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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of Thor, by J. Ross Browne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Land of Thor
+
+Author: J. Ross Browne
+
+Release Date: March 15, 2009 [EBook #28329]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAND OF THOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
+produced from scanned images of public domain material
+from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ THE
+ LAND OF THOR.
+
+ BY
+
+ J. ROSS BROWNE,
+
+ AUTHOR OF
+ "YUSEF," "CRUSOE'S ISLAND," "AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN
+ GERMANY," ETC.
+
+
+ Illustrated by the Author.
+
+
+ NEW YORK:
+ HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
+ FRANKLIN SQUARE.
+ 1867.
+
+
+
+
+ BY J. ROSS BROWNE.
+
+ AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN GERMANY. Illustrated by the
+ Author. 12mo, Cloth, $2 00.
+
+ THE LAND OF THOR. Illustrated by the Author. 12mo,
+ Cloth, $2 00.
+
+ CRUSOE'S ISLAND: A Ramble in the Footsteps of Alexander
+ Selkirk. With Sketches of Adventure in California and
+ Washoe. Illustrations. 12mo, Cloth. $1 75.
+
+ YUSEF; or, The Journey of the Frangi. A Crusade in the
+ East. With Illustrations. 12mo, Cloth, $1 75.
+
+ Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
+
+
+
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
+hundred and sixty-seven, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office
+of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I. IMPRESSIONS OF ST. PETERSBURG 9
+
+ II. A PLEASANT EXCURSION 25
+
+ III. VIEWS ON THE MOSCOW RAILWAY 39
+
+ IV. MOSCOW 52
+
+ V. TEA-DRINKING 60
+
+ VI. THE PETERSKOI GARDENS 65
+
+ VII. THE "LITTLE WATER" 73
+
+ VIII. THE MARKETS OF MOSCOW 77
+
+ IX. THE NOSE REGIMENT 88
+
+ X. THE EMPEROR'S BEAR-HUNT 92
+
+ XI. RUSSIAN HUMOR 97
+
+ XII. A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 104
+
+ XIII. THE DENOUEMENT 125
+
+ XIV. THE KREMLIN 134
+
+ XV. RUSSIAN MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 155
+
+ XVI. DESPOTISM _versus_ SERFDOM 165
+
+ XVII. REFORM IN RUSSIA 170
+
+ XVIII. A BOND OF SYMPATHY 185
+
+ XIX. CIVILIZATION IN RUSSIA 193
+
+ XX. PASSAGE TO REVEL 209
+
+ XXI. REVEL AND HELSINGFORS 218
+
+ XXII. A BATHING SCENE 227
+
+ XXIII. ABO--FINLAND 236
+
+ XXIV. STOCKHOLM 248
+
+ XXV. WALKS ABOUT STOCKHOLM 262
+
+ XXVI. THE GOTHA CANAL 272
+
+ XXVII. VOYAGE TO CHRISTIANA 291
+
+ XXVIII. FROM CHRISTIANIA TO LILLEHAMMER 302
+
+ XXIX. HOW THEY TRAVEL IN NORWAY 310
+
+ XXX. A NORWEGIAN GIRL 317
+
+ XXXI. HOW THEY LIVE 335
+
+ XXXII. JOHN BULL ABROAD 354
+
+ XXXIII. WOMEN IN NORWAY AND GERMANY 361
+
+ XXXIV. DOWN THE DRIVSDAL 368
+
+ XXXV. A NORWEGIAN HORSE-JOCKEY 372
+
+ XXXVI. OUT OF MONEY 381
+
+ XXXVII. ICELANDIC TRAVEL 383
+
+ XXXVIII. HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN 387
+
+ XXXIX. VOYAGE TO SCOTLAND 398
+
+ XL. THE JOLLY BLOODS 404
+
+ XLI. THE FAROE ISLANDS 408
+
+ XLII. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF ICELAND 426
+
+ XLIII. REYKJAVIK, THE CAPITAL OF ICELAND 431
+
+ XLIV. GEIR ZOEGA 440
+
+ XLV. THE ENGLISH TOURISTS 445
+
+ XLVI. THE ROAD TO THINGVALLA 449
+
+ XLVII. THE ALMANNAJAU 465
+
+ XLVIII. THINGVALLA 476
+
+ XLIX. THE ROAD TO THE GEYSERS 490
+
+ L. THE GEYSERS 503
+
+ LI. THE ENGLISH SPORTS IN TROUBLE 527
+
+ LII. A FRIGHTFUL ADVENTURE 537
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ Laborers and Shipwrights 10
+
+ Russian and Finn 11
+
+ Cooper's Shop and Residence 15
+
+ Merchant, Peddlers and Coachman 18
+
+ Istrovoschiks 21
+
+ Fish Peddler 29
+
+ Young Peasants 31
+
+ Dvornick and Postman 35
+
+ Glazier, Painter, Carpenters 37
+
+ Hay Gatherers 46
+
+ Prisoners for Siberia 58
+
+ Tea-sellers 61
+
+ Mujiks at Tea 63
+
+ Russian Theatre 68
+
+ The Peterskoi Gardens 72
+
+ Vodka 75
+
+ Old-clothes' Market 78
+
+ Cabinet-makers 84
+
+ Pigs, Pups, and Pans 87
+
+ Imperial Nosegay 90
+
+ Skinned and Stuffed Man 100
+
+ Frozen Animals in the Market 101
+
+ Mujik and Cats 103
+
+ Effects of "Little Water" 111
+
+ Russian Beggars 115
+
+ Gambling Saloon 122
+
+ A Passage of Politeness 157
+
+ Serfs 168
+
+ In Norseland 292
+
+ The Steamer entering the Fjord 295
+
+ Coast of Norway 297
+
+ The Islands 299
+
+ Approach to Christiania 303
+
+ Station-house, Logen Valley 313
+
+ Station-boy 321
+
+ "Good-by--Many Thanks!" 322
+
+ Norwegian Peasant Family 324
+
+ The Post-girl 330
+
+ Waiting for a Nibble 341
+
+ Snow-plow 344
+
+ A Drinking Bout 345
+
+ A Norwegian Farm 347
+
+ Norwegian Church 348
+
+ Parish Schoolmaster 349
+
+ Dovre Fjeld 353
+
+ Playing him out 356
+
+ English Sportsman 358
+
+ Bear Chase 359
+
+ Peasant Women at Work 360
+
+ Wheeling Girls 363
+
+ Justice of the Peace 365
+
+ Model Landlord 367
+
+ Drivsdal Valley 369
+
+ Passage on the Driv 371
+
+ The Prize 375
+
+ Traveling on Foot 382
+
+ The great Geyser 385
+
+ Hans Christian Andersen 394
+
+ A Dandy Tourist 406
+
+ Thorshavn 407
+
+ View in Faroe Islands 409
+
+ Faroese Children 412
+
+ Faroese Islanders 414
+
+ Kirk Goboe 421
+
+ Farm-house and Ruins 423
+
+ Faroese on Horseback 425
+
+ Natural Bridge 427
+
+ Coast of Iceland 429
+
+ The Meal-sack 430
+
+ Reykjavik, the Capital of Iceland 432
+
+ Governor's Residence, Reykjavik 434
+
+ Icelandic Houses 435
+
+ Church at Reykjavik 436
+
+ Icelanders at Work 438
+
+ Geir Zoega 441
+
+ Icelandic Horses 443
+
+ English Party at Reykjavik 447
+
+ A Rough Road 451
+
+ Taking Snuff 454
+
+ An Icelandic Bog 459
+
+ Geir Zoega and Brusa 463
+
+ Entrance to the Almannajau 466
+
+ The Almannajau 467
+
+ Skeleton View of the Almannajau 469
+
+ Outline View of Thingvalla 470
+
+ Fall of the Almannajau 472
+
+ Icelandic Shepherd-girl 473
+
+ Church at Thingvalla 477
+
+ The Pastor's House 479
+
+ The Pastor of Thingvalla 485
+
+ Skeleton View of the Logberg 488
+
+ Thingvalla, Logberg, Almannajau 489
+
+ Diagram of the Logberg 490
+
+ An Artist at Home 492
+
+ Lava-fjelds 494
+
+ Effigy in Lava 495
+
+ The Hrafnajau 497
+
+ The Tintron Rock 499
+
+ Bridge River 502
+
+ Shepherd and Family 506
+
+ The Strokhr 516
+
+ Side-saddle 519
+
+ Great Geyser and Receiver 525
+
+ Strokhr and Receiver 525
+
+ "Oh-o-o-ah!" 529
+
+ The English Party 533
+
+ Interior of Icelandic Hut 536
+
+ An Awkward Predicament 540
+
+
+
+
+THE LAND OF THOR.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+IMPRESSIONS OF ST. PETERSBURG.
+
+
+I landed at St. Petersburg with a knapsack on my back and a hundred
+dollars in my pocket. An extensive tour along the borders of the
+Arctic Circle was before me, and it was necessary I should husband my
+resources.
+
+In my search for a cheap German gasthaus I walked nearly all over the
+city. My impressions were probably tinctured by the circumstances of
+my position, but it seemed to me I had never seen so strange a place.
+
+ [Illustration: LABORERS AND SHIPWRIGHTS.]
+
+ [Illustration: RUSSIAN AND FINN.]
+
+The best streets of St. Petersburg resemble on an inferior scale the
+best parts of Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. Nothing in the architecture
+conveys any idea of national taste except the glittering cupolas of
+the churches, the showy colors of the houses, and the vast extent and
+ornamentation of the palaces. The general aspect of the city is that
+of immense level space. Built upon islands, cut up into various
+sections by the branches of the Neva, intersected by canals, destitute
+of eminent points of observation, the whole city has a scattered and
+incongruous effect--an incomprehensible remoteness about it, as if one
+might continually wander about without finding the centre. Some parts,
+of course, are better than others; some streets are indicative of
+wealth and luxury; but without a guide it is extremely difficult to
+determine whether there are not still finer buildings and quarters in
+the main part of the city--if you could only get at it. The eye
+wanders continually in search of heights and prominent objects. Even
+the Winter Palace, the Admiralty, and the Izaak Church lose much of
+their grandeur in the surrounding deserts of space from the absence of
+contrast with familiar and tangible objects. It is only by a careful
+examination in detail that one can become fully sensible of their
+extraordinary magnificence. Vast streets of almost interminable
+length, lined by insignificant two-story houses with green roofs and
+yellow walls; vast open squares or ploschads; palaces, public
+buildings, and churches, dwindled down to mere toy-work in the deserts
+of space intervening; countless throngs of citizens and carriages
+scarcely bigger than ants to the eye; broad sheets of water, dotted
+with steamers, brigs, barks, wood-barges and row-boats, still
+infinitesimal in the distance; long rows of trees, forming a foliage
+to some of the principal promenades, with glimpses of gardens and
+shrubbery at remote intervals; canals and dismal green swamps--not all
+at one sweep of the eye, but visible from time to time in the course
+of an afternoon's ramble, are the most prominent characteristics of
+this wonderful city. A vague sense of loneliness impresses the
+traveler from a distant land--as if in his pilgrimage through foreign
+climes he had at length wandered into the midst of a strange and
+peculiar civilization--a boundless desert of wild-looking streets, a
+waste of colossal palaces, of gilded churches and glistening waters,
+all perpetually dwindling away before him in the infinity of space. He
+sees a people strange and unfamiliar in costume and expression;
+fierce, stern-looking officers, rigid in features, closely shaved, and
+dressed in glittering uniforms; grave, long-bearded priests, with
+square-topped black turbans, their flowing black drapery trailing in
+the dust; pale women richly and elegantly dressed, gliding unattended
+through mazes of the crowd; rough, half-savage serfs, in dirty pink
+shirts, loose trowsers, and big boots, bowing down before the shrines
+on the bridges and public places; the drosky drivers, with their long
+beards, small bell-shaped hats, long blue coats and fire-bucket boots,
+lying half asleep upon their rusty little vehicles awaiting a
+customer, or dashing away at a headlong pace over the rough
+cobble-paved streets, and so on of every class and kind. The traveler
+wanders about from place to place, gazing into the strange faces he
+meets, till the sense of loneliness becomes oppressive. An invisible
+but impassable barrier seems to stand between him and the moving
+multitude. He hears languages that fall without a meaning upon his
+ear; wonders at the soft inflections of the voices; vainly seeks some
+familiar look or word; thinks it strange that he alone should be cut
+off from all communion with the souls of men around him; and then
+wonders if they have souls like other people, and why there is no
+kindred expression in their faces--no visible consciousness of a
+common humanity. It is natural that every stranger in a strange city
+should experience this feeling to some extent, but I know of no place
+where it seems so strikingly the case as in St. Petersburg. Accustomed
+as I was to strange cities and strange languages, I never felt utterly
+lonely until I reached this great mart of commerce and civilization.
+The costly luxury of the palaces; the wild Tartaric glitter of the
+churches; the tropical luxuriance of the gardens; the brilliant
+equipages of the nobility; the display of military power; the strange
+and restless throngs forever moving through the haunts of business and
+pleasure; the uncouth costumes of the lower classes, and the wonderful
+commingling of sumptuous elegance and barbarous filth, visible in
+almost every thing, produced a singular feeling of mingled wonder and
+isolation--as if the solitary traveler were the only person in the
+world who was not permitted to comprehend the spirit and import of the
+scene, or take a part in the great drama of life in which all others
+seemed to be engaged. I do not know if plain, practical men are
+generally so easily impressed by external objects, but I must confess
+that when I trudged along the streets with my knapsack on my back,
+looking around in every direction for a gasthaus; when I spoke to
+people in my peculiar style of French and German, and received
+unintelligible answers in Russian; when I got lost among palaces and
+grand military establishments, instead of finding the gasthaus, and
+finally attracted the attention of the surly-looking guards, who were
+stationed about every where, by the anxious pertinacity with which I
+examined every building, a vague notion began to get possession of me
+that I was a sort of outlaw, and would sooner or later be seized and
+dragged before the Czar for daring to enter such a magnificent city in
+such an uncouth and unbecoming manner. When I cast my eyes up at the
+sign-boards, and read about grand fabrications and steam-companies,
+and walked along the quays of the Neva, and saw wood enough piled up
+in big broad-bottomed boats to satisfy the wants of myself and family
+for ten thousand years; when I strolled into the Nevskoi, and jostled
+my way through crowds of nobles, officers, soldiers, dandies, and
+commoners, stopping suddenly at every picture-shop, gazing dreamily
+into the gorgeous millinery establishments, pondering thoughtfully
+over the glittering wares of the jewelers, lagging moodily by the
+grand cafes, and snuffing reflectively the odors that came from the
+grand restaurations--when all this occurred, and I went down into a
+beer-cellar and made acquaintance with a worthy German, and he asked
+me if I had any meerschaums to sell, the notion that I had no
+particular business in so costly and luxurious a place began to grow
+stronger than ever. A kind of dread came over me that the mighty
+spirit of Peter the Great would come riding through the scorching hot
+air on a gale of snowflakes, at the head of a bloody phalanx of
+Muscovites, and, rising in his stirrups as he approached, would demand
+of me in a voice of thunder, "Stranger, how much money have you got?"
+to which I could only answer, "Sublime and potent Czar, taking the
+average value of my Roaring Grizzly, Dead Broke, Gone Case, and
+Sorrowful Countenance, and placing it against the present value of
+Russian securities, I consider it within the bounds of reason to say
+that I hold about a million of rubles!" But if he should insist upon
+an exhibit of ready cash--there was the rub! It absolutely made me
+feel weak in the knees to think of it. Indeed, a horrid suspicion
+seized me, after I had crossed the bridge and begun to renew my search
+for a cheap gasthaus on the Vassoli Ostrou, that every fat,
+neatly-shaved man I met, with small gray eyes, a polished hat on his
+head drawn a little over his brow, his lips compressed, and his coat
+buttoned closely around his body, was a rich banker, and that he was
+saying to himself as I passed, "That fellow with the slouched hat and
+the knapsack is a suspicious character, to say the least of him. It
+becomes my duty to warn the police of his movements. I suspect him
+to be a Hungarian refugee."
+
+ [Illustration: COOPER'S SHOP AND RESIDENCE.]
+
+With some difficulty, I succeeded at length in finding just such a
+place as I desired--clean and comfortable enough, considering the
+circumstances, and not unusually fertile in vermin for a city like St.
+Petersburg, which produces all kinds of troublesome insects
+spontaneously. There was this advantage in my quarters, in addition to
+their cheapness--that the proprietor and attendants spoke several of
+the Christian languages, including German, which, of all languages in
+the world, is the softest and most euphonious to my ear--when I am
+away from Frankfort. Besides, my room was very advantageously arranged
+for a solitary traveler. Being about eight feet square, with only one
+small window overlooking the back yard, and effectually secured by
+iron fastenings, so that nobody could open it, there was no
+possibility of thieves getting in and robbing me when the door was
+shut and locked on the inside. Its closeness presented an effectual
+barrier against the night air, which in these high northern latitudes
+is considered extremely unwholesome to sleep in. With the thermometer
+at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the atmosphere, to be sure, was a little
+sweltering during the day, and somewhat thick by night, but that was
+an additional advantage, inasmuch as it forced the occupant to stay
+out most of the time and see a great deal more of the town than he
+could possibly see in his room.
+
+Having deposited my knapsack and put my extra shirt in the wash, you
+will now be kind enough to consider me the shade of Virgil, ready to
+lead you, after the fashion of Dante, through the infernal regions or
+any where else within the bounds of justice, even through St.
+Petersburg, where the climate in summer is hot enough to satisfy
+almost any body. The sun shines here, in June and July, for twenty
+hours a day, and even then scarcely disappears beneath the horizon. I
+never experienced such sweltering weather in any part of the world
+except Aspinwall. One is fairly boiled with the heat, and might be
+wrung out like a wet rag. Properly speaking, the day commences for
+respectable people, and men of enterprising spirit--tourists,
+pleasure-seekers, gamblers, vagabonds, and the like--about nine or ten
+o'clock at night, and continues till about four or five o'clock the
+next morning. It is then St. Petersburg fairly turns out; then the
+beauty and fashion of the city unfold their wings and flit through the
+streets, or float in Russian gondolas upon the glistening waters of
+the Neva; then it is the little steamers skim about from island to
+island, freighted with a population just waked up to a realizing sense
+of the pleasures of existence; then is the atmosphere balmy, and the
+light wonderfully soft and richly tinted; then come the sweet witching
+hours, when
+
+ "Shady nooks
+ Patiently give up their quiet being."
+
+None but the weary, labor-worn serf, who has toiled through the long
+day in the fierce rays of the sun, can sleep such nights as these. I
+call them nights, yet what a strange mistake. The sunshine still
+lingers in the heavens with a golden glow; the evening vanishes
+dreamily in the arms of the morning; there is nothing to mark the
+changes--all is soft, gradual, and illusory. A peculiar and almost
+supernatural light glistens upon the gilded domes of the churches; the
+glaring waters of the Neva are alive with gondolas; miniature steamers
+are flying through the winding channels of the islands; strains of
+music float upon the air; gay and festive throngs move along the
+promenades of the Nevskoi; gilded and glittering equipages pass over
+the bridges and disappear in the shadowy recesses of the islands.
+Whatever may be unseemly in life is covered by a rich and mystic
+drapery of twilight. The floating bath-houses of the Neva, with their
+variegated tressel-work and brilliant colors, resemble fairy palaces;
+and the plashing of the bathers falls upon the ear like the gambols
+of water-spirits. Not far from the Izaak Bridge, the equestrian
+statue of Peter the Great stands out in bold relief on a pedestal of
+granite; the mighty Czar, casting an eagle look over the waters of the
+Neva, while his noble steed rears over the yawning precipice in front,
+crushing a serpent beneath his hoof. The spirit of Peter the Great
+still lives throughout Russia; but it is better understood in the
+merciless blasts of winter than in the soft glow of the summer nights.
+
+ [Illustration: MERCHANT, PEDDLERS, AND COACHMAN.]
+
+Wander with me now, and let us take a look at the Winter Palace--the
+grandest pile, perhaps, ever built by human hands. Six thousand people
+occupy it during the long winter months, and well they may, for it is
+a city of palaces in itself. Fronting the Neva, it occupies a space of
+several acres, its massive walls richly decorated with ornamental
+designs, a forest of chimneys on top--the whole pile forming an
+immense oblong square so grand, so massive, so wonderfully rich and
+varied in its details, that the imagination is lost in a colossal
+wilderness of architectural beauties. Standing in the open plozchad,
+we may gaze at this magnificent pile for hours, and dream over it, and
+picture to our minds the scenes of splendor its inner walls have
+witnessed; the royal _fetes_ of the Czars; the courtly throngs that
+have filled its halls; the vast treasures expended in erecting it; the
+enslaved multitudes, now low in the dust, who have left this monument
+to speak of human pride, and the sweat and toil that pride must feed
+upon; and while we gaze and dream thus, a mellow light comes down from
+the firmament, and the mighty Czars, and their palaces, and armies,
+and navies, and worldly strifes, what are they in the presence of the
+everlasting Power? For "it is he that sitteth upon the circle of the
+earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers."
+
+But these dreamings and these wanderings through this city of palaces
+would be endless. We may feast our eyes upon the Admiralty, the Winter
+Palace, the Marble Palace, the Senate-house, the palace of the
+Grand-duke Michael, the Column of Alexander, the colleges,
+universities, imperial gardens and summer-houses, and, after all, we
+can only feel that they are built upon the necks of an enslaved
+people; that the mightiest Czars of Russia, in common with the poorest
+serfs, are but "as grasshoppers upon the earth."
+
+The _istrovoschik_ (sneeze and you have the word)--in plain English,
+the drosky drivers--are a notable feature in St. Petersburg. When I
+saw them for the first time on the quay of the Wassaly Ostrow, where
+the steamer from Stettin lands her passengers, the idea naturally
+impressed my mind that I had fallen among a brotherhood of Pilgrims or
+Druids. Nothing could be more unique than the incongruity of their
+costume and occupation. Every man looked like a priest; his long
+beard, his grave expression of countenance, his little black hat and
+flowing blue coat, gathered around the waist by means of a sash, his
+glazed boots reaching above the knees, his slow and measured motions,
+and the sublime indifference with which he regarded his customers,
+were singularly impressive. Even the filth and rustiness which formed
+the most prominent characteristics of the class contributed to the
+delusion that they might have sprung from a Druidical source, and
+gathered their dust of travel on the pilgrimage from remote ages down
+to the present period. It is really something novel, in the line of
+hackery, to see those sedate fellows sitting on their little droskys
+awaiting a customer. The force of competition, however, has of late
+years committed sad inroads upon their dignity, and now they are
+getting to be about as enterprising and pertinacious as any of their
+kindred in other parts of the world. The drosky is in itself a
+curiosity as a means of locomotion. Like the driver, it is generally
+dirty and dilapidated; but here the similitude ends; for, while the
+former is often high, his drosky is always low. The wheels are not
+bigger than those of an ordinary dog-cart, and the seat is only
+designed for one person, though on a pinch it can accommodate two.
+Generally it consists of a plank covered with a cushion, extending
+lengthwise in the same direction as the horse, so that the rider sits
+astride of it as if riding on horseback; some, however, have been
+modernized so as to afford a more convenient seat in the usual way.
+Night and day these droskys are every where to be seen, sometimes
+drawn up by the sidewalk, the driver asleep, awaiting a customer, but
+more frequently rattling full tilt over the pavements (the roughest
+in the world) with a load, consisting, in nine cases out of ten, of a
+fat old gentleman in military uniform, a very ugly old lady with a
+lapdog, or a very dashy young lady glittering with jewels, on her way,
+perhaps, to the Confiseur's or somewhere else. But in a city like St.
+Petersburg, where it is at least two or three miles from one place to
+another, every body with twenty kopecks in his pocket uses the drosky.
+It is the most convenient and economical mode of locomotion for all
+ordinary purposes, hence the number of them is very large. On some of
+the principal streets it is marvelous how they wind their way at such
+a rattling pace through the crowd. To a stranger unacquainted with
+localities, they are a great convenience. And here, you see, commences
+the gist of the story.
+
+ [Illustration: ISTROVOSCHIKS.]
+
+On a certain occasion I called a drosky-man and directed him to drive
+me to the United States Consulate. Having never been there myself, I
+depended solely upon the intelligence and enterprise of the
+istrovoschik. My knowledge of the Russian consisted of three
+words--the name of the street and _dratzall kopeck_, the latter being
+the stipulated fare of twenty kopecks. By an affirmative signal the
+driver gave me to understand that he fully comprehended my wishes,
+and, with a flourish of his whip, away we started. After driving me
+nearly all over the city of St. Petersburg--a pretty extensive city,
+as any body will find who undertakes to walk through it--this adroit
+and skillful whipster, who had never uttered a word from the time of
+starting, now deliberately drew up his drosky on the corner of a
+principal street and began a conversation. I repeated the name of the
+street in which the consulate was located, and _dratzall kopeck_. The
+driver gazed in my face with a grave and placid countenance, stroked
+his long beard, tucked the skirts of his long blue coat under him, and
+drove on again. After rattling over a series of the most frightful
+cobble-stone pavements ever designed as an improvement in a great
+city, through several new quarters, he again stopped and treated me
+to some more remarks in his native language. I answered as before, the
+name of the street. He shook his head with discouraging gravity. I
+then remarked _dratzall kopeck_. From the confused answer he made,
+which occupied at least ten minutes of his time, and of which I was
+unable to comprehend a single word, it was apparent that he was as
+ignorant of his own language as he was of the city. In this extremity
+he called another driver to his aid, who spoke just the words of
+English, "Gooda-morkig!" "Good-morning," said I. From this the
+conversation lapsed at once into remote depths of Russian. In despair
+I got out of the drosky and walked along the street, looking up at all
+the signs--the driver after me with his drosky, apparently watching to
+see that I did not make my escape. At length I espied a German name on
+a bakery sign. How familiar it looked in that desert of unintelligible
+Russian--like a favorite quotation in a page of metaphysics. I went in
+and spoke German--_vie gaetz?_ You are aware, perhaps, that I excel in
+that language. I asked the way to the United States Consulate. The
+baker had probably forgotten his native tongue, if ever he knew it at
+all, for I could get nothing out of him but a shake of the head and
+_nicht furstay_. However, he had the goodness, seeing my perplexity,
+to put on his hat and undertake to find the consul's, which, by dint
+of inquiry, he at length ascertained to be about half a mile distant.
+We walked all the way, this good old baker and I, he refusing to ride
+because there was only room for one, and I not liking to do so and let
+him walk. The drosky-man followed in the rear, driving along very
+leisurely, and with great apparent comfort to himself. He leaned back
+in his seat with much gusto, and seemed rather amused than otherwise
+at our movements. At length we reached the consulate. It was about
+three hundred yards from my original point of departure. Any other man
+in existence than my istrovoschik would have sunk into the earth upon
+seeing me make this astounding discovery. I knew it by certain
+landmarks--a church and a garden. But he did not sink into the earth.
+He merely sat on his drosky as cool as a cucumber. I felt so grateful
+to the worthy baker, who was a fat old gentleman, and perspired freely
+after his walk, that I gave him thirty kopecks. The drosky-man claimed
+forty kopecks, just double his fare. I called in the services of an
+interpreter, and protested against this imposition. The interpreter
+and the drosky-man got into an animated dispute on the question, and
+must have gone clear back to the fundamental principles of droskyism,
+for they seemed likely never to come to an end. The weather was warm,
+and both kept constantly wiping their faces, and turning the whole
+subject over and over again, without the slightest probability of an
+equitable conclusion. At length my interpreter said, "Perhaps, sir,
+you had better pay it. The man says you kept him running about for
+over two hours; and since you have no proof to the contrary, it would
+only give you trouble to have him punished." This view accorded
+entirely with my own, and I cheerfully paid the forty kopecks; also
+ten kopecks drink-geld, and a small douceur of half a ruble (fifty
+kopecks) to the gentleman who had so kindly settled the difficulty for
+me. After many years' experience of travel, I am satisfied, as before
+stated, that a man may be born naturally honest, but can not long
+retain his integrity in the hack business. He must sooner or later
+take to swindling, otherwise he can never keep his horses fat, or make
+the profession respectable and remunerative. Such, at least, has been
+my experience of men in this line of business, not excepting the
+istrovoschik of St. Petersburg.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A PLEASANT EXCURSION.
+
+
+I had the good fortune, during my ramble, to meet with a couple of
+fellow-passengers from Stettin. One of them was a rough, weather-beaten
+man of middle age, with rather marked features, but not an unkindly
+expression. His mysterious conduct during the voyage had frequently
+attracted my attention. There was something curious about his motions, as
+if an invisible companion, to whom he was bound in some strange way,
+continually accompanied him. He drank enormous quantities of beer, and
+smoked from morning till night a tremendous meerschaum, which must have
+held at least a pint of tobacco. When not engaged in drinking beer and
+smoking, he usually walked rapidly up and down the decks, with his hands
+behind him and his head bent down, talking in a guttural voice to himself
+about "hemp." He slept--or rather lay down, for I don't think he ever
+slept--with his head close to mine on a bench in the cabin, and it was a
+continued source of trouble to me the way he puffed, and groaned, and
+talked about "hemp." Sometimes he was half the night arguing with himself
+about the various prices and qualities of this useful article, but I did
+not understand enough of his _blat deutsch_ to gather the drift of the
+argument. All I could make out was "_Zweimal zwei macht vier_--(a
+puff)--_sechs und vierzig_--(a groan)--_acht und sechzig macht ein
+hundert_--(a snort)--_sieben tausend_--_acht tausend fuenf und dreissig
+thaler_--(a sigh)--_schilling_--_kopeck_--_ruble_--_hemphf! Mein Gott!
+Zwei und dreissig tausend_--_hemphf_--_ruble_--(a terrible gritting of
+the teeth)--_sechs und fuenfzig_--_Gott im Himmel!_--_Ich kann nicht
+schlafen!_" Here he would jump up and shout "Kellner! Kellner! _ein
+flask bier!_--_sechs und zechzig_--_zweimal acht und vierzig! Kellner,
+flask bier!_--_Liebe Gott_--_was ist das?_--_Nine und sechzig_--_flask
+bier!_ _Kleich! Kleich!_" When the beer came he would drink off three
+bottles without stopping, then light his pipe, fill the cabin with smoke,
+and after he had done that go on deck to get the fresh air. I could hear
+him for hours walking up and down over my head, and thought I could
+occasionally detect the words. "_Hemphf_--_ruble_--_thaler_--_fuenfmal
+sechs und zwanzig_--_mein Gott!_" It was evident the man was laboring
+under some dreadful internal excitement about the price of hemp. What
+could it be? Was he going to hang himself? Did he contemplate buying some
+Russian hemp for that purpose especially? The mystery was heightened by
+the fact that he was frequently in close conversation with the young man
+whom I have already mentioned as my other fellow-passenger, and they both
+talked about nothing else but hemp. What in the name of sense were they
+going to do with hemp in Mechlenberg, their native country, where people
+were beheaded--unless they meant to hang themselves? The mystery troubled
+me so much that I finally made bold to ask the young man if his friend
+had committed any serious crime, and whether that was the reason he
+talked so much about hemp? These North Germans are a queer people. I
+don't think they ever suspect any body to be joking. They take the most
+outrageous proposition literally, and never seem to understand that there
+can be two meanings to any thing. As Sydney Smith says of the Scotch, it
+would take a surgical operation to get a joke well into their
+understanding. When I propounded this question to my young
+fellow-passenger--a very amiable and intelligent young man--he looked
+distressed and horror-stricken, and replied with great earnestness, "Oh
+no, he is a very respectable man. I am certain he never committed a crime
+in his life." "But," said I, "if he doesn't intend to hang somebody, why
+should he rave about hemp all night?" "Oh, he is a rope-maker. He is
+going to Russia to buy a cargo of hemp, and he's afraid prices will go up
+unless he gets there soon. The head wind and chopping sea keep us back a
+good deal." "Yes, yes, I understand it all now. Suppose, my young friend,
+you and I go to work and help the steamer along a little? It would be
+doing a great service to the cause of hemp, and enable me to sleep
+besides." The Mechlenberger looked incredulous. "How are we to do it?" he
+asked at length. "Oh, nothing easier!" I answered. "Just put a couple of
+these handspikes in the lee scuppers--so! and hold her steady!" At this
+the Mechlenberger, who was a very genial and good-natured fellow, could
+scarcely help laughing, the absurdity of the idea struck him so forcibly.
+Seeing, however, that I looked perfectly in earnest, he was kind enough
+to explain the erroneous basis of my calculation, and accordingly entered
+into an elaborate mathematical demonstration to prove that what we gained
+by lifting we would lose by the additional pressure of our feet upon the
+decks! After this I was prepared to believe the story of the old
+Nuremberger, who, when about to set out on his travels, got on top of his
+trunk and took hold of each end for the purpose of carrying it to the
+post station. The question about the hemp was too good to be lost, and my
+young friend had too strong a business head not to perceive the
+delightful verdancy of my character. He accordingly took the earliest
+opportunity to mention it to his comrade, Herr Batz, the rope-maker, who
+never stopped laughing about the mistake I had made till we got to St.
+Petersburg. They were both very genial, pleasant fellows, and took a
+great fancy to the Herr American who thought Herr Batz was going to hang
+himself, and who had proposed to steady the steamer by means of a
+handspike. Such primitive simplicity was absolutely refreshing to them;
+and, since they enjoyed it, of course I did, and we were the best of
+friends.
+
+On the present occasion, after we had passed the usual compliments it
+was proposed that we should hire a boat, as the night was fine, and
+take a trip down to the Kamennoi Island. I was delighted to have two
+such agreeable companions, and readily acceded to the proposition. A
+young Russian in the hemp business accompanied us, and altogether we
+made a very lively and humorous party. I was sorry, however, to be
+prejudiced in the estimation of the Russian by having the hemp and
+handspike story repeated in my presence, but finally got over that,
+and changed the current of the conversation by asking if the Emperor
+Alexander would send me to Siberia in case I smoked a cigar in the
+boat? To which the Russian responded somewhat gravely that I could
+smoke as many cigars on the water as I pleased, although it was
+forbidden in the streets on account of the danger of fire; but that,
+in any event, I would merely have to pay a fine, as people were only
+sent to Siberia for capital crimes and political offenses.
+
+We got a boat down near the Custom-house, at a point of the Vassoli
+Ostrou, called the Strelka, and were soon skimming along through a
+small branch of the Neva, toward the island of Krestofskoi. The water
+was literally alive with boats, all filled with gay parties of
+pleasure-seekers, some on their way to the different islands, some to
+the bath-houses which abound in every direction, and all apparently
+enjoying a delightful time of it. Passing to the right of the
+Petrofskoi Island, whose grass-covered shores slope down to the water
+like a green carpet outspread under the trees, we soon reached the
+Little Nevka, about three miles from our starting-point. We
+disembarked on the Krestofskoi Island, near the bridge which crosses
+from Petrofskoi. On the right is a beautiful palace belonging to some
+of the royal family, the gardens of which sweep down to the waters of
+the Nevka, and present a charming scene of floral luxuriance.
+Gondolas, richly carved and curiously shaped, lay moored near the
+stone steps; the trestled bowers were filled with gay parties;
+pleasant sounds of voices and music floated upon the air, and over
+all a soft twilight gave a mystic fascination to the scene. I thought
+of the terrible arctic winters that for six months in the year cast
+their cold death-pall over the scene of glowing and tropical
+luxuriance, and wondered how it could ever come to life again; how the
+shrubs could bloom, and the birds sing, and the soft air of the summer
+nights come back and linger where such dreary horrors were wont to
+desolate the earth.
+
+ [Illustration: FISH PEDDLER.]
+
+The constant dread of infringing upon the police regulations; the
+extraordinary deference with which men in uniform are regarded; the
+circumspect behavior at public places; the nice and well-regulated
+mirthfulness, never overstepping the strict bounds of prudence, which
+I had so often noticed in the northern states of Germany, and which
+may in part be attributed to the naturally conservative and orderly
+character of the people, are not the prominent features of the
+population of St. Petersburg. It appeared to me that in this respect
+at least they are more like Americans than any people I had seen in
+Europe; they do pretty much as they please; follow such trades and
+occupations as they like best; become noisy and uproarious when it
+suits them; get drunk occasionally; fight now and then; lie about on
+the grass and under the trees when they feel tired; enjoy themselves
+to their heart's content at all the public places; and care nothing
+about the police as long as the police let them alone. I rather
+fancied there must be a natural democratic streak in these people, for
+they are certainly more free and easy in their manners, rougher in
+their dress, more independent in their general air, and a good deal
+dirtier than most of the people I had met with in the course of my
+travels. I do not mean to say that rowdyism and democracy are
+synonymous, but I consider it a good sign of innate manliness and a
+natural spirit of independence when men are not afraid to dress like
+vagabonds and behave a little extravagantly, if it suits their taste.
+It must be said, however, that the police regulations or St.
+Petersburg, without being onerous or vexatious, are quite as good as
+those of any large city in Europe. When men are deprived of their
+political liberties, the least that can be done for them is to let
+them enjoy as much municipal freedom as may be consistent with public
+peace. I should never have suspected, from any thing I saw in the city
+or neighborhood of St. Petersburg, that I was within the limits of an
+absolute despotism. If one desires to satisfy himself on this point he
+must visit the interior.
+
+ [Illustration: YOUNG PEASANTS.]
+
+I was led into this train of reflection partly by the scenes I had
+witnessed during my rambles through the city and on the way down the
+river, and partly by what we now saw on the island of Krestofskoi. A
+bridge unites this island with the Petrofskoi, and two other bridges
+with the islands of Kamennoi and Elaghinskoi. It was eleven o'clock at
+night, yet the twilight was so rich and glowing that one might readily
+read a newspaper in any of the open spaces. The main avenues were
+crowded with carriages of every conceivable description--the grandly
+decorated coach of the noble, glittering with armorial bearings and
+drawn by four richly-caparisoned horses; the barouche, easy and
+elegant, filled with a gay company of foreigners; the drosky, whirling
+along at a rapid pace, with its solitary occupant; the kareta, plain,
+neat, and substantial, carrying on its ample seats some worthy
+merchant and his family; the nondescript little vehicle, without top,
+bottom, or sides--nothing but four small wheels and a cushioned seat
+perched on springs, with an exquisite perched astride upon the street,
+driving a magnificent blood horse at the rate of 2.40; and English
+boxes with stiff Englishmen in them; and French chaises with loose
+Frenchmen in them; and a New York buggy with a New York fancy man in
+it; and hundreds of fine horses with dashing Russian officers in
+uniform mounted on them, and hundreds of other horses with secretaries
+and various young sprigs of nobility struggling painfully to stay
+mounted on them; and, in short, every thing grand, fanciful, and
+entertaining in the way of locomotion that the most fertile
+imagination can conceive. Don't do me the injustice, I pray you, to
+consider me envious of the good fortune of others in being able to
+ride when I had to walk, for it does me an amazing deal of good to see
+people enjoy themselves. Nothing pleases me better than to see a fat
+old lady, glittering all over with fine silks and jewels, leaning back
+in her cushioned carriage, with her beloved little lapdog in her
+arms--two elegant drivers, four prancing horses, and a splendid little
+postillion in front; two stalwart footmen, in plush breeches, behind,
+with variegated yellow backs like a pair of wasps. Can any thing be
+more picturesque? It always makes me think of a large June-bug dragged
+about by an accommodating crowd of fancy-colored flies! And what can
+be more imposing than a Russian grandee? See that terrific old
+gentleman, sitting all alone in a gorgeous carriage, large enough to
+carry himself and half a dozen of his friends. Orders and disorders
+cover him from head to foot. He is the exact picture of a ferocious
+bullfrog, with a tremendous mustache and a horribly malignant
+expression of eye, and naturally enough expects every body to get out
+of his way. That man must have had greatness thrust upon him, for he
+never could have achieved it by the brilliancy of his intellect.
+Doubtless he spends much of his time at the springs, but they don't
+seem to have purified his body, or subdued the natural ferocity of his
+temper. His wife must have a pleasant time. I wonder if he sleeps
+well, or enjoys Herzain's essays on Russian aristocracy? But make way,
+ye pedestrian rabble, for here comes a secretary of legation on
+horseback--make way, or he will tumble off and inflict some bodily
+injury upon you with the points of his waxed mustache! I know he must
+be a secretary of legation by the enormous polished boots he wears
+over his tight breeches, the dandy parting of his hair, the
+supercilious stupidity of his countenance, and the horrible tortures
+he suffers in trying to stick on the back of his horse. Nobody else in
+the world could make such an ass of himself by such frantic attempts
+to show off and keep on at the same time. I'll bet my life he thinks
+he is the most beautiful and accomplished gentleman ever produced by a
+beneficent Creator. Well, it is a happy thing for some of us that we
+don't see ourselves as others see us; if we did, my friends in the
+hemp business and myself would fare badly. Beregrissa! Padi!
+Padi!--have a care! make way, for here comes a cloud of dust, and in
+that cloud of dust is a kibitka, drawn by three wild horses, and in
+that kibitka, half sitting, half clinging to the side, is an official
+courier. Crack goes the whip of the _yamtschick_; the three fiery
+horses fly through the dust; the courier waves his hand to an officer
+on horseback, and with a whirl and a whisk they disappear. _Pashol!_ I
+hope they won't break their necks before they get through.
+
+ [Illustration: DVORNICK AND POSTMAN.]
+
+Soon the main road branches out in various directions, and we strike
+off with the diverging streams of pedestrians, families of the middle
+and lower classes, young men of the town, gay young damsels with their
+beaux, burly tradesmen, tinkers, tailors, and hatters, waiters and
+apprentices, sailors and soldiers, until we find ourselves in the
+midst of a grand old forest. Open glades, pavilions, and tables are
+visible at intervals; but for the most part we are in a labyrinthian
+wilderness of trees, rich in foliage, and almost oppressive in their
+umbrageous density, while
+
+ "Deep velvet verdure clothes the turf beneath,
+ And trodden flowers their richest odors breathe."
+
+Insects flit through the still atmosphere; the hum of human voices,
+softened by distance, falls soothingly upon the ear; and as we look,
+and listen, and loiter on our way, we wonder if this can be the
+dreamland of the arctic regions? Can there ever be snow-storms and
+scathing frosts in such a land of tropical luxuriance? Thus, as we
+lounge along in the mellow twilight amid the groves of Katrofskoi,
+what charming pictures of sylvan enjoyment are revealed to us at every
+turn! Rustic tables under the great wide-spreading trees are
+surrounded by family groups--old patriarchs, and their children, and
+great-grandchildren; the steaming urn of tea in the middle; the old
+people chatting and gossiping; the young people laughing merrily; the
+children tumbling about over the green sward. Passing on we come to a
+group of Mujiks lying camp-fashion on the grass, eating their black
+bread, drinking their vodka, and sleeping whenever they please--for
+this is their summer home, and this grass is their bed. Next we come
+to a group of officers, their rich uniforms glittering in the soft
+twilight, their horses tied to the trees, or held at a little distance
+by some attendant soldiers. Dominoes, cards, Champagne, and cakes are
+scattered in tempting profusion upon the table, and if they are not
+enjoying their military career, it is not for want of congenial
+accompaniments and plenty of leisure. A little farther on we meet a
+jovial party of Germans seated under a tree, with a goodly supply of
+bread and sausages before them, singing in fine accord a song of their
+faderland. Next we hear the familiar strains of an organ, and soon
+come in sight of an Italian who is exhibiting an accomplished monkey
+to an enraptured crowd of children. The monkey has been thoroughly
+trained in the school of adversity, and makes horrible grimaces at his
+cruel and cadaverous master, who in ferocious tones, and without the
+least appearance of enjoying the sport, commands this miniature man to
+dance, fire a small gun, go through the sword exercise, play on a
+small fiddle, smoke a cigar, turn a somersault, bow to the company,
+and hold out his hat for an unlimited number of kopecks. Herr Batz
+suggests that such a monkey as that might be taught to spin ropes, and
+our younger Mechlenberger laughs, and says he once read a story of a
+monkey that shaved a cat, and then cut off his own or the cat's tail,
+he could not remember which. This reminds the Russian of a countess in
+Moscow who owned a beautiful little dog, to which she was greatly
+attached. She required her serfs to call it "My noble Prince," and had
+them well flogged with the knout whenever they approached it without
+bowing. One day a cat got hold of the noble Prince, and gave him a
+good scratching. The countess, being unable to soothe her afflicted
+poodle, caused the cat's paws to be cut off, and served up on a plate
+for his unhappy highness to play with--after which the noble pug was
+perfectly satisfied! Of course, we all laughed at the Russian's story,
+but he assured us it was a well authenticated fact, and was generally
+regarded as a most delicate _jeu d'esprit_. Not to be behindhand in
+the line of cats and monkeys, I was obliged to tell an anecdote of a
+Frenchman, who, on his arrival in Algiers, ordered a ragout at one of
+the most fashionable restaurants. It was duly served up, and
+pronounced excellent, though rather strongly flavored. "Pray," said
+the Frenchman to the _maitre d'hotel_, "of what species of cat do you
+make ragouts in Algiers?" "Pardon, monsieur," replied the polite host,
+"we use nothing but monkeys in Africa!" Disgusted at this colonial
+barbarism, the Frenchman immediately returned to Paris, where he
+remained forever after, that he might enjoy his customary and more
+civilized dish of cat. Herr Batz had not before heard of such a
+thing, neither had the young Mechlenberger, and they both agreed that
+cats must be a very disgusting article of food. The Russian, however,
+seemed to regard it as nothing uncommon, and gave us some very
+entertaining accounts of various curious dishes in the interior of
+Russia, to which cats were not a circumstance.
+
+ [Illustration: GLAZIER, PAINTER, CARPENTERS.]
+
+With such flimsy conversation as this we entertain ourselves till we
+reach a village of summer residences on the Kamennoi Island. Here we
+pause a while to enjoy the varied scenes of amusement that tempt the
+loiterer at every step; the tea-drinking parties out on the porticoes,
+the gambling saloons, the dancing pavilions, the cafes, the
+confectioneries, with their gay throngs of customers, their gaudy
+colors, their music, and sounds of joy and revelry. A little farther
+on we come to a stand of carriages, and near by a gate and a large
+garden. For thirty kopecks apiece we procure tickets of admission.
+This is the Vauxhall of Kamennoi. We jostle in with the crowd, and
+soon find ourselves in front of an open theatre.
+
+So passes away the time till the whistle of a little steamer warns us
+of an opportunity to get back to the city. Hurrying down to the wharf,
+we secure places on the stern-sheets of a screw-wheeled craft not much
+bigger than a good-sized yawl. It is crowded to overflowing--in front,
+on top of the machinery, in the rear, over the sides--not a square
+inch of space left for man or beast. The whistle blows again; the
+fiery little monster of an engine shivers and screams with excess of
+steam; the grim, black-looking engineer gives the irons a pull, and
+away we go at a rate of speed that threatens momentary destruction
+against some bridge or bath-house. It is now two o'clock A.M. The rays
+of the rising sun are already reflected upon the glowing waters of the
+Neva. Barges and row-boats are hurrying toward the city. Carriages are
+rolling along the shady avenues of the islands. Crowds are gathered at
+every pier and landing-place awaiting some conveyance homeward. Ladies
+are waving their handkerchiefs to the little steamer to stop, and
+gentlemen are flourishing their hats. The captain blows the whistle,
+and the engineer stops the boat with such a sudden reversion of our
+screw that we are pitched forward out of the seats. Some of the
+passengers clamber up at the landing-places, and others clamber down
+and take their places. The little engine sets up its terrific scream
+again; the hot steam hisses and fizzes all over the boat; involuntary
+thoughts of maimed limbs and scalded skins are palpably impressed upon
+every face; but the little steamer keeps on--she is used to it, like
+the eels, and never bursts up. Winding through the varied channels of
+the Neva, under bridges, through narrow passes, among wood-boats,
+row-boats, and shipping, we at length reach the landing on the Russian
+Quay, above the Admiralty. Here we disembark, well satisfied to be
+safely over all the enjoyments and hazards of the evening.
+
+Evening, did I say? The morning sun is blazing out in all his glory!
+We have had no evening--no night. It has been all a wild, strange,
+glowing freak of fancy. The light of day has been upon us all the
+time. And now, should we go to bed, when the sun is shining over the
+city, glistening upon the domes of the churches, illuminating the
+windows of the palaces, awaking the drowsy sailors of the Neva? Shall
+we hide ourselves away in suffocating rooms when the morning breeze is
+floating in from the Gulf of Finland, bearing upon its wings the
+invigorating brine of ocean, or shall we,
+
+ "Pleased to feel the air,
+ Still wander in the luxury of light?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+VIEWS ON THE MOSCOW RAILWAY.
+
+
+The St. Petersburg and Moscow Railroad has been in operation some
+eight or ten years, and has contributed much to the internal
+prosperity of the country. In the summer of 1862 it was extended as
+far as Vladimir, and now connects St. Petersburg with Nijni Novgorod,
+one of the most important points in the empire, where the great annual
+fair is held, where tea-merchants and others from all parts of Tartary
+and China meet to exchange the products of those countries with those
+of the merchants of Russia. During the present year (1862) it is
+expected that the line of railway connection will be completed from
+St. Petersburg to the Prussian frontier, and connect with the
+railroads of Prussia, so that within twelve months it will be
+practicable to travel by rail all the way from Marseilles or Bordeaux
+to Nijni Novgorod.
+
+The Moscow and St. Petersburg Railway is something over four hundred
+miles in length, and consists of a double track, broad, well graded,
+and substantially constructed. The whole business of running the line,
+keeping the cars and track in repair, working the machine-shops, etc.,
+embracing all the practical details of the operative department, is
+let out by contract to an American company, while the government
+supervises the financial department, and reserves to itself the
+municipal control.[A] It is a remarkable fact, characteristic of the
+Russians, that while they possess uncommon capacity to acquire all the
+details of engineering, and are by no means lacking in mechanical
+skill, they are utterly deficient in management and administrative
+capacity. Wasteful, improvident, and short-sighted, they can never do
+any thing without the aid of more sagacious and economical heads to
+keep them within the bounds of reason. Thus, at one time, when they
+undertook to run this line on their own account, although they started
+with an extraordinary surplus of material, they soon ran the cars off
+their wheels, forgetting to keep up a supply of new ones as they went
+along; ran the engines out of working order; kept nothing in repair;
+provided against no contingency; and were finally likely to break down
+entirely, when they determined that it would be better to give this
+branch of the business out by contract. One great fault with them is,
+they labor under an idea that nothing can be done without an
+extraordinary number of officers, soldiers, policemen, and employes of
+every description--upon the principle, I suppose, that if two heads
+are better than one, the ignorance or inefficiency of a small number
+of employes can be remedied by having a very great number of the same
+kind. In other words, they seem to think that if five hundred men can
+not be industrious, skillful, and economical, five thousand trained in
+exactly the same schools, and with precisely the same propensities,
+must be ten times better. Even now there is not a station, and
+scarcely a foot of the railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow, that is
+not infested with an extraordinary surplus of useless men in uniform.
+At the great depots in each of these cities the traveler is fairly
+confused with the crowds of officers and employes through which he is
+obliged to make his way. Before he enters the doorways, liveried
+porters outside offer to take his baggage; then he passes by guards,
+who look at him carefully and let him go in; then he finds guards who
+show him where to find the ticket-office; when he arrives at the
+ticket-office, he finds a guard or two outside, and half a dozen
+clerks inside; then he buys his ticket, and an officer examines it as
+he goes into the wirthsaal; there he finds other officers stationed to
+preserve order; when the bell rings the doors are opened; numerous
+officers outside show him where to find the cars, and which car he
+must get into; and when he gets into a car he sits for a quarter of an
+hour, and sees officers going up and down outside all the time, and
+thinks to himself that people certainly can not be supposed to have
+very good eyes, ears, or understanding of their own in this country,
+since nobody is deemed capable of using them on his individual
+responsibility. I only wonder that they don't eat, drink, sleep, and
+travel for a man at once by proxy, and thereby save him the trouble of
+living or moving at all. In fact, I had some thought of asking one of
+these licensed gentlemen if the regulations could not be stretched a
+point so as to embrace the payment of my expenses; but it occurred to
+me that if I were relieved of that responsibility, they might
+undertake at the same time to write these letters for me, which would
+be likely to alter the tone and thereby destroy my individuality. But
+it must be admitted that good order, convenience, politeness, and
+comfort are the predominant characteristics of railway travel in
+Russia. The conductors usually speak French, German, and English, and
+are exceedingly attentive to the comfort of the passengers. The hours
+of starting and stopping are punctually observed--so punctually that
+you can calculate to the exact minute when you will arrive at any
+given point. Having no watch, I always knew the time by looking at my
+ticket. Between St. Petersburg and Moscow there are thirty-three
+stations, seven of which are the grand stations of Lubanskaia,
+Malovischerskaia, Okoulourskaia, Bologovskaia, Spirovskaia, Tver, and
+Klinskaia. The rest are small intermediate stations. At every
+seventy-five versts--about fifty miles--the cars stop twenty minutes,
+and refreshments may be had by paying a pretty heavy price for them.
+At the points above-named there are large and substantial edifices
+built by the company, containing various offices, spacious
+eating-saloons, ante-chambers, etc., and attached to which are
+extensive machine-shops, and various outbuildings required by the
+service. Occasionally towns may be seen in the vicinity of these
+stations, but for the most part they stand out desolate and alone in
+the dreary waste of country lying between the two great cities. At
+every twenty-five versts are sub-stations, where the cars stop for a
+few minutes. These are also large and very substantial edifices, but
+not distinguished for architectural beauty, like many of the stations
+in France and Germany. Usually the Russian station consists of an
+immense plain circular building, constructed of brick, with very
+thick walls, and a plain zinc roof, the outside painted red, the roof
+green; wings or flanges built of the same material extending along the
+track; a broad wooden esplanade in front, upon which the passengers
+can amuse themselves promenading, and a neat garden, with other
+accommodations, at one end. Some of the large stations are not only
+massive and of enormous extent, but present rather a striking and
+picturesque appearance as they are approached from the distance,
+standing as they do in the great deserts of space like solitary
+sentinels of civilization. The passengers rush out at every
+stopping-place just as they do in other parts of the world, some to
+stretch their limbs, others to replenish the waste that seems to be
+constantly going on in the stomachs of the traveling public. I don't
+know how it is, but it appears to me that people who travel by railway
+are always either tired, thirsty, or hungry. The voracity with which
+plates of soup, cutlets, sandwiches, salad, scalding hot tea, wine,
+beer, and brandy are swallowed down by these hungry and thirsty
+Russians, is quite as striking as any thing I ever saw done in the
+same line at Washoe. But it is not a feature confined to Russia. I
+notice the same thing every where all over the world; and what vexes
+me about it is that I never get tired myself, and rarely hungry or
+thirsty. Here, in midsummer, with a sweltering hot sun, and an
+atmosphere that would almost smother a salamander, were whole legions
+of officers, elegantly-dressed ladies, and a rabble of miscellaneous
+second and third class passengers like myself, puffing, blowing,
+eating, drinking, sweating, and toiling, as if their very existence
+depended upon keeping up the internal fires and blowing them off
+again. It is dreadful to see people so hard pushed to live. I really
+can't conjecture what sort of a commotion they will make when they
+come to die. A sandwich or two and a glass of tea lasted me all the
+way to Moscow--a journey of eighteen hours, and I never suffered from
+hunger, thirst, or fatigue the whole way. If I had "gone in" like
+other people, I would certainly have been a dead man before I got half
+way; and yet, I think, two sandwiches more would have lasted me to the
+Ural Mountains. It continually bothers me to know how the human
+stomach can bear to be tormented in this frightful way. Per Baccho! I
+would as soon be shot in the hand with an escopette ball as drink the
+quantity of wine and eat the quantity of food that I have seen even
+women and children dispose of, as if it were mere pastime, on these
+railway journeys. I think it must be either this or the frost that
+accounts for the extraordinary prevalence of red noses in Russia, and
+it even occurred to me that the stations are painted a fiery red, so
+that when travelers come within range of the refracted color their
+noses may look pale by contrast, and thereby remind them that it is
+time to renew the caloric.
+
+ [A] This contract terminated last year (1865).
+
+With the exception of the seventy-five versts between Moscow and Tver,
+I can not remember that I ever traveled over so desolate and
+uninteresting a stretch of country as that lying between St.
+Petersburg and Moscow. For a short distance out of St. Petersburg
+there are some few villas and farms to relieve the monotony of the
+gloomy pine forests; then the country opens out into immense
+undulating plains, marshy meadows, scrubby groves of young pine,
+without any apparent limit; here and there a bleak and solitary
+village of log huts; a herd of cattle in the meadows; a wretched,
+sterile-looking farm, with plowed fields, at remote intervals, and so
+on hour after hour, the scene offering but little variety the whole
+way to Tver. The villages are wholly destitute of picturesque effect.
+Such rude and miserable hovels as they are composed of could scarcely
+be found in the wildest frontier region of the United States. These
+cabins or hovels are built of logs, and are very low and small,
+generally consisting of only one or two rooms. I saw none that were
+whitewashed or painted, and nothing like order or regularity was
+perceptible about them, all seeming to be huddled together as if they
+happened there by accident, and were obliged to keep at close quarters
+in order to avoid freezing during the terrible winters. Some of them
+are not unlike the city of Eden in Martin Chuzzlewit. The entire
+absence of every thing approaching taste, comfort, or rural beauty in
+the appearance of these villages; the weird and desolate aspect of the
+boggy and grass-grown streets; the utter want of interest in progress
+or improvement on the part of the peasantry who inhabit them, are well
+calculated to produce a melancholy impression of the condition of
+these poor people. How can it be otherwise, held in bondage as they
+have been for centuries, subject to be taxed at the discretion of
+their owners; the results of their labors wrested from them; no
+advance made by the most enterprising and intelligent of them without
+in some way subjecting them to new burdens? Whatever may be the result
+of the movement now made for their emancipation, it certainly can not
+be more depressing than the existing system of serfage. Looking back
+over the scenes of village life I had witnessed in France and
+Germany--the neat vine-covered cottages, the little flower-gardens,
+the orchards and green lanes, the festive days, when the air resounded
+to the merry voices of laughing damsels and village beaux--
+
+ "The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade,
+ For talking age and whispering lovers made"--
+
+the joyous dancers out on the village green, the flaunting banners and
+wreaths of flowers hung in rich profusion over the cross-roads--with
+such scenes as these flitting through my memory, I could well
+understand that there is an absolute physical servitude to which men
+can be reduced, that, in the progress of generations, must crush down
+the human soul, and make life indeed a dreary struggle. In the
+splendor of large cities, amid the glitter and magnificence of palaces
+and churches, the varied paraphernalia of aristocracy and wealth, and
+all the excitements, allurements, and novelties apparent to the
+superficial eye, the real condition of the masses is not perceptible.
+They must be seen in the country--in their far-off villages and homes
+throughout the broad land; there you find no disguise to cover the
+horrible deformities of their bruised and crushed life; there you see
+the full measure of their civilization. In the huts of these poor
+people there is little or no comfort. Many of them have neither beds
+nor chairs, and the occupants spend a sort of camp life within doors,
+cooking their food like Indians, and huddling round the earthen stove
+or fireplace in winter, where they lie down on the bare ground and
+sleep in a mass, like a nest of animals, to keep each other warm.
+Their clothing is of the coarsest material, but reasonably good, and
+well suited to the climate. The men are a much finer-looking race,
+physically, than their masters. I saw some serfs in Moscow who, in
+stature, strong athletic forms, and bold and manly features, would
+compare favorably with the best specimens of men in any country. It
+was almost incredible that such noble-looking fellows, with their
+blue, piercing eyes and manly air, should be reduced to such a state
+of abject servitude as to kiss the tails of their master's coats! Many
+of them had features as bold and forms as brawny as our own California
+miners; and more than once, when I saw them lounging about in their
+big boots, with their easy, reckless air, and looked at their
+weather-beaten faces and vigorous, sunburnt beards, I could almost
+imagine that they were genuine Californians. But here the resemblance
+ceased. No sooner did an officer of high standing pass, than they
+manifested some abject sign of their degraded condition.
+
+ [Illustration: HAY GATHERERS.]
+
+Some of the agricultural implements that one sees in this country
+would astonish a Californian. The plows are patterned very much after
+those that were used by Boaz and other large farmers in the days of
+the Patriarchs; the scythes are the exact originals of the old
+pictures in which Death is represented as mowing down mankind; the
+hoes, rakes, and shovels would be an ornament to any museum, but are
+entirely indescribable; and as for the wagons and harnesses--herein
+lies the superior genius of the Russians over all the races of earth,
+ancient or modern, for never were such wagons and such harnesses seen
+on any other part of the globe. To be accurate and methodical, each
+wagon has four wheels, and each wheel is roughly put together of rough
+wood, and then roughly bound up in an iron band about four inches
+wide, and thick in proportion. Logs of wood, skillfully hewed with
+broad-axes, answer for the axle-tree; and as they don't weigh over
+half a ton each, they are sometimes braced in the middle to keep them
+from breaking. Upon the top of this is a big basket, about the shape
+of a bath-tub, in which the load is carried. Sometimes the body is
+made of planks tied together with bullock's hide, or no body at all
+is used, as convenience may require. The wagon being thus completed,
+braced and thorough-braced with old ropes, iron bands, and leather
+straps, we come to the horses, which stand generally in front. The
+middle horse is favored with a pair of shafts of enormous durability
+and strength. He stands between these shafts, and is fastened in them
+by means of ropes; but, to prevent him from jumping out overhead, a
+wooden arch is out over him, which is the _chef-d'oeuvre_ of
+ornamentation. This is called the _duga_, and is the most prominent
+object to be seen about every wagon, drosky, and kibitka in Russia. I
+am not sure but a species of veneration is attached to it. Often it is
+highly decorated with gilding, painted figures, and every vagary of
+artistic genius, and must cost nearly as much as the entire wagon.
+Some of the _dugas_ even carry saintly images upon them, so that the
+devout driver may perform his devotions as he drives through life. To
+suppose that a horse could pull a wagon in Russia without this wooden
+arch, the utility of which no human eye but that of a Russian can see,
+is to suppose an impossibility. Now, the shafts being spread out so as
+to give the horse plenty of room at each side, it becomes necessary,
+since they are rather loosely hung on at the but-ends, to keep them
+from swaying. How do you think this is done? Nothing easier. By
+running a rope from the end of each shaft to the projecting end of the
+fore axle, outside of the wheels. For this purpose the axle is made to
+project a foot beyond the wheels, and the only trouble about it is
+that two wagons on a narrow road often find it difficult to pass. It
+is very curious to see these primitive-looking objects lumbering about
+through the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The horses are most
+commonly placed three abreast. In the ordinary kibitka or traveling
+wagon the outside horses are merely fastened by ropes, and strike out
+in any direction they please, the whip and a small rein serving to
+keep them within bounds. It is perfectly astonishing with what
+reckless and headlong speed these animals dash over the rough
+pavements. Just imagine the luxury of a warm day's journey in such a
+vehicle, which has neither springs nor backed seats--three fiery
+horses fastened to it, and each pulling, plunging, and pirouetting on
+his own account; a ferocious yamtschick cracking his whip and
+shrieking "Shivar! shivar!"--faster! faster!--the wagon, rattling all
+over, plunging into ruts, jumping over stones, ripping its way through
+bogs and mud-banks; your bones shaken nearly out of their sockets;
+your vertebrae partially dislocated; your mouth filled with dust; your
+tongue swollen and parched; your eyes blinded with grit; your
+_yamtschick_ reeling drunk with _vodka_, and bound to draw to the
+destined station--or some worse place; your confidence in men and
+horses shaken with your bones; your views of the future circumscribed
+by every turn of the road--oh! it is charming; it is the very climax
+of human enjoyment. Wouldn't you like to travel in Russia?
+
+In addition to the villages which are scattered at frequent intervals
+along the route, the gilded dome of a church is occasionally seen in
+the distance, indicating the existence of a town; but one seldom
+catches more than a glimpse of the green-covered roofs of the houses,
+over the interminable patches of scrubby pine. It is not a country
+that presents such attractive features as to induce the mere tourist
+to get out and spend a few days rambling through it. In these dreary
+solitudes of marshes and pines, the inhabitants speak no other
+language than their own, and that not very well; but well or ill, it
+is all Greek--or rather Russian--to the majority of people from other
+countries.
+
+But, as I said before, this habit of digression will be the death of
+me. Like a rocket, I start off splendidly, but explode and fall to
+pieces in every direction before I get half way on my journey. If the
+scintillations are varied and gayly colored, to be sure, the powder is
+not utterly lost; but the trouble of it is, if one keeps going off
+like rockets all the time, he will never get any where, and in the
+end will leave nothing but smoke and darkness to the gaping multitude.
+
+If my memory serves me, I was talking of the Emperor Alexander's convoy
+of private railway carriages--the most magnificent affair of the kind,
+perhaps, in existence. It was made purposely for his use, at a cost of
+more than a hundred thousand dollars, and presented to him by the
+American company, Winans and Company. Nothing so magnificent in
+decoration, and so admirably adapted to the convenience, comfort, and
+enjoyment of a royal party has ever been seen in Europe. The main
+carriage--for there are several in the suite--called, _par excellence_,
+the emperor's own, is eighty-five feet long, and something over the
+usual width. It rests upon two undivided sleepers of such elastic and
+well-grained wood that they would bear the entire weight of the
+carriage, without the necessity of a support in the middle, forming a
+single stretch or arch, from axle to axle, of about seventy feet. The
+springs, wheels, brakes, and various kinds of iron-work, are of the
+finest and most select material, and highly finished in every detail,
+combining strength and durability with artistic beauty. The interior of
+the main or imperial carriage is a masterpiece of sumptuous
+ornamentation. Here are the richest of carvings; the most gorgeous
+hangings of embroidered velvet; mirrors and pictures in profusion;
+carpets and rugs that seem coaxing the feet to linger upon them;
+tables, cushioned sofas, and luxurious arm-chairs; divans and lounges
+of rare designs, covered with the richest damask; exquisite Pompeian
+vases and brilliant chandeliers--all, in short, that ingenuity could
+devise and wealth procure to charm the senses, and render this a
+traveling palace worthy the imperial presence. Connected with the main
+saloon is the royal bedchamber, with adjoining bathing and dressing
+rooms, equally sumptuous in all their appointments. Besides which,
+there are smoking-rooms, private offices, magnificent chambers for the
+camarilla, the secretaries, and body-guard of the emperor. The whole
+is admirably arranged for convenience and comfort; and it is said that
+the motion, when the convoy is under way, is so soft and dreamy that it
+is scarcely possible to feel a vibration, the effect being as if the
+cars were floating through the air, or drawn over tracks of down. Fully
+equal to this, yet more subdued and delicate in the drapery and
+coloring, are the apartments of the empress. Here it may truly be said
+is "the poetry of motion" realized--saloons fit for the angels that
+flit through them, of whom the chiefest ornament is the empress
+herself--the beautiful and beloved Maria Alexandrina, the charm of
+whose presence is felt like a pleasant glow of sunshine wherever she
+goes. Here are drawing-rooms, boudoirs, apartments for the beautiful
+maids of honor, reading-rooms, and even a dancing-saloon, from which it
+may well be inferred that the royal party enjoy themselves. If the
+emperor fails to make himself agreeable in this branch of his
+establishment, he deserves to be put out at the very first station. But
+he has the ladies at a disadvantage, which probably compels them to be
+very tolerant of his behavior; that is to say, he can detach their
+branch of the establishment from his own, and leave them on the road at
+any time he pleases by pulling a string; but I believe there is no
+instance yet on record of his having availed himself of this autocratic
+privilege. It is usually understood at the start whether the excursion
+is to be in partnership or alone. When the emperor goes out on a
+hunting expedition, he is accompanied by a select company of gentlemen,
+and of course is compelled to deprive himself of the pleasure of the
+more attractive and intoxicating society of ladies, which would be
+calculated to unsteady his nerves, and render him unfit for those
+terrific encounters with the bears of the forest upon which his fame as
+a hunter is chiefly founded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+MOSCOW.
+
+
+What the great Napoleon thought when he gazed for the first time
+across the broad valley that lay at his feet, and caught the first
+dazzling light that flashed from the walls and golden cupolas of the
+Kremlin--whether some shadowy sense of the wondrous beauties of the
+scene did not enter his soul--is more than I can say with certainty;
+but this much I know, that neither he nor his legions could have
+enjoyed the view from Sparrow Hill more than I did the first glimpse
+of the grand old city of the Czars as I stepped from the railroad
+depot, with my knapsack on my back, and stood, a solitary and
+bewildered waif, uncertain if it could all be real; for never yet had
+I, in the experience of many years' travel, seen such a magnificent
+sight, so wildly Tartaric, so strange, glowing, and incomprehensible.
+This was Moscow at last--the Moscow I had read of when a child--the
+Moscow I had so often seen burnt up in panoramas by an excited and
+patriotic populace--the Moscow ever flashing through memory in fitful
+gleams, half buried in smoke, and flames, and toppling ruins, now
+absolutely before me, a gorgeous reality in the bright noonday sun,
+with its countless churches, its domes and cupolas, and mighty
+Kremlin.
+
+Stand with me, reader, on the first eminence, and let us take a
+bird's-eye view of the city, always keeping in mind that the Kremlin
+is the great nucleus from which it all radiates. What a vast, wavy
+ocean of golden cupolas and fancy-colored domes, green-roofed houses
+and tortuous streets circle around this magic pile! what a combination
+of wild, barbaric splendors! nothing within the sweep of vision that
+is not glowing and Oriental. Never was a city so fashioned for scenic
+effects. From the banks of the Moskwa the Kremlin rears its glittering
+crest, surrounded by green-capped towers and frowning embattlements,
+its umbrageous gardens and massive white walls conspicuous over the
+vast sea of green-roofed houses, while high above all, grand and
+stern, like some grim old Czar of the North, rises the magnificent
+tower of Ivan Veliki. Within these walls stand the chief glories of
+Moscow--the palaces of the Emperor, the Cathedral of the Assumption,
+the House of the Holy Synod, the Treasury, the Arsenal, and the Czar
+Kolokol, the great king of bells. All these gorgeous edifices, and
+many more, crown the eminence which forms the sacred grounds,
+clustering in a magic maze of beauty around the tower of Ivan the
+Terrible. Beyond the walls are numerous open spaces occupied by booths
+and markets; then come the principal streets and buildings of the
+city, encircled by the inner boulevards; then the suburbs, around
+which wind the outer boulevards; then a vast tract of beautiful and
+undulating country, dotted with villas, lakes, convents, and public
+buildings, inclosed in the far distance by the great outer wall, which
+forms a circuit of twenty miles around the city. The Moskwa River
+enters near the Presnerski Lake, and, taking a circuitous route,
+washes the base of the Kremlin, and passes out near the convent of St.
+Daniel. If you undertake, however, to trace out any plan of the city
+from the confused maze of streets that lie outspread before you, it
+will be infinitely worse than an attempt to solve the mysteries of a
+woman's heart; for there is no apparent plan about it; the whole thing
+is an unintelligible web of accidents. There is no accounting for its
+irregularity, unless upon the principle that it became distorted in a
+perpetual struggle to keep within reach of the Kremlin.
+
+It is sometimes rather amusing to compare one's preconceived ideas of
+a place with the reality. A city like Moscow is very difficult to
+recognize from any written description. From some cause wholly
+inexplicable, I had pictured to my mind a vast gathering of tall,
+massive houses, elaborately ornamented; long lines of narrow and
+gloomy streets; many great palaces, dingy with age; and a population
+composed chiefly of Russian nabobs and their retinues of serfs. The
+reality is almost exactly the reverse of all these preconceived ideas.
+The houses for the most part are low--not over one or two stories
+high--painted with gay and fanciful colors, chiefly yellow, red, or
+blue; the roofs of tin or zinc, and nearly all of a bright green,
+giving them a very lively effect in the sun; nothing grand or imposing
+about them in detail, and but little pretension to architectural
+beauty. Very nearly such houses may be seen every day on any of the
+four continents.
+
+Still, every indication of life presents a very different aspect from
+any thing in our own country. The people have a slow, slouching,
+shabby appearance; and the traveler is forcibly reminded, by the
+strange costumes he meets at every turn--the thriftless and degenerate
+aspect of the laboring classes--the great lumbering wagons that roll
+over the stone-paved streets--the droskies rattling hither and thither
+with their grave, priest-like drivers and wild horses--the squads of
+filthy soldiers lounging idly at every corner--the markets and
+market-places, and all that gives interest to the scene, that he is in
+a foreign land--a wild land of fierce battles between the elements,
+and fiercer still between men--where civilization is ever struggling
+between Oriental barbarism and European profligacy.
+
+The most interesting feature in the population of Moscow is their
+constant and extraordinary displays of religious enthusiasm. This
+seems to be confined to no class or sect, but is the prevailing
+characteristic. No less than three hundred churches are embraced
+within the limits of the city. Some writers estimate the number as
+high as five hundred; nor does the discrepancy show so much a want of
+accuracy as the difficulty of determining precisely what constitutes
+a distinct church. Many of these remarkable edifices are built in
+clusters, with a variety of domes and cupolas, with different names,
+and contain distinct places of worship--as in the Cathedral of St.
+Basil, for instance, which is distinguished by a vast number of
+variegated domes, and embraces within its limits at least five or six
+separate churches, each church being still farther subdivided into
+various chapels. Of the extraordinary architectural style of these
+edifices, their many-shaped and highly-colored domes, representing all
+the lines of the rainbow, the gilding so lavishly bestowed upon them,
+their wonderfully picturesque effect from every point of view, it
+would be impossible to convey any adequate idea without entering into
+a more elaborate description than I can at present attempt.
+
+But it is not only in the numberless churches scattered throughout the
+city that the devotional spirit of the inhabitants is manifested.
+Moscow is the Mecca of Russia, where all are devotees. The external
+forms of religion are every where apparent--in the palaces, the
+barracks, the institutions of learning, the traktirs, the
+bath-houses--even in the drinking cellars and gambling-hells. Scarcely
+a bridge or corner of a street is without its shrine, its pictured
+saint and burning taper, before which every by-passer of high or low
+degree bows down and worships. It may be said with truth that one is
+never out of sight of devotees baring their heads and prostrating
+themselves before these sacred images. All distinctions of rank seem
+lost in this universal passion for prayer. The nobleman, in his gilded
+carriage with liveried servants, stops and pays the tribute of an
+uncovered head to some saintly image by the bridge or the roadside;
+the peasant, in his shaggy sheepskin capote, doffs his greasy cap,
+and, while devoutly crossing himself, utters a prayer; the soldier,
+grim and warlike, marches up in his rattling armor, grounds his
+musket, and forgets for the time his mission of blood; the tradesman,
+with his leather apron and labor-worn hands, lays down his tools and
+does homage to the shrine; the drosky-driver, noted for his petty
+villainies, checks his horse, and, standing up in his drosky, bows low
+and crosses himself before he crosses the street or the bridge; even
+my guide, the saturnine Dominico--and every body knows what guides are
+all over the world--halted at every corner, regardless of time, and
+uttered an elaborate form of adjurations for our mutual salvation.
+
+Pictures of a devotional character are offered for sale in almost
+every booth, alley, and passage-way, where the most extraordinary
+daubs may be seen pinned up to the walls. Saints and dragons,
+fiery-nosed monsters, and snakes, and horrid creeping things, gilded
+and decorated in the most gaudy style, attract idle crowds from
+morning till night.
+
+It is marvelous with what profound reverence the Russians will gaze at
+these extraordinary specimens of art. Often you see a hardened-looking
+ruffian--his face covered with beard and filth; his great, brawny form
+resembling that of a prize-fighter; his costume a ragged blouse, with
+loose trowsers thrust in his boots; such a wretch, in short, as you
+would select for an unmitigated ruffian if you were in want of a model
+for that character--take off his cap, and, with superstitious awe and
+an expression of profound humility, bow down before some picture of a
+dragon with seven heads or a chubby little baby of saintly parentage.
+
+That these poor people are sincere in their devotion there can be no
+doubt. Their sincerity, indeed, is attested by the strongest proofs of
+self-sacrifice. A Russian will not hesitate to lie, rob, murder, or
+suffer starvation for the preservation of his religion. Bigoted though
+he may be, he is true to his faith and devoted to his forms of
+worship, whatever may be his short-comings in other respects. It is a
+part of his nature; it permeates his entire being. Hence no city in
+the world, perhaps--Jerusalem not excepted--presents so strange a
+spectacle of religious enthusiasm, genuine and universal, mingled with
+moral turpitude; monkish asceticism and utter abandonment to vice;
+self-sacrifice and loose indulgence. It may be said that this is not
+true religion--not even what these people profess. Perhaps not; but it
+is what they are accustomed to from infancy, and it certainly develops
+some of their best traits of character--charity to each other,
+earnestness, constancy, and self-sacrifice.
+
+On the morning after my arrival in Moscow I witnessed from the window
+of my hotel a very impressive and melancholy spectacle--the departure
+of a gang of prisoners for Siberia. The number amounted to some two or
+three hundred. Every year similar trains are dispatched, yet the
+parting scene always attracts a sympathizing crowd. These poor
+creatures were chained in pairs, and guarded by a strong detachment of
+soldiers. Their appearance, as they stood in the street awaiting the
+order to march, was very sad. Most of them were miserably clad, and
+some scarcely clad at all. A degraded, forlorn set they were--filthy
+and ragged--their downcast features expressive of an utter absence of
+hope. Few of them seemed to have any friends or relatives in the crowd
+of by-standers; but in two or three instances I noticed some very
+touching scenes of separation--where wives came to bid good-by to
+their husbands, and children to their fathers. Nearly every body gave
+them something to help them on their way--a few kopecks, a loaf of
+bread, or some cast-off article of clothing. I saw a little child
+timidly approach the gang, and, dropping a small coin into the hand of
+one poor wretch, run back again into the crowd, weeping bitterly.
+These prisoners are condemned to exile for three, four, or five
+years--often for life. It requires from twelve to eighteen months of
+weary travel, all the way on foot, through barren wastes and
+inhospitable deserts, to enable them to reach their desolate place of
+exile. Many of them fall sick on the way from fatigue and
+privation--many die. Few ever live to return. In some instances the
+whole term of exile is served out on the journey to and from Siberia.
+On their arrival they are compelled to labor in the government mines
+or on the public works. Occasionally the most skillful and industrious
+are rewarded by appointments to positions of honor and trust, and
+become in the course of time leading men.
+
+ [Illustration: PRISONERS FOR SIBERIA.]
+
+In contemplating the dreary journey of these poor creatures--a journey
+of some fifteen hundred or two thousand miles--I was insensibly
+reminded of that touching little story of filial affection, "Elizabeth
+of Siberia," a story drawn from nature, and known in all civilized
+languages.
+
+Not long after the departure of the Siberian prisoners, I witnessed,
+in passing along one of the principal streets, a grand funeral
+procession. The burial of the dead is a picturesque and interesting
+ceremony in Moscow. A body of priests, dressed in black robes and
+wearing long beards, take the lead in the funeral cortege, bearing in
+their hands shrines and burning tapers. The hearse follows, drawn by
+four horses. Black plumes wave from the heads of the horses, and
+flowing black drapery covers their bodies and legs. Even their heads
+are draped in black, nothing being perceptible but their eyes. The
+coffin lies exposed on the top of the hearse, and is also similarly
+draped. This combination of sombre plumage and drapery has a
+singularly mournful appearance. Priests stand on steps attached to the
+hearse holding images of the Savior over the coffin; others follow in
+the rear, comforting the friends and relatives of the deceased. A
+wild, monotonous chant is sung from time to time by the chief mourners
+as the procession moves toward the burial-ground. The people cease
+their occupations in the streets through which the funeral passes,
+uncover their heads, and, bowing down before the images borne by the
+priests, utter prayers for the repose of the dead. The rich and the
+poor of both sexes stand upon the sidewalks and offer up their humble
+petitions. The deep-tongued bells of the Kremlin ring out solemn
+peals, and the wild and mournful chant of the priests mingles with the
+grand knell of death that sweeps through the air. All is profoundly
+impressive: the procession of priests, with their burning tapers; the
+drapery of black on the horses; the coffin with its dead; the weeping
+mourners; the sepulchral chant; the sudden cessation of all the
+business of life, and the rapt attention of the multitude; the deep,
+grand, death-knell of the bells; the glitter of domes and cupolas on
+every side; the green-roofed sea of houses; the winding streets, and
+the costumes of the people--form a spectacle wonderfully wild,
+strange, and mournful. In every thing that comes within the sweep of
+the eye there is a mixed aspect of Tartaric barbarism and European
+civilization. Yet even the stranger from a far-distant clime, speaking
+another language, accustomed to other forms, must feel, in gazing upon
+such a scene, that death levels all distinctions of race--that our
+common mortality brings us nearer together. Every where we are
+pilgrims on the same journey. Wherever we sojourn among men,
+
+ "The dead around us lie,
+ And the death-bell tolls."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+TEA-DRINKING.
+
+
+The _traktirs_, or tea-houses, are prominent among the remarkable
+institutions of Russia. In Moscow they abound in every street, lane,
+and by-alley. That situated near the Katai Gorod is said to be the
+best. Though inferior to the ordinary cafes of Paris or Marseilles in
+extent and decoration, it is nevertheless pretty stylish in its way,
+and is interesting to strangers from the fact that it represents a
+prominent feature in Russian life--the drinking of _tchai_.
+
+ [Illustration: TEA-SELLERS.]
+
+Who has not heard of Russian tea?--the tea that comes all the way
+across the steppes of Tartary and over the Ural Mountains?--the tea
+that never loses its flavor by admixture with the salt of the ocean,
+but is delivered over at the great fair of Nijni Novgorod as pure and
+fragrant as when it started? He who has never heard of Russian tea has
+heard nothing, and he who has never enjoyed a glass of it may have
+been highly favored in other respects, but I contend that he has
+nevertheless led a very benighted existence. All epicures in the
+delicate leaf unite in pronouncing it far superior to the nectar with
+which the gods of old were wont to quench their thirst. It is truly
+one of the luxuries of life--so soft; so richly yet delicately
+flavored; so bright, glowing, and transparent as it flashes through
+the crystal glasses; nothing acrid, gross, or earthly about it--a
+heavenly compound that "cheers but not inebriates."
+
+ "A balm for the sickness of care,
+ A bliss for a bosom unbless'd."
+
+Come with me, friend, and let us take a seat in the traktir. Every
+body here is a tea-drinker. Coffee is never good in Russia. Besides,
+it is gross and villainous stuff compared with the _tchai_ of Moscow.
+At all hours of the day we find the saloons crowded with Russians,
+French, Germans, and the representatives of various other nations--all
+worshipers before the burnished shrine of _Tchai_. A little saint in
+the corner presides especially over this department. The devout
+Russians take off their hats and make a profound salam to this
+accommodating little patron, whose corpulent stomach and smiling
+countenance betoken an appreciation of all the good things of life.
+Now observe how these wonderful Russians--the strangest and most
+incomprehensible of beings--cool themselves this sweltering hot day.
+Each stalwart son of the North calls for a portion of _tchai_, not a
+tea-cupful or a glassful, but a genuine Russian portion--a tea-potful.
+The tea-pot is small, but the tea is strong enough to bear an
+unlimited amount of dilution; and it is one of the glorious privileges
+of the tea-drinker in this country that he may have as much hot water
+as he pleases. Sugar is more sparingly supplied. The adept remedies
+this difficulty by placing a lump of sugar in his mouth and sipping
+his tea through it--a great improvement upon the custom said to exist
+in some parts of Holland, where a lump of sugar is hung by a string
+over the table and swung around from mouth to mouth, so that each
+guest may take a pull at it after swallowing his tea. A portion would
+be quite enough for a good-sized family in America. The Russian makes
+nothing of it. Filling and swilling hour after hour, he seldom rises
+before he gets through ten or fifteen tumblersful, and, if he happens
+to be thirsty, will double it--enough, one would think, to founder a
+horse. But the Russian stomach is constructed upon some physiological
+principles unknown to the rest of mankind--perhaps lined with
+gutta-percha and riveted to a diaphragm of sheet-iron. Grease and
+scalding-hot tea; _quass_ and cabbage soup; raw cucumbers; cold fish;
+lumps of ice; decayed cheese and black bread, seem to have no other
+effect upon it than to provoke an appetite. In warm weather it is
+absolutely marvelous to see the quantities of fiery-hot liquids these
+people pour down their throats. Just cast your eye upon that bearded
+giant in the corner, with his hissing urn of tea before him, his
+_batvina_ and his _shtshie_! What a spectacle of physical enjoyment!
+His throat is bare; his face a glowing carbuncle; his body a monstrous
+cauldron, seething and dripping with overflowing juices. Shade of
+Hebe! how he swills the tea--how glass after glass of the steaming-hot
+liquid flows into his capacious maw, and diffuses itself over his
+entire person! It oozes from every pore of his skin; drops in globules
+from his forehead; smokes through his shirt; makes a piebald chart of
+seas and islands over his back; streams down and simmers in his boots!
+He is saturated with tea, inside and out--a living sponge overflowing
+at every pore. You might wring him out, and there would still be a
+heavy balance left in him.
+
+ [Illustration: MUJIKS AT TEA.]
+
+These traktirs are the general places of meeting, where matters of
+business or pleasure are discussed; accounts settled and bargains
+made. Here the merchant, the broker, the banker, and the votary of
+pleasure meet in common. Here all the pursuits of human life are
+represented, and the best qualities of men drawn out with the drawing
+of the tea. Enmities are forgotten and friendships cemented in tea. In
+short, the traktir is an institution, and its influence extends
+through all the ramifications of society.
+
+But it is in the gardens and various places of suburban resort that
+the universal passion for tea is displayed in its most pleasing and
+romantic phases. Surrounded by the beauties of nature, lovers make
+their avowals over the irrepressible tea-pot; the hearts of fair
+damsels are won in the intoxication of love and tea; quarrels between
+man and wife are made up, and children weaned--I had almost said
+baptized--in tea. The traveler must see the families seated under the
+trees, with the burnished urn before them--the children romping about
+over the grass; joy beaming upon every face; the whole neighborhood a
+repetition of family groups and steaming urns, bound together by the
+mystic tie of sympathy, before he can fully appreciate the important
+part that tea performs in the great drama of Russian life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE PETERSKOI GARDENS.
+
+
+This draws me insensibly toward the beautiful gardens of the
+Peterskoi--a favorite place of resort for the Moskovites, and famous
+for its chateau built by the Empress Elizabeth, in which Napoleon
+sought refuge during the burning of Moscow. It is here the rank and
+fashion of the city may be seen to the greatest advantage of a fine
+summer afternoon. In these gardens all that is brilliant, beautiful,
+and poetical in Russian life finds a congenial atmosphere.
+
+I spent an evening at the Peterskoi which I shall long remember as one
+of the most interesting I ever spent at any place of popular
+amusement. The weather was charming--neither too warm nor too cold,
+but of that peculiarly soft and dreamy temperature which predisposes
+one for the enjoyment of music, flowers, the prattle of children, the
+fascinations of female loveliness, the luxuries of idleness. In such
+an atmosphere no man of sentiment can rack his brain with troublesome
+problems. These witching hours, when the sun lingers dreamily on the
+horizon; when the long twilight weaves a web of purple and gold that
+covers the transition from night to morning; when nature, wearied of
+the dazzling glare of day, puts on her silver-spangled robes, and
+receives her worshipers with celestial smiles, are surely enough to
+soften the most stubborn heart. We must make love, sweet ladies, or
+die. There is no help for it. Resistance is an abstract impossibility.
+The best man in the world could not justly be censured for practicing
+a little with his eyes, when away from home, merely as I do, you know,
+to keep up the expression.
+
+The gardens of the Peterskoi are still a dream to me. For a distance
+of three versts from the gate of St. Petersburg the road was thronged
+with carriages and droskies, and crowds of gayly-dressed citizens, all
+wending their way toward the scene of entertainment. The pressure for
+tickets at the porter's lodge was so great that it required
+considerable patience and good-humor to get through at all. Officers
+in dashing uniforms rode on spirited chargers up and down the long
+rows of vehicles, and with drawn swords made way for the
+foot-passengers. Guards in imperial livery, glittering from head to
+foot with embroidery, stood at the grand portals of the gate, and with
+many profound and elegant bows ushered in the company. Policeman with
+cocked hats and shining epaulets were stationed at intervals along the
+leading thoroughfares to preserve order.
+
+The scene inside the gates was wonderfully imposing. Nothing could be
+more fanciful. In every aspect it presented some striking combination
+of natural and artificial beauties, admirably calculated to fascinate
+the imagination. I have a vague recollection of shady and undulating
+walks, winding over sweeping lawns dotted with masses of flowers and
+copses of shrubbery, and overhung by wide-spreading trees, sometimes
+gradually rising over gentle acclivities or points of rock overhung
+with moss and fern. Rustic cottages, half hidden by the luxuriant
+foliage, crowned each prominent eminence, and little by-ways branched
+off into cool, umbrageous recesses, where caves, glittering with
+sea-shells and illuminated stalactites, invited the wayfarer to linger
+a while and rest. Far down in deep glens and grottoes were retired
+nooks, where lovers, hidden from the busy throng, might mingle their
+vows to the harmony of falling waters; where the very flowers seemed
+whispering love to each other, and the lights and shadows fell, by
+some intuitive sense of fitness, into the form of bridal wreaths.
+Marble statues representing the Graces, winged Mercuries and Cupids,
+are so cunningly displayed in relief against the green banks of
+foliage that they seem the natural inhabitants of the place.
+Snow-spirits, too, with outspread wings, hover in the air, as if to
+waft cooling zephyrs through the soft summer night. In the open spaces
+fountains dash their sparkling waters high into the moonlight,
+spreading a mystic spray over the sward. Through vistas of shrubbery
+gleam the bright waters of a lake, on the far side of which the
+embattled towers of a castle rise in bold relief over the intervening
+groups of trees.
+
+On an elevated plateau, near the centre of the garden, stands a series
+of Asiatic temples and pagodas, in which the chief entertainments are
+held. The approaching avenues are illuminated with many-colored lights
+suspended from the branches of the trees, and wind under triumphal
+archways, festooned with flowers. The theatres present open fronts,
+and abound in all the tinsel of the stage, both inside and out. The
+grounds are crowded to their utmost capacity with the rank and fashion
+of the city, in all the glory of jeweled head-dresses and decorations
+of order. Festoons of variegated lights swing from the trees over the
+audience, and painted figures of dragons and genii are dimly seen in
+the background.
+
+ [Illustration: RUSSIAN THEATRE.]
+
+Attracted by sounds of applause at one of these theatres, I edged my
+way through the crowd, and succeeded, after many apologies, in
+securing a favorable position. Amid a motley gathering of Russians,
+Poles, Germans, and French--for here all nations and classes are
+represented--my ears were stunned by the clapping of hands and
+vociferous cries _Bis! Bis!_ The curtain was down, but in answer to
+the call for a repetition of the last scene it soon rose again, and
+afforded me an opportunity of witnessing a characteristic performance.
+A wild Mujik has the impudence to make love to the maid-servant of
+his master, who appears to be rather a crusty old gentleman, not
+disposed to favor matrimonial alliances of that kind. Love gets the
+better of the lover's discretion, and he is surprised in the kitchen.
+The bull-dog is let loose upon him; master and mistress and
+subordinate members of the family rush after him, armed with
+saucepans, tongs, shovels, and broomsticks. The affrighted Mujik runs
+all round the stage bellowing fearfully; the bull-dog seizes him by
+the nether extremities and hangs on with the tenacity of a vice. Round
+and round they run, Mujik roaring for help, bull-dog swinging out
+horizontally. The audience applauds; the master flings down his
+broomstick and seizes the dog by the tail; the old woman seizes master
+by the skirts of his coat; and all three are dragged around the stage
+at a terrific rate, while the younger members of the family shower
+down miscellaneous blows with their sticks and cudgels, which always
+happen to fall on the old people, to the great satisfaction of the
+audience. Shouts, and shrieks, and clapping of hands but faintly
+express the popular appreciation of the joke. Finally the faithful
+maid, taking advantage of the confusion, flings a bunch of
+fire-crackers at her oppressors and blows them up, and the Mujik,
+relieved of their weight, makes a brilliant dash through the door,
+carrying with him the tenacious bull-dog, which it is reasonable to
+suppose he subsequently takes to market and sells for a good price.
+The curtain falls, the music strikes up, and the whole performance is
+greeted with the most enthusiastic applause. Such are the
+entertainments that delight these humorous people--a little broad to
+be sure, but not deficient in grotesque spirit.
+
+From the theatre I wandered to the pavilion of Zingalee gipsies, where
+a band of these wild sons of Hagar were creating a perfect furor by
+the shrillness and discord of their voices. Never was such terrific
+music inflicted upon mortal ears. It went through and through you,
+quivering and vibrating like a rapier; but the common classes of
+Russians delight in it above all earthly sounds. They deem it the very
+finest kind of music. It is only the dilettante who have visited Paris
+who profess to hold it in contempt.
+
+Very soon surfeited with these piercing strains, I rambled away till I
+came upon a party of rope-dancers, and after seeing a dozen or so of
+stout fellows hang themselves by the chins, turn back somersaults in
+the air, and swing by one foot at a dizzy height from the ground, left
+them standing upon each other's heads to the depth of six or eight,
+and turned aside into a grotto to enjoy a few glasses of tea. Here
+were German girls singing and buffoons reciting humorous stories
+between the pauses, and thirsty Russians pouring down whole oceans of
+their favorite beverage.
+
+Again I wandered forth through the leafy mazes of the garden. The
+gorgeous profusion of lights and glittering ornaments, the endless
+variety of colors, the novel and Asiatic appearance of the temples,
+the tropical luxuriance of the foliage, the gleaming white statuary,
+the gay company, the wild strains of music, all combined to form a
+scene of peculiar interest. High overhead, dimly visible through the
+tops of the trees, the sky wears an almost supernatural aspect during
+these long summer nights. A soft golden glow flushes upward from the
+horizon, and, lying outspread over the firmament, gives a spectral
+effect to the gentler and more delicate sheen of the moon; the stars
+seem to shrink back into the dim infinity, as if unable to contend
+with the grosser effulgence of the great orbs that rule the day and
+the night. Unconscious whether the day is waning into the night, or
+the night into the morning, the rapt spectator gazes and dreams till
+lost in the strange enchantment of the scene.
+
+At a late hour a signal was given, and the company wandered down to
+the lake, along the shores of which rustic seats and divans,
+overshadowed by shrubbery, afforded the weary an opportunity of
+resting. Here we were to witness the crowning entertainment of the
+evening--a grand display of fire-works. A miniature steam-boat, gayly
+decorated with flags, swept to and fro, carrying passengers to the
+different landing-places. Gondolas, with peaked prows and variegated
+canopies, lay floating upon the still water, that lovers might quench
+their flames in the contemplation of its crystal depths, or draw fresh
+inspiration from the blaze of artificial fires. Soon a wild outburst
+of music was heard; then from the opposite shore the whole heavens
+were lighted up with a flood of rockets, and the ears were stunned by
+their explosions. Down through the depths of ether came showers of
+colored balls, illuminating the waters of the lake with inverted
+streams of light scarcely less bright and glowing. Anon all was dark;
+then from out the darkness flashed whirling and seething fires,
+gradually assuming the grotesque forms of monsters and genii, till
+with a deafening explosion they were scattered to the winds. From the
+blackened mass of ruins stood forth illuminated statues of the
+imperial family, in all the paraphernalia of royalty, their crowns
+glittering with jewels, their robes of light resplendent with precious
+gems and tracery of gold. A murmur of admiration ran through the
+crowd. The imperial figures vanished as if by magic, and suddenly a
+stream of fire flashed from a mass of dark undefined objects on the
+opposite shore, and lo! the waters were covered with fiery swans,
+sailing majestically among the gondolas, their necks moving slowly as
+if inspired by life. Hither and thither they swept, propelled by
+streams of fire, till, wearied with their sport, they gradually lay
+motionless, yet glowing with an augmented brilliancy. While the eyes
+of all were fixed in amazement and admiration upon these beautiful
+swans, they exploded with a series of deafening reports, and were
+scattered in confused volumes of smoke. Out of the chaos swept
+innumerable hosts of whirling little monsters, whizzing and boring
+through the water like infernal spirits of the deep. These again burst
+with a rattle of explosions like an irregular fire of musketry, and
+shot high into the air in a perfect maze of scintillating stars of
+every imaginable color. When the shower of stars was over, and silence
+and darkness once more reigned, a magnificent barge, that might well
+have represented that of the Egyptian queen--its gay canopies
+resplendent with the glow of many-colored lamps--swept out into the
+middle of the lake, and
+
+ "Like a burnished throne
+ Burn'd on the water."
+
+ [Illustration: THE PETERSKOI GARDENS.]
+
+And when the rowers had ceased, and the barge lay motionless, soft
+strains of music arose from its curtained recesses, swelling up
+gradually till the air was filled with the floods of rich, wild
+harmony, and the senses were ravished with their sweetness.
+
+Was it a wild Oriental dream? Could it all be real--the glittering
+fires, the gayly-costumed crowds, the illuminated barge, the
+voluptuous strains of music? Might it not be some gorgeous freak of
+the emperor, such as the sultan in the Arabian Nights enjoyed at the
+expense of the poor traveler? Surely there could be nothing real like
+it since the days of the califs of Bagdad!
+
+A single night's entertainment such as this must cost many thousand
+rubles. When it is considered that there are but few months in the
+year when such things can be enjoyed, some idea may be formed of the
+characteristic passion of the Russians for luxurious amusements. It is
+worthy of mention, too, that the decorations, the lamps, the actors
+and operators, the material of nearly every description, are imported
+from various parts of the world, and very little is contributed in any
+way by the native Russians, save the means by which these costly
+luxuries are obtained.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE "LITTLE WATER."
+
+
+On the fundamental principles of association the intelligent reader
+will at once comprehend how it came to pass that, of all the traits I
+discovered in the Russian people, none impressed me so favorably as
+their love of vodka, or native brandy, signifying the "little water."
+I admired their long and filthy beards and matted heads of hair,
+because there was much in them to remind me of my beloved Washoe; but
+in nothing did I experience a greater fellowship with them than in
+their constitutional thirst for intoxicating liquors. It was
+absolutely refreshing, after a year's travel over the Continent of
+Europe, to come across a genuine lover of the "tarantula"--to meet at
+every corner of the street a great bearded fellow staggering along
+blind drunk, or attempting to steady the town by hugging a post.
