48 



Norway and the Norwegians 



primitive than the houses — more like covered wagons 

 that have been deposited there on props when their 

 wheels were removed ; and in looking at them our 

 thoughts are irresistibly carried back to the picture 

 which the Eoman writers give us of the ancient Goths 

 during the days of their migrations ; of how they lived 

 in covered vans or wooden houses upon wheels, and in 

 these travelled slowly and heavily from place to place, 

 I do not say but that this association of ideas may be 



partly fanciful ; but I believe that these propped dwell- 

 ings give us as near a representative of the house on 

 wheels of the ancient Goths as any which could be 

 found standing in this year of grace. 



I have seemed, perhaps, to dwell too long upon the 

 ^Norwegian houses, considering their primitive and 

 simple structure ; but it appears to me that there is an 

 interest attaching to relics of the past such as these, as 



