84 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



but the egg of the Great Snipe — a dropped egg, we thought 

 at the time. But on trying to blow it afterwards we 

 found it had been sat upon some days. Our deductions 

 from this circumstance were not pleasant. The river was 

 higher than Trond ever remembered to have seen it before, 

 and had evidently been all over the island. Two rivers 

 join here, the larger one from Smaadal, the valley we 

 came down to-day, and the other the Hydals Elv, which 

 is the best fishing stream. We fear that the birds' nests 

 have been destroyed as at Nystuen, and that the great 

 marsh will be in a similar condition. We hope, however, 

 to try it to-morrow. 



July 6. 



Thursday, the 6th of July, was a day of heavy showers, 

 but we had previously had a night's experience. 



How jolly we were last night, and how we scoffed at 

 the idea of the discomforts of Soeter life, and how we 

 tumbled into the deal-floored beds on the top of cosy 

 sheep- and calf-skins and hay, Ole and Trond in the one 

 bed, Alston and I in the other. But ye gods ! now 

 came the discomforts of Soeter life. If one flea hit me, a 

 hundred scampered and played leap-frog all over my 

 body, and as many more upon Alston and Ole. Trond 

 was either flea-proof or not good to eat, as he slept from 

 ten till eight or nine next morning. 



As for me, first I snoozed, then awoke and saw Ole 

 stooping over his bed and plentifully besprinkling it with 

 Keating, which, though I was only newly awakened, put 

 me off in convulsions. Smoked a pipe, had a dram, and 

 did likewise as regarded the Keating, which ' I guess 

 made the little scoundrels ' make a mistake that journey. 

 The two Soeter girls, who had come up but four days ago 

 slept at an adjoining Soeter. 



In the morning, at 7 a.m., we tubbed in the burn 

 and I shot a male Budytes flava (var. melanocephala) 



