we came to a very interesting steep mountain way between red rocks. Here we had the Red Sandstone formation suddenly appearing near mountains of gneiss. The gipsies had hard work of it. Each of the donkeys had to be carefully led, and the loads steadied. Sometimes the loads, in going down a steep descent, would slip forwards, and in ascending would get nearly over the animal's tail; so that the load had to be readjusted. We did the best we could with Ole's impromptu cruppers. It was hard work for Esmeralda; but we relieved her as much as possible. Ole was ever at hand when a difficulty occurred.

We must say that our gipsies stuck to their work bravely. It was not long after we had come to the Red Sandstone rocks, that the Puru Rawnee slipped backwards into some deep boggy ground. It was impossible to avoid at times such mishaps. We had sometimes no choice, and on we must go. Noah, Ole, and Zachariah, at last, by pushing and lifting and dragging, got it out.

Mephistopheles, whose loud laugh rang amongst the rocks, was ever gay; but his laughter became wonderfully like poshavaben (gip., false laughter), when Ole said, in joke: "Master Zâkēē, we shall have to cross the river just now."

Night was rapidly drawing on, and we had not yet reached the Utladal Stöl. At last we came to a romantic reindeer hunter's cave. It had a narrow entrance in the rocks; no outlet for the smoke from the inside but the entrance. Traces of fire remained, and we noticed marks on a bank near where the hunters had tried their rifles. We had only time to explore it, and make a hasty sketch.

Shortly afterwards, just at dusk, we came to the open ground of the Utladal Stöl. It was a small melancholy valley. On a rise of ground, a short distance from us, we could see the stöl or sæter built of loose stones, one story high with one window. Somehow the stöl had a dismal deserted appearance. Some cows were grazing

near.

We were close to the river, some hillocks covered with low bushes only intervening. The donkeys were very tired, and it was just nine o'clock. Even Noah was out of sorts. The cows rendered the camp ground far from desirable. There was no time for much choice, or we should have tried some other ground. The woman of the sœter was out, so that we could not have cream porridge as intended. A small boy represented the woman. Our tents were quickly put up. Noah said he liked places where you could see plenty of people. This was the only camp ground we had disliked through our wanderings. It seemed like a valley where a dozen suicides had been committed, supplemented by an undiscovered murder. Though the influences were dull and gloomy, we made an excellent meal of tea with fried ham, and Ole informed us that the woman had returned, and we could have "flödsgröd" the next morning.

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Ole, in answer to our inquiries, said that there were no fish in the Utladals Elv, only newts, black-looking water lizards, sometimes called "asgals," in England 'lacerta palustris." There were no birds; even the philomela lascinia," or one-headed nightingale, usually considered a foolish bird and easily caught, was not fool enough to perch in this valley.

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Ole retired as quickly as he could to occupy the bed at the stöl, where we were told Messrs. Boyson and Harrison had stayed one night-we do not say slept, for we are extremely uncertain whether they did so.

Notwithstanding the Romany chaff for the gipsies were blowing great guns during tea, and pronounced the place in an impressive manner to be "mumply "—we got an excellent night's rest in our comfortable tent, lulled quickly to sleep by the rushing waters of the Utladal Elv.

At six o'clock we were performing our matutinal ablutions on the banks of the Utladals Elv, regardless of the newts, who might be staring at such an unusual visitor. Then we had a consultation with Ole about our future route. On reference to our maps and a calculation of the different routes to be followed, it seemed that we should reach Christiania with difficulty at the time we proposed. We sighed for a double summer in such a splendid country for mountaineering. At first we thought of giving up our visit to Mörkfos; then remembering Captain Campbell's description of this magnificent fall, we determined it must be visited, even if we pushed through the rest of the journey by forced marches.

Our breakfast of "flödsgröd" was prepared by the woman and ready at eight o'clock. For the information of our readers, we will describe how it is made. Two quarts and a half of beautiful cream were boiled by the sæter woman in an iron pot, to which we added some of our barley meal carried from Elvsoter. This was mixed together with the gröd-stick, and carried down to our

The flödsgröd was quite sufficient for the break

THE MUMPLY VALLEY.

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fast of five persons, and is a dish highly prized by the Norwegians, being eaten without the addition of anything else. It is very rich; the butter from the cream floating about at the top in a melted state.

The two quarts and a half of cream cost us one mark twelve skillings, and we gave the woman four skillings, which Ole suggested as quite sufficient. All the party excepting perhaps Ole, preferred the ordinary gröd with milk.

The woman was a thick-set strong young person who lived alone at the soeter with her little boy. She had plenty of occupation; seventeen cows to milk every day, besides taking care of seventeen goats and twenty sheep.

The Utladal Stöl was built with loose granite stones, earth, and sods, forming one long low building, divided interiorly into three compartments, one opening into the other across the ground floor. They had hardened mud floors. The second room contained a fire hearth and

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chimney and bed, and was lighted with one small window which did not open; the compartment was used as a dairy. There were three ventilators or holes in the roof, which, by the aid of a long stick attached to a square piece of board, could be lifted or closed at pleasure. The Utladal Stöl was roofed partly with turf and partly with flat stones. In the Bergen Stift we were told that the sæters are called "stöls." The Utladal Stöl was much like the dwelling-houses which were often met with formerly in the wild parts of Carnarvonshire and other counties in North Wales. In Norway the stöls are not used as dwellings like similar buildings were in former times in Wales. They are only occupied for a short period of the year in summer. Two guns, for shooting reindeer, hung from the roof of one of the

rooms.

We were glad to leave, at ten o'clock, this melancholy part of the valley, which is between the Raudals Hö, or Hill of the Red Valley, and the Utladals Axelen. The donkeys were not very fresh, and ascended slowly the steep ascent from the stöl. Esmeralda's donkey, the Tarno Rye, was rather weak at starting. The Puru Rawnee was stronger, but its back was a little sore. Our cruppers were made of twisted birch twigs wrapped with a piece of carpet. Birch twigs are used for a variety of purposes in Norway-crates, net baskets, hobbles, cruppers, fastenings for sails, oars, withes for gates, &c.

Soon afterwards we descended the other side of the hill towards a stream called the Lille Utladals Elv. The gipsies called it a "slem drom." Our donkeys made their way with difficulty, and great care had to be used