SWEDISH LANDSCAPES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12064, 20 July 1917, Page 4

SWEDISH LANDSCAPES.

A PERFECT COUNTRY FOR A LAKE.

" I must now describe the long, la.ke, the rich plains and the blue mountains, since they were the scene were Gosta, Berling and the other knights of Ekeby passe*! their joyous existence," writes Selma Lagerlof in "The Story of Gosta Berling," translated from the Swedish by Pa'uliue Bancroft Flacli.

"The lake has its source far up in the north, and it is perfect country for a lake. The. forest and the mountains never cease, to collect, water for it; rivulets and bdooks stream into it the whole year round. It has fine white sand to stretch itself over, headlands and islands to mirror and to look at, . . • and it quickly grows large and beautiful. There, in the north, it. is smiling and iriendly; one needs hut. to see it. on a summer morning, when it lies half awake under a. veil of mist., to perceive how g,ny ,it .is. It, plays first for a whfilvij, creeps softly, sottiy, out. ol .its light, covering, so magically bea'utiful that one can hardly recognise it; but then it casts from it, suddenly, the whole covering, and lies bare and uncovered: and rosy, shining in the morning light. "Bui. the lake is not content, with this light, of play; it draws itself together to a narrow strait, breaks its way out through the sandhills to the sciuth, .and seeks out a- new kingdom for itself. And such a. one it. ajlso finds; it, geis larger and more power-t i'ul, has bottomless depths to till, and a busy landscape to adorn. And now its water is darker, its shores less varying, its winds sharper, its whole character more severe. It. has become a stately and magnificent lake. Many aro the. ships and the rafts of timbar which pass there; late in the year it finds timo to take its winter rc,st, rarely before Christmas. Often is it in psevish mood . . . but it can also lie in a dreamy calm and reflect tliQ heavens.

"' But still farther out- into, the world will tho lake go, although the mountains become bolder and space narrower ; still farther down it comes, so that it once again must creep as a. narrow strait between sandbound shores. Then it broadens out for thft thir.d time, but no longer with the same beauty and might. "The shores sink down and become tame, gentler winds blow, the lako takes its winter rest early. It is still beautiful, but it has lost youth's giddiuess and manhood's strength—it is now a. lake like any other. W ifch two M"ms it gropes, after a. way to Lake Vanern, and when that is found it throws itself . . . over the slopes

and goes with a last thundering (leap to rest.

"Tho plain is as long as the lake; but, it has no easy time, to find al place between sea and mountain, all the way from the valley of the basin at the lake's northern end, where itfirst dares to spread itself out., till it- Jays itsell to easy rest, by the Vanorn's shore. There is no doubt that the plain would rather follow Iho shore of the lake, long as it is, hut tho mountains give it. no peajee. The mountains are. mighty granite walls, covered with woods, full «"f cliffs, difficult, to cross, rich in moss and lichen—in those old days tho jiom.e, of many wild things. "On the far-stretching ridges on« often comes upon a wet, swamp or a pool with dark water. Here and there a. charcoal kiln or an open patch, where timber and wood hare been c*ut, or a burnt, clearing, and these ali bear witness that there .is work going on on the mountains; but as a lfule they lie in careless peace and amuse themselves with watching the lights and shadows play over their slopes " And with theso mountains the plain, which is peaceful and rich, and loves work, wages a perpetual Avar, in a friendly spirit, however. " ' It is quite enough,'" says the plain to the mountains, ' if you set up your walls about mo, that is safety cnausrh for me.' But the mountains will not listen. They send out long rows of hills and barren table-lands way down to the lake. They raise great look-out towers on every promontory, and leave the shores of the lake so seldom that the plain ran hut- rarely stretch itself out bv the soft., broad sands."