2 TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



which soon landed us with our numerous boxes and 

 cases of provisions. 



Seated in the midst of all this luggage was to be 

 seen our "tolk," or interpreter, whom we had named 

 " Ferguson," after Mark Twain's courier, for he owned 

 an unpronounceable Norwegian name. Carts and car- 

 rioles having been summoned we soon arrived at the 

 farmhouse where strangers were usually received. It 

 happened that certain wedding festivals were in pro- 

 gress, which we wisely declined to participate in, 

 knowing how much beer and " aquavit " we should be 

 expected to swallow, for the tossing and heaving we 

 had sustained on the rolling German Ocean caused us 

 an imaginary sensation that the solid earth itself was 

 still moving like a vessel beneath us. Two hours 

 later my friend was rushing along the bank of the 

 Baeverdal trying to keep up with a salmon at the end 

 of his line which was making for some rapids, and next 

 moment I had the pleasure of gaffing a fish for one 

 of the most skilful fishermen who ever threw a fly. 

 It was a fourteen-pounder, and, curiously enough, the 

 heaviest of any of the forty-six fish we landed during 

 the next four weeks. My companion kept to the fly 

 the whole time. After landing eighteen fish during 

 the first fortnight, the river fell and he scarcely moved 

 another fish afterwards. I therefore became an ex- 

 ponent of the use of the worm as bait, and proved its 

 superiority under certain conditions by capturing the 

 remaining twenty-eight. The following will show 

 what I mean. It was customary with us to leave off 