+Rarely had I enjoyed such a sight since my arrival in the Old World.
+In Germany I had seen a few cases of stupefaction arising from
+overdoses of beer; in France the red nose of the _bon vivant_ is not
+uncommon; in England some muddled heads are to be found; and in
+Scotland there are temperance societies enough to give rise to the
+suspicion that there is a cause for them; but, generally speaking, the
+sight of an intoxicated man is somewhat rare in the principal cities
+of the Continent. It will, therefore, be conceded that there was
+something very congenial in the spectacle that greeted me on the very
+first day of my arrival in Moscow. A great giant of a Mujik, with a
+ferocious beard and the general aspect of a wild beast, came toward me
+with a heel and a lurch to port that was very expressive of his
+condition. As he staggered up and tried to balance himself, he blurted
+out some unmeaning twaddle in his native language which I took to be a
+species of greeting. His expression was absolutely inspiring--the
+great blear eyes rolling foolishly in his head; his tongue lolling
+helplessly from his mouth; his under jaw hanging down; his greasy cap
+hung on one side on a tuft of dirty hair--all so familiar, so
+characteristic of something I had seen before! Where could it have
+been? What potent spell was there about this fellow to attract me? In
+what was it that I, an embassador from Washoe, a citizen of
+California, a resident of Oakland, could thus be drawn toward this
+hideous wretch? A word in your ear, reader. It was all the effect of
+association! The unbidden tears flowed to my eyes as I caught a whiff
+of the fellow's breath. It was so like the free-lunch breaths of San
+Francisco, and even suggested thoughts of the Legislative Assembly in
+Sacramento. Only think what a genuine Californian must suffer in being
+a whole year without a glass of whisky--nay, without as much as a
+smell of it! How delightful it is to see a brother human downright
+soggy drunk; drunk all over; drunk in the eyes, in the mouth, in the
+small of his back, in his knees, in his boots, clear down to his toes!
+How one's heart is drawn toward him by this common bond of human
+infirmity! How it recalls the camp, the one-horse mining town, the
+social gathering of the "boys" at Dan's, or Jim's, or Jack's; and the
+clink of dimes and glasses at the bar; how distances are annihilated
+and time set back! Of a verity, when I saw that man, with reason
+dethroned and the garb of self-respect thrown aside, I was once again
+in my own beloved state!
+
+ "What a beauty dwelt in each familiar face,
+ What music hung on every voice!"
+
+ [Illustration: VODKA.]
+
+Since reading is not a very general accomplishment among the lower
+classes, a system of signs answers in some degree as a substitute. The
+irregularity of the streets would of itself present no very remarkable
+feature but for the wonderful variety of small shops and the oddity of
+the signs upon which their contents are pictured. What these symbols
+of trade lack in artistic style they make up in grotesque effects.
+Thus, the tobacco shops are ornamented outside with various
+highly-colored pictures, drawn by artists of the most florid genius,
+representing cigar-boxes, pipes, meerschaums, narghillas, bunches of
+cigars, snuffboxes, plugs and twists of tobacco, and all that the most
+fastidious smoker, chewer, or snuffer can expect to find in any
+tobacco shop, besides a good many things that he never will find in
+any of these shops. Prominent among these symbolical displays is the
+counterfeit presentment of a jet-black Indian of African descent--his
+woolly head adorned with a crown of pearls and feathers; in his right
+hand an uplifted tomahawk, with which he is about to kill some
+invisible enemy; in his left a meerschaum, supposed to be the pipe of
+peace; a tobacco plantation in the background, and a group of warriors
+smoking profusely around a camp-fire, located under one of the tobacco
+plants; the whole having a very fine allegorical effect, fully
+understood, no doubt, by the artist, but very difficult to explain
+upon any known principle of art. The butchers' shops are equally
+prolific in external adornments. On the sign-boards you see every
+animal fit to be eaten, and many of questionable aspect, denuded of
+their skins and reduced to every conceivable degree of butchery; so
+that if you want a veal cutlet of any particular pattern, all you have
+to do is to select your pattern, and the cutlet will be chopped
+accordingly. The bakeries excel in their artistic displays. Here you
+have painted bread from black-moon down to double-knotted twist;
+cakes, biscuit, rolls, and crackers, and as many other varieties as
+the genius of the artist may be capable of suggesting. The bakers of
+Moscow are mostly French or German; and it is a notable fact that the
+bread is quite equal to any made in France or Germany. The
+wine-stores, of which there are many, are decorated with pictures of
+bottles, and bas-reliefs of gilded grapes--a great improvement upon
+the ordinary grape produced by nature.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE MARKETS OF MOSCOW.
+
+
+If there is nothing new under the sun, there are certainly a good many
+old things to interest a stranger in Moscow. A favorite resort of mine
+during my sojourn in that strange old city of the Czars was in the
+markets of the Katai Gorod. Those of the Riadi and Gostovini Dvor
+present the greatest attractions, perhaps, in the way of shops and
+merchandise; for there, by the aid of time, patience, and money, you
+can get any thing you want, from saints' armlets and devils down to
+candlesticks and cucumbers. Singing-birds, Kazan-work, and Siberian
+diamonds are its most attractive features. But if you have a passion
+for human oddities rather than curiosities of merchandise, you must
+visit the second-hand markets extending along the walls of the Katai
+Gorod, where you will find not only every conceivable variety of old
+clothes, clocks, cooking utensils, and rubbish of all sorts, but the
+queerest imaginable conglomeration of human beings from the far East
+to the far West. It would be a fruitless task to attempt a description
+of the motley assemblage. Pick out all the strangest, most ragged,
+most uncouth figures you ever saw in old pictures, from childhood up
+to the present day; select from every theatrical representation
+within the range of your experience the most monstrous and absurd
+caricatures upon humanity; bring to your aid all the masquerades and
+burlesque fancy-balls you ever visited, tumble them together in the
+great bag of your imagination, and pour them out over a vague
+wilderness of open spaces, dirty streets, high walls, and rickety
+little booths, and you have no idea at all of the queer old markets of
+the Katai Gorod. You will be just as much puzzled to make any thing of
+the scene as when you started, if not more so.
+
+ [Illustration: OLD-CLOTHES' MARKET.]
+
+No mortal man can picture to another all these shaggy-faced Russians,
+booted up to the knees, their long, loose robes flaunting idly around
+their legs, their red sashes twisted around their waists; brawny
+fellows with a reckless, independent swagger about them, stalking like
+grim savages of the North through the crowd. Then there are the sallow
+and cadaverous Jew peddlers, covered all over with piles of ragged old
+clothes, and mountains of old hats and caps; and leathery-faced old
+women--witches of Endor--dealing out horrible mixtures of _quass_ (the
+national drink); and dirty, dingy-looking soldiers, belonging to the
+imperial service, peddling off old boots and cast-off shirts; and
+Zingalee gipsies, dark, lean, and wiry, offering strings of beads and
+armlets for sale with shrill cries; and so on without limit.
+
+Here you see the rich and the poor in all the extremes of affluence
+and poverty; the robust and the decrepit; the strong, the lame, and
+the blind; the noble, with his star and orders of office; the Mujik in
+his shaggy sheepskin capote or tattered blouse; the Mongolian, the
+Persian, and the Caucasian; the Greek and the Turk; the Armenian and
+the Californian, all intent upon something, buying, selling, or
+looking on.
+
+Being the only representative from the Golden State, I was anxious to
+offer some Washoe stock for sale--twenty or thirty feet in the Gone
+Case; but Dominico, my interpreter, informed me that these traders had
+never heard of Washoe, and were mostly involved in Russian
+securities--old breeches, boots, stockings, and the like. He did not
+think my "Gone Case" would bring an old hat; and as for my "Sorrowful
+Countenance" and "Ragged End," he was persuaded I could not dispose of
+my entire interest in them for a pint of grease.
+
+I was very much taken with the soldiers who infested these old
+markets. It was something new in military economy to see the
+representatives of an imperial army supporting themselves in this way;
+dark, lazy fellows in uniform, lounging about with old boots, and
+suspenders hanging all over them, crying out the merits of their wares
+in stentorian voices, thus, as it were, patriotically relieving the
+national treasury of a small fraction of its burden. They have much
+the appearance, in the crowd, of raisins in a plum-pudding.
+
+The peasant women, who flock in from the country with immense burdens
+of vegetables and other products of the farms, are a very striking, if
+not a very pleasing feature in the markets. Owing to the hard labor
+imposed upon them, they are exceedingly rough and brawny, and have a
+hard, dreary, and unfeminine expression of countenance, rather
+inconsistent with one's notions of the delicacy and tenderness of
+woman. Few of them are even passably well-looking. All the natural
+playfulness of the gentler sex seems to be crushed out of them; and
+while their manners are uncouth, their voices are the wildest and most
+unmusical that ever fell upon the ear from a feminine source. When
+dressed in their best attire they usually wear a profusion of red
+handkerchiefs about their heads and shoulders; and from an
+unpicturesque habit they have of making an upper waist immediately
+under their arms by a ligature of some sort, and tying their
+apron-strings about a foot below, they have the singular appearance of
+being double-waisted or three-story women. They carry their children
+on their backs, much after the fashion of Digger Indians, and suckle
+them through an opening in the second or middle story. Doubtless this
+is a convenient arrangement, but it presents the curious anomaly of a
+poor peasant living in a one-story house with a three-story wife.
+According to the prevailing style of architecture in well-wooded
+countries, these women ought to wear their hair shingled; but they
+generally tie it up in a knot behind, or cover it with a fancy-colored
+handkerchief, on the presumption, I suppose, that they look less
+barbarous in that way than they would with shingled heads. You may
+suspect me of story-telling, but upon my word I think three-story
+women are extravagant enough without adding another to them. I only
+hope their garrets contain a better quality of furniture than that
+which afflicts the male members of the Mujik community. No wonder
+those poor women have families of children like steps of stairs! It is
+said that their husbands are often very cruel to them, and think
+nothing of knocking them down and beating them; but even that does not
+surprise me. How can a man be expected to get along with a three-story
+wife unless he floors her occasionally?
+
+Ragged little boys, prematurely arrested in their growth, you see too,
+in myriads--shovel-nosed and bare-legged urchins of hideously
+eccentric manners, carrying around big bottles of _sbiteen_ (a kind of
+mead), which they are continually pouring out into glasses, to appease
+the chronic thirst with which the public seem to be afflicted; and
+groups of the natives gathered around a cucumber stand, devouring
+great piles of unwholesome-looking cucumbers, which skinny old women
+are dipping up out of wooden buckets. The voracity with which all
+classes stow away these vicious edibles in their stomachs is amazing,
+and suggests a melancholy train of reflections on the subject of
+cholera morbus. It was a continual matter of wonder to me how the
+lower classes of Russians survived the horrid messes with which they
+tortured their digestive apparatus. Only think of thousands of men
+dining every day on black bread, heavy enough for bullets, a pound or
+two of grease, and half a peck of raw cucumbers per man, and then
+expecting to live until next morning! And yet they do live, and grow
+fat, and generally die at a good old age, in case they are not killed
+in battle, or frozen up in the wilds of Siberia.
+
+Outside the walls of the Katai Gorod, in an open square, or plaza, are
+rows of wooden booths, in which innumerable varieties of living stock
+are offered for sale--geese, ducks, chickens, rabbits, pigeons, and
+birds of various sorts. I sometimes went down here and bargained for
+an hour or so over a fat goose or a Muscovy duck, not with any
+ultimate idea of purchasing it, but merely because it was offered to
+me at a reduced price. It was amusing, also, to study the manners and
+customs of the dealer, and enjoy their amazement when, after causing
+them so much loss of time, I would hand over five kopeks and walk off.
+Some of them, I verily believe, will long entertain serious doubts as
+to the sanity of the Californian public; for Dominico, my guide,
+always took particular pride in announcing that I was from that great
+country, and was the richest man in it, being, to the best of his
+knowledge, the only one who had money enough to spare to travel all
+the way to Moscow, merely for the fun of the thing.
+
+I may as well mention, parenthetically, that Dominico was rather an
+original in his way. His father was an Italian and his mother a
+Russian. I believe he was born in Moscow. How he came to adopt the
+profession of guide I don't know, unless it was on account of some
+natural proclivity for an easy life. A grave, lean, saturnine man was
+Dominico--something of a cross between Machiavelli and Paganini. If he
+knew any thing about the wonders and curiosities of Moscow he kept it
+a profound secret. It was only by the most rigid inquiry and an adroit
+system of cross-examination that I could get any thing out of him, and
+then his information was vague and laconic, sometimes a little
+sarcastic, but never beyond what I knew myself. Yet he was polite,
+dignified, and gentlemanly--never refused to drink a glass of beer
+with me, and always knew the way to a traktir. To the public
+functionaries with whom we came in contact during the course of our
+rambles his air was grand and imposing; and on the subject of money he
+was sublimely nonchalant, caring no more for rubles than I did for
+kopeks. Once or twice he hinted to me that he was of noble blood, but
+laid no particular stress upon that, since it was his misfortune at
+present to be in rather reduced circumstances. Some time or other he
+would go to Italy and resume his proper position there. In justice to
+Dominico, I must add that he never neglected an opportunity of praying
+for me before any of the public shrines; and at the close of our
+acquaintance he let me off pretty easily, all things considered. Upon
+my explaining to him that a draft for five hundred thousand rubles,
+which ought to be on the way, had failed to reach me, owing,
+doubtless, to some irregularity in the mail service, or some sudden
+depression in my Washoe stocks, he merely shrugged his shoulders, took
+a pinch of snuff, and accepted with profound indifference a fee
+amounting to three times the value of his services.
+
+I was particularly interested in the dog-market. The display of living
+dog-flesh here must be very tempting to one who has a taste for poodle
+soup or fricasseed pup. Dominico repudiated the idea that the Russians
+are addicted to this article of diet; but the very expression of his
+eye as he took up a fat little innocent, smoothed down its skin,
+squeezed its ribs, pinched its loins, and smelled it, satisfied me
+that a litter of pups would stand but a poor chance of ever arriving
+at maturity if they depended upon forbearance upon his part as a
+national virtue. The Chinese quarter of San Francisco affords some
+curious examples of the art of compounding sustenance for man out of
+odd materials--rats, snails, dried frogs, star-fish, polypi, and the
+like; but any person who wishes to indulge a morbid appetite for the
+most disgusting dishes over devised by human ingenuity must visit
+Moscow. I adhere to it that the dog-market supplies a large portion of
+the population with fancy meats. No other use could possibly be made
+of the numberless squads of fat, hairless dogs tied together and
+hawked about by the traders in this article of traffic. I saw one
+man--he had the teeth of an ogre and a fearfully carnivorous
+expression of eye--carry around a bunch of pups on each arm, and cry
+aloud something in his native tongue, which I am confident had
+reference to the tenderness and juiciness of their flesh. Dominico
+declared the man was only talking about the breed--that they were fine
+rat-dogs; but I know that was a miserable subterfuge. Such dogs never
+caught a rat in this world; and if they did, it must have been with a
+view to the manufacture of sausages.
+
+ [Illustration: CABINET-MAKERS.]
+
+A Russian peasant is not particular about the quality of his food, as
+may well be supposed from this general summary. Quantity is the main
+object. Grease of all kinds is his special luxury. The upper classes,
+who have plenty of money to spare, may buy fish from the Volga at its
+weight in gold, and mutton from Astrakan at fabulous prices; but give
+the Mujik his _batvina_ (salt grease and honey boiled together), a
+loaf of black bread, and a peck of raw cucumbers, and he is happy.
+Judging by external appearances, very little grease seems to be wasted
+in the manufacture of soap. Indeed, I would not trust one of these
+Mujiks to carry a pound of soap any where for me, any more than I
+would a gallon of oil or a pound of candles. Once I saw a fellow
+grease his boots with a lump of dirty fat which he had picked up out
+of the gutter, but he took good care first to extract from it the
+richest part of its essence by sucking it, and then greasing his
+beard. The boots came last. In all probability he had just dined, or
+he would have pocketed his treasure for another occasion, instead of
+throwing the remnant, as he did, to the nearest cat.
+
+In respect to the language, one might as well be dropped down in
+Timbuctoo as in a village or country town of Russia, for all the good
+the gift of speech would do him. It is not harsh, as might be
+supposed, yet wonderfully like an East India jungle when you attempt
+to penetrate it. I could make better headway through a boulder of
+solid quartz, or the title to my own house and lot in Oakland. Now I
+profess to be able to see as far into a millstone as most people, but
+I can't see in what respect the Russians behaved any worse than other
+people of the Tower of Babel, that they should be afflicted with a
+language which nobody can hope to understand before his beard becomes
+grizzled, and the top of his head entirely bald. Many of the better
+classes, to be sure, speak French and German; but even in the streets
+of Moscow I could seldom find any body who could discover a ray of
+meaning in my French or German, which is almost as plain as English.
+
+Some people know what you want by instinct, whether they understand
+your language or not. Not so the Russians. Ask for a horse, and they
+will probably offer you a fat goose; inquire the way to your
+lodgings, and they are just as likely as not to show you the Foundling
+Hospital or a livery-stable; go into an old variety shop, and express
+a desire to purchase an Astrakan breast-pin for your sweet-heart, and
+the worthy trader hands you a pair of bellows or an old blunderbuss;
+cast your eye upon any old market-woman, and she divines at once that
+you are in search of a bunch of chickens or a bucket of raw cucumbers,
+and offers them to you at the lowest market-price; hint to a
+picture-dealer that you would like to have an authentic portrait of
+his imperial majesty, and he hands you a picture of the Iberian
+Mother, or St. George slaying the dragon, or the devil and all his
+imps; in short, you can get any thing that you don't want, and nothing
+that you do. If these people are utterly deficient in any one quality,
+it is a sense of fitness in things. They take the most inappropriate
+times for offering you the most inappropriate articles of human use
+that the imagination can possibly conceive. I was more than once
+solicited by the dealers in the markets of Moscow to carry with me a
+bunch of live dogs, or a couple of freshly-scalded pigs, and on one
+occasion was pressed very hard to take a brass skillet and a pair of
+tongs. What could these good people have supposed I wanted with
+articles of this kind on my travels? Is there any thing in my dress or
+the expression of my countenance--I leave it to all who know me--any
+thing in the mildness of my speech or the gravity of my manner, to
+indicate that I am suffering particularly for bunches of dogs or
+scalded pigs, brass skillets or pairs of tongs? Do I look like a man
+who labors under a chronic destitution of dogs, pigs, skillets, and
+tongs?
+
+ [Illustration: PIGS, PUPS, AND PANS.]
+
+It is quite natural that the traveler who finds himself for the first
+time within the limits of a purely despotic government should look
+around him with some vague idea that he must see the effects strongly
+marked upon the external life of the people; that the restraints
+imposed upon popular liberty must be every where apparent. So far as
+any thing of this kind may exist in Moscow or St. Petersburg, it is a
+notable fact that there are few cities in the world where it is less
+visible, or where the people seem more unrestrained in the exercise of
+their popular freedom. Indeed, it struck me rather forcibly, after my
+experience in Vienna and Berlin, that the Russians enjoy quite as
+large a share of practical independence as most of their neighbors. I
+was particularly impressed by the bold and independent air of the
+middle classes, the politeness with which even the lower orders
+address each other, and the absence of those petty and vexatious
+restraints which prevail in some of the German states. The constant
+dread of infringing upon the police regulations; the extraordinary
+deference with which men in uniform are regarded; the circumspect
+behavior at public places; the nice and well-regulated mirthfulness,
+never overstepping the strict bounds of prudence, which I had so often
+noticed in the northern parts of Germany, and which may in part be
+attributed to the naturally orderly and conservative character of the
+people, are by no means prominent features in the principal cities of
+Russia.
+
+Soldiers, indeed, there are in abundance every where throughout the
+dominions of the Czar, and the constant rattle of musketry and clang
+of arms show that the liberty of the people is not altogether without
+limit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE NOSE REGIMENT.
+
+
+I saw nothing in the line of military service that interested me more
+than the Imperial Guard. Without vouching for the truth of the whole
+story connected with the history of this famous regiment, I give it as
+related to me by Dominico, merely stating as a fact within my own
+observation that there is no question whatever about the peculiarity
+of their features. It seems that the Emperor Nicholas, shortly before
+the Crimean War, discovered by some means that the best fighting men
+in his dominions belonged to a certain wild tribe from the north,
+distinguished for the extreme ugliness of their faces. The most
+remarkable feature was the nose, which stood straight out from the
+base of the forehead in the form of a triangle, presenting in front
+the appearance of a double-barreled pistol. A stiff grizzly mustache
+underneath gave them a peculiarly ferocious expression, so that brave
+men quailed, and women and children fled from them in terror. The
+emperor gave orders that all men in the ranks possessed of these
+frightful noses should be brought before him. Finding, when they were
+mustered together, that there was not over one company, he caused a
+general average of the noses to be taken, from which he had a diagram
+carefully prepared and disseminated throughout the empire, calling
+upon the military commanders of the provinces to send him recruits
+corresponding with the prescribed formula.
+
+In due time he was enabled to muster a thousand of these ferocious
+barbarians, whom he caused to be carefully drilled and disciplined. He
+kept them in St. Petersburg under his own immediate supervision till
+some time after the attack upon Sebastopol, when, finding the fortunes
+of war likely to go against him, he sent them down to the Crimea, with
+special instructions to the commander-in-chief to rely upon them in
+any emergency. In compliance with the imperial order, they were at
+once placed in the front ranks, and in a very few days had occasion to
+display their fighting qualities. At the very first onslaught of the
+enemy they stood their ground manfully till the French troops had
+approached within ten feet, when, with one accord, they took to their
+heels, and never stopped running till they were entirely out of sight.
+It was a disastrous day for the Russians. The commander-in-chief was
+overwhelmed with shame and mortification. A detachment of cavalry was
+dispatched in pursuit of the fugitives, who were finally arrested in
+their flight and brought back. "Cowards!" thundered the enraged
+commander, as they stood drawn up before him; "miserable poltroons!
+dastards! is this the way you do honor to your imperial master? Am I
+to report to his most potent majesty that, without striking one blow
+in his defense, you ran like sheep? Wretches, what have you to say for
+yourselves?"
+
+ [Illustration: IMPERIAL NOSEGAY.]
+
+"May it please your excellency," responded the men, firmly and with
+unblenched faces, "we ran away, it is true; but we are not cowards. On
+the contrary, sire, we are brave men, and fear neither man nor beast.
+But your excellency is aware that nature has gifted us with noses
+peculiarly open to unusual impressions. We have smelled all the
+smells known from the far North to the far South, from the stewed rats
+of Moscow to the carrion that lies mouldering upon the plains of the
+Crimea; but, if it please your highness, we never smelled Frenchmen
+before. There was an unearthly odor about them that filled our
+nostrils, and struck a mysterious terror into our souls."
+
+"Fools!" roared the commander-in-chief, bursting with rage, "what you
+smelled was nothing more than garlic, to which these Frenchmen are
+addicted."
+
+"Call it as you will," firmly responded the men with the noses, "it
+was too horrible to be endured. We are willing to die by the natural
+casualties of war, but not by unseen blasts of garlic, against which
+no human power can contend."
+
+"Then," cried the commander, in tones of thunder, "I'll see that you
+die to-morrow by the natural casualties of war. You shall be put in
+the very front rank, and care shall be taken to have every man of you
+shot down the moment you undertake to run."
+
+On the following day this rigorous order was carried into effect. The
+nose regiment was placed in front, and the battle opened with great
+spirit. The French troops swept down upon them like an avalanche. For
+an instant they looked behind, but, finding no hope of escape in that
+direction, each man of them suddenly grasped up a handful of mud, and,
+dashing it over his nostrils, shouted "Death, to the garlic-eaters!"
+and rushed against the enemy with indescribable ferocity. Never before
+were such prodigies of valor performed on the field of battle. The
+French went down like stricken reeds before the ferocious onslaught of
+the Imperial Guard. Their dead bodies lay piled in heaps on the bloody
+field. The fortunes of the day were saved, and, panting and bleeding,
+the men of Noses stood triumphantly in the presence of their chief. In
+an ecstasy of pride and delight he complimented them upon their valor,
+and pronounced them the brightest nosegay in his imperial majesty's
+service, which name they have borne ever since.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE EMPEROR'S BEAR-HUNT.
+
+
+The present emperor, Alexander III., is more distinguished for his
+liberal views respecting the rights of his subjects than for his
+military proclivities. In private life he is much beloved, and is said
+to be a man of very genial social qualities. His predominating passion
+in this relation is a love of hunting. I have been told that he is
+especially great on bears. With all your experience of this manly
+pastime in America, I doubt if you can form any conception of the
+bear-hunts in which the Autocrat of all the Russias has distinguished
+himself. Any body with nerve enough can kill a grizzly, but it
+requires both nerve and money to kill bears of any kind in the genuine
+autocratic style. By an imperial ukase it has been ordered that when
+any of the peasants or serfs discover a bear within twenty versts of
+the Moscow and St. Petersburg Railway, they must make known the fact
+to the proprietor of the estate, whose duty it is to communicate
+official information of the discovery to the corresponding secretary
+of the Czar. With becoming humility the secretary announces the
+tidings to his royal master, who directs him to advise the distant
+party that his majesty is much pleased, and will avail himself of his
+earliest leisure to proceed to the scene of action. In the mean time
+the entire available force of the estate is set to work to watch the
+bear, and from three to five hundred men, armed with cudgels, tin
+pans, old kettles, drums, etc., are stationed in a circle around him.
+Dogs also are employed upon this important service. The advance
+trains, under the direction of the master hunter, having deposited
+their stores of wines, cordials, and provisions, and telegraphic
+communications being transmitted to head-quarters from time to time,
+it is at length privately announced that his imperial majesty has
+condescended to honor the place with his presence, and, should the
+saints not prove averse, will be there with his royal party at the
+hour and on the day specified in the imperial dispatch. The grand
+convoy is then put upon the track; dispatches are transmitted to all
+the stations; officers, soldiers, and guards are required to be in
+attendance to do honor to their sovereign master--privately, of
+course, as this is simply an unofficial affair which nobody is
+supposed to know any thing about. The emperor, having selected his
+chosen few--that is to say, half a dozen princes, a dozen dukes, a
+score or two of counts and barons--all fine fellows and genuine
+bloods--proceeds unostentatiously to the depot in his hunting-carriage
+(a simple little affair, manufactured at a cost of only forty thousand
+rubles or so), where he is astonished to see a large concourse of
+admiring subjects, gayly interspersed with soldiers, all accidentally
+gathered there to see him off. Now hats are removed, bows are made,
+suppressed murmurs of delight run through the crowd; the locomotive
+whizzes and fizzes with impatience; bells are rung, arms are grounded;
+the princes, dukes, and barons--jolly fellows as they are--laugh and
+joke just like common people; bells ring again and whistles blow; a
+signal is made, and the Autocrat of all the Russias is off on his
+bear-hunt!
+
+In an hour, or two or three hours, as the case may be, the royal
+hunters arrive at the destined station. Should the public business be
+pressing, it is not improbable the emperor, availing himself of the
+conveniences provided for him by Winans and Co., in whose magnificent
+present of a railway carriage he travels, has in the mean time
+dispatched a fleet of vessels to Finland, ten or a dozen extra
+regiments of Cossacks to Warsaw, closed upon terms for a loan of fifty
+millions, banished various objectionable parties to the deserts of
+Siberia, and partaken of a game or two of whist with his camarilla.
+
+But now the important affair of the day is at hand--the bear--the
+terrible black bear, which every body is fully armed and equipped to
+kill, but which every body knows by instinct is going to be killed by
+the emperor, because of his majesty's superior skill and courage on
+trying occasions of this sort. What a blessing it is to possess such
+steadiness of nerve! I would not hesitate one moment to attack the
+most ferocious grizzly in existence if I felt half as much confidence
+in my ability to kill it. But the carriages are waiting; the horses
+are prancing; the hunters are blowing their bugles; the royal party
+are mounting on horseback or in their carriages, as best may suit
+their taste, and the signal is given! A salute is fired by the Guard,
+huzzas ring through the air, and the Czar of all the Russias is fairly
+off on his hunt. Trees fly by; desert patches of ground whirl from
+under; versts are as nothing to these spirited steeds and their
+spirited masters, and in an hour or so the grand scene of action is
+reached. Here couriers stand ready to conduct the imperial hunters
+into the very jaws of death. The noble proprietor himself, bareheaded,
+greets the royal pageant; the serfs bow down in Oriental fashion; the
+dashing young Czar touches his hunting-cap in military style and waves
+his hand gallantly to the ladies of the household, who are peeping at
+him from their carriages in the distance. Once more the bugle is
+sounded, and away they dash--knights, nobles, and all--the handsome
+and gallant Czar leading the way by several lengths. Soon the terrific
+cry is heard--"Halt! the bear! the bear! Halt!" Shut your eyes,
+reader, for you never can stand such a sight as that--a full-grown
+black bear, not two hundred yards off, in the middle of an open space,
+surrounded by five hundred men hidden behind trees and driving him
+back from every point where he attempts to escape. You don't see the
+men, but you hear them shouting and banging upon their pots, pans, and
+kettles. Now just open one eye and see the emperor dismount from his
+famous charger, and deliver the rein to a dozen domestics,
+deliberately cock his rifle, and fearlessly get behind the nearest
+tree within the range of the bear. By this time you perceive that
+Bruin is dancing a _pas seul_ on his hind legs, utterly confounded
+with the noises around him. Shut your eyes again, for the emperor is
+taking his royal aim, and will presently crack away with his royal
+rifle. Hist! triggers are clicking around you in every direction, but
+you needn't be the least afraid, for, although the bear is covered by
+a reserve of forty rifles, not one of the hunters has nerve enough to
+shoot unless officially authorized or personally desirous of visiting
+the silver-mines of Siberia. Crack! thug! The smoke clears away. By
+Jove! his imperial majesty has done it cleverly; hit the brute plumb
+on the os frontis, or through the heart, it makes no difference which.
+Down drops Bruin, kicking and tearing up the earth at a dreadful rate;
+cheers rend the welkin; pots, pans, and kettles are banged. High above
+all rises the stern voice of the autocrat, calling for another rifle,
+which is immediately handed to him. Humanity requires that he should
+at once put an end to the poor animal's sufferings, and he does it
+with his accustomed skill.
+
+Now the bear having kicked his last, an intrepid hunter charges up to
+the spot on horseback, whirls around it two or three times, carefully
+examines the body with an opera-glass, returns, and, approaching the
+royal presence with uncovered head, delivers himself according to this
+formula: "May it please your most gallant and imperial majesty, THE
+BEAR IS DEAD!" The emperor sometimes responds, "Is he?" but usually
+contents himself by waving his hand in an indifferent manner, puffing
+his cigar, and calling for his horse. Sixteen grooms immediately rush
+forward with his majesty's horse; and, being still young and vigorous,
+he mounts without difficulty, unaided except by Master of Stirrups.
+Next he draws an ivory-handled revolver--a present from Colt, of New
+York--and, dashing fearlessly upon the bear, fires six shots into the
+dead body; upon which he coolly dismounts, and pulling forth from the
+breast of his hunting-coat an Arkansas bowie-knife--a present from the
+poet Albert Pike, of Little Rock--plunges that dangerous weapon into
+the bowels of the dead bear; then rising to his full height, with a
+dark and stern countenance, he holds the blood-dripping blade high in
+the air, so that all may see it, and utters one wild stentorian and
+terrific shout, "Harasho! harasho!" signifying in English, "Good! very
+well!" The cry is caught up by the princes and nobles, who, with
+uncovered heads, now crowd around their gallant emperor, and waving
+their hats, likewise shout "Harasho! harasho!"--"Good! very well!"
+Then the five hundred peasants rush in with their tin pans, kettles,
+and drums, and amid the most amazing din catch up the inspiring
+strain, and deafen every ear with their wild shouts of "Harasho!
+harasho!"--"Good! very well!" Upon which the emperor, rapidly
+mounting, places a finger in each ear, and, still puffing his cigar,
+rides triumphantly away.
+
+The bear is hastily gutted and dressed with flowers. When all is ready
+the royal party return to the railroad depot in a long procession,
+headed by his majesty, and brought up in the rear by the dead body of
+Bruin borne on poles by six-and-twenty powerful serfs. Refreshments in
+the mean time have been administered to every body of high and low
+degree, and by the time they reach the depot there are but two sober
+individuals in the entire procession--his royal majesty and the bear.
+Farther refreshments are administered all round during the journey
+back to St. Petersburg, and, notwithstanding he is rigidly prohibited
+by his physician from the use of stimulating beverages, it is supposed
+that a reaction has now taken place, which renders necessary a
+modification of the medical ukase. At all events, I am told the bear
+is sometimes the only really steady member of the party by the time
+the imperial pageant reaches the palace. When the usual ceremonies of
+congratulation are over, a merry dance winds up the evening. After
+this the company disperses to prayer and slumber, and thus ends the
+great bear-hunt of his majesty the Autocrat of all the Russias.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+RUSSIAN HUMOR.
+
+
+The Russians have little or no humor, though they are not deficient in
+a certain grotesque savagery bordering on the humorous. There is
+something fearfully vicious in the royal freaks of fancy of which
+Russian history furnishes us so many examples. We read with a shudder
+of the facetious compliment paid to the Italian architect by Ivan the
+Terrible, who caused the poor man's eyes to be put out that he might
+never see to build another church so beautiful as that of St. Basil.
+We can not but smile at the grim humor of Peter the Great, who, upon
+seeing a crowd of men with wigs and gowns at Westminster Hall, and
+being informed that they were lawyers, observed that he had but two in
+his whole empire, and he believed he would hang one of them as soon as
+he got home. A still more striking though less ghastly freak of fancy
+was that perpetrated by the Empress Anne of Courland, who, on the
+occasion of the marriage of her favorite buffoon, Galitzin, caused a
+palace of ice to be built, with a bed of the same material, in which
+she compelled the happy pair to pass their wedding night. The Empress
+Catharine II., a Pomeranian by birth, but thoroughly Russian in her
+morals, possessed a more ardent temperament. What time she did not
+spend in gratifying her ambition by slaughtering men, she spent in
+loving them:
+
+ "For, though she would widow all
+ Nations, she liked man as an individual."
+
+She never dismissed an old admirer until she had secured several new
+ones, and generally consoled those who had served her by a present of
+twenty or thirty thousand serfs. On the death of Lanskoi, it is
+recorded of her that "she gave herself up to the most poignant grief,
+and remained three months without going out of her palace of Czarsko
+Selo," thus perpetrating a very curious practical satire upon the
+holiest of human affections. Her grenadier lover Potemkin, according
+to the character given of him by the Count Segur, was little better
+than a gigantic and savage buffoon--licentious and superstitious, bold
+and timid by turns--sometimes desiring to be King of Poland, at others
+a bishop or a monk. Of him we read that "he put out an eye to free it
+from a blemish which diminished his beauty. Banished by his rival, he
+ran to meet death in battle, and returned with glory." Another
+pleasant little jest was that perpetrated by Suwarrow, who, after the
+bloody battle of Tourtourskaya, announced the result to his mistress
+in an epigram of two doggerel lines. This was the terrible warrior who
+used to sleep almost naked in a room of suffocating heat, and rush out
+to review his troops in a linen jacket, with the thermometer of
+Reaumur ten degrees below freezing point. Of the Emperor Paul, the son
+of Catharine, we read that he issued a ukase against the use of
+shoe-strings and round hats; caused all the watch-boxes, gates, and
+bridges throughout the empire to be painted in the most glaring and
+fantastic colors, and passed a considerable portion of his time riding
+on a wooden rocking-horse--a degenerate practice for a scion of the
+bold Catharine, who used to dress herself in men's clothes, and ride
+a-straddle on the back of a live horse to review her troops. Alexander
+I., in his ukase of September, 1827, perpetrated a very fine piece of
+Russian humor. The period of military service for serfs is fixed at
+twenty years in the Imperial Guard, and twenty-two in other branches
+of the service. It is stated in express terms that the moment a serf
+becomes enrolled in the ranks of the army he is free! But he must not
+desert, for if he does he becomes a slave again. This idea of freedom
+is really refreshing. Only twenty or twenty-two years of the gentle
+restraints of Russian military discipline to be enjoyed after becoming
+a free agent! Then he may go off (at the age of fifty or sixty, say),
+unless disease or gunpowder has carried him off long before, to enjoy
+the sweets of hard labor in some agreeable desert, or the position of
+a watchman on the frontiers of Siberia, where the climate is probably
+considered salubrious.
+
+These may be considered royal or princely vagaries, in which great
+people are privileged to indulge; but I think it will be found that
+the same capricious savagery of humor--if I may so call it--prevails
+to some extent among all classes of Russians. In some instances it can
+scarcely be associated with any idea of mirthfulness, yet in the love
+of strange, startling, and incongruous ideas there is something
+bordering on the humorous. On Recollection Monday, for example, the
+mass of the people go out into the grave-yards, and, spreading
+table-cloths on the mounds that cover the dead bodies of their
+relatives, drink quass and vodka to the health of the deceased,
+saying, "Since the dead are unable to drink, the living must drink for
+them!" Rather a grave excuse, one must think, for intoxication.
+
+In the museum of Peter the Great at St. Petersburg stands the stuffed
+skin of his favorite servant--a gigantic Holsteiner--one of the most
+ghastly of all the grotesque and ghastly relics in that remarkable
+institution. It is not a very agreeable subject for the pencil of an
+artist, yet there is something so original in the idea of stuffing a
+human being and putting him up for exhibition before the public that I
+am constrained to introduce the following sketch of this strange
+spectacle.
+
+In one of the arsenals is an eagle made of gun-flints, with swords for
+wings, daggers for feathers, and the mouths of cannons for eyes. A
+painting of the Strelitzes, in another, represents heaven as
+containing the Russian priests and all the faithful; while the other
+place--a region of fire and brimstone--contains Jews, Tartars,
+Germans, and negroes!
+
+ [Illustration: SKINNED AND STUFFED MAN.]
+
+The winter markets of Moscow and St. Petersburg present some of the
+most cadaverous specimens of the startling humor in which the Russians
+delight. Here you find frozen oxen, calves, sheep, rabbits, geese,
+ducks, and all manner of animals and birds, once animate with life,
+now stiff and stark in death. The oxen stand staring at you with their
+fixed eyes and gory carcasses; the calves are jumping or frisking in
+skinless innocence; the sheep ba-a at you with open mouths, or cast
+sheep's-eyes at the by-passers; the rabbits, having traveled hundreds
+of miles, are jumping, or running, or turning somersaults in frozen
+tableaux to keep themselves warm, and so on with every variety of
+flesh, fowl, and even fish. The butchers cut short these expressive
+practical witticisms by means of saws, as one might saw a block of
+wood; and the saw-dust, which is really frozen flesh and blood in a
+powdered state, is gathered up in baskets and carried away by the
+children and ragamuffins to be made into soup.
+
+ [Illustration: FROZEN ANIMALS IN THE MARKET.]
+
+I can conceive of nothing humorous in these people which is not
+associated in some way with the cruel and the grotesque. They have
+many noble and generous traits, but lack delicacy of feeling. Where
+the range of the thermometer is from a hundred to a hundred and fifty
+degrees of Fahrenheit, their character must partake in some sort of
+the qualities of the climate--fierce, rigorous, and pitiless in its
+wintry aspect, and without the compensating and genial tenderness of
+spring; fitful and passionate as the scorching heats of summer, and
+dark, stormy, and dreary as the desolation of autumn.
+
+I could not but marvel, as I sat in some of the common traktirs, at
+the extraordinary affection manifested by the Russians for cats. It
+appeared to me that the proprietors must keep a feline corps expressly
+for the amusement of their customers. At one of these places I saw at
+least forty cats, of various breeds, from the confines of Tartary to
+the city of Paris. They were up on the tables, on the benches, on the
+floor, under the benches, on the backs of the tea-drinkers, in their
+laps, in their arms--every where. I strongly suspected that they
+answered the purpose of waiters, and that the owner relied upon them
+to keep the plates clean. Possibly, too, they were made available as
+musicians. I have a notion the Russians entertain the same
+superstitious devotion to cats that the Banyans of India do to cows,
+and the French and Germans to nasty little poodles. To see a great
+shaggy boor, his face dripping with grease, his eyes swimming in
+vodka, sit all doubled up, fondling and caressing these feline pets;
+holding them in his hands; pressing their velvety fur to his eyes,
+cheeks, even his lips; listening with delight to their screams and
+squalls, is indeed a curious spectacle.
+
+ [Illustration: MUJIK AND CATS.]
+
+Now I have no unchristian feeling toward any of the brute creation,
+but I don't affect cats. Nor can I say that I greatly enjoy their
+music. I heard the very best bands of tom-cats every night during my
+sojourn in Moscow, and consider them utterly deficient in style and
+execution. It belongs, I think, to the Music of Futurity, so much
+discussed by the critics of Europe during the past few years--a
+peculiar school of anti-melody that requires people yet to be born to
+appreciate it thoroughly. The discords may be very fine, and the
+passion very striking and tempestuous, but it is worse than thrown
+away on an uncultivated ear like mine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE.
+
+
+The police of Moscow are not an attractive class of men, considering
+them in the light of guardians of the law. With a good deal of
+pomposity and laziness, they mingle much filth and rascality. The
+emperor may have great confidence in them, based upon some knowledge
+of their talents and virtues not shared by casual tourists; but if he
+would trust one of them with ten kopeks, or agree to place the life of
+any intimate personal friend in their keeping, in any of the dark
+alleys of Moscow, his faith in their integrity and humanity must be
+greater than mine. Indeed, upon casting around me in search of a
+parallel, I am not quite sure that I ever saw such a scurvy set of
+vagabonds employed to preserve the public peace in any other country,
+except, perhaps, in Spain. The guardians of the law in Cadiz and
+Seville are dark and forbidding enough in all conscience, and
+unscrupulous enough to turn a penny in any way not requiring the
+exercise of personal energy; and the police of Barcelona are not
+inferior in all that constitutes moral turpitude, but they can not
+surpass the Moscovites in filthiness of person or any of the essential
+attributes of villainy.
+
+I have it upon good authority that they are the very worst set of
+thieves in the place, and that they will not hesitate to unite with
+any midnight prowler for the purpose of robbing a stranger. True, they
+did not rob me, but the reason of that is obvious. I gave them to
+understand at the start that I was connected with the press. You
+seldom hear of a writer for newspapers being robbed; and if such a
+thing ever does happen, the amount taken is never large.
+
+As a consequence of this proclivity for ill-gotten gains on the part
+of the guardians of the law, it is unsafe for a stranger to go through
+the less frequented streets of Moscow at night. Should he chance to be
+stopped by two or three footpads and call for help, he will doubtless
+wake up some drowsy guardian of the law, but the help will be all
+against him. Instances have been related to me of robberies in which
+the police were the most active assailants, the robbers merely
+standing by for their share of the plunder. Should the unfortunate
+victim knock down a footpad or two in self-defense, it is good ground
+for an arrest, and both robbers and policemen become witnesses against
+him. A man had better get involved in a question of title to his
+property before the courts of California than be arrested for assault
+and battery, and carried before any of the civil tribunals in Russia.
+There is no end of the law's delays in these institutions, and his
+only chance of justice is to get his case before the emperor, who is
+practically the Supreme Court of the empire. Otherwise the really
+aggrieved party must pay a fine for defending himself, and support the
+assaulted man, whose nose he may have battered, during an unlimited
+period at the hospital, together with physician's fees for all the
+real or imaginary injuries inflicted. I met with a young American who
+was followed by a stalwart ruffian one night in returning from one of
+the public gardens. The man dogged his footsteps for some time. At
+length, there being nobody near to render aid, the robber mustered
+courage enough to seize hold and attempt to intimidate his supposed
+victim by brandishing a knife. He came from a country where they were
+not uncommon, and, besides, was an adept on the shoulder. With a
+sudden jerk he freed himself, and, hauling off a little, gave his
+assailant a note of hand that knocked him down. I am not versed in the
+classics of the ring, or I would make something out of this fight. The
+pad dropped like a stricken ox, his knife flying picturesquely through
+the silvery rays of the moon. Next moment he was on his feet again,
+the claret shining beautifully on his cheeks and beard. Throwing out
+his claws like a huge grizzly, he rushed in, gnashing his teeth and
+swearing horribly. This time our friend was fairly aroused, and the
+wretch promptly measured his length on the ground. Thinking he had
+scattered it on rather heavy, the American stooped down to see how
+matters stood, when the fellow grasped him by the coat and commenced
+shouting with all his might for the police--"Help! help! murder!
+murder!" There was no remedy but to silence him, which our friend
+dexterously accomplished by a blow on the os frontis. Hearing the
+approaching footsteps of the police, he then concluded it was best to
+make his escape, and accordingly took to his heels. Chase was given,
+but he was as good at running as he was at the noble art of
+self-defense, and soon distanced his pursuers. Fortunately, he reached
+his quarters without being recognised. This was all that saved him
+from arrest and imprisonment, or the payment of a fine for the
+assault.
+
+A common practice, as I was informed, is to arrest a stranger for some
+alleged breach of the law, such as smoking a cigar in the streets, or
+using disrespectful language toward the constituted authorities. Not
+being accustomed to the intricacies of a Russian judiciary, it is
+difficult, when once the matter comes before a tribunal of justice,
+for a foreigner to rebut the testimony brought against him; and if he
+be in a hurry to get away, his only course is to bribe the parties
+interested in his detention. It would be unjust to say that this
+system prevails universally throughout Russia. There is a small
+circle around the imperial presence said to be exempt from corruption;
+and there may possibly be a few dignitaries of the government, in
+remote parts of the empire, who will not tell an untruth unless in
+their official correspondence, or steal except to make up what they
+consider due to them for public services; but the circle of immaculate
+ones is very small, and commences very near the Czar, and the other
+exceptions referred to are exceedingly rare. Thieving may be said to
+begin within gunshot of the capital, and to attain its culminating
+excellences on the confines of Tartary. The difference is only in
+degree between the higher and the lower grades of officers. Hence,
+although it is quite possible to obtain full reparation for an injury
+before the Czar, through the intervention of a consul or a minister,
+it is a vexatious and expensive mode of proceeding, and would only
+result at last in the transportation of some miserable wretch to the
+mines of Siberia. Of course no man with a spark of feeling would like
+to see a poor fellow-creature go there. For my part, I would rather
+suffer any amount of injustice than be the cause of sending a
+fellow-mortal on so long and dreary a journey.
+
+The whole bearing of which you will presently discover. I am going to
+tell you a very singular adventure that befell me in Moscow. Do not be
+impatient; it will all come in due time. A few dashes of preliminary
+description will be necessary, by way of introduction, otherwise it
+would be impossible to comprehend the full scope and purpose of my
+narrative. If you be of the rougher mould, cherished reader, just cast
+yourself back somewhere at your ease, take this most excellently
+printed book deftly between your fingers, with a good cigar between
+your teeth; throw your legs over your desk, a gunny-bag, a fence-rail,
+or the mantel-piece of the bar-room, as the case may be; give me the
+benefit of your friendship and confidence, and read away at your
+leisure. But if you be one of those gentle beings placed upon earth to
+diffuse joy and happiness over the desert of life, I pray you
+consider me a serf at your imperial foot-stool; bend on me those
+tender eyes; and with the mingled respect and admiration due by all
+men to female loveliness, I shall proceed at once to tell you
+(confidentially of course)
+
+
+A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE
+
+It so happened in Moscow that I fell in with a very pleasant and
+sociable party of Americans, several of whom were in the railway
+service, and therefore might reasonably be regarded as fast young
+gentlemen, though far be it from me to imply any thing injurious to
+their reputation. Beyond an excessive passion for tea, acquired by
+long residence in Moscow, I do not know that a single one of them was
+at all dissipated. When I first called at the rooms of these lively
+countrymen, they immediately got out their tea-urns, and assured me
+that it would be impossible to comprehend any thing of Russian life
+till I had partaken freely of Russian tea, therefore I was obliged to
+drink five or six glasses by way of a beginning. Having freely
+discussed the affairs of the American nation at one room, we adjourned
+to another, where we had a fresh supply of tea; and then, after
+settling the rebellion to our common satisfaction, adjourned to
+another, and so on throughout the best part of the day. Sometimes we
+stopped in at a _traktir_ and had a portion or two, dashed with a
+little Cognac, which my friends assured me would prevent it from
+having any injurious effect upon the nervous system. In this way,
+within a period of twelve hours, owing to the kindness and hospitality
+of these agreeable Americans, who insisted upon treating me to tea, in
+public and in private, at every turn of our rambles, I must have
+swallowed a gallon or two of this delicious beverage. The weather was
+exceedingly warm, but these experienced gentlemen insisted upon it
+that Russian tea was a sovereign antidote for warm weather, especially
+when dashed with Cognac, as it drove all the caloric out of the body
+through the pores of the skin. "Don't be afraid!" said they,
+encouragingly; "drink just as much as you please--it will cool you!
+See how the Russians drink it. Nothing else enables them to stand
+these fiery hot summers after their polar winters!" Well, I didn't
+feel exactly cool, with thirty or forty tumblers of boiling hot tea,
+dashed with Cognac, in my veins, but what was the use of
+remonstrating? They _lived_ in Moscow--they _knew_ better than I did
+what was good for strangers--so I kept on swallowing a little more,
+just to oblige them, till I verily believe, had any body stuck a pin
+in me, or had I undertaken to make a speech, I would have spouted
+Russian tea.
+
+Why is it that the moment any body wants to render you a service, or
+manifest some token of friendship, he commences by striking at the
+very root of your digestive functions? Is it not exacting a little too
+much of human nature to require a man to consider himself a large
+sponge, in order that hospitality may be poured into him by the
+gallon? When a person of pliant and amiable disposition visits a set
+of good fellows, and they take some trouble to entertain him; when
+they think they are delighting him internally and externally--not to
+say infernally--with such tea as he never drank before, it is hard to
+refuse. The moral courage necessary for the peremptory rejection of
+such advances would make a hero. Thus it has ever been with me--I am
+the victim of misplaced hospitality. It has been the besetting trouble
+of my life. I remember once eating a Nantucket pudding to oblige a
+lady. It was made of corn-meal and molasses, with some diabolical
+compound in the way of sauce--possibly whale-oil and tar. I had just
+eaten a hearty dinner; but the lady insisted upon it that the pudding
+was a great dish in Nantucket, and I must try it. Well, I stuffed and
+gagged at it, out of pure politeness, till every morsel on the plate
+was gone, declaring all the time that it was perfectly delicious. The
+lady was charmed, and, in the face of every denial, instantly filled
+the plate again. What could I do but eat it? And after eating till I
+verily believe one half of me was composed of Nantucket pudding, and
+the other half of whale-oil and tar, what could I do but praise it
+again? The third attempt upon my life was made by this most excellent
+and hospitable lady; but I gave way, and had to beg off. Human nature
+could stand it no longer. The consequence was, I wounded her feelings.
+She regretted very much that I disliked Nantucket pudding, and I don't
+think ever quite forgave me for my prejudice against that article of
+diet, though her kindness laid me up sick for two weeks. Nor is this
+an isolated case. I might relate a thousand others in illustration of
+the melancholy fact that hospitality has been the bane of my life.
+When I think of all the sufferings I have endured out of mere
+politeness--though by no means accounted a polite person--tears of
+grief and indignation spring to my eyes. Old John Rogers at the stake
+never suffered such martyrdom. But there is an end of it! The _tchai_
+of Moscow finished all this sort of thing--so far, at least, as the
+male sex is concerned. I would still eat a coyote or a weasel to
+oblige a lady, but as to drinking two gallons of strong tea per day,
+dashed with Cognac to reduce its temperature, to oblige any man that
+ever wore a beard, I solemnly declare I'll die first. The thing is an
+imposition--an outrage. Every man has a right to my time, my purse, my
+real estate in Oakland, my coat, my boots, or my razor--nay, in a case
+of emergency, my tooth-brush--but no man has a right to deluge my
+diaphragm with slops, or make a ditch of Mundus of my stomach.
+
+ [Illustration: EFFECTS OF "LITTLE WATER."]
+
+At the Peterskoi Gardens we had a little more tea, dashed with
+_vodka_, to keep out the night air. As soon as the fire-works were
+over we adjourned to the pavilion, and refreshed ourselves with a
+little more tea slightly impregnated with some more _vodka_. Now I
+don't know exactly what this vodka is made of, but I believe it is an
+extract of corn. In the Russian language _voda_ is water, and _vodka_
+means "little water." There certainly was very little in what we got,
+or the tea must have been stronger than usual, for, notwithstanding
+these agreeable young gentlemen protested a gallon of such stuff would
+not produce the slightest effect, it seemed to me--though there might
+have been some delusion in the idea, arising from ignorance of Russian
+customs--that my head went round like a whirligig; and by the time I
+took my leave of these experienced young friends and retired to my
+room at the _Hotel de Venise_, it did likewise occur to me--though
+that too may have been a mere notion--that there was a hive of bees in
+each ear. Upon due consideration of all the facts, I thought it best
+to turn in, and resume any inquiries that might be necessary for the
+elucidation of these phenomena in the morning.
+
+[Here, you perceive, I am gradually verging toward the adventure. The
+heroine of the romance has not yet made her appearance, but depend
+upon it she is getting ready. You should never hurry the female
+characters; besides, it is not proper, even if this were all fiction
+instead of sober truth, that the heroine should be brought upon the
+stage just as the hero is tumbling into bed.]
+
+But to proceed. Sleep was effectually banished from my eyes, and no
+wonder. Who in the name of sense could sleep with forty tumblers of
+Russian tea--to say nothing of the dashes that were put in
+it--simmering through every nook and cranny of his body, and boiling
+over in his head? There I lay, twisting and tumbling, the pillow
+continually descending into the depths of infinity, but never getting
+any where--the bed rolling like a dismantled hulk upon a stormy
+sea--the room filled with steaming and hissing urns--a fearful thirst
+parching my throat, while myriads of horrid bearded Russians were
+torturing me with tumblers of boiling-hot tea dashed with
+_vodka_--thus I lay a perfect victim of tea. I could even see Chinamen
+with long queues picking tea-leaves off endless varieties of shrubs
+that grew upon the papered walls; and Kalmuck Tartars, with their long
+caravans, traversing the dreary steppes of Tartary laden with
+inexhaustible burdens of the precious leaf; and the great fair of
+Nijni Novgorod, with its booths, and tents, and countless boxes of
+tea, and busy throngs of traders and tea-merchants, all passing like a
+panorama before me, and all growing naturally out of an indefinite
+background of tea.
+
+I can not distinctly remember how long I tossed about in this way,
+beset by all sorts of vagaries. Sometimes I fancied sleep had come,
+and that the whole matter was a ridiculous freak of fancy, including
+my visit to Moscow--that Russian tea was all a fiction, and _vodka_ a
+mere nightmare; but with a nervous start I would find myself awake,
+the palpable reality of my extraordinary condition staring me in the
+face. Unable to endure such an anomalous frame of mind and body any
+longer, I at length resolved to go down and take an airing in the
+streets, believing, if any thing would have a beneficial effect, it
+would be the fresh air. Acting upon this idea, I hastily dressed
+myself and descended to the front door. The _Hotel de Venise_ is
+situated in a central part of the city, at no great distance from the
+Kremlin. It stands back in a large open yard, with a very pretty
+garden to the right as you enter from the main street. The proprietor
+is a Russian, but the hotel is conducted in the French style, and,
+although not more conspicuous for cleanliness than other
+establishments of the same class in Moscow, it is nevertheless
+tolerably free from vermin. The fleas in it were certainly neither so
+lively nor so entertaining as I have found them at many of the Spanish
+ranches in California, and the bugs, I am sure, are nothing like so
+corpulent as some I have seen in Washington City. I throw this in
+gratis, as a sort of puff, in consideration of an understanding with
+the landlord, that if he would refrain from cheating me I would
+recommend his hotel to American travelers. It is very good of its
+kind, and no person fond of veal, as a standard dish, can suffer from
+hunger at this establishment so long as calves continue to be born any
+where in the neighborhood of Moscow.
+
+The porter, a drowsy old fellow in livery, whose only business, so far
+as I could discover, was to bow to the guests as they passed in and
+out during the day, at the expense of a kopek to each one of them for
+every bow, napping on a lounge close by the front door. Hearing my
+footsteps, he awoke, rubbed his eyes, bowed habitually, and then
+stared at me with a vacant and somewhat startled expression. It was
+not a common thing evidently for lodgers to go out of the hotel at
+that time of night, or rather morning--it must have been nearly two
+o'clock--for, after gazing a while at what he doubtless took to be an
+apparition or an absconding boarder whose bill had not been settled,
+he grumbled out something like a dissent, and stood between me and the
+door. A small fee of ten kopeks, which I placed in his hand, aided him
+in grasping at the mysteries of the case, and he unlocked the door and
+let me out, merely shaking his head gravely, as if he divined my
+purpose, but did not altogether approve of it in one of my age and
+sedate appearance. In that, however, he was mistaken: I had no
+disposition to form any tender alliances in Moscow.
+
+ [Illustration: RUSSIAN BEGGARS.]
+
+The streets were almost deserted. An occasional drosky, carrying home
+some belated pleasure-seeker, was all that disturbed the silence. I
+walked some distance in the direction of the Kremlin. The air was
+deliciously cool and refreshing, and the sky wore a still richer glow
+than I had noticed a few hours before at the gardens of the Peterskoi.
+The moon had not yet gone down, but the first glowing blushes of the
+early morning were stealing over the heavens, mingled with its silvery
+light. I took off my hat to enjoy the fresh air, and wandered along
+quite enchanted with the richness and variety of the scene. Every turn
+of the silent streets brought me in view of some gilded pile of
+cupolas, standing in glowing relief against the sky. Churches of
+strange Asiatic form, the domes richly and fancifully colored; golden
+stars glittering upon a groundwork of blue, green, or yellow; shrines
+with burning tapers over the massive doors and gateways, were
+scattered in every direction in the most beautiful profusion.
+Sometimes I saw a solitary beggar kneeling devoutly before some gilded
+saint, and mourning over the weariness of life. Once I was startled
+by the apparition of a poor wretch lying asleep--I thought he was
+dead--a crippled wreck upon the stone steps--his eyes closed in brief
+oblivion of the world and its sorrows, his furrowed and pallid
+features a ghastly commentary upon the glittering temples and idols
+that surround him. For above all these things that are "decked with
+silver and with gold, and fastened with nails and with hammers that
+they move not," there is One who hath "made the earth by His power and
+established the world by His wisdom;" man is but brutish in his
+knowledge; "every founder is confounded by the graven image; for his
+molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them." Such
+extremes every where abound in Moscow--magnificence and filth; wealth
+and poverty; a superstitious belief in the power of images in the
+midst of abject proofs of their impotence. And yet, is it not better
+that men should believe in something rather than in nothing? The
+glittering idol can not touch the crippled beggar and put health and
+strength in his limbs, but if the poor sufferer can sleep better upon
+the cold stones in the presence of his patron saint than elsewhere, in
+charity's name let him,
+
+ "O'erlabored with his being's strife
+ Shrink to that sweet forgetfulness of life."
+
+I wandered on. Soon the cupolas of the mighty Kremlin were in sight,
+all aglow with the bright sheen of the morn. Passing along its
+embattled walls, which now seemed of snowy whiteness, I reached the
+grand plaza of the Krasnoi Ploschod. Standing out in the open space, I
+gazed at the wondrous pile of gold-covered domes till my eyes rested
+on the highest point--the majestic tower of Ivan Veliki. And then I
+could but think of the terrible Czar--the fourth of the fierce race of
+Ivans, who ruled the destinies of Russia; he who killed his own son in
+a fit of rage, yet never shook hands with a foreign embassador without
+washing his own immediately after; the patron of monasteries, and the
+conqueror of Kazan, Astrakan, and Siberia. This was the most cruel yet
+most enlightened of his name. I am not sure whether the tower was
+built to commemorate his fame or that of his grandfather, Ivan the
+Third, also called "the Terrible," of whom Karasmin says that, "when
+excited with anger, his glance would make a timid woman swoon; that
+petitioners dreaded to approach his throne, and that even at his table
+the boyars, his grandees, trembled before him." A terrible fellow, no
+doubt, and thoroughly Russian by the testimony of this Russian
+historian, for where else will you find men so terrible as to make
+timid women swoon by a single glance of their eye? Not in California,
+surely! If I were a Czar this soft summer night (such was the idea
+that naturally occurred to me), I would gaze upon the fair flowers of
+creation with an entirely different expression of countenance. They
+should neither wilt nor swoon unless overcome by the delicacy and
+tenderness of my admiration.
+
+From the green towers of the Holy Gate, where neither Czar nor serf
+can enter without uncovering his head, I turned toward the Vassoli
+Blagennoi--the wondrous maze of churches that gathers around the
+Cathedral of St. Basil. Not in all Moscow is there a sight so strange
+and gorgeous as this. The globular domes, all striped with the varied
+colors of the rainbow; the glittering gold-gilt cupolas; the rare and
+fanciful minarets; the shrines, and crosses, and stars; the massive
+steps; the iron railing, with shining gold-capped points--surely, in
+the combination of striking and picturesque forms and colors, lights
+and shades, must ever remain unequaled. The comparison may seem
+frivolous, yet it resembled more, to my eye, some gigantic cactus of
+the tropics, with its needles and rich colors, its round, prickly
+domes and fantastic cupolas, than any thing I had ever seen before in
+the shape of a church or group of churches. While I gazed in wonder at
+the strange fabric, I could not but think again of Ivan the Terrible;
+by whose order it was built; and how, when the architect (an Italian)
+was brought before him, trembling with awe, the mighty Ivan expressed
+his approval of the performance, and demanded if he, the architect,
+could build another equally strange and beautiful; to which the poor
+Italian, elated with joy, answered that he could build another even
+stranger and more beautiful than this; and then how the ferocious and
+unprincipled Czar had the poor fellow's eyes put out to prevent him
+from building another.
+
+But this is not the adventure. I have nothing to do at present with
+the Church of St. Basil or Ivan the Terrible except in so far as they
+affected my imagination. The business on hand is to tell you how the
+dire catastrophe happened.
+
+Bewildered at length with gazing at all these wonderful sights, I
+turned to retrace my steps to the hotel. A few droskies were still
+plying on the principal thoroughfares, and now and then I met gay
+parties trudging homeward after their night's dissipation; but I soon
+struck into the less frequented streets, where a dreary silence
+reigned. There was something very sad and solitary in the
+reverberation of my footsteps. For the first time it occurred to me
+that there was not much security here for life, in case of a covert
+attack from some of those footpads said to infest the city. I began to
+reflect upon the experience of my young American friend, and regret
+that it had not occurred to me before I left the hotel. You may think
+this very weak and foolish, good friends, surrounded as you are by all
+the safeguards of law and order, and living in a country where men are
+never knocked on the head of nights--with occasional exceptions; but I
+can assure you it is a very natural feeling in a strange,
+half-barbarous city like Moscow, where one doesn't understand the
+language. Had I been well versed in Russian, the probability is I
+should not have felt the least alarmed; but a man experiences a
+terrible sensation of loneliness when he expects every moment to be
+knocked on the head without being able to say a word in his own
+defense. Had my guide, Dominico, been with me, I should not have felt
+quite so helpless--though I never had much confidence in his
+courage--for he could at least have demanded an explanation, or, if
+the worst came to the worst, helped me to run away. The fact is--and
+there is no use attempting to disguise it--I began to feel a nervous
+apprehension that something was going to happen. I was startled at my
+own shadow, and was even afraid to whistle with any view of keeping up
+my spirits, lest something unusually florid in my style of whistling
+might lead to the supposition that I was from California, and
+therefore a good subject for robbery.
+
+Which, by the way, puts me in mind of a remarkable fact, well worth
+mentioning. The State of California owes me, at the least calculation,
+two hundred dollars, paid in sums varying from six kreutzers up to a
+pound sterling to hotel-keepers, porters, lackeys, and professional
+gentlemen throughout Europe, exclusively on the ground of my
+citizenship in that state. In Paris--in Spain--in Africa--in Germany
+(with the exceptions of the beer-houses and country inns), I had to
+pay a heavy percentage upon the capital invested in my gold mines
+solely on the presumption that no man could come from so rich a
+country without carrying off a good deal of treasure on his person,
+like the carcass that carried the diamonds out of the rich valley for
+Sinbad the Sailor. Yet I never could forego the pleasure of announcing
+myself as an embassador to foreign parts from that noble state,
+commissioned by the sovereigns generally to furnish them with the
+latest improvements in morals, fashions, and manners for the public
+benefit--an extremely onerous and responsible duty, which I have
+executed, and shall continue to execute, with the most rigid fidelity.
+
+After walking quite far enough to have reached the hotel, I became
+confused at the winding of the streets. The neighborhood was strange.
+I could not discover any familiar sign or object. The houses were low,
+mean, and dark looking; the street was narrow and roughly paved. I
+walked a little farther, then turned into another street still more
+obscure, and, following that for some distance, brought up amid a pile
+of ruined walls. There could no longer be a doubt that I had missed
+the way, and was not likely to find it in this direction. It was a
+very suspicious quarter into which I had strayed. Every thing about it
+betokened poverty and crime. I began to feel rather uneasy, but it
+would not do to stand here among the ruins as a mark for any midnight
+prowler who might be lurking around. Turning off in a new direction, I
+took a by-street, which appeared to lead to an open space. As I picked
+my way over the masses of rubbish, a dark figure crossed in front, and
+disappeared in the shadow of a wall. I was entirely unarmed. What was
+to be done? Perhaps the man might be able to tell me the way to my
+lodgings; but I could not speak a word of Russian, as before stated,
+and, besides, was rather averse to making acquaintance with strangers.
+After a moment's reflection, I walked on, cautiously and distrustfully
+enough, for the notion was uppermost in my mind that this fellow was
+not there for any good purpose. As I passed the spot where he had
+disappeared, I looked suspiciously around, but he did not make his
+appearance. With a few hasty strides I readied the open space--a
+vacant lot, it seemed, caused by a recent fire. The houses were burnt
+down, and nothing but a blackened mass of beams, rafters, and ashes
+covered the ground. The only exit was through a narrow alley. Before
+entering this, I looked back and saw the same figure stealthily
+following me. On I went as rapidly as I could walk. Closer and closer
+came the figure. He was a man of gigantic stature, and was probably
+armed. Soon I heard the heavy tramp of his feet within a few paces. It
+was evident I must either run or stand my ground. Perhaps, if I had
+known what direction to take, or could have placed more reliance upon
+my knees, which were greatly weakened by tea, I might have chosen the
+former alternative, inglorious as it may seem; but, under the
+circumstances, I resolved to stand. Facing around suddenly, with my
+back to the wall, I called to the ruffian to stand off, as he valued
+his life. He halted within a few feet, evidently a little disconcerted
+at my sudden determination to make battle. His face was the most
+brutal I had over seen; a filthy mass of beard nearly covered it; two
+piercing white eyes glistened beneath the leaf of his greasy cap; a
+coarse blouse, gathered around the waist by a leather belt, and boots
+that reached nearly to his hips, were the most striking articles of
+his costume. For a moment he gazed at me, as if uncertain what to do;
+then brushed slowly past, with the design, no doubt, of ascertaining
+if I was armed. I could not see whether he carried any deadly weapons
+himself; but a man of his gigantic stature needed none to be a very
+unequal opponent in a struggle with one whose most sanguinary
+conflicts had hitherto been on paper, and who had never wielded a
+heavier weapon than a pen.
+
+Proceeding on his way, however, the ruffian, after going about a
+hundred yards, disappeared in some dark recess in among the houses on
+one side. I continued on, taking care to keep in the middle of the
+alley. As I approached the spot where the man had disappeared, I heard
+several voices, and then the terrible truth flashed upon me that there
+must be a gang of them. I now saw no alternative but to turn back and
+run for my life. It was an inglorious thing to do, no doubt, but which
+of you, my friends, would not have done the same thing?
+
+ [Illustration: GAMBLING SALOON.]
+
+Scarcely had I started under full headway when three or four men
+rushed out in pursuit. I will not attempt to disguise the fact that
+the ground passed under my feet pretty rapidly; and the probability
+is, the hostile party would have been distanced in less than ten
+minutes but for an unfortunate accident. It was necessary to cross the
+ruins already described. Here, in the recklessness of my flight, I
+stumbled over a beam, and fell prostrate in a pile of ashes. Before I
+could regain my feet the ruffians were upon me. While two of them held
+my arms, the third clapped his dirty hand over my mouth, and in this
+way they dragged me back into the alley. As soon as they had reached
+the dark archway from which they had originally started, they knocked
+at a door on one side. This was quickly opened, and I was thrust into
+a large room, dimly lighted with rude lamps of grease hung upon the
+walls. When they first got hold of me, I confess the sensation was not
+pleasant. What would the Emperor Alexander say when he heard that a
+citizen of California had been murdered in this cold-blooded manner?
+My next thought was, in what terms would this sad affair be noticed in
+the columns of the Sacramento _Union_? Would it not be regarded by the
+editor as an unprovoked disaster inflicted upon society? My fears,
+however, were somewhat dispelled upon looking around the saloon into
+which I had been so strangely introduced. Several tables were ranged
+along the walls, at each of which sat a group of the most
+horrible-looking savages that probably ever were seen out of jail--the
+very dregs and offscourings of Moscow. Their faces were mostly covered
+with coarse, greasy beards, reaching half way down their bodies; some
+wore dirty blue or gray blouses, tied around the waist with ropes, or
+fastened with leather belts; others, long blue coats, reaching nearly
+to their feet; and all, or nearly all, had caps on their heads, and
+great heavy boots reaching up to their knees, in which their
+pantaloons were thrust, giving them a rakish and ruffianly appearance.
+A few sat in their shirt-sleeves; and, judging by the color of their
+shirts, as well as their skins, did not reckon soap among the luxuries
+of life. Several of these savage-looking Mujiks were smoking some
+abominable weed, intended, perhaps, for tobacco, but very much unlike
+that delightful narcotic in the foul and tainted odor which it
+diffused over the room. They were all filthy and brutish in the
+extreme, and talked in some wretched jargon, which, even to my
+inexperienced ear, had but little of the gentle flow of the Russian in
+it. The tables were dotted with dice, cards, fragments of black bread,
+plates of grease, and cabbage soup, and glasses of vodka and tea; and
+the business of gambling, eating, and drinking was carried on with
+such earnestness that my entrance attracted no farther attention than
+a rude stare from the nearest group. No wonder they were a little
+puzzled, for I was covered with ashes, and must have presented rather
+a singular appearance. The three ruffians who had brought me in closed
+the door, and motioned me to a seat at a vacant table. They then
+called for tea, vodka, and quass, together with a great dish of raw
+cucumbers, which they set to work devouring with amazing voracity.
+During a pause in the feast they held a low conversation with the man
+who served them, who went out and presently returned with a small
+tea-pot full of tea and a glass, which he set before me. They motioned
+to me, in rather a friendly way, to drink. I was parched with thirst,
+and was not sorry to get a draught of any thing--even the villainous
+compound the traktir had set before me; so I drank off a tumblerfull
+at once. Soon I began to experience a whirling sensation in the head.
+A cold tremor ran through my limbs. Dim and confused visions of the
+company rose before me, and a strange and spectral light seemed shed
+over the room. The murmur of voices sounded like rushing waters in my
+ears. I gradually lost all power of volition, while my consciousness
+remained unimpaired, or, if any thing, became more acute than ever.
+The guests, if such they were, broke up their carousal about this
+time, and began to drop off one by one, each bowing profoundly to the
+landlord, and crossing himself devoutly, and bowing three times again
+before the shrine of the patron saint as he passed out. It was really
+marvelous to see some of these ruffians, so besotted with strong drink
+that they were scarcely able to see the way to the door, stagger up
+before the burnished shrine, and, steadying themselves the best they
+could, gravely and solemnly go through their devotions.
+
+But I see you are beginning to yawn, and, notwithstanding the most
+exciting part of the adventure is about to commence, it would be
+extremely injudicious in me to force it upon you under circumstances
+so disadvantageous to both parties. You will therefore oblige me by
+finishing your nap, and, with your permission, we will proceed with
+our narrative as soon as it may be mutually agreeable. In the mean
+time, I beg you will regard what I have already told you as strictly
+confidential. My reputation, both for veracity and general good
+character, is involved in this very extraordinary affair, and it would
+be unfair that either the one or the other should be prejudiced by a
+partial exposition of the facts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE DENOUEMENT.
+
+
+I noticed that the traktir, in settling accounts with his customers,
+made use of a peculiar instrument commonly seen in the shops and
+market-places throughout the city. Behind a sort of bar or counter at
+the head of the room he kept what is called a _schot_, upon which he
+made his calculations. This is a frame about a foot square, across
+which run numerous wires. On each wire is a string of colored pieces
+of wood somewhat resembling billiard-counters, only smaller. The
+merchant, trader, traktir, or craftsman engaged in pecuniary
+transactions uses this instrument with wonderful dexterity in making
+his calculations. He believes it to be the only thing in the world
+that will not lie or steal. If you have purchased to the amount of
+thirty kopeks, you would naturally conclude that out of a ruble (one
+hundred kopeks) your change would amount to seventy. Not so the
+sagacious and wary Russian. He takes nothing for granted in the way of
+trade. Your calculations may be erroneous--figures obtained through
+the medium of mental arithmetic may lie, but the schot never. The
+experience of a lifetime goes for nothing. He must have proof
+positive. Taking his schot between his knees, he counts off thirty
+balls out of a hundred. Of course there is no mistake about that.
+Neither you nor he can dispute it. Then he counts the remainder, and
+finds that it amounts to seventy--therefore your change is seventy
+kopeks! Do you dispute it? Then you can count for yourself. You might
+cover pages with written calculations, or demonstrate the problem by
+the four cardinal rules of arithmetic; you might express the numbers
+by sticks, stones, beans, or grains of coffee, but it would be all
+the same to this astute and cautious calculator--facts can only reach
+his understanding through the colored balls of his beloved schot. I
+don't think he would rely with certainty upon the loose verbal
+statement that two and two make four without resorting to the schot
+for a verification. But to proceed:
+
+A few of the guests, too far gone with "little water" to get up and
+perform their devotions, rolled over on the floor and went to sleep.
+The lights grew dim. A gloomy silence began to settle over the room,
+interrupted only by the occasional grunting or snoring of the
+sleepers. The ruffians who sat at the table with me had been nodding
+for some time; but, roused by the cessation of noises, they called to
+the man of the house, and in a low voice gave him some orders. He got
+a light and opened a small door in a recess at one side of the room. I
+was then lifted up by the others and carried into an adjoining
+passage, and thence up a narrow stairway. In a large dingy room
+overhead I could see by the flickering rays of the lamp a bed in one
+corner. It was not very clean--none of the Russian beds are--but they
+laid me in it, nevertheless, for I could offer no remonstrance. What
+they had hitherto done was bad enough, but this capped the climax of
+outrages. Were the cowardly villains afraid to murder me, and was this
+their plan of getting it done, and at the same time getting rid of the
+body? Great heavens! was I to be devoured piecemeal by a rapacious
+horde of the wild beasts that are said to infest the Russian beds! And
+utterly helpless, too, without the power to grapple with as much as a
+single flea--the least formidable, perhaps, of the entire gang! It was
+absolutely fearful to contemplate such an act of premeditated
+barbarity; yet what could I do, unable to speak a word or move a limb.
+
+I am reminded by this that the Russians derive the most striking
+features of their civilization from the French and Germans. Their
+fashions, their tailors, their confectioners, their perfumeries, their
+barbers, are nearly all French or Germans; but their baths are a
+national institution, derived originally, perhaps, from the Orientals.
+We hear a good deal of Russian baths, especially from enthusiastic
+travelers, and are apt to suppose that where such a thorough system of
+scrubbing and boiling prevails, the human cuticle must present a very
+extraordinary aspect of cleanliness. Perhaps this is so in certain
+cases, but it is not a national characteristic. A Russian bath, in the
+genuine style, is rather a costly luxury. There are, to be sure, in
+St. Petersburg and Moscow, public bath-houses for the rabble, where
+the filthiest beggar can be boiled out and scrubbed for a few kopeks;
+but people who wear a coating of dirt habitually must become attached
+to it in the course of time, and hate very much to dispose of it at
+any price. At least there seemed to be a prejudice of this kind in
+Moscow, where the affection with which this sort of overlining is
+preserved is quite equal to that with which the Germans adhere to
+their old household furniture. It may be, perhaps, that the few summer
+months which they enjoy are insufficient for the removal of all the
+strange things that accumulate upon the body during the long winters.
+The poorer classes seldom remove their furs or change their clothing
+till warm weather and the natural wear and tear of all perishable
+things cause them to drop off of their own accord. I have seen on a
+scorching hot day men wrapped in long woolen coats, doubled over the
+breast and securely fastened around the waist, and great boots,
+capacious enough and thick enough for fire-buckets, in which they were
+half buried, strolling lazily along in the sun, as if they absolutely
+enjoyed its warmth; and yet these very articles of clothing, with but
+little addition, must have borne the piercing winds of midwinter. A
+suspicion crossed my mind that they were trying in this way to bag a
+little heat for winter use, as the old burghers of Schilda bagged the
+light to put in their town hall because they had no windows. These
+strange habits must have something to do with the number of ferocious
+little animals--I will not degrade their breed and variety by calling
+them, vermin--which infest the rooms and beds. But the Russian skin is
+like Russian leather--the best and toughest in the world. Something in
+the climate is good for the production of thick and lasting cuticles.
+It is doubtless a wise provision of nature, based upon the extremes of
+heat and cold to which these people are exposed. There is no good
+reason why animals with four feet should be more favored in this
+respect than bipeds. I doubt if an ordinary Russian would suffer the
+slightest inconvenience if a needle were run into the small of his
+back. All those physical torments which disturb thin-skinned people
+from other countries are no torments at all to him; and I incline to
+the opinion that it is the constant experience he enjoys in a small
+way that enables him to endure the wounds received in battle with such
+wonderful stoicism. A man can carry a bull if he only commences when
+the animal is young. Why not, on the same principle, accustom himself
+to being stabbed every night till he can quietly endure to be run
+through with a bayonet? The Russian soldiers possess wonderful powers
+of passive endurance. Being stabbed or cut to pieces is second nature
+to them--they have been accustomed to it, in a degree, from early
+infancy. Who does not remember how they were hewed and hacked down in
+the Crimean War, and yet came to life again by thousands after they
+were given up for dead? Perhaps no other soldiers in the world possess
+such stoicism under the inflictions of pain. They stand an enormous
+amount of killing; more so, I think, than any other people, unless it
+may be the Irish, who, at the battle of Vinegar Hill, in the rebellion
+of '98, were nearly all cut to pieces and left for dead on the field,
+but got up in a day or two after and went at it again as lively as
+ever. This, however, was not owing to the same early experience, but
+to the healthy blood made of potatoes, with a slight sprinkling of
+Irish whisky. In fine, I don't think a genuine Muscovite could sleep
+without a bountiful supply of vermin to titillate his skin any more
+than a miller bereft of the customary noise of his hoppers.
+
+Which brings me back again to the adventure. On that filthy bed the
+ruffians laid me down to be devoured by the wild beasts by which it
+was infested. Then they turned about to a shrine that stood in a
+corner of the room, and each one bowed down before it three times and
+crossed himself, after which they all left the room and quietly closed
+the door behind them. I was penetrated with horror at the thought of
+the terrible death before me, but not so much as to avoid noticing
+that the chief furniture of the room consisted of a stove in one
+corner, of cylindrical form, made of terra-cotta or burnt clay, and
+glazed outside. It was colored in rather a fanciful way, like
+queensware, and made a conspicuous appearance, reaching from the floor
+to the ceiling. This was the genuine Russian stove, with which these
+people no doubt kept themselves warm during the winter. The windows
+are composed of double glasses, and between the sashes the space is
+filled with sand to keep out the air, so that to be hermetically
+sealed up is one of necessities of existence in this rigorous climate.
+While I was pondering over the marvelous fact that people can live by
+breathing so many thousand gallons of air over and over so many
+thousand times, a whole legion of fleas, chinches, and other animals
+of a still more forbidding aspect commenced their horrid work, and
+would probably soon have made an end of me but for a new turn in this
+most extraordinary affair. The door gently opened. A figure glided in
+on tiptoe. It was that of a female, I knew by the grace and elegance
+of her motions, even before I could see her face or trace the
+undulating outline of her form in the dim light that pervaded the
+room. My senses were acutely alive to every movement, yet I was
+utterly unable to move, owing to the infernal drug with which they had
+dosed me. The woman, or rather girl--for she could not have been over
+eighteen or nineteen--cautiously approached the bed, with her finger
+to her lips, as if warning me not to speak. She was very beautiful--I
+was not insensible to that fact. Her features were wonderfully
+aristocratic for one in her position, and there was something in the
+expression of her dark, gleaming eyes peculiarly earnest and pathetic.
+Her hair was tossed wildly and carelessly back over her shoulders--she
+had evidently just risen from bed, for her costume consisted of
+nothing more than a loose night-wrapper, which fell in graceful folds
+around her limbs, revealing to great advantage the exquisite symmetry
+of her form. I was certain she did not belong to the house.
+Approaching timidly, yet with a certain air of determination, she bent
+down and gazed a moment in my face, and then hurriedly whispered in
+French, "Now is the time--let us escape! They lie sleeping by the
+door. A servant whom I bribed has disclosed the fact of your capture
+to me; I also am a prisoner in this horrid den. Will you save me? Oh,
+will you fly with me?" Of course, being unable to move a muscle,
+except those of my eyes, I could not open my mouth to utter a word in
+reply. The unhappy young woman looked profoundly distressed that I
+should thus gaze at her in silence. "Oh, what am I to do? Who will
+save me?" she cried, wringing her hands in the deepest anguish: "I
+have not a friend upon earth!" Then, clasping me by the hand, she
+looked in my face appealingly, and said, "Monsieur, I know you are a
+Frenchman. I see it in the chivalrous lines of your countenance. Ah!
+have pity on a friendless young girl, and do not gaze at her with such
+chilling indifference. I also am French. These wretches have waylaid
+and imprisoned me, and they hope to obtain a ransom by my detention.
+My friends are ignorant of my miserable fate. What can I do, monsieur,
+unless you assist me?"
+
+Utterly helpless--drugged--yet perfectly conscious of all the lovely
+creature was saying, I was truly in a most deplorable situation. Again
+and again she begged me, if there was a spark of French chivalry left
+in my nature, not to respond to her appeals by such a look of
+unutterable disdain. She was thrillingly beautiful; and beauty in
+tears is enough to melt the hardest heart that ever was put in the
+breast of man. I could feel her balmy breath upon my face, and the
+warmth of her delicate hand in mine, as she struggled to arouse me;
+and I declare it is my honest conviction that, had I been simply a
+corpse, life would have come back to my assistance; but this
+diabolical drug possessed some extraordinary power against which not
+even the fascinations of beauty could successfully contend. Under
+other circumstances, indeed, there is no telling--but why talk of
+other circumstances? There I lay like a log, completely paralyzed from
+head to foot. At length, unable to elicit an answer, a flush of
+mingled indignation and scorn illuminated her beautiful features, and,
+drawing herself back with a haughty air, she said, "If this be the
+boasted chivalry of my countrymen, then the sooner it meets with a
+merited reward the better. Allow me to say, monsieur, that while I
+admire your prudence, I scorn the spirit that prompts it!" and, with a
+glance of fierce disdain, she swept with queenly strides out of the
+room. A moment after I heard some voices in the passage, and scarcely
+five minutes had elapsed before the door was opened again. To my
+horror I saw the ruffian who had first followed me enter stealthily
+with a darkened lantern, and approach toward my bed. He carried in his
+right hand a heavy bar of iron. Stopping a moment opposite a shrine on
+one side of the room, he laid down his lamp and bar, and, bowing down
+three times, crossed himself devoutly, and then proceeded to
+accomplish his fiendish work. No conception can be formed of the agony
+with which I now regarded my fate. Crouching low as he approached, the
+wretch soon reached my bedside, peered a moment into my face with his
+hideous white eyes, laid down the lamp, then grasped the bar of iron
+firmly in both hands, and raised himself up to his full height. I made
+a desperate effort to cry out for help. My voice was utterly gone. I
+could not even move my lips. But why prolong the dreadful scene? One
+more glance with the fierce white eyes, a deep grating malediction,
+and the ruffian braced himself for his deadly job. He tightened his
+grip upon the bar, swung it high over his head, and with one fell
+blow--DASHED MY BRAINS OUT!!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Don't believe it, eh?
+
+Well, sir, you would insist upon my telling you the adventure, and now
+I stand by it! If it be your deliberate opinion that my statement is
+not to be relied upon, nothing remains between us but to arrange the
+preliminaries. I have no disposition to deprive my publishers of a
+valuable contributor, or society of an ornament; but, sir, the great
+principles of truth must be maintained. As it will not be convenient
+for me to attend to this matter in person, you will be pleased to
+select any friend of mine in California who may desire to stand up for
+my honor; place him before you at the usual distance of ten paces;
+then name any friend of yours at present in Europe as a similar
+substitute for yourself--the principals only to use pistols--notify me
+by the Icelandic telegraph when you are ready, and then, upon return
+of signal, pop away at my friend. But, since it is not my wish to
+proceed to such an extremity unnecessarily, if you will admit that I
+may possibly have been deceived--that there may have been some
+hallucination about the adventure--that strong tea and nervous
+excitement may have had something to do with it, then, sir, I am
+willing to leave the matter open to future negotiation.
+
+It is true I found myself in my room at the _Hotel de Venise_ when I
+recovered from the stunning effects of the blow; also, that the door
+was locked on the inside; but I am by no means prepared to give up the
+point on such flimsy evidence as that. Should the physiological fact
+be developed in the course of these sketches that there is still any
+portion of the brain left, and that it performs its legitimate
+functions, of course I shall be forced to admit that the case is at
+least doubtful; yet even then it can not be regarded in the light of a
+pure fabrication. Has not Dickens given us, in his "Dreams of Venice,"
+the most vivid and truthful description of the City of the Sea ever
+written; and what have I done, at the worst, but try in my humble way
+to give you a general idea of Moscow in the pleasing form of a
+midnight adventure, ending in an assassination? You have seen the
+Kremlin and the Church of St. Basil, and the by-streets and alleys,
+and the interior of a low traktir, and the cats, and the Russian beds,
+and many other interesting features of this wonderful city, in a
+striking and peculiar point of view, and I hold that you have no right
+to complain because, like Louis Philippe, I sacrificed my crown for
+the benefit of my subject. Besides, has not my friend Bayard Taylor
+given to the world his wonderful experiences of the Hasheesh of
+Damascus; his varied and extraordinary hallucinations of intellect
+during the progress of its operations? And why should not I my humble
+experiences of the tchai of Moscow?
+
+_Reader._ Slightly sprinkled with _vodka_, or "the little water."
+
+Oh, that was just thrown in to give additional effect to the tea!
+
+_Reader._ It won't do, sir--it won't do! The deception was too
+transparent throughout.
+
+Well, then, since you saw through it from the beginning, there is no
+harm done, and you can readily afford to make an apology for impugning
+my voracity.
+
+_Lady Reader._ But who was the heroine? What became of her?
+
+Ah! my dear madam, there you have me! I suspect she was a French
+countess, or more likely an actress engaged in the line of tragedy.
+Her style, at all events, was tragical.
+
+_Lady Reader_ (elevating her lovely eyebrows superciliously). She was
+rather demonstrative, it must be admitted. You brought her in
+apparently to fulfill your promise, but sent her off the stage very
+suddenly. You should, at least, have restored her to her friends, and
+not left her in that den of robbers.
+
+That, dear madam, was my natural inclination; but the fact is, d'ye
+see, I was drugged--
+
+_Lady Reader_ (sarcastically). It won't do, Mr. Butterfield--your
+heroine was a failure! In future you had better confine yourself to
+facts--or fresh water.
+
+Madam, I'd confine myself to the Rock of Gibraltar or an iceberg to
+oblige you; therefore, with your permission, I shall proceed to give
+you, in my next, a reliable description of the Kremlin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE KREMLIN.
+
+
+Not the least of the evils resulting from this harum-scarum way of
+traveling and writing is the fact that one's impressions become sadly
+tumbled together and very soon lose their most salient failures. To be
+whirled about the world by land and sea, as I have been for the last
+year, is enough to turn one's brain into a curiosity shop. When I
+undertake to pick out of the pile of rubbish some picture that must
+have been originally worth a great deal of money, I find it so
+disfigured by the sheer force of friction that it looks no better than
+an old daub. The pity of it is, too, that the very best of my
+gatherings are apt to get lost or ruined; and sometimes it happens
+that when I varnish up what appears to be valuable it turns out not a
+groat. Want of method would ruin a Zingalee gipsy or a Bedouin Arab.
+No doubt you have already discovered to your sorrow that when we start
+on a visit to the Kremlin, it is no sure indication that we will not
+spend the day in the Riadi or the old-clothes market. If either you or
+I ever reach our destination, it will be by the sheerest accident. And
+yet one might as well undertake to see Rome without the Capitoline
+Hill, or Athena without the Acropolis, as Moscow without the Kremlin.
+We have had several glimpses of it, to be sure, in the course of our
+rambles, but you must admit that they were very vague and
+indefinite--especially the last, when, if you remember, we were
+laboring under some strange mental hallucination.
+
+The Kremlin has been fully described by many learned and accomplished
+travelers. Coxe, Atkinson, Kohl, and various others, have given
+elaborate accounts of it; yet why despair of presenting, in a homely
+way, some general idea of it, such as one might gather in the course
+of an afternoon's ramble? After reading all we find about it in books
+of travel, our conceptions are still vague and unsatisfactory.
+Probably the reason is, that minute details of history and
+architecture afford one but a very faint and inadequate idea of the
+appearance of any place. Like the pictures of old Dennen, they may
+give you every wrinkle with the accuracy of a daguerreotype, but they
+fail in the general effect, or resemble the corpse of the subject
+rather than the living reality. I must confess that all I had read on
+Russia previous to my visit afforded me a much less vivid idea of the
+actual appearance of the country, the people, or the principal cities,
+than the rough crayon sketches of Timm and Mitreuter, which I had seen
+in the shop windows of Paris. This may not be the fault of the
+writers, who, of course, are not bound to furnish their own eyes or
+their own understanding to other people, but it seems to me that
+elaborate detail is inimical to strong general impressions. I would
+not give two hours' personal observation of any place or city in the
+world for a hundred volumes of the best books of travel ever written
+upon it; and next to that comes the conversation of a friend who
+possesses, even in an ordinary degree, the faculty of conveying to
+another his own impressions. A word, a hint, a gesture, or some
+grotesque comparison, may give you a more vivid picture of the reality
+than you can obtain by a year's study. Now, if you will just consider
+me that friend, and resign yourself in a genial and confiding spirit
+to the trouble of listening; if you will fancy that I mean a great
+deal more than I say, and could be very learned and eloquent if I
+chose; if you will take it for granted that what you don't see is
+there nevertheless, the Kremlin will sooner or later loom out of the
+fogs of romance and mystery that surround it, and stand before you,
+with its embattled walls and towers, as it stood before me in the
+blaze of the noonday sun, when Dominico, the melancholy guide, led the
+way to the Holy Gate. You will then discover that the reality is quite
+wonderful enough in its natural aspect, without the colored spectacles
+of fancy or the rigid asperities of photographic detail to give it
+effect.
+
+Like many of the old cities of Europe, Moscow probably had its origin
+in the nucleus of a citadel built upon the highest point, and
+commanding an extensive sweep of the neighborhood. Around this houses
+gathered by degrees for protection against the invasions of the
+hostile tribes that roamed through Russia at an early period of its
+history. The first object of the Kremlin was doubtless to form a
+military strong-hold. It was originally constructed of wood, with
+ramparts thrown up around it for purposes of defense, but, in common
+with the rest of Moscow, was destroyed by the Tartars in the
+fourteenth century. Under the reign of Dimitri it was rebuilt of
+stone, and strongly fortified with walls and ditches, since which
+period it has sustained, without any great injury, the assaults of
+war, the ravages of fire, and the wear and tear of time. Kief and
+Vladimir, prior to that reign, had each served in turn as the capital
+of the empire. After the removal of the capital to Moscow, that city
+was besieged and ravaged by Tamerlane, and suffered from time to time
+during every succeeding century all the horrors of war, fire,
+pestilence, and famine, till 1812, when it was laid in ashes by the
+Russians themselves, who by this great national sacrifice secured the
+destruction of the French army under Napoleon.
+
+During the almost perpetual wars by which Moscow was assailed for a
+period of four centuries, the Kremlin seems to have borne almost a
+charmed existence. With the exception of the Grand Palace, the Bolshoi
+Drovetz, built by the Emperor Alexander I., and the Maloi Drovetz, or
+Little Palace, built by the Emperor Nicholas, and the Arsenal, it has
+undergone but little change since the time of the early Czars. In
+1812, when the French, after despoiling it of whatever they could lay
+their hands upon, attempted, in the rage of disappointment, to blow up
+the walls, the powder, as the Russians confidently assert, was
+possessed by the devil of water, and refused to explode; and when they
+planted a heavily-loaded cannon before the Holy Gate, and built a fire
+on top of the touch-hole to make it go off, it went off at the breech,
+and blew a number of Frenchmen into the infernal regions, after which
+the remainder of them thought it best to let it alone.
+
+The Kremlin, as it now stands, is a large collection of palaces,
+public buildings, and churches, situated on the crown of a high bank
+or eminence on the left side of the Moskwa River, nearly in the centre
+of the city. It is surrounded by a high embattled wall, forming
+something of a triangle, about a mile in circumference, through which
+are several massive gateways. This wall is very strongly constructed
+of stone, and is about twenty-five or thirty feet in height. It forms
+many irregular sub-angles, and is diversified in effect by numerous
+towers, with green pyramidal roofs; abutments and buttresses; and a
+series of guard-houses at intervals along the top. The general color
+is white, making rather a striking contrast with the green-roofed
+towers, and the gilded domes and many-colored cupolas of the interior
+churches. Outside of this wall, on the upper side of the main angle,
+are some very pleasant gardens, handsomely laid out, with fine shady
+walks, in which many of the citizens spend their summer evenings,
+strolling about, enjoying the fresh air. Other parts of the exterior
+spaces are devoted to drosky stands, markets, and large vacant spaces
+for public gatherings on festa days and great occasions of military
+display. From every point streets diverge irregularly, winding outward
+till they intersect the inner and outer boulevards. These boulevards
+are large circular thoroughfares, crossing the Moskwa River above and
+below. They are well planted with trees, and have spacious sidewalks
+on each side; but, unlike the boulevards of Paris, are only dotted at
+irregular intervals with houses. To the eastward lies the Katai Gorod,
+or Chinese City, and to the westward the Beloi Gorod, or White City.
+
+Isolated in a great measure from the various quarters of the city,
+Russian and Tartaric, by the gardens, the large open spaces, the
+markets, and the river, the Kremlin looms up high over all in solitary
+grandeur--a mass of churches, palaces, and fortifications, surmounted
+by the tower of Ivan Veliki, which stands out in bold octagonal relief
+against the one with its numerous bells swung in the openings of the
+different stages, thundering forth the hours of the day, or tolling a
+grand chorus to the chanting of innumerable priests in the churches
+below. Approaching the Spass Vorota, or Gate of the Redeemer, through
+which none can enter save with uncovered heads--such is the veneration
+in which this Holy Gate is held by all classes--we witness a strange
+and impressive spectacle. Over this wonderful gate, incased in a frame
+covered with glass, stands the holiest of all the pictured relics of
+this sacred place, a painted figure of the Savior, emblazoned with
+gilding, and with a lamp swung in front, which burns night and day, as
+it has burnt since the days of Ivan the Terrible. Before this sacred
+image all true believers bow down and worship. While the great bells
+of the tower are booming out their grand and solemn strains, it is a
+profoundly impressive spectacle to witness the crowds that gather
+before this holy shrine, and bend themselves to the earth--the rich
+and the poor, the decorated noble and the ragged beggar--all alike
+glowing with an all-pervading zeal; no pretense about it, but an
+intense, eager, almost frantic devotion. Many a poor cripple casts his
+crutches aside, and prostrates himself on the paved stoneway, in the
+abandonment of his pious enthusiasm. Men and women, old and young,
+kneel on the open highway, and implore the intercession of the
+Redeemer. From the highest officer of state to the lowest criminal, it
+is all the same. The whole crowd are bowing down in abject
+humiliation, all muttering in earnest tones some prayer or appeal for
+their future salvation. And now, as we enter the gate, the stranger,
+whatever may be his persuasion or condition, whether a true believer
+or a heretic of high or low degree, must join in the general torrent
+of veneration so far as to uncover his head as he walks beneath that
+sacred portal; for, as I said before, none can pass through the Spass
+Vorota without this token of respect for its sacred character. The
+greatest of the Czars have done it through a series of centuries. The
+conqueror of Kazan, Astrakan, and Siberia has here bared his imperial
+head; Romanoff, Peter the Great, even the voluptuous Catharine, have
+here done reverence to this holy portal; and all the later sovereigns
+of Russia, Alexander I., Nicholas, and Alexander II., ere they
+received their kingly crowns, have passed bareheaded through the Spass
+Vorota. Need we hesitate, then, profane scoffers as we may be, when
+such precedents lie before us? Apart from the fact that I always found
+it convenient to do in Rome as the Romans do, and in Moscow to conform
+as far as practicable to the customs of the Moscovites, I really have
+no prejudice on any subject connected with the religious observances
+of other people. In pleasant weather I would walk a mile bareheaded to
+oblige any man who conscientiously thought it would do him the least
+good; more especially in a case like this, where, if one fails to doff
+his shlapa, a soldier stands ready to remind his "brother" or "little
+friend," or possibly "little father," that he (the brother, little
+friend, or little father) has forgotten his "beaver."
