(1916) leaders in norway and other essays

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Leaders in Norwayand Other EssaysAGNES MATHILDE WERGELAND

(Late Professor of History, University of Wyominci)Edited and arranged byKATHARINE MERRILL

GEORGE BANTA PUnHSIIING COMPANYMENASHA, WISCONSIN

1916

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Copyright, 1916by

Grace Raymond Hehard

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PREFACE

toCM

siHIS little volume, while in part a memo-"^ rial to the writer, is also a real con-

tribution to the present literature inEnglish on Norway, its character,and some of its great minds. Thenames of Henrik Wergeland andCamilla Collett, while supremely be-loved in their own country, are tomost Americans names of no meaning.1^ The writer of these essays always hadthe desire and perhaps the hope tomake better known to the world the particular charac-

teristics and accomplishment of her beloved fatherland.Had opportunity been granted her to fulfill that desire,any lacks that may be felt in the present work, com-pil i,s it has been merely from disconnected publica-tion \ miscellaneous papers, would have beenabunt supplied from the wealth of knowledge andloving familiarity which she carried in her heart andmemory.Of those who have aided in this undertaking, the mostdevoted thanks are due to Miss Maren Michelet, ofMinneapolis, one of the leaders in the teaching of Norsein this country, who has generously furnished transla-tions and historical and literary information whichotherwise to a person unacquainted with Norse wouldhave been practically inaccessible.

Cordial acknowledgment is also made to the pub-lishers of The Dial, The North American Review,Symra, and other English and Norse periodicals forpermission to reprint some of the articles here included.

T.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Primitive Norseman 1The Awakening of Norway 4WcstLand and Eastland 23Henrik Wcrgehind 38Camilla Collett 6-iNote on Wclliaven and the Folk Poetry 102Progress of the Woman Movement in Norway . . 109Ibsen and the Norwegians 117"Second-Sight" in Norse Literature 139Grieg as a National Composer 146Personal Recollections of Grieg 158The Cathedral at Trondhjcm and a Vision of thePast 162Biographical Sketch of Agnes Mathilde Werge-

land 175APPENDIX I

Collett on Ibsen's Ghosts 189APPENDIX II

Note on Bjiirnson 191


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ri ^0 the 'memory of a friend wlio-J. had more than one string to herlute and who through many vicissitudesalways remained true to her individu-ality, this book is dedicated by thosewho most cherish the abiding influenceof her rich friendship.


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THE PRIiMITIVE NORSEMANF we scan the old sagas to learn thedominating traits of the race thatproduced them, we find as one leadingcharacteristic a strong sense of indivi-dual value, of respect for self. Thiswas expressed not only outwardly ina proud, well-poised bearing but alsoinwardly. There was no bowing to asuperior merely because he was above,

:|i no kneeling in the dust or kissing thehem of his garment because it was thefashion to do so as a servile habit, but only becauseinner recognition of his actual worth allowed it. Thehomage done was real. There was a plain honesty inthose Northern Teutons that stood them in good stead,for it prevented them from being enslaved during thetime when all the rest of Europe was under the yoke.

Closely related to this vigorous self-respect was thechastity in the spirit of the race. The brutality ofbarbarous tribes cannot, of course, be gainsaid ; butthere are incidents and remarks in the old poems thatindicate a natural proud reserve and a certain restraintupon the feelings which even today distinguish the Scan-dinavian nations from most others. It is not so mucha product of reflection as an innate dislike of excess.This emotional reserve indicates even todaynot thatthey have no feelingbut that they check themselvesthrough the fear of going too far if they take allpossible freedom. This quality is a source of moralfortitude in the race.

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Leaders in NorwayAnother quality quite as characteristic as the two

mentioned is faithfubiess. The old saga^s show that anindividual might resist a long time, trying to maintainhis absolute independence. But when he once becameattached, either by law or by affection, he was faithfulwith an equally absolute faithfulness. What the Ger-mans meant by the keeping of servant's faith towardthe masterthe "treu und glaube" of feudal life, waseminently characteristic of relationship in the entireGermanic world. It was upon the individual's "treu undglaube" more than upon any other thing that the wholesociety, feudal relations and all, rested. The old sagasspeak of instance after instance of a man's pledging hisword and in every case living up to it. Friends mixdrops of their blood in order to bind each other foreveras with a natural tie

;the nobleman sacrifices all for his

lord, the warrior for his king; the betrothed keeps histroth even when a better marriage is offered him andwhen there is nothing but his word to bind him.Yet another striking trait found in the heroes andheroines of northern sagas is simplicity of feeling, one-ness of purpose, a stability of character that did notyield to excruciating doubts or to complicated analysisof motives such as belong to our modern life. Theseold heroes and heroines seem hewn in rock, like moun-tains with meadows at their feet and snow on theirheadsand yet, like the rock of which they were hewn,they hid fire in their bosom. Passion was there andheat, wild hatred, anguish and love slowly working,silently subdued but unexpectedly bursting forth like

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The Primitive Norsemanflame from an impassive volcano that suddenly illumi-nates everything with its sombre glow. RememberBrynhild, who preferred to see Sigurd dead ratherthan alive with another woman.

Such incidents as this manifest the dramatic, intensequality of Northern poetry and likewise of the myth-ology. In the old Germanic lore of the gods there isno licentious Zeus nor lovesick Aphrodite. Odin, fatherof the gods, has given one of his eyes in exchange forwisdom. His desire is for that. He is indeed a majes-tic, awe-inspiring figure of the first order ; the mysteryof all things seems to hide under the shadow of hisgreat gray mantle and the broad hat that shades hisbrow. Jupiter, whose eyebrows shake the world, seemsweak and soft beside him. And Thor and Tyr, Balderand Ydunhow much more force and majesty arc inthem than in the Greek deities of somewhat the samenature.Tims the early Norsemen possessed certain sym-

pathetic qualities, certain large virtues which just be-cause of their simplicity and genuineness create an im-pression of greatness ; a greatness that the far morepolished, complicated character of the civilized man otthat time or of man today does not produce. Thecivilized man seems almost artificial compared withthese simple, true individuals whom he may be inclinedto despise; and yet in some broad noble ways he is notable to surpass them.

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THE AWAKENING OF NORWAY

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ARLY in the middle ages Norway pre-sented an interesting picture of greatnational force and activity. Thecountry contained perhaps less thana million inhabitants and only onethird of the present area was culti-vated. On the coast alone was asomewhat dense population, and eventhat was mostly scattered into sepa-rate homesteads, since there werevery few towns. Yet the nation had

remarkable vigor and vitality. Evidence of this isfound in the emigrations of the timefor example, thepopulating of Iceland and the Scotch islands ; also inthe conquests of Ireland and Normandy. In later cen-turies journeys were made, too, to such distant pointsas Palestine and Constantinople and the coast of thewestern continent. To the intellectual life of those agesNorway contributed its sagas and poems, its mythology,and last, but not least, one of the most interesting col-lections of laws in existence. All these, moreover, wererecorded in the national language; and this at a timewhen in the Prankish empire and long afterwards Latinwas the only tongue used for literary purposes or evenfor law practice. These manifestations prove thatNorway was not intellectually or politically isolatedand barbaric, but lead us rather to see that it wasprominent and a country of peculiar significance with-in the Germanic world.

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The Awahening of NorwayBut the later mediaeval time shows a change. Fromthe ninth to the thirteenth century, five hundred years,

Norway was consumed by internal wars. They may nothave been very extensive or have m.ade much differencein the general life of the people. But they kept thecountry in constant excitement, and slowly thoughsurely sapped its strength, leaving it finally exhaustedand paralytic.Norway started in history as one of the most aris-tocratic countries on record. Not only was there avery high nobility, consisting of previous territorialearls who had submitted their possessions to a victori-ous king while retaining their prestige and rank asmagnates, but, besides, every small owner of allodiallands was by virtue of those very possessions and hisold free lineage a nobleman likewise. The word peas-ant meant nothing derogatory, as in other countries.Rather, it was a title of consequence and a pride toits owner. Those free peasantswhose descendants inmany instances maintain today the same aristocraticbearing as their ancestors a thousand years agowerethe people proper, the people that met at the court ofthe hundred, the people that pleaded causes, passedjudgments, accepted the newly elected king or rejectedhim, and ruled the land according to old custom andwith a degree of popular freedom such as had been theidea of the Germanic race from the very first.When the period of struggle began, the effort of themonarchy was, first, to fight the higher aristocracy,which tried to divert the royal power to its own side;

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Leaders in Norwayand second, to reduce the political activity of the freepeasantry to local matters only. This conflict filledthe greater part of the centuries following the ninth.The monarchy, represented by many brilliant warriorsand rulers, steadily increased in prestige. The strug-gling aristocracy received the greatest blow in thetwelfth century when they tried to raise from theirown circle a pretender to the vacant throne and weredefeated. A new family was established, that ofSverre, whom some considered a usurper while othersthought he claimed only his right as a descendant ofthe old family.

