Tyler
GEM



MERCANTILE
LIBRANT
NEW YORK
CITY
THE STORY
OF
22/12
 
BY
-44264
KATHARINE E. TYLER
"Three months sunshine bound in sheaves "
NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
27 AND 29 WEST 23d STREET
1881
Om
Y T
i
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
286826A
ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
R 1926
COPYRIGHT BY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
1881
Press of
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York
In the writings of the olden time, from the classic soil of the South, are
sagas ofmighty fairies who, in the skins of swans , flew toward the North,
to the Hyperborean land, to the east of the north wind ; up there, in the
deep, still lakes, they bathed themselves and acquired a renewed form. We
are in the forest, by these deep lakes ; we see swans in flocks fly over us,
and swim upon the rapid Elv, and on the still waters .
" Let
"Rest thee between our extended wings, " sing the wild swans .
us bear thee up to the great lakes , the perpetually roaring Elvs , that rush on
with arrowy swiftness ; where the oak forest has long ceased, and the birchtree
becomes stunted. Rest thee between our extended wings ; we fly up to
Sulitelma ; we fly from the vernal valley, up over the snowdrifts , to the
mountain's top, whence thou canst see the North Sea, on yonder side of
Norway."-HANS ANDERSEN.

LI
CONTENTS .
CHAP .
I. PRELIMINARY
II. A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN
III. COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA- ON THE
SVERRE "
IV. A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA
V. POSTING UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL
PAGE
I
IO
" KONG
27
47
65
VI . LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK .
VII. DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK .
VIII . OVER THE DOVREFJELD
IX. THRONDHJEM .
X. ON THE " HAKON ADELSTEIN -UP TO THE MID-
82
I04
I 20
137
NIGHT SUN
160
XI. TROMSOE " 177
XII . ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN 194
XIII. BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN 222
XIV. OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN
246
XV. FROM THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD 271
XVI . OVER THE FILLE FJELD . 291
XVII. THROUGH THE RINGERIGET . 313
XVIII . JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THE FOLGE FOND 326
XIX. A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN
343
XX. UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM
368

 .
I.
NORW
PRELIMINARY.
ORWAY was not in our programme , but we met
people who had been there : a lovely old lady,
with her son and his wife and their baby boy ; who had
travelled through the country and along the coast , from
Christiania to the North Cape, and returned full of enthusiasm
over the wild and beautiful scenery , the quaint ,
primitive ways of living, the bracing air, and general
delights of travel by land and sea. They had accomplished
the journey in great comfort, not to say luxury,
in a carriage holding four persons and drawn by two
horses , where Baby Robin had his nap every day, lying
on the front seat , while papa mounted the box ; had
found the hotels not only comfortable , but moderate
in price, and had even been able to travel without a
courier.
The sight of a toy cariole and a photograph album
of peasant costumes , on a table in the salon of an old
Florentine palazzo , had led to these charming reminiscences
; and Norway, which had hitherto seemed
such a far off, almost inaccessible region , greatly to be
desired but scarcely to be attained , came straightway
into the realms of possibility. The discouraging advice
A SCANDINAVI
of old travellers in Norway to would - be lady tourists ,
the discouraging adventures of sundry " Unprotected
Females ," whose journal we had read , were as nothing
in the actual presence of these enthusiastic people .
But our plans were made for the summer. Could
we give up Switzerland ? " Oh, you need not give up
Switzerland . It is lovely in September ; and you have
June and July and August for the north . Go to Norway;
you will never be sorry." This was in January.
As we talked over the project , from time to time , it
grew more and more attractive ; and when April found
us again in Florence, after Carnival in Rome , and Lent
in Naples and Sorrento , we sought our friends for more
information about routes and methods of travel in Norway.
Mr. Kirke gave an evening's entertainment , in
an account of the journey , with general information
about the country and people, to a party of fourteen ,
all interested in the subject ; though, as it happened,
only six of us reached Norway that summer.
It must be acknowledged that the " man and brother
" of our little , private party of three had not , at first ,
taken very kindly to the plan . There were not many
books about Norwegian travel to be obtained at Vieusseux's
library ; and although our friends loaned us guide
books , he found Murray bewildering , and Bennett incomprehensible
. If we must go to Norway, he was
inclined to adopt the advice of a very cross - grained
Englishman at our pension , and make the entire trip
by steamer , from Hamburg to the North Cape .
Oh, the horrible idea ! Four weeks on a little coasting
steamer loaded with codfish-or rather cod fishermen;
for they were supposed to have left their cargo
at Hamburg, and to be returning with winter supPRELIMINARY.

plies . That was not to be thought of, at any rate ; we
should have quite enough of the sea in the trip from
Throndhjem to Vadso and back. To be sure , we had
been informed by our friends that these steamers had
comfortable state - rooms and an excellent and abundant
table . (We decided afterwards that they must
have been exceptionally favored . ) They had made
the passage from Stettin to Christiania , of two nights
and days , including one spent in Copenhagen ; or rather
they had intended it , but after a rough night they had
crossed to Malmo, on the Swedish coast , and finished
the journey by rail .
Why could we not take the same route , with the
blessed possibility of changing to terra firma in case
of rough weather ?
" You ought not to leave Berlin later than the tenth
of June if you mean to see the midnight sun on midsummer
eve ," was Mr. Kirke's parting injunction .
We were not quite decided in favor of Norway, but
we made our plans to reach Berlin as early in June as
possible . Leaving Florence early in May, we spent a
week among the lakes , and four days in Venice- where
the intense heat made us look forward with longing to
the cool northern seas and mountains-crossed the
Semmering to Vienna , and went by way of quaint old
Prague and the Saxon Switzerland to Dresden . Here ,
thanks to friends whom we had met in Paris (for good
Americans abroad are always willing to exchange addresses
and recommend homelike pensions) , we found
refuge directly in a cosey little nest , inhabited by two
birdlike sisters , the Fräuleins von G. , and the few
guests they had room for . We were received as old
friends , for the sake of "the dear Holts , " who had sent

us there ; and though the kind Fräuleins regretted that
our stay in Dresden must be so short , they were full
of interest in our plans.
" You will have company, " they said . " There is a
lady coming here , in two days , who is going to Norway.
She is a friend of the Holts , too ; perhaps you
know her- Miss M. of New England ? To be sure , she
will want to go with you."
To be sure she did , having heard of us from Mr.
Kirke in Florence , and unconsciously followed us
thence , to find us in Dresden . She took the place
of a faint - hearted sister, who had journeyed with us
for several months , but began to be discouraged because
of the way in prospect , the steamer travel , the
long days of driving in carioles or what not, and the
problematical bed and board at country stations , —and
who finally elected to abide with the kind Fräuleins
until September .
Our week in Dresden was divided between the
Zwinger and the shops , the Sistine Madonna and
preparations for our summer campaign. The first desideratum
was a guide -book. Oh, why is there not a
Baedeker for the north of Europe ? Our new friend
possessed a Murray ; so we tried to find something different,
and succeeded in getting a German Reisehandbuch
, written by a Norwegian (Yngwar Nielsen ) , and
published in Hamburg . In a fourth part of Murray's
bulk , this little volume contains much valuable information
for the benefit of the travelling German public
, designed to tempt them from their usual summer
haunts in Switzerland to the not inferior " landschaftliche
Schönheiten " of Norway, as yet so little appreciated
by them. " The peculiar modes of travel in
PRELIMINARY. “

the north , " says Nielsen , " operate as a hindrance to
the German tourist , who is inclined to over- estimate
these little difficulties . A regular network of railways ,
it must be confessed , is not yet to be found in Norway,
as in other countries , but the steamers supply the deficiency,
and by their aid the traveller may reach the
most beautiful scenery with the slightest difficulty . "
Query: has the Hamburg line of steamers along the
coast of Norway an interest in this publication ?
In addition to her Murray, Miss M. was fortified
with the experience of two maiden sisters , who had
spent the previous summer in Norway. They had
done all sorts of delightful things ; but they began
by spending a month in Christiania , in a Norwegian
family, to acquire a working knowledge of the language
. This commendable example we had, alas ! no
time to imitate ; we must trust to the promised assistance
of Mr. Bennett and his Phrase - book.
Next to the guide - books , we were informed that
waterproof cloaks and blankets were to be desired ,
in fact not to be dispensed with . The gummi - fabrik
of Dresden furnished but a single ready - made garment
; of that our brother availed himself. We purchased
a square of rubber cloth, to protect our wraps ,
and decided to risk the storms in our heavy tweed
cloaks , unless we should find something better in
Christiania.
The lady from New England had sensible ideas on
the subject of luggage , her worldly effects for the journey
being condensed into a single bag and a rubbercloth
bundle , the latter capable of indefinite expansion ,
but both quite easily to be " wielded ," as Baedeker
hath it, by her own hands . We followed her exam6
 .
ple , limiting ourselves to a bag and bundle each , with
a lunch basket for the party , and the usual package of
umbrellas for rain and sunshine .
Thus equipped we left Dresden , and , after a few
days at Berlin , found ourselves on Saturday evening,
June 12 , 1875 , at Stettin , with passage engaged on the
" Kong Sverre , " to sail at noon of the following day.
There were state - rooms on this boat , six in number ,
intended to accommodate four persons each ; there was
no objection made to our looking at them ; but when
we proceeded to select one , for the three ladies of our
party, we were informed that all were engaged , had
been engaged for more than a week. (The steamboat
agent , to whom we wrote from Dresden , had assured
us that it would be needless-perhaps he meant useless-
to engage rooms in advance . ) We took refuge
in the ladies' cabin , where we bespoke sofas , with
a reasonable hope of having nobody put over our
heads .
Stettin is a place of importance , with over seventysix
thousand inhabitants, a fortress of the first class ,
with a garrison of six thousand soldiers ; its exports
are grain, lumber and spirits , valued at six million
pounds sterling annually. Its imports, averaging seven
millions , are petroleum , train oil, French wines and
herrings . Two empresses of Russia were born in Stettin
: Catherine II . and Maria Feodorowna , wife of the
Emperor Paul ; their fathers, princes of Anhalt and
Wurtemberg, having been Prussian governors of the
town.
So much we find in our Baedeker ; but we find , also ,
that " Stettin contains little to interest the traveller ; "
so we drive straight to the " Drei Kronen , " where we
PRELIMINARY. 7
obtain clean and comfortable rooms , and dine, and
sleep, and breakfast .
Next day at noon we take possession of our sofas ,
with our luggage , and establish ourselves on the hurricane
deck, while the little steamer is filling up with
passengers and freight.
Stettin is built on both sides of the Oder, and the
river almost immediately mingles its waters with the
Dammsche See , and then widens into the Papenwasser.
We pass between low, green shores , with villages
and trees , till we emerge , after a couple of hours,
into the Stettiner Haff, a fresh- water basin , seventyfive
miles in circumference , whose waters enter the
Baltic by three channels-the Peene , the Swine and
the Dievenow -forming two large islands , Usedom
and Wollin .
We sit on deck watching the scenery, which is monotonous
, and the passengers , who seem all to be "foreigners,"
in the English sense-Germans , Swedes, or
Norwegians . (A lady said to me , in our pension at
Mentone, " I am the only English person here ; all the
rest are foreigners . " I am aware that something like
this has been told before ; but this really happened to
me, and the lady had not the faintest suspicion of a
joke . )
It seems a little strange that we should be the only
Americans ; but the favorite routes to Norway are from
Hull to Christiania , Bergen or Throndhjem direct, or
via Hamburg, Kiel and Korsör to Copenhagen, and
thence by these steamers , or via Malmo by rail, to
Christiania .
Among the passengers we notice a gentleman who
has in charge a lady and little girl , to whom his kind8
 .
ness and consideration merit our warmest approval.
The lady, who seems low in her mind , he seeks to encourage
by the harmless stimulant of beer ; he mildly
solicits the little girl : " Lennchen , willst du auch bier
trinken ? "
I do not know why we settle it in our minds that
the lady is his sister - in - law. He is a tall , handsome
fellow, with a mild , intelligent face and quiet manners ,
and we mentally register him as " the polite German ,"
rara avis in terra. At dinner he sits next us ; the lady
and child have disappeared behind the curtains of the
ladies ' cabin ; and , to our surprise , he begins upon us
in English . Only to recommend the stewed veal , at
first, and-" A little of the cauliflower ? " which we are
surprised into accepting, greasy as it is , like all German
cookery. Then he ventures into conversation ,
gently inquiring, " Do you go far north, my lady ? ” ( literal
translation of the usual phrase " meine dame ") .
He is going only to Göttenburg , or somewhere in
that vicinity, to visit friends with his sister. (There !
didn't we say so ?) By and by it appears that he has
resided for a number of years in America, engaged
in some sort of business , and we begin to understand
his superiority.
In the course of the evening we make acquaintance
with a family of Germans from Stettin , a father and
three children . The father is in some government
office ; the son, a young doctor of jurisprudence , just
graduated , and full of airs and graces , speaking English
fluently , also French and Italian , having travelled
on the continent . Now he touches the piano lightly,
and warbles German student songs , or the familiar
strains of " Santa Lucia " ( taking us back to our hotel
PRELIMINARY.
at Naples , and the bambino who sang it under our windows
every evening) ; now he is picking up Norwegian
phrases from his guide - book, and instructing his sisters.
They can speak English also , but timidly; for
they have read more than they have talked, and
their pronunciation is delightfully quaint . The eldest ,
Käthe , is evidently the little house mother ; she has a
quiet way of looking after the others , and chaperoning
little Blümchen, which tells the story. They are
started on their summer vacation ; as we hear the father
telling a Swedish gentleman , his children wanted
to stick their noses into Norway : " Ein bischen die
Näse ins Norwegen zu stecken . "
We sit on deck together , chatting, while we pass
Swinemunde in the darkness, and see the lights of the
great watering- place gleaming across the level sand.
Outside the bar, the waves run high , and the boat
pitches grandly. We stay up as long as we can be
allowed , until after eleven o'clock, when we are compelled
to retire to our sofas. The ladies ' cabin , small
as it is , has one redeeming virtue-it is on a level with
the main deck, and closed only by a curtain . When
all the others are asleep , one of our party softly pulls
this aside, six inches or so , securing ventilation for the
night, and the waves of the Baltic rock us to repose . I*
LIPRARY.
WE
II.
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN.
E woke early , a little stiff from the hard beds
and damp night air ; found that it was six
o'clock, and the boat was motionless ; and soon ascertained
that we had arrived at Copenhagen . As
soon as we could rouse the rest of the party, we landed
and drove to the Hotel Royal , where a bath and a
good breakfast put us in humor for sight - seeing . The
day was gloomy and showery , and , seen by glimpses
from cab windows and under umbrellas , Copenhagen
did not make a very favorable impression .
Kjöbenhavn , "the Merchants ' Haven," so called
from its excellent harbor , dates from the thirteenth
century, and was founded by Axel, bishop of Roeskilde
, on the site of a fishing village ; and called from
him Axel - huus . It increased rapidly, in consequence
of its facilities for trade , and in 1448 Christian I.
transferred the seat of government hither from the
former capital , Roeskilde . The great palace of Christiansborg
is built on the island which was fortified by
Bishop Axel in 1168. We look at the gray and rather
gloomy pile of buildings, as we leave our hotel, and
purpose returning to it later, if there is time ; but there
is something better than palaces to be seen in Copenhagen
. A child of genius here saw his first and last
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. II
of earth ; and the grateful city has erected to his
memory a most fitting monument, the Thorwaldsen
Museum .
We drove first to the church, which is open from
9 to II A. M. It is the metropolitan church of Denmark,
replacing the one destroyed by the bombardment
of 1807 , and is called the " Frue Kirke , " " Church
of Our Lady." Here are some of the sculptor's most
famous works, illustrating the great facts of Christianity.
Over the porch, in the tympanum , is a group
in terra - cotta -John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness
; over the entrance door a frieze - Christ's entry
into Jerusalem. Around the apse runs a grand frieze
representing the Passion ; in the side chapels are bassreliefs
of the Baptism of Christ and the Last Supper.
The colossal figure of Christ stands before the altar ,
the arms outstretched in blessing , the head slightly
inclined ; on the pedestal are the words , in Danish ,
" Come unto Me ! " But to us it seemed the risen
Christ , in the presence of the twelve , when , having
led them out as far as to Bethany , He lifted up His
hands to bless them, and " while He blessed them He
was parted from them and carried up into heaven."
And yet , none the less does He still stand blessing
and drawing all men unto Him .
The apostles are ranged , six on each side of the
church , St. Paul , instead of Matthias , taking the place
of Judas . This statue , said to have been modelled entirely
by the master, is considered the finest of the
twelve . All are colossal in size , nearly or quite eight
feet high, and are designed with great simplicity and
dignity. The large models were , most of them , executed
by Thorwaldsen's pupils , after studies of his own .
*

Tenerani alone was permitted to assist in the clay
model of the Christ , during the sculptor's temporary
illness . For us , these statues had peculiar interest , for
our first introduction to Thorwaldsen was the exhibition
of the casts at the World's Fair , in the New York
Crystal Palace , in 1854.
He received the order for these works , and the
group in the pediment , in 1820 ; the plaster casts were
sent from Leghorn in 1828 , to be ready for the consecration
of the new church , and were replaced by the
marbles ten years later , after Thorwaldsen's return
to Copenhagen . The friezes , over the entrance and
around the apse , were added later.
Other works in the Frue Kirke are the " Angel of
Baptism, " a beautiful , kneeling figure , holding a font ,
which is placed in the centre of the aisle , not far from
the " Christ," and two little groups in bass - relief, over
the alms basins , on each side the entrance , one representing
Charity, the other, the Guardian Angel . The
child , in the latter, is said to be a likeness of the little
Bertel Thorwaldsen . It recalls the pretty, fair - haired ,
blue- eyed boy, described in Plon's biography ; and as
we pass the great , equestrian statue of Christian V. ,
in the Kongens ' Nytorv ( Kings ' new market place) , we
imagine the small , timid figure , in a red cotton cap,
hoisted to this unwelcome eminence by his roguish
comrades , who then ran off, leaving him to be rescued
by the police . Hans Andersen tells this incident , related
to him by the sculptor. Before we enter the
museum, let us take a rapid retrospect of the artist's
life .
Bertel's father , Gottshalk Thorwaldsen , was a poor
wood carver, who worked in the shipyards , carving
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. 13
figureheads for merchant vessels . The little boy early
began to help his father, and showed so much taste for
sculpture that , at the age of eleven years , he was sent
to the free school of the Royal Academy. In ordinary
branches of learning he was less precocious , and was
esteemed little better than a dunce by his teacher , who ,
when the pupils were to prepare for their first communion,
put him in the lowest class in the catechism .
Thorwaldsen was seventeen , and had just gained his
first prize at the Academy-a small silver medal .
Chaplain Höyer, noticing the name in the Copenhagen
journals , asked his pupil :
" Thorwaldsen , is it a brother of yours who has
just taken a prize at the Academy ?"
" It is myself, Herr Chaplain , " replied Bertel . The
teacher was astonished . "Herr Thorwaldsen ," said
he, " please to pass up to the first class." This title ,
by which his teacher always addressed the boy afterwards,
made an indelible impression upon his mind ;
and he used to say that this first taste of glory was
sweeter, in retrospect , than all the honors of later
years . He went on studying, and obtaining occasional
prizes , until in 1793 he received the grand prize,
which entitled him to three years of travel at the
expense of the Academy. The bass - relief of “ St.
Peter Healing the Paralytic ," which gained this prize ,
is now in the museum . This pension was then enjoyed
by another student , and while waiting for its
vacancy Thorwaldsen studied three years in Copenhagen,
receiving assistance from the Academy, and
partially supporting himself by designing vignettes for
publishers, and giving lessons in drawing and modelling
. He started for Rome in May, 1796, going in a
14  .
Danish frigate to Malta . He was more than six months
on the way. This time was spent in utter idleness . The
captain says, writing to his wife , " He is very well ; you
can let his parents know. He is so thoroughly lazy
that he has no wish to write himself, and while on
board he would not learn a word of the Italian language
, though the chaplain and I both offered to teach
him . I have resolved to send him to our ambassador
at Naples , so that he may forward him to Rome. The
young man has an annual pension of four hundred
crowns , and may God help him ! He has a big dog,
whom he has christened Hector . He sleeps late in
the morning, and thinks only about his comforts and
his eating . But everybody likes him because he is
such a good fellow." In another letter he calls him.
" an honest boy, but a lazy rascal." Thorwaldsen
crossed to Palermo , and , after a few days , to Naples ,
a Neapolitan frigate sailing as convoy to the packet ,
" on account of the Turks . " He spent a month in
Naples, seeing " the studios " ( gli studj) , as the Museo
Reale was then called , just beginning to be fitted up
as a collection of art galleries , where the Farnese Bull
and the " great Hercules " were his special admiration ;
enjoying the fine collection of paintings , antiques ,
Etruscan vases and medals , then in the palace of
Capo di Monte , and visiting the excavations at
Portici , where , as yet, comparatively little had been.
discovered of the ruins of Herculaneum . Pompeii ,
where the discoveries were still slighter, he seems.
not to have visited .
" I was born on the 8th of March , 1797 , " Thorwaldsen
used to say ; " before then I did not exist . " It was
the day of his arrival in Rome . He was in his twentyA
DAY WITH THORWALDSEN.
15
seventh year (having been born in November, 1770)
and more than nine months had elapsed since he left.
Copenhagen . But a new- born babe is far from being
a master ; in art , às in nature , the child's growth is
gradual . For years the development of the young
artist was constant , but so slow as to be almost imperceptible
to others . He learned first of all to distrust
himself, and a change in his method of working resulted
from a thorough study of the antiques . Of these he
made many copies, but few original compositions of
this period remain . The only one in the museum is
the " Bacchus and Ariadne , " which he sent to Copenhagen
in 1798. He was interrupted while working upon
it in August by an attack of malarial fever, and the
plaster cast was hastily taken , as the clay model was
in danger of destruction by the heat. Those were
troublous times , from 1797 to 1801 , when Napoleon's
army was in Italy ; the pension of four hundred crowns
(about $ 250) scarcely procured the student the necessaries
of life , and he contended with both poverty and
ill-health.
The first work of Thorwaldsen's which attracted
public attention , and to which he owed the means of
remaining in Rome after the six years during which he
received the Academy's pension had expired, was his
statue of Jason . His first model of this subject , of life
size , remained for a long time in his atelier, but failed
to excite admiration , and he finally destroyed it . But
he resolved to try again ; and the second model , of
colossal size , having been put into plaster, through the
kindness of a Danish lady, received the approval even
of Canova. No one , however, thought of ordering a
copy in marble ; and the discouraged artist had decided
16  .
to return to Copenhagen. Trunks were packed , furniture
sold ; but some trouble about passports compelled
delay until the following day. Meanwhile , the English
banker, Thomas Hope, visited the studio , was
struck with the " Jason," and ordered a copy for six
hundred sequins , paying a third in advance .
The sculptor seems very ungrateful to his patron ,
when we find that , sixteen years later, the "Jason "
had not been touched, and that, though then taken in
hand , at the urgent remonstrance of Mr. Hope , ten
years more elapsed before it was finally sent to London.
Genius has its caprices , and also its steady growth ,
and after neglecting " Jason " a sufficient length of
time, the conception no longer satisfied the artist . He
offered to make another statue , which should be better
; but Mr. Hope preferred the first . Meanwhile ,
Thorwaldsen received and executed numerous orders ;
and went on designing beautiful things . " Cupid and
Psyche " was modelled in the summer of 1804. Three
statues in marble , for the Countess Woronzoff-a
" Bacchus," " Apollo " and " Ganymede "-and his first
bass -relief of importance : " The Abduction of Briseis , "
date from 1805. He became the fashion , and orders
poured in, many of which were never executed . Among
the latter, alas ! was one for a colossal statue of Liberty,
to be erected in a public square at Washington,
for which he was offered the sum of five thousand Roman
crowns .
Taking into consideration all its consequences , one
is tempted to question whether the generous commission
of the English banker were really the salvation
of the artist. Its first result was to relieve his pressing
wants, and he gave himself up to idleness , the next
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. 17
step to which was naturally mischief. He accepted an
invitation from his constant friend , the Danish savant
Zoëga, to his villa at Genzano , and there met the woman
who did her best to spoil his whole life—Anna
Maria Magnani. Very handsome and fascinating, but
selfish, mercenary and unprincipled , she would not
marry the poor sculptor, but accepted a man of higher
birth and fortune , from whom she was separated after
a few months . Then she came to Thorwaldsen , from
whom she had obtained a written agreement to support
her, in case of a rupture with her husband , and
he took her into his house , where she remained for
many years . He was too generous to rid himself of a
burden which, as time went on , must have become inexpressibly
wearisome .*
One almost wishes that the passports had been
ready, or that Mr. Hope had never taken it into his
head to visit the studio . Would it not have been better
for the artist to have returned to his Northern
home, where he might , perhaps , have become the
founder of a new school of art , finding subjects in the
national life and history , and the old Norse Sagas , to
develop the originality of his genius ? But when we
look at the series of magnificent works produced during
these years, we hesitate . Perhaps he had not in
him the material for such originality , and would have
been nothing if not classical . Let us give a rapid
Speaking of the lovely bass - relief: " Wer kauft Liebes götter ? " modelled
in 1824, Baroness Bunsen observes : " In the figure supporting the
head with its hands, and elbows resting on the knees, seemingly bowed
down under the weight of the triumphant Cupid, firmly seated on the nape
of his neck, the friends of the sculptor recognized but too clearly the emblem
of a portion of his own life's history."
18  .
glance at his subjects for the next ten years . The
bass-relief, " A Genio Lumen," was executed in 1808,
as his diploma, when he was made an honorary member
of the Accademia San Luca . In the same year
was modelled the beautiful statue of " Adonis ," which
now occupies the place of honor in the hall of modern
artists , in the Glyptothek, at Munich . King Ludwig I.
was then in Rome, collecting antique marbles for his
new gallery, and Thorwaldsen , whose judgment was
never deceived by impostures , rendered him valuable
assistance . He was afterwards entrusted with the
restoration of the Ægina marbles , now in Munich . A
large number of statues and bass - reliefs of classical subjects
belong to this period , the finest being his great
frieze , the " Triumph of Alexander." The French
academy at Rome had received an order to ornament
the Quirinal Palace , in preparation for a visit from the
emperor. Thorwaldsen was requested to compose the
frieze for the audience chamber, and the subject was
left to his choice.
This plaster frieze still adorns the Quirinal . From
a second cast, intended for the palace of the king of
Denmark, the first marble copy was executed , which
had been ordered by Napoleon , probably for the Temple
of Glory, now the Church of the Madeleine . Half
of the price ( 320,000 francs) had been paid , when Napoleon
was sent to Elba. Thorwaldsen afterwards finished
it for the Marchese di Sommariva , who placed
it in his lovely villa at Cadennabia, on Lake Como.
In 1815 he composed several fine bass - reliefs : " The
Workshop of Vulcan ," " Achilles and Priam ," and the
favorite medallions " Night " and " Morning "; in 1816 ,
a new " Hebe," another " Ganymede, " and his " Venus,"
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. 19
besides the restoration of the Ægina marbles . The
influence of these marbles is thought to be visible in
an increased severity of style in works composed during
the following year : a third " Ganymede and the
Eagle ," " The Young Shepherd and Dog, " and " Hope ."
" Love Victorious , " the " Dancing Girl, " and busts of
Lord Byron and the Baroness von Humboldt , belong
also to this year. " Mercury," the " Three Graces , " a
group for the chapel of the Pitti Palace at Florence :
Christ giving the Keys to St. Peter, " and the design
for the " Lion of Lucerne " were composed in 1818
and '19.
""
At this time Thorwaldsen made his first visit to
Copenhagen since he had left it in 1796. His parents
were dead . Apartments were prepared for him in the
Charlottenburg Palace , where the Royal Academy is
established . He received an ovation , was made counsellor
of state , that he might be invited to the king's
table , and went back to Rome, with the order for the
statues for the Frue Kirke .
Twenty years later he returned to Copenhagen
"for good," sailing in a Danish frigate , which was
sent to convey him from Leghorn , with his effects in
sixty-two boxes . He was only one month on the
voyage , instead of six , as when he went to Italy.
He was received like a conquering hero . The frigate,
detained off Helsingör, was met by a steamer crowded
with people , from that city and the Swedish city of
Helsingborg, with a band playing national airs , and
a chorus singing patriotic hymns ; and at night the
northern sky hung out her banners in welcome to the
returning genius . Next day was foggy and rainy ; but
when it was known that the frigate was approaching,
20  .
a fleet of boats started down the harbor to meet her.
The artists displayed a banner adorned with Thorwaldsen's
" Three Graces " ; the poets were under
Pegasus ; the students , under Minerva ; the physicians
had Esculapius ; the mechanics , Vulcan ; while the
boat of the naval officers in command appropriately
displayed Neptune . The boats divided into two companies
, encircling the frigate , and at that moment a
brilliant rainbow formed a triumphal arch above them .
When he landed , so great was the crowd , that he did
not know that the horses had been removed , and his
carriage was drawn by the people . He reached his
rooms in the Royal Academy, and the palace was
besieged by the multitude , who refused to disperse
without a sight of Thorwaldsen . As he stepped out
to salute them, " Would not any one think , " said he,
smiling, " that I were the pope , about to give the
benediction from the balcony of St. Peter's ! " This
reception was but the prelude to numerous ovations ;
his days were filled with visitors ; every evening he
dined at a different house . His letters were so numerous
that he required a secretary ; crowds of beggars
besieged him , and all the Thorwaldsens in the
kingdom claimed relationship . He began to feel that
he should never do anything more , unless he left Copenhagen
. Fortunately he found a refuge at the country
house of his kind friends , the Baron and Baroness
von Stampe, who built for him a small atelier, in which
he composed many fine works . To the persuasions of
the baroness we owe the portrait - statue of Thorwaldsen .
In 1841 and '42 , he made a final visit to Rome. His
journey through Germany was a triumphal progress .
On his return he found the Thorwaldsen Museum-deA
DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. 21
signed by the Architect Bindesböll , and built by a
public subscription-nearly completed . He was here
received by the City Council and the committee of
public works .
On the morning of March 24 , 1844 , he rose early,
complaining of slight illness ; but , feeling better after a
few hours' sleep , he passed the morning in work. He
was modelling the bust of Luther, and left his tool
thrust into a lump of clay , when he went with Baroness
von Stampe to dine at her house . Speaking of his
museum, he said , playfully : " Now I can die when I
please ; Bindesböll has finished my tomb."
At the theatre , that evening, he rose to allow a lady
to pass , and as she turned to thank him he had sunk
down, and made no reply. Perceiving that he was ill ,
people came to his assistance , and he was carried to
his rooms in the Charlottenburg Palace , close by. A
physician opened a vein , but no blood flowed ; life was
extinct.
His funeral was attended by the whole nation .
With face uncovered and brow crowned with laurel ,
he lay in state , in the hall of ancient sculpture . A
chorus of artists chanted a requiem . As the procession
moved through the streets , all the houses were
hung with black ; women threw flowers from the windows
; no sound was heard but the tolling of bells and
the soft chanting of choirs from the belfries . He was
laid among his noble works , in a chapel of the Frue
Kirke , until the interior of the museum was completed ,
Sept. 6, 1848 , when his body was removed to its final
resting- place.
The museum is on the island , near the Christiansborg
palace, and is in the style of Pompeian and
22  .
Etruscan tombs. The pediment of the façade is
crowned with a bronze statue of the Goddess of Victory,
in a quadriga , designed by Thorwaldsen ; and the
other three sides of the building are adorned with
scenes in plaster, representing the reception of the
master after his return from Rome. It is built around
the four sides of an open court , in the centre of which
is the artist's grave . Entering at a side door , and passing
the stairway, you find yourself in a corridor , which
runs round this court , and opens at one end into the
grand vestibule , filled with colossal figures , models or
casts of the monuments designed by Thorwaldsen ;
that of Pius VII . , in St. Peter's , at Rome ; the equestrian
statue of Maximilian I. at Munich ; the Schiller
monument at Stuttgart , and others . Passing through
the corridor we notice , first , the " Lion of Lucerne, "
then the casts of the group in the tympanum of the
Frue Kirke , which we are glad to study at our leisure ,
to better advantage than when standing with upturned
faces in the rain . The central figure of " St. John the
Baptist, " is nearly eight feet in height , and the breadth
of the pediment not quite forty- two feet . Seven figures
on each side- the nearest standing, the next sitting or
kneeling, and the extremes reclining-form a group
which fits naturally into its triangular frame. (Was it
not from this necessary arrangement of the figures in
a pediment that the idea arose of a law of composition
in the form of a pyramid , which was applied to paintings
also ? ) At the end opposite the vestibule is the
Christ Saloon , where are grouped the casts of Christ
and the Apostles . The corridor beyond contains a
plaster copy of the " Procession of Alexander ." On
each side of the building , beyond the corridor , is a row
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. 23
of cabinets, twenty-one in all , filled with statues and
bass -reliefs-classical subjects , scriptural subjects , and
portrait busts and statues-over six hundred numbers
in all.
By original works , clay models , or copies in marble
or plaster, all the works of the sculptor are here represented
. There are about forty scriptural subjects ,
twenty-five sepulchral monuments , thirteen public
monuments, over forty statues and groups , and one
hundred and thirty- six bass - reliefs from classical subjects
; thirty - seven allegorical bass - reliefs , mostly of
genii ; nine portrait statues ; over a hundred portrait
busts and medallions, and ten or a dozen bass - reliefs ,
bringing up the rear of the catalogue , under the title
of " Divers Subjects ." Whatever the faults of his maturity
may have been , certainly the accusation of idleness
could no longer be brought against Thorwaldsen.
In the upper corridor is a smaller copy of the " Alexander,"
and a number of casts and models. The
cabinets contain Thorwaldsen's picture gallery, mainly
composed of works by modern artists ; a few presented
to him by such artists as Overbeck, Schadow, Richter
and Horace Vernet ; others, of less merit , purchased by
him, often at high prices, to assist the poor painters.
One cabinet contains a valuable selection from his engravings
; others exhibit his own sketches , and designs ;
five are filled with his collection of antiquities , one
holds his library , and the last and most interesting of
all contains his furniture and his unfinished works , including
the bust of Luther, with the tool thrust into.
the lump of clay, which still retains the impress of the
master's hand.
Before we leave the museum, we go back once more
24
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
to the corridor, where the door stands open into the
courtyard, and stepping out in the summer rain , over
the soft green turf, to the rectangular, ivy- covered
mound, we pluck a single leaf from the grave of
Thorwaldsen.
Do you remember Andersen's story of the " Old
Swan's Nest , between the East Sea and the North
Sea ? " "We saw a swan strike the marble rock with
his wing , so that it cleft asunder, and the forms of
beauty, imprisoned in the stone, stepped forth into the
light of day, and people of all lands lifted their heads
to see these mighty forms ."
Like Thorwaldsen , Andersen was a frequent guest
at Stampeborg , and when the sculptor had enjoyed
his after- dinner nap and his evening treat of music , he
would walk up and down the room , and end by saying,
"Well, Herr Andersen , are not we children to be
treated this evening to some little fairy tale ? " It was
Andersen , who told him, precisely one year before his
death , of the sudden death of Admiral Wolff, the Danish
translator of Shakespeare , who was taken ill at the
Theatre Royal , driven home in a carriage , and found
dead at his own door. "Well, " said Thorwaldsen ,
"is not that an admirable way to die , and one to be
envied ? "
When death came to him so suddenly , we may hope
it was not an unwelcome surprise , but only the arrival
of a friend for whom he was cheerfully waiting.
Thorwaldsen was never given to writing ; his biographers
found no letters nor journals to refer to ; his
mind must be studied from his works . Beside his own
devotion to the antique marbles , which were the first
to arouse his enthusiasm and awaken his genius , he
A DAY WITH THORWALDSEN. 25
was greatly influenced by the theories of Winckelmann,
of whom his friend Zoëga was an earnest disciple .
Canova was the first to profit by these theories , but
Thorwaldsen gave them more complete expression .
His deities remind one of Winckelmann's description
of the process of making a hero into a god.
"The effect is produced rather by subtraction than
addition ; that is to say, by the gradual abstraction of
all those parts which even in nature are sharply and
strongly expressed , until the shape becomes refined
to such an extent that only the spirit within appears
to have brought it into being."
Even in illustrating Christian subjects Thorwaldsen's
style was purely classical . As Plon justly observes
, " He had not the enthusiasm which comes of
faith . Aiming above all at beauty, if he ever animates
his figures , it is with philosophic thought ; and his
works are more fitted to satisfy the mind of the
thinker than the heart of the Christian . " It is a
significant fact that he expressed himself satisfied
with his statue of Christ . As an artist this startled
him ; he had reached his highest point , when the
execution equalled the conception . But , was he satisfied
with the conception ?
Thorwaldsen seems to have lived almost wholly in
his art . Of other things, literature , science , philosophy,
he remained ignorant , and apparently content to
be so.
His religion was as purely a feeling as Beethoven's
; whether he ever thought out for himself a system
of belief is hardly necessary to question ; he was
not a thinker, but an artist. He was educated a
Lutheran ; taking his catechism and confirmation as a
matter of course. When he went to Rome , in a time
2
26  .
of political agitation , between Catholicism on the one
hand and French infidelity on the other , his mind
seemed to rest in indifference . He passed for a sceptic
. A friend once remarked that his want of religious
faith must make it difficult to express Christian ideas
in his works. " If I were altogether an unbeliever, "
he replied , " why should that give me any trouble ?
Have I not represented Pagan divinities ? Still , I don't
believe in them ."
Did he, then , represent religious and classical subjects
equally as myths ? " If I were an unbeliever, "
implies assuredly that he was not . In the latter part
of his life he executed many bass - reliefs from scripture
subjects, for monuments , altar pieces , asylums ,
Christmas presents , etc. , which show a turning of his
mind to the study of the Bible rather than of the
classic mythology.
As a man he was genial , kind - hearted and generous ,
in spite of the petty economies which are related of his
old age, and the somewhat suspicious temper which
had grown upon him ; simple as a child , unpretending ,
never spoiled by flattery , royal notice , or world - wide
renown. Beloved and honored by his countrymen , he
rests from his labors , and if his works do not "follow
him ," at least they stand guard around his sepulchre .
III.
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA- ON THE KONG
SVERRE. "
THE
HE Christiansborg Palace is so near the museum
that it seemed natural to visit it next, though
we afterwards decided that our time might have been
spent to better purpose . It is not now the royal residence
, that honor being enjoyed by the Amalienborg
Palace , in a more aristocratic quarter of the city.
The façade is adorned with sculptures by Thorwaldsen,
and in the chamber of the council of state
are his caryatides , on each side the throne , and a
marble copy of the great Alexander frieze . The walls
are painted with scenes from Danish history, by Éckersberg.
This palace also contains the halls in which the
upper and lower chambers assemble, the court chapel ,
and the Royal Library of five hundred thousand volumes
. The upper floor of the immense building is
occupied by the Royal Picture Gallery . We wandered
through a dreary wilderness of rooms , finding
nothing of special interest , after our experience of the
great galleries of Europe , until we came to the last
six , which are filled with the works of modern Danish
masters-landscapes, historical paintings and scenes
from peasant life , some of which were very interesting .
But we had wasted precious time . When we reached
28  .
the Prindsens Palais , where are the Museum of Northern
Antiquities "finest of its kind in existence , " containing
over forty thousand objects , admirably arranged
in chronological order, in five leading departments ,
from the Flint Period through the Bronze and Iron
and Mediæval - Christian periods , down to about 1660 ,
-and the Ethnographical Museum, also one of the
most extensive in Europe , occupying thirty - five rooms ;
besides other collections of antiquities , coins and engravings-
we were not allowed to enter . The hours
were over, or it was not the right day, and no amount
of buono - mano, trinkgeld , pourboire , or its equivalent
in Danish , could procure us admission .
We regretted missing the sight of these antiquities
at the outset of our journey, but looked forward to
repairing the omission upon our return , when familiarity
with the country of Odin and Thor would make
these relics of their subjects and worshippers more
interesting.
Where should we go next ? To the Rosenborg Palace
, with its collections of jewellery, carvings , weapons
, furniture and medieval bric - a- brac-a sort of
Danish Hotel Cluny, combined with the green vaults
of Dresden ? But Baedeker says something about application
being made on the previous day, which is
discouraging. We ought to have driven there and
made the attempt , but we were tired ; the boat was
to leave at 5 P. M. , we had breakfasted early, and we
began to want our dinner. We suggested shopping
for pottery, and porcelain copies of Thorwaldsen's
marbles, or photographs of the same ; but the suggestion
was frowned upon by the gentleman of our
party, who reminded us of the extremely limited
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 29
amount of luggage we were intending to carry through
Norway. (He was evidently very hungry. )
Besides , were we not all coming back again ? This
argument had weight ; and the lady who had been ill
the evening before was particularly tired . So we went
to the Hotel Royal , enjoyed our dinner , at one end of
a long table in the immense dining - hall , and by and
by drove sadly back to the " Kong Sverre ," and resumed
our sofas in the ladies ' cabin .
We did not leave Copenhagen without thinking of
our old favorite , Hans Andersen ; but there was no
time to call , and were we not coming again ? We
did not know how ill he was, until after we reached
Christiania ; when we met friends who had been with
us in Florence , at the " Norway evening, " and who,
unknown to us , were now at another hotel in Copenhagen
. Mrs. S. sent her card to Hans Andersen's
house, inquiring whether he were able to receive
her, but was informed that he was too ill to see any
visitors . He was then staying at the residence of a
friend , in the country, where he died a few weeks later .
Rather more than half way up the Sound we passed
the Swedish island of Hveen , once the residence of the
astronomer Tycho Brahe , whose tomb we had seen at
Prague, a few weeks before . Here he built his observatory
and his castle of Uranienborg ; but the jealousy
and slander of his enemies drove him to take refuge in
a foreign land , under the patronage of the German
emperor.
Nearly three hundred years ago, Queen Sophia of
Denmark, wife of Frederick II . , was visiting the astronomer
at his observatory, on the island of Hveen,
and was detained for two days by stormy weather . To
30
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
make the time pass pleasantly, Tycho Brahe suggested
that Anders Vedel , one of the company, should
recite some of the old ballads , of which he was making
a collection . The queen listened in delight , and laid
her commands on Vedel to complete and publish his
collection, which he did in 1591. This selection included
one hundred ballads , chosen from many more ,
of the " Danske Visor , " which have since been collected
and published . Their striking similarity to
many of the early English and Scotch ballads leads
to the belief that these were of Scandinavian origin .
Next, we came to Helsingör , more familiar to us
as Elsinore , and associated with Hamlet and Lord
Nelson .
"Let us think of those who sleep,
Full many a fathom deep ,
By thy stern and stormy steep,
Elsinore ! "
The Kronborg occupies the most conspicuous part
of the town: a picturesque fortress, dating from the
sixteenth century . Here , in 1426, King Erik built
castles , on both sides the Sound , at Helsingör and
Helsingborg, and exacted tribute from all passing vessels.
Might makes right, and the Sound dues were
collected until , in 1857 , the Danish Government agreed
to commute them, for a payment of three and a half
million pounds sterling from the nations chiefly interested
. The Flag Battery , where the Dannebrog or
national banner is planted , is said to be the platform
of the castle of Elsinore , where the ghost appeared
to Hamlet . In the pleasure grounds of Marienlyst, a
royal chateau not far distant , a walk used to be pointed
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA.
31.
out as Hamlet's Garden , and a heap of stones with
some Runic inscriptions was called his grave , both
having been invented or arranged to satisfy the curiosity
of English tourists .
According to Saxo Grammaticus, who flourished .
under Waldemar the Great ( 1157-1202 ) and spent
twenty years in writing a Latin history of Denmark,
from the earliest ages to his own time , " Amlett " was
the son of Orwendel , king of Jutland . Fengo was the
murderous uncle, who married Queen Gertrude , and
sent Amlett to England , with orders to have him put
to death ; but he married the English king's daughter
and returned to Denmark, and, after various adventures
, killed Fengo , burned his palace and destroyed
his adherents , and was himself raised to the throne
of Jutland . He visited Britain a second time , and
married a Scotch princess , but after returning to Denmark
was slain by Vigeletus , son of Rorik .
" He was
a prince ," says Saxo, " who , if his good fortune had
been equal to his deserts, would have rivalled the
gods in splendor , and in his actions would have excelled
even the labors of Hercules . Like Achilles ,
he had the principal achievements of his life wrought
on his shield . The daughter of the king of Scotland ,
casting her eye on it, loved him for the battles he had
won , and became his bride ."
A French romance , based upon this story , was
translated and published in England under the title ,
"The Historye of Hamblet, " from which Shakespeare
took the framework of his play.
Do you know the legend of the royal standard
which floats from the fortress ?
Pope Honorius III . had granted to Waldemar the
32
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
66
Great all the lands he could conquer from the heathen
of Esthonia ; and the king undertook a crusade against
them, " as well for the honor of the Virgin Mary, the
patroness of the province , as for the forgiveness of his
own sins ." He raised a great army , and set sail in a
fleet of fourteen hundred ships . Some of these were
little boats called " snekker "-snails ( in allusion to
their rate of speed ? ) , carrying only two warriors , besides
the oarsmen ; others were dragons," or warships
, carrying each one hundred and twenty men.
The armament was landed at Revel , on the Gulf of
Finland ; the terrified inhabitants implored mercy , and
consented to be baptized . But after three days they
surprised the camp by night , and a great battle ensued
, in which the Danes came near being routed .
They had lost their standard , and begun to give way
before the heathen , when a banner dropped from the
sky, bearing a white cross on a red ground , following
which they won the victory. This was the Dannebrog
, which has been honored ever since as the national
flag , and this order of knighthood was instituted
by Waldemar after his return from this expedition .
Another national legend is connected with the
vaults beneath the Kronborg . Here reposes the tutelary
genius of the country, Holger Danske , ready to
arise when Denmark is in danger. There are various
stories of this mighty warrior's appearance ; once he
was met by some shepherds in North Jutland ; others
saw him sitting half a mile from Slagelse ; and there
are stories of his appearance in Schleswig , which show
that he does not always remain quietly asleep under
the Kronborg, but walks abroad to see for himself
how things are working. Sometimes a sound like the
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 33
clash of arms is heard under the fortress . To ascertain
whence this came , a party of merry young men
took a fancy to explore the underground passages ,
and to pay Holger Danske a visit . They came to a
great iron door which opened of itself, and they found
themselves in a vaulted room . From the ceiling hung
a lamp, in which the oil was nearly burned out, and"
• beneath it stood a mighty stone table , at which sat
a gigantic , steel - clad warrior, with his head resting
on his folded arms . As they entered , he raised his
head, and lo ! his long beard had grown into the
stone table .
"Give me thy hand ! " said he , to the foremost of
his visitors . The young man did not venture to give
the hero his hand , but held out an iron bar which he
carried . Holger Danske seized it , thinking it to be
the young man's hand (he was evidently only half
awake ) , and squeezed it so powerfully that the impression
of his fingers remained upon the iron . "I
am glad to find that there are still men in Denmark,"
said he . " Say to thy lord , the king, " he continued ,
" that I shall come forth at the right time . If there
are no more men in Denmark who can take their
places on the ramparts, I will gather under my banner
the boys over twelve and the old men over sixty,
and with them I will free the land ."
This reminds one of the old legends of Barbarossa .
Hans Andersen adds some particulars to this account
(which I have translated for you out of my little Danish
Reader) in his Mährchen of " Holger Danske " :
"In his dreams, the old warrior sees everything that
happens in Denmark. On each Christmas Eve an
angel comes and tells him that all he has dreamed is
2*
34
 .
true , and that he may sleep on in peace , as Denmark
is not yet in any real danger ; but should danger ever
come, then Holger Danske will rouse himself, and the
stone table will burst asunder as he draws out his
beard . Then he will come forth in his strength , and
strike a blow that shall sound in all the countries of
the world ."
The little Reader goes on to explain the meaning
of the legend ; but Hans Andersen does not thus insult
the understanding of his readers , and neither shall I.
How much nobler is this guardian hero than “ Ogier,
the Dane," of the medieval romances , as Morris represents
him in the "Earthly Paradise ," dwelling in
Avalon, with Morgan le Fay, oblivious of all his warlike
deeds !
Sitting on deck in the evening, after comparing
notes with our Stettin friends, who had given the
museums a wide berth, and spent their time at the
Tivoli Gardens , one of us asked , suddenly, "Who was
Kong Sverre ? ”
(This was our first acquaintance among the old
Norse kings, who spend their days more usefully than
was their wont in olden times , having been "translated
" into steamships , and plying up and down the
straits and along the coasts , instead of ravaging and
destroying like the Berserkers they were . We took a
particular interest in these worthies , and feel that
they deserve a special introduction to our friends . )
Nobody could remember Kong Sverre's name and
place among the kings of the North ; whether he came
before Harold Harfager or after (we were shamefully
ignorant of Scandinavian history, as too many travellers
are ; not to speak of people who stay at home
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 35
and have access to libraries , and plenty of time to
read) ; and it was too dark to consult our guide - books
which would have told us very little . So the subject
dropped ; but I improved the earliest opportunity to
enlighten our darkness, and will give , in brief, the
result of my researches.
Sverre was born in 1151 , during one of the chaotic
periods of Norwegian history, and was the grandson
of a usurper, Harold Gille , who at his death left
the kingdom to his three sons . Sverre's father, Sigurd
II . , did not long survive his birth ; and when his
uncles had also perished , the crown went to Magnus ,
son of Christina ( daughter of Sigurd I. , the crusader) ,
and Erling Shakke , a powerful noble , who by concessions
to the bishops obtained their influence in
favor of his son.
Sverre's mother, Gunhilda , married a man who is
called by some historians an armorer, and by others a
wool comber ; and , to preserve her child from his enemies
, she allowed him to pass for the son of this man .
The three went to her brother-in- law, a bishop
in the Faroe Islands, who educated Sverre as a priest ,
and at the age of twenty - five he received holy orders.
After this , his mother revealed to him his royal birth ;
and a dream, which he had soon after, aroused his
ambition and led him to return to Norway. He
dreamed that he was transformed into an enormous
bird, the beak of which pointed to the Naze , the
tail to the North Cape , while the wings overspread
the whole country.
He visited the court of Magnus, but not thinking
the time ripe for an attempt upon the throne , he
was on the point of starting on a pilgrimage to the
36
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
Holy Land, when a band of rough warriors , called
Birkibeiners , or Birch - legs-from their habit of using
the bark as clothing-invited him to become their
leader. At the head of these adventurers he traversed
Norway, and after several years of varied fortune
he obtained the supreme power. Magnus Erlingson
died in battle , and Sverre , after years of
contention with the hostile clergy, got himself
crowned at Throndhjem by a bishop of his own
appointment .
Archbishop Eistein and his successor , Erik, used
their influence with the pope to procure the excommunication
of Sverre , as a priest who had married
without a dispensation , and a usurper of the kingly
power, and the pope finally placed both king and
people under an interdict .
This ban, the first in Norway (and I think the
last, also) , failed of its effect . The people were too
ignorant to appreciate it ; the clergy were afraid to
carry it out ; and the king , far from being intimidated ,
proved from the Bible , in an eloquent speech , that
the pope had no authority over the civil power .
Sverre was an uncommonly good king for those
days . He restrained drunkenness already the great
vice of the North-by prohibiting the importation
of wine and liquors ; he improved the roads and promoted
literature . Under his auspices was published
the " Konge - speilet, " or Royal Mirror, sometimes attributed
to his authorship , but more likely written
by one of his courtiers and friends . It is written in
the old Norse language , and describes the manners ,
morals and history of that period .
Kong Sverre died in Bergen in 1202 , after a reign
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 37
of twenty- five years .* His son, Hakon III . , reigned
only two years ; but his grandson , Hakon IV. , proclaimed
king at the age of sixteen , subdued his enemies
after twenty years of trouble , and holds high
rank among the kings of Norway for activity and
ability. Pope Innocent IV. courted his friendship ,
and promised him the imperial crown of Germany
if he would help him to subdue the refractory Friedrich
II . of Hohenstauffen . That must have been
pleasing to the grandson of the excommunicated
Sverre ; but he showed his wisdom by refusing to
interfere.
St. Louis of France invited him to join in a crusade ,
but Hakon thought it better to rule his kingdom at
home. A shrewd , practical , common- sensible man,
this Hakon ; not a saint , probably, but a rarer character
in those days ; a man content to do his duty
in that state of life to which God had called him.
His daughter , Christina , married Philip of Castile ,
brother of Alfonso ; travelling to Spain for the purpose
, under the escort of a bishop, Snorre Bjorn of
Throndhjem , in 1256. When Snorre returned , he
brought with him the " History of Dietrich of Berne , "
and other mediæval romances , which were translated
into Norse by the royal command .
About this time the Icelandic skalds , or minstrels ,
ceased to frequent the Danish Court , Waldemar II.
being the last king who entertained them ; but Sturle
Thordson sought refuge from troubles in Iceland , at
the court of Hakon IV. , not long before his fatal
expedition to Scotland , and was afterwards employed
*
The Saga of King Sverre was written by Karl Jansen, an Icelandic
abbot, who resided at Sverre's court for two years .
38
A
SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
by Hakon's son , Magnus, to write an account of his
father's life and death . To this writer we owe the
" Knytlinga Saga, " a chronicle of the Danish kings ,
written during his residence at the court of Waldemar
the Great . He was a nephew of Snorre Sturlesen,
whose famous " Heimskringla " is the source
of most of our knowledge concerning the early kings
of Norway.
Among the fugitive princes of Scythia , expelled by
Pompey in the Mithridatic war, tradition places the
name of Odin , ruler of a tribe in Turkistan . Snorre
relates that he came from Asaland , a region east of
the Tanais , the capital of which was called Asgard ,
and the people Aser or Aesir. His true name was
Sigge , son of Fridulf, but he assumed that of Odin ,
the supreme deity of the Scythians , of whose religion
he was priest. The date generally assigned to his appearance
in the north is about B. C. 70.
Sweden was called the Lesser Svithiod , from the
Greater Svithiod , or Scythia , whence Odin came . The
Scandinavian kingdoms , conquered by him, were inherited
by his three sons ; Yngve , or Ingve , ruled in
Sweden, and after him his descendants , the Ynglings ;
Skiold in Denmark, and the Skioldings , who , after
Ivar Vifadme , A. D. 647, became also the rulers of
Sweden ; Saemingve in Norway, whose descendants are
said to have reigned for many generations .
With Ivar Vifadme , the first conqueror of Northumberland
, his grandson , Harold Hildetand , and their
successors , Sigurd Ring and Ragnar Lodbrok, we come
into English history, and soon to Knut and Hardaknut,
names " familiar to the ear as household words ."
When Ivar conquered the Ynglings , in Sweden , Olaf,
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 39
son of the conquered king, fled to the region west of
the Wener Lake , with a few followers , where he hewed
down the forests (whence his name , Olaf Troeteliathe
tree- cutter) and founded a new kingdom . The
seventh in descent from Olaf was Harold Harfager .
Ragnar Lodbrok bestowed the Swedish crown on
one of his sons , Bjorn Jarnsida , Bear Ironsides—an
amiable name ; but he must have been an uncommonly
tough character to deserve it . The old proverb
says, " The bear has twelve men's understanding
and six men's strength ." In his grandson's reign , we
are poetically informed , " The light of the Gospel first
dawned in the North" ; but it was a twilight of one
hundred years or more before Christianity was fairly
established , under Olaf Skotkonung, who was baptized
with his whole family in 1001. Olaf was contemporary
with St. Olaf of Norway. His father, Erik , had
destroyed the great heathen temple at Upsala , and
was murdered in a tumult of the people . This Erik
should have been a saint by good rights ; but that
title was reserved for his descendant , who perished
at Upsala , sixty years later, resisting a rebellion of
his subjects .
Harold Harfager stands out on the misty background
of mythical ancestors, the first really distinct
and shining figure in the history of Norway. His father,
Halfdan , seems to have been a wise and good
ruler, for a heathen chieftain ; " a man of truth and
uprightness ," says Snorre , " who made laws and observed
them himself, and compelled others to observe
them . And that violence should not come in place
of the laws, he himself fixed the number of criminal
acts in law, and the compensations , mulcts and
40 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
penalties for each case , according to every one's birth
and dignity." Halfdan's laws were established at the
Eidsvold Thing, his kingdom comprising the interior
and southern portion of Norway. His death , at the
age of forty, left the throne to Harold of the Fair
Hair, then a boy of ten years. The dates of his birth
and death , fixed by contemporary events in English
history, are about A. D. 850-931 , giving him a reign of
seventy years . He ruled his father's domains quietly
for awhile , until he was stimulated to the conquest of
Norway by the message of the proud Gyda , daughter
of King Erik of Hordaland , for whom he had sent
messengers . " Tell him I will only be his wife on
one condition-that he shall first subject to himself
the whole of Norway, so that he may rule over that
kingdom as freely as King Erik over Sweden , or King
Gorm over Denmark, for only then , methinks , can he
be called the king of a great people. "
Harold's spirit was roused , and he made the solemn
vow, " calling God to witness , who made me and
rules over all things , that never shall I clip or comb
my hair until I have subdued all Norway with scot
and duties and domains ; or if not , have died in the
attempt ."
He started up the valley, Gudbrandsdal , and north ,
over the Dovrefjeld , and when he came to inhabited
land , ordered all the men to be killed , and everything ,
wide around , to be given to the flames . People fled ,
"some to Orkadal , some to Gaulerdal , some to the
forests "; some begged for peace , and obtained it ,
joining the king and his men. From one district to
another the devastating army marched , against two
kings here , and four kings there ; " some fell and some
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 41
fled "; there were eight battles in the Throndhjem
district, and as many chieftains subdued ; then Harold
fixed his residence at Lade , in the fjord (not
far from the present town of Throndhjem ) , and in
the spring fitted out his ships . He had " a great
army, many large ships , and many men of might " ;
and on his own long- ship or "Great Dragon " his
house- troops and Berserkers, picked men, remarkable
for strength and dexterity, chosen from the
best men of every district . With this force he subdued
the regions of the coast south of Throndhjem,
and the Romsdal during the summer, returning for
winter quarters .
The next season he made wider conquests , through
the fjord districts and the south , sailing up the Christiania
Fjord and subduing the country about the Glommen
River . The decisive battle of Hafur's Fjord took
place a year or two later, when the people of Hordaland,
Rogaland, Agder and Hedemark united their
forces against him in the fjord north of the Jederen
district (near Stavanger) . " A great battle began ,
which was both hard and long ; but at last King Harold
gained the day. " After this he had no great opposition.
Instead of fighting, the unsubdued chieftains.
fled. Jemteland and Helsingland were peopled then ,
and Iceland and the Faroe Isles. There was great
resort to Shetland, and viking cruises into the West
Sea. Many vikings spent the winters in the Orkney
Islands and the Hebrides , and the summers marauding
on the coast of Norway; and Harold made repeated
expeditions for their chastisement -at first to the isles
and skerries along the coast , then to the Shetland , and
Hebrides and Orkney islands ; and then " plundered
42  .
far and wide into Scotland itself." It was ten years
from the time of his vow , before he had his hair cut
and combed ; but he had married Gyda , after the battle
of Hafur's Fjord .
Harold lived to be eighty years old , and before his
death divided the kingdom among his sons. He died
on a bed of sickness in Rogaland, and was buried under
a mound, at Hougarsund . A church was standing, in
Snorre Sturlesen's time , and he particularly describes
Harold's grave -mound and stone , thirteen feet six
inches high and two ells broad . The stone , which
is still shown there , may well be the same.
At the recent Thousand- year Jubilee , in 1872, a
granite obelisk was erected on this spot , and dedicated
by King Oscar II . to the memory of Harold Harfager.
"According to the report of men of knowledge , "
says Snorre, " Harold was of remarkably handsome
appearance , great and strong , and very generous and
affable to his men. He was a great warrior in his
youth ; and people think that this was foretold by his
mother Queen Ragnilda's dream , before his birth, as
the lower part of the tree she dreamt of was red
as blood . The stem, again , was green and beautiful ,
which betokened his flourishing kingdom , and that the
tree was white at the top showed that he should reach
a gray- haired old age . The branches and twigs showed
forth his posterity , spread over the whole land , for of
his race ever since Norway has always had kings . " *
After passing Helsingör, we emerged through the
A genealogical work , published in Stockholm under the title, " Harold
Harfager Aff Komlinger pa Europes Throner, " proves that not in Norway
only, but in most of the countries of Europe , the royal families may trace
their descent to Harold Harfager.
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 43
gradually widening straits , into the Kattegat . Name
remembered of my childish days , and with its companion,
the Skagerack, somehow ominous of evil !
The evening was rough, the night rougher , and the
morning dawns , gray and dismal . Our friend , thinking
discretion the better part of valor , keeps her berti
but we struggle up, and attain the deck , where we
take refuge from the drizzling rain in the little house ,
about six feet square , already occupied by the old gentleman
from Stettin and a Swedish gentleman and
lady, who are taking their kaffee and kavringer. The
latter is a sweet sort of bread , cut in slices and rusked
in the oven-the favorite attendant of the morning cup
of coffee . You get this on deck any time after 6 A. M. ,
and breakfast proper at nine, in the cabin , after the
double rows of sleepers have been waked and cleared
away. Fish , beefsteak fried with onions , raw ham ,
eggs , wheat and rye bread , the latter with caraway
seeds in it , form this repast , never an attractive one to
us , and wholly neglected upon the present occasion .
As the gentlemen finish their coffee, they get out
their pipes , and the house soon becomes uninhabitable
by American ladies .
We did not discover, until afterwards , that such
places , including companion ways , with cushioned sofas ,
were designed exclusively for the comfort of the sterner
sex ; while the ladies , if they cannot be happy in their
berths , must content themselves with a camp - stool , or
a wooden bench , outside .
We found seats , and made mummies of ourselves in
our wraps , and held up our umbrellas when it rained
very hard, if we felt equal to the exertion .
Dinner was announced , and was devoured by those
44  .
who wanted it ; one of the mummies with some difficulty
ate an orange , which sufficed her for that day.
Oh, how selfish it makes us to be miserable , especially
on shipboard ! Every little while one of us would say,
" Poor Miss M. ! You ought to go down and see if she
does not want something " ; but the other would reply,
with hardness of heart incredible under any other circumstances
, " Oh, I think the stewardess will take
care of her."
But, by and by, we got into calmer waters , emerging
from the Skagerack into the great Christiania
Fjord ; the clouds lifted , and the lovely blue hills and
green shores of old Norway appeared to our delighted
eyes.
The sail up the fjord was charming , and our spirits
rose as we neared Christiania ; nevertheless , we landed
in rather a limp and discouraged condition . A cabdriver
took charge of our luggage , but conducted us to
a little shed , where it was to be examined by the custom-
house officer ; and for a time it seemed doubtful
whether we should get any farther that night.
A travelling merchant was exhibiting his goods ;
yards upon yards were unrolled and measured ; bales
lay about on the benches , waiting their turn ; meanwhile
our modest bags and bundles craved attention
in vain . Whether from the stupidity consequent upon
our day of fasting , or from vague ideas of the stern , incorruptible
honesty of these Norsemen , I know not ;
but I doubt if it entered our heads to offer the inspector
"a little something," any more than it had upon our
landing in Liverpool at midnight . But we were convinced
, upon reflection , that it was all he was waiting
for. We had nothing dutiable , and said so , but offered
COPENHAGEN TO CHRISTIANIA. 45
our luggage for examination ; that did not seem to satisfy
him . Finally, our cabby in disgust snatched up
the portmanteau nearest , with some muttered explanation
to the inspector, -probably curses at our stupidity,
and we followed him to the cab unmolested.
Our Florence friends had recommended Hotel Scandinavia
; but the family from Stettin assured us that the
Grand Hotel was the newest and best , so we drove
thither. It is a long way from the steamer landing ,
but in the pleasantest part of the city, on the large
square before the Storthing House (Parliament Building)
, and not far from the new palace .
A porter, gorgeous in green and gold uniform , and
long , fair whiskers , received us at the street entrance,
speaking English in the most genial manner , looked
up rooms and took down keys from the great blackboard
hanging in the hall, and sent us up three flights
of stairs . The rooms were small, and far too near the
sky to suit us ; but we could change , doubtless , when
other guests should leave. Our Stettin friends were
established in pleasant rooms on the floor below ; and
we met , soon after, in the large coffee room on the
corner, overlooking the square ; and while we took our
tea and something more substantial , we heard the
band playing in the gardens , and watched the people
promenading. Here we were in Norway at last ; and
it was quite right that the sun should be high in the
heavens at nine o'clock , and that there should be
no thought of candles at bedtime .
We were tired enough to sleep, the first night ; but
afterwards , darken our windows as much as we could,
without blinds or shutters , we were broad awake until
long after midnight, and started up , at all sorts
46
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
of hours , under the impression that it was high time.
to rise . It became a question with us whether there
were any regular bedtime for Norwegians in summer ;
men, women and children seemed always up and about
the streets . Perhaps they sleep enough during the
long winter to last them through the short summer of
daylight .
But we found , when we had occasion to make an
early start, that they keep very late hours in the
morning, as well, and that it was almost an impossibility
to get our coffee earlier than nine o'clock .
LIBRARY,
O
IV .
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA .
UR first walk in Christiania was not , as usual, to
the banker's , but to the establishment of Mr.
T. Bennett, in the " Störe Strand gade , " which we
found after some difficulty. Here is the " guide , philosopher
, and friend , " to whom English and American
tourists look, and not in vain , for information , advice
and assistance. Mr. Bennett is an Oxford graduate ,
who happened somehow to settle in Christiania , and
makes a business of facilitating travel ; earning thereby
the gratitude of many an ignorant and helpless tourist .
Indeed, if we had not had " T. Bennett " to look forward
to, I doubt if we should ever have ventured upon
a tour in Norway.
' He publishes annually, a guide - book , with full , and ,
usually accurate , information concerning all the routes ,
stations and prices for posting, and a still more valuable
phrase - book, containing all the necessary words
and phrases , with English translation and pronunciation.
He is prepared to furnish carriages or carioles ,
harness , provisions , wines , and all other requisites for
travel, and he will act as your banker and postmaster,
if you wish, receiving and forwarding letters . Miss
M. had already engaged his assistance in that capacity .
We entered under an archway, a courtyard , full of
old lumbering vehicles , and ascended to the second
48
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
story by an outside stairway, in the rear of the house.
Through a room, with walls lined with books , and
tables covered with papers , pamphlets and sheet music,
we passed into another filled with curiosities of all
kinds , wood carvings , old silver, tolle -knive (the knives
worn by the peasants ) , and curious articles of dress and
jewellery. Mr. Bennett was busy with an English lady
and gentleman , whom he was just starting off; and we
returned to the courtyard to see them packed , with
their belongings, into one of the rickety open wagons ,
and drive out under the archway. Then we examined
the different equipages , and made choice of one which
seemed most likely to answer our purpose ; a " trille , "
or two - seated phaeton , without cover, with boxes under
the seats to contain our condensed luggage . Mr.
Bennett considered our case , and advised a route ,
which we afterwards adopted . We were decided on
going to Throndhjem over the Dovrefjeld ; but he
suggested the Romsdal in addition ; leaving the regular
route at Dombaas , and going up the valley of the
Rauma as far as Naes , or Molde , and back again , a
journey of four or five days through some of the finest
scenery in Norway. We were to start in two or three
days , if we could be ready so soon ; that would bring
us to Throndhjem in time for the steamer sailing
northwards June 30. He would telegraph for staterooms
for our party . Meanwhile , a gentleman entered ,
who, upon hearing our names, claimed acquaintance ,
introducing himself as an American and a friend of
our brother, then in London .
He had come straight from Hull, and informed us
that our brother and his wife had decided to visit Norway,
and were coming in the next steamer .
" You
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA. 49
have not received his telegram ? Well, you will find
it at the banker's . " This welcome news involved a
change of programme ; at least , nothing definite could
be settled until after the arrival of our friends . So Mr.
Bennett was instructed to wait further developments ,
and we went to the banker's to find our telegram and
letters from home.
The " Hero," from Hull , would be due on Monday;
this was Wednesday ; we could hardly start under a
week. With so much time on our hands we felt in no
hurry about sight - seeing ; but after dinner we adopted
the suggestion of our Stettin friends, and joined them
in an excursion to the Frogner saeter, a little country
seat on the hill several miles back from the city, belonging
to the banker, Thomas Heftye .
A " saeter " proper is a sort of mountain dairy farm ,
where the cows are pastured during the summer and
the milk cared for, and butter and cheese made, by
one or more of the daughters or maid - servants of the
family. The house is usually a rude cabin , like a Swiss
chalet , without its picturesque architecture , and with its
dirt and squalor . These are seldom visited by travellers ,
as they are apt to be on rather inaccessible summits .
As we drive out of the city, past the new palace ,
we notice many pretty cottage residences, which remind
us of those in the suburbs of Boston and other
New England towns . We soon leave the road, and
drive through woods and fields , passing through gates
occasionally, which divide one property from another ,
which are opened for our carriages by rosy- cheeked
children, expectant of copper skillings in reward .
(The skilling is about the value of a cent . )
We wind up and up, the air growing finer and purer
3
50
as we climb, with a sweet , wild aroma which reminds
us , as do the pines and birches of these upland pastures
, of our own White Mountains , or more yet of the
Adirondack region . It is our first taste of that wonderful
elixir vitæ, the bracing, stimulating Norway air,
which is to be our best medicine this summer, and to
sustain us cheerfully under privations and fatigues yet
unknown.
When we reach the chalet , we are thirteen hundred
feet above the sea, and look down upon the gleaming
waters of the fjord and its picturesque shores , one of
the finest views in the neighborhood of Christiania.
We remark then , as we do later, when driving around
the bay, the resemblance of the scenery to Mt. Desert.
After enjoying this view from the front veranda of the
chalet-which is a pretty little building in Swiss style ,
containing a few large rooms , very simply furnished—
we returned to the farmhouse , a few rods back , where
we had left the carriage . To our surprise , the horses
had been taken out , and we learned that walking was
the order of the day for the remainder of the expedition.
The road was too steep and too narrow for these
heavy carriages. It was the general custom to go on
foot to the tower , at the summit of the hill . In short ,
we discovered that if we wished to drive , we should
have made our bargain beforehand . Two Swedish
naval officers joined the party, and the young people
stepped out, merrily. It was but a little way, they
told us ; an eighth of a mile , perhaps . But Norse miles
are seven times as long as English . The unfortunate.
one who never could " keep up with the procession , "
unless mounted on a saddle horse or a capable donkey,
soon began to lag :
Now you know you never can
" "
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA.
51
walk to the top , and you may as well stop here as anywhere
," said her sympathizing friends. She acquiesced ,
and sat down to rest, while they went on ; then followed
at a distance , hoping for some outlook . But
the path wound higher and higher, always shut in by
the forest . It might have been a mountain path in
Berkshire County, or Bethlehem , N. H. , or the ascent
to some breezy summit anywhere in the hill country
of New England or northern New York. The sweet ,
wild fragrance and the clear air seemed more homelike
than anything since she had crossed the sea . So
she sat down on the short grass , under the " murmuring
pines and the hemlocks , " and picked wild flowers
and bits of greenness , and dreamed herself back into
unforgotten summers , with dear friends far away. By
and by she strolled back to the farmhouse , and they
found her on their return sitting by a deal table and
drinking milk .
" It was a long pull ; it was well you did not go . "
" I went farther than you did , " she answered ; “ I
went home."
They stared a little , asked if the milk were good ,
and ordered a fresh supply. Then they drove back ,
not in the twilight , but the late afternoon , -say from
eight to ten o'clock, -the pleasantest time for driving
in the North .
