ZL 
 
 
 } > 
 
 IN 
 
 DR. J. O.HALL 
 
Book . ' H3 
 
 10 
 
 COFKRiGHT DEPOSm 
 
WHEN I WAS A BOY 
 IN NORWAY 
 
CHILDREN OF OTHER LANDS BOOKS 
 
 Independent Volumes With Characteristic Illus- 
 trations and Cover Designs i2mo Cloth 
 
 There are many books about the children of other coun- 
 tries, but no other group like this, with each volume written 
 by one who has lived the foreign child life described, and 
 learned from subsequent experience in this country how to 
 tell it in a way attractive to American children — and in fact 
 to Americans of any age. 
 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN CHINA, By Yan Phoa Ue 
 WHEN I WAS A GIRL IN ITALY, By Marietta Ambroti 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN JAPAN, By Sakae Sliioya 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN GREECE, By George Demetrios 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN PALESTINE, By Moasa J. Kaleel 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN BELGIUM, By Robert Jonckheere 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN RUSSIA, By Vladimir Mokrievitch 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN ROUMANIA, By Dr. J. S. VanTeslaar 
 WHEN I WAS A GIRL IN HOLLAND, By Cornelia De Groot 
 WHEN I WAS A GIRL IN MEXICO, By Mercedes Godoy 
 WHEN I WAS A GIRL IN ICELAND, By Hobnfridur Amadottir 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN PERSIA, By Youel B. Mirza 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN SCOTLAND, By George McP. Hunter 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY, By Jobn 0. HaU 
 WHEN I WAS A GIRL IN SWITZERLAND, By S. Lonite Patteton 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 
 BOSTON 
 
The Author at Eighteen. 
 Dr, J. O. Hall as an athlete in Christiania, Norway. 
 
WHEN I WAS A BOY 
 IN NORWAY 
 
 By 
 DR. J. O. HALL 
 
 ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
 BOSTON 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 
 
Published, October, 1921 
 
 .H3 
 
 Copyright, 1921, 
 By Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 When I Was a Boy In Norway 
 
 mi (8 1921 [ 
 g)CI.A627788 
 
 Printed in U. S. A. 
 
 Iftorwoo^ ipteea 
 
 BERWICK & SMITH CO. 
 Norwood, Mass. 
 
To my 
 
 DEAR WIFEy 
 
 and our beloved daughter^ 
 
 EVANGELINE OR A, 
 
 this volume 
 is affectionately dedicated 
 
'' For he who knows a book to read 
 May travel lightly without steed 
 And find sweet comfort on the road. 
 He shall forget the rugged way, 
 Nor sigh for kindly company, 
 Nor faint beneath his load/' 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 Customs in Norway vary much in the 
 different sections and valleys. What is 
 customary in one valley may be strange 
 or even unknown in another. 
 
 This will be easily understood when we 
 remember that the people in the solitary 
 parishes have had little intercommunion 
 and that each parish has clung to its own 
 traditions and customs. With this in 
 view, I have had the choice of either pre- 
 senting that which is true of a small sec- 
 tion or parish, or that which is more 
 generally true for the whole country. 
 Thinking that the majority of the readers 
 are more interested in gaining a correct 
 knowledge of the whole country of Nor- 
 way than of a small section thereof, I 
 have in this volume presented that which 
 
 is typical for the nation rather than that 
 
 7 
 
8 FOREWORD 
 
 which is typical for even the parish in 
 which I was born. This has also given 
 me the opportunity to quote authors out- 
 side of Norway when the country and its 
 people have been praised very highly. 
 
 As a modest son of Norway, I have se- 
 lected this method of presentation rather 
 than to give in all instances my own eu- 
 logy of " Mother Norway '' and her 
 people. 
 
 J. O. Hall. 
 
 Washington, D. C, 
 May, 1921. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Sunlit Norway, Nature's Won- 
 derland . . . 
 
 n. The People of Norway • 
 
 III. Eambles Around My Pictur 
 
 ESQUE Birthplace . 
 
 IV. JoTUNHEiM. A Peep Into the 
 
 Home of the Giants 
 
 V. Fjelds AND Falls 
 
 VI. Eeturn of the Sun . 
 
 VII. Our Games and Play 
 
 VIII. The Hero, Frithjof the Vi 
 king .... 
 
 IX. Confirmation ... 
 X. Educational System in Nor 
 
 WAY 
 
 XI. Popular Superstitions and 
 Fairy Tales . 
 
 XII. Popular Norse Tales. '* The 
 Priest and the Clerk " 
 
 XIII. *^ The Hare and the Heiress ' 
 
 XIV. ^^ The Skipper and Old Nick ' 
 
 XV. Norse Mythology . 
 
 XVI. Saeter .... 
 
 9 
 
 13 
 24 
 
 38 
 
 48 
 63 
 66 
 69 
 
 64 
 85 
 
 95 
 
 110 
 
 113 
 116 
 118 
 122 
 134 
 
10 CONTENTS 
 
 XVII. Fjelds and Fjords of Norway 147 
 
 XVIII. Holy Days. Unique Christ- 
 mas Customs in Norway . 153 
 
 XIX. Festivals : Seventeenth of 
 
 May and St. John's Eve . 164 
 
 XX. Eenowned Musicians, and Folk- 
 Music IN Norway . . . 169 
 
 XXI. Winter Sports. Skiing and 
 Skating on the ^* Play- 
 ground OF THE North '^ . 192 
 
 XXII. Norwegian Literature • . 202 
 
 XXIII. A Wedding Feast . . .233 
 
 XXIV. A Cruise Around the Coast of 
 
 Norway to North Cape and 
 THE Midnight Sun . . 237 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Author at Eighteen . . Frontisfpiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Eeady for the Climb . • . . 
 Fossberg at the Foot of Lomseggen . 
 Loms Church 
 
 Bessheim, Jotunheim . 
 The Eoyal Family of Norway 
 Stalheim Hotel, Naerodalen, Norway 
 Gudbrandsdalen .... 
 Yaage Lake, Gudbrandsdalen 
 Evening on the Saeter 
 Fladbrod— Baking in Saeterdalen 
 Old Posting Station, with Cariole 
 
 Antique Costumes, Vaage, Gudbrandsdalen 162 
 
 Drying the Hay . 
 Peasant Wedding, Norway 
 Midnight Sun, Lofoten, Norway 
 
 18 
 
 46 
 
 46 
 
 62 
 
 84 
 
 94 
 
 112 
 
 112 
 
 138 
 
 138 
 
 152 
 
 168 
 234 
 262 
 
 U 
 
99 
 
 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN 
 NORWAY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 SUNLIT NORWAY^ NATURE^S WONDERLAND 
 
 I AM thankful that I had the oppor- 
 tunity of being ''A Boy in Norway; 
 but I am also grateful to " Uncle Sam 
 for adopting me as an American citizen. 
 
 Hence, Norway is my mother, who 
 gave me my gentle training for twenty 
 years, and " Uncle Sam " is my father, 
 who has given me great opportunities for 
 education and travel, and has enabled me 
 to meet with the people in the different 
 States and learn a great deal of the past 
 and present of this glorious country. 
 
 In this book I am obliged to speak of 
 
 my " mother " only, and of such a good 
 
 and beautiful mother I must of necessity 
 
 say nice things. 
 
 13 
 
14 WHENIWASABOYIN NORWAY 
 
 Therefore, if you find me calling her 
 pet names, you must never think that I 
 have lost my affection for my " father ''; 
 but as a loyal, devoted child I can love 
 them both. 
 
 The Irishman said, " Every one ought 
 to be patriotic about his native country, — 
 whether he was bom there or not." 
 
 As one among many thousands, I can 
 testify to the fact that it is possible to be 
 patriotic — in the best sense of the word — 
 both toward one's native and one's 
 adoptive country. 
 
 And who could help being patriotic for 
 Norway, Nature's Wonderland, the 
 Land of the Vikings, of Saga and Song, 
 of Fjords and Falls, of Mountains and 
 Ice-fields, with a variety of climate, from 
 the mildest tracts in the south to the 
 Arctic winters in the north, and the lure 
 of the Midnight Sun and the Northern 
 Lights? 
 
 Surely we can say with the beloved 
 Norse poet, Bjornson: 
 
SUNLIT NORWAY 15 
 
 ** This North Land is our own, 
 And we love each rock and stone, 
 From the rugged old snow mountains 
 To the cabins by the main ; 
 And our love shall be the seed 
 To bear the fruit we need.'^ 
 
 We could w^rite a big volume on the 
 grand and picturesque scenery of Nor- 
 way; but there are many excellent books 
 on this subject. You, of course, vii^ill be 
 interested in the phenomena and w^onders 
 of the land of the Norsemen, and in order 
 to show you the magnificent scenery we 
 shall take you along on delightful holiday 
 tours and rambles in this " New Switzer- 
 land." But more interesting than his 
 country is the Norseman himself. We 
 shall, therefore, spend ample time in 
 studying the people, their habits, customs, 
 traditions, folk-lore, and fairy-tales. 
 
 We shall study the interesting charac- 
 teristics of the descendants of those brave 
 and valiant Vikings, who in the days of 
 old, when Europe was degraded by the 
 chains of slavery, governed themselves by 
 
16 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 their own laws and planted that spirit of 
 self-ruling and freedom, which she 
 proudly possesses to-day, and which en- 
 titles her country to be called the " Freest 
 of the Free." 
 
 What Does this Fairy-land Look 
 
 Like? 
 
 In order to answer this, let us take a 
 bird's-eye view of this country. How 
 can we do it? Just step with me into an 
 airplane. We have an expert pilot, and 
 he will show us the general outline of the 
 land. Afterwards we will take our time 
 and see and learn more at each of the 
 most interesting points. 
 
 Supposing our pilot could take us so 
 high that with our excellent instruments 
 we could view the whole country at once. 
 What does it look like? It looks like a 
 giant Greenland whale — about 1,200 miles 
 long. Toward the south is the big head, 
 250 miles wide, and toward the north is 
 the tail — terminating in North Cape. 
 
SUNLIT NORWAY 17 
 
 Portions of this fish suggest that it has 
 been underfed, as the northern half is only 
 about sixty miles wide. 
 
 This giant whale is washed by three 
 oceans. The wintry Arctic in the north, 
 the Atlantic — tempered by the mild Gulf 
 Stream — in the west, and the gentle gales 
 of the Skagerak and Kattegat in the south. 
 On the east side it is safely moored to 
 Sweden for a distance of 950 miles, and 
 in the northern part to Finland for 450 
 miles, and to Russia for 100 miles. 
 
 You will observe that this giant whale 
 is not only dead, but petrified. We can 
 therefore examine it without being dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 Its mighty backbone is the first portion 
 to invite our attention. This is divided 
 into three parts. Langfjeldene (Long- 
 mountains) is the name of the backbone 
 from the head up to the big crossbone, 
 which is called Dovref jeld (Dovre-moun- 
 tains) . Then the backbone from there to 
 the tail is called Kjolen (The Keel). 
 
18 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 This mighty bone sticks up 6,151 feet 
 above the sea, and the large part within 
 the Arctic Circle is covered with immense 
 snow-fields and glaciers. Let us now 
 take a look at the crossbone, the Dovre- 
 fjeld, with the highest peaks in Scandi- 
 navia — the Glittertind (8,385 feet) and 
 Galdhopiggen (8,400 feet). 
 
 These mighty peaks are the fathers of 
 the mountains. They have thousands of 
 children, and some of these are about as 
 big as their fathers. Each member of the 
 family covers himself with a heavy veil of 
 snow and ice. This veil is also stretched 
 out between them, and thus it covers over 
 five thousand square miles. The veil 
 drops as low as 5,580 feet. This is called 
 the snow-line. 
 
 See how these glaciers glitter in the 
 sunlight like an ocean of brilliant dia- 
 monds, and from this ocean of perpetual 
 ice we see pale-green streams issue and 
 form magnificently vaulted deep blue 
 caverns. 
 
SUNLIT NORWAY 19 
 
 As our pilot points out and explains 
 this panoramic view, valley after valley 
 and mountain after mountain open their 
 charms to our wondering gaze. Is it real, 
 or is it a fairy-tale in which a wall of rock 
 opens and displays an entrance to the 
 most mysterious and enchanting scenes? 
 It is real, and we stand speechless. 
 
 A wondrous sense of sublime ecstasy 
 steals over us — " something sinks into our 
 souls that nothing will ever efface." 
 
 According to Norse folk-lore, these 
 vast mountain districts are supposed to be 
 inhabited by many kinds of unnatural 
 folk, who live underground and in the 
 mountains. Some of these are great 
 giants like trolls, and some are small 
 dwarfs, gnomes, and witches. Our pilot 
 is one of the few who can both see and 
 converse with such people. Can you hear 
 him ask one of the witches that is flying 
 around us, " How old are these moun- 
 tains, and how were they made? " She 
 answers, '* They were made during the ice 
 
20 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 age, when the ice sheet six to seven thou- 
 sand feet thick moved all over the country 
 and performed the mighty work of ero- 
 sion, transportation, and deposition of 
 rock and earthy material. Thus the hills 
 and dales, the mountains and the deep 
 valleys, were made. You also ask how 
 long it is since this happened. That you 
 can figure out yourself by following these 
 rules of my mother. She said that if a 
 cat had ten lives, and he could live fifty 
 years for each of his lives, and his off- 
 spring through every generation could 
 live just as long as the first cat, then you 
 would find that exactly one thousand 
 generations of cats have died since these 
 mountains were made." 
 
 Having said this, she flies away laugh- 
 ing, as if she thought that we should 
 find it difiicult to solve this simple prob- 
 lem. 
 
 Now, we observed that these great 
 snow-fields and glaciers are also the par- 
 ents of innumerable beautiful cascades, 
 
SUNLIT NORWAY 21 
 
 and even though it is midsummer, we no- 
 tice that the snow hangs like a fringe on 
 every ledge and curtains every slope. 
 
 From our airplane we can see some- 
 thing like long, winding, blue ribbons ex- 
 tending from the ocean far into the coun- 
 try all over the western coast of Norway. 
 They are called fjords. The western 
 coast-line is broken up by deep incisions 
 of the sea into the rocky cliffs, — just as if 
 the meat between the ribs of our giant 
 whale had been removed, and the clear 
 green water from the North Sea had filled 
 the openings. 
 
 These fjords and the mainland are al- 
 ways protected against the roaring bil- 
 lows without, by a perfect belt of islands, 
 which to the number of 150,000 gird the 
 coast (with but few entirely open 
 stretches), and form the most perfect 
 breakwater from the southeastern fron- 
 tier right up to the North Cape. 
 
 These islands vary in size; but alto- 
 gether they contain one-fourteenth of the 
 
22 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 land surface of Norway and one-eighth of 
 the population. 
 
 We shall stop just long enough at the 
 Lofoten chain of isles to listen to the 
 beautiful description of them by a Norse 
 rhapsodist. He says: 
 
 " Like needles their snow-capped peaks 
 pierce the sky. During the greater part 
 of the year snow fills the ravines far down 
 the mountain sides, clasping their frosty 
 arms around the valleys, and sending 
 down like streams of tears along the 
 weather-beaten cheeks of these northern 
 Alps innumerable foaming waterfalls and 
 roaring cascades, falling in an endless 
 variety of graceful shapes into the pro- 
 found fjords below. 
 
 " With their lofty jagged pinnacles, 
 fantastic chasms, and rugged precipices, 
 they present a picture of unutterable 
 grandeur." 
 
 We shall visit the coast of the Lofoten 
 islands again, because here are the chief 
 cod and herring fishing-grounds of Nor- 
 way. The pilot told us that during the 
 
SUNLIT NORWAY 23 
 
 fishing season forty thousand fishermen 
 gather here, and the annual yield of fish 
 exceeds two million dollars. 
 
 Near the south end of these islands it 
 looked as though the whole ocean were 
 boiling. This is the famous whirlpool 
 known as the Maelstrom. 
 
 We cannot relate in this chapter all 
 that we have seen from our airplane. In 
 other chapters we shall describe Norway's 
 beautiful spring, her rich autumn colors, 
 the Midnight Sun, when it robes the sea, 
 land, and sky in the wondrous grandeur 
 of an endless summer day, and the match- 
 less beauty and pristine purity of her 
 snowy winters with skiing, skating, and 
 tobogganing. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 
 
 We have taken a brief glance at Nor- 
 way as a country. Let us now look at 
 the people who are living there. 
 
 Their most common names are Ole, 
 Hans, Peder, etc. 
 
 If Ole had a son whose given name 
 were Hans, his full name would be Hans 
 Olsen (Ole's son). And if Peder had a 
 daughter named Mary, her full name 
 would be Mary Pedersdatter (Mary 
 Peder's daughter) , etc. 
 
 Many, especially professional people, 
 take the names from the farms where they 
 were born. 
 
 This was the case with my father, 
 whose name was Ole Helle, then Halle, 
 and finally Hall. 
 
 In size and complexion, there are two 
 
 different types of Norsemen. In the 
 
 24 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 25 
 
 great valleys of the interior, as Osterdalen 
 and Gudbrandsdalen are to be found the 
 most marked physical characteristics of 
 the Norwegians. They are tall of stat- 
 ure, strong of limb, with rather long and 
 narrow heads. Most of them have blue 
 eyes and sixty per cent, have light hair. 
 These belong to the purest Teutonic 
 ethnic stock. Racially they are closely 
 related to the Icelanders, Swedes, Danes, 
 Germans, English, and Flemish. Be- 
 cause so many of these different nationali- 
 ties have emigrated to America, we find 
 that seventy-five per cent, of the Ameri- 
 can population belong also to the same 
 Teutonic race. 
 
 In the coast section of the country is to 
 be found the second type. These repre- 
 sent more of a race mixture. They are 
 shorter of stature, with broader heads, 
 and a darker complexion. 
 
 Personally I belong to the latter type, 
 although I was born in Gudbrandsdalen. 
 In this parish there were very few who, 
 
26 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 like myself, had black hair and a dark 
 complexion, and as a boy I heard some 
 old women say that, because I was so dif- 
 ferent from most of the children in the 
 neighborhood, I would certainly turn out 
 to be either very, very bad or extremely 
 good. To date their prophecy has not 
 come true, as I am neither notoriously 
 bad nor renowned for my goodness. 
 
 The Norse anthropologist Arbo says 
 that these coast people are more emo- 
 tional, loquacious, and susceptible to lead- 
 ership than the stolid, reserved and inde- 
 pendent Teutons of the interior regions. 
 
 Among people in America one often 
 hears the expression: " He is a white- 
 headed Swede." In many cases he might 
 be a light-haired Norwegian or Dane ; but 
 to the average American they are all 
 Swedes. But a Norwegian resents being 
 called a Swede. The reason is that dur- 
 ing the early part of the last century, a 
 great many Swedes of the poorer class 
 would go to Norway in order to get em- 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY. 27 
 
 ployment. Many of them were rather 
 shiftless, and the saying, " He has made 
 a Swede of himself," became a proverb 
 that was applied to all who showed a lack 
 of business ethics. This is rather unfor- 
 tunate, because most Swedes are as hon- 
 orable and as fine a people as you can find 
 in any country. 
 
 Many Norwegians enlisted in the Civil 
 War of the United States, and when the 
 troops were measured it was found that 
 the Americans were the tallest, 171.9 cm., 
 with the Norwegians a close second, 171.4 
 cm., while in breadth of chest the Norwe- 
 gians excelled all the other nationalities. 
 
 The Norwegians are just ordinarily 
 handsome, which is to say they are rather 
 plain people. The women are strong and 
 squarely built, and what beauty they have 
 has not been put on before the mirror. 
 It has required their whole lifetime to 
 acquire it, and therefore it is of the solid, 
 substantial sort which is not washed off 
 by either rain or tears. 
 
28 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 The American author,, Mr. W. S. 
 Monroe, says: 
 
 " Of the two sexes, the men are the bet- 
 ter proportioned, both in the matter of 
 figures and features. 
 
 " Both men and women have frank and 
 open countenances. 
 
 " Their most marked mental character- 
 istics are clear insight, dogged obstinacy, 
 absolute honesty, and a sturdy sense of 
 independence." 
 
 The great poet, Bjornson (who is as 
 beloved in Norway as Longfellow is in 
 America), has made the following state- 
 ment concerning his countrymen: 
 
 " Opinions are slowly formed and 
 tenaciously held, and much independence 
 is developed by the rigorous isolation of 
 farm from farm, each on its own freehold 
 ground, unannoyed and uncontradicted 
 by any one. The way the people work 
 together in the fields, in the forest, and in 
 their large rooms has given them a char- 
 acteristic stamp of confidence in each 
 other.'' 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 29 
 
 Such solitary and uneventful life 
 amidst a rigid and rough nature makes 
 the Norwegian farmer meditative and of 
 few words, modest and slow — almost 
 phlegmatic, — yet when necessary he is 
 very resourceful and prompt to act. 
 
 The two outstanding characteristics 
 among all classes in Norway are Inde- 
 pendence and Frankness. 
 
 This independence or dogged persever- 
 ance and stolidity he has inherited from 
 the Teutons. But blended with this tem- 
 perament he has the imaginative qualities 
 and the mysticism of the Celts, and also 
 the peculiar deep' sense of primeval sor- 
 row and fatalistic outlook on life, which 
 one finds in the Slav. 
 
 The Norse national traits and charac- 
 teristics are admirably stated by the Eng- 
 lish author, Hon. Samuel J. Beck- 
 ett, F. R. P. S., who says: 
 
 " This blending of racial temperaments 
 has given the national character an in- 
 dividual charm, directness, and spontane- 
 
30 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 ity reflected in its art, literature, music, 
 and national life, and it finds its counter- 
 part in the Norwegian physique. The 
 influence and the subtle relations exerted 
 by the geographical conformation on the 
 mental and spiritual development of a 
 people may be more clearly traced here 
 than in any other country. The rocky 
 character of the soil, the peculiar forma- 
 tion of the coast-line, full of excellent 
 harbors and long navigable arms of the 
 ocean penetrating far into the country, 
 surrounded with narrow strips of arable 
 and pasturable land, inevitably tended to 
 form a strong and hardy race; a nation of 
 warriors, pirates, and merchants — all de- 
 pendent on the ocean for their livelihood 
 and sustenance. . . . These primi- 
 tive conditions of life reacted also on the 
 social and religious system, making it 
 prevalently feudal and semi-despotic in 
 character. With regard to the latter, the 
 bellicose and heroic rather than divine 
 characteristics of the Norse gods are very 
 significant and pervade the early sagas, 
 and, indeed, the greater part of primitive 
 Norwegian literature. It satisfied the 
 people's inherent warlike spirit of adven- 
 ture, and at the same time it conduced to 
 the creation of that subtle spiritual 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 31 
 
 mysticism which is inseparable from the 
 Norse character; yet it was through these 
 same channels that the country was 
 thrown open to the revolutionary influ- 
 ence of Christianity. . . . 
 
 " Any nation might well envy the peo- 
 ple of Norway with their upright, manly 
 bearing and their fair complexions and 
 blue eyes. This simple, honest, hospi- 
 table, God-fearing people are the modern 
 descendants of those victorious Vikings 
 who ravaged the coasts of Britain and 
 later settled there — ^bringing with them 
 that love of freedom which these men of 
 the north have ever considered their most 
 cherished possession. The progress 
 which has been made during the last fifty 
 years is nothing short of wonderful; in it 
 is found the national spirit at its best, 
 singularly united and advanced, and pro- 
 ducing as fine a race, both physically and 
 intellectually, as is to be found in any 
 country. Their love of country is pro- 
 verbial, and there are few countries where 
 the singing of the national anthem 
 awakens a deeper or more heart-stirring 
 emotion than the singing of ' Gamle 
 Norge' (Old Norway), one of their 
 older national hymns." 
 
32 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 This deep-seated love of freedom has 
 been the outstanding characteristic of the 
 Norsemen in every age. Their character 
 has nevei^ been marred by the yoke of 
 slavery. From the earliest days to the 
 present the people have been either small 
 landholders, seamen, Vikings, or profes- 
 sional men. 
 
 This has developed in them a spirit of 
 independence, which is not found in coun- 
 tries where the majority of the inhab- 
 itants have no direct property interest. 
 Norway has no " country gentlemen " as 
 in England. The wealthiest landlord is 
 only a peasant, and he is always a hard 
 worker. They have no leisure class, 
 neither have they any hereditary aristoc- 
 racy. Just one century ago it was pro- 
 vided that those holding titles might be 
 allowed to retain them during their lives, 
 but they could not transmit them to their 
 children. 
 
 The absence of class distinctions 
 makes it possible for any intelligent per- 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 33 
 
 son in Norway to seek the highest educa- 
 tional and professional positions. Thus 
 we see that the clergy of the country are 
 almost entirely recruited from the ranks 
 of the peasantry. 
 
 That the great national university at 
 Christiania is patronized by the children 
 of the humblest farmers you will recog- 
 nize when we call to your attention the 
 fact that the following leading men were 
 all sons of humble peasants, namely: 
 Jorgen Moe, the renowned bishop and 
 hymn-writer; Ivar Aasen, probably the 
 greatest of Norse linguists; Arne Gar- 
 borg, the popular author; Vinje, the lyric 
 poet; Svendsen, the music composer; 
 Skrevsrud, the indefatigable missionary 
 to the Santhals; Dahl and Skredsvig the 
 painters, and Skeibrok the sculptor; 
 Thommesen, the gifted editor; Baard 
 Haugland, the financier; Siver Nilsen, 
 the statesman — and many others. 
 
 The beloved poet Bjornson is most 
 likely correct when he asserts that — **no 
 
34 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 other country possesses so many men in 
 official positions — physicians, clergymen, 
 engineers, teachers, and merchants — who 
 are peasant-born, often from the tenant 
 and working classes ; " and that *' in no 
 other country have so many eminent 
 poets, artists, men of science and states- 
 men risen directly from the peasantry.'' 
 
 The healthy peasant life gives them the 
 necessary physical stamina for their sub- 
 sequent arduous life of mental concentra- 
 tion and development. 
 
 They can also enjoy the benefits of a 
 splendid school-system, which in turn ac- 
 counts for the high average of education 
 in Norway. 
 
 When we consider the moral traits of 
 the Norseman, we find that foreigners, 
 who have lived among the people long 
 enough to be competent judges, pro- 
 nounce their moral standard to be excel- 
 lent. 
 
 Honesty is one of their valuable assets 
 as a people. 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 35 
 
 Their merchants would never think of 
 charging the tourists a higher price than 
 they charge their own countrymen. 
 
 The tourists who are accustomed to be 
 overcharged, — especially in the southern 
 part of Europe and in the Orient, — are 
 delighted to find such honesty in Norway. 
 
 The American author, Mr. W. S. 
 Monroe, cites this typical incident: 
 
 " An Englishman had lost his purse 
 shortly after leaving Vassevangen for 
 Stalheim. Altogether unconscious of his 
 loss, he walked on placidly. Sud- 
 denly, hearing hurried footsteps follow- 
 ing him, he turned about and faced a lad, 
 who thrust the pocketbook into the own- 
 er's palm and disappeared before the 
 Englishman got a coin from his pocket 
 to reward the boy for his honesty. The 
 Norwegian youth very properly did not 
 expect a reward for doing the only thing 
 open to his mind upon finding the purse." 
 
 We will let this same author tell you 
 how the Norwegian people treat their 
 beasts of burden. Knowing it to be true. 
 