This age-long bloody struggle exhausted the higheraristocracy and made the lower obedient subjects to aroyal power almost absolute. For though this powerwas seemingly in strict conformity to the laws of thecountry, yet it held in its hand complete politicalsupremacy. The old Germanic notion that all sons of aking should be considered heirs to the thronewhichhad hitherto prevailed in Norwayhad been one of thechief causes of internal strife, because it tempted thearistocracy to divide their support. Now, however,this was set aside for the rule that only the oldestlegitimate son could be king. And so strong and un-disputed grew the kingly authority, that in spite of theprevious order of succession, natural to the countryand used in private affairs, the idea of strict legitimateprimogeniture became, for the throne, almost anaxiom among the Norwegian people. As time passed,the king to such an extent concentrated all power in

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The Axvahcning of Norwayhis person and was so much regarded as the real sourceof government and law, that not even the French nationafter the days of Louis XIV was less able to rule itselfand choose a representative government from its ownbody politic than was the Norwegian after the oldroyal family had died out and the question arose ofwhere to seek a successor. Then came the period ofextreme impotency, even degradation, when the firstunion with Sweden was formed; and later the equallyunfortunate relation to Denmark. Norway was like aship without a rudder, a prey to every wind and wave.The cause of these deplorable events can be soughtnowhere but in the political conditions within the coun-try itself. The rapid disappearance of its aristocracy,the absence of leaders among the free peasants andtheir lack of broad political training such as they hadpossessed in earlier times, tlic financial exhaustion ofthe nation, and finally even the very law-abidingspirit of the people themselvesthese things causedthem to cling with almost contemptible weakness tothe letter of the law, and prevented them from seeingthat the emergencies of the times demanded immediateaction, even though contrary to the prescriptions ofprevious years.Such paralysis in countries once active is nothingnew but is always regrettable. The national misfor-tunes in Norway began when in the fourteenth centuryHaakon the Fifth had no possible heir but a daughter.Only male heirs were recognized by law. To save thecountry from internal war, Haakon had changed the

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Leaders in Norzvayorder of succession so that the son of his daughtershould inherit the throne. This daughter, PrincessIngeborg, had married a Swedish prince who at thetime had no expectation of inheriting the throne of hisown country and Avho was expected to be to the princessonly a prince consort or even less, because she herselfcould never be more than regent for her son. Thisson, however, by a strange trick of fortune, became theking of both countries. Thus began one of the manyso-called personal unions of Sweden and Norway. Theunion was liked even less by Norway than by Sweden,for although it was the Norwegian king who becameruler of both, yet Norway found itself slighted andneglected. The two nations were separated again whenthe king's sons grew up and the elder became his col-league in Sweden (again a slight to Norway), while theyounger became an associate and finally an indepen-dent king in Norway itself. So far so good. But a newseries of complications arose when this young Nor-wegian king married the only heir to the Danish throne,the Princess Margretetheir son being thus the futureruler of both Norway and Denmark. This son, how-ever, as well as his father, died. Then appeared thefirst astonishing instance of the incapacity of the Nor-wegian people to take care of their own interests. TheNorwegian state council weakly accepted as their mis-tress the Danish Queen Margrete. The fact that shehad been regent of her son was her only possible claimto a throne from which women had for centuries beenexcluded by law. On the part of the council it was

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The Awakening of Norwayonly a desperate attempt to bridge over a time of inter-regnum till a new king could be elected. To electa king from among the aristocracy does not seem tohave occurred to the nation. The Danish princess andqueen soon united to her double scepter the third coun-try also. Thus came about the first instance of theso-called Kalmar uniona union that might haveworked much good if the nations had not for centuriesbeen on somewhat hostile terms.

If Queen Margretc may be credited with the earliestconception of a united northern empire, the idea ofwhich has occupied many later minds, she at leastlacked the political wisdom to see that what is nearbut not dear will have to be joined together by forceof arms or be led to approach by steps likely to be butslow. Margrete, however, accomplished little towardsuch an approach. In fact, she created antagonism bymaking the other two countries feel neglected and usedmerely as footstools for Danish glory. The Norwegi-ans particularly had no reason to be elated over theirchoice of mistress, and yet they seem not to have madeany particular protest. Their submission to royalauthority even led them to accept and crown as theirlawful king the successor Margrete chose for her-self, namely, a German prince in no way connectedwith the royal Norwegian family. This prince laterbecame the king of Denmark and Sweden as well. Butthough he embraced the idea of a Northern empireas eagerly as his predecessor, he saw as little as shethe natural difficulties in carrying out the plan and

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Leaders in Norwayfought in vain the separatist tendencies in each of hiscountries. The union gradually became an object ofhatred to all of them. Only Denmark as the superiorcountry derived some benefit from it and was longestin favor of it. The king, however, soon came into con-flict with the Danish and Swedish aristocracies, whichwere much more aggressive than the Norwegian. Bothcountries declared him deposed. Norway alone clungto the cause of the king who had never cared, evenafter his deposition, to acknowledge this faithfulnessor to set his foot in the country. Denmark chose anew king, and he by common consent soon became theSwedish monarch. Presently in the same way he addedNorway to his possessions, that country still remain-ing incapable of initiative. Thus came a repetition ofthe much detested Kalmar union.

This king, however, died not long afterwards withoutleaving heirs; and then the Norwegians were met b}^the most difficult dilemma that had confronted them.Sweden chose a king from the nation itself, one of itsown noblemen; thus establishing its independence andnational career. Norway seems to have seen no suchpossibility. The Danes, instead of following the exam-ple of the Swedes, again chose a German prince, thoughhe had not the slightest connection with the Danishroyal house. By a hurried journey to Norway, thisnew king, whose name was Kriestiern of Oldenburg,succeeded without difficulty in being elected king ofNorway as wellthat being the second instance ofDano-Norwegian union based upon

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The Awakening of NorwayKings of the Oldenburg house from then on for fourhundred years remained the rulers of both countriesit is safe to say not to the advantage of either. Thegrandson of Kriesticrn I once more united all threecountries under his scepter. But his tryannical rulealienated Sweden forever from friendly relation to theDanish monarchy. He, too, was deposed, and althoughNorway, as in the previous case, remained longestfaithful to him, he disregarded this and concentratedall his energies on the overcoming of his enemies inDenmark. He made a voyage to southern Norway andfrom there entered Denmark ; but was met with treach-erous promises, captured under false pretenses andremained in prison for twenty-three years. Thus endedthis inglorious dramathe point of interest being thetreatment that the submissive Norway received fromthe self-seeking holders of her vacant throne.

Further detail is unnecessary concerning this igno-minious decay of a once active state. Suffice it tosay that the lethargy was taken advantage of by theDanes, who thus at small cost united with their owncountry another which seemed incapable of resisting anyaggression. The Danes in the period of union utilizedNorway as if it had been a conquered province. TlieNorwegians furnished the Danish army witli soldiersand the Danish fleet with sailors. Norway contributedtwice or three times as mucli to the Danish treasuryas Denmark paid out for Norwegian defense. Danislifarmers had a monopoly in selling grain to Norwegianprovinces. The castles of Norway were commanded


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The Awakening of Norwayformer days had been translated and read with thegreatest interest throughout the country. That heroicpast was by no means disregarded. Men looked backwith pride and pleasure to those ages when Norwayhad stood in the front rank among the northern nations.Another event that wakened patriotic sentiment wasthe need and successful outcome of Norway's self-defense against Charles XII of Sweden. Denmark, inspite of her eagerness to absorb Norway, was not inthe habit of doing much to protect this valuable aquisi-tion against a foreign enemy. Consequently when thegreat northern war broke out, Denmark joined thecoalition against the Swedish king with little thoughtof the possible results to Norway. Finally, when vic-tory failed to attend the young Swede and it was neces-sary for him to save the fragments, he turned uponNorway, determined to conquer it. The Danes haddone nothing to fortify the Norwegian frontier; thenational militiasuch as had not been appropriatedfor the welfare of the Danish state properwas illclad and ill provided with ammunition and leaders.Nevertheless, the Norwegians proved themselves amatch even for the valiant soldier king. The peasantsrose, armed and equipped their own soldiers, providedmoney and food for their small forces, and fought sosuccessfully that the Swedish leader who had won somany battles could not conquer even a small but impor-tant fortress on the coast. Finally Charles himselfwas shot by one of his own soldiers. The war endedthus abruptly enough. But Norway had at least

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Leaders in Norwayproved her ability and her wilHngness to take care ofherself in a most dangerous situation. Besides, shehad played a conspicuous part in defeating the enemyat sea. Norwegian sailors had shown themselves thebackbone of the Danish fleet and covered it with glory.Peter Wessel, better known as "Tordenskjold" (Thun-dershield), established his fame as a hero superior tothem all. By his astounding boldness and bravery hetime and again defeated the schemes of the Swedish kingand at last forced him to return to Sweden withoutaccomplishing anything. Such pluck and vigor, andthe strong patriotic feeling manifested everywhereamong the Norwegians, raised the Danish opinion con-siderably for the brethren on the other side of thesound. The name Norwegian became almost a nameof honor. In verse and prose the "small nation amongthe mountains" was praised as an example of courage,faithfulness and bravery.

