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Given  in  Loving  Memory  of 

Raymond  Bralslin  Montgomery 

Scientist,  R/V  Atlantis  maiden  voyage 
2  July  -  26  August,  1931 

Woods  Hole  Oceano 'graphic  Institution 
Physical  Oceanographer 

1940-1949 
Non-Resident  Staff 

1950-1960 

Visiting  Committee 

III/' 1962-1963 

Corporation  Member 

1970-1980 

Faculty,  New  York  University 

1940-1944 
Faculty,  Brown  University 

1949-1954 
Faculty,  Johns  Hopkins  University 

1954- 1961 

Professor  of  Oceanography, 

Johns  Hopkins  University 

1961-1975 


ENTRANCE  TO  A   FIORD. 


HALF  HOURS 
IN  THE  FAR  NORTH 


ILiit  amfo  Snofo  anfc  fa 


WITH    NUMEROUS    ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK: 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY, 

PUBLISHERS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP. 

I.       THE  ISLAND 

II.       THE  DESERT 

III.       THE  PEOPLE 


ICELAND. 


PAGE 
3 

23 
39 


NORTHERN  RUSSIA. 


I.  THROUGH    THE    BALTIC 

II.  CRONSTADT 

III.  ST.    PETERSBURG 

IV.  MOSCOW    . 

V.  MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS     . 


OO 

.   66 

.   75 

.   99 

115 


GREENLAND. 


I.  THE    COAST 

II.  FREDERIKSHAAB 

III.  HOLSTEINBORG 

IV.  GODHAVEN 


131 


.  161 
160 


CONTENTS. 

ORKNEY. 

I.      SCENEBT  OP   THE   GROUP  .  .  •  •  .171 

H.      OCCUPATION   OP  THE  PEOPLE     .  ...» 

SHETLAND. 

•*          •  Tj^-wTmr  .  •  •  •        I"/ 


n.      PAIH   ISLE   AND   POULA  .  •  •  • 

ARCTIC  SEAS. 

nig 
I.      SEARCH  POR  PRANKLIN     .  .  •  •  • 

n.      SEARCH  POR  FRANKLIN     ..«••••      **** 

9.4ft 
HI.      SEARCH   FOR  FRANKLIN     .  .  •  •  •  . 

NORWAY. 

1.      THS  LAND 263 

U.  THE   NATIVES   AT   HOME     ...••••  278 

III.  THE  NATIVES  ABROAD        .           .           •                       •          •           •  2*" 

TV.  DAT   AND  NIGH*         .••••••• 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTEATIOXS. 


ENTRANCE  TO  A  FIORD 

REYKJAVIK,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  ICELAND    . 

MOUNT  HECKLA       ..... 

THE  GREAT  GEYSER 

THE  STROKR  ...... 

THE  RIVER  JOKULSA       .... 

THE  GREAT  NORTHERN  DIVER 
LANDSCAPE  IN  THE  DESERT    . 
AN  "!NN"  ON  THE  TRACK 
TRAVELLING  IN  ICELAND 
INTERIOR  OF  A  HOUSE    . 
BIRD- CATCHING        .  . 

FISHING-SMACK         ..... 

ELSINEUR 

THE  DROSKY  ...... 

RUSSIAN  VOSTICK,  BEGGAR,  AND  PRIEST 
ON  THE  NEVA  IN  WINTER     . 


Frontispiece. 


PAGE 

7 

11 
17 
21 
25 
29 
33 
36 
41 
44 
49 
-57 
59 
69 
73 
79 


X  LJST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAQB 

THE  MAMMOTH «/ 

THE  CZAR  AND  KABL 91 

MAP  OP  ST.  PETERSBURG  AND  THE  IBLANDS  96 

PEASANTS'  HOUSES 97 

RUSSIAN  TEA-SELLEKS     ...  ....     100 

THE  CATHEDRAL  OP  ST.  BASIL       .        .        »        ,        .        .103 

THE  GREAT  BELL  OP  Moscow 106 

Moscow 107 

A  RUSSIAN  SUMMEB  CARRIAGE 119 

WORKMEN  AT  DINNER   ........     12j 

THE  SPITZBEROEN  ICK-STRKAM        .        .        .        .        .        .136 

INHABITANTS  OP  GREENLAND  .        .        .        •        .        .139 

ESKIMO  HUTS 143 

THE  INTERIOR  IN  SUMMEB 146 

SEAL-HUNTING  ON  ICK-FIELDS         .  ...     149 

DANISH  SETTLEMENT  AT  HOLSTMNBORO         ....    163 

THE  HALO ,  .     156 

THE  DOG-SLEDGE ,        .        .     159 

THE  AURORA  BOREALIS         .......    163 

HUNTING  THE  SEAL 165 

THE  WALRUS 167 

THE  STKNNTS  STONES     .        .        .        .        •        .        .        .176 

A  Piers'  HOUSE 177 

EGG-GATFBRING      .        .        .        .        «        .        .        .        .187 
AN  OKXNET  FARMHOUSE        .......     191 

