the professor hastened
to his own home, where his faithful servants, Kate and Fink, were
impatiently awaiting him.

CHAPTER XVII.

Christiania, though it is the largest city in Norway, would be
considered a small town in either England or France; and were it
not for frequent fires, the place would present very much the same
appearance that it did in the eleventh century. It was really rebuilt
in 1624, by King Christian, however; and its name was then changed
from Opsolo, as it had been previously called, to Christiania, in
honor of its royal architect.

It is symmetrically laid out with broad, straight streets: and the
houses are generally of gray stone or red brick. In the center of a
fine garden stands the royal palace, known as the Oscarlot, a large
quadrangular building, devoid of beauty, though built in the Ionic
style of architecture. There are a few churches, in which the
attention of worshipers is not distracted by any marvels of art;
several municipal and government buildings, and one immense bazaar,
constructed in the form of a rotunda, and stocked with both native and
foreign goods.

There is nothing very remarkable about all this, but one thing the
traveler can certainly admire without stint, and that is the site
of the city, which is encircled by mountains so varied in shape and
aspect as to form a most superb frame for Christiania.

Though the city is nearly flat in the new and wealthy quarter, the
hilly portions, where the poorer classes live, are covered with brick
or wooden huts of gaudy tints that astonish rather than charm the
beholder.

Like all cities situated upon the water's edge, and upon fertile
hills, Christiania is extremely picturesque, and it would not be
unjust to compare its fiord to the famous Bay of Naples. Its shores,
like those of Sorrento and Castellamare, are dotted with chalets
and villas, half hidden in the dark, rich verdure of the pines, and
enveloped in the light mist that imparts such a wonderful softness to
northern landscapes.

Sylvius Hogg had at last returned to Christiania, though under
conditions that he little dreamed of at the beginning of his
interrupted journey. Oh, well, he would try that again another year!
He could think only of Joel and Hulda Hansen now. Had there been time
to prepare for them, he would certainly have taken them to his own
home, where old Fink and old Kate would have made them heartily
welcome; but under the circumstances, the p