but he did not therefore desist. This caused Rachel to lose somewhat of
her usual self-possession.

"Have you been on the west coast before?" said Uncle Richard, coming to
her assistance.

"Never," replied the young man; "all I have as yet seen of the sea has
been Christiana Fjord."

"And what do you think of our scenery?" continued the old gentleman. "I
have no doubt that you have already seen some of the finest views in the
neighbourhood."

"It has made a deep impression on me," answered Mr. Johnsen; "but Nature
here is so grand and so impressive as to make one feel insignificant in
its presence."

"Perhaps you find it too dull here?" said Rachel, a little disappointed.

"Oh no, not exactly that," replied he, quietly. "The idea I wished to
convey is that Nature here has something--how shall I express
it?--something exacting about it, by which one seems, as it were,
impelled to activity, to perform some deed which will make a mark in the
world."

She looked at him with astonishment; but her uncle said
good-humouredly--

"For my part, I find our desolate and weather-beaten coast tends rather
to lead the mind to meditation and thought than to excite it to