Within The Arctic Circle

Hammkrfest, Norwcgian Lapland, Jal) 1, 1881. - Returnihgtö this point, after otll adventure north, I resume the narrativo 01 our journey toward the " miclnight sun.' il' night unto night has not proel ai med fcnowledge, yet day unto day ha given os mech about these ettticfatened landi and water. The perpetual claylijrht keeps one wakeful. Besides, I do not Relieve tlial " inocli sleep is required wliere Enere is no darkness lo eoax ua to bed. TllCrO ÍS Illlich ' Uoop ono iw.l-.. ti these lofty latitudes. If there were no tlier ving tliing, the evernioviiifí gulls, Bie pUshing w balee, and t lie diving docks would do lt. As we approaoh Trdmsoe - wln'ii 1 wrote yon liist - the eider duck becoues both a coiniuodity of coinmerce ind a delight for its domestie virtues. It is wii'th here $5 a h)uèkI, and it takes four pounís a9 taken froni the nest to t'urnisli one narketahle pound. It is to be ?een all ubut llie islauds (.t the fjoids. lt does nol tl r at t appiciacli úfour resseU The male is white and black, the teníale l)fovn. Yon tiay tind tlieni among the roeks on llicir neata, and handle thein without their betng tinid. Sonie of Mere liaunts Oh the .-les Uavt crosses erected upon theni. indicatino tltit tlie ouner of the Islaiïd Insista on exeliBive proprietorsliip. By law all are proliblted from shooting tliem. At Saone-Sjoen, wheré vie halted, I looked at tlieni tlirou;h the. glass. Thcy seoincd featlve ii thelr playful plunges, hut nnt id. Thelr featfiers are plucked bythemselves to im.ke BStta with. Man retHOVet t lie sott down. They then replace a-rain the toathen t ruin their own breasts, and ngnln man removes llicui. Tliis eannot he done more tlian twlce. hut with a good niany (hicksthe ))r(xluct s considerable l'nik.s art not the only hirds of thaaa latil ndcs. (lii some of be islands Hiere are CDIgrejptaloni oí" great uumbers and vaiii'ty. sne of thein seeni to be -tandInt t in prayer; some kneeling: and all noUeless. A lew sci-cams now and then froni a gull. and tlie solitude comes again. I have sail that we have seeu wlialcs. This remarle is too tishy. Onljr two appeared to exlilerate our society; hut one of thein niadc up iu sportivene.-s what lio lacked ín si.t. He would leap up out of the fjord, uu fall awkwardly, with a big splnsb'. lint he was au object of tender solicitude, as we passed a lisherman Ín a hoat, with a gun, makine; for Uis - blubber. Alung thes rocks are also seen Btrange iles in circular form, which resol ve heinselves iiiM tlie tried stock fiH. They lavií been cured by the sun, and are as lard as the stone they repose upon. Al i]iportuuity otóun they are sent to the mier world, ad their conipensation is in he salt of Spain and the comforts of tlie ruitful tropi&s borne hitlier by the vcs.sels vhich bear tlum south. A TUKATBE IN LAPLAND. I un ealled from obaerving aulmated latine by the .miiouncement that Tromsoe 9 in sight. All the way, sinee early mornng, there has been a succession of verv vinter landscapes. The mountains are not so high, thougi "til l rugiré'1: but everywhere thero iw ullrtw '¦ 1 ;¦ uummitn aml 0 tne water'9 ede. llere and there are 1 few green spots, which some one has re-empted. iiut Tromsoe, albiet within the irele, is quite a town. Its red tiles appear mposinu; from its bay. We leave the vessel and land ainid a orow.d of indigenous ookers-on. We walk the streets, ntendng to have diuner on shore at the Grand lotel. It is a two-story, commodious barn, without carpeting. The fresh pine boards iré innocent of paint. Within its inclosíre is a theatre, and small handbills indicate B play to-night. Itisthe playof "The lusband and Servant" - Uerskab og Tjenerkab. In fact, there are two pkiys. I menion this to show the luxury of Lapland. The farce of " Lain og Lovinde," - " The jamb and the Lioness" - precedes the other, and the "AboiiueiuentsforestiHiiif; " ipens at halt' p:ist 8 of the "kloek." We iad evidences at the hotel of this theatrical party by the boxea of trunks, aud the hin and tragic Bernhardt look of one of lie actresses. Our guide Réné says they are Danish, and he knows. 