Produced by Al Haines









[Illustration: Cover art]




[Frontispiece: Sogne Fjord, Gudvangen (missing from book)]




  THE
  NORWEGIAN FJORDS



  PAINTED AND DESCRIBED

  BY

  A. HEATON COOPER

  ARTIST OF "THE ENGLISH LAKES"


  WITH

  TWENTY-FOUR FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
  IN COLOUR




  LONDON
  ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK
  1907




Published September, 1907




  Black's Smaller Series
  of Beautiful Books

  THE NORWEGIAN FJORDS




  BY THE SAME ARTIST


  THE ENGLISH LAKES

  PAINTED BY
  A. HEATON COOPER

  DESCRIBED BY
  W. T. PALMER


  CONTAINING 75 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
  IN COLOR

  PRICE 20s. NET


  "Every lover of the Lake District will do
  well to secure a copy of this beautiful
  book."--_The Guardian_.

  "This very handsome and acceptable
  volume."--_The World_.

  "The book is one to pore over at leisure, and
  to enjoy either when on a holiday or after
  returning from one."--_Yorkshire Post_.

  "This beautiful book is a triumph of local
  literature and art which will be a treasure to
  all in whose way it comes."--_Whitehaven News_.


  Published by
  A. & C. BLACK . SOHO SQUARE. LONDON . W.



  AGENTS

  AMERICA. . THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
             64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK

  CANADA . . THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.
             27 RICHMOND STREET WEST, TORONTO

  INDIA . .  MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.
             MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY
             309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA




{v}

NOTE

The fjords of Norway, by their unique charm, annually attract an
increasing number of English and American tourists.

This volume, the artist hopes, may be found useful to the traveller who
desires a more intimate acquaintance with the country and its people
than may be acquired from a casual visit to its shores.

It is the outcome of periodical visits to Norway extending over the
last fifteen years, including two winters spent among the fjords and
mountains of that delightful and interesting country.

In claiming for this volume no literary merit whatever, the artist
trusts that the {vi} reader, whilst accepting it as perhaps a feeble
statement of bare facts, will find compensation for any lack in this
respect by appreciating his efforts in the illustrations.  A.H.C.

CONISTON, R.S.O.,
    LANCASHIRE.




{vii}

CONTENTS


CHAPTER I

Bergen--The Hardanger Fjord--A peasant's homestead, and home
industry--Horticulture--Land tenure--Boat-building from ancient
times--The staple food of the peasants--"The Gothenburg system"


CHAPTER II

The Hardanger Fjord (continued)--Means of communication--A drive by
"kariol" from Vossevangen to Ulvik--Ullensvang, the fruit-garden of
Hardanger--The ancient and national arts of wood-carving, tapestry
weaving, and embroidery--The Hardanger
violin--Waterfalls--Glaciers--Fjord formation


CHAPTER III

The "Eddas" and "Sagas"--Heathen mythology--A pagan temple--An ancient
"Stav-kirke" at Vik--Folklore and superstition--"Balder's Baal," or
midsummer's eve fires, of pagan origin--Wedding customs


{viii}

CHAPTER IV

The Sogne Fjord--Balholm and the "Frithjof's Saga"--Life at a "sæter"
or mountain out-farm--A bear-hunter's tale--Sea-fight between King
Sverre and Magnus Erlingssön, A.D. 1184--An ancient farmstead in
Næröfjord--A wedding at Gudvangen--The Nærödal


CHAPTER V

The Sogne Fjord (_continued_)--Forestry


CHAPTER VI

The mining industry--Lærdal and the Borgund church--The
Vettisfos--Lyster Fjord and Jötunheimen--The Norwegian Tourist
Club--Jöstedalsbræ, the most extensive ice-field in Europe--Urnæs
"Stav-kirke," the oldest church in Norway


CHAPTER VII

The Nord Fjord--The approach from the sea-coast--Typical fjord
scenery--Three beautiful lakes: Loen, Stryn, and Olden--Glaciers and
avalanches--A drive from Falejde to Öie--The magnificent gorge of
Nordangsdal


CHAPTER VIII

Thee Norwegian Established Church ("den Norske Stats-Kirke")--The
Reformation--The Lutheran creeds--The Bishops and clergy--The dioceses,
deaneries, and livings--Church missions--Free education obtains in
Norway--Schools and colleges--The University


{ix}


CHAPTER IX

The Hjörund Fjord--Öie to Hellesylt--An evening idyll--The Geiranger
Fjord and its waterfalls--An ancient farm near Meraak--By steamer to
Næs--The grandeur of the Romsdal--The River Rauma--Salmon fishing--The
great sea fisheries--The midnight sun--Winter sports in Norway--Wild
animals and game--Molde, the most beautifully situated town in Norway


Index




{xi}

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


SOGNE FJORD, GUDVANGEN (missing from book) . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_


HARDANGER FJORD: ODDE
  GODÖSUND (missing from book)
  ULVIK
  ÖSTENSÖ
  ÖSE FJORD
  SKJÆGGEDALSFOS
  BONDHUS GLACIER


SOGNE FJORD: VIK "STAV-KIRKE"
  ESE FJORD (A WEDDING PARTY)
  A "SÆTER," VETLE FJORD
  FJÆRLAND
  NÆRÖ FJORD
  NÆRÖDAL, FROM STALHEIM
  LÆRDALSÖREN
  URNÆS CHURCH, LYSTER

NORD FJORD: A SALMON RIVER, STRYN
  LOEN VAND AND GLACIER

HJÖRUND FJORD, ÖIE

{xii}

GEIRANGER FJORD
  MERAAK

THE MOUNTAINS OF ROMSDAL

ROMSDALS FJORD FROM NÆS

MOLDE




{1}

THE NORWEGIAN FJORDS




CHAPTER I

THE HARDANGER FJORD

To approach the Norwegian coast at sunrise is an exceedingly enjoyable
experience.  Myriads of rock-islands in the sea and cloud-islands in
the sky, their perspective terminating on the distant horizon in a
peaked range of inland mountains, themselves like a cloud floating in
golden vapour of dawn.

As the rising sun burns its path upwards, the sparkling sea reflects
the glory of the sky in countless hues, and the magic of morning is
felt in the air, cool and clear as crystal, as the steamer slows to
await the pilot and the sea-birds wheel around.

{2}

Threading this intricate maze of islands, indications of human
habitation soon become evident perched on grassy headlands or nestling
in rocky creeks, and soon we are at the busy wharf of the first port of
call, Stavanger, a bustling and clean little town, whose
eleventh-century cathedral stands in dignified contrast to the
brightly-painted wooden buildings at its feet.

[Sidenote: Bergen]

The navigation of the coast here is exceedingly intricate--rocky
islands and skerries innumerable, and narrow winding channels;
lighthouses, which are seen at every turn, and on both sides of the
steamer's course, indicate the dangers and test the skill of the pilot
and captain as the steamer proceeds in a north-westerly direction to
Bergen, the metropolis of Western Norway.

Founded by King Olaf Kyrre in 1070, Bergen has witnessed most of the
stirring events of the nation's life.

The population of the town is now 72,000.  During the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries the Hanseatic League, {3} which then monopolized
the commerce of Northern Europe, held absolute sway here in Bergen, and
the quaint Tydskebryggen (German quay) was their trading quarters.
Near by the fortified tower of Rosenkranz was built to hold the
Hanseatic quarter in check.  It adjoins Haakonshal, the ancient palace
of King Haakon Haakonson, who died in 1263.

This is the most ancient part of the town, although it is at present
undergoing a change.  Tydskebryggen is being modernized; its old-world
character is fast disappearing.

Close by is St. Maria Kirken, a quaint twelfth-century church, formerly
in possession of the Hanseatic League.

Triangelen (the fish-market quay) is interesting on Wednesday and
Saturday mornings, where a fleet of small fishing-boats is moored
alongside, lively and witty bargaining going on between buyer and
seller which is highly amusing to witness.  Bergen is in many respects
a most interesting town, the ancient rubbing shoulders {4} with the
modern--the electric tram-car with the carrier's cart and "kariol"; the
slender wood-framed, sack-covered booth with the gaily-painted kiosk;
and the latest fashions from London and Paris with the divers
picturesque costumes of fisherfolk and farmer, "striler" and "bönder."
Handsome stone-built shops stand cheek by jowl with the low red-tiled
wooden ones, no two alike, in every variety of size and colour,
relieving the monotony of the narrow and crooked streets.

The climate of Bergen is exceedingly mild and humid, not unlike that of
the west coast of Scotland, and the numerous shops where umbrellas and
rain-coats are displayed for sale give some indication of the
prevailing weather, although I have known it to be fine there for
several days together.  But this not being in the nature of a
guide-book--"Baedeker," "Beyer," and "Bennett" supply all the
information one necessarily requires, and much more than I have space
to admit {5} here--we must pass on to the chief subject of the book,
and enter the fjords, taking first the Hardanger Fjord.

This beautiful arm of the sea is second in regard to length, the Sogne
Fjord being the longest; but what it lacks in this respect is more than
balanced by the charm of the scenery and the greater area of land under
cultivation--orchards gay with blossom, and well-trimmed farms with
brightly-painted wooden houses, red, yellow, or white, perched high on
the mountain's flank, or nestling nearer the fjord margin.  This
beautiful district of Hardanger has been the theme of poet and painter
for generations.

[Sidenote: The Hardanger costume]

The Hardanger women are mostly of fair complexion, with blue eyes, and
their costume is the most picturesque of any in the country.  It
consists of a bright red or green bodice, gay with beads in front,
clean white linen sleeves, a large white head-covering ("skaut"), blue
skirt trimmed with coloured braid, and a belt of beads with an old
silver filigree clasp.  The {6} unmarried wear the hair hanging in two
long plaits down the back, and for headgear a small white cotton shawl
tied under the chin in place of the more elaborate "skaut" of the
married.

It is an interesting sight to witness on Sunday mornings the
well-filled boats coming from all parts of the fjord parish, men and
girls alike rowing their graceful boats to church.  On landing, they
arrange each other's toilet on the beach, and when inside the sacred
edifice, the women and girls sit on one side of the centre aisle and
the men on the other.

The service is Lutheran, and there is much singing of hymns or
"psalmer" in a leisurely way while sitting.  The farmer's dog is also
quite a "regular attender," but he is usually well-behaved, and no one
appears to take the slightest notice of him unless he happens to pick a
quarrel with another of his species.

[Illustration: Odde, Hardanger Fjord.]

After, and sometimes during, Divine service small groups of farmers may
be seen in the churchyard talking over the {7} state of the market--of
crops and cattle and other gossip--as each one repeatedly turns over
the ample "quid" of tobacco in his mouth.  It may be that they meet
only once in three weeks, for many a parson has two or three churches
to attend to.  But the churches are, as a rule, well filled, no matter
what happens to be the condition of the weather.

[Sidenote: A peasant's homestead]

In their homes these peasants live the "simple life" in square log
houses of primitive form, finished on the outside with
weather-boarding, turf laid on birchbark for roof-covering, on which
grow masses of wild flowers, and one may even see a young birch-tree
find root there and flourish.

The houses are painted on the outside, according to the taste of their
owners, red, white, or yellow ochre, and these bright spots of colour
add a cheerful note to the landscape.

Inside the house the log walls are allowed to season, and in time they
acquire a rich tone of brown.  There is {8} generally one principal
room on the ground floor, and in it the farmer, his family, and
servants live and have their meals together in quite patriarchal
fashion.  In this room also are commonly found a couple of beds used by
the farmer and his wife, the other members of the household having
theirs up in the loft.

The cooking is done in the large common-room, as is also the carding,
spinning, winding, and weaving of home-grown wool for the family in
quite primitive fashion on ancient wheel and wooden hand-loom, this
industry being their chief employment in the long winter nights.

Outside the farm-house there is always a store-room, called a
"stabbur," standing separately.  This building rests on short strong
pillars of wood to keep out the rats and other intruders, and in it are
stored dried meats, cheeses, milk, and other foodstuffs.

An additional outbuilding, called a "bui," is used for keeping the
clothing, tapestries, blankets, etc.; also the daughter's {9} wedding
trousseau and old silver articles--heirlooms--including a bride's crown
of silver gilt, all stored away in huge chests ("kists").  Here may
also be found carefully treasured a variety of ancient carved and
painted wooden bowls and tankards, out of use except at weddings and
other state occasions.

Another detached outhouse, called an "ild-hus," is used for the baking
of "flad bröd," a kind of rye cake, crisp and dry, and of the thickness
of brown paper.

Yet another small outhouse is required for drying corn for brewing
purposes, farmers being permitted to brew ale for their own consumption
only, the sale of it not being lawful.  Most households enjoy their
home-brewed ale at Christmas-time, and they may even keep a small
quantity over until Easter.

In addition to these small outbuildings there are, of course, the barn
and cowhouse, with accommodation for horses, sheep, and pigs, forming
altogether quite a little hamlet.

{10}

On the farms the womenfolk must look after the cattle, sheep, and
goats, in addition to their ordinary household work, so they have not
much time for idle recreation.  The only important break in their
humdrum lives, and to which they look forward with gladness, is the
annual removal of the household, in the early summer, to the "sæter,"
or mountain outfarm, a description of which, and the life there, I will
deal with in a subsequent chapter.

The male members of the family are chiefly occupied with the raising
and trading in domestic animals--horses, cattle, goats, sheep, etc.--in
cutting faggots from their woods, and in the making of barrel-hoops for
sale in the nearest towns.  Boat-building also employs much of their
time.

[Sidenote: Horticulture--land tenure]

Horticulture does not play any very prominent part in Norway, although,
on most farms it is carried on to some extent, together with regular
farming.

Among the more enlightened peasantry it is the rule to find outside the
dwelling-house a kitchen garden where vegetables {11} necessary to the
family are raised, such as cabbages, turnips, carrots, onions, peas,
and beans, and of fruit-trees we may find in many places pears, apples,
cherries, currants, gooseberries, and strawberries.

On every hand the planting of fruit-trees is increasing, and in
favourable years quite excellent results may be obtained, but the rough
climate during the winter renders the fruit yield somewhat uncertain.
It is only in a few districts around the Christiania Fjord and the
Hardanger Fjord that horticulture is carried on to any greater extent
than to satisfy the farmer's own requirements, although at the present
time there is a strong movement for the promotion of horticulture, and
many of the counties ("amt") have appointed gardeners, who travel round
the district giving farmers free instruction in the laying out and
management of gardens and orchards.  Perhaps it may be as well to
mention here that the Norwegian peasant has always enjoyed a freedom
which to the same class in other countries has been denied.

{12}

In former centuries the feudal system was generally adopted in most
European countries, but it has never existed in Norway.

The peasants have always maintained their freedom to acquire property
anywhere within the limits of their own country; this circumstance,
however, did not prevent an accumulation of the landed estates in a few
hands, the result being that the peasant class to a very great extent
became tenants and leaseholders, and less than one-half of the land of
the country was utilized by freeholders.

As far back as 1685 a Royal Ordinance was issued by which a landowner
who utilized more than one estate should pay double taxes on those in
excess of one; as a consequence the farms were gradually sold to the
peasants, a process which is going on to the present day.

This system of peasant proprietorship has worked remarkably well in the
country, nine-tenths of the farmers being now freeholders; they have
consequently a {13} more substantial interest in the development of
their farms and in the improvement of their land.

[Sidenote: Boat-building]

Boat-building is a lucrative employment, and this industry is carried
on in many places on the Hardanger Fjord--chiefly at Jondal; also at
Rosendal, on the ancient and beautifully situated barony of
Rosenkrantz, at the foot of the mountain Melderskin.

The building of boats is the most ancient industry with which the
Norwegians are acquainted.

Pliny the elder tells us that in the reign of Nero the Romans voyaged
as far north as the Baltic, and Tacitus goes on to describe what lies
beyond--that they knew, at any rate, the southern portion of the
Scandinavian peninsula; and he speaks of their finding the country rich
in arms and ships and men.

There are yet other proofs from a far earlier age in the rock-carvings
or runes called "helleristninger," dating away back to an age not less
remote than 500 years {14} B.C.  These are found, among other places,
at Leirvaag farm in Askevold, on the south side of Atlöen, and at
Bohuslän in Southern Norway, where they are associated with many
chambered tombs of the Stone Age.

These carvings represent ships, some of them being quaint
representations of sea-fights, the boats being somewhat similar in
appearance to those used by the Vikings of the ninth and tenth
centuries of our era.  Rude as these rock-carvings are, they give us
some idea of the kind of vessels employed in that very remote age: they
represent long row-boats with very high carved prows or sternposts, and
are steered not by a rudder behind, but by an oar at the side, and from
this practice is derived our word "starboard" or "steerboard," being
the right-hand side of the vessel.

The Vikings used also a square sail, which could be hoisted when
required.  This they had learnt indirectly from the Romans.

The traveller among the fjords of Norway {15} may, to this day, see
those heavy boats with high prows and square sails, which have an
indescribable air of antiquity about their build, contrasting quaintly
with more modern-built craft of coasting vessels and fishing-smacks.

Although this ancient type of boat is fast dying out, the traveller
will yet find a number of them in Nordland, and these are still more
like the Viking ships of old, having also high pointed sterns.

These old-fashioned boats are a link between us and the remotest past
of Scandinavia, of the early period of the rock carvings, and of the
romantic period of the Vikings.

The boats built in Hardanger differ in form from those of the Sogne
Fjord and Nordland, as the traveller will note as he proceeds
northwards, the Hardanger type being of light and elegant construction,
and drawing less water than those to which we are accustomed.

Every peasant and cotter has his own boat or boats, and these may be
seen {16} everywhere along the fjord, either in use on the water, or
pulled up on the strand, and, where there is found a convenient
landing-place, log-built boathouses are erected.

Norwegians are fond of gay colours, as evidenced in the painting of
their houses and boats.  Many farmers build their own boats out of wood
grown on their own farms, and some build to sell again.  The cost of a
four-oared boat is about twenty-five kroner (twenty-eight shillings), a
six-oared fifty kroner, and an eight-oared boat seventy kroner.

[Sidenote: Staple food of peasants]

As fish plays an important part in the diet of the peasants, the boats
are greatly in use.  The fjords being great arms of the sea, most kinds
of sea-fish are caught therein, sometimes in very large quantities,
herring being often in such densely-packed masses that quite a number
of fishermen use large wooden shovels to transfer them to their boats,
returning repeatedly to the harvest until the mass has dispersed.

{17}

At such times these fish are placed in barrels and salted, being either
kept for winter use at home or shipped to the nearest seaport town.

Fish and oatmeal porridge--"havregröd"--have formed from the earliest
times the staple food of the Norwegians, as we learn from the sagas,
and in "Hārbarôsljòô," in the "Sæmundar Edda":

  "Àt ek i hvìld
    aôr ek heiman fòr
  sildr ok hafra."


"För jeg reiste hjemme fra, aad jeg i fred sild og havre," which,
translated, reads, "Before I left my home, ate I in peace fish and
oatmeal."

[Illustration: Godösund (missing from book)]

The peasant's ordinary routine for meals is commonly as follows: At 6
a.m., oatmeal cake or potato cake and buttermilk; at 8 a.m.--the chief
meal of the day--is served fish, and boiled, salted, or dried mutton
with potatoes; at 12 mid-day, oatmeal porridge and buttermilk; at 4
p.m., dried, smoked, or salted fish {18} with potatoes and buttermilk;
at 8 p.m., oatmeal porridge and milk.