Still another and very different thing served to re-establish the Norwegians in public opinion. This wasthe contrast offered between the social-economical con-dition of the once free Danish peasantry and the con-ditions in Norway among the same class. A mostshortsighted and lax policy on the part of the Danishgovernment had allowed the big land owners gradually todeprive their free tenants of almost every vestige ofpersonal liberty. Danish peasants had become almostserfs for the benefit of the landed gentry, who werethus supposed to secure cheap work and steady assis-tance. In Norway, on the other hand, the landed nobili-

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The Awakening of Nonvayty did not have any such extended privileges. Everyman lived on, his own ground, possessed of Httle wealthbut much freedom. Danish writers on economic sub-jects remarked upon this striking difference and foundthe topic fruitful of much declamation concerning theancient freedom that dwelt among the Norwegian cliffs.The Norwegians themselves became declamatory andwere accustomed to consider their country the cradleof freedom, the sacred soil on which no tyrant had everset foot and from which Europe could draw afresh theold liberal spirit that had died out on the plains.But the greatest spiritual achievement that Norwayreached during these centuries of slow awakening wasthe giving to Danish-Norwegian literature of a manof such unique power as Ludvig Holberg. Hardly inthe life of any nation has there been such a decisivechange as occurred in the Danish-Norwegian intellec-tual life through the activity of this one man. Hol-berg's production in pure literature was in its maindirections a perfectly novel undertaking, without modelor support in previous Danish or Norwegian writ-ings. His historical works, too, put other aims beforethe public and followed other paths than those hithertocustomary in the two countries. (The sagas are, ofcourse, not referred to here.) Besides, his philosophi-cal thoughts moved in quite a different sphere fromthat Avhich in his time was considered the realm of phi-losophy. And his comic-satyric writings were so un-usual that they struck the public as wild and scandalousand unintelligible, even though amusing. When he

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Leaders in Norwayfirst appeared, he stood as a representative of a whollynew taste, a wholly new view of life. The governingideas or tastes that he found were his aversion. Hebrushed them all aside and undertook to reform thatsociety for which he worked. And to an extent he reallysucceeded. He changed the people of those king-doms as if they had been put into a new mould. Hebegan as the lonely one, the stranger, giving and re-ceiving only opposition. He ended with being the mas-ter before whom all bowed down. Whatever was throwninto oblivion by him was forgotten; the new intro-duced by him became the foundation on which Danish-Norwegian activities have built ever since. In read-ing his works we have even now the feeling of beingat home. Back to him a tradition reaches which isfully alive. What existed before his day is dead andstrange.

It has often been claimed that Holberg, in spite ofhis origin, was more Danish than Norwegian. Thetruth is that he was more European than either. Hisknowledge and his understanding of life were chieflygained from his sojourn in other countries. He trav-eled more or less in Holland, France, Germany, Italy,and England. It is true that he lived the greater partof his life in Copenhagen, where he wrote his works andended his days. But his character was formed and hisgenius trained before he settled there ; and howeverDanish his audience and the immediate field of hisactivity, his temperament as a writer and his satiricalvein remained Norwegian. There is something fresh,

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The Awakening of Norwaybright and healthy about his writings, yet crisp andcold, that corresponds to the natural tendencies ofmountaineers much more than to the population ofa flat country.

In all these ways, then, came gradually that awaken-ing of Norway which has filled the last few centuriesand has finally in our own day brought the little coun-try again into prominence as a producer of ideas.When nearly two hundred years ago the spirit of nation-alism was once more really alive, its operations were notconfined merely to sentiment or to literary achievement,but, as we should expect, affected also practical mat-ters. The Norwegian people, in view of their strength-ened economical condition, their considerable com-merce, their means and will to defend themselvesagainst foreign enemies, demanded from the Danishstate increased consideration. They demanded thatbranch offices of the Danish government be establishedin their own foremost city ; they demanded the foun-dation of a national bank and of a national university.For more than a hundred years these wishes werebrought from time to time before the Danish king, theNorwegians declaring that they themselves would paythe expense for starting such new institutions. But theyreceived in return only vague answers, subterfuges, oreven plain refusal. The Danish government fearedthat if these demands were granted, Norway wouldspeedily separate from the union. Denmai'k eventhought Swedish machinations were to be detected inthese requests, and chose the short-sighted policy of

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Leaders in Norwayirritating curt refusal rather than arousing gratitudeby compliance with such wishes.And then at last came the events of the early nine-teenth century. The Norwegian revolution thatoccurred in 1814 began shortly before with thecoalition against Napoleon. During the Napoleonicwars the sympathies of Norway and Denmark had gonein opposite directions. Denmark, without taking partin the gigantic struggle, had been in favor of theFrench. The Norwegians were decidedly inclinedtoward England, with which they were in close com-mercial relations. It was, therefore, a severe shock toNorway and one that threw the country into famine,when Denmark declared war against England. It istrue, the declaration was made only after outrageousinsult by the English. But still it was a policy thatbrought every disadvantage and suffering on the Nor-wegians, who were without the least prospect of hold-ing their own against a power that had command of thesea.

Previously, Napoleon had coveted an alliance withDenmark in order to use the Danish fleet to efi'ect alanding on the English coast. To prevent this, theEnglish in a time of apparently deep peace sent a fleetto Copenhagen and demanded the Danish men of warand Denmark's alliance. When these were refused,Copenhagen was bombarded and the fleet taken away.England's promise of alliance, however, was renewed.But the Danes, who thought chiefly of themselves, re-fused to consider the promise and sought refuge with

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The Axaalvening of NorxcayNapoleon. But now he had little Interest in an alliancewith Denmark since her fleet had been lost. It wasNorway and Denmark that paid the price of that alli-ance, not Napoleon. Sweden meanwhile, under theleadership of Eernadotte, Napoleon's brother-in-law,had been persuaded to join the coalition againstFrance. Then, after the war in 1813 and 1814, whenthe powers had succeeded in defeating Napoleon utterly,it was suggested that Denmark should pay the warindemnity ; and that since Russia would not give upFinland, Denmark should cede Norway to Sweden asa recompense for Finland. ^Vhatever the Norwegianshad hitherto lacked to arouse their sense of honor thisscandalous insult quickly supplied. The nation rose asone man, declared itself sovereign and the only powerfit to decide upon its future action. In the teeth ofEurope the Norwegians declared themselves a free andindependent people, and gave themselves a constitutionbased upon the principles of the French revolution.This attitude somewhat surprised the combined pow-ers, who expected no such manifestation of vigor on thepart of the "small nation among the mountains."Bernadottc, who was naturally the one most inter-ested in the outcome, was commissioned to lead hisarmy against the rebellious Norwegians and compelthem to obedience under tlie will of combined Europe.There is no doubt that Bernadotte, with his well-trained and well-equipped army against an insufficientbody of national militia, however brave, could in thelong run have accomplished that for which he was sent.

