home, though not equal to that felt in other
countries having the same latitude; and the
measures taken against it are manifold—for
the Norwegians are as fond lovers of heat as
people usually are of a good thing whereof
they never have been sickened by satiety.
The large stoves, which are used alike in
sitting and sleeping rooms, are lavishly
supplied with wood, and produce a temperature,
high and dry, which bakes an Englishman
alive. I used frequently to feel that I was
beginning to be cooked about the temples,
particularly when I came into a hot room
after walking or driving. The cold is not
only burnt out, but also shut out by double
glass windows, which, when once put up,
remain immovably closed till they are taken
down in spring; so, very little genuine fresh
air can find admittance, during winter, into a
Norwegian house.

The sledge takes the place of the carriole
for travelling—a very pleasant exchange; for
a swift slide over the white snow, glittering
about one like a diamond desert in the
sunshine, is very joyous exercise. Sledges are
both single and double: the former is very
much like the body of a carriole, set upon
skates; the whole carriage is not three feet
from the ground, and, of course, light. The
double sledge—which holds two persons
sitting side by side, with the addition of a
perch behind for a driver, or sometimes a
double-seat—is both a much more considerable
and much more comfortable affair,
inasmuch as one can sit in it instead of being
half-reclined. A bearskin kaross covers the
knees, and is strapped at the upper corners
to the back of the sledge, making an exceedingly
snug apron. A pair of strong little
horses are set between shafts, which spring
from the curve of the sledge or skate; they
wear bells on their collars, sometimes six or
eight in number, and these shall make music
wherever they go. The use of this music is
to serve the purpose of a railway-whistle,
warning other carriages of an approach, which
otherwise, upon the noiseless surface of the
snow, might escape notice now and then, and
be the cause of serious collisions. When the
snow is really deep, there is a track formed
for the sledges, by means of a snow-plough,
which is a frame of wood, in shape something
like the letter V. The horse is harnessed to
the point of the wedge, and, being slowly
driven on, pushes the snow into a ridge on
each side as he proceeds.

The travelling dress, too, is curious, but
well adapted to the climate in which it is
worn. A gentleman's outer garment is a wolf-
skin coat, made with the fur outside, and
thickly wadded within; it has a high collar,
which can be raised to protect the neck and
head; all is bound close to the body by a
scarf, either knitted or woven, which is some
six or seven yards long; this bandage, after
acting as a comforter to the throat, is passed
two or three times round the waist, and firmly
tied. This is called a travelling scarf, and is
considered quite a necessary part of human
trapping. The gentleman wears, furthermore,
a fur cap, generally of otter or seal-skin—
as these are the skins most impervious
to wet—which is provided with a deep shade,
and has flaps, to be tied down over the ears.
Large knitted woollen gloves, frequently made
like children's gloves, with one division for
the fingers and another for the thumb to cover
his hands; such gloves being warmer than
those in which the fingers are all separated.
Finally, to complete his equipment, he steps
into a pair of over-boots, which reach nearly
to the knee, or higher, and are generally
lined with sheep-skin. These boots are made
large enough to be drawn over those in
common use, and are indispensable for walking
through deep snow.

A lady's dress is less remarkable, although
the thickly-wadded stuff bonnet has an odd
appearance. She wears great boots, like
those just mentioned, but not quite so high,
nor so heavy, though quite massive enough.
On stepping into the sledge, she finds there a
large sack, lined either with wolf or sheep-
skin; it is rather longer before than behind;
into this she gets, and being carefully tucked
in by the servant, sits down, and drawing the
long end up as high as she pleases, is thus
completely poked out of the way of cold.

In strange contrast to the couple within
the sledge, the boy who goes to drive, or take
care of the horses, springs upon his airy
perch behind, with no extra wraps about him
beyond the boots, mits, and a comforter round
his neck. But, then, happy fellow! he is
constantly in motion, either running up the
hills, or giving his weight behind, to prevent the
sledge from sliding down too rapidly. So sharp
is the cold, that a very short time covers the
coats of the horses and the kaross with hoar-
frost; and the breach falls on beard, or veil,
or anything within reach, in a white powder.

The winter scenery is grand and striking.
The snow hangs so magnificently on the tall
fir-trees, so heavily that the strong thick
branches are borne down with the weight.
Generally , at this season, the sun is so low in
the sky that it does not rise so far above the
overhanging rocks as to allow the narrow
valleys a great share of sunshine. Then, when
emerging from a valley one comes suddenly
upon an opening, the effect is doubly beautiful;
the light falls so brilliantly on the sparkling
snow, broken by the encumbered stems and
branches, while some distant rock casts a deep
shade over the back-gound, and provides a
foil for the surrounding glitter. At night
"the moon shines bright as day," and the
northern lights, though not very common,
now and then come out to play. They vary
in some degree from such lights as we see in
England, being very seldom of that elegant
rose-colour which we admire so much. They
spring up faintly in the north, increasing in
brilliancy as they get gradually towards the