ernal repercussion
among the mountains and over the forests, brought the most melancholy
fancies to the mind, which the undecided hue of the atmosphere, neither
that of brilliant day nor the black majesty of profound night, and the
low moan of the wind through the fir trees, that sounded like the feeble
expression of bodily pain, or contrition of a dying creature, made too
oppressively sad to admit any thoughts of rational meditation which the
solemnity of the time and place might have encouraged. The gloomy
shadows of the fir forest, through which we had to pass, caused us to
look around with greater caution than we had hitherto done; and our
guide failed not to keep our vigilance alive by exclaiming at the
regular terminations of a few minutes;

"Varg, varg."

"Varg," means a wolf. The rustling of the leaves, or the rolling of a
stone as one of us might strike it accidentally with the foot, would set
the trigger of each gun clicking, and send from mouth to mouth the
signal of----

"Listen!--h-u-u-u-sh!"

Since we had left the more open part of the mountain, we had not felt
entirely at ease; for the incessant tramp of some wild animal was too
distinct at times to attribute the sound to imagination; and we pursued
our way with a feeling of uncertainty as to the manner and moment we
might be attacked. We all concluded, that some wolf had got in our
track, and was following at such a distance as to keep himself out of
our sight; but not so far to prevent him from pouncing on us just when
his opportunity offered. Though we were not wolves, we completely
understood the intentions of the animal, and exercised that attribute of
craft which is as abundant in the organization of man, as of the brute.
We had now reached the very heart of the forest; and the shades of light
were so uncertain, that the fallen trunks of the firs and pine were
often mistaken for bears, or any other kind of ferocious beast that we
had ever heard was of the colour of the bark, or common to Norway. The
measured tramp in our rear became louder and nearer, the deeper we
advanced into the forest; and every moment seemed to be the one in which
the conflict was to commence.

"Let us stop and see," said the Norwegian, in his own language, "if he
will come up to us."

We stood still; and turning the locks of our guns downwards, tapped
them, to replace the powder that might have receded from the nipples. We
could not afford to give our enemy the benefi