Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-11-13

ynrT,T,,IE's GIEL#.

how happily those oeauties have been
seized and turned. to account in the
su5jolned elegant stanza.
Norway truly is the
sLand of brown heath and shaggy wood,
ssLand of the mountain and the Hood"
The Giel, or glen. which is the
subject Of tbs article. is the only
passage to farIn--tbe residence Of
two salitary families-and which from
fhe difficulty of access, had never be-
fore been visited by even the clergy
man of the parish, within which it is
included. Men lived and died in
close ueighborhood TO j, without hav-
ing eser seen it; and It's occupants
we're isolated in the midst of an in-
habited country.
..The entrance to the Giel is alto
gether worthy of it. You climb up
ever the hill of Jelde. This pro-
iecting out corner Of the mountain,
consisting Of grants. which, with an
inward bond, hangs over the river
which washes its foot. II is thus
impossible to find lower road, as
this precipice forms the bank of the
river. II is a severe exertion to
CLIMB this steep and difficult path at
such height. and constantly on the
brink of precipices.
"It is probably this hill. which has
fixed the height of the path in the
Giel itself: for otherwise, you see no
reason why it should have been cut
out, at such a height GA the side of
this frightful wall of rock. that the
person who falls over it must be
dashed TO pieces before he reaches
the surface Of the water. When you
have reached the top of the bill you
turn round 10 the right hand, and en-
ter into tho Giel itself by bridge of
plant trunks of trees laid over with
birch bark. and turf and gravel,
that all swing under your feet The
mountain here bangs little over the
passenger 'ahead, aud ynu willingly
incline to it as TO friendly support. to
avoid seeing, and il possible, to avoid
thinking Of the abyss you are swing
ing over. bat of winch, the gravel
thrown down by the motion of the
bridge, IS all the way putting you in
mind. You are now in the Giel.
Traveller, God be with you
:. The path here is not broader
than that person can just stand on
with both feet beside each other.
Sometimes you have only room for
one foot; nay. at times. from the
quantity of loose earth and small
stones, which you may we'll suppose
are frequently tumbling down here
and covering the whole path. you find
no places at all TO stand on. but must,
with your foot, IN manner scrape
out such place in these loose mate
rails, which here lie over the surface
of the whole precipice, the upper part
Of which forms very sharp angle
with your body. while the part below
approaches frlghtfnily near to per-
pendicular line.
About half quarter of mile on
the Giel. on the north side of the III
yer. high up towards the surface of
the mountain, there opens on you a
cross valley. the remarkable Afdal.
The houses on farm which is here,
stand on so steep slope, that while
the under beams rest with one end on
the ground, to have horizontal po.
sition. they must Unsupported on the
opposite side, by wall Of four ellis in
height (eight feet English.) The
fields, too. lie SD steep. and so near
the frigbtful precipice, that no person
unaccusto ned to it, would venture to
set foot on then. Aud when. from
thu Giel, you see their grass fields.
which hang rather than lie. over the
deep below, and which are every year
moved With kind nfscythe. wrought
w,th one hand. you can scarcely con-
ceive the desperate courage which
cody plies its task where an abyss
seems open to swallow the fool har-
dy man.
s. The farther we advanced in Vet
ties Giel, our road became the more
difficult and more frightful. At one
time you were stopped by snow that