[86438] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Compare Debt Consolidation Options
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Debt Consolidation)
Tue Aug 9 16:03:08 2016
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2016 15:57:04 -0400
From: "Debt Consolidation" <debt_consolidation@kzjpe.com>
To: <mit-talk-mtg@charon.mit.edu>
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<p>As the eye glances over a map of the coasts of Norway, can the imagin=
ation fail to marvel at their fantastic indentations and serrated edges, li=
ke a granite lace, against which the surges of the North Sea roar incessant=
ly? Who has not dreamed of the majestic sights to be seen on those beachles=
s shores, of that multitude of creeks and inlets and little bays, no two of=
them alike, yet all trackless abysses? We may almost fancy that Nature too=
k pleasure in recording by ineffaceable hieroglyphics the symbol of Norwegi=
an life, bestowing on these coasts the conformation of a fish' s spine, fis=
hery being the staple commerce of the country, and well-nigh the only means=
of living of the hardy men who cling like tufts of lichen to the arid clif=
fs. Here, through fourteen degrees of longitude, barely seven hundred thous=
and souls maintain existence. Thanks to perils devoid of glory, to year-lon=
g snows which clothe the Norway peaks and guard them from profaning foot of=
traveller, these sublime beauties are virgin still; they will be seen to h=
armonize with human phenomena, also virgin--at least to poetry--which here =
took place, the history of which it is our purpose to relate. If one of the=
se inlets, mere fissures to the eyes of the eider-ducks, is wide enough for=
the sea not to freeze between the prison-walls of rock against which it su=
rges, the country-people call the little bay a " fiord," --a word=
which geographers of every nation have adopted into their respective langu=
ages. Though a certain resemblance exists among all these fiords, each has =
its own characteristics. The sea has everywhere forced its way as through a=
breach, yet the rocks about each fissure are diversely rent, and their tum=
ultuous precipices defy the rules of geometric law. Here the scarp is dente=
lled like a saw; there the narrow ledges barely allow the snow to lodge or =
the noble crests of the Northern pines to spread themselves; farther on, so=
me convulsion of Nature may have rounded a coquettish curve into a lovely v=
alley flanked in rising terraces with black-plumed pines. Truly we are temp=
ted to call this land the Switzerland of Ocean. Midway between Trondhjem an=
d Christiansand lies an inlet called the Strom-fiord. If the Strom-fiord is=
not the loveliest of these rocky landscapes, it has the merit of displayin=
g the terrestrial grandeurs of Norway, and of enshrining the scenes of a hi=
story that is indeed celestial. The general outline of the Strom-fiord seem=
s at first sight to be that of a funnel washed out by the sea. The passage =
which the waves have forced present to the eye an image of the eternal stru=
ggle between old Ocean and the granite rock,--two creations of equal power,=
one through inertia, the other by ceaseless motion. Reefs of fantastic sha=
pe run out on either side, and bar the way of ships and forbid their entran=
ce. The intrepid sons of Norway cross these reefs on foot, springing from r=
ock to rock, undismayed at the abyss--a hundred fathoms deep and only six f=
eet wide--which yawns beneath them. Here a tottering block of gneiss fallin=
g athwart two rocks gives an uncertain footway; there the hunters or the fi=
shermen, carrying their loads, have flung the stems of fir-trees in guise o=
f bridges, to join the projecting reefs, around and beneath which the surge=
s roar incessantly. This dangerous entrance to the little bay bears oblique=
ly to the right with a serpentine movement, and there encounters a mountain=
rising some twenty-five hundred feet above sea-level, the base of which is=
a vertical palisade of solid rock more than a mile and a half long, the in=
flexible granite nowhere yielding to clefts or undulations until it reaches=
a height of two hundred feet above the water. Rushing violently in, the se=
a is driven back with equal violence by the inert force of the mountain to =
the opposite shore, gently curved by the spent force of the retreating wave=
s. The fiord is closed at the upper end by a vast gneiss formation crowned =
with forests, down which a river plunges in cascades, becomes a torrent whe=
n the snows are melting, spreads into a sheet of waters, and then falls wit=
h a roar into the bay,--vomiting as it does so the hoary pines and the aged=
larches washed down from the forests and scarce seen amid the foam. These =
trees plunge headlong into the fiord and reappear after a time on the surfa=
ce, clinging together and forming islets which float ashore on the beaches,=
where the inhabitants of a village on the left bank of the Strom-fiord gat=
her them up, split, broken (though sometimes whole), and always stripped of=
