follow. In a later letter he declared that, considering these
promising prospects for the future, he contemplated abandoning
his studies in order to consecrate himself completely to the
publishing of my works; two or three plays a year, he thought, I
should with ease be able to write, and according to a calculation
of probabilities he had made he had discovered that with our
surplus we should at no distant time be able to undertake the
journey so often agreed upon or discussed, through Europe and the
Orient.

My journey was for the time being limited to Christiania. I
arrived there in the beginning of the spring of 1850 and just
previous to my arrival _Catiline_ had appeared in the
bookstalls. The drama created a stir and awakened considerable
interest among the students, but the critics dwelt largely on the
faulty verses and thought the book in other respects immature. A
more appreciative judgment was uttered from but one single
quarter, but this expression came from a man whose appreciation
has always been dear to me and weighty and whom I herewith offer
my renewed gratitude. Not very many copies of the limited
edition were sold; my friend had a good share of them in his
custody, and I remember that one evening when our domestic
arrangements heaped up for us insurmountable difficulties, this
pile of printed matter was fortunately disposed of as waste paper
to a huckster. During the days immediately following we lacked
none of the prime necessities of life.

During my sojourn at home last summer and particularly since my
return here there loomed up before me more clearly and more
sharply than ever before the kaleidoscopic scenes of my literary