aces not only plain but ugly. The
countrywomen we saw were remarkable in this latter respect, but nothing
could exceed their development of waist, bosom and arms. Here is the
stuff of which Vikings were made, I thought, but there has been no
refining or ennobling since those times. These are the rough primitive
formations of the human race--the bare granite and gneiss, from which
sprouts no luxuriant foliage, but at best a few simple and hardy
flowers. I found much less difficulty in communicating with the
Norwegians than I anticipated. The language is so similar to the Swedish
that I used the latter, with a few alterations, and easily made myself
understood. The Norwegian dialect, I imagine, stands in about the same
relation to pure Danish as the Scotch does to the English. To my ear,
it is less musical and sonorous than the Swedish, though it is often
accented in the same peculiar sing-song way.

Leaving the Tyri Fjord, we entered a rolling, well-cultivated country,
with some pleasant meadow scenery. The crops did not appear to be
thriving remarkably, probably on account of the dry weather. The hay
crop, which the farmers were just cutting, was very scanty; rye and
winter barley were coming into head, but the ears were thin and light,
while spring barley and oats were not more than six inches in height.
There were many fields of potatoes, however, which gave a better
promise. So far as one could judge from looking over the fields,
Norwegian husbandry is yet in a very imperfect state, and I suspect that
the resources of the soil are not half developed. The whole country was
radiant with flowers, and some fields were literally mosaics of blue,
purple, pink, yellow, and crimson bloom. Clumps of wild roses fringed
the road, and the air was delicious with a thousand odours. Nature was
throbbing with the fullness of her short midsummer life, with that
sudden and splendid rebound from the long trance of winter which she
nowhere makes except in the extreme north.

At Klakken, which is called a _lilsigelse_ station, where horses must be
specially engaged, we were obliged to wait two hours and a half, while
they were sent for from a distance of four miles. The utter coolness and
indifference of the people to our desire to get on faster was quite
natural, and all the better for them, no doubt, but it was provoking to
us. We whiled away a part of the time with breakfast, which was composed
mainly of boiled eggs and an immense di