fastened round the middle with a girdle. They pull over their boots coarse woollen ftockings, which have the double advantage of keeping them warm, and preventing them from flipping on the ice.

"The interior of the peafant's house presents a picture of considerable intereft. The women are occupied in teasing or spinning wool for their clothing, the men in cutting faggots, making nets, and mending or construcing their sledges.

"We met at Mamola with a blind old man, having his fiddle under his arm, surrounded by a crowd of boys and girls. There was something respectable in his appearance; his forehead was bald, a long beard descended from his chin, white as snow, and covered his breast. He had the look of those bards who are described with so much enthusiasm in the history of the north, not one of whom probably was equal to this poor man in science or intelligence. His audience were not gathered round him for nothing; he sang verses, and related to them tales and anecdotes; but our presence broke in upon the silence and tranquillity of the assembly; every body withdrew; children are children in all countries. The sight of strangers was such a novelty, that, forgetting the bard, they began to mock our figure, and to laugh in our faces, while the poor mendicant finished by asking us, in bad Swedish, for some halfpence or skillings in charity."

He then proceeds to relate some whimsical anecdotes of Linnæus, with which we were unacquaint

ed.

"I saw at the house of the president a very intelligent and conver sible clergyman. We had much 3

conversation concerning the Finlanders, especially on the subject of their poetry, and he mentioned a variety of interefting particulars. Speaking of Linnæus, with whom he had been well acquainted at Up sala, he had much to say on the character of the Swedish naturalist, and dwelt particularly on the extreme vanity which that great man seems to have carried to the most disgusting length. He related to me some anecdotes which gave strong indications of that weakness. A lady of the province of Upsala, who had never been beyond its boundaries, applied to a friend of Linuæus for a letter of recommendation, that she might have an opportunity of making the acquaintance of this eminent character, and, at the same time, see his collection. The philosopher received her with much politeness, and as he was showing her the museum, the good lady was so filled with astonishment at the sight of an assemblage of such a number of different objects, upon each of which Linnæus had always something to remark, that she exclaimed with a sigh, I no longer wonder that Linnaus is so well known over the whole province of Upsala! Linnæus who, instead of the province of Upsala, expected to hear the whole univerfe, was so shocked, that he would show her nothing more of the museum, and sent the lady away quite confounded at the change of his humour, and at the same time firmly believing that her high encomium had wounded the feelings of the great philosopher. One day, being in a melancholy temper, he gave orders that no person should be admitted to him, and placed himself, in his bed-gown and night-cap, sad and pensive, upon his sofa. An of

ficer

ficer in the Swedish service arrived with a party of ladies, who had made a journey for the express purpose of seeing the Linnæan collection. The officer was denied admittance; but being aware of Linnæus's caprice, he would not be refused by the servant, but pushed by him, and entered the chamber where Linnæus was sitting. At first some indignation was shown at this intrusion; but the officer introduced the ladies with a most extravagant panegyric, to the illustrious philosopher, who was the sole object of their journey; to the man whom the whole world allowed to be the greatest to that man who had put nature herself to the rack, in order to discover her dearest secrets, &c. Linnæus's surly humour instantly forsook him, and he never appeared more amiable in his man ners than to this officer, whom he embraced tenderly, calling him his true friend, &c. &c. He was so singularly enamoured with praise, that his mind was never in that sedate state which would have enabled him to distinguish true commendation from flattery and deception. The clergyman who at first did not credit such reports, was convinced of their reality by one of his friends, who composed so ridiculous an eulogy for Linnæus, that the weakest child might have treated it as a farce or a satire; it was worded in the bombast of the middle ages, or in the Asiatic style: he called him the sun ( of botanists, the Jupiter of the literati, the secretary of nature, an ocean of science, a moving mountain of erudition, and other appellations to the same effect. Linnæus, far from feeling displeasure at such excessive and ridiculous compliments, interrupted the panegyrist at each

pharse, embracing him, and calling him his dearest friend.

Chapter 16th describes several extraordinary customs peculiar to the inhabitants of Finland, viz. their modes of courtship, ceremonies attending marriages, their vapourbaths, &c.; and in the subsequent chapter Mr. A. informs us that the Finlanders have a natural talent for poetry, of which he gives some curious specimens.

