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duty to pour out my heart before him. He gave no sign of displeasure, and that being so, I thought I had some reason to be satisfied.

Afterwards we chanced upon other subjects. He began to ask me questions about Bohuslän, and when I suggested that he ought to study the northern part of it in particular, because of the fact that the landscape was of unusual beauty and grandeur, he immediately agreed to my proposition.

—And do you know why? he asked. Well, because the primary rock in the northern part consists of red granite while that of the southern part is grey.

And immediately he entered into a geological exposition of the structure of the entire country, presented so plainly and clearly that later on it impressed me like a painting. I was amazed not only at his knowledge, but also at his ability to complete this geological ensemble in a few rapid strokes. When he had ceased talking, I wished to put forth a feeler as to whether it was only a scientific interest that attracted him to Bohuslän, or whether he was particularly fond of our Bohuslän scenery. His answer shocked me most terribly.—Bohuslän! No, it is as insanely ugly as a landscape on the moon.

I tried to defend what I considered beautiful beyond all comparison and, therefore, I began an attack on the skerry-environs of Stockholm. I declared that one must feel depressed among those islands covered with dark-green spruce and pine, that the dark-green and the bluish gray tone of the water do not go