MR. LATHAM'S NORWAY AND THE NORWEGIANS.

MR. LATHAM is known to the literary world as the translator of Frithidt; a Swedish poem, imitative of the ancient Sagas, and de- scriptive of ancient Scandinavian life ; as well as of Axe', an ele- gant reflex of 'limos's Mazeppa. He has now thrown off, in 'two volumes, the impressions ‘vhich a sojourn in Norway, some seven years since, left upon his mind; together with the pith of such reading upon the country as aptly fitlls in with the current of his own thoughts.

'flue form of the work is odd, and not very artistical, scarcely making up by novelty what it wants in regularity. It is not a hook of travels, though the author sometimes gives an account of a tour or a trip. It is not a mere collection of sketches of scenery and man-

ners, though there are a good many of both. It is not a formal exposition of Norway and the Nivwegians, though the author dis-

cusses a variety of points bearing upon his theme. The fact

seems to be, that Mr. LATHAM went upon his travels without any thought of writing a book. Two volumes would appear to have

been a six-years' afterthought, when he had nothing but remem- brances to rely upon, and remembrances of an observation less search- ing and complete than would have been made had he originally contemplated publication. Hence, amid much literary excellence, and some new information, his work has an unsatisfying character. Parts—as the journey front Hamburg to Christiana by Copen- hagen, his residence at a sort of half boarding-house in the country with some Norwegian students, and several little trips or descriptions of limited subjects—are complete in themselves, lmw-

ver slight they may be. Weightier matters are more superficially treated ; and though well disguised and dressed up, have a made air—the author seems to be sliding over his subjects.

The composition is finished, and the style crisp, concise, and pointed, displaying a well-trained writer, but one who places more value on manner than matter, and whose manner moreover is bor-

rowed. The literary merit, therefore, varies with the nature of the subject. When the smart and balanced periods of Mr. LATH:1Ni

accord with his theme, as in sketches of manners with a touch of

satire, he produces considerable effect. Almost every sentence im- parts a piece of information, though it may be of a literal or unim• portant kind. But in graver or weightier subjects, his Thilwcrian

turns and aftbetations are out of place. The vulgar will think him an artist, for they think whatever is done according to a pattern or set rule is artistical ; but the true artist is he who follows the nature of his subject, varying his mode of diction according to the cha- racter of his matter.

It is a remarkable and flattering circumstance, that England is valued by a people according to their freedom and their ad- vance in real civilization. In Hungary, where, notwithstanding the domination of Austria and the existence of a feudal state of society, more constitutional and class-defended liberty exists than anywhere else upon the Continent, England is the cynosure of all eyes. In Norway, where hereditary nobility has been abolished by law, and where the government really is what poor old LA- FAYETTE talked about to the French and their King Lours IYjjILL1 PE, " a Monarchy surrounded by Republican institutions," the feeling is the same : so much so, that one of their poets has reproached them with the prejudice. " They deem that men can only come

From England or their own cold home."

The tic, however, is not altogether one of admiration, but of blood. They claim WILLIAM the Conqueror as a kinsman. A Norwegian calls himself a Norman, as indeed he is. " At the end of syllables," says Mr. LATHAM, " the letter d when preceded by another consonant is dropped in pronunciation ; thus No7y/nialui (Northman) becomes Norman." It may be added, that both in Hungary and Norway, Russia is disliked, if a stronger word would not be warranted ; that in each country there is no passport sys- tem—the native or the stranger are free to go and come whereso- ever they please ; and that English is pretty generally cultivated by the more respectable classes in both kingdoms. Upon political or statistical subjects, Mr. LATHAM adds little to what Mr. LAING has told us in his valuable and elaborate work. He however gives some useful information to the sportsman ; which is—go not to Norway to shoot. Wolves are few, bears fewer, and smaller game not numerous ; animated nature being scarce in Nor- way, excepting. fish: but the angler has a promise of excellent sport. There is it hint too which in inure competent hands would have been pushed further : Norway does not produce corn sufficient for her own consumption ; her soil and climate arc adapted to timber. Whilst our Corn-laws put it out of the power of England ever to become au exporting corn country, our Timber-laws deprive us of good wood, our manufacturers of the Norwegian demand, and our merchants of the carrying-trade to which an interchange of Norwegian products would give rise. The ground Mi.. LATHAM passed over in Norway does not seem to have been considerable, or the places he visited numerous ; and it would almost appear as if the irregular plan of his book had been designed to cover the deficiency of his travels. Christiana was his head-quarters ; and of Christiana and its vicinity his sketches are the best. Here is the Southern capital.

