St. Paul daily globe., 1888-01-29

gave his note. Spring had come, old
Norway was finally finished. And there
Sne lay, high and shiningly fair in the
Dlue sea, so poor and lean, though so
bright and healthy and smiling as
newly washed babe. In the harbOrs
along the coast life and business stirred,
and white sails bent their way through
tile glrding belt Of islands, and disap-
peared over the sea. The snowshoes
were put up under the beam of the cell
ing, the pelts were sprinkled with cam
phor ana stored away, and just as the
bear, when it leaves it's winter lair,
shakes its shaggy fur, so the people
shook their heavy limbs, spit on their
hands, and took hold of their spring
work.
Down along the rivers went the RATS
men and got wet in the ice-cold water;
NJ, ,the broad, fertile districts the plough
cutlong, black burrows; far in the north
pe0ple went about and fixed their split
cod, which was lying all over the naked
rocks; on the western plains by the sea
they hauled alga all over their fields.
Ihee everything was pleasant, while
people in Paris fell sunstruck in the
streets, and the trees of the boulevards
Were;dry and dusty. On the "Bruhlsche
Ierfasse' the good citizens of Dresden
drank their ''mai bowle," at the same
time disputing, till their rags were fly
ing on, about Wagner's music. About
anything else they were not allowed to
dispute in the open air, and dispute
they had to. Those who could afford ii
began to look into Baedeker's book for
travellers, and soon quite an immigra-
t!on OF Germans and Englishmen az
rived to get some fresh air in the mount
ANS, and carry little of this fresh air
back with them, together with we'll
meaning caricatureS Of old Norway.
But as this motley crowd of foreigners
came into the country they met another
stream that set out toward the coast.
what people is that?" asked Stats
rath Schulz, from Berlin. An educated
Norwegian anSweredin German: ''Emi-
grants"
They were earnest men and women,
dressed in clothes of wadmal. They
brought along children by the hand, on
the breast, on the arm, and on the back /;
a swarm of healthy, red-cheeked chill
dren, who looked about with clear,
wondering eyes. At all the railway
stations and in the steamboats, on the
large lakes were trunks piled up, with
addresses and names painted on in plain
characters, Norwegian aud English side
by side, There was the stamp of we'll
considered, slowly matured determina-
tIon about all this. The scant and solid
baggage, the new and substantial cloth
ing, no useless, sentimental trifies in
their hands, only the children. But
then they were held secure with a
trusty hold, which one could see would
not let go till they were safe in the new
world. But no joy, hardly what one
might call hope, was to be seen in these
faces, only a fixed, melancholy deter
mlnatlon and deep sorrow was the bot
tom OF all these eyes that wept OF were
not able to weep. Staatsrath Schulz,
from Berlin, wondered much at this.
That Germans emigrated he could well
understand. They had military service,
despotism, socialism, Bismarck, and all
kinds OF misery; but here! in this beau
tlful, peaceful country, with it's we'll
known free form of government, what
could here be the trouble?
And the country itself seemed to ask.
What is the trouble? The sun made the
mountain slopes smile their kindliest
light green: the rivers hummed so hap
PLY, and from the woods came the in
viting scent of the spruce and the fresh
young leaves. On the platform stood
relations and acQuaintances and wept
because they left them; all wept: even
the poor tenant who wept, because he
could not afford to go along.
And as the train hastened down the
valley they looked out of the windows.
And they knew that there is no fairer
country on earth; nowhere does the
sun SHINE as here; nowhere is there
Such3fragrance, such eXultation in the
air: nowhere cries out the cuckoo as at
home.
land into the eyes arose the warm
tears, and there was loud sobbing in the
cars. They forgot why they were there,
and from eye to eye came the helpless
query: "What is the trouble; oh, what
is the trouble?" Meanwhile spring adj
vanced with song and sound, fights and
love intrigueS, from the small beetles
that made love in the grass to the bears
as they fought each other in the woods
till blood flowed freely. Most certainly
the big ones devoured the small ones:
that can not be denied. but then it hap
pened rather occasionally and good
naturedly. No one needed much to eat.
When one is in love there are other
things to think Of. The struggle of life
looks quite different later, in the sum-
mer and autumn, when one has to carry
home food for the mate and a crowd of
hungry youngsters.
Spring tinged the brutal toll for ma
terial wants with bit of gallantry: the
males were busy in displaying their
amiability, while the females enioyed
their shert-lived triumph and made
themselves precious. In the woods and
the fields were heard pining. yearning,
hopeless lamentations and exulting ioy,
and many little hearts broke in Silent
despair, and many small fights took
place under the dense foliage and on
the lonely mountains, and many life
and death struggle was fought out while
the fair one sat looking on with indiffer-
ence. Two wag-tails fought so long in
pond. Then they started up again. wet
all over and all confused. And mean
while she whom they had been fighting
about flew off with third one who hap
pened to pass by. The mill pond was
so quiet and bright that the two rivals
could see their own pictures in it, as
they shook themselves to arrange their
spoiled toilets.
The pollywogs in the pond had cast
off their children's dress, with it's en-
barrasSing tail and the awkward name.
They now appeared as dashing young
toads as they were swimming with long
and powerful strokes, like regular pro-
feSsOrS of swimming. But all along the
extensive coast the sea moved caress-
ingly, like cat, about the coast-girding
islands. Where the foam was spouting
and boiling in the wiuter storms, there
green wavelets were now gliding in and
out. The great, blue, sunny sea closed
so smilingly warm about the stern old
country, as though they always had
been friends.
And all along the naked tongues of
land and the rocks and in the fjOrdS the
alga sprouted, red, yellow and light
green, and as bright as the most beauti-
full silk. And below there crawled the
throng of claws and long horns and
sucking arms and soft fins and stealthy,
false feelers, solid shells and houses on
the backs-a fantastic world of cunning
WeaDOnS and strong armOr On the