There are fcw splendid buildings in Norway, even in the principal towns ; and the greater part of the houses are constructed chiefly of wood, with founda tions of stone, plastered, and whitewashed on the out side. The interior is lined with planks, which are covered with oil paint ; and the open spaces are filled with pitch, tow, or moss, to exclude the cold. But it is generally observed that the Norwegians do not bestow sufficient attention upon the closeness of their houses, and seem to trust for warmth rather to their immense fires of wood. The roofs are frequently covered with tiles, but more commonly with planks, upon which are laid the bark of the birch tree, with a coat of turf above all, which in summer bears grass and flowers, on which the goats are fond of browzing. The cleanliness of the cottages is very remarkable ; and much of their furni ture, (such as polished pewter dishes and earthen plates, in rows along the walls, burnished kettles and saucepans, bright wooden bedsteads, chairs and tables, bleached with frequent scowering,) bears a close re semblance to the state of the English cottages in for mer times The ceilings, windows, and walls, are fre quently painted with showy colours; the tables coloured in imitation of oil-cloth patterns ; and sometimes the sides of the walls hung with painted cloth. There are many elegant country seats, which are oblong buildings, consisting of one floor, the outsides painted red, and the frames of the windows green. The walls and beams of the houses arc often covered with inscriptions of a moral and religious nature, or expressive of the feel ings of hospitality. The dwelling-houses in the coun try, which are generally situated in the most pleasing and even picturesque spots that can be found, are usu ally spacious, and commodiously arranged ; consisting of three or four rooms on one floor, with large windows, but sometimes with nothing but a square hole in the roof, which serves also for a passage to the smoke, and which is occasionally filled by a wooden pane covered with bladder.- ln the towns, however, particularly in Drontheim, which is almost entirely composed of wood en houses, these structures have a very neat appear ance, and are ornamented with a considerable degree of taste. In this place, the town-house is built in a very noble and simple style ; and the ruined cathedral of St. Olaf, which in forrner times was the great resort of Norwegian Pilgrims, is still the largest and most re markable edifice in Norway. In Christiania, the houses are almost wholly built of stone ; and log houses are absolutely prohibited by the government, on account of the destructive conflagrations which occur where they prevail, and by which almost every town in Norway has at one time or other been reduced to ashes.
The diet of the inhabitants of the towns resembles nearly that of other countries in the north of Europe ; but in the country districts peculiar modes of living prevail. At an entertainment given by the better class, the guests place themselves at table without etiquette, and evcry one sits as he chooses. They continue long at their meals, but converse with much liveliness. They do not remain at table after dinner ; and the constant presence of the ladies, who often take the lead in con versation, renders their social meetings cheerful and agreeable. Their dinners are of a very substantial na ture, yet not w ithout elegance ; and even at supper three or four courses of soup, fowls, ham, fish, Sze. follow one another, while perhaps a quarter of veal appears at last as the concluding delicacy. After dinner the company all bow to the hostess, drink her health, and then sud denly rising, push back their chairs with a tremendous noise to the sides of the room. Then they stand for a short time as if they WeIT saying a grace ; after which, bowing to the master of the house, and to each other, they shake hands with the host, kiss the hand of the hostess, and conduct the ladies out of the room. Coffee is then served, while some gentlemen retire to smoke tobacco in another room. Tea is then brought in,after which the card tables are set out, and punch served up. A solid supper finally appears, as before mentioned.
Their bread is sometimes made of rye, hut generally of oats, and is baked so hard, that when laid in a dry place it may be kept for several years without much al teration. A kind of gruel, or pottage, of barley or oat meal, mixed sometimes with dried fish, or with sour milk, forms, besides bread, the ordinary food of the pea santry, with the occasional addition of milk, butter, cheese, fish, salted meat, and game. A kind of cheese, called gammel orse, or norske, made of butter-milk mix ed with yeast, and resembling- the best old Cheshire cheese, is a favourite article of food, but which they are not willing to sell : it is usually kept ten years before being brought to table. In seasons of scarcity the lichen rangiferue or rein-deer moss, freed from its bitterness by careful preparations, is ground, and mixed with the ordinary flour of which bread is made. This plant, which in the winter season is tender and succulent, like heart of lettuce, has a cooling and juicy taste in the mouth, but warms the stomach after it has been swallowed, and might fort» a very useful article of food, were not the natives strongly prejudiced against thc idea of being fed with the fodder of their cattle. Even the bark of the fir tree is sometimes employed in the same way in cases of great necessity. The innermost rincl of' the most
vigorous young trees is taken for this purpose, hung up in the air for several days to dry, baked in an oven, :naten on wooden blocks, then pounded as finely as pos sible in wooden vessels ; and, finally, ground in the mill into coarse meal, like barley or oats. It is then mixed -fp with thrashed-out ears, or a few moss seeds, and made into thick. cakes. This Litter and astringent food, which the peasants, who are reduced to the use of it, are obliged to wash clown with water, renders the body weak and relaxed, and occasions an oppressive burning about the chest. The peasants of Norway are, never theless, generally well clothed and lodged, and provid ed with more comforts of life than the c.ommon people of most other countries. In the summer season they sleep in a state of nakedness, in order to save their lin ens, and in this respect resemble the peasantry of Italy.