This primitive food is still the daily custom of the peasant's
household, although in some places coffee is used after the meals, and
a very poorly-baked brown bread of barley or rye, occasionally mixed
with oats; but rarely do they eat wheaten bread.

Much has been written by Norwegian authors with reference to the lack
of cleanliness in the peasants' homes, but since so many foreign
travellers in later years have visited the country, there has been a
very considerable improvement in this respect.

The real cause of untidiness was that the women had really too much to
do in looking after the cattle and farms, which took up the principal
part of their time.  Thus the ordinary household duties--the care of
the children, cooking, etc.--were to some extent neglected.

This stigma can no longer be applied, as, by their own industry and
thrift, the {19} peasants mostly are now in a more prosperous
condition.  They are thus able to afford more assistance on the farms,
and their wives are spared much of the degrading work which was their
lot in the past.  They have, consequently, more time for the care and
education of the children, and their homes will now compare favourably
in cleanliness with any of their class with which we are acquainted.

[Sidenote: The "Gothenburg system"]

The present prosperity of the Norwegian peasant may undoubtedly be
traced to the working of the liquor law of 1871, popularly known as the
"Gothenburg system," by which it is now made extremely difficult to
obtain intoxicating liquor, especially spirits.

The Norwegian nation may now take premier place among nations with
regard to sobriety.  Norway, however, has not always taken up such a
favourable position.  During the years 1830-1840 we find the country
ravaged by the "spirits plague," with its attendant sad results, moral,
economic, and sanitary.  By a law {20} of 1810, anyone was allowed to
distil spirits from his own produce.  This naturally resulted in an
alarming increase in the consumption of alcohol.

In the "forties" legislation took energetic measures against this,
being at the same time strongly supported by the voluntary abstinence
movement.  The manufacture of spirits was only permitted when it was
done wholesale, and was, at the same time, restricted to a limited
number of distilleries.  No one was allowed to retail spirits without a
licence from the Local Board, who had also "local option" in the
matter, sale of spirits being forbidden on Sundays and holy days, and
on the afternoon preceding these.  A heavy tax was levied both on the
home production and on retail sale.

The beneficial consequences of this wise legislation were soon
apparent.  The number of bars decreased rapidly through a breaking off
of drinking habits, and a consequent decrease in the consumption of
spirits was distinctly perceptible, as {21} well as the increased
prosperity and improved public health.  The rural districts in
particular were almost cleared of spirit-selling, which was now
restricted to the towns.

By the law of 1871 the Local Boards in the towns were allowed to make
over their retail rights to philanthropic companies--"samlag"--which,
instead of seeking to make the largest circle of customers, made it
their aim to supervise and restrict the drinking of spirits, and whose
net profits from the business should be devoted to "objects of public
utility"--in other words, it was the introduction of the "Gothenburg
system."

This system is also in force in Finland and in Sweden, but the
Norwegian differs from the Finnish and Swedish in several points,
especially in the fact that the profits do not, as in the neighbouring
kingdom, go to the municipal funds.  Norway does not, therefore, tempt
the municipalities to improve the state of its finances by an increased
trade in spirits.

{22}

Finally, by a law of July 27, 1894, all men and women over twenty-five
years of age were allowed to decide by voting whether there should be
any sale of spirits in their town for the following five years.  As a
result of this there has been prohibition of late years in a number of
towns.  For the whole country there is now only one "samlag" to every
10,000 inhabitants.

It thus follows that the many millions of kroner saved annually in
households by the reduced consumption of intoxicating liquors have
contributed greatly to raise the economic well-being of the nation, and
it has been said, with reason, that the Norwegians have educated
themselves to abstinence and sobriety.

Thus, on every hand we see evidences of this wise legislation in the
enlarged and modernized farms, increased acreage of land under
cultivation, the scientific planting of fruit-trees, and the more
general use of modern implements of husbandry.




{23}

CHAPTER II

THE HARDANGER FJORD (_continued_)

Hardanger Fjord is most fortunate in its means of communication, it
being so easy of access by water from the towns of Stavanger and Bergen.

Native fjord steamers call at all the principal places _en route_ at
least once every day, and the traveller may arrange his journey so as
to include a variety of overland routes, posting by "kariol" or
"stolkjerre" on good roads, engineered with great skill, through
magnificent scenery.

From the commencement of the seventeenth century the peasants have been
required by law to supply horses and to convey travellers at a
reasonable and fixed rate of payment, and posting-stations {24} in
connection with hotels and inns are now established on all high roads,
at distances varying from eight to fifteen miles.

A line of railway was opened in 1883 from Bergen to Vossevangen, by
which the Hardanger and Sogne districts can be reached in a few hours.

The journey by road from Vossevangen to Eide or Ulvik is an agreeable
experience, especially after several days on the steamer, and this
gives as good an example as any of the pleasure which may be derived
from this mode of travelling.

[Sidenote: To Ulvik by "kariol"]

It was late in the autumn when I last made this journey, in bright,
cloudless, October weather, warm sun, and crisp, frosty air--quite an
ideal day for driving, as the roads were dry and firm.  About five
miles on the way the road ascends through a forest of pine-trees and
high, rocky knolls, into whose deep shadow the sure-footed pony
plunges, to emerge into the warm and dazzling sunshine.  We drive by
the craggy margin of a series of wild mountain tarns, whose {25}
surface is still as Dian's looking-glass, and in whose depths are
reflected the craggs, the silver birches and pines, so perfectly that
you could with difficulty see where the land joined the water's margin.
In a near pool a trout rises, leaving circling lines of light blue
ripple on the surface of the sleeping water, thus accentuating the
perfect stillness.  For a moment we pause, just to enjoy for a brief
space the silence profound.

[Illustration: Ulvik, Hardanger Fjord]

The pony's hoofs no longer click on the hard road; only the faintest
murmur of some distant stream can be heard, or the rustle of a crisp
leaf as it falls from the graceful silver birch near by, which
stands--singly of its kind--a striking contrast to its more sombre
companions the pines--a harmony of gold, silver, and deep warm
green--in the bright sunshine of this perfect October morning.

Onward and upward we drive along the wild mountain road, still
embosomed in trees, when, at a sharp bend, on emerging from the forest,
suddenly we are confronted {26} by an awful abyss, enclosed by an
amphitheatre of huge perpendicular mountain buttresses, while near at
hand, and from just beneath our feet, plunges Skjervefos with mighty
volume into the chasm hundreds of feet below, sending clouds of spray
high into the air.

The road now descends in long zigzag sweeps down the breast of the
steep cliff, and passes, through clouds of spray, over a bridge near
the foot of the waterfall.  Down the steep valley we pursue our way and
pass several farms, where large numbers of goats are fenced in their
winter quarters near to the houses.

The tiny hamlet of Vasenden is now reached, and after a change of
horses here, we continue our journey uphill again for several miles, on
the road to Ulvik.  The steep mountain road is well wooded most of the
way, until at length the watershed is reached.

Here a fine lake, Espelandsvand, reposes at a height of some 1,200 feet
above the fjord, surrounded by high mountains.  {27} The road in
descending approaches in several places the very brink of a deep and
narrow gorge, from whose hidden depths arises the deep gurgle of the
mountain torrent on its hurried way to join the waters of the fjord
below.

The white church of Ulvik now appears by the margin of the blue fjord
beneath us.  Clustering around the church are the hotels and brightly
painted cottages in their orchards.  Across the winding fjord rise
range after range of snow-topped mountains, forming a panorama as fair
as one could wish to behold, and a fitting termination to an enjoyable
drive through such varied scenery as that which is found between the
fjords of Sogn and Hardanger.

One of the most perfect fjord views is to be obtained from Ullensvang,
in the Sör Fjord, a few miles from Odde.  This place has the reputation
of being the fruit-garden of Hardanger.  It has been the favourite
resort of artists and poets for generations.

Here we see, across the narrow fjord, {28} the huge snow-field and
glacier of Folgefond stretching in undulating line along the graceful
mountain masses.  Near at hand stands the medieval church on a green
promontory, and along the margin of the graceful sweep of bay brightly
painted farms nestle in extensive apple orchards.

In the bright warm days of early summer, when these fruit-trees are in
bloom, the picture is of exceptional beauty, the wealth of blossom
contrasting effectively with the snow masses and blue mountains across
the sparkling fjord.

From Kinservik--an easy morning's walk from Ullensvang--comes that
quaint and purely national type of wood-carving which has been revived
in recent years in Hardanger district by Lars Kinservik.  Here he may
yet be seen busy at work, assisted by a number of chosen carvers, and
surrounded by cleverly designed and skilfully executed work in
wood--dragons and other grotesque _motifs_ from pagan {29} mythology
being worked into exquisite pattern on high-backed chair, massive
sideboard, and roomy settle.

[Sidenote: The art of wood-carving]

The revival of this national and beautiful art of wood-carving is
steadily growing, and in this district it has spread to Östensö and
many other places in Hardanger, and from Vossevangen into the Sogne
Fjord district, where clever carvers are found at Vik and at Lærdal.

Wood-carving in Norway is one of the most ancient of the industrial
arts, and it shows a well-connected development from the days of the
Vikings, who carved in bold design the figure-heads which ornamented
their warships.  But the most interesting and important period of this
art is seen in the massive and richly-carved doorways to the wooden
"stav" churches.

The earliest of these show distinct evidence of Irish influence, the
ornament being usually composed of ribbon festoon, with grotesque
figures of animals and snakes.  The most characteristic of these {30}
carvings date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Following on this interesting period we find the influence of the
Anglo-Saxon and Norman, in which twining festoons of vines and various
other plants are associated with dragons and other winged monsters in
bold spiral design up the massive door portals.  Figure subjects
inspired by the sagas appear to have been in great demand, and we find
quaint designs of this kind taken from the Niflung and Volsung sagas.
A number of these richly-carved portals are preserved in the Bergen
Museum.

[Illustration: Östensö, Hardanger Fjord]

From the thirteenth to the sixteenth century the doorways of the
peasants' houses were similarly ornamented, and this decorative art was
followed up by the similar treatment of furniture and articles of
domestic use.

Early in the seventeenth century a fresh impetus was given to
peasant-carving by the introduction from the North German States of the
Frisian patterns.  These are {31} in low relief, and consist chiefly of
circles and wedge-shaped designs of great variety and beauty.

Examples of this period are far from rare, and in the proud possession
of the peasantry they are treasured as heirlooms, along with home-woven
tapestries, old silver ornaments, and antique embroideries.

[Sidenote: Tapestry-weaving]

Tapestry-weaving as a domestic industry has progressed hand-in-hand
with wood-carving, and this ancient art is still a favourite occupation
of the Norwegian housewife, who finds both pleasure and profit from its
pursuit.

The earliest sagas tell us of woven pictures, thus pointing to the fact
that even in those very remote times the Norwegians showed an inborn
artistic sense.

Of textile fabrics from the Viking age fragments only have been found,
and these in most cases were discoloured from contact with metallic
objects and by the moisture from turfy soil.  Woollen stuffs as well as
linen were used, even in the {32} Bronze Age, and the woven patterns
were always of geometric design, and were worked in one or more
colours, gold-wire, gracefully twisted, being used for decoration on
the garments.

Cloths with figures in colour on them, and which rather resemble the
famous Bayeux tapestries, are much prized.  Coloured embroidery from
medieval times is extremely effective, and displays skill and ability
of a highly artistic order.  Their full and harmonious colouring and
beauty of execution make these cloths very valuable.

The upstanding loom was used for weaving of picture tapestries, and it
is still to be found in the districts most noted for this domestic
industry--Hardanger, Sogn, Telemarken, and Gudbrandsdal.

In 1893 the Norwegian painter, Gerhard Munthe, introduced a new and
original style into the cloth-weaving industry which has had excellent
and far-reaching results.  His designs are based on the {33} old
Norwegian fairy-tales and folk-lore.  They are grotesquely fanciful and
highly imaginative, bold and harmonious in colour, and extremely
decorative in effect.  The movement is rapidly extending, and a new
life for this beautiful industrial art is in course of development.

The Hardanger district is famous for men who are clever in the art of
making the violin, and their skill in the use of this instrument is
known throughout the country.

[Sidenote: The Hardanger violin]

This Hardanger violin is in form higher and more arched than the
ordinary violin.  A dragon's head usually forms the scroll, the other
parts being richly ornamented by carvings and inlaid with ivory and
mother-o'-pearl.  There are four strings over the finger-board, and
four or more underneath; the latter act as sympathetic strings, and are
usually of fine steel wire.

The violin is the favourite musical instrument of the country people,
and on it they improvise their musical impressions of Nature's sounds,
such as "Twilight {34} Hours," "The Song of the Thrush," or the ringing
of chimes and marriage bells.

Through nearly all Norwegian music there runs a strong undercurrent of
sad melancholy, which may be attributed, no doubt, to the isolated and
solitary lives of the people, and to the effect on their natures of the
scenery and surroundings.

[Illustration: Öse Fjord]

Often the most talented performers on the violin are those whose homes
are in lonely and almost inaccessible places, where the voices of
Nature--the sighing of the wind among the pines, and the murmur of
waterfalls--play on the strings of their susceptible temperaments.

[Sidenote: Waterfalls]

Norway is the land of waterfalls.  In no other country are they so
numerous, and the murmur of them may be in your ears during many days
of travelling.  The beautiful district of Hardanger is particularly
happy in this respect.

The moist and warm summers produce a vegetation unequalled in richness
and beauty, and in the springtime, when the snows are melting, the warm
and still air {35} is palpitant with the music of countless waterfalls.
Some, appearing to shoot from the sky over high perpendicular crags
into the fjord, or gurgling in deep gorge unseen, send mellow music
floating in the balmy air above in delicious waves of sweetest sound.

In the immediate neighbourhood of Odde, on the innermost reach of the
Hardanger Fjord, are found some of the finest waterfalls in the
country.  One of them in particular--the Skjæggedalsfos, or, more
properly, Ringdalsfos--is considered by many travellers to be the
grandest waterfall in Europe.

I visited this magnificent fall about the end of May in perfect weather.

Landing, after two hours' row from Odde, at the farm Tyssedal, by the
fjord's margin, a path is found which leads uphill through aromatic
woods of silver birch and pine, and winding up the rough, craggy, and
bosky valley of Skjæggedal, it approaches in places quite abruptly the
very brink of the deep dark gorge where {36} thunders the river in a
succession of cataracts.  After a walk of some three English miles, the
farm which takes its name from, or gives it to, the valley is reached.

Just before I arrived at the farmstead, I overtook a young peasant and
his wife, who were driving a herd of goats before them.  The man had
several young kids in a covered basket slung over his shoulders.  The
woman walked in front of the goats, knitting as she went.

Procuring a boat and boatman at the farm, I was rowed across a small
lake formed by the river widening at this place.  I had for my
companions _de voyage_ the peasants and their goats, these of
themselves being quite as much as the boat could carry.  There was but
little room for the rower, but with short and steady strokes he landed
his cargo over in safety.

The young peasant informed me that on their way from Roldal they had
observed for some considerable time the {37} movements of a bear making
her way with two cubs over the Hardanger-vidde in the direction of
Ringdalsvand (lake), our destination, and although the man carried a
gun, he was unable to follow the bear on account of the goats under his
charge.

On bidding good-bye at this place to these young peasants and their
domestic flock, I noticed that the man's attire was somewhat out of the
ordinary and quite picturesque.  He wore dark-blue knee-breeches, with
stockings of undyed wool, red shirt-sleeves, and wideawake hat of grey
felt.  A number of old silver coins, used as buttons in a double row,
decorated his brown waistcoat; his gun and coat were thrown over his
shoulders, and in his hand he carried a long alpenstock, thus making up
together quite a picture which suited well the romantic surroundings.

We continued, and in a short time we came to a large
lake--Ringdalsvand, and my guide invited me to take a pair of {38}
oars, and he himself took the other pair.  We rowed steadily on in a
light breeze, which gave to the lake an intense blue colour reflected
from, the sky.  On every side were towering cliffs and snow-topped
mountains, whose steep bases were clothed with fragments of forest
which had escaped destructive avalanches.  Not a sign of human
habitation presented itself; only wild Nature, sublime and grand in the
extreme, surrounded us.

[Illustration: Skjæggedalsfos, Hardanger Fjord]

After about two hours of hard rowing, we pull up the boat on a pebbly
strand at our destination, near to the head of the lake.  We are now
just beneath the magnificent falls of Skjæggedal, which leap from the
top of huge cliffs and send immense volumes of spray to a considerable
distance; while on the gauzy vapour, which rises up from huge cauldrons
at its foot, the arc of a brilliant rainbow is formed in the sunshine
of mid-day.  The very earth around seems to vibrate through the
deafening roar from this mighty waterfall.  To hold a conversation with
the {39} guide is quite impossible, unless I shout at the very height
of my voice, and a feeling of deafness remained for a considerable time
after leaving the place.

After sketching the falls, my paper being quite drenched by the fine
spray which filled the air, my guide joined me in an impromptu cold
lunch on the sunny strand.

In returning, the foss was in sight during an hour's rowing, until,
passing along the base of a huge crag, at a bend of the lake, it
quickly disappeared from view.

In this immediate neighbourhood are other waterfalls, the most graceful
of which rejoice in the name Tyssestrengene, and their waters also
descend into this Ringdalsvand.  These beautiful falls are not so
imposing as those we have just left, but they are very picturesque.
They plunge down some 500 feet of quite perpendicular cliff, in
slender, graceful streams, which are seen to creep through a natural
bridge of glacier ice at the sky-line.

{40}

Other noted waterfalls in the Hardanger district are Vöringfos,
Laatefos, and Espelandsfos; each one of these has quite a distinct
character of its own, derived from more or less romantic surroundings.

The constant erosion caused by the mighty power of water, cutting into
the mountain masses of conglomerate and granite, has been the means of
forming the deep, narrow cañons and fjords, and, in conjunction with
moving glaciers, has been Nature's chisel, by which has been shaped the
present picturesque beauty of the scenery.

[Sidenote: Glaciers]

In the period known as the Great Ice Age, Norway is supposed to have
been entirely covered with ice-fields, just as Greenland and
Spitzbergen are at the present day.  Remnants of these snow-fields and
glaciers still remain, in this district, on the immense mountain
plateau which lies between the Sör Fjord and the sea-coast.

Here, too, we have the extensive Folgefond {41} ("fonn," or "fond,"
mass of snow).  This enormous expanse of snow and ice covers the
plateau at a height of some 3,000 feet to 5,000 feet above sea-level.
It is from thirty-six to forty English miles in length, and from nine
to sixteen miles in width.  From this great snow-field glaciers descend
in every direction, following the line of the valleys.  The most noted
of these are the Bondhus glacier in Mauranger, and the Buarbræ at Odde.

The most extensive general view of the great Folgefond snow-field is
obtained from the high land which lies between Roldal and Seljestad on
the east side, and from the neighbourhood of Teröen, at the entrance to
the Hardanger Fjord, on the west.

In sailing into a west-country fjord, and observing how it winds along
with no great breadth between the rocky cliffs, that rise higher and
higher the farther we penetrate, we could quite believe it to be a real
fissure in the earth's crust.

{42}

We receive the impression that the steep sides of the fjord must
continue down to immense depths.  Soundings show, however, that they
soon turn off to a somewhat flat bottom, that a cross-section is almost
in form like a trough, with more or less sloping sides, whose height is
small compared with the breadth of the trough; but, as the fjords are,
as a rule, very long--the Hardanger Fjord being about 116 miles--we
nevertheless get very considerable depths in the fjord basins, viz.,
from 2,500 to 4,000 feet.

