Part 15

During the visit to Indfjord a description was given of the funeral of Ingeborg, a good _pige_ swept away by a landslip. How full of sympathy the good folk were; how the finest breed of _blakken_ was brought, with the best carved collar the district could produce, to honour her last remains! And in another place we referred to the more common occurrence of the coffin being placed on a _stolkjær_. During the winter, in some of the most inaccessible farms, such as the Geiranger, where there is no landing-place, the body is kept until spring. This seems protracted agony; but there is the balance of nature—no decomposition. In the less-frequented rivers a solitary boat may sometimes be seen, containing a funeral party unattended, their sorrow self-contained and unshared by others. The opposite woodcut illustrates a touching incident—a _bonde_ and wife taking their “only one” to God’s acre. This is secluded life intensified. Their little one—their treasure and delight, their pet lamb—was called home, and they had to take it to its resting-place. The poor mother may have borne up bravely, but the sight of the churchyard in the distance was too much for her, and at last she gave way and sobbed over the coffin. But when she arrives the priest with kindly voice and deep sympathy will comfort and cheer her. Little, however, will they talk as they row back, with their hearts full and their home empty. None but those who have had an only one called away can realise the blank—their “sunbeam” gone. The grave-boards bear simple and pious inscriptions. We append a few here.

LINES ON GRAVE-BOARDS.

TRANSLATED WORD FOR WORD FROM THE ORIGINALS.

ELL OLSDATTER HOEL.

I was old and weary of my days, and my last footsteps were heavy; but thanks be to Jesus for his mercy, He opened my eyes so that I saw danger was near. In much trouble I must sing. Jesus is always present, and does not take his hand from us. At last I found the well from which my comfort ran.

INGRID LEDINGSÖIEN.

To children and friends! is Jesus Christ’s cry: Come, see I come; mourn therefore but with hope.

Farewell. I depart. The sorrow you now taste must in love take place. God himself will guard you so that we shall soon without complaint meet before his throne.

OLE GRÖDAL.

To my Father I go home; there is rest and quiet; and I know for certain there is also a dwelling there for me prepared. Hear my sigh, Lord, and keep my spirit in thine hand.

OLE WINNEVOLD.

Away from the world I fly full of trouble home to rest. I am ready to travel when my sweet Jesus will.

GUNDER GRÖDAL.

Seven times ten and four years was the goal the Good God had decided for us in our journey home; our mutual mother is earth. There, in the silent home of the grave, ends our last journey. Farewell then, friends, far and near. I wish every one in particular a good end.

LÖKEN.

Through pain Life is born; below the cross sin dies. After the cross, the crown is given; After wailing, the cry of victory.

INDRE LÖKEN.

Now have I triumphed by the blood of the wounds of Jesus. I have found my God, and gladly go to heaven.

The home life of Norway is very simple throughout: in summer, the perfect enjoyment of the short but bright season; in winter, spinning, weaving, and sledging. The absence of rudeness—the modern term “chaff” is unknown—the “even-manneredness” of the people in all classes, must strike a stranger. Whatever may be the class of society, there is always the same kindly politeness. No double set of manners, as civilisation brings about; no rudeness to inferiors, or fawning to superiors; the equal distribution of this world’s goods, combined with innate kindliness, prevents this. No unkindness, for they are tender to all dumb animals, and that is an undoubted sign of sterling worth. And yet, with all this, what jolly little things the children and young folk are! They will make the most charming little curtsey, and then go off, children to the core. A good innocent romp, how they enjoy it! The young girls, too, are so natural, perfectly easy, and well behaved, that it is refreshing to be with them. Nothing prim or starched about them, but good hearts, with the bloom of youth. Their dances, too, how they enjoy them; and then a song, with a chorus from the whole company, and another dance! Capital housewives these Scandinavian maidens should make, for even the _fröken_, or young girl of position, carries out all the household duties of home, and enters into the real work of life with the greatest earnestness, being mistress of every detail, and yet the most charming of God’s work—a natural lady. N.B.—The Patriarch did not lose his heart in Gamle Norge; that was safely at home in the good care of one who has monopolized it ever since he was a boy.

Norwegian housekeeping is so totally different from anything we have that it will be well to note it here. The wife has greater responsibility and requires more forethought than with us. There are no co-operative stores to which to send a long list; no one calls for orders, or solicits the favour of custom; no inviting circulars or enticing advertisements create an appetite for new purchases, and make one believe that superfluous things are absolutely necessary, and must be had. Nor does the husband go to town every day, and bring back anything the dear wife has forgotten. Her mental powers and good management must be equal to getting everything in before the winter arrives, not for the family only, but for the labourers also; and all this perhaps on slender means, sparse harvests, and bad seasons. In this respect, therefore, if for no other, the betrothal system comes in well, affording the young couple plenty of time for the acquisition of a thorough knowledge of what their new position may necessitate.