On the 8th of June 1799 our author and his companions quitted Uliabourg, a town in Finland, where they had passed some time, and experienced great attentions from the inhabitants, to proceed on their intended journey through Lapland to the North Cape.

In chap. 26 he deferibes the sun as seen at midnight from Tornea; and in chapter 29, he cites some remarks of Mr. Swamberg on the works of Maupertuis, from which it would appear that the observations of the latter are not to be depended upon. After encountering vast difficulties and inconveniences from labour of working against the streams of rivers, and from immense swarms of musquitoes, our travellers meet, for the first time, two Lapland fishermen, and describe them and families in the following manner:

"We arrived at Lappagervi in the evening, and our boatmen were glad to take some rest after their wearisome voyage. When we arrived on the borders of the lake, we fell in with two Lapland fishermen, who had returned from their day's fishing, and were preparing to pass the night there. We were guided to the spot where they were by a large column of smoke, which mounted into the air. On approaching

3L3

them,

them, we found that they had besmeared their faces with tar, and covered their heads and shoulders with a cloth to protect themselves from the musquitoes. One of them was smoking tobacco, and the other was securing the fish they had taken from the depredations of the insects. Their meagre and squalid looks discovered evident signs of wretchedness. They were covered from head to foot by swarms of musquitoes, from whose stings their clothing scarcely shielded them. They were melting with heat; yet they durft not throw off their covering, much less remove from before the fire. Our arrival added millions of these flies to the myriads already there, as their numbers were continually increasing in our passage thither. It was impossible to stand a moment still; every instant we were forced to thrust our heads into the midst of the smoke, or to leap over the flame, to rid ourselves of our cruel persecutors.

"We drew our boat ashore; and walked about a mile into the country, to visit the families of these two Lapland fishers, who had fixed their constant habitation there. We found fires every where kept up: the pigs had their fire, the cows had theis; there was one in the inside of the house, and another without, close to the door. The Lapland houses are not so large as those of the Finlanders. The doorway of one we saw here was only four feet high, so that we found it necessary to stoop as we entered. We had left our tent behind us, supposing we should find accommodation to pass the night with the Laplanders, and that it would at least be equally good as that we

had met with amongst the Finlanders; but we found ourselves disappointed: however, we were forced to put up with what convenience the people could offer us; and therefore, when it was time to retire to reft, we were accommodated with rein-deer skins, laid over small birchen twigs and leaves, which were spread on the ground, in a small apartment filled with smoke. We groped our way into our bedchamber, because the smoke hindered us from seeing any light. Some time after we had laid ourselves down to sleep, I heard a breathing, which seemed to proceed from a corner of the room, and which we were unable to account for, as we supposed ourselves the only living creatures in this place. I imagined it was a dog or some other animal, which had taken his night's lodging there. Presently 1 heard a loud sigh, which seemed rather to be uttered by a human being than the animal I judged to be our fellow-lodger. I raised my head up gently to try if I could discover any thing. Some cracks in the side of the walls, and a few openings in the roof, afforded a faint light, and in order to ascertain the cause of our alarm, I crept forward on my hands and knees. As the distance was but short, I soon reached the spot, from whence the sounds came, and I found two children naked, and lying upon deer-skins. The children were suddenly awaked, and seeing me approach them in the posture described, fancied themselves in danger of an attack from some wild beast, and ran out of the room, crying to their mother for help."

Our author gives an account, not

a very pleasing one, of the Lapland guides, to whose direction he and his companions committed themselves, on parting with the Finlanders, of whom he speaks in high

terms.

"We soon reached the mouth of the rivulet, on the banks of which the rendezvous was appointed. We ascended it through all its windings, and were impatient to join the Laplanders, lest they should think us long in coming, and grow tired of waiting for us, for we had conceived no high opinion of either their patience or their complaisance. At length we arrived where they were. The party was composed of six men and a young girl. We found them seated under a birch-tree, on the branches of which they had hung up the provisions for the journey, which consisted of dry fish. They lay along the ground in different postures, surrounding a large fire by which they roasted their fish, which, for this purpose, was held in cleft sticks, cut from the tree which shaded them. The girl was the first who perceived us, and pointed us out to the men, who seemed to pay attention only to their cooking, so that we landed, and walked up to them, without being the least noticed or regarded. The men were clothed in a kind of smockfrock, made of the skin of the reindeer, with a collar erect, and stiffened behind. They wore a belt about their waists, which confined their dress close to their bodies, and drew it into the form of a bag, wherein they put whatever they had occasion to carry about them. They had pantaloons on, likewise made of reindeer skin, with short boots, the soles of which were wide, and stuffed with dry grass. The girl wore pantaloons and boots of the same shape,