[Sidenote: Fjord formation]

These characteristic and uniformly shaped basins are not found anywhere
except in those countries that have once been covered by inland ice,
nor is there any other natural force known that is able to hollow out
such peculiar trough-like basins.

Ice-cut land has always quite a decided and easily recognizable
character, and a Norwegian fjord landscape might, therefore, quite
easily be mistaken for a scene from the west coast of Scotland, or for
{43} one from the lakes of Italy or Switzerland.

The fjord glaciers in the west country were formed by the confluence of
ice-streams from the upper valleys.  These valleys, too, have
everywhere acquired the same peculiar trough-shaped cross-section,
where the sides curve together towards a flat bottom.

This glacial excavation further differs distinctly from the more even
lines of river erosion in a longitudinal section.  Each glacier works
according to its own power, without being associated very closely in
level with the branch valleys, as is always the case where running
streams have produced the river beds.

In these deep west-country valleys, especially, it is noticeable how
often the shape of the side valley opens out far up the slope of the
side-wall of the main valley, so that the rivers must fall in rapids
and waterfalls over this impediment.

Even if two glacier streams of equal power flowed together, it would be
an {44} exception if they had excavated to exactly the same depth;
there are, therefore, continual ledges in the longitudinal section of
the valleys, alternating with rapids and waterfalls.

All these characteristics are unknown in those countries where the
rivers have had to make their own regular lines of fall, but they are
always found in glacier-scored land.

[Illustration: Bondhus Glacier, Hardanger Fjord]

There is not much room for extensive valleys on the narrow peninsulas
between the fjords, nor is the distance between the head of the fjord
and the watershed very great, being steep.  The rivers are therefore
short, although in many places the volume of water is comparatively
large, owing to the heavy rainfall and, in spring and early summer, to
the quickly-melting snow.  Thus the depth of the fall down to the fjord
head is very steep, and it is therefore here, where the mountain forms
are grandest, that the waterfalls are most numerous, and where they are
the highest.

{45}

Above the head of the fjord and the upper reaches of the branch fjords
there exists in some places a corresponding series of lakes, or lake
basins, at a height of some hundreds of feet above the fjord level.

[Sidenote: Glacial action]

In the Hardanger district Sandven, Eidfjord, and Graven lakes are
examples.  Here, too, are rock basins of the typical fjord form filled
with river-water, answering to the erosion caused by the extremities of
the shorter glaciers in the valleys.

The inland ice during the great glacial period must have extended above
even the highest peaks in the interior of the country; but during the
lesser or later glacial period, when the extremities of the glaciers
only extended to the above-mentioned series of lakes at the heads of
the fjords, the higher mountain-tops--at any rate near the coast--and
the highest peaks, say, of Jötunheimen, have stood above the great
glacier, and have thus escaped the general process of grinding.

They appear, however, to have been {46} considerably affected by
natural forces in quite a different manner.  Their surface is
frequently broken up into loose fragments, and we find at their base
long lines of rocky débris.  We also constantly find them developed
into characteristic Alpine forms.

Small glaciers in their hollows gradually wear down as they recede into
semicircular corries, which cut up the original mountain forms into
rugged ridges and peaks.  These corries can only be developed above the
snow limit, and outside the greater region of inland ice, or in among
the rocky peaks above the glaciers' surface, and we see quite Alpine
forms lifting their sharp peaks above the undulating snow-field on the
extensive mountain plateaux.




{47}

CHAPTER III

THE SOGNE FJORD

From the brilliant and heroic Viking age originate those priceless gems
of early literature, the "Eddas" and "Sagas," poems and prose of the
greatest beauty.

The "Eddas" chronicle the exploits of pagan gods and legendary heroes,
in no way historical; they are purely mythological.  They convey to us
in the form of poetry an idea of the pagan mythology of the North in
pre-Christian times.  They were written at a period following on the
first settlement of Iceland, which was accomplished by pagan Celts and
Norwegians in the days of Harald Haarfagre, about A.D. 874, and they
were continued long after the introduction there of {48} Christianity
by King Olav Trygvesson, A.D. 1000.

Snorre Sturlason, the Skald, about A.D. 1220 composed what is known as
the "Younger Edda," being inspired by the oldest poetry in the Celtic
and Icelandic languages.

The "Sagas" had their beginning in oral tradition.  They celebrated the
deeds and exploits of heroic men of the early Viking age.  These
stories were greatly embellished by the "Saga"-makers, who related them
in the halls of petty kings and chieftains at great feasts, and we may
be sure they delighted the hearers, who took part in imagination in the
lively doings of their brave ancestors.

The learned Ari Frodi was first to commit these "Sagas" to writing in
the year 1130.  From these early writings we gather some information
regarding the heathen gods of mythology.

[Sidenote: Heathen mythology]

We learn that Odin was all-father and god of war.  Thor, the son of
Odin the Thunderer, was ruler of the air and a {49} deadly foe to
"jotuns" (giants) and wizards.  Niord was controller of winds and
protector of sailors, and Freya was the goddess of peace.  Balder the
Beautiful was the sun-god.  "Trolds" are spirits of the mountains,
forests, and lakes, and "valkyries" are the beautiful maidens of Odin.

Asgaard was the home of the "æsir" (gods), Valhalla the hall of the
departed heroes in Asgaard.  Neiffelheim was the frozen underworld, and
Muspelheim the place of heat and fire, while Loki was the enemy of the
gods (Lucifer).

Images of these gods were placed in the pagan temple, which was called
"Hov," or "Hove."  This edifice was built of stone or wood.  It
consisted of a nave and chancel.  In the centre of the nave stood a
large flat fireplace of stone, on which the flesh of the sacrifice was
cooked.  The smoke from the burning found its way through a square hole
in the roof.  Rude benches ran along the sides of the walls, and in the
midst of {50} these was placed, in a conspicuous position, the high
seat, with its great carved pillars ("stolper"), and it was on this
seat that the heathen chief sat who officiated at the sacrificial rites.

In the centre of the chancel stood the altar.  This was placed on a
slight elevation, above the hard earthen floor of the temple.  Ranged
at the back of the altar were the wooden images of the pagan gods, with
the principal one--oftest Thor--in the centre.  On the altar the victim
of the sacrifice--usually an animal, but sometimes a human being--was
slain and laid, and the blood was caught in huge bowls of wood or
metal, kept expressly for that purpose.  The blood was then sprinkled
on the altar and walls, on the images of the gods, and on those
worshipping.

Hung on to the altar was a large golden ring, which the officiating
chieftain bore around during the mystic rites and ceremonies.  On this
ring were sworn all oaths at the "Thing" meeting, or {51} local
Parliament, which generally met on the same day, at the conclusion of
the ceremonies.

[Sidenote: A pagan temple]

Hove Kirke, at Vik, in the Sogne Fjord, is a fair example of such a
temple.  It dates from the eleventh century.  It was restored by the
Norwegian architect Blix in 1880.  Built of stone, it is picturesquely
situated on an eminence, at an elevation of some 200 feet.  It
overlooks the village and bay of Vik, and across the Sogne Fjord the
prospect terminates in the glacier of Vetle Fjord, and the high and
rugged mountains of Fjærland.

Nearer the village, and on a conical mound, stands also the wooden
"Stav" church, which here forms the subject of our illustration.
Dating from the twelfth century, it is one of the finest examples of
its kind in existence in the country.  It is now owned by the Society
for the Preservation of Norwegian Monuments of Antiquity.

Inside this church, among other quaint objects of interest, is a
baldaquin, {52} decorated with early medieval paintings and richly
carved.  The massive church portals show also antique carving in bold
design, and some fine old hinges almost cover the heavy door with their
decoration.

[Sidenote: Superstitious beliefs]

Superstition is not yet quite extinct in Sogn.  In places such as Vik,
where the mountains are high and steep, and the valley is narrow and
wild, it is no wonder that the peasants retain to a great degree the
superstitious beliefs of their ancestors.

Hearing from childhood those weird fairy tales and legends which are
the fireside sagas of the peasantry, and spending their whole lives in
association with such relics of antiquity as these hoary churches and
the scattered burial-mounds ("grav-haug") of dead warriors of pagan
times, we can quite understand why it is that vestiges of heathen
superstition still exist among the peasantry, and it is discovered in
many a quaint form in their daily lives, even in these enlightened days.

If we stroll among the farmsteads, we {53} may observe a cross within a
circle painted on many a barn-door and outhouse, this being done as a
protection against the mischievous tricks of the "trolds" (gnomes).
These are believed to live up in the wildest and most lonely places in
the mountains.  Whenever cattle on the farm fall sick, it is put down
to the work of the "trolds."

[Illustration: Vik "Stav-kirke" Sogne Fjord]

On Christmas Eve the peasants burn a candle all night in the house, and
at early morning they go into the cow-house and singe each cow on the
tail as a protection against sickness.

"Trolds" are thought to be very musical.  If there is an exceptionally
clever fiddler at a wedding feast, the peasants say that the performer
must have been up the mountains and learnt from the "trolds," who are
believed to play weird and bewitching music in the loneliest recesses
of the mountains.

In addition to "trolds," there are "huldr" (fairies or sprites).  These
are said to be very beautiful, and they {54} sometimes assume human
form, the only difference being that they have a cow's tail.  These
"huldr" have their abode underground, and always close by the farm
buildings.

It is told that on one occasion a servant-girl by ill-chance threw hot
water out from the kitchen door, and immediately the "huldr" called out
noisily, screaming that the hot water was scalding them and their
children underground.  Peasant women to this day will never throw out
hot water from their doorways without first saying, "Take care, you who
under live."  Should children fall sick, the neighbours will say that
"the mother cannot expect anything else, for she is in the habit of
throwing hot water from the doorway, and the 'huldr' are having
revenge."

There is a legend relating to a peasant girl who, on her way to a
lonely "sæter," or mountain out-farm, heard a voice near her call out,
"Tell Turid that Tarald is dead."  The girl could see no one near, and
{55} on arriving at the "sæter" told the other girls there what she had
heard; immediately there came a loud cry out of the ground, "Oh, it is
me who is called Turid, and Tarald is my husband."

A similar story is found in Plutarch, A.D. 120, in which he relates
that a skipper sailing among the Greek islands heard a voice which
called out, "Thamus."  Thamus was the name of the skipper.  Twice the
voice called out, and he did not answer; but on hearing it for the
third time he did reply.  The voice then called out to him loudly,
"When you come to Palodes, call out that the great Pan is dead."

Thamus thought that he would sail past Palodes, but would not utter a
word of what he had heard unless the weather happened to be still.
When he arrived there, however, the sea was quiet, and he, remembering
the words, called out loudly that the great Pan was dead.  Immediately
there came from the island a great moaning as of many voices weirdly
blended, {56} and this that happened was soon related in Rome.

A quaint conception relating to mountain folklore refers to what is
known in Sogn as "jolaskrei," a kind of kelpie or old witch wife; these
belong to the nightriders of the kingdom of the departed.  They are
seen on high, ugly mountain ridges at dead of night.  When these
kelpies are out, they often visit the stables of the lonely farms and
take out the horses.  These are brought back again, however, just
before dawn, but so overworked or overridden and tired that they are
quite ready to collapse with fatigue.  To guard against this
inconvenience, the peasants paint a cross on the stable door, or lay an
axe underneath it.  In some places even now the farmers place food and
drink on the table on Christmas night after all the family have
retired, this being for the kelpies; otherwise they might be angry and
cause much annoyance.

In some districts these curious sprites or goblins are known as
"vaasedrift."  These {57} ride or drive through the night among the
farms; and there are those now living who relate that in their
fore-elders' time the bits and reins were found on the horses in the
early morning, having been placed there by the kelpies.

The spirits of dead Vikings and chiefs who are buried under those huge
mounds, "grav-haug," are thought to visit each other, and may be seen
flitting to and fro on Christmas eve and for thirteen nights after.

"Nykk," "nökken" (nixies) are known throughout the country.  These were
in former times seen near deep and gloomy mountain tarns and by the
brooks.  These nixies are able to transform themselves into any kind of
animal or reptile, sometimes even assuming strange and grotesque
shapes, with heads both front and back; they are the spirits of fresh
water.

A peculiar legend originates from Underdal in Aurland, in the inner
Sogne Fjord.  In the olden time there was quite {58} a plague of snakes
in that place.  A Finn from Nordland happened to be travelling in the
neighbourhood.  The Finns have always been held in great dread by the
Norwegian peasants on account of their pagan practices, witchcraft and
sorcery.  This pagan Finn offered to rid the place of the reptiles if
only there was not among them what he called a "hvidorm" or "visorm" (a
wizard serpent), which he described as being in shape like a long
hempen rope; it was quite white, and had a red head.  The peasants
informed him that the "visorm" was never seen there.

The Finn then built up a large "baal" (funeral pyre), and fixed up a
high post near by, up which he climbed; it was just so high that none
of the snakes could reach him.  There he sat and beat loudly on his
conjuring drum with a drumstick of reindeer horn, and began to conjure.

Then out sprang the snake, which was charmed by the noise of the "rune"
drum, and forthwith sprang all the other snakes: {59} from fell and
brake, from crag and wood, all came racing up to the fire.  But now,
alas! came also the "visorm" so dreaded by the Finn, who shrieked that
it was now all over with him, for in company with "visormen" came
always "hvidormen," the dragon snake.

Thunder was heard in the crags close by, and a huge piece of rock was
hurled into the fjord.  As the dragon snake came forth, down sprang the
Finn from his high seat; but he was promptly seized by "hvidormen," and
both disappeared into the funeral pyre together and were burnt up.  It
was in this way that Underdal was rid at once of both snakes and Finn,
and this happened long ago.

"Trolds" (sprites) and "horven" or "kraken" (sea-monsters) were thought
to inhabit the sea and lonely parts of the coast and uninhabited
islands in the old days, but it is uncertain whether people nowadays
quite believe in this nonsense, although they might say "You must have
been a-fishing with 'kraken' to-day" if a {60} fisherman happened to
come in with an unusual harvest of fish.

"Kraken" is also thought to be the legendary sea serpent which is said
to have been seen in still summer weather on the deep sea, far out from
land, by fishermen, but always at a distance, never near enough for
them to be able to take its dimensions.  This sea-monster is supposed
to be about one hundred fathoms long, and to wriggle over the surface
of the water, at times heaving itself even to the height of the masts
of a ship.

An old saga speaks of a kind of merman, "hav-strambr," a sea-monster,
whose head resembles a man's helmeted head, the lower part of the body
being in shape like to an icicle, and no one has ever seen where it
ends.  When this monster appears it is said to be a sign of storm and
shipwreck.

[Sidenote: Quaint customs]

A custom which had its origin in pagan times is the lighting of the
Saint John's fires, "Sankt Hans," or "Balder's Baal," on midsummer's
eve, a festival of the sun, {61} held on the longest day.  It is
intimately connected with sun-worship, Balder being the sun-god, and
fire a symbolic image of the sun.

  "Balder's Baal, solbilledet, smukt, brændte paa
  viede stene."[1]

[1] Frithjof's saga.

This, translated, reads:

  "Balder's symbol, sun's beautiful image, burned
  in pyres on rocks consecrated."


We read in the Icelandic sagas that the two great festivals of the year
in heathen times were Yuletide and midsummer, and both were celebrated
by the lighting of great fires.  This primitive custom is better
preserved in Norway than in most other countries, but even here it
appears to be slowly dying out.

Exactly at midnight the fires begin to appear, and soon every
promontory, rock, and mountain breast is alight; hundreds of fires
shine and glimmer as far as the eye can see, casting their lurid
reflections on {62} the waters of the fjord in the brilliant twilight.

Around the nearer fires may be discerned shadow-like figures moving
round the blaze in the dance, the music of the fiddle being almost
drowned by the singing and merriment of the young people who are taking
part in the proceedings.

A mock wedding forms part of the ceremony, a young peasant girl being
dressed as a bride, wearing on her head a crown of birch twigs; the
other girls, in national costume, follow in procession, headed by the
fiddler, and the boys bring up the rear.  The dancing afterwards is
kept up all through the long midsummer night.

It is a very effective sight to see the well-filled boats stealing over
the water from the surrounding farms, the young folks, dressed in
holiday costume, coming to take part in the festival.

In several places along the fjord it is the custom to build a strong
raft of logs; this is piled high with combustible material {63} and
floated some distance from shore, where it is anchored.  When in full
blaze it looks very effective, and lights up the water with ruddy
reflection.

Numbers of boats may be observed to creep mysteriously around the fire,
at a safe distance from it, and the lively notes of the fiddle and of
singing float sweetly over the water.

Another old custom still survives in this district of Sogn.  When it
becomes known that two young people are to be engaged to be married,
the boys in the district shoot into the air with rifles, and fire small
cannon around the house on the evening when the young man goes to ask
of the parents their consent to the engagement.  They also ring
hand-bells and blow a horn; these noises must surely prove rather
disconcerting to the newly betrothed.

In some cases the prospective bride-groom has many miles of rowing
along the fjord before he reaches the home of his lady-love.  His visit
is usually paid at the end of the week, and he generally spends {64}
the night there.  As a practical joke, the peasant boys have been known
to take his boat, drag it up on shore, and hide it in some secluded
place, much to his great discomfort and annoyance when he wishes to
return in the morning.

At all large weddings, to which may be invited from 150 to 200 guests,
festivities are usually kept up for a week or more.

Dancing and fiddling go on day and night continuously, the "Hailing"
and "Spring" dances being general favourites on these festive occasions.

The music to these dances is exceedingly lively, even barbaric in
character, and the dances are consequently wild and exciting.  The
services of the Hardanger fiddler are in great request, and he finds
himself engaged throughout the springtime, going with his fiddle from
one wedding to another.

Each wedding party engage their own fiddler, and he it is who leads the
procession from the farm to the church door, and it often occurs that
several weddings take {65} place at the same church at the same time.
There is great competition among the fiddlers on such an occasion, each
one playing to the very extent of his ability.  With a jaunty air the
fiddlers step forward, and each neighbourhood upholds with pride the
honour and reputation of their own fiddler.

[Illustration: Ese Fjord]

It happened that on one such occasion the church folk were divided in
their admiration between two fiddlers of about equal cleverness.  One
side claimed that a feat had been achieved on the way to the kirk by
their fiddler, who, while all along playing his best, did at the same
time chaff his comrades who stood on the roadside as he calmly went on
with his difficult bridal march, as though it were quite the most easy
and natural thing in the world.

This same spirit of rivalry also possesses the younger men; each vies
with the others in skill and cleverness in the dances, in which their
ability to kick the highest is put to the test for the admiration and
{66} applause of the onlooking girls.  This rivalry would result at
times in quite a battle royal of words, and even more seriously, it
would end in real danger to life and limb.




{67}

CHAPTER IV

THE SOGNE FJORD (_continued_)

Sailing down the Sogne Fjord from the sea coast, the scenery gradually
assumes wilder and grander proportions as we advance.  At Vadeim it is
just beginning to be interesting and attractive, and when we come to
Balholm we enter into the finest part of the fjord.

Here are prosperous farms, smiling orchards, and waving cornfields, and
as an effective contrast, glacier and snow-field crown the high and
steep mountains around.

Tradition points to this place as the scene of the Swedish poet
Tegner's "Frithjof Saga."

Among other burial mounds ("grav-haug") {68} of chiefs from the Viking
age at Balholm is pointed out that of King Belè, whose daughter was
Ingeborg, whilst at Framnæs, across the fjord, dwelt Frithjof the
Viking.  These names all occur in the "Frithjof Saga."