There is one thing, however, Norwegians do not comprehend, and that is the blessing of ventilation. They cannot understand it, and certainly never practise it. Their rooms are stuffed up in every conceivable way. As soon as the cold weather begins the internal atmosphere of the house remains unchanged until the following summer. When you open the door you have to cut your way in; it is as dense as cold turtle, and less agreeable. The marvel is that colds are not more prevalent, from the fact that the good folk wash their necks on Saturday afternoon as a preparation for the Sunday, when they dress in their best, and look like different creatures.

We are drawing near to the end of our tether, and much as we love home, there is not the same buoyancy about the return, however happy or successful the trip may have been, as there is about the start; for the latter is an important event, teeming with hope and expectancy, from the _couleur-de-rose_ descriptions of friends who have preceded us, and who have heartily enjoyed the recapitulation of their adventures, narrow escapes, and temporary deprivations. But it is very different with the end of a journey. There is something of the Ichabod in it; and yet we know not why there should be; for if it has been one of danger, we ought to be thankful that it is over; and if, on the contrary, it has been productive of pleasant associations, we should still be thankful, inasmuch as it will prove a bright spot to fall back upon and refresh ourselves with when wearied in after-life. So we will not be depressed at the end of our trip to Gamle Norge; we would rather think of all the kindnesses of the people, the grand scenery of the coast, the combinations of sea-rock façade and snow, and learn a lesson of contentment and Christian love from the _bönder_ and their happy families.

Having overcome this very natural feeling of regret that our holiday is over, let us, in conclusion, notice a few leading characteristics of the country which have been unnoted as we passed through it. Its geology is most characteristic, while in variety of climate it stands alone. Its wood-carving, too, has great individuality; and so has its old silver.[6]

[6] THE NEW CURRENCY OF NORWAY.—This change from the old specie dollar and skillings came into force on January 1st, 1877, when specie dollars, marks or orts, and skillings became matters of history. The new _régime_ is as follows:—

KRONE AND ØRE.

SILVER. 1 krone = 30 skillings of old Norwegian money = 1s. 1¼d. 1 krone is divided into 100 øre. Silver coins are 1 kroner. Copper coins are 1 øre, 2 øre, 5 øre.

½ krone = 50 øre. ¼ krone = 25 øre. 10 krone = 1000 øre. GOLD COINS (scarce; gold coins having been introduced only in 1875). 10 kroner pieces and 20 krone. NOTES. 5 kr., 10 kr., 25 kr., 50 kr., 100 kr., 500 kr., 1000 kr. 18 kroner = one sovereign English.

Let us, then, take a general view of the geological formation. Any one specially interested in this subject should study the “Geologisk oversigtskart over det Sydlige Norge,” 1858 to 1865, by Theodore Kjerulf og Tellef Dahll; but for others a general idea will suffice.

1. Gneiss predominates in the Romsdal and Sneehættan districts; also north and south of Sogne fjord, running down to the entrance of Hardanger.

2. Granite predominates in the south in large areas up to the Vöring Fos, and in detached portions in Vestranden towards Trondhjem. Christiansand is granite.

3. Sparagmit fjeldets (Norske) is found in Central Norway. This is a comglomerate of red sandstone, and sometimes called red and grey sparagmite.

4. Trondhjem quartz in the north, really hard schist: not found south of the Dovre fjeld.

5. Syenite and porphyry round Christiania.

6. Labrador stone occurs west of Lindernæs, in the south, at Ekersund on the west coast, below Stavanger, round the Galdhopiggen (the highest point in Norway), and north-east of Fortun, in the Sogne fjord.

