I left Christiania yesterday. The weather was not very fine, and having
been a little delayed on the road, I found that it was too late to go
round, a couple of miles, to see the cascade near Fredericstadt, which I
had determined to visit. Besides, as Fredericstadt is a fortress, it was
necessary to arrive there before they shut the gate.
The road along the river is very romantic, though the views are not
grand; and the riches of Norway, its timber, floats silently down the
stream, often impeded in its course by islands and little cataracts, the
offspring, as it were, of the great one I had frequently heard
described.
I found an excellent inn at Fredericstadt, and was gratified by the kind
attention of the hostess, who, perceiving that my clothes were wet, took
great pains procure me, as a stranger, every comfort for the night.
It had rained very hard, and we passed the ferry in the dark without
getting out of our carriage, which I think wrong, as the horses are
sometimes unruly. Fatigue and melancholy, however, had made me
regardless whether I went down or across the stream, and I did not know
that I was wet before the hostess marked it. My imagination has never
yet severed me from my griefs, and my mind has seldom been so free as to
allow my body to be delicate.
How I am altered by disappointment! When going to Lisbon, the
elasticity of my mind was sufficient to ward off weariness, and my
imagination still could dip her brush in the rainbow of fancy, and
sketch futurity in glowing colours. Now--but let me talk of something
else--will you go with me to the cascade?
The cross road to it was rugged and dreary; and though a considerable
extent of land was cultivated on all sides, yet the rocks were entirely
bare, which surprised me, as they were more on a level with the surface
than any I had yet seen. On inquiry, however, I learnt that some years
since a forest had been burnt. This appearance of desolation was beyond
measure gloomy, inspiring emotions that sterility had never produced.
Fires of this kind are occasioned by the wind suddenly rising when the
farmers are burning roots of trees, stalks of beans, &c., with which
they manure the ground. The devastation must, indeed, be terrible, when
this, literally speaking, wildfire, runs along the forest, flying from
top to top, and crackling amongst the branches. The soil, as well as the
trees, is swept away by the destructive torrent; and the country,
despoiled of beauty and riches, is left to mourn for ages.
Admiring, as I do, these noble forests, which seem to bid defiance to
time, I looked with pain on the ridge of rocks that stretched far beyond
my eye, formerly crowned with the most beautiful verdure.
I have often mentioned the grandeur, but I feel myself unequal to the
task of conveying an idea of the beauty and elegance of the scene when
the spiry tops of the pines are loaded with ripening seed, and the sun
gives a glow to their light-green tinge, which is changing into purple,
one tree more or less advanced contrasted with another. The profusion
with which Nature has decked them with pendant honours, prevents all
surprise at seeing in every crevice some sapling struggling for
existence. Vast masses of stone are thus encircled, and roots torn up by
the storms become a shelter for a young generation. The pine and fir
woods, left entirely to Nature, display an endless variety; and the
paths in the woods are not entangled with fallen leaves, which are only
interesting whilst they are fluttering between life and death. The grey
cobweb-like appearance of the aged pines is a much finer image of decay;
the fibres whitening as they lose their moisture, imprisoned life seems
to be stealing away. I cannot tell why, but death, under every form,
appears to me like something getting free to expand in I know not what
element--nay, I feel that this conscious being must be as unfettered,
have the wings of thought, before it can be happy.
Reaching the cascade, or rather cataract, the roaring of which had a
long time announced its vicinity, my soul was hurried by the falls into
a new train of reflections. The impetuous dashing of the rebounding
torrent from the dark cavities which mocked the exploring eye produced
an equal activity in my mind. My thoughts darted from earth to heaven,
and I asked myself why I was chained to life and its misery. Still the
tumultuous emotions this sublime object excited were pleasurable; and,
viewing it, my soul rose with renewed dignity above its cares. Grasping
at immortality--it seemed as impossible to stop the current of my
thoughts, as of the always varying, still the same, torrent before me; I
stretched out my hand to eternity, bounding over the dark speck of life
to come.
We turned with regret from the cascade. On a little hill, which commands
the best view of it, several obelisks are erected to commemorate the
visits of different kings. The appearance of the river above and below
the falls is very picturesque, the ruggedness of the scenery
disappearing as the torrent subsides into a peaceful stream. But I did
not like to see a number of saw-mills crowded together close to the
cataracts; they destroyed the harmony of the prospect.
The sight of a bridge erected across a deep valley, at a little
distance, inspired very dissimilar sensations. It was most ingeniously
supported by mast-like trunks, just stripped of their branches; and
logs, placed one across the other, produced an appearance equally light
and firm, seeming almost to be built in the air when we were below it,
the height taking from the magnitude of the supporting trees give them a
slender graceful look.
There are two noble estates in this neighbourhood, the proprietors of
which seem to have caught more than their portion of the enterprising
spirit that is gone abroad. Many agricultural experiments have been
made, and the country appears better enclosed and cultivated, yet the
cottages had not the comfortable aspect of those I had observed near
Moss and to the westward. Man is always debased by servitude of any
description, and here the peasantry are not entirely free. Adieu!
I almost forgot to tell you that I did not leave Norway without making
some inquiries after the monsters said to have been seen in the northern
sea; but though I conversed with several captains, I could not meet with
one who had ever heard any traditional description of them, much less
had any ocular demonstration of their existence. Till the fact is better
ascertained, I should think the account of them ought to be torn out of
our geographical grammars.