7vith the Character of its Inhabitants. 363 



round me with friendly curiosity as I emptied my rich booty into the 

 tub, and began to examine it. I had to give a popular lecture on the 

 new and rare productions I had caught. Meanwhile, though the sun had 

 sunk below the horizon, the bright evening red remained visible the 

 whole night in the far west, and played on the waves around us —now 

 gleaming! and then vanishing like a soft lightning. The oars lay still ; 

 the boat" left to itself, rocked on the waves ; the conversation fell mto 

 monosyllables ; my companions sung a hjonn ; I heard the murmur of 

 their prayers, and then each, folding himself in his cloak, lay down to 

 sleep : thev slept the deep sleep of tired men. The biUows dashed against 

 the boat, and the night-air closed over our heads ; the consciousness that 

 a fathomless abyss might at any moment swallow up our small bark kept 

 me awake, and the power of the wondrous ocean— Solitude took posses- 

 sion of me. It was as if I belonged to the deep whose inhabitants I had 

 disturbed with my daring curiosity. The dim horizon of my precarious 

 future— a thousand pictures of the past, appeared and vanished again. 

 Neither sorrow nor joy could assume a distinct form ; all feelings blunted 

 each other— all images rocked like the boat, and melted into each other 

 like the waves : it was a feeling such as I never experienced before or 

 since. In the twilight, I could not discern the distant shore; and here 

 I learned the deep, unfathomable might with which Nature rules the 

 soul— here, as in no other situation. By degrees all images became 

 dimmer and more shadowy-the rocking motion of my thoughts more 

 tranquil, gentle, and calm ; the plashing of the waves sounded like a 

 lullaby, and I sank, like my comrades, into a deep s\eQ^."—Steffens, m 

 his " Was ich erlebte." 



IV. A 8cene in Nonvay. 

 " In one of these wanderings, I remember," says Steffens, " to have 

 spent the night in a valley so entirely shut in on all sides by naked, 

 abrupt, precipitous rocks, that the sun was only visible a few hours m 

 the middle of the day. A hut of unusual neatness stood in this valley ; 

 the c^rass was fresh, green, and luxuriant, from constant moisture j oats 

 and barley were growing in sheltered spots ; a few cows were feeding m 

 the little meadow : everything breathed repose and comfort. The mha- 

 bitants of this peaceful nook-ahale, active old man, with a white beard, 

 a good-natured old woman, a married son, with his wife and children- 

 were so cordial, so delighted at the rare event of a visit from a young 

 traveller, that I determined, after seeing the early setting of the sun, to 

 stay for its late rising. 



« The old people had not left their valley for years ; the young woman 

 haa seldom been as far as the shore of the Island. The son alone some- 

 times made journeys of business as far as Bergen ; but these were by no 

 means frequent, and their peaceful lives flowed on in the most complete 

 seclusion. The incident made an indelible impression on my memory; 

 because I never had so near a view of the riches of an apparent uniformity 



