250 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



they called us — ^who were always interfering with 

 their rights as free citizens of the world. Many 

 of them simply refused to stand it, and ignored 

 our authority, openly claiming their right to 

 trade with the Germans, whilst others — ^though 

 they hated us none the less — did accept most of 

 our impositions, as they feared the stoppages of 

 coal and salt — commodities essential to their 

 business. In this atmosphere of pro-Germanism 

 one had no friends,^ and no one to talk to. The 

 telephone and telegraph girls were all German 

 spies, and one had to be very careful that all 

 messages were unintelligible to them. When the 

 submarine difficulty began, in September, they 

 did not actually refuse to take my messages to 

 certain local people on the northern coasts who 

 were working for me, but took good care that these 

 messages were never delivered. There were other 

 means, however, of getting information trans- 

 mitted and received which they did not discover. 

 On the whole Norway is an attractive country, 

 that is to say, in peace times, because then we are 

 only thrown amongst the best of its people, who 

 are genuinely glad to see us, when we are only 

 bent on sport or pleasure. We think then only 

 of its romantic sagas, of Odin, Thor, Freya, the 

 Vikings, Valkyries and Valhalla, and we have 

 visions of quaint gnomes, trolds and Lappish 

 witches. Our sympathy goes out to these people, 



^ From this category I except my good friend Mr. Charles 

 Robertson, a Norwegian of Scottish extraction, and by far the 

 cleverest man in northern Norway. From him and his Avife 

 I received much kindness and hospitality at a time when such 

 amenities were most appreciated, and to them I shall always 

 owe a debt of gratitude. 



