -coming here at all.” - -“Well, but Moodie says there is capital fishing on the Gotha; the salmo -ferox, my boy! what do you think of that? and you know the fish are -beginning to run small here, there was not a full-mouthed salmon caught -the last day we fished here, nothing but miserable grauls.” - -“Grauls give very pretty sport, though, and as for the salmo ferox, it is -nothing but an ill-conditioned, over-grown trout, that has got a cross of -the pike in it, and consequently will take nothing but the spinning bait. -But I must say I should like to see old Moodie again.” - -“Will you go then?” - -“Ask Birger.” - -“Hey! what?” said Birger, looking up from his letters, which, after all, -seemed to be more interesting than he had expected. “Moodie? ah! yes! -that’s the fellow my friend Bjornstjerna mentions; a terrible fellow -he says, a very Hercules against the wild beasts—there is never a skal -without him; Bjornstjerna says he had rather have him than a hundred men, -any day.” - -“And who is Bjornstjerna?” - -“One of the Ofwer Jagmästerer, the officers, that is, whose business it -is to call out the peasantry to keep down the wild beasts; he is very -good authority on such matters, and I vote we accept your friend Moodie’s -invitation, it is much the best chance we have of seeing sport.” - -The Captain looked a little puzzled; he was anxious enough to go, but the -invitation had been to him and the Parson, and of course had not included -Birger, whose existence was necessarily unknown to Moodie; in fact, the -Captain had not thought of that difficulty. Birger, who had spent a -good part of his leave in England, where he had some friends, burst out -laughing. - -“Ah, that is just your English way, you think you cannot take me, because -your friend has not sent me a written invitation in due form—that is -not the way we go on here; my friend’s friend is my friend, and if -your countryman has not learnt that in the four years during which, -Bjornstjerna tells me, he has been living in the country, it is high time -he should learn. When does he drive his flocks and herds to Gotheborg?” - -“Why, if we would meet him, we must start directly, for he comes next -week.” - -“Well, why not start directly? come Parson! one river is as good as -another.” - -“Scarcely that,” said the Parson, laughing; “but I do want to see how -Moodie carries on the war in your barbarous country; so let us go—Tom,” -raising his voice so as to be heard from below, “when does the next -steamer sail for Valö?” - -“The day after to-morrow, at day-break,” said Tom, whose head was a -perfect register of naval events. - -“That will never do,” said the Parson, who contemplated a farewell visit -to the Torjedahl salmon. - -“Not do!” said Birger, “why it is the very thing. Strike the tents -to-morrow, early,—down the river without stopping at Christiansand -Bridge,—run alongside the steamer, take our berths,—stow our goods,—and -then we shall have half the day to land and visit our stores at Ullitz’s, -kiss Marie, and make what changes we want in the baggage department. I -must take my uniform for Gotheborg; we are not ashamed of our uniform in -our country,” he added, significantly nodding at the Captain, who, like -most English soldiers, was rather addicted to mufti; “and you too will -want more baggage, now that you are going into a civilized country.” - -“Do not let Torkel hear you say that. He considers Christiansand the -emporium of fashion and the centre of civilization. By-the-bye, what are -we to do with our men? I will not leave Torkel behind,—I have quite an -affection for the fellow.” - -“Leave Torkel behind!” said Birger; “why should you? you do not think -the Swedes will eat him, do you? I mean to take Piersen myself; these -Norwegians, rascals as they are, all of them, are a great deal smarter -and handier in forest work than our Swedes; their education fits them for -Jacks-of-all-trades; they get kicked out of doors, with a pack on their -back, at ten years of age, to earn their livelihood, and learn smartness -and knowledge of the world,—and they do learn it, and precious scoundrels -they grow up:—however, they answer our purpose, for they can turn their -hands to anything.” - -At that moment Torkel came up, looking a little confused and ashamed of -himself, and not the less so that the Parson asked significantly for the -latest news from the sœter of Aalfjer. - -His love, however, did not prevent him from being wild to go, as soon -as he heard of the change of plans—a sentiment in which the rest fully -participated; indeed there was not a dissentient voice in the camp, -except that of the boatmen, who were to be discharged at Christiansand, -and whose fun was thus prematurely cut short. A small pecuniary -gratification set matters right in that quarter also, and when the -evening closed on the last day of the encampment, the hopes and eager -anticipations of a brilliant future had already effaced all regrets for a -happy past. - -The sun was hardly above the horizon, when the whole camp was astir, -and active preparations for departure were begun. These did not occupy -any very great deal of time; they had not come up the river in very -heavy marching order, and there were a good many hands at the work. The -principal part of it was securing the smoked salmon, of which they had -now a very fair cargo. This is a very acceptable present everywhere; -for though salmon are plenty in Norway, the means of catching them are -very imperfectly understood. There was also a goodly array of forest -preserves, which, being too heavy for transport, and subject to a heavy -duty into the bargain from jealous Sweden, were destined to swell the -ample stores of Madame Ullitz. - -While all this was going on, the Parson, rod in hand, took a melancholy -farewell of his favourite throws, in the course of which he caught two -fish—both grauls, though, as the Captain took care to remark. By ten -o’clock everything was ready, and the boats shoved off on their downward -voyage. - -“Well, certainly it is much pleasanter to go with the stream than against -it, in all the affairs of this life,” said the Captain, as the boats -closed again, after racing down the upper rapids which had cost them so -much time and so much trouble to ascend. “Here we have undone in half an -hour and at our ease, what it took us half a day to do, and with harder -work than I wish to meet with very often.” - -“Not an uncommon thing in this wicked world of ours,” said the Parson. -“_Facilis descensus_;—you know the rest. However, that which is pleasant -is not always safe,—so look out. Here we are, at the head of the Oxea -rapid, and a touch of these rocks, going down stream, you will find a -very different thing from a touch going up. Give way, boys! let me have -good steerage-way through the water.” - -And he dashed into the very midst of the racing current—rocks, trees, and -banks flying past him, till, before they seemed to be well in it, the -three boats were floating side by side in the broad flat below, at the -lower end of which the encampment had been made on the first night of the -expedition. A short halt here, which they made, more for the pot than for -sport, secured them a good catch of trout and a graul or two; and their -rapid course down the deep, full-flowing stream was resumed, leisurely -indeed—but so swift was the current under the deceitful show of its calm -and quiet surface, that notwithstanding a little difficulty at the lower -rapids, where there was not water enough in the boat canal to float them, -the sun was still high when they rounded the dockyard point, and opened -the harbour of Christiansand. - -“Hullo, Tom, where is the steamer?” - -Tom rubbed his eyes, for he could not believe them, but no amount of -rubbing will produce a vision of that which is not, and the fact became -indisputable as they pulled on—there was no steamer in the harbour. -The Parson, who after all, had left very unwillingly, and rather in -compliance with the wishes of his companions than in accordance with his -own fancy or judgment, began to feel sulky; the Captain, who had proposed -the change, began to feel anxious, and to labour under the weight of his -responsibility; and even Birger, who had nothing to reproach himself for, -was not entirely at his ease. - -Things however, were not so bad as they had anticipated; there was no -steamer certainly, but Ullitz, who was lounging on the quay—where indeed -the good man spent the greater part of his summer hours, looking out for -travellers and seeking whom he might entertain, and who certainly did -not approve of a change of plans which deprived him of a very profitable -commissariat,—informed them that the day had been changed, and that the -steamer would not arrive till the following evening, nor sail till the -day after. - -“Never mind,” said Birger, “let us have one good supper, and one -comfortable night’s rest more than we expected; I will be bound we strike -out something for to-morrow, and after all we shall lose nothing, we may -as well be at Christiansand as at Gotheborg.” - -Ullitz did not say, but looked as if he thought they had much better. - -“The sea is as calm as glass,” said Torkel to Tom. “Would not this do for -eider duck-hunting.” - -“It is a great pity that Fröken Lota has to make up her stores of eider -down now,” said Tom, “and she to be married in the autumn.” - -Torkel could afford to laugh, for he knew very well—indeed, none had -cause to know it better, he having supplied a good half of them—the -extent of Miss Lota’s eider stores. All this was an aside, and Tom -resumed aloud, “To be sure, there could not be better weather, we shall -not have ripple out in the haaf[33] any more than in the fjord; and -besides, we can take some cod-lines, and when we have killed or driven -off the ducks we can fill our boats with rock cod.” - -“What is all that?” said the Captain. - -Tom explained. - -“Upon my word I think it will do very well; what say you, Birger?” - -“Nothing better, I have never been duck-hunting myself, but they say it -is capital fun; there are three or four fellows of ‘ours’ who always get -leave in the duck season, and pass a month or two on the islands of the -Baltic; they say it is first-rate sport—I vote we go.” - -And so it was settled, and the details of the expedition were arranged as -they walked up those sandy deserts of streets which they had traversed on -the first night of their landing. - -Marie received them with smiles, and when she learnt the object of their -sport, so worked on the Captain’s susceptible heart, that he vowed she -should have every feather that fell to his gun. The Parson was rather -affected to Lota, but Torkel, who had been a little stung by Tom’s joke, -magnanimously transferred the offer to Marie, who, “poor thing, might -perhaps want the down, and Lota would not know what to do with it, she -had a great deal more than she could make up already;” which, considering -his own fame as a hunter, as well as that of young Svensen, between whom -Miss Lota had been coquetting (so Tom averred) till she ought to have -been ashamed of herself, was not unlikely to be literally true. - - It must be remarked that this is the sporting way of collecting - eider down. The business way is robbing the nests, which is - done in spring, and is very slow work—though sufficiently - dangerous. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -EIDER DUCK HUNTING. - - “For now in our trim boats of Norroway deal - We must dance on the waves with the porpoise and seal;— - The breeze it shall pipe, so it pipe not too high, - And the gull be our songstress whene’er she flits by;— - We’ll sing while we bait, and we’ll sing while we haul, - For the deeps of the Haaf have enough for us all.” - - _Norway Fishing Song._ - - -The dawn was yet grey upon the mountains, and the light steaming mist -was still resting on the glassy surface of the harbour, when the three -boats slipped off noiselessly from the dockyard point. The fishing rods, -now useless, had been landed, and the guns and rifles had taken their -places, while the after-lockers were stored with cod lines and their -gear, to say nothing of the långref that had done such good service at -Mosse Eurd, and which was now converted into a spillet. The boats were -well provisioned—that is almost an invariable rule in Norway, so far as -quantity goes, but on this occasion, they were provisioned with all the -delicacies the fair Marie could lay her hands upon; nay, so interested -was she in the subject, that she came down with the party, in the grey -of the morning, to superintend the packing herself; and, after carrying -on a lively conversation with Birger, on the road, endeavoured, in vain, -to make the Captain understand something or other; her anxiety to convey -her meaning brought her cheek very much closer to his lips than perhaps -she intended—how close it was impossible to say, for the morning light -was still very faint,—in all probability, Birger might have come in for a -share of the secret, whatever it was, but he was rude enough to burst out -laughing, and to add something in Swedish, about bribery and corruption, -which put the young lady to immediate flight. - -“You need not look so conceited,” said he, (possibly the grapes were -sour); “it was not you, it was the eider down she was thinking of.” - -No one knows what silence is, who has not been in the North—what we -call silence, is a perpetual recurrence of a thousand familiar sounds, -so familiar that the ear does not notice them; the chirp of hundreds of -birds, and millions of insects go to make up English silence;—perhaps -within the Arctic circle it may be deeper than that which, at that early -hour, brooded over the harbour of Christiansand; but even that was a -silence which made itself to be felt; and the regular and steady roll of -the oars in the rowlocks, as the boats shot out into the fjord, fairly -echoed among the cliffs like grumbling thunder. Nothing could be more -calm and unbroken than the water, which seemed to be hot, for a slight -steam kept slowly rising from the whole surface, and hung upon it like a -veil which now began to whiten in the increasing light; every here and -there a seal would put up his head, like a black oily bead, take a steady -view of the boats, and then dip under, without a ripple to show where the -surface had been broken. - -“Oars!” said the Captain, in a whisper, as one of these sheep of Proteus -evinced a little more indiscreet curiosity than his neighbours, and as -his boat, which had been leading, lost her way, he rose quietly, and his -rifle thundered through the still air of the morning, as if it had been -a six-pounder, while its echoes were caught and repeated, crack after -crack, by a dozen sharp cliffs and wooded islands. - -The surface was sufficiently disturbed this time—for the Captain’s rifle -seldom spoke in vain,—and the seal was struggling in the agonies of -death; the men stretched out on their oars as if they were racing, but -before the boat could reach the spot, all was quiet again, and a slight -red stain in the water was all that remained to tell of the Captain’s -accuracy of aim. The Captain gazed on the deep blue below. - -“It is of no use,” said the Parson, “they always sink, and it is a great -shame to be firing at that which you cannot get when you have killed it.” - -“You used to shoot them, yourself, in Sligo Bay.” - -“Yes, I did, but there was a tide there, and we shot them at high water, -and picked them up when the sands were bare—even then, though, we lost -a good many, but here there is not a chance; that fellow is food for -lobsters.” - -“Well, I hope the cockneys will profit by it when the next batch goes to -the London market,” said the Captain, loading his rifle, “but have we no -tide here?” - -“We have no sands that we can make available; but a tide there is, though -a faint one. Did you ever hear how there came to be a tide in Norway—for -originally there certainly was nothing of the kind? Thor was on a visit -to Loki Uttgard, who, in all love, challenged him to drink his great horn -out, and to turn it over to show there were no heeltaps, as is the custom -in Norway. Thor had never been conquered yet in drinking, or in anything -else; in fact, he had the hardest head, inside and out, of any god in -Norway. He drank, and he drank, but there was no bottom to be found to -the horn, and Thor put it down with shame, and acknowledged himself -at last vanquished; but the Uttgarders, who were all giants of a very -ferocious stamp, stood round, in speechless admiration. Loki had made a -communication between the bottom of the horn and the sea itself, and what -Thor had drunk was the ebb.” - -“H’m! Hence the fine of a glass of salt and water,” said the Captain, “I -have often inflicted it, but I never knew the high authority I had for so -doing. Come, boys, give way for the Haaf.” - -But before so doing they had to stop at a shoal, well known to Tom, -who now began to take the command, while Torkel sank into comparative -insignificance. It was necessary to lay in a supply of cod-bait, which -was not to be had in deep water. This was a species of large limpet, that -clung to the rocks by thousands, and was dislodged by the boat-hooks, -and stowed away in the balers. At length the swell of the open sea made -itself to be felt, for ever heaving and setting and rolling along in vast -mountains, and flashing in spray against the black rocks, though the -surface was as glassy and unbroken as that of the harbour. The whole -swell of the North Sea, and of the Atlantic beyond it heaves against -these coasts, and is never quiet in the calmest weather. The sun, which -had now risen, gleamed against the white tower of the light-house, and -flashed back in blinding rays from its lantern, as the boats pulled past -it into the Haaf. - -They had now formed line abreast, at five or six hundred yards distance, -and were pulling leisurely along, keeping a bright look out on every -side. Calm as it was, the swells were quite heavy enough to conceal the -boats entirely from each other as, from time to time, the huge mountains -rolled between them. - -They had proceeded in this manner for about half an hour, without seeing -anything, except gulls and cormorants—which latter, sitting in the -water, and rising and falling on the swells, had more than once deceived -them,—when, suddenly, Birger, who was on the extreme right, pointed with -his hand to the westward of their course: all eyes were turned in that -direction, and the line wheeled on Birger, as a pivot, when a dozen -or so, of black spots were seen on the side of the swell, in the rare -intervals when the boats and they were both rising. - -The centre boat, which was the Parson’s, pulled right on the objects, -while the flankers having increased their distance to half a mile, pulled -on some hundred yards in advance of her. - -Onward as they came, the black spots grew larger and larger, and the -distinct outlines of the ducks began to be distinguishable; still they -sat on the water, rising and falling to the swell as unconcernedly as -ever. - -The flanking boats were already ahead of them, and the Parson, with his -long gun in his hand, had begun to calculate his distance—which, out -at sea, is particularly deceptive,—when, with one accord, the dozen -tails began to wriggle, and at once the whole flock were under water, -disappearing simultaneously, and as if by signal. - -[Illustration: EIDER DUCK SHOOTING.] - -The men, who, much to the Parson’s impatience, had been pulling very -leisurely indeed, now stretched out with all their might, and as they -shot across the spot lately occupied by the ducks, marked the chain -of air-bubbles, which tended out to seaward. A signal conveyed this -information to the Captain’s boat, which pulled into the line to -intercept them; Birger, who was thus thrown out, closing in with all his -might, and the Parson following up the track—each stood up as well as -he could in the roll of the sea, and looked out with all his eyes. Six, -eight, ten minutes elapsed, and nothing to be seen: it was impossible -that the birds could be under so long. At last, far to the rear of even -Birger’s boat, twelve black spots were seen rising and falling on the -swell as unconcernedly as they were at first. The ducks had headed back -under water, and the boats had pulled over them. - -The same manœuvre was repeated, and with the same result; the centre boat -approached almost within firing distance, when the twelve tails again -wriggled simultaneously, and the twelve bodies went under at once. This -time, however, they rose within shot of Birger’s boat, but before he -could get his gun to bear on them, they were under again. - -This was precisely what was wanted; the only chance of getting a shot, -at this season of the year, is to make the birds dive till they are -exhausted: they are said not to duck the flash like the divers—perhaps -they do not, but, at all events, they are generally under water long -before the quickest gunner can get a shot at them, and that, practically, -comes to the same thing. - -The dive this time was a short one, though it carried them out of shot, -for the Captain, catching the line of their chain, had pulled on their -track, and headed them back to his friends. This time they rose among -the boats, and one or two attempted a heavy lumbering flight, which was -speedily put a stop to by the fowling-pieces. The rest dispersed, diving -each his own way, and pursued by the boats independently. - -The object of approaching in a crescent, is to prevent the birds from -doing this before they are too much exhausted to dive far. A separated -flock can seldom be marked, inasmuch as it is more difficult to -catch sight of one black spot than a dozen; and besides, under such -circumstances, the boats can no longer act in concert. If a flock -disperses early in the chase, the chances are that not above one or two -birds will be secured; if kept pretty well together, not above as many -will escape. - -It is a singular thing that eider ducks should be so unwilling to take -the wing in summer, for, though they rise heavily, they are by no means -bad flyers; but so long as they have breath to dive, nothing will get -them into the air; and this peculiarity, which in ordinary weather is -their preservation, during the calms is their destruction. - -The chase was now an ordinary affair, very like rat hunting: the -birds, confused and dispersed, kept poking their heads up in all sorts -of unexpected directions, and, as their dives were now short, one or -other of the quick and experienced eyes was sure to detect them. As for -missing, when they were once within shot, it was impossible to miss a -bird nearly as big as a goose, and almost as heavy on the wing. Ten -out of the twelve were bagged, and two only were unaccounted for, they -having slipped away during the heat of the chase. The boats then formed -line-of-battle again, and cruised on in search of other adventures. - -Various little episodes occurred, in which one or two rare sea-gulls and -other birds were brought down, as they hovered round the boats or crossed -their course. Most gulls, indeed, evince a great deal of curiosity in -their disposition, and a very dangerous quality this sometimes proves; -but in this case the murders were committed exclusively for the sake -of Science (who, by the way, must be a very cruel goddess), for the -fishermen were a great deal too much of sportsmen to indulge in the -vulgar gull-murder without object, which is called sport by maritime -cockneys. Three or four other flocks of eider duck were sighted, and -chased with various success; some, taking the alarm in time, contrived -to dive and swim ahead of the boats, so as to elude them altogether; -some, startled by too rapid approach, dived before they had time to draw -together, and, breaking their order, appeared so many scattered black -spots in different directions, most of which were necessarily lost while -pursuing the others. But these mishaps were not of frequent occurrence, -and a good heap of great ugly birds had already been collected, when, -about noon, a light cat’s-paw ruffled the surface, frosting it over with -little wavelets. At the time when this occurred it was quite unexpected; -the boats were following a chain of bubbles, and all available eyes being -fixed on them, no one was looking out into the offing. - -In a moment the trace was lost; the birds might have risen, but the eye -could no longer mark the clear, well-defined, black dot. Ten minutes -afterwards all was calm again, but the flock were already safe. - -“It is all over for to-day,” said Tom, looking anxiously into the offing, -where a narrow line of darker blue had already begun to mark the hitherto -undistinguishable boundary of sea and sky; “here comes the breeze -already.” - -And slowly but surely the line crept down, first widening, then throwing -out ramifications before it; and then the sleepy surface of the sea -seemed to shudder, as if touched by a cold breath; little wavelets -began to ripple on the backs of the long swells,—then light airs fanned -the boats uncertainly, and, at last, a steady breeze set in from the -southward and westward. - -“Up stick, for the cod ground!” said Tom; “we are only wasting time -here.” And in a couple of minutes the three boats were running away to -the eastward, under their English lugs, which, having hitherto served as -tents, were now for the first time applied to their legitimate use. - -The end of the chase had left them five or six miles to westward of -the fjord’s mouth, and as far to seaward, while the fishing-ground was -a sunken island or shoal, a couple of miles or so from the lighthouse -near the outer range of islands;—it is called a shoal, and possibly, for -Norway, it is a shoal; but there is not less than twenty fathoms on any -part of it. - -The boats were slipping along through the smooth water, as if they were -going up and down the hills of an undulating road; the breeze, though -very light, was steady, and already the features of the outer islands -were growing distinct; and Tom was looking out for the bearings of the -shoal. - -“This is all very well,” said the Captain, steering his boat close to -that of the Parson, “but I have had no breakfast.” - -“Then why don’t you set about it; I am sure Marie has not forgotten you.” - -“Oh! I will not stand that; why should we make a toil of pleasure? I mean -to have a regular breakfast, and a pot of hot coffee—why not? we have the -whole day before us.” - -“Well, I do not mind; hail Birger—there is a dissolute island, as Jacob -calls it, before us; we will boil your pot there.” - -Birger was always ready for his grub, or, indeed, for anything else that -was proposed; and the boats were made fast to some rocky prominences on -the lea of the island, with a boat-keeper in each, to prevent them from -grinding one another to pieces. - -Strange to say, many of these islets, which are mere rocks, contain fresh -water, some of them in pools in the rocks, but many in regular springs, -and in this particular case a very respectable little streamlet trickled -down a crevice of the rock. - -Every beach, rock, and islet on the Norwegian coast is fringed with -a layer of drift-wood, in pieces of every size, from the great baulk -which in England would be worth five or six pounds down to the smallest -splinters. The reason of this is, that each river is continually -floating down its yearly freight of pines to the sea; these are caught -by a boom at the mouth,—that is to say, by a floating chain of squared -pine-stems,—but many dip under this and escape, many escape when it is -opened to let boats pass, and occasionally a freshet breaks a link or -draws a staple, in which case the whole boom-full of timber floats out to -sea at once. All this is irrecoverably lost, for it is illegal to pick -up timber floating; and a very necessary law this is, or the booms would -find themselves broken much oftener than they are. Nevertheless, the -quantity of timber lost annually in that way would pretty nearly supply -all the wants of all the English dockyards put together. But “it is an -ill wind that blows nobody any good;”—the wanderer on the sea coast need -never be without a fire to warm himself by. - -“I like this,” said the Captain, as he lay on his back looking up to -the sky, watching the blue smoke as it came in wreaths above his head. -“I should like to be a Robinson Crusoe now, with a desolate island of my -own, like this, where the foot of man has never trod, and—Holloa! What -the devil have we got now?” he said, jumping up;—“how came these little -animals here?” - -The little animals referred to were half a dozen children, with rakes and -hay-forks in their hands, who, attracted by the smoke and possibly by the -smell of the fried ham, were peering over the edge of the cliff like so -many sea-gulls. - -“These are the savages, Mr. Crusoe,” said the Parson, quietly; “but it -really is a curious thing, so let us climb up the cliff and see what they -are about.” - -The cliff was not difficult to scale, for the edges of the rocks were -like steps; and at the top a very unexpected scene met their eye: a -regular hay-field, with the hay in cocks, and five or six men and women -at work at it; they were carrying their cocks on a sort of handbier down -to their boats,—great, broad, heavy affairs these were, borrowed from the -horse-ferry,—and upon these they were building hay-stacks, intending to -take them in tow of their whale-boats, during the calm, and to bring them -to the main land. - -The form of the island was a sort of cup, of which the cliffs round the -edge were the highest parts, and the centre, from having no drain, had -formed a fresh-water lake with a spongy, mossy border,—and this it was -which supplied the streamlet. The outer rim was bare rock, but between -these two extremes there was a boggy, black ring of vegetable mould, -which produced in great abundance a coarse, rank, wiry grass, which the -people were storing up for the winter, in order to deceive the poor -beasts into the idea that they were eating hay. Poor as it was, they had -come out a dozen miles to sea to get it: their boats, four in number, -including the floating hay-stack, lay snugly in a little bay or inlet, -on the shoreward side, where the water was comparatively quiet. They -had evidently taken up their quarters on the island, and established a -regular bivouac till the work should be finished, for there was a cooking -place built up with stones, and two or three of the girls were spreading -out to dry, in the hot sun, the clothes they had been washing in the lake. - -“Who would have expected such a marine pastoral,” said Birger. - - “Här Necken sin harssa in glasborgen slaar, - Och Haafsfruar kamma sitt grönskende haar, - Och bleka den skinande drägten.”[34] - -“Heaven forefend,” said the Parson, hastily, “we are mad enough, some of -us already; and Torkel is in love, which is worse; we do not want to see -Haafsfruer. Remember Duke Magnus.” - -“It was not the Haafsfru that took away the senses of Duke Magnus,” said -Torkel, “it was the curse of good Bishop Brask, that rested on the family -of Gustavus from the day when he killed the two bishops and deceived our -Bishop of Trondhjem, who had given them sanctuary; the whole royal family -of Sweden have been crazy, more or less ever since, till they turned them -all out and put our good father Karl Johann in their place.” - -Birger shook his head sadly; he was too highly born himself, and too -aristocratic, not to feel a little shame at the idea of a French common -soldier superseding the old family of Vasa, sprung, like himself, from -Jarl Birger; but, for all that, he could not help admiring the worthy old -king who, by his downright honesty and sincerity and his strict sense of -duty, had painfully worked his way against all prejudices of rank and -nationality, and had wound himself into the affections of the people who -had chosen him. Still he had a kindly feeling for the old and glorious -race, and though he could neither deny the fact of the sacrilege and -breach of faith of Gustavus Vasa,—to which all the Norwegians, and many -of the Swedes also, attribute the hereditary madness of his family,—nor -indeed, the fact of the insanity itself, which was notorious in Eric his -successor, in Charles XII., and Gustavus IV., as well as the present -exiled representative of the family, yet he did not above half like -Torkel’s allusion to it. The Duke Magnus, whom they were speaking of, was -the youngest son of Gustavus Vasa, and was the first in whom the symptoms -of that disease about to be hereditary, had manifested themselves. - -The Parson, rather sympathising in his discomfiture, gave a turn to the -subject by quoting the Swedish version of the Duke’s madness, to which he -had himself alluded; for the Swedes ascribe it to the love of a mermaid, -the sight of whom is invariably unlucky and is generally supposed to -produce insanity. - - “Duke Magnus! Duke Magnus! bethink thee well,— - Answer me not so haughtily; - For if thou wilt not plight thee to me, - Thou shalt ever crazy be. - Duke Magnus! Duke Magnus! plight thee to me, - I pray you still so freely,— - Say me not nay, but yes, yes!” - -“There is no harm in _these_ mermaids,” said Tom, “for they are as good -and hard-working a set of girls as any in Christiansand, but I trust we -shall never meet with the real ones; at least, not just before a voyage.” - -“Why not,” said the Captain, “my principal reason for coming here was the -chance of seeing a mermaid in the only country in which they are still to -be met with. Have you never seen one yourself, Tom?” - -“No, and God grant I never may; they are not seen so often now-a-days as -they used to be, that is truth. If they are to be seen at all,” he said, -after a pause, “I must say this is just the time and the weather for -them; a calm, still, sunny day, with a mist on the water; through this -they used often and often to be seen in old times, combing their hair, -or driving their milk-white cattle to feed on the rock weed; sometimes, -though not so often, they are seen at night, coming and shivering round -the fishermen’s fires, and trying to entice away the young men and to get -them to go with them to their deep sea-caves; and those that they carry -off are never seen again in the upper world.[35] But mermaids are never -seen except in a still that comes before a storm, and no one ever catches -a fish for the first voyage after they have seen them.” - -“It is just the same with the Skogsfrue,” (the Lady of the Forest,) said -Torkel; “she is just as unlucky for us hunters, and when she can get any -young men to go with her, she never lets them come back again. I have -fancied more than once that I have seen her through the smoke of my fire -in the wild fjeld, but she was not likely to catch me.”[36] - -“Ah! there spoke the bridegroom elect,” said Tom, “but I am not so sure -of that either: I think, Torkel, I could tell Fröken Lota more than you -would like her to hear.” - -“If you do, Tom, you deserve to be ducked,” said the Captain, “and I will -help to duck you with my own hands.” - -“He may tell what he likes, and what he can,” said Torkel; “but it is -quite true about the ill-luck in hunting and fishing, which follow the -sight of the Skogsfruer and Haafsfruer both.” - -“Well, we will prove that, after Middagsmad, and there, in good time, -goes Jacob’s shot, to let us know that all is ready.” - -The afternoon was spent in a lazy, lounging way; the shoal, if shoal it -can be called, where the bottom was evidently jagged rock and the depth -never less than twenty fathoms, lay just off the island where they were, -and the boats had but to pull out a cable’s length to be in the very best -of the ground; but it is not a very exciting amusement to be continually -hauling in little fish about the size of whiting, as fast as the lines -could run down. It did not take long to half fill the boats with that -staple of Norwegian life, rock cod: the hands of the fishermen, hardened -with forest work as they were, and tanned with the sun, were scarcely -calculated to stand the salt water and the constant friction; the -pleasure soon became a toil, and one by one the boats sought the shore of -the island. - -The mermaids were soon characteristically employed in splitting and -laying out in the hot sun the baby cod, which proved a very acceptable -present; for this little fish, which swarms in every Norwegian fjord, is -among the poorer families, the principal winter store, and in nine cases -out of ten the only sea stock besides rö kovringer (or rye biscuits) -which a vessel carries. A present, in the strict sense of the word, -it could hardly be called, for Tom fairly sold his fish, and gravely -bargained for them with the young ladies, at so many kisses the hundred, -excluding Torkel from all competition, much to his disgust, by explaining -to them that as an engaged man he was entirely shut out from the market. - -The Parson and Birger were in the meanwhile seated in a niche of the -rock which formed a natural chaise-longue, sedately smoking their pipes -and watching the picturesque-looking galliasses, which had endeavoured -to work out against the mid-day’s spurt of breeze that had by this time -entirely died away, and which now, with their great sails hanging idly, -like so many curtains from their yards and gaffs, seemed, as well as the -fishermen, to be basking and enjoying themselves in the evening sun. - -There was no sort of hurry to return. Christiansand had few attractions, -and excepting Marie (and no one besides Birger could profit by that), -Ullitz’s house had still fewer. The luggage was all packed, and probably -by this time on board, their places taken, and their passage paid. Their -intention was, not to land again but to go along side at once. In the -meanwhile, a little tired with their morning’s work, they watched with -half-closed eyes the beautiful and peaceful sunset and the glorious -rising of the round full moon that threw a path of light across the -glassy waters. - -“How beautiful!” said the Parson, who had just opened his eyes. - -“Yes, that is the work of the Ljus Alfar—Lys Alfir they call them -here,—the Elves of Light. All elves work in metals, and these make a -silver filagree so fine that it can only be seen by moonlight on a -background of water. It is the floor of their ball-room, and if we were -either of us good enough, which it seems we are not, we should see -the little fairy beings dancing on it. When they are tired, they will -go to sleep under the leaves of the limes, which tree belongs to them -especially; the little spots of light which you see in its foliage on a -moonshiny night are their bright eyes, which they have not yet closed in -sleep.” - -“Really,” said the Parson, “Prospero’s Isle ought to have been placed -on the coasts of Norway; it would seem that the more scarce the visible -inhabitants, the more numerous the invisible.” - -“O, yes, nature, nature abhors a vacuum, and these Alfar are by far the -most numerous of all the supernatural beings. The White Elves, or Elves -of Light, are seldom found out of Norway and Sweden, but the Brown Elf -you have in Scotland as well. He works in metals of all sorts, though he -delights most in silver and gold. It is the Brown Elf that is the fitful -capricious being, which gives their meaning to the words elf and elvish: -these are the creatures which pinch untidy maids, and drink up the milk, -and light up their evening candles as Wills’-o’-the-Wisp, and lead men -into bogs and marshes. When seen, they are dressed in brown jackets with -crimson binding, and wear brown caps on their heads, whereas the Ljus -Alfar wear always the helmet of the foxglove, and are dressed in white. -It is the Black Elves that are malicious, though they often do good -service to men; they, too, work in metals, but it is generally in iron -and copper; they make arms and armour too, and sometimes filagree work, -like the Ljus Alfar, but theirs is always black.” - -“Berlin iron?” suggested the Parson. - -“Perhaps so; at all events the chain armour that they make is a most -valuable present, for, though no heavier than filagree-work, or, as you -say, Berlin iron, it will turn a sword or a shot.” - -“The disposition of the elf, then, varies with its colour.” - -“Yes, but one characteristic runs through all—all are capricious. All -may benefit you, some may hurt you, but none can be reckoned upon, and -that peculiarity, together with their universal horror of daylight, -gives a key to their allegorical origin.[37] These elves, or dwarfs, are -the incarnation of mining speculations, a very general form of gambling -both in Norway and Sweden. Mines are proverbially capricious; it is -impossible to tell how they may turn out. Occasionally these spirits are -beneficent in the highest degree, and their _protégés_ become suddenly -rich, but this is never to be relied on; the best are capricious, and the -greater number are tricksy; while some—though even these are now and then -capricious benefactors—are positively wicked and malicious. There, now -you have my theory of the alfs and alfheim. - -“And there is another allegory about them, with a good Christian moral -to it,” continued Birger, after a pause spent in cherishing the fading -embers of his pipe; “these alfs are not baptised and have no part in -salvation, but they are capable of baptism under certain circumstances; -they are always anxious for it for themselves in their good moments, -but invariably so for their children, though those instances in which -they succeed are rare. The Icelandic family of Gudmund are cursed -with a disease peculiar to their race, which originated—so the family -tradition goes—in the curse of an alf frue, whom one of their ancestors -had deceived in this particular. Andreas Gudmund had a child by an alf -frue: at her earnest request, he promised that it should be taken in the -church; and when the child was old enough, she duly brought it to the -churchyard wall, which was as far as she might go herself, for no alf -may enter consecrated ground. The sound of the bells was torture to her, -but she bore it, and laid her child on the wall, with a golden cup as -an offering. But Gudmund, fearing the censures of the Church and the -reproaches of his friends, would not fulfil his promise. The alf frue -waited and waited, but the service was over, and the parting bells began -to ring again. So she snatched up the child and vanished into her hill, -and neither she nor it were ever seen again under the light of day. But -from that time forward, the right hand of every Gudmund is leprous, in -token that their ancestor was forsworn. - -“Now all this must be allegory; what should you say was the meaning -of the spirits of the mine being capable of salvation, and being -occasionally, though rarely, seen admitted into the Church?” - -“I suppose,” said the Parson, “it must be that wealth, though a -temptation to evil, may be used in God’s service, and that it -occasionally, though rarely, is so used. ‘Make to yourselves friends of -the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail they may receive you -into everlasting habitations.’” - -“I think we may as well top our booms,” said the Captain, whose cigar -was finished; “the people will be all asleep on board the steamer, and, -besides—” - -“Besides what?” - -“Why we promised to let Marie have the eider down, and Ullitz’s people -will be in bed, too. You know we sail at daybreak?” - -“O-ho, that’s the business is it? Well, then, call the men together, and -see that they leave nothing behind them.” - -That was soon done, for nothing had been landed beyond the cooking and -dining apparatus, and the boats dashed along the still fjord, leaving -behind them three rippling lines of sparkling light, as if the Ljus Alfar -were dancing in their wakes. - -In little more than an hour they were alongside the steamer, where their -whole travelling paraphernalia had been stowed in their respective -berths. Of these, the Parson and Birger, tired with their long day’s -work, were very shortly the occupants; the Captain, more energetic, -collected the ducks, and, accompanied by Tom and Torkel, landed at the -wharf; but what Marie said, on receiving so large an accession to her -stores, and what the Captain said to her, and how he contrived to say -it, are points upon which history is silent. Certain it is, that when the -Parson awoke from his first sleep, which was not till the steamer began -to tumble about on the swell outside, the Captain was snoring loudly in -the next berth, while the three attendants were equally fast asleep on -the cabin deck. - - While this book was in the press, the author met with “Lloyd’s - Scandinavian Adventures,” in which there is not only a - description, but a print of eider duck shooting _under sail_. - It would be presumptuous in him to go against the experience of - a sportsman who has resided in these countries for more years - than the author has months. Possibly in the north, where the - birds are less hunted, they may be less cautious, and may allow - a boat to approach them in a breeze. The author can, however, - write only from personal experience. The foregoing chapter, so - far as the facts are concerned, is merely a transcript from - his journal; and as far as his own experience goes, he would - say, that the setting in of a breeze sufficient to enable the - lightest boat to carry sail, would utterly preclude all chance - of success in eider duck hunting. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE COASTING VOYAGE. - - “Now launched once more, the inland sea - They furrow with fair augury. - - “So brilliant was the landward view, - The ocean so serene; - Each puny wave in diamonds rolled - O’er the calm deep, where hues of gold - With azure strove, and green. - The hill, the vale, the tree, the tower, - Glowed with the tints of evening hour, - The beach was silver sheen. - - “The wind breathed soft as lover’s sigh, - And, oft renewed, seemed oft to die, - With breathless pause between. - - “O, who with speech of war and woes - Would wish to break the soft repose - Of such enchanting scene.” - - _Lord of the Isles._ - - -If an Englishman can ever enter into the feelings of a Neapolitan, and -in any way connect the ideas of the _dolce far niente_ with those of -enjoyment, if he can ever bend that active, energetic mind of his, and -that restless and industrious Anglo-Saxon body, to realize the faintest -conception of the “paradise of rest,” in which the Buddhist places the -sum of his felicity, it will be on board ship, after breakfast, on a -calm, warm forenoon, and beyond the influence of the Post Office. - -[Illustration: SCENE ON THE SOUTH COAST OF NORWAY. - -p. 220.] - -That these words actually passed through the lips of the Captain, and -escaped, what Homer calls, the protection of his teeth, we will not take -upon ourselves to affirm—as indolently he reclined on the paddle-box of -the _Gefjon_ steamer, with his eyes shut, his muscles relaxed, his arms -and legs sprawling about in all directions, while the indolent smoke of -his cigar, that from time to time floated out lazily from between his -lips, afforded the only sign of life about him; he seemed as if he was -totally incapable of making any such exertion—but certainly, these ideas -passed through his mind, and pictured themselves on the light grey clouds -that proceeded from his mouth. - -Breakfast, so far as the English portion of the guests was concerned, had -long been over, and though some hardy Norseman or persevering Swede was -still lingering over the scenes of his departed joys, and dallying with -tempting morsels of raw smoked salmon, or appetizing _caviare_, the first -great act of Northern daily life might be looked upon as completed. - -“You an artist,” said Birger, whose sketching tablet was already slung -round his neck, and who was looking round him from the bridge, unable to -choose, in such a panorama of beauty, which of all the lovely views he -should attempt to transfer to his paper—“You an artist, and asleep among -scenes like these? you are not worthy of them; as if you could not smoke -your cigar while the rain was falling, and sleep in the night-time.” - -“I was not asleep,” said the Captain, lazily, “I was thinking.” - -“Thinking,” said Birger, “look round you, and you may think that you are -in fairy land, if fairy land, itself, has anything half so lovely. Look -at that beautiful lake, which we are just opening, on the north—see how -those wooded capes partly intercept the view, with their soft outline of -birch, and that long reach of blue water dancing in the sunlight, and -that little island, a single spot of shade, with its three picturesque -fir trees, and that dark red rock that overhangs it, with its iron stains -of brown and yellow starting up from among the bright green foliage; and -look how the ash fringes the edge of that precipice: get up, and if you -are too lazy to work, at least admire.” - -Really, the scene was a scene of fairy land, such as, in our most -poetical of moments, we picture fairy land to be. The steamer’s course -lay among the groups of islands that fringe the southern shore of Norway, -and these, in that portion of the chain, at least, which lies between -Hellesund and Lyngör, are, for the most part, bold rocks, clothed with -every variety of foliage which Norway produces, and, being sheltered -from the sweep of the sea breezes by the outer chain exhibit that -foliage in its fullest perfection. The idea usually connected in our -minds with Norwegian scenery, is that of wild and desolate grandeur; and -fully is that idea realized in the mountains of the Hardanger and the -Alpine deserts of the Fille Fjeld—wild, rugged, treeless scenes of utter -desolation, almost beyond the limits of vegetable life. But it is far -otherwise with the coasts—nowhere is seen a colouring half so vivid as -among the sheltered islets of the southern shores; the turf with which -their glades are clothed is more brilliantly green than anything that we -have in England, where the grass is invariably interspersed with weeds. -Take a square yard of any English turf whatever, and you will find in it, -from ten to twenty different sorts of plants, all of which are, more or -less, glaucous in their colouring, and these, though at a little distance -undistinguishable in their forms, yet, blend their hues with the emerald -green of the grass, and present what, side by side with Norwegian turf, -would be but a soiled and faded picture. The foliage, too, is far more -bright and luxuriant than anything in England, even in the interior of -the country, but as different from our wind-worn and frost-nipt sea-side -greenery as can well be conceived. - -There is no such thing as early spring in those latitudes, or those warm, -sunny, deceitful days, which tempt forth the young bud and leaflet, only -to be pinched and shrivelled by the April frosts. Week after week does -stern winter bind up all nature in its iron fetters; all is still, and -cold, and dead; and though the sun rises higher and higher, he seems to -shine without power; and though the days lengthen, and the empire of -night be invaded, winter still holds on, and the snows look even whiter -in the stronger light—the Norway of April, is but the Norway of December: -more bright and more chilly—When all at once, and without preparation, -the scene is changed—the snows are gone, the ice is broken, the leaves -are already green, and the country is in the garb of full-blown summer. -Spring is a season unknown in Norway. - -The consequence of this is, that the leaf, which has not begun to spring -at all till the frost is thoroughly out of the ground and the air free -from chill, is never blackened, or nipped, or dwarfed in its proportions, -as it is in England, and therefore preserves, through the short summer, a -greenness and depth of colouring which with us is unknown. - -“There is a beautiful legend about this,” said Birger, as he pointed out -this peculiarity, “I do not believe in it myself, altogether,” added he, -smiling, as the recollection of the Tellemarken legends and the sacrifice -to Nyssen came across his mind; “I will not vouch, myself, for more than -the allegory, but if we may trust to the fires of Walpurgis Night, my -countrymen believe it implicitly: ‘Iduna, the goddess of youth, is among -the Æsir, the guardian of the apples of immortality—gods, like men, -are subject to decay; but whenever they feel any symptoms of it, they -renovate their existence by the apples of Iduna. The possession of these -apples was, as might be supposed, earnestly coveted by the Hrimthursar, -or Frost Giants, whose territories, called Uttgard, surrounded on every -side the sea that encompasses the earth. Time was when the earth enjoyed -a perpetual spring, but Loki, who had not then forfeited his place -among the gods, attacking, one day, the giant Thjassi, the chief of the -Hrimthursar, whom he had taken for an eagle, found his hands frozen to -his plumage. - -“‘Thjassi demanded as the price of his liberty that Iduna should be -betrayed into his hands: this Loki agreed to do, and notwithstanding some -secret misgivings, contrived to perform his promise; and thus it was that -the goddess of youth, seduced beyond the influence of Asgard, was seized -upon by the eagle giant and imprisoned in his castle among the rocks of -eternal frost. - -“‘The gods, who had lost their renovating principle, were growing grey -and wrinkled; the might of the Thunderer was paralysed, and the wisdom of -Odin himself, the father of gods and men, was waning; the whole world was -pining for want of that principle of life which continually restored the -inevitable decay of nature; Loki himself felt the universal loss which -the world had sustained, and being as yet not entirely lost to shame or -callous to rebuke, set himself in earnest to effect the deliverance of -Iduna. - -“‘This—having borrowed from Freya her falcon plumage—he managed to -effect, and was bringing back the goddess to Asgard, under the guise -of a swallow, the bird of spring, when the eagle wings of Thjassi, who -was rushing in pursuit, darkened the air and blotted out half the sky. -The gods lighted fires round all the walls of Asgard to scare away the -pursuer, who fell exhausted in the flames and perished under their -vengeance. - -“‘But Skadi, his daughter, determined to revenge her father’s death, -declared war on Asgard, and carried it on with such success that the gods -were fain to come to a compromise with her, and she consented to peace on -condition that she should take for her husband any one of the gods she -should choose, and should be admitted into Asgard as an equal. From that -time forward the earth has felt the influence of the Hrimthursar for a -portion of the year; but their power is at an end[38] on the anniversary -of that day, when Iduna is delivered from her captivity; and men kindle -their fires on Walpurgis Night, the 30th of April, in memory of those -which, kindled on the walls of Asgard, had baffled and destroyed the -chief of the Hrimthursar.’”[39] - -“Ah! by the way, I saw them building up a great bonfire as we rounded -that point of land, coming out of Hellesund,” said the Captain; “there -was a heap a dozen feet high, and they had put a whole boat upon the top -of it.” - -“Well, but this is not Walpurgis Night,” said the Parson; “this is St. -John’s Eve.” - -“We do not know much about St. John’s Eve in these parts,” said -Birger, laughing. “I am afraid our legends are a good deal more Pagan -than Christian. That which you saw was the ‘Bale-Fire,’ by which our -people commemorate the death of Baldur, and the boat was his ship, the -_Hringhorn_. You will see plenty more of them when the night draws -on;—every town and every village, and almost every hut will have its -bale-fire, and many of them its boat too. It is a singular thing that -Pagan legends should have so much more hold on the minds of the people -than anything derived from their Christian history, but so it is.” - -“Not at all singular,” said the Parson; “properly speaking, Norway was -never converted; it was conquered by a Christian faction, and again -it was conquered by a court party. The people succumbed to force; but -in their thoughts and feelings—and therefore in their manners and -customs—they were what they had been in the days of the sea-kings; and -now their minds naturally revert to the time when their country was most -powerful.” - -“I will give you a Christian legend, then,” said Captain Hjelmar, the -Swedish commander of the steamer, who had been for some time talking with -Birger on the bridge, and now came forward with his hat in his hand, -after the manner of his country, and told his tale, very fluently, in -a queer sort of French. This was also after the manner of his country, -for, though that language is abominated in Norway, in Sweden it is -much affected by those who would wish it to be supposed that they are -_habitués_ of the court; and thus it was that though—as it afterwards -turned out—Captain Hjelmar could speak remarkably good English, he -preferred addressing Englishmen in remarkably bad French, in order to -show his court breeding. - -“You see that tall rock,” said he, “that looks so black and distant, in -front of that green island?—that rock really is one of the Hrimthursar of -whom Lieutenant Birger has been telling you; and when St. Olaf came to -convert the Norwegians, the giant, who had been bribed by Hakon the Jarl, -at the price of his young son Erling, whom he sacrificed to him, waded -into the sea, and put forth his hand to stay the ship, that the saint -should not approach the shore: but the saint served a higher Power than -the gods of Asgard, and even as he stood, the giant froze into stone; and -there he stands to this day, as you see him, with one arm advanced,—and -there he will stand till the day of Ragnarök, except that once in a -hundred years, on Christmas Eve, he is restored to life, in order to -declare to the Hrimthursar that on that day their power was broken for -ever.” - -“Well done, St. Olaf,” said the Captain; “I thought that all his -conversions were effected by the weight of his battle-axe.” - -“Why, you Englishmen acknowledge him as a saint as well as we,” said -Captain Hjelmar. “Have you not, in your great City of London, a church -dedicated to him? and is there not also a place called Cripplegate?” - -“There certainly are such places,” said the Parson, “but what they have -to do with one another, or with Norway, is more than I can see.” - -“There was a man in Walland, so great a cripple that he was obliged to -go on his hands and knees, and it was revealed to him that if he should -go to St. Olaf’s Church, in London, he should be healed. How he got -there, I cannot tell you; but he did, and he was crawling along, and the -boys were laughing at him, as he asked them which was St. Olaf’s Church, -when a man, dressed in blue and carrying an axe on his shoulder, said, -‘Come with me, for I have become a countryman of yours.’ So he took up -the cripple and carried him through the streets, and placed him on the -steps of the church. Much difficulty had the poor man to crawl up the -steps; but when he arrived at the top he rose up straight and whole, and -walked to the altar to give thanks; but the man with the battle-axe had -vanished, and was never seen more; and the people thought it was the -blessed St. Olaf himself, and they called the place where the cripple was -found ‘Cripplegate,’ and so they tell me it is called to this day.”[40] - -“Faith! I can answer for that part of the story myself,” said the -Captain; “the place is called Cripplegate, sure enough, but I am afraid -St. Olaf has long since ceased to frequent it, for we have not heard of -any miracles done lately in those parts. But what is your story about the -‘bale-fires,’ Birger, for I see another in process of erection on that -cape?—that looks like a remarkably good boat they are going to burn in -it.” - -“That legend, like most of those from the Eddas, is purely allegorical, -and, unlike most of them, is very intelligible. Baldur, among the Æsir, -is the Principle of Good, and everything that is bright, or beautiful, -or innocent, is dedicated to him, and among other things, that part of -the year which begins at Walpurgis Night, when the reign of the frost -ceases, and ends at this day, the summer’s solstice—that is to say, the -whole of that time in which light and warmth are getting the mastery over -cold and darkness. These commemorate the happy days of Asgard, before -the Principle of Evil had crept in; and had they only continued, the -whole world would have been by this time glowing in perpetual light, and -spring, and happiness. - -“But Loki himself, one of the twelve of the principal Æsir, became -envious of this, and was jealous that all the good in the world should be -ascribed to Baldur; so he resolved to kill him. This the Nornir revealed -to Baldur in a vision, and the goddess Freya took an oath of everything -that walked on the earth, or swam the waters, or flew in the air, or -grew from the ground, or was under it, that they would not hurt Baldur; -and then the gods would laugh at the revelation of the Nornir, and would -shoot at Baldur with stones, and masses of iron, and thrust at him with -their spears, and cut at him with their swords and axes; but they all -passed him by for the oath’s sake, which all nature had given. - -“So Loki said to the mistletoe, ‘Thou dost neither run, nor fly, nor -swim, nor grow from the ground, nor lie under it; there is no oath for -thee.’ So he gathered the stem of the mistletoe, and placed it in the -hand of Hodur, the god of Blindness, and said, ‘shoot, like the other -gods, and I will direct thy hand:’ and he shot, and Baldur fell dead in -the midst of the gods, and innocence departed from the earth; and then -the days which had hitherto been getting brighter and brighter, so that -darkness had began to fly from the face of the earth, now began to close -in again, and darkness began to increase. - -“In vain did Hermod, the brother of Baldur,[41] undertake the journey -to the realms of Hela. So much was accorded, that if all nature would -agree to mourn for the death of Baldur, he should be restored to earth; -but though everything did so, as the Edda has it, ‘Men and animals, and -earth, and stones, and trees, and all metals, even as thou hast seen -everything weep when it comes forth from the frost into the warm air, yet -the giantess, Thaukt, who it is said was but Loki in disguise, refused to -weep.’ - - “‘Neither in life, nor yet in death, - Gave he me gladness. - Let Hell keep her prey!’ - -and Hell will keep her prey, as the Norna revealed to Odin, till the day -of restitution of all things; and then, when the new sun shall enlighten -the new earth, Baldur, restored from Hell, and Hodur, no longer blind, -shall reign for ever and ever.[42] - -“But in the mean time it was necessary to prepare the funeral pyre of -the god: his body was placed in his ship, the _Hringhorn_, and the pile -was built round it, and his wife, Nanna, and his dwarf, Litur, and his -father’s magic ring, Dropsnir, and his horse, and all his accoutrements, -were placed on it, and amid a weeping concourse of gods and men, and -Hrimthursar, and dwarfs, and witches, the fire was placed to it, and all -nature mourned the departure of innocence. - -“And in memory of this, so soon as the days cease to lengthen, and nature -feels the loss of its original innocence, and darkness begins to threaten -the earth, men kindle their fires in memory of the death of Baldur.”[43] - -“Hallo! the Thousand take you! look where you are steering,” shouted out -Hjelmar, in Swedish, to the helmsman, “are you going to run down the -island?” And in truth it did seem something like it, for the branches of -the overhanging trees rattled against the fore-topsail-yard, bringing -down a shower of leaves and twigs; and a projecting ash so nearly brushed -the paddle-box on which they were sitting, that the Parson broke off a -branch as they passed. - -“Confound those fellows! they know the water is deep here, and think they -cannot shave the point too closely, I suspect they wanted to astonish -the passengers, and did not see me among them.” - -The point which they had rounded was just to the east, from off Osterisö, -at which place they had just touched; and immediately afterwards they -plunged into a deep, dark chasm of a passage between the two islands, -which looked as if they had been split asunder by some sudden convulsion -of nature, so evidently the projections and indentations of the opposite -walls of rock seemed to fit into each other; while far overhead the trees -looked as if they were overarching the chasm, and shutting out the light -of day from its recesses. The churning sound of the paddles, and the -hissing of the sea beneath their stroke sounded unnaturally loud, and -the two little pop-guns which the _Gefjon_ carried on her forecastle and -took that opportunity for discharging, rolled and echoed like a peal of -thunder. - -“There!” said Captain Hjelmar, as the steamer pushed her way into -daylight, and opened out a wide expanse no less beautiful than those -they had been passing through all the morning; “there lies the strength -of our coast; the Norwegian navy consists principally of gun-boats, and -these dodge in and out among these islets, just as difficult to catch as -rabbits in a warren; the great lumbering cruiser of the enemy watches -in vain on the outside, like a terrier at the rabbit’s hole, while the -rabbit, meanwhile, has passed out by a back door, and is taking his -pleasure elsewhere.[44] - -“In the days of the last war, I was a cadet on board the _Najaden_ -frigate, the commodore on these coasts: I used to be lent to the -gun-boats, and capital fun we had with your merchantmen; pretty -profitable fun too, for we brought them in by dozens. There were your big -cruisers, every now and then getting a crack at us, and picking off here -and there a clumsy fellow who let himself get caught outside, but never -doing us much harm. It was glorious fun, certainly,—at first, I must say, -I did not like firing at the old English flag, that so many of our people -had sailed under, but after exchanging a few shots, and seeing a few of -one’s people knocked over, one soon learns to forget all that; and I -blazed away at the old red rag after a bit, just as readily as I would at -a rascally Russ. - -“Your Captain Stuart put an end to all that, though, for one while; and -before we had recovered from the drubbing he gave us, there was peace -again, and no revenge to be had for it. I was not sorry for the peace, -though; it is not natural to be fighting the English.” - -“Aye,” said the Parson, “I have heard something about Captain Stuart, of -the _Dictator_; he got some credit for his services in these waters.” - -“And well he deserved it,” said Hjelmar; “he was a thorough sailor, he -knew what his ship could do, and he made her do it. As for fighting, -anybody will fight; but to run such a chase as he did, requiring skill, -and science, and nerve, and firmness, as well as brute courage, which -every man has, and most beasts besides, is what very few men would have -moral courage to attempt, or seamanship enough to bring to a successful -termination. - -“We used to laugh at the old _Dictator_; if a corvette could not catch -our gun-boats, it was not very likely a line-of-battle ship would do -the trick; for this water, for all it is so deep and looks so open, is -studded all over with pointed rocks at a fathom or so under the surface; -and some of these, not a yard square at the top, any one of which would -bring up a gun brig, let alone a liner. Well, there was the _Dictator_ -cruising about and doing nothing, as we thought; we did not know that -he was improving his charts, and getting bearings and soundings; still -less did we suspect that one of his quartermasters had been the mate of -a coasting jagt, and knew the coast as well as we did. I have met the -fellow since; he got a boatswain’s rating for his services, and I think -he should have got something better. - -“At that time I was on board the frigate. Old Hulm, our commodore, -said I was too wild to be trusted with a separate command, and one -morning we were dodging about where we are now, with a steady breeze -from the westward that looked as if it would stand. There were the old -_Dictator’s_ mast-heads, just where we had seen them twenty times before, -over the trees of Laxö,—that is, the island we are just opening, where -those salmon nets are hanging up to dry. - -“‘By the keel of _Skidbladner_, that sailed over dry land,’ says Hulm, -‘what is the fellow at now?’ as we opened the point of the island, and -the line-of-battle ship, that had been lying with her main-topsail -aback, squared away her yards and dashed in after us. ‘O, by Thor and by -Mjölner! if that is your fun I will see what Norwegian rocks are made of. -Keep her away a couple of points, quartermaster; and Mr. Sinklar (to the -first lieutenant), turn the hands up.’ By this time we were running away -dead before it; the enemy, who was all ready, had her studding-sails set -on both sides,—it was beautiful to see how smartly they went up, it was -like a bird unfolding her wings. ‘That’s a fine fellow,’ said Hulm; ‘it’s -a pity, too, to sink him, but we must, so here goes.’ - -“Old Hulm, who was full of fight, all this time dodged along under plain -sail, just as if he did not care for _that_ the big fellow, and it is my -opinion he would not have set his studding-sails had the distance been -less. You see that green point just on the port bow, that one with the -black stone lying off it:—by the way, I do not see why we should not run -the very course ourselves. I have a passenger to Lyngör, and we may just -as well go that course as any other. Starboard your helm, my man! that -will do! meet her! keep her as she goes. - -“There, now, you begin to see that there is an opening to the eastward -and northward of that point. As soon as we brought it abeam, down went -our helm, and everything was braced as sharp up as it would draw; for the -channel winds, as you see, to the southward of east. We thought to bother -her, but those fifties on two decks are so short, they come round like -tops. We were running free again to the eastward, outside the channel. -When she came abreast of the opening, in came her studding-sails all at -once, and there were her sails standing like boards, and her yards braced -up as sharp as ours had been, and so much had he gained upon us, that -as her port broadside came to bear, three or four shots, just to try -the distance, came across the end of the island after us, skipping and -dancing over the seas. - -“‘We must get Mjölner to speak to them,’ said old Hulm, rubbing his -hands and looking delighted. ‘I think she will pitch her shot home now.’ -Mjölner was a long French eighteen, a very handsome brass gun, ornamented -with _fleurs-de-lis_, and all sorts of jigmarees; the private property -of the captain. Where he had picked it up, no one knew;—people said it -had been the Long Tom of a French pirate. Old Hulm had called it Mjölner, -which I suppose you know is the name of Thor’s hammer; he was as fond of -it as he was of his wife, and always kept it on the quarter-deck, under a -tarpaulin, which he never took off except on Sundays. - -“It took some time to train the gun aft, and by this time the -line-of-battle ship had cleared the channel, and was putting up her helm -to follow us. The old skipper laid his pet gun himself, and squinted, and -squinted over her breech, and elevated, and depressed, and trained to the -right, and trained to the left, till we thought he never meant to twitch -the lanyard at all. Crack went Mjölner. By this time we had pretty nearly -got the line-of-battle ship’s three masts in one, and the shot striking -just under the fore top-mast cross-trees, cut the topsail tie and the jib -halyards at once; down rattled the yard, snapping the fore top gallant -sheets, out flew the top gallant sail, and away went the jib dragging -under her fore-foot; and up flew the ship herself into the wind again, -letting drive her broadside at us, as if she had done it on purpose. - -“The old skipper sent his steward for some bottles of true Cognac, and -gave the men a tot all round, to drink Mjölner’s health. - -“The enemy had brailed up her driver, and braced by her after-sails, and -got before the wind again in no time; and was not much longer in bending -on a new tie and splicing her halyards; but we had got pretty well out of -range now, and were bobbing in and out among a cluster of rocks as thick -as porpoises. We had a man at the flying jib-boom as a look-out, and a -couple more on the spritsail yardarms (for our ships had not whiskers in -those days), and it was nothing but ‘Breakers ahead!’ ‘Rock on the port -bow!’ ‘A reef to starboard!’ for the next quarter of an hour or twenty -minutes, enough to make one’s hair stand on end. A-ha! thought I, when -the last of them showed clear on the quarter, this is the skipper’s trap; -here’s where the old _Dictator_ is going to lay her bones! But she did -not. She dodged through every one of them every bit as well as we had -done, and there certainly was no doubt but that the distance between us -was a good deal decreased. These tubs of fifties sail like a haystack on -a wind, but before it they go like _Skidbladner_ herself. - -“Old Hulm began to look grave; he had never dreamt of her following him -within the islands like that, and he began to ‘smell a rat.’ The frigate -had been caught on her very worst point of sailing. We might easily have -worked to windward at first, but now she had got us fairly under her lee, -and if we tried to tack under her guns, she would have stripped us of -every rag of canvas we could show. Mjölner came into play again, as well -as the stern chasers on the main deck, and to good purpose, too; but, on -the other hand, the English shot were flying like peas about us—and they -did not always fall short, either. Now and then there was a rope shot -away, or a man knocked over, or a gun capsized,—for, at that distance, -every shot that hit us pitched in upon the deck and trundled forwards, -hopping here and there off the bulwarks without going through them, like -so many billiard balls. - -“‘I will tell you what,’ says Hulm, ‘I will shove her through the Lyngör -Channel, there is a rock in the middle that it will be as much as we can -do to shave ourselves, and if we do get past it, the chances are, that it -will bring up the liner; it is a desperate chance, but we must try it, -and if the Englishman does get through after us (which she will not), we -will reach out into the offing as close to the wind as we can lie. Port -your helm at once, Mr. Sinklar—drop your main course, and haul out the -driver.’ - -“Up she came to the wind again, but the main-sail, which had been clewed -up while we were running, had got a shot through it, exactly where the -bunt-line gathered it into a bundle. The shot had gone through fold after -fold of the canvas, cutting the foot-rope also, and before the tack -was well hauled down, the sail had split from top to bottom; and then, -just as she drew in under cover of the land, the mizen top-mast came -clattering about our ears. - -“It was all up for beating to windward, unless we could shift our -top-mast in time, and this the enemy was too close upon us to allow us -do; everything lay on the rock bringing her up, and as I looked over the -side as we passed, the rugged points looked so close to our own bends, -that I thought they must have gone through; and the liner drew more water -than we did. - -“All eyes were turned on the English ship, at least, on her sails, for a -point of land concealed her hull, and prevented our firing; every moment -we expected to see her sheets let fly;—not a bit of it,—on she came as -steadily as ever. - -“Just at the village of Lyngör the channel turns at right angles, and -the islands that form it, being high, took the wind out of our courses; -while we had been running it had drawn a little to the southward of -west,—which, as we had been off the wind all day, we had not taken notice -of—as we turned the angle it headed us. Whether, under any circumstances, -we could have fetched clear of the northern cape is doubtful; without -our mizen top-sail it was impossible, for as the courses were becalmed, -we really carried nothing but head sail that would draw; and in fact, we -could scarcely look up for the cape, much less weather it. - -“Down with the anchor! out boats, to lay out a warp to spring her! we -will fight it out here!’ said old Hulm. But the Englishman had seen us -over the land from his mast-heads, and anchored by the stern, clewing up -or letting fly everything, and passing out his cable from his stern-port, -so as to check her way by degrees; when she came into sight round the -point, at not a cable’s length from us, she had a cluster of men on her -bowsprit with a hawser. On she came, as if she was going to leap over -the town, and dropped her men on the houses, who, sliding down by the -dolphin-striker, leaped on shore and made fast with her hawser forward, -while her anchor brought her up abaft. And there she lay, as steady as -a land battery, and opened her fire. The first broadside, loaded with -grape, came rattling among the boats that were laying out the warp; what -became of them I never heard; but the warp lay slack, and the current -drifted us end-on to the line-of-battle ship’s broadside, and I felt our -decks crumbling and splintering under me as her shot tore them up. - -“The next thing after that that I recollect, is a great rough hand -pulling me out of the water by my collar, and a kindly English voice -asking me if I was hurt. The smoke was still lying on the water, and -hanging in little clouds upon the trees; but all that was to be seen of -the old _Najaden_, was the main and fore-top gallant and royal masts, -which, with their sails set, were still above water, and the blue and -yellow pennant over all. We had gone down with our colours flying, -and Captain Stuart would not have the pennant struck,—‘we had fought -gallantly for it,’ he said, ‘and we should keep it still.’ - -“Poor old Hulm, he was a fine fellow: there now! that is the very spot of -the action,” for by this time they had opened the point of Lyngör, and -had come in sight of the beautiful little village. “Do you see that iron -pillar on the point? that is Captain Hulm’s monument.” - -“He went down with his ship, then?” - -“No, he did not; how he was saved I do not remember, but he was saved, -and rewarded too for his standing up to the line-of-battle ship; for -Father Karl is an old soldier, and knows that a man often deserves as -much praise for being beat as for beating. The old fellow lived to a -good old age; that was his house, that white fronted one on the hill, for -Lyngör was his native place. It is not two years ago that he was capsized -in his little schooner and drowned. There’s his monument, any how; and -I always salute it, whenever I pass this way:” and as they came abreast -of the point, the _Gefjon’s_ swallow-tailed ensign dipped from her peak, -and her little pop-guns again testified their respect to the old sailor’s -memory. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -GOTHEBORG. - - “A cautious guest, - When he comes to his hostel, - Speaketh but little; - With his ears he listeneth, - With his eyes he looketh,— - Thus the wise learneth. - - “No better burthen - Bears a man on his journey - Than observation:— - No worse provision - Bears a man on his journey - Than frequent drunkenness.” - - _High Song of Odin the Old._ - - -Early rising is not pleasant at sea. Captain Basil Hall may talk of the -joyous morning watch if he likes,—but there is nothing joyous in washing -decks, and that is what most ships are occupied with at that hour. The -Parson did not make his appearance on deck till after breakfast, and he -was the first of the party. - -The steamer was now approaching the end of her voyage, for the land, -closing on both sides, showed the estuary of the Gotha. Most of the -party were not sorry for the conclusion of the voyage, enjoyable as the -earlier part of it had been; for the steamer,—after coasting all the way -to Christiania, where the party had supplied themselves with carioles -for their land journey, which, with their wheels unshipped, were stowed -away snugly forward,—had taken her course, southward, over the tumbling -Skagarack—a part of the world notorious for sea-sickness. - -All the morning long, preparations had been going forward for making a -creditable appearance on arriving in port, and the discomforts of the -early-risers had been considerably increased by a very liberal use of -the holy-stone,—an amusement which, as the men were still employed in -blacking the rigging, gave promise of an early repetition. - -Slung from a block at the mainmast head was a small triangular stage, -made of three battens, on which sat a very dirty individual with a pot -of slush before him and a tarring-brush in his hand, with which he was -polishing off his morning’s work on the shining mast. - -Seated on the bitts below was a sturdy Norwegian, who, as if disdaining -the compromise usually adopted by the coasting inhabitants, appeared in -the caricature of a full-dressed Tellemarker, with a strip of jacket like -a child’s spencer, of orange tawny wadmaal, great loose blue trousers -with a waistband over his shoulder blades, crimson braces, and two -strings of silver bullets dependent from the collars of a very dirty -shirt. He was caressing a particularly ugly dog, which he called Garm,—an -appellation which proved him to be what in England would be called a -fast man; it is much as if an English young gentleman were to call his -dog Satan. He was haranguing, of course, on the vast superiority of -Norway to Sweden, and the infinite degradation which the former country -had received from the union of the crowns,—that being not only the most -favourite topic of Norwegian declamation, but, in the present instance, -at all events, the most injudicious and unsuitable subject in which to -exhibit before so mixed an audience. - -They behaved, however, exceedingly well, and rather trotted him out, much -to the disgust of Torkel, who had sense enough to perceive what was going -on, and would have infinitely preferred their beating him: after vainly -endeavouring to draw his countrymen away, he had walked forward, and was -looking moodily over the bows. - -“As for the Swedes,” said our judicious friend, “they are nothing better -than swindlers. I have, for my sins, to go to Gotheborg every year, to -lay in stores for the winter, and I am sure to be cheated. We don’t let -Jews land on our shores, and I must go to Gotheborg to find them.” - -“Well, but we have no Jews either.” said a bye-stander; “they do not come -to us, they go to the Free Towns.” - -“You are all Jews; the real Jews don’t go to you, that is very true, but -it is because they know that the Gotheborgers are hogs, and their law -does not allow them to have anything to do with unclean animals. Yes, you -are all swine together. Why, I tell you a Norwegian dog would not touch -anything Swedish. Come here, Garm!”—and he pulled out of his pocket a bit -of ham, evidently filched from the breakfast table. - -Here the Parson thought he detected a glance of intelligence between -Captain Hjelmar and the man at the mast-head, who, much amused, had left -off his work to listen. - -“Come here, Garm!”—placing the tempting morsel on the deck. - -The dog wagged his tail, evidently preparing to seize it. - -“Svenske!” said the man. The dog, who had been well trained in this -common trick, turned up his nose with apparent disgust, and refused the -meat. - -“There!” said he, “I defy any Swede among you all to make a true -Norwegian dog eat a bit of it. Garm knows what you all are, don’t you, -Garm?” - -Just then, by the merest accident in the world, the slush-kettle got -unhitched from the stage above his head, and came tumbling over on the -deck, and in its descent, taking the unfortunate Norwegian on the nape of -his neck as he was leaning forward to caress his dog, pitched the whole -of its contents between his jacket collar and his back. - -Captain Hjelmar rated the man severely for his carelessness in spoiling -his decks, and, ordering him off the stage, directed the boatswain to put -his name into the black list. The man, however, did not seem much cast -down about it, but slid down the greasy mast with a broad grin on his -countenance, while the Norwegians carried their discomfited companion -forward to purify him; and Garm, profiting by the confusion, proved a -traitor to his country, by not only swallowing down the Swedish ham, but -also by licking up as much as he could of the Swedish slush that had -poured from the head and shoulders of his master on the Swedish deck. - -The coast of Sweden and the banks of the Gotha below the town, offer a -striking contrast to the lovely scenery they had left. There are the -rocks and the fringing islets, as in Norway, but here they are all flat, -and most of them absolutely bare. The coasts, too, where they could be -seen, exhibited ledges of rock and wastes of sand, with just enough -cultivation to make the desolateness painful, by connecting it with the -idea of people living there. Eider ducks would dive before them, and -wild-fowl in little knots would cross their course, and hoopers would go -trumpeting over their heads, with their white wings reflecting the sun -like silver, and dippers of all sorts would play at hide-and-seek with -the waves, and seals would put up their bullet-heads to gaze at them as -they passed. The water is always beautiful when the sun shines directly -upon it; but the eye must not range so far as the shore, for no sunshine -could gild that. - -There was a good deal of life, and traffic too, upon the waters, for -Gotheborg, the nearest port to the Free Towns and to all foreign -trade whatever, as well as the outlet of the river navigation, may be -considered the Liverpool of Sweden. - -As they proceeded the scenery slightly improved: the right bank began to -be dotted with houses and small villages, wretched enough compared with -the picturesque places on the other end of the Skaggerack, but at all -events showing signs of life. At length they became continuous, and at a -couple of miles distance, the three churches of Gotheborg, with the close -cluster of houses, came into view. The anchor was dropped opposite to the -fishing suburb of Gammle Hafvet, and a shore-going steamer came alongside -to receive the passengers; which steamer, much to the fishermen’s -delight, contained their old friend Moodie, who, on hearing that the -Norway packet had been signalized, had gone to meet her on the chance of -seeing them. - -Moodie was a singular character,—a cadet of good family, and brought -up to no profession; he had been from his childhood passionately fond -of field sports, in all of which he excelled. At an early age he had -become his own master, with a good education, some usage of the world, a -handsome person, a peculiarly active frame and sound constitution, and -two hundred a year, _pour tout potage_. Rightly judging that England -afforded no fitting scope for his peculiar talents, without the imminent -danger of a committal for poaching, he had expatriated himself to -Ireland; which country, he had, in a sporting point of view, thoroughly -studied, and made himself completely master of its resources; he knew -when every river in the whole island came into season and went out, and -the best and cheapest way of transferring self and encumbrances from -one point to another. He knew the times at which the woodcocks and the -snipes would arrive, and the out-of-the-way places at which they may be -safely shot; he could give a catalogue _raisonnée_ of all the wayside -public-houses in sporting localities, and was hand-in-glove with half -the disreputable squireens of Ireland. Certainly, he bagged more grouse -annually than many a man who pays a rent of five or six hundred a year -for the privilege of supplying the London markets. - -It was on the Erne that the fishermen had met him, and Moodie being an -extremely well-informed and gentleman-like man, besides being a thorough -sportsman, they had struck up with him what might be called an intimate -acquaintance, which, now that they met as Englishmen on a foreign land, -might be considered an intimate friendship. - -It was the railroads, and the consequent invasion of the cockneys, -which had expatriated Moodie from his adopted country; people began -to preserve, too, and to let their fishing and shooting-grounds; even -the Erne was not what it had been, and Moodie, whose whole belongings, -besides his live stock in the shape of dogs, were contained in two -portmanteaus and as many gun-cases, packed them, and one morning found -himself standing on the quay of Gotheborg. - -If, instead of the coast of Sweden, it had been the coast of the Cannibal -Islands, Moodie would soon have found himself at home; but here he had -letters of introduction, and Karl Johann, who had a high opinion of the -English, was very anxious to get an infusion of English blood among -his Swedes. Moodie’s peculiar talents, too, which in England might have -consigned him to the county jail, in Sweden found their legitimate -outlet; he soon found a beautiful little country house on the banks of -the Gotha; had no difficulty in renting the exclusive right of fishing -for some miles above and below it; paid the rent and all expenses of -boats and boatmen, and put a handsome sum into his pocket besides, by -supplying Gotheborg with lake salmon (salmo ferox). He then got the -rangership of a royal forest, by which he kept his numerous hangers-on in -what he called butcher’s meat, and traded with the Zoological Gardens and -private collections in the wild beasts and birds of the country, by means -of which traffic, he had furnished himself with the choicest collection -of sporting fire-arms and fishing tackle to be found in the north. -Besides which, Moodie had become a public character. Sweden has its wild -beasts as well as its ordinary game,—he who destroys a wolf or a bear is -a public benefactor, and Moodie had a peculiar talent for tracking them. -Every farmer within a hundred miles of Gäddebäck would pull off his hat -to him; but that is not saying much, for a Swede is always pulling off -his hat, and if he had nothing else to pull it off to he would be making -his salaams to the cows and sheep. - -It was not a great deal of Gotheborg the fishermen saw that evening; -their experience of the country was confined to a march by the shortest -road from the landing place to Todd’s Hotel, and their subsequent view -to a sort of Dutch interior, of which pipes, tobacco, bottles, glasses, -juniper beer of native manufacture, and thin vinous importations from -Bordeaux, made up the accessories; but the fishermen had much to inquire -after, and Moodie had much to tell. - -Breakfast, always a luxurious meal in the north, at least, in summer -time, on account of the quantities of berries and the abundant supply of -cream, brought a visitor,—a young artillery officer, a friend of Birger, -by name Dahlgren, and by rank Count, who had his quarters in the inn,—for -the Swedish officers have no mess like ours, but lodge permanently in the -hotels, paying a fixed sum per week, and dining at the _table d’hôte_. -Like Birger, he was a painter, but whereas the guardsman exercised his -art simply as an amateur, or at most, in the public service of his -country, his friend, Count as he was, exercised his as a profession, and -as a means of eking out his scanty pay. - -There would be a grand review that afternoon, he said, and it would -be well worth seeing, for Gotheborg is the great artillery station of -Sweden, and the Commander-in-Chief, with his staff, who were on a tour -of inspection, had arrived by the canal steamer from the new fortress of -Wanås, on the Wetter. - -This piece of information, which the artilleryman detailed with great -glee, was received by Birger with a wry countenance, as certain to detain -him within doors as long as the General remained at Gotheborg,—for it -will be remembered he was at that very time unable to join his regiment -on account of _pressing family affairs_. - -This did not affect the others, so, leaving their friend to amuse himself -as best he might, by improving his sketches or watching the magpies from -the window, they started, under the pilotage of their new ally, for a -tour of observation. - -Whatever else Gotheborg is famous for, certainly the most remarkable -thing in it is its flocks of magpies,—birds which, in our country, are -extremely wild, and by no means fond of town life. Gregarious, in the -proper sense of the term, they are not, but they are as numerous as -sparrows in London, very nearly as tame, and much more impudent. This -by no means arises from any affection which the inhabitants have for -the bird—for magpies are ugly and mischievous all the world over, and -quite as mischievous in Gotheborg as anywhere else,—but from a popular -superstition they are under the especial protection of the devil—and -truly the devil cares for his own: they build their nests and bring up -their young under the very noses of the schoolboys; they feed them with -stolen goods, filched from every kitchen,—and often and often, among the -delicacies of the season, they regale them with spring chicken of their -own killing. But no one molests a magpie; Heaven only knows what would -be the consequences of killing one; and, though Government has set a -price on their heads, they sleep in safety, under the protection of their -great master. - -The town ought to be handsome, but it is not; the description would look -well on paper. A great broad canal through the centre, with quays all the -way on both sides, as at Dublin, only twice as broad, forming a very wide -street; and from this five or six similar canals, similarly furnished -with quays and streets, branch off at right angles. The banks of all -these canals are planted with trees, and arranged as shaded footways. All -this sounds as if the place ought to be pretty, but, though every word of -this is true, the reality falls far short of the ideas it conveys. The -houses are mean and low, and, the windows being flush with the sides, the -whole appearance is pasteboard-like and unsubstantial, which the reality -is not. The Swedes build their wooden houses in very good taste, and they -harmonise very well with the scenery, but they should stick to that—_ne -sutor ultra crepidam_: let not the carpenter aspire to be a mason. Every -house, large or small, in town or in country, has very large panes of -glass,—the very cabins have them; the glass is as bad as bad can be, -full of flaws and waves, and very thin besides; even this produces a bad -effect; besides, it is impossible to admire the finest of towns, when -walking over streets so roughly paved that eyes and thoughts must be -continually directed towards the footing. - -There is a capital market, and the canals bring the hay, and the fuel, -and all other heavy articles from the interior, to the very doors of the -houses. It was singular to see floating haystacks and faggot piles—for -so they looked, the hulls of the boats being completely hidden by their -freight,—towed up in strings by the little steam-tugs, and moored to the -quays. If Gotheborg is not a prosperous town, Sweden will not support -one at all, for it is impossible for any situation to be more favourable -for trade. The river itself forms a secure harbour, its only fault being -that vessels of heavy draught cannot anchor within a mile of the town. -The interior water communications comprehend all the midland provinces, -and the landing and shipping of goods is as easy as art can make it; -besides, it is the outermost port of the whole country. - -The markets, certainly, are well supplied, especially that of fish, both -salt and fresh-water. Beef and mutton are among its articles of export -to the southern coasts of Norway, and there is not a bad display of -vegetables for so northern a country. The quantities of spinach which -are seen everywhere, and which mingle with every dish, rather surprise -the traveller, till he finds out that the sandhills which he has seen -on each side of him all the way up the river, are covered with it, -growing wild—wild as it is, English garden spinach is not at all better -flavoured. Singularly enough, melons are plentiful; one would almost as -soon expect to meet with pines in these latitudes,—but the short summer -of Sweden is peculiarly favourable for them. - -The trade of the place does not look very lively, and the bustle in the -streets is nothing at all like that of Bristol or Liverpool. What little -stir there was just then, seemed to be rather military than mercantile. -Dirty, slovenly-looking artillerymen, with ugly blue and yellow uniforms, -putting one disagreeably in mind of the _Edinburgh Review_; overalls -patched extensively with leather that terribly wanted the blacking-brush; -and dingy steel scabbards, that did not know what emery-stone was, were -clanking about the streets, followed by little crowds; and groups of -officers were standing at the doors of the hotels and lodging-houses. -Evidently a review was not an everyday business. - -The Parson and Captain were soon deserted by their military cicerone, -who left them, to prepare for his part in the military display, having -directed them into the street that leads to the scene of action. This -was a large meadow, or small park, to the east of the town, rather a -pretty promenade, enclosed with trees, which was now crowded with people. -Towns, especially trading towns, are not remarkable for costume. The -people, seeing such a variety of foreigners, get to be citizens of the -world themselves, and so lose their nationalities. But there were a few -fancy dresses, too, from the country round; short round corduroy jackets, -sometimes a sort of tartan, too, but which invariably had rows of -buttons sewed as thick together as they could stand. Among the women, a -handkerchief was frequently tied round the head instead of a bonnet; but -every one, almost, carried his or her bunch of flowers, an article which -abounded in the markets; these were very often carried in the hats, or -stuck through the knots of the kerchiefs. - -And now the bugles of the artillery were heard, and the rumbling of -wheels, and the trampling of horses, as battery after battery rolled -into the park. The Swedes call them horse artillery, but they are, in -reality, only field batteries; for of horse artillery, properly so -called, that most beautiful of military toys, they have none. Their guns, -twelve pounders, are drawn by six horses, each of which carries a man. In -bringing the guns into action, the off-man of each pair dismounted, and -these were joined by three others, whose seat was on the limbers. These -are hardly men enough to work so heavy a gun, allowing for the casualties -of action, but on emergencies the driver of the middle pair also lends -his services. - -There was nothing showy in the review, the manœuvres of which were -confined to advancing and retreating in line, and forming column, and -deploying into line again; but all at a foot’s pace, or at a very slow -trot. They had no idea of changing front, or retreating in echéllon, or -any of those showy manœuvres in which the prolong is used. In fact, so -far as display went, it was a very slow affair indeed; the men, however, -seemed to know their work pretty well, and though individually dirty -and slovenly and without the well set up carriage of our own soldiers, -they bore, as a body, rather a soldier-like appearance. They ride very -forward, absolutely on the horse’s withers—this is said to give the horse -greater facility of draught; and it may, but at all events, it gives a -most awkward and unsoldier-like appearance to the men, which is in no -way improved by the manner in which they carry their swords—the elbows -sticking out at right angles to the body, and their knuckles thrust into -their sides, as if they had a pain in their ribs. - -The guns seemed to be very much under-horsed, but perhaps this is more -apparent than real; for the Swedish horses, though small, are strong and -wiry, and their enclosed country is not only not calculated for horse -artillery manœuvres, but does not admit of them. The chances are, that -a whole campaign might be fought in Sweden without the artillery being -required to move faster than at a foot-pace. So far as numbers went, they -mustered at least three times as many guns as can be got together at -Woolwich for love or money at the best of times. - -The army of Sweden is very curiously constituted, and it is not easy to -reckon up its effective strength. The regular army does not consist of -above 10,000 men; the guards—than which no finer body of men is to be -seen in Europe,—the artillery, and three or four garrison regiments, who -are stationed at Wanås, in the interior, and Carlscrona, and one or two -other fortresses on the coast. - -The militia, which is called Beväring, consists of every man in the -country between the ages of twenty and twenty-five; these have regular -days of exercise, generally Sunday evenings in the summer, which is with -them by no means a popular arrangement, for those are the hours which the -ingenuous youths of Sweden devote to dancing, an amusement of which they -are passionately fond. This really is a much more effective force than -it seems, for the Swedes are natural soldiers; besides which, it gives -them all a habit of drill, which might be rendered serviceable in case of -invasion; for, as every man in the country has been drilled in his youth, -they are all capable of immediately taking their places in the ranks of -the regular regiments. It would be a very great improvement if they were -drilled to ball practice, like the Swiss and Tyrolese, for a Swede is -terribly clumsy with fire-arms, and on a skal, is just as likely to shoot -himself or his comrade, as a bear or a wolf. - -But the strength of the Swedish army lies in its Indelta, a description -of force peculiar to that country—unless the military colonies of Russia -be considered a parallel case. - -The crown possesses large estates, and these are leased out, like the -knight’s fees in old times, on man service, and for that purpose are -divided into hemmans, each hemman furnishing a man, who has a portion of -it by way of pay—the hemman is not a measure of size, but of produce. -Fertile hemmans are small, waste or barren hemmans are large; and thus -it often happens, when a crown estate has been cleared and brought -into cultivation, though quite as productive as some other estate, it -furnishes a much smaller quota. - -The holder of such a property, is then bound to serve himself, if -capable, and to furnish a certain number of efficient soldiers, horse or -foot, according to the size of his estate. The whole country is divided -into military provinces, under colonels; these are subdivided into -districts, under captains, with their proper complement of subaltern and -non-commissioned officers, who are paid by the tenure of certain reserved -farms, which they hold in virtue of their commissions. - -Whenever the Indelta is called out—and a third of them assemble in camp -every summer,—the crown tenants of the estates that furnished it are -bound, at their own expense, to cultivate the farms which the soldiers -hold, and to return to them their lands, when they are dismissed from -active service, in the same condition in which they took charge of them, -accounting for any sale of produce which they may have made. - -The service of the Indelta is very popular, and for every vacancy there -are at least half a dozen candidates. No application is ever received -without written testimonials from the clergyman of the applicant’s -parish, and no man is ever admitted who has been convicted of any crime. -Many of these crown holdings have been purchased and re-purchased, and -transferred from hand to hand so often, that they are regarded as a sort -of private property, and their tenants very often complain of being -burthened to a greater extent than their countrymen. This, however, is as -unreasonable as that a tenant should complain that in paying rent he is -not on an equality with the proprietor in fee. The sale of crown lands is -merely the transference of a beneficial lease. - -So far as the morals of the people are concerned, the patronage of the -Indelta, and the reward it holds to good conduct, act very beneficially; -as to the efficacy of the force, the wars of Gustavus Adolphus and of -Charles XII., may form a pretty fair criterion. The strength of this -contingent to the Swedish army, may be reckoned at 20,000 infantry, and -5,000 cavalry, and has the advantage of being always available. - -“You may come out of your hole now, Birger,” said his friend, the -artilleryman, who, arriving hot and dusty from the barracks, was lounging -down the streets, with his jacket open and his stiff military stock in -his hand, a free and easy style of dress, in which an English officer -would think it just impossible to put his nose beyond the barrack gates. -“The General and all his staff are gone in a body to Arfwedsen’s Villa, -so you are safe for to-day.” - -“And for to-morrow, too,” said Birger, “for the steamer starts for -Stockholm to-morrow morning early; while you were amusing yourselves, I -have been doing business. As soon as I heard from the sound of your guns -that the General was safe, I stepped down to the quay, went on board the -_Daniel Thunberg_, and engaged two cabins—we will toss up who is to have -the cabin to himself.” - -“Why, where’s Moodie?” - -“Moodie!” said Birger, taking out his watch, “why, by this time Moodie is -at Agnesberg.” - -“And where is Agnesberg?” - -“The first stage to Trollhättan. He had transacted his business, and -transferred his herd of deer to the Zoological men before we came, so -he said he would start at once for Gäddebäck, and prepare to receive -us. I rather think there is some bear hunting afoot, for the Stockholm -post came in while you were at the review, and I am sure I recognised -Bjornstjerna’s great splash of a seal, and his scratchy hand. At all -events, off started Moodie.” - -“Why! is it not necessary to lay a forebud.” - -“Not on the main road; there is traffic enough between this and -Wenersburg to keep holl-horses (retained horses) always at the stations. -He will be at Gäddebäck, I will venture to say, before daybreak.” - -“And when do we sail?” - -“At ten to-morrow; we can see the falls and the canal before nightfall, -and sleep at Trollhättan to-morrow night; and on the following morning -Moodie is to send his boat for us. And now for dinner, I have ordered it -at the Prinds Karl; Todd’s is a very good house to sleep at, and not bad -for breakfast, but I want to shew you what Swedish cookery is, as far as -you can get any worth eating in the provinces.” - -[Illustration: p. 251.] - -“Ah! there spoke the guardsman.” - -“Well, it is very true, as you will confess, if ever I get you to -Stockholm; is it not, Count Dahlgren?” addressing the artillery officer. -“You dine with us, of course; in with you, and wash off the stains of -war, which are pretty visible at present. You have not more time than you -know what to do with. If we do sail to-morrow, we will make a night of it -to-night.” - -“Like our first night at Mosse Eurd?” - -“No, hang it, no; not so bad as that;—that was all very well for the men, -but we do not make such beasts of ourselves in this country. I have told -them, though, to put plenty of champagne in ice, and to provide the best -claret they have got; we will be merry—and wise, if possible.” - -“And if not possible?” - -“Why, then, the merry without the wise.” - -Whether mirth, or wisdom, or a judicious mixture of the two prevailed -that evening at the Prinds Karl, need not be related; but the next -morning saw the party on the clean white deck of the elegant little river -steamer _Daniel Thunberg_, dashing along its broad, still stream, between -rows of feathering rushes, sometimes so tall as to eclipse the still -flat and uninteresting country beyond them. Ducks there were, in such -numbers, that the fishermen half repented their engagement with Moodie; -and Jacob, to whom every spot was familiar, kept up an incessant chorus -of regrets, pointing out here a spot where he had made a fortune with the -långref, having hauled up a three-pound eel on every hook,—there a corner -where he had caught a pike so big he could not lift it into the boat, but -was obliged to tow it astern all the way to Gotheborg,—and there a bay -in the rushes in which he had bagged five swans, eight geese, and more -ducks than he could count, at a single shot,—with as many more stories, -equally veracious, as he could get people to listen to; and in fact, -could be stopped by nothing short of that grand event in a Swedish day, -dinner, which, announced by the steamer’s bell, was served with great -magnificence in the saloon. - -These little steamers form as luxurious a conveyance as can be imagined; -they are galley-built, that is to say, the quarter deck is two or three -feet higher than the waist; the after part is divided into ten or twelve -little private cabins, each possessing its own port, and each furnished -with its two sofas and its table; the fore part contains the saloon, or -common cabin. They do not carry very powerful engines, but they burn -wood, and are as clean and as free from disagreeable smells as if they -were sailing vessels. - -At the locks of Lilla Edet, where a reef comes across the river, forming -a low but very picturesque fall, the fine scenery commences. The fall -itself is singular. The water of the Gotha, fresh from the great lake of -Wenern, which acts as an enormous cesspool, is as clear and bright as -that of the Torjedahl, but with ten times its volume; it slips off the -smooth ledge of rocks as if it were falling over a step; the ledge off -which it slips is seen through it as distinctly as if it were enclosed -in a glass case, for the water preserves its unbroken transparency till -it reaches the bottom, and then spreads out into a broad border of foam, -like a fan with swansdown fringe. - -From this point, a very perceptible difference was remarkable in the -run of the current, which retarded considerably the way of the steamer -through the belt of highlands which separates the low tract bordering the -sea-coast from the higher level of Wenersborglan; and it was not till -past five, that the low rumbling, earth-shaking sound of the great falls -began to tremble on the ear. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -TROLLHÄTTAN. - - “Gefjon drew from Gylfi - Rich stored-up treasure,— - The land she joined to Denmark. - Four heads and eight eyes bearing, - While hot sweat trickled down them, - The oxen dragged the reft mass - Which forms this winsome island.” - - _Skald Bragi the Old._ - - “It was a wondrous sight to see - Topmast and pennon glitter free, - High raised above the greenwood tree— - As on dry land the galley moves, - By cliff and copse and alder groves.” - - _Lord of the Isles._ - - -“Birger, what is the Swedish for ‘Go to the devil?’ I cannot make these -little brutes of boys understand me,” shouted the Captain, who was not -in the best of humours, having already made half a dozen slips on very -dangerous ground. In all Sweden, there is not a more slippery bit of -turf than that which clothes the cliffs and highlands of Trollhättan. -The bank along which he was scrambling to get a good view of the falls -rounded itself off gradually, getting more and more out of the horizontal -and into the vertical at every step, till at last it plunged sheer into -the foaming turn-hole of the middle fall, in which the very best of -swimmers would have had no more advantage over the very worst than that -of keeping his head above water till he went down the third leap, and -got knocked to pieces on the rocks below. There was not a root to hold -on by stronger than those of the dwarf cranberries, whose smooth leaves -only aided the natural slipperiness. Heather is not common anywhere in -Sweden; but here there was quite enough not only to give a purple brown -hue to the scenery, but also to add to the difficulty of keeping one’s -feet, in a way which any one who has walked the side of a highland -hill in very dry weather will fully be able to appreciate. It was very -irritating when one at last had attained a point of view—after traversing -what to a leather-shod stranger was really a dangerous path—to have the -current of one’s thoughts interrupted by a parcel of bare-footed urchins, -who came frolicking over the very same ground, and insisting that the -visitor should see everything, from the orthodox point of view set down -by Murray, and from no other whatever, and moreover should pay for being -tormented and unpoeticised, the regulated number of skillings. - -The rush of waters was certainly very grand and very magnificent. Much -has been written about it in books of travels, and much more in the -album kept at the inn for the purpose of enshrining and transmitting to -posterity the extasies of successive generations of travellers; but the -Parson, who ought to have been lost in admiration—to his shame be it -spoken—appeared chiefly solicitous to procure bait, which he and Torkel -had been diligently hunting for in the shallows. It was not without -considerable difficulty that a trout sufficiently small to fit the -snap-hooks of the trolling-litch could be found, and when it was found, -we are happy to say, it met with no more success than it deserved; for -though at very considerable personal risk he tried as much of the rushing -water as his longest trolling-rod would command, he was not rewarded with -a single run. - -But for all that, there certainly are fish in all the pools about these -tremendous falls, and that he had the opportunity of satisfying himself -about before he left off; for just as he was giving it up for a bad job, -Torkel, who had an eye for a fish like that of a sea-eagle, caught sight -of something alive that had poked itself into one of the runs from the -saw-mills, a place not three feet across; and unscrewing the gaff which -he was carrying, and substituting for it the five-pronged spear, he -plunged it into the water and brought out a black trout (_salmo ferox_) -of ten pounds weight at the end of it. From the nature of the water it -is impossible that trout can abound at Trollhättan in any great numbers. -The river has scarcely any tributaries below the falls; and as it is -absolutely impossible for a fish to surmount them, the breeding ground -is very limited; but, on the other hand, the clearness of the water is -precisely that which best suits the constitution of a trout; bleak and -gwinead, which form their principal food, are very plentiful, and from -the depth of the water, there is scarcely any limit to the growth of -the fish; a man, who is satisfied to catch now and then a monster, will -do very well at Trollhättan, and in the course of the season will have -a few stories to tell, which in England will be set down as altogether -fabulous,—but it does not answer for a day’s fishing. The traveller may -as well make up his mind to admire the scenery at his leisure,—it will -not answer his purpose to wet a line there. - -The Parson having convinced himself of this, and, moreover, having had -one or two very narrow escapes, reeled up his line and contentedly sought -out his friends, who, by this time, had succeeded in explaining to the -swarms of guides that their services were not required, and were sitting -on a heathery bank feathered with birch, exactly in front of the middle -falls, comfortably eating gooseberries, which grow there in such plenty -that, though the place swarms with children—a whole regiment of soldiers -with their wives and families being hutted in the vicinity,—the bushes -were still full of them. - -“That is a curious cave,” said the Captain, pointing to a hole which -seemed to enter the face of the precipitous rock by the side of the -great fall, and to penetrate it for some distance; at least, the depth -was sufficiently great to be lost in darkness; the bottom of it was on a -level with the water, and was not accessible without a boat. - -“That!” said Birger, “that is Polheim’s grave.” - -“Do you mean to say that any man was buried there?” - -“Not the man himself, only the best part of a man—his reputation. -Polheim was an engineer, and when the first idea of making a practicable -communication between the Wener and the sea was entertained, he -attempted to carry it into effect by burrowing out that hole. If he had -succeeded in boring through the rock, he would have accomplished the -largest _jet d’eau_ in the world. However, Government were wise enough to -put a stop to it, and to employ a cleverer man. Polheim died—it is said -of grief,—his body buried at Wenersborg; what became of his soul, I will -not take upon me to say; but as for his reputation, there is no doubt -about that—that lies buried there.” - -“That canal certainly is a wonderful work for a country like yours, where -the extent of land is so great, and the produce from it so small.” - -“It would have been more wonderful still,” said Birger, “for it would -have been done when the country was still poorer, had it not been for the -Reformation.” - -“The Reformation!” said the Captain. “What, in the name of Tenterden -Steeple and the Goodwin Sands, has the Reformation to do with the Gotha -Canal?” - -“Not much with the canal, but a good deal with Bishop Brask who planned -it—the man whom Geijer calls, and very deservedly, ‘the friend of -liberty, and the upright friend of his country.’ The present canal, -nearly as you see it now, was sketched out in a letter still preserved, -which was written in the year 1526, by the Bishop, to stout old Thurè -Jensen, whom men called King of East Gothland—that gallant old fellow, -who, when he saw how the Diet of Westeras was going, struck up his -drums and marched forth, swearing that no man in Sweden should make -him heathen, Lutheran, or heretic. Before the Bishop’s scheme could be -converted into a reality, stout old Thurè was a headless corpse, and -Brask a voluntary exile. But the good which men do, lives after them. -Gustavus, who had always respected Brask, and would fain have retained -him in his See of Linköping, carried out many of his plans—and in the -course of time this, as you see, was carried out too, though it was not -for a hundred years or more after the successful king and the deprived -bishop had gone to their respective accounts.” - -“Jacob has just been giving us another version of the story,” said the -Captain, “something about Gefjon and Gylfi.” - -“O, the Gylfa-Ginning. Stupid old fool!—that did not happen here, but -down in the south, between Sweden and Denmark. So far, however, he is -quite right,—at least, if you believe the Prose Edda; the Goddess Gefjon -was the first canal maker in Sweden, and the event happened in the reign -of King Gylfi. - -“Thus it was:— - -“King Gylfi ruled over the land of Svithiod (Sweden), and at that -uncertain date which is generally known as ‘once upon a time,’ he -recompensed a strange woman, for some service she had done him, with as -much land as she could plough round with four oxen in a day and a night; -but he did not know, till the share struck deep into the earth and tore -asunder hills and rocks, that it was the Goddess Gefjon that he was -dealing with. So deep were the furrows, that the place where the land had -been became water, for the oxen, which had come from Jötenheim (the land -of the Goths), were really her sons, whom she had yoked to her plough.” - -“Phew-w-w,” whistled the Parson. - -“What is the matter?” said Birger. - -“Only that as Gefjon is the northern Diana, I thought you might have made -a mistake; her nephews, possibly, not her sons?” - -“O, that goes for nothing in Sweden,” said the Captain, laughing; “there -are plenty of cases in point. I have no doubt Birger is quite right.” - -“Well, if you come to scandalising national divinities,” retorted -Birger, “I am sure that story about Endymion was never cleared up very -satisfactorily.” - -“Clear up your own story, at all events, and place the oxen in any -relationship to the maiden goddess which you may think best suited to her -fair fame.” - -“Then I will call them what the Edda calls them,” said Birger, gallantly, -“her sons, and never sully the fair fame of the maiden Gefjon either. The -whole is an allegory. Sweden achieved the sea-path, or inland navigation -by the labour of her own sons, and that is what the old Skald Bragi -means when he likens them to oxen, and says— - - “‘Four heads and eight eyes bearing, - While hot sweat trickled down them, - The oxen dragged the reft mass - That formed this winsome island.’ - -And now Gefjon and her sturdy sons have been at work again. The whole -south of Sweden is an island now, and it is this canal from the Cattegat -to the Baltic that makes it so.” - -“Well, so it is; and though it is a long while since the days of the -Goddess Gefjon, or even of good Bishop Brask, the work is complete at -last, and a very creditable work it is. I think, by-the-way, that we -English had something to do with it.” - -“England had a hand, and a very considerable one, in the other end of -it,” said Birger, “but these locks are home manufacture, and the thing -really has answered very well. See what a trade it has opened with the -Wener only, which was the original plan; the communication with the -Baltic being a sort of after-thought of the Ostergöthlanders, carried -out by Count Platen. This part of the canal, which was opened in 1800, -has made four of our inland counties, Wenersborglan, Mariestadslan, -Carlstadslan, and Orebrö, into so many maritime states; and now the other -end has done the same for Jonköping and Linköping. In national wealth, -it has paid a dozen times over. There is no one who has ever lived, -since the days of Oxenstjerna, to whom we owe so much as we do to Count -Platen. In the very heat of the war—that is to say, in 1808—he conceived -the idea of prolonging the water communication to the Baltic. He went -over to England to inspect, with his own eyes, the Caledonian canal. He -engaged Telford, returned to Sweden, and, within two months, sent in -his plans, with their specification and estimates, which, strange to -say, have not been exceeded in the execution. It is this old part of the -canal, however, which is, at all events, the most showy job; here are -two miles of solid rock cut through, and, as you see, these falls are -pretty high—not less than a hundred and twenty feet of them, besides the -rapids,—they require, therefore, a good many locks; in fact, as you see, -it looks more like a staircase than anything else.” - -“It certainly was a singular sight,” said the Captain, “to see our -steamer high above our heads, and the masts of the brigs sticking out -from the tops of the rocks, and far above the highest trees.” - -“This part of the canal is the most showy,” said Birger; “no doubt -but Platen’s work was not altogether so easy as it looks. Any one can -appreciate the skill of an engineer, who sees a great body of water -surmounting a steep wall of rock; but a still greater amount of skill -is evidenced in laying out a plan; so as to render such tedious and -expensive works unnecessary. When I was a youngster, I was sent by the -Kongs-Ofwer-Commandant’s Expedition, to survey, by way of practice, the -two lines from our fortress of Wanås-on-Wettern to the two seas, and I -really do not know which is the most wonderful conception. The original -plan was only eight feet deep, but they are deepening it two feet more, -and making the width of the locks twenty-two feet throughout. We shall -see the Linköping battalion at work on this to-morrow. I must go and pay -them a visit while we are staying at Gäddebäck. I know a good many of the -officers.” - -“It is a military work, then?” - -“Not exactly, though, like most other large undertakings, it is done by -soldiers. It is a speculation, something like those in your own country, -which is taken in hand by shareholders, with a board of directors, though -I believe Government gives them a lift of some sort or other; but in -this country, in time of peace, you can always get as many soldiers as -you want for labourers, from a corporal’s party up to a battalion, or -a brigade, for matter of that. You lodge so much money in the hands of -the Government officer appointed for that purpose, and a regiment, or a -company, or a detachment, receives orders to march and hut themselves -in such a place. Your engineer, or foreman, or bailiff, as the case may -be, gives his orders to the officer in command, who sees them carried -into effect. It costs more in hard money—and, what is a worse thing for -us Swedes, _ready_ money—than any other sort of labour, but it answers -exceedingly well for those who can afford the first outlay, for the men -are under military discipline, and Government are responsible, not only -that you shall have so many men to work, but so many _sober_ men, _fit_ -to work, which, in this country, as you know, is not exactly the same -thing.” - -“And how do the soldiers like it?” said the Captain, who, though he -did not say so, certainly was thinking that it was not precisely the -situation of an officer and a gentleman, to do duty as foreman of the -works for some speculating farmer, or builder, or engineer. - -The idea never seemed to strike Birger, who, by-the-way, belonging to -the Royal Guards, was himself exempt from such service. “It is rather -popular,” said he, “with all classes; the men like it because they have -a considerable increase of pay, and as for the officers, except one -or two who are on duty for the day, they have but a short morning and -evening parade, just to see that their men are all right, and then they -may do what they please. They lose nothing, either, for all places are -equally dull in the summer, when everybody is at work; there can be no -festivities going on anywhere, and so they shoot, or fish, or lounge, or -make love, at their leisure. But here we are at the parade-ground,” he -continued, as they came upon a cleared space in the forest, surrounded -by very neat and compactly-built huts, some of considerable pretensions, -framed with trunks of pines, and walled and roofed with outsides from -the saw-mills, arranged as weather-boards; others, more humble, were -constructed of pine-branches and heather; but all alike compact, neat, -firm, tidy-looking, and arranged in military order, in straight lines, -with their officers’ huts in front. - -The sun was not far from its setting, and the soldiers having put aside -their tools, were throwing on their belts in a way that certainly would -not have satisfied an English adjutant, and were hurrying, with their -muskets in their hands, to their respective posts. There was a short -private inspection by the non-commissioned officers, while the band, a -pretty good one, were tuning their instruments; after which the companies -formed into line, faced to the west, and as the lower limb of the sun -touched the horizon, the officers saluted with their swords, the men -presented arms, and accompanied by the band, sang in chorus, every man of -them joining in and taking his part in it, the beginning of Grundtvig’s -glorious hymn to the Trinity. - - “O mighty God! we Thee adore, - From our hearts’ depths, for evermore;— - None is in glory like to Thee - Through time and through eternity. - Thy Name is blessed by Cherubim— - Thy Name is blessed by Seraphim— - And songs of praise from earth ascend, - With thine angelic choirs to blend. - Holy art Thou, our God! - Holy art Thou, our God! - Holy art Thou, our God! - Lord of Sabaoth.” - -The air was simple enough, though beautifully harmonized; but there is -nothing in the whole compass of music so magnificent as the combination -of some hundreds of human voices trained to sing in harmony; the band -would have injured the effect, but in truth it was hardly heard, -overwhelmed as it was by that volume of sound,—except, indeed, the roll -of drums which accompanied the final “Amen,” swelling and prolonging -the notes, and then dying away like a receding peal of thunder. The men -recovered arms, were dismissed, and in ten minutes were dispersed over -the parade ground, playing leap-frog, fencing, wrestling, foot-ball; -while not a few were lighting fires, and boiling water for their evening -gröd. - -Birger stepped on, to see if he could meet with his friend, while the -other two, thinking that they should most likely be in the way among -people who, if they spoke English or French at all, spoke it with -difficulty; turned into the well-beaten track that led to the inn and -landing place of Trollhättan. - -Before they arrived there the night had already closed in; that is to -say, it had faded into twilight, for that is the nearest approach which -a northern summer’s night makes to darkness. All that the travellers -then saw of the inn was the light which, glancing from every window, -beamed forth a welcome which it had evidently been beaming forth to -others before them; judging from the din which arose from the evening -relaxations of a dozen or so of jolly subalterns. These, who had money -enough, or who fancied they had money enough to spend in luxury, had -fixed their quarters at the inn, instead of the pretty looking green huts -which their less wealthy or more prudent comrades had run up in the camp. - -In fact, the sitting rooms of the inn offered at that time fewer -temptations than the very clean, bare bed-rooms, with their very white -sheets, and very warm down coverlets. Winter and summer alike, the -feather bed is uppermost, and here it was still; though the only reason -why the windows were not left wide open all night, was the clouds of -musquitos which, entering by them, menaced the repose of the sleepers. - -Jacob, whom the party had somewhat inconsiderately left in charge of -the baggage, had, much to their surprise, deceived them all in making -no mistake, and leaving nothing behind; the carioles had been landed, -and were ready packed for their journey on the morrow, as duly as if the -fishermen had seen to them themselves; but in his own country Jacob had -become quite a different character, and piqued himself in showing to the -Norwegians in his own person how vast was the superiority of the Swedes. - -Birger was not seen again till the party was collected at a sufficiently -early hour of the morning round a magnificent breakfast of fruit and -fish, which had been laid out under the verandah of the inn,—a narrow -esplanade which looked out upon the yet quiet waters of the brimming -Gotha, at the very point where they were gathering their strength for -their first furious plunge. - -Most cataracts commence with a rapid: so still and calm was the Gotha -at this point, that the esplanade in question was the general landing -place from Wenersborg, and was furnished with iron rings for the purpose -of mooring the boats, several of which, very fair specimens of Swedish -boat-building, were hanging on to them, scarcely stretching out their -respective painters, so gentle was the current. Among them lay a very -handsome gig with bright sides, well scraped oars, and a white English -ensign fluttering in the morning breeze; from which Moodie, who had come -in state with four rowers, had just landed, and by means of which, the -travellers were to complete their journey. - -In truth, Gäddebäck was not very accessible in any other way; it had been -originally built as a pic-nic house by the Mayor of Wenersborg, who, when -he had been half-ruined by the great fire that had taken place there the -year before, was glad enough to contract his expenses, and to find a -person to take it off his hands. It suited Moodie well enough, and its -low rent suited him also, but there were not many men whom it would suit -at all. It had been built exclusively for pleasure parties, and these -were expected to arrive there either by boat or by sledge, according as -the surface of the river was, water or ice. No one had ever troubled -themselves with any other entrance, and it was no sort of drawback to the -place in its original state, that communication with the main land was -entirely cut off. The still, deep brook which gave to the place its name -(pike brook), had spread out behind the house into a broad reedy morass, -which in spring, during the floods, was a broad reedy lake, but in summer -a sort of neutral ground, between land and water, through which was led -a precarious track, which might be passed on wheel, or indeed on foot, -provided the traveller did not object to very clear water, not much above -his knees. The actual spot on which the house was situated in the middle -of all this, was a patch of parky ground, abounding in beautiful timber, -which was five or six feet above the general level; that part of it which -lay next the river was firm, and hard, and covered with short green turf, -but this subsided to landward, first into wet sponge, secondly into -bog, and lastly into reedy water, in proportion as it receded from the -river. The brook, divided by this patch of dry land, soaked into the main -stream, on either end of it, completely insulating the domain. - -This suited Moodie exactly, for the little park was full of all sorts of -grouse and other birds, which looked as if they were at perfect liberty, -as indeed they were, only that having had their pinions cut, and not -being able to swim, they could not pass the girdle of water—herons, and -cranes, and bitterns, were stalking about, or watching for fish in the -shallows, like their wild brethren, for though excellent waders, and -quite in their element on the soppy shores to landward, they could not -swim any more than the grouse. There were some deer, also, of various -kinds, but as these had no sort of objection to take the water, they were -confined in little paddocks, those being classed together who would keep -the peace. - -On the esplanade, between the house and the river, lay a dozen dogs, -mostly English, on excellent terms with the great brown bear, who, though -perfectly tame, was secured from paying any inquisitive visits to the -deer paddocks by a collar and chain, with which he was made fast to a -substantial post at the door. - -The whole front of the house had been occupied by a ball-room, with -windows opening into a verandah. This verandah had become a general -marine store—oars, boat-hooks, masts, sails, were arranged along it on -hooks; but so tidily and regularly were they disposed, that they looked -as if they had been placed there for ornament;—fishing rods of all -lengths were there, and a large assortment of eel-lines and night-lines, -and trimmers, and gaffs, and pike-wires, and spears, and other poaching -implements, together with a goodly assortment of drags and flues in the -back ground; while a full-sized casting net, hung up to dry, displayed -its leaded semi-circle to the sun: for be it remembered, Moodie made -a profit of his pleasure, and not only kept his own establishment in -fish, but very seldom allowed the Gotheborg steamer to pass without -dispatching in her a heavy birchen basket, consigned to Jacob Lindegren, -the fishmonger. - -Neither was the interior at all out of character: the ball-room had been -divided by wooden partitions into three very tolerable apartments—an -ante-room or broad passage in the middle, and on either side his dining -room and what he called his study, that is to say, the place where he -made his flies. The passage, which was sufficiently littered, contained -little other furniture than a turning-lathe and a carpenter’s bench, with -shelves and pigeon-holes round the sides for the necessary tools; but -both rooms were pictures of tidiness; the furniture was plain enough, -certainly, but the walls were covered with sketches, of Moodie’s own -drawing, and with sporting trophies of every kind: huge bear skins and -wolf skins occupied whole panels, surmounted, perhaps, by the grinning -skull of a lynx, or a huge antlered head with the skin on; between these -were cases containing most of the wild birds found in the country, all -stuffed by his own hands; together with specimens of eggs, hung up in -a pattern, but each labelled with the name of the bird it belonged to. -Between the windows was a formidable armoury, while over one door was -a stuffed otter, and over the other a wild cat, and the rug itself was -formed of badgers’ skins bordered with fox; for Moodie had imported an -English grate and had built a fire-place, besides the invariable stove. - -Such was the sportsman’s paradise, into which Moodie welcomed his guests. -There was accommodation, such as it was, for an unlimited number of -them; for there were several empty rooms of one sort or another; and a -rough box, hastily run up with planks from the saw mills, filled with -dry poplar leaves and covered with a bear skin, was a bed much better -than any of them had been accustomed to. As for washing, their toilet -apparatus was laid out every morning on the stage to which the boats -were moored, and a dive into the river was the very best way of washing -the face after shaving,—at least, so Moodie seemed to think, for though -his room was pretty well fitted up, inasmuch as such toilet would be -difficult in the winter, when the river was as hard as a stone, in summer -he always chose the boat stage for his own dressing room, as well as for -that of his guests. - -No one was sorry for a rest; journals had to be written up, notes had to -be compared; there was something, too, in lounging lazily in the sun, or -smoking a peaceful cigar under the shade of the awning, or teasing the -bear, or feeding the grouse, and knowing all the while that there was no -duty neglected, and no opportunity lost. Not but that excursions in a -quiet way were made—now upon the water with the trolling tackle, now on -the high grounds of the royal forest, now on neither land nor water, but -on the marshy debateable land, astonishing the ducks that swarmed among -the reed beds which divide the left bank of the river from the sound -land; but nothing very particular was done, beyond existing in a very -high state of quiet enjoyment. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -GÄDDEBÄCK. - - “I hung fine garments - On two wooden men - Who stand on the wall; - Heroes they seemed to be - When they were clothed; - The unclad are despisèd.” - - _Hávamál._ - - -The day had been oppressively hot, more actual heat, perhaps—reckoning -by the degrees of Reaumur or Farenheit—than had been experienced on the -fjeld of the Tellemark;—but that was dry, bracing, exhilarating heat, -such as is felt on the mountain side; this was the moist, feverish -warmth, caused by the sun’s rays acting on the wide expanse of the Wener -Sjön and its marshy shores, and secretly and imperceptibly drawing up -vapours, which would eventually fall in rain,—not, perhaps, on the spot -from which they had been raised, but on the cold distant mountains of -Fille Fjeld, which at once attracted and condensed them. There was not a -cloud in the sky, but the sun would not shine brightly or cheerily either. - -The long summer’s day was, however, drawing to a close, and the party -were sitting at the extreme end of a little jetty which Moodie had built -out into the river on piles of solid fir. This was covered with an awning -of striped duck,—of little use as an awning so late in the day, for the -sun was low enough to peep under it, but still kept up, partly to tempt -the air of wind, which every now and then fluttered its vandyked border, -and partly as a preservative against the dews, which would be sure to -fall as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon. - -From a flag-staff, stepped on the outermost pile, hung a huge red English -ensign, every now and then stirring in the breeze, half unrolling its -lazy folds and then dropping motionless against its staff. Moodie was -very particular about this flag, and hoisted it every morning with his -own hands,—for ever since he had fairly turned his back upon his native -land, he had become intensely national. - -In the front and beneath them the broad, clear, deep, still, brimming -river, full four hundred yards from bank to bank, glided quietly along -with a calm unbroken surface, and a motion hardly sufficient to bring -a strain upon the chain cable of the little cutter that was moored -some twenty yards off the head of the pier, with her triangular burgee -fluttering out in the breeze that was not strong enough to move the -heavier ensign, and displaying the red cross and the golden R.Y.S. so -well known in every port in Europe. It was a singular thing to see it -here though, a hundred miles in the heart of Sweden, with the tremendous -Falls of Trollhättan between it and the sea. - -Made fast to the rails of the jetty were half a dozen boats, of all -shapes and sizes—from the long narrow galley with its four well-scraped -ashen oars, to the little white flat-bottomed duck-punt,—for Gäddebäck, -though not, strictly speaking, an island, except during the freshets of -early summer, was so perfectly insulated by the sluggish brook and the -marshy ground through which it flowed, as to make all communication with -the main land, except by boat, extremely precarious. - -Dinner had been over for some time, and the party had adjourned to the -jetty, as the coolest place they could find. They were sitting with their -wine glasses before them, while two or three bottles of light claret were -towing overboard, suspended in the cool water of the river by as many -night-lines. - -“Upon my word,” said the Captain, throwing open his waistcoat, “the -West Indies is a fool to this; and it is not unlike a tropical climate -either,—moist, damp, and hot,—stewing rather than broiling.” - -“To tell you the truth,” said the Parson, “I am surprised at your -selecting this spot for your residence, beautiful as it certainly is; -with all this marsh land about it, it cannot fail to be unhealthy.” - -“Well, I do not know,” said Moodie, “they do talk of agues, certainly, -but these things never hurt me, and the place suits me well enough; there -is plenty of shooting—ducks and snipes without end; and on the other side -of that range of heights, not three miles from us, is a royal forest, -well preserved, in which I have full permission to kill anything I like, -except stags, elks, and perhaps peasants, though they do not make much -fuss about a man or two either; and, besides, the Ofwer Jagmästere is -a particular friend of mine. And as for fishing, it is not altogether -such as I should choose, no doubt, for it is mostly trolling,—but there -is some capital fishing, such as it is. I will show you what we can -do to-morrow at the upper rapids,—we have not been there yet. It is a -singular sort of sport, certainly; but if you are half the poacher you -used to be, you will like it for its novelty. However, the greatest -attraction that the place has in my eyes, lies in its situation: this -river is the high road from Gotheborg to Stockholm, and steamers pass it -every day. Living on this Robinson Crusoe island of mine, I can command -the best market in the country, and in fact, I do realize a very fair -income by my fish and my game. Look at my yacht, too, where else could I -put it to so great use. A short canal and a single lock passes me into -the great lake Wener, where I command some of the best rivers and some -of the best bear-country in Sweden. If I want to smell salt water again, -I have but to put my cutter in tow of the market-tug, and to steam away -to Gotheborg; and when I want to be sulky, here I am, looking after my -menagerie of Scandinavian birds and beasts, and adding odds and ends -to my museum. I dare say people wonder at the old flag ‘that braved a -thousand years, the battle and the breeze,’ as they pass backward and -forward in the steamers; but no one stops here, and you may be sure no -one would find me out by land. This is just the place for me; besides, it -is not always so hot as it is now,—I have driven my cariole across this -river, many a time.” - -“By the way, what do you do with yourself in the winter?” said the -Captain; “you were never very much given to reading, and your shooting -and fishing must fail you then.” - -“Fishing, yes; shooting, no,” said Moodie; “the finest bear shooting is -in the winter.” - -“What! do you meet with bears in the forest?” - -“Pooh, nonsense! you Englishmen are always fancying that we kick bears -out of every bush in Sweden.” - -“You Englishmen!” said Birger, glancing at the flag. - -“Well, well,—you Johnny Raws, I should say,—you freshmen—you griffins. I -was just as bad myself, though: I remember the day I landed at Gotheborg, -marching off with my gun over my shoulder to a little wooded valley at -the back of the town where the Gotheborg cockneys have their villas, and -attacking a Swede, dictionary in hand, with ‘Hvar er Bjornerne’—how the -scoundrel laughed.” - -“Well, but what do you mean by bear shooting then,—where do you meet with -it?” - -“Why, you travel a hundred miles to get a shot at a bear, and think -little of it too. The bear hunter must keep up a correspondence with -the Ofwer Jagmästerer of the different provinces, and get information -whenever the peasants have ringed a bear as they call it—that is to say, -ascertained that he is within a certain circle, and then out with the -sledge and the dogs, and the rifles, and away up the river, or across the -lake, as it may be. You do not meet with a bear at every turning, I can -assure you. I have killed a pretty many though, one way or other, since I -have been here.” - -“That you have,” said the Captain,—“at least, if all those trophies that -ornament your walls are honestly come by; but by your own showing, you -cannot be hunting every day in the week; what do you do on the off-days?” - -“Well, to tell you the truth, I was dull enough the first winter; you -will hardly believe it, but I took to reading—I did indeed; you may -laugh, but it is quite true. I got up the natural history of the country -thoroughly, and crammed Linnæus. But I soon found something better to -do, when I began to get acquainted with the people, worthy souls that -they are. I had invitations without end, and got on capitally with -them,—quite a popular character I am.” - -“The English are popular,” said the Parson, certainly; “high and low -we have found that, wherever we have been. What we English have done -to deserve it is more than I can say; but Norway and Sweden, agreeing -in nothing else, agree at all events in doing honour to the English -traveller.” - -“Do not be taking the conceit out of Moodie”, said Birger; “it is evident -that he would have you to understand that it is he, the individual,—not -he, the Englishman, who is thus honoured and caressed.” - -“You need not be afraid of doing that,” said the Captain; “ever since I -have known him, Moodie has been a very great man,—in his own eyes, at all -events.” - -“Why, you must know I am a great man here,” said Moodie, “whatever I was -in my own country. I am a kammerjunker—no less.” - -“A what?” said the Captain. - -“A kammerjunker; and, in virtue of it, I have a right to go before every -one of you.” - -“Well, but how came you to be a what-do-you-call-him? ‘Who gave you that -name?’ as the Catechism says.” - -“Not ‘my godfathers and godmothers,’ certainly,” said Moodie, “and I -hadn’t it ‘in my baptism;’ but I will tell you how it was. Sweden, in -the winter, is as different from the same country in the summer as -Connaught from Paradise. In the winter, they are fiddling, and dancing, -and singing, from night to morn, and from morn to snowy eve. There is -not much else to do, as you say, that is the truth of it, unless one -happens to hear of a bear; so when I came to understand a little of -their lingo, I was very glad to go to their jollifications. The people -were always very civil in asking me, wherever I was—that I must say for -them. Now we, in England, don’t care much about precedence, as you know. -Most of us do not know who is first and who is last, and the rest do not -care; and those who feel most secure of their rank, are generally too -proud to take the trouble of asserting it. But it is not so here; they -all know their places, like schoolboys, and fight for them like dogs -at a feeding-trough if you happen to make a mistake about them—a thing -which the natives never do. I did not care much about this at first, no -Englishman would,—in fact, I did not understand it; but after a bit it -got to be very unpleasant—it made me a marked man. Here was I, an English -gentleman, as noble as the king—and a little more so than that Brummagem -article of theirs,—shoved down, not only by counts and barons, which I -did not like over and above; for half the people you meet with here are -counts and barons,—and precious queer ones, some of them; but, besides -this, there were their confounded orders of knighthood: there are knights -of the Cherubim and Seraphim[45], and knights of the Elephant and Castle, -and knights of the Goose and Gridiron, and Heaven knows what besides. -Then came the officials, from the prime minister down to the post-master, -and their sons and grandsons. Why, there was not a tradesman I dealt -with, hardly a beggar I gave a shilling to, who had not a clear right to -go before me—aye, and showed every disposition to exercise it, too! - -“One day I was ass enough to be vexed because my tailor, who was knight -of the Shears and Cabbage, or something of the sort, elbowed his way -before me; and one of my friends, I think it was this very Bjornstjerna, -the Ofwer Jagmästere, offered to get me a settled precedence. ‘Yours -is not a new family,’ says he.—Of course it was not, everybody knew -the Moodies, of Hampshire.—Well, that was all right; I had only to -get my sixteen quarters blazoned, and he would see that I was made a -kammerjunker. Sixteen quarters! thought I. I had had a great grandfather, -that is certain, for there he lies in Havant Church, with a ton of marble -over him, and his arms on the top of that, a chevron ermine between three -mermaids ppr. to cheer him up on his road to Paradise. He was a great -man, too, and looked as if he was the son of somebody, as the Spaniards -say, to judge by the picture of his coach-and-six, and outriders with -French-horns, which is hanging up in our hall, at Havant Manor. But he -had played ‘ducks and drakes’ with his guineas, and as for his quarters, -you know we don’t greatly trouble ourselves with such matters. - -“Well, I told my difficulty to one of my friends in Stockholm—an idle -young scamp of an _attaché_. ‘Why the devil don’t you write to the -Herald’s College,’ said he, ‘they will trace your descent from the -Preadamite Grants,[46] if you pay for it. Tell them to make you up a -pedigree for Sweden, and, my life for it, they will get it up well.’ - -“I could not lose by it, you know, so I wrote, and, sure enough, they -found out that the old family had come over with Duke Rollo, and had -a hand in that conquest of ‘Normandie,’ which your fellow Torkel is -continually dinning into our ears. They found out, too, that our name -originally was spelt ‘Modige,’ which, in old Swedish, means ‘dashing,’ -and that it was a title of honour, given to us for our gallantry in the -said conquest. And, what was pat to the present purpose, Duke Rollo -had conferred on us the honour of hereditary chamberlains, as soon as -ever he had a court to appoint us to. How we came to England I forget—I -suppose, though, it was with Duke William,—and what we did there I do -not know, unless it was plundering the Saxons, like the rest; but, at -all events, I got a string of shields, fit to roof Valhalla, and a -beautiful tree—rather an expensive plant it was, though, for I paid -sixty pounds for it. However, Bjornstjerna and my friend the _attaché_ -marched off with the chevron ermine and the three mermaids to the -Hof-Ofwer-Something-or-other, and brought me back a sheet of parchment -with a big seal hanging from it, giving me the privilege of pulling off -the inexpressibles of the third prince of the blood royal—whenever it -should please Providence to bless his Majesty with one,—and in virtue of -that office to style myself kammerjunker.” - -“So you are a greater man than your tailor, now?” - -“O yes,” said Moodie, “I take precedence of all manner of people, and -moreover wear, whenever I please—which is not very often, you may be -sure,—a concern in my button-hole, something like what I used to wear -when I was Noble Grand of the Julius Cæsar Lodge of Oddfellows, at South -Marden. You may depend upon it I am something very great indeed, though I -must admit I do not know exactly what.” - -“Very great indeed!” said Birger, who, as may be supposed, did not -feel his country particularly flattered by Moodie’s absurd—not to say -ungrateful—description of his honours, and retorted with a bit of Swedish -slang: “I am sure you are something ending in ‘ral,’ as the Karing’s wife -said to her husband; it certainly is not admiral—perhaps it is corporal?” - -“Upon my word, Birger, I beg your pardon,” said Moodie, in some -confusion. “You speak English so perfectly, and look so like an -Englishman, that I forgot we are not all countrymen together.” - -“Well, well,” said Birger, good humouredly, “I must confess there is a -great deal too much of truth in your satire, and that is what makes the -sting of it.” - -“Never mind him, Birger,” said the Parson; “you Swedes are uncommon fine -fellows, and carry your honours in your history; I should like to know -what Europe would have done in the thirty years war, if it had not been -for Gustaf Adolph and Oxenstjerna? Why, it was you who thrashed Czar -Peter and all the Russias into something like civilization, and were the -making of his armies by licking them. Gallantly, too, did you hold your -own, under the other Gustaf, against the giant you had made; and I have -no doubt but that you would have thrashed the French giant Nap., as well -as the Russian giant Peter, if you had only made up your minds in time -which side you meant to fight on. But for all that, it is a fact, as -Moodie says, that, like the girls, you are a little too fond of ribbons.” - -“It is very true,” said Birger; “we depreciate our own honours by our -over-lavish distribution of them. That which is plentiful, is cheap—that -which is little, valued. It is the law of nature, and as true of stars -and ribbons as it is of green peas and early potatoes.” - -“To be sure it is,” said the Captain; “what regiment in our service cares -a button for the distinction of ‘Royal,’ which it shares with the Royal -African condemned corps? Who prizes the Waterloo medal, which places in -the same category the Englishman who fought and the Belgian who ran?” - -“Yes,” said Moodie, who had by this time done blushing at his blunder, -“at the Congress of Vienna, Lord Castlereagh sat among the starry host of -plenipotentiaries in a plain blue coat, without one solitary decoration. -‘Ma foi! c’est bien distingué,’ said good Bishop Talleyrand, who himself -had a star for every oath he had broken, and whose tailor could not find -room on his coat for all of them!” - -“It was ‘distingué,’” said the Captain; “he belonged to a country whose -citizens do their duty for their duty’s sake. That is distinction enough -for any man.” - -“Yes,” said Birger, “_if they do_—but a good deal depends on that little -particle;—however, even if citizens could be got, whenever wanted, to do -their duty for their duty’s sake, which I doubt; distinctions, which of -course involve precedence, are useful in themselves. In your country, -people are always jealously guarding their position in society; you are -always on the look out, lest some interloper should thrust you out, or -refuse you the honour you consider your due. This is what makes you -Englishmen so unsociable and exclusive; you are always on guard, walking -sentry over your own honour. Now look at our people—our barons and our -tradesmen, our princes and our farmers, all meet together without fear of -losing caste, because every one has his position secured to him, beyond -the possibility of invasion. You dare not do this.” - -“Do not say, ‘you,’” broke in the Captain, “I, thank God! am a gentleman -born, and have not to work for my daily dignity.” - -“That is only another instance of what I assert—‘a gentleman born!’ you -can afford to do what we all do, because, by birth or by accident, you -find yourself in the very position in which we Swedes are all placed by -the customs of our country.” - -“That is all very true,” said the Parson; “for the amenities of life, -I grant your system is by far the best; men live happier and more -contentedly under it; and it certainly does produce a much more genial -and social intercourse among all classes, that men are dependent for -their dignity on something else than their wine merchant and their -pastry-cook. Still, yours is not the condition of progress; your people -live content, perhaps happy, in their fixed position; but every man of -ours, who is working for his daily dignity, as the Captain calls it, -is, in a very unpleasant and uncomfortable manner, pressing onward and -improving his own condition. Now, that nation in which every man is -continually excited to improve his condition, is nationally progressive; -that, in which every man is content in his own place, is nationally -stationary. I do not say which is the best principle, only, there is -something to be said on the other side. One thing is certain, our -principle is not the same as yours; and it is excusable, when we do -borrow from the continent, if we make a generous blunder in a science -which we do not understand, and in the largeness of our heart, give -medals to runaway Belgians, without remembering that the honour of -the medal lies not in the silver, but in the action which the silver -commemorates, and that, in truth, what we have given to the cowards who -ran, we must have filched from the brave fellows who had earned for that -medal its value.” - -“So far, at all events, you are right,” said Birger, “that your nation -does not understand the science of decorations any more than ours. You -helped to spoil your own Waterloo medal much more than ever the Belgians -spoiled it, and that not altogether from your largeness of heart. If I -had been a pink-faced ensign of that day, I should have been ashamed to -wear my medal in the presence of a Peninsular veteran, who had done five -hundred times as much as I. It was a better feeling than that of being -ranked with the Belgians that made your people shy of their Waterloo -medals. And now that you begin to distribute your decorations, you do -not know how to do it: first of all you give it for any little trumpery -affair, like sticking those Chinese pigs, and then you give it to all who -have seen the smoke of the gunpowder.” - -“We presume that every one present does his duty, and that none can do -more,” said the Captain. - -“A very pretty poetical fiction,” said Birger, “pity that it is a -fiction. However, one thing is certain—that will never be prized that is -shared by all alike; you see that at once in our case—it is equally true -in you own.” - -Just then the Stockholm steamer, _Daniel Thunberg_, hove in sight, with -her light blue pennant of smoke, so unlike the black volumes that roll -from the chimneys of coal-burning Englishmen. - -“They have got something on board for us,” said Moodie; “that calico -concern on her foremast is their best Swedish imitation of our English -jack, and they always hoist it whenever they have got a letter or -parcel for me. There goes a gun; those rascals are always glad of any -opportunity for making a bang. Hallo, there! Nils!” continued he, in -Swedish, to the master of his yacht, who had gone to sleep against the -heel of the bowsprit, with his pipe in his mouth; “answer that signal, -and send a boat on board the steamer.” - -He spoke as if he had a frigate’s crew at his command. Nils started -up, and as he happened, at that moment at least, to be the captain and -the whole ship’s company in his own person, he proceeded to obey both -orders personally—in a few minutes was alongside the gay little craft, -and returned with a letter, the writer of which, to judge from the -superscription he placed upon it, must have considered Moodie a very -great man indeed, so many titles did he prefix to his name—High-born and -Illustrious were the very least of them. - -Moodie, a little afraid of the Captain’s satire—though the direction, -after all, was nothing more than the ordinary Swedish form in which -one gentleman addresses another, and quite as appropriate as our much -mis-used esquire,—crumpled up the envelope in great haste. - -“Hurrah!” said he, flourishing the letter over his head, “this is the -very thing for us—you are in high luck; look here.” - -“What is it?” said the Captain, for the letter, which was in Swedish and -written in the Swedish character, might as well have been Cyrillic or -Uncial, for anything he could make out of it. - -“Why, there is to be a skal in Wermeland, next Tuesday; a grand bear -hunt, in which they drive twenty or thirty miles of country; this letter -is from the very man I have been speaking of—Bjornstjerna, the Ofwer -Jagmästere, and my own particular friend. Some half dozen respectable -farmers have made oath to him that they have been annoyed by bears, and -he tells me he has written to the præster of the neighbourhood, to give -notice from their pulpits, and to turn out the whole country. That is the -legal form on such occasions, and there is a heavy fine for any man who -does not obey it.” - -“Hurrah!” said the Captain, in his turn, “then we shall kill a bear at -last.” - -“That you will,” said Moodie; “Bjornstjerna knows his business as well -as any man in Sweden; there are people who fancy his patronymic a -nick-name[47] of his own earning. He would not be turning out the country -for nothing, you may depend on it.” - -“Where is this to take place?” - -“Why, in Upper Wermeland, as I told you, near Lysvic, not very far from -the banks of the Klara, a river I know well, as full of grayling as it -can hold; not that that has much to do with bear hunting. It is not above -a hundred and fifty or two hundred miles from this.” - -“Quite in the neighbourhood,” said the Captain, laughing. - -“O that is nothing, we never mind a hundred miles or so. If we get -anything like a breeze, we will run across the Wener, in the yacht, we -can send the carioles on by land to Amal, and we will pick up a waggon, -or something, for the men, at there or at Carlstad; and then you will -see how we will rattle up the country. We must send a boat, though, to -Wenersborg this very night, and tell the post-master to make out a forbud -for us; it will not do to trust to chance on such an occasion as this, -for we shall have to collect a good many horses at every station. Let me -see, we shall want one for each of us, and three for the waggon, that -will make seven; and I suppose they will charge half a horse more besides -the forbud; for we shall have four men with us, and we must take things -enough to make us comfortable, for I dare say we shall have a week in -the forest, one way or the other. Come, finish that bottle, and we will -go in and have some coffee; it is not so well to stay out here at night -when that blue mist is hanging on the swamp; besides, these rascally -musquitoes are anything but pleasant.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -WENERN. - - “The Night has covered her beauty. Her hair sighs on Ocean’s - wind. Her robe streams in dusky wreaths. She is like the fair - Spirit of heaven in the midst of its shadowy mist. - - “From the wood-skirted waters of Lago ascend at times - grey-bosomed mists, when the gates of the West are closed on - the Sun’s eagle eye. Wide over Lara’s stream is poured the - vapour dark and deep. The Moon, like a dim shield, is swimming - through its folds. - - “‘Spread the sail,’ said the King; ‘seize the winds as they - pour from Lena.’ We rose on the wave with songs,—we rushed with - joy through the foam of the deep.” - - _Ossian._ - - - “So peaceful, calm, and leaden grey, - Beneath our keel the waters lay, - Parting around the vessel’s prow - With rippling murmur, sweet and low,— - And rising slowly from the lake, - The wreathing mists asunder break— - Revealing all concealed before - Of forest, hill, and rocky shore.” - - _Anon._ - - -There was no great stir next morning at Gäddebäck, considering the -importance of the expedition; as for preparations, no more preparation -was necessary than is necessary for a detachment of soldiers that has -received its route; the guns and ammunition were paraded, and the -knapsacks were packed in light marching order; the carioles had been -despatched over night to the post-master at Wenersborg, under the charge -of Piersen and one of Moodie’s people, with directions to send on a -forebud, and then to proceed by land to Amal; and the cutter having -received her freight, had, on the preceding evening, hauled out into the -stream in order to be taken in tow by the night steamer, for Wenersborg. -Moodie had determined that there was no need of disappointing himself -or his friends of their day’s fishing at the upper rapids, seeing that -they might easily be taken on the road. He proposed, therefore, joining -the cutter at Wenersborg in the evening, and making the passage to Amal -by night, observing, that by getting what sleep they could while at sea, -they would lose no time, and might start immediately on landing. - -“This is rather close shaving, Moodie,” said the Captain, as they sat at -breakfast the following morning,—rather an early breakfast, for Moodie -meant to give the fishing-ground what he called a full due.—“You have -made the evening breeze an element in your calculation; we shall be in a -mess if this night is anything like the last.” - -“O, but it will not be, ‘you see ghosts by daylight,’ as our people say; -there is always a breeze on the open lake, it is not like this valley; -besides, if it does fail us, we have only to post; there is a regular -posting track across the lake, with stations on the islands, where they -keep boats in the summer and horses in the winter. If the breeze does -fail us, which I tell you it will not, we have only to send the dingy to -Leckö or Lurön, whichever we may be nearest to, and get boats enough to -carry us all.” - -The Parson made no opposition, though in his heart he agreed with the -Captain that the experiment might very possibly involve the loss of -their ultimate object, the skål; the salmo ferox was, however, a new -fish to him, and notwithstanding all he had said in its disparagement -on the banks of the Torjedahl, he would not much have liked to lose his -chance of landing one. By his advice a light rod or two were added to the -baggage,—for the rivers north of the Wener abound in grayling, though, -strange to say, these delicate fish are never found south of it. - -The four-oared gig being the fastest pulling boat, carried them up the -stream to the point at which the great canal leaves the river; beyond -this it ceases to be navigable on account of its rocks and rapids, but -for this very reason becomes much more valuable as a fishing preserve. -At these rapids, which was the crack station of all Moodie’s fishery, -was a sort of out-post, where he had a keeper’s house, with a separate -establishment of boats. The Captain turned up his eyes a little at -hearing of this fresh proof of his friend’s magnificence; but it sounds -grander to English ears than it is in fact, for Moodie made money by -his fishery, and of course required men, not only to preserve it, but -to catch the fish while he was absent on any roving expedition like the -present; and as for boats, where planks may be had at the saw-mills for -almost nothing, and where every man is more or less of a carpenter, -rough fishing punts are articles of very small expense indeed, and are -generally built at home. - -It is said that the great lake, Wener, even now the largest in Europe, -was once much larger; that it once extended to the falls of Trollhättan; -that all the low-lying and marshy shores, which are now the delight -of ducks and the glory of musquitoes, were once under water, but that -the stream having gradually worked its way over the falls, like a saw, -continually wearing away the rock from which it fell, and carrying it -off, portion by portion, opened a deeper passage, and that the lake has -gradually receded to its present limits. - -This of course, happened in Preadamite times, or, to use the language -of the allegorical history of creation supplied by the prose Edda—in -those days, “before the sons of Bör had slain the giant Ymir.”[48] And -certainly the formation of the valley afforded some grounds for the -conjecture: two low lines of hills, steep and cliff-shaped, suggested -readily the idea of Preadamite banks; while the flat bottom of the -valley, in many places irrecoverably marshy, in all liable to be covered -with water whenever the river is in flood, looked quite as much like the -bottom of a drained pond as it did like the real land. It was not without -its beauty, either; if ever it had been a lake, it must have been a -lake studded with low islands, and these, as well as much of the marshy -ground, were covered with forests, hiding, by the luxuriance of their -growth, the numerous cultivated spots which intervened. - -It was a very different description of scenery to that of Norway -certainly, for the hills of Hunneberg and Halleberg, which bound the view -to the east and contain some very valuable limestone quarries, are, what -limestone soil invariably is, tame and monotonous. They, however, abound -in oak—a very rare tree in the north,—and also in deer and roe-bucks, -which are not common either, but this being a royal forest, they were -probably better looked after than they are in private lands, and Moodie, -who, practically, had the rangership, as he was the only man allowed to -shoot there, was scrupulously particular, and would as soon have thought -of shooting a keeper as of shooting a deer. - -The rapids are formed by a ridge of rock which crosses the river, over -which it pours down one or two steps leaving deep broad pools of eddying -water between them. The whole of this part of the river is overhung with -trees of the largest growth which Sweden affords, and is as beautiful a -spot as any they had seen. As the rocks are extremely rugged, the river -is of very unequal breadth,—the banks, at one place, approaching so near -to each other, that an Alpine bridge is formed of pine trees thrown -across it. Four of the longest firs that could be found, with their -stems resting on the rocks, are tied together in pairs, at their upper -ends, by means of two iron bands, forming a broad Gothic arch. This is -the skeleton of the bridge; the horizontal timbers, which were laid for -the footways, passed them at about a third of their height, like the -cross-bar of the letter A, and formed ties to steady them as well as to -support the rest of the structure. It was an exceedingly picturesque -affair, and told well for the ingenuity of the architect. - -This bridge was their first stage. The keeper’s hut commanded the pools -both above and below the bridge, and had establishments of boats for both -divisions of the river—for there was considerable difficulty in getting a -boat from one to the other. - -The salmo ferox, when small, is often caught with a fly, and may be so -caught when fourteen or sixteen pounds weight, but this is not a very -common occurrence. The usual way of fishing for him is with a large litch -of six pairs of hooks and a lip-hook, very heavily loaded and baited -with a bleak or a gwinead, of which there are plenty in the river. A -boat is absolutely necessary. The fisherman stands in the stern, and -runs out some thirty yards of the line heavily loaded, with a short -stiff pike-rod; the boat must be kept continually traversing the stream, -beginning at the head of it and quartering it down to the foot, while -the troller at the stern, with the point of his rod low, keeps his bait -spinning in jerks,—the object being to imitate a sick or wounded fish. -At each turn of the boat, the line must be gathered in by the hand, or -the edges of the rapids, which indeed are the most likely parts, would be -untried; four out of five fish are caught while the boats are in the act -of turning. - -This rather monotonous description of sport had gone on for some time, -when the Parson felt the rod nearly taken out of his hand by the rush -of a fish. The battle was furious, for the salmo ferox does not belie -his name, but it was a mere trial of tackle, without any opportunity for -the exercise of skill,—carried on, too, at the bottom of water twenty -feet deep; and when, after a quarter of an hour’s boring against the -bottom, the Parson succeeded in bringing to the gaff his huge capture, he -declared he had done enough for fame, struck up his rod, sought the lower -pool in pursuit of gös and id, with which, as well as with trout, it was -said to abound. - -The Swedes say that gös is a fish very difficult to catch; to an -Englishman, by far the most difficult part of the business is to name -the fish when he has caught it. Certainly, no one is qualified to do so -who speaks of Göthe under his English appellations of Goth and Goaty: -the dotted o affects and softens the preceding consonant as well as the -vowel, and the name of this fish is pronounced much as if it was spelt -“yeus,” in French letters. The difficulty experienced by the Swedes in -catching it, arises from the fact of its requiring fine tackle in the -clear waters which it frequents, instead of the coarse gimp or wire which -is sufficient for the rash and headlong pike; in all other respects the -habits of the two fish are very similar, except that the gös is a much -smaller fish, and very much more prized. For him, the Parson was content -with setting lay-lines with live baits and considerable length of fine -gut, while he directed his personal attention to the id. - -In every particular, except one, the id is a chub; his haunts, his -habits, his food are those of a chub; in looks, too—though certainly not -altogether so clumsy, and, so to speak, chubby,—he reminds one forcibly -of the chub family. He is something like the half-polished parvenu in his -transition state of existence, just admitted into aristocratic circles, -but, as yet, unable entirely to lay aside his brandy-and-water habits -and feelings. In every particular, _except one_, the id is a chub, and -that is, that he is by far the best eating of any of the cyprinæ; in -fact, so far as the pot goes, he is a very respectable prize. The Parson, -who, in his youth, had caught many a chub, and was fully aware of the -zoological affinity of the two fish, was by no means at a loss for -subjects of mutual interest between himself and his new introduction; a -fly, resembling, as near as it could be made on the spur of the moment, -a humble-bee, was tied on his finest gut, and the boat, anchored in -the stern, was by slow degrees permitted to descend within long-cast -of a still, over-shaded pool: the fly, thrown from as great a distance -as he could command, fell as lightly as so clumsy a combination of fur -and feathers could be expected to fall, and was moved very slowly and -regularly over, or rather through, the water; for, as it may be supposed, -the length of line caused it to sink a few inches below the surface. - -His science was not unrewarded, for, before long, a sluggish roll in the -waters, and a strong, obstinate, pig-headed pull at his line announced a -capture. This was quickly followed by others, for id, though gregarious, -are quite as indifferent to the troubles of their neighbours as if they -were human creatures; provided you do not show yourself and alarm them -for their individual safety, their friend may kick and struggle before -their eyes, without causing a single wag of their selfish tails. - -It was not bad fun upon the whole, for the id, though not possessing a -tithe of the life and activity of the salmo genus, pull like donkeys, -and might have lasted some time longer, for the Parson was getting -interested, when Jacob was seen making his leisurely way along the -bank, for the purpose of announcing “mid-dag’s mad.” The ground was -sufficiently tangled, and Torkel, who was managing the boat and landing -the fish, was extremely amused at the air of vexation and annoyance -with which he dipped under a low-spreading fir branch, or put aside a -too affectionate bramble. About a hundred yards above the id pool was a -little beach of the whitest and smoothest sand that ever fairy danced -upon. From the point where the boat was anchored, it was evident that -this was caused by a little dull-looking stream, which had brought the -white particles from the hills during the floods; but which then, very -suspiciously, did _not_ run into the river, but lost itself behind the -white beach. All this was lost upon Jacob, who was in the wood, and who, -not liking the tangled ground, made a valorous jump on to the white beach. - -“Der var et spring af en Leerovn!” shouted Torkel, quoting a Danish -proverb (“there was a jump for a tile-stove!”)