Mat, 1891. 
THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. 113 
THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. 
(Concluded from page 90 .) 
Of! Olden was lying the yacht of the German Emperor, 
and close by the two gunboats which served as guard of 
honour. We had purposed when returning to Faleide to take 
our boats past in close order, and give the Kaiser (or his yacht) 
a rousing British cheer, with “ oar salute ” the while. But 
“ The best laid plans of mice and men 
Gang aft aglee,” 
and we had to do it piecemeal. And after all we knew that 
the Kaiser himself was not on board, but we were all too 
boyish in our spirits to be troubled about such a trifle as that. 
At Faleide our steamer was lying, and once more we all 
dined together, while our boat moved again seawards. 
Norway, as I have said, is par excellence , the land of water¬ 
falls. Every day we passed them by the score, till, excepting 
in the case of some one particularly attractive for its pic¬ 
turesque shape or surroundings, we passed them by almost 
unnoticed. But late this evening we saw on the precipitous 
south side of the fjord (Utfjord, a* branch of the Nordfjord), 
down which we were coming, a sight which held us all en¬ 
tranced with its beauty. Probably a mile away from us the 
cliff, for little short of a quarter of a mile in length and a 
thousand or more feet in height, was one perfect network of 
silvery water. Not a patch that seemed the size of a hand 
was free; right and left the fleecy foam-streaks mingled 
together, in a position so permanent that their pattern was 
like lace against the black face of the rock. Oh ! for but five 
minutes, nay, five seconds, of bright light, for the cameras to 
do their work ; but it could not be. 
Our next land expedition was of three days’ duration. 
From Gudvangen, at the head of the Naero Fjord (vieing with 
the Geiranger in grandeur), we drove (Friday) up the Naero- 
dal, best known of all Norwegian valleys, to Vossevangen, 
where we made two days’ stay. Amongst other things we 
had arranged here for a ball, to which innumerable invitations 
had been given, our guests including a large number of the 
peasantry, in their picturesque dress, for here we are in the 
heart of the Hardanger district, where the old national cos¬ 
tume was at its best, and is most tenacious of life. The 
officers of the regiment quartered here, from the colonel down 
to the youngest and most flirtatious sub., were also all present, 
our total number probably exceeding 200. Before this ball 
we had arranged for a replica of the home-coming ceremonials 
