other denominations. This concession has perhaps saved the
church from becoming a venerable fossil, yet one still finds persons who
regret that it should have been made, not knowing that all truth, to
retain its temper, must be whetted against an opposing blade. According
to the new constitution of Norway, the king must be crowned in the
cathedral of Drontheim. Bernadotte received the proper consecration, but
Oscar, though King of Norway, has not yet seen fit to accept it. I once
heard a Norwegian exclaim, with a sort of jealous satisfaction: "Oscar
calls himself King of Norway, but he is a king without a crown!" I
cannot see, however, that this fact lessens his authority as sovereign,
in the least.

There is a weekly line of steamers, established by the Storthing
(Legislative Assembly), to Hammerfest and around the North Cape. The
"Nordkap," the largest and best of these boats, was to leave Drontheim
on Saturday evening, the 18th of July, and we lost no time in securing
berths, as another week would have made it too late for the perpetual
sunshine of the northern summer. Here again, one is introduced to a
knowledge of customs and regulations unknown elsewhere. The ticket
merely secures you a place on board the steamer, but neither a berth nor
provisions. The latter you obtain from a restaurateur on board,
according to fixed rates; the former depends on the will of the captain,
who can stow you where he chooses. On the "Nordkap" the state-rooms were
already occupied, and there remained a single small saloon containing
eight berths. Here we did very well so long as there were only English
and American occupants, who at once voted to have the skylight kept
open; but after two Norwegians were added to our company, we lived in a
state of perpetual warfare, the latter sharing the national dread of
fresh air; and yet one of them was a professor from the University of
Christiania, and the other a physician, who had charge of the hospital
in Bergen! With this exception, we had every reason to be satisfied with
the vessel. She was very stanch and steady-going, with a spacious airy
saloon on deck; no captain could have been more kind and gentlemanly,
and there was quite as much harmony among the passengers as could
reasonably have been expected. Our party consisted of five Americans,
three English, two Germans, and one Frenchman (M. Gay, Membre de
l'Academie), besides a variety of Norwegians from all parts of the
country.

Lea