various expeditions to discover the north-west passage on his own account, for one of which Paul Jones prepared with him, finally saw his way to make the tour of the globe from London eastward on foot. Going up right round the Baltic he arrived at Petersburg, crossed the steppes of Russia, passed the Ural Mountains, entered Siberia, and in a year or so came within sight of the last stage-Kamtschatka. But here, he was arrested by order of the Empress Catherine of Russia-no one knows exactly for what reason -and brought back to St. Petersburg in chains.

He died not long afterwards at Cairo, in Egypt, thirty-seven years of age, intending to explore the unknown regions of Africa, and to establish communication over the interior by traversing this continent from sea to sea. And in his correspondence, what I shall endorse is where he says: "I have observed among all nations, that the women are the same kind, civil, obliging, humane, tender beings. They do not hesitate, like man,

With

to perform a hospitable or generous action; not haughty, nor arrogant, nor supercilious, but full of courtesy; industrious, economical, ingenuous; more liable in general to err than man, but in general also more virtuous, and performing more good actions than he. I never addressed myself in the language of decency and friendship to a woman, whether civilized or savage, without receiving a decent and friendly answer. man it has often been otherwise. In wandering over the barren plains of inhospitable Denmark, through honest Sweden, frozen Lapland, rude and churlish Finland, unprincipled Russia, and the wide-spread regions of the wandering Tartar, if hungry, dry, cold, wet, or sick, woman has ever been friendly to me, and uniformly so; and to add to this virtue, so worthy of the appellation of benevolence, these actions have been performed in so free and so kind a manner, that if I was dry, I drank the sweet draught, and if hungry, ate the coarse morsel, with a double relish."

To conclude, we entered Christiania by the West end or fashionable quarter of the town, and made for the Hotel Scandinavie, in the heart of the Norwegian capital; but I had some doubts on first beholding the edifice whether they would let one in, having only a peasant's costume, or direct me for a vagabond somewhere else.

I went that same evening to the theatre, but it was hung with black on account of the late king; the whole city, squares and terraces, appeared also, when daylight came, to be in mourning. So it was not the season; being, therefore, disappointed of festivity, I left Christiania with dislike, and returned as soon possible to England.

as

CHAPTER V.

NORWAY.

"Huntsman! rest. Thy chase is done;

Think not of the rising sun.

For at dawning, to assail ye,

Here no bugle sounds reveille."

ORWAY, by a treaty which the late
Mr. Canning said once when not in

office, filled him with shame, regret and

indignation, became in 1814 the unwilling recompense to Sweden for the loss of Finland, of which Russia, on the principle that might is right, had taken possession. The Czar at that time guaranteed Norway to Sweden, if the latter would fall in with his project: and the reigning sovereign of Sweden, Charles John XIV. (Berna

dotte) was without difficulty persuaded to comply. But since 1430 the Norwegian crown had been united with that of Denmark, without any interruption, and Norway been treated in every respect as a province of the Danish monarchy, until torn away by this treaty from its old allegiance and given to Sweden; which had, however, to concede to it a free constitution and political independence, leaving little more than a union of two separate crowns, in one dynasty. Christian VIII. of Denmark-the same prince who as viceroy of Norway refused to submit to this treaty, endeavoured in the general struggle to win the throne of Norway for himself, helping in this way the kingdom to its independence. The present form of government is such that if a measure pass the parliament for three successive years, the king refusing his consent to it each time, that measure will become law without any sanction from his majesty. This form of government-resembling a separate kingdom, under the