We had come from Sandesund in seven hours, and had
stopped four times on the way; but the boats with new-comers, with
merchandise and letters, had always been ready, had been received,
and we had proceeded without any considerable delay.
CHAPTER VIII
My first care on arriving in this town was to find a countrywoman of
mine who had been married to a lawyer here. It is said of the
Viennese that they cannot live away from their Stephen's steeple;
but here was a proof of the contrary, for there are few couples
living so happily as these friends, and yet they were nearly one
thousand miles from St. Stephen's steeple. {47}
I passed through the whole town on the way from the quay to the
hotel, and thence to my friend. The town is not large, and not very
pretty. The newly-built portion is the best, for it at least has
broad, tolerably long streets, in which the houses are of brick, and
sometimes large. In the by-streets I frequently found wooden
barracks ready to fall. The square is large, but irregular; and as
it is used as a general market-place, it is also very dirty.
In the suburbs the houses are mostly built of wood. There are some
rather pretty public buildings; the finest among them are the royal
castle and the fortress. They are built on little elevations, and
afford a beautiful view. The old royal palace is in the town, but
not at all distinguishable from a common private house. The house
in which the Storthing {48} assembles is large, and its portico
rests on pillars; but the steps are of wood, as in all stone houses
in Scandinavia. The theatre seemed large enough for the population;
but I did not enter it. The freemasons' lodge is one of the most
beautiful buildings in the town; it contains two large saloons,
which are used for assemblies or festivities of various kinds,
besides serving as the meeting-place of the freemasons. The
university seemed almost too richly built; it is not finished yet,
but is so beautiful that it would be an ornament to the largest
capital. The butchers' market is also very pretty. It is of a
semi-circular shape, and is surrounded by arched passages, in which
the buyers stand, sheltered from the weather. The whole edifice is
built of bricks, left in their natural state, neither stuccoed with
mortar nor whitewashed. There are not many other palaces or fine
public buildings, and most of the houses are one-storied.
One of the features of the place - a custom which is of great use to
the traveller, and prevails in all Scandinavian towns - is, that the
names of the streets are affixed at every corner, so that the
passer-by always knows where he is, without the necessity of asking
his way.
