The National tribune., 1909-12-16
XIII.


Christiania, Norway.-Dear Favor
tte Niece" The other morning, after
had finished my letter to you, Eliza beth
and I nut on our things and went out
to look Christiania over bit and to
make the arrangements for our jour-
ney to Brussels. We had decided to
spend three or four days in the Nor
wegian capital, if the weather remained
pleasant, then to go to Copenhagen
for a couple of days, then to Amster-
= dam for about the same length of
time, and from that city to Brus-
sells. We were not bothering our heads
--as to how we were to do this, because
We knew that the Bennett Tourlst
Agency would attend to all that.
suppose it costs little more 10 let
these tourist people arrange your trips
for you, but just think of the trouble
and worry the traveller escapes by put
ting the whole matter into their hands.
OF course, for women wandering about
alone, like Elizabeth and me, in coun-
try strange to us both, and where the
people might as well be dumb for all
the good their language does us, the
Tourist Agency stands out like the
light in the window for thee, dear
: the rescuing hand in the moment of
peril. the radiant face of Hope when
black Despair fills the heart.
The sun, whose rays were all ablaZe,
lOOhtu uOhH upon us III d HlSS, Wei
coming manner as we stepped out upon
the street on which this hotel faces
Storthings- it is called Il have
told you before that "Gaden" means
-street)-and stopped for a moment to
survey the scene around us. We seemed
to be in the very heart of things. AT
the head of the street on our right, on
e slight eminence, stood the Palace, a
perfectly plain building, such as one
might expect to find. tho. in a plain.
democratic country like Norway. 1t was
only short walk from where we stood,
and we could see that it had a park in
the rear, but nothing at all in the front
in the way of landscape gardening.
Facing the Palace was the equestrian
Statue of Charles XIV. who, you re-
member, was the great Napoleon's Mar
shat RernaGotte, and whom the Swed-
fish Government called to be their king
on the death of Charles XIII. in 1918.
There was never any love lost between
Napoleon and Bernadotte; each was
Jealous of the other, and when the
coalition was formed against the
French Emperor in 1913 Bernadotte
united himself with the opposing
armies. He and Napoleon We're con-
-nected, too in a way, for both Berna-
dotte and Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon'S
eldest brother, married sisters-'the
Clary girls we would call them if they
-had been Americans-daughters of a
rich French merchant. Bernadotte was
man of much nobility of character, a
finished diplomat. as well as a very
great General, and he governed Sweden
and Norway wisely and ably for a
: period of 26 years, or until his death
in 1874. The late King Oscar of
Sweden was his grandson. Directly in
front of US was a pretty park, and to
- the right Of that the National Theater,
quite a handsome building, with statues
of Ibsen and Bjornson fronting it. To
our left were the Parliament Buildings,
called the Storthings-Bygning, which
also face the park as well as the the
ater, and which consist of three build
ings, the center one of which 1 thought
Very handsome, and so did Elizabeth.
You can make up your own opinion on
this subject from the fnclosed picture.
We We're right in the midst of the shop
ping district, too, and the Bennett place
was only five or six doors away.
The Bennett and Senner Tourist Office
in Christiania is a shop where photo
graphs and Norwegian souvenirs are
sold, the two rooms in the rear being
given up to the agency. These are fill
cd with tables and chairs, and seated