| Show ij 1 li i r nf jg An n Ev Evening ning by by- bythe the IN Norway th the mo mountain lakes are are more more- beautiful than anywhere else inthe in fn inthe the world That is perhaps the reason why no language of my acquaintance has a word which expresses so much or just the same as the Norwegian The is the easiest thing on earth to find From a N Norwegian valley look lookup lookup lookup up at any two neighboring mountain 0 pe peaks ks 0 then tr trace ce th the ridge ridge- of e each ch downward until they intersect and in inthe inthe inthe the angle formed by the ridges away from the valley the may be found The of Norway are invariably in alike and invariably beautiful On hyos two hyo s sides des the steep mountain ridges covered with green black-green pines and a a wild undergrowth of lighter-colored lighter willows and the creeping plant hop-plant ru run down into the water on the third and the tj rn is is is' is always triangular a a gentle gentte grass-covered grass slope leads up up into some higher mountain mounta n valley w where where e most likely are the satel's or summer pastures of the peasants This supposition is often ofen proved correct by the cattle far upon up upon p pon on the slope looking downward as as if they might contemplate a bath in the below or a meal off its its ferns The f ferns of the are marvellous They C crowd 9 l its shores clinging to every projecting projecting projecting pro pro- rock or or trampling the moss or hiding the twisted shapeless root which some old fir has sent down into the water They are an are man-high man and when the is small completely tely hide it with their broad tasseled leaves The sun hardly ever reaches the for forthe forthe forthe the mount ins uns s surrounding it are too high but its midday g gloom oom to me adds much to its charm To sit on the banks of the and dream Norway can offer no more exquisite pleasure to the tourist Late in a day of early summer I had discovered such a It was unusually unusually unusually un un- usually l large rge probably tw two h hundred f feet et long long and a boat anchored n l ion it on nit it pi proved V r 7 1 J f r 0 roP 1 t that t. ilia-t. f i it was was 5 s known to to th the the seek pleasure l u e k 1 ers ers of f the valley below or the sater sater- above above- Though the the sun was but setting j jt t the q rn was was as full of evening shadows j and I I long ong sat listening to the halloing of the sater girls for the cows and the answering and the s soft f tin tinkling of bells t the f faint int music of which came cane slowly fro from out the distance Suddenly I becam became became be be- came cam aware that someone was coming towar towards s the From the hillside where I 1 I lay on the moss I could see below me a young man mal with a girl athis athis athis at at- his side leisurely walking and t the while chatting gaily They are lovers v thought I or a newly-married newly couple Soon they stood on the edge of the the- water and fragments fragment of their conversation conversation conversa conversa- tion flo floated ted up to me Do you know that the water witch of the valley lives in this thi she she th that t sings sins 0 the death song ong at full moon moon o No no you jou frighten me let us us go go go Finally I I heard the girl girt say Ah here they are as two young young men men and a a girl came racing down the hillside They were evidently of the same party for the five were soon talking fast and laughing boisterously together All at once I heard one who in the semi dark semidarkness semi ness of th the summer night of the Land Landof of the Midnight Sun which had followed followed fol folo lowed the sunset seemed to be a golden- golden haired open-faced open fellow fellow I I thou thought ht he had talked and laughed the lo loudest dest say There is a boat Come let us end end the day with a moonlight ride o on on the 3 I IThe water The moon with its silver segment thrown sharply against the dark blue of the sky was just coming over the mountain mountain mountain moun moun- tain and cast one silvery ray across the n. n In a moment they were in the boat and at the middle of the lake For a awhile awhile i w while a all t was qui quiet t and nd I L had ad near nearly forgotten them thinking of the weird weird w superstition of the water witch the goblins arid and the b but t the laugh laughter ei of the men and the screams 0 of the girls in the boat again broke the silence The young husband I I fan fancied him him hima a h husband husband hus hus- s- s band I know not why why stood stood upright in inthe inthe I the boat talking and laughing in the stern sat the one with the golden hair r rolling the boat from one side t to the theother thet ther the I t r other faster and faster the girls screaming screaming scream scream- ing and the men lam laughing hing In a thought x r the man standing up lost his balance F there was a splash and he disappeared 4 t under t the e water For just a seco second th the laughter grew louder louder- but it died dle at t tonee once onee for the young m man man n did not bt ris rise again Mountain lakes l i s are treacherous and the seekers pleasure knew it ft It I might have been five s seconds or five minutes the minutes the silence w was s o oppressive and a tightness around my chest took J hold of of me as I looked then looked then t the e golden- golden r searched haired man seized an oar and searched t the water as far as he could but with but with d no result Then they rowed hastily to the shore hore and I saw one of the men menI I running at full sp speed e l towards the sater sates f Broken sobs reached me f from om below where the young wife lay against a a tree tree tree- l her friend knelt beside her comforting her in a low voice In the middle of the lake I saw the other man rowing here hen and there se searching for the body In a few mi minutes utes help arrived and the drowned man was found almost at dt once once I heard the he sobs grow more mor hysterical hysterical- and a mans man's voice moaned My God I have killed him I looked long at the party as it crawled up the hillside ahead ahead was was the bo body y borne by four men after it came the wife leaning heavily upon her compa companion companion com com- pa panion ion to to toone one side and at some distance distance dis dis- tance walked the haired golden-haired man with his f face ee covered by his hands It was not long until I lost them among the trees frees Involuntarily I turned and looked at the th the moon moon had ris risen nJ above the above the mountains and nd s shone one f. f full r 11 HJ c uit tHi J upon th the water Yater Not ot a a ripple broke its surface c it it was Vas more beautiful than ever 7 i L |