—as poor Jacob flopped -through the thin crust of white sand into a bed of black, tenacious -clay, in which he seemed planted up to his middle, with his long flowing -coat-tails spread out upon the unbroken sand. - -The more he screamed with fear, the more they screamed with laughter. -There was not the slightest danger, for he had evidently got as far as he -meant to sink; but as for getting out without a purchase from something -solid, the thing was impossible. - -“We must have another fish,” said Torkel, to make up the dozen; “and it -will be impossible to get Jacob out without spoiling the pool by pulling -the boat across it.” - -The Parson coolly took another cast,—Jacob screamed louder than ever. - -“Bother that fellow,—I have missed him,” said the Parson, meaning not -Jacob, but the fish. - -“Try again,” said Torkel, coolly, “you will get him next time.” - -A despairing shriek from Jacob. - -“Ah! that is in him!—this is the biggest we have had yet! mind what you -are about with the landing-net,—do not let him run under the boat! -Well, really, we must pull out poor Jacob, or he will poison us with bad -cookery, out of revenge. Up killick! or whatever you call it in your -language, and shove across to him.” - -But when they landed, they seemed as far from the rescue as ever. Jacob -had jumped vigorously, and the bank from which he had jumped was high. To -reach him was impossible, and to get out on the sand would be to share -his fate. While Torkel was trying to slip down the bank, the Parson took -out his knife to cut a branch. - -“Stop! stop!” said Torkel, who, unsuccessful, had scrambled back. “What -are you doing?—we shall all suffer for this; it is elder that you are -cutting.” - -“Well! what then?” - -“Why, if we take it without asking for it, the elves will have power over -us for nine days, and the chances are, some of us will die suddenly.” - -The Parson was inclined to laugh, but he did not, and turned to look for -a branch of less dangerous wood; but Torkel, placing himself before it, -taking off his hat and bowing three times to the tree, said, “Elf-mother! -elf-mother! let me have some of thy elder, and I will give thee something -of mine.” - -The elf-mother certainly did not refuse, and Torkel took silence for -consent, which it proverbially is, and cut away at the bough, which, -stripped of its side branches, formed a communication with the imbedded -Jacob, who, black without and sulky within, and, as Torkel said, looking -more like a pig than ever, was dragged floundering to the shore,—not at -all the more pleased when Torkel reminded him that, as they were in light -marching order, he would have to wash his shirt, trousers, and stockings, -and to sit without them till they were dry. - -When the party met at their mid-dag’s mad, which was not till long -after the Swedish time for mid-dag’s mad had passed, there was a very -respectable show of fish—not only enough for the cutter, but also a very -handsome basket for the Gotheborg steamer that evening, which was duly -packed and forwarded in a light cart to the locks; while the party, -shouldering their weapons and that part of their prize which they had -reserved for themselves, took the forest path to Wenersborg. Before -sundown they were safely established on board the little cutter, who -immediately tripped her anchor, hoisted jib and foresail—for the mainsail -was already set,—payed off slowly before it, and stood out into the lake, -which was glowingly reflecting the red beams of the setting sun, but -still faintly rippling under the easterly breeze. - -“Did not I tell you so?” said Moodie, who, seating himself with his legs -dangling down the well, had assumed the tiller just as a gentleman drives -his own carriage; “we have had a capital day’s sport, and got a glorious -breakfast for to-morrow. I have turned a few bancos, which will help to -pay for the trip, and here we are, resting from our labours while the -wind is carrying us on our journey.” - -“I hope it will stand,” said old Nils, “but it is easterly, you see, and -the sun is setting; the wind does not like to blow in the face of the -sun.” - -“Go to the—Strömkarl—your old croaker, and check the main-sheet; you -have got the sail a fathom too flat. The wind is drawing round to the -southward, as any one may see; ease off the jib and foresail too, while -you are about it.” - -The fact was, that the wind had stood steady enough, but Moodie, in his -anxiety, had let her fall off a couple of points, which Nils saw, but -was too sulky to mention, and which the rest of the party did not see, -because, as strangers, they were ignorant of the true course, and there -was no binnacle, or, so far as they could see, compass of any kind, -besides those they had in their pockets. - -The cutter was half-decked, with a tidy little cabin forward, and a -couple of bunks for sleeping—one on each side of the well; in these the -party very shortly disposed themselves, for they knew that a pretty stiff -day’s work lay before them; and having established the best defence in -their power against the musquitoes, slept as campaigners sleep, in right -down earnest. - -“Hallo, Nils! where are we?” asked a sleepy voice next morning. - -The Captain, who had curled himself into the opposite bunk, was not quite -certain whether it was not still a part of his dreams. - -The next call was quite enough to settle this fact. - -“Nils!” roared Moodie, “why Nils! confound the fellow, I believe he is -asleep.” - -And so, sure enough, he was, with his head on the rudder-case, as fast as -any one of the seven sleepers of Ephesus; and poor Nils was by no means -singular in this respect—passengers were asleep, attendants were asleep, -dogs were asleep, Jacob was asleep and snoring, the winds were asleep, -everything was asleep but the sails, and they were waving to and fro with -the knittles pattering against their surfaces, and shaking the night dew -on the deck like rain, while over all, like an eider-down coverlet, had -sunk on them all a steaming white fog, so thick that the sharpest eyes -could not see the little burgee at the mast-head, or the out-haul block -at the bowsprit end. It was not dark, it never is in summer, but no one -could tell whether the sun had risen or not. - -“Here’s a go!” said the Captain. - -“Faith! I wish it was a go,” said the Parson, putting his head out of the -cabin door; “it seems to me just the reverse.” - -Moodie, whose clever plan seemed to promise anything but success, was as -sulky as Nils had been overnight, and rated the poor fellow soundly for -going to sleep. - -Nils represented, not altogether unreasonably, that the wind had gone to -sleep first. - -“What is to be done now?” said Moodie, breaking off a discontented and -reflective whistle, the last notes of which had been singularly out of -tune; “I cannot send this sleepy old fool to Leckö, or anywhere else, for -I do not know where Leckö is, or where we are, or anything about it in -this fog; who was to have thought of this?” - -“Never mind,” said the Parson— - - “The wisest schemes of mice and men - Gang aft ajee;”— - -“I suppose this fog will clear off some time or other, and we are well -provisioned, at all events.” - -“Yes,” said Moodie, “but we have sent on a forebud, and we shall have to -pay for the horses all the way up.” - -“Well, that is a bad job,” said the Parson, “as far as it goes; but the -worst that can come of it is to pay double,—once for the failure, and -once for the real journey.” - -“No, that is not the worst, by any means; we have not only lost our -money, but our forebud; we shall be kept waiting for an hour or two at -every station, and shall most probably arrive when the fun is over. At -such out-of-the-way places there is not a chance of holl-horses, that is -to say, horses which the post-master keeps himself on speculation, and we -shall have to send to the farms, whose turn it is to furnish them. I have -been kept waiting that way for four hours at a single station.” - -Here Nils, who had been up to the mast-head to see if he could make out -anything (for these fogs very often lie on the surface, not a dozen -feet thick, looking from above like so much cotton wool in a box, while -the sun is shining brightly above them), slid down the back-stay, and -declared he could feel a light air aloft on the starboard beam; “his -cheek felt quite cold,” he said, “though the heavy main-sail, dripping -with dew, did not acknowledge the breeze at all.” - -“How is her head; why, confound you, you have forgotten the compass” (not -at all an unlikely piece of forgetfulness in a river yacht.) This was -soon remedied, for the Parson put his own little pocket affair on the -deck, which, as it was a calm, did quite as well as her own. - -She was looking a little southward of east, having probably turned round -and round a dozen times during the night. - -“That would do, the wind was southerly then; but where were they?” - -The day was now getting bright, and the fog was looking like a silver -veil; the tiresome pattering of the knittles had ceased, or was renewed -only at intervals; she was evidently gliding through the water,—but -which way were they to steer? Amal certainly must be somewhere to the -northward, but within six or eight points it was impossible to tell -where after such a sleepy watch as had been kept during the past night. -Reluctantly, Moodie brought her to the wind, and hauled his foresheet to -windward. - -But the breeze increased, and the fog began to lift now and then; it -could be seen under, as it were, and though just as thick about the -mast-head as ever, a hundred yards or so of the surface could be seen -plainly on either side. - -Nils rubbed his hands at this infallible sign of the rising of the fog, -and Moodie, somewhat easier in his mind, ordered coffee. - -“There’s land on the port-beam,” said the Captain, during one of these -lifts. “I am sure I saw land, whatever it is.” - -“There ought to be no land there,” said Moodie; for, lying as she did -now, close to the wind, she had brought the east, that is to say, the -great expanse of the lake, to her port-side, and was looking exactly on -the opposite direction to her course; “get a cast of the lead, and keep a -bright look out for rocks.” - -Just then the curtain of the fog rose in earnest, and disclosed a cluster -of rocks and islets, among which they had got themselves completely -entangled. “Why, what is this?—it is! no, it can’t be! yet it is—” - -“It is Lurön,” said Nils. - -“Lurön,” said Moodie, “why, that is miles to the eastward of our course! -Where have you been steering to during the night?” - -“You told me to ‘keep her as she goes,’ and so I did.” - -And so he had; the fault lay with Moodie himself, who from the first -starting had steered two points to the eastward of his course; the fog -and the current—for the Wener is big enough for current—had done the rest. - -It did not however signify, the breeze blew merrily and promised to -stand; the fog now lay in light fleecy clouds far above their heads; -the sun, not far from the horizon, began to smile upon them and to -chase away the dangers of the night, and with them the ill-humour they -had engendered; the fore-sheet was let draw, and as she gathered way -she tacked, fell off on the port-tack, and with a jolly breeze on her -quarter, buzzed away through the water to the northwest. - -Soon a line of trees appeared on the horizon, as if they were dancing -in the air, or floating in the water; then the trunks began to form and -unite with something below them; then the line of land, real firm land, -began to manifest itself; then red, and white, and black, and brown, and -striped cottages began to show out; and before ten the anchor was let go -before the little town of Amal. - -The horses were still awaiting them, for the allotted three hours, during -which they are bound to remain, had not yet elapsed and they escaped on -payment of the regulated fine for being after time. The men were sent -on immediately in the waggon which Moodie had spoken of, and which he -had written to his friend the farmer to borrow, sending his note by the -forebud. In half-an-hour the carioles were harnessed, and as they plunged -into the forests at the back of Amal, the last thing they saw was the -pretty cutter, close hauled, lying as near to her course to Wenersborg as -the wind would let her look. - -The trees of Western Carlstadtlan, which they were now traversing, are -said to be the finest in Sweden; this is due partly to the depth and -goodness of the soil—a circumstance which will eventually secure their -destruction, by offering a temptation to convert the fjeld into arable -land; that they stood, even yet, was principally on account of the -absence of any great rivers, which afford the only means of conveying -timber to the coast. The land is quite as good on the banks of the Klara -and Swedish Glommen, the latter of which runs into the lake a few miles -eastward of Amal, but there is a sensible difference in the growth of the -timber. There was fir, no doubt, in plenty—there is no Swedish forest -without fir,—but there were also huge beech trees, and a sprinkling of -not very happy-looking oak, that put one in mind of the English in India: -they lived in the country, but they did not enjoy it. - -The whole country looked like an enormous park—rather too thickly -planted, to be sure,—one kept looking, at every turn of the road, for -the mansion; and the road, too, though not one of very great traffic, -was very good, winding along with a great border of short turf on each -side, comparatively level on the whole, but occasionally interrupted -by a descent so sharp that it seemed as if the carioles were going to -cut a summerset over the horses’ ears,—more particularly as the horses -invariably chose those portions of the road for going as hard as they -could lay legs to ground, a peculiarity sufficiently trying to the -nerves; and as those portions of the road were invariably cut to pieces -by the rush of the water, and were full of rocks besides, sufficiently -trying to the bodily feelings. - -On the opposite sides of these ravines, the horses would creep at the -rate of about a mile an hour, the passenger being so absolutely expected -to walk up them, that many of the horses came to a dead halt at the -bottom, and refused to proceed at all till disencumbered of their weight. - -“It is not without reason,” said Birger, as they sat on the roadside, at -the top of one of these descents, watching the slow progress of their -carioles, under the care of their respective schutzebonder—little boys -or girls, as the case may be, who sit on the foot-boards, and bring the -horses back after they have done their stage;—“it is not without reason -that the ancient Swedes have invented the legend that in certain places -the elves and the trees are identical; that these forest elves are -intensely patriotic, and that in times of invasion they assemble their -bands and fight by the side of their human countrymen, in defence of -their common country. Many of the trees in Carlstadtlan, as well as in -other places, are trees only by day, but are armed soldiers by night. -Of course the idea is that the forests fight for the country in case -of invasion, and add to the numbers of its defenders; and so they do. -Russia might pour her thousands upon us, and sweep us off the face of the -earth, by mere force of numbers, in an open field; but how would she ever -force her passage through a forest like this, filled with a few thousand -riflemen? The trees would fight for us even by day; but by night our -numbers, counting the elves, would be irresistible. - -“The slight variety that there is in the legend in Denmark, bears this -out there also; where the deep Sound and fjords intersect the kingdom, -the stony promontories are its best defence, and the elf kings are called -Klintekonger, or Promontory Kings. There are several stories about their -parading their elf soldiers, with fife and drum, on the breaking out of -a war, and driving over the sea, with snorting horses, in clouds and -blackness, from one promontory to another. The elf king of Bornholm will -not allow any earthly prince to sleep more than three nights within his -dominions, nor will King Tolv permit any king besides himself to pass the -bridge of Skjelskör. This is all part of the same allegory; the elves are -the spirits of the woods, and the Grims of the cataracts, and the Haaf -manner of the sea, and the Strömkarls of the rivers. They all bear the -same character; they are capricious as the elements are over which they -preside, and often injure most those who are most accustomed to them, but -in case of an invasion become rivers, and lakes, and fjords, and forests, -and unite to repel the invader. Bother that little schutzebonde of mine; -I wish she were a boy, that I might whip her instead of the horse;” and -Birger strode down the hill to infuse fresh spirit into the post-horse -and post-girl. - -Thus they travelled on, at the rate of five or six miles an hour on the -average, bowling along through the forest, but interrupted, whenever -they came near cultivation, by timber fences and swing gates across the -road, living mostly on their own provisions, with the help of a little -gröd which they got from the post-houses, sleeping when they would in the -haylofts, sometimes in the open air, and occasionally on peculiarly dirty -sheepskins in the post-houses. Oh those sheepskins— - - “Ye gentlemen of England, - Who live at home at ease, - How little do you think upon - The dangers of the fleas!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE MEET. - - “A various scene the clansmen made— - Some sate, some stood, some slowly strayed,— - But most, with mantles folded round, - Were couched to rest upon the ground— - Scarce to be known by curious eye - From the deep heather where they lie; - But when, advancing through the gloom, - They saw their chieftain’s eagle plume, - Their shout of welcome, shrill and wide, - Shook the steep mountain’s steady side,— - Thrice it arose, and lake and fell - Three times returned the martial yell. - It died upon Rochastle’s plain, - And silence claimed her evening reign.” - - _Lady of the Lake._ - - -Evening had already begun to close in, and the dark branches of the -firs, which for the last five or six miles had canopied the road, were -beginning to grow darker still, when the carioles emerged from the great -forest into a green park-like glade, studded with feathering clumps of -birch and spruce; and rattled up to the door of the little inn that stood -on the borders of it, which was the place appointed for the meet. - -The inn, which, after all, was little better than a post-house, was -evidently not large enough to contain a tenth part of the crowd collected -in front of it; nor did the half dozen wooden houses, which formed the -village, afford much more extensive accommodation. - -Few, however, of those there assembled seemed to care much about the -matter; the evening was warm, the sky was clear, and the stars were -beginning to twinkle merrily through the calm blue sky; the good green -wood was shelter enough for the hardy peasants and their equally hardy -landlords, and would have been shelter enough though the ground had been -white with snow. - -Fires were beginning to rise here and there, bringing into view the -gipsy-like groups collected round them, as they sat, stood, or lay at -full-length upon the turf—some busied about the little tin kettles, -in which they were mixing their rye gröd, some bringing in fuel, -some returning from the inn and the temporary stalls that had been -established round it for the sale of bread, cheese, butter, brandy, -and other necessaries; though most of the party had brought good store -of provision in their own bags. Some—and they mostly the elders of the -parish—were quietly smoking their pipes, and discussing the events of -former skals, and prophesying good or bad of the present one, according -as their dispositions were sanguine or the reverse; but all were talking, -laughing, hand-shaking, imparting or listening to little pieces of -domestic news, or parish scandal—for, in the forest parishes, (and in -Sweden most parishes are of that character), a skal brings together men -who have but few other opportunities of meeting. - -A few old stagers, indeed, were trying to get one good night’s sleep, in -order to prepare themselves for the fatigues of which the morrow was but -the beginning, and were stretching themselves on the turf, with their -feet towards their fires; but new arrivals were continually rousing them -up, and some fresh Calle Jonsen, or Swen Larssen, or Nils Ericsen, would -be continually dropping in with fresh inquiries, fresh news, and fresh -greetings. - -From the windows of the inn, which were wide open, a broad, bright -glare of light was streaming across the glade, obscured now and then by -the shadow of some great head and shoulders—for the room was full of -people,—but strong enough, notwithstanding, to light up the boughs of the -old lime trees that shaded the porch, glittering among their soft green -leaves, as if they really were what the Swedes suppose them to be, the -roosting places of the Spirits of Light. - -This was evidently the head quarters of the skal, where the generals -and field officers were holding high council, receiving information, -arranging plans, and issuing orders; and Birger, springing from his -cariole and throwing the reins of his horse to his schutzebond, or -post-boy, and committing, with utter recklessness of consequences, the -whole department of quartermaster-general, and commissary-general to -boot, into the hands of Jacob, rushed into the room, followed by his -three friends. - -This opportune reinforcement was greeted with shouts of welcome: Birger -himself was an old friend of the Ofwer Jagmästere, and had, before this, -signalized himself as a hunter. Englishmen are invariably popular both in -Norway and Sweden; and besides, the value of English rifles, and English -sportsmen to carry them, was universally acknowledged. Moodie, however, -was the great prize; he had been now, for four years in the country, -and had been there quite long enough to be known and appreciated as the -best shot and the most sagacious and inventive leader in the province. -With a natural turn for the chase in all its varieties, he had thrown -himself, heart and soul, into the business of bear hunting, had studied -it theoretically and had worked out his theories practically, till he was -universally acknowledged to be a fair match for the “gentleman in the -fur cloak, who has the wisdom of ten and the strength of twenty,” as the -Swedes periphrastically term their great enemy, the bear. - -He had remained in the porch for a minute or two, giving some directions -to his followers, so that the greetings, and introductions, and first -inquiries had a little subsided when he entered; but the moment his -well-known green cap was seen in the doorway, there arose such a shout of -welcome, that it made the flitches of bacon and strings of onions tremble -from the rafters. - -“Modige! Modige!”[49] for so they had naturalized his name into a word -which, in their language, signifies courageous. - -The well-known cry was caught up among the parties out of doors, and -echoed back again from tree to tree, while the glare of the camp-fires -shewed dark shadows of insane figures, waving arms and hats, aye, and -handkerchiefs, too, for every woman who can possibly slip away from home, -turns out on a skal. - -“Modige! Modige!” again came thundering and screaming back in all sorts -of voice, old and young, male and female; now dying away, then bursting -forth, as some distant post took it up again. - -“Upon my word,” said the Ofwer Jagmästere Bjornstjerna, speaking in -French, out of compliment to the strangers—for this language, though -utterly despised in Norway, is pretty generally spoken among the Swedish -aristocracy; “upon my word, the people have decided the matter for us; -I wanted some one to take charge of the hållet, and was going to offer -you the command the moment I saw you, but the people seem to have taken -the matter into their own hands now; you cannot possibly refuse, you are -elected by acclamation.” - -“I am delighted to be of any use,” said Moodie,—in fact, he did look -delighted in good earnest,—“and will do my best; but you are aware that I -am not very familiar with the ground here.” - -“Never mind that,” said Bjornstjerna; “we will soon find some one to be -your quartermaster-general; what we want is, a man that the people look -up to, who knows his business, and is accustomed to command.” - -“How many shall I have under me in the hållet?” - -“We cannot spare you above five hundred,” said Bjornstjerna; “but the -ground is easy enough, at least so far as the hållet is concerned. See -here,” and he produced a rough but well-executed military sketch of the -ground, which he had surveyed and mapped that morning; “this plain is the -country we mean to drive,—there is about three miles of it in length, -that is to say,” he added, parenthetically, nodding to the Englishmen, -“what you would call in your country, one or two-and-twenty. On the -west, as you see, it is bounded by the river which I have marked here -in blue; this, in its course, expands into these two lakes, and just -by the water-side the country is comparatively open, with a few farm -houses and hamlets about it; the forest, however, closes it all round, -getting thicker as you approach the mountains. On the east is this range -of heights which, as luck will have it, I find are scarped by nature -into cliffs, so that nothing but a bird can get up them—except at these -passes, which I have marked on the map with a cross. These are mostly -the dry or half-dry beds of torrents, and by the side of almost all -of them there is a passage into the upper fjeld, practicable for men, -and, consequently, for beasts also, when they are frightened. At this -point, where we intend stationing our dref, the range of hills is about -six of your miles distant from the line of the river, but it gradually -approaches it; and at this point, where there are some falls and rapids, -the distance is very trifling—not above a thousand eller—somewhere about -half an English mile; and, besides, there is a spur of rock here which -causes the falls of the river, and upon this the forest is very thin and -open. Here I propose placing you with the hållet. You will establish -yourself on the reverse slope of the spur, so that our shot will pass -over your heads; you will then only have to clear away sufficient of the -under-stuff from the front of your position to give you a fair shot at -anything that attempts to cross. - -“About a thousand or fifteen hundred eller in front of your position, and -parallel to it, runs a cow-track to the upper säters, which, upon the -whole, is pretty open, and upon which you may as well set a hundred or -two of your men, to improve to-morrow into a shooting line. Here we shall -take our stand after we have driven the country. There is a thickish bit -between this path and your position; the game will not object to enter -it, and if they do, we ought to get every one of them, for to the left -the rock is absolutely perpendicular, and on the right the rapids are -such that nothing can cross them.” - -“You have no skal-plats?” said Moodie. - -“Why this is a skal-plats,” said Bjornstjerna, “rather a large one, to be -sure; but we shall not run much risk of getting our men shot in driving -it, because you will be on the reverse slope; and, by the way, you must -be very particular in cautioning all your skalfogdar to keep their men -from showing themselves on the crest of the hill. I did at one time think -of making a skal-plats here, on the banks of this lower lake, and driving -from both ends at the same time; but the ground is not favourable; a -good deal of it is cleared, and every bear will make for the roots of -the mountains, where the under-stuff is thickest; they cannot get up the -perpendicular cliffs, to be sure, but we should have them creeping up a -little way by the branches, and then stealing back as soon as the dref -has passed the place,—upon the whole, though, I think my present plan is -the best.” - -“I really think it is,” said Moodie, “as far as I can judge from seeing -it on paper; but you seem to have a pretty large country to drive, not -less than twenty miles English in length. What number do you muster?” - -“Not above fifteen hundred or two thousand at the most,” said -Bjornstjerna, “though I have called out five parishes; but look at the -place, it seems cut out for a skal,—half-a-dozen boats will guard the -river, which is navigable in its whole length till you come to the rapids -which flank your position, and not a bear will go near the houses, as -you know, or face the open ground, if he can possibly help it,—so much -for our right flank; while for the other, a small picket at each of the -water-courses, will be quite sufficient to guard them till the dref -has passed, and then the picket can either strengthen the other guards -farther on, or reinforce our line, or join you at the hållet, according -as they are wanted. Then, since the cliffs keep approaching the river, in -proportion as we drive forward so our line will be strengthened by the -men closing on each other, till, in the end, when the beasts begin to -break out, we shall be able to send you a reinforcement of two or three -hundred men, for we shall have more than we want.” - -“That will do,” said Moodie; “we shall have a glorious skal, I see, and I -give you great credit for making the most of your men.” - -“The truth is, I have quite as many men as I want—I have never been at a -loss for them; what I have been at a loss for, hitherto, is officers, -for the Indelta has been unexpectedly summoned to Stockholm, and with -them I have lost almost every man who knows how to command.” - -“Why not wait till they come back?” said Birger; “they never keep the -Indelta out for more than three weeks, and I am sure the ‘Fur-clothed -Disturbers’ would wait for you:” (no Swede ever mentions the bear’s name, -if he can possibly help it). - -“Yes,” said Bjornstjerna, “but after that the militia is to be called -out, and if I get my officers I should lose my men—aye, and two-thirds of -the women, too. How many women do you think would turn out, if you took -away all the men between the ages of twenty and twenty-five? And let me -tell you that the women, though the law does not allow us to press them -into the service, are just as useful as the men,—and in the dref, where -all you want is to drive the game forward, a great deal more so, for they -talk twice as much, and their screams, and squalls, and laughter, are -heard as far again as the men’s shouts. O, by the Thousand! I had rather -lose my men than my women. But you gentlemen are a perfect Godsend; I -shall do very well for officers now. Herr Modige is kind enough to take -the hållet, and, whether you like it or no, Master Lieutenant, you will -have the charge of that skal-arm which furnishes the pickets.” - -“Well, I suppose I must obey my superior officer; I wish they treated us -Lieutenants of the Guards as well as they do those of England, and then I -should be Captain as well as you—commanding you, perhaps, if I happened -to be senior.” - -“Would you, my boy? I would have you to know that I rank a Colonel now,—I -write ‘Hof’ before my name.” - -“Upon my soul, old fellow, I congratulate you; I do not know any one who -deserves it better.” - -“No more do I,” said Bjornstjerna, “and I must say that it is not often -that the Förste Hof Jagmästere shows such a specimen of discrimination. -However, to business. Along the left flank of the dref, you will see -that in the course of our beat there are some fifteen or twenty places -where game can escape by climbing up the water courses. At each of these -you will post a picket, strong or weak, according to the nature of the -ground. Herr Länsman, can you furnish the Lieutenant with a man who knows -the country?” - -The Länsman, or tax-gatherer, who in these remote districts acts as -police officer, and is, in fact, the sole representative of majesty, -offered his own services in that capacity. - -“Very good,” said the Ofwer Jagmästere, “then you will point out the -particulars; but, to help you, I have marked all the more practicable -passages with red crosses. Here, however, is your principal danger—in -fact, it is that which made me hesitate about establishing the hållet -where it is. You see where this cow-path leads to the hills—the path, I -mean, which I have just pointed out to Herr Modige as the place where I -wish him to arrange the shooting line; carry your eye onward to where it -ascends the hills; that is an easy pass, such as you can ride up, and it -is so close to the hållet that any beast that turns at the line, would -naturally dash at the opening. Here you must post a very strong force.” - -“I cannot do better than put my English friends there,” said Birger, who -saw at a glance that this was the very crack post of the whole line; “I -will venture to say that their rifles will not allow anything to pass -alive through that opening, from an elk to a rabbit.” - -“Hush, not a word about elks,” said Bjornstjerna; “neither they nor stags -must be touched—the new law is very strict about that.” - -“It is very difficult to tell one beast from another, in the thick -juniper,” said Birger; “I never could myself.” - -The Ofwer Jagmästere laughed, but put on an official frown. - -“Do you know, Birger,” said the Parson, “I should like to be your -aide-de-camp better than to hold any definite post; I could carry your -orders, you know.” - -“And deliver them in English or French,” said Birger; “I shall have a -very effective aide-de-camp indeed. However, if you like it, I will give -you the post, and I think you are right; you will see more in that way -than in any other, and you can reinforce the post of danger whenever you -are tired. Indeed, you may as well consider it your home during the -skal. Would the Captain, then, take charge of that point?” - -The Captain was quite willing, and promised to give a good account of it. - -“Well, then,” said Birger, “I shall not want Piersen to-morrow, so you -may have him, and your own man Tom, and Jacob for cook. The Parson -will probably take Torkel, but I dare say the Länsman can find you an -intelligent Swede, who knows the ground and can understand a few words -of English, and three or four fellows for sentries; that will be quite -enough for you, for the Parson and Torkel will join you, and be under -your orders before there is anything serious.” - -Here the Ofwer Jagmästere spoke a few words in Swedish to Birger, who -laughed and replied—“No, no, certainly not; I am confident he would -consider it an honour of no small magnitude to bear a commission in our -service. The fact is,” continued he, addressing the Captain, “everything -in these skaller is arranged according to military discipline, and -everyone here has military rank. And as you have to command a picket, you -would not object to hold a temporary commission, not quite equal to your -own in the English service.” - -“Object!” said the Captain, “O, no—delighted, of course!” - -“Then give me your cap,” said Birger. “Hand me over that chalk, -Bjornstjerna;” and he wrote upon its peak the mystic letters, “S.F.,” -being the initials of Skal Fogde; and accordingly the Captain took rank -as full sergeant in the Swedish army. - -“Now, then,” said the Jagmästere, “as I have arranged matters so -satisfactorily here, I will start at once for Lysvik, where I have -ordered the dref to assemble. I shall have enough to do to-morrow -morning, as you may imagine,—what with numbering the men, and appointing -their skalfogdar, and seeing them at their stations, the commander -has no easy life of it. As for you, Moodie, I need not tell you your -business—you know it as well as I do myself,—but begin appointing your -skalfogdar the first thing to-morrow. You need not wait for your full -complement of men, they will drop in in the course of the day; but -as your best men are sure to be the first, appoint at once; at twelve -precisely write the numbers in their hats, as they stand, and we will -fine all that come later than that. That, Mr. Länsman, must be your -business; but first of all look out for Lieutenant Birger fifty of your -best men. That,” turning to Moodie, “will leave you nearly five hundred, -which is quite as much as you can want, as the boats will be manned from -my party. You, Birger, will march at daybreak, for I must have every -picket posted by twelve, at which time we move forward with the dref. -Now, Lönner, my horse, as quick as you please, for we have seven quarters -to go before we sleep.” - -The Ofwer Jagmästere might almost be said to “exit speaking,” for he -continued his speech into the porch, and the last words were lost in the -canter of his little hog-maned pony, as he floundered off, followed by -Lönner and a couple of orderlies, together with the Länsmen of the two -other parishes, who had met him by appointment at Ostmarkand, and now -formed his personal staff. - -Moodie, who was now in command, hesitated for a moment whether he -should exercise it by clearing the inn for the sleeping accommodation -of himself and friends, but, on turning the matter over in his mind, -the interior looked so dirty and stuffy, and was withal so redolent of -tobacco, brandy, and aniseed, while the exterior was so fresh and green, -and the moon was shining down so softly, and the air was so still, and -the camp fires so bright and inviting, that, with universal consent and -approbation, he adjourned the divisional head-quarters to a spreading -fir-tree, whose branches were illuminated by a fire worthy of a General; -while the provident Jacob, who had tilted the carioles on end, to form -a sort of screen, spread out before them the contents of his ambulatory -larder. - -This was soon discussed, and then a quiet pipe, a moderate horn of brandy -and water, a hopeful good night, a roll in their cloaks, and before their -heads were well on their knapsacks, the whole four were in the fairy land -of sleep and forgetfulness. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SKAL. - - “When shaws beene sheene and shrads full fayre, - And leaves both large and long, - ’Tis merry walking in the fayre forest, - To hear the small birde’s song.” - - _Robin Hood._ - - “These mounds I yet may clamber, - And look on the rocks so grey,— - On these huge stones on the summits - I can lie, as oft I lay. - - “And if it soughs in the forest, - In the beechwood’s native land,— - And if the wave roars deeply, - I nod to sea and strand. - - “O, never my heart forgetteth - The cairn, the wood, and the strand,— - For my heart is only at home in - The warrior’s fatherland.” - - _Holger Danske-Ingemann._ - - -The sun had not yet lighted up the spires of the fir-trees, when a buzz -of voices and a shuffling of feet broke the slumbers of the head-quarters -party. Länsman Matthiesen, true to his word, had not slept before he -had picked out his fifty mountaineers, chalking their hats at the back -with the letters “H.F.,” standing for hög fjeld, or the high forest, -indicating the position they were to occupy. - -While Birger was still rubbing his eyes and kicking up Jacob to boil -the morning’s coffee, Matthiesen was numbering them from 1 to 50, with -chalk, in the front of their hats, and selecting their skalfogdar, who -were marked, as the Captain had been on the preceding evening, with the -letters “S.F.” It is usual to appoint a skalfogde to every ten men; but, -as these were to be divided into small parties, it was thought expedient -to appoint one to every five, it being understood that, whenever any of -these parties were united, the skalfogde whose number was lowest should -reckon as senior, and command the whole. - -Fire-arms are not very plentiful in any part of Sweden, but Matthiesen -had so picked his men, that about one-fifth of them had something of the -sort,—most of these weapons looking very much more formidable to the -sportsmen who carried them than to the game at which they were pointed. -The rest were armed with poles, many of which had spikes at the end. -Here and there was an old sword or a pistol that had seen service in the -Thirty years’ War; but most of the men carried very efficient axes,—an -excellent weapon against a tree, and not a bad one with a bear in close -conflict, if such a thing ever does take place in a skal; but the fact -is, the beasts on these occasions are so completely cowed, that they -rarely, if ever, show fight. - -The men had been searched that morning, and all their brandy taken from -them, and the rest of their provisions examined, to see if there was -enough to last out the number of days for which they had been summoned. -But, before starting, Birger served out to each a horn of hot coffee from -Jacob’s soup kettle, with a double allowance of sugar in it; for if there -is anything that comes near to brandy in the estimation of a Swede, it is -sugar, which he eats and drinks whenever he can get it, like a very child. - -Birger then, having first taken a careful survey of the whole plan of -the skal, a copy of which Matthiesen had placed in his hand, summoned -the Parson and Torkel, and, placing himself at the head of his party, -gave the word to march. This was obeyed in a very military fashion,—for -every Swede is or has been a militia-man, and is very proud of his -soldiering,—and the party was soon lost among the green shades of the -forest. - -Moodie watched them very composedly, and then quietly set himself down -to breakfast, not a little to the discomposure of the Captain, who, if -he had had his will, would have been walking sentry on his post with -his rifle in his hand, looking out fiercely for the bears,—a proceeding -which, as the dref or driving party was not to move till noon, and then -would be twenty miles from the scene of action, evinced, to say the least -of it, more zeal than discretion. - -The Captain need not, however, have disquieted himself, for the -preparations all that time were going steadily forward. Moodie, -having selected six of the most experienced hunters as Adjutanter -or lieutenants, left them to nominate and chalk off the fifty -Skalfogdar which his party required, and to distribute the men into -tens in such a way that every part of the line should be equally -provided with fire-arms. The farmer who owned the land had offered -his services as personal attendant, or what the Jagmästere had called -Quartermaster-General; and Moodie, quite aware that the authorities of -the place, who knew the characters and capabilities of the men, would -set in order these details much better than he could, permitted them -to manage things their own way, and interfered but little with their -arrangements. - -It was not before ten that everything was put into proper order, and the -little flags prepared which were to mark out the ground; but then Moodie -readily enough got his men into marching order, and proceeded to take up -the position. This was distant about four miles (English) from the place -of meeting; the road to it leading down the glade, and at right angles to -the direction taken by Birger and his party that morning. - -If Moodie had seemed apathetic and dilatory while others were capable of -doing the work, there was no want of energy in him when the party had -arrived at the ground. His orders were given with that distinctness and -decision which evinces an intimate acquaintance with the business in -hand, and ensures the prompt obedience of all engaged in it. - -Two of the Adjutanter, with three men from each skalfogde’s command were -detached to establish the line which the hållet was finally to occupy, -and to mark out with little flags of white calico, on which were painted -their numbers, the post of each subdivision. In the meanwhile the main -strength of his party were engaged in preparing the mountain road which -the Jagmästere had pointed out for what is termed the shooting line,—that -is to say, the line on which the dref or driving division was finally to -halt, having thus enclosed the game in the patch of wood between it and -the hållet, which is called the skalplats. - -The shooting line was formed, by cutting down the junipers and lower -branches of the trees for about twenty yards on each side of a mountain -road which ran parallel to the front of the position; but the great -labour was to remove everything that had been cut, for, had such evident -traces of man’s work been left, not one single head of game would have -ventured across the clearing. For this reason, also, Moodie began his -work in this place, leaving the clearing of his own line for future -operations, in order that he might give time for the scent to clear -away,—and therefore it is, that when the shooting line is once formed, no -one is ever permitted to cross till the dref arrives, driving the game -before them. - -The peculiar kind of the ground had, in this instance, caused the -skalplats to be made very much larger than is usual; in fact, it was -nearly half a mile deep, and very much more than half a mile in front -width—and from this it would be difficult to dislodge game which had been -thoroughly frightened. But Moodie’s English education had suggested a -remedy: besides the main shooting line, the axe-men were instructed to -subdivide the skalplats by parallel “rides,” as they are called in an -English cover, running from front to rear, so that a marksman placed at -the end of any of these would have a fair shot, as the game moved from -one block of forest to another. - -All this, however, was a work of time as well as labour, and though -four hundred men were employed about it, and though they worked as men -work who combine pleasure with duty, the day was far advanced, and the -skal had begun for some hours before Moodie took his final survey, and, -dispatching the Captain and his party to their post in the mountains, -withdrew his workmen to their own position on the reverse slope of the -spur. Having posted his sentries on the crest of the hill, he dismissed -the remainder to procure their suppers, and to make themselves as -comfortable as was consistent with extreme watchfulness. - -Long before any serious impression had been made by Moodie, on the -shooting line, Birger and the remains of his party had reached his -farthest post, having taken his route along the crest of the heights. -Calculating his time with military precision, he had visited the heads of -all the different passes, stationing at each a picket, the strength of -which was in proportion to its ascertained importance, or blocking it up -with an abattis of trees—a very easy thing to do, for the bear, when his -suspicions are fairly roused, turns readily at the slightest appearance -of a trap. And now, as the minute hand of his watch indicated twelve, a -fact which he took care to point out to the Parson, Matthiesen was in -the act of displaying from the branch of a dead fir tree which overhung -the precipice, the long fluttering slip of white calico, which not only -marked out the position of the pass to those below, but was the agreed -signal that it was occupied. - -The day was bright and hot, as a northern summer’s day generally is, and -within the cover of the woods not a breath of wind had been felt; but on -the exposed cliff, where they then stood, or rather lay—for the recumbent -was decidedly the favourite position;—a light and refreshing air was just -creeping up the sides of the cliffs, stirring the feathery leaves of the -birches, but leaving the heavier foliage at rest. - -It was a joyous scene, as the eye traversed the tops of the great forest -stretched out like a map below, and traced the different colours of the -foliage—here was a thick, close array of firs, forming a solid column, of -miles in extent—there were the serried ranks of the spiry spruce,—here, -again, where the axe had been at work selecting the best trees and -leaving the rest to succeed as chance had planted, there was a broad, -park-like expanse full of juniper underwood, bordered, it may be, by a -belt of birch, the consequences of some forgotten fire, or a patch of -white poplars, indicating a marshy bit, or a dozen or so of restless -aspens, balancing their leaves when all around was still;—here, again, -was a svedgefall, as they term the places where the wind gets under the -branches of the firs, and levels acres of them together. Sometimes these -form parks of exceeding beauty, as the young trees grow up sparsely; -but here and there, where they are too small to be worth removing, they -lie, entangled with weeds and undergrowth, a mass of rottenness and a -stronghold of Bruin, out of which it will sometimes take hours to drive -him. - -Here and there, too, was a sœter, or, as we are now in Sweden, a -satterval, or mountain pasture farm, with its low roof of pine-branches -and its meadow of rough hay, which generally stood in large cocks, ready -to be removed as soon as the snow should form a road; round most of -these, groups of cattle might be seen; but there was no smoke from their -chimneys, for every human being was at the skal. - -Far in the distance, indeed too far to be seen, except where the sun -lighted up its waters and returned a dazzling reflection, was the river, -already guarded by its fleet of boats, though these were entirely -invisible from the cliffs. - -To the southward, the range of heights sank gradually into the plain, -which here was traversed by the main road, cutting both the ridge and the -river at right angles. - -Beyond this, all was one black, dreary, desolate wilderness, without a -shrub, or a bush, or a blade of grass; nothing but bare, grey, ghost-like -trunks of dead trees, stretching forth their charred and blackened -branches, and looking as if a curse was resting on them. Three years ago -that blackened track had been a flourishing pine forest, but the fire -had passed over it, and it was gone. According to a generally received -Swedish superstition, though the birch might succeed it, no pine could -grow there again for ever: the burnt tree had been cursed in itself and -in its seed. - -This superstition is actually borne out by fact: cut a pine-forest, and -a pine-forest succeeds it; burn a pine-forest, and the succeeding trees, -when they do again clothe the ground, are invariably birch. In reality, -this is not so strange as it seems at first sight; the fir is the natural -seed of the country, and the young fir is the hardiest tree,—wherever -that tree will grow no other can compete with it; but its seed is heavy, -and cannot fall far from the parent tree, when once vegetation is -destroyed,—the fir-seed can never travel into the wasted land; but the -birch-seed flies in the wind, and its young seedlings are invariably the -first green which succeeds a fire. - -This black wilderness was one cause among many which had induced the -Jagmästere to select this particular spot for his skal; no game would -willingly break through his line when they knew that miles of uncovered -country must be traversed before they could again find shelter. He had, -therefore, that morning marshalled his dref along the high road, by -placing them in position there, and numbering their hats as they stood, -from the centre to each flank; but, true to his word, no sooner had the -white flag fluttered from Birger’s post, than his bugle sounded the -advance along his whole line, and the skal was already begun. - -The Parson and Birger, whose work for that morning was done, were seated -on the outer ridge, with their feet fairly overhanging the precipice, -reconnoitring with their glasses the progress of the dref, as here and -there the men emerged into a more open space, which the skalfogdar -were taking advantage of, in order to reform or repair their line, and -re-establish their communications with the parties right and left of them. - -Every now and then a sudden shout, followed by half-a-dozen shots, -marking the place by a light puff of smoke, (Swedish powder makes plenty -of that), would point the glasses to some particular spot,—but on no -occasion was any game visible from above. - -According to law, all shouting is strictly forbidden in skals, and so is -firing at small game, and so is the presence of women or boys, upon the -express count that they are too noisy; but these laws seem to have been -made for no other purpose except that the people might enjoy the pleasure -of hunting and breaking the law at the same time, for no one ever thinks -of keeping them; shouting is incessant, women are plentiful, and, as for -shooting at small game, the best chance a cock-robin stands of his life -consists in the very great probability of a Swedish piece missing fire, -or a Swedish marksman missing his aim. - -And, indeed, it is universally admitted by the moderns that their -forefathers were in error; that not only shouts and musketry are useful -in keeping up the men’s pluck and pointing out to each other their -whereabouts, but they are positively of advantage in driving the game. -When the ring is once completed, either by artificial or natural means, -and the game is fairly surrounded, it is far better that it should be -aroused by distant shouts, and should be suffered to slink off quietly -and unseen, approaching by degrees the hållet, where, after all, it must -be brought up by the standing line, than that it should be surprised by -the dref advancing in silence. A startled bear is just as likely to bolt -backwards as forwards, and, if he does, the chances are that he gets off -scot free. He must be an unlucky bear, indeed, who, at the earlier part -of a skal, and before the men have closed in, charges the line and gets -more than one shot at him; and a most particularly unlucky bear must -he be if that shot takes effect, whereas it is just as likely to take -effect on some Jan or Karl, who stands with his eyes and mouth open as -the “Disturber” rushes by,—and thus affords, in his own person, the only -chance of a sitting shot, which Swedes delight in;—indeed, this is almost -the only way in which accidents do happen in skals; the bear very seldom -revenges himself, but he now and then gets people to do it for him. - -The Parson sat reclining against a rock, very much at his ease, sometimes -watching the progress of the skal, sometimes picking off the stalks from -a quantity of ground-mulberries[50] which he had gathered during that -morning’s march. Indeed, the Parson, in the course of that march, had -succeeded in making a very pretty figure of himself: his knowledge of -botany amounted simply to a desire of appropriating to himself every -unusual flower he came across; so that by the end of the day his hat, -which was of that description popularly known as a wide-awake, was -generally surrounded by a garland fit for a May-queen. - -In the present instance, the front of his hat exhibited a purple plume -of the “laf-reseda,” which perfumed the air around him with an odour -like that of the night-scented stock. He had placed it there not so much -for that or for its beauty, as because, like the ground-mulberry, it is -never seen south of the latitude in which they then were—not even in the -south of Sweden. Twining round the hat-band was a wreath of “Baldur’s -brow,” a beautiful white flower, dedicated in heathen times to the -god of Innocence, and still bearing his name, and retaining a portion -of its ancient sanctity.[51] The lily of the valley, which in Sweden -signifies much the same as it does in England, formed its appropriate -companion; and so might the heart’s-ease, which fairly tinged the hill -sides with blue and yellow, had it retained any equivalent to its English -appellation; but in Sweden it is called “skart-blom,” and is appropriated -to the Devil. It is the flower the witches decorate themselves with when -they ride by night to the Satanic rendezvous, and dance infernal polkas -in the wilds of Blaakulla. - -“See!” said Birger, “look at that white flag! there it is, glancing -against the corner of those firs in the svedgefall; now you see another -in a line with it,—that is the Ordningsman and his party; he marks the -centre of the advancing line. Before they started, the Jagmästere will -have given him his precise bearing from the centre of the hållet, and -his business is to attend neither to the bears nor to the beating, but -to advance steadily on his own line; for that purpose he has those three -flagsmen allotted to him. There, you see that fellow on the farther edge -of the svedgefall, showing his flag from that black-looking fir?