'"
Neither Wergeland nor Welhaven nor any other poet has with all his
rapturous description of fjord, valley, and mountain, this power to
conjure up the very soul of the Norseland. The purely juvenile rhymes of
Bjoernson, such as _Killebukken, Lokkeleg_ and _Haren og Raeven_ ("The
Hare and the Fox"), are significant because of the masterly security
with which they strike the national key and keep it. Not a word is there
that rings false. And with what an exquisite tenderness the elegaic
ballad strain is rendered in _Venevil_ and "Hidden Love" (_Dulgt
Kaerlighed_), and the playful in the deliciously girlish roguery of
_Vidste du bare_ ("If you only knew"), and the bold dash and young
wantonness of "Marit's Song!"
It seems to me that every Norseman's life, whether he is willing to
acknowledge it or not, has been made richer and more beautiful by this
precious volume. It contains a legacy to the Norwegian people which can
never grow old. If Bjoernson had written nothing else, he would still be
the first poet of Norway.
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