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Norwegian Life
Edited and Arranged by
An excursion into Norwegian life has for the student all the charm ofthe traveler's real journey through the pleasant valleys of the Norselands. Much of this charm is explained by the tenacity of the peopleto the homely virtues of honesty and thrift, to their customs whichtestify to their home-loving character, and to their quaint costumes.It is a genuine delight to study and visit these lands, because theyare the least, perhaps in Europe, affected by the leveling hand ofcosmopolitan ideas. Go where you will,—to England, about Germany,down into Italy,—everywhere, the same monotonous sameness is growingmore oppressive every year. But in Norway and Sweden there is still anoriginality, a type, if you please, that has resisted the growth ofan artificial life, and gives to students a charm which is even morealluring than modern cities with their treasures and associations.
The student takes up Norwegian life as one of the subjects which hasbeen comparatively little explored, and is, therefore replete withfreshness and delight. This little book can not by any means morethan lift the curtain to view the fields of historical and literaryinterest and the wondrous life lived in the deep fiords of Vikingland. But its brief pages will have, at least, the merit of givinginformation on a subject about which only too little has been written.Taken in all, there are scarcely half a dozen recent books circulatingin American literary channels on these interesting lands, and for onereason or another, most of these are unsuited for club people. Thereis an urgent call for a comprehensive book which will waste no timein non-essentials,—a book that can be read in a few sittings and yetwill give a glimpse over this quaint and wondrously interesting cornerof Europe. This book has been prepared, as have all the predecessorsin this series, by the help of many who have written most delightfullyof striking things in Norwegian life. One has specialized in onething, while another has been allured by another subject. Accordingly,"Norwegian Life" is the product of many, each inspired with feelingand admiration for the one or two subjects on which he has writtenbetter than on any others. Liberty has been taken to make a fewverbal changes in order to give to the story the unity and smoothnessdesired, and a key-letter at the end of each chapter refers the readerto a page at the close where due credits are given.