43 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



Saetersdal, a valley in. the 

 south of Norway. They 

 are not typical Norwegians, 

 being the tallest and most 

 powerful people, not only 

 of Norway, hut the whole 

 peninsula. Their average 

 height is 5 feet 10 inches, 

 but men who exceed 6 feet 

 2 inches are perhaps more 

 often met with than in 

 any other part of 

 Scandinavia. Their food 

 and accommodation are of 

 the plainest kind. The 

 men wear pantaloons ex- 

 tending up to the arm- 

 pits. Above these, and 

 covering only the upper 

 part of the breast, they 

 wear a short vest adorned 

 with silver. The women 

 have the shortest dresses 

 in Norway. Their dark 

 blue-black woollen skirts, 

 trimmed with three or 

 four brightly coloured 

 bands, end just below the 

 knee. This costume shows 

 the well-shaped limbs, of 

 which they are very proud. 

 The bodices are trimmed 

 with bright metal orna- 

 ments, frequently of silver. 

 Sometimes they have 

 round their waists hand- 

 somely worked belts of 

 burnished copper. These 

 people, however, often sleep on sheep-skins without a particle of clothing over them. 



In no country in Europe are the duties of hospitality held more sacred than in Norway. 

 Even beggars are not allowed to go away without an offer of food. It is a curious custom of 

 the Norwegians that a guest shall eat alone. In the room devoted to his use the table is 

 covered with a fine white cloth, and the best forks and spoons are set out. After the meal is 

 served, the mistress of the house, who waits upon the guest, leaves him alone, returning once or 

 twice to urge him to partake heartily of the food. Should the guest, after a day or two, insist 

 on breaking the national rule, he will be allowed to eat at the plain board with the family and 

 farm-hands. He may then decline to use the silver spoon, and ask for a wooden one. The 

 Norwegians take pride in these rude spoons. Each member of the family has his or her own, 

 with the owner's initials carved on the handle. The guest may, like the others, plunge his 

 spoon into the large dish of grod, or porridge, made of barley-meal or rye-meal, the Norwegian's 

 daily dish, and help himself to the accompanying sour milk. Potatoes are also a staple of daily 

 food. Fish, which is plentiful along the coast, and butter and cheese are also freely eaten. 



P/toto by Gosla Floi'man] 



A SWEDISH GIRL IN HRIDAL DRESS. 



[Stoctftotin, 



