In the read below we noticed a curious dark little woman accompanied by a middle-aged man, a tall young woman without shoes or stockings, and two young boys. They carried their effects apparently for sleeping and cooking. Directly they saw the donkeys they came towards our camp. The boys tried to touch our donkeys, but the young woman held them back, and one was smartly cuffed. When the elder woman reached our tents we at first thought she was a gipsy. Her complexion was very dark, and she had black hair; she had pleasing manners, but in person she was very short, with small hands and feet, and a peculiar redness round the eyes, as if from smoke. Esmeralda tried her in Romany, but she could not speak it. She was very probably a Lap. The others of her party seemed to hold her in great respect. She carried a courier bag suspended to a girdle, exactly similar to the one we bought in the Valders, and of which an engraving is given in this book. We gave her some brandy and the man some tobacco, upon which she opened her bag, and in the politest manner possible, offered us two skillings, which we did not accept. Every now and then as she looked at our tents and then at the donkeys grazing near, she smiled and bowed in an ecstasy of pleasure, raising her hands often, saying “Nei, nei!!” in a sweet plaintive voice. Esmeralda asked if she told fortunes, and she said yes. It is probable that she did not understand the question. She offered to sell Esmeralda a ring, but she did not require it. As they left they lingered again near the donkeys. The old lady seemed in raptures with them. One of the boys again made a sudden attempt to touch one, and was dragged away by the younger woman as if his life was in jeopardy.
They at length left and slowly disappeared through the rocks at a turn in the road beyond the camp. Noah and Zachariah caught several fish during the morning. The fish were fried for dinner with the usual accompaniment of tea. We scarcely knew whether we dined early or late, both meals were so much the same. From time to time travellers passing along the road suddenly pulled up when they saw our tents and donkeys, and getting down slowly made their way up to our camp. The donkeys seemed, as usual, to excite a wonderful amount of interest.
We had finished our mid-day’s meal. Noah and Zachariah had gone to the river to fish. Esmeralda and myself were sitting in our tents; the gipsy girl was occasionally rockering Romany whilst we wrote our notes. Then the thought occurred to her that we should tell her fortune.
“Your fortune must be a good one,” said we, laughing.
“Let me see your hand, young woman, and your lines of life.”
We shall never forget Esmeralda. She looked so earnestly as we regarded attentively the lines of her open hand. Then we took her step by step through some scenes of her supposed future. We did not tell all. The rest was reserved for another day. There was a serious look on her countenance as we ended, but reader, such secrets should not be revealed—say what we will the hand carries the same language as those thoughtful lines on your face, or the conformation of your head. It is not all who can interpret them. Though we do not believe in chiromancy and ghosts, how many in the world do. We do not say such things are impossible; there are warnings, forebodings, and presentiments at times too strong to be doubted. There are curious facts noted which cast singular light upon these links between two worlds. Instances of spirit travel are given. The open pages of nature reveal strange things. Pliny, Scott, Byron, Johnson, Wesley, and Baxter[50], seem to have been imbued with some belief in the supernatural. We know not what it is; we call it superstition. When we express our unbelief, somehow there is often an inward consciousness to belie our words. Surrounded by much that is false, there may be some reality. We halt on the threshold of indecision. One thing is certain, there is a dark mysterious veil across man’s future in this world. Will it profit him to raise its folds? We think not.
Esmeralda commenced to tell our fortune; we were interested to know what she would say. We cast ourself on the waves of fate. The gipsy girl raised her dark eyes from our hand as she looked us earnestly in the face.
“You are a young gentleman of good connections; many lands you have seen; but, young man, something tells me you be of a wavering disposition.”
We looked up, and a Norwegian peasant stood close by; we had not heard him approach. He was at the entrance of our tents in puzzled contemplation; we lost the remainder of our fortune.
Not very long afterwards, we were sitting in our tent, when Esmeralda, who was looking out, said, a “Boro Rye’s a vellin.” We went out; an English officer was coming to our tents; he was travelling from Throndjhem to Christiania. His name was one of a family renowned in Scottish history. Our visitor was very good-looking, and seemed much interested in our camp. Seeing our tents from the read, he came up to inspect them; a heavy shower of rain coming on, he accepted our shelter, and reclined in our tent with Esmeralda and ourselves. The carriole driver sat at the entrance. Our visitor informed us that a friend and himself had been out with a pony, tent and provisions, upon a fishing expedition, on the Tana. It did not appear that he remained long with his tent, for we understood him that his friend had been unwell and they soon returned. The country of the Tana seemed to please him very much. We gave our visitor some results of our practical experience in camping, as he sat waiting for the rain to cease; in truth, he seemed in no hurry to continue his journey. One of our gipsy songs was presented to him as a souvenir of his visit; then we purchased some trout from the Skydskarl, for one mark, eighteen skillings, very fine ones they were, and had been caught in a lake. Esmeralda presented the captain with a “pinthorn,” used to fasten the blankets of our tents. This present, which he told Esmeralda he should keep, was placed carefully in his pocket-case. In making the expedition to the Tana he had taken out a tent from Throndjhem with a pole in the middle and pieces stretching out from centre.