At Balholm stands an English church, the only one to be found among the
fjords.  Built for the use of English visitors in summer-time, its
design is similar to that of the ancient wooden "stav-kirk," at Vik in
Sogn.  It was erected recently, mainly through the efforts of the
brothers Kvikne, who during their lifetime have been the means of
transforming Balholm from a mere wilderness to a place of great beauty,
and one of the most important places of resort among the fjords.

In an earlier part of this book reference was made to the life at a
"sæter," or mountain out-farm, a description of which may here be found
of interest.

Many of the peasants who live alongside the fjords are also owners of
large portions of the mountain plateaux in their {69} neighbourhood,
and on these excellent grazing is found in the summer months.

When the heavy work of the spring has been finished on the home farm,
and the snow has left these highlands, and when the vegetation has had
time to establish itself anew, the whole farm household gets ready to
remove the domestic animals to the "sæter."  It is a picturesque sight,
this cavalcade, the animals all confusion, cattle lowing and sheep
bleating, their bells tinkling merrily as they skip about, the sturdy
little ponies, heavily laden with necessary goods and chattels,
bringing up the rear.  All seem full of glee that they can now have a
few months of ideal grazing on those high lands after their
imprisonment indoors all the long winter.

Climbing and struggling onwards up the steep valley, then through
almost trackless regions of rocks and stunted trees, they at length
arrive at their destination, often after some fifteen or twenty miles
of travelling.

[Sidenote: Life at a "sæter"]

At the "sæter" they rest for the {70} summer months amid rich
vegetation by the margin of a lake or mountain tarn, surrounded by high
mountain-tops.  Here they graze on the bosky slopes to the music of
babbling brooks.

The "sæter" houses are mostly small and low, of one story only; they
are usually of a very primitive type, being, in fact, the earliest
style of house building now in existence in the country, this ancient
form surviving here long after it had been abandoned in the home farms.
Attached to the dwelling-house, or forming part of it, is a dairy where
butter and cheeses are made.

A white cheese, "melkost," is made from fresh cow's milk; a very
strongly-flavoured old cheese comes from buttermilk--it is called
"gammelost"; and from goat's milk they make "gjedost" or "brimost."

The women and girls only live up at the "sæter," and in addition to the
cheese and butter making, they must attend to their domestic animals
during the four longest summer months.

{71}

The men come up from the home farm at the week-ends with necessary
provisions, and take back with them the produce of the "sæter."

Bracing is the rarified air of these high lands; and although the sun's
heat is great, it is tempered by the breezes which come from snow-field
or glacier on the higher mountains around.

[Illustration: A sæter, Vetle Fjord]

When the wild berries are ripe, the younger girls climb the heathery
slopes and fill their wooden pails with the cranberries, bilberries,
and cloudberries ("multebær"), which abound in great profusion.

Fagesi, Levros, Pentekol, Buskin: to these and other quaintly sounding
names the cattle answer, the goats also being known individually by
such names as Skjomos, Blegeros, Kvideben, etc.

The cattle have their chosen leader, who wears a bell attached to a
leathern collar around the neck; they are led by its sound, and keep
within hearing distance as they graze.  The sheep and goats also wear
bells, {72} nearly all of them, but the sound of these is quite
distinct from the cattle-bells.

At a certain time every evening the cows may be seen slowly making
their way of their own accord to the "sæter" house, where they quietly
wait to be milked.

When it is necessary to call them from a distance, they answer to the
sound of the "lur," a kind of alpine horn.  This is made of birch, and
is about four feet long.  When blown lustily it gives out notes clear
and sweet, in sound not unlike those of a cornet.

On the "lur" the "sæter" girls are expert performers, and during the
long summer evenings they love to make the mountain crags echo with
delicious airs, which they produce from this primitive instrument.

The cattle know instinctively when there are bears in the neighbourhood.

At such times they hurry to the "sæter" huts, around which they crowd,
and from their melancholy lowing the girls are led {73} to know that
there is danger near.  A bonfire is quickly made and kept alight
throughout the night; the "lur" is also brought into requisition.
Thus, by the aid of fire and music, the danger is averted, for Bruin,
being fond of neither, gets himself away as quickly as he can.

Not very many years ago bears were fairly numerous in the high and wild
mountain region which lies between the Sogne and Nord Fjords, but,
owing in a great measure to the more general use of better guns, they
have steadily decreased.  The average annual number of bears shot in
Norway between the years 1840 and 1860 was 230.  This number has
gradually dwindled down to a yearly average of 40 for the past decade.

Fjaarland in Sogn is a noted stronghold of these animals, and in this
neighbourhood many bears have been shot in recent years.

One old peasant, who lived in Suphelledal here, informed me that he had
during his lifetime shot over 30 bears.  As witness to his tale, his
face and scalp showed even {74} then old, but quite distinct, traces of
the rough handling he had received in the pursuit of his favourite
sport.  On one occasion, after having lain in wait for several days up
the mountains, he was suddenly confronted by a she-bear with a young
cub.  So quickly did she appear from behind a rock, and so close to him
was she, that he had not time to fire before she struck him on the head
with her powerful forefoot, which action tore his scalp over his face
and laid him prostrate on the ground.  For a moment he felt the hot
breath of the bear around his ears as he lay with face buried in the
turf.  No doubt thinking that he was killed outright, she proceeded, at
a few yards' distance, to scrape with her powerful claws among the
loose earth and débris in order to make a hole in which to hide her
prey.

She stopped from time to time to look up from her work to see if her
victim showed any signs of life, and being at length convinced that all
was well, she went on with her task with greater energy, and {75} from
her strong claws the loose earth and stones flew in all directions.

[Sidenote: Bear-hunting]

The peasant's opportunity, for which he had breathlessly waited,
presented itself.  Jumping up, he seized his rifle, and with cool and
steady aim he was fortunate in bringing down by that one fatal shot a
fine animal in the pink of condition.  He succeeded at the same time in
securing her young cub, and thought himself to be in great good luck
that day.

Two fine glaciers, Bojumsbræ and Suphellebræ, are in this district of
Fjærland, and both may be visited in a few hours from Mundal.  These
glaciers are arms of the great Jostedalsbræ, the most extensive
ice-field in Europe.

The Bojumsbræ is the most important of the two in regard to size, and
the surroundings are majestically grand.  King Oscar II. visited this
glacier in 1879.

At the Suphellebræ may be seen and heard at any time huge masses of ice
falling over the precipice which cuts off the lower from the upper
glacier.

{76}

At the foot of the lower glacier are several very beautiful
ice-caverns, deep blue in colour, from which flows the pale-green
ice-water on its way to the head of the fjord which is not far distant.

[Sidenote: Glaciers of Fjærland]

The valleys in this district are wild and grand.  There is, however,
rich grazing land, and the peasants are all well-to-do; they retain in
primitive fashion the habits and customs of their ancestors, and are
very hospitable and kind-hearted.

The people of Sogn--"Sogninger," as they are called--are, on the whole,
a powerful and gifted race.  Those of Outer (Ytre) Sogn are, as a rule,
placid and even-tempered, and the natives of Inner (Indre) Sogn are
quick, lively, and excitable.  Their dialect ("Sognemaal") is clear,
rich, and full-sounding.  It is one of the dialects most resembling the
old Norwegian language.

Sogn was at one time the seat of mighty families, and many a warlike
company of Vikings has sailed from this fjord.  The ancient kings of
Norway occasionally {77} visited Sogn, but not always in a friendly way.

An old historical saga tells of a visit which King Sverre paid the
"Sogninger" to take vengeance upon them for the killing of his bailiff
at a place named Kaupanger, near Sogndal.  Kaupanger, by Sverre's
orders, was burned, and so were the houses of Sogndal.  The inhabitants
of these places fled to the mountains and woods, where they hid
themselves and thus escaped.

[Illustration: Fjærland, Sogne Fjord]

Immediately after this event King Sverre met his antagonist, Magnus
Erlingson, at the mouth of the Sogndal's Fjord, at a place called
Fimreite.  Here it was that the rival fleets came into contact.  The
king gained the decisive victory, and thus secured to himself the crown
of Norway.  This engagement was fought in the year 1184.

On the left bank of the Sogne Fjord is Slinde.  At this place, near the
close of the thirteenth century, lived Audun Slinde, one of the
powerful chiefs whom {78} King Erick dispatched to Scotland to fetch
his bride, the Princess Margaret.

Outside the churchyard at Sogndal stands a "bauta sten," an upright
column of stone, on which is the runic inscription: "King Olav shot
among these stones."

As we proceed along the main Sogne Fjord we obtain glimpses down branch
fjords, and beautiful vistas open out.  Mountain torrents and
waterfalls are seen on every side threading their steep descent among
the crags, now gliding over smooth glaciated rocks, now wriggling in
tortuous, snake-like fashion, then a sudden leap over a steep
precipice, ending with a final splash into the waters of the fjord.

[Sidenote: A steamer's cargo]

At sunset the new-fledged moon peeped over snow-topped mountains, which
are ruddy with the sun's last rays.  The fjord water around is dashed
with purple and pale gold, rose, and emerald.  A large, cumbersome
boat, laden to its utmost capacity with sheep and lambs, puts out from
shore {79} to meet the awaiting steamer.  The boat is roped to the
steamer's side; the sheep, handled tenderly, are transferred from it to
improvised pens on the steamer's foredeck, the sheep in one compartment
and the lambs in another.  There is also a large open packing-case,
which contains the youngest lambs.

A chorus of deep bass and thinnest treble continues spasmodically.  The
shepherd is among his flock, his whole time taken up in keeping watch
and ward over them, especially over the lambs, whose feats of jumping
tax to the utmost his patient watchfulness.

As the steamer ploughs along, a pleasant breeze plays on the surface of
the now steely grey water.

The snow on the high mountains changes colour to a pale lilac, and the
moon brightens as twilight advances, while over in the west the first
faint star of evening glimmers in a sky of palest amber.

As we proceed the fjord contracts, the {80} mountains are higher and
steeper, in places almost perpendicular, and the waterfalls rush down
with greater impetuosity into the dark fjord.

We now turn into the Nærö Fjord in brilliant twilight, and some of the
grandest and wildest scenery of Sogn is presented to our view.  We
observe that the kind shepherd is covering up with a sackcloth the
smallest lambs, which are in the packing-case on the fore-deck, as a
protection from the cool night air, which is rather inclined to be
frosty, even on this lovely night of May.  The farther we advance up
this fjord, the more sombre and overpowering is the impression we
receive of this magnificent fjord scenery.

[Illustration: Næro Fjord]

We now approach the little hamlet of Dyrdal, romantically situated at
the entrance to the narrow valley of the same name.  Here huge
mountains rear their massive walls into the twilight sky.  The Nærö
Fjord is narrowest at this point, being only a few hundred yards wide.

The sound of the steamer's syren now {81} echoes with a metallic ring
from one mountain to another in diminishing cadence of sweet notes, and
in reply two large boats put out from shore to meet the steamer.  With
much struggling the woolly flock is transferred to the boats from the
steamer, the sheep and lambs appearing quite happy--to judge by the
sound of their voices--at the prospect of being on terra firma again.

At a lonely farm situated in the wildest part of Nærö Fjord it was my
happy fortune to stay for some days in the merry month of May.  On my
arrival there, and in compliance with a signal from shore, the steamer
slows up, and a boat is brought alongside.  A friendly good-bye to the
obliging captain, and I am rowed ashore, where I meet the kind owner of
the farm, my host.  He and his good wife ("kone") show me through the
house, an excellent example of a "bonder's" home of the olden time.

The principal living-room is about twenty feet square.  The walls
display {82} unusually thick baulks of timber, while the huge beams
show distinctly the marks of the axe which fashioned them.  The heavy
doors are nearly square in shape, with lock and handle of antique
design in wrought-iron.  On one side of this room stands an elevated
open hearth ("peis"), over which hangs a crane, and to this is attached
a huge copper cauldron.  The smoke from the peat fire escapes through
the roof by a very wide open chimney.  A clean-scrubbed massive table
almost fills one end of the room by the side of the wall-benches.
High-backed chairs, several spinning-wheels, and a carpet-weaving frame
help to fill up this spacious apartment.

To reach the room set apart for me I must climb up wooden ladder-like
steps.  My room, simply but comfortably furnished, was fresh and clean.
On the left side in a dark corner was the customary low, wooden,
box-like bed, which I saw at a glance was, for one of my stature, much
too short.  It was piled high with {83} some soft material on the top.
This covering proved on examination to be a 4-feet square air-tight bag
containing eiderdown about a foot deep.  Under this was only the
thinnest cotton sheet, and I began to wonder how these two as a
covering could possibly remain together in harmony throughout the
night, and as to whether they were calculated to cover all one's limbs
at one and the same time.

On being very considerately asked on the following morning how I had
slept, and if I would like an extra eiderdown on, I courteously but
firmly declined.

[Sidenote: In the Nærö Fjord]

At 8 a.m. came breakfast-time.  On the table were placed several kinds
of native cheese, brown bread, butter and potato-cakes, dried mutton
("spege kjöd"), and boiled potatoes, four boiled eggs, and a large bowl
of creamy milk.  In addition to these delicacies, a cup of excellent
coffee was brought in.  The meal nearly ended, and not having made much
impression on this mass before me, the good {84} wife again invited
me--almost coerced me--"to make a good meal," and seemed quite
disappointed to find that my capacity was so limited.

Similar fare was my portion for the other meals, varied only with
boiled goat's flesh, ptarmigan ("rype"), and hare or wild reindeer.

These kind-hearted peasants did all in their power to make my stay
comfortable.  They enjoyed a little gossip from the world outside their
fjord, and it was interesting to hear them talk in their very
pronounced and ancient dialect ("Sognemaal"), which is as unlike modern
Norwegian "as she is spoke" as the English of Chaucer's time is to our
own modern tongue.

At Styve, the wildest and most impressive part of this narrow fjord,
the massive peaks of Steganaase tower overhead, on their tops a crisp
powder of new snow--this was at the end of October--and across the
fjord rise up perpendicular buttresses of mountains of equal grandeur
and {85} awe-inspiring character.  The fjord is here about 4,000 feet
deep.

At twilight the full moon was just struggling from among wreathing
mists which clung around the high peaks, indicating at the same time
the presence of showers of fine snow above, and as we proceeded light
snow-flakes descended, falling lightly on the steamer's deck.

We were now ploughing through crackling ice, which floated in detached
patches on the surface of the water.

In winter-time the fjord from here to the hamlet of Gudvangen is
completely frozen over, the steamer being quite unable to proceed
farther.  The fjord is at that time a highway for sledge traffic to and
from the steamer.  In this manner the mails are conveyed over the ice
to Gudvangen, where other sledges are in waiting to carry them overland
to Vossevangen.

Gudvangen is so completely enclosed by huge mountains that the sun's
rays do not reach it during four months of winter.  {86} The sun lights
up some of the nearer tops, however, about mid-day, but then only for
about a couple of hours, when all becomes grey again.

In winter and early spring destructive avalanches of snow and rock
shoot down with terrible velocity into the fjord and valley from the
precipitous mountain masses above, especially when thaw sets in and the
heavy mantle of snow is melting.

At one place in particular in Nærödal it will be observed, in driving,
that the road threads in and out among huge boulders of rock.  These
massive stones formed part of a huge avalanche which descended from the
crags here only a few years ago.  The postman, driving at the time down
the valley, only just escaped the danger by taking shelter under a
large boulder near the remains of a former avalanche.

Many of the farm-houses in this narrow valley are built under the
shelter of rocks, so as to be protected from the wind, {87} which
sweeps down the valley at times with terrific velocity, chiefly in
winter.

[Sidenote: Nærödal]

Some years ago I spent two October weeks in Gudvangen and Nærödal.
Arriving there overland from Vossevangen, and not dreaming but that I
was certain of obtaining accommodation at the inn at Gudvangen--it
being considerably past the time of tourists--to my intense surprise, I
found the place full to overflowing with country folks in holiday
attire--a wedding party--and, to the music of the riddle, the younger
peasants and girls were dancing the favourite Halling-fling.

Every room at the inn was crowded, cakes and home-brewed ale being
everywhere in evidence.

The kind and genial innkeeper, with profuse apologies at being unable
to accommodate me in the house, found me, at last, a little room over
the bakehouse close by, which I found fairly comfortable under the
circumstances--it was at least warm and dry.

The following morning all was bustle {88} and excitement.  In the
roadway outside the inn rosy-cheeked peasant-girls, in their prim,
bright costumes, were exchanging pleasant banter with the boys, while
the older men lounged around in groups, with hands in pockets, engaged
in talking gossip at intervals between puffs of tobacco-smoke.

The wedding "bryllups" was to be celebrated that morning, and everybody
was now ready except the bride, whose friends were engaged in adding
the final touches to her maidenly toilet.  A start is soon made, first
a kind of informal procession along the short stretch of road to the
pier, and a scramble into the boats, then out on the fjord, their oars
keeping time to the strains of the fiddle.  They row along pleasantly
for a couple of miles, and then arrive at the small white wooden
church, which is situated picturesquely on a rocky mound at Bakke.

There is, from here to Gudvangen, a footpath, but in parts it is
somewhat rough.  In several places it crosses screes {89} of loose
stories, which repeated avalanches have ground down in their career
from the overhanging cliffs above to the deep fjord below.  Every
winter this mountain path across the screes is wiped out of existence,
and a new one has to be made when the spring comes.

The wedding service over, the whole party, the clergyman ("presten")
now included, return to the inn to partake of the wedding feast, and to
drink the healths ("skaal") of bride and groom.  The festivities are
prolonged with hearty excitement, eating, drinking, and dancing the
Halling-fling and Spring-dance day and night for over a week.

During my stay at Gudvangen at that time, an old woman, short in
stature and poorly clad, approached me one day by the roadside, and,
carefully unwrapping a many-folded parcel, at length produced a few
English coins of silver and bronze.  These she had earned during the
past summer from passing travellers by the sale of flowers from her
little garden {90} patch.  She begged me to exchange into Norwegian
money these coins, which she could not use.  It was a pleasure to see
her wrinkled face light up with genuine gratitude for this slight
service rendered her.

A few days afterwards this same little woman met me again, and gave me
a tiny paper packet, which, she said, contained a few four-leaved
clover sprigs.  These she had taken all day to discover among the scant
herbage on the mountain-side, and if I would only take and keep them, I
should be lucky ever after.  And who shall say that I was not?

Nærödal is one of the grandest valleys in Norway.  The narrow ribbon of
road threads the deep valley, crossing and recrossing the clear
mountain torrent, whose close acquaintance is kept the whole of the
distance to the foot of the steep Stalheimskleven.

All the way the stupendous mountain masses seem almost ready to topple
over from both sides into the narrow, gorge-like {91} valley.  The
high, dome-shaped mountain, which is a conspicuous feature on our right
as we proceed, is Jordalsnuten.  Eagles, falcons, and other birds of
prey inhabit these rugged fastnesses.

[Illustration: Nærödal, from Stalheim, Sogne Fjord]

At an ancient farm at the foot of Jordalsnuten the farmer showed me the
feet and powerful claws of a golden eagle.  These he had converted into
base and pillar for a pair of candlesticks.  It had happened on one day
during the previous summer, when the farmer's household were engaged in
the hay-field, that their work was interrupted by the sight of a large
eagle, poised at a height of several hundred feet in the air.  From its
talons a young sheep was hanging.  As they watched they saw that the
eagle was gradually descending, although making powerful and frantic
efforts to rise.  As it neared the ground all hands rushed at once to
the spot, and with hay-fork and scythe they attacked and dispatched the
powerful bird and saved the sheep.  Evidently the weight was rather
more than {92} the eagle could carry away, and, being unable to
extricate its crooked talons from the woolly fleece, it found itself
entrapped by its own prey.

