SKETCHES FROM SETERSDAL. 209 
giving evident signs of the hard contest he sustained ! 
The Bygland’s Fjord below seems still to preserve re- 
membrances of it deep in its silent bosom; but the 
Otter rages and chafes as if at the bare thought. Alas, 
that none can interpret its noisy language! The voice 
of tradition is hushed. 
In passing underneath these huge blocks, it is im- 
possible to refrain from shuddering at seeing them sus- 
pended, as it were, overhead. They seem as if they 
had not entirely stopped after their violent course ; 
as if they were lying there, lingering and reflecting 
whether they should venture a spring down into the 
abyss. Occasionally it happens that one or two of 
these loiterers at length finds a convenient moment for 
this last leap, of which it has been pondering for cen- 
turies; and then, as if actuated by some sudden idea, 
rushes with a crash like the roar of a cannon, down into 
the depth im a wild dance, dashing everything along 
with it in its passage. There are also points where the 
valley becomes wider, and where the road winds 
through a more smiling landscape; but still, Nature 
never quite loses her character of wild and exaggerated 
power. 
Gazing on such a prospect, one cannot but acknow- 
ledge that such a picturesque bridle-road—now boldly 
rounding a projecting rock, now hidden to view in a 
thick coppice, or again creeping down into the valley 
P 
