Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 9, 1898.djvu/233

 Rh has to some extent served to narrow the range of Kristensen's collecting; the dialects in the islands are so different from those of Jutland that he has never felt sufficient confidence to try his fortune there, and even parts of Jutland he has left untouched for the same reason. Three summer vacations, moreover, he spent in acquiring some knowledge of Old Norse, which is necessary at times for the understanding of single words and phrases used by the older narrators, whose language is often very different from that of the younger generation.

It will be readily understood that a thorough knowledge of a dialect is of immense value to the collector. It is through this that he gets directly at the people, at their ways of thinking, at what is most characteristic in their natures. Only the exact tones to which they have been accustomed, have the power to call out what lies deepest in their being, and "folklore now-a-days commonly lies very deep, so deep that a great deal has to be pushed aside before one can get to it." To a great extent the materials of folklore are blended with the memories of childhood, and the latter must be called forth in order to reach the former. To bring the old people into this train of thought, is the collector's first task; and it is not every man that has the necessary patience and other qualifications for the work. It is with great satisfaction that Kristensen speaks of his success in this direction. "In many cases," he says, "I have penetrated to the innermost recesses of the heart, and made myself acquainted with all that was deepest in the spiritual life of the old folks. There are few clergymen who have gained so much confidence and enjoyed so much openness among them." To many of them it is a real source of pleasure to have old memories thus brought to light again, to find that what they learned in childhood is of interest to a perfect stranger, and is even worth recording in books. But the old folks are not always free to enjoy these delights; fear of the younger generation, dread of