latter are very inferior as works of art. The interior of the edifice is much disfigured by the unsightly pews which are in the galleries. Notwithstanding this blemish, the cathedral of Trondhjem must be regarded as one of the finest specimens of the architecture of the middle ages to be found in Europe.

ST. OLAF,

The king, saint, and martyr, who was buried in Trondhjem cathedral, was killed in 1030, at Stiklestad, a village in the north of Norway. Having embraced Christianity, he endeavoured to compel his people to do the same. On their refusal, he treated them with so much cruelty that they rebelled against him, and made Canute the Great their king. Olaf fled into Sweden, where he raised an army, and invaded his own country. It was an unfortunate enterprise, for Olaf was killed fighting bravely at the head of his troops, and was not then lamented by his subjects. A cross was afterwards erected to his memory on the spot where he fell. The king was canonised after his death, and his name is still held in the greatest esteem.

Dr. Clarke, the celebrated traveller, was reminded of the Bay of Naples by the appearance of Trondhjem. "Having ascended a steep eminence (he remarks), and turning suddenly round the corner of a rock, the glorious prospect of the city of Tröngem, covering a peninsula in the finest bay the eye ever beheld, appeared far below us. Its rising spires and white glittering edifices immediately reminded the author of the city and

beautiful Bay of Naples, to which it is somewhat similar. In the latter, the grandeur of Vesuvius, the cliffs and hanging vineyards of Sorrento, the shining. heights and shores of Capri, with all the orange-groves of Baia, the rocks and caverns of Posilipo, possess, besides their natural beauties, a variety of local attractions, which, for the delights they afford, place them above everything else in Europe; but, considered only in point of picturesque beauty, the Bay of Tröngem does not yield to the Bay of Naples. It is everywhere land-locked by mountains, which resemble, as to their height and distance from the eye, those which surround the Bay of Naples, Vesuvius alone excepted. The Castel del' Uovo, so distinguished a feature of the Neapolitan bay, is eclipsed by the appearance of the isle and fortress of Munkholm."

MUNKHOLM.

This is a small island opposite to Trondhjem, where there was once a monastery of Benedictines, said to have been founded in 1028 by Canute the Great. There is now a fortress in which state prisoners were once confined. In one of the towers Count Griffenfeld, chief minister of King Christian V. of Denmark, was immured for eighteen years. He died in Trondhjem a few days after his release. It is asserted that the king came purposely from Copenhagen to Munkholm to gloat over the poor prisoner in his lonely cell, but the count having been informed of the intended visit, concealed himself behind the door, and the king had to return disap

pointed. The marks on the floor made by the count's footsteps, as he paced up and down his solitary chamber, were for a long time pointed out to visitors, but the boards have been removed.

An excursion may be made from Trondhjem to the waterfalls on the Lier Elv. Excellent salmon-fishing is to be had in the Lier, near one of the two falls. The Nid is another river where salmon are to be found; and the Guul, in the neighbourhood of Trondhjem, is one of the best and most celebrated salmon-rivers in Norway.

Other excursions may be made from this city to the Selbo Lake, to the island of Hitteren, off the coast; and to Tydalen, in Jemteland. Some red-deer are to be

found on Hitteren.

Christiansund-Tromsö-Its Inhabitants-Hammerfest-Hospitality of its people-The North Cape-The Loffoden Islands -The West Fjord-The Cod-banks-Extraordinary Scenery -The Mahlström.

HE steamer which leaves Bergen for the north stops a few miles south of Trondhjem at

CHRISTIANSUND.

This is a small but thriving town of 4000 people, which carries on a considerable trade with the Mediterranean in stock-fish. It is built in a singular and irregular manner on three islands, and is worth a visit from the traveller on account of its picturesque situation. Here is to be seen the cinereous or sea-eagle, which builds its eyry on some high and almost inaccessible rock. It feeds principally on fish, and is said sometimes to catch itself by its claws as it

pounces on some large porpoise or other native of the deep, when the unfortunate bird is carried under water and drowned. The skeleton of a bird of this species was once found on the body of a monster cod-fish, which had met with this untimely fate.

TROMSÖ.

Hotel :-The Ludwig, a comfortable house. There are also one or two private lodging-houses.

This rapidly-increasing little town is the capital of Finmark, or Norwegian Lapland. Although so far north, it is by no means an unpleasant place to reside in; nor is the cold so severe as some persons might suppose, for its vicinity to the sea causes the temperature to be higher than it is in some places more inland. The Stift Amtmand, or principal government official, and the bishop of the diocese, reside here. The prosperity of the inhabitants of the town depends chiefly on the cod-fishery. The people are very hospitable to strangers.

The lower orders of Tromsö are ignorant, superstitious, and much given to habits of intemperance, but serious crimes are of very rare occurrence. The people are strong and healthy, and live to a good old age. Epidemics are almost unknown among them.

Barley grows in Finmark, but it does not ripen every year. Wheat has to be imported from Russia by way of Archangel. Potatoes grow in all parts, even on the numerous islands of the west coast, and in East Finmark. The people of Finmark have a saying that