WE CHAPTER XL. They played on the guitar until the warm day had given place to the starry night. I sat on my balcony, and looked on with pleasure at the gaiety of youth. With castanets they danced, Their only music this; Their eyes into each other's glanced, Quaffing sweet draughts of bliss. In Spain. HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN. LEAVE THE BEINA THE LILLE PIGE-ANY PORT IN A STORM-THE THROPIST-STEENS FJORD-THE KROGKLEVEN-BEAUTIFUL GORGE NOAH and Zachariah quickly loaded the donkeys ;* one of the boatmen showed us the way. We followed a track from the river through the wood. An old boat near the river, in the wood, turned on one side, with the Shelley, the poet, during his tour in 1814, being at Paris, purchased a donkey to carry his baggage, and, by turns, his two companions de voyage, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, and her relation, a lady friend. They all proceeded towards Charenton, when Shelley, who had, probably, made an indifferent purchase, discarded the donkey, and bought a mule for ten napoleons. With many adventures, the party at length reached Troyes, and Shelley, having sprained his ancle, the party accomplished the rest of the journey in an open carriage.-" Shelley and his Writings," by Middleton. 1858. Shelley was born 1792, and was drowned, 8th July, 1823. marks of a fire having been lighted before it, showed that it had been used as a bivouac. Passing through the court of a large house, near the wood, we shortly afterwards, entered by a gate into a pleasant shady way, leading along the left shore of the Spirilen Lake. A large crowd were still watching our cavalcade from the house. It was about twenty minutes past ten o'clock, when we left the river Beina ;* a halt was called at eleven, in a wood, on the shores of the Spirilen. Our middags-mad consisted of soup, made of potatoes, ham, bacon, and Liebig's essence, with addition of some gröd. Zachariah went fishing, but was unsuccessful. The rain commenced, and we either slept, or wrote our notes from about two o'clock until four o'clock. Again we were all on the move. Following the rough track through the fir-forest, we had pleasing vistas of the lake. Then we came to where some men were making a new road, and sometimes, we had to change from the old road, on to the new portion, lately opened for traffic; passing Bjönvicken to Engordden the road had enclosures, and farms on either side. About six o'clock we noticed the steamer going up the lake to Noes. At one place, we passed a new house, which appeared to have a shop. Soon after, a little girl followed us with something wrapped in a white napkin. It occurred to us, to send Noah back, and see if he could get bread. The little girl at once guessed what we wanted, and told us bread could * Spelt Bagna Elv in the Kristians ampt map. Much difficulty occurs with regard to the orthography of Norwegian names, which are very often spelt differently, according to the map or guide-book in which they appear. ANY PORT IN A STORM. 479 be purchased, at six skillings a loaf. She was a neatly dressed, intelligent little girl, and we gave her 3 skillings for her information; she at once seized our hand, and said tak; soon afterwards she went into a house on the roadside. There were nothing but inclosures for some distance. The evening was rapidly closing; on we pushed: no camp ground; still we hurried along. We were now on a part of the road recently made, and must shortly sleep somewhere. At last, just at dark, a small driftway was noticed, to a narrow strip of new-mown turf, between the road, and the lake. No time for hesitation; the donkeys were quickly driven down to the turf. Some high bushes formed a screen from the road, and a shelter for ourselves. A boat was moored on the sandy beach near. The donkeys were at once unloaded in a quiet corner, a fire was lighted on the shore, and our water quickly boiled.* Zachariah was on the look-out for Noah, who soon came with three loaves of bread, which had cost a mark. The tents were at once pitched. Our gipsies made short work of tea, bread and cheese. "Let's gell to our woodrus,”† said Noah. "Cushty ratti," soon asleep. It was a dark murky night, as we sat by the said we; and they were The tea-pot and kettle are both called by our gipsies "piri ;" and it is interesting to note that the Norwegian gipsies, according to Præsten Sundt, use piri to mean pot, and the Turkish gipsies also use the same word piri, with the same signification. "Let us go to bed." The French gipsies use Wuddress," Good-night. "Cooshko," "Cooshto" "Kosko" also used by the English gipsies. 'Cushty" is not used by the gipsies of some countries to signify good; for instance, the French gipsies use "ladscho" and "mischdo." The Turkish gipsies use "latcho," good, and the Norwegian gipsies "lattjo," good. Borrow, in his work, "The Zincali; or, an Account of the Gypsies of Spain," gives "kosko" as the English gipsy for "good." Colonel Harriot has given "kashto" and "kashko"; and for "good-night,” “ kashko rati," as used by the gipsies of North Hampshire. dying embers of our fire. Gradually the rain increased, and we retired to our tent. The turf had been newly mown, and was delicious to rest upon. We listened to the boat rising and falling on the waves, as they dashed in the night wind, on the sandy shore. It had rained heavily during the night, accompanied by lightning. Between two and three o'clock in the morning we were up, the morning was dark and cloudy, with misty rain. Fire was lighted; Noah warmed up some simmin (gip., soup),* saved from yesterday's middags-mad; we had also tea, and bread and cheese-an odd combination-which was hastily disposed of. The top of a house could be seen on the other side the road, close above us: the inhabitants little thought they had visitors sleeping just below them. It is probable that they would be sorely puzzled, when they went for the boat's paddles, in the bushes behind our tent, to see the impression on the turf-the impression left by our sleeping forms. Perhaps they might think, some Huldre or fairy had been there at any rate, we did not wait to elucidate the occurrence, which may be involved in mystery to this day. At five o'clock, animals, baggage, and gipsies were well on the road towards Finsand. There was something exciting in our wanderings. Our animals still continued quite equal to their work, and every day decreased the weight of the commissariat; the weight they had to carry was now much lighter. At eight o'clock we halted on the margin of an open bay of the Spirilen Lake, near some houses. As we were having another meal of cold bacon, meat, and bread and cheese, and tea, we saw the steamer pass down the The Norwegian gipsies use nearly the same word for soup, namely summin." LARGE BONDEGAARD. 481 lake from Noes. A woman and a man came and wanted to buy one of the donkeys. At nine o'clock, we were again on the move towards Somdalen. Then we came to a narrow channel of the lake, through which the steamers pass to the Aadals Elv. The road, after passing through Somdalen, continued through fir-forests, and pleasant scenes. At one part of the forest, we saw some wood pigeons, and at another, a jackdaw. When we had passed Somdalen, we halted again; our rest was on a greensward surrounded by a stream, in an open space below the road, surrounded by a wood. It was a nice secluded spot. We halted at a quarter to twelve; the sun was warm and pleasant; we had tea, fried ham, and bread. Esmeralda's spirits were in the ascendant. We left at twenty-five minutes to two o'clock. Our way was through beautiful forests, which reminded us of some of the wild scenes of Australia. As to Mephistopheles, he was buzzing about like a butterfly; we nearly crushed him once or twice. At last we came to a large farm on the borders of the forest, by Ytre Aadalen Val. The road led from the forest, over a rise of open cultivated ground, near a large and convenient gaard. We had lingered behind. As we again came up with our gipsies, they were passing over the cultivated land near the gaard. The master of the Bondegaard, a stout man, and apparently his wife and two daughters, and a large retinue of dependants, were grouped to see us pass. They surveyed us with curiosity, but did not speak. Scarcely had our gipsies got out of hearing, than one of the dependants was the subject of severe criticism. "Look at that country gorgio," said Mephistopheles. |