NORWAY. SNOWFJELDS, FOSSES AND RURAL NORWAY. DDE was a convenient always covered with snow, the result being that, what with melting snows, and springs, and heavy rains, such a volume of water accumulates to be hurled over the rocky battlements as must be seen snowfjelds, glacier to be fairly realised. The waters of this and foss, and we took foss take a leap of five hundred and fifty advantage of our opportu- feet before they touch a single ledge of nity as far as we could. rock, and still a long descent awaits The Folgefond is an im- them. The volume of water and the mense snowfield, two hours' deafening sound are overwhelmingly climb from the village, grand, and what filled us with the forty miles in length by greatest wonder here and at the Vorings thirteen in breadth, and has foss was the strange appearance permany attractions for snow petually presented by the descending men. Its crevasses are dan- torrent. Thousands of threadlets of gerous, and whole herds of water filled with air seemed to halt in reindeer have frequently disappeared in mid heaven for a moment and then extheir abysmal depths. The Norwegians ploding like a charge of gunpowder have a tradition that this vast snowfield rushed down in headlong haste till all was formed as an act of Divine judgment, was lost in blinding spray, which against owing to the profanity of the people. the sun reflected the rainbow's glittering Thirteen villages, it is alleged, were once form. It is common for tourists to inspread over the wide area. For thirteen dulge in the poetic vein after the fashion days it snowed as it had never snowed of Southey when speaking of Norwegian before, the villages were buried and fosses, not so, we, however. Alas! no remain so to this hour. The Buarbrae lark could pipe to skies so dull and grey. glacier descends from the Folgefond at no great distance from Oddé. It is finer than any of the Swiss glaciers, and strange to say in these days of retreating glaciers is reported to be descending the valley with something of alarming speed. By far the most interesting natural object, however, is the Skjeggedal foss or waterfall. These fosses abound in Norway, the configuration of the mountains favouring their existence. Unlike the Swiss mountains, which rise with a gradual slope, and where but few waterfalls are found comparatively speaking, the Norwegian mountains often have an almost vertical ascent of fifteen hundred or two thousand feet, after which succeeds a vast plateau, a great part of which is After exploring these western fjords as well as time would permit, we had seven days' driving in cariols and stolkjaerres, certainly not the least agreeable way of seeing the country. The cariol, somewhat of an oval-shaped vehicle, can by no means hold more than one person, the stolkjaerre, which is a light and generally rude cart, mostly without springs, holds two. The luggage is strapped on at the back of the conveyance, and the post boy or skydsgut, sometimes a girl, or occasionally an old man acts in this capacity, sits upon it with his legs hanging down to the ground. The carioles are horsed by duncoloured, sure-footed ponies, with black manes and tails, and the common way of NORWAY. SNOWFJELDS, FOSSES AND RURAL NORWAY. DDE was a convenient always covered with snow, the result being that, what with melting snows, and springs, and heavy rains, such a volume of water accumulates to be hurled over the rocky battlements as must be seen snowfjelds, glacier to be fairly realised. The waters of this and foss, and we took foss take a leap of five hundred and fifty advantage of our opportu- feet before they touch a single ledge of nity as far as we could. rock, and still a long descent awaits The Folgefond is an im- them. The volume of water and the mense snowfield, two hours' deafening sound are overwhelmingly climb from the village, grand, and what filled us with the forty miles in length by greatest wonder here and at the Vorings thirteen in breadth, and has foss was the strange appearance permany attractions for snow petually presented by the descending men. Its crevasses are dan- torrent. Thousands of threadlets of gerous, and whole herds of water filled with air seemed to halt in reindeer have frequently disappeared in mid heaven for a moment and then extheir abysmal depths. The Norwegians ploding like a charge of gunpowder have a tradition that this vast snowfield rushed down in headlong haste till all was formed as an act of Divine judgment, was lost in blinding spray, which against owing to the profanity of the people. the sun reflected the rainbow's glittering Thirteen villages, it is alleged, were once form. It is common for tourists to inspread over the wide area. For thirteen dulge in the poetic vein after the fashion days it snowed as it had never snowed of Southey when speaking of Norwegian before, the villages were buried and fosses, not so, we, however. Alas! no remain so to this hour. The Buarbrae lark could pipe to skies so dull and grey. glacier descends from the Folgefond at no great distance from Oddé. It is finer than any of the Swiss glaciers, and strange to say in these days of retreating glaciers is reported to be descending the valley with something of alarming speed. By far the most interesting natural