m SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY 



but the Austrians were not to be beat. To the delight of the 

 other guests they appeared at supper in kilts improvised for the 

 occasion out of Norwegian homespun bed coverlets, which were 

 decorated with the beautiful coloured border common in this 

 part of Norway. They were both large-sized men of the typical 

 South German build, and their appearance in this guise was the 

 signal for general merriment, especially when one of them pro- 

 ceeded to execute a dance. We were all in high spirits after our 

 day in the open air. The Austrians were capital fellows, full of 

 jokes and stories, and we spent a very merry evening together. 

 We found out later, when the time came for the inevitable exchange 

 of cards, that one of them was a judge in one of the higher courts 

 of Vienna and the other an advocate who practised in the same 

 court. We saw a good deal of them afterwards and found them 

 excellent travelling companions. From Odde we made our way 

 by steamer, rowing boat, and on foot to Vossevangen, where we 

 rested for a few days. One evening spent here dwells in my 

 memory. The hotel, at that time one of the few hotels in Norway 

 outside the large towns, was much frequented by Norwegians 

 from Bergen. It boasted a piano, and after supper Ramsay 

 commenced to play and then to whistle, an accomplishment 

 in which he excelled. Soon this unusual form of entertainment 

 attracted listeners, and after a time all the guests were gathered 

 round him applauding vociferously. Then we sang national songs, 

 and all went merrily until we came to the Marseillaise, when three 

 Germans, who were of the party, clapped on their caps and 

 strutted out of the room to the intense amusement of the rest of 

 the company. At that time the Germans had neither destroyers 

 nor submarines and the Norwegians stood in no fear of them. 



Most of our travelling was done on foot. We carried nothing 

 with us but our knapsacks and it was necessary to wash up 

 from time to time, which we generally did for ourselves, retiring 

 to some secluded spot by the side of a stream for the purpose, 

 and hanging out our washing afterwards over our knapsacks to 



