278 Norivay and the Norzvegians 



place between the crews of rival fleets, who landed for 

 the sake of fighting out their differences better than 

 they could on board ship. Tlie reader who has followed 

 upon the map the earlier chapters of this history can- 

 not fail to have been struck with this fact. No real 

 description of these battle-fields is possible on this 

 account. And next after the record of the fights the 

 history of the country consists in the record of the 

 springing up of the sea-coast towns, one after another, 

 round the coast — of the building of Throndhjem 

 (Nidaros), of Opslo, of Kongshalle, of Bergen. In this 

 way the course of history follows the usual course of 

 our travels in Norway. Some travellers never get 

 beyond the coast regions. They may, without doing so, 

 visit tlie scenes of almost all the events which we have 

 had yet to record, the battles in the Christiania Fjord, 

 in the fjords near Stavanger, the islands near Bergen, 

 the Nord Fjord, the Nses, South More, North More, 

 Throndhjem Fjord, and the regions farther to the north. 

 But now there appears to view, so to say, and takes an 

 important part in the history of Norway, a new region 

 which many travellers never visit at all. I mean the 

 densely-wooded boundary lands which lie below the 

 higher slopes of the ' keel,' and just upon the division 

 line between Norway and Sweden. Here the forests 

 attain their greatest dimensions. The fir-trees tower up 

 to almost inconceivable heights, and among them, stand 

 scarcely less high, the slender JiVc/i-stems, shining 

 through. the gloom like, as has been said, ' silver threads 

 upon a dark green mantle.' We may suppose that 

 culture — civilisation such as it was — had advanced 

 fartlier and farther inland during all the years of history 