The road now gradually ascends the valley, and at the foot of
Stalheimskleven it takes sixteen zigzag sweeps up the face of the
cliff, which is here about 1,000 feet above the valley.  Immediately on
the right as we ascend we see a pretty waterfall, Sivlefos, and on the
left we get a glimpse of Stalheimsfos.  These two fine waterfalls are
romantically situated in deep and craggy gullies.

From the summit of the pass we have one of the grandest and most
impressive views of the kind in Norway.  Looking backward down the
sublime Nærödal, the grey, rounded dome of Jordalsnuten rises
majestically on the left, its steep sides deeply furrowed by the action
of avalanches.  The mountain mass on the right is Kaldafjeld, and in
the extreme distance we can just distinguish Kilefos, the fine
waterfall near to Gudvangen.  At {93} our feet are the two waterfalls
we saw on our climb up Stalheimskleven, Sivlefos and Stalheimsfos,
foaming in their rocky ravines, their combined waters flowing on in a
silver thread along the bottom of the deep valley.  So narrow in places
is the valley that there appears to be only room for the river and the
road.

In the summer months this highway from Vossevangen to Gudvangen,
connecting the Hardanger district with that of Sogn, is much used by
travellers, and traffic is often greatly congested, especially at the
terminus at Gudvangen, where the Sogne Fjord steamers are joined.

We are now among some of the most magnificent scenery in the country,
and this grandeur is continued into the impressive Aurlands Fjord,
which rivals its neighbour Nærö in sublimity.  The huge mass of
Bejteln, furrowed with enormous ravines, stands like a sentinel at the
junction of the two fjords, with snow-crested Steganaase behind,
rearing its mighty peaks to the skies.  Huge perpendicular {94}
buttresses wall in the fjord on both sides, and from their tops
waterfalls are precipitated in long streaks down the glistening dark
rocks, while deep gorges are torn into the mountain forms, separating
one immense gable from another.

At the foot of one of these deep gorges, and romantically situated, is
the small hamlet and church of Underdal.  To the left, farther up the
fjord, stands Aurland, or Vangen, the principal village in the fjord
parish ("vasbygd") of Aurland.  The small stone church here, it will be
observed, has an unusually high-pitched gable and steeply sloping roof.

From the head of this Aurlands Fjord, by ascending the Flaamsdal (the
valley of the swollen river), magnificent views are obtained out over
the fjord.

The road up this grand valley terminates at Myrdal Station, on the new
Bergen-Christiania Railway, and near the Hallingdal entrance to the
long Gravehalsen tunnel, amid mountain scenery of overwhelming grandeur
and sublimity.




{95}

CHAPTER V

THE SOGNE FJORD (_continued_)

At Frönningen a profitable business is done in tree-felling.  Large
forests of pine and fir clothe the steep sides of the mountains here,
and modern saw-mills are erected at the foot of a torrent by the margin
of the fjord.

Seen from here, the glaciers of Fresvik and Rambæren, both over 5,000
feet high, stand out boldly against the sky.

A very charming effect of sunshine and shower won my attention near
here one afternoon in the month of May.  Immediately in front of the
steamer, and from the mountains on one side of the fjord to those on
the other, stretched a most vivid rainbow; the snow-capped mountains of
{96} Lyster were faintly visible beneath the arc, through a misty veil
of rain-gauze.  As the steamer proceeded the rainbow appeared to
retire, so that we were not to sail under the beautiful _arc-en-ciel_
on that occasion.  Instead, we were presently enveloped in driving
rain, and to pace the wet and slippery decks was no longer an enjoyable
occupation.  The mountain-forms were all wiped out by the rain-curtain,
and, from a state of comparative calmness, the waters of the fjord
became almost as choppy as the open sea.

This condition of the elements did not last long, however.  In the
space of an hour all was again in brilliant, almost dazzling, sunshine,
the rocks and trees on the mountain slopes sparkling with raindrops,
and the air became fresh and cool.

It will be observed, as we sail along, that this district is more
thickly wooded than almost any other part of Sogn, many of the
mountains being quite covered with the dark foliage of pines, even to
their summits.

{97}

The real forest trees of Norway are the Scotch fir ("furu"), the spruce
("gran"), and hardy birch.  These trees grow all over the country,
sometimes in unmixed, continuous forests covering large areas, but,
generally speaking, they are associated with oak, elm, and ash, in
smaller numbers.

In the eastern and southern parts of the country these trees cover the
mountain slopes from the bottom of the valleys up to a height of some
2,500 feet above sea-level; at this elevation they are succeeded by
hardy forests of birch up to another 1,000 feet; higher than this the
shrubs of the mountain plateau--the dwarf birch--only survive.

Small forests are found near the coast in places where they are
protected by islands or promontories from the sea winds, but we must go
farther inland, and to the heads of the larger fjords, before we can
come across any large extent of forest-covered country.  The western
part of Norway, however, is not remarkable for its forests in
comparison with the eastern districts.

{98}

Hedemarken Amt (county) has the largest forest area, while Stavanger
Amt has the smallest.  Of the timber intended for sale, considerable
quantities are sent abroad, chiefly spruce and Scotch fir.  Birch is
found throughout the country, as a rule in company with other trees,
and may be seen brightening up the dark coniferous forests with its
silver bark and delicate foliage.  There are two species of birch--the
lowland or white birch, with graceful drooping branches, and the hardy
mountain birch, which is rather darker in colour and more stunted in
form.  It is only in the most northern countries that the "lady of the
woods" attains its full beauty.  The birch is one of the most useful of
trees, the wood being used for a great variety of purposes.  The inner
bark is used for tanning, and the outer, thicker, bark for the roofs of
houses, being placed under the thick covering of turf.  The leaves are
used as fodder for cattle.

Among other species of trees which grow around the lowland farms and
{99} meadows are found the aspen, whose wood is used in the manufacture
of matches, the alder, the rowan and hazel, along with the useful ash.
The wood of the last-named is largely used in the making of the "lang
ski" (snow-shoes).

Timber-felling usually begins in the late autumn.  It is an arduous and
ofttimes dangerous occupation, and requires hardy and strong men.  As
the larger forests lie often at a considerable distance from the
inhabited districts, many weeks are spent by these woodmen in log huts
specially constructed for the purpose in the vicinity of their work.

The timber, having been felled and stripped of its bark, is collected
in convenient places, and when the snow is sufficiently deep, it is
then hauled to the nearest river, where it is stacked to await the
melting of the snow and ice, when it is floated down the swollen
torrent or river, and by this means it is carried down to the lake or
fjord and taken to the saw-mills.

Norway in ancient times had a larger {100} area of forest than it has
at the present.  In the fourteenth century the Hanseatic League
appropriated the commerce of the country.  They cut down the forests
nearest the coast, also farther inland around the fjord districts, and
exported the timber, having at that time considerable commerce with the
Dutch, and later--in the seventeenth century--with the English and
Scotch.

Forest fires, and the growing consumption of timber, as the population
increased, along with reckless felling on the farm lands, have been the
means of denuding the west country of the larger forests, thus leaving
the mountains comparatively bare and desolate and the plateaux a
wilderness.

The State owns very extensive forests, chiefly in the extreme north and
east of the country, altogether covering an area of some 2,500 square
miles.  These forests are under the control of forestry managers,
overseers, and rangers.  A commercial system has been devised by which
these {101} forests are kept up to their original size and value, State
nurseries for the rearing of young trees having been established at
several places in the country, the two largest being at Voss and Hamar.
Three forestry schools for elementary instruction in the cultivation
and treatment of forests, and an agricultural college for advanced
instruction in the same, have been founded in recent years.




{103}

CHAPTER VI

THE MINING INDUSTRY

The mining industry, which commenced activity in the seventeenth
century, was responsible for the consumption of very large quantities
of timber, and this has been going on for the last 270 years.  The
Kongsberg silver-mines, which are owned by the State, have alone some
fifty square miles of State forest set apart for their requirements.
The ore at these mines is virgin silver, occurring in lodes, and it is
sometimes found in large nuggets weighing up to 200 pounds.  These
silver-mines were commenced in the year 1624.

Copper-mining was started at Röros in 1646.  The most important
copper-mines in the country are the Kongensgrube, Arvedalsgrube, and
Storvatsgrube; the {104} ore found in them is copper pyrites, and a
large quantity is exported.  There are also extensive copper-mines at
Sulitjelma in Nordland, at Aamdal in Telemarken, and at Valahei in
Hardanger.

Owing to the condition of the forests and the consequent rise in the
value of charcoal, iron mining has not been very profitable, and many
old works have been closed.  The Arendal iron-ore mines are the only
important mines now worked, and the ore is noted for its excellent
quality.

[Sidenote: The mining industry]

It will thus be seen that the mining industry in Norway is not of very
considerable importance, the reason being that, although the country is
fairly rich in minerals, the cost of conveyance to the coast is yet too
great for much profit to be made.

Those districts which are found to be rich in iron-ore happen to lie in
almost inaccessible country, and as coal does not occur except on the
out-of-the-way island of Andöen, the native conditions are not
favourable for smelting.

{105}

In Gudbrandsdal and at several places near Throndhjem soapstone is
quarried in considerable quantities, and is now extensively used for
building purposes.  The cathedral of Throndhjem is built of this stone.

Slate of a beautiful green colour is quarried at Voss and in Valders.
Granite, syenite, and porphyry are found in great abundance all over
the country.

Minerals which contain rare and beautiful metals and earths occur in
several places--at Arendal, for example--and these minerals are highly
treasured in all scientific collections.

The village and neighbourhood of Lærdal, or, properly, Lærdalsören, is
a notable example of tree-denuded country.  Hidden away on a branch of
the great Sogne Fjord, and surrounded by bare and massive mountains,
Lærdalsören owes its chief, perhaps only, claim to importance from
being the chief avenue of traffic to the Sogne Fjord from the land
side.  Owing to its enclosed situation, the direct {106} rays of the
sun do not reach the village during some five months of the winter
season, being in this respect in a worse position than Gudvangen.

[Sidenote: Lærdal]

The village of Lærdalsören lies on a broad, flat, well-cultivated plain
at the estuary of the river Læra, or the Lærdalselv, an excellent
salmon river.  The valley through which this river flows is superbly
wild and picturesque; the mountains which enclose it are bare, rocky,
and desolate.  The farther up this valley we go, the wilder becomes the
scenery, and the torrent thunders in many a cataract along the base of
the ravine-like valley.

[Illustration: Lærdalsören]

We may observe in several places huge cauldrons worn out of the solid
rock by the action of water, a number of these cauldrons being now far
above the present level of the river.  We may also see, as we proceed,
that the road crosses several ancient lake basins, now dry, the river
having, in the course of ages, gradually worn down their rocky
barriers, thus draining the water from them.

{107}

Some twelve miles drive up this magnificent valley we arrive at a place
called Borgund, where stands the quaint and curious "stav kirke" of
that name.  This extremely interesting and fantastic church was built
in the twelfth century, and is in quite the best state of preservation
of any church of its kind in the country.  It is not now used for
Divine service, a new and more commodious church having been built near
by, for the better convenience of the inhabitants of the district.
This ancient "stavkirke" of Borgund is now the property of the
Antiquarian Society of Christiania.  Every part of this curious church
is of extreme interest--six tiers of pagoda-like, shingle-covered roof,
numerous gables from which spring grotesque dragons' heads, and lofty
and elaborately carved portals.  On the massive door is carved, in
runic characters, the following inscription:

  "Thorir raist runar thissar than Olaf misso."

  (Thorir wrote these lines on the fair of Saint Olaf.)


{108}

The church is picturesquely situated in the grandest portion of the
ravine-like valley of Lærdal.

To return to the village.  In the evening we might enjoy an hour among
the clusters of old houses, and down by the boats hear the mellow tone
of the dialect of Sogn; or, strolling by the margin of the still fjord,
see the first discernible star of evening prick his image like a
diamond in the calm water, while all around the great mountains repeat
their mighty forms in accurate replica, save where a slight puff of
evening air disturbs the reflection in a long streak of silver ripple,
dying away as softly as it had begun.

A boat puts out from a tiny creek near by, and silently steals into the
line of vision.  Only the faintest plash of the oars is heard, and
voices perhaps imagined.  A line of sparkling light marks out the
boat's track across the deep reflections slowly fading away as the boat
passes out of sight.

Sailing out of the Bay of Lærdal on a {109} bright summer's morning,
and all nature being in its blithest mood, we should be dull mortals
indeed if we were not touched by some chord in the melody, and rejoice,
even with the birds, in the glorious sunshine and the rarified
atmosphere.

The morning sun sparkles on the blue fjord, and the delicate haze on
the mountains indicates the prelude to a hot day, so we take some
little care to place in a shady position our deck-chairs, and any stray
whiff of breeze is encouraged and acceptable.

The fjord is still, and, like a mirror, reflects accurately the image
of each mountain and crag, tree, and grazing cow.  The steamer ploughs
along, and the long wash it creates breaks noisily in its rear on cliff
base and rocky strand.

We now arrive at the small village, or hamlet, of Aardal, at the head
of the branch fjord of the same name.  The hamlet is picturesquely
situated on an elevation above the shore, and for a {110} background
has an imposing amphitheatre of high mountains.

The grandest waterfall in the Sogn district is in this
neighbourhood--the Vettisfos.  This waterfall plunges into a deep and
awful chasm from a height of some 900 feet.  The way to it is romantic
and rough, and, to add a spice of flavour to the excursion, the
district is a well-known haunt of bears at certain seasons of the year,
but not in summer-time.

In the Vettisgjel, a very deep and narrow ravine on the way to the
waterfall, destructive avalanches of rock are frequent, especially
after winter's thaws or heavy rain.

[Sidenote: Lyster Fjord]

In Lyster Fjord--the longest arm of the great Sogne Fjord--the scenery
is diversified and beautiful, but milder in character than that which
we have recently been viewing.

At the head of the fjord, however, the scenery is picturesque and
grand, in character somewhat resembling that of the {111} Lake of
Lucerne, and by many travellers thought to be quite as beautiful.

Skjolden, at the northern extremity of the fjord, is a starting-point
for Jötunheimen (the Giant Mountains), the Alps of Norway--the home of
giants ("jötun") according to Norse mythology.  This wonderful group of
mountains is in the very heart of the country, and it is here that the
grandest peaks in the whole of Norway are found, Galdhöpiggen, (8,396
feet) and Glittertind (8,380 feet) being the highest.

This uninhabited region of weird grandeur has been considerably opened
out to travellers in recent years by the efforts of the Norwegian
Tourist Club.  Hostels, huts, and "sæters" have been built, roads and
tracks improved, safe bridges thrown over inconvenient and dangerous
torrents, and the services of trustworthy guides secured at all
convenient places in this extensive district; so that for pedestrian
expeditions made through this region now, although {112} involving much
rough walking and consequent fatigue, food and accommodation will be
found, especially if travellers enrol themselves members of the
Norwegian Tourist Club.  This ensures them certain privileges, and
preference of accommodation over all other travellers who are not
members.

In Lyster Fjord we find one of the most beautiful valleys in
Sogn--Jostedalen by name.  Thickly populated, carefully cultivated, and
well watered by the Jostedalselv and its tributaries, this valley is,
like most Norwegian valleys, a deep ravine, especially at its head.  It
divides an extensive plateau of everlasting snow, and here are numerous
glaciers, ramifications of the great Jostedalsbræ, the most extensive
ice-field in Europe.

The farms and mountain "sæters" in this fertile district are numerous
and picturesquely situated.  The branch valleys are richly cultivated,
and the peasants are, on the whole, in prosperous circumstances.

{113}

This beautiful district of Lyster is also noted for its extensive
orchards, "Gaard" (farm) Kroken, which is situated at the foot of
Krokedalen, being the most famous.  Near the farm an extremely fine
waterfall 1,400 feet in height leaps from the crags of Kivenaase.

There are several interesting old churches in the district of
Lyster--at Dösen, Joranger, and Urnæs.

The latter church stands high on a promontory opposite the village of
Solvorn, which is situated in a valley across the fjord.

Urnæs "stavkirke" is considered by antiquarians to be the earliest of
the wooden churches now in existence.  The eminence on which it stands
is some 300 feet above the fjord.  The church was built about the year
1100, at the time that Christianity was introduced to this part of the
country.  This was in King Olaf Kyrre's time, the King who caused many
churches to be built in the west country.

{114}

Both inside and outside of the church are quaint carvings, which show
unmistakable signs of early Irish influence in the design and
craftsmanship.  On several of the pillars inside the church are
writings in runes ("runeskrift").  The church plate and ornaments on
the altar are very quaint and ancient.

[Illustration: Urnæs church, Lyster, Sogne Fjord]

Urnæs "stavkirke" stands on the site of a yet earlier erection--a pagan
temple, some of the material of which may be traced in the existing
building.  These pagans had evidently good taste in the choice of a
site for their temple.

The view from this place, overlooking the fjord to Solvorn, is very
beautiful.

On the promontory below, and near the fjord, stands a giant's
"gravhaug," or "kjæmpehaug" (a huge burial mound), where, according to
local tradition, the Viking Ragnvald was buried along with his magic
sword.  There have been "finds" in it dating back to the Bronze Age.

Near this place are several tall standing stones ("bautastein"), which
evidently {115} mark the sites of prehistoric interments.  The fjord
steamers seldom call here, but across the fjord at Solvorn boats may be
hired to row over the short distance, and a few hours might be
agreeably spent at this beautiful and interesting place.




{117}

CHAPTER VII

THE NORD FJORD

The first impression we receive on approaching the fjords from the sea
is perhaps not often a pleasant one, especially in dull weather.
Monotonous grey rocky islands appear to look with wicked eyes on every
ship that passes by them, as though expectant of another victim to
embrace in the deep waters, there to be torn and mangled in their cruel
fangs.  Over these rocks moan everlasting breakers, whose weird
dirge-like sound is blended with the wild shrieking of sea-birds till
it almost appears that there exists some close uncanny relationship and
wicked conspiracy between rocks, birds, and breakers.

{118}

The steamer, which gradually threads its way through this maze of
coast-islands, now emerges into more open water, and presently we
arrive at Florö, an island in the blue sea, bright with houses,
warehouses, and shipping.  Quite a small town has grown up here, and
Floro is now an important calling-place for the larger steamers and a
great fishing-station.

In a few hours we come to the large island of Bremanger, on whose
eastern end stands the huge towering mass of Hornelen, peaked and
furrowed, rising perpendicularly out of the sea, the crags appearing
even to overhang the steamer as we sail close to the mountain-wall.
Here the heavy surges moan in a most uncanny way, and echo in deep
notes up the huge cavernous rents in the mountain-side before us.

According to an ancient tradition, King Olav Trygvesson in the tenth
century scaled this many-peaked mountain and rescued one of his
followers who had got into danger among the crags.

{119}

We are now at the entrance to Nord Fjord, and the steamer seems to make
its way towards a towering but distant mass of high mountains, on which
we discern large uneven patches of perpetual snow.  Gradually, as we
advance, the nearer masses of rock appear to part asunder, in order to
allow the steamer to pass through.

