able feeding his horses, his wife
in the back yard looking after the chickens, and his children sitting
at a table in the kitchen devouring a dish of porridge. Upon
expressing your astonishment that nothing is ready, the good man of
the house says "Ja! it will be ready directly, min Herr!" and if you
are lucky it comes in another hour--a cup of coffee and some bread
perhaps, which you could just as well have had in ten minutes.
Patience may be a virtue in other countries, but it is an absolute
necessity in Norway. I believe, after the few weeks' experience I had
on the road to Trondhjem, I could without difficulty sit upon a
monument and smile at grief.

[Illustration: THE PRIZE.]

Perceiving through the cracks of the door that there was a good fire
in the kitchen, and hearing the cheerful voices of the man and his
wife, varied by the merry whistle my skydskaarl, I made bold to go in
and ask leave to stand by the fire. The good people seemed a little
astonished at first that a person of quality like myself should prefer
the kitchen to the fine room with the sofa and bureau, the
mantle-piece ornaments and pictures of the royal family; but, by dint
of good-humored gossip about the horses, and an extravagant compliment
thrown in about the beauty of the landlady's children--for which I
hope to be pardoned--I secured a comfortable seat by the fire, and was
soon quite at home. The great open fireplace, the blazing pine logs,
the well-smoked hobs, the simmering pots and steaming kettles, had
something indescribably cheerful about them; and lighting my pipe, I
puffed away cozily during the pauses in the conversation, having a
delightful consciousness that nature had peculiarly adapted me for the
vulgar enjoyments of life, and that every thing approaching the
refinements of civilization was a great bore. It was doubtless this
taint of the savage in my disposition that made me look with such
horror upon neat rooms and civilized furniture, and fall back with
such zest upon the primitive comforts of savage life. When I told the
people of the house that I was all the way from California--that I had
come expressly to see their country--there was no end to the interest
and excitement. "Dear me!" they cried, "and you have traveled a long
way! You must be very tired! And you must be very rich to travel so
far! Ah Gott--how wonderful!" "Did you come all the way in a cariole?"
inquired the simple-minded host. "No; I came part of the w