T e character of the Norwegians as a people i, more interesting and estimable than that of most other na tions. Their expressions are clear and energetic, their answers distinct and correct, their questions pertinent and judicious, their reflections often profound and in telligent, beyond what could be imagined in their limit ed opportunities of education. There is a generosity of heart and elevation of mind about them, which gives to their manners a very frank and decided stamp. They speak and act in the lull spirit of free men, open and undaunted, yet never insolent in the presence of their superiors. They salute one another by opening tneir hands ; and, even to persons considerably above them in station, they express their thanks, not by words or bows, but by a cordial shake of the hand. They were generally treated W it h kindness, humanity, and patience, by the functionaries of the Danish government, which they repaid with the most hearty confidence. Alany of the peasants pride themselves upon their descent from the ancient nobles, and arc careful to procure for their children matrimonial connections only among their equals in birth and blood. They are reproached with being slow in reconciliations ; but are obliging, hospita ble, and liberal even to display, when they possess the means. In some of the cities, there is a cultivated style of conversation, ancl polish of manners, mixed with the high and independent spirit of the nation, which form altogether an accomplished character, not to be expect ed in the remote latitudes and limited advantages of Scandinavia ; and in some of the inland districts, where the corrupting influence of commerce has not reached, there prevails a pure and primitive spirit of religion, united with a quiet industry, and domestic retirement, which are peculiarly suited to cheer the state of pover ty and privation in which their days are spent. They are generally animated by an ardent spirit of patriotism, par ticularly in the city of Drontheim, which has less de pendance upon foreign connections, and may be consi dered as a kind of insulated territory, in which the true Norwegian character appears in all its native warmth and simplicity. They are of all nations the most sin cerely attached to the people of Great Britain. " The welfare of Great Britain," says Dr. Clarke, " was a. toast which resounded in every company, and was never giv en, but with reiterated cheers, and the most heartfelt transports. Every Englishman was considered by the Norwegians as a brother ; they partook even in our pre judices, and participated in all our triumphs. When ever the gazettes contained intelligence of a victory gained by the English, the glad tidings were hailed and echoed from one end of the country to the other ; but especially in Drontheim. They sung " Rule Britannia" in every company. Their houses were furnished with English engravings ; English newspapers were lying on their tables. The Norwegians would have fought for England as for their native land ; and there was nothing which an Englishman, as a sincere lover of his country, might more earnestly have wished for, than to sce Nor way allied to Britain." The ancient inhabitants of Norway are supposed to have been a colony of the Basterna, a numerous and powerful Gothic tribe; but according to Ptiny, Strabo, and Tacitus, they WerC rather of German extraction. Norway was originally divided into a numher of petty principalities, which were first united into one monarchy by Harold Harfager, A. D. 875. The numerous descend ants of these princes soon dismembeled the kingdom by their cottflicting claims; but in the year 1028, the whole country was subjected to Denmatk, by Canute the Great. The authority of the Danish princes, how ever, was frequently disputed ; and it was not till the year 1380, when Hagcr, king of Norway, tnarried the princess Margaret of Denmark, that the two crowns were united. The two countries, however, continued so far•separate as to have distinct constitutions and codes of law; and were not formally conjoined as one kingdom till the year 1537. In consequence of ar rangements between the courts of Russia and Sweden, to which the British government afterwards acceded, Norway was united to Sweden, in October, 1814, with equal rights and privileges to both nations. See Ta bleau des Etats Danois, par Catteau ; Von Buch's Tra vels in Norway ; Clarke's Travels in .A''orr:vay, Sweden, efc- (q)