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 cf 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 dams 
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 