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Leaders in NorwayBut he decided to use more humane and politicallymore safe means. He was eager to end the war andhave the glory of coming to terms with the Norwegianswithout further bloodshed. A party existed in Norwayfavoring a union with Sweden, Sweden seemed to bethe more natural ally, and some political reasons atthe time also pointed in the same direction. The ideawas not at all unfavorably regarded by the youngermore progressive patriots. Bernadotte, as the pleni-potentiary of the Swedish nation, agreed to accept theNorwegian constitution as the future supreme law ofthe country and preserve the rights and privileges asguaranteed by this law. Norway on its side agreed byits representatives to join Sweden in a union under acommon king and to give certain precedence to Swedenas the larger country. This policy, so wisely startedby Bernadotte, or King Carl Johan, as he later be-came, was never altogether comprehended by Sweden.The Swedes attempted to make the union more andmore real, such as that, for example, between Scotlandand England.The Norwegians, however, having the disastrous ex-perience with Denmark to look back upon, steadily re-fused to become a "province" for a second time. Infact, the inclination was to consider the union a ratherunfair bargain, granting greater rights to Swedenthan to Norway ; although it was well understood thatNorway should be represented in the union as an en-tirely free and independent nation and receive due re-gard as such. The squabbles raised on minor matters

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The Awakening of Norxvaygradually grew to bigger and bigger dimensions untilin 1905 a rupture became imminent.Ever since 1892, when the Storting first decided thatNorway should have her own Minister of ForeignAffairs and her separate consuls, there had been a bitterstrife between Norway and Sweden. The break cameduring the Michelson-Lovland ministry, when it wasunanimously passed that Norway should have its ownconsulates. King Oscar refused to sanction the meas-ure. The ministry then resigned, and it was impos-sible for the king to form a new one. On June seventh,1905, the declaration was made that Oscar had ceasedto rule Norway. Thus the ninety-year-old union withSweden came to an end. Two days later the pure Nor-wegian flag (deprived of the union mark) was hoistedupon the fortresses and warships. On August thir-teenth a general vote was cast by the people of therealm which almost unanimously sanctioned the act ofsupreme power. In September the Karlstad negotia-tions took place.Horrors brought about by unpardonable levity andpolitical short-sightedness might at this time have pre-cipitated a war and needless bloodshed. But an ami-cable agreement was reached, largely through theefforts of the just and prudent statesman. ChristianMichelson, who, by his tactful, yet resolute actions,proved himself in that difficult time a greater leaderand a better patriot than many an over-zealous con-temporary.

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Leaders in NorwayIn November the Norwegian people were again asked

to vote as to whether they would choose a monarchicalform of government or a republican. With an over-whelming majority they chose to maintain the king-dom. Norway's ancient throne thus rose again to itsformer prerogative. The Storting elected as king theDanish prince Carl, giving him the title of Haakonthe Seventh. On November twenty-fifth the new king,together with Queen Maud and the crown prince Olav,made a royal entry into the metropolis, welcomed bycheering throngs. The new state was immediatelyrecognized by the powers, and the whole world, filled withadmiration, rejoiced with the "small nation among themountains" because it had ended its long struggle forindependence happily and in peace.

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WESTLAND AND EASTLANDp LONG generation ago when Ibsen and

Grieg and their contemporaries wereentering ripe manhood, Norway wasscarcely the modernized country thatshe has since become. These men'simpressions, moreover, of their nativeland were largely drawn from a periodstill further away. Their works arereminiscent of the time of their youth,often colored, too, by the light of ima-gination which ever tends to fall from

the present back upon the past. In that earlier Nor-way all material conditions were more primitive thannow, even more crude and hard ; though not less inter-esting as manifestations of human experience. Differ-ences in temper and modes of living produced byclimate and natural surroundings were sharper and ofdeeper dye. The great length from North to Southof the Scandinavian peninsulagreater even than thatof the Atlantic seaboard of the United Statescausedand will probably always cause marked divergence inthe types of people and habits of life at the extremitiesof the country. But not merely so. A difference alsostrongly marked existed then between the West andthe East in Norway itself, without regard to the restof the peninsula. Under the touch of modern facilitiesand conveniences this difference is melting away. Inthe middle of the last century, however, it was stillvisible, not only in the physical nature of the country

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Leaders in Norwaywhich of course has not changcd^but in the lan-guage, in the hfe of the people, their character andmanners, even in their feelings. So great was thisdivergence between the West and the East of Norwaythat some historians have thought the people to be ofdifferent origin. Such was not the case, but naturehad indeed shaped them in different moulds.The first views of the western coast of Norway, when

sailing in toward it from the sea, make one almostcrouch under overwhelming discomfort and oppression.Far out in the open sea one is met by rows of low, grayrocks, like guardsmen that look with ominous eye onevery passing ship. Around these the waves break incontinuous restless fall, while above gulls and seabirdsrise and dip w^ith chilling screams. Some uncannyfriendship seems to quiver between that sea, thoserocks, and the shrieking birds. This vanguard passed,one big black range of mountains appears, rising fromthe coast and defying the surging sea. No trace visibleof human existence in this desert of sea and stone, nordoes one expect or wish for any. But suddenly, as ifby magic, some small seaport shows itself on the nakedcoastjust a glimpse of white houses between thecliffs, boatsheds and skiffs on the shore, ships at anchorthen the whole is hidden behind the next point, andthere remain only scattered creeping herds of sheep.Soon again nothing but the wind and the bare rocks.Our vessel now steers into one of the many fjordsthat penetrate the mass of stone. Rocks and shelvesclose in upon us and the sea disappears. A door has

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Westland and Eastland

suddenly shut between us and the world outside. Thelife wherein our thoughts and desires had before beenconcentrated seems to sink flutteringly out of sightforever. With a gasp we look toward what is coming,and see the New rising in threatening majesty. Webreathe an air that seems to bring death to all whocannot gain new lungs, in body and in mind. For atime all before and behind is closed. But again asudden door opens ahead upon unexpected vistas. Themountains draw aside, and green shores, white churches,and cozy dwellings smile brightly and familiarly. Bigswaying birches with long branches hang over thewater, silvery brooks jump playfully from the side ofthe mountain straight out into the air, break into foamand disappear like a dream. From the sea to the coal-black forest around the upper row of meadows, all isgay and light. But we have time for only one singlefree breath, for now again the whole tract of vision isfilled with gray hunch-backed mountains. Those near-est press upon us almost to suffocation. Above andbehind them rises another set, naked from foot to sum-mit, broken into a thousand peaks and grooves, jags andrentsblinding white snow lying in sharp edges, drifts,and blotches on the blue background. On and onthrough the fjord we go, turning into its arms and out-lets, winding around its points and peninsulas, andeverywhere are the snowy peaks. They rule the wholehorizon and question the traveler who ventures tointrude upon their domain.

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Leaders in NorwayBetween these dizzy peaks that storm the very heav-

ens, betv/een the narrow green slopes on the mountain-side, where tiny homesteads cling to the stone for verylife and seem to need but a breath to push them into thesea, we reach at last a valley. Now everything broad-ens ; here are plains, more houses, more woodsrest-ing places for the eye and the heart. But again wemove by. Cold glimpses of snow shine from afar, araging river bursts forth from the opening of the val-ley, breathes out an icy breath, and winds in thewildest twists and turns till it falls here or there intoa deep lair, where it remains like a wild beast devouringprey caught in a mad race. The goer on foot besidethat river finds wet grass standing in small clustersalong the road, raw cliffs hanging above, and a brownmountain lake waiting below for his unwary footsteps.And behind him every hill seems to rise like a live thing,low bushes creep up and up, bent and crooked, arraythemselves against the horizon, step into line and say:"In you may come, but out ?^^ And suddenly he isjiware that in the river, in the hills, in the lakes, inthe winds, live those evil powers, the giants and thetrolls, against whom the old gods fought in vain. Andthere, beyond, are tlie last heights where no humandwelling subsists, where the mountains rule undisturbedand hurtle down their avalanches on the small ant-likethings called men.What is to be understood about the land where sucha nature dominates .^ Surely that the modes of livingin the East either did not exist in the West or existed

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Westland and Eastlandunder such changed conditions as to influence the peo-ple quite differently. Though once large woods cov-ered the coast, the West in recent times has had littlelumber business or cultivation of forests, and men'slivelihood has been chiefly gained from the fisheries.A few trees, indeed, climb the mountainsides where therocks shelter them from the salt winds ; but on thewhole the vegetation is confined to grass (the chief sus-tenance of the sheep that are left out winter and sum-mer), and the brown heather that lies and trembles inthe wind. In the valleys, it is true, there are woods ;and woods most wonderfully conformed to the naturearound them. The predominant tree in the valleys isthe strong, powerful fir, which presses its deep-goingroot into the fissures of the rocksnot a tree thatdreams, like the spruce of the East, but one that lifts itsbroad, bushy crown far up in the wind, fights the storm,and keeps itself in courage by chanting, like the old war-riors, hard alliterating rhymes of battle. High andairy it is for a man under these fir branches, freshand bright among tlieir yellow trunks, and he growsstrong from dwelling beneath their coarse needles andhealthy from the resinous air. The dainty white-stemmed birch, growing alike in valley and on moun-tain, is tlie lightsome sister of the sturdy fir. Hardiestof trees, it yet gives as nothing else does a tender deli-cacy and comeliness to that stern nature. On the barestmountain it sways, in ilie foam of t1ie surf it dyesits foliage, and the very home of the glacier it bravelystorms. Close to the sea, indeed, or to the eternal ice,

