The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-07-14

l Peter to follow me when he should have come to Bakke.
 Kind-hearted soul as was the land lord of the inn. he seemed unable to help me.
 The people have but few weeks in which to gather their wisps of grass from the vlks and crags." he said. Few strangers have come this year The ford is silent"
 | fretted and fumed few days long CT. Boats there were plenty, but no boatmen. will go alone l at last de- termined. and so told the landlord. He became alarmed: not for the loss Of n guest, but truly for my safety.
 That night he came to my room and awakened me. A tourist family had come from Styve to Bakke by row-boat. The boatman, or faereekone (baot-wo- man) he added, would await my pleas ure until morning, if l would pay her score at the inn.
 Yes, yes, would do that a dozen times over, if there were chance of thus beginning my explorations. But boat woman was a novelty to me. What sort of human Is this faergekone? l wished sleepily to know of my host.
 "Oh, she Is only Freda; Freda of the Naero ford. That Is all we know. You will see her for yourself In the morning. sir. Good night"
 With this he trundled away; but the incident had aroused me. l sat bolt upright in my bed for time, picturing to myself the form and nature of a woman who could bring an entire tour ist family from Styve to Bakke in an open boat, over the dark and danger ous ford.
 Hearing voices in the court behind the little inn, I stepped to the open window. Just beneath 1t was wooden gallery running around the court. The moonlight revealed the figures of the landlord and woman. or, a girl. The latter held in her arms a bundle of skins and blankets.
 l There you can rest for the night" said my host pointing to a little recess in the gallery.
 The girl at once spread the skins up- on the floor, turned and thanked the landlord after the profuse Morse man. l ment, and with good nights and thanks innumerable, turned to her improvised bed, as the landlord disappeared in doors, .knelt beside it for little, threw herself upon the couch lightly, and, in moment more, as l. could hear from her gentle and regular breathing, was traversing the pleasant fiords of dreams.
 My curiosity and interest were thor oughly piqued, but I at last fell asleep. I was awakened shortly after daylight by the sound of running water, com mingled with sundry outings, s,snortings and swashings, proceeding from the court yard.
 These were unusual sounds, and the traveller is sensitive to such things. l stepped to the window. My eyes invol- untarily sought Freda's couch. It had disappeared. But Freda herself had not gone.
 l Over there at the farthest corner of the courtyard, where rude fountain, supplied by mountain stream, was orange rays of morning sunlight, stood the young boat woman, secure from in- trusion in the early hour, stripped to the waist, and enjoying the luxury of a wholesome bath.
 l Her exquisitely molded form had free play from her lively movements. It was almost hidden by her wondrous head of hair which fell far below her waist, and was of indescribable color between ashes and orange, in which the very throbbings of gems seemed to ripple and play wantonly; and which, as the water broke upon it, gleamed and flashed like mantel of diamonds set in gold.
 Now and then the girl plunged be- meath the gushing stream with a sav- age sort of impetuosity. Again she would take long draugths from the spout, when the force of the water would drive; her back with a shower of spray upon her, within which I could hear merry gurgle of laughter. Then she would shake her head and toss and whip her locks like huge retriever emerging from water.
 Finally, with her fine head high in air and her shapely arms thrown back over her fair shoulders she wrung and whipped and hetcheled- her locks near ly dry, meantime whipping with their tasseled ends the glittering spray from her shoulders and waist, and with won- drous dexterity wove the waving mass into huge braids, while softly /crooning wierd and tender fiord-side song, of which I was only able to catch the re- frain:
 II will wait by the vik,
 By the ford will wait, Twill work, will spin, ! l While awaiting my fate. Oh speed wind, oh speed wave, return of my loveri-
 | May fortune attend my noble sea rover!"
 What a strange tumble of inconsis- tencies is the human mind!
 Though had not even seen this wa ter nymph's face; though it might be sodden, glowering and repulsive: I turned from my window, where I had longed to be an artist with an artists power to reveal the simplicity and abandon of the exquisite scene, with a lonely and indefinable hunger to be, sung for as this innocent creature had sung for some doubtless absent hulk of a ships stoker or common sailor; actually experienced a pang of jeal- ousy; and, stranger than all, as my thoughts flew to the absent Peter, al-. most wished my cablegram had not reached him and that he would some how fail to come. A new interest had invested dead old Bakke at the foot of the mountain | f.,o IJo EnSho oJoorov Mo aro eo,x5 ..,.s {.