unaccountable description. Mysterious white
deal cases, often of an unwieldy length, and
generally marked " Glass, with great care,"
or not unfrequently declaring the owners'
names in immense capitals, had settled down
upon the ship in horrible confusion. The
saloon accommodated several ; but others
were strewn along the passage, and some lay
in wait to trip up those who walked unwarily
upon the deck. When after three days of
discomfort we were saluted with the joyful
summons to look after our goods because the
Custom House officers had come on board, it
was a pleasant sight to see these sealed cases
handed down more tenderly than babies, into
the little boats by which we were to land,
each superintended by its owner. The Custom
House had courteously waived the ceremony
of minute inspection.

The morning of July, 28, 1851, respectably
broke out cloudy, but with a tendency to
clear. I found that a party had been planned
by a Norsk friend of ours, to go a few English
miles up the Fjord to the Skuterud Sæters or
summer pastures, which commanded an extensive
range of country, over which to observe
the effect of the Eclipse. This arrangement,
of course, had been dependent on the weather,
and as that warranted our making the
experiment, we prepared forthwith for the
expedition. We started soon after eleven
o'clock in an English pony carriage, drawn
by a pair of active little Norsk horses, and
carrying, as luggage, a large collection of
smoked glasses, and a tiny telescope. Our
road lay, first, through the little village
Nymoen, then, crossing the Simoa river, by a
bridge immediately over a foss or fall of
upwards of a hundred feet in height, we soon
entered a pine forest. One always does soon
enter a pine forest in traversing Norwegian
scenery; this particular one was, perhaps,
more than usually fragrant in consequence of
the late rains. Now the sun, good fellow,
broke out joyously, and put forth strength
enough to make us grateful for the shade we
were enjoying. Our little ponies cantered
up and galloped down hills which would
have been terror to an English horse, and in
an hour-and-a-half we reached the mines of
Skuterud. Beyond this point there is no
road, a foot-path only leading to the Sæters.
We lost no time in securing a guide to lead us
to the rest of the party, who, we were told,
had already reached their destination. As
we mounted on our way, the view, of course,
extended on all sides. Blue hills marked out
the horizon, with a magical distinctness; but
since the sun was beating upon our backs, we
were glad to find ourselves at last on the
crowning point, selected by our host as the
fit station of observation; it was one which
could not easily be bettered. We were
completely encircled by hills of picturesque
outline, and if not of very great elevation, yet
high enough to retain traces of the winter's
snow. North-east lay the Tyri-fjord, calm and
clear ; and immediately around, but still
below us, the rude Sæters, built of stems of
fir-trees like the Swiss châlets, and like them
merely summer dairy huts.

The group collected on the summit was
a pleasant company; first, I was introduced
to our hostess, "Fru," as she was called, a
title which in Norway marks a higher standing
than '' Madame," but which is enjoyed by
some who have not the education or manners
of the middle class in England. She was
a short, stout, handsome little woman, who
bowed low and shook hands with me, but
speedily retired to attend to her hospitable
preparations. My next introduction was to
her eldest daughter, a handsome brunette,
under a deep brimmed straw hat. The
younger children, all under the shadow of
broad hats, scudded away in every direction
to avoid being subjected to introductions.
Seated on a projecting rock was a young man,
fresh from the University of Christiania, with
a handsome countenance, and a becoming
beard. He was talking over "coming events"
with two friends, one of them an Englishman;
these, with ourselves, were all the members
of the party. Punch and a variety of cakes
having been handed about by the two elder
daughters, we planted ourselves in the most
comfortable positions for watching the
commencement of the Eclipse, which was now
nearly due. At last, at about a quarter to
three o'clock, one of our party, an Englishman,
had reason to exclaim, " Now, it's
begun."

As the shadow increased, the change in the
appearance of the landscape was most curious.
The light gradually grew pale, the distant
blue became gray, the foreground dim; in
fact, a deep twilight seemed to have stolen
over us. The temperature sank considerably;
the silence was complete; an irresistible
feeling of awe compelled us all to speak in
whispers; but the most impressive change
took place about two minutes before the
totality commenced. Then a shadow, like a
thick dark cloud, appeared over the north
and north-west, and swept slowly on towards
the south-east, until, when the Eclipse became
total, it surrounded us entirely. At the
same moment a bright orange streak of light
broke out on the western horizon, causing the
outlines of the hills to stand out in a bold relief,
and giving to the whole landscape, somebody
said, the effect of a Claude. The corona
appeared to emit bright yellow rays, but they
were not strong enough to cast a shadow.
Many stars were visible; we have since made
up our minds that there were at least twenty,
but, at the time, we were all too busy to count
them. Mercury and Venus were conspicuous.
We declared it a thousand pities, that before
the totality was over (and with us it lasted
barely three minutes), the clouds thickened
so rapidly, that we afterwards caught only
momentary glimpses of the Eclipse passing
away behind them; for that reason the effects,