found a few signs of
Christianity, such as gardens and decent dresses; but both of the
merchant's shops swarmed with rum-drinkers.

I had written, and sent off from Bjoberg, _forbud_ tickets for every
station as far as Kongsberg. By the legal regulations, the
_skyds-skaffer_ is obliged to send forward such tickets as soon as
received, the traveller paying the cost thereof on his arrival.
Notwithstanding we had given our _forbud_ twelve hours' start, and had
punctually paid the expense at every station, we overtook it at Naes. The
postmaster came to know whether we would have it sent on by special
express, or wait until some traveller bound the same way would take it
for us. I ordered it to be sent immediately, astounded at such a
question, until, making the acquaintance of a Scotchman and his wife,
who had arrived in advance of us, the mystery was solved. They had spent
the night at the first station beyond Bjoberg, where our _forbud_
tickets were given to them, with the request that they would deliver
them. They had punctually done so as far as Naes, where the people had
endeavoured to prevent them from stopping for the night, insisting that
they were bound to go on and carry the _forbud_. The cool impudence of
this transaction reached the sublime. At every station that day, pay had
been taken for service unperformed, and it was more than once demanded
twice over.

We trusted the repeated assurance of the postmaster at Naes, that our
tickets had been forwarded at once, and paid him accordingly. But at the
first station next morning we found that he had not done so; and this
interlinked chain of swindling lasted the whole day. We were obliged to
wait an hour or two at every post, to pay for messengers who probably
never went, and then to resist a demand for payment at the other end of
the station. What redress was there? We might indeed have written a
complaint in imperfect Norsk, which would be read by an inspector a
month afterwards; or perhaps it would be crossed out as soon as we left,
as we saw done in several cases. Unless a traveller is very well versed
in the language and in the laws relating to the _skyds_ system, he has
no defence against imposition, and even in such a case, he can only
obtain redress through delay. The system can only work equitably when
the people are honest; and perhaps they were so when it was first
adopted.

Here I must tell an unpleasant truth. There must have been some
foundation i