CHAPTER XVII. No lust of wealth, nor scent of distant war, Ask but for room to wander on alone, Amid earth's tribes, unnoticed and unknown. DEAN STANLEY's Oxford Prize Poem, The Gipsies. GIPSIES' AFFECTION-LAURGAARD ADIEU-BEAUTIFUL GORGES ONWARD EVER-ESMERALDA'S IRISH SONG-DOVRE-FRIENDLY TRAVELLERS— DISTURBANCE KINDNESS ΤΟ ANIMALS OUR BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET-SNEHÆTTEN FJELD-DOMBAAS-COMFORTABLE SITUATION -WILD SCENERY-OPPORTUNE VISIT-ILLUSORY HOPE. MORE than once we were half-inclined to tie a loose piece of rock to our gipsies' necks and throw them into the Logan; still, we had promised to bring them back, dead or alive, to their parents. Gipsies, whatever their faults may be, have boundless affection for their offspring, perhaps too much so. A promise is a promise; we kept Our music ceased in the valley of Laurgaard, and we wished our visitors all good-by. Many lingered by the donkeys as we retired to our tent, and watched the picturesque valley before us. The delightful stillness seemed to give to our musings a charm and novelty ours. LAURGAARD ADIEU. 191 only experienced in tent life. Then we heard the sound of merry voices in the road below; a children's game; the peasant boys united to keep the girls from coming the bank to the road. Sometimes there were sharp up and vigorous contests, and the girls, for a time, had almost taken the road by storm. Here and there we saw single-handed encounters; then several girls, who had maintained the struggle, would be pushed down, and rolled over the bank pell-mell on one another. Now and then boys would be dragged from the road and swung in a heap on the green sward. To whom the victory, we know not; exposure to the open air predisposes to sleep. What a deep and refreshing sleep was ours when all was still. In the early morning, within view of Laurgaard and its bridge, the tents of the wanderers, with three donkeys browsing near, might be seen on the hill side. We were late the next day, for we did not rise before seven o'clock. At eight o'clock, we had a good breakfast of trout; they were excellent. The old fisherman with red cap came to see us again, and gave us some reindeer flesh; we made him a present of some fishing-flies. Striking camp, with a hearty farewell to those peasants who came as we were leaving, we were again en route. Esmeralda, Noah, and Zachariah were full of spirits, as we entered the beautiful wild gorge beyond Laurgaard. A man from a sæter in the mountains followed us for some short distance, and we saw him afterwards sitting on an eminence, watching us as we toiled. up the steep ascent of the romantic glen. At Romungaard, near Laurgaard, Colonel Sinclair stayed the night previous to his death at the Kringelen. success. The road also branches off from Laurgaard to Vaage. On either side the mountain slopes were thickly wooded with Scotch fir, interspersed with birch. We had a long ascent from Laurgaard, but the scenery amply repaid us for our toil.* The river foamed in the rocks below, and at one place Zachariah tried his fly, but without The Haalangen Fjeld, and the Rusten Fjeld bounded our route on either side. We met several carrioles, and some peasants followed us. At last, we came to a small wood of alder bushes, open to the road. On the opposite side the valley we noticed a very large house. The donkeys were no sooner unloaded, than a tall young man and several peasants came to us. It is not pleasant to have visitors pressing round when you are preparing for your bivouac meal. Explaining that if they would leave us for half-an-hour we would give them some music they at once left. Our midday's meal, consisting of fish, was scarcely finished when our visitors returned. The tall young man was a very intelligent fellow. The peasant who had introduced us to our partner the evening before was there. We sang our gipsy song with the guitar; Zachariah and Noah played for them; and one of our visitors also played some Norwegian airs. The order was at length given to load; Noah did so, with a considerable amount of chaff with his brother and sister. All being ready, we bade our visitors adieu, who seemed disappointed we were not going to camp there for the night. Bayard Taylor, in his work called "Northern Travel," published in 1858, says: "Beyond Laurgaard, Guldbrandsdal contracts to a narrow gorge, down which the Logan roars in perpetual foam. This pass is called Rusten; and the road here is excessively steep and difficult." ESMERALDA'S SONG. 193 The valley now became more open, and we began to descend towards "Dovre." The usual number of peasants came at various points on the road to see us; sometimes Zachariah played his violin, sometimes Esmeralda sang. One song was an Irish song; it is curious specimen of song lore. Esmeralda would sometimes dance as she sang the words of the the words of the song; we have never met with it before, and therefore give the words. song and the dance, and air, by the gipsy girl, with all the accessories of pine forest, rising mountains, and a wilderness of interesting scenery, was very effective. The We passed Broendhaugen," having the Jetta Fjeld on our left and St. Kaven and Vesle Fjeld on our right. Two very civil peasants at length joined our party. The clouds seemed very wild and dark over the mountains of the Dovre Fjeld. At length we crossed a bridge near Dovre. The loose blocks of water-washed stones on our road towards the bridge added to the wildness of the evening scene. After some failures, we made the men understand that we wanted to find a shop to buy bread. When we had passed the bridge a lame boy came to solicit alms, and we gave him two skillings. As we approached the village of Dovre a close carriage drove up, and the donkeys were halted for it to pass. The traveller also pulled up and began leisurely to inspect the donkeys through the carriage window. Our time was pressing. Noah was indignant that we should be expected to wait to satisfy the curiosity of every traveller. If they had been ladies the case might have been different, but now our party moved on without delay. The road we had followed during the day was at one time as high as 1800 feet above the level of the sea. Now we had descended to about 1500 feet. A gentleman drove past in his four-wheeled carriage, having apparently some of his family with him. Stopping his carriage, he seemed much interested with our party. Some hay was given to the donkeys from the stock he had for his own use. There was something so friendly in his manner, that if he had wished to gaze on the donkeys all night they would probably have remained where they were. Comfortable houses were scattered here and there, and we noticed posts and rails set up in the fields, which seemed to us to have no sort of use as fences. At first we thought they must be somehow connected with the winter's snows, as drift barriers, but |