KEiNDKEi; ^TALKING 343 



cliffs extended as far as we ct)uld see, and over these a 

 splendid waterfall made one leap from the sky-line ti> 

 the level of tlir lake. Tost in assured ns that lie once 

 wounded a deer whirh ijul into this stream and was carried 

 over the fall never to be seen asiain. It was. in far-t. no 

 mean rivci-. 



It is this peculiar confu'uiation, of \allrys of extra- 

 ordinary aluuptness, and separati'd from one another hy a 

 wide extent of plateau, which makes the Norwe.uiau hi;j,li 

 fjeld so different from mountains of the normal type. The 

 Norwegian fjelds are not the place to go to for scenery. 

 Unless a man is attracted by mere barrenness and a sense 

 of space lie will be disap]H)iiited. It is featureless to a 

 o'reater deuree than au\- hill countr\' which I know. Of 

 colour too there is none exce})t melancholy hues. A ]ii'oof" 

 of this is found in the birds and beasts, which generally 

 nuitcli the ground they live on. They are all dull-coloured, 

 though 1 will not deny that the white -winged willow- 

 irrouse is a preti \- hird. 



But this remark does not apply to the scener}- of the 

 fjords, some of which are of an excpiisite softness, and 

 others, which are walled in by lofty sides, falling sheer into 

 the water, of surpassing sternness. Tliere is nothing like 

 them auNwhere else. ()ii the oilier hand, the climate is 

 the reverse of bracing. Ii has far too much of the vapour 

 of the Gulf Stream in it for my taste. 



h lodk us ncarl\- l\\o hour.- of boiic-shaking descent to 

 reach the shore of the lake Here was a little green patch 

 and a fanuhouso. the onlv ])ossi])le settlement for man or 

 beast on the edsc of the lake, and seeniinir to iiuard the 

 gates of the happy hunting ground al)ove. 



