TRAVEL IN SCANDINAVIA.*
WITHIN the last few years, whilst the number of visitors to Scandinavian lands, and to Norway especially, has increased very largely, the number of books that have been written during the same period professing to relate the varied experiences of their authors in these countries, has multiplied in a more than -corresponding ratio. Quite a shoal of such narratives has -appeared recently, and among them Mr. Du Chaillu's splendid work figures in every way as a Triton among the minnows, three of which are now on our table. Nor is this by any means .surprising. It is not everybody who can spend some years of his life in dwelling among and studying the manners of the people of the North, and it would be useless to expect, from the limited opportunities afforded to the casual tourist of an idle -day, the same amount of research and observation that the professional traveller is able to devote to his subject. What it is -that induces so many of the people who travel in Norway, Sweden, and Lapland to give forth to their friends and the world these accounts of their journeyings, it is difficult to say. Whether it is the curious sight of the midnight sun, or the novel form of posting in the queer little carrioles and carts of the country, so -entirely different to ordinary railroad or carriage travelling, or -the unusual and primitive style of living at the country stations, away from the united comforts and accompaniments of an hotel, we cannot determine. Probably the strangeness of all -these things combined seems worth recording for the benefit of those at home. The splendid nature of the scenery, too, has a very great effect on some persons ; but whatever may be the cause, it is certain that many • people, who would never dream of publishing accounts of their journeys in Switz- erland, France, or Germany, have small hesitation in doing so with regard to the districts of Scandinavia. Yet Norway, at any rate, can now-a-days hardly be called an unknown country. Its people and its scenery have been admirably described years ego by many able writers, and strange to say, by few, if by any, has this been done more graphically and correctly than by one who never was within its borders. In her delightful little .romance, Feats on the Fjord, Harriet Martineau has somehow grasped the character of the scenery of the west coast of Nor- -way in a wonderful manner. An impression of the solemn aspect of these sea-paved valleys, of the silence and solitude -which brood over the more remote and secluded of their almost labyrinthine recesses, whose gloom, even in summer, is pene- trated for a few hours only by the rays of the sun, an idea of • A Scandinavian Summer. By Katherine E. Tyler. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1881.
Norsk, Lapp, and Finn. By Prank Vincent, Jun. London: Sampson Low and Co. 1881.
The Nightless North a Walk across Lapland. By P. L. H. Morrice. Oam- bridge : Jones and Piggott. London : Kent sad Co. 1881. the wild freedom of the glorious uplands, with their superb views of mountain, glacier, and tarn, may be more vividly gained from this charming story than from any writings with which we are acquainted. The very atmosphere of Nor- way pervades the whole tale. Miss Martineau, however, never was there. She tells us in her autobiography, not without a tinge of the sense of her own superiority to ordinary people which is occasionally to be met with in the pages of that entertaining work, how the well-known Norwegian traveller, Laing, after the publication of her tale, came to talk with her about her travels in the land of which she had been writing, and how difficult he found it to believe that her imagination had supplied the scenes among which the action of the story moves. It is not everybody who, assisted by his reading, can thus evolve Norway's characteristic scenery out of his inner con- sciousness. Few people can aspire to describe its wild beauty, even when they have themselves crossed its mountain ranges, beheld the splendour of its torrents and waterfalls, and sailed. upon its lakes and fjords, in a way that will bring home these things to the imagination of others, and among these few Miss Tyler cannot claim to take her stand.
The authoress of A Summer in. Scandinavia is an American lady, without much romance or humour in her nature, describing what she ate and drank more carefully than anything else, con- stantly complaining of discomfort, and, to all seeming, not enjoy- ing herself much. A large part of her book is compiled from the writings of other authors, and consists of extracts from history, geography, biography, and the guide-book, which serve to clothe the somewhat meagre framework of her narrative. Although wanting in originality, either of matter or style, there is some interest to be found in the perusal of her work, as her numerous extracts are often carefully and judiciously selected. This journey was undertaken so long ago as 1875. Miss Tyler was in Florence when the idea of seeing Norway and Sweden was first suggested. to her, and in due time her party found themselves in Christiania. She and her companions have a somewhat nebulous existence, and we have not been able clearly to understand who was with her, or what the changes were, for we gather there were changes, that occurred in the composition of her party. They first travelled across Norway to Trondhjem, through Gudbrandsdal, and over the Dovre Fjeld, making a short excursion down the Romsdal and back from Dombaas. The choice of routes in Norway is very limited, and unless the traveller is prepared to undergo, like Mr. Morrice, to whom we shall come presently, no small amount of hardship, dirt, and general discomfort, any deviation from the great main roads is to be avoided. Large as the country is, the roads across its vast mountain range, or fjelds, are few in number, and for practical purposes may be counted on the fingers of one hand. This is not extraordinary, considering the difficult character of the country, the heavy engineering works rendered necessary in road-making, and the extreme sparseness of the population. Fortunately, by following one or other of these principal roads,'which are splendidly constructed, some of the grandest and wildest scenery that Norway's fjelds can show may be seen and enjoyed ; whilst the sub-mountainous