streets on each side are fenced by wooden enclosures; and every field and
meadow is similarly protected against the intrusion of cattle, and the
miserable roads through the woods are even covered with round trunks of
trees.

The peasantry in this district have no peculiar costume; only the
head-covering of the females is curious. They wear a lady's hat, such as
was fashionable in the last century, ornamented with a bunch behind, and
with an immense shade in front. They are made of any material, generally
of the remains of old garments; and only on Sundays better ones, and
sometimes even silk ones, make their appearance.

In the neighbourhood of Kongsberg this head-dress is no longer worn.
There they wear little caps like the Suabian peasantry, petticoats
commencing under the shoulders, and very short spencers: a very ugly
costume, the whole figure being spoilt by the short waist.

The town of Kongsberg is rather extended, and is beautifully situated on
a hill in the centre of a splendid wooded valley. It is, like all the
towns in Norway except Christiania, built of wood; but it has many
pretty, neat houses and some broad streets.

The stream Storri Elf flows past the town, and forms a small but very
picturesque waterfall a little below the bridge. What pleased me most
was the colour of the water as it surged over the rock. It was about
noon as I drove across the bridge; the sun illuminated the whole country
around, and the waves breaking against the rocks seemed by this light of
a beautiful pale-yellow colour, so that they resembled thick masses of
pure transparent amber.

Two remarkable sights claimed my attention at Kongsberg,--a rich
silver-mine, and a splendid waterfall called the Labrafoss. But as my
time was limited and I could only remain a few hours in Kongsberg, I
preferred to see the waterfall and believe the accounts of the
silver-mine; which were, that the deepest shaft was eight hundred feet
below the surface, and that it was most difficult to remain there, as the
cold, the smoke, and the powder-smell had a very noxious effect on the
traveller accustomed to light and air.

I therefore hired a horse and drove to the fall, which is situated in a
narrow pass about four miles from Kongsberg. The river collects in a
quiet calm basin a little distance above the fall, and then rushes over
the steep precipice with a sudden bound. The considerable depth of the
fall and the quality of water make it a