bark and branches. The mountain which receives at its base the assaults of=
Ocean, and at its summit the buffeting of the wild North wind, is called t=
he Falberg. Its crest, wrapped at all seasons in a mantle of snow and ice, =
is the sharpest peak of Norway; its proximity to the pole produces, at the =
height of eighteen hundred feet, a degree of cold equal to that of the high=
est mountains of the globe. The summit of this rocky mass, rising sheer fro=
m the fiord on one side, slopes gradually downward to the east, where it jo=
ins the declivities of the Sieg and forms a series of terraced valleys, the=
chilly temperature of which allows no growth but that of shrubs and stunte=
d trees. The upper end of the fiord, where the waters enter it as they come=
down from the forest, is called the Siegdahlen,--a word which may be held =
to mean " the shedding of the Sieg," --the river itself receiving=
that name. The curving shore opposite to the face of the Falberg is the va=
lley of Jarvis,--a smiling scene overlooked by hills clothed with firs, bir=
ch-trees, and larches, mingled with a few oaks and beeches, the richest col=
oring of all the varied tapestries which Nature in these northern regions s=
preads upon the surface of her rugged rocks. The eye can readily mark the l=
ine where the soil, warmed by the rays of the sun, bears cultivation and sh=
ows the native growth of the Norwegian flora. Here the expanse of the fiord=
is broad enough to allow the sea, dashed back by the Falberg, to spend its=
expiring force in gentle murmurs upon the lower slope of these hills,--a s=
hore bordered with finest sand, strewn with mica and sparkling pebbles, por=
phyry, and marbles of a thousand tints, brought from Sweden by the river fl=
oods, together with ocean waifs, shells, and flowers of the sea driven in b=
y tempests, whether of the Pole or Tropics. At the foot of the hills of Jar=
vis lies a village of some two hundred wooden houses, where an isolated pop=
ulation lives like a swarm of bees in a forest, without increasing or dimin=
ishing; vegetating happily, while wringing their means of living from the b=
reast of a stern Nature. The almost unknown existence of the little hamlet =
is readily accounted for. Few of its inhabitants were bold enough to risk t=
heir lives among the reefs to reach the deep-sea fishing,--the staple indus=
try of Norwegians on the least dangerous portions of their coast. The fish =
of the fiord were numerous enough to suffice, in part at least, for the sus=
tenance of the inhabitants; the valley pastures provided milk and butter; a=
certain amount of fruitful, well-tilled soil yielded rye and hemp and vege=
tables, which necessity taught the people to protect against the severity o=
f the cold and the fleeting but terrible heat of the sun with the shrewd ab=
ility which Norwegians display in the two-fold struggle. The difficulty of =
communication with the outer world, either by land where the roads are impa=
ssable, or by sea where none but tiny boats can thread their way through th=
e maritime defiles that guard the entrance to the bay, hinder these people =
from growing rich by the sale of their timber. It would cost enormous sums =
to either blast a channel out to sea or construct a way to the interior. Th=
e roads from Christiana to Trondhjem all turn toward the Strom-fiord, and c=
ross the Sieg by a bridge some score of miles above its fall into the bay. =
The country to the north, between Jarvis and Trondhjem, is covered with imp=
enetrable forests, while to the south the Falberg is nearly as much separat=
ed from Christiana by inaccessible precipices. The village of Jarvis might =
perhaps have communicated with the interior of Norway and Sweden by the riv=
er Sieg; but to do this and to be thus brought into contact with civilizati=
on, the Strom-fiord needed the presence of a man of genius. Such a man did =
actually appear there,--a poet, a Swede of great religious fervor, who died=
admiring, even reverencing this region as one of the noblest works of the =
Creator. Minds endowed by study with an inward sight, and whose quick perce=
ptions bring before the soul, as though painted on a canvas, the contrastin=
g scenery of this universe, will now apprehend the general features of the =
Strom-fiord. They alone, perhaps, can thread their way through the tortuous=
channels of the reef, or flee with the battling waves to the everlasting r=
ebuff of the Falberg whose white peaks mingle with the vaporous clouds of t=
he pearl-gray sky, or watch with delight the curving sheet of waters, or he=
ar the rushing of the Sieg as it hangs for an instant in long fillets and t=
hen falls over a picturesque abatis of noble trees toppled confusedly toget=
her, sometimes upright, sometimes half-sunken beneath the rocks. It may be =
that such minds alone can dwell upon the smiling scenes nestling among the =
lower hills of Jarvis; where the luscious Northern vegetables spring up in =
families, in myriads, where the white birches bend, graceful as maidens, wh=
ere colonnades of beeches rear their boles mossy with the growth of centuri=
