The Argosy — page 311: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

204 About Norway. universal system in Norway, he gave us a hand-grasp that would have done honour to Hercules himself. I can yet feel the honest fellow’s expression of good-fellowship. We made him happy with what, to him, was a good dinner, over and above his “ drikke penge,” and as we had now to wait, whether we would or no, ordered some refresh- ment for ourselves. Husum is almost more grandly situated than any other station between Sorum and Laerdal. The defile is somewhat narrow, and the stream rushes through the valley with tremendous speed, thunder- ing over its rocky bed, foaming over great boulders, and seeming to reduce all obstacles in the course of time. Immediately in front of the station it has a fall of many feet: an immense volume of water, white, frothy, seething foam, tumbling into a perfect whirlpool of rage and fury; boiling, rushing, hurling itself over at express speed and with terrible strength ; casting around showers of spray, and ascending in white steamy mist. ‘The noise was so tremendous, that when close upon it we could not hear ourselves speak. But to go to the very edge, to sit down upon the rocks, and look over and into this mass of rushing waters, to watch the power of this inexhaustible torrent, was to lay oneself under the influence of a sublime emotion. The rocks here contracted into a very narrow opening, so that the strength and speed of the rushing torrent found itself concentrated into tenfold power. It was indeed a glorious spot. Surrounding us on all sides were the mountains: bare rocks to the very summit, cut and jagged, lined and wrinkled, as if with the burden of all the ages. Others clothed with furze and pine trees, with sprinklings of ferns and wild flowers: mountains opposing each other, and trees whispering their secrets, as in centuries past, when the waters were rushing onwards to the sea just as they were to-day: and as they will be when we in turn shall have given place to a generation of men and women who will know greater secrets than we do, and make grander discoveries. At length we started on our way to Blaaflaten (pronounced Blo- flaten: the double aa in Norwegian is pronounced like 0). The grandeur of the pass was undiminished, the road being often cut out of the rock and overhanging the rushing torrent, with nothing but the pine fences to protect the traveller. Then all this rugged and sublime scene passed away in a rapid descent that landed us ina broad valley, luxuriant and fertile in aspect, compared with that which had gone before. After Blaaflaten we entered upon our last stage. I was not sorry to see the end of our journey at hand. Twelve or fourteen hours a day had proved almost too much of a good thing; and yet I think we were less tired now than at the end of our first day’s work. The novel mode of travelling; the ever-beautiful scenery ; the fresh, sparkling air: the restful if somewhat monotonous solitude—all tended to keep up excitement and interest; whilst a well-earned, ECORNIECLIOOKS EEC aa)