36 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 I quote it, preferring as a modest son of 
 Norway to let others sing our praises : 
 
 " No blows, no sore backs, no harsh 
 tones disturb the perfect composure be- 
 tween man and beast. Chiefly this is ow- 
 ing to the good nature and sweet temper 
 of the drivers and horse-owners, but it 
 may be left to speculation how far these 
 qualities here, as in Mohammedan lands, 
 are owing to the absence of public houses 
 and the universal sobriety of the people." 
 
 In this connection a New Yorker, who 
 had been traveling in Norway, tells how 
 he made a call on " Jimmie " — a young 
 boy, who had been driving him with his 
 team for about three days : 
 
 " We strolled out and visited ' Jimmie ' 
 at his cottage. We found him resting, 
 and he took us out to a clover field in 
 which his ponies were grazing. When 
 they saw him coming they left the clover 
 and rushed at him like a pair of New- 
 foundlands, and rubbed their heads 
 against him. This tribute of affection 
 was well deserved, as we had never seen 
 
THE PEOPLE OF NORWAY 37 
 
 such care given to animals ; but that is the 
 rule in Norway. We did not see a horse 
 with a sore, or [one] that was lame, or in 
 a poor condition during our whole stay in 
 the country."' 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 RAMBLES AROUND MY PICTURESQUE 
 BIRTHPLACE 
 
 For this ramble we start from Chris- 
 tiania, the capital of Norway, founded in 
 1624 by Christian IV. 
 
 The approach to Christiania by water 
 is famed and extolled. It affords a view 
 of the pretty valley of Aker, broad and 
 fertile, and surrounded by low hills. 
 
 This city has changed its character 
 within the last generation, and it is now 
 a modern town with numerous fine build- 
 ings. 
 
 In the centre of the city the buildings 
 are mostly of marble and granite. On a 
 hill above the handsome University build- 
 ings and the fine National Theatre, lies 
 the royal palace surrounded by a large 
 
 and beautiful park. In the vicinity of the 
 
 38 
 
AROUND MY BIRTHPLACE 39 
 
 town are the hotels of HohiienkoUen and 
 Voksenkollen, favorite and (beautiful 
 places of resort. 
 
 In order to reach my birthplace we 
 board a train on Norway's oldest railway. 
 This will take us to Eidsvold, where Nor- 
 way's constitution was signed on May 
 17th, 1814. At this place is now an in- 
 teresting historical museum belonging to 
 the nation. At Eidsvold we take the 
 steamer for Lillehammer over Mjosen, 
 the largest lake in Norway (sixty-one 
 and one-half miles long, one hundred and 
 forty-one square miles in area) . 
 
 From the steamer we can see large, 
 prosperous farms on both sides of the 
 lake. 
 
 We pass the thriving town of Hamar, 
 where we can see the ruins of the cathe- 
 dral, destroyed in 1567. 
 
 After a pleasant ride on this placid lake 
 we arrive at Lillehammer, a town of 
 about 4,000 inhabitants. Lillehammer, 
 being nearer my birthplace than any 
 
40 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 other city, was the first town I ever 
 visited. 
 
 It has an open-air museum of old Nor- 
 wegian peasant buildings in which ancient 
 costumes, domestic utensils, and weapons 
 are preserved. The museum is a unique 
 curiosity and exceedingly interesting. 
 
 From the Mesna bridge, which con- 
 nects the northern and southern parts of 
 the town, it is only a few minutes' walk to 
 the Helvedeshol (hell caldron), a ravine 
 in which there are fine waterfalls. 
 
 From Lillehammer we can continue 
 our journey by rail, auto, or by horse and 
 cariole. We select the auto in order to get 
 a good view of the beautiful and fertile 
 valley of Gudbrandsdalen. 
 
 Through the entire length of the valley 
 (about one hundred and thirty miles) we 
 follow the course of the broad, rushing 
 river, which adds much to the pic- 
 turesqueness of the scenes we pass 
 through. 
 
 We make short stops at the Hunder- 
 
AROUND MY BIRTHPLACE 41 
 
 foss, Tretten, and the church at Ringebu, 
 which existed as early as 1270. 
 
 At Hundorp we must also stop. This 
 place seems to have been very important 
 when the primitive Norsemen were wor- 
 shipping Odin and Thor, for there are 
 several barrows in its neighborhood. A 
 farmhouse called Hundorp is said to 
 have been the seat of Dale Gudbrand, 
 the heathen opponent of St. Olaf . King 
 Olaf traveled through his country in or- 
 der to convert the people from Odin and 
 Thor and have them accept the Chris- 
 tian religion. But Dale Gudbrand and 
 his peasants brought to the place of inter- 
 view a great wooden image of the god 
 Thor. King Olaf was delivering a sermon, 
 and just as the sun rose, he pointed to it 
 and said, " Look to the east, there comes 
 our God in great glory." The people 
 turned to look, and this was, — according 
 to former agreement, the time for Olaf's 
 man, Kolbjorn the Strong, to break the 
 idol with his big club. As he did so. 
 
42 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 snakes, lizards, and rats as big as cats 
 came out of the image. They had been 
 feasting on the good food which was daily 
 offered to this god. Dale Gudbrand and 
 his people accepted the Christian faith. 
 
 At station after station halts are made 
 at places ideally situated from the point 
 of view of any one seeking a lovely valley 
 retreat in which a summer holiday may be 
 spent within sight of the distant snow- 
 capped mountains. On innumerable 
 heights along the line there are excellent 
 hotels and sanatoriums. Several of these 
 are segregated for invalids, who invariably 
 benefit by the pure and bracing air of the 
 mountains, while others are kept open 
 during the whole, or part, of the winter 
 for the accommodation of ski-runners, 
 who find good sport on the slopes of the 
 valley. In the woods on the sides of the 
 mountains much tunber is felled in the 
 autumn, and, after being dragged down 
 to the river over the winter snow, is 
 floated down to the coast in summer. 
 
AROUND MT BIRTHPLACE 43 
 
 As we continue our journey north- 
 ward, the large old farms with their im- 
 mense log buildings are most apparent. 
 
 The Englishmen call them gentlemen's 
 houses. One writes: 
 
 " Here one need not think of the 
 purely architectural, which however, as 
 at Bjolstad, Sandbu, Bjornstad and 
 Tofte, is of great interest. The very 
 position of the principal building on 
 the hill, and its large rooms and 
 broad stairs, show that those who have 
 lived there have been great. It is 
 here, indeed, that the oldest families in 
 the country live; historians have nothing 
 to put forward against the saying that the 
 descendants of the Norwegian mediseval 
 nobility live here. The Gudbrandsdal 
 farmer himself claims to be descended 
 from the founder of the Norwegian king- 
 dom, Harald Haarfagre; and it is a fact 
 that a more aristocratic and finely formed 
 type than these it would be difficult to find 
 anywhere. Here, too, one meets with the 
 fine feeling of the true aristocrat; to re- 
 ceive tourists well is almost less a matter 
 of business than of honor. The old houses 
 that opened their doors to travelers a 
 
44 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 hundred years ago, still do so. When 
 strangers came, they were hospitably re- 
 ceived; the old Norwegian royal houses 
 opened their doors to them. They were 
 so large that nothing new needed to be 
 built; nor did the valley adopt new cus- 
 toms; for the old were so good, that 
 strangers have ever since been well satis- 
 fied with them." 
 
 The road through Gudbrandsdalen is 
 excellent, and the landscape is grand both 
 in beauty and variety. 
 
 We must stop once more on our way at 
 the historic spot Kringen near Otta. This 
 is the Glencoe of Norway. 
 
 There you can see a monument with the 
 following inscription: 
 
 ''Here Colonel George Sinclair was 
 shot, August 26th, 1612/" 
 
 In that year the great king of Sweden, 
 Gustavus Adolphus, hired foreign mer- 
 cenaries to ravage Norway's territory. 
 Colonel Sinclair, who came from Scot- 
 land, landed at Veblungsnes in Romsdal 
 and proceeded up to Gudbrandsdalen. 
 
AROUND MY BIRTHPLACE 45 
 
 Under the leadership of Bailiff Lauritz 
 Gram the brave peasants of Gudbrands- 
 dalen armed themselves as best they 
 could. The peasants from the parishes 
 of Lesje, Vaage, Fron, and Ringebu, 
 gathered at the narrow mountain pass, 
 Kringen, near the river Laugen, to await 
 the arrival of the enemy. The advance 
 guard was allowed to pass ; but on the ar- 
 rival of the main body, with Colonel Sin- 
 clair himself, the Norwegians suddenly 
 attacked the Scotchmen. They were sur- 
 prised by the farmers on the hillside, who 
 rolled logs and boulders down upon them, 
 either killing the Scotchmen with their 
 crude weapons or driving them into the 
 river. The advance guard was then over- 
 taken and killed, with the exception of 
 sixty, who were taken prisoners. These 
 were kept in a barn over night and in the 
 morning they were massacred in cold 
 blood. 
 
 Thus the whole Scotch army of nine 
 hundred men was annihilated by three 
 
46 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 hundred Norwegian peasants. Not one 
 man, it is said, escaped. 
 
 At Kvams Church a grave is still 
 pointed out as being that of Colonel Sin- 
 clair. 
 
 The farther north we travel in Gud- 
 brandsdalen, the more the landscape as- 
 sumes the character of a mountain-val- 
 ley. 
 
 Passing Otta and Vaage we arrive at 
 the parish of Lom, where I was born. 
 
 This parish is located away up under the 
 snow-line, where the days are so short in 
 the winter that the sun does not find time 
 to rise high enough to show itself; but 
 during the short summer, " Old King 
 Day " seems to make up for lost time, for 
 then it hardly takes time to set. The 
 summer nights in Norway are very beau- 
 tiful. They are so light that one may sit 
 out-of-doors and read until one or two 
 o'clock in the morning. At this time sun- 
 set and sunrise follow close in each other's 
 track, and the short summer in Norway's 
 
FOSSBERQ AT THE FoOT OF LOMSEGGEN. 
 
 Here the river Baevra gives up her name as she merges into eternal 
 wedlock with the larger river Otta. 
 
 LoMs Church. 
 
 Part of it was erected 1115 a.d. It is renowned for its beautiful 
 
 wood-carvings. 
 
ABOUND MY BIRTHPLACE 47 
 
 vales and mountains slips by as a beauti- 
 ful dream. 
 
 Such were the summers in my pictur- 
 esque boyhood home in Norway. 
 
 There on the hillside is the little farm 
 and the small insignificant buildings of 
 my birthplace. But they are dear to me, 
 because it was my home, where I passed 
 my care-free, happy childhood days. 
 
 My home is located at the foot of the 
 wild, snow-covered mountain range, J6- 
 tunheim. Jotun means giant, and heim 
 means home, so here is the home of the 
 giants. If they built it according to their 
 own fancy, they certainly must have pos- 
 sessed supernatural skill and power. 
 
 In Norse Mythology we are told that 
 Valhalla (the hall where Odin received 
 the souls of all heroes slain in battle), has 
 540 gates. This is a small number com- 
 pared to Jotunheim's legionary gates; 
 for Jotunheim forms the greatest and 
 grandest part of a Highland 900 miles 
 long. 
 
CHAPTER IV; 
 
 JOTUNHEIM 
 
 A Peep Into the Home of the Giants 
 
 Far above the busy life of the valley, 
 there lies an immeasurably wide world, 
 the mountain plateau. Many for whom 
 the life of the valley became too narrow 
 turned their steps thither. The genera- 
 tion to which these belonged is now dead, 
 the old reindeer-hunters and fishermen, 
 who always lived upon the plateau, sum- 
 mer and winter, even when every one else 
 had gone down to the valley. They could 
 live nowhere else, these free men of the 
 plateau, for they felt the attraction of the 
 mountains as no others did. Up there the 
 air is lighter and the view wider. The sun 
 goes late to rest, and tinges the glaciers 
 and snow-peaks with crimson in the glow 
 
 of evening; and while the valley still lies 
 
 48 
 
JOTUNHEIM 49 
 
 in twilight shadow, the mountain plateau 
 shines in the golden radiance of the rising 
 sun. He who does not know the moun- 
 tain plateau, does not know Norway. It 
 is only when one has looked from one of 
 its peaks over what might be a sea petri- 
 fied in the midst of a hurricane, that one 
 understands the mysteries that bind the 
 heart to Norway, to the grand beauty of 
 the mountains. 
 
 Broken only by a few valleys, the 
 mountain plateau begins at Hardanger in 
 the north, and clothed in its glacier- 
 mantle reaches the rocky wall of the Hal- 
 lingskarv. North of Valdres lies Jotun- 
 heim, north of Gudbrandsal Dovre with 
 Snehaetten (7,613 feet) and Rondane, and 
 finally, north of the Dovre Mountains the 
 peaks of Troldheim. Of these mountain 
 districts, Jotunheim, between Valdres, 
 Gudbrandsdal and Sogn, is the one which 
 possesses the finest, highest mountains 
 and the grandest scenery. Galdhopiggen 
 (8,400 feet) is the highest European 
 
50 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 mountain north of the Carpathians, the 
 Alps and the Pyrenees; it rises from the 
 ice-filled plateau of the Gald summits. 
 East of Galdhopiggen lies its neighbor, 
 Glittertind (8,377 feet), only a few feet 
 short of it in height, and much more beau- 
 tiful and more majestic, with its shining 
 white, snow-clad sides glittering in the 
 sun. Without including the highest part 
 of the Jotunheim round the Gald sum- 
 mits, its mountains fall naturally into 
 eight small gToups, with heights of be- 
 tween 5,900 and 8,200 feet. In the north- 
 west stand Lomseggen and the Hestbrae 
 crests like a great wall. Toward Sogn 
 there are a series of mountain districts, 
 whose highest points are Skagastolstin- 
 derne and Honmgerne; and here the 
 Utladal, the wildest of all the ravines of 
 the Jotunheim, runs down to Aardal in 
 Sogn. The most frequented part of the 
 Jotunheim is perhaps that in which lie the 
 three mountain lakes, Gjende (six and 
 one-half square miles, 3,260 feet above 
 
JOTUNHEIM 51 
 
 sea-level) ; Tyin (fourteen and one-half 
 square miles, 3,536 feet above sea-level), 
 and Bygdin (eighteen square miles, 3,483 
 feet above sea-level), surrounded by 
 snow-mountains. One can stand on 
 the ridge of Besseggen, and look down 
 into Gjende on the one side and Bess 
 Lake on the other. 
 
 We might fancy that it was difficult 
 to gain access to this mountain world, 
 and so it was for a long time. Reindeer- 
 hunters, drovers and fishermen reigned 
 alone in the land above the saeters, in the 
 region where no permanent human 
 dwelling is found. Now all is changed. 
 In two days one can reach the Jotunheim 
 through the Gudbrandsal from Chris- 
 tiania. Since 1871, much has been done 
 to make these mountains easily acces- 
 sible, and the efforts have been exceed- 
 ingly successful. The traveler can now 
 go everywhere, either with experienced 
 guides or by clearly indicated paths. In 
 many places tourist huts have been 
 
52 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 erected, where the benefits of civili- 
 zation may be enjoyed. Even close to 
 Galdhopiggen a hut has been built, 
 Gjuwass Hut, where one can sleep be- 
 neath a roof at a height of 6,209 feet 
 above sea-level. The summits, glaciers 
 and lakes of the Jotunheim are now 
 visited during two months of every sum- 
 mer by more tourists than almost any 
 other part of Norway. 
 
 But when the short weeks are past, and 
 the strangers have departed, the green 
 lakes and the white glaciers lie there as 
 before. There is nothing now to disturb 
 the great stillness of the plateau, and the 
 loneliness of the desolate moors between 
 the points and peaks of the mountains ex- 
 cept a solitary loon screaming before a 
 storm, or a flock of reindeer running 
 swiftly along the side of the mountain. 
 Nature has once more entered into posses- 
 sion of her sanctuary, which, for a brief 
 space of time, sHe had hospitably opened 
 to mankind. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 FJELDS AND FALLS 
 
 My home was surrounded on all sides 
 by steep and rocky mountains, rising into 
 peaks, which were always covered with 
 snow. From these eternal glaciers de- 
 scended a number of torrents. These 
 formed our big, rough and roaring moun- 
 tain river, Baevra. This furious, foaming 
 river seemed to contain the white blood 
 of the ice monsters, and yet these glaciers 
 never grew smaller. The reason is that 
 whenever the vapor condensed into rain 
 down in the valley, it would form into 
 snow around those cold mountain giants 
 and the snow would in turn be trans- 
 formed into ice. The erosion under these 
 glaciers would constantly feed the tor- 
 rents and the great river. 
 
 About two miles from my home, this 
 
 63 
 
54 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 river, Baevra, formed a roaring waterfall. 
 This constant cataract would sing in dif- 
 ferent voices according to the weather. 
 Thus, old people could tell by the sound 
 of the cataract what kind of weather there 
 would be. Before snow or rain, the 
 waterfall sang alto; before clear weather 
 it had a high, cheerful tenor; while during 
 the precipitation of either rain or snow it 
 had a deep bass, and in clear weather it 
 sang a mezzo-soprano, without ever get- 
 ting off key. 
 
 By this cascade is a small village, Foss- 
 berg, and close by is our old church, par- 
 sonage and public school. 
 
 Our Sun-dial 
 
 From our east windows we looked 
 daily across the river at " The Giant's 
 Face,'' a big black crag, which served as 
 a sun-dial. When the shadow was down 
 to the giant's eyes, it was ten o'clock a. m. 
 and when the shadow had traveled down 
 the length of his nose, it was exactly three 
 
FJELDS AND FALLS 55 
 
 o'clock P. M. "Some nose!" with the 
 rest of the face in proportion. 
 
 Among such grandeur in Nature's 
 temple the people became thoughtful and 
 contemplative, for in the voice of vale and 
 streamlet, and in the shadowy language 
 of the engraven rock, they heard the voice 
 of the God of Nature. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 RETURN OF THE SUN 
 
 My home was so shut in by huge moun- 
 tains that for four months we would never 
 get the direct rays of the sun. Part of 
 that time the sun was not seen at all; but 
 then, as it rose a little higher and the day 
 by small degrees grew longer, we could 
 see the sun light up the tops of the moun- 
 tains at midday. Then we would watch 
 eagerly how far it would creep down the 
 mountainside from day to day. Finally 
 the rays reached the broad river, Otta, 
 which is running through the valley. But 
 we lived on the shady side of the valley 
 and it would take a few days yet before it 
 would reach our home. Finally we could 
 see the bright reflection on the snow- 
 covered trees in a grove at the lower part 
 
 of the farm and now the older people 
 
 56 
 
RETURN OF THE SUN 57 
 
 \ 
 
 could tell us just how many more days it 
 would take before it would shine down 
 through the big, open chimney and hearth 
 and throw a streak of light on the floor — 
 just for a minute or so. But we would 
 watch eagerly for that minute and be 
 ready to step into the sun-spot, because 
 it meant good luck for the whole year if 
 the sun would shine on you the first day 
 it reached your house again. 
 
 From that little mountain home I went 
 out a child, to the first joyful excursions 
 in the great pine and spruce forests and to 
 the higher mountain plateaus with its 
 reindeer and reindeer moss, its mountain 
 torrents, its many glittering lakes full of 
 big fat trout, and its innumerable moun- 
 tain-peaks covered with perpetual snow. 
 This wonderful, picturesque landscape I 
 learned to love. Its beauty and grandeur 
 surpass my description as much as the 
 reality of yourself, as a person, surpasses 
 your shadow. 
 
 How often I used to saunter along the 
 
58 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 side of mountain streams, angling for 
 trout, and observe the constant variety of 
 deep and shallow places! Wherever the 
 water is deep, there you have more or less 
 of an eddy, and where it is shallow, there 
 is a ripple. Why is it always so, and 
 what makes the eddies and the ripples? 
 
 In the eddy the trout is leaping and 
 splashing, and on the shallow the ripple is 
 laughing and dancing. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 OUR GAMES AND PLAY 
 
 We had a splendid time as children, be- 
 cause Norway is the " Playground of the 
 North," All the summer was spent out 
 in the open air, either herding sheep or 
 goats in the mountains or looking after 
 ponies and cows closer to our home. We 
 also had a good time rowing and fishing. 
 
 But the winter sport of skiing, skating, 
 and tobogganing is by far the most ex- 
 hilarating and enjoyable form of play. 
 
 The children in Norway have games 
 
 very much the same as children in other 
 
 countries. Of course the girls have dolls 
 
 and dolls' houses and dolls' tea-parties, 
 
 like the girls of every land, and there are 
 
 toys of every description in the shops. 
 
 The peasant children have to provide 
 
 their own playthings, and it is wonderful 
 
 what an amount of amusement they can 
 
 59 
 
60 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 get out of cows made from bones, and 
 ships made out of bark. The real enjoy- 
 ment is to be found, however, in outdoor 
 games, and we had scores and scores of 
 different ones. Many of these games are 
 regular Folk Dances where singing and 
 the " Ring Dance '' form an important 
 part. As the name " Ring Dance " im- 
 plies, the players join hands and dance 
 round in a circle. 
 
 Several games seem to be common in 
 most countries; — "Blind Man's Buff," 
 " Hunt the Slipper " and " Forfeits " are 
 found nearly everywhere. Here is the 
 Norse version of " Round and Round the 
 Mulberry Bush," which in some parts is 
 called " Round the Juniper Bush " : 
 
 * ^ So we go round the juniper bush, the juniper 
 
 bush, the juniper bush, 
 So we go round the juniper bush early on 
 
 Monday morning. 
 This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our 
 
 clothes, wash our clothes, 
 This is the way we wash our clothes early on 
 
 Monday morning. 
 
OVR GAMES AND PLAY 61 
 
 ''So we go round the juniper bush, the juniper 
 
 bush, the juniper bush. 
 So we go round the juniper bush early on 
 
 Tuesday morning. 
 This is the way we wring out our clothes, 
 
 wring out our clothes, wring out our 
 
 clothes, 
 This is the way we wring out our clothes 
 
 early on Tuesday morning.'' 
 
 The washing operations proceed 
 through the next three days of the week, 
 with a verse to each day. Thus on 
 Wednesday they hang up the clothes, on 
 Thursday they mangle them, and on Fri- 
 day iron them. Then on Saturday they 
 scrub the floor, and on Sunday go to 
 church. 
 
 With each verse the children dance 
 hand in hand round the imaginary juni- 
 per bush, singing lustily, and illustrating 
 the different actions of the washing 
 operations. Finally, two and two and 
 arm in arm, they promenade around, as 
 if going to church, and generally prolong 
 the walk while they sing the last verse a 
 second time. 
 
62 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAW 
 
 The Norwegian children are also fond 
 of playing mock weddings in which the 
 bride wears a crown and they all go in 
 procession to the church where the minis- 
 ter performs the ceremony. Some of the 
 games peculiar to the children in Norway 
 are: " Fire Patrol; " " Weaving of 
 Homespun;" "Last Couple Out;'' 
 " The Third Man in the Wind," etc. 
 
 Every one is familiar with the game 
 " London Bridge is Falling Down/' yet 
 probably few are aware that the words 
 are translated from an old Norse song, 
 and fewer still could tell who broke down 
 the bridge. The story goes that this was 
 accomplished by King Olaf, afterwards 
 known as St. Olaf. He and his Vi- 
 kings had allied themselves with Ethel- 
 red the Unready of England against the 
 Danes, who held the Thames above Lon- 
 don Bridge. The bridge itself, which in 
 those days was a rough wooden structure, 
 was densely packed with armed men, pre- 
 pared to resist the advance of the com- 
 
OVB GAMES AND PLAY 63 
 
 billed fleets. But Olaf drove his stout 
 ships against it, made them fast to the 
 piers, hoisted all his sails, got out his oars 
 and thus succeeded in upsetting the 
 bridge into the river, thereby securing vic- 
 tory for Ethelred. This took place in 
 Olaf 's younger days, while he was yet a 
 Viking, and before he had gained the 
 throne of Norway, 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE HERO, FRITHJOF THE VIKING 
 
 {From Frith jo fs Saga) 
 
 This is one of my favorite stories as 
 told by my father. 
 
 My father, a big, strong, and good- 
 hearted man, was considered the most ex- 
 cellent narrator of stories in the whole 
 parish. 
 
 He had traveled and read far more 
 than the average person, and all who 
 knew him considered his memory as 
 phenomenal. 
 
 His supply of stories seemed inexhaust- 
 ible. I can remember as if it were yes- 
 terday, how he would take me on his lap 
 and ask what kind of a story I would like 
 to hear. 
 
 Young as I was, I was already familiar 
 
 with many a story of good men and heroic 
 
 deeds. 
 
 64 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 65 
 
 The following about Frith j of the Vi- 
 king was one of the stories that I would 
 ask for very often. 
 
 Then my father in a soft, musical voice 
 and in a vivid, masterly manner would 
 tell: 
 
 " Well, you remember why Frithjof 
 was called the Viking. Those people in 
 the north who led a wild life of seafaring, 
 adventure, and conquest were called Vi- 
 kings. In those olden days it was consid- 
 ered glorious to ride the ocean in their 
 long, low boats, built like dragons, and 
 invade and plunder in foreign countries. 
 They had no kingdoms and considered 
 the whole world theirs if they could only 
 conquer it." 
 
 Frith j of 's father, Thorsten, was King 
 Bele's trusted counselor, and the King's 
 only child, Ingeborg, was Frith j of 's girl 
 friend and playmate. They had known 
 and loved each other ever since they could 
 remember, and indeed every one loved 
 Ingeborg. 
 
66 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Although she was the only child and a 
 princess, she was not in the least spoiled, 
 and she could wade a brook or climb a tree 
 almost as well as Frith j of. 
 
 They were both fair, with the blue eyes 
 and the yellow hair of the Norse race; but 
 the boy was like a young oak-tree and the 
 girl like a rose. 
 
 Ingeborg's hair fell in a shower of 
 ringlets over her straight white frock and 
 even far below the golden girdle. Her 
 eyes were as blue and deep as the sky in 
 spring, and her skin as pure as the petals 
 of a white flower. 
 
 The first wild strawberry that he spied 
 in the spring, the first ripe fruit, and the 
 first bear that he killed, all these Frith j of 
 brought home as offerings to Ingeborg. 
 And as they sat together by the fire or in 
 the field. Frith j of told Ingeborg stories 
 of the greatest of all gods, Odin, who 
 lived with the happy gods and goddesses 
 on the fair heights of Valhalla above the 
 clouds, and of the Valkyries, the warrior 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 67 
 
 maidens, who watched over the battle- 
 fields and carried the dead heroes to Val- 
 halla's halls. 
 
 These stories impressed Ingeborg so, 
 that when she sat at her loom in the castle, 
 she tried to weave pictures for Frith j of 's 
 stories into her tapestry. But Frith j of, 
 in Ingeborg's absence, wove dreams. 
 
 He remembered his father's warning. 
 
 " You must not think too much of In- 
 geborg," Thorsten said. " She is the 
 daughter of a king, and you are only the 
 son of a Viking and have nothing but a 
 life of seafaring to look forward to in 
 jnanhood. No good can come of your af- 
 fection for a princess ; Thor, the Thunder 
 god, avenges such misplaced love." 
 
 But Frithjof said to himself, " Inge- 
 borg is going to be my bride in spite of 
 the great Thor. I shall make myself 
 worthy of her and win her; even if the 
 thunder breaks on my head, nothing shall 
 part us." That was his dream. 
 
