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THE FIRE-WATCHMAN OF CHRISTIANIA.
17
The ornamentation of the Christiania churches is not
very remarkable, but there is enough to show that the
Northmen here have not rushed into that barbaric
reaction which in Scotland led to the wanton destruction
of glorious old cathedrals, the anathematizing of organs
and stained glass, and the sepulchral fashion of
ecclesiastical whitewashing.
The chief characteristic of the principal church here
is the bright gilding of the wooden beams of the roof;
which I should admire, but for the fear of correct
and classical people, who might denounce my taste as
barbaric. There is a very fine painting of Christ in
the Garden, by Tiedmann.
They have a convenient way of giving out the psalms
here : black boards are hung in different parts of the
church, and on these are chalked the number of the
psalm or hymn to be sung before and after the sermon.
In the tower above the belfry a fire guardian is
constantly posted, whose station commands a splendid view
of the city and the fiord. To prove his vigilance, he
has to call every quarter-hour from each of the four
sides of the tower. In a city built so largely of wood,
where a conflagration once started may become so
disastrous, such a precaution is fully needed.* The sound
* The recent fire was curiously reported in our newspapers. It
was stated that " nearly three-fourths" of the city was entirely
destroyed. The fire, though most serious, was not so extensive as
this. Nearly three quarters of the city were destroyed; hut three
quarters, when applied to a city, do not necessarily mean
three-fourths, for it may he divided into a dozen quarters, corresponding
to our parishes. This is the case with Christiania, and about two
and a half of these quarters were destroyed.
C
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