And as the drive to the Frogner saeter is byfar the
pleasantest in the neighborhood , all other drives-to
the Egberg, along the coast , to the Mariedal Lake ,
and to the peninsula of Ladegaardsoe—were in a measure
disappointing. I would not advise the tourist to
take this drive first , if he intends the others , but let
this by no means be omitted .
52
 .
Next day we had a revival of the spirit of sightseeing,
and we hunted up , not without difficulty, the
Kunstverein (Art Union rooms, where pictures by native
artists are kept for sale ) and the National Gallery .
Some landscapes and little figure pieces in the former
were very pretty ; but impracticable prices were demanded
. We found the usual collection of inferior
" old masters " at the National Gallery , and a few fine
paintings by Norwegian artists , one of which , by Tidemand,
lives in my memory. In the interior of a peasant's
house are gathered a group of men , women and
children ; old and young hanging with intense interest
upon the lips of a young man who stands in the centre ,
speaking with deepest earnestness . It might be a
group of Scottish Covenanters , risking their lives to
worship God after their own consciences .
Not having a catalogue , we did not ascertain the
subject at the time ; but found afterwards that this was
Tidemand's great painting of " The Haugians , " a religious
sect in Norway. It was painted at Düsseldorf,
and obtained the gold medal of the Berlin Academy.
The original is in the Düsseldorf Gallery , the one in
Christiania being a replica . Adolf Tidemand stands ,
with Hans Gude , at the head of Scandinavian artists .
He was born in 1814 , in the town of Mandal , in southern
Norway, where his father was a custom - house officer.
He was educated at Copenhagen and Düsseldorf,
where he studied under Hildebrandt and Wilhelm
Schadow ; afterwards went to Munich, and then studied
in Italy. His taste was , at first , for historical
painting ; but after revisiting his native land , in 1845 ,
he adopted Norwegian Peasant life as the subject of
his pictures . We saw, next day, at the little villa of
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA.
53
Oscar's Hall ( on the peninsula of Ladegaardsoe , accessible
by carriage or boat from Christiania ) , a charming
series of paintings by Tidemand , illustrating " Norwegian
Peasant life , from the cradle to the grave ,” which
won for the artist , from King Oscar, the order of St.
Olaf. We took a boat , and were rowed across the
fjord , and landed at the foot of a green slope , at the
summit of which stood the white marble Gothic bijou
of a royal villa . Under an archway we were met by
the keeper in charge , a respectable young woman , who
took the tickets furnished us by our hotel porter, and ,
unlocking a door to the left , introduced us into the dining-
hall , the sides of which are lined with Tidemand's
paintings . With the exception of a large central picture
on each side , they are circular in form , and perhaps
four feet in diameter. The first scene is an upland
pasture ; the cows and goats grazing , and smoke
rising from the chimney of the little saeter hut . In
the foreground are two children ; a boy standing by a
rock and playing the " loor ," - a long horn , to call the
cattle home , and a little girl , sitting on the grass at
his feet, in the peasant costume of homespun skirt and
white waist and sleeves, with bright bodice , and her
head tied up in a kerchief, while her hands are busy
with the everlasting knitting work . The next picture .
takes us inside the hut ; youth and maiden sit in the
chimney corner, a great pot is boiling on the hearth ,
and the wooden tubs for milk are piled on the bench .
He is sedate and earnest , she bashful and smiling ,
while her nervous fingers plait the edge of her white
apron ; and so , in the Norsk saeter , the old, old story
is told.
Then comes the wedding procession , returning from
54  .
church ; the proud bridegroom and the sweet - faced
bride in her gay crown , followed by father and mother
and a tribe of young men and maidens ; the musicians
are waiting, and the master of ceremonies , with a
sweeping bow, his hat in one hand and a great tankard
in the other, welcomes them to the marriage feast .
Next we see the young couple in their simple home,
and a bright -faced baby plays with its father's pipe ,
while the curious cradle , like a kneading trough in
shape , hangs by ropes from the ceiling . The next
picture shows the first sorrow . The child lies ill in
its little bed, under the dim light of a hanging lamp,
and father and mother watch in anxious suspense .
Two more circular pictures follow; the mother with
her girls , one of whom is knitting behind her chair,
while another sits on a low stool before her reciting
her catechism ? There is a baby on her knee , ( a Norsk
mother has always a baby on her knee ) . The father ,
with his boy, is instructing the youth in the mysteries
of net making or mending ; while , in the distance , the
high mountains rise above the blue waters of the fjord ,
and the boat's keel touches the shore .
A large painting represents fishing by night , and a
fine contrast of effects is produced by the moonlight on
the pine- trees and the still surface of the water, and
the red glow of the torch which the youth holds out
over the bow while he leans forward to spear the salmon
- trout . The whole family are on board ; the mother
with an oar in the stern . The landscape in this painting
is the work of Hans Gude , who assisted also in the
companion picture of the marriage procession.
Next we have the eldest son leaving home - perhaps
for America -bundle and staff in hand . The
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA. 55
mother weeps , while the father grasps his boy's hand,
and utters farewell words of cheer and counsel. Last
of all , the two old people sit alone together ; the brood
all scattered . She has her teapot on the deal table beside
her, and he a tankard , near at hand , on the corner
of the dresser ; but both find better comfort, let us
hope , in the old book from which he is reading . There
is no funeral scene , for this is a king's dining - hall , and
though " we are almost all mortal , " it would not be in
good taste to remind his majesty of the fact . On a
higher level are fine paintings of Norwegian scenery,
snowy mountains, green forest depths of shade , and
dark waters shut in by rocky precipices .
Crossing the arched passage , we enter the other
part of the villa , and climb from floor to floor , by the
winding stairway in the tower, till we stand on the
roof, and enjoy the lovely view. 'Tis a pretty little
baby house of a palace, simply furnished, but adorned
with fine paintings and curious carvings ; and no doubt
King Oscar prefers it , during his rare visits to Christiania,
to the great " new palace " at the head of Carl
Johan's gade, which , in its splendors of white paint , is
more like a country hotel or a great boarding - school
house than a palace , and in its interior furnishing is the
simplest of all abodes of royalty . We were admitted
one afternoon , and found a regular spring cleaning in
progress-carpets rolled up and furniture covered , while
the floors were being scrubbed and waxed .
We were conducted to the roof, where we obtained
the fine view of the fjord , which was the object of our
visit to the palace . The gardens were full of nurses
and children , playing with the swans , and running
about on the turf, among sweet old - fashioned flowers
56 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
-lilacs and honeysuckles , pæonies , sweet rockets , yellow
lilies and syringas-which took us back, straightway,
to the old - fashioned garden where we played in
childhood .
That afternoon we drove to the Egberg ; the road
winding around or crossing by drawbridges the deep
indentations of the fjord , and leading us finally to a
breezy hill, from whose summit we enjoyed the familiar
prospect , only changed a little as seen from a different
standpoint .
The road led us through the suburb of Osloe . A
few ruins remain of the ancient city, which was destroyed
by fire in 1624. Soon after, Christian IV. ,
having visited Norway to inspect the newly - discovered
silver mines at Kongsberg, founded a new city and
called it after himself, Christiania.
Osloe , called Opslo in the old Chronicles , was
founded in 1058 , by Harold Hardrada , and in one
hundred and fifty years it was the third city in the
kingdom, after Nidaros and Bergen . After the union.
of Norway and Denmark , it became the capital of Norway.
Christopher III . and Christian II . were crowned
here , and in the cathedral of St. Halvard (destroyed
by fire with the city) , James VI. of Scotland and I.
of England was married to Anne of Denmark, sister
of Christian IV. , in 1589.
Next day we started for a walk, but picked up a
carriage in the market - place , and took the land journey
to Ladegaardsoe and Oscar's Hall . The park is
very pretty, and is a great place of resort ; one can go
to it by rail from Christiania , as it is the first station
on the route to Drammen.
A wonderful thing happened toward the last of the
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA.
57
We were
week; Blossom and I changed our room .
dissatisfied from the first with our close quarters , the
narrow room - so nearly filled by the two little beds ,
table , sofa , chairs and stove , that there was scarcely
space left to turn- and had wished also for one on a
lower floor ; but for some reason , impossible to discover ,
there was great difficulty in making the change . The
handsome porter assured us that the rooms were full .
"Where were the people , then ? " we inquired . " Our
party comprised the only ladies and half the number
of people present at table d'hôte ." We did not know ,
then , that there was a restaurant on the ground floor,
where one might breakfast or dine on cheaper terms
than in the grand dining- hall ; but probably the porter
did not care to have us know .
He took a different tack . The rooms were reserved ;
there were many guests expected the next week for a
great fair which was to take place . But we were going
away next week, before the fair; let us have good
rooms meanwhile . No use .
Finally, we noticed the maid clearing out the large
corner room next Miss M.'s . It was over the coffee
room, two floors higher, with the corner cut off, making
it an irregular pentagon , with three windows ; large ,
bright, and prettily furnished . Down to the porter we
went ; here was a vacant room ; let us change at once .
He could not pretend that it was reserved.-
66
' But it will cost you more, " he said.
Was there such an appearance of abject poverty
about us, with our meagre luggage , and our travelling
costumes designed more for use than beauty ? Or was
it an unjustifiable attempt to screw a higher price out
ofignorant tourists ?
3*
58
A
SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
But we inquired the price , and made no objections ;
the room was worth the difference .
We took possession , and , after a long time , secured
the transfer of our goods . The house was in confusion
all that day ; dinner served in a curious fashion , dishes
appearing at the door and sent back by the head waiter ,
or passed partly down the table before being detected
and despatched . We found there was to be a club
supper in the evening, which explained much .
Returning late from our drive , we took refuge in the
new room, and had our tea and bread and butter
brought up by the friendly maid, who never missed an
opportunity of teaching us a word of Norsk, and expressed
strong desires to go to America , if only she
could " talar Engelsk."
When bedtime came , our three large windows were
rather too much of a good thing . No outside blinds
or inside shutters were there ; only awnings and whiteholland
shades . And the awnings had a way of shooting
up unexpectedly, letting the sunlight stream in ,
and baffling all our endeavors to reduce them to subjection
. A peal at the bell brought up "Miss Hopkins
," flushed with excitement . Did I tell you about
this English - speaking waiter—not the head waiter , but
next to the head- short and plump, with blue eyes ,
closely- curling hair, and the most lovely complexion ;
who struck us with such astonishment at first sight,
being the living image of a young lady friend at home,
that we christened him " Polly Hopkins " on the spot ?
He was our main reliance , having a tolerable knowledge
of English , and being a good - natured fellow .
We took our breakfasts in the dining - hall , or coffeeroom
( if we did not object to smoke ) , and were waited
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA. 59
on by a youth who could not " talar Engelsk " any better
than the chambermaid ; made our selections from a
Norsk bill of fare , and paid for them on the spot .
Table d'hôte dinner, at 2 P. M., being at a regular
price , was charged in the bill . All the next day, after
the club supper , the house was " on its head , " as they
say in Missouri , to express an utterly topsy- turvy condition
. "Without its head ," would describe the state
of affairs more accurately ; for the head waiter was invisible,
sleeping off his fatigue ; while poor " Miss Hopkins
" and the boy did their best to keep awake and
take care of us.
I had sought vainly in the book shops for a grammar
of the Norsk language , but brother Will finally found
one at Mr. Bennett's, and he brought us also a guide
to Christiania , of native production , which might have
been useful if we had seen it earlier , but was extremely
amusing at any time . The author, F. A. Blix , has
had long experience as a courier and is still open to
engagements in that capacity . His " purpose is based
upon, that the traveller may easy be known with the
principal circonstances and furthermore get to know
what here is worth seeing ; then next to be able to
undertake agreeable trips around the city, and in this
way any short trips for a few days about which there
hitherto not has been any information ."
As I have neglected to describe the city of Christiania
, let me quote a few paragraphs from Mr. Blix .
"Christiania , the capital of the kingdom , and cathedral
city in the bishoprick of Christiania , is situated
in an extremely fine , open valley at the North end
of Christiania fjorden ( Frith of Christiania ) . Christiania
, founded 1624 , by King Christian the 4th is as
60  .
must
for the proper city built very regular and fine . The
city has since 1814 been rapidly growing , and in the
late time a great many new and pretty buildings private
as public are built . Among these the king's
palace, the parliament - building and the university in
the west end of the city are worth remarking , and a
great many great buildings for private gentlemen between
these and the older part of the city. Christiania
has eight churches : Our Saviour's Church , where ordination
of the priests and other ecclesiastical ceremonies
are to be undertaken , Trefoldigheds - Church ,
Grönlands -Church , Oslo - Church, and so we
nominate the old Akers - Church, for the boundary
of the city are now extended to it , St. Olafs - Church
( Catholic ) and a church for the Hernhutes ; a quart
mile from Christiania is two new churches , which can
be seen from every point in the city, for they are
situated upon a hill ; they are named East and West
Akers - Church, and to every of them is a chapel or
smaller church belonging. One or two new churches
too are to be built , which is highly necessary, for the
many of the inhabitants is growing year for year. The
English church or chapel has its seat in the university's
festivity hall , where divine service for the most is kept
every holy day, at 11 o'clock forenoon. The service is
made of the here established English preacher."
So much for matters ecclesiastical . We wished to
see the interior of some of these churches , but they
were open only on Sunday, and service was so early.
that poor creatures who had been kept awake by
broad daylight staring in at three windows , until past
one o'clock , were far too lazy to attempt going . We
found our way to the university at eleven o'clock , and
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA. 61
were wandering about the halls and passages , seeking
vainly for the " festivity hall , " when Mr. Bennett appeared,
to our relief, and conducted us thither, remarking
: " You would have found directions on the first
page of my guide - book." (He forgot that we had been
waiting for the latest edition of his books , and received
them only the evening before . ) The English clergyman
officiated , the last time for the season , as he was
about returning to England, and Mr. Bennett himself
acted as clerk. The audience was small , composed
mainly of English tourists , with a few residents of
Christiania .
To return to Mr. Blix . After enumerating the
"churchs , " he proceeds to the " scools ." Besides a
great "poor- scool ," he mentions "the military highscool
, the military academy, the cathedral scool , a
civil scool , twelve common scools , several etablishments
for information destinated for boys and girls ,
together with any others etablishments founded for
more specially use , among which the Academy of
Science , together with a national - gallery . Of other
public etablishments into and at the city, you have
Rigshospitalet , the madhouse at the Manor- Ganstad
in West Aker, Bodsfaengslet ( the solitary prison) ,
between Grönland and Oslo , etc. Further is the city
seat for several societies for sciences and liberal arts ,
f. ex . the Royal Society for ' Norgesvel , ' the Bible Society,
the physiographical union , " etc. We regretted
that our limited time prevented our examining these
various educational " etablishments ." " At Christiania
and its nearest environs is a not quite inconsiderable
manufactory business . Along Akerselven to a
quarter of a mile from the city is a great many various
62
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
manufactories upon the countries ground , but belonging
to the inhabitants of Christiania . Among these
we have four cotton fabrics , two weavings , two mechanic
workhouses [does he mean machine shops ?]
paper- mills , oil - mills , soap - boiling houses , a fabric for
pack of cards , a stone draw, several saw - mills , cornmills
, brick - kilns , etc. Into and at the city it is seta-
going several important destilleries, six breweries ,
tobacco -fabrics , rope - yards , etc. At the manor Ljan,
a Norwegian mile from Christiania , is a powder- mill ,
and another at Oslo . In Christiania are twenty imprimeries
and a great many lithographies. The export
of Christiania , which especially consists in timber and
wood, iron , glass - articles , oats , and Ansiovis , etc. ,
though is not of such importance as that of many
other places in Norway, but in return the city stands
highest among the Norwegian towns with respect to
the import from foreign countries . For not only consumes
Christiania as the greatest and most important
town in the kingdom a great deal necessary and luxury
articles from foreign countries , but it furnishes its considerable
environ places and the many smaller towns
which are situated on both sides of the Christiania
fjord . A very lively coasting exists , therefore with
these.
66
'Akershus citadel is situated upon a rocky point ,
running out between Björvigen and Pipervigen. Akershus
is a depot -place for the Norwegian army , and surrounds
with its walls the old castle with its garrisons
church and the archives of the empire , and the royalregals
, a collection of weapons and a prisoner building .
"Christiania has several not inconsiderable grounds
outside the city, divided in parcels , which for tribute to
A WEEK IN CHRISTIANIA. 63
the city- bank are used of the city's inhabitants .
Of the about 70,000 inhabitants , which Christiania with
its suburbs has , is about 7% natives Norway- men. The
rest is strangers , for the greatest deal Germans and
Englishmen . There is also a deal Jews , of which the
most part are merchants ."
For
After this general introduction , Mr. Blix takes up
in detail the objects of special interest , telling situation ,
times and ways of visiting public buildings , etc.
instance , the "Norwegian parlaments building is situated
at left in the upper end of Carl Johans street . It
is very pretty, and built in the latest style . This is
also to be seen by addressing to the porter who lives.
in the cellar. This man is also very serviceable , but
expects a little remembering of the stranger . " The
national gallery " is worth to see "; but " here also it
would be of use for the stranger to have a guide , who
understood the language and could explain everything
he saw . The gallery is customary open every
Thursday and Sunday at 12-2 o'clock , and free passage
for everybody. From this place goes every day the
military music corps at 122 o'clock, passing through
several streets to the citadel , where it is engaged to
2 o'clock. Thereupon the parade marches off. " And
I think you may march off also , Mr. Blix . We have
had enough of you for the present .
The " Hero " was expected on Monday, any time
after 7 A. M. Will rose early and went to the landing,
but came back to breakfast , with no news of the
steamer . We engaged the best room vacant on our
floor, since for inscrutable reasons nothing lower down
could be had, and spent the day in attempts at shopping
and visits to the wharf.
ARY
64
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
Finally, when we heard about 6 P. M. that the
" Hero " was in sight, they got out the hotel omnibus
and we drove down in state . It was new, and elegantly
upholstered in dark- green velvet , but close
and stuffy, and somehow reminded us of a hearse ;
not that we ever rode in one .
Slowly up the fjord came the great , clumsy, green
hull . When we could make out faces, we saw our
friends standing on the deck, unchanged since we
left them on the North River pier, looking after our
departing steamer. We had no idea then of meeting
them next in Norway.
The " Hero " had been detained , it appeared , at
Christiansand , landing her cargo , which consisted of
another steamer in pieces -a small one for service
along the coast or up the fjords .
We spent the next day in making final arrangements
with Mr. Bennett , who telegraphed , as he had
promised , for state -rooms on the steamer leaving
Throndhjem a fortnight later . Our delay in Christiania
lost us the company of our friends , Mr. and
Mrs. S. , whom we did not meet again in Norway.
Mr. Bennett wrote the telegram and threw it on the
floor, "to remember it ," he said . Whether he did.
or not , we never knew; but we fared precisely as
well in the matter of state - rooms as if it had remained
there . Then we did a little more shopping, getting
warm lamb's- wool shawls , of native manufacture , and
Miss M. invested in a heavy Mackintosh, which Mr.
Bennett promised to take back at half price on our
return . And , waiting till 6 P. M. for the sun to lose
its burning heat , we took a farewell drive to the
Mariedal Lake .
ง .
POSTING-UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL.
WE rose early on the morning of Wednesday , June
23 , and took the train at 8.25 for Eidsvold ,
three hours to the northward . Mr. Bennett met us at
the station , with parting words of advice and encouragement
, having superintended the packing of our
" trille " and " gig." The cars were comfortable , divided
into compartments , after the English or Continental
fashion, and seating three people on each side ,
as the road is of rather narrow gauge . Between two
compartments , above the seats , was a water tank , containing
a great block of ice , visible through the glass
sides, and delightful to contemplate .
At Eidsvold we changed to a little steamer on the
Mjosen Lake , the " Kong Oscar. " The trip by rail
was a short one ; only six miles Norsk, forty- two English
. In combination with an excursion on the lake,
it is especially recommended by our friend , F. A. Blix ,
" as the most agreeable manner to consume the time,
on spectating the many exchanges and beautiful scenes
of Nature ." " You pass the stations Bryn , Snorud,
Strömmen, Lileströmmen , Lersund , Frogner , Kloften ,
Trygstad and Dahl , and arrive to Eidsvold at II o'clock
forenoon . At more of these stations it is time and
opportunity to step out for refreshments. "
The block of ice in our water tank sufficed for us
66  .
during this short journey ; but the Norwegians are
thirsty souls , as we had occasion to remark, afterwards,
on the steamers . We are indebted to Blix
for two more items :
" On the manor at Eidsvold ironwork was the parliament
1814 , which gave Norway its constitution .
The manor is bought by subscription , for raising a
national monument . "
" At Eidsvoldsbakken , which is supposed to have
been the old former Eidsiviathing , you will find a mineral
medicinal - spring , which is tolerably visited . "
We did not tarry at the spring , for there was waiting
at Eidsvoldsbriggen (which ought to be bridge, but
means quay) " a fine steamboat , ready for going ahead
immediately after the trains arrival ; " though it took
longer to embark the trilles and gigs and carioles
than the passengers . We found comfortable places on
deck, and enjoyed the pretty scenery through the day,
interrupted only by dinner , which was served at 2 P. M. in
the tiny cabin . It consisted of excellent salmon - trout ,
boiled potatoes , roast veal with compote ( stewed currants
or cherries) and some kind of pudding or pastry.
Bordeaux wine , beer or " oel " (pronounced exactly
like " ale ") and " Brus - limonade " were the potables
procurable here , as on all Norway steamboats . We
were served by " smökke piger " (we used to pronounce
it " smoky piggy " and on asking a friend what he supposed
it meant , innocently answered , “ bacon ") , tall ,
fair damsels of great sobriety and solidity . The cabin
was well filled with first - class passengers ; but most
of those on the crowded boat were peasants , returning
to their homes along the shores of the lake . We
watched them landing at the different stations , in large
POSTING- UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 67
rowboats , loaded to the water's edge . I counted fifty
in one boat. There were no picturesque costumes here ,
such as we saw afterwards in the vicinity of Bergen and
the Hardanger Fjord; but the women wore handkerchiefs
tied over the head, in place of hats , as they do
everywhere in Norway. The captain found time to go
around and make acquaintance with his passengers ,
and was much interested upon learning that we were
Americans . He took from his pocket a card photograph
of Paul du Chaillu , with his autograph , and
showed it to us , with the question if we knew him ,
and finally amused us by selecting Miss M. for the
honor of an exchange of cards . Later, he invited us
all to posts of observation on the bridge .
The Mjosen is the largest of the Norway lakes ,
about sixty miles in length by twenty in width .
( I mean English miles ; when I allude to Norsk
miles I shall call them so . ) The lower part of the
lake is narrow, and so is the upper ; but about midway
it broadens out into a fine expanse , and here ,
on the eastern side , is situated the little town of
Hamar, of about two thousand inhabitants ; the residence
of a bishop , and of the amtmann , or magistrate
of the district of Hedemark . Here stood , five
hundred years ago , the great city of Storhammer,
which , according to Norsk chroniclers , extended over
three miles in length , and contained a magnificent
cathedral , the residence of the bishop , and the king's
palace , which was large enough to accommodate over
a thousand persons . There were , besides , several
churches , monasteries and nunneries . In 1348 the
city was ravaged by the Black Death ( sörte död ) ,
from which time it began to decline , and in 1566 it
68  .
was set on fire by an army of Swedes, and totally
destroyed . Several columns of the cathedral are still
standing . *
A cathedral and monastery formerly existed in
Lillehammer, which was built by the English pope ,
Nicholas Breakspeare , then Cardinal Albano and legate
in Norway, and afterwards Pope Hadrian IV.; but
they were destroyed during incursions by the Swedes .
Opposite Hamar, near the middle of the lake , is the
" Helgeoe , " or holy isle , a large and fertile island ,
where the ruins of an abbey or monastery were pointed
out to us .
The scenery on both sides was pretty, but nowhere
grand ; meadows or wooded hills sloping to the water's
edge , and on the eastern shore a range of mountains
* " The ruins of the ancient cathedral at Hamar, built in the twelfth
century, are visible from the lake . All that now remains of it are three
massive pillars and the arches that connect them ; and one may judge of the
scale on which it was built from the fact that the outstretched arms of three
men can scarcely clasp them round. It is almost needless to say that so
utter and complete a disappearance is not so much owing to the ravages of
time as to the vandalism of the last three centuries ; for even in the seventeenth,
though in a ruinous condition , it was complete in all its details .
The glorious west front, with its richly carved portals, was yet intact ,
together with a multitude of chapels and flying buttresses . But, instead of
any attempt being made to preserve the grand old pile from decay, it seems
to have been looked upon as a sort of ' happy hunting ground , ' where any
one who had building on hand could procure an unlimited supply of stone ,
hewn and ready for his use . Several churches in the neighborhood were
in this way erected ; and as they rose, so Hamar fell, and was only saved
from utter destruction by the advent of a less iconoclastic age .
" It is the lament of Norwegian writers that a similar fate has befallen
the majority of their ancient ecclesiastical buildings ; hardly a stone now
remaining upon a stone to show where, in Catholic days, the voice of praise
resounded from many a fair abbey , the site of which is now grass - grown
and forgotten . ” —SHEPARD, Over the Dovrefjeld.
POSTING- UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 69
over two thousand feet in height . The Mjosen Lake
was formerly renowned for its fishing ; but a great inundation
in 1789 quite destroyed it , for a long time .
A particular kind of salmon - trout , found only here.
and in the lower part of the river Laagen-the Hunnerörreten
is well known to travellers and epicures
and regularly served on the steamers . We ate them
without knowing it , and took them for particularly
nice salmon .
Among the legends of the Mjosen Lake is that of a
monster existing in its depths , which is believed in to
the present day . Peter Clausen, writing in the sixteenth
century , describes it as " an old snake or serpent,
fifty ells long , that only sheweth itself when any
wonderful event is about to take place in the kingdom. "
Nicholas Granicus , pastor at Londen, in Norway,
in 1656, is responsible for an account of this monster,
in his migration from the Mjosen to the Spirillen Lake .
His head was like a hogshead , and his body as big as
a tun , and the length of three fir - trees , “ like a mighty
mast ," and trees were crushed to the earth by his
passage .
Of the sudden storms which sometimes arise in this
lake , Peter Clausen observes , " It is a perilous and
unlucky lake , and taketh away the lives of many folk ,
being gloomy and terrible to see , and far more dangerous
to sail upon than the salt sea itself, for the
fierce Huirel winds and the mountain blasts sweep
down upon it , and fresh water becometh stormy much
more quickly than salt ."
Like the Sea of Galilee , which to this day a sudden
gust of wind lashes into fury , as it did eighteen hundred
years ago , the Mjosen lake has not lost its re70
 .
putation for danger to the unwary voyager . One
lands from the steamer in rowboats , except at the
terminal stations of Eidsvold and Lillehammer, and a
case is mentioned where a party were tossed about in
their boat for more than four hours , at the imminent
risk of being dashed to pieces on the rocky shore .
We had noticed several officers in military uniform
on board, and were informed by the captain that the
young volunteer militia were about to go into camp
for summer training , at some place near the lake .
This accounted in part for the crowd on our steamboat.
We reached Lillehammer , at the northern extremity
of the lake , about 8 P. M. , and found wagons waiting
to draw us up the steep hill to the village . The
gentlemen found their personal superintendence requisite
to secure the landing of the carriages and
their transfer to the hotel , where they were finally
deposited in the stable yard , ready for our start next
morning . Meanwhile we ladies were occupied in selecting
rooms , or rather in making the best of those
assigned us . These were a series of four , opening into
each other, but not into the passage, except at each
end. The house with its appendages , stables , barns ,
( c . , surrounded a court , through which we entered ,
and which was adorned with a variety of vehicles ,
like the yard at Mr. Bennett's . We had supper in a
long room , with a long table spread with a greater
variety of viands than I ever saw at once-cold beef,
cold ham, tongue , fried steaks , ham and eggs , trout
swimming in fat , wheat bread , rye bread , " flad brod "
(our first introduction to the national staff of life ,
made of oatmeal , and baked in sheets of wafer thinPOSTING-
UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL.
71
ness , which are broken up into irregular pieces- very
good when new and crisp, but detestable when old
and musty) , English biscuits , and cheese in great
variety; " ny ost " (new cheese) and "gammel ost ".
(old cheese ) , and a kind peculiar to Norway , in square
blocks , tied about with a bright ribbon or embroidered
band , and looking like a cross between brown
Windsor soap and maple sugar . It had a sweetish
taste and a soapy taste , or we imagined so , and we
never became fond of it . I am sure we had some
sort of canned game , and the inevitable boiled eggs
"under the old hen , " of a Norway table . These pretty
china dishes we found , even north of the arctic circle .
We were tired , after sitting up all day on hard
benches, and so went stupidly to bed ; quite forgetting
that this was Midsummer, or St. John's Eve , when the
people build bonfires and dance around them , perpetuating
vestiges of the old pagan rites , in honor of Balder,
son of Freya , the most beautiful character in the
Scandinavian mythology, familiar to many through
Matthew Arnold's poem , " The Death of Balder . "
The pyre on which his body was burned is the prototype
of the ancient festival , and of the fires which
burn not only on these Northern hills , but in Scotland
and Ireland . Many superstitions in these countries
may be traced to a Scandinavian origin , or perhaps go
farther back, to the common origin of all these Indo-
European races.
Thursday, June 24, we made our first essay in posting.
We rose in good season , took breakfast , which
was a repetition of supper, and then waited and waited ,
for no explained reason , till it pleased the presiding
genius of the stables to furnish us with horses . It
72
 .
does no sort of good to try to hurry people in Norway,
and to worry at delay only makes yourself miserable
. Finally we were off, about 10 A. M. , with our
luggage compactly arranged under the seats and
a "skydsgut " on the step of the gig . The word is
pronounced " schuss - goot," and the individual is a postboy,
of age varying from six years to forty. He goes
from one station to another (from seven to ten miles
distance) to bring back the horses , which are rarely
allowed to be driven both ways by travellers . He will
drive , if you wish , but people generally prefer to drive
themselves ; and our " skyds ," as we called them , were
usually little fellows who curled up in the back of
John's gig, and went to sleep , or, if more actively disposed
, perched on the step attached , for their convenience
, to the back of the vehicle . Sometimes we had
a full - grown man , who felt too big , or thought himself
too heavy, for such a position , and insisted upon a
seat in our trille , greatly to our inconvenience . The
wagon was called a " trille , " because intended to accommodate
three persons , beside the postboy. For
the fourth, there was a slight extra charge ; but for
three people with two horses the expense of posting is
the same as for two. The charges average about two
marks (equal to two shillings English, or fifty cents.
American currency ) , the Norsk mile , for each horse ;
for two people with one horse , a slight extra charge is
made. You give the skydsgut four or five skillingscopper
coins about the value of a cent or half- penny—
and when he takes the money, he always puts out a
dirty paw and insists upon shaking hands-the inevitable
Norsk fashion of closing a bargain or expressing
thanks . Perhaps he says : " Mange dak ! " which anPOSTING-
UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 73
swers to the English : " Thanks, very much. " One
skyd sufficed for our two carriages , and sometimes we
were sent off without any, because all the available
boys had been despatched with other parties . In such
a case the gig was discovered to be extremely uncomfortable
, dancing up and down in a way to earn for itself
the title of " giggle , " which adhered to it through
the journey ; and John would borrow one of our bags ,
or pick up a big stone by the roadside , to balance the
body of the concern over its two wheels-a proceeding
which excited great indignation at the stations .
We were on the regular mail route from Christiania
to Throndhjem . (The pronunciation is " Tronyem ."
Mr. Bennett spells it " Throndhjem , " and the Germans
always spell and pronounce it " Drontheim , " as we
used to when we studied Mitchell's Geography at
school . )
It passes through what is called the Gudbrandsdal ,
a valley through which runs the river Laagen , which
rises up in the hills , near a place which we reached
a few days later, and flows into the Mjosen Lake ,
at Lillehammer. So we had its company all the
way , and looked down upon the pretty stream , winding
through green meadows , with wooded hills, or
blue mountains farther away, rising up beyond . The
first station beyond Lillehammer is Fossegaarden-
" Foss " falls , and " gaard " farmstead ; as we should
say , the Falls farm . " Gaard, " meaning first a fence
or enclosure, came to be applied to the whole number
of buildings about a central court, which constitutes
a Norwegian country house. The word is of the same
derivation as the English garden , and the verb to
gird, the German garten, Sclavonian grad, Persian
4
74 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMer
.
gerd, meaning both circle and castle ; and comes ,
probably, straight from the Scythian or Aryan dialect
of the early conquerors , Asgard being the home of
the Aser, or lords . It is astonishing how often one
is taken back to Odin , in Scandinavia.
The falls were very picturesque , and we walked
down the river to look at them while the skyd took
the horses up to the station - house , at the top of a
steep hill, and in the course of half or three - quarters
of an hour brought down fresh ones . One of the
gentlemen went up to write in the Dagbog ( day
book) , where it is necessary to enter the name or
names of the party, number of horses taken from
previous station, and price paid , with any complaints.
of extortion or neglect one has occasion to make.
Of course, the latter must be entered in Norsk, if
they are intended to answer any purpose other than
a relief to one's own feelings or a warning to fellow
travellers . An inspector of stations goes over the
route occasionally, and is supposed to attend to such
complaints . But I fancy that they arise generally
from misunderstandings , and that the station masters ,
if civilly treated , are ready to do their best for travellers
. Courtesy always pays , and nowhere better
than in Norway; the simple phrases , " Vaer saa god ? "
(Will you be so good ? or Please , ) and " Vil de gjöre
mig den tjeneste ? " (Will you do me the kindness ?)
are like an oiled feather in a rusty lock, and should be
among the first learned by the traveller .
We employed our little leisure time in diligent
study of Bennett's "Phrase - Book " ; and , to save time
by division of labor , the talk about horses and money
was assigned to the gentlemen , while we ladies dePOSTING-
UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 75
voted ourselves to the phrases inquiring for rooms and
beds, and the interesting subject of breakfast, dinner ,
and supper . We made our first attempt at the next
station , Holmen . This was about twenty miles from
Lillehammer , and recommended by Bennett as " clean ,"
and by the German guide as " recht gutes quartier " ;
and as it was quite the middle and heat of the day,
it seemed a good place to stop for lunch . The station
was a small, unpainted frame building , and the
guest - room was up a steep flight of stairs , and very
bare and dreary; but the good woman in charge gave
us a nice lunch of cold meat , bread and butter, eggs ,
milk and cheese, with " kavringer " or zwieback ; and
while we waited for this and for our fresh horses , we
enjoyed through the window a little picture of mountains
, woods and river, so lovely that I longed to
sketch it . Any one who can sketch rapidly should
have colors and sketch book, or block, constantly in
reach; for there are often pretty bits of scenery near
the stations; though if you are travelling with a party
you can hardly stop on the road. Another requisite ,
which we failed to carry, is a little press for flowers ;
two boards , with a strap , and plenty of soft paper, such
as one buys everywhere in Switzerland . We had only
our guide -books out of the bags , and the flowers we
tried to save in them were constantly losing out or
getting injured by tumbling about , to say nothing of
the difficulty we experienced in pressing them at all ,
when it had to be done in a surreptitious manner,
under constant protest from our brethren .
At the next station , * Kirkestuen , we stopped merely
* Let it not be supposed that these stations are villages ; they are merely
farmhouses or "gaards. "
76
A SCANDINAVIAN
Summer
.
to change horses, and were not kept long waiting.
Between Holmen and this station , perhaps ten miles ,
the river widens into a lake , and the scenery is lovely.
We were delighted , and wondered at Mr. Bennett for
pronouncing the scenery only " pretty, but not fine " ;
but the grander features of the landscape , as we went
farther up the Gudbrandsdal , showed us what "fine "
scenery was , in his opinion . Near Holmen one gets
the first glimpse of snowy mountains , rising to the
eastward-the Rondane, 6,500 feet high.
At Skjaeggestad , the next station , there was a
comfortable frame house , painted white ; and , going in
to rest while the horses were changed we found a
nice old woman knitting by the fire , in a New England
rocking- chair. She had a pet cat, and a great black
dog who was not disposed to be friendly with strangers
, though she tried to make him eat lumps of sugar
from our hands. The room was adorned with photographs
of family friends stuck about the walls , and
among them she pointed out one of Paul du Chaillu ,
asking if we knew him . We had not the pleasure of his
personal acquaintance , and we tried to explain that
we knew him by reputation , but our limited Norsk
prevented a thorough understanding. I am afraid the
old woman thought we were intimate friends . We were
tempted to stop over a day at this station, and make
the excursion to the saeter on the Klinkenberg, a
mountain three thousand feet high, affording a wide
prospect. An old wooden church at Ringebu is an
object of interest ; and there is also a picturesque view
at Vaaler Bro , about a mile from the station . Saddle
horses for this excursion can be obtained here .
It was about 6 P. M. when we arrived , and if we had
POSTING- UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 77
known we were to be detained so long , we should have
ordered supper at once . But it takes nearly an hour ,
in their leisurely way of doing things , to prepare a hot
meal , and we had decided to push on to Listad , about
ten miles farther, where we intended to pass the night .
They wanted us to stay at Skjaeggestad over a day, if
we could be persuaded ; over night at least ; to supper, -
if we could be wearied and starved into it , -if for nothing
else . They had horses , all the time , but seemed
reluctant to let us take them ; and when they finally
did so , they insisted upon sending a full - grown man
with us to drive . We three ladies had to sit together
on the back seat , which made us crowded and uncomfortable
; and although the evening was lovely, and
the scenery very pretty , we were very glad to get to
Listad and send back our disobliging charioteer . We
should have fared better , I am sure , if we had ordered
supper at Skjaeggestad . There were six of us ; and
we should have paid them , perhaps , a mark apiece for
an ample meal .
As it was , our hot supper was very nice ; but it
was not ready before 10 P. M.; we were in a famished
condition , having had nothing since our cold
lunch at Holmen ; and we were so weary, after the
day's ride , that we went to bed directly after , which
was injudicious , certainly. Regular meals are a matter
of no little importance to travellers , if they wish
to preserve good health and good nature ; and by a
little management they may be insured on most of
the routes in Norway. One should always be provided
, however, with biscuits and sherry, and some
sort of potted meat, and dried fruits, prunes or figs.
There are few stations where one cannot procure
78
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
plenty of sweet milk, fresh eggs and rye bread and
butter ; though fresh meat is not always to be had .
The station -house at Listad was finely situated ,
and a house of more pretension than is usual , on this
route ; two stories high, with balconies over the
porches, the front one commanding a lovely view
of the valley and river , the other overlooking the
farmyard and hills behind. Steep , winding stairs ,
at one side of the central hall , led up to large , pleasant
rooms , with two single beds in each , very clean
and comfortable . The middle room opened on the
front balcony, where there were seats , and we waited
for our supper . We wanted to stay over a day at
Skjaeggestad , but we would gladly have spent a week
at Listad . If we had not so heroically started for
the North Cape, how delightful it would be to take
it easy and stop whenever we felt inclined ! But all
six of us were not of the same mind .
The room down - stairs , where we had our supper,
was large and pleasant , plainly but neatly furnished ,
with white curtains at the windows and a stand of
house plants in bloom . We had some sort of wild
fowl -ptarmigan or " ryper ," as they call it herepotatoes
, boiled eggs , good wheat bread and rusk,
butter, milk and excellent tea . This surprised us ,
for at Mr. Bennett's suggestion we had brought a
quantity of tea , expecting to use it constantly.
( In our whole journey we tried it but once , when
it was scarcely better than the article furnished at
the station , and he took back the package on our
return to Christiania ) . We got very nice coffee ,
also , in most places, with hot milk, and sweet , rich
cream .
POSTING- UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 79
We were waited on by one of the pretty daughters
of the house, who spoke a little English.
One must go through almost any journey, -the
long journey of life is no exception , -to know how
to do it to the best advantage . We look back, even
now, with longing , to Listad , and Skjaeggestad , and
Laurgaard, and other places that we saw later , and
say, " If we could only have stayed longer, and made
this or that excursion in the neighborhood , or sketched
that lovely bit of scenery , or kept those exquisite flowers
! If we ever go to Norway again we will try to do
it better ; go over less ground , perhaps, and see what
we see more thoroughly, and try to get acquainted
with the people."
I add a few words of explanation as to the details
of posting in Norway.
On the principal roads all the stations are what is
called " fast ," where the station - master is bound , under
penalty, to have horses ready for immediate use . The
number of horses and " reserve " horses at these stations
is fixed by the " amtmand " ( a magistrate of the
district ) . No traveller may be detained more than
fifteen minutes for horses belonging to the station , nor
more than half an hour for a reserve horse (one brought
in from work in the fields ) . For stations not "fast "
there is a system called " Forbud " -orders which are
sent on in advance by special messengers , so that
horses may be held in readiness by a specified time.
Ifthe traveller does not arrive within an hour of this
time he must pay for waiting , " vente penge "-the
80  .
price of a quarter of a mile posting, and as much more
for each half- hour's additional delay. Travellers who
have no " forbud " papers are to be furnished with
horses within one , two , or three hours , according to
the distance from which the horses have to be brought .
"When the traveller allows the postboy to hold the
reins, the former is not answerable for the horse . On
the other hand , should any post - horse be ill - treated
and over - driven , when the traveller holds the reins , so
that the station - holder or innkeeper and two men at
the next station can perceive this to be the case , the
traveller shall pay for the injury according to the estimate
of these men , and he shall not be allowed to be
sent on until the payment is made ; the compensation
for the injury , however , shall remain with the stationholder
or innkeeper for six weeks , so that the traveller
may be able to complain of the affair. "
The masters of stations are obliged to furnish carioles
or spring- carts (" stolkjaerre ," a box on wheels ,
with the seat on wooden springs ; not to be recommended
to lovers of ease ) , luggage carts , saddles and
bridles , and sledges ( in winter) , with harness usually
of rope, with reins of the same material . It saves time
and trouble in the transfer of luggage if one has one's
own hired cariole , or carriage , for the entire journey ,
though the expense is , of course , greater . We rented
Our " trille " of Mr. Bennett for one specie dollar the
day, and had to pay for its transport on railway or
steamers in addition . The extra charge for carioles ,
when furnished at stations with the horses , is six skillings
(cents ) the Norway mile , which would not average
over fifty cents a day, and this only for the days
when they are in actual use ; whereas, you pay for the
POSTING- UP THE GUDBRANDSDAL. 81
vehicles hired in Christiania from your departure until
your return, though you may be half the time on
steamers .
The laws also regulate the number of horses to be
attached to different vehicles, the number of people who
may ride in them , and the amount of luggage allowed .
For our carriage , with two horses , we were allowed to
take three grown - up persons and one hundred and fifty
pounds of baggage (skydsguts do not count) . By paying
a fourth part additional one more person may be
taken. In a one - horse vehicle with wheels , one grownup
person and sixty- four pounds of luggage may be
taken ; in a sledge , ninety - six pounds of luggage . By
half payment additional , another person may be taken ,
or a child by a quarter payment , and twenty - four or thirty-
six pounds of luggage according to circumstances.
Some fancied infraction of these laws must have made
the people so indignant at our stone ballast or our
transfer of baggage from the trille to the gig ; though
either weighed far less than a stout skyd, to whom
they would have made no objection.
4*
WE
VI.
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK .
E started from Listad on Friday morning, between
nine and ten o'clock. There , again , we
made a mistake , in not getting off earlier ; the morning
hours are so much fresher and cooler for driving .
Those who are up betimes get the best chance for
horses ; the late risers may be obliged to wait until
the horses have been to and returned from the next
station, with the regulation half-hour of rest afterwards.
People travelling in haste , or yielding to the
ambition to get quickly over the road , so contagious
in Norway, allow themselves little time for sleep.
But there must be a reaction afterwards, and in the
long run little is gained by burning the candle at both
ends (a metaphor especially inappropriate in a country
and season where candles were a thing unthought
of) . Mr. Bennett's book gives directions for the number
of miles to be travelled , and recommends places
to dine and sleep at , if one desires to " perform the
route " from Christiania to Throndhjem in three , four,
five, six , or seven days. Unless one is in haste to
catch a steamer , or is limited for time , there is little
satisfaction in such rapid travelling . I remember an
Englishman who came into Mr. Bennett's curiosity
shop one day, boasting of having achieved the jourLISTAD
TO LESJE JERNVAERK.
83
ney (nearly three - hundred and fifty miles ) in about
seventy hours . He had slept very little or none at
all , and eaten only such fare as he could pick up while
changing horses . He travelled in a light cariole, of
course ; and probably had little waiting to do , and was
fortunate in hitting the steamboat at Lillehammer.
Oien is the next station beyond Listad , about six
miles ; " good and cheap quarters and friendly people ,"
says the German guide . " A first - rate station , where
wheat bread and several kinds of wine , including champagne,
may be procured , " adds Mr. Bennett . If we had
been unable to get beds at Listad , we should have slept
here . Champagne had no temptation for us, so early
in the day ; but the house looked so pleasant, we
wanted to see the inside of it , and went into the large ,
sunny guest-room to ask for a glass of water. There
were wonderully fine house plants in bloom , fuchsias ,
pinks, roses and geraniums in pots of glazed earthenware,
which we have supposed to be very unwholesome
for plants . We wondered how they survived the
long, cold , dark winter. Between Listad and Oien , we
passed the " gaard " Steig, which stands sentinel on a
lofty peak, like a German castle in the middle ages .
We found the heat of the sun really oppressive
through the middle of the day (it troubled us very
little afterwards , as we got farther north, and higher
above the sea) , and we were glad to stop at Storklevstad
to rest for an hour or two , and take dinner .
This was a nice , clean station , and the people were
friendly. They gave us a good dinner , of three kinds
of fish , fried veal, potatoes , stewed cherries and another
compôte , several kinds of bread and excellent beer .
The " pige " brought in as dessert a plate of sweet
84  .
cakes, offering them to each, in turn , with the pleasant
, " Vaer saa god ! " It is customary to give a few
skillings to the " pige ," or if the mistress of the house
waits upon the guest , as is not unusual , one can , without
offence , leave it with her, "for the pige ." (We
have yet to see the country of the Eastern hemisphere
in which such offerings are offensive . ) The charges
for meals are extremely reasonable , and " service "
does not appear to be included . The expense of
meals and lodgings was seldom over a specie dollar
(about five shillings English) , per diem, for each person .
Not far from this station we passed the monument
to Colonel Sinclair, leader of the Scotch troops , who
perished at Kringelen in 1612. Mr. Bennett quotes
from Laing's " Norway " the following account of the
event: " During the war between Christian IV . of Denmark
and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden , a body of
Scotch troops had been raised for the service of Sweden.
The Danes were at that time in possession of
Göttenburg, and from Calmar in the Baltic to the
North Cape the whole coast was occupied by the subjects
of Christian IV. The Scotch , therefore , decided
on the bold plan of landing in Norway, and fighting
their way across the country to Sweden . A portion
landed at Throndhjem , and the rest , nine hundred
strong, commanded by Colonel George Sinclair , landed
in Romsdalen , from whence they marched toward this
valley, ravaging the country on the way. At Kringelen,
an ambush was prepared by about three hundred
peasants ; huge quantities of rocks, stones , and trees
were collected on the mountain , and so placed that
all could at once be launched upon the road beneath.
Everything was done to lull the Scotch into security,
LISTAD TO LESJE JERnvaerk. 85
and with perfect success . When they arrived beneath
the awful avalanche prepared for them, all was sent
adrift from above , and the majority of the Scotch were
crushed to death , or swept into the river and drowned ;
the peasants then rushed down upon the wounded and
stragglers and despatched them. Of the whole force
only two of the Scotch are said to have survived . But
accounts differ on this point , one being that sixty
prisoners were taken , and afterwards slaughtered in
cold blood . Mrs. Sinclair is said to have accompanied
her husband on this expedition , and it is added
that a youth who meant to have joined the peasants
in the attack was prevented by a young woman, to
whom he was to be married next day. She , on hearing
that one of her own sex was with the Scotch , sent
her lover to her protection ; Mrs. Sinclair , mistaking
his object , shot him dead."
The monument is a square slab of rough stone ,
with this inscription : " Her blev Skotternes Anförer
Georg Sinclair begraven , efterat han var falden ved
Kringelen , den 26 August , 1612." "Here was buried
George Sinclair , the leader of the Scotch , after having
fallen at Kringelen , the 26 of August , 1612. "
As we ride on, we wonder what was the after history
of Mrs. Sinclair and the poor young woman whose
lover she shot.
Between the next two stations , Bredevangen and
Moen, we pass through the defile of Kringelen ; a small
monument marks the spot . The hill rises abruptly on
one side of the road ; the river flows beneath . The old
road , in Sinclair's time , was some three hundred feet
higher up the hillside than it is at present .
Moen is described by Bennett as " a small and
86  .
bad station "; but he adds that the people are civil .
We got out while changing horses ; but the appearance
of the little , unpainted buildings surrounding
the stable yard was so unattractive that we did not
venture inside ; except where , through an open door,
we saw a woman engaged in weaving . She was at
a rude loom, not unlike those used in New England
farmhouses for weaving rag carpets, and was making
the coarse , homespun , woollen material commonly
worn by the women and children throughout the
country. It was brown in color, with green or red
threads crossing at intervals, and she had on a dress.
off the same piece, made in the simplest fashion , with
a round waist , and scant skirt plaited into the belt.
An apron of some cotton material , and a kerchief tied
in a knot under the chin , completed the costume .
Little girls were dressed exactly like their mothers .
For Sundays and feast days they doubtless had gala
dresses-bright - colored bodices and elaborately embroidered
aprons , with white shirt - waists and kerchiefs
, as one sees in the colored photographs ; though
these people at Moen looked too wretchedly poor to
possess such finery. They came out to inspect us ,
men, women and children ; and held up the baby , asking
if the " barn " were not " smökke ." This was not
the first time we had noticed a likeness to the Scotch
language . If you ask, " Is my bed made ? " you say ,
Er min seng redd opp ? " Have you never heard a
Scotchwoman talk of " redding up " a room ? *
* Bennett advises a stay of half an hour at Moen, to allow a walk up to
the mills, on the Ula River. "The geological formation in connection with
the waterfall is remarkable . The traveller who is anything of a geologist , and
has time for it, would be well compensated for his trouble by continuing his
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNvaerk.
87
At Laurgaard , six miles farther, we crossed to the
station- house , on the west side of the river, at the
foot of a mountain . It was a large, two - story house ,
painted white, and looked not unlike an American
farmstead. As the guest -room was already occupied
by travellers , we were ushered into a large upper
chamber, with three beds, upon which three tired
ladies reposed until supper was served . This was
simply tea, boiled eggs , bread and butter, and plenty
of milk and cream .
We had supposed that the table at Mme. Ormsrud's
Hotel , at Lillehammer, was a specimen of what
we had to expect in the station - houses-a general
spread of whatever was in the house, on a long table
ready for all comers , and we were agreeably disappointed
to find, almost everywhere , as much neatness
and privacy, and food as excellent of its kind ast
we should have been served with in an old -fashioned
English inn . The English travellers in Norway have
indoctrinated the station -keepers with correct ideas.
of comfort . We had , nearly always , a room to ourselves,
clean linen and china , and usually very good,
solid silver ; and sometimes the door of the cupboard
stood ajar to display quite a variety of pretty silver
and china ware. The station - keepers are usually
"well - to - do " farmers , who keep horses and entertain
travellers , less as a means of making money
than as an accommodation to the public .
walk along the river, for about a Norway mile up the valley . The schoolmaster,
who is a very intelligent man, and speaks English, will act as guide.
" Duck shooting may be had in the marsh between Moen and Laurgaard,
the next station . Close by here , at Romundgaard, Colonel Sinclair and his
followers passed the night before the massacre . '
99
88  .
This was another place from which to make a
charming excursion . By stopping over a day, you
may go with saddle horses to the Saeter Hovringen ,
where you can find provisions and beds , if desirous
of a longer stay, and from which you proceed , on
horseback , to the top of a mountain called Formo-
Kampen, 4,700 feet high, from which there is a magnificent
view. You can return to Laurgaard by a
shorter path, passing Formo farmhouse . The whole
trip may be accomplished in ten hours . One of our
party was very anxious to take this excursion , but
the general vote forbade the delay. We drove on
through the lonely evening hours , through the gorge
of Rusten, the wildest and most charming scenery
we had yet seen . Imagine the White Mountain
Notch, as you see it from Mt. Willard , prolonged
for ten miles , with a stream rushing through the
winding gorge in a succession of rapids and cataracts ,
lofty cliffs and great boulders rising abruptly on each
side , the road crossing from one bank to the other,
as it can find footing along the face of the precipice.
Perhaps the resemblance is greater to parts of the Via
Mala , in Switzerland ; but I never saw anything exactly
like the Norway scenery, whether of the fjords or
fjelds , or the lakes , or the waterfalls and rushing mountain
streams . They have all a character of their own.
At Brendhaugen , where we expected to pass the
night, seven miles from Laurgaard , the station is small ,
though very clean and good , and we found only two
small rooms vacant . So the occupants of the " giggle "
stopped, being perhaps a little more weary than the
rest ; and we four, in the " trille , " pushed on to Tofte
Moen, seven miles farther. We drove from II P. M.
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 89
till 12.30, in the loveliest twilight , and instead of growing
darker, it grew lighter after midnight , and seemed
like dawn . But we were very tired when we reached
Tofte Moen . The station is kept by Herr Tofte , who
is a descendant of Harold Harfager, and very proud
of his ancestry. Snorre Sturleson's account of Harold's
adventures at " Thopte " is mingled with the mythical
element to some extent . A Laplander came to him
saying that he had promised to visit his hut ; and when
he did so a beautiful maiden met him at the door , bearing
a cup of mead . Harold married this beautiful
Snaefrid , and “ loved her so passionately that he forgot
all his royal dignity. " After her death , her body
remained " fresh and red " for three years, preserved
by Lapp sorcery, and he sat watching by the bedside.
till some of his friends persuaded him to change the
costly apparel , when moving the dead body broke the
charm , and it fell into ashes . Snaefrid had left four
sons, who all grew up to be very clever men, expert in
all manly exercises . Ringerige , Hadeland , " Thoten
and the lands thereto belonging " were given to these
sons , from one of whom the family at Tofte Moen trace
their descent.
A curious genealogical tree hangs in the guest - room ,
springing from Harold Harfager as root .
" He is
The clan never marry out of their family .
a rich man, and when King Oscar I. dined at his house,
on his way to be crowned at Throndhjem , in 1860 , he
told his majesty it was unnecessary to bring in his
plate , as he had silver forks and spoons enough for all
the thirty or forty in his suite . When the landlord is
treated with the respect which he considers is due to
him , the traveller may receive much civility . His
90 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUmmer.
brother, who lives half an hour's walk from Tofte
Moen, has a saeter well worth seeing ; it is about
an hour's ride up to it. This man has about a hundred
and fifty cows and
and forty or fifty goats in his stable all winter."
We read this in Bennett , and similar particulars in
Murray, and were ready to treat Herr Tofte with
all possible respect , hoping , if not for a sight of
the silver, at least for comfortable beds , after our fifty
miles of travel , and a good breakfast in the morning.
The house was all shut up ( I was about to say " dark, "
till I remembered) ; evidently no one was awake .
With some difficulty we roused people in the rear ; a
woman opened the door, and presently a man stumbled
out sleepily and began to unharness the horses .
calves , two hundred sheep
We had felt great sympathy for the little skyd ,
whom we were obliged to bring on from Brendhaugen .
The poor child was perched on the box which held
our luggage , projecting about six inches behind the
front seat, and usually covered with wraps and small
parcels . He was so heavy with sleep that we had to
watch him constantly to keep him from falling out of
the carriage. This poor , sleepy boy must now start
back with the horses , riding bareback on one , and
leading the other.
We followed the woman into the house , and she
sent us up a sort of ladder, to rude , unplastered
rooms , where we found straw beds covering loose hay,
in box-like bedsteads , made up with sheets of the
coarsest unbleached cotton , " comforters , " not the
cleanest, and no pillow- cases . But we were tired
enough to sleep . Next morning we rose late , for
our friends were not likely to arrive from BrendhauLISTAD
TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 91
gen before ten or eleven o'clock , and we made our
way through the other passage into which our rooms
opened , down a more civilized staircase than the one
we had climbed to our loft . Breakfast was laid in a
large, pleasant room, plainly furnished, as in other
station- houses. But the coffee was not particularly
good, the eggs were scarcely fresh , and the milk was.
decidedly sour. We saw nothing of Herr Tofte , nor his
silver, beyond the necessary spoons , and were glad to
start on , when our friends came up . They exasperated
us with accounts of comfortable beds and a breakfast
-“ What do you think we had for breakfast ? Pancakes
, delicious pancakes ! "
"Did you find out what they are in Norsk ? " we
asked eagerly ; for our bill of fare had been limited ,
like that of a little girl I knew, at a French school in
New York, to what we knew how to ask for. Tea,
coffee, milk, eggs, butter, bread (they put on cheese
without our asking for it ) , fish , and meat without specifying
the kind ; this was about the extent of our
vocabulary . Sometimes we tried simply, " Spise " ; or
"Kan vi faa spise strax ?" (Can we have dinner immediately
?) and took what they liked to give . Breakfast
was " Frokost " ; dinner , " Middags mad " ; supper ,
" Eftens mad." Oatmeal porridge was " Gröd ," and
cream was " Flöde . " We studied the phrase - book, and
tried to learn of the friendly women at the stations ; but ,
at first , we had the usual experience of those trying hurriedly
to acquire a new language in the midst of distractions
; for every new word we learned, we forgot
an old one . “ What is the Norsk for pancakes ? Pande
kager, to be sure ! " We remembered that word , and
used it at the very next opportunity.
92  .
From Tofte Moen the road leads up hill all the way
to Dombaas , where the ascent of the Dovrefjeld fairly
begins , and where, also the route up the Romsdal turns
off. This is a large station , and a telegraph station
also . The houses seemed very comfortable ; but we
stopped only long enough to change horses , and
lunched meanwhile on our biscuits and sherry , keeping
on to Holaker , seven miles farther, for dinner.
Bennett says that a magnificent view of Svenaetten ,
some of the Romsdal peaks , and the Rondane range ,
may be had from the summit of Hareg Kampen , opposite
Dombaas , on the other side of Laagen . The
excursion occupies four or five hours . Delicious milk
may be had at the saeter of Hareggen near the summit .
That would have been a nice excursion, but the
spirit of progress possessed us . It was Saturday , and
we had decided to get as far as Lesje Jernvaerk , which
Bennett's description made us suppose a particularly
comfortable station , to stop over Sunday. Holaker
would have been a nicer place still ; and we could have
climbed Hareg Kampen. We did not even inquire
about the saddle - horses ; but they would be sure to
have them , at so large a station as Dombaas . The
truth was , the scenery was so fine , all along the road,
that it seemed hardly worth our while to take the extra
trouble and fatigue necessary for a more extended
view .
Along the Gudbrandsdal we had now and then
passed a church; one near Holmen , built of wood and
painted red , with a white spire ; and another in the
neighborhood of Moen ; and, at Tofte Moen , the Dovre
church, which has a wooden framework, covered with
slabs of the gray stone ( “ fri - stene " ) obtained on the
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 93
fjelds, which splits off easily. But there was nothing
like a village ; the scattered farmsteads being so far
apart as to be seldom within sight of each other, and
generally off the main road . The farther we went into
the interior the fewer houses we saw. All this region
was more thickly settled , especially in the neighborhood
of Lake Mjosen, before the country was devastated
by repeated visits from the plague , during the
twelfth century and later .
In the time of Bishop Pontoppidan , 1750 or so , the
Gudbrandsdalers were considered the tallest and finest
of all Norwegians , and they had the finest horses and
cattle . So healthy was the region, that in the parish
of Laessoe , there were people of such extreme
age that "from a lassitude of longer life they get
themselves removed elsewhere in order to die the
sooner . "
The bishop describes the farmstead or " gaard " of
Naes, in this valley, as the same building where King
Olaf lodged five nights in 1022 , " when he took a circuit
round the kingdom to convert the people to the
Christian religion ." Seven hundred years seem a long
time for a wooden house to last , but there are remains
of an old timber building in Bergen , dating back to the
thirteenth century. None of these churches look old
enough to be the one built by old Gudbrand after his
somewhat peremptory conversion . Let me abridge
for you the story of it , as given by Snorre Sturleson .
During St. Olaf's tour through the region , meetings
of the Bonders were called , and the alternative offered
amounted to , " Be Christians , or die ! "
Temples were torn down and idols smashed in pieces
by King Olaf and his brave Three Hundred .
94
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMmer
.
One of the longest conflicts was the debate between
the king and old Gudbrand , who reigned like a king in
his district , the fertile valley of the Laagen- Gudbrandsdal
to this day. He had raised a company of
seven hundred men and given the command to his son ;
but at the first attack of Olaf's men they turned and
fled , leaving Gudbrand's son a prisoner. Olaf sends
him back to his father, who greets him with derision ,
calling him coward , and is resolved to rally his forces
and fight ; but he has a remarkable dream that night
-the vision of a shining one , who warns him not to
fight with Olaf. So he proposes the holding of a
' Thing," to discuss the matter peaceably.
The first day there is a heavy rain , and proceedings
are brief. King Olaf addresses the meeting : " The
people of Lessoe , Lom and Vaage have accepted
Christianity, and broken down their idol - houses ; they
believe now in the true God who has made heaven and
earth and all things ."
Gudbrand replies , " Dost thou call Him God whom
neither thou nor any one else can see ? But we have
a god who can be seen every day, although he is not
out to - day because the weather is wet . "
(Not a controller of the weather, after all , though
that was part of the employment assigned to Thor in
the Norse mythology. Perhaps he had been tried.
and found wanting in that capacity ; for Gudbrand
goes on to propose a weather test to St. Olaf. ) " But,
since thou sayest thy God is so great , let Him make
it so that to -morrow we have a cloudy day, but without
rain ; and then let us meet again ."
They separated, the king taking Gudbrand's son
as a hostage , and leaving a hostage in his stead.
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 95
In the evening the king asked Gudbrand's son what
their god was like. He replied that he bore the likeness
of Thor ; had a hammer in his hand, was of great
size but hollow, and mounted upon a high stand .
" Neither gold nor silver is wanting about him , and
every day he receives four cakes of bread, besides
meat ." Then they went to bed ; but the king watched
all night in prayer . Next day the weather was such
as Gudbrand had desired. The bishop stood up in
his robes , with his crosier in his hand , and spoke to
the Bonders of the true faith and the wonderful works
of God. Nothing was decided this day ; but the
weather test is again proposed : " Since your God
is so powerful, and can do so many wonders , tell
him to make it clear sunshine to - morrow forenoon ,
and then we shall meet you here again and do one
or two things-either agree with you about this business
, or fight you . "
The king watched all night in prayer again , but
had resort to the arm of flesh as well , instructing
one of his strongest adherents to have the boats of
the Bonders . scuttled , and their horses untied and
let loose ; which was done . In the early morning ,
Olaf went to the Thing. He saw a great crowd coming
along, bearing with them a huge image , gleaming
with gold and silver. It was set down on the field,
and on one side were the Bonders , on the other the
king and his men. Then Gudbrand made a speech ,
inviting them to submit to his god ; and Olaf made
a speech in return , ending with, " Thou wouldst
frighten us with thy god, who is both blind and
deaf, and cannot even move without being carried ;
but now it will be a short time before he meets his
96
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
fate ; for, turn your eyes toward the east -behold our
God advancing in great light ! "
The sun was rising , and all turned to look ; and
Kolbein the strong, being before instructed of the
king, gave the idol a stroke with his club , so that
he burst asunder and there ran out of him mice almost
as big as cats , and reptiles and adders . The terrified
Bonders ran for their boats , but the boats sunk under
their weight . Others ran to their horses , but the
horses were gone . Finally the king called them back
again , and made a concluding address : " You see now
what your god can do , and who the protecting powers
were who consumed the meat and bread-the mice and
the reptiles . Take now your gold and ornaments that
are lying on the grass , and give them to your wives
and daughters ; but never hang them again upon stocks
and stones . Here are two conditions to choose from :
either accept Christianity, or fight this very day, and
the victory be to them to whom the God we worship
gives it ."
Then Gudbrand stood up and said , "We have sustained
great damage upon our god ; but since he will
not help us , we will believe in the God whom thou
believest in."
They all received Christianity . The bishop baptized
Gudbrand and his son . King Olaf and Bishop
Sigurd left behind them teachers, and they who met
as enemies parted as friends . And Gudbrand built
a church in the valley.
At Holaker, seven miles beyond Dombaas, we
stopped for dinner, and , after asking, " Hvad kan vi
faa til middag ? " we did not fail to suggest " pande
kager." We got them , and particularly nice ones too;
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 97
and we had also fresh salmon - trout , caught in the
river Laagen , veal cutlets , potatoes , bread in variety,
wheat, rye, and " fladbrod ," and excellent beer, with
sweet cakes, very thin and delicate - looking , as if
baked in a round waffle - iron . The table was set with
pretty silver and china , and the house was large , and
neatly and comfortably furnished . In the guest - room ,
beside the cupboard for china and silver, was a set of
book- shelves , well filled with books in Norsk, German ,
French and English, a sofa , and American rockingchairs
, some pictures on the papered walls , and plants
at the windows . The hostess , a nice respectable - looking
woman, waited upon us, and enjoyed our appreciation
of her good cooking . Her husband had been in
America , and of course , spoke English, and she also
understood it a little .
We went on from Holaker to Holset , about ten miles ,
over a hilly road . This road was not quite so good as
the mail route through the Gudbrandsdal , which we had
left at Dombaas. Since 1850 , the route from Christiania
to Throndhjem has been wholly reconstructed , at
great expense , and is now one of the best in Norway.
The roads are kept in order by the landed proprietors .
The parishes are divided into districts called "roder "
(wards ) , which are numbered . Every farm has also
a number in the parish register , called " Lobe " (running)
; so one sees posts along the roadside with
words and numbers enigmatical to the stranger ; for
instance , " Holtet- Rode- No . 4, Lobe- No . 16, —100
Alen," means that the farm called Holtet belongs to the
Ward No. 4 , is registered as No. 16, and has to keep
in order 100 alen (200 feet ) of the road, which is the
distance to the next post bearing a similar inscription .
5
98
A
SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
. The station at Holset was at the foot of a steep hill ,
a little off the road ; so we sat in the carriage while
the horses were exchanged for fresh ones , and amused
ourselves with the children who came up to inspect
us , but who were too shy to talk much. They are
very different from the bright little black-eyed Italian
beggars we used to find so entertaining ; but they get
a much better education , and stand a better chance of
living useful and respectable lives . We wanted to give
them a trifle , but were restrained , by the advice in the
guide - books, not to give to beggars . Those children
were not beggars , and we met very few; but giving
might create a desire for skillings , which would lead
to annoyance for future travellers . If you care more
for this , and the effect upon the character of the children,
than for the present pleasure to them and to
yourself, procured by the bestowal of a few coppers ,
you will wisely refrain from giving.
Holset is described by Bennett as " excellent and
extremely cheap quarters , with particularly obliging
people." He adds that they furnish very good horses .
At his earnest recommendation , our harness had
included breeching ; but up to this time it had seldom
been used . The horses are not accustomed to it ,
and the stable boys object to putting it on them.
Here , seeing a long and steep hill before us, my
brother insisted upon the breeching. But scarcely
had we started down the hill when one of the horses
deliberately sat down in his strap, and apparently intended
sliding on his stiffened forelegs to the bottom.
With some difficulty he was induced to resume his normal
position, and proceed in a suitable manner. These
horses, being accustomed to the light carioles, are in the
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 99
habit of trotting down the steep hills , and are so surefooted
that they may be safely trusted to do so . Now
and then, when the road took a sudden turn , or the
hill was a winding one , we came near upsetting ; though
we always put a heavy iron drag , or " shoe ," on one of
the wheels , for a very steep hill , and not unfrequently
the ladies preferred to walk to the bottom .
The road from Holset to the next station was heavy
and sandy, through a sort of pine barrens , gradually
rising , and the vegetation growing more scanty as we
approached Lesje Jernvaerk , which is situated 2,050
feet above the sea .
We arrived here about 9 P. M. , and finding the station
clean and comfortable , with room enough for us
all , we decided to stop over night and over Sunday.
This is the watershed between the two valleys , the
Gudbrandsdal and the Romsdal , and from the dark, cold
lake at the foot of the hill , on the slope of which the
house is built , runs the river Laagen , —which we have
followed from its embouchure into the Mjosen Lake , -
going southwards till it empties into the Christiania
Fjord and the North Sea . From the same lake flows
the river Rauma, running , leaping , foaming , in wild
beauty, fed by mountain streams which dash down
rocky precipices in snowy cataracts , till it reaches the
Romsdal or Molde Fjord and mingles with the great
Atlantic Ocean . Watersheds are always suggestive
of human analogies . These rivers remind us of two
peasant boys brought up together in the seemingly
cold, hard, repressed and barren life of a Northern
farmhouse . One plods stupidly on , with but an occasional
interlude of beauty or sentiment in his life ; the
other, impatient of restraint, plunges into all manner
286826A
100  .
of mischief and excitement , unless his energies find
some adequate outlet ; and he leaves his home, to
mingle with the world beyond .
The air is very cold , with a penetrating chill we have
not felt before, and looking across the narrow valley,
at the long, high mountain , behind which the sun has
dropped, we see great fields of snow lying along its
slopes and deep down its ravines . We stroll down the
hill to inspect the ironworks , which were set in operation
about 1650, but have not been worked for the last
sixty years .
Masses of slag are lying about, and there are some
remains of the furnaces. There is a saw-mill here
turned by a little stream which runs into the lake .
The station - house is a fine specimen of the old timber
buildings , unpainted , but colored by time and weather
with rich , velvety brown tints , and is about a hundred and
fifty years old . There are two entrances on the front ;
one opens into the passage leading to the guest - rooms ,
the other into the family apartments . There is a large
sitting -room , and two bedrooms opening out of it , and
above stairs are four sleeping- rooms . These are rudely
finished , with partitions of unpainted boards , and very
simply furnished with beds , tables , chairs and tiny looking
glasses , about six inches by four in size , hanging
on the walls. Everything was clean and comfortable ,
however, in spite of its severe simplicity ; and we slept
soundly till a late hour next morning . It had rained
in the night , and we had showers through the morning.
Our open carriages , which , in the absence of any place
for their accommodation , had been left standing in the
road, in front of the house , and not covered as they
should have been , were soaking wet ; but most of our
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNVAERK. 101
luggage had been brought in , and as we were not going
on to -day there was time for rugs and cushions to be
dried . We had asked for " gröd " for breakfast ( oatmeal
porridge) , and it was excellent , with plenty of
rich cream to eat on it and put in our coffee . We had ,
besides , the usual rye bread , "kavringer " and biscuits ,
with fresh eggs . It was too wet to go out , and we all
devoted ourselves to letter writing . A fire had been
kindled in the cast - iron stove (an old - fashioned , elevated
heater, like those common in New England
kitchens thirty or forty years ago) , and a strange ,
goaty smell pervaded the sitting - room , which we decided
must proceed from the curious oil - cloth hangings
which covered the walls in lieu of paper . Miss M.
asked for a footstool , for the chairs were all high and
hard ; and an odd , old - fashioned little chair was brought
her, of which she begged me to make a drawing to enclose
in her letter to her sister .
In the absence of external resources , dinner was an
interesting event . We had " ryper " roasted , with potatoes
and pancakes . For dessert , the good woman
of the house , who waited on us entirely, brought us a
little wooden tub of thickened milk-" bonny- clabber "
we used to call it at home—and set it before Will ; but
when he was dipping the spoon deeply in she took it
from him and skimmed off the rich cream on top , which
she served to us , with powdered sugar and cinnamon,
and then carried out the tub and brought in a fresh.
one . It was delicious .