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Leaders in Norwaythe birch loses its long curls and its delicate uprightbearing; but it maintains to the last its feminine grace.Even in the most barren places it gives pleasure to theeye, and in spring it brings to its desolate surroundingsa most exquisite fragrant greeting of summer. Oftenit is the one object in those severe landscapes which canmelt the heart to softness by its beauty or lift to faithby its bright, successful courage.A sensitive mind cannot but be deeply impressedby the effect that this iron nature has had upon thepeople who lived in it. In countries where natural con-ditions are varied and bountiful, the people may beindependent and open to many different avenues ofinfluence. But when nature has a strong individualityand offers few ways of gaining a living, it is likely tobecome tyrannical and stamp both the inner and theouter man. In such a country conditions often pro-duce fierce struggle, and every human being who willnot or cannot assimilate himself to these conditionsis dwarfed or dies. It is easy to understand that peo-ple who sit in the cold shadow of high mountains, whoday after day look at black rock and blue glaciers,who are snowed down for a month and a half at atime and live in constant fear lest the avalanche carrytheir homes into the depths below, people whose hopefor a livelihood is in the dark winter weather and on asea full of danger, and who at any time must be pre-pared to venture life itself to gain that scanty livingit is easy to understand how such people bear the effectof their life in their character. Unless some ameliorat-

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ing influence comes in counteraction, man feels strange-ly deserted and feeble in such a nature. But this feel-ing of feebleness has a very different effect upon differ-ent persons. Some give up the struggle at once; hope-lessly bent under the weight, they sink slowly down intoa dark abyss of melancholy and pass the rest of theirlife as if in fear and in prison. Others are petrifiedunder the icy conviction that daily life is governed byan inflexible fate against which it is useless to struggle.Such men and women are often strong but hard, havingdivested themselves of all idea of happier prospectsfor the future. Though they go into danger calm andcool, they pass with silent indifference all that mightcoax the heart to open itself to mildness. Endurance,courage, and expediency they possess in plenty, buteverything is as if frozen by the awful conviction thatbeyond your fate you will never get. Others whoseimagination is too strong to be extinguished arc filledwith vague images of horrors and see no advance forthemselves except by bending down before the mysteri-ous powers of nature. They seek to ally themselveswith these pov/ers, to pry into their will and pleasethem, and perhaps even solicit their assistance. Bysuch minds nature is transformed into the living beingsof superstitious fear who have man at their mercy.Thus all are likely to be cowed by such a fiercenature; bowing down before it, some in melancholy,others in obduracy, still others in superstition. Trueliberation of mind is seldom acquired. And thoughsuch nature also has a power of creating Christian

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Leaders in Noi'way

resignation, yet even that God-fearing spirit is oftenas hard and sinister as the physical surroundings.Fanaticism finds there peculiarly favorable conditionsand burns like fire in dry grass. The general imagina-tion easily absorbs the idea of God's wrath and eternalpunishment, but has little room for tenderness and areconciling love. He who wishes to see this ice andstone nature of western Norway embodied in one greatpicture must read Ibsen's Brand, the most tremen-dous and most one-sided expression of this nature thatour literature possesses.The whole West v/as long bound, too, by traditionsand had a decidedly old-fashioned character. Thehouses were many and small, low and dark. Little wasseen of modern improvement. The agricultural imple-ments were more fit for a museum than for a farmer;and the conveyancesthe cart, the carjol, or the sledin winterwere the terror of more than one traveler.Within the house the "high seat" at the end of thelong table was still reserved for the head of the family.Everything seemed centuries old. In language, indress, and in social intercourse the old dignity andceremonial still prevailed. The bride still rode tochurch with a shining silver crown on her long, spread-out hair and with silver brooches on her white linen.The old strange songs and marches were played beforeher procession and her wedding feast was not given inbright, open rooms as in the East, but in the small,close dwellings where the old timber was black as ebonyfrom the smoke and soot of generations. These darker

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Westland and Eastlandsides of western life would at once seize the eye andthe heart of any observer, and have certainly exercised amost powerful influence upon the national character.But western nature has a sunny, lucid side, too, andhas given to the popular mind a corresponding uplift.The brightness of nature particularly breaks forthin Spring. For those crags and valleys have a Springwhose sweetness is nowhere found in the East. If thesun has been missing during the long winter, its reap-pearance is so much the more wonderfully prophetic ofnew life, new joy, and fresh power. Winter does notdisappear by inches, as in the East, and Spring doesnot come with a mingling of snow and water. Oneleaps away and the other comes with a bound. Yester-day was bleak Winter. Today spirits of Summer livealready in air, soil, and water. They dance on the melt-ing ice of the streams, they sail in with the soft breezefrom the sea, they smile from the bright sky, and theyexhale from every bare spot; for the grass grows upto the very edge of the snow. From these Spring andSummer-day visions of a sea as smooth as glass or rock-ing between sunny mountains, from green and fragrantfields that break into flower while yet in the very armsof ice, from a salt breeze bringing news of foreignshoresfrom these arise the light and beauty thatplay with such exquisite freshness and warmth overthe darker features of that rock-girt land. Herein isthe source of the blue depth and giddy vivacity ofimagination which has characterized the people of theWest-the dancing waves of playful humor, the

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Leaders in Norwayflashes of wit that seem like living sunbeams in theshut-up valley of pensive thought. From such visionsas these came the wonderful softness of Ole Bull'sstrings which sang the secret of that Spring to thewhole world. From these was caught the musical liltin the speech of the West and likewise the peculiardelicate beauty of many homeshomes that werecrowned with this beauty in spite of their inaccessibilityand of any suspiciousness they may have had of theworld outside. Where these ameliorating influencesfrom without have been allowed to become a power,where the deep, earnest simplicity of soul and theunshaken determination which this nature produces havereceived their measure of light and heat, there one meetssuch warmth of temperament, such truthfulness inspeech and manner, such purity and beauty of thought,that no nature seems capable of a more exalting influ-ence upon a nation's life. If the blue sky and its starshave thus been able to look down into the depths ofman, the thwarting power has been counteracted andeducation has been gained without a stunting of growth.Many of our noblest men and women have exemplifiedthis happy fusion. They have won breadth withoutlosing depth, have matured into tenderness and beautyand yet not lost in primitiveness and solidity. Theyare the finest product of our land. Neither the Westnor the East may wholly claim them, for they belong tothe world, contributing through their own roundeddevelopment the best our nation has to offer to the gen-eral consciousness of humanity.

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Westland and Eastland********When one has stayed at the coast for some time, itis impossible on crossing the mountains into the Eastnot to be astonished at the sudden breadth of the hori-zon. Although the Westerner during a long sojournin the East always feels a lack and longs for his accus-tomed scenery, yet it is a great gain to have beforehim for some time these large cultivated districts and tofeel a loosening of the tension caused by the threaten-ing force of the mountains. Here in Eastland arebroad, expansive valleys that end in broad rivers. Hereshining streams glide down through meadows full ofthick luxuriant grass and past fields of tall grain, orthe tract slopes gently down toward a lake with lowshores and jutting points that look like fields andwoods swimming on the water. The houses are eitherplaced on the top of the slope where they gaze out andgreet each other with bright windows, or else they arealong the roads in the bottom of a valley near a lake,while all the fat meadows, yellow grainfields, and dark,spruce-clad hills are behind them. They lie there sun-ning themselves in broad, safe comfort, in quiet, every-day happiness, roomy and cozy, with gardens in frontand big trees in the yard. Seen at a distance, they allseem to be at their noonday rest and to have plenty ofleisure to look out over the water and the road. Thereis something self-complacent and sure about them, yetone has a feeling of their being always ready to opentheir large rooms in unlimited hospitality. Means ofan easier existence in this region are evident even in

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Leaders in Norwaythe soil, which is nowhere so stony as in the West butseems to invite road-making and railroad-building.Fields and meadows and the big forests also speak ofmore abundance. People here have open, bright facessuch as are seldom seen in the West. Everything inproperty and income is on a larger scale; one feelsalmost well-to-do oneself and finds life lenient andagreeable.