1 enter the heatre, and, unobstructed and unchalenged, gallant our company even behind he scènes and into the green room. A liano iu front fuinishes the orchestra, and s a prologue to the swelling scènes to ome. A head gear and a sword. uo paint stufts, imH a fe gay uresses indícale he SULU1'L""U3 ""'J"1'" A a har i'l esiimes its noithern journey at G p. in., ve shall miss it. Is it lighted? Yes. 'liandeliers hang frota the ceiling, and, lthough there iu nightly sunlight uow, ret this is a provisión for dan winter. Vhen we emerge from the hotel for a troll school is out, and the little Tromsoe olks are on the lookout for us. The; tand in groups. I examine the school k of oue, aud make a picture on the late of another, whereat all are interested, and a child of ten years volunteers to say hat he is in a higher class than the cmiifíer I am patroni.injr. He speaks ínglish, too. It is studied in the schools. Wandering about the streets, we are folpwed by crowds of little people, curloui o note our motions and our dress. A WEDDING IN LAPLAND. A wedding is announced at the clin ivli, whose bells are pealing. We invite ourselves. A score of us enter the building. t is, like most Litheran churches, plain; ut there is au alter, with " seven candletieks '' and eandles; a large cross, perèctly white; a pulpit midway, and comnodious pews and seats. The bour is 2 in he afternoou. not iu the mojnlng, though as to lighting the church it is "all one." iome dozen or so of nativos, all females, vith handkerchiefs upon their heads, are irocnt. Our party is seated at the front. remata at the door. My wedding garnient is not up to the highest style, but as he procession enters the front door I fall n behind with the small boy of the family. 'lie bride is a tall girl, with intlammatory lair and cool denieanor. The groom Is a hick-set, stout man, whose half is erect, ind whose imperturbability is quite equaí o that of the woman whoin be holds, wc ïope gently, by the hand. She is dressed ilainly in black. A long white veil delends froni her back hair, held by a eircle qf (yy, a plant in great -request and reputaion here iu Norway. The friends it the ride and bridegroom, lueluding pareiits, uiss up to the platform with theui and ake seats on elther side. A priest comes out froni the aayünn and stands before the liter silently, with liis back to us, while be preceptor from a side platform raises u weet song, with wlioso musie there is not o niueh aecord by the audienee. Then he bride and bridegroom knetl, a prayer s said, and the twci are one, and all are iapiy. The bride is arrayed at the door, and the scène is coneluded. After dinncr we stroll about the town, vhile the captain invites iny wife and ith.Ts to ride about, after a wild Noiwcau pony, in a big carriole. She reporta laving several adventuren on toot as will is ia tlie vehiclc. Meeting a Ind y of sorrowful aspect sitting upon a beneli, Mrs. :. and Héné join h. r. She exhibits miicli ¦iiKitioii iipon knowin-r iny wife is trom Vmerica. Her pietty lionu' is tenantless, as the familj - all butherself- sailed eizhl tays aj?o for America. She says: "The now - oh, the snow is so decjil Nu one niglit to pass another sueh winter." She idd lhat ii will bc down lioni tlic nounlains till later, aml we niüsl auait heir coming to sec the relndeer iu his best ¦st;itc, which is wild. .liidge Catou, in bis admirable book on Norway, stU'S that Rey have au irresistible iinpul-e to seek lie ooatt in the suiiinier season. 