This poor woman had a very sad, over-worked
expression , and could hardly be made to smile . We
wanted to talk with her, and find out if she had any
special -sorrow or trouble , or if it was only the effect
102  .
of her hard, monotonous , dreary life ; but our vocabulary
was too limited.
We were curious to see something of the family
life ; but an attempt we made to enter the livingroom,
under pretence of asking for something we
wanted, was not encouraged . There seemed to be
old people there, and there were plenty of men
and women about the premises , but no children or
young people to be seen . Perhaps she had lost.
her children ; perhaps , they had emigrated to America
; perhaps , poor soul she never had any. But
children are generally abundant in a Norsk farmhouse
; the poorer the house , the more overflowing
with babies .
It ceased raining in the afternoon , and Miss M.
and I went for a stroll . We passed a little garden
patch , where lettuce was growing about two inches
high, this 27th of June . When would it ever be
large enough to eat ? It was really pathetic .
Was the snow ever wholly gone from those high
mountains ? The days were already growing shorter.
Oh, what a dismal country to live in ! I think not
even potatoes ripen, so far north, unless near the
seaboard . And we saw no other vegetable , inland .
We went into the fields , and climbed the hill behind
the house and pulled handfuls of wild flowers . Dear
little cheery blossoms , we never found a spot in Norway,
however bleak and bare , where some of you
did not show your bright faces !
Whole fields were purple with pansies ; and along
the roadside grew the yellow genista , a sort of wild
schizanthus , tiny white star- flowers in the grass , delicate
spikes like heather, harebells blue as the sky,
LISTAD TO LESJE JERNvaerk. 103
and lovely pink and white everlasting. A big dog
followed us from the house, as if to protect us in our
ramble.
We came back loaded with flowers-pressed some,
and arranged others in a glass . I meant to keep
my pretty bunch of everlasting, but went off next
day and forgot it ; and when we came back three
days later, there were the flowers on the windowseat,
just as I left them . Did the sad - faced woman
care for them enough to keep them, or had she not
noticed them at all ?
T
WE
VII.
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK .
E rose early on Monday, and got off by 8.30 A.M.
The first station, Molmen, is eight miles beyond
Lesje ; and the next , Stueflaaten , seven miles
farther . At both places we stopped only to change
horses , and were not long delayed ; but we went in to
warm ourselves , as the morning was chilly, and improved
our chances for observation . We enteredthe
family room , sat down by the open fire , on a square
hearthstone , under the chimney, which was built in the
room , instead of outside . A crane hung over the fire ,
and all the cooking was done in pots and frying pans.
Several women were busy , carding and spinning wool ;
and one of them kept a rude cradle in motion with her
foot. I hoped the baby would wake up , so that we
could see whether it were " smökke "; but it was sound
asleep. There was a loom here , also , for weaving
homespun as at Moen.
Shortly after leaving Molmen , we passed the Gaard
Einabu, where St. Olaf, when flying from his realm ,
halted , on the journey from Sändmor to Bergen , in
the year 1029. A relic of a yet earlier time is to be
seen in a large stone which is the only remaining fragment
of a stone circle , very probably destroyed during
the reign of this same King Olaf. He was contemporary
with Knut of Denmark and England , and in
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 105
company with the Swedish king , Olaf, he made an incursion
upon Denmark, during the king's absence . In
retaliation, Knut attacked both Sweden and Norway,
the following year , and drove Olaf from his kingdom .
He took refuge with his infant son Magnus, in Russia
; but returning, fell in battle at Stiklestad , near
Throndhjem, in 1030 .
In our Sunday walk at Lesje we had noticed the
way in which the water supply for the horses and
cattle is brought down from springs on the mountains ,
in a series of wooden spouts or pipes , sometimes crossing
the road on a sort of gateway, above the heads of
the passers ; but oftener the little rivulet in its wooden
pipe is covered by a small bridge . Along the road ,
we came frequently to drinking troughs , fed by similar
pipes . We noticed also on the high plateau of
Lesje, and along the Romsdal, where they have high
winds and numerous showers , a curious method of drying
hay, which , I dare say, has been remarked by other
travellers . Hurdles are erected , three or four feet high
and perhaps ten feet long, upon which the short grass
is spread, and so interwoven as not to blow away, while
it receives the most sun and the least rain possible .
At a little distance , these hurdles, scattered about
a field , had the effect of a plan of battle , looking like
platoons of infantry advancing against each other .
Most of the farm buildings , especially barns and
granaries , are raised upon pillars of stone several feet
in height, to lift them above the snow, and allow the
watercourses , when the snow melts , to pass beneath .
It doubtless answers the purpose , also , of protection
from rats and other vermin .
Occasionally we crossed a bridge over a little brawl-
5*
106  .
ing mountain stream . These are constructed in a somewhat
peculiar fashion , common to all the mountainous
districts of Norway. The rock is first levelled on both
sides the stream ; solid pine - trees are then laid close
together, projecting several feet over the water ; above
these other trees are placed crosswise ; then another
layer, parallel with the first , but farther out ; and so
on, from each bank, until the distance is narrow
enough to be spanned by single trunks . All these
are firmly riveted together and covered with earth
near the ends , then a flooring of rough planks is laid ,
and perhaps a side railing is added . Bishop Pontoppidan
describes the bridges of his time , which
were similar to these , but less solidly built, without
rivets ; and sometimes the centre piece consisted of
but a single trunk or mast , which swayed under the
weight of the passer, and seemed insecure , as well
it might.
Stueflaaten is the last station in the Gudbrandsdal.
We begin to descend from the rather dreary plateau ,
and to follow the course of the beautiful , wild Rauma.
We see in the distance the snowy peaks of the Romsdal
mountains , and the scenery grows constantly grander .
Not far from the next station , Ormen , we turn aside
from the road, where a little sign marks the way to
the Söndre Slettenfoss , and leaving our horses in care
of the postboy we scramble down the slippery path
to the river. A few trunks of pine - trees laid across
the gorge form a bridge on which we stand to look
at the falls or rather series of cascades , in which the
river foams and whirls and plunges over the mossy
boulders which fill the winding gorge . When the sun
shines , the spray must be full of rainbows , but to-day
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 107
it has been cloudy , and rain is already falling . Mr.
Bennett advises the thorough exploration of the river
between Stueflaaten and Ormen , as perhaps nowhere
else in Norway can be found , within a distance of
seven miles , such a succession of bold and beautiful
falls . At Ormen there is a magnificent cascade , the
Vermedalsfossen . It sweeps down the mountain , which
rises directly beyond the river, in a single sheet , perhaps
two - thirds of the way, then is divided by rocks
into three falls . We had a fine view of it from the
windows of the station- house , and should have set
out to cross the river and obtain a nearer view, but
for the rain .
It was so chilly that a fire was kindled for us in the
guest - room , in a stove similar to the one at Lesje.
The family room was warmed by an open fire , and the
cooking done over it . This house is built of squared
timbers , like that at Lesje ; and , judging from its rich
coloring , it must be nearly as old . The windows are
large and square , affording a great deal of light ; but it
must be impossible to get too much of that good thing ,
in the long, dark winter. The only shutters are white
curtains , or paper shades , which you roll up and tie
with a string . The floors are bare , of course , as everywhere
. I am sure we did not see a carpet between
Christiania and Throndhjem .
The scenery grows wilder after we leave Ormen,
and at the next station , Fladmark , it is extremely
grand and sombre . Great mountains of barren rock
rise, almost perpendicularly , to the height of four or
five thousand feet , on each side the valley. We looked
up on one side to the jagged peaks of the Troll Tinderne
(Witches ' peaks), something like the aiguilles
108  .
in the valley of Chamouni ; and on the other , close
above us , toward the massive Romsdalhorn . All along
this narrow pass , where the road finds its footing between
the river and the precipice , we saw the loveliest
little waterfalls , sometimes a mere gleaming thread
against the dark rock , but often a waving veil of spray
coming down thousands of feet from the crags over
our heads .
The house at Fladmark was of stone , solid and sombre
, like the rocks all about it . We drove through a
field to reach it , and the grass was full of buttercups ,
and the loveliest great harebells . We wandered about ,
plucking them, instead of going inside , while a boy
was sent to the pasture for the fresh horses . These
horses are a peculiar breed : dun - colored , with light
manes and tails ; and the manes are cropped closely,
so that they stand up in a ridge along the neck, with
a forelock left , for convenience to lead them out by
(as one is advised to take Time ) , and it gives them
somewhat the appearance of a young lady whose hair
has been " banged . " They are rather small , but excellent
travellers, and the people are very fond and proud
ofthem , and greatly resent any fancied unkindness . You
are advised to drive them slowly the first mile of the
stage , and let them walk up the hills-they like to trot
down ; perhaps better than you do to have them . One
peculiarity must be guarded against : a tendency to go
very near the verge of the precipice . I hardly know
what causes this ; it cannot be a habit of carrying panniers
on narrow pathways , like the mules in Switzerland
and Spain , which have the same disagreeable peculiarity.
It is especially dangerous , when one is driving
in a cariole ; for if one wheel should slip over the edge
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 109
of a precipice, the whole concern is bound to follow.
The roads have no guard, except a series of stone
posts , about a foot in height and ten to twenty feet
apart, and these are sometimes wanting .
Horgheim is the next station , seven miles beyond
Fladmark. The scenery grows wilder till you pass
the Romsdalhorn , where the valley widens and the
river spreads out into a little lake. The contrast of
the green meadow and the still water, reflecting the
fir-trees and the snowy peaks , with the gloomy, barren
defile we have passed through, is very charming .
Close under the mountain is a farmhouse belonging
to Andreas Landmark, whose station , " Hotel Aak,"
we find about a mile farther, in a lovely situation , with
a fine view of the Romsdalhorn and the Troll Tinderne ,
as also of another chain of mountains , to the northward ,
called Bispen , Kongen and Dronningen : the Bishop ,
King and Queen . The house is quite large , two stories
in height , and painted white , and has an air of
comfort, which is not belied by the interior . It is a
favorite place with English tourists, not only on account
of the fine scenery and pleasant excursions to
be made in the neighborhood , but for the salmon fishing;
and it is often full during the entire summer. A
pretty girl met us with a cordial greeting in Englishone
of Herr Landmark's daughters . He has a son who
speaks English , also , and can act as guide , if one
wishes to ascend any of the mountains . He told us
he had been up the Romsdalhorn, and that the ascent
was not particularly difficult, except the final peak,
which, being a bare cone of rock, must be almost inaccessible
. It is not unlike a smaller edition of the
Matterhorn .
110  .
There were but few people in the house ; an Irish
major and his wife , with a niece (a very bright , pretty
young lady) , and a student from Cornell University,
who was pedestrianizing . It was late when we arrived
; so we had supper and soon went to our rooms .
The house was plainly furnished , and the rooms and
beds no better than at average stations . There was
an effort at style in the meals , which were served at
regular hours- breakfast from 8 to 9 , table d'hôte dinner
at 4, and supper at 7 .
Next morning we drove down to Naes and Veblungsnaes
, stations lying about ten miles from Aak, on
a branch of the Romsdal or Molde Fjord , called the
Eisfjord, into which the Rauma empties , more than
two thousand feet below its source at Lesje Jernvaerk .
The situation is not nearly so pretty as that of Aak ;
but Aandahl's hotel is said to be very comfortable , and
the sea bathing is good. Excursions may be made by
boat or cariole ; and Herr Aandahl gives permission
to his lodgers to fish for salmon , for a couple of miles
up the river, and for trout in a lake four or five miles
distant. He owns a saeter also , to which an excursion
may be made. The route from here to Molde may
be pursued by cariole , crossing four branches of the
fjord ; horses and carioles are taken into the large
rowboats ; but for large , heavy carriages it would be
a matter of difficulty to cross .
The trip may be made more conveniently by the
little steamers which run up and down the fjord , connecting
at Molde with the regular coast line of steamers
from Hamburg to Vadsoe . There is a route from
Molde to Throndhjem , partly by land and partly by
water, of about one hundred and fifty miles , which afDOWN
THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. III
fords some fine scenery and good fishing and shooting,
but is not highly recommended to the traveller by Mr.
Bennett. There is a route from Molde to Sogne Fjord,
on the contrary, which includes some of the grandest
fjord and mountain scenery in Norway ; and for those
who are capable of roughing it , and travelling sometimes
on horseback and on foot , with occasional intervals
of boating and cariole driving , it must be very
delightful . One is tempted to wish , sometimes , that
Norway might be as thoroughly opened to travel as
Switzerland or the Tyrol ; but this would spoil two of
the greatest charms of the country-its wildness and
simplicity.
We did not visit Molde , as we expected to stop there
on our return, by steamer, from Throndhjem to Bergen .
There was something of a village at Naes ; the largest
we had seen since leaving Lillehammer . We tried
to get somebody to take us out boating, while our
horses were resting ; but though there was a large boat
fastened to the pier , we could not find the owner, or
make the boys in charge understand what we wanted
it for , and we finally gave up in despair, most of the
party concluding that they did not care much about
it, anyway. Clearly, the grapes were sour .
Returning to Aak to dinner, we found the party increased
by the arrival of an American gentleman and
lady , who puzzled us at first as to their nationality.
We thought the lady American , but the gentleman
English ; and it appeared that he was very willing to
be so mistaken , having resided for some time in England
, and acquired a very unpatriotic distaste for
American institutions . He was in some trouble , having
left a valuable watch under his pillow that morn112
 .
ing at Stueflaaten . As we were going back to Ormen
that afternoon , he asked us to speak of it and have it
forwarded to Aak by the first opportunity. After dinner
we looked at photographs of the Romsdal scenery
-of which young Landmark kept an assortment for
sale-and made a selection of some of the finest views
between Ormen and Aak. We found a few English
books in the little parlor ; among others , Lady Di
Beauclerk's " Summer in Norway: " a pleasant story
of several months spent in this very Hotel Aak.
They have avalanches here , not infrequently, from
the " Troll Tinderne " across the lake ; but we were not
so fortunate as to hear or see one . There had been
one the day before our arrival , the major told us , falling
with a dull crash , like thunder, and yet unlike it .
We had a pleasant party at dinner , and a very good
dinner. The major carved the roast lamb and served
the rhubarb tart . We had good beer , and after dinner
coffee . Then , with regret , we left this charming place
and these friendly people , hardly expecting to meet
them again ; but it happened that we did , and not very
long after.
We drove to Ormen , about twenty miles , changing
horses at Horgheim and Fladmark. We had passed
through this grand scenery , in showery and cloudy
weather , the day before ; but now it was lighted up with
sunshine , and the numerous waterfalls were wonderfully
fine ; so much fuller , that the water rushed across our
path in several places, and we were drenched with
spray as we passed . We had finer views of the great
Romsdalhorn , rising abruptly from the valley , which
is but little above the sea level , to its height of 4,700
feet ; and the strange black peaks, rising among snow
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 113
fields , of the Troll Tinderne , across the valley . We
reached Ormen about 9 P. M. , went in and engaged
rooms , and ordered supper, and then proposed walking
to the foot of the falls . It looked an easy walk ;
the path descending the hill in the rear of the station ,
crossing the river by a bridge , and then climbing beside
the cascade to the point where the falls divided ,
and a rude bridge crossed the sheet , affording apparently
a fine point of sight both up and down the torrent
. Everybody protested against my undertaking
it ; none of the other ladies cared to go , and finally
Will set off alone . He was gone nearly an hour, and
reported it a hard climb , the distance much greater
than it looked, and the view of the falls not very much
finer that from our windows . So I was comforted .
The station -house at Ormen was one of the most
primitive and yet most comfortable of any we had
seen. The house was divided by a narrow passage
into two parts-the family- room and kitchen on one
side and the guest- room on the other , with two small
bedrooms opening out of it . These were painted and
papered and had plain furniture of painted wood . We
climbed by a steep , ladder - like stair to the second
story , where the bare timbers formed the walls , and
only the doors and window frames were painted , and
passed through a large bare room, over the sittingroom
, to three tiny chambers beyond . Our bedsteads
were wooden boxes , with little attempt at ornament,
holding mattresses of straw and feather beds, but made
up with very clean, nice linen and down coverlids . On
the bedsteads were painted the names of their fair
owners : " Serena , Asbiorn's datter, Ormeim ; " " Georgina,
Asbiorn's datter , Ormeim. "
114  .
Whether the three little tow heads we saw in the
kitchen belonged to Serena or Georgina , we did not
discover. We slept soundly in their beds , but lay
awake for awhile first , and took a view of the lovely
"Vermedals fossen," the last thing, about midnight ,
when the Eastern sky was brightening with the dawn.
We started about nine o'clock next morning , and
while changing horses at Stueflaaten went in to inquire
about Mr. A.'s watch. They had discovered it soon
after his departure , and had sent it on to Aak by the
next passer, who happened to be the regular mail carrier,
of course a responsible person. But I dare say
they would have trusted it to any respectable - looking
traveller ; for these people are not only honest themselves,
but appear to have unlimited confidence in the
honesty of others .
This beautiful valley is very sparsely inhabited ,
and all the upper part of it must be very unproductive
. We saw hardly any houses except the stations
, and occasional little cabins . These had usually
roofs covered with sods , and loaded with heavy stones
to keep them from blowing away in a high wind.
Grass and flowers often grew on these roofs , and
once we saw a goat, which had clambered up from
the rocks alongside , cropping the herbage on the roof,
reminding us of an illustration in our old copy of
Æsop's fables . We saw pigs running along the roadside
, and feeding on grass, and thought their noses
had been sharpened by plucking it between the stones.
Why should not grass -fed pork be as wholesome as
mutton ?
Now and then we came upon a little boy or girl
tending sheep , or an old woman walking along the
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 115
road busily knitting . They all bow to travellers , and
say, " God- dag ? " and expect equal civility in return .
Rarely, we met travellers or skydsguts returning with
horses .
Occasionally, along the river , we saw little millhouses
, the wheel turned by the watercourse of some
little stream , or by rapids or falls of the river itself.
These are free to all , and the farmers come and
grind their own grain .
When we stopped at Stueflaaten we had gone into
the kitchen to warm ourselves by the great square
hearthstone , and we saw a great dish of gröd which
had just been poured out for the family dinner ; darker
and coarser than that provided for travellers . I bought
two wooden spoons here , prettily carved , for about
sixpence each ; the first I had seen offered for sale.
at the stations .
We dined at Molmen ; and while waiting for dinner
to be cooked , I started with one of my brothers , and
a little bare -headed girl for guide , to visit a waterfall
which Bennett describes as " small but beautiful . " We
crossed a field , part of it newly ploughed ground , and
then walked in a sort of cow- path , through a grove of
young trees, on and on ; but we did not approach the
river, and still our little guide trotted on , with no
sign of. being anywhere near our destination . We
had walked nearly half an hour, and it would take
us as long to return , and as she said we were " halvveis
" only, we thought it best to give up the waterfall
and return for our dinner .
We found it very good, considering the way it was
cooked , over an open fire . It consisted of "ryper , "
potatoes, pancakes (which were very nice , eaten with
116  .
sugar and sherry ) , bread of various kinds, butter and
cheese , and beer. They had no trout on hand ; but
this is said to be one of the best places for fishing along
the river. Sometimes , when they had no fresh meat at
the stations , we were served with croquettes of minced
veal or game , which they put up in jars . (I did not
always enter in my journal what we had for dinner ;
but I have mentioned our bill of fare the more frequently,
because we found such a general impression
among travellers that people were in danger of being
starved in Norway, unless they brought with them
quantities of provisions . The farther one gets from the
seaboard , to be sure , the more, meagre becomes the
provision at the stations ; and in visiting the saeters
one rarely finds anything more than gröd, fladbrod
and milk) . We went on about 4 P. M. , stopped
at Lesje to change horses , and , though not at all
hungry, to eat a little of the delicious cream out of
the wooden tubs , and then drove rapidly down the
hills , which we had been so slow in climbing , on the
road to Holset and Holaker. The rain had hardened
the sandy road , and made travelling pleasanter in
every way . We overtook a number of loose horses
which had escaped from their pasture , and they made us
some trouble by getting in front of ours, and refusing
to let us pass them ; but our skyd finally succeeded in
driving them off into an open field . Then we came up
with a litte skyd returning with a cariole ( this was
between Lesje and Holset ) , and as we had none of us
tried that tempting vehicle , Will proposed an exchange,
putting the little fellow into his seat in the
trille . He was a tiny shrimp, not more than five or six
years old, but dressed like an old man , with a longDOWN
THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 117
tailed coat and a little red woollen nightcap ; and it
was too comical to see him tuck in his little skirts
and shrink into his corner, in speechless awe of Blossom
, who sat beside him and held the reins . He had
not dared to object to the transfer , but was evidently
ill at ease , feeling the responsibility for the horse and
cariole a heavy weight upon his infant mind ; and his
distress finally became so great that he stood up and
called to Will , and we had to let him get down and
resume his charge . Poor little soul ! Think of such.
babies being trusted with horses ! But then , you must
know, he was not a baby ! When I came to read
Thorpe's "Northern Mythology," I understood all
about him. One of the most pathetic superstitions
of the North is that of the Tomte , supposed to be the
spirit of some poor heathen slave who must work out
his salvation before Doomsday. He is a deformed little
fellow, hardly larger than a babe , with an old,
shrewd face , generally wearing a red cap, a gray
jacket and wooden shoes . Like the Nissen (creatures
analogous to the brownies in Scotland ) , the Tomten
attach themselves to a dwelling , and labor for the
benefit of the inmates, though not often visibly. A
peasant once saw one of these little fellows dragging
an oaten straw from the stack or an ear of wheat to
the barn, and railed at him, saying he might as well
bring nothing as such trifles . Then the Tomte forsook
him, and went to his neighbor , and the latter
grew rich, while the first became poor . His cows died ,
his wheat mildewed , and his crops failed , year by year.
The proverb says : " The woodman holds the axe , but
the Tomte fells the tree." In these latter days , I suppose
they have taken to employing them as skydsguts .
118
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
66
We were glad to spend the night at the pleasant
station of Holaker, and to enjoy the good cooking of
the hostess . We looked at the rooms first , which were
large and comfortable ; but there were apparently only
three , with five single beds , and Will seemed to be
' left out in the cold ." The hostess indicated a bed in
the hall , which she could make up for him, but it was
about the width of a coffin ; and not understanding
the stretching capacity of a Norsk bedstead he looked
at it with indignant surprise : " Does she think I am.
going to sleep in that ? " I happened to recollect
the little bedroom out of the guest -room , where the
day- book was kept , a neat , white - curtained affair , and
asked if it were engaged , and if not could not brother
Will sleep there ? Of course he could , and there was
no further trouble . She gave us a sumptuous breakfast-
the nicest oatmeal porridge we ever ate , toast ,
eggs , wheat and rye bread and capital pancakes .
These were uncommonly nice people . The farmer
had spent several years in Wisconsin , and had brought
home American ideas of comfort . I have spoken before
of their good furniture - mahogany tables , sideboard
and escritoire, and books and newspapers ; there
was also a cooking -stove in the kitchen -a sign of adanced
civilization .
It was refreshing to see a woman who did not wear
the inevitable kerchief over her head , which we had
seen at all the Romsdal stations , but had her hair
neatly arranged . She showed us some of the antique
finery handed down from mother to daughter-embroidered
belts and lappels , cloth jackets and white
aprons. These picturesque costumes seem to be little
worn in this part of the country . I remember no
DOWN THE ROMSDAL AND BACK. 119
churches in the Romsdal , and we never saw the peasants
in their Sunday clothes , if they had any. Homespun
was the only wear.
It occurs to me to add a word about the best season
for seeing the Romsdal. I should say as early in June
as possible ; for the streams and waterfalls are fuller
then, and the mountains are so much finer with their
peaks covered with snow, which melts later in the
summer . To be sure, it would be easier to climb them
when the snow had disappeared ; but views gained
from their summits would be less picturesque .
THUR
VIII.
OVER THE DOVREFJELD .
HURSDAY proved rainy. We started from Holaker
equipped in our mackintoshes and tweed
cloaks, and with Mr. Bennett's special invention , a
piece of oiled canvas, attached to the back of the trille ,
drawn up around our necks to catch the streams from
our umbrellas . It poured all the way to Dombaas.
Well ! this was what we had expected and provided
for; we had been fortunate to escape rain so long . We
had suffered from dust in the early stages of our journey,
and that would trouble us no longer. We quoted
to each other the speech of a Parisian American , whom
we had met at Mr. Bennett's , who insisted on a covered
carriage , not as a protection from the rain ; oh,
no ! "The rain is nothing , for we shall be covered
with caoutchouc from head to foot ; but the sun upon
my head I cannot endure ! " But the rain was cold ,
and it trickled into our necks and about our feet , more
or less , and our arms got very tired holding up our
umbrellas . We dreaded a whole day of it , and besides
it seemed a pity to go over the Dovrefjeld in the rain .
We had time to rest and warm ourselves while
changing horses at Dombaas , and started on with renewed
courage , the gentlemen walking up the long,
steep hill with which the ascent begins . We are back
OVER THE DOVREFJELD. 121
again now on the mail route to Throndhjem, and the
road is good , although so hilly. We climb all the way
(seven miles ) to the next station , Fokstuen , which is
3,150 feet above the sea ; Dombaas is 2,000 .
My childish impression of the Dovrefjeld was a long
range of mountains , the boundary between Sweden.
and Norway, forming so to speak, the backbone of the
country , and standing up, a bristling ridge , " like quills
upon the fretful porcupine ." It is astonishing how these
early and often fantastic impressions cling to one ; I
knew better, of course , from later study ; yet the actual
situation was a sort of surprise ; and when I hear people
speak of " the Dovrefjeld Mountains, " I fancy their idea
of the country may be not unlike my own , as it remained
until corrected by experience . A Norwegian
fjeld is not a chain of mountains , but an elevated plateau
, from which a few lofty summits rise several thousand
feet higher than the general level .
The Dovrefjeld lies a little above the sixty- second
parallel of latitude , thus being but a little more than
one-third of the distance from the southern extremity
of the country to the northern . It divides the socalled
Nörden fjelder , from the Sönden fjelder ( the
northern from the southern fjelds) . Norway reaches
from the fifty- eighth to the seventy -first parallel of
latitude . As the country grows narrower towards
the north , and less fertile-except for a little distance
inland from the coast , where the climate is greatly
softened by the Gulf Stream-the greater part of the
population is in the southern division . The word
"fjeld " is not translated by our " field " so nearly
as by the Scotch " fell " ; as the " fjord " is not by
any means a " ford " but the Scotch " forth " or " frith ."
6
122  .
Fokstuen is one of four " fjeldstuen, " or literally
mountain stoves , which are supported by the Government,
and were established here in the early part
of the twelfth century.
King Eistein , who reigned about A. D. 1120 , is
represented, in one of the old Sagas , as disputing
with his brother, King Sigurd , the crusader , over
their good deeds . Sigurd made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
, and achieved victories over Moorish pirates
and other " Turks and infidels, " but Eistein stayed
at home, governed wisely, and improved his realm .
Among other things, he says , " The road from Throndhjem
goes over the Dovrefjeld , and people had to
sleep out of doors , and the journey was severe ; but
I built inns , and supported them with money; and
all travellers know that Eistein has been king in
Norway." This is the origin of the fjeldstuen , which
were , at first , mere places of refuge , like the Alpine
huts amid the glaciers .
The station - keeper has a yearly provision , from
which to pay the expenses of the station and keep
the road open in winter . This must often be a serious
undertaking . All along the Romsdal, we had
seen the great snow- ploughs lying about at the sta
tions ; triangular frames of timber, which are drawn
by horses and oxen , to break out the roads , after
snow has fallen . Across the plateau we saw high
poles along the wayside , which serve to guide the
traveller in the winter, when the whole region is one
unbroken surface of snow.
We reached this station about three o'clock , and
ordered dinner of such things as they had , not expecting
much . They took us to an upper room, where we
OVER THE DOVREFJELD. 123
opened out our wet wraps to dry . When dinner was
ready we were called down to the general guest - room .
To the boiled fish, eggs , bread and butter, milk and coffee
which they furnished , we added soup , prepared from
Liebig's extract of beef ( which we always carried with
us) , potted pâté de foie gras and biscuits, and made a
comfortable meal . The station was rude and not over
cleanly, but the beds seemed as comfortable as the
average. The weather had cleared and it was quite
mild, with no wind , so that instead of suffering from
the cold , as we had feared at this elevation , nearly
four thousand feet above sea level , we were glad to
shed some of our thick wrappings . The road was
good, the air bracing , and the scenery fine ; and the
only drawback to our pleasure was the presence of a
heavy, dirty skyd , who persisted in standing on the
side step of our trille , nearly upsetting us by his weight ,
and smoking a very disagreeable pipe . We did make
him walk up the hills , sometimes , when both the gentlemen
got off to spare the horses ; but he seemed to
wonder at their doing it . He was not ugly, only
stupid ; and I suppose it was hardly his fault that he
was a grown man instead of a little boy.
From Fokstuen to Jerkinn is a double stage , nearly
fourteen miles ; and although the road is good and there
are few hills , the skyd stopped us about half way and
kept us waiting half an hour, to rest the horses .
We passed two lovely lakes , and little streams.
which rose from them ; one, I think, flowing eastward
into the large river Glommen , and the other following
us all the way, to meet by and by another mountain
stream and become the Driva , whose latter course ,
till it reaches the Tingvold fjord at Sundalsören , is
124
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
nearly as wild and beautiful as that of the Rauma.
These upland lakes were situated in an almost level
plain ; neither mountains nor trees were reflected in
their still surfaces ; but I never saw water of such a
deep, clear, sapphire blue . The mosses and lichens
and rocks , which bordered our path, were of the richest
colors ; and the little stone bridges , by which we
crossed the stream at intervals , were built of these
curiously tinted rocks , and were studies for a painter .
All the way, except at the very highest levels , where
nothing but the white reindeer- moss could grow, we
found the greatest variety of flowers . We counted
nearly twenty kinds in a few miles. Ever since we
began posting , we had been in ecstasies over the flowers
. We found nearly all our common spring wild
flowers -buttercups , dandelions , wild geraniums , harebells
, violets , not only blue , but tricolor ; fields purple
with pansies , yellow with buttercups , white with oxeyed
daisies ; the exquisite , little Linnea Borealis trailing
over moss - covered rocks and stumps, and several
varieties of ferns . We gathered great handfuls of the
beauties , and threw them away reluctantly as they
faded ; never ceasing to regret that we had neither
facilities for pressing, nor time for painting them.
We reached Jerkinn , and wishing to go farther for
the night, asked for horses to be furnished us at once .
As the house is on a steep hill , the horses were taken
out and the carriages left standing at the foot . Some
of us remained here while the others went up to the
house , curious to see the wood - carvings and paintings ,
executed by a son of the station- keeper, which are
mentioned in Murray.
We were detained some time , as another party had
OVER THE DOVREFJELD . 125
arrived shortly before us , and had the first claim for
horses . Meanwhile , sitting in the carriage , we found
ourselves in a swarm of mosquitoes , as we had stopped
near swampy ground . I think it was the only time we
saw them in Norway.
From Jerkinn onwards for about a mile the road is
up hill ; and from the highest point which we attain ,
4,594 feet above sea level , we obtain a fine view
of Sneehättan, one of the highest mountains in Norway.
Its summit is 7,714 feet above the sea, and it
rises 3,500 feet from its base . Saddle horses may be
hired at Jerkinn to the base of the mountains ; but the
remainder of the ascent must be performed on foot.
The whole excursion occupies about twelve hours .
There is a glacier on the summit which flows into a
little lake , and the view is very extensive . * Another
excursion may be made from Jerkinn to a saeter, which
is like a Swiss chalet in the mountains , so says Mr.
Bennett . He also says that this was formerly a very
good station ; but the house is old and not kept in
proper repair. People have complained of the rain.
leaking in, and of general discomfort .
The greater part of the way to Kongsvold , seven
miles from Jerkinn , was a steep descent, through magnificent
scenery. Between the stations we pass the
boundary of the diocese-there are only six in Norway.
Jerkinn is in the Christiania - Stift . A bishopric
must be no sinecure in this country.
* Sneehättan was first ascended by Professor Esmark of Christiania , who
estimated the height at eight thousand one hundred and fifteen English feet .
He states that its immense mass is almost wholly composed of mica slate .
Professor Forbes describes the ascent of this mountain , in his work on " Norway
and Its Glaciers . "
126  .
We reached Kongsvold about 10 P. M. , and found
a large, clean house , with the prettiest sitting- room
we had seen, nicely furnished with sofas , rocking chairs
and tables , white muslin curtains at the windows , and
a stand of beautiful house plants -several kinds of
geraniums , covered with great masses of blossoms—
while a dish of ferns and wild -flowers adorned one
of the tables .
The party who had anticipated us at Jerkinn had
probably taken the best rooms here ; for the only ones
they showed us were two , with two beds in each, which
were in another building , over the dairy. When we
asked for more , they took us through the kitchen , and
said that they would give up to us a little room adjoining,
one of the family sleeping - rooms .
Miss M. and I took this , and the others occupied
the quarters over the dairy. Passing through the
kitchen, I noticed on the large cooking stove an immense
kettle of something white, and supposing it to
be gröd, I asked them to give us some for supper. It
proved to be rice milk, very nicely made and flavored,
with almonds and currants in it , and we all enjoyed it ,
eaten with sugar and cream . We had a charming open
fire in the chimney place , but we were too tired to sit
up long.
The pretty girl who showed us our room spoke a
little English, to our surprise , saying, “ I am sorry to
give you so poor a room, but we have no other ." I
assured her that we should be very comfortable ; but
we had our doubts about it when we found how hot
and stuffy the room was , having been open all day
into the hot kitchen , and with no ventilation . The
windows would not open , were not made to open ; and
OVER THE DOVREFJELD. 127
an accidental fracture in a pane had been carefully
stuffed with rags . We pulled these out , but the aperture
was very small .
"We must break it ! " said Miss M.
"Let us ask them first ; window glass may be a hard
thing to procure here ."
I opened the door, and tried to explain . Supposing
the room was not sufficiently air tight, the woman
brought fresh rags to stuff in . She was horrified when
Miss M. made signs of smashing the window, and must
have thought us crazy ; but I found that I could work
out the pieces of glass without breaking them , and I
left them where they could be replaced , if the occupants
of the room desired it .
Next morning we went into the dairy-a large room
lined with shelves, on which stood wooden tubs of
milk, covered with thick cream . A churn , with a
dasher , had just been used , and pails of buttermilk
stood by , and a great tub of sour milk, ready for the
pigs ; while in the next room they were scalding the
milk for cheese , in great set - kettles . They were making
several kinds of cheese-white or curd cheese , yellow
, and brown ; the last is said to be made of goats'
milk ; it is sweetened , and seemed to be mixed with
fresh cream . I tasted some from a wooden trencher in
which it was standing, and liked it better than when
dry and pressed into blocks . It was very rich , and
not bad if one fancies sweet cheese . I could not find
out what gave it the brown color ; perhaps brown sugar
is mixed with it , though we saw no sugar in Norway
that I remember, except the white , beet - root sugar in
little, square blocks.
At this station they kept about thirty cows, which
128  .
were brought home at night and driven off to pasture
in the morning , just as on our New England farms ;
they may have had more at saeters on the mountain
pastures.
We saw no little children about , this morning ; they
ought to have been still in bed , for they were up and
wide awake at eleven o'clock the night before ; the
kitchen was full of people and there must have been a
supper in prospect of the rice milk we found so nice—
" Reis gröd " they called it .
We drove on, a stage of ten miles , to Drivstuen , the
last of the " Fjeldstuen ," and a very comfortable station
. The excellent road here was constructed in 1850
and 1851 , and takes the place of an old road which ,
according to the German guide - book, " ging unaufhörlich
bergauf und bergab, " and , as Mr. Bennett says ,
went over the Vaarsti , " a most tremendous hill , as
steep as the roof of a house ." We pass in sight of the
old road over the hill , and confess that his comparison
is not exaggerated ; though house -roofs , as everybody
knows , have varying degrees of steepness . " It was
as dangerous as it was difficult , " adds Nielsen , "especially
in winter , when avalanches were of frequent
Occurrence . When King Christian V. travelled this
route , in 1685 , he was the only one who ventured to
ride ; while his whole suite got down from their horses .
When his son , Frederick IV. , in 1704, passed over the
Vaarsti , he did not venture to remain in his cariole ,
but traversed the whole way on foot . Since then ,
Christian VI . , in 1733 , Frederick the Sixth ( as crown
prince) , in 1788 , and Carl Johann , in 1815 , have passed
this way." What a pity he does not tell us how they
behaved !
OVER THE DOVREFJELD. 129
From Drivstuen to Rise , a distance of eight miles ,
the road follows the river, and the scenery continues
to be very fine . We got out to examine a singular
gorge, through which the stream rushes , lashing itself
into a white fury against the brown boulders which oppose
its passage . The rocks come so nearly together
in one place that " a person can hop across " the chasm ,
says Mr. Bennett ; " but the water is of immense depth ."
The gentlemen examined it closely , but decided that
the rocks were too slippery to make the attempt a safe
thing , taking into consideration , also , the depth beneath,
with its rocky walls . The sides of the gorge
curve inward , as if worn away by the gradual action
of water foaming and dashing against them ; and
the whole thing is extremely picturesque-finer even
than the Sondre Slettefossen, we decided . It is
called " Maaga laupe "-leap of the stomach ; certainly
an extraordinary name . The old road passed the
Drivstukleve, a succession of steep hills , up and down,
for about three miles , which the new road happily
avoids . If these roads were only more effectually protected
by a stone parapet , or even a wooden railing ,
instead of the stone posts at varying distances , one
could ask nothing better .
Rise was not so nice a station as the two preceding
ones (" quarters not of the best , but civil people , " says
Bennett) . They had no meat or fish, but gave us a
lunch of bread and butter, milk, eggs, and pancakes .
We should have done better to start earlier from
Kongsvold, and go on for dinner to Aune, about
seven miles beyond Rise. This is in the broad, fertile
valley of Opdal . The Driva turns off here for its destination
in the fjord , and a road follows it to Sun-
6*
130
 .
dalsören , about forty miles , whence one may go by
boat to Christiansund .
The house at Aune ( or Ovne ) is large and comfortable,
painted white , with a porch in front, seated in
which, by a little table , several travellers were drinking
beer-a spectacle which reminded us of Germany,
for it is rare to see people partaking of refreshments
out of doors , so far north . For the benefit of tall
people , seeking a comfortable place to spend the night,
Mr. Bennett suggests that the beds here are the longest
on the whole road. That is not much to say, as
we had found by sad experience . We did not try these ,
for we had many miles yet to drive ; but we went in to
see the stock of carved wood , boxes , spoons , etc. , of
which there is a fine assortment . Some of the articles
were very nicely carved , but the prices seemed high , and
we bought little . We found afterwards that they were
moderate compared with prices at Throndhjem and
Bergen, and regretted our fit of economy.
This was Friday. We were anxious to reach Throndhjem
the next day, taking the train from Stören in
the afternoon . To do this comfortably, we had decided
that we must get as far as Bjerkager for the night,
about twenty miles beyond Aune.
Near Aune is the church of Opdal , and the pastor's
house , and there was a number of houses in the vicinity.
The region lies about sixteen hundred feet above
sea level , and is very pleasant . Good ptarmigan shooting
may be found in the neighborhood .
The next station , Stuen, is described as " a new
house, with excellent accommodation , good food and
white bread, but very dear." The situation is very
pretty; but the rooms were small, and the place was
OVER THE DOVREFJELD . 131
not very clean. This is about eight miles from Aune .
Austbjorg, seven miles farther, is a poor station . So
says Bennett , and I am unable to report a favorable
impression . From this place to Bjerkager , much of the
new road has been blasted through the rock, and winds
along the precipitous sides of the Orkedal , often six
or seven hundred feet above the river. A cross , cut in
the rock, marks the place where one of the workmen
engaged in the construction of the road , in 1858 , lost
his footing and was dashed to pieces on the rocks
below. The scenery all along this valley is magnificent,
and reminded us a little of the gorge of Rusten ,
as we were passing through it at the same bewitching
time of clear , soft twilight . It was nearly
II P. M. when we reached Bjerkager, described by
Bennett as " a very fair station , civil people , and cheap . ”
The house was an old one , and impressed us as
being very dirty, as we drove through the stable yard
and got down at the entrance. We were very tired
and ravenously hungry, and ready to put up with almost
anything . But they were full . The guest - room
was occupied ; the beds all engaged . We could have
" spise , strax " ; but we must go on to the next station
for the night .
They gave us a little room to ourselves , and got us
tea and bread and butter ; but kept us waiting some
time , both for that and the horses . We drove on to
Garlid , through iovely scenery ; forests of pine and
birch , and along the sides of the mountains , whence
we looked down on wooded slopes and fertile fields .
The air grew a little damp , with a greater chilliness
than we had experienced ; perhaps we felt it more from
being so tired and sleepy. It was really a painful effort
132
 .
to keep awake. We passed several wagons loaded with
furniture and beds ; the horses were unfastened , and
resting by the wayside ; the people sleeping . They
seemed a little like gypsies ; but may have been only
moving from one place to another, perhaps going to
the seaboard to emigrate to America . This lovely
twilight reminded us of the passage in the prophecy
of Isaiah : “ The light shall be neither clear nor dark ;
but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall
be light ," and one thought of Montgomery's hymn.
There cannot be a lovelier image of a peaceful old age
-resting after the brightness of " Life's little day " is
over, waiting for the clearer light beyond—than these
exquisite northern twilights .
Garlid is about eight miles beyond Bjerkager, and
we arrived there between 12 and I A. M. The house
stands back from the road , at the summit of a grassy
slope , and commands a pretty view of the valley .
Everything was still as death. This was the first
place, since Toftemoen , where we had found people
asleep. We roused them soon ; a man took charge of
the horses ; a woman gave us rooms , and made up our
beds with clean linen . There were two houses ; the
one where the family lived and the cooking was done
being quite separate from that intended for guests .
There were five rooms, upstairs , three containing two
beds each ; but you went through one to another (an
arrangement always disagreeable) , and one of them.
was already occupied . Here , as at Holaker , Will experienced
the inconvenience of being the single gentleman
of the party .
He was resigned to the allotment of a little room ,
through which John and Jennie must pass , and the
OVER THE DOVREFJELD . 133
gentleman who had already retired, but found difficulty
in persuading the landlady to prepare his bed.
She had made up those in the three double rooms ;
we were six ; there were six beds ; why could we not
be suited ? She came to Miss M. and delivered a
long harangue , of which we only made out the general
purport. Why could not her " mand " sleep in
that unoccupied bed ? I have no doubt she found
us very unreasonable ; but she yielded to Will's importunity
at last , and made up his bed in the little
thoroughfare .
We slept late next morning to make up for our
long journey, as we had only fifteen miles to accomplish
to reach the railway at Stören . While breakfasting
in the pleasant guest - room , on excellent gröd ,
eggs , coffee and cream , we amused ourselves with
looking over the " Dag-bog, " in which a recent passer,
a Frenchman , had entered a complaint of the dusty
road between Garlid and Engen . Did he expect the
station - keeper to send a water- cart over it in advance
of his cariole ?
But we remembered his grievance in traversing the
road ; for we suffered more from dust and heat than
we had since our first two days of posting .
We were out in the hottest part of the day, starting
at noon , and stopping only to change horses at
Praesthus (which Bennett calls " small but clean station
, " but we found it very dirty) , we pushed on to
Engen , the southern terminus of the Throndhjem &
Stören Railway, arriving about 3 P. M.
The station - house , or hotel as it is here called ,
is quite near the railway station , and after we had
removed our baggage , the carriages were taken there ,
134
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
to be put on board the train . The house seemed
noisy and dirty. We ordered dinner and a room
where some of us could rest ; others went out for a
walk, and climbed up a hill by the wayside into a
little hanging wood which overlooked the village.
Our dinner was a disappointment ; we had tough beef
warmed over in greasy gravy, and the pancakes were
also tough . Afterwards we sat outside the windows ,
in the shade of the house , and listened to the drollest
conversation I ever heard , between a stout Norsk
gentleman , equipped as a sportsman, and a friend
he had encountered here . I would not have believed
that a conversation of which we understood not a
word could be so amusing ; but the stout gentleman
was a stammerer , and of all funny things , stammering
in Norsk seemed the funniest . He was so jolly about
it , withal , not seeming to mind his impediment in
the least , that we had no scruples in deriving silent
amusement from it.
The train left for Throndhjem at 7 P. M. When
we gathered up our traps to go over to the station,
a parcel of umbrellas was missing. No one could
remember taking it from the carriage , the people at
the house knew nothing about it , and we could not
look in the trille , for that and the gig were neatly
packed on the platform car , and covered with canvas
to protect them from dust or rain . We hoped to
find the umbrellas all right , on reaching Throndhjem;
but they never turned up , and we could not decide
whether they had been appropriated at the hotel or
taken from the carriage at the station . This package
of umbrellas was the only thing we lost , in all our
travels in Norway.
OVER THE DOVREFJELD . 135
We were two hours and a half running the thirty
miles between Stören and Throndhjem, including four
stops by the way. The scenery was pretty and the
cars comfortable ; but we found this slow rate of
progress very tiresome . As we got near the seaboard
the season seemed more advanced ; people
were cutting grass , and peas and strawberries were in
blossom .
We arrived about 9.35 P. M. , and were surprised to
find no hotel omnibuses , no cabs , no horses to draw
them ; only porters , with hand carts for luggage. We
engaged one of these, and started for Hotel Britannia
(recommended by Bennett and our friends in Florence
) , in spite of the friendly warning of a gentleman
in the garb of an English clergyman- who was himself
stopping there, and had walked to the station
to meet friends , who did not arrive- that we should
find no vacant rooms . We wished to try , at least ,
and the clergyman was so kind as to escort us ;
though he would have been superhuman if he had
not appeared pleased when his warning proved correct.
Where should we try next—at the Hotel d'Angleterre
, the Bellevue , Victoria or St. Olaf ? " The
two latter are remarkably comfortable , " says Bennett ;
"but the St. Olaf is small ." That settled the question
in favor of the Victoria, and we turned to the
rightabout and retraced our steps down the long main
street of Throndhjem .
It seemed odd to be wandering about the streets
of a strange city, on foot , after ten o'clock at night,
yet in broad daylight ; so that we could not realize
the lateness of the hour ; and the oddest thing was
that everything was so quiet . At Hotel Victoria we
136 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
fortunately found rooms and our wanderings ceased .
Some of the luggage had been left in the trille , and
the gentlemen, guided by a little boy from the hotel ,
started for the station to procure it , or have both
vehicles brought to the house . They came back,
after awhile , themselves dragging the trille ( the gig
had been locked up in the yard of the freight department,
but the trille happened to be outside ) , which
they ventured to bring away, in spite of the remonstrances
of the keeper, who had no authority to give
the carriages up before Monday, and threatened the
owners with legal proceedings for taking off their
own property .
IX.
THRONDHJEM .
WE slept late , Sunday morning , and breakfasted
about eleven o'clock ; all but Will , who possessed
unlimited capacities for sleep , and could always
make up for lost time . He did not make his
appearance until dinner, which was served at 2 P. M.
Here we met the pleasant Irish major and his wife,
with their young lady friend , who had arrived early
that morning on the steamer from Molde—the same
steamer on which we were all going northward in a
couple of days . The Cornell student , they said , had
found quarters at the " St. Olaf's . " Here also appeared
their friend Dr. S― , the English clergyman
whom we had encountered at the station the evening
before . He had transferred his quarters from the
Britannia, and informed us after dinner that the Victoria
had a far better table.
SOur
kind hostess , Mme. Quillfeldt, was unwearied
in her exertions for the comfort of her guests ; now
superintending the preparations in the kitchen, then
carving the meats at a side table , and assisting her
maidens in waiting upon the guests ; while her stout
husband sat at the head of the table , and was served ,
with the rest . " I should like to put an apron on him
and set him carving," murmured Miss. M. But this is
138 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
the Norway fashion ; more in the style of Abraham
and Sarah, who " obeyed Abraham, calling him lord , "
than could be found in any other Christian country in
Europe .
Herr Quillfeldt had a wholesale and retail wine
business on his hands, and wisely left the management
of the hotel to his delicate - looking but energetic
wife .
We had an excellent dinner-the fare seemed
sumptuous after our milk- and - eggs and flad - bröd diet ,
crossing the Dovrefjeld-boiled salmon , boiled ham,
roast beef and lamb, vegetables , nice wheat bread ,
delicate puddings and pastry, good wine and beer .
There were several Norwegian gentlemen at table ;
among others, our stammering acquaintance from
Stören . When the ladies retired , all the gentlemen
rose and bowed. Coffee was served, afterward, in
Mme. Quillfeldt's little parlor, or sent to our rooms,
if we preferred. She had a piano and books , and the
large windows were filled with blooming house plants ,
in greater variety than we had yet seen . Altogether,
the Victoria was a very cosey, comfortable place , and
we felt thankful that the Britannia had been full .
In the interval between our late breakfast and early
dinner, we had been writing our usual Sunday letters
to friends at home , while John had taken a stroll about
the town, and attempted to visit the cathedral ; but
he was not allowed to enter, as it was only open for
service on Sunday.
We went to the afternoon service , which was held
in a part of the building as yet unrestored , separated
by a wooden partition from the octagonal shrine . The
stone walls had been whitewashed , and there were
THRONDHJEM. 139
wooden pews , painted blue , and a high organ loft ,
with seats for the choir and additional pews , in a
large gallery . Behind the preacher was a plaster cast
of Thorwaldsen's " Christ ," and figures of the apostles,
by a Norwegian artist , were ranged along the
walls . These statues are the work of an artist little
known out of Norway-Hans Michaelsen ; and were executed
by him, by order of King Carl Johan, who presented
them to the cathedral . He was born in 1789,
in a remote village , in the province of Throndhjem .
His talents in wood carving procured him the means
of obtaining instruction in modelling , at Stockholm ,
and his progress indicated uncommon ability. In 1820
he was sent to study under Thorwaldsen , at Rome .
Here he executed several important works , among
others the statues of the twelve apostles . In spite
of his high reputation , he was unable to support himself
as an artist ; and, after many trials , he retired ,
discouraged and infirm , to his peasant's home and
life . After the lapse of many years an attempt was
made, by means of a national subscription , to rescue
him from this half- existence ; a series of orders were
secured for him, and a position free from care. He
produced a number of works ; but his strength was
gone, and they were not equal in merit to his earlier
productions . He died in Christiania , in 1859.
After service we strolled through the pretty churchyard
, as many others were doing , and were touched
by the loving remembrance shown in the fresh garlands
on the graves . Later in the day, my brother
saw here the funeral of a sailor . The soft singing of
a choir in the belfry tower was a part of the service ,
reminding us of the story of Thorwaldsen's funeral .
140  .
We visited the cathedral on Monday (it is open
between the hours of 12 and 2 P. M. ) , and were
much interested in the traces of the old building , and
in the modern work of restoration . Here stood the
little wooden Church of St. Clement (now the Chapel
of St. Clement occupies the site ) , built by King Olaf
himself before A. D. 1030 ; and afterward another wooden
church was erected near it , by his son Magnus , on the
spot where St. Olaf was buried , after the fatal battle
of Stiklestad , the place having been revealed , according
to the legend, by a spring bursting from the spot .
More prosaic historians say that the king's body was
thrown into a well , already existing. (However that
may be, the well is there , for we saw it ourselves. )
Harald Hardrada , who was half- brother of the saint
and successor to Magnus , built, or began to build ,
a larger church, of stone , upon the same site . Of this
church , only a few remains can be traced . It was rebuilt
and enlarged by Bishop Eistein ( made archbishop
of Throndhjem by Nicholas Breakspeare, 1161-1188 ) ,
and became the Metropolitan church of Norway.
Archbishop Sigurd , in 1248 , undertook the building
of the western wing, which was finished in 1300. At
this time , we are told , the building was three hundred
and forty- six feet long by one hundred and eighty- four
wide ; the west front , with a chapel at each corner, had
a width of one hundred and fifty feet , there were numerous
flying buttresses and pinnacles , and five towers ,
each with a spire , the central one rising to a height
of two hundred and fifty feet .
The cathedral is built of the soft, gray stone found
on the fjelds ; a material easily worked and of a lovely
color, but very liable to injury by fire . Soon after its
THRONDHJEM. 141
completion it suffered to some extent by fire , but was
probably soon repaired . After a second conflagration ,
in 1432 , the church was not fully restored ; and a third ,
in 1531 , injured it still further . Later, in 1718 and 1719,
it suffered from destructive fires . After the Reformation
and the confiscation of Church property, there was
less interest in the work of restoration and less ability
to carry it forward ; and it is easy to understand how
the cathedral came into its present ruinous state .
That part of the transept built by Eistein is in pure
Norman style ; but the eastern part , built by his successors,
belongs to a later period of Gothic architecture .
Most of the latter was destroyed by the alterations in
the sixteenth century, with the exception of the octagonal
tomb-house, or shrine of St. Olaf, in beautiful
pointed Gothic , which is now nearly restored . It rises
in two divisions , covered by a dome - like roof, with an
open belfry above , and is separated from the choir by
a screen of columns supporting arches .
Under this dome stood formerly the high altar
and a richly adorned silver shrine , containing the remains
of the saint. The body was enclosed in three
coffins , the inner one of silver being enclosed in two
wooden ones , the outer set with gold and silver ornaments
and precious stones . Pilgrims from all parts
of Europe came to the shrine of St. Olaf, and churches
were erected under his patronage , even in Constantinople
. There were two in London , and a street named
after him, now contracted to Tooley Street .
The church in Constantinople was dedicated to St.
Olaf by the Varangian Guard , who had won a battle
by his assistance , and thus fulfilled a vow to him.
Adam of Bremen, who visited Throndhjem in the
142  .
eleventh century, says , " Miracles are daily worked at
his tomb, and the most distant nations flock to his
shrine to participate in the merits of that blessed
saint ."
Snorre Sturleson relates many incidents of miraculous
cures at the shrine of St. Olaf, and in answer to
appeals for his aid, even in distant places . Peoplewhose
tongues had been cut out in the brutal reprisals
of war, or by despotic masters , received speech ; cripples
were restored to the use of their limbs , and many
blind received sight . One of the latter, a woman ,
came on a pilgrimage from Sweden to the shrine in
Throndhjem, and was led into the church on St. Olaf's
day to hear mass . Before the service was ended she
saw with both eyes , and returned home with great joy,
praising God and King Olaf, the saint.
After the Reformation the shrine was plundered by
Danish Lutherans , in 1541 , who left the body in the
plainest coffin , carrying off the silver one , weighing
over three thousand ounces , and the ornaments of
gold and jewels . Whether or not the saint defended
his property, it is gratifying to learn that the ship , carrying
the greater part of the plunder , foundered at sea ,
and the rest was seized by robbers on its overland
journey. The body was again captured by Swedes
and carried into their country, but restored in 1568 and
buried in the cathedral .
In a little tower close by we were shown the holy
well where St. Olaf was first buried . It is designed
to have a marble statue of Thorwaldsen's " Christ " in
the place where the high altar formerly stood .
The transept and part of the choir, where service
is performed , are shut off by a temporary wall from the
THRONDHJEM. 143
rest of the building , and as one wanders about through
the different parts of the cathedral , it is difficult to form
an idea of the appearance of the whole as it will be
when thrown into one . The south wing is partly
in ruins, but both here and in the north wing there
are interesting chapels , of pure Norman architecture ,
with the zigzag ornamentation one sees at Durham
and Winchester . A beautiful round arch , forming
the entrance to one of these chapels , was discovered
in 1847 .
The west wing , with its two towers , lies in ruins .
There was formerly over the entrance in the western
façade a great rose window, which has now wholly
disappeared . Of the numerous images of the saints.
which adorned this entrance only two or three remain .
Under a trefoil arch , supported by grouped columns ,
stands the figure of an aged bishop , crowned with the
mitre , and leaning on a staff, which we fancied might
be either Eistein or Sigurd . Some of the capitals are
clustered heads , too ruinous to allow one to decide
whether they are meant for angels or demons ; and
now and then a quaint figure projects from a railing .
Among other monumental tablets we noticed that
of Bishop Pontoppidan , a famous grammarian , and
ancestor of a more famous naturalist , the Bishop of
Bergen, a century later. Born on the island of Funen,
in 1616, he died bishop of Throndhjem in 1678. His
book, " Grammatica Danica ," published in 1668 , is the
first attempt at a scientific analysis of the language ,
already much changed from the old Norsk as it is
preserved in the Icelandic sagas.
The Chapel of St. Clement, to the north of the
choir, has been fully restored , from funds left many
144  .
years ago by a citizen , after whom it is now called .
It is heated by a furnace and used for service in
winter . The octagon is nearly completed , and the
work of restoration is going on with considerable
energy. The sum of one hundred thousand specie
dollars has already been collected , and all visitors
are expected to contribute by purchasing photographs
of the cathedral .
Several of the old kings were buried in this enclosure,
and four kings were crowned here during the middle
ages . The laws enacted in 1814 (when the new
constitution was adopted) provide that the coronation
of the king shall take place at Throndhjem ; King Carl
Johan in 1818 , Carl XV. in 1860 , and Oscar II . in 1873
have accordingly been crowned here . I cannot ascertain
the precise time when the name of the town was
changed from Nidaros to Throndhjem ; but the etymology
(Throne home) indicates that it was about the
time it became a royal city. Olaf Tryggvesson is called
its founder. He selected the site with wisdom, as a
safe harbor and depot for grain , and a favorable place
for ship- building . Olaf was famous for his ships , the
Long Serpent being the largest and finest ever seen
in the North . His palace was less wonderful- a great
building of squared timbers , without the large windows
which make the old timber houses so cheerful
to -day, and with no chimney, but a hole in the roof
for the smoke to escape from . Chimneys and glass
windows were not introduced in Norway until seventy
years later.
Carlyle , following the Edda of Snorre Sturleson,
gives a graphic sketch of Olaf's early life , from his
birth , while his mother was flying through trackTHRONDHJEM.
145
less forests, to escape the murderers of her husband
(Tryggve , grandson of Harald Harfager) ; his viking
life in strange countries -Russia , Normandy , England ;
his conversion and baptism by a pious monk in the
Scilly Islands ; his exploits with Sven in England ,
breaking down London Bridge ; his victorious struggle
for his kingdom, and earnest efforts to convert it to
Christianity ( " in about two years Norway was all gone
over with a rough harrow of conversion ") ; his short
reign- less than ten years ; his glorious death , sinking
beneath his shield in the dark waters of the Baltic-
“ a shining figure still , to us ; the wildly beautifullest
man, in body and in soul , that one has ever heard of
in the North ." *
Snorre Sturleson's description of the king , in the
Saga of Olaf Tryggveson , thus depicts his agility :
" He was stronger , more alert and nimbler than any
man of his time. He could climb the rock Smalserhorn
and fix his shield on top of it . " (" Smalserhorn "
may be Romsdalshorn or the cliff Hornelen , north of
Bergen, two thousand eight hundred Norsk feet in
height, sheer descent to the sea ; probably the latter. )
" He could walk outside the boat on the oars when
the men were rowing. He would play with three
darts at once , and always keep two up. He was
ambidexter, using his weapon with both hands , and
could throw two darts at once. He excelled all his
men in shooting with the bow, and in swimming had
no equal ." His proficiency in this last accomplishment
led to the belief that he was not really drowned
when he sank in the Baltic , but was wandering over
Early Kings of Norway."
7
146  .
Europe in disguise and would by and by reappear in
Norway and come to his own again .
St. Olaf was as remarkable a man as his cousin
and predecessor , Olaf Tryggveson . Like him, he was
the son of a murdered father, and was brought up in
seclusion by his step-father, Sigurd . He started at
the age of twelve , with a little fleet, on his viking
career ; visited Normandy and England , and there prob
ably acquired his intense adherence to the Christian
faith . He returned to Norway about 1015 , and , after
a few years of struggle , established his kingdom .
Then came a second royal progress , and forced convulsions
not a few. St. Olaf's " harrow" was rougher
than Tryggveson's . Of his sincerity there can be no
doubt ; but as little doubt that his methods of conversion
were barbarous. It seems probable that the impartial
severity with which he enforced his laws ,
punishing equally both great and small , was one of the
chief causes of rebellion . The Danish king, Knut the
Great, who claimed Norway, and demanded tribute of
Olaf, which was scornfully refused , stirred up rebellion
among the people , sailing along the coast and holding
"Things " among them, and finally, returning to
England, left his nephew Hakon vice - regent. Flying
from Hakon's forces, after defeat and desertion by his
people , Olaf took refuge in Sweden , and then in Russia
whence he returned two years later, after the death
of Hakon. He was influenced by a dream , in which
Olaf Tryggveson appeared to admonish and encourage
him. " He had no sooner appeared than multitudes
flocked to his standard ; but he rejected all who did not
comply with the one condition of service—the reception
of baptism. The helmets and shields of all who
THRONDHJEM.
147
fought on his side were distinguished by a white cross ,
and the battle - cry was to be ' Forward ! Christ's men !
Crossmen ! Kingsmen !"" *
With this army, of about three thousand men, he
fought the fatal battle of Stiklestad . †
When the army was drawn up in fighting order ,
and after religious services had been observed and
heroic skalds sung by Olaf's troops , there was still
some delay while the Bonders were arranging their
forces , and the king , resting his head on the knee of
Finn Arveson , his trustiest man , fell asleep . As the
enemy approached , Finn awaked him. " Oh, why
hast thou awakened me from such a dream ? " said
Olaf, in a deeply solemn tone . " I dreamed that there
rose a ladder here , reaching up to very heaven . I
had climbed and climbed , and got to the very last step ,
and shouldst have entered there , hadst thou given
me another moment . " " King, I doubt thou art fey ,'
said Finn . " I do not like that dream ."
The date of this battle is fixed by a total eclipse
of the sun , which is recorded as taking place shortly
after it began; Olaf's death occurring during the period
of obscuration . The Saxon Chronicle fixes it
at July 29, 1030.
Snorre Sturleson insinuates that St. Olaf's only
title to sanctity was that " he was slain by his own
subjects in his own kingdom. " To fall in battle in
one's own dominions was the favorite wish of the
old pagan kings of the North . A prince or chief who
* Maclear, " Apostles of Medieval Europe . '
† Stiklestad is not far from Steen Kjaer, on the Throndhjem Fjord .
A cross marks the spot where Olaf fell, and there is an ancient stone
church.
148  .
fell on his own estates was called " heilagr," or holy;
if he fell elsewhere , " unheilagr," or unholy. Harald
Hardrada , who was killed at the battle of Stamford
Bridge, " could not be called holy," says Snorre , "because
he fell while in the act of invading a foreign
country ."
Perhaps Olaf did more for Christianity by his death
than by his life . No sooner was his saintship established
(by the remarkable preservation of his remains ,
found unchanged in 1098, and miracles attributed to
him ) than his cruelties were forgotten ; and such was
the reverence paid him as a hero and martyr, that
he might almost be said to have filled the place of
the ancient idols in the affections of the nation .
Sven, the son of Knut , governed Norway so despotically
that the Bonders sent to the Russian court
for Magnus, the son of Olaf, and welcomed him as
sovereign . Magnus is the first of the name among
the Norse kings, and the story of his christening is
peculiar. He was the son of a serving -maid at Olaf's
court (Queen Astrida had no sons ) , and at the time
of his birth he seemed so puny and feeble that it
was thought needful to baptize him at once. The
king was asleep , and no one dared to waken him ; so
Sigvat, the skald , poured water over the babe and
called him Magnus , after Charlemagne . The Norsemen
believed that by giving a child the name of some
great man, especially one of his forefathers , the soul
of the name- father was transfused into the child .
When Magnus returned he was accompanied by
Queen Astrida, as well as his own mother ; and both
were treated with honor at his court , though Alfhilda
held a subordinate place .
THRONDHJEM. 149
He was called Magnus the Good , and in his reign
the law book was written , called the " Gray Goose "
(probably from the color of the parchment on which
it was written) , one of the most curious relics of the
middle ages . It treats of weights and measures , police
of markets and sea havens , inns for travellers , wages
of servants and support of them in sickness , provision
for the poor , protection of women , illegitimate children
and domestic animals from injury, roads , bridges , vagrants,
beggars , etc.
After a reign of twelve years , Magnus was followed
by his uncle Harald Hardrada , half- brother to St. Olaf,
who had fought at the battle of Stiklestad and been
wounded at the age of fifteen , and had gone back to
King Yaroslaf in Russia . St. Olaf and the Russian king
had married sisters , Astrida and Ingegerda, daughters
of Swedish Olaf.
Harald is another striking figure among the early
kings . From Yaroslaf's court , at Novgorod , he went
to Constantinople , became captain of the Varangian
Guard of Norsemen , not long established there ( having
been sent by Yaroslaf's father, Vladimir the Great , to
the Greek emperor, with the advice to keep them occupied)
, visited the Holy Land, undertook expeditions
against Moorish pirates in the Mediterranean , and after
other romantic adventures returned to the Russian
court, married the Princess Elisif ( or Elizabeth ) , and
made his way to Norway with much booty, which he
shared with Magnus , when he found the latter disposed
to yield him, peaceably , half of the kingdom.
His death at the battle of Stamford Bridge, by an
arrow wound in the throat , deprived Norway of a good
sovereign ; though his discipline of refractory Bonders,
150 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
as well as his treatment of enemies , had earned him the
title of " Hardrada , " the stern or severe .
Snorre says
his disposition was like St. Olaf's ; " both were men of
the highest understanding , bold in arms and greedy
of power and property ; of great courage, but not acquainted
with the way of winning the favor of the people
; zealous in governing and severe in their revenge . ”
He was heroic in aspect ; over seven feet in height
(Snorre calls him five ells , whence Pontoppidan reckons
it ten feet ; but the old ell was less than the present) ;
" a handsome man of noble appearance ; his hair and
beard yellow ; a short beard and long moustaches , one
eyebrow somewhat higher than the other ; stern and
severe to his enemies , avenging cruelly all oppositions
and misdeeds ." His skald , Thiodolf sings—
" Severe alike to friends or foes
Who dared his royal will oppose ;
Severe in discipline to hold
His men at arms, wild and bold ;
Severe the Bonders to repress ,
Severe to punish all excess ;
Severe was Harald-but we call
That just, which was alike to all."
" What will you give Harald ? " said Tostig , when
His brother offered to share the kingdom with him , before
the battle , of fatal event to both the allies .
"Seven feet of English earth, more or less , as he
may be taller than other men, " was the reply.
In the disastrous confusion and flight which followed
Harald's death his soldiers could not recover the body,
and he lies to this day in his unmarked English grave .
On the south side of the cathedral are some remains
of the old palace , now occupied as a military and naval
THRONDHJEM. 151
arsenal, where one may see the throne of these old
kings . Harald Hardrada's son , Olaf Kyrre , founded
the city of Bergen and built a palace there , which was
the royal residence for many years.
At present the Stiftsgaard , or residence of the Stifts
amtmand (magistrate of the bishopric ) , serves as a
royal palace on the rare occasions when the king visits
Throndhjem. It is an immense wooden building
with wings, built by a private citizen in the last century
, and purchased by the Government . This is on
the corner of the Dronningensgade ( Queen Street )
and the Munkegade ( Monk Street) , a broad avenue
running from the cathedral to the shore, its course
varied by several large , open squares and intersected
by other wide streets . The Kongensgade ( King
Street) runs from end to end of the city , and with the
Munkegade divides it like a cross. Parallel to this is
the Dronningensgade ( upon which our hotel is situated
) , and beyond is the Strandgade , where we find
the principal shops . Nearer yet to the shore lies the
Sögade , or Sea Street (Water Street, we should call
it ) , with warehouses and fishy old buildings . Near the
custom - house is supposed to be the spot where the
ancient "Things " were held ; where kings were proposed
, elected and proclaimed . In early years this
was all the coronation required ; but after Throndhjem
became the metropolitan see the kings were often
crowned in the cathedral .
Lying in the mouth of the river Nid , the town is
nearly surrounded by water . The roadstead is not
considered very safe , as it is unprotected to the
north and west ; and the river is too shallow to admit
vessels drawing more than ten or twelve feet of water.
152  .
Throndhjem is a picturesque and cheerful city, with
its white houses and red roofs ; the houses rarely over
two stories in height , and fronting directly on the
street, which the wide windows, filled with flowers ,
tend to enliven . The pavements, I am sorry to say ,
are a weariness to the flesh , laid in round cobble - stones
with a very narrow edge of flagging by way of sidewalk.
The old monks, if they had a pavement like
this, needed no peas in their shoes . It reminded us of
the Piazza di Spagna in Rome.
ous .
Horses are seldom seen , and passers are not numer-
There was a quiet , sleepy air about the place ,
very different from Christiania .
The public buildings are neither numerous nor striking
. There is a cathedral school ; and in the same
building are the rooms of the Royal Norwegian Society
of Learning, founded in 1760. It dates from a time
when three great scholars were living in Throndhjem :
Schöning, author of several works on Norwegian history
and archæology ; the Danish historian , Suhm, and
Bishop Gunnerus , famous for his researches in natural
history. The library of the society, containing about
thirty thousand volumes , is open to the public , as are
also the collections , some of which, the antiquarian
and the zoological , are said to be quite interesting.
Near the cathedral is the institution founded by
Thomas Angell , called the Angell - stuben .
In the middle ages there were fourteen churches in
Throndhjem , besides the cathedral and five monasteries
, three of them at a little distance from the city.
The present Frue - kirke , next in size to the cathedral,
retains the walls of one of these old churches , which
was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, perhaps the one
THRONDHJEM. 153
built by Harald Hardrada . Remains of a church and
abbey, which belonged to the Benedictines , founded
by Knut the Great, may still be seen on the rocky
island , then called Nidarholm , now the Munkholm .
There , in the seventeenth century , a fortress was
built out of the ruins of the monastery . This was employed
as a residence for prisoners of State , and Count
Peter von Griffenfeld was confined here for eighteen
years . He was cabinet minister of Christian IV. , and
is said to have been one of the ablest politicians of
Europe ; but he gained the king's enmity by persisting
in measures for peace , when the king desired war .
He was accused of treason and condemned to death ,
but at the last moment the sentence was commuted
to that of imprisonment for life . " This mercy is more
cruel than death , " he exclaimed, upon hearing the
change of sentence . The walls of his cell were covered
with inscriptions , written with an iron nail ; and
he is said to have worn a deep channel in the floor by
pacing up and down ; but new planks have been substituted
for the old ones . He lived but a few months
after his release.
The best views of the city are from the walls of
the former fortress , Christianstein, on the east side ,
not far from the bridge , and from the old road over
the hills , on the west side . Near the latter place the
foundations of an old tower were discovered , during
excavations made in 1873 , called " Sverresborg, "
and dating from the twelfth century. Ruins of a
nunnery, founded about 1230, are shown near the
city, and remains of the old monastery of Tuterö ,
on a little island in the fjord , about a mile to the
north of Throndhjem.
7*
154
 .
A quarter of a mile east of the city is Lade , where
the great Jarl Hakon had his castle , and ruled over
all the western coast of Norway, while Olaf Tryggveson
was in exile .
This old heathen was the son of Sigurd Jarl (brotherin
- law to Harald Harfager, being uncle of Hakon Adelstein)
, who had been entrusted with the government of
the province of Throndhjem or Thrandia , after Harald
had subjugated the eight chieftains in as many battles.
Sigurd stood by King Hakon with real though somewhat
crafty friendship ; persuading him to moderate
measures in his attempts at conversion , and allaying
the anger of the people , who had burned Hakon's
churches and killed the Anglo - Saxon priests . After
Hakon's death in battle , Sigurd was murdered by the
sons of Erik Bloodaxe ; and his son , Hakon Jarl , had
many a bloody conflict with their forces , before he
was allowed to reign in peace over his father's territories
. After Harald Grayskin's death and his brother's
flight , Hakon was invested by the Danish king
with the government of seven provinces, and assisted
him with his forces , in war. At one time he was compelled
, with his men, to be baptized , and to receive a
company of priests on board his ships as missionaries .
