Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/319

Rh ical literature. Literature thus acquired an abundance of fresh materials, and the peculiarities of the Norwegian character were brought out into bold relief. Both these men were exceptionally fitted for the task of collecting and recasting these poetical productions of the popular mind of Norway, for they both possessed in a remarkable degree the art of coaxing from the common man his jealously guarded treasures of popular poetry. No less admirable was their talent for retelling what they obtained in such a manner that nothing was lost of the original either in substance or in style. This they were able to do because they were thoroughly familiar with the life and habits of the peasants, and in addition to this they were endowed with no mean poetical talent which they employed with consummate skill, for they checked it whenever there was any danger that it might be detrimental to the pure original form of the popular tales, or to the peculiar stamp which the people had given them. In the "Norske Huldreæventyr og Folkesagn," which Asbjörnsen has edited, giving the names of the persons by whom the tales have been told, he has inserted descriptions in which are found a series of striking pictures of the natural scenery and of the popular life of Norway. Moe has written a number of graceful and attractive poems, among which the earlier ones are especially charming. In them he extols the beauties of nature, while in his later poems, which are strongly pervaded by a religious element, he also frequently turns to nature to borrow from her symbolic expressions for his thoughts upon the loftiest themes. In his later works we also find numerous exquisite passages.

Many other writers have furnished excellent descriptions of nature and sketches of popular life, which are no less remarkable for their simple and attractive style than for their charming realism. Among the most important of these,