SKETCHES FROM S^TEESDAL. 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 in 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 



