The Argosy — page 312: what you’re looking at

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

About N orway. 295 sound rest each night went far to restore the flagging energies of the previous day. Soon after leaving Blaaflaten we came by the mountain side upon the first wild-rose bush I had seen for many a long day: a sight to bring a rush of home memories to the mind, and conjure up, as if by magic, scenes long gone by. Memories of early days and hours that are the happiest in life if we only knew it, and come not twice to any man: memories veiled by the sober realities of after life, until a flower, a scent, a song, a chime, it may be a page in an old book, or a letter, yellow with age, traced by a well-loved hand, suddenly draws aside the curtain with unsparing haste, and brings back the past with an emotion that is at once the keenest pleasure and pain. The remembrance of days when sorrow and regrets are unknown: when life is not disillusioned, and robbed of that charm—an unknown future. When its aspirations and rose-coloured dreams, that fade so soon never to return, are still things of sense and touch: when the lesson has yet to be learnt that man’s heritage is care, and his best happiness must lie in earnest work. . It took but a moment to stop the carriole and gather some of the blossoms, that were full of the homely scent of the dog-roses in our Own country lanes. At once an invisible link stretched across the sreat space dividing the two nations, and brought them for the moment into tender harmony with each other. But we have not time to moralise now, as we had not then to linger. The mountains fell away, the valley widened, the stream expanded ; and about ten o’clock at night we reached Laerdalsoren, and with it the end of our journey. Yet our rest would only be for thenight. Early the next morning we were to take a boat with three strong rowers, and cross a portion of the Sogne Fjord to Aurdal, on our road to the Vettisfos. An excursion of too much interest and importance to be introduced at the end of a paper. COMIC OOO SS (C©) im