We come now into the fjord proper, and by degrees a new attraction
grows into our interest as we say good-bye to the monotonous; for now
we may see fresh and unexpected sights--large bright patches of green,
small white wooden churches and clusters of brightly painted cottages
dotted here and there--and they one and all appear to extend a smile of
welcome to us as we approach.  We hear the snow-white mountain becks
breaking into waterfalls on every side as they hurry on and plunge
themselves gleefully into the sparkling fjord.  Graceful birches clothe
the valleys and shelter in the rocky clefts in the mountain-sides,
while in the {120} background are those same snow-topped mountains that
we have seen for the last few hours.  They are nearer to us now, and as
we sail from one side of the fjord to the other, calling to take in or
to discharge passengers and goods, these same snow-crowned heights seem
to follow us on our way, as if they kept watch and ward over an
enchanted land.

We now come to a broader stretch of fjord: larger valleys open out to
the view, and the sky seems brighter.  This open space crossed, more
frequent signs of civilization meet the eye.  The farms are larger and
the stretches of cultivated land are more extensive.

We now discern hayfields, cornfields, and potato patches.  The houses
and farmsteads are larger and more substantial, showing that there is a
more prosperous people in these inner parts of the fjord.

Frequent waterfalls are passed, some of which send their spray even
over the steamer's deck as they leap down the precipitous cliffs.
Torrents come with a {121} noisy swing down the steep valleys, turning
in their course many a tiny wooden corn-mill.

Everything around seems full of life, and pleasant sounds meet the
ear--the murmur of rocky becks, the tinkling of sheep and cattle bells,
the plash of busy oars on the clear silvery water--and the merry voices
of children are heard as they play on the pebbly strand near by.  The
eye is refreshed by the sight of the bright cottages which are
embosomed in their own little orchards surrounded by green fields, and
a background of richly wooded slopes leads up to the blue mountains
above and beyond.  An ancient church reposing in its quiet domain gives
the keynote to the whole--one of harmony, simplicity, and Arcadian
peace.

As we gaze on such a scene, it seems to have the power to fascinate and
to hold us, as though in the grip of some unseen force of fairy magic,
and from which we tear ourselves almost unwillingly away.

{122}

The scenery increases in grandeur the farther we penetrate, and the
mountains and valleys are more densely wooded.  We dip into narrow
branches or ramifications of the main fjord, where beautiful vistas
open out, and as we sail down Gloppen Fjord to the hamlet of Sandene
the views are especially charming.

[Illustration: A salmon river, Stryn, Nord Fjord]

From Visnæs, at the northern extremity of the innermost branch of the
main Nord Fjord, we can drive along the banks of a noted salmon river
and visit the beautiful Strynsvand.  This lake is quite surrounded by
magnificent mountains, on which lie extensive glaciers, Skaalan, on our
right, being the most conspicuous.  Around this lake are many large
farms; some are situated high up the mountains in apparently
inaccessible places.  Here also wild valleys open out in all
directions, and continue their ravines up to the bases of the glaciers.
At the foot of one of these ravine-like valleys, and just underneath
the massive Skaalan, and in a picturesque situation by the {123} lake's
margin, stands the little church of Opstryn.

At Hjelle, at the eastern head of the lake, a fine mountain-road has
been engineered, and this traverses the wild and romantic Vide Valley.

The view looking backward from Vide "sæter" is magnificent.  The narrow
valley is hemmed in by mighty and steep mountain forms, and Stryns
Lake, green with glacier water, is seen far below, while across the
lake rises the huge mass of Skaalan and its glacier as a background to
the picture.

Sincerity, honesty, and freedom from conventional cant are the chief
national virtues of the Norwegians, although inquisitiveness is rampant
in this district.  The outer forms of politeness are often very little
observed.

On arriving at an inn, the traveller is seldom welcomed by the host or
hostess, and on his departure he may not even then see them.  This
omission may leave on the traveller the impression of neglect, {124}
but it arises partly from the people's national unobtrusiveness and
simplicity of character.  Also, as the innkeepers are nearly all
peasants, and their chief business is farming, this apparent neglect
may thus be accounted for, and some allowance be made.

On meeting with a stranger, it is the custom with the natives of this
district, and considered by them to be the height of politeness, to ask
such questions as the following: "Stranger out on a journey, I
suppose?"  "And where do you come from, I wonder?"  "And what kind of
business do you follow?"  "And what do they call you where you come
from?"  These rather inquisitive questions are always put very
politely, and they are usually answered in the same vein.

This apparent inquisitiveness is really but a conventional manner with
them, and means only an introduction to a friendly chat, in much the
same way that some people in our own country begin a conversation by
commenting on the weather.

{125}

Among themselves these primitive peasants salute each other on meeting
with "Godt mod" ("Keep in good courage," or "good heart"); and if a
neighbour should be at work; "Gud velsigne arbeidet" ("God bless your
work"), or, on coming into a room where the family are at their meal,
the salutation is, "Gud velsigne maden," or "signe maden" ("God bless
your food").

Many of the peasants in this district, especially the older ones, wear
to this day quite a picturesque costume.  It differs in some respects
from the dress of those in other districts.  The men wear knee-breeches
of a coarse grey cloth ("vadmel") and white, thick stockings, a red
coat with a very high collar, and a tall, stiff felt hat.

The women wear a close-fitting red or green vest or bodice, elaborately
trimmed with silver braid back and front, and white sleeves.  Those who
are married wear a tall cloth cap, generally black, and somewhat
resembling in shape an elongated fireman's helmet.

{126}

The girls usually wear on the head a coloured handkerchief.  In former
times they wore long skirts from earliest childhood, but latterly, much
to the disgust of elder dames, short skirts have come into fashion.

In this inner district of Nord Fjord are three very beautiful
lakes--Stryns Vand, which I have just referred to, Loen Vand, and Olden
Vand.  All three are situated in the heart of scenery of the grandest
character.  The mountains around are higher than any we have yet seen,
and glaciers and waterfalls are here more numerous.  The valleys are
deep and narrow, and farmsteads are few and far between; often some
five or six miles of rocky land divides them from each other.

Some of these ancient homesteads nestle among mighty boulders which
have detached themselves ages ago from precipitous crags above.

In spring and autumn, after heavy rains, these farms are still farther
isolated.  {127} The rocky streams are then swollen into foaming
torrents, and the footpaths are destroyed, or of very little use, and
to pay a visit to a neighbour one must either creep under a waterfall
or climb up the steep mountain flank some thousand feet before being
able to cross over the impetuous stream.

As we reach the head of a valley we come to those death-still places
which have no houses, no road, and no name--desolate wildernesses where
huge mountains embrace each other in glacier and snow-field.

These majestic mountains raise their peaks some 6,500 feet into the
heavens, and they completely enclose the three enchanting lakes which
form the crowning beauty of this district.

The bases of the mountains are clothed with splendid birch-woods, and
in the valleys near the water grow roses and other flowers--a rich and
abundant flora, which contrasts beautifully with the sombre grandeur of
the surrounding {128} scenery.  Surpassing the famous Alpine lakes in
majesty, these of Norway can also vie with them in charm.

Loen Vand may be considered quite the most characteristic and imposing
of these lakes.  Glaciers descend from all the mountains around, the
magnificent Kjendalsbræ being perhaps most conspicuous.  So near to the
edge of the precipice do these glaciers creep that they almost appear
to overhang the lake.

In several places it is nothing unusual to see enormous masses of ice
pushed over the edge of the cliff, and to hear them fall with a
metallic rattle down the precipitous rocks, leaving in their wake
clouds of finely-powdered snow.

Profound and impressive is this sublime nature.  Everything is on such
a grand scale that we feel as pigmies in the midst of it as we row on
the deep lake, whose still surface reflects as in a mirror every detail
of the majestic scenery.  Crags, trees, and farmsteads, even sheep and
cattle browsing on patches of {129} greensward--all repeat their images
in reversed replica on the quiet bosom of the water.

In the hot days of early summer and in this clear and rarefied
atmosphere this is a most enchanting sight, and one whose treasured
memories shall live for aye.

[Illustration: Loen Vand and glacier, Nord Fjord]

We now retrace our steps and return to join the native fjord steamer,
and here we see in process of embarking quite a lively and interesting
cargo.  Already the little steamer appears to be full.  We observe that
sheep and cattle are put into improvised pens on deck.  On the crowded
pier we see that yet more sheep, lambs, and cattle are to be taken on
board.  Other pens of wooden hurdles and anything available are
hurriedly made, and as the hold of the vessel is full already, places
are also found for the animals in the passage near the engine-room.
Now arrive a number of goats and kids, some of the latter being carried
in the arms of bright-faced peasant girls, who now stand on the pier to
await the time when their struggling burden can be placed {130}
somewhere on the crowded steamer.  Several bony cows and calves are now
unceremoniously lowered down on to the deck by the noisy crane, each
one separately in a sling.  These last comers are now fastened to the
rails along the ship's side.  The lamb-pen is now tenderly covered with
sackcloth as a protection from the cool night air by the red-faced,
good-natured steersman before the steamer starts.

These domestic animals are being transferred from the home farms to
their respective "sæters," which lie in other parts of the district.
There the cattle wax fat on the rich grazing of the high land during
the summer months.

As we sail near the shore we may observe in certain places that a
peculiar elevated staging on tall, slender legs overhangs the water.
It is usually fastened to some jutting rock.

This contrivance is used by the peasants as a look-out for the purpose
of fishing for salmon.  It is called a "laxeverp."  In {131} the
box-like framework at the top is placed a seat, and from this point of
vantage the fisherman is able to see down into the deep clear water and
ascertain if there are any salmon in the nets below.  These nets he
regulates by lines held in his hand, the ends of which are attached to
the mouths of the salmon nets.

There are usually two men out a-fishing.  One is seated on the
"laxeverp," the other goes out in a boat to any place indicated by his
companion, draws in that part of the net, and secures and kills his
fish.  At one of these fjord "laxeverps" may be killed in the course of
a day from twenty to thirty salmon in the height of the season.

Falejde, beautifully situated on the north side of the fjord--we are
still in Nord Fjord--is a well-known centre for a variety of
excursions.  Visnæs, however, has taken from Falejde in recent years a
great deal of the tourist traffic, being a more convenient
starting-place for the lakes we have just spoken of, also for the {132}
new overland route to the Geiranger district via Vide Valley.
Personally, I prefer the older route from Falejde and via Grodaas, down
the magnificent Nordangsdal to Öie, on the Hjörund Fjord, in the
district of Söndmöre.

[Sidenote: Falejde to Öie]

About the end of the month of May, and beneath cloudless skies--there
had been no rain to speak of for the past three weeks--I left Falejde
to take this charming drive by "kariol" and sure-footed pony.

After a lingering farewell glance at the beautiful fjord view, as seen
from the little inn here, we commenced our journey.  In the still and
warm morning air one could hear the drowsy hum of bees and the clear
notes of a song-bird.  Sheep and cattle browsed on the hilly slopes,
their bells tinkling as they grazed on grass still wet with dew.

Uphill we went, through odoriferous pine-woods, the roadside being
fringed by an abundance of wild-strawberry in full flower, and among
moss-grown boulders {133} cranberry and whinberry bushes showed
themselves in great profusion.  Here and there are large patches of
bell-heather and ling, which still retain, though now faded, their last
year's bloom.

A snow-plough by the roadside has not yet been removed, showing how
near we are to the past season, and how closely connected with it is
this warm sunny day of May.  The pine forest we are still passing
through becomes denser now, and the morning light is as twilight in
this thick glade.

Our attention is suddenly drawn to a lively squirrel, who swings
rapidly from branch to branch; a pine marten is in full pursuit.  In
the excitement of the chase they are both quite unobservant of
passers-by, and across the trees which overhang the road they spring,
and it is not long before the sound from the forest depths of the thin
piping squeak of the hunted squirrel tells of tragedy.

Between the tall trunks of the pine-trees we obtain occasional peeps of
blue fjord {134} and snow-topped mountain forms as we drive along.

Having now crossed the watershed, we gradually descend, and patches of
cultivated land begin to appear on the wide valley sides.  Passing
several farms ("gaard") we now see below us an extensive lake,
Hornindalsvand, along whose rocky shore we drive; and presently we
arrive at Grodaas, the little inn and hamlet being prettily situated in
a tree-fringed bay on the lake's eastern margin.  Surrounding this
broad and beautiful lake are high mountains of picturesque form.

Large farmsteads are here, and well-cultivated land, and an air of
prosperity pervades the place.  Continuing our drive along the wide
valley, Hornindal, we gradually ascend through more open country.  The
snow-clad mountain-tops are nearer to us now, and on both sides their
craggy forms appear in many a quaint-shaped peak.  Farther on, near
"Gaard" Kjelstadli, we are at a height of about 1,400 feet above
sea-level.  That apparently {135} inaccessible pinnacle in front of us
is Horndalsrokken ("rokken")--the distaff.  Here we approach a
magnificent mountain region, and, descending the steep hilly road to
where it divides at "Gaard" Tryggestad--one branch going to
Hellesylt--we enter that deep and gloomy valley, the Nordangsdal.  This
narrow gorge-like valley is closely hemmed in by high, majestic, and
sharp-peaked mountains.  Below "Gaard" Fibelstad and Hougen, as we
descend, this huge chasm-like valley contracts and becomes so narrow
that there is barely room in some places for the rocky torrent and the
road between the perpendicular mountain buttresses.

We now drive alongside five very narrow lakes in succession; these
completely fill up the bottom of the gorge.  At several places on the
road we are compelled to dismount, and walk over huge, deep
snow-patches.  These are the remains of winter avalanches which have
not yet melted; they stretch across the road, and form natural bridges
of hard snow over the torrent which gurgles {136} below.  Emerging from
this deep and terrible gorge, we gradually descend, passing on the way
the sequestered hamlet of Skylstad.

So enclosed is this little group of turf-roofed houses by high
mountains that the inhabitants do not feel the warm sun's rays during
the greater part of the year.

[Sidenote: The Hjörund Fjord]

From this place, by easy road, we drive along the widening valley, and,
passing several poor farms, we at length arrive at Öie, a small hamlet
picturesquely situated by the shores of the narrow Norangs Fjord, an
arm of the grand Hjörund Fjord.  By the Norwegians themselves this is
thought to be the grandest of all their fjords.  It is not easy to
decide, however, as each one of them has its own particular
characteristics.

[Illustration: Hjörlund Fjord, Öie]

The mountains around here attain a height of some 5,000 to 6,000 feet.
Their tops are peaked and pinnacled; some even appear to lean forward,
as though ready to spring out across the fjord or valley.  Decorative
patches of snow and glacier {137} rest between their huge flanks, and
woods of hardy birch and alder clothe their bases.

Majestic scenery is this, of the sharp peak and pinnacle type, and of
its kind no grander is there in the whole of Norway.

          "The mountains near
  Stand up in fixed and monumental gaze,
  As pyramids precipitous and bold."[1]

[1] G. Gilfillan.




{139}

CHAPTER VIII

THE NORWEGIAN ESTABLISHED CHURCH

The Norwegian Established Church ("den Norske Statskirke") owes its
present constitution to the Reformation, and about the middle of the
sixteenth century it became by legislation the public religion of the
State.  It is known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The three creeds which together form its symbolum are the Apostolic,
Athanasian, and Nicene-Constantinople.  In addition to these, there are
accepted the Augsburg Confession and Luther's Shorter Catechism.

The kingdom of Norway is divided for ecclesiastical purposes into six
bishoprics, and each of these dioceses is subdivided {140} into
deaneries, of which there are eighty-three.  Out of the deaneries are
formed the separate livings ("præstegjeld").  These number at the
present time 480.  The livings, especially in country places, include
one or more sub-parishes, each with its own church or chapel-of-ease.

[Sidenote: Ecclesiastical matters]

According to the Norwegian law, the King must always belong to the
Established Church, and he possesses the supreme jurisdiction in
ecclesiastical affairs.  The King appoints the Bishops, and his
sanction must be obtained to the preferment of the rest of the clergy.

The Ecclesiastical Department of the State has the administration of
considerable sums of money that have been realized by the sale of
property which belonged to the priests and monasteries in Roman
Catholic times.  This money is placed to a fund which is used for the
benefit of the Lutheran clergy and as pensions for their widows, also
for the advancement of education.

The Bishops are remunerated by the {141} State, chiefly from the funds
which were appropriated by the Government at the time of the
Reformation.

The country clergy have the free use of the glebes which belong to the
State, and among other sources of income to the livings are the
parsons' tithes and sundry rent charges on landed proprietors in the
parish.

In the towns the tithes have largely been commuted by the municipality,
and are now paid to the clergy by the community in the form of rates,
their stipends being further augmented by voluntary contributions and
by certain grants from the Government.

According to a law passed in 1897, all the churches and churchyards in
Norway, with a few exceptions, will in a short time become the property
of their respective congregations.  For this purpose a church fund is
now in process of formation, being raised by the commutation of all
church tithes, and by the addition of certain royal tithes of
pre-Reformation origin.  The {142} proceeds of this fund will be
devoted to the maintenance of, and the repairs to, the churches, the
deficit to be made up by the parish or municipality.

Among the many religious efforts which are liberally supported may be
mentioned the Norwegian Missionary Society, which was founded in 1842:
Zululand, Natal, and Madagascar are its fields of labour; the Santhal
Mission in India; and the Norwegian Lutheran China Mission.  There are
also home missions and local religious associations for the relief of
the poor and the care of the sick.  In addition to these, there is a
mission to the Jews.

Great was the reluctance of the Norwegian people to receive the
reformed faith, which they were compelled by law to do in the middle of
the sixteenth century; but they have since become loyally and deeply
attached to it, and there are probably few countries in Europe where
the ministers of religion have a greater influence in the
administration {143} of the affairs of the country and the education of
the people than in Norway.  It has been the nation's endeavour for the
last century to develop and improve the education of her children.

[Sidenote: Public instruction]

An effort was made by royal ordinance as early as 1739 to introduce
into the country a system of general school attendance, and to arrange
for the establishment of a permanent school in each parish.  At that
time the clergy were the sole leaders in school matters, each in his
own parish, and it is owing in a great measure to them that, in the
face of the numerous difficulties of all kinds which had to be
overcome, the school has made continual progress.  Its development has
always been in a democratic direction.  From a parish school for the
poor, it has become a national school, where a general education is
provided which is accessible to all members of society.

Free and compulsory education obtains in Norway.  It consists of a
seven years' course.  In the country districts it is {144} adapted for
children between the ages of eight and fifteen, and in the towns for
those between seven and fourteen.  The reason why Norwegian children
begin their education so late in the country parishes may no doubt be
attributed to the fact that they have in most cases to travel great
distances in order to attend school.

The Department for Ecclesiastical Matters and Public Instruction is the
highest school authority in the country.  Next follow the School
Directors, one for each of the six dioceses; these superintend the
primary schools.  The Bishop and Dean also take an active part in the
superintendence, and the priest in supervising the instruction in
religious knowledge.

There are six public colleges, one to each diocese, for the training of
school-masters and governesses--as school-mistresses are called--for
the primary schools, and in these colleges they receive free tuition.
The college course extends {145} to three years; it was formerly a two
years' course.

There are also four private colleges, in which a considerable number of
free students are admitted and are paid for by Government grant.

The Government votes an annual sum amounting to 10,000 kroner (£555)
towards travelling scholarships for teachers in primary schools.
Several municipalities also devote sums of money annually for the same
purpose.

