Chasing the Sun

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER SEVEN.

  A SUNDAY ON SHORE.

  Only once during their voyage along the rugged coast of Norway did ourthree friends go to church! It must not be supposed, however, thattherefore they were heathens. Far from it. Fred and his companionswere truly Christian men. That is to say, they not only calledthemselves Christians, but they made it their earnest aim to walk afterthe example of Christ, and to exhibit their Christianity by their deeds.But only once during their trip had they the opportunity of visiting achurch on a Sunday forenoon when service was going on.

  It happened to be on a bright calm Sunday. There was just enough ofwind to urge the _Snowflake_ through the water at the rate of two milesan hour. Fred's usual custom was to get to a secure anchorage onSaturdays, so as to be able to spend the Sabbath as a day of rest. Butthis was not always practicable, because the water was so deep closeinshore that no bottom could be found in many places, and often theywere obliged to continue their voyage on Sunday. This, however, was amatter of small importance, because the working of the yacht required solittle attention--especially in fine weather--that it did not interferewith the services or the rest of the day. Fred made a point ofassembling the crew and reading the Church of England service everySunday forenoon, and a chapter or two from the Bible in the evening.

  On the present occasion they were all assembled on the quarterdeckjoining in the morning service. The breeze was steady, and thesteersman was the only man on duty, but he was not thereby preventedfrom attending to what was being read. The vessel was gliding alongclose under a precipice which towered high above the mast, and, at ashort distance ahead, extended out in a bold promontory or headland.Elsewhere mountainous islands hemmed them in.

  When they reached the promontory Fred was reading that beautiful Psalm,the 95th,--which appeared somewhat appropriate to the occasion.

  "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in thestrength of our salvation.

  "Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and shew ourselvesglad in Him with psalms.

  "For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

  "In His hand are all the corners of the earth: and the strength of thehills is His also.

  "The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands prepared the dry land.

  "O come, let us worship and fall down: and kneel before the Lord ourMaker."

  Fred happened to look up at the last words, and an exclamation of wonderbroke from him as he pointed towards the shore. The schooner had justdoubled the towering promontory, and a new scene had been suddenlyopened up to view.

  Just beyond the promontory the coast-line took an abrupt bend to theright, at the end of which was a sequestered little bay, with a beach ofyellow sand, and a cluster of grassy mounds behind, of the brightestemerald green. The bay and the green mounds and the strip of yellowsand were all exceedingly small, and were surrounded by a mass of ruggedrocks of a cold, whitish-grey colour. Beyond these were the greatpurple mountains of the mainland. Ahead and in front towered theislands of the coast. The whole of the surrounding scenery was wild,rugged, and barren. This one little spot alone was soft and lovely; itshone out like a bright jewel from its dark setting. All round the baywere clustering cottages, with white walls and red roofs,--some on thesides of the mounds, others perched on rocks that projected out into thesea. On the highest of these mounds stood a church, and in the bayfloated a large Norwegian vessel and numerous small boats.

  The promontory round which the _Snowflake_ had just passed completelysheltered this bay, so that the water was like a sheet of glass, inwhich everything--boats, rocks, mounds, cottages, and church--wasclearly reflected.

  The church-bell was ringing. It was a small bell, and its sweet soundcame floating softly over the sea to the ears of our voyagers like anold familiar hymn. The interest of this scene was further enhanced bythe assembling of the people to church. Boats were seen pushing offfrom every island, issuing from every creek, rowing over the calm water,and all converging towards the little bay with the yellow strand. Eachboat was crowded with men, women, and children; and as the men wore redcaps, and the women white kerchiefs on their heads, their appearance wasquite brilliant. In other respects, their clothes being all homespunand of one dark colour, their aspect was sombre enough. So numerouswere the boats, and so suddenly did they make their appearance, that itseemed as if the land were being invaded by a foreign host.

  All this was taken in at a glance by the yacht party as they doubled thepromontory, and glided slowly into the bay.

  "This is our anchorage," said the Captain.

  "Very well, let go the anchor, and we will finish the service after itis down," said Temple, rising and taking up the telescope to examine thegroups of people on shore.

  As each boat discharged its load on the little stone pier, the males andfemales separated into two distinct bands and walked slowly and sedatelytowards the church, at the door of which the whole congregationassembled, still keeping in two separate bands, to await the arrival ofthe clergyman.

  In a few minutes the rattle of the chain announced that the anchor wasdown. The sails were dewed up, and service was continued.

  "Now," said Fred, when he had concluded, "lower the boat, Captain--Iwill go to church. Will any one of you join me?"

  "What's the use of my going?" said Sam Sorrel; "I won't understand aword."

  "You're not sure of that," said Grant. "Besides it is so long sincewe've been to church, that I feel as if I should enjoy it whether Iunderstand it or not."

  "If it don't do you no good, sir, it can't do you no harm," urged BobBowie, who was evidently anxious to get ashore.