 So Frithjof grew up to be a brave, 
 
68 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 noble young man, and suddenly he found 
 himself m possession of his father's estate, 
 with great wealth in the cellars, garrets, 
 and storerooms. It was a great, beauti- 
 ful homestead, with hills and valleys and 
 woods stretching for miles each way, and 
 a hundred lakes and streams in which the 
 deer and elk drank. Sheltered pastures 
 fed the great flocks of kine and sheep, and 
 the stables held more than a score of 
 fiery steeds, shod in polished steel and 
 having red ribbons braided in their manes. 
 
 But of all that he had inherited, the 
 three greatest treasures were a sword, a 
 bracelet, and a ship. 
 
 This sword was so swift and sure that 
 it had been called the brother to the 
 lightning. 
 
 The dwarfs had forged and tempered 
 it. This sword had a gold hilt and a blade 
 the steel of which was blue in times of 
 peace, but glowed with the light of a 
 thousand red rubies when there was need 
 for it to do battle in the cause of right. 
 
FEITHJOF THE VIKING 69 
 
 This weapon was dreaded by every one 
 far and wide through the north. 
 
 The bracelet was of purest gold, very 
 broad and large, so that it fitted on Frith- 
 jof's brawny arm. 
 
 It was said to have been welded by 
 Lame Wouland, the smith of the gods of 
 the north. On it were engraved the 
 twelve immortal mansions of the sky in 
 which the Sun god rested on his journey 
 through the heavens during the twelve 
 months of the year. (This corresponds 
 to the twelve signs of the zodiac.) The 
 clasp of the bracelet was a ruby of enor- 
 mous size, and whoever wore the bracelet 
 was said to be safe from harm, — even 
 from such danger as the tempest, and the 
 magic spells of trolls and goblins. 
 
 But the most valuable of the three 
 treasures was the Viking ship, Ellida. It 
 had been sailed by both Thorsten and his 
 father. 
 
 People said that the shapely oak tim- 
 bers which made the sides were neither 
 
70 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 nailed nor joined, — but had grown to- 
 gether. The ship was long and sinuous 
 of form like a sea-serpent, rising at the 
 prow in the graceful curve of a neck and 
 head, with a wide open, fiery red mouth. 
 The sides were painted in blue and gold, 
 and at the stern a mighty tail uncoiled it- 
 self in silver-scaled rings. It had black 
 wings, tipped with scarlet, and when they 
 were unfurled the ship, Ellida, could sail 
 faster than the eagle flies and outdistance 
 a storm that would have crushed any 
 other Viking ship. 
 
 When Frith j of 's warriors in shining 
 armor filled her decks, Ellida rode the 
 waves like a floating castle. Her fame 
 and beauty were as boundless as the seas. 
 
 Frith j of was now not only rich and 
 powerful; but also very brave and true. 
 Ingeborg, too, had grown from a child to 
 a young woman, as beautiful and full of 
 grace as had been the promise of her girl- 
 hood. Her father had died, and her 
 brother, Helge, was king in his stead, so 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 71 
 
 Frithjof went to him and asked for Inge- 
 borg's hand in marriage. He told King 
 Helge how he and Ingeborg had loved 
 each other from childhood, and that he 
 now had power and riches, with which to 
 serve the King. 
 
 But King Helge was only angry at the 
 request. 
 
 " It can never be," he said. " My sis- 
 ter comes of a kingly line and you are 
 only a Viking. King Ring of Norway 
 has asked Ingeborg to come to his court 
 as queen and I have given him my per- 
 mission for the marriage." 
 
 Helge was a coward, who had been 
 terrified by the armies that King Ring 
 sent to threaten him if he refused Inge- 
 borg's hand. 
 
 And although King Ring was an old 
 man, Helge imprisoned Ingeborg in a 
 temple in the woods in order to keep her 
 away from Frithjof. Here she sat day 
 after day, trying to sort the gold and sil- 
 ver threads for her embroidery frame, but 
 
72 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 she was not able to thread her needle, be- 
 cause her eyes were so blinded with 
 tears. Frithjof knew nothing about King 
 Ring nor about Ingeborg's imprison- 
 ment. 
 
 He might never have seen her again, 
 but her younger brother told him of the 
 place where she had been hidden. As 
 soon as he learned this, Frithjof set sail 
 on his dragon ship for the shores where 
 the temple stood. 
 
 Thinking that King Ring was a hand- 
 some, young, and wealthy king, Frithjof 
 said to himself, " Perhaps she wishes to be 
 a queen." 
 
 But Ingeborg greeted Frithjof just as 
 joyfully as she had when they played to- 
 gether, and she told him that there was no 
 one in the world she cared for as much as 
 her old playmate. 
 
 Frithjof put his magic bracelet on her 
 arm and she promised never to take it off 
 unless she no longer loved him. 
 
 This love inspired Frithjof so that he 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 73 
 
 returned to King Helge and begged him 
 to make Ingeborg happy. Then King 
 Helge's anger was very great, and thus 
 he spoke: 
 
 " As a punishment I shall banish you 
 from our land. There is an earl, who 
 lives west of here in the Orkney Islands, 
 and for years he has not paid his tribute 
 to my court. Set sail and collect this 
 tribute. If you return without it you 
 shall be punished by death." 
 
 No sooner had Frith j of started on this 
 voyage than King Helge summoned the 
 trolls to stir up such a storm at sea that 
 not even the wonderful ship, Ellida, 
 could weather it. 
 
 The day became suddenly as dark as 
 night, and the sea-gulls began to cry. 
 The waves rolled up toward the black sky 
 — ^that was streaked red with lightning. 
 The sea seemed to yawn to the very bot- 
 tom, and big hail rattled down on the 
 deck of the ship. 
 
 Frith j of steered straight ahead, for he 
 
74 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 felt that nothing could harm the Viking 
 ship in which he rode. 
 
 But the beams creaked and the masts 
 bent, and seas — mountain high — sub- 
 merged it. 
 
 " This is not a storm from Valhalla/* 
 Frithjof cried at last. " There is witch- 
 craft in it!'' 
 
 He climbed to the top of the tallest 
 mast, and looking intently for a long 
 time, he caught a glimpse of something 
 in the distance. It looked like a floating 
 island; but as it came nearer, he saw that 
 it was a giant whale, and on its back were 
 two trolls who had been summoned by 
 King Helge to rouse the sea to such a 
 pitch of fury. 
 
 " Save me from this witchcraft, my 
 good Ellida! '' Frithjof cried, speaking to 
 the ship as if it could understand his 
 words. And it did understand. Brav- 
 ing the storm, the dragon ship plunged 
 in the direction of the whale and cut the 
 creature in half, and the trolls disap- 
 
FRITH JOF TEE VIKING 75 
 
 peared, drowned in the trough of the 
 sea. 
 
 Then the wind died away and the water 
 was as smooth as glass. Frithjof had a 
 peaceful voyage to the Orkney Islands. 
 
 With his magic sword he overcame the 
 watchman from the earl's palace and the 
 earl, as soon as he saw him, welcomed 
 Frithjof, because he had known Thors- 
 ten, his father. 
 
 " I will pay no tribute to King Helge,'' 
 the earl said, " but here is a bag of gold 
 to reward the son of my friend, the noble 
 Viking, Thorsten." And he feasted 
 Frithjof and kept him in his castle until 
 the winter was over and it was fair 
 weather for the return voyage. 
 
 There was blue in the sky, a touch of 
 green in the fields, and much joy in Frith- 
 jof 's heart as he set sail. The winds were 
 favorable, and he could hear Ingeborg's 
 voice in the singing of the waves. 
 
 The ship almost flew until it reached 
 the shore where Ingeborg had been im- 
 
76 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 prisoned. Here Frith j of landed and 
 hastened through the woods to the temple, 
 but Ingeborg was not there. She was 
 now King Ring's queen. The temple 
 was in ruins. Frithjof s beautiful home 
 at Balestrand, Sogn, had been burned to 
 the ground, and when he arrived at 
 Helge's castle. Frith j of found that the 
 magic bracelet of gold had been torn 
 from Ingeborg's arm and put on a statue 
 in the courtyard. 
 
 When Frith j of saw this he became so 
 angry that he went into the King's palace, 
 and when Helge reached out his hands for 
 the tribute, Frith j of delivered the bag of 
 gold with such force that he knocked all 
 the King's teeth out. The King sum- 
 moned his warriors ; but they did not dare 
 to fight the great and good Frith j of. 
 He was now banished from his native 
 land. 
 
 For several years the good ship Ellida 
 carried this noble Viking to all the for- 
 eign lands, where he gained fame and 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 77 
 
 fortune. But he felt homeless and lonely 
 for Ingeborg. 
 
 At last it was the blessed Christmas. 
 King Ring was celebrating the Yuletide 
 in his Danish kingdom, and by his side 
 was Queen Ingeborg. 
 
 She was hardly as merry as one ought 
 to be at Christmas time. She could not 
 forget her playmate and lover, Frith j of, 
 the Viking, who she thought had forgot- 
 ten her. 
 
 The castle was decked with greens, the 
 banqueting tables were loaded with 
 roasted meats and pastries and sweets, 
 and no one was turned away from King 
 Ring's door, for he was a very kind- 
 hearted old man. 
 
 Suddenly, a stranger appeared at the 
 feast. He was different in appearance 
 from any one of the other guests. He 
 was apparently an old man, big and bent, 
 leaning on a staff. From head to foot he 
 was wrapped in a bear's pelt. He sat 
 down close to the door, where the poor sat 
 
78 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY. 
 
 in those days, and the company whispered 
 jokes to each other about him. 
 
 One of the courtiers as he passed by 
 pointed his finger at him. Then Frith- 
 jof rose, took the courtier as if he were a 
 plaything, raised him to the ceilmg, made 
 him turn a somersault in the air and then 
 put him down nicely on his feet. 
 
 King Ring noticed the commotion and 
 asked the stranger kindly, "Who are 
 you? " 
 
 Frith j of answered, " I beg your par- 
 don. King Ring, I did not come here to 
 disturb your Christmas peace; but this 
 courtier made fun of me. I just twirled 
 him round in the air and put him down 
 on his feet again without doing him any 
 harm." 
 
 King Ring bade the warriors not to pay 
 any attention to this incident. Then he 
 beckoned for the stranger to come to the 
 table. 
 
 Just then the Christmas boar was being 
 brought in. 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 79 
 
 The boar was the emblem of the Sun 
 god, who gathers strength at Yuletide to 
 overcome the winter giants, — ^frost, ice, 
 and snow. 
 
 The boar was decorated with wreaths 
 and evergreens and had an apple in its 
 mouth. It was so huge that four picked 
 men carried it on their shoulders. As the 
 bearers set the huge platter down, all the 
 guests — including the stranger — ^bowed 
 their heads. 
 
 When they raised their heads they be- 
 held a strange sight. The shaggy bear's 
 pelt had fallen from the stranger's head 
 and showed a wealth of golden locks. He 
 wore a blue velvet cloak, and beneath it 
 could be seen a rich hunting suit and a 
 silver belt engraven with pictures of the 
 hunt. 
 
 The Queen's pale cheeks flushed, for 
 Frith j of stood before her, as tall as Thor 
 and as fair as any Viking in the North- 
 land. 
 
 Frith j of had come in this disguise to 
 
80 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 King Ring's court, because he longed so 
 much to see Ingeborg. And the old King 
 grew fond of him, for he could tell stories 
 of his voyages in his dragon ship, skate 
 more gracefully than any one else, and 
 sing the wild sagas of the North. He 
 was daring and noble, too, in all he did. 
 
 One day King Ring and the Queen 
 were driving over the fjord to a wedding. 
 They had a fast horse, and Frithjof , on his 
 skates, was racing with them. But he 
 could skate so fast that every once in a 
 while he would amuse himself by carving 
 Ingeborg's name in the ice with his skates 
 until they caught up with him. Pres- 
 ently he warned the King that the ice was 
 too weak; but the King drove on. Sud- 
 denly the ice broke, and the horse, King 
 and Queen plunged into the icy water. 
 But Frithjof grasped the horse's head by 
 the bit and held him up by the left hand, 
 and with one superhuman pull with the 
 right hand he lifted the sleigh with the 
 King and Queen from the water. 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 81 
 
 The King rewarded him with his own 
 gold bracelet, and said, " I do not believe 
 that even Frith j of the Viking could have 
 taken such a lift/' "Well," said the 
 stranger, "now you have seen Frithjof 
 doit." 
 
 Although this was the first time that 
 Frithjof had given his right name — (in 
 order not to embarrass Ingeborg), — ^yet 
 the King had suspected ever since the first 
 evening in the castle that this giant could 
 be none other than Frithjof. 
 
 Spring came, and at King Ring's court 
 we still find Frithjof. He loved Inge- 
 borg's little boy as if he were his own son. 
 The lad looked every inch a Viking. His 
 yellow curls falling over his broad shoul- 
 ders formed a fine setting for the beauti- 
 fully formed face with the pure white 
 skin, rosy cheeks and blue eyes; while his 
 dress of skins showed his strong limbs and 
 arms. 
 
 On a beautiful spring day a hunting 
 party was formed. Queen Ingeborg rode 
 
82 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 with the huntsmen. She was graceful as 
 a summer cloud, so lightly did she sit 
 upon her white horse. 
 
 Frith j of rode near the King and to- 
 ward noon the party stopped to rest in a 
 forest glade. Frithjof spread his mantle 
 on the ground that the King might rest 
 on it, and as the old King slept a great 
 temptation came to the Viking. Frithjof 
 was one of those heroes of the Northland 
 who was able to understand the language 
 of the birds. As he sat there in the woods 
 beside the sleeping King, he heard a voice 
 say: 
 
 " Strike the King and kill him. Now is 
 your chance. Then you can take Inge- 
 borg and her little son for your own." 
 
 This was the voice of a blackbird, and 
 as soon as Frithjof heard it, he threw his 
 sword far away in order not to be over- 
 come by the temptation. 
 
 But when he threw his sword, he heard 
 another voice say: 
 
 " Do not harm the old King. The gods 
 
FRITH JOF THE VIKING 83 
 
 do not permit the killing of an unarmed 
 man." This was the voice of a white 
 dove. 
 
 So Frith j of only kept guard over the 
 King, who soon stirred and opened his 
 eyes. 
 
 He had not been asleep; he had only 
 pretended slumber to test Frith j of, and 
 behind each tree he had stationed an 
 armed soldier ready to come to his rescue 
 if necessary. 
 
 But King Ring had found Frithjof 
 true, honorable and worthy. Each day 
 the King grew more feeble, and at last he 
 was not even able to ride to the hunt. 
 
 One day he called Frithjof to him and 
 said, " Soon I shall depart to live in the 
 halls of Valhalla. I wish to leave Inge- 
 borg and our little son in your care. 
 When I am gone, my kingdom, my queen, 
 and my son are to be yours." 
 
 So there came a day when the Vikings 
 and nobles assembled to give honor to 
 King Frithjof. He stood in their midst 
 
84 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 with the fair Ingeborg by his side, and her 
 golden-haired little lad raised high on his 
 shield. 
 
 " Long live the King! " came the sHout 
 from the assemblage. Frith j of, the Vi- 
 king, through his integrity, valor, and 
 patience, had come into his kingdom. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 CONFIRMATION 
 
 The children in Norway are required 
 by law to study religion in the public 
 schools every day for about seven years. 
 During the seventh year they must also 
 receive religious instruction from the 
 Minister of the Gospel. With him they 
 study one day a week. This, as a rule, 
 is during the summer months. Then they 
 have to review their catechism and a Bible 
 history. The minister may also add lec- 
 tures on Church history and other sub- 
 jects. 
 
 This constitutes the children's prepara- 
 tion for Confirmation. The Confirma- 
 tion is a public examination in the church, 
 with the minister as examiner. 
 
 Every person in Norway who belongs 
 to the State Church, which is the 
 
 Lutheran Church, is required by law to 
 
 86 
 
86 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 be baptized and confirmed. In the 
 spring, when it was cold, the confirma- 
 tion class met in the old parsonage. 
 Here was an extremely large, airy hall 
 with numerous small window-panes in 
 sashes of lead. The seats consisted of 
 many rows of long benches. One-half of 
 these seats were occupied by the boys, 
 and on the opposite side and facing the 
 boys, sat the girls. The pastor would 
 then be seated at a small table in the 
 middle of the room, or he would pace 
 up and down the aisle between the boys 
 and the girls. 
 
 Most of the ministers in tHe State 
 Church were benevolent, good-natured 
 men, with a pleasant smile and a fatherly 
 interest in the welfare of their members. 
 But the one who confirmed me was rather 
 a contrast to the ordinary type. 
 
 It would not be nice to tell his name 
 and also his peculiarities, for although he 
 is dead, some of his relatives might read 
 this. Somehow he was always nice to me. 
 
CONFIRMATION 87 
 
 therefore my remarks concerning him are 
 not prompted by any ill feelings. 
 
 In order to give a truthful story, I 
 might say that this minister was not re- 
 nowned — but rather notorious for his an- 
 ger, his strength, and his penuriousness, 
 which made him almost a miser. One of 
 his wealthy uncles had paid for his educa- 
 tion, and thus he became a minister; — al- 
 though people said that he seemed more 
 fit for the business of his father — ^who was 
 a butcher. The only good word I ever 
 heard about him was by my father, who 
 said that he could preach logical sermons 
 and was very well acquainted with the 
 Bible. Both children and adults were 
 afraid of him. Never shall I forget the 
 first time we, as a confirmation class, met 
 with him. It was an extraordinarily 
 large class, including the children from 
 three parishes. We were all on time. 
 There was perfect silence in the room. 
 Every child sat with staring eyes watch- 
 ing the door, as if they expected a 
 
88 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 ghost to enter. At last the door opened 
 and a rather small, nervous man with 
 large watery eyes, thin gray hair and 
 full beard, walked briskly into the room 
 and placed some books on a small table. 
 He had previously obtained a list of our 
 names from the school teachers in each 
 district. 
 
 From these lists the minister com- 
 menced the roll call for each respective 
 district. The children were so scared 
 that they answered " Present " in all 
 kinds of trembling voices. After the roll 
 call there was perfect silence like the calm 
 before a heavy storm. The suspense was 
 awful, for now the examination would be- 
 gin, and what would he ask, and who 
 would be called on first, and would he 
 send us home if we made an incorrect an- 
 swer? If he did, it would be an everlast- 
 ing shame and it would not end with the 
 shame, he would make us go and read for 
 him at least one year more than the rest 
 of our comrades. 
 
CONFIRMATION 89 
 
 These meditations were stopped ab- 
 ruptly by the pastor's loud, sharp voice 
 as he asked a girl a question. The girl 
 was so frightened that she could only 
 blush and cough, and instantly he turned 
 around and asked me the same question. 
 I rose and stood like a soldier at " atten- 
 tion " while I commenced to give the an- 
 swer in a low, trembling voice. He told 
 me to read louder so that all could hear it, 
 and as I followed his instructions and re- 
 cited very well the Bible story about Jo- 
 seph and his brethren, he seemed rather 
 pleased, although he stopped me now and 
 then and added things that were not in 
 our text-books. 
 
 When I came home my father wanted 
 me to tell in detail all about our first 
 meeting. Among other things I also told 
 that the pastor did not have a text-book 
 in Bible history, but that he evidently ex- 
 pected us to learn the whole Bible. 
 
 " If that is the case," said my father, 
 " you who can learn so easily had better 
 
90 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 memorize all the chapters in the Bible 
 covering the corresponding lesson in your 
 Bible history." This I had to do, and 
 every week my father would hear me re- 
 cite chapter after chapter from the Bible. 
 Learning from the class that I was the 
 only one who made all this extra prepara- 
 tion, I wanted to stop it, but my father 
 made me keep it up all the time imtil con- 
 firmation. 
 
 My father's object was to have me 
 stand highest in the church aisle on Con- 
 firmation Sunday. This was regarded as 
 the greatest honor obtainable for a child 
 at that age. It was not altogether vanity 
 that prompted my father in urging me on 
 for the highest place. One reason was 
 that I was the youngest in the class and 
 unless my scholarship were extra good, 
 this minister would certainly not let me 
 pass. Secondly, I had been reading with 
 the minister only six months, and the for- 
 mer year he had flunked the whole class, 
 stating that he would not confirm any one 
 
CONFIRMATION 91 
 
 unless he read with him two years. But 
 I wanted to be confirmed that fall in or- 
 der to attend a high school which would 
 be in session only two years more at a 
 place so close to my home that I could 
 afford to attend it. 
 
 My father had recently lost the farm 
 and all he had by being kind-hearted 
 enough to endorse papers for a merchant 
 and a couple of farmers, all three of them 
 going bankrupt at once. At this time 
 my father was already an old man, and I, 
 although the youngest child, — thirteen 
 and a half years of age — ^was henceforth 
 obliged to earn all I spent. 
 
 Of the preacher's fiery temper I shall 
 give you only one illustration. It was in 
 the summer when the class met in the 
 large church. The minister, as usual, lost 
 his temper, and holding in his left hand 
 an old book with poor and time-worn bind- 
 ing, he hit it so hard with his right hand 
 that every leaf of the book flew, as if 
 swept by a storm, over the pews, under 
 
92 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 the pews, and through the aisles. Then 
 he made a flying trip down to the rear of 
 the church, opened the door wide and took 
 a couple of the big boys, who were poor 
 students, carried them one in each hand 
 to the door and threw them down the 
 steps. One of the girls commenced to 
 gather up some of the leaves of his book, 
 but when I shook my head at her she 
 dropped them. The minister paced up 
 and down the aisles. The children 
 watched in perfect silence him and my- 
 self. They expected me to be the 
 leader in almost everything, but I had 
 made up my mind that unless he asked 
 us to pick up the leaves of his book, 
 he could do it himself. And so, at 
 last, he picked up those in the aisle and 
 left the rest. The anger flashed like light- 
 ning out of his big eyes as he announced 
 with a voice of thunder that it was lunch- 
 time, but that the two fellows he had 
 thrown out should not have anything to 
 eat. When we told them, they started to 
 
CONFIRMATION 93 
 
 weep, because they were poor and very 
 hungry, as they had been up early in the 
 morning and walked eight miles to the 
 church. 
 
 We all carried our own lunches, and as 
 it was private property the pastor had 
 nothing to say about the matter. There- 
 fore, I offered to go into the church and 
 bring it out to them. They were all 
 afraid, but I told them that I would take 
 the responsibility in case it should reach 
 the minister's ears and so I fetched them 
 their lunches. Nothing more was heard 
 about this incident. 
 
 The reason that I was less afraid of the 
 minister than the rest of them w^as because 
 the pastor had a holy respect for my fa- 
 ther. The peasants wanted to discharge 
 him, but that would be a very difficult case 
 to carry into court, as the minister and all 
 the civil officers were appointed by the 
 King. This means that the appointments 
 were actually made by the respective 
 State departments and approved by the 
 
94 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 King. Therefore, a government attor- 
 ney would be afraid to plead a case 
 against a minister in the State Church. 
 On this account the parishioners begged 
 my father to plead the case for them, but 
 he refused, stating that he was getting 
 old, and the minister had done him no 
 harm. And furthermore, their evidences 
 against him were not clear enough to hold 
 in the higher courts. Thus the parson 
 continued to hold his position. 
 
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CHAPTER X 
 
 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN NORWAY 
 
 Education is of common interest to 
 young and old. Therefore, although our 
 space is limited, we shall give as complete 
 a description as possible of the excellent 
 educational system in Norway. This 
 country, together with Sweden, Denmark, 
 and Finland, can boast of the fact that 
 there is hardly any illiteracy. 
 
 That these countries rank foremost in 
 the world in regard to universal education 
 has its immediate cause in the Protestant 
 reformation. 
 
 The Lutheran Church, which is the 
 State Church in Norway, requires confir- 
 mation before a person can enter into 
 matrimony, or participate in the social, 
 political, and religious life of the country. 
 
 But neither a boy nor a girl can be con- 
 
 95 
 
96 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 firmed until he or she has finished an ele- 
 mentary school course. 
 
 Thus the Church and State have coop- 
 erated admirably to prevent adult illiter- 
 acy, and for more than two hundred years 
 they have had an excellent public school 
 system; and for almost one hundred years 
 they have had compulsory educational re- 
 quirements. 
 
 The small population of Norway is 
 scattered over a very large area, thus mak- 
 ing many districts sparsely settled. This 
 makes it exceedingly difficult to organize 
 the elementarv education for children. 
 But education is highly prized by the 
 people in general, and by united efforts 
 they have managed to build up a complete 
 system of education from the primary 
 schools up to the University. The results 
 of this achievement have been so excellent, 
 that of late years educators from different 
 countries have been studying and adopt- 
 ing many points from the Norwegian 
 school system. 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 97 
 
 Owing to the fact that the great bulk 
 of the Norse population resides in the 
 rural districts, we find two great difficul- 
 ties standing in the way of the children's 
 education, namely, the scattered nature 
 of the population and the lack of roads 
 and means of communication. To over- 
 come this, a law was passed in 1827, pro- 
 viding that near each parish church a 
 permanent elementary school should be 
 established. But for many of the children 
 it would be impossible to reach this per- 
 manent school at the parish church, as 
 they would either have to travel for miles 
 over rugged mountain roads, or row over 
 large sheets of water. 
 
 The only means of bringing education 
 to these children was by a system of 
 traveling schoolmasters. These teachers 
 went to a given centre for a few weeks at 
 a time and gave instruction to the children 
 collected from the neighboring farms, and 
 then passed on to another district. In 
 1837 we find that ninety-two per cent, of 
 
98 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 the country children were taught in these 
 ambulatory schools ; but now less than two 
 per cent, are thus taught. This shows, in 
 spite of heavy obstacles, a remarkable 
 development of the rural school system. 
 
 Norway is divided into about six thou- 
 sand school districts for elementary 
 schools. Here the school age is from 
 seven to fifteen in towns and eight to 
 fifteen in rural districts. 
 
 The course of instruction given is as 
 follows: First Division (children seven 
 to ten years) — The Christian religion, 
 Norwegian language, arithmetic, writing, 
 and singing. Second Division (children 
 ten to fourteen years) — The same studies 
 as above, with the addition of geography, 
 elementary geometry, history (with les- 
 sons in civics), botany, zoology and the 
 elements of physics and the fundamental 
 features of hygiene. In this latter study 
 the effects and dangers of intoxicants are 
 to be specially pointed out to the children. 
 In addition, at least one of the following 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 99 
 
 subjects must be taken: manual work 
 (sloyd for boys and needlework for girls), 
 drawing, and physical exercises, which in 
 the case of boys may include elementary 
 instruction in rifle-shooting. 
 
 Religious instruction occupies a fore- 
 most place. This is strictly in accordance 
 with the State Church, the Evangelical 
 Lutheran. There is, however, a '' con- 
 science clause," and the children of dis- 
 senters from the State Church may be 
 wholly or partially exempted from reli- 
 gious instruction, but as they form only a 
 small fraction of the population there is, 
 happily for Norway, no burning '' reli- 
 gious difficulty " in the matter of educa- 
 tion. 
 
 The law is very strict concerning school 
 attendance, and if the child is employed 
 so as to prevent the proper preparation of 
 lessons, the guilty party may be fined 100 
 kroner (about $25.00). 
 
 As a rule the parents take an active 
 part in the supervision of the home studies 
 
100 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 of the children. This is very essential, as 
 many of the children in the rural districts 
 are obliged, for economic reasons, to help 
 with the work, and thus they can attend 
 school only every other day or on alter- 
 nate weeks. 
 