The whole of this surface bears record of the immense extent and effect of the glacial period of Norway. The valleys show the glacial set as distinctly as does the tide in large rivers, the greatest attrition and scoriation being in the concaves going down. Huge bastions of rock[7] have been rounded and ground down by constant attrition, and vast terraces of sand, at the end of each valley, are the result of this attrition accumulating for ages. It would be very interesting to analyze and find the component parts of these immense deposits. Certain it is there is no natural sandy soil above, and, as we have before mentioned, when reindeer-hunting, we have found huge boulders of thirty or forty feet at an elevation of 5,000 feet, with smaller ones of a different formation resting on them. Now all this has been brought about by the influence of the gulf stream: when the gulf stream took this course the glacial period ceased in Norway. That epoch none can tell. It will be sufficient to notice the result, which is this: when the polar current from Spitzbergen runs down the west coast of the Atlantic, and produces the great fogs off Newfoundland, the gulf stream, driven up from the Gulf of Florida by the force of the great caldron of the equator, strikes on to our west coast and the coast of Norway, running up to the North Cape; in fact, the only timber to be obtained there is the drift wood from the West Indies; and at Hammerfest casks of palm oil have been washed up from Cape Lopez Point, in Africa. In Iceland, too, as Professor Ericker Magnussen informs us, the bridges are made of mahogany. Not that bridges are frequent in that country; but those which they have are made from the logs washed up there. This accounts for the variety of temperature which the two boundaries of Norway—the gulf stream on the west, and Sweden on the east—present. For instance, though Bergen and Christiania are in about the same latitude, the average temperature at the former is 46° 8´ and at the latter 41° 5´; the summer average is about the same; but in the winter months Christiania is often 13° colder than Bergen. Hence there may be skating at Christiania while there is none at all at Bergen, where the average annual rainfall is 72 inches, which, by the way, is lower than that in our English lakes.

[7] See the rocks of Steensund, on the west coast: these are conglomerate.

MEAN TEMPERATURE.

Winter. Spring. Summer. Autumn. Christiania + 25° + 38° + 60° + 42° Bergen + 36 + 45 + 58 + 48 Trondhjem + 24 + 35 + 61 + 40 North Cape + 24 + 30 + 42 + 32

The mean temperature at North Cape is 32°, the greatest cold arising from north-east winds. Thunder-storms occur in winter, while west winds cause dense fogs.

At the conclusion of Forbes’s “Norway” will be found a most interesting map, with isothermal lines passing through those places which have the same temperature in the months of January and July; and it is very striking to notice that the July temperature of the north of Ireland and Edinburgh is maintained through Norway as far as the Arctic Circle, when it begins to deflect to the eastward, where the gulf stream’s influence ceases.

Again, the waterfalls are a great feature of this country. Some one has depicted Norway thus [Symbol], and the Alps thus [Symbol]. There is much truth in this. The valleys running down to the fjords produce immense precipices, down which rush the many waters of the high plateaux of 3,000 or 4,000 feet; and in some parts these falls are strengthened by the waters of the vast stretch of _sneebræden_, or snow-fields, of which the Justedal and the Folgefond are the most extensive.

The casual observer, looking at the map of Norway, would think it well populated, but a few years ago its inhabitants numbered hardly more than one-fourth those of London and its suburbs.[8] The names on the map frequently represent mere stations, farms, _præstegaarden_, or rectories, and villages are seldom seen. As in Scotland, the farmer takes the name of his land. In fact, Norway and Scotland are very closely allied to each other in many respects.

[8] Population of Norway, 1,150,000.

From the Runic downwards, the wood-carving of Norway stands alone for distinctive characteristics, and is still carried on in every variety by means of the simple national tolle-knife, which is ready for everything.

The lintels and carvings of the _staburs_, or store-houses, in Thelemarken have been already shown, but the most interesting specimens are found in churches, where the tortuous lines are full of originality and power of design. Serpents are ever-present and ever-varying, the museums being rich in specimens of this ecclesiastical class of work. Wood, and birch especially, is used for every kind of domestic utensil, and ornamentation is very generally introduced. Some of the old horse collars are beautiful, and are sometimes painted; tankards are richly carved; spoons profusely so; and on some occasions the bridegroom, if he be very expert, prepares a double spoon for the bride and himself, wherewith to eat their porridge simultaneously. Drinking bowls, salt-boxes, _mangel stoks_, are all carved; and this art is much encouraged by the long winter evenings.

The old silver of Norway is so large a subject that a series of illustrations would be necessary to do justice to the matter; but its day is fast passing away. The peasants and fishermen have found new outlets for their earnings, and the time has gone by when they wondered what new thing they could have made in the precious metal; in fact, electro-plate is now invading Gamle Norge. May the _bönder_ select the blessings of civilisation and eschew its evils! May their home happiness and love be ever-increasing, and the kind welcome which we have so often experienced never decrease in heartiness! For a time farewell!

FARVEL, FARVEL!

PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD, LONDON.

Transcriber’s Notes:

- Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - Blank pages have been removed. - Title page has been moved to start. - Redundant chapter heading pages have been removed. - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. - Dropcaps image caption text is marked as [Dropcap caption: ...] - Dropcapped paragraphs treated as the start of a new section. - Illustration listing as facing page 183 changed to actual location as frontispiece.