SUNDALSFJORD
At Christmas, and indeed during all festivities, these various unseen powers are propitiated by offerings of food and drink, which are placed outside the farm, and invariably disappear. I should not like to swear that no agency but magic is responsible.
At several of the trees on the land of the farm hotel at Dalen were fixed little shelters, each having a small entrance and a gabled roof. These, we surmised correctly, were for the birds. The Norwegians are very fond of the small songsters, and in many districts it is forbidden to destroy them. This delighted us, the more, perhaps, that we had spent the previous spring in Italy, where heartless massacre of birds is carried on, one of the Italian's favourite dishes being half a dozen or a dozen tiny ones served on polenta. The sportsmen who indulge in the hunt sell the birds strung together—a thread through their heads—by the dozen. In Norway the birds are encouraged and petted, and in the winter fed. At Christmas time every one buys sheaves of oats or other cereals still in the ear, and hangs them outside the windows, or, fastening the bundles on poles, erects them in gardens and in the open spaces of the cities. He would be poor indeed who had not a few ore to devote to the entertainment of the little feathered friends at this season of universal joy.
Poverty as we know it in England is scarcely to be found in Norway, and, on the other hand, riches as understood by a Norwegian living in his own country would by no means satisfy an aspirant for wealth on this side of the North Sea. Statistical information concerning income and property shows but a small difference between the principal classes. The income of the employer often does not exceed the wages of the average workman. A very slight change in the balance would bring many employers into the ranks of the employed. This happy country, though under the government of a Limited Monarchy, seems to fulfil the dreams of at least the reasonable Socialist. It has no nobility with political or economic principles, no great capitalists, no immense estates. The difficulty of earning a livelihood in the inclement climate and on the stormy coast calls for energy and endurance, and accustoms the worker to self-restraint. More than half the population own deposits in the Savings Banks. The spirit of equality is noticeable to the most casual observer. The proprietor of the station where you pass your nights is absolutely the equal of the guest, who avails himself of the house's hospitality for his own convenience, and apparently not for the profit of the owner. The servants who wait on one are pleasant and willing, working for their living, it is true, but showing none of the servility largely dependent on tips which is the characteristic of their class in other countries. If a pourboire is given, small or large, it is accepted invariably with a frank handshake; in some cases it is difficult to induce its acceptance. A Norwegian, whatever his standing may be, is the equal of everyone. Politeness on the part of the traveller is such a necessity that the guide-books mention it. The domineering tourist will meet with difficulties and rebuffs.
SÆTERSDALEN GIRL IN NATIONAL COSTUME
MAINLY ABOUT SAINTS
MAINLY ABOUT SAINTS