es, where shades of green contrast, and white clouds float amid the blackne=
ss of the distant pines, and tracts of many-tinted crimson and purple shrub=
s are shaded endlessly; in short, where blend all colors, all perfumes of a=
flora whose wonders are still ignored. Widen the boundaries of this limite=
d ampitheatre, spring upward to the clouds, lose yourself among the rocks w=
here the seals are lying and even then your thought cannot compass the weal=
th of beauty nor the poetry of this Norwegian coast. Can your thought be as=
vast as the ocean that bounds it? as weird as the fantastic forms drawn by=
these forests, these clouds, these shadows, these changeful lights? Do you=
see above the meadows on that lowest slope which undulates around the high=
er hills of Jarvis two or three hundred houses roofed with " noever,&q=
uot; a sort of thatch made of birch-bark,--frail houses, long and low, look=
ing like silk-worms on a mulberry-leaf tossed hither by the winds? Above th=
ese humble, peaceful dwellings stands the church, built with a simplicity i=
n keeping with the poverty of the villagers. A graveyard surrounds the chan=
cel, and a little farther on you see the parsonage. Higher up, on a project=
ion of the mountain is a dwelling-house, the only one of stone; for which r=
eason the inhabitants of the village call it " the Swedish Castle.&quo=
t; In fact, a wealthy Swede settled in Jarvis about thirty years before thi=
s history begins, and did his best to ameliorate its condition. This little=
house, certainly not a castle, built with the intention of leading the inh=
abitants to build others like it, was noticeable for its solidity and for t=
he wall that inclosed it, a rare thing in Norway where, notwithstanding the=
abundance of stone, wood alone is used for all fences, even those of field=
s. This Swedish house, thus protected against the climate, stood on rising =
ground in the centre of an immense courtyard. The windows were sheltered by=
those projecting pent-house roofs supported by squared trunks of trees whi=
ch give so patriarchal an air to Northern dwellings. From beneath them the =
eye could see the savage nudity of the Falberg, or compare the infinitude o=
f the open sea with the tiny drop of water in the foaming fiord; the ear co=
uld hear the flowing of the Sieg, whose white sheet far away looked motionl=
ess as it fell into its granite cup edged for miles around with glaciers,--=
in short, from this vantage ground the whole landscape whereon our simple y=
et superhuman drama was about to be enacted could be seen and noted. The wi=
nter of 1799-1800 was one of the most severe ever known to Europeans. The N=
orwegian sea was frozen in all the fiords, where, as a usual thing, the vio=
lence of the surf kept the ice from forming. A wind, whose effects were lik=
e those of the Spanish levanter, swept the ice of the Strom-fiord, driving =
the snow to the upper end of the gulf. Seldom indeed could the people of Ja=
rvis see the mirror of frozen waters reflecting the colors of the sky; a wo=
ndrous site in the bosom of these mountains when all other aspects of natur=
e are levelled beneath successive sheets of snow, and crests and valleys ar=
e alike mere folds of the vast mantle flung by winter across a landscape at=
once so mournfully dazzling and so monotonous. The falling volume of the S=
ieg, suddenly frozen, formed an immense arcade beneath which the inhabitant=
s might have crossed under shelter from the blast had any dared to risk the=
mselves inland. But the dangers of every step away from their own surroundi=
ngs kept even the boldest hunters in their homes, afraid lest the narrow pa=
ths along the precipices, the clefts and fissures among the rocks, might be=
unrecognizable beneath the snow. Thus it was that no human creature gave l=
ife to the white desert where Boreas reigned, his voice alone resounding at=
distant intervals. The sky, nearly always gray, gave tones of polished ste=
el to the ice of the fiord. Perchance some ancient eider-duck crossed the e=
xpanse, trusting to the warm down beneath which dream, in other lands, the =
luxurious rich, little knowing of the dangers through which their luxury ha=
s come to them. Like the Bedouin of the desert who darts alone across the s=
ands of Africa, the bird is neither seen nor heard; the torpid atmosphere, =
deprived of its electrical conditions, echoes neither the whirr of its wing=
s nor its joyous notes. Besides, what human eye was strong enough to bear t=
he glitter of those pinnacles adorned with sparkling crystals, or the sharp=
reflections of the snow, iridescent on the summits in the rays of a pallid=
sun which infrequently appeared, like a dying man seeking to make known th=
at he still lives. Often, when the flocks of gray clouds, driven in squadro=
ns athwart the mountains and among the tree-tops, hid the sky with their tr=
iple veils Earth, lacking the celestial lights, lit herself by herself. Her=
e, then, we meet the majesty of Cold, seated eternally at the pole in that =
regal silence which is the attribute of all absolute monarchy. Every extrem=
