Mr. Georg Brandes, in his excellent study of Björnson in _Creative Spirits of the Nineteenth Century_, affirms that the popularity of these peasant tales was not so great throughout Norway as one is inclined to believe from later reports. “People loved the peasant in the abstract” but they did not know him, nor were they deeply interested in his welfare or his aspirations. Moreover, the critics found them sentimental and failed to appreciate the legends and parables which were often interspersed, like the beautiful symbolism in the opening paragraphs of _Arne_ with the several trees--juniper, oak, birch, and heather--seeking to clothe the mountain. In the two tales, _Synnöve Solbakken_ and _Arne_, Björnson represented two heroes of Norwegian life; Thorbjörn of the first story was the youth of physical virility, developed by contact with gentler influences; Arne, by contrast, was dreamy and poetic, in need of more robust experiences. There are wistful strains of melody in this story of _Arne_--this yearning for the ideal. Sir Edmund Gosse has translated one of these lyrics in rhymed couplets: Through the forest the boy wends all day long, For there he has heard such a wonderful song. He carved him a flute of the willow tree, And tried what the tune within it might be. The tune came out of it sad and gay, But while he listened it passed away. He fell asleep, and once more it sung, And over his forehead it lovingly hung. He thought he would catch it and wildly woke, And the tune in the frail night faded and broke. “Oh God, my God, take me up to Thee, For the tune Thou hast made is consuming me.” And the Lord God said, “’Tis a friend divine, Though never one hour shalt thou hold it thine. Yet all other music is poor and thin By the side of this which thou never shalt win.”[36] The character of Arne, the poetic, restless boy who tries to break away from the rock-ribbed confines of Norway, is an individual and a national type; his mother, Marit, is one of the most real, appealing women of Norwegian fiction. In these two peasant tales, and the lighter, more joyful romance of _A Happy Boy_, is found some of the best poetry by Björnson. Many of these verses are found in _Poems and Songs_, translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer from the Norwegian in the original meters.[37] “Synnöve’s Song,” “The Day of Sunshine,” and “Ballad of Tailor Nils,” from _Arne_, are typical examples of his lyrics. Included in this anthology are patriotic poems. One of these, entitled “Song of Norway,” from _Synnöve Solbakken_ (1859) is one of the most familiar of National Songs, beginning, Yes, we love this land that towers Where the ocean foams; Rugged, stormswept, it embowers Many thousand homes. Love it, love it, of you thinking, Father, mother dear, And that night of saga sinking Dreamful to us here.[38]