+
+We have now, thanks to Dominico, who has touched us up on all these
+points, gotten safely and becomingly through the Holy Gate without
+committing the sin of irreverence toward any of the saints, living or
+dead. We have passed through a high archway, about twenty paces in
+length, roughly paved with stones, and now put on our hat again as we
+ascend the sloping way that leads to the grand esplanade in front of
+the palaces and churches. This is a broad paved space, walled on the
+outer edge, forming a grand promenade overlooking the Moskwa River,
+and from which a magnificent view is had of the lower city, that
+sweeps over the valley of the south. Standing here, we have a grand
+_coup d'oeil_ of the river above and below, its bridges covered with
+moving crowds, its barges and wood-boats, and many-colored
+bath-houses, glittering in the sun; farther off, a dazzling wilderness
+of the innumerable churches of the lower city, with their green,
+yellow, red, and gilded cupolas and domes; still beyond, the trees and
+shrubberies of the outer boulevards; to the left, the great Foundling
+Asylum, fronting on the river, with its vast gardens in the rear; to
+the right, the Military Hospital, the Barracks, and, far in the
+distance, over the gleaming waters of the river, the Sparrow Hills,
+from which Napoleon caught the first glimpse of Moscow; and then the
+grand Convent of the Douskoi, within the outer wall, near the Kalonga
+Road; from which, sweeping over toward the right, once more we catch a
+glimpse of the wooded shade of the Race-course, the Hospital of St.
+Paul, and the Convent of St. Daniel; and to the left, beyond the outer
+wall, of various grand convents and fortifications, till the eye is no
+longer able to encompass all the wondrous and varied features of the
+scene. Turning now toward the north, after we have feasted upon this
+brilliant and glittering series of views, each one of which we might
+linger over for hours with increased delight, we stand facing the
+principal palaces and churches of the Kremlin--the Terema, containing
+the audience chambers, and the Granovitaya Palata, the coronation
+halls of the Czars; the new palaces; the Cathedral of the Assumption;
+the tower of Ivan Veliki; the Treasury and Arsenal; with innumerable
+glimpses of other and scarcely less prominent buildings, which unite
+in forming this wonderful maze of sacred and royal edifices. It would
+be very difficult, if at all practicable, to convey by mere verbal
+description a correct and comprehensive idea of the strange mingling
+of architectural styles here prevailing. The churches present, no
+doubt, the most picturesque effects, but this is not owing to any
+grandeur in their proportions. None of them are either very large or
+very high; but they are singularly varied in form, as if thrown
+together in bunches, without regard to order; some with Gothic gables,
+some round, some acutely angular, and all very rudely and roughly
+constructed, even the perpendicular lines being irregular. The walls
+are whitewashed, and in many places stained with age. The roofs are
+for the most part of earthen tiles, imburnt with strong prismatic
+colors, and shining like the inner surfaces of abalone shells. The
+domes are white, green, red, and yellow, and each church has a number
+of gilded or striped cupolas, rising irregularly from the roofs,
+shaped like bunches of globular cactus, such as one sees on the
+hill-sides of San Diego. If the comparison were not a little
+disparaging to their picturesque beauty, I should say that some of the
+cupolas--especially those of a golden cast--reminded me of mammoth
+pumpkins perched on the top of a Mexican Mission-house, for even the
+buildings themselves have something of a rude Mexican aspect about
+them. The new palace of the Bolshoi Dvoretz, built by the Emperor
+Alexander over a portion of the site of the old Tartar palace, is a
+large, square, uninteresting building, with nothing beyond its vast
+extent and grand facade to recommend it. The Terema and the
+Granovitaya Palata--both remains of the old Tartar palace--are highly
+ornamented with trellised work, and are interesting as well from
+their style of architecture as their contents. It was from the
+terraced roof of the Terema that Napoleon took his first grand view of
+the city of Moscow, after entering the gates of the Kremlin. The one
+contains a fine collection of curiosities, including various portraits
+of the Czars; the other the royal chamber, magnificently decorated
+with embroidered velvet hangings, candelabras, frescoes, gildings, and
+carved eagles bearing thunderbolts, and the great chair of state, in
+which the emperors sit enthroned to receive the homage of their
+vassals after the imposing ceremony of the coronation. But it would be
+an endless task to undertake an account of even a day's ramble through
+the interior of these vast palaces and public buildings. I paid five
+rubles for tickets and fees to porters, and, with the aid of
+Dominico's enlightened conversation, came out after my grand tour of
+exploration perfectly bewildered with jeweled crowns, imperial
+thrones, gilded bedsteads, slippery floors, liveried servants, stuffed
+horses, old guns, swords, and pistols, glassware and brassware,
+emeralds and other precious stones, and altogether disgusted with the
+childish gimcrackery of royalty. Great Alexander, I thought to myself,
+who would be a Czar of Russia, and have to make his living at the
+expense of all this sort of tom-foolery? Who would abide even for a
+day in a bazar of curiosity-shops, bothered out of his wits by
+servants and soldiers, and the flare and glitter of jewelry? It
+certainly all looked very shallow and troublesome to a plain man,
+destitute by nature of kingly aspirations. To confess the truth, I was
+utterly unable to appreciate any thing but the absurdity of these
+things. I can not discover much difference, save in degree, between
+barbaric show on the part of savages and on that of civilized people.
+For what, after all, do these coronation halls and gewgaws amount to?
+Who is truly king upon earth, when there is "an everlasting King at
+whose breath the earth shall tremble?"
+
+Strange, indeed, and not calculated to exalt one's impression of
+royalty, is the fact that, after purchasing a ticket to see all these
+relics of the great Czars of Russia, a horde of officers, servants,
+and lackeys, in imperial livery, must be feed at every turn. It is a
+perfect system of plunder from beginning to end. At the door of the
+new palace I was stopped by some functionary in white stockings,
+polished slippers, plush breeches and plush coat, actually blazing
+with golden embroidery; his head brushed and oiled to the intensest
+limits of foppery, and his hands adorned with white kid gloves, who
+refused to permit me to enter until he had arranged some infernal
+compact of pay with my guide, Dominico. After showing me through the
+grand chambers, pointing out the beds, bed-quilts, writing-desks,
+chairs, and wash-basins of the Czars, he finished up his half hour's
+labor by making a profound bow and holding out his hand, beggar
+fashion, for his fee. I gave him half a ruble (about 87-1/2 cents), at
+which his countenance assumed an expression of extreme pity and
+contempt. Dominico had informed him that I was a stranger from
+California, which had the effect of eliciting from him various
+passages of exceeding politeness up to that moment. But he now came
+out in his true colors, and demanded haughtily, "Was this the pitiful
+sum what the gentleman intended as a recompense for his services?"
+Dominico shrugged his shoulders. The liveried gentleman became excited
+and insolent--assuring me, through the guide, that no stranger of any
+pretensions to gentility ever offered him less than a ruble. I must
+confess I was a little nettled at the fellow's manner, and directed
+Dominico to tell him that, having no pretensions to gentility, I must
+close my acquaintance with him, and therefore bid him good-morning.
+There never was an instance in which I disappointed any beggar with so
+much good will. I have no doubt, if he has read any thing of
+California, he labors under the impression that I am an escaped
+convict from San Quentin.
+
+O most potent Alexander, Czar of all the Russias, is this the only
+way you have of paying your servants? Do you thus make a raree-show of
+the palace of your forefathers, and require every man who enters it
+for the purpose of enlightening his benighted understanding to pay
+your imperial lackeys the sum of three bits? Is it not enough that
+your soldiers and retainers should hawk old clothes through the
+markets of the Riadi for a decent living, without making a small
+speculation out of the beds and wash-stands in which your noble
+fathers slept and (possibly) washed their faces?
+
+One of the most remarkable objects of interest within the walls of the
+Kremlin is the Tzar Kolokol, or King of Bells, cast in 1730 by order
+of the Empress Anne, and said to be not only the largest bell, but the
+largest metal casting in existence. This wonderful bell is formed
+chiefly of contributions of precious metals, bestowed as religious
+offerings by the people from all parts of the Russian empire. Spoons,
+plates, coins, and trinkets were thrown by the devout inhabitants into
+the melting mass, and thus, each having a share in it, the monarch
+bell is regarded with feelings of peculiar affection and veneration
+throughout Russia. Writers differ as to its original use and location,
+some contending that it was first hung in a tower, which was destroyed
+by fire in 1737, and that the large fragment was broken out of it in
+the fall, which is now exhibited by the side of the bell; others that
+it never was hung at all, but that this fragment resulted from a
+failure in the casting. Be that as it may, it was all dug out of the
+ground in 1837, and placed in its present position on a pedestal of
+granite, close by the tower of Ivan Veliki.
+
+Standing in an open space, where the eye necessarily takes in many
+larger objects, including the great tower, but a very inadequate idea
+can be formed of the extraordinary dimensions of this bell. Cast in
+the usual form, its appearance at the distance of fifty or a hundred
+yards is not at all striking; but when you draw near and compare the
+height of the groups of figures usually gathered around it with that
+of the bell, it is easy to form some conception of its gigantic
+proportions. The fragment placed upright against the granite pedestal
+looks at a little distance scarcely three feet high, but as you
+approach you perceive that it is at least six. The bell itself is
+twenty-one feet three inches high, by twenty-two feet five inches in
+diameter, and varies from three feet to three inches in thickness.
+Underneath this immense metallic canopy is a chapel, in which is a
+shrine at which many thousands of the Russians every year offer up
+their devotions. The entrance to this is through an iron gateway, and
+the visitor descends several stone steps before he stands upon the
+paved floor of the chapel. Looking upward and around him, he then for
+the first time realizes the vast magnitude of this wonderful casting.
+It is almost impossible to conceive that such a prodigious body of
+metal was ever at one time a molten mass, seething over vast furnaces.
+Imagine a circular room more than twenty feet in diameter, and of
+proportionate height, and you have some faint idea of the interior of
+the Tzar Kolokol. It is said that it required ten strong men to draw
+the clapper from the centre to the inner rim, by means of ropes, so as
+to produce the ordinary sounds of which the bell was capable. This I
+can very well credit; for the great bell of the Ivan Tower, not a
+third of the size of this, has an iron tongue which requires the
+strength of three men to strike against the rim. The tremendous depth
+and volume of the tones sent forth for many leagues around by the
+monarch bell must have been sublime beyond conception, judging by this
+single fact, that while in Moscow, the largest bell I heard sounded
+was far inferior in size and weight to that of the Ivan Tower, which
+is rung only on state occasions, yet the sounds were so deep and
+powerful that they produced a reverberation in the air resembling the
+distant roar of thunder, mingled with the wailing of the winds in a
+storm. When all the bells of the tower, save the largest, were tolled
+together, the effect was absolutely sublime, surpassing in the
+grandeur and majesty of their harmony any thing I had ever heard
+produced through human agency. Judge, then, what must have been the
+effect when the Tzar Kolokol rolled forth a jubilee or a death-knell
+from his iron tongue!
+
+I do not wonder that the Russians regard this bell with such peculiar
+feelings of reverence. There is something to arouse the most profound
+and reverential emotions of our nature in the simple, grand, and
+mysterious melody of all great bells--something of the infinite that
+exalts our thoughts and aspirations from the earth. In my
+recollections of travel I have few purer or more endearing pleasures
+than the impressions produced by sounds like these. Often the grand
+old strains of the bells of Lima, Mexico, and Spain seem still to
+linger on my ear, and I never dream the wild and varied dream of my
+travels over without feeling that these mysterious voices from many
+lands have not spoken without a meaning, that "Life, with all its
+dreams, shall be but as the passing bell."
+
+From the Tzar Kolokol I took my way, under the guidance of Dominico,
+to the tower of Ivan Veliki, which we ascended by the winding stairway
+of stone. The view from the top of this tower is incomparably the
+finest to be had from any point within the limits of Moscow. Here,
+outspread before us in one vast circle, lay the whole wondrous city of
+the Tzars--a perfect sea of green roofs, dotted over with innumerable
+spires and cupolas. The predominant features are Asiatic, though in
+the quarter to the west, called the Beloi Gorod, or White City, are
+the evidences of a more advanced civilization. Apart from the
+churches, which give the city its chief interest and most picturesque
+effect, the public buildings, such as the theatres, hospitals,
+military barracks, colleges, and riding-school possess no great
+attractions in point of architectural display, and add but little to
+the scenic beauties of the view. In gazing over this bewildering maze
+of habitations and temples of worship, I was again strongly impressed
+with some two or three leading characteristics, which, being directly
+opposed to the idea I had formed of Moscow before seeing it, may be
+worthy of repetition. The general colors of the buildings, roofs, and
+churches are light, gay, and sparkling, so that the whole, taken in
+one sweep of the eye, presents an exceedingly brilliant appearance,
+more like some well-contrived and highly-wrought optical illusions in
+a theatre--such, for example, as the fairy scenery of the
+"Prophete"--than any thing I can now remember. The vast extent of the
+city, compared with its population (the circuit of its outer wall
+being twenty miles, while the population is but little over 300,000),
+is another characteristic feature; but this is in some measure
+accounted for by the great average of small houses, the amount of
+ground occupied by the Kremlin, the inner and outer boulevards, and
+the suburbs within the outer wall, the number of gardens and vacant
+lots, and the large spaces occupied by the ploschads or public
+squares.
+
+Looking beyond the city and its immediate suburbs, a series of
+undulating plains lies outstretched toward the eastward and southward,
+while toward the northward and westward the horizon is bounded by low
+pine-covered hills and occasional forests of birch. No high mountains
+or abrupt outlines are any where visible--all is broad and sweeping,
+conveying some premonition of the vastness of the steppes that divide
+this region from the Ural Mountains. Waving fields of grain, pastures
+of almost boundless extent, and solitary farm-houses lie dim in the
+distance, while in the immediate vicinity of the city cultivation has
+been carried to considerable perfection, and the villas and estates of
+the nobility present something more of the appearance of civilization
+than perhaps any thing of a similar kind to be seen in Russia.
+Contrasted with the country around St. Petersburg, and the desert of
+scrubby pines and marshes lying for a distance of nearly five hundred
+miles along the line of the railway between the two great cities, the
+neighborhood of Moscow is wonderfully rich in rural and pastoral
+beauties. Viewing it in connection with the city from the tower of
+Ivan Veliki, I certainly derived the most exquisite sensations of
+pleasure from the novelty, extent, and variety of the whole scene.
+Yet, calmly and peacefully as it now slumbers in the genial sunshine
+of a summer's afternoon, what visions it conjures up of bloodshed and
+rapine, plague, pestilence, and famine, and of all the calamities
+wrought by human hands, and all the appalling visitations of a divine
+power by which this ill-fated spot has been afflicted. Looking back
+through the wide waste of years, the mighty hosts of Tamerlane uprise
+before us, pouring through the passes of the Ural, and sweeping over
+the plains with their glittering and bloodstained crests like demons
+of destruction carrying death and desolation before them. Then the
+giant Czars, half saints, half devils, loom through the flames of the
+ill-fated city, with their myriads of fierce and defiant warriors
+stemming the torrent of invasion with the bodies of the dying and the
+dead. Then are the streets choked with blackened ruins and putrid
+masses, and the days of sorrow and wailing come, when the living are
+unable to bury the dead. Again, a great famine has come upon the city
+after the days of its early tribulations have passed away, and strong
+men, driven to desperation by the pangs of hunger, slay their wives
+and children, and feed upon the dead bodies, and mothers devour the
+sucking babes in their arms; and horror grows upon horror, till, amid
+the slaughter, ruin, and madness wrought by this unparalleled
+calamity, a hundred thousand corpses lie rotting in the streets in a
+single day, and the city is decimated of its inhabitants! The scene
+changes again. Centuries roll on; a dreary day has come, when the
+foreign invader once more holds possession of the citadel. With the
+prize in his hands, fires burst from every roof in every quarter.
+Three hundred thousand of the inhabitants have fled; a wind arises and
+fans the devouring flame; churches and houses, temples and palaces,
+are wrapped in its relentless embraces; the convicts and the rabble
+run like demons through the streets, drunk with wine and reveling in
+excesses; soldiers, slaves, and prostitutes pillage the burning ruins,
+all wild and mad with the unholy lust of gain. Soon nothing is left
+but blackened and smoking masses, the ruins of palaces, temples, and
+hospitals, and the seared and mutilated corpses of the dead who have
+been crushed by the falling walls or burnt in the flames. Then the
+invading hosts, stricken with dismay, fly from this fated and
+ill-starred city to darken the snows of Lithuania with their bodies;
+and of five hundred thousand men--the flower of French chivalry--but
+forty thousand cross the Beresina to tell the tale! Surely Moscow,
+like Jerusalem, hath "wept sore in the night."
+
+While lounging about through the gilded and glittering mazes of the
+Uspenski Saber, almost wearied by the perpetual glare of burnished
+shrines, my attention was attracted by a curious yet characteristic
+ceremony within these sacred precincts. In a gold-cased frame, placed
+in a horizontal position in one of the alcoves or small chapels, was a
+picture of a saint whose cheeks and robes were resplendent with gaudy
+colors. This must have been St. Nicholas or some other popular
+personage belonging to the holy phalanx. His mouth was very nearly
+obliterated by the labial caresses of the worshipers who came there to
+bestow upon him their devotions. A stone step, raised about a foot
+from the flagged pavement, was nearly worn through by the knees of the
+penitents, who were forever dropping down to snatch a kiss from his
+sacred lips--or at least what was left of them, for his mouth was now
+little more than a dirty blotch, without the semblance of its original
+outline. While pondering over the marvelous ways in which men strive
+to cast off the burden of their sins, I observed a very graceful and
+elegantly-dressed female approach, and with an air of profound
+humility kneel in the accustomed place. As she drew back her veil she
+displayed a remarkably pretty face, and there was something quite
+enchanting in the coquetry with which she ignored the presence of a
+stranger. Of course she could have had no idea that any person of the
+opposite sex would dare to think of female loveliness in such a place,
+and the charming unconsciousness of her manner, as she adjusted the
+folds of her dress, and revealed the exquisitely rounded contour of
+her form, was the very best proof of that fact. A perfect withdrawal
+of self from the world and all its vanities was her ruling expression.
+Thrice did this lovely creature gracefully incline her head and kiss
+the blotched countenance of that inanimate saint. Ah me! what a luxury
+it must be to be a saint! What a lucky fellow is St. Nicholas, to be
+kissed by such honeyed and pouting lips as these! Chaste and pious
+kisses they may be, but, notwithstanding that, it must be very hard to
+keep cool, under the circumstances. Who would not suffer a life of
+martyrdom, and be turned into a picture or an image on such terms?
+Surely this bewitching damsel must have committed some dreadful sin to
+be thus soliciting the saintly intercession of a little picture with a
+dirty mouth! Perhaps she had recently suffered her own delectable lips
+to be pressed by the bearded mouth-piece of some tender and persuasive
+lover, and now sought to make atonement by kissing St. Nicholas! By
+all the powers of beauty, I'll forswear sack, Dominico, and try--ha!
+here comes a devotee of another sort. Let us wait a while. For, as I
+live, it is a great puncheon of a woman, weighing over three hundred
+pounds--puffing and steaming as she waddles toward the shrine--a
+perfect Falstaff in petticoats. Shade of Venus! what a face and
+figure! Carbuncled with wine, and bloated with quass and cabbage soup,
+I'll bet my head, Dominico, she's a countess! How the juices of high
+living roll from her brow as she stoops down, and gives the
+unfortunate St. Nicholas a greasy dish-cloth of her fat lips! Faugh!
+I'll consider about my course of life, Dominico. There are some
+inconveniences in being a saint. Next comes an old and toothless
+crone, all draggled with dirt, limping on crutches--a most pitiful
+object to look upon. She hobbles slowly and painfully up to the place
+just vacated--puts her crutches aside, kneels down, and, bowing low
+her palsied head, presses a dry, shriveled, and leathery kiss upon the
+grease-spot left by the fat woman. Thrice she performed this ceremony,
+mumbling over in her guttural way the prescribed formula; and then
+rising, regained her crutches, and begged for alms. Well, of course I
+gave the alms; but the other part of the performance suggested some
+painful thoughts. It was surely enough to moderate the ardor of one's
+aspirations toward a saintly life. Yet, after all, Dominico, every
+sweet must have its bitter. Let us not despair yet. Next comes a great
+bearded Mujik, all tattered and torn--a regular grizzly bear on his
+hind legs, and drunk at that. This horrid monster has evidently not
+known the use of either soap or water for many a long day. His
+accustomed beverage must be vodka, and grease the only application
+ever used to purify his skin. He, too, kneels down and gives the image
+three cordial smacks--a pretty heavy penalty to endure on the part of
+any saint. Upon my word, Dominico, I don't think it would be possible
+for me to stand that! But hold--here comes a fellow who caps the
+climax. A bilious, yellow-skinned, black-eyed fop, dressed in the
+height of fashion, with frizzled black hair, divided behind, and
+smelling strong of pomatum, a well-oiled mustache, and a simpering,
+supercilious expression--one of those nasty creatures that old Kit
+North says never can be washed clean. He looks conceited and silly
+enough to be an attache to the court of his imperial highness the
+emperor. When this fellow knelt before the picture and slavered it
+with his ugly mouth, a dizzy sensation of disgust came over me. Upon a
+general review of all the circumstances, Dominico, I have concluded
+that it might not be so pleasant, after all, to be a saint--in Russia.
+
+It must not be supposed from this little sketch of a characteristic
+scene that I wish to ridicule any form of religion. I saw precisely
+what I state, and am in no way responsible for it. If people imagine
+this sort of thing does them any good, they are quite welcome to enjoy
+it; but they must not expect every body else to be impressed with the
+profound sensations of solemnity which they feel themselves. The
+Russians may kiss the heads off every saint in Moscow without the
+slightest concern or opposition on my part. The Romans have kissed a
+pound of brass off the big toe of St. Peter, in the grand Cathedral at
+Rome, and I see no reason why other races should not enjoy similar
+privileges, only it does not produce the same effect upon every body.
+
+Yet, in some sense, such scenes are not without an aspect of sadness.
+It is melancholy to look upon such a mingling of glitter and
+barbarism, wealth and poverty, sincerity, debasement, and crime. No
+human being is truly ridiculous, however grotesque may be the
+expression of his feelings, when they are the genuine outpouring of a
+contrite heart. These nobles, common citizens, and beggars, thus
+meeting upon common ground, in a country where the distinctions of
+rank are so rigidly observed, and for the time being disregarding all
+differences of condition; forgetting their ambitions, their
+jealousies, and animosities, and giving themselves up with such
+unselfish zeal to all the demands made upon them by their forms of
+religion, is, in itself, a touching and impressive sight. I confess
+that when the first shock of grotesqueness, so strikingly connected
+with all I saw, passed away, the feeling left was one of unutterable
+sadness. These people were all fellow-beings, and, right or wrong,
+they were profoundly in earnest; yet, while thinking thus, I could not
+but fancy the same divine strain of warning that was wafted to the
+house of Israel still lingered in the air: "Every man is brutish in
+his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image; for
+his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them; they
+are vanity and the work of errors; in the time of their visitation
+they shall perish."
+
+In reference to the interiors of the churches of the Kremlin, I can
+only find space to say, after having visited them all, that they
+present a confusion of gilded and glittering aisles, pillars, alcoves,
+chapels, and painted domes, which baffles any thing like accurate
+description. The Cathedral of the Assumption is literally lined with
+gilding, daubs of paintings representing scriptural scenes, figures
+and pictures of saints, dragons and devils of every conceivable color
+and oddity of design and costume, and burnished shrines and
+candelabras. Through the dazzling mazes of this sacred edifice crowds
+of devotees, priests, and penitents are continually wandering; here,
+casting themselves upon their knees, and bowing down before some
+gold-covered shrine; there standing in mute and rapt adoration before
+some pictured symbol of eternity--grandees, beggars, and all; the
+priests bearing tapers and chanting; the air filled with incense; the
+whole scene an indescribable combination of moving appeals to the
+senses. All the churches of the Kremlin partake, more or less, of this
+character. In some of them, the old bones and other relics held
+peculiarly sacred are inclosed within iron gratings or railings, and
+are only accessible to the visitor through the services of a priestly
+guide. Every visitor must, of course, pay for the gratification of his
+curiosity; so that the bones of the most venerated characters in the
+history of the Russian Church are turned into a considerable source of
+profit. It may well be said that every saint pays his own way, so long
+as there is a fragment of him left in this world. If one could be
+assured of the truth of all he learns during a tour of inspection
+through these receptacles of sacred relics, it would indeed confound
+all his previous impressions that the days of miracles had passed.
+There is a picture in the Uspenski Saber, the bare contemplation of
+which, combined with a fervent appeal, it is confidently asserted,
+recently effected a sudden and wonderful cure in the case of a
+crippled man, who was carried there from his bed, but after his
+devotions before this picture walked out of the door as well as ever;
+and every where about these sacred precincts pictures and carved
+images are abundant which at stated intervals shed tears and manifest
+other tokens of vitality.
+
+Outside, on the steps of those churches, the stranger encounters
+innumerable gangs of beggars, who watch his incoming and his outgoing
+with the most intense eagerness--rushing toward him with outstretched
+hands, calling upon all the saints to bless him and his issue forever
+and ever, and sometimes bowing down to the earth before him, in their
+accustomed way, as if he himself partook of some sacred attributes.
+Apart from the wretched aspect of these poor creatures, among which
+were the lame, the halt, and the blind from all the purlieus of
+Moscow, there was something very revolting in the debasement of their
+attitudes. To assist them all was impossible; and I often had to
+struggle through the crowds with feelings akin to remorse in being
+compelled to leave them thus vainly appealing to my charity. When
+alone, hours after, the weary and pathetic strain of their
+supplications would haunt me, bearing in its sorrowful intonations a
+weird warning that we are all bound together in the great fellowship
+of sin.
+
+And now, while we are taking our last lingering look at the Kremlin,
+the mighty bells of the tower toll forth a funeral knell. A priest
+lies dead in one of the churches, his coffin draped in the habiliments
+of woe. The chanting rises ever and anon above the death-knell that
+sweeps through the air. Standing aloof, we listen to the solemn sounds
+of mourning. The funeral cortege comes forth from the church. The
+hearse, with its plumed horses all draped in black, receives the
+coffin; priests and mourners, bearing lighted tapers, lead the way,
+chanting a requiem for the departed; and thus they pass before us--the
+living and the dead--till they reach the Holy Gate. Then the priests
+and the crowd bow down and pray; and when they have passed out from
+under the sacred arch, they turn before the image of the Savior and
+pray again; then rising, they cross themselves devoutly and pass on to
+the last earthly resting-place of their friend and brother.
+
+Surely death draws us nearer together in life. I thought no more of
+forms. What matters it if we are all true to our Creator and to our
+convictions of duty! Life is too short to spend in earthly
+contentions.
+
+"In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening it is
+cut down and withereth."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+RUSSIAN MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
+
+
+Rude and savage as the lower orders are in their external appearance,
+they certainly can not be considered deficient in politeness, if the
+habit of bowing be taken as an indication. In that branch of
+civilization they are well entitled to take rank with the Germans and
+French, from whom, doubtless, they have acquired many of their forms of
+etiquette. Something, however, of Asiatic gravity and courtliness
+mingles with whatever they may have adopted from the more sprightly and
+demonstrative races of the South; and a certain degree of dignity,
+accompanied though it may be with rags and filth, is always observable
+in their manners. The alacrity, good nature, and enthusiasm so
+characteristic of the Germans, and the dexterous play of muscles and
+vivacious suavity of the French, are wholly deficient in the
+Russians--such of them, at least, as have retained their nationality.
+The higher classes, of course, who frequently spend their summers at
+the watering-places of Germany and their winters in Paris, come home,
+like all traveled gentlemen, with a variety of elegant accomplishments,
+the chief of which is a disgust for their own language and customs.
+This, indeed, seems to be a characteristic of several other
+nations--an inordinate desire to become denationalized by imitating
+whatever is meretricious and absurd in other people; and you need not
+be surprised should you fail to recognize even your unpretending friend
+and correspondent on his return to California; for although I still
+pretend to write a little English, I no longer speak it except in
+broken accents. Having also worn out three good hats practicing the art
+of bowing on the boulevards of Paris and the glacis of Frankfort, I
+never pretend now to recognize any body without striking the top of my
+tile against the cap of my knee.
+
+ [Illustration: A PASSAGE OF POLITENESS.]
+
+This, you see, is all in the way of excuse for the Russians, and
+arises rather from an excess of good nature than an excess of egotism.
+Constant practice in the solemnities of street-worship--uncovering
+their heads and bowing low before their numerous saints and
+shrines--may have some influence upon the stateliness of Russian
+politeness. It is, however, a very prominent and characteristic trait,
+and in some of its phases rather astounding to a stranger. A common
+thing in the streets of Moscow is to see a couple of sturdy beggars,
+uncouth as grizzly bears, meet and stop before each other with the
+utmost and most punctilious gravity. Beggar number one takes his
+greasy cap from his head slowly and deliberately, gives it a graceful
+sweep through the air, and, with a most courtly obeisance, exhibits
+the matted tuft, or the bald spot on the top of his head, to his
+ragged friend. Beggar number two responds in a similar courteous
+style, neither uttering a word. Each then gravely replaces his cap,
+touches the brim of it once or twice by way of representing a few
+extra bows, and passes on his way with an expression of profound
+dignity, utterly unconscious of the grotesque effect of all this
+ceremony to a stranger. I have seen the most vagabond-looking
+istrovoschik, or drosky-drivers, jump out of their drosky and perform
+similar courtesies toward each other; and where men of this craft are
+given to politeness, one may rest assured that it must be a national
+characteristic. All seem to be the slaves of ceremony, from the Czar
+down to the Mujik. Porters, wagoners, water-carriers, butchers,
+bakers, and chimney-sweeps are equally skilled in the noble art of
+bowing. At first, judging by the uncouth faces and the grimy costumes
+of these interesting people, such passages of politeness have very
+much the effect of burlesque. It seems impossible that men of such
+rude aspect can be in earnest. One soon gets used to it, however, and
+regards it as a matter of course. I could not but think how strange it
+would look to see a couple of Sacramento or San Francisco hack-drivers
+meet in some populous part of the town, and each one take off his hat
+to the other, and, with a graceful flourish, make a courtly salaam; or
+a pair of draymen stop their drays, get down leisurely, approach each
+other in an attitude of impressive dignity, take off their hats, and
+double themselves up before an admiring audience. They would certainly
+be suspected in our rude country of poking fun at each other. I can
+very well understand why butchers and chimney-sweeps should be polite,
+since they are accustomed to scraping; and the custom looks
+appropriate enough with many other classes, including barbers, who are
+generally men of oily manners, and tailors and printers, who are
+naturally given to forms; but with men whose business is intimately
+associated with horse-flesh, I must say it has something of a
+satirical aspect. Never in this world can I force myself to believe
+that a hack-driver is in earnest in any thing short of his fare. Do
+not understand me as casting any injurious reflection upon this
+valuable class of men; but it is a melancholy feature in humanity--of
+which sad experience enables me to speak feelingly--that integrity and
+horse-flesh are antagonistical, and can never go together. For the
+hack-driver personally I have great respect. He is a man of the
+world--knows a thing or two about every body and every thing; is
+constitutionally addicted to cheating, and elevates that noble
+propensity into one of the fine arts; maintains his independent
+character, and pockets his extraordinary profits in the face of all
+municipal restrictions; scoffs at the reign of the law, and drinks his
+regular bitters. I consider him a persecuted and an injured man; but
+of such elastic stuff is he made that he rises above all persecutions
+and all injuries, and still is, and ever will be, master of that
+portion of the human race which travels and abounds in cities. He is
+given to humor, too, is the hackman. Nobody better understands how to
+give a joke, or to resent one. An adept in ridicule, he always enjoys
+it when not applied to himself. If he is deficient in any one quality,
+perhaps it is piety. Hack-drivers, as a class, are not pious men; they
+may be very good men in their way, but, strictly speaking, they are
+not pious. Neither are they much given to mutual courtesies,
+especially at steam-boat landings. Therefore I say that to see
+hack-drivers bow down before shrines and stop on public thoroughfares,
+and with the utmost gravity uncover their heads and interchange
+courtly salaams--nay, even kiss hands in certain cases--is a novel and
+peculiar spectacle, suggestive of improvements which might be
+beneficially imported into our country.
+
+There was an impassive, abstracted air about Dominico very difficult
+to describe, but very impressive to a stranger. All these
+peculiarities were developed the first or second day of our
+acquaintance. About the third he seemed to grow impatient, hummed over
+a few gems from unknown operas, and was less disposed than usual to
+unbend himself. There was evidently a coolness growing up between us.
+I suspected it originated in my hat, which was really very shabby; and
+fancied I detected a supercilious expression in his eye as it ranged
+over my coat and down to my boots. At length he said, "Monsieur, you
+appear to travel with very little baggage!"
+
+_Myself._ Yes, only a knapsack.
+
+_Dominico_ (after a pause). Pray what business may Monsieur be engaged
+in?
+
+_M._ None at all--just ranging about miscellaneously.
+
+_Dom._ May I be so bold as to ask what part of England does Monsieur
+come from?
+
+_M._ Oh, I didn't come from England at all!
+
+_Dom._ (puzzled). Pray where does Monsieur come from?
+
+_M._ Oh, just come from over the way there--California!
+
+_Dom._ (elevating his eyebrows and stopping suddenly). California? The
+great gold country? Where they dig gold out of the ground?
+
+_M._ Yes--that's my country.
+
+_Dom._ (admiringly). Oh, then, Monsieur is a gentleman of fortune,
+just traveling for pleasure?
+
+_M._ Precisely; for pleasure and information combined. My estates are
+situated in the city of Oakland.
+
+_Dom._ Is that a large city?
+
+_M._ Well, it covers a good deal of ground--as much, I think, as
+Moscow.
+
+_Dom._ If Monsieur pleases, we will take a drosky and visit some of
+the gardens?
+
+_M._ Agreed.
+
+And so ended the conversation. It was marvelous, the change it
+produced in Dominico; how his dignity evaporated; how vivacious he
+became; how frank and unreserved he was in his descriptions of the
+wonders of Moscow; how he scorned to take trifles of change, and how
+magnificently he disregarded expenses. Wherever we went, however grand
+the domestics, soldiers, or police, Dominico was always high above
+them, and I could hear him descanting constantly on the wonderful
+richness of California. Doubtless the strain of his conversation ran
+about thus: "Behold, gentlemen, I have brought before you a living
+Californian! Notwithstanding the shabbiness of his hat, and the
+strange and uncivilized aspect of his clothes, he is the richest man
+in that land of gold! Yes, gentlemen, his income can scarcely fall
+short of ten millions of rubles per annum. Make way, if you please!"
+
+All things considered, Dominico let me off pretty well at the close
+of our acquaintance, upon my explaining to him that a draft for five
+hundred thousand rubles which ought to be on the way had failed to
+reach me, owing doubtless to some irregularity in the mail service, or
+some sudden depression in my Washoe stocks.
+
+In the way of food the hotels are well supplied, and the fare is not
+bad in the principal cities. Fish and game are abundant, but veal is
+the standard dish. I called for a beefsteak at the hotel in St.
+Petersburg, and was furnished with veal. The soup was made of veal.
+After salad we had veal cutlets. Then came a veal stew; next in order
+was a veal pie; and before the courses were finished I think we had
+calf's head baked and stuffed. At a station-house on the way to Moscow
+I hurriedly purchased a sandwich. It was made of veal. I asked for
+mutton-chops at the hotel in Moscow, and got veal. In fact, I was
+surfeited with veal in every possible shape wherever I went.
+
+Now I am not particular in matters of diet. In a case of emergency I
+can relish buzzard, but if there is any one kind of food upon earth
+that I think never was designed to be eaten, it is veal. No very young
+meat is good, to my notion--not even young pig, so temptingly
+described by the gentle Elia; nor young dog, so much esteemed by
+Chinese and Russian epicures. It has neither the consistency nor the
+flavor of the mature animal, and somehow suggests unpleasant images of
+flabby innocence. There is something horribly repugnant to one's sense
+of humanity in killing and devouring a helpless little calf. Who but a
+cannibal can look the innocent creature in the face, with its soft
+confiding eyes, its gentle and baby-like manners, and calculate upon
+devouring its brains, or satisfying the cravings of hunger upon its
+tender ribs? Who can see the butcher, with his murderous knife in such
+a connection, without a sting of remorse at the idea of the mother's
+grief--her great eyes swimming in tears, her lowing cries haunting him
+for days? I never see a gang of these helpless little creatures
+driven to the shambles without thinking of that touching picture, the
+Murder of the Innocents.
+
+In vain I tried to escape this veal passion in Russia. Nay, even in
+Finland and Sweden it pursued me. I actually began to feel flabby, and
+felt ashamed to look the poor cows in the face. It was a marvel how
+the cattle, of which there seemed to be no lack, ever arrived at
+maturity. If the people kill all the calves, as appeared to be the
+case, in the name of wonder, where do the cows come from? This
+question puzzled me exceedingly for some time, and was only solved
+when I asked a Russian to explain it. "Oh," said he, smiling at my
+simplicity, "they only kill the male calves. They allow the cow calves
+to grow up!"
+
+Still, when I came to reflect upon the reason given, it occurred to me
+that they must be a very singular race of cows. Perhaps they were
+Amazonian cows.
+
+This leads me by an easy and not ungraceful transition to the
+Foundling Asylum of Moscow, one of the largest and most remarkable
+institutions of the kind in the world. In other public places
+throughout Europe, especially in picture-galleries and museums, the
+visitor is required to deliver up his walking-stick at the door, in
+return for which he receives a ticket corresponding with one fastened
+upon the article itself--as in baggage-cars upon the railway, so that
+he may redeem it when he thinks proper. But I had little thought, in
+my experience of foreign travel, that a similar system should prevail
+in regard to the deposit of living beings, as in the foundling
+establishment of Moscow. Here, any body with a surplus baby can carry
+it and have it labeled around the neck, receive a ticket in return
+corresponding in number with the deposit, and call for it at any
+future time, certain that it will be delivered up--if alive. The
+building is of immense extent, and is situated on the banks of the
+Moskwa River, near the lower part of the town. The grounds around it
+are tastefully laid out, and must occupy twenty or thirty acres, the
+whole being surrounded by a high wall, and comprising numerous and
+substantial outhouses, workshops, etc., for the use of the
+establishment. Many thousand children are annually taken in and nursed
+at this institution, no restriction being imposed upon the parents,
+who may be either married or single, to suit their own taste or
+condition. The regular force of wet-nurses employed is about six
+hundred, besides which there are numerous dry-nurses and teachers for
+the older children. It is estimated that the entire expense of
+conducting the establishment is not less than five or six hundred
+thousand rubles per annum, most of which is defrayed by voluntary
+contributions and interest received on loans.
+
+I spent a forenoon rambling through the various wards, and can safely
+say I never before saw such an extraordinary collection of human
+squabs within one inclosure. It was certainly one of the strangest and
+saddest spectacles I had ever witnessed--so many infant specimens of
+humanity, bundled up like little packages of merchandise, labeled,
+numbered, and nursed with a mathematical regularity fearfully
+inconsistent with one's notions of the softness and tenderness of
+babyhood. To be sure, they are well treated--kindly and gently
+treated, perhaps; but it is pitiful to see these helpless little
+creatures bereft of the gentle motherly touch; washed, physicked,
+nursed, and too often buried by hired and unsympathizing hands; and no
+more thought of them, save in the way of duty, than so many little
+animals destitute of souls. The very idea of attachments formed by
+nurses is of itself a painful subject of contemplation; for of what
+avail is it that a child should be loved by its nurse, or find in her
+a new mother, when by the rules of the establishment there must be
+constant separations. It is said that over twenty-five thousand
+children derive, either directly or indirectly, support from this
+establishment. About six thousand are taken in annually, of which
+perhaps one fourth die. Many of them are not far from dead when
+admitted; and it is only surprising, considering the deprivations they
+must endure in being so suddenly withdrawn from the mother's care,
+that so large a proportion should survive.
+
+If it be a wise child that knows its own father, it would be a very
+remarkable father who could recognize his own child among such a
+variegated collection as I saw here. Never upon earth was there a more
+astonishing mixture of baby flesh--big babies and little babies,
+pug-nosed, black-eyed, blue-eyed, fat and lean, red, yellow, and white
+babies--all sorts ever invented or brought to light in this curious
+world of ours. Yet the utmost order was observed, and the beds,
+nurses, cribs, and feeding apparatus looked wonderfully clean for a
+Russian institution, where cleanliness is not generally the prevailing
+characteristic. But, great guns! what music they must make when they
+all get started in one grand simultaneous chorus! five or six hundred
+babies, of both sexes, from one to two or three years old, in one
+department; as many girls from three to five in another; boys of the
+same age in another; older boys and older girls innumerable in
+another! What a luxury it must be to hear them all together! In
+general, however, they do not make as much noise as might be supposed.
+I only heard about forty or fifty small choruses while there; but,
+trifling as that was, it enabled me to form an idea of the style of
+music that might be made when five or six thousand gave their whole
+mind to it. I am personally acquainted with one small baby not over a
+couple of years old, who, when excited of nights, can very nearly
+raise the roof off the house, and am certain that five hundred of the
+same kind would burst the whole city of Moscow sky-high if ever they
+got at it together. These Russian foundlings, however, are generally
+heavy-faced, lymphatic babies, and fall naturally into the machine
+existence which becomes their fate; otherwise it would seem a hard
+life for the poor nurses, who are not always gifted with the patient
+endurance of mothers. I was told that the children only cried
+periodically, say at intervals of every four hours, but hardly credit
+that statement. Being for the most part soggy little animals, they
+spend a goodly portion of their time in sleep, and doubtless, when not
+sleeping, are much given to eating and drinking.
+
+During the summer months several thousand of these children are sent
+out in the country to nurse, after which they are returned in due
+order. As soon as they become old enough, they are taught reading and
+writing, and the most intelligent are selected to become teachers. The
+boys usually receive a military education, and a certain proportion of
+them furnish recruits for the imperial army.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+DESPOTISM _versus_ SERFDOM.
+
+
+The reader has probably discovered by this time that I have no great
+affection for the political institutions of Europe, and am pretty
+strong in my prejudices against despotic governments of all sorts. The
+fact is, I believe our own, with all its faults, is the best system of
+government ever devised by man.
+
+The Emperor Alexander II. is admitted on all hands to be a most
+estimable and enlightened sovereign. He possesses, in a greater
+degree, perhaps, than any of his predecessors, the confidence and
+affection of his people. All his labors since he ascended the throne
+in February, 1855, have been directed to the emancipation of the serfs
+and the general welfare of his country. No fault can be found with him
+by the most ardent advocate of human liberty. His sympathies are--as
+far as it is practicable for those of an autocrat, clothed with
+absolute powers, to be--in favor of freedom. Toward the people and the
+government of the United States he entertains the most kindly feeling,
+and would doubtless sincerely regret the overthrow of our republican
+system. He has, moreover, devoted himself with unceasing zeal to the
+abolition of many onerous and unnecessary restrictions upon the
+liberty of the press and the civil rights of his subjects; encouraged
+institutions of learning; prohibited to a considerable extent cruelty
+and oppression in the subordinate branches of the public service; and
+in all respects has proved himself equal to the great duty imposed
+upon him, and worthy the esteem and commendation of the civilized
+world. Yet I can not see what there is in a despotic form of
+government, under the very best circumstances, to enlist our
+admiration or win our sympathies. We may respect and appreciate a good
+ruler, but every autocrat is not good of his kind; nor is every
+country in a happy condition because it may be exempt from the horrors
+of commotion. But no sovereign power can ever attain a rank among the
+civilized nations of the earth--beyond the respect to which its brute
+force may entitle it--so long as the very germ of its existence is
+founded in the suppression of civil and political liberty among its
+subjects.
+
+What, after all, does the emancipation of the serfs amount to? They
+are only to be nominally free. The same power that accords them the
+poor privilege of tilling the earth for their own subsistence may at
+any time withdraw it. They are not to be owned by individual
+proprietors, and bought and sold like cattle; but they possess none of
+the privileges of freemen; have no voice in the laws that govern them;
+must pay any taxes imposed upon them; may be ordered, at any time, to
+abandon their homes and sacrifice their lives in foolish and
+unnecessary wars in which they have no interest; in short, are just as
+much slaves as they were before, with the exception that during the
+pleasure of the emperor they can not be sold. But will every emperor
+be equally humane? There is nothing to prevent the successor of
+Alexander the Second from restoring the system of serfage, with all
+its concomitant horrors. It will not be difficult to find a
+predominating influence among the nobles to accomplish that object;
+for this has been a long and severe struggle against their influence,
+and owes its success entirely to the unremitting labors of the
+sovereign. The next autocrat may labor with equal earnestness to undo
+this good work; but it matters little, save in name. Despotism and
+freedom are antipodes, and can not be brought together. It may be said
+that it would be difficult to enslave a people who had once even
+partially tasted the sweets of liberty, but the history of Russia does
+not furnish testimony to that effect.
+
+Since the publication of the ukase abolishing serfdom, there has been
+a great deal of trouble in the more remote districts between the serfs
+and their masters, arising chiefly from ignorance on the one side, and
+discontent and disaffection on the other. Every possible obstacle has
+been thrown in the way of a fair understanding of its terms. Some idea
+may be formed of the extreme ignorance and debased condition of the
+serfs when I mention that in many parts of the country, where the
+influence of the court is not so immediately felt by the proprietors,
+they have assumed such despotic powers over their dependents, and
+exercise to this day such an inexorable command over their lives,
+liberties, and persons, that the poor creatures have almost learned to
+regard them as demigods. When a nobleman of high position, owning
+large tracts of land and many serfs, visits his estates, it is not an
+uncommon thing to see the enslaved peasantry, who are taught to
+believe that they exist by his sufferance, cast themselves prostrate
+before him and kiss the ground, in the Oriental fashion, as he passes.
+It is a species of idolatry highly soothing to men in official
+position, who are themselves subjected to almost similar debasement
+before their imperial master. In some instances, especially at a
+distance from the capital, the acts of cruelty perpetrated by these
+cringing and venal nobles, as an offset to the arbitrary rule under
+which they themselves exist, are enough to make the blood curdle. The
+knout, a terrible instrument made of thick, heavy leather, and
+sometimes loaded with leaden balls, is freely used to punish the most
+trifling offense. Men and women, indiscriminately, are whipped at the
+pleasure of their masters, the only real restrictions being that if
+they die within twenty-four hours the owners are subjected to trial
+for murder; but even that is nearly always evaded. The present emperor
+has done much to meliorate these abuses; but his orders have to go a
+great way and through a great many unreliable hands, and it is very
+difficult to carry them into effect unless they accord with the views
+of a venal and corrupt bureaucracy and an unprincipled corps of
+subordinates.
+
+ [Illustration: SERFS.]
+
+In some of the districts where the serfs were purposely kept in
+ignorance of the true meaning and intention of the emperor's ukase, a
+vague idea took possession of their minds that they were free, and
+that the proprietors had no right to compel them to labor, or in any
+way curtail their liberty. Many of them left the estates to which they
+were attached, and sought occupation elsewhere on their own account;
+others refused to obey the orders given them by their seigneurs, and a
+great deal of trouble and bloodshed ensued. In some instances it
+became necessary to call in the military forces of the district to
+subdue the mutinous serfs and preserve order. Protests and
+remonstrances innumerable were addressed to the emperor, pointing out
+the absolute impracticability of carrying his beneficent scheme into
+effect, based chiefly on the ground that the serfs themselves were
+opposed to emancipation. This, of course, occasioned a great deal of
+anxiety and trouble at head-quarters. It was rather a hard state of
+things that the very peasants whom he was striving with all his power
+to serve should, by their insubordination--arising sometimes, it was
+true, from ignorance, but too often from willful misconduct--do even
+more than their masters to frustrate his beneficent designs. These
+troubles went on from time to time, till eventually a deputation of
+three hundred serfs made their way to St. Petersburg and solicited an
+audience of the emperor. His majesty, probably in no very amiable
+mood, called the deputation before him, and demanded what they
+desired. They answered that they wished an explanation in regard to
+his order of emancipation, which many of their people did not
+understand. Some thought they were to be free in two years, but many
+thought they were free from the date of the order, with the simple
+condition that they were to pay sixty rubles to their masters the
+first year, and thirty the second; others, again, that they were free
+without any condition whatever. All they wanted to know was, were they
+free or not? If free, why were they forced to labor for other people;
+and if not free, was there any prospect that they ever would be? The
+emperor asked, "Can you read?" Some answered that they could read,
+others that they could not. "Have you read my order?" demanded the
+emperor of those who could read. "Yes, your majesty," they replied,
+"we have read your order, but we don't understand it." All who could
+read and had read the order were removed on one side. "Now," said the
+emperor, turning to the others, "has this order been read to you?"
+"Yes, your majesty," they replied, "but we don't understand it." "Very
+well," observed the emperor; "you seem to be an intelligent set of
+men, capable of learning, and we shall see that the order is made
+intelligible. We had supposed it was perfectly clear in its terms;
+but, since you do not or will not comprehend it, all you who can read
+must be whipped." The literary portion of the deputation were then
+taken off by a file of soldiers, treated to a score or two of lashes
+each, and sent back to their people to explain the manifesto. "And all
+you," said the emperor, turning to the unlearned members of the
+deputation, "must serve three years as soldiers, during which time we
+shall see that you are taught to read." They were accordingly taken
+off, and furnished with a general outfit of uniforms, and are now
+serving their imperial master in a military capacity.
+
+Summary justice, that, one might say. It seems, at all events, a
+pretty prompt method of explaining official documents, and could
+probably be adopted beneficially in other countries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+REFORM IN RUSSIA.
+
+
+In my last chapter I took occasion to acknowledge, in terms of sincere
+respect and admiration, the noble efforts of the present emperor,
+Alexander II., in the great cause of human freedom. He has already
+gone very far beyond any of his predecessors in the extension of
+civil liberty among his subjects, but a great crisis has now arrived
+which will practically test his sincerity. What he has heretofore done
+will be worse than nothing unless he remains true to himself and the
+noble cause which he has espoused. History shows us that the
+sovereigns of Russia have not always been indifferent to public
+opinion; but, with one or two honorable exceptions, it also shows us
+that they have been more liberal in their professions than in their
+acts. I ventured the assertion that there are insuperable obstacles to
+a very high order of civilization in Russia. Perhaps this is too
+gloomy a view of the case, and, considering the wonderful natural
+capacities of the people, it may be thought rather illiberal for an
+American; but I must confess the difficulties strike me as very
+serious. The severity of the climate in the middle and northern parts
+of the empire, the vast proportion of desert and unavailable lands,
+and the diversity of fierce and ignorant races to be governed, are
+certainly obstacles not easily overcome, if we are to understand by
+civilization a predominance of moral and intellectual cultivation,
+combined with material prosperity and a reasonable share of liberty
+and happiness among the mass of the people. It is not that a few shall
+be learned, and intelligent, and privileged above all others, but that
+the broad fields of knowledge shall be open to all; that education
+shall be general, and the right of every class to the fruits of their
+labor and the enjoyment of civil, political, and religious liberty
+shall be recognized and protected by the laws of the land. In this
+view, it seems to me that the most serious obstacle to civilization in
+Russia is presented by the despotic nature of the government, and the
+difficulty, under the existing state of things, of substituting
+another for which the ignorant masses are prepared. The aristocracy
+are constantly clamoring for increased powers and privileges, but it
+is very certain they have no affinity, beyond pecuniary interest, with
+the middle and lower classes, and that their sole aim is to interpose
+every possible obstacle to the progress of freedom. The emperor is
+now practically the great conservative power who stands between them
+and their dependents. Any increase of authority to the aristocracy
+would deprive the masses of the limited protection which they now
+enjoy. Already the head and front of Russian despotism are the
+camarilla and the bureaucracy, who practically administer the affairs
+of the government. So long as they hold their power, they stand as a
+barrier to all progress on the part of the people. Thoroughly
+aristocratic and tyrannical in all their instincts, they have every
+thing to lose and nothing to hope from a constitutional form of
+government. Why, it may be asked, if the emperor is sincere in his
+professions of regard for freedom and civilization, does he not make
+use of the aristocratic powers vested in him, and cast away from him
+all these obstacles to the perfection of his plans? The question is
+easier asked than answered. We are but little enlightened upon the
+secret councils that prevail at the court of St. Petersburg. Whatever
+is done there is only known by its results; whatever finds its way
+into the public press is subject to a rigid censorship, and is worth
+little so far as it conveys the remotest idea of facts. What you see
+demonstrated you may possibly be safe in believing, but nothing else.
+It may be easier to speak of removing obstacles than to do it; or it
+may be that the emperor has no fixed policy for the future, and
+therefore hesitates to encounter difficulties through which he can not
+see his way without any adequate or well-defined object.
+
+No country in the world presents such an anomalous condition of
+affairs as that presented by Russia at this time. The preliminary
+steps have been taken to set free over twenty-three millions of white
+people, so accustomed to a condition of servitude, so generally
+ignorant, and so incapable of thinking or acting for themselves, that
+many, if not most of them, look with dread upon the movement made for
+their emancipation. The rights reserved to them are so little
+understood, and, indeed, so visionary under any circumstances--for
+two rights to the same land would be as impracticable in Russia
+between the proprietors and the peasant as in our country between the
+whites and the Indians--that they can see nothing beyond abandonment
+to increased oppressions and sufferings in the proposed movement.
+Degraded as they are, accustomed from infancy to obey their rulers,
+kept in a condition of brutish ignorance in order that they may be
+kept in subjection, it is natural they should be unable to realize the
+mysterious benefits about to be conferred upon them. In their present
+abject position they enjoy a certain kind of protection from their
+owners, who, if not always governed by motives of humanity, are at
+least generally susceptible of the influences of self-interest, and
+take care to feed and clothe them, and provide for them in cases of
+sickness; and although this is done at the expense of their labor, it
+relieves them from responsibilities which they are scarcely prepared
+to assume. To set them free against their own will, or even admitting
+that, in common with all mankind, they must have some general
+appreciation of liberty--to undertake so radical a change in their
+condition and future prospects without a practical definition of their
+rights and the substitution of some substantial benefits for the
+withdrawal of responsibilities now borne by their owners, is an
+anomalous movement attended by no ordinary difficulties. When we add
+to this the adverse influences of the landed proprietors; their
+determined hostility to the abrogation of rights and privileges which
+they have so long enjoyed; their entire conviction that, without
+direct powers of coercion, they can not depend upon the labor of the
+peasantry; that the natural tendency of free labor is to elevate the
+masses, and render them less subservient to the will of the
+aristocracy, then, indeed, it may well be conceived that the natural
+difficulties arising from the ignorance and improvident habits of the
+class now held in bondage will be greatly augmented. Believing,
+however, that all men have a right to their freedom; that such a
+right is the gift of the Creator, which can only be wrongfully
+withheld from them by any earthly power; that it is superior to any
+casual influences or considerations of policy, we can not but admire
+the moral courage of the movement, and the apparent zeal and constancy
+with which the emperor has labored, in the face of every obstacle, to
+carry it into effect. But the question now arises, is it to end before
+it assumes a substantial form? Is it to be a mere chimera gotten up to
+entertain and delude the world? If Alexander aspires to the approval
+of all enlightened people beyond the limits of his own empire, he must
+make good his claim to it by a determined policy, carrying in it the
+germ of civil and political liberty. It will not do to "tickle the
+ears of the groundlings" with high-sounding phrases of human progress,
+while he fetters their limbs with manacles of iron. There can be no
+such thing as a graduated despotism--a stringent form of controlling
+the ignorant and a mild form of controlling the intelligent--under one
+system of government. The ways to knowledge, to honorable distinction,
+to wealth and happiness, must be open to all; justice must be
+administered with impartiality, and wherever there is taxation there
+must be representation. There can not be one kind of justice for the
+rich and another for the weak; constitutions for some and despotisms
+for others. The machine must be complete in all its parts, and work
+with a common accord, or it will soon become deranged and break to
+pieces.
+
+Peter the Great did much toward the physical improvement of the
+country. He built up cities, created a navy, organized an army,
+extended his dominions, encouraged education, and fostered the
+mechanical arts; but he held a tight rein upon his subordinate
+officers, and suppressed what little freedom the masses enjoyed. He
+was ambitious, and liked to enjoy a reputation for enlightenment, but
+no regard for civilization beyond the power it gave him to extend his
+dominions. His subjects were merely his instruments. All he learned
+in other countries was to sharpen them and keep them in order, that he
+might use them to the best advantage. His ambition was not of the
+highest or noblest kind. The page he has left in history is
+interesting and instructive, but there is nothing in it to warrant the
+belief that it will be selected by a remote posterity to be bound up
+among the lives of truly great and good men. Catharine II. extended
+the privileges of the nobility, made wars upon inoffensive nations,
+corrupted the morals of her people, and manifested her regard for the
+serfs by giving large numbers of them away to her paramours. The
+Emperor Alexander I. was ambitious of distinction, as the most
+cultivated and enlightened sovereign of his time. He issued liberal
+edicts, but seldom observed them. He wished to be thought friendly to
+liberty, without sacrificing any of his despotic privileges. He gave a
+Constitution to the Poles, but surrounded it by such forms and
+influences that they could derive no advantage from it. He was weak,
+cunning, and conceited; given rather to the delicate evasions of
+diplomacy than to the bold straightforwardness of truth and honor. The
+Emperor Nicholas was utterly selfish and despotic in all his
+instincts. He professed to take a profound interest in the cause of
+emancipation, but it was purely a question of policy with him. He
+cared nothing about human rights. His dark and cruel nature was
+unsusceptible of a noble or generous impulse. While he preached
+liberal generalities, he ruled his subjects with an iron rod. He was
+bigoted, narrow-minded, and brutal. The sense of right was not in his
+nature. His ambition was to be an object of heathenish idolatry to his
+subjects--whether as a god or devil it mattered nothing; fear was the
+only incense he was capable of craving; and if such a nature can be
+susceptible of enjoyment, his consisted in the abasement of his
+fellow-creatures. The severity of his decrees, the rigor of his
+administration, and the attributes of infallibility which he cast
+around his person, caused him to be regarded with awe, but not with
+love. He could brook no opposition nor survive a failure. Few tears
+were shed when he was stricken down in his pride. He left but a small
+legacy of good deeds to endear him in the memory of his subjects. The
+haughty Czar lies dead in his sepulchre--cold, stern, and solitary as
+he lived.
+
+Nicholas left his country in a distracted and unhappy
+condition--deeply in debt; commerce deranged; the military service in
+the worst possible condition, and nearly every branch of the public
+service in the hands of corrupt and incapable men. Well might he say
+to his own son upon his dying bed, "Poor Alexander, my beloved son,
+where lie the ills of unhappy Russia?" Well might he endeavor to make
+atonement for his errors by recommending at his last hour the
+emancipation of the serfs.
+
+The milder spirit of Alexander reigns in his place. What future, then,
+does this humane young sovereign propose to himself and his country?
+He gives personal liberty to the serfs, but he can not allow them to
+become intelligent and responsible beings. If they do, they will no
+longer acknowledge his right to deprive them of political liberty. He
+removes various restrictions from the press, and the moment the light
+of intelligence strikes upon the minds of his subjects, they call for
+a constitution and the overthrow of a despotic camarilla. He
+undertakes to restrain a powerful, intelligent, and unscrupulous
+aristocracy, who by instinct, education, and self-interest hate the
+very name of freedom, and they turn against him, and provoke those
+whom he would serve to acts of rebellion against his authority. We can
+scarcely wonder that this is the case when we consider the interests
+they have at stake. It is not likely that they will quietly relinquish
+their accustomed source of revenue. On the other hand, the argument is
+advanced, and with a good share of reason, that the emancipation of
+the serfs is really a benefit to the owners. It relieves them of
+enormous responsibilities, and, by encouraging industry, increasing
+the intelligence, self-reliance, and capacity of the serfs themselves,
+makes their labor more profitable to the landed proprietors. This is a
+view of the case, however, in which they have no faith. Believing in
+nothing free except the free use of authority in their own persons,
+they can not be brought to understand the advantages of free labor.
+
+But these considerations do not, by any means, comprise all the
+difficulties in which Russia is now placed. The dependencies are
+constantly in revolt. Constant troubles are going on in the remote
+districts. Nine millions of the population--the old believers who do
+not profess the prevailing religion--have their secret conferences,
+their plans and purposes, all antagonistical to the existing form of
+government. A reign of terror exists in Poland. The Finns detest their
+rulers, and are only kept in a partial state of quietude by a total
+subversion of the liberties guaranteed to them under the Constitution.
+The municipal franchises existing in the various provinces of Russia
+are a mere mockery; mayors and corporate officers are imprisoned or
+banished without cause or process of law. The councils of the
+government are secret, and nobody can conjecture how long he may be
+permitted to enjoy his personal liberty. The exchequer is annually
+deficient from thirty to forty millions of rubles. Public credit is
+growing worse and worse every day, and the whole country is falling
+into a condition of bankruptcy. It is evident, even to the most
+superficial observer, that a great crisis is at hand. The Poles are
+united in their resistance to the despotic sway of the government.
+Witness the late bloody massacres in Warsaw (1862), against which the
+whole civilized world cries aloud in horror! They will not now be
+satisfied with empty professions and still emptier concessions. They
+demand a Constitution--not a mere paper Constitution, like that of
+1815, made to be violated by every lackey of the government sent to
+coerce them. They demand civil, political, and religious liberty. Can
+the emperor grant it to a dependency, and withhold it from the body of
+his people?
+
+This has been tried for nearly half a century--ever since 1815--and
+what has it resulted in? Are the Poles any better satisfied now than
+they were then? Are they benefited and enlightened by being cut down
+and hacked to pieces by a set of drunken and bloodthirsty Cossacks in
+the name of the great Russian government?
+
+The Emperor Alexander must adopt some other system. He will never
+reduce the Poles to submission in that way. Overpowered and cut to
+pieces they may be, but not conquered. They belong to the
+unconquerable races of mankind. The blood that heroes, and heroines,
+and martyrs are made of runs in the veins of every man, woman, and
+child of the Polish nation. If they can not govern themselves, it is
+equally certain they can not be governed by any despotic power. It is
+not by slaughtering defenseless women and children; not by forcing
+churches to be opened; not by sending savage and heartless minions to
+crush the people down in the dust, that Alexander II. is to win a
+reputation for humanity and liberality. It is not by issuing edicts of
+emancipation to his serfs, and then, at the instigation of a cruel and
+ruthless camarilla, deluging the country with their blood to keep them
+quiet, that he is going to do it. It is not by extending privileges to
+the press and the universities, and then, by a sudden and violent
+suppression of all liberty, undertake to arrest some abuses, that he
+is likely to achieve it. It is not by countenancing venal and
+unscrupulous writers to sustain every outrage that his nobles may
+choose to perpetrate, and banishing all who respectfully remonstrate
+against their misconduct, that he is to attain the highest eminence as
+a civilized sovereign. It is not by keeping up a system of foreign
+surveillance, by which Russians in other countries are watched and
+their lives threatened, that these glorious results are to be
+achieved. His secret police may (on their own responsibility or his,
+it matters little to the victims which) assassinate M. Herzain, the
+editor of the _Kolokol_, in London; but if they do, a thousand
+Herzains will rise in his place. No; it is by no such means as these
+that the name of Alexander II. is to be transmitted to posterity as
+the most liberal and enlightened sovereign of the age.
+
+If he would regenerate Russia--if he would avert the dismemberment of
+a great empire--if he would accomplish the noble mission upon which
+the world gives him the credit of having started, he must banish from
+his presence all evil councils; he must be true to himself and the
+great cause of humanity; he must give all his people, and all his
+dependencies, a liberal and equitable constitution, which will protect
+them from the despotic sway of military governors and the aristocracy.
+He must establish a constitutional government, complete in all its
+parts; abolish secret tribunals, and open the avenues of knowledge and
+justice to all. He must see that the laws are fairly and equitably
+administered. He must enlarge the liberty of the press, and proscribe
+no man for his opinions, unless in cases of treason, and under
+peculiar circumstances of civil commotion endangering the public
+safety. He must abolish the censorship of the colleges, universities,
+and places of public amusement, and leave them to be regulated by the
+municipal authorities. In short, he must cease to be a despot and
+become a constitutional monarch. Will he do it? Can he do it? Does he
+possess the moral courage to do it? Time alone can answer these
+questions. I sincerely believe the emperor is a good man, actuated by
+the best motives, but not always governed by the wisest counsels. I
+believe he now has an opportunity of earning a name that enlightened
+men will bless through all time to come. So far, it is to be regretted
+that he has not pursued the most consistent course, but it is not yet
+too late to retrieve his errors. One thing is certain--there can be
+no half-way measures of reform in Russia. The spirit of the age--the
+general increase of intelligence--requires a radical change. He can
+not be autocrat and king at the same time. He must be one or the
+other. If he tries both, the empire will be dismembered before many
+years.
+
+Whatever may be the extent and variety of those hidden restraints,
+which doubtless exist, and must, from the very nature of the
+government, be exempt from the scrutiny of a stranger as well as from
+popular discussion, it is beyond question that in the principal
+cities, at least, very little is visible in that respect which would
+be considered objectionable in the municipal regulations of any city
+in the United States. From this, of course, must be excepted the
+presence in every public place and thoroughfare of vast numbers of
+soldiers and officers; but that is a feature which St. Petersburg
+shares in common with all the cities of Europe, and the traveler can
+scarcely regard it as an indication of the depressed condition of
+Russian civilization. I think I have seen in the streets of Pesth,
+Vienna, Berlin, and Frankfort quite as many soldiers, according to the
+population, as in St. Petersburg. I would say something about Paris,
+but I expect to go there after a while, and would dislike very much to
+be placed in the position of Mr. Dick Swiveller, who was blockaded at
+his lodgings, and never could go out without calculating which of the
+public ways was still left open. But if there be officers enough of
+all kinds in Paris to keep the public peace and suppress objectionable
+correspondence and pamphlets against members of the reigning family,
+there are also enough in Lyons and Marseilles, as well as other cities
+of France, to prove that civilization and soldiers, however inimical
+to each other, may, by the force of circumstances, be reduced to a
+partnership. The question that troubles me most is to determine
+precisely what is the highest condition of civilization. It can not be
+to enjoy fine palaces and have a great many soldiers, for Marco Polo
+tells us that the great Kubla Khan had palaces of gold and precious
+stones of incredible extent and most sumptuous magnificence, such as
+the world has never seen from that day to this, and could number his
+troops by millions; yet nobody will undertake to say that the Tartars
+of the tenth century were in advance of the French of the nineteenth
+century. It can not consist in the enjoyment of freedom, and the
+general dissemination of education and intelligence among the people;
+for where will you find a freer or more intelligent people than those
+of the United States, who are rated by the Parisians as little better
+than savages? I think civilization must consist in the perfection of
+cookery, and a high order of tailoring and millinery. If the French
+excel in the manufacture of cannons and iron-cased ships, and devote a
+good deal of attention to surgery, it is a necessity imposed upon them
+by the presence of Great Britain and their natural propensity for
+strong governments; but I am disposed to believe that their genius
+lies in gastronomy and tailoring, and in the construction of hats and
+bonnets. Since the latter articles cover the heads of the best classes
+of mankind, they must be the climax or crowning feature of all human
+intelligence. I am greatly puzzled by the various opinions on this
+subject entertained by the most cultivated people of Europe. The
+English seem to think the perfection of civilization consists in
+preaching against slavery and then trying to perpetuate it, in order
+to get hold of some cotton; the French in suppressing family
+pamphlets, annulling the sacred contract of marriage, building
+iron-cast ships, cooking frogs, snails, and cats, making fancy coats,
+and topping off the human head with elegant hats and bonnets; the
+Austrians in the manufacture of shin-plasters for their soldiers, and
+the making and breaking of constitutions for ungovernable
+dependencies; the Prussians in the blasphemous necromancy of receiving
+crowns for their kings direct from God; and all in some shape or other
+professing devotion to human liberty, and doing every thing in their
+power to subvert it. Truly it is enough to puzzle one who seeks for
+truth amid the prevailing fogs of error that seem to have descended
+upon mankind. If there be any degree in honesty, I really think the
+Emperor of Russia is entitled to the palm of being the most sincere in
+his profession of regard for the advancement of human freedom. He
+imposes no restrictions upon his own subjects which he does not
+consider necessary for the maintenance of his despotic power, and,
+while struggling against the influence of a wealthy, intelligent, and
+refractory aristocracy to extend the boon of personal liberty to
+twenty-three millions of serfs, is the only sovereign who boldly and
+openly manifests a generous sympathy for the cause of freedom in the
+United States. While I can see nothing to admire in any form of
+despotism, or any thing in common between us and the government of
+Russia beyond the common bond of humanity that should connect the
+whole human race, I am forced to admit, with all my hatred of despotic
+institutions, that they are not always a sure indication of an
+illiberal and insincere spirit on the part of the rulers, or of a
+base, sordid, and groveling spirit on that of the subjects. It is a
+matter of regret, calculated to shake our faith in the beneficial
+effects of a high order of intelligence among men, that the course of
+England and France, since the commencement of our difficulties,
+presents a very unfavorable contrast with that of Russia; for,
+although self-interest has restrained them from actual participation
+in the overthrow of our government, they have given its enemies the
+full benefit of their sympathy.
+
+You will smile, perhaps, at the oddity of the idea, considering the
+roughness of our country, the scarcity of palaces, fine equipages,
+liveried servants with white kid gloves and cocked hats, and the
+absence of a perfect railroad system in our remote quarter of the
+world; but I am perfectly in earnest in saying that, if asked to lay
+my hand upon my heart and declare, in all sincerity, what country upon
+earth I do consider the most highly favored and enlightened at the
+present stage of the nineteenth century, I should not hesitate one
+moment to name the State of California. The idea has been growing in
+my head ever since I came to Europe. It is based upon considerations
+which are susceptible of the clearest demonstration. For example,
+assuming our population to be five hundred thousand, where will you
+find the same number of educated, enterprising, and intelligent men in
+any one district or state of Europe, not excepting any given part of
+France or England? If we have fewer learned and scientific men than
+older countries can boast, we have a greater number above mediocrity,
+according to our population, and a vastly higher average of general
+intelligence. If our laws are too often loosely administered, it is at
+least in the power of the people to remedy the difficulty by
+substituting good and faithful for corrupt and inefficient officers;
+and if any law should prove burdensome, it can be repealed at the will
+of the majority. So far as injustice is concerned, I have seen more of
+it in Europe, individual rights were concerned, than I ever saw in
+California. We have a public sentiment in favor of the right which can
+not be shaken by corrupt, factious, and transitory influences. If our
+governors and public men are not furnished with gilded palaces and
+fine equipages, the labor of the toiling poor is not taxed to supply
+them. If we are backward in the higher branches of literature and the
+fine arts, there is scarcely a mechanic or a miner in the state who
+does not know more of the history of his own country, possess a more
+accurate knowledge of its institutions, read more of the current
+intelligence of the day from all other countries--who, in short, is
+not better versed in every branch of practical knowledge applicable to
+the ordinary purposes of life, than the average of the most
+intelligent classes in Great Britain or France. If we are deficient in
+the dandyism of dress and the puppyism of manners, which so generally
+pass for refinement and politeness on the Continent of Europe, there
+is scarcely a boor among us who would not be hooted out of the lowest
+society for the indifference, rudeness, and disrespect toward women,
+which form the rule rather than the exception among the polished
+nations of Europe. I have seen more absolute selfishness, coarseness,
+and innate vulgarity under the guise of elegant manners, since my
+arrival on this side of the water, than I ever saw in California under
+any guise whatever. If that be civilization, I do not want to see it
+prevail in our country. It would be difficult, indeed, to say in what
+respect a comparison would not show a heavy balance in our favor.
+Wealth is more equally diffused, fortune is more accessible to all,
+the honors and emolument of political position are within the reach of
+every man, the press is unrestrained in its freedom save in so far as
+individual rights and the well-being of society may be concerned; no
+class is oppressed by inequitable burdens, and none endowed with
+exclusive privileges; a rich soil, a prolific mineral region, a
+climate unequaled for its salubrity, and a promising future, afford
+profitable occupation, health, and happiness to the whole community;
+none need suffer unless from their own misconduct, or the visitation
+of the Supreme Power by which all are ruled; and none need despond who
+possess energy of character and the capacity to appreciate the many
+blessings bestowed upon them. What nation in Europe possesses a future
+at all, much less such a future as that which lies before us? Russia
+may improve and prosper to a certain extent; beyond that, no human eye
+can discern the glimmerings of a higher and more enlarged
+civilization. England has reached her culminating point. The States of
+Germany--what future have they? Alas! the past and the present must
+answer. France--where is her future? Another revolution--another
+emperor--another and another bloody history of revolutions,
+barricades, kings, emperors, and demagogues, reaching, so far as human
+eye can penetrate, through the dim vistas of all time to come. If, on
+the one side, we see the type of human perfection and the maturity of
+all worldly knowledge, and if we see on the other only the presumption
+that springs from ignorance, want of cultivation, or want of reverence
+for the example of others, then I earnestly pray that we may forever
+remain in our present benighted condition, or, if we advance at all,
+that it may not be in the direction taken by any of the governments of
+Europe. As our present is unlike theirs, so I trust may be our future.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+A BOND OF SYMPATHY.
+
+
+The Russians, doubtless, have a natural appetite for tobacco, in
+common with all races of mankind, whether Digger Indians, Caffirs,
+Hindoos, Persians, Turks, Americans, or Dutchmen; for I never yet have
+met with a people who did not take to the glorious weed, in some shape
+or other, as naturally as a babe to its mother's breast. _Vodka_, or
+native brandy, is their favorite beverage, when they can get it. In
+that respect, too, they share a very common attribute of humanity--a
+passion for strong drinks. Nevertheless, although the love of
+intoxicating liquors is pretty general in Russia, the habit of smoking
+which usually accompanies it is not so common as in the more southern
+parts of Europe. A reason for this may be found in the prohibitions
+established by the government against the general use of tobacco. It
+is true, any person who pleases may enjoy this luxury, but by a rigid
+ukase of the emperor the restrictions amount very nearly to an
+absolute prohibition, so far as the common people are concerned.
+Smoking is prohibited in the streets of every town and city throughout
+the empire, and any infraction of the law in this respect, whether by
+a native or foreigner, is visited by a heavy penalty. I hear of
+several instances in St. Petersburg and Moscow of arrests by the
+police for violations of the imperial decree. The reason given by the
+Russians themselves for this despotic regulation is, that the cities
+being built mostly of wood, extensive and disastrous conflagrations
+have arisen from carelessness in street-smoking. It is difficult to
+see how the risk is lessened in this way, for the prohibition does not
+extend to smoking within doors. A carpenter may indulge his propensity
+for cigars over a pile of shavings, provided it be in his workshop,
+but he must not carry a lighted cigar in his mouth on any of the
+public thoroughfares. The true reason perhaps is, that the emperor
+considers it a useless and expensive habit, and thus makes use of his
+imperial power to discountenance it, as far as practicable, among his
+subjects. They may drink _vodka_ if they please, because that only
+burns their insides out; but they must not smoke cigars, as a general
+rule, because that impairs their moral perceptions. Hence cigars are
+not permitted to be sold at any of the tobacco-shops in packages of
+less than ten. Few of the lower classes ever save up money enough to
+buy ten cigars at a time, so that if they desire to smoke they must go
+to a cheap groggery and indulge in cheap cigaritos. Owing to the want
+of opportunity, therefore, smoking is not a national characteristic,
+as in Germany and the United States.
+
+This, I must confess, gave me a rather gloomy impression of Russia,
+and accounted in some measure for the grave and uncongenial aspect of
+the people. One always likes to find some bond of sympathy between
+himself and the inhabitants of the country through which he travels. I
+remember reading somewhere of a Scotchman who had occasion to visit
+the United States on business connected with an establishment in
+Glasgow. He was disgusted with the manners and customs of the people;
+had no faith in their capacity for business; found nothing to approve;
+considered them vulgar, impertinent, irresponsible, and irreligious;
+and finally was about to take his departure with these unfavorable
+views, when he discovered, from some practical experience, that they
+possessed, in addition to all these traits, wonderful shrewdness in
+the art of swindling. New dodges that he had never dreamt of turned up
+in the line of debits and credits; he was interested--delighted! A
+familiar chord was touched. He retracted all he had said; formed the
+most exalted opinion of the people; reluctantly returned to Glasgow,
+and there made a fortune in the course of a few years! It is said that
+he now swears by the eternal Yankee nation--the only oath he was ever
+known to make use of--and expresses a desire to settle in the United
+States, if he can find a suitable part of the country abounding in
+fogs, rain, sleet, snow, and wind.
+
+Somewhat akin to this is the affection with which a traveler in a
+foreign land regards every mountain, tree, or flower that reminds him
+of his own country. The most pleasant parts of my experiences of
+mountain scenery are those that most resemble similar experiences at
+home. Some suggestion or hint of a familiar scene has often caused me
+to enjoy what would otherwise perhaps have attracted no particular
+attention. I remember once, while traveling in Brazil, near the Falls
+of Tejuca, some very pleasant scenes of early life came suddenly to
+mind, without any thing that I could perceive at the moment to give
+rise to such a train of thought. The aspect of the country was
+different from any I had ever seen before; and it was not till I
+discovered a bunch of violets close by my feet that I became aware
+that it was a familiar perfume which had so mysteriously carried me
+back to by-gone days. On another occasion, when at sea in the Indian
+Ocean, after many dreary months of absence from home, I one day
+accidentally found in the pocket of an old coat a paper of fine-cut
+chewing tobacco. With what delight I grasped the glittering treasure
+and applied it to my nose can only be conceived by a true lover of the
+weed--I speak not of your voracious chewers, who masticate this
+delectable narcotic as if it were food for the stomach instead of
+nutriment for the soul, but of the genuine devotee, who can appreciate
+the divinest essence, the rarest delicacies of tone and touch, the
+most exquisite shades of sentiment in this wondrous weed. What a
+luxury, after months of dreary longing--what an oasis in the desert of
+life! No attar of roses could be sweeter than that paper of fine-cut.
+I played with it--just titillating the nostrils--for hours before I
+dared to descend to the coarse process of chewing. And then--ah
+heavens! can mortal mixture ever equal that first chew again! How
+bright and beautiful the world looked! What happy remembrances I
+reveled in all that day, of serenades, and oyster-suppers, and pretty
+girls, and a thousand other fascinations of early youth, all of which
+grew out of a paper of fine-cut.
+
+My experiences in Sweden were even more delightful in this respect
+than in Russia. At Stockholm I saw drunken men every day, and at
+Gottenburg it was the prevailing trait. The trouble was to see a man
+who was not laboring under a pressure of bricks in his hat. On one
+occasion I must have seen in the course of a single afternoon several
+hundred reeling home in the highest possible condition of
+ecstasy--either that, or the streets were so badly paved, and the
+roads so devious and undulating, that they made people stagger to keep
+straight. It was on the occasion of a fair, and may perhaps have been
+an exception to the general rule. One thing is certain--it looked very
+natural, and made me cotton wonderfully to these good people. There
+was something really homelike in a reeling, staggering crowd--their
+shouts and uproarious songs, their boozy faces and tobacco-stained
+months. Every body seemed to be on a regular "bender." The only point
+of difference between the Swedish and the California "bender" was in
+the way the boys hugged and kissed the peasant-girls; but even in this
+respect a similitude may sometimes be found in the vicinity of the
+Indian Reservations, where I have seen Digger damsels treated quite as
+affectionately. However, it was all right, so long as both parties
+were willing. I rather liked the Gottenburg custom myself--as a
+spectator, of course.
+
+My last and perhaps most agreeable experience connected with the
+pleasures of sympathy occurred in Norway, on the road from Christiania
+to Trondhjem. With profound humiliation I make the confession that I
+have never yet been able to eradicate a natural passion for tobacco.
+Once, after reading the Rev. Dr. Cox's terrific book on the Horrors of
+Tobacco, in which it was conclusively shown that a single drop of the
+oil of this noxious weed put upon a cat's tongue killed the cat, I
+resolved to master this vicious propensity for poison. For six months
+I neither smoked, snuffed, nor chewed. But it came back somehow. Care,
+I think, revived it, and every body knows that care, as well as
+tobacco, killed a cat. A man might as well be killed one way as
+another. We must all eat our peck of dirt, and in some shape or other
+swallow our peck of poison. One learned gentleman proves that tobacco
+is poison; another, that coffee and tea are equally fatal; another,
+that meat is no better, and so on; our food and drink are pretty much
+composed of poison, so that we are constantly killing ourselves, and
+the result is, we die at last. Still, it is marvelous how long some
+people survive all these deadly stimulants; how fat and hearty the
+Germans are in spite of their meerschaums; how wonderfully the French
+survive their strong coffee; how the Russians deluge their stomachs
+with hot tea and yet still live; how the English get over their porter
+and brown stout; and how long it takes the various poisons to which
+the various nations of the earth are addicted to produce any sensible
+diminution in the population. Sometimes I am inclined to think people
+would die if they never ate a particle of any thing--either food or
+poison. It seems to be one of those debts that we incur on coming into
+the world, and can only discharge by going out of it.
+
+All of which leads you gradually to the main point--my experience in
+Norway. First, however, I must tell you that on my arrival in Europe,
+not being able to find a plug of genuine Cavendish, I was forced to
+satisfy the cravings of this morbid appetite by nibbling bad cigars.
+But a new difficulty soon became manifest--there was not a spot in all
+Germany where it was possible to get rid of a quid without attracting
+undue attention. No man likes to be stared at as an outlaw against the
+recognized decencies of life. One may smoke cigars under a lady's
+nose, dress like a popinjay, or kiss his bearded friend in most
+Continental cities, but he must not chew tobacco, because it is
+considered a barbarous and filthy habit. He may guzzle beer, take
+snuff, and wear dirty shirts, but if he would avoid reproach as an
+unclean animal he must abandon his quids. Now, as a general rule, I
+dislike to violate public sentiment, or inconvenience people with whom
+I associate. If they are nonsensical and inconsistent in their
+notions, I agree with them for the sake of harmony, if not for
+politeness. Nothing pleases me better than to annoy an Englishman by
+doing every thing that he most dislikes, because he makes it a point
+to be disagreeable and unmannerly; carries his nationality wherever he
+goes, and it does me good to furnish him with material for criticism.
+Out of pure good nature, I meet him half way; chew and spit that he
+may grumble, and put my legs over the back of the nearest chair to see
+him enjoy a good hearty fit of disgust, and talk loud that he may find
+material for ill-natured reflections on American manners--all of
+which, I know, is exactly what obliges him. It affords him such
+undeniable grounds for the depreciation of others, and the indulgence
+of his own weak vanity!
+
+In like manner I obliged my German friends, who, however, are
+altogether different in their exactions, and only require Americans to
+drop all their uncivilized habits, and become like themselves--quiet,
+decent, and respectable old fogies. Therefore I obeyed the laws,
+doffed my savage California costume, quit whisky, took to beer,
+avoided all passages of tenderness toward the female sex, and herded
+mostly with men. For a time, however, I held on to my beloved quid of
+cigar. It was such a solace in the midst of all these privations!
+But, alas! I had to give that up too; there was not a spot in all
+Germany suitable for the purpose of expectoration! The floors of the
+houses are so dreadfully clean--not a piece of carpet bigger than a
+rug to sit upon; the porcelain stoves so inaccessible; the windows
+always shut; every nook and corner blazing with little ornaments; the
+lady of the house so severely conscious of every movement; even the
+little earthen pans near the stove, filled with white sand nicely
+smoothed over to represent salt-cellars--the ostensible spittoons of
+the establishment--staring one in the face with a cold, steady gaze
+amounting to a positive prohibition--no, the thing was impossible! I
+saw plainly that a good, old-fashioned squirt of tobacco-juice would
+ruin such a country as this, where every room in every house was
+inimical to the habit, and every speck of ground throughout the length
+and breadth of the land adapted to some useful or ornamental purpose.
+Why, sir, I assure you that in the little duchy of Nassau--where it is
+said the grand-duke is unable to exercise his soldiers at
+target-shooting without obtaining permission to place the target in
+some neighboring state--I found the garden-walks and public roads so
+fearfully clean, every leaf and twig being swept up daily, and
+preserved to manure the duchy, that during a pedestrian tour of three
+days I was absolutely ashamed to spit any where. There was no possible
+chance of doing it without expunging a soldier or a policeman, or
+disfiguring the entire province. The result was, between
+tobacco-juice, salt water, iron water, sulphur water, soda-water, and
+all other sorts of water that came out of the earth from Brunnens of
+Nassau, I got home as thin as a snake, and was forced to deny myself
+even the poor consolation of a Frankfort cigar. So matters went on for
+nearly a year. I became a morose and melancholy man. This will account
+for all the bitter and ill-natured things I said of the Germans in
+some of my sketches, every word of which I now retract.
+
+But to come to the point of the narrative. In the due course of a
+vagabond life, after visiting Russia and Sweden, I found myself one
+day on the road from Lillehammer to the Dorre Fjeld in Norway. I sat
+in a little cariole--an old peasant behind. The scenery was sublime.
+Poetry crept over my inmost soul. The old man leaned over and said
+something. Great heavens! What a combination of luxuries! His breath
+smelled of whisky and tobacco. I was enchanted. I turned and gazed
+fondly and affectionately in his withered old face. Two streams of
+rich juice coursed down his furrowed chin. His leathery and wrinkled
+mouth was besmeared with the precious fluid; his eyes rolled foolishly
+in his head; he hung on to the cariole with a trembling and unsteady
+hand; a delicious odor pervaded the entire man. I saw that he was a
+congenial soul--cottoned to him at once--grasped him by the
+hand--swore he was the first civilized human I had met in all my
+travels through Europe--and called upon him, in the name of the great
+American brotherhood of chewers, to pass me a bite of his tobacco.
+From that moment we were the best of friends. The old man dived into
+the depths of a greasy pocket, pulled out a roll of black pigtail, and
+with joy beaming from every feature, saw me tear from it many a goodly
+mouthful. We talked--he in Norwegian, I in a mixture of German and
+English; we chewed; we spat; we laughed and joked; we forgot all the
+discrepancies of age, nativity, condition, and future prospects; in
+short, we were brothers, by the sublime and potent free-masonry of
+tobacco. All that day my senses were entranced. I saw nothing but
+familiar faces, gulches, canyons, bar-rooms, and boozy stage-drivers;
+smelt nothing but whisky and tobacco in every flower by the wayside;
+aspired to nothing but Congress and the suffrages of my
+fellow-citizens. I was once again in my own, my beloved California.
+
+ "Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we roam,
+ His first, best country ever is at home."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+CIVILIZATION IN RUSSIA.
+
+
+It may be a little startling to set out with the general proposition
+that Russia is not only very far from being a civilized country, but
+that it never can be one in the highest sense of the term. The remark
+of Peter the Great, that distance was the only serious obstacle to be
+overcome in the civilization of Russia, was such as might well be made
+by a monarch of iron will and unparalleled energy, at whose bidding a
+great city arose out of the swamps of Courland, where Nature never
+intended a city to stand. But the remark is not true in point of fact.
+Distance can be annihilated, or nearly so; and although Peter the
+Great was probably aware of that fact, he might well have reasoned
+that facility of intercommunication is not so much the cause as the
+result of civilization. The wilderness may be made to blossom as the
+rose through human agency, but it can only be done by divine
+permission. I think that permission has been withheld in the case of a
+very considerable portion of Russia. No human power can successfully
+contend against the depressing influences of a climate scarcely
+paralleled for its rigor. Where there are four months of a summer, to
+which the scorching heats of Africa can scarcely bear a comparison,
+and from six to eight months of a polar winter, it is utterly
+impossible that the moral and intellectual faculties of man can be
+brought to the highest degree of perfection. There must, of course,
+always be exceptions to every general rule; but even in the dark and
+bloody history of Russia we find that the exceptions of superior
+intelligence and enlightenment have been chiefly confined to those who
+availed themselves of the advantages afforded by more temperate
+climes. Peter himself, the greatest of the Czars, and certainly the
+most gifted of his race in point of intellect, perfected his education
+in other countries, and in all his grand enterprises of improvement
+availed himself of the intellect and experience of other races. Every
+important improvement introduced into Russia during his reign was the
+product of some other country, executed under foreign supervision.
+This, perhaps, more than any thing else, may be said to afford the
+most striking evidence of the enlarged and progressive character of
+his mind. Yet the very same practice has been followed to a greater or
+less extent by all his successors, and still, with the exception of a
+railroad built by Americans, a telegraph system, a few French
+fashions, and a movement professing to have for its object the
+emancipation of the serfs, the country, beyond the limits of the
+sea-port districts and those parts bordering on the States of Germany,
+has advanced but little toward civilization since the reign of Peter.
+
+With such a vast extent of territory, and such a variety of climates
+as it must necessarily embrace, it may seem rather a broad assertion
+to say that climate can be any obstacle to Russian civilization; but
+let us glance for a moment at the general character of the country.
+Between the sixtieth and seventy-eighth degrees of north latitude,
+embracing a considerable portion of European and Asiatic Russia, the
+winters are exceedingly long and severe, the summers so short that but
+little dependence can be placed upon crops. The greater part of this
+region consists of lakes, swamps, forests of pine, and extensive and
+barren plains. The mines of Siberia may be regarded as the most
+valuable feature in this desolate region. The production of flax and
+hemp in the province of Petersburg, and the lumber products of the
+forests which are accessible to the capital, give some importance to
+such portions as border on the southern and European limit of this
+great belt; but its general features are opposed to agricultural
+progress. Whatever of civilization can exist within it must be of
+forced growth, and be maintained under the most adverse circumstances.
+South of this, between the fifty-fifth and sixtieth degrees of
+latitude, comes a still wider and more extensive region, comprising
+St. Petersburg, Riga, Moscow, Smolensk, and a portion of Irkutsk and
+Nijni Novgorod. Here the summers are longer and the winters not quite
+so severe; but a large portion of the country consists of forests,
+sterile plains, and extensive marshes, and much of it is entirely
+unfit for cultivation. The European portions are well settled, and
+corn, flax, and hemp are produced wherever the land is available, and
+large bands of cattle roam over many parts of the country. In its
+general aspect, however, considering the duration and severity of the
+winters, and the large proportion of unavailable lands, I do not think
+it can ever become very productive in an agricultural point of view.
+Between fifty and fifty-five degrees latitude, embracing the valley of
+the Volga, is a more favored region, abounding in fertile lands, and
+the summers are longer, but the winters are still severe, especially
+in the eastern portions. From latitude forty-three to fifty, embracing
+portions of Kief, the Caucasus, and other southern possessions of the
+empire, the winters are comparatively temperate, and the summers warm
+and long; but here, again, a great portion of this country consists of
+mountains, arid plains, and deserts, and it is subject to extreme and
+terrible droughts. Here is a vast extent of territory, comprising
+about one hundred and sixty-five degrees of longitude and thirty-five
+of latitude, which contains within its limits a greater variety of bad
+climates, and a greater amount of land unavailable for any purposes of
+human life, than any equal compass of territory upon the globe, if we
+except Africa, which is at least doubtful. Within the limits of this
+vast, and, for the most part, inhospitable region, we find nearly all
+the races who, as far back as the history of mankind dates, have been
+the most addicted to predatory wars, and the indulgence of every
+savage propensity growing out of an untamable nature--Tartars,
+Cossacks, gipsies, Turks, Circassians, Georgians, etc., and the
+Russians proper, whose wild Sclavonic blood contains very nearly all
+the vices and virtues that circulate through the veins of all these
+races, besides many enterprising and unscrupulous traits of character
+to which the inferior tribes could never aspire. Here we have a mixed
+population, estimated in 1856 at seventy-one millions, including North
+American possessions and tributary tribes, a great part of it composed
+of totally incongruous elements, and with a variety of religions,
+embracing about nine millions of Roman, Armenian, and irregular Greek
+Catholics, Lutherans, Mohammedans, Israelites, and Buddhists--the
+national creed being the Greco-Russe, which, it is estimated, is
+professed by about fifty millions of the inhabitants, including, of
+course, infants and young children, and many others who know nothing
+about it. To keep all these incongruous elements in order, and provide
+against foreign invasion, requires a standing army of 577,859 troops
+"for grand operations," as the last almanac expresses it, besides
+various _corps de reserve_, and a navy of 186 from steamers, 41 large
+sailing vessels, and numerous gun-boats and smaller vessels, in the
+Baltic, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the White Sea, and the Sea of
+Azof. More than seven eighths of these are frozen up and totally
+unavailable for six months every year. It is estimated that, after
+allowing for the forces necessary to protect the home possessions of
+the empire, of which Russian Poland is the most troublesome, the
+number of troops that can be brought into active offensive operation
+does not, under ordinary circumstances, exceed two hundred thousand
+men, and it must be obvious, considering that Russia has but little
+external sea-board, and must submit to the rigors of a climate which
+locks up the best part of her navy at least half of every year, that
+she can never attain any great strength as a naval power. I am
+inclined to believe, therefore, that while this great nation, or
+combination of nations, is, from the very nature of its climate and
+topography, almost impregnable to foreign invasion, it can never
+become a very formidable power at any great distance from home; and
+there are considerations connected with its form of government, and
+the difficulty or impracticability of changing it, which, in my
+opinion, forms an insuperable obstacle to the education of the people,
+and such general dissemination of intelligence among the masses as
+will entitle them to take the highest rank among civilized nations.
+Nor does the history of Russia during past ages afford much
+encouragement for a different view of the future. Democracy existed
+for several centuries before the country became subject to despotic
+rule, and from the ninth to the fifteenth century the aristocracy
+possessed no hereditary privileges; the offices of state were
+accessible to all, and the peasantry enjoyed personal liberty. It was
+not until the reign of Peter the Great--the high-priest of
+civilization--that the serfs became absolute slaves subject to sale,
+with or without the lands upon which they lived. In respect to
+political liberty, there has been little, if any advance since the
+reign of the Empress Catherine, who accorded some elective privileges
+to certain classes of her subjects in the provinces, and reduced the
+administration of the laws to something like a system. The absurd
+pretense of Alexander I. in according to the Senate the right of
+remonstrating against imperial decrees is perfectly in keeping with
+all grants of power made by the sovereigns of Russia to their
+subjects. There is not, and can not be in the nature of things, a
+limited despotism. As soon as the subjects possess constitutional
+rights at all binding upon the supreme authority, it becomes another
+form of government. The great difficulty in Russia is, that the
+sovereign can not divest himself of any substantial part of his power
+without adding to that of the nobles and the aristocracy, who are
+already, by birth, position, and instinct, the class most to be
+feared, and most inimical to the process of freedom. It is not
+altogether the ignorance of the masses, therefore, that forms an
+insuperable barrier to the introduction of more liberal institutions,
+but the wealth, intelligence, and influence of the higher classes, who
+neither toil nor spin, but derive their support from the labor of the
+masses whom they hold in subjection. It is natural enough they should
+oppose every reform tending to elevate these subordinate classes upon
+whom they are dependent for all the powers and luxuries of their
+position. Admitting that the present emperor may have a leaning toward
+free institutions, and possibly contemplate educating forty or fifty
+millions of his subjects to run him into the Presidency of Russia, it
+is obvious that the path is very thorny, and that the position will be
+well earned if ever he gets there. But these acts of sovereign
+condescension, although they read very well in newspapers, and serve
+to entertain mankind with vague ideas of the progress of freedom, are
+generally the essence of an intense egotism, and amount to nothing
+more than cunning devices to subvert what little of liberty their
+subjects may be likely to extort from them by the maintenance of their
+rights. I do not say that Alexander II. is governed by these motives,
+but, having no faith in kings or despots of any kind, however good
+they may be, I can see no reason why he should prove any better than
+his predecessors. Upon this point let me tell you an anecdote. You are
+aware, perhaps, that the Finns have a Constitution which allows them
+to do what they please, provided it be pleasing to the emperor. Like
+the ukase of Alexander I. to the Senate, and all similar grants of
+authority, it is not worth the parchment upon which it is written, and
+in its practical operation is no better than a practical joke. The
+Finns, however, are a brave, simple minded, and rather superstitious
+people, and take some pride in this Constitution. It is the ghost of
+liberty at all events, and they indulge in the hope that some day or
+other it will fish up the dead body. Not more than a few weeks ago, a
+small party of these worthy people, on their way to Stockholm for
+purposes of business or pleasure, were arrested and put in prison by
+the Russian authorities on the supposition that they differed from the
+emperor in his interpretation of this liberal Constitution, and were
+going to Sweden to lay their grievances before their old compatriots.
+It is quite possible that this was true. I heard complaints made when
+I was in Helsingfors that there was quite a difference of opinion on
+the subject. But it is a marvel how they could misunderstand their
+right under the Constitution, when there is a strong military force
+stationed at the principal cities of Finland to make it intelligible.
+So thought the emperor or his subordinates, and put them in jail to
+give them light. The point in the transaction which strikes me most
+forcibly is, that a power like that of Russia, after having wrested
+the province of Finland from Sweden, with an army and navy far
+inferior to what she now possesses, should be afraid that a handful of
+Finns should tell a pitiful tale to the King of Sweden, and prevail
+upon him to take their country back again. If this be the freedom
+granted under the free Constitution of Finland, the restraints upon
+personal liberty must be pretty stringent in dependencies where no
+Constitutions at all exist.
+
+By a natural law, the waves of despotism gather strength and volume as
+they spread from the central power. It is scarcely an exaggeration to
+say that the Autocrat of Russia is the least despotic of all the
+despots in authority. The landed proprietors in the remote provinces
+too often rule their dependents with an iron rod, and the strong arm
+of the supreme authority is more frequently exercised in the
+protection than in the oppression of the lower classes. The tribunals
+of justice in these districts are corrupt, and the laws, as they are
+administered by the subordinate officers of the government, afford but
+little chance of justice to the ignorant masses. The landed
+proprietors are subjected to various exactments and oppressions from
+the governors, and these again are at the mercy of the various
+colleges or departments above them, and so on up to the imperial
+council and imperial presence. Each class or grade becomes
+independent, despotic, and corrupt in proportion as they recede from
+the central authority, having a greater latitude of power, and being
+less apprehensive of punishment for its abuse. In truth, the nobles
+and aristocracy are the immediate oppressors of the ignorant masses,
+who are taught to regard them as demigods, and bow down before them in
+slavish abasement. Now and then, in extreme cases, where the autocrat
+discovers abuses which threaten to impair his authority, he sends some
+of these aspiring gentlemen on a tour of pleasure to Siberia, and thus
+practically demonstrates that there is a ruling power in the land. As
+all authority emanates from him, and all responsibility rests with
+him, so all justice, liberality, fair dealing, and humanity are apt to
+find in a good sovereign, under such a system, their best friend and
+most conscientious supporter. The success of his government, the
+prosperity and happiness of his people, even the perpetuity of the
+entire political system, depend upon the judicious and equitable use
+which he makes of his power. There are limits to human forbearance, as
+sovereigns have discovered by this time. The Czar is but a man, a mere
+mortal, after all, and can only hold his authority through the
+consent, indifference, or ignorance of his subjects; but should he
+oppress them by extraordinary punishments or exactions, or withdraw
+from them his protection against the petty tyranny of his
+subordinates, he would find, sooner or later, that the most degraded
+can be aroused to resentment. It is the belief on the part of the
+peasantry, of which the population of Russia is in so large a part
+formed, that the emperor is their friend--that he does not willingly
+or unnecessarily deprive them of their liberties. This tends to keep
+them in subjection. Indeed, they have but faint notions of liberty, if
+any at all, born as they are to a condition of servitude, and reared
+in abject submission to the governing authorities. They are generally
+well satisfied if they can get enough to eat; and, when they are not
+subjected to cruel and unusual abuses, are comparatively happy.
