338 Norway and the Norwegians 



properly speaking, do more than mortgage his landed 

 possessions. He or his descendants have the right of 

 re-entry on the repayment of the purchase-money, if 

 this payment is made within three years of the sale. 

 Even when this is not done the new holder does not 

 acquire udal right in his tenure until he has held it 

 for twenty years. 



The inheritance of property in former days vested 

 in equal shares in the sons of the house ; but the 

 daughters, as a rule, inherited personal property only. 

 Later on, the share of each daughter in the real property 

 of her father was half that of each of the sons. But 

 since 1860 the rights of all children have been 

 equalised. The power of testamentary disposition 

 moreover is limited to one-fourth only of the property 

 of tlie testator. It will be seen that in framing these 

 laws concerning property, as in framing its constitution, 

 Norway, while it has in many ways done not much 

 more than legalize the customs which already existed, 

 lias yet in effect run pretty closely on the lines of 

 legislation in France since the Ee volution. 



This law of the compulsory partition of estates, of 

 course, tends to the splitting up of properties into 

 very small divisions. But it is partly modified by a 

 certain option of purchase accorded to the inheritors 

 in order to prevent the farms being further divided. 

 This power of purchase goes by the name of Aasccdcsrct. 



As it is, however, the land often becomes subdivided 

 in a most ridiculous manner. For the Norwegians, like 

 ]Deasant proprietors in all countries, are very jealous of 

 their rights, and by no means very reasonable in assert- 

 ing them. The extreme variableness in the character of 



