A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden / 2nd edition

by William A. Ross

From the bosom of the lake along the easy slope of this mighty valley, the ascent of an amphitheatre of mountains, skirting the horizon, takes the eye up to heaven; and while the sun shone brightly, on these mountains, hoary by lapse of centuries and contention with the storm, they seemed, although the nearest was twenty or thirty miles from us, to be tinged with a red colour, which, contrasted with the snow on their summits and the deep azure sky above, against which their huge forms appeared to lean, produced a scene as difficult to delineate as it was sublime to see.

When we had partaken of some salmon and capercaillie, cooked after the Norwegian process—where butter abounded, and had lighted our meerschaums, we went at a gallop homewards. Built by the road-side, many miles apart, the only symbols of mortality to travellers in Norway, are post-houses, stages at which the horses are generally baited, and where a book, under the protection of the Government, is kept to insert the names, occupations, and destination of the persons who alight there, or are travelling through the country. Its pages are divided into four columns, and in the fourth column, the traveller may state any complaint he has to make. At the end of every month, the appointed officers of the State inspect this book, and rectify with severity any errors which may have been brought to their notice.

The highways are kept in order by the gentry, farmers, or peasants; and, along the road-side, a number of black posts are erected at certain distances from one another, on which are painted in white characters the names of the persons who are to repair the road, and the number of yards or feet allotted to each of them; and the more extensive the landed possession, or consequence of the man in the neighbourhood, so the quantity of ground which comes under his care. It is obvious how soon the person, neglecting the performance of the duty imposed upon him by the Government, may be detected; and the imposition is effective in keeping the roads in excellent order.

Though we returned at a late hour to Christiania, I walked to my old spot on the mountain; and there, looking down towards the vessels that were anchored in the harbour, like toys in a basin, the Norwegian girl, whom I had seen yesterday, stood close to the black stone, her right elbow resting on it, and her chin hid in the palm of her hand. She seemed abashed that I had caught her in such thoughtful guise, and began to move towards the path that led through the forest. I motioned to her, as significantly as I could, not to allow me to disturb her.

"Nej, tak," she said, in a low, sweet tone; and, retiring a short space from the stone, with all the delicacy of her tender youth and sex, and a winning humility of manner, drew back behind me. Retiring, also, a few paces till I was in a line with her, I allowed the huge piece of granite to separate us; and dreading, that, by observing her too attentively, she might go away, I took no apparent notice of her, and kept my eyes fixed on the yacht, which had dwindled to a nutshell in size, with needles for its mast and boom. I could, but indifferently, speak the Norwegian language; and I knew not that she understood mine, though many of the inhabitants of the principal towns of Norway generally possessed a slight knowledge of English; and so, in silence, we stood.

The mournful sighing of the firs, as a current of air, escaping from the Fiord, crept gently through them, and the quietude that reigned around, inspired me with a feeling of melancholy; and after a while, "Do you understand English?" I asked.

"My father was a sailor, sir," my alabaster, statue-like companion said, sometimes speaking in her own language, and sometimes in mine, with a pretty foreign accent, "and went to England often, and he taught me English; but I do not know it well."

"You soon would speak it as well as I, if every day you tried," I answered, with courage, pleased that I could make her understand me.

"But there is no one," she replied, I thought, in a sad voice, "to speak to me; and I forget all that I have learned. My dear father used to talk to me of England; and I remember still its tongue, because he told me Englishmen were good and great."

She came nearer to the stone, and looking full in my face, smiled.