VALLEYS. iol 
the course of ages wider and deeper, with well-defined 
slopes, and already they are the upper portions of the 
valleys which lie far beneath, into which they lead; and 
the thalweg, or valley-course, may be traced by the con- 
tinuous flow of the water by the rivers, from these stream- 
lets on the plateaux to the mouth of these, by which the 
water of a million rills, or a million million of them, 
flows into the sea. 
Treating lakes as we have done, as expansions of rivu- 
lets or rivers filling some hollow or valley, we come 
naturally to consider valleys as river-courses and lake 
basins; and such they are—in some few cases having sup- 
plied water leadings and reservoirs; in most, having been 
fashioned, if not also formed, by the flow of water or of 
ice—formed, it may be, by the latter, and fashioned by 
the subsequent water-flow. In the descriptions given 
both of rivers and of lakes we have found the setting of 
the picture to be valley scenery; but the valleys may be 
described apart. 
Williams, a graphic writer, of whose word paintings I 
am glad to avail myself, supplies an illustration. In con- 
tinuation of a narrative which he gives of a journey which 
he made across the Dovrefjeld and into regions beyond, 
he writes: ‘The road beyond the station [Bjerkager] 
commands fine views of the valley, a deep ravine, thickly 
wooded with fir trees, and the river dotted with pine- 
covered islands, There are many indications of glacier 
action hereabouts, similar to those in the valley of the 
Driva, but more extensive and decided. 
‘The rich verdure of the Guldbrandsdal prevails over 
the greater part of the country through which I have 
walked to-day, and the fields are carpeted with sweet 
flowers as were those of yesterday. I little expected to find 
this element of heauty so generally prevalent in the far 
North” Passing Soknaes station he writes: ‘The road 
now enters the Guldalen, or valley of the Gula, the view 
down which is very beautiful. It is a rich. cultivated 