—look -through your glass, and you will easily make out the Ordningsman himself; -there he is, with his compass in his hand, close by the farthest flag; he -is taking the bearings of the first man that we made out; and there is -the third now advancing to take up a new position. What he has to do is -to keep those flags always in the straight line, and all the rest dress -from him.” - -Just then, the Jagmästere rode, or rather clambered, into the svedgefall -on his little cream-coloured pony, which, accustomed to the work, -scrambled about the fallen trees more like a dog than a horse. He was -attended by a large party on foot; one of these, who might be termed -his orderly, had to lead his horse round by the forest cattle tracks, -whenever it happened, as it very frequently did happen, that the -under-stuff was too thick for a horseman to traverse. - -His right wing, which had been beating the easier and more open country -towards the river, had got some distance in advance, and he was evidently -directing the Ordningsman to halt in the svedgefall till the left had -time to come up. Messengers were dispatched right and left; the bugles -began to sound, some the “advance” and some the “halt,” and those -parts of the line which had begun to emerge from the trees, were seen -collecting in little groups in different attitudes of rest, lighting -their pipes, or visiting their havresacs for their mid-dag’s mad of black -bread and hard white cheese. - -Before long the left wing, the advanced flank of which was under their -feet, made itself to be both heard and seen. The ground here was much -more difficult, because at the immediate foot of the cliff the _debris_ -of ages had formed themselves into a very steep slope. This part, rugged -and uneven with fallen blocks of stone, was covered with a close brake -of underwood, not only of juniper, but of hazels and rowan bushes, all -matted together by brambles,—as well as birch and ash, the last of which, -winding its long roots among the stones, had in most places attained the -dignity of timber trees. - -Well aware that every head of game disturbed along the whole line would, -if possible, seek refuge here, the Jagmästere had intended that his left -wing should be thrown forward, and had allotted a hundred men, under the -most experienced of his Adjutanter, to search the ground well, keeping -a mile or so in advance of the line. The eagerness of the men on first -starting had somewhat disturbed this arrangement, for at the beginning -the cover, along the greater part of the line, had consisted of firs, -which not only screened the men from the eyes of their officers, but, by -destroying the under-stuff, permitted them to get forwards without any -great exertion. It was to rectify this that the halt had been called. - -“What is that?” said the Parson, jumping up and scattering half his -mulberries down the precipice, as a rush of wings came sharp round the -corner of the rock, and a great cock-tjäder, as big as a turkey, came -close over his head, and dashed into the firs that crested the hill. - -“That,” said Birger, unslinging his rifle, “that is a hint that we ought -to keep a better look-out;—not that we should have had that fellow -though, for, awkward and heavy as they seem, they rush along like a round -shot, when once they get into their flight. But never mind, we shall have -more of them presently—mind where you shoot, though, if you use your -rifle,—there will be a peasant or two knocked over before we have done, -most likely. We do not think much of that, but you would not like to be -playing Archbishop Abbott[52] yourself, would you?” - -The Parson laughed, as he examined and poised his double-barrelled -gun—for the rifle was in the charge of Torkel,—and made a successful -right and left shot among a covey of orre grouse that were skimming over -the tree-tops at his feet. - -“Oh, if you stick to small shot,” said Birger, who had despatched a human -retriever down the watercourse to pick up the birds, “you may fire away -in the men’s faces if you like; there is not a Swede who would not stand -the chance of a peppered jacket, to be able to pick up an article of -game,”—a sentiment fully confirmed by the grinning faces of the picket, -for whose benefit he had translated his words. - -“But we are not likely to have bears coming up to us, if we keep up such -a popping as this,” said the Parson. - -“‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush;’ if there are bears within -the skal, depend upon it we shall get them, sooner or later. Fire away! -most of us like a broiled grouse for supper.” - -“Here goes for the bird of Yggdrasil,” as a magnificent peregrine falcon -came floating through the air, as if by the mere act of volition; “he -shall never sit again between the eyes of the eagle.”[53] - -Birger had, however, miscalculated his distance, for the bird, taking no -more notice of his shot than if they had been hailstones, sailed quietly -on his course, without turning to the right or left. - -“The bird of the gods bears a charmed life,” said the Parson, “it is no -use firing at him. Come, load away! look sharp, or you will lose your -next chance.” - -Game, however, is nowhere very plentiful, either in Norway or in Sweden; -and though every eye in the picket was on the look-out, nothing more -was seen, except a blue Alpine hare, that came quietly lopping up the -watercourse, and sat on its hind legs, innocently looking Matthiesen in -the face during the minute and half in which he was taking aim; the shot, -however, was successful at last, and puss was destined to supply the -evening kettle. - -“If you want a chance at big game,” said Birger, “I will tell you what -you should do; it is altogether against the law, no doubt—and that is -one of the few laws relating to skals that ought to be observed;—but if -you were to slip down one of these watercourses with Torkel, and take -your course quietly and silently through the fjeld, keeping four or five -miles ahead of the dref, more unlikely things have happened than that you -should set your eyes upon some beast or other stealing off. You have got -your compass, and you cannot be lost in a little strip of a forest like -this, not half a dozen miles across. Besides, every stream you come to -runs from our pickets, which you may always reach by following it. You -can always distinguish them in the day-time by their flags, and if you -should be overtaken by night—” - -“If I should,” said the Parson, “there is nothing I should like better. -Torkel will soon get up a fire. I have plenty of provisions in my -havresac, and a little of the contraband, too,” he added, shaking his -bottle; “they forgot to search me; so that if we should be out at night, -we will try if we cannot make a night of it.” - -“So be it, then,” said Birger; “be early at the Captain’s post, that is -all, for you may depend upon it, if I know anything of the lie of the -country, there will be sport there long before the dref comes up. You -will probably find me there before you.” - -“Au revoir, then,” said the Parson, as he swung himself off the cliff on -which he had been sitting, into the boughs of an ash, and thus dropped -into the watercourse; down this he disappeared, with Torkel after him, -floundering, crashing, and rolling the stones before him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE SATTERVAL. - - “’Tis merry, ’tis merry, in good greenwood, - Though the birds have stilled their singing; - The evening blaze doth Alice raise, - And Richard is faggots bringing.” - - _Alice Brand._ - - -Avoiding the advanced column of the dref, which had halted just short of -the watercourse, the Parson and his follower took a line nearly parallel -to that of the hills. It is no easy thing to beat a Swedish forest, -for there are every now and then thick-tangled brakes, and grass-grown -svedgefalls, and occasionally, it may be, a little lake to break the -line, causing perpetual halts, since one part must necessarily wait for -another. But simply making a passage through a Swedish forest is almost -as easy as walking on plain turf:—here there will be a wide patch of high -pines, under which nothing will grow,—then there will be actual green -glades of considerable length, with short mountain turf, broken only by -tufts of lilies of the valley, or, perhaps, whortleberry or cranberry -plants; and everywhere, when the trees are young, or have been cut, and -the understuff has been permitted to come up thick, the whole space is -intersected by cattle paths,—for all the fjeld is divided into sœters -belonging to the lowland farms, forming the summer runs for their cattle. - -The Parson and his follower, therefore, had no difficulty in leaving the -whole line behind them, so that first their shouts and then the reports -of their firearms were lost in the distance, and the forest, soon to be -so busy with life, looked as quiet and lonely as if it never could echo -sounds louder than the coo of the wood-pigeon. - -After five or six miles’ walking, the closeness of the air under the -trees began to tell upon them—more especially as this afternoon’s -excursion had been preceded by a morning’s walk of sixteen or seventeen -miles, and neither of them felt at all sorry when, in a natural opening -of the forest, the rough enclosures of a sœter came into view. - -“Come,” said Torkel, “we shall get some brandy here, anyhow.” He was -mistaken, however, for no living thing was to be found there, except a -dog tied to a stump (for dogs are strictly forbidden in skals), that at -first made the forest ring with its barking, but soon became reconciled -to the intruders by that sort of free-masonry, whatever be the cause of -it, which always exist between a dog and a sportsman. - -“At all events, they must have milk here,” he said, “and I am not sure -whether, just now, I had not rather find milk than brandy.” - -The Parson laughed at Torkel’s unusual feelings of sobriety, but quite -participated in his longing for milk. This they found, and plenty of it, -for the single room of the cabin was full of vessels, shoved in anywhere, -as if the milkers had been in such a hurry to complete a task which they -could not have neglected without spoiling their cows, that they had not -given themselves time to put their milk away. - -Torkel went down on his hands and knees, put his mouth into a bucket -that stood near the door, and drank away as if—like Odin, when he -wheedled Gunlauth into letting him take a sip from the cup of poetic -inspiration—he meant to drain it to the very bottom, and then set to -upon a sort of cake that he found strung upon a cord between two of the -rafters, which looked something like a number of round, thin discs, of -semi-transparent paste, with holes punched out of the centre to hang them -up by.[54] - -The Parson, who was not less thirsty and exhausted, evinced a little -more moderation than this “hog of the flock of Epicurus;” he was content -with filling his horn occasionally at the milkpail, and floating in it a -handful of cranberries, bushels of which were growing wherever a glimpse -of sunshine could penetrate the canopy of foliage, “incarnading” with -their red berries the turf of the whole forest, “and making the green one -red.” - -The refreshment was, as Torkel had observed, better than brandy, and -both felt quite sufficiently invigorated for a fresh journey; but their -present quarters looked very comfortable,—the shadows of the evening -were fast lengthening, and they had already advanced far beyond any -point which the skal could be expected to reach that day. They remained, -therefore, comfortably sitting on the rail fence, and looking down the -grassy glade, without any intention of going farther that night. Since -diving into the forest they had not seen a head of game of any kind, -except a flock (for it hardly deserved a more sportsman-like appellation) -of the smaller description of grouse, which Torkel, whose eyes were -everywhere, had detected on the higher branches of one of the trees. -Three of these the Parson had brought down in the most pot-hunting and -unsportsman-like fashion, by getting them into a line as they sat, and -bringing them down as a boy massacres fieldfares. These Torkel was -indolently picking, and preparing for the frying-pan, an article which -is generally to be found in a sœter, while, at the same time, he kept a -professional eye on the glade. The Parson, sitting beside him, was as -indolently pulling off the fruit of the hägg, a sort of wild cherry, a -clump of which overshadowed the fence on which they were sitting, and -afforded them a partial cover from any quick-sighted animal coming up -from the forest. - -“I do not like these great summer skals,” said he. “If you really want -to see sport you should come here in the winter, when the snow is on -the ground,—that is the time for a man to set his wits against ‘old Fur -Jacket,’—to ring him in the snow—to look out for his den—to turn him -out—to dash after him through the snow on our skier—to follow him day -after day—to camp on his track—and after him again as soon as day breaks, -and at last, after a week’s hunting, perhaps, to run in upon him and -put a rifle-ball upon his head. All this too is done quietly,—a party -of two or three at the most,—not mobbing the poor devil to death in -this fashion,—that is the thing that tries a man’s talents as a hunter. -In such a skal as this, one of those squalling women could knock over -a bear as well as the best of us, if she happened to meet with him; -he very seldom shows fight, either, in the summer time,—he sees he is -overmatched, and gives it up as a bad job; but in the winter, you may as -well have a firm heart and a steady hand before you bring your rifle to -bear, and you would be none the worse for a stout comrade to stand beside -you, with pike and knife.” - -“The bear does charge them sometimes?” said the Parson. - -“Yes, if hit,” said Torkel, “or if he thinks you have got him into a -corner, otherwise he would always rather run than fight. I remember one -journey I had with two young Englishmen a few years ago; we went to shoot -in Nordre Trondhjemsampt;—ah! you should go there if you want shooting. -I never saw such a place for grouse of all kinds,—aye, and for deer too. -Well, these Englishmen were always wanting to find a bear,—they would not -be satisfied with the very best of sport, they kept saying that it would -never do to come from Norway without having a bearskin to show their -friends,—for all these Englishmen seem to think that bears are the common -game of the country.” - -“We shot deer and grouse as many as we pleased, but we did not so much -as hear of a bear till we had given up shooting altogether, and were -travelling home, which we did by the road through Ostersund, Hernösand, -and Gefle. When we got to the post-house at Skalstuga, the first on the -Swedish side of the mountains; early in the morning, long before it was -light, the cow-boy came in crying, and said that a bear had just killed -one of the cows. Off goes one of our Englishmen, half naked, with his gun -in his hand, just as if he had nothing bigger to shoot than a hare. I -caught up an axe that was lying there and ran after him. Up he comes, and -stands right in the bear’s path, just as if he cared no more for him than -for a big dog, and fires away two barrels right in his face. Lord! it was -nothing but small shot, such as he had been shooting grouse with, and the -bear came at him like Thor’s hammer. Just in the way, as luck would have -it, stood a sapling fir-tree; and I never could tell whether the bear -was blinded by the smoke, or whether some of the small shot had taken -him about the eyes, but he seemed to take the tree for that which had -hurt him, and he reared himself up against it, and shook it, and fixed -his teeth in it, and shook it again, and seemed to mind nothing else, -till I stole up quietly behind him and drove the axe into his skull. The -Englishman never seemed to care a bit about the danger he had escaped; -all he said was, ‘Got him at last!’ ‘That’s the ticket!’ and shoved into -my hand more yellow and green notes than ever I saw there before or -since; and, for all he was so free with his money, he went to the Länsman -at Ostersund and got the bear’s nose sealed, and touched the Government -reward for it, just like one of us, and then he tossed the money to me, -and told me to get drunk upon it.” - -“Which you did, I’ll be sworn,” said the Parson. - -“I believe I did!” said Torkel; “I was not fairly sober for a good three -days after it.” - -“Hist! what is that,” said he, dropping, as he spoke, on the inside of -the fence, and motioning the Parson to do so likewise. - -A wolf came lolloping along with the slovenly gallop in which that -disreputable beast usually travels, looking as if it had sat up all -night drinking and was not quite sober yet. The Parson laid down his -gun, and quietly taking his rifle from Torkel, cocked it, and lodged it -upon an opening between the planks. The wolf had not seen them, but came -shambling on, when, either scenting his enemies, or knowing by experience -the ineligibility of a path near fences, he edged away towards the close -covert, showing a portion of his ungainly side at a long shot, and though -looking as if he were lame of all four legs at the same time, clearing -the ground with his immense and untiring strides faster than any dog -could have followed him. - -Crack went the Parson’s rifle; but whether the wolf was hit, or whether -he knew what a rifle-shot meant, or whether he so much as heard it, or -saw the smoke, it was all the same; his course was not altered, his pace -was neither relaxed nor quickened, he went lolloping on, just as when -he was first seen, and, as much at his ease as ever, disappeared in the -forest not a hundred yards from them. - -“Missed him, by all that is unlucky!” said the Parson, jumping up. - -“There is no knowing,” said Torkel; “if you had hit him it would have -been all the same. Unless the shot strikes a part immediately vital they -take no notice of it.” - -There was evidently nothing to be done; and, indeed, the probabilities -were that the Parson really had missed, for there was not a vestige of -blood to be seen on the turf; and as the shades were closing in and the -woods were getting too dark to see anything, they returned to their -comfortable quarters, and, by bringing in one of the cocks of rushy hay, -they succeeded in making up on the floor of the hut two couches, much -more luxurious than anything they had enjoyed since leaving Gäddebäck. - -“That will do,” said Torkel; “it is a great piece of luck that we -happened upon this sœter. We shall make a much better cookery of our -grouse here than we should have done under a tree in the fjeld. There -must be a frying-pan here somewhere, if we had only light to find it by.” - -“Why do you not light the fire?” said the Parson; “that will give you -light enough, for this fuel is as dry as tinder, and good honest birch, -too, with some heart in it. You must have a fire for cooking, whether you -want it for light or not, so heap up the hearth-stone at once.” - -This was done as soon as said; and to the cheerful blaze of dry and -crackling fir succeeded the steady, candle-like flame of the birch, -lighting up the remotest corners, and glancing on that indispensable -requisite of mountain life which Torkel had been seeking. Fresh butter, -just from the churn, is not altogether uneatable even in Sweden, and -besides, hunger is not nice; the Parson consumed, with considerable -relish, his own share of the grouse, and only wished they had been as big -as black game, or tjäder. Brandy there certainly must have been somewhere -in the hut, for there never was a Swedish hut without; but so well was it -hidden, that all Torkel’s experience failed to bring it to light, and, -very much to the Parson’s delight, they were reduced to milk, of which -there was enough to supply the whole skal. - -“Well,” said the Parson, who had succeeded in twisting up his hay into -a sort of chaise-longue, with a well-formed cushion for his back, “I -did not expect to have a roof over my head; I must say this is a real -piece of luxury. Why we are better off than the Captain with his tents; -everything we want to our hands, and no host to ask for a reckoning.” - -“That would not be over safe in the Hardanger-fjeld,” said Torkel; “but -I suppose Sweden is another thing: indeed, in Norway it is only on the -Hardanger that the thing is permitted.” - -“What is permitted?” said the Parson. - -“Why the ghosts of the damned,” said Torkel, “are permitted to wander -about the Hardanger as they please. No great favour after all, as you -would say if you had ever seen the place; and when they see travellers -coming they build comfortable huts by the wayside, with fires burning, -and dry clothes, and plenty of brandy and good provisions, and everything -a man wants in order to make himself comfortable. It would be pretty -much of a temptation anywhere, and you may fancy what it is on that -exposed and treeless waste, where, whenever it is not raining it is -snowing, and if it is not snowing it is raining. But if a man once enters -and accepts the hospitality, he is lost,—the rushing wind carries away -the house and all that is in it, and the travellers are never heard of -more.” - -“You never happened upon a ghost-house yourself, did you?” said the -Parson. - -“I never did,” said Torkel, “though I have been a good deal on the -Hardanger-fjeld in my day; it is a capital place for ripar. But the truth -is, these things are not so frequent as they used to be. My father, -though, once passed a very uncomfortable night on the fjeld, and he never -could make out, to his dying day, whether the ghosts had or had not -anything to do with it.” - -“How was that?” said the Parson, as he threw another log on the fire, and -stirred the embers into a good ghost-story-telling blaze. - -“In those days,” said Torkel, “we lived near Bykle, on the upper -Torjedahl, and grew a good deal of barley which we could not very well -consume ourselves, and had no means to transport to Christiansand, where -generally there is a pretty good market for it. So my father set up a -still, and drove a good thriving trade with the country about Jordbrakke -and Skore, exchanging our brandy for their salt fish, an article which -is scarce enough in the Tellemark. My father used generally to meet a -trader, of the name of Nilssen, at what is called a post-house, situated -on a ridge that divides the Torjedahl from the waters that flow into -Wester Hafvet (the North Sea). Why they called it a post-house I am sure -I do not know, for there is not a horse within a day’s journey of it, -nor a post-master neither, nor, indeed, any one else. It was built by -Government, no doubt, but you seldom saw anything so bad at a common -sœter. One miserable room of ten feet square, the walls built of dry -stones, with the wind whistling in at one side and out at the other, -which was the only means of carrying off the smoke. Fuel there was, and -straw there was, for Government provides that, and the post-master -of the next station is responsible that there shall always be a store -of both; but Government says nothing about the quality, and we used -generally to find the green bog myrtle which grows there, bad as it is, -better fuel and better bedding than either of them. - -“One evening, about eight o’clock, my father arrived at the usual place, -having appointed a meeting with Nilssen, but when he came there he could -nowhere find the hut. He recognised the place well enough, there was -no missing that; there was the deep still lake, the waters of which -contained no living thing,—there it was, as black as ever; there, too, -was that old mass of whinstone, which used to form the back of the hut, -and always had a stream of moisture trickling down it, but no house was -to be seen, and, what made matters worse was, that a thick mountain mist -had come on, with driving rain, which felt as if every spiteful little -drop was a needle. My father looked disconsolately along the track, and -fancied he saw, through the blinding fog, the gleam of a fire; he went -on some fifty yards, and there, sure enough, was a nice comfortable hut, -water-tight and weather-tight, with the door wide open, a bright fire on -the hearth, and two or three rounds of flad bröd and a Dutch cheese on -the great stone in the middle which did duty for a table,—but not a soul -was there. - -“My father was not easily frightened; he was an old sailor, and had -helped to catch many of your English traders during the last war. He -could have looked down the throat of a cannon, and did pretty near, for -he was on board the _Najaden_ when the _Dictator_ sank her; but he did -not much fancy being damned, for all that. So he looked and looked at the -merry blaze that smiled its welcome through the door, and watched the -cheese and the flad bröd which seemed to be dancing in its light, but for -all that he laid himself down under the lee of a rock, and cold, and wet, -and miserable, wished for morning, for the wind blew, and the rain kept -pelting away all night, till he thought it would have floated him, rock -and all, into the Normand’s Laagen; and there, all the time, was the fire -blazing away, till it subsided into a glowing heap of red-hot embers. - -“Towards morning he fell into a miserable sleep, and when he woke up the -mist was gone, the sun was shining brightly, and there was not a shred -of cloud to be seen. The first thing he put his eyes upon was Nilssen, -coming up from the shores of the lake, and looking as wet, and as cold, -and as wretched as he was. - -“‘Ah,’ said Nilssen, ‘so you have been lost in the fog, like me. My -misfortune was all my own fault, too. I got here yesterday in very good -time, and lighted the fire, and made all comfortable, and then I must -needs be fool enough to start after a covey of ripar, that I did not get -a shot at after all; and then the mist came on, and I could not find my -way back. A wretched night I have passed, I can tell you.’ - -“‘What,’ said my father, ‘was it you who lighted that fire?’ - -“‘To be sure I did,’ said Nilssen, ‘who else should? Men are not so -plentiful in this cursed place.’ - -“‘And you are not damned, after all?’ - -“‘Not that I know of,’ said Nilssen. - -“‘That is not the old hut, though, I will take my oath.’ - -“‘No,’ said Nilssen, ‘it is not; the other was very nearly to pieces, -as you may recollect, when we were last here. The roof fell in not a -month after that, and then the authorities of the three Ampts contrived -to settle their differences, and do what they ought to have done years -ago—build a new one at their joint expense. They have not made a bad job -of it. Come in, you are cold enough.’ - -“‘And I have been lying out in this cursed rain and wind all night,’ said -my father, ‘with a good fire before my eyes, and a warm roof within fifty -yards of me, fancying all the while that you were damned, and that you -wanted to take me off to the Devil along with you! What a confounded fool -I have been!’ - -“But I am not sure that my father was such a fool either,” continued -Torkel, “for Nilssen died very soon after that; in fact, he had caught a -bad cold during that night, and as he had sold us a lot of bad fish, I -have no doubt he _was_ damned; at all events, it is quite true that from -that day forward my father was never entirely free from the rheumatism, -and this in his latter days, when he began to get religious, he always -attributed to the sight of the fire in the post-house; for he never was -without his misgivings that Nilssen had been damned before he met him. -He once went as far as Hardnæs to ask the priest about it, and he said -that the idea was new to him, certainly, but that he would not take upon -himself to pronounce it impossible. To the very end of his life, my -father used to congratulate himself upon the fortitude and self-denial he -had evinced during that terrible night, ‘because,’ said he, ‘if the bare -sight of that fire through the mist was visited so severely, no one can -say what would have been the consequence had I sat by it all night.’” - -“No,” said the Parson, solemnly, “no one can.” - -“You see,” said Torkel, “the whole question hinges on the fact whether -Nilssen was damned or not; now he certainly did take us in about the -fish—we were obliged to throw away half of it. I should like very much to -have your opinion on the subject.” - -“Why,” said the Parson, gravely, “will you take upon yourself to say, on -your conscience, as a Christian man, that there was no potato-haulm in -the wash from which your brandy was distilled?” - -Torkel laughed, and rubbed his hands at the recollection. “No,” said he, -“that I will not; I do not think the old scoundrel made much by us, after -all.” - -“Well, if that is the case, I do not think, if I were you, I would be too -hard upon poor Nilssen about the next world. But you ought to be able -to judge for yourself whether the laager was a ghost-house or not; what -became of it?” - -“O, there it is still,” said Torkel. “I have slept in it often myself -since, and no harm has happened from it. But all that hill-country is a -terrible place. Do you know, the Evil One once leaped over the Tind Sö, -where it is four miles across? He did, indeed; I have seen the prints of -his footsteps with my own eyes—and a very curious thing it is, that one -foot is bigger than the other. Our Kyrkesonger says it is to mark the -difference between mortal and venial sins.” - -“I am afraid your Kyrkesonger will never rise to the rank of Candidatus,” -said the Parson, “if he does not get up his theology a little better. Is -not this the place where your witches meet?” - -“It is not far from it; and it is generally supposed that it was in -hurrying away from one of these meetings, which was suddenly dispersed -by some one having accidentally named a holy name, that the Devil left -the mark of his feet on the shores of the Tind Sö; but the actual place -of meeting is the top of Gousta Fjeld. The ridge of the mountain is so -narrow that you may sit astride on it, with a leg on each side in the -air, and no resting-place under either foot for a thousand fathoms. On -this ridge the Devil sits playing on the bagpipe, while the witches dance -the polska round him in the air. They come from all parts of the country, -riding upon the skyts-horse, which looks like a flying cow, and carrying -with them all the children they can catch, in order to enlist them in -the Devil’s service; for each witch has a needle, by which she unlocks -the sides of the houses, and makes an opening, if she likes, big enough -for a carriage and horses to pass through; and after she has passed, -she locks them up so that no one can know where she has been. When she -arrives at the convent—so the assembly is called,—she presents to the -Devil all those children whom she has brought with her: she cannot force -the children to take service with him,—some refuse, and the witches are -obliged to carry them back again. These are good and holy people ever -afterwards; but most of them do enter the Devil’s service, for though he -is bound down with a chain, which he has always worn ever since our Lord -came upon earth, yet he can make himself look so fine and so glorious -that very few of them like to say ‘no,’ and to go back to their homes -through the dark night. If they once say ‘yes,’ he gives them a silver -dollar each, and marks them, by biting the crown of their heads; and then -they are taught to curse all that is holy—the Heaven, and the earth, and -the fruits of the field, and the birds of the air,—all except the magpie, -for that is the Devil’s own peculiar favourite. And then the witches -make them a mess of rö-gröd, with corn that has been stolen. They have a -way of their own for stealing corn: they put a sack to the roof of the -granary as they fly past, and say ‘Corn draw corn, and straw draw straw,’ -and then all the corn flies up into their sacks, and the straw remains -behind. I know this to be true, for I have lost lispund after lispund -myself that way. I had a girl in my service once, who was a witch, and -I lost as much as three tonne of corn, and a great many things besides, -while she was with me. But she vanished one night and has never been -heard of since, and with her a great scoundrel, who had lately come into -our parts, whom she called her lover,—but the people said he was the -Devil in disguise.” - -“Very likely,” said the Parson, “lovers very often are; but what about -your witch children?” - -“When they have done all this, the Devil gives notice of the next -convent, and the witches take the children, and they grow up with their -brothers and sisters just like any of the others, only that they are -cross-grained children from that time forward, and are always getting -into one mischief or another, and quarrelling, and fighting, and -stealing, and lying, and doing the Devil’s work on earth; for they have -all had new names given them at the convent, and whenever the Devil calls -them by those names, they must go and do whatever work he sets them -at, for they have taken his wages, and, having once engaged to be his -servants, they cannot help themselves now.” - -The Parson felt by no means inclined to laugh at Torkel’s demonology, -every bit of which may be found gravely and solemnly recorded in the -State papers of Sweden, for it once formed the grounds of accusation upon -which men and women were executed by the dozen; for with the exception -of the material and tangible facts, the cow-like horse, and the silver -dollar, and the ridge of Gousta, and the bagpipes, the whole of Torkel’s -story was but an over-true allegory, the antitype of which may be found -everywhere in real life; and the fact of the Superior Power compelling -the restoration of all who do not willingly engage in the Devil’s -service, is a very sound piece of theology. So he very readily joined -in the prayer of the Evening Hymn, a very ancient composition, dating -from centuries before the Reformation, which Torkel sang as well and as -heartily as if he had been kyrkesonger himself. A portion of it has been -thus translated:— - - “Ere thy head, at close of day, - On thy lowly couch thou lay, - On thy forehead and thy breast - Be the Cross of Christ impressed. - - “Sin and shame, like shades of night, - Fade before the Cross’s light,— - Hallowed thus, the wavering will - And the troubled heart are still. - - “Far, far hence, dark phantoms fly,— - Haunting demons come not nigh,— - Ever waiting to betray, - Arch Deceiver, hence!—away! - - “Serpent! with thy thousand coils, - With thy many winding wiles, - With thy deep, meandering arts, - Ruffling calm and quiet hearts; - - “Hence!—for Christ, yea, Christ is here,— - At His token disappear; - Lo! the sign thou well hast known - Bids thy cursed crew begone!” - - It is a fact that the Gousta Fjeld and the Tind Sö, a very - large and lonely lake at its foot, are popularly supposed to - be the resort of the Devil and his adherents. The author, - however, has not been able to meet with any authentic accounts - of the diabolical convents in Norway. He has, therefore, - substituted those of Sweden, the locality of which is - Blaakulla, in Dalecarlia. These are quoted by Frederika Bremer - from the manuscript of Kronigsward, which details the judicial - murders which took place under Councillor Lawrence Kreutz, - in 1671,—were continued for three years, and were suppressed - at last by the exertions of Countess Catharine de la Gardie. - But, though the executions for witchcraft were put an end to, - the belief in it is as rife as ever. The same book contains - a laughable story of a supposed witch residing in the island - of Söllezo, in the Silya Sjön, and of her recovery; which - proves that the clergy of Sweden have not lost their power as - exorcists. Not many years ago, a young girl of that island - asserted positively that she was conveyed every evening to - Blaakulla. Her parents, who were honest but simple folks, were - much disturbed about it. They closely watched their daughter - by night,—bound her fast in bed with cords,—but nothing would - avail; for, in the morning, weeping bitterly, she still - maintained she had been at Blaakulla. At last, her unhappy - parents took her to the clergyman upon the island, and begged - him, with earnest tears, to save their child from the claws of - Satan. After having had several interviews with the maiden, - the clergyman one day said to her, “I know a remedy,—a certain - remedy to cure you! but it will give me much trouble. Yet, as - nothing else appears to be of any avail, we will have recourse - to it.” With much solemnity, he caused the girl to seat herself - upon a commodious chair in the centre of the apartment, took up - a “Cornelius Nepos,” and began reading one of the lives. Before - he had finished, she fell fast asleep; and when she awoke, the - clergyman told her she was cured—and she was so! - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -MAKING ANOTHER NIGHT OF IT. - - “Unstable are autumn nights,— - The weather changes - Much in five days— - Still more in a month.” - - _Hávamál._ - - “Praise the day at eventide, - The wife when she is dead, - The sword when thou hast proved it, - The maid when she is married, - Ice when thou hast crossed it, - Ale when thou hast drunken it.” - - _Ibid._ - - -Probably their couches were softer than usual,—probably the fact of their -being under a roof where the sun could not shine on their faces, might -have prolonged their slumbers; but the fact is, the cock, had there been -one at the sœter, which there was not, would have “had his boots on”[55] -a very long while before either the Parson or his follower had opened -their eyes; and when they did open them, it was some time before either -of them could recollect where they were. Swedes are not over fond of open -air, and though their glazed windows in the towns are large enough and -numerous enough to prove that no ingenious chancellor of the exchequer -had ever devised a tax upon their light, yet in the fjeld, where glass is -scarce, windows are scarce too, and the few that there are, are generally -stuffed with hay. In the present case, though the sun was well above the -trees, there was not light enough to see the smoky rafters over head, -or the scarcely less dirty strings of flad bröd which were dangling -from them; but all round the building there was a perpetual ringing of -bells, from the great cracked bass to the little tinkling treble; the -sheep, scared by the noises and the fires, had wandered home during the -night, and the cows were collecting round the door of the sœter in hopes -of being milked, which hopes, for one or two of them, at least, were -speedily realized,—for Torkel, taking the bucket that had been well-nigh -drained over night, proceeded very composedly to milk them, just as if he -were in his own sœter in the Tellemark, observing quietly that new milk -was better than old. - -In Sweden, as well as in Norway, every animal turned out on a mountain -pasture has a bell round its neck; certain _esprits forts_ (all of whom -do it, notwithstanding, as well as their more credulous neighbours) -assert stoutly that it is to enable the girls to find them among the -trees; but as cows generally keep together, and sheep do so, invariably, -one bell would be quite sufficient for the purpose. The more probable -solution is that given honestly in the Tellemark: that the bells are tied -on to prevent the Trolls from milking them in the night,—for no Troll, as -is well known, can abide a bell. - -While Torkel was in the midst of his operations as deputy dairyman, and -the Parson was looking on, half doubting the propriety of the thing, -and half inclined to put a stop to it, a sound of laughing and talking -was heard behind the fence, and three girls, none of them more than -eighteen or twenty, came clambering over it. Torkel did not seem the -least in the world disconcerted, nor did they on their part testify the -smallest surprise or displeasure, though one of them was the proprietor’s -daughter, and temporary mistress of the hut, and the others were her -servants; but after exchanging a few joking observations relative to -their respective modes of passing the preceding night, and the young -ladies’ taste for field sports, they all set to work milking in earnest, -and provided for the sportsmen a better breakfast than they were likely -to have achieved by their own unassisted efforts; nor could they be -prevailed upon to accept any payment, beyond laughingly insisting upon -the intruders carrying out every bit of hay, rebuilding the hay-cock, -sweeping out the room, and putting everything tidily into its place; -till the Parson detected Miss Lilla eyeing, with evident admiration, -a pair of Tellemarken shirt-buttons,—round hollow silver balls, about -the size of a grape-shot, with which he had decorated his broad-flapped -hat. These, after a good deal of pressing, she permitted the “Herr -Englesk” to fasten on the red silk handkerchief which formed her very -becoming head-dress, and they parted mutually pleased, Lilla remarking -politely—as the Parson, shouldering his gun and taking off his hat after -the manner of the natives, bade her farvel (for the word is Swedish no -less than English)—“Jeg er ret lykkelig ved at kunne berede dem denne -lille Tjeneste,” which, as Lilla was a pretty girl, Torkel condescended -to understand and interpret,—a thing which he had often professed himself -utterly unable to do when the speaker was a bearded man, and informed -the Parson that she was very happy in finding such an opportunity of -rendering this trifling service. - -The Parson’s Swedish was at an end with his “farvel;” all he could do in -return was to bow and smile, and wave his hand, as he vaulted over the -rail and left the hospitable sœter behind him. - -Their journey through the forest was little more than a counterpart of -that of yesterday,—now traversing spaces roofed with gloomy fir, and -beech not less gloomy when you see their undersides only and breathe -nothing but the confined air below them,—now breathing freely in a glade -or svedgefall, and gathering a handful of whorts or cranberries by the -way,—now pushing through a belt of under-stuff, thick enough to conceal -an elephant, but all the time meeting with very little game. Indeed, -skals are not by any means the likeliest times to find the smaller game, -and even the larger lurk unseen till the very end of them. Torkel had -cracked off the Parson’s rifle at a Lo, as he called it—that is to say, a -lynx,—that jumped up from under his feet and dashed into a thicket, but -with very little effect beyond frightening it, though the beast was twice -as large as a fox and twice as red. The parson had brought down a hen -“capercailzie,”—but that was the whole of their morning’s sport. - -For some time the under-stuff had been unusually thick, and had formed a -considerable impediment to their progress; they had persevered through it -for about half a mile, and the wood gave no signs of becoming more open, -when Torkel stopped, and looked right and left of him through the stuff, -as if to find an opening. - -“We must be skirting the border of a svedgefall,” said he, “where the air -comes in freely; these hazels would never grow in the close forest,—let -us edge a little to the right, we are taking the belt end-ways.” - -“The right!” said the Parson; “that seems even thicker than where we are -now.” - -“That is the very reason,” said Torkel; “the nearer the svedgefall, the -more air,—the more air the closer the understuff.” - -The Parson thought this remarkably good reasoning, and set himself boldly -to face the difficulty, instead of shrinking from it,—a proceeding which, -were it generally followed in our course through life, would seldom fail -to meet with its reward. - -It did not on this occasion, at all events, for after a hundred yards or -so of hard struggle, they suddenly emerged into an open plain of some -miles in length, and a good half mile across. It was not a svedgefall, -as Torkel had imagined, but the clearing formed by an old fire, the -effects of which nature had already, in a great measure, succeeded -in repairing; for a coarse grass, gemmed with all manner of flowers, -covered the greater part of it, through which the spiræa raised its -feathery head; large tracts were vividly green with young birches, as -yet hardly higher than the grass, but closely set, as if planted in a -nursery;—here and there the cranberry threw a gleam of crimson into -nature’s carpeting, while the epilobium—an absolute tree compared to the -dwarf plants around it—showed, with its thickly set flowers, a mass of -lilac; and the fox-glove (in Sweden a holy flower), bent its head and -rang its fairy bells, inaudible by mortal ears, whenever a good angel -passed it by on his errand of mercy. A few great mournful dead trees were -still stretching out their helpless and blackened branches, like the old -and ruined families after a revolution, sorrowful remembrances of the -glories which had passed away; but most of these had dropped where they -had stood, and were already concealed by the vigorous young undergrowth, -which was springing up all the more vigorously because the soil had been -for ages fertilized by the leaves of their predecessors. - -The Parson sat down exhausted on one of these remains of fallen majesty, -and fanned himself with his broad-leafed hat, while Torkel, standing on -the highest point he could find, cast a look up and down the opening, -which seemed as silent and as destitute of animal life as any part they -had hitherto traversed. - -“There is something,” said he; “I see it move—I am sure there is -something alive there.” - -The Parson was up in an instant, with his telescope in his hand. - -“There it is,” said Torkel, “on the farther edge, just under the high -trees—that tall dead trunk with a forked head is exactly in the line; -look there, I see it move now as plainly as possible.” - -“I have got it now,” said the Parson, “and it is a bear, too, if ever I -saw one in the Zoological Gardens.” - -“Hush!” said Torkel; “do not say that, or we shall never get a shot at -it.” - -“Why?” said the Parson; “it is almost out of sight, let alone out of -hearing.” - -“That does not signify,” said Torkel, “that animal is wiser than any of -us; whether it has a fylgia, or guardian[56] spirit, like us, is more -than I can say, but it is the truth, that if ever you name its name you -will get no shot at it, and fortunate for you if you do not meet with -some piece of ill luck into the bargain.” - -“Well, well,” said the Parson, “I will take care in future; but what am I -to call him?” - -“Call him Old Fur Jacket! or call him The Disturber! or call him The Wise -One! anything you like, only do not call him what you have done just -now. I hope no mischief will come of it.” - -“There are two,” said the Parson; “there is a little one—I see it plainly -enough, now that they have got clear from that patch of epilobium. What -on earth is the old—pshaw!—the Old Wise One about? she seems to be -administering a little wholesome discipline to young Fur Jacket;”—and he -handed the glass to Torkel. - -“She has been frightened,” said he, “she has been roused out by the dref, -and she is making her cub get up into the tree; they very frequently -do that when they suspect they will have to run or fight for it. Young -Wilful does not seem to know what is good for him, and must be flogged -into it. Just like our own younkers,” said Torkel, philosophically, -taking another look through the glass. - -“It is not very good for him just now,” said the Parson, “with our eyes -upon him. If he once gets up he is a lost Fur Jacket.” - -“And up he gets,” said Torkel, “and receives a parting benediction from -his mother’s paw across his stern, just to freshen his way, as Tom says. -And now how to get a crack at the Old Lady? if we were on the other side -we might do it easily enough, but the stuff here is not high enough to -hide us; those brutes have eyes sharp enough to see through a mill-stone.” - -“Had we better not watch her? perhaps she will think that which is good -for young Hopeful will be good for her; we shall have her climbing, -herself, next.” - -“Not she, she knows better; the branch that is very good protection to a -little lump of brown fur, she knows well enough, would not do for a beast -almost as big as a cow,—you will not catch her up a tree, and you need -not expect it.” - -“What is to be done then? there she is still.” - -“I do not know anything better than to keep along this edge, till we put -a mile or so of ground between us and her, and then to cross; and the -sooner we start the better, for she will not stay long after she has -disposed of her young one.” - -“Good!” said the Parson, “and now for finding the place again;”—and he -took out his compass and placed it on the fallen trunk. “That forked -tree bears to us exactly E. by N.; when we come down the other side and -bring it W. by S., we shall not be very far from the place; and then the -northern edge of that large clump of epilobium will give us the exact -mark. And now to get there as quick as we may.” - -They had not proceeded a couple of hundred yards when they met with a -brook which intersected the opening nearly at right angles. - -“This will do,” said Torkel, jumping into it, for it was not much more -than knee deep, and clear as crystal. “The fall of the ground, the bed of -the stream, and the stuff that always grows on the banks, will be quite -sufficient cover for us.” - -On they went, stooping, sometimes splashing through the water itself, -sometimes creeping on hands and knees under the bank, resting for a while -behind some friendly rock or stump, then creeping on again, till at last -they neared the opposite side; and then, seeking the shelter of the -trees, they took a few minutes’ rest—for going on all-fours is anything -but a comfortable mode of progression. Slowly and warily they advanced, -peering about, moving from tree to tree, and looking closely into every -bush before they showed themselves. There was the place evidently enough; -the north corner of the epilobium was near enough to the forked tree -to make a capital mark—there could be no mistake as to the locality; -besides, the bear’s tracks were evident enough on some soft ground; but -no living creature was to be seen. The bear had either heard them, or -smelt them, or, having provided for her young one, and being restless and -anxious on account of the noises that had roused her at first, had gone -on to some thicker cover. - -“That comes of calling the beast by his name,” said Torkel, half sulkily; -“never do that again, at least not in the fjeld. Well, never mind, we -will have young Innocence, at all events; the reward is half as much for -a cub as it is for an old one.” - -“That is all you think about,” said the Parson. - -“No it is not,” said Torkel; “I like the sport itself as well as any -man living—I love it for its own sake; but I should not mind a few of -their yellow notes, either, to be turned into honest, hard Norwegian -specie-dalers, and laid up for the winter,—at least, just now, for Lota’s -sake. Fancy what a set of scoundrels these Swedes must be, when they have -to print on all their notes, ‘Whoso forges this shall be hanged’—we do -not do that in Norway.” - -“No,” said the Parson, “you are none of you clever enough to forge—the -_Norges Bank’s Representativ_ is quite safe in such clumsy hands as -yours.” - -“There he sits, just in that fork close to the trunk,” said Torkel, who, -if he had not, as the Parson insinuated, skill enough in his fingers to -forge a note, had quickness enough in his eyes to see through a log of -timber, if a bear had been hiding behind it. “There is young Innocence! -Oh! do not spoil his skin with that small shot. Here is the rifle. Put -the ball in under his ear,—that will not hurt him.” - -It did not seem to hurt him, in good truth, for he never moved an inch -on receiving the shot, though the blood dripping down the tree showed -that the ball had reached its mark. The cub remained perfectly dead, but -supported by the fork in which he was sitting. - -“What is to be done now?” said the Parson; “I do not see how to get him -down, for the trunk is too big to swarm up, and we have not a branch for -twenty feet; but it will never do to leave him there.” - -“Leave him!” said Torkel; “O no! that would never do. I think we may get -up into that tree, though, with a little management.” - -There was growing, within a few yards of the great tree which the bear -had selected, a small thin weed of a fir, which, coming up in the shade, -had stretched itself out into a long branchless pole with a bunch of -green at the top, in its legitimate aspirations after light and air. -Torkel, disengaging the axe which he usually carried at his back, notched -it on the nearer side, and then, seeing its inclination would carry it to -the great tree on which the cub was hanging, cut vigorously. In a minute -or two the little fir sank quietly into the yielding arms of his great -neighbour, and formed with its trunk a rough ladder. Up this Torkel, -having paused for a moment to see if it had finally settled, climbed -as readily as any bear in the forest. He was soon seen worming himself -through the spreading branches, and slipping down to the fork; and the -little lump of bear’s fat, about the size of a two-year-old hog, came -squashing down upon the turf. - -Small as it was for a bear, it was impossible to carry it; so they tied -its hind legs together, and hung it upon one of the dead trees in the -open, the Parson having first pinned upon its snout a leaf which he had -torn out of his note-book, and had written Torkel’s name upon it. - -Torkel, however, was mistaken about his share of the yellow notes, -though the Parson did not suffer him to lose by it. Every bear killed in -a skal is the property of the Ofwer Jagmästere; a regulation which is -found to be absolutely necessary, in order to prevent men from breaking -their ranks and hunting the likely places independently,—a proceeding -which would ensure the loss of every bear except the particular animal -which was the object of immediate pursuit. Of this Torkel was not aware, -because in Norway skals such as this seldom or never take place, not -only because the ground is generally too difficult, but principally -because the inhabitants are too widely scattered to be easily collected -in sufficient numbers, and a great deal too lawless to be managed if they -could. - -With all the complacency which the consciousness of having done a good -action confers, they proceeded on their journey, which, as their course -happened to lie lengthways of the opening, was easy enough. Hot, and the -least little bit in the world fatigued, they sauntered along on the shady -side of the glade, till they began to discover that the whole country had -become shady, and that a little sun, if it was to be had, would be just -as pleasant. In fact, it had become extremely chilly. - -“There goes Thor’s hammer,” said Torkel, as a crash of thunder burst over -their heads, echoing from tree to tree; “we need not fear the Trolls -now, every one of them is half-way to the centre of the earth by this -time.” - -“I wish we had nothing worse to fear,” said the Parson; “but this gradual -darkening looks a great deal more like a spell of bad weather than a -sudden storm. I wish we knew where the Captain’s post is.” - -“We cannot be within seven or eight miles of that,” said Torkel; “and -I really do think that we are going to have a wet night, and plenty of -mist into the bargain. It will be perfectly impossible for us to find -the post, knowing so little of the country as we do. We had better hut -ourselves at once. If we had been on the hill we might have seen this -coming, but down here it was impossible, with no sky visible, except that -which is right over our heads.” - -“Well,” said the Parson, “if it is to be, we may as well halt at once. So -off with your havresac, and turn to. This spreading fir will do as well -as any for our canopy.” - -Torkel was a man of deeds, and his assent and approbation were -demonstrated by his throwing down his havresac and forthwith selecting -and cutting down a young fir for his ridge-pole; and,—while the Parson -was securing the locks of the guns with handkerchiefs, and such like -extemporaneous expedients,—for the gun covers had, of course, been left -with the baggage,—he had already cut down two pair of cross timbers to -lay it on. The Parson, with his hand-bill, aided him vigorously, and -the more so that the rain had now begun to patter sharply from leaf to -leaf, and it was very evident that no long time would elapse before -it found its way to their localities below. The frame-work of the hut -was arranged, and branches of the fir and beech, and coarse grass and -juniper,—in fact anything that could be collected on the spur of the -moment,—was laid on as thatch, while Torkel hastily drew together and -chopped up the driest stuff he could find for the fire. - -The rain was now coming on in right earnest, and the night was -prematurely setting in. The drops came through thicker and thicker, each -one as big as a marble; and the sportsmen, with jackets more than half -wet through, crept disconsolately into the unfinished hut, in order, as -Torkel said, to make themselves comfortable. - -The first piece of comfort which was discovered was that the havresacs, -which had been thrown off at the beginning of the hutting operations, -had been left where they were thrown, and were by this time wet through -and through, together with every morsel of bread that they contained. -The supper was not luxurious, and, as neither was greatly disposed for -conversation, they laid themselves up in the warmest corner they could -find, and courted forgetfulness, as well as rest and refreshment, in -sleep. - -The Parson, as an old fisherman, had been pretty well accustomed to a -minor description of roughing it. The boxes of dried poplar leaves of a -Norwegian cottage, or the heaps of hay of a sœter-farm were to him as -feather beds. A rainy day, too, he had often hailed as remarkably good -fishing weather, but a night’s bivouac, sub-Jove, and that Jove pluviali, -was rather a new thing to him; and his cloak, too, miles off, under the -charge of the faithful Jacob. One habit, however, he had picked up in his -travels, which stood him in good stead now, and that was the habit of -“making the best of it.” - -Bad was the best; the fuel was wet and scanty, and the fire soon went -out; and Torkel’s house, run up hastily and after dark, was as little -water-tight as if it had been built by contract. Before midnight the -Parson was roused up, first by detached drops and then by little -streamlets falling on his face and person, and wet and chilled, he lay -counting the hours, and envying Torkel, who snored comfortably through it -all. - -Morning came at last—it always does come if we wait long enough for -it,—and a dull and misty light began to struggle in through the opening -of the hut, and through several other openings also, which, during the -past night had officiated, though uncalled for, as spouts for the water. - -Still the rain fell, not in showers, not violently, for there was not a -breath of wind, but evenly, quickly, steadily, as if, conscious of its -resources, it meant to rain for ever; while the big drops from the fir -branches kept patter, patter, on the soppy ground, and the mist hung so -low that you could scarcely see the branches they fell from. - -“Hang that fellow, he will sleep for ever,” said the Parson; “come, rouse -out Torkel, ‘show a leg,’ as Tom says, it is broad daylight now, and high -time for us to be moving.” - -Torkel stretched himself and rubbed his eyes, and looked stupid; his -thoughts had not returned from his native Tellemark, and his prospects of -a “home and pleasing wife,” on the banks of the Torjedahl, of which, in -all probability, he had been dreaming. - -“Come, Torkel, rouse up my boy,” said the Parson, kicking him; “here -is the tail end of the brandy-flask for you, and when that is gone, we -must find our way to where more is to be had.” The hint of brandy had -the desired effect of waking up the old hunter; for even his iron frame -was none the better for the night’s soaking. The brandy, however, put -them both in good-humour, and having extracted from their havresacs that -which had once been excellent kahyt scorpor, but which now were black -soppy lumps of dough, they made an extempore breakfast, seasoned by some -chips of Fortnum and Mason’s portable soup, a piece of which the Parson -invariably carried with him, but which, as there was now no possibility -of lighting a fire, they were obliged to suck or eat as they could. - -“Now Mister Torkel, _en route!