Note 1 — Chapter XXIII · A PICNIC.
Reading edition
NOTES ON THE ABOVE COMPOSITION.
1 ‘Unbroke.’ This is bold poetic imagery, meaning unopened. Breakages were unknown during our expedition, and long experience justifies us in assuring the world that breaking the pot, though an effectual way of getting at the marmalade, is not a satisfactory method. It will be found much better to remove the bladder at the top. This may be depended on.
2 Need we explain that ‘Keiller’s own Bonnie Dundee’ alludes to the marmalade made by that great and good man? No, a thousand times no!
3 ‘Smör,’ Norwegian butter, pronounced Smoeurr—and it tastes like that, too.
4 ‘Brod,’ bread. The word does not rhyme to god, being pronounced something like Broat, but it looks as if it rhymed.
5 ‘Spise,’ a meal, pronounced Speessa.
6 ‘Mölte,’ cloudberry, pronounced Moulta.
7 ‘Glopit,’ the mountain between Gjendin and Rus Vand.
8 ‘Stor,’ big, pronounced Stora before a consonant.
9 ‘Pandecāges,’ pancakes.
10 ‘Take.’ This word is only used by poetic licence, and must not be construed literally. When we attempted to ‘take’ John’s whisky on our return to camp, there was a good deal of ill-feeling engendered, and he said that no one but himself understood the subtleties of æsthetic metaphor.
11 ‘Öl,’ the ale of the country, ‘rare’ both in quality and, alas! in quantity.
12 ‘Gjende fly,’ a fly peculiar to this lake, of which more anon.
13 ‘Green fly,’ a charming creature like a large grey blue-bottle with green eyes; it bites a portion of flesh sufficient for its wants, and then goes away to eat it.
14 ‘Bug.’ Again poetic licence. ‘Cimex lectularius’ has not been encountered during our stay in Norway this time; nevertheless he is not unknown in the country, as the sojourners in one of the Lillehammer hotels, not the Victoria, can testify.
15 ‘Skeeter.’ The mosquito is a mournful and disgraceful fact; and so are the sand-fly, the stomoxys, and the flea. Memurudalen is more free from insects than any place we have tried.