Norse mythology; or, The religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpretedAnderson, Rasmus Björn
Religion
Norse mythology; or, The religion of our forefathers, containing all the myths of the Eddas, systematized and interpreted
Anderson, Rasmus Björn
Mythology, Norse; Northmen -- Religion; Old Norse literature; Tales, Medieval
Make a journey by steamer on some of those noble and magnificent fjords
on the west coast of Norseland. The whole scenery looks like a moving
panorama of the finest description. The dark mountains rise almost
perpendicularly from the water’s edge to an enormous height; their
summits, crowned with ice and snow, stand out sharp and clear against
the bright blue sky; and the ravines on the mountain tops are filled
with huge glaciers, that clasp their frosty arms around the valley, and
send down, like streams of tears along the weather-beaten cheeks of the
mountains, numerous waterfalls and cascades, falling in an endless
variety of graceful shapes from various altitudes into the fjord below.
Sometimes a solitary peak lifts its lordly head a thousand feet clear
above the surrounding mountains, and towering like a monarch over all,
it defiantly refuses to hold communion with any living thing save the
eagle. Here and there a force appears, like a strip of silvery fleecy
cloud, suspended from the brow of the mountain, and dashing down more
than two thousand feet in one leap; and all this marvelously grand
scenery, from base to peak, stands reflected, as deep as it is lofty, in
the calm, clear, sea-green water of the fjord, perfect as in a mirror.
There is no storm; the deep water of the fjord is silent and at rest.
Not even the flight of a single bird ruffles its glassy surface. As the
steamer glides gently along between the rocky walls, you hear no sound
save the monotonous throbbing of the screw and the consequent splashing
of the water. All else is still as death. The forces hang in silence all
around, occasionally overarched by rainbows suspended in the rising
mist. The naked mountains have a sombre look, that would make you
melancholy were it not for the overpowering grandeur. Sunshine reaches
the water only when the sun’s rays fall nearly vertically, in
consequence of the immense height of the mountains’ sides, whose
enormous shadows almost perpetually overshade the narrow fjord. The
noonday sun paints a streak of delicate palish green on one side,
forming a striking contrast to the other dark overshadowed side of the
profound fjord. It is awe-inspiring. It is stupendous. It is solemnly
grand. You can but fancy yourself in a fairy land, with elves and
sprites and neckens and trolls dancing in sportive glee all around you.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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