mechanical duties of the soldier. They are taught to repair guns,
manufacture powder, make harness, shoe horses, and do everything else
that is likely to come within their experience in the field.
This training is highly valued by the young men of the country,
particularly by boys from the farms, because it gives them a certain
social standing, the right to wear a uniform, and a corresponding
amount of influence in the community. This regular army school takes
in about 1,700 young men every year.

The officers are educated in a military college. The complete course
covers five years for the staff, artillery, and engineer corps.
Candidates must first have graduated from one of the government
technical schools. The infantry and cavalry course is three years.
Graduates are appointed second lieutenants in the regular army, and
are promoted through the regular grades.

The army of Norway costs the government about 14,000,000 kroner, or
$3,800,000 a year, which is an average of $1.70 per capita of the
population, or half the tax paid by the English and Germans. The last
budget was about $1,000,000 larger than usual, for the purpose of
erecting new fortresses upon the southern coast. All the principal
seaports are already fortified, and there is an excellent system of
torpedo defense in the different fjords, but there is a remarkable
public apprehension concerning the intentions of Russia; and, mindful
of the fate of Finland, the Norwegians are preparing to resist any
aggressiveness on the part of the czar. It is not disputed that Russia
desires a winter port on her northern coast for St. Petersburg and
Kronstadt are always closed by the ice for five and sometimes six
months in the year. The Norwegian fjords never freeze. They are
protected by the monstrous mountains, and the water is tempered