311 
a Scene in Bergen Stift , in Norway. 
think how they should get him carried to the grave, and a cof- 
fin is prepared for him in the house. The body is laid in it and 
carried out ; and now, for the first time, they perceive with 
amazement that it is impossible in this way to get on with it. 
What is to be done ? Good counsel is here precious. They 
leave the coffin as a memento mori at home, and set the dead 
body astride on a horse ; the legs are tied under the horse’s belly, 
— a bag of hay is well fastened on the horse’s shoulders, to 
which the body leans forward, and is made fast ; and in this 
manner rode the dead man over the mountains to his resting 
place in Forthuus Church in Lyster, — a fearful horseman. 
After a long and fatiguing weary walk, 1 returned with the 
goodman to his house. A rich soup, made from excellent wed- 
der mutton, killed the night before, smoked from the white clad 
table. And what is not excellent when it is presented to you by 
hospitable hands ! So long as nature and generous simplicity 
is preferred to art and ceremony, so long will such a patriarchal 
meal, to which you are invited with a welcome from the heart, 
and which is gratefully received, be preferred to ostentation and 
extravagance. They wished me much to remain another day 
at Vettie ; but as I had fixed to go that day to Aftdal, and then 
over the mountains to some of the mines at Aardal Copper- 
works, I was obliged to bid farewell to the worthy people, whose 
extraordinary place of residence I had for the first, and I be- 
lieve also for the last time, now seen. 
With my former guides, and a man-servant from Vettie, I set 
out on this fearful way back. From the heavy rain, much of 
the ice had disappeared ; and I had the dangerous pleasure of 
seeing one of these masses of ice tumbling down in a thousand 
pieces into the gulf : over two only of the most obstinate were we 
obliged to cut our road over the ice. In good time I reached 
lelde ; and here, where nobody dreamt of danger, my horse 
tumbled with me over the side of a little hill. Thus ended an 
excursion, the whole object, and the whole result, of which was 
the view of Vettie’s GieL 
