at I was
perplexed to tell whence the voice came. I was not long in doubt. A
young girl, walking quickly, with a light step, and bearing in her hand
a bundle of dried sticks, came forth from the heart of the pine-forest.
The moment she saw me her song ceased, and she stood still.

She wore, sitting rather back upon the head, a crimson cotton skull-cap,
leaving exposed her fair high forehead. A boddice of white linen was
attached from her waist to a dark blue petticoat, hemmed with scarlet
cloth, which descended to her ankle, but not to such undue length as to
conceal her little naked feet, peeping out, like white mice, from
beneath. Her silken, fair hair flowed uncontrolled over her right
shoulder, off which her boddice, though fitting almost close to the
throat, had fallen slightly and left bare; and silver bracelets clasped
her wrists, while the image of the Saviour, carved in ivory, was
suspended from her neck. A gold ring, antiquely moulded, encompassed her
middle finger. She was of the ordinary height of women, and her small
mouth, her short, straight nose, her large, joyous blue eye, joyous
while yet the clear-complexioned, oval face was clouded with surprise,
developed the simplicity, liveliness, and rare beauty of a Norwegian
girl.

She gazed at me, fixedly, free from coyness, with the deliberation of an
innocent heart; and, when she saw my attention was as much devoted to
her, she smiled; and then, often turning round to look back as she went
her way, began to descend the hill towards the town. The shrubs and
filbert-trees soon took her from my sight.

CHAPTER XII.

A DRIVE INTO THE INTERIOR--EXTENSIVE AND SUBLIME
PROSPECT--NORWEGIAN POST-HOUSES--REPAIR OF THE
ROADS--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE.

On Sunday morning, we went to Krokleven, a spot about twenty miles from
Christiania, and celebrated for its scenery. The journey thither was
unpleasant enough, for the day was hot, and the roads were dry; and,
when the Norwegian started off at the usual speed of his countrymen, the
dust, disturbed by the horses' hooves and the carriage wheels, rose in
volumes, which overtook and palpably descended upon us, when the driver
suddenly halted the career of his steeds at the base of a hill.

The road to Krokleven was as tantalizing as it was perfect in sublimity
of scenery; for, from several elevated places, we could observe our path
creeping along over the mountains, and down the valleys, to the very
cotta