_ hvar er väga til hållet? we must get -there before we taste brandy again, that is certain; pray Heaven they -have not broken up the skal, and left us alone in our glory. That is our -direction,” continued he, looking at his pocket-compass, “but the thing -is to keep it, in this thick wood and thick weather, when no one can see -a dozen yards before his nose.” - -Every one who has been out in a fog knows the propensity the traveller -invariably has to work round in a circle, and to return to the spot from -which he started. True, in the present case, the compass was a safeguard -against this, but to consult the compass when walking or riding requires -time, the needle does not settle itself to the north without a good deal -of vacillation; and here the lie of the country gave no assistance -whatever; it was not a plain, certainly, for it was very uneven, and -occasionally rocky, but there was nothing like hill, or any continuous -direction of declivities, which could form a guide. Here and there were -dense brakes, every leaf and twig of which, overcharged with moisture, -showered down its stores upon them, and there was no possibility of -picking the ground, where the only chance of finding the track lay in -keeping the compass course. No brook had been met with of sufficient -volume to render it probable that it had come from behind the hills; and -besides, it was more than probable that the watercourses, which formed -the only communications with the pickets above, were much too full now to -be practicable. - -As hour after hour wore on, and the forest seemed always like that -through which they had started in the morning, the Parson was more than -once tempted to follow the course of the running water, and to make his -way down to the river, upon the chance of at least a shelter and a meal -at one of the farm-houses; but the hopes of effecting a junction with his -friends, and still more with his baggage, kept him to his course, though -the hållet—as Virgil’s Italy served poor Æneas—seemed to be continually -going backwards as he approached it. - -“Hallo!” said Torkel at last, who was then a little in advance, “what -have we got to now, a svedgefall, or a sœter? the fjeld is much clearer -here. Oho, I see! this will do; look here, this juniper was cut only -lately, and here is another stump, and the branches all carried away, -too, and there is a tree that has got its lower boughs trimmed; we have -got to the shooting line at last.” - -“Upon my word, I think we have,” said the Parson; “and if so, we must -turn short up to the left, and the Captain’s post cannot be far from us.” - -“Unless they have broken up the skal,” said Torkel. - -“If they have, I am sure we shall find some one here, left to guide -us; Lieutenant Birger knows that we are to make for this spot. Here is -something, at all events,” as they came in sight of a line of peeled -saplings, right across the path, which had for some time begun to ascend -rather rapidly. “This will do, I am sure;” for now a peasant, who had -been sitting cowering under the rock, with a soldier’s musket in his -hand, the lock of which he had covered with a sack that had evidently -done duty with the carioles, came forward to meet them. - -He was not very communicative, however, for he could not speak English, -and would not understand Norwegian; but, at all events, they learnt to -their comfort that the post was there still, and, after ten minutes sharp -pull up a steep but very open and practicable pass, they came in sight of -the Captain’s watch-fires, situated in the gorge of it. - -“Home at last!” said the Parson. - -“And high time, too,” said the Captain. “There, pick those wretched -flowers out of that hat of yours, and let us see whether we cannot make -you look less like a drowned rat.” - -“You have not broken up the skal, then?” said the Parson. - -“Oh, no! nothing like it; the rain came on late in the evening, and -they could not have broken it up then if they wished, for the men would -not have had time to go home, and might just as well make themselves -comfortable where they were.” - -Comfortable! thought the Parson, shrugging his wet shoulders, and -thinking of his own comforts during the night past. - -“And this morning,” continued the Captain, “the weather-wise say that the -rain will not last; and as they have driven so much of the country, and -fairly disturbed the game, the Ofwer Jagmästere sent for some brandy—not -enough to make the men drunk, but as much as is good for them,—and they -are to keep their fires burning and make all the noise they can, and so -keep the game within the ring till the weather clears.” - -“And where did you hear all this?” said the Parson. - -“Oh, Birger is here,” said the Captain; “he came in about two hours ago, -as wet as you are; he is asleep in the other tent. Did you not see a row -of barked bushes as you came up?” - -“Yes,” said the Parson, “that I did, and I hailed them as the traveller -did the gibbet,—the first mark of civilisation I had seen; but I cannot -say that I understand what they mean.” - -“It was Birger’s plan,” said the Captain, “they have done it pretty -continuously along the line of the dref; it is intended to look like a -trap, and to prevent the game from coming up the pass during the rain, -when we cannot trust to our rifles. We have had half-a-dozen wolves here -last night; there is one of them,” pointing to a carcase which two of -the men were skinning. “I was not ready for them, that is the truth, -for I was eating my supper. I ought, certainly, to have had a brace of -them, but this gentleman was a little in the rear of his party, and the -Devil took the hindermost,—at least my little pea-rifle did. And there -are a couple of foxes; Tom says their skins are valuable. I picked them -off during the night. I am pretty sure we had a bear, too, early this -morning; but he turned, whatever he was, before I could get a sight of -him.” - -“No wonder, with that fire,” said the Parson. - -“Why, we do want to keep them in,” said the Captain; “besides, who is to -do without a fire in such weather as this? There—had you not better go -and make yourself comfortable. Jacob has brought your knapsack and cloak: -you will find them there in the tent—(by-the-bye, what do you think of -the use of tents now?) After that I suppose you will be ready for dinner?” - -“You may say that,” said the Parson; “it is little beside biscuit sopped -in rain that we have had this day. Tom,” he shouted, “mind you take care -of Torkel there; going without his grub is a serious thing to one of your -country, and a still more serious thing going without his brandy.” - -“As for your wet clothes,” continued the Captain, “there is no help for -that. Birger’s are much in the same mess, but we have a fire big enough -to dry anything, if the rain would only hold off. In the meanwhile -you must keep under canvas; those lug-sails of yours keep the wet out -capitally. You see, I have used them for roof, and have built up walls to -them with fir-branches and junipers.” - -“Upon my word,” said the Parson, “it is quite luxurious, and so is this -dry flannel shirt—Heaven bless the man who invented flannel shirts,—I -should have been dead with cold by this time, if I had been wearing a -linen one. Hallo, Jacob! you look rather moist; what is the state of the -larder?” - -Whatever the state of the larder was, the Captain had determined it -should be a mystery, for he knew well that nothing unfits a man for -subsequent work so much as a hearty meal after great fatigue upon little -sustenance. As soon, therefore, as he heard that they had eaten little -or nothing since their breakfast at the sœter on the preceding day, he -gave a private sign to Jacob, and nothing whatever was forthcoming but a -good strong basin of portable soup, smoking hot, with a couple of kahyt -scorpor bobbing about in it; and, early as it was in the day—for it was -not more than four in the afternoon,—the Parson was well satisfied to -scoop out a bed in the dry moss of the tent, to draw his fur cloak over -him, and to seek in sleep the rest which he needed quite as much as he -did the food. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE WATCH FIRE. - - “Fire will be needful - For him who enters - With his knees frozen. - Of meat and clothing - Stands he in need - Who journeys o’er mountains. - - “Water is needful,— - A towel and kindness, - For the guest’s welcome. - Kind inclinations - Let him experience;— - Answer his questions.” - - _Hávamál._ - - -Sound and deep were the Parson’s slumbers, complete and absolute was -his state of unconsciousness. Noises there were in the camp, no doubt, -noises of every description: eight or ten people without any particular -occupation, without any reason whatever for keeping silence—rather the -reverse,—are apt to be noisy. But it was all one to him, the Seven -Sleepers themselves could not have slept more soundly; and the next -four or five hours were to him as though they had not been. His first -perception of sublunary matters was awakened by the words of a well -known air, which at first mingled with his dreams, and then presented -themselves to his waking senses:— - - “O, never fear though rain be falling,— - O, never fear the thunder dire,— - O, never heed the wild wind’s calling, - But gather closer round the fire. - For thus it is, through storm and rain, - The weary midnight hours must wane, - Ere joyous morning comes again, - And bids the gloom retire.” - -The Parson unrolled himself from his cloak and looked out; the night had -fallen dark enough, and the rain, though it gave evident symptoms of -having exhausted itself, was still falling, but scantily and sparingly. -The mist was thicker and darker and blacker than ever; all, however, was -bright light in the camp, for the bale-fires of Baldur could not have -burnt more brightly than the watch-fires of the picket. The Captain had -had plenty of spare hands and plenty of spare time, and had kept his men -in work by collecting stores of fuel; besides which he had made use of -an expedient which, common enough in winter camps, is seldom resorted to -in summer. A full-grown pine, which seemed to have died of old age, and -had dried up where it stood, was cut down; the head, already deprived of -its branches by Time, was chopped off and laid alongside the butt, end -for end, and the fires had been lighted on the top of these two pieces -of timber. The interstice between them admitting the air from below, -roared like a furnace, and blew up the bright flames on high; whilst the -trunks themselves, which had speedily become ignited, contributed their -own share to the general light and heat. There were several supplementary -fires, for the great furnace was much too fierce for culinary operations; -and the smoke from all these, pressed down, as it were, by the -superincumbent mist, formed, by the reflection of the flames, a sort of -luminous halo, beyond which it was impossible for eye to penetrate. Here -and there fir branches were stuck into the ground to dry the clothes -upon, for though the drizzle had not exactly ceased, the heat dried much -faster than the rain moistened. - -Full in the blaze of light, and as near as he could approach to it -without burning himself, stood Birger; his neat little figure just as -tidy, and just as carefully dressed, as if there had been no such thing -as falling rain, or wet juniper, or prickly brambles in the world. He -was standing with his back to the fire, and his hands in the pockets of -his shooting-jacket, watching the preparations for a late supper, and -singing, at the full pitch of a very powerful voice, the magic words -which had recalled the Parson to a state of consciousness. The Captain, -who had evidently been furbishing up with fresh chalk the “S. F.” on -his cap, which looked quite white and new, notwithstanding the rain, had -just returned from visiting his sentries, and was examining the lock -of his American rifle, which he had carried with him, to see if it had -sustained any damage from the wet. Jacob, and his attendant imps, were -emerging from behind the flames with the everlasting black kettle, which -was accompanied this time by a pile of steaks, cut from some mysterious -animal, and served up on the splash-board of one of the carioles, by way -of dish. - -“Halloo! Birger,” said the Parson; “you here! Rather a change in the -general aspect of affairs since we parted last!” - -“You may well say that; I never saw such a determined day’s rain; I -thought the twilight of the gods was come in real earnest.” - -“To judge from the fire that you have got up,” said the Parson, emerging -from the tent, “you seem inclined to realize the old prophecy, that that -twilight is to finish off by a general conflagration.” - -“You need not cast inquiring glances at me,” said Birger to the Captain, -who, having satisfied himself about the state of his weapons, was trying -to make out the allusion. “I am not going to tell you that long story -now. The gods themselves, if we may trust the high song of Odin, used to -take off the edge of their hunger, and thirst, too,—for they were thirsty -souls,—before they called on Bragi, the god of minstrelsy, to sing even -their own deeds. And, to tell you the truth, to say nothing of my being -as hungry as a hunter, these steaks are most magnificent, and this kettle -unusually savoury.” - -“What have you got in it?” said the Parson. - -“Andhrimnir cooks Sahrimnir in Eldhrimnir,” replied Birger, quoting from -the cookery of the prose Edda. “Do you not see Odin has sent us a present -of heavenly meat from Valhalla?” - -“Nonsense! what is the meat of Valhalla called here on earth?” - -“Goat’s flesh,” said Birger, demurely. - -“Humph!” said the Parson, turning over, with his crimping knife, a bone -almost big enough to have belonged to a small ox; “and this is a goat’s -rib, is it?” - -“Valhalla was always remarkable for its breed of goats,” said Birger: -“but never you mind what rib it is, there’s a biscuit to eat with it, -that is all you need care about, just now. I am afraid our host, the -Skalfogdar” (bowing to the Captain), “cannot find you any currant jelly -to eat with it.” - -“I can find you some cranberry jelly, though,” said the Captain, “which -is a much better thing, and much more characteristic of the country. -Here, Jacob, hand me that mess-tin, will you. The very first thing I did, -after reconnoitring my post, was to lay in a store of these cranberries, -and to make them into jelly. I had not to go far for them. You would not -like them in the Swedish fashion—pickled,—would you? I think the men have -got some which they have made for themselves.” - -“Thank you, yes; and a little of the forbidden stuff, too, to wash it -down with. Never mind the water, Piersen, I have taken my share of that -already.” - -Here Jacob made his appearance, with four or five orre grouse, spitted -upon a strip of fir;—Jacob piqued himself on his fjeld cuisine, and -really did serve up his dinners admirably. The whole was concluded with -split grayling, by way of cheese, for being north of the Wener Sjön, they -were in the grayling country,—a circumstance which the Captain, whose -post was not a mile from the river, had not been slow to profit by;—on -the sunny morning of the preceding day, he had caught them by dozens. -The grayling, which are seldom caught in Norway, where the rivers are -mostly too rough for such tender fish, abound throughout the whole north -of Sweden, and are worth anything to the fisherman; they render his -chances of sport, as well as of provisions, very much less precarious, -because they do everything which trout do not; they are stationary -when—in Sweden, at all events—the trout is migratory; they come into -high season when the trout are going out; they will not rise in a stormy -day, which the trout loves; but, when the sun is bright and the wind is -low, and not a ripple curls the surface, and not a trout stirs beneath -it, the swift, shadow-like grayling dot it with their rises like so many -hail-stones. They are very good eating, too, when dressed in any way man -can devise; but a very excellent method, and a very common method in -Sweden, is to split them down the back, pepper them well, and dry them in -the hot sun before broiling them, or making them into plok-fiske. This -Jacob was unable to do on the present occasion, for the rain had been -falling from the time of the Captain’s return from the river; so he had -substituted for the sun that which was scarcely less hot—the Captain’s -blazing fire; and his imitation was unanimously pronounced to have -exceeded the original. - -“I do not think I should have fared like this at any of the farm houses,” -said the Parson, stretching himself at full length on his cloak and -basking at the fire, for the rain had now entirely ceased, and the -bivouac began to look home-like and comfortable. “I must say it required -a pretty firm determination to keep steadily onward, with soaked clothes -and chilled bones and empty stomachs, such as we had this morning. I was -sorely tempted to make for shelter; but I set before me the comforts of -persevering, and I am very glad I did so. To say nothing of your company -and Jacob’s dinner, this glorious blaze is far better than a farm-house -stove, and my old cloak than a dirty sheep-skin. Well, virtue is its own -reward. Jacob, fill the pot with hot water, and let us have a few embers -here to keep it warm. Have you got any sugar?” - -“There is nothing your countrymen are so remarkable for,” said -Birger, “as a steady, resolute perseverance against difficulties and -discouragements.” - -“Pluck?” suggested the Captain. - -“Yes, Pluck! you did not know when you were beaten at Waterloo, and so -you won the battle; Wellington would have got an army of Englishmen out -of the scrape of Moscow, if he had ever been ass enough to get them into -it.” - -“I think,” said the Parson, “that this may be traced to a national -peculiarity of ours—love of adventure. Other men will undergo hardships -and incur dangers, in search of gain, or even in the pursuit of some -definite object, but the Englishman seeks his hardships for the pleasure -of undergoing them,—courts his dangers for the pleasure of surmounting -them, and follows out his adventure for adventure’s sake.” - -“In fact,” said the Captain, “he does just what we are all doing now.” - -“Well,” said Birger, “and let no one say—what is the use of it?—what is -the Englishman the better for diving into mines, and scaling mountains, -and crossing deserts?—what has he to show for it? He has this to show -for it,—a manliness of character,—a spirit to encounter the dangers of -life, and a heart to overcome its difficulties. Depend upon it, while -your aristocracy—men brought up and nourished in the very lap of luxury -and ease—seek their pleasures in the dangers of the wild ocean, or the -hardships of the stormy mountain-side, you will see no symptoms of -degeneracy in the hardihood and manliness of your national character. -Pluck is a genuine English word, slang though it be.” - -“I think you may translate it into Swedish,” said the Captain, “for our -English blood has a cross of Scandinavian in it, and there really is as -great a similarity in our national characteristics as there is in the -structure of our languages.” - -“I think,” said the Parson, “your word ‘Mod’ implies pluck, with a dash -of fierceness in it. When it is said of some grand berserkar, ‘har -oprist syn mod,’ it means that he has summoned his pluck, with the full -intention of making his enemies aware of that fact. Still, however, it is -a fair rendering of our more peaceable word, and you have a right to it; -but I am quite sure you cannot translate that expression into any other -language under the sun, without losing some part of its force.” - -“Whether any foreigners can translate the word into their own language,” -said the Captain, “is more than I will undertake to say, but they -perfectly understand and appreciate this peculiarity of our English -character. Last year I was arranging with one of the Chamouny guides an -expedition into the higher Alps; I had with me a jolly talking little -French marquis, whom I had picked up at St. Gervais. He was an ambitious -little fellow, and volunteered—Heaven help him!—to be my companion. -My guide—(you recollect old Couttet, Parson?)—looked rather blank at -this, and taking me aside, said in a low voice, ‘_absolument je n’irais -pas avec ce Monsieur lá_.’ ‘Why?’ said I, rather astonished at the man -refusing that which would certainly have put some additional francs into -his pocket. ‘_Je connais bien ces Francais_,’ said he—‘an Englishman -is fearful enough in the valleys, always saying he will not do this, -and he cannot do that, because in truth he is so proud that he does not -like to take anything in hand and be beat in it; but once get him on the -mountain, and fairly in for it, and be the danger what it may, he faces -it, and be the fatigue what it may, he keeps up a good heart, and in the -end gets through it all as well as we do ourselves. Your Frenchman is as -bold as brass in the valleys, and does not do badly for a spurt if he -thinks people are admiring him, but he gets cowed when danger comes and -no one to see him, and sits down and dies when he is tired.’” - -“Mr. Couttet was a sensible fellow, and knew his man,” said Birger, who, -descended from the old aristocracy of Sweden, hated and despised the -French party most cordially; “and how did you get rid of your travelling -companion?” - -“O! Couttet took the management of that upon his own hands; he made -the poor little marquis’s hair stand on end, with all sorts of stories -about snow storms, and whirlwinds, and frozen travellers; which no doubt -were true enough, for there is not a pass in the High Alps without -its well-authenticated tale of death; so the little fellow came to me -heartily ashamed of himself, and looking like a dog that was going to be -whipped, with his ‘mille excuses,’ and so forth, and in fact, we then and -there parted company, and I have not seen him from that time to this. He -certainly was rather an ambitious Tom Thumb for the Col du Géant.—Hallo! -there is something on foot there,” said he, interrupting himself, “hark -to that! there goes another.” And in fact, three or four shots not very -distant from them were distinctly heard, though they came, not sharp -and ringing as such sounds generally strike upon the ear through the -clear air of the north, but deadened by the mist, as if, so to speak, -the sound had been smothered by a feather-bed. “There goes another! and -another!” then came a whole platoon—“O, by George! I must go and visit my -sentries.” - -“All nonsense,” said Birger, “one fellow fires at a rustling -leaf, and then all the rest crack off their pieces, by the way of -follow-the-leader; you may just as well make yourself comfortable,” -drawing his cloak round him by way of suiting the action to the word. -“Hand me over the bottle, Jacob! some more hot water in the pot!” - -“I shall go, however,” said the Captain, who was young at picket work, -and proportionably anxious; so shouldering his rifle, and calling to Tom, -his corporal and interpreter, he disappeared into the outer darkness, -while his friends settled themselves more comfortably in their cloaks, -and threw half a dozen additional, not to say superfluous, logs into the -glorious blaze. - -The dispositions at the foot of the pass had been made with great -judgment; the object was, if possible, to prevent anything from passing -during the night, but at any rate to arrange matters so that nothing -should pass without being seen. - -For this purpose a pretty large fire was lighted so near to the -perpendicular part of the rock that nothing would be likely to go behind -it, the shrubs of course being cleared away from its vicinity; and on the -opposite side of the passage was a little sentry-box of fir branches, -under which sat two Swedes, with directions to let fly at anything that -crossed between them and the fire; so that if they missed, as most likely -they would, the picket above might at least be prepared. - -The men, who had been excited by the firing, were sharp as needles, and -indeed, were not very far from letting fly at their own commander, but -they had seen nothing that they could be very certain about, though of -course their imaginations were full of half the beasts in Noah’s Ark; and -so, after straining his eyes into the thick darkness for half an hour -or more, the Captain heaped fresh fuel on the fire, recommended a sharp -look-out, returned slowly up the pass, and was well laughed at for his -pains as he resumed his seat by the blazing tree. - -“By the way, Birger, what is that story that you and the Parson were -alluding to just before dinner, I hope you have eaten and drank enough by -this time to qualify you for relating it.” - -“What, the twilight of the gods? the Ragnarök, as the Edda calls it; that -is not a story, it is a bit of heathenism.” - -“It seems to me,” said the Captain, “that you Swedes keep your heathenism -a great deal better than you do your Christianity.” - -“The Norwegians do, certainly,” said Birger, “the fact is, their -conversion was effected by force of arms, rather than by force of -argument; the party of Olaf the Christian was stronger than the party of -Hakon the heathen, so they killed and converted, and the people became -Christians, and very appropriately adopted the saint’s battle-axe for -their national emblem. As for their Reformation, that was simply an order -from a despotic court, not resisted, only because the people did not care -much about the matter. ‘It will not make herrings dear,’ was the popular -remark on the subject. The creed of Odin was the only religion that they -were in earnest about, and that is why the legends that they cling to, -are, nine times in ten, heathen rather than Christian.” - -“I think I have read that story about the herrings in Geijer, but applied -to a different nation,” said the Parson; “it will not do for you Swedes -to be throwing stones at Norway, in the matter of that Reformation; your -original conversion by St. Ansgar, was a good deal more creditable than -theirs, but your Reformation was simply the party of Gustaf stronger than -the party of Christiern—you reformed your Church because you wanted to -dissolve the union of Kalmar.” - -“What do you say about your own Reformation?” said Birger. - -“That it has nothing to do with the twilight of the gods, which the -Captain wants to hear about—tell us what you Swedes believe about that.” - -“Why, we Swedes do not believe in it at all; it is not like the legends -of the Walpurgis Night, or the death of Baldur, which are annually kept -alive by the change of seasons which they commemorate. This legend -has lost its hold on the popular mind; but it is a curious theory, -notwithstanding, because it contains evident traces of a revelation -corrupted, because disjoined from that people to whose guardianship had -been committed the oracles of Divine Truth. In the twilight of the gods -may be clearly traced a representation of the end of the world, such as -is revealed to us:—a fierce winter, the most terrible natural affliction -to the northern mind, is to usher it in; then comes the general falling -away, which we are ourselves taught to expect.[57] - -“The sun and the moon are to be devoured by the wolves, that have -been continually pursuing them ever since creation, and every now and -then, by seizing them, have caused eclipses; the stars fall, the earth -quakes so that the trees are shaken from their roots, and the mountains -totter;—then the Midgard Serpent turns on its ocean bed, and an immense -wave rushes over the land, upon which floats the phantom ship, Naglfar, -which is built of the nails of dead men—the wolf, Fenrir, together with -the midgard serpent,—both of them the offspring of Loki, the Principle -of Evil,—which hitherto have been chained down by the Æsir, are now -permitted to break loose; the heavens are cleft in twain, and the sons -of Muspell, the Band of Brightness, headed by Surtur the Avenger, ride -through the breach, and advance by the bridge of Bifrost which bursts -asunder beneath them. For the time the Avengers join their bright bands -with Loki and the Children of Darkness, and advance to the battle-field -of Vigrid, where the destinies of the world are to be decided. - -“In the mean while the gods are fully prepared; Heimdall, the Warder -of Heaven, has sounded the Horn Gjallar, and the gods assemble in -council;—Valhalla pours out from its five hundred and forty gates its -hosts of heroes; these, which are the men who have been slain in battle -from the beginning of the world, and ever since have been trained by -daily tournaments for this very purpose, are eager for the combat; and -Odin, having previously ridden over for the last time to the Well of -Mimir, and consulted the Norna, marshalls his hosts on the field of -Vigrid; loud and desperate is the battle, the Powers of Evil fall one by -one before the gods, but very few of these survive the conflict. Thor, -having killed the Midgard Serpent, falls exhausted with his efforts and -dies; Frey, who has parted with the sword of victory, falls before the -avenger, Surtur; Loki and Heimdall engage in battle and mortally wound -each other; Odin himself is swallowed up by the wolf Fenrir, which is -instantly destroyed by Vidar; and last of all, Tyr, the God of Victory, -falls in the very act of overcoming the dog Garm. - -“Surtur the Avenger, having now no opponent, sets the earth and the -heavens on fire with his excessive brightness, and the whole race of men -is consumed, with the exception of certain chosen individuals who lie -hid and protected in the forest of Hodmimir. Then Surtur himself retires -before Vidar, the God of Silence, who, calling to him Modi and Magni -(Courage and Might) the sons of Thor (Violence), and summoning Baldur -(Innocence) from the realms of Hela (Night or Invisibility), founds a new -heaven and a new earth, and a new race of inhabitants, and they dwell on -the plains of Ida (perpetual youth), where Asgard formerly stood, and -their descendants shall spread over the new earth, which shall be lighted -by a new sun. - - “‘The radiant sun - A daughter bears - Ere Fenrir takes her;— - On her mother’s course - Shall ride that maid - When the gods have perished.’ - -“And now, to quote the conclusion of the Prose Edda, ‘If thou hast any -further questions to ask, I know not who can answer thee, for I never -heard tell of any one who could relate what will happen in the other ages -of the world. Make, therefore, the best use thou canst of what has been -imparted to thee.’” - -“Why,” said the Captain, “this is Revelation!” - -“To be sure it is,” said the Parson; “and my wonder is not that so much -of revealed truth should have been corrupted, but that so much should -have been preserved. There is no occasion for the sneers of those who -say that in the conversion of Scandinavia, St. Ansgar merely substituted -Valentine for Vali, St. Philip for Iduna, and our Lord for Baldur. He -had, in truth, little to teach his converts beyond explaining allegories, -and shewing them that their religion was only a mild, yet tolerably -faithful type of that which was actually true,—that Thor and Odin -were attributes, not persons, and that Asgard and Gimli, and Hela and -Nifleheim, were states and conditions, not places.” - -It must not be supposed that this conversation had been continued -altogether without interruption. Shots had from time to time rung through -the night-air; some faintly and from great distances; some, as it would -seem, within a few hundred yards of them; there was evidently something -restless in the circle of the skal, but their own sentries gave no -notice, and the ear becoming accustomed to such noises, the shots had of -late been little regarded. - -One moment, however, changed the whole aspect of affairs, and recalled -the thoughts of the party from the heights of Asgard to the affairs of -middle earth. - -A shot from the foot of the pass; then another! “Hjortarne! hjortarne!” -(the stags! the stags!) roared out the sentries. - -The Captain sprang into a dark corner, bringing the whole blaze before -him, and cocked his rifle. Then came a sound like a troop of horse -at full gallop—a rush!—a charge! Jacob flying into the arms of the -sportsmen, his coffee pot scattering around its fragrant contents,—dark -forms bounding across the bright spot of light, scattering the men, -and the wet clothes, and the cookery, and the crockery! A crack from -the Captain’s rifle! a crash! and the whole scene passed away like an -illusion, leaving the circle tenantless, in the midst of which the great -fire was blazing away as quietly and peaceably as if nothing unusual had -ever been illumined by its light. - -“By the Thousand! that shot told somewhere,” said Birger, picking himself -up. “By George, it is Jacob! poor devil! Well, I am sorry for him, the -old scoundrel.” - -But Jacob, when he could be brought to his senses, could not find out -that he had been wounded at all, though his great unwieldy frock-coat -was split up the back, and the tails rolled in some unaccountable way -round his head. His ideas, which were never peculiarly bright, had got -completely bewildered, and nothing could convince him that a legion of -Trolls had not been making a ball-room of his ample back. - -“It was not Jacob I fired at,” said the Captain, quietly reloading his -rifle; “take a pine knot, and look a little further up the pass; I -suspect you will find something more valuable than our fat friend. Oh, -that’s it!” as a loud shout was heard; “I thought it could not be far -off,—bring him into the light.” - -Birger repeated the command in Swedish, and presently three or four of -the men emerged from the outer darkness, bearing, with some difficulty, -an enormous elk, the patriarch of the forest. - -“Well done,” said Birger; “capital shot! Here! Tom, Torkel, out with your -knives, and off with the skin; do not think twice about it. Ten to one -we shall have Moodie here; he will not mind his own people much, but he -knows that we are not in the habit of firing into the air, and he will be -coming to see what has been disturbing the camp all night. There, look -sharp! never mind a tear or two; make that beast into goat’s flesh as -soon as you can. Cut off the head at once, you cannot disguise the horns!” - -“Well, but what if Moodie does see it?” said the Parson. - -“Why,” said the Captain, “Birger is quite right. Moodie is in command, -and he would consider it his duty to report us; and besides, I will -answer for it he would jump at the chance of playing Brutus, and delating -his own friends. There was a good deal of significance in the way he -cautioned us that elks and red-deer were strictly preserved. It is a -fact, too, that with all that immense range of royal forest at his -undivided command, he has never shot a stag or an elk yet. He considers -himself on honour, and behaves like a gentleman and a kammerjunker, as he -is.”[58] - -“He is the only man in Sweden who does, then,” said Birger. “I will -engage for it. Bjornstjerna, Hof Ofwer Jagmästere, as he writes himself, -never loses a chance if he can get one on the sly. By the way, how nicely -the mist has cleared off, without any one seeing it. Positively I can see -the stars again. I told you it would be so:— - - “Through storm and rain, - The weary midnight hours must wane, - Ere joyous morning come again, - And bid the gloom retire.” - -“I wish I could take you up to our day look-out place,” said the Captain; -“we should have a good view of the watch-fires from it now. I stood there -for an hour together on the first night, looking at the fires of the -hållet; and by this time the dref must have come quite near enough for us -to see them too.” - -“Well,” said Birger, “come along! I think I know the way,—it is the path -I came down by this morning, is it not?” - -“Yes it is, but it will never do on a dark night like this; it is not -over-safe by day, and there are shreds of the mist hanging about us -still. We want light for that path.” - -“And light you shall have,” said Birger. “Here, Tom, split me this -fir-root, it is as full of turpentine as it can hold. There,” continued -he, thrusting the end of one of the slips into the blaze, and striking up -the song of the Dalecarlian miners:— - - “‘Brother, kindle thy bright light, - For here below ’tis dark as night; - Gloomy may be on earth thy way, - But light and good shall make it day.’ - -“Now then, I think we start by this ledge; light another of these -pine-slips, Tom, and bring the whole bundle with you.” - -The path was not altogether a safe one, certainly, for it was a narrow -ledge, winding round the face of the cliff that formed the northern side -of the pass, and leading to a sort of promontory which jutted forward -somewhat in advance of the range; but there were plenty of branches to -hold on by, and there was no real danger as long as there was light -enough to see where to place the feet; and when they had got fairly out -of the range of their own enormous fire, the stars were glimmering, and -the night was not, after all, so very dark. A withered ash, the bare -trunk of which stretched out horizontally, like a finger-post, from the -extreme point, was their look-out, and bore the strip of calico, once -white, but now sullied and dishonoured by twenty-four hours of continuous -rain, which marked the position of their picket. - -The look-out commanded completely the position of the hållet, the -encampment of which was placed among some straggling copse that feathered -the reverse slope of the spur of rock which connected the range of -hills with the rapids and falls of the river. Among this bushwood were -scattered, irregularly, the cooking and sleeping fires, glancing every -now and then on the huts of boughs and other temporary shelter which had -been run up to protect the men from the wet, while, on the bare crest -of the spur, which had been entirely denuded of what little timber it -possessed, was a line of fifty watch-fires, one to each skalfogde’s -command; each of these had its stoker, who from time to time replenished -its blaze with fresh logs,—and its sentry, who, sitting or lying in -some dark recess, was to fire at everything that came within the circle -of the light. Everything betokened extreme watchfulness; not a fire -burnt dim,—black figures were continually passing and repassing before -them,—and every now and then a straggling shot waked up the echoes, and -kept the whole line in a state of continual agitation. - -The dref, which had advanced a little during the day, was still five or -six miles off, and their fires, which formed a vast semicircle, were, -for the most part, hidden by the trees; but a hazy and continuous line -of misty light defined the whole position, tinging the very sky with -redness, so that the receding skirts of the mist looked luminous, like a -terrestrial aurora borealis. - -While they yet gazed, the tree tops, which, beyond the reflection of the -fires, had hitherto been one unbroken sea of blackness, came gradually -into view: first the spiry tops of the firs, then the rounder and softer -outlines of the birch and ash, grew more and more defined; then the -character of the foliage became distinguishable,—the glaucous white of -the poplar and the fringiness of the ash and rowan: then a soft pale -light, interspersed with deep broad shadows, was cast over the scene, -slightly dimming the glow of the watch-fires, and contrasting strangely -with their yellow light; and then the half moon rose up from the cliffs -behind them, illuminating the distant landscape, but bringing that -immediately beneath their feet into blacker and darker shade. - -“Your friend Bjornstjerna is a plucky fellow,—that I will say for him; -most men would have turned tail at such a drench of rain as we have had; -and now virtue promises to be its own reward—we shall have a glorious day -to-morrow.” - -“I think we shall,” said Birger,—“indeed, I am sure we shall, as far as -the weather is concerned; but I am afraid that will not prevent us from -suffering some loss by what we have had already. You may depend on it -every beast within our circle has gone the rounds and tried the weak -points of it,—some have escaped, at all events. The wolves last night, -and the stags just now, have forced the passage with very little loss; -and certainly ours is not the most unguarded spot in the line.” - -“By George! Birger! that shot is from our post!” - -“Not a doubt of that;—and there’s another! Wait a bit, it may be nothing -after all.” - -“O! but it is something!” said the Captain, in an agony, as three or four -more shots rang from the out-post itself, followed by confused cries and -shouts, as if men were engaged in mortal conflict. - -The Captain threw himself on the steep descent, the whole of which he -would have accomplished very much quicker than was at all salutary for -his bones, had not Birger caught him by the collar as he was disappearing. - -“For God’s sake, mind what you are about! Take a torch in your hand, if -you must go; or, better still, let Tom go first. Whatever it is, the -thing must be over long before you can get there. All you will do at that -headlong speed will be to break your neck down the precipice!” - -Tom, much more cool, had already taken the lead, and was throwing a light -on the narrow and broken pathway for the Captain to see where to place -his footsteps. Birger’s selection of Tom for a leader was a good one, -for it was absolutely impossible for one man to pass another during the -descent, and no threats or entreaties from the Captain could urge the -phlegmatic Norwegian beyond the bounds of strict prudence. The last ten -feet of the rock the Captain leaped, and pounced down from above into the -midst of the picket. - -Before the great fire lay a full-grown bear, dead, and bleeding from a -dozen wounds, and round him were grouped the whole picket—including the -sentries, who had deserted their posts,—whooping, and hallooing, and -screaming, and making all sorts of unintelligible noises. - -The story was soon told, when the men had been reduced to something like -order. The bear had been attempting to steal past the first fire, and, -sidling away from it, had almost run over the two sentries, who were -much too frightened to fire with any aim or effect. The bear, almost as -frightened as they, had rushed forward, but, startled at the great blaze -upon which he came suddenly at the turn of the pass, hesitated a moment, -and received Torkel’s spear in his breast. The rifles and guns, which -were lying about, were caught up and discharged indiscriminately, and, -as luck would have it, without taking effect on any of the party. Some -rushed on with their axes, some with knives, some with blazing brands; -and the bear dropped down among them, mobbed to death, every individual -of the party being firmly convinced that it was he, and none but he, who -had struck the victor stroke. - -“Well!” said Birger, “there is the bear, at all events; and a good thing -for us that he is there; we should not have heard the last of it from -Moodie for some time, if he had slipped off. Hang him up, my men; we will -skin him when we have time and daylight; we do not want to make goat’s -meat of that fellow, at all events. Hang him up openly, by the side of -the wolf.” - -“Bother that moon,” said the Captain, sulkily, for he did not enter into -the spirit of ‘_quod facit per alium facit per se_.’ “What a set of -lunatics we were to go staring after the picturesque instead of minding -our business; all of us together, too!” - -“It was very poetical,” said the Parson. - -“Yes, that is the very thing. Birger, you do not take in the allusion, I -can see—a ‘grāte powut,’ as they pronounce it, is, in Ireland, slang for -an irrecoverable fool.” - -“Well! well!” said Birger, laughing,—for, being an old bear-hunter, he -was not jealous, and could afford to laugh,—“we have not got to the -higher flights of poetry yet, and we will take good care not to leave our -posts again. As for you, Captain, _pends-toi, brave Crillon, nous nous -sommes combattus à Arcques et tu n’y étais pas_. However, I think we had -better get a little sleep, those who can, for the chances are we shall -want steady nerves to-morrow.” - -So, sending back the sentries to their posts, the whole party, with their -weapons by their sides, and everything ready for a sudden emergency, -rolled themselves up in their cloaks, with their feet to the fire, one of -them (taking it by turns of an hour each) walking up and down, rifle in -hand, within the circle of its light. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -BEATING OUT THE SKAL. - - “Now the hunting train is ready. Hark, away! By dale and height - Horns are sounding,—hawks ascending up to Odin’s halls of light. - Terror-struck, the wild-wood creatures seek their dens ’mid woods and - reeds; - While, with spear advanced pursuing, she, the air Valkyria speeds.” - - _Frithi of Tegner._ - - -“Hillo, Moodie! what news?” said the Captain; “have a cup of coffee and -a—a—chop,” as that individual strode down the pass from the side farthest -removed from the skal looking—as, indeed, was very nearly the case—as if -he had neither trimmed his beard nor washed his face since the beginning -of the campaign. - -“Why, the news is, that you had better look out sharp, if you mean to -do credit to my recommendation. I had a message from Bjornstjerna last -night, that he meant to get the dref in motion an hour before sunrise, so -as to beat out, and give the men time to get home before evening; they -must have been advancing for these two hours; our people have heard their -shouts distinctly enough, and I only wonder we have had no game yet. -Capital mutton chops, these,” he added; “who is your butcher?” - -“O, we are pretty good foragers,” said the Captain, carelessly, but at -the same time casting an anxious glance round the encampment, to see -whether there were any tell-tale horns or hoofs lurking about. “Terrible -weather yesterday, was not it?” - -“Upon my word, it was as much as I could do to keep the men at their -posts; I have got one or two skulkers down in the Länsman’s books, but -I do not think I can have the conscience to inflict the fine; I had -half a mind to skulk myself;—we must do it, though, in justice to the -honest fellows who braved the weather. I think the best man I have is -a woman; she did more service in shaming the men and keeping them to -their duty than a dozen of us. I had occasion to degrade a skalfogde -for drunkenness, and I promoted her into the vacancy on the spot. How -the men laughed: they call her some Swedish equivalent to the ‘Dashing -White Serjeant,’—and I only wish I had a dozen white serjeants instead -of one. But what have you done here in the shooting way? I heard a good -deal of firing last night from your post; you have made yourselves pretty -comfortable, at all events.” - -“It is a way we have in the army,” said the Parson. “There is our -_spoliarium_, however,” pointing to a group of carcasses that were -hanging to the lower branches of a fir,—“one bear, two wolves, -five foxes, a lot of hares, and”—here the Captain plucked his -sleeve,—“and—that is all, besides a young bear which I killed in the -fjeld as I came along.” - -“Oh come! that is not so bad; and that bear is a glorious fellow! who -killed him?” - -“Why, we cannot justly say,” replied the Captain, sheepishly: “the fact -is, he made a charge upon the picket, and it took a good many hands -to quiet him,—you may see that by the gashes; I am afraid the skin is -terribly injured.” - -“What a mercenary dog you are; these are honourable scars, which, while -they impair the beauty, only enhance the value;—every cut is the memorial -of a gallant deed.” - -Whether the Captain,—who was vehemently anxious to kill a bear to his own -hand, and whose conscience upbraided him bitterly for his last night’s -dereliction of duty,—coincided in this sentiment, might be doubted; -at all events, he made no attempt to remove the doubt by indiscreet -confessions, and was only too glad to shift the subject, lest any -untimely observation from his companions or attendants might reveal the -true state of the case. - -“What have you done yourself?” said he; “I am sure your people must -have fired twenty shots for our one; I thought you were having a mock -skirmish, at one time.” - -“O, those people fire at anything or nothing, just for the sake of making -a noise. We have got a good many wolves and foxes, though, and a rascally -lynx or two; but we have not been so fortunate as you with the bears; -though I am clear we saw two or three during the night. I am sorry to -say that there were three or four stags killed, and I do not know what -to do about it. There was a herd last night very restless; it had tried -our line at several points. I had given strict orders to let them pass, -but they always got headed back, somehow,—in fact, the men fired at them, -that is the truth of it, and the skalfogdar say they could not prevent -them. This morning, as many as three were brought in dead, and I am sure -I do not see how I am to identify the men who fired; they were firing all -night, and every skalfogde stoutly denies that his party had anything to -do with it.” - -“Oh! how were the people to distinguish one beast from another in the -dark?” said the Captain; “you may be thankful they have not shot one -another, and that you have not had three or four peasants brought in this -morning, instead of three or four deer.” - -“Upon my word, there would have been less said if it had been so. -However, I must report it to Bjornstjerna, and leave him to do what he -pleases. I strongly suspect my dashing white serjeant of being one of the -murderers. Give me another chop,—that mutton of yours is the very best -thing I have eaten since we left Gäddebäck,—and then you really must get -to your posts; we shall have the dref down upon us before we know where -we are. Several hares had been showing themselves, and trying to pass the -line before I came up, and they will not do that by daytime, unless they -are driven. You had better break up the encampment as soon as you have -done breakfast: let Jacob stow everything ready for moving, and then send -him off to have the carioles harnessed. The skal will break up before -noon, and then there will be such a rush of fellows wanting to get home, -that the chances are we shall have a Flemish account of our horses, if -we do not look sharp after them now. People are in no ways particular on -these occasions; there are so many of them, that it is difficult to fix -the blame anywhere, and all roguery goes down to the account of mistake -and confusion.” - -“Very well,” said the Captain, jumping up and carefully loading the rifle -which Tom had just been cleaning from the effects of the night’s dews -and rain, while the shot-gun had been doing duty in its place by the -Captain’s side,—“then here goes; I am going to the foot of the pass, and -shall not want Tom this half hour, so he may help Jacob. Birger is going -to the look-out place, and he will not want his man either. What will you -do, Parson?” - -“Why, I think I will take a turn with Moodie down the hållet, when he -goes back to inspect his posts. I shall want Torkel to carry my rifle, as -I may not come back here; but your two men will be enough to help Jacob. -How are we to carry these great beasts?” - -“Oh, that is Bjornstjerna’s business. I dare say he has given orders for -a sufficient number of carts, or, at all events, we shall have men enough -to carry them when the skal breaks up. These are public property,—you -need not trouble yourselves about them; what we have to think about is -our own little belongings.” - -“Public property!” said the Captain; “I did not bargain for that; I want -the skins to hang up in my paternal halls, as trophies of the battle.” - -“Then you must buy them,” said Moodie; “there will be an auction up the -village as soon as the skal breaks up, and by offering a little more -than the market price, you may secure anything that you want. It really -is a very fair regulation,” he added, observing a shade of discontent -on the Captain’s brow. “You shot them, no doubt; but you could not have -got a shot at them at all if it had not been for these people driving -them. Properly speaking, they belong to Bjornstjerna, but I understand -he has given up his right to the men, if so, they will all be converted -into brandy before night-fall, you may be quite sure. However, come -along,—that last volley was from the dref, and it sounded quite close.” - -Moodie’s path was by no means either easy or safe, for he carefully -avoided the straight road which would have led him across the shooting -line, and contriving to make a circuit and scramble down the face of the -cliff at a small fissure, which lay a quarter of a mile to the north -of the pass, he attained the rear of the hållet without disturbing -or tainting the ground. It may be observed, that there was no such -extreme necessity for all this precaution; but Moodie was, after all, -an Englishman, and a hunter of but four years’ standing, and, if he -was the least bit in the world a martinet, he was not altogether -without excuse,—and really his position was, it must be confessed, very -scientifically occupied. - -At the time that he and the Parson came on the ground, the hållet was -just relieving guard, in order to give the morning watch an opportunity -of breakfasting before the general turn out; and the scene was extremely -picturesque. - -The breakfast was an extempore affair enough, except among those parties -who had been so fortunate as to knock a hare on the head, or to secure a -joint of what Moodie turned his face away from, and the Captain persisted -in calling mutton. A little rye meal, mixed up cold, or in special cases, -when kettles could be had, made into stirabout, was very nearly the whole -of it. An older commander would have closed his eyes to the sight of -brandy, and his nose to the smell of aniseed, but Moodie was young, and -faithful to his trust. - -Groups of men and women were collected round the fires for cooking, -some rubbing up firearms, some snapping and oiling obstinate locks and -picking touchholes which the wet had damaged, and drying powder which -either would not go off at all or else flashed in the eyes and singed -the hair and eyebrows of the operators. Gradually, however, they all -began to straggle into their line, for the sounds of the dref were more -and more audible, and now and then some scared and crouching beast would -show itself on the side of the hill, and after drawing upon itself the -fire of all who were within a quarter of mile of it, would shrink timidly -back into cover, nine times in ten absolutely unharmed. Now would come, -high over head, and altogether free from the chance of shot, a gallant -blackcock or a tjäder, who, having run or flitted under cover for miles, -had at last taken heart of grace, looked his danger in the face, and -dashed across the line with that success which bravery deserves. Hares -would from time to time race along the brow, unable to make up their mind -which way they would head, and sometimes would draw a fruitless shot or -two from a young and over-ardent sportsman, followed by the grave rebuke -of his steadier skalfogde. - -Meanwhile the Captain had advanced along into the shooting line, and -building himself up a screen of branches, where he could fully command -the passage, waited patiently for what luck would send him; absolutely -despising the smaller game that occasionally stole across the line and -sheltered themselves in fancied security in the skalplatz, and not -greatly disturbed by the occasional double-shots from Birger’s look-out -place on the cliff above, though this was not unfrequently followed by a -rattle of the twigs, or a soft _thud_, as his victim came tumbling to the -earth. - -Birger’s post, indeed, had proved an excellent position for winged game, -for the grouse, though by no means plentiful anywhere in Sweden, had been -collected from twenty miles of country by the continued driving. Many, of -course, had taken wing, and dashing over the heights, had found security -in the higher fjeld, or across the river. But the grouse, especially the -old cock, is a running bird, and numbers of them had continued toddling -away by short and startled runs, a mile or so in advance of the dref, and -now, hearing the noises in front as well as in the rear, and beginning -to comprehend the precise dangers of their position, were, one after -another, taking wing. Many of these followed the line of the cliffs, -unwilling, perhaps unable to face them, but coasting their inequalities, -and looking out for a lower point; these would come exactly on a level -with Birger’s stand, and very seldom passed it unharmed. - -All this the Captain left unheeded; his soul was above black game; and, -burning to wash away the disgrace of the preceding night, he kept his eye -resolutely fixed on the shooting line; something moves—it is a bear—no—a -rascally wolf, in that nonchalant style which no amount of danger will -induce him to put off, slouches across—not across, for he is worthy of -the Captain’s rifle; a shot reaches him, and he rolls over and over to -the very foot of the shelter he had sought. Not a stir is heard from the -Captain’s screen, and when the little puff of white smoke is dissipated -into air, no one would have told where the fatal shot had come from. -There goes a real full-grown bear, in downright earnest, and followed -by two half-grown cubs, crouching and squatting, and making themselves -as small as possible, like so many rabbits stealing out of cover; but -confound them, they are three hundred yards down the line, the Captain -will not risk wounding or missing them, and they disappear into the trees -of the skalplatz to be headed back by the hållet when too late to return. - -And now the shouts and cries began to come louder and louder; and the -hares, which had lingered as long as possible on the edge of the wood, -began to creep, or steal, or race, or bound across the line, and among -them several specimens of better game; the men were actually beginning -to show themselves here and there in what, from the closing in of the -ranks, had now become close order, so that nothing could have passed -their line, when a gallant bear, with head erect and mouth open, dashed -into the opening at full gallop, and came straight upon the Captain’s -hiding-place, as if he knew where his enemy was lying, and meant, at all -events, not to die without vengeance. - -The Captain fired deliberately,—paused for a moment to see the effect -of his shot—then fired his second barrel; both took effect on the broad -chest exposed to him, though without checking, for a moment, the rush of -the bear. On he came!