pal of these is Christiania Fjord, which you will
ascend in a few days. The country also abounds in lakes, which, as in
most mountainous regions, are very narrow, being simply the widenings
of the rivers. The largest of these is Mioesen Lake, fifty-five miles
long, and from one to twelve wide.

"The soil is not very good, and the Norwegians are not progressive
farmers. They cling to the methods of their sires, and modern
improvements find but little favor among them. The winter is long, and
the summer short; but by a provision of provident nature, the crops
mature more rapidly than in some of the southern climes, as grain has
been reaped six weeks after it was sowed. The principal crops are the
grains; but the supply is not equal to the demand, and considerable
importations are received from Denmark and Russia. In the south the
farmers devote themselves to stock-raising, while in the north the
Lapps derive nearly all the comforts of life from the reindeer, the
care of which is their chief industry.

"The extensive product of pine and fir have created a vast trade in
lumber, which constitutes three fourths of the exports to the United
Kingdom, and a considerable portion of the inhabitants in the wooded
districts are employed in cutting, sawing, and sending to market the
wealth of the forests. Next in importance to this are the fisheries,
which yield about five million dollars a year. Cod, haddock, and
herring are cured for exportation, and are an important source of
revenue. Besides these, the roe of the cod is sent to France, Italy,
and Spain, as bait for sardines. Norway supplies London with lobsters.
Norway iron, as well as Swedish, is very celebrated; but the mines are
poorly managed, as are those of copper and silver.

"The kingdom of Norway is divided into eighteen provinces, which are
called Amts. Its population, in 1865, was one million seven hundred
thousand, showing an increase of about two hundred thousand in ten
years. The government is a constitutional monarchy."

"I thought it was a part of Sweden," said one of the students.

"Not at all. The King of Sweden is also the King of Norway; but each
country has its own independent and separate government. Each has its
own legislature, makes its own laws, and raises and expends its own
revenues. The king exercises his functions as ruler over both kingdoms
through a council of state, composed of an equal number of Swedes and
Norwegians, whose duty it is to adv