County schools ("amtsskoler"), one to each county, are instituted as
continuation schools, and the syllabus is practically the same as that
which obtains in the primary schools, but the aim is a higher one.  The
girls are instructed in needlework and house management, and the boys
in wood sloyd and technical drawing.  In some of these schools
instruction is also given in gardening, agricultural subjects, and the
English language.  In aid of these schools the State grants
three-fourths of the total amount {146} voted by the county authorities
for up-keep.

Direct Government grants are also made to a few People's High Schools
for advanced education.  There are in Norway at the present time
thirty-six working-men's colleges, ten of these being situated in
country districts.  The first was erected in Christiania in 1885.

The instruction at these colleges is given in the evenings in the form
of lectures on a variety of subjects.  The lecturers are chosen from
among scientific men, schoolmasters, doctors, military men, etc.  The
Government grant to the working-men's colleges is equal to one-half of
that which is contributed by the municipalities.

In addition to the foregoing there are also established a number of
Government grammar-schools ("latinskoler") and higher grade schools,
known as "gymnasia," for those who wish to lay the foundation for a
continued higher education and as a preparation for the University.
{147} The principals ("rektorer") of these schools, as well as the
other permanent assistant-masters, are Government officers, and receive
their appointments from the King.

Norway has only one University, the Royal Frederik University in
Christiania, founded in 1811.  The number of professors at the present
time is sixty-five; they are appointed by the King.

The leaving examination at a "gymnasium" ("examen artium") entitles the
successful candidate to enter his name as a student at the University.
The total number of students there is now about 1,400, and they receive
free instruction.  Small fees are, however, required for permission to
enter for the various examinations.  The expenses of the University are
chiefly defrayed by the Government.

Connected with the University are various laboratories, scientific
institutions, and collections, among them being the National Library,
the Botanical Gardens, the Historical Museum, the Astronomical {148}
Observatory, and the Meteorological Institute.  Theological students
receive practical training at a college affiliated to the University.




{149}

CHAPTER IX

THE GEIRANGER FJORD TO MOLDE

Leaving now the magnificent Hjörund Fjord, we take the road from Öie to
Hellesylt.  Ascending the gorge of Nordangsdal, we again arrive at
"Gaard" Tryggestad, at which place the road branches off for Hellesylt,
and we drive down a steep, well-wooded valley along the banks of a
mountain torrent.  The river thunders down a rugged chasm, at times
lost to sight in the mysterious depths of the gloomy, cavernous gorge;
then, emerging into the open and madly plunging over huge boulders, it
sends its spray over us in clouds as we pass.

The steep road descends through hanging woods of tall pine and graceful
birch, {150} and at a clearing in the forest a small farm, surrounded
by its own green fields, is passed, and we now obtain a glimpse of the
village of Hellesylt, reposing down by the margin of the bright fjord
of Sunelv.  Picturesquely perched on elevated ground above the
red-tiled house-tops stands the church.

Deep in a valley to our right repose the remains of a huge avalanche of
snow, surrounded by trees, with whose fresh, green foliage the white
snow presents the striking contrast of winter and summer side by side.
The time of cherry-blossom is almost over, but there is a wealth of
apple and pear blossom in the many orchards around sunny Hellesylt.

[Sidenote: Öie to Helleslyt]

Having had so many hours in the "kariol," it is refreshing to sit by
the margin of a fjord again; to breathe in quietude the incense-laden
air, and to listen to the faint murmur of some distant waterfall; to
watch the rays of the westering sun stream from behind the nearer
mountain in an intense amber {151} glow, deeping gradually into rose,
and illuminating the snow-topped peaks across the fjord yonder in a
most enchanting way.

The nearer mountains are in purple shadow.  In one short hour the light
on each ruddy top dies away, and their colour is slowly transformed to
that of cold, silvery blue as they are one by one deserted by the sun's
rays.  All the peaks are now of blue, purple, and silver--cool and
refreshing to look upon.  Hardly has the last mountain taken on his
silvery hue when a light zephyr breathes softly across the sleeping
waters of the fjord in a steely glitter.  But what is this weird light
that is stealing over all Nature in softest and most delicate blush
when we expected the cool twilight?  It is the afterglow.  An ethereal
rosy golden light slowly intensifies on the mountains.  It is more
diffused than the actual direct glow from the setting sun, and not
nearly so brilliant; but a dreamy glow, mysterious and bewitchingly
weird in the intense stillness.

{152}

A slight breeze disturbs the surface of the water, and the fjord now
ripples with a thousand hues from sunset sky and rosy-tinted mountains.
It is now fast approaching the hour of midnight.  Almost already the
first faint signs of dawn appear in the north, where a solitary star is
but barely discernible in the pale amber sky; and as we gaze on such a
scene with reverent and grateful hearts, we offer up a pæan of praise,
and thankfully store away in the treasure-house of our memory the
recollection of a perfect night of June spent amid such romantic
surroundings.

[Sidenote: The Geiranger Fjord]

In the character of the scenery of Geiranger in Söndmöre we have a
blending of the Alpine splendour of Nordland, with the wildness of
Jötunheim, the beauty of Hardanger, and the grandeur of Sogn.  Whether
we approach this fjord from the land side and drive down the splendidly
engineered road in zigzag windings to the village of Meraak, or sail in
from the main Stor Fjord, we obtain an equally vivid {153} impression
of Geiranger's beauty and grandeur.

Here the scenery of the Söndmöre district maybe said to attain its most
perfect expression.  Sogn has higher mountains, but Söndmöre, with its
bold, sharp peaks, makes quite as overpowering an impression on the
mind of the traveller, attracting and captivating him with its
enchanting power.

[Illustration: Geiranger Fjord]

Geiranger Fjord and district are noted for beautiful waterfalls, and
from the hamlet of Meraak, if we row for a couple of hours, we can
visit the Seven Sisters Waterfall--its proper name, however, is
Knivsflaafos--a bevy of falls who plunge gaily side by side down a
high, precipitous cliff into the fjord.  Their number varies at
different times according to the state of the weather, and we are not
always able to count the mystic seven.  Other sisters appear after
heavy rain, and thus increase the family to eight or nine; and in hot
weather four only are to be seen.

{154}

These falls, which descend from a great height almost without touching
the cliff, seem to shoot downwards like rockets in myriads of large and
small douches of water--these, as they descend, pierce through the fine
spray which they create, and thus cause a very pretty effect,
especially when the sun's rays cause rainbow hues to float on the
delicate gauze of spray.

Another beautiful waterfall near here is known as "Brude Slur" (Bridal
Veil).  This "fos" descends almost as a veil from the sky-line of the
high cliff, and spreads its streamers over the face of the dark rock.
In stormy weather I have seen this waterfall lifted bodily by the wind
and carried upwards into space, to descend like rain at some distance.

On the opposite side of the fjord, high up on the precipitous cliffs
and in a romantic position, is situated an old farmstead, "Gaard"
Skaggeflaa by name, and from the rugged crags in close proximity to it
is a picturesque waterfall, Gjeitfos (Goat's Fall).  {155} The only
means of access to this lonely farm is by a dizzy goats' track, which
threads its devious way upwards from the shore of the fjord across the
breast of the steep cliff.  In one place the track is completely
blocked by an overhanging rock.  This is scaled by means of a ladder.

Some years ago there lived a farmer here who refused to pay his share
of the local taxes.  The wily farmer would never visit the village
shops for provisions or other necessaries until he had first made quite
sure that the "lensmand" (sheriff's officer) was not in the
neighbourhood; neither would he fish on the fjord, only at a place just
beneath the cliffs on the top of which his farm lay.

On one occasion the "lensmand" came close upon the delinquent unawares.
He followed him up the difficult goats' track, climbing and slipping
until he came to the ladder.  Quickly scaling the rock, the tricky
farmer pulled up the ladder after him, and so left the breathless and
angry {156} "lensmand" to find his way down again, for he was quite
unable to proceed farther.

Near to the entrance of Geiranger Fjord, and among a number of large
boulders which lie at the foot of the steep cliffs of Nökkeneb (Nyxies'
Peak) stands an ancient "gaard," called Sultevik.

At this farm an ancient outbuilding of logs, called a "rogestue," is
still used as in primitive times.  The exterior is unpretentious in
appearance, but the interior is quite interesting.  The hut is built of
thick balks of timber, and the turf-covered roof is supported by heavy
beams, which are dark with the smoke of centuries.  On the hard earthen
floor, rudely built of stones, stands an elevated hearth-fire, the
smoke from which escapes through a square hole in the roof.  Over the
fire hangs an ancient iron "gryte" (cauldron), suspended from a movable
wooden pole.  On one side of the room stands a massive bench-like
table, on the top of which was placed a large trough of wood, which was
in use for kneading dough.  It must have {157} been used for centuries,
to judge from its appearance.  On the outside it was much worn and
stained by age, while on the inside appeared many different
stratifications of meal and flour dough, which also pointed to the fact
of its being used for untold years.

Two robust peasant girls were busy together making potato-cakes,
placing them for baking on a slab of slate which rested on stones over
the peat fire.  Through the smoke I could just see on a shelf a few old
carved and painted wooden articles of domestic use--butter-holders,
bowls, tankards, and dishes--and these were in daily use.

A quaint iron lamp ("kole") is suspended from a beam in the ceiling,
and this is the oldest form of lamp now to be found in the country.  In
it fish-oil ("trail") is burned, and a piece of tow hangs as a wick
from the lip of the open heart-shaped saucer which contains the oil.
This lamp will not give a brilliant light by any means, but these
simple {158} peasants put up with it for the good and sufficient reason
that they have nothing better.

This majestic fjord of Geiranger is noted for great avalanches of snow,
sometimes of rocks, which in the winter and early spring descend from
the steep mountains around.

Near Madvik Farm, at the entrance to the fjord, an unusually severe
avalanche of stones and snow occurred a few years ago, the concussion
from which was felt for several miles around, and on the water huge
waves were formed, which swept with great velocity into the
neighbouring branch fjords, and even across to Hellesylt, causing no
little damage to property on the shore.

[Sidenote: Söholt to Romsdal]

I see from my diary that the fjord steamer left Meraak in Geiranger at
the unearthly hour of 2 a.m., and that in six hours I arrived at Söholt
on a fragrant morning in June.

At this place I hired a "kariol" and boy for the drive to Vestnes.  In
crossing the {159} extensive moorland which forms the watershed, we met
a picturesque group of farmers with their wives and children, and the
cattle, sheep, and goats.  They were on their way to the "sæter" farms,
there to stay for the summer months.  A couple of rustic carts were
drawn along by sturdy cream-coloured ponies, and in the carts the
youngest children sat quite comfortably among the various domestic
goods and chattels which were for use up at the "sæter."

[Illustration: Meraak, Geiranger Fjord]

Along the side of the road, which here crossed the bleak moorland
plateau, tall standing stakes were placed at intervals in order to
guide the traveller in winter-time when the road lies buried underneath
the deep snow.

Vestnes is not an attractive place.  From here the town of Molde can
just be seen across the wide fjord, but it is too far distant for the
view to be at all interesting.

Showers and sunshine alternating made the short steamer voyage from
Vestnes to {160} Aandalsnæs attractive, for the mountains of many peaks
which surround the far-famed Romsdal were in view most of the time.
Cloud shadows chased each other among their rugged forms and over the
great patches of unmelted snow which lay on their summits.

[Sidenote: The Romsdal]

The village of Aandalsnæs, or Næs, owes the cause of its existence
entirely to the magnificent scenery amid which it is situated.
Veblungsnæs is the older port of call for the fjord steamers, but Næs,
being more conveniently placed for travellers visiting the Romsdal, it
has rapidly grown into favour in late years.  The river Rauma, noted
for its splendid salmon-fishing, separates the two villages.

Seen from Næs, also, the panorama of majestic mountains is much grander
than from Veblungsnæs.  On a fine summer's evening the rocks on the
sharp peaks of Romsdalshorn and Troldtinderne (witch pinnacles) are all
crimson and purple with the sunset, and bright tongues of fiery cloud
are often seen burning and quivering {161} about them; and the river,
brighter than all, flows silently down the broad valley in a glittering
sheet of gold.  Long level lines of dewy mist lie stretched along the
valley, almost hiding the mountain bases by their filmy vapour.

Sometimes one may hear the peasant girls calling the cattle down from
the hills by singing the "fjeldviser"--musical ditties whose notes are
similar to those with which Jenny Lind once charmed great audiences in
many lands.

The Romsdal, down which flows the river Rauma, is one of the grandest
valleys in the whole of Norway.  At Næs the valley is wide, and
luxuriant green pastures and beautiful trees enliven the landscape.

Romsdalshorn, whose peaked top rises to over 5,000 feet, stands
conspicuously at the entrance to the valley, and near to it on the left
tower the still more lofty pinnacles of Vengetinderne, while on the
right are the strikingly picturesque Trolltinderne (witch pinnacles),
from whose {162} rugged sides great avalanches of snow and rocks are
precipitated in winter.  Part of the serrated ridge is known as
"Brudefölge," or Bridal Train.

Farther up, and beyond Horgheim, the valley becomes narrower and more
ravine-like; and here the river flows with greater impetuosity, and
threads its way through a chaos of enormous blocks of rock, the result
of some tremendous landslip.

[Illustration: The mountains of Romsdal]

At Flatmark (Flat Field) the valley becomes broader again, and the
mountain scenery around is extremely grand and impressive.

Between here and Ormheim several fine waterfalls are precipitated from
rocks some 2,000 feet in height, the chief among these falls being the
Vermafos, which assumes imposing dimensions after rain or during the
melting of the snow in early summer.

The road now ascends the once-dreaded Bjorneklev (Bears' Cliff) in
numerous windings, and at Stuefloten attains the height of over 2,000
feet above fjord-level.  {163} At this place ends the Romsdal, one of
the most widely celebrated routes in Norway.

The river Rauma is about thirty-seven miles long from its source at the
Lake Lesjeskogen to the Romsdals Fjord, and it is counted among the
best salmon rivers in the country.

[Sidenote: Salmon-fishing]

Salmon-fishing in the rivers is carried on with the rod as a sport, and
large sums of money are paid annually by sportsmen for the renting of
rivers.  Seine nets are also largely used by fishermen.  These nets are
placed at the mouths of the rivers, and in this way large hauls of fish
are often made.

Salmon is fished all along the coast from the beginning of May to the
end of August, and, since the practice of bag-netting was introduced
some fifty years ago, the proceeds have increased enormously.  Most of
the fish is exported, a large quantity going to England.

The fishing industry may be considered the most ancient and important
means of {164} livelihood of the Norwegian people.  More than a
thousand years ago, according to the old sagas, "splendid painted
ships, with sails of several colours," sailed with fish from Norway to
England; and this great industry is still one of the most important in
the land, especially the sea fisheries, which obtain their peculiar
value from the natural conditions and geographical features of an
exceedingly long coast-line, with its deep inlets and numerous islands.

[Sidenote: The great sea-fisheries]

Of the great sea-fisheries, that of cod-fishing is by far the most
profitable, and in its pursuit the greatest number of men are employed.
It is carried on all along the coast, but most extensively in the
northern part of the country.  At the fishing stations in the Lofoten
Islands alone some 40,000 men are employed during the first three
months of the year.

Farther south, and especially in the wide fjords of the Romsdal County,
sea-cod fishing has always been carried on {165} more extensively than
at most other points along the coast.

Cod vary in weight from 9 to 20 pounds, but they have been taken
weighing as much as 90 pounds.  Codfish is prepared, as a rule, either
as "klipfisk" (salted and rock-dried fish), or as "törfisk" (dried
stock-fish).  The most important product, however, is "klipfisk."  It
is cleaned and salted at the fishing stations, and then sent away to
convenient drying-places, where the fish is laid out on the flat rocks
("klipper") to dry, or on the shingly shore, where such is found.

[Illustration: Romsdal Fjord, from Næs]

It is an attractive and interesting sight to see the native women at
work on the broad pebbly strand, their many-coloured garments
fluttering in the breeze as they turn over the thousands of fish to dry
in the sun.  When sufficiently dry the fish is piled into circular
stacks about 4 feet high; a flat wooden cover is then placed on the
top, and this is held down by boulders of stone to protect it from the
force of the wind.  These wooden caps are usually {166} painted a
bright Indian red, and in appearance form a lively contrast to the deep
blue water of the breezy fjord and the pale pebbles on the sunny
strand.  Many thousands of tons of "klipfisk" are exported annually,
chiefly to Spain.

The preparation of "törfisk" is more simple than that of salted cod.
The fish in this case, when cleaned, are usually hung up by the tail to
dry in pairs, on large wooden frames or scaffolds called "hjeller."

Next to the cod the herring fisheries are the most important in the
country.  These fisheries vary, however, very considerably, and the
time during which the fish visit the coast is often of very short
duration.  The herring shoals come in twice a year, once in winter and
once in summer or autumn; and it sometimes happens that quite suddenly,
and as if by some stroke of magic, the sea becomes brimful of herring,
and then after a short time it is just as suddenly empty again.  At
such harvest-times the fishermen are very hard at work both day and
night, and have {167} barely opportunity to take their food or rest;
and as the sea is often rough, and the weather wet and stormy, their
calling is at these times fraught with many dangers.  As compensation,
however, they have their long intervals of rest--perhaps too many of
them.  The farmer-fisherman of the fjords is in many respects better
off, as he can find other employment if his daily fishing fails for a
time, especially in the spring and summer months, when farm work claims
his attention and crops have to be harvested and housed.

The summer day is of long duration in Norway.  During the light nights
Nature dreams, day meets day, and away up in the north the sun
illumines the heavens by night as well as by day.  Even in the
southernmost parts of the country the setting sun barely sinks below
the horizon from the end of April to the beginning of August,
consequently bright twilight prevails during the whole of that period;
but we must travel farther north and reach the polar circle before we
see {168} the sun shining all through the summer night.

At Bodö the sun does not set from the beginning of June to the first
week in July; and at North Cape the midnight sun is visible from May 12
to July 29, and its orb presents from that place a most weird and
impressive sight.

In winter, on the other hand, twilight takes the place of daylight in
these high latitudes, and at North Cape the sun is not seen from the
middle of November to the end of January.

Farther south, however, at Throndhjem, the sun rises at 10 a.m., and
sets at 2.30 p.m., on the shortest days of winter; and at Bergen there
are nearly six hours of daylight at that time of the year.

Norway in winter is not quite so dreadful a place as most people would
imagine.  After the first heavy fall of snow the days become bright and
clear, and blue skies prevail, often for several weeks in succession,
especially in districts which lie at some distance inland from {169}
the coast, or near the heads of the larger fjords.  The air is here
fresh and bracing, and the five hours of sunshine during even the
shortest days make walking, sleighing, and ski-running attractive
exercises.  On the darkest nights of mid-winter the sky is palpitant
with the luminous northern lights--the aurora borealis--which stream up
from behind the dark mountains in prismatic hues of great brilliance;
and when the full moon shines on the sparkling fjord and on the deep,
crisp snow, it is exhilarating to take a long sleigh drive over the
frosty roads by the margin of the fjord, to sup at a friend's house on
an evening at Yuletide.

[Sidenote: Winter sports]

The winter sports of Norway are celebrated far and wide, and they bid
fair to become as attractive to pleasure votaries of snow and ice as
are those of the Engadine.  These sports are held in the month of
February each year, at Holmenkollen, near Christiania, and at
Throndhjem.

Among the essentially national sports {170} held at fixed times at
these centres may be mentioned that of ski-ing, or, properly,
"skilöbning" (leaping on snowshoes).  This is the most popular of all
their sports, and it is the means of attracting many thousands of
people, including numerous foreigners, chiefly English and German.