'l'liis the owner caunot oppos', if he would. All ie can do Is to direct wither they shall m. The judge does not give us the reason why ,he animal seeka the warm weather, leavng the cool highlands behind. It is an anomaly In nature which he does not clarify. He says it is the hablt also of the oarlboa of America. I asked our cnptuii (he reagon. Ha said it s beoMtfi of the mosquitoes, whlcn are simply horrible t( man and beast in siimmer, in tlie regions of' Lapland, Finmark, and upper Sweden SI y friend the clergvman of St. l'aul's con tl (DM the statement as to this sumnier ter ror of tin; Arcttcs. He says tliat n tin north of Sweden, when the mow begint t .iolt iln; uiiftiulio Oggü ne;ill li) iialcn hi fricnds wlio liave journeyed there have lbiind it impossible to cook their meals, as tii i..t vnlii ba t'ull t múequitoes before it could boil. They tind t fmpOttl ble to sleep unless one Iays awake mm lakis care of bis companions. He states thut apon the shores of these northern Sncdish lakes the moscinitoes have been washed ashore, and formed strata two feet deep! No wonder the reiudeer leaves for the coast. LOOKIKO FOK THE MIDNKill I SI N. Heindeer or not, we shall meet pleuty ol Lttpps before we see the mldhlglit gun. Afler visltins: the Tromsoc museum, with its odd antiipiities of Lapp and Kinn life in put ajíes, we board the ship by ti, still hopbjg for a goed alimpie of the sim at midnight. It has cleared off and grows warm. Wc all nap, expectitig to be awáke ai mldnigtit. Alas! agahn a heavy feg and clouds, aud a beautiftil Minet at iniftaight, iievertheless; bilt his niajesty in wit 1 1 1 1 1 this pavllion of statfiy splVndor, hut liever DnJder the horizon. Our English (üèrgym:i 1 1 mákei an exoüllent MmccIi of the acenery above TnniiMit', wiüi iti wild, rocky mountains, and an island in the distancp, betveen whose Jutting peaks we ioel, if we do not see, the round orb's de¦lint' iilid lise behind Ion jr level lines DÍ ¦rimson line, wlüch okange llUo ii piuky adiance as he rl86f WltllOUt Setting, 'l'wo sliips appear, like phaotoros, to break the solitude of the scenery. Again we go to our berths disappointed, bilt not ultngcthi-r uieiithmiaslic; for are we not assured by sciencu aud our eyes tliat there is no suuset hert' f Are we, alter all, to go home ungrátlüed ? , 'pon this nüsty mörnhtg of tht last of June, arisinji at 8, I seek toMB reluf froni the ïiionotony of daylight and volcaiiie nountaiii ; for the prospecta aboye 'l'romsoe are not eqiial to those below. The snows and elouds conimin;le, so ttiat it -etuis mie unbreken whiteuess upon the onely shores. The air is damp and tiuggy. excej)t in the south, were we least want it elear, and there it is illutnined vith a blue streak of light. Not !i sign of iiiinan or nther life Howappears; not even i duek, or a sail. It is the skeleton of the World, iu its shroud. We have, while aslcep, passed over some open sea, and are witliin the protection of the Islánds on the west. At 10 o'clock next mornlng we are ut [Iammerfest, whicli, a'.though It is the up)ermost town in BwfDpe, it is not the ipper end of our journey. It is not so ttrge liy half as Tromeoe, for il has only lbOut 3,000 populatioii. H looks more ike a seaport. The harbor is full of little boats plying: tbeir fialiini: trade. A Sibeiuu stcauiei is here loading. We walk to he rocky stre.nn wliirli )iishes out ol' tl... 'rozen lake, all covered with snow, and endeavor to reach the Lapp pneampment, vlnch the meltin snow forbids. We enter the low buts of the people on the uitside of the town. They are verv dirty and squalid ; but the roofs are aln-aily green with grfcM, where there is better jrovender for ihe stunted yellow cows with short leL9 and t'uU uddurs, tban amidst the rubble and snows of the comiion at the margin of the lake. beneath he rocky inountaln. We were not a little mzzled at the useless cultivution of graas upon the roofs of these house, nasmuch as no one seemed to practice the economy of the Scotch peasant, who carried his cow ou top of his roof, Ékoralng and evening, o cut off the grasa, forgettlng how easy it would have been to uut It, and carry it to he cow. HAY IN I,AI-I.ANI). Almost as inuch care is taken to dry the ïay iu Norwny as the tlsh, for the weather ïas its vicissitudes, and the winter is Img and wearisome to man and beast. For some time we were at a loss to underetand he meaning of the great bundies of poles, ike exaegerated fasces, or piled together ike the lodges of the red man of our land. Ploy -o fotiml v v i t,lt, t . li Itiv M 1 I of southerri Norway. They stand iu the oeadnwa or lean against barn and tehclt, ind attiaci anitioii at cvery view. 