Our donkeys were again loaded. The Puru Rawnee had a chafed back, but by careful folding of our tent-cover, we prevented pressure upon it; sore backs are always difficult to prevent in crossing a mountainous country. We had reached Lom about twelve o’clock, and left about four. Our gipsies were ready; we bade all farewell, perhaps never to meet again, but not the less to be held in our pleasing remembrance.
The evening was very warm; indeed, as we slowly followed the road up the “Bœverdal Elv,” we found it exceedingly hot. It is about nine miles distance from Lom to Rödsheim; comfortable homesteads met our view as we passed along. The usual excitement to see our donkeys was here and there met with. It is said there are four hundred farms in the parish of Lom, and every tenth man had lately emigrated, but no inconvenience had been felt by the diminution of population.
Not far along the road, we met a young Norwegian student _en route_ towards Lom. Ole conversed with him. He was dressed in light tourist costume, and high lace-up boots, and had attempted alone the ascent of the Galdhöpiggen. The student had failed, and was returning with all the weight of disappointed ambition upon his mind. Ole had predicted the failure. Well we remembered our similar fate in former years, when we ourselves, and several fellow-tourists, headed by the celebrated mountaineer, poor Hudson, returned from an attempted ascent of Mont Blanc. Tired, wayworn, torn, and jaded, and, worse, disappointed, we reached the picturesque Hotel Mont Joli at Saint Gervais only to try again with better success.
Ole, anxious to reach Rödsheim as soon as possible, went on in advance. We saw him again, when he had reached his father’s farm near the road side. Ole and his father were just going to start for Rödsheim in a stolkjœrre. His services were unnecessary as guide to Rödsheim. It was useless for Ole to remain with us. They wished us much to go with them in the stolkjœrre, and leave our gipsies and donkeys to follow after.
Ole’s father was a fine, hale, strong old man, and his wife a comely stout woman. We preferred to remain with our gipsies and baggage, feeling a sort of independence of all kinds of lifts. Possessing good health and spirits, we felt no fatigue from our daily exertion. Exposure to the fresh air seemed to give us an enduring strength quite beyond the requirement of stimulant or the necessity for artificial locomotion.