among these simple people, they seem contented and happy as children! Their face and features are not unlike those of Englishmen,—only there is no pride or reserve in their deportment or expression, in their manners or conversation. And they are so obliging, so really anxious to do a kind act to a stranger! A busy man will leave his office and walk a considerable distance to show the way to a stranger, and he takes off his hat and bows when he is thanked. Nor is this merely outward politeness,—the Swede or the Norwegian is really happy when he can do a little kind act to help one. He always wears a smiling face, and his smile is never assumed, it is the true reflexion of a kindly disposition. Such are my own personal impressions; I learn from books that in the noble qualities of true honesty and integrity the Swedes and Norwegians stand high among the nations of Europe, that thefts are almost unknown here, and crime is rare. An English lady, who has travelled much, informed me, that a stranger is as safe and as free when travelling in Norway and Sweden as he is in England, and in fact freer.
I do not wish to prolong this story of my travels, but it is a pleasure to me to record a few instances of the kind of courtesy which I daily witnessed and received. In Trondjem I wanted to go to a steamer office to get some information, and by mistake went to a wrong office. Without suspecting my mistake I made my enquiries, and the official, nothing shocked at my intrusion, tried to answer them as best he could for several minutes together. At last I learnt that I had come to