+
+The unreasonable assumptions of power on the part of their immediate
+governing authorities present a trait common to mankind. We know from
+experience in our own country that the negro-driver on a Southern
+plantation--a slave selected from slaves--is often more tyrannical in
+the use of authority than the overseer or owner. We know that there
+are hard and unfeeling overseers on many plantations, where the owner
+is comparatively mild and humane. So far as he knows any thing of the
+details of his own affairs, his natural disposition accords with his
+interest, and he is favorable to the kind treatment of his slaves. But
+he can not permit them to become intelligent beings. They may study
+all the mechanical arts which may be useful to him--become
+blacksmiths, carpenters, or machinists, but they must not learn that
+they are held in servitude, and that the Almighty has given him no
+natural right to live upon their earnings, or enjoy his pleasure or
+power at the expense of their labor and their freedom. The same
+condition of things, with some variation, of course, arising from
+differences of climate and races, exists in Russia, and the results
+are not altogether dissimilar. We find idleness, lack of principle,
+overbearing manners, ignorance, and sensualism a very common
+characteristic of the superior classes, mingled though it may be with
+a show of fine manners, and such trivial and superficial
+accomplishments as may be obtained without much labor. It is a great
+negro plantation on a large scale, in which the gradation of powers
+has a depressing tendency, causing them to increase in rigor as they
+descend, like a stone dropped from a height, which at first might be
+caught in the open hand, but soon acquires force enough to brain an
+ox.
+
+One of the effects of the strong coercive powers of the government is
+perceptible in this, that the greatest latitude prevails in every
+thing that does not interfere with the maintenance of political
+authority; and although it is difficult, in such a country, to find
+much that comes within that category, occasional exceptions may be
+found. Thus drunkenness, debauchery, indecency, and reckless,
+prodigal, and filthy habits, are but little regarded, while the
+slightest approach to the acquisition of a liberal education, or the
+expression of liberal opinions on any subject connected with public
+polity, is rigidly prohibited. Most of the English newspapers are
+excluded from the empire, although if admitted they would have but few
+general readers among the Russians--certainly not many among the
+middle or lower classes. No publication on political economy, no work
+of any kind relating to the science of government or the natural
+rights of man; nothing, in short, calculated to impair the faith of
+the people in the necessity of their political servitude, is permitted
+to enter the country without a most careful examination. A rigid
+censorship is exercised over the press, the libraries, the public
+colleges, the schools, and all institutions having in view the
+education of the people and the dissemination of intelligence. The
+Censorial Bureau is in itself an important branch of the government,
+having its representatives diffused throughout every province, in
+every public institution, and even extending its ramifications into
+the sacred realms of private life; for it is a well-known fact that a
+family can not employ a private tutor whose antecedents and political
+proclivities have not undergone the scrutiny and received the official
+sanction of the censorial authorities.
+
+How can a country, under such circumstances, be expected to take a
+high rank among the enlightened nations of the earth? The very germ of
+its existence is founded in the suppression of intelligence. It may
+enjoy a limited advancement, but there can be no great progress in any
+direction which does not tend at the same time to the subversion of a
+despotic rule. Even the theatres, operas, _cafes_, and all places of
+public amusement, are under the same rigid surveillance. No play can
+be performed, no opera given, no _cafe_ opened, no garden amusements
+offered to the public, unless under the supervision and with the
+sanction of the censorial authorities. In all well-regulated
+communities there must be, of course, some local or municipal
+restrictions respecting popular amusements, based upon a regard for
+public morals, but in this case the question of morality is not taken
+into much account. Provided there is nothing politically objectionable
+in the performance, and it has no tendency to make the people better
+acquainted with the rottenness of courts, the selfishness, wickedness,
+and insincerity of men in authority, and their own rights as human
+beings--provided the theme be _Jishn za Zara_--"Your life for your
+Czar," or the exhibition a voluptuous display--provided it be merely a
+matter of abject adulation or fashionable sensation, the most
+fastidious censor can find no fault with it. What, then, does the
+education of the masses amount to? We read of lectures for the
+diffusion of knowledge among the people; of colleges for young men; of
+various institutions of learning; of a liberal system of common
+schools for the poor. All this is very well in its way. A little light
+is better than none when the road is crooked, and the country abounds
+in ruts and deep pitfalls. But the lights shed by these institutions
+are much obscured by the official glasses through which they shine.
+The building of fortifications; the manufacture of gunpowder; the use
+of guns and swords; the beauties of rhetoric abounding in the drill
+manual; the eloquence of batteries and broadsides; the poetry of
+ditching and draining; the ethics of primary obedience to the
+authorities, and afterward to God and reason; all that pertains to
+rapine, bloodshed, and wholesale murder--the noble art of mutilating
+men in the most effective manner, and the best method of cutting them
+up or putting them together again when that is done; the horrid sin of
+using one's own lights on any internal problem of right or wrong,
+religion or public policy, when the emperor, in the plenitude of his
+generosity, furnishes light enough out of his individual head for
+sixty-five millions of people--these are the principal themes upon
+which the intellects of the rising generation of Russia are nourished.
+In the primary schools a select and authorized few are taught reading,
+writing, and arithmetic, but they seldom get much farther, and not
+always that far, before subordinate positions in the army or navy are
+found for them. Their education is indeed very limited, and may be set
+down as an exception to the general ignorance.
+
+It will thus be seen that the whole system of education has but one
+object in view, the maintenance of a military despotism. In this it
+would scarcely be reasonable to search for cause of complaint.
+Doubtless the acquisition of knowledge is encouraged as far as may be
+consistent with public security and public peace. But it is obvious
+that under such a system these people can never emerge from their
+condition of semi-barbarism. They must continue behind the spirit of
+the age in all that pertains to the highest order of civilization.
+Science, in a limited sense, may find a few votaries; the arts may be
+cultivated to a certain degree; a feeble school of literature may
+attain the eminence of a national feature; but there can be no general
+expansion of the intellectual faculties, no enlarged and comprehensive
+views of life and of human affairs. Whatever these people do must be
+subservient to military rule; beyond that there can be little advance
+save in what is palpable to the grosser senses, or what panders to the
+savagery of their nature. A statesman or a philosopher, with
+independence enough to think and speak the truth if his views differed
+from those of the constituted authorities, would be a very dangerous
+character, and be very apt to pursue his career, in company with all
+who have hitherto aspired to distinction in that way, beyond the
+confines of Siberia. Russia may produce many Karasmins to write
+glowing histories of her wars and conquests, but her Burkes, her
+Pitts, and her Foxes will be few, and her Shakspeares and her Bacons
+fewer still. Her Pascal's Reflections will be tinged with Siberian
+horrors; her Young's Night Thoughts will be of the dancing damsels of
+St. Petersburg; her Vicars of Wakefield will abound in the genial
+humor of devils and dragons, saints and tortures; and the wit of her
+Sidney Smiths will have a crack of the knout about it, skinning men's
+back's rather than their backslidings; effective only when it draws
+human blood, and best approved by the censors when it strikes at human
+freedom.
+
+We find the results of such a system strongly marked upon the general
+character. While equals are jealous of each other, inferiors are
+slavish and superiors tyrannical. It is often the case that
+overbearing manners and abject humility are centred in the same class
+or person. Thus the Camarilla are overbearing to the bureaucracy, the
+bureaucracy to the provincial nobility, and the provincial nobility to
+the inferior classes. As I said before, it is a sliding-scale of
+despotism. The worst feature of it is seen in the treatment of women.
+Among the better classes conventionality has, doubtless, somewhat
+meliorated their condition. Absolute physical cruelty would be,
+perhaps, a violation of etiquette and good breeding; but neglect,
+selfishness, innate coarseness of thought, and a general want of
+chivalrous appreciation, are too common in the treatment of Russian
+women not to strike the most casual observer. Certainly the
+impressions of one who has been taught from infancy to regard the
+gentler sex as entitled to the most profound respect and chivalrous
+devotion--to look upon them as beings of a more delicate essence than
+man, yet infinitely superior in those moral attributes which rise so
+high above intellect or physical power--are not favorable to the
+assumptions of Russian civilization. Yet, since the condition of woman
+is but little better in any part of Europe, it may be that this is one
+of the fashions imported from France or Germany, and since these two
+claim to be the most polite and cultivated nations in existence, it is
+even possible that the Americans--a rude people, who have not yet had
+time to polish their manners or perfect their customs--may be mistaken
+in their estimate of the ladies, and will, some day or other, become
+more Europeanized.
+
+But, in all fairness, if the Russians be a little uncouth in their
+way, they possess, like bears, a wonderful aptness in learning to
+dance; if the brutal element is strong in their nature, so also is the
+capacity to acquire frivolous and meretricious accomplishments. Like
+all races in which the savage naturally predominates, they delight in
+the glitter of personal decoration, the allurements of music, dancing,
+and the gambling-table, and all the luxuries of idleness and sensuous
+folly--traits which they share pretty generally with the rest of
+mankind. Tropical gardens, where the thermometer is twenty degrees
+below zero; feasts and frolics that in a single night may leave them
+beggars for life; military shows; the smoke and carnage of battle; the
+worship of their saints and Czars--these are their chief pleasures and
+most genial occupations.
+
+But, with all this folly and prodigality, there is really a great deal
+of native generosity in the Russian character. Liberal to a fault in
+every thing but the affairs of government, they freely bestow their
+wealth upon charitable institutions, and, whether rich or poor, are
+ever ready to extend the hand of relief to the distresses of their
+fellow-creatures. It is rarely they hoard their gains. There are few
+who do not live up to the full measure of their incomes, and most of
+them very far beyond. Whether they spend their means for good or for
+evil, they are at least free from the groveling sin of stinginess. I
+never met more than one stingy Russian to my knowledge; but let him
+go. He reaped his reward in the dislike of all who knew him. Toward
+each other, even the beggars are liberal. There is nothing little or
+contemptible in the Russian character. Overbearing and despotic they
+may be; deficient in the gentler traits which grace a more cultivated
+people; but meanness is not one of their failings. In this they
+present a striking contrast to a large and influential portion of
+their North German neighbors, for whose sordid souls Beelzebub might
+search in vain through the desert wastes that lie upon the little end
+of a cambric needle.
+
+In some respects the Russians evince a more enlarged appreciation of
+the world's progress than many of their European neighbors. They have
+no fixed prejudices against mechanical improvements of any kind. Quick
+to appreciate every advance in the useful arts, they are ever ready to
+accept and put in practical operation whatever they see in other
+countries better than the product of their own. Thus they adopt
+English and American machinery, railways, telegraphs, improvements in
+artillery, and whatever else they deem beneficial, or calculated to
+augment their prosperity and power as a nation. While in Germany it
+would be almost an impossibility to introduce the commonest and most
+obvious improvement in the mechanical arts--if we except railways and
+telegraphs, which have become a military and political necessity,
+growing out of the progress of neighboring powers--while many of their
+fabrics are still made by hand, and their mints, presses, and
+fire-engines are of almost primeval clumsiness, the Russians eagerly
+grasp at all novelties, and are wonderfully quick in the comprehension
+of their uses and advantages. A similar comparison might be made in
+reference to the freedom of internal trade, and the encouragement
+given to every industrial pursuit among the people, being the exact
+reverse of the policy pursued by the German governments. Thus, while
+we find them backward in the refinements of literature and
+intellectual culture, it is beyond doubt that they possess wonderful
+natural capacity to learn. They lack steadiness and perseverance, and
+are not always governed by the best motives; but in boldness of
+spirit, disregard of narrow prejudice, ability to conceive and
+execute what they desire to accomplish, they have few equals and no
+superiors. Combined with these admirable traits, their wild Sclavonic
+blood abounds in elements which, upon great occasions, arise to the
+eminence of a sublime heroism. Brave and patriotic, devoted to their
+country and their religion, we search the pages of history in vain for
+a parallel to their sacrifices in the defense of both. Not even the
+wars of the Greeks and Romans can produce such an example of heroic
+devotion to the maintenance of national integrity as the burning of
+Moscow. When an entire people, devoted to their religion, gave up
+their churches and their shrines to the devouring element; when
+princes and nobles placed the burning brands to their palaces; when
+bankers, merchants, and tradesmen freely yielded up their hard-earned
+gains; when women and children joined the great work of destruction to
+deliver their country from the hands of a ruthless invader, it may
+well be said of that sublime flame--
+
+ "Thou stand'st alone unrivall'd, till the fire,
+ To come, in which all empires shall expire."
+
+Truly, when we glance back at the national career of the Russians,
+they can not but strike us as a wonderful people. While we must
+condemn their cruelty and rapacity; while we can see nothing to excuse
+in their ferocious persecution of the Turks; while the greater part of
+their history is a bloody record of injustice to weaker nations, we
+can not but admire their indomitable courage, their intense and
+unalterable attachment to their brave old Czars, and their sublime
+devotion to their religion and their nationality.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+PASSAGE TO REVEL.
+
+
+It was not without a feeling of regret that I took my departure from
+St. Petersburg. Short as my visit to Russia had been, it was full of
+interest. Not a single day had been idly or unprofitably spent.
+Indeed, I know of no country that presents so many attractions to the
+traveler who takes pleasure in novelties of character and
+peculiarities of manners and customs. The lovers of picturesque
+scenery will find little to gratify his taste in a mere railroad
+excursion to Moscow; but with ample time and means at his disposal, a
+journey to the Ural Mountains, or a voyage down the Volga to the
+Caspian Sea, would doubtless be replete with interest. For my part,
+much as I enjoy the natural beauties of a country through which I
+travel, they never afford me as much pleasure as the study of a
+peculiar race of people. Mere scenery, however beautiful, becomes
+monotonous, unless it be associated with something that gives it a
+varied and striking human interest. The mountains and lakes of
+Scotland derive their chief attractions from the wild legends of
+romance and chivalry so inseparably connected with them; and
+Switzerland would be but a dreary desert of glaciers without its
+history. In Russia, Nature has been less prodigal in her gifts; and
+the real interest of the country centres in its public institutions,
+the religious observances of the people, and the progress of
+civilization under a despotic system of government. Of these I have
+endeavored to give you such impressions as may be derived from a
+sojourn of a few weeks in Moscow and St. Petersburg--necessarily
+imperfect and superficial, but I trust not altogether destitute of
+amusing features.
+
+On a pleasant morning in August, I called for my "rechnung" at the
+German gasthaus on the Wasseli-Ostrow. The bill was complicated in
+proportion to its length. There was an extra charge of fifteen kopeks
+a day for the room over and above the amount originally specified.
+That was conscientious cheating, so I made no complaint. Then there
+was a charge for two candles when I saw but one, and always went to
+bed by daylight. That was customary cheating, and could not be
+disputed. Next came an item for beefsteaks, when, to the best of my
+knowledge and belief, nothing but veal cutlets, which were also duly
+specified, ever passed my lips in any part of Russia. Upon that I
+ventured a remonstrance, but gave in on the assurance that it was
+Russian beefsteak. I was too glad to have any ground for believing
+that it was not Russian dog. Next came an item for police commissions.
+All that work I had done myself, and therefore was entitled to demur.
+It appeared that a man was kept for that purpose, and when he was not
+employed he expected remuneration for the disappointment. Then there
+was an item for domestic service, when the only service rendered was
+to black my boots, for which I had already paid. No matter; it was
+customary, so I gave in. Then came sundry bottles of wine. I never
+drink wine. "But," said the proprietor, "it was on the table." Not
+being able to dispute that, I abandoned the question of wine. Various
+ices were in the bill. I had asked for a lump of ice in a glass of
+water on several occasions, supposing it to be a common article in a
+country on the edge of the Arctic circle, but for every lump of ice
+the charge was ten kopeks. Upon this principle, I suppose they attach
+an exorbitant value to thawed water during six months of the year,
+when the Neva is a solid block of ice. I find that ice is an
+uncommonly costly luxury in Northern Europe, where there is a great
+deal of it. In Germany it is ranked with fresh water and other deadly
+poisons; in Russia it costs too much for general use; and in Norway
+and Sweden, where the snow-capped mountains are always in sight, the
+people seem to be unacquainted with the use of iced water, or, indeed,
+any other kind of water as a beverage in summer. They drink brandy and
+schnapps to keep themselves cool. However, I got through the bill at
+last, without loss of temper, being satisfied it was very reasonable
+for St. Petersburg. Having paid for every article real and imaginary;
+paid each servant individually for looking at me; then paid for
+domestic services generally; paid the proprietor for speaking his
+native language, which was German, and the commissioner for wearing a
+brass band on his cap, and bowing several times as I passed out, the
+whole matter was amicably concluded, and, with my knapsack on my back,
+I wended my way down to the steam-boat landing of the Wasseli-Ostrow.
+As I was about to step on board the Russian steamer bound for
+Revel--an eager crowd of passengers pressing in on the plankway from
+all sides--I was forcibly seized by the arm. Supposing it to be an
+arrest for some unconscious violation of the police regulations, a
+ghastly vision of Siberia flashed upon my mind as I turned to demand
+an explanation. But it was not a policeman who arrested me--it was
+only my friend, Herr Batz, the rope-maker, who, with a flushed face
+and starting eyes, gazed at me. "Where are you going?" said he. "To
+Revel," said I. Almost breathless from his struggle to get at me, he
+forcibly pulled me aside from the crowd, drew me close up to him, and
+in a hoarse whisper uttered these remarkable words: "_Hempf is up!_ It
+took a rise yesterday--_Zweimal zwey macht vier, und sechsmal vier
+macht vier und zwanzig! verstehen sie?_" "Gott im Himmel!" said I,
+"you don't say so?" "_Ya, freilich!_" groaned Herr Batz, hoarsely:
+"_Zwey tausent rubles! verstehen sie? Sechs und dreissig, und acht und
+vierzig._" "Ya! ya!" said I, grasping him cordially by the hand, for I
+was afraid the steamer would leave--"_Adjeu, mein Herr! adjeu!_" and I
+darted away into the crowd. The last I saw of the unfortunate
+rope-maker, he was standing on the quay, waving his red cotton
+handkerchief at me. As the lines were cast loose, and the steamer
+swung out into the river, he put both hands to his mouth, and shouted
+out something which the confusion of sounds prevented me from hearing
+distinctly. I was certain, however, that the last word that fell upon
+my ear was "_hempf_!"
+
+The Neva at this season of the year presents a most animated and
+picturesque appearance. A little above the landing-place of the Baltic
+steamers, a magnificent bridge connects the Wasseli-Ostrow with the
+main part of the city, embracing the Winter Palace, the Admiralty, and
+the Nevskoi, generally known as the Bolshaia, or Great Side. Below
+this bridge, as far as the eye can reach in the direction of the Gulf
+of Finland, the glittering waters of the Neva are alive with various
+kinds of shipping--merchant vessels from all parts of the world;
+fishing smacks from Finland and Riga; lumber vessels from Tornea;
+wood-boats from the interior; Russian and Prussian steamers;
+row-boats, skiffs, and fancy colored canoes, with crews and passengers
+representing many nations of the earth, are in perpetual motion; and
+while the sight is bewildered by the variety of moving objects, the
+ears are confounded by the strange medley of languages.
+
+Through this confused web of obstacles, the little steamer in which I
+had taken passage worked her way cautiously and systematically,
+catching a rope here and there for a sudden swing to the right or to
+the left, stopping and backing from time to time, and feeling with her
+nose for the narrow channels of the river, till she was fairly out of
+danger, when, with a blast of the whistle and a heavy pressure of
+steam, she dashed forth into the open waters of the gulf.
+
+As we gradually receded, I turned to take a last look at the mighty
+Venice of the North. The gold-covered domes of the churches, rising
+high above the massive ranges of palaces, were glittering brilliantly
+in the sunlight; the variegated shipping of the Neva was growing dim
+in the distance; the masses of foliage that crowned the islands were
+of tropical luxuriance, and the whole city, with its palaces,
+fortifications, and churches, seemed to rest upon the surface of the
+waters. It was a sight not soon to be forgotten. I turned toward the
+dark and stern fortresses of Cronstadt, now breaking in strong outline
+through the golden haze of the morning, and thought of the grim old
+Czar who had thus battled with Nature, and planted a mighty city in
+the wilderness; and thus musing, sighed to think that such a man
+should have lacked the warmth divine which sheds the only true and
+enduring lustre upon human greatness.
+
+After the usual detention at Cronstadt for the examination of
+passports, the steamer once more started on her way, and in a few
+hours nothing was in sight save the shores of the gulf dim on the
+horizon, and the sails of distant vessels looming up in the haze.
+
+I now, for the first time, had leisure to look at my
+fellow-passengers.
+
+A Russian steamer during the pleasure season is a floating Babel.
+Here, within the limits of a few dozen feet, were the representatives
+of almost every nation from the Arctic circle to the tropics--Finns
+and Swedes, Norwegians and Danes, Tartars and Russians, Poles and
+Germans, Frenchmen and Englishmen, South Americans, and--I was going
+to say North Americans, of which, however, I was the sole
+representative.
+
+It was a motley assemblage--a hodge-podge of humanity, a kind of
+living pot-pourri of dirty faces and dirty shirts, military uniforms,
+slouched hats, blowses, and big boots. There was a Russian general,
+who always stood at the cabin door to show himself to the rest of the
+passengers. I don't know for the life of me what he was angry about,
+but his face wore a perpetual frown of indignation, scorn, and
+contempt; his black brows were constitutionally knit; his eyes seemed
+to be always trying to overpower and knock somebody under; his lips
+were firmly compressed, and his mustaches stood out like a dagger on
+each side, with the handles wrapped in a bundle of dirty hair under
+his nose. So tight was his uniform around the body and neck that it
+forced all the blood up into his face, and wouldn't let it get back
+again; and it seemed a miracle that the veins in his forehead did not
+burst and carry away the top of his head, brains and all. Opposite to
+this great man, in an attitude of profound humility, stood his
+liveried servant--a very gentlemanly-looking person, with an
+intellectual baldness covering the entire top of his cranium. This
+deferential individual wore a coat beautifully variegated before and
+behind with gold lace; a pair of plush knee-breeches, white stockings,
+and white kid gloves; and was continually engaged in bowing to the
+great man, and otherwise anticipating his wants. When the great man
+looked at a trunk, or a carpet sack, or any thing else in the line of
+baggage or traveling equipments, the liveried servant bowed very low,
+looked nervously about him, and then darted off and seized hold of the
+article in question, gave it a pull or a push, put it down again,
+looked nervously around him, hurried back and bowed again to his
+august master, who by that time was generally looking in some other
+direction with an air of great indifference--as much as to say that he
+was accustomed to that species of homage, and did not attach any
+particular value to it. The passengers regarded him with profound awe
+and admiration, and seemed to be very much afraid he would, upon some
+trifling provocation, draw his sword and attack them. I was
+determined, if ever he undertook such a demonstration of authority as
+that, to resent it with the true spirit of a Californian, and cast
+about me for some weapon of personal defense, but saw nothing likely
+to be available in an emergency of that kind except a small bucket of
+slush, with which, however, it would be practicable to "douse his
+glim." This great man, with his attendant, was bound for the sea-baths
+of Revel, where he would doubtless soon be buffeting the waves like a
+porpoise--or possibly, in virtue of the commanding powers vested in
+him by nature and the Czar of Russia, would sit down by the sea-shore
+like Hardicanute the Dane, and order the waves to retire.
+
+Then there was an old lady and her three daughters who sat on the
+camp-stools by the step-ladder; the same fat old lady, bedizened with
+finery, and the same three young ladies, with strong features and
+dismal dresses, which the traveler encounters all over the Continent
+of Europe. The old lady was in a state of chronic agony lest the young
+ladies should be forcibly seized and carried away by some daring youth
+of the male sex; and the young ladies were conscious that such was the
+general purpose of mankind, and that they were in imminent danger of
+being preyed upon in that way, and, consequently, must always hold
+down their heads and look at the seams in the deck upon the approach
+of any gallant-looking cavalier with a handsome face and a fine
+figure, to say nothing of the expressive tenderness of his eyes and
+the gracefulness of his manner, and many other fascinating features in
+the young gentleman's appearance, of which they could not be otherwise
+than entirely unconscious, since they had not taken the slightest
+notice of him, and never contemplated encouraging his advances. The
+old lady was a very discreet and proper old lady, and the young ladies
+were very discreet and proper young ladies, and they were going to the
+baths of Revel after their last winter's campaign in the fashionable
+circles of St. Petersburg; and any body could see at a glance that
+they were of a distinguished and fashionable family, because they had
+a courier and two lapdogs, and carried a coat of arms on their trunks
+and bandboxes, and were taken with violent headaches soon after
+leaving Cronstadt, and used smelling-salts.
+
+Next was the man who belongs to no particular nation, speaks every
+language, and knows every body--a shabby-genteel, middle-aged man, of
+no ostensible occupation, but always occupied. "Sare," said he, "I
+perceive you are an Englishman. I always very glad am to meet with
+Englishmen. I two years spent in London." "Indeed!" said I; "you speak
+English very well, considering you learned it in England!" "Yes,
+sare--in London--I was in business there." "Mercantile?" said I. "No,
+sare; I attended to mi-lor Granby's 'orses." "Oh! that indeed!" "Yes,
+sare;" and so the conversation went on in a manner both entertaining
+and instructive. In the course of it, I gathered that my
+shabby-genteel friend was going to Revel to attend a 'orse-race.
+
+Another conspicuous group on the deck soon after attracted my
+attention--the hungry people. This group consisted of some six or
+eight persons, male and female, of a very Jewish cast of features,
+well-dressed and lively, evidently Germans, since they spoke in the
+German language. Scarcely had the steamer cast loose from the quay
+when they opened the pile of baskets, boxes, and packages by which
+they were surrounded, and, taking out sundry loaves of bread, lumps of
+cheese, sausages, and wine-bottles, began to eat and drink with a
+voracity perfectly amazing. I was certain I had seen them a thousand
+times before. Every feature was familiar; and even their
+constitutional appetite was nothing new to me. I had never seen this
+group, or their prototype, in any public conveyance, or in any part of
+the world, without a feeling of envy at the extraordinary vigor of
+their digestive functions. Here were pale, cadaverous-looking men, and
+sallow women, who never stopped eating from morning till night, in
+rough or calm weather, in sunshine or storm; ever hungry, ever
+thirsty, ever cramming and guzzling with a degree of zest that the
+sturdiest laborer in the field could never experience; and yet they
+neither burst nor dropped down dead, nor suffered from sea-sickness.
+Doubtless they had just breakfasted before they came aboard; but, to
+make sure of it, they immediately breakfasted again. As soon as they
+were through that, they lunched; then they dined; after dinner they
+drank coffee and ate cakes; after coffee and cakes they lunched again;
+then they ate a hearty supper, and after supper whetted their
+appetites on tea and cakes; and before bedtime appeased the cravings
+of hunger with a heavy meal of sausages, brown bread, and cheese,
+which they washed down with several bottles of wine. I don't know how
+many times they got up to eat in the night, but suppose it could not
+have been more than twice or three times, since they were at it again
+by daylight in the morning as vigorously as ever. I am inclined to
+think that some people are physically so organized as to be insensible
+to the difference between a pound of food and ten pounds, as others
+are unconscious of the difference between wit and stupidity, sense and
+nonsense; such, for instance, as the humorous group, who sit by the
+companion-way, and keep themselves and every body around them in a
+continued roar of laughter. It is good to be merry; but I must confess
+it is not within the bounds of my capacity to discover a source of
+merriment in such pranks of wit as these people enjoy. A young fellow
+makes a face like an owl--every body roars laughing, the idea is so
+exquisitely comical. Another pulls his comrades by the hair, and every
+body shouts with uproarious merriment. One sly chap shoves another off
+his seat and takes possession of it--a feat so humorous that the whole
+crowd is convulsed. A bad orange, pitched across the deck, strikes an
+elderly gentleman on the bald pate--well, I had to laugh at that
+myself. By-and-by, a stout, florid young gentleman turns pale and
+groans; three or four officious friends, with twinkling eyes, seize
+him by the arms, and drag him over to the lee-scuppers, where he
+manifests still more decided symptoms of sea-sickness. His friends
+hold him, rub him, chafe him, and pat him on the back; one offers him
+a meerschaum pipe to smoke; another, a bunch of cigars; a third, a
+piece of fat meat; while a fourth tempts him with a bottle of some
+wine, all of which is uncommon fun to every body but the unfortunate
+victim. Thus the time passes away pleasantly enough, after all, taking
+into view the variety of incidents and scenes which constantly occupy
+the attention of a looker-on. I had taken a deck-passage for
+cheapness, and made out to get through the night by bundling myself up
+on a pile of baggage, and catching a few cat-naps whenever the noise
+created by these lively young gentlemen would permit of such a feat.
+
+By seven o'clock in the morning we were steering into the harbor of
+Revel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+REVEL AND HELSINGFORS.
+
+
+Few cities within the limits of the Russian dominions possess greater
+historic interest than Revel. Although its commerce is limited to a
+few annual shipments of hemp, flax, and tallow, produced in the
+province of Esthonia, and the importation of such articles of domestic
+consumption as the peasants require, it occupies a prominent position
+as a naval depot for Russian vessels of war, and is much frequented in
+summer by the citizens of St. Petersburg as a bathing-place and
+general resort of pleasure. A steamer leaves daily for Revel and
+Helsingfors, which, during the bathing season, is crowded with
+passengers, as in the case of my own trip, of which I have already
+given you a sketch. The approach to the harbor, in the bright morning
+sun, is exceedingly picturesque. Beyond the forest of masts and spars,
+with gayly-colored flags and streamers spread to the breeze, rises a
+group of ancient buildings on the rocky eminence called the Domberg,
+comprising the castle, the residences of the governor and commandant,
+and various palaces and quarters of the nobility, surrounded by Gothic
+walls and strong fortifications. This ancient and picturesque pile has
+been termed the Acropolis of Revel, though beyond the fact that it
+overlooks the lower town and forms a prominent feature in the scenic
+beauties of the place, it is difficult to determine in what respect it
+can bear a comparison with the famous Acropolis of Athens. However, I
+have observed that travelers find it convenient to discover
+resemblances of this kind where none exist, as a means of rounding off
+their descriptions; and since the Kremlin is styled the Acropolis of
+Moscow, I see no reason why Revel should not enjoy the same sort of
+classic association. It is to be hoped that when Russian travelers
+visit San Francisco, they will, upon the principle adopted by tourists
+in their country, do us the justice to designate Russian Hill as the
+Acropolis of San Francisco; and should they visit Sacramento during
+the existence of a flood, I have no doubt they can find a pile of
+bricks or a whisky barrel sufficiently elevated above the general
+level to merit the distinctive appellation of an Acropolis. Revel has
+suffered more frequent changes of government, and passed through the
+hands of a greater variety of rulers, than any city, perhaps, in the
+whole of Northern Europe. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it
+was a province of Denmark; subsequently it fell into the hands of the
+Swedes, and in 1347 became a possession of the Livonian Knights, a
+chivalrous and warlike order, who built castles, lived in a style of
+great luxuriance, killed, robbed, and plundered the people of the
+surrounding countries, and otherwise distinguished themselves as
+gentlemen of the first families, not one of them having ever been
+known to perform a day's useful labor in his life. Such, indeed, was
+the heroic character of these doughty knights, that, having plunged
+the whole country into ruin and distress, the peasants, driven to
+desperation, rose upon them in 1560, and completely routed and
+destroyed them, killing many, and compelling the remainder to seek
+some other occupation. This was rough treatment for gentlemen, but it
+happens from time to time in the course of history, and shows to what
+trials chivalrous blood is exposed when it can't have its own way.
+Finally Esthonia and Livonia fell into the hands of Charles II. of
+Sweden, from whom they were wrested by Peter the Great. Since that
+period these provinces have continued under the Russian dominion. From
+the time of Peter to the reign of the present emperor, Revel has been
+a favorite summer resort of the Czars. It has been rebuilt, patched,
+fortified, and improved to such an extent that it now represents
+almost every style of architecture known in Northern Europe since the
+Middle Ages. The people partake of the same characteristics, being a
+mixture of every Northern race by which the place has been inhabited
+since the reign of Eric XIV. of Denmark. I spent some hours visiting
+the churches and other objects of interest, a detailed description of
+which would scarcely be practicable within the brief limits of a
+letter. The Ritterschaftshaus, containing the armorial bearings of the
+nobility, is a place of great historical interest; but I saw nothing
+that afforded me so much amusement as the scenes in the Jahrmarket,
+where the annual summer fair is held. Here were booths and tents, and
+all sorts of wares, much in the style of the markets of the Riadi in
+Moscow, of which I have already given a description. The crowds
+gathered around those places of barter and trade appeared to enjoy a
+very free-and-easy sort of life. I could see nothing about them
+indicative of an oppressed condition. Most of them were reeling drunk,
+and such as were not drunk seemed in a fair way of speedily arriving
+at that condition of beatitude.
+
+From the Jahrmarket I strolled out to the Cathermthal, a favorite
+resort of the citizens during the heat of the day. The shady
+promenades of this magnificent garden, its natural beauties, and the
+display of equipages and costumes, render it an exceedingly agreeable
+lounging-place for a stranger. Every thing is in the Russian
+style--the pavilions, the music, the theatrical exhibitions, and the
+predominance of naval and military uniforms throughout the grounds.
+The scarcity of flowers is remedied to some extent by the profusion
+of epaulettes and brass buttons, which the emperor seems to regard as
+superior to any thing in nature. No garden that I have yet seen in
+Russia is destitute of ornaments of this kind.
+
+Gambling was going on every where--at every tea-table and in every
+pavilion. This department of civilization is well represented in Revel
+by the Russians. Horse-racing, cards, dominoes, and other amusements
+and games of hazard, are their ruling passion. A Russian who will not
+bet his head after he has lost all his valuable possessions must be a
+very poor representative of his country indeed. I have rarely seen
+such a passionate devotion to the gaming-table, even in California,
+which is not usually behind the nations of Europe in all that pertains
+to the cultivation of the human mind. Revel must be a heaven to a
+genuine Russian. All is free and unreserved, and morals are said to be
+unknown, save to a few of the old-fashioned citizens and gentry.
+Visitors usually leave their own behind them, and depend upon chance
+for a fresh supply in case of necessity.
+
+The afternoon was warm, and it occurred to me that a stroll on the
+beach would be pleasant. Accompanied by my friend the horse-jockey,
+who seemed determined to hold on to me as long as I remained in Revel,
+under the conviction, no doubt, that I was secretly engaged in the
+horse business, and would come out in my true character before long, I
+sauntered down in the direction of some bathing tents, scattered along
+the beach a little below the port. My jockey friend was continually
+trying to pump out of me upon which of the horses in the approaching
+race it was my intention to bet, urging me as a friend not to throw
+away my money on the roan or chestnut, although appearances were in
+their favor, but to go in heavy on the black mare; and notwithstanding
+I assured him it was not my intention to risk any portion of my
+capital on this race, he was pertinacious in giving me his advice, and
+could not be convinced that I know nothing about the horses, and
+never bet on races of any kind. "Sare," said he, "you are a stranger.
+These Russians are great rascals. They will cheat you out of your
+eyes. I speakee English. I am your friend." I thanked him very
+cordially, but assured him there was no danger of my being cheated. He
+then went into a dissertation on the relative merits of the horses, to
+prove that it was impossible for me, a perfect stranger, to escape
+bankruptcy among so many sharpers. "But," said I, "the horse-race
+takes place to-morrow, does it not?" "Yes, sare, to-morrow at three
+o'clock! You will be there? I shall also be there!" "But, my good
+friend, I leave to-night in the steamer; therefore all your kindness
+is thrown away!" "Oh! you must not leave to-night. You must see the
+horse-race!" In vain I assured him it was impossible for me to remain.
+He was not to be put off on any pretext, and, having made up his mind
+that I must remain, I was forced to drop the subject and let him have
+his way. While he was enlarging upon the merits of the black mare, my
+attention was attracted by a group of bathers--ladies, as I judged by
+their voices, though, as they were dressed in rather a fantastic
+style, I could not perceive any other indication of the sex. One of
+the party--a lively young girl of sixteen or seventeen--seemed to be a
+perfect mermaid. She plunged and swam, ducked and dived, kicked up her
+delicate little feet, and disappeared under the surf in a way that
+struck me with awe and admiration. Never was there such an enchanting
+picture of perfect abandonment to the enjoyment of the occasion. A
+poetic feeling I took possession of me. Visions of grottoes under the
+deep sea waves, and beautiful princesses and maidens, filled my soul.
+I thought of Gulnare in the Arabian Nights, and felt disposed, like
+Mirza, the King of Persia, to "embrace her with great tenderness." It
+was really a very pretty sight. "Sare," said my companion,
+confidentially, "take my advice. She is blind of one eye, and has a
+strain in the fore leg, but you may bet on her! I jockeyed her for
+six months before the last race." He was still talking about the black
+mare. I turned away to hide my impatience. After a few words of
+desultory conversation, I excused myself on the plea of sickness, and
+bade him good-evening.
+
+At 8 P.M. I took my departure from Revel. A new batch of passengers
+had come on board. We were soon steaming our way across the Gulf of
+Finland. I had rarely spent a more pleasant day, and, if time had
+permitted, would gladly have prolonged my sojourn in the quaint old
+city of Revel. The summer nights were still incomparably beautiful. A
+glow of sunshine was visible in the sky as late as eleven o'clock. At
+two, the rays of the rising sun began to illuminate the horizon. A
+dead calm gave to the sleeping waters of the Gulf the appearance of a
+lake; and as we approached the shores of Helsingfors, the illusion was
+heightened by innumerable little islands, clothed with verdant slopes
+of grass and groves of pine. The harbor of Helsingfors derives a
+peculiar interest from its system of fortifications. Nature seems to
+have done much to render it impregnable; and what Nature has not done
+has been accomplished by the military genius of the Russians. Immense
+masses of rock rise from the water in every direction, leaving deep
+narrow passages between for vessels. Every rock is a fortress. The
+steamer passed through a perfect maze of fortifications. Guns bore
+upon us from all sides--out of the forts, out of holes in the
+rocks--in short, out of every conceivable nook and crevice in the bay.
+The very rocks seemed to be alive with sentinels and to bustle with
+armories. Probably there is no part of the Russian dominions, except
+Cronstadt, more thoroughly fortified than Sweaborg. The system of
+engineering displayed upon this point evinces the highest order of
+military genius. The fortifications embrace a series of forts,
+castles, barracks, and military establishments of various kinds,
+situated on seven islands of solid rock, forming the different
+channels of approach to the harbor. Count Ehrensuerd, Field-marshal
+of Sweden, is entitled to the credit of having devised the original
+system of fortifications, afterward so successfully carried out by the
+Czars of Russia. This was the last rallying-point of the Swedes during
+the war with Russia. In 1808, Admiral Cronstadt, the commander of the
+Swedish forces, who had hitherto proved himself a brave and patriotic
+officer, submitted to terms of capitulation and delivered over the
+forts to the Russians. History scarcely furnishes a parallel to such a
+wanton and unaccountable act of treachery. Cronstadt had fifteen
+hundred men, two frigates, and all the munitions of war to hold his
+position against any force that could be brought against him; while
+the Russians were reduced to great extremities, and, it is said, had
+scarcely force enough left to man the forts after they were evacuated
+by the Swedes. Sufficient testimony has been gathered by historians to
+show that Cronstadt bartered his honor for money; yet, strange to say,
+such is the high estimation in which he was originally held by the
+Swedes, that many of them to this day profess to disbelieve that he
+was capable of such an infamous crime. It is thought by some that he
+must have been laboring under some mental hallucination at the time of
+the capitulation. Be that as it may, the success of the Russian arms
+was doubtless greatly facilitated by this act of treason. Cronstadt,
+like Benedict Arnold, died an isolated and broken-hearted man. His
+ill-gotten gains were but a poor recompense for the infamy entailed
+upon his name. Such, indeed, as all history shows, has been and must
+ever be the fate of all traitors to their country.
+
+Helsingfors was founded by Gustavus Vasa in the sixteenth century. A
+portion of the old town is still visible, though there is little about
+it beyond a few ruined walls possessing much historical interest.
+After the Russians obtained possession they enlarged and improved the
+city upon its present site, and in 1819 it became the capital of
+Finland. In 1827 Abo suffered from a general conflagration, after
+which the grand University of that city was removed to Helsingfors,
+which now comprises the most important public buildings and
+institutions in Finland. Among these are the senate-house, the palace
+of the governor, the Museum, the Botanical Garden, the Observatory,
+etc. The streets in the lower parts of the city are broad and regular,
+and many of the houses are quite as good as the generality of private
+residences in Moscow or St. Petersburg. The principal church, which is
+built in the form of a Greek cross, is a conspicuous and imposing
+edifice, standing near the centre of the town on a rocky eminence,
+presenting on the approach up the harbor a peculiarly Russian effect
+with its gilded domes and crosses. The green roofs of the houses also
+remind one that he is still within the dominions of Russia; and if any
+doubt on that point should remain after landing from the steamer, it
+is speedily dispelled by the vast numbers of Russian soldiers and
+officers constantly marching about the streets.
+
+I had two days to devote to the objects of interest in and around
+Helsingfors. For convenience and economy, I took a room in a Finnish
+hotel, on one of the back streets. Having deposited my knapsack, my
+first visit was to the Observatory, from which a beautiful view is to
+be had of the harbor and fortifications. From this point of
+observation a very good idea may be formed of the extent and general
+character of the town. It covers a large area of solid rocks, the
+entire foundation consisting of immense round boulders, forming a
+succession of ups and downs singularly varied in outline and
+picturesque at every point of view. Beyond the main part of the town,
+toward the interior, the country is mountainous, and covered for the
+most part with dense forests of pine. Cultivation has made but little
+progress beyond the immediate suburbs. A few miles from the waters of
+the bay the eye rests upon an apparently untrodden wilderness of rocky
+heights and pine forests, and toward the Gulf nothing can exceed the
+desolate grandeur of the scene. Rock-bound islands, upon which the
+surf breaks with an unceasing moan; points and promontories covered
+with dark forests; a rugged coast, dimly looming through the mist;
+innumerable sea-gulls whirling and screaming over the dizzy pinnacles,
+are its principal features. While I was seated on a bank of moss near
+the Observatory, enjoying the beauties of the scene, strains of music
+were wafted up on the breeze from the shady recesses of the Botanical
+Gardens, toward which I saw that the citizens were wending their way.
+It was Sunday, which here as well as in Germany is a day of
+recreation. I took a by-path and speedily joined the crowd. The people
+of every degree are well dressed and respectable, and I was somewhat
+surprised to find so much politeness, cultivation, and intelligence in
+such an out-of-the-way part of the world. The music was excellent, and
+the display of style and fashion in the gardens was quite equal to any
+thing I had seen in my European travels. From what little I saw of the
+Finns, I was greatly prepossessed in their favor. They seem to me to
+be a primitive, substantial, and reliable race, strong in their
+affections, kind and hospitable toward strangers, amiable and
+inoffensive, yet brave and patriotic--hating the Russians with a
+cordiality truly refreshing. I formed a casual acquaintance with
+several of them during my rambles about the Garden. No sooner did they
+discern my nationality than they gave me to understand that their
+Constitution had been violated, their liberties trampled under foot,
+their rights disregarded, and their patience under all these injuries
+misconstrued. "We only await an opportunity," they said, "to prove to
+the world that we are still a free-born people. The time is not
+distant. In the heart of every Finn burns the spirit of a freeman and
+a patriot! We are not a race doomed to slavery. You who are an
+American can understand us! We only want a chance to cast off the
+chains of despotism which now oppress us. It is coming: we are
+overpowered now, but not conquered! We hate the Russians! No true
+Finn can ever amalgamate with such a race!"
+
+This was the strain in which I was constantly addressed.
+Notwithstanding the electoral privileges guaranteed to the Finns under
+their Constitution, and the fact that many of the municipal offices
+are filled by themselves, there is no more community of interest
+between them and their rulers than between the Italians and the
+Austrians. Their hatred of the government and of all its concomitants
+is implacable. It seemed a luxury to some of these poor people to find
+a sympathizing listener. I met many intelligent Finns, both in
+Helsingfors and Abo, who spoke good English, and never conversed with
+one for five minutes without hearing the same strong expressions of
+dislike to the present condition of affairs, and sanguine hopes for
+the future. There is only hope for them, that I can see--that the
+emancipation of the serfs may lead to the establishment of a more
+liberal system of government throughout the Russian dominions. All
+hopes based upon isolated revolutions are futile.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+A BATHING SCENE.
+
+
+I devoted the afternoon to a stroll on the sea-shore, which presents
+many interesting features in the neighborhood of Helsingfors. A
+considerable portion of the town, as already stated, is built upon
+immense boulders of solid rock, and some of the streets are entirely
+impracticable for wheeled vehicles, owing to the rugged masses of
+stone with which Nature has thought proper to pave them. Indeed, it is
+no easy task for a pedestrian to make his way through the suburbs,
+over the tremendous slippery boulders that lie scattered over the
+earth in every direction, the trail being in some instances higher
+than the houses. I can not conceive how people can travel over such
+streets in wet weather; it seems a task only fit for goats under
+favorable circumstances; but the Finns are an ingenious people, and
+probably ride on the backs of the goats when walking is impracticable.
+Passing the straggling lines of fishermen's huts forming the outskirts
+of the town, I rambled over two or three miles of rocky fields till I
+found myself on the shores of the gulf, at a point sufficiently
+lonesome and desolate to be a thousand miles from any inhabited
+portion of the globe. Taking possession of a natural chair, worn in
+the rocks by the rains of many centuries, I seated myself upon its
+mossy cushion, and, baring my head to the pleasant sea-breeze, quietly
+enjoyed the scene. Perhaps this very seat was the throne of an old
+viking! Here were sea-shells, and glittering pebbles, and tufts of
+moss for his crown; and here were sea-gulls to make music for him, and
+the spray from the wild waves to keep him cool; and a thousand
+rock-bound islands, lying outspread to the north, with grottoes in
+them for his ships; and piles upon piles of rocky palaces all around,
+covered with golden roofs of moss; and every thing, in short, that
+could make glad the heart of a grim old viking residing on the edge of
+the arctic circle. And if this summer scene, with its blue sea, and
+wood-capped islands, and warm sun, and balmy breeze, could not make
+glad his heart, it would not be difficult to imagine what changes
+winter could bring over it, and how the old viking, sitting on his
+throne by the sea-shore, could enjoy the dead and icy waste before
+him; and how the winter drifts would whistle through his hair; and how
+cheery the jagged rocks would look peeping up out of the snow-drifts;
+and how balmy would be the night-air at sixty degrees below
+freezing-point; and how the old viking would shake his beard with
+laughter as he warmed his hands in a midday sun, only ten feet above
+the horizon, and make the icicles rattle on his chin; and sit thus
+laughing and blowing his fingers, and rattling his icy beard, and
+saying to himself, "What a blessing to be a Finlander! How horribly
+the natives of Spain and Italy must suffer from bad climate! What a
+pity it is Finland is not large enough to accommodate the whole human
+race." With such thoughts as these I amused myself for some time,
+soothed and charmed by the pleasant sea-breeze and the music of the
+waves upon the rocks. The air was deliciously pure, and the odor of
+the sea-weeds had something in it so healthful and inspiring that I
+was insensibly carried back to by-gone days. How short a time it
+seemed since I was a wanderer upon the rock-bound shores of Juan
+Fernandez, yet how many strange scenes I had passed through since
+then--how much of the world I had seen, with its toils, and troubles,
+and vicissitudes! Here I was now, after years of travel in every
+clime, among the various nations of the earth, sitting solitary and
+alone upon an isolated rock on the shores of Finland! Whither was I
+going? What was the object? Where was the result? When was it to end?
+Years were creeping over me; I was no longer in the heyday of youth,
+yet the vague aspirations of boyhood still clung to me--the insatiable
+craving to see more and more of the world--the undefined hope that I
+would yet live to be cast away upon a desolate island, and become a
+worthy disciple of the immortal Robinson Crusoe! Ah me! What a
+lonesome feeling it is to be a visionary, enthusiastic boy all one's
+life, in this practical world of dollars and cents, where other boys
+are men, and men forget that they ever were young! But this, you say,
+is all sentimental nonsense. Of course it is. I admit the full folly
+of such thoughts. It would be a pitiable spectacle indeed to see every
+body inspired by the vagabond spirit of Robinson Crusoe. No doubt, if
+you were sitting upon a rock on the Gulf of Finland, my respected
+Californian friend, you would be hammering off the croppings and
+trying to discover the indications. You consider that the true
+philosophy of life--to dig, and delve, and burrow in the ground, and
+get gold and silver out of it, and suffer rheumatism in your bones and
+cramps in your stomach, and wear out your life in a practical way,
+while we visionaries are dreaming sentimental nonsense! But, after
+all, does the one pay any better than the other in the long run? Will
+gold or silver make you see farther into a millstone, or give you a
+better appetite, or put youth and health into your veins, or cause you
+to sleep more soundly of nights, or prolong your life to an indefinite
+period beyond the span allotted to the average of mankind? Will you
+never be convinced of the truth of these inspired words, which can not
+be repeated too often: As you brought nothing into the world, so you
+can take nothing out of it?
+
+Come, then, let us be young again, and dash into the blue waters of
+Finland, and buffet the sparkling brine as it seethes and boils over
+the rocks! Away with your gold and your silver, and your toils and
+cares, and let us play Robinson Crusoe and Friday here in this
+solitary little glen, where "our right there is none to
+dispute"--unless it may be the Czar of Russia. Off with your shirt,
+your boots, your drawers, your all, and be for once a genuine
+savage--be my man Friday, and I'll teach you how to enjoy life. Ye
+gods! doesn't it feel fine--that plunge in the foaming brine! Why, you
+look like a boiled lobster already; the glow of health is all over
+you; your eyes sparkle, your skin glistens; you shoot out the salt
+sea-spray from your nostrils in a manner that would surprise any
+porpoise; you whoop and you yell like a young devil let loose! Never
+in the world would I take you to be a hard, money-making, lucre-loving
+man! Why, my dear Friday, you are a perfect jewel of a savage! I
+didn't know it was you, and doubt if you knew it yourself! Isn't it
+glorious? I feel a thousand years younger! Don't you hear me singing,
+
+ "Oh, poor Robinson Crusoe!
+ Tinky ting tang, tinky ting tang,
+ Oh, poor Robinson Crusoe!"
+
+But the water is rather fresh--considering how much salt there is in
+it. We had better take a race over the rocks. Run, Friday, for your
+life. If I catch you, overboard you go into the sea again. Run, you
+savage, run! Voices? you say, human voices?
+
+Great Heavens! Where are you, Friday? Gone! disappeared behind that
+projecting ledge of rocks. And here am I, all alone, up to my arm-pits
+in the water, with a group of Finnish ladies standing there, not a
+hundred yards off, looking at me!--ay, gazing steadfastly at me, and,
+what is worse, splitting their sides laughing at my confusion! What in
+the world is to be done? The water seems to be growing colder and
+colder. I am chilled through. My jaws begin to chatter. Suppose a
+shark should seize me by the leg--or a sudden and violent cramp should
+take possession of me? My gracious! what are those women doing now?
+Actually seating themselves on the rocks, within ten steps of my
+clothes, and spreading several packages of bread, cheese, and cakes
+around them! They are going to enjoy a picnic while I enjoy my bath! I
+hear their merry voices; I can imagine the general drift of their
+jokes. How innocently they eat, and drink, and laugh. Possibly they
+take me for a seal or a walrus! Certainly nothing is visible but my
+head, on the crown of which, I regret to say, is a bald spot about the
+size of your hand. It may be very funny to see it dodging up and down
+among the breakers--but I can't stand it much longer. Already the
+spray has wellnigh strangled me; I shiver all over; a horrible
+presentiment is uppermost in my mind that polypi, and sea-leeches, and
+shiny jelly-fish are fastening their suckers upon my legs; I jump, and
+kick, and plunge in an agony of apprehension, while those fair
+creatures on the rock imagine, no doubt, that I am disporting myself
+in sheer exuberance of joy. If they only knew that I had been full
+half an hour in the water before they appeared, there might be some
+hope of a release; but that does not seem to have entered their heads.
+
+Never in all my experience, reader, was I in such a predicament. This
+is no fancy sketch. It is true, every word of it. Had the picnickers
+been old ladies, I might have shut my eyes, and made a break out of
+the water for my clothes; but three of them, at least, were young,
+and, worse than that, very pretty! The courage for so daring and
+monstrous an act was not in me. I felt that it would be easier to die;
+and yet to die in this way is pretty hard when it comes to a practical
+test. What the deuce was to be done? I could not speak a word of
+Finnish, otherwise I might have implored them to retire a few hundred
+yards and let me get my clothes. With a shirt, or even a
+pocket-handkerchief, I might have charged upon the enemy; but I had
+nothing--not even a hat--as a shield against the battery of sparkling
+eyes that bore down upon me! A thousand expedients flashed through my
+mind in the extremity of my sufferings. I would slip out of the water
+on all-fours, and creep over the rocks like a seal, but that would be
+an extremely ungraceful way of approaching a bevy of strange ladies.
+Then it occurred to me if I could get hold of a bunch of sea-weeds, it
+might serve as a temporary substitute for a costume; but the weeds had
+all drifted away by this time, and not a patch was in sight. Even a
+large oyster-shell might have afforded some assistance; but who ever
+heard of oyster-shells in the Gulf of Finland? Nothing remained save
+to dive down and seize a big rock, detach it from the bottom, and,
+holding it up before me, make a break for the pile of clothes; yet
+when I came to consider the preposterous spectacle that a middle-aged
+man would present in a state of nudity charging full tilt upon a party
+of ladies, with a big rock in his hands and a gleam of desperation in
+his eye, the idea seemed too monstrous to be entertained, and I was
+forced to give it up. The difficulty was becoming really serious.
+Doubtless it appears very funny to my California friends, but I can
+assure them it was pretty near death to me. I would have given ten
+dollars for the poorest cotton shirt that was ever dealt out by an
+Indian agent to a Reservation Digger; nay, transparent as the blankets
+are, I might have made one serve my purpose by doubling it three or
+four times and holding it up front.
+
+All this, however, though very well in its way, did not relieve me
+from my embarrassing predicament. Something must be done, and that
+very speedily. I was rapidly wilting under the chilling influence of
+the water. Ten minutes more would render me a fit subject for a
+coroner's inquest. I saw but one alternative: to work my course a few
+hundred yards up the shore, and then creep out the best way I could,
+and run for my life till I found some friendly nook among the rocks in
+which I could conceal myself till these fair Finns took a notion to
+depart.
+
+Acting upon this idea, I ducked down as low as possible, and crept
+over the jagged and slippery rocks, in mortal dread all the time that
+some receding wave would leave me a dripping spectacle for these fair
+damsels to laugh at; till, bruised and scarified beyond farther
+endurance, I worked my way to a landing-place, where I paused in a
+recumbent position--that is to say, on all-fours--to take an
+observation. They must have perceived something ludicrous in my
+attitude. A wild scream of laughter saluted my ears. I could stand no
+more. What little warmth was left in my blood forced itself into my
+head and face as I sprang to my feet. With a groan of shame and
+mortification, I took to my heels; and never before, so help me
+Jupiter! did I run so fast in my life. Scream after scream of laughter
+followed me! It is impossible for me to conjecture how I looked, but I
+felt dreadfully destitute of sail as I scudded over the rough pathway
+that wound around the shore. Blushing, panting, and utterly
+overwhelmed with conflicting emotions of modesty and despair, I darted
+behind the friendly shelter of a rock, and inwardly resolved that if
+ever I went bathing in Finland again, I would at least perform my
+ablutions in a more appropriate costume than Nature had bestowed upon
+me.
+
+The next question was, how long were these people going to enjoy
+themselves at my expense? Was I to be blockaded from my clothes all
+the rest of the afternoon? I could not, upon any principle of
+international law, undertake to break the blockade on the ground that
+it was not effectual, and yet it was pretty hard to do without my
+cotton. What I had suffered from the cold while in the water was
+nothing to what I now began to experience from the unobstructed rays
+of the sun. My skin was rapidly assuming every variety of color
+supposed to exist in the rainbow, and a painful consciousness
+possessed me that in half an hour more I would be blistered from head
+to foot. There was no shade on my side of the rock, and nothing any
+where in sight that could afford the least protection. Racked with
+renewed anguish, I peeped out to see if there was any earthly prospect
+reaching my clothes. Horror upon horror! what were they doing now? Did
+my eyes deceive me? As sure as fate, they were all quietly undressing
+themselves! Hats, scarves, parasols and dresses were scattered all
+around them; there they sat, on the moss-covered rocks, their
+alabaster necks and limbs glistening in the sun, looking for all the
+world like a bevy of mermaids, laughing and chattering in the highest
+glee, perfectly indifferent to my presence! I saw no more. A dizziness
+came over me. Consternation seized my inmost soul. Drawing back behind
+the rock. I held my face close up to it and shut both my eyes. Don't
+talk to me about courage! Every man is a coward by nature. Of what
+avail was it that I had killed whales and chased grizzly bears? Here I
+was now, hiding my face, shutting my eyes, trembling in the hot sun
+like a man with an ague, both knees knocking together, and my heart
+ready to pop out of my mouth from abject fear! Strange--wasn't
+it?--especially after having made the grand tour of Europe, in many
+parts of which live men and women are ranked with statuary. What harm
+is there, after all, in discarding those artificial trappings which
+disfigure the human form divine? Many a man who looks like an Apollo
+Belvidere in his natural condition, becomes a very commonplace fellow
+the moment he steps into his conventional disguise. He is no longer
+heroic; he may be a very vulgar-looking mortal, not at all calculated
+to produce classical impressions on any body. His form divine has
+fallen into the hands of a tailor, who may be neither an artist or a
+poet. And since we can admire an Apollo Belvidere, why not a Venus de
+Medici, or, still more, the living, breathing impersonation of beauty
+buffeting the waves with
+
+ "Shapely limb and lubricated joint."
+
+But, hang it all! though not an ill-shaped man, I don't flatter myself
+there was any thing in my personal appearance, as I crouched behind
+the rock, shutting both eyes as hard as I could, to remind the most
+enthusiastic artist of the Apollo Belvidere! Nay, the gifted Hawthorne
+himself could scarcely have made a Marble Faun out of so unpromising a
+subject. And as for the fair bathers, who by this time were plunging
+about in the water like naiads, it would of course be impossible for
+me to say how far they were improved by lack of costume, since I
+looked in another direction, and kept my eyes faithfully closed from
+the very beginning. The question now occurred to me, Would I not be
+justified by the law of nations in breaking the blockade? It was now
+or never. If they once commenced dressing, farewell to hope! Well, I
+did it. Heaven only knows how I got through the terrible ordeal. I
+only remember that desperation gave strength and speed to my limbs,
+and I ran with incredible velocity. A moment of terrible confusion
+ensued as I grasped at my scattered habiliments. There came a scream
+of laughter from the wicked naiads who were sporting in the waves. I
+fled over the hills--my bundle in my arms--and never once stopped till
+I reached a small valley about half a mile distant. Breathless,
+mortified, and bewildered at the oddity of the adventure. I hurriedly
+dressed, and walked back to town. Arrived at my hotel, I called for a
+bottle of schnapps, retired to my room, locked the door, and
+fervently ejaculated, "'All's well that ends well!' Here's to the
+ladies of Helsingfors! But if ever you catch me in such a scrape
+again, my name's not Browne!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+ABO--FINLAND.
+
+
+I was strongly inclined to spend several weeks in Helsingfors. The
+bathing is delightful, and the manners and customs of the people are
+primitive and interesting. My adventure on the sea-shore, as I soon
+discovered, was nothing uncommon. I mentioned the matter to my
+landlady--a Finnish woman of very sociable manners, who spoke a little
+English. I asked her if it was customary for the ladies to dispense
+with bathing-dresses. She said they generally wore something when they
+bathed in public, but beyond the limits of the regular bath-houses, at
+the end of the Botanical Gardens, they seldom troubled themselves
+about matters of that kind; in fact, they preferred going in without
+any obstruction, because "they could swim so much better."
+
+Having procured my passport at the Bureau of the Police, I took
+passage in a Swedish steamer bound for Abo and Stockholm. Next morning
+by daylight the steamer arrived from St. Petersburg. I went on board,
+and in a few hours more the fortifications of Sweaborg were dim in the
+distance.
+
+The accommodations on board the Swedish steamers are excellent. I took
+passage in the second cabin, for the sake of economy, and found every
+thing as clean and comfortable as I could desire. The waiters are
+polite and attentive, the fare is good, and the company quiet and
+respectable. The difference in this respect is very striking between
+first and second class passengers on board of American and Swedish
+steamers. In the latter there is no rowdyism--no incivility from
+officers or servants; and, so far as the passengers are concerned, I
+could not perceive that they were debarred from any of the privileges
+enjoyed by passengers of the first class. They had the entire range of
+the vessel, and were treated with the same respect and consideration
+shown to others who possessed the means of indulgence in a little more
+style. I have been particularly pleased with this trait in the
+management of public conveyances throughout Europe. In Sweden and
+Norway it is especially characteristic. The commonest deck-passenger
+on board a Swedish or Norwegian steamer is treated with courtesy.
+Indeed, I have seen instances of care and tenderness toward the poorer
+classes, whose circumstances compelled them to travel in this way,
+that I regret to say would excite astonishment in our own democratic
+country. I can scarcely understand why it is that the captain and
+officers of a steam-ship on our side of the water consider it their
+duty to harass passengers who do not pay the highest price with all
+sorts of vexatious restrictions, and to render their condition as
+uncomfortable as possible. To be overbearing, insolent, and
+ungentlemanly seems to be the only aim of these important
+functionaries, and, so far as my experience goes, they succeed so well
+in this respect that if they do not actually prove themselves brutes
+and blackguards during the passage, they are usually rewarded for
+their forbearance, on reaching the port of destination, by a card of
+thanks. I have seen no such insolence on the part of officers and
+slavishness on that of passengers on board of any Swedish or Norwegian
+steamer, as I have often seen on the Panama and California coast
+steamers. Yet cards of thanks are not common in Europe. In fact, they
+would be regarded as a reflection upon the officers rather than an
+evidence of complimentary appreciation.
+
+The coast of Finland from Helsingfors to Abo abounds in small rocky
+islands, covered, for the most part, with a stunted growth of pine.
+The outline of the main land is extremely rugged and irregular,
+presenting a succession of promontories, bays, and inlets,
+weather-beaten cliffs of granite, and gloomy pine forests. No sign of
+habitation is to be seen during the entire voyage, with the exception
+of an occasional group of fishermen's huts or a custom-house station.
+The whole country has the appearance of an unbroken wilderness. The
+steamer plows her way, hour after hour, through the narrow and winding
+passages that lie between the islands--sometimes so close to the
+overhanging cliffs and rugged boulders of granite as almost to
+touch--and often apparently land-locked amid the maze of islands and
+promontories. While there is nothing grand or imposing in the scenery,
+the coast of Finland is certainly one of the most interesting portions
+of the world, in a geological point of view. The singular formation of
+the rocks, their rich and varied colors, and the strange manner in
+which Nature has grouped them together, afford an endless variety of
+interesting studies. The utter isolation of the inhabitants from the
+busy world, their rude and primitive mode of life, their simplicity,
+hardihood, and daring; the rigors of climate to which they are
+subject, and their strong attachment to their sea-girt homes and
+perilous pursuits, render the trip interesting to the general tourist,
+who, though not skilled in geology, may be supposed to possess, like
+myself, a fancy for gathering up odds and ends touching the condition
+of his fellow-beings.
+
+The people of this coast region are a hardy race, whose wild habits of
+life and isolation from the great outer world develop in them many
+striking and peculiar traits of character. During the long winters,
+when the bays, inlets, and harbors are blocked with ice, they become
+wood-choppers or lumbermen, and spend their time chiefly in the
+forests. Upon the breaking up of winter they prepare their nets and
+fishing-gear, and, as soon as the season permits, set forth in their
+little smacks, and devote the principal part of the summer to catching
+and curing fish, for which they find a ready sale at the stations
+along the shore, frequented by traders from St. Petersburg. They live
+in small cabins, built of pine logs, rarely consisting of more than
+two rooms. Each family owns a small patch of ground, with an unlimited
+range of forest. A few cows or goats, a vegetable garden, and some
+chickens or ducks, constitute all they require for domestic use, and
+these are usually attended by the women and children during the
+absence of the men on their fishing expeditions. Education is at a low
+ebb among them, though the rudimental branches are not altogether
+neglected. They are a simple, hospitable, and kind-hearted people,
+ignorant and superstitious, yet by no means deficient in natural
+capacity. No better sailors than the Finns are to be found in any part
+of the world, and there is scarcely a sea throughout the arctic
+regions which has not been visited by their vessels. Although the
+climate is rigorous during a considerable portion of the year, the
+Finns prefer it to any other in the world, and conscientiously believe
+the garden of Paradise must have been originally located in Finland.
+The lower classes are contented and happy, caring little for affairs
+of government, unless they happen to be subjected to some peculiar or
+oppressive restraints. As the traveler approaches the Gulf of Bothnia,
+they assimilate very closely to the same classes in Sweden, and but
+little difference is perceptible either in their language or costume.
+The educated classes, such as the professional men, merchants,
+bankers, traders, etc., are as polished as most people throughout the
+North of Europe, and many of them are distinguished for their
+cultivated manners and general intelligence. Such of these as I
+conversed with on board the steamer impressed me very favorably. I
+found them liberal in their sentiments, and devoted admirers of our
+American institutions. Yet, strange to say, the only secessionist I
+met in the course of my wanderings in this region was a Finn. Hearing
+me speak English, he immediately opened a conversation on the subject
+of the revolutionary movement in the United States. He did not know
+what we were fighting for; thought the North was acting very badly;
+regarded the people of the South as an oppressed and persecuted race;
+believed in slavery; considered the Lincoln government a perfect
+despotism, etc. In short, his views were a general epitome of the
+speeches, proclamations, and messages of the leading rebels throughout
+the South. I listened to him with great patience. He had an
+interesting family on board, all of whom spoke English; and what
+struck me as peculiar, a species of negro English common in the
+Southern States. "Sir," said I, at length, "you surprise me! I had not
+expected to meet so strong an advocate of slavery and slave
+institutions in this latitude. Can it be possible that you are a
+Finn?" "Yes, sir," he answered, "a genuine Finn--now on a visit to my
+native country after an absence of twenty-five years." "Then you must
+have lived in the South?" "Yes, sir; in Montgomery, Alabama. I have
+property there. It was getting pretty bad there for a family, and I
+thought I had better pay a visit to Finland while the war was going
+on." This accounted for the peculiar sentiments of my fellow-traveler!
+He seemed to be a very nice old gentleman, and I was sorry to find him
+tinctured with the heresies of rebellion. Farther conversation with
+him satisfied me that if he could get his property out of Montgomery,
+and put it in Massachusetts, he would be a very respectable Union man.
+I don't think his heart was in the movement, though his pocket,
+doubtless, felt a considerable interest in it.
+
+The town of Abo, formerly the capital of Finland--now a place of no
+great importance except as a custom-house and military station--is
+beautifully situated on the banks of a river called the Aurajoki,
+about three miles above its mouth. Vessels of medium draught,
+including the coasting steamers, have no difficulty in ascending as
+far as the bridge, where they lie alongside the wharves and receive or
+discharge freight. Those of larger draught usually anchor off the
+village of Boxholm, a picturesque gathering of red cottages, with
+high peaked roofs, situated at the entrance of the river. Above the
+village, on the summit of a rocky cliff, stands the fort of Abohus,
+ready at a moment's notice to pour a broadside into any enemy of
+Imperial Russia that may undertake to pass up the river.
+
+Abo, since the removal of the capital and University to Helsingfors
+and the great conflagration of 1827, which destroyed two thirds of the
+town, has fallen into decay, and now does not contain a population of
+more than ten or twelve thousand souls. Spread over an area of several
+miles square, with a sufficient number of houses to accommodate twice
+or three times the population, its broad, stone-paved thoroughfares
+and numerous untenanted buildings have a peculiarly desolate
+appearance. Back a little from the river the pedestrian may walk half
+a mile at midday without meeting a single soul in the streets. A dead
+silence reigns over these deserted quarters, as if the prevailing
+lethargy had fallen upon the few inhabitants that remain. Grass grows
+on the sidewalks, and the basement walls of the houses are covered
+with moss. A dank, chilly mildew seems to hang in the air. One might
+become green all over, like a neglected tomb-stone, should he forget
+himself and stand too long in one spot. I spent a considerable portion
+of the day rambling through these melancholy by-ways, and must admit
+that the effect upon my spirits was not cheering. Now and then the
+apparition of some cadaverous old woman, wrinkled with age--a greenish
+hue upon her features--would appear unexpectedly at some unexpected
+opening in one of the ruinous old houses, and startle me by a gaze of
+wonder or some unintelligible speech addressed to herself. Probably a
+human being had not been seen in that vicinity for the last month.
+Sometimes a slatternly servant-girl would appear in the distance, her
+dress bedraggled with slops, a tub of water on the pavement close by,
+and a long-handled mop in her hand, with which she seemed to be
+vigorously engaged in scrubbing the green slime and tufts of moss off
+the window-sills; but catching a sight of the strangers, down would
+go the mop, and then the usual hasty attempt would be made at fixing
+her hair and otherwise increasing her personal charms. As I drew near,
+this useful member of society would naturally take a sidelong glance
+at the strange gentleman, and perceiving that he was uncommonly
+attractive in personal appearance, it was quite natural she should
+make a neat little courtesy and say "_Got Aften!_" to which, of
+course, I always responded in the most affable manner, not forgetting
+to say to myself, in an audible tone, "Sken Jumfru!"--a pretty girl.
+No harm in that, is there?
+
+In the afternoon I walked out to a public garden about two miles from
+town, where there are some very pleasant promenades, a large building
+containing a ballroom, and numerous pavilions for refreshments. It was
+a festive occasion, and the elite and fashion of Abo were assembled
+there in their best attire. The music was inspiring. Dancing seemed
+contagious. The ballroom was crowded, and old and young were whirling
+about on the light fantastic toe with a zest and spirit truly
+inspiring. Old gentlemen with bald heads seemed to have forgotten
+their age and infirmities, and whirled the blooming damsels around in
+the dizzy mazes of the waltz as dexterously as the youngest; and young
+gentlemen hopped about quite frantic with joy, and altogether
+bewildered with the beauty of their partners. It was really a pretty
+sight. Rarely had I seen so many pleasant faces of both sexes,
+especially those of the ladies. Good-humor, simplicity, and frankness
+were their predominant traits. All ceremony seemed to be cast aside,
+and every body participated in the dance as if it were one great
+family frolic. The formality of introduction was dispensed with, or
+probably most of the guests were already acquainted. The fiddlers
+scraped louder and louder; wilder and faster blew the horns, and on
+went the dance with increasing vigor. I was getting excited--the
+spirit of the thing was contagious. Though not much of a dancer, yet
+I had occasionally in my life filled a place in a reel or a cotillon.
+Waltzing, to be sure, was a little beyond my experience, but I had a
+general idea of the figure, and could not perceive that there was any
+thing very difficult about it. Most of the waltzers here whirled
+around with great ease, and I could see no reason why it would not be
+entirely practicable for an active man like myself, who thought
+nothing of climbing high mountains or jumping across small rivers, to
+do the same. Besides, these people were strangers; it would be a good
+opportunity to try my skill. Doubtless, any of the young ladies would
+oblige me if I asked them to dance. They seemed to oblige every body
+that asked them, and showed no signs of fatigue. Indeed, they looked
+fresher and more vigorous after every bout. I was particularly charmed
+with the appearance of one young lady. Her complexion was florid, and
+her figure absolutely magnificent. At a rough guess she must have
+weighed a hundred and eighty pounds. Every time she whirled past me I
+could feel the floor give way. Her partner was rather small, and
+revolved around her like a planet round the sun. When she laughed,
+which was nearly all the time, her beautiful mouth opened at least two
+thirds of the way across her face, revealing a set of teeth to which
+flakes of snow, pearls, or any thing of that kind could bear no
+comparison. The extraordinary vigor of this girl, her tremendous
+powers of endurance, her weight, beauty, and good-humor, rendered her
+a general favorite. She was, in fact, the belle of the room. To dance
+with her would be an honorable distinction. Now I am naturally a
+modest man, but of late years that defect has been gradually
+disappearing from my character. I resolved to dance with this girl--if
+she would consent. As soon as there was a pause, therefore, I made
+bold to go up to her, and, with a very polite bow, solicited her
+hand--in English. She didn't understand English, but she understood
+dancing, and answered me very politely in Swedish, "Ja!" I think my
+dress and manner, together with my ignorance of the Swedish language,
+had rather a favorable effect. She certainly looked complimented and
+gratified. I saw her turn round her head as we stood up, and laugh at
+the other girls, which I interpreted to mean that she, of all in the
+room, had succeeded in catching the distinguished stranger. Well, the
+music started--it was a German waltz. I stood holding on to my partner
+as the ivy clings to the solid oak. Never did I feel so firm a girl.
+Had she been formed of lead she could not have felt more substantial.
+Now, thought I, away we'll spin over the floor, a living duet,
+altogether accidental, but beautiful to behold--
+
+ "Like the sweet tunes that wandering meet,
+ And so harmoniously they run,
+ The hearer dreams they are but one."
+
+There was only one consideration that gave me any particular anxiety.
+Being of a light and slender figure, I had some apprehensions that in
+the giddy whirl of the waltz this powerful young lady might
+accidentally throw me out of balance and create an unpleasant scene.
+However, there was no time for reflection. At a given signal, away she
+started with tremendous energy. I did my best to whirl her round, and
+don't think it would be possible for any body to do any better under
+the circumstances; but she didn't keep time--or I didn't. Round and
+round the room we flew, to the inspiring strains of the music, with an
+undulating motion very difficult to conceive, and still more difficult
+to execute without danger to the other dancers. The warm blood rushed
+to my face; my head grew dizzy: the only thing I saw was that this
+style of waltzing must end in destruction to myself or somebody else.
+I was fairly lifted off my feet at every turn, and found myself
+absolutely hanging on to my partner to keep from falling. She never
+relaxed in her vigorous movements one moment; but as the music
+increased in spirit, so did she. The room was filled with waltzers. It
+was impossible to be flying about in this way without hitting
+somebody. I knew it from the very beginning, but what could I do? The
+first man down was an old gentleman. I begged his pardon, and helped
+him up again. Next I was dashed against a young lady. She and her
+partner both went down. I helped them up, and begged pardon again,
+which was granted with great good-humor. After that, most of the
+waltzers began to get out of the way, so that we presently had a more
+enlarged scope of operations. I fancy there was something uncommon in
+my style of waltzing that attracted attention. It was not long before
+we had the entire circle to ourselves, the crowd standing around and
+manifesting the most intense appreciation of our efforts. All went on
+very well for a while. Up and down the room, and round and round we
+whirled, and at every whirl there was a murmur of admiration and
+applause. My beautiful partner shook her sides as if convulsed with an
+earthquake--I could feel the motion, but was unable to conjecture the
+cause. Possibly she was getting agitated--or it might be that
+sentiments of tenderness were stealing over her heart. That idea, or
+something else, confused me. I struck out one foot a little awkwardly.
+She tripped against it, whirled me half round in attempting to gain
+her balance, and then we fell. It was very awkward. What rendered it
+still more unpleasant, every body began to laugh. People always do
+laugh at the misfortunes of others. I would have picked the young lady
+up at once, or at least tried it (for she was rather heavy), but the
+fact is, I fell underneath, and was utterly unable to move. Had I been
+pinned and riveted to the floor, I could not have been in a more
+helpless position. A man whose natural instincts are polite is surely
+a subject of sympathy and commiseration under such a pressure of
+difficulties as this. I breathed hard, but was unable to get out a
+single word of apology, till, with, a laugh and a bound, my fair
+partner regained her feet, and then she very good-naturedly assisted
+me in regaining mine. Mortified beyond measure, I conducted her to a
+seat. As I was passing out of the room soon after, a new waltz struck
+up. The dancers went at it again as lively as ever. I turned to see
+what had become of my partner. She was whirling over the floor with
+undiminished energy in the arms of a young gentleman in military
+uniform. He may have been more accustomed to waltzing than I was, but
+I think any person present--not excepting the young lady
+herself--would have been willing to admit that his style did not
+compare with mine in force and individuality. It certainly produced no
+such effect upon the audience.
+
+I walked back to town a sober and thoughtful man. This dancing
+business is a very foolish pastime. It may do very well for giddy and
+thoughtless young persons, but for men of mature years it is the
+height of folly. I am surprised that they should be led aside from
+their customary propriety by the fascinations of beauty.
+
+The sun was just setting. Its last rays rested upon the ruined walls
+of the Observatory. I followed a crowd of citizens who were slowly
+toiling up the stone steps, and, after a pretty hard climb, was
+rewarded with a magnificent view of the city and surrounding country.
+The rocky pinnacle upon which the Observatory stands rises some three
+hundred feet above the banks of the river, and overlooks a large
+portion of the valley of the Aurajoki. The winding waters of the
+river; the green fields; patches of woodland, villas, and gardens; the
+blue mountains in the distance, and the silent city lying like a
+mouldering corpse beneath, presented a scene singularly picturesque
+and impressive. I sat down upon the ruined walls and thought of Abo in
+its glory--the ancient head-quarters of Christianity in Finland; the
+last abiding-place of the beautiful Caroline Morsson, the peasant
+queen of Sweden, wife of Eric XII., who died here, and whose remains
+lie in the Cathedral--the city of the mighty hosts of warlike Finns
+who fought under the banner of Charles XII., and made a funeral pyre
+of their bodies upon the bloody field of Puttara. The present Finns
+are of this heroic race. Not less brave, yet less fortunate than the
+Spartans of Thermopylae, they have lost their country and their
+freedom, and now groan under the oppression of a despotic government.
+
+While thus musing on the past, a strain of delicious music broke the
+stillness. I rambled over the granite cliffs in the direction of the
+sound, and soon came to a grove of trees, with an open space in the
+middle, occupied by a band of musicians, who were surrounded by a
+group of citizens, thus pleasantly passing the summer evening. Booths
+and tents were scattered about in every direction, in which cakes and
+refreshments were to be had; and gay parties of young people were
+seated on long planks so arranged as to make a kind of spring seats,
+upon which they bounced up and down to the time of the music. Children
+were playing upon the grass, their merry shouts of laughter mingling
+pleasantly with the national air performed by the band. On the
+moss-covered rocks sat groups of young ladies, guarded by their
+amiable mothers or discreet duennas, as the case might be, trying hard
+not to see any of the young gentlemen who lounged about in the same
+vicinity; and young gentlemen prowled about puffing cigars as if they
+didn't care a straw whether the young ladies looked at them or
+not--both being, of course, according to the established usages of
+society, natural enemies of each other. For the life of me, I can't
+tell why it is that young ladies and gentlemen should be thus
+everlastingly at war. Would it not be better to kiss and make it up,
+and try, if possible, to get along peaceably through the world?
+
+But the steamer blows her whistle--the bell rings--I must hurry on
+board. Good-by, dear Finns, big and little, I like you all. God bless
+you! Good-by old Abo, with your ancient church, and your moss-grown
+streets, and deserts of houses--I feel sorry for you, but I can't help
+it! Good-by, Russia! If I don't call again, attribute it to no want of
+interest in the great cause of civilization. Just drop me a line and
+let me know when the serfs are free and a constitutional government is
+established, and I will strain a point to pay my respects to Alexander
+II. I rather like the young man, and have an idea that he is capable
+of noble deeds and heroic sacrifices. But he must abolish his secret
+police, punish them for whipping women, open universities upon a
+liberal basis, throw the camarilla and the aristocracy overboard, quit
+murdering the poor Poles at Warsaw, and do several other things before
+he can have my support. Should he accomplish these beneficial reforms,
+and at any future time think proper to settle in my neighborhood,
+where the climate is more genial, I shall cheerfully vote for him as
+mayor of the city of Oakland.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+STOCKHOLM.
+
+
+The passage from Abo to Stockholm occupies about eighteen hours, and
+in fine weather affords a constant succession of agreeable scenes.
+With the exception of about four hours of open sea in crossing the
+Gulf of Bothnia, the steamer is constantly surrounded by islands, many
+of them highly picturesque, and all interesting from their peculiar
+geological formation. Occasionally the island winds like a snake
+through a wilderness of naked granite boulders, round and slippery,
+and barely high enough out of the water to afford a foundation for a
+few fishermen's huts, which from time to time break the monotony of
+their solitude. Sometimes the channel opens out into broad lakes,
+apparently hemmed in on all sides by pine-covered cliffs; then passing
+between a series of frightful crags, upthrown, as it were, out of the
+water by some convulsion of nature, the surging waves lash their way
+through the narrow passages, and threaten each moment to ingulf the
+frail vessel, or dash it to atoms against the rocks. The greatest
+danger in making this trip arises from the number of sunken rocks,
+which often approach to within a few feet of the surface without being
+visible. The depth is usually marked by poles or buoys, and it often
+happens that the steamer plies her way for hours between these
+water-marks, where there is no other indication of danger. The Swedish
+and Finnish pilots are proverbially among the best in the world. We
+had an old Finn on board--a shaggy old sea-dog, rough and
+weather-beaten as any of the rocks on his own rock-bound coast, who, I
+venture to say, never slept a wink during the entire passage, or if he
+did, it was all the same. He knew every rock, big and little, visible
+and invisible, that lay on the entire route between Abo and Stockholm,
+and could see them all with his eyes shut. An uncouth, hardy, honest
+old monster was this Finn--a Caliban of a fellow, half human, half
+fish--with a great sou'wester on his head, a rough monkey-jacket
+buttoned around his body, and a pair of boots on his legs that must
+have been designed for wading over coral reefs, through seas of
+swordfish, shovel-nosed sharks, and unicorns. His broad, honest face
+looked for all the world like a granite boulder covered with barnacles
+and sea-weed, and ornamented by a bunch of mussels for a nose, and a
+pair of shining blue pebbles by way of eyes; and when he spoke, which
+was not often, his voice sounded like the keel of a fishing-smack
+grating over a bank of gravel. I strongly suspect his father was a
+sea-lion and his mother a grampus or scragg whale, and that he was
+fished up out of the sea when young by some hardy son of Neptune, and
+subsequently trained up in the ways of humanity on board a
+fishing-smack, where the food consisted of polypi, lobsters, and black
+bread. Yet there was something wonderfully genial about this old
+pilot. He chewed enormous quantities of tobacco, the stains of which
+around his mouth greatly improved the beauty of his countenance; and
+when he was not chewing pigtail he was smoking it, which equally
+contributed to soften the asperities of his features. Having sailed
+in many seas, he spoke many languages, but none very intelligibly,
+owing to some radical defect in the muscles of his mouth. As to the
+channel between Abo and Stockholm, which lies partly through the Aland
+Islands and numerous adjacent rocks, above and below water, I believe
+he had traveled over it so often that he could steer a vessel through
+it standing backward as readily as box the compass, or shut both his
+eyes and tell where the deepest water lay by the smell of the air and
+the taste of his tobacco.
+
+The passage across the Gulf of Bothnia was somewhat rough, and most of
+the passengers were sea-sick, owing, no doubt, to the short chopping
+motion which prevails on board of all kinds of sea-going vessels in
+these inland seas. Having performed various voyages in various parts
+of the world, I was, of course, exempt from this annoyance; but my
+digestion had been impaired in Russia by the vast quantity of tea,
+cucumbers, veal, cabbage-soup, and other horrible mixtures which I had
+been forced to consume while there, and which now began to tell on my
+constitution. Notwithstanding repeated doses of cognac, taken from
+time to time as I walked the decks, the sea began to whirl all round,
+the clouds overhead to swing about at random through the rigging, and
+the odor of the machinery to produce the strongest and most
+disagreeable sensations. I went below to see how things looked there;
+but, finding the atmosphere dense and the prospect gloomy, returned in
+great haste and looked over the bulwarks to see how fast we were going
+through the water. While thus engaged, an amusing thought occurred to
+me. Suppose the mermaids who lie down in the briny depths form their
+ideas of the beauty of the human countenance from the casual glimpses
+thus afforded of our features, would it be possible for the most
+susceptible of them to fall in love with us? The idea was so droll
+that I was almost convulsed with laughter; but, not wishing to attract
+attention by laughing aloud at my own thoughts, I merely clung to the
+bulwarks and doubled myself up, trying to avoid the appearance of
+eccentricity. At or about the same moment, the old Finnish pilot, with
+whom I had formed an acquaintance, came along, and said
+good-naturedly, "Hello, sir! I dink you pe sea-sick." "Sea-sick?" said
+I, a little nettled. "Oh no, Herr Pilot, I'm an old sailor, and never
+get sea-sick." "Vel, I dought you was sick--you look bad, sir,"
+answered the good old pilot; "de sea is very rough, sir." Here the
+steamer took a notion to pitch down into the water and jump up again
+suddenly, and then rolled on one side and then on the other, and at
+the same time a number of the passengers began to make grotesque and
+disagreeable noises, which amused me so much that I had to turn away
+my face and look at the water again to avoid laughing. "Sir," said the
+old pilot, who observed the contortions of mirth by which I was moved,
+"vil you have some schnapps? I dink schnapps is goot for de sea-sick."
+"Thank you," said I, the tears streaming from my eyes, "I won't have
+any just now." "Vel, 'twon't last long, any how," suggested the
+good-natured monster. "By'm-by we be up to Vaxholm--in pout two hours.
+Dere's land! Don't you see it?" I saw it, and right glad I was too,
+for it is always refreshing to see land from the deck of a steamer. In
+half an hour more we entered a smooth stretch of water, and soon the
+wood-covered islands and shores of Sweden were close ahead.
+
+Passing the fortress of Waxholm, we entered the magnificent fjord or
+arm of the sea which extends for a distance of ten or twelve miles up
+to the city. The scenery on this part of the route is very fine. All
+along the shores of the main land and adjacent islands rugged cliffs
+of granite reared their hoary crests over the waters of the fjord.
+Forests of oak and pine cover the rolling background, and beautiful
+villas, with parterres and blooming gardens, peep from every glen.
+Sometimes for miles the solitude of the forests and rock-bound shores
+is unbroken, save by an occasional fisherman's hut or an open patch
+of green pasture; then suddenly, upon turning a point, a group of
+red-roofed villas glimmer through the foliage; sail-boats are seen
+gliding over the water with gay companies of ladies and gentlemen from
+the city enjoying the fresh breeze that sweeps up from the Gulf; now a
+hay-boat or a clumsy lugger laden with wood drifts along lazily toward
+the grand centre of trade; and as we approach nearer to the dim
+smoke-cloud that hangs over the city, big and little craft gather
+thicker and thicker before us, till the whole fjord seems alive with
+masts and sails. Soon the outlines of the churches and castles break
+through the dim distance, and, like some grand optical illusion, the
+whole city gradually opens up before us.
+
+To say that I was charmed with the first view of Stockholm would but
+faintly express the feelings with which I gazed upon this beautiful
+metropolis of the North. Though different in almost every essential
+particular, it has been not unaptly compared to Venice; and certainly,
+if the sparkling waters from which it seems to rise, the wood-covered
+islands, the rich and varied outlines of its churches and castles, the
+forests of shipping at its wharves, the many-colored sail-boats and
+gondolas sweeping hither and thither, the glowing atmosphere, and
+surrounding gardens, villas, temples, and pavilions, can entitle it to
+that distinction, Stockholm well deserves to rank with the Queen City
+of the Adriatic.
+
+The landing for the Baltic steamers is at the head quay called the
+Skepsbron, which in summer is well lined with shipping, and presents
+rather an animated appearance. Very little formality is observed in
+regard to the baggage of passengers, and passports are not required, or
+at least no demand was made upon me for mine. All I had to do was to
+show my knapsack to the custom-house officer, who put a chalk-mark upon
+it, signifying, no doubt, that it contained nothing contraband; after
+which I stepped ashore, and, aided by a friendly fellow-passenger,
+found lodgings at a dirty little hotel close by, called the "Stadt
+Frankfort." If there is any worse place to be found in Stockholm, it
+must be the very worst on the face of the earth, for the "Stadt
+Frankfort" is next thing to it. Being dirty and foul of smell, and
+abounding in vermin, of course the charges are, as usual in such cases,
+proportionally high, for which reason I recommend it to any gentleman
+traveling in this direction whose main object is to get rid of his
+money for an equivalent of filth, fleas, bugs, bad bread, and worse
+coffee. The main part of the city, embracing the King's Palace, the
+Bourse, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Barracks and public buildings,
+is built upon an island fronting the Baltic on the one side and the
+Malar Lake on the other. This is the most populous and interesting
+part, though the streets are narrow and irregular, and the houses
+generally old and dilapidated, with dark, gloomy fronts, and a very
+fishy and primitive expression of countenance. The new parts of the
+city, called the Normalm to the north and the Sodmalm to the south,
+which are connected with the island by bridges, have some fine streets
+and handsome rows of buildings in the modern style, especially the
+Normalm, which contains the King's Garden, the Arsenal, the
+Opera-house, and the principal hotels and residences of the foreign
+ministers. This part of Stockholm will compare favorably with second or
+third-rate cities in Germany; for it must be borne in mind that,
+striking as the external aspect of Stockholm is, the interior is very
+far from sustaining the illusion of grandeur cast around it by the
+scenic beauties of its position. In nothing is the traveler more
+disappointed than the almost total absence of business excitement. With
+the exception of a few stevedores at work on the wharves and a trifling
+jostle at the market-places, the whole city seems to be sitting down in
+its Northern solitude, waiting, like Mr. Micawber, for something to
+turn up. In some parts one may walk half a mile without hearing a sound
+save the echo of his own footsteps. It is, emphatically, a "slow"
+place--so slow, indeed, compared with the marts of commerce to which I
+had been accustomed in California (especially the city of Oakland),
+that I was constantly impressed with the idea that every body was fast
+asleep, and that if three or four of them should happen to wake at the
+same time, it would be fearfully startling to hear their eyelids crack
+open and the hollow streets echo to their yawns.
+
+But don't understand this as a reflection upon the Swedish race. They
+are industrious and energetic when occasion requires, but, like all
+people who live at the extreme North, acquire tropical habits of
+indolence from the climate. During the tedious winters, when the days
+are but six hours long, all who can afford it become torpid, like
+frogs, and lie up in their houses till the summer sun thaws them out.
+Balls, parties, and sleigh-riding occasionally rouse them up, but
+lethargy is the general rule. The warm weather comes very suddenly,
+and then the days are eighteen hours long. This being the season of
+outdoor pleasure, it is spent in visits to the country or lounging
+about the gardens, sitting on spring benches and enjoying the
+sunshine.
+
+The Swedish soldiers are a fine-looking race of men, far superior in
+stature and general appearance to the soldiers of Russia. They are
+well drilled, bold, and manly, and have fine faces, full of spirit and
+intelligence. Wherever these men are led, they will now, as in past
+times, give the enemies of their country some trouble. I consider them
+the finest soldiers in Northern Europe.
+
+The general aspect of the citizens of Stockholm is that of extreme
+plainness and simplicity. I take them to be an honest, substantial,
+and reliable people, well educated and intelligent; satisfied with
+themselves and the world, and proud of their country and its history.
+Politeness is a national characteristic. Every person, of high and low
+degree, upon entering a shop, takes off his hat, and remains with
+uncovered head while making his purchase. Gentlemen who meet on the
+street knock the tops of their "tiles" against their knees, and
+continue to bow at each other long after they have passed. In feature
+and general appearance the Swedes are handsomer than the southern
+races of Europe, and for that reason wear a nearer resemblance to the
+Americans. I saw several men in Stockholm who would not have done
+discredit to California, in point of fine faces and commanding
+figures. The Swedish ladies are proverbially beautiful. It was really
+refreshing, after my visit to Russia, to see so many pretty women as I
+met here. Light hair, oval features, sparkling blue eyes, and forms of
+intoxicating grace and beauty--ah me! why should such dangers be
+permitted to threaten the defenseless traveler with instant
+destruction, when the law provides for his protection against other
+disasters by land and sea, assault and battery, false imprisonment and
+highway robbery? Yet here were lovely creatures, gliding about at
+large, shooting mutilation and death out of their bright blue eyes,
+and apparently as indifferent to the slaughter they committed as if it
+were the finest fun in the world! Talk of your French beauties, your
+Italian beauties, your Spanish beauties! Give me, for the
+impersonation of soul expressed in the human form divine--for features
+"woven from the music of the spheres and painted with the hues of the
+aurora borealis"--a Swedish beauty, the nearest approach upon earth to
+an American beauty, which, being altogether angelic, must ever remain
+the highest type of perfection known to mankind.
+
+I don't wonder Swedenborg made so many heavens for his female
+characters. His "conjugal felicity" required at least seven. One small
+heaven, constructed upon the Swedish plan, would certainly afford but
+limited accommodations for all the beauties of Stockholm.
+
+A day or two after my arrival in Stockholm I called to Mr. Fristadius,
+the American consul, from whom I obtained the latest news in reference
+to the progress of the rebellion. Accustomed as we are in the United
+States to read the newspapers every morning, wherever we may happen
+to be, the deprivations in this respect to which an American traveler
+in Europe is subjected must be experienced to be fully appreciated.
+Even in the principal cities of Germany it is difficult to find a
+newspaper that contains any thing more than a notice of the price of
+stocks, a few telegraphic items about the petty court movements of
+neighboring cities, a rehash of slander upon our country from the
+London _Times_, or an item of news about the war, in which the states
+are misplaced, the names misspelled, and the most important points
+omitted. I do not think there is a village press in California that
+would not be ashamed to turn out such trashy little sheets as are
+issued in Frankfort; and as for the matter of fairness and honesty, it
+is rare to find an independent newspaper in any part of Europe. To
+suppress truth and subserve some military or financial interest is the
+business for which they are paid. Making due allowance for party
+prejudices, you may guess at the truth in most of our American
+journals, but it would be a waste of time to search for it in the
+newspapers published on this side of the water. While they studiously
+refrain from indecorous language, they are corrupt and unreliable
+beyond any thing known in California, and have not even the merit of
+being energetic and entertaining liars. This is the case in Russia and
+Finland as well as in Germany. Where the press is subjected to a rigid
+censorship, it is of course useless to look for reliable information,
+and as for late intelligence, it does not travel through official
+bureaus. Before leaving Frankfort I had news to the 28th of June. A
+week after my arrival at St. Petersburg the same news was promulgated
+in that city. On my return from Moscow I had the pleasure of reading
+the details in an American newspaper. One or two mutilated telegraphic
+dispatches seemed to sharpen my appetite during the trip to Revel,
+Helsingfors, Abo, and Stockholm; and now, arrived at the head-quarters
+of Swedish civilization, after searching in vain for a late English or
+American newspaper at the principal cafes, I was compelled to make
+application to our consul, in the faint hope that he might be an
+occasional reader of that ephemeral species of literature.
+Fortunately, Mr. Fristadius had spent some time in the United States,
+and learned to appreciate the magnitude and importance of the struggle
+in which we were engaged.
+
+I had the pleasure, during my sojourn in Stockholm, of getting a
+glimpse of Swedish social life in one of its most agreeable phases.
+Mr. Fristadius, who is a Swede by birth and education, and occupies a
+prominent position as one of the leading iron-merchants of Stockholm,
+was kind enough to invite me to an entertainment at his villa,
+situated about four miles from the city, on one of the prettiest
+little islands in the Malar Lake.
+
+At an early hour in the afternoon, the company, which consisted of
+thirty or forty ladies and gentlemen, assembled by appointment at a
+wharf near one of the principal bridges, where a small steam-boat
+belonging to Mr. Fristadius was in waiting. I was a little astonished,
+not to say taken aback, at the display of elegant dresses, liveried
+servants, and white kid gloves that graced the occasion, and looked at
+my dusty and travel-worn coat, slouched hat, and sunburnt hands--for
+which there was no remedy--with serious thoughts of a hasty retreat.
+One doesn't like to be a savage among civilized people; yet, if one
+undertakes to travel with little baggage and less money, what can he
+do, unless he holds himself aloof from the world altogether, which is
+not the best way of seeing it? There was no time for reflection,
+however; the whistle was blowing, and we were hurried on board by our
+kind host, who seemed determined to make every body as happy as
+possible. The trip down the lake was delightful. On either side the
+hills and islands were dotted with villas and gardens; sail-boats were
+skimming over the water with gay parties intent on pleasure; the views
+of the city from every turn were picturesque beyond description, and
+the weather was quite enchanting. As we swept along on our course, the
+gentlemen of the party, who were nearly all Swedes, united in a wild
+and beautiful Scandinavian glee, the mellow strains of which swept
+over the water, and were echoed from the wooded islands and shores of
+the lake with a magnificent effect. Whether it was the scenery, the
+weather, or the singing, or all combined, I could scarcely tell, but
+this little trip was certainly an episode in life to be remembered
+with pleasure in after years. In about half an hour we drew near a
+perfect little Paradise of an island, upon which, half hidden in
+shrubbery and flowers, stood the villa of our friend, Mr. Fristadius.
+Here were winding graveled walks overhung by rich foliage; beds of
+flowers in full bloom; grottoes of rock laved by the waters of the
+lake; immense boulders of granite surmounted by rustic pavilions;
+hedges of privet and hawthorn to mark the by-paths; a miniature bridge
+from the main island across to a smaller island, upon which stood an
+aquatic temple for the fishing-boats and gondolas; with a wharf
+jutting out into the deep water at which the little steam-boat landed.
