xpressions of self-congratulation because the doubt and fermenting
restlessness which were undermining the great societies abroad had never
ruffled the placid surface of our good, old-fashioned, Scandinavian
orthodoxy. How heartily we laughed at the absurdities of Darwin, who, as
we had read in the newspapers, believed that he was descended from an
ape! How deeply, densely, and solidly ignorant we were; and yet how
superior we felt in the midst of our ignorance!

All this must be taken into account, if we are to measure the
significance, as well as the courage, of Bjoernson's apostasy. For five
years (1870-74) he published nothing of an aesthetical character. But he
plunged with hot zeal into political life, not only because he needed an
outlet for his pent-up energy; but because the question at issue engaged
him, heart and soul. The equal and co-ordinate position of Norway and
Sweden under the union had been guaranteed by the Constitution of 1814;
but, as a matter of fact, the former kingdom is by all the world looked
upon as a dependency, if not a province, of the latter. The Bernadottes,
lacking comprehension of the Norwegian character, had shown themselves
purblind as bats in their dealings with Norway. They had mistaken a
perfectly legitimate desire for self-government for a demonstration of
hostility to Sweden and the royal house; and instead of identifying
themselves with the national movement (which they might well have done),
they fought it, first by cautious measures of repression, and later by
vetoes and open defiance. Charles XV., and, later, Oscar II., kept the
minority ministries, Stang and Selmer, in power, with a bland disregard
of popular condemnation, and snapped their fingers at the parliamentary
majorities which, for well-nigh a quarter of a century, fought
persistently, bravely, and not altogether vainly, for their country's
rights.

There is no doubt that Norway is the most democratic country in Europe,
if not in the world. There is a far sturdier sense of personal worth, a
far more fearless assertion of equality, and a far more democratic
feeling permeating society than, for instance, in the United States.
Sweden, on the other hand, is essentially an aristocratic country, with
a landed nobility and many other remnants of feudalism in her political
and social institutions. Two countries so different in character can
never be good yoke-fellows. They can never develop at an even pace, and
the fact o