The Argosy — page 389: what you’re looking at

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

370 About Norway. The road was uneven enough from the very beginning, but nothing startling, and for a time we went on calmly. ‘True, the horse would sometimes mount a hillock which brought my head into contact with his ; and in descending reversed the matter, and left it prone with his tail. He seemed to think nothing of these little diversions: took them in so matter-of-fact a spirit that I was forced to do likewise. In this valley the scenery was laughing, sunny, and almost fertile. Fir trees clothed the slopes, and birches were sprinkled about the | plain, which also yielded a carpet of ferns and flowers. But presently we turned to the right, and in a nook of the mountains suddenly came upon the roar of a torrent. In a few moments we were in sight of the grand waterfall itself, rushing down in great strength from the mountain height, breaking in its course into three or four distinct falls, one below the other : an immense volume of white foam making all the air alive with its noise, and destroying the sense of solitude that filled the pass. A lovely and lonely spot indeed, wild and weird to the last degree. ~ The slopes were a mixture of hard barren rock and pine trees that fringed delicately against the bright blue sky: great boulders stood out frowningly, many of them hundreds of tons in weight, split, in great cracks and fissures, from the mountain, and hanging, as it seemed, by a mere thread. Around us, and in the bed of the torrent, to which they offered small impediment, lay great pieces of rock and stone. Here I encountered my first “sensation” on horseback, and proved how dependable was my gentle steed. Advancing towards the waterfall, we soon reached a bridge which had to be crossed. It seemed composed of logs of wood, literally not more than a foot wide in all, without any protection on either side in the shape of railing. The water rushed beneath it over great boulders with tremendous force and speed; the spray flew upwards and around, and as we neared it a cold dampness in the air penetrated to our very marrow. The noise of the waterfall was like thunder; our voices had quite a far-off sound, and could scarcely be heard. So abundant was the spray that Jens put on his macintosh. The bridge was wet and slippery, and over this I was expected to guide the quadruped in full possession of all my faculties. The first impulse was to get down; but I saw that by so doing I should so sink in the estimation of Jens, that of the two evils I pre- ferred the least certain, and kept my seat. Away we went, and I gave myself up for lost. But the horse took the planks with the greatest coolness ; and in the very middle of the bridge, within an ace of the rushing water, deafened and confused by the noise, wet and chilled by the spray, came to a dead stop, as much as to say: ‘‘ Admire this sublime scene, but above all admire the steadiness of my nerve and the coolness of my head.” Then, at a slight call from Jens, who was in adyance CONMMIECLIOO KSaEe roy a9]