The use of the ski (pronounced "shee") as an easy means of locomotion
is, in the opinion of historians, of very ancient origin, and came to
Norway with the Lapps long before the dawn of the Christian era; and
from that remote time to the present the ski has been worn, chiefly by
the peasants in mountainous districts, and is also very popular with
the army.  As a national sport it has had a great revival in recent
years, and almost every boy and girl in the country now possess "skier."

[Sidenote: Wild animals and game]

Another form of sport for which Norway is celebrated is that of the
hunting and shooting of wild animals and game, and in this respect it
is an ideal country {171} for sportsmen.  In the great forests that
cover rather more than one-fifth of its entire area game of all kinds
is to be found.

Among beasts of prey the bear and wolf are still common in the remoter
parts of the country; also the lynx and glutton, although the latter is
fast becoming extinct.  The Government offers a reward for killing any
of these animals, including the fox, of which there are large numbers.

The elk is now becoming rare, but there are large herds of reindeer in
a wild state on the mountain plateaux, and the red deer is also found,
though less frequently than in former times.

[Illustration: Molde]

Of the wild fowl the capercailzie is the finest, and there are found
everywhere "rype" (ptarmigan), and hazel and willow grouse.  The latter
are without comparison the most important game in the country.

The most valuable of the wild-fowl, however, is the eider-duck, on
account of {172} its down.  This bird is most abundant among the
northern islands, although it is also found in large numbers at many
places along the coast.

We have followed the principal fjords of the west country, from
Hardanger northwards, and now we come to Molde.  This bright little
town is more beautifully situated than any other in the country.  It
lies sheltered and calm by the blue waters of the Molde Fjord, over
whose broad expanse are seen, to the south and east, the magnificent
Söndmöre range of mountains, with their many peaks and glaciers.  On a
calm summer's evening, when the setting sun lights up each peak and
pinnacle with its golden glow, the scene from this place is one of
enchanting loveliness:

  "Ye mountains hoar of earthfast stone,
  Where ancient Thor presides alone;
  Ye fjords that smile in silver blue,
  Each rock and isle, farewell to you."[1]


[1] Frithjof Saga.




  {173}

  INDEX


  Aamdal, 104
  Aandalsnæs.  See Næs
  Aardal, 109
  Æsir (heathen gods), 49
  Afterglow, the, 150
  Agriculture, 10
  Altar, heathen, 50
  Andoen, coal on, 104
  Animals, wild, 170
  Antiquarian Society of Christiania, the, 107
  Arendal iron-ore mines, 104
  Ari Frodi, the Skald, 48
  Art of the Viking Age, 29, 31
  Arts, industrial, 28, 31
  Arvedalsgrube, 103
  Asgaard, 49
  Astronomical Observatory, 148
  Atlöen, 14
  Aurlands Fjord, 57, 93
  Aurora Borealis, the, 169
  Avalanches, 86, 110, 158


  Bakke, 88
  Balder, the Beautiful, 49, 61
  "Balder's Baal," 60
  Balestrand, 67
  Balholm, 67
  Bear-hunting, 73, 171
  Belè, King, 68
  Bergen, 2, 23, 168
    -Christiania Railway, 94
    Museum, 30
    -Voss Railway, 24
  Bishoprics, the Norwegian, 139
  Boat-building, 13, 16
  Boats, ancient forms of, 15
  Bodö, 168
  Bohnslän, 14
  Bojumsbræ, 75
  Bondhusbræ, 41
  Borgund, "Stav-Kirke" at, 107
  Botanical Gardens, 147
  Bremanger land, 118
  Bronze Age, the, 114
  Brudeslurfos (Bridal Veil Falls), 154
  Buarbræ, 41


  Capercailzie, the, 171
  Ceremonies, pagan, 49
  Character, national, 123
  Cheese-making, 70
  China, mission to, 142
  Christiania-Bergen Railway, 94
    University, 147
  Christianity, introduction of, 47, 113
  Christmas Eve customs, 53, 56
  Church, the Lutheran, 139
    tithes, 141
  Churches, ancient ("Stav-Kirker"), 29, 51, 107, 113
  Climate, 4
  Coal on Andöen, 104
  Cod-fishing industry, the, 164
  Colleges, public and private, 144
    working men's, 146
  Copper-mining, 103
  Costumes, national, 5, 37, 125
  Creeds, Lutheran, 139
  Customs, primitive, 60, 124


  Dances, national, 62, 64, 89
  Dialects, native, 76, 84
  Dioceses, ecclesiastical, 139
  Dösen, 113
  Drink traffic, the, 19
  Drives by "kariol," 24, 132, 149, 158
  Drying fish, method of, 165
  Dyrdal, 80


  Eagles, golden, 91
  Ecclesiastical dioceses, 139
  "Eddas," the, 47
  Education, Government grants to, 143, 146
  Eide, 24
  Eiderduck, the, 171
  Eidfjord, 45
  Elk, the, 171
  Embroidery, native, 32
  English Church, an, 68
    language taught, 145
  Erlingsön, Magnus, 77
  Espelandsfos, 40
  Espelandsvand, 26


  Fairy tales, 52
  Falejde, 131
  Farming, 7
  Fibelstad Haugen, 135
  Fiddle, the Hardanger, 33
  Fimreite, sea fight off, 77
  Finland, 21
  Finn sorcery, 57
  Fires, St. John's, 60
  Fireside "sagas," 52
  Fishing industry, the, 16, 163
  Fjærland, 51, 73
  Fjord formation, 110
  Flaamsdal, 94
  Flatmark, 162
  Florö, 118
  Folgefond snowfield, the, 28, 40
  Folklore, 52
  Food of peasants, 17
  Forestry, 95
  Fox, the, 171
  Framnæs, 68
  Fresvikbræ, 95
  Freya, 49
  "Frithjof's Saga," 67, 172
  Frönningen, 95
  Fruit-growing, 11


  Galdhöpiggen, 111
  Game, 170
  Geiranger Fjord, 132, 149
  Glacial action, 40, 43
  Glittertind, 111
  Gloppen Fjord, 122
  Glutton, the, 171
  Goat-fanning, 26, 36
  Gods, pagan, 48
  Gothenburg System, the, 19
  Government Grants to Education, 143, 146
  Gravehalsen Tunnel, 94
  Graven Lake, 45
  Grazing, cattle, 69
  Greek Skipper's Tale, a, 55
  Greenland, 40
  Grodaas, 132
  Grouse-shooting, 171
  Gudbrandsdal, 32, 105
  Gudvangen, 85, 92


  Haakonshal, 3
  Haarfagre, King Harald, 47
  Hallingdal, 94
  "Halling" dance, the, 64, 89
  Hamar, 101
  Hanseatic League, the, 2, 100
  "H[=a]rbarôsljòô," the "Edda," 17
  Hardanger costume, 5, 37
    fiddler, the, 64
    violin, the, 33
  Heathen superstition, 48
    temples, 49
  Hedemarken Amt, 98
  Helleristninger (Runes), 13
  Hellesylt, 135, 149, 158
  Herring-fishing industry, the, 16, 166
  High-seat pillars ("stolper"), 50
  Hjelle, 123
  Hjörund Fjord, 132, 136, 149
  Holmenkollen, 169
  Home farm, life on the, 7, 81
    industry, 30, 32
  Horgheim, 162
  Horndalsrokken, 135
  Hornelen, 118
  Hornindalsvand, 134
  Horticulture, 10
  House-building, 7, 81
  "Hove" (a heathen temple), 49
  "Huldr" on, 53
  Human sacrifices, 50
  Hunting, 170
  Husbandry, 10


  Ice Age, the, 40
  Iceland, 47
  Icelandic literature, 48, 61
  "Ildhus," an, 9
  Images, pagan, 50
  India, Santhal Mission to, 142
  Industrial Arts, 30, 32
  Ingeborg, 68
  Inquisitiveness, native, 124
  Instruction, Department of Public, 144
  Irish ornament, early, 29, 114
  Iron-ore mines, 103


  Jews, mission to the, 142
  Jondal, 13
  Joranger, 113
  Jordalsnuten, 90, 92
  Jostedalen, 112
  Jostedalsbræ, 75, 112
  Jötunheim, 45, 111


  Kaldafjeld, 92
  "Kariol," drives by, 24, 132, 149, 158
  Kaupanger, 77
  Kilefos, 92
  Kinservik, 28
  Kitchen, an ancient ("Rögestue"), 156
  Kjelstadli, 134
  Kjendalsbræ, 128
  "Klipfisk," 165
  Knivsflaafos, 153
  Kongensgrube, 103
  Kongsberg silver mines, 103
  Krokedalen, 113
  Kyrre, King Olaf, 2, 113


  Laatefos, 40
  Lærdalsbrön, 29, 105
  Lamps, ancient, 157
  Land-tenure, 12
  Laplander.  See Finn
  "Laxeverp," a, 130
  Legendary lore, 52
  Leirvaag, 14
  "Lensmand," a (sheriff's officer), 155
  Lesjeskogen Lake, 163
  Lind, Jenny, 161
  Liquor laws, the, 19
  Literature, Icelandic, 48, 61
  Loen Vand, 126
  Lofoten Islands, the, 164
  "Lur," a, 72
  Lutheran Church, the, 6, 139
  Lynx, the, 171
  Lyster Fjord, 110


  Magnus Erlingsön, 77
  Margaret, Princess, Maid of Norway, 78
  Marriage customs, 64, 87
  Mauranger Fjord, 41
  Meraak, 152, 158
  Merman, a, 60
  Meteorological Institute, 148
  Midnight, sun at, 167
  Midsummer's Eve fires, 60
  Mining industry, the, 103
  Missionary societies, 142
  Mock wedding, a, 62
  Molde, 159, 172
  Mundal, 75
  Music, national, 33
  Muspelheim, 49
  Myrdal station, 94
  Mythology, pagan, 48


  Nærödal, 86
  Næröfjord, 80
  Næs, 160
  Natal and Madagascar, mission to, 142
  National character, 123
    collections, 147
    costume, 5, 37
    sports, 169
  Niffelheim, 49
  "Niflung Saga," the, 30
  Niord, 49
  Norangsfjord, 136
  Nordangsdal, 135, 149
  Nord Fjord, 117
  Nordland, 15, 152
  North Cape, the, 168
  Northern Lights, the, 169
  Norway in winter, 168
  Norwegian Established Church, the, 139
    missionary societies, 142
    Tourist Club, the, 111


  Odde, 27, 35, 41
  Odin, 48
  Öie, 132, 149
  Olaf Kyrre, King, 2, 78, 113
  Olav Trygvessön, King, 48, 118
  Olden vand, 126
  Ormheim, 162
  Oscar II., King, 75
  Östensö, 29


  Pagan mythology, 48
    temple, a, 49, 114
  Peasant proprietorship, 12
  Pilot, the Norwegian, 1
  Posting, 23, 132, 149, 158
  Ptarmigan, the, 171


  Quaint customs, 61, 63, 124
    form of greeting, a, 124
  Queer story of a Finn, 57


  Ragnvald, Earl, 114
  Rambæren Glacier, 95
  Rauma, the River, 160
  Reformation, the, 140
  Reindeer, 171
  Ringdals-fos, 35
    -vand, 37
  Rites, heathen sacrificial, 49
  River fisheries, 163
  Rock carvings, ancient, 13
  Roldal, 36, 41
  Romsdal, 160
  Röros copper mines, 103
  Rosendal, 13
  Rosenkranz, barony of, 13
  Runic inscriptions, 13, 107
  "Rype" (ptarmigan), 171


  Sacrificial rites, pagan, 49
  "Sæmundar Edda," the 17
  "Sæter" girl's tale, a, 54
    life at a, 68
  "Sagas," the, 47, 61
  Saint John's fires, 60
  Salmon-fishing, 130, 163
  "Samlag," the, 21
  Sandene, 122
  Sandven Lake, 45
  Santhal Mission to India, the, 142
  Scholarships, travelling 145
  Schools, Church, 143
    Continuation, 145
    Forestry, 101
    Grammar, 146
    "Gymnasia," 146
    National Primary 144
    People's High, 146
  Scientific institutions, 147
  Sea-fisheries, the, 163
    serpent, a, 60
  Seine nets, 163
  Seljestad, 41
  "Seven Sisters'" Waterfall, the, 153
  Ship-building, 13
  Ships, Viking, 14
  Silver mines, 103
  Sivlefos, 92
  Skaalan, 122
  "Ski" (a snow-shoe), 99, 170
  Skjæggedalsfos, 35
  Skjærvefos, 26
  Skjolden, 111
  Slinde, 77
  Snorre Sturlasön, the Skald, 48
  Snow-shoes ("ski"), 99, 170
  Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Monuments of Antiquity, 51
  Sogndal, 77
  Sogne Fjord, 67
  Söholt, 158
  Solvorn, 113
  Södmöre, 132, 152
  Sör Fjord, 27, 40
  Sorcery, Finn, 57
  Spinning wool, 8
  Spitsbergen, 40
  Sports, national, 169
  Stalheim, 90
  Standing stones, pre-historic, 114
  Staple food of peasants, 17
  State and religion, the, 139
    forests, 100
    mines, 103
  Stavanger, 2, 23
  Steamer, on board, 1, 78, 95, 118, 129
  Steganaase, 84, 93
  Stor Fjord, 152
  Storvatsgrube, 103
  Strynsvand, 122
  Stuefloten, 162
  Styve, 84
  Sulitjelma mines, 104
  Sultevik farm, 156
  Suuelvfjord, 150
  Sun-worship, 60
  Superstitious beliefs, 53
  Suphellebræ, 75
  Suphelledal, 73
  Sverre, King, 77
  Sweden, 21


  Tapestry-weaving, 31
  Tegner's "Frithjof Saga," 67, 172
  Telemarken, 32, 104
  Temples, pagan, 49
  Teröen, 41
  Textile fabrics, ancient, 31
  Theological college, 148
  Thor, the Thunderer, 48
  Throndhjem, 105, 168
  Timber-felling, 99
  Tithes, church, 141
  "Törfisk," 165
  Tourist Club, the Norwegian, 111
  Travelling scholarships, 145
  "Trolds," 49, 53, 59
  Troldtinderne, 160
  Tryggestad farm, 135, 149
  Trygvessön, King Olav, 48, 118
  Tyssedal, 35
  Tyssestrængenefos, 39


  Ullensvang, 27
  Ulvik, 24, 26
  Underdal, 57, 94
  Underworld, the, 54
  University, Royal Frederik, 147
  Urnæs, "Stav-Kirke" at, 113


  Vadheim, 67
  Valahei mines, the, 104
  Valdres, 105
  Valhalla, 49
  "Valkyries," 49
  Valleys, formation of, 43, 106
  Vasenden, 26
  Veblungsnæs, 160
  Vengetinderne, 161
  Vermafos, 162
  Vestnes, 158
  Vetle Fjord, 51
  Vettisfos, 110
  Vide Sæter, 123, 132
  Vik in Sogn, 29, 51
    "Stav-Kirke" at, 51
  Viking Age, the, 47, 48, 68
    ships, 14, 29
  Violin, the Hardanger, 33
  Visnæs, 122, 131
  "Volsung Saga," the, 30
  Vöringfos, 40
  Vossevangen, 24, 29, 85, 93, 101
    -Bergen Railway, 24


  Warships of the Vikings, 14, 29
  "Waterfalls, the highest, 35, 40, 110
  Weddings, customs at, 64, 87
  Wild animals, 170
  Winter in Norway, 85, 167
    sports, 169
  Witchcraft, 58
  Wolves, 171
  Wood-carving, 28, 30
    -cutting, 95
  Wool-spinning, 8
  Working-men's colleges, 146


  "Younger Edda," the, 48
  Yuletide customs, 61


  Zululand, mission to, 142




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series of "Black's Beautiful Books," and is now out of print.



THE UPPER ENGADINE.

Painted by J. HARDWICKE LEWIS.  Described by S. C. MUSSON.

Containing 24 full-page illustrations in colour and a sketch map.
Large crown 8vo., cloth, gilt top.  Price 6s. net.

Perhaps the best way to convey some idea of the Engadine to the
untravelled Britisher is to describe it as a lofty valley sixty miles
in length with a mean altitude as high as Ben Nevis.  As may be
imagined, the air at this height is most bracing, and the mountain
scenery sublime in the extreme.  Picturesque villages and lakes dot the
valley, and an almost level road runs through its entire length.

Mr. J. Hardwicke Lewis, in his water-colour sketches which are
reproduced in this volume, gives us many delightful glimpses of its
beautiful scenery.  In some we see the valley clothed in its rich
summer glory, in others it has donned its winter mantle of snow, and
always overlooking it are the solitary mountain-tops where snow and ice
are eternal.

Mr. Musson in the text of the book describes the varied scenery of the
region, and the chief resorts of the cosmopolitan crowd that gathers
there, with incidental notices of its peculiar geology and flora, and a
short sketch of its chequered history.



NORTH DEVON.

Painted by HENRY B. WIMBUSH.  Described by F. J. SNELL.

Containing 26 full-page illustrations in colour.  Large crown 8vo.,
cloth, gilt top.  Price 6s. net.

"Mr. Wimbush has given us twenty-six glimpses of North Devon which are
gems....  Mr. Snell has endeavoured to avoid the guide-book style in
his descriptive matter, and has succeeded."--_Daily News_.



SOUTH DEVON.

Painted by C. E. HANNAFORD.  Described by CHARLES ROWE, M.J.I.

Containing 24 full-page illustrations in colour.  Large crown 8vo.,
cloth, gilt top.  Price 6s. net.

This book deals with an area abounding in places of historical
interest, and it has a pictorial quality quite distinct from that of
the northern portion of the shire, which already forms the subject of a
companion volume in the same series.



LIVERPOOL.

Painted by J. HAMILTON HAY.  Described by WALTER SCOTT.

Containing 24 full-page illustrations in colour.  Large crown 8vo.,
cloth, gilt top.  Price 6s. net.

This book is published in the year of the 700th anniversary of
Liverpool's first charter, but it aims at being something more than a
mere historical outline of the city's growth.  For modern Liverpool is
almost entirely a product of the nineteenth century, and Mr. Scott has
therefore regarded it as his duty, less to offer a réchauffé of the
facts relating to her development in the past, than to endeavour to
mirror in words the vital aspect which she presents to the world to-day.

The twenty-four water-colours reproduced in facsimile in the volume
were specially painted for the book by Mr. Hay.  They are an effective
series of pictures in sympathy with the text they illustrate, and
thoroughly typical of the great city they represent.



IRELAND.

Painted by FRANCIS S. WALKER, R.H.A.  Described by FRANK MATHEW.

Containing 32 full-page illustrations in colour.  Large crown 8vo.,
cloth, gilt top.  Price 6s. net.

The text and illustrations of this volume are taken from "Ireland," in
the 20s series of "Black's Beautiful Books."

"In the series of 'Coloured Books' which Messrs. A. and C. Black have
published few have the distinction of that on 'Ireland,' a new and
cheaper edition of which has now been issued....  Mr. Frank Mathew is
responsible for the letterpress, and it is a pleasure to come across
work so careful, so well informed, and so admirable in style....  The
pictures in this volume are by Mr. Francis S. Walker.  We dealt with
them when the book appeared in its larger size, and it only remains to
be said now that they are interesting and sympathetic."--_Manchester
Courier_.



PUBLISHED BY A. & C. BLACK, 4, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.









End of Project Gutenberg's The Norwegian Fjords, by A. Heaton Cooper