theldred the Unready against the Danes, who held the Thames above
London Bridge. The bridge itself, which in those days was a rough
wooden structure, was densely packed with armed men, prepared to
resist the advance of the combined fleets. But Olaf drove his stout
ships against it, made them fast to the piers, hoisted all his sail
and got out his oars, and succeeded in upsetting the bridge into
the river, thus securing victory for Etheldred. But that was before
Olaf gained the throne of Norway. What he did as King of that country
would take too long to tell here. Every district of Norway possesses
legends bearing on his visits when engaged in converting the people to
Christianity, and describing his powers of working miracles. Everywhere
the name of St. Olaf still remains engraven on the country. His death,
however, was that of a soldier--on the battle-field; and the lance
which Norway's patron saint carried in his last fight may even now
be seen by the altar in Trondhjem Cathedral.

It was St. Olaf's half-brother, Harald the Hard, who fell, as we have
said, at Stamford Bridge, when attempting the invasion of England in
1066. But all this is history nearly a thousand years old, and the
stirring tales of the Vikings are fully recorded, and may be read
in the Sagas. Ten centuries have changed the order of things. To-day
we have, in our turn, become the invaders, albeit full of peace and
good-will; and over the same seas upon which once danced Long Ship,
Serpent, and Dragon, our great ugly, smoky steamers now plough
their way.

CHAPTER II

MODERN NORWAY

"Norroway over the Foam," as it used to be called, is a good land to
go to and a beautiful land to look upon. It lies less than two days'
journey from our shores, so it is easy enough to reach. Away from
the towns--and they are not many--everything is picturesque, grand,
and majestic, and the country indeed looks (as the people firmly
believed of it long ago) as if it might have been the playground
of countless giants, who amused themselves by pulling up acres of
land, letting the sea into the valleys, and pelting each other with
mountains and islands. Thank goodness the giants have disappeared! But
if they really did have a hand in fashioning Norway, they are to be
congratulated on the result.

One of the first things one likes to know about a foreign country is
its size. Well, Norway is just a little larger than the British Isles,
and that part of it whi