 Co-education is the rule in the sparsely 
 settled country districts, but in the towns 
 the sexes may also be taught sepa- 
 rately. 
 
 The Municipal Council in Christiania 
 and other cities has an excellent method 
 for providing wholesome food for the 
 poor children during the winter. If it is 
 demonstrated that the parents are unable 
 to provide the necessary food for the chil- 
 dren, then they are served meals free of 
 charge. The other children can pay at 
 the low rate of two cents and a half for 
 each meal. 
 
 In both town and country they have 
 continuation schools. Then come Countv 
 Schools (amtskoler) and People's High 
 Schools. These latter are not unlike the 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 101 
 
 country academies in America. These 
 schools aim to give a more or less general 
 cultural training to young people, who 
 have passed the ordinary school age. 
 
 The management of the primary 
 schools is under the control of a local 
 school board composed of one clergyman, 
 one teacher, the president of the local 
 council, or an alderman, and as many 
 more members chosen from the municipal 
 council as the council itself shall deter- 
 mine. The school board elects the teach- 
 ers, draws up the budget, provides for 
 school supervision, and works out the de- 
 tails in the courses of study. 
 
 Secondary education laws underwent a 
 complete revision in Norway in the year 
 1896. Prior to this time the general man- 
 agement of secondary schools had been 
 committed to the care of the Church and 
 the Department of Education; but the 
 Act of 1896 provided for what is called an 
 Education Council, which consists of a 
 body of educational experts, who assist 
 
102 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 and advise the Department of Education 
 in all matters concerning the schools. 
 
 Through this arrangement, the elemen- 
 tary schools were also more closely corre- 
 lated with the secondary education. The 
 secondary schools are now divided into 
 the '' middelskole " and the gymnasium. 
 
 These are defined as follows in the Act 
 of 1896: "The middelskole" is a school 
 for children which, in unison with the pri- 
 mary school, gives its pupils a complete, 
 thorough, general education, adapted to 
 the receptive powers of children. 
 
 The gymnasium is a young people's 
 school, which, on the foundation laid in 
 the " middelskole," leads to a complete 
 higher general education, that may also 
 serve as a basis for scientific studies. 
 Both "middelskole" and gymnasium shall 
 contribute to the religious and moral 
 training of the pupils, and it should also 
 be their common aim to develop the pu- 
 pils both mentally and physically into 
 competent young people. 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 103 
 
 The middle schools take children be- 
 tween eleven and fifteen years, and the 
 courses include practically what is given 
 in most American high schools. The 
 middle school examination is very thor- 
 ough, consisting both of written and oral 
 work. 
 
 The students who pass in this examina- 
 tion may now enter the classical or liter- 
 ary high schools (gymnasium), which 
 prepares for the university and other 
 higher educational institutions. 
 
 A gymnasium used to have three lines ; 
 but now there are usually two, the lan- 
 guage-history line and the science line. 
 The course is usually finished in three 
 years, and the final examination is of 
 great importance. Those who fail in 
 their written work cannot participate in 
 the oral examination, but the students 
 who pass in both the written and oral 
 work have finished " examen artium," and 
 can proceed to the university without 
 further examination. 
 
104 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 The secondary schools in Norway are 
 co-educational, and women are now ad- 
 mitted to the university, and they occupy 
 many professional offices. Rural gymna- 
 siums with a four year course may also 
 give "examen artium," 
 
 The university at Christiania, founded 
 in 1811, forms the crown of Norway's 
 educational system. This institution has 
 about two thousand students and eighty 
 professors and instructors. 
 
 Many women avail themselves of a uni- 
 versity training, and as universal suf- 
 frage prevails, they have already had 
 three women members of the parliament. 
 
 The university is organized into five 
 faculties: theology, law, medicine, philos- 
 ophy, and science. 
 
 The professional courses vary from 
 four to seven years. The general man- 
 agement of the university is under the 
 ministry of public instruction, although 
 the professors are appointed by the 
 King. 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 105 
 
 Tfie professional staff numbers among 
 its members many men of international 
 reputation, men who have done good work 
 in scientific, historical, and linguistic 
 fields of research. 
 
 The tuition at this institution is free. 
 The students are not hampered by any 
 strict discipline. They may attend lec- 
 tures or not just as they please. But 
 there is a great day of reckoning, for the 
 final examinations are long and difiicult 
 and the censorship is very strict. In or- 
 der to prepare for this, many of the stu- 
 dents employ tutors and, in addition, they 
 borrow lectures from their comrades, and 
 " cram " nights and days. Many of them 
 fail. 
 
 Their great social centre is the Stu- 
 dents' Union (Studenter Samfundet). 
 Here lectures and musical evenings are 
 given on Saturdays during the terms 
 from September to May. 
 
 Their manuscript paper "Avisen '' con- 
 sists of satirical verses and various short 
 
106 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY^ 
 
 articles. This is read aloud each Satur^ 
 day evening at the students' gathering, 
 and it occasions much amusement. 
 
 When these young, gay students finish 
 their courses and return to the rural dis- 
 tricts as physicians, clergymen, or law- 
 yers, they become very worthy and sedate 
 members of society, and exercise that use- 
 ful influence which the possession of a lib- 
 eral education ought always to carry 
 with it. 
 
 Connected with the university in Chris- 
 tiania are the University Library (about 
 350,000 volumes), the Botanical Gardens, 
 the Historical Museum, the Astronomical 
 and Magnetic Observatory, the Meteoro- 
 logical Institute, and the Biological Ma- 
 rine Station (at Drobak). 
 
 The hospitals of Christiania are also 
 affiliated with the university. 
 
 As for the development of the national 
 consciousness, the university has been a 
 most potent factor, and the contemporary 
 leaders in politics, letters, the arts, and 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 107 
 
 science claim the university of Christiania 
 as their alma mater. 
 
 This brief sketch of the educational sys- 
 tem in Norway would be very incomplete 
 without at least mentioning that they 
 have an efficient system of technical insti- 
 tutions and a higher technical school in 
 Trondhjem, which might be called a 
 Technical University. 
 
 There are many technical night schools 
 and also workingmen's colleges in Nor- 
 way, where technical instruction is given 
 in the form of lectures by scientific men, 
 physicians, schoolmasters, and military 
 men. The lectures are given in the even- 
 ing and the principal expenses are shared 
 by the State and the municipalities. 
 
 Norway has eleven normal schools for 
 the education of public school teachers. 
 The excellent agricultural college at 
 Aas, near Christiania, has raised the 
 standard of both the entrance examina- 
 tion and the course itself, so that it is now 
 a regular Agricultural University. Con- 
 
108 WEEK I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 nected with it is the Government for- 
 estry. 
 
 They also Have excellent naval and mil- 
 itary schools. For the training of artists, 
 artistic craftsmen, and teachers of art, we 
 have the Royal Art and Industrial School 
 at Christiania, founded in 1818. 
 
 An important institution is a High 
 School in Home Economics, for the pur- 
 pose of training teachers in this subject. 
 It is a three-years' course, including one 
 year of preparatory work. * 
 
 There are also schools of industrial art 
 for women, where fine needlework, weav- 
 ing, and dressmaking are taught. A first- 
 class music and organ school is supported 
 by the Government at Christiania. 
 
 Other indirect educational agencies are 
 the Library and Philosophical Society at 
 Christiania, which has charge of the 
 Fridthjof Nansen fund for the advance- 
 ment of science; the Royal Literary and 
 Philosophical Society at Trondhjem, 
 founded in 1760; the national society for 
 
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 109 
 
 the preservation of ancient Norwegian 
 monuments, and the industrial art mu- 
 seums at Christiania, Bergen and Trond- 
 hjem. 
 
 There are about six hundred and fifty 
 libraries in the country, each containing 
 from one hundred to ten thousand vol- 
 umes ; but many more libraries are needed. 
 
 The workingmen's colleges have done 
 pioneer work in this field; but much more 
 remains to be done. 
 
 Let us hope that the Norse patriots 
 who are responsible for the policies of this 
 country will follow the suggestions of the 
 great poet Wergeland, who said, " Bog- 
 hylden er den stige, hvorpaa man bliver 
 sin overmands lige." (The bookshelf is 
 the ladder on which the inferior may climb 
 and be equal to his superior.)' 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS AND FAIRY TALES 
 
 We are told in a legend that the giants 
 of old used Norway as a playground, and 
 they have certainly left many wonderful 
 playthings behind them. The great boul- 
 ders were their baseballs, the lofty peaks 
 their basket-balls, and the fjords their 
 great swimming-pools. But, judging 
 from the grandeur and beauty of the 
 country, they must have been highly de- 
 veloped in landscape architecture. Cer- 
 tainly no land seems better suited to be a 
 home for the creatures of popular super- 
 stition than Norway. The frowning 
 cliffs and sequestered valleys seem still, 
 to the peasant, to be inhabited by the be- 
 ings who figure in their mythology. Not 
 that they believe all the folk-tales, but 
 
 these are to them only figures of speech 
 
 110 
 
POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS 111 
 
 expressing in a vivid form some deeper 
 truths. 
 
 On the hills dwelt monsters, or trolls; 
 in the valleys or beneath the earth dwelt 
 elves and fairies. 
 
 In the names of many places are to be 
 found reminiscences of the belief in this 
 race of giants and witches as in the name 
 of the remarkable mountain chain in 
 Romsdalen called TroUtinderne (The 
 Trold's peaks). 
 
 Troldwand (Trold or Witches' Lake), 
 near one of the arms of the Jostedal 
 glacier, is surrounded by rocky walls and 
 reached through a deep and gloomy ra- 
 vine. This is one of the many lakes that 
 has a witch dwelling on its bottom, and 
 many a hero has been known to descend 
 in order to kill the ogress. 
 
 Of " Troldkirker " (Trold-churches) 
 there are very many. Sometimes you can 
 see the brooms on which the witches ride 
 at night to these meeting places. We 
 have also " Troldstol " (Witches' Chair), 
 
112 WEEN 1 WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 "Troldfjord" X55^itches' Fjord), etc., 
 etc. 
 
 The hills above the city of Bergen were 
 among the chief places in Europe which 
 popular superstition fixed upon as the 
 scenes for the celebrated Witches' Sab- 
 bath, which was observed regularly. 
 
G UDBRANDSDALEN . 
 
 Picturesque valley between Sorum and Garmo. 
 
 Vaage Lake, Gudbrandsdalen. 
 The building of this road cost about five dollars a foot. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 POPULAR NORSE TALES 
 
 '' The Priest and the Clerk ^^ 
 
 Once upon a time there was a priest, 
 who was such a bully that he bawled out, 
 ever so far off, whenever he met any one 
 driving on the king's highway: 
 
 " Out of the way, out of tHe way! 
 Here comes the priest ! " 
 
 One day when he was driving along 
 and behaving so, he met the king himself. 
 
 " Out of the way, out of the way! " he 
 
 bawled a long way off. But the king 
 
 drove on and kept the road; so that time 
 
 it was the priest who had to turn his horse 
 
 aside, and when the king came alongside 
 
 of him, he said, " To-morrow you shall 
 
 come to me to the palace, and if you can't 
 
 answer three questions which I will set 
 
 you, you shall lose hood and gown for 
 
 your pride's sake." 
 
 113 
 
114 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 This was something else than the priest 
 was wont to hear. He could bawl and 
 bully, shout, and behave worse than 
 badly. All that he could do, but ques- 
 tions and answers were out of his power. 
 
 So he set off to the clerk who was said 
 to be better in a gown than the priest him- 
 self, and told him he had no mind to go to 
 the king. 
 
 For, as the saying goes, one fool can 
 ask more than ten wise men can answer; 
 and the end was, he got the clerk to go in 
 his place. 
 
 Yes! The clerk set off, and came to 
 the palace in the priest's gown and hood. 
 There the king met him out in the porch 
 with crown and sceptre, and was so grand 
 that he glittered and gleamed. 
 
 "Weill Are you there?" said the 
 king. 
 
 Yes; he was there, sure enough. 
 
 " Tell me first," said the king, " how 
 far the east is from the west? " 
 
 " Just a day's journey," said the clerk. 
 
POPULAR NORSE TALES 115 
 
 " How is that? " asked the king. 
 
 " Don't you know," said the clerk, 
 " that the sun rises in the east and sets in 
 the west, and he does it just nicely in one 
 day." 
 
 " Very well! '' said the king; " but tell 
 me now what you think I am worth, as 
 you see me stand here? '' 
 
 " Well,'' said the clerk, " our Lord was 
 valued at thirty pieces of silver, so I don't 
 think I can set your price higher than 
 twenty-nine." 
 
 " All very fine! " said the king; " but 
 as you are so wise, perhaps you can tell 
 me what I am thinking about now? " 
 
 '' Oh! " said the clerk; " you are think- 
 ing it's the priest who stands before you, 
 but so help me, if you don't think wrong, 
 for I am the clerk." 
 
 Be off home with you," said the king, 
 
 and be you priest, and let him be clerk," 
 and so it was. 
 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 '' THE HAEE AND THE HEIRESS " 
 
 Once on a time there was a hare, that 
 was frisking up and down under the 
 greenwood tree. 
 
 "Oh! hurrah! hip, hipi,, hurrah!" he 
 cried, and leapt and sprang, and all at 
 once he threw a somersault, and stood 
 upon his hind legs. Just then a fox came 
 slouching by. 
 
 " Good-day, good-day," said the hare; 
 " I'm so merry to-day, for you must know 
 I was married this morning." 
 
 " Lucky fellow you," said the fox. 
 
 " Ah, no ! not so lucky after all," said 
 the hare, " for she was very heavy- 
 handed, and it was an old witch I got to 
 wife." 
 
 " Then you were an unlucky fellow," 
 
 said the fox. 
 
 116 
 
''TEE HAIR AND THE HEIRESS'' 117 
 
 " Oh, not so unlucky either," said the 
 hare, '' for she was an heiress. She had a 
 cottage of her own/' 
 
 " Then you were lucky after all," said 
 the fox. 
 
 " No, no! not so lucky either," said the 
 hare, " for the cottage caught fire and was 
 burnt, and all we had with it." 
 
 " That I call downright unlucky," said 
 the fox. 
 
 " Ohy no; not so very unlucky after 
 all," said the hare, " for my witch of a 
 wife was burnt along with her cottage." 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 " THE SKIPPER AND OLD NICK " 
 
 Once on a time there was a skipper 
 who was so wonderfully lucky in every- 
 thing he undertook; there was no one who 
 got such freights, and no one who earned 
 so much money, for it rolled in upon him 
 on all sides, and, in a word, there Was no 
 one who could make such voyages as he, 
 for whithersoever he sailed he took the 
 wind with him ; — nay ! men did say he had 
 only to turn his hat and the wind turned 
 the way he wished it to blow. 
 
 So he sailed for many years, both in the 
 
 timber trade and to China, and he had 
 
 gathered money together like grass. But 
 
 it so happened that once he was coming 
 
 home across the North Sea with every sail 
 
 set, as though he had stolen both ship and 
 
 cargo; but he who wanted to lay hold on 
 
 him went faster still. It was Old Nick, 
 
 118 
 
''TEE SKIPPER AND OLD NICK'' 119 
 
 for with him he had made a bargain, as 
 one may well fancy, and that very day 
 the time was up, and he might look any 
 moment for Old Nick to come and fetch 
 him. 
 
 Well! the skipper came up on deck out 
 of the cabin and looked at the weather; 
 then he called for the carpenter and some 
 others of the crew, and said they must go 
 down into the hold and hew two holes in 
 the ship's bottom, and when they had 
 done that they were to lift the pumps out 
 of their beds and drive them down tight 
 into the holes they had made, so that the 
 sea might rise high up into the pumps. 
 
 The crew wondered at all this and 
 thought it a funny bit of work, but they 
 did as the skipper ordered; they hewed 
 holes in the ship's bottom and drove the 
 pumps in so tight that never a drop of 
 water could come to the cargo, but up in 
 the pumps themselves the North Sea stood 
 seven feet high. 
 
 They had only just thrown the chips 
 
120 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 overboard after their piece of work when 
 Old Nick came on board in a gust of wind 
 and caught the skipper by the throat. 
 
 "Stop, Father!" said the skipper, 
 " there's no need to be in such a hurry," 
 and as he said that he began to defend 
 himself and by the help of a marlin- 
 spike to loose the claws which Old Nick 
 had stuck into him. 
 
 " Haven't you made a bargain that you 
 would always keep the ship dry and 
 tight? " asked the skipper. " Yes! you're 
 a pretty fellow; look down the pumps, 
 there's the water standing seven feet high 
 in the pipe. Pump, devil, pump! and 
 pump the ship dry, and then you may 
 take me and have me as soon and as long 
 as you choose.'' 
 
 Old Nick was not so clever that he was 
 not taken in; he pumped and strove, and 
 the sweat ran down his back like a brook, 
 so that you might have turned a mill at 
 the end of his backbone, but he only 
 pumped out of the North Sea and into the 
 
''TEE SKIPPER AND OLD NICK'' 121 
 
 North Sea again. At last he got tired of 
 that work, and when he could not pump a 
 stroke more, he set off in a sad temper 
 home to his grandmother to take a rest. 
 As for the skipper, he let him stay a 
 skipper as long as he chose, and if he isn't 
 dead, he is still perhaps sailing on his 
 voyages whithersoever he will, and twist- 
 ing the wind as he chooses only by turn- 
 ing his hat. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 NOESE MYTHOLOGY 
 
 Mythology, as a study, is both pleas- 
 ant and profitable. Mythology is a prod- 
 uct of long periods of a people's intellec- 
 tual development, in which old ideas have 
 constantly been mixed with new concep- 
 tions. Therefore you find in it, as in all 
 old religious systems, that the ideas of the 
 life hereafter are often vague, even con- 
 tradictory. In the Norse mythology we 
 can follow the march of the human mind 
 forward to new light. 
 
 Our knowledge of the heathen religion, 
 
 called Norse Mythology, comes to us 
 
 through the literary collections called 
 
 Eddas. These Eddas were written by 
 
 gifted Norsemen, who emigrated from 
 
 Norway to Iceland. 
 
 122 
 
NORSE MYTHOLOGY 123 
 
 They tell us that origmally there was 
 no heaven above nor earth beneath, only 
 a bottomless pit with a fountain from 
 which issued twelve rivers. The rivers, 
 as they flowed from the fountain, froze 
 into solid ice, and the bottomless pit was 
 likewise filled with ice. 
 
 Far to the south there was a world of 
 mist, from which issued a warm wind 
 which melted the ice in the frozen rivers. 
 Vapors arose into the air and formed 
 clouds, out of which was formed Ymir, 
 the frost giant, and the cow Andhumbla. 
 The latter nourished the giant by licking 
 the salt and the hoarfrost from the ice. 
 
 One day when the cow was licking the 
 salt stone, the hair of a man appeared ; the 
 next day she licked the stone a head ap- 
 peared, and the third day an entire being. 
 This was a god. He married the daugh- 
 ter of a giant race, and unto them were 
 born three sons — Odin (spirit), Vile 
 (will) and Ve (holy). These three with 
 their father, Bor, killed Ymir. The blood 
 
124 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 which flowed from his veins caused a del- 
 uge which swept away all the giants ex- 
 cept Bergelmer, who with his wife took 
 refuge at the ends of the earth in a place 
 called Jutunheim (home of giants). 
 
 But of the body of Ymir, the gods cre- 
 ated the earth. 
 
 ^^Of Ymir 's flesh 
 "Was earth created, 
 Of his blood the sea, 
 Of his bones the hills, 
 Of his hair trees and plants, 
 Of his skull the heavens, 
 And of his brows 
 The gentler powers 
 Formed Midgard for the sons of men, 
 But of his brain 
 The heavy clouds are 
 All created.'' 
 
 The gods provided, likewise, for day 
 and night, the seasons, and plant-life. 
 But the universe still lacked human be- 
 ings, and, according to the legend, this is 
 the way they were created: One day 
 
NORSE MYTHOLOGY 125 
 
 Odin, Vile, and Ve started out together 
 and walked along the seashore, where 
 they found an ash (ask) and an elm (em- 
 bla) hewn into the rough semblance of the 
 human form. The gods gazed at first 
 upon the inanimate wood in silent won- 
 der, then Odin gave these logs souls, Vile 
 bestowed motion and senses, and Ve con- 
 tributed blood, fair complexions, and the 
 power of speech. 
 
 Midgard was assigned to this couple as 
 their residence and this man Ask and his 
 wife Embla became the progenitors of the 
 Norsemen and all other human beings. 
 
 Aesir was the collective name of their 
 deities. They included Odin and his 
 twelve sons or grandsons; and the 
 Aesynia — namely Frigga, the wife of 
 Odin, and her twelve subordinate god- 
 desses. 
 
 Odin, as befitted the all-father, the au- 
 thor of gods and men, was characterized 
 by the highest wisdom, knowledge, and 
 skill. In order to gain all this wisdom he 
 
126 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 had sacrificed one of his eyes for the privi- 
 lege to drink of Mimer's Well, the foun- 
 tain of wisdom. 
 
 Odin had also been hanging nine 
 nights on a windy tree in order to dis- 
 cover the Norse Runic alphabet, which is 
 composed of sixteen letters. 
 
 The first day of May was sacred to this 
 god, and one day in each week is called by 
 his Saxon name, Wodensday or Wednes- 
 day. Aasgaard, the dwelling place of the 
 gods, contains many gold and silver 
 palaces, the most beautiful of all being 
 Valhalla, the abode of Odin. Here 
 seated upon his throne, Lidskjalv, and 
 guarded on either side by wolves, he over- 
 looks both heaven and earth. Valhalla is 
 splendidly decorated with burnished 
 weapons, the ceiling made of spears, the 
 roof covered with bright shields, and the 
 walls decorated with the armor and coats 
 of mail of the warriors. To this hall the 
 Valkyries (val — dead bodies on the field 
 of battle, and kyria — to choose), bring the 
 
NOESE MYTHOLOGY 127 
 
 dead warriors who fall on the field of bat- 
 tle. The Valkyries select those who are to 
 fall and be feasted and entertained with 
 Odin in Valhalla, while those who die a 
 natural death go to Hel in the under- 
 world. Thor, the oldest son of Odin, was 
 the war-god, preeminent for valor and 
 strength. The thunder was the rumble 
 made when he rode through the air with 
 his goats, and the lightning was caused by 
 the throwing of his hammer, M joiner, 
 which hit anything he aimed at and al- 
 ways returned to his hand of its own ac- 
 cord. 
 
 Thor's symbol was a hammer, and was 
 modified by the early missionaries into the 
 form of the cross, obviously in order to 
 wean them from the ancient beliefs by 
 gentle degrees. Both these symbols have 
 always been sacred and protective marks, 
 and used by the ignorant to ward off evil 
 spirits. 
 
 Brage, like his father Odin, is the god 
 of poetry and eloquence. His health was 
 
128 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 always drunk at the great feasts, in cups 
 fashioned in the form of a ship. This 
 toast was called Bragaful, and upon it 
 the head of the house and his guests used 
 to make oaths to accomplish deeds of 
 valor, which, in their more sober mo- 
 ments, they found difficult to fulfil, often 
 at the sacrifice of their life, hence the 
 origin of the English expression " to 
 brag/' 
 
 Brage's wife, Idun, called the good 
 goddess, keeps the apples from which the 
 gods eat to preserve their youth. Thor's 
 wife is the beautiful Siv (Sif), with hair 
 of gold. Skade, Njord's wife, was, like 
 Gerd, of Jotun race, and Snotra was the 
 goddess of good sense and womanly 
 graces. 
 
 Balder, the good, was all purity and 
 brightness. The "Norns" are not only in 
 the world, but they are the real rulers of 
 it; even the gods must submit to their de- 
 crees. They rule over life and death, and 
 man's destiny; no one can escape the ca- 
 
NORSE MYTHOLOGY 129 
 
 lamities which they have preordained. 
 But they have not the absolute power at- 
 tributed to the fates in Greek and Roman 
 mythology. They are also subject to an 
 ultimate fate. They disappear at Rag- 
 narok. (The etymology of Ragnarok is 
 " the darkness of the gods; " but the or- 
 dinary meaning is the end of the world.) 
 
 Freya ruled the rain and sunshine; Tyr 
 gave victory in sports; Heimdall is the 
 sentinel of the gods, ar /es at Bifrost 
 (the rainbow), the c^ .stial bridge over 
 which gods and men ride to Valhal. 
 Vidar, the silent one, is, next to Thor, the 
 strongest of the gods. 
 
 Aege is the ocean god, etc., etc., etc. 
 
 In the society of the gods lived Loke, a 
 malevolent power, whose mischief -loving 
 spirit often caused them sorrow, though 
 sometimes they found his subtlety of serv- 
 ice. But Loke, like all evil-doers, did not 
 escape punishment. He was tied by the 
 Aesir in a rocky cavern where poisonous 
 adders drop venom into his face, and 
 
130 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 there he will have to lie till Ragnarok, or 
 the end of the world. But his faithful 
 wife, Sigyn, stands always by him, and 
 gathers the dripping venom in a cup. 
 Only when she empties the cup does it 
 drop into Loke's face, and then he writhes 
 in pain so that the earth quakes. 
 
 From this Norse mythology, also 
 called Odinism, we learn many things. 
 The Greeks used to say that a man be- 
 comes like the god he worships. 
 
 In Odinism the greatest ideal was, 
 " Be brave ! " Valor was the virtue, 
 above all others, which it called upon its 
 votaries to practise. It was courage that 
 the gods loved best to see in a man, and 
 cowardice that they hated most, and 
 punished most severely. Therefore, to 
 die bravelv in battle was the most sure 
 way to Odin and his feast. Hence the 
 believers in this creed learned to regard 
 life with contempt, — and peace as a dis- 
 graceful state of existence. No wonder 
 such doctrine inspired them to be success- 
 
NORSE MYTHOLOGY 131 
 
 ful warriors, and they became like unto 
 Thor, the War-god, whom they wor- 
 shipped. 
 
 The End or the World 
 
 The world, in which there is continual 
 strife, is in the Norse Mythology repre- 
 sented under the symbol of a giant ash- 
 tree, the Yggdrasil, whose top reaches 
 into the heavens, whose branches fill the 
 world, and whose three roots extend into 
 the three important spheres of existence 
 outside the world of man. One root is 
 where the Aesir dwell. Under this root 
 is the Well of Urd, where the gods as- 
 semble in council. Another root reaches 
 to the home of the Jotuns, or Rimthuser, 
 under which is the Well of Mimer, the 
 fountain of wisdom. The third root is in 
 Niflheim, and under it is the terrible well 
 Hvergelme, by which is found the snake 
 Nidhoggr, which, together with many 
 others, continually gnaws at the roots of 
 the world tree, and seeks to destroy it. 
 
132 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Nidhoggr is the symbol of the destructive 
 forces operating in the world. 
 
 Before Ragnarok evil passes all 
 bounds. For three years there is perpet- 
 ual strife. Brothers fight and kill each 
 other, the ties of blood relationship are 
 broken, morals are corrupted, and one 
 person has no compassion for the other. 
 Then follow three years of constant win- 
 ter, the Fimbul winter (the great winter). 
 Finally Yggdrasil trembles, Fenre, the 
 wolf, breaks his fetters, and the Mid- 
 gardserpent comes out of the ocean, Surt, 
 the fire demon, comes; Loke is free again 
 and leads the sons of Muspell and other 
 forces of destruction to the final battle 
 with the gods on the plain Vigrid. Fenre 
 kills Odin, but is in turn slain by the pow- 
 erful Vidar. Thor and the Midgarser- 
 pent kill each other. Frey is slain by 
 Surt; Ty fights against HeFs hound 
 Garm, and both fall. Surt finally hurls 
 fire over the earth; the sun gi'ows dark, 
 the earth sinks into the ocean, fire con- 
 
NORSE MYTHOLOGY 133 
 
 sumes all— the world of strife and blood- 
 shed has disappeared. 
 
