FOREST SCENES. 19 



the roar of the river, our constant, though for the most 

 part unseen companion, as it hurried down the frequent 

 rapids; all this gave a new and solemn phase to our 

 thoughts.' 



But there is yet another picture needed to illustrate 

 fully the forest scenery of Norway ; and this the volume 

 which I have cited supplies. The author subsequently 

 writes : ' Before we take leave of the valley of the Nid, 

 I must endeavour to give a brief sketch of its most strik- 

 ing scenes, On the skirts of the forest we again struck 

 the river, flowing silently, deep and glassy, with a strong 

 current to the southward. But we could just perceive, 

 and our ears received distinct intimation, that its character 

 was about to change. Having crossed a ferry just below 

 some rapids, over which it was tumbling in angry con- 

 fusion, the wild roar of the waters increased. About a 

 mile above, the whole body of the river is projected over a 

 ledge of rocks, forty or fifty yards in width, which clams 

 up the breadth of the channel. As yet, however, only the 

 upper edge of the fall was visible. Seen at a distance, 

 above a screen of firs, the long white sheets of foaming 

 water, stretching from bank to bank, appeared like folds 

 of linen extended on the racks of a bleaching ground. 

 There are three successive falls, of which the principal and 

 most precipitous, where the river, confined in deep clefts, 

 turns a sharp angle, may not exceed fifty or sixty feet in 

 height. But though that is insignificant compared with 

 many others which we afterwards saw, the depth of the 

 fall itself is not the only ingredient in the grandeur of 

 such a scene. The broad sheet, and comparatively small 

 elevation of this, put me somewhat in mind of the falls of 

 Schaffhausen. But its most remarkable feature was the 

 immense quantity of timber which, having floated from 

 the upper country, was here carried down the current. 

 The enormous logs, first whirled, fearfully booming, against 

 the rocks that narrowed the channel, were then hurled 

 over, and plunged into the boiling foam below, At the 