e principle carries with it an appearance of negation and the symptoms of d=
eath; for is not life the struggle of two forces? Here in this Northern nat=
ure nothing lived. One sole power--the unproductive power of ice--reigned u=
nchallenged. The roar of the open sea no longer reached the deaf, dumb inle=
t, where during one short season of the year Nature made haste to produce t=
he slender harvests necessary for the food of the patient people. A few tal=
l pine-trees lifted their black pyramids garlanded with snow, and the form =
of their long branches and depending shoots completed the mourning garments=
of those solemn heights. Each household gathered in its chimney-corner, in=
houses carefully closed from the outer air, and well supplied with biscuit=
, melted butter, dried fish, and other provisions laid in for the seven-mon=
ths winter. The very smoke of these dwellings was hardly seen, half-hidden =
as they were beneath the snow, against the weight of which they were protec=
ted by long planks reaching from the roof and fastened at some distance to =
solid blocks on the ground, forming a covered way around each building. Dur=
ing these terrible winter months the women spun and dyed the woollen stuffs=
and the linen fabrics with which they clothed their families, while the me=
n read, or fell into those endless meditations which have given birth to so=
many profound theories, to the mystic dreams of the North, to its beliefs,=
to its studies (so full and so complete in one science, at least, sounded =
as with a plummet), to its manners and its morals, half-monastic, which for=
ce the soul to react and feed upon itself and make the Norwegian peasant a =
being apart among the peoples of Europe. Such was the condition of the Stro=
m-fiord in the first year of the nineteenth century and about the middle of=
the month of May. On a morning when the sun burst forth upon this landscap=
e, lighting the fires of the ephemeral diamonds produced by crystallization=
s of the snow and ice, two beings crossed the fiord and flew along the base=
of the Falberg, rising thence from ledge to ledge toward the summit. What =
were they? human creatures, or two arrows? They might have been taken for e=
ider-ducks sailing in consort before the wind. Not the boldest hunter nor t=
he most superstitious fisherman would have attributed to human beings the p=
ower to move safely along the slender lines traced beneath the snow by the =
granite ledges, where yet this couple glided with the terrifying dexterity =
of somnambulists who, forgetting their own weight and the dangers of the sl=
ightest deviation, hurry along a ridge-pole and keep their equilibrium by t=
he power of some mysterious force. " Stop me, Seraphitus," said a=
pale young girl, " and let me breathe. I look at you, you only, while=
scaling these walls of the gulf; otherwise, what would become of me? I am =
such a feeble creature. Do I tire you?" " No," said the bein=
g on whose arm she leaned. " But let us go on, Minna; the place where =
we are is not firm enough to stand on." Once more the snow creaked sha=
rply beneath the long boards fastened to their feet, and soon they reached =
the upper terrace of the first ledge, clearly defined upon the flank of the=
precipice. The person whom Minna had addressed as Seraphitus threw his wei=
ght upon his right heel, arresting the plank--six and a half feet long and =
narrow as the foot of a child--which was fastened to his boot by a double t=
hong of leather. This plank, two inches thick, was covered with reindeer sk=
in, which bristled against the snow when the foot was raised, and served to=
stop the wearer. Seraphitus drew in his left foot, furnished with another =
" skee," which was only two feet long, turned swiftly where he st=
ood, caught his timid companion in his arms, lifted her in spite of the lon=
g boards on her feet, and placed her on a projecting rock from which he bru=
shed the snow with his pelisse. " You are safe there, Minna; you can t=
remble at your ease." " We are a third of the way up the Ice-Cap,=
" she said, looking at the peak to which she gave the popular name by =
which it is known in Norway; " I can hardly believe it." Too much=
out of breath to say more, she smiled at Seraphitus, who, without answerin=
g, laid his hand upon her heart and listened to its sounding throbs, rapid =
as those of a frightened bird. " It often beats as fast when I run,&qu=
ot; she said. Seraphitus inclined his head with a gesture that was neither =
coldness nor indifference, and yet, despite the grace which made the moveme=
nt almost tender, it none the less bespoke a certain negation, which in a w=
oman would have seemed an exquisite coquetry. Seraphitus clasped the young =
girl in his arms. Minna accepted the caress as an answer to her words, cont=
inuing to gaze at him. As he raised his head, and threw back with impatient=
gesture the golden masses of his hair to free his brow, he saw an expressi=
on of joy in the eyes of his companion.</p>=20
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