Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-06
A BEAUTIFUL SPOT.
The Cascades of HoenefOS Seen When
They Looked Their PrettieSt.
AN EXCURSION TO THE PLACE
Enjoyed by the Oriental Congress Just
Before Adjournment.
WIND.UP OF A VERY IMPORTANT EVENT

CHRIsTIANA,: September 1.-THE cas-
cades of Hoene'os lie to the northwest of
Christiana, in the midst of the picturesque
hill scenery which prevails in the south ol
Norway, an attractive and pleasing region.
although its features are not wild and
Titanic as those of the western coast. By
the circuitous railway route they are about
75 miles away, though only at about hall
this distance in straight line. Almost the
whole of Tuesday was given to an excursion
to this beautiful spot, a long special train
being provided for the members. There
had been short sessions at the Uni
versity before leaving. Prof. Sayce,
of Oxford, the keen decipherer Of
Assyrian monuments. made learned re-
port on the so-called Cappadocian cuneiform
inscriptions, and Mr.. Dhruva, a native
scholar and district judge from Baroda,
laid before the Aryan section seme papers
on the history of the Guierat language, in
which he is an accomplished student. Be-
fore noon the members went in procession to
the railway station, and started on what
proved to be the merriest of all the outings
of the learned gathering. Such 'junket-
ings" are enough to smooth the wrinkles
from the brow of the veriest phonetlclan,
and make deliver in SanSkrit manuscripts
forget the routine of his labors.
The railway passes along the billy borders
of the Christiana Fjord, giving glimpses Of
its clear waters and rocky islands, and as
cends gradually until beyond Roken it
commands a wide view of the fertile valley
of Lier, and descends bv a magnificent
sweep to reach the town of Drammen.
Seen from the sea, Norway has the ap-
pearance of a barren country whose bare
rocks have an almost volcanic bleakness
and desolateness, but inland one smiling
valley opens into another, seemingly fertile
enough TO support a great population.
From Drammen the road follows the course
of the Drammen's Elven, large mountain
torrent which descends to the ford. The
general character of the scenery is Swiss.
As we advanced up the course OF the stream,
the gorges became more somber, and the
dark river,
BROKEN By MASSIVE ROCKS,
came foaming down in greenish-white
masses. 1t is shut in by straight banks of
gray moss-covered rock, and everywhere
are the tall tapering fir trees, which give
the most characteristic coloring to Norwe-
gian scenery.
mills below, and an occasional timbered
house with its roof OF bright red tiles gave
brighter color to the picture. Further on
there were broad openings with harvest fields
in the golden beauty of ripened grain. and
rich green pasture lands dotted with farm
houses and crossed by hard, smooth roads,
with here and there little white church
seen above the trees On the lower slopes
were deciduous trees in bright autumn
colors, especially the naples in flaming red
and yellow, and rising in the background
the solemn, fr-covered hills. At $3.50 we
stopped for few minutes at the station of
Vikessund, which was quite unprepsred for
the assault which was made on its buffet by
400 hungry members who had had no chance
to get luncheon before leaving. The at
taeking party was about ten deep at the edge
OF thN inter, and happy was the man who
could get a fragment of a biscuit or
half an apple; one member in our
coupe captured small bag of shrimps,
which were impartially divided around. AT
this station, as well as at others along the
route, had an opportunity of speaking
with the people who had come to see the
passing of the train, and found that among
the middle and poorer classes OF society
America is well known, and looked to as a
sort of promised land for the masses.
Hardly a person of this class, with whom 1
have spoken, but has some friend or relative
in ''the States" and some have themselves
lived there; in fact the large emigration to
the United States has proven serious drain
upon tine resources OF Norway, and is re-
garded with not little apprehension by the
upper classes. Among the latter l have not
found much enthusiasm for our country,
which perhaps can hardly be wondered at.
The word American" is generally spoken
fha+ 1afp I.,,4x xrall
tion which implies anything but faItery.
WHEREIN WE ARE CONDEMNED.
Whatever may be said as to the justice of
the opinion, 1 find almost universally
among this class a spirit which condemns
our institutions as crude and Intellectual,
our politics as sordid and utterly corrupt,
our national standards as devoted entirely
to material ends and to an administering
greed for money-getting. This is fostered
by the Scandinavian press and books relat-
ing to the United States. which devote the
best part of their energies to showing the
extravagances and excrescences upon our
civilization, and are well-nIgh silent in
regard to those deep and permanent moral
forces which are the real strength and glory
of the American people.
When we reached the town of Hoenefos
We found that the population in general
had culled out a holiday in honor of the
great occasion, the schools being dismissed,
shops closed, and business generally sus-
pended. As we passed underneath an arch
wav made by two huge Norwegian flags,
we were greeted by the school children, who
were drawn up on parade with flags and |
banners, and formed guard of honor to the |
triumphal procession which marched |
through the street.
The appearance of the town is something
like that of Interlaken, with the principal |
shops contained in one long street, through |
which we marched, and were greeted by a
pretty surprise. for in nearly every upper
window were groups of beautiful Norwegian
girls who showered down punches of
flowers as we passed. 1t must be
admitted that they exercised considerable |
discrimination in bestowing these favors,
and that our strangely-dressed Oriental |
members got the greatest share, especial
preference being shown by these fine young
women to a young Armenian who wore a
long mauve-colored coat set off by gold
cartridge-cases, gold belt and dagger, and a
tall white turban OF lambs skin. Our
Moorish and Arabian delegates had sue
cumbed to the climate or the round of Occi- !
dental hospitalities, for they remained be-
hind in Christiana.
THE LONG BRIDGE
across the stream in front of the falls was |
made into a pons triumphalis by high |
arches at either end, and was lined with the |
tops OF birch trees set along alternately with |
colored pennants. The refreshing sight of |
the principal falls well repaid the journey. |
Down the broad steps of black rock the river |
foams by hundred chutes, and its broken
waters descend Tor long distance in swift |
rapids. While the cascades cannot be COM
pared with the descent of the Rhine at
Schafhausen, and are equsled by many in