 Out of the ocean rises a new green 
 earth, where grain-fields grow without 
 being sown, and where no evil exists. 
 
 *'A hall I see on the heights of Gimle, brighter 
 than the sun, and covered with gold; righteous 
 men shall dwell there in endless happiness.'* 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 SAETER 
 
 One of the most interesting and special 
 features of Norwegian national life is the 
 saeter. 
 
 A saeter is a mountain dairy, where 
 the Norwegian peasants spend their sum- 
 mer, pasturing their cattle and making 
 butter and cheese. Each farm has its 
 right of grazing certain parts of the 
 mountains, or sometimes it happens that 
 two or more smaller farms share a saeter 
 between them. 
 
 When the spring work is finished on 
 the farm a peculiar longing for the moun- 
 tains comes both to the animals and the 
 persons who are accustomed to spending 
 their summers up in the mountain dairy. 
 Preparations are then made for the mi- 
 gration to the saeter. It is a busy and 
 
 134 
 
SAETER 135 
 
 most interesting time, which has formed 
 the subject of many pictures and poems. 
 
 The time for this migration depends on 
 the state of the weather and the amount 
 of snow which fell in the mountains dur- 
 ing the winter. But in many districts it 
 takes place about St. Hans' Day (St. 
 John's Day, June 24th). 
 
 The procession at last is ready to start. 
 The milkmaid or " budeie " usually leads, 
 and the cattle, sheep, and goats driven by 
 the shepherd boys follow. Then comes 
 the farmer with the pack-horses laden 
 with all the domestic goods needed by the 
 women for two or three months' stay in 
 the mountains. There are no wagon- 
 roads, and the churns, milk-cans, food, as 
 well as vast oval copper pans used for the 
 making of cheese, must all be loaded on 
 the back of the sure-footed, gentle fjord 
 horses. 
 
 Usually this first trip goes only as far 
 as the home saeter, which is located close 
 enough to the farm to enable the dairy- 
 
136 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 maid to take the herd home in case of bad 
 weather. After they have stayed here a 
 few weeks, another long journey is made 
 to the high mountain saeter, where the 
 warmest and longest part of the summer 
 is spent. Then toward the fall they may 
 have to move to the home saeter again on 
 account of snow and cold weather, which 
 prevents them from keeping the cattle in 
 the high mountains. 
 
 There are two kinds of saeters. First, 
 those that are nicely fitted up to accom- 
 modate tourists. Some of these are regu- 
 lar first-class mountain hotels. But the 
 second-class, the most typical, are those 
 that do not expect any tourist traffic. 
 
 It was a joyous day when I could make 
 my first trip to the saeter. Starting from 
 our home, we went with the cattle 
 through narrow roads fenced off from 
 cultivated fields, then through a forest of 
 pine and spruce until we reached the open 
 moors, where the only trees were dwarf 
 birches and a kind of willow which grows 
 
8AETEB 137 
 
 flat upon the ground, and is embedded in 
 moss and juniper. 
 
 We started at five o'clock in the morn- 
 ing and about noon we reached the saeter, 
 after traveling for many miles over tortu- 
 ous and dangerous mountain paths. The 
 special danger was in crossing the moun- 
 tain torrents, which run high and swift in 
 the spring. After a fordable place had 
 been decided upon a halt was made and 
 all the young sheep and goats had to be 
 picked up and carried across. We all ar- 
 rived safely at the saeter, which has a 
 picturesque location in a valley close to a 
 mountain lake. The buildings consist of 
 a rude log hut with two rooms. Close by 
 it runs a mountain brook and at a little 
 distance are to be found sheds and pens 
 and a barn with a hay-loft. The roofs of 
 these buildings consist of rough planks 
 on which are placed layers of birch-bark 
 to fill in the cracks and on the top again 
 are laid sods of earth to a thickness of 
 about a foot. Grass and weeds soon 
 
138 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 cover the roof, binding it together and 
 keeping the rain out. 
 
 We enter the saeter hut and find the in- 
 side log walls lined with boards. As we 
 are seated on a corner bench we notice 
 that in another corner are two beds built 
 into the wall, one above the other like 
 berths, only wider. Standing out about 
 two feet from the third corner is the im- 
 mense large fireplace. Its floor space is 
 a square five by five feet, built of stone 
 and it covers about twenty-five square 
 feet. The two sides of this square are 
 walls reaching to the ceiling and built of 
 heavy soapstone. These two sides form 
 the back of the fireplace. The other two 
 sides make the opening up to five or six 
 feet from the floor. There the stone 
 walls begin for these two sides and they 
 join the two other walls of the fireplace, 
 thus making a perfect chimney by the 
 time they reach the ceiling. In this 
 "peis,'' as such a fireplace is called, the 
 log fire is built. From above, hung a 
 
Evening on the Saeter. 
 
 The evening's peace and contentment is broken only by the lowing 
 
 herd or tinkling cow-bells. It is an idyllic combination 
 
 of a health-resort, camp, and home. 
 
 Fladbrod-Baking in Sakterdalen, 
 
SAETEU 139 
 
 couple of cranes for the heavier kettles 
 and on the sides are smaller pot-hooks. 
 The cook is obliged to step up into such 
 a large fireplace in order to do the cook- 
 ing. 
 
 In this room were two windows each 
 with four small panes of glass and two 
 doors, one by which we had entered, and 
 the other leading into a small room where 
 the milk, cheese, and butter are kept. 
 There were rows of tubs of all sizes, con- 
 taining milk in all stages of sourness and 
 sweetness. 
 
 On a larger saeter you will find a de- 
 tached hut for the dairy work. Every 
 dairymaid (or "budeie") takes great 
 pride in keeping everything scrupulously 
 clean, the floor, the shelves, the walls, 
 wooden vessels, kettles, everything is 
 scoured, therefore they are working hard 
 all the long daylight hours, and the work 
 is arduous. The " budeie " is in charge 
 of the saeter. This position is sometimes 
 occupied by the farmer's daughter, and if 
 
140 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 it is a larger saeter, she may have one or 
 two hired girls and a shepherd boy or two. 
 Each morning the saeter jente (girl) 
 must rise early and proceed with the 
 milking of a large herd of cows, and in 
 many places a flock of goats, and when 
 they are taken into the pastures the work 
 is by no means over; the milk must be 
 strained and put by in the dairy, the vast 
 copper pans for preparing the myseost (a 
 brown sweet cheese) have to be set over 
 the fire, and churning and other work 
 makes the time pass quickly until the 
 cattle come home for the evening milk- 
 ing. 
 
 Saeters are frequently built in groups 
 for company's sake, but more often they 
 stand alone and always close to a small 
 lake or a stream of running water, a good 
 supply being needed for all their cooking 
 and scrubbing. 
 
 There is no doubt that the life at the 
 saeter is a lonely one, for visitors are rare, 
 except, perhaps, on Saturday evening. If 
 
SAETEB 141 
 
 the " budeie " is a popular one, scores of 
 young men will chance to meet on the 
 saeter green. At such times the girls 
 from the neighboring saeters would be 
 sent for, and the night would be sure to 
 end with a whirling spring dance. In the 
 crowd will be found one or more who can 
 play the violin. At such occasions the 
 fair maidens dance gracefully as the leap- 
 ing shadows, but the boys when going 
 home must beware lest they are charmed 
 by the mountain Hulder. (The Hulder 
 is a kind of personification of the forest.) 
 She is described as a maiden of wonderful 
 beauty and only in this respect different 
 from her mortal sisters, that she has a 
 long cow's tail attached to her beautiful 
 frame. This is the grief of her life. She 
 is always longing for the society of the 
 mortals, and often she ensnares young 
 men by her beauty, but again and again 
 the tail interferes by betraying her real 
 nature. She is the protecting genius of 
 the cattle. 
 
142 WBEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Probably it is after such gatherings 
 and dances that the life at the saeter, 
 though health-giving in the highest de- 
 gree, seems very monotonous, and the 
 girls often long for the society which the 
 life at the farm affords. They will get a 
 horse and ride far enough to be able to see 
 the valley below from the mountainside. 
 This phase of saeter life has been immor- 
 talized by the plaintive melody which the 
 great violinist Ole Bull wrote for Jorgen 
 Moe's beautiful poem, " The Saeter- 
 Maid's Sunday," of which the first and 
 last stanza reads as follows: 
 
 *^The sun is on high, now church-time is nigh, 
 
 and shorter the shadows are growing, 
 that I were free, to-day and could be, to 
 
 church with the worshippers going ! 
 When over the edge of yonder broad ledge, the 
 
 sun on his journey is climbing. 
 The church bells, I know, in valleys below, in 
 
 chorus are calling and chiming." 
 
 Then the poet describes the saeter 
 maiden as she is sitting on the mountain- 
 
SAETER 143 
 
 side and looking down into the valley on a 
 Sunday morning. She hears the far-off 
 echo of the church bells and she wishes that 
 she were free to go to church with her 
 young friends and especially with her 
 sweetheart, Odd. 
 
 She says in the last stanza: 
 
 **"What boots it to bring my hymn-book and sing, 
 A psalm for my lonely devotion? 
 The loft is too high, the notes seem to die, 
 And vanish like drops in the ocean. 
 ^Twould make me rejoice to mingle my voice 
 In singing with Odd and the others, 
 God grant it were near the end of the year ! 
 Grant God I were home with my brothers!" 
 
 But personally I know of no place so 
 enjoyable as the saeter. There you can 
 see the most beautiful sunset on the lakes 
 and snow-capped mountains. Then the 
 dairymaid takes her " loor," a straight 
 birch-bark horn, about six feet long and 
 widening toward one end. On this in- 
 strument she will call the cattle home as 
 follows: 
 
144 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 ^'Come, children all, 
 That hear my call, 
 Brynlilda fair 
 With nut-brown hair ! 
 Come, Little Eose, 
 Ere day shall close ; 
 And Birchen Bough, 
 My own dear cow ; 
 And Morning Pride, 
 And Sunny Side ; — 
 Come, children dear. 
 For night draws near, 
 Come, children." 
 
 You hear their lowing answer as they 
 come running, and a mixed sound of cow- 
 bells, goat-bells, sheep-bells, and baying 
 of dogs mingled with the hallooing and 
 singing of the mountain girls. Life on 
 the saeter with the invigorating air, pic- 
 turesque scenery, peaceful work, and 
 solemn stillness of the evening, after the 
 work is done, is the happiest a Norwegian 
 peasant knows. 
 
 Even King Oscar II, of Norway and 
 Sweden, wrote the following appreciative 
 and beautiful description of a visit which 
 he made to a saeter in Sogn: 
 
SAETER 145 
 
 *'How strange the saeter life and dwell- 
 ings appear. How poor at first sight and 
 yet how hearty and unexpectedly lavish is 
 the hospitality which the simple children of 
 the mountains extend to the weary travelers. 
 Milk warm from the cows, fresh-churned 
 butter, reindeer meat, and a couple of de- 
 licious trout which we have just seen caught 
 in the lake below form a regal feast indeed, 
 and spiced with the keen appetite which the 
 air here creates, the meal can be equaled 
 only by the luxury of reposing on a soft 
 couch of fresh fragrant hay.'' 
 
 On our M^ay home from the saeter, one 
 of our company must take time to gather 
 some of the beautiful flowers. The tiny 
 rivulets vi^hich trickle down from the hills 
 are lined with ferns and forget-me-nots, 
 and in other places are to be found flow- 
 ers of every hue, as the red Alpine catch- 
 fly, blue meadow cranesbill, hawksweed, 
 wild radis, and about six thousand other 
 species makes up the variegated flora of 
 Norway. 
 
 Personally I was more interested in the 
 berries. Norway produces and has of 
 
146 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 late years exported immense quantities of 
 wild fruits and berries. 
 
 The " blaabaer " or bilberry grows 
 everywhere, and the " tyttebaer " or red 
 whortleberry, which resembles the Ameri- 
 can cranberry, is found in many places, 
 also the wild raspberries of delicious 
 flavor abound in sheltered spots. But 
 what we longed for most is the deli- 
 cious "multebaer" (cloud-berry), which 
 grows in swampy places on the moun- 
 tains, particularly in the far north. 
 
 This is a juicy, yellow berry, larger 
 in size than even the garden blackberry, 
 and with a flavor which is much esteemed 
 by most people, although it is so unusual 
 that perhaps the taste for it must be ac- 
 quired. I 
 
 We found all we could take care of and 
 enjoyed the berries and the trip im- 
 mensely. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FJELDS AND FJORDS OF NORWAY 
 
 It is a modest assertion to say that no 
 country of equal size with Norway can 
 boast of such vastness and variety of 
 sublime scenery. 
 
 This statement I have heard corrobo- 
 rated by hundreds of globe-trotters, 
 whom I met while engaged in a large 
 tourist business in Christiania. 
 
 When we speak about nightless days 
 and dayless nights in Norway, you must 
 not imagine that this is true concerning 
 the whole country and for all seasons. 
 No, like in other lands you have sunny 
 and cloudy days, calm days, and stormy 
 days when the winds howl and the rain 
 descends. 
 
 And the change of weather may come 
 
 very suddenly on account of the high 
 
 147 
 
148 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 mountains and the large forests where the 
 moisture-laden clouds cool sufficiently to 
 give up their wet substance. But the 
 moisture from the same cloud may fall in 
 the form of rain in the deep valleys and 
 in the form of snow on the high moun- 
 tains, because here, among the perpetual 
 snow and ice, it is sufficiently cold to 
 change the rain into snow. 
 
 In order to see a landscape in its real 
 beauty we usually think that it must be 
 flooded with either sunshine or (I almost 
 said moonshine) moonlight. This is not 
 true of the great mountain districts whose 
 rugged grandeur becomes more promi- 
 nent with clouds and storm. What a 
 grand music when you stand in such a 
 wild landscape and listen to the mighty 
 winds and surging torrents as they beat 
 against the giant mountain walls! Or if 
 you stand in a large forest of either pine 
 or spruce where the wind seems to sway 
 the bodies of the huge trees to the rhythm 
 of mountain cascades while the trees clap 
 
FJELD8 AND FJORDS 149 
 
 their hands and their crowns shout for 
 
 joy- 
 Then you can imagine that you hear 
 
 the voice of Thor. How it roars and re- 
 echoes from mountain to mountain while 
 his chariot wheels flash lightning amid 
 these stalwart mountain peaks, that for 
 centuries have stood as loyal sentinels 
 around Mother Norway. Standing amid 
 such grand surroundings one feels drawn 
 toward a mighty, invisible power, and in 
 place of thinking of Thor in the Norse 
 Mythology, we feel more like exclaiming 
 with the Christian poet: 
 
 *'How wonderful Creation is! 
 The work that Thou didst bless! 
 And, oh, what must THOU be Hke, 
 Eternal Loveliness.'' 
 
 So grand and lovely is the nature in 
 Norway that the globe-trotters used to 
 say, " If you love the Swiss lakes and the 
 Alpine mountains, then you will find the 
 Norwegian fjords and the Jotunheim 
 
150 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 mountains even more enchanting. If you 
 long for the historic Rhine or the beauti- 
 ful Hudson, just take a sail of one hun- 
 dred and thirty-six miles on the Sogne 
 Fjord." 
 
 The name fjord is analogous to the 
 Scottish firth, both words having the same 
 Norse derivation. A long fjord changes 
 often in width from a broad bay or gulf 
 to a narrow estuary. These Norse fjords 
 are inlets of the North Sea, making deep 
 incisions into the rocky cliffs, and are not 
 only wild and romantic in their aspects, 
 but the water is so transparent that it has 
 perhaps no parallel except at the Thou- 
 sand Islands. 
 
 Nothing can be more surprising and 
 beautiful than the singular clearness of 
 the sea on the western coast of Norway. 
 As we passed slowly over the surface the 
 bottom, which here was generally a white 
 sand, was clearly visible with its minutest 
 objects, although the depth was from 
 twenty to twenty-five fathoms. 
 
FJELDS AND FJORDS 151 
 
 I have traveled a great deal and seen 
 many wonderful things, but nothing has 
 appeared to me so extraordinary as the 
 inmost recesses of the deep, thus unveiled 
 to the eye. Here the ocean is perfectly 
 calm, as the western coast of Norway is 
 surrounded by a perfect chain of one 
 hundred and fifty thousand islands, and 
 these form a natural and a most excellent 
 breakwater. 
 
 Hanging over the gunwale of the boat, 
 I gazed with wonder and delight upon the 
 slowly-moving scene below. It was the 
 shelter for many creatures unknown to 
 man, and I could sometimes observe large 
 fishes of singular shape gliding softly and 
 leisurely through the watery thickets. 
 They seemed perfectly unconscious that 
 we were moving above them. 
 
 But this transparent calm water makes 
 also a perfect mirror for everything that 
 surrounds the fjord. The reflection of 
 the mountains upon the surface of the 
 water is often as well-defined as the rocks 
 
152 WHEN 1 WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 themselves, so that when viewed at a short 
 distance it is no easy matter to decide 
 where the line is that separates the water 
 from the shore. 
 
 This uncertainty when crossing one of 
 the fjords in a boat has a most singular 
 effect. Everything appears upside down; 
 houses upset, trees growing in the wrong 
 direction, men walking on their heads, 
 cattle on their backs and the whole ap- 
 pearance having such an air of reality as 
 to beguile the senses of one who is not ac- 
 customed to it. 
 
 Inspired by such beautiful scenes as 
 you can see in one of the Norwegian 
 fjords the poet wrote: 
 
 *^ Believe me, lady, when the Zephyrs bland 
 Floated our bark to this enchanted land, 
 These mighty rocks into the ocean thrown 
 Like giant thrones in a silver zone, — 
 Never did weary bark more sweetly glide, 
 Or rest its anchor in a lovelier tide/* 
 
r*^'"' 
 
 Old Posting Station, with Cariole. 
 Aasoren, Gudbrandsdalen. 
 
 The architecture is from the sixteenth century. 
 
 Antique Costumes, Vaage, Gudbrandsdalen. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 HOLY DAYS 
 
 Unique Christinas Customs in Norway 
 
 The celebration of Yule was practised 
 in the northern countries long before they 
 accepted the Christian religion. 
 
 This heathen celebration was a feast in 
 honor of the sun, when, in January, it 
 seemed to renew its strength and over- 
 come the power of darkness (by rising 
 high enough on the firmament to spread 
 its golden rays over the country). 
 
 During the two weeks of this festival 
 
 only the most necessary work was to be 
 
 done. Implements with wheels, as 
 
 wagons and the spinning-wheels, must 
 
 rest. To let a wheel move was a sacrilege 
 
 against the holy sun, as it might indicate 
 
 that they wanted the sun-wheel to move 
 
 faster. 
 
 163 
 
154 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Fish, bird, and beast must have perfect 
 peace during the two-weeks' celebration 
 of Yule. Therefore, every trap and 
 snare must be taken away, and even the 
 fish-nets must be removed from the ocean 
 and rivers. 
 
 The great Christmas peace, — ^resting 
 over the whole creation — ^must be ob- 
 served, or woe be unto the transgressor. 
 Selma Lagerlof tells a beautiful story 
 about a bear that was kind enough to give 
 Christmas lodging in its winter den to a 
 farmer, who was lost in the storm. 
 
 But when the farmer returned the next 
 day with his gun in order to kill the bear, 
 the bear killed the man, and even his 
 wife thought this was a righteous punish- 
 ment, because her husband had attempted 
 to kill the bear before the Christmas festi- 
 val was over. 
 
 From these twelve holy Christmas days 
 the people took forebodings for the com- 
 ing year. Every day they wrote on one 
 of the big logs under the rafters a sign in- 
 
HOLY DAYS 155 
 
 dicating the kind of weather for that day. 
 If it were stormy the first day, the whole 
 first month of the next year would be 
 stormy, etc. From this they have the 
 proverb, " If the Christmas signs do not 
 fail." 
 
 At the end of the twelve holy days 
 came the climax of the great festival. 
 The days were getting longer and a huge 
 wheel would be rolled from farm to farm. 
 
 When the Christian religion was intro- 
 duced, Christmas was celebrated a couple 
 of weeks earlier than Yule, and thence- 
 forth heathen and Christian customs 
 were mixed. 
 
 All Christmas preparations must be 
 finished before St. Thomas' Day, De- 
 cember 21st. By that time sufficient 
 wood had to be cut to last over the two- 
 weeks' celebration. If this were neg- 
 lected, St. Thomas would come and take 
 away the ax. Likewise, must all baking, 
 brewing, and butchering be ready by that 
 day, otherwise they will have some mishap 
 
156 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 with everything. A cake was put on a 
 shelf for St. Thomas before five o'clock 
 Christmas Eve. 
 
 How we as children used to count the 
 weeks, days, and finally the hours before 
 Christmas! But when everything was in 
 order in the house, barn, stable, and store- 
 house, and we could put up the Christmas 
 sheaves for the birds, then we knew the 
 great feast was drawing nigh. 
 
 It was now a question for every one to 
 get a bath, put on clean underwear and 
 the best clothes, including any new gar- 
 ment made for Christmas. Whereupon 
 the whole family would gather in peace 
 and contentment and partake of the 
 Christmas Eve dinner which usually con- 
 sisted of short ribs, different kinds of 
 bread and cake, and rice pudding. Into 
 the rice pudding had been put one al- 
 mond. The one who found this almond 
 on his plate wovild be the first one to get 
 married. Every one had to leave some 
 pudding on his plate for the dead, who 
 
HOLY DAYS 157 
 
 were certain to call during the night and 
 get their share of the Christmas food. 
 This was left on the table in great quan- 
 tity and variety; but the dead do not eat 
 like us mortals. They only want " the 
 spirit of the food," hence when morning 
 came everything looked as though it were 
 untouched. It was, however, not only the 
 good spirits that would visit the house 
 Christmas night. The ghostly pranks of 
 the evil spirits consisted in going from 
 farm to farm and taking revenge on their 
 enemies. This wild host brought fear and 
 trembling wherever they went, for the 
 transgressor was put through the most 
 cruel punishment. 
 
 Even the Christmas ram or goats must 
 be fed. In some places they would put 
 some barley in a shoe and place it under 
 the bed. Most of the time they could see 
 that he had been eating a little during the 
 night. But if the ram did not touch it, he 
 was offended at something and would 
 bring bad luck during the year. At a cer- 
 
158 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 tain farm a cow died during the spring 
 and the lady of the house was positive 
 that it was her husband's fault because 
 he had neglected to feed the Christmas 
 ram. 
 
 In the parish, Elverum, they knew just 
 where the Christmas ram lived. He 
 moved from place to place during the 
 winter until Christmas Eve, when he 
 finally managed to get under the dining- 
 room table. The last thing before they 
 went to bed they would sweep very care- 
 fully under the table, and the first thing 
 in the morning on Christmas day, they 
 would see if the ram had left any grain 
 there. If they found some it would be a 
 good year, providing the grain was good. 
 If this was poor, it would be a poor crop 
 that year; but if they did not find any, it 
 would be crop failure. 
 
 But it is not only the supernatural be- 
 ings that must be provided with extra 
 food at Christmas. In some places they 
 would give the domestic animals an extra 
 
HOLY DAYS 159 
 
 meal about five o'clock Christmas Eve. 
 In feeding them they would say, " Eat 
 well, keep well; this is Christmas Eve/' 
 
 Then they would feed the cattle salt 
 out of a cow-bell. This would help them 
 next summer to come home from the 
 pasture in the evening of their own ac- 
 cord. 
 
 Different prognostications were taken 
 from grain and salt that had been placed 
 on the hot hearth Christmas Eve. 
 
 What has been stated in this article so 
 far are mostly antiquated customs no 
 longer to be found; but there is one nice 
 custom in use, not only all over Norway, 
 but the Norwegians who have emigrated 
 to foreign countries usually practise it in 
 their new homes. At Christmas I have 
 seen in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, 
 and North Dakota sheaves of grain put 
 upon poles out in the yard, or on top of 
 the barn. Then I knew that Norwegians 
 were living there. 
 
 These sheaves are the largest and best 
 
160 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 that could be selected at threshing time. 
 They should be put up on a spruce pole 
 on which a large tuft of branches must be 
 left at the top. This makes a nice place 
 where the birds can rest after their meals. 
 The snow should also be removed from a 
 large circle on the lawn, and on this bare 
 spot the birds will dance between meals, 
 and thus get up their appetites for the 
 next repast. 
 
 When everj^thing was finished Christ- 
 mas Eve, the dishes washed and the house 
 set in order for Christmas day, and all the 
 old brooms had been carefully hidden in 
 order to prevent the witches from riding 
 them Christmas night ; when for a similar 
 purpose the fire-shovel and tongs had 
 been put away; then the head of the 
 household would go out to see if there 
 were many sparrows in the Christmas 
 sheaf. If there were many, it would be 
 a good corn year; but if a sparrow sat 
 down in the sheaf before all the work con- 
 nected with putting it up had been 
 
HOLY DATS 161 
 
 finished, it was an omen that some one in 
 the family would soon die. 
 
 On Christmas Eve, when darkness had 
 conquered the light, then the fear of evil 
 beings crept upon one. In order to drive 
 away the witches and other uncanny be- 
 ings, they went out in the yard and fired 
 a shot. This has been transformed into 
 " shooting in Christmas," or a Christmas 
 salute. The young men go from farm to 
 farm and sneak up close to the window 
 while shooting, in order to make the peo- 
 ple quake. 
 
 But they could not be offended, as such 
 a visit was considered an honor, and the 
 husbandman would go and invite them in 
 for refreshments. 
 
 As it was commonly believed that the 
 witches would be riding around in the air 
 on their brooms that evening, the people 
 were afraid that they might come down 
 the chimney. In order to prevent this 
 they would burn dry spruce, which would 
 send out so many sparks, that it would 
 
162 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 keep away the uninvited guests, or if one 
 put salt in the fire it would serve the same 
 purpose. 
 
 It was not considered safe to go to bed 
 that evening without leaving a light burn- 
 ing, because all evil beings were usually 
 active on this holy night. Sometimes 
 they made an extra large candle that 
 would last all night, and this they left 
 burning on the hearth with a circle of salt 
 around it. Both the candle and the salt 
 were consecrated. 
 
 But in most places they would burn the 
 " Yule Log," as all evil shuns the bright 
 light. This custom of burning the " Yule 
 Log" was in olden times transferred 
 from Norway into England. 
 
 Many other safety devices were re- 
 sorted to on Christmas Eve. Steel had to 
 be put over the stable and barn doors; 
 and with a brush dipped in tar, the sign 
 of the cross was made over the different 
 doors. 
 
 These customs, mostly used in the rural 
 
HOLY DAYS 163 
 
 districts, are now passing away; but of 
 those that are still in use one might be 
 mentioned. 
 
 They leave a light burning in the win- 
 dow all Christmas night as a sign that any 
 traveler is welcome for food and shelter. 
 
 The table is set all the time during the 
 two weeks of Christmas festivities, and 
 visitors as well as members of the family 
 can help themselves at any time to food 
 and drinks. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 festivals: seventeenth of may^ and ST. 
 