It has been said, however, and with some truth, thatthe spiritual power of the West is greater, and thatmost of our best men have come from the coast and themountains. Agriculture gives steadiness and persis-tence to conditions because its results can be gained byregular work and do not depend on chance and luck.But on the other hand, it does not give that elasticity ofspirit, that flight of thought, that venturesome courageand perseverance of will, which are fostered by thelife on the shore. The clay soil which clings to the footalso weighs down the soul, the uniform, everyday lifemakes the imagination gray and creeping, the willslack, and the whole mental life shallow and dry. Evenin the far days of old it was thus. Even then the bet-ter portion of national strength was in the West. Bypeople from the West, Iceland was populated and con-tinents discovered, and there was the true home of theVikings. Thence alone could be drawn their courage,able to battle with the unknown, their deep earnestness,their imaginative freshness, their salty humor.But these opinions regarding the two portions of thecountry are not tenable in every particular. The basis

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of them is too narrow. For the eastern imagination isdark-eyed and dreamy though slow in action. Thoughit lacks the transparent blue, the rapid swing, thatcharacterize the spirit of the West, yet it possesses itsown mighty enchantment. If the West has the seaand the mountains, the East has no less potent aninfluencethe stately forest. The tree which givesindividuality to that forest is the sprucea kind notfound in the West, but in the East having a growthand color not manifested anywhere else in Europe.When one faces these armies of black trees with theirtall, spire-like tops and low, swaying branches that seemto cover up some hidden treasure, one stands before theRomance of the East. Here in the unbroken quiet ofmajesty where only a falling twig, a frightened animal,or a band of lurking gipsies interrupt the solitudehere the dark-eyed huldre lives. Here the arrow ofthe huntsman strikes unawares old churchbells thathave been silent for a hundred years. Here the air isheavy with talcs of the past which the stiff-bearded for-est giants tell each other over a,nd againtales of thelife they once saw, the chivalrous plays and festivals onthe noble estates that are no more. For they also sawthe great places deserted during the Black Death, andas the years slipped by, the giants quietly moved oninto the yard, gazed through the windoAvs into theempty rooms, and have held guard for centuries aroundthe abandoned homes. If in the moonlight one walksalong the edge of these forests and looks at the movingblack spires against tlie sky, feels the cool air they

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Leaders in Norwaybreathe forth and inhales the fresh odor of their nee-dles, listening as they whisper together in indescribablemoaning singsong, never forgotten when once heard,one understands that they have indeed a secret to watchover. They are the source of the countless songs andstories, the unknown kingdom where the creative imagi-nation finds a home. One understands that if ever thesewoods were laid quite low, something great and im-portant would be lost to the nation ; all would be turnedinto the barren ground of cold materiality and thesoul would be panting for the woods of old with theirshade, their dew, their fragrance.

Perhaps these emanations of mystery and greatnesswhispered to the listening mind are not wholly lost evenwhen the forest goes forth on its practical mission ofservice to the economic well-being of its country, whenthe yellow logs have left their quiet home on the hillsand have sung their last hymn in the sawmill or saidgoodbye to the fatherland and sailed across the ocean.As the old trusty giants sink one after another underthe axe, the groans and crash of the breaking downresound in the forest, and their comrades whisper thesad news far off in the distant woods. In the eveningthe workmen gather in the huts, the fire glows lustily,coffee is cooked, and burning torches light up thefantastic scene. And then the falling giants exhaletheir first lorethe romance of their stories ; while outin the shed the horses shiver in the cold.

Soon the forest has ended the first part of its jour-ney, and the lumber is turned into the broad way of

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general usefulness. One portion remains in the countrybuilt into bridges and houses, and looks at its brethrenthat still stand and murmur in the wind. Its life infreedom is over, the age of its possibly higher purposebegun. Yet faint traces of its former existence remain.From now on it tells ghost stories, in dark outhousesor far in the country when it has become very old.Other portions go perhaps to greater events but to thesame whispering silence. The magnificent trees whichbecome ships and carry their comrades away with them,may lie, even in the great centres of trade, and talkin the depth of the sea or breathe up from it thosestrange stories which the sailors bring home with them.Our forest thus enters the life of thegreat world. But the poets and dreamers at homenever quite cease to miss it and mourn over it. Theytouch more gently the standing trees because of theircomrades that are gone, and to their listening heartsthe forest mysteries are open secrets.

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HENRIK WERGELAND^^N 1814 occurred the greatest singlem event in the history of Norway during

the nineteenth century. It was themeeting at Eidsvold of a Httle bodyof statesmen to frame a national con-stitution for Norway. The union withDenmark having been broken by thetreaty of Kiel, Norway was determinedto decide its destiny for itself. Tothis Norwegian Congress was sent ayoung preacher and teacher from

Christiansand named Nicolai Wergeland." He hadbeen previously known in national affairs, as is witnessedby his stirring appeal for a national university; whichindeed had been founded in 1811. He soon became oneof the most prominent and influential members of theCongress. He was aggressively antagonistic towardDenmark, whose treatment of Norway he called crimi-nal. The idea of a voluntary union with Sweden,which sprang up in the Assembly, had at first hissympathy and soon his earnest defense. He formed awarm attachment to the new Swedish king, Carl Johan,Napoleon's former leader, Marechal Bernadotte, whosebrilliant exploits as a soldier and whose generous bene-factions in the North had won for him many otherpatriots as staunch as Wergeland. The king on hisside admired Wergeland's shrewd caution, practicalability, and patriotic breadth of view ; and he was will-

iPronounced Vairg' (c)lan; g hard, e short, slightly sounded.-See Frontispiece.

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ilenrik Wergeland


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Henrik Wergelanding to recognize and reward them, especially since inpart through Wergeland's efforts a union of Norwaywith Sweden was finally effected.To this position of political importance, intellectualleadership, and friendly relation with the ruling powers,Henrik Wergeland was heir. Though of a characterand temper quite different from his father and havingan entirely different career, he too became a politicaland intellectual leader. At the time of the EidsvoldCongress Henrik was a child of six. Not long after-ward Nicolai Wergeland received the living at Eids-vold parish and for the rest of his life remained thereas Dean in the State Church (Lutheran) and as occa-sional court preacher. At Eidsvold Henrik passed hisboyhood.While a child he was not considered remarkable, buta little later his genius developed as suddenly as anorthern spring. In 1825 he became a student at thenew national university. Two years afterward he wasalready known as a poet of indisputable originality,turbid and turgid, but with extraordinary luxurianceand primitiveness. Poem after poem appeared, lyricsand romances, farces, dramas and tragedies; and allthe while he was studying for his final degree in divinityand was writing steadily for newspapers. A tremen-dous poem, seven hundred and twenty pages long, a kindof philosophic epic called Creation, Man, and Mes-sias, he tossed off almost extempore. It is a remark-able proof of his easy productivity at this time. Hewas a hot-headed 3'outh, boiling over with plans and

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Leaders in Norwayideas, a republican and a revolutionist, an ultra-Norwegian, a friend of the people, an advocate of thelow and down-trodden ; always maturing new schemesfor popular elevation and improvement, never thinkingof his own profit, continually exposing himself to newrebuffs, yd never disheartened, always fresh and vigor-ous, full of enthusiasm and optimistic faith. In allthese ways he was said to be like his grandfather, a"turbulent head," whose family belonged in BergensStiff on the West coast, a region where people areknown as among the liveliest, brightest, most hot-blooded and enterprising in the whole country.The Congress of 1814 had brought to Norway inde-pendence as a nation. But the liberty granted by thenew constitution had now to be made real and practicalby growth in the inner mental life of the people itself.For though a people receive liberty as a gift or at smallcost, it will no less surely have to earn all and paygradually what it did not pay at first. The nationalinstinct now demanded manifestations in literature,language, art, science, and in enlightened publicopinion, which should justify the nation's claims torecognition from other nations. The break from thedomination of Denmark and the tie with Sweden bothcalled out an exaggerated defensiveness and emphasisof self in the Norwegians. They needed a leader whowould incorporate their new aims and their new con-sciousness of pov.^cr and willa leader whose activitywould be the best justification of their claims, and whowould unite their scattered forces under one head. He

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Henrik Wergelandwho best represented these aspirations and answeredthese needs was the young poet, barely out of his teens,but already brimming over with the sense of his missionand eager to fulfill the patriotic obligations with whichhe had charged himself.

