The mountain with its snowclad peaks towering up into the
immensity of the starry heavens. The rustling of the
woodland above the blossom-spangled and smiling meadows,
the steep uptowering, the widely growing, and the joyously
smiling. At once the soft melody that stirs the heart and
the strong wind that sweeps over the Northern lands."
This concourse of metaphors gives some slight idea of the
way in which Bjornson's personality affected those who came
into contact with it. The description may be supplemented
by a few bits of anecdote and reminiscence. The composer
Grieg contributes the following incident of the old days
in Norway:--
"It was Christmas eve of 1868 at the Bjornsons in Christiania.
They lived then in the Rosenkrantzgade. My wife and I were,
as far as I can remember, the only guests. The children were
very boisterous in their glee. In the middle of the floor
an immense Christmas tree was enthroned and brightly lighted.
All the servant-folk came in, and Bjornson spoke, beautifully and
warmly, as he well knows how to do. 'Now you shall play a hymn,
Grieg,' he said, and although I did not quite like the notion
of doing organist's work, I naturally complied without a murmur.
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