Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-06-15
,.DELICnTS0N NORWAY.
Customs of the Nation Separated
 From Sweden.
A LAND OF SIMPLE COUNTRY FOLK

Most of the People Are Poor, but
 High Spirited, Devoted to Home
 and Country-A Paradise For the
 "New Woman'-Peculiar Character
 istic of Morse Fisher Folk.
 Norway, the nation that has just kicked out of the Swedish traces. is a land of simple country folk-of farm CTS and graziers and fishermen, says a correspondent of the Pittsburg Dis patch. If all the towns were put to. gether they would hardly make in pop ulation Greater Pittsburg Yet scarce ly per cent of the soil of the long struggling country is good farming land. One-third of the kingdom lies within the arctic circle.
 Consequently most of the people are poor With but few rich neighbors to overawe them they are independent and high spirited, devoted to their homes and to their country. A short time ago the ruling language was Dan ish; now they are restoring to common and literary use their ancient Morse tongue.
 Naturally enough, Norway is a para disc for the "new woman" The fair sex is invading almost every manly province where intellect rather than brute strength is the passport. So they have woman lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, teachers, translators, mas sage artists and dear knows what else. If anything, more attention is paid to the education of the girls than to the training of the boys. If you should go there and employ housemaid you would be likely to find that her educa- ton and culture are superior to yours.
 Morse girls revel in the national sport of ski running. A couple of lasses think nothing of striking out across the country on snowshoes for jaunt of some hundreds of miles. This pastime is the making of the physical woman hood of the Morse. What they lack in dress and style-for their waists are never cramped-they more than make up in overflowing health and spirits.
 The most characteristic of the in- habitants of this winter land are the dwellers along the banks of the fiords, those long, narrow, rocky arms of the North sea that make the map of the country appear so ragged. These fish CT folk are among the most undemon- strative people on earth. They seem to be strangers to domestic love or to any other warm affection. No baby Is petted after 1t leaves the cradle. When the young man or woman leaves the paternal roof to seek his own fortune or to get married there are no tears, no parting kiss or handshake, not even a goodby. One would think the youth was merely going out to do the milk ing. Should the young man return for a visit after an absence of months or years he would be greeted with no more fervor than if he had got back from the milking.
 Ellert Smith, who some fifty years ago investigated Norwegian customs, said to peasant:
 Tt seems to me your wife ought to leave her work and give you her hand and a How are youT when you come home"
 The peasant could not restrain his mirth as he said:
 "Why. all the farm hands would laugh at us."
 Did you ever hear of a farmer say ing Good day to his wife when he came homeT
 'Yes, there was a man in the parish a good many years ago who had that singular habit"
 Friends and acquaintances among the fiords hardly greet each other as they pass, but this is not the case in Christiania. the capital. There the man doffs his hat and heartily swings 1t at passing acquaintances. men or women; the lass drops a pretty little courtesy. after the manner of our great t-grandmothers. One traveller has