+Nothing could be more unique than the whole place. Nature and art
+seemed to have united to give it the most captivating effects of
+wildness, seclusion, comfort, and elegance. It was Crusoe-life
+idealized. As we approached the landing-place, the interesting family
+of our host, surrounded by numerous friends, stood upon a little
+eminence awaiting our arrival. While we gazed with pleasurable
+emotions at the pretty scene before us, a most delicate and
+appropriate compliment was paid to our excellent minister, Mr.
+Haldeman, and his accomplished wife, who were of the party. The
+American flag was hoisted upon a pole near the landing by Mrs.
+Fristadius, and the company with one accord arose and greeted with
+three cheers this glorious emblem of liberty. I shall never forget the
+mingled feelings of pride and pleasure with which I looked upon the
+stars and stripes once more, after months of dreary depression in
+countries where freedom is but a glimmering hope in the human heart.
+But here in Sweden the spirit of our institutions is appreciated;
+here I found myself surrounded by noble and trusty friends of the
+American Union, loyal to their own liberal government, yet devoted to
+the great cause of human freedom wherever it can exist consistently
+with the progress of the times and the capacity of the people for
+self-government. As the flag waved in the breeze, an inspiring song of
+liberty burst from the joyous company--one of those soul-stirring
+songs of Belman, which find a response in the breast of every
+Swede--wild, impassioned, and patriotic, breathing in every word and
+intonation the chivalrous spirit of men whose ancestry had fought
+under the glorious banners of Gustavus Adolphus.
+
+As soon as the song was concluded the little steam-boat drew up to the
+wharf, where we were most kindly and cordially greeted by the family
+of our host. After a pleasant ramble about the grounds we proceeded to
+the house, which is situated on a picturesque eminence overlooking the
+lake, and the adjacent shores and islands. Here, in a large and
+elegant saloon, opening on all sides upon a spacious veranda, a
+sumptuous collation was spread. The company lounged about without
+ceremony, eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves as they pleased;
+wit and wine flowed together, unrestrained by the slightest formality.
+In the midst of our "feast of reason and flow of soul," Mr. Fristadius
+made a neat and appropriate little speech of "welcome to all his
+friends," which was followed by a song from the musical gentlemen;
+after which he proposed a toast to a young married couple present.
+This was followed by another song. Then there was a toast to the
+American flag, another speech and a song, to which Mr. Haldeman, our
+minister, responded in such terms of enthusiasm and complimentary
+allusion to the Swedish nation that there was a general outburst of
+applause. I had hoped, in view of my rustic garb, to escape notice,
+and was snugly barricaded in a corner behind a table, looking on
+quietly and enjoying the scene, when, to my great astonishment, a
+toast was proposed "to the DISTINGUISHED TRAVELER FROM CALIFORNIA!"
+In vain I looked about me to see if any prominent gentleman of my
+acquaintance from California would step forward and answer to the
+summons, when I was gently but firmly captured by our host, and duly
+brought forth to respond to the charge! Never having made a speech in
+my life, I could only seize hold of a wine-glass (which I think
+belonged to somebody else), and in the confusion of the moment drink
+spontaneously to the great traveler from California! Then there was an
+inspiring glee from the lively young gentlemen who did the music.
+
+Thus passed the time till dinner was over, when we adjourned to the
+garden for coffee and cigars. Seated under the wide-spreading trees,
+in the balmy air of this summer evening, we had songs and recitations
+of Scandinavian poetry, anecdotes, and humorous dissertations till
+nearly midnight. I do not remember that I ever participated in a more
+rational or delightful entertainment. After a farewell glee to our
+host we marched down to the wharf, where the boat was in waiting, and
+embarked for Stockholm. I can only add that I was charmed with the
+refinement and intelligence of Swedish society, as far as I could
+judge of it by this casual glimpse. From many of the guests I received
+cordial invitations to prolong my sojourn, and the next morning found
+two or three of the gentlemen in readiness to show me every thing of
+interest about the city.
+
+We visited the Museum, where there is an interesting assortment of
+Scandinavian antiquities, and the palace, and some half a dozen other
+places, all of which came in the regular routine of sight-seeing; but
+the fact is, I am getting dreadfully tired of this systematic way of
+lionizing the cities of Europe. I turn pale at the sight of a museum,
+shudder at a church, feel weak in the knees at the bare thought of a
+picture-gallery, and as for antiquities, they make my flesh creep.
+Between you and myself, dear reader, I wouldn't give a sou-markee for
+all the old bones gathered up during the last eighteen centuries,
+unless to start a bone-mill and sell the dust at a remunerative
+profit.
+
+After all, the more I saw of Stockholm the more the blues began to
+creep over me. It is depressingly slow in these far Northern cities;
+so slow, indeed, I don't wonder every thing has a mildewed and
+sepulchral aspect. The houses look like slimy tombs in a grave-yard;
+the atmosphere, when the sun does not happen to shine--which is more
+than half the time--is dank and flat, and hangs upon one's spirits
+like a nightmare, crushing out by degrees the very germ of vitality. I
+am not surprised that paralysis and hip-disease are frightfully
+prevalent in Stockholm.
+
+Give me California forever--the land of sunshine and progress. I have
+seen no country like it yet. When I think of old times there, a
+terrible home-sickness takes possession of me. So help me, friends and
+fellow-citizens, I'd sooner be a pack-mule in California with a raw
+back, and be owned by a Mexican greaser, employed week in and week out
+in carrying barrels of whisky over the Downieville trail, fed on three
+grains of barley per day, and turned out to browse on quartz rock and
+sage-bushes every night--I'd rather be a miserable little burro,
+kicked and cuffed by a Mariposa Chinaman--I'd rather be a dog and bay
+the moon in the city of Oakland, or a toad and feed upon the vapors of
+a dungeon at San Quentin--I'd rather be a lamp-post on the corner of
+Montgomery Street, San Francisco, and be leaned against, and hugged,
+and kissed alternately by every loafer out of the Montgomery
+saloon--I'd rather be any of these than a human being compelled to
+live permanently in Europe, with a palace in every city, town, and
+village, and an income of fifty thousand dollars a day to defray
+expenses; so don't be surprised if I should turn up again one of these
+fine mornings on the Pacific coast. The only difficulty at present
+is--a collapse in the financial department.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+WALKS ABOUT STOCKHOLM.
+
+
+If you expect any very lively or striking pictures of Stockholm from a
+tourist like myself, whose besetting trouble in life is a
+constitutional melancholy, I am afraid you will be disappointed. It is
+beyond doubt one of the most agreeable cities in the North, and, so
+far as public institutions are concerned, affords a fine field of
+research for the antiquarian and the naturalist. Any enterprising
+gentleman who desires to improve his mind by the study of Puffendorf
+can here find the original. Linnaeus, Berzelius, and others will
+materially assist him in grasping at the mysteries of animated
+creation; and if he be of a poetical turn, he can enjoy Belman in the
+unadulterated Scandinavian metre. For me, however, the public museums
+and libraries possessed only an external interest. I would gladly have
+devoted the remainder of my life to Scandinavian researches, but,
+having several other important matters to attend to, I was reluctantly
+forced to give up the idea. The main object at present was to escape
+from "an eternal lethargy of woe," which seemed to grow worse and
+worse every day. I really had nothing particular to afflict me, yet I
+both felt and looked like "a man sore acquaint with grief." Day after
+day I wandered about the streets in search of excitement. All in vain;
+such a luxury is unknown to strangers in Stockholm. I visited the
+fruit-markets, jostled about among the simple and kind-hearted
+peasants, bought bunches of cherries and baskets of raspberries from
+the pretty peasant-girls, and then stood eating my way into their
+acquaintance, while they laughed, and talked, and wondered where in
+the world such a strange man came from, and when I told them I came
+from California they looked incredulous, having probably never of such
+a country. Then I strolled down through the fish-market, where there
+were a great many queer fish exposed for sale by ancient and slimy old
+men and women, whose hands and aprons were covered with fish-scales,
+and whose faces had a very fishy expression. They offered me fish in
+every shape--skinned, gutted, chopped up, or whole, just as I pleased
+to buy them. One wrinkled old woman, with a voice much broken by
+shouting against the Gulf storms from high rocks, or some such cause,
+called my attention to a monster fish that must have weighed at least
+sixty pounds, and insisted upon letting me have it at a reduced price.
+I shook my head and smiled. In that smile I suppose the sagacious old
+fishwoman discovered the pliancy of my disposition, for she
+immediately commenced a wild harangue on the merits of the fish,
+scarcely a word of which I understood. Two or three times I started to
+leave, but each time she made a motion to detain me. The fact is, I
+was afraid she would get hold of me with her fishy hands, and was
+considerably embarrassed what to do. The price of the fish was
+reasonable enough--only two marks (about forty cents); but I had no
+use for it, and did not like to carry it to my hotel. The worst of it
+was, the old woman thought the price was the only obstacle, and
+finally came down to a mark and a half. What was to be done? From
+Billingsgate to Stockholm, it is notorious that a disappointed
+fishwoman is a very dangerous and uncertain foe to be encountered by
+any man, however brave. She began to get excited at the bare prospect
+of having taken so much trouble for nothing. Several of her friends
+began to gather round. A cold tremor ran through my frame. There
+seemed to be no possible way of evading the purchase without creating
+an unpleasant scene. To make an end of it, I bought the fish. With a
+bunch of grass wrapped around its tail, I made my way through the
+crowd. To be sure, I felt a little ashamed to be perambulating the
+streets of a strange city with a big fish in my hand, yet I could not
+well throw it down on the sidewalk, and was afraid, if I offered it to
+some little boy, he might stick his tongue in his cheek, and ask me if
+I saw any thing green in the corner of his eye. The case was getting
+worse and worse every moment. People stopped and looked at me as I
+passed. My arm was getting tired. Fortunately, I was close to the
+quay. A happy thought struck me; I walked over to the water's edge and
+cast the fish into his native element. "Go," said I, in the language
+of my uncle Toby; "there's room enough in the world for you and me."
+What the by-standers thought of the act I did not wait to see. It was
+enough that I was clear of a very unpleasant companion, though an
+ancient and fish-like odor remained with me for some time after. As
+for the fish, I doubt if he ever came to life; he must have been dead
+for several days when I bought him, judging by a taint upon my hands,
+which the best soap could not eradicate.
+
+After this I rambled gloomily along the quays, and wondered what every
+body was waiting for. There were small vessels enough lying at the
+wharves, but every body on board seemed to be taking it easy. Cooks
+were lying asleep on the galleys; skippers were sitting on the poop,
+smoking socially with their crews; small boys, with red night-caps on
+their heads, were stretched out upon the hatchways, playing push-pin,
+and eating crusts of black bread; stevedores, with dusty sacks on
+their shoulders, were lounging about on the wharf, waiting for
+something in the way of trade to turn up; shabby citizens, who seemed
+to be out of profitable employment, were sitting on the loose timbers
+overlooking the water, bobbing for fish, and never catching any so far
+as I could perceive; and scattering crowds of idlers were strolling
+idly along like myself, in search of something particular to look at,
+but, failing to discover it, they looked about at things generally,
+and then strolled on to look at something else. I sighed at the
+stagnation of business, and hoped it would never be my fate to be
+engaged in mercantile affairs in Stockholm. Before the Gotha Canal was
+completed this was a very brisk city; but since that period,
+Gottenburg, being more accessible, has monopolized much of the
+European trade. The principal trade of Stockholm now consists of
+exports of iron, and imports of sugar, coffee, and liquors. Throughout
+the interior the peasantry manufacture most of the articles required
+for their own use, such as clothing, implements of husbandry, etc., so
+that they are not large consumers of foreign commodities. Finding it
+very dull in town, I walked out in the suburbs, which are pretty and
+picturesque, though primitive enough to be a thousand miles from a
+commercial city. The houses are chiefly constructed of wood, painted
+yellow, with red roofs, and neatly ornamented with verandas; and the
+people have a quaint and simple look, as if they knew but little of
+the world, and did not care much to trouble their heads about the
+progress of events. Here as well as elsewhere, children continue to be
+born in great numbers, and groups of them were to be seen before every
+house playing in the mud just as little cotton-headed children play
+all over the world. I say cotton-headed, because these were of the
+blue-eyed, white-haired race who have a natural affinity for muddy
+places, and whose cheeks have a natural propensity to gather bloom and
+dirt at the same time.
+
+I struck out on the high points of the Normalm, and on one of them
+discovered an old church, surrounded by trees, with benches
+conveniently placed beneath their shade for weary pedestrians. Here
+were family groups quietly enjoying the fresh air, the men smoking and
+drinking, while the women and girls economized time by knitting and
+sewing. I took a vacant seat and looked down over the city. Surely a
+prettier prospect could not exist upon earth. There lay the city of
+the sea outspread beneath, its irregular streets, quaint old houses
+and churches covering every available space; the numerous wooded
+islands in the vicinity dotted with villas; sloops and boats floating
+dreamily on the Malar Lake, and larger vessels gliding over the waters
+of the Baltic; dense forests of pine dim in the distance; and over all
+a strangely colored Northern light, that gave the scene something of a
+spectral aspect. Yet the spirit of repose that seemed cast over this
+fair scene was absolutely oppressive to one like myself, accustomed to
+an active life. From the high points I wandered down into the low
+places, through narrow and tortuous streets; gazed into the stables
+and cow-houses; watched the tinners, and coppersmiths, and shoemakers
+as they wound up the labors of the day in their dingy little shops;
+peered into the greasy little meatshops and antiquated grocery-stores;
+studied the faces of the good people who slowly wended their way
+homeward, and bowed to several old ladies out of pure kindliness and
+good feeling; then wandered back into the public places, still pursued
+by a green and yellow melancholy. I gazed steadfastly at the statues
+of Gustavus Vasa, Charles XII., and Berzelius, and tried in vain to
+remember something of their history. I went into the picture-shops,
+took off my hat to small boys behind the counter, looked at the
+pictures, and bought several, for which I had no earthly use; then I
+went to the cafe on the bridge, drank coffee and cognac, and attempted
+to read the Swedish newspapers, of which I understood every letter,
+but not a word; after which I heard the whistle of a small steam-boat
+at the end of the cafe garden, and ran down in a hurry to get on
+board. The steam-boat was about equal to a good-sized yawl, and was
+bound for some port unknown to me; but that made no difference. I
+never see a boat of any kind going any where, or a locomotive, or a
+carriage, or any thing that moves by steam, sails, horse-power, or
+electricity, without feeling an unconquerable desire to be off too, so
+that I very much fear, if I should come across a convict vessel bound
+for Van Diemen's Land, it would be impossible for me to avoid jumping
+on board and going with the crowd. In the present case it was
+essentially necessary that I should keep moving. I was almost sinking
+under the oppressive loneliness of the place. Rather than remain
+another hour within the limits of such a dreary old city, I would have
+taken passage in a tread-mill, and relied upon the force of
+imagination to carry me to some other place. Nay, a hangman's cart on
+the way to the gallows would have presented a strong temptation. In
+saying this I mean nothing disrespectful to Birger Jarl, who founded
+Stockholm, and made it his place of residence in 1260; nor to
+Christina Gyllenstierna, who so heroically defended it against
+Christian II. of Denmark in the sixteenth century; nor to Gustavus
+Vasa, the brave liberator of Sweden; nor his noble and heroic
+grandson, Gustavus Adolphus; nor any body else famous in Swedish
+history; but the truth of it is, Sweden at the present day is
+essentially a home country, and the people are too domestic in their
+habits and modes of thought to afford any peculiar interest to a
+casual tourist. I like their simple and genial manners, and respect
+them for their sterling integrity, yet these are traits of no great
+value to one who travels so far out of the world in search of objects
+of more stirring interest. The ordinary traveler, who has no time to
+dive very deep beneath the surface of human life, is not satisfied to
+find things nearly as he finds them at home; streets, shops, and
+houses undistinguished by any peculiarity save the inconveniences and
+oddities of age; people every where around him who dress like all
+other civilized people, and possess the standard virtues and
+weaknesses of humanity; the proprieties of life decently observed, and
+loyalty to forms and time-honored usages a national characteristic. A
+Swede would no more violate a rule of etiquette, smile or bow out of
+place, eat a beefsteak or drink his schnapps at an unusual hour, or
+strike out any thing novel or original in the way of pleasure, profit,
+or enterprise, than a German. The court circle is the most formal in
+Europe, and the upper classes of society are absolute slaves to
+conventionality. A presentation at court is an event of such signal
+importance that weeks of preparation are required for the impressive
+ordeal; and when the tailor, and shoemaker, and the jeweler have done
+their part, and the unhappy victim, all bedeviled with finery and
+befrogged with lace, is brought into the presence of royalty, it is a
+miracle if he gets through without committing some dire offense
+against the laws of etiquette. Fine carriages, coats of arms,
+uniforms, and badges of office, are held in high veneration; and while
+the government is liberal and the people profess to be independent,
+their slavish devotion to rank, dress, and etiquette surpasses any
+thing I saw in Russia. With this, to be sure, is mingled a certain
+simplicity of manner and kindliness of expression toward inferiors
+which sometimes lead the stranger to believe that he is among a
+democratic people, but they are as far from democracy as the Prussians
+or the Austrians. The very affability of the superior to the inferior
+is the best evidence of the inseparable gulf that lies between them.
+In Russia there is the charm of barbarism, savagery, filth, and show;
+the people are loose, ferocious, daring, and wild; here in Sweden, the
+quiet, decent, home-aspect of the people, their rigid observance of
+the rules of etiquette, their devotion to royalty, law, and order, are
+absolutely depressing. In the abstract, many traits in their character
+are worthy of admiration, but as a traveler I detest this kind of
+civilization. Give me a devil or a savage at all times, who outrages
+the rules of society and carries an advertisement of character on his
+back. As an artist I can make something of him, either in the way of
+copy or pencil-sketches.
+
+Which brings me back to my situation, in the natural course of events.
+The whistle blows. The little steam-boat is about to stop at the
+landing-place of the Djurgaard. The engineer, smutty and oily with
+hard service, gives a turn to the crank, pulls an iron bar with a
+polished handle, and then pushes it; the tea-kettle boiler fizzes and
+whizzes, and lets off steam; the paddles stop paddling; the gentlemen
+passengers stand up and adjust their shirt collars; the ladies gather
+their shawls around them, and pick up their scattered bundles; with a
+whirl and a jerk we are alongside the wharf, and the captain jumps
+from the bow with a rope in his hand, and makes all fast to a
+logger-head. And now step ashore, if you please, ladies and gentlemen,
+and let us take a stroll through the deer garden, where
+
+ "The ash and warrior oak
+ Cast anchor in the rifted rock."
+
+The walks through this beautiful park (said to be the finest attached
+to any capital in Europe) are broad, and handsomely graded. Grand old
+forest-trees on either side make "a boundless contiguity of shade"
+over the greensward. Pavilions and rustic summer-houses stand on the
+high points of rock, commanding magnificent views of the adjacent
+islands and waters of the lake. Flower-gardens are numerous, and every
+nook and dell contains some place of refreshment, where the gay
+company who frequent these delightful grounds in the long summer
+evenings can drink their tea and enjoy the varied beauties of the
+scene. Wandering through these sylvan glades, the eye is continually
+charmed with the rare combinations of natural and artificial beauties
+scattered around in every direction with such wonderful prodigality.
+At one moment you imagine yourself in a wilderness, hundreds of miles
+from any human habitation, so dense are the shades of the grand old
+forest-trees, and so wild and rugged the moss-covered rocks; a few
+steps bring you suddenly upon some fairy scene, where palaces and
+temples, gilded carriages, gayly-dressed companies of ladies and
+gentlemen, and groups of children sporting upon the grass, dispel the
+illusion. Ascending to the highest points by the narrow and tortuous
+by-paths, I could almost fancy myself in the midst of the Coast Range,
+so perfect was the isolation; then coming out suddenly upon some
+projecting cliff, the change of scene from rugged grandeur to the
+perfection of civilization was absolutely magical. Vegetation in this
+northern region, where the summer are so short and warm, flourishes
+with an almost tropical luxuriance. The melting of the snows in
+spring, followed by heavy rains and sudden heat, causes the earth to
+give forth its products with a prodigality that compensates in some
+degree for the long and dreary winters. Trees burst into leaf as if by
+magic; flowers shoot up and bloom in a few weeks; the grass, enriched
+by the snows, springs forth and covers the earth like a gorgeous
+carpet of velvet. All nature rejoices in the coming of the long summer
+days. The birds sing in the groves; the bees hum merrily around the
+flowers; the gay butterflies flit through the sunbeams; and day and
+night are an almost continued period of revelry for all those
+beautiful and ephemeral creatures that droop and die with the flowers.
+I have nowhere seen such a profusion of intensely rich green and such
+wonderfully deep shades as in the neighborhood of Stockholm. It is
+almost oppressive to one accustomed to California scenery, where the
+whole face of the country wears a dry red-and-yellowish hue in summer.
+Strange how one's tastes change by association! I well remember when I
+first entered the Golden Gate, in August, 1849, after a long and
+dreary voyage round Cape Horn. Glad as I was to see land once more, it
+struck me that I had never looked upon so barren and desolate a
+country. The hill-sides had the appearance of parched and sodless
+deserts. Yet I soon learned to like that warm glow. I slept upon those
+parched hills, breathed the invigorating air, and felt the inspiration
+of California life. I would not now exchange the summer drapery of our
+hills and valleys for the deepest green upon earth. To my present
+frame of mind there is something flat and chilling in this redundancy
+of verdure that reminds one of death and the grave-yard. The
+moss-covered rocks jutting from the cold, grassy earth; the dripping
+fern; the pale, flitting gleams of sunshine struggling through the
+depths of foliage; the mould that seems to hang in the air--all these
+strike me as death-like. I long for the vital glow of a more genial
+sun, whose all-pervading light is reflected from the rich golden
+earth, shooting health and vigor through every fibre of the frame,
+permeating body and soul with its effulgence. Such intensity of light,
+such warmth of colors, fill the dullest mind with inspiration; the
+blood is quickened in its circulation; the respiration is full and
+free; the intellect becomes clearer and sharper; the whole man is
+quickened into the highest condition of mental and physical vitality.
+Is it a matter of wonder, then, that the people of California should
+be brave, generous, and loyal--that they should have a high sense of
+right, and an undying scorn of wrong? I hold that the species is
+improved by the climate and the country--that stronger men and better
+men are now undergoing the process of development in California than
+in any other country on the face of the earth. If we live fast and die
+suddenly, it is the natural consequence of increased bodily and mental
+vigor, which too often leads to excesses, but which, under proper
+training, must eventually lead to the highest moral and intellectual
+achievements. The fault does not lie in our climate. I have yet seen
+none to equal it North or South--not even in Italy. I do not think the
+climate of Sweden is conducive to longevity, or extraordinary mental
+or bodily vigor. Indeed, the same may be said of any climate abounding
+in such rigorous extremes. The Swedes, it is true, lead a placid and
+easy life, content with ordinary comforts, and worried by no exciting
+or disquieting ambitions; hence they enjoy good health, and generally
+get through the usual span allotted to man. If the same sanitary rules
+were observed in our country, there would be less sickness and fewer
+untimely deaths. Dissipation is not rare in Sweden, especially in the
+capital cities, but it is more methodical with us. The people have
+certain times and occasions for getting drunk; they make a regular
+business of it. Virulent and disgusting diseases are also prevalent
+among them, so that between the rigors of climate and other causes
+less excusable, they frequently appear old and decrepit before their
+time. That among the middle classes there are fine-looking men and
+beautiful women, is true; that in literature, science, and music, they
+can boast names that will go down to posterity, is a fact that can not
+be denied; but I think such a climate and the habits engendered by it
+are inimical to the highest order of physical and mental development
+among the masses. Hence we find throughout the country many diseased
+and deformed persons of both sexes; many weakly and not a few
+imbecile. The peasants are not so hardy and robust as I expected to
+find them; and I was told by competent judges, better informed than I
+could hope to become during so brief a sojourn, that they are
+progressively degenerating year after year, and can not now compare
+with the peasants of former times.
+
+To say that I was charmed with my ramble through the Djurgaard would
+but faintly express the pleasure I derived from my visit to this
+beautiful park. Of all the resorts for recreation that I have yet seen
+in Northern Europe, I give it the palm for natural beauty and tasteful
+cultivation. In this the Swedes excel. Their villas, gardens, and
+parks are unsurpassed, and no people in the world better understand
+how to enjoy them.
+
+Late in the evening I returned to my hotel, delighted with all I had
+seen. I was anxious to extend my rambles to Upsala, and to visit more
+in detail the various beautiful islands and places of interest in the
+vicinity of Stockholm; but the season was advancing, and I was
+reluctantly compelled to push on toward Norway.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE GOTHA CANAL.
+
+
+On a pleasant morning in August I called for my bill at the "Stadt
+Frankfort." The landlady, a blooming young woman of rather vivacious
+and persuasive manners, wished me such a delightful journey, and
+looked so sorry I was going, that I could not muster resolution enough
+to complain of the various candles that were never burnt, and the
+numerous services that were never rendered, except in the bill; and
+had she charged me for washing my own face and putting on my own
+boots, I fear the result would have been the same. Wishing her a happy
+future, I shouldered my knapsack, which by this time contained only
+two shirts, an old pair of stockings, and some few flowers and stones
+from celebrated places, and, thus accoutred for the journey, made my
+way down to Riddarholm Quay. In a dingy old office, abounding in
+cobwebs, a dingy old gentleman, who spoke English, sold me a
+second-class ticket for Gottenburg. The little steamer upon which I
+had the good fortune to secure a passage was called the Admiral Von
+Platten, a name famous in the history of Swedish enterprise. It was
+Von Platten who, in 1808, took charge of the great work of internal
+improvement known as the West Gotha Canal, and by the aid of Telford,
+the celebrated English engineer, carried it into successful operation
+in 1822. The project of connecting the lakes of Wenern and Wettern,
+and forming a water communication all the way between Stockholm and
+Gottenburg, was entertained at a very early day by the different
+sovereigns and scientific men of Sweden. Bishop Brask in 1516,
+Gustavus I., Charles IX., Swedenborg, Gustavus Adolphus, and others,
+took particular interest in it, and some progress was made in the
+building of locks and opening of short passages up to the beginning of
+the present century. Daniel Thunberg contributed materially to the
+opening of the route between Wenern and the Baltic; and Colonel N.
+Eriksson, the celebrated engineer whose reputation stands so high in
+the United States, had the direction of the work for many years. It
+was not, however, till 1844 that the entire work was fully completed,
+although some years prior to that time the two seas were connected and
+open to navigation. The immense expense of this enterprise; the
+extraordinary natural obstacles that have been overcome; the patience
+and perseverance with which it has been carried into practical
+operation; the magnitude and durability of the work, can only be
+appreciated by one who has made the trip through Sweden by this route.
+It is certainly the grandest triumph recorded in Swedish history. It
+will exist and benefit generations to come, when the names of her
+kings, warriors, and statesmen shall be known only to antiquarians.
+
+The steamers now plying on this route are small, but well arranged for
+the accommodation of passengers. There is a first and second cabin,
+and a restaurant at which the traveler can call for what he desires,
+and, provided his tastes are not eccentric, generally get what he
+calls for. The waiters are simple-minded, kind-hearted, and sociable;
+sit down and gossip with the passengers (at least those of the second
+class), and, what seems rather novel and amusing to a stranger, leave
+the bill to be made out and summed up by the passengers themselves. A
+general account-book is left open in the cabin, in which it is
+expected every traveler will set down his name and keep his own
+account. At the end of the trip, the head waiter goes the rounds of
+the cabin and deck, book in hand, and asks the passengers to designate
+their names and sum up their accounts. Nobody seems to think of
+cheating or being cheated. There is something so primitive in this way
+of dealing on a public highway between two commercial cities, that I
+was quite charmed with it, and have some thoughts of recommending it
+to the California Steam Navigation Company. Just think what a pleasure
+it would be to travel from San Francisco to Sacramento, and keep the
+record of your own bitters and cigars, to say nothing of your supper
+and berth! I am certain the plan would be approved by a majority of
+the traveling public throughout the state.
+
+The company on board these little Swedish steamers is generally plain,
+sociable, and intelligent. Among the passengers I met many who spoke
+English and German, and few who did not speak at least one language
+in addition to their own. In midsummer the trip from Stockholm to
+Gottenburg usually takes three days, though it is sometimes
+accomplished in two. The distance is about three hundred and seventy
+miles by the shortest route, through the Wettern and Wenern lakes.
+Time, however, is no great object in Sweden, and a day or two more or
+less makes no great difference. The beauty of the scenery, and the
+diversity of land and water, render the trip one of the most agreeable
+in Northern Europe, and for one I can safely say it would have pleased
+me all the better had it lasted longer.
+
+Leaving the Riddarholm Quay, our route lay for the first four hours
+through the Malar Lake. The weather was delightful, and there was
+scarcely a ripple on the water. Sloops and wood-boats lay floating
+upon its glassy surface without perceptible motion. All along on
+either side beautiful villas peeped from the umbrageous shores and
+islands. Behind us, the city loomed up in all its queenly beauty, the
+numerous churches and public buildings presented in majestic outline
+against the sky, while the forest of shipping at the quays added a
+more stirring and vital interest to the scene. As we turned the last
+promontory to the right, and took a lingering look at this charming
+"city of the sea," I thought I had never enjoyed a more enchanting
+_coup d'oeil_. The suburbs of Stockholm; the numerous little islands,
+with their rich green shrubbery; the villas and gardens; the sparkling
+vistas of water, form a combination of beauties rarely to be met with
+in any other part of the world. No wonder the Swedes regard their
+capital as a paradise. I fully agree with them that in summer it
+deserves all their praise; but I should prefer a warmer and more
+genial paradise for winter quarters. Earthen stoves and hot-air
+furnaces are not in any of the seven heavens that occur in my
+imagination.
+
+Before many hours we passed a point somewhat celebrated in Swedish
+history. On a high peak of rock, hanging upon a pole, is a prodigious
+iron hat, said to be the identical "stove-pipe" worn by one of the old
+Swedish kings--a terrible fellow, who was in the habit of slaying
+hundreds of his enemies with his own hand. This famous old king must
+have been a giant in stature. Judging by his hat, as Professor Agassiz
+judges of fish by their scales, he must have been forty feet high, by
+about ten or fifteen broad; and if his strength corresponded with his
+gigantic proportions, I fancy he could have knocked the gable-end off
+a house with a single blow of his fist, or kicked the head out of a
+puncheon of rum, and swallowed the contents at a single draught,
+without the least difficulty. His hat probably weighs a hundred
+pounds--enough to give any ordinary man a severe headache. Here it has
+stood for centuries, in commemoration of his last struggle. Besieged
+by an overwhelming force of his enemies, as the chronicle goes, he
+slew some thousands of them, but, being finally hard pressed, he lost
+his iron hat in the fight, and then plunged headlong into the lake.
+Some historians assert that he took to water to avoid capture; but I
+incline to the opinion myself that he did it to cool his head. At all
+events, the record ends at this point. We are unable to learn any
+thing more of his fate. These Northern races are strong believers in
+their own aboriginal history, and although there may be much in this
+that would require the very best kind of testimony before a California
+jury, the slightest hint of a doubt as to its truth would probably be
+taken as a personal offense by any public spirited Swede. In that
+respect, thank fortune, I am gifted with a most accommodating
+disposition. I can believe almost any thing under the sun. Giants and
+genii are nothing to what my credulity is capable of; and as for
+fairies and hobgoblins, I can swallow them by wholesale. There is only
+one thing in this world that I entertain the least doubt about--the
+title to my house and lot in Oakland. Upon that point I question if it
+ever will be possible for human evidence to satisfy me. Three times I
+paid for it, and each time every body considered it perfect except
+myself. I expect daily to hear of another title, of which I trust some
+enterprising gentleman in want of funds will advise me. It will be a
+source of consolation to know that I was not mistaken.
+
+Situated near the entrance of the canal, on the left bank, is the
+beautiful little town of Soderkoping, celebrated for its mineral
+springs, to which the people of Stockholm resort in great numbers
+during the summer for health and recreation. The scene as we
+approached was very pretty. Pine and oak forests cover the granite
+hills for many miles around, relieved by occasional openings dotted
+with villas, gardens, and farms; and the dark red wooden houses of the
+town have a singularly pleasant effect glimmering in the sunbeams
+through the rich masses of foliage by which they are surrounded.
+Groups of visitors stood at the locks awaiting the news from the city,
+or anxiously looking out for the familiar faces of relatives and
+friends, while the lock-men slowly and methodically performed their
+accustomed routine of labors. Soderkoping is a very ancient town, and
+in former times enjoyed considerable importance as a mart of commerce.
+Passing through a narrow stretch of canal, some miles in length,
+overhung by trees and rocks on the right, and affording some pleasant
+views of the rich valley to the left, the banks gradually widened till
+we entered a beautiful little lake, leading, after a short passage, to
+the waters of the Roxen. The narrow parts of the canal are difficult
+of navigation, owing to the various turns and the solid masses of rock
+through which it is cut; and the steamer sometimes proceeds very
+slowly, carefully feeling her way along, till an open space affords an
+opportunity of going ahead at a more rapid rate. In the mean time the
+passengers are all out on the decks, shaded by an awning, enjoying
+themselves in the most unceremonious manner, laughing and talking in
+groups, sipping their coffee, or promenading up and down to enjoy the
+sweet-scented breeze from the neighboring hills. The Roxen Lake,
+through which we next passed, is some seventeen miles long by seven
+broad, and is justly regarded as one of the loveliest sheets of water
+in all Sweden. The shores are neither very high nor very grand, but it
+would be difficult to find any thing more charming than the rich
+coloring of the rocks, their varied outlines, the luxuriance of the
+forests, and the crystal clearness of the water. Villages and farms
+are seen at occasional intervals in the distance, and sloops, with
+their sails hanging idly against their masts, float upon the placid
+surface of the lake as upon a mirror. Indeed, so perfect is the
+inversion, that the eye can scarcely determine how much is real and
+how much the result of optical illusion. Passing in sight of the town
+of Linkoping, which lies to the left, we soon reached the entrance of
+the West Gotha Canal, which here makes a direct ascent from the waters
+of the Roxen of seventy-five feet. At this point there are eleven
+locks, seven of which are closely connected, and the remainder
+separated by short stretches of canal. Near at hand is a pretty little
+village to the left, famous for its church, the Vretakloster, built in
+the Gothic style in 1128, by Inge II., one of the early kings of
+Sweden. While the steamer was slowly toiling through the locks, a
+party of the passengers, including myself, paid a visit to the church,
+and, aided by a venerable sacristan, saw all that was to be seen in
+it, chief among which are the tombs of the kings and the arms of the
+Douglas family, those warlike Scots who took such an active part in
+the military exploits of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War. The walk
+was a pleasant relief after our trip across the lake, and on our
+return by a short cut to the upper locks we had a splendid view of the
+wood-covered shore and glistening waters of the Roxen, now fading away
+in the rich twilight. The steamer occupies about an hour and a half in
+getting through the locks, and most of the passengers take advantage
+of the delay to stroll about among the neighboring cottages and
+gardens, and enjoy the various refreshments offered for sale at the
+pavilions and tents erected near the upper extremity for the
+accommodation of travelers. Fresh milk, raspberries, coffee, sweet
+cakes, and ale are the principal articles furnished at these places.
+Notwithstanding there was an abundant supply of luxuries on board,
+every body seemed to be hungry and thirsty on getting ashore. The
+rapidity with which the plates, cups, and glasses were emptied was
+really surprising, and would have done credit to a crowd of
+Californians, who, I think, can eat more and drink more in a given
+time than any race of men upon the earth.
+
+The canal for some distance beyond the locks is quite narrow--often
+barely wide enough for two steamers to pass. On the left the banks
+rise to a considerable height, and then gradually decline till the
+canal passes along a ridge, high above the surrounding country. The
+effect in these places is very peculiar. The overhanging trees almost
+unite their branches over the chimney of the steamer as she wends her
+way slowly and steadily along; deep ravines extend downward into an
+impenetrable abyss on either side; the sky glimmers through the
+foliage in a horizontal line with the eye, and one can almost fancy
+the world has been left below somewhere, and that a new highway has
+been entered, upon which passengers steam their way to the stars. I am
+quite certain, if we had kept a direct course long enough, we would
+have reached the moon or some of the heavenly bodies.
+
+It was late at night when we reached the Boren Lake, another of those
+natural highways that lie between the Baltic and the North Sea. This
+lake is comparatively small, but it abounds in rocky islands and
+shoals which render the navigation through it rather intricate. A
+pilot is taken on board at the entrance of each lake, and discharged
+upon reaching the next canal station.
+
+I remained on deck until midnight, enjoying the strange and beautiful
+lights spread over the heavens in this latitude, and was reluctant
+even then to lose the views during any part of the journey. Nature,
+however, can not be defrauded of her legitimate demands even by the
+beauties of scenery, and I went below to sleep out the remainder of
+the night. My berth was in the forward cabin, where twenty or thirty
+passengers were already stretched out--some on the tables, some on the
+floor, and as many as could find room were snoring away in the
+temporary berths erected on the seats for their accommodation. Toward
+morning I was suddenly aroused by a strange and jarring motion of the
+boat, accompanied by a grating sound. It seemed as if an earthquake
+were throwing us up out of the water; yet the shocks were more sudden
+and violent than any I had ever before experienced. Many of the
+passengers were cast out of their berths, and the glass and crockery
+in the pantry went crashing over the floor. Scarcely conscious whether
+I was dreaming or awake, I grasped a post, and sprang out on a pile of
+baggage, but was immediately precipitated across the cabin.
+Fortunately I fell against the chambermaid, and suffered no injury.
+Amid the confusion worse confounded, the screams of the women down
+below, the crash of broken glasses, and the general struggle to get to
+the cabin door, a German Jew sprang from his berth, and in frantic
+accents begged that his life might be spared. "Take my money!" cried
+he; "take it all, but for God's sake don't murder me!" The poor fellow
+had evidently been aroused out of some horrible dream, and between
+actual and imaginary dangers was now quite bewildered with terror. I
+could not help but be amused at the grotesque expression of his face,
+even at such a moment. It would have provoked a smile had we been
+going to the bottom. There was no fear of that, however, as I quickly
+ascertained. We were already hard and fast on the bottom. We had run
+upon a sunken rock, and were so firmly wedged between its crevices
+that it seemed likely we should remain there some time. As soon as all
+was still, I quietly dressed myself and went on deck to take an
+observation. It was just daylight. We were in the middle of a lake,
+surrounded by small rocky islands. One of these was only a stone's
+throw distant on our starboard. The stakes between which our course
+lay were close by on the larboard. We had missed the channel by some
+twenty or thirty yards, and run upon a bed of solid boulders. The
+pilot, it seemed, had been drinking a little too freely of schnapps,
+and had fallen asleep at the helm. It was a miracle that we were not
+all dashed to pieces. A few yards to the right stood a sharp rock,
+which, had we run against it, would have crushed in the entire bow of
+the boat, and probably many of us would have perished.
+
+Although there was no fear of our sinking any deeper unless the bed of
+rocks gave way, it was not a pleasant prospect to be detained here,
+perhaps for several days. The main shore was some five or six miles
+distant, and presented an almost unbroken line of granite boulders and
+dense pine forests. Most of the passengers were on deck, in a state of
+high excitement; the gentlemen running about in their shirt sleeves
+and drawers, and the ladies in those indescribable costumes which
+ladies usually wear when they go to sleep. The captain was mounted on
+the poop-deck, with his pipe in his mouth, giving orders to the men,
+who were pulling and tugging at big ropes, and trying to be very busy
+knocking things about; the pilot stood a little apart from the
+captain, pale and moody, having in a single moment destroyed his
+prospects for life. I felt very sorry for the poor fellow, though
+there was really no excuse for him. Every now and then the captain
+turned to him and gave him a broadside of curses, which he bore very
+meekly.
+
+In vain the engineer put on additional steam; in vain the captain
+shouted "Back!" "Ahead!" "Stop!" We did nothing but stop. It was stop
+all the time. As there is no tide in these inland waters, the prospect
+was that we would continue to stop as long as the rocks remained
+stationary.
+
+All hope of progress being at an end, the engineer slackened down the
+fires; the deck-hands went to breakfast, and the passengers went down
+below to dress and talk over their misfortune. The sun rose as usual,
+and the sky was as clear and the lake as placid as if nothing had
+happened. I had been trying all my life to get shipwrecked on a
+desolate island; now there seemed a fair prospect of success. The only
+difficulty was, that there was no heavy sea to break the vessel to
+pieces, and she was too substantial to go to pieces of her own
+account. The nearest island was little more than a barren rock. A few
+birds wheeled about over it, or sat perched upon its rugged points,
+but with that exception I doubt if it furnished a foothold for a
+living creature.
+
+After a good breakfast of sausages and veal cutlets, brown bread and
+coffee, we again turned out on deck. This time the joyful tidings
+reached us from aloft that a Gottenburg steamer was approaching. Soon
+the smoke of her chimneys was perceptible from the deck, and in an
+hour or so she was alongside. A stout hawser was bent on to her, and
+after another hour of pulling and tugging, backing and filling, we
+slipped off the rocks, and floated out into the channel. I was
+destined, after all, never to be decently shipwrecked. We had suffered
+but little injury, and proceeded on our way as quietly as if nothing
+had interrupted our course. On our arrival at the next pilot station
+the captain put the pilot ashore, with a parting malediction in the
+Swedish vernacular.
+
+The next place of importance on our route was the pretty little town
+of Motala, at which we stopped for some hours to take in freight and
+passengers. The neighborhood is undulating and picturesque, and
+abounds in rich farms. Motala is an old-fashioned place, with paved
+streets and wooden houses, much like the suburbs of Stockholm. It is
+celebrated chiefly for its manufactures of iron. The founderies are
+numerous, and cutlery of a very good quality is manufactured here.
+Besides these, it possesses many other objects of interest. The
+churches are well worth visiting, and the ruins of the fortifications
+erected in 1567, to resist the Danes, are among the finest in Sweden.
+From Motala, after another narrow stretch of canal, we soon reached
+the Wettern Lake, the next largest to the Wenern, and the waters of
+which are three hundred and four feet above the level of the sea.
+
+In my recollections of travel I can scarcely call to mind any
+experience more pleasant than I enjoyed during this part of the trip.
+The lake scenery of Sweden, although not very grand compared with that
+of the Norwegian fjords, is certainly unsurpassed in the softness and
+beauty of its coloring, the crystal clearness of the water, the
+luxuriance of the surrounding forests, the varied labyrinths of
+charming little islands through which the channel winds, and the
+delicate atmospheric tints cast on the distant shores. By this time,
+too, the passengers have become better acquainted. The wonderful
+sights that we have seen together; the perils and dangers through
+which we have passed; the breakfasts, dinners, and suppers that we
+have eaten at the same board; the amount of solid sleeping that we
+have done in the same little cabin; the promenades we have had up and
+down the decks, and the rambles we have enjoyed together, have bound
+us together as one family, and now we come out with our individual
+histories and experiences, our accomplishments and humors. We (the
+gentlemen) drink schnapps together, smoke cigars, talk all the
+languages under the sun, tell our best anecdotes, and sing glees under
+the awning. The ladies look more beautiful than ever, and although
+they are still a little shy of us, as ladies in Europe generally are
+of the male sex, they sometimes favor us with a smile or a pleasant
+word, and thus contribute to our happiness. I don't know, for the life
+of me, what dire offense the man who founded European society was
+guilty of; but it is certain his successors, from Algeria to the North
+Pole, are sadly mistrusted by the unmarried ladies. This, I regret to
+say, is the case in Sweden, as well as in Germany and France. A
+gentleman is generally regarded as a ferocious cannibal, ready
+without the slightest provocation to devour and swallow up
+defenseless maidens. The married ladies are free and easy enough,
+having discovered probably that men are not half so dangerous as they
+are reported to be. But, all things considered, the Swedish ladies are
+exceedingly polite and affable, and on occasions of this kind seem
+well disposed toward our rapacious sex.
+
+The next important point in our route was the fortress of Wanas, which
+commands the channel entering the lake on the eastern side. This is
+considered a work of great importance in view of invasion by any
+foreign power. We did not stop long enough to examine it in detail,
+merely touching to put the mail ashore and take in a few passengers.
+Leaving the Wettern Lake, our route lay through a series of smaller
+lakes, beautifully diversified with wood-covered islands, till we
+entered the Viken, another magnificent stretch of water of less extent
+than the Wettern, but still more beautiful than any we had yet seen.
+Here the rocks and islands are innumerable, rising from the water in
+every direction; the smaller ones covered with moss, lichens,
+shrubbery, and flowers; and the larger darkened with a dense growth of
+fir, pine, and other evergreens, while the oak, elm, and ash
+occasionally enliven the masses of shade with their more lively
+foliage.
+
+At the end of the Viken, which is some fifteen miles in length, the
+West Gotha Canal commences, and continues through a rich and beautiful
+farming country to the waters of the great Wenern Lake, some twenty
+miles distant. The passage through this portion of the route is less
+interesting than others through which we had passed--so far, at least,
+as the scenery is concerned. The country is undulating, but not
+sufficiently diversified for fine scenic effects. Farms and meadows
+extend nearly all the way to the shores of the Wenern; and the canal
+passes at frequent intervals through farming districts, which, in
+point of cultivation, are quite equal to any thing I had seen in more
+southern parts of Europe. The peasants' houses along the route are
+neat and comfortable, and reminded me occasionally of our New England
+farm-houses. Villages enliven the route at intervals of a few miles,
+but generally they are of inconsiderable size, and may properly be
+regarded as mere gatherings of farm-houses around the nucleus of a
+church or post station. In this respect, I was struck with the
+difference between Sweden and Germany. The German peasantry, as a
+general thing, live in villages, and carry on their farming outside,
+sometimes at a distance of several miles. In the Thuringenwald, the
+Schwartzwald, the Spessart, and some other mountainous districts, it
+is true, exceptions may be found to this rule; but throughout the best
+cultivated districts of Germany there are but comparatively few
+farm-houses in which isolated families live. Hence villages, and, in
+many cases, large towns, form the head-quarters of each agricultural
+parish. The pedestrian, in traveling through Germany, is scarcely ever
+more than a "halp-stund" from one town or village to another. I think
+the longest stretch I ever made between two villages was two hours, or
+six and a half miles. In Sweden (and the same may be said of Norway)
+the farming districts have more of an American aspect. The houses are
+scattered about on the different farms, and the peasants do not seem
+to be so gregarious in their habits as those of Germany. This arises
+in part from the fact that the population is not so dense in Sweden as
+in the more central parts of Europe, and in part from the greater
+abundance of wood and pasture, and the predominance of the lumbering,
+mining, and stock-raising interests. Many of the farmers are also
+lumbermen and miners, and nearly all have a good supply of blood
+cattle. The extent of arable land in Sweden is comparatively small. It
+presents few attractions as an agricultural country. Its chief wealth
+consists in its vast forests and mines. The climate is too severe and
+the production of cereal crops too uncertain to render farming on a
+large scale a profitable pursuit. This is especially the case in the
+northern parts. South of Stockholm, between the lakes of Wettern and
+Wenern, and along the banks of the Gota River, farming is carried to
+considerable perfection; but with this exception, and some small and
+sheltered valleys to the north, in which the peasants manage with
+great care and labor to raise a sufficient supply of grain and
+potatoes for domestic consumption, but little is produced for
+exportation. The land generally throughout Sweden is barren and rocky,
+and it is only by great labor and constant manuring that fair crops
+can be produced. In the populous districts, where the soil possesses
+some natural advantages, the farms are mostly small, averaging from
+ten to seventy-five acres. A tract of forest is usually attached to
+these farming-lands, from which the peasants derive their supplies of
+lumber and fuel. Saw-mills are numerous on all the rivers, and a large
+trade in lumber is carried on in the lake regions. The main lumber
+region lies north of Stockholm, on the various small rivers emptying
+into the Gulf of Bothnia. Sundswall, Umea, Lulea, and Haparanda are
+the principal places of exportation on the eastern shore, and
+Gottenburg on the west. The fisheries are also an important branch of
+industry, and large quantities of stromung and herrings are exported.
+Salmon abound in the rivers, and the lakes and mountain streams
+furnish a very fine quality of trout. Game is more abundant in the
+densely wooded regions of Sweden than in Norway, being less accessible
+to English sportsmen. Of late years Norway has become the favorite
+hunting and fishing ground of the English, and every summer they swarm
+all over the country with their guns and fishing-rods. In Sweden,
+however, comparatively few have yet made their appearance. Bear, elk,
+red deer, ptarmigan, and wild-fowl abound in the forests and along the
+shores of the lakes. The Swedes themselves are not so much given to
+this kind of recreation as the English. Their chief amusements consist
+in Sunday afternoon recreations, such as theatrical representations,
+dancing, singing, drinking, and carousing. In their religious
+observances they are very strict, but after church they consider
+themselves privileged to enjoy a little dissipation in the Continental
+style. It too often happens that their frolics are carried to an
+excess. More brandy and other strong liquors are consumed in Sweden,
+according to the population, than in New Orleans or San Francisco,
+which is saying a good deal for the civilization of the people.
+Another good sign is that they chew tobacco. The better classes
+usually smoke this delightful weed, but the peasants both smoke it and
+chew it, showing conclusively that they are advancing rapidly toward
+emancipation from the narrow prejudices of European society. I saw
+drunken men and tobacco-chewers in Sweden who would have done credit
+to any little mining district in California. The habit of drinking is
+almost universal. The peasants drink to get drunk, the better classes
+drink for excitement, and all drink because they like it. At the
+principal restaurants in Stockholm and Gottenburg there is usually an
+anteroom opening into the main saloon. Here every gentleman who enters
+deposits his hat and cane. In the centre of the room stands a small
+table, upon which are several decanters containing "schnapps," a pile
+of brown bread sliced, various plates of biscuit and thin flour-cake,
+butter, and pickled fish. Around this the customers gather to acquire
+an appetite, which they accomplish by drinking one or two glasses of
+schnapps, eating a few small fish (stromung) spread upon their bread
+and butter, and then drinking some schnapps. They then go in to
+dinner, and call for what they want, including the various wines
+necessary for the process of digestion. Having eaten heartily and
+emptied a few bottles of wine, they wind up with coffee and cognac or
+maraschino. One would think such a process every day would burn the
+lining off the best stomach in the world; but the Swedes, like the
+Russians, have gutta-percha stomachs. The same system, it is true,
+prevails in San Francisco, only in a different form, and the same
+consequences generally ensue. People are very apt to get up from the
+table with a rush of blood to the head, a general obliquity of vision,
+and a peculiar weakness in the knees. I tried it myself by way of
+experiment, and was sick of a headache for three days after. Somehow I
+can travel a long distance on foot without getting tired, but my
+stomach is not lined with sheet iron. I have seen women and children
+drink at a single sitting enough of intoxicating beverages, since my
+arrival in Europe, to have capsized me for a month. This, I think,
+will account for the prevalence of bloated bodies and red noses in
+these highly civilized countries.
+
+I had read somewhere, before visiting Sweden, that the Swedes are not
+very sociable toward strangers. Perhaps in this respect they do not
+produce so favorable an impression as the Germans, but my experience
+has been such as to give me a very pleasant idea of their social
+qualities. It is true they are not so demonstrative in their manners
+as the French, or so enthusiastic as the Germans; but I found no
+difficulty in becoming acquainted with them, and was invariably
+treated with kindness and hospitality. When a Swede manifests an
+interest in your behalf, it is pretty certain that he feels it. If you
+become acquainted with one respectable family, you have a general
+entree into the entire social circle. No pains are spared to render
+your visit agreeable; and although the demonstrations of kindness are
+never intrusive, you feel that they are cordial and sincere. There may
+be among the more polished classes a certain degree of formality which
+to a stranger bears the appearance of reserve; but this quickly passes
+away, and the pleasure is all the greater in finding that there is
+really very little reserve about them. With all their adhesion to
+forms and ceremonies, they are simple and unaffected in their manners,
+and have a natural repugnance to whatever is meretricious. In a word,
+the Swedes are an honest, straightforward, sterling people, resembling
+more, in certain points of character, the English than any of their
+Continental neighbors, though I must do them the justice to say that
+they rarely have so unpleasant a way of manifesting their best traits.
+I can readily believe that the longer they are known the better they
+may be liked. It is true I saw nothing of Swedish society beyond what
+a casual tourist can see in passing rapidly through the country, yet
+that little impressed me very favorably, and disposes me to rely with
+confidence upon what I gathered from others who have enjoyed a more
+extended experience.
+
+The home sketches of Fredrika Bremer give a more thorough insight of
+Swedish life and manners than perhaps those of any other writer. Of
+late years, however, Miss Bremer does not appear to have maintained
+her early popularity. She is said to have written some things which
+have given offense and provoked severe criticism, and I was surprised
+to hear her productions mentioned by several of her countrymen in
+somewhat disparaging terms. This was a source of disappointment to me,
+for I had supposed she was the most popular writer in Sweden; and I
+could not easily forget the pleasure I had derived from the perusal of
+"The H---- Family," "Nina," "The Professor," and other of her
+charming delineations of domestic life. As no man is a prophet in his
+own valley, I suppose the same may be said of women. To this, however,
+Jenny Lind is an exception.
+
+But, as usual, I find myself steering out of the channel. We were now
+in the great Wenern Lake, a vast sheet of water fifty miles broad by
+one hundred in length. The elevation of this lake is 147 feet above
+the sea level. Its shores are densely wooded, and it abounds in
+islands, many of which are inhabited and cultivated. Several rivers of
+considerable size empty their waters into the Wenern, among which is
+the Klar, a large and rapid stream having its source in the mountains
+of Norway, at a distance of two hundred and fifty miles to the north.
+Fishing and lumbering are the principal occupations of the inhabitants
+living on the islands and shores. All these interior waters are frozen
+over in winter, and communication is carried on by means of sledges.
+The winters are very severe; and it is said that great numbers of
+wolves, driven from their usual haunts by starvation, prowl along the
+public highways during the winter months in search of prey. Traveling
+parties are sometimes attacked, and it is considered dangerous for
+children to go from one farm-house to another. The government,
+however, by a system of rewards for the destruction of these vicious
+animals, has succeeded of late years in greatly reducing their
+numbers.
+
+In speaking of the severity of Swedish winters, it may be well to
+state that the cold is uniform, and consequently more easily endured
+than if the temperature were subject to sudden variations. There is,
+of course, considerable difference between the northern and southern
+parts of the country; but, taking the average or central parts, the
+winters may be considered as lasting about five months. During that
+period the snow covers the earth, and the lakes and rivers are frozen.
+At Stockholm the thermometer averages in summer about 70 degrees
+above, and in winter 29 degrees below zero, of Fahrenheit. At
+Gottenburg the summers are not quite so warm and the winters not so
+cold. The temperature of the Norwegian coast facing the Atlantic is
+less rigorous than that of the Swedish coast on the Baltic, arising
+from the influence of the Gulf Stream, and partly from the proximity
+of the open sea. Even at Wammerfest, which lies within the arctic
+circle, the winters are comparatively mild. At Bergen it rains over
+two hundred days in the year, and the fjords are seldom frozen over.
+
+Passing along the eastern shore of the Wenern, we passed a series of
+rocky islands, well wooded till we reached the town of Wenersberg--an
+important depot for the commerce and products of the lake. At this
+place a brisk trade in iron and lumber is carried on during the summer
+months, and the wharves present quite a lively appearance, with their
+shipping, and piles of lumber and merchandise. The population of
+Wenersberg is about 2500; the houses are neat, and the general
+appearance of the town is thrifty. We stopped long enough to enjoy a
+ramble through the streets, and take a look at the inhabitants, after
+which our little steamer proceeded on her way through the Wassbottom
+Lake. At the end of this we entered the Carls Graf, or that portion of
+the canal built by Charles IX., to avoid the upper falls of the Gota
+River. The canal is here cut through solid masses of rock, and must
+have been a work of great difficulty and expense.
+
+Late in the evening we arrived at the Falls of Trolhaetta.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+VOYAGE TO CHRISTIANIA.
+
+
+I shall not stop to describe the Falls of Trolhaetta. Better
+word-painters have so often pictured the beauties of this region that
+there is nothing left for an unimaginative tourist like myself.
+
+A few hours' travel by the river steamer brought me to Gottenburg,
+where, for the first time since my arrival in Europe, I really began
+to enjoy life. Not that Gottenburg is a very lively or fascinating
+place, for it abounds in abominations and smells of fish, and is
+inhabited by a race of men whose chief aim in life appears to be
+directed toward pickled herring, mackerel, and codfish. There was much
+in it, however, to remind me of that homeland on the Pacific for which
+my troubled heart was pining. A grand fair was going on. All the
+peasants from the surrounding country were gathered in, and I met very
+few of them, at the close of evening, who were not reeling drunk.
+Besides, they chewed tobacco--an additional sign of civilization to
+which I had long been unaccustomed.
+
+ [Illustration: IN NORSELAND.]
+
+At Gottenburg, in the absence of something better to do, I made up my
+mind to visit Norway. The steamer from Copenhagen touches on her way
+to Christiania. She has an unpleasant habit of waking people up in the
+middle of the night; and I was told that if I wanted to make sure of
+getting on board, I must sit up and watch for her. This is abominable
+in a mercantile community; but what can be expected of a people whose
+noblest aspirations are wrapped up in layers of dried codfish? By
+contract with the kellner at my hotel the difficulty was finally
+arranged. For the sum of two marks, Swedish currency, he agreed to
+notify me of the approach of the Copenhagen steamer. I thought he was
+doing all this solely on my account, but afterward discovered that he
+had made contracts at a quarter the price with about a dozen others.
+
+It was very late in the night, or very early in the morning, when I
+was roused up, and duly put on board the steamer. Of the remainder of
+that night the least said the better. A cabinful of sea-sick
+passengers is not a pleasant subject of contemplation. When the light
+of day found its way into our dreary abode of misery, I went on deck.
+The weather was thick, and nothing was to be seen in any direction but
+a rough, chopping sea and flakes of drifting fog. A few
+doleful-looking tourists were searching for the land through their
+opera-glasses. They appeared to be sorry they ever undertook such a
+stormy and perilous voyage, and evidently had misgivings that they
+might never again see their native country. Some of them peeped over
+the bulwarks from time to time, with a faint hope, perhaps, of seeing
+something new in that direction; but from the singular noises they
+made, and the convulsive motions of their bodies, I had reason to
+suspect they were heaving some very heavy sighs at their forlorn fate.
+The waiters were continually running about with cups of coffee, which
+served to fortify the stomachs of these hardy adventurers against
+sea-sickness. I may here mention as a curious fact that in all my
+travels I have rarely met a sea-going gentleman who could be induced
+to acknowledge that he suffered the least inconvenience from the
+motion of the vessel. A headache, a fit of indigestion, the remains of
+a recent attack of gout, a long-standing rheumatism, a bilious colic
+to which he had been subject for years, a sudden and unaccountable
+shock of vertigo, a disorganized condition of the liver--something, in
+short, entirely foreign to the known and recognized laws of motion,
+disturbed his equilibrium, but rarely an out-and-out case of
+sea-sickness. That is a weakness of human nature fortunately confined
+to the ladies. Indeed, I don't know what the gentler sex would do if
+it were not for the kindness of Providence in exempting the ruder
+portion of humanity from this unpleasant accompaniment of sea-life,
+only it unfortunately happens that the gentlemen are usually afflicted
+with some other dire and disabling visitation about the same time.
+
+ [Illustration: THE STEAMER ENTERING THE FJORD.]
+
+Toward noon the fog broke away, and we sighted the rocky headlands of
+the Christiania Fjord. In a few hours more we were steaming our way
+into this magnificent sheet of water at a dashing rate, and the decks
+were crowded with a gay and happy company. No more the pangs of
+despised love, indigestion, gout, and bilious colic disturbed the
+gentlemen of this lively party; no more the fair ladies of Hamburg and
+Copenhagen hid themselves away in their state-rooms, and called in
+vain to their natural protectors for assistance. The sea was smooth;
+the sun shot forth through the whirling rain-clouds his brightest
+August beams. All along the shores of the Fjord, the rocky points,
+jutting abruptly from the water, rose like embattled towers, crowned
+with a variegated covering of moss, grim and hoary with the wild winds
+and scathing winters of the North. Beautiful little valleys, ravines,
+and slopes of woodland of such rich and glittering green opened out to
+us on either side, as we swept past the headlands, that the vision was
+dazzled with the profusion and variety of the charms bestowed upon
+this wilderness of romantic scenery. A group of fishermen's huts,
+behind a bold and jagged point of rocks--a rude lugger or
+fishing-smack, manned by a hardy crew of Norskmen, rough and
+weather-beaten as the ocean monsters of their stormy coast, gliding
+out of some nook among the rocky inlets--here the cozy little cottage
+of some well-to-do sea-captain, half fisher, half farmer, with a gang
+of white-headed little urchins running out over the cliffs to take a
+peep at the passing steamer, the frugal matron standing in the door
+resplendent in her red woolen petticoat and fanciful head-dress,
+knitting a pair of stockings, or some such token of love, for her
+absent lord--there, a pretty little village, with a church, a wharf,
+and a few store-houses, shrinking back behind the protecting wing of
+some huge and rugged citadel of rocks, the white cottages glittering
+pleasantly in the rays of the evening sun, and the smoke curling up
+peacefully over the surrounding foliage, and floating off till it
+vanished in the rich glow of the sky--all so calm, so dreamy in colors
+and outline that the imagination is absolutely bewildered with the
+varied feast of beauties: such are the characteristic features of this
+noble sheet of water.
+
+The Christiania Fjord is one of the largest in Norway. Commencing at
+Frederickstadt on the one side and Sandesund on the other, it extends
+into the interior a distance of seventy or eighty miles, making one of
+the finest natural harbors in the world. The water is deep, and the
+shores are almost rock-bound. In many places the navigation is
+somewhat intricate, owing to the numerous rocky islands and rugged
+headlands; but the Norwegian pilots are thoroughly experienced in
+their business, and know every foot of the way as familiarly as they
+know their own snug little cabins perched up among the rocks.
+
+ [Illustration: COAST OF NORWAY.]
+
+Touching at the picturesque little town of Horten on the left, we
+discharged some passengers and took in others, after which we
+proceeded without farther incident to the town of Drobak on the right.
+Here the Fjord is narrow, presenting something the appearance of a
+river. A group of fortifications on the cliffs protects this
+passage. The view on leaving Drobak is inexpressibly beautiful. The
+Fjord widens gradually till it assumes the form of an immense lake,
+the shores of which rise abruptly from the water, covered with forests
+of pine. Moss-covered rocks, green wooded islands, and innumerable
+fishing-craft, give variety and animation to the scene. Range upon
+range of wild and rugged mountains extend back through the dim
+distance on either side till their vague and fanciful outlines are
+mingled with the clouds. Nothing can exceed the richness and beauty of
+the atmospheric tints. A golden glow, mingled with deep shades of
+purple, illuminates the sky. In the distance the snowy peaks of the
+vast interior ranges of mountains glisten in the evening sun. The deep
+green of the foliage which decks the islands and promontories of the
+Fjord casts its reflected hues upon the surface of the sleeping
+waters. In the valleys, which from time to time open out as we sweep
+along on our way, rich yellow fields of grain make a brilliant and
+striking contrast to the sombre tints of the pine forests in the rear.
+
+It was long after sunset, but still light enough to enjoy all the
+beauties of the Fjord, when we saw before us the numerous and
+picturesque villas that adorn the neighborhood of Christiania. Passing
+the fine old castle of Aggershuus on the left, we rounded a point, and
+then came in full view of the town and harbor.
+
+Surely there is nothing like this in the whole world, I thought, as I
+gazed for the first time upon this charming scene. The strange
+old-fashioned buildings, the castle, the palace on the hill-top, the
+shipping at the wharves, the gardens on every slope, the varied
+outlines of the neighboring cliffs and hills, covered with groves and
+green slopes of rich sward; every nook glimmering with beautiful
+villas; the whole reflected in the glowing waters that sweep through
+the maze of islands and headlands in every direction; can there be any
+thing more beautiful in all the world?
+
+ [Illustration: THE ISLANDS.]
+
+The steamer was soon hauled alongside the wharf, where a crowd of
+citizens was gathered to see us land. Here again was a scene
+characteristic of Norway. No hurry, no confusion, no shouting and
+clamoring for passengers, but all quiet, primitive, and good-humored.
+How different from a landing at New York or San Francisco! Three or
+four sturdy hack-drivers stood smoking their pipes, watching the
+proceedings with an air of philosophical indifference truly
+refreshing. Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and cousins of
+various parties on board, waved their handkerchiefs and nodded
+affectionately to their friends and relatives, but kept their
+enthusiasm within limits till the plank was put out, when they came on
+board, and kissed and hugged every body of their acquaintance in the
+most affectionate manner. The officers of the customs, good easy
+souls! also came on board, books in hand, and made a kind of
+examination of the baggage. It was neither severe nor formal, and I
+felt an absolute friendship for the chief officer on account of the
+jolly manner in which he looked at me, and asked me if I had any thing
+contraband in my little knapsack. I offered to open it, but with a
+wave of his hand he chalked a pass upon it and I walked ashore. For
+the first time in my life I here felt the inconvenience of not being
+persecuted by porters and hack-drivers. The few who were on hand
+seemed to be particular friends or relatives of parties on board, and
+were already engaged. I walked up the queer, grass-grown old streets,
+looking around in the dim twilight for a hotel; and after stumbling
+into half a dozen odd-looking shops and store-houses, contrived to
+make my way to the Hotel Victoria, said to be the best in Christiania.
+
+As it is no part of my purpose to write a book on Christiania, I shall
+only say that for the next three days I rambled about enjoying all the
+objects of interest in this quaint northern city--the churches, the
+museum, the castle, the palace, the ups and downs of the streets, the
+market-places, wharves, and gardens, and the magic beauties of the
+neighborhood. There is a plainness and simplicity about the people of
+Christiania, a good-humor of expression, a kindliness of manner and
+natural politeness that impressed me very favorably. The society is
+said to be genial and cultivated. I have no doubt of the fact, though
+my stay was too short to afford an opportunity of making many
+acquaintances.
+
+At the Hotel Victoria I met Ole Bull, who was on a tour through his
+native land. He sat near me at the _table d'hote_, and I had an
+opportunity of noticing the changes which time has made in his
+appearance. The last time I had seen him was in Columbus, Ohio, in
+1844. He was then in the very prime of life, slender and graceful, yet
+broad of shoulder and powerful of limb; with light straight hair,
+clear blue eyes, and a healthy Northern complexion. He is now quite
+altered, and I am not sure that I would have recognized him had he not
+been pointed out to me. In form he is much stouter, though not so
+erect as he was in former years. His hair is sprinkled with gray. He
+retains the same noble cast of features, and deep, dreamy, and genial
+expression of eye as of old, but his complexion is sallow, and his
+face is marked by lines of care. There is something sad and touching
+in his manner. I do not know what his misfortunes in America may have
+to do with his present dejected expression, but he seems to me to be a
+man who has met with great disappointments in life. Although I sat
+beside him at the table, and might have claimed acquaintance as one of
+his most ardent American admirers, I was deterred from speaking to him
+by something peculiar in his manner--not coldness, for that is not in
+his nature--but an apparent withdrawal from the outer world into
+himself. A feeling that it might be intrusive to address him kept me
+silent. I afterward sent him a few lines, expressing a desire to renew
+my early acquaintance with him; but he left town while I was absent on
+an excursion to the Frogner-assen, and, much to my regret, I missed
+seeing him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+FROM CHRISTIANIA TO LILLEHAMMER.
+
+
+The population of Christiania is something over 40,000, and of late
+years it has become quite a place of resort for tourists on the way to
+the interior of Norway. The houses built since the fire of 1858, which
+destroyed a considerable portion of the town, are large and
+substantial, built of stone and covered with cement. The streets for
+the most part are broad and roughly paved. Very little of
+characteristic style is observable in the costume of the citizens.
+Plainness of dress, simple and primitive manners, and good nature, are
+the leading traits of the Norwegians. Christiania is the modern
+capital of Norway, and was founded by Christian IV. of Denmark, near
+the site of the ancient capital of Osloe, which was founded in 1058 by
+King Harold Hardraade. Some of the old buildings still remain in a
+state of good preservation; but the chief interest of the city
+consists in its castle, university, library, and museum of Northern
+antiquities. A traveler from the busy cities of America is struck with
+the quiet aspect of the streets, and the almost death-like silence
+that reigns in them after dark. In many places the sidewalks are
+overgrown with grass, and the houses are green with moss. Stagnation
+broods in the very atmosphere. Christiania is in all respects the
+antipodes of San Francisco. A Californian could scarcely endure an
+existence in such a place for six weeks. He would go stark mad from
+sheer inanity. Beautiful as the scenery is, and pleasantly as the time
+passed during my brief sojourn, it was not without a feeling of relief
+that I took my departure in the cars for Eidsvold.
+
+ [Illustration: APPROACH TO CHRISTIANIA.]
+
+The railway from Christiania to Eidsvold is the only one yet in
+operation in Norway. It was a pretty heavy undertaking, considering
+the rough country and the limited resources of the people; but it was
+finally completed, and is now considered a great feature in Norwegian
+civilization. Some idea may be formed of the backwardness of
+facilities for internal communication throughout this country when I
+mention the fact that beyond the distance of forty miles to Eidsvold
+and the Lake of Miosen, the traveler is dependent upon such vehicles
+as he takes with him, unless he chooses to incur the risk of procuring
+a conveyance at Hamar or Lillehammer. The whole country is a series of
+rugged mountains, narrow valleys, desolate fjelds, rivers, and fjords.
+There are no regular communications between one point and another on
+any of the public highways, and the interior districts are supplied
+with such commodities as they require from the sea-board solely by
+means of heavy wagons, sledges, boats, and such other primitive modes
+of transportation as the nature of the country and the season may
+render most available.
+
+Like every thing else in Norway, the cars on the Eidsvold railway have
+rather more of a rustic than a metropolitan appearance. They are
+extremely simple in construction and rural in decoration; and as for
+the road, it may be very good compared with a trail over the Sierra
+Nevada Mountains, but it is absolutely frightful to travel over it by
+steam. Three hours is the allowance of time for forty miles. If I
+remember correctly, we stretched it out to four, on account of a
+necessary stoppage on the way, caused by the tumbling down of some
+rocks from an overhanging cliff. The jolting is enough to dislocate
+one's vertebrae; and I had a vague feeling all the time during the trip
+that the locomotive would jump off the track, and dash her brains out
+against some of the terrible boulders of granite that stood frowning
+at us on either side as we worried our way along from station to
+station.
+
+It was nearly dark when we came to a saw-mill by the roadside. The
+scenery is pretty all the way from Christiania, but not very striking
+till the train passes the narrow gorge in which the saw-mill is
+situated, where there is a tunnel of a few hundred feet that
+penetrates a bluff on the left. Emerging from this, we are close upon
+the charming little village of Eidsvold, one of the loveliest spots in
+this land of beauty. A few minutes more brought us to the
+station-house, where the railway ends. Here we found ourselves at a
+good hotel, picturesquely situated on the bank of the Wormen, a river
+flowing from the Miosen Lake.
+
+At eleven o'clock on a fine Sunday forenoon I took my departure from
+Eidsvold on board one of the little lake steamers. These vessels are
+well managed, and not inconveniently arranged, but they are so very
+small that on particular occasions, when there is an unusual pressure
+of travelers, it is difficult to find room for a seat. Owing to the
+facilities afforded by the railway from Christiania, an excursion to
+Lillehammer is the most popular way of passing a Sunday during the
+summer months, and this being the height of the season, the crowd was
+unusually great. It also happened that two hundred soldiers, who had
+served out their time, were returning to their homes in the interior,
+so that there was no lack of company on board. If the soldiers were
+somewhat lively and frolicsome, it was nothing more than natural under
+the circumstances. A good many were intoxicated--at the idea, perhaps,
+of getting home once more, and their songs and merry shouts of
+laughter kept every body in a good humor. I am unable to account for a
+curious fact, which I may as well mention in this connection. Whenever
+the authorities of any country through which I chance to travel have
+occasion to send their troops from one point to another, they
+invariably send them upon the same boat or in the same railway train
+upon which I have the fortune to take passage. There must be something
+military in my appearance, or some natural propensity for bloodshed in
+my nature, that causes this affinity to exist between us, for it has
+happened altogether too often to be accidental. The King of Sicily,
+some years ago, sent a party of troops to keep me company to Palermo.
+Subsequently the King of Greece favored me with a large military
+convoy to one of the Greek islands. After that I had an independent
+supervision of various bodies of Turkish soldiers on board of
+different vessels within the Turkish dominions. Recently Napoleon III.
+sent down by the same train of cars, from Paris to Marseilles, about
+four hundred of his troops for Algiers. Being detained at Marseilles
+by some unforeseen circumstance, I had the pleasure of seeing these
+men shipped off on the first steamer. I took passage in the next. By
+some extraordinary fatality, for which there is no accounting, there
+were upward of five hundred additional troops shipped on this vessel.
+It was a consolation to know that a storm was brewing, and that they
+would soon be all sea-sick. Before we got out of the Gulf of Lyons I
+could have slain every man of them with a pocket-knife. It was
+therefore with a spirit of resignation that I saw the Norwegian
+soldiers come on board at Eidsvold. Fate had ordained that we should
+travel together, and it was no use to complain. Besides, I liked their
+looks. As stalwart, blue-eyed, jovial, and hearty-looking a set of
+fellows they were as ever I saw in any country--men of far higher
+intelligence and physical capacity than the average of soldiers in
+Continental Europe. That these were the right sort of men to fight for
+their country there could be no doubt. I have rarely seen finer troops
+any where than those of Norway.
+
+The Miosen Lake is sixty-three miles in length, extending from Minde
+to Lillehammer, and varies in width from five to ten miles. The
+broadest part is opposite to Hamar, nearly at the centre, and not far
+from the island of Helgeo. The shores embrace some of the finest
+farming lands in Norway; and after passing Minde, the sloping
+hill-sides are dotted with pretty little farm-houses, and beautifully
+variegated with fields and orchards. In many places, so numerous are
+the cottages of the thrifty farmers hung in this favored region, that
+they resemble a continuous village, extending for many miles along the
+hill-sides. There is not much in the natural aspect of the country to
+attract the lover of bold mountain scenery. The beauties of the shores
+of Miosen are of a gentle and pastoral character, and become
+monotonous after a few hours. Near Hamar, on the right, there are the
+ruins of an old cathedral, burned and plundered by the Swedes in 1567.
+
+Apart from the ordinary interest of the Miosen Lake, arising from the
+quiet, pastoral character of its shores, it possessed a peculiar charm
+to me, owing to the fact that, in 1755, when the great earthquake
+occurred at Lisbon, its waters rose twenty feet, and suddenly
+retreated. Only a few months previously I had visited the city of
+Lisbon, and stood upon the very spot, where, in six minutes, over
+sixty thousand souls had been buried beneath the ruins. I was now, so
+to speak, following up an earthquake.
+
+It was late at night when we arrived at the pretty little town of
+Lillehammer, at the head of the lake. Leaving the steamer here, I
+found myself, for the first time, beyond the limits of the English
+language. A Norwegian with whom I had become acquainted on board the
+boat was kind enough to walk up town with me and show me the way to
+the post station, where I had some difficulty in procuring
+accommodations, owing to the number of recent arrivals.
+
+The town of Lillehammer contains twelve or fifteen hundred
+inhabitants, whose principal industry consists in the lumber business.
+Immense rafts are towed down the lake every day by the returning
+steamers, and carried by rail from Eidsvold to Christiania. The logs
+are drifted down the Logen River from the interior, and cut up at
+Lillehammer and Eidsvold. Such as are designed for spars are dressed
+and stripped at the latter place. There are many other points on the
+lake from which supplies of timber are also transferred to
+Christiania, so that, between farming, fishing, and lumbering, the
+inhabitants of this region make out a very comfortable subsistence,
+and generally own the lands upon which they reside. Many of them are
+wealthy--for this part of the world.
+
+Lillehammer is prettily situated on an eminence, and consists of log
+and frame houses, presenting much the appearance of a Western lake
+village in the United States. The view of the Miosen and its verdant
+shores is very fine from the top of the hill. It was ten o'clock at
+night when I arrived, although the sky was still lighted up with a
+purple glow from the departed sun. Something of the wonderful scenic
+beauties of the country were still visible. A party of French
+tourists, who had come to Norway to make a three days' visit, set off
+at this late hour to see the torrent which breaks from the side of the
+mountain, about half a mile beyond the town. I was solicited to join
+them; but my passion for sight-seeing was rather obscured by the
+passion of hunger and thirst. At such times I am practical enough to
+prefer a good supper to the best waterfall in the world. Waterfalls
+can be postponed. Hunger must be promptly satisfied. Thirst makes one
+dry. A distant view of falling water is a poor substitute for a glass
+of good ale. There is no fear that any ordinary cataract will run
+itself out before morning.
+
+This was my first experience of a post station, and very pleasant I
+found it. The inns of Norway are plain, cheap, and comfortable; not
+very elegant in appearance, but as good in all respects as a plain
+traveler could desire. I had a capital supper at Lillehammer,
+consisting of beefsteak, eggs, bread, butter, and coffee--enough to
+satisfy any reasonable man. The rooms are clean, the beds and bedding
+neat and comfortable, and the charge for supper, lodging, and
+breakfast not exceeding an average of about fifty cents. At some of
+the interior stations I was charged only about twenty-five cents, and
+in no instance was I imposed upon. The inn-keepers are so generally
+obliging and good-natured that there is very little difficulty in
+getting along with them. A few words always sufficed to make my wants
+understood, and the greatest kindness and alacrity were invariably
+shown in supplying them. But I anticipate my journey.
+
+After a pleasant night's rest I arose bright and early; and here,
+being for the first time thrown completely upon my own resources in
+the way of language, was obliged to have recourse to my vocabulary to
+get at the means of asking for breakfast and a horse and cariole.
+Fancy a lean and hungry man standing before a substantial landlord,
+trying to spell out a breakfast from his book in some such way as
+this:
+
+"Jeg vil Spise [I will eat]!"
+
+"Ya, min Herr!" the landlord politely answers.
+
+"Jeg vil Frokost [I will breakfast]!"
+
+"Ya, min Herr;" and the landlord runs off into a perfect labyrinth of
+birds, fish, eggs, beefsteak, hot cakes, and other luxuries, which the
+inexperienced traveler is vainly attempting to follow up in his book.
+In despair, he at length calls out,
+
+"Ja! Ja!--that's all right! any thing you say, my fine old gentleman!"
+
+At which the landlord scratches his head, for he doesn't understand
+precisely what you have selected. Now you take your book, and explain
+slowly and systematically:
+
+"Kaffee!"
+
+"Ja."
+
+"Oegg!"
+
+"Ja."
+
+"Fisk!"
+
+"Ja."
+
+"Smor og Brod!"
+
+Here the landlord is staggered, and scratches his head again. _Smor_
+he gets a glimmering of, but the bread stuns him. You try it in a
+dozen different ways--broad, breyd, breed, brode, braid. At length a
+light flashes upon his mind. You want bread! Simple as the word is,
+and though he pronounces it precisely according to one of your own
+methods, as you suppose, it is difficult to get the peculiar
+intonation that renders it intelligible.
+
+"Ja!" And thus you lay the foundation of your breakfast; after which,
+having progressed so far in the language, there is no great difficulty
+in asking for a "Heste og Cariole" [a horse and cariole].
+
+A little practice in this way soon enables the traveler to acquire a
+sufficient knowledge of the language for the ordinary purposes of
+communication along the road. With a smattering of the German it comes
+very readily to one who speaks English, being something of a mixture
+between these two languages. I was really astonished to find how well
+I could understand it, and make myself understood, in the course of a
+few days, though candor obliges me to say that if there is any one
+thing in the world for which nature never intended me it is a
+linguist.
+
+I was in hopes of finding at Lillehammer a party of tourists bound
+over the Dovre Fjeld to Trondhjem, of whom I had heard in Christiania.
+In this I was disappointed. They had started a few days previously. An
+omnibus was advertised to run as far as Elstad, some thirty-five miles
+up the valley of Gudbransdalen, which would be so much gained on my
+route. It seemed, however, that it only ran whenever a sufficient
+number of passengers offered--so I was obliged to give up that
+prospect.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+HOW THEY TRAVEL IN NORWAY.
+
+
+Nothing can be more characteristic of Norwegian seclusion from the
+world than the rude means of inland communication between the
+principal cities. Here was a public highway between two of the most
+important sea-ports in the country--Christiania and Trondhjem--without
+as much as a stage to carry passengers. Every traveler has to depend
+upon his own vehicle, or upon such rude and casual modes of conveyance
+as he can find at the stations by the wayside. I asked the reason of
+this backward state of things, and was informed that the amount of
+travel is insufficient to support any regular stage line. The season
+for tourists lasts only about three months, and during the remainder
+of the year very few strangers have occasion to pass over the roads.
+In winter--which, of course, lasts very long in this latitude--the
+whole country is covered with snow, and sledges are altogether used,
+both for purposes of traveling and the transportation of merchandise
+from the sea-board. The products of the country--such as logs, spars,
+and boards--are prepared during these months for rafting down the
+rivers during the spring floods. Once, as I was told, an enterprising
+Englishman had started a regular stage-line from Christiania to
+Trondhjem, in consequence of the repeated complaints of the traveling
+public, who objected to the delays to which they were subject; but he
+was soon obliged to discontinue it for want of patronage. When
+travelers had a convenient way of getting over, they grumbled at being
+hurried through, and preferred taking the usual conveyances of the
+country, which afforded them an opportunity of enjoying the scenery
+and stopping wherever they pleased. People did not come all the way to
+Norway, they said, to fly through it without seeing any of its wonders
+and beauties. There was some philosophy in this, as well as a touch of
+human nature. It reminded me of the Frenchman in Paris who lived to be
+eighty years of age without ever leaving the city; when the king, for
+the sake of experiment, positively forbid him from doing so during the
+remainder of his life. The poor fellow was immediately seized with an
+inordinate desire to see something of the outside world, and
+petitioned so hard for the privilege of leaving the city that the
+king, unable to resist his importunities, granted him the privilege,
+after which the man was perfectly satisfied, and remained in Paris to
+the day of his death.
+
+By reference to a copy of the laws on the subject of post-travel,
+which I had procured in Christiania from a Mr. Bennett, I discovered
+that the system is singularly complicated and hazardous, as well as a
+little curious in some of its details. The stations are situated along
+the road about every eight or ten miles (counted in Norwegian by so
+many hours). Nothing that we could call a village is to be seen in any
+part of the interior, unless the few straggling farm-houses
+occasionally huddled together, with a church in the centre, may be
+considered in that light. The stations usually stand alone, in some
+isolated spot on the wayside, and consist of a little log or frame
+tavern, a long shambling stable, innumerable odds and ends of cribs,
+store-houses, and outbuildings, forming a kind of court or
+stable-yard; a rickety medley of old carts and carioles lying about
+basking in the sun; a number of old white-headed men smoking their
+pipes, and leathery-faced women on household duties intent, with a
+score or so of little cotton-headed children running about over the
+manure pile in the neighborhood of the barn, to keep the pigs company;
+here and there a strapping lout of a boy swinging on a gate and
+whistling for his own amusement; while cows, sheep, goats, chickens,
+and other domestic animals and birds browse, nibble, and peck all over
+the yard in such a lazy and rural manner as would delight an artist.
+This is the ordinary Norwegian station.
+
+ [Illustration: STATION-HOUSE, LOGEN VALLEY.]
+
+There is always a good room for the traveler, and plenty of excellent
+homely fare to eat. At some few places along the route the
+station-houses aspire to the style and dignity of hotels, but they are
+not always the best or most comfortable. Then there are "fast" and
+"slow" stations--so called in the book of laws. At the fast stations
+the traveler can procure a horse and cariole without delay--fifteen
+minutes being the legal limit. At the slow stations he must wait till
+the neighborhood, for a distance of three or four miles perhaps, is
+searched for a horse--sometimes for both horse and cariole. If he
+chooses to incur the expense he can send forward a _Forbad_, or notice
+in advance, requiring horses to be ready at each station at a
+specified time; but if he is not there according to notice, he must
+pay so much per hour for the delay. A day-book is kept at each of
+these post-houses, in which the traveler must enter his name, stating
+the time of his arrival and departure, where he came from, his
+destination, how many horses he requires, etc. In this formidable book
+he may also specify any complaint he has to make against the
+station-holder, boy, horse, cariole, or any body, animal, or thing
+that maltreats him, cheats him, or in any way misuses him on the
+journey; but he must take care to have the inn-keeper or some such
+disinterested person as a witness in his behalf, so that when the
+matter comes before the Amtmand, or grand tribunal of justice, it may
+be fairly considered and disposed of according to law. When the
+inn-keeper, station-holder, posting-master, alderman, or other proper
+functionary on the premises, fails to present this book and require
+the traveler to sign his name in it, he (the arrant violator of laws)
+is fined; but the traveler need not flatter himself that the rule does
+not work both ways, for he also is fined if he refuses or
+intentionally neglects to write his name in the said book. The number
+of horses to be kept at fast stations is fixed by law, and no traveler
+is to be detained more than a quarter of an hour, unless in certain
+cases, when he may be detained half an hour. At a slow station he must
+not be detained over three hours--such is the utmost stretch of the
+law. Think of that, ye Gothamites, who complain if you are detained
+any where on the face of the earth three minutes--only detained three
+hours every eight or ten miles! But for delay occasioned by any
+insuperable impediment, says the Norwegian law-book--such as a storm
+at sea, or too great a distance between the inns--no liability is
+incurred on either side. A Philadelphia lawyer could drive
+six-and-thirty coaches-and-four, all abreast, through such a law as
+that, and then leave room enough for a Stockton wagon and mule-team
+on each side. Who is to judge of the weather or the distance between
+the inns? When the traveler holds the reins he is responsible for the
+horse, but when the post-boy does the holding, he, the said boy, is
+the responsible party. Should any post-horse be ill treated or
+overdriven when the traveler holds the reins, so that, in the language
+of the law, "the station-holder, inn-keeper, or two men at the next
+station can perceive this to be the case, the traveler shall pay for
+the injury according to the estimation of these men, and he shall not
+be allowed to be sent on until the payment is made." The traveler pays
+all tolls and ferry charges. "When the road is very hilly, or is in
+out-of-the-way districts where there are but few horses in proportion
+to the travel, and the distance between the stations is unusually
+long, or under other circumstances where the burden on the people
+obligated to find horses is evidently very oppressive, etc.," "it may
+be ordered by the king, after a declaration to that effect has been
+procured by the authorities, that payment for posting may be reckoned
+according to a greater distance, in proportion to the circumstances,
+as far as double the actual distance."
+
+In addition to all these formidable regulations--against which it
+seems to me it would be impossible for any ordinary man to
+contend--the tariff fixes the price of posting for fast and slow
+stations in the country, the only difficulty being to find where the
+towns are after you get into them, or to know at what stage of the
+journey you leave them. The Amtmand, by letter to all the authorities,
+likewise requires the tariff to be hung conspicuously in all the inns;
+which tariff, says the law, "is altered according to the rise and fall
+of provisions."
+
+When I came to study out all this, and consider the duties and
+obligations imposed on me as a traveler going a journey of three or
+four hundred miles; that I was to be subject to contingencies and
+liabilities depending upon the elements both by land and sea; that
+serious responsibilities fell upon me if I held the reins of the
+post-horse, and probably heavy risks of life and limb if the post-boy
+held them; that the inn-keeper, station-holder, alderman, or two men
+chosen miscellaneously from the ranks of society, were to judge of
+damages that might be inflicted upon the horse; that I must register
+my name in a day-book, and enter formal complaints against the
+authorities on the way about every ten miles; that the tariff might
+rise and fall five hundred times during the journey, for aught I knew,
+according to the rise and fall of provisions or the pleasure of the
+Amtmand; that conspiracies might be entered into against me to make me
+pay for all the lame, halt, blind, and spavined horses in the country,
+and my liberty restrained in some desolate region of the mountains;
+that I could not speak a dozen words of the language, and had no other
+means of personal defense against imposition than a small pen-knife
+and the natural ferocity of my countenance--when all these
+considerations occurred to me, I confess they made me hesitate a
+little before launching out from Lillehammer.
+
+However, the landlord of the post, a jolly and good-natured old
+gentleman, relieved my apprehensions by providing such a breakfast of
+coffee, eggs, beefsteak, fish, and bread, that my sunken spirits were
+soon thoroughly aroused, and I felt equal to any emergency. When I
+looked out on the bright hill-sides, and saw the sun glistening on the
+dewy sod, and heard the post-boys in the yard whistling merrily to the
+horses, I was prepared to face the great Amtmand itself. In a little
+while the horse and cariole designed for my use were brought up before
+the door, and the landlord informed me that all was "_fertig_."
+
+Now, was there ever such a vehicle for a full-grown man to travel in?
+A little thing, with a body like the end of a canoe, perched up on two
+long shafts, with a pair of wheels in the rear; no springs, and only a
+few straps of leather for a harness; a board behind for the
+skydskaarl, or post-boy, to sit upon; and a horse not bigger than a
+large mountain goat to drag me over the road! It was positively
+absurd. After enjoying the spectacle for a moment, and making a
+hurried sketch of it, wondering what manner of man had first contrived
+such a vehicle, I bounced in, and stretched my legs out on each side,
+bracing my feet against a pair of iron catches, made expressly for
+that purpose. Fortunately, I am a capital driver. If nature ever
+intended me for any one profession above all others, it must have been
+for a stage-driver. I have driven buggies, wagons, and carts in
+California hundreds of miles, and never yet killed any body. Like the
+Irishman, I can drive within two inches of a precipice without going
+over. Usually, however, I let the horse take his own way, which, after
+all, is the grand secret of skillful driving.
+
+My baggage consisted of a knapsack containing two shirts and an extra
+pair of stockings, a sketch-book and some pencils, and such other
+trifling knick-knacks as a tourist usually requires in this country. I
+carried no more outside clothing than what common decency required: a
+rough hunting-coat, a pair of stout cloth pantaloons, and an old pair
+of boots--which is as much as any traveler needs on a Norwegian tour,
+though it is highly recommended by an English writer that every
+traveler should provide himself with two suits of clothes, a
+Mackintosh, a portable desk, an India-rubber pillow, a few blankets,
+an opera-glass, a musquito-net, a thermometer, some dried beef, and a
+dozen boxes of sardines, besides a stock of white bread, and two
+bottles of English pickles.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+A NORWEGIAN GIRL.
+
+
+With a crack of the whip that must have astonished the landlord, and
+caused him some misgivings for the fate of his horse and cariole, I
+took my departure from Lillehammer. About half a mile beyond the town
+we (the skydskaarl, myself, horse, and cariole) passed the falls--a
+roaring torrent of water tumbling down from the mountain side on the
+right. Several extensive saw-mills are located at this point. The
+piles of lumber outside, and the familiar sounds of the saws and
+wheels, reminded me of home. The scene was pretty and picturesque, but
+rather disfigured by the progress of Norwegian civilization. Passing
+numerous thriving farms in the full season of harvest, the road
+winding pleasantly along the hill-side to the right, the foaming
+waters of the Logen deep down in the valley to the left, we at length
+reached the entrance of the Gudbransdalen--that beautiful and fertile
+valley, which stretches all the way up the course of the Logen to the
+Dovre Fjeld, a distance of a hundred and sixty-eight miles from
+Lillehammer. It would be an endless task to undertake a description of
+the beauties of this valley. From station to station it is a continued
+panorama of dashing waterfalls, towering mountains, green slopes, pine
+forests overtopping the cliffs, rich and thriving farms, with
+innumerable log cottages perched up among the cliffs, and wild and
+rugged defiles through which the road passes, sometimes overhung by
+shrubbery for miles at a stretch. Flying along the smoothly-graded
+highway at a rapid rate; independent of all the world except your
+horse and boy; the bright sunshine glimmering through the trees; the
+music of the wild waters falling pleasantly on your ear; each turn of
+the road opening out something rich, new, and strange; the fresh
+mountain air invigorating every fibre of your frame; renewed youth and
+health beginning to glow upon your cheeks; digestion performing its
+functions without a pang or a hint of remonstrance; kind, genial,
+open-hearted people wherever you stop--is it not an episode in life
+worth enjoying? The valley of the Logen must surely be a paradise (in
+summer) for invalids.
+
+At each station the traveler is furnished with a stunted little boy
+called the skydskaarl, usually clothed in the cast-off rags of his
+great-grandfather; his head ornamented by a flaming red night-cap, and
+his feet either bare or the next thing to it; his hair standing out in
+every direction like a mop dyed in whitewash and yellow ochre, and his
+face and hands freckled and sunburned, and not very clean, while his
+manners are any thing but cultivated. This remarkable boy sits on a
+board behind the cariole, and drives it back to the station from which
+it starts. He is regarded somewhat in the light of a high public
+functionary by his contemporary ragamuffins, having been promoted from
+the fields or the barn-yard to the honorable position of skydskaarl.
+His countenance is marked by the lines of premature care and
+responsibility, but varies in expression according to circumstances.
+The sum of four cents at the end of an hour's journey gives it an
+extremely amiable and intelligent cast. Some boys are constitutionally
+knowing, and have a quick, sharp look; others again are dull and
+stolid, as naturally happens wherever there is a variety of boys born
+of different parents. For the most part, they are exceedingly bright
+and lively little fellows. Mounted on their seat of honor at the back
+of the cariole, they greatly enliven the way by whistling and singing,
+and asking questions in their native tongue, which it is sometimes
+very difficult to answer when one is not familiar with the language.
+
+I had at Moshuus a communicative little boy, who talked to me
+incessantly all the way to Holmen without ever discovering, so far as
+I could perceive, that I did not understand a single word he said.
+Another, after repeated efforts to draw me out, fell into a fit of
+moody silence, and from that into a profound slumber, which was only
+broken off toward the end of our journey by an accident. The cariole
+struck against a stone and tilted him out on the road. He was a good
+deal surprised, but said nothing.
+
+Another little fellow, not more than six or seven years of age--a
+pretty fair-haired child--was sent with me over a very wild and
+broken stage of the journey. He was newly dressed in a suit of gray
+frieze with brass buttons, and was evidently a shining light at home.
+On the road a dog ran out from the bushes and barked at us. The poor
+little skydskaarl was frantic with terror, and cried so lustily that I
+had to take him into the cariole, and put him under my legs to keep
+him from going into fits. He bellowed all the way to the next station,
+where I endeavored to make the inn-keeper understand that it was cruel
+to send so small a boy on such a hazardous journey. The man laughed
+and said "Ja! he is too little!" which was all I could get out of him.
+I felt unhappy about this poor child all day.
+
+On another occasion I had a bright, lively little fellow about twelve
+years of age, who was so pleased to find that I was an American that
+he stopped every body on the road to tell them this important piece of
+news, so that it took me about three hours to go a distance of seven
+or eight miles. There was a light of intelligence in the boy's face
+that enabled me to comprehend him almost by instinct, and the
+quickness with which he caught at my half-formed words, and gathered
+my meaning when I told him of the wonders of California, were really
+surprising. This boy was a natural genius. He will leave his mountain
+home some day or other and make a leading citizen of the United
+States. Already he was eager to dash out upon the world and see some
+of its novelties and wonders.
+
+ [Illustration: STATION-BOY.]
+
+At Laurgaard I was favored with a small urchin who must have been
+modeled upon one of Hogarth's pictures. He was a fixed laugh all over.
+His mouth, nose, ears, eyes, hair, and chin were all turned up in a
+broad grin. Even the elbows of his coat and the knees of his trowsers
+were wide open with ill-concealed laughter. He laughed when he saw me,
+and laughed more than ever when he heard me "_tale Norsk_." There was
+something uncommonly amusing to this little shaver in the cut of a
+man's jib who could not speak good Norwegian. All the way up the hill
+he whistled, sang lively snatches of song, joked with the horse, and
+when the horse nickered laughed a young horse-laugh to keep him
+company. It did me good to see the rascal so cheery. I gave him an
+extra shilling at Braendhagen for his lively spirit, at which he
+grinned all over wider than ever, put the small change in his pocket,
+and with his red night-cap in one hand made a dodge of his head at me,
+as if snapping at a fly, and then held out his spare hand to give me
+a shake. Of course I shook hands with him.
+
+ [Illustration: GOOD-BY--MANY THANKS!]
+
+Shaking hands with small boys, however, is nothing uncommon in Norway.
+Every boy on the entire route shook hands with me. Whenever I settled
+the fare the skydskaarl invariably pulled off his cap, or, if he had
+none, gave a pull at the most prominent bunch of hair, and holding
+forth a flipper, more or less like a lump of raw beef, required me, by
+all the laws of politeness, to give it a shake. The simplicity with
+which they did this, and the awkward kindliness of their manner, as
+they wished me a pleasant trip, always formed an agreeable episode in
+the day's travel. I have shaken a greater variety of boys' hands in
+Norway--of every size, kind, and quality, fat, lean, clean, and dirty,
+dry and wet--than ever I shook all over the world before.
+Notwithstanding the amount of water in the country, I must have
+carried away from Trondhjem about a quarter of a pound of the native
+soil. Between the contortions of body and limb acquired by a brief
+residence in Paris, the battering out of several hats against my knee
+in the process of bowing throughout the cities of Germany, and the
+shaking of various boys' hands on my trip through Norway, I consider
+that my politeness now qualifies me for any society.
+
+ [Illustration: NORWEGIAN PEASANT FAMILY.]