CHRISTIANA.

In point of' refinement it fir surpasses its rivals. It looks less like a foreign town than any place I have visited ; it looks also less like a Norwegian one. The proportion of wooden houses is smaller than a traveller might expect. The grand secret of the peculiar appearance of foreign town consists, to my mind, in the number of gable-ends that look upon the streets, and their ab- sence of sash-windows ; whilst English houses stand sideways, and scorn lat- ticed lights. Avenues of trees on each side the street do something in con- tributing towards an un-English aspect. Avenues, however, we have at home ; as in Oxford. Christiana has gable-ends and lattice-windows iu abundance, but no avenues. he complexion of the city is rather pale than florid. There are not many houses of red brick, but a multitude that are either ethitewashed or glazed. Outside the windows, and at right angles with them, projects a double mirror : this gives the inmates a view of what passes in the streets. The same is the case at Copenhagen, and I have seen such things in single houses at home. No one need look out of a window. This is en important ex- emption ; since the Norwegian casements are in general double, for the sake of warmth. Window-breakers may thus smash two panes with one stone; a great advantage for mobs on illumination nights.

PRACTICAL INVOIIMATION.

When you enter a shop, take off your hat. There is plenty of good man- ner; under a rough outside. The tradesmen have too often more prices than one, as our own itinerants have ; so that, occasionally, bargains must be driven.

If you take lodgings in the town, there is a table d'heite at the inn for your meals. Several residents live in that manner. At the inn, a single room, un- less the contrary is especially ordered, serves for bed-room and sitting-room. The furniture of a Norway 1'00111 is that of an English one plus a double window, and mimes a carpet ; curtains are occasionally dispensed. with. Wood is burned in a stove, instead of coal in a grate. The floor is generally var- nished, and is oftener strewed with minced juniper-tops than with sand. The absence of carpets is not universal : at Eidsvold (of which more anon) there Was a carpet in the drawing-room. The bed-quilts are often of cider down, very light and very warns ; indeed too much so, for any but the most chilly temperaments in the coldest weather. Generally speaking, the rooms are larger than in England. There is no lack of fresh air ; the stoves keep up a free circulation. Wood fuel annoys an Englishman's eyes just as coal vexes a foreigner's nose. It is no affectation in strangers saying that the smell of an English lire is disagreeable. Hone and there may be seen an ormunented ceil- ing in the inn at Drammen is one. All this refers to the houses in towns.

DAILY LIFE AT CHRISTIANA.

A raison (let us say in the month of June) at the Hotel du Nord, passes his day much in the following mamicr. lie breakfasts in his own room, On coffee anal whatever else lie chooses to order ; at two o'clock he dines at the table d hide, where he many meet perhaps half-a-dozen of his own countrymen, a few Germans, some of the unmarried merchants of the town, and some profes- sors of the University. llis dinner will consist of fish ; to which (it; deGirence to the Norwegian rule that fish must swill)) he will drink sonic reel wine, most probably Medoc. In joints, the Scandinavians are not allowed to shine ; but a beefsteak can be got there as easily and as good as in England. London (or Gottenburg) porter, Seltzer water, and champagne, or, what is better, a mix- ture of the two, can be had by calling for. if there be game, it will be grouse ; and pudding and cheese %rind up the meal. There are soups, as it happens : the natives, we will observe, generally throw in a glass of brandy. Their ex- ample is very well to follow, if you mean to stay but a short time in the coun- try, mid to make few or no acquaintances : unless, however, you mean to do so, it is well to economize your powers of flotation. There is so miidi of ne- cessary drinking in the way of healths and pledges, that superfluous drams should not he indulged in. Afterwards, you go down into a parlour on the ground-floor, (the bar,) and take a cup of coffee ; after this, you can either go to sleep or play at billiards. There is is billiard-table at the house, at which the visitors can play grates. The habit of drinking tea, at least in the summer, may be discarded after crossing the Baltic. If you think of walking about until it gets dusk, and then going to bed, you will have to promenade for about three weeks. There is no darkness at this season of the year. Return to your inn about half-past seven or eight, and then take supper; strawberries and cream is the grand dish at preseut,—mountain, or at least bill strawberries and cream, of richness unknown to the Southron. If this does not suit, there is a carte ; so that you may order according to your fancy.

ENGLISH IN NORWAY.