But he watched his chance to escape , set the monks on
shore , and steered to Gothland , where he landed and
offered sacrifices to the gods . Returning to Sweden
he burned his ships and made his way home across
country, laying everything waste before him . This
ended his friendship with the Danish Harald ; and
his son Sweyn attacked Hakon. with a fleet , but was
entirely routed ; those who escaped the sword perishing
in the waves . Hakon's success was attributed to
THRONDHJEM. 155
his having sacrificed his youngest son to the family
goddess , Thorgerda Horgabrud, whom he consulted
during the battle , and who would promise victory on
no other terms .
He rebuilt the pagan temples , renewed the sacrifices
, and restored the old superstitions . Under his
reign the country was blessed with peace and plenty
for a time , and this was ascribed to the favor of the
appeased deities ; but , after a few years , his unbridled
excesses became too outrageous to be borne , and the
people rose against the tyrant, and welcomed back
Olaf Tryggveson as a deliverer. Hakon had fled from
his enemies , and was concealed by his old mistress ,
Thora , with one of his servants, Karker, in a hole
under the swine sty, covered with earth and litter,
where he was murdered by this servant , who hoped
to receive a reward from King Olaf when he brought
him the head of his enemy ; but he lost his own in
just recompense . *
In reading the old sagas , one is constantly reminded
of old Jewish history ; here of David's reception of the
messenger of Saul's death ; by Hakon's sacrifice , of the
king of Moab who offered his eldest son for a burnt
offering upon the wall ; and the one who built Jericho ,
"laying the foundation in his eldest son , Abiram and
setting up the gates thereof, in his youngest son Segub. "
Civilization among heathen is much the same in all
ages and nations ; and the Christian heroes of the North
* Oehlenschläger, the leader of the romantic school in the North, and
the first to avail himself of the rich materials in the old sagas and ballads ,
has made Hakon Jarl the subject of one of his finest historic dramas, extracts
from which may be found in Longfellow's " Poets and Poetry of
Europe, " and Howitt's " Literature and Romance of Northern Europe. "
156  .
were not greatly in advance of King David and his
mighty men of war.
Human sacrifices were common , though not frequent.
At the great national festival at Upsala , every ninth
year, ninety -nine human victims were offered . Captives
and slaves were usually selected ; but in times of
imminent danger and distress , fathers sacrificed their
children , kings their subjects . Sometimes a chief himself
was slain , as when Olaf Traetelia , in Wermeland ,
was burned , to appease Odin , during a famine . Aun
or On , a prince of Sweden , is said to have sacrificed
nine of his sons , at different periods , to obtain extreme
old age . These practices continued as late as the
eleventh century , until the establishment of Christianity.
One can almost forgive the strenuous measures
of the Olafs and Swedish Erik .
We found some very attractive shops in Throndhjem
; especially Brun's establishment, where we saw
beautiful skins of all sorts , eider - feather rugs , reindeer
mats , feather capes , superb sealskins , Russian sables,
otter, silver fox , glutton , and squirrel and ermine linings
. In another shop we found a variety of pretty
silver work ; though we saw a better assortment afterward
in Bergen . The silver filigree ornaments are as
neatly executed as the Genoese , though with less variety
of design . They are more substantial , and do
not tarnish so readily. I noticed gold thimbles , with
tops of amethyst and cornelian ; something I had not
seen elsewhere , though they may not be of Norwegian
manufacture . Passing a shop where umbrellas were
displayed , I bought one to replace my London umbrella,
lost at Stören . These were of German manufacture ,
and higher priced than the English , though of inferior
THRONDHJEM. 157
quality. Another purchase was a couple of kerchiefs ,
of silk and woollen materials , to show our friends at
home the Norwegian fashion of headgear. At a book
shop on the Strandgade , we found photographs of costumes
, views of the cathedral and a variety of curiosities
, carved wood and "tolle knive ."
The falls of the river-the Leer fossen- not far from
the city, are worth a visit . The lower fall has a perpendicular
descent of about seventy feet ; the upper is
higher, but not so abrupt . This water power is turned
to advantage by several sawmills and copper - smelting
furnaces ; one of the latter a manufactory of sub - oxide
of copper.
An excursion up the fjord to Levanger may be made
by steamer running four times a week ; and from there ,
by the highroad to Stockholm , one may post about
forty miles to Skalstugan , a station beyond the Swedish
frontier, near which is a settlement of Lapps , owning
twelve hundred reindeer . " To ingratiate yourself
with the former," says Mr. Bennett , " it will be
right to take a little tobacco , sugar, coffee , some
knives , scissors , looking glasses , or such things . To
visit the Lapps , you have to walk about two English
miles across a morass , and then row half a Norwegian
mile across a lake . The reindeer are always on the
fjeld in the summer, about a two - hours' climbing from
the encampment of the Lapps . If you are satisfied by
visiting a Lapp family of a father, mother and two
children, with four hundred reindeer, you may save
much trouble , as this small family is only a two- hours'
walk from Skalstugan , and is always to be found there ,
whereas the others wander about very much."
We had not time to make this excursion , requiring
158
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
three or four days , as our passage was engaged on the
steamer going North July 7 ; but we talked a good deal
about it . Considering the circumstances , we ladies
thought we should be contented with the small family
of a " father, mother, two children and four hundred
reindeer " ; but Will , with lively memories of Adelsberg
caverns , declared that nothing would satisfy him
short of " an illumination of twelve hundred reindeer."
Tuesday was our last day on land , and we improved
it by writing letters and eating three good meals at
Frau Quillfeldt's bountiful table . John and Jane had
decided to give up the steamer trip North , to remain
a few days longer in Throndhjem, and await us , perhaps
, at Bergen. The steamer was advertised to sail
on the 7th, meaning any time after midnight of the
6th July ; so we went aboard about II P. M. The pier
was at quite the other end of the town from the Victoria
Hotel a long walk ; but we expected to foot it , and
our baggage was sent down on a handcart. Just then
two gentlemen drove up in carioles , threw the reins to
the skydsguts , and went into the hotel. They had
finished their journey , and the postboys agreed for a
consideration to drive two of us down to the steamer.
Miss M. preferred walking ; so Blossom and I
mounted , tucking our skirts well about our feet , the
skyds sprang up behind us, and we were off. They
drove very fast ; the carioles were old ones , with
springs long ago worn out , and the pavements of
Throndhjem I have already described . The motion
of a new cariole over a smooth road may be very
delightful ; but I suspect , under any circumstances ,
it must be very good for dyspepsia . When the
springs are worn out , the springing is done by the
THRONDHJEM. 159
passengers. I could quite believe the anecdote we
had heard of a gentleman who had lost his rugs and
even his cushion ( generally chained to the seat) , without
knowing how or where . " Rattle his bones over
the stones ," was the refrain suggested by our rapid
progress ; we could do nothing to moderate it ; and
the skyds had the effrontery to demand extra pay
for having driven us so fast.
The steamer was a scene of confusion , and we
retreated to our quarters in the ladies ' cabin . Perhaps
Mr. Bennett had sent that telegram for state - rooms ;
but as there were only two on board , beside the captain's
, and these had been engaged for weeks in
advance, it might as well have been left on the
floor . Berths were reserved for us ladies in the ladies '
cabin, and one for Will in the cabin under the saloon .
The steamer got off about I A. M. Up to that
time, an incessant trampling of feet , rolling of casks ,
and working of the donkey engine had prevented
sleep . A sound of pumps , long continued , filled us
with horrible apprehensions ; could it be possible there
was so much water in the hold ? And in such a state
of things , how long could the old steamer keep afloat ?
It was comforting to reflect that we were not going
far out to sea, and if the leak should get the better
of us, we might put in somewhere and wait to be
taken off by another steamer . Amid such pleasing
reflections we fell asleep .
X.
ON THE " HAKON ADELSTEIN"-UP TO THE MIDNIGHT
SUN .
THE
HE steamer did not founder in the course of the
night, and we opened our eyes in the morning
none the worse for our narrow quarters ; for we
had kept the port - holes open . The ladies ' cabin was
about ten feet by twenty in size , and contained a
double row of berths , twelve in all . The six on the
outside were occupied by English and American ladies
, who appreciated the necessity of fresh air- Mrs .
G. and her niece , Miss M. and myself, and, beyond
us , two ladies who had not appeared in public ; but
as they had rigged a little tent of shawls about their
end of the cabin , and a vigorous splashing was audible,
they were unquestionably English . Two long
tables filled the centre of the cabin , under and upon
which were stored our bags and wraps and clothing.
They were in tolerable order over night , but when we
tried to dress in the morning, there was a miscellaneous
pile, from which each of us fished out her private
property as best she could ! The reason was obvious .
The stewardess had overhauled them, to prepare our
washing accommodations , which were revealed by lifting
up on hinges one end of each table . Two basins
for twelve people ! Not having waked early enough to
secure a first mortgage on these water privileges (which
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 161
was our endeavor henceforth ) , we lay and waited for a
chance . It soon became evident that there were more
ladies on board than could be accommodated in the
ladies' cabin . When I first opened my eyes they rested
upon a pretty girl , who sat combing her hair. She
looked up and said , " Good morning ! " and we bcgan
to talk. It appeared that she was one of the passengers
who had arrived on the steamer from Hull , at
midnight, and come on board just before we started.
She and her father, Mr. H. , were from New- castleupon
-Tyne. There were a number of English passengers,
who, with those not otherwise provided for, had
found berths in the large saloon ; a double row being
made up all round , and a curtain in the middle separating
the ladies' half from the gentlemen's . The air
was better there , perhaps ; but it was inconvenient to
be roused so early. The gentlemen were waked first ,
to be out of the way of the ladies ; and then the ladies
must vacate their share of the premises , to make room
for the tables to be set for breakfast . (We hoped the
saloon would be thoroughly aired , first ! ) All these
ladies came into our little cabin to wash , at the two
bowls provided ; but we did have a clean towel apiece ,
for which we were thankful .
Breakfast was served from 8.30 onwards , till all
were satisfied. (Coffee on deck, earlier, if one desired.
it, before the saloon was cleared for action . ) The
table , I may say once for all, for the subject is not an
agreeable one to dwell upon , was abundant and good ,
but not very neat. Everything was piled on at once ,
like the table at Mme. Ormsend's hotel ; raw ham and
smoked salmon , tongue , smoked beef, sardines and
other little fishes in oil ( delicatessen, the Germans call
162  .
them ), with cheese in variety, appeared on all occasions
; and beefsteak fried with onions was an invariable
breakfast dish . A late comer found it difficult to clear
a place among the débris of previous customers . The
stewards were running a dozen ways at once , and only
one of them spoke a little English . Tea and coffee
were cold ; milk ditto ; cream sometimes to be had , if
you were in season . Supplies of milk and cream were
obtained at the stations , where we stopped frequently.
We had napkins , but-! When we returned to the
ladies ' cabin for our wraps , the stewardess had taken
down the upper row of berths, and was " redding up "
the establishment for the day. A horrible question
occurred to us then , What became of all the bedding ?
It is best not to think of such questions , not to let
such trifles vex you, if you can help it . But we saw
where it was kept - piled up in a heap , in a dark closet ,
and the napkins went in there too-common stock , and
put on " promiscuous ." One evil resulted , which we
could not ignore ; we were devoured by fleas, suffering
more than even at Rome or Naples . Like the mosquitoes,
when you do find them in Norway , these
fleas have a ferocity of their own - they are vikings ,
berserkers !
—
It may be inferred that the steamer was crowded ,
overloaded with passengers . There were at least fifty
first- class passengers and over three hundred in the
steerage.
We lived on deck for the most part , unless rain
drove us below . The companion -way was no refuge
for us, for it was occupied with smokers . We had
clear, bright weather most of the first day out . For
a little while , about noon , the sea was rough, as we
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 163
were crossing the Namsen Fjord . Miss M. lay on a
settee, in silent misery ; too wise to go below , but expecting
an increase of suffering. I could scarcely hold
up my head; but there was no place for me to lay it
down. In the midst of our depression we noticed ,
and were heartlessly amused by the deeper misery
of an English gentleman , who had retreated to the
extreme stern of the boat ; the very place , over the
screw, where the motion was most trying . His distress
shunned observation , and we felt sorry for him ;
but we had heard him that morning talking to the
captain about the North Cape . He was booked for
the entire voyage , it appeared . " Do you go outside the
North Cape ? " " Oh, if the passengers desire it , " said
the captain . "We save some rough weather by going
through the straits ." " I notice the guide -book says
[ he had a Murray , of course , ] that if even one passenger
desires it , the captain is obliged to go round the
cape . Now I particularly wish to go." "All right,"
the captain said ; he had no objections . We wondered
if this gentleman's courage would hold out . But directly
we passed the mouth of the fjord, and began to
get up among the islands towards Namsos , where we
were to stop for an hour , the sea grew smooth ; we all
felt better ; and when the dinner bell rang most of us
felt able to go down . The cabin was full ; many had
to wait for a second table, and I noticed one gentleman
who had a salmon fishing on the Namsen River, and
must go ashore at Namsos , sitting on a camp stool
with his plate on his knees .
After leaving Namsos the scenery grew finer. We
passed among countless islands and high, sharp peaks,
and had no more rough weather, for the steamers pass
164  .
inside the chain of islands, and make frequent stops
at the Government stations along the coast , and up
the fjords . Our steerage passengers landed by degrees,
at these stations . Most of them were fishermen , who
had gone down to Hamburg or Bergen to sell their
stock of codfish and were returning with winter supplies.
We had showers towards evening, and next
day the weather was cloudy, with heavy rain towards
night . We were approaching the arctic circle , and it
would be a grievous disappointment if these rainy
nights were to continue , and after all our efforts to
see the midnight sun we should go back without that
satisfaction , as not a few had done before us.
The scenery was wonderful , all day. We passed
close to the high mountains , going among the rocky
islands , through narrow channels , sometimes so very
narrow that the rocks seemed to meet before us , and
gradually to open as our bow pushed through.
Sometimes the shores would be green and lovely,
with cattle feeding on their slopes, and houses scattered
about over the hills ; sometimes the islands were just
masses of barren rock , thrown together and piled up ,
as if by Titans , but of the richest colors - red , green
and purple .
These mountains have their legends , too ; here ,
right across the arctic circle, is a curiously shaped
cliff, looking like a horse swimming , with a rider on
his back. This is the Hestmand , or horseman , about
eighteen hundred feet out of the water ; and when you
get abreast of another rocky spire, towering a thousand
feet above your head , you see a curious opening through
it , a natural tunnel in the rock about five hundred feet
from the sea. Torghatten , this is called (Torge's hat ? ) ,
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 165
and the hole through it was made , we are requested
to believe, by the Hestmand's arrow. Still stranger
stories are told of the Seven Sisters , sharp peaks from
three to four thousand feet high, which are clustered
near each other. There were seven fair sisters , daughters
of a king, who, no doubt , held their heads high ,
and refused to marry the Jotuns , the Hestmand and
the rest , and were changed to these rocky snow- topped
cliffs .
Now they stand together in frozen solitude , and
Torge has a perpetual hole in his hat , and the
Hestmand urges forward his swimming horse in vain !
He never can get beyond the polar circle . Mountain
heights rise all around us , on the islands or the mainland
, from one to three thousand feet above the sea.
The tunnel through Torghatten is described by Mr.
Campbell , who visited it in 1866, to be six hundred
feet long and forty- five to sixty feet wide , with smooth ,
vertical walls and jagged roof, the height varying from
seventy to one hundred and twenty feet , and the floor
a succession of stony waves . The cliff is composed of
gneiss , like almost all the rocky coast , and the tunnel
is accounted for on the supposition that a layer of
softer rock was destroyed by the action of water (evident
from the wave - like floor) , when the cliff was
partially submerged . The old beaches farther up the
coast, near Alten , show a water line two hundred and
forty feet above the present sea level ; so there may
have been a time when Torghatten was only half its
present height . Were there human inhabitants of
these shores in those remote ages , or only the Trolls
and the Jotuns , fit companions of the great elk and
the mammoth, the sea serpent and the kraken ?
166  .
We stopped at Bodo for several hours , during the
night, but did not go ashore , for it was rainy, and we
were in bed. We did not do much sleeping , however ,
when the steamer stopped ; for the donkey engine was
working, and casks and timber and bales of various
goods were being landed, with no small noise and
confusion.
The " Hakon Adelstein " proved himself a staunch
old fellow. By this time we had given up all fear of
going to the bottom , unless his coat of mail should be
pierced by some unlooked - for rocky spear.
Which of the Hakons was he , and why Adelstein ?
He was the son of old Harald Harfager, about A. D. 920,
who took refuge in England , after his father's death
(when Erik Bloodaxe was slaying his brothers ) , with
the Saxon king Athelstane , who adopted him, had him
baptized, and educated him as a Christian .
story. Snorre Sturleson tells a more romantic
Hakon was the son of a slave in his father's house
(nobly born, but a prisoner of war) , and born in the
king's old age, and sent by him when a child to Athelstane
, in return for the crafty present of a sword , splendidly
mounted with gold , which an English ambassador
had brought him. Harald drew the sword from
the scabbard , when the Englishman laughed scornfully.
" Thou art now the feudatory of my king ! Thou hast
accepted the sword , and art now his man ! " (The acceptance
of a sword being the symbol of investiture in
those days. ) Harald makes no trouble , but next year
sends off little Hakon to England , in care of a trusty
servant, Hauk, who penetrates to the royal palace ,
and places the little fellow on King Athelstane's knee .
" What is this ? " asks the king . " This is King HarUP
TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 167
ald's son, whom a serving - maid bore him, and whom
The now sends thee, as foster child ." Athelstane is indignant,
and draws his sword ; but Hauk says , " Thou
hast taken him on thy knee (common symbol of adoption
) ; thou canst kill him if thou wilt , but thou dost´´
not thereby kill all the sons of Harald ."
However it came about , Hakon was educated in
England , and through his efforts the first gleam of
Christianity shone into Norway. He came to his
kingdom while Erik Bloodaxe was reigning in Denmark
; fitted out by Athelstane with men and ships ,
when he was fifteen ; went first to his old friend Jarl
Sigurd at Lade (father of the famous Jarl Hakon ) ,
and was proclaimed king in Throndhjem. He promised
to restore the udal rights which his father had
taken from the Bonders , and persuaded the people
in Jemteland to resume their allegiance to Norway.
Some of his brothers retained their kingdoms , sharing
the revenues with Hakon ; but Erik sailed to Orkney,
and Athelstane gave him the province of Northumberland
.
Hakon first lived in the Throndhjem district ; then ,
for better defence of the country, in the fjorde districts
, or Rogaland ; for he had a stormy life resisting
Danish and Swedish invasions ; but the land was
free from intestine strife.
" As long as Hakon was king, there was peace
between the Bonders and merchants, so that none
did harm either to the life or good of the other.
Good seasons also there were , both by sea and land ,"
meaning, the harvests and the fisheries were abundant.
" He was a man of great understanding , and
bestowed attention on law- giving. He gave out the
168  .
Gula Thing laws , on the advice of Thorleif the Wise
and the Froste Thing laws , on the advice of Jarl
Sigurd and other Throndhjem men of wisdom . "
These Things were two of the four great Law
Things or assemblies for framing laws ; the other two
being the Eidsvold Thing or Eidsivia Thing, for the
inland districts , and the Borgar Thing , at the old
borg of Sarpsborg, near the Sarps Fos , on the Glommen
River. Smaller district Things were held for
local administration of law, and the " Ore Thing ,"
held at the ore or isthmus of the river Nid , was the
only one which could confer the sovereignty of all
Norway. All these Things were not representative
but primary assemblies of all the Bonders of the district
udal - born to land . No other class appeared with
any power. Kings themselves were but Thing - men at
a Thing, and instead of proclaiming the law talked
over their ideas and wishes and got them adopted
in a reasonable way. Even in their expeditions and
sea fights a Thing of soldiers would be called together
to advise upon the plan of attack.
Thus upon all occasions in which men were em
barked, in common interests , a spirit of self- govern
ment was established . It is thought that the English
Parliament owes its origin rather to these Things of
the Norsemen than to the Saxon Witenagemote .
The Bonders were called together by " bod ," that
is , " bidding " ; the " bud - stikke ," a stick of wood
with a spike at the end , was sent from house to
house , as a signal for the people to assemble . An
arrow split into four parts was the signal for going
armed. A token in the shape of an axe denoted
that the king would be present ; later, one in the
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 169
form of a cross , that Church affairs were to be
considered . The Scotch signal of the fiery cross is
probably of Norsk origin .
Hakon brought missionaries from England , and tried
to introduce Christianity, but with little success . At
a great Thing held in the region of Throndhjem , he
told the people what he desired of them : to give up
their heathen idols and sacrifices , to worship the true
God, and His Son Jesus Christ , and to keep holy the
Sabbath day by abstaining from labor, and spending
the day in fasting and meditation . That was too much
for the Bonders .
" Take away our old belief, and also our time for
labor ! " "We cannot work without food," said the
laborers. "It lies in King Hakon's blood ," said another
; " his father and all his kindred were apt to be
stingy about food , though liberal enough with money ."
Finally an old Bonder named Asbjorn , of the Guladal ,
made a speech, in which he put matters very plainly
before the king, promising that they would sustain him
in his kingdom if he would go fairly to work, and not
demand things that were impossible ; but threatening
to desert him and swear allegiance to another unless
he desisted from this purpose . Whereupon Hakon
abandoned his plan, not being prepared for the forcible
methods adopted later by the Olafs . But he introduced
Christianity at his court , built churches , sustained
bishops , and did what in him lay peaceably to
forward the good work.
His death was worthy of a Norsk hero . Let me
abridge Sinding's account of it , in his quaint English :
" After nineteen years the sons of Erik Bloodaxe
laid claim to the throne, and Harald Grayskin came
8
170  .
with a fleet to attack Hakon , when he was at a festival
, on the island of Stord , near Bergen . 'What shall
we do ?' said the king, ' remain or flee ? ' They all
cried that they would rather die than betake themselves
to their heels . At this answer the king's mind
abandoned itself to ecstacy, and with a gilded helmet
on his head, and the costly sword at his side , called
Quern- biter (because it was so sharp that it could cut
a hand millstone through, right to the eye , a present
from the English king ) , and a javelin in his hand , he
went to meet his foes , who were drawn up on the
shore . The victory gained was decisive ; but when, in
the heat of his passion , he was following up his conquest,
the noble Norwegian king was mortally wounded
by an arrow , and died ."
The Danes had fled to their ships , thoroughly routed.
The wounded king was helped into his ship , and made
sail for Alrekstad , which was his chief residence , but
had to stop at a smaller place , which had been his
mother's , and where he was born , a place called Hella ,
still known as Hakon's Hella .
Having no son, and only one daughter , he left his
kingdom to these unnatural nephews , begging them to
spare his friends and kindred . He was full of penitence
for his sins , and especially for yielding , as he had
sometimes done , to the observance of heathen feasts
and sacrifices .
"If I should live ," he said, " I would make a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land."
They asked about his burial , and he answered , “ I
have lived like a heathen , and like a heathen I must be
buried."
Friday, our third day out , was clear and the weather
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 171
milder than it had been before , though we still needed
our wraps . We went through grand scenery all day ;
mountain peaks and snowy ranges and fjelds , four or
five thousand feet high, with the Lofoden Islands on
our left , their beautiful mountain summits gilded by
the sunlight . All this scenery needs sunshine and a
background of blue sky ; though grand , it is terribly
stern and dreary in cloudy weather.
We stopped occasionally at stations, leaving a
boatload or more of our steerage passengers , and
sometimes one or two from the cabin . A bright
young lady, who could speak German and a little
English , got off this morning , to go in a small boat
fourteen miles up the fjord , to visit her uncle , a pastor
in one of these Northern parishes . She told us how
the people come to church, in boats, from all the
islands and mainland settlements in the region . Sundays
are great occasions ; almost their only chance for
sociability . They bring their provisions , and if they live
very far away, come on Saturday and return Monday.
The pastor's family must entertain them over night , I
suppose . We noticed that the " Prestegaard " or parsonage
was always a large building , and he must be
like the bishops of the Primitive Church , " given to
hospitality." Sometimes a congregation of three hundred
will be present, and they do not stay away unless
for very rough weather.
How dismal life must be here in the winter ! Summer
is lonely and solitary enough , but when the long,
dark nights come , with scarce a gleam of sunlight for
months, it seems as if a sensitive nature would be depressed
to the verge of insanity.
A young doctor of laws from Christiania gave us an
172
 .
account of the school system in Norway, which extends
even to these remote islands . The teachers are
supported by Government , and kept here for several
months in the year , and all the people living in the
school district are obliged to send their children .
They are taught reading and writing , a little arithmetic
, and the catechism ; and at a certain age all are
obliged to be confirmed . If parents neglect to have
their children instructed , and they reach the age of
confirmation without the requisite amount of learning ,
they are taken away to an establishment where they are
taught until able to pass the examination required .
So their parents lose the benefit of their help for that
period , and it is for their interest to have them well
brought up .
We began to get acquainted with our fellow passengers,
this pleasant day, having had little to do with
any of them before , except those we had previously
met-the Irish major's party and the Cornell student ,
or those who shared our cabin , Miss L. and her niece ,
Miss W. and the pretty English girl from Newcastle .
There was a Scotchman from the Hebrides , or the
Orkneys , now an analytical chemist in London , with
an appointment under Government, and three other
Scotchmen, travelling in company; two young Irish
captains , whom we had passed on the Dovrefjeld ,
footing it through the finest scenery , in knickerbockers ,
who now pedestrianized the deck in the most vigorous
manner ; the reticent Englishman , who intended to go
round the North Cape ; three German gentlemen , whose
intentions were not announced , but who appeared so
much bored that we were not surprised to find them
landing at Tromsöe , next day ; and the Norwegians .
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 173
These were Dr. Aal , who was on his way to visit his
brother - in - law, a pastor near Hammerfest ; next , the
magistrate of some amt in this region, whose wife and
children occupied berths in our cabin , and were treated
with the greatest respect by the stewardess and all the
servants ; a queer little man , who was bringing home
a bride from Hamburg, and was constantly coming to
the door of the ladies' cabin and calling " Kone ! " (the
title of a wife in Norway, ) and the young lady who
bade us good - by this morning . With all these we felt
more or less acquainted . Last , but not quite least ( for
the amtmand's wife had a baby) , was the captain's
little boy ; a fine , frolicsome fellow of five years , who
would have been a pet with everybody; but whenever
he could attend to him, his father had him constantly
in hand, or held him by the little belt of his blouse.
He had a nurse ; but I think the child was not allowed
on deck, unless the captain were at liberty to take
care of him. The captain himself I should have introduced
before ; but, unfortunately, I have forgotten his
name. He was a favorite with us all ; a quiet , courteous
gentleman , whose cheerful face inspired us with
confidence . There would seem to be little danger in
sailing on these fjords in summer ; but fogs sometimes
veil the rocky points , and put the seamen out of their
reckoning. Not long before , one of these coasting
steamers had been wrecked off Christiansand . We
had not heard of it , then ; fortunately for our peace
of mind .
It was a cloudless evening, and all the passengers
were on deck, waiting for the long - desired spectacle
of the midnight sun . Somebody asked the Norwegian
gentlemen to sing us some of their national airs . Dr.
174
 .
Aal and three others were so kind as to entertain us
for a long time , singing " Gamle Norge " and other
patriotic airs , student songs , church music , and songs
of the peasants on the saeters ; these last were something
like German volk songs , but with sweet minor
strains and cadences peculiar to themselves . The
gentlemen sung four parts, and their voices harmonized
finely. The Swedish songs also are said to be
very sweet . Singing is taught at all the public schools ,
as it is in Germany.
We stopped a long time at a station called Sand
-an island , in north latitude 69' , longitude 34° 17-
where the sun was concealed from our view by a high
mountain ; and it was so nearly midnight that we
began to fear we should lose the critical moment,
though there could be no question that the sun was
above the horizon , for the distant peaks were gilded
and the clouds were gorgeous .
The sea was as clear and still as a mirror , reflecting
all the lovely tints of mountains and sky. By
and by we steamed out of the shadow ; and as we
passed beyond the dark mountain , a few minutes before
twelve o'clock, the sun was shining in dazzling
splendor, apparently about two degrees above the
horizon line of sea. It dropped no lower, but soon
began to ascend gradually, appearing above the summit
of the next mountain that interposed . The gentlemen
greeted the sight with three cheers , adding another
for "Gamle Norge " (old Norway) . Some of them tried
to burn holes in their hats with glasses ; and I think
one of them succeeded after long labor, but there was
not much heat in the rays . The effect of the golden
light was wonderful , and the glowing reflection on the
UP TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 175
glassy surface of the sea. From the North Cape itself
it could hardly have been more glorious. *
I know nothing finer , unless a sunset on the Nile ,
with the afterglow ; perhaps even that is less wonderful
than the midnight sun , under favorable circumstances
. But personal comfort has a good deal to
do with our enjoyment of natural beauty. It was extremely,
intensely cold ( I think we were near enough
to icebergs and glaciers to feel their chill ) , and when
the spectacle was over, we were all glad to retire to
the cabin and get warm under blankets . I made interest
with Caroline , the stewardess , to procure me
a bottle of hot water as a foot - warmer, one of the
ladies having kindly instructed me in the necessary
phrase, " Vil de bring mig en störe flask kogende
* The North Cape , under the midnight sun , is thus described by Bayard
Taylor:
"Far to the north the sun lay in a bed of saffron light, over the clear
horizon of the Arctic Ocean . A few bars of dazzling orange cloud floated
above him ; and still higher in the sky, where the saffron melted through
delicate rose color into blue , hung like wreaths of vapor, touched with pearly
opaline flushes of pink and golden gray . The sea was a web of pale slate
color shot through with threads of orange and saffron , from the dance of a
myriad shifting and twinkling ripples . The air was filled with the soft,
mysterious glow, and even the very azure of the southern sky seemed to
shine through a net of golden gauze . The headlands of this deeply indented
coast-the capes of the Laxe and Porsanger Fjords, and of Mageroe , lay
around us, in different degrees of distance , but all with foreheads touched
with supernatural glory. Far to the northeast was Nord Kyn, the most
northern point of the mainland of Europe , gleaming rosily and faint in the
full beams of the sun , and just as our watches denoted midnight, the North
Cape appeared to the westward—a long line of purple bluff, presenting a
vertical front of nine hundred feet in height to the polar ocean . Midway
between these two magnificent headlands stood the midnight sun , shining
on us with subdued fires , and with the gorgeous coloring of an hour for
which we have no name, since it is neither sunrise nor sunset, but the blended
loveliness of both. "
176
 .
vand ?" This poor stewardess was of a stupidity incredible
and unaccountable , until we noticed one day
the black hole from which she emerged , whenever
called for in the daytime—a dark , unventilated cabin ,
in which she spent all her spare time , asleep or in a
state of stupor produced by the carbonic - acid gas she
was constantly inhaling . We had a disturbed night ,
for our beds , as usual , were hard and narrow,
and we
stopped at several stations , where the discharging of
cargo was very noisy work. We were all glad when
Tromsöe was reached, at noon of Saturday, and the
steamer stopped until midnight . The scenery continued
to be very fine , but we were told that we
had seen the best of it . After Hammerfest the shores
are lower and the rock forms and colors less wild and
beautiful . We would gladly have gone on to Hammerfest
and seen the most northern town of Europe ,
although there is little of interest to be found there ,
for it was only a day's journey farther ; but we had
lost all desire of seeing the North Cape at the cost
of prolonging our voyage by a week, and we had as
little inclination to wait the same time for the Hakon
at Hammerfest.
THE
XI.
TROMSO E.
HE steamer anchored out in the fjord , and little
boats came out to take the passengers ashore .
We had to go forward between decks , and clamber
down from a hole in the ship's side into the boat
which we had bargained for ; and our luggage went
before and followed us in a delightfully promiscuous
manner . The boat was so heavily laden that we
were glad to get safely out of it on to the long
staging which stretches out from the shore . This was
crowded with people, who gazed at the strangers with
interest .
Nearly all the cabin passengers landed , as the
steamer was to stop until midnight , and there was
much inquiry after hotels . Several of the Englishmen
had telegraphed for rooms to a widow lady who
entertained strangers , and they kindly told us they
thought there was no other hotel in the place , and
it was very doubtful if we could obtain accommodations
; but the porters who had appropriated our luggage
told us there was another, even Schmidt's Hotel ;
and , finding the widow's quarters full , we kept on
up the hill , to see what Mr. Schmidt could do for us.
There were fourteen of us seeking dinner , though five
or six were going on in the steamer. We entered
8*
178 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
the house , were requested to walk upstairs , and asked
for Mr. Schmidt . A stalwart negro , black as the ace
of spades, appeared in response.
" Oh , he is a blacksmith ! " exclaimed one of the
Scotchmen. But Sambo was the only English - speaking
person in the establishment , and as such was put
in the fore - front . He made all the arrangements .
We could have rooms ; oh , yes ! plenty of rooms .
And dinner ? To be sure , dinner for everybody . He
waited at table in a clean white jacket and apron , and
was the most homelike object our eyes had rested
upon for a long time . It was a luxury to sit down.
to a table neatly laid and properly waited on , though
the fare was no better than on the steamer .
Sambo was from Jamaica. How did this tropical
specimen find his way to these frozen shores ? Was
he drifted by the Gulf Stream, like the casks of palm
oil which came ashore at Hammerfest in 1823 , and
were traced to a wreck off Cape Lopez , on the coast
of Africa ?
Schmidt's Hotel was a square wooden building ,
with a large billiard room on the ground floor, and
the guest- room above it —a pleasant apartment , both
sitting and dining room. The other side of the house
was divided into four bedrooms , and there were smaller
chambers in the attic above . The kitchen was a small
room in the centre of the house, and was nearly filled
by an immense cooking range .
Nearly all the gentlemen started , after dinner, for
a walk to the Lapp encampment, three or four miles
distant up the Tromsdal , a pretty valley among the
hills ; but it was voted too much of an undertaking
for the ladies , so we spent the afternoon wandering
TROMSOE. 179
about the village , with Miss H. , who had found herself
the only lady at the widow's , and came over to
Schmidt's for company. She was full of harmless
gossip about our fellow passengers ; it was quite wonderful
how people had confided to one another their
own histories and what they knew of other people .
The G.'s , for instance , lived in the south of Ireland ,
and Miss G. , their niece , was one of a large family,
all very nice girls , but poor , you know, though of
an excellent family-county people ; so their uncle
contrived to take one of them at a time , and give
them an outing . Then Miss L. and her niece were
still more highly connected ; Miss W. was actually a
sister of Lord W. d'E , an Irish peer. And the
Scotch people : poor Kilmarnock, we had noticed him ,
of course ? Well , and he used to be so clever, taking
high rank in the university, when he was attacked
with epilepsy, which had reduced him to this sad
condition . Mr. M. was his guardian ; he was a fine
fellow, and so kind to poor K. And the other Scotchman
, red - headed and impetuous ? Oh, he was heir to
an immense property ; his father had made a fortune
in marmalade . Dr. R. , the chemist , we had ourselves
heard relating the story of his life to pretty Miss H. ,
and begging her to call on his motherless daughter, at
his cottage in Kensington . He was a very amusing
man , possessed of an immense fund of information
on all sorts of subjects , and with the simplest manners.
So we chatted, as we sat on the rocks at the
end of the village , where the hill sloped off to the
shore.
We had a following, as we walked through the
streets , like the tail of a Highland chieftain ; small
180  .
children for the most part , who occasionally ran ahead
and stared at us . Was it a compliment , or the reverse
? We could not quite determine . We went
into a little shop where watches and jewellery were
exhibited , to purchase some souvenir of Tromsöe , but
found that the articles were mostly of English manufacture
. We began in our limited Norsk , but soon
found that the pretty girl who waited on us understood
English . Where did she learn to speak it so
well , in England ?
No ; in America. She had lived two years at a place
called Freeport , near Chicago . Which did she like the
best -Norway or America ? Oh , Norway : she was glad
to get back, and thought the winters no colder here
than in Chicago . She could not deny that they were
longer and darker .
But the influence of the Gulf Stream greatly modifies
the climate on the coast . They say the winters
are not colder here than at Hamburg, and we can quite
believe it . The average temperature at Alten, a little
farther north than Tromsöe , is 33.66° Fahrenheit .
Drift ice is never seen here , at 71 ° north latitude ,
though common on the American coast at 41 ° off
Labrador and Newfoundland . The summer, though
so short , is unusually rapid , the continual stimulus of
sunshine bringing forward vegetation in a wonderful
manner. The neighborhood of the Alten Fjord is favorably
situated , being sheltered on all sides by mountains
. At Kaafjord , the innermost branch of the Alten ,
peas , beans , cauliflower, radishes and lettuce are raised ;
and though planted six weeks later than in Christiania ,
come to maturity at about the same time .
We found flowers growing in the fields near the vilTROMSOE.
181
lage ; large , double ranunculi , wild pansies , pink heather ,
buttercups and dandelions . Miss L. , who carried a sort
of portable garden , done up in india - rubber cloth , found
some choice ferns , which she hoped in this way to carry
safely to her fernery in the south of Ireland . She and
her niece (the lord's sister ) were provided with some
unusual articles of luggage , in the shape of two large
crockery washing basins , which they had purchased at
Throndhjem . In landing at Tromsöe we heard an
ominous crash ; and it appeared afterwards that these
useful articles had come to grief, to the great distress
of their owners .
On returning to Schmidt's Hotel we found the party
who had visited the Lapp encampment in a state of
disappointment and disgust , because they had found
no reindeer (they were off, feeding on the mountains ) ,
and had had a wet , tiresome walk , with nothing in
particular to reward them for their exertions . The
Cornell student brought back a pair of reindeer- skin
boots , which were tastefully made, but very offensive
in odor. We had seen Lapps on the steamer and
about the streets of Tromsöe and were familiar with
their costume and appearance . They are a small folk ,
about the size of Chinese , and not unlike them in complexion
and features . If dressed in the same fashion ,
I think the family likeness would be perceptible .
Those that we saw were dressed in long, blue cloth
tunics , bordered with red and yellow stripes , and square
caps of the same material , with similar ornamentation
They wore boots of reindeer skin , turning up at the
toes in a sharp point , stitched with bright colors , and
laced with the sinews of the reindeer . In winter they
wear tunics and leggings of the skin , with the hair
182
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMmer
.
inside . A belt of skin , perhaps eight inches wide , is
sometimes worn around the waist . The women wore
cotton dresses and little shawls ; but instead of the
kerchief they had a curious head - dress , which comes
close about the face , like a cap , and is tied under the
chin, but sticks out behind like a hemlet , put on almost
horizontally . It is made over a wooden framework,
and covered with bright woollen materials , red , blue and
yellow. In cold weather they dress in tunics and full
trousers of reindeer skin , with skin or fur caps .
Mr. Edward Rae, who visited this Lapp encampment
at Tromsöe, gives the following description
of it :
"We were ferried across the fjord in a small boat ,
and walked up a beautiful wooded valley , among silver
birch - trees , past mossy banks , and over rippling brooks ,
through carpets of lovely oak and beech fern, and blueberries
, harebells and anemones . At length, after an
hour and a quarter's walk we came to the encampment
of the Laplanders ; six or eight rude huts or wigwams ;
half were store - houses and half human dwellings . The
Lapp occupants were poor and dirty ; and we wellnigh
asphyxiated ourselves by entering a hut where a woman
was baking rye cakes by a wood fire . Chimney there
was none ; a hole in the roof admitted the draught ,
which carried the smoke into our mouths , arousing
choking coughs , and into our eyes , which filled with
bitter tears .
"There was a magnificent Lapp baby, in a redleather
cradle , lined with soft , white fur, that took our
fancy, and was handed round and kissed . It was the
only cleanly object we saw in the huts . We loitered
about for an hour or two, waiting for the herd of reinTROMSOE.
183
deer-which only arrived on the following day-and ,
becoming tired , bade the Lapps good - by." *
Mr. Charles Brace of New York visited the same
encampment twenty years ago, in company with the
amtmand of Tromsöe , who had sent word in advance
to have the reindeer driven in from the mountains .
"The first glimpse we caught of them was as of a flock
of little black animals , on the snow at the top of the
mountain. Gradually they drew nearer, and we could
see that they were driven by some little Lapland dogs ,
and two boys with whips . Every straggler from the
herd was at once brought in by the dogs , and the whole
mass was directed towards us . Finally they came ,
tramping and snuffing, and with a low grunting noise ,
into the valley , and passed us , some two hundred of
them the bucks bent down under their grand antlers ,
the does very thin and scraggy, the little fawns , duncolored
and graceful -all running into an enclosure .
They are a small deer, and at this season peculiarly
ugly . Their motion is a kind of quick trot — not a
bound, like that of our deer—and it is said that they
will keep this up for ninety miles a day. Their milk is
very rich in quality , and not disagreeable . Their food ,
beside the reindeer moss , which the Lapps keep and dry
for winter use , is a lichen with a broad, pale - green leaf
which grows on the rocks. They also eat the lemming
rat. They are greatly troubled by flies and insects in
summer, and to escape these , or to procure their favorite
moss , they draw their masters down at this
season to the hills near the sea ."
These migrations of the reindeer almost occasioned
* " Land of the North Wind . " Murray. London, 1875.
184  .
a war between Norway and Russia . The Finnish fishermen
used to frequent the Norwegian fishing grounds ,
and the Norwegian Lapps were allowed to cross into
Finland , during the winter, to obtain moss for their
reindeer. This was settled by a treaty between Norway
and Sweden in 1751. When Finland was ceded
to Russia , the Government demanded great privileges
for fishermen , and even stations on the coast. These
were refused , and in return Russia refused the Lapps
the privilege of entering Finland with their reindeer,
and when the animals forced their way to their usual
food, they were killed by the Russian agents ; and as the
Lapps attributed their troubles to their own Government
, there were several insurrections among them .
The Norwegian Government appointed a commission
to visit the Lapps and demand satisfaction of the
Russians . This was in 1853. Since that time the
Lapps have been obliged to confine themselves to
their own quarters in Norwegian Finmark . About
the same time there was a strong religious excitement
among the Lapps , and in an outbreak of fanaticism
they murdered the Lensmand of Kautokimo and cast
his body into the flames of his own house , killed a
prominent merchant , and dragged the good pastor
Hvoslef and his wife by the hair of their heads , and ,
but for the interference of some well - disposed Lapps ,
would have put them also to death . In spite of the
fanaticism attending it , this religious movement was
productive of good . There was much less intemperance
among the Lapps , and a better standard of
morals , generally , afterward .
The romance of Mügge , “ Afraja , or Life and Love
in Norway," comes naturally into mind at Tromsöe ,
TROMSOE. 185
where the wicked vagt , or amtmand , resided , and
where poor old Afraja was burned to death as a sorcerer.
It must be a long time since any such event
has occurred ; and though Mügge's descriptions of
Norwegian scenery are very graphic, and his representations
of Norwegian life and character, in general ,
true to nature , his work must be read as a romance ,
after all , and not as history. There is a prejudice
against the Lapps among the Norwegians , as there
is a prejudice among our Western people against the
Indians , perhaps with less reason. That they have
been treated with great injustice there can be no
doubt . Heaven forbid that the Lapps have been
more unjustly dealt with than our Indians !
Mr. Rae quotes a history of Lapland , written by
"John Schefferus , professor of law and rhetoric at Upsala
in Sweden, and printed in English, at the theatre
in Oxford , 1674." With reference to the early
belief of the Lapps : " They worshipped a god called
Jumâla , likewise the god of victory Tunisas , or Thor ,
prince of the Asiatics ( Scythians ) , also the sun.
These are the chief gods . They worship to this day
Rongotheus, god of rye ; Pellonpeko, of barley ; Wierecannos
, of oats ; Uko, of tempests ; Nyoke , of squirrel
hunting ; Hyttavanes , of hunting . Jumâla has
power over the air , thunder and lightning , health , life
and death of men , and such like ." Their idols are
very rude, mere stumps of trees , sometimes , or stones
of grotesque and almost human shape . " In a cataract
of the Tornea , there are found seitæ, just in the
shape of a man, one of them tall ; and hard -by, four
others , something lower, with a cap on their heads .
But because the passage into that island is dangerous ,
186  .
because of the cataract , the Laplanders are forced to
desist from going to that place ." The readers of
"Afraja " will remember the circle of saita stones , on
the rocky plateau . These are described as hewn
square and marked with curious lines and furrows ,
something like a Druid circle .
Professor Schefferus goes on to observe , " It hath
been a received opinion that the Laplanders are addicted
to magic . They have teachers and professors
in this science , and parents in their last will bequeath
to their children , as the greatest part of their estate ,
those spirits and devils that have been any way serviceable
to them in their lifetime . Some of the more
obsequious spirits will not engage themselves without
great solicitation , while others more readily
proffer themselves to young children . When the
devil takes a fancy to any one in his infancy, he
presently haunts him with apparitions, from whence
he learns what belongs to the art." Schefferus describes
the boundaries and climate of Lapland , and
speaks of " mountains called Doffrini , upon whose
naked tops , by reason of the violence of the wind to
which they are exposed , never yet grew tree " ; and
adds , of the climate , " It is so extreme cold here in
the winter that ' tis not to be endured but by those
that have been brought up in it ."
Up to the seventeenth century the Lapps were left
undisturbed in their ancient belief and practice . No
definite boundary separated their country from the
kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. As early as the
time of Harald Harfager, the nomadic tribes along
the coast, beyond the North Cape, paid tribute to
Norway. They were called Finns , or Cwenas (whence
TROMSOE. 187
Quanes ) , and their country Finmark , while the tribes in
the north of Sweden were called Lapps, and their
country Lapland . If not of the same race originally
which seems probable , they were of similar origin ; all
these tribes , Finns , Lapps , and Quanes , or Russian
Finns , belong to one great family, the Tsjudes , an
Asiatic race allied to the Mongolians , according to
Swedish ethnologists . The Lapps about the head of
the gulf of Bothnia , were oppressed by the fur traders ,
who had been granted a monopoly of the commerce
of that region , and who went so far as to style themselves
kings of the Lapps . Gustavus Vasa expelled
them , and exacted tribute of the natives .
His son,
Charles IX. , assumed the title of " King of the Lapps
of Norrland ," and having founded the city of Gottenburg,
granted to the inhabitants the privilege of fishing
on the northern coasts of Lapland . He was the first
to build churches in Lapland , which he did at his own
charge ; one at Tenotekis in 1600 , and three others a
few years later. Gustavus Adolphus established schools
among them. At the present time the Lapps are on
terms of equality with the rest of the population as regards
civil and religious liberty. Schools and churches.
are supported among them, and they are entitled to
suffrage and to representation in the Storthing . Although
they live so simply, and with a delight in their
wild , free life equal to that of a Bedouin Arab in the
desert, many of them are intelligent. Mr. Brace conversed
with the chief of the little tribe at Tromsöe ,
through an interpreter, and was surprised at the wisdom
of his answers . He and a young herdsman both
spoke of the superstitions of the Lapps as a thing of
the past ; only the poorest persons had any fear of
188
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
demons or evil spirits . Jumâla , they seemed to identify
with Satan . They learned of the schoolmasters ;
they could read the Bible ; they believed in Jesus .
Both spoke with great affection of the good missionary
Lestadius-the originator of the remarkable religious
movement among them-who died in 1841. His
son had emigrated to America . Did Mr. Brace know
him ?
" He was asked , ' Do you believe you will live after
you die ?'
" Every one will live , ' he answered , very seriously ;
but whether he should attain the blessed life , he was
not sure ; he was trying very hard , but sometimes he
was in doubt .
" Do you think you will live above , or below ? '
The answer was remarkable : God is everywhere ,
above and below. He will do with me what is good.'
"He seemed a savage , when I first addressed him ;
but I shook hands with him at parting , as if we belonged
to more than the brotherhood of humanity . ” *
We had a dish at supper which was new to most of
us—molteberries and cream. These berries are said
to be like the Scotch cloudberries ; but as I am not familiar
with that species of fruit I cannot vouch for the
resemblance . They are of a buff color, about as large
as Antwerp raspberries , of a pleasant acid taste, and
when you put a spoonful in your mouth you feel as if it
were full of small shot . They were worse than cherry
stones , because they were more numerous . I think
Sambo was disappointed because we left our saucers
of berries and cream unfinished , but we couldn't help
* "The Norse Folk . " By Charles Loring Brace .
TROMSOE. 189
it. It is a fruit of which the natives are very proud ,
and one might say it is all they have to be proud of in
that line . Mother Nature is not bountiful at Tromsöe .
They grow in great quantities, and are kept through
the winter by being buried under the snow, and jam
is sometimes made of them . If one began by getting
rid of the seeds , the jam might be very nice .* (I wonder
if it was the marmalade young man who suggested
our having molteberries for supper ! )
We bade good - by to our steamer friends , who were
courageous enough to go on, at midnight , and then
strolled up the street to a little shop where we had
that afternoon made an appointment with a photographer.
We wanted our " fotografs " (they spell it so
in Norway ! ) taken by the midnight sun . We went
through a gate in a high board fence , into a little
yard, where an instrument stood ready, and took our
seats under a little shed prepared for the purpose . It
was to be a group ; so the two older ladies were seated
in front, and the young folks stood behind our chairs .
Tromsöe is shut in by mountains, so that the sun was
not visible ; but it was above the horizon , and the sky
was perfectly clear . It was very cold ; we had on thick
jackets and wanted our shawls too , but these were artistically
arranged as drapery. The artist had his
plates ready and did not keep us waiting, but the
process was a long one and our gravity was not equal
* The entire absence of scurvy during the voyage of the Vega is attributed
by Professor Nordenskjöld to the free use of a little berry that springs
out of the ice and snow during the summer. It bears profusely , and has a
taste like the raspberry , but more acid . The fruit is dried and mixed with
the milk of the reindeer , and can be carried in a frozen state for thousands
of miles . This must be the molteberry .
190  .
to the occasion. I am sorry to say, in plain language,
that we giggled and spoiled the first negative ; but we
behaved better at the second trial ; the clock struck
twelve at the exact moment, and the picture was a
success . So the artist said , and we were to have
proofs early Monday morning . As it was now Sunday
morning, we went back to our quarters and retired to
rest.
Sambo had promised us rooms , but at our first arrival
there had been only one at our disposal . The
others were occupied by people who were going on in
the steamer, and would vacate before midnight . We
found them prepared for us ; one on the ground floor
was assigned to Miss M. , Blossom and I had a large
room in the second story , and Will ascended to the attic
. Our beds were unique ; spiral springs covered with
sacking, and nothing else . We had thick , wadded coverlids
, which we used to soften the springs , and took
all our rugs and wraps for blankets . It was not luxury
exactly, but , after the steamer, it was comfort.
We slept late , to make up for lost time, and breakfasted
about half- past eleven . All our party were of
the same mind , and the table was full . An Englishman,
who was staying at the hotel , informed us gravely
that "they could not produce eggs in Tromsöe , ” and
that the rather doubtful ones we were eating , or letting
alone , had been brought from Hamburg . We were
slightly surprised , as we had seen fowls on the street ,
and told him so ; but he insisted that they had been
lately brought here, and would not live through the
winter. (We had seen pigs on the street too , running
about, and eating grass , just as they did in the
Romsdal . )
TROMSOE. 191
Dinner was at two o'clock, and we devoted the short
interval to our usual Sunday work of writing letters .
There was no stove in our room , and we suffered from
cold, this 11th day of July, 1875 , while our friends
were roasting at home.
In the afternoon we went to the service at the large
wooden church in the centre of the village ; the service
was at 5 P. M. Morning service , I think, had been at
9 A. M. The church was painted outside , but showed
the timbers within ; it was in the form of a cross , with
the entrance on two sides . We found it well filled
with people, plainly dressed, the women nearly all
with kerchiefs ; now and then a hat on some member
of the Tromsöe aristocracy, or young girl who had
been to America . The women were on one side , and
men on the other. I believe this division of the sheep
and the goats is customary in Norway. The pulpit
was at an angle of the cross, and the choir behind was
occupied by the altar, on a raised platform . A very
good organ, for that latitude , led the singing, which
was congregational, much like the German chorales .
The priest wore a long , black robe , with a wide , white
ruff round his neck, very becoming to his blonde beauty;
for he was handsome , and very fair , and looked very
young. He preached a long sermon , of which we made
out now and then a word , from its resemblance to the
German "Sundlösigkeit , " for example . The air became
so oppressive , from the crowded audience and
utter want of ventilation , that we left before the sermon
was over.
There was a little croquet ground on the green near
the church , and children were playing there . Shops
are not open , and people go to church ; but beyond
192
 .
that, I fancy they do not keep Sunday any more
strictly in Norway than elsewhere on the continent .
People visit, and give parties and balls , and amuse
themselves generally. The day has nothing like the
solemnity it possesses in England, and especially in
Scotland.
We wanted to mail letters , and found the post - office
open. Not knowing just where it was , we had inquired
of a lady, who was sitting with friends on the porch in
front of her house . " My husband will go with you
and show the way," said she ; and he very kindly did
so, talking in English with us. Afterwards we walked
down to the landing , and fonnd the wharf crowded , as
it had been the day before .
The steamer from Hammerfest was just in , the
Lofoten, on which we were to sail next day. Will
took a boat and went out to her, to find at what hour
she would leave ; we feared it would be at midnight.
But it appeared there were people on board who wished
to visit the Lapp encampment ; so her departure was
fixed for noon on Monday. We could have another
night's rest on our spiral springs .
Tromsöe has about fifteen hundred inhabitants. *
We wondered at first where they all lived , for it seems
a small village ; but we had no doubt of the fact after
going to church, and ( leaving the church full ) finding
the crowd on the wharf. There were Lapps there and
we saw Lapps in church.
The Norwegian pastors are said to have the best.
salaries and the easiest work of any Government officials
. Twenty years ago, when Mr. Brace was here ,
* According to Murray-Nielsen says four thousand : but that must mean
the parish, or amt. On Sundays they come in, from all the adjacent region .
TROMSOE. 193
the Tromsöe pastor had a salary of $2,500 and a house.
This salary was made up in the following manner :
Twenty dollars came from eider down , $400 from lands
belonging to the parish let out to farmers ; the rest was
paid by the parish taxes and by the State , from a fund
established for the purpose when the Lutheran Church
became the State Church of Norway and the Catholic
establishments were suppressed . Besides this salary
the pastor has fixed fees for baptisms , marriages and
funerals . In the fishing districts it is usual for every
fisherman to contribute a portion of his catch , and in
a good season the pastor will often have three or four
hundred dollars' worth of fish . When one considers
the cheapness of living in Norway, this furnishes a very
liberal support.
9
WE
XII.
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN.
E did not join the party from the steamer , in the
excursion to the Lapp encampment, being
deterred by the experience of the Irish ladies on Saturday,
who had found the walk very long and wearisome.
Word had been sent to the camp, and the Lapps
had driven in some of their reindeer from the mountains
, for the inspection of their guests . These were
the party of Parisian travellers , whom we had encountered
at Mr. Bennett's house-Dr. E. , with his wife , her
mother, and two ladies from New York.
When we boarded the steamer Lofoten , which sailed
at noon on Monday, July 12 , we were the only passengers
from the Hakon Adelstein ; the others remaining
in Tromsöe , to take a smaller steamer for a trip to the
Lofoden Islands, or to wait the Hakon's return . We
turned our backs on the North Pole , not without regret
; for it would have been a fine thing to tell of at
home, if we could have beheld the midnight sun from
the North Cape , as did Bayard Taylor : but we were
too much in sympathy with the German gentleman ,
who had disembarked with us on Saturday ; " we could
no more of that steamer. " We little thought that we
should have cause to regret the Hakon in the far
greater tribulations we endured on the Lofoten.
This steamer was smaller, and seemed, at first , more
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 195
comfortably arranged than the Hakon ; but it was not
less crowded in proportion to its size . There were
more state - rooms ; but the ladies' cabin was smaller .
The berths on the outside , controlling the portholes ,
were occupied , and we were driven into a corner ; but
there was a good - sized ventilator in the roof, and we
had hopes of fresh air. Our new friends had staterooms,
and, by making a point of it , had been able to
keep the same places at table , and secure a fair share
of attention . They had been on the steamer since she
left Throndhjem, about the first of July, except that
they got off at Hammerfest while she went round to
Vadsoe ; and finding little to interest them in that fishy
town where , the principal manufacture is that of codliver
oil , they had gone up the Alten Fjord to Bosekop ,
where they had been agreeably entertained at the
house of a widow lady while waiting the return of the
steamer . From their account she must have been
almost equal to Mme . Quillfeldt .
Bosekop is on a lofty headland which separates the
inner branches of the Alten Fjord , the western being
called the Kaa Fjord ; the highest peaks are three
thousand feet above sea- level . A fair is held here ,
in March and November, which is attended by many
Finns and Lapps , as well as by Swedes . The boundary
lines between Sweden and Russian Finland are not
far distant ; and a horse path runs up the valley of
the Alten River, and across the mountains , crossing
a strip of Russian territory into Sweden . In winter
the route is practicable for pulks-a sort of sledge
drawn by reindeer-as far as Tornea and Haparanda ,
at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia ; a journey of
about four hundred and thirty English miles , usually
196 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
performed in six or seven days . There is good sleighing,
you will observe , when the fair is held at Bosekop .
Bayard Taylor made this journey in the winter , and
endured cold of forty and fifty degrees below zero .
Mr. Edward Rae took this route in the summer,
going up the Alten River, and down the Muonio
and Tornea rivers in boats ; the rest of the way on
horseback. But he was nearly devoured by mosquitoes,
which , in July and August , are said to be much
worse here than in India or Australia. How they compare
with American mosquitoes I cannot say.
Were it not for the extreme cold , a pulk journey
would be great fun. This vehicle is like a canoe ,
narrow and rounding , with the stern cut off and turned
up , to fit the back, and the front covered with sealskin
, to keep out the snow. A reindeer is attached
to an iron ring at the front of the pulk by a single
trace of strong leather, which is fastened to the bottom
of his collar, and passes between his legs, under a
band of cloth . A strip of sealskin goes round his
head , tied in a knot under the left ear ; to this the
single rein , also of sealskin, is fastened . This is
held in the right hand of the traveller , or wound about
his wrist . There is " some knack required to keep
it on the right side , as it is continually getting over
to the other." There is more knack required in keeping
one's self right side up, as the beginner always
begins by being rolled over and over and over . No
harm ensues , however, unless the reindeer runs away,
and leaves you to follow on foot .
The Alten Copper Works , in a valley south of the
fjord, belong to an English company, and the gentlemen
connected with them make themselves both agreeON
THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 197
able and useful to travellers , in the absence of a regular
station -house . A tribe of Finns or Quanes (Kvæner
in Norsk) are settled at Alten . Murray says , " They
are admirable boatmen ; but they are not famous for
the love of truth and honesty which generally distinguishes
the Norwegian peasant . " They must have
deteriorated since Mr. Laing's residence in Norway in
1835 ; for he speaks of the Finns as a " harmless , innocent
little folk, with many good points , and scarcely
any evil in them. From North Cape to Roraas it is
universally said of this despised caste , ' A Finn never
says what is not true , nor takes what is not his
own .'" Contact with civilization has not improved
them, apparently.
The steamer, like others of the line , had been round
the North Cape , or through the straits , to Vadsoe, the
extreme point of the route , and had brought thence ,
as passengers , a Norwegian pastor, with his wife and
family, seven small children , and a yellow dog, rejoicing
in the name of Vammsen . We did not learn
the name of the family, but we saw enough of them .
The pastor himself was a quiet little man, forever
sucking at a short German pipe , and looking as if
the continual enjoyment of the same had stunted him,
mentally as well as physically. His wife was “ a fine
figure of a woman, " as big as two of him, the daughter,
as we learned , of a prominent man , somewhere
above the Arctic Circle . She was treated with great
consideration by the Norwegian ladies on board . With
her youngest child, a baby of ten months , she occupied
a berth in the ladies ' cabin , from which she rarely
emerged . The baby was a sickly little thing, coughing
and wailing pitiably ; and the mother felt terribly
198
A SCANDINAVIAN
Summer
.
DINAVIAN
aggrieved if the ventilator or portholes were opened
in the slightest degree, by night or day.
We woke the first morning in a state of partial
asphyxia , from the frightful atmosphere of the cabin ;
and finding it was to be a serious matter-for all the
Norwegian ladies supported the pastor's wife in her
opposition to fresh air-we appealed to the captain
for orders to the stewardess that the ventilator should
be kept open several inches through the night . He
consented at once , and we rejoiced in spirit ; but when
we retired to our berths about II P. M. , behold the
cabin hermetically sealed ! and , having been inhabited
all day by a sick baby, and now by fourteen
sleepers, in a space eighteen feet by eight , the state
of the atmosphere can be better imagined than described
. We went at once to the steward , told him
of the captain's order, and sent him to see it executed .
He went and returned , saying that the captain was
sitting on the ventilator drinking his toddy, and he
did not like to disturb him, but would open it later.
If he did , it made little difference , for the stewardess
closed it promptly.
The second night was worse than the first ; and it
became a struggle for life between America and Norway.
Even in the daytime no air was admitted to the
cabin, and the pastor and his boys kept diligent watch
of the ventilator-which, projecting some eighteen
inches above the deck, formed a convenient seat- lest
any of us should surreptitiously open it . If the baby
should dié on the passage-and we feared it wouldthat
whole family and all the Norwegian passengers
would lay its death to the charge of three unreasonable
American ladies ; if we died , as seemed rather likely
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 199
than otherwise, they would all have been glad to be
rid of us .
The other children-six boys and girls-slept with
their nurse in the second cabin , and subsisted partly
upon home-made provisions and partly from the
mother's plate . We observed her one day eating her
dinner in the cabin with all of them grouped around
her, putting morsels alternately into their open mouths ,
like an old mother robin feeding her young . The eldest
was but ten years of age , and they were under foot
most of the time , with their faithful Vammsen , either
here or on deck ; though they were less of a nuisance
than might have been expected . In the second cabin ,
however, their pillow fights and other antics were such
a disturbance to an American woman , who had taken
passage on the steamer from Hamburg for the entire
trip , that the captain came to her relief and installed
her in a vacant berth in our cabin . We found in her a
zealous adherent to the fresh - air party ; and under the
influence of her active tongue several of the Norwegian
ladies , who had kept quiet hitherto , began to speak
English fluently. She described our ocean and river
steamers , eulogized the state - rooms with their comfort
and privacy, and dwelt emphatically upon the subject
of ventilation . " You should come to America , and
learn how to treat people who come to visit you ," said
she. "We do not ask the Americans to come to Norway,"
replied these ladies ; " we do not need nor wish
the patronage of English and American travellers ."
It is quite true that they do not ; and their steamers
are very poorly adapted for summer travel , being intended
only for the ordinary coasting traffic . Would
it not pay to put a few extra steamers on the line dur200
 .
ing the three months when travel prevails , and let people
see the midnight sun with some degree of comfort ?
The passage might be greatly shortened by omitting
the long stops for discharging and taking in cargo, or
calling at small stations far up the fjords ; and many
more would take the journey if they were sure of comfortable
accommodations.
The first two days of our return voyage were rainy,
and we could spend but little time on deck . We sat
in the saloon , talked and read , and made the best of.
it ; but the time seemed long. Towards night , Tuesday
, the weather began to clear ; and when we reached
Bodo, where we were to stop for several hours , some
of our party went ashore to see the village, and walked
several miles to visit a curious old church in the interior
if the island , coming back about midnight with
great bunches of lovely flowers .
They had found the little church locked , and waked
up the sacristan , who lived near by, and , far from being
vexed at this disturbance to his slumbers , seemed
delighted to do the honors . Around the communion
table sat figures of the twelve apostles , in oddly carved
chairs . On the outside wall of the church was a monumental
tablet to a clergyman who died in 1660. The
sacristan refused the money they offered him , and
gave them, as mementos , wafers of unleavened bread ,
stamped with a crucifix and the monogram I. H. S. ,
prepared for the sacrament . I suppose they had not
been consecrated by the pastor , but it seemed a sort
of sacrilege on his part , considering his belief.
The Lutherans, since the time of Luther's contest
with Zwingli , hold the doctrine of consubstantiationso
nearly like the Romish doctrine of transubstantiaON
THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 201
tion that it requires a metaphysical mind to detect the
difference , -believing in a " spiritual and ineffable union
of the divine nature with the elements ."
" This is my body," said Luther , as obstinate in defence
of this opinion as he was before the Diet at
Worms. "Here I stand ; I cannot do otherwise ; God
help me ! " But oh ! for more such giants , with such
inability to flinch from convictions of right and duty !
While we waited at Bodo , the captain and other
officers who were not engaged in the labor of discharging
cargo were having a friendly time with the
officers of a smaller steamer, which had come alongside
to take on board passengers and freight for the
Lofoden Islands . We had a fairly good captain ; not
such a cultivated gentleman as the captain of the Hakon
Adelstein ; but a pleasant , genial man ; only he
was rather too fond of his toddy. The fun grew uproarious
, and finding myself the only lady on deck, I
went below ; but the stifling atmosphere of the cabin
drove me back . It grew very cold ; but I got an extra
wrap and waited for my friends .
When we came on board at Tromsöe , we had recognized
, among the passengers , two old acquaintances ,
a gentleman and his nephew, with whom we had made
the excursion from Naples to Pæstum a few months
previous . Mr. A. had resided in the West Indies and
South America , and was educating his nephew, according
to a system of his own, by travel rather than
schooling. Wherever they went, the boy picked up
enough of the language to talk rather fluently, but without
the slightest grammatical knowledge . I doubt if
he could have read a page understandingly, or written.
a sentence correctly. Naturally, each language thus
9*
202  .
acquired rubbed out the one preceding , and the boy's
mind, after a year or two of such education , would resemble
a slate upon which sentences have been written
and partially erased by the hand , one over another.
Mr. A. had decided to take the steamer for the
Lofoden Islands . The nephew was tired of the water,
and anxious to get back to Bergen, so he conspired
with the captain to keep his uncle drinking until the
steamer had gone. They were almost successful ; at
the last moment, however , Mr. A. sprang up , seized
his portmanteau and made his way to the boat . Then
he missed his overcoat ; the boy, who had purposely
forgotten it , tried to make him go back for it . No ,
he would send for it ; and he retained enough self- control
to carry out his determination .
The Lofoden steamer was off, our own was ready
to start ; all the passengers had returned except the
second - cabin American lady, who had left the other
pedestrians and gone on explorations of her own . " I
won't wait for her," said the captain , whose potations
had not increased his good- nature . Just in time she
appeared, having found a boatman to row her out to
the steamer . This person was not a favorite with
the captain, though he treated her kindly .
At Vadsoe , hearing that whale's blubber was considered
very nutritious , she procured a quantity and
brought it on board-the second - cabin passengers are
allowed to provide a part of their sustenance , but
expected to get one meal daily on the steamer, provisions
being an extra expense for all-but the blubber
proved so unpleasant to her fellow passengers
that they complained of her, and the captain made
her throw it overboard.
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 203
From her account , we missed nothing in not going
round to Vadsoe . It is a wretched little place , with
a few hundred inhabitants , who enjoy a summer of
six weeks and endure a winter of ten months .
Vardohuus is a little fort , built by Christian IV. ,
two hundred years ago , as a protection for the fisheries
, and to resist Russian encroachment in the Varanger
Fjord . The Russian frontier is at the mouth
of the fjord , and the sea is frozen here in winter , so
the Russians are supposed to be very anxious to
obtain a seaport on the western coast , near Tromsöe ,
in the Lyngen Fjord , which never freezes.
The scenery around Bodo is very wild and grand ;
the Biri Fjeld , with its picturesque peaks , snowy ravines
and black precipices lying to the southeast ,
while to the southwest the mountains tower above
each other into the far distance . Through the day
we had been passing the chain of the Lofoden Islands
; but the rain had prevented our enjoying the
view, pronounced so magnificent by those who see
them with the sunshine gilding their jagged peaks ,
which rise three and four thousand feet above the sea.
We had rainy weather also , in coming north , and had
stopped at Bodo while we slept .
The view from the Sandholm , the highest mountain
in the neighborhood , is spoken of as one of vast extent
and surpassing grandeur. " The long range of the
Lofodens , seventy or eighty English miles distant ,
seem like the jaws of a great shark, so many and so
jagged are their grand points . In the foreground the
islands , bays and lakes are countless ."
In this neighborhood , from the middle of January
to the middle of April , are caught the millions of cod
204  .
which form the staple article of trade on the northern
coast of Norway. It is estimated from official returns ,
that in an average year the cod -fisheries off these
islands are carried on by between four and five thousand
boats , employing nearly thirty thousand men ,
the produce varying between fifteen and twenty - five
millions of fish, from twenty- five thousand barrels of
cod- liver oil upwards , according to the catch, and six
thousand or more barrels of cod's roe . This is salted
and exported to France and Spain , where it is used as
bait for taking sardines .
If you were to visit the fishermen's huts along the
coast soon after Christmas , you would find all busy in
preparation for the winter's campaign , men and children
mending the nets and renewing the cords and
lines ; women sewing and washing the woollen and
leather garments , or baking large rye loaves and " fladbrod
" of barley and oatmeal , and packing butter,
cheese and dried and cooked meats for three months'
provisions. With the first favorable weather after the
15th of January, the boats are made ready and the
fishermen start for Lofoden .
The permanent population of these islands is
scarcely over twenty -five thousand ; but besides their
dwellings there are , in every sheltered bay, numbers
of rude huts , which are let out to strange fishermen
during the season . These huts , made of rough boards
and covered with turf, consist of two rooms each , one
fitted up with bunks for the fishermen, the other a
place of storage for their nets, lines, clothing , provisions
and barrels of oil and roes . From six to twelve
people occupy each hut , and if more are crowded together
in any place than can find room in the huts ,
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 205
they pull their boats on shore , turn them over, and
sleep under their shelter ; but they are often obliged
to camp out in the open air and on the snow. The
larger boats, equipped for taking cod with nets , have a
length of thirty to forty feet , a width of ten feet , with a
mast about twenty- four feet high, to which is attached
a large, square sail . Each boat has ten or twelve oars ,
and a crew of five men and a boy. One of the crew is
chosen as the captain , and implicitly obeyed by the rest .
His energy, coolness and knowledge of the channels.
are his claims to his position , which is only one of
honor ; the crew sharing equally with him in the produce
of the catch, though all purchases and sales take
place in his name.
The boats for fishing with lines are usually smaller,
and the crews consist of only three or four men. The
cordage for these nets and lines comes from the rope
manufactories of Bergen and other towns , except the
finer lines , which are spun by hand in the fishermen's
houses ; while the nets are made exclusively by the
fishermen, their wives and children , their employment
in the long winter evenings ; and the hempen yarn of
which the webs are made is also spun by them.
The first shoals of cod usually appear in the month
of December, on the banks outside of the Lofoden
Islands , where the catch continues until some time in
March ; but as the ports are few and unsafe the fishing
can only be carried on in good weather . In the West-
Fjord, sheltered by the chain of islands , there is safe
refuge for boats , the masses of fish come later and remain
longer, returning to the open sea in April . Farther
north , the fishery in Finmark is of even greater
importance , including not only cod but the capelin ,
206  .
which are caught for bait . At the end of February,
the appearance of millions of gulls in the horizon and
the blowing of whales in the vicinity of the North Cape
announce that shoals of these little fishes are approaching
the coast , and the cod follow in immense masses .
The capelin are taken in sweep - nets , and as soon as
the bait is obtained the cod - fishery begins , chiefly with
set and hand lines .
