ONE day in July last during the second of the very successful trips to the Norwegian Fjords, arranged by the Committee of the Regent Street Polytechnic, I was standing on the bridge of the s.s. Fridtjof, discussing with Captain Evjenth and Mrs. Price Hughes the enjoyment and interest which a winter trip to Norway might afford. Captain Evjenth was describing to us the delights of Vossevangen in winter, and the skating, sledging, curling, and toboggan

de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis. There was one fact in favour of a short winter holiday of this kind, namely, that no one would be prevented from taking such a trip as they would be in the summer time, by the necessity of accompanying their family for the regular family holiday. On the other hand, some of our hardest worked City ministers sorely need a brief rest just at that season. Many of them work seven days a week, and I feel that if

ing which might be enjoyed in that charming resort of English tourists to Norway. One of the trio, I don't remember with whom the idea originated, suggested that a winter party should be got up, to consist of hardworked clergy and ministers, and professional men who needed a brief respite from the great strain of City life in our crowded centres of population. Before our voyage was concluded we had talked the matter over from various stand-points, and the idea had occurred to me that it might be possible to arrange a party of ministers and laymen representing the different religious bodies who would be able in the long winter evenings, when they were not enjoying the pleasures of torch-light skating, to discuss

they could only get thirteen or fourteen "Sabbaths," one after the other in the very midst of the pressure of their winter's work it would be some compensation for the practical loss of the weekly day of rest. I am glad to say that the following well-known representatives of the different churches will most probably join in the trip, unless they should be prevented by some at present unforeseen cause:-Rev. A. R. Buckland, special morning preacher at the Foundling, with Mrs. Buckland, Rev. H. Kingsmill Moore, Principal of the Church of Ireland Training College, Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, Rev. Dr. Clifford, with Mrs. Clifford, Mr. Edwin H. Stout, assistant Editor of the Review of Reviews, and Mrs. Stout.

Several others are considering the possibility of arranging to join the party. This list will no doubt be quickly extended and rendered more fully representative as soon as the announcement of the trip is made public.

It would not be difficult to imagine many advantages which would result from a brief holiday spent together by men of different religious views, representing different church polities. As we stated last month in our address to our readers, the way to union is mutual knowledge. This mutual knowledge can only be imperfectly gained by occasional contact in church gatherings and religious meetings of one kind or another. The social barriers which now divide even members of the different Free Churches from one another must be broken down if a true unity of feeling is to be developed. It was my good fortune during my University course to pass through an Episcopalian Divinity School whilst remaining an avowed Dissenter. I then learned how few are the insuperable hindrances to intimate friendship which exist in a difference of views as to the best ecclesiastical organisation, or the best method of presenting the great truths of Christianity.

Another experience of my life in Dublin would lead me to believe that if such a holiday trip as I have indicated could be arranged, it might greatly help those who availed themselves of it to a better understanding of the attitude of their brethren in other churches. In the years 1885 and 1886, when political feeling had

risen to its highest point in Ireland, a small band of Trinity College men, together with some men well known in the public life of Dublin, united to form a small club called the "Contemporary." The club was limited to fifty members and included men of as diverse views as Mr. Michael Davitt and Mr. John O'Leary, ex-Fenian leaders, Mr. T. W. Russell, Unionist member for South Tyrone, the late Mr. Dwyer Gray, M.P., and other well-known Parnellites, Professor Sigerson and Professor Thomas Arnold (Mr. Matthew Arnold's brother), of the Catholic University, and Mr. Alfred Webb, M.P., Mr. C. H. Oldham, and a number of other well-known Protestant Home Rulers. The club met every Saturday evening for a free and unrestrained conversation on the politica. events of the week. I always felt when I came away from these conversations that the multiplication of such clubs for the discussion of different views of religious and political problems would be a very great boon to society in any town.

It seems to me that if men who differed, as widely as the men who met at our Contemporary Club differed at that particular time, and who felt as strongly as we did. could meet together to discuss the most burning questionsof the day in a friendly manner, there is no reason why a very friendly trip such as I have indicated should not be carried out in January next, and be the means of generating a very considerable amount of good understanding

among those who at present are strangers to one another.

I have accordingly arranged for a thirteen days' trip to leave London on Saturday morning, January 9th, by a special train to Newcastle. The party will then proceed by the Norwegian Mail Steamship Norge, of the Halvorsen Line from Newcastle to Bergen. The steamer is admirably fitted up with electric light and all other conveniences, and every effort will be made, I am sure, to secure the perfect comfort of every passenger. The passage from Newcastle to Stavanger only occupies about thirty-four hours, and the greater part of the journey from there to Bergen is in smooth water. I have arranged for the party to spend Monday evening in Bergen, where we shall be entertained at the very best hotels in the town. We shall proceed on the Tuesday morning by a special saloon train from Bergen to Vossevangen, where I have arranged for a party of fifty to stay at Fleischer's Hotel, which is one of the best hotels in Norway.

