Sep., 1890. 
THROUGH NORWAY WITH THE VESEY CLUB. 
199 
has not been a happy one,—about as grateful to the Norsk as 
would have been to the Scots the union of the crowns of 
England and Scotland on the one head of James, had the 
latter happened to have been primarily an English king. 
All sorts of funny dodges are made use of to avoid friction. 
For instance, in Sweden, Oscar is King of Sweden and Norway; 
in Norway, King of Norway and Sweden, and so on. But 
still the Norwegians are not happy, and I suppose it must be 
ever thus when a poor but proud and well-born dame is 
wedded by force majeure to a plump, wealthy, but with all, 
plebeian husband. Unless hampered by his personal interests, 
probably not one Norsk in a hundred but would welcome a 
divorce, not one in ten but would gladly rejoin the old mate, 
Denmark, or, failing that, rejoice over the establishment of a 
Norwegian Kepublic. Hence the departure was rather limp. 
The Norwegian cheer, “ h’ra,” as I have before designated it, 
does not lend itself to unorganised out-door effects. It is 
striking enough when shouted in perfect time, as we sub¬ 
sequently heard it, by a party of officer-guests at Vossevangen, 
but with a heterogeneous crowd in the streets it is ineffec¬ 
tive. Matters were not improved by frequent showers. 
Shortly after noon we were once more in the train, 
en route for Lille-elvedal, two hundred miles up the valley of 
the Glommen. To Eidsvold (42 m.) our route was the same 
as that of the overland party. Thence we had frequent 
glimpses to the left over the great Mjosen Vand, the largest 
lake in Norway, about sixty miles in length, though 
comparatively narrow, and often a mere slit between the hills. 
The shores are generally undulating, but sometimes abrupt 
and well wooded ; this is particularly the case about fifteen 
miles down, where the Skreiakampen, on the western side, 
rises to a height of about 2,800 feet, and opposite to it the 
lake is about 1,600 feet in depth. About half-way down the 
lake, on a bay of its eastern side, lies the town of Hamar. 
Here we change our train, for thus far we have come upon a 
railway having the usual European guage, but from this 
station to Trondhjemthe line is a narrow guage, with a width 
of 8ft. 4in. A halt of half-an-hour gave time for dinner. A 
railway dinner in Norway is a meal by no means to be 
despised. With the exception of the soup, which is ladled 
out by the attendants of the railway restaurant, you help 
yourself to everything, and, after liberal recourse to huge 
dishes of delightful mountain strawberries, with cream to 
match, which you use for the purpose of filling up any 
crevices which may remain and steadying the meal for 