Until about ten years ago, this fishery was carried
on only by the scanty population of Finmark, and at
total catch of five or six millions was considered good ;
but now thousands of fishermen flock to Finmark, after
finishing their Lofoden fishery , and over fifteen millions
of capelin are taken . About the end of May they
retire towards the North Sea, followed by the masses
of cod . Here , as in Lofoden , most fishermen work on
their own account , sharing the expenses of boat , nets ,
lines , etc. , and the produce of a season , which averages
for each not over one hundred specie dollars . Nearly
all the boats ' crew sell the codfish to the merchants on
the coast, or to the vessels which prepare rockfish and
oil at the fishing places . Only those who live in the
neighborhood hang up the stockfish to dry on their
own account. After cleaning and cutting off their
heads , the fish are tied by the tails , two and two , and
hung over bars on frames , to dry in the open air . In
Lofoden, they remain exposed until the middle of
June , when they are dry enough to keep for years ; in
Finmark, where the catch is later , the drying continues
until July. Rockfish is the salted cod , which is cut
open , rubbed with salt , and packed in layers , in the
little vessels which come to buy fish . The carp is
taken to the interior fjords of the province of NordON
THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 207
land, where the weather is more favorable for drying
than in Lofoden or Finmark, landed , carefully washed ,
and spread out on the rocks to dry . Every evening
it is put into large heaps in order to press out the
water. In good weather , ten or twelve days suffice to
dry the fish ; it is then reshipped to Bergen , Aalesund ,
Christiansund and Throndhjem.
Another cod- fishery of importance is carried on be
tween the mouths of the Throndhjem Fjord and Cape
Stat, by the fishermen from Romsdal , Nordmore and
Sondmore ; but as the banks are farther from shore,
this fishing is more dangerous and laborious than in
Lofoden and Finmark . They go out about three
o'clock in the morning to set their nets , taking out
the fish caught and casting the nets anew, and return
with their catch to the shore , where they seldom
arrive before afternoon . In April, when the nights
are clear and the cold is less extreme, they frequently
remain out several nights together.
These fishermen risk their lives daily ; for the
weather changes often, and their open boats offer
little security against wind and wave.
Beside the cod , the coal- fish , ling, tusk , haddock ,
halibut and various other kind of fish are taken in
large quantities ; and the herring -fishery has been,
since the ninth century , one of the most important
sources of revenue to the country. There are two
kinds the winter herring and the summer herring ;
and the fish appear and disappear, and frequent different
places in a singular manner. Between 1850
and 1860 there were rich harvests of the winter herring
. On a fine day in February one might view the
sea, for an area of a square mile, covered with one
208  .
thousand to fifteen hundred boats ; thousands of fishermen
occupied in taking up the nets and bringing
the herring on shore ; hundreds of small vessels conveying
the fresh fish from the landing place to the
salting houses . These rich fields are now desolate ,
and the annual yield , which averaged from six to
eight hundred thousand barrels, amounted in 1874
to less than twenty thousand.
In later years , shoals of large red herring have appeared
farther to the north , and in 1871 nearly seven
hundred thousand barrels were taken . The shoals of
summer herring are found all along the coast , from
April to September. They are very irregular in their
appearance , and seldom come in such masses as the
winter herring, but as the fishery extends over such a
length of coast and for seven months of the year, enormous
quantities are taken ; on the average nearly two
million barrels annually, of which about two - thirds are
exported .
Are you tired of a fish diet, or shall I tell you " a
tale of potted sprats " ? Over one hundred thousand.
barrels of these little fish are taken with sweep nets ,
salted and exported every year. Anchovies are prepared
from fresh sprats , with spices, salt and oil ; and
forty to fifty thousand kegs are exported yearly , chiefly
to Denmark and Hamburg. The mackerel - fishery is
one of great importance , and lobsters are exported in
large quantities . Sea crabs, prawns and oysters are
also taken ; and artificial production of the latter is being
introduced ; sharks are taken for their livers , from
which oil for burning and for tanners ' use is prepared ,
the yearly produce amounting to eight thousand or
ten thousand barrels .
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 209
The fisheries most interesting to tourists in Norway
are those of the salmon and salmon- trout . These are
protected by law ; the fish may not be taken from the
middle of September to the middle of February, neither
in the rivers nor in the sea ; the use of set lines is forbidden
; the fjords and mouths of rivers must not be so,
obstructed with nets that the fish cannot pass .
minimum size of the meshes of nets is fixed at six
centimetres between the knots , and every fish that
does not measure eight inches in length must be immediately
returned to the water . Rivers and lakes in
The
which trout and salmon were not formerly found have
been stocked with them ; and in many waterfalls ladders
have been arranged to facilitate the ascent of
the fish .
The salmon and sea - trout rise in the spring from
the deeps outside the coast , which they inhabit during
the winter, to run up the rivers , and spawn in the
fresh water as soon as the ice has disappeared from
the rivers and lakes . Towards autumn they return to
the sea.
They are taken in the fjords with ordinary nets
set like cod nets , with drag nets , and in large cruives ,
floating on the surface of the water and fastened either
to poles or to the shore ; in the rivers , with the same
implements , and also with the hook by professional
fishermen and sportsmen , especially by Englishmen,
who rent the right of fishing in many rivers.
A favorite and picturesque method of capture is
spearing the fish by torchlight , illustrated in one of
Tidemand and Gude's paintings , in the villa of Oscarshald,
at Christiania .
The produce of the fresh -water fisheries of Norway
210  .
is estimated at $ 500,000 yearly ; that of the salt - water,
including cod , herring , lobsters , oil and blubber , fish
roe and fish guano, at over $ 12,000,000.
The seal - fishery is one of the great industries of
Norway, carried on in the Arctic Sea and on the island
of Jan Mayn by ships specially fitted for the service ,
cased in double armor of planks and iron plates to
protect them from the ice and enable them to break
through it . Their crews consist of forty to fifty men ,
and each ship has eight or nine boats , in which the
hunters pursue the seals , killing them with guns and
clubs . Each man receives a fixed part of the profits ,
which amount in all to about $ 500,000 yearly. Other
ships go to the island of Spitzbergen , in pursuit of
walruses, polar bears and porpoises , as well as seals ;
and on the island they hunt the wild reindeer , and rob
the nests of the eider duck. These Arctic expeditions
are full of danger, for sometimes the ships are caught
in the ice , and the crews pass the winter there , with
little provision and great misery , or their ships are
shattered by the ice , and they perish of hunger and
cold .
The famous Mäelström is in a narrow passage between
two of the Lofoden Islands-Moskenaes and
Vaeroe . It used to be called the Moskoeström , and
in his "Natural History of Norway," written in 1750,
Bishop Pontoppidan alludes to the error, common even
"among the learned , " of " a bottomless sea- abyss,
growing in the Moskoeström , penetrating quite through
the globe ." Jonas Ramus identified it with Scylla and
Charybdis , believing that Ulysses sailed to the coast
of Norway. He refers to Pliny and Plutarch , who
speak of Greeks living in the North , where the sun was
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 211
visible for thirty days together ; and infers that these
Greeks were descendants of Ulysses and his sailors .
Going farther still , and with less warrant , he proceeds
to identify Ulysses with Outin or Odin , the founder of
all the Scandinavian dynasties. Jonas Ramus was a
pastor in the parish of Norderhoug, district of Ringeriget,
and diocese of Aggerhuus ( Christiania ) , and
published a " Description of Norway ” in 1715.*
* " Dr. Charlton ( ' Notes and Queries, ' April 3 , 1858 ) says of the Mäelström,
' Its real perils are produced by the tremendous current that rushes in
and out of the great West Fjord , that lies between the Lofodens and the
western coast of Norway. '
"When the wind blows from certain quarters, particularly from the
northwest, and meets the returning tide in the strait, the whole sea between
Moskenaes and Vaeroe is thrown into such agitation that no boat could live
in it for a moment. In calm weather it is only at three quarters of an hour
before the flood tide that the boatmen venture to cross ; for, with the stillest
and most glassy water outside , the Mäelström is dangerously agitated except
at the period above mentioned .
" The stories of ships being swallowed up in the vortex are simply fables ;
but any ship that became involved in the current would probably be driven
on the sunken rocks and reefs in the strait, if it did not founder from the
fury of the waves. The Mäelström is quite out of the track of the Nordland
"jaegts, " with their odoriferous cargo of dried fish , and no other
vessels are called upon to take this course . Nor are whales ever sucked
down by the greedy whirlpool , though the following circumstances may account
for this part of the legend . On the island of Flagstadt, which lies a
little to the north of Moskenaes, there is a narrow inlet , called Qualviig, between
the rocks , opposite to the farmhouse of Sund . This inlet, or passage ,
is at first extremely deep , and then suddenly shoals to about sixteen feet.
In this narrow cleft a very considerable number of whales have , within the
memory of man, run themselves ashore . We know not what attraction
draws these generally wary animals to this narrow creek , for, once in the
canal, it is impossible for the whale to retreat, as he requires a large space to
turn his body; and , grounding with the falling tide , the huge monster is left
there to struggle with his fate . Large whales are known to have lived eight
days in this narrow trap , and the people say their struggles are fearful to behold
. About the beginning of the present century an enormous male fish
212  .
All along the coast , on the Lofoden Islands and
in the smaller islands in the fjords , are the haunts of
the eider duck , the pillaging of whose nests for eggs
and down is one of the important industries of this
region . The birds make their nests on the ground , of
seaweeds , and line them with the exquisite down which
the mother-bird plucks from her breast . She lays usually
four eggs , of a pale olive green . Then cruel men
and boys come and rob the nest . The poor mother repeats
her toil , again to be despoiled . This is done
three times. After that, if further molested , the birds
desert the place . How stupid of them not to go after
the first outrage ! But they probably become accustomed
to it, and take it for the natural order of things
that down and eggs should disappear three times in
succession . It is said that the mother - bird will sometimes
steal the eggs and young of others after her own
have been destroyed , which looks as if she had taken.
a lesson from man. When she has utterly stripped
her breast of its down , the male comes in aid with
his down, which is white . The female's is pale drab .
Since the law passed , in 1847, for the protection of
game , wild fowl , etc. , these barren islands and rocks
have become valuable property. But how much do
you think is obtained from a single nest by this system
of robbery ? About half a pound of down , which ,
when picked and cleaned , is reduced to a quarter !
And it sells for five specie dollars the pound . We
was fast embayed there , and ere the sun was set he was followed by his
mate, who shared his imprisonment and death . This happened at the time
that Mr. Sverdrup occupied the farm of Sund, and from the good luck that
befell him, from twenty whales and more being stranded here during his occupancy,
he obtained the surname of the ' King of the Lofodens. '"'
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 213
have been purchasing it at Throndhjem to make duvets.
Shall we be able to sleep comfortably beneath
them ?
Wednesday was fine and we enjoyed the day on
deck, passing Torghatten and the Hestmand and the
Polar Circle through beautiful scenery all day. Thursday
also was fine , and we were happy in the prospect
of reaching Throndhjem and enjoying a night's repose
in a comfortable bed and with plenty of air to breathe .
Our nights had been purgatory or worse , though we
began to be on better terms with the Norwegian ladies
after we discovered their ability to speak English .
Most of them resided in homes on the fjords , north
of the Polar Circle , and we tried to get some idea
from them of the long winter and of their occupations
and amusements .
"What time does the sun rise ? " I asked , forgetting
for the moment that in their latitude its appearance
was not a thing of daily occurrence .
"We begin to see it in January , " was the reply .
"Then when does it set ? " was the next question .
"About the middle of November. "
"But you have daylight- how many hours ? "
"About three hours of daylight , in the shortest
days."
To the question whether the winter did not seem
very long and gloomy, these ladies replied , " Not at
all ; we have very social, pleasant times ; a great deal
of visiting, evening parties and other social gatherings
."
"How do you dress in the winter ? " we asked , with
a feeling that the only comfortable clothing must be
coats of skins and fur - lined garments like those worn
214  .
by the Lapps . " Oh , indeed ! we dress as well as the
English or American ladies ," was the rather indignant
reply. " We wear silks and muslins at our parties . "
ano .
This lady was educated and somewhat accomplished ,
speaking English and French , and playing on the pi-
She did not feel herself in the least an object of
pity because of her polar habitation . She had droll
ideas of American customs , derived from the reports
of Norwegian servants who had lived in America and
returned. "They say they like living in America.
They are treated as ' one of the family .' You must
have queer tastes in America . We don't treat a servant
here as ' one of the family .' The pige keeps her
place . I should be sorry to associate with my servants . "
We explained to her that it was only among farmers
, or plain people, in America, that servants were
so treated . Yet , I think , even among such classes ,
in Norway, the distinction between mistress and servant
is more marked than with us . Although titles
have been abolished in Norway, there remains still
the feeling of caste , so universal in Europe .
We reached Throndhjem about ten o'clock Thursday
evening, stopping out in the harbor and going
ashore in a small boat . We landed at the foot of
the hill , not far from the Victoria Hotel , and found
Herr Quillfeldt waiting for us, with a porter and
handcart for our luggage.
"Where is the major ? " he inquired (pronouncing
it in the German fashion , mai - ore, so that we had
to stop and think what he meant) , and he was disappointed
to find that the pleasant Irish party had not
returned with us.
Our comfortable rooms and nice table at the VicON
THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 215
toria seemed even pleasanter than before , after the
week of steamer life .
Brother John and his wife had taken the steamer
to Bergen, but left word that they would probably
wait for us there .
On Friday we visited the bankers and obtained a
fresh supply of cash , tried on our garments at the
fur shop, and arranged for their being expedited to
Dresden, picked up a few more photographs of scenery
and costumes , enjoyed three hearty meals at Frau
Quillfeldt's bountiful table , and sadly returned to purgatory
about II P. M. The ladies' cabin was filled to
overflowing repletion , mattresses being laid upon the
floor, to accommodate a new party from New York.
It is not always true that " misery loves company " ;
in our present situation we were sorry to see these
ladies ; yet they were decidedly preferable to an equal
number of Norwegians , since they shared our weakness
for ventilation .
In the morning , to our surprise , appeared our friend ,
Miss H. , whom we had left at Tromsöe , having come
on board with her father, at the mouth of the Throndhjem
Fjord , from the little steamer upon which they
had visited the Lofoden Islands . She was engaged ,
as upon her first appearance , mermaid fashion , in
combing her long hair, and told us pathetically that
they had arrived too late to find any berths - every
inch of space being covered with sleepers—and had
been obliged to remain on deck all night .
" Be thankful there was no room for you here ! "
said we.
" But it was awfully cold on deck."
" Did Dr. R. come with you ? "
216
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
No ; the chemist had gone off on some exploring
expedition , having deserted his companions , rather to
Miss H.'s disgust , we fancied . Her father told us an
amusing story of their adventures with a blue fox,
which Dr. R. had purchased at Tromsöe and considered
a great acquisition ; but he had been delighted
to get rid of it a few days later.
We reached Christiansund about noon on Saturday,
and went ashore for a walk, as the steamer stopped
several hours. We strolled along the beach, climbed
a rocky hill beyond the town , where we had a pretty
view of the fjord , and picked heather , stone - crop and
harebells among the rocks . The town is built on three
islands, forming nearly a circle around the harbor, and
the ground is so uneven than very few houses stand
on the same level . They are mostly of wood, painted
red , and being scattered about , up hill and down, the
place is quite picturesque . The population is about
four thousand , and the trade consists chiefly of stockfish
, exported to Spain and Italy. (This must not be
confounded with the city of Christiansand, on the south
coast of Norway, which has a population of ten thousand,
and is the fourth city in the country. Like
Christiania , this was founded by Christian IV. , in
1641. )
We continued along the coast , and passed between
the islands into the mouth of the Romsdal Fjord , as far
as Molde , which we reached about 7 P. M.
Here we
were detained for an hour and a half, landing the party
from Paris , with their two carriages , Italian courier
and Norwegian interpreter, and their luggage , which
had been stacked up under tarpaulins on deck. The
embarkation of these carriages and our own trille had
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 217
been a work of much time and trouble at Throndhjem
the night before . As the steamer rarely goes up to a
landing, vehicles of any description have to be put on
a barge and towed out to the steamer , to which they
are transferred by means of tackle worked by the
donkey engine.
We were not sorry for the delay, for we enjoyed a
lovely view, across the fjord , of the snowy peaks of
the Romsdalhorn and the Troll Tinderne . With the
sunset glow resting upon it , this view may be almost
as beautiful as the Bernese Oberland, seen in the Alpenglühen
, to which Mr. Bennett compares it . Our
friends who landed here , including Mr. and Miss H.
and the party who came on board at Throndhjem ,
were intending to take a small steamer up the fjord
to Naes and go up the Romsdal . We were sorry to
lose their society ; but there is no loss without some
gain : we succeeded to the vacant state - room . Can
you believe that we had difficulty in persuading the
captain to grant us this indulgence for one night ?
He thought at first Will wanted it for himself, and
made no objection ; but when he understood it was to
to be occupied by three ladies , he said we must be
very quiet about it , or the gentlemen on board would
complain . The ladies ' cabin was the place for ladies .
There is a hospital for lepers at Molde , and Miss G. ,
the blubber lady , wished to go ashore and visit it . But
the captain objected ; at least , he told her if she went
he should not allow her to return .
About midnight we reached Aalesund , where the
steamer stopped for awhile. Through the day we had
been passing through lovely scenery. There was a
photographer on board, who placed his instrument
ΙΟ
218  .
near the stern , and took a picture of the boat and
passengers , with the wooded shore of the fjord as a
background . Our party occupied prominent positions ;
but Blossom was absorbed in her novel, and did not
put her umbrella down until the critical moment was
over; so she appears in deep shadow beneath it , like
a toad under a mushroom. The captain shows to advantage,
and the mail - agent , with a band around his
cap ; and before the house, in a tall , round - top hat ,
stands the organist from Tromsöe . This gentleman
has been instructing us with reference to the sights of
Bergen, impressing us especially with the necessity of
visiting the museum .
"What is to be seen there ? " we inquired , meaning
what is its peculiar attraction ; for we were slightly
weary of museums .
"What is in the museum ? Everything what is in
museums, " he answers, with accents of disapproval at
our supposed indifference .
We were greatly amused in watching the children
on board. Besides the pastor's flock, there was a
lovely little girl , who had come on with her parents at
Throndhjem, who played with the two youngest little
girls from Vadsoe . She had some nuts- curious , threecornered
things , resembling beech- nuts-which had
been given her, I think, by the captain's daughter, a
jolly and "smukke pige " ; Russian nuts , they called
them , and she bestowed some of them upon her little
companions. It was comical to see them put out their .
little hands to shake hers , and drop a courtesy, exactly
as the grown-up women do in Norway, while saying
" Mange dak," or " Tak skal de have ." Some of their
expressions are curiously similar in sound to the same
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 219
thing in English . This little blonde maiden of perhaps
three summers , when Will tried to allure her , tossed
her head coquettishly and said , " Go ' way from me ! "
"Where did you learn to speak such good English ! "
he asked , in surprise .
" She is not speaking English , " said her mother ,
laughing : she spoke it very well herself; " that is Norsk
-Gaae vei fra mig."
A little south of Aalesund , on the island of Vik ,
was the Borg, or castle , of Hrolf Gangr- Rollo , or
Rolf the Walker, so called because he was so tall
and stout that no Norwegian horse could carry him .
This giant- outlawed for " strandhaug , " or cattle robbery
along the coast, by Harald Harfager—was the
conqueror and founder of the duchy of Normandy,
ancestor of William the Conqueror . After several
years of hostility, Rollo came to terms with the French
king, Charles the Simple , became a Christian and was
baptized as Robert , married Gisela , the king's daughter,
and was invested with the fief and title of duke
of Normandy.
Somewhere between Aalesund and Bergen, we
passed the lofty precipice of Hornelen, twelve hundred
feet high , said never to have been scaled since
the time of Olaf Tryggvesson . The legend relates
that the king climbed it , in company with a peasant ,
who became so frightened that he could go neither
forward nor backward , so King Olaf took him up and
brought him safely down. I do not remember this
precipice , and presume we must have passed it during
the night .
We luxuriated in our state - room , enjoying its exclusiveness
, though we found the quarters very close for
220  .
three people . We were not so much troubled as our
predecessors had been by the sun shining in at the
port -hole . North of the Arctic Circle they had been
obliged to sleep under parasols , though chilly under
all their wraps.
Sunday was a fine day and the scenery very beautiful
. In the afternoon one of the gentlemen read a long
sermon in Norsk to the assembled passengers , who
formed a very quiet and attentive audience . I hope
they were more edified by it than we were . The most
pleasing incident of the day was the departure of the
pastor and his family , who were all packed into a small
boat , including the yellow dog, and landed at some
place not far from Bergen, to which he had been appointed
pastor. We congratulated them on the change
from cold and gloomy Vadsoe , to this lovely and fertile
region , and ourselves on seeing the last of the stout
Frau Pastorin and her sick baby. Somewhere in this
region we took a pilot on board. I should not have
noticed the circumstance but for its mention by the
captain's daughter , who pointed out what she called
"the pil - yote's boat . "
" Is that the way you pronounce it in Norsk ? "
asked Will , when he had fathomed her meaning.
Not at all ; she supposed herself to be speaking
English .
As we drew near the end of our voyage , and had
packed up our bags and bundles , we went once more
into the ladies' cabin to say good-by to the faithful
stewardess and give her the customary fee .
" Far vel , Hannah . Tak skal de have ! " the Norwegian
ladies were saying .
I must not leave the Lofoten without a parting
ON THE STEAMER LOFOTEN. 221
tribute to ' Hannah's worth . Faithful and efficient ,
always active and ready , kind and good - natured , now
in her own domains , now helping the steward or the
cook or the waiters , she did everything except navigate
the steamer ; and I am not sure but she was
capable of superseding the captain, at times when he
had taken too much toddy ; in short , she was the one
efficient person on the steamer Lofoten .
THE
XIII .
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN .
HE harbor of Bergen is surrounded by mountains ,
seven in number, varying from eight hundred to
two thousand feet in height , and giving to the city
its name , Björgvin , the meadow between the mountains.
The town itself is built on seven lower hills ,
grouped about the head of the fjord , and the harbor
is divided into two creeks by a promontory, on which
stands the ancient castle of Bergenhuus . The square
tower, which is the most prominent object as you
sail up the harbor, was erected on the foundations
of the old citadel and palace of Olaf Kyrre , who
founded the city about eight hundred years ago ,
A..D. 1070-75 . In a hundred years it had become a
place of commercial importance, much visited by
Dutch and English traders .
A treaty of commerce was concluded with England
, in 1217 , by King Hakon IV. , which was the
first of the kind made by England with any foreign
nation.
After the establishment of the Hanseatic League,
in 1250, several thousand German factors and artisans
settled here, in an institution like those afterward
founded at Bruges and Novgorod . This gave a pe-.
culiar character to the city, which soon became a
place of the greatest commercial importance . In 1435
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 223
a monopoly was granted to the Hanseatic merchants ,
and the English were driven out ; but in the middle
of the last century the monopoly was abolished , and
the port thrown open to all foreigners .
Bergen retained its pre - eminence among the cities
of Norway until within a few years , and has even
now more trade than Christiania , though the latter
city has double the population of the former .
There is no landing place for large steamers , so
we were put off in a small boat, with the usual confused
piling in of luggage and passengers . (I was
sure our precious rubber bundle of wraps had gone
to the bottom of the fjord , having heard an ominous
splash, and being unable to discover it in the boat ;
but when we reached the shore it turned up . ) People
are landed at different parts of the town, according
to the hotels they propose to patronize ; so a decision
was forced upon us at once. It was rather puzzling ,
for we had no idea where to find our friends , and had
hoped to meet them at the landing. Knowing the
situation better than we did , they had no idea where
to find us ; and so made no attempt . We followed
Mr. Bennett's recommendation , and decided for Holt's
Hotel ; so we were landed at the market place , within
walking distance, and found a porter to bring up the
luggage . Fortunately, we had hit the right place ;
our friends were there , and had engaged rooms for
us . As a Cook's party of twenty- five tourists occupied
the house , the accommodations were limited ,
we three ladies sharing the same room; but after our
narrow quarters on the Lofoten, this seemed palatial ,
and we accepted the inevitable with a meekness astonishing
to our friends .
224  .
We had reached Bergen about 7.30 P. M. , and , after
being settled in our rooms , the next question was supper.
We found a good and plentiful table, and owing
to the lateness of the hour we were not troubled by
the tourists , though an English gentleman complained
bitterly ofthem, " overrunning everything , like a swarm
of locusts ." It was the first invasion of the kind in
Norway, where the conditions of travel are peculiarly
unsuited to large parties . After supper , we sat out of
doors , in a sort of loggia over the porch, overlooking
the square called Engen , and the Torve Alminding, or
Market - place . The streets are frequently interrupted
by squares , planted with trees . These have been found
very useful in limiting the progress of the fires which
have often injured the city, so largely composed of
wooden buildings . The gentlemen busied themselves
in superintending the removal from the steamer of our
trille , and its bestowal in a shed near by; since
Murray warns the traveller that the people here are
"sadly clumsy," and injury to the trille meant not
merely expense , but detention.
We had three days in Bergen , as the steamer up
the Hardanger Fjord was not to leave until Thursday
morning ; so we did our sight - seeing leisurely. Our
first visit was to the Museum, about which our Tromsöe
friend had been so enthusiastic . There is a small
but interesting collection of Northern antiquities , found
in tumuli, chiefly near Vosse ; some Runic inscriptions
and a quantity of Norwegian coins, going back to
Hakon Adelstein , in the tenth century. A few paintings
were scattered about in an upper room. With
few exceptions , we indorsed Murray's opinion : " The
pictures here are rubbish ." A large painting of IngeBERGEN
AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 225
borg, heroine of Frithiof's Saga , by a Norwegian artist,
whose name I forget , was one of the exceptions .
But we were interested in the Natural History department,
especially in the stuffed animals-comprising
numerous specimens of reindeer , seals , sea calves or
walruses , and the great elk or moose, now nearly extinct
in Norway-and in the collections of marine
zoophytes and fishes . Some of the stuffed elk were
seven and eight feet in height , and of an ash or hoarbrown
color, which varies , like that of the reindeer,
with age and the season of the year, being lighter in
winter. The horns weigh about fifty pounds . They
are palmated , with short points around the edge , and
are used in winter by the elk to remove the snow from
their feeding grounds. Though in general timid , yet
when closely pressed , the elk will defend himself with
both horns and hoofs , and one stroke of the latter is
sufficient to kill a wolf. They were formerly employed
in drawing sledges ; but their use was prohibited on account
of the facility their speed afforded to criminals
escaping justice . They cannot endure the cold of a
higher latitude than sixty - four degrees , and are disappearing
before civilization .
In walking through the Museum one is reminded of
Bishop Pontoppidan , not only by the curious birds and
fishes , but also by the animals , of which he gives so
many amusing particulars . Here are gluttons , with
beautiful fur, but unlovely habits , eating to repletion ,
and then squeezing themselves between two trees to
disgorge their food (this is called a slander by later
observers) ; and beavers , of whose ingenuity so much
is told. When building their dams , one of them will
lie down and hold up his paws to be loaded with tim- 10*
226  .
ber, like a little cart, and his companions drag him
along the ground till he looses all the fur from his
back. Otters , also with beautiful fur, are made useful
in other ways, being trained by the fishermen to go
out and catch fish for the family.
Reineke Fuchs is the same crafty animal in Norway
that he is in Germany, or that he was in the days
of Æsop. When the otter is catching fish , he hides
behind a stone , and snatches the prey from him. A
fisherman saw a fox , near his house , placing a parcel
of cods' heads in a row, and concealing himself behind
them . He watched , to see what would happen , and
the first crow that came to eat the fish became the
booty of the fox . Sometimes he goes fishing himself,
dipping his long, furry tail in the water, and catching
crabs . Most ingenious is his method of ridding
himself of fleas . He takes a wisp of straw in his
mouth and goes backwards into the water , deeper and
deeper, till all the fleas , retiring to the dry places ,
reach his head , and then as he dips it in the water ,
settle upon the straw, which he drops, and then runs
away .
The wolves , fierce as they are , are daunted when
they meet with resistance , and are only bold and
daring against those who flee . Even a goat , when it
has turned and butted a wolf with its horns , has put
him to flight . " In this case the wolf is not unlike the
evil spirit , whom the Word of God represents to be a
coward, and only to appear bold against the unbeliever's
fear, as it stands in Scripture : ' Resist the
devil and he shall flee from you ."" He is bolder in
winter, however, and will sometimes take a horse from
a sledge.
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 227
The bear is a nobler antagonist , and has many almost
human traits ; and credit is given him for almost
human intelligence . He dislikes the cow -bells , which
give warning to the shepherd where his cattle are
straying, and will pick out the bell cow, tear the bell
from her neck, and , if it be made of soft metal , strike
it flat with his paw. He can fire off a gun , when he
has taken it from the huntsman ; and when attacked
by several hunters , he will seize one who has already
fired , hug him , and roll with him down a bank, leaving
the man disabled or dead . Sometimes , when himself
mortally wounded , he " endeavors to rob the
huntsman of his hide , which he knows he has come
for, by laying hold of a large stone and plunging
into deep water." He is a good swimmer , and will
go into a river and catch fish .
Jonas Ramus says that the white bears in Finmark
are of Greenland extraction , having crossed on ice fields
and by swimming. When they are tired of swimming ,
and see a boat , they will climb into it , and " sit in the
stern quite quiet and peaceable ." The peasant will not
allow this if he can row fast enough to avoid it ; and ,
if he has an axe , the bear's paws suffer. If hit by a
ball in the chest , or under the shoulder, or in the ear ,
he falls ; any other wound makes him fierce . If the
huntsman has not a bayonet on his gun , he must
thrust his knife down the bear's throat.
Soon after Michaelmas, the bear seeks his den,
makes himself a soft bed of moss , and hides the opening
with branches, and lets himself be snowed up . In
spring, his paws, which he has sucked , are soft and
lame , and his stomach weak from long fasting. He
seeks an ants ' hillock , which he swallows whole ;
228  .
"this scowers his inside , and cleanses and strengthens
his stomach ."
The old Norwegian statutes decreed that "the bear
and wolf shall be outlaws in every place " ; but even
Bruin had his judicial privileges , and if he had committed
robbery or injury, a court was summoned , and
he was declared liable to punishment . In the ancient
Saga of " Finboga Rama " the grizzly offender is challenged
to a duel , and slain by Finbog with all the
courtesies of chivalry . Werlauff, the editor of this
Saga (Copenhagen , 1812 ) , says , " The opinion that
bears have a reasonable knowledge of Danish is still
prevalent in Norway."
(The names of Björn and Björnson , so common in
the North , are traced to a legendary king of Sweden ,
whose father was a bear, or some rough outlaw in a
bearskin , who had carried off a beautiful maiden to
his den . Thorpe gives the story in his " Northern
Mythology . ")
The polar bears do not seem to hibernate , and when
pressed by hunger, are very daring in their attacks .
A story is told of two Russian hunters who were playing
checkers in their hut at Spitzbergen , when a great
white paw pushed through the window pane , and seized
one of them by the neck to drag him out . Fortunately,
the man escaped with the loss of a handful of hair .
The good bishop was a born naturalist , and as he
had much spare time on his hands during his circuits
in the diocese of Bergen , which occupied two or three
months at a time , he spent part of it conversing with
guides and drivers , talking over their information with
the pastors , whose homes he visited , and collecting
"stones , ores , fossils , sea - trees , corals , snails , mussels ,
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 229
uncommon birds , fishes , and the like ." There was a
difficulty about the fishes ; for the superstitious natives
called any monstrous or unusual specimens "trolls "
or " devils , " and threw them overboard directly , thinking
that unless they did so their fishing would be unsuccessful
, or something amiss would certainly befall
them . In his enormous folio ,* he gives illustrations of
the fishes and birds he had been able to procure , as
well as of " sea - trees and corals , " and some unusual
plants . He gives a list of two hundred and forty
flowering plants , with their common and botanical
names ( he was acquainted with the works of his contemporary,
the great botanist , Carl Linnæus ) , describes
the berries and small fruits , and enumerates some
twenty species of trees , with their uses and virtues .
For example , elm bark , dried , ground and mixed with
meal , is used as food by the peasants , for themselves
and their animals . The birch is used for fuel , and its
bark for covering roofs and tanning skins ; while from
the sap and the young buds is distilled a healing
balsam . The Norway oak excels all but the Danish
for ship - building , and a decoction of oak leaves in beer
is good for gout or rheumatism . The broad - leaved
willow is called by the peasants " the tree under which
the devil flayed the goats," whether because the goats
are fond of stripping off its leaves, or from their woolly
under - surface , he is not quite certain . He gives some
instances from which he thinks there is reason to believe
that barley degenerates into oats , and oats improve
to barley, as wheat changes to tares , good oats
to wild, and nutmegs to walnuts in Europe ! Among
* A copy, published in London in 1755 , may be seen in the Astor Library,
in New York.
230
 .
the illustrations is one of the method of drying grain
-six or eight sheaves fastened to a pole , and frames
for hay (" hoef- giers ") , exactly like those seen to-day
in the Romsdal .
He complains of the superstition which leads the
peasants to use sledges instead of wagons , because
their fathers did . " They will not remove a stone
which their fathers have suffered to lie , " and in such
stony places " use a crooked stick with an iron at the
end , instead of a plough ."
66
Although he can be amused by the mistakes of
other people , who call barnacles “ ducks growing on
trees ," the bishop tells some pretty tough stories of
his own, but with firm faith in their verity.
reader will meet with many strange , singular and unexpected
things here , but all of them strictly true."
He believes in sea animals resembling human beings.
-the missing link between them and the fishes , which
the gorilla appears to be between man and quadrupeds
-which have given origin to the stories of mermen
and mermaids . Mr. Peter Angel, minister of a parish
in Sundmoer, told the bishop that , in 1719, he saw at
Alstahoug , in Nordland , what was called a merman ,
lying dead, which had been cast ashore by the waves .
It was about three fathoms long ( six feet ) , of a dark
gray color, the lower part like a fish , and tail like a
porpoise ; face like a man's, with forehead, eyes, flat
nose , mouth ; arms joined to the side by thin membranes
, and paws like a sea - calf. Torfaeus relates instances
of mermen being seen on the coast of Iceland ,
and in 1670 mermaids were reported at the Faroe
Islands . In 1723 three ferrymen were examined before
a magistrate at Elsinore , and testified to seeing
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 231
a
merman between Hveen and Südland . He appeared
like an old man, strong limbed , and with
broad shoulders , small head , with short , curled black
hair, meagre and pinched face , and black beard . Little
animals, seeming like a mixture of child and fish ,
are sometimes caught and taken home by fishermen ,
who give them milk, which they swallow eagerly ; but
they are always put back within twenty- four hours ,
precisely in the place where they were caught , for fear
of misfortune .
The sea- serpent in the Miosen Lake is alluded to
by the bishop , upon Peter Clausen's authority ; but of
one seen near Molde , in 1746, he gives a particular
description .
Captain Lawrence de Ferry , who had command of
the Norwegian fleet cruising off the coast , himself related
this experience to the bishop . The head , two
feet out of water, was shaped like that of a horse,
gray, with black eyes and mouth and a white mane ;
and several folds or coils of the body were seen . He
shot at it , when it sank and was not seen again . Hans
Egede , of the Greenland Mission , reported a sea - serpent
nearly six hundred feet long, in 1734. Bishop
Pontoppidan thinks this animal the leviathan of Scripture
, and believes also in the existence of the kraken ,
greatest of sea monsters , to which he refers the stories
of floating and disappearing islands. *
All these monsters , including the mermen and
mermaids , seem to have retreated into unexplored
regions , before that modern leviathan , the ocean
* There is a manuscript affidavit in the British Museum, made in 1775 , by
the master of a vessel , named Jameson, that he saw near Rothshire what seemed
to be an island, a mile and a half in length , rising and sinking in the water.
232
 .
steamer, as the crocodiles of the Nile now keep
themselves above the first cataract . Perhaps the
crocodiles of Egypt and India may become, in time ,
as apocryphal as the serpents and krakens of the
northern seas .
Pontoppidan's authorities , besides his own experience
and the " observations of intelligent persons , "
were "Writings Relating to Norway." The works of
Jonas Ramus and Peter Clausen have already been
quoted. Another work is the " True Description of
Norway and the Adjacent Islands , " by Peter Nicholas
Undalin , or Undal (the translator of Snorre Sturleson's
Sagas from the Icelandic , or Old Norsk , into Danish ) ,
who also wrote a " History of the Beasts of Norway,
which was accidently burned , in manuscript , while in
the hands of a friend . The " True Description " was
published at Copenhagen, in 1632 , after the death of
the author. The bishop gives an extract from a letter
of Mr. Jens Spidberg, a clergyman at Christiansand ,
who was also interested in natural history , and preparing
a work on Norway, to which he was impelled
by reading Scheuchzer's " Natural History of Switzerland."
He says , "In 1745 , Count Reuss , then governor
here , ordered the literati to send in an account of every
particular, in their several countries , which might contribute
to the melioration of the soil , or the improvement
of agriculture ." Such accounts were prepared ,
but he is ignorant what use was made of them . " Baron
Lowendhal, commander- in - chief during our last
war ( 1750) , ordered me to prepare a map of the country,
and the frontiers between Norway and Sweden ."
All of Spidberg's papers and his library of "six
thousand volumes in all languages and sciences , " were
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 233
destroyed by fire , in Christiansand , in 1734. He had
published " two little pieces , " one in Holland , “ De
Causa et Origine Ventorum ," the other at Hall in
Saxony, "Of the North Light . "
The good bishop seems to fear that the devotion
of so much time to the natural sciences may be deemed
unfitting to his profession , and takes pains to assure
his readers that his " principal motive is to promote
the glory of the Creator by a contemplation of his
works." Believing, as he does , that " Norway surpasses
other countries , not only in its inanimate treasures ,
such as metals , minerals and vegetables , but in various
kinds of beasts , birds and fishes , particularly the
last " ; that it has the most healthful climate in the .
world , the loftiest mountains , and that the inhabitants
are in every way most blessed of Heaven, he labors
to impress that belief upon his readers . Even the extreme
cold of the long winters , which last from the
middle of October till the middle of April , has a beautiful
effect on the system . " It drives the heat inward ,
and especially strengthens the stomach , so that the
people can digest dried and salt fish , smoked flesh " and
other tough edibles , " better than any other nations . "
The "benefits of the snow " are twofold . " I. Convenience
of travelling on snowshoes and in sledges , "
under which head he describes the two sort of snowshoes-
those made of withies , broad and rounded , and
long, thin pieces of wood , called skris . On these the
skriders pass swiftly over the snow and ice , and a regiment
of six hundred men were stationed at Throndhjem,
" in war time , " equipped in this manner . The
second benefit of the snow is its service to the soil as
manure .
234
 .
Of the moderate weather along the coast , where
"the North Sea is open and navigable as far as 82º,
except in the creeks and along the shore," and "the
harbors of Amsterdam , Copenhagen , Hamburg and
Lübeck are frozen ten times oftener than ours ," he
speaks not only as a benefit , but an " absolute necessity,"
giving the reasons on account of the fisheries ,
" first to catch, and next to cure , both of which would
be impossible in frosty weather." Even the rainy
weather in Bergen , the wet days averaging nearly two
out of three , has its benefits ; " it assists vegetation ,
and gives good draughts of fish . " " One of my chief
views in this work is to show that all the works of
God are full of loving kindness ."
The Gulf Stream was apparently not understood;
but he suggests that the warmness of the water was
caused by " warm springs at the bottom of the sea,
continually boiling by means of the central fire . "
However produced , the moderate climate at Bergen is
a matter for gratitude . " When Bergen harbor freezes ,
the Seine freezes at Paris ," and in exceptionally cold
winters inland there is little difference on the coast .
Two weeks of sledging in succession is very unusual.
Although it was thought by some that the dampness
was unwholesome , " issuing from off the sea , and settling
between the mountains , from whence it cannot
be easily dissipated , " it appears that in 1730 there were
only two physicians in Bergen to thirty thousand people,
and they seemed to be quite sufficient.
Physicians in the chief towns had " a public salary
as provincial physicians , and, in general , but little employment.
People owe their good health more to the
air than to medicine."
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 235
Some famous instances of longevity are given. The
most remarkable , quoted from Jonas Ramus , is Anden
Evindson, bishop of Havanger, who died about 1440 ,
in the 210th year of his age . Adrian Rotker, for seventy
years alderman of Throndhjem , died at the age
of 120. The minister of Holtvalen at the age of 150,
and Hans Aasen, who first erected copper works at
Röraas , died in 1683 , age 116. Peasant women are
mentioned , in different parts of Norway, as attaining
the ages of 112 , 127 and 137 years . The healthiness
of the Gudbrandsdal, from which people who were tired
of life " got themselves removed , in order to die . the
sooner," has already been mentioned .
The winter of 1719 was one of terrible cold . In
February, a body of seven thousand Swedish soldiers ,
endeavoring to make their way back to Sweden across
the mountains , after the death of Charles XII . at Friedrichshald
, were overwhelmed by a snowstorm , on the
mountain of Ruden , and discovered by a body of Norwegian
runners who pursued their retreat , frozen to death ,
"some sitting, some lying down , some in a posture of
prayer. "
In Pontoppidan's time there were Scotch settlers
near Bergen , in a district called " Skotte - Byen , " and
the " Strile farmers " were thought to be of Scotch
extraction ; probably dating from the days of the Scotch
marriages of Erik , or the conquests of Magnus Barefoot
and Hakon IV . There were a good many Scotch and
English settlers at Christiansand . He describes the
fisheries , and speaks of the genius of the peasants in
wood - carving. " In former times , the Norwegian youth
were trained to wrestling , swimming , riding , rowing ,
throwing the dart , skating , climbing rocks and forging
236  .
iron , writing Runic characters , blowing the horn and
composing songs and odes ." One of their musical
instruments was called the " langleek " ; it was made
by stretching six brass wires over a sounding- board
four feet long and six inches broad . The violin was
most admired , and was played at funerals , the musician
sitting all day at the head of the coffin ; and
was also played when the coffin was carried in a boat
to the place of burial .
There was an old custom in the diocese of Christiansand
of asking the deceased " why he died ? if
his wife was not kind to him , or his neighbors civil to
him ? " In some places in Laerdal, every one that
comes into the room where the corpse is , falls on his
knees at the coffin and begs forgiveness from the deceased
if they have offended him . The minister has
told them it is very foolish and too late to ask forgiveness
at such a time , but he can hardly break off such
an inveterate custom .
He speaks of the hospitality of the people , keeping
open house for three weeks at Christmas , and the
pretty custom of hanging up a sheaf of grain for the
birds ; commends them for their civility and courtesy,
and their faithfulness and honesty, and unwillingness
to remain in debt . " Every Norwegian peasant ,
especially the freeholder that can pay his taxes ,
governs his house and possessions with as much authority
as a nobleman ; nobody directs or governs him.
This gives them a certain freedom and generosity of
mind. "
After leaving the Museum we visited the Art Union
Gallery, where we found some fine landscapes and
other good pictures ; but , like those in Christiania , the
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 237
prices were higher than we cared to pay, although we
desired such a memento of Norway. We shopped for
photographs and fancy articles, dolls dressed in peasant
costumes , and silver , both ancient and modern .
Old spoons , like the apostle spoons one sees in Germany,
but of less elaborate workmanship , are sold to
the dealers by the people who emigrate to America ,
as well as ornaments, brooches , buckles, knives with
carved handles , etc. Prices are high , but perhaps not
above the value of these antiques, which are heavy
and solid, as well as curious. The modern silver was
very pretty, and moderate in price.
On Wednesday we visited the fish - market as Murray
advises ; but I think we were late , for the trade was
not very brisk . It is carried on directly from the
boats , the fishermen holding up their wares for the
inspection of customers standing on the wharf. We
saw no fish of the size illustrated in photographs ,
where a man carries one with the head on his shoulders
and the tail trailing on the ground .
We were not in season to see the curious , squarerigged
" jaegts , " which have been built on the same
model for centuries , with great breadth of beam , and
huge , square sails . It has been supposed that they
resemble the piratical ships of the old Norsemen ; but
it is established that their " dragons " and other war
ships were long galleys with twenty or thirty benches
of oars ; more like the Greek and Roman war ships
than these clumsy jaegts . In March and April , when
they arrive with their cargoes of fish from the Lofodens
and Finmark , the harbor is crowded with these picturesque
vessels, sometimes six or seven hundred in
number . The old warehouses, formerly occupied by
238  .
merchants and artisans from the Hanse towns , are
now used for storing the stock fish.
These buildings occupy the whole eastern side of
the harbor, and form what is known as the Tydskebriggen,
German Bridge or quay . They are built in
the style of the North German towns, from which the
merchants came, Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen , and
although reduced to ashes in the great fire of 1702 were
rebuilt in the same style . There are sixteen " gaarde ,"
each divided into apartments , which contain a central
hall and sleeping rooms.
Here lived three thousand merchants and artisans ,
in an enforced celibacy , which resulted in a deplorable
state of morals ; so that , during the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, the reputation of Bergen was something
dreadful .
In other ways this foreign population was a curse to
the native inhabitants . They not only had a monopoly
of trade , but were governed by their own statutes ,
independent of local jurisdiction . In 1455 the king's
bailiff, having provoked their resentment by attempting
to check some overstrained exercise of their privileges
, was pursued by an enraged multitude and compelled
to take refuge in a church . This was set on fire,
and, with an adjoining convent , was burned to ashes ,
the bailiff and the bishop of Bergen both perishing in
the flames . This outrage was not punished by the
State , but was afterwards avenged by the relatives
of the victims .
Many descendants of these Germans live in Bergen
-the northern part of the town being still called the
German quarter-and keep up the language and customs
of their fatherland , as much as possible , to this
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 239
day. Until within a few years they had German services
and preaching in their old church-the Church
of St. Mary the Virgin . It is the most ancient in Bergen,
and is spoken of by Snorre Sturleson as existing
in 1181. It is now in process of restoration , and we
found it occupied by workmen ; but were allowed to
wander about at our pleasure . It is of mixed orders
of architecture ; the nave Roman, the choir Gothic ;
having been constructed and reconstructed at different
periods . There are wood - carvings in the chancel ,
the most curious being a flying angel , the size of life ,
holding the baptismal font suspended in front of the
altar.
In the middle ages , Bergen was a city of churches
and convents , containing thirty - two , of which only three
remain the cathedral , belonging in the middle ages
to a Franciscan monastery , the church of the cross ,
and this old German church . The great Christ Church ,
with the tombs of several kings ; the beautiful Church
of the Apostles , finished in 1302 , a copy of the Sainte
Chapelle at Paris ; with churches dedicated to St. Olaf,
St. Columba, St. Martin , St. Nicholas , St. Michael , and
St. Halward , have all vanished , as well as the convents.
A fire in 1488 destroyed eleven churches in
Bergen, and the greater part of the town . As the
Reformation was introduced into Norway not long
after, it is not likely that many of these churches
were rebuilt. Destructive fires have often raged in
Bergen, as in the other timber -built cities of Norway.
In 1855 , one hundred and eighty houses were burned ,
and nothing but the large market - place checked the
progress of the flames .
In Pontoppidan's time , 1750 , only four of the build240
 .
ings on the Tydske - briggen belonged to Germans , the
others being the property of Norwegian merchants ,
who employed German clerks ; and in 1763 the last
was sold to a Norwegian .
The largest of the convents was the Munkeliw ,
founded by the Benedictines , but afterwards passing
into the hands of the Brigittines . The " Lunge gaard ,"
near the city gate , was a convent of Cistercian nuns .
After the Reformation , which was peacefully introduced
under Christian III . , in 1536 , all monastic establishments
were suppressed , and Church property
made over to the crown , forming a fund of about three
million dollars , which is employed for the payment of
pastors' salaries and educational purposes . Until 1845
only Lutheran places of worship were allowed in Norway;
but in that year an act of religious toleration
was passed which gave religious liberty to all Christians
. A Roman Catholic mission had been established
a few years earlier at Alten - gaard , beginning
with a school , which was not prohibited by the law;
but the fathers have made but few converts . The
first Catholic Church in Norway-that of St. Olaf,
in Christiania-was consecrated Aug. 24, 1856. The
one in Bergen , recently erected , is a stone building
in Roman style , near the Museum.
Jews were excluded from Norway until 1851 , when
an act was passed admitting them on conditions of
equality with Christians , since which time they have
rapidly increased in number .
Mormons are an exception to the act of toleration ,
and most of them have emigrated to America.
Bergen is celebrated for its charitable institutions ,
asylums for old citizens , old wardens, old sailors , widBERGEN
AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 241
ows , and the insane , besides hospitals for lepers , and
for those suffering from ordinary diseases . Beside
sustaining these public institutions , the city appropriates
the sum of thirty thousand dollars annually to
the benefit of the poor and sick . Vagrant and criminal
children are sent to homes in the country . Public
inspectors of the poor serve , without pay, for a term
of four years .
There are sixteen " people's schools " in Bergen ,
supported at an expense of $ 6,000 annually , and attended
by nearly two thousand scholars . The salary
of an upper teacher is $ 200 ; of an under teacher $ 100 .
Boys are taught in the morning, and girls in the afternoon
, three hours each . *
From the German church we walked to the old
square stone tower, like a Norman keep, the stronghold
of the old citadel , which has recently been restored
and is now used as an armory . It is about sixty
feet by forty in size , and perhaps a hundred in height .
We mounted to the roof and obtained a fine view of
the city. The soldier who escorted us over the tower
took us afterward to a large hall , built of massive
timbers which had lost its roof. Mr. Bennett speaks
of it as being " in the old English pointed - arch style ,
and very similar to an English mansion in its interior
arrangements." It was built, he says , by King Hakon
Hakonson, 1247-1261 , and is the oldest of secular
buildings in the three Scandinavian kingdoms . The
tower was built by the same king but enlarged by
Scotch builders in 1565.
* I take these statistics from Mr. Brace's work, " The Norse Folk , "
published in 1857. Changes may have been made, during the twenty years
since. Perhaps the teachers have larger salaries !
II
242  .
These buildings doubtless occupy the site of the old
castle built in the citadel by King Olaf III . when he
founded the city . The fortress is still occupied , consisting
of three bastions and a ravelin towards the town
and three bastions and two batteries toward the sea,
and, with a strong fortress on the hill across the harbor,
protects the town from assaults by water .
As Bergen played an important part in the civil
wars which raged in Norway during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries , when rival parties contended for
its possession, and it was often the scene of fierce
conflict, so the harbor and the fjord were , from
yet earlier times , the scene of naval engagements .
The Baltic Sea had swarmed with pirates , fromthe
time of the Jomsburg vikings and the Wends to that
of the Vitalians , against whom the ships of the Hanse
Republic maintained vigorous warfare . These invaders
attacked Bergen , at different times , in 1181 and
94, in 1393 and '95 , and the Vitalians , under their
famous leader , Bartholomew Voit , in 1428 and '29.
The last sea fight in Bergen harbor of which I find
mention was in 1665. During the war between England
and Holland , the English fleet , commanded by the
earl of Sandwich , pursued the Dutch under Admiral
Von Bitter, into the harbor , where they took shelter
under these fortifications , and the English were forced
to retire . Some of their shot are still to be seen in
the walls of the fortress and the square tower.
The climate of Bergen is remarkably damp, as well
as mild . As on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland,
there is almost constant rain for nine months of
the year- two hundred rainy days is the average
number. There is everything in one's way of looking
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 243
at things ; like good Bishop Pontoppidan , we may feel
that the rain is good for the soil and the fishing , or
we may realize only that it interferes with our pleasure
.
To us , seeing it only in sunshine, Bergen was a
picturesque and pleasant city , and its situation seemed
charming ; but a recent visitor records a very different
impression . "The little town is perched , in a most
uncomfortable situation, on a rocky steep , incessantly
beaten by terrific rains , and at the mercy of all the
storms which gather and break on the North Sea .
Why the town is not washed away seems a marvel ."
Decidedly, this writer must have visited Bergen in
very rainy weather.
A similar experience must have befallen the English
ladies who , after a stormy passage , were roused
from sleep , the first night in Bergen , by the unexpected
horror of the watchmen's cry :
" I woke suddenly, my heart beating wildly with
fright, to find the room quite dark, and filled with a
sound so unearthly that for an instant I dared not move .
The cry ceased and rose again , —long , weird , melancholy,
discordant . Before it died away I was at the
window with Janet , who was equally startled , and had
hurried to my room that we might meet the catastrophe
together. Again it came ; this time louder, nearer,—
was taken up at some distance , swelled into a horrid
chorus , and ceased just as all the clocks struck twelve .
Imagine a number of donkeys , lunatic , heart - broken
and gifted with articulation , parading the streets at
dead of night , to awake the inhabitants with the information
that the clocks are soon expected to strike ,
that the wind is blowing (generally) southwest, and
consequently rain pouring from a cloudy sky, but that
244  .
otherwise ' all's well , ' and everybody may go to sleep
again - imagine all this , and you have an idea what
the Bergenese endure , every hour of every night , all
the year round. I never hear it without thinking of
the dead - carts plying through the streets of a plaguestricken
city, to the doleful cry, ' Bring out your dead ! ' ”
That cry, too , has been not unfamiliar to the streets
of Bergen. The plague called the black death , which
made such ravages in Norway in 1349, was introduced
into Bergen by an English ship which had been driven
into the harbor . In the years 1600 , 1618 , 1629 and
1637 Bergen was again visited by this fearful scourge .
Lord Dufferin , in his " Letters from high Latitudes , "
gives a poetical version of the first arrival of the black
death . He makes the ship a Norwegian vessel , which
had been missing for several years , and the people ,
recognizing it , crowded on board to welcome their
friends, and found the ghastly corpses of the crew,
and the fearful visitor who returned with them to
devastate the whole country. In Throndhjem, the
archbishop and the whole of the chapter died , with
the exception of one canon. Solomon, bishop of
Osloe , was the only bishop who survived in Norway.
The city of Hamar, on the Mjösen Lake , was nearly
depopulated , and some inland towns entirely so .
Domestic animals were also smitten with the plague ;
the peasants , deprived of their cattle , could not cultivate
the land , and plague was followed by famine .
Many districts became waste , and forests sprang up
where cultivated fields and even villages had once
been . Several hundred years ago a hunter, following
his game , came upon walls overgrown with weeds
and bushes, and a deserted house , with a grove of
BERGEN AND BISHOP PONTOPPIDAN. 245
young trees, springing from the roof. He entered
and found skeletons . Other houses were found near.
The oldest men in the neighborhood remembered a
tradition of a settlement here, near the Mjösen Lake .
The dead were buried , the forests cleared , and new
houses erected, and the place was called Mustad . It
is about half way between the head of Rands Fjord
and the Mjösen Lake . A church was discovered in
Valders , called Bear Church, from the incident of a
hunter tracking a bear into a dense thicket , and finally
shooting it inside the ruined church , where it had made
its winter lair. The bear's skin is still preserved in the
church, which may be visited at Ildjarnstad , not far
from Lake Spirillen .
Similar incidents , of churches discovered in the forests,
occurred in Sweden, in Wermeland and Skaganäs ;
the plague having arrived there the following year, and
thence travelled to Western Russia , in 1352. Jonas
Ramus, in his " Norges Beskrivelse , " relates that Justedal
, in Bergen Stift , was settled by people flying before
the infection , who all perished , except one little
girl ; who grew up in solitude , wild as a bird , and when
she was discovered , received the name of Ripa, the
Grouse . She grew up , and married , and her descendants
were called the Ripa family.
THE
XIV .
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN.
HE founder of Bergen , King Olaf Kyrre , " The
Tranquil ," is so called because his reign of
twenty - one years was a peaceful one ; an unusual
thing in Norwegian history. He appears in English
history, at the battle of Stamford Bridge , having accompanied
his father, Harald Hardrada , in an invasion
at the solicitation of Earl Tostig , brother of the English
Harold . Both Tostig and Harald Hardrada were
slain in this battle , and Olaf fell into the hands of the
conqueror, with the whole of the Norwegian fleet ; but
he was set free , and allowed to depart with twenty
ships -the fleet had numbered five hundred -after
swearing to maintain friendship with England . Only
three weeks later , Harold fell at the battle of Hastings ,
and Norman William , descendant of Norwegian Rollo ,
became king of England.
The oath of friendship counted for nothing after
Harold's death , or else it was construed as requiring
allegiance to Saxons rather than Normans ; for Olaf
joined Knut of Denmark and Count Robert of Flanders
in equipping a great expedition against William to assist
the Anglo - Saxons in throwing off the Norman
yoke . A fleet of nearly a thousand sail was collected
at the Lym Fjord ; but the English king had intrigued
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 247
with the different nobles connected with the expedition ,
and the project was abandoned . The Norwegian auxiliaries
returned , and, except for the customary expeditions
against Baltic pirates , which were measures
of self- defence , Olaf warred no more.
In selecting Bergen harbor as the site of a town,
he may have been influenced by its advantages for
ship- building, as Olaf Tryggvesson was in founding
Nidaros. The ships of the Norsemen, at this period ,
were perhaps superior to those of any other nation.
From the rude boats of the Suevi , described by Tacitus
, which were without sails and with a prow at each
end, so as to move without turning (excellent for the
narrow channels in the fjords , and anticipating the
modern ferry-boat ) , or those of the first Norse invaders
of England , broad bottomed , with keels of light timber,
and upper -work of wicker, covered with hides ,-
they had advanced to the construction of large vessels ,
built of oak , manned by numerous rowers , and carrying
several hundred men .
Snorre Sturleson gives descriptions of Olaf Tryggvesson's
" Lang Ormen ," or Long Serpent , —with
thirty-four benches of rowers , the " largest ship built
in Norway ," with prow and stern carved into likeness
of a dragon's head and tail , and overlaid with gold , —
and the " Bison " of St. Olaf, not inferior in size or
splendor ; and Harald Hardrada's royal ship , with
thirty-five benches of rowers , the size of the Long
Serpent and like it , with gilded dragon's head and
tail , " with three masts and everything of the best ,
sails , rigging, anchors and cables . " The large, square
sails were adorned with stripes of red , green, and blue ,
and the red and white shields of the warriors were
248 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
hung around the rail , overlapping like scales. On the
high decks of the forecastle and the poop were the
places of the fighting men, clad in red tunics and shining
chain armor. A fine appearance such a war ship
must have made , gliding through the fjords !
Under the feet of the rowers , in the waist of the vessel
, were stowed arms , provisions , clothing , stones for
slinging, etc. , under movable hatches ; here , in battle ,
were laid the wounded , in ghastly heaps ; " backs up
and faces down, under the the row- seats . "
The crew
slept on this lower deck , under a tent , if they did not
land at night , but oftener under tents on shore . In
these ships , the vikings were sometimes buried , a mound
of earth heaped above them.
The origin of the Scandinavian marine is ascribed
to Odin , whose wonderful Skidbladnir , made by the
dwarfs , though large enough to hold all the gods ,
could, when they had landed , be folded up and put in
the pocket . Modern improvements in ship- building
have not yet rivalled the convenience of this arrangement
for transporting an invading army ; though the
other magical property of the Skidbladnir ,-of directing
its own course wherever the gods desired to gohas
been substantially afforded by the invention of
steam .*
* In the Royal Museum at Christiania are the remains of a viking's ship,
found in 1871 , in the parish of Tune, on a branch of the Glommen River.
The keel is about forty - five feet long , of a single piece , and thirteen feet
wide amidships . A square beam of oak lay across five ribs, in the middle,
and above this was a larger beam, with a square hole through both, in which
the stump of the fir mast was still standing . The rudder, of the same wood,
lay across the vessel , behind the mast. Near this were found unburnt bones
of man and horse , snow- skates , and fragments of a carved saddle . A smaller
ship ha¹ been found at Nydam, in 1863 , and quite recently ( in 1880) , a larger
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 249
The coasts were divided into districts , each of which
furnished a certain number of ships , and these were
manned by conscription . If the yearly tribute of ships
were not required , its value in money was exacted .
This must have been the principal source of revenue
when the plunder from piratical expeditions failed .
Having a peaceful reign , Olaf could turn his attention
to improving the condition of his people . He
founded several guilds of arts and trades at Bergen ,
and made it a centre of traffic with other countries .
He is said to have introduced chimneys and glass
windows ; even royal palaces before his time having
been destitute of these luxuries . Most of the houses
in Norway were rude cabins of timber, with a hole in
the roof to let the light in and the smoke out . Up to
the middle of the last century, we are told by Bishop
Pontoppidan , it was unusual to see a dwelling house ,
even among rich farmers , with glass windows . The
square hole in the middle of the roof, called a "ljur, "
was stopped, in bad weather, with a " siaa ," a frame
covered with a transparent membrane, like bladder.
Specimens of these may still be seen in saeter huts ,
in wild parts of the country.
Norway was not far behind the rest of the world.
in point of civilization . England could not show much
one has been discovered at the tumulus called King's Hill , at Sandefjord ,
seventy- four feet long by sixteen broad , with twenty ribs, and drawing five
feet of water. This is supposed to date from about 800 A. D. , and it is
thought that when the tumulus was raised , the sea , now a mile distant ,
washed its base . Fragments of sails and tackle were found , the greater
part of the mast, about twenty- two feet in height, bones of a man, horse,
and dog, drinking cups and other utensils, but not the costly ornaments
which were expected , from the tradition that a mighty king had been buried
here . Perhaps the tumulus had already been rifled of its treasures . II*
250
 .
more , in the way of comfortable dwellings . Before the
Conquest there were very few buildings , even churches
or convents, of stone . Winchester, then the capital,
consisted of sixteen streets of low huts , closely packed
together . London could not have been superior , and
was perhaps not equal , to Winchester. The wooden
houses were one - story high, plastered within and without
, and with thatched roofs . Even the castles of the
Norman barons were wooden towers upon stone foundations
, or mounds of earth defended by wooden palisades
. The mud floors were strewn with rushes ; the
windows closed with boards . The oldest of the stone
towers , or " keeps , " now remaining in England , that
of Malling in Kent , built by Bishop Gundulph in 1070,
shows the rude masonry called rubble work ( stones of
different size and shape imbedded in mortar) , which is
found in some of the oldest stone buildings in Sweden :
church towers , which are supposed to be the remains
of heathen temples . Bishop Gundulph was the architect
of the "White Tower " in London , and began to
build the Cathedral of Rochester. The bishops were
the architects in those days , and the monks were the
gardeners, introducing the culture of vegetables . Even
now, if a garden be particularly fertile , in Norway, you
are apt to find that it is on the site of an old monastery .
Another advance in civilization was the attention
to costume . Snorre Sturleson says , that in the time
of Olaf Kyrre, the Norwegians " took up with many
foreign customs and dresses , such as fine laced hose ,
high- heeled shoes , stitched with silk , jackets buttoned
on the side , with sleeves ten feet long, very narrow,
and plaited up to the shoulders ."
Arnold of Lübec , in his chronicle , written about
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 251
1200, speaks of the Danes as being no longer clothed
like mariners , but wearing the dress and arms of other
nations , using rich stuffs of various colors , and even
purple and fine linen . Only at the court, however,
could such luxury be found in Norway.
In their warlike habits , constantly making or resisting
invasions , the kings had spent little time in
their palaces , such as they were , but had lived much
on islands , or on board their ships , sleeping under
tents on the shore . The wooden houses were never
secure from attack ; and in many cases the rich Bonders
and chieftains were surprised by night and burned
in their houses.
Olaf kept a large retinue to guard his palace ; one
hundred herdmen or courtiers ( of the udal class ) , sixty
giesters or men- at- arms ( of the unfrie class , employed
as common soldiers , seamen , or followers ) , and sixty
house carls to do the labor (probably slaves or thralls
-those taken in battle and their descendants , not employed
under arms in any way) .
He introduced new court ceremonies . For each
guest at his table there was a torchbearer to hold a
candle . The butler stood in front of the table to fill
the cups of deer's horn . These were ornamented with
golden bands , at regular distances ; and in the daytime
it was customary to drink by measure , from one band
to another ; but at the evening feasts men drank without
measure as much as they pleased , and found themselves
under the table in consequence , one may suppose .
""
King Olaf spent much of his time on his large farms ,
and was called " Olaf the Bonder, " as well as The
Peaceable, " " because he sat in peace , and gave no
cause for others to plunder his dominions. "
252  .
One of his good deeds was the enactment of a law
for the emancipation of slaves taken in war. Every
district was obliged to set free one bondman annually.
This was very gradual emancipation , but it may have
been the best he could secure . It was a beginning, at
least ; and under Magnus Hakon's son , the lawgiver ,
two hundred years later , slavery was finally abolished ,
as it was, about the same time , in Sweden , by the good
regent , Torkel Knutson .
Of slavery in the time of Olaf we have a very good
idea from Snorre's account of the household of Erling ,
Olaf's brother-in -law. Erling was a powerful Bonder,
had always ninety free - born men in his house , kept a
ship of thirty- two banks of oars , and when he went on
a viking cruise , or attended the king on a levy , had at
least two hundred men with him . He had always on
his farm thirty slaves, besides other work- people ; and
he gave them a certain task as a day's work, and leave
to work for themselves after that was accomplished .
He gave them land to sow, and the benefit of their
crops ; and he put upon them a certain value , so that
they could redeem themselves from slavery, which
some could do the first year, some the second , and
"all who had any luck could do it the third year."
He settled these freed slaves on the newly- cleared
land , or found them employment in the useful trades ,
or in the herring -fishery, for which he furnished them.
with nets and salt .
Slaves thus freed would belong to the unfrie class ,
neither Bonders nor thralls , but liable to serve in war ,
to which class belonged the trades - people , fishermen ,
laborers , cottagers paying rent in work on a farm ,
etc. , from whom the same class of people in Norway
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 253
are probably descended . Now, as then, they are considered
inferior to Bonders ( udal proprietors) , and there
is a strong caste feeling, as we have already observed .
Erling's treatment of his slaves may have been exceptionally
kind and judicious . The dark side of slavery
comes out in an act of the queen - mother, Thora (during
the next reign ) , who ordered the tongue of a slave
boy to be cut out , because he had stolen a piece of
meat from her beef or pork barrel . He averred that
the cook had given it to him , because it was unfit for
the queen's table ; but the cruel woman insisted upon
the barbarous punishment . It is gratifying to know
that St. Olaf established his own sanctity and the
boy's innocence by restoring him to speech.
Magnus Barefoot ( or Barelegs ) , the son and successor
of Olaf, inherited the fierce nature of his mother
Thora, as well as his father's bravery, and was one of
the most warlike kings of Norway. He owed his surname
to his habit of wearing the Scottish kilt . He reconquered
the Shetland Islands , the Orkneys , Hebrides
and the Isle of Man , and afterwards invaded Ireland ;
where , after reducing part of the country to subjection ,
he was killed in a skirmish on the coast of Ulster .
valor endeared him to his army ; but he was not such a
favorite with the people , who were heavily taxed to defray
the cost of his expeditions.
His
He died at the age of thirty years , leaving three sons
to divide the kingdom , Eistein fifteen , Sigurd fourteen ,
and Olaf, four years old . About this time a company
of Northmen returned from the East , with stories of
Jerusalem ; and it was thought very desirable that one
of the young kings should go there in command of an
expedition . The choice fell upon Sigurd (whose share
254
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
had been the southern part of Norway, Eistein taking
the north and little Olaf the middle) ; so Eistein remained
at home and governed the whole country, while
his brother set out on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem .
Eistein had good advisers , and was , like his grandfather
Olaf, a wise and peaceable man . He built a large hall
in Bergen as a lodging inn ; a monastery at Nord - naes :
a church and harbor at Agda - naes ; St. Michael's Church
in Bergen, " a very splendid stone temple " ; and in the
king's house , or citadel , the Church of the Apostles ,
and " a great hall , the most magnificent wooden structure
ever built in Norway."
But for Mr. Bennett's confident assertion that the
great hall in Bergen was built by Hakon Hakonson ,
who reigned 1247-1261 , we should think it was Eistein's
66
magnificent structure " of the previous century. Perhaps
it was built upon the same foundations . Of Eistein's
establishment of mountain stations on the Dovrefjeld
and Fillefjeld I have already spoken . He " built
in Nidaros , in the King's Street , the Church of St. Nicholas
, ornamented with carved work , and all in wood ,
and a church in Vaage , in Halagoland ." By kind persuasion
he won back the province of Jemteland , which
had paid scot to Hakon Adelstein , and afterwards , until
St. Olaf and Swedish Olaf had quarrelled over it , and
it had been settled that " all east of the Keel belonged
to Sweden ."
Eistein is described as the handsomest man that
could be seen ; he had blue, open eyes , and hair yellow
and curling ," of middle stature , with much knowledge
of mankind , quick in counsel, prudent in words , very
eloquent and generous. He improved in many ways
the laws and privileges of the people , kept strictly to
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN.
255
the laws , and showed in everything great prudence
and understanding.
Meanwhile , Sigurd Jorsalafarer had sailed , in 1107 ,
with a fleet of sixty ships and several thousand men ;
wintered in England , where he was entertained by
Henry I .; then ravaged the coast of Gallicia , encountered
Saracen pirates and captured eight galleys ; attacked
the fortress of Cintra , at the mouth of the Tagus
, and killed the garrison on their refusing to become
Christians . At Lisbon and Alcazar he plundered the
Moors of immense booty, and defeated a second fleet
of pirates in the Straits of Gibraltar. In Sicily he was
entertained by Count Roger, the Norman sovereign ;
and on reaching Palestine , he was welcomed by King
Baldwin , brother and successor to Godfrey of Bouillon ,
who accompanied him to the Jordan , and gave him a
piece of the true cross , to be deposited in the shrine of
St. Olaf. He assisted Baldwin in the siege of Sidon ,
and received half the booty. In IIII , he returned home
by way of Constantinople , where he was honored with
a grand reception by the emperor , Alexius Comnenus .
The famous golden gate was opened for his entry ; there
were games in the Hippodrome, and he received valuable
gifts , which he distributed among his soldiers .
Snorre Sturleson , in recounting Sigurd's adventures ,
describes the Hippodrome as containing " monuments
in bronze and other metals of the Aesor , the Volsungor
and Giukungor, made with such exquisite skill that they
appear to be alive , and joining in the games , or as if
riding in the air " ; confusing the antique statues of
Greek deities with the Scandinavian deities and heroes ,
or thinking them the same under different names, which
perhaps they were .
256
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
On leaving Constantinople , Sigurd presented the
emperor with his ships , and the figurehead of his own ,
a gilt dragon twelve feet long, was set up in or upon
the Church of St. Sophia , in memory of his visit . Alexius
furnished him with horses and guides , to conduct
him through the empire , with letters to governors of
provinces requiring free quarters for himself and his
men, and provisions for their journey . He traversed
Bulgaria , Hungary, Pannonia , Bavaria and Suabia ; was
entertained by the Emperor Lothair and King Nicholas
of Denmark, who furnished him with ships to return
to Norway. He seems to have been rather set up by
his adventures and to have thought lightly in comparison
of the quiet virtues of his brother ; and his quick
and passionate spirit sometimes hurried him into violent
measures and threatened to make trouble between
them ; but , owing to Eistein's wise management, they
never came to open hostility .
In his graphic way Snorre relates a significant dream
of King Sigurd's which he told to his brother for advice
and comfort thereupon . He dreamed that the
three brothers were sitting on a bench outside of
Christ Church in Throndhjem , when St. Olaf came out
with smiling , friendly mien , and taking young Olaf by
the hand , saying , " Come with me, my friend , ” he led
him into the church . He came again with graver
countenance for Eistein , and led him away; but returned
not for Sigurd . " Then I was seized with great
sorrow , and great dread and anxiety fell upon me , so
that I was altogether without strength ; and then I
awoke. "
King Eistein interprets the dream to signify that
Olaf shall die first , himself next , and Sigurd shall live
OLD NORse kingS IN BERGEN. 257
longer, but some trouble may come to him ; and so it
happened . Olaf died of sickness in the thirteenth year
of his reign, aged seventeen ; Eistein , in the twentieth
year of his reign , aged thirty-five . Sigurd had fits of
insanity in the latter years of his life ; and another
trouble arose , which was signified by another dream ;
of a tree, coming from over seas, breaking in pieces ,
and driving all about the land ; which he thought betokened
the coming of some man who would fix his
seat there , and whose posterity should spread itself
over the country.