+
+It must not be understood, however, that I was always favored with the
+society of little boys. At one of the stations, which, for obvious
+reasons, it would be indiscreet to name, there was no boy visible
+except the ragamuffin who had accompanied me. He, of course, was
+obliged to return with the horse and cariole. Three white-headed old
+men were sitting on a log near the stable basking in the sun, and
+gossiping pleasantly about by-gone times or the affairs of state, I
+could not understand which. Each of these venerable worthies wore a
+red night-cap, which in this country answers likewise for a day-cap,
+and smoked a massive wooden pipe. It was a very pleasant picture of
+rural content. As I approached they nodded a smiling "_God Aften!_"
+and rose to unharness the horse. An elderly lady, of very neat
+appearance and pleasing expression, came to the door and bade me a
+kindly welcome. Then the three old men all began to talk to me
+together, and when they said what they had to say about the fine
+weather, and the road, and the quality of the horse, and whatever else
+came into their antiquated heads, they led the horse off to the
+stable and proceeded to get me a fresh one. While they were doing that
+the elderly lady went back into the house and called aloud for some
+person within. Presently a fine buxom young girl, about seventeen
+years of age, made her appearance at the door. I flattered myself she
+wore rather a pleased expression when she saw me; but that might have
+been the customary cast of her features, or vanity on my part. At all
+events, there was a glowing bloom in her cheeks, and a penetrating
+brilliancy in her large blue eyes, wonderfully fascinating to one who
+had not recently looked upon any thing very attractive in the line of
+female loveliness. She was certainly a model of rustic beauty--I had
+rarely seen her equal in any country. Nothing could be more lithe and
+graceful than her form, which was advantageously set off by a tight
+bodice and a very scanty petticoat. A pair of red woolen stockings
+conspicuously displayed the fine contour of her--ankles I suppose is
+the conventional expression, though I mean a great deal more than
+that. As she sprang down the steps with a light and elastic bound, and
+took hold of the horse, which by this time the three old men were
+fumbling at to harness in the cariole, I unconsciously thought of
+Diana Vernon. She had all the daring grace and delicacy of the Scotch
+heroine--only in a rustic way. Seizing the horse by the bridle, she
+backed him up in a jiffy between the shafts of the cariole, and
+pushing the old gray-heads aside with a merry laugh, proceeded to
+arrange the harness. Having paid the boy who had come over from the
+last station, and put my name and destination in the day-book,
+according to law, I refreshed myself by a glass of ale, and then came
+out to see if all was ready. The girl nodded to me smilingly to get in
+and be off.
+
+I looked around for the boy who was to accompany me. Nobody in the
+shape of a boy was to be seen. The three old men had returned to their
+log by the stable, and now sat smoking their pipes and gossiping as
+usual, and the good-natured old landlady stood smiling and nodding in
+the doorway. Who was to take charge of the cariole? that was the
+question. Was I to go alone? Suppose I should miss the road and get
+lost in some awful wilderness? However, these questions were too much
+for my limited vocabulary of Norsk on the spur of the moment. So I
+mounted the cariole, resolved to abide whatever fate Providence might
+have in store for me. The girl put the reins in my hand and off I
+started, wondering why these good people left me to travel alone. I
+thought that they would naturally feel some solicitude about their
+property. Scarcely was I under way, when, with a bound like a deer,
+the girl was up on the cariole behind, hanging on to the back of the
+seat with both hands. Perfectly aghast with astonishment, I pulled the
+reins and stopped. "What!" I exclaimed, in the best Norsk I could
+muster, "is the _Jomfru_ going with me?" "_Ja!_" answered the laughing
+damsel, in a merry, ringing voice--"_Ja! Ja! Jeg vil vise de
+Veien!_--I will show you the way!"
+
+Here was a predicament! A handsome young girl going to take charge of
+me through a perfectly wild and unknown country! I turned to the old
+lady at the door with something of a remonstrating expression, no
+doubt, for I felt confused and alarmed. How the deuce was I, a
+solitary and inexperienced traveler from California, to defend myself
+against such eyes, such blooming cheeks, such honeyed lips and pearly
+teeth as these, to say nothing of a form all grace and ability, a
+voice that was the very essence of melody, and the fascinating smiles
+and blandishments of this wild young creature! It was enough to puzzle
+and confound any man of ordinary susceptibility, much less one who had
+a natural terror of the female sex. But I suppose it was all right.
+The old lady nodded approvingly; and the three old men smoked their
+pipes, and, touching their red night-caps, bid me--_Farrel! meget god
+reise!_--a pleasant trip! So, without more ado, I cracked the whip,
+and off we started. It was not my fault, that was certain. My
+conscience was clear of any bad intentions.
+
+We were soon out of sight of the station, and then came a steep hill.
+While the pony was pulling and tugging with all his might, the girl
+bounced off, landing like a wood-nymph about six feet in the rear of
+the cariole; when, with strides that perfectly astonished me, she
+began to march up the hill, singing a lively Norwegian ditty as she
+sprang over the ruts and ridges of the road. I halted in amazement.
+This would never do. Respect for the gentler sex would not permit me
+to ride up the hill while so lovely a creature was taking it on foot.
+Governed by those high principles of gallantry, augmented and
+cultivated by long residence in California, I jumped out of the
+cariole, and with persuasive eloquence begged the fair damsel to get
+in and drive up the hill on my account; that I greatly preferred
+walking; the exercise was congenial--I liked it. At this she looked
+astonished, if not suspicious. I fancied she was not used to that
+species of homage. At all events, she stoutly declined getting in; and
+since it was impossible for me to ride under the circumstances, I
+walked by her side to the top of the hill. A coolness was evidently
+growing up between us, for she never spoke a word all the way; and I
+was too busy trying to keep the horse in the middle of the road and
+save my breath to make any farther attempts at conversation.
+
+Having at length reached the summit, the girl directed me to take my
+place, which I did at once with great alacrity. With another active
+bound she was up behind, holding on as before with both hands to the
+back of the seat. Then she whistled to the horse in a style he seemed
+to understand perfectly well, for away he dashed down the hill at a
+rate of speed that I was certain would very soon result in utter
+destruction to the whole party. It was awful to think of being pitched
+out and rolling down the precipice, in the arms perhaps of this
+dashing young damsel, who, being accustomed to the road, would
+doubtless exert herself to save me.
+
+"_Nu! Reise! Reise!_--travel!" cried this extraordinary girl; and
+away we went, over rocks, into ruts, against roots and bushes;
+bouncing, springing, splashing, and dashing through mud-holes; down
+hill and still down; whirling past terrific pits, jagged pinnacles of
+rock, and yawning gulfs of darkness; through gloomy patches of pine,
+out again into open spaces, and along the brinks of fearful
+precipices; over rickety wooden bridges, and through foaming torrents
+that dashed out over the road, the wild girl clinging fast behind, the
+little pony flying along madly in front, the cariole creaking and
+rattling as if going to pieces, myself hanging on to the reins in a
+perfect agony of doubt whether each moment would not be our last. I
+declare, on the faith of a traveler, it beat all the dangers I had
+hitherto encountered summed up together. Trees whirled by, waterfalls
+flashed upon my astonished eyes, streaks of sunshine fretted the gloom
+with a net-work of light that dazzled and confounded me. I could see
+nothing clearly. There was a horrible jumble in my mind of black rocks
+and blue eyes, pine forests and flaming red stockings, flying clouds
+and flying petticoats, the roar of torrents and the ringing voice of
+the maiden as she cried "_Flue! Gaae! Reise!_--Fly! Go it! Travel!"
+Only one thought was uppermost--the fear of being dashed to pieces.
+Great heavens, what a fate! If I could only stop this infernal little
+pony, we might yet be saved! But I dared not attempt it. The slightest
+pull at the reins would throw him upon his haunches, and cariole and
+all would go spinning over him into some horrible abyss. All this time
+the wild damsel behind was getting more and more excited. Now she
+whistled, now she shouted "_Skynde pa!_--Faster! faster!" till, fairly
+carried away by enthusiasm, she begged me to give her the whip, which
+I did, with a faint attempt at prayer. Again she whistled, and shouted
+"_Skynde pa!_--Faster! faster!" and then she cracked the most
+startling and incomprehensible Norwegian melodies with the whip,
+absolutely stunning my ears, while she shouted "_Gaae! Flue!
+Reise!_--Go it! Fly! Travel!" Faster and still faster we flew down the
+frightful hill. The pony caught the infection of enthusiasm, and now
+broke into a frantic run. "Faster! faster!" shrieked the wild girl in
+a paroxysm of delight.
+
+By this time I was positively beside myself with terror. No longer
+able to distinguish the flying trees, waterfalls, and precipices, I
+closed my eyes and gasped for breath. Soon the fearful bouncing of the
+cariole aroused me to something like consciousness. We had struck a
+rock, and were now spinning along the edge of a mighty abyss on one
+wheel, the other performing a sort of balance in the air. I looked
+ahead, but there was neither shape nor meaning in the country. It was
+all a wild chaos of destructive elements--trees, precipices, red
+stockings, and whirling petticoats--toward which we were madly flying.
+
+But there is an end to all troubles upon earth. With thanks to a kind
+Providence, I at length caught sight of a long stretch of level road.
+Although there were several short turns to be made before reaching it,
+there was still hope that it might be gained without any more serious
+disaster than the breaking of a leg or an arm. Upon such a casualty as
+that I should have compromised at once. If this extraordinary creature
+behind would only stop whistling and cracking the whip, and driving
+the little pony crazy by her inspiring cries, I might yet succeed in
+steering safely into the level road; but the nearer we approached the
+bottom of the hill the wilder she became--now actually dancing on the
+little board with delight, now leaning over to get a cut at the pony's
+tail with the whip, while she whistled more fiercely than ever, and
+cried out, from time to time, "_Flue! Gaae! Reise!_" Already the poor
+animal was reeking with sweat, and it was a miracle he did not drop
+dead on the road.
+
+ [Illustration: THE POST-GIRL.]
+
+However, by great good fortune, aided by my skill in driving, we made
+the turns, and in a few minutes more were safely jogging along the
+level road. Almost breathless, and quite bewildered, I instinctively
+turned round to see what manner of wild being this girl behind was. If
+you believe me, she was leaning over my shoulder, shaking her sides
+laughing at me, her sparkling blue eyes now all ablaze with
+excitement, her cheeks glowing like peonies, her lips wide apart,
+displaying the most exquisite set of teeth I ever beheld, while her
+long golden tresses, bursting from the red handkerchief which served
+as a sort of crowning glory to her head, floated in wavy ringlets over
+her shoulders. Hermosa! it was enough to thaw an anchorite! She was
+certainly very pretty--there was no doubt of that; full of life,
+overflowing with health and vitality, and delighted at the confusion
+and astonishment of the strange gentleman she had taken in charge.
+
+Can any body tell me what it is that produces such a singular
+sensation when one looks over his shoulder and discovers the face of a
+pretty and innocent young girl within a few inches of his own, her
+beautiful eyes sparkling like a pair of stars, and shooting magic
+scintillations through and through him, body and soul, while her
+breath falls like a zephyr upon his cheek? Tell me, ye who deal in
+metaphysics, what is it? There is certainly a kind of charm in it,
+against which no mortal man is proof. Though naturally prejudiced
+against the female sex, and firmly convinced that we could get along
+in the world much better without them, I was not altogether insensible
+to beauty in an artistical point of view, otherwise I should never
+have been able to grace the pages of HARPER with the above likeness of
+this Norwegian sylph. After all, it must be admitted that they have a
+way about them which makes us feel overpowered and irresponsible in
+their presence. Doubtless this fair damsel was unconscious of the
+damage she was inflicting upon a wayworn and defenseless traveler. Her
+very innocence was itself her chiefest charm. Either she was the most
+innocent or the most designing of her sex. She thought nothing of
+holding on to my shoulder, and talked as glibly and pleasantly, with
+her beaming face close to my ear, as if I had been her brother or her
+cousin, or possibly her uncle, though I did not exactly like to regard
+it in that point of view. What she was saying I could not conjecture,
+save by her roguish expression and her merry peals of laughter.
+
+"_Jag kan ikke tale Norsk!_--I can't speak Norwegian"--was all I could
+say, at which she laughed more joyously than ever, and rattled off a
+number of excellent jokes, no doubt at my helpless condition. Indeed,
+I strongly suspected, from a familiar word here and there, that she
+was making love to me out of mere sport, though she was guarded enough
+not to make any intelligible demonstration to that effect. At last I
+got out my vocabulary, and as we jogged quietly along the road, by
+catching a word now and then, and making her repeat what she said very
+slowly, got so far as to construct something of a conversation.
+
+"What is your name, _sken Jumfru_?" I asked.
+
+"Maria," was the answer.
+
+"A pretty name; and Maria is a very pretty girl."
+
+She tossed her head a little scornfully, as much as to say Maria was
+not to be fooled by flattery.
+
+"What is _your_ name?" said Maria, after a pause.
+
+"Mine? Oh, I have forgotten mine."
+
+"Are you an Englishman?"
+
+"No."
+
+"A Frenchman?"
+
+"No."
+
+"A Dutchman?"
+
+"No--I am an American."
+
+"I like Americans--I don't like Englishmen," said the girl.
+
+"Have you a lover?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you going to be married to him?"
+
+"Yes, in about six months."
+
+"I wish you joy."
+
+"Thank you!"
+
+At this moment a carriage drawn by two horses hove in sight. It was an
+English traveling party--an old gentleman and two ladies, evidently
+his wife and daughter. As they drew near they seemed to be a little
+perplexed at the singular equipage before them--a small horse, nearly
+dead and lathered all over with foam; a cariole bespattered with mud;
+a dashing fine girl behind, with flaunting hair, a short petticoat,
+and a flaming pair of red stockings; myself in the body of the
+cariole, covered from head to foot with mire, my beard flying out in
+every direction, and my hair still standing on end from the effects of
+recent fright--a very singular spectacle to meet in the middle of a
+public highway, even in Norway. The road was very narrow at the point
+of meeting. It became necessary for one of the vehicles to pull up the
+side of the hill a little in order to allow room for the other to
+pass. Being the lighter party as well as under obligations of
+gallantry, I at once gave way. While endeavoring to make a passage,
+the old gentleman gruffly observed to the public generally,
+
+"What an excessively bad road!"
+
+"Very!" said I.
+
+"Beastly!" growled the Englishman.
+
+"Abominable!" said I.
+
+"Oh, you are an Englishman?" said the elderly lady.
+
+"No, madam--an American," I answered, with great suavity.
+
+"Oh, an American!" said the young lady, taking out her note-book;
+"dear me, how very interesting!"
+
+"From California," I added, with a smile of pride.
+
+"How very interesting!" exclaimed the young lady.
+
+"A great country," said I.
+
+"Gray," observed the elderly lady, in an under tone, looking very hard
+at the girl, who was still standing on the little board at the back of
+the cariole, and who coolly and saucily surveyed the traveling party,
+"Gray, is that a Norwegian girl?"
+
+"Yes, madam; she is my postillion, only she rides behind, according
+to the Norwegian custom."
+
+"Dear me!" cried the young lady, "how very interesting!"
+
+"And dangerous too," I observed.
+
+The lady looked puzzled. She was thinking of dangers to which I had no
+reference.
+
+"Dangerous?" exclaimed the young lady.
+
+"Yes; she came near breaking my neck down that hill;" and here I gave
+the party a brief synopsis of the adventure.
+
+"Devilish odd!" growled the old Englishman, impatiently. "Good-day,
+sir. Come, get up!"
+
+The elderly lady said nothing, but looked suspicious.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the young lady, as they drove off; "how very--"
+This was the last I heard, but I suppose she considered it
+interesting. The whole affair, no doubt, stands fully recorded in her
+note-book.
+
+The way being now clear, we proceeded on our journey. In a little
+while the station-house was in sight, and after a few minutes' drive I
+was obliged to part from my interesting companion. At first I
+hesitated about proffering the usual fee of four shillings; but, upon
+reflection, it occurred to me that I had no right to consider her any
+thing more than a post-boy. It was worth something extra to travel
+with one so lively and entertaining, so I handed her double the usual
+allowance, at which she made a very polite courtesy and greatly
+relieved my embarrassment by giving a hearty shake of the hand and
+wishing me a pleasant journey. This was the last I saw of my Norwegian
+Diana. She is a young damsel of great beauty and vivacity, not to say
+a little wild. I trust she is now happily married to the object of her
+affections.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+HOW THEY LIVE.
+
+
+Every where on the route through the interior I found the peasants
+kind, hospitable, and simple-hearted. Sometimes I made a detour of
+several miles from the main road for the purpose of catching a glimpse
+of the home-life of the farmers; and, imperfect as my means of
+communication were, I never had any difficulty in making acquaintance
+with them after announcing myself as a traveler from California. They
+had all heard, more or less, of that wonderful land of gold, and
+entertained the most vague and exaggerated notions of its mineral
+resources. It was not uncommon to find men who believed that the whole
+country was yellow with gold; that such quantities of that ore
+abounded in it as to be of little or no value. When I told them that
+the country was very rich in the precious metals, but that every hill
+was not a mass of gold, nor the bed of every river lined with rocks
+and pebbles of the same material, they looked a little incredulous,
+not to say disappointed. Many of them seemed surprised that a
+Californian should be traveling through a distant land like Norway
+merely for amusement, and few seemed to be entirely satisfied when I
+assured them, in answer to their questions, that I was not very rich;
+that I was neither a merchant, nor a speculator, nor the owner of gold
+mines, but simply an indifferent artist making sketches of their
+country for pastime. French, German, and English artists they could
+believe in, for they saw plenty of them in the wilds of Norway every
+summer; but what use would such a poor business be in California, they
+said, where every man could make a thousand dollars a day digging for
+gold? I even fancied they looked at my rough and dusty costume as if
+they thought it concealed a glittering uniform, such as the rich men
+of my country must naturally wear when they go abroad to visit foreign
+lands. It was impossible to convince them that I was not extravagantly
+wealthy. On any other point there might be room for doubt, but the
+pertinacity with which they insisted upon that afforded me much
+amusement; and since I could not dispel the illusion, it generally
+cost me a few extra shillings when I had any thing to pay to avoid the
+stigma of meanness. Not that my extraordinary wealth ever gave them a
+plea for imposition or extortion. Such an idea never entered their
+heads. On the contrary, their main purpose seemed to be to show every
+possible kindness to the distinguished stranger; and more than once,
+at some of the post-stations, I had to remind them of things which
+they had omitted in the charge. For this very reason I was in a
+measure compelled to be rather more profuse than travelers usually
+are, so that the state from which I have the honor to hail owes me a
+considerable amount of money by this time for the handsome manner in
+which I have sustained its reputation. At some of the stopping-places
+on the road, where I obtained lodgings for the night, it was not
+uncommon to find intelligent and educated families of cultivated
+manners. Education of late years has made considerable progress in
+Norway; and the rising generation, owing to the facilities afforded by
+the excellent school system established throughout the country, but
+especially in the principal towns, will not be in any respect behind
+the times, so far as regards intellectual progress. It is the
+simplicity and honesty of these good people, however, that form their
+principal and most charming characteristic. To one long accustomed to
+sharp dealing and unscrupulous trickery, it is really refreshing their
+confidence in the integrity of a stranger. Usually they left the
+settlement of accounts to myself, merely stating that I must determine
+what I owed by adding up the items according to the tariff; and,
+although my knowledge of the language was so limited, I nowhere had
+the slightest approach to a dispute about the payment of expenses. On
+one occasion, not wishing to forfeit this confidence, I was obliged to
+ride back half a mile to pay for two cigars which I had forgotten in
+making up the reckoning, and of which the inn-keeper had not thought
+proper to remind me, or had forgotten to keep any account himself. No
+surprise was manifested at this conscientious act--the inn-keeper
+merely nodding good-naturedly when I handed him the money, with the
+remark that it was "all right."
+
+In the districts remote from the sea-ports, the peasants, as may well
+be supposed, are extremely ignorant of the great outside world. Sweden
+and Denmark are the only countries known to them besides their own
+"Gamle Norge," save such vague notions of other lands as they pick up
+from occasional travelers. To them "Amerika" is a terra incognita. A
+letter once or twice a year from some emigrant to the members of his
+family goes the rounds of the district, and gives them all the
+knowledge they have of that distant land of promise; and when they
+listen, with gaping eyes and open mouths, to the wonderful stories of
+adventure, life, enterprise, and wealth detailed by the enthusiastic
+rover, it is no wonder they shake their heads and say that Christian,
+or Hans, or Ole (as the case may be), "always was a capital fellow at
+drawing a long bow." They firmly believe in ghosts and supernatural
+visitations of all sorts, but are very incredulous about any country
+in the world being equal to "Gamle Norge." Naturally enough, they
+consider their climate the most genial, their barren rocks the most
+fertile, their government the best and most liberal on the face of the
+earth, and themselves the most highly favored of the human race.
+Goldsmith must have had special reference to the Norwegians when he
+sang of "that happiest spot below:"
+
+ "The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone
+ Boldly proclaims the happiest spot his own."
+
+And why should they be otherwise than contented--if such a thing as
+contentment can exist upon earth? They have few wants and many
+children; a country free from internal commotion, and too far removed
+from the great scenes of European strife to excite the jealousy of
+external powers; sufficient food and raiment to satisfy the ordinary
+necessities of life, and no great extremes of wealth or poverty to
+militate against their independence, either in a political or social
+point of view. With good laws, an excellent Constitution, and a fair
+representation in the Storthing, they are justly proud of their
+freedom, and deeply imbued with the spirit of patriotism.
+
+Very little of poverty or beggary is to be seen by the wayside during
+a tour through Norway. Only at one point between Kringelen and
+Laurgaard--a wild and barren district exceedingly savage in its
+aspect, situated in a narrow gorge of the mountains near the head of
+the Logen--was I solicited for alms. A portion of this route, after
+passing Sinclair's Monument, is rudely fenced in, so as to render
+available every foot of the narrow valley. The road passes directly
+through the little farms, which at this stage of the journey are poor
+and unproductive. The climate is said to be very severe in this
+district, in consequence of its altitude, and the sharp winds which
+sweep down from the mountain gorges. At every gateway a gang of ragged
+little children always stood ready to open the gate, for which, of
+course, they expected a few shillings; and as these gates occur at
+intervals of every few hundred yards for some distance, it produces a
+sensible effect upon one's purse to get through. Passing through some
+wretched hamlets in this vicinity, crowds of old women hobbled out to
+beg alms, and I did not get clear of the regiments of children who ran
+along behind the cariole to receive the remainder of my small change
+for several miles. Strange to say, this was the only place during my
+rambles through the interior in which I saw any thing like beggary.
+Generally speaking, the farming lands are sufficiently productive to
+supply all the wants of the peasants, and many of the farmers are
+even comfortably situated.
+
+The houses in which these country people reside are not altogether
+unlike the small log cabins of the early settlers on our Western
+frontier. I have seen many such on the borders of Missouri and Kansas.
+Built in the most primitive style of pine logs, they stand upon stumps
+or columns of stone, elevated some two or three feet from the ground,
+in order to allow a draft of air underneath, which in this humid
+climate is considered necessary for health. They seldom consist of
+more than two or three rooms, but make up in number what they lack in
+size. Thus a single farming establishment often comprises some ten or
+a dozen little cabins, besides the large barn, which is the nucleus
+around which they all centre; with smaller cribs for pigs, chickens,
+etc., and here and there a shed for the cows and sheep, all huddled
+together among the rocks or on some open hill-side, without the least
+apparent regard to direction or architectural effect. The roofs are
+covered with sod, upon which it is not uncommon to see patches of
+oats, weeds, moss, flowers, or whatever comes most convenient to form
+roots and give consistency and strength to this singular overtopping.
+The object, I suppose, is to prevent the transmission of heat during
+the severe season of winter. Approaching some of these hamlets or
+farming establishments during the summer months, the traveler is
+frequently at a loss to distinguish their green-sodded roofs from the
+natural sod of the hill-sides, so that one is liable at any time to
+plunge into the midst of a settlement before he is aware of its
+existence. Something of a damp, earthy look about them, the weedy or
+grass-covered tops, the logs green and moss-grown, the dripping eaves,
+the veins of water oozing out of the rocks, give them a peculiarly
+Northern and chilling effect, and fill the mind with visions of long
+and dreary winters, rheumatisms, colds, coughs, and consumptions, to
+which it is said these people are subject. Nothing so wild and
+primitive is to be seen in any other part of Europe. A silence almost
+death-like hangs over these little hamlets during a great part of the
+day, when the inhabitants are out in the hills attending their flocks
+or cultivating their small patches of ground. I passed many groups of
+cabins without seeing the first sign of life, save now and then a few
+chickens or pigs rooting about the barn-yard. The constant impression
+was that it was Sunday, or at least a holiday, and that the people
+were either at church or asleep. For one who seeks retirement from the
+busy haunts of life, where he can indulge in uninterrupted reflection,
+I know of no country that can equal Norway. There are places in the
+interior where I am sure he would be astonished at the sound of his
+own voice. The deserts of Africa can scarcely present a scene of such
+utter isolation. With a rod in his hand, he can, if given to the
+gentle art, sit and dream upon some mossy bank,
+
+ "In close covert by some brook,
+ Where no profaner eye may look,
+ And hide him from day's garish noon."
+
+Thus you often come upon an English sportsman waiting for a nibble.
+
+ [Illustration: WAITING FOR A NIBBLE.]
+
+The food of the peasants consists principally of black bread, milk,
+butter, and cheese. Meat is too expensive for very general use, though
+at certain seasons of the year they indulge in it once or twice a
+week. Coffee is a luxury to which they are much addicted. Even the
+poorest classes strain a point to indulge in this favorite narcotic,
+and in no part of Norway did I fail to get a good cup of coffee. It is
+a very curious fact that the best coffee to be had at the most
+fashionable hotels on the Continent of Europe--always excepting
+Paris--is inferior to that furnished to the traveler at the commonest
+station-house in Norway. This is indeed one of the luxuries of a tour
+through this part of Scandinavia. The cream is rich and pure, and it
+is a rare treat to get a large bowlful of it for breakfast, with as
+much milk as you please, and no limit to bread and butter. Your
+appetite is not measured by infinitesimal bits and scraps as in
+Germany. A good wholesome meal is spread before you in the genuine
+backwoods style, and you may eat as much as you please, which is a
+rare luxury to one who has been stinted and starved at the hotels on
+the Continent. I remember, at one station beyond the Dovre Fjeld,
+Bennett's Hand-book says, "Few rooms, but food supplied in first-rate
+style when Miss Marit is at home. She will be much offended if you do
+not prove that you have a good appetite." On my arrival at this place,
+not wishing to offend Miss Marit--for whom I entertained the highest
+respect in consequence of her hospitable reputation--I called for
+every thing I could think of, and when it was placed upon the table
+by that accomplished young lady (a very pleasant, pretty young woman,
+by-the-way), fell to work and made it vanish at a most astonishing
+rate. Miss Marit stood by approvingly. During a pause in my heavy
+labors I called the attention of this estimable person to her own name
+in the printed pamphlet, at which she blushed and looked somewhat
+confused. Possibly there might be a mistake about it.
+
+"Your name is Miss Marit?" I asked, very politely.
+
+"Ja."
+
+"And this is Miss Marit in print?"
+
+"Ja."
+
+She took the book and tried to read it.
+
+"Nikka Forstoe!"--she didn't understand.
+
+"What does it say?" she asked, rather gravely.
+
+Here was a job--to translate the paragraph into Norwegian! Besides, it
+would not do to translate it literally, so I made a sort of impromptu
+paraphrase upon it.
+
+"Oh! it says Miss Marit is a very pretty young lady."
+
+"Ja!"--blushing and looking somewhat astonished.
+
+"And Miss Marit is a very nice housekeeper."
+
+"Ja."
+
+"And Miss Marit makes splendid coffee, and thoroughly understands how
+to cook a beefsteak."
+
+"Ja!"
+
+"And Miss Marit would make a most excellent wife for any young
+gentleman who could succeed in winning her affections!"
+
+"Nei!" said the young lady, blushing again, and looking more
+astonished than ever.
+
+"Ja," said I, "it is all in print"--adding, with an internal
+reservation, "or ought to be."
+
+Who can blame me for paying tribute to Miss Marit's kindness and
+hospitality? She is certainly deserving of much higher praise than
+that bestowed upon her, and I hope Mr. Bennett will pardon me for the
+liberal style of my translation. If he didn't mean all I said, let the
+responsibility rest upon me, for I certainly meant every word of it.
+
+The farming districts are limited chiefly to the valleys along the
+river-courses, and such portions of arable lands as lie along the
+shores of the Fjords. A large proportion of the country is extremely
+wild and rugged, and covered, for the most part, with dense pine
+forests. The peasants generally own their own farms, which are small,
+and cut up into patches of pasture, grain-lands, and tracts of forest.
+Even the most unpromising nooks among the rocks, in many parts of the
+Gudbransdalen Valley, where plows are wholly unavailable, are rooted
+up by means of hoes, and planted with oats and other grain. I
+sometimes saw as many as forty or fifty of these little arable patches
+perched up among the rocks, hundreds of feet above the roofs of the
+houses, where it would seem dangerous for goats to browse. The log
+cabins peep out from among the rocks and pine-clad cliffs all along
+the course of the Logen, giving the country a singular speckled
+appearance. This, it must be remembered, is one of the best districts
+in the interior. The richest agricultural region is said to be that
+bordering on the shores of the Miosen. One of the comforts enjoyed by
+the peasants, and without which it would scarcely be possible for them
+to exist in such a rigorous climate, consists in the unlimited
+quantity of fuel to which they have such easy access. This is an
+inconceivable luxury during the long winter months; and their large
+open fireplaces and blazing fires, even in the cool summer evenings,
+constantly remind one of the homes of the settlers in the Far West.
+When the roads are covered with snow the true season of internal
+communication commences. Then the means of transportation and travel
+are greatly facilitated, and the clumsy wagons used in summer are put
+aside for the lighter and more convenient sledges with which every
+farmer is abundantly provided. All along the route the snow-plows may
+be seen turned up against the rocks, ready to be used during the
+winter to clear and level the roads. In summer the means of
+transportation are little better than those existing between
+Placerville and Carson Valley.
+
+ [Illustration: SNOW-PLOW.]
+
+It was during the height of the harvesting season that I passed
+through the Gudbransdalen. One of the most characteristic sights at
+this time of the year is the extraordinary amount of labor imposed
+upon the women, who seem really to do most of the heavy work. I
+thought I had seen the last of that in the Thuringenwald, Odenwald,
+and Schwartzwald, while on a foot-tour through Germany; but even the
+Germans are not so far advanced in civilization in this respect as the
+Norwegians, who do not hesitate to make their women cut wood, haul
+logs, pull carts, row boats, fish, and perform various other kinds of
+labor usually allotted to the stronger sex, which even a German would
+consider rather heavy for his "frow." The men, in addition to this
+ungallant trait, are much addicted to the use of tobacco and native
+corn-brandy--which, however, I can not but regard as a sign of
+civilization, since the same habits exist, to some extent, in our own
+country. Chewing and drinking are just as common as in California, the
+most enlightened country in the world. Wherever I saw a set of
+drunken fellows roaring and rollicking at some wayside inn, their
+faces smeared with tobacco, and their eyes rolling in their heads, I
+naturally felt drawn toward them by the great free-masonry of familiar
+customs.
+
+ [Illustration: A DRINKING BOUT.]
+
+The system of farming followed by the peasants is exceedingly
+primitive, though doubtless well adapted to the climate and soil.
+Nothing can be more striking to a stranger than the odd shapes of the
+wagons and carts, and the rudeness of the agricultural implements,
+which must be patterned upon those in vogue during the time of Odin,
+the founder of the Norwegian race. Owing to the humidity of the
+climate, it is necessary in harvest time to dry the hay and grain by
+staking it out in the fields on long poles, so that the sun and air
+may penetrate every part of it. The appearance of a farm is thus
+rendered unique as well as picturesque. In the long twilight nights of
+summer these ghostly stokes present the appearance of a gang of
+heathenish spirits standing about in the fields, with their long
+beards waving in the air, and their dusky robes trailing over the
+stubbles. The figures thus seen at every turn of the road often assume
+the most striking spectral forms, well calculated to augment those
+wild superstitions which prevail throughout the country. It was
+impossible for me ever to get quite rid of the idea that they were
+descendants of the old Scandinavian gods, holding counsel over the
+affairs of the nation, especially when some passing breeze caused
+their arms and robes to flutter in the twilight, and their heads to
+swing to and fro, as if in the enthusiasm of their ghostly
+deliberations.
+
+ [Illustration: A NORWEGIAN FARM.]
+
+ [Illustration: NORWEGIAN CHURCH.]
+
+Mingled with the wild superstitions of the people their piety is a
+prominent trait. Their prevailing religion is Episcopal Lutheran,
+though Catholicism and other religions are tolerated by an act of the
+Storthing, with the exception of Mormonism, which is prohibited by
+law. A considerable number of proselytes to that sect have emigrated
+to Salt Lake. This prevailing spirit of piety is observable even in
+the wildest parts of the country, where every little hamlet has its
+church, and neither old nor young neglect their religious services.
+Most of these churches are built of wood, with a steeple of the same
+material, shingled over and painted black, so as to present the most
+striking contrast to the snows which cover the face of the country
+during the greater part of the year.
+
+ [Illustration: PARISH SCHOOLMASTER.]
+
+The parish schoolmaster is a most important personage in these rural
+districts. He it is who trains up the rising generation, teaches the
+young idea how to shoot, and
+
+ "Out of great things and small draweth the secrets of
+ the universe."
+
+He is greatly revered by the simple-minded old farmers, is cherished
+and respected by the mothers of families, enthusiastically admired and
+generally aspired to by the village belles, and held in profound awe
+by all the little urchins of the neighborhood. He speaketh unknown
+tongues; he diveth into the depths of abstruse sciences; he talketh
+with the air of one burdened with much learning; he "argueth the
+cycles of the stars from a pebble flung by a child;" he likewise
+teacheth reading, writing, and arithmetic, and applieth the rod to the
+juvenile seat of understanding, as shown on the preceding page.
+
+Soon after leaving Storkterstad, a station about two days' journey
+from Lillehammer, on the main road to Trondhjem, I passed through a
+very steep and rugged defile in the mountains, with jagged rocks on
+the right and the foaming waters of the Logen on the left, where my
+attention was called by the skydskaarl to a small monument by the
+roadside hearing an inscription commemorative of the death of Colonel
+Sinclair. If I remember correctly, a fine description is given of this
+celebrated passage by Mogge, whose graphic sketches of Norwegian
+scenery I had frequent occasion to admire, during my tour, for their
+beauty and accuracy. I fully agree with my friend Bayard Taylor, that
+the traveler can find no better guide to the Fjelds and Fjords of this
+wild country than "Afraja" and "Life and Love in Norway." Laing has
+also given an interesting account of the massacre of Colonel
+Sinclair's party. From his version of this famous incident in
+Norwegian history it appears that, during the war between Christian
+the Fourth of Denmark and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, while the Danes
+held the western coast of Norway, Colonel Sinclair, a Scotchman,
+desiring to render assistance to the Swedes, landed at Romsdalen, on
+the coast, with a party of nine hundred followers. Another detachment
+of his forces landed at Trondhjem. It was their intention to fight
+their way across the mountains and join the Swedish forces on the
+frontier. Sinclair's party met with no resistance till they arrived at
+the pass of Kringelen, where three hundred peasants, hearing of their
+approach, had prepared an ambush. Every thing was arranged with the
+utmost secrecy. An abrupt mountain on the right, abounding in immense
+masses of loose rock, furnished the means of a terrible revenge for
+the ravages committed by the Scotch on their march from Romsdalen. The
+road winds around the foot of this mountain, making a narrow pass,
+hemmed in by the roaring torrents of the Logen on the one side and
+abrupt cliffs on the other. Across the river, which here dashes with
+frightful rapidity through the narrow gorge of the mountains, the
+country wears an exceedingly weird and desolate aspect; the ravines
+and summits of the mountains are darkened by gloomy forests of pine,
+relieved only by hoary and moss-covered cliffs overhanging the rushing
+waters of the Logen. On the precipitous slopes of the pass, hundreds
+of feet above the road, the peasants gathered enormous masses of rock,
+logs of wood, and even trunks of trees, which they fixed in such a way
+that, at a moment's notice, they could precipitate the whole terrible
+avalanche upon the heads of the enemy.
+
+Such was the secrecy with which the peasants managed the whole affair,
+that the Scotch, ignorant even of the existence of a foe, marched
+along in imaginary security till they reached the middle of the narrow
+pass, when they were suddenly overwhelmed and crushed beneath the
+masses of rocks and loose timbers launched upon them by the
+Norwegians. Rushing from their ambush, the infuriated peasants soon
+slaughtered the maimed and wounded, leaving, according to some
+authorities, only two of the enemy to tell the tale. Others, however,
+say that as many as sixty escaped, but were afterward caught and
+massacred. Attached to this fearful story of retribution, Laing
+mentions a romantic incident, which is still currently told in the
+neighborhood. A young peasant was prevented from joining in the attack
+by his sweet-heart, to whom he was to be married the next day. She,
+learning that the wife of Colonel Sinclair was among the party, sent
+her lover to offer his assistance; but the Scotch lady, mistaking his
+purpose, shot him dead. Such is the tragic history that casts over
+this wild region a mingled interest of horror and romance.
+
+The road from Laurgaard beyond the pass of the Kringelen ascends a
+high mountain. On the right is a series of foaming cataracts, and
+nothing can surpass the rugged grandeur of the view as you reach the
+highest eminence before descending toward Braendhagen. Here the
+country is one vast wilderness of pine-clad mountains, green winding
+valleys, and raging torrents of water dashing down over the jagged
+rocks thousands of feet below. It was nearly night when I reached
+Dombaas, the last station before ascending the Dovre Fjeld.
+
+A telegraphic station at Dombaas gives something of a civilized aspect
+to this stopping-place, otherwise rather a primitive-looking
+establishment. The people, however, are very kind and hospitable, and
+somewhat noted for their skill in carving bone and wooden
+knife-handles. I should have mentioned that, wild as this part of the
+country is, the traveler is constantly reminded by the telegraphic
+poles all along the route that he is never quite beyond the limits of
+civilization. Such is the force of habit that I was strongly tempted
+to send a message to somebody from Dombaas; but, upon turning the
+matter over in my mind, could think of nobody within the limits of
+Norway who felt sufficient interest in my explorations to be likely to
+derive much satisfaction from the announcement that I had reached the
+edge of the Dovre Fjeld in safety. The name of a waiter who was good
+enough to black my boots at the Victoria Hotel occurred to me, but it
+was hardly possible he would appreciate a telegraphic dispatch from
+one who had no more pressing claims to his attention. I thought of
+sending a few lines of remembrance to the Wild Girl who had come so
+near breaking my neck. This notion, however, I gave over upon
+reflecting that she might attach undue weight to my expressions of
+friendship, and possibly take it into her head that I was making love
+to her--than which nothing could be farther from my intention. I had a
+social chat with the telegraph-man, however--a very respectable and
+intelligent person--who gave me the latest news; and with this, and
+good supper and bed, I was obliged to rest content.
+
+ [Illustration: DOVRE FJELD.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+JOHN BULL ABROAD.
+
+
+Leaving Dombaas at an early hour, I soon began to ascend a long slope,
+reaching, by a gradual elevation, to the Dovre Fjeld. The vegetation
+began to grow more and more scanty on the wayside, consisting mostly
+of lichens and reindeer moss. I passed through some stunted groves of
+pine, which, however, were bleached and almost destitute of foliage.
+The ground on either side of the road was soft, black, and boggy,
+abounding in springs and scarcely susceptible of cultivation. At this
+elevation grain is rarely planted, though I was told potatoes and
+other esculents are not difficult to raise. On the left of the road,
+approaching the summit, lies a range of snow-capped mountains between
+the Dovre Fjeld and Molde; on the right a series of rocky and barren
+hills of sweeping outline, presenting an exceedingly desolate aspect.
+In the course of an hour after leaving Dombaas, having walked most of
+the way, I fairly reached the grand plateau of the Dovre Fjeld. The
+scene at this point of the journey is inexpressibly desolate.
+
+Bare, whitish-colored hills bound the horizon on the right; in front
+is a dreary waste, through which the road winds like a thread till
+lost in the dim haze of the distance; and to the left the everlasting
+snows of Snaehatten. A few wretched cabins are scattered at remote
+intervals over the desert plains, in which the shepherds seek shelter
+from the inclemency of the weather, which even in midsummer is often
+piercingly raw. Herds of rattle, sheep, and goats were grazing over
+the rocky wastes of the Fjeld. Reindeer are sometimes seen in this
+vicinity, but not often within sight of the road. The only vegetation
+produced here is reindeer moss, and a coarse sort of grass growing in
+bunches over the plain. I met several shepherds on the way dressed in
+something like a characteristic costume--frieze jackets with brass
+buttons, black knee-breeches, a red night-cap, and armed with the
+usual staff or shepherd's crook, represented in pictures, and much
+discoursed of by poets:
+
+ "Methinks it were a happy life
+ To be no better than a homely swain;"
+
+but not on the Dovre Fjelds of Norway. It must be rather a dull
+business in that region, taking into consideration the barren plains,
+the bleak winds, and desolate aspect of the country. No sweet hawthorn
+bushes are there, beneath which these rustic philosophers can sit,
+
+ "Looking on their silly sheep."
+
+Shepherd life must be a very dismal reality indeed. And yet there is
+no accounting for tastes. At one point of the road, beyond Folkstuen,
+where a sluggish lagoon mingles its waters with the barren slopes of
+the Fjeld, I saw an Englishman standing up to his knees in a dismal
+marsh fishing for trout.
+
+The weather was cold enough to strike a chill into one's very marrow;
+yet this indefatigable sportsman had come more than a thousand miles
+from his native country to enjoy himself in this way. He was a genuine
+specimen of an English snob--self-sufficient, conceited, and
+unsociable; looking neither to the right nor the left, and terribly
+determined not to commit himself by making acquaintance with casual
+travelers speaking the English tongue. I stopped my cariole within a
+few paces and asked him "what luck?" One would think the sound of his
+native tongue would have been refreshing to him in this dreary
+wilderness; but, without deigning to raise his head, he merely
+answered in a gruff tone, "Don't know, sir--don't know!" I certainly
+did not suspect him of knowing much, but thought that question at
+least would not be beyond the limits of his intelligence. Finding him
+insensible to the approaches of humanity, I revenged myself for his
+rudeness by making a sketch of his person, which I hope will be
+recognized by his friends in England should he meet with any
+misfortune in the wilds of Norway. They will at least know where to
+search for his body, and be enabled to recognize it when they find it.
+This man's sense of enjoyment reminded me of the anecdote told by
+Longfellow in Hyperion, of an Englishman who sat in a tub of cold
+water every morning while he ate his breakfast and read the
+newspapers.
+
+ [Illustration: PLAYING HIM OUT.]
+
+I met with many such in the course of my tour. Is it not a little
+marvelous what hardships people will encounter for pleasure? Here was
+a man of mature age, in the enjoyment perhaps of a comfortable
+income, who had left his country, with all its attractions, for a
+dreary desert in which he was utterly isolated from the world. He was
+not traveling--not reading, not surrounded by a few congenial friends
+who could make a brief exile pleasant, but utterly alone; ignorant, no
+doubt, of the language spoken by the few shepherds in the
+neighborhood; up to his knees in a pool of cold water; stubbornly
+striving against the most adverse circumstances of wind and weather to
+torture out of the water a few miserable little fish! Of what material
+can such a man's brain be composed, if he be gifted with brain at all?
+Is it mud, clay, or water; or is it all a bog? Possibly he was a lover
+of nature; but if you examine his portrait you will perceive that
+there is nothing in his personal appearance to warrant that suspicion.
+Even if such were the case, this was not the charming region described
+by the quaint old Walton, where the scholar can turn aside "toward the
+high honeysuckle hedge," or "sit and sing while the shower falls upon
+the teeming earth, viewing the silver streams glide silently toward
+their centre, the tempestuous sea," beguiled by the harmless lambs
+till, with a soul possessed with content, he feels "lifted above the
+earth." Nor was the solitary angler of the Dovre Fjeld a man likely to
+be lifted from the earth by any thing so fragile as the beauties of
+nature. His weight--sixteen stone at least--would be much more likely
+to sink him into it.
+
+As I approached the neighborhood of Djerkin on the Dovre Fjeld, famous
+as a central station for hunting expeditions, I met several English
+sportsmen armed with rifles, double-barreled guns, pistols, and other
+deadly weapons, on their way to the defiles of the adjacent mountains
+in search of the black bears which are said to infest that region. One
+of these enthusiastic gentlemen was seated in a cariole, and traveled
+for some distance in front of me. Taking into view the rotundity of
+his person, which overhung the little vehicle on every side, I could
+not but picture to myself the extraordinary spectacle that would be
+presented to any observant eye in case this ponderous individual
+should suddenly come in contact with one of those ferocious animals.
+
+ [Illustration: ENGLISH SPORTSMAN.]
+
+Here you have him, just as he sat before me--a back view, to be sure,
+but the only one I could get in the emergency of the moment. It will
+be easy to imagine, from the dexterous grace of his figure, how he
+will bound over the rocks, climb up the rugged points of the
+precipices, hang by the roots and branches of trees, dodge the attacks
+of the enemy, crawl through the brush, and, in the event of an
+unfavorable turn in the battle, retreat to some position of security.
+
+No man can be blamed for running when he is sure to be worsted in an
+encounter of this kind. Many a brave Californian has taken to his
+heels when pursued by a grizzly, and I have scarcely a doubt that I
+would pursue the same course myself under similar circumstances. Only
+it must look a little ludicrous to see a fat Englishman, a
+representative of the British Lion, forced to adopt this mortifying
+alternative rather than suffer himself to be torn into beefsteaks. It
+may be, however, that in this instance our Nimrod has suddenly
+discovered that it is about dinner-time, and is hurrying back to camp
+lest the beef should be overdone.
+
+ [Illustration: BEAR CHASE.]
+
+These bear-hunting Englishmen take care to have as many chances on
+their own side as possible. Hence they usually go into the mountains
+well provided with guides, ammunition, provisions, etc., and prepare
+the way by first securing the bear in some favored locality. This is
+done by killing a calf or hog, and placing the carcass in the required
+position. A hired attendant lies in wait until he discovers the bear,
+when he comes down to the station or camp, and notifies the hunter
+that it is time to start out. Thus the risk of life is greatly
+reduced, and the prospect of securing some game proportionally
+augmented. The black bears of Norway are not very dangerous, however,
+and, hunted in this manner, it requires no great skill to kill them.
+They are generally to be found in the higher mountains and defiles, a
+few miles from some farming settlement. In winter, when their
+customary food is scarce, they often commit serious depredations upon
+the stock of the farmers. Every facility is freely afforded by the
+peasants for their destruction, and every bear killed is considered so
+many cattle saved.
+
+ [Illustration: PEASANT WOMEN AT WORK.]
+
+It was late in the afternoon when I descended a rocky and pine-covered
+hill, and came in sight of the station called Djerkin, celebrated as
+one of the best in the interior of Norway. This place is kept by an
+old Norwegian peasant family of considerable wealth, and is a favorite
+resort of English sportsmen bound on fishing and hunting excursions
+throughout the wilds of the Dovre Fjeld. The main buildings and
+outhouses are numerous and substantial, and stand on the slope of the
+hill which forms the highest point of the Fjeld on the road from
+Christiania to Trondhjem. The appearance of this isolated group of
+buildings on the broad and barren face of the hill had much in it to
+remind me of some of the old missionary establishments in California;
+and the resemblance was increased by the scattered herds of cattle
+browsing upon the parched and barren slopes of the Fjeld, which in
+this vicinity are as much like the old ranch lands of San Diego County
+as one region of country wholly different in climate can be like
+another. A few cultivated patches of ground near the station, upon
+which the peasants were at work gathering in the scanty harvest,
+showed that even in this rigorous region the attempts at agriculture
+were not altogether unsuccessful. As usual, the principal burden of
+labor seemed to fall upon the women, who were digging, hoeing, and
+raking with a lusty will that would have done credit to the men.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+WOMEN IN NORWAY AND GERMANY.
+
+
+I must say that of all the customs prevailing in the different parts
+of Europe, not excepting the most civilized states of Germany, this
+one of making the women do all the heavy work strikes me as the
+nearest approximation to the perfection of domestic discipline. The
+Diggers of California and the Kaffres of Africa understand this thing
+exactly, and no man of any spirit belonging to those tribes would any
+more think of performing the drudgery which he imposes upon his wife
+and daughters than a German or Norwegian. What is the use of having
+wives and children if they don't relieve us of our heavy work? In that
+respect we Americans are very much behind the times. We pay such
+absurd devotion to the weakness of woman that they rule us with a
+despotism unknown in any other country. Their smiles are threats, and
+their tears are despotic manifestoes, against which the bravest of us
+dare not rebel. It is absolutely horrible to think of the condition of
+servitude in which we are placed by the extraordinary powers vested
+in, and so relentlessly exercised by, the women of America. I, for
+one, am in favor of a revival of the old laws of Nuremberg, by which
+female tyranny was punished. By a decree of the famous Council of
+Eight, any woman convicted of beating her husband or otherwise
+maltreating him was forced to wear a dragon's head for the period of
+three days; and if she did not, at the expiration of that date, ask
+his pardon, she was compelled to undergo a regimen of bread and water
+for the space of three weeks, or until effectually reduced to
+submission. Something must be done, or we shall be compelled sooner or
+later to adopt a clause in the Constitution prohibiting from admission
+the State of Matrimony. What would the ladies do then? I think that
+would bring them to their senses.
+
+Not only in the matter of domestic discipline, but of business and
+pleasure, are the people of Europe infinitely ahead of us. In France
+many of the railway stations are attended by female clerks, and in
+Germany the beer-saloons are ornamented by pretty girls, who carry
+around the foaming schoppens, having a spare smile and a joke for
+every customer. Of opera-singers, dancers, and female fiddlers, the
+most famous are produced in Europe. The wheeling girls of Hamburg, who
+roll after the omnibuses in circus fashion, are the only specimens in
+the line of popular attractions that I have not yet seen in the
+streets or public resorts of New York.
+
+ [Illustration: WHEELING GIRLS.]
+
+What would be thought of half a dozen of these street acrobats
+rolling down Broadway or the Fifth Avenue? Doubtless they would
+attract considerable attention, and probably turn many a good penny. I
+fancy the Bowery boys would enjoy this sort of thing. A pretty girl of
+sixteen or seventeen, with her crinoline securely bundled up between
+her ankles, wheeling merrily along after an omnibus at the rate of
+five miles an hour, would be an attractive as well as extraordinary
+spectacle. For my part, I would greatly prefer it to our best female
+lectures on phrenology or physiology. I think a girl who can roll in
+that way must be possessed of uncommon genius. The wheeling boys of
+London are but clumsy spectacle compared with this. No man of
+sensibility can witness such a sight without regarding it as the very
+poetry of motion.
+
+But this digression has led me a little out of the way. I was on the
+road to Djerkin. A sharp pull of half a mile up the hill brought me to
+the door of the station, where I was kindly greeted by the family.
+Descending from my cariole a little stiff after the last long stage, I
+entered the general sitting-room, where there was a goodly assemblage
+of customers smoking and drinking, and otherwise enjoying themselves.
+The landlady, however, would not permit me to stop in such rude
+quarters, but hurried me at once into the fine room of the
+establishment. While she was preparing a venison steak and some
+coffee, I took a survey of the room, which was certainly ornamented in
+a very artistical manner. The sofa was covered with little scraps of
+white net-work; the bureau was dotted all over with little angels made
+of gauze, highly-colored pin-cushions, and fanciful paper boxes and
+card-stands. The walls were decorated with paintings of cows, stags,
+rocks, waterfalls, and other animals, and gems of Norwegian scenery,
+the productions of the genius of the family--the oldest son, a Justice
+of the Peace for the District, now absent on business at Christiania.
+They were very tolerably executed. The old lady was so proud of them
+that she took care to call my attention to their merits immediately
+upon entering the room, informing me, with much warmth of manner, that
+her son was a highly respectable man, of wonderful talents, who had
+held the honorable position of Justice of the Peace for the past ten
+years, and that there was something in my face that reminded her of
+her dear boy. In fact, she thought our features bore a striking
+resemblance--only Hansen had rather a more melancholy expression, his
+wife having unfortunately died about three years ago (here the poor
+old lady heaved a profound sigh). But I could judge for myself. There
+was his portrait, painted by a German artist who spent some months at
+this place last summer. I looked at the portrait with some curiosity.
+It was that of a man about forty years of age, with a black skull-cap
+on his head, a long queue behind, and a pair of spectacles on his
+nose--his face very thin and of a cadaverous expression; just such a
+man as you would expect to find upon a justice's bench of a country
+district in Norway. Was it possible I bore any resemblance to this
+learned man? The very idea was so startling, not to say flattering,
+that I could hardly preserve my composure. I mumbled over something to
+the effect that it was a good face--for scenic purposes; but every
+time I tried to acknowledge the likeness to myself the words stuck in
+my throat. Finally, I was forced to ask the landlady if she would be
+so kind as to bring me a glass of brandy-wine, for I was afraid she
+would discover the internal convulsions which threatened every moment
+to rend my ribs asunder. While she was looking after the brandy-wine I
+made a hasty copy of the portrait, and I now leave it to the impartial
+reader to decide upon the supposed resemblance. It may be like me, but
+I confess the fact never would have impressed itself upon my mind from
+any personal observation of my own countenance taken in front of a
+looking-glass.
+
+ [Illustration: JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.]
+
+There was something so genial and cozy about the inn at Djerkin that I
+partially resolved to stop all night. At dinner-time the landlord made
+his appearance steaming hot from the kitchen. I no longer hesitated
+about staying. I am a great believer in the physiognomy of inns as
+well as of landlords. Traveling through a wild country like Norway,
+where there is little beyond the scenery to attract attention, the
+unpretending stations by the wayside assume a degree of importance
+equaled only by the largest cities in other countries. The approach,
+the aspect of the place, the physiognomy of the house, become matters
+of the deepest interest to the solitary wayfarer, who clings to these
+episodes in the day's journey as the connecting links that bind him to
+the great family of man. I claim to be able to tell from the general
+expression of an inn, commencing at the chimney-top and ending at the
+steps of the front door, exactly what sort of cheer is to be had
+within--whether the family are happily bound together in bonds of
+affection; how often the landlord indulges in a bout of hard drinking;
+and the state of control under which he is kept by the female head of
+the establishment; nay, I can almost guess, from the general aspect of
+the house, the exact weight and digestive capacity of mine host; for
+if the inn promise well for the creature comforts, so will the
+inn-keeper. And what can be more cheering to a tired wayfarer than to
+be met at the door by a jolly red-faced old fellow--
+
+ "His fair round belly with fat capon lined"--
+
+beefsteaks in the expression of his eye; his bald pate the fac-simile
+of a rump of mutton; plum-puddings and apple-dumplings in every curve
+of his chin; his body the living embodiment of a cask of beer
+supported by two pipes of generous wine; the whole man overflowing
+with rich juices and essences, gravies, and strong drinks--a
+breathing incarnation of all the good things of life, whom to look
+upon is to feel good-natured and happy in the present, and hopeful for
+the future; such a man, in short, as mine host of the Golden Crown,
+whose portrait I have endeavored to present.
+
+ [Illustration: MODEL LANDLORD.]
+
+If there be any likeness between myself and the son, it certainly does
+not extend to the father. He carries in his hands a steaming hot
+plum-pudding; he is a model landlord, and delights in feeding his
+customers. His voice is greasy like his face. When he laughs it is
+from his capacious stomach the sounds come. His best jokes are based
+upon his digestive organs. He gets a little boozy toward evening, but
+that is merely a hospitable habit of his to prove that his liquors are
+good. You commit yourself at once to his keeping with a delightful
+consciousness that in his hands you are safe. He is not a man to
+suffer an honest customer to starve. Nature, in her prodigality,
+formed him upon a generous pattern. Whatever does other people good
+likewise does him good. May he live a thousand years--mine host of the
+Golden Crown!--and may his shadow never be less!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+DOWN THE DRIVSDAL.
+
+
+The next morning I proceeded on my way, resolved, if ever I came this
+route again, to spend a week at Djerkin. A withered old man
+accompanied me on the back of the cariole. After half an hour's hard
+climbing up a very steep hill we reached the highest point of the
+Dovre Fjeld, 4594 feet above the level of the sea. From this point the
+view is exceedingly weird and desolate. Owing to the weather, however,
+which was dark and threatening, I did not stop long to enjoy the view
+of the barren wastes that lay behind, but was soon dashing at a
+slapping pace down into the valley of the Drivsdal--one of the most
+rugged and picturesque in Norway.
+
+ [Illustration: DRIVSDAL VALLEY.]
+
+My journey down the valley of the Drivsdal was both pleasant and
+interesting. A beautiful new road commences at Kongsvold, the last
+station on the Dovre Fjeld, after passing Djerkin, and follows the
+winding of the river through the narrow gorges of the mountains all
+the way to Ny Orne. On each side towering and pine-covered mountains
+rear their rugged crests, sometimes approaching so close to the river
+as to overhang the road, which for miles on a stretch is hewn from the
+solid rock.
+
+The innumerable clefts and fissures that mark the rugged fronts of the
+cliffs; the overhanging trees and shrubbery; the toppling boulders of
+granite, balanced in mid-air; the rushing torrents that dash from the
+moss-covered rocks; the seething and foaming waters of the Driv,
+whirling through the narrow gorges hundreds of feet below the road;
+the bright blue sky overhead, and the fitful gleams of sunshine
+darting through the masses of pine and circling into innumerable
+rainbows in the spray of the river, all combine to form a scene of
+incomparable beauty and grandeur such as I have rarely seen equaled in
+any part of the world, and only surpassed by the Siskiyon Mountains in
+the northern part of California.
+
+About midway down the valley, after passing the settlement of Rise, I
+stopped to examine a curious passage of the river in the neighborhood
+of the Drivstuklere, where it dashes down between two solid walls of
+rocks, which at this point approach so as to form a passage of not
+more than fifteen feet in width. Securing my cariole horse to a tree
+by the side of the road, I descended a steep bank under the guidance
+of my skydskaarl, a bright little fellow about ten years of age, who
+first called my attention to this remarkable phenomenon. I was soon
+compelled to follow his example, and crawl over the rocks like a
+caterpillar to avoid falling into the frightful abyss below. For a
+distance of fifty or sixty yards, the river, compressed within a limit
+of fifteen feet, dashes with fearful velocity through its rugged and
+tortuous boundaries, filling the air with spray, and making an angry
+moan, as if threatening momentarily to tear the rocks from their solid
+beds, and sweep them, into the broad and sullen pool below.
+
+The trembling of the massive boulder upon which I lay outstretched
+peering into the raging abyss, the fierce surging of the waters, the
+whirling clouds of spray, and gorgeous prismatic colors that flashed
+through them, created an impression that the whole was some wild, mad
+freak of the elements, gotten up to furnish the traveler with a
+startling idea of the wonders and beauties of Norwegian scenery.
+
+ [Illustration: PASSAGE ON THE DRIV.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+A NORWEGIAN HORSE-JOCKEY.
+
+
+Late one evening I arrived at a lonely little station by the wayside,
+not far beyond the valley of the Drivsdal. I was cold and hungry, and
+well disposed to enjoy whatever good cheer the honest people who kept
+the inn might have in store for me. The house and outbuildings were
+such as belong to an ordinary farming establishment, and did not
+promise much in the way of entertainment. Upon entering the rustic
+doorway I was kindly greeted by the host--a simple, good-natured
+looking man--who, as usual, showed me into the best room. Now I am not
+aware of any thing in my appearance that entitles me to this
+distinction, but it has generally been my fate, in this sort of
+travel, to be set apart and isolated from the common herd in the fancy
+room of the establishment, which I have always found to be
+correspondingly the coldest and most uncomfortable. It is a great
+annoyance in Norway to be treated as a gentleman. The commonest lout
+can enjoy the cozy glow and social gossip of the kitchen or ordinary
+sitting-room, but the traveler whom these good people would honor must
+sit shivering and alone in some great barn of a room because it
+contains a sofa, a bureau, a looking-glass, a few mantle-piece
+ornaments, and an occasional picture of the king or some member of the
+royal family. I have walked up and down these dismal chambers for
+hours at a time, staring at the daubs on the walls, and picking up
+little odds and ends of ornaments, and gazing vacantly at them, till I
+felt a numbness steal all over me, accompanied by a vague presentiment
+that I was imprisoned for life. The progress of time is a matter of no
+importance in Norway. To an American, accustomed to see every thing
+done with energy and promptness, it is absolutely astounding--the
+indifference of these people to the waste of hours. They seem to be
+forever asleep, or doing something that bears no possible reference to
+their ostensible business. If you are hungry and want something to eat
+in a few minutes, the probability is you will be left alone in the
+fine room for several hours, at the expiration of which you discover
+that the inn-keeper is out in the stable feeding his horses, his wife
+in the back yard looking after the chickens, and his children sitting
+at a table in the kitchen devouring a dish of porridge. Upon
+expressing your astonishment that nothing is ready, the good man of
+the house says "Ja! it will be ready directly, min Herr!" and if you
+are lucky it comes in another hour--a cup of coffee and some bread
+perhaps, which you could just as well have had in ten minutes.
+Patience may be a virtue in other countries, but it is an absolute
+necessity in Norway. I believe, after the few weeks' experience I had
+on the road to Trondhjem, I could without difficulty sit upon a
+monument and smile at grief.
+
+ [Illustration: THE PRIZE.]
+
+Perceiving through the cracks of the door that there was a good fire
+in the kitchen, and hearing the cheerful voices of the man and his
+wife, varied by the merry whistle my skydskaarl, I made bold to go in
+and ask leave to stand by the fire. The good people seemed a little
+astonished at first that a person of quality like myself should prefer
+the kitchen to the fine room with the sofa and bureau, the
+mantle-piece ornaments and pictures of the royal family; but, by dint
+of good-humored gossip about the horses, and an extravagant compliment
+thrown in about the beauty of the landlady's children--for which I
+hope to be pardoned--I secured a comfortable seat by the fire, and was
+soon quite at home. The great open fireplace, the blazing pine logs,
+the well-smoked hobs, the simmering pots and steaming kettles, had
+something indescribably cheerful about them; and lighting my pipe, I
+puffed away cozily during the pauses in the conversation, having a
+delightful consciousness that nature had peculiarly adapted me for the
+vulgar enjoyments of life, and that every thing approaching the
+refinements of civilization was a great bore. It was doubtless this
+taint of the savage in my disposition that made me look with such
+horror upon neat rooms and civilized furniture, and fall back with
+such zest upon the primitive comforts of savage life. When I told the
+people of the house that I was all the way from California--that I had
+come expressly to see their country--there was no end to the interest
+and excitement. "Dear me!" they cried, "and you have traveled a long
+way! You must be very tired! And you must be very rich to travel so
+far! Ah Gott--how wonderful!" "Did you come all the way in a cariole?"
+inquired the simple-minded host. "No; I came part of the way by sea,
+in a great ship." "How wonderful!" "And what sort of horses had they
+in California?" I told some tough stories about the mustang horses, in
+which the landlord was profoundly interested, for I soon discovered
+that horses were his great hobby. Whatever we talked of, he invariably
+came back to horse-flesh. His head was overrunning with horses. I
+praised his cariole horses, and he was enchanted. He gave me the
+pedigree of every horse in his stable, scarcely a word of which I
+understood, and then wound up by telling me he was considered the best
+judge of horses in all Norway. I did not think there was much in his
+appearance indicative of the shrewd horse-jockey, but was soon
+convinced of his shrewdness, for he informed me confidentially he had
+drawn the great prize at the last annual horse-fair at Christiania,
+and if I didn't believe it he would show it to me! I tried to make him
+understand that I had no doubt at all what he said was strictly true;
+but, not satisfied at this expression of faith in his word, he went to
+a big wooden chest in the corner and took out a bag of money, which he
+placed upon the middle of the table with a proud smile of triumph.
+"That," said he, "is the prize! A hundred and fifty silver
+dollars--_silver_, mind you--all SILVER!" But perhaps I didn't
+believe it was a prize? Well, he would convince me of that. So he left
+the bag of money on the table and went into a back room to get the
+certificate of the society, in which it was all duly written out, with
+his name in large letters, the paper being neatly framed in a carved
+frame, the work of his own hands. There it was; I could read for
+myself! I tried to read it to oblige him, and as I blundered over the
+words he took it into his head that I was still incredulous. "Nai!
+nai!" said he, "you shall see the money! You shall count it for
+yourself!" In vain I strove to convince him that I was entirely
+satisfied on the subject--that he must not go to so much trouble on my
+account. "Nai! nai!" cried the enthusiastic dealer in horse-flesh, "it
+is no trouble. You shall see the money WITH YOUR OWN EYES!" And
+forthwith he untied the string of the bag, and poured out the shining
+dollars in a pile on the middle of the table. His good wife stood by,
+professing to smile, but I suspected, from the watchful expression of
+her eye, that she did not feel quite at ease. The skydskaarl leaned
+over with a general expression of the most profound astonishment and
+admiration. "See!" cried the old man; "this is the prize--every dollar
+of it. But you must count it--I'll help you--so!" As there was no
+getting over the task imposed upon me without hurting his feelings, I
+had to sit down and help to count the money--no very pleasant job for
+a hungry man. After summing up our respective piles, there appeared to
+be only a hundred and forty-nine dollars--just a dollar short. "Lieb
+Gott!" cried the man, "there must be a mistake! Let us count it
+again!" I felt that there was a necessity for counting it very
+carefully this time, for the landlady's eye was on me with a very
+searching expression. "Een, to, tre, five, fem, sex," and so on for
+nearly half an hour, when we summed up our counts again. This time it
+was only a hundred and forty-eight dollars--just two dollars short!
+The old man scratched his head and looked bewildered. The landlady
+moved about nervously, and stared very hard at me. It was getting to
+be rather an embarrassing affair. I blamed myself for being so
+foolishly drawn into it. Wishing to know if there really was a
+mistake, I begged my host to let me count it alone, which I did by
+making fifteen piles of ten dollars each, carefully counting every
+pile. It was all right; the whole amount was there, a hundred and
+fifty dollars. "All right!" said I, much relieved; "don't you see,
+every pile is exactly the same height!" "Ja! Ja!" said the man; "but I
+don't understand it. Here, wife, you and I must count it!" So the wife
+sat down, and they both began counting the money, varying every time
+they compared notes from two to ten dollars. Once they had it a
+hundred and sixty dollars. "The devil is in the money!" exclaimed the
+horse-dealer; "I'm certain I counted right." "And so am I!" said the
+woman; "I can not be mistaken. It is you who have made the mistake.
+You always were a stupid old fool about money!" This she said with
+some degree of asperity, for she was evidently displeased at the whole
+proceeding. "A fool, eh? A fool!" muttered the old man; "you do well
+to call me a fool before strangers!" "Ja, that's the way! I always
+told you so!" screamed the woman, in rising tones of anger; "you'll
+lose all your money yet!" "Lose it!" retorted the man; "don't you see
+I have made ten dollars by counting it to-night! There! count it
+yourself, and hold your peace, woman!" Here the wife, suppressing her
+wrath, made a careful and deliberate count, which resulted in the
+exact sum of a hundred and fifty dollars! I was much relieved; but by
+this time the old man, unable to bear the torrent of reproaches heaped
+upon him by his good wife for his stupidity, swore she must have made
+a mistake. He was sure he had counted a hundred and sixty; therefore
+he would count it again, all alone, which he proceeded to do, very
+slowly and cautiously. This time the result was a hundred and
+fifty-five dollars. "The devil's in it!" cried the astonished dealer;
+"there's some magic about it! I don't understand it. I must count it
+again!" The woman, however, being satisfied that it was all right, I
+now thought it best to return to my seat by the fire, where she soon
+began to busy herself preparing the supper, turning round now and then
+of course to let off a broadside at her old man. She took occasion to
+inform me, during the progress of her culinary labors, that he was a
+very good sort of man, but was somewhat addicted to brandy-wine, of
+which he had partaken a little too freely on the present occasion. I
+must excuse him. She would send him to bed presently. And now, if I
+pleased, supper was ready.
+
+I could not help thinking, as I lay in bed that night, how lucky it
+was for these simple-minded people that they lived in the interior of
+Norway. Even in California, where public and private integrity is the
+prevailing trait of the people, it would hardly be considered safe to
+pull out a bag of money at a wayside inn and show it to every passing
+stranger. I have known men there in high public positions whom I would
+scarcely like to tempt in that way, especially if there was money
+enough in the bag to make robbery respectable.
+
+All along the route during the next day the scenery was a continued
+feast of enjoyment. In looking back over it now, however, after the
+lapse of several months, it would be difficult to recall any thing
+beyond its general features--pine-covered mountains, green valleys,
+dark rocky glens, foaming torrents of water, and groups of farm-houses
+by the wayside. At Bjerkager I reached the first of the
+"slow-stations;" that is to say, the established post-houses, where a
+margin of three hours is allowed for a change of horses. I had
+supposed that in a country, and on a public route, where during the
+summer there must be considerable travel, it would hardly be possible
+that so long a delay could take place; but in this I was mistaken. The
+slow-stations are emphatically slow; the keepers are slow, the horses
+are slow, the whole concern is slow. From Bjerkager to Garlid, and
+from Garlid to Hov, including all delays, a distance of three hours
+and a half ordinary time, it took me all day. No entreaties, no offers
+of extra compensation, no expressions of impatience produced the
+slightest effect. The people at these places were not to be hurried.
+Kind and good-natured as they were in appearance and expression, I
+found them the most bull-headed and intractable race of beings on the
+face of the earth.
+
+I was particularly struck with the depressing lethargy that hung over
+a wretched little place called Soknaes, which I made out to reach the
+next morning. A dead silence reigned over the miserable huddle of
+buildings by the roadside. The houses looked green and mildewed. A few
+forlorn chickens in the stable-yard, and a half-starved dog crouching
+under the door-steps, too poor to bark and too lazy to move, were the
+only signs of life that greeted me as I approached. I knocked at the
+door, but no answer was made to the summons. Not a living soul was to
+be seen around the place. I attempted to whistle and shout. Still the
+terrible silence remained unbroken save by the dismal echoes of my own
+melancholy music. At length I went to a rickety shed under which some
+carts were drawn up for shelter from the weather. In one of the carts,
+half-covered in a bundle of straw, was a bundle of clothes. It moved
+as I drew near; it thrust a boot out over the tail-board; it shook
+itself; it emitted a curious sound between a grunt and a yawn; it
+raised itself up and shook off a portion of the straw; it thrust a red
+night-cap out of the mass of shapeless rubbish; the night-cap
+contained a head and a matted shock of hair; there was a withered,
+old-fashioned little face on the front part of the head, underneath
+the shock of hair, which opened its mouth and eyes, and gazed at me
+vacantly; it was an old man or a boy, I could not tell which till it
+spoke, when I discovered that it was something between the two, and
+was the skydskaarl or hostler of this remarkable establishment. He
+rubbed his eyes and stared again. "Hello!" said I. He grunted out
+something. "Heste og Cariole!" said I. "Ja! Ja!" grunted the hostler,
+and then he began to get out of the cart. I suppose he creaked, though
+I do not pretend that the sounds were audible. First one leg came out;
+slowly it was followed by the other. When they both got to the ground,
+he pushed his body gradually over the tail-board, and in about five
+minutes was standing before me.
+
+"A horse and cariole," said I; "let me have them quick!"
+
+"Ja! Ja!"
+
+"_Strax!_" [directly!] said I.
+
+"Ja! Ja!"
+
+"How long will it be?"
+
+"Ach!"--here he yawned.
+
+"An hour?"
+
+"Ja! Ja!"
+
+"Two hours?"
+
+"Ja! Ja!"
+
+"Three hours?"
+
+"Ja! Ja!"
+
+"Sacramento! I can't stand that, I must have one
+STRAX--directly--forstoede?"
+
+"Ja! Ja!" and the fellow rubbed his eyes and yawned again.
+
+"Look here! my friend," said I, "if you'll get me a horse and cariole
+in half an hour, I'll give you two marks extra--forstoe?"
+
+"Ja! Ja! twa mark" (still yawning).
+
+"Half an hour, mind you!"
+
+"_Tre time_--three hours!" grunted the incorrigible dunderhead.
+
+"Then good-by--I must travel on foot!" and, with rage and indignation
+depicted in every feature, I flung my knapsack over my shoulder and
+made a feint to start.
+
+"Adieu! farvel!" said the sleepy lout, good-naturedly holding out his
+hand to give me a parting shake. "Farvel, min Herr! May your journey
+be pleasant! God take care of you!"
+
+The perfect sincerity of the fellow completely dissipated my rage,
+and, giving him a friendly shake, I proceeded on my way. As I turned
+the corner of the main building and struck into the road, I cast a
+look back. He was still standing by the cart, yawning and rubbing his
+eyes as before. That man would make money in California--if money
+could be made by a bet on laziness. He is lazier than the old Dutch
+skipper who was too lazy to go below, and gave orders to the man at
+the helm to follow the sun so as to keep him in the shade of the
+main-sail, by reason of which he sailed round the horizon till his
+tobacco gave out, and he had to return home for a fresh supply. I call
+that a strong case of laziness, but scarcely stronger than the
+traveler meets with every day in Norway.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+OUT OF MONEY.
+
+
+I now began to enjoy the real pleasures of Norwegian travel. No longer
+compelled to endure the vexatious delays to which I had lately been
+subject, I bowled along the road, with my knapsack on my back, at the
+rate of four miles an hour, whistling merrily from sheer exuberance of
+health and lack of thought. The weather was charming. A bright sun
+shed its warm rays over hill and dale; the air was fresh and
+invigorating; the richest tints adorned the whole face of the country,
+which from Soknaes to Trondhjem gradually increases in fertility and
+breadth of outline, till it becomes almost unrivaled in the profusion
+of its pastoral beauties. Nothing can surpass the gorgeous splendor of
+the autumnal sunsets in this part of Norway. At an earlier period of
+the year there is perpetual daylight for several weeks, and for three
+days the sun does not descend below the horizon. The light, however,
+is too strong during that period to produce the rich and glowing tints
+which cover the sky and mountain-tops at a later season of the year. I
+was fortunate in being just in time to enjoy the full measure of its
+beauties, and surely it is not too much to say that such an experience
+is of itself worth a trip to Norway. I shall not attempt a description
+of Norwegian skies, however, after the glowing picture of the North
+Cape at midnight drawn by the pen of my friend Bayard Taylor, the most
+faithful and enthusiastic of all the travelers who have given their
+experience of this interesting region.
+
+ [Illustration: TRAVELING ON FOOT.]
+
+Keeping along the banks of the Gula, the road winds around the sides
+of the hills, sometimes crossing open valleys, and occasionally
+penetrating the shady recesses of the pine forests, till it diverges
+from the river at Meelhus. Soon after leaving this station the views
+from the higher points over which the road passes are of great beauty
+and extent, embracing a glimpse, from time to time, of the great
+Trondhjem Fjord.
+
+Night overtook me at the pretty little station of Esp. Next morning I
+was up bright and early, and, after a cup of coffee and some rolls,
+shouldered my knapsack and pushed on to Trondhjem.
+
+Finding my purse growing lighter every day, I was compelled at this
+point to cut short my intended journey to the North Cape, and take the
+first steamer down the coast for Christiansund and Hamburg.
+
+Arrived once more at the family head-quarters in
+Frankfort-on-the-Main, I spent a few months writing up the loose
+material I had thus gathered, and making foot-tours through the
+Odenwald, the Spessart, and the Schwartzwald. But I was not satisfied
+with what I had seen of the North. There was still a wild region, far
+beyond any explorations I had yet made, which constantly loomed up in
+my imagination--the chaotic land of frost and fire, where dwelt in
+ancient times the mighty Thor, the mystic deity of the Scandinavians.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+ICELANDIC TRAVEL.
+
+
+Not many years have passed since it was considered something of an
+achievement to visit Iceland. The traveler who had the hardihood to
+penetrate the chilly fogs of the North, and journey by the compass
+through a region of everlasting snows and desolating fires, could well
+afford to stay at home during the remainder of his life, satisfied
+with the reputation generally accorded him by his fellow-men. It was
+something to have plunged into rivers of unknown depth, and traversed
+treacherous bogs and desert fjelds of lava--something to be able to
+speak knowingly of the learned Sagas, and verify the wonders of the
+Burned Njal.
+
+An isolated spot of earth, bordering on the Arctic Circle, and cut off
+by icebergs and frozen seas from all intercourse with the civilized
+world during half the year, once the seat of an enlightened republic,
+and still inhabited by the descendants of men who had worshiped Odin
+and Thor, must surely have presented rare attractions to the
+enterprising traveler before it became a beaten track for modern
+tourists. A simple narrative of facts was then sufficient to enlist
+attention. Even the unlearned adventurer could obtain a reputation by
+an unvarnished recital of what he saw and heard. He could describe the
+Logberg upon which the republican Parliament held its sittings, and
+attest from personal observation that this was the exact spot where
+judgments were pronounced by the _Thing_. He could speak familiarly of
+heathen gods and vikings after a brief intercourse with the
+inhabitants, who are still tinctured with the spirit of their early
+civilization. He could tell of frightful volcanoes, that fill the air
+with clouds of ashes, and desolate the earth with burning floods of
+lava, and of scalding hot water shot up out of subterranean boilers,
+and gaping fissures that emit sulphurous vapors, and strange sounds
+heard beneath the earth's surface, and all the marvelous experiences
+of Icelandic travel, including ghosts and hobgoblins that ramble over
+the icy wastes by night, and hide themselves in gloomy caverns by
+day--these he could dwell upon in earnest and homely language with the
+pleasing certainty of an appreciative audience. But times have sadly
+changed within the past few years. A trip to Iceland nowadays is
+little more than a pleasant summer excursion, brought within the
+capacity of every tyro in travel through the leveling agency of steam.
+When a Parisian lady of rank visits Spitzbergen, and makes the
+overland journey from the North Cape to the Gulf of Bothnia, of what
+avail is it for any gentleman of elegant leisure to leave his
+comfortable fireside? We tourists who are ambitious to see the world
+in an easy way need but sit in our cushioned chair, cosily smoking our
+cigar, while some enterprising lady puts a girdle round about the
+earth; for we may depend upon it she will reappear ere leviathan can
+swim a league, and present us with a bouquet of wonderful
+experiences, neatly pressed between the pages of an entertaining
+volume. The icebergs of the Arctic, the bananas of the tropics, the
+camels of the East, the buffaloes of the West, and the cannibals of
+the South, are equally at our service. We can hold the mountains,
+rivers, seas, and human races between our finger and thumb, and thus,
+as we gently dally with care, we may see the wonders of the world as
+in a pleasant dream. Thus may we enjoy the perils and hardships of
+travel at a very small sacrifice of personal comfort.
+
+ [Illustration: THE GREAT GEYSER.]
+
+It was somewhat in this style that I reasoned when the idea occurred
+to me of making a trip to Iceland. From all accounts it was a very
+uncomfortable country, deficient in roads, destitute of hotels, and
+subject to various eccentricities of climate. Neither fame nor money
+was to be gained by such a trip--unless, indeed, I succeeded in
+catching the great auk, for which, it is said, the directors of the
+British Museum have offered a reward of a hundred pounds. This was a
+chance, to be sure. I might possibly be able to get hold of the auk,
+and thereby secure money enough to pay expenses, and make certain a
+niche in the temple of fame. It would be something to rank with the
+great men who had devoted their lives to the pursuit of the dodo and
+the roc. But there was a deplorable lack of information about the
+haunts and habits of the auk. I was not even satisfied of its
+existence, by the fact that two Englishmen visited Iceland a few years
+ago for the purpose of securing a specimen of this wonderful bird,
+and, after six weeks of unavailing search, wrote a book to prove that
+there was still reason to hope for success.
+
+Upon the whole, I thought it would not do to depend upon the auk.
+There was but one opening left--to visit Iceland, sketch-book in hand,
+and faithfully do what others had left undone--make accurate sketches
+of the mountains, rivers, lava-fjelds, geysers, people, and costumes.
+In nothing is Iceland so deficient as in pictorial representation. It
+has been very minutely surveyed by the Danes, and Olsen has left
+nothing to wish for in the way of topographical delineation, but
+artists do not seem to have found it an attractive field for the
+exercise of their talent. At least I could obtain no good pictures of
+Iceland in Copenhagen. The few indifferent sketches published there,
+and in the journals of late English and German tourists, afford no
+adequate idea of the country. I have seen nothing of the kind any
+where that impressed my mind with the slightest notion of that land of
+fire, or the spirit and genius of Icelandic life. It would therefore
+be some gain to the cause of knowledge if I could present to five
+hundred thousand of my fellow-citizens, who do their traveling through
+these illuminated pages, a reasonably fair delineation of the country
+and the people, with such simple record of my own experiences as would
+render the sketches generally intelligible.
+
+So one fine morning in May I shouldered my knapsack, and bade a
+temporary adieu to my friends in Frankfort. By night I was in Hamburg.
+The next day was agreeably spent in rambling about the gardens across
+the Alster Basin, and at 5 P.M. I left Altona for Kiel, a journey of
+three hours by rail across a flat and not very interesting tract of
+country within the limits of Schleswig-Holstein. From Kiel a steamer
+leaves for Korsor, on the island of Zealand, the terminus of the
+Copenhagen Railway. This is the most direct route between Hamburg and
+Copenhagen, though the trip may be very pleasantly varied by taking a
+steamer to Taars, and passing by diligence through the islands of
+Lalland, Falster, and Moen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.
+
+
+A few days after my arrival in Copenhagen I had the pleasure of making
+the acquaintance of Professor Andersen, of the Scandinavian Museum, a
+native Icelander, who very kindly showed me the chief objects of
+curiosity obtained from the Danish possessions in the North,
+consisting mostly of fish and geological specimens. The Minister of
+the Judiciary obligingly gave me a letter to the governor and
+principal amtmen of Iceland, and many other gentlemen of influence
+manifested the most friendly interest in my proposed undertaking. I
+was especially indebted to Captain Sodring, late owner of the _Fox_,
+of Arctic celebrity, for much valuable information respecting the
+Northern seas, as well as for his cordial hospitality and
+indefatigable efforts to make my sojourn in Copenhagen both agreeable
+and profitable. Indeed, I was delighted with the place and the people.
+The Danes are exceedingly genial in their manners, distinguished alike
+for their simplicity and intelligence. There is no trouble to which
+they will not put themselves to oblige a stranger. In my rambles
+through the public libraries and museums I was always accompanied by
+some professor attached to the institution, who took the greatest
+pains to explain every thing, and impress me with a favorable idea of
+the value of the collection. This was not a mere formal matter of
+duty; many of them spent hours and even days in the performance of
+their friendly labors, omitting nothing that might contribute to my
+enjoyment as a stranger. The visitor who can not spend his time
+agreeably in such society, surrounded by such institutions as
+Thorwaldsen's Museum and the National Collection of Scandinavian
+Antiquities, must be difficult to please indeed. The Tivoli or the
+Dyrhave, an evening at Fredericksberg, or a trip to "Hamlet's Grave"
+at Elsineur, would surely fill the measure of his contentment. Whether
+in the way of beautiful gardens, public amusements, charming
+excursions, or agreeable and intelligent society, I know of no
+European capital that can surpass Copenhagen. Our excellent minister,
+Mr. Wood, with whom I had the pleasure of spending an evening at
+Elsineur, speaks in the most complimentary terms of the Danes and
+their customs, and expresses some surprise, considering the general
+increase of European travel from our country, that so few American
+tourists visit Denmark.
+
+I could not do myself the injustice to leave Copenhagen without
+forming the personal acquaintance of a man to whom a debt of gratitude
+is due by the young and the old in all countries--the ramblers in
+fairy-land, the lovers of romance, and the friends of humanity--all
+who can feel the divine influence of genius, and learn, through the
+teachings of a kindly heart, that the inhabitants of earth are
+
+ "Kindred by one holy tie"--
+
+the quaint, pathetic, genial Hans Christian Andersen. Not wishing to
+impose any obligation of courtesy on him by a letter of introduction
+or the obliging services of my Danish friends, I called at his house
+unattended, and merely sent in my name and address. Unfortunately he
+was out taking his morning walk, and would not be back till the
+afternoon. By calling at three o'clock, the servant said, I would be
+very likely to find him at home. I then added to my card the simple
+fact that I was an American traveler on my way to Iceland for the
+purpose of making some sketches of the country, and would take the
+liberty of calling at the appointed hour. It may be a matter of
+interest to an American reader to have some idea of the peculiar
+neighborhood and style of house in which a great Danish author has
+chosen to take up his abode. The city of Copenhagen, it should be
+borne in mind, is intersected by canals which, during the summer
+months, are crowded with small trading vessels from Sweden and
+Jutland, and fishing-smacks from the neighboring islands and coast of
+Norway. The wharves bordering on these canals present an exceedingly
+animated appearance. Peasants, sailors, traders, and fishermen, in
+every variety of costume, are gathered in groups, enjoying a social
+gossip, or interchanging their various products and wares, and
+strawberries from Amak and fish from the Skager-Rack mingle their
+odors. In the second story of a dingy and dilapidated house, fronting
+one of these unsavory canals, a confused pile of dirty, shambling old
+tenements in the rear, and a curious medley of fish and fishermen,
+sloops and schooners, mud-scows and skiffs in front, lives the
+world-renowned author, Hans Christian Andersen. I say he lives there,
+but, properly speaking, he only lodges. It seems to be a peculiarity
+of his nature to move about from time to time into all the queer and
+uninviting places possible to be discovered within the limits of
+Copenhagen--not where
+
+ "The mantling vine
+ Lays forth her grape and gently creeps
+ Luxuriant,"
+
+but where the roughest, noisiest, busiest, and fishiest of an
+amphibious population is to be found. Here it is, apparently amid the
+most incongruous elements, that he draws from all around him the most
+delicate traits of human nature, and matures for the great outer world
+the most exquisite creations of his fancy. It is purely a labor of
+love in which he spends his life. The products of his pen have
+furnished him with ample means to live in elegant style, surrounded by
+all the allurements of rank and fashion, but he prefers the obscurity
+of a plain lodging amid the haunts of those classes whose lives and
+pursuits he so well portrays. Here he cordially receives all who call
+upon him, and they are not few. Pilgrims of every condition in life
+and from all nations do homage to his genius, yet, valuable as his
+time is, he finds enough to spare for the kindly reception of his
+visitors. His only household companions appear to be two old peasant
+women, whom he employs as domestics; weather-beaten and decrepit old
+creatures, with faces and forms very much like a pair of antiquated
+nut-crackers. He occupies only two or three rooms plainly furnished,
+and apparently lives in the simplest and most abstemious style.
+
+When I called according to directions, one of the ancient nut-crackers
+merely pointed to the door, and said she thought Herr Andersen was in,
+but didn't know. I could knock there and try; so I knocked. Presently
+I heard a rapid step, and the door was thrown open. Before me stood
+the tall, thin, shambling, raw-boned figure of a man a little beyond
+the prime of life, but not yet old, with a pair of dancing gray eyes
+and a hatchet-face, all alive with twists, and wrinkles, and muscles;
+a long, lean face, upon which stood out prominently a great nose,
+diverted by a freak of nature a little to one side, and flanked by a
+tremendous pair of cheek-bones, with great hollows underneath.
+Innumerable ridges and furrows swept semicircularly downward around
+the corners of a great mouth--a broad, deep, rugged fissure across the
+face, that might have been mistaken for the dreadful child-trap of an
+ogre but for the sunny beams of benevolence that lurked around the
+lips, and the genial humanity that glimmered from every nook and turn.
+Neither mustache nor beard obscured the strong individuality of this
+remarkable face, which for the most part was of a dull granite color,
+a little mixed with limestone and spotted with patches of porphyry. A
+dented gutta-percha forehead, very prominent about the brows, and
+somewhat resembling in its general topography a raised map of
+Switzerland, sloped upward and backward to the top of the head; not a
+very large head, but wonderfully bumped and battered by the operations
+of the brain, and partially covered by a mop of dark wavy hair, a
+little thin in front and somewhat grizzled behind; a long, bony pair
+of arms, with long hands on them; a long, lank body, with a long black
+coat on it; a long, loose pair of legs, with long boots on the feet,
+all in motion at the same time--all shining, and wriggling, and
+working with an indescribable vitality, a voice bubbling up from the
+vast depths below with cheery, spasmodic, and unintelligible words of
+welcome--this was the wonderful man that stood before me, the great
+Danish improvisator, the lover of little children, the gentle Caliban
+who dwells among fairies and holds sweet converse with fishes, and
+frogs, and beetles! I would have picked him out from among a thousand
+men at the first glance as a candidate for Congress, or the
+proprietor of a tavern, if I had met him any where in the United
+States. But the resemblance was only momentary. In the quaint
+awkwardness of his gestures and the simplicity of his speech there was
+a certain refinement not usually found among men of that class.
+Something in the spontaneous and almost childlike cordiality of his
+greeting; the unworldly impulsiveness of his nature, as he grasped
+both my hands in his, patted me affectionately on the shoulder, and
+bade me welcome, convinced me in a moment that this was no other, and
+could be no other, than Hans Christian Andersen.
+
+"Come in! come in!" he said, in a gush of broken English; "come in and
+sit down. You are very welcome. Thank you--thank you very much. I am
+very glad to see you. It is a rare thing to meet a traveler all the
+way from California--quite a surprise. Sit down! Thank you!"
+
+And then followed a variety of friendly compliments and remarks about
+the Americans. He liked them; he was sorry they were so unfortunate as
+to be engaged in a civil war, but hoped it would soon be over. Did I
+speak French? he asked, after a pause. Not very well. Or German? Still
+worse, was my answer. "What a pity!" he exclaimed; "it must trouble
+you to understand my English, I speak it so badly. It is only within a
+few years that I have learned to speak it at all." Of course I
+complimented him upon his English, which was really better than I had
+been led to expect. "Can you understand it?" he asked, looking
+earnestly in my face. "Certainly," I answered, "almost every word."
+"Oh, thank you--thank you. You are very good," he cried, grasping me
+by the hand. "I am very much obliged to you for understanding me." I
+naturally thanked him for being obliged to me, and we shook hands
+cordially, and mutually thanked one another over again for being so
+amiable. The conversation, if such it could be called, flew from
+subject to subject with a rapidity that almost took my breath away.
+The great improvisator dashed recklessly into every thing that he
+thought would be interesting to an American traveler, but with the
+difficulty of his utterance in English, and the absence of any
+knowledge on his part of my name or history, it was evident he was a
+little embarrassed in what way to oblige me most; and the trouble on
+my side was, that I was too busy listening to find time for talking.
+
+"Dear! dear! And you are going to Iceland!" he continued. "A long way
+from California! I would like to visit America, but it is very
+dangerous to travel by sea. A vessel was burned up not long since, and
+many of my friends were lost. It was a dreadful affair."
+
+From this he diverged to a trip he then had in contemplation through
+Switzerland and Spain. He was sitting for his statuette, which he
+desired to leave as a memento to his friends prior to his departure. A
+young Danish sculptor was making it. Would I like to see it? and
+forthwith I was introduced to the young Danish sculptor. The likeness
+was very good, and my comments upon it elicited many additional thanks
+and several squeezes of the hand--it was so kind of me to be pleased
+with it! "He is a young student," said Andersen, approvingly; "a very
+good young man. I want to encourage him. He will be a great artist
+some day or other."
+
+Talking of likenesses reminded me of a photograph which I had
+purchased a few days before, and to which I now asked the addition of
+an autograph.
+
+ [Illustration: [Signature: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN]]
+
+"Oh, you have a libel on me here!" cried the poet, laughing
+joyously--"a very bad likeness. Wait! I have several much better; here
+they are--" And he rushed into the next room, tumbled over a lot of
+papers, and ransacked a number of drawers till he found the desired
+package--"here's a dozen of them; take your choice; help yourself--as
+many as you please!" While looking over the collection, I said the
+likeness of one who had done so much to promote the happiness of some
+little friends I had at home would be valued beyond measure; that I
+knew at least half a dozen youngsters who were as well acquainted with
+the "Little Match Girl," and the "Ugly Duck," and the "Poor Idiot
+Boy," as he was himself, and his name was as familiar in California as
+it was in Denmark. At this he grasped both my hands, and looking
+straight in my face with a kind of ecstatic expression, said, "Oh, is
+it possible? Do they really read my books in California? so far away!
+Oh! I thank you very much. Some of my stories, I am aware, have been
+published in New York, but I did not think they had found their way to
+the Pacific Coast. Dear me! Thank you! thank you! Have you seen my
+last--the--what do you call it in English?--a little animal--"
+
+"Mouse," I suggested.
+
+"No, not a mouse; a little animal with wings."
+
+"Oh, a bat!"
+
+"Nay, nay, a little animal with wings and many legs. Dear me! I forget
+the name in English, but you certainly know it in America--a very
+small animal!"
+
+In vain I tried to make a selection from all the little animals of my
+acquaintance with wings and many legs. The case was getting both
+embarrassing and vexatious. At length a light broke upon me.
+
+"A musquito!" I exclaimed, triumphantly.
+
+"Nay, nay!" cried the bothered poet; "a little animal with a hard skin
+on its back. Dear me, I can't remember the name!"
+
+"Oh, I have it now," said I, really desirous of relieving his mind--"a
+flea!"
+
+At this the great improvisator scratched his head, looked at the
+ceiling and then at the floor, after which he took several rapid
+strides up and down the room, and struck himself repeatedly on the
+forehead. Suddenly grasping up a pen, he exclaimed, somewhat
+energetically, "Here! I'll draw it for you;" and forthwith he drew on
+a scrap of paper a diagram, of which the accompanying engraving is a
+fac-simile.
+
+ [Illustration]
+
+"A tumble-bug!" I shouted, astonished at my former stupidity.
+
+The poet looked puzzled and distressed. Evidently I had not yet
+succeeded. What could it be?
+
+"A beetle!" I next ventured to suggest, rather disappointed at the
+result of my previous guess.
+
+"A beetle! A beetle!--that's it; now I remember--a beetle!" and the
+delighted author of "The Beetle" patted me approvingly on the back,
+and chuckled gleefully at his own adroit method of explanation. "I'll
+give you 'The Beetle,'" he said; "you shall have the only copy in my
+possession. But you don't read Danish! What are we to do? There is a
+partial translation in French--a mere notice."
+
+"No matter," I answered. "A specimen of the Danish language will be
+very acceptable, and the book will be a pleasant souvenir of my
+visit."
+
+He then darted into the next room, tumbled over a dozen piles of
+books, then out again, ransacked the desks, and drawers, and heaps of
+old papers and rubbish, talking all the time in his joyous, cheery way
+about his books and his travels in Jutland, and his visit to Charles
+Dickens, and his intended journey through Spain, and his delight at
+meeting a traveler all the way from California, and whatever else came
+into his head--all in such mixed-up broken English that the meaning
+must have been utterly lost but for the wonderful expressiveness of
+his face and the striking oddity of his motions. It came to me
+mesmerically. He seemed like one who glowed all over with bright and
+happy thoughts, which permeated all around him with a new
+intelligence. His presence shed a light upon others like the rays that
+beamed from the eyes of "Little Sunshine." The book was found at last,
+and when he had written his name in it, with a friendly inscription,
+and pressed both my hands on the gift, and patted me once more on the
+shoulder, and promised to call at Frankfort on his return from
+Switzerland to see his little friends who knew all about the "Ugly
+Duck" and the "Little Match Girl," I took my leave, more delighted, if
+possible, with the author than I had ever before been with his books.
+Such a man, the brightest, happiest, simplest, most genial of human
+beings, is Hans Christian Andersen.
+
+The steamer _Arcturus_ was advertised to sail for Reykjavik on the 4th
+of June, so it behooved me to be laying in some sort of an outfit for
+the voyage during the few days that intervened. A knapsack, containing
+a change of linen and my sketching materials, was all I possessed.
+This would have been sufficient but for the probability of rain and
+cold weather. I wanted a sailor's monkey-jacket and an overall. My
+friend Captain Sodring would not hear of my buying any thing in that
+way. He had enough on hand from his old whaling voyages, he said, to
+fit out a dozen men of my pattern. Just come up to the house and take
+a look at them, and if there wasn't too much oil on them, I was
+welcome to the whole lot; but the oil, he thought, would be an
+advantage--it would keep out the water. In vain I protested--it was no
+use--the captain was an old whaler, and so was I, and when two old
+whalers met, it was a pity if they couldn't act like shipmates on the
+voyage of life. There was no resisting this appeal, so I agreed to
+accept the old clothes. When we arrived at the captain's house he
+disappeared in the garret, but presently returned bearing a terrific
+pile of rubbish on his shoulders, and accompanied by a stout
+servant-girl also heavily laden with marine curiosities. There were
+sou'westers, and tarpaulins, and skull-caps; frieze jackets, and
+overalls, and hickory shirts; tarpaulin coats, and heavy sea-boots,
+and duck blouses with old bunches of oakum sticking out of the
+pockets; there were coils of rope-yarn well tarred, and jack-knives in
+leather cases, still black with whale-gurry: and a few telescopes and
+log-glasses. "Take 'em all," said the captain. "They smell a little
+fishy, but no matter. It's all the better for a voyage to Iceland.
+You'll be used to the smell before you get to Reykjavik; and it's
+wholesome--very wholesome! Nothing makes a man so fat." I made a small
+selection--a rough jacket and a few other essential articles.
+"Nonsense, man!" roared the captain, "take 'em all! You'll find them
+useful; and if you don't, you can heave them overboard or give them to
+the sailors." And thus was I fitted out for the voyage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+VOYAGE TO SCOTLAND.
+
+
+The _Arcturus_ is a small screw steamer owned by Messrs. Koch and
+Henderson, and now some six years on the route between Copenhagen and
+Reykjavik. The Danish government pays them an annual sum for carrying
+the mails, and they control a considerable trade in fish and wool.
+This vessel makes six trips every year, touching at a port in Scotland
+both on the outer and return voyage. At first she made Leith her
+stopping-place; but, owing to superior facilities for her business at
+Grangemouth, she now stops at that port. The cost of passage is
+extremely moderate--only 45 Danish dollars, about $28 American, living
+on board 75 cents a day, and a small fee to the steward, making for
+the voyage out or back, which usually occupies about eleven days,
+inclusive of stoppages, something less than $40. I mention this for
+the benefit of my friends at home, who may think proper to make a very
+interesting trip at a very small expense; though, as will hereafter
+appear, the most considerable part of the expenditure occurs in
+Iceland. Captain Andersen (they are all Andersens, or Jonasens, or
+Hansens, or Petersens in Denmark), a very active and obliging little
+Dane, commands the _Arcturus_. He speaks English fluently, and is an
+experienced seaman; and if the tourist is not unusually fastidious
+about accommodations, there will be no difficulty in making an
+agreeable voyage. I found every thing on board excellent; the fare
+abundant and wholesome, and the sleeping-quarters not more like
+coffins than they usually are on board small steamers. A few inches
+cut off the passengers' legs or added to the length of the berths, and
+a few extra handspikes in the lee scuppers to steady the vessel, would
+be an improvement; but then one can't have every thing to suit him.