 JOHN^S EVE 
 
 The Norwegian peasant has many 
 festivals. These are necessary for relax- 
 ation, as these people's life is very strenu- 
 ous. 
 
 The seventeenth of May is Norway's 
 National Independence Day. It corre- 
 sponds to America's Fourth of July, and 
 is celebrated in honor of the drawing up 
 of the constitution at Eidsvold, in 1814. 
 All over Norway this day is observed 
 with great enthusiasm, from Christiania 
 to North Cape and from the Swedish 
 border to the North Sea, flags are flying, 
 salutes are fired, bands are playing, pro- 
 cessions are marching and larger or 
 smaller congregations gather and listen 
 
 attentively to inspiring patriotic orations. 
 
 164 
 
FESTIVALS 165 
 
 Often have I been called upon by my 
 countrymen in America to speak at such 
 festivals; but my most vivid recollections 
 are from the celebrations in my home 
 parish and from those held in Christiania 
 in which our athletic society participated. 
 Here I heard a seventeenth of May ora- 
 tion delivered by the man who in his days 
 ranked as the world's greatest orator — 
 Bjornstjerne Bjornson. 
 
 St. John's Festivals or Midsummer 
 Fires — Jime 24th. 
 
 In Norway, probably more than in any 
 other European country, many primitive 
 customs and relics of bygone supersti- 
 tions have been preserved. I regret to 
 say, however, that they are rapidly dying 
 out. One of these customs worth keeping 
 up is the celebration of the Midsummer, 
 or St. John's Day fires. In Germany 
 this day is known as " Johannisfeuer " 
 and in France " Feu de S. Jean "; but in 
 Sweden, Denmark and Norway we call 
 it "Sankt Hans." St. John the Bap- 
 
166 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 tist is the patron of St. John's Day. 
 As we find this festival both in Persia and 
 among the Celtic and Teutonic people, it 
 no doubt springs from religious rites 
 prior to Christianity. At that time it was 
 most likely a festival to the sun, held on 
 the sun's highest day. Many of the peo- 
 ple in those days were sun-worshippers 
 and the fire used in the festival to-day is a 
 sort of image or symbol of the sim. 
 
 As a child I used to long for the Mid- 
 summer Fires. In many rural places the 
 ceremonies begin with a mock wedding. 
 A girl, about twelve years of age, is 
 dressed as a bride with the Norwegian 
 bridal crown and followed by a procession 
 of other girls. The whole procession is 
 led by a fiddler, who plays a march as he 
 would in the case of a real Norse wed- 
 ding. The little bride corresponds to the 
 May Queen in an American May-Day 
 festival. 
 
 One of the last summers befoi'e my 
 emigration from Norway, I lived on an 
 
FESTIVALS 167 
 
 island in the Chris tiania fjord. At this 
 place a group of us prepared a St. 
 John's festival. We built an immense 
 fire of logs and many old tar-barrels. 
 The light was reflected far over the water, 
 and could be seen both from the city and 
 from hundreds of summer resorts on the 
 surrounding islands. Beautiful was the 
 sight of the many and different kinds of 
 boats, which, from all directions, swiftly 
 skimmed over the water to join our cele- 
 bration. From the boats floated the 
 strains of different musical instruments 
 and the air being perfectly calm, the 
 music on the water sounded charmingly. 
 All the boats carried young men and 
 maidens, and many of the latter were 
 dressed in national costume. Below our 
 great bonfire was a large level meadow. 
 In the centre of this we built a smaller 
 fire, and the dancing around it was con- 
 tinued all night. 
 
 The nights in Norway, at this season of 
 the year, are so light that one may read 
 
168 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 until two o'clock in the morning without 
 the use of artificial light. 
 
 On the many islands surrounding us 
 were built hundreds of fires on the highest 
 promontories and from afar one could 
 observe shadow-like figures dancing as 
 fairies around the fires. The spectator at 
 such a festival enjoys the frolics, sports, 
 and pastimes, and the various beautiful 
 folk dances, as well as the spectacular 
 sport by the boys and young men of leap- 
 ing through the flame. This practice is 
 believed by some writers to be a far-off 
 reflex of the sacrifice of children by pass- 
 ing them through the fire. Of the same 
 origin is the ordeal by fire: "As Abraham's 
 readiness to sacrifice Isaac was accounted 
 to him for righteousness; so is the readi- 
 ness of an accused person to offer himself 
 as a sacrifice to the deity supposed to show 
 his innocence; and, as in the case of Isaac, 
 the divinity is expected to intervene in 
 order to prevent the completion of the 
 sacrifice." 
 
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CHAPTER XX 
 
 RENOWNED MUSICIANS, AND FOLK-MUSIC 
 
 IN NORWAY 
 
 You do not feel like singing when the 
 day is cold, and dark, and dreary; but 
 when the sun shines and everything is 
 light and cheery, it is natural to hum and 
 sing. Therefore, in sunny Italy and 
 other southern countries, the people are 
 humming and singing more than they do 
 in Norway. The Norsemen have a 
 shadow of sadness and melancholy cast 
 over them by the powerful effects of the 
 climate and by the stern and rugged na- 
 ture. Songs are, as you know, outward 
 expressions of people's inward emotions. 
 If you were in the church to attend a fu- 
 neral your emotions would not be the 
 same as if you were there at a wedding. 
 
 Consequently you would not feel like 
 
 169 
 
170 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 singing the same kind of songs at these 
 different occasions. 
 
 The songs of the South are light and 
 lively like the people; but the songs of the 
 Norwegians are heavy, expressing deej) 
 and sombre reflections in minor chords 
 that suggest sadness. For "the mighty 
 ocean that beats upon the shore, the dark 
 fjords with their overhanging forbidding 
 cliffs, the noisy waterfalls, the miles of 
 blue-green pine and fir, the endless wastes 
 of mountains and ice with the crackling 
 flames of the northern lights, the long 
 night of winter — all the Titanic forces 
 with which Nature has endowed the coun- 
 try," make the people reserved and self- 
 contained. Their emotions do not find 
 expression in song to the same extent as 
 do the lighter and more demonstrative 
 natures of the southern nations. 
 
 But the people nevertheless possess 
 greater musical feeling and lyric power 
 than perhaps the majority of the other 
 nations in Europe. Their national music 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 171 
 
 is admirable for its original force and 
 ever-varying moods, which reflect, as in a 
 kaleidoscope, their warm, deep feeling. 
 
 In the remote and isolated valleys and 
 rural districts of Norway, there has 
 grown a pure folk-music as characteristic 
 of the land as her mountains. The great 
 value of this folk-music comes from the 
 fact that it exhibits the real atmosphere of 
 the land of their origin. Unfortunately, 
 some of these musical gems were lost 
 before the attempt was made to make a 
 record of them. This work was first 
 started by the great organist and com- 
 poser, L. M. Lindeman (1812-1887). 
 
 Beginning in 1848, he collected many 
 hundreds of songs, ballads, dances, and 
 hymns, and thereby erected to his own 
 memory an undying monument. The 
 collecting of Norwegian national music 
 has of late years been continued by Mr. 
 C. Elling. 
 
 The characteristics of this folk-music is 
 stated by Mr. V. H. Siewers as follows: 
 
172 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 " There is in this music an infinity of 
 varying moods, rhythms and colors. 
 Every one of the harp strings is tuned. 
 They sing of heroic exploits in heathen 
 ages, of the kings and warriors of the Mid- 
 dle Ages, and of the beautiful ' huldre ' 
 (hill fairies), of the 'draug' (water 
 spirit), who presages the destruction of 
 the fishermen, of the brownie and the 
 water-sprite. There are also love-songs 
 so deep and ardent that they have few 
 equals, sarcastic comic songs, and chil- 
 dren's songs as pure and innocent as the 
 sleeping child itself." 
 
 " Stev" is an impressive kind of popu- 
 lar poetry characteristic of Norse music. 
 It is a little four-lined stanza of most va- 
 ried substance. It may be used to ex- 
 press coarse ridicule and grotesque humor, 
 or warm, intense feeling. The stave is 
 frequently used in the mountain districts 
 for social entertainment, in the form of 
 alternate singing — a duel in song. 
 
 In '' Gunnar " Mr. Boyesen gives an 
 excellent sample of the interesting stev. 
 
 As an introduction he writes a charm- 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 173 
 
 ing description of how young and old, 
 lads and lassies, thronged eagerly about 
 the couple in the dance-hall in order to 
 hear the stev. 
 
 Ragnhild, " as she stood there, in the 
 warm flush of the torch-light, with her 
 rich, blond hair waving down over her 
 shoulders, and with that veiled brightness 
 in her eyes, her beauty sprang upon you 
 like a sudden wonder, and her presence 
 was inspiration. And Gunnar saw her;' 
 she loved him; what cared he for all the 
 world beside? Proudly he raised his head 
 and sang: 
 
 Gunnar. There standeth a birch in the light- 
 some lea, 
 
 Ragnhild. In the lightsome lea ; 
 
 Gunnar. So fair she stands in the sunlight 
 free, 
 
 Eagnhild. In the sunlight free; 
 
 Both. So fair she stands in the sunlight free. 
 
 R. High up on the mountain there standeth a 
 
 pine, 
 G. There standeth a pine ; 
 R. So staunchly grown and so tall and fine, 
 
174 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 G. So tall and fine ; 
 
 Both. So staunchly grown and so tall and fine. 
 
 G. A maiden I know as fair as the day, 
 
 R. As fair as the day; 
 
 G. She shines like the birch in the sunlight's 
 
 play, 
 
 R. In the sunlight 's play ; 
 
 Both. She shines like the birch in the sun- 
 light's play. 
 
 R. I know a lad in the spring's glad light, 
 G. In the spring's glad light; 
 R. Far-seen as the pine on the mountain height, 
 G. On the mountain height ; 
 Both. Far-seen as the pine on the mountain 
 height. 
 
 G. So bright and blue are the starry skies, 
 R. The starry skies ; 
 
 G. But brighter and bluer that maiden's eyes, 
 R. That maiden's eyes; 
 
 Both. But brighter and bluer that maiden's 
 eyes. 
 
 R. And his have a depth like the fjord, I know, 
 
 G. The fjord, I know; 
 
 R. Wherein the heavens their beauty show, 
 
 G. Their beauty show; 
 
 Both. Wherein the heavens their beauty show. 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 175 
 
 G. The birds each morn seek the forest-glade, 
 
 R. The forest-glade ; 
 
 6. So flock my thoughts to that lily maid, 
 
 R. That lily maid; 
 
 Both. So flock my thoughts to that lily maid. 
 
 R. The moss it clingeth so fast to the stone, 
 
 G. So fast to the stone ; 
 
 R. So clingeth my soul to him alone, 
 
 G, To him alone; 
 
 Both. So clingeth my soul to him alone. 
 
 G. Each brook sings its song, but forever the 
 
 same, 
 R. Forever the same ; 
 
 G. Forever my heart beats that maiden's name, 
 R. That maiden's name; 
 Both. Forever my heart beats that maiden ^s 
 
 name. 
 
 R. The plover hath but an only tone, 
 
 G. An only tone; 
 
 R. My life hath its love, and its love alone, 
 
 G. Its love alone ; 
 
 Both. My life hath its love, and its love alone. 
 
 G. The rivers all to the fjord they go, 
 
 R. To the fjord they go ; 
 
 G. So may our lives then together flow, 
 
 R. Together flow; 
 
 Both. 0, may our lives then together flow! 
 
176 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 The National Instruments of Nor- 
 way are the Hardanger violin, the Lui% 
 and the Langeleik. These have played a 
 leading role in the development of the 
 national music, as they have been the 
 principal instruments in the musical life 
 of the people in the rural districts. 
 
 The langeleik is an old form of zither. 
 It has a long, flat body with sound-holes 
 and seven or more strings, which are struck 
 with a plectrum. But the tone is weak, 
 the modulations few, and the eif ect some- 
 what monotonous. 
 
 The Hardanger violin is higher and 
 more arched in its build than the ordinary 
 violin. The scroll is generally a dragon's 
 head, and the body is richly ornamented 
 with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and carvings. 
 
 Beneath the four upper strings (which 
 are variously tuned according to the mu- 
 sic they wish to produce) , — and under the 
 finger-board, there are four, sometimes 
 more, sympathetic strings of fine steel 
 wire. 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 111 
 
 By the aid of this instrument, the coun- 
 try people make their improvised musical 
 impressions of nature, interspersed with 
 descriptive sketches of midsummer with 
 the dawn of morning and the glow of 
 evening, huldre's song, thrush's trill, or 
 the ringing of marriage-bells. 
 
 National Dances are often danced 
 with vocal instead of instrumental music. 
 The dancers are attentive and responsive 
 to the words as they are sung. , 
 
 Usually, however, the dances are too 
 lively for vocal music, and the fiddle is 
 brought into play. 
 
 The most popular of the folk-dances in 
 the rural districts of Norway are the 
 springdans, polka, and the hailing. 
 
 These Norwegian national dances have 
 a natural and bold character, which gives 
 them considerable musical worth. The 
 springdans, so called to distinguish it 
 from the ganger (or walking dance) is in 
 three-four measure, and it has vigorous 
 
178 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 evolutions and gyrations. It is charac- 
 terized by a striking combination of 
 binary and ternary rhythms, and a pro- 
 gressive animation very exciting to the 
 hearers. 
 
 "The King of the Violin/^ Ole 
 Bull, is a personage with whom I have 
 been familiar since my childhood. Many 
 were the stories my father told me about 
 this talented boy, who was so interested in 
 music that when a mere child he would 
 steal out of bed and play his violin softly 
 in the night-time. 
 
 But his father discovered him, and in 
 his anger he broke the boy's violin. He 
 soon secured another instrument, and in 
 this he was far more interested than in his 
 school work. 
 
 The old rector of the Latin School un- 
 derstood the boy's love for music, and one 
 day he said to Ole, " Take your fiddle in 
 earnest, boy, and don't waste your time 
 here." He followed this advice and be- 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 179 
 
 came a violinist, concerning whom no less 
 an authority than Joachim said, '' No 
 other artist in our time has possessed his 
 poetic fire." 
 
 The Violin King, Ole Bull, was born in 
 Bergen, Norway, 1810. His life and 
 labors are so world-renowned that I shall 
 take space for only some of the most in- 
 teresting incidents in his remarkable ca- 
 reer. 
 
 Ole Bull is described as a tall, well-built 
 and unusually strong man, with a sharp, 
 keen look, black brows over bright, glad 
 eyes full of life and a firm mouth and 
 dimpled chin; a man who could do much 
 and suffer much. 
 
 Ole Bull is the idol of so great a master 
 as Grieg. Mr. Finck tells us, in his most 
 interesting life of Grieg, how as a boy 
 "something like an electric current 
 seemed to pass through the lad when the 
 world-famed violinist shook his hand, 
 though the boy thought it peculiar that 
 Ole Bull (whom he regarded as a god) 
 
180 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY. 
 
 could smile and joke just like ordinary 
 mortals." 
 
 On two or three occasions Ole Bull 
 nearly lost his life through the great love 
 for his violin. The first time v^as in Paris, 
 where he tried to drown himself in the 
 Seine when he found that his excellent 
 violin had been stolen; but he was rescued, 
 and a wealthy lady gave him another 
 Guarneri. 
 
 Through a peculiar fit of pique on the 
 part of Madame Malibran, Ole Bull had 
 the opportunity to score his first great 
 success. 
 
 Sara Bull, his sister, tells us that Ma- 
 dame Malibran had been engaged for a 
 series of nights by the directors of the 
 leading theatre in Bologna. But she had 
 made a condition which compelled them 
 to give the use of the theatre without 
 charge to the great violinist De Beriot, 
 with whom she was to appear in two con- 
 certs. 
 
 The Marquis Lampieri, who was rec- 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 181 
 
 ognized as one of the greatest authori- 
 ties in the musical world, persuaded these 
 artists to appear at the same time. All 
 was arranged and announced when, by 
 chance, Malibran heard that De Beriot 
 was to receive a smaller sum than had 
 been stipulated for herself. Piqued at 
 this, she feigned illness, and De Beriot 
 declared that he was suffering from a 
 sprained thumb. 
 
 Ole Bull had been a fortnight in Bo- 
 logna, living in an upper room, in a poor 
 hotel. Secluded from society, he spent 
 the days in writing out his concerto ; when 
 evening came, the wonderful tones of his 
 violin sounded from the open windows to 
 the delight of the passers-by. 
 
 One evening the celebrated Colbran 
 Rossini's first wife was passing Casa Sol- 
 dali and heard those strains. '' It must 
 be a violin," she said, " but a divine one, 
 which will be a substitute for De Beriot 
 and Malibran." And she went and told 
 Lampieri on the night of the concert. 
 
182 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Ole Bull, full of weariness, had retired 
 to bed early, when he was roused by a rap 
 at the door. It was Lampieri ! He asked 
 Ole Bull to improvise for him, and after 
 listening for a while, cried, " Malibran 
 may now have her headaches! '' 
 
 He hurried Ole Bull to the theatre, 
 where, in one of the boxes, sat the Grand 
 Duke of Tuscany, and De Beriot with his 
 hand in a sling. Ole Bull was almost un- 
 nerved, but he chose his own composition, 
 and the desperation which compelled him 
 to shut his eyes, made him play with an 
 abandon and charm which at once capti- 
 vated his audience. 
 
 The final piece was to be a violin solo. 
 The director was doubtful, but Ole Bull 
 was by this time quite composed, and 
 played so divinely that his hearers 
 wept. 
 
 Perhaps the most memorable of his con- 
 cert tours was that which he undertook in 
 1853 with the girl soprano, Adelina Patti. 
 Reports of the wonderful art of this child 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 183 
 
 had gone forth, and as one of the Ameri- 
 can critics remarked, '' Nothing short of 
 the testimony we have seen could make us 
 believe such a thing possible. Yet the 
 whole artistic life of Ole Bull is a guaran- 
 tee that nothing but sterling merit can 
 take part in his concerts." 
 
 This series of concerts were given by 
 Ole Bull for the purpose of raising funds 
 for a patriotic project, namely, the estab- 
 lishment of a large Norwegian colony in 
 Pennsylvania. Mr. Bull said that this 
 should be "A new Norway, consecrated to 
 liberty, baptized with independence, and 
 protected by the Union's mighty flag." 
 But after the forests had been cleared, 
 and eight hundred settlers made their 
 homes there, he found that he had been 
 swindled. The title to the land he had 
 paid for was fraudulent, and all that re- 
 mained of his earnings was devoured by 
 the resulting lawsuits. And when he re- 
 turned to Norway, his countrymen un- 
 justly accused him of having speculated 
 
184 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 ruthlessly at the expense of those who had 
 confided in him. 
 
 But with his violili Ole Bull made an- 
 other fortune, and founded at his own ex- 
 pense a new national theatre in Bergen. 
 He also tried to found a Norse Music 
 Academy in Christiania. " This acad- 
 emy," writes Jonas Lie, " was not 
 founded; but the seed — the thought — ^was 
 at that time planted. Since then it has 
 grown and matured, and to-day we have 
 a body of artists and composers, and quite 
 another musical culture ready to receive 
 it." 
 
 Ole Bull's patriotic aspirations and 
 services were duly acknowledged by all 
 his countrymen at the time of his death in 
 1880. The King sent a telegram of con- 
 dolence to the widow, expressing his per- 
 sonal, as well as the national, loss, and 
 Bjornstjerne Bjornson said in an address 
 delivered before thousands of mourners, 
 '' Patriotism was the creative power in his 
 life. When he established the Norse the- 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 185 
 
 atre, assisted Norse art, and helped the 
 National Museum, his mighty instrument 
 singing for other patriotic ends; when he 
 helped his countrymen and others wher- 
 ever he found them, it was not so much 
 for the object, or the perjson, but for the 
 honor of Norway." 
 
 Grieg played the organ at the funeral 
 services, and his remarks, which followed 
 Bjornson's, are very beautiful: "Because 
 more than any other thou wast the glory 
 of our land ; because more than any other 
 thou hast carried our people with thee up 
 toward the bright heights of Art; be- 
 cause thou wast more than any other a 
 pioneer of our young national music; 
 more, much more, than any other, the 
 faithful, warm-hearted conqueror of all 
 hearts, because thou hast planted a seed 
 which shall spring up in the future, and 
 for which coming generations shall bless 
 thee, with the gratitude of thousands 
 upon thousands. For all this, in the 
 name of our Norse memorial art, I lay 
 
186 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 this laurel wreatK on thy coffin. Peace 
 be with thy ashes/' 
 
 On a glass-covered table, in Bergen 
 Museum, lies a beautiful gold laurel 
 wreath with berries of the purest pearls. 
 Alongside rests the violin the great mas- 
 ter so loved. The strings are broken. 
 The hand, that with such magic touch 
 won from the instrument all that it could 
 give, is now turned into dust; but the 
 music lives and will live for aye. 
 
 Another World-famous Norwegian 
 Musician is Edward Grieg. 
 
 In 1843 he was born in Bergen, the 
 birthplace of his musical idol and friend, 
 Ole Bull. 
 
 Grieg's great talent was inherited from 
 his mother, Gesine Judith Hagerup. 
 Her skill was so great that she was able 
 to appear as soloist at concerts in Bergen. 
 His mother began to teach him music 
 when he was only six years old, and she 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS ^ 187 
 
 succeeded beyond her fondest hopes. 
 Grieg says: 
 
 " It was not easy sailing at first. I 
 had to practise just what was unpleasant. 
 . . . There was no trifling with her if 
 I spent the time in dreaming at the piano 
 instead of busying myself with the lesson 
 set. . . . Had I not inherited my 
 mother's irrepressible energy, as well as 
 her musical capacity, I should never in 
 any respect have succeeded in passing 
 from dreams to deeds." 
 
 It was Ole Bull who discovered the 
 great musical talent in the young lad. 
 Concerning this, Grieg tells as follows: 
 
 " When he heard I had composed mu- 
 sic I had to go to the piano; all my en- 
 treaties were in vain. I cannot now un- 
 derstand what Ole Bull could find at that 
 time in my juvenile pieces. But he was 
 quite serious, and talked quietly to my 
 parents. The matter of their discussion 
 was by no means disagreeable to me. For 
 suddenly Ole Bull came to me, shook me 
 in his own way, and said, * You are to go 
 to Leipzig, and become a musician!" 
 
188 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Everybody looked at me affectionately, 
 and I understood just one thing — that a 
 good fairy was stroking my cheeks, and 
 that I was happy/' 
 
 At the Conservatory in Leipzig, Grieg 
 had such famous teachers as Plaidy, 
 Wenzel, and Moscheles. Grieg suddenly 
 realized that several of his fellow students 
 progressed more quickly than he did. 
 He did not work as hard as thev did; 
 but from now on he resolved to submit to 
 the drudgery as they did, and he went 
 from one extreme to the other. 
 
 He worked day and night, with the re- 
 sult that he collapsed in the spring of 
 1860 with lung trouble, which weakened 
 his health for life. By mere will-power 
 he passed a creditable examination that 
 same vear. 
 
 AVlien Grieg was twenty-one he was 
 encouraged bv the famous Niels W. Gade 
 to write a svmphonv. In the same vear 
 he enjoyed the privilege of making excur- 
 sions with Ole Bull where Bull, as a child. 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 189 
 
 had fancied that he heard nature sing and 
 the bluebells ring. Ole Bull's motto 
 was, " My calling is Norse music." This 
 same love of Norse music he now incul- 
 cated in his talented j^oung companion, as 
 they played together and visited the 
 homes of the peasants and heard their 
 music. 
 
 In the chain of Norwegian national 
 music there are three links. The first one 
 is Half dan Kjerulf, the second, Rikard 
 Nordraak, — and these two had a decided 
 influence upon the third link, Edward 
 Grieg. 
 
 At the age of twenty-five Grieg com- 
 posed his Sonata (Opus 8) . After read- 
 ing it Franz Liszt wrote to him from 
 Rome, and invited him cordially to spend 
 some time at Weimar. The Government 
 granted Grieg a sum of money which en- 
 abled him to visit Rome and meet Liszt. 
 After Liszt had given him a grand exhi- 
 bition of his own tremendous musical 
 power, he turned to Grieg and said jaunt- 
 
190 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 ily, '' Now let us go on with the sonata/' 
 Grieg continues: 
 
 " You must bear in mind, in the first 
 place, that he had never played it nor 
 heard it played; and in the second place, 
 that it was a sonata with a violin part, 
 now above, now below, independent of 
 the pianoforte part. And what does 
 Liszt do? He plays the whole thing root 
 and branch, violin and piano, — nay, more, 
 for he played fuller, more broadly. The 
 violin got its due right in the middle of 
 the piano part. He was literally over the 
 whole piano at once, without missing a 
 note, and how he did play ! '' 
 
 Grieg left the house strangely hot in 
 his head, but with the consciousness of 
 having spent two of the most interesting 
 hours in his life. 
 
 Grieg has brought it about that Norse 
 music, depicting Norwegian moods and 
 life, has entered into every music-room of 
 the whole world. Probably he is best 
 known to the outside world by his grand 
 and inspired music to Ibsen's Peer Gynt. 
 
RENOWNED MUSICIANS 191 
 
 Was it not Robert Schumann who 
 said, " Grieg is recognized far beyond his 
 native country as one of the few masters 
 who have enriched music with new means 
 of melody and harmonic expression, and 
 created a national art distinguished by 
 poetic feeling and the charm of many 
 moods ''? 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 WINTER SPORTS 
 
 Skiing and Skating on the '' Playground 
 
 of the North '' 
 
 People not familiar with the climate of 
 Norway generally believe that it is ex- 
 tremely severe — as that of Siberia for in- 
 stance. This is not so, however, for along 
 her coast flows a branch of the Gulf 
 Stream, giving Norway a climate which 
 makes the winter sports very pleasant. 
 
 Skiing 
 
 is the national sport of Norway and is 
 
 enjoyed by old and young of both sexes. 
 
 Skis (skees) are a peculiar kind of 
 
 snowshoes — from six to nine feet long 
 
 and about four inches wide. They are 
 
 made of tough wood, such as ash or hick- 
 
 192 
 
WINTER SPORTS 193 
 
 ory, and are polished smooth on the un- 
 derside to make them glide easily over the 
 snow. The front end is pointed and 
 curved upward, and from end to end the 
 ski is slightly arched and will give a 
 spring when you put your weight on it. 
 In the centre are " bindings " by which 
 you secure them to your feet. 
 
 The Norwegian boy (and girl, too,) 
 learns to use skis almost as soon as he is 
 able to walk. As the snow comes long be- 
 fore Christmas and stays till March or 
 April, ample opportunity is offered to en- 
 joy this health-giving and most fascinat- 
 ing of all sports. 
 
 In Lom, Norway, the parish where I 
 was born, skiing made an easy mode of 
 travel, hence we learned it as children. 
 
 It was great fun sliding down hills, 
 small ones at first, then longer and steeper 
 ones until we had mastered them all. 
 And then came the thrill of ski-jumping! 
 Selecting a long and moderately steep 
 hill we would build of snow in the middle 
 
194 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 of the hill a " take-off " or platform and 
 begin practising. Starting near the top 
 and fast losing confidence as we ap- 
 proached the take-off the leap was made 
 in a half-hearted manner, and thud! you 
 would land on your back with your skis 
 pointed skyward, and enveloped in a 
 cloud of snow while your playmates 
 would scream with glee. But after a few 
 tumbles one would gain confidence and 
 control, and the leaps became bolder and 
 surer. Many of my playmates while still 
 in " knickers " could do sixty to eighty 
 feet and retain their balance till the foot 
 of the hill was reached. 
 
