ing man is to be assisted, if means are
wanted for beneficial purposes, insane asylums, hospitals, schools, and
such like institutions, the Council of State is always sure that it will
encounter no opposition. On other occasions, however, these lords of the
land are as hard and tough as Norwegian pines, and button up their
pockets so tight that not a dollar drops out."

AUTHOR. "On what occasions?"

STATESMAN. "Why, you see (shrugging his shoulders), those farmers have
not the least _comprehension of statesmanship_! As soon as there is any
talk of appropriations for increasing the army, or the number of
officers, or the pay of foreign ministers, or the salaries of high
official persons, or anything of that sort, you can't do anything with
them."

AUTHOR. (To himself.) "God keep them a long time without a comprehension
of statesmanship! If I were a member of the Storthing, I would have as
thick a head as the rest of them."

On the 5th of September, Braisted and I took passage for Gottenburg, my
friend having already gone home by way of Kiel. We had a smooth sea and
an agreeable voyage, and awoke the next morning in Sweden. On the day
after our arrival, a fire broke out in the suburb of Haga, which
consumed thirteen large houses, and turned more than two hundred poor
people out of doors. This gave me an opportunity to see how fires are
managed here. It was full half an hour after the alarm-bell was rung
before the first engine began to play; the water had to be hauled from
the canal, and the machine, of a very small and antiquated pattern,
contributed little towards stopping the progress of the flames. The
intervention of a row of gardens alone saved the whole suburb from
destruction. There must have been from six to eight thousand spectators
present, scattered all over the rocky knolls which surround Gottenburg.
The fields were covered with piles of household furniture and clothing,
yet no guard seemed to be necessary for their protection, and the owners
showed no concern for their security.

There is a degree of confidence exhibited towards strangers in Sweden,
especially in hotels, at post-stations, and on board the inland
steamers, which tells well for the general honesty of the people. We
went on board the steamer _Werner_ on the morning of the 8th, but first
paid our passage two days afterwards, just before reaching Carlstad. An
account book hangs up in the cabin, in which each passenger enters the
number of m