folk and Norwegian scenes, he attempted, in 1876, a drama in verse,
"Faustina Strozzi," the plot of which is derived from an incident in
modern Italian history. He returned to Norwegian subjects in "Thomas
Ross" and "Adam Schrader," published in 1878 and 1879, which deal with
life and manners in Christiania; but even here he was not quite at home
and these two novels are not of his best work. "Rutland" and "Go
Ahead!"--"Gaa paa!"--are much better, and these two stories of Norwegian
life as exhibited in the merchant navy added greatly to Lie's popularity
at home.

"The Slave for Life"--"Livsslaven"--1883, is in a different vein. The
plot is strong and the writer shows himself a keen and careful observer
of human nature. Without imputing to him any attempt at imitating
Ibsen, "The Slave for Life" certainly exhibits that pessimistic view of
existence which is at once attractive to many and repulsive to not a few
of Ibsen's readers. "The Family of Gilge,"--"Familjen paa Gilge"--is of
a somewhat similar character. Ethical objections to these stories are,
perhaps, superfluous; it must be admitted that both are popular and have
added very considerably to Lie's fame. They were followed by "A
Whirlpool"--"En Malström"--1886; "A Wedded Life"--"En Samliv"--1887;
"The Story of a Dressmaker"--"Maisa Jons"--1888; and by "The Commodore's
Daughters"--"Kommandörens Döttre"--1889, which has enjoyed the good
fortune of being translated into English with an introduction by Mr.
Edmund Gosse, a most competent Scandinavian scholar. Since 1889 Lie has
published "Evil Forces"--"Onde Magter," a volume of poetry, and two
collections of shorter stories, "Otte Fortoellinger" and "Trold." He has
recently completed another novel, which will shortly appear, and is, it
is believed, to be entitled "Niobe." Jonas Lie completed his sixtieth
year on the 6th of November last, and this interesting occasion has been
celebrated by a festival given in his honour by the students of his old