My remark, that so many as six or eight could Englishmen be found at one table Whale at the same time, and in a country so comparatively little visited as Norway, should not cause surprise. Plenty of people go there for pleasure as well as for business ; high and low, titled and untitled ; some to fish, and others with the vain hope of shooting bears. Of all these, nine out of ten take the same route, at the same season of the year, and go to the same inns. If two Eng- lishmen are in Norway at the same time, the chances are that they will meet each other. The first person I spoke to on landing was an Englishman; the first person I saw in the billiard-room was an Englishman ; the first three names I saw on the list of the hotel were those of Englishmen ; and when I spoke German to the landlord he answered me in English. The peasants along the line of the Grand Tour are said to be losing the original simplicity of their manners, growing tricky and avaricious: English prodigality has corrupted them.

NORWEGIAN STUDENTS.

The University is much upon the system of the German ones. An exami- nation has to be passed, for which it is requisite that previous lectures should be attended. If the pupil can dispense with them, well and good. No ques- tions arc asked about residence, there are no religious tests, and no proctorial or diaconic discipline. The Norwegian students have none of the bravado of the German ones; neither do they let their hair hang in elf-locks, like the youth of La Jeune France. They are steady industrious young men. In- stead of spending at the University double what their families have to live upon at home, they are generally earning money either by private tuition, or from some subordinate office under the Government. There arc few of them that do not do something, for themselves. They take their line of study, and attend lectures accordingly. Medicine, law, government offices, theology, are their chief aims. Some keep to the acquirement of classical or mathematical knowledge, with the view of devoting themselves more exclusively to tuition. Their classical scholarship is sound rather than elegant. They take an histo- rical rather than a philological view of matters. I saw sonic Latin verses, composed on the visit of the Crown Prince, which were accurate and harmo- nious. I showed an Oxford Latin prize essay to one of their professors, and he seemed to wonder less that such elegance of composition should have been acquired, than that it should have been held worth the trouble of attempting. Their class-books are chiefly German. Niebuhr is read as much as in Eng- land. I saw a Bentley's Horace in the library of my friend Dane, but looked in vain for the works of Poison or Musky. On points of metre, and the minutia of Greek literature, the average of their scholarship may be low ; but on matters of geography, history, &c., they are more than competently in- formed. Au rests, they speak either German, French, or English, inasmuch as they have to be examined in one of those languages. There is no country where there are so many public examinations as in Norway. A man cannot keep a shop in Christiana before he has shown credentials of his education, and has written letters and spoken speeches in some foreign language. Per- haps this system may in some cases be carried too far. A man may be an honest and industrious shopkeeper without knowing either French or German. Still it insures a general and diffused education for all classes of society.

VARYING A DANCE.

In the very heart of the evening, and immediately after a long and lively dance, some one calls for torches and sledges. Let no ;non be afraid of taking cold, or talk scientifically about draughts of air. A long bundle of fir-tree laths, as combustible as the turpentine itself, is brought you by way of a torch; the night is pitch-dark, er at least ought to be so, you hurry on your driving-gear, and put yourself in a sledge. No lady thinks of the chill air. One and all, they take to the sledges, and trust to their drivers, of which perhaps forty or fifty start all its a row, with their fir-tree torches blazing like beacons, blown about by the wind, and scattering their red sparks in every direction. There is no lack of noise ; forty sledges, with two persona in each, do not travel without noise, even over the smoothest road. Perhaps the steeds are froward, so much the worse for the driver ; if he flounders he will be run over ; for the cavalcade loves not to stop in its career. Those who would shine in the chariot-race should not give the torch to his partner, but hold reins and all (whips are not wanted) themselves, and toss and wave their flaming brands over their own heads, and across the backs of their horses. When the road leads up a bill, and through a dark fir-forest, the sight of waving fires, gallop- ing horses, and the flame-coloured snow, contrasted with the black gloom of the trees around, is doubly striking. All but your own immediate atmosphere is dark ; the dense thicket, penetrated by no star, serving as a window-shutter. Provided that the wind blows, and the laths keep alight, and no steed stumble, and no lady scream, torch-driving is a grand sight. When the roads are broad, and the snow packs closely, it is well for two trains to meet, for then the drivers may salute each other by crossing their torches. A good cavalcade looks like a train of comets broke loose, or a party of firemen at their recrea- tions. Such as read Greek, think of the torch-race of the ancients: I had to think of keeping my horse's head straight. When the torches are burnt out (as after about twenty minutes they generally arc) the party returns home in the dark, which now seems twice as gloomy as it did before, through its con- trast with the late blaze. Dancing recommences. Glasses of brandy are taken medicinally. No one catches cold.