Scarcely had we left, when a tall powerful man, in breeches, came running after us in breathless haste; taking off his hat, we found he wished to see the donkeys; staying a few moments to gratify his curiosity, he exclaimed many times Peen giœre!!! peen giœre!! “Ya, ya,” said Noah, and we again continued our journey, wishing him god morgen.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The gipsies are not destitute of good qualities. They have a species of honour; so that, if trusted, they will not deceive or betray you.
The Gipsies. By Samuel Roberts.
CAMP ON LILLE MJÖSEN—THE SKJYRI FJELD—AN ACQUAINTANCE FROM EISBOD—CAMP RULES CONFIRMED—OUR GIPSY NOAH—ENGLISH SPOKEN—SINGULAR STONE—ILOE STATION—OUR FRIEND FROM EISBOD—ARTIST SOUVENIRS—ZACHARIAH’S SPORT—FAST TRAVELLING—HARVEST TIME—SECLUDED CAMP—ABLE PLEADING—THE STEE STATION—OBLIGING-HOSTESS—TETHER ROPE LOST—THE KINDLY WELCOME—AN ENGLISHMAN’S WISH—AN OPEN AIR CONCERT—ESMERALDA’S FLOWERS—ADIEU, BUT REMEMBERED—A MID-DAY REST.
A wild river on the left of the road soon found its outlet in a small lake. A man and woman, in a boat upon the lake, were fishing with a net; soon afterwards we came to Oye on the “Lille Mjösen Vand.” We purchased five eggs at a house near the road, for five skillings; and the young Norwegian girl showed us a curious violin they had in the house. The Lille Mjösen is a very beautiful and picturesque lake; the road lay through wooded slopes, on the right bank, steep rocky cliffs towered above us. Before reaching Tune, we came to a charming grassy knoll, immediately above the road; the small stony gully, on one side, was convenient for the donkeys to graze. A large forest of spruce fir surrounded the knoll on all sides, except towards the road, below which the stony shingly shore of the lake extended; above the forest slope were some lofty picturesque rocks. From the knoll, we had a delightful view across the lake, which was not very broad at this part. On the opposite shore, the Skjyri Fjeld rose in very lofty steeps, almost immediately from the waters of the lake. We noticed also, on the other side, one small gaard, lonely by itself, on a narrow slip of reclaimed land, a few acres, between the water, and the base of the precipice, which rose almost straight to lofty summits, covered here and there by fir wood.
Our knoll was delightfully shut in and secluded; the lofty trees of the spruce fir stretched to the base of the cliff above. So steep were they, that verdure could not exist. Although only four o’clock, the camp ground was so tempting, we determined to halt. Noah and Zachariah fished in the lake without success. The evening was very warm and sunny. Our aftens-mad consisted of tea, fladbröd, eggs, and butter.
At the Skogstad Station, we had had one mark’s worth of fladbröd, and the bottle of ale cost twelve skillings, the usual price. Our violin three dollars, the price at first asked. A few carrioles passed underneath during the evening, but the travellers did not observe us. Our music in the stillness of evening sounded across the lake, In the dim light, we could see a fire on the other shore. The evenings now get more damp, night begins sooner. Quite late, as Noah was putting up our tent, a Stolkjœre came by; the traveller pulled up, and, to our surprise, we again met our acquaintance of the Bygdin Lake, the young gentleman who wore the uniform tunic. We welcomed him as an old friend; he said he had come to a certain point on the route with the ladies, and they had met Ole. Our friend said he had parted from the other visitors we met at the “Poet’s House,” and hoped to be in Christiania on Sunday. We gave him one of our best cigars, which he said were not often met with in the mountains. A short chat, of course, about the war, and we parted, probably to meet again in Christiania.
Near our tents there was an exceedingly large nest of creas (gip., ants), as my people called them. Their communistic ideas were at once apparent; they swarmed about our camp, taking away all they could carry.
They had three large tracks diverging from their nest to the road, down which thousands were hastily hurrying to and fro; it was very interesting to watch them. Nature has an ever-varied, and instructive page to set before you at every step.
Going out of our tents the last thing, we were astounded at what we saw by the camp fire. The appearance of a Huldre (fairy), or a Jotul (giant), could not have astonished us more. Noah was seated, and actually smoking a pipe; it was as the French say, “un peu trop fort,” camp rules infringed, laws broken, what next? we of course spoke upon the subject.