 Unlike many other sports, the skier is 
 not confined to any limited field of action. 
 He is free to go wherever snow covers the 
 ground — over fields and frozen lakes, 
 through forests or up the mountainside 
 till the highest peaks are reached. With 
 his knapsack well filled with provisions 
 he may make long excursions into strange 
 valleys or unexplored mountain regions. 
 
WINTER SPORTS 195 
 
 and the sights that meet his gaze are 
 never to be forgotten. 
 
 Christiania, the capital of Norway, has 
 an ideal situation for winter sports. 
 There one may count on snow and ice for 
 about five months; and long after the 
 snow has disappeared from the city 
 streets it lies deep all over the surround- 
 ing country. 
 
 The city playgrounds are flooded for 
 skating, and here with no danger of 
 breaking through the ice, old and young 
 may safely enjoy themselves even after 
 dark. At Frogner and Bislet are 
 great skating-rinks where international 
 matches are held, and in the hills sur- 
 rounding the city may be found excellent 
 slopes for ski-jumping, and roads for to- 
 bogganing. 
 
 We will go some sunny winter Sunday 
 with the laughing noisy crowds that are 
 making their way up toward the heights ! 
 Mirth and laughter are heard every- 
 where. The sharp cold air brings the 
 
196 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 color to pale cheeks. There we notice 
 an old, experienced skier, perhaps over 
 sixty years of age, and by his side his six- 
 year-old grandson, shuffling along as well 
 as he can. Life and brightness are added 
 to the scene by the many handsome 
 women and girls; for here they are seen 
 at their best, radiant in their most becom- 
 ing costumes, and glowing with health 
 and energy. Hand in hand, in close suc- 
 cession, couple after couple sweep down 
 the slopes. If one falls, it may result in 
 a general overthrow; but there are no 
 scowling looks on that account. They 
 help one another up and dash off again. 
 Good-fellowship, patience, and hardiness 
 are developed under such conditions. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, when darkness 
 begins to fall, torches light up the woods, 
 their flickering flame throwing ruddy re- 
 flections over the white ground and the 
 brown tree-trunks, and sending out 
 sparks into the darkness. Or at other 
 times the pale light pf the moon casts long 
 
WINTER SPORTS 197 
 
 fantastic shadows among the branches, 
 and illumines the path of the skiers. It 
 is the poetry of the northern winter even- 
 ing in its most beautiful and delicate 
 form. The day is ended round the blaz- 
 ing fire in some sanatorium or ski-hut, 
 and merry laughter makes the rafters 
 ring. 
 
 Holmenkol Day 
 
 The Holmenkol-races at the end of 
 February form the climax of the skiing 
 season. This is Norway's greatest and 
 most important ski meet where the youth 
 of the country compete for the highest 
 honors in this field of sport. It would re- 
 quire too much space to describe this meet 
 in its entirety, so we shall just give a brief 
 outline of the jumping competition. 
 
 This part of the meet always arouses 
 admiration and enthusiasm. No one, who 
 has not seen it, would believe what the 
 competitors achieve. To see the skier at 
 tremendous speed taking the leap from 
 
198 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 the high take-off, and after describing a 
 long arc in the air reach the earth once 
 more at a distance of about two hundred 
 feet lower down, makes one marvel that 
 he can escape without broken limbs. Can 
 you imagine a person falling from a 
 fourth-story window without being 
 killed? Here they drop from as great a 
 height, while the length of the jump from 
 the take-off to the place where they again 
 touch the ground is up to two hundred 
 and thirty-five feet (record). Still, most 
 of them manage to keep on their feet 
 when landing and continuing till the level 
 at the foot of the hill is reached. 
 
 It is impossible not to admire the cour- 
 age, strength, and coolness that this must 
 require; and the applause that greets 
 each successful bold leap resounds among 
 the hills. 
 
 But if a man falls amid a cloud of snow, 
 while the points of his skis describe cir- 
 cles in the air or snap off like match-wood, 
 he is greeted with shouts of laughter; and 
 
WINTER SPORTS 199 
 
 if a competitor is seen to draw back at the 
 leap, and collapse like a bundle of rags he 
 is jeered at without mercy. 
 
 The Holmenkol Hill is used for this 
 contest only and is closed off shortly after 
 the races. But before this is done the lit- 
 tle boys, anxious to try their skill, swarm 
 all over the hill, and his is the thrill of a 
 lifetime who can boast of having 
 "' cleared " " Holmenkolbakken." 
 
 Skating is another very popular sport 
 in Norway, and Norwegians have led the 
 world in skating for half a century. 
 
 As a young boy, I used to skate to and 
 from school, and when I went to high 
 school, twenty-one miles from my home, I 
 used to skate home at week-ends. This 
 round trip of forty-two miles gave me 
 splendid training, and laid the foundation 
 for my future success as a fast skater. 
 
 At the age of nineteen I won the na- 
 tional championship for the distance of 
 one mile. Then I stopped, feeling that 
 the game was not worth the powder. 
 
200 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 That was the golden age in Norway's 
 history of skating when Axel Paulsen 
 and later Harald Hogen held the world's 
 championship for skating on all distances, 
 and Mr. Werner had no peer in any coun- 
 try for fancy skating. 
 
 Then for a time skiing robbed skating 
 of many of its devotees. But in re- 
 cent years Oscar Mathiesen's victories 
 throughout Europe and his final victory 
 over the American, Bobby MacLean, 
 have restored skating to its former popu- 
 larity. 
 
 The great skating rinks at Frogner 
 and Bislet, near Christiania, are divided 
 into two circles. The outer circle is for 
 distance skaters practising for champion- 
 ship races, and in the inner circle are seen 
 a motley crowd of ladies and gentlemen, 
 boys and girls devoting themselves to or- 
 dinary and figure-skating with the addi- 
 tion of flirtation — such as takes place so 
 naturally and spontaneously when one is 
 gliding around on skates. 
 
WINTER SPORTS 201 
 
 This graceful exercise is becoming 
 more and more popular, and the effect, in 
 the evening, of the ever moving figures 
 beneath the arc lights, and the glow of 
 colored lanterns has a charm of its own 
 that appeals to all. 
 
 Of all the other Norse sports space will 
 not permit us to speak. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 
 
 My father telling me of the old Vi- 
 kings, said that they spoke a language 
 which is no longer used in Norway, but it 
 is used in a modern form in Iceland. 
 This language was called Old Norse or 
 Icelandic. " But," said he, " you under- 
 stand that a language could not move from 
 one country to another without the people 
 who spoke it migrated or moved. And 
 how the Old Norse was transplanted 
 from Norwegian to Icelandic soil forms 
 a most interesting history, which I shall 
 tell in a few words." 
 
 This takes us back to the time when 
 
 Harold the " Fair-Haired " conquered 
 
 about thirty-one earls and kinglets of the 
 
 country and federated them into the 
 
 Norse Kingdom. You will remember, 
 
 202 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 203 
 
 that at that date the Holy Roman Em- 
 pire, though recently organized, was al- 
 ready going to pieces ; Russia was merely 
 a principality; and Denmark and Eng- 
 land (under Alfred the Great), were the 
 only nations of Europe that have had an 
 unbroken history of more than a thousand 
 years. From this you will understand 
 that Norway is one of the oldest sovereign 
 states in Europe. 
 
 Harold was only a boy ten years of age, 
 when his father died and in 860 he became 
 king of one of the small kingdoms into 
 which Norway was divided. The neigh- 
 boring small kings thought it would be 
 rather easy to defeat this young boy and 
 steal his kingdom, but fortunately for 
 Harold he had good counselors and a 
 strong will-power end in twelve years he 
 gained the victory over all of them. 
 
 Harold would probably never have be- 
 come the supreme ruler of the whole 
 country, but for a young girl named 
 Gyda. When Harold wooed her she re- 
 
204 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 fused proudly saying that the only man 
 for her would be one who could conquer 
 all the other petty kings in Norway and 
 thus become the sole ruler of the whole 
 country. If she could not find a man who 
 was able to do that, she would never 
 marry. Thus she set Harold a new and 
 difficult task ; but he made an oath that he 
 would neither cut nor comb his hair or 
 beard until this great work was finished. 
 He defeated one after another of these 
 small kings, until finally he conquered the 
 last ones in the bloody battle of Hafes- 
 f jord, 872. At this place one can see to- 
 day a large shaft called the Harold monu- 
 ment. This tells the silent story of his 
 final victory. Now he was king over all 
 Norway and Gyda was ready to marry 
 him; but before the /v^edding the barber 
 must have had quite a job to cut the hair 
 and beard that had not even been combed 
 for twelve years. When it was cut, they 
 called him Harold the Fair- Haired, and 
 up to date he is known by that name. 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 205 
 
 Now came the great wedding feast; it 
 lasted over one week and all who came 
 had plenty to eat and drink. Then they 
 would sing and play and narrate interest- 
 ing experiences and strange stories from 
 their battles at home and abroad, and 
 when the drinking had made them gay 
 and giddy they would enter into all kinds 
 of games and sports becoming to the 
 brave and valiant Vikings. 
 
 But the rule of Harold was not wel- 
 comed by the people, who had been ac- 
 customed to govern themselves. Harold 
 forced the earls to acknowledge his over- 
 lordship and although he permitted them 
 to administer justice in their oa^h prov- 
 inces, collect taxes, and maintain petty 
 armies subject to his command, yet many 
 of them were dissatisfied and left the 
 country. The same is true of the peas- 
 ants who lost their former land tenure, as 
 the land was declared the property of the 
 king, and the personal tax which the king 
 introduced was nicknamed " nose tax." 
 
206 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 From this time Norse Colonization 
 begins, as well as the Viking ravages. 
 Many of the wealthiest and best edu- 
 cated people, including the earls and 
 petty kings, left Norway. Some went 
 out as sea-robbers. This was strictly for- 
 bidden by Harold in his own kingdom, 
 but against foreign countries such rav- 
 ages were considered both legitimate and 
 becoming for warriors and gentlemen. 
 
 These Norsemen went to the Faroe 
 Islands, the Hebrides, the Orkney, Ice- 
 land, and Shetland Isles, England, Scot- 
 land, Ireland, France, Italy, and 
 America. Those who left Norway in or- 
 der to build new colonies took along 
 everything they had, even their log houses 
 and furniture. In Iceland they formed 
 a very strong colony and between this and 
 the mother country was carried on a lively 
 intercourse. 
 
 But, you say, what connection is there 
 between Norse literature and Harold the 
 Fair-Haired and all the people who be- 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 207 
 
 came dissatisfied and left Norway? 
 They are connected as cause and effect. 
 The proud men who left Norway have 
 written the great Saga literature during 
 the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In 
 their new homes in Iceland they had the 
 four things which are essential for a 
 literary activity; namely, time, money, 
 ability, and the right motive power. 
 Writing is often non-productive finan- 
 cially, therefore, it requires time and capi- 
 tal, as well as the ability to write. But 
 most of all, they had the right motive 
 power. In their bleak, bare, and cold Ice- 
 land home they were seized with a longing 
 and a love for their native country as 
 never before. Their new homes were 
 poor and inhospitable compared with 
 their former Norse homes, and the social 
 activities on Iceland were limited and 
 primitive compared to their regal feasts 
 among their many friends and kinsfolk in 
 Norway. 
 
 This longing and love for their native 
 
208 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 land and former social environment cre- 
 ated in them a glowing patriotism. As 
 the blessings of health are more appre- 
 ciated by a person when he is laid on the 
 sick bed, so the blessings of their Norway- 
 homes were now fully appreciated by 
 these lonely people on the little ice-cov- 
 ered Iceland. 
 
 Such was the mental attitude of these 
 Saga writers when they commenced to 
 collect the records of their race. They 
 wrote about the great heroes among their 
 fathers and the history of the gods they 
 worshipped. They gave a full account of 
 their laws and customs, as well as the de- 
 tails of their daily lives, their travels, bat- 
 tles and early colonizations. They wrote 
 in the Old Norse language and their pro- 
 ductions were excellent both from a his- 
 torical and literary viewpoint. 
 
 Any nation might be proud to own 
 such men as Are (called Frode or the 
 Wise) who died in 1148; or Karl Jons- 
 son, Sturla Fordsson, and above all 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 209 
 
 Snorre Sturlasson. Snorre's great his- 
 tory of his race, which is called '' Heims- 
 kringla" (The World's Circle) tells of 
 the Northman from the earliest and leg- 
 endary days down to the year 1177. It 
 is one of the most picturesque and on the 
 whole most truthful records of a nation's 
 history to be met with in Europe. Sev- 
 eral other works were written in the 
 Norse language and in Norway during 
 this period. In many respects the most 
 remarkable one of these is *' Konge Spei- 
 let" (The King's Mirror), a book of 
 maxims regarding social life and manners 
 which cast a flood of light on the period to 
 which it belongs. 
 
 In the same way we find the religious 
 life of the people of that time reflected in 
 preserved books of homilies, and these are 
 written in Old Norse, in spite of the fact 
 that Latin was the theological language 
 in all countries at that time. In the 
 Sagas we find the essential facts concern- 
 ing the discovery of America by Lief the 
 
210 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Lucky — five hundred years before Co- 
 lumbus rediscovered it. 
 
 There are to be found excellent Eng- 
 lish translations of the Sagas and in uni- 
 versity circles they are widely read and 
 studied. It is difficult to produce a grow- 
 ing literature in a language which is 
 spoken by so few people that the demand 
 for books is not large enough to pay the 
 cost of production. Another factor 
 which in the middle of the fourteenth cen- 
 tury paralyzed the national literature and 
 almost the whole nation's life was the 
 desolating scourge of the Black Death. 
 In some parishes the whole population 
 died. 
 
 But how did the Old Norse language 
 die? By having substituted for it a new 
 language, namely the Danish. 
 
 When a whole country gives up its lan- 
 guage it is usually conquered by a stronger 
 nation and obliged to adopt its language. 
 This was the case, for instance, when 
 Greece conquered Egypt. Not so with 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 211 
 
 Norway. It has never been conquered by 
 any nation. It was united with Denmark 
 about the middle of the fifteenth century 
 through the Norwegian king Olaf, who 
 was also elected king of Denmark. This 
 union, which continued for nearly four 
 hundred years, was a dark period for 
 Norway both intellectually and com- 
 mercially. The reasons for Norway giv- 
 ing up her own language may be sum- 
 marized as follows : 
 
 First, Norway did not have her own 
 university, therefore all who wanted a 
 professional training were obliged to at- 
 tend the university of Copenhagen. 
 When these students returned to their na- 
 tive country they used the Danish lan- 
 guage, at least in their written produc- 
 tions. 
 
 Secondly, The Protestant Reformation 
 completed the process, as with it came the 
 translation and distribution of the Bible 
 in the Danish language. Thus Danish be- 
 came the theological language and was 
 
212 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 used even in the popular religious instruc- 
 tions in Norway. 
 
 Thirdly, The Norse king and most of 
 the civil officers were Danish, hence this 
 became the language of the state. 
 
 It was only in law that the native lan- 
 guage of Norway held out against the in- 
 trusion of the Danish, and of course the 
 spoken language in the rural districts was 
 the Old Norse. 
 
 During the latter part of the seven- 
 teenth, and including the eighteenth 
 century, Norway produced at least three 
 names that are famous in literature. 
 The first one of these three, Petter 
 Dass, the parish priest of Alstahaug, 
 in Nordland, was my favorite author 
 when I was about eight or nine years 
 of age. I never grew tired of reading his 
 poems in " Nordland's Trompet," several 
 of which I can quote yet. In these bright 
 and humorous poems he glorified the nat- 
 ural beauty and life of the cold and dark 
 Northland. But he did not confine 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 213 
 
 himself to the beauties of nature. He 
 wrote extensively on religious subjects 
 for the instruction of his parishioners in- 
 cluding poetical versions of Luther's 
 Catechism, and of various books of the 
 Old Testament and the Apocrypha. 
 This was a splendid method for giving re- 
 ligious instructions, as his poetry had a 
 very easy rhythm, and it was much easier 
 to remember than the prose. His writ- 
 ings had a widespread popularity, and the 
 ignorant people circulated any number 
 of stories about this wonderful man who 
 according to their belief knew every- 
 thing, even the black art. He died in 
 1708. 
 
 The second one of these three great 
 poets, Ludwig Holberg, a native of Ber- 
 gen, Norway, lived in the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. As a famous dramatist, having 
 written more than a score of plays, he is 
 immortal. He is the " Moliere of the 
 North '^ of whom it has been well said, 
 that " Ludwig Holberg incorporated 
 
214 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Denmark and Norway with contempo- 
 rary Europe, and left to the twin nations 
 as an imperishable inheritance a modern 
 literature, a modern stage, and a modern 
 prose." 
 
 My father told me, when I was young, 
 how small, boyish, and insignificant Hol- 
 berg looked, even after he had graduated 
 from the university. On one of his many 
 journeys in England when he entered 
 into the discussion at a certain meeting, 
 one of the company asked of him con- 
 temptuously, " When did you run away 
 from school, my little boy? " But Hol- 
 berg bombarded him in Latin until the 
 man was unable to answer. Latin was 
 considered the language of the educated 
 class in those days, and when Holberg ar- 
 rived in Denmark he says that they al- 
 ways wrote Latin, spoke French to their 
 wives, German to their dogs, but Danish 
 to their servants only. This and many 
 other foolish customs he managed to 
 eradicate. 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 215 
 
 Although a Norwegian by birth he 
 lived and wrote in Denmark, and out of 
 the uncultivated Danish tongue he cre- 
 ated a rich and ingenious literary lan- 
 guage. 
 
 The third literary light in this period 
 was the patriotic Bishop of Bergen, 
 Johan Nordahl Brun, born 1745, and 
 died in 1816. He wrote, among other 
 things, one of Norway's most stirring pa- 
 triotic songs, " For Norway Heroes' Fa- 
 therland." This and Bjornson's modern 
 song, " Yes, We Love This Land," are 
 the two great National Anthems of Nor- 
 way. 
 
 We now come to the great literary 
 awakening in Norway. This came as a 
 result of Norway's separation from the 
 four hundred years of union with Den- 
 mark, May 17th, 1814. At this time two 
 brilliant poets became leaders of two op- 
 posing parties, Henrik Wergeland, the 
 son of a clergyman and patriot, who was 
 one of the framers of Norway's constitu- 
 
216 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 tion in 1814. Henrik, the great poet, 
 used to say that he was six years older 
 than the constitution. Henrik Werge- 
 land, a great democratic patriot, became 
 the hero of the common people, and in 
 prose and poetry he expressed the long- 
 ings of a recovered national life. 
 
 Christian Brinchmann has written of 
 Wergeland that he " rushed into Life, 
 intoxicated with ecstasy over its fulness, a 
 youth more light of heart than the light- 
 est-hearted, and yet of a deep and manly 
 intellect, to whom existence revealed its 
 seriousness and its claim to the devotion 
 of the whole personality. Wergeland 
 glorified the struggle for liberty in poetic 
 cycles, lashed his adversaries with wild 
 forces, blamed the authorities with tem- 
 pestuous eloquence for their weak na- 
 tional feeling, and ardently incited iiis 
 countrymen to free themselves entirely 
 from the traditions that still maintained, 
 through their civil servants, the old de- 
 pendence on Danish culture." Werge- 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 217 
 
 land was a prolific writer. His largest 
 work was a drama entitled '' The Crea- 
 tion, Mankind and the Messiah." 
 
 Welhaven, the leader of the other 
 party, possessed a finer sesthetic sense 
 than Wergeland and he disliked the tone 
 of this "Seventeenth of May poetry'' and 
 the national enthusiasm. That Werge- 
 land should be connected with such crude 
 literary products offended Welhaven's 
 critical faculty. 
 
 In 1834 he published a series of sonnets 
 called " Norway's Dawn." In these he 
 set himself directly in opposition to the 
 popular sentiment, as manifested in the 
 nationalistic " Seventeenth of May po- 
 etry." 
 
 A warfare with the pen was now openly 
 declared between Wergeland and Wel- 
 haven, and it even led to personal conflicts 
 between their supporters. Outside of 
 this pen war, Wergeland, in his two spir- 
 ited pleadings, "The Jew" and "The 
 Jewess," did much to procure liberty for 
 
218 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 the Jews who were prohibited by law 
 from settling in Norway. In Christiania, 
 on the tomb of this famous poet is to be 
 seen a beautiful monument with the fol- 
 lowing inscription: " Thankful Jews 
 erected this monument for Henrik 
 Wergeland/' 
 
 Amid the mourning of an entire nation 
 he passed quietly away at the early age of 
 thirty-eight (July 12, 1845). Werge- 
 land was the big-hearted, beloved poet of 
 Norway. 
 
 One of the many stories which my fa- 
 ther told me of Wergeland I must relate. 
 Wergeland was so sympathetic and good- 
 hearted that he used to giA^e away his 
 clothes, and his mother was obliged to put 
 under lock even the bedclothing not in 
 use, otherwise Henrik would give it 
 away. One day, Henrik's father, a min- 
 ister of the gospel, had refused to confirm 
 a boy who was so old that he was really a 
 young man. Thus to fail in the confir- 
 mation class one year after another was 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 219 
 
 considered the greatest disgrace. Conse- 
 quently the big boy came along the road 
 crying. Henrik, a boy about ten years 
 of age, went and asked the cause of his 
 trouble. Having learned this, he said to 
 the poor student, '' Do not cry; come back 
 here to-morrow noon, and I will get Fa- 
 ther to pass you." At the appointed 
 hour they met and Henrik gave him a 
 basket in which was a goose. Geese were 
 scarce in that part of the country and 
 Henrik knew that his father was very 
 fond of the only bird of this kind in their 
 possession. As he gave the basket to the 
 young man Henrik said, '' Bring this to 
 Father and tell him that you will present 
 him with this goose providing he will let 
 you pass. State also that from now on 
 until confirmation day you will read dili- 
 gently early and late." 
 
 At first the pastor was not willing, but 
 having received the promise that the boy 
 would study hard, the clergyman accepted 
 the gift. With great joy he went to the 
 
220 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY. 
 
 parsonage and showed it to his wife, stat- 
 ing that now his former goose would have 
 a companion. Finally he handed the bas- 
 ket to Henrik and asked him to take this 
 goose out to the other one. When the 
 boy returned, his father said, " Did they 
 fight?" "No," said Henrik, "she did 
 not." This peculiar answer caused the 
 Reverend to go out and see what had hap- 
 pened, and finding only one goose, he un- 
 derstood at once the whole connection. 
 He went in and asked Henrik, " Why did 
 you do that? " " I thought it would be 
 amusing to see if a goose could confirm a 
 boy," answered Henrik. 
 
 This Henrik Arnold Wergeland, as 
 Bjornson has remarked, became " the 
 bright tutelary spirit of the new Nor- 
 wegian poetry. He dreamed all the 
 dreams of our young liberty." 
 
 Welhaven lived nearly thirty years 
 longer than Wergeland, but he did not 
 
 add very much to what he had already 
 written. 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 221 
 
 Of Welhaven, Mr. Edmund Gosse 
 writes: " His mission seems to have been 
 like Lessing in Germany and Heiberg in 
 Denmark, to revolutionize the world of 
 taste, and to institute a new great school 
 of letters, less by the production of fine 
 works of art from himself than by the 
 introduction of sound canons of criticism 
 for the use of others." 
 
 Our school readers contained many in- 
 teresting pieces by two other authors 
 from this period, namely, Asbjornsen and 
 Jorgen Moe. They brought to light the 
 wealth of material in form of folk-lore and 
 fairy-tales. These had been preserved only 
 by word of mouth among the peasants, 
 but these authors transformed them into 
 classics. Samples of these will be found in 
 this book under the chapter of '' Popular 
 Superstitions and Fairy Tales." Moe, 
 who became Bishop of Christiania, wrote 
 also some of the most beautiful and touch- 
 ing lyrics in our language. But if you 
 want to read something fascinating and 
 
222 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 realistic concerning peasant life in Nor- 
 way, then you can procure fine English 
 translations of Bjornstjerne Bjornson's 
 books, " Synnove Solbakken," ''Arne," 
 ^'The Happy Boy," and the "Fisher 
 Maiden," and many otliers. As a boy I 
 used to lie awake nights and read these 
 enchanting romances, which picture the 
 life of the people in a wholesome sunny 
 optimism. Bjornson, the son of a parish 
 priest, was born in 1832 at Kvikne, but 
 soon his parents moved to the beautiful 
 Romsdalen. Here the romantic and pic- 
 turesque natural surroundings made a 
 deep impression on the receptive boy, and 
 this is again reflected in the freshness and 
 charm with which he so faithfully repro- 
 duces the life of the Norse peasant. Be- 
 sides many dramas, which have been 
 translated and played in most European 
 countries, Bjornson has written a great 
 number of excellent lyric poems. Among 
 these is Norway's National Anthem, 
 " Yes, we fondly love this country." 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 223 
 
 The influence of Bjornson upon the life 
 and thought of his countrymen has been 
 great. He participated in all the social 
 and political conflicts in the country and 
 he was an excellent orator. Never shall 
 I forget this powerful, majestic person, 
 as he ascended the speaker's platform and 
 with a magnetic, powerful voice, forceful 
 language and elegant rhetoric delivered a 
 Seventeenth of May address in Christi- 
 ania. I also had the pleasure of visiting 
 his country place, Aulestad, in Gausdal. 
 Of Bjornson's beautiful home life, Mr. 
 William E. Curtis writes: 
 
 "At his country place he receives many 
 visitors and gives friends and strangers a 
 uniform welcome. They take him as he 
 is, without formality or ceremony, and 
 whether his guest is a prince or a peasant 
 there is no difference in the form of enter- 
 tainment or the heartiness of his hospi- 
 tality. Bjornson's great heart is so com- 
 prehensive that it admits every one to its 
 embrace. Although he had a large in- 
 come from his books and lectures, he had 
 
224 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 never been able to accumulate money, 
 while Ibsen, whose revenues have not 
 been so great, was a rich man. Whatever 
 Bjornson has not wasted on his farm he 
 has given to the poor or lost through his 
 confidence in humanity." 
 
 Even his most distinguished visitors 
 were forbidden to smoke anywhere 
 around the main building; they were told 
 to go to the " Pig-Pen," a small house 
 built for smoking. Bjornson did much 
 for the establishment of the splendid Na- 
 tional Theatre in Christiania, of which his 
 son, Bjorn, was for some time an excel- 
 lent manager. Outside the theatre are 
 the statues of Bjornson and Ibsen. 
 
 Henrik Ibsen, the father of the modern 
 drama, was born in Skien, Norway, 1828. 
 
 Probably no modern author has been 
 more abused both in his own country and 
 in foreign lands. This was principally 
 because they did not understand him. 
 
 Ibsen has created the most realistic 
 psychological characters, and when he, as 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 225 
 
 a surgeon of souls, comes with the knife 
 and hot iron to cut and cauterize the vices 
 of these characters, the audience felt that 
 they were unmercifully cut and burned. 
 
 In England, William Archer collected 
 a whole volume of the nasty criticisms on 
 Ibsen's dramas, and he calls it " Ibsen's 
 Epitaph." But to-day Ibsen is more 
 alive, played more, and understood better 
 in England than ever before. In his 
 dramas Ibsen wages war against such 
 wrongs as hypocrisy, stagnation in medi- 
 ocrity and mere tradition, the passion for 
 petty criticism, the labor question, the 
 emancipation of women, the peace ques- 
 tion, and the need of awakened responsi- 
 bility among all classes of society. 
 