So significant are some of these dreams in the old.
sagas, that irreverent criticism suggests that they were
invented after their fulfilment.
The last years of Sigurd's reign were disturbed by
the advent of the Irish adventurer, Harald Gille , or
Gilchrist, who gave himself out for a son of Magnus
Barefoot, and claimed a share of the kingdom . To
prove his assertion he submitted to the ordeal of walking
over nine red - hot plough - shares ; and as the burns
were healed in three days , his claims were established .
King Sigurd stipulated that Harald should not lay claim
to the throne during his life , or that of his son Magnus ,
to which Harald agreed ; and he was allowed to remain
at court , as an acknowledged heir to the crown .
Sigurd had married Malmfrid , daughter of Russian
Harald Wladimirsson , whose mother was Gyda , daughter
of English Harold .
Nestor of Kieff, the father of Russian history, also
records this first English and Russian alliance .
Malmfrid had no sons ; but her daughter, Christina ,
married Erling Shakke , and their son Magnus came to
the throne some thirty years later.
258 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
Sigurd's son and successor, Magnus, was the son of
a Norsk maiden , Borghilda , daughter of a Bonder in
Dal . It is curious how many of these kings were the
offspring of left -handed marriages : Hakon Adelstein ,
Magnus Olafson , Olaf Kyrre , his son Magnus, and the
usurpers Harald and Sigurd , who claimed descent from
him , with Harald's grandson , Sverre . Illegitimacy was
no barrier.
In the last years of his life , Sigurd fell in love with
a beautiful girl , Cecilia , and wished to marry her ; but
the bishop of Bergen refused to perform the ceremony,
as Malmfrid was still living ; then he went down to
Stavanger, and found the bishop there more compliant,
on condition of his paying a great sum to the
Church .
Sigurd had built a castle in Konghella , " of turf and
stones , with a ditch round it , and a king's house and
church inside ," where he deposited the piece of the
true cross which he had brought from Palestine , and
the tables of copper , silver gilt and adorned with jewels
, before the altar , " brought from the Greek country,"
and an altar book, written with gold letters , presented
to him by the Greek patriarch . It was " a
Cross church, built of wood and carefully put together,"
doubtless not unlike the quaint little churches
still remaining in Borgund and Hitterdal . Three
years after the consecration of this church , Sigurd fell
sick in Viken , and died, and was buried in Opslo, in
St. Halvard's Church ; " laid in the stone wall without
the choir on the south side ."
He had reigned twenty- seven years . These three
brothers were the last Norse kings to die in their beds
for many a long year.
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERgen. 259
It was thought by many that Sigurd should have
placed his precious relic in the shrine of St. Olaf, at
Throndhjem, where he had vowed to deposit it ; though
that opinion may not have been expressed until after
the church and town of Konghella had been plundered
and burned by Wendish pirates .
It was natural that Harald Gille and Magnus should
be bitter enemies . From the first , Magnus had hated
the pretender, with a presentiment of all he was to suffer
at his hands .
Mangus was " the handsomest man in Norway, and
distinguished in bodily exercises ; but of a passionate
temper and cruel, a great drinker, greedy of money,
hard and obstinate ." Harald Gille was gay and generous
, willingly listened to good advice , and made many
friends . After Sigurd's death he called his friends together,
and at a Hauga Thing got himself chosen king
of half the country , on the ground that his promise to
wait for the death of Magnus had been forced from
him .
Both raised armies , and Magnus refused to treat
with the pretender, but waited in Bergen until Harald
should come to attack him.
He defended the town by laying chains and wooden
booms across the passage from the King's Bridge to
the Nordnaes, and to the Monk's Bridge ; erected a
slinging machine out on the Holm , and filled a field
with iron traps or caltrops, to lame horses or men who
should cross it . Harald landed at Florevaag on Christmas
Eve, but would not fight on holy time , and waited
till the third day of the feast . There was news , then ,
that he was attacking at one end of the town ; Magnus
went thither with his troops, some nine hundred men ;
260 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
then he is told the enemy is at another entrance ,
and he turns back in haste and disorder , his men forsaking
him, his very defences a trap and a snare , as he
wanders back and forth in Bergen streets , to be taken
prisoner by Harald , and handed over to his slaves to
be blinded and mutilated .
Magnus retires or is sent to the monastery , on the
Munkholm , at Throndhjem . Harald reigns in Bergen ;
but the very next year he is attacked and slain in his
bed, at night , by another pretended son of Magnus Barefoot
: Sigurd , called Slembediaken , or the bad deacon ,
because, though brought up as a priest , he was more of
a viking by nature . Sigurd's claims to the throne were
not sustained by the people, though he had undergone
the ordeal like Harald ; and the latter had tried to procure
his death ; but he had slipped away and lay concealed
in Bergen , until he found opportunity to execute
his vengeance . He got himself proclaimed king, in
Sogne ; but Harald's young sons were also proclaimed
by the people of southern Norway ; and Sigurd went
north to the Lapps , who made him canoes of bark ,
sewed with reindeer sinews , with willow twigs for knees ;
each boat holding twelve men. He went next to
Throndhjem, and taking poor, blind Magnus out of
the monastery, to inspire interest in his cause , he met
the forces of Harald's sons in a sea fight. Magnus was
killed , and Sigurd taken prisoner, as he was escaping,
swimming under his shield , and put to death by the
most cruel tortures , which he bore with the fortitude
of a wild Indian and the patience of a Christian martyr .
Snorre's graphic story of these battles came either
from first or second hand ; from Hakon Mage's account ,
and Erik Oddson's , " who wrote concerning Harald
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 261
Gille and his sons , and Magnus and Sigurd ," and what
he himself heard from the lendermen who were in the
war .
One of Harald's sons had the old viking blood in his
veins . "While Stephen was king ," between 1136 and
1154, he sailed to Caithness , plundered Aberdeen , and .
went south to Hartlepool , Whitby and Scarborough
and other places , fighting and pillaging , returning in
the autumn to Norway. " People spoke in various
ways about this expedition , " says Snorre ; evidently
not altogether in approval . It was the last Norse incursion
upon English territory .
Nicholas Breakspeare came to Norway in the time
of Harald's sons , and consecrated an archbishop at
Throndhjem . He introduced a law to prevent the
Bonders from coming armed to the Things , and by his
wise measures and gentle rule made himself beloved
by the people .
"There never came a foreigner to Norway whom
all men respected so highly , or who could govern the
people so well as he did ." After he became Pope
Adrian IV. , " according to the report of men who
went to Rome in his days , he had never any business
however important to transact with other people , but
he would break it off to speak with the Northmen who
desired to see him ."
Harald's sons were all killed in battle ; Sigurd at Bergen,
Eistein on an island where he had taken refuge,
and Inge in a battle on the ice near Opslo , fighting
with another pretender, Hakon , son of Sigurd the
deacon . The crown went back to the family of Sigurd ,
the Crusader, in the person of his grandson , Magnus
Erlingson , who was crowned by the new archbishop
262  .
at Bergen about 1160. Snorre speaks of the decoration
of the large hall for the festivities , with tapestry and
costly cloth hangings . The primate improved the opportunity
to secure power for the Church, making a
bargain with Erling (who was the real sovereign during
his son's reign ) that upon the death of the king the
crown was to be offered to St. Olaf, and a council ,
composed of bishops , abbots and twelve Bonders from
each diocese , should appoint the successor.
The Church did not profit much by this sharp practice
, for the very next king was Sverre, the excommunicated
priest (son of Sigurd Haraldsson ) , whose
mother at Sigurd's death had carried him off to the
Faroe Islands .
In the confused and lawless state of society which
prevailed at this time , a band of some two thousand
outlaws and marauders had been collected under the
lead of Eistein, a reputed son of Eistein Haraldsson ,
whom they proclaimed king. After his death Sverre
became their leader , and these were the " Birkibeiners , ”
by whose assistance he was placed on the throne . If
the existence of such a band of men requires any explanation
, it may be found in the fact that the last piratical
invasion had taken place a few years previously , and
these were the vikings , driven from the seas to the forests
; their former occupation cut off by the progress
of Christian influences , the power of law , and the naval,
military and commercial arrangements of other
countries.
It was a transition period , when , in most of the
countries of Europe , there was an over - population in
proportion to the means of earning a peaceful livelihood
; and , as has been observed , the Crusades were
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN.
263
fed not more from fanaticism than by this want of
employment at home.
Norway had sent , as we have seen, only accidental
contingents to the Crusades . There had never been
a standing army. Troops were levied , upon occasion ,
and ships required from the rich Bonders ; and in many
wealthy families the custom had grown up of keeping
a number of men - at - arms , who were a step above the
class of tradesmen , artisans , laborers and fishermen ,
and would not readily find peaceful employment when
their warlike occupation was gone . Of such restless
and turbulent spirits the Birkibeiners and Baglers were
composed .
Sverre reigned twenty- five years - from 1177 to
1202 , and seems to have done his best for the country,
in the way of improving the laws and customs . I
do not find that he built any churches ; but he erected
castles - one in Bergen , in the citadel , on the spot now
occupied by a garden , and another in Throndjem .
A curious scene was witnessed in Bergen , after the
death of Sverre and his son ; when, the birth of his
grandson Hakon being disputed , the queen mother
Inga submitted to the ordeal of wearing a glove of
red -hot iron , to test the legality of his title . A great
Thing had been convened at Bergen , and the ordeal
was proposed by Archbishop Erik, King Sverre's old
enemy. A Bonder in the council was greatly outraged
by the suggestion , declaring that such an insult was
never heard of in Norway, and that it would be fitter
for Hakon to assert his claims against his foes by cold
iron , as his grandfather Sverre had done .
But the council agreed with the archbishop, and Inga
was shut up in a church alone for fasting and prayer,
264  .
guarded by twelve armed men, sworn to prevent fraud.
When the burning glove was taken off, in the presence
of the king, bishops and jarls , her fair hand was not
only unhurt , but more beautiful than ever. The archbishop
declared all persons excommunicate, who should
dare to whisper a doubt as to the fairness and honesty
of the whole proceeding.
Hakon's power needed " cold iron " also to establish
it fully After several years of struggle with his refractory
subjects, he was crowned at Throndhjem on
St. Olaf's Day, A. D. 1240, by the Cardinal Bishop of
Sabina, legate of Pope Innocent IV. Before his departure
, the cardinal abolished the ordeal by hot iron ,
declaring it unworthy of Christians to invoke the
testimony of God in mere worldly matters . In the
second year of Hakon's reign , occurred the death of
the famous Snorre Sturleson , whose " Chronicle of the
Kings of Norway" has been our guide thus far .*
* Snorre Sturleson , born 1178 , at Hvamm, in Iceland , was descended
from the royal stock of Odin , and held by hereditary right the dignity of
Godar, inherent in families descended from the twelve Godars who came
with Odin from Asgard . The office combined the functions of judge and
priest, and the former continued long after the introduction of Christianity .
A man of great political influence , whose history has been written by his
enemies, who accuse him of appropriating the property of his step - children ,
of appearing at the Thing with a large body of armed retainers, and obtaining
by force such decisions as he wished , and of conspiring to reduce Iceland
to a province of Norway—it is difficult to judge him impartially, and his
cruel death excites the most lively sympathy . He visited Norway in 1221
as the guest of Jarl Hakon Galin ( one of the husbands of Christina , mother
of Magnus Erlingson ) , and later, in 1237, he attached himself to the party
of Skule, who had claims to the throne, and assumed the title of king, in
Throndhjem, but was slain during the next year. King Hakon IV. declared
Snorre a traitor, and issued letters to bring him prisoner to Norway,
or put him to death . On this authority his three sons - in - law came by night to
his residence at Reikholt, and murdered him. As a chronicler, Snorre is unrivalled,
not only by Scandinavian sagamen , but by any historian of his time.
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 265
In 1263 Hakon undertook his fatal expedition
against the Scots , then ruled by Alexander III .
Alexander II . in 1244 had tried to buy back the
Hebrides ; but Hakon replied that he was not so poor
as to sell his birthright . In 1263 , the jarls, who governed
these islands , sent letters to Hakon , complaining
that they were harassed by British chiefs, who
burned their houses and churches , and slaughtered
women and children , carrying helpless infants about
on the points of their spears . The king equipped an
expedition to chastise the Scots . Bergen harbor was
full of his ships ; and the royal ship , constructed there ,
was entirely of oak , with the dragon head overlaid
with burnished gold .
He landed on the western coast of Scotland , and
several of the island kings submitted . He claimed the
cession of Bute and Arran and other islands , and when
they refused , took forcible possession , reducing three
castles , and laying waste their villages . He tried to
land at the mouth of the Clyde ; but when part of
his troops had disembarked , a sudden tempest arose ,
and drove his ships out to sea. The troops on shore
attacked a Scotch force near Largs , and were defeated
with great loss . Hakon , unable to land the remainder ,
retired through the strait , between Skye and the mainland-
still called Kyle Hakon-to the Orkney Islands ,
where he wintered , proposing to renew his attack in
the spring . He was seized with a fever ; and , after
lingering some time at Kirkwall , causing the Bible
and Norse sagas to be read to him daily, he died ,
about St. Lucia's Day, and his body was removed to
Bergen.
Magnus, his son and successor, gave up the Scotch
II
266  .
Islands , except the Orkney and Sheltland Islands , for
which he paid the sum of 4,000 marks ; and as a means
of insuring peace between the two kingdoms , his son
Erik was betrothed to Margaret , the daughter of Alexander
III . , then about four years old .
The barbarous right of wreck was abolished by
treaty. Magnus is called " Lagabaeter, " or law- mender,
from his having collected the laws of the kingdom
into a regular code , called the Hirdskra. His son Erik
was proclaimed his successor , and primogeniture was
now established , the prelates renouncing their claim
to control the choice of a monarch . The early kings
had been chosen among the nearest relatives , the
eldest son being generally elected ; but often all the
sons had claimed shares in the kingdom , and great
trouble had arisen from the custom .
Erik married Margaret in 1281 , and they had one
daughter, called by the Scots the " Maiden of Norway,"
who, on the death of her grandfather without
heirs male , became heiress to the throne of Scotland.
Erik asserted her claim , and entered into negotiations
with Edward I. of England , who sought to effect a
union of the British kingdoms by a marriage between
his son and the Norwegian princess . It was arranged
that she should be sent to England to be educated
under the care of the wise and lovely Queen Eleanora
of Castile ; and she embarked for the purpose in October,
1290 ; but, after a very stormy voyage , the ship took
refuge at the Orkney Islands , where the poor little
princess died of exhaustion . She was not more than
eight years old . Her own mother must have been
dead ; for I find that the king of Norway had married
Isabel, daughter of Robert Bruce , and declined taking
OLD NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 267
part in the long struggle between England and Scotland
which followed the accession of John Balio to
the Scottish throne . If poor little Margaret had lived
to marry Edward II . , how much happier might have
been his fate than with the wicked Isabel of France .
Is this the " king's daughter of Noroway," mentioned
in the " grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spens " ?—
" To Noroway , to Noroway ,
To Noroway o'er the faem ;
The king's daughter of Noroway,
'Tis thou maun bring her hame ! '
" The first word that Sir Patrick read,
Sae loud , loud laughéd he ;
The neist word that Sir Patrick read,
The tear blindit his e'e.
" O wha is this has done this deed,
And tauld the king o' me,
To send us out at this time of the year,
To sail upon the sea ?
" Be it wind, be it weet , be it hail, be it sleet,
Our ship must sail the faem ;
The king's daughter of Noroway,
'Tis we must fetch her hame.'
" They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn,
Wi' a' the speed they may ;
They hae landed in Noroway
Upon a Woden's day . "
After a week in Norway the Norsk lords begin to
flout the Scotch sailors with spending their " king's
goud " and " a' our queenis fee , " and indignant Sir
Patrick gives the word for their return :
268  .
" Make ready , make ready, my merry men a' ,
Our good ship sails the morn . '
'Now, ever alake ! my master dear,
I fear a deadly storm !
" I saw the new moon, late yestreen,
With the old moon in her arm ;
And if we gang to sea, master,
I fear we'll come to harm . '
"They hadna sailed a league, a league,
A league , but barely three ,
When the lift grew dark and the wind blew loud,
And gurly grew the sea .
" The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap,
It was sic a deadly storm ;
And the waves broke over the broken ship,
Till a' her sides were torn.
" O forty miles off Aberdeen ,
'Tis fifty fathoms deep ,
And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens
With the Scots lords at his feet ."
Erik left no son , and was followed by his brother,
Hakon V. Ingeborg , daughter of Hakon V. , married
Erik, brother of Birger, king of Sweden (grandsons of
the great Birger Jarl) , and her son Magnus (after the
murder of his father and the abdication of his uncle ) became
king both of Norway and Sweden in 1319 ; but in
1343 resigned the sceptre of Norway to his son Hakon .
Hakon married Margaret , daughter of Waldemar IV .
of Denmark ; and their son Olaf, for a little while ,
united the crowns of Denmark and Norway. His
mother, Margaret, after the death of her husband
in 1380, was appointed regent, during Olaf's minorOLD
NORSE KINGS IN BERGEN. 269
ity, and after his death , at the age of seventeen ,
she was invested with the sovereignty of Denmark
and Norway.
In right of her husband she claimed the crown of
Sweden ; and after several years of war with Albert
of Mecklenburg (elected king of Sweden after the
death of Magnus) , she became , by the treaty of Calmar,
queen regent of the three kingdoms , during the
minority of Erik of Pomerania , who had been elected
as her successor . A portrait of this remarkable woman ,
known in Denmark as the " Semiramis of the North ,"
is engraved as the frontispiece of Sinding's " History
of Scandinavia . " An anxious and troubled expression
wrinkles her forehead , beneath the jewelled coronet ;
and you are reminded that " Uneasy lies the head that
wears a crown . " And the great Margaret had far from
an easy life of it , although she retained the government
until her death, and Denmark and Norway remained
united under one king until the union of Norway
with Sweden in 1814. But the German princes
who succeeded had not her energy or wisdom , and the
kingdoms were involved in almost constant wars and
insurrections .
Under Christian II. , Gustavus Vasa established the
independence of Sweden in 1523 , and his descendants
occupied the throne until the accession of General
Bernadotte , in 1818 , under the title of Charles
John XIV .
I think Margaret was the last sovereign who could
ever have resided in Bergen. Osloe became the capital
of Norway after its union with Denmark, and
Christopher III . and Christian II . were crowned there ,
but the kings had their residence at Copenhagen. An270
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
other Margaret , daughter of Christian I. , was married
to James III . of Scotland ; and as her father was unable
to pay her dowry of sixty thousand florins , the Orkney
and Shetland Islands were mortgaged for the sum.
Denmark never being able to redeem them , and Scotland
unwilling to give them up, they were lost to Norway
forever.
XV.
FROM THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD .
BERG
ERGEN lies between the two grandest fjords in
Norway-the Sogne , about seven Norsk miles to
the north , and the Hardanger, the same distance to the
south. Both reach the sea through a labyrinth of countless
islands , and both penetrate from eight to ten Norsk
miles into the interior , dividing into smaller fjords ,
which run up into the land in different directions .
Thoroughly to explore the wild and beautiful scenery
of these fjords would require weeks ; but one may see
the grandest features of both in a few days , by taking
the route which we adopted , at Mr. Bennett's recommendation
. Small steamers leave Bergen several times
a week for these fjords , and by going to the head of
one, and posting across country to the branches of the
other, some of the finest scenery in Norway, or in the
world, may be enjoyed , with very little difficulty or
fatigue .
On Thursday at 9 A. M. , we were on board the
Hardangeren ; our trille safely on deck, our luggage
piled with a lot of similar bags and bundles near the
gangway, our berths engaged in the tiny cabin , and
ourselves established on the deck of the little steamer ,
ready to ascend the Hardanger Fjord . We had a sail
of sixteen hours before us ; but though we should ar272
 .
rive at our destination at I A. M. the steamer would remain
there until 4 A. M. So we could betake ourselves
to our berths, when we became very weary, and occupy
them until that early hour , if we chose .
We passed in and out among islands of varying size ,
and through passages of varying width , till we emerged
into the main body of the Hardanger Fjord . These
fjords may be compared to trees , with roots extending
into the sea, and head and branches into the land .
Sometimes we stopped at stations and villages , and
saw the peasants in their bright , quaint costumes . One
sees greater variety in costume in the Bergen - stift , or
diocese, the southwestern division of the body ecclesiastic
of Norway, than in any other part of the country.
Some of the women and young girls wear bright scarlet
bodices over plaited white cambric waists , with full
sleeves , the bodice sometimes open in front showing
the white to the belt , sometimes closed by a richly embroidered
stomacher. Over a skirt of dark, serviceable
, woollen material is worn a large apron ; upon festive
occasions this is white , adorned with embroidery
or drawn work, " like old English or modern Kensington
methods of ornamenting linen . Upon the head is
worn a scarlet or black cap , and sometimes a curiously
twisted white handkerchief, sticking out in great horns
at the side . The koner (married women) have different
kinds of headgear from the piger ; but these picturesque
arrangements are an immense improvement
upon the dull , too often dirty, kerchiefs , one sees so
constantly while passing through the interior of Norway.
The large apron is invariably worn, even by
brides, but for common use is made of cotton print or
gingham .
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 273
In winter a tight waist, with long sleeves , of dark
stuff like the skirt , is substituted for , or worn over, the
white one, sometimes finished by a narrow border of
bright trimming , and showing the white habit - shirt at
throat, and neat white cuffs at the wrists .
Brides are adorned with a gaudy crown of tinsel and
bright colors worn over a close white cap ; and long
sash - ribbons , or bands of scarlet cloth , gay with colored
embroidery, hang over the white apron.
Old men wear knee - breeches and white stockings ,
coats turned back with red , with bright buttons ; sometimes
red woollen jackets and coats of thick white cloth
and dark ribbed stockings. One, photographed in the
latter costume, carries an alpenstock in his hand , and
looks all ready to be one's guide to the Folgefond , or
some other glacier.
Our seats were near the stern , and some sudden motion
of the rudder startled Will from his perch on the
railing and off went his straw hat , a recent purchase in
Bergen . He had a silk cap in his bag , intended for use
in night travel , and after ruefully watching the straw
hat , dancing and swimming on the waves , he foraged
in the heap of luggage for his private property, and produced
the cap-a poor substitute . No chance of a hat
this side of Christiania ! There was one consolation—
his sun umbrella remained .
He planned a change of route-going on with the
boat to Odde , at the head of the Sor Fjord ( one of the
branches of the Hardanger) to visit the Buerbrae glacier
and the Folge Fond . An English lady, with two young
gentlemen, and two brothers, Americans , were bent on
the same excursion , and they tried to persuade us to
accompany them. But we knew our weakness , and
I2 *
274
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER .
that the eight or ten hours of walking necessary for
exploring these wonders were quite impossible for us .
Beside our own party, these were the only English or
American passengers ; but there were the German baron
and his wife and her mother, with the stout courier
(whom we had seen at Jerkin , and afterwards , for a
day, on the Hakon Adelstein ) and some very pleasant
Norwegians ; among others, the lady with the little
girl , whose English - Norsk had surprised us on the
Lofoten , and who now proved more accessible . Their
home was at one of the stations on the fjord , and
we watched their landing , and the greetings of their
friends . A tall , stout gentleman , with whom my
brother made acquaintance, proved to be a superintendent
of police , on a tour of inspection through the
country, accompanied by his wife, who spoke a little
English, and was very agreeable .
The day was a long one , and dinner and supper
were events of interest to all. These were partaken
of by the passengers in detachments , the cabin was so
exceedingly small ; but the supply of food was sufficient
and of good quality. One regrets the necessity
of eating on these little steamers , they are so pervaded
by the odors of cooking.
Through the evening we sat on deck, talking , after
it grew too dark to read , and involuntarily eavesdropping.
The German baron was quiet and courteous ; I
heard him speak nothing but German with some gentleman
whose acquaintance he had made , to whom he
spoke of his residence in Germany , and the reasons for
this summer campaign with his Frau and the Schweiger-
mutter. The Baronin spoke English, and was full
of curiosity, not only about our country , but our perTHE
HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 275
sonal relations . When I took a seat near her , she endeavored
to satisfy herself as to the latter . Which of
the gentlemen was my husband ? What ! neither ?
What relation , then ? And which of the ladies were
their wives ? What relation were we to Miss M. ?
And so on , till I grew tired of being catechised , and
sought another seat. “ Do these people not consider
such questions impertinent ? " I asked myself, " or do
they think it unnecessary to use politeness in talking
with Americans ? "
The Schweiger - mutter was engaged in conversation
with a sturdy, honest - looking man , who appeared to
be a farmer. First she tried Norwegian ; but her stock
of phrases was limited , his knowledge of German was
still less ; finally, he asked if she understood English .
Oh, very well ; she had visited in England . Where
had he learned it ? In America. He had lived in Wisconsin
; was at home on a visit ; going back again ;
wouldn't live in Norway for anything ; wondered anybody
could stay ; the country seemed so barren and
forlorn to him, after the fertile prairies of the West.
[The number of emigrants is some forty thousand annually.
] This man's accent was that of a Wisconsin
farmer; anywhere out of Norway we should have taken
him for an American from the Northwest .
A glance into the ladies' cabin , early in the evening,
had decided us to resign our berths to some Norwegian
ladies , who gladly accepted them, and to wait
until landing at Eide at I A. M. for comfortable beds at
the station , where we might make as late a morning
as we liked . Will had bidden us good -by, and retreated
to his corner of the black hole , below. The
German lady warned us that unless we had telegraphed
276  .
for rooms , our chances were small ; she had telegraphed ,
and walked on in triumph ; while we were detained at
the pier, making some arrangements for landing the
trille and gig . When we reached the station - house
which was nearest , we found it full ; and people were
sitting out on the porch , apparently resigned to being
up all night , or going on, as soon as horses could
be ready. An inquiry at the other houses in the
neighborhood proved that the German lady was right .
All we could do was to spread our wraps on the floor
of the dining - room , the kind landlady adding pillows
and comforters , and we were weary enough to fall
asleep .
I woke, chilled and aching , and hearing the noise
of passers and the departure of the steamer, I rose and
found it four o'clock . The door of the opposite room
was open, and nobody about ; so I investigated , and
discovered a large , pleasant guest- room, out of which
opened a small bedroom , the occupant of which had
just gone to the steamer. I spread up the bed and
found it decidedly softer than the floor ; but my researches
had waked me so that I could not at once go
to sleep. Alittle shelf of books hung within reach ,
and finding Björnson's stories in Norsk , and Miss
Bremer's " Neighbors " in Swedish , I puzzled over
them till I lost myself in slumber.
At seven I was awake again ; and , eager to go on , I
roused the others and ordered breakfast . This was
refreshing , consisting of good coffee, eggs and bread
and butter , and the usual abundance of milk and cream .
Then ensued a tedious delay while the trille was being
put together, from the shafts and the harness being
found wanting. Whether they had been carried off on
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 277
the steamer, or were locked up in the shed which served
as an office on the pier, was the question .
Somebody was hunted up who had the key, and the
latter alternative proved to be the case . Then, when
the carriages were ready, where were horses ? All
those belonging to the station had been sent on , with
earlier risers than we. There were horses , if we liked
to take them, belonging to men who had brought them
on the steamer , and who had waited for just such a
chance to make them pay their passage. Anything
was better than lingering at Eide ; so we started with
these horses. Two were attached to the trille and one
to the gig, and there was yet another running alongside .
Of course we three ladies , deserted by Brother Will ,
had to take one of these rough jockeys to drive ; and
the other perched himself behind our carriage, while
they kept up noisy talk and rude laughter all through
this stage of our journey.
They drove like Jehu , leaving the gig far behind ;
and whenever we came to an especially narrow and
dangerous part of the road the loose horse trotted up ,
making the others skittish , and putting us in torture .
We were driving around the beautiful lake - like basin
which forms the head of the fjord , shut in by lofty
mountains , but we could not enjoy the scenery. How
thankful we were to reach that station , although it was
a wretched place , and we had to wait some time for
horses . The German people were here , and their courier
confirmed our opinion of our rough drivers . We
met also English tourists , on the way to Bergen ; and
after their horses had rested , we took them back to the
next station, Vossevangen. I think horses are usually
engaged from Eide through to Vossevangen , and al278
 .
lowed to rest half an hour at this station , which looks
as if no one could ever stop over night , or willingly eat
in the house . There were children playing about ; and
in one of the rude cabins we saw a baby in a cradle ,
suspended from the wall by an elastic sapling ; the
cradle itself was not unlike a baking trough .
For the next stage we had a good - natured old fellow
as driver , and were able to enjoy the beautiful
scenery through which we passed . The road climbs
a mountain by zigzags , and while the trille was slowly
dragged up, we took short cuts from one spiral to another,
filling our hands with flowers , and looking back
on the lovely view. A mountain torrent rushed down ,
with numerous waterfalls , to join the waters of the
fjord , which lay beneath us in smiling beauty.
On the other side , we descended through groves of
pine and birch ; and, finally, the lake and green meadows
near Vossevangen opened out before us. We
drove to Fleischer's Hotel , just beyond the village,
highly recommended by Mr. Bennett. There were two
houses , and good accommodations for a large number
of travellers ; but a party of English people had engaged
the best rooms, and we were given quarters in
the attic , rooms comfortably finished off and decently
furnished , and were soon prepared to do justice to an
excellent dinner . The English travellers proved to
be the duke of St. Albans and his party, consisting of
the duchess , an English gentleman and lady , and the
maid and man who had come in his steam yacht , the
" Ceres , " up the Hardanger Fjord , and were posting
across the country to the Sogne Fjord , where the
yacht was to meet them . They were served in their
rooms , while the maid and man sat down with the
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 279
rest of us to table d'hôte . We had trout from the lake ,
fresh meat and vegetables , and a particularly nice
gooseberry tart . From our attic windows we had a
pretty view of the lake and village , a handful of houses
with a quaint old church , which we ought to have visited
; but we felt the need of making up arrears of sleep ,
and our beds were irresistible .
Mr. Brace , who spent a Sunday here twenty years
ago and attended service in the old church , describes
it as built of stone , with unpainted woodwork, and the
interior broken up by galleries , columns and recesses .
It was built about A. D. 1200. " The prominent object
on entering is an ugly wooden statue of Christ
crucified ; over the entrance to the chancel are two little
wooden boys, holding a real hammer and whip , to
represent the Jews and their instruments of torture .
The chancel is filled with rude , old paintings , and the
flat ceiling adorned with singular cherubic heads ."
The people came in carts and carioles , on horseback
and on foot , or across the lake in boats , to the communion
, before the ordinary service , which began at
11.30. The young girls sat on little raised forms in
the aisles , the old women on high - backed wooden
seats . Each as she entered her seat kneeled to pray ,
and then shook hands with all near her.
He describes the costume of the clergyman , the
long robe and stiff ruff, as we saw it at Throndhjem
and Tromsöe , and gives the Lutheran form of absolution
, repeated by the priest , with his hands on the
head of each communicant, as they kneeled before the
altar: " Let thy sins be forgiven thee , in the name of
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit."
280  .
Vossevangen is a good centre for headquarters ,
from which to visit the Voring - föss , the glaciers in the
neighborhood , and other points of interest ; and Fleischer's
is a good place to replenish the provision basket . *
We started about 10 A. M. on Saturday , with a skyd
to drive the trille , and good horses , which we ought
to have engaged for a double stage ; for , on reaching
the next station , Tvinde , we found no horses , and,
when we proposed to the skyd to take us on , he at
first refused , and then asked such a price that we
would have nothing to say to him. So we waited for
three hours , through the heat of the day, at this miserable
station , where the cabins were too dirty to enter .
We walked up, through grain fields and pastures , to
the Tvinde Foss , a pretty waterfall , where we might
have passed the time pleasantly ; but we feared losing
the chance of horses if we were not on hand to claim
the first which returned , and we looked for them every
moment. Fortunately we had brought lunch from
Fleischer's, or hunger would have been added to our
other discomforts . While we waited , two German
ladies drove up in a stol kjerre , a sort of cart with
seat wide enough for two , in which one horse is driven ,
and which is considered by many more comfortable
than a cariole , while for two persons it is less expensive
. They are to be had at most of the stations , and
go only as far as the horses , one's luggage being
shifted at each change . These two ladies were quite
* To show the increase of travel in this part of Norway, Mr. Bennett
quotes from the daybook the number of travellers passing this station . In
1848 there were seven, seventeen in 1853 , fifty - one in 1858 , ninety - seven
in 1868 , and two hundred and eighty - three in 1870. He recommends
spending Sunday here , in order to see the costume .
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 281
by themselves , but seemed very comfortable and independent
.
At last the horses returned , rested , and we were
off. We took the skydsgut as driver , to avoid responsibility
in case of accident , and because it needs strong
wrists to drive a pair of these hard - bitted Norwegian
horses. The gig was made comfortable by some careful
adjustment of the luggage .
At Vinje the buildings were the most wretchedly
uncomfortable we had yet seen-perched on the slope
of a nearly barren hill . We called for refreshments ,
but as they could give us nothing but a little boiled
milk, in a pitcher far from clean, we turned entertainers
ourselves , beginning by giving some of our Albert
biscuit to the children , when grown men and women
came up and put out their hands for a share .
After an hour's waiting two horses came in, and
they were attached to the trille as soon as they had
rested the regulation half- hour, the occupants of the
gig waiting for the next chance , and hoping soon to
overtake us . One of the boys was arrayed in his Sunday
clothes , for the honor of being our charioteer , and
a knowledgeable little skyd he proved . After dashing
down a steep hill , a part of the harness gave way, and
we fortunately passed a house where he could beg or
borrow a rope to tie it up with , which he did very securely.
(On reflection , I believe we paid for that rope . )
The scenery , after passing Vinje , became very fine .
We drove around mountain lakes , past a pretty church
and parsonage , and at the side of mountains where
people were making hay on a surface so nearly perpendicular
that they seemed to need some such apparatus
as flies have in order to keep their footing . It
282  .
did not surprise us to learn that a young girl , haymaking
on one of the precipitous cliffs which overhang
the Aardal Fjord , fell off ( in 1858 ) , and was dashed to
pieces. Some of the " gaards , " in these inaccessible
regions , are reached only by ladders , and others by
roads formed of tree - trunks attached to the rocks . In
Aurland there is a gaard so close to the precipice
that the people hobble the legs of the little children.
to prevent them from going too near the edge.
When people die in such places , one would suppose
that they must be buried on the spot , in such rude
coffins as might be procurable ; but it is the custom to
pack the corpses in baskets , and carry them down on
men's shoulders to the church, or some farmhouse,
where a coffin is in readiness . A story is told of a
dead man being lashed to a pony, and made to ride
to his last home . These are the places which Bishop
Pontoppidan tells of, where a priest or doctor , unused to
climbing, risked his life in going on an errand of mercy.
At Stalheim we said good - by to our little skyd ,
receiving the usual hand shake and " Mange dak, " and
then waited another weary hour for horses . What
made it very aggravating was the fact that the horses
were there all the time , and the people kept us waiting
for other arrivals , hoping we should bid higher
than the lawful rates .*
* It is hardly necessary after relating our experience to endorse Mr.
Bennett's statement that " the people on this road are grasping , lazy , and
uncivil . Complaints are continually made of extortionate charges for posting
between Gudvangen and Vossevangen . " Travellers are partly to blame
for yielding to these demands, but the temptation to get on at any price (and
the prices are not very high , after all ) is very great, especially if one has not
a well - filled lunch basket . I am glad to say that we found these stations
exceptions to the general rule .
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 283
We called for the daybook ; the station - house was
at the top of a hill , and we thought they could do so
much for ladies as to bring it down . It was produced ,
and I wrote in it , and then insisted upon " Heste ,
strax ."
( I afterwards discovered that " strax " has something
the meaning of " by and by "; " oieblikkelig "
being the word to express " immediately .” )
The English party came up ; and I think we were a
little consoled at finding that dukes and duchesses ,
posting through Norway, had fared no better than
common people, having been compelled to wait for
horses , and to take up finally with two carts for the
ladies ; while the gentlemen took turns in footing it
and occupying the spare seat in one of the carts . One
of the gentlemen came up to us , who , as first arrivals ,
had the first claim to horses , to inquire if one of their
ladies could drive with us . We had no objections , if
he would talk to the men and hasten up the horses . He
had been but two days in the country , he said , but he
had a book, and he produced Bennett's " Phrase Book "
(which we had been studying about six weeks ) , and
began firing phrases at the refractory people . "Hvor
ere hestene ? Spaend hestene for !" (" Where are the
horses ? Put the horses to ! ") At last , John and Jane
drove up in a gig, and, after a general consultation ,
horses were brought out , enough for all ; as their horse ,
after a rest , was allowed to go on for the next stage .
So we got off, with one of these disobliging men as
our driver , and thankful were we , before we reached
our journey's end , that we had a man of any nation to
drive us , and not an English lady, however expert she
might have been . For almost immediately after leav284
 .
ing Stalheim , we began to descend a break- neck hill,
over a fine road , to be sure , a model of engineering ,
which descends the mountain in " a series of masterly
zigzags , " as Murray observes , forming the famous Stalheims
Kleft , or pass . From the summit we could look
down upon these zigzags , winding like a white ribbon
far below us ( as many as twelve turns are in sight at
once ) , while at both sides the air was white with the
spray of waterfalls . The beauty and the danger, combined
, were too much for us ; we made the descent on
foot , stopping at one turn of the spiral to gaze at the
Stalheims Foss , tossing its white mane in the air , and,
at the next, at the Sevle Foss , tumbling a thousand feet
of sheer descent from the rocks above . We must have
gone down over a thousand feet into this grand valley,
through which reels and dances the Gudvangen River ,
as if intoxicated by the foaming spray of the Stalheims
Foss , which has leaped from the mountain to join its
course . Alongside this rushing river runs a splendid
road , and on each side the narrow valley rise mountains
, gradually increasing in height as we go on , all
the while rapidly descending to the sea . Looking
back we see the curves of the mountain pass and the
white spray of the cataracts on each side , closing up
the valley behind us . Looking forward , we dimly see
something majestic , above the nearer summits . As we
go on it looms above us grander and grander. By and
by we pass beneath its shadows , and look up to the
magnificent dome of rock , seamed and scarred , as if
rent by earthquakes , softened by no fringe of vegetation,
not even a crown of eternal snow upon its brow;
but , a monarch in its lonely grandeur , the Jordalsnut
rises six thousand five hundred feet above the sea.
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 285
This is the Naerodal , running down to the Naero
Fjord, one of the arms of the great Sogne Fjord ; and
we emerge from the valley at the village of Gudvangen ,
to see another marvel , as we drive up to the station ;
the Keel Foss , over two thousand feet in height , blown
out like a silvery veil , and ending in clouds of spray.
This magnificent valley has been full of a sombre
grandeur, increased by the twilight which has deepened
until , when we reach Gudvangen , at half- past
eleven , it is almost dark ; as nearly as we ever saw it
in Norway. We find the station - house , " Hansen's ,"
full ; but sitting on the porch is the gigantic superintendent
of police , who tells us he has engaged
rooms for us at Schultz's , across the street . We had
had fresh horses at Stalheim and a furious driver ; so
we were in earlier , by half an hour, than our friends ,
with their tired horse . There were two rooms adjoining,
for the four ladies , and a place was found for John
in another house , belonging to Herr Schultz .
The steamer was to start at four o'clock next morning
. Late as it was , we were too hungry to sleep without
supper ; and , fearing we should be hurried in the
morning, we lay down partially dressed ; so our night's
rest was as unrefreshing as it was short .
We were waked at 3 A. M. , feeling as if we had just
gone to sleep ; and we had plenty of time to dress ,
take our coffee and walk down to the water side , where
men were busy getting our trille and other vehicles
on board a barge , to be towed out to the steamer.
We were rowed out in a little boat , passing close to
the " Ceres," which had come in since our arrival .
The duke's party, expecting to find the yacht in the
harbor, had not telegraphed for rooms ; and for sev286
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
eral hours had found no better accommodations than
we did at Eide , camping down on the dining - room
floor at Hansen's .
The Sogne Fjord is a Briareus among the fjords ,
having not less than eight good - sized arms , not counting
the fingers , or sub - divisions . We steamed down.
the Naero Fjord , that cloudy Sunday morning, through
cliffs rising thousands of feet, sheer precipices , above
our heads ; past beautiful inlets with green slopes , and
rocky islands . It has been compared to the Lake of
Uri, a part of Lake Lucerne , in Switzerland ; but the
fjord is wilder and sterner . It grows wider after joining
the Aurlands Fjord , and the two flow on in unison
for about as many miles farther as their separate length ,
before joining the main body of the Sogne Fjord . We
go on to the northeast for awhile, then turn to the
southwest, striking into the Laerdal Fjord , and , about
II A. M. , reaching Laerdalsoren , our point of departure
for the ascent of the Fille Fjeld .
All this time we were passing through the grandest
scenery, "unique dans la monde " (as the guides say of
La Sainte Chapelle in Paris) ; we were sitting bolt upright
on narrow wooden benches , which ought to have
helped us ; we were endeavoring to converse with a
very genial English gentlemen , and yet we were beset,
tormented , beguiled , absolutely overpowered with
sleep, to our great shame and loss . We kept rousing
ourselves to admiration, then sinking back in weary
weakness , with our heads on any friendly shoulder.
The little steamer was too crowded to give us room.
for any but an upright position . Of course it was
necessary to catch this steamer ; but how much more
we should have enjoyed if we could have spent Sunday
THE HARDANGER TO THE SOGNE FJORD. 287
at Vossevangen, gone through to Gudvangen on Monday,
and taken a boat on Tuesday or Wednesday, when
rested from the journey . Rowboats may be engaged ,
and, with a good wind , sails are spread , and the distance
accomplished in about the same time as by
steamer, seven hours . Otherwise , it takes ten or
twelve hours . But we were hampered with the trille.
We reached Laerdalsoren about 9 A. M. and found
rooms, which we had telegraphed for, at Bertelsen's
Hotel , commended by Bennett as " excellent ; wheat
bread and good champagne " ; but we found it crowded ,
and rather dirty. Perhaps they did their best for us;
but we three ladies had rooms opening out of the
kitchen, with windows into the barnyard . When these
were shut, the rooms were hot and stuffy ; when open ,
damp and odorous . They were utterly destitute of
furniture , except beds and tables ; and constant excursions
to the kitchen were necessary to procure washing
utensils and chairs , one thing at a time being granted
us with apparent reluctance . We got breakfast , excellent
salmon steaks and bread and butter ; and then
made up for lost sleep by retiring to our beds , although
obliged to open our parasols , to keep out the sunlight .
One of the women, entering abruptly for some purpose
, stood open - mouthed in astonishment . " Er de
syg? " (Are you ill ? ) " Nei , ikke syg—sovelig "; I
replied . (No , not ill-sleepy . ) And she left us to
repose .
At 4 P. M. we had a nice dinner of salmon , stewed
chicken and curry , gooseberry jelly and cream , to
which, refreshed by sleep and a bath, we were able
to do justice , and we began to think better of Bertelsen's
. We were not called to dinner, however ; the
288  .
dining- room was full without us ; and it was only by
insisting that a table should be spread in the opposite
room that we got our share of the good things going .
This room was a sort of parlor , out of which opened
the bedroom occupied by John and Jane . The English
people in the house conducted service here in the
morning, which we were invited to join ; but we were
too sleepy. I suppose we seemed to them heathen, arriving
on Sunday morning , and spending the blessed
day in sleep . But why do the fjord steamers run on
Sundays ?
Laerdalsoren is not an attractive place for a long
stay. Shut in by high mountains , as it is , one can
only make excursions in boats. We had partly promised
to wait here , or somewhere on the route , until
Will came up with us. But by Monday morning we
were ready to go forward , leaving his bag and a letter ,
and bespeaking a comfortable room for him. Getting
advice from an Englishman , who had just crossed the
Fille Fjeld, we imparted his opinion , that the route by
the Spirillen was " infinitely prettier " than that by the
Randsfjord , which we had intended to follow . If we
found a pleasant station along the road , we might
wait for him to overtake us, perhaps at Tune , which
seemed to promise best in Bennett's guide - book .
We regretted afterwards not waiting, for the sake
of some of the excursions to be made in the neighborhood
, which are not so entirely beyond feminine capacity
as we supposed.
At Bertelsen's one can get boats for the water , and
saddle horses for the land excursions ; the latter as
sure-footed as the Swiss mules . Good climbers may
ascend Skagstoldtind , 7,877 Norsk feet above the sea ;
THE HARDANGER TO THE sogne fforD. 289
considered the highest mountain in Norway until somebody
discovered that Galdhöpiggen, one of the Jotun
mountains , some miles inland to the northwest , was
four hundred and twenty- three feet higher, i . e. , 8,300.
Sneehätten, the highest point in the Dovrefjeld , is
7,300 . (A Norsk foot is about half an inch longer than
an English foot ; so one must add a 24th to these measures
to make them accurate, or nearly so . )
Then , about five Norsk miles to the northwest from
Laerdalsoren are the Justedal mountains and glaciers ,
the Nygard and the Lodal , with the great mountain ,
the Lodalskaabe , 6,798 feet high , commanding a prospect
unrivalled for wildness and grandeur.
The next branch of the Sogne Fjord above Laerdal
is the Aardal's Fjord , running to the northeast about
two Norsk miles . You take a boat to Aardal , where
you sleep , and by starting early next morning you can
visit the Mörke Fos , and return before night . You
pass up a grand defile , until after four hours ' walking
you reach the farm of Vetti , where you may sleep instead
of at Aardal , if you desire to make the journey
easier. The last two hours ' walking are very trying to
the feet, being over large stones through the gorge of
Vetti's Gielen , full of magnificent waterfalls , and the
ruins of many an avalanche of stones . Sixteen miles
above Aardal you reach the Mörke Fos , which plunges
a thousand feet into a chasm of vertical sides—a magnificent
amphitheatre of black, excavated rock. This
is thought to be finer than the Riukan or the Vöring
Fos.
The scene of Frithiof's Saga, in the outer Sogne
Fjord , may be visited by boat from Laerdalsoren . A
row of eight hours brings one to Vangnaes (the " Fram-
13
290  .
naes of the Saga) , the birthplace and residence of
Frithiof. Balholm , or Balestrand , is the site of the
Temple of Balder , burnt by Frithiof, and not far distant
is a sepulchral mound, called the grave of King
Beles , the father of the fair Ingeborg .
Near the church of Lekanger , farther up the fjord ,
is a Bauta stone-a rude , slender obelisk , of a single
stone , between twenty and thirty feet high .
The Aurlands Fjord which unites with the Naero
Fjord (southwest of Laerdal ) , divides into two branches ,
the one to the southeast leading to the valley of Flaam ,
and its waterfall . Numerous Bauta stones commemorate
battles fought here in the days of the old kings .
Going farther up through Kaardal to the farm of
Kleven, you enter the region of the Sverrestein ,
through which King Sverre effected his bold retreat
towards Hallingdal and Valders . Not far from here
must have been the " remarkable piece of antiquity "
to which Bishop Pontoppidan alludes : “ A way suspended
on iron bolts , which King Sverre caused to be
fastened into the rocks, in the year 1200 , to make a
passage for his army."
1
WE
XVI.
OVER THE FILLE FJELD .
E got off early on Monday, and followed the
valley, along the stream , the Laerdal's Elv.
(Such a pretty name for a river, taking us back to the
time when every stream had its guardian spirit ! ) This
rises in a lake on the summit of the fjeld , running westward
; while another river rising in the same lake , the
Beina Elv, runs eastward until it reaches the Christiania
Fjord .
The road follows the stream , crossing it frequently
on picturesque bridges , made of pine - trees , after the
fashion of those in the Romsdal.
The first stage is a mile ( Norsk ) to Blaaflaten , where
we change horses . As we go on , the scenery grows
wilder ; and we come to a narrow gorge where the road
is blasted out of the perpendicular cliffs , and in one
place goes through a cleft in the rocks barely wide.
enough for a carriage to pass . This road is said to occupy
the former bed of the torrent , which now roars a
hundred feet below, and at one narrow place it is carried
across the stream , the views from the bridge , up
and down the gorge , being very fine . How did these
frolicsome elves carve out for themselves such magnificent
pathways to the sea ? or shall we believe the
peasants, who say that the giants (Jotuns) forced the
rocks apart with their great shoulders ?
292
 .
This excellent road over the steep hill, Seltenaasen,
is another triumph of the engineering skill of Captain
Finne , whose " masterly zigzags " we admired at Stalheimskleft
. There was formerly a "frightfully hilly
road on the other side of the river, the remains of which
may still be seen .
From Blaaflaten to Husum was a nearly double
stage , a mile and three - eighths ; but there was no stopping
place in this wild pass . Slowly we wound up the
summit, looking back at the wild scenery ; madly we
dashed along the curves which led us down into the
valley, with little thought of anything but our own
safety. The road may be, " perhaps , as good as any
in Europe , " as says Mr. Bennett ; but a substantial parapet
would vastly enhance its excellence , in our estimation
. It is a mercy these little Norwegian horses
are so sure -footed ; but they have a dreadful fondness
for the outer verge . Oh for a Norsk phrase like the
one we used to laugh at in Baedeker, expressed in
French , German and Italian : " Do not drive so near
that precipice ! "
Mr.
We had commissioned an acquaintance , who passed
us in his cariole, to order our dinner at Husum , and
Blossom had added " Pancakes ! " Perhaps we were
served a little sooner in consequence ; but alas ! the
pancakes were tough , being made of rye flour .
R.'s cariole stood in the yard , occupied by a tiny
maiden, whom he introduced as his skydspige . It was
a joke in this case , for the midget could hardly stand
alone ; but we afterwards saw little girls of eight or ten
years driving home carioles and carts .
Between Husum and Haeg we stopped to visit the
curious old church of Borgund , described by nearly
OVER THE FILLE FJELD. 293
every one who has visited Norway, and perhaps the
greatest curiosity in the way of buildings , as it is one of
the two oldest in the country .
The other, the church of Hitterdal , in the Thelemark,
of the same period and style, is larger and of
more modern appearance , as plain timbers have replaced
the old Runic carving , and the inside has been
carefully restored .
We pass into the churchyard through a covered
gateway in a high stone wall , evidently built as a protection
about the church, which is kept as a curiosity,
and opened only for careful inspection . A large edifice
, near by, has been built for the use of the congregation
, perhaps one thousand in number, who assemble
from all this region . Near this building stands the belltower
, old , but of much more recent date than the old
church . This is of the strangest architecture , all gables
and pinnacles, the lower finished by crosses, the
upper by curious projections like those on a Chinese
pagoda. It is covered with pine shingles , rounded and
overlapping like the scales of a fish , and these have
been protected from the weather by a coating of tar.
The lowest roofs project , forming a corridor, about
three feet in width , which is railed in and runs entirely
round the church . Sheltered by this, the old black
carving has been preserved , and some Runic inscriptions
are still legible , but their significance hardly rewards
the student :
" Thora wrote these Runes at the Olaf's Mass . ”
" The Church of Kirkwold . "
It is a baby-house of a church, the extreme length
but fifty -four feet and the width thirty - nine . Its height
must be about sixty feet to the point of the central
294
 .
pinnacle . With round arches and semi - circular apse ,
the interior seems like a copy in wood of the German-
Romanesque churches of the eleventh and twelfth centuries
. Bennett calls it " Byzantine - Gothic " ; but from
its quaint exterior one might rather call it Buddhist-
Scandinavian . Ferguson speaks of the analogies in
Eastern architecture - especially of the mosques in
Cashmere and Thibet , made of the Deodar pine wood
-to these quaint Norwegian churches ; but he arrives
only at the vague inference that " men of cognate race ,
striving to attain a similar object , with similar materials
, arrive at similar results ." Were the early churches ,
in any respects , copied from the old heathen temples ?
Or was the Byzantine style introduced by way of
Russia ?
Nielsen says the old man who brings the key from
the Kirkwold farmhouse will tell " Mährchen " about
the church ; but we understood too little Norsk to
question him or understand him . When was it built ,
and by whom ? Its construction points to the twelfth
century, and there seems little probability in the tradition
which ascribes it to St. Olaf. He had his hands
too full , with wars and rebellions and forcible conversions
of his pagan subjects , to find time for such peacetl
work as building churches . That was more in the
line of Olaf Kyrre , or Kong Sverre . But , once you
get a saint in a country, and especially a royal saint ,
all good things are laid to his charge .
From Husum to Haeg is seven - eighths of a mile ,
Norsk, but we pay for one and a half miles , since it
takes an hour and a half to accomplish the distance.
Most of the way is up hill , and the ascent would be
tedious if the scenery were not so fine and the air so
OVER THE FILLE FJELD. 295
exhilarating. Some of the peasants' cottages are picturesque
, built of great pine logs , on a stone foundation
, well banked with earth , and the roofs , of solid
planks overlaid with birch bark, covered with turf and
luxuriant vegetation , young birches and alders sometimes
growing on them, and goats browsing , as we
saw them in the Romsdal.
We still follow the river, which tumbles over the
rocks in many beautiful cascades, and while waiting
for our supper in Haeg we followed up the stream
through a field near the house , where it wound in and
out among the rocks in a succession of rapids , ending
in a miniature Horseshoe Fall, which we christened
Niagara .
We found good quarters , though very plain , at Haeg
-little bedrooms with two single beds in each , opening
out of the guest - room ; and our supper was spread
on a long wooden table in one corner , where the bench
running round the room furnished seats on two sides .
We had seen a similar arrangement in the kitchen at
Kongsvold , on the Dovrefjeld ; it seems a relic of the
old customs . From the evident poverty of the establishment
, we were led to use our own tea ( the only
time we tried it , as it proved no better than the average)
, not without fear that the pride of our hostess
might be wounded ; but I dare say English travellers
had accustomed her to such proceedings. She gave
us very good fried salmon , eggs , and bread and butter ,
with coffee and milk ; and after the tough pancakes at
Husum we were very hungry.
The question of waiting here for Will was raised ;
but we decided that the place was too lonely, and not
quite clean enough . We should be wretchedly home296
 .
sick, and must go on to Tune . The horses were ready
and we started on , about half- past eight, for Maristuen ,
one Norsk mile farther .
The road keeps close to the Laerdal's Elv , passing
through wilder and more magnificent scenery than before
. We are two hundred feet above the river, winding
along its precipitous banks , and crossing it on rude
bridges ; above us rise great masses of rock, threatening
to topple down upon our heads ; great boulders
and smaller fragments of rock are strewn around us ;
one would think the Jotuns had fought a battle here .
The scenery on this route has been compared to the
Romsdal , and it is not unlike the wildest parts of that
valley, but seems grander to us.
The summit of the Fille Fjeld is nearly one thousand
feet higher than the watershed at Lesje , and the
summit of the pass near Maristuen is three thousand
nine hundred feet above sea level . It is as destitute
of vegetation , as bleak and gloomy, as the summit of
Mount Washington in New Hampshire, or the Gorner-
Grat in Switzerland . The descent of the Romsdal is
two thousand and fifty feet in fifty - six miles ; that from
the Fille Fjeld to the Sogne Fjord three thousand nine
hundred in about thirty miles .
I think the wildness and grandeur of this route
would be even more impressive if taken in the other
direction ; beginning with the wilder scenery on the
Christiania side and going down into the Laerdal , as
one goes down the Romsdal from Lesje . We propose
to try it , next time we visit Norway.
Half way between Haeg and Maristuen , at the
bridge of Borlaug, the south road to Christiania turns
off, following the Hemsedal River from its rise in the
OVER THE FILLE FJEld . 297
fjeld till it runs into the Kröderen Fjord in the Ringeriget.
It passes through the region known as Hallingdal
, where the scenery is fine , and from Haugsund
one may visit Kongsberg and the silver mines , and go
into Thelemark .
Bishop Pontoppidan crossed the Fille Fjeld in 1749 ,
on the 28th of May. He left barley growing at Laerdal
, and " the heat was so sultry at noon , that I was
obliged to shelter myself at Borgen Chapel . But after
a few hours progress , I found myself rising , as it were,
into the upper regions of the air, towards the pure and
subtle ether, and as much in the depth of winter as if
it had been New Year's Day; surrounded with snow.
and ice , which were the more painful to the eyes, as
having so lately enjoyed the pleasing verdure of fields
and woods . The sun shone out very bright , but though
it was within three weeks of midsummer, all the waters ,
and particularly the fresh - water lake there , called Utnen,
were frozen . I was very desirous of returning ,
being diffident of the assurances of my guides that the
ice would bear, for , as the snow-water lay upon it , I
apprehended , it might give way. However , I got over ,
in my sledge chaise , which, as is here customary , was
drawn by peasants, and not by horses ." He seems to
have had no means of determining altitude , but estimates
the height of the Fille Fjeld , from the extended
view and difference in the weather, as half a Norsk
mile-nearly twenty thousand feet !
We found it very cold at Maristuen ; but heavy com- !
forters kept us warm through the night , and we had a
fire in the guest - room. We were off next morning by
eight o'clock . The road crosses the plateau , keeping
near the river ; but the former road crossed a mountain ,
13+
298  .
nearly a thousand feet higher , 4,000 feet above sea
level . We pass some rude saeter huts , but do not stop
to examine the interiors . Murray says it is necessary
to keep up fires at night , and to drive in the cows ,
horses, and goats , to preserve them from the attacks
of marauding wolves.
Not far from Maristuen , we notice the pillar which
marks the boundary between the Bergen and Christiania
districts .
It is a long stage to Nystuen, and the scenery is
inexpressibly wild and dreary , far more so than that on
the plateau of the Dovrefjeld , where we found flowers
almost up to the highest point . Even when these
failed , the mosses colored the rocks, and the white
reindeer moss grew over the fjelds . Here we begin
to understand Mr. Kirke's description of a Norwegian
fjeld , which we had hitherto deemed an exaggeration
: " Boulders of rock, tilted up on one side ,
covering the surface of the ground, " though this described
better the part of the fjeld more removed
from human dwellings where the reindeer wander ,
cropping the white moss , which is the only vegetation
at this height .
Not far from Nystuen we passed the saeter of
Kirkestöl , where was formerly a little church , dedicated
to St. Thomas , where service was held once
a year by the pastor of Vang on the 2d of July. At
that time many people assembled from the neighboring
valleys , and a sort of fair was held . But these
yearly gatherings , at which much “ aqua vit " must
have been consumed , came to be occasions of quarrels
and bloodshed ; so that finally, in 1808 , they were
forbidden , and the church was broken up or removed .
OVER THE FILLE FJELD. 299
Pontoppidan mentions this "votive church of St.
Thomas . "
Maristuen and Nystuen are both fjeld - stue ( like
Folkstuen and Jerkin on the Dovrefjeld) , and were
sustained by the Government. The father of the present
station - master, Knut Nystuen , who resided here
for many years , received from the king a silver medal
in recognition of his services in rescuing many lost
travellers , who would have perished without his help .
The buildings at the station are clean and comfortable
; but the whole region is so dreary that one feels
like making the shortest possible stay . Bennett holds
out alluring prospects of reindeer venison , and trout
weighing two or three pounds caught in the river or
the lake (from which the Laerdal's Elv and the Beina
Elv take their rise ) , but we found cold comfort in the
way of lunch - nothing but rye bread and butter and
milk. While we were eating this, and waiting for
horses , a gentleman came in, who had just made the
ascent of the neighboring mountain (recommended
by Bennett) , which commands a view of the Jotun
mountains and glaciers. He had had an hour's climb.
to reach this outlook, and it had taken nearly as
long to return ; and he was tired , cold, and very
much out of humor . Call that a fine view ? It was
not his idea of a fine view ; all barren rocks and ice
and snow ; nothing more dreary and desolate had he
ever seen . We wondered what else he could expect
in this region , at an elevation of some 4,000 feet above
the sea , and ventured to inquire what was " his idea of
a fine view ."
"Well, the scenery in the south of France . " He
was from Bordeaux , agent for a wine merchant , and
300  .
improving his time in Norway by a little run through
the country.
This Frenchman seemed to us almost as funny as
the one who entered a complaint, in the daybook
at Garlid, of the dust and heat of his journey. If
this is the " Sjula Hill " of Bennett's Guide , and the
" Stugenös❞ of Nielsen's , it is nearly 5,000 feet in height
and commands one of the widest views in Norway. *
From Nystuen to Skogstad, one mile Norsk, the
road continues on the plateau , but gradually descends .
We stopped only long enough to change horses , and
* The following graphic sketch of fjeld scenery is by a modern Norwegian
writer, Th. Kjerulf:
" When the traveller ascends from the cultivated valleys, he passes , step
by step, through a variety of regions . First comes the region of pines ,
which in these sheltered spots , under the shadow of the overhanging mountains,
rise thick and luxuriant , serving as a shield against the wind and sun.
Although the paths used by the woodcutters intersect them in every direction
, one can seldom see far ahead ; the road is easily lost, and it is no easy
task to find the bridge, or ford , over the mountain stream, which is often
swollen by a hundred tiny tributaries into a rushing, dangerous torrent .
Where the fir - trees cease , the silver birches , with their graceful, drooping
branches, and pleasant, sighing murmur, take their place . Now the view
becomes clearer, and the path easier to follow, and as the birches gradually
thin they are interspersed with an occasional pale willow, and many a clump
of fjeld flowers cropping up in tufts around . The prospect here is wide and
unobstructed , and with loosened rein , and the horse following behind , one
wanders at will ; for on the mountain- side the way lies as the crow flies ,
without any of the turns that it takes in the valley below . The summit
gained , a vast waste extends as far as the eye can reach, covered with a gray
expanse of huge boulders of rock , between which the passage is most laborious,
a continual see -saw up and down, now grazing the shins against a
sharp stone, now halting to extricate the horse's feet from some rocky trap,
in which the poor beast often leaves its shoes , fixed as in a vice . Over the
last slope, and there is the snow - covered home of the reindeer, a boundless
plain of stone, with here and there masses of snow, a roaring torrent that has
its source at the glacier's foot , and all around a dazzling array of peaks,
robed in eternal snow . "
OVER THE FILLE FJELD. 301
went on to the next station , Tune, a mile and a half,
over a hilly but picturesque country , the road winding
along the face of the mountain , above a lake called
the Mjos Vand , or Mjosen in Vang ( name of the parish)
, or Lille Mjosen , the little Mjosen , to distinguish
it from the larger Mjosen north of Christiania . This
beautiful lake stretches from Skogstad to Tune , and a
chain of lakes runs to the south from it , and another
to the southeast, which our road follows for several
stages . Across these lakes we see high mountains ;
and beyond them lies another great basin , the Tyen
Vand, 3,500 feet above the sea (the Mjos Vand is
1,576) , and beyond it rise the peaks of the Jotuns
(great Galdhöpiggen , the tallest giant of all , 8,300
feet ) , and to the west , the Horungerne , guarding the
Sogne Fjord .
A bridle path leads across this wild region to the
Aardal Vand (at the head of the fjord) , through a
valley of wonderful waterfalls , following the stream
which connects these two lakes . By starting early
from Nystuen this may be traversed in a day.
What a pity we are such feeble folk that all these
delightful excursions appeal to us in vain !
Shortly before reaching Tune we passed a hotel
on the lake shore , called Odnaes, which is said to
furnish "first - rate accommodation at extremely moderate
prices." The traveller is warned , however, that
the station- master at Tune will not put himself out of
the way to procure horses for people who stop at
Odnaes , instead of at his house . Such warnings are
frequent in Bennett's guide - book ; but my brother found
that horses could be procured at these hotels, as well
as at the regular stations .
302  .
The station -house at Tune , which lies about a
quarter of a mile off the road , is a comfortable place ,
"with fourteen good beds and obliging people . " Four
or five of these beds were in a large room and a smaller
one adjacent , to which we were conducted to wait for
dinner ; and while resting upon them we discussed the
question whether to wait here for Will, or go on with.
John and Jennie who were getting tired of posting ,
and bent on a return to civilization . If we had read
in "Bennett's Guide , " of the " excursion to be made
from this station to the top of a mountain called
Grindefjeld , 3,500 feet high, from which there is a
magnificent view ; reindeer generally seen on the road
-the whole trip requiring about three hours , " I think
we should have remained ; but Murray said nothing
about it and there seemed no special inducement . We
were sorry later. Dinner was down - stairs in the common
room, at a long table with other guests . The
station -master's daughter, a pretty girl who spoke a
little English, to her father's evident admiration ,
waited on us ; and we had a sweet omelet for dessert ,
which was something unexpected .
We went on to Oiloe , three - quarters of a mile , over
a fine road , round the mountain Qvamskleve , over which
the road formerly climbed , until this was made , in 1862.
It follows the windings of the lake , and is sometimes
blasted out of the rocks .
In this region stood the old Church of Vang ( in
the style of the one at Borgund) , which was purchased
by the king of Prussia thirty years ago , for eighty specie
dollars , and removed to Silesia . He erected a new one
in its place , of substantial stone , which will last for
many years .
OVER THE FILLE FJELD. 303
Bishop Pontoppidan considered the road between
Skogstad and Vang, along the Little Mjosen Lake ,
the most dangerous part of the Fille Fjeld . There
were passes so narrow that if two horsemen met , one
must clamber up among the rocks , and kick his horse
over the precipice , to allow the other to go by!
One wonders if such catastrophes ever happened .
Murray tells a wolf story about this region , where
wolves are sometimes seen , though said never to be
dangerous except in winter, and not then , unless in
companies and pressed by hunger. " In the winter of
1846, a peasant , when sledging on one of the lakes ,
was attacked by a pack of six wolves. Fortunately,
he had his axe with him ; and his horse fought gallantly
with his fore feet, as the wolves sprang at his
throat. Between them, three of the wolves were crippled
, and while the others were devouring them, the
man and his horse reached a place of safety. Immediately
blood is drawn from a wolf, his companions fall
upon him and devour him. "
Mr. Laing, who was in Norway in 1835 , says the
wolves are not so dangerous as in the south of Europe
or Poland , although more numerous . They very rarely
attack a man, and are not dreaded even by women and
children . It is dangerous to meet a herd on a plain
or a frozen lake , especially on moonlight nights ; but
the animal is so timid , in general , that it is difficult
to get within shot of him .
Yet, when least expected , he will dash into the
road , and take away your dog , close to the sledge .
A merchant of Levanger had one taken from between
his legs , in his sledge, and a lad on horseback one from
before him on the saddle .
304
 .
That curious little animal , the lemming rat , is often
seen on the Fille Fjeld . Mr. Shepard , who saw some
specimens , describes them as " droll little animals , not
unlike Guinea pigs in size and shape ; their color of a
sandy tortoise shell . When they saw us , they scuttled
off, and if overtaken, sat up boldly on their
haunches , venting their anger and surprise in shrill ,
pettish barks." Pontoppidan says that in their migrations
they carry their young on their backs or in their
mouths , and " if they meet the peasants , will stand
undaunted , and bark at them like little dogs ." On this
account, he says , they were sometimes called " Lom
hunde ." He doubts whether the common belief that
they fall from the clouds is correct , unless they are
first taken up by fogs , and so carried from one place
to another . No one who has chanced to see the ground
alive with little toads , after a shower, will wonder
much at the popular delusion that such things " rain
down."
The lemmings usually live in holes on the high
mountains , and are not especially social in their habits
; but at intervals of from five to ten years they proceed
in vast numbers to the cultivated regions , eating
every green thing on their way. They are supposed
to migrate from want of food , and the following winters
have been noticed to be unusually severe.
They move in a straight line , and if obliged to go
round any object , immediately resume their former
course . Innumerable enemies follow in their train ,
such as owls, hawks and weasels ; many perish in trying
to pass rivers and precipices, and but few survive
to return to their native mountains .
An annual holiday was formerly kept in Bergen ,
OVER THE FILLE FJELD. 305
called the Mouse Festival , which originated in a fast
formerly established to avert this plague ; which , judging
from the exorcism used , was supposed to proceed
directly from the devil. *
Finding fresh horses at Oiloe we sat in our carriage
while they were attached to it , although urged by the
pleasant -faced woman in charge to come in for refreshment
and even to stay over night . She asked us if we
knew Paul du Chaillu . We had not heard his name
mentioned since going up the Gudbrandsdal , but here
he was held in pleasant remembrance , and she was delighted
when John , avoiding useless explanations , replied
in the affirmative . A little girl came out to in
spect us , and when we asked her name, " Hvad hedder
De ? " responded " Synnove ."
We ought to have gone into the house to see the
room adorned with paintings left by Norwegian artists
who have been here sketching . Perhaps the landlady
was telling us about them, for we could not make out
all she said . We should have done wisely, as events
proved , to pass the night at Oiloe .
While we were here , our acquaintance , Mr. R. , drove
up in a cariole with a little skydspige between his
* Captain de Capell Brooke, who visited Norway in 1820, gives this exorcism
, both in Latin and English . It applies to various sorts of vermin : " I
exorcise you , pestiferous worms, mice, birds , or locusts, or other animals, by
God the Father, God the Son , and God the Holy Ghost X, that you depart
immediately from these fields or vineyards or waters, and dwell in them no
longer, but go away to those places in which you can harm no person ; and
on the part of God and the whole heavenly choir, and the Holy Church of
God, cursing you whithersoever you shall go, daily wasting away and decreasing,
till no remains of you be found in any place . Which may He
vouchsafe to do, who shall come to judge the living and the dead , and the
world by fire. Amen. "
306
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMmer
.
knees . He had to wait for a horse , but overtook us at
the next station .
We had capital horses and good drivers and made
the next stage in fine style . These little , dun - colored
horses, with light manes and forelock, were like those
in the Romsdal , and were the best we had in crossing
the Fille Fjeld . We enjoyed the drive through the
twilight , up and down numerous hills and along the
mountain side , now clothed with forests of birch and
pine (we began to see trees near Skogstad , stunted
birches and mountain willows ) , with occasional glimpses
of the Beina Elv , and a fine waterfall , just before reaching
the station of Stee , one Norsk mile from Oiloe .
We had intended passing the night here ; but the
houses were all full . It was between 10 and II P. M.
and we were tired and cold ; but there was no help for
us . The kind women , in the little cabin used as a
kitchen, when we complained of being " meget koldt , "
hastened to kindle a fire in the curious , corner chimney-
place, and we warmed ourselves by the cheerful
blaze, while the horses were changed .
Mr. Bennett says of this station , " If you wish to
push on farther , and you are informed that there are
no horses , examine the daybook " ; but no effort was
made to detain us ; in fact , I believe they gave us
horses insufficiently rested , in their desire to get rid
of us.
Two very small boys were sent with us as
skyds , perhaps because one was afraid to go alone in
the gathering darkness .
From Stee to Reien is a long stage , one and threequarters
miles , over a very hilly road , taking usually
nearly two hours . We were longer, because our horses
were certainly far from " friske , " as the small boys perOVER
THE FILLE FJORD . 307
sisted in calling them. They travelled pretty well at
first, but before long it was impossible to urge them
out of a walk.
When we reached Olken , about half way between
the two stations, a hotel much frequented by summer
boarders , where the mountain air is considered beneficial
to weak lungs, we decided to try for beds , and
drove a quarter of a mile through the fields to the
house . The people were all asleep ; but we roused
some women in the rear of the house , who told us it
was as full as possible, and they could not take us in ,
nor even give us fresh horses .
