Norway - Henrik Ibsen

( Originally Published 1907 )

Henrik Ibsen, the dramatic poet, in his home at Christiania

The best strength of the physical frame is gone, for age and illness have wrought havoc there; but that lion-like head bears magnificent testimony to the clear mental vision, the superb audacity and the artistic master-strength that have made its owner's name celebrated all around the world.*

Ibsen died May 23, 1906. In order to show the nation's appreciation of his genius, Parliament voted that his burial should be conducted by state officials at the expense of the government.

In a pretty peninsular suburb of the town there is a particularly quaint, picturesque old building that every visitor to Christiania takes pains to see. Let us not omit from our own tour that relic of romantic days. Our map does not extend quite far enough westward to show the exact spot, but it is not far from 12 near the left-hand margin.