—the screen went down like reeds before him; but -the Captain had thrown himself flat on the ground, and, covered by the -branches, had escaped the view of his adversary, who plunged over them, -dashed at the opposite cover, and disappeared from view. - -“Upon my word, that was a near thing,” said Bjornstjerna, who cantered -up to the spot on his pony; “but a miss is as good as a mile,—not that -you missed that rascal; I saw both shots strike as plainly as ever I -saw anything in my life. Never mind, my boy, you have not lost him; he -will not go far, for all his gallant bearing. Larssen!” he shouted, -“Larssen! come here and take my pony. We must ride the Apostle’s -horse[59] now;” and, leaping off, he proceeded to arrange his army, -causing each skalfogde to muster his own men, as they came up, on the -edge of the shooting line. Soiled, and wet, and dirty they looked: a -Swede is rather a picturesque animal, when you are far enough off not -to see his dirt, particularly when there is any general muster of them, -for as each parish weaves its own wadmaal, or coarse cloth, and each -wears it of a particular colour or pattern, the commencement of a skal -looks, at a little distance, like a muster of regular troops, in regular, -though rather eccentric uniforms: but the rains, and the dirt, and the -mud-stains had reduced this to a very general average,—a sort of forest -uniform of neutral tint. - -Advantage was taken of the halt to clean and reload the fire-arms, most -of which had been rendered useless in the morning’s beat; for though the -sun was shining brightly, there had been no wind, and the rain-drops of -yesterday were glittering like diamonds on the branches, and pattering -down like a shower-bath on all who moved them. - -In the mean time, the two chiefs having completed their junction, held -a short consultation, and it was determined to advance a strong party -from each side, close to the roots of the cliffs, sufficiently numerous -to allow each man to touch his neighbour, and then to beat the skalplatz -out to the river, which, not being quite so rapid or impassable as was -expected, was guarded by the boats. - -This involved the abandonment of the Captain’s picket, which -reinforced the beating party, the _materiel_ being conveyed, under the -superintendence of Jacob, to the travelling-waggon which had been brought -as near to the scene of action as the forest roads permitted. - -And now began the real dangers of the skal,—the difficulty of restraining -the men from firing indiscriminately into the skalplatz, and shooting -everything alike,—wolf, hare, fox, or beater. - -Fortunately the men were sober, and the officers well aware of the -danger. Flags were sent into the forest to mark the advancing line; -strict injunctions were given that none should be permitted to advance -faster than his neighbours, and a trusty man on the outside of the -cover carried a white flag about five yards before the main body of the -beaters, followed by an _extempore_ provost marshal, with a party of -trusty men, who had orders to tie up and flog on the spot any man who -fired at anything whatever in the rear of the flags. - -All these arrangements were completed in little more than half-an-hour, -and the bugles on both sides rang out the advance. The progress was very -slow, not only on account of the necessity of preserving the accurate -line, but because the beasts themselves required so much rousing; many of -the smaller game, and, on one occasion, even a wolf, absolutely refused -to move at all, and was knocked down or speared as it lay. In no case was -resistance made by any of the wild beasts, with the single exception of -the gallant fox, who, desperate but unsubdued, stood boldly at bay, and -bit furiously at everything within its reach, but in vain,—for as the -line soon became two or three deep, escape was next to an impossibility. -One of the bear cubs, a three-parts grown animal, was dispatched by a -blow of a hatchet, and the other was shot in the thick cover, by a man -who had almost stepped upon it without seeing it. The Captain’s bear, a -full-grown male, did not live ten minutes after it had gained the cover; -there was no faltering in its gait or symptom of injury, for no muscle -had been cut or bone broken by the shot, and its pluck and energy had -carried it on till it fell suffocated by internal bleeding. - -And now the shouts rang out from the river-side; the she-bear had taken -the water, and was gallantly forcing her way across it at a point rather -higher than the boats had expected her. The stream was strong; the boats -were at some distance; the Swedes, who were never good at moving-shots, -had blazed away when she first dashed into the stream, and there was -every chance of her escape, for they are terribly awkward in loading -their terribly awkward firearms; the rowers were pulling away for life -and death, and the heavy boats were forcing their slow progress against -the stream, which was gradually bringing the bear down to them as she -swam across it, when a long-shot from Bjornstjerna took effect, she -rolled over, recovered herself, struck out again, but was carried down -among the boats, secured, and brought to land. - -The game was then mustered,—so far, indeed, as it could be recovered, for -it was shrewdly suspected by some, that the whole was not forthcoming. -There were four full-grown bears and three cubs, seven wolves, two -lynxes, three or four badgers, and a queer nondescript animal of the -genus _canis_, which they called a filfras; foxes there were in some -numbers, and this a much more valuable description of animal than ours; -hares were numberless, and also squirrels,—many of both these last -species of game, too, had been stewed and eaten on the preceding days. -Whether any other description of larger game had been shot, did not -appear. Notwithstanding what Moodie had said about the herd of stags, -none were paraded at the muster, and as he did not, after all, make any -complaint to the Ofwer Jagmästere on the subject, it may be concluded -that the whole was a mistake or a dream of his own, and that no such -breach of forest law had been committed by any one,—a fact of which the -Captain loudly declared his complete conviction. - -[Illustration: DEATH OF FEMALE BEAR. - -p. 376.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE BALL. - - “Truly my brethren—truly my dear sisters—do you know how it - seems to me—why it seems to me that no one can get along till - he has taken a draught—How so? Eh? Your health, dear soul— - - Here’s to you day and night, - New raptures, new delight. - - Strike up with the fiddles! beat the drums! a stout pull at the - pot! - - Here’s to ye as is fit, - The reckoning day endeth it. - The big bottle hail ye, - The drums beat reveiller, - At one draught down send it, - The reckoning will end it. - Kajsa Stina stands a drawing, - All my heart is clapper-clawing, - From the pot my fingers thawing— - Thus I sing my dying song.” - - _Fredman’s Epistle to Kajsa Stina, Karl Bellman._ - - -Never had the arches of the old forest rung with such shouts and screams, -and roaring songs, and bursts of laughter, as they did on the evening -of the great skal. A few of the elderly people, but a very few, had had -enough of it, and went off quietly to their homes as soon as they were -released from duty; as for the rest, no one could have supposed that -they had been worked off their legs, and kept from their natural sleep, -and drenched to the skin for the last three or four days and nights; -they were not over-clean, certainly, though some of the youngsters had -contrived, somehow or other, to smarten themselves up for the occasion; -but the rest made a great contrast to the women, those at least who -had taken no active part in the skal,—their white woollen jackets, or -scarlet or green spencers covered with embroidery and buttoned down the -front with silver knobs, formed a pleasing relief to the dinginess and -raggedness of active service. As for the unfortunate buglers, who, -most of them, were general musicians, and would play upon anything that -was wanted, these, without the least regard to their previous fatigues, -which had been even greater than those of the beaters, were placed upon -barrels, or carts, or stumps of trees, fiddling and clarionetting for the -bare life, while men and women tore in wild polska round them. - -Some travellers have characterized the Swedish dances as indecent; -whether they are so or not, English papas, and mamas, and maiden aunts -are very competent judges, for they are precisely the English polka, as -we call it (dropping the s for convenience of pronunciation); the English -polka is, in reality, the national peasant dance of Sweden; and in their -own country the Swedes dance it with all their hearts and souls as well -as their limbs and bodies—not sliding and mincing as we do, but downright -pounding, so as to leave the print of the foot, and especially the heel, -on the yielding turf. - -It might seem difficult to provide refreshments for such a ball-room -in such a place, where the dancers mustered somewhere about two -thousand strong—but in truth they were no way nice. The game, which -Bjornstjerna had very liberally given up to them, formed a good part of -these refreshments, a few sheep—“really sheep this time,” the Captain -observed,—with a good supply of rye-meal made into stirabout, formed -the solids, and these, though, with the exception of the game, they did -not grow in the forest, were easily procurable, for the families of -the combatants, knowing that a party of English gentlemen were engaged -in the skal, and rightly conjecturing that their hearts would be open, -had brought their stores to the meet, and all of these stores were not -exactly solids; the barrels on which the fiddlers were standing were -intended for something better than rye-meal: in fact, corn brandy, and -a hot fiery liquor which they make out of potatoes—very beastly to the -taste, but quite as efficacious in producing drunkenness as the very best -Cognac—was in plenty, and, the restrictions of the skal being at an end, -there was every prospect that the men would fully indemnify themselves -for their previous abstinence. - -Birger and Moodie were stamping, and polking, and hurrahing, and kissing -their partners with the best of them, and the Captain, also, was not -altogether unsuccessful in his _coup d’essai_; as for the men, Tom and -Piersen had altogether forgotten the inferiority of the Swedes to the -true Norwegians, and Jacob’s long streaming coat tails had gone quite mad. - -Torkel, alone, stung by some jest from his friend Tom, about the peculiar -duties and system of self-denial proper for an engaged man, crept up -rather discontentedly to the fire, at which the Parson was standing and -talking over the events of the day with Bjornstjerna. - -In Norway, which in reality is a republic, and not a monarchy, there -is a great deal of independence and equality among all ranks, which is -not by any means the case in Sweden; but even in Sweden, a skal is a -time of saturnalia; and besides, Torkel, though in some measure acting -in the capacity of a servant, was, in reality, the son and heir of a -sufficiently wealthy proprietor; and the Englishmen, whom he ranked -infinitely higher than he did the very first of Swedish nobility, having -treated him all along more as a companion than anything else, he felt not -the least shy of the Hof Ofwer Jagmästere, though he added the title of -Count to his official honours,—and therefore entered very readily into -conversation. - -They were turning over the skins of those beasts the bodies of which -were already undergoing a conversion into soup; most of these had been -purchased by the party, and were laid aside for packing; but the lynxes -and the filfras, and some others, which are not considered good for -eating, were still hanging by their heels to the lower branches of the -tree. - -The filfras was a curious animal, about three feet long, but low in -proportion to its length, with great splay feet, well calculated to form -natural snow shoes—in fact, he leaves a track almost as large as that of -a full-grown bear, and upon the whole, very like one, and climbs trees -even better and quicker than his big brother. The present specimen had -been detected on a tree, and being wounded while in the act of passing -from one branch to the other, had come to the ground; but, wounded as -he was, he had fought gallantly for his life, and had bitten so severely -the first man who attempted to handle him, that he was obliged to leave -the skal and go home. The filfras is a harmless beast enough, so far as -sheep and cattle are concerned, and lives chiefly upon hares and such -game, which, though his eyesight be not very quick, a remarkably keen -scent enables him to tire down—he himself, in return, is even detected -by his own scent, which is perfectly perceptible to human nostrils, and -extremely disagreeable,—few dogs can be got to run him.[60] - -The lynx, though of the tiger race, is a very harmless beast unless -attacked; he may carry off a young lamb now and then, but very seldom -kills his own mutton—it is not for want of spirit, for he fights like -any tiger when driven into a corner; throwing himself on his back, he -polishes off the dogs as fast as they come near him. A pack of English -fox-hounds might settle his business, as they probably would that of his -Bengal cousin himself; but there is not a dog in Sweden that would look -him in the face. - -“It is a great pity,” said Torkel; who was examining the shot-holes in -the bear-skins. - -“What is a great pity?” said the Parson. - -“Why, to mob to death all these fine beasts, that might have given people -no end of sport in the winter.” - -“And eaten up no end of sheep and oxen,” said Bjornstjerna. - -“Ah! well!” that did not strike Torkel very forcibly; he had, it must -be confessed, led hitherto a rather miscellaneous sort of life; he knew -a great deal more about hunting than he did about farming, and regarded -the depredations of the bear—though some of them had been made on his -father’s own farm—much in the light in which an English fox-hunter -listens to tales of murdered geese and turkeys. - -The matter which weighed upon his conscience just then was, that poor -Nalle[61] had not received altogether fair play. This had not struck him -during the heat of the chase so very much, but, now that the murder had -been committed, and that he was regarding the result of it in cold blood, -he evidently did not feel quite easy in his mind about it. - -“Ah!” he said, “poor fellow,” turning over the skin of Bjornstjerna’s own -bear, which was yet wet with the water of the river in which he had been -killed; “well! we do not do such things in our country.” - -“No!” said Bjornstjerna, “you could not get a couple of thousand people -together in your country without knives drawn.” - -“But how do you manage it in your country?” said the Parson, who was not -a little afraid that his follower’s nationality would get the better of -his politeness. - -“Ah!” said Torkel, “you should see one of our Norwegian bear-hunts in the -winter; it is not an easy thing to get Master Nalle on foot, and he takes -a good deal of looking after; but, when you do get a chance, it is worth -having. - -“I remember my brother Nils one day, as he was coming home from church, -took a short cut across the fjeld, and put his eye on a queer-looking -heap in the snow, that he did not rightly know what to make of. While -he was looking at it out came a great fellow—one of the biggest I ever -followed,—as if he would eat him. Down tumbled Nils on his face, and the -Wise One came ploutering through the snow right over him, but went on, -minding his own business, as all wise ones do, and never stopped to look -at Nils. - -“It so happened that my brother Nils had nothing but a pair of skarbogar -on his feet (a rough sort of snow-shoe, made of wood and rope), and, -knowing he could not get over the ground very well, never tried to -follow him, but came home quietly and told me what he had seen. The -weather looked fine, and there was neither snow likely to fall, nor wind -likely to drift what was fallen already, so that we knew the tracks would -lie; and the next morning, before it was well light, we had each of us -our pair of skier on our feet, our rifles at our backs, a good iron-shod -pole in our hands to shove along by, and a week’s provision in our -havresacs. I took old Rig[62] with me, in case we should lose the tracks. - -“We soon came up with them, and off we went, taking it leisurely—for we -had a long run before us. It requires some little exertion to get up hill -with these skier; they do better for such a country as this than they do -for the rocky and tangled fjeld in Norway; but, on flat ground, you get -along five or six miles an hour without feeling it, and as for down-hill, -you may go just as fast as you like, only for standing still and keeping -your feet. - -“For four or five hours the track lay as straight and even in the snow as -if we had been travelling the post road to Christiania. Old Nalle thought -his winter quarters were not over safe, and meant evidently to make a -passage of it, and had just been trotting along in the snow, not looking -right or left of him. - -“After that the track came doubled and crooked, as if the old gentleman -had been taking a view of the country, to see whether it would suit his -purpose, before lying down for another nap,—so we had to work it out -painfully, step by step. This was a slow job, for he had taken a turn -to every point of the compass, and had crossed and re-crossed his own -tracks, and had changed his mind so often, that the short winter’s day -began to close, and we feared the light would fail; so we started right -and left of the spot, and succeeded in ringing him before we met again.” - -“What do you mean by ringing a bear?” said the Parson. - -“Making a circle round his tracks,” said Torkel, “so as to be sure -none lie beyond it; in that case you are independent of a thaw, for you -know that the old gentleman must be within a certain space. When we met -we agreed to leave our friend quiet, and to sleep till morning; so we -cut down a tree or two, and got up a roaring fire in a little hollow to -leeward, where we were sure the bear could not see our light or smell our -smoke, and there we lay, snug and comfortable enough. - -“No thaw or mischance of any kind had taken place during the night, and -the next morning we were on the tracks again; for we had marked the place -where we had left off, by setting up one of the poles in it. - -“We soon got puzzled, however, and began to be very thankful that we had -brought old Rig. Rig was a sharp fellow,—one of the quickest dogs I ever -met with at picking up a scent, or taking a hint either; his namesake, -when he watched at the gates of Asgard, could not have kept a brighter -look-out. The ground soon got very tangled and sideling, so, as the ring -was but a small one, we determined to give up the tracks, and to hunt for -him with the dog. - -“The old fellow was not long in getting a sniff at him, and made noise -enough to wake up the Nornir in the cave of Hela. I pushed on, and before -I could tell where I was, ran my skier one on each side a little hole in -the snow, where the dog was baying,—a place that did not look big enough -for a fox to get in. I could not very well turn, for the points of the -skier were one on each side the trunk of a great twisted birch, at whose -foot the hole was; and I could not see what was in the hole, the snow was -so dazzling in the bright sunshine that everything else looked black. I -began to think that Rig had got hold of nothing better than a fox, and -was beginning to be angry with the dog for making such a row, and running -the chance of giving our real game a hint to steal off. I was looking -down between my skier, with my face as low as my knees, when all at once -I felt the snow heaving up from under me, and over I rolled, head over -heels, and old Fur Jacket with me, and Rig, who had pinned him as he -bolted, on the top of us both. - -“The old fellow was a great deal too much taken up with the dog to mind -me; but before Nils could come up, or I could get my legs again, he had -shaken him off, and was dashing through the deep snow at a rate that -kicked it up in a white mist behind him. - -“I had kept fast hold of my rifle, all through, and the snow had not done -it a bit of harm; in fact, the frost was so sharp that it came out of the -barrel like so much flour; and besides, we always cover our locks with -tallow after loading. He had got pretty well out of shot before we were -in chase, but for his sins he had taken down-hill, and the ground was -pretty clear, so we slid along after him like Fenrir after the Sun;[63] -when all at once, Nils, who had a little the best of the race, touched a -stump with the point of his skie, and flew up into the air, pitching head -foremost into the snow. It was, luckily for him, deep enough to save him -from a broken head or neck—at least, so I found afterwards, for I had not -time to stop then. As for the dog, he was a mile behind. - -“Just at the bottom of the slope, I ran in upon the chase, and he turned -short round when I was not half-a-dozen yards from him. I could no more -stop than I could stop the lightning; so, setting my pole in the snow, I -swerved a little, and just missed going over him, as Nils had done with -the stump. - -“By the time I had curved round, I found he had taken advantage of his -chance, and was going up again, travelling three times as fast as I could -hope to do, for skier are desperate bad things up-hill. However, mine -had seal-skin upon them, luckily, for in our mountainous country we are -obliged to do something to prevent slipping back; but, for all that, he -was getting much the best of it, so I took a cool shot at him, and heard -the ball strike just as if I had thrown it into a piece of dough, but he -never winced, or took the least notice. - -“However, Nils had managed to pick himself up, and I saw him and Rig -together a good way above us, so I waved my cap and shouted: you can -hear a shout in the winter half-a-dozen miles off. Nils changed his -course, so as to cut us off. I followed, loading as I went. By-and-bye -the old fellow seemed to find out that he had enemies on both sides of -him, for he stopped, and growled, and looked back at me, and showed -his teeth. Just then Nils made a noise above, by breaking through some -understuff; and he turned, and came at me with his mouth open, charging -down-hill as hard as he could lick. It was ‘neck or nothing’ with me now, -I knew that, for there is no turning or dodging on skier, going up-hill, -so I rested my rifle on the fork of a branch, and, waiting till he had -come within a dozen yards of me, I shot into his mouth. Lord! it seemed -as if somebody had given him a lift behind; his hind-quarters rose up, -and his head went down, and he came sliding along the snow on his back, -wrong-end foremost. I could not move right or left, hampered as I was, -and he took me just across the shins with his huge carcass, breaking one -of my skier, and carrying me with him as if I were riding in a sledge; -but when we got to the bottom he never tried to hurt me, for he was as -dead as Baldur. - -“That was something like a chase, and we turned a pretty penny by it, -too; we got four specie for sealing his nose, and fourteen for his skin, -to a young Englishman who wanted to prove to his friends at home that -he had killed a bear, and gave two specie over the market price for the -shot-hole; and, for ourselves, we had lots of fat, most of which, by -the way, had got melted in the race, and had to be frozen again before -we could carry it; and, for solid meat, the scoundrel weighed hard upon -four hundred pounds. We had pretty hard work in getting him home, for in -those two days we had run on end more than thirty of your English miles, -besides the turns. We had to go home and fetch a sledge for him, and my -sisters had a pretty job of salting when we got him there; Kari said that -our work was not half so hard as hers.” - -“It is a curious thing, much as I have been in your country, I never saw -a skie,” said the Parson; “I do not even know what sort of things they -are.” - -“It would be strange if you had,” said Torkel; “we never keep them at the -sœters, for the plain reason that we do not use them in summer at all, -nor inhabit the sœters in the winter. You have been very little in any -of our permanent winter homesteads since you have been here, and if you -had happened to put your eye upon half-a-dozen long pieces of wood, with -leather straps to them, the chances are, you would never have thought -of asking what such very ordinary-looking articles were. I will answer -for it, Herr Moodie has plenty of them at Gäddebäck; but they are, most -likely, stowed away at the top of the house, in the winter store-room, -where you would never think of going. They are long, thin strips of -wood, of a triangular form, about three or four inches broad, with their -points curved up for a foot or so, to clear the obstacles. In this flat -country they make the left-foot skie, which is of fir, ten or twelve feet -long; the right one is generally of ash, and not above five or six feet -in length, or they would never be able to turn in them. I, myself, like -them best both of a size, and not above five or six feet long,—only then -you must have them broader, to prevent sinking in the snow. This is a -disadvantage, certainly, still they are much handier to dodge about the -trees with, than those unwieldy concerns they have here. Mine are a pair -of old military skier, and there are none better.” - -“What! do the soldiers use them?” said the Parson. - -“That they do,” said Torkel. “I was always a good runner on skier, but -I learnt a good many clever tricks at drill, when I was serving my time -of duty in the militia. Our rifle regiment have all two light companies -of skielobere, and are drilled to light infantry movements on skates. -I did not like much being called out in the depth of winter for drill, -and not a little did I grumble at the hard work they put us to,—scaling -mountains, which we are obliged to do in skier, like ships beating to -windward; and then charging down them among trees and stumps,—swinging -this way and that, to keep one’s rifle out of harm’s way, and then -suddenly called upon to halt and fire,—and preciously punished are we if -the piece is not ready for action. However, I did not know what was good -for me; I have been twice the man ever since after the bears and winter -game.” - -“I suspect,” said the Parson, “that is pretty nearly the whole use of -your skate-drill; it must be a pretty thing to see in a review,—but he -must be a gallant enemy who undertakes a winter campaign in Norway, -unless he is descended from the Hrimthursar themselves.” - -“Well! I cannot stand this any longer,” said Moodie, coming up; “half the -party are drunk, and the rest are half-seas over; and there’s the Captain -pounding away to his own whistling, for the last fiddler has just dropped -off his empty barrel. It is time to go to bed.” - -“Bed, yes! but where are we to find it: Jacob, I suppose, is by this time -numbered with the dead drunk.” - -“You may swear to that, and Tom also; I saw him very near his end an hour -ago.” - -“Well I do not care, for one,” said the Parson; “my bed is here,” and he -pulled out of his cariole his trusty mackintosh, and folding one of the -sails to his own length, he spread the mackintosh upon it. “I shall sleep -here luxuriously; and Torkel, bring me the cushion of the cariole seat. I -will not forget to tell Lota how faithful you have been to her this day. -Good night, all of you; we have work before us to-morrow.” - -And so they had,—for the sun was not yet far above the horizon, when the -carioles were bumping along the forest roads to the southward. - -At Amal, Torkel, with good wishes from all, and presents from some of -the party, took his leave to prepare for what Tom called the amending of -his life, and parted on his separate road through Fjall, and laid under -contribution a market boat from Wagne to Frederickshald, where he hoped -to find a vessel to Tonsberg, or Larvig, on the Norwegian coast. The -party proceeded leisurely along the western coast of the lake, to enjoy -for some time longer the hospitalities of Gäddebäck. - -But the days began to shorten, and the joyous Scandinavian summer to come -to its close. It was necessary to think of the homeward passage, in time -to allow fine weather and sunny days for a leisurely cariole journey -along that most picturesque of countries, the southern coast of Norway. -Torkel’s wedding day, too, was approaching, and the party were under -a half engagement to old Torgensen, which tallied very well with the -necessity of reaching Christiansand for their homeward passage. “Time and -tide wait for no man,” and a forebud having been laid to Strömstad, the -carioles, accompanied as far as Wenersborg by Moodie, rolled away on the -road to Uddevalla. - -One piece of luck attended them,—they were not yet to part from Birger, -for it so happened that his royal highness the Crown Prince, was to -pay his usual state visit to Christiania, on which occasion he was to -be attended by Count Birger, our young scamp’s father, whose daughter, -Birger’s sister, held also some appointment in the establishment of the -Princess. Birger, therefore, was able to consult his pleasure and his -duty at once, in going to Norway; to enjoy the coasting journey with -his friends, and then to meet his family at Christiania after their -departure. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE WEDDING. - - When he came into the house at nightfall, - She was angry with him—his old mother— - “Son,” she said, “thou lay’st thy snares each morning, - And each day thou comest back empty handed! - Either thou lack’st skill, or thou art idle; - Others can take prey where thou’st taken none!” - - Thus to her the gay young man made answer: - “Who need wonder that our luck is different, - When the same birds are not for our snaring? - At the little farm that lieth yonder, - Lives a wondrous bird, my good old mother; - Snares I laid to catch it all the autumn, - Now, this very winter have I caught it. - Marvellous is this bird! for it possesses - Not wings, but arms for tenderest embracing; - Not down, but locks of silky, sunny lustre; - No beak, but two fresh lips so warm and rosy!” - - _The Young Fowler.—Runnèberg._ - - -It was the morning of the wedding-day, and that day, of course, Sunday. -Autumn was a little advanced, but the sky was as serene, and the lake as -still and as smiling as it was on that day on which the fishermen had -last looked upon it. - -The Parson had strolled out with Birger, after a very hurried and -uncomfortable breakfast,—the only time such a thing had ever occurred -under the hospitable roof of Torgensen; this was not so much for exercise -as for the sake of being out of the way of the good lady Christina, who -looked as if she considered the whole of her daughter’s earthly happiness -to depend on the perfection of the wedding-dinner, which, even at that -early hour of the morning, was in the course of preparation. Upstairs -and downstairs was she, with a face as red as her scarlet stomacher, -her great bunch of keys jingling like a sheep-bell as she moved, and her -embroidered skirt whisking round every corner. She was partially dressed -for the grand occasion, though her head was as yet muffled in a rather -dirty handkerchief, but the glories of her holiday gown were in a great -measure obscured by an immense apron, which bore indisputable marks of -something more than mere superintendence of her peculiar department. The -whole district would be there, no doubt, for though there are generally -appointed days for weddings, and several couples were usually married -at the same time, and moreover, the beginning of winter is a very -favourite time for such matters, yet the Torgensens were so indisputably -the squires of the place, that besides their own party which had been -collected from far and wide, and that of one or two of their dependants -who were to be married on the same day, the chances were that they would -have visitors enough from other and inferior bridals. - -Come as many as there might, there were provisions enough for them all; -there was brandy enough to float a barge; there were heaps of fish and -game of all sorts; and—a much rarer thing at the beginning of autumn -and before the cattle have returned from the sœters,—plenty of beef and -mutton. Puddings, sweet soups, and all the infinite variety of gröds had -been in preparation for days and nights; still the good house-mother -distressed herself; and rendered uncomfortable everything around her, -lest something should have been forgotten, and the credit of Torgensen’s -hospitality should suffer in the eyes of the strangers. - -The Captain, who had offered to officiate as bridesman, was taking -lessons in his arduous duties from little Lilla, the præst’s daughter, -who, proud of her English, and not at all unwilling to get up a -flirtation with a good-looking foreigner, had neglected her own duties -as bridesmaid, and enticed the Captain, nothing loth, to the præstgaard, -where he was practising the required duties of his office; and, to judge -from the time he took at his lessons, he must have been particularly slow -and stupid in comprehending them. - -What was the morning occupation of Lota and her other bridesmaids was -a mystery,—not one of them was visible; that it was something of an -entertaining character was evident from the tittering, and gay laughter, -and occasional little screams that proceeded from a large square-headed -window wide open on the upper-floor, and on the farthest extremity of the -building. The only anxious and unhappy-looking countenance was that of -the happy bridegroom himself, who having nothing whatever to do, wandered -up and down the terrace with his hands in his pockets, the only idle -man, and consequently in the way of every one. Conscious that he was the -object of every body’s attention, and the butt of those jokes which are -common on such occasions, and no where more common or less delicate than -in Norway, he laboured hard to be at his ease and succeeded but very ill. -Indeed, his new jacket, which did not come down to his shoulder blades, -and was a little too tight for him into the bargain, and his stiff -glossy trousers would alone have been sufficient to disturb any man’s -self-possession, to say nothing of the chain of filagree silver balls, -each as large as a grape-shot, which were called shirt buttons, and hung -down from his neck; while a stout broad hat twice as broad in the crown -as in the rim, and stiffly turned up on each side, weighed on his brows -like a helmet,—so very new that it still exhibited the creases of the -paper in which it had been packed. - -Jan Torgensen, Lota’s brother, who was his other bridesman, was doing his -best to keep him in countenance, for they had always been great allies, -and in fact, Torkel had been Jan’s preceptor in wood-craft, and, so Lota -declared, in every sort of mischief besides. At this present moment -any one who had seen them both, would have taken Jan for the preceptor -and Torkel for the pupil; and Jan for the happy bridegroom, and Torkel -for the disappointed swain,—so happy looked Jan and so sheepish looked -Torkel. But, in truth, Jan had his own particular pride and happiness, -connected, though in a remote manner, with that of his friend. He had -just received his appointment as skipper of the _Haabet_, vice Svensen, -superseded in Lota’s affections by Torkel, and in the command of the brig -by Jan; for the poor fellow, when he found how things were going with -him, resigned the command, settled accounts with old Torgensen, and, much -to the regret of the latter,—for Svensen was a first-rate sailor,—betook -himself to Copenhagen, out of the sight of his rival’s happiness. - -Jan, who was a thorough partizan, and had never liked poor Svensen, not -so much on account of any of his demerits as out of affection for his -friend Torkel (for Lota it is to be feared, had coquetted between her -admirers much more than was altogether proper), was singing, or rather -roaring, at the full pitch of a sailor’s voice, the popular ballad of Sir -John and Sir Lavé:— - - “To an island green Sir Lavé went; - He wooed a maiden with fair intent;— - ‘I will ride with you,’ quoth John; - ‘Put on helmets of gold, to follow Sir John.’ - - He wooed the maiden and took her home, - And knights and serving-men are come;— - ‘Here am I!’ quoth John. - - They set the bride on the bridal seat,— - Sir John, he bade them both drink and eat. - ‘Drink, and drink deeply!’ quoth John. - - They brought the bride to the bridal bed,— - They forgot to untie her laces red: - ‘I can untie them!’ quoth John. - - Sir John, he locked the door with speed; - ‘Good night to you, Sir Lavé,’ he said. - ‘I shall sleep here!’ quoth John. - - Word was brought to Sir Lavé there— - ‘Sir John is within, with thy bride so fair!’ - ‘That am I, in truth!’ quoth John. - - At the door, Sir Lavé makes a loud din;— - ‘Withdraw the bolts, and let us in!’ - ‘You had best keep out,’ quoth John. - - He knocked at the door with shield and spear,— - ‘Withdraw the bolts, and come out here!’ - ‘See if I do!’ quoth John. - - ‘If my bride may not in peace remain, - I will go and unto the king complain.’ - ‘Just as you like,’ quoth John. - - Early next morn, when the birds ’gan to sing, - Sir Lavé is off to complain to the king;— - ‘I will go, too!’ quoth John. - - ‘I was betrothed but yesterday,— - Sir John has taken my bride away!’ - ‘Yes, so I have!’ quoth John. - - ‘If that the maiden to both is dear, - It must be settled at point of spear.’ - ‘I’m very willing!’ quoth John. - - As soon as the morrow’s sun was bright, - Came all the knights to see the fight;— - ‘Here am I!’ quoth John. - - The two were mounted, and at the first round - The knees of Sir John’s horse touched the ground. - ‘Now help me, Heaven!’ quoth John. - - Once more, and in the second round - Sir Lavé lies upon the ground;— - ‘There let him lie,’ quoth John. - - Sir John he rode to his hall in state, - And his maiden met him at the gate;— - ‘Now thou art mine,’ quoth John. - - Thus was Sir John made happy for life, - And the maiden became his wedded wife. - ‘I knew I should have her,’ quoth John. - ‘Put on helmets of gold, to follow Sir John.’” - -“Come, come! Jan!” growled old Torgensen, “hold your saucy tongue; -Svensen was a better man than you will ever be in a year of Sundays. -And you, you grinning flirts,”—to the servant-girls, with whom Master -Jan was an especial favourite, and upon whom the application was by no -means lost—“get along with you, and mind your own business,—as if you -had nothing to do, on such a morning as this, but to listen to such -fooleries! Be off with you, I say!” - -In the meanwhile the Parson and Birger,—who, by the way, hardly -recognised each other in their gala habits, for the one was habited, -in honour of the occasion, in the black dress of an English clergyman, -while the other, with his sword clinking by his side, blazed in all -the blue and yellow splendour of the Swedish guard,—took up their old -position at the lich gate of the church; one as before balancing on -the stocks, the other astride on the dwarf wall, glad to be out of the -din of preparation. It was not a happy day for any of them, for it was -the last day of the expedition, which every member of it had enjoyed so -thoroughly;—Birger’s leave of absence was running to an end, and the two -Englishmen had taken passage with young Torgensen to the _Haabet_. They -were to sail—so Torgensen said—that night; but, as it was quite certain -that, before that time, the whole crew would be drunk, in honour of their -young mistress, this probably meant to-morrow. Still, to-morrow was to -be the final break-up of the party; and Tom had been philosophizing, -with tears in his eyes, on the transitory nature of human pleasures; and -Torkel, bridegroom as he was, would willingly have postponed his wedding -if he could have prolonged the expedition,—at least, so Lota had told him -the evening before, and he did not look as if he was speaking the truth -when he denied it. - -Neither of the friends felt much inclined for conversation. They were -natives of different parts of the world; their courses from that point -lay in opposite directions; the chances were very much against their -meeting again, and, though their acquaintance had not been of very long -duration, so far as time is concerned, one week’s campaign in the wild -forest does more towards ripening an intimacy than a year of ordinary -life. - -In the meanwhile the time passed on, and the early peal rang out, and -the groups began to collect as before in the church-yard, and the lake -to be dotted with boats, all pulling or sailing from its remoter bays -and islets to the church, as a common centre. Here and there a party, as -before, was occupied round a grave, pulling up the overgrown convolvulus -and trimming the withering leaves of the lilies. By and by a bugle -sounded a call, and a couple of fiddles from one of the nearest boats -struck up a polka. - -“Here come some of the wedding parties,” said Birger; “there seem to be -plenty of happy couples in Soberud this year. Well! there is nothing like -fashion,—in this, as in other things, one fool makes many. Look at that -leading boat!—that one, I mean, just pulling round the point of the -island!—there is a crowned bride in her! Holy Gefjon, Mother of Maids! -such a sight as that is rare in Norway! I should think the chances were -that she got some one to pull her crown off her head before the day was -over. She does not seem much afraid, either, and an uncommonly pretty -girl, too, which makes it all the more wonderful. Well! well! ‘a virtuous -woman is a crown to her husband;’ I hope he will appreciate his blessings -as he ought, such blessings as that do not fall to the lot of many in -this country.” - -“What do you mean by that, Birger?” said the Parson, getting up, and -shading his eyes with his hands as he looked out on the lake. - -“Ah, you may well shade your eyes before beauty and innocence,” said -Birger; “you do not often see them combined, in this country.” - -“Well, the fact is this,” said he, dropping his bantering tone, “what you -commonly call virtue—that is to say, chastity,—is a very rare article -indeed, I am sorry to say, either in Norway or Sweden; the manners of -the people do not tend to foster it. Their promiscuous way of living in -the winter, and the sœter life in summer, makes it absolutely necessary -for a girl either to have a very great respect for herself, or to be -forbiddingly ugly; and whatever the case may have been in earlier and -better times, certain it is that beauty is now much more common among us -than self-respect. Then, again, the laws which prevail in Sweden, and -the customs, which the Udal tenures in Norway make as stringent as laws, -forbid any to marry who are not householders (whence your word husband, -which simply means huus bonde—a peasant with a house), and at the same -time forbid the erection of more than a specified number of houses on -any land. All this renders early marriages almost impossible. The result -may easily be imagined. And to make this the more certain, our wise -laws enact that a woman, having any number of children by any number -of fathers, who at any time of her life shall marry any one whatever, -by the simple act of marriage affiliates all the children she may ever -have had on her unhappy husband; and wherever the Udal law prevails, -he is obliged to share his land equally among them. The consequence of -this is, that unchastity is no sort of disgrace. It is the commonest -thing in the world for a noble to live with a woman all his life, under -promise of marriage to be performed on his death-bed, and the woman is -all the while received much like the Morganatic bride of a German prince. -Frederika Bremer, herself as exemplary a woman as ever lived, has made -the plot of one of her novels to hinge on a man living in such a manner, -and dying suddenly, without being able to perform his promise. She does -not attach the shadow of disgrace to any one, except the relatives of the -deceased, who refused to acknowledge the woman merely on account of this -‘unfortunate accident,’ as she calls it. And so it is. Had she written -otherwise, she would have been out of costume; there is no disgrace in -the matter. I do not mean to say that this girl is not proud of her -crown—of course she is, just as I am proud of this blue and yellow ribbon -of mine,” pointing to the Order of the Sword with which he had decorated -his uniform-coat for the occasion; “but look how she is kissing that girl -in green, who has just landed from that other boat,—that is another bride -who cannot claim the distinction; she no more thinks her disgraced, than -I should think a brother officer disgraced to whom his gracious Majesty -had not been pleased to give the same distinction that he has to me.” - -“There seem to be plenty of brides,” said the Parson, “for there is -another green lady, of damaged fame; she seems to be a rich one, by the -number of her fiddlers before, and followers after.” - -“They generally have one wedding-day for the district,” said Birger, -“and a good plan too; it diminishes the expense when they all have their -festivities together, and diminishes the drunkenness very considerably, -both on the day and on its anniversaries, for the whole district get -drunk together at once, and get it over, instead of inviting one another -to help them to on their several wedding-days.” - -“But what are the ‘crowns?’” said the Parson. - -“An ancient custom, by which they challenge any imputation on their -fair fame; any one who has anything to say against the chastity of the -wearer, is privileged to pull off the crown and to drive the lady out of -the church, only the accuser is bound to prove his allegations.” - -“It seems a pretty expensive affair, at least, to judge of it at this -distance.” - -“O yes, far too expensive to be the property of any individual; they hire -it for the occasion, and, I will be bound, pay five or six dollars for -the pleasure of wearing that and the rest of the costume. Just look at -her as she comes into the light; that dress of black bombazine, with the -short sleeves and white mittens, is probably her own,—very likely it was -her mother’s before her, only fresh dyed for the occasion; but that gay -apron, with the ribbons, and beads, and the silver chains and necklaces, -I should think were hired; the dollars round her neck are her dowry in -all probability, and, consequently, her own; so is the muff, and the -handkerchiefs of various colours that hang from it; and possibly, also, -those yellow kid gloves. But look at the crown itself! why it is silver -gilt!—and that scarf, which hangs down from the spray on the top of it, -is covered with satin lappets, three-quarters long! now do you think a -peasant would buy that? A green bridal, you see, is a much more modest -affair; they wear their silver chains over their green bodices like the -others, but on their heads, instead of the crown, they have the ordinary -wimple of married women, made of fine white linen, and above it the -triangular snood of unmarried girls.” - -“Here come our party at last! What a host they have collected! the church -will not hold them all. And there is pretty Lota, with her bridesmaids -after her. Well, I hope no one will pull her crown off; how pretty she -looks in it.” - -“Not half so pretty as that little fresh-looking, innocent, Lilla -Nordlingen,” said Birger. “Upon my word I am half inclined to make love -to her myself.” - -“You had better not, Mr. Guardsman, you do not stand the ghost of a -chance; how she would turn up that innocent little Norwegian nose of hers -at a brute of a Swede. Besides, do you not see how she is making love to -the Captain, how uncommonly smart the Captain has turned out in his red -uniform! to which the moustache he has been growing ever since he has -been here, forms so appropriate an appendage. Your blue and yellow would -look dingy to eyes that have been dazzled with such scarlet magnificence.” - -“Ah, well, we will see. The Captain looks as if he were saying to her, -‘_Aimez moi vite, car je pars demain._’” - -“That’s your best chance,” said the Parson, maliciously; “but come, -the bells are ringing in, and we had better get into the ranks of the -procession. Here comes Nordlingen, with his long-legged Candidatus at his -heels.” - -While the Pfarrherr went in to array himself in his robes, the different -marriage parties, warned by the bells, had begun to arrange themselves -into one grand procession; while their respective musicians, who together -formed a pretty numerous band, laid their heads together about the tune -to be played on this grand occasion, and tuned their fiddles into concord. - -The party had by this time increased considerably, and when at last the -band, having settled their harmonious differences, marched up the nave of -the church playing, somewhat incongruously, a jolly polka, there marched -after them no less than six happy couples, with their followers, each -bride and each bridegroom having a silver ort (ninepence) tied up under -their respective garters, for luck. Only two of the six were crowned -brides, and that, Birger whispered, as they took their places, was a -wonderfully large proportion. - -First after the fiddlers came the Candidatus in his gown, who had gone -out to marshal the procession; then came the married men related to the -parties, in their short blue jackets and white-fronted shirts, some -of which were clean; then came the bridegrooms with their bridesmen, -dressed something in the same fashion, except that they affected buckskin -breeches and white stockings: each bridegroom, by way of distinction, had -a fine white handkerchief (cambric, if he could possibly come by it), -tied round his right arm; then came the bridesmaids in green, (which -there is not an unlucky colour as it is with us), with bare heads, and -their hair, which was plaited with many coloured ribands, hanging down -their backs in two tails; then the bride-leaders, married women, who -are supposed to encourage the brides during the ceremony, and lastly, -the brides themselves, in all their splendour. The chancel was as full -as it could hold, the principals disposing themselves round the altar, -kneeling, while the bridesmaids held canopies of shawls and handkerchiefs -over their heads, and the congregation craned in through the chancel -rails, while the priest proceeded with the service. - -Scarcely was the benediction pronounced, when the fiddlers again struck -up their polka, and the happy couples, now arm-in-arm, marched down after -them, (the wedding-party forming a sort of escort), and proceeded with -great ceremony to the præstgaard meadow, where the marriage feast—an -enormous pic-nic—was prepared for them, and where the wedding presents, -many of them of considerable value, were set out for public inspection. - -These were not exactly the expensive sort of trumpery which forms the -staple of bridal presents in England,—silver vessels that no one ever -drinks out of, and dressing cases far too expensive for ordinary use. The -presents here were real honest implements of house-keeping or farming; -pots and pans, and plates and dishes, and chairs and tables,—spades, -pickaxes: a tonne of rye-meal was the offering of one,—a sack of potatoes -of another; here was a pile of oderiferous salt-fish,—there a flitch -of bacon, at which one of the Captain’s best jokes missed fire—bacon -having no allegorical value whatever in Norway; here again was a good -milch cow, tethered to a tree, or half-a-dozen sheep or pigs folded with -hurdles, while the bride’s feather-beds would have borne a high value in -England. Lota’s were something quite magnificent. With such hunters in -her train, as Torkel and poor Svensen, and her own brother Jan, (who in -his younger days and before he had found out some one to whom to transfer -his youthful allegiance, had contributed largely to his sister’s stores), -it was not to be wondered at if she easily eclipsed all the brides of the -season. - -At a comparatively early hour, Torkel and his wife took their leave, -as they had that evening to reach Lönvik, a pretty little farm in the -interior, on the banks of a small lake of the same name, which Torkel’s -father had given up to him on his marriage. But this by no means put a -stop to the festivities, which were carried on to a late hour in the -night, and at which, Sunday though it was, Nordlingen himself presided. -Sunday in Norway begins at six o’clock on Saturday night, when invariably -preparations are commenced for the next day, in the way of looking up -Sunday clothes, and brushing up or washing out the house,—sometimes, -in religious families, by special prayer, though that is not very -common,—sometimes even by washing their own persons, though this, it must -be confessed, is rarer still,—for all of them have a very great horror of -the personal application of soap and water. Sunday, therefore, even as -a day of worship, legitimately ceases at the same hour on the following -day, and, as Nordlingen himself remarked,—what was a more fitting time -for enjoyment than just after they had been admitted to their Lord’s -presence, and had had their sins forgiven them. It was surely much more -congruous than the English way of “making a Saturday night of it,” with -all their sins yet upon their shoulders. - -If, however, there was dancing, there was no visible drunkenness; the -Pfarrherr was a man of sufficient influence to make a stand against the -national vice, and if any of the guests did feel a little the worse for -liquor, he quietly took himself, or was taken by his friends, beyond the -glare of the great bonfire, where no one could see him,—for Nordlingen -was wise enough not to look too closely into what was not intended for -his inspection. - -It was this idea, or perhaps the recollection that the _Haabet_ was to -sail the next day, that induced him to close his eyes to the fact that -that innocent little Lilla had danced with no one but the Captain the -whole evening, on the plea that no girl of the party, except herself, -was able to talk to him in English. Whatever it was that they had to -say to one another, there was a good deal of it, and it took a good -while saying, and as Birger, who was outrageously jealous remarked -spitefully,—“they, as well as the drunkards, preferred evidently the -light of the moon to that of the great wedding bonfire,” and thinking, -probably, how he would make up for lost time after the _Haabet_ had -tripped her anchor, whistled pensively the Swedish song— - - “Hence on the shallows our little boat leaving, - On to the Haaf where the green waves are heaving, - Causing to Thyrsis so much dismay.