WESTWARD WITH THE SHIP. 39 



It was a very beautiful morning; brilliantly clear and light. 

 Not a cloud was on the sky ; not a breath of wind stirring. The 

 sunbeams were thrown back, so strongly from the mirror-like sea 

 that I was dazzled, and could hardly open my eyes. Not a block 

 of ice was to be seen anywhere on the fjord ; which lay, blue and 

 sparkling, down below my feet. The mountains were pictured 

 with such marvellous sharpness in the surface of the water that 

 I was almost in doubt as to what was reality and what reflection, 

 and had one taken a photograph of the view, it would really not have 

 mattered which way one held it up. The snow had melted so 

 much during the dry, warm summer that the country, practically 

 speaking, was bare of snow. On Skreia there was not a flake 

 to be seen. Only in the inner parts of the fjord the ice and snow 

 still lay on the peaks and pinnacles, but even there it had greatly 

 diminished. 



It was such a still, peaceful day. Every now and then a gull 

 flew with calm wing-strokes inwarfls up the fjord : not a sound was 

 to be heard from them. No disturbers of the peace had landed 

 to-day on the tern rocks, and brought their irascible inhabitants into 

 commotion ! A lonely butterfly fluttered noiselessly past. Among 

 the stones close by the humble-bees hummed soberly and delibe- 

 rately ; while the flies buzzed and fidgeted around, but they left me 

 in peace, they had not yet acquired a taste for human blood. 



I gazed far, far out across Jones Sound, and noticed more open 

 water than I had hitherto seen. At the same time, I knew full 

 well that it would be a hard matter to bore our way out past the 

 rocks and across the fjord though, after all, we had not so very 

 far to go to pass the rocks and reach a lane which stretched a good 

 way south, and then the worst would be over. I had seen what I 

 wanted, turned, and went down to the harbour. 



I came from Nature's great peace and solemnity, up on the 

 mountain-side, to the midst of an ear-rending hubbub. The 

 dogs were just being taken on board. The din and disturbance 

 generally these dogs can make when they have a mind to, 

 borders on the incredible, but on this particular occasion they 

 surpassed themselves. Those which were left on shore await- 

 ing their turn howled and behaved as if they were possessed 



