woman, and remains thus uncovered
while perfecting his purchase. Courtesy is a cheap though potent
commodity, and wholesome lessons may often be acquired in unexpected
places. One curious local production was observed in the form of
eider-down rugs, capes, cloaks, and the like, which were also seen at
Christiania. One very fine specimen was in the form of a cloak
designed for ladies' wear, but which seemed to be rather an expensive
luxury at the price asked, which was a thousand dollars.

A short walk from the town brings one to Hlade, where stands the
famous, or rather infamous, Jarl Hakon's castle, and from whence he
ruled over the country round about with an iron hand in the olden
time. He was a savage Heathen, believing in and practising human
sacrifices, evidences of which are pointed out to the curious
visitor. About a mile from the town, in the fjord, is the island of
Munkholm, once the site of a Benedictine monastery, as its name
indicates, and which was erected in 1028. The base of one of the
towers, mouldering and moss-grown, now only remains. Victor Hugo
graphically describes this island in his "Han d'Islande." Here the
famous minister of Christian V., Griffenfeldt, was confined for many
weary years. His crime was absolutely nothing, his incarceration for
this long period being purely the result of political intrigue. When
he was finally brought to the scaffold for execution, a messenger
interrupted the headsman at the last moment, and announced a pardon
from the King. "The pardon," said the worn out sufferer, "is severer
than the penalty!"

A walk or drive of three or four miles up the beautiful valley of the
Nid carries one to the Lafoss Falls, upper and lower, situated about
a mile from each other; and though classed among the ordinary
waterfalls of Norway, they are superior to anything of the sort in
Switzerland. The upper fall is nearly a hundred feet high, with a
width of five hundred feet; the lower one is eighty feet in height
and about one third as wide as the other. The falls of the Rhine at
Schaffhausen may be compared to them; but these Scandinavian falls
are more remarkable in size, as well as more perpendicular. They are
annually visited by large numbers of tourists from Europe and
America, and have, like all such strong demonstrations of Nature, an
individuality quite impressive. The salmon-fishing in this
neighborhood is said to be the best in the country. The topographical
formation of Nor