coast
passes the spot; but it was little frequented in summer; people came to
the place by boat or in the small steamers. So long as the bathers kept
a watchman on the ridge, they were certain of not being surprised.

Up at the house it was quiet, always quiet. The front of the main
building does not even face the bay; it looks on the fields. The
building is of two high storeys, with the roof flattened over the
gables--a long, broad house.

The foundation wall rises very high in front; a flight of easy steps
leads up to the door. The whole building is painted white, except the
foundation wall and the windows, which are black. The outhouses lie
nearer the ridge; they cannot be seen from the steamer. At one side of
the main building an orchard slopes towards the sea; at the other is a
large flower and kitchen garden.

The level land, a long, narrow strip, lies between the ridges. It is
carefully and skilfully cultivated. The big Dutch cows thrive here.

The history of the property and that of its owners was predetermined by
the woods. These were large and valuable, and fortunately came in good
time under careful Dutch management. This happened in the days when the
small Dutch merchant-vessels traded directly with the owners of the
woods in Norway. The Dutchmen were supplied with timber, and in turn
supplied the Norwegians with their civilisation and its products.
Krogskogen was specially fortunate, for, some three hundred years ago,
the owner of one of the "koffs" which lay loading in the bay, fell in
love with the peasant's fair-haired daughter. He ended by buying the
whole place. A beautifully painted portrait of him and her still hangs
in the best room of the house, in the corner nearest the bay. It
represents a tall, thin man, with peculiarly bright eyes. He is
dark-haired, and has a slight stoop of the neck. The race must have been
a vigorous one, for the Krogs are like this to-day.

The first Dutch owner was not called Krog, nor did he live at
Krogskogen; but the son who inherited the place was baptised Anders
Krog, after his mother's father; he called his son Hans, after his own
father; and since then these two names have alternated. If there were
several sons, one was always named Klas and another Juerges, which names
in the course of time became Klaus and Joergen. The family continued to
intermarry with its Dutch kinsfolk, so that the race was as much Dutch
as Norwegian; for long all the domestic arrangemen