ads to Drammen, the fjord contracts so as to resemble a river or one
of our island-studded New England lakes. The alternation of bare rocky
islets, red-ribbed cliffs, fir-woods, grey-green birchen groves, tracts
of farm land, and red-frame cottages, rendered this part of the voyage
delightful, although, as the morning advanced, we saw everything through
a gauzy veil of rain. Finally, the watering-pot was turned on again,
obliging even oil cloths to beat a retreat to the cabin, and so
continued until we reached Christiania.

After a mild custom-house visitation, not a word being said about
passports, we stepped ashore in republican Norway, and were piloted by a
fellow-passenger to the Victoria Hotel, where an old friend awaited me.
He who had walked with me in the colonnades of Karnak, among the sands
of Kom-Ombos, and under the palms of Philae, was there to resume our old
companionship on the bleak fjelds of Norway and on the shores of the
Arctic Sea. We at once set about preparing for the journey. First, to
the banker's who supplied me with a sufficient quantity of small money
for the post-stations on the road to Drontheim; then to a seller of
_carrioles_, of whom we procured three, at $36 apiece, to be resold to
him for $24, at the expiration of two months; and then to supply
ourselves with maps, posting-book, hammer, nails rope, gimlets, and
other necessary helps in case of a breakdown. The carriole (_carry-all,
lucus a non lucendo_, because it only carries one) is the national
Norwegian vehicle, and deserves special mention. It resembles a
reindeer-pulk, mounted on a pair of wheels, with long, flat, flexible
ash shafts, and no springs. The seat, much like the stern of a canoe,
and rather narrow for a traveller of large basis, slopes down into a
trough for the feet, with a dashboard in front. Your single valise is
strapped on a flat board behind, upon which your postillion sits. The
whole machine resembles an American sulky in appearance, except that it
is springless, and nearly the whole weight is forward of the axle. We
also purchased simple and strong harness, which easily accommodates
itself to any horse.

Christiania furnishes a remarkable example of the progress which Norway
has made since its union with Sweden and the adoption of a free
Constitution. In its signs of growth and improvement, the city reminds
one of an American town. Its population has risen to 40,000, and though
inferior to Gottenburg in its co