August 28th.

I had ordered my horse to be ready at five o'clock, but was obliged to
wait for it until seven o'clock.

Although I made only a short trip into the interior, I had sufficient
opportunities for experiencing the extortions and inconveniences to which
a traveller is liable in Norway. No country in Europe is so much in its
infancy as regards all conveniences for locomotion. It is true that
horses, carriages, boats, &c. can be had at every station, and the law
has fixed the price of these commodities; but every thing is in the hands
of the peasants and the publicans, and they are so skilled in tormenting
the traveller by their intentional slowness, that he is compelled to pay
the two-fold tax, in order to proceed a little more quickly. The
stations are short, being rarely above five or six miles, and one is
therefore constantly changing horses. Arrived at a station, it either
happens that there is really no horse to be had, or that this is an
ostensible excuse. The traveller is told that the horse has to be
fetched from the mountain, and that he can be served in one and a half or
two hours. Thus he rides one hour, and waits two. It is also necessary
to keep the tariff, as every trifle, the saddle, the carriage, the
harness, fetching the horse, the boat, &c., has to be paid for extra; and
when the traveller does not know the fixed prices, he is certain to be
dreadfully imposed upon. At every station a book lies, containing the
legal prices; but it is written in the language of the district, and
utterly unintelligible to the stranger. Into this book, which is
examined by the judge of the district every month, one may enter
complaints against the peasant or publican; but they do not seem to fear
it, for the guide who accompanied me to the fall of Rykanfoss endeavoured
to cheat me twice in the most barefaced manner, by charging me six-fold
for the use of the saddles and the fetching of the horse. When I
threatened to inscribe my complaint in the book, he seemed not to care,
and insisted on his demand, till I was obliged to pay him. On my return
to Mael, I kept my word, asked for the book, and entered my complaint,
although I was alone with all the peasants. It was not so much the money
which annoyed me, as the shameless imposition. I am of opinion that
every one should complain when he is wronged; if it does not benefit him,
it will make the matt