Like poet-politicians of the time in other countries,Wergeland welcomed the July revolution of 1830 inFrance as the coming of a golden age, and watchedEuropean politics with the greatest eagerness. Hethought a republic the best form of government, but hemade few if any efforts to force that form upon his owncountry. He advocated the idea rather as the lastlogical conclusion of his political philosophy than asa practical solution of immediate difficulties. The no-tion of general brotherhood also appealed to him, andthis led him to advocate a Scandinavian union or fed-eration of states, for which the United States and itsconstitution gave him inspiration. But even while hewas dreaming of a Northern union, his attention wasnecessarily drawn to the direct interests of Norwayitself.A smouldering conflict had long existed between thetwo layers of population in Norwaythe native Nor-wegian on the one side and on the other the officialclass. This class had sprung partly from generationsof Danes sent to Norway as executives, and partly fromother foreigners who mingled rather with the Danishelement than with the native peasantry. The conflictbetween these two elements was now bearing its firstfruit in the formation of an ultra-Norwegian party.

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Leaders in NorwayAs soon as that happened, the cosmopohtan Werge-land became more Norv/egian than anybody; and theopposition to the encroachment of either of the othernortliern states found its most determined spokesmanin him who had just before been advocating a Scandina-vian union. Yet tliere was no real contradiction inthis. His ideal was in essence national, and the unionhe thought of was to be merely a combination of kin-dred nationalities. His attitude was largely misunder-stood, however, owing to the bitterness with which hewas attacked. Yet his behavior during this long po-litical strife savored more of political wisdom than thatof his adversaries. For he represented a sound, neces-sary instinct of self-preservation, a keen, clear-sightedeffort to protect the national from outside usurpationtill it had grown strong enough to maintain itself with-out defensive measures. Half a generation had passedsince the adoption of the constitution, and still allforms of life were as yet running in the old grooves.But now a peculiar restlessness became evident in thenation at large, a, feeling that the constitution so adoredwas a pledge which the nation had to fulfill. Of thesignificance of this restlessness Henrik Wergelandseems to have been more clearly aware than anyone;and he did more to keep the inner stirring alive andurge it on to manifestation in deeds. His poetry atthis time possesses the same restlessness and stormycharacter as the popular feeling expressed. It sprangfrom a sense of new power, not quite conscious of itselfor certain of its aim. That he was right later events

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Henrik Wergelandhave fully proved. The background of his conceptionof nationality was not dreani}^ sentiment. Thoughpoetical, it was not mystical, but was the thought ofnatural progress and was an ideally rational aim suchas both nations and individuals must hold.To understand the conflict in the nation at this time,it must be remembered that the Norwegian peasantswere not and had never been serfs immovably attachedto the land, as had been the case in other countries.They were not in subjection to territorial lords, butwere themselves landowners, rulers of small private do-mains. In the middle ages they had been a most proud,independent and self-governing class of people. Onlygradually had their share in government slipped awayfrom them (cf. pp 5-7), and they still retained theirdignity and independence of feeling. To be a peasantin Norway was to belong to the truly national elementof the population, to be among those who own^d theirhomes, cultivated their lands, and kept their profits.The opposition to existing conditions which now aroseand created the ultra-Norwegian party was activechiefly in this independent, land-owning peasantry.The opposition was indeed both political and liter-ary, but in its political aspect it was an effort of thepeasant class against the ofl^cial class, who were mostlyDanish in sympathy and who as the peasants felthad dominated politics too long. Members of the offi-cial class had indeed been in the majority in the Con-gress of 1814, but the democratic ideal then prevalenteverywhere had so operated in them, too, that they had

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Leaders in Noneaythemselves abolished nobility and the idea of an upperhouse of government. They fixed the right to votemerely upon ownership of land and official position.By these two standards the greater share in govern-ment would in time come to the peasants, since therewould always be more landowners than officials. Atfirst the peasants, in their feeling of political imma-turity united their votes for the official class ; and theearly national assemblies after 1814 had been mainlycomposed of members of this class. To their praise itmust be said that they showed themselves worthy oftheir traditions. They maintained the dignity of theassembly and the rights of the constitution against therepeated attempts made by Sweden to increase Swedishprivileges in the union and to press Norway down to aninferior rank. The peasant members joined bravely inthis fight to preserve the constitution intact. Gradu-ally the population woke to the fact that the rulingpower belonged to the people at large instead of to aclass. Then the unfortunate heady attempt began topush the officials out of poweran attempt which intime proved almost distressingly successful. Much ill-feeling was aroused. The officials, who still countedamong their number by far the most intelligent, best-trained people, saw wnth horror the power graduallyledge in the hands of the more numerous but lessprepared peasantry.

Although Henrik Wergeland was the son of a stateofficial (church and state being one), he sympathizedmost heartily with the peasantry. He immediately

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Henrik Wergelandjoined their ranks and became their spokesman againstthe "tyranny" of the officials. He undoubtedly saw thatthe peasants were not yet ready for their politicalmission, but he also knew that they could not acquirepolitical maturity without exercising their faculties ;and since they insisted on grasping what the constitu- (tion gave them, he wished to help them in their school ofpolitical experience.

Naturally in the literary part of the oppositionWergeland was also active. In fact, he was the chieffigure. The whole strife, indeed, was a strife betweentwo opposed cultures. The one represented by Werge-land had mainly English and French presuppositions,leaned upon the eighteenth century and its politicalcontinuation in the July revolution, and upon Englishpoetical literature and philosophy and rationalistichumanism. On the otlier side was the German-Danishculture, which leaned upon the reaction by the Germanromanticists against the eighteenth century. Religi-ously, it clung to tiie old orthodoxy as a reaction againstrationalism ; and politically, it was the first expression,on Norwegian ground, of the general European con-servative relapse, after the striving in 1830 for libertyand revolutionary idealism.

In this literary side of the conflict, the pro-Danishparty, hovrever active many of its members liad beenin securing independence in government, could not seemuch prospect for intellectual life in Norway if it wasseparated from the Danish. At the time the pro-Danish view seemed right. Danish literature was in its

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Leaders in Norzoaygolden age when a whole Parnassus of writers madeCopenhagen the special home of muses and graces.The intellectual party in Norway looked to Denmarkas its true home and as having the atmosphere for trueliterary production. The contrast between the youth-ful efforts of clumsy Norwegian imitators and the fin-ished works of the polished Danes seemed too great toallow hope of a literary life at all equal to the Danish.The reasons then apparent lay in the immaturity ofalmost everything in Norwaythe narrow, provincialcharacter of the social world, the political disturbances,the patriotic bombast, the crudeness of the general na-tional life with its "ignorant peasantry" as chief ele-ment, the lack of a capital city that could really lead,and the absence of an aristocracy that might establisha standard of taste and give a refined tone to society.These opinions of the pro-Danish Norwegians wereconfirmed in Denmark itself. The Danes, with theirwhole tradition from Holberg down, felt superior tothe Norwegians. What writers had Norway had previ-ous to the separation who were not influenced by Danishlife? And Avhat had it since? The fact that Nor-wegians had for many generations been compelled togo abroad for their highest education explains in partthe absence of a distinctly Norse literature. And at thepresent moment they had no writer to boast of as theirvery own except Henrik Wergeland, no one who couldclaim the broad field and hold the attention of thepublic as he did. But of him the anti-national partyhad no high opinion. In Denmark all Norwegian writers

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Henrik WergcUindwere ignored, and Wergeland's works were scarcelyknown till late in the century. The pro-Danish amonghis countrymen were alienated by his stormy lyric, hisvisions of heaven and earth, and his disregard forforms and laws held sacred by the critics. The noveltyof his mere appearance stunned them, and the volumi-nous often confused nature of his productivity, lettinggood and bad, perfect and imperfect, go to press andreach the public red hot, made them bitter and scornfultoward this new poAver that claimed to be so thoroughlynational. They turned away from the tumult athome to the other land, where such storm and stressdid not exist and whence they could receive a superiorculture and aesthetic pleasure.

Their spokesman was a young student of the sameage as Henrik Wergeland by the name of Welhaven.Welhaven's pronounced interest in aesthetics, his con-ception of poetry as expressing calmness and clearnessonly, his dislike of any political excess, and his shy,sensitive, melancholy temperament, all made him theborn contrast and sworn opponent of Wergeland. Andin Welhaven Wergeland found his most merciless critic,one who seemed often to take pleasure in seeing nothingbut chaos and leaving him bare of any poetical qualitieswhatever. According to Welhaven, other ideals thanWergeland's must be presented to the nation. Theseideals he himself showed in a cycle of sonnets calledThe Dawn of Norway. In these he declared it wouldbe folly to denounce Danisli culture when there wasnothing to put in its place ; and he pointed to the inner

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Leaders in Norwayrejuvenation which alone can lead to true liberty.Above all he condemned Wergeland because in his su-perciliousness he would deliver the nation over to in-tellectual suicide by prohibiting foreign influences eventhough such poverty existed at home.But Wergeland did not wish to oppose Danish cul-ture to a suicidal degree. He did not wish to reducethe Norwegians to a barbarous condition. What hesaw and insisted upon was that only through self-activity could the native and the national grow strongenough to maintain itself in later contact with foreigncultures. The conflict, of course, need not have existedat all if the native Norwegian element had felt able toassimilate without loss of individuality. But there wasthe danger.

