This Bonder was tall and strong and dark, — a natural prince in look and manner, though he wore the red woollen cap of the farmers. As each door opened he stepped back and bowed, throwing open one at last which showed us a large, uncarpeted room. The furniture was a singular mixture. On each side of the great room were beautiful carved cabinets and tables — a little gilding here and there. The middle of .the room held a common deal table with immense legs, and in the corner were small tables and set- tees, also deal, such as furnish an English country alehouse. A tall clock like our old- fashioned New England clocks, stood by the door. A decanter filled with cordial was brought in, and a small glass poured out for each; and finding that we were interested, the host took us through the house. There were many bedrooms, since hospitality is a Norwegian virtue, — some very plain, others with elegant curtained beds and handsome furniture. In the storerooms and attics were NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND THE NORTH. IO7 the winter coats, bearskins, and firs, reindeer- boots and high-water boots. Blankets and comfortables were in piles, with sleds for the snow. There were high stacks of round oat- meal cakes, a foot and a half in diameter, for the laborers, birch-bark for tanning, spinning- wheels for weaving, etc., for on these farms all trades are carried on. The kitchen was a separate house, as, in- deed, were some of the other offices, this par- ticular farm having seven, all grouped about the central one. One side had beds for the servants. In the corner was a stone range, overshadowed by a low roof, which carried off the steam and flame of cooking. There was a sort of tin tub for baking bread, and great vats for boiling. The next little house was devoted to preserved meats, smoked and salted, reindeer ham and tongues being a specialty. The great barn, built on a sidehill, with two or three entrances to each story, and ar- rangements for sliding hay and grain to the stalls beneath, was empty, all the cattle hav- ing been taken up to the saetters, or moun- tain pastures, this being on the second visit I08 IN FOREIGN KITCHENS. in the summer. In the lower story was the cattle stable, each stall being made of two large slabs of slate ; while the barn itself was elevated on little stone supports, to prevent, as much as possible, the entrance of lemming rats, the most voracious and destructive of the order. Dinner was served in a large dining-room, opening from the drawing-room. A dish of sour-milk soup and another of meat soup came first ; then sturgeon, followed by quail and pancakes, and one kind of wine only, with cakes and coffee at the end. At another dinner, later, we had soup made of raisins and prunes, boiled salmon and potatoes, some made-dish with claret, and a simple dessert, — berries eaten in soup-plates with much milk. As each person ended dinner, the nap- kin was folded, laid on the table, and the plate placed upon it. At supper, Sunday- cakes were served, these being made of rich cream, and baked like waffles. For the work- people, a thick porridge was made by mixing sifted barley-meal with boiling water, and stirring with a stick. This was then put in a large wooden bowl, which was placed on the NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND THE NORTH. IO9 table, and round it the men gathered, each with a short wooden spoon and a wooden bowl of sour milk, digging out lumps of por- ridge and eating them with the milk. This is grod^ a national and most unpleasant dish, since it is not boiled. Vellig is much better, for the barley-meal for this is boiled in milk and eaten with cream ; but in all these por- ridges there is not boiling enough to suit the English taste. As a whole, the cooking, though excellent in some points, falls far below the French standard, and the amount eaten is a perpetual amazement even to the heartiest Englishman.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

This Bonder was tall and strong and dark, — a natural prince in look and manner, though he wore the red woollen cap of the farmers. As each door opened he stepped back and bowed, throwing open one at last which showed us a large, uncarpeted room. The furniture was a singular mixture. On each side of the great room were beautiful carved cabinets and tables — a little gilding here and there. The middle of .the room held a common deal table with immense legs, and in the corner were small tables and settees, also deal, such as furnish an English country alehouse. A tall clock like our old-fashioned New England clocks, stood by the door. A decanter filled with cordial was brought in, and a small glass poured out for each; and finding that we were interested, the host took us through the house. There were many bedrooms, since hospitality is a Norwegian virtue, — some very plain, others with elegant curtained beds and handsome furniture. In the storerooms and attics were NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND THE NORTH. IO7 the winter coats, bearskins, and firs, reindeerboots and high-water boots. Blankets and comfortables were in piles, with sleds for the snow. There were high stacks of round oatmeal cakes, a foot and a half in diameter, for the laborers, birch-bark for tanning, spinningwheels for weaving, etc., for on these farms all trades are carried on. The kitchen was a separate house, as, indeed, were some of the other offices, this particular farm having seven, all grouped about the central one. One side had beds for the servants. In the corner was a stone range, overshadowed by a low roof, which carried off the steam and flame of cooking. There was a sort of tin tub for baking bread, and great vats for boiling. The next little house was devoted to preserved meats, smoked and salted, reindeer ham and tongues being a specialty. The great barn, built on a sidehill, with two or three entrances to each story, and arrangements for sliding hay and grain to the stalls beneath, was empty, all the cattle having been taken up to the saetters, or mountain pastures, this being on the second visit in the summer. In the lower story was the cattle stable, each stall being made of two large slabs of slate ; while the barn itself was elevated on little stone supports, to prevent, as much as possible, the entrance of lemming rats, the most voracious and destructive of the order. Dinner was served in a large dining-room, opening from the drawing-room. A dish of sour-milk soup and another of meat soup came first ; then sturgeon, followed by quail and pancakes, and one kind of wine only, with cakes and coffee at the end. At another dinner, later, we had soup made of raisins and prunes, boiled salmon and potatoes, some made-dish with claret, and a simple dessert, — berries eaten in soup-plates with much milk. As each person ended dinner, the napkin was folded, laid on the table, and the plate placed upon it. At supper, Sundaycakes were served, these being made of rich cream, and baked like waffles. For the workpeople, a thick porridge was made by mixing sifted barley-meal with boiling water, and stirring with a stick. This was then put in a large wooden bowl, which was placed on the NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND THE NORTH. IO9 table, and round it the men gathered, each with a short wooden spoon and a wooden bowl of sour milk, digging out lumps of porridge and eating them with the milk. This is grod^ a national and most unpleasant dish, since it is not boiled. Vellig is much better, for the barley-meal for this is boiled in milk and eaten with cream ; but in all these porridges there is not boiling enough to suit the English taste. As a whole, the cooking, though excellent in some points, falls far below the French standard, and the amount eaten is a perpetual amazement even to the heartiest Englishman.

In foreign kitchens