There was a church near by, and a large comfortable-
looking Prestegaard . Should we rouse up the pastor
and crave hospitality ? We had not quite the assurance
to do it , thinking we were not in an extremity
to justify such a proceeding . So we plodded on wearily ,
a mile or two farther. Suddenly, in ascending a steep
hill , our horses began to pull apart from each other,
and then one of them tumbled down . We were all
out directly , and John managed to get the fallen animal
on his feet again , with the help of the little skyds ,
who still insisted that they were " gode Heste-friske
Heste, " and, leading and whipping the poor tired creatures
, while the skyds pushed behind the trille , he got
it at length to the top of the hill . We walked up all
the hills after that , and down the steep ones , fearing
an accident . John drove our horses , and we took turns
with Jane in the gig . It was a strange experience ,
this night journey ; but there was a fascination in the
silence of the deep twilight (even now there was no
darkness ) , and anything so eerie and fairylike as the
whispering of the night air among the slender birches
308
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
I never heard . Were our horses bewitched , and were
the spirits of the forest laughing at our discomfiture ? *
It was I A. M. when we finally reached the station
of Reien, and made our way into the courtyard . All
were asleep here ; but the house - mother was soon roused ,
and helped to bring in our luggage ; while the poor little
skyds unharnessed the horses , mounted their backs
and started for home , with a little extra drikke penge
to comfort them . We were too far gone in weariness
to be critical in the matter of beds , although it appeared
that these narrow couches must be shared by
two , there being but three vacant for five persons .
Next morning we found that the rooms were very
bare and not over clean ; but we were thankful for a
roof to shelter us , and beds of any kind upon which to
stretch our weary limbs.
We went on about 9 A. M. , after an unsatisfactory
breakfast ; but one could not expect much in this house .
Here , as elsewhere , we noticed that the women did
much of the heavy work, while the men stood loafing
about, and did nothing but care for the horses and put
them into the carriages . Women always came out to
take in the luggage , and replaced it in the carriage,
unless my brothers , with American chivalry, saved
them the trouble . The road from Reien to the next
station , Lille Strand , is very hilly, and though but one
and one - eighth miles (about eight miles , English) ,
Bennett allows two and one- half hours for the stage .
* Fuller acquaintance with the superstitions of the country would have
suggested that our troubles were owing to the Pyslings , ghosts of murdered
babes, who flit about, wailing , as many years as they should have spent on
earth , and haunt belated travellers , dragging on the wheels , so that the
strongest horses lose their power.
OVER THE FILLE FJORD . 309
We had good horses , and enjoyed the scenery . Shortly
before reaching the station we passed the hotel of Fagenaes
, on the Strande Fjord , one of the chain of lakes
that the road follows all the way from Stee to Frydenlund
, the next station in advance . In consequence of
our meagre breakfast , we lunched on biscuits and milk
while waiting for horses , and John and Jennie , liking
the looks of the place , concluded to stop for dinner,
while we posted on to Frydenlund.
The scenery was very fine . At our left expanded
the lake , one thousand one hundred and thirty - seven
feet above the sea , lying among hills , which we should
call mountains if we had not crossed so many. We
overtook an old woman , who had a wooden bowl of
wild strawberries, containing a quart or more , which
she offered for sale . They were nicely hulled , and we
took them with delight , for we had not seen strawberries
since leaving Italy , in May. (This was the
28th of July . ) Fully satisfying the old woman by the
payment of twelve skillings , and making her understand
, by pantomime, that the skyd would bring back
her wooden bowl , we reserved the strawberries for our
dinner.
Arrived at Frydenlund , our first business was to
find a dish for our strawberries ; our next , to write in
the daybook, and order horses ; our third , to order
dinner . Mr. R. drove up and partook of a hasty lunch ,
while we waited , and we shared the berries with him .
When dinner was announced , we found two French
gentlemen at the table , who seemed in uncommon
spirits ; but nothing that they said explained the cause
of their hilarity. It was contagious , however , and we
had a jolly time . The dinner deserved good humor,
310
 .
for more delicious trout than those caught in the
Strande Fjord were never tasted , and our strawberries
, with the rich cream furnished by the landlady,
were of exquisite flavor . The station - master's daughter
speaks English, and the people are very kind and
attentive .
John and Jane arrived before we finished our dinner
, in time to taste the strawberries (which held out
like the widow's cruise ) , and the delicious coffee with
which our repast was concluded ; and hearing our
opinion of the lake trout , they at once decided to
spend the night at Frydenlund .
We started at 5 P. M. and made the next stage of one
and five- eighths miles in two hours , with good horses and
driver , and over a splendid road . We climbed , by a winding
path, the mountain which separates the Etnedal from
the Baegnadal , descending with frightful rapidity on
the opposite side . We tried in vain to make our skyd
slacken his speed , and again longed for the phrase ,
" Do not drive so near that precipice ! " as we watched
the perilous proximity of our wheels to the outer edge ,
and almost held our breath in constant dread of a catastrophe
. With this exception , the drive was a charming
one. The mountain was covered with pines, and
the valley of the Etne , into which we descended , was
wild and beautiful . Crossing the stream , we went up
another hill and followed the ascending road to Gravdalen
, on the plateau ; changing horses at a station
called Sveen. We went on without much delay for
an hour and a half longer , making an almost constant
descent to Tomlevolden , one and one - eighth miles .
The dust was very troublesome , and we were told
there had been no rain for a month in this part of
OVER THE FILLE FJORD. 311
the country. We passed a house far down below us
on the hillside , and saw a little maiden holding up a
white dish to attract our attention . Stopping the
horses , we waited for her to come up, and behold ,
more strawberries . She was not willing to part with
her dish , so we contrived a cornucopia of paper , and
carried them carefully to Tomlevolden , for our supper.
The station - house here was a large building , painted
white, with a porch in front , and it looked so hospitable
that we at once decided to spend the night , if beds
could be obtained . A large front chamber was assigned
to Blossom and me , and a smaller one to Miss
M. , but when other guests arrived the landlady came ,
with many apologies , to beg that she would give up
the latter and allow them to put up a third bedstead
in our room . We had tea down-stairs , in the pleasant
guest - room ; quite an English repast , with bacon and
eggs , and our strawberries and cream . This house
was the largest , and most comfortably furnished , we
had seen since leaving Bergen . Our chamber was attractive,
with white curtains at the windows and white
counterpanes on the beds, and everything was clean.
At breakfast next morning we met two ladies from
Christiania , who were spending some weeks here for
the sake of the country air. They spoke English and
had read Lady Diana Beauclerck's book, " A Summer
and Winter in Norway," and were interested in our accounts
of the Romsdal and the North , as well as our
more recent experiences, having travelled very little.
in their own country.
We explored the premises thoroughly , during the
morning ; walking through the field behind the house ,
to a little hanging grove on the bank of the river ,
312  .
and attempting an ascent of the hill on the opposite
side of the road ; from which we were discouraged by
the fact that the only route lay through a sort of cattle
yard or pasture , full of stones , where pigs were
rooting about and cows feeding . We decided that
Tomlevolden was pleasanter indoors than out ; and
as John and Jennie arrived in time for dinner, we
ordered horses soon after , and drove to Odnaes that
evening, to be ready for taking the boat on the Rands
Fjord early next morning .
The landlord at Odnaes apparently never refused a
guest . The pige told us the house was full , and full it
seemed to be ; for the only room assigned the five of
us was a sort of parlor, furnished with chairs , tables
and an old sofa , very hard and narrow . We had our
tea in a little room , close by, which, we were given to
understand , would also be reserved for our use ; but
what we were to sleep on did not appear evident .
When we came in about 10 P. M. , from a little stroll
through the fields to the lake , we found our beds
ready. Three were made up on ordinary cots , another
looked like an exaggerated kneading trough ,
and the fifth was the sofa , with chairs set against it
to keep the occupant from rolling off. The kneading
trough fell to my share ; it had two board sides with
a canvas bottom , and was laid across chairs or wooden
horses . As soon as I lay down , the two boards fitted
closely to my sides , and I had the pleasant sensation
of occupying my coffin prematurely.
We were allowed to repose on these luxurious
couches until 6 A. M. , when we had to rise , breakfast ,
and walk down to the steamer, which left at eight
o'clock .
THE
XVII.
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET.
'HE Rands Fjord is a pretty lake , about fifty Eng
lish miles in length , but quite narrow, and shut
in by mountains on both sides . The Etna Elv flows
into it at the northern extremity and out of it at the
southern, and finds its way afterwards through another
lake, the Tyri Fjord , into one of the branches of
the Christiania Fjord . The Beina , or Baegna, Elv
(which we followed down from its source in the gloomy
Utza Vand at Nystuen ) winds through a chain of lakes
as far as Frydenlund , where it is joined by two smaller
streams , and flows down another valley to the Spirillen
Lake, thence to the same Tyri Fjord , and so to
the sea.
I cannot ascertain why one inland lake should be
called " Vand " (" water," like the lakes in Westmoreland,
Ulles water, Derwent water, etc. , ) and another
" Fjord," unless the latter was supposed to communicate
more directly with the sea . Another name for a
large lake is " Indsöe ," like the German " See."
The ancient notions of the lakes and rivers were almost
as vague as those of the height of mountains . In
the map given in Pontoppidan's " Natural History of
Norway," I find the Rands Fjord entirely left out, and
the Spirillen twice or three times its present size , while
14
314  .
the Fille Fjeld is placed two degrees farther north than
its actual position .
The little steamers which run up and down the lake
daily are Harald Harfager and Olaf Tryggvesson ; one
of them leaving Odnaes every morning, and the other
connecting with the train from Christiania , at Hadeland's
Glasvaerk and Kokkestuen ; so humble and serviceable
have these old heroes become ! You would
not think it from their names , but they are extremely
small-much smaller than the " Kong Oscar " on the
Mjosen Vand, or even than the Hardangeren . It was
a question whether there would be room for our trille
and gig and the carioles which had to be put on
board , and we surveyed with anxiety the operation of
hoisting and packing them into the little space forward
reserved for their accommodation . We were closely
packed , too , on the tiny hurricane deck, with no room
to pick and choose places . One must be thankful to
get a movable stool , instead of being sandwiched between
two Norwegians on a hard bench , with a harder
railing cutting one's spine asunder.
The scenery was pretty ; beautiful at times . Wooded
mountains , fifteen hundred to two thousand feet in
height, come close to the shore , on the western side ,
separating this lake from the Spirillen ; but on the
eastern lie the fertile fields of Hedalen , and a road
runs along the shore , with seven or eight stations , at
most of which the steamer touches , or stops for passengers
to come off in boats. We should have enjoyed
the trip if the little steamer had not been pervaded by
a sickening odor of frying fish , which kept us on the
verge of illness . Somebody must have been constantly
partaking of breakfast , lunch or dinner in the tiny cabin .
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET.
315
No doubt the lake trout were good to eat ; but how
could anybody eat in such an atmosphere !
The steamer reached Kokkestuen at . 2 P. M. , after
stopping first at Hadeland's Glasvaerk , a large
manufactory.
With much backing and filling , Olaf Tryggvesson
ran his nose into a narrow slip under a great shed ,
where tackle was hanging to pull up the trilles and
carioles ; and we made our way on shore , and up a hill
to the station - house , where we ordered dinner.
The train was to leave for Christiania, via Drammen,
at three o'clock, and John and Jane had decided to take
it, leaving us three spinsters to finish our journey alone .
While waiting for dinner we discovered that two
reindeer were kept on exhibition in the stable . It was
odd , after going through the reindeer country , at the
extreme north, and over the fjelds , without seeing a
single specimen , except the stuffed ones in the Bergen
museum, to find them within a few hours , by rail , of
Christiania . They were unhappy looking creatures ,
with rough , dark hair ( it turns white , and grows thick
in the winter) , and immense , branching horns , covered
with a sort of dark fur like moss ; and they seemed so
awkward and out of place in the little shed that we
pitied them heartily.
Dinner was a disappointment ; nothing was eatable
but the strawberries , and those were limited in quantity ;
and we said " Good-by" to our friends , and watched
the departing train , with some heart sinkings .
Now were we " Unprotected Females in Norway " ;
and it remained to be seen whether we should be treated
with the kind courtesy which such characters received
twenty years ago .
316
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
I am obliged to confess that our first experience was
not encouraging . Perhaps Kokkestuen is too near civilization
, and the building of the railway, while introducing
modern convenience and despatch , may have
dispelled old - fashioned courtesy and kindness .
The first thing to be done was to find somebody to
put the trille in order ; the next to have the horses
attached to it . John had settled the bill , while attending
to the transfer of the gig to the train , and had
written the order for horses in the daybook. But as
nobody showed any disposition to attend to us , I went
down to the shed to which the carriage had been removed
from the steamer, and found some men to bring
it out and get it ready , while I superintended the packing
of the baggage ; and finally a man appeared with the
horses , and began to attach them to the vehicle . I am
sorry to complain of my friends , but I found them sadly
lacking in sympathy. Instead of standing by me, like
women and sisters , they left me quite alone , staying
at the hotel until they saw the horses brought out ,
and then standing aloof and laughing at my distress .
I had hard work to find one man at first , but before he
got through, a collection of at least twenty men and
boys were watching or assisting his endeavors , and we
drove off amid a crowd of curious spectators .
We had a half- grown boy for a driver, stupid and
clumsy to the last degree . Almost immediately he
turned off the high road into a rough path through the
fields , climbing a hill near the station - house . We protested,
seeing the good road stretching plainly before
us ; but he said something about knowing best , and
persisted . Perhaps he thought that , as the railroad
ran to Hönefos , and we preferred posting , he would
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET.
317
give us something as rural as possible ; perhaps he was
afraid of the train , or thought his horses would be.
We plodded on , over a rough road, " across lots , "
hoping for better things , but it grew worse and worse .
Up and down hills so steep and stony that we all got
out and walked , fearing the trille would be upset or
broken to bits , over a sort of corduroy road through
swampy places , and over bridges made of rough logs ,
with no boards laid over them, through pine forests
and upland pastures , lay our truly rural path-pretty
enough if we had been on horseback , or in carioles
belonging to the station ; but we had the responsibility
of the trille and harness on our minds , and feared both
would come to grief. At last , Blossom, running down
a steep, sandy slope , fell into her umbrella , and rolled
down, all in a heap to the bottom . We hastened to
extricate her, thankful to find only the bones of the
umbrella broken .
Finally we reached Hönefos , distant by the regular
road one and a half miles , Norsk, from Kokkestuen ;
and as we drove through the village , around a corner,
one of our horses turned to the left , the other to the
right, to the consternation of our skyd , and our own
dismay, for that was the way our horses had acted ,
that memorable night , on the way to Reien . A man
rushed out from a house near by, took them by their
heads , and , when he had checked them, began to arrange
the harness which the stupid skyd had put on
improperly, forgetting to cross the reins . It was a
wonder we had not met with some accident on that
dangerous piece of road.
(Mem.-Ladies travelling alone in Norway should
know how to harness horses . )
318
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
We reached the station and discharged our stupid
sykd , wishing we could relieve our feelings by giving
them full expression in Norsk. We tried to complain
to the station - master, who knew a little English ; and
he asked the boy why he had not brought us by the
regular road ? "The other was shorter . " It had taken
half as long again ; for the horses , and we ourselves ,
had walked a good part of the way. I thought of entering
a complaint in the daybook ; but here again
our Norsk was deficient ; and I contended myself with
warning travellers against by- roads to Kokkestuen .
There is a pretty waterfall in Hönefos , -where the
Beina ( or Baegna ) Elv joins the Viols Elv , running
from the Rands Fjord , -and other falls not far distant ;
and the hotels are said to be good . The town has
about one thousand inhabitants and is one of the stations
on the Drammen Railroad .
We went on with a better driver , along the regular
road to Viig (one mile , Norsk) , passing the village of
Norderhaug, where the heroic Preistinn distinguished
herself in 1716, at the time of the Swedish invasion .
Two hundred Swedish horsemen were quartered at the
prestegaard and houses adjoining . The pastor was ill
and helpless , but his wife plied the soldiers with drink
while she sent word to the officer in command of a
small Norwegian force in the neighborhood , who succeeded
in surprising the Swedes and captured or killed
nearly all of them.
On this road, called the Stensgade , one passes the
ruins of the little church of Sten and a grave mound ,
said to be that of Halfdan the Black , father of Harald
Harfager.
Snorre Sturleson relates the manner of his death :
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET. 319
" Halfdan the Black was driving from a feast in
Hadeland , and it so happened that his road lay over
the lake called Rönd (the Rands Fjord ) . It was in
spring, and there was a great thaw. They drove across
the bight called Rykensvig , where in winter there had
been a pond broken in the ice for the cattle to drink
at, and where the dung had fallen upon the ice the
thaw had eaten it into holes . Now as the king drove
over it the ice broke , and King Halfdan and many with
him perished . He was then forty years old . He had
been one of the most fortunate kings in respect of good
seasons . The people thought so much of him that
when his death was known , and his body was floated
to Ringerige to bury it there , the people of most consequence
from Raumarige , Westfold , and Hedemark.
came to meet it . All desired to take the body with
them, to bury it in their own district ; and they thought
that those who got it would have good crops to expect
. At last it was agreed to divide the body into
four parts . The head was laid in a mound at Stein , in
Ringerige , and each of the others took his part home
and buried it in a mound ; and they have since been
called Halfdan's Mounds ."
At Viig we had to wait for horses , and ordered supper
; asking for " fisk , " as we were so near the Tyri
Fjord , and getting it after a while , but nothing but rye
bread and tea in addition . This is a poor station , and
few people stop here .
Getting our fresh horses, and a small boy as driver ,
we started in the twilight for Homledal , one and threeeighths
Norsk miles distant , where we hoped to sleep .
Soon after leaving Viig, we crossed an arm of the lake ,
over a long bridge , and passed a comfortable - looking
320
 .
house , very pleasantly situated , called Sundvolden, another
summer hotel . We should have taken our horses
for this place , from Hönefos , and spent the night ; and
then early in the morning we could have taken saddlehorses
and made the ascent to the " Kongens Udsight "
( King's View) , said to be the finest in the region . If
we had waited for Brother Will , or had had Bennett's
guide - book with us , and studied it properly, we
could not have failed to do this . In no other way
can one get an adequate idea of the beauties of the
Ringeriget, as this region is called ; the dominion of
King Ring , one of the petty sovereigns of the olden
time , who traced his descent to Nor, from whom the
country is named Nor- way. Nor is supposed to be
Noah.
Ring is the king of Frithiof's Saga , and his rige or
rike (German Reich , old English rik , which survives in
bishopric ) was a narrow kingdom , but a fertile and
lovely one . Even in the twilight , and seen by glimpses
through the pine forests and along the mountain side,
the scenery is very fine , as the road winds along the
shore of the lakes-the Tyri Fjord and the Holz Fjord
-with islands dotting their surface ; but we were weary,
and a little disheartened , after the fatigues and mishaps
and insufficient nourishment of the day. What a
pity we had not taken horses for Sundvolden ! Another
lost opportunity, which follows us with unavailing
regret , was the Dronningens Udsight ( Queen's
View) , not far from Kongen's Udsight . These views
are compared to the one enjoyed in the descent from
the Jura to the Lake of Geneva ; though the heights of
Gousta Fjeld, seventy miles to the west , cannot vie
with Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles in grandeur .
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET.
321
It was late when we reached Homledal , and we
found no one up but the house - mother, who received us
kindly, called a man to take care of the horses , gave
us milk to drink, and bestowed us all three in a little
bedroom on the ground floor, the other rooms being
occupied .
It shows how fearless we were in Norway- whether
with or without reason I am not sure that we slept
soundly in this room , with a door that had no lock ( I
think our doors never locked at the station - houses) ,
and an open window so near the ground that it could
easily have been entered from outside .
We awoke rested next morning , in spite of our hard
beds ; had the usual breakfast of coffee and eggs, and
got off at 9 A. M. We had a little extra trouble in
getting ready, having to do the horse - talk as well as
the cooking- talk ; looking sharply to the harness , and
making sure that the reins were crossed , at least , and
enjoining the men to " smör hiulene " (grease the
wheels) , a process which Mr. Bennett had impressed
upon us never to neglect .
Then we paid the " Regningen, " shook hands with
the landlady, and departed .
From Homledal to Sandviigen it is one and fiveeighths
miles ; hilly, but more down hill than up . Going
the other way, you pay for two miles . We crossed
a mountain , over one thousand feet high , and from the
western side of its summit enjoyed a lovely view of
the Tyri Fjord and Holz Fjord . After descending on
the eastern side our road lay along the Sandviig's Elv
hrough the lovely Isidal .
We had an ambitious skyd , who whipped his willing
steeds unmercifully, in spite of all our remonstrances .
14*
322
 .
These would have been more effectual if the Norsk
word for " whip " had been at our command. But
it had stepped out . I cried , " Ikke whip Heste , gode
Heste ! " amid the laughter of my companions , and he
whipped them all the more , till Blossom checked her
mirth , pulled the whip away, and shaking her head at
him , intimated that she would take care of it herself.
In consequence of this injudicious haste , the tired horses
walked all the latter half of the journey.
At Sandviig we changed to fresh horses and a more
reasonable skyd , and drove the eight miles (English)
to Christiania in a moderate but comfortable fashion .
The road led us into the one we had traversed when
driving out to Oscarshald, and we came into the city.
not far from the palace . As we approached civilized regions
we began to look with critical eyes at each other's
dusty and somewhat dilapidated apparel . We had had
no thought of " looks " for the last six weeks , even in
Throndhjem or Bergen ; but Christiania was different .
Blossom shut up her broken umbrella , and bravely endured
the vertical rays of the sun-for it was nearly
I P. M. One more amusing experience befell us .
were to meet our friends at the Victoria Hotel , as they
preferred to try a change . We doubted the wisdom of
it ; and rather longed for a sight of Miss Hopkins and
the fair- haired porter ; but we had acquiesced . Now
we did not know the way to the hotel , nor did our
skyd , who had little acquaintance with the city . Neither
could he drive to Mr. Bennett's house, in the
Störe Strand gade . We drove to the market - place ,
and got directions from a cab-driver , but even then had
some difficulty in finding the hotel . (The little map in
Bennett's guide - book would have helped us, but that
We
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET. 323
was in Will's pocket . ) Arrived at the hotel , a servant
was despatched with the trille and skyd to Mr. Bennett's
house , and we were led away to comfortable
rooms , where we found rest and refreshment and our
waiting friends . A little disposed to crow over us ,
they were, upon hearing our adventures, and protest
that they had seen quite as much, or even more , in
their trip by rail ; for they had gone to Drammen and
come up thence , along the Christiania Fjord . If we
had known that the railway passed through so nearly
the same scenery as the post - road , I think we should
have taken it . Better still would it have been to stop
at that quiet , pleasant house of Sundvolden over Sunday .
By stopping at Haugsund , the station above Drammen,
with our trille (or without it , if we had been disposed
to try carioles or carts) , we might have posted
to Kongsberg, about two Norsk miles , and visited the
famous silver mines , discovered in 1623 , and made an
excursion to the Larbro Fos , about half an hour's walk
down the Lauven Elv, below the town . Then , posting
on into the Thelemark region , about three Norsk
miles , we should come to the curious old church , near
Lysthuus, in Hitterdal , like the one at Borgund in
some respects, but larger . Five Norsk miles farther
bring us into the heart of Thelemark , with its quaint
costumes and dwellings, described by Bayard Taylor
in his " Sketches of Northern Travel . " Or , by turning
northwards from Lysthuus , we might have visited the
wild region of the Gousta Fjeld and the famous Rjukan
Fos , by some travellers considered the finest of the great
waterfalls of Norway . Most of the path from Dal to
the falls (about five English miles ) can be accomplished
on horseback , with perhaps a mile of climbing on foot ;
324  .
and the excursion is easier for ladies than that to the
Mörke Fos , the Vöring Fos or the Skaeggedal Fos .
The ascent of the Gousta Fjeld is a ten hours ' expedition
; most of it , I think, on horseback ; and the
view from the summit , nearly six thousand feet high,
is said to be magnificent , including the whole district
of the Ringeriget, and seventy miles to the westward ,
on the route to Bergen. For this excursion , about five
days from Kongsberg should be allowed .
I say, " we might have done it , " but I am far from
advising such an excursion to ladies travelling by themselves
, though Madame Pfeiffer accomplished it ; for the
roads are rough and the stations poor . And , to confess
the truth , I think it would have been nearly impossible
for us , in our jaded and discouraged condition .
The Victoria Hotel is a large building on the Dronningens
gade , with an annex on the Störe Strand gade ,
two blocks beyond , near the railway station and steamer
office . It is much patronized by English travellers ;
but it is an old house , poorly ventilated ; and in many
respects we liked it less than the Grand Hotel, the
situation of which is far preferable . The pleasantest
thing about the Victoria , except when it rained , was
the large marquée in the court , in which table d'hôte.
was served ; and the dinners were uniformly good .
Breakfast and tea were served in the dining - room ,
or on the veranda running round the court , or brought
to one's own room at an extra charge .
He
Monday afternoon , quite to our surprise , as we were
not looking for him so soon , Will drove in , sunburnt
and dusty , and minus umbrella as well as hat .
had broken it , punching a rock with it , he said , and
had used a green bough afterwards to shield him from
THROUGH THE RINGERIGET.
325
the sun. Had he had a good time ? Oh splendid , except
for the last day or two . Why had we advised
him to come by the Spirillen ? The boats were taken
off, and the stations were wretched and the horses miserable
. And why had we not waited for him at Tune ,
or at Frydenlund, or even at Sundvolden ? He had
come from there that morning , after climbing the
mountain to see the King's View. Did we see that ?
No ! Nor the Queen's View ? Nor the Princess Sophia's
at Homledal ? Why, we had seen nothing at
all . Probably we had not even walked down the garden
at the back of the house , to see the view of the
lake !
Certainly we had not ; we did not know there was any
such view there . He must remember we had not Bennett's
guide - book . (Upon consulting the guide - book
it appeared that the garden view was to be enjoyed ,
not at Homledal , but at Naes , a station for steamers
on the Tyri Fjord , some three miles on the way to
Viig. ) But the Princess Sophia's view-" inaugurated ,"
as Murray hath it , in 1860 , by the present queen- we
should have been glad to visit , if we had known more
about it , and supposed we had time to spare It must
be confessed , we were getting rather indifferent to views ,
and had grown somewhat tired of posting .
We found he had posted through from Sundvolden
without stopping for dinner ; so we ordered an early
supper, in our sitting - room ; and , when his hunger was
appeased, he related his adventures.
XVIII .
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THE FOLGE fond .
WE
JULY 23 , 1875.
E turned out about 6.30 A. M. , after a fair night's
rest, considering the crowded condition of the
cabin-berths , sofas and floor being filled with sleepers
-and found ourselves near Ulvik, a pretty village on
the west arm of the fjord above Eide . The distance
by water is about twenty - four English miles ; but the
land route , though much shorter, is over so rough a
road that it requires four hours' travel on foot or
horseback .
We steamed thence to Vik, on the Eide Fjord-the
place of landing for those who visit the Vöring Fosand
thence to Odde , at the head of the Sor Fjord , the
headquarters for tourists visiting the Skjaeggedal Fos ,
the Buerbrae glacier and the Folge Fond , where we arr
ved about 1.30 P. M.
The scenery was fine all the way ; and as we neared
Odde we saw the great snowy mass of the Folge Fond ,
which we had passed coming up the Hardanger Fjord
the day previous . To my mingled astonishment and
dismay, I observed that our pilot , when not actually
occupied in altering the course of the vessel ( although
our lives depended on his vigilance , and he still had
hold of the wheel ) , was reading an apparently attracJOURNAL
OF A VISIT TO the folge FOND. 327
tive little book, from the pages of which he looked up
now and then to see if we were in danger of running
on a rock, or running down a craft , or if our course
needed changing . I hope he always looks up, in season
to avoid disaster !
As there are but two small hotels in Odde , and
no steamer was to leave for three days , there was
a great scramble among the numerous passengers ,
who intended waiting for the next steamer, to secure
rooms . I was among the first off, and bolting
up the street , stopped at the first hotel I came to
(Prestegaard's ) , and bespoke a " senge " of the landlady.
I had much difficulty in preserving it from the
clutches of the passengers who followed me ; but they
all found accommodations , either in this house or others .
I found this hotel very comfortable , although so
small and unpretending . The landlady spoke only
Norsk ; but there were some jolly Norwegians stopping
there , who spoke German and English , and who
were very cordial and kind .
After dinner I found a guide (called förer, sounding
much like the German führer) , and went to see the
Buerbrae . After walking about a mile , we came to a
crystal lake , across which we were rowed , perhaps half
a mile , landing at the mouth of a ravine , down which
rushed a mountain torrent . We walked up the ravine ,
about half a Norwegian mile (overtaking a large party
from the steamer on the way) , through mountains rising
high on either side, in all conceivable shapes , and
came suddenly upon the beautiful blue glacier. It
comes from the top of the mountain range , in several
broad streams (which unite before reaching the valley)
and thrusts itself forward in the form of a wedge. It
328
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
was the first glacier I had seen , and I looked at it with
great interest. It has been entirely formed within fifty
years , and is advancing rapidly down the valley. In
1870 it advanced ninety yards , and four yards during
one week in the summer of 1871. The torrent of the
Buer is fed from this glacier, and pours from the wedge
in a great stream , perhaps one third the width of the
Rhone , as it issues from the fingers of its glove - shaped
glacier. *
On returning to Odde I engaged a förer for the
Skjaeggedal Fos next day, and arranged to be called
early, as the excursion is a long one.
JULY 24.
I was off by 6.30 A. M. , beginning the journey in a
boat , directly from the hotel, which is situated on the
fjord. We rowed for about a Norsk mile , to Tyssedal ,
where the river Tyssa empties into the fjord . On the
way we saw a whale spouting. The Tyssedal is a ravine
, similar to the one leading to the Buerbrae , but
infinitely wilder and grander ; and the path , instead of
keeping at the level of the stream , climbs to the left ,
over the side of the mountain , winding around over
rocks , up steep ascents and among great boulders ;
once upon logs laid side by side , with holes cut in
them for steps , and again upon the bare rock , sloping
down to the precipice , which makes a sheer descent to
the boiling torrent far below.
While resting in one of these wild places I was overtaken
by the two American brothers whom we met at
Bergen, with their guide , and we joined forces for the
* After seeing many of the glaciers of Switzerland , I still think the Buerbrae
the cleanest , bluest, and most transparent of glaciers .
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THE FOLGE FOND. 329
remainder of the excursion . We had passed the worst
of the path ; the last part of the way was along the
torrent, over and among large stones . After about
two hours ' walking we reached the Skjaeggedal farm ,
a Norsk mile from Tyssedal , where the valley widens ,
and changes its direction , as well as its name, turning
to the right. The Tyssa takes its rise here in a mountain
lake , and begins its wild and short career to the
fjord by a plunge over a mass of rocks , forming a fine
waterfall , which would be considered worth a visit in
any country but Norway ; but this was not what we
had come to see. After crossing this river, which
spreads out into a small lake below the falls , we
walked up a hill to the great lake beyond , the Ringedals
Vand . The water is so clear that you can see
the bottom at a depth of thirty feet.
There were only two boats on this lake , and as
there was a large party of English people on the
way, we were obliged to wait , in order to share our
boat with some of them. It was two hours before they
came up ; so we gained nothing by our early start . A
little planning the day before might have saved this
detention, if we had known there were but two boats
on the lakes . At last we got off; and , with four rowers
to each boat , we made astonishing time . The
other boat started first ; but we soon overtook it , and
had a race , coming off victors , and reaching the falls
nearly a mile ahead of them. We made the whole distance
, of a Norsk mile , in a little over an hour. The
lake is a very beautiful one , resembling the König See ,
near Berchtesgaden , in the Bavarian Tyrol ; although
the rocky walls which surround it are more precipitate,
and the numerous waterfalls which tumble down
330
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUmmer
.
the cliffs are peculiarly characteristic of Norwegian
scenery . The finest we passed was the Tyssetraengene
, formed of two streams which unite , about half
way down the rocky wall , and fall together into the
lake . After passing a bend , we had the grand Skjaeggedal
Fos in full view, at the head of the lake , distant
two or three miles . It falls from a lake on top of the
mountains , making a sheer descent of six hundred feet ,
to an irregular shelf of rock , from which it dashes ,
whirls and roars in cataracts , some three hundred feet
more , to the lake . In appearance it resembles a section
of Niagara , say some three hundred feet in width ,
with of course a great increase in height, but with
perhaps a smaller volume of water to the same area .
We landed , and went as near the falls as the slippery
rocks , the strong current of wind, and the blinding
spray would let us , and drank in the beauty and
grandeur of the scene .
Reluctantly we turned our faces homeward ; and , as
we ate our lunch in the boats, we cast many a longing
look behind .
We had intended to stop at the Tyssetraengene , on
the way back , as the view from the lake gives an inadequate
idea of these falls ; but we finally decided to be
satisfied with this view , and kept on, to save time. We
reached Odde by 6.30 P. M. I arranged to visit the
Folge Fond next day with my American friends, and
having engaged a guide , we prepared for another early
start , as the excursion usually requires about twelve
hours .
JULY 25.
We started by 6.30 A. M. The two gentlemen and
RNAL OF A VISIT TO THE FOlge fond. 331
the guide were armed with alpenstocks ; but I had only
a long, rough walking - stick , with no iron spike in it .
Our route as far as the Buerbrae was the same which I
had followed two days before . This is frequently taken
en route to or from the Folge Fond . Arrived at the
glacier, we began to climb the side of the mountain
which hems it in , on the right ; and as we mounted
higher and higher, our view of the Buerbrae became
more and more extensive and beautiful ; but it was
dreadfully tough work. Many a time this ascent was
so steep and slippery that it seemed almost impossible
to make any progress , especially when our path was a
zigzag across steep inclines of turf. As if to aggravate
us, the goats jumped about on the slippery steep , like
flies on a window pane , and not only tantalized us by
the ease and freedom of their movements, but actually
threatened to butt us off our pegs , and set us rolling
down the hillside . Several times we were obliged to
lie down and rest, and take breath , panting from
exhaustion .
It is usual for tourists to make the ascent of the
Folge Fond from another side , and come down by this
path ; but our guide insisted on going up by the steepest
way, because he thought it would be dangerous to
descend by it , when we were tired ; and judging from
the difficulty we had in descending by the easiest side ,
I think he was quite right.
After an hour or so of desperate climbing, we
reached the summit of the first pitch and came to a
sort of irregular plateau , or vast shallow ravine . At
our left lay the glacier, and to the right and in front
of us stretched the vast ridge of snow and ice called
the Folge Fond , which separated us from Odde . We
332  .
had skirted the edge of it and got behind it . Our work
was now comparatively easy . Leaving the deep gorge ,
out of which we had climbed , we struck across the
plateau and over a brawling stream, stopping, after a
while , for rest and refreshment .
It was then about 10 A. M. , and soon after it began
to rain , and continued to rain at intervals through the
day. All three of us had rubber overcoats , and I wore
mine most of the time when it rained ; but it was so
heavy that its weight obstructed my movements , and
it was so hot and uncomfortable that I thought it almost
worse than the dampness from which it protected
me. After crossing the ravine we worked our way up ,
over rocks and stone , till we came to two or three long
and wide snowbanks , which we ascended with some
fatigue , as our feet sank several inches in the snow.
Then we came to a smooth , slippery glacier , which we
were obliged to cross . It sloped upward , and I had
great difficulty in making my way without an alpenstock.
At last I was forced to run up its surface , and
make use of the momentum I had gained to get over
the smooth places , taking advantage of every little inequality
in the ice to aid my progress . My companions ,
who were painfully toiling on , with their alpenstocks ,
wondered at my apparent waste of energy, and asked
how I could do it ; but I soon satisfied them that I
could do nothing else , if I desired to make any
progress .
After crossing the glacier we came to the Folge Fond
proper ; a rounded , gradually sloping mass of snow,
about seven Norsk miles in length , two in breadth and
of unknown depth . The summit is between five and
six thousand feet from the level of the fjord , and is
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO the Folge FOND. 333
shaped like an elephant's back. This was the mass of
eternal snow we had seen shining in the sunlight from
our steamer on the Hardanger Fjord , and again from
the Sör Fjord , and the Ringedals Vand . An extensive
and beautiful view of the fjords and islands , fjelds ,
lakes and glaciers , in all directions , should have rewarded
us for our toil ; but , alas ! a dense fog settled
down upon us and prevented our seeing more than a
few rods in any direction . We were compelled to
guide our course by the compass . The ascent , at
first quite steep , became less and less so , until finally
we found ourselves walking on a level, and then on a
descending slope , by which alone we knew that we
had crossed the backbone of the snow- mountain .
We saw numerous tracks in the snow, of birds and
beasts , and also saw animals which , through the foggy
atmosphere , we took for wolves until one of them
spread a pair of wings and soared away. We went
around numerous crevasses , and leaped over one of
apparently bottomless depth . In descending , on the
Odde side , our guide was uncertain of his whereabouts ,
aud tried several places before he found the right one .
When we came to smooth slopes we slid down on our
feet ; and while edging our way along the side of a steep
incline, one of the brothers lost his footing and slid
down until brought up by a pile of rocks , but luckily
he was not injured .
Leaving the snow we found ourselves at the head
of a narrow ravine which runs from the Folge Fond
directly to the fjord . Down this steep descent we
picked our way with care , lest our tired limbs should
give way and we roll down, for a mile or more , into
the sea . Our guide was a wonderfully muscular fellow,
334 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
and seemed absolutely tireless , running down the steep
slopes for a considerable distance and then waiting for
us to overtake him. A stream tumbles down the ravine,
forming many beautiful cascades and waterfalls ,
and as we got below the level of the fog, we could see
the beautiful Sör Fjord far below us. Nevertheless the
descent was most wearisome , and seemed well - nigh
interminable.
At last we reached the fjord , and found the little.
son of the guide waiting for us , with a boat , to take us
to Odde , about half a mile distant , where we arrived
at 3.30 P. M. , none the worse for our tramp , and considerably
elated at doing in nine hours what the guidebooks
said would take twelve . Perhaps they allow
three hours for resting and enjoying the view from the
summit . I took a bath and went to bed for a few
hours , merely as a precautionary measure , and got up
for supper feeling as well as usual .
I had not then any experience of Alpine climbing,
but had felt more fatigued after the ascent of Vesuvius,
or even after climbing the mountain at the back of
Lugano , beyond Monte Brè . The bracing air of Norway
enables one to endure greater exertion without
excessive fatigue than is possible in Southern Europe .
The ascent of the Folge Fond has been made by
ladies, with the assistance of horses , which can be
taken on the Odde side .
The Norwegian ponies are very sure - footed , and it
is said they will go wherever a man can ; but one feels
safer on one's own legs . " The descent by the Buerbrae
is not to be advised for ladies, " says Bennett . That is
putting it very mildly, for it is dangerous for anybody ;
and the ascent here is very difficult ; but I suppose the
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THE FOLge fond. 335
ladies can come down as they go up-by the longer
path . Five ladies made this excursion in 1869, and
four in 1873.
There are several fine waterfalls in the vicinity of
Odde to which an excursion may be made , partly by
cariole , in about eight hours . The Laathe Fos and
Skar Fos, on the left from Odde , and the Espeland
Fos on the right , are all in sight of one another , about
two hours and a half from Odde ; and on the way you
pass the Hildal Fos , a succession of falls of about a
thousand feet . With another day to spare , I might
have made this excursion ; but the steamer was to
leave on the morrow.
The descent from the Folge Fond may be made on
the Hardanger side , to Bondhuus , where the Bondhuus
glacier has its outlet, about a thousand feet above sea
level , and one may visit Rosendal , one of the most
beautiful spots in the Hardanger Fjord . A fine valley
runs up from the fjord , with a waterfall at the head
of it. The baronial mansion of the Rosenkrone family
is a small, stone building, erected in 1662. A stone
⚫ church of early English architecture contains the burial
vault of the barons of Rosenkrantz and Rosenkrone ;
the present owner, though their descendant, bears no
title , since all titles were abolished in 1822 .
Herr Rosenkrone is said to own the finest private
collection of pictures in Norway.
Professor Forbes made the ascent of the Folge Fond
after visiting the Bondhuusbrae , going to Ovrehuus , at
the head of the Moranger Fjord . He speaks of the
Buerbrae as " a small glacier," which it must have been
at that time .
Captain Biddulph, who visited the Folge Fond in
336 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
1849, seems also to have made the ascent from this
side . "The mountain rises abruptly from the fjord in
irregular cliffs and buttresses to the height of 3,500
feet . From the crests of these commences a sweep
of snow, which extends in a beautiful curve fourteen
miles across , and is scarcely less than forty miles in
unbroken length . The effect of such a scene is marvellous
. It is more impressive than the terrible ruggedness
of the wild peaks of the Horungerne . " He
estimates the moraine at the foot of the Bondhuusbrae
to be 1,000 feet above sea level . The highest point of
the snowy mass is given by Professor Forbes at 5,300
feet, and the snow line at 4,120 . *
* The Folge Fond is called by Professor Forbes “ the most important
glacier-bearing fjeid in Norway "; though the glaciers from the Justedal
Fjeld are larger than the Buerbrae and the Bondhuusbrae . The Nygaard
glacier, with a course of less than four miles , having a breadth of over three
thousand feet, and the Lodal glacier five and one - half miles in length , a
breadth of 2,500 feet . This is called the largest glacier in Scandinavia .
The next in size is the great glacier , between Bejern and Ranen , in the
province of Nordland, not far from the Arctic Circle .
From the Justedal's brae or fjeld descend , in all , twenty -four glaciers,
most of them into the Sogne Fjord and its branches . This is the greatest
mass of perpetual snow, not only in Norway, but in all Europe, with the
exception of Iceland . Like the Folge Fond it covers the whole mountain
range, sending down its frozen streams into the valley . The greatest height
of the snow mass is six thousand five hundred feet .
Out of the nearly six thousand square miles contained in Norway, one
hundred and fifty are covered with glaciers . The different words in use
describing glaciers have the following significance : Brä or Brae , a mass of
perpetual ice . Sne -brä , or Fonn or Fond , any mass of snow, especially eternal
snow . Jökul ( more in use in Iceland ) , any glacier in the general meaning
of the term . Vor or Jökul - vor, a moraine .
I find nothing on the glaciers of Norway later than Professor Forbes's
work, published in 1851 ; but Nielsen tantalizes one with the mention of an
exhaustive work on the Folge Fond , " Von dem Schnebrä Folge Fonn , " by
Professor S. A. Saxe , published in Christiania in 1864, as " Universitäts
Programme, " but not to be obtained in book shops .
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THe folge fond. 337
Bishop Pontoppidan speaks of a parish, " between
Quendherret and Hardanger," which was overwhelmed
by an avalanche " some time in 1500 or 1600 , and never
uncovered ; but utensils of various kinds were brought
to light by a rivulet , which runs under the snow." In
another place he says , " Part of the mountain toward
Quendherret, being frequented by fowlers and sportsmen,
is called " Fugle Fang," i . e . , place for bird catching
. Peter Undalin says it is prohibited to cross this
mountain , except from the Invention of the Cross
(May 3 ) to St. Bartholomew's Day ( Aug. 24) .
Quindherret, or Kvindhered , on the bishop's old
map and Munch's modern one , is not far from Rosendal,
on the Hardanger Fjord ; and there seems no reason
to question that the Folge Fond is the same snow
mountain as the Fugle Fang, the name corrupted , in
the lapse of years , after the fashion of old English inns ,
like the " Bell Savage , " and the " Goat and Compasses .'
JULY 26 .
I slept late , rising at 9.30, and took the steamer
back to Eide , arriving about 5 P. M. I engaged a cart ,
with a small boy, to take me to Vossevangen , the boy
insisting on going through , if he went at all . We made
the double stage in a little over two hours, arriving at
7.30; but I had to wait for my supper until ten o'clock ,
and was nearl " famished .
JULY 27.
Started about 9 A. M. in a cart, with a Norwegian
from Bergen, a very pleasant and cultivated gentleman .
He spoke English tolerably and German fluently, and
* Originally " La Belle Sauvage, " and " God encompasseth us."
15
338
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
proved a very agreeable companion . We took our
horse only to Tvinde , and were obliged to walk from
thence to Vinje , the next station , posting from thence
to Stalheim and Gudvangen .
I had a good supper and night's rest at Schultz's
Hotel . When Herr Schultz heard my name , he asked
if I were related to Mr. T , who had stopped there
Saturday night . " That was a gentleman ! " and he
waxed eloquent in my brother's praise , who had offered
to resign his room to a lady ! I fear such chivalrous
behavior must be of infrequent occurrence in Norsk
hotels .
JULY 28 .
I took the steamer at II A. M. , and went down the
beautiful Naero Fjord into the Sogne , and thence into
the Sognedal Fjord ( nearly opposite ) , landing at
Sognedal , at the head of this fjord , with two Dutch
gentlemen , whose acquaintance I made on the steamer.
They wished to go in the same general direction as
myself; so we took a skydsboat across the fjord to a
little place called Eide , where we walked about five
miles across country to a point on the Sogne Fjord
proper, a perfect little bower of bliss , called Amle.
Here we stopped for a time at what seemed to be the
posting master's house , where boats were to be had.
The brothers from Holland decided to spend the night
and take the steamer next morning, and I engaged a
skydsboat to Laerdalsoren ; but it was not ready for
several hours . A charming young pige came out to
feed her doves and chickens , and it was a pretty sight
to see them flying all around her and eating from her
hand. The people asked us if we wanted anything to
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THE FOLGE fond. 339
eat , and one of the Dutchmen, acting as our spokesman
, replied , “ I am thirstier than I am hungry ," and
accordingly they brought us some delicious beer . After
what seemed an interminable time of waiting , the boat
was at last ready, and I set out , with two rowers , for
Laerdalsoren . The men made me a couch of hemlock
boughs in the boat , and I reclined at my ease , listening
to the dipping of the oars and watching the shore ,
which we hugged , until opposite the bay which leads
to Laerdal , when we crossed the fjord and made our
way up to the village, which we reached a little after
IO P. M. , after three hours ' rowing . I went to Bertelsen's
Hotel , finding there my bag (which I could quite
as well have taken with me, except on the last fivemiles
' tramp) , and a letter from K. , telling me to call
at Tune, and advising the route by the Spirillen .
JULY 29.
Posted to Skogstad , seven Norsk miles from Laerdalsoren
, which I reached about 9.30 P. M. , having
started at 7.30 A. M. I wanted to go on to Tune, the
next station , about two Norsk miles farther, but could
get no horse , so I was compelled to pass the night at
Skogstad . The house was crowded , and I shared a
room with two Germans .
The landlord speaks English quite well , and is a
very pleasant man ; but I do not think highly of his
accommodations.
Tourists more frequently stop over night at Maristuen
or Nystuen, on the summit of the Fille Fjeld .
JULY 30.
I went on in a cart, with a young Norwegian from
340  .
Christiania, a very pleasant fellow who spoke English
quite well . We kept together, in a cart or carioles , as
far as Frydenlund , where he posted on to catch the
morning steamer on the Randsfjord , and I spent the
night , as it was quite late , and I was thoroughly tired
out. I had gone a little out of my way to the Tune
station , on the chance of finding the ladies , but was
disappointed . I posted eight Norsk miles this day
(over fifty - six English miles ) , and find carts and carioles
decidedly more fatiguing than the trille .
JULY 31 .
I turned off the main road to the right , following
the Baegna River, through fine scenery, to Nasmoen ,
at the head of Lake Spirillen -a pretty sheet of water
some two and a half Norsk miles in length . I was
very sorry to find that the boat had been taken off,
for the scenery must be far prettier from the water
than from either shore.
The little steamer Baegna usually runs from Sorum ,
on the river , near the head of the lake , back and forth
every day, but had been taken off because the water
was so low. There had been no rain in this region for
nearly a month. I posted about half-way down the
east side of the lake , through pine - woods, to a station
where I found very poor accommodations .
AUGUST 1.
I started at 7.30 A. M. and posted about seventeen
English miles (a double stage ) to the next station ,
Hallingsby, where I rested several hours , took dinner ,
and then went on with the same horse to Höne Fos .
After waiting nearly an hour , I got a miserable horse
JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO THe folge fonD. 341
and cariole , and with the greatest difficulty got through
to Sundvolden , where I put up for the night . I shall
never forget my delicious supper, of beefsteak and
beer, after having had nothing fit to eat since my
breakfast at Frydenlund , two days before.
All through the Spirillen region nothing but Norsk
was spoken ; and as I had not Bennett's "Phrase Book'
with me, I had to fall back on my knowledge of the
language .
AUGUST 2 .
""
After a delightful night's rest , and an early breakfast
, I started up the hill , Krog Kleven , to see the
famous " Kongens Udsigt " (King's View) , said to be
the finest in the country, that is , I suppose , in this
part of Norway-the Ringeriget . After following the
road about a mile , I came to the guide's house , where
I was furnished with a huge telescope and a pigeförer,"
or maiden guide , a charming young girl , with a
step as light as a fawn's and cheeks like roses . She
led me close to the summit , where I could see people
sitting, enjoying the view, and then returned for another
job, after receiving a mark of approval for her
services . Meanwhile I went forward , and proceeded
to drink in the prospect . I seemed to be almost immediately
over the plain , which , far and wide , with hill
and dale , river and lake , hamlet and village , stretched
itself out before me. It was a view of a quiet , peaceful
country, not wild and grand like the wide prospects
seen in the north and west of Norway, or from the
summits of the fjelds . I was reminded , slightly ,
of the well - known view from Mts. Holyoke and
Tom, in the valley of the Connecticut River, near
342  .
Northampton , Massachusetts . I am not sure that
this is any finer.
Descending rapidly , I took a cariole and posted on ,
with wretched horses , to Humledal and Sandviken .
At the latter station I got a fine spirited horse , and
bowled into Christiania in fine style.
The two days intervening before our departure for
Stockholm I spent in sleeping, eating , and calling on
T. Bennett, or making appointments for future interviews
. Fortunately, his " curiosity shop " is not far from
the Victoria Hotel . We had difficulty enough in getting
his ear, among crowds of customers and consulters
, when making our arrangements for posting ; but
that was as nothing to the trouble involved in settling
up . I feared we should be compelled to go off, owing
him , in spite of ourselves ; but after many vain attempts
to secure his attention for five consecutive minutes , I
at last succeeded in paying his bill and turned my back
on his shop forever. *
* In our final shopping at Christiania, for Norsk books, music and photographs,
we happened upon exquisitely prepared groups of natural flowers,
with the brilliant coloring of paintings in water colors. The lady who prepares
these keeps the process a secret. I believe some specimens of her work
were sent to the Centennial Exhibition , at Philadelphia .
XIX .
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
AFTER weeks of travel in Norway, on steamers or
posting, with irregular hours for sleeping and
eating, under the stimulus of almost constant daylight
, there ensues a reaction , sooner or later, with
most people ( I do not wish to make an unguarded
statement, and there may be exceptions ) , when one
becomes indifferent to the claims , not only of museums
and picture galleries, but even of the finest
scenery and greatest natural curiosities . Our Florence
friends had warned us of this , and advised spending
a week at some comfortable place , where we need
do nothing but rest . They had done this at Throndhjem
; but they had been to the North Cape , and turned
night into day to a greater extent than we had done .
"
This was one reason why we neglected the usual
route to Stockholm- by which one visits Frederikshald ,
where Charles XII . met his fate , and then passes , by
the Gotha Canal , through Lakes Wenern and Wettern ,
out into the Baltic , and back into the Mälar Lake ,
through the most picturesque scenery in Sweden , in
the space of three days-for the comparatively uninteresting
but far quicker route by rail , via Kongsvinger
and Carlstadt . We were very tired of steamers . We
had a feeling that nothing in the way of waterfalls and
344  .
lake scenery , in Sweden , could equal what we had seen
in Norway. Finally, it was probable that we should
return, by that route , to Copenhagen ; for the journey
to Russia , in our state of fatigue and indifference ,
seemed too great an undertaking to be seriously
thought of.
The journey by rail from Christiania to Stockholm
requires about seventeen hours , the express train leaving
at 6 A. M. We adopted Mr. Bennett's suggestion ,
to break the journey by spending the night at Kongsvinger,
on the border, which we reached by a train.
leaving at 5 P. M.
The railway follows the river Glommen , as far as
Kongsvinger ; and the country bears that resemblance
to New England which we noticed in going to Eidsvold .
We crossed the river at Fetsund , on a bridge fourteen
hundred feet long , near the place where it flows
into the Oieren Lake . Farther on , it is joined by our
old friend the Laagen , under a new name , the Wormen ,
which it assumes after passing through the Mjosen
Lake . (Norwegian rivers have a way of changing
their names, after losing themselves in lakes , as if
they had been married . ) The Glommen is the largest
and longest of the rivers in Norway, between three
and four hundred miles in length .
It would be a pretty excursion to follow it up, from
Kongsvinger- there are roads on both sides of itthrough
the pine forests and grand mountain scenery,
as far as Röraas , famous for its copper mines ,
whence there is a good post road into Sweden , and
one can follow down the Dal River to the Siljan Lake ,
in Dalarne , visit Falun , and thence , by rail , go to Gefle ,
Upsala and Stockholm . I do not know how long this
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
345
would have taken us ; perhaps a week or more .
is well to have something left in reserve . *
But it
There was a large building, station - house and hotel
combined , in process of erection at Kongsvinger ; but
we were informed that we should find our rooms in a
house about a quarter of a mile distant . A stout pige
seized our bags and trudged across the fields , and we
followed , to learn that we could have beds and nothing
more, and for our supper must return to the halffinished
station . This must have been the secret source
of merriment to our pige- porter, who giggled all the
way.
We saw nothing of the town , which used to be
considered one of the keys of Norway and was occupied
by a garrison until 1823 .
Not long after leaving Kongsvinger, we passed the
boundary between Norway and Sweden . ( I do not
remember the customs ' examination , which is said to
take place here ; perhaps the luggage of " through passengers
" was not disturbed . ) In many respects the
united nations have less in common than Norway and
Denmark, for so many years governed by the same sovereign
and speaking the same language . Separated so
long "by mutual fear and mountains , " as Tacitus puts
it ; often warring with each other, and , at last unwillingly
joined together by the arbitrary fiat of the Russian
emperor : ( since when , and in what manner had
Norway become his property , to be given in exchange
for Finland ? ) the married nations had little prospect
* I must confess that friends who followed exactly this route, twenty
years ago, complained of being nearly starved between Röraas and Falun .
They were also unfortunate in having rainy weather, and their recollections
of the journey are gloomy in the extreme .
15*
346
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
of a happy union . In just indignation at being thus
disposed of, Norway had declared her independence ;
and at the national assembly at Eidsvold , on the 11th
of April , 1814, had adopted the constitution as it now
exists . On the 17th of May, Prince Christian of Denmark,
then governor general , was elected king of Norway.
But the invading army of the regent , Bernadotte ,
compelled submission , and the union was consummated .
The new constitution was accepted, the first article.
providing that " Norway shall be a free State , independent,
indivisible and inalienable , united to Sweden
under the same king ."
The death of Charles XIII . left Bernadotte sovereign
of both kingdoms ; but he was never popular in
Norway, where he tried in vain to get a majority in his
interest in the Storthing . His son , Oscar I. , gave the
Norwegians a separate national flag, which had been
hitherto denied them, and decreed that in all acts and
public documents relating to Norway he should be
styled "king of Norway and Sweden ," instead of
" Sweden and Norway." He also created an order
of merit for the Norwegians , that of St. Olaf, in 1847.
An act passed by the Storthing in 1822 had abolished
all titles of nobility in Norway, to cease with the death
of those then bearing them ; but no one objects to having
the order of St. Olaf conferred upon those deserving
it , like Tidemand the artist , and Björnson the popular
author.
The two countries have separate tariffs and currencies
; but a movement is in progress to bring about
a similar currency in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
We had started about 9 A. M. , and rode until nearly
II P. M. , stopping at Carlstadt , on the Wenern Lake,
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
347
twenty minutes for dinner . A long table was set , with
soup, fish , beef and vegetables , and every one helped
himself as he pleased . Stewed prunes and cream
were by way of dessert , followed by excellent coffee .
For this well - cooked and abundant meal we paid
about half a dollar each . The speed was moderate
for an
" express train," not over twenty-five miles.
an hour , and I think we stopped at all the stations .
Our compartment was provided with beds , or rather
chairs capable of extension, which we found very
comfortable .
Having decided, upon Murray's recommendation ,
to patronize the Kung Carl Hotel , we telegraphed
from Carlstadt for rooms and supper . We were taken
a slight advantage of in consequence (people who regard
economy rarely telegraph for rooms , on the continent
) , and were ushered into a brilliantly- lighted
salon , on the first floor , with two luxuriously furnished
bedrooms adjoining . This was three rooms and four
beds ," to be sure , but inconveniently arranged for the
occupancy of a bachelor and three spinsters , to say
nothing of the probable price of such a palatial apartment.
We remonstrated , but were told they could
make no other arrangement for the night ; we might
have other rooms in the morning . Would they move
one of the beds into the salon ? Not to be thought
of. They consented , however, to carry it to the other
bedroom . We had no fault to find with our supperdelicious
salmon steaks, lamb chops and green peas ,
with strawberries and cream .
The " Kung Carl " is the smallest of the three firstclass
hotels in Stockholm. It is situated on the corner
of the Brunkeberg's torg ( square) , not far from the Cen348
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
tral Railway terminus . A few steps farther , on the
Gustav Adolf's torg, is Hotel Rydberg, which claims
the reputation of being "the best - conducted hotel in
Scandinavia." It has a hundred and fifty rooms. Still
farther on , round the quay, and fronting the royal
palace , is the large Grand Hotel , just finished , belonging
to the same proprietor as the Rydberg , with four
hundred rooms . All these hotels are well kept , and
very handsomely furnished . There is an elevator at
the Grand, the first ever introduced in Stockholm , and
so great was the curiosity it excited, and the crowds
of people who wished to try it , that a slight charge had
to be made for its use.
We started out , after a late breakfast , to find the
banker, get our letters , and supply ourselves with
Swedish money. Stockholm's Enskilda Bank was the
place designated on our letter of credit , and we drew ,
in rix - dollars , what seemed an enormous sum for the
expenses of less than a week ; but it was really only a
few pounds each . The rix - dollar is not the specie dollar,
but the same as the krona , worth about a shilling
and twopence English money, and a little more than
the Norsk mark . This coin is divided into one hundred
ore , copper coins about the value of an English farthing.
You can get , in gold , pieces of ten and twenty
kronor ( like $ 2.50 and $ 5 gold pieces ) ; in silver , pieces
of four, two and one kronor (like dollars , half dollars
and quarters ) , and fifty, twenty- five and ten ore pieces
(about the size of ten , five and three cent pieces ) ; and
in copper, five , two and one ore pieces , worth about a
cent , half a cent and a quarter of a cent . These last
are like the pfennige in Germany, and the centimes of
France and Italy . ( I do not know what one can purA
GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN. 349
chase for so small a coin ; but they are good to give to
beggars , who seem glad to get them. They do not
have to pay " American prices ! " ) Beside this specie
currency , bank notes are issued , from one krona to one
thousand kronor in value , exchangeable for gold at par .
It was a relief to the one who " had the bag " to subtitute
these for the heavy weight of " smaa penge ," indispensable
hitherto.
Our first drive in Stockholm was out through the
northern suburb , " Norr Malm , " to the palace of Ulricsdal
. This royal residence belonged to Magnus de
la Gardie , but Christina took a fancy to it , and Ebba
Brahe wrote her son begging him to resign it to the
queen. It was " Jacobsdal " until Prince Ulrik was
born here , son of Charles XI . , when the name was
changed to Ulricsdal . This was the favorite resort of
Gustavus III . and his queen , who died here in 1813 , having
survived her husband twenty - one years . Charles
XV. also made this palace his favorite residence . It is
a large, rather plain edifice , prettily situated on one of
the arms of the lake , and approached through a pine
forest ; very secluded and almost gloomy in appearance.
We got down from our carriage and wandered about
the grounds , looking at the pretty chapel and the
quaint little cottage , built in fac - simile of the one at
Rankhyttan , in Dalarne , where Gustavus Wasa was
sheltered from the Danes . When no members of the
royal family are here , visitors are allowed to enter the
palace .
Passing the royal dairy and the Tivoli gardens , on
the shore of Brunsviken , and crossing a bridge at Alkistan
, we reach the " Fiskartorpet , " an old wooden.
hut, built by Charles XI . as a fishing house , where he
350 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
used to spend a great deal of time , and cook his fish
after he had caught them.
Then we pass the Royal Djurgarden , a large park
shut in by high fences , where deer are kept for the
royal sport ; drive over the parade ground , and cross
the Djurgarden Brunn into the " Egentliga Djurgarden,
" or deer garden proper, on another island . In
driving around it we pass the royal cottage of Rosendal,
built by Charles XV. in 1830 , a pretty villa , occupied
sometimes by the Queen Dowager Josephine , with
fine gardens and hot - houses , and the large asylum for
the deaf, dumb and blind , called Manilla .
If time allowed , one would like to visit this institution
and compare it with those of similar character
elsewhere . It has a fine building , beautifully situated ,
accommodating about a hundred inmates . At first
founded by private liberality , it is now sustained by
the Government , as are several smaller institutions in
the city . Stockholm has many charitable institutions ,
mission schools , deaconesses , orphan asylums and hospitals
, whose past history and present condition it
would be pleasing to dwell upon ; but we are in the
Djurgarden this evening to see how the citizens amuse
themselves . To quote Hans Andersen's description , it
is " a large piece of ground , made into a garden by our
Lord himself." Its natural advantages are great, and
Art has worked in harmony with Nature . The park ,
occupying an entire island of many acres , is laid out in
walks and drives of charming wildness and variety.
Dear to the people of Stockholm must be the memory
of Charles XIV. , who made the Djurgarden what it
now is .
In the summer evenings it is a place of great resort,
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
351
and the cafés and restaurants are filled with people .
Open- air concerts are given in a Turkish pavilion in
the Hasselbacken gardens ; near by is a circus building,
(occupied when we saw it by a circus and menagerie
troupe, which announced itself as connected with
the " Great Barnum's Museum of New York ! " ) a theatre
, open nightly during the summer ; Tivoli gardens ,
with cheap amusements for the public ; a pretty villa
erected by the sculptor, Byström, now used as a museum
for his own works and those of other artists , and
other attractions.
Under a lofty oak is a bronze statue of the poet
Bellman , as he used to sit in this very spot , playing
and singing his own compositions , nearly a century
ago. In another part of the park, near a café named
from the poet " Bellmansro " ( Bellman's rest ) , is a bust
on a pedestal , erected on his anniversary, the 26th of
July, 1829.
This Swedish improvisatore , so dear to the hearts
of his countrymen , whom some admirers style the
Pindar, and others , more properly, the Anacreon of
Sweden, lived from 1740 to 1795 " a joyous poet's life ,"
free from care and trouble ; since Gustavus III. , by
appointing him secretary of the lottery office , with
a salary of $ 3,000 , for half of which an under secretary
managed the business of the office , (were they
rix dollars ? ) left him free to cultivate his rare gifts
without distraction . This unique descendant of the
skalds , who sung no heroic deeds , but the praises of
wine and of love , had a genius less akin to the frozen
North that to the sunny South—
"Where the sun with a golden mouth can blow
Blue bubbles of grapes down a vineyard row. "
352
 .
The charm of his poems evaporates in translation ,
nor can it always be discovered by a foreigner in the
originals . But the man must have possessed a rare
personal fascination, and we must believe that there
is something truly national in his spirit , to find such
an echo of delight in all Swedish hearts.
Ernst Moritz Arndt who lived long in Sweden , and
was a cordial admirer of Bellman , describes his manner
of frequenting taverns and restaurants , not for
personal dissipation , but to observe others . Taking
his place in a corner, with a bottle of wine and a pipe ,
he watched the crowd and obtained originals for his
poems. As he walked with his friends , they would
suddenly miss him . If a violin was heard they had
only to follow its sound and they would find him at
some humble merrymaking, sitting apart from the
throng and silently studying the joyously dancing
people .
"It was not intoxication , " says Lenström , " which
he sung as the height of felicity , but something else
which developed itself, under the enjoyment of wine ,
under his eye ; the life and rejoicing of the people ,
Swedish nature and manners ." Lenström adds that
many of Bellman's finest inspirations " died with the
occasion which gave them birth , and the joyous admiration
which attended them. The favorite of Nature,
of the nation and of the king, he was fully satisfied
with the enjoyment of his few desires . Moderate in
all , except in enthusiasm , he went singing on his way
towards his early death , not disturbed by any straining
after an unapproachable goal , and happy in not
having outlived the noon of life and genius . "
A short time before his death he greeted his asA
GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
353
sembled friends with a farewell improvisation , in order
once more " to let them hear Bellman . He sung the
whole night through , under the influence of an unbroken
theme of inspiration-the joyous course of his
existence , the praise of the good king , and gratitude
to Providence which had cast his lot amid a noble people,
and in the beautiful Northern land ; and finally he
took an eternal farewell of every one of the assembled
company, in a different air and metre , expressing the
individuality of the person addressed , and the relation
of the poet to him . As the day broke , his friends ,
drowned in tears , implored him to cease, and to spare
his health, already so severely affected , but he replied ,
Let us die as we have lived—in music ! drank off, for
the last time , the fragrant , ethereal draught , and sang
out the conclusion of his swan song . From that hour,
he never sang again ."
When we drive to the " Mosebacke " ( Moose hillock)
, in the southern suburb of Stockholm , for the
fine view of the city from the garden terraces , we must
pass through the Bellman's gatan , and see the house
where the poet was born , on the 4th of February , 1740.
Not far from this place is the residence of a very
different person , of far wider renown , the philosopher
and seer-Emmanuel Swedenborg . Still standing in
the garden is the little summer- house which was his
favorite place of study.
In this neighborhood is to be seen, on the " Capellans
backen," the most ancient historical monument in
Stockholm-a crumbling marble slab incased in iron ,
upon which is faintly visible a cross , and a Latin inscription
, which tells us that the slab is one of three
erected by King Albrecht , in 1389, " as an atonement
354
 .
for the cruel murder of sixty innocently imprisoned
Swedish burghers ," by their German enemies , the
Hanseatic merchants .
Looking down from the Mosebacke , we can see
how Stockholm is built on islands , at the point where
opposite promontories shut off the Mälar Lake from
the fjords , running up from the Baltic. The city
proper-on a small island , connected by bridges with
the northern and southern suburbs, the latter also an
island-is flanked by larger islands : the Kungsholm
on the left and the Djurgarden on the right . Smaller
islands between the Djurgarden and the city - the
Skeppsholm and the Castelholm - are fortified and
used as naval stations ; and the Beckholm , still farther
to the right , has a shipyard .
But the small island to the left of the city , separated
from it only by a canal-the Riddarholm -is the
place of greatest interest to the antiquary ; for here
are the remains of the round tower, built by Birger
Jarl in the thirteenth century , when he fortified the
island, and drove piles into the river , to prevent the
ships of the vikings from entering the lake and ravaging
the towns and villages on its shores . The former
capital, Sigtuna , founded two thousand years ago by
Odin himself, and possessing over ten thousand inhabitants,
had been destroyed in 1188 by these East
Baltic vikings , and its spoils carried off to Russia .
From its ruins came the first settlers to the new city ;
and from the towns on the lake -whose ships were
shut in by the obstructions which shut the vikings
out- trade was transferred to Stock- holm, the city of
the pile islands . Many Germans settled here , and it
soon became the most important trading - place on
A GLIMPSE OF Sweden.
355
the Baltic . Under Gustavus Wasa the city was improved
and more strongly fortified . His castle stood
on ground covered by the present palace ; and near
by is the oldest church in Stockholm- the Nicolai or
Stor-kyrkan , built by Birger Jarl in 1264. I should
rather say, was the oldest church ; for its exterior
has been entirely remodelled , in modern Italian style ,
though the interior is in old Gothic . The coronation
of Swedish sovereigns , which used to take place at
Upsala, has lately been celebrated in this church .
Next to the Storkyrkan , in antiquity and interest ,
comes the Riddarholms Church , on the island of that
name. It was built by Magnus , son of Birger Jarl ;
but fires and restorations , and the building of sepulchral
chapels around it , have altered the original plan ,
and left little of the old church . It is the Westminster
Abbey of Stockholm , containing the dust of kings and
heroes . The entire pavement is composed of gravestones,
mostly those of knights , of the different Swedish
orders .
To the right of the altar, in the Gustavian choir ,
built in 1633 , is a sarcophagus of green marble, to
which the remains of Gustavus Adolphus were removed,
in 1832 , by Charles XIV . On a marble slab
in the choir is this inscription—
"In angustiis intravit,
Pietatem amavit ,
Hostes prostravit,
Regnum dilatavit,
Suecos exaltavit,
Oppressos liberavit ,
Moriens triumphavit. "
The sepulchral chapel of the present royal family,
356 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
built in 1850 , contains a sarcophagus of Swedish porphyry,
in which repose the remains of Charles XIV .
(died in 1844 ) , and in the vault below are those of his
queen, Desideria (once sought in marriage, as Desireè
Clary, by Napoleon Bonaparte , whose brother Joseph
married her sister) ; his son and successor, Oscar I.
(died in 1859 ) , with his sons , Gustavus and Augustus ,
his eldest son , Charles XV . , and the queen and infant
sons of the latter . The present king , Oscar II . , is the
brother of the late king, and grandson of Bernadotte .
Nearest to the altar, on the left, is the Carolin
Chapel, built in 1686, by Tessin (the architect of the
palace) , and containing the remains of Charles X. and
his descendants , with their queens and families . The
white marble sarcophagus of Charles XII . rests upon
a green pedestal , and is covered with a lion's skin, in
brass , surmounted by crown, sceptre , and sword . The
blood - stained clothing in which he was killed at Frederikshald
, formerly kept here , under glass , is now on
exhibition at the museum.
In the square , near the church , is a fine bronze
statue of Birger Jarl , erected in 1854 , after a model
by Fogelberg. Clad in chain armor , and draped in
classic tunic and mantle , the hero stands , leaning on
the hilt of his mighty sword . I do not know if the face
has any historical authority as a likeness , but "Se non
e vero, e ben trovato." It well represents the sturdy
warrior , who was " strong and very courageous , " and
could " govern with steadfast hand " ; but no vestige
of tenderness is visible in these bronze features . This
was the leader sent by King Erik to convert a tribe of
Finns much given to idolatry, and abominably barbarous
in their treatment of Christian inhabitants of FinA
GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
357
and. He returned in triumph, having put to death all
who would not embrace Christianity. Stern , and at
times unscrupulous , not only in his treatment of heathen
, but of Christian subjects , Birger was yet a good
ruler, possessing , like St. Olaf of Norway, real nobility
of character under a somewhat brutal exterior . He
was the last of the giants. Till the Wasas came into
power, there was not his peer in Sweden . He had
married the sister of Erik III . , and upon the king's
death , without issue , expected to be elected sovereign
by the assembly. He returned from an expedition in
Finland , to find his eldest son , Waldemar, elected , but
he was appointed regent during his son's minority .
He governed for sixteen years with energy and wisdom,
revised the laws , repelled invasions and converted
the heathen , and died on Oct. 21 , 1266. However he
had been blamed during his life , he was lamented after
his death . " Old and young mourned for him , " says
the chronicler, " and the women of Sweden , whose
right and peace he had taken under his guard , prayed
for his soul."
Waldemar , known as " The Beautiful ," proved at
weak prince , and , after ten years of trouble , he abdicated
in favor of his brother Magnus , a wise and impartial
ruler, whose reign was short (he died in 1290` ,
and whose sons were quarrelsome and cruel , and involved
the nation in war.
From this period until the accession of Gustavus.
Wasa, the history of Sweden is one of strife between
brothers, or fathers and sons ; of brutal murder and revenge
, of tyranny and usurpation , relieved by a few
intervals when the Government fell into the hands of
wise and moderate rulers , acting as regents or pro358
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
tectors . Torkel Knutson was one of these , during the
minority of Magnus's son Birger. One of his laws ,
afterwards known as King Birger's law, prohibited the
selling of slaves , on the ground that it was unjust for
Christians to sell each other. To him Sweden was indebted
for the thorough conquest of Finland , which
remained a Swedish province until it was surrendered
to Russia in 1809.
