As we came in sight of “Breden,” which stands near a lake, our party were at once perceived. A boat pushed off in hot haste across the lake with a number of peasants to see us. When we entered the small village of houses grouped on either side the road, great was the excitement. People ran hastily up to see our donkeys; a pony in a “stolkjœrre,” or light cart, turned restive, and occasioned much confusion. Our donkeys ran against one another, and our things becoming entangled, the packs were nearly pulled to the ground.
At last, when we were clear of the village, Noah and Zachariah were sent to a landhandelri[49] to buy butter and bread. The young man at the shop had been at our camp at Qvam. They could only get fladbröd and butter.
The steeps of the Kringelen, memorable for the destruction of Col. Sinclair and his soldiers, were passed. The spot had been well selected by the Norwegians. Then we came in sight of Sels. Having risen early, we were all tired and hungry. At this juncture, seeing a woman driving some cows from the road, we asked to camp on some rough broken ground above the house. A quiet spot was selected, where, undisturbed by visitors, our tents were pitched. Looking down upon the narrow valley, it was delightful to enjoy the repose of a quiet evening. Few were permitted to come near our tents. Our donkeys had, as usual, their admirers, but they were few and select. The woman brought us a bowl of milk whilst we were at tea.
We were up at seven o’clock next morning. After a quiet breakfast, Zachariah caught four trout in the river. Giving these kind, homely people some music and two marks, our party left Sels in the distance.
The scenery during the morning was very picturesque, and coming to a portion of newly-made road we halted in a recess of broken ground at the bottom of a wooded hill, near a log cottage. One of our gipsies went to the house for water, and the woman kindly offered to boil it, but this we did not require.
As we were taking our lunch we became the subject of much interest to the road men and some boys; to some of the men we gave tobacco. After the meal our gipsies played their music, whilst we lounged, looking at the beautiful scene before us. The road men appeared to enjoy themselves quite as much as we did—they sat on the roadside, smoking their pipes and listening.
It was not long before we were en route, and being still in sight of the river Noah and Zachariah were sent to fish. Esmeralda and myself made the best of the way with the donkeys towards Laurgaard. Great improvements were being made upon this part of the road; in some places the road was diverted and the distance shortened—sometimes we had to change from the old road to newly made portions, and then back to the old road not yet altered. At every place the peasants flocked out to see us. One place we especially remember as being near a wild gorge leading to the mountains from the valley. An old man gave us such a kindly hearty welcome to his land that we presented him with some tobacco.
In passing a narrow part of the old road one of our donkeys ran against the Puru Rawnee, and the baggage becoming entangled my tent pole was broken through. It was very annoying. At last we came in sight of the Laurgaard. A peasant who had walked with us some little distance, and who seemed desirous to aid us as much as possible, was asked if we could find a camping-ground on the other side Laurgaard. He shook his head.
We had just passed some picturesque rocks; the river Logan was on our left, the rocky slopes of the mountain on our right. Our peasant pointed to what appeared to have been an old road, now disused, a short distance above us along the hill side. The old roadway formed an admirable terrace of flat ground for our tents. Our donkeys soon struggled through the bushes and broken rocks to the spot we selected, and were then unloaded. Several peasants appeared at the place, and also a Norwegian officer. Our first care, as the gipsies unloaded our things, was to splice our tent pole, which we did with a flat piece of wood we had found en route, and some waxed string carried with us. Our proceedings were observed with great interest as we pitched our tents. The visitors increased, and we promised to give them some music for dancing after we had finished our tea. Immediately after tea, as the peasants assembled at close of eve, our guitar, violin, tambourine, and castinets broke the stillness of the Norwegian valley. On this occasion we had two beaux of the village instead of one. The old road being level was well adapted for dancing. There were several peasant girls, whose quiet and modest manners were very pleasing. One beau was a light haired young man who borrowed a friend’s shoes to dance in. The other beau was a slim-slam, away-with-care sort of young fellow, who had the appearance of “un vrai chasseur,” an intrepid reindeer hunter. He was a good-looking fellow, carried hard sinew and muscle, well-proportioned, moderately tall and strongly knit, wiry and active, wore very large capacious trousers, and strong Wellington boots. A hunting knife hung by his side, and a close-fitting shirt and small cap lightly stuck on his head completed his attire. He held himself very erect, and danced in a stiff, jerky, jaunty style. We had the usual complement of children, in many and various kinds of tattered garments. The peasants seemed to enjoy themselves. Esmeralda danced with her brother, and we also took her for partner; but the half-hour is ended, our visitors leave as the rain commences. We had very heavy rain in the night.
Ourself and the gipsies were up at 4 o’clock, and went fishing. The river Logan near our camp was interspersed with pools and shallows, and appeared very likely in appearance for fish. The bridge at Laurgaard is said to be 1000 English feet above the level of the sea. We must confess that Noah and ourself returned without fish to breakfast. Directly the meal was concluded Noah and Zachariah were dispatched to the river again. A fine-looking old man came to see our tent after breakfast. He wore a red cap, and said he was a great fisherman. We found him full of information. His sæter was on the Rudane Fjeld, where he said there were many reindeer; in summer the weather was beautiful. The old man came often during the day, and we bought some trout from him, and also from several peasant boys, who immediately they caught a fish brought it up to our tents.