Consciously or unconsciously Welhaven then and everafterward misrepresented the attitude of Wergeland.To Welhaven the highest culture seemed concentrated inDanish life. To Wergeland culture was universal, andit was this universal culture which he wished his coun-try made fit to receive by concentration and develop-ment within itself. The process of preparation wasin a measure advocated by both men, but in difi'erentways. The struggle between the pro-Danish and theultra-Norwegians lasted throughout Wergeland's life.Although Welhaven soon withdrew personally, histheories were maintained by a body of close friends.As might have been foreseen, succeeding events haveproved that both leaders were to an extent right. Butfor the moment Wergeland's was the agency most neces-

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Henrik Wergeland

sary for the growth of the nation. And one thing iscertain-he was never so bigoted as his adversaries.His enthusiasm for a national literature was indeedexaggerated and tumultuous, but it was necessary andfound its response in national pride and national ambi-tion. The later preeminence of Norwegian literaturehas fully justified his zeal. His adversaries, however,would not grant its value and significance even for thetime. To them it seemed evident that Norway couldnot change her condition. Even the language theythought too barbarous for poetical expression andfar inferior in melody to the Danish. This also Werge-land combated, and pointed out the superior right ofNorwegian words, both because they were Norwegianand sounded true and familiar to people of Norway,and because they had a more suggestive fullness ofvolume and thus approached the strong resonant toneof the old original language.

In the heat of battle the pro-Danish often forgotthat they had to do with their own countrymen, andtheir superior culture did not prevent them from call-ing their opponents barbarians and spoilers. Wildcombats took place in the newspapers, and, at times ofspecial excitement, in the streets as well. Wergelandwas of course the arch enemy whose aspirations, po-litical and poetical, were unworthy of polite considera-tion.A glance at the literary activity of Wergeland from1830 to 1840 shows that he understood better thananybody the historical justification of the political tur-


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Leaders in Norwaymoil because he saw the ideal meaning hidden under thenoisy quarrel. Himself pushing along and exciting thepopular feeling and being in turn excited by it, he wasin the happiest sympathy with his people; that kind ofsympathy which is the surest footing for any poet, how-ever vague and obscure the sympathy may be on thepart of the nation at large. His poems, from the eposof humanity dovv^n to songs for the seventeenth of May(the day of independence), mirror the thoughts andfeelings of the time. His farces, too, were political andpolemical. And besides being incessantly active as apoet, he was an indefatigable journalist. His news-paper articles were innumerable, mostly anonymous,but in a style easily recognized. Scarcely a subjectthat roused the interest of the day escaped his activepen. Destined only for the moment, scratched down onsudden impulses, most of the articles cannot be properl}^judged if torn from their connection. They are chieflyan expression of that constant watchfulness with whichhe threw a hint here and a hint there, thus giving whatthe infant democracy neededdirection and guidance.They helped to keep the people in a constant vibration,conscious of how much was yet to be done, how manydemands had yet to be satisfied. The articles were instyle epigrammatic, often careless ; but they containedso much positive and practical information, they hadso much power to agitate and to illumine subjects ofgeneral importance that at the time they were of greatvalue.

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Henrik WergelandWergeland's participation in the events of the day,

both political and literary, was so prominent that inthe eyes of the pro-Danish he was the incarnation of theultra-Norwegian party in its wildest, most disagreeableform. To Welhaven and his party Wergeland was notonly impossible as a poet, but equally impossible as apolitician. In fact, he was no politician, merely apolitical demagogue of the worst type; following bothin literature and government arbitrary individualisticprinciples, advocating isolation and therefore suicide.If, as a matter of fact, we know nothing of Wergelandbut his restless activity in the political agitation, hemay indeed appear to have been a mere revolutionaryparty leader, nothing more than the chief of a radicalfaction. But there are other sides of his busy life thatreveal quite a different character. In spite of all hisrestlessness, he pursued calmly and logically his pur-pose of raising the nation as a whole to the level ofits true patriotic aspirations. The chief object in hislife as a citizen was to increase the fund of educationand culture in the nation at large. Education for allhe regarded as the broad basis of a true democracy.Herein lies the substantial difference between his con-ception of national culture and that of the pro-Danish.The pro-Danish saw in "culture" the flower of his-torical development confined to a select few, to thosewho possessed intellectual maturity, superior knowledgeand elevated views of life. Such culture would neces-sarily be aesthetic in character. Tliough it claimed tobe national, it was in fact mainly aristocratic. It

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Leaders in Norwaystood aloof, studied and observed "the people" as aninteresting phenomenon, and treated in like manner themyths and tales wherein the obscure past, the primitivestage of the people's life, still partly revealed itself.The result of such observation would naturally beartistic reproduction in song and tale; thus justifying,for art, the attitude taken toward these phenomena.But in Wergeland's conception of the national lifethis view of the people had no part. To him the mythsand tales that interested the fEsthetes were supersti-tions, reminiscences of the time when the people were notas yet awake. The "child of nature" must be changedinto a conscious being, master of his conditions, a freecitizen, aware of his rights and duties. The romanticconception doted upon the dreams of the nationalspirit, but Wergeland demanded the higher conscious-ness which produces beings who can think. To Werge-land culture was for all. It was a development of in-tellect, knowledge, reason, morality, sense of duty.Welhaven's conception was far more aesthetic andartistic. The one poet was a philanthropist and a prac-tical philosopher; the other was an artist and an{Esthetic philosopher.

"Our time," said Wergeland, "has understood thatthe basis of the happiness and life of a nation is generalculture. If it is not general, the efforts of a few in-dividuals to raise the national level can be but uncer-tain." Such declarations as these show him most di-rectly and clearly as in the broadest sense a man of thepeople. They prove his right to receive the love which

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Henrik Wergeland Statue, Fargo, North Dakota. Part of theinscH'ption is:

Lyric Poet, Father of Nonvegian Literature,Friend of the Poor and Oppressed,Champion of the Weak against the Strong,Opened the Doors of Norway to the Jews.The Statue is a donation from Norway to the United States.

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Henrik Wergelandthe people bore him even early in his career. Politicalpreparation or education were not needed by anybodyto understand his warm sympathy which bloomed in athousand acts of charity. Nobody loved the commonpeople as he did, nobody sought so much to benefitthem, nobody else interested himself thus in their cause,fearless of the troubles he thereby drew down upon him-self. He shared his goods Avith the poorest, slipped offhis coat and gave it to the one who had none, and feltashamed that he could leave his table satisfied when heknew many who had eaten nothing. He won the people'sabsolute confidence. They did not understand his odes,but his deeds were clear. They knew that here was aman who truly sought their welfare. And when heappeared as their teacher and adviser, they did notmeet him with any of that suspicion which wonders whysuch a man should mix up in their affairs. Very soon"Henrik" became the universal helper in every possi-ble adversity.From personal observation both in the country andin the capital he had obtained a comprehensive knowl-edge of the general conditions and needs. In 1829after a long tramp through the country he wrote thefirst volume of his occasional periodical for workmen,intended for publication in a widely distributed paperand circulated also among the population as a pam-phlet issued by the royal society for the welfare of Nor-way. The zeal and enthusiasm that glow through thisfirst address to the people remained just as ardent dur-ing his whole life. A second volume of the same

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Leaders in Norwayperiodical was equally successful. It contained "en-couragement to form societies in connection with theroyal society for Norway's welfare." And in manyparts of the country such local societies according toWergeland's plan were in fact established for the eco-nomical and industrial progress of each parish. Therewas sound political wisdom in the central thought ofthis pamphlet, namely, that "liberty is a transient giftwhich easily escapes our grasp if we do not hold it fastin small units." Seven years later, after much strug-gle, this thought became politically valid in the lawwhich established self-government in the parishes.These papers for workmen he continued with someinterruptions almost to the time of his death. In themhe talked familiarly about all kinds of subjectsaboutdrunkenness, cruelty to animals, superstition in oneform or another, everything that pertained to the dailylife of the poor. He did not hesitate to suggest eventhat the worst hovel could be made more attractive ifa little paint were put on its walls or a few flowersplaced in its windows. In such small practical ways hetried to raise the people's moral level, awaken theirperception of beauty, and increase their comfort. Nordid

(1916) leaders in norway and other essays

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