Birger married a Danish princess, and his brother
Erik married Ingeborg, daughter of Hakon V. of Norway.
A third brother, Waldemar, conspired with Erik
against King Birger, and took him captive . He was
delivered by his brother - in - law, Erik of Denmark, and
agreed to divide the kingdom with his brothers . During
this fraternal quarrel the kingdom was ravaged with
fire and sword , and the aged regent , Knutson , falsely
accused, was beheaded as a traitor at Stockholm .
A few years later King Birger treacherously seized
and murdered his brothers , leaving them to perish of
starvation in prison . He fled to Denmark to escape the
vengeance of his people , who revolted against him , and
appointed a protector , Matthew Kettlemunson . His
son was taken prisoner and put to death , and a national
assembly at Upsala assigned the crown to Magnus
, son of Erik and Ingeborg , then a child of three
years. Grief for the death of his son brought Birger to
his grave.
A popular ballad of the time ascribes the starvation
of the brothers to the treachery of the steward of the
castle of Nykoping , John Brunke , who expiated his
crime on the sand hill at Stockholm , being broken on
the wheel and beheaded ; and the place is called to
this day Brunkeberg . (Our hotel , " Kung Carl , " here
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN. 359
in the Norrmalm , is on the corner of Brunkeberg's
Torg.)
The best thing we know of Magnus is a law passed
during his reign ( in 1335 ) abolishing slavery. Probably
that was due to the influence of Kettlemunson ; as
King Birger's law had been the work of Torkel Knutson
. During his regency Sweden enjoyed a breathing
spell of nearly thirty years.
In 1319 Magnus succeeded his grandfather , Hakon
V. , as king of Norway . He had a grand opportunity
to unite the two countries peaceably under one sceptre
; but when he lost his friend and adviser, Kettlemunson
, he showed himself weak, treacherous and
cruel . First , he attempted the conquest of Denmark,
and obtained from the king the cession of several provinces
. Not satisfied with this , he made an unprovoked
attack upon Russia, but was signally defeated. To
raise his armies he had taxed the people, mortgaged
part of the Crown lands , and used the revenues of the
Church . He was finally compelled by the people to
resign the crown of Norway to his son Hakon , and
that of Sweden to Erik ; but he continued to carry on
a civil war with the latter, until his death left Magnus
in sole possession of Sweden .
He had pledged himself to reform ; but so far from
seeking the interest of his country, he allowed King
Waldemar of Denmark to ravage the islands of Gothland
and Oland without resistance ; and the distressed
Swedes finally applied to Hakon of Norway to save
them from destruction . He came to their assistance ,
and Magnus was arrested , and confined to the castle
of Calmar . The crown was offered to Albert of Mecklenburg,
who reigned until his armies were defeated by
360 A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
Margaret, Hakon's widow ; and by the treaty of Calmar
she became sovereign of the three kingdoms .
Margaret was followed by Erik of Pomerania , a capricious
and unwise ruler. He made a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land , sailing from Venice in the disguise of
a servant to a merchant bound to Syria ; but he was
taken captive by the Turks , and a heavy ransom demanded
for his release . During his absence , his queen
Philippa, daughter of Henry IV. of England , governed
with mildness and wisdom.
It would have been better for his wife and for his
realm had Erik never returned , for he came back to
such abuse of Philippa that she fled to a cloister and
died ; and to such oppression of his subjects that they
revolted against him , led by the brave Engelbrecht .
This Dalecarlian peasant , who had acquired wealth
in the copper mines , and knowledge by travel and observation,
was an uncommon character for the time
and the country; for the common people, while their
sovereigns were occupied with brutal quarrels and
bloody wars , were in a state of dense ignorance and
great oppression . Heavily taxed in men and money
to furnish the sinews of war, little could be done by
them to develop agriculture or commerce. The mines
furnished a source of wealth ; but the ore was conveyed
to Prussian ports to be forged into bars , for the Swedes
were too ignorant to work it .
The clergy were rather warriors than priests , keeping
troops in their castles and leading them in battle.
Many of them were illiterate men of scandalous lives . *
* Some of the clergy of West - Gothland were subjected to fines , for their
disgraceful ignorance . One of these when asked , " Quid est Evangelium ? ”
replied, " Est Baptismus, " and another declared we had nothing to do with
the Old Testament, because it was lost in Noah's flood .
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN. 361
After twice visiting Copenhagen to obtain redress
from King Erik, Engelbrecht raised an army ; the
strongholds of Sweden were taken by the insurgents ,
and finally the burghers of Stockholm opened their
gates to the troops , and he laid siege to the citadel ,
occupied by a Danish garrison . He had been appointed
general - in - chief and regent by the people ;
but the nobles elected another leader, Charles Knutson
, one of their own order , and it was arranged that
he should conduct the siege in Stockholm, while Engelbrecht
marched to reduce other fortresses , which
still held out for the king . He did this successfully,
but perished by assassination while returning to Stockholm
.
Knutson protected the assassin from popular vengeance,
and became himself distrusted ; at length it was
agreed to submit the difficult question of the succession
to a number of deputies from the Hanse republics , who
were met at Calmar by others from the three kingdoms .
Erik appeared and solemnly promised to govern the
Swedes according to law, and they accepted him again
as their sovereign. Would this have happened if Engelbrecht
had not died , or was he fortunate in escaping
by death such bitter humiliation ?
There is little in Stockholm which recalls these old
days except the ruins of Birger Jarl's tower, and the
foundations of the churches we have seen ; nothing but
the crumbling monument on the Capellan's backan
takes us beyond the times of the Wasas ; and there are
few remains of the city of Gustavus . Only the two
bronze lions which guard the entrance to the palace as
they guarded the old fortress of the " Tre Kronor , " so
often besieged and defended and so seldom taken ,
16
362  .
frown upon us as they frowned at him three hundred
years ago . "Wars , conflagrations and civilization have
entirely remodelled the city, " to quote a phrase from
our little illustrated guide ; curiously suggestive of some
allegorical painting which should represent civilization
following in the wake of her stern collaborators . How
often she must wait till their work is done before she
can enter in and remodel ! Nearly all the great cities
of the Old World have undergone this experience , and
the wooden- built cities of the North retain little of antiquity.
From the Norrmalm , where our hotel is situated ,
we pass to the city, over the Norrbro, a fine bridge of
granite , which crosses a small island , the Helgeandholm
. On one side is a row of shops ; on the other ,
below the granite railing , is the Stromparterren , a
pretty garden and restaurant, something like the
Bruhl Terrasse in Dresden . As we cross the bridge
the imposing structure of the Royal Palace rises before
us.
This was commenced in 1698 by Charles XII. from
designs by the French architect , Nicodemus Tessin
(who also built the Norr bro , and the Carolin chapel
in Riddarholm's Church) , but it was not sufficiently
finished to be habitable before 1753. It is a square
block, enclosing a courtyard . The central block ,
three stories in height , crowned by a massive cornice
, rises ninety - five feet , from the platform to the
top of the balustrade ; the façade is extended by wings
one story in height to the length of seven hundred feet .
The approach is by an inclined plane in two directions
, called the Lejon Backen ( Hill of Lions ) , from
the two large bronze lions which guard the entrance ,
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
363
and which were removed from the old castle of Gustavus
Wasa .
The northeastern façade , fronting the water, is less
imposing; but the wings enclose a garden , upon which
the royal apartments look out ; and the entrance , by a
double granite staircase , is reserved exclusively for royal
use . Although so plain , the palace is pleasing and impressive
from the simplicity and grandeur of the design .
It is pronounced by Ferguson " a marvellous instance.
of architectural purity and good taste . "
Ascending the zigzag incline , and passing through
the vaulted entrance to the courtyard , we are conducted
first to the other side , where , on the east , a
marble staircase leads us to the lofty throne room ,
adorned with colossal statues of Gustavus Adolphus
and Charles XIV . , by Byström, and allegorical figures
by other artists , and where upon festive occasions the
silver throne of Queen Christina is displayed . Returning
to the portico , we ascend a similar staircase on the
west side , to the royal chapel , with a painted ceiling
and altar- piece by Swedish artists .
In the western portico we find the staircase leading
to the royal apartments . These are richly and tastefully
furnished , the Victoria hall containing many costly
objects , presents from other sovereigns ; two large
tables of Roman mosaic representing scenes and buildings
in Rome, presented by Nicholas of Russia to
Charles XIV.; the largest mirror in Sweden , a wedding
present from Napoleon III . to Charles XV.; an
antique Moorish clock, with movable figures, and most
interesting of all , three beautiful cabinets which belonged
to Marie Antoinette . Returning to the entrance,
we find on the opposite side of the vestibule the
364  .
chapter rooms of the different Swedish royal orders.
The hall of the Wasa Order is decorated in green and
gold , that of the Order of the North Star in red and
black, the hall of the Order of the Sword in blue and
gold , and of the Order of Seraphim in white and gold .
Ascending to another story by the grand staircase ,
we notice on the wall medallion portraits of the ancient
kings , among whom we find Birger Jarl, who was
the founder of the old castle or fortress of the " Kernel,"
or " Three Crowns ," afterwards enlarged by the
Stures and Wasas , and upon the foundations of which
a part of this palace is built . On this floor are the
state apartments , most sumptuously furnished and
hung with Gobelin tapestry of great value . Time
would fail me to describe these saloons . The concert
room, the audience room , the grand gallery, the
Red Saloon , with tapestry representing Don Quixote's
adventures ; the Green Saloon , with painted ceiling
representing the four winds and the four elements ,
and the White Saloon , or great ball - room-all in gold
and white , and lighted with large crystal chandeliers
and candelabra .
Through smaller rooms and the Blue and Red cabinets
, with portraits of the Wasas, we enter the bedroom
of Charles XIV. , which is preserved exactly in
the condition in which it was when he breathed his
last, on the 8th of March, 1844. The clock on the
mantelpiece was stopped at the moment of his death .
On the bed lies an old blue overcoat which he wore
during the campaigns of 1813-14 , and which for thirty
years afterward was his constant companion as a coverlet
. The walls are hung with family portraits and
sketches of the battles in which he took part , as MarA
GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
365
shal Bernadotte . The writing table and other tables
are covered with books , maps , papers , and trinkets of
various kinds ; and a collection of walking sticks is interesting
to all who have a propensity to accumulate
similar objects . The royal guest rooms , on the same
floor, are hung with fine tapestry and paintings .
We return to the courtyard and ascend the grand
staircase on the other side , to visit the queen's apartments,
which are charmingly fitted up, hung with fine
paintings-two original Raphaels among them- and
ornamented with delightful bric -à-brac of every description
. The Porcelain Cabinet contains a set of
porcelain furniture , bought by Gustavus III . in Dresden .
We were much interested in the portraits and mementos
of the Bonaparte family, and especially of the
Empress Josephine , in the rooms of the Queen Dowager
Josephine , widow of Oscar I. and mother of the
late Charles XV. and the reigning king , Oscar II . She
was daughter of Eugene Beauharnais , duke of Leuchtenberg,
grand - daughter of Josephine , and cousin to
Louis Napoleon. From the walls of her apartment
Napoleon III . and his lovely empress smile upon all
beholders, as they smiled in Paris before the battle of
Metz and the destruction of the Tuileries . We look at
these portraits with Dr. E.'s story of the flight of the
empress , told us on the deck of the Lofoten , fresh in
mind , and remark that while the Napoleons are dethroned,
descendants of Josephine are still reigning.
The royal library, containing over one hundred
thousand volumes and ten thousand manuscripts , occupied
the entire northeastern wing of the palace ; but
as the books were being packed for removal to the
new library building, in the Humlegarden , visitors
356
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
were not admitted . Among the curious manuscripts
is the famous Codex Aureus , written in Gothic characters
of gold , upon a groundwork of white and lilac
parchment, considerably over a thousand years old .
A Saxon inscription records that it belonged to the
monks of Canterbury ; but it is supposed to be of Italian
origin , and carried off by vikings from Milan , as
annotations dated Milan , A. D. 840 , speak of it as ancient
even then . How it found its way to Madrid ,
where it was bought by an agent of Charles XI . ( sent
on a voyage of discovery after vestiges of the ancient
Goths in Africa) , and by him presented to the royal
library in Stockholm , I cannot ascertain . Another
codex , copied on the skins of three hundred asses , was
carried off by the Swedes during the Thirty Years'
War, from a Benedictine convent in Prague . The
monks had worked on it from the ninth to the thirteenth
century.
A Latin Bible , printed in Leyden in 1521 , has numerous
comments in the writing of Martin Luther..
The oldest printed book in the library is a copy of
" Cicero de Officiis, " printed from movable types by
Faust and Schoeffer, in 1461 .
An excursion to the Drottningholm Palace , thirtyfive
minutes by steamer across the lake , or an hour's
drive through a pine forest , would be worth while if
the royal family were not in residence . Among other
interesting collections , the picture gallery contains portraits
of all the sovereigns of Europe contemporary
with Oscar I. Still more interesting is the old castle
of Gripsholm (a three hours ' excursion by steamer) ,
founded by Bo Jonsson Grip in 1316 upon the site of
a much older edifice ; rebuilt in 1537 by Gustavus
A GLIMPSE OF SWEDEN.
367
Wasa, and again altered and enlarged by Gustavus III .
in the last century . In the gallery of portraits , eighteen
hundred in number, are represented all the Wasa
sovereigns and their relations ; among them are portraits
of Gustavus Wasa and Erik XIV. , painted by the unfortunate
Erik , who was imprisoned in the oldest tower of
the castle . The insane monarch spent three years in
this prison , one of seven in which his nine years of
confinement were passed, until his death by poison
at Orebyhus .
Traces of his footsteps are pointed out on the brick
floor of his cell . He had talent for music as well as
painting, excelling both as a performer and composer.
He translated into Swedish the Latin History of Joannes
Magnus , wrote a treatise on the art of war, and
composed two penitential psalms, which may be read
in the Swedish Psalter.
Clearly unfit to govern as he was , slaughtering his
best friends and involving the nation in cruel wars ,
Sweden owed kinder treatment to the son of Gustavus
Wasa than such prisons as his brother gave himwhere
he suffered from " hunger, cold , stench and
darkness ," wanting the common necessaries of life ,
and often cruelly beaten and insulted by his keepers
-and the cup of poison at the end . This was the
Prince Erik who sent ambassadors to negotiate a marriage
with Queen Elizabeth , then fell in love with
Mary Queen of Scots , and sent fresh ambassadors ,
but transferred his affections to the princess of Lorraine
, daughter of Christian II . , and finally married a
Finnish maiden , Karin Mansdotter , who was faithful to
him through all his misfortunes . One of his poems is
a tribute to her worth.
WE
XX.
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM .
E spent Monday in an excursion to Upsala ,
going by boat and returning by train.
Our way led through the Malar Lake , which stretches
up into the country, seeming more like a fjord than
a lake, with its inlets and islands ; but the shores were
flat , and the scenery tame, compared with the grand
fjords of Norway.
Going northward , through a narrow branch of the
lake, we come, about midway in our journey, to Sigtuna
, the former capital of Sweden . Sigge Fridulfson ,
the historic Odin , was its founder , and built a temple
here ; but the capital was removed to Upsala by his
descendants , long before Birger Jarl founded Stockholm
. Sigtuna is now a little village , of five hundred
inhabitants , and interesting only for its ruined.
churches and convents .
Soon after, we see rising , in stately grandeur , the
"four square walls and four square towers " of Sko
Kloster. Upon nearer view, the towers prove to be
octagonal, and their domelike caps are finished with.
pepper pots-a style of architecture we find frequent
occasion to deplore . In its present form the castle
was built by Count Gustaf Wrangel in the seventeenth
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM.
369
century, and came by marriage into the possession of
the Brahe family; but in the middle ages a large
monastery stood here , and from the earliest records
the place is mentioned as a fortified castle , the residence
of the pagan kings . The monastery was founded
by St. Bridget's father, " Birger Pehrson , lagman in
Upland, a pious man and godly, " in the latter part of
the thirteenth century ; but two hundred years later it
suffered greatly by fire , and instead of rebuilding it ,
King John Wasa took away stone to build his castle
in Stockholm .
Sko Kloster is brimful of antiquities and curiosities ;
a portrait gallery second only to that of Gripsholm ,
kings and queens , Wasas , Brahes , Wrangels and others
; antique furniture , tapestry , armor and weapons ,
and a valuable library, with rare manuscripts . Heartrending,
to leave such treasures unvisited !
But we were bound for Upsala , and had little time
enough, as the voyage had taken longer than we reckoned
. Soon we entered the Fyris River, scarcely
wider than a canal , and went under bridges , and
through narrow places hardly broad enough for our
boat to pass ; the waves , raised by our motion , washing
away the reeds and tall grasses on the low banks .
The boat was very small-smaller than the little Norway
steamers -and very crowded , the seats very hard ,
and the sun very hot ; and the seven hours of our voyage
seemed long ones . They said we were slower than
usual , because the river was so low.
We could have made the journey in two hours by
train ; and we regretted the loss of time when we found
that the university library, which we particularly wished
to see, was open only in the morning. We could see 16*
370
 .
the cathedral ; but by this time (4 P. M. ) we were in a
famishing condition , and our first business was to find
a hotel and get something to eat . We were directed
to the Stadshotellet , a curious old building , with an
archway extending through and rooms opening on
each side ; and our hunger appeased, we started for
the cathedral , under the guidance of a small boy with
a perfect extinguisher of a hat . He found the sexton ,
who unlocked the door and escorted us over the venerable
pile . It is almost as old as the Throndhjem
Cathedral , but less picturesque ; presenting a mixture
of styles, which gives an unpleasant impression . The
side view is simple , old Gothic , but the western entrance
is defaced by two square towers with cornices
and turrets capped with little domes , like the Sko pepper
pots, rising above them. These take the place of
the three towers with spires four hundred feet high,
which were destroyed by lightning in 1702 . A large
platform in front, ascended by a flight of steps , gives a
worthy approach , and the cathedral occupies a fine position
. It is said to occupy the site of a heathen temple,
but the hill on which it stands has been , these
many years , " Mons Domini ."
When was it built and by whom ? In 1287 , Sept. 8 ,
the contract for the building of Upsala Domkyrka was
signed by Estien de Bonneuil , architect of Notre Dame
de Paris, who came to Sweden with ten master builders
and ten apprentices skilled in stone cutting . The
plan is similar to that of Notre Dame and the dimensions
are nearly the same . The exterior is , of course ,
far less elaborate , but the plan may not have been carried
out. This cathedral was two hundred years in
building, begun during the reign of good King MagUPSALA,
AND THE MUSEUM. 371
nus Ladulas ,* carried on with more or less difficulty
through the stormy times which followed , and finished
in 1435 , the year when Engelbrecht revolted against
the tyrant , Erik of Pomerania , and roused the Dalecarlians
to dethrone him .
The interior is simple and impressive . Behind the
altar , in the Lady Chapel , is the tomb of Gustavus
Wasa, where the effigy of the monarch reposes between
those of his first and second wives- Catherine and Margaret-
and four obelisks guard the corners of their
marble couch . Irreverent suggestions of four - post bedsteads
are unavoidable . The third wife , Queen Catharine
Stenbock, sleeps in the same vault . On the
walls of the chapel are frescoes painted by Sandberg ,
a Swedish artist , representing events in the life of Gustavus
. Here he is , before the town council , in Lübeck,
requesting aid against the Danes . Again , in disguise
as a peasant , and also addressing the peasants at Dalarne
. The battle between the Dalecarlians and the
11
Magnus Ladulas ( barn - locker ) , so called from the justice of his laws,
and their strict administration- " An honorable title , " says Olaf Peterson ,
" for there be found not many in the world who can be styled barnlock
; barn-breaker has ever been more common '-was surpassed by no
Swedish king in bounty to the Church, whence he is sometimes called the
Holy King Magnus . He founded five monasteries , and had vowed a crusade
to the Holy Land , which he did not live to accomplish . He had prepared
himself a tomb in the Franciscan monastery at Stockholm ; but his
dying wish that “ his memory might not die away with the sounds of the
bells over his grave " is fulfilled to -day, rather from his virtues as " barnlocker,
" than from his devotion to holy Church . He alone , of Birger Jarl's
sons and descendants , was worthy of his father .
The first royal burial which took place in Upsala Cathedral is said to
have been that of the eldest son of Magnus, a boy of fifteen , in 1279 (in the
church which preceded this cathedral , if the dates are right, that church having
been possibly built by Birger Jarl in 1260 , but probably of earlier date ) .
Was the thought of the cathedral the result of this young lad's death ?
372  .
Danes follows ; then the triumphal entry of Gustavus
into Stockholm; the presentation of the first Swedish
translation of the Bible to Gustavus and his address
from the throne to his last parliament.
Beneath this painting , in golden letters on a blue
ground , are the words of the aged king , when he felt
the approach of death , and thus bade farewell to his
people :
" If I have done any good , give God the honor ; what
I have failed in , from human weakness and error , overlook
and forgive it for Christ's sake . Many have called
me a hard king ; yet a time will come when Sweden's
children would gladly pluck me out of the earth if they
could ."
To the left of the Gustavian chapel is the one occupied
by the monuments of the Brahe family ; next ,
that of the Sture family ; the large chapel beyond contains
a fine statue in armor of King John , son of Gustavus
Wasa, and one of his queen , Katerina Jagellonica
; on the opposite side of the choir are the family
chapels of the Oxenstjernas and other noble families.
A row of sepulchral chapels occupies each side of the
Here , in the chapel of the Baner family, we saw
the monument to Carolus Linnæus , the celebrated botanist
: a mural tablet of porphyry, with a bronze medallion
portrait by the sculptor Sergel .
nave .
Under the altar, in a shrine of silver , repose the
bones of Saint Erik , the patron saint of Sweden , slain
in battle at Upsala, in 1161 .
Standing in front of the pulpit , and looking up , you
see in the arched roof a hand with two outstretched
fingers (the traditional mode of blessing) ; in this place
many kings have been crowned .
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM. 373
The sexton took us into the treasury , and showed
us the sacramental vessels , of gold and silver , and a
crown and sceptre , belonging to one of the old kings .
found in his coffin. Thence up a flight of stairs he led
us to a little room , where were stored in cupboards a
quantity of curious old vestments , in some of which he
arrayed himself, parading in the robes and mitre of an
archbishop, to the great edification of certain small
children who had followed in our train . We saw the
hair shirt of St. Bridget, and her velvet girdle and
purse , embroidered with pearls ; and here were relics ,
not only of saints , but of a martyr : the blood - stained
garments of Niels Sture , who was murdered by the insane
king, Erik XIV . , in the old castle of Upsala .
This castle , built by Gustavus Wasa in 1548, but
destroyed by fire in 1702 , retains little of its former
splendor . It is now the residence of the governor of
Upsala . It is finely situated , with the buildings of the
university , on a hill overlooking the town. The university,
founded in 1477 by the Regent Sten Sture , had ,
a hundred years ago , over two thousand students ; in
1800, only five hundred ; but now about twelve hundred
. There are sixty professors , in all departments.
of learning, and many distinguished men have filled
the chairs . The most prominent building is the library.
the "Carolina Rediviva ," containing two hundred thousand
volumes and seven thousand manuscripts . Among
the latter is the famous Codex Argenteus-the translation
of the Gospels into the Gothic language by
Bishop Ulphilas , more than fourteen hundred years
old , which fills one hundred and eighty- eight folios ,
and is executed in silver letters upon red parchment ;
most curious and costly of codices, a thing to visit
374 A SCANDINAVIAN
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Sweden for ; but, O cruel fate ! the library is open only
in the morning . (We should have spent the night in
Upsala, but our passage was engaged for St. Petersburg
on the steamer leaving at midnight of Tuesday,
and we had still the museum in Stockholm to visit . )
The Codex Argenteus was not " found " in so discreditable
a manner as the manuscripts from Prague in
the Royal Library. It belonged originally to an abbey
in Westphalia ; though how it came there no one
knows. Thence it went to Cologne , and afterwards to
Prague , where it was taken by Koningsmark, in the
capture of the city. It went with Vossius to Amsterdam
; and upon his death , in 1669 , it was purchased by
the Swedish chancellor, De la Gardie , who presented
it to the University of Upsala . This copy was probably
made by Ostro - Gothic scribes , in Italy, about the
end of the fifth century, and is the oldest monument
of the Teutonic language , which was first committed
to writing by Bishop Ulphilas .
The professors in the university hold their positions
for life ; even the king cannot remove them. There is
great difficulty in getting rid of an incompetent or unsuitable
person , if, by chance or favoritism , such a one
should be appointed . Only by being tried and convicted
upon some criminal charge can one be deprived
of his professorship . Living here all their lives among
their books , with no interest in politics , unable even to
vote for any candidate outside the university , they
must contract curious habits , and become quite fossilized
. The most singular instance of this was the old
theological professor , Odmann , who, having been compelled
to keep his bed by a fever , found himself so
comfortable that he could not be persuaded to get up
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM.
375
again. The students came to him with their essays ,
and , as he had a horror of taking cold, the manuscripts
were warmed at the fire before he read them. The
windows of his room were never opened ; and here , in
the impure air , he lay reading and writing , his only
companion a deaf and dumb daughter , until he was
seventy . His only illness during the whole period was
caused by a chill taken in a singular manner . A Dalecarlian
peasant one winter's day entered the house by
mistake , his skin cloak covered with snow and his beard
full of ice , and not understanding the old man's horrified
shouting , came quite close to his bed . The old
professor's portrait was painted, lying in bed, in his
shirt ; and Hans Andersen, who tells the story, saw it
in the Assembly Rooms , formerly the orange garden.
of Linnæus . Near by, in his old botanical garden ,
stands the house of Linnæus -a simple wooden building
. We passed it in driving out to Old Upsala , but
had not time to enter . In the new Botanical Gardens,
back of the castle , is a statue of Linnæus , by Byström,
the sculptor . He stands under a little temple , holding
a book in one hand and in the other a specimen of his
favorite flower - the Linnæa borealis . Both this monument
and the tablet in the cathedral were erected from
the offerings of friends and disciples, King Gustavus
III. adding his contribution to the fund .
An object of interest near Upsala is the " Mora
Steen ," or stone on the moor, about seven English
miles from the town. A building erected by Gustavus
III . preserves these relics of remote antiquity. In 1782
Mr. Coxe found ten stones remaining , the largest only
six spans long ; but the ancient inscriptions were scarcely
to be deciphered . Olaus Magnus describes the mon376
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
ument as consisting of one huge round stone surrounded
by twelve smaller ones , elevated a little from
the ground. The national Thing was held here , and
the sovereign elected was mounted upon the central
stone, to receive the acclamations of the people . Was
it a place for heathen sacrifices, older than any temple ?
Something like Stonehenge , perhaps , —if any one knows
what that was made for . Or was it prepared merely
for the council chamber of Odin and his twelve godards ,
-the big stone in the middle and the twelve smaller
ones round it ?
(I consider this a brilliant suggestion ; and so far as
I am aware , it is entirely original . )
Saxo says , " In old times when a king was chosen
he stood or sat upon a heavy stone , a sign and surety
that his intentions were firm and enduring ." Is the
"Stone of Scone " a remnant of Norsk usages in
Scotland ?
Olaus Magnus and his brother Joannes were both
bishops of Upsala . According to their history of the
Gothic and Swedish kings ( published in Rome in 1554) ,
Japhet himself settled in the north , within a hundred
years after the flood, and the early kings of Sweden
were descended from his son Magog.
Sigge built Sigtuna , Ubbo Upsala, not long after
the confusion of tongues at Babel . A king Erik was
contemporary with the great - grandfather of Abraham !
Olaus Rudbeck, professor of divinity at Upsala .
about 1675 , followed suit to the bishops, and in his
curious work, the " Atlantica " (so called because he
identified Sweden with the Atlantis of Plato ) , he claims
that the Swedish nation was planted by a colony under
Askenaz, grandson of Japhet.
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM. 377
But these traditions are rivalled by the belief of the
peasants to this very day. Mr. Marryat saw an old
church in Falsterbo , partly imbedded in sand , “ built , "
said the woman who brought the keys , " before the
world was drowned ; and here Noah and his family
returned thanks after the deluge , and baptized Skeff
the Englishman , a fourth son , born in the ark ."
Saxo Grammaticus , in his " History of Denmark,"
fixes the origin of the Danish monarchy about B. C.
1000, in an illustrious warrior called Dan . Later historians
place this Dan A. D. 250.
Torfæus (Thermod Torfeson ) , born in Iceland in
1636, and died about 1715 , was employed by Frederick
III. and Christian V. to translate the old sagas ,
and from these sources he compiled his works on the
Danish kings , the Orcades , Greenland and Norway.
He proved that no reliance could be placed upon the
legends followed by his predecessors , and that only
the latter part of Saxo's work is worthy of credit .
Professor Geijer of Upsala , in his " Chronicles of
Sweden," regards all dynasties previous to Odin as
fabulous—a simple cutting of this Gordian knot which
is convenient if not scientific . He places the migration
of Odin in the last century B. C. and contends
that the fact of its having been unknown to the Romans
is not sufficient to disprove its credibility.
While we entertain these reminiscences , we pursue
the road to Gamle Upsala , which crosses the fields for
two miles , in close proximity to the railway. Here are
three large burial mounds, rising sixty feet or more
from the level plain ; they are called the graves of
Thor , Odin and Freia . From the top of these mounds
hundreds of smaller ones can be seen; this was a great
378
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
cemetery, surrounding the ancient temple . For the
little low church, built of granite blocks, is said to be
older than the period of Christianity in the North, and
to have been part of a heathen temple ; perhaps the
one described by Olaus Magnus , which " was built so
magnificently that there was nothing to be seen on
the walls, roof or pillars , but shined with gold , also
the whole upper part was made of glittering gold .
Hence it was that the temple , situate on a large
plain , by the admirable lustre of it begat in those
that came near to it a venerable fire of religion .
There grew before the doors of it a huge tree , of an
unknown kind, that spread with large boughs , and
was green both summer and winter ."
Large trees still shade the ancient church , which
in the evening twilight had a sort of sacred gloom .
It was consecrated in 1026 by King Olaf, the Swede ;
but plundered and burned sixty years later , when only
the stone walls were left standing . King Sverker restored
it , about 1139 , and dedicated it to St. Laurence .
It is thought that many of these mounds are of natural
formation , though the larger ones may have been
increased by art. All the same , most of them may
have been used as burial mounds .
The largest mound was opened about thirty years
ago ; and for a time its interior was visited by tourists .
Hans Andersen describes such a visit , in his " Pictures
of Travel in Sweden . " In 1874 this mound was again
cut through for the benefit of the Ethnographical
Society, then assembled at Upsala . Fragments of
a skeleton and some little ornaments were found ,
which , with similar objects previously discovered here ,
may be seen in the museum at Stockholm . Snorre , in
UPSALA , AND THE MUSEUM.
379
the "Ynglinga Saga, " tells us that this temple was
built by Freyr, the son of Odin , who removed the capital
from his father's city , Sigtuna, making Upsala his
chief seat, and " gave it all his taxes , his land and
goods. Then began the Upsala domains , which have
remained ever since ." These were certain estates for
the support of the sovereign , and of the temple and
rites of worship, which remained with the Crown after
the introduction of Christianity.
Over all Sweden the people had " paid Odin a scatt ,
or tax, so much on each head ; but he had to defend
the country from disturbance , and pay the expense of
the sacrifice feasts ."
Among the mythical kings , between Freyr and the
Danish accession , after the exile of Olaf Tretelia , whose
reigns cover a period of seven hundred years , the most
striking are Dag the Wise , who understood the language
of birds , and had " a sparrow which flew to different
countries, and told him much news ," and the
horrible " Aun hinn Gamle , " ( " the old one , " ) who
prolonged his hideous life by the sacrifice of one son
after another, at periods of varying length , until only
the youngest of ten remained , and the people rose in
protest, declaring that they must have one heir to the
throne . So "the old one " himself had to succumb at
last . Is this legend a slander on the old king , whose
life seemed unnaturally prolonged , while one after another
of his strong young sons perished , until the superstitious
people believed the horrible story of their
sacrifice to the gods ?
Upsala has been a battle - field time and again . St.
Erik was slain here , resisting a rebellion of his subjects
, in 1161. An earlier Erik , father of Olaf Skot380
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
konung, was really a martyr to his Christian zeal , for
he perished in a popular tumult occasioned by his destruction
of a heathen temple with its idols and images .
During the reign of this king or his predecessor , Erik
Segersäll (the victorious ) , appears the first Icelandic
skald mentioned in the annals of Sweden- Thorvald
Hjalteson . " After the king's victory at Fyrisvall over
Styrbjorn , he ascended the hill of Upsala [ this great
mound] and demanded if there were no one present
who could sing the victory for a reward from his own
hand . Thorvald , though he never achieved such a
thing before or after , did it so successfully that the
king presented him with a gold ring. "
A man of one song, this Thorvald , like Sordello !
Did he sit down , contented with his laurels , I wonder,
or was he always tormented with the feeling that more
was expected of him ? Most of the old skalds had a
gift of song, wonderfully fluent , irrepressible , so to
speak . But they were less cordially entertained at the
Swedish court than in Norway and Denmark. The
last one we hear of in Sweden is Sturle Thordson ,
Snorre's nephew, who wrote the " Knytlinga Saga " or
chronicle of the Danish kings .
Perhaps it is because they had no skalds to write
their sagas , but the Swedish kings seem to us far less
interesting than the Norsk or Danish . There are no
such picturesque figures as the Haralds and Olafs , or
even the Sigurds and Hakons of a later period . Olaf
Skotkonung (lap king , or tax king, either or both , vide
Geijer) , contemporary of St. Olaf, was a mean fellow
in comparison . Baptized by Sigfrid , the English apostle,
he has the credit of introducing Christianity into
Sweden; but it prevailed only in the southern part ,
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM. 381
although he built this little church in Gamle Upsala .
He had joined Knut in his first expedition to England,
in which St. Olaf also took part .
*
Later they are enemies , Norsk Olaf winning back
Jemteland and other border provinces , and driving the
Swedes out of Norway. He sends envoys to solicit
peace, and ask the eldest daughter of Swedish Olaf in
marriage . The envoys seek the aid of Ragwald , earl
of the West Goths ; for it is well known that " Olaf the
lap king would never hear Olaf the Norseman spoken.
of. " Ragwald leads them to his foster father , Thorgny ,
the wisest man in Sweden , " an old man , whose like
for tallness they had never seen , with beard lying on
his knees ," as he sits on the high seat in the great hall .
He goes with them to the great folk- mote at Upsala .
Snorre Sturleson gives us the scene : Olaf sitting on
one side , with his court around him ; Ragwald and
Thorgny over against him with their men - at - arms and
followers ; the common people about ; " some on the
barrows ," [these mounds all around us , or was it near
the Mora stone ? ] " to see and hear how all befell ."
Olaf's own affairs are first discussed ; then one of the
Norwegian envoys begins his business , but is quenched
in a summary manner by King Olaf, who " sprang from
*
Perhaps their enmity dated from one of St. Olaf's forays, in his viking
days, described by Snorre Sturleson . " He went up to Sigtun , and Swedish
Olaf laid chains across the Stokkesund (channel between the Malar Lake and
the sea) , so Olaf could not get out again; for there was a castle west of the
sound , and men- at - arms lay on the south . Olaf dug a canal across the flat
land Agrafet, out to sea, and heavy rain fell , and the water from the lake
rushed into it, and Olaf had all sail hoisted on his ships , and a strong breeze
blew astern , and they steered with their oars ( for the rudders were unshipped ) ,
and the ships came in a rush over all the shallows , and got into the sea without
any damages. "
382 A SCANDINAVIAN
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his seat in wrath and broke off the speech ." Ragwald
attempts to speak ; but meets with no better treatment
. " Thereupon was deep silence for a time . At
last Thorgny rose , and with him rose all the peasants ,
and there was a great din of arms and tumult in the
crowd ." Audience is granted and the old man speaks .
He goes back to the experience of his grandsire , who
was near King Erik Edmundson ; of his father, the
friend of King Björn ; to his own , with King Erik the
Victorious- brave men all , and wise rulers , but never
so haughty as this King Olaf, " who will let none speak
with him , and will hear naught but what is pleasing to
himself. " He lets his proper lands slip from him , and
yet will rule over Norway, a thing that no Swedish.
king before him has coveted , " for which many must
live in unpeace . Wherefore we peasants will that thou ,
King Olaf, shouldest make up thy quarrel with Norway's
king, and give him thy daughter Ingegerda in
marriage . If thou wilt win back those lands in the
East , which belonged to thy kinsmen and parents , we
will attend thee thither; but if thou heed not our words ,
we will set upon and slay thee, and will not suffer lawlessness
and trouble at thy hands ."
A great clashing of arms arose again , and Olaf rose
up and granted their prayer. But he hated St. Olaf
worse than ever, as was natural , and broke his promise ,
giving Ingegerda to Yaroslaf of Russia instead ; and
the people would have risen against him had not his
daughter, Astrida , married St. Olaf in spite of her
father.
We drove back to Upsala in time for the train to
Stockholm, where we arrived about II P. M. , again in
a famishing condition and ready for the hot supper
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM.
383
which awaited us , and the delicious strawberries and
cream- pure , unsweetened , frozen cream- which is one
of the specialties here .
The traveller whose time is not so limited as ours
may do better than to make an excursion to Upsala ,
by taking it on the way to Gefle and Falun , or Sala
and Falun , as either route passes through an attractive
region . By the former , one can visit the iron mines of
Dannemora and the iron and steel works at Asterby ,
and the falls of the Dal Elf at Elfkarleby ; by the latter,
the silver mines at Sala , which have been worked
for five hundred years . Falun is interesting for the
copper mines -the richest in Sweden--which have
been worked for two thousand years , according to
antiquarians , thought to have been discovered by the
Finns (the old historians , Olaus Magnus and the rest ,
will have it that King Ubbo sent copper to Solomon
for the vessels of the temple , and received gold in return
for the temple of Upsala ) ; and also for its historical
associations with the patriot Engelbrecht , who
lived at the foot of the " Koppar berget ." Read Hans
Andersen's chapter on the lake of Siljan , for the old
memories that cluster around this region , the haunts
of Gustavus Wasa , when he wandered like an outlaw
through the forest , seeking shelter in a peasant's hut
like King Alfred , or in the branches of a tree like King
Charles . Go to Dalecarlia , if you can , and see the
gathering of the peasants at Leksand , on Midsummer
Eve, as they come in boat - loads over the lake , in their
bright costumes .
Perhaps the farmer's wife will take you into the
cloth - room , where the family wardrobe is stored .
Sometimes this is an isolated wooden house , built
384  .
upon high poles or piles of stone , to keep out ants
and other animals . Here you will see an incredible
number of garments- women's skirts , aprons and bodices,
men's coats , vests and breeches , linen garments ,
stockings , and shoes " so clumsy , ingenious and humpbacked
, that it seemed a real invention to make such
a pair."
" The prayer - books are placed in a row on the
flower-painted shelf; the wall itself, if you can see
it for clothes , is also painted . There , for instance ,
you will see the prophet Elias hovering , in his fiery
chariot , drawn by sun - horses , which in the painting
very much resemble hogs ; also Jacob in his wrestle
with the angel . The angel is clad in dress coat ,
leather breeches and cavalry boots . On the windows
are painted scriptural sentences and names ; tulips and
roses are blooming here which you have never seen in
nature ."
There was a wedding one evening while Andersen
was in Falun , and a throng outside waiting for a view
of the bride and bridegroom, who were called out
for inspection . " Peasant girls with candles in their
hands stood on each side ; it was a perfect tableau ; the
bride with downcast eyes , the bridegroom smiling, and
the young bridemaids each with a laughing face . And
the people shouted , ' Now turn yourselves a little ! now
the back ! now the face ! the bridegroom quite round,
the bride a little nearer ! ' And the bridal pair turned
and turned- nor was criticism wanting . In this instance
it was to their praise and honor ; but that is not
always the case . "
Even in Stockholm this custom was observed among
the lower classes until a few years ago .
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM.
385
Very quaint is the description of a peasant's wedding
at Arsta, in the life of Miss Bremer, by her sister.
The brides came to the manor - house to be dressed , and
their hair was put in long plaits and curl - papers over
night—the back hair in eighteen plaits , the front cut
short and curled- so that on the morrow it stood out
straight all round the head , and the back hair was a
waving mass of ringlets . Not much sleep could the
poor bride enjoy that night , but " il faut souffrir pour
être belle ! " This mass of hair was adorned with tinsel
flowers and jewellery and the high silver - gilt bridal
crown . On one side stood up three long ostrich feathers
, red, white and blue . The bridal robe was of black
silk , trimmed round the bottom with a broad gilt band ;
the sleeves and neck trimmed with black lace , a large
bouquet of natural flowers in front , gold chains around
the neck, and a broad gilt band around the waist . To
this girdle were attached the bridegroom's presentssilk
and cotton kerchiefs , gloves , etc. , so that the body
looked like an itinerant clothes shop, while the head
looked as if it belonged to a queen of the middle ages.
In her left hand the bride held a psalm book and a
great white handkerchief, like a towel . The bridemaids
were dressed in white muslin , with bouquets of
artificial flowers and tinsel ; the bridegroom and his
men were also adorned with artificial flowers .
Nearly all the brides in the village came to the
great house to be thus adorned for their husbands ,
and the weddings took place in the large hall , to the
great edification of the little Bremers . One bride had
a remarkably sunburnt complexion . " I don't know
what can be the reason I am so red in the face . Sure
am I that I have done everything to get white . Every
17
386
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
time I was washing linen at home I scrubbed myself
with soap lye, and then laid myself down beside the
linen on the bleaching - ground in the sunshine ; and I
have done it many times besides , but it has been of
no use."
At Falun occurred the touching incident , related
in a German ballad by Trinius , and illustrated by
Ehrhardt, in our favorite " Balladen - Buch . " At the
bottom of an old shaft , re - opened in 1719 , was found
the body of a young miner, so fresh and unchanged
that he might have fallen that very day. No one
knew him , until an old , old woman came forward and
threw herself on the ground beside him. It was her
bridegroom , who had disappeared fifty years before .
In another mine , in 1635 , was found a corpse , perfectly
fresh , and with the appearance of one asleep ;
but his dress , and some ancient copper coins found
on his person , proved that he perished two hundred
years before.
Could similar occurrences , in earlier ages , have given
rise to the legends of people who were carried off by
the dwarfs or the fairies ?
We were a little comforted for not going to Dalecarlia
by seeing something of Dalecarlia in Stockholm
. A sort of Swedish Mme . Tussaud's , under the
imposing title of the " Scandinavian Ethnographic
Museum ," was advertised in our guide - book as comprising
“ a manifold gathering of various objects from
the different territories of Sweden , very artistically
arranged in groups and classes, so that the visitor ,
at a glance , can perceive the home life of the peasantry,
their costumes and manners, their dwellings ,
provocation of employment, household utensils, furUPSALA,
AND THE MUSEUM. 387
niture , apparel , outfit , etc. , mostly from the last century,
but also from the commencement of the present
. Of the different cabinets we will mention—
" No. 1. An interior from Ingelstad ( Skane ) represents
a wedding scene , ' the groom fetching his bride
for to tie the nuptial knot ' at the parish church .
" No. 2. An interior from Halland , ' the old folks ,
reposing after their meal on Saturday afternoon , reading
a just - received letter from their absent son . '
" No. 3. An interior from Vingaker ( Sudermania ) ,
' the suitor bringing presents to his betrothed .'
“ Nos . 4 and 5. ' Indoors and Outdoors , ' from Delsbo
(Northern Sweden) .
"No. 6. Sceneries from Lapland .
" Neat Dalecarlian peasant girls , in their picturesque
costumes , are in attendance ."
Allured by this attractive programme, we visited
No. 71 , Drottninggatan , paid our entrance fees of fifty
öre each (about fifteen cents) , and prepared to be
deluded , as we had been at Mme . Tussaud's . The
quaint furniture and costumes were charming ; but
the stiff figures of wood or wax were not especially
lifelike . The " Lapland sceneries " were better. One
group represented not only the tent, with the women.
cooking, and the baby in the curious , hanging cradle ,
shaped like a shoe , but , a Lapp on snowshoes , and
another in his sledge , drawn by a reindeer . A great
black dog was lying in the middle of the group, asleep
on the snow ; of course stuffed , we supposed ; but when
Will whistled , he opened his eyes, got up and shook
himself, and we almost expected to see the reindeer
start off, and to hear the baby cry.
We had been surprised at finding in Stockholm so
388
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER
.
beautiful a palace, with such sumptuous appointments
and interesting works of art ; we were yet more surprised
and pleased upon visiting the museum .
This fine edifice- begun in 1849 and completed in
1863 , at an expense of over half a million of dollars—
fronts on the quay , opposite the palace . It is in the
Venetian Renaissance style , with a portico of arches ,
adorned with statues and medallions of Swedish artists
and men of science-Ehrenstrahl, Fogelberg , Sergel ,
Linnæus , Tegner , Berzelius and others. On entering
the vestibule the eye is attracted by three gigantic
statues in marble , the work of the sculptor Fogelberg ;
Odin and Thor guard each side of the grand stairway,
and Freia smiles from the landing.
On the ground floor are collections of implements
in stone, bronze and iron , representing the different
periods ; and one of mediæval objects , mostly from
churches and cloisters ; embroidered robes and altar
cloths, censers , monstrances and other religious vessels
in copper, iron , silver and gold , relics of the Catholic
Church in Sweden . The large central hall is filled
with statues and sculptured altars from old churches ,
baptismal fonts , and old gravestones , some with Runic
inscriptions. A huge carving in wood of " St. George
and the Dragon ," brought here from the Stor Kyrkan,
was executed by order of Sten Sture the elder in 1489.
In an adjoining room are some historical relics , including
the cradle of Charles XII . , his baby chair, his grandmother's
easy chair , and the wooden bench upon which
he slept, the last night of his life . Here are complete
sets of all the royal orders , and articles of jewellery worn
by kings and regents , the mandolin of the poet Bellman,
and chemical utensils used by Berzelius .
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM. 389
The antique coins found in tumuli are so numerous
as to be fairly innumerable, measured by the bushel ;
every finder in Sweden being obliged to hand over his
treasure trove to the guardians of the museum , by whom
he is paid an equivalent in cash . A collection of medallions
in gold , silver and bronze, from 1500 to 1875 ,
is contained in glass cases , but there is not room to
exhibit the coins . Professors who keep the run of
them are in attendance upon Tuesdays and Fridays,
and will show any coins inquired for. A set of coppers
is spread out on a table, the largest of which weighs
forty-two pounds , avoirdupois , dated 1644. Nice little
small change to carry about in one's pocket ! But
when Charles IX. sent his ambassador to Holstein
to court the Duchess Christina (mother of Gustavus
Adolphus ) , he was out of silver money and fitted him out
for the journey with such copper " klippingar " as these.
Ascending the stairway, we find in the rooms to
the left a fine collection of engravings and drawings
by famous masters , like the coins , too numerous for exhibition
(seventy thousand in all ) , but kept in portfolios
, and readily shown to visitors upon special days .
The gallery of sculpture , in six rooms , contains statuary,
in bronzes and marble , of all ages and various
nations ; the most valuable and beautiful being the
"Endymion ," discovered in 1783 , at Hadrian's villa ,
near Tivoli , and purchased by Gustavus III . Here
are the masterpieces of Swedish sculptors : Sergel's
" Faun " and " Cupid and Psyche , " Fogelberg's " Apollo
, " Byström's "Juno with the Infant Hercules , " " A
Neapolitan Fisher Boy," by Quarnstrom, and a " Bacchante,"
by Molin .
The ethnographical collection is interesting, con390
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
taining old armor and weapons , war - standards , drums
and ammunition , and figures arrayed in the suits of
armor worn by Gustavus Wasa , Gustavus Adolphus ,
the Charleses, and other sovereigns and generals .
One room contains foreign weapons and war COStumes
, mostly Asiatic .
The Majolica Room-so named from the famous
set of Majolica porcelain , decorated with copies from
Raphael , -contains also a valuable antique enamelled
set presented by Charles XV. , and specimens of pottery
of different nations , Moorish, Egyptian and North
American .
The next floor is occupied by the gallery of paintings
, with the exception of one room , called the Regalia
Room, in which is kept the coronation robes of
the Swedish kings , since Gustavus Wasa . This is the
cloth -room of the Dalecarlian farmer on a royal scale .
The walls are hung with costly rugs , and in cases
hang the splendid coronation robes , heavy with gold
and silver embroidery, pearls and jewels ; and other
more familiar garments, with historical associations .
Here are the blood - stained coats and shirts and the
top -boots worn by Gustavus Adolphus at the battle
of Lutzen , and Charles XII . at Friedrichshald , and the
suit worn by Gustavus III . when he was shot at the
masquerade, in the Royal Opera House in 1792. Here
is the horse ridden by Gustavus Adolphus on the field.
of Lutzen ; not his own, which had been shot under
him early in the fight , but a common cavalry horse
belonging to a wounded dragoon, which , after the
king's death , cantered off and entered his line in his
regiment , giving fatal intelligence to the Swedes of
their leader's fall.
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM. 391
We turn to more pleasing objects , and admire the
beautiful coronation robe of the present Queen Sophia ,
glittering with golden crowns , and her wedding dress
of satin, embroidered with silver , gorgeous to behold .
In the picture gallery we find a few paintings by
Italian, Spanish and early German masters , quite a
large collection by Flemish and Dutch masters , a few
of the French school , and a large and interesting collection
by modern Swedish artists , increased within a
few years by the private collection of the late King
Charles XV. , bequeathed to the museum by the royal
artist . One of his paintings , a portrait of his father,
King Oscar I. , appears in this collection . It comprises
landscapes in Italy , Switzerland and the Tyrol ; representations
of Swedish and Norwegian scenery and peasant
life ; historical and classical subjects , and scenes
from Scandinavian mythology . We particularly enjoyed
a picture by Wertmuller of Queen Marie Antoinette
and her children , in the park at Trianon , which
was presented to Gustavus III . by the queen herself,
and declared by Mme. Campan , in her memoirs , to
be "the best portrait ever taken ." There were some
pretty genre pictures by lady artists—Agnes Börjeson
and Amalia Lindegren—and lovely woodland scenery
by Holm and others .
On the north side of the building , in the central
hall surrounding the grand staircase , stands a group
in bronze, by Molin, said to be the finest piece of
statuary in Sweden . It represents the old custom
of the " beltespraetting " or girdle- duel , which prevailed
until the middle of the seventeenth century,
and later still , in savage parts of the country. The
combatants drove their knives into a thick plank, and
392
 .
bound the handle and all of the blade remaining out
with leather thongs . Then they were fastened together
by their belts and with these knives fought it
out until one or both were mortally wounded . So
prevalent was this savage custom, that when families
were invited to weddings the wife would take along
her husband's shroud , knowing that battles were sure
to occur, and rarely without a fatal result .
Around the pedestal of the group are bass - reliefs
giving the story of the quarrel , a not unusual story
the world over. Two men are drinking at a table , a
fair maiden filling their antique drinking horns . In
the next panel , ominously surrounded by twining serpents
, one of the men embraces the reluctant maiden,
while the other starts up angrily, drawing his knife.
In the third scene they are threatening each other,
while she clings to the most furious and vainly tries
to disarm him . In the last scene she kneels weeping
before a rude monument, on which is a representation
of the battle .
Between the panels are Runic inscriptions ; extracts
perhaps, from the Gunlauga Saga , which this work of
art illustrates . *
Speaking of Runic inscriptions , there is an unusually
good collection , not only of stones, but also of
sticks and staves , in this museum . They have nothing
to say to us , who know not their language ; perhaps
they would not tell us very much of importance ,
if we understood it . Most of these stones contain bur-
* This Saga relates the story of a duel fought in Iceland , between Rafn
the Skald , and “ Gunnlang with the serpent's tongue " for the hand of the
fair-haired Helga. Both were slain , and their death ( 1013 ) , caused the abolition
of duels in Iceland .
UPSALA, AND THE MUSEUM. 393
ial inscriptions-"Fastrid raised stones in memory
of Gardar and Gutrigur , her sons , of whom the latter
died in Greece ." Thurva mourns her man , " Halftan
of the great shield , " who perished in distant seas , with
all his ships . "Fulco and Asgamma raised these stones
to themselves , while both were yet alive ." Not an
uncommon thing , to provide one's own tombstone , in
those days. And in a tasteful " Ormsling " of twining
serpents, " Igeruna, daughter of Hardi , had these letters
sculptured to herself, when about to travel to the
far East, and gain Jorsala ."
The antiquity of Runic inscriptions can seldom be
accurately determined . Sometimes they are of pagan
origin , as one in the island of Funen , where the words,
"May Thor bless these Runes , " are added ; and , on
another side of the stone the malediction , " Accursed
be he who moves this stone , or takes it to another
place "; a superstition not infrequently met with in the
North , as well as at Stratford - on - Avon.
The Runic alphabet , of sixteen characters , has a
look of similarity to the Gothic , the Anglo - Saxon ,
and even the old Greek and Etruscan . ( I wonder if
anybody has remarked its likeness to the characters.
on the Moabite stone ! ) It is of the angular form
natural to inscriptions on stone or wood, its most
frequent use . Some antiquaries have suggested that
the earliest books known in Scandinavia were written
in this alphabet , upon tablets of beech -wood ("buchstav,"
whence our "book," and " stave ," in its poetical
sense ; as well as the German " buch - stabe ") ; but
I doubt if anything has been discovered to establish
this theory. The oldest parchment in Runic characters
is a Scanian code of the fourteenth century , in
17*
394
A SCANDINAVIAN
SUMMER.
the royal library. All the ancient sagas and chronicles
have been handed down in the Roman alphabet ;
either transcribed from earlier manuscripts , or recorded
from verbal traditions .
Runic letters are found on some of the most ancient
stone weapons , and on the golden horns and ornaments
discovered in Danish tumuli . After the introduction of
Christianity , when the priests encouraged the peasants
to build roads and bridges , as works of merit , such inscriptions
as these were recorded : " Hurfast made this
road and built this bridge , in memory of his father,
Gama, that God may have mercy on his soul . " “ Jarlabanke
raised these stones to his own memory, when
still alive, and built this bridge to save his soul . "
They were long used by the peasants , in calendars ,
and still survive in the Bo - Marken in use on the island
of Gotland, to identify boats , fishing - nets , farming implements
and all sorts of furniture .
With these glimpses of the earlier days we say
good-by to Scandinavia , the land of our ancestors .
For these Northmen were our ancestors , as well as
the Angles and the Saxons ; and not their laws and
customs only, but their strength of muscle and of will ,
their intrepid courage and obstinate love of freedom ,
have had their share in moulding England's Hearts of
Oak and America's dauntless pioneers . Let us drink
" Skaal to the Northland ," as we sail away from its
shores , to finish our summer in Russia .
PUBLICATIONS OF G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.
CONSTANTINOPLE. By EDMUNDO DE AMICIS, author of "A Journey
through Holland , " " Spain and the Spaniards, " &c. Translated by
CAROLINE TILTON. With introduction by Prof. VINCENZO POTTA.
Octavo, cloth .
A trustworthy and exceptionally vivid description of the city which , in the present
reopening of the Eastern question , is attracting more attention than any other in the
world. De Amicis is one of the strongest and most brilliant of the present generation of
Italian writers , and this latest work from his pen, as well from the picturesqueness of its
descriptions as for its skilful analysis of the traits and characteristics of the medley of
races represented in the Turkish capital , possesses an exceptional interest and value.
THE GREEKS OF TO-DAY. By Hon . CHARLES K. TUCKERMAN ,
late Minister Resident of the U. S. at Athens. Third Edition .
cloth , · · •
12mo ,
$ 1.50
1
This work attracted special attention at the time of its publication , in 1872 , as giving
a trustworthy and interesting picture of life in Greece , and of the character and status of
the modern Greek. At this time , when public attention is so generally directed towards
the scheme of practically re - establishing a Greek empire and Greek supremacy in the
East , it is thought that a new edition will prove of interest and service .
" The information contained in the volume is ample and various , and it cannot fail
to hold a high rank among the authorities on modern Greece . " —N. Y. Tribune.
" No one can read this book without having his interest greatly increased in this
brave , brilliant , and in every way remarkable people . ” —N. Y. Times .
"We know of no book which so combines freshness and fullness of information."--
N. Y. Nation .
ENGLAND ; POLITICAL AND SOCIAL. By AUGUSTE LAUGEL.
Translated by J. M. HART. 12mo , cloth , • $1.50
" It is written with a tone of confidence and force of expression which captivate. "
-Buffalo Commercial.
" Affords a clear, distinct , and comprehensive view of the political institutions of
England . "-N. Y. Nation.
* ** * " Here, in every sense, is a charming book. * So full of thought, that,
like the best of Macaulay's Essays , it will bear reading more than once. *** *
We have rarely met with more picture-like descriptions of what seems to have dwelt most
upon his mind-English landscape scenery and rural life . ".- N. Y. World.
THE SILVER COUNTRY ; or, THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
A Review of the Mineral and other Wealth , with the attractions and
material development of the former kingdom of New Spain , comprising
Mexico and the territory ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848
and 1853. By ALEXANDER D. ANDERSON. 8vo, cloth, with Hypsometric
Map, · $1.75
"Just at the present moment everything which affords reliable information on the
question of silver, its uses and production , is of almost paramount interest . "-Washington
National Republican .
"A very useful book for those who wish to study the silver question in its fundamental
feature . "-Chicago Journal.
" The book will unquestionably become the authority on the subject of which it
treats."-St. Louis Republican .
RECENT BOOKS OF TRAVEL
66
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. By ISABELLA
BIRD, author of Six Months in the Sandwich Islands,"
" A Ride of 700 Miles Through Japan . " Second edition,
octavo, illustrated , $1 75.
" Of the bold dragoons who have recently figured in military life , bewitching
the world with feats of noble horsemanship , the fair Amazon who ideş
like a Centaur over the roughest passes of the Rocky Mountains will certainly
bear away the palm. -New York Tribune.
The Great Fur Land ; or Sketches of Life in the
Hudson's Bay Territory. By H. M. ROBINSON . Second
edition , octavo, illustrated , $ 1 75.
66
'Mr. Robinson's narrative exhibits a freshness and glow of delineation
founded on a certain novelty of adventure which commands the attention of
the reader, and makes his story as attractive as a romance . "—New York
Tribune.
The Round Trip , by way of Panama, through California ,
Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado , with notes on
Railroads, Commerce , Agriculture, Mining, Scenery, and
People . By JOHN CODMAN . 12mo , cloth , $ 1 50.
66
No work on California has given a larger amount of useful information
than Captain Codman's, and none has equaled his in raciness and general
readableness. * * *"-Literary World.
Roman Days. By VIKTOR RYDBERG , author of ' The
Last Athenian. ' Translated from the Swedish by A. C. CLARK ,
with a Biographical Sketch of the Author, by Dr. H. A. W.
LINDEHN . 8vo, cloth extra , with twelve plates , $ 200 .
" The whole work bears the mark of individual and original thought and
research, and is fresh and rich accordingly, and full of new and interesting
information . " -Chicago Tribune.
66
Studies of Paris. By EDMONDO DE AMICIS, author of
Constantinople, " " Morocco , " " Holland, " etc.
16mo, cloth, $ 1 25.
" A marvel of intense , rapid , graphic and poetic description, by one of
the most brilliant of modern Italian authors . The chapters on Hugo ind
Zola show the same power of description and analysis in dealing with mind
nd character."-Christian Register
G P. PUTNAM'S SONS , New York.
PUBLICATIONS OF G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.
" BY THE AUTHOR OF A LADY'S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. "
UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN. An account of Travels on
Horseback in the Interior. By ISABELLA L. BIRD .
Illustrations and maps.
2 vols . Svo.
$5.00
" Of Miss Bird's fascinating and instructive volumes it is impossible to speak
in terms of too high praise . They fully maintain the well-earned reputation of the
author of Six Months in the Sandwich Islands ' and ' A Lady's Life in the Rocky
Mountains ' as a traveller of the first order, and a graphic and picturesque writer.
The title she has chosen for her new book is no misnomer. Few foreigners , even of
the stronger sex , would have had the courage and perseverance to face and surmount
the obstacles which a frail woman in ill health , accompanied only by a single native
servant, encountered in her cross-country wanderings . But Miss Bird is a born traveller,
fearless , enthusiastic , patient , instructed , knowing as well what as how to describe .
No peril daunts her , no prospect of fatigue or discomfort disheartens or repels her, "-
Quarterly Review , October, 1880.
" Miss Bird is one of the most remarkable travellers of our day . Penetrating
into regions wholly unknown by the outside world , she has accomplished , by the
force of an indomitable will , aided by great tact and shrewdness , a task to which few
men would have been found equal ; and she has brought away from the scene of her
researches not only a lively tale of adventure , but a great store of fresh and interesting
information about the character and habits of a people now undergoing one of the
'strangest transformations the world has ever seen . We doubt whether the inner life
of Japan has ever been better described than in the pregnant pages of this pertinacious
Englishwoman . "-N. Y. Daily Tribune.
" Beyond question , the most valuable and the most interesting of recent books
concerning Japanese travel . * * * one of the most profitable of recent travel
records ." -N. Y. Evening Post .
" One of the most readable books of travel of the day."-N. Y. Daily Times.
Miss Bird has given us what to-day must be regarded as the best work on
Japan."-N. Y. Herald.
" But it is in descriptions of men and manners that she excels , and in these she
is so excellent that in no other book in English is there anything like so vivid a picture
as she gives of the Japanese people . " -N. Y. World.
" Her graphic power, her literary skill, and surprising freshness of material ,
especially in the second volume , make this book one of the very best , and as a work
of travels the best , in the library of books relating to Japan . " -Rev. Wм. E. Griffis ,
in the N. Y. Independent.
" Her narrative is one of intense interest *** forms a thoroughly valuable
and desirable addition to any library ." -Congregationalist.
" Miss Bird's book is fascinating throughout. " -The American , Philadelphia.
" She draws out the story of the homely , everyday life in Japan as it has never
before been presented . " -The Republican, Springfield , Mass.
แ
Japan is truly a wonderful country * * * who follows Miss Bird in its
unbeaten tracks will be not only interested , but delighted and almost enchanted .
*** she has told us more about the country , its history , its literature , its business ,
and the habits , thoughts, and customs of the people, than we might learn from forty
ordinary books on Japan *
* **
a remarkably good book * it is brimful
ofinformation , much of which has never come under our eye before . "-Boston Post .
" We do not hesitate to say that of all the books of Japanese travels which we
have seen- and we have seen a score or two-this is , without question , the best. "
-Louisville Courier-Journal.
" Among the works of travellers , relating to this country, we are inclined to
rank 'Unbeaten Tracks in Japan ' as perhaps the best. * ** * In all respects it is
a sensible , useful work . " - Troy Daily Times.
something new or novel is set forth . * * *
"A minute account of the interior of Japan. ** * on nearly every page
This record of life in the interior of
Japan is the freshest and most satisfactory of any which has yet been given to the
public. "-San Francisco Evening Bulletin .
PUBLICATIONS OF G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.
46
BY THE AUTHOR OF UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN. ”
A LADY'S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
BELLA BIRD, author of " Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, " etc.
edition , octavo , illustrated , · •
By ISAThird
$1 75
" Of the bold dragoons ,who have recently figured in military life , bewitching
the world with feats of noble horsemanship , the fair Amazon who rides like a Centaur
over the roughest passes of the Rocky mountains will certainly bear away the palm . "
-New York Tribune.
" Told with a gracefulness and an enthusiasm that render her work more entertaining
and thrilling than any fictitious story of adventure ." -New England Farmer.
Throughout the whole book there is a beauty and simplicity of style , brimful
of good cheer, which renders the book as vivacious and chatty as a romance . "-Pittsburgh
Telegram .
" We have not met so charming a book of travel in many a day . "-New York
Evening Mail.
" It is really a delightful and enjoyable book . " -New York Express.
" She has made of her letters , in a word, an uncommonly worthy book of
travel."-New York EveningPost.
" The letters that describe all she saw very vividly are collected to make this
volume, which is altogether the most entertaining and the most full of pleasant description
that has appeared having the Rocky Mountain region as its subject. ” —
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
" A most interesting book of travels . "-Boston Daily Evening Traveller.
" While it is thrilling and romantic in some places , it is equally entertaining
and historical in other chapters . " -Rochester Evening Express .
" Miss Bird is an ideal writer . She can see , and she can use the words that
place what she sees before the reader . She has regard to the essentials of a scene or
episode, and describes these with a simplicity that is as effective as it is artless .
Humor is here , of a quality precisely suited to a traveller ; never obtrusive , but never
deficient when the need comes , oiling the wheels of action just in time to counteract
friction. Better still , perhaps , she possesses individuality , inasmuch that although she
vouchsafes us no self-drawn portrait , nor any approach to one , we sensibly derive an
idea of her appearance and traits from the impress which these make upon the circumstances
of her position . * **
" For, spontaneous and unadorned as is her narrative , it is more interesting than
most of the novels which it has been our lot to encounter , and , in fact , comprises character
, situations , and dramatic effect enough to make ninty -nine novels out of a hundred
look pallid and flat in comparison. ** * *
" Her whole experience is a singular combination of the natural and the dramatic
, as well as a most encouraging record of feminine confidence and masculine
chivalrousness . " -The Spectator.
" A fascinating book of travel . " -Cincinnati Commercial.
" Her descriptions are graphic , often charming , and always entertaining . "
New York Herald.
" This volume has proved an agreeable surprise . Not having any acquaintance
with the author's previous works , we took up this with no prepossessions in its
favor, but found ourselves interested from the start, and read to the end with ever-increasing
pleasure . " - Worcester Spy.
PUBLICATIONS OF G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.
A NEW VOLUME BY " JOHN LATOUCHE. "
PORTUGAL, OLD AND NEW. By OSWAld Crawfurd, British
Consul at Oporto. Octavo, with maps and illustrations , cloth
extra, • $3 50
Mr. Crawfurd, who is better known in literature under his nom de plume of
John Latouche , has resided for many years in Portugal and has had exceptional opportunities
for becoming thoroughly acquainted with the country and its people.
" The whole book, indeed , is excellent, giving the reader not information
only, but appreciation of Portugal , its climate , its people and its ways. It is not a
book of travel , but a book of residences , if we may say so . " -New York Evening Post.
" Mr. Crawfurd's admirable book is most opportune , and his long residence in
the country , his intimate and critical knowledge of the language , history , poetry , and
the inner life of the people , render him an authority as safe to follow as he is pleasant.
* * * The book is excellent in every way ." -Athenæum .
" A more agreeable account of Portugal and the Portuguese could scarcely
have been written , and it will surprise us if the book does not live as one of the best
descriptions we possess of a foreign nation . "-St . James Gazette.
A FORBIDDEN LAND ; OR, VOYAGES TO THE COREA.
With full description of the manners, customs, history, etc. , of a community
of some 16,000,000 people hitherto almost entirely unknown .
By ERNST OPPERT. Octavo, with maps and illustrations , $3.00
" The author combines a story of his personal adventures , with a most intelligible
description of the country , its inhabitants, their customs , and of everything
which would help his readers to form a correct idea of what he himself saw and
learned ."-The Churchman .
*
*
*
" Sure to be eagerly and widely read contains almost the only authentic
description of Corea and its people with which the public are familiar ."-San
Francisco Bulletin.
" Full of data of the highest value on the geography and history of Corea, its
commercial value and products. " -New York Times.
" Mr. Oppert has made a book of rare interest . " -New York Evening Post.
" His personal narrative is one of great interest ** * he is rewarded for
his enterprise in being able to communicate so much novel and valuable information
in regard to a country which has so long remained beyond the scope of geographical
research . "- New York Tribune.
ROMAN DAYS. By VIKTOR RYDBERG . Translated by ALFRED
CORNING CLARK, with Memoir of the author by H. A. W. Lindehn.
Octavo, cloth . Illustrated $2.00
The volume embodies the results of careful historical studies , and gives some
legendary matters not heretofore brought forward . The art criticisms are the work
of a poet and scholar ; the brief historical and topographical sketches, those of a clearheaded
philosopher and eager traveller, a quick observer, a man of general and thorough
culture. The book is a picturesque mosaic of the many brilliant, sober, gay,
comic, dramatic , tragic , poetic , vulgar elements that make up the past history of that
wonderful city and the physiognomy it bears to-day .
"We welcome this work from the hardy North for its broad scholarship , its
freshness and ripeness. The articles betray an artistic discrimination rare in one not
a sculptor by profession and experienced and enthusiastic in that art. Rydberg possesses
the pure plastic spirit. "-N. Y. Herald.
PUBLICATIONS OF G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.
A NEW BOOK BY THE AUTHOR OF
66
CONSTANTINOPLE. "
HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE . By EDMUNDO DE AMICIS, author
of " Constantinople," Studies of Paris ," 46 Morocco," " Spain," etc.
Octavo . With 18 full -page plates. • $2 00
In this volume of which editions are appearing at once in Florence , Paris ,
London and New York, the brilliant author of " Paris " and " Constantinople " has
turned his steps to a land abounding in picturesque effects and whose history is full of
dramatic interest , and his vivid descriptions of the Hollanders and their homes show
that his pen has lost none of its eloquence or delicacy of touch . His analysis of the
traits and characteristics of this sturdy race , which has played so important a part in
the history of Europe , is most interesting and valuable .
" In descriptive passages , Signor Amicis is at home. A wealth of imagery
flows from his pen and lightens the pages into prose poems . He has a quiet humor of
the Latin type, a disposition to be amused ; but he is quick to sympathize with the
emotions of his Dutch friends, and if he smiles at their stolidity , admires the rugged
qualities and native genius which have produced a William of Orange , a John DeWitt ,
a Barneveld , and a Rembrandt . "-Boston Traveller.
" Edmundo de Amicis has transformed the land of dykes into a land of beauty,
of wonder, and of enchantment . He has written , in a word , a book in every sense
charming. "-Chicago Times.
" It is only simple justice to say that a more delightful volume of travels
hardly may be found . " -Philadelphia Times.
" His sparkling , graphic book is a thoroughly charming one , to which we give
the most unaffected praise. " -Louisville Courier-Journal.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
CONSTANTINOPLE . 8vo, cloth ,
I 50
De Amicis is one of the strongest and most brilliant of the present generation
of Italian writers, and this latest work from his pen , as well from the picturesqueness
of its descriptions as for its skilful analysis of the traits and characteristics of the medley
of races represented in the Turkish capital , possesses an exceptional interest and
value .
" The most picturesque and entertaining volume contained in the recent literature
on the Eastern question . " -Boston Journal.
" A remarkable work
***
the author is a poet, an artist, a wonderworker
in words ** * his descriptions are given with rare skill . "—N. Y. Evening
Post.
STUDIES OF PARIS . By EDMUNDO DE AMICIS, author of " Constantinople,
" Morocco," " Holland , " etc. 12mo, cloth extra , $ 1 25
""
A series of wonderfully vivid and dramatic pictures of the great world's metropolis
, by a writer whose previous books have gained a reputation for exceptional
clearness of perception and facility in description. There is hardly a writer who can
rival him in his power of reproducing for his readers the very atmosphere of the place
he describes. These " Studies " include original and characteristic papers on the two
authors whom he considers especially representative of the Paris of to -day- Hugo and
Zola.
"Poet in prose, painter in phrases, subtle musician in the harmonies of language
, de Amicis has comprehended the manifold amazement, the potent charm of
Paris as no writer before him has done ."-Portland Press.
"A marvel of intense , rapid , graphic and poetic description , by one of the most
brilliant of modern Italian writers . The chapters on Hugo and Zola show the same
power of description and analysis in dealing with mind and character. "-Christian
Register.



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REFERENCE DEPARTMENT
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