The road was so bad that
walking up the precipices consumed the time insensibly; but as we
desired horses at each post ready at a certain hour, we reckoned on
returning more speedily.
We stopped to dine at a tolerable farm; they brought us out ham,
butter, cheese, and milk, and the charge was so moderate that I
scattered a little money amongst the children who were peeping at
us, in order to pay them for their trouble.
Arrived at the ferry, we were still detained, for the people who
attend at the ferries have a stupid kind of sluggishness in their
manner, which is very provoking when you are in haste. At present I
did not feel it, for, scrambling up the cliffs, my eye followed the
river as it rolled between the grand rocky banks; and, to complete
the scenery, they were covered with firs and pines, through which
the wind rustled as if it were lulling itself to sleep with the
declining sun.
Behold us now in Norway; and I could not avoid feeling surprise at
observing the difference in the manners of the inhabitants of the
two sides of the river, for everything shows that the Norwegians are
more industrious and more opulent. The Swedes (for neighbours are
seldom the best friends) accuse the Norwegians of knavery, and they
retaliate by bringing a charge of hypocrisy against the Swedes.
Local circumstances probably render both unjust, speaking from their
feelings rather than reason; and is this astonishing when we
consider that most writers of travels have done the same, whose
works have served as materials for the compilers of universal
histories?
