en appropriately called the country of mountains and
fjords, of cascades and lakes. Among the largest of the latter is Lake
Mjoesen, which is about sixty miles long and has an average width of
twelve. It receives in its bosom one important river, the Longen, after
it has run a course of nearly a hundred and fifty miles. At its southern
extremity is the port of Eidsvol, and at the northern is Lillehammer.
These are situated in the direct route between Christiania and
Troendhjem. But the most singular fact attached to the lake is that it
measures about fifteen hundred feet in depth while its surface is only
four hundred feet above the level of the ocean. Its bottom is known to
be nearly a thousand feet below that of the adjacent North Sea, which
would seem to show that the lake must be the mouth of some long-extinct
volcano.

As to the animals of Norway, the reindeer, the bear, the wolf, the fox,
and the lynx about complete the list. The ubiquitous crow abounds, and
fine specimens of the golden eagle, that dignified monarch of the upper
regions, may often be seen sailing through the air from cliff to cliff,
across the fjords and valleys. At certain seasons of the year this bird
proves destructive to domestic fowl and young lambs. Magpies appear to
be as much of a nuisance in Norway as crows are in India or Ceylon, and
quite as unmolested by the people. What are called the wild birds of
Scandinavia are in fact quite tame, and they are in large variety. As
the traveller passes through the country, he will observe sheaves of
unthreshed grain elevated upon poles beside the farm-houses and barns,
which are placed there to furnish the feathered visitors with food.
These sheaves are frequently renewed throughout the long winters;
otherwise the birds would starve. The confiding little creatures know
their friends, and often enter the houses for protection from the
severity of the weather. Neither man, woman, nor child would think of
disturbing them, for they are considered to bring good luck to the
premises.

In a journey from the capital to Troendhjem, where the coasting steamer
is usually taken for the North Cape, we cross the Dovrefjeld, or
mountain table-land. The famous elevation called the Sneehaetta--"Snow
Hat"--forms a part of this Alpine range, and it is one of the loftiest
in Norway. It should be remembered that one-eighth of the country lies
within the region of perpetual snow, and that these lofty and nearly
inacces