object, however, is the Skjeggedal foss or waterfall. These fosses abound in Norway, the configuration of the mountains favouring their existence. Unlike the Swiss mountains, which rise with a gradual slope, and where but few waterfalls are found comparatively speaking, the Norwegian mountains often have an almost vertical ascent of fifteen hundred or two thousand feet, after which succeeds a vast plateau, a great part of which is After exploring these western fjords as well as time would permit, we had seven days' driving in cariols and stolkjaerres, certainly not the least agreeable way of seeing the country. The cariol, somewhat of an oval-shaped vehicle, can by no means hold more than one person, the stolkjaerre, which is a light and generally rude cart, mostly without springs, holds two. The luggage is strapped on at the back of the conveyance, and the post boy or skydsgut, sometimes a girl, or occasionally an old man acts in this capacity, sits upon it with his legs. hanging down to the ground. The carioles are horsed by duncoloured, sure-footed ponies, with black manes and tails, and the common way of driving is to drive as fast as you can pelled to serve travellers with horses to down one hill that the impetus acquired the extent of a fixed number, and, as may help you a little way up the they are mostly farmers, it is often no next. The posting charge is exceedingly slight hardship to them to have to send moderate, being something under two out men and horses during the height of with the night's lodging only half-a crown. same as that of Scotland and the north of England, indeed old memories often return with touching power as the eye scans the gay carpeted earth. The flowers, as might be expected, in the land of the long summer days, have a splendid bloom. Mosses of exquisite beauty and ferns abound everywhere, while the roofs of country houses are covered with a wreath of wild pansies, enough to ravish a painter's eye. One of the grandest sights when traversing this particular route is the Stalkeimseler between Vossevangen and Gudvangen. It is a precipitous cliff, one thousand feet in height, with a foss on either side of the much-winding road which leads down to the valley, with dark, shattered, giant cliffs in front, on the right side and on the left. When we passed the " Clev," if it had not been mid-day with the sun shining brightly, we might have compared it to the valley of the shadow of death. Our route lay up the Laerdal Valley and over the Fille Fjeld to Randsfiord, with an auxiliary piece between Seim and Sogne. Nothing could be more inspiriting than to make an early start, get the lungs well aerated, and the eye filled with the splendour of lake and river, forest and fjeld. The roads are all good, and have been made and are kept up at the expenditure of much time and expense. The rivers, swarming with trout and salmon, flow headlong to the eastern or western seas, wide, deep, and of varied colour, according to the hue of the bed formation. Rivers more imposing and grand than the Glammen, Drannren, Elo, and Laerdal are seldom to be seen. The best fishing grounds are leased by Englishmen. A delightful odour perfumes the air when driving through forest stretches of spruce fir, which is the common timber of this country. This Norwegian music has a great charm tree, interspersed with the elm and the about it, and it was our privilege to graceful birch, makes a pleasing wood- be frequently regaled with it. The land picture. There was a danger a few choir of the Stavengers Cathedral was years ago of Norway becoming dis- having a three days outing under the forested, like some parts of Russia; the superintendence of the choir master, government, however, has put an end to this fear by wisely ordaining that for every tree the woodman fells another must be planted. It is a singular fact that the trees which are common to England and Norway have leaves as large again as in our country. This is to be accounted for owing to the long continued light rain, more than to the fostering sunshine of the Scandinavian summer. While the leaf grows larger, the timber, however, rather goes back. One of Norway's natural features must not be allowed to remain unnoticed: the superabundance of wild fruits, and particularly the blaeber or bilberry. In Norway it is twice the size it is with us, and may be gathered by the ton. It is a delightful exercise to stop your cariol now and again for ten minutes and have a bilberry hunt. The flora is much the when we visited the Hardanger Fjord, and at frequent intervals the members, ten in number, sang their hymns and chorales on board the steamer. One of the little fellows with flaxen hair, and blue eyes, and bright face, seeing that we took considerable notice of him, came quietly up at the close of one of the performances, and plucking us by the coat, said, as he looked up into our face, "Do you speak English?" Most probably it was all the English he could muster. Another lad, Ŏle Olsen by name, a skydsgut, as dark as the choir boy was fair, and with eyes sparkling with kindness and intelligence, sang Sankey's hymns for mile after mile as we drove from Vossevangen. "Where did you learn those hymns?" we asked. "At the Sunday school, sir,” he replied. JAMES CHRISTIE. |