The Argosy — page 153: what you’re looking at

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

138 Under Northern Skies. night in our present quarters ; but without pushing on, our three days’ task would not be accomplished. Therefore, after a short rest to the horses—they must have rested most of the afternoon—we once more set off on our travels. The road was gloomy and desolate, but a certain grandeur about it was made more impressive by the gathering twilight, which here lingers long. On the extreme northern point of the island to our left the lighthouse of Hammerberg was already flashing out its warn- ing. A small lake reposed between us and the rising hills: ‘ well stocked with fish,” said Jehu, who bv extra civility was trying to make up for playing truant. ‘‘ Would we like to drive round and inspect the hghthouse?” But we preferred to keep on our way and lose no more time. Turning southward, we came to Sandvig, pretty and picturesque, but little more than a fishing village. It was built on the sloping hills, and the cottages stretched down almost to the very edge of the shore. ‘There was something so primitive and interesting about it; it looked so clean and quiet—as if here one need fear no inroads of noisy excursionists—that one felt half inclined to put up at Sandvig for the night. But, whatever might be our own impres- sion, it was evidently no favourite spot of the driver’s. Here was no favourite brew or boon companion. We saw it as plainly as if he had said so. He whipped up his cattle, and swept past the little houses and the quiet church, and had only one reply to any remark: ‘“‘ Very bad hotel.” Perhaps it was true. Certainly it must have been humble and unpretending. But so was the inn near the ruins of Hammershuus, where he had shown himself regardless of consequences by suggesting a halt for the night. And we almost wondered at our strength of mind in leaving Hammershuus, in spite of the noisy crowd and bad rooms. For there was a great charm about the place, a solemnity about the scenery difficult to describe. The disposition of the hills and their undulations ; the great stretches of green, quiet slopes; the remoteness of the inn from the world; the sea rolling up, breaking and surging, ebbing and flowing, within a few feet of us; all threw out their subtle influence. Above all, one felt impressed by those rocky slopes crowned by the ruins that stood out so clearly and sharply against the calm evening sky ; ruins that carried one back to the middle ages and threw their glamour and romance over the spot, conjuring up pictures of by-gone glory, when the Church had so much power in her own hands, and did not always use it with discretion. It had been difficult to tear oneself away from those ruins within an hour or two of seeing them for the first time. To turn one’s back upon them was to do so for ever. Life is short, and there is much to be done, and it was improbable that we should ever see Bornholm again. We longed to see the ruins in the glow of early morning ; when the sun, rising out there across the sea, in the East, threw all its COUN (A) eNO; KS,(EO)