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -HOMEWARD BOUND. - - And, now, my good friends, I’ve a fine opportunity - To obfuscate you all by sea terms with impunity. - And talking of “caulking,” - And “quarter-deck walking,” - “Fore and aft,” - And “abaft,” - “Hookers,” “barkeys,” and “craft,” - (At which Mr. Poole has so wickedly laught); - Of “binnacles,” “bilboes,” the boom called the “spanker,” - The best “bower cable,” the “jib,” and “sheet anchor;” - Of “lower-deck guns,” and of “broadsides and chases;” - Of “taff-rails” and “top-sails,” and “splicing main braces,” - And “shiver my timbers,” and other odd phrases - Employed by old pilots with hard-featured faces; - Of the expletives sea-faring gentlemen use,— - The allusions they make to the eyes of their crews. - - _Ingoldsby._ - - -The _Haabet_ did not sail that night, which indeed was hardly possible, -her Captain being employed in dancing, and making love, and singing, in -the words of Karl Bellman,— - - “Awake, Amaryllis! my dearest, awaken,— - Let me not go to sea by my true love forsaken,— - Our course among dolphins and mermaids is taken: - Onwards shall paddle our boat to the sea.” - -Neither did the _Haabet_ sail on the morrow, for the wind had chopped -round to the south-west; neither did she sail the next day, for there -was a dead calm;—there was plenty of time for leave-taking, and a -leisurely journey to Christiansand besides, which was accomplished in -the carioles—their last journey, as Tom feelingly remarked. The Captain -arrived at Ullitz’s, a good hour behind the rest, who would not wait for -the end of his last conference with Lilla Nordlingen.—They were, besides, -a little anxious about the weather, for the season was somewhat advanced, -and everything was so deadly calm, that it was quite evident a change of -some sort was at hand. - -What that change was, the next morning made manifest enough, for the wind -was roaring round the house, and the rain pattering furiously against the -windows long before the sun was up. - -However, the old copper lion that surmounted the church had veered -round again, and was turning his battle-axe towards England, and Jan -Torgensen—Captain Torgensen we should call him now in virtue of his -new command, and in truth he was not a little proud of the title -himself,—came in just as a very sulky breakfast was completed, and -announced, “that as the wind was fair, he did not care the scale of a -herring how much there was of it, and that this night should be spent at -sea.” - -No one was sorry for this announcement, not even Birger, who was going -back to Nordlingen’s, as he said, “in order to console Ariadne for -the desertion of her faithless Theseus.” The pleasures of the summer -had departed, and it was useless to linger over the scenes of past -enjoyments. At Nordlingen’s perhaps the time might have passed pleasantly -enough, notwithstanding the change of weather, but Christiansand has -but few resources for a rainy day; and besides this, the very idea -of a prolonged parting is depressing. Torkel was gone, and Tom was -much too low for a story or a joke. There were, however, some marine -difficulties—there always are; papers are never ready, and agents are -always behind time, and thus, though every one was anxious to be off, and -none less than Torgensen himself, who grudged every blast of the fair -wind, it was full five o’clock before the anchor broke ground; and a -cake, the last token of Marie’s affection, having been previously placed -on the taffrail for Nyssen, the _Haabet_ turned her stern to the blast, -and set her fore-sail, and hoisted a couple of double reefed top-sails to -receive it. The rain redoubled—certainly if Gammle Norgé had received -them with smiles, she honoured their departure with tears. - -The first thing that met the Captain’s eye, as he turned from waving the -last farewell to Birger’s receding boat, was the pilot, roaring drunk -already, and the mate supplying him with no end of additional brandy. He -went forward to draw Torgensen’s attention to this apparently dangerous -breach of naval discipline. - -“Be quiet,” said Torgensen, in broken English, “the mate knows very well -what he is about, I supplied him with the brandy myself. That drunken -rascal is sure to get us into a scrape, if he has sense enough left -in his drunken body to fancy he can take charge of the ship; and I am -obliged, by law, to take him drunk or sober. As soon as he gets too drunk -to interfere, which I am happy to say will be the case very shortly, I -shall pilot my own ship, and I should think I ought to know how to take -her out of Christiansand by this time—we all do that; in fact, these -drunken pilots are nothing but an incumbrance.” And an incumbrance in -this instance he proved, for, Torgensen having safely carried his brig -to the mouth of the fjord, they were obliged to heave to for the pilot’s -boat, which kept them waiting for a good hour more. The Parson suggested -taking him to sea; but Torgensen swore he had had too much of him already. - -It was long after dark, therefore, when they passed the lighthouse, which -they did in a furious squall of wind and rain, and stood out to sea under -close reefed top-sails and reefed fore-sail, with two men at the helm, -the brig steering as wild as if the Nyssen were blowing on both quarters -at once, but dashing away through it for all that, and heaping up the sea -under her bluff bows. - -The whole surface was one vast blaze of phosphoric light—the ship’s -ragged wake was a track of wavering flame, the water that broke from her -bows was a cataract of fire, a rope that was towing under her counter -(Torgensen was not at all particular about these little matters), was ten -times more visible than it would have been by broad daylight, for every -strand in it was clearly defined by lines of delicate blue flame, while -each breaking wave was a flash of brightness. The wind was as fair as -it could be, and as they drew out from under the lee of the land, seemed -enough to tear the sails from their bolt ropes. - -“Hurrah for Nyssen!” shouted Torgensen; but he shouted a little too soon, -for not an hour afterwards they were close hauled with a south-west wind, -dead foul, dancing like a cork in a mill pond, on the top of a tumbling -cross sea, and plodding along at barely three knots; not even looking up -within four points of their course. - -And the next day, and the next night, and the next, the same monotonous -story; only as the wind settled to the south-west, the bubble went down, -and it was not so difficult to walk the three steps and a half, which -formed the _Haabet’s_ quarter-deck. - -Still the only answer to the anxiously repeated morning question of “How -is her head,” was, when most favourable, “half a point southward of -west,—think we shall weather the Naze, please God.” - -Torgensen was always in high spirits, and was as proud of his new -command, the Captain said, as a peacock with two tails; and she -really had qualities of which a commander might well be proud, as a -sea-boat,—but these did not comprehend either beauty, or comfort, or -speed. - -There is no between decks in a Norwegian timber brig, the whole space -being occupied with its bulky cargo, much of which lumbers up the waist, -and forecastle besides; the crew inhabited a small hurricane-house just -abaft the mainmast; a very small slip of this was bulk-headed off for the -mate,—while the remainder—and a very small remainder it was—served the -crew for parlour, and kitchen and all, for there was no other cookery -place in the ship; in one sense this was an advantage, for they could -cook in the worst of weathers, and this is not always practicable in a -merchant ship; but if they did get this advantage over the wind and rain, -it was, as the Captain remarked, a very dirty advantage indeed. All that -there was of cover below the deck, was a very small sail-room aft, also -used as a bread-room; before this was the Captain’s cabin, measuring -exactly eight feet by six, which served for Torgensen and his two -passengers, and for a purser’s store-room into the bargain, with all its -indescribable stinks. After a very little practice, the Captain declared -he could always tell the tack they were on, by the particular description -of stink that was uppermost, and used to say that they had got their -starboard or port stinks on board, as the case might be. - -The bread alone of the ship’s provisions was under cover; the beef -and pork was stored in harness casks, lashed to the bulwarks, thus -diminishing still more the very diminutive quarter-deck. In fact, a -quarter-deck walk was what none of them ever thought of. - -Hurrah!—the Naze bearing N.N.E., and all dangers of a lee-shore past: a -lee-shore in timber ships is no joke; they never sink—they cannot, for -the Norwegian deals and baulks being of less specific gravity than water, -the ship that carries them would be buoyed up even if water-logged, but -their very want of specific gravity is the cause of their danger on a -lee-shore; besides being full below, the whole deck is lumbered up for -six feet or more, and the centre of gravity is so high that they are all -crank to the most ticklish degree; and, though invariably carrying very -low sail, require every attention to keep them on their legs; for this -reason, if caught on a lee-shore in anything like a breeze, they can -never claw off, for they can carry nothing without tumbling over on their -beam ends. For this reason, every Norwegian is very careful of an offing, -it is the only thing he seems to care much about. When the wind changed, -every ship that the fair breeze had tempted out of Christiansand that day -had put back, and Torgensen only had held on, partly because he knew the -comparatively weatherly qualities of his brig, but principally because he -was young and foolish. - -Toward evening the wind drew round to the northward, and the brig was -able, first to lie her course, then to shake out the reefs from her -topsails, and lastly, having brailed up her fore and aft mainsail, to -display a very ragged suit of studding-sails, which together got a fathom -or two over six knots out of her—the very top of her speed,—and the Naze -slowly sank below the horizon, fading into blue as it sank. - -But this good luck was not to hold; fine weather returned, but with it -calm and light baffling breezes, with the ship’s head looking every -way except that which she was wanted to go. Singular as anything of -cleanliness seems among people who personally rejoice in dirt, there was -more fuss in cleaning decks than is to be seen in many a man-of-war; -the very cabin-deck was holy-stoned every morning, as well as the -quarter-deck; though so far as the latter was concerned, this was -rendered absolutely useless by the abominable habit of spitting, for -which the Norwegians deserve as much notice as the Americans themselves, -and which they do not yet only “_quia carent vate sacro_,” because -they have not a Mrs. Trollope to write about them. In the present -instance this was the more inexcusable, because the northern style of -ship-building pinches in their ships so much aft, that a man with strong -lungs might set on the weather bulwark, and with ease spit over the -lee-quarter. - -As for seamanship, there are no smarter seamen in the world than the -Norwegians when there is need, or more slovenly when there is not; but -how they contrive to navigate their ships is a mystery which none but a -Norwegian can solve. The whole of it is done by dead reckoning, with, in -the North Sea at least, a pretty liberal use of the lead: besides the -deep-sea lead, their only nautical instruments are the log, and what they -call the “pein-compassen.” This last is a compass-card made of wood, and -marked with thirty-two lines corresponding to the points, and drawn from -the centre to the circumference, on which centre revolves freely a brass -needle of equal length with the lines. - -On starting, the true bearing of the destined port, or of some remarkable -point or headland which must be sighted during their voyage, is taken, -and the “pein-compassen” is fixed to the binnacle, with that part set -towards the head of the vessel. This, for that particular voyage, is -called “the steering line;” and so long as the true compass tallies -with its wooden brother—that is to say, so long as the ship looks up for -her port,—the whole run is given her at the end of each watch; but, in -traverse sailing, the two compasses must of course point different ways. -In this case, at the end of the watch if the wind has been steady, or -whenever the ship, from tacking, or any other cause, alters her course or -her rate of sailing, the brass needle on the “pein-compassen” is turned -to that point of the compass to which the ship’s head has actually been -lying, and a line is drawn from that point with chalk, intersecting the -“steering line” at right angles. The part cut off between the centre -of the compass and the point of intersection gives the actual gain in -distance to the port towards which she is bound, and answers to the -cosine of our more scientific nomenclature. This, with some corrections -for lee-way, is given to her, while the chalk line drawn from the point -of the moveable needle to the point of intersection, which answers to -our sine, gives the number of miles which the adverse wind has compelled -her to diverge from her course, and which must be compensated for by a -corresponding deviation on the other tack. - -Thus it is that, day after day, the ship’s reckoning is kept, not by -calculation, but by actual measurement, performed by a pair of compasses -on a graduated scale; and, clumsy as this contrivance may seem, they do -navigate their ships with an accuracy that might put some of our merchant -skippers to shame,—to say nothing of the masters in Her Majesty’s -Navy.[64] - -So far as the North Sea goes, which is the principal scene of Norwegian -navigation, this mode of reckoning is considerably assisted by the -lead,—indeed, it would be hardly too much to say that these timber ships -are navigated by the lead alone. The soundings of the whole North Sea are -accurately marked, and it so happens that there is considerable variety -in the sand which the arming brings up; besides which there are a good -many “pits,” as they are called—that is to say, small spaces, some of -them not a mile across, in which, for some unexplained reason, the depth -is suddenly increased. Should the ship be so fortunate as to strike one -of these, they are so accurately noted in the charts, that it is as good -as a fresh departure. - -It was about a week or ten days after the Naze—the last point of -Norway—had faded from their sight, like a dim blue cloud, that the -Parson was sitting or lying at the foot of the foremast in a soft niche, -which he had arranged for himself among the deck timber, and had called -his study. He was reading, for the books which they had brought with -them, and which, hitherto, they had had neither time nor inclination -to look into, were now very acceptable indeed. The Captain, sitting on -the bulwark abreast of him, and steadying himself by the after-swifter, -was watching the proceedings of some visitors who had come on board the -preceding evening—a kestrel and half-a-dozen swallows. The swallows -were so tired when they came on board, that they readily perched on the -fingers that were held out to them, and one of them had passed the night -on the battens in the mate’s cabin. The hawk did not seem a bit the worse -for his journey; he was seated very composedly on the quarter of the -top-gallant yard close to the mast, where he was pleasantly occupied in -preparing his breakfast off one of the swallows, who had risen earlier -than his companions, and who did not exactly realise the proverb about -the “early bird finding the worm,”—on the contrary, he had been found -himself, and was thus ministering to the wants of the hungry, while his -brethren, having now recovered their strength by their night’s rest, were -flitting unconcernedly about the masts and yards, just as on shore they -had flitted round the church steeple, and were wondering, no doubt, what -had become of all the flies. - -“As this is only the middle of September,” said the Parson, looking up -at the birds, “it is evident that the migration of swallows must begin -in the North first, and that previous to their leaving our shores, the -English swallows must receive a large addition to their numbers; a fact -which, so far as I know, naturalists have not noticed.” - -“Or else,” said the Captain, “that they shift their quarters, like a -regiment that has got its route, and march by detachments—one relieving -the other. Ah!”—with a long sigh—“I wish I had wings like a swallow!” - -“Pooh! nonsense!” said the Parson; “we shall get on shore some time or -other; everyone does, except the ‘ancient mariner.’ ‘Good times, bad -times, all times pass over.’” - -“So they do; but all this is so much waste of life. Here am I, sitting -dangling my legs over the sides of this cursed brig, knowing all the time -that my friends are knocking the partridges about. Who can give me back -my 1st of September? Besides,” he added, in a grumbling tone, “I want a -clean dinner, if it is only by way of a novelty; I can rough it as well -as anyone for the time, as you know, but a course of such living as this -will poison a man.” - -The Parson laughed. - -“It does, I assure you! I have often seen it in the West Indies; when a -nigger takes to eating dirt, he always dies, and I should think a little -of that would go a great way with a white man.” - -“Well, you know it is said that ‘every man must eat his peck of dirt in -the course of his life.’” - -“That’s exactly the thing; we are allowed a peck of dirt, as you say, to -last our lives, but you see if we stay here much longer, we shall soon -get to the end of our allowance. What do you think I saw yesterday? When -I went below, I could smell the cook had been there; you say yourself -that you are always obliged to open the skylight whenever he comes near -the cabin. You know what a beastly miserable day it was, and as I had -nothing to do, I thought I would turn in and try to sleep away a little -time, and get a little warm. I felt the pillow rather too high, and, -putting my hand under it, I found the dish of plok fiske we were to -have for dinner stowed away there to keep it warm! Bother that skipper, -he is going about again,” as the Norwegian equivalent for “raise tacks -and sheets” came grumbling on his ear, and the men lounged lazily to -their stations; “he’s as frightened at the shore as if it was Scylla and -Charybdis, and the Mäelström into the bargain. If he would only hold on -three or four hours more, we might sight Flamborough Head, and get on -board an English collier and enjoy a little cleanliness.” - -“Ah! you will not enjoy that luxury for this voyage,” said the Parson; -“the English ships always keep inside the line of sandbanks on the -Norfolk coast; almost all we have met outside, as you may have remarked, -are foreigners.” - -“Outside barbarians!” said the Captain, who was not in a good humour. - -By this time the clue-garnets had been leisurely manned, one at a time, -and the mainsail was hanging in festoons from its yard; Torgensen himself -steering, as, indeed, he had done for the last hour, and also giving the -word of command. The wind was as light as could be, so that it really did -not signify, except for fidgettiness, on which tack she was. - -The helm had been a-lee for about a minute, and the men were at their -stations for “mainsail haul,” while the brig went creeping and creeping -into the wind. The men began sniggering and joking to one another, -but their jokes being Norwegian, were for the most part lost on the -passengers. - -“What is that young fool about?” said the Parson, who had not risen from -his recumbent posture; “he will have the brig in irons before he can look -round. Jump up and see what is the matter.” - -The Captain scrambled on to the forebitts, so as to look over the -hurricane-house, and burst out laughing. “Bother the fellow! if he is -not reading ‘Peter Simple,’[65] and jamming his helm hard a-lee with his -hinder end. Why, Torgensen! Torgensen! what the Devil are you about? the -brig has been in the wind this half-hour!” - -Torgensen started up, flinging his book on the deck, righted his helm, -and bellowed out his next command. It was loud enough to startle the -mermaids in their coral caves; but noise will not compensate for -slackness; the brig was already nearly head to wind, and there she -hung—she would not go an inch farther for any one, and at last fell off -again. Torgensen was obliged to wear her, after all. - -He swore, however, he did it on purpose, in order to get a cast of the -lead, as he had not got one for the whole watch. This did not seem to the -Parson so very indispensable, seeing that in the whole of that forenoon -watch they had not shifted their position four miles; nevertheless, to -suit the action to the word, Torgensen did lay his main top-sail aback, -and armed his lead with as much gravity as if he really expected that the -sand and shells brought up by this cast would be different from the sand -and shells brought up by the last. - -“I tell you what, though, ‘it is an ill wind that blows nobody good,’—we -may get a cod while Torgensen is sending his note to the mermaids; jump -below and get up the lines. The rind of that ham we had for breakfast -will be a dainty such as Tom Cod is not likely to meet with often in the -haaf, and it will be a pleasing variety to that eternal plok fiske, if -we can get one. By the way, that salt fish has got desperately hard; I -saw the carpenter pounding our dinner with the back of his axe yesterday, -before the cook could do anything with it.” - -Whether Tom Cod would have been duly sensible of the honour that was done -him, and would have accepted the line of invitation which the Captain -had sent him for the next day’s dinner, it is impossible to say, for, -unfortunately, he never received it. The whole bank abounded with hungry -dog fish, and the bait never got a dozen fathoms over the side before -it was seized by them. However, it was all fish that came to net; dog -fish are not esteemed on shore, but place the diner on board ship, give -him three weeks of calms and foul winds, short provisions, and those -provisions principally dried fish, with a piece of salt horse for a -luxury on Sunday, and even dog fish will come to be appreciated at their -just value. - -It was about the middle of the dog watch in the same day—when, according -to the theory of the Norwegian marine, everybody is supposed to be on -deck for his own pleasure, and, according to matter of fact, everybody is -below, sleeping, or talking, or cooking, or mending his clothes,—when the -Parson, whose time began to hang a little weary on his hands, was yawning -about the _Haabet’s_ quarter-deck, with his hands in his pockets. - -The Norwegian dog watch must not be confounded with the English watches -of the same name. In the Swedish or Norwegian navy, the twenty-four -hours are divided into five watches instead of seven, as with us. These, -beginning at 8 p.m., are called the first watch, the night watch, the -morning watch, the forenoon watch, and the dog watch, respectively, of -which the first four consist of four hours each, and the last of eight. -The dog watch comprehends the time from noon to 8 p.m. It is, of course, -impossible for human strength and human endurance to keep it properly, -but it is permitted to be kept in a slack sort of way by the whole ship’s -company conjointly, one watch being indeed responsible for the duty, but -not being forbidden to go below, provided their place, for the time, be -taken by amateurs.[66] The natural effect of this is, that the whole -watch is kept very slackly indeed, even in men-of-war; in fact, at the -particular time specified, there was no one whatever on the deck of the -_Haabet_, except Torgensen, who, as before, was steering, and the Parson, -who had come on deck because the Captain was snoring so loud, and who, as -luck would have it, was looking over the bulwarks to windward. - -The day had continued calm and hot, as September days often are, and the -ship was not many miles from the place in which she had missed stays in -the morning. She was close hauled, but carrying everything that would -draw. - -“Torgensen,” said he, “I think you had better look out; there is -something coming down upon us, that looks very like an invitation from -your friends the mermaids.[67] I should like to send an excuse.” - -“O, The Thousand!” said Torgensen: “God forgive me for swearing, at -such a time;” and shoving the helm into the Parson’s hands, he seized a -handspike, and began to belabour the deck. - -On all ordinary occasions there had been a good deal of republican -slackness on board the _Haabet_, the men doing what they were told, but -doing it leisurely, and in a _nonchalant_ sort of way. It did not much -signify, for in blue water and calm weather, it makes little difference -whether the manœuvres are performed smartly or not.[68] But assuming -the handspike was like taking up the dictatorship; there was no want of -smartness now; the men buzzed out from their hurricane-house, like bees -out of a hive, some half dressed, some stuffing a handful of plok fiske -into their mouths, but all rushing to their stations, as if the very -tautest-handed boatswain in the British service was at their heels. - -It so happened that Torgensen had been fitting up a fore-sail of his -own, which he called a fok; a stoutish spar held the place of foot rope, -which, though it diminished the area of the sail, certainly had the -effect of making it stand better when close hauled; but that which he -prided himself most upon, was his substitute for clue-garnets, which -consisted of two ropes, which, rove through blocks at the quarter of -the yard, led before the sail through a block at the clue, then to the -yard-arm, and then along the yard; thus, embracing the sail, acting as -spilling-lines and clue-garnets at once, and hauling it up, as it were, -like a curtain in a theatre. - -The square main-sail was by this time clewed up, and, had not -Torgensen’s head been full of this invention, he probably would have seen -the necessity of casting off the sheet of the fore and aft main-sail, as -he passed, supposing he had not time or hands to man the brails; as it -was, the fore-sail came in most sweetly, and Torgensen, forgetting his -captainship, skipped up the rigging, and was out at the weather earring, -like a monkey up a cocoa-nut tree. - -Just then the squall struck her. Naturally the brig carried a lee helm, -but at this moment, relieved of her fore-sail, and at the same time -pressed upon by the whole force of the squall in her main-sail, she -griped obstinately,—a propensity which the Parson had originated by -steering as near as he could, in order to shake the wind out of the -top-sails while the men were reefing. Things began to look serious; not a -soul was on deck, every man being out on the yards, which, so soon as the -sails began thrashing in the wind, jumped and jerked so furiously, that -it was as much as any of them could do to hold on; the brig lay over, so -that the water not only bubbled through her scuppers, but came pouring -in over her bulwarks, and the Parson, with both hands clutching the -bulwarks, was driving the helm a-weather with his stomach, while his feet -were slipping one after the other on the wet and slanting deck. - -Just at that moment the Captain—his coat and shoes off, his head tied -up in a pocket handkerchief, and his eyes scarce opened, just as he had -roused up from his slumbers,—showed an astonished face above the hatchway. - -“Hallo! what’s the matter now? who spilt the milk?” - -“Jump! and let go that main-sheet! cut it if you can’t get at it any -other way! but take the sail off her at any rate, or in two minutes we -shall be at Fiddler’s Green.” - -The Captain was wide enough awake to see that things were rather too -serious for a joke, and scrambled up to windward as well as he could. -Round rattled the sheaves, as if they would set fire to their blocks; -away flew the sheet through them, the slack of it whipping the deck right -and left, and barely missing the Captain, while the end of the main boom -plunged into the water, wetting the sail half way up. The brig, eased -of the strain, slowly and reluctantly paid off, while Torgensen, still -seated at the weather yard-arm, with his legs twisted round it, holding -on by the earring with both hands, with his breast straining against the -lift to which he seemed to be holding on with his chin, and his hat, the -while, which had been secured round his neck by a lanyard, fluttering and -dancing to leeward, just nodded down on deck, as if to say, “all right my -boys, I knew you would do the needful,” and then went on with his work as -if nothing particular had happened. - -The squall, however, was only the prelude to a change of wind; in less -than an hour’s time she was able, not only to shake out her reefs again, -but to lie her course, and to jog along it merrily. - -Towards the close of the next day they were looking out sharp for the -Outer Garboard Buoy, which, out of sight of land, marks the mouth of the -Thames, and, strange to say, after a cruise of three weeks’ traverse -sailing, hit it to a nicety,[69] and on the following morning, when the -fishermen came on deck, they had the satisfaction of seeing, for the -first time since the Naze had sunk in the horizon, not only land, but -land on both sides of them, of which that on their starboard beam bore a -very strong resemblance to the old South Foreland. - -“England again!” said the Captain. “Hurrah for England and -partridges!—what the deuce are you squinting at on the French coast, -Parson?” - -“A very interesting sight for us,” said the Parson, putting the telescope -into his hands, “though not on the French coast; look at that sail, and -tell me what you make of her.” - -The Captain took a long view. “A lugger I think, coming down before the -wind, wing-and-wing.” - -“The very thing, and of course bound for England: if all goes right, we -shall nearly cross her, and that in less than an hour.” - -“Then hurrah for a leg of mutton!”—for it should be said the _Haabet_ was -bound for Bordeaux, to exchange her timber for the light St. Julien’s -claret, of which so much is drunk in the north, and the fishermen had -taken their passage in her on the chance, which amounted to almost -a certainty, of meeting with an English coaster that would put them -on shore somewhere. This they had not been able to meet with on the -east coast, for foreigners are too much afraid of the shoals to allow -themselves to go near a track which, by English vessels, is as well -beaten as a turnpike road. - -“A leg of mutton!” said the Parson; “you are as bad as a Swede,—always -thinking of your dinner.” - -“Upon my word, I have eaten such a lot of trash in that country that it -is very excusable to long for the sweet simplicity of English roast and -boiled; we have not had one single wholesome, unsophisticated meal since -we got there; it was all grease, and sugar, and gravy, and preserves, -except, indeed, where we boiled our own salmon on the Torjedahl, or -toasted our own ‘mutton,’ as Moodie calls it, at the skal.” - -“Ah, poor Moodie! I wonder whether he has found out yet that mutton is -not made out of elk’s meat? But that lugger is nearing us fast; I think -we had better talk to Torgensen about it, and get our traps on deck.” - -Torgensen was sorry to part with his passengers, and they, though to a -certain extent reciprocating his grief, were much more sorry to part -from Torgensen than from the _Haabet_. But, sorry or glad, it was all -the same, the brig and the lugger, on their respective courses, rapidly -approached each other; a weft hoisted by the former was answered by the -latter, and, in a few minutes, her mast-heads were seen bobbing about -over the brig’s lee quarter. - -Less than half a minute sufficed to transfer the fishermen and their -belongings from one deck to the other, and then, hands shaking,—caps -waving,—hoist away the lugs,—and up-helm for merry England. - -Away flew the lugger, “her white wings flying,”—it could not be added -“never from her foes,” for she turned out afterwards to be a noted -smuggler that no revenue cutter could ever catch. Up rose the white -cliffs,—plainer and plainer grew the objects on shore: now the white -houses of Dover came in view,—then the sheep on the downs, and the men on -the piers,—then the rising sunbeams flashed back a merry welcome from the -windows,—then the pier-heads opened, with the tide bubbling up against -them like a river in flood, which, taking the lugger under the counter, -gave her a final slew, as she rushed between them,—then through the inner -harbour, and down sails, carrying on with the way already acquired,—then -run up alongside the Custom-house quay. - -“Home at last!” said the Captain, as he leaped on shore. - -_Hic longæ finis chartæque viæque._ - - -THE END. - -PRINTED BY COX (BROS.) AND WYMAN, GREAT QUEEN STREET. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] The families of Lejonhöved and Svinhöved were conspicuous in the wars -of Gustavus Vasa, at which time Sweden threw off the yoke which Denmark, -with the concurrence of Norway, had fixed on them, by taking undue -advantage of the conditions stipulated in the Union of Calmar. The head -of the former family perished in the treacherous massacre at Stockholm, -generally spoken of by the name of the “Bloodbath.” Both families derive -their names from their armorial bearings, as at that time there were no -surnames in Sweden. These signify Lion-head and Boar-head, or Pig-head, -respectively. Hence the Parson’s sarcasm. - -[2] Långref—a poaching method of catching fish. - -[3] Tjäder—the capercailzie. Taking him in his lek—that is to say, during -his play, a very singular method which both the tjäder and the black-cock -has of calling together the females of their respective species, is -strictly contrary to law. - -[4] Fjeld Ripa—The mountain grouse; a bird something like our ptarmigan, -the pursuit of which is always attended with toil, and sometimes danger. - -[5] According to ancient Scandinavian mythology, the earth, which is flat -and surrounded by water, is continually guarded by Jörmungard the Sea -Serpent, the daughter of Loki; who is so large that she encircles the -whole earth, holding her tail in her mouth. She is sometimes called the -Midgard Serpent;—Midgard meaning middle guard half way between the earth -and the realms of the Hrimthursar, or Frost Giants, which is her post. - -[6] The god Kvasir, or Unerring Wisdom, was the joint offspring of all -the gods, and was created to aid their negociations with the Vanir. -His blood, sweetened by mead, forms the drink of Poetic Inspiration, -which was guarded by Gunlauth, the daughter of Thjassi, the chief of -the Frost Giants. Odin, who was her lover, prevailed on her to give it -up to him, and it is at present lodged in the heights of Asgard. That -Poetic Inspiration should be wisdom, sweetened by honey and guarded by -love, is in itself a beautiful allegory—and not less beautiful that it -should be won by the gods and lodged in Heaven;—but the generation of -Kvasir involves a most curious anomaly, and that is, that the gods should -be able to create a being more intelligent than themselves,—unless, -indeed, we interpret the allegory as implying that mutual council is more -unerring than the unaided intelligence of any individual. - -[7] The Indelta has very erroneously been stated, by one or two -travellers in Sweden, to be the militia of the country. Sweden has -a militia, and a very efficient force it is; but the Indelta is a -feudal army raised and maintained by the holders of crown lands. The -constitution of this force will be explained more fully hereafter; it is -exclusively a Swedish institution, and does not exist in Norway. - -[8] “Come over the river.” - -[9] “Quick, here, with the boat! and so you shall have some money for -drink.” - -[10] One of the wild ideas of Scandinavian mythology is, that the sun -is the eye of Odin, and that he once had two like other people; but, -that coming one day to the well of Mimiver, the waters of which are pure -wisdom, he bargained for a draught, and bought the horn gjoll full at -the price of one of his eyes; no such great quantity either, if gjoll be -the original of our English gill. However, this fully accounts for the -fact that the moon is not now so bright as the sun, which it probably -once was. It must be confessed that the whole of this story is entirely -inconsistent with the theory of the sun and moon in the prose “Edda,” -where these are represented as separate and independent divinities, the -son and daughter of the giant Mundilfari,—the sun being feminine and the -moon masculine; a tradition contrary to the notions of our poets, but -fully borne out by our English peasants, who invariably speak of the moon -as “he,” and the sun as “she.” - -[11] Full-grown salmon have two or three ranges of very small teeth, -whereas grauls (Scoticè, grilse) have only one. It is this distinction -which, on the Erne, is technically termed “the mask,” and not the size, -which determines the difference between a graul and a salmon. - -[12] An ort, or mark, is the fifth part of a specie-daler, equivalent to -ninepence or tenpence of our money. A skilling is about the same as an -English halfpenny; the word, however, is pronounced exactly the same as -our English word shilling, the _k_ being soft before _i_; a circumstance -which rather perplexes the stranger in his calculations. - -[13] Since the abolition of capital punishment in Norway—a measure -that does not seem to answer at all—murderers are confined, like other -criminals, in the castle at Christiania. They may be seen in dresses of -which each sleeve and leg has its own colour, sweeping the streets and -doing other public work; and a very disgusting sight it is. The average -of crime is very high in Norway—perhaps higher than in any country known, -and particularly crimes of violence. This may be accounted for, partly -by their wonderful drunkenness, and partly by the very inefficient state -of the Church, and the almost total absence of the religious element in -an education which is artificially forced by state enactments. In Norway -there is a very great disproportion between intellect and religion. - -[14] Manchester has its faults, and a good many of them, but among them -all its Anglo-Saxon virtue of order and capacity for self-government come -out in strong relief. - -“Where are your policemen?” asked the Duke, as he glanced at the masses -that thronged the streets during the Queen’s visit,—perhaps the largest -crowd that had ever been collected in England. The streets of the Borough -of Manchester were not staked and corded off, and guarded by men in blue; -but thousands of strong, active warehousemen and mechanics formed, by -joining hands, a novel barricade. And in the evening, when numbers beyond -computation were assembled in the streets to witness the illumination, -amidst all the confusion there was nothing but good-humour.—_Fraser._ - -[15] Alluding to a custom in Norway, of mixing the inner rind of the -birch tree with their rye meal, during times of scarcity. - -[16] The fisherman is very much recommended to tie his own flies for -the Tay, or to get them at Edmondson’s. The author bought a good many -pretty-looking specimens in the country, by way of patterns, all of -which whipped to pieces in half-an-hour’s fishing. The fact is, there -is a cheap way of tying flies, which it is impossible to detect by the -eye; and it is just as well that the young fisherman should ask the -_character_ of his tackle-maker before investing his money in such very -ticklish wares; the worthlessness of which he will not find out till he -reaches his fishing-ground. The author, a fisherman of some experience, -has tied a good many flies in his time, and has had a good many tied -for him by his attendants and other professionals on the river’s banks; -but the only tradespeople he has ever found trustworthy, in all points, -in such matters are, Chevalier, of Bell-yard, London, and Edmondson, of -Church-street, Liverpool. Their flies have never failed him, whether in -their hooks, their gut, or their tying. All that the fisherman will want -in their shops will be a little science, to enable him to choose his -colours, _and a little money to enable him to pay his bills_. - -[17] The real scene of this piscatorial exploit is on the Mandahl river. -There is a Hell Fall on the Torjedahl also; indeed, the name is common -in Norway, and in Sweden too, so as to become almost generic for a dark, -gloomy rush of waters; but the Hell Fall of the Torjedahl is inaccessible -to salmon, which, notwithstanding all that Inglis says to the contrary, -are unable to surmount the great falls of Wigeland about a mile below it. -It is, therefore, worthless as a fishing-place; and, the author suspects, -altogether too dangerous to be attempted without good reason. When the -water is low, the fall of the Mandahl may be fished in the ordinary -manner from a boat, and it is well worth the trial; but if the river be -full, the birch rope will be found necessary. - -[18] The lower part of the Torjedahl is perfectly free from musquitoes, -which cannot be said of all the rivers in Norway; this probably is owing -to its rapidity, and to the absence of all tributaries and still water. - -[19] It is no inaccuracy to give Birger a Scotch song, for there is a -considerable infusion of Scotch blood among the Swedes, and Scotch family -names are by no means uncommon among the nobility. In fact, Scotch names -are to be met with even in their national ballads: for instance— - - It was young Folmer Skot - Who rode by dale and hill, - And after rides Morton of Fogelsang, - Who bids him hear his will. - -[20] The thirtieth of April. - -[21] - - Lie still, my child; - In the morning comes Fin - Thy father, - And gives thee Esberne Snorre’s eyes and heart to play with. - -[22] Esberne Snorre is the Danish Faust. In no country whatever was -the reformation popular among the peasantry, and therefore the popular -legends invariably assign the leaders and causes of it to the devil, as -in the case of Faust himself, who, whatever Goëthe may say, really was -a very respectable tradesman, and had no more to do with the devil than -is involved in the invention of that art which became so powerful an -instrument in the hands of reformers—printing. Esberne Snorre was what -very few of the Danish Reformers were, a really good and conscientious -man, who might well have built the Church of Kallendborg, or even have -given his eyes for it. Nevertheless, pre-eminently before all the -reformers, the devil carries him off bodily in every legend of the time, -just as he did Faust. - -[23] Equivalent to “spoiling a market” in Ireland, or “opening a -Sheriff’s ball” in England,—“Goth’s garden” being the cant name for a -place of execution in Stockholm, which is adorned with permanent gibbets, -and is so called from the name of the first man who was hanged there. -The saying is Swedish, not Norwegian, not only because it is local, but -because there are no capital punishments at all in Norway. - -[24] Christina, daughter of the great Gustavus Adolphus, a popular -and able sovereign, abdicated voluntarily,—wearied of the toils of -government,—and is said to have uttered some such speech as that -attributed to her by Torkel on crossing the little stream which in those -days separated her late dominions from those of Denmark. - -[25] Between “the two lights,”—that is to say, twilight,—is always the -time in which all spirits of the middle earth have the greatest power; -of course the reason is, that seen indistinctly in the doubtful light -of morning or evening, natural objects take strange forms, and exhibit -appearances which are ascribed to the supernatural. - -[26] A sort of scallop, of very beautiful colour. - -[27] In the Swedish Church there used to be a regular private confession -made to the priest before every Communion, on which occasion an -offertory, called confession-money, was deposited on the altar. It is, -indeed, the rule of the Church still, though, since a royal ordinance, in -1686, forbade penitents to select their own confessors, confining them to -the priest of their parish, the custom has fallen into disuse; still the -old expressions are frequently retained. - -[28] The mal is said to be a great-headed, wide-mouthed monster, with -a long beard, of the same colour as the eel; and, like the eel, slimy -and without any perceptible scales. It is said to grow to the length of -twelve or fourteen feet, to weigh three or four hundred pounds, and to -carry on his back fin a strong, sharp lance, which it can elevate or -depress at pleasure. It is supposed to lie seeking whom or what it may -devour in the deepest and muddiest holes of rivers or lakes. The author -has heard this fish talked of very often, but has never seen one, and -believes fully that it may safely be classed with the Black Horse, the -Mid-Gard Serpent, and Dr. Clarke’s Furia Infernalis. - -[29] The leading fish of each shoal, or school, as it is called,—usually -a salmon of considerable weight and experience—is so termed by the Irish -fishermen. - -[30] Frue is properly a title of nobility, and is of Danish origin. No -Norwegian titles date earlier than the Union of Kalmar. These, however, -have been all abolished by a Storthing, which, consisting mostly of -peasants, set itself strongly against aristocratical distinctions; and, -taking advantage of that clause in the constitution which provides, -that if a bill be carried three times it overrides the king’s veto, -have succeeded in abolishing them. Habit and custom, however, are -stronger than parliaments; and the mistress of a wealthy establishment -is frequently designated, not by her husband’s name, but as Lady Marie, -Lady Brigetta, or, as in the present case, Lady Christina—for that is the -meaning of the title Frue. - -[31] Not many years ago, the “summer parlour” was the only room in any -house that had windows that would open. - -[32] All livings in Norway have a dowager-house and farm belonging to -them, for the widow of the late incumbent. At her death, it passes back -to the present possessor of the living. - -[33] Deep water. - -[34] - - Here the Neck strikes his harp in his city of glass, - And the Mermaids comb out their bright hair, green as grass, - And bleach here their glittering clothes. - -[35] Those who are drowned at sea, and whose bodies are never recovered, -are said to have been enticed away to the mermaids’ caves beneath the -deep water. - -[36] Those who are lost and starved to death in the forest—a thing which -is of perpetual occurrence,—are said to be detained through the love of -the Skogsfrue. - -[37] - - “We fly from day’s dazzling light, - But we joy in the shades of night,— - Though we journey on earth, our home must be - Beneath the shell of the earth and the sea.” - - _Mathisen._ - -[38] This legend is taken from the Brage Rädur, which, in the original, -is obscure enough. Finn Magnussen, however, seems to have hit upon the -right interpretation of it, which we have followed here. His explanation, -as given in “Blackwell’s Northern Antiquities,” is this:—“Iduna, -the ever-renovating Spring-being, in the possession of Thjasse, the -desolating Winter,—all nature languishes until she is delivered from her -captivity. On this being effected, her presence again diffuses joy and -gladness, and all things revive; while her pursuer, Winter, with his icy -breath, dissolves in the solar rays, indicated by the fires lighted on -the walls of Asgard.” - -[39] Niord and his wife, Skadi, had naturally some disputes about their -future residence,—he preferring the brightness of his own palace, -Noatun, she very naturally yearning after Thrymheim, the abode of her -chilly father. The dispute was referred to Forseti, the son of Baldur, -the heavenly attorney-general, who decided that they should alternately -occupy Noatun for three months and Thrymheim for nine,—which is about the -Norwegian proportion of summer and winter. - - “Thrymheim, the land - Where Thjasse abode, - That mightiest of giants,— - But snow-skating Skadi - Now dwells there, I trow, - In her father’s old mansion.” - - _Elder Edda._ - -[40] A proof of the authenticity of this legend is to be found in the -etymology of the word, “gate,” (gatin—the street), being a Norwegian word. - -[41] Hermod and Baldur were both sons of Odin. That is to say, Courage -and Innocence are both children of Heavenly Wisdom. - -[42] The moral of this legend is admirable. The Principle of Evil is of -itself powerless against the Principle of Good, until it is assisted by -well-intentioned, but blind Prejudice; but that same Prejudice, after its -enlightenment, becomes its partner and ally. - -[43] An attentive reader, who is also a fisherman, will see, by reverting -to the time which the adventures in the Torjedahl and Soberud-dahl must -have taken, that this voyage must have taken place much later in the -year than the 24th of June, and that consequently he could not have seen -the bale-fires he describes. The fact is, the author made two visits to -Christiansand; he arrived there in June, but, finding the snow-water -still in the river, he made a voyage among the islands, to occupy -the time, and visited the place again at the end of July. To prevent -unnecessary confusion, the incidents of both these visits are told -together; but the fisherman must not conclude from this, that anything -is to be done in any of the Tellemarken rivers before the second week in -July. - -[44] The whole Norwegian navy consists of one frigate, two corvettes, -two brigs, three schooners, and a hundred and forty of these gun-boats. -The Swedes, who have upon the whole rather a powerful navy, considering -the poverty of their country,—that is to say, thirteen line-of-battle -ships, fourteen frigates, some of them very heavy ones, and twenty-two -steamers—possess also three hundred of these gun-boats. They carry -generally one long tomer forward, and sometimes a carronade, sometimes -a smaller gun aft. They are quite open, except a couple of bunks for -the officers’ sleeping places, pull from twenty to thirty oars, and are -generally sent to sea in squadrons, with a frigate or corvette to take -care of them,—like an old duck with a brood of ducklings. The frigate -forms a rallying point and place of refuge, as well as a place of rest, -for the crews are changed from time to time, and in their turns enjoy a -week’s rest and cover on board of her. - -[45] In Sweden there really is an order of the Seraphim, and in Denmark -one of the Elephant,—for the Goose and Gridiron we will not vouch. - -[46] That ancient and distinguished family are said to read Gen. vi. -4 thus: “And there were Grants in the earth in those days.” The word -“giants” being, according to the best authorities in that family, a -modern reading. - -[47] Bjornstjerna, a not uncommon name in Sweden, signifies “bear’s star.” - -[48] Bör, civilized man,—from _beran_, to bear; the same etymology as -that of _barn_, a child. Ymir, Chaos,—literally, a confused noise; the -meaning is, “before civilization had subdued Chaos.” - -[49] It must be remembered that the letter o, in Swedish, is pronounced -like our oo, and that the g before ä e i ö, as well as the final g, is -pronounced like the English y; the word “Modige,” therefore, will be -pronounced very like the English word “Moodie.” - -[50] _Rubus Chamœmorus_; called in the country, _Möltebär_. - -[51] Baldur’s Eye-brow—_Anthemis Cotula._—LINN. - -[52] The Puritan Abbott, Archbishop of Canterbury, got into great -trouble from his sporting propensities. One day, as he was shooting with -Lord de le Zouch, at Branshill Park, he shot a keeper. According to -canon law, a clergyman killing a man becomes, from that time forward, -incapable of performing any clerical function; and three Bishops elect -refused consecration at his hand,—“Not,” as they said, “out of enmity or -superstition, but to be wary that they might not be attainted with the -contagion of his scandal and uncanonical condition.” He was re-instated -by a committee of Bishops, appointed for the purpose, but never entirely -recovered his position. - -[53] According to Scandinavian mythology, the sacred ash of Yggdrasil, -which typifies the Vital Principle of the world, has seated on -its topmost boughs an eagle, bearing perched between his eyes a -falcon,—emblematic of Energy and Activity. - -[54] According to the Prose Edda, the gods had originally no poetry in -their souls. The mead of Poetic Inspiration was in the keeping of the -giant Suttung, who entrusted it to his daughter, Gunlauth. Odin made -love to her,—obtained possession of the mead, and deserted her. He had, -however, the grace to be ashamed of himself, for these are the words of -the Hávamál, in which he evidently alludes to this not very creditable -passage in his life: - - “Gunlauth gave me, - On a golden chair seated, - A draught of mead delicious; - But the return was evil - Which she experienced,— - With all her faithfulness— - With all her deep love! - - “A holy ring oath - I mind me gave Odin,— - Now, who can trust him? - Suttung is cheated— - His mead is stolen— - Gunlauth is weeping!” - -[55] A Norwegian slang expression, for “early rising.” - -[56] There is a beautiful superstition—if it is not a real religious -truth—in Norway, that those we have loved best on earth become our unseen -guardians, and follow us always, to warn us of danger. - -[57] - - “Then shall brethren be - Each other’s bane, - And sister’s children rend - The ties of kin. - - “Hard will be the age, - And harlotry prevail,— - An axe-age, a sword-age— - Shields oft cleft in twain,— - A storm-age, a wolf-age, - Ere earth shall meet its doom.” - - _The Völuspà._ - -[58] Stags are not common so far north, but they are to be met with now -and then. Elks are much more often seen, and are now pretty plentiful. -In the days of which the author is writing, the Game Laws were, on paper -at least, very strict about both elks and red-deer. Time was, when -the former of these were classed with the bear and the lynx, and were -absolutely outlawed as noxious beasts. At the time the author was in -Sweden, the laws had gone to the other extreme, and they were absolutely -protected,—everybody being forbidden to shoot them; a prohibition which, -though it prevented men from going after them openly, was, in fact, as -little regarded as most laws are in the fjeld. Now, they may be shot, -only under certain restrictions. - -[59] A cant phrase in Sweden, for “going on foot.” - -[60] The only time the author ever did get a sight of one was in the -fjeld on the right bank of the Gotha, near Trollhättan, when he was -making his way through some tangled ground in search of a lake, which -lies at no very great distance from the fall. On leaping down from a -low ledge of rock, he very nearly pitched upon the top of a filfras, as -much to his own surprise as that of the beast. He struck at him with his -spiked fishing-rod—the only weapon he had with him. Fortunately for both -parties, as he now thinks, he missed him; so they parted, much to their -mutual satisfaction, and have not met since. - -[61] Nalle is the cant name for the bear kind, as with us Reynard is the -cant name for a fox. - -[62] “Rig,” the earthly name of Heimdall, the watcher of Heaven’s gate, -when he disguises himself to go skylarking on earth. Hence the slang -expression, “Running a Rig.” - -[63] The Sun and Moon are continually pursued by the wolf Fenrir and her -progeny, who sometimes nearly catch her. Hence the eclipses. - -[64] The author will not answer for his orthography in the word -“pein-compassen.” He can work a reckoning by it, but has never seen it -spelt. - -[65] There is no book so popular in Sweden as what they call “Peter -Simpel aff Kapten Marrjatt.” - -[66] In Preadamite times—that is to say, the times of Drake and -Raleigh—this was the custom of the English service also; but it having -been discovered that “what is everybody’s business is nobody’s business,” -and that accidents and negligences were continually happening during the -dog watch, a regular afternoon watch was established, and the dog watch -reduced to four hours, and divided into two; so that the whole ship’s -company could relieve one another systematically, and not, as before, -by private arrangement; and that the whole could have two uninterrupted -hours below, between four and eight in the evening, for their evening -meal, or any other occupation. The whole afternoon watch was called the -dog watch, because in the full light,—and Norwegian ships did not go to -sea in the winter because they were frozen up,—the work was supposed to -be so easy that the dogs were sufficient to keep it. - -[67] Those drowned at sea, whose bodies are never found, are supposed -to have been invited by the mermaids to their caves, and to have been -fascinated by the beauty of their entertainers. Homer’s story of the -Syrens enticing the comrades of Ulysses, has some such foundation. - -[68] The words “smart” and “smartly,” which, at sea, have a signification -very different from their shore-going meaning, are pieces of -mis-spelling. They are evidently derived from the Norwegian words “snart” -and “snartlig,” which bear precisely the same nautical meaning as our -English words. - -[69] This is a literal fact. Three weeks after sailing from -Christiansand, and seventeen days after losing sight of land of any -kind,—during which time there had been but two days in which the brig -could lie her course,—the author was in the fore-rigging, on the look-out -for the Outer Garboard buoy. He had but small hopes of seeing it, he -admits, for the brig had been navigated by log, lead, and compass -alone; nevertheless it is true, that within half-an-hour of his taking -up his look-out place, and precisely in the direction in which he was -looking, there was the buoy,—a little black speck, like a dancing boat. -This, considering that the steamer in which he had gone out—a vessel -commanded by a lieutenant in her Majesty’s navy—was fifty miles out of -her reckoning, after a straight course of four days, seemed, to say the -least, remarkable. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST SCENES IN NORWAY AND -SWEDEN: BEING EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF A FISHERMAN *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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