New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-09-18

Bergen With this exception, we have every res
son to be satisfied with the vessel. She il very
staunch and steady going with spacious, airy "a
loon ON deck; no captain could be more Kind and
sentlemaDly, and there lie quite q, much harmony
amor & the passengers as could reasonably DO e1-
pected Our party consists of five Ameri :ans, three
English, two Germans and one Frenchman M.
Gay, Membre de rAcsdemie), beside variety OF
Norwegians, from al parts Of the country. Inc
latter res. mbe the English in certain shyness ana
reserve toward us foreigners, but, unlike the Tor
mer, are quite genial and communicative am ing
themselves. Captain Rds speaks EDgli'h' french
aid German with much fueDcy, and most OF the
NorwegiaDs are acquainted with one or the otner
of thee Languages.
Leaving our csrrioles and part of our baggage
behind ne, we rowed out TO the steamer In heavy
shower The sun struggling with dark gray rain
clouds all the evening" and, just as we hove anchor,
threw splendid trumI hal iris across the bay, CON-
petely spanning the town. which, with the shelter
ing bills, elinmered in the rosy mist floating within
the bow. IDclosed by such dazzling frame, the
picture Of Drontbeim shone with a magical luster,
tempestuous eeas But ~e were bound for the North,
the barriers Of NHhem, the land of fog and seet,
and we disree arded the celestial token, though
second perfect rainbow overarched the first and
the two drew their curves ever hill and fortress and
the bosom of the rainy ford until they almost
touched our vessel on either side. In spite Of the
rain, we remained on deck until late hour, enjoy.
ipe the bold scenery of the outer fOrd-here, pre-
cptOus woody shores, gashed with sudden ravines;
there, jet black, rocky peaks, resembling the
porpbyry hills of the African deserts; and now and
and then encircling the sheltered coves soft, green
fields glowing with the misty light and the purple
outlines of snow -streaked mountains in the dis
lance.
The morning was still dark aud rainy We
were at first running between mOuntain-islands Of
bare rock and the iron coast Of the mainland after
which came stretch Of open sea for two hours,
and az noon we reached Bj6r6, near the mouth Of
the Nansen Ford Here there were half dozen
red houses on bright green slope, with wind
mill out of gear GROWING the rocky bill in the
rear. The sky gradually cleared as we entered the
Namsen FiOrd, which charmed US with the wild
ness and nskedDess of its shores, studded with lit
tie hooks and corners of tillsge, which sparkled
like GASES of tropical greenness, in such rough
setting. Precipices of dsrkred rock, streaked
with foamy lines of water from the SHOWS melting
upon their crests frowned over the narrow chan
nes between the islands, and through their gaps
aid sorees we caught sight of the lOftier ranges
land Nam SOS, at the head Of the ford, is a red
rooted town of few hundred Inhabitants, with
pleasant background Of barley fields and birchen
groves. The Namsen valley, behind it, is one Of
the richest in this part of Norway, and is great
resort of English salmon-6sbers There was a
few coastiDg craft lying at anchor.
We bad beautiful afternoon voyage out at another
arm of the ford and again entered the labyrinth Of
islands friDgDg the COAT. Already the days had
perceptibly heightened, and the increased cold
ness of the air at night indicated our approach to
the Arctic Circle. was surprised at the amount
Of business done at the little stations where We
touched. Few of these contained dozen houses,
yet the quantity of passengers and freight which we
discharged and took on board, at each, could
only be explained by the fact that these stations
are generally outlets for tOlerably large popula-
ton, hidden in the valleys and fOrds behind which
the steamer does not visit. Bleak and desolate as
the coast appears, the back country has its
fertile distIcts-its pasture ground, its cortland
and fOrests, of which the yOyager sees nothing,
and thus might be led to form very erroneous
conclusions Before we had been twenty. four
hours out from Drontheim, there was q marked
change in the appearance of the people we took on
board. Not even in the neighborhOod OF Christ
ania or in the rich Guldbrandsdal have We found
the Inhabitants so welldressed, so prosperous
Judging from outward signs, merely, so intel.
lgent They are in every respect more agreeable
and promising specimens of humanity than their
brothers of Southern Norway, notwithstanding the
dark and savage scenery amid which their lot is
cast.
Toward midnight we approached the rock Of
Torgbatten rising 200 feet high, in the shape of
tall. crowned, battered "wide awake" above the
low, rocky isles and reefs which surround it. This
rock is famous for natural tunnel passing directly
through its heart-the path of an arrow which the
Giant Horseman (of whom i shall speak presently
shot at disdainful maiden equally colossal, in the
old NEUROLOGICAL times, when Odin got drunk
nightly in Valhalla. We were all on the lookout
for this tunnel, which, according to Murray, is
large enough for chip to sail through-if it were
not some six hundred feet above the sea-leyel We
had almost passed the rock and nothing Of the kind
could be seen; but Capt. Rus, who wa5 on deck,
encouraged US to have a little patience changed
the steamers course, and presently We saw dark
cavern yawning in the face of prec!pice on the
northern side. 1t was now midnight, but sunse,