He sat near me at the _table d'hote_, and I had an
opportunity of noticing the changes which time has made in his
appearance. The last time I had seen him was in Columbus, Ohio, in
1844. He was then in the very prime of life, slender and graceful, yet
broad of shoulder and powerful of limb; with light straight hair,
clear blue eyes, and a healthy Northern complexion. He is now quite
altered, and I am not sure that I would have recognized him had he not
been pointed out to me. In form he is much stouter, though not so
erect as he was in former years. His hair is sprinkled with gray. He
retains the same noble cast of features, and deep, dreamy, and genial
expression of eye as of old, but his complexion is sallow, and his
face is marked by lines of care. There is something sad and touching
in his manner. I do not know what his misfortunes in America may have
to do with his present dejected expression, but he seems to me to be a
man who has met with great disappointments in life. Although I sat
beside him at the table, and might have claimed acquaintance as one of
his most ardent American admirers, I was deterred from speaking to him
by something peculiar in his manner--not coldness, for that is not in
his nature--but an apparent withdrawal from the outer world into
himself. A feeling that it might be intrusive to address him kept me
silent. I afterward sent him a few lines, expressing a desire to renew
my early acquaintance with him; but he left town while I was absent on
an excursion to the Frogner-assen, and, much to my regret, I missed
seeing him.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

FROM CHRISTIANIA TO LILLEHAMMER.

The population of Christiania is something over 40,000, and of late
years it has become quite a place of resort for tourists on the way to
the interior of Norway. The houses built since the fire of 1858, which
destroyed a considerable portion of the town, are large and
substantial, built of stone and covered with cement. The streets for
the most part are broad and roughly paved. Very little of
characteristic style is observable in the costume of the citizens.
Plainness of dress, simple and primitive manners, and good nature, are
the leading traits of the Norwegians. Christiania is the modern
capital of Norway, and was founded by Christian IV. of Denmark, near
the site of the ancient capital of Osloe, which was founded in 1058 by
King Harold Hardraade. Some of the old buildings still remain in a
state of good prese