districts through which the traveller passes, present scenes of the most exquisite beauty and loveliness. Such are the districts of the Ringerige, and the country round Fagerntos, in North Aurland, where enchanting lake scenery is to be found. But in order to gain any true idea of the charm of Norwegian scenery and atmosphere, it is absolutely necessary that plenty of time should be available, and it is only by stopping for some days at points selected beforehand, or that take one's fancy en route, that this can be done. The roads naturally follow the river valleys, and the neighbouring heights must be climbed in order to get some of the finest extended views. A few years ago, the accommodation everywhere was very rough, but the people have learned from the constant passage of travellers, especially Eng- lish and American, a little of what is required in the way of comfort, and there are now many stations with inns attached, where a few days may be passed in comfort, if luxury is wanting. Miss Tyler fell into the common error of trying to see a great deal too much in a limited time, instead of seeing a little tho- roughly, an error she confesses and deplores. She scampered across the Dovre Fjeld to Trondhjem, and scampered back, after going north, by way of the Nmrodal and over the Fille utterly ignorant of the beauty she was missing, and often too wearied to do anything but grumble. If she had given herself time to rest a few days at such points as Vossevangeu,Maristuen„ Fagerna3s, or Olken, to say nothing of Hotel Aak, in the superb scenery of the Romsdal, she might have made some easy excur- sions that would have left joy in her memory for ever. In the mind of the Norwegian peasant, this wild haste to push on ex- cites irritation and ridicule. He knows nothing of the feverish desire to catch a steamer at Bergen or Christiania, and it is in- conceivable to him why persons who assure him, in answer to his invariable inquiry, that they are travelling for pleasure, and not for business, should rush across the country, over- driving his horses, and often calling them and him away from his hay or corn harvest, at the very time when their labour is most required. From Trondhjem, Miss Tyler went north, in one of the coasting steamers. Delightful as it sounds to talk of steaming among the grand scenes of the west coast of Norway, up to the North Cape and back, it must be ad- mitted that the reality is not quite the (same thing. It is true that the scenery is magnificent beyond description, but with all its grandeur, it becomes tedious to steam in it day after day, and by the time Tromso is reached, the finest region has been passed. As the midnight sun is here visible for over two months, viz., from May 19th to July 24th, there is no occasion to go farther to see that phenomenon. The coasting steamers vary a great deal in size, and accommodation for passengers ; some of them are very small, not over clean, and the atmosphere below is apt, from the morbid horror Norwegians have of fresh air, to become somewhat solid. In this respect, Miss Tyler's experi- ences entirely agree with our own ; and her wisdom in abandon- ing the voyage to the North Cape, and deciding to go no farther than Tromso, is not to be questioned. After traversing the beautiful Hardanger and Sogne Fjords, the party returned at great speed to Christiania, whence they crossed the peninsula to Stockholm and Upsala ; and having had a brief glimpse of Sweden, departed to finish the summer in Russia, and thus we see them no more.
Mr. Vincent is also an American. In his preface, he tells us that it has been his endeavour " to present not only the latest, but also the most authentic information obtainable, together with such statistics, facts, and details as seemed necessary to fur- nish a clear idea of the intellectual, industrial, and commercial conditions " of the countries of Scandinavia and Finland. With this laudable object in view, he has written a pleasant and readable little work. He visited Copenhagen, or Kjobenhavn- the Merchants' Haven, as the Danes call it—with its museums of world-wide renown, and gives a good and accurate account of the city. Denmark, although few persons explore it, as it pos- sesses no fine scenery, is full of interest, and positively teems with the remains of ancient times. A most delightful holiday may be spent there. Many parts of its surface are beautifully diversified with wood and water, the towns are quaint, and the people pleasant and kind. The splendid cataracts of Troll- hatten, and the dim pine forests and charming lakes of South Sweden, are within a few hours' reach of the capital. Mr. Vincent is wrong in saying the cathedral town of Roeskilde is seventy miles from Copenhagen; it is only seventeen. A good deal of information as to the very dirty manners of the Lapps will be found in these pages.
If Mr. Morrice found the North nightless, he found it also cheerless. It is inconceivable what motive induced him to walk across Lapland from the Tana Fjord, in the extreme north of Norway, to Tornea, on the Gulf of Bothnia. He and a companion set out, laden with 60 lb. apiece, afterwards reduced to 52 lb., consisting of guns, fishing rods, and general baggage, to carry across a country which seems to offer few scenic attractions, where sport is indifferent, food scarce, and mosquitos are some- thing awful, inflicting positive torture. The poor dog which they took with them succumbed to their attacks, and had to be shot, and in some places the only relief for man and brute was the alternative horror of lighting fires, and remaining in their acrid smoke. Every element contributing towards enjoyment seems to have been wanting. Mr. Morrice kept up his spirits and showed wonderful pluck, but he admits that he would not willingly undergo such hardship again. His narrative is a melancholy record of misery and mosquitos, and from the time he left the steamer on the north coast until he arrived in Stockholm, joy seems to have forsaken him. As this book can neither be re- commended for amusement nor instruction, it is at least to be hoped that it may prove useful as a dreadful example, and serve as a warning to others who may be tempted to explore these most uncomfortable and inhospitable regions of Northern Scandinavia.
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