It is difficult to overstate the charms of Vossevangen and neighbourhood. From one of the illustrations here given it will be seen that there is a very large lake immediately in front of the hotel, which will provide endless forms of amusement and recreation in the winter season. The following extract from "Norwegian Pictures," the admirable illustrated guide-book to Norway, published by the Religious Tract Society, will give an idea of the character of this place and its surroundings:-"The road from Eide to Vossevangen is one of the most frequented in Norway, and one of the most characteristic. It passes

up the course of a river which flows with a pleasant murmur down to the fjord, and then skirts the shore of the Gravens Vand. Passing the station of Ovre Sein, it traverses the valley of Skjervet, which for impressiveness, and also as an exhibition of road-making skill, is surpassed only by the Stalheinsklev. The road soon begins to rise, and by a series of zigzags climbs up the steep face of the mountain until the level of the highest valley is reached. On the right hand, about half way up is the Skjervefos. The stream flows over black slate rock which at the point of the fjord forms a precipice of considerable height. The road, carried on arches, passes near and in full view of the fall, which presents at once a grand and beautiful appearance, the white foaming water spreading like a veil over the black, forbidding, perpendicular rocks. After reaching the top of the ascent, the road passes along the banks of the Skjerselv, and then through a pine forest, refreshing alike to the sense of sight and of smell. By a gradual descent through a wide and well-cultivated valley, past babbling streams, diminutive saw-mills and tiny farms, we come to Vossevangen, well situated on the shore of the Vangs Vand, and noteworthy as much for its hotel accommodation as for its natural beauty. It is surrounded by one of the most fertile and well-cultivated regions in Norway, and is sometimes described as the market garden of Bergen. The valley is broad with the lake in the centre, and with the gently sloping undulations and hills on the Vossevangen side.

"We left Vossevangen at 6 a.m. on a magnificent July morning for the finest day's ride in Norway-and, with the

'possible exception of the Yosemite Valley, perhaps the finest in Europe or America-viz., the journey to Gudvangen. For the first few miles the road passes through wellwooded ravines by the shores of lakes, through little groves of fir trees, until, near the station of Tvinde, we pass the fine Tvindefos, which rushes down over ledges of rock that break up the mass of water into many different portions, and which gains a new beauty from the fact that in every crevice where a tree can find root, trees are growing. After passing Tvinde the road ascends, crosses and recrosses the Vossestrandselv, passes Vinje, and then winds for some miles along the Opheims Vand, reaching finally Stalheim. Up to this point there is nothing exceptional in the scenery. We have passed many exquisite spots, little views of the river, picturesque peeps of distant mountains, attractive bits of pine forests, fine glimpses of lake and hill. But almost directly after passing Stalheim there bursts upon the astonished and delighted sight a scene of surpassing beauty and grandeur. The road appears to end abruptly in a precipice, and stretching out in front is the Nærödal, a narrow valley, flanked by lofty mountains, and shut in at a distance of five or six miles by a cliff, down the face of which for two thousand feet falls, like a silver stream, the

A VIEW OF ODDE.

Kilefos. Immediately in front to the left rises the striking mountain known as the Jordalsnut, whose curious conical towers aloft to the height of 3,600 feet. On the right the huge Kaldafjeld uplifts its precipitous masses to an elevation of 4,265 feet. Through the valley runs a wondrously clear stream, crossed and recrossed by the road which passes along the foot of the mountain. The first impression is one of awe. The mind seems to feel that it is witnessing the result of some awful convulsion of the past ages, when this mighty cleft was made in the everlasting hills."

Baedeker's "Norway " describes Vossevangen as charmingly situated and admirable for a prolonged stay. Jurgenson's "Land of the Vikings" (London: Walter Scott) makes the following comment on the hotel accommodation. "There are two or three excellent hotels in Vossevangen. The best known of them, and indeed, one of the best in all Norway, is owned and managed by Mr. Fleischer. Everybody who travels in that section of the country knows Mr. Fleischer, who has resided in America, and who understands the English language and the English habits as well as the English understand them themselves. Mr. Fleischer is as round as a Dutchman, as merry as a cricket, and as hearty and agreeable as every landlord

should be. Moreover, he is full of all the information that the tourist wants."

THE CHARMS OF NORWAY IN WINTER.

I have taken the following description of the attractions and sports of Norway in winter from a small guide-book to southern Norway, published by Messrs. Gall and Inglis. The climate in the

winter time is bracing and invigorating to a degree

un

known in Great

Britain. The

clear, dry frost

never pene

trates one's body, as does the salt damp atmosphere of England. The cold is as a rule steady, it may vary in degrees, but there is perpetual frost, and as a rule clear skies. In fact, were a register kept of the duration of sunshine in this southeastern portion

of the kingdom, it would probably be discovered

that for the time the sun is above the horizon here, it may compare with that of Italy.

The houses are thoroughly warmed by good stoves, and the temperature in the rooms is equal in every part. As regards the clothing, warm woollen undervests and drawers are the best, combined with a light, flannel-lined overcoat, for out-door use. Thick knitted socks and stout waterproof boots are indispensable. Skin gloves lined with lamb's-wool are the best protection for the hands and fingers, which, in a healthy man, are the parts most affected by intense cold.

The winter sports may be subdivided as follows:a. Ski-ing (snow shoeing). b. Coasting or Tobogganing. c. Skating. d. Sledging. e. Pigging.

Ski-ing is the queen of sports, and is now a favourite amusement of both gentlemen and ladies. The Ski are long flat pieces of wood turned up at the toes, with a strap in the centre into which the foot is inserted. For a man, the average length is about eight feet from toe to heel, and about three inches in width. On such, one can safely venture out in the deepest snow, and when descending a hill, the speed attained is wonderful. This

is a most exciting and health-giving exercise.

Coasting is a form of tobogganing, on the ordinary roads. The Coaster is a small sledge, as a rule some five to

six feet in length, and it is steered by means of a long pole or staff in exactly the same way as one steers a boat. In descending the roads the pace attained is very great, and the pleasure of this amusement is not to be surpassed, even by the Russian ice hills, or the tobogganing of Canada over the loose snow.

Sledging. But few English people know the delights of