Army, etc.—By the terms of the laws of 1866 and 1876, the army of Norway is com posed of troops of the line, the military train, the militia or Landevaern, the civic guard's, and the Landstorm, or final war-levy. In 1878 the troops of the line numbered 12,000 men and 750 officers. All young men above twenty-one years of age, are liable to serve. with the exception of the inhabitants of the three northern amts of the king dom. The fleet numbered, in 1873, 121 vessels, of which 29 were steamers, carrying 142 guns. The navy was manned by 2,400 sailors, but the number of men liable by law to he called upon for naval service in the districts of Norway exceeds 'Torten, in Christiania-Fjord, is the principal naval port. The only fortified spots are sheen at Frederickshald, Frederickstad, Akershuus, Bergenshuus, Munkholm, and Var doh ans.
The population of _Norway is chiefly rural, only about 11 per cent living in towns. Christiania, the priticilial city, has 77.000 inhaLiitauts,'While Bergen. and Trondhjem have respectively only 34,000 and 22,500. The physical character and consequent climatic relations of Norway leave a very small proportion (according to some writers, only about 2 per cent) of the area capable of being cultivated. There are few villages, and the isolated farmsteads are often separated from one another by many miles. The cultivators of the land are in most instances also the proprietors, less than one-third of the whole number being tenants only. Allodial land, known as tidal or Odel, does not descend to the eldest son unconditionally, since all his relatives have a claim upon it, and if it should be sold, have the right of buying it back within the term of five years at the sale-price.
Roads, Railways, ate.—The public roads in Norway are excellent; and traveling is rendered cheap and expeditious by the system established and regulated by law, in accordance with which carriages and horses are provided at fixed rates of payment for travelers passing through the rural districts of the country. This system, which is known as •'Skyds," is completely under the control and direction of the authorities, by whom the number of the guest-houses and stations are regulated. The length of the railways in Norway in 1876 was about-340 m.; and the number of letters that passed through the post in 1875 was 8,764,000.
Race, Language, etc.—With the exception of some 20,000 Lapps and Finns, living in the most remote northern regions, the inhabitants of Norway are generally a pure Scan dinavian race, akin to the North German nations of Aryan descent. The genuine Nor wegians are of middle height, with strong, well-knit, muscular frames, of fair skin, with light flaxen or yellow hair, and blue eyes. In character, they may be said to be frank, yet cautious and reserved, honest, religious, and superstitious, more from an inveterate love of clinging to the forms, thoughts, and creed of their ancestors, than from fanaticism. Their love of country, and the irrepressible fondness for the sea, by
the very- anomaly which these apparently coutraditory propensities exhibit, show them to be the true descendants of the sea-roving Northmen of old. Of late years emigration has continued steadily to increase at a rate which threatens to be a serious evil to sobadly populated,a country as Norway, but which is easily explained by the small portion of land capable of cultivation. The general diffusion of education, and the perfect equality and practical independence which they have known how to secure and to retain selves, notwithstanding this nominal incorporation with the other Scandinavian king doms, give to the poorest Norwegians a sense of self-respect and self-reliance which distinguish them favorably from those of the same class in other countries. The peas ants, more especially in the amts remote from towns, retain their ancient provincial cos tumes, which pre, for the most part, highly picturesque, consisting among the women, of ample woolen skirts and brightly-colored knit bodices, fastened and adorned with silver or brass clasps and buckles. Music is muchcultivated by all classes of the people, and national song§ and melodies which are the favorites;are for the most part of a melancholy character.
Danish is the language in ordinary use both in writing and speaking, although dia lects near akin to the old Norse arc spoken by the dalesmen and mountaineers of special districts. Since the separation of the country from Denmark, a strongly national tend ency has been manifested by some of the best Norwegian writers, and attempts have been made to reorganize these dialects into one general Norwegian language, and thus, in fact, to revive the ancient Norse, or Icelandic, which has been preserved in Iceland in almost perfect purity since its introduction to the island in the 9th c. by colonists from the Scandinavian mother-lands. Among the most zealous cultivators of the ancient and modern literature and history of Norway, we may instance Prof. P. A. Munch, whose able expositions of the laws and social conditions of his country have thrown new light on its history; Keyser, Unger, and Hohnboe, who have done much to elucidate the Norse tongue and literature; A. Munch, Bjcrregaard, Hansen, and Welhaven the critic, successful cultivators of the national lyric; J. Moe and Asbjbrnsen collectors and anno tators of native sages; Ibsen the dramatist, and Bjornsen the delineator of national peas ant life. In the more abstruse departments of mathematical and physical science, Nor wegians have gained for themselves a foremost place, as is sufficienty testified by the mention of names such as N. H. Abel, renowned for his discoveries in indefinite integ-1 rals; C. Hansteen, the astronomer; and Keilhau, the geologist.