  "Come along," cried Fred, jumping into the boat, and taking his seat inthe stern-sheets.

  He was quickly followed by his companions and by honest Bob, whosedelight in a ramble on shore was only equalled by his love for a voyageon the sea!

  "Ain't it an xtroar'nary church, sir?" said Bob, sidling up to Templeand touching his hat, as they ascended the green mound on which thebuilding stood.

  "It is, Bob, most remarkable," replied Fred.

  To say truth, there could not be two opinions on this point. The churchwas of very peculiar and curious form. It was more like a number ofdove-cots placed together than anything else; those dove-cots, I mean,which have sloping roofs, and are frequently seen nailed against thesides of houses in country places. Take four such dove-cots and placethem back to back so as to form a sort of square; on the top of theseplace three more dove-cots, also back to back; above these set up twomore dove-cots, and one on the top of all, with a short steeple aboveit, and a spire with an enormous weathercock on the top of that, and thebuilding will not be a bad model of a Norwegian church, especially ifyou paint the sides white, and the gabled roofs blackish-red.

  Inside, this church was found to be exceedingly plain, but very clean.The pews and galleries and walls were of unpainted fir, and the ceilingwas whitewashed. The entire building was utterly devoid of ornament,except round the altar, above which there was a large crucifix and a fewcandles, and other things somewhat resembling those used in RomanCatholic worship.

  The service had begun some time before the arrival of our friends. Itwas a Lutheran church, and the ceremonial resembled that of the EnglishChurch in some respects, that of the Roman Catholic in others.

  The entrance of so many strangers of course created some sensation, evenalthough they entered as quietly as possible and sat down on the firstseats they found vacant. The people seemed to have native politeness inthem. They could not, indeed, resist the temptation to look round, butthey did it modestly, and only indulged in glances, as if they felt thatit was rude to stare at strangers.

  Unfortunately Bob Bowie had not been warned that it is the custom inNorway for the men to sit together on one side of the church and thewomen on the other side, and, being rather a stupid man in some matters,he did not observe that the door by which he entered led to the women'spews.
Being by nature a modest man, he cast down his eyes on entering,and did not again raise them until he found himself seated beside aNorwegian female in a black gown and a white head-dress, with a baby inher arms, which also wore a black gown and a white head-dress. Bob satwith a solemn look on his bluff visage, and wiped his bald foreheadgently for some time ere he discovered that he was the only male beingin the midst of a crowd of two hundred women and girls and femaleinfants!

  On making this discovery honest Bob's body became exceedingly warm andhis face uncommonly red. He glanced round uneasily, blew his nose, rosesuddenly, and, putting on his hat with the back to the front, went outof the church on tip-toe as quietly as possible, and was not again seen,until, an hour afterwards, he was discovered seated on the sunny side ofa rock near the boat calmly smoking his pipe!

  Bob was somewhat ashamed of this little adventure, and did not like tohave it spoken of. As a matter of course his comrades did not sparehim; but, being the steward of the ship, and having supreme command overthe food, he so contrived to punish his messmates that they very soongave up joking him about his going to church with the Norse girls!

  It cannot be said that any of the three friends made much of the sermonthat day. Fred understood only a sentence here and there, Grantunderstood only a word now and then, and Sam Sorrel understood nothingat all; but from the earnestness of the preacher, especially when thename of our Saviour was mentioned, they were inclined to believe that agood work was going on there.

  In this opinion they were further strengthened when, on afterwardsvisiting the pastor, they found him to be a man of singularly kind andearnest disposition, with agreeable and unaffected manners. He wore along loose robe of black material, and a thick white frill round hisneck similar to that usually seen in the portraits of the great ReformerMartin Luther.

  His family consisted of a wife and four children--a sturdy boy, andthree flaxen-haired girls, all of whom vied with each other in payingattention to their visitors. Coffee was instantly produced, and cakesmade by the fair fingers of the goodwife. The pastor could speak alittle French, so that his visitors were able to converse with him, butthe other members of the family could speak nothing but their nativetongue. However, this did not prove a great stumbling-block, for, whileGrant talked French with the pastor, Fred entertained his hostess in hisbest Norse, and Sam Sorrel, not to be behindhand, got the children roundhim, and made such wonderful use of _ver so goot_ and his other petphrases, that he succeeded in getting the boy on his knee, and insetting the girls off into giggles of laughter.

  They spent that Sunday and the following Monday at this pleasant place,and were taken by the pastor all over his house and grounds and village,after which he conducted them to the summit of a mountain, whence theyobtained one of the finest views they had yet seen in Norway.

  Here, for the first time since leaving England, they regarded a fairwind with disfavour; they bade adieu to the pastor and his family with alittle of that sad feeling which one experiences when parting, perhapsfor ever, from dear friends.

  But time and the sun would not wait. The anchor was tripped; the sailswere spread; in half an hour the place had dwindled away to a brightgreen spot in the far distance; then they rounded the beetling crags ofan island--and it vanished from their view.