Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/191

Rh What scheme should we adopt then? What land should we visit? The answer suggested itself as we went over the advertisement of the season. Let us go and see the Land of the Midnight Sun! Let us go and see the wild and rugged coast of Norway, the wooded moutains [sic] and magnificent valleys and picturesque fiords and the quaint old timber-built towns of that country. Let us work up our way through the rocks and islands on the west coast to the North Cape where the sun never sets beneath the horizon for over two months! We are yet in time to see the midnight sun on the 29th July. Within two or three days after that the sun will set under the horizon.

The temptation was too great to be resisted. Berths in the steamers were secured by telegram, and on the 22nd July 1886, five hour's journey by rail brought us from London to the great seaport of Hull in Yorkshire with its extensive docks and shipping. We left the Hull by the steamer "Hero" the same night, and saw the lights from the docks streaming over the waters for miles together. The next morning (23rd) we found ourselves in the open sea. The weather was fair, and the sea was not rough, and altogether the day was pleasant.

On the 24th there was a thick fog in the morning, and our steamer went half speed for nearly six hours, whistling every now and then. The weather cleared up, however, in the mid-day, and a bright sun shone above us.

In the afternoon we saw the mountains of Norway from a distance. Days became longer now as we