but her clothing was of wool, and her cap, which was made of green cloth, was pointed upwards. They were most of them very short, and their most remarkable features were their small cheeks, sharp chins, and prominent cheek bones. The face of the girl was not unhandsome; she appeared to be about 18 or 19 years of age; her complexion was fair, with light hair approaching to a chesnut colour. Four out of the six men had black hair, from whence I conclude this to be the prevailing colour amongst the Laplanders, distinguishing them from the Finlanders, amongst whom, during the whole of my journey, I did not remark one who had hair of that colour.

"The persons and dress of the Laplanders, taken all together, were the most filthy and disagreeable that it is possible to conceive. They held the fish they were eating in their hands, and the oil that distilled from it ran down their arms, and into the sleeves of their coats, which might be scented at the distance of some yards. The girl had rather more cleanliness in her person, and some portion of that decency which is so peculiar to her sex. This was appa

rent in her refusing the drink that was offered to her, and especially brandy, of which she was in reality as fond as the men. This affectation of modesty and reluctance in women, to possess what they wish for, but which at the same time they apprehend would be unbecoming, appear to be qualities inherent to the sex, since this prudery is observable even among women in Lapland. We now set about landing our baggage, and settling accounts with our honest Finlanders, who had duly and faithfully attended us from Muoni

onisça, and brought us safely so far on our journey. We had conceived a great regard for these worthy men, and we perceived, on parting with them, a tear of affection stealing down their cheeks, which demanded a similar acknowledgment. They took leave of us, returning their thanks, and taking us by the hand; and so strongly did we feel in our own hearts the like cordiality of sentiment, that we could not refuse them such a token of familiarity and regard. The Laplanders, notwithstanding the natural phlegm of their temper, did not remain inattentive observers of the scene that was passing before them, and could not but derive from it a favourable opinion of us, and even find their zeal excited to some exertion for our service, if it be possible to excite the least sentiment in minds so torpid as theirs. We were not, however, displeased that they were witnesses of the satisfaction we had given our Finlanders, and the regret they expressed on parting with us; and we hoped this example would inspire them with respect for us, and a desire to use all the activity necessary to accomplish the object for which we had engaged them. After our Finlanders had taken their leave, and were departed, we found ourselves, as it were, cut off from all communication with the rest of the world; the completion of our enterprise, nay, our very existence, were at once in the hands of these Laplanders. If the continuation of our journey appeared to be impracticable, and they should forsake us, there was no means of return left to the little island, and the fishermen of Kantasari; for we had no longer a boat to convey us across the lake to that charming retreat which we had so lately quitted, and

with so much regret. But to quiet our apprehensions, we considered that these Laplanders were not a cruel people; and although they were seven in number, with the girl, we considered ourselves as a match for them, notwithstanding we only mus tered four all together, that is to say, the interpreter, a servant, colonel Skioldebrand, and myself. The reason why they came so many in number as seven, was in order to transport our baggage; because, as they informed us, the rein-deer were at this season particularly untractable and dangerous, on account of the prodigious swarms of musquitoes, which torment them to a degree of madness; so that perhaps they might run from us, and be lost altogether, with our provisions and baggage, a circumstance which would leave us in a very unpleasant situation. We left it to them to divide our baggage into seven parcels, one for each, including the girl, who was to be made to carry her proportion. We remarked a degree of equity, in the distribution of the burdens, which impressed us with no unfavourable idea of the character of these people; we observed that they gave the lightest packets to such as appeared unequal to a heavier load. To excite in them an attention to justice, and to each other, we gave each of them a glass of brandy when they set about making the division, promising them another when it was inade. On be ginning the march they asked for a third; and though we feared this third glass. would intoxicate them, yet we durst not displease them by a refusal. In order to induce ns le comply the more readily with their. request, as to a third glass, they quoted a Lapland proverb as ther authority for it, which says, before

a journey