+Some grumbling took place, to be sure, after our departure from
+Scotland. A young Scotchman wanted a berth for a big dog in the same
+cabin with the rest of his friends, which the captain would not
+permit; an Englishman was disgusted with the "beastly fare;" and an
+old Danish merchant would persist in shaving himself at the public
+table every day--all of which caused an under-current of
+dissatisfaction during the early part of the voyage. Sea-sickness,
+however, put an end to it before long, and things went on all right
+after that.
+
+But I must not anticipate my narrative. The scene upon leaving the
+wharf at Copenhagen was amusing and characteristic. For some hours
+before our departure the decks were crowded with the friends of the
+passengers. Every person had to kiss and hug every other person, and
+shake hands, and laugh and cry a little, and then hug and kiss again,
+without regard to age and not much distinction of sex. Some natural
+tears, of course, must always be shed on occasions of this kind. It
+was rather a melancholy reflection, as I stood aloof looking on at all
+these demonstrations of affection, that there was nobody present to
+grieve over my departure--not even a lapdog to bestow upon me a
+parting kiss. Waving of handkerchiefs, messages to friends in Iceland,
+and parting benedictions, took place long before we left the wharf. At
+length the last bells were rung, the lingering loved ones were handed
+ashore, and the inexorable voice of the captain was heard ordering the
+sailors to cast loose the ropes. We were fairly off for Iceland!
+
+In a few hours we passed, near Elsineur, the fine old Castle of
+Kronberg, built in the time of Tycho Brahe, once the prison of the
+unfortunate Caroline Matilda, queen of Christian VII., and in the
+great vaults of which it is said the Danish Roland, Holger Dansk,
+still lives, his long white beard grown fast to a stone table. We were
+soon out of the Sound, plowing our way toward the famous Skager-Rack.
+The weather had been showery and threatening for some time. It now
+began to rain and blow in good earnest.
+
+We had on board only thirteen passengers, chiefly Danes and
+Icelanders. Among them was a newly-appointed amtman for the district
+of Reykjaness, with a very accomplished young wife. He was going to
+spend the honey-moon amid the glaciers and lava-fjelds of Iceland. It
+seemed a dreary prospect for so young and tender a bride, but she was
+cheerful and happy, except when the inevitable hour of sea-sickness
+came. Love, I suppose, can make the wilderness blossom as the rose,
+and shed a warmth over ice-covered mountains and a pleasant verdure
+over deserts of lava. A very agreeable and intelligent young man, Mr.
+Jonasen, son of the governor, was also on board. I saw but little of
+him during the passage--only his head over the side of his berth; but
+I heard from him frequently after the weather became rough. If there
+was any inside left in that young man by the time we arrived at
+Reykjavik, it must have been badly strained. As a son of Iona he
+completely reversed the scriptural order of things; for, instead of
+being swallowed by a great fish, and remaining in the belly thereof
+three days and nights, he swallowed numerous sprats and sardines
+himself, yet would never allow them internal accommodations for the
+space of three minutes. My room-mate was a young Icelandic student,
+who had been to the college at Copenhagen, and was now returning to
+his native land to die. There was something very sad in his case. He
+had left home a few years before with the brightest prospects of
+success. Ambitious and talented, he had devoted himself with unwearied
+assiduity to his studies, but the activity of his mind was too much
+for a naturally feeble constitution. Consumption set its seal upon
+him. Given up by the physicians in Copenhagen, he was returning to
+breathe his last in the arms of a loving mother.
+
+On the second morning after leaving the Sound we passed close along
+the Downs of Jutland, a barren shore, singularly diversified by great
+mounds of sand. The wind sweeping in from the ocean casts up the loose
+sands that lie upon this low peninsula, and drifts them against some
+bush or other obstacle sufficiently firm to form a nucleus. In the
+course of a few years, by constant accumulations, this becomes a vast
+mound, sometimes over a hundred feet high. Nearly the whole of
+Northern Jutland is diversified with sand-plains, heaths, and
+ever-changing mounds, among which wandering bands of gipsies still
+roam. The shores along the Skagen are surrounded by dangerous reefs of
+quicksand, stretching for many miles out into the ocean. Navigation at
+this point is very difficult, especially in the winter, when terrific
+gales prevail from the northwest. The numerous stakes, buoys, and
+other water-marks by which the channel is designated, the frequency of
+light-houses and signal telegraphs, and the wrecks that lie strewn
+along the beach, over which the surging foam breaks like a perpetual
+dirge, afford striking indication of the dangers to which mariners are
+subject in this wild region. Hans Christian Andersen, in one of his
+most delightful works, has thrown a romantic interest over the scenery
+of Jutland, giving a charm to its very desolation, and investing with
+all the beauty of a genial humanity the rude lives of the gipsies and
+fishermen who inhabit this wild region of drifting sands and wintry
+tempests. Steen Blicher has also cast over it the spell of his poetic
+genius; and Von Buch, in his graphic narrative, has given a memorable
+interest to its sea-girt shores, where "masts and skeletons of vessels
+stand like a range of palisades."
+
+During our passage through the Skager-Rack we passed innumerable
+fleets of fishing-smacks, and often encountered the diminutive skiffs
+of the fishermen, with two or three amphibious occupants, buffeting
+about among the waves many miles from the shore. The weather had been
+steadily growing worse ever since our departure from Copenhagen. As we
+entered the North Sea it began to blow fiercer than ever, and for two
+days we experienced all the discomforts of chopping seas that
+drenched our decks fore and aft, and chilling gales mingled with fogs
+and heavy rains. It was cold enough for midwinter, yet here we were on
+the verge of midsummer. Our little craft was rendered somewhat
+unmanageable by a deck-load of coal and a heavy cargo of freight, and
+there were periods when I would have thought myself fortunate in being
+once more off Cape Horn in the good ship _Pacific_. The amtman and his
+young bride spent this portion of their honey-moon performing a kind
+of duet that reminded me of my friend Ross Wallace's lines in
+"Perdita:"
+
+ "Like two sweet tunes that wandering met,
+ And so harmoniously they run,
+ The hearer deems they are but one."
+
+At least the harmony was perfect, whatever might be thought of the
+music in other respects. Young Jonasen swallowed a few more sardines
+about this period of the voyage, which he vainly attempted to secure
+by sudden and violent contractions of the diaphragm. In short, there
+were but two persons in the cabin besides Captain Andersen and myself
+who had the temerity to appear at table--one an old Danish merchant,
+who generally received advices, midway through the meal, requiring his
+immediate presence on deck; and the other a gentleman from Holstein,
+who always lost his appetite after the soup, and had to jump up and
+run to his state-room for exercise.
+
+In due time we sighted the shores of Scotland. A pilot came on board
+inside the Frith of Forth, and, as we steamed rapidly on our course,
+all the passengers forgot their afflictions, and gazed with delight on
+the sloping sward and woodland, the picturesque villages, and romantic
+old castles that decorate the shores of this magnificent sheet of
+water.
+
+Our destination was Grangemouth, where we arrived early on Sunday
+morning. A few sailors belonging to some vessels in the docks, a
+custom-house inspector, and three small boys, comprised the entire
+visible population of the place. Judging by the manner in which the
+Sabbath is kept in Scotland, the Scotch must be a profoundly moral
+people. The towns are like grave-yards, and the inhabitants bear a
+striking resemblance to sextons, or men who spend much of their lives
+in burying the dead.
+
+I was very anxious to get a newspaper containing the latest
+intelligence from America, but was informed that none could be had on
+Sunday. I wanted to go up to Edinburg: it was not possible on Sunday.
+I asked a man where could I get some cigars? he didna ken; it was
+Sunday. The depressed expression of the few people I met began to prey
+like a nightmare on my spirits. Doubtless it is a very good thing to
+pay a decent regard to the Sabbath, but can any body tell me where we
+are commanded to look gloomy? The contrast was certainly very striking
+between the Scotch and the Danes. Of course there is no such thing as
+drunkenness in Scotland, no assaults and batteries, no robberies and
+murders, no divorces, no cheating among the merchants of Glasgow or
+the bankers of Edinburg, no sympathizing with rebellion and the
+institution of slavery--for the Scotch are a sober and righteous
+people, much given to sackcloth and ashes, manufactures of iron, and
+societies for the insurance of property against fire.
+
+The _Arcturus_ was detained several days discharging and taking in
+freight. I availed myself of the first train to visit Edinburg. A day
+there, and an excursion to Glasgow and Loch Lomond, agreeably occupied
+the time. I must confess the scenery--beautiful as it is, and fraught
+with all the interest that history and genius can throw over
+it--disappointed me. It was not what I expected. It was a damp, moist,
+uncomfortable reality, as Mantalini would say--not very grand or
+striking in any respect. A subsequent excursion to the Trosachs, Loch
+Katrine, Loch Long, and the Clyde, afforded me a better opportunity of
+judging, yet it all seemed tame and commonplace compared with the
+scenery of California and Norway. If I enjoyed a fair specimen of the
+climate--rain, wind, and fog, varied by sickly gleams of sunshine--it
+strikes me it would be a congenial country for snails and frogs to
+reside in. The Highlands are like all other wild places within the
+limits of Europe, very gentle in their wildness compared with the
+rugged slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The Lady of the Lake must have
+possessed an uncommonly strong constitution, if she made her nocturnal
+excursions on Loch Katrine in a thin white robe without suffering any
+bad consequences, for I found a stout overcoat insufficient to keep
+the chilling mists of that region from seeking in my bones a suitable
+location for rheumatism.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+THE JOLLY BLOODS.
+
+
+I was quietly sitting in my state-room, awaiting the departure of the
+steamer, when a tremendous racket on the cabin steps, followed by a
+rush of feet up and down the saloon, startled me out of a pleasant
+home-dream.
+
+"Hello! What the devil! I say! Where's every body! Stoord! Blast the
+fellow! Here, Bowser! What'r ye abeaout! Ho there! Where the dooce are
+our berths? By Jove! Ha! ha! This is jolly!"
+
+Other voices joined in, with a general chorus of complaints and
+exclamations--"Egad! it's a _do_! No berths, no state-rooms! Ho,
+Stoord! Where's my trunk? I say, Stoord, where's my fishing-rod? Hey!
+hey! did you 'appen to see my overalls? I've lost my gun! 'Pon my
+word, this is a pretty do! Let's go see the Agent?" "Come on!
+Certainly!" "Oh, hang it, no!" "Oh yes!" "Here, Bowser! What the
+devil! Where's Bowser? Gone ashore, by Jove! A pretty kettle of fish!"
+Here there was a sudden and general stampede, and amid loud
+exclamations of "Beastly!" and "Disgusting!" the party left the
+cabin. I barely had time to see that it consisted of some four or five
+fashionable tourists--spirited young bloods of sporting proclivities,
+who had taken passage for Iceland. The prospect of having some company
+was pleasant enough, and from the specimen I had seen there could be
+no doubt it would be lively and entertaining.
+
+Once more during the night I was aroused by a repetition of the noises
+and exclamations already described. The steamer was moving off. The
+passengers were all on board. We were battering our way through the
+canal. Soon the heaving waters of the ocean began to subdue the
+enthusiasm of the sportsmen, and before morning my ears were saluted
+by sounds and observations of a very different character.
+
+I shall only add at present, in reference to this lively party of
+young "Britishers," that I found them very good fellows in their
+way--a little boisterous and inexperienced, but well-educated and
+intelligent. The young chap with the dog was what we would call in
+America a "regular bird." He and his dog afforded us infinite
+diversion during the whole passage--racing up and down the decks, into
+and out of the cabin, and all over each other. There was something so
+fresh and sprightly about the fellow, something so good-natured, that
+I could readily excuse his roughness of manner. One of the others, a
+quiet, scholastic-looking person, who did not really belong to the
+party, having only met them on board, was a young collegian well
+versed in Icelandic literature. He was going to Iceland to perfect
+himself in the language of the country, and make some translations of
+the learned Sagas.
+
+A favorable wind enabled us to sight the Orkneys on the afternoon
+following our departure from the Frith of Forth. Next day we passed
+the Shetlands, of which we had a good view. The rocky shores of these
+islands, all rugged and surf-beaten, with myriads of wild-fowl
+darkening the air around them, presented a most tempting field of
+exploration. I longed to take a ramble in the footsteps of Dr.
+Johnson; but to see the Shetlands would be to lose Iceland, and of the
+two I preferred seeing the latter. After a pleasant passage of two
+days and a half from Grangemouth we made the Faroe Islands, and had
+the good fortune to secure, without the usual loss of time occasioned
+by fogs, an anchorage in the harbor of Thorshavn.
+
+ [Illustration: A DANDY TOURIST.]
+
+ [Illustration: THORSHAVN.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+THE FAROE ISLANDS.
+
+
+The Faroe Islands lie about midway between Scotland and Iceland, and
+belong to Denmark. The whole group consists of thirty-five small
+islands, some of which are little more than naked rocks jutting up out
+of the sea. About twenty are inhabited. The rest are too barren and
+precipitous to afford a suitable place of abode even for the hardy
+Faroese. The entire population is estimated at something over six
+thousand, of which the greater part are shepherds, fishermen, and
+bird-catchers. Owing to the situation of these islands, surrounded by
+the open sea and within the influence of the Gulf Stream, the climate
+is very mild, although they lie in the sixty-second degree of north
+latitude. The winters are never severe, and frost and snow rarely last
+over two months. They are subject, however, at that season to frequent
+and terrible gales from the north, and during the summer are often
+inaccessible for days and even weeks, owing to dense fogs. The
+humidity of the climate is favorable to the growth of grass, which
+covers the hills with a brilliant coating of green wherever there is
+the least approach to soil; and where there is no soil, as in many
+places along the shores, the rocks are beautifully draped with moss
+and lichens. The highest point in the group is 2800 feet above the
+level of the sea, and the general aspect of them all is wild and
+rugged in the extreme. Prodigious cliffs, a thousand feet high, stand
+like a wall out of the sea on the southern side of the Stromoe. The
+Mygenaes-holm, a solitary rock, guards, like a sentinel, one of the
+passages, and forms a terrific precipice of 1500 feet on one side,
+against which the waves break with an everlasting roar. Here the
+solan-goose, the eider-duck, and innumerable varieties of gulls and
+other sea-fowl, build their nests and breed.
+
+ [Illustration: VIEW IN FAROE ISLANDS.]
+
+At certain seasons of the year the intrepid bird-hunters suspend
+themselves from the cliffs by means of ropes, and feather their own
+nests by robbing the nests of their neighbors. Enormous quantities of
+eggs are taken in this way. The eider-down, of which the nests of the
+eider-duck are composed, is one of the most profitable articles of
+Faroese traffic. The mode of life to which these men devote
+themselves, and their habitual contact with dangers, render them
+reckless, and many perish every year by falling from the rocks. Widows
+and orphans are numerous throughout the islands.
+
+The few scattering farms to be seen on the slopes of the hills and in
+the arable valleys are conducted on the most primitive principles. A
+small patch of potatoes and vegetables, and in certain exposures a few
+acres of grain, comprise the extent of their agricultural operations.
+Sheep-raising is the most profitable of their pursuits. The climate
+appears to be more congenial to the growth of wool than of cereal
+productions. The Faroese sheep are noted for the fineness and
+luxuriance of their fleece, and it always commands a high price in
+market. A considerable portion of it is manufactured by the
+inhabitants, who are quite skillful in weaving and knitting. They make
+a kind of thick woolen shirt, something like that known as the
+Guernsey, which for durability and warmth is unsurpassed. Sailors and
+fishermen all over the Northern seas consider themselves fortunate if
+they can get possession of a Faroese shirt. The costume of the men,
+which is chiefly home-made, consists of a rough, thick jacket of brown
+wool; a coarse woolen shirt; a knitted bag-shaped cap on the head; a
+pair of knee-breeches of the same material as the coat; a pair of
+thick woolen stockings, and sheepskin shoes, generally covered with
+mud--all of the same brown or rather burnt-umber color. Exposure to
+the weather gives their skins, naturally of a leathery texture,
+something of the same dull and dingy aspect, so that a genuine
+Faroese enjoys one advantage--he can never look much more dirty at one
+time than another.
+
+The women wear dresses of the same material, without much attempt at
+shape or ornament. A colored handkerchief tied around the head, a
+silver breast-pin, and a pair of ear-rings of domestic manufacture,
+comprise their only personal decorations. As in all countries where
+the burden of heavy labor is thrown upon the women, they lose their
+comely looks at an early age, and become withered, ill-shaped, and
+hard-featured long before they reach the prime of life. The Faroese
+women doubtless make excellent wives for lazy men; they do all the
+labors of the house, and share largely in those of the field. I do not
+know that they are more prolific than good and loving wives in other
+parts of the world, but they certainty enjoy the possession of as many
+little cotton-heads with dirty faces, turned up noses, ragged elbows,
+and tattered frocks, as one usually meets in the course of his
+travels. Two fair specimens of the rising generation, a little boy and
+girl, made an excellent speculation on the occasion of my visit to
+Thorshavn. Knowing by instinct, if not by my dress, that I was a
+stranger, they followed me about wherever I rambled, looking curiously
+and cautiously into my face, and mutually commenting upon the oddity
+of my appearance--which, by-the-way, would have been slightly odd even
+in the streets of New York, wrapped, as I was, in the voluminous folds
+of Captain Sodring's old whaling coat, with a sketch-book in my hand
+and a pair of spectacles on my nose. However, no man likes to be
+regarded as an object of curiosity even by two small ragamuffins
+belonging to a strange race, so I just held up suddenly, and requested
+these children of Faroe to state explicitly the grounds of their
+interest in my behalf. What they said in reply it would be impossible
+for me to translate, since the Faroese language is quite as
+impenetrable as the Icelandic. They looked so startled and alarmed
+withal that a gleam of pity must have manifested its appearance in
+the corner of my eyes. The next moment their faces broke into a broad
+grin, and each held out a hand audaciously, as much as to say, "My
+dear sir, if you'll put a small copper in this small hand, we'll
+retract all injurious criticisms, and ever after regard you as a
+gentleman of extraordinary personal beauty!" Somehow my hand slipped
+unconsciously into my pocket, but, before handing them the desired
+change, it occurred to me to secure their likenesses for publication
+as a warning to the children of all nations not to undertake a similar
+experiment with any hope of success.
+
+ [Illustration: FAROESE CHILDREN.]
+
+Thorshavn, so named after the old god Thor, is a small town of some
+five or six hundred inhabitants, situated on the southeastern side of
+the island of Stromoe. In front lies a harbor, indifferently protected
+by a small island and two rocky points. The anchorage is insecure at
+all times, especially during the prevalence of southerly and easterly
+gales, when it often becomes necessary to heave up and put to sea; and
+the dense fogs by which the approach to land is generally obscured
+render navigation about these islands extremely perilous. Of the town
+of Thorshavn little need be said. Its chief interest lies in the
+almost primeval construction of the houses and the rustic simplicity
+of its inhabitants. The few streets that run between the straggling
+lines of sheds and sod-covered huts scattered over the rocks are
+narrow and tortuous, winding up steep, stony precipices, and into
+deep, boggy hollows; around rugged points, and over scraggy mounds of
+gravel and grit. The public edifices, consisting of two or three small
+churches and the amtman's residence, are little better than
+martin-boxes. For some reason best known to the people in these
+Northern climes, they paint their houses black, except where the roofs
+are covered with sod, which nature paints green. I think it must be
+from some notion that it gives them a cheerful aspect, though the
+darkness of the paint and the chilly luxuriance of the green did not
+strike me with joyous impressions. If Scotland can claim some
+advantages as a place of residence for snails, Thorshavn must surely
+be a paradise for toads accustomed to feed upon the vapors of a
+dungeon. The wharves--loose masses of rock at the boat-landing--are
+singularly luxuriant in the article of fish. Prodigious piles of
+fish lie about in every direction. The shambling old store-houses are
+crammed with fish, and the heads of fish and the back-bones of fish
+lie bleaching on the rocks. The gravelly patches of beach are slimy
+with the entrails of fresh fish, and the air is foul with the odor of
+decayed fish. The boatmen that lounge about waiting for a job are
+saturated with fish inside and out--like their boats. The cats, crows,
+and ravens mingle in social harmony over the dreadful carnival of
+fish. In fine, the impression produced upon the stranger who lands for
+the first time is that he has accidentally turned up in some
+piscatorial hell, where the tortures of skinning, drying, and
+disemboweling are performed by the unrelenting hands of man.
+
+ [Illustration: FAROESE ISLANDERS.]
+
+In addition to the standing population of Thorshavn, the
+fortifications--an abandoned mud-bank, a flag-staff, and a board
+shanty--are subject, in times of great public peril, to be defended by
+a standing army and navy of twenty-four soldiers, one small boat, one
+corporal, and the governor of the islands, who takes the field himself
+at the head of this bloody phalanx of Danes still reeking with the
+gore of slaughtered fish. Upon the occasion of the arrival of the
+_Arcturus_--the only steamer that ever touches here--the principal
+amtman, upon perceiving the vessel in the distance, immediately
+proceeds to organize the army and navy for a grand display. First he
+shaves and puts on his uniform; then calling together the troops, who
+are also sailors, he carefully inspects them, and selecting from the
+number the darkest, dirtiest, and most bloody-looking, he causes them
+to buckle on their swords. This done, he delivers a brief address,
+recommending them to abstain from the use of schnapps and other
+intoxicating beverages till the departure of the steamer. The dignity
+of official position requires that he should remain on shore for the
+space of one hour after the dropping of the anchor. He then musters
+his forces, marches them down to his war-skiff, from the stern of
+which waves the Danish flag, and, placing an oar in the hands of each
+man, he gives the order to advance and board the steamer. On his
+arrival alongside he touches his cap to the passengers in a grave and
+dignified manner, and expresses a desire to see our commander, Captain
+Andersen, who, during this period of the ceremony, is down below,
+busily occupied in arranging the brandy and crackers. The appearance
+of Captain Andersen on deck is politely acknowledged by the amtman,
+who thereupon orders his men to pull alongside, when the two
+cabin-boys and the cook kindly assist him over the gangway. Descending
+into the cabin, he carefully examines the ship's papers, pronounces
+them all right, and joins Captain Andersen in a social "smile." Then,
+having delivered himself of the latest intelligence on the subject of
+wool and codfish, he returns to his boat and proceeds to his quarters
+on shore. All this is done with a quiet and dignified formality both
+pleasing and impressive.
+
+As an illustration of the severity of the laws that govern the Faroe
+Islands, and the upright and inexorable character of the governor and
+principal amtman, I must relate an incident that occurred under my own
+observation.
+
+Shortly after the _Arcturus_ had cast anchor, the party of British
+sportsmen already mentioned went ashore with their dogs and guns, and
+began an indiscriminate slaughter of all the game within two miles of
+Thorshavn, consisting of three plovers, a snipe, and some half a dozen
+sparrows. The captain had warned them that such a proceeding was
+contrary to law, and a citizen of Thorshavn had gently remonstrated
+with them as they passed through the town. When the slaughter
+commenced, the proprietors of the bog, in which the game abounded,
+rushed to the doors of their cabins to see what was going on, and
+perceiving that it was a party of Englishmen engaged in the
+destructive pastime of firing shotguns about and among the flocks of
+sheep that browsed on the premises, they straightway laid a complaint
+before the governor. The independent sons of Britain were not to be
+baffled of their sport in this manner. They cracked away as long as
+they pleased, by-Joved and blawsted the island for not having more
+game, and then came aboard. The steamer hove up anchor and sailed that
+night. Nothing farther took place to admonish us of the consequences
+of the trespass till our return from Iceland, when the principal
+amtman came on board with a formidable placard, neatly written, and
+translated into the three court languages of the place--Danish,
+French, and English. The contents of this document were as follows:
+that whereas, in the year 1763, a law had been passed for the
+protection of game on the Faroe Islands, which law had not since been
+rescinded; and whereas a subsequent law of 1786 had been passed for
+the protection of sheep and other stock ranging at large on the said
+islands, which law had not since been rescinded; and whereas it had
+been represented to the governor of the said islands that certain
+persons, supposed to be Englishmen, had lately come on shore, armed
+with shotguns, and, in violation of the said laws of the country, had
+shot at, maimed, and killed several birds, and caused serious
+apprehensions of injury to the flocks of sheep which were peaceably
+grazing on their respective ranges; now, therefore, this was earnestly
+to request that all such persons would reflect upon the penalties that
+would attach to similar acts in their own country, and be thus enabled
+to perceive the impropriety of pursuing such a course in other
+countries. Should they fail to observe the aforesaid laws after this
+warning, they would only have themselves to blame for the unpleasant
+consequences that must assuredly ensue, etc., etc. [Officially signed
+and sealed.]
+
+Great formality was observed in carrying this important document on
+board. It was neatly folded and carefully done up, with various seals
+and blue ribbons, in a package about six inches wide by eighteen in
+length, and was guarded by the select half of the Faroese army and
+navy, being exactly twelve men, and delivered by the amtman of the
+island with a few appropriate and impressive remarks, after which it
+was hung up over the cabin gangway by the captain as a solemn warning
+to all future passengers. There can be no doubt that it produced the
+most salutary effects upon the sporting gentlemen. I was really glad
+the affair had taken place, as it evidently afforded his excellency a
+favorable opportunity of promulgating a most excellent state paper,
+cautiously conceived and judiciously worded. The preparation of it
+must have occupied his time advantageously to himself and his country
+during the entire period of our absence.
+
+I must now turn back a little to say that, while my comrades were
+engaged in their unlawful work of killing the sparrows and frightening
+the sheep, I deemed it a matter of personal safety to keep out of
+range of their guns. Apart from the danger of arrest, the probable
+loss of an eye or disfigurement of some ornamental feature was a
+sufficient consideration to satisfy me of the policy of this course.
+
+Taking a path across the rugged desert of rocks and bogs, extending
+for some miles back of Thorshavn, I quickly began to ascend a barren
+range of hills, abounding in greenstone trap-rock and zoolites, from
+the summit of which there is a magnificent view of the whole
+surrounding country, with glimpses of the cloud-capped summits of the
+neighboring islands. Beautiful little valleys, dotted with the
+sod-covered huts of the shepherds and fishermen, sweep down to the
+water's edge a thousand feet below; weird black bogs, and fields of
+scoria and burned earth, lie on the slopes of the distant hills to the
+right; and to the left are rugged cliffs, jutting out of the sea like
+huge castles, around which myriads of birds continually hover,
+piercing the air with their wild screams. The wind blew in such fierce
+gusts over the bleak and desolate range of crags on which I stood that
+I was glad enough to seek shelter down on the leeside.
+
+It now occurred to me to go in search of a ruined church of which I
+had read in some traveler's journal said to be within four or five
+miles of Thorshavn. Some artificial piles of stones, near the ledge
+upon which I had descended, indicated the existence of a trail. On my
+way down, a legion of birds, about the size of puffins, began to
+gather around, with fierce cries and warning motions, as if determined
+to dispute my progress. They flew backward and forward within a few
+feet of my head, flapping their wings furiously, and uttering the most
+terrific cries of rage and alarm, so that I was sorely puzzled to know
+what was the matter. It was not long before I came upon some of their
+nests, which of course explained the difficulty. Having no immediate
+use for eggs or feathers, I left the nests unmolested and proceeded on
+my way. In about an hour I came suddenly upon a small green valley
+that lay some five hundred feet below, directly on the water's edge.
+By some mischance I had lost the trail, and, in order to descend, was
+obliged to slide and scramble down the cliffs--an experiment that I
+presently discovered would probably cost me a broken neck if persisted
+in; for when there seemed to be no farther obstruction, I came all at
+once upon a precipice at least sixty feet deep, without a single
+foothold or other means of descent than a clear jump to the bottom.
+Not disposed to follow the example of Sam Patch on dry land, I
+reluctantly turned back. By dint of scrambling and climbing, and
+slipping down various cliffs and slopes, I at length reached a point
+from which I had a view of some ruins and farm-houses still some
+distance below. Following the line of the regular trail till it struck
+into the cliffs, I had no farther difficulty in reaching the valley.
+
+The good people at the farm-house--a family by the name of
+Petersen--received me in the kindest manner, with many expressions of
+wonder at the risk I had run in crossing the mountain without a guide.
+It was with considerable difficulty we made ourselves understood. None
+of the family spoke any language except their own. The son, indeed, a
+fine young man of twenty, understood a few words of English, but that
+was all. There is something, nevertheless, in genuine kindness and
+hospitality that makes itself intelligible without the aid of language.
+I was immediately invited into the house, and while young Petersen
+entertained me with old prints and Faroese books, his mother prepared
+an excellent lunch. Tired and worried after my trip, I could offer no
+objection. Never shall I forget the coffee and cream, and the butter
+and bread, and delicate fruit-tarts placed on the nice white
+table-cloth by the good Mrs. Petersen. I ate and drank, and glowed all
+over with a childlike relish of the good things, while the whole family
+gathered round and tried to make me understand that they had a relative
+in California, who lived in the mines at a place called Six-mile-bar,
+and that they were glad to see a Californian, and wanted to know all
+about California. It is wonderful with how few words we can communicate
+our ideas when necessity compels us to depend upon our ingenuity.
+Before I had parted from that family the whole matter was perfectly
+explained; the history of their absent relative was quite clear to me,
+and they had a very fair conception of the kind of country in which he
+lived. Upon no consideration would they receive compensation for the
+lunch, and they even seemed offended when I endeavored to press it upon
+them. This, from people whom I had never seen before--a plain country
+family living in a wilderness where such luxuries as sugar and coffee
+could only be had at considerable expense--was absolutely refreshing.
+For the first time since my arrival in Europe, after having traversed
+the whole Continent, I had encountered a specimen of the human race
+capable of refusing money. Subsequently I learned that this was the
+common practice in the Faroe Islands. The poorest shepherd freely
+offers to the stranger the hospitality of his hut; and it is a creed
+among these worthy people not to accept pay for coffee and bread, or
+indeed any thing else they may have to offer in the way of
+entertainment. My fellow-passengers were similarly treated in
+Thorshavn, where visitors are more frequent and the customs of the
+country less primitive.
+
+ [Illustration: KIRK GOBOE.]
+
+The great object of interest at Kirk Goboe is the ancient church, from
+which the place derives its name; a long, low stone building,
+whitewashed and covered with a sod roof, but, owing to repeated
+repairs, now presenting no particular traces of antiquity, although
+reported to have been built in the eighth century. I have no data in
+reference to this interesting relic, and am not aware that
+antiquarians have ever attempted to trace out its origin. The
+probability is that it was built by some of those Culdee anchorites of
+whom Dasent speaks as the first settlers of Iceland.
+
+The interior of the church contains an altar, and some wooden carvings
+on the head-boards of the pews, evidently of great antiquity. It is
+impossible to conjecture from their appearance whether they are five
+hundred or a thousand years old--at least without more research than a
+casual tourist can bestow upon them.
+
+There is also within a few steps of the farm-house a much larger and
+more picturesque ruin of a church, built in a later style of
+architecture. The only information I could get about this ruin was
+that it dates back as far as the fifteenth century. The walls are of
+rough stone well put together, and now stand roofless and
+moss-covered, inhabited only by crows and swallows. The doors and
+windows are in the Gothic style. A sketch made from the door of the
+old church first mentioned, embracing the residence of the Petersen
+family, with a glimpse of the cliffs and rugged ledges behind upon
+which their flocks graze, will give the best idea of the whole
+premises.
+
+ [Illustration: FARM-HOUSE AND RUINS.]
+
+Having thus pleasantly occupied a few hours at Kirk Goboe, I bade
+adieu to the worthy family who had so hospitably entertained me, and
+was about to set out for Thorshavn, when young Petersen, not content
+with the directions he had given me, announced his intention of seeing
+me safe over the mountain. In vain I assured him that, however
+pleasant his company would be, I had no apprehension of losing the way
+this time. Go he would, and go he did; and when we parted on the top
+of the mountain, in plain sight of Thorshavn, he cordially shook me by
+the hand, and said many kind words, which I could only interpret to
+mean that he and all his kith and kin wished me a pleasant voyage to
+Iceland, and many years of health and happiness.
+
+When I now recall the fine, intelligent face of this young man, his
+bright dark eyes, healthy complexion, and strong, well-knit frame, the
+latent energy in all his movements, the genial simplicity of his
+manners, and his evident thirst for knowledge, I can not help feeling
+something akin to regret that so much good material should be wasted
+in the obscurity of a shepherd's life. So gifted by nature, what might
+not such a youth achieve in an appropriate sphere of action? And yet,
+perhaps, it is better for him that he should spend his life among the
+barren cliffs of Stromoe, with no more companions than his dog and his
+sheep, than jostle among men in the great outer world, to learn at
+last the bitter lesson that the eye is not satisfied with riches, nor
+the understanding with knowledge.
+
+On the way down to the Valley of Thorshavn I met a man mounted on a
+shaggy little monster, which in almost any other country would have
+been mistaken for a species of sheep. As this was a fair specimen of a
+Faroese horse and his rider, I sat down on a rock after they had
+passed and took the best view of them I could get.
+
+Late in the afternoon the scattered passengers were gathered together,
+and the good people of Thorshavn came down to the wharf to bid us
+farewell. In half an hour more we were all on board. "Up anchor!" was
+the order, and once more we went steaming on our way.
+
+Short as our sojourn had been among these primitive people, it
+furnished us with many pleasant reminiscences. Their genial
+hospitality and simple good-nature, together with their utter
+ignorance of the outer world, formed the theme of various amusing
+anecdotes during the remainder of the passage. Favored by a southerly
+wind and a stock of good coal, we made the southeastern point of
+Iceland in a little over two days from Thorshavn.
+
+ [Illustration: FAROESE ON HORSEBACK.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF ICELAND.
+
+
+It would be difficult to conceive any thing more impressive than this
+first view of the land of snow and fire. A low stretch of black boggy
+coast to the right; dark cliffs of lava in front; far in the
+background, range after range of bleak, snow-capped mountains, the
+fiery Jokuls dimly visible through drifting masses of fog; to the left
+a broken wall of red, black, and blue rocks, weird and surf-beaten,
+stretching as far as the eye could reach--this was Iceland! All along
+the grim rifted coast the dread marks of fire, and flood, and
+desolation were visible. Detached masses of lava, gnarled and scraggy
+like huge clinkers, seemed tossed out into the sea; towers,
+buttresses, and battlements, shaped by the very elements of
+destruction, reared their stern crests against the waves; glaciers lay
+glittering upon the blackened slopes behind; and foaming torrents of
+snow-water burst through the rifted crags in front, and mingled their
+rage with the wild rage of the surf--all was battle, and ruin, and
+desolation.
+
+As we approached the point called Portland, a colossal bridge opened
+into view, so symmetrical in its outline that it was difficult to
+believe it was not of artificial construction. The arch is about fifty
+feet high by thirty in width, and affords shelter to innumerable
+flocks of birds, whose nests are built in the crevices underneath.
+Solan-geese, eider-ducks, and sea-gulls cover the dizzy heights
+overhead, and whales have been known to pass through the passage
+below. Great numbers of blackfish and porpoises abound in this
+vicinity. From time to time, as we swept along on our way, we could
+discern a lonesome hut high up on the shore, with a few sheep and
+cattle on the slopes of the adjacent hills, but for the most part
+the coast was barren and desolate.
+
+ [Illustration: NATURAL BRIDGE.]
+
+Early on the following morning the sun-capped peaks of Mount Hecla
+were visible. There has been no eruption from this mountain since
+1845. The principal crater lies 5210 feet above the level of the sea,
+and is distant fifteen miles from the shore.
+
+Toward noon we made the Westmann Isles, a small rocky group some ten
+miles distant from the main island. A fishing and trading
+establishment, owned by a company of Danes, is located on one of these
+islands. The _Arcturus_ touches twice a year to deliver and receive a
+mail. On the occasion of our visit, a boat came out with a
+hardy-looking crew of Danes to receive the mail-bag. It was doubtless
+a matter of great rejoicing to them to obtain news from home. I had
+barely time to make a rough outline of the islands as we lay off the
+settlement.
+
+The chief interest attached to the Westmann group is, that it is
+supposed to have been visited by Columbus in 1477, fifteen years prior
+to his voyage of discovery to the shores of America. It is now
+generally conceded that the Icelanders were the original discoverers
+of the American continent. Recent antiquarian researches tend to
+establish the fact that they had advanced as far to the southward as
+Massachusetts in the tenth century. They held colonies on the coasts
+of Greenland and Labrador, and must have had frequent intercourse with
+the Indians farther south. Columbus in all probability obtained some
+valuable data from these hardy adventurers. The date of his visit to
+Iceland is well authenticated by Beamish, Rafn, and other eminent
+writers on the early discoveries of the Northmen.
+
+ [Illustration: COAST OF ICELAND.]
+
+Nothing could surpass the desolate grandeur of the coast as we
+approached the point of Reykjaness. It was of an almost infernal
+blackness. The whole country seemed uptorn, rifted, shattered, and
+scattered about in a vast chaos of ruin. Huge cliffs of lava split
+down to their bases toppled over the surf. Rocks of every
+conceivable shape, scorched and blasted with fire, wrested from the
+main and hurled into the sea, battled with the waves, their black
+scraggy points piercing the mist like giant hands upthrown to smite or
+sink in a fierce death-struggle. The wild havoc wrought in the
+conflict of elements was appalling. Birds screamed over the fearful
+wreck of matter. The surf from the inrolling waves broke against the
+charred and shattered desert of ruin with a terrific roar. Columns of
+spray shot up over the blackened fragments of lava, while in every
+opening the lashed waters, discolored by the collision, seethed and
+surged as in a huge caldron. Verily there is One whose "fury is poured
+out like fire; the rocks are thrown down by him; the mountains quake,
+and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence."
+
+ [Illustration: THE MEAL-SACK.]
+
+Passing a singular rock standing alone some twenty miles off the land,
+called the _Meal-sack_, we soon changed our course and bore up for the
+harbor of Reykjavik. By the time we reached the anchorage our voyage
+from Thorshavn had occupied exactly three days and six hours.
+
+Trusting that the reader will pardon me for the frequent delays to
+which I have subjected him since we joined our fortunes at Copenhagen,
+I shall now proceed to the important labors of the enterprise with
+this solemn understanding--that the journey before us is pretty rough,
+and the prospect is strong that, in our random dash at the wonders of
+Iceland, we will encounter some perilous adventures by flood and
+field; but if I don't carry him safely and satisfactorily through them
+all, he must console himself by the reflection that many a good man
+has been sacrificed in the pursuit of knowledge, and that he will
+suffer in excellent company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+REYKJAVIK, THE CAPITAL OF ICELAND.
+
+
+My first view of the capital of Iceland was through a chilling rain. A
+more desolate-looking place I had rarely if ever seen, though, like
+Don Quixote's market-woman on the ass, it was susceptible of
+improvement under the influence of an ardent imagination. As a subject
+for the pencil of an artist, it was at least peculiar, if not
+picturesque. A tourist whose glowing fancies had not been nipped in
+the bud by the vigors of an extended experience might have been able
+to invest it with certain weird charms, but to me it was only the
+fag-end of civilization, abounding in horrible odors of decayed polypi
+and dried fish. A cutting wind from the distant Jokuls and a searching
+rain did not tend to soften the natural asperities of its features. In
+no point of view did it impress me as a cheerful place of residence
+except for wild ducks and sea-gulls. The whole country for miles
+around is a black desert of bogs and lava. Scarcely an arable spot is
+to be seen save on the tops of the fishermen's huts, where the sod
+produces an abundance of grass and weeds. A dark gravelly slope in
+front of the town, dotted with boats, oars, nets, and piles of fish; a
+long row of shambling old store-houses built of wood, and painted a
+dismal black, varied by patches of dirty yellow; a general
+hodge-podge of frame shanties behind, constructed of old boards and
+patched up with drift-wood; a few straggling streets, paved with
+broken lava and reeking with offal from the doors of the houses; some
+dozens of idle citizens and drunken boatmen lounging around the
+grog-shops; a gang of women, brawny and weather-beaten, carrying loads
+of codfish down to the landing; a drove of shaggy little ponies, each
+tied to the tail of the pony in front; a pack of mangy dogs prowling
+about in dirty places looking for something to eat, and fighting when
+they got it--this was all I could see of Reykjavik, the famous
+Icelandic capital.
+
+ [Illustration: REYKJAVIK, THE CAPITAL OF ICELAND.]
+
+The town lies on a strip of land between the harbor and a lagoon in
+the rear. It is said to contain a population of two thousand, and if
+the dogs and fleas be taken into consideration, I have no doubt it
+does. Where two thousand human beings can stow themselves in a place
+containing but one hotel, and that a very poor one, is a matter of
+wonder to the stranger. The houses generally are but one story high,
+and seldom contain more than two or three rooms. Some half a dozen
+stores, it is true, of better appearance than the average, have been
+built by the Danish merchants within the past few years; and the
+residence of the governor and the public University are not without
+some pretensions to style.
+
+The only stone building in Reykjavik of any importance is the
+"Cathedral;" so called, perhaps, more in honor of its great antiquity
+than any thing imposing about its style or dimensions. At present it
+shows no indications of age, having been patched, plastered, and
+painted into quite a neat little church of modern appearance.
+
+ [Illustration: GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE, REYKJAVIK.]
+
+ [Illustration: ICELANDIC HOUSES.]
+
+At each end of the town is a small gathering of sod-covered huts,
+where the fishermen and their families live like rabbits in a burrow.
+That these poor people are not all devoured by snails or crippled with
+rheumatism is a marvel to any stranger who takes a peep into their
+filthy and cheerless little cabins. The oozy slime of fish and smoke
+mingles with the green mould of the rocks; barnacles cover the walls,
+and puddles make a soft carpeting for the floors. The earth is
+overhead, and their heads are under the earth, and the light of day
+has no light job of it to get in edgewise, through the windows. The
+beaver-huts and badger-holes of California, taking into consideration
+the difference of climate, are palatial residences compared with the
+dismal hovels of these Icelandic fishermen. At a short distance they
+look for all the world like mounds in a grave-yard. The inhabitants,
+worse off than the dead, are buried alive. No gardens, no cultivated
+patches, no attempt at any thing ornamental relieves the dreary
+monotony of the premises. Dark patches of lava, all littered with the
+heads and entrails of fish; a pile of turf from some neighboring bog;
+a rickety shed in which the fish are hung up to dry; a gang of
+wolfish-looking curs, horribly lean and voracious; a few prowling
+cats, and possibly a chicken deeply depressed in spirits--these are
+the most prominent objects visible in the vicinity. Sloth and filth go
+hand in hand.
+
+ [Illustration: CHURCH AT REYKJAVIK.]
+
+The women are really the only class of inhabitants, except the fleas,
+who possess any vitality. Rude, slatternly, and ignorant as they are,
+they still evince some sign of life and energy compared with the men.
+Overtaxed by domestic cares, they go down upon the wharves when a
+vessel comes in, and by hard labor earn enough to purchase a few rags
+of clothing for their children. The men are too lazy even to carry the
+fish out of their own boats. At home they lie about the doors, smoking
+and gossiping, and too often drunk. Some are too lazy to get drunk,
+and go to sleep over the effort. In truth, the prevailing indolence
+among all classes is so striking that one can almost imagine himself
+in a Southern clime. There is much about Reykjavik to remind a
+Californian traveler of San Diego. The drunken fellows about the
+stores, and the racing of horses up and down the streets, under the
+stimulus of liquor rather than natural energy, sometimes made me feel
+quite at home.
+
+ [Illustration: ICELANDERS AT WORK.]
+
+On the morning after my arrival I called to see my young friend
+Jonasen, the governor's son, and was most hospitably entertained by
+the family. I had a letter of introduction to the governor from the
+Minister of the Judiciary at Copenhagen, but thought it unnecessary to
+present it. His excellency is a good specimen of the better class of
+Icelanders--simple, kind-hearted, and polite. My casual acquaintance
+with his son was sufficient to enlist his warmest sympathies. I
+thought he would destroy his equilibrium as well as my own by
+repeatedly drinking my health and wishing me a hearty welcome to
+Iceland. He said he had never seen a Californian before, and seemed
+astonished to find that they had noses, mouths, ears, and skins like
+other people. In one respect he paid me a practical compliment that I
+have rarely enjoyed in the course of my travels--he spoke nearly as
+bad French as I did. Now I take it that a man who speaks bad French,
+after years of travel on the Continent of Europe, is worthy of some
+consideration. He is at least entitled to the distinction of having
+well preserved his nationality; and when any foreigner tries to speak
+it worse, but doesn't succeed, I can not but regard it as a tribute of
+respect.
+
+Young Jonasen, I was glad to see, had gotten over his struggle with
+the sardines, and was now in a fair way to enjoy life. His sister,
+Miss Jonasen, is a very charming young lady, well educated and
+intelligent. She speaks English quite fluently, and does the honors of
+the executive mansion with an easy grace scarcely to be expected in
+this remote part of the world. Both are natives of Iceland.
+
+I should be sorry to be understood as intimating, in my brief sketch
+of Reykjavik, that it is destitute of refined society. There are
+families of as cultivated manners here as in any other part of the
+world; and on the occasion of a ball or party, a stranger would be
+surprised at the display of beauty and style. The University and
+public library attract students from all parts of the island, and
+several of the professors and literary men have obtained a European
+reputation. Two semi-monthly newspapers are published at Reykjavik, in
+the Icelandic language. They are well printed, and said to be edited
+with ability. I looked over them very carefully from beginning to end,
+and could see nothing to object to in any portion of the contents.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV.
+
+GEIR ZOEGA.
+
+
+Wishing to see as much of the island as possible during the short time
+at my disposal, I made application to young Jonasen for information in
+regard to a guide, and through his friendly aid secured the services
+of Geir Zoega, a man of excellent reputation.
+
+A grave, dignified man is Geir Zoega, large of frame and strong of
+limb; a light-haired, blue-eyed, fresh, honest-faced native, warm of
+heart and trusty of hand; a jewel of a guide, who knows every rook,
+bog, and mud-puddle between Reykjavik and the Geysers; a gentleman by
+nature, born in all probability of an iceberg and a volcano; a
+believer in ghosts and ghouls, and a devout member of the Church. All
+hail to thee, Geir Zoega! I have traveled many a rough mile with thee,
+used up thy brandy and smoked thy cigars, covered my chilled body with
+thy coat, listened to thy words of comfort pronounced in broken
+English, received thy last kind wishes at parting, and now I say, in
+heartfelt sincerity, all hail to thee, Geir Zoega! A better man never
+lived, or if he did, he could be better spared at Reykjavik.
+
+To my great discontent, I found it indispensable to have five horses,
+although I proposed making the trip entirely without baggage. It
+seemed that two were necessary for myself, two for the guide, and one
+to carry the provisions and tent, without which it would be very
+difficult to travel, since there are no hotels in any part of the
+interior. Lodgings may be had at the huts of the peasants, and such
+rude fare as they can furnish; but the tourist had better rely upon
+his own tent and provisions, unless he has a craving to be fed on
+black bread and curds, and to be buried alive under a dismal pile of
+sods.
+
+ [Illustration: GEIR ZOEGA.]
+
+The reason why so many horses are required is plain enough. At this
+time of the year (June) they are still very poor after their winter's
+starvation, the pasturage is not yet good, and, in order to make a
+rapid journey of any considerable length, frequent changes are
+necessary. Philosophy and humanity combined to satisfy me that the
+trip could not well be made with a smaller number. I was a little
+inquisitive on that point, partly on the score of expense, and partly
+on account of the delay and trouble that might arise in taking care
+of so many animals.
+
+If there is any one trait common among all the nations of the earth,
+it is a natural sharpness in the traffic of horse-flesh. My experience
+has been wonderfully uniform in this respect wherever it has been my
+fortune to travel. I have had the misfortune to be the victim of
+horse-jockeys in Syria, Africa, Russia, Norway, and even California,
+where the people are proverbially honest. I have weighed the
+horse-jockeys of the four continents in the balance, and never found
+them wanting in natural shrewdness. It is a mistake, however, to call
+them unprincipled. They are men of most astonishing tenacity of
+principle, but unfortunately they have but one governing principle in
+life--to get good prices for bad horses.
+
+On the arrival of the steamer at Reykjavik the competition among the
+horse-traders is really the only lively feature in the place.
+Immediately after the passengers get ashore they are beset by offers
+of accommodation in the line of horse-flesh. Vagabonds and idlers of
+every kind, if they possess nothing else in the world, are at least
+directly or indirectly interested in this species of property. The
+roughest specimens of humanity begin to gather in from the country
+around the corners of the streets near the hotel, with all the
+worn-out, lame, halt, blind, and spavined horses that can be raked up
+by hook or crook in the neighborhood. Such a medley was never seen in
+any other country. Barnum's woolly horse was nothing to these shaggy,
+stunted, raw-backed, bow-legged, knock-kneed little monsters, offered
+to the astonished traveler with unintelligible pedigrees in the
+Icelandic, which, if literally translated, must surely mean that they
+are a mixed product of codfish and brushwood. The size has but little
+to do with the age, and all rules applicable as a test in other parts
+of the world fail here. I judged some of them to be about four months
+old, and was not at all astonished when informed by disinterested
+spectators that they ranged from twelve to fifteen years. Nothing,
+in fact, could astonish me after learning that the horses in Iceland
+are fed during the winter on dried fish. This is a literal fact. Owing
+to the absence of grain and the scarcity of grass, it becomes
+necessary to keep life in the poor animals during the severest months
+of the season by giving them the refuse of the fisheries; and, what is
+very surprising, they relish it in preference to any other species of
+food. Shade of Ceres! what an article of diet for horses! Only think
+of it--riding on the back of a horse partly constructed of fish! No
+wonder some of them blow like whales.
+
+ [Illustration: ICELANDIC HORSES.]
+
+In one respect the traveler can not be cheated to any great extent; he
+can not well lose more than twelve specie dollars on any one horse,
+that being the average price. To do the animals justice, they are like
+singed cats--a great deal better than they look. If they are not much
+for beauty, they are at least hardy, docile, and faithful; and, what
+is better, in a country where forage is sometimes difficult to find,
+will eat any thing on the face of the earth short of very hard lava or
+very indigestible trap-rock. Many of them, in consequence of these
+valuable qualities, are exported every year to Scotland and Copenhagen
+for breeding purposes. Two vessels were taking in cargoes of them
+during our stay at Reykjavik.
+
+I was saved the trouble of bargaining for my animals by Geir Zoega,
+who agreed to furnish me with the necessary number at five Danish
+dollars apiece the round trip; that is, about two dollars and a half
+American, which was not at all unreasonable. For his own services he
+only charged a dollar a day, with whatever _buono mano_ I might choose
+to give him. These items I mention for the benefit of my friends at
+home who may take a notion to make the trip.
+
+I was anxious to get off at once, but the horses were in the country
+and had to be brought up. Two days were lost in consequence of the
+heavy rains, and the trail was said to be in very bad condition. On
+the morning of the third day all was to be ready; and having
+purchased a few pounds of crackers, half a pound of tea, some sugar
+and cheese, I was prepared to encounter the perils of the wilderness.
+This was all the provision I took. Of other baggage I had none, save
+my overcoat and sketch-book, which, for a journey of five days, did
+not seem unreasonable. Zoega promised me any amount of suffering; but
+I told him Californians rather enjoyed that sort of thing than
+otherwise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV.
+
+THE ENGLISH TOURISTS.
+
+
+My English friends were so well provided with funds and equipments
+that they found it impossible to get ready. They had patent tents,
+sheets, bedsteads, mattresses, and medicine-boxes. They had guns, too,
+in handsome gun-cases; and compasses, and chronometers, and pocket
+editions of the poets. They had portable kitchens packed in tin boxes,
+which they emptied out, but never could get in again, comprising a
+general assortment of pots, pans, kettles, skillets, frying-pans,
+knives and forks, and pepper-castors. They had demijohns of brandy and
+kegs of Port wine; baskets of bottled porter and a dozen of Champagne;
+vinegar by the gallon and French mustard in patent pots; likewise
+collodium for healing bruises, and musquito-nets for keeping out
+snakes. They had improved oil-lamps to assist the daylight which
+prevails in this latitude during the twenty-four hours, and shaving
+apparatus and nail-brushes, and cold cream for cracked lips, and
+dentifrice for the teeth, and patent preparations for the removal of
+dandruff from the hair; likewise lint and splints for mending broken
+legs. One of them carried a theodolite for drawing inaccessible
+mountains within a reasonable distance; another a photographic
+apparatus for taking likenesses of the natives and securing
+fac-similes of the wild beasts; while a third was provided with a
+brass thief-defender for running under doors and keeping them shut
+against persons of evil character. They had bags, boxes, and bales of
+crackers, preserved meats, vegetables, and pickles; jellies and
+sweet-cake; concentrated coffee, and a small apparatus for the
+manufacture of ice-cream. In addition to all these, they had patent
+overcoats and undercoats, patent hats and patent boots, gum-elastic
+bed-covers, and portable gutta-percha floors for tents; ropes, cords,
+horse-shoes, bits, saddles and bridles, bags of oats, fancy packs for
+horses, and locomotive pegs for hanging guns on, besides many other
+articles commonly deemed useful in foreign countries by gentlemen of
+the British Islands who go abroad to rough it. This was roughing it
+with a vengeance! It would surely be rough work for me, an uncivilized
+Californian, to travel in Iceland or any other country under such a
+dreadful complication of conveniences.
+
+When all these things were unpacked and scattered over the beds and
+floors of the hotel, nothing could excel the enthusiasm of the whole
+party--including myself, for I really had seen nothing in the course
+of my travels half so amusing. As an old stager in the camping
+business, I was repeatedly appealed to for advice and assistance,
+which of course I gave with the natural politeness belonging to all
+Californians, suggesting many additions. Warming-pans for the sheets,
+pads of eider-down to wear on the saddles, and bathing-tubs to sit in
+after a hard ride, would, I thought, be an improvement; but as such
+things were difficult to be had in Reykjavik, the hope of obtaining
+them was abandoned after some consideration. "In fact," said they, "we
+are merely roughing it, and, by Jove, a fellow must put up with some
+inconveniences in a country like this!"
+
+ [Illustration: ENGLISH PARTY AT REYKJAVIK.]
+
+To carry all these burdens, which, when tied up in packs, occupied an
+extra room, required exactly eighteen horses, inclusive of the riders,
+and to bargain for eighteen horses was no small job. The last I saw of
+the Englishmen they were standing in the street surrounded by a
+large portion of the population of Reykjavik, who had every possible
+variety of horses to sell--horses shaggy and horses shaved, horses
+small and horses smaller, into the mouths of which the sagacious
+travelers were intently peering in search of teeth--occasionally
+punching the poor creatures on the ribs, probing their backs, pulling
+them up by the legs, or tickling them under the tail to ascertain if
+they kicked.
+
+At the appointed hour, 6 A.M., Zoega was ready at the door of the
+hotel with his shaggy cavalcade, which surely was the most
+extraordinary spectacle I had ever witnessed. The horned horses of
+Africa would have been commonplace objects in comparison with these
+remarkable animals destined to carry me to the Geysers of Iceland.
+Each one of them looked at me through a stack of mane containing hair
+enough to have stuffed half a dozen chairs; and as for their tails,
+they hung about the poor creatures like huge bunches of wool. Some of
+them were piebald and had white eyes--others had no eyes at all.
+Seeing me look at them rather apprehensively, Zoega remarked,
+
+"Oh, sir, you needn't be afraid. They are perfectly gentle!"
+
+"Don't they bite?" said I.
+
+"Oh no, sir, not at all."
+
+"Nor kick?"
+
+"No, sir, never."
+
+"Nor lie down on the way?"
+
+"No, sir, not at all."
+
+"Answer me one more question, Zoega, and I'm done." [This I said with
+great earnestness.] "Do these horses ever eat cats or porcupines, or
+swallow heavy brooms with crooked handles?"
+
+"Oh no, sir!" answered my guide, with a look of some surprise; "they
+are too well trained for that."
+
+"Then I suppose they subsist on train-oil as well as codfish?"
+
+"Yes, sir, when they can get it. They are very fond of oil."
+
+I thought to myself, No wonder they are so poor and small. Horses
+addicted to the use of oil must expect to be of light construction.
+But it was time to be off.
+
+A cup of excellent coffee and a few biscuit were amply sufficient to
+prepare me for the journey. Our pack-horse carried two boxes and a
+small tent--all we required. Before starting Zoega performed the
+Icelandic ceremony of tying the horses in a row, each one's head to
+the tail of the horse in front. This, he said, was the general
+practice. If it were not done they would scatter outside of town, and
+it would probably take two hours to catch them again. I had some fear
+that if one of the number should tumble over a precipice he would
+carry several of his comrades with him, or their heads and tails.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI.
+
+THE ROAD TO THINGVALLA.
+
+
+It was a gray, gloomy morning when we sallied forth from the silent
+streets of Reykjavik. A chilly fog covered the country, and little
+more was to be seen than the jagged outline of the lava-hills, and the
+boggy sinks and morasses on either side of the trail. The weird,
+fire-blasted, and flood-scourged wilderness on all sides was as silent
+as death, save when we approached some dark lagoon, and startled up
+the flocks of water-fowl that dwelt in its sedgy borders. Then the air
+was pierced with wild screams and strange cries, and the rocks
+resounded to the flapping of many wings. To me there was a peculiar
+charm in all this. It was different from any thing I had recently
+experienced. The roughness of the trail, the absence of cultivated
+fields, the entire exemption from the restraints of civilization, were
+perfectly delightful after a dreary residence of nearly a year in
+Germany. Here, at least, there were no passport bureaus, no
+meddlesome police, no conceited and disagreeable habitues of public
+places with fierce dogs running at their heels, no _Verbotener Wegs_
+staring one in the face at every turn. Here all ways possible to be
+traveled were open to the public; here was plenty of fresh air and no
+lack of elbow-room; here an unsophisticated American could travel
+without being persecuted every ten minutes by applications from
+distinguished officers in livery for six kreutzers; here an honest
+Californian could chew tobacco when he felt disposed, and relieve his
+mind by an occasional oath when he considered it essential to a
+vigorous expression of his thoughts.
+
+It seemed very strange to be traveling in Iceland, actually plodding
+my way over deserts of lava, and breathing blasts of air fresh from
+the summit of Mount Hecla! I was at last in the land of the Sagas--the
+land of fire, and brimstone, and boiling fountains!--the land which,
+as a child, I had been accustomed to look upon as the _ultima Thule_,
+where men, and fish, and fire, and water were pitted against each
+other in everlasting strife. How often had the fascinating vision of
+Icelandic travel crossed my mind; and how often had I dismissed it
+with a sigh as too much happiness to hope for in this world! And now
+it was all realized. Was I any the happier? Was it what I expected?
+Well, we won't probe these questions too far. It was a very strange
+reality, at all events.
+
+For the first eight miles the weather was thick and rainy; after that
+the sun began to dissipate the gloom, and we had a very pleasant
+journey. Though a little chilly in consequence of the moisture, the
+air was not really cold. As well as I could judge, the thermometer
+ranged about 54 deg. Fahrenheit. It frequently rises to 76 deg. at
+Thingvalla during the months of July and August; and at the Geysers,
+and in some of the adjacent valleys, the heat is said to be quite
+oppressive.
+
+ [Illustration: A ROUGH ROAD.]
+
+Notwithstanding the roughness of the trail, which in many places
+passed for miles over rugged fields of lava, full of sharp, jagged
+points and dangerous fissures, we traveled with considerable speed,
+seldom slackening from a lope. Zoega untied the horses from each
+other's tails soon after passing the road to Hafuarfiord, as there was
+no farther danger of their separating, and then, with many flourishes
+of his whip and strange cries, well understood by our animals, led the
+way. I must confess that, in spite of some pretty hard experience of
+bad roads in the coast range of California, there were times during
+our mad career over the lava-beds when visions of maimed limbs and a
+mutilated head crossed my mind. Should my horse stumble on a stray
+spike of lava, what possible chance of escape would there be? Falling
+head foremost on harrows and rakes would be fun to a fall here, where
+all the instruments capable of human destruction, from razors, saws,
+and meat-axes down to spike-nails and punches, were duly represented.
+
+In the course of our journey we frequently overtook pack-trains laden
+with dried fish from the sea-shore. The main dependence of the people
+throughout the country, during the winter, is upon the fish caught
+during the summer. When dried it is done up in packs and fastened on
+each side of the horse, something in the Mexican style; and each train
+is attended by three or four men, and sometimes by women. About the
+month of June the farmers and shepherds go down to Reykjavik, or some
+other convenient fishing-station on the sea-shore, and lay in their
+supplies of fish and groceries, which they purchase from the traders
+by exchanges of wool, butter, and other domestic products. After a few
+days of novelty and excitement they go back to their quiet homes,
+where they live in an almost dormant state until the next season,
+rarely receiving any news from the great outer world, or troubling
+their heads about the affairs which concern the rest of mankind. Those
+whom we met had in all probability not seen a stranger for a year.
+They are an honest, primitive people, decently but very coarsely clad
+in rough woolen garments manufactured by themselves, and shaped much
+in the European style. On their feet they wear moccasins made of
+sheepskin. Whenever we met these pack-trains in any convenient place,
+the drivers stopped to have a talk with Zoega, often riding back a
+mile or two to enjoy the novelty of his conversation. Being fresh from
+the capital, he naturally abounded in stirring news about the price of
+codfish, and the value of lard and butter, wool, stockings, mittens,
+etc., and such other articles of traffic as they felt interested in.
+He could also give them the latest intelligence by the steamer, which
+always astonished them, no matter whether it concerned the throwing
+overboard of three ponies on the last voyage, or the possible
+resumption of operations on the Icelandic telegraph. In every way
+Zoega was kind and obliging, and, being well known every where, was
+highly appreciated as a man possessed of a remarkable fund of
+information. At parting they generally stopped to kiss hands and take
+a pinch of snuff.
+
+The first time I witnessed the favorite ceremony of snuff-taking I was
+at a loss to understand what it meant. A man with a small horn flask,
+which it was reasonable to suppose was filled with powder and only
+used for loading guns or pistols, drew the plug from it, and, stopping
+quite still in the middle of the road, threw his head back and applied
+the tube to his nose. Surely the fellow was not trying to blow his
+brains out with the powder-flask! Two or three times he repeated this
+strange proceeding, snorting all the time as if in the agonies of
+suffocation. The gravity of his countenance was extraordinary. I could
+not believe my eyes.
+
+"What an absurd way of committing suicide!" I remarked to Zoega.
+
+"Oh, sir, he is only taking snuff!" was the reply.
+
+"But if he stops up both nostrils, how is he going to breathe?" was my
+natural inquiry.
+
+ [Illustration: TAKING SNUFF.]
+
+Zoega kindly explained that, when the man's nose was full he would
+naturally open his mouth, and as the snuff was very fine and strong
+it would eventually cause him to sneeze. In this way it was quite
+practicable to blow out the load.
+
+"But don't they ever hang fire and burst their heads?" I asked, with
+some concern.
+
+"Why no, sir, I've never heard of a case," answered Zoega, in his
+usual grave manner; "in this country every body takes snuff, but I
+never knew it to burst any body's head."
+
+It was really refreshing the matter-of-fact manner in which my guide
+regarded all the affairs of life. He took every thing in a literal
+sense, and was of so obliging a disposition that he would spend hours
+in the vain endeavor to satisfy my curiosity on any doubtful point.
+
+"Why, Zoega," said I, "this is a monstrous practice. I never saw any
+thing like it. Are you quite sure that fellow won't kick when he tries
+to blow his nose?"
+
+"Yes, sir, they never kick."
+
+"Tell me, Zoega, are their breeches strong?"
+
+"Oh yes, sir."
+
+"That's lucky." I was thinking of an accident that once occurred to a
+young man of my acquaintance. Owing to a defect in the breech of his
+gun, the whole load entered his head and killed him instantaneously.
+
+The gravity of these good people in their forms of politeness is one
+of the most striking features in their social intercourse. The
+commonest peasant takes off his cap to another when they meet, and
+shaking hands and snuff-taking are conducted on the most ceremonious
+principles. They do not, however, wholly confine themselves to
+stimulants for the nose. As soon as they get down to Reykjavik and
+finish their business, they are very apt to indulge in what we call in
+California "a bender;" that is to say, they drink a little too much
+whisky, and hang around the stores and streets for a day or two in a
+state of intoxication. At other times their habits are temperate, and
+they pass the greater part of their lives among their flocks, free
+from excitement, and as happy as people can be with such limited means
+of comfort. The uniformity of their lives would of course be painful
+to a people possessed of more energy and a higher order of
+intelligence; but the Icelanders are well satisfied if they can keep
+warm during the dreary winters, and obtain their usual supplies during
+the summer. Sometimes a plague sets in among their sheep and reduces
+them to great distress. Fire, pestilence, and famine have from time to
+time devastated the island. Still, where their wants are so few, they
+can bear with great patience the calamities inflicted upon them by an
+all-wise Providence. Owing perhaps to their isolated mode of life,
+they are a grave and pious people, simple in their manners,
+superstitious, and credulous. They attend church regularly, and are
+much devoted to religious books and evening prayers. No family goes to
+bed without joining in thanksgiving for all the benefits conferred
+upon them during the day. Living as they do amid the grandest
+phenomena of nature, and tinctured with the wild traditions of the old
+Norsemen, it is not surprising that they should implicitly believe in
+wandering spirits of fire and flood, and clothe the desolate wastes of
+lava with a poetic imagery peculiarly their own. Every rock, and
+river, and bog is invested with a legend or story, to the truth of
+which they can bear personal witness. Here a ghost was overtaken by
+the light of the moon and turned to stone; there voices were heard
+crying for help, and because no help came a farmer's house was burned
+the next day; here a certain man saw a wild woman, with long hair, who
+lived in a cave, and never came out to seek for food save in the midst
+of a storm, when she was seen chasing the birds; there a great many
+sheep disappeared one night, and it was thought they were killed and
+devoured by a prodigious animal with two heads--and so on, without
+end. Nothing is too marvelous for their credulity. One of my most
+pleasant experiences was to talk with these good people, through the
+aid of my guide, and hear them tell of the wonderful sights they had
+seen with their own eyes. Nor do I believe that they had the remotest
+intention of stretching the truth. Doubtless they imagined the reality
+of whatever they said. It was very strange to one who had lived so
+long among a sharp and rather incredulous race of men to hear
+full-grown people talk with the simplicity of little children.
+
+About half way on our journey toward Thingvalla it was necessary to
+cross a bog, which is never a very agreeable undertaking in Iceland,
+especially after heavy rains. This was not the worst specimen of its
+kind, though; we afterward passed through others that would be
+difficult to improve upon without entirely removing the bottom. A
+considerable portion of Iceland is intersected by these treacherous
+stretches of land and water, through which the traveler must make his
+way or relinquish his journey. Often it becomes a much more difficult
+matter to find the way out than to get in. Along the sea-coast, to the
+southward and eastward, some of these vast bogs are quite impassable
+without the assistance of a guide thoroughly acquainted with every
+spot capable of bearing a horse. On the route to the Geysers we
+generally contrived to avoid the worst places by making a detour
+around the edges of the hills, but this is not always practicable. In
+many places the hills themselves abound in boggy ground.
+
+The formation of the Icelandic bog is peculiar. I have seen something
+similar on the Pacific coast near Cape Mendocino, but by no means so
+extensive and well-defined. In Iceland it consists of innumerable
+tufts of earth from two to three feet high, interwoven with vegetable
+fibres which render them elastic when pressed by the foot. These tufts
+stand out in relief from the main ground at intervals of a few feet
+from each other, and frequently cover a large extent of country. The
+tops are covered with grass of a very fine texture, furnishing a good
+pasture for sheep and other stock. So regular and apparently
+artificial is the appearance of these grassy tufts, that I was at
+first inclined to think they must be the remains of cultivated
+fields--probably potato-hills, or places where corn had grown in
+former times. Nor was it altogether unreasonable to suppose that
+groves of wood might once have covered these singular patches of
+country, and that they had been uprooted and destroyed by some of
+those violent convulsions of nature which from time to time have
+devastated the island. Dr. Dasent produces ample testimony to show
+that, in old times, not only corn grew in Iceland, but wood
+sufficiently large to be used in building vessels. Now it is with
+great difficulty that a few potatoes can be raised in some of the
+warmest spots, and there is not a single tree to be found on the
+entire island. The largest bushes I saw were only six or eight feet
+high.
+
+A singular fact connected with the bog-formation is that it is often
+found in dry places--on the slopes of mountains, for example, in
+certain localities where the water never settles and where the ground
+is perpetually dry. I was greatly puzzled by this, and was scarcely
+satisfied by the explanation given by Zoega, my guide, who said it was
+caused by the action of the frost. In proof of the fact that they are
+not of artificial formation, and that the process by which they are
+developed is always going on, he stated that in many places where they
+had been leveled down for sheep-corrals or some such purpose, a
+similar formation of tufted hillocks had grown up in the course of a
+few years.
+
+I was continually troubled by the circuits made by Zoega to avoid
+certain tracts of this kind which to me did not look at all
+impracticable. Once I thought it would be a good joke to show him that
+a Californian could find his way through the strange country even
+better than a native; and watching a chance when he was not on the
+look-out--for I suspected what his objection would be--I suddenly
+turned my horse toward the bog, and urged him to take the short cut.
+It was such a capital idea, that of beating my own guide about two
+miles in a journey of little more than half a mile! But, strange to
+say, the horse was of Zoega's opinion respecting roads through
+Iceland. He would not budge into the bog till I inflicted some rather
+strong arguments upon him, and then he went in with great reluctance.
+Before we had proceeded a dozen yards he sank up to his belly in the
+mire, and left me perched up on two matted tufts about four feet
+apart. Any disinterested spectator would have supposed at once that I
+was attempting to favor my guide with a representation of the colossal
+statue at Rhodes, or the Natural Bridge in Virginia. Zoega, however,
+was too warmly interested in my behalf to take it in this way. As soon
+as he missed me he turned about, and, perceiving my critical position,
+shouted at the top of his voice,
+
+"Sir, you can't go that way!"
+
+ [Illustration: AN ICELANDIC BOG.]
+
+"No," said I, in rather a desponding tone, "I see I can't."
+
+"Don't try it, sir!" cried Zoega; "you'll certainly sink if you do!"
+
+"I'll promise you that, Zoega," I answered, looking gloomily toward
+the dry land, toward which my horse was now headed, plunging
+frantically in a labyrinth of tufts, his head just above the ground.
+
+"Sir, it's very dangerous!" shouted Zoega.
+
+"Any sharks in it?" I asked.
+
+"No, sir; but I don't see your horse!"
+
+"Neither do I, Zoega. Just sing out when he blows!"
+
+But the honest Icelander saw a better method than that, which was to
+dismount from his own horse, and jump from tuft to tuft until he got
+hold of my bridle. With it of course came the poor animal, which by
+hard pulling my trusty guide soon succeeded in getting on dry land.
+Meantime I discovered a way of getting out myself by a complicated
+system of jumps, and presently we all stood in a group, Zoega scraping
+the mud off the sides of my trembling steed, while I ventured to
+remark that it was "a little boggy in that direction."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Zoega; "that was the reason I was going round."
+
+And a very sensible reason it was too, as I now cheerfully admitted.
+After a medicinal pull at the brandy we once more proceeded on our
+way.
+
+I mentioned the fact that there are dry bog-formations on the sides of
+some of the hills. It should also be noted that the wet bogs are not
+always in the lowest places. Frequently they are found on elevated
+grounds, and even high up in the mountains. Approaching a region of
+this kind, when the tufts are nearly on a level with the eye, the
+effect is very peculiar. It looks as if an army of grim old Norsemen,
+on their march through the wilderness, had suddenly sunk to their
+necks in the treacherous earth, and still stood in that position with
+their shaggy heads bared to the tempests. Often the traveler detects
+something like features, and it would not be at all difficult, of a
+moonlight night, to mistake them for ghostly warriors struggling to
+get out on dry land. Indeed, the simple-minded peasants, with their
+accustomed fertility of imagination, have invested them with life, and
+relate many wonderful stories about their pranks of dark and stormy
+nights, when it is said they are seen plunging about in the water.
+Hoarse cries are heard through the gusts of the tempest; and solitary
+travelers on their journey retreat in dismay, lest they should be
+dragged into the treacherous abode of these ghostly old Norsemen.
+
+Not long after our unpleasant adventure we ascended an eminence or
+dividing ridge of lava, from which we had a fine view of the Lake of
+Thingvalla. Descending by a series of narrow defiles, we reached a
+sandy canyon winding for several miles nearly parallel with the shores
+of the lake. The sides of the hills now began to exhibit a scanty
+vegetation, and sometimes we crossed a moist patch of pasture covered
+with a fine grass of most brilliant and beautiful green. A few huts,
+with sod walls or fences around the arable patches in the vicinity,
+were to be seen from time to time, but in general the country was very
+thinly populated. Flocks of sheep, and occasionally a few horses,
+grazed on the hill-sides.
+
+The great trouble of our lives in the neighborhood of these
+settlements was a little dog belonging to my guide. Brusa was his
+name, and the management of our loose horses was his legitimate
+occupation. A bright, lively, officious little fellow was Brusa, very
+much like a wolf in appearance, and not unlike a human being in
+certain traits of his character. Montaigne says that great fault was
+found with him, when he was mayor of his native town, because he was
+always satisfied to let things go along smoothly; and though the
+citizens admitted that they had never been so free from trouble, they
+could not see the use of a mayor who never issued any ordinances or
+created any public commotion. Our little dog was of precisely the
+same way of thinking. He could see no use in holding office in our
+train without doing something, whether necessary or not. So, when the
+horses were going along all right, he felt it incumbent upon him to
+give chase to the sheep. Stealing away quietly, so that Zoega might
+not see him at the start, he would suddenly dart off after the poor
+animals, with his shaggy hair all erect, and never stop barking,
+snapping, and biting their legs till they were scattered over miles of
+territory. He was particularly severe upon the cowardly ewes and
+lambs, actually driving them frantic with terror; but the old rams
+that stood to make fight he always passed with quiet disdain. It was
+in vain Zoega would hold up, and utter the most fearful cries and
+threats of punishment: "Hur-r-r-r! Brusa! B-r-r-r-usa!! you
+B-r-r-usa!!!" Never a bit could Brusa be stopped once he got fairly
+under way. Up hill, and down hill, and over the wild gorges he would
+fly till entirely out of sight. In about half an hour he generally
+joined the train again, looking, to say the least of it, very
+sheepish. I have already spoken of the gravity and dignity of Zoega's
+manner. On occasions of this kind it assumed a parental severity truly
+impressive. Slowly dismounting from his horse, as if a great duty
+devolved upon him, he would unlock one of the boxes on the pack-horse,
+take therefrom a piece of bread, deliberately grease the same with
+butter, and then holding it forth, more in sorrow than in anger,
+invite Brusa to refresh himself after his fatiguing chase of the
+sheep. The struggle between a guilty conscience and a sharp appetite
+would now become painfully perceptible on the countenance of Brusa as
+well as in the relaxation of his tail. As he approached the tempting
+morsel nothing could be more abject than his manner--stealing furtive
+glances at the eyes of his master, and trying to conciliate him by
+wagging the downcast tail between his legs. Alas, poor Brusa! I
+suspected it from the beginning. What do you think of yourself now?
+Grabbed by the back of the neck in the powerful hands of Geir Zoega!
+Not a particle of use for you to whine, and yelp, and try to beg off.
+You have been a very bad fellow, and must suffer the consequences.
+With dreadful deliberation Zoega draws forth his whip, which has been
+carefully hidden in the folds of his coat all this time, and, holding
+the victim of his displeasure in mid-air, thus, as I take it,
+apostrophizes him in his native language: "O Brusa! have I not fed
+thee and cherished thee with parental care? (Whack! yelp! and whack
+again.) Have I not been to thee tender and true? (Whack! whack!
+accompanied by heart-rending yelps and cries.) And this is thy
+ingratitude! This is thy return for all my kindness! O how sharper
+than a serpent's tooth is the sting of ingratitude! (Whack.) I warned
+thee about those sheep--those harmless and tender little lambs! I
+begged thee with tears in my eyes not to run after them; but thou wert
+stubborn in thine iniquity; and now what can I do but--(whack)--but
+punish thee according to my promise? Wilt thou ever do it again? O
+say, Brusa, will thou ever again be guilty of this disreputable
+conduct? (A melancholy howl.) It pains me to do it (whack), but it is
+(whack) for thine own good! Now hear and repent, and henceforth let
+thy ways be the ways of the virtuous and the just!" It was absolutely
+delightful to witness the joy of Brusa when the whipping was over.
+Without one word of comment Zoega would throw him the bread, and then
+gravely mount his horse and ride on. For hours after the victim of his
+displeasure would run, and jump, and bark, and caper with excess of
+delight. I really thought it was a kindness to whip him, he enjoyed it
+so much afterward.
+
+ [Illustration: GEIR ZOEGA AND BRUSA.]
+
+Whenever our loose horses got off the trail or lagged behind, the
+services of our dog were invaluable. Zoega had a particular way of
+directing his attention to the errant animal. "Hur-r-r-r!--(a roll of
+the tongue)--Hur-r-r-r Brusa!" and off Brusa would dash, his hair on
+end with rage, till within a few feet of the horse, when he would
+commence a series of terrific demonstrations, barking and snapping at
+the heels of the vagrant. Backing of ears to frighten him, or kicks at
+his head, had no terrors for him; he was altogether too sagacious to
+be caught within reach of dangerous weapons.
+
+I know of nothing to equal the sagacity of these Icelandic dogs save
+that of the sheep-dogs of France and Germany. They are often sent out
+in the pastures to gather up the horses, and will remain by them and
+keep them within bounds for days at a time. They are also much used in
+the management of sheep. Unlike the regular shepherd-dog of Europe,
+however, they are sometimes thievish and treacherous, owing to their
+wolfish origin. I do not think we could have made ten miles a day
+without Brusa. In the driving of pack-trains a good dog is
+indispensable. I always gave the poor fellow something to eat when we
+stopped in consideration of his services.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII.
+
+THE ALMANNAJAU.
+
+
+We rode for some time along an elevated plateau of very barren aspect
+till something like a break in the outline became visible a few
+hundred yards ahead. I had a kind of feeling that we were approaching
+a crisis in our journey, but said nothing. Neither did Zoega, for he
+was not a man to waste words. He always answered my questions
+politely, but seldom volunteered a remark. Presently we entered a
+great gap between two enormous cliffs of lava.
+
+"What's this, Zoega?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, this is the Almannajau."
+
+"What! the great Almannajau, where the Icelandic Parliament used to
+camp!"
+
+"Yes, sir; you see the exact spot down there below."
+
+And, in good truth, there it was, some hundreds of feet below, in a
+beautiful little green valley that lay at the bottom of the gap. Never
+had my eyes witnessed so strange and wild a sight. A great fissure in
+the earth nearly a hundred feet deep, walled up with prodigious
+fragments of lava, dark and perpendicular, the bases strewn with
+molten masses, scattered about in the strangest disorder; a valley of
+the brightest green, over a hundred feet wide, stretching like a river
+between the fire-blasted cliffs; the trail winding through it in
+snake-like undulation--all now silent as death under the grim leaden
+sky, yet eloquent of terrible convulsions in by-gone centuries and of
+the voices of men long since mingled with the dust. Upon entering the
+gorge between the shattered walls of lava on either side, the trail
+makes a rapid descent of a few hundred yards till it strikes into the
+valley. I waited till my guide had descended with the horses, and then
+took a position a little below the entrance, so as to command a view
+out through the gorge and up the entire range of the Almannajau.
+
+ [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE ALMANNAJAU.]
+
+The appended sketch, imperfect as it is, will convey some idea of
+the scene; yet to comprise within the brief compass of a sheet of
+paper the varied wonders of this terrible gap, the wild disorder of
+the fragments cast loose over the earth, the utter desolation of the
+whole place would be simply impossible. No artist has ever yet done
+justice to the scene, and certainly no mere amateur can hope to attain
+better success.
+
+ [Illustration: THE ALMANNAJAU.]
+
+Looking up the range of the fissure, it resembles an immense walled
+alley, high on one side, and low, broken, and irregular on the other.
+The main or left side forms a fearful precipice of more than eighty
+feet, and runs in a direct line toward the mountains, a distance of
+four or five miles. On the right, toward the plain of Thingvalla, the
+inferior side forms nearly a parallel line of rifted and irregular
+masses of lava, perpendicular in front and receding behind. The
+greater wall presents a dark, rugged face, composed of immense pillars
+and blocks of lava, defined by horizontal and vertical fissures,
+strangely irregular in detail, but showing a dark, compact, and solid
+front. In places it is not unlike a vast library of books, shaken into
+the wildest confusion by some resistless power. Whole ranges of
+ink-colored blocks are wrenched from their places, and scattered about
+between the ledges. Well may they represent the law-books of the old
+Icelandic Sagas and judges, who held their councils near this fearful
+gorge! Corresponding in face, but less regular and of inferior height,
+is the opposite wall. In its molten state the whole once formed a
+burning flood, of such vast extent and depth that it is estimated by
+geologists nearly half a century must have elapsed before it became
+cool. The bottom of this tremendous crack in the sea of lava is almost
+a dead level, and forms a valley of about a hundred feet in width,
+which extends, with occasional breaks and irregularities, entirely up
+to the base of the mountain. This valley is for the most part covered
+with a beautiful carpeting of fine green grass, but is sometimes
+diversified by fragments of lava shivered off and cast down from the
+walls on either side.
+
+The gorge by which we entered must have been impracticable for horses
+in its original state. Huge masses of lava, which doubtless once
+jammed up the way, must have been hurled over into the gaping fissures
+at each side, and something like a road-way cleared out from the chaos
+of ruin. Pavements and side-stones are still visible, where it is more
+than probable the old Icelanders did many a hard day's work. Eight or
+nine centuries have not yet obliterated the traces of the hammer and
+chisel; and there were stones cast a little on one side that still
+bear the marks of horses' hoofs--the very horses in all probability
+ridden by old Sagas and lawgivers. Through this wild gorge they made
+their way into the sheltered solitudes of the Almannajau, where they
+pitched their tents and held their feasts previous to their councils
+on the Logberg. Here passed the members of the Althing; here the
+victims of the Logberg never repassed again.
+
+ [Illustration: SKELETON VIEW OF THE ALMANNAJAU.]
+
+There are various theories concerning the original formation of this
+wonderful fissure. It is supposed by some that the flood of lava by
+which Thingvalla was desolated in times of which history presents no
+record must have cooled irregularly, owing to the variation of
+thickness in different parts of the valley; that at this point, where
+its depth was great, the contracting mass separated, and the inferior
+portion gradually settled downward toward the point of greatest
+depression.
+
+Others, again, hold the theory that there was a liquid drain of the
+molten lava underneath toward the lake, by means of which a great
+subterranean cavity was formed as far back as the mountain; that the
+crust on top, being of insufficient strength to bear its own great
+weight, must have fallen in as the whole mass cooled, and thus created
+this vast crack in the earth.
+
+ [Illustration: OUTLINE VIEW OF THINGVALLA.]
+
+I incline to the first of these theories myself, as the most
+conformable to the contractile laws of heat. There is also something
+like practical evidence to sustain it. A careful examination of the
+elevations and depressions on each wall of the gap satisfied me that
+they bear at least a very striking analogy. Points on one side are
+frequently represented by hollows on the other, and even complicated
+figures occasionally find a counterpart, the configuration being
+always relatively convex or concave. This would seem to indicate very
+clearly that the mass had been forcibly rent asunder, either by the
+contractile process of heat, or a convulsion of the earth. The most
+difficult point to determine is why the bottom should be so flat and
+regular, and what kept the great mass on each side so far intact as to
+form one clearly-defined fissure a hundred feet wide and nearly five
+miles in length? This, however, is not for an unlearned tourist like
+myself to go into very deeply.
+
+How many centuries have passed away since all this happened the first
+man who "gazed through the rent of ruin" has failed to leave on
+record--if he ever knew it. The great walls of the fissure stood grim
+and black before the old Icelandic Sagas, just as they now stand
+before the astonished eyes of the tourist. History records no material
+change in its aspect. It may be older than the Pyramids of Egypt; yet
+it looks as if the eruption by which it was caused might have happened
+within a lifetime, so little is there to indicate the progress of
+ages. I could not but experience the strangest sensations in being
+carried so far back toward the beginning of the world.
+
+At the distance of about a mile up the "Jau" a river tumbles over the
+upper wall of lava, and rushes down the main fissure for a few hundred
+yards, when it suddenly diverges and breaks through a gap in the
+inferior wall, and comes down the valley on the outside toward the
+lake.
+
+During my stay at Thingvalla I walked up to this part of the
+Almannajau, and made a rough sketch of the waterfall.
+
+From the point of rocks upon which I stood the effect was peculiar.
+The course of the river, which lies behind the Jau, on the opposite
+side, is entirely hidden by the great wall in front, and nothing of it
+is visible till the whole river bursts over the dark precipice, and
+tumbles, foaming and roaring, into the tremendous depths below, where
+it dashes down wildly among the shattered fragments of lava till it
+reaches the outlet into the main valley. A mist rises up from the
+falling water, and whirls around the base of the cataract in clouds,
+forming in the rays of the sun a series of beautiful rainbows. The
+grim, jagged rocks, blackened and rifted with fire, make a strange
+contrast with the delicate prismatic colors of the rainbows, and their
+sharp and rugged outline with the soft, ever-changing clouds of spray.
+
+ [Illustration: FALL OF THE ALMANNAJAU.]
+
+The flocks of the good pastor of Thingvalla were quietly browsing
+among the rugged declivities where I stood. Here were violence and
+peace in striking contrast; the tremendous concussion of the falling
+water; the fearful marks of convulsion on the one hand, and on the
+other
+
+ "The gentle flocks that play upon the green."
+
+As I put away my imperfect sketch, and sauntered back toward the
+hospitable cabin of the pastor, a figure emerged from the rocks, and I
+stood face to face with an Icelandic shepherdess.
+
+ [Illustration: ICELANDIC SHEPHERD-GIRL.]
+
+Well, it is no use to grow poetical over this matter. To be sure, we
+were alone in a great wilderness, and she was very pretty, and looked
+uncommonly coquettish with her tasseled cap, neat blue bodice, and
+short petticoats, to say nothing of a well-turned pair of ankles; but
+then, you see, I couldn't speak a word of Icelandic, and if I could,
+what had I, a responsible man, to say to a pretty young shepherdess?
+At most I could only tell her she was extremely captivating, and
+looked for all the world like a flower in the desert, born to blush
+unseen, etc. As she skipped shyly away from me over the rocks I was
+struck with admiration at the graceful sprightliness of her movements,
+and wondered why so much beauty should be wasted upon silly sheep,
+when the world is so full of stout, brave young fellows who would fall
+dead in love with her at the first sight. But I had better drop the
+subject. There is a young man of my acquaintance already gone up to
+Norway to look for the post-girl that drove me over the road to
+Trondhjem, and at least two of my friends are now on the way to
+Hamburg for the express purpose of witnessing the gyrations of the
+celebrated wheeling girls. All I hope is, that when they meet with
+those enterprising damsels they will follow my example, and behave
+with honor and discretion.
+
+Standing upon an eminence overlooking the valley, I was struck with
+wonder at the vast field of lava outspread before me. Here is an area
+at least eight miles square, all covered with a stony crust, varying
+from fifty to a hundred feet in thickness, rent into gaping fissures
+and tossed about in tremendous fragments; once a burning flood,
+covering the earth with ruin and desolation wherever it flowed; now a
+cold, weird desert, whose gloomy monotony is only relieved by stunted
+patches of brushwood and dark pools of water--all wrapped in a
+death-like silence. Where could this terrible flood have come from?
+The mountains in the distance look so peaceful in their snowy robes,
+so incapable of the rage from which all this desolation must have
+sprung, that I could scarcely reconcile such terrible results with an
+origin so apparently inadequate.
+
+I questioned Zoega on this point, but not with much success. How was
+it possible, I asked, that millions and billions of tons of lava could
+be vomited forth from the crater of any mountain within sight? Here
+was a solid bed of lava spread over the valley, and many miles beyond,
+which, if piled up, shrunken and dried as it was, would of itself make
+a mountain larger than the Skjaldbraid Jokul, from which it is
+supposed to have been ejected.
+
+"Now, Zoega," said I, "how do you make it out that this came from the
+Skjaldbraid Jokul?"
+
+"Well, sir, I don't know, but I think it came from the inside of the
+world."
+
+"Why, Zoega, the world is only a shell--a mere egg-shell in Iceland I
+should fancy--filled with fiery gases."
+
+"Is that possible, sir?" cried Zoega, in undisguised astonishment.
+
+"Yes, quite possible--a mere egg-shell!"
+
+"Dear me, I didn't know that! It is a wonderful world, sir."
+
+"Very--especially in Iceland."
+
+"Then, sir, I don't know how this could have happened, unless it was
+done by spirits that live in the ground. Some people say they are
+great monsters, and live on burnt stones."
+
+"Do you believe in spirits, Zoega?"
+
+"Oh yes, sir; and don't you? I've seen them many a time. I once saw a
+spirit nearly as large as the Skjaldbraid. It came up out of the earth
+directly before me where I was traveling, and shook its head as if
+warning me to go back. I was badly frightened, and turned my horse
+around and went back. Then I heard that my best friend was dying. When
+he was dead I married his wife. She's a very good woman, sir, and, if
+you please, I'll get her to make you some coffee when we get back to
+Reykjavik."
+
+So goes the world, thought I, from the Skjaldbraid Jokul to a cup of
+coffee! Why bother our heads about these troublesome questions, which
+can only result in proving us all equally ignorant. The wisest has
+learned nothing save his own ignorance. He "meets with darkness in the
+daytime, and gropes in the noonday as in the night."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII.
+
+THINGVALLA.
+
+
+The extensive valley called Thingvalla, or the Valley of the "Thing,"
+lies at the head of a lake of the same name, some fifteen miles in
+length by six or seven in width. The waters of this lake are
+beautifully clear, and the scenery around it is of the wildest and
+most picturesque character. Rugged mountains rise from its shores in
+various directions, and islands reflect their varied outlines in its
+glassy surface. Cranes, wild ducks, plovers, and occasionally swans,
+abound in the lagoons that open into it from Thingvalla. The bed of
+this fine sheet of water corresponds in its configuration with the
+surrounding country. It is of volcanic formation throughout, and the
+rifts and fissures in the lava can be traced as far as it is
+practicable to see through the water.
+
+On passing out of the Almannajau near the lower fall, where the river
+breaks out into the main valley, the view toward the lake is extensive
+and imposing. Along the course of the river is a succession of
+beautiful little green flats, upon which the horses and cattle of the
+good pastor graze; and farther down, on the left, lies the church and
+farm-house. Still beyond are vast plains of lava, gradually merging
+into the waters of the lake; and in the far distance mountain upon
+mountain, till the view is lost in the snowy Jokuls of the far
+interior.
+
+Descending into this valley we soon crossed the river, which is
+fordable at this season, and in a few minutes entered a lane between
+the low stone walls that surround the station.
+
+ [Illustration: CHURCH AT THINGVALLA.]
+
+The church is of modern construction, and, like all I saw in the
+interior, is made of wood, painted a dark color, and roofed with
+boards covered with sheets of tarred canvas. It is a very primitive
+little affair, only one story high, and not more than fifteen by
+twenty feet in dimensions. From the date on the weather-cock it
+appears to have been built in 1858.
+
+The congregation is supplied by the few sheep-ranches in the
+neighborhood, consisting at most of half a dozen families. These
+unpretending little churches are to be seen in the vicinity of every
+settlement throughout the whole island. Simple and homely as they are,
+they speak well for the pious character of the people.
+
+The pastor of Thingvalla and his family reside in a group of
+sod-covered huts close by the church. These cheerless little hovels
+are really a curiosity, none of them being over ten or fifteen feet
+high, and all huddled together without the slightest regard to
+latitude or longitude, like a parcel of sheep in a storm. Some have
+windows in the roof, and some have chimneys; grass and weeds grow all
+over them, and crooked by-ways and dark alleys run among them and
+through them. At the base they are walled up with big lumps of lava,
+and two of them have board fronts, painted black, while the remainder
+are patched up with turf and rubbish of all sorts, very much in the
+style of a stork's nest. A low stone wall encircles the premises, but
+seems to be of little use as a barrier against the encroachments of
+live-stock, being broken up in gaps every few yards. In front of the
+group some attempt has been made at a pavement, which, however, must
+have been abandoned soon after the work was commenced. It is now
+littered all over with old tubs, pots, dish-cloths, and other articles
+of domestic use.
+
+ [Illustration: THE PASTOR'S HOUSE.]
+
+The interior of this strange abode is even more complicated than one
+would be led to expect from the exterior. Passing through a
+dilapidated doorway in one of the smaller cabins, which you would
+hardly suppose to be the main entrance, you find yourself in a long
+dark passage-way, built of rough stone, and roofed with wooden rafters
+and brushwood covered with sod. The sides are ornamented with pegs
+stuck in the crevices between the stones, upon which hang saddles,
+bridles, horse-shoes, bunches of herbs, dried fish, and various
+articles of cast-off clothing, including old shoes and sheepskins.
+Wide or narrow, straight or crooked, to suit the sinuosities of the
+different cabins into which it forms the entrance, it seems to have
+been originally located upon the track of a blind boa-constrictor,
+though Bishop Hatton denies the existence of snakes in Iceland. The
+best room, or rather house--for every room is a house--is set apart
+for the accommodation of travelers. Another cabin is occupied by some
+members of the pastor's family, who bundle about like a lot of
+rabbits. The kitchen is also the dog-kennel, and occasionally the
+sheep-house. A pile of stones in one corner of it, upon which a few
+twigs or scraps of sheep-manure serve to make the fire, constitute the
+cooking department. The beams overhead are decorated with pots and
+kettles, dried fish, stockings, petticoats, and the remains of a pair
+of boots that probably belonged to the pastor in his younger days. The
+dark turf walls are pleasantly diversified with bags of oil hung on
+pegs, scraps of meat, old bottles and jars, and divers rusty-looking
+instruments for shearing sheep and cleaning their hoofs. The floor
+consists of the original lava-bed, and artificial puddles composed of
+slops and offal of divers unctuous kinds. Smoke fills all the cavities
+in the air not already occupied by foul odors, and the beams, and
+posts, and rickety old bits of furniture are dyed to the core with the
+dense and variegated atmosphere around them. This is a fair specimen
+of the whole establishment, with the exception of the travelers' room.
+The beds in these cabins are the chief articles of luxury. Feathers
+being abundant, they are sewed up in prodigious ticks, which are
+tumbled topsy-turvy into big boxes on legs that serve for bedsteads,
+and then covered over with piles of all the loose blankets,
+petticoats, and cast-off rags possible to be gathered up about the
+premises. Into these comfortable nests the sleepers dive every night,
+and, whether in summer or winter, cover themselves up under the
+odorous mountain of rags, and snooze away till morning. During the
+long winter nights they spend on an average about sixteen hours out of
+the twenty-four in this agreeable manner. When it is borne in mind
+that every crevice in the house is carefully stopped up in order to
+keep out the cold air, and that whole families frequently occupy a
+single apartment not over ten by twelve, the idea of being able to cut
+through the atmosphere with a cleaver seems perfectly preposterous. A
+night's respiration in such a hole is quite sufficient to saturate the
+whole family with the substance of all the fish and sheepskins in the
+vicinity; and the marvel of it is that they don't come out next day
+wagging their fins or bleating like sheep. I wonder they ever have any
+occasion to eat. Absorption must supply them with a large amount of
+nutriment; but I suppose what is gained in that way is lost in the
+fattening of certain other members of the household. Warmth seems to
+be the principal object, and certainly it is no small consideration in
+a country where fuel is so scarce.
+
+I can not conceive of more wretched abodes for human beings. They are,
+indeed, very little better than fox-holes--certainly not much sweeter.
+Yet in such rude habitations as these the priests of Iceland study the
+classical languages, and perfect themselves in the early literature of
+their country. Many of them become learned, and devote much of their
+lives to the pursuits of science. In the northern part of the country
+the houses are said to be better and more capacious; but the example I
+have given is a fair average of what I saw.
+
+The passionate devotion of the Icelanders to their homes is almost
+inconceivable. I have never seen any thing like it. The most favored
+nations of the earth can not furnish examples of such intense and
+all-absorbing love of home and country. I traveled with a native of
+Reykjavik some weeks after my visit to Thingvalla, and had an
+opportunity of judging what his impressions were of other countries.
+He was a very intelligent man, well versed in Icelandic literature,
+and spoke English remarkably well. Both himself and wife were fellow
+passengers on the _Arcturus_ from Reykjavik to Grangemouth. I was
+curious to know what a well-educated man would think of a civilized
+country, and watched him very closely. He had never seen a railway,
+locomotive, or carriage of any kind, not even a tree or a good-sized
+house. We stopped at Leith, where we took passage by the train to
+Edinburg. As soon as the locomotive started he began to laugh
+heartily, and by the time we reached Edinburg he and his wife, though
+naturally grave people, were nearly in convulsions of laughter. I had
+no idea that the emotion of wonder would be manifested in that way by
+civilized beings. Of course I laughed to see them laugh, and
+altogether it was very funny. We took rooms at the same hotel,
+opposite to Sir Walter Scott's monument. Now it is needless to say
+that Edinburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Even
+Constantinople can scarcely surpass it in picturesque beauty. The
+worthy Icelander, be it remembered, had never seen even a town, except
+Reykjavik, of which I have already attempted a description. It was
+night when we arrived at Edinburg, so that I had no opportunity of
+judging what his impressions would be at that time. Next morning I
+knocked at his room door. His wife opened it, looking very sad, as I
+thought. At the window, gazing out over the magnificent scene,
+embracing the Monument, the Castle, and many of the finest of the
+public buildings, stood her husband, the big tears coursing down his
+face.
+
+"Well," said I, "what do you think of Edinburg?"
+
+"Oh!" he cried, "oh, I am so home-sick! Oh, my dear, dear native land!