 Mr. W. S. Monroe says, " Certainly 
 the picture that he paints of the moral 
 forces operating in Norway is anything 
 but lovely; but it would probably be as 
 unfair to accept Ibsen's ' Peer Gynt ' as 
 typical of Norse peasant life as to regard 
 Zola's ' La Terre ' as representative of 
 
226 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 life in the French provinces. Ibsen is 
 not merely a pessimist and satirist, but a 
 social reformer who deals with living 
 truths." 
 
 The literary activity of Ibsen has been 
 divided by Professor John Storm into 
 three periods: 
 
 ( 1 ) That of his historical dramas from 
 1850 to 1873, the earlier ones, such as 
 " Catilina " and " Lady Inger of Os- 
 traad," etc, being in verse, and the later 
 and more mature ones, such as " Rivals 
 for the Throne " and '' Emperor and 
 Galelian " (a drama of the Emperor Ju- 
 lian), being in prose. 
 
 (2) The period of the rhyming satirical 
 up-to-date dramas, such as " Love's 
 Comedy," 1862, "Brand" and "Peer 
 Gynt," and various poems, 1871, and 
 
 (3) The period of his modern prose 
 dramas such as " The Pillars of Society," 
 1877, "A Doll's House," 1879, and many 
 others. 
 
 Ibsen's daring satire aroused much 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 227 
 
 controversy and was fiercely attacked, but 
 the seed which he sowed has borne good 
 fruit in the lives of many, who are grate- 
 ful to the man that pointed out truths 
 which had been long overlooked. 
 
 Ibsen wrote most of his works in Italy 
 and Germany; but in 1891 he finally re- 
 turned, making Christiania his home, with 
 only occasional visits to Germany. 
 
 Ibsen's twenty-one dramas have been 
 published in America by Scribner's in 
 eleven volumes, and they show his large 
 grasp of deep psychological problems and 
 his mastery of the resources of the stage. 
 A great deal of light is thrown on the man 
 himself. First, by the publication in 
 1898 of a volume of "Appreciations " of 
 the poet by a number of eminent men. 
 The occasion was his seventieth birthday, 
 and his friends combined to do him honor. 
 Secondly, in Mr. John Paulsen's " Samliv 
 med Ibsen." This author is for Ibsen 
 what Boswell was for Samuel Johnson. 
 
 Holdane Mac Fall says of Ibsen: 
 
228 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAYi 
 
 " Like the old sea-dogs of whom He 
 came, and they left their mark upon his 
 features and his soul, he was a stubborn 
 fighter. Peace he held as not the most 
 desirable condition; the warfare of stren- 
 uous living was the more healthy for man. 
 His eyes were the watchful eyes of the 
 sailor folk, at constant guard for the 
 threat of danger that may leap forth on 
 every hand, out of the summer sky above, 
 or calm waters beneath, or from out the 
 seething hell of the black, bewildering 
 tempest, ever ready for war with the ele- 
 ments without. So did he keep watch 
 against the elements of weaknesses 
 within." 
 
 In his home in Christiania, May 23, 
 1906, Ibsen passed away. He was fol- 
 lowed to the grave by a vast concourse 
 headed by King Haakon VII. He was 
 laid in his last resting place with every 
 mark of respect that could be shown to 
 one who had exercised such an important 
 influence on the life and thought of his 
 country. 
 
 Foremost among the other authors is 
 Jonas Lie, who in 1870 published his 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 229 
 
 novel, " The Visionary," which immedi- 
 ately achieved success. 
 
 Lie wrote several interesting tales, 
 which are founded on the lives of the peo- 
 ple in the far north of Norway, and de- 
 scriptive of the seafaring life, such as 
 " The Pilot and His Wife," " The Three- 
 master Future," " Rutland," and " Go 
 Ahead." 
 
 In his later writings Lie turned to 
 novels dealing with psychological ques- 
 tions. In a long series of impressionis- 
 tically lifelike pictures, he paints his 
 careful observations of the life of family 
 and society in " One of Life's Slaves," 
 "The Gilje Family," "A Whirlpool," 
 " The Commodore's Daughters," " A 
 Conjugal Union," " Evil Powers," and 
 " When the Sun Goes Down." 
 
 In reading Lie one enjoys his humor 
 and cheerful view of life, but most of all 
 the intelligent sympathy of a warm na- 
 ture that speaks to the heart. Upon re- 
 flection one will see that little Norway has 
 
230 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 had at least a couple of authors in each 
 period that are really great and enjoy in- 
 ternational reputation. First we had 
 Peder Dass and Holberg, Wergeland, 
 and Welhaven; then Asbjornsen and 
 Moe; then comes Bjornson, Ibsen and 
 Lie, and now we have Arne Garborg and 
 Knut Hamsun. 
 
 Arne Garborg's contributions to litera- 
 ture are in the form of analytical studies 
 of social and religious problems. His 
 works, ''A Freethinker " and " Peace,'' 
 seem to be reactions to a narrow school 
 of pietism which prevailed in his country 
 home. But his later works show that he 
 has returned to a liberal Christian atti- 
 tude. 
 
 Garborg has written in the new Norse 
 language, the " Landsmaal." This is a 
 powerful language composed of the dif- 
 ferent dialects in the country, and con- 
 taining, therefore, many old Norse roots. 
 Other writers in this language are Jens 
 Twedt, Rasmus Loland, and Vetle Vis- 
 
NORWEGIAN LITERATURE 231 
 
 lie. These have all penned excellent pic- 
 tures of rural life. 
 
 Alexander Kjelland is an author who 
 has a masterly way of handling the lan- 
 guage and great skill in drawing charac- 
 ters. Both his novelettes and novels are 
 excellent and enchanting. Among the 
 best known are his " Garmann and 
 Worse," "Skipper Worse/' "Work- 
 people," " Else " and " Poison." 
 
 Among other writers of this period are 
 Amalia Skram, Sigbjorn Obsf elder. Of 
 the new dramatists Heiberg and Egge 
 have written powerful and successful 
 plays. The lyric writing has been re- 
 vived by Nils CoUett Vogt and Wilhelm 
 Krag. Their verses show that the gift of 
 song still lives in the North. 
 
 In connection with Garborg I have 
 mentioned Knut Hamsun, who recently 
 received the Nobel Prize in literature. 
 His name and literary works are univer- 
 sally known and need not be mentioned 
 here. 
 
232 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 Space forbids us even to mention all 
 who have made a name for themselves in 
 Norse literature at the present time. 
 Enough has been said, we trust, to show 
 the wonderful way in which such a small 
 nation has gained for itself a worthy posi- 
 tion in the literature of Europe. Judg- 
 ing from Hamsun and others, we may ex- 
 pect in the future more giants of the 
 Ibsen type from this Viking Land. 
 
 Those who wish fuller information con- 
 cerning modern authors whose names are 
 in the Norse literary roll may be referred 
 to the excellent "Dictionary of Norwe- 
 gian Authors," by J. B. Halvorsen. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A WEDDING FEAST 
 
 The engagement of a couple is, in the 
 rural districts of Norway, announced by 
 the minister in the church on three suc- 
 cessive Sundays. 
 
 If the couple are wealthy, the prepara- 
 tions for the wedding will take many 
 weeks. There is butchering, baking, sew- 
 ing, and brewing of home-made ale, — and 
 everything must be on a large scale, for 
 the wedding feast is to last at least one 
 week — when from two to three hundred 
 guests have nothing to do but to eat, 
 drink, and be merry. 
 
 Finally, the date for the wedding is set 
 
 and the invitations are given orally by one 
 
 who is a smooth speaker, worthy and well 
 
 qualified for this important office. 
 
 The ancient custom was for the whole 
 
 233 
 
234 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 bridal procession to ride to church. This 
 procession was very picturesque, with the 
 ladies in national costume, consisting of a 
 dress of bright colors, neatly woven into 
 the cloth, white aprons, red bodices out- 
 side of a white embroidered linen waist 
 and large white bonnets on their heads. 
 The men wore knickerbocker trousers 
 with small silver buttons and a silver 
 buckle on the side, white socks, low shoes 
 with silver buckles and a small red stock- 
 ing cap. 
 
 The fiddlers would ride in front of the 
 procession, then came the bride and bride- 
 groom, the master of ceremony, etc. 
 Along the road to the church their friends 
 would greet them by firing of guns. This 
 was not altogether without danger, as 
 some of the horses would get scared and 
 the ladies would find it difficult to control 
 them. 
 
 The most conspicuous person of all is, 
 of course, the bride. On her head she 
 wears a crown of silver and gold. This 
 
y 
 
A WEDDING FEAST 235 
 
 is very expensive, and the poorer people 
 are obliged to rent it for the occasion. It 
 is also very heavy, and it has happened, 
 especially if it were hot weather and if 
 the minister were long-winded, that the 
 bride would faint during the sermon in 
 the church. Her gown is rich and elabo- 
 rately decorated with many colors — red 
 and green predominating — and several 
 lady attendants are very busily engaged 
 in seeing that the crown and the bride's 
 other paraphernalia are in proper order. 
 
 Arriving home from the church, the 
 company is met by the master of cere- 
 monies and a couple of attendants, who 
 offer every guest a fancy-carved and 
 bright-colored bowl containing home- 
 brewed ale. Then they all enter a large 
 room where the bride and groom greet 
 every one in a most graceful manner. 
 
 Soon the big feast is ready and all line 
 up for an " out-of-door wedding march." 
 This gives the master of ceremonies the 
 opportunity to line them up just in the 
 
236 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 order they are to be seated at the tables. 
 The fiddlers take the lead, playing lively. 
 The bride and bridegroom follow, and be- 
 hind them come the merry guests in 
 couples. Now they are ready to partake 
 of the appetizing dishes of the feast. 
 These consist of cream porridge, rice pud- 
 ding, meats — ^hot and cold, — potatoes 
 boiled; fish of several kinds; three kinds 
 of bread; biscuits; salmon; several kinds 
 of cheese; pickles; pudding; several kinds 
 of small, dainty cakes; home-brewed ale 
 — and (in former days) wine and brandy. 
 
 It is understood that the guests at such 
 celebrations are to eat, drink, and enjoy 
 themselves. 
 
 Each guest would also bring a present 
 in form of some kind of food. 
 
 After the repast^ the merrymakers 
 " step lively " to the national dances of 
 Hailing and Spring-dance. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A CRUISE AROUND THE COAST OF NORWAY 
 TO NORTH CAPE AND THE MIDNIGHT SUN 
 
 In 1890 I went on a cruise around the 
 coast of Norway. For uniqueness, in- 
 terest, and impressive beauty, this trip 
 cannot be duplicated elsewhere in the 
 whole world. 
 
 Our starting-point was Christiania, and 
 our jolly company of students and ath- 
 letes increased constantly, as we stopped 
 at most of the cities around the coast and 
 took on board the fraternities of students, 
 athletes and singers. 
 
 Most of us were youngsters, with no 
 " better half " to occupy our attention, 
 hence we had ample time for sports and 
 for viewing the beauty of the romantic 
 and shifting scenery. 
 
 To our right, this scenery consists of 
 
 the mainland, with its grand panorama of 
 
 varied landscape, fjords, mountains, and 
 
 237 
 
238 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 cities; and to our left, 150,000 small and 
 large islands form a perfect breakwater, 
 and thus afford us a perfectly calm and 
 pleasant cruise with the water as smooth 
 as a lake. 
 
 Space will, unfortunately, simply per- 
 mit us to mention a few of the lovely and 
 grand sights which we enjoyed on this 
 never-to-be-forgotten voyage. 
 
 From Christiania to Trondhjem, land- 
 ings were often made, and we visited some 
 of the most beautiful fjords and sounds, 
 besides many historic places, towns and 
 remarkable natural phenomena. 
 
 In the bright and beautiful city of 
 Trondhjem, the streets are almost as 
 thronged with people at midnight as at 
 midday. From this place we start on a 
 June evening for a week's cruise in con- 
 tinual daylight. 
 
 Friends, from whom we are taking 
 leave for a while, wish us " bon voyage " 
 as they wave to us from the shore. 
 
 The mountains are clothed in royal 
 
A CRUISE 239 
 
 purple, and the glorious radiance of the 
 last sunset which we shall see for a week 
 is casting a rosy glow over the picturesque 
 old city and the fortified island of Munk- 
 holmen, which played such a prominent 
 part in the early history of Trondhjem. 
 During our passage between the islands 
 and the mainland we feast our eyes on the 
 brilliant colors of cloud-rack, land and 
 sea. 
 
 A brief halt is made off the fishing vil- 
 lage of Brono, which presents a busy 
 scene when the herring fleets are fishing 
 in the neighboring waters. Here we send 
 letters to friends by " bottle post/' They 
 are thrown overboard in a sealed bottle 
 and picked up by boatmen from the vil- 
 lage. 
 
 The Horseman, the Seven Sisters, and 
 
 the Torg's Hat 
 
 The mythical history of these wonder- 
 ful rock formations may be briefly con- 
 densed from the fuller story: 
 
240 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 "A younger brother of a cousin of the 
 Devil went, we are told, on a visit to his 
 seven sisters, now represented by the 
 grand mountain peaks on the island of 
 Alsten. On his way he met the maiden 
 of Leko, with whom he fell in love, but 
 who did not respond to his advances. 
 Wild with rage, he — ^the Horseman — 
 fitted an arrow to his bow to slay her; but 
 at the moment when he discharged it a 
 favored lover, who arrived opportunely 
 on the scene, threw his hat into the path 
 of the arrow, which passed through it and 
 buried itself in the ground. This hap- 
 pened, apparently, just before daybreak, 
 for we are told that a moment later the 
 sun rose and the whole company — ^Devil's 
 cousin, sisters, maiden of Leko, and fa- 
 vored lover — were turned into stone. The 
 petrified form of the maiden may be seen 
 on her native island unto this day. The 
 arrow stands on one of the islands passed 
 by our steamer. Torg's hat (Torghat- 
 ten), with the hole in it, is plainly in evi- 
 
A CRUISE 241 
 
 dence, the Horseman is still mounted on 
 his bony steed, and the seven sisters still 
 stand as a memorial of the doleful 
 tragedy." 
 
 TJie Famous Svartisen 
 
 is an enormous glacier, covering a plateau 
 nearly 4,000 feet above sea level. For 
 hours its gleaming ice-field has presented 
 a magnificent spectacle to us, and now, 
 after a hot day on board the steamer, we 
 can spend the evening in visiting this 
 majestic glacier. It is beautiful with its 
 clear, blue surface and sea-green ice cav- 
 erns. When we return to the quay we 
 find a little group of demure peasant girls 
 awaiting us with bunches of wild flowers 
 gathered from the banks of the glacial 
 stream. They do not ask us to buy them, 
 but stand in a row, silent, holding the 
 flowers in their hands. In spite of their 
 lack of commercial enterprise, they soon 
 dispose of them at the rate of ten or 
 twenty-five ore a bunch, each little girl 
 
242 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 making a nice curtsey when the coin is put 
 in her hand. 
 
 The Vest Fjord and Beautiful Nordland 
 
 Du Chaillu remarks that the scenery of 
 the Nordland shores is the wildest on the 
 coast of Norway, and we see it at its wild- 
 est and grandest between Bodo and 
 Tromso. There are fine views of glaciers, 
 also of snow-clad peaks and steep moun- 
 tainsides from which avalanches descend; 
 yet at the foot of these barren heights 
 there are woods and pleasant pastures. 
 
 An Idyllic Land 
 
 " Undoubtedly the most graphic de- 
 scriptions of Nordland and Nordland life 
 are those of Jonas Lie, the famous Nor- 
 wegian novelist, who spent the most im- 
 pressionable years of his life in and 
 around Tromso, where his father held the 
 post of Sheriff. * If there is a home for 
 a wonderfully beautiful idyll,' he writes, 
 ^ it must be in the fjord- villages of Nord- 
 
A CRUISE 243 
 
 land in the summer-time. It is as though 
 the sun kisses Nature all the more lov- 
 ingly because he knows how short a time 
 they have to be together, and as if they 
 both, for a time, try to forget that they 
 must part so soon. Then the hill grows 
 green as if by a sudden miracle, and the 
 bluebell, the dandelion, the buttercup, 
 the dog-daisy, the wild rose, the rasp- 
 berry, and the strawberry spring up in 
 lavish abundance by every brook, on every 
 hillock, on every mountain slope; then 
 hundreds of insects hum in the grass as in 
 a tropical land; then cows, horses, and 
 sheep are driven up the hills and the 
 mountainsides, while the Finn from the 
 highlands comes down into the valley with 
 his reindeer and waters them in the river; 
 then the cloudberry moors lie reddening 
 for many a mile inland; then there is 
 quiet, sunny peace in every cottage, where 
 the fisherman is now sitting at home with 
 his family, putting his tackle in order for 
 the winter fishing; for in Nordland the 
 
244 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 summer is more beautful than in any 
 other place, and there is an idyllic glad- 
 ness and peace over Nature, which is to be 
 found nowhere else/ Well might Frid- 
 tjof Nansen, when his good ship Frarriy 
 on her way to the Polar seas, passed along 
 the coast of Nordland, say, ' It is unique 
 — Si fairyland — a land of dreams. We 
 felt afraid to go on too fast — for fear of 
 missing something/ " 
 
 We make a short stop at the bright and 
 pleasant little town of Tromso, located on 
 an island by the same name. 
 
 The Lure of the Arctic 
 
 As we linger on deck after midnight 
 and gaze upon this wonderful scene, we 
 understand as never before how great is 
 the lure of the Frozen North to explorers 
 and navigators who have once ventured 
 into the icy realms of the Arctic Ocean. 
 Nothing could be more alluring, although 
 phantasmal, than the apparently inacces- 
 sible peaks floating, as it were, high above 
 
A CRUISE 245 
 
 the sea an3 mist, yet motionless against a 
 sky bright with the glorious midnight 
 light. 
 
 The Northernmost Town in the World 
 
 This is Hammerfest, where the sun 
 does not set from May 13 to July 29, nor 
 rise from November 20 to January 21. 
 
 During the dark days the town is 
 lighted by electricity, and it possesses an 
 excellent telephone service. 
 
 Ships of all nations frequent its har- 
 bors, which are never closed by ice, due to 
 the influence of the Gulf Stream. It is a 
 busy place from which fishing fleets are 
 sent to the Polar seas. 
 
 The Bird Bock 
 
 " We leave Hammerfest after lunch, 
 and during the afternoon the yacht stops 
 under the towering bird cliff of Hjelmso- 
 stauren, the ledges of which are lined with 
 hundreds of thousands of rock birds that 
 nest there. Hjelmsostauren is one of the 
 
246 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 most famous bird rocks in the world, and 
 as we watch the flight and listen to the 
 wild cries of its immense flocks of guille- 
 mots, puffins and gulls, we gain some idea 
 of the wonderful and extraordinarily- 
 abundant bird life of the Arctic Ocean. 
 The face of the rock is almost covered 
 with them, the air is filled with them, and 
 thousands are swimming around the 
 yacht. When a gun is fired the sky is 
 darkened by the clouds of birds that rise 
 from the ledges, and yet there is no appre- 
 ciable diminution of the numbers remain- 
 ing apparently undisturbed on the rock. 
 We are told that only the young birds are 
 alarmed by the report of a gun. The old 
 birds, having become accustomed to the 
 sound — for every cruising yacht dis- 
 charges a gun here in order that its pas- 
 sengers may see the birds take flight — 
 usually remain on their nests.'' 
 
 The JLyngen Fjord 
 An Englishman says that even if Nor- 
 
A CRUISE 247 
 
 way had nothing else in the way of natu- 
 ral scenery to attract strangers to its 
 shores, it would be well worth while to 
 make a far longer voyage than that from 
 England in order to see the austere mag- 
 nificence and marvelous color of the Lyn- 
 gen Fjord. 
 
 Lapps and Reindeer 
 
 Here we visit a Lapp camp. This race 
 is typically Mongolian. They have a 
 yellowish complexion, high cheek bones, 
 low foreheads, full lips, narrow eyes, and 
 broad, blunt noses. They often live to a 
 great age, and in this encampment there 
 are ancient, wrinkled, pipe-smoking 
 dames between ninety and a hundred 
 years old. Some of these ancient crones 
 still have a reputation for skill in magic 
 and witchcraft. 
 
 The Lofoten Islands and Their Fishery 
 
 " The Lofoten Islands, which we have 
 now approached, have been aptly de- 
 
248 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY^ 
 
 scribed as a chain of mountains cleft Hy 
 countless creeks and straits. They lie 
 within the Arctic Circle, and are sepa- 
 rated from the mainland of Norway by 
 the great Vest Fjord and some narrow 
 channels. There are four large islands 
 and a number of smaller ones flanked by 
 thousands of rocky islets. Although ly- 
 ing within the same lines of latitude as 
 Greenland and Siberia, they enjoy a com- 
 paratively mild climate, and their harbors 
 are not frozen even during the severest 
 winters. All the islands are mountain- 
 ous, with crater-like granite peaks or Al- 
 pine summits, and much of their scenery 
 is grand. Most of the larger islands are 
 inhabited by fishermen, who, from Janu- 
 ary to April, carry on, in the Vest Fjord, 
 the famous Lofoten fishery, the waters of 
 the fjord being then perceptibly darkened 
 by the presence of immense shoals of cod, 
 which come in from the depths of the At- 
 lantic to spawn on banks near the Nord- 
 land coast. Several thousand boats are 
 
A CRUISE 249 
 
 engaged in this great fishery. When the 
 fish are brought ashore they are opened 
 and cleaned, men, women and children 
 taking part in the work. They are known 
 as 'klipfisk' (split fish), and are spread 
 on the rocks to dry, afterwards being 
 piled in stacks along the shore under 
 wooden covers known as ' hats.' Some 
 are fastened by pegs to long rods and al- 
 lowed to dry in the wind until they have 
 the consistency of leather. These are 
 called stock-fish. Shortly before summer 
 most of the season's catch is taken to 
 Bergen, and from thence exported to 
 Spain, Italy, and other countries. Most 
 of the cods' heads are dried by fire and 
 made into fish guano, but on some of the 
 outlying islands they are boiled with sea- 
 weed and used to feed cattle. From the 
 livers cod-liver oil is made. Along the 
 low rocks of the Lofotens and of the 
 Nordland and Finmarken coasts the 
 great cauldrons in which the livers are 
 slowly stewed can easily be seen." 
 
250 WHEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY. 
 
 The Monstrous Kraken 
 This is a " sea-beast '' like the Levia- 
 than. Bishop Pontoppidan, who pub- 
 lished a " Natural History of Norway " 
 in 1751, describes this monster as being 
 the largest creature in the world. The 
 kraken, according to the Bishop, had a 
 back that, when it rose from the depths 
 of the sea, formed an island about a mile 
 and a half in circumference, and for an 
 island it was often mistaken by inexperi- 
 enced mariners who landed on it without 
 realizing their danger. " So long as they 
 were content with walking on it, the 
 kraken seems to have let them do so in 
 safety; but if they subjected it to any 
 such indignity as lighting a fire on it or 
 digging a hole in it, they either found 
 themselves struggling in the sea or seized 
 by long, tree-like tentacles, strong enough 
 to drag a ship down into the depths of the 
 ocean, the waves meanwhile being stained 
 with a dark fluid ejected by the monster 
 in its rage." 
 
A CRUISE 251 
 
 The Mythical Maelstrom 
 
 THe fact upon which the mythical 
 stories of the Maelstrom seems to be based 
 is a simple one. " Owing to the masses 
 of water forced by the tides through the 
 narrow sounds between the Lofoten Is- 
 lands, the current sometimes becomes 
 very strong, and is at its strongest off the 
 island of Moskenes, where, according to 
 Du Chaillu, it runs in winter ' in strong 
 whirls, and with the speed of twenty-six 
 miles an hour.' A like phenomenon may 
 also be witnessed at the entrance of the 
 Salten Fjord, on the east side of the Vest 
 Fjord." 
 
 The North Cape 
 
 The northernmost point of Norway is a 
 rocky headland on Magero Island — the 
 end of all things, rising a thousand feet 
 above the deep, blue Arctic sea. The 
 climb up the steep, zigzag pathway from 
 the spot where the steamer lands you, is 
 arduous, and we were glad of the aid af- 
 
252 WEEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 forded by ropes secured to iron stanchions 
 beside the path. The top is a bare and 
 wind-swept tableland strewn with small 
 sandstone, mica slate, and quartz. There 
 is a wooden hut and from a flagstaff near 
 it floats the Norwegian flag. The only 
 liquid refreshments obtainable here are 
 champagne and lemonade. We were as- 
 tonished to find that in spite of the diffi- 
 culties of transportation, souvenirs and 
 refreshments offered for sale here cost no 
 more than in Christiania or Trondhjem. 
 Here, facing the North Pole, is the red 
 granite column which commemorates the 
 visit of the late King Oscar II to the 
 island in 1871. At midnight, we all as- 
 semble on the edge of the steep and lofty 
 cliff, and from this fine vantage-point, 
 over a thousand feet above the sea, we 
 gaze across the Arctic Ocean at the mid- 
 night sun. 
 
 The Midnight Sun, as described by Du 
 Chaillu: 
 
A CRUISE 253 
 
 " The T3rilliancy of the splendid orb 
 varies in intensity, like that of sunset and 
 sunrise, according to the state of moisture 
 of the atmosphere. One day it will be of 
 a deep red color, tingeing everything with 
 a roseate hue, and producing a drowsy ef- 
 fect. There are times when the changes 
 in the color between the sunset and sun- 
 rise might be compared to the variations 
 of a charcoal fire, now burning with a 
 fierce red glow, then fading away, and 
 rekindling with greater brightness. 
 
 " There are days when the sun has a 
 pale, whitish appearance, and when even 
 it can be looked at for six or seven hours 
 before midnight. As this hour ap- 
 proaches, the sun becomes less glaring, 
 gradually changing into more brilliant 
 shades as it dips toward the lowest point 
 of its course. Its motion is very slow, 
 and for quite a while it apparently fol- 
 lows the line of the horizon, during which 
 there seems to be a pause, as when the sun 
 reaches noon. This is midnight. For a 
 few minutes the glow of sunset mingles 
 with that of sunrise, and one cannot tell 
 which prevails ; but soon the light becomes 
 slowly and gradually more brilliant, an- 
 nouncing the birth of another day, and 
 often before an hour has elapsed the sun 
 
254 ^^HEN I WAS A BOY IN NORWAY 
 
 becomes so dazzling that one cannot look 
 at it with the naked eye." 
 
 Another evening we saw the Aurora 
 Borealis, or the Northern Light, as it 
 came straight from the Arctic Sea, "steal- 
 ing o'er the waters like a benediction." 
 Of all natural phenomena, this is one of 
 the most striking. Especially in the 
 northern part of Norway, where its full 
 glory is revealed. The site of the appear- 
 ance, in the north part of the heavens, and 
 its close resemblance to the aspect of the 
 sky before sunrise, have originated the 
 name. It appears as an opalescent radi- 
 ance born of twilight and of dawn. Some- 
 times it forms in the zenith, in a shape re- 
 sembling that of an umbrella, pouring 
 down streams of light from all parts of its 
 periphery, which falls vertically over the 
 hemisphere in every direction. It is a 
 marvel of magnificence, a unique and 
 never-to-be-forgotten scene. 
 
 THE END 
 
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