'hal can tliey be? At lasi ilio wolulion ramr. l'hcy are used for OUIÍng hay. Hay Is lúas up to dry. Stakes are set about six eet liiffh and pins insnitcd. on whicli these lender poles are laid. The poles are 8o irraogeq tliat when the gniss is plaoed upon thein they Bhed rain. The suu and vind soon do the making, aided by stalvart females. These (mpróflsed nedgei ire features of southern MomragUn landscape. They are thoroughly rural, and [uite in contrast with the bleak aspect of he f jords. Passing down the principal avenue of Iammerfest, called Neddre-Oonuevvolsfraadc, we see a nent little church. lts bel! ings. Wc enter, and are met by a ('atli olie priest, a Hollander, who is here at vork educating and preaehiiifr. His name s the Kev. Father Croll. He calis to his iid the Rey. Fatlier Hajíennan, a Germán, vho is here as director of the Catholic misionsin Ijapland and Finmark. Wine and nusic. añil many a pleasant chat, euding with u benedicüon, and we are placed under the direction of a young Norae eachér, who tenders her service to help us about Hammerfe8t. TIn' ohuroh only nuiners thirtyfour, and iu age is but a few reara. AN AKCTIC CÜSTOM IIOl'SK. Under the conveyance of our beautiful rum loei, MadtMiioiselle Oabonicr, we visted the docks about the harbor, whicli is uil of activity. We note how inanv vatchmakers' and clock -shops there are h 1 Iammerfest- a sign of confusión as to light and dar. Bom twenty open toats )f the antique moiild, such M was reentlv lug up unir Christiania, were prriaiin 0 unload their fteh at the red warehouses which overhand the uatcr. Tlicy are I.app es-els. The fish Were of divers kindB; ome red, and very lUge. The Lapp.s are ïot a nice set to look upon. They do not comparo with the roughest of the Norwerjan Bshertnan for deantinein or behavior. i'licii' IMMKM (as we ttoéd to eall tlu'in out west), or loose coat of white, Ihiik, and dirty woollen, are held by a belt - sonicimes markod with the name ol thé mvner - i'rom whicli dependa tho Nqrwegfati .nilV. whicli seems to bc worn opi'iily by ¦ven 'body. 'l'liis is a most innocent wea)on, and only used for honest prposes. )runk as are many of these Lapps, and rolling about tho docks iu slupid glee, fet ïo violenee repulís, no insults are given. lout us, as ure walk, are people eatiii}; md drlnking at cofifeta slands. Here, fai off at this end of the earth- is an efMenea Of eiviliation, I suppose - 1 Ihe inevitable eiistoni house, wilh the ¦eg lla qf Xoruay over it. It is called he TouUcamer, where they takc toll for he llberty to trade in tisli, oi], and tiuilier. l'lu' shoes of the people are peculiar, made .t leal lier. but. heavy, and, like their sleds, arriols, and ve-sels. turn up at the end! l'lic verv tonca ol these Nurweglaiis indiitc a gentle haolt. At everytuin in their alk you hoar the noL'ative nti- pronounc¦1 ionc.' It is u.-cil for adiniralion, wonler, and liitefiogation, and always with ¦ tul curve at the end, like their vessels. It the ( (ave) and the rt(no) vote were taken in Norway, the mi would lave it almost mm. CM, It is said tliat the idjectives habitual U a person are as niucli ofa detective of character as the inseriptions on a thermometer are indications of heat ('ertainly, this is true of the Norweglan negative monosy Hable. It is the sign and proof of complaisance. It must be poi'ectly charming to a Norse lover to baar such ii sweet den al of his suit. lts eliaraclirislic s that it turns up so gracer'ully at tlie end of the conversation. I slmulil not be surprised to see eyen the moaqilltoea turn up, as we have seen the wlmhs, in in obediente to tliis universal rule of politeness. Before 4 p. m. we are a)l aboard ready Co recelve s return visit from the prlests who culi to i'sciirt ïii.iilMinoisi'lli' 4u. utuns. RH DM ix'cn uining witii tis. After all is done by us to lic reciprocal, we set sutil for the cape and the open Arctic. Only ;i few st .tions, :ui) we will be tliere, and then and tliere we have mother chance at lii midnijrlit m.i jcsty. Let us not !e t(H eager and intense. Let us have faitli. With what resttlC, mv