+Oh, my own beautiful Iceland! Oh that I were back in my beloved
+Reykjavik! Oh, I shall die in this desert of houses! Oh that I could
+once more breathe the pure fresh air of my own dear, dear island
+home!"
+
+Such were literally his expressions. Not one word had he to say about
+the beauties of Edinburg! To him it was a hideous nightmare. The fishy
+little huts of Reykjavik, the bleak lava-deserts of the neighborhood,
+and the raw blasts from the Jokuls, were all he could realize of a
+Paradise upon earth. Yet he was a highly-cultivated and intelligent
+man, not destitute of refined tastes. Truly, I thought to myself,
+
+ "The shuddering tenant of the frigid zone
+ Boldly proclaims the happiest spot his own."
+
+While I waited outside the pastor's house, enjoying the oddity of the
+scene, Zoega busied himself unsaddling the horses. I sat down on a
+pile of fagots, and, with some trouble and a little assistance from my
+guide, succeeded in getting off my overalls, which had been thoroughly
+drenched with rain and saturated with mud. The occasional duckings we
+had experienced in crossing the rivers did not add to my comfort. I
+was chilled and wet, and would have given a Danish dollar for the
+privilege of sitting at a fire. All this time there was no sign of
+life about the premises save the barking of an ill-favored little dog
+that was energetically disclaiming any acquaintance with Brusa. I
+regret to say that Brusa lost much of his bravado air in the presence
+of this insignificant cur, but it was quite natural; the cur was at
+home and Brusa wasn't. At first our dog seemed disposed to stand his
+ground, but upon the near approach of the house-dog he dropped his
+tail between his legs and ingloriously sneaked between the legs of the
+horses, which of course gave the gentleman of the house a high opinion
+of his own prowess--so much so, indeed, that the craven spirit of
+Brusa never before appeared in such a despicable light. He cringed and
+howled with terror, which so flattered the vanity of the other that a
+ferocious attack was the immediate consequence. Fortunately, a kick
+from one of the horses laid Brusa's aggressor yelping in the mud, an
+advantage of which Brusa promptly availed himself, and the pastor's
+dog would have fared badly in the issue but for the interference of
+Zoega, who separated the contending parties, and administered a grave
+rebuke to the party of our part respecting the impropriety of his
+conduct.
+
+Though it occurred to me that I had seen the retreating figure of a
+man as we rode up, I was at a loss to understand why nobody appeared
+to ask us in or bid us welcome, and suggested to Zoega that I thought
+this rather an unfriendly reception. Now, upon this point of Icelandic
+hospitality Zoega was peculiarly sensitive. He always maintained that
+the people, though poor, are very hospitable--so much so that they
+made no complaint when a certain Englishman, whose name he could
+mention, stopped with them for days, ate up all their food and drank
+up all their coffee, and then went off without offering them even a
+small present. "No wonder," said Zoega, "this man told a great many
+lies about them, and laughed at them for refusing money, when the
+truth was he never offered them money or any thing else. It was
+certainly a very cheap way of traveling."
+
+"But what about the pastor, Zoega? I'm certain I caught a glimpse of
+him as he darted behind the door."
+
+"Oh, he'll be here directly; he always runs away when strangers come."
+
+"What does he run away for?"
+
+"Why, you see, sir, he is generally a little dirty, and must go wash
+himself and put on some decent clothes."
+
+While we were talking the pastor made his appearance, looking somewhat
+damp about the face and hair, and rather embarrassed about the shape
+of his coat, which was much too large for him, and hung rather low
+about his heels. With an awkward shuffling gait he approached us, and,
+having shaken hands with Zoega, looked askant at me, and said
+something, which my guide interpreted as follows:
+
+"He bids you welcome, sir, and says his house is at your service. It
+is a very poor house, but it is the best he has. He wishes to know if
+you will take some coffee, and asks what part of the world you are
+from. I tell him you are from California, and he says it is a great
+way off, clear down on the other side of the world, and may God's
+blessing be upon you. Walk in, sir."
+
+ [Illustration: THE PASTOR OF THINGVALLA.]
+
+Pleased with these kind words, I stepped up to the good pastor and
+cordially shook him by the hand, at the same time desiring Zoega to
+say that I thanked him very much, and hoped he would make it
+convenient to call and see me some time or other in California, which,
+I regret to add, caused him to look both alarmed and embarrassed. A
+queer, shy man was this pastor--a sort of living mummy, dried up and
+bleached by Icelandic snows. His manner was singularly bashful. There
+was something of the recluse in it--a mixture of shyness, awkwardness,
+and intelligence, as if his life had been spent chiefly among sheep
+and books, which very likely was the case. All the time I was trying
+to say something agreeable he was looking about him as if he desired
+to make his escape into some Icelandic bog, and there hide himself
+during my stay. I followed him through the passage-way already
+mentioned into the travelers' room, where he beckoned me to take a
+seat, and then, awkwardly seating himself on the edge of a chair as
+far away as he could get without backing through the wall, addressed
+me in Danish. Finding me not very proficient in that tongue, he
+branched off into Latin, which he spoke as fluently as if it had been
+his native language. Here again I was at fault. I had gone as far as
+_Quosque tandem_ when a boy, but the vicissitudes of time and travel
+had knocked it all out of my head. I tried him on the German, and
+there, to use a familiar phrase, had the "dead-wood on him." He
+couldn't understand a word of that euphonious language. However, a
+slight knowledge of the Spanish, picked up in Mexico and California,
+enabled me to guess at some of his Latin, and in this way we struggled
+into something of conversation. The effort, however, was too great for
+the timid recluse. After several pauses and lapses into long fits of
+silence, he got up and took his leave. Meantime Zoega was enjoying
+himself by the fire in the kitchen, surrounded by the female members
+of the family, who no doubt were eagerly listening to the latest news
+from Reykjavik. Whenever their voices became audible I strongly
+suspected that the ladies were asking whether the steamer had brought
+any crinoline from Copenhagen.
+
+The pastor's family appeared to be composed entirely of females. Like
+all the Icelandic women I had seen, they do all the work of the
+establishment, attend to the cows, make the cheese, cut the hay, carry
+the heavy burdens, and perform the manual labor generally. This I
+found to be the case at all the farm-houses. Sometimes the men assist,
+but they prefer riding about the country or lying idle about the doors
+of their cabins. At Reykjavik, it is true, there is a population of
+Danish sailors and fishermen, and it would be scarcely fair to form an
+opinion from the lazy and thriftless habits of the people there. But I
+think the civilization of Iceland is very much like that of Germany in
+respect to women. They are not rated very high in the scale of
+humanity. Still, overworked and degraded as they are, the natural
+proclivities of the sex are not altogether obliterated. In former
+times their costume was picturesque and becoming, and some traces of
+the old style are yet to be seen throughout the pastoral districts; a
+close body, a jaunty little cap on the head, with a heavy tassel,
+ornamented with gold or silver bands, silver clasps to their belts,
+and filigree buttons down the front, give them a very pleasing
+appearance. Of late years, however, fashion has begun to assert her
+sway, even in this isolated part of the world, and the native costume
+is gradually becoming modernized.
+
+The pastor having joined the more congenial circle of which Zoega was
+the admired centre, I was left alone in the chilly little room
+allotted to travelers to meditate upon the comforts of Icelandic life.
+It was rather a gloomy condition of affairs to be wet to the skin,
+shivering with cold, and not a soul at hand to sympathize with me in
+my misery. Then the everlasting day--when would it end? Already I had
+been awake and traveling some fourteen hours, and it was as broad
+daylight as ever. Nothing could be more wearying than the everlasting
+daylight that surrounded me--not bright and sunshiny, but dreary and
+lead-colored, showing scarcely any perceptible difference between
+morning, noon, and night.
+
+The coffee soon came to my relief, and the pastor followed it to wish
+me a good appetite and ask if I wanted any thing else. I again renewed
+the attempt at conversation, but it was too much for his nervous
+temperament and shrinking modesty. He always managed, after a few
+words, to slip stealthily away up into the loft or out among the rocks
+to avoid the appearance of intrusion, or the labor of understanding
+what I said, or communicating his ideas--I could not tell which.
+
+ [Illustration: SKELETON VIEW OF THE LOGBERG.]
+
+After a slight repast I walked out to take a look at the Logberg, or
+Rock of Laws, which is situated about half a mile from the church.
+This is, perhaps, of all the objects of historical association in
+Iceland, the most interesting. It was here the judges tried criminals,
+pronounced judgments, and executed their stern decrees. On a small
+plateau of lava, separated from the general mass by a profound abyss
+on every side, save a narrow neck barely wide enough for a foothold,
+the famous "Thing" assembled once a year, and, secured from intrusion
+in their deliberations by the terrible chasm around, passed laws for
+the weal or woe of the people. It was only necessary to guard the
+causeway by which they entered; all other sides were well protected by
+the encircling moat, which varies from thirty to forty feet in width,
+and is half filled with water. The total depth to the bottom, which
+is distinctly visible through the crystal pool, must be sixty or
+seventy feet. Into this yawning abyss the unhappy criminals were cast,
+with stones around their necks, and many a long day did they lie
+beneath the water, a ghastly spectacle for the crowd that peered at
+them over the precipice.
+
+ [Illustration: THINGVALLA, LOGBERG, ALMANNAJAU.]
+
+All was now as silent as the grave. Eight centuries had passed, and
+yet the strange scenes that had taken place here were vividly before
+me. I could imagine the gathering crowds, the rising hum of voices;
+the pause, the shriek, and plunge; the low murmur of horror, and then
+the stern warning of the lawgivers and the gradual dispersing of the
+multitude.
+
+The dimensions of the plateau are four or five hundred feet in length
+by an average of sixty or eighty in width. A diagram, taken from an
+elevated point beyond, will give some idea of its form. The surface is
+now covered with a fine coating of sod and grass, and furnishes good
+pasturage for the sheep belonging to the pastor.
+
+ [Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE LOGBERG.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX.
+
+THE ROAD TO THE GEYSERS.
+
+
+It was ten o'clock at night when I reached the parsonage. In addition
+to my rough ride from Reykjavik, and the various trying adventures on
+the way, I had walked over nearly the whole range of the Almannajau,
+sketched the principal points of interest, visited the Logberg, and
+made some sketches and diagrams of that, besides accomplishing a
+considerable amount of work about the premises of the good pastor, all
+of which is now submitted to the kind indulgence of the reader. Surely
+if there is a country upon earth abounding in obstacles to the pursuit
+of the fine arts, it is Iceland. The climate is the most variable in
+existence--warm and cold, wet and dry by turns, seldom the same thing
+for half a day. Such, at least, was my experience in June. Wild and
+desolate scenery there is in abundance, and no lack of interesting
+objects any where for the pencil of an artist; but it is difficult to
+conceive the amount of physical discomfort that must be endured by one
+who faithfully adheres to his purpose. Only think of sitting down on a
+jagged piece of lava, wet to the skin and shivering with cold; a raw,
+drizzling rain running down your back and dropping from the brim of
+your hat, making rivers on your paper where none are intended to be;
+hints of rheumatism shooting through your bones, and visions of a
+solitary grave in the wilderness crossing your mind; then, of a
+sudden, a wind that scatters your papers far and wide, and sends your
+only hat whirling into an abyss from which it is doubtful whether you
+will ever recover it--think of these, ye summer tourists who wander,
+sketch-book in hand, through the "warbling woodland" and along "the
+resounding shore," and talk about being enterprising followers of the
+fine arts! Try it in Iceland a while, and see how long your
+inspiration will last! Take my word for it, unless you be terribly in
+earnest, you will postpone your labors till the next day, and then the
+next, and so on to the day that never comes.
+
+Not the least of my troubles was the difficulty of getting a good
+night's rest after the fatiguing adventures of the day. There was no
+fault to be found with the bed, save that it was made for somebody who
+had never attained the average growth of an American; and one might do
+without a night-cap, but how in the world could any body be expected
+to sleep when there was no night? At twelve o'clock, when it ought to
+be midnight and the ghosts stirring about, I looked out, and it was
+broad day; at half past one I looked out again, and the sun was
+shining; at two I got up and tried to read some of the pastor's books,
+which were written in Icelandic, and therefore not very entertaining;
+at three I went to work and finished some of my sketches; and at four
+I gave up all farther hope of sleeping, and sallied forth to take
+another look at the Almannajau.
+
+ [Illustration: AN ARTIST AT HOME.]
+
+On my return Zoega was saddling up the horses. A cup of coffee and a
+dry biscuit put me in traveling order, and we were soon on our way up
+the valley.
+
+For the first few miles we followed the range of the "Jau," from which
+we then diverged across the great lava-beds of Thingvalla. It was not
+long before we struck into a region of such blasted and barren aspect
+that the imagination was bewildered with the dreary desolation of the
+scene. The whole country, as far as the eye could reach, was torn up
+and rent to pieces. Great masses of lava seemed to have been wrested
+forcibly from the original bed, and hurled at random over the face of
+the country. Prodigious fissures opened on every side, and for miles
+the trail wound through a maze of sharp points and brittle crusts of
+lava, with no indication of the course save at occasional intervals a
+pile of stones on some prominent point, erected by the peasants as a
+way-mark for travelers. Sometimes our hardy little horses climbed like
+goats up the rugged sides of a slope, where it seemed utterly
+impossible to find a foothold, so tortured and chaotic was the face of
+the earth; and not unfrequently we became involved in a labyrinth of
+fearful sinks, where the upper stratum had given way and fallen into
+the yawning depths below. Between these terrible traps the trail was
+often not over a few feet wide. It was no pleasant thing to
+contemplate the results of a probable slip or a misstep. The whole
+country bore the aspect of baffled rage--as if imbued with a demoniac
+spirit, it had received a crushing stroke from the Almighty hand that
+blasted and shivered it to fragments.
+
+ [Illustration: LAVA-FJELDS.]
+
+There were masses that looked as if they had turned cold while running
+in a fiery flood from the crater--wavy, serrated, frothy, like tar
+congealed or stiffened on a flat surface. One piece that I sketched
+was of the shape of a large leaf, upon which all the fibres were
+marked. It measured ten feet by four. Another bore a resemblance to a
+great conch-shell. Many were impressed with the roots of shrubs and
+the images of various surrounding objects--snail-shells, pebbles,
+twigs, and the like. On a larger scale, bubbling brooks, waterfalls,
+and whirlpools were represented--now no longer a burning flood, but
+stiff, stark, and motionless. One sketch, which is reproduced, bore a
+startling resemblance to some of the marble effigies on the tombs of
+medieval knights.
+
+ [Illustration: EFFIGY IN LAVA.]
+
+The distant mountains were covered with their perpetual mantles of
+snow. Nearer, on the verge of the valley, were the red peaks of the
+foot-hills. To the right lay the quiet waters of the lake glistening
+in the sunbeams. In front, a great black fissure stretched from the
+shores of the lake to the base of the mountains, presenting to the eye
+an impassable barrier. This was the famous Hrafnajau--the uncouth and
+terrible twin-brother of the Almannajau.
+
+A toilsome ride of eight miles brought us to the edge of the Pass,
+which in point of rugged grandeur far surpasses the Almannajau, though
+it lacks the extent and symmetry which give the latter such a
+remarkable effect. Here was a tremendous gap in the earth, over a
+hundred feet deep, hacked and shivered into a thousand fantastic
+shapes; the sides a succession of the wildest accidents; the bottom a
+chaos of broken lava, all tossed about in the most terrific confusion.
+It is not, however, the extraordinary desolation of the scene that
+constitutes its principal interest. The resistless power which had
+rent the great lava-bed asunder, as if touched with pity at the ruin,
+had also flung from the tottering cliffs a causeway across the gap,
+which now forms the only means of passing over the great Hrafnajau. No
+human hands could have created such a colossal work as this; the
+imagination is lost in its massive grandeur; and when we reflect that
+miles of an almost impassable country would otherwise have to be
+traversed in order to reach the opposite side of the gap, the
+conclusion is irresistible that in the battle of the elements Nature
+still had a kindly remembrance of man.
+
+ [Illustration: THE HRAFNAJAU.]
+
+Five or six miles beyond the Hrafnajau, near the summit of a
+dividing ridge, we came upon a very singular volcanic formation called
+the Tintron. It stands, a little to the right of the trail, on a rise
+of scoria and burned earth, from which it juts up in rugged relief to
+the height of twenty or thirty feet. This is, strictly speaking, a
+huge clinker not unlike what comes out of a grate--hard, glassy in
+spots, and scraggy all over. The top part is shaped like a shell; in
+the centre is a hole about three feet in diameter, which opens into a
+vast subterranean cavity of unknown depth. Whether the Tintron is an
+extinct crater, through which fires shot out of the earth in by-gone
+times, or an isolated mass of lava, whirled through the air out of
+some distant volcano, is a question that geologists must determine.
+The probability is that it is one of those natural curiosities so
+common in Iceland which defy research. The whole country is full of
+anomalies--bogs where one would expect to find dry land, and parched
+deserts where it would not seem strange to see bogs; fire where water
+ought to be, and water in the place of fire.
+
+While the pack-train followed the trail, Zoega suggested that the
+Tintron had never been sketched, and if I felt disposed to "take it
+down"--as he expressed it--he would wait for me in the valley below;
+so I took it down.
+
+During this day's journey we crossed many small rivers which had been
+much swollen by the recent rains. The fording-places, however, were
+generally good, and we got over them without being obliged to swim our
+horses. One river, the Bruara, gave me some uneasiness. When we
+arrived at the banks it presented a very formidable obstacle. At the
+only place where it was practicable to reach the water it was a raging
+torrent over fifty yards wide, dashing furiously over a bed of lava
+with a velocity and volume that bade apparent defiance to any attempt
+at crossing. In the middle was a great fissure running parallel with
+the course of the water, into which the current converged from each
+side, forming a series of cataracts that shook the earth, and made a
+loud reverberation from the depths below.
+
+ [Illustration: THE TINTRON ROCK.]
+
+I stopped on an elevated bank to survey the route before us. There
+seemed to be no possible way of getting over. It was all a wild
+roaring flood plunging madly down among the rocks. While I was
+thinking what was to be done, Zoega, with a crack of his whip, drove
+the animals into the water and made a bold dash after them. It then
+occurred to me that there was a good deal of prudence in the advice
+given by an Icelandic traveler: "_Never go into a river till your
+guide has tried it._" Should Zoega be swept down over the cataract, as
+appeared quite probable, there would be no necessity for me to follow
+him. I had a genuine regard for the poor fellow, and it would pain me
+greatly to lose him; but then he was paid so much per day for risking
+his life, and how could I help it if he chose to pursue such a
+perilous career? Doubtless he had come near being drowned many a time
+before; he seemed to be used to it. All I could do for him in the
+present instance would be to break the melancholy intelligence to his
+wife as tenderly as possible. While thus philosophizing, Zoega plunged
+in deeper and deeper till he was surrounded by the raging torrent on
+the very verge of the great fissure. Was it possible he was going to
+force his horse into it? Surely the man must be crazy.
+
+"Stop, Zoega! stop!" I shouted, at the top of my voice; "you'll be
+swept over the precipice. There's a great gap in the river just before
+you."
+
+"All right, sir!" cried Zoega. "Come on, sir!"
+
+Again and again I called to him to stop but he seemed to lose my voice
+in the roar of the falling waters. Dashing about after the scattered
+animals, he whipped them all up to the brink of the precipice, and
+then quietly walked his own horse across on what looked to me like a
+streak of foam. The others followed, and in a few minutes they all
+stood safely on the opposite bank. I thought this was very strange. A
+remote suspicion flashed across my mind that Zoega was in league with
+some of those water-spirits which are said to infest the rivers of
+Iceland. Wondering what they would say to a live Californian, I
+plunged in and followed the route taken by my guide. Upon approaching
+the middle of the river I discovered that what appeared to be a streak
+of foam was in reality a wooden platform stretched across the chasm
+and covered by a thin sheet of water. It was pinned down to the rocks
+at each end, and was well braced with rafters underneath. From this
+the river derives its name--Bruara, or the Bridge.
+
+The general aspect of the country differed but little from what I have
+already attempted to describe. Vast deserts of lava, snow-capped
+mountains in the distance, a few green spots here and there, and no
+apparent sign of habitation--these were its principal features. Below
+the falls the scene was peculiarly wild and characteristic. Tremendous
+masses of lava cast at random amid the roaring waters; great fissures
+splitting the earth asunder in all directions; every where marks of
+violent convulsion. In the following sketch I have endeavored to
+depict some of these salient points. When it is taken into
+consideration that the wind blew like a hurricane through the craggy
+ravines; that the rain and spray whirled over, and under, and almost
+through me; that it was difficult to stand on any elevated spot
+without danger of being blown over, I hope some allowance will be made
+for the imperfections of the performance.
+
+ [Illustration: BRIDGE RIVER.]
+
+About midway between Thingvalla and the Geysers we descended into a
+beautiful little valley, covered with a fine growth of grass, where we
+stopped to change horses and refresh ourselves with a lunch. While
+Zoega busied himself arranging the packs and saddles, our
+indefatigable little dog Brusa availed himself of the opportunity to
+give chase to a flock of sheep. Zoega shouted at him as usual, and as
+usual Brusa only barked the louder and ran the faster. The sheep
+scattered over the valley, Brusa pursuing all the loose members of the
+flock with a degree of energy and enthusiasm that would have done
+credit to a better cause. Upon the lambs he was particularly severe.
+Many of them must have been stunted in their growth for life by the
+fright they received; and it was not until he had tumbled half a dozen
+of them heels over head, and totally dispersed the remainder, that he
+saw fit to return to head-quarters. The excitement once over, he of
+course began to consider the consequences, and I must say he looked as
+mean as it was possible for an intelligent dog to look. Zoega took him
+by the nape of the neck with a relentless hand, and heaving a profound
+sigh, addressed a pathetic remonstrance to him in the Icelandic
+language, giving it weight and emphasis by a sharp cut of his whip
+after every sentence. This solemn duty performed to his satisfaction,
+and greatly to Brusa's satisfaction when it was over, we mounted our
+horses once more and proceeded on our journey.
+
+A considerable portion of this day's ride was over a rolling country,
+somewhat resembling the foot-hills in certain parts of California. On
+the right was an extensive plain, generally barren, but showing
+occasional green patches; and on the left a rugged range of mountains,
+not very high, but strongly marked by volcanic signs. We passed
+several lonely little huts, the occupants of which rarely made their
+appearance. Sheep, goats, and sometimes horses, dotted the
+pasture-lands. There was not much vegetation of any kind save patches
+of grass and brushwood. A species of white moss covered the rocks in
+places, presenting the appearance of hoar-frost at a short distance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L.
+
+THE GEYSERS.
+
+
+Upon turning the point of a hill where our trail was a little elevated
+above the great valley, Zoega called my attention to a column of vapor
+that seemed to rise out of the ground about ten miles distant. For all
+I could judge, it was smoke from some settler's cabin situated in a
+hollow of the slope.
+
+"What's that, Zoega?" I asked.
+
+"That's the Geysers, sir," he replied, as coolly as if it were the
+commonest thing in the world to see the famous Geysers of Iceland.
+
+"The Geysers! That little thing the Geysers?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Dear me! who would ever have thought it?"
+
+I may as well confess at once that I was sadly disappointed. It was a
+pleasure, of course, to see what I had read of and pictured to my
+mind, from early boyhood; but this contemptible little affair looked
+very much like a humbug. A vague idea had taken possession of my mind
+that I would see a whole district of country shooting up hot water and
+sulphurous vapors--a kind of hell upon earth; but that thing ahead of
+us--that little curl of smoke on the horizon looked so peaceful, so
+inadequate a result of great subterranean fires, that I could not but
+feel some resentment toward the travelers who had preceded me, and
+whose glowing accounts of the Geysers had deceived me. At this point
+of view it was not at all equal to the Geysers of California. I had a
+distinct recollection of the great canyon between Russian River Valley
+and Clear Lake, the magnificent hills on the route, the first glimpse
+of the infernal scene far down in the bed of the canyon, the boiling,
+hissing waters, and clouds of vapor whirling up among the rocks, the
+towering crags on the opposite side, and the noble forests of oak and
+pine that spread "a boundless contiguity of shade" over the wearied
+traveler, and I must say a patriotic pride took possession of my soul.
+We had beaten the world in the production of gold; our fruits were
+finer and our vegetables larger than any ever produced in other
+countries; our men taller and stronger, our women prettier and more
+prolific, our lawsuits more extensive, our fights the best ever gotten
+up, our towns the most rapidly built and rapidly burned--in short,
+every thing was on a grand, wide, broad, tall, fast, overwhelming
+scale, that bid defiance to competition, and now I was satisfied we
+could even beat old Iceland in the matters of Geysers. I really felt
+a contempt for that little streak of smoke. Perhaps something in the
+expression of my eye may have betrayed my thoughts, for Zoega, as if
+he felt a natural pride in the wonders of Iceland and wished them to
+be properly appreciated, hastily added, "But you must not judge of the
+Geysers by what you now see, sir! That is only the little Geyser. He
+don't blow up much. The others are behind the first rise of ground."
+
+"That may be, Zoega. I have no doubt they are very fine, but it is not
+within the bounds of possibility that they should equal the Geysers of
+California."
+
+"Indeed, sir! I didn't know you had Geysers there."
+
+"Didn't know it! Never heard of the Geysers of California?"
+
+"Never, sir."
+
+"Well, Zoega, that is remarkable. Our Geysers are the finest, the
+bitterest, the smokiest, the noisiest, the most infernal in the world;
+and as for mountains, our Shasta Bute would knock your Mount Hecla
+into a cocked hat!"
+
+"Is it possible!"
+
+"Of course it is."
+
+"And have you great lava-beds covering whole valleys as we have here?"
+
+"Certainly--only they are made of gold. We call them Placers--Gold
+Placers."
+
+"A wonderful country, sir!"
+
+"Would you like to go there, Zoega?"
+
+"No, sir; I'd rather stay here."
+
+ [Illustration: SHEPHERD AND FAMILY.]
+
+And so we talked, Zoega and I, as we jogged along pleasantly on our
+way. Our ride, after we caught the first sight of the smoke,
+continued for some two hours over a series of low hills, with little
+green valleys lying between, till we came to an extensive bog that
+skirts the base of the Langarfjal, a volcanic bluff forming the
+background of the Geysers. It was now becoming interesting. Half an
+hour more would settle the matter conclusively between California
+and Iceland. Crossing the bog where it was not very wet, we soon came
+to a group of huts at the turning-point of the hill, where we were
+met by a shepherd and his family. All turned out, big and little, to
+see the strangers. The man and his wife were fair specimens of
+Icelandic peasantry--broad-faced, blue-eyed, and good-natured, with
+yellowish hair, and a sort of mixed costume, between the civilized
+and the barbarous. The children, of which there must have been over a
+dozen, were of the usual cotton-head species found in all Northern
+countries, and wore any thing apparently they could get, from the
+cast-off rags of their parents to sheepskins and raw hide. Nothing
+could surpass the friendly interest of the old shepherd. He asked
+Zoega a thousand questions about the "gentleman," and begged that we
+would dismount and do him the honor to take a cup of coffee, which
+his wife would prepare for us in five minutes. Knowing by experience
+that five minutes in Iceland means any time within five hours, I was
+reluctantly obliged to decline the invitation. The poor fellow seemed
+much disappointed, and evidently was sincere in his offers of
+hospitality. To compromise the matter, we borrowed a spade from him,
+and requested him to send some milk down to our camp as soon as the
+cows were milked.
+
+Although these worthy people lived not over half a mile from the
+Geysers, they could not tell us when the last eruption had taken
+place--a most important thing for us to know, as the success of the
+trip depended almost entirely upon the length of time which had
+elapsed since that event. The man said he never took notice of the
+eruptions. He saw the water shooting up every few days, but paid no
+particular attention to it. There might have been an eruption
+yesterday, or this morning, for all he knew; it was impossible for him
+to say positively. "In truth, good friend," said he to Zoega, "my head
+is filled with sheep, and they give me trouble enough." It was
+evidently filled with something, for he kept scratching it all the
+time he was talking.
+
+Many travelers have been compelled to wait a week for an eruption of
+the Great Geyser, though the interval between the eruptions is not
+usually more than three days. A good deal depends upon the previous
+state of the weather, whether it has been wet or dry. Sometimes the
+eruptions take place within twenty-four hours, but not often. The
+Great Geyser is a very capricious old gentleman, take him as you will.
+He goes up or keeps quiet just to suit himself, and will not put
+himself the least out of the way to oblige anybody. Even the Prince
+Napoleon, who visited this region a few years ago, spent two days
+trying to coax the grumbling old fellow to favor him with a
+performance, but all to no purpose. The prince was no more to a Great
+Geyser than the commonest shepherd--not so much, in fact, for his
+finest displays are said to be made when nobody but some poor shepherd
+of the neighborhood is about. In former times the eruptions were much
+more frequent than they are now, occurring at least every six hours,
+and often at periods of only three or four. Gradually they have been
+diminishing in force and frequency, and it is not improbable they will
+cease altogether before the lapse of another century. According to the
+measurements given by various travelers, among whom may be mentioned
+Dr. Henderson, Sir George Mackenzie, Forbes, Metcalfe, and Lord
+Dufferin, the height to which the water is ejected varies from eighty
+to two hundred feet. It is stated that these Geysers did not exist
+prior to the fifteenth century; and one eruption--that of 1772--is
+estimated by Olsen and Paulsen to have reached the extraordinary
+height of three hundred and sixty feet. All these measurements appear
+to me to be exaggerated.
+
+Ascending a slope of dry incrusted earth of a red and yellowish color,
+we first came upon the Little Geyser, a small orifice in the ground,
+from which a column of steam arose. A bubbling sound as of boiling
+water issued from the depths below, but otherwise it presented no
+remarkable phenomena. In a few minutes more we stood in the middle of
+a sloping plateau of some half a mile in circuit, which declines into
+an extensive valley on the right. Within the limits of this area there
+are some forty springs and fissures which emit hot water and vapors.
+None of them are of any considerable size, except the Great Geyser,
+the Strokhr, and the Little Geyser. The earth seems to be a mere crust
+of sulphurous deposits, and burnt clay, and rotten trap-rock, and is
+destitute of vegetation except in a few spots, where patches of grass
+and moss present a beautiful contrast to the surrounding barrenness.
+In its quiescent state the scene was not so striking as I had
+expected, though the whirling volumes of smoke that filled the air,
+and the strange sounds that issued from the ground in every direction,
+filled my mind with strong premonitions of what might take place at
+any moment. I did not yet relinquish my views in reference to the
+superiority of the California Geysers; still, I began to feel some
+misgiving about it when I looked around and saw the vastness of the
+scale upon which the fixtures were arranged here for hydraulic
+entertainments. If we could beat Iceland in the beauty of our scenery,
+it was quite apparent that the advantage lay here in the breadth and
+extent of the surrounding desolation--the great lava-fields, the
+snow-capped Jokuls, and the distant peaks of Mount Hecla.
+
+We rode directly toward the Great Geyser, which we approached within
+about fifty yards. Here was the camping-ground--a pleasant little
+patch of green sod, where the various travelers who had preceded us
+had pitched their tents. Zoega knew every spot. He had accompanied
+most of the distinguished gentlemen who had honored the place with
+their presence, and had something to say in his grave, simple way
+about each of them. Here stood Lord Dufferin's tent. A lively young
+gentleman he was; a very nice young man; told some queer stories about
+the Icelanders; didn't see much of the country, but made a very nice
+book about what he saw; had a great time at the governor's, and drank
+every body drunk under the table, etc. Here, close by, the Prince
+Napoleon pitched his tent--a large tent, very handsomely decorated;
+room for all his officers; very fine gentleman the prince; had lots of
+money; drank plenty of Champagne; a fat gentleman, not very tall; had
+blackish hair, and talked French; didn't see the Great Geyser go up,
+but saw the Strokhr, etc. Here was Mr. Metcalfe's tent; a queer
+gentleman, Mr. Metcalfe; rather rough in his dress; wrote a funny book
+about Iceland; told some hard things on the priests; they didn't like
+it at all; didn't know what to make of Mr. Metcalfe, etc. Here was Mr.
+Chambers's camp--a Scotch gentleman; very nice man, plain and
+sensible; wrote a pamphlet, etc. And here was an old tent-mark, almost
+rubbed out, where an American gentleman camped about ten years ago;
+thought his name was Mr. Miles. This traveler also wrote a book, and
+told some funny stories.
+
+"Was it Pliny Miles?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, sir, that was his name. I was with him all the time."
+
+"Have you his book?"
+
+"Yes, sir, I have his book at home. A very queer gentleman, Mr. Miles;
+saw a great many things that I didn't see; says he came near getting
+drowned in a river."
+
+"And didn't he?"
+
+"Well, sir, I don't know. I didn't see him when he was near being
+drowned. You crossed the river, sir, yourself, and know whether it is
+dangerous."
+
+"Was it the Bruara?"
+
+"No, sir; one of the other little rivers, about knee-deep."
+
+Here was food for reflection. Zoega, with his matter-of-fact eyes,
+evidently saw things in an entirely different light from that in which
+they presented themselves to the enthusiastic tourists who accompanied
+him. Perhaps he would some time or other be pointing out my tent to
+some inquisitive visitor, and giving him a running criticism upon my
+journal of experiences in Iceland. I deemed it judicious, therefore,
+to explain to him that gentlemen who traveled all the way to Iceland
+were bound to see something and meet with some thrilling adventures.
+If they didn't tell of very remarkable things, nobody would care
+about reading their books. This was the great art of travel; it was
+not exactly lying, but putting on colors to give the picture effect.
+
+"For my part, Zoega," said I, "having no great skill as an artist, and
+being a very plain, unimaginative man, as you know, I shall confine
+myself strictly to facts. Perhaps there will be novelty enough in
+telling the truth to attract attention."
+
+"The truth is always the best, sir," replied Zoega, gravely and
+piously.
+
+"Of course it is, Zoega. This country is sufficiently curious in
+itself. It does not require the aid of fiction to give it effect.
+Therefore, should you come across any thing in my narrative which may
+have escaped your notice, depend upon it I thought it was true--or
+ought to be."
+
+"Yes, sir; I know you would never lie like some of these gentlemen."
+
+"Never! never, Zoega! I scorn a lying traveler above all things on
+earth."
+
+But these digressions, however amusing they were at the time, can
+scarcely be of much interest to the reader.
+
+Even after the lapse of several years the marks around the
+camping-ground were quite fresh. The sod is of very fine texture, and
+the grass never grows very rank, so that wherever a trench is cut to
+let off the rain, it remains, with very little alteration, for a great
+length of time.
+
+On the principle that a sovereign of the United States ought never to
+rank himself below a prince of any other country, I selected a spot a
+little above the camping-ground of his excellency the Prince Napoleon.
+By the aid of my guide I soon had the tent pitched. It was a small
+affair--only an upright pole, a few yards of canvas, and four wooden
+pins. The whole concern did not weigh twenty pounds, and only covered
+an area of ground about four feet by six. Zoega then took the horses
+to a pasture up the valley. I amused myself making a few sketches of
+the surrounding objects, and thinking how strange it was to be here
+all alone at the Geysers of Iceland. How many of my friends knew where
+I was? Not one, perhaps. And should all the Geysers blow up together
+and boil me on the spot, what would people generally think of it? Or
+suppose the ground were to give way and swallow me up, what difference
+would it make in the price of consols or the temperature of the ocean?
+
+When Zoega came back, he said, if I pleased, we would now go to work
+and cut sods for the Strokhr. It was a favorable time "to see him
+heave up." The way to make him do that was to make him sick. Sods
+always made him sick. They didn't agree with his stomach. Every
+gentleman who came here made it a point to stir him up. He was called
+the Strokhr because he churned things that were thrown down his
+throat; and Strokhr means _churn_. I was very anxious to see the
+performance suggested by Zoega, and readily consented to assist him in
+getting the sods.
+
+The Strokhr lay about a hundred yards from our tent, nearly in a line
+between the Great and Little Geysers. Externally it presents no very
+remarkable feature, being nothing more than a hole in the bed of
+rocks, about five feet in diameter, and slightly funnel-shaped at the
+orifice. Standing upon the edge, one can see the water boiling up and
+whirling over about twenty feet below. A hollow, growling noise is
+heard, varied by an occasional hiss and rush, as if the contents were
+struggling to get out. It emits hot vapors, and a slight smell of
+sulphur; otherwise it maintains rather a peaceful aspect, considering
+the infernal temper it gets into when disturbed.
+
+Zoega and I worked hard cutting and carrying the sods for nearly half
+an hour, by which time we had a large pile on the edge of the orifice.
+Zoega said there was enough. I insisted on getting more. "Let us give
+him a dose that he won't forget." "Oh, sir, nobody ever puts more than
+that in; it is quite enough." "No; I mean to make him deadly sick.
+Come on, Zoega." And at it we went again, cutting the sod, and
+carrying it over and piling it up in a great heap by the hole. When we
+had about a ton all ready, I said to Zoega, "Now, Zoega, fire away,
+and I'll stand here and see how it works." Then Zoega pushed it all
+over, and it went slapping and dashing down into the steaming shaft.
+For a little while it whirled about, and surged, and boiled, and
+tumbled over and over in the depths of the churn with a hollow,
+swashing noise terribly ominous of what was to come. I peeped over the
+edge to try if I could detect the first symptoms of the approaching
+eruption. Zoega walked quietly away about twenty steps, saying he
+preferred not to be too close. There was a sudden growl and a rumble,
+a terrible plunging about and swashing of the sods below, and fierce,
+whirling clouds of steam flew up, almost blinding me as they passed.
+
+"Sir," said Zoega, gravely, "you had better stand away. It comes up
+very suddenly when it once starts."
+
+"Don't be afraid, Zoega; I'll keep a sharp look-out for it. You may
+depend there's not a Geyser in Iceland can catch me when I make a
+break."
+
+"Very well, sir; but I'd advise you to be careful."
+
+Notwithstanding this good counsel, I could not resist the fascination
+of looking in. There was another tremendous commotion going on--a
+roar, a whirling over of the sods, and clouds of steam flying up. This
+time I ran back a few steps. But it was a false alarm. Nothing came of
+it. The heaving mass seemed to be producing the desired effect,
+however. The Strokhr was evidently getting very sick. I looked over
+once more. All below was a rumbling, tumbling black mass, dashing over
+and over against the sides of the churn. Soon a threatening roar not
+to be mistaken startled me. "Look out, sir!" shouted Zoega; "look
+out!" Unlike the Frenchman who looked out when he should have looked
+in, I unconsciously looked in when I should have looked out. With a
+suddenness that astonished me, up shot the seething mass almost in my
+face. One galvanic jump--an involuntary shout of triumph--and I was
+rolling heels over head on the crust of earth about ten feet off, the
+hot water and clumps of sod tumbling down about me in every direction.
+Another scramble brought me to my feet, of which I made such good use
+that I was forty yards beyond Zoega before I knew distinctly what had
+happened. The poor fellow came running toward me in great
+consternation.
+
+"Are you hurt, sir? I hope you're not hurt!" he cried, in accents of
+great concern.
+
+"Hurt!" I answered. "Didn't you see me rolling over on the ground
+laughing at it? Why, Zoega, I never saw any thing so absurd as that in
+my life; any decent Geyser would have given at least an hour's notice.
+This miserable little wretch went off half cocked. I was just laughing
+to think how sick we made him all of a sudden!"
+
+"Oh, that was it, sir! I thought you were badly hurt."
+
+"Not a bit of it. You never saw a man who had suffered serious bodily
+injury run and jump with joy, and roll with laughter as I did."
+
+"No, sir, never, now that I come to think of it."
+
+Somehow it was always pleasant to talk with Zoega, his simplicity was
+so refreshing.
+
+The display was really magnificent. An immense dark column shot into
+the air to the height of sixty or seventy feet, composed of
+innumerable jets of water and whirling masses of sod. It resembled a
+thousand fountains joined together, each with a separate source of
+expulsion. The hissing hot water, blackened by the boiled clay and
+turf, spurted up in countless revolving circlets, spreading out in
+every direction and falling in torrents over the earth, which was
+deluged for fifty feet around with the dark, steaming flood. This,
+again sweeping into the mouth of the funnel, fell in thick streams
+into the churn, carrying with it the sods that were scattered within
+its vortex, and once more heaved and surged about in the huge caldron
+below.
+
+The eruption continued for about five minutes without any apparent
+diminution of force. It then subsided into fitful and convulsive jets,
+as if making a last effort, and finally disappeared with a deep growl
+of disappointment. All was now quiet save the gurgling of the murky
+water as it sought its way back. Zoega said it was not done yet--that
+this was only a beginning. I took my sketch-book and resolved to seize
+the next opportunity for a good view of the eruption, taking, in the
+mean time, a general outline of the locality, including a glimpse of
+the Langarfjal. Just as I had finished up to the orifice the same
+angry roar which had first startled me was repeated, and up shot the
+dark, boiling flood in grander style than ever. This time it was
+absolutely fearful. There could be no doubt the dose of sods we had
+tumbled into the stomach of the old gentleman was making him not only
+dreadfully sick, but furiously angry.
+
+At this moment, as if the elements sympathized in his distress, fierce
+gusts of wind began to blow down from the Langarfjal. So sudden and
+violent were they that it was difficult to maintain a foothold in our
+exposed position; and the tall column of fountains, struck with the
+full violence of the wind, presented a splendid spectacle of strength
+and rage--surging, and swaying, and battling to maintain its erect
+position, and showing in every motion the irresistible power with
+which it was ejected. Steam, and water, and sods went whirling down
+into the valley; the very air was darkened with the shriven and
+scattered currents; and a black deluge fell to the leeward, hundreds
+of yards beyond the orifice. The weird and barren aspect of the
+surrounding scenery was never more impressive.
+
+"What do you think of the Strokhr, sir?" asked Zoega, with some pride.
+"Is it equal to the Geysers of California?"
+
+ [Illustration: THE STROKHR.]
+
+I was rather taken aback at the honest bluntness of this question,
+and must admit that I felt a little crest-fallen when I came to
+compare the respective performances. Therefore I could only answer, in
+rather a casual way,
+
+"Well, Zoega, to tell you the truth, ours don't get quite so sick as
+this, owing, no doubt, to the superior salubrity of our climate. You
+might throw sods into them all day, and they wouldn't make such a fuss
+about it as the Strokhr makes about a mere handful. Their digestion,
+you see, is a great deal stronger."
+
+"Oh, but wait, sir, till you see the Great Geyser; that's much better
+than the Strokhr."
+
+"Doubtless it is very fine, Zoega. Still I can't help but think our
+California Geysers are in a superior condition of health. It is true
+they smoke a good deal, but I don't think they impair their digestion
+by such stimulating food as the Geysers of Iceland. Judging by the
+eruptions of the Strokhr, I should say he feeds exclusively on fire
+and water, which would ruin the best stomach in the world."
+
+Zoega looked troubled. He evidently did not comprehend my figurative
+style of speech. So the conversation dropped.
+
+The column of water ejected from the Strokhr, unlike that of the Great
+Geyser, is tall and slender, and of almost inky blackness. In the case
+of the Great Geyser no artificial means interrupt its operations; in
+that of the Strokhr the pressure of foreign substances produces
+results not natural to it.
+
+After the two eruptions which I have attempted to describe, the waters
+of the Strokhr again subsided into sobs and convulsive throes. Some
+half an hour now elapsed before any thing more took place. Then there
+was another series of growls, and a terrible swashing about down in
+the churn, as if all the demons under earth were trying to drown one
+another, and up shot the murky flood for the third time. Thus it
+continued at intervals more and more remote, till a late hour in the
+night, making desperate efforts to disgorge the sods that were swept
+back after every ejection, and to rid itself of the foul water that
+remained. Those attempts gradually grow fainter and fainter, subsiding
+at last into mere grumblings. I looked into the orifice the next
+morning, and was surprised to find the water yet discolored. It was
+evident, from the uneasy manner in which it surged about, that the
+dose still produced unpleasant effects.
+
+Having finished my sketch, I returned to the tent, in front of which
+Zoega had meantime spread a cloth, with some bread and cheese on it,
+and such other scraps of provisions as we had. A little boy from the
+neighboring sheep-ranch brought us down some milk and cream, and I
+thought if we only had a cup of tea on to warm us up after the chilly
+wind our supper would be luxurious.
+
+"Just in time, sir," said Zoega; "I'll make the tea in a minute."
+
+"Where's your fire."
+
+"Oh, we don't need fire here--the hot water is always ready. There's
+the big boiler up yonder!"
+
+I looked where Zoega pointed, and saw, about a hundred yards off, a
+boiling caldron. This was our grand tea-kettle. Upon a nearer
+inspection, I found that it consisted of two great holes in the rocks,
+close together, the larger of which was about thirty feet in
+circumference, and of great depth. The water was as clear as crystal.
+It was easy to trace the white stratum of rocks, of which the sides
+were formed, down to the neck of the great shaft through which the
+water was ejected. Flakes of steam floated off from the surface of the
+crystal pool, which was generally placid. Only at occasional intervals
+did it show any symptoms of internal commotion. By dipping my finger
+down a little way I found that it was boiling hot. Five minutes
+immersion would be sufficient to skin and boil an entire man.
+
+Nature has bountifully put these boilers here for the use of
+travelers. Not a stick or twig of wood grows within a circuit of many
+miles, and without fuel of course it would be impossible to cook
+food. Here a leg of mutton submerged in a pot can be beautifully
+boiled; plum-puddings cooked; eggs, fish, or any thing you please,
+done to a nicety. All this I knew before, but I had no idea that the
+water was pure enough for drinking purposes. Such, however, is the
+fact. No better water ever came out of the earth--in a boiled
+condition. To make a pot of tea, you simply put your tea in your pot,
+hold on to the handle, dip the whole concern down into the water, keep
+it there a while to draw, and your tea is made.
+
+I found it excellent, and did not, as I apprehended, discover any
+unpleasant flavor in the water. It may be slightly impregnated with
+sulphur, though that gives it rather a wholesome smack. To me,
+however, it tasted very much like any other hot water.
+
+ [Illustration: SIDE-SADDLE.]
+
+When I returned to the tent, and sat down to my frugal repast, and ate
+my bread and cheese, and quaffed the fragrant tea, Zoega sitting near
+by respectfully assisting me, something of the old California feeling
+came over me, and I enjoyed life once more after years of travel
+through the deserts of civilization in Europe. What a glorious thing
+it is to be a natural barbarian! This was luxury! this was joy! this
+was Paradise upon earth! Ah me! where is the country that can equal
+California? Brightest of the bright lands of sunshine; richest,
+rarest, loveliest of earth's beauties! like Phaedra to the mistress of
+his soul, I love you by day and by night, behave in the company of
+others as if I were absent; want you; dream of you; think of you; wish
+for you; delight in you--in short, I am wholly yours, body and soul!
+If ever I leave you again on a wild-goose chase through Europe, may
+the Elector of Hesse-Cassel appoint me his prime minister, or the Duke
+of Baden his principal butler!
+
+Very little indication of the time was apparent in the sky. The sun
+still shone brightly, although it was nearly ten o'clock. I did not
+feel much inclined to sleep, with so many objects of interest around.
+Apart from that, there was something in this everlasting light that
+disturbed my nervous system. It becomes really terrible in the course
+of a few days. The whole order of nature seems reversed. Night has
+disappeared altogether. Nothing but day remains--dreary, monotonous,
+perpetual day. You crave the relief of darkness; your spirits, at
+first exuberant, go down, and still down, till they are below zero;
+the novelty wears away, and the very light becomes gloomy.
+
+People must sleep, nevertheless. With me it was a duty I owed to an
+overtaxed body. Our tent was rather small for two, and Zoega asked
+permission to sleep with an acquaintance who lived in a cabin about
+two miles distant. This I readily granted. It was something of a
+novelty to be left in charge of two such distinguished characters as
+the Great Geyser and the Strokhr. Possibly they might favor me with
+some extraordinary freaks of humor, such as no other traveler had yet
+enjoyed. So, bidding Zoega a kindly farewell for the present, I closed
+the front of the tent, and tried to persuade myself that it was night.
+
+With the light streaming in through the crevices of the tent, it was
+no easy matter to imagine that this was an appropriate time to "steep
+the senses in forgetfulness." I was badly provided with covering, and
+the weather, though not absolutely cold, was damp and chilly. In my
+hurry to get off, I had forgotten even the small outfit with which I
+originally thought of making the journey. All I now had in the way of
+bedding was a thin shawl, and an old overall belonging to Captain
+Andersen, of the steamer. I put one on the ground and the other over
+my body, and with a bag of hard bread under my head by way of a
+pillow, strove to banish the notion that it was at all uncomfortable.
+There was something in this method of sleeping to remind me of my
+California experience. To be sure there was a lack of blankets, and
+fire, and pleasant company, and balmy air, and many other luxuries;
+but the general principle was the same, except that it was impossible
+to sleep. The idea of being utterly alone, in such an outlandish part
+of the world, may have had something to do with the singular activity
+of my nervous system. It seemed to me that somebody was thrusting
+cambric needles into my skin in a sudden and violent manner, and at
+the most unexpected places; and strange sounds were continually
+buzzing in my ears. I began to reflect seriously upon the condition of
+affairs down underneath my bed. Doubtless it was a very fiery and
+restless region, or all these smokes and simmering pools would not
+disfigure the face of the country. How thick was the shell of the
+earth at this particular spot? It sounded very thin all over--a mere
+crust, through which one might break at any moment. Here was boiling
+water fizzing and gurgling all around, and the air was impregnated
+with strong odors of sulphur. Suppose the whole thing should burst up
+of a sudden? It was by no means impossible. What would become of my
+sketches of Iceland in the event of such a catastrophe as that? What
+sort of a notice would my editorial friends give of the curious manner
+in which I had disappeared? And what would Zoega think in the
+morning, when he came down from the farm-house, and saw that his tent
+and provision-boxes were gone down in a great hole, and that an
+American gentleman, in whom he had the greatest confidence, had not
+only carried them with him, but failed to pay his liabilities before
+starting? Here, too, was the sun only slightly dipped below the
+horizon at midnight, and the moon shining overhead at the same time.
+Every thing was twisted inside out and turned upside down. It was
+truly a strange country.
+
+Having tossed and tumbled about for an indefinite length of time, I
+must have fallen into an uneasy doze. During the day I had been
+thinking of the rebellion at home, and now gloomy visions disturbed my
+mind. I thought I saw moving crowds dressed in black, and heard
+wailing sounds. Funerals passed before me, and women and children wept
+for the dead. The scene changed, and I saw hosts of men on the
+battle-field, rushing upon each other and falling in deadly strife. A
+dreary horror came over me. It was like some dreadful play, in which
+the stake was human life. Blood was upon the faces of the dying and
+the dead. In the effort to disentangle the right from the wrong--to
+seek out a cause for the calamity which had fallen upon us--a racking
+anguish tortured me, and I vainly strove to regain my scattered
+senses. Then, in the midst of this confused dream, I heard the booming
+of cannon--at first far down in the earth, but gradually growing
+nearer, till, with a start, I awoke. Still the guns boomed! Surely the
+sounds were real. I could not be deceived. Starting to my feet, I
+listened. Splashing and surging waters, and dull, heavy reports,
+sounded in the air. I dashed aside the lining of the tent and looked
+out. Never shall I forget that sight--the Great Geyser in full
+eruption! A tremendous volume of water stood in bold relief against
+the sky, like a tall weeping willow in winter swaying before the wind,
+and shaking the white frost from its drooping branches. Whirling
+vapors and white wreaths floated off toward the valley. All was clear
+overhead. A spectral light, which was neither of day nor of night,
+shone upon the dark, lava-covered earth. The rush and plashing of the
+fountain and the booming of the subterranean guns fell with a
+startling distinctness upon the solitude. Streams of glittering white
+water swept the surface of the great basin on all sides, and dashed
+hissing and steaming into the encircling fissures. A feathery spray
+sparkled through the air. The earth trembled, and sudden gusts of wind
+whirled down with a moaning sound from the wild gorges of the
+Langarfjal.
+
+It did not appear to me that the height of the fountain was so great
+as it is generally represented. So far as I could judge, the greatest
+altitude at any time from the commencement of the eruption was not
+over sixty feet. Its volume, however, greatly exceeded my
+expectations, and the beauty of its form surpassed all description. I
+had never before seen, and never again expect to see, any thing equal
+to it. This magnificent display lasted, altogether, about ten minutes.
+The eruption was somewhat spasmodic in its operation, increasing or
+diminishing in force at each moment, till, with a sudden dash, all the
+water that remained was ejected, and then, after a few gurgling
+throes, all was silent.
+
+I no longer attempted to sleep. My mind was bewildered with the
+wonders of the scene I had just witnessed. All I could do was to make
+a cup of tea at the big boiler on the slope above my tent, and walk
+about, after drinking it, to keep my feet warm. Soon the sun's rays
+appeared upon the distant mountains. A strange time of the night for
+the sun to be getting up--only half past one--when people in most
+other parts of the world are snug in bed, and don't expect to see a
+streak of sunshine for at least four or five hours. How different from
+any thing I had ever before seen was the sunrise in Iceland! No
+crowing of the cock; no singing of the birds; no merry plow-boys
+whistling up the horses in the barn-yard; no cherry-cheeked
+milk-maids singing love-ditties as they tripped the green with their
+pails upon their heads. All was grim, silent, and death-like. And yet
+surely, for all that, the delicate tints of the snow-capped mountains,
+the peaks of which were now steeped in the rays of the rising sun, the
+broad valley slumbering in the shade, the clear, sparkling atmosphere,
+and the exquisite coloring of the Langarfjal--the mighty crag that
+towers over the Geysers--were beauties enough to redeem the solitude
+and imbue the deserts with a celestial glory.
+
+There are various theories concerning the cause of these eruptions of
+water in Iceland. That of Lyell, the geologist, seems the most
+reasonable. The earth, as it is well known, increases in heat at a
+certain ratio corresponding with the depth from the surface. There are
+cavities in many parts of it, arising from subterranean disturbances,
+into which the water percolates from the upper strata. In Iceland the
+probability is that these cavities are both numerous and extensive,
+owing to volcanic causes, and form large receivers for the water of
+the surrounding neighborhood. Wherever there is a natural outlet, as
+at the Geysers, this water, which is boiled by the heat of the earth,
+is forced to the surface by compression of steam, and remains at the
+mouth of the pipe, or shaft, until an accumulation of compressed steam
+drives it up in the form of a fountain. The periodical occurrence of
+these eruptions in some of the hot-springs and not in others may arise
+from a difference in the depth of the receiver, or more probably from
+the existence of several outlets for the escape of steam in some, and
+only one in others. A good illustration of this theory is presented in
+the boiling of an ordinary tea-kettle. When the compression of steam
+is great, the cover is lifted up and the water shoots from the spout,
+by which means the pressure is relieved and the water subsides. The
+same thing is repeated until the space within the kettle becomes
+sufficiently large to admit of a more rapid condensation of the steam.
+The action of the Strokhr, which, as I have shown, differs from that
+of the Great Geyser, may be accounted for on the same general
+principle. The foreign substances thrown in on top of the boiling
+water stops the escape of steam, which, under ordinary circumstances,
+is sufficiently great not to require the periodical relief of an
+eruption. An accumulation of compressed steam takes place in the
+reservoir below, and this continues until the obstruction is ejected.
+
+ [Illustration: GREAT GEYSER AND RECEIVER.]
+
+ [Illustration: STROKHR AND RECEIVER.]
+
+This, I believe, is substantially Lyell's theory; though, having no
+books by me at present, I quote entirely from memory, and it is
+possible I may be mistaken in some of the details. The preceding
+diagrams will enable the reader to understand more clearly the whole
+process by which these eruptions are produced.
+
+Six long hours remained till ordinary breakfast-time. What was to be
+done? It was getting terribly lonesome. I felt like one who had been
+to a theatre and seen all the performances. Zoega had promised to be
+back by eight o'clock; but eight o'clock in Iceland, on the 21st of
+June, is a late hour of the day. A treatise on trigonometry might be
+written between sunrise and that unapproachable hour. The only thing I
+could do was to make some more tea and eat a preliminary breakfast.
+When that was done nothing remained but to go to work in front of my
+little tent and finish up my rough sketches. This is a very absorbing
+business, as every body knows who has tried it, and I was deeply into
+it when Zoega made his appearance.
+
+"Well, sir," said he, "what success? Did he erupt?"
+
+"Of course he erupted, Zoega. You didn't suppose a Great Geyser would
+keep a gentleman all the way from California waiting here an entire
+night without showing him what he could do?"
+
+"No, sir; but he sometimes disappoints travelers. How do you like it?
+Does he compare with your California Geysers?"
+
+"Well, Zoega, he throws up more hot water, to be sure, because our
+Geysers don't erupt at all; but here is the grand difference. We
+Californians are a moral people; we don't live so near to (I pointed
+down below) as you do in Iceland."
+
+"I don't understand you, sir," said Zoega, with a puzzled expression.
+
+I called him over and whispered in his ear, "Zoega, I hope you're a
+good man. Do you say your prayers regularly?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Then you are all right. Let us be going. I don't like this
+neighborhood."
+
+"Whenever you wish, sir. The horses are all ready."
+
+And Zoega proceeded to strike the tent and pack the animals, muttering
+to himself and shaking his head gravely, as if he thought the
+Californians were a very peculiar race of men, to say the least of
+them.
+
+Another cup of tea and a few biscuits served to brace us up for the
+journey, and we mounted our horses and turned their heads homeward.
+Brusa was so delighted at the idea of being _en route_ once more that
+he signalized our departure by giving chase to a flock of sheep, which
+he dispersed in a most miraculous manner, and then, of course,
+received the customary punishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI.
+
+THE ENGLISH SPORTS IN TROUBLE.
+
+
+Our ride back to Thingvalla was over the same trail which we had
+traveled on the preceding day, with the exception of a short cut to
+the right of the Tintron rock. We made very good speed, and reached
+the Parsonage early in the afternoon.
+
+During our absence a young Englishman had arrived from the North,
+where he had been living for a year. I found him in the travelers'
+room, surrounded by a confused medley of boxes, bags, books, and
+Icelandic curiosities, which he was endeavoring to reduce to some kind
+of order. Had I not been told he was an Englishman I should never have
+suspected it, either from his appearance or manner. When I entered the
+room he stood up and looked at me, and I must say, without intending
+him the slightest disrespect, that he was the most extraordinary
+looking man I ever saw in all my life, not excepting a tattooed
+African chief that I once met at Zanzibar. Whether he was young or old
+it was impossible to say--he might be twenty-five or just as likely
+fifty. Dirty and discolored with travel, his face was generally dark,
+though it was somewhat relieved by spots of yellow. His features were
+regular, and of almost feminine softness; his eyes were dark brown;
+and his hair, which was nearly black, hung down over his shoulders in
+lank straight locks, sunburnt or frostbitten at the ends. On his head
+he wore a tall, conical green wool hat, with a broad brim, and a brown
+band tied in a true lover's knot at one side. The remainder of his
+costume consisted of a black cloth roundabout, threadbare and dirty; a
+pair of black casimere pantaloons, very tight about the legs and burst
+open in several places; and a pair of moccasins on his feet, adorned
+with beads and patches of red flannel. If he wore a shirt it was not
+conspicuous for whiteness, for I failed to discover it. When he saw
+that a stranger stood before him, he looked quite overwhelmed with
+astonishment, and gasped out some inarticulate words, consisting
+principally of Icelandic interjections.
+
+"How do you do, sir?" said I, in the usual California style. "I'm glad
+to meet an Englishman in this wild country!"
+
+"Ye'ow-w-w!" (a prolonged exclamation.)
+
+"Just arrived, sir?"
+
+"Nay-y-y!" (a prolonged negative.)
+
+"You speak English, I believe, sir?"
+
+"Oh-h-h! Ya-a-a-s. Are--you--an--Englishman?"
+
+"No, sir. An American, from California."
+
+"De-e-e-a-r-r m-e-e!"
+
+ [Illustration: OH-O-O-AH!]
+
+Here there was a pause, for I really did not know what to make of the
+man. He looked at the ceiling, and at the floor, and out of the
+window, and started a remark several times, but always stopped before
+he got under way, or lost it in a prolonged "Oh-o-o-a!" Again and
+again he attempted to speak, never getting beyond a word or two. It
+seemed as if some new idea were continually crossing his mind and
+depriving him of his breath: he labored under a chronic astonishment.
+At first I supposed it might be the natural result of a year's absence
+in the interior of Iceland, but subsequent acquaintance with him
+satisfied me that it was constitutional. He was astonished all the
+way from Reykjavik to Scotland. When it rained he opened his eyes as
+if they would burst; looked up in the sky, and cried "Oh-h-h!" When it
+blew he tumbled into his berth, covered himself up in the blankets,
+peeped out in the most profound amazement, and ejaculated "Ah-h-h!
+Oh-h-h! Hay-y-y! Ye'ow-w-w!" When the weather was fine he came up on
+deck, peered over the bulwarks, up at the rigging, down into the
+engine-room, and was perfectly astounded at each object, exclaiming
+alternately "Oh-h-o-o-a-a-h!" "Ah-ha!" "H-a-y!" and "Ye'ow-w-w-w!" At
+Thingvalla his main food was curds and black bread, yet he had an
+abundance of the best provisions. He was a thorough Icelandic scholar,
+and spoke the language with ease and grace, only when interrupted by
+the novel ideas that so often struck him in the head. With all his
+oddity, he was a gentleman by birth and education, and was very
+amiable in his disposition. He had evidently spent much of his life
+over books; his knowledge of the world scarcely equaled that of a
+child. From all that I could gather of his winter's experiences in
+North Iceland, the climate was not very severe, except at occasional
+intervals when there was a press of ice-fields along the coast. The
+mean temperature was quite moderate. He suffered no inconvenience at
+all from the weather. At times it was very pleasant. He had the
+misfortune to break his leg in climbing over some lava-bergs, which
+crippled him for some weeks, but he was now getting all right again.
+This account of his experiences, which I obtained from him during the
+evening, took many divergences into the "Ohs!" and "Ahs!" and was
+really both instructive and entertaining. When he came to the breaking
+of his leg, I expressed my astonishment at the equanimity with which
+he bore it, which so astonished him, when he came to think of it in
+that light, that he cried "Oh-h-a-a! ya-a-s! It--was--very--bad!" as
+if he had entirely forgotten how bad it was, and now made a new and
+most singular discovery.
+
+As there was only the one small room we had to sleep at pretty close
+quarters, the Englishman on the sofa and I in the bed, which for some
+reason was awarded to me by the good pastor. Having no preference, I
+offered to exchange; but this only astonished my eccentric neighbor,
+and set him off into a labyrinth of interjections. Our heads were
+placed pretty close together, and it was some time before I could
+settle myself to sleep, owing to a variety of peculiar sounds he made
+in whispering to himself. He seemed to be telling himself some
+interminable story from one of the Sagas. Several times I dozed off,
+and was awakened by some extraordinary ejaculation.
+
+"I beg your pardon," said I, at length, rising up, and looking in the
+face of my neighbor, who was lying on his back, with his eyes wide
+open, "I beg your pardon, sir; did you speak to me?"
+
+"Oh-h-h-a!" shouted the Englishman, jumping up as if touched with a
+streak of electricity. "Dear me! ha--oh-o-o! How very odd!"
+
+"Sir?"
+
+"Eh?"
+
+"Good-night, sir!" I said, and lay down again. The Englishman also
+composed himself to rest, but presently rose up, and looking over at
+me, exclaimed "Oh-o-o-ah!"
+
+This was all. Then we both composed ourselves to sleep. Tired as I was
+after my ride from the Geysers and the bad night I had passed there,
+it was no wonder I soon lost all consciousness of the proximity of my
+eccentric room-mate, and the probability is I would have gotten well
+through the night but for another singular and unexpected
+interruption.
+
+"Hello! What the devil! Who's here? By Jove, this is jolly! I say!
+Where the dooce is our American friend? Down, Bowser! Down! Blawst the
+dog! Ho! ho! Look there, Tompkins! I say! Here's a go!"
+
+There was a tramping of feet, a knocking about of loose things in the
+room, and a chorus of familiar voices in the adjoining passage. It is
+needless to say that the party of sporting Englishmen had arrived from
+Reykjavik.
+
+"Oh-h-a! Ye-o-w!" exclaimed my room-mate, starting up, and gazing
+wildly at the lively young gentleman with the dog. "Oh-o-o! How very
+odd!"
+
+The jolly sportsman looked at the apparition in perfect amazement.
+Both stared at each other for a moment, as if such an extraordinary
+sight had never been witnessed on either side before.
+
+"By Jove! this is jolly!" muttered the lively gentleman, turning on
+his heel and walking out; "a devilish rum-looking chap, that!"
+
+"Oh-o-o-o!" was all my astonished room-mate said, after which he
+turned over and composed himself to sleep. I had purposely refrained
+from manifesting any symptoms of wakefulness, well-knowing that there
+would be no farther rest that night if I once discovered myself to the
+traveling party.
+
+At a seasonable hour in the morning, however, I got up, and looked
+about in search of my fellow-passengers, whom I really liked, and in
+whose progress I felt a considerable interest. They were camped close
+by the church, under the lee of the front door. Two canvas tents
+covered what was left of them. A general wreck of equipments lay
+scattered all around--broken poles, boxes, tinware, etc. It was plain
+enough they had encountered incredible hardships.
+
+ [Illustration: THE ENGLISH PARTY.]
+
+The usual greetings over, I inquired how they had enjoyed the trip
+from Reykjavik. In reply they gave me a detailed and melancholy
+history of their experiences. Riley's Narrative of Shipwreck, and
+subsequent hardships on the coast of Africa, was nothing to it. Of the
+twenty-five horses with which they left Reykjavik only thirteen were
+sound of wind, and of these more than half were afflicted with raw
+backs. The pack-animals, eighteen in number, were every one lame. Then
+the packs were badly done up, and broke to pieces on the way.
+Sometimes the ropes cut the horses' backs, and sometimes the horses
+lay down on the road, and tried to travel with their feet in the air.
+Incredible difficulty was experienced in making twelve miles the first
+day. It rained all the time. The bread was soaked; the tea destroyed;
+the sugar melted; and the Champagne baskets smashed. When the packs
+were taken off it was discovered that some of them wore quite empty,
+and the contents, consisting originally of hair-brushes, flea-powder,
+lip-salve, and cold-cream, were strewn along the road probably all the
+way from Reykjavik. The cot-fixtures were swelled and wouldn't fit;
+the tea-kettle was jammed into a cocked-hat; the tent-pins were lost,
+and the hatchet nowhere to be found. It was a perfect series of jams,
+smashes, and scatterings. Even the sheets were filled with mud, and
+wholly unfit for use until they could be washed and done up. One horse
+lay down on the portable kitchen, and flattened it into a general
+pancake; another attempted to take an impression of his own body on
+the photographic apparatus, and reduced it (the apparatus) to
+fragments; another, wishing perhaps to see his face as others saw him,
+raked off the looking-glasses against a point of lava, and walked on
+them; and, lastly, one stupid beast contrived in some way to get his
+nose into a mustard-case which had fallen from a pack in front, and,
+snuffing up the mustard, got his nostrils burnt and went perfectly
+crazy, kicking, plunging, and charging at all the other horses till he
+drove them all as crazy as himself, whereby a prodigious amount of
+damage was done. In short, it was a series of disasters from beginning
+to end; and here they were now but two days' journey from Reykjavik (I
+had made the whole distance easily in seven hours), and, by Jove,
+there was no telling how much longer it would be possible to keep the
+guide. They had already quarreled with him several times, and
+threatened to discharge him. He was a stupid dunce, and a rascal and a
+cheat into the bargain. On the whole, it was a "rum" sort of a country
+to travel in. No game, no roads, no shops, no accommodations for man
+or beast! And who ever saw such houses for people to live in? Mere
+sheep-pens! Disgustingly filthy! A beastly set of ragamuffins! By
+Jove, sir, if it wasn't for the name of the thing, a fellow might as
+well be in the infernal regions at once! In truth, I must acknowledge
+that the interior of an Icelandic hut does not present a very
+attractive spectacle to a stranger.
+
+I deeply sympathized with my friends, and urged them to leave the
+remainder of their baggage. If there was any medicine left, a dose of
+quinine all around might do them good and prevent any ill effects from
+the rain; but, on the whole, I thought they would get along better
+with less baggage.
+
+"Less baggage!" cried all together. "Why, hang it, our baggage is
+scattered along the trail clear back to Reykjavik! It has been growing
+less ever since we started. By the time we reach the Geysers it is
+questionable if we'll have as much as a fine-tooth comb left!"
+
+"Then," said I, "you can travel. Sell a dozen of your horses on the
+way, and you'll be rid of another trouble!"
+
+"Sell them; they wouldn't bring a farthing. They're not worth a
+groat."
+
+"Then turn them loose."
+
+"That's a jolly idea," said the lively sportsman; "how the deuce are
+we to travel without pack-horses?"
+
+"Oh, nothing easier. You don't need pack-horses when you have no
+packs."
+
+"By Jove, there's something in that!" said the jolly gentleman. "Our
+American friend ought to know. He's seen the elephant before."
+
+This proposition gave rise to an animated discussion, during which I
+wished them a prosperous tour, and took my leave. Of their subsequent
+career I have heard nothing, save that they arrived safely in England,
+and published various letters in the newspapers giving glowing
+accounts of their Icelandic experience.
+
+ [Illustration: INTERIOR OF ICELANDIC HUT.]
+
+Nothing of importance occurred on the way back to Reykjavik. I
+arrived there early in the afternoon safe and sound, and greatly
+benefited by the trip. Like the beatings received by Brusa, the
+experience was delightful when it was over. I paid off my excellent
+guide Geir Zoega, and made him a present of the few articles that
+remained from the expedition. It is a great pleasure to be able to
+recommend a guide heartily and conscientiously. A worthier man than
+Geir Zoega does not exist, and I hereby certify that he afforded me
+entire satisfaction. No traveler who desires an honest, intelligent,
+and conscientious guide can do better than secure his services. Long
+life and happiness to you, Geir Zoega! May your shadow never be less;
+and may your invaluable little dog Brusa live to profit by your wise
+counsel and judicious administration of the rod.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LII.
+
+A FRIGHTFUL ADVENTURE.
+
+
+The _Arcturus_ had been delayed in discharging freight by a series of
+storms which prevailed at the bay, and was now down at Haparanda Fjord
+taking in ballast. The probability was that she would not leave for
+several days. Meantime I was extremely anxious to see a little more of
+domestic life in Iceland, and made several foot-expeditions to the
+farm-houses in the neighborhood of Reykjavik.
+
+At one of these I passed a night. In giving the details of an awkward
+adventure that befell me on that occasion, it is only necessary for me
+to say of the house that it was built in the usual primitive style,
+already described at some length. The people were farmers, and the
+family consisted of an old man and his wife, three or four stout sons,
+and a buxom daughter some twenty years of age. A few words of Danish
+enabled me to make them understand that I wished for a cup of coffee,
+some bread, and lodgings for the night. They were exceeding kind, and
+seemed greatly interested in the fact that I was an American--probably
+the first they had ever seen. The coffee was soon ready; a cloth was
+spread upon the table, and a very good supper of bread, cheese, and
+curds placed before me. I passed some hours very sociably, giving
+them, as well as I could by means of signs and diagrams, aided by a
+few words of Danish, a general idea of California, its position on the
+globe, and the enormous amount of gold which it yielded. Evidently
+they had heard some exaggerated rumors of the country. The name was
+familiar to them, but they had no idea where this El Dorado was, or
+whether there was any truth in the statement that the mountains were
+made of gold, and all the rocks in the valleys of pure silver. My
+efforts to enlighten them on these points were rather ludicrous. It
+was miraculous how far I made a few words go, and how quick they were
+to guess at my meaning.
+
+About eleven o'clock the old people began to manifest symptoms of
+drowsiness, and gave me to understand that whenever I felt disposed to
+go to bed the girl would show me my room. A walk of ten or twelve
+miles over the lava-bergs rendered this suggestion quite acceptable,
+so I bade the family a friendly good-night, and followed the girl to
+another part of the house. She took me into a small room with a bed in
+one corner. By a motion of her hand she intimated that I could rest
+there for the night. I sat down on the edge of the bed and said it was
+very good--that I was much obliged to her. She still lingered in the
+room, however, as if waiting to see if she could be of any farther
+assistance. I could not be insensible to the fact that she was a very
+florid and good-natured looking young woman; but, of course, that was
+none of my business. All I could do with propriety was to thank her
+again, and signify by taking off my overcoat that I was about to go to
+bed. Still she lingered, apparently disposed to be as friendly as
+circumstances would permit. It was somewhat awkward being alone in a
+strange room with a person of the opposite sex, young and rather
+pretty, without saying any thing particular. Her silence, as well as
+my own, was getting embarrassing. I attempted to carry on a
+conversation in Danish, of which I soon discovered she knew even less
+than I did myself. She answered my remarks, however, in her native
+tongue, with a very sweet voice, and in such a sociable way that I
+felt sure she meant to be kind and hospitable. In vain I waited for
+her to leave. It was getting late, and her parents might feel anxious
+about her. Still she manifested no disposition to go away. What could
+the girl mean? was a question that now began to enter my head.
+Probably I had taken possession of her room, and she had no other
+place to sleep. If so, it was not my fault. Nobody could hold me
+responsible for such a peculiar family arrangement. Seeing no
+alternative but to test the point, I gradually began to take off my
+coat. So far from being abashed at the movement, she seized hold of
+the sleeves and helped me off with it. I did the same with my vest,
+and still with the same result. Then I pulled off my boots, but with
+no better prospect of relief from my embarrassing dilemma. Finally I
+came to my pantaloons, at which I naturally hesitated. It was about
+time for the young woman to leave, if she had any regard for my
+feelings. I thanked her very cordially; but she showed no symptoms of
+leaving. It was plain that she meant to help me through with the
+business. I sat for some time longer before I could bring myself to
+this last trying ordeal. There was something so pure and innocent in
+the expression of the young woman's face--such an utter
+unconsciousness of any impropriety in our relative positions, that I
+scarcely knew what to do or think. "She wants to help me off with my
+pantaloons--that's plain!" said I to myself. "Perhaps it is the custom
+in Iceland; but it is very awkward, nevertheless." The fact is, you
+see, I was not quite old enough to be the girl's father, nor yet quite
+young enough to be put to bed like her youngest brother. Between the
+two extremes of the case I was considerably troubled. To reject her
+kind offers of service might be deemed rude, and nothing was farther
+from my intention than to offend this amiable young person. Allowing a
+reasonable time to elapse, I saw there was no getting over the
+difficulty, and began to remove the last article of my daily apparel.
+Doubtless she had long foreseen that it would eventually come to that.
+In a very accommodating manner, she took a position directly in front,
+and beckoned to me to elevate one of my legs, an order which I
+naturally obeyed. Then she seized hold of the pendent casimere and
+dragged away with a hearty good-will. I was quickly reduced to my
+natural state with the exception of a pair of drawers, which, to my
+horror, I discovered were in a very ragged condition, owing to the
+roughness of my travels in this wild region. However, by an adroit
+movement I whirled into bed, and the young woman covered me up and
+wished me a good night's sleep. I thanked her very cordially, and so
+ended this strange and rather awkward adventure.
+
+ [Illustration: AN AWKWARD PREDICAMENT.]
+
+Such primitive scenes are to be found only in the interior. In the
+towns the women are in dress and manners very like their sisters
+elsewhere. Hoops and crinoline are frequently to be seen not only
+among the Danes, who, as a matter of course, import them from
+Copenhagen, but among the native women, who can see no good reason why
+they should not be as much like pyramids or Jokuls as others of their
+sex. Bonnets and inverted pudding-bowls are common on the heads of the
+Reykjavik ladies, though as yet they have not found their way into the
+interior. All who can afford it indulge in a profusion of
+jewelry--silver clasps, breast-pins, tassel-bands, etc., and various
+articles of filigree made by native artists. These feminine traits I
+had not expected to find so fully developed in so out-of-the-way a
+country. But where is it that lovely woman will not make herself still
+more captivating? I once saw in Madagascar a belle of the first rank,
+as black as the ace of spades, and greased all over cocoa-nut oil,
+commit great havoc among her admirers by a necklace of shark's teeth
+and a pair of brass anklets, and nothing else. The rest of her
+costume, with a trifling exception, was purely imaginary; yet she was
+as vain of her superior style, and put on as many fine airs, as the
+most fashionable lady in any civilized country. After all, what is the
+difference between a finely-dressed savage and a finely-dressed
+Parisian? None at all that I can see, save in the color of the skin
+and the amount of labor performed by the manufacturer, the milliner,
+the tailor, or the schoolmaster. Intrinsically the constitution of the
+mind is identically the same. I speak now of men as well as women, for
+the most affected creatures I have seen in Europe are of the male sex.
+So pardon me, fair ladies, for any reflection upon your crinoline, and
+accept as my apology this candid avowal--that while you are naturally
+angelic, and always beautiful beyond comparison, in spite of what you
+do to disfigure your lovely persons, we men are naturally savages, and
+are driven to the barbarous expedient of adorning and beautifying our
+ugly bodies with gewgaws, tinsel, and jimcrackery, in order that they
+may be acceptable in your eyes.
+
+On my return to Reykjavik I found that the steamer was to sail next
+day. I was very anxious to visit Mount Hecla, but my time and means
+were limited, and would not permit of a farther sojourn in this
+interesting land. It was a great satisfaction to have seen any thing
+of it at all; and if I have given the reader even a slight glimpse of
+its wonders, my trip has not been entirely unsuccessful.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
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+Edgar's Wars of the Roses. By John G. Edgar. Illustrations. 16mo,
+Cloth, $1 20.
+
+
+Nineteen Beautiful Years; or, Sketches of a Girl's Life. Written by
+her Sister. With an Introduction by Rev. R. S. Foster, D.D. 16mo,
+Cloth, $1 00.
+
+
+Harper's Boys' and Girls' Library. 32 Volumes. Numerous Engravings.
+18mo, Cloth. Sold separately at 75 cents a Volume:
+
+ Lives of the Apostles and Early Martyrs.
+ The Swiss Family Robinson. 2 vols.
+ Sunday Evenings. Comprising Scripture Stories. 3 vols.
+ Mrs. Hofland's Son of a Genius.
+ Thatcher's Indian Traits. 2 vols.
+ Thatcher's Tales of the American Revolution.
+ Miss Eliza Robins's Tales from American History. 3 vols.
+ Mrs. Hofland's Young Crusoe; or, The Shipwrecked Boy.
+ Perils of the Sea.
+ Lives of Distinguished Females.
+ Mrs. Phelps's Caroline Westerley.
+ Mrs. Hughs's Ornaments Discovered.
+ The Clergyman's Orphan; the Infidel Reclaimed.
+ Uncle Philip's Natural History.
+ Uncle Philip's Evidences of Christianity.
+ Uncle Philip's History of Virginia.
+ Uncle Philip's American Forest.
+ Uncle Philip's History of New York. 2 vols.
+ Uncle Philip's Whale Fishery and the Polar Seas. 2 vols.
+ Uncle Philip's History of the Lost Colonies of Greenland.
+ Uncle Philip's History of Massachusetts. 2 vols.
+ Uncle Philip's History of New Hampshire 2 vols.
+
+
+Harper's Fireside Library; expressly adapted to the Domestic Circle,
+Sunday-Schools, &c. Cloth, Seventy-five cents each:
+
+ Alden's Alice Gordon.
+ Alden's Lawyer's Daughter.
+ Alden's Young Schoolmistress.
+ Burdett's Arthur Martin.
+ The Dying Robin.
+ Ellen Herbert; or, Family Changes.
+ Mayhew's Good Genius that turned every thing into Gold.
+ William the Cottager.
+ Mayhew's Magic of Kindness.
+
+
+Harper's Story Books. Narratives, Biographies, and Tales for the
+Young. By Jacob Abbott. With more than 1000 beautiful Engravings.
+
+ "HARPER'S STORY BOOKS" can be obtained complete in
+ Twelve Volumes, each one containing Three Stories, at
+ the price of $21 00; or in Thirty-six Thin Volumes, each
+ containing One Story, at the price of $32 40. The
+ volumes sold separately.
+
+ Vol. I. Bruno; Willie and the Mortgage; The Strait Gate.
+ Vol II. The Little Louvre; Prank; Emma. Vol. III.
+ Virginia; Timboo and Joliba; Timboo and Fanny. Vol. IV.
+ The Harper Establishment; Franklin; The Studio. Vol. V.
+ The Story of Ancient History; The Story of English
+ History; The Story of American History. Vol. VI. John
+ True; Elfred; The Museum. Vol. VII. The Engineer;
+ Rambles among the Alps; The Three Gold Dollars. Vol.
+ VIII. The Gibraltar Gallery; The Alcove; Dialogues. Vol.
+ IX. The Great Elm; Aunt Margaret; Vernon. Vol. X. Carl
+ and Jocko; Lapstone; Orkney the Peacemaker. Vol. XI.
+ Judge Justin; Minigo; Jasper. Vol. XII. Congo; Viola;
+ Little Paul.
+
+ Some of the Story Books are written particularly for
+ Girls, some for Boys; and the different volumes are
+ adapted to various ages, so that the Series forms a
+ complete Library of Story Books for Children of the
+ Family and the Sunday-School.
+
+
+Miss Mulock's Our Year. A Child's Book in Prose and Verse. Illustrated
+by Clarence Dobell. 16mo, Cloth, gilt edges, $1 00.
+
+
+Children's Picture-Books. Square 4to, about 300 pages each,
+beautifully printed on Tinted Paper, with many Illustrations by Weir,
+Steinle, Overbeck, Veit, Schnorr, Harvey, &c., bound in Cloth, gilt,
+$1 50 a volume; or the Series complete in neat case, $7 50:
+
+ The Children's Bible Picture-Book; The Children's
+ Picture Fable-Book; The Children's Picture-Book of
+ Quadrupeds, and other Mammalia; The Children's
+ Picture-Book of the Sagacity of Animals; The Children's
+ Picture-Book of Birds.
+
+
+Mayhew's Boyhood of Martin Luther; or, The Sufferings of the Little
+Beggar-boy who afterward became the Great German Reformer. By Henry
+Mayhew. Beautifully Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, $1 25.
+
+
+Mayhew's Peasant-Boy Philosopher. The Story of the Peasant-Boy
+Philosopher; or, "A Child gathering Pebbles on the Sea-Shore."
+(Founded on the Early Life of Ferguson, The Shepherd-Boy Astronomer,
+and intended to show how a Poor Lad became acquainted with the
+Principles of Natural Science.) By Henry Mayhew. Illustrations. 16mo,
+Cloth, $1 25.
+
+
+Mayhew's Wonders of Science; or, Young Humphrey Davy (The Cornish
+Apothecary's Boy, who taught himself Natural Philosophy and eventually
+became President of the Royal Society). The Life of a Wonderful Boy
+written for Boys. By Henry Mayhew. Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, $1 25.
+
+
+Mayhew's Young Benjamin Franklin; or, the Right Road through Life. A
+Story to show how Young Benjamin Learned the Principles which Raised
+him from a Printer's Boy to the First Embassador of the American
+Republic. A Boy's Book on a Boy's Own Subject. By Henry Mayhew. With
+Illustrations by John Gilbert. 16mo, Cloth, $1 25.
+
+
+Mr. Wind and Madam Rain. By Paul De Musset. Translated by Emily
+Makepeace. Illustrated by Charles Bennett. Square 4to, Cloth, 75
+cents.
+
+
+Mrs. Mortimer's Reading without Tears; or, A Pleasant Mode of Learning
+to Read. Beautifully Illustrated. Small 4to, Cloth, 75 cents.
+
+
+Mrs. Mortimer's Reading without Tears, Part II. Beautifully
+Illustrated. Small 4to, Cloth, $1 25.
+
+
+Mrs. Mortimer's Lines Left Out; or, Some of the Histories left out in
+"Line upon Line." The First Part relates Events in the Times of the
+Patriarchs and the Judges. By the Author of "Line upon Line," "Reading
+without Tears," "More about Jesus," "Streaks of Light," &c. With
+Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, 75 cents.
+
+
+Mrs. Mortimer's More about Jesus. With Illustrations and a Map. By the
+author of "Peep of Day," "Reading without Tears," &c. 16mo, Cloth, 75
+cents.
+
+
+Mrs. Mortimer's Streaks of Light; or Fifty-two Facts from the Bible
+for Fifty-two Sundays of the Year. By the Author of "Reading without
+Tears," &c. Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, gilt, 75 cents.
+
+
+Harry's Ladder to Learning. With 250 Illustrations. Square 4to, Cloth,
+75 cents.
+
+
+Harry's Summer in Ashcroft. Illustrations. Square 4to, Cloth, 75
+cents.
+
+
+Kingston's Fred Markham in Russia; or, The Boy Travellers in the Land
+of the Czar. By W. H. G. Kingston. Profusely and elegantly
+illustrated. Small 4to, Cloth, gilt, 75 cents.
+
+
+Reid's Odd People. Being a Popular Description of Singular Races of
+Men. By Captain Mayne Reid. With Illustrations. 16mo, Cloth, 75 cents.
+
+
+Reuben Davidger. The Adventures of Reuben Davidger, Seventeen Years
+and Four Months Captive among the Dyaks of Borneo. By James Greenwood.
+With Engravings. 8vo, Cloth, $1 75.
+
+
+Seymour's Self-Made Men. By Charles C. B. Seymour. Many Portraits.
+12mo, 588 pages, Cloth, $1 75.
+
+
+Smiles's Self-Help: with Illustrations of Character and Conduct. By
+Samuel Smiles. 12mo, Cloth, $1 25.
+
+
+Thackeray's Rose and the Ring; or, The History of Prince Giglio and
+Prince Bulbo. A Fireside Pantomime for Great and Small Children. By
+Mr. M. A. Titmarsh. Numerous Illustrations. Small 4to, Cloth, $1 00.
+
+
+Wood's Homes without Hands: Being a Description of the Habitations of
+Animals, classed according to their Principle of Construction. By
+J. G. Wood, M.A., F.L.S., Author of "Illustrated Natural History."
+With about 140 Illustrations, engraved on Wood by G. Pearson, from
+Original Designs made by F. W. Keyl and E. A. Smith, under the
+Author's Superintendence. 8vo, Cloth, Beveled, $4 50.
+
+
+
+
+"They do honor to American Literature, and would do honor to the
+Literature of any Country in the World."
+
+
+THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.
+
+A History
+
+BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY.
+
+
+New Edition. With a Portrait of William of Orange. 3 vols. 8vo,
+Muslin, $9 00.
+
+
+We regard this work as the best contribution to modern history that
+has yet been made by an American.--_Methodist Quarterly Review._
+
+The "History of the Dutch Republic" is a great gift to us; but the
+heart and earnestness that beat through all its pages are greater, for
+they give us most timely inspiration to vindicate the true ideas of
+our country, and to compose an able history of our own.--_Christian
+Examiner_ (Boston).
+
+This work bears on its face the evidences of scholarship and research.
+The arrangement is clear and effective; the style energetic, lively,
+and often brilliant. * * * Mr. Motley's instructive volumes will, we
+trust, have a circulation commensurate with their interest and
+value.--_Protestant Episcopal Quarterly Review._
+
+To the illustration of this most interesting period Mr. Motley has
+brought the matured powers of a vigorous and brilliant mind, and the
+abundant fruits of patient and judicious study and deep reflection.
+The result is, one of the most important contributions to historical
+literature that have been made in this country.--_North American
+Review._
+
+We would conclude this notice by earnestly recommending our readers to
+procure for themselves this truly great and admirable work, by the
+production of which the author has conferred no less honor upon his
+country than he has won praise and fame for himself, and than which,
+we can assure them, they can find nothing more attractive or
+interesting within the compass of modern literature.--_Evangelical
+Review._
+
+It is not often that we have the pleasure of commending to the
+attention of the lover of books a work of such extraordinary and
+unexceptionable excellence as this one.--_Universalist Quarterly
+Review._
+
+There are an elevation and a classic polish in these volumes, and a
+felicity of grouping and of portraiture, which invest the subject with
+the attractions of a living and stirring episode in the grand historic
+drama.--_Southern Methodist Quarterly Review._
+
+The author writes with a genial glow and love of his
+subject.--_Presbyterian Quarterly Review._
+
+Mr. Motley is a sturdy Republican and a hearty Protestant. His style
+is lively and picturesque, and his work is an honor and an important
+accession to our national literature.--_Church Review._
+
+Mr. Motley's work is an important one, the result of profound
+research, sincere convictions, sound principles, and manly sentiments;
+and even those who are most familiar with the history of the period
+will find it a fresh and vivid addition to their previous knowledge.
+It does honor to American Literature, and would do honor to the
+literature of any country in the world.--_Edinburgh Review._
+
+A serious chasm in English historical literature has been (by this
+book) very remarkably filled. * * * A history as complete as industry
+and genius can make it now lies before us, of the first twenty years
+of the revolt of the United Provinces. * * * All the essentials of a
+great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses. His mind is broad, his
+industry unwearied. In power of dramatic description no modern
+historian, except, perhaps, Mr. Carlyle, surpasses him, and in
+analysis of character he is elaborate and distinct.--_Westminster
+Review._
+
+It is a work of real historical value, the result of accurate
+criticism, written in a liberal spirit, and from first to last deeply
+interesting.--_Athenaeum._
+
+The style is excellent, clear, vivid, eloquent; and the industry with
+which original sources have been investigated, and through which new
+light has been shed over perplexed incidents and characters, entitles
+Mr. Motley to a high rank in the literature of an age peculiarly rich
+in history.--_North British Review._
+
+It abounds in new information, and, as a first work, commands a very
+cordial recognition, not merely of the promise it gives, but of the
+extent and importance of the labor actually performed on it.--_London
+Examiner._
+
+Mr. Motley's "History" is a work of which any country might be
+proud.--_Press_ (London).
+
+Mr. Motley's History will be a standard book of reference in
+historical literature.--_London Literary Gazette._
+
+Mr. Motley has searched the whole range of historical documents
+necessary to the composition of his work.--_London Leader._
+
+This is a really great work. It belongs to the class of books in
+which we range our Grotes, Milmans, Merivales, and Macaulays, as the
+glories of English literature in the department of history. * * * Mr.
+Motley's gifts as a historical writer are among the highest and
+rarest.--_Nonconformist_ (London).
+
+Mr. Motley's volumes will well repay perusal. * * * For his learning,
+his liberal tone, and his generous enthusiasm, we heartily commend
+him, and bid him good speed for the remainder of his interesting and
+heroic narrative.--_Saturday Review._
+
+The story is a noble one, and is worthily treated. * * * Mr. Motley has
+had the patience to unravel, with unfailing perseverance, the thousand
+intricate plots of the adversaries of the Prince of Orange; but the
+details and the literal extracts which he has derived from original
+documents, and transferred to his pages, give a truthful color and a
+picturesque effect, which are especially charming.--_London Daily
+News._
+
+M. Lothrop Motley dans son magnifique tableau de la formation de notre
+Republique.--G. Groen Van Prinsterer.
+
+Our accomplished countryman, Mr. J. Lothrop Motley, who, during the
+last five years, for the better prosecution of his labors, has
+established his residence in the neighborhood of the scenes of his
+narrative. No one acquainted with the fine powers of mind possessed by
+this scholar, and the earnestness with which he has devoted himself to
+the task, can doubt that he will do full justice to his important but
+difficult subject.--W. H. Prescott.
+
+The production of such a work as this astonishes, while it gratifies
+the pride of the American reader.--_N. Y. Observer._
+
+The "Rise of the Dutch Republic" at once, and by acclimation, takes
+its place by the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," as a work
+which, whether for research, substance, or style, will never be
+superseded.--_N. Y. Albion._
+
+A work upon which all who read the English language may congratulate
+themselves.--_New Yorker Handels Zeitung._
+
+Mr. Motley's place is now (alluding to this book) with Hallam and Lord
+Mahon, Alison and Macaulay in the Old Country, and with Washington
+Irving, Prescott, and Bancroft in this.--_N. Y. Times._
+
+The authority, in the English tongue, for the history of the period
+and people to which it refers.--_N. Y. Courier and Enquirer._
+
+This work at once places the author on the list of American historians
+which has been so signally illustrated by the names of Irving,
+Prescott, Bancroft, and Hildreth.--_Boston Times._
+
+The work is a noble one, and a most desirable acquisition to our
+historical literature.--_Mobile Advertiser._
+
+Such a work is an honor to its author, to his country, and to the age
+in which it was written.--_Ohio Farmer._
+
+
+_Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, New York._
+
+
+HARPER & BROTHERS will send the above Work by Mail postage paid (for
+any distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on receipt of the
+Money.
+
+
+
+
+_Mr. Motley, the American historian of the United Netherlands--we owe
+him English homage._--LONDON TIMES.
+
+"_As interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a proposition of
+Euclid._"
+
+
+History of The United Netherlands.
+
+FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM THE SILENT TO THE SYNOD OF DORT. WITH A FULL
+VIEW OF THE ENGLISH-DUTCH STRUGGLE AGAINST SPAIN, AND OF THE ORIGIN
+AND DESTRUCTION OF THE SPANISH ARMADA.
+
+BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, LL.D., D.C.L.,
+
+Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, Author of "The Rise
+of the Dutch Republic."
+
+With Portraits and Map.
+
+2 vols. 8vo, Muslin, $6 00.
+
+
+_Critical Notices._
+
+His living and truthful picture of events.--_Quarterly Review_
+(London), Jan., 1861.
+
+Fertile as the present age has been in historical works of the highest
+merit, none of them can be ranked above these volumes in the grand
+qualities of interest, accuracy, and truth.--_Edinburgh Quarterly
+Review_, Jan., 1861.
+
+This noble work.--_Westminster Review_ (London).
+
+One of the most fascinating as well as important histories of the
+century.--_Cor. N. Y. Evening Post._
+
+The careful study of these volumes will infallibly afford a feast both
+rich and rare.--_Baltimore Republican._
+
+Already takes a rank among standard works of history.--_London
+Critic._
+
+Mr. Motley's prose epic.--_London Spectator._
+
+Its pages are pregnant with instruction.--_London Literary Gazette._
+
+We may profit by almost every page of his narrative. All the topics
+which agitate us now are more or less vividly presented in the History
+of the United Netherlands.--_New York Times._
+
+Bears on every page marks of the same vigorous mind that produced "The
+Rise of the Dutch Republic;" but the new work is riper, mellower, and
+though equally racy of the soil, softer flavored. The inspiring idea
+which breathes through Mr. Motley's histories and colors the whole
+texture of his narrative, is the grandeur of that memorable struggle
+in the 16th century by which the human mind broke the thraldom of
+religious intolerance and achieved its independence.--_The World,
+N. Y._
+
+The name of Motley now stands in the very front rank of living
+historians. His _Dutch Republic_ took the world by surprise; but the
+favorable verdict then given is now only the more deliberately
+confirmed on the publication of the continued story under the title of
+the _History of the United Netherlands_. All the nerve, and power, and
+substance of juicy life are there, lending a charm to every
+page.--_Church Journal, N. Y._
+
+Motley indeed, has produced a prose epic, and his fighting scenes are
+as real, spirited, and life-like as the combats in the Iliad.--_The
+Press_ (Phila.).
+
+His history is as interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a
+proposition of Euclid. Clio never had a more faithful disciple. We
+advise every reader whose means will permit to become the owner of
+these fascinating volumes, assuring him that he will never regret the
+investment.--_Christian Intelligencer, N. Y._
+
+
+Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, New York.
+
+
+--> HARPER & BROTHERS will send the above Work by Mail, postage
+prepaid (for any distance in the United States under 3000 miles), on
+receipt of the Money.
+
+
+
+
+BY MRS. GASKELL.
+
+
+CRANFORD. 16mo, Cloth, $1 25.
+
+COUSIN PHILLIS. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents.
+
+A DARK NIGHT'S WORK. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
+
+MARY BARTON. A Tale of Manchester Life. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
+
+THE MOORLAND COTTAGE. 16mo, Cloth, 75 cents.
+
+MY LADY LUDLOW. 8vo, Paper, 25 cents.
+
+NORTH AND SOUTH. 8vo, Paper, 50 cents.
+
+RIGHT AT LAST, and Other Tales. 12mo. Cloth, $1 50.
+
+SYLVIA'S LOVERS. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents.
+
+WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. With Illustrations. 8vo, Cloth, $2 00; Paper,
+$1 50.
+
+
+_From the London Examiner._
+
+That tender pathos, which could sink so deep--that gentle humor, which
+could soar so lightly--that delicate perception, which nothing could
+escape--that wide sympathy, which ranged so far--those sweet
+moralities, which rang so true; it is indeed hard and sad to feel that
+these must be silent for us henceforth forever.
+
+Let us be grateful, however, that we have still those writings of hers
+which England will not willingly let die, and that she has given us no
+less an example of conscientious work and careful pains, by which we
+all alike may profit. For Mrs. Gaskell had not only genius of a high
+order, but she had also the true feeling of the artist, that grows
+impatient at whatever is unfinished or imperfect. Whether describing
+with touching skill the charities of poor to poor, or painting, with
+an art which Miss Austin might have envied, the daily round of common
+life, or merely telling, in her graphic way, some wild or simple tale:
+whatever the work, she did it with all her power, sparing nothing,
+scarcely sparing herself enough, if only the work were well and
+completely done.
+
+
+_From the New York Evening Post._
+
+It is said that George Sand remarked to an English friend: "Mrs.
+Gaskell has done what neither I nor other female writers in France can
+accomplish--she has written novels which excite the deepest interest
+in men of the world, and which every girl will be the better for
+reading."
+
+
+Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
+
+
+--> _Sent by Mail to any part of the United States, postage free, on
+receipt of the Price._
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Minor typographic errors in punctuation and spelling (omitted or
+transposed letters, etc.) have been repaired. Hyphenation has been
+made consistent where there was a prevalence of one form over another.
+
+Archaic and variant spelling has been preserved as printed, where
+reference to the alternate spelling could be established from other
+sources, e.g. the Frith of Forth, gambling-hells, feed referring to
+the paying of a fee. If alternate spelling of proper nouns could not
+be established, it has been made consistent within the text. The
+spelling of other words and phrases in languages other than English
+has been preserved as printed.
+
+Illustrations have been moved if necessary so that they were not in
+the middle of a paragraph.
+
+A small pointing hand symbol is used in two places, and has been
+rendered as --> in this e-text.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of Thor, by J. Ross Browne
+
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