GOU,  AND  BOY  OP  THE  BETTER  C/LA8e 200 

THE  FISHERMAN'S  GALLOP     .        .         .        .        •        .        .203 

TH«  COAST 207 

THE  CRADLE  OF  NOBS 210 

HOMES  OP  THE  POORER  CLASS        .        .        .        .        .        .213 

SHETLAND  FISHING-BOAT         .        .        .        .        •        •        .    216 

WHALERS  IN  BAFFIN'S  BAT  .......    222 

WINTER  IN  WELLINGTON  CHANNEL       .        .        •        •        .    226 
DRAGGING  BOJT  >  CROSS  ICE-FIELDS       •        •  .        •    228 


OST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


POLAR  BEARS         .........  2.3  v 

THE  EDGE  or  A  PACK  ........  233 

BUMMBB  IN  LANCASTER  JSOUND       .        .        .        .        .        .  24  s. 

AN  ESKIMO  VILLAGE      ........  245 

DISCOVERY   AT  THE   KoSfl   CAIRN       ......  251 

ARCTIC  BIBDS          .......         t  2o7 

AMONG  THB  ISLANDS       ........  26€ 

ENTBANCB  TO  A  FIOKD  ........  260 

A  FlORD  8EBN  PROM  ABOVE  .......  272 

A  COAST  G-LACIBB  .........  275 

A  NORWEGIAN  CARRIAOB       .......  279 

PEASANTS  AND  MINISTER        .......  28i 

AT  THE  HEAD  o^  THE  NORD  FIORD     .        .        *        .  285 

NORWEGIAN  DANCE        ........  28* 

AN  HOUR  AFTER  Mnnneii*  ,  .        »       .        .  299 

THE  EAOLB   ......,«..  104 

MounTAnr  BCOZBY  ,  Kl 


ICELAOT). 


ICELAND. 


CHAPTER   I, 

THE    ISLAND. 

I  HA  YE  certainly,  In  ail  niy  wanderings,  never  sailed 
over  a  more  desolate  and  stormy  sea  than  that 
which  lies  between  Great  Britain  and  Iceland.  In  the 
voyages  both  out  and  home  we  were  constantly  beset 
by  violent  gales.  Only  once  were  we  cheered  by  the 
sight  of  a  ship,  and  she  was  scudding  with  close-reefed 
sails  before  a  pitiless  storm.  Day  after  day  there  was 
the  same  sweltering  of  the  waters,  the  same  threatening 
sky  and  warning  barometer. 

The  evening  we  left  Liverpool  everything  promised 
well.  The  sun  set  in  great  beauty  over  the  Isle  of  Man. 
The  distant  horizon  was  dimly  hedged  in  by  the  purple 
coast  of  Ireland,  and  on  th?  calm  sea  a  largf  fleet  of 
herring-boats  with  drooping  sails  shot  their  nets  in  the 


4  ICELAND. 

glowing  light.  Removed  from  all  comparison  with  the 
leviathans  of  the  Mersey,  our  little  steamer  grew  upon 
as  tfll  we  had  almost  forgotten  the  hesitation  we  at 
first  felt  to  encounter  the  North  Atlantic  in  such  a  tiny 
craft. 

As  night  closed,  a  stormy  petrel  hovered  about  us ; 
but  all  on  sky  and  sea  appeared  so  calm  and  peaceable, 
and  the  big  solemn  barometer  seemed  so  confident  of  fine 
weather,  that  we  derided  our  little  enemy  as  a  hopeless 
lunatic  who  should  be  bound  over  to  keep  the  peace 
towards  us.  However,  Mother  Carey's  envoy,  as  usual, 
knew  more  than  we  did  of  what  the  winds  and  waves 
were  meditating,  and  though  at  night  the  barometer 
hastened  to  rectify  his  prognostic,  and  courageously 
threw  a  somersault  from  fair  to  foul,  he  was  hardly- 
in  time  to  "  assist '  at  the  commencement  of  the 
strife. 

In  the  morning  after  leaving  port,  we  passed  the  south 
end  of  Islay,  and  saw  its  beetling  crags  lashed  by  spin- 
drift as  the  grey  swirls  of  rain-cloud  were  rent  for  a 
moment  by  the  rising  gale.  That  was  our  last  sight  of 
land  till  we  made  Iceland  after  five  days  severe  buffeting 
with  the  wind  and  sea.  For  a  day  or  two  the  gale  canie 

roaring  up  after  us 

"  With  all 

Its  stormy  crests  that  smoked  against  the  sky," 

and  bore  us  bravely  on  into  the  dark  waste  of  waters, 
walled  by  mist,  which  lay  beyond  ;  and  I  confess  this  part 
of  our  voyage  was  very  enjoyable.  It  was  most  pleasing 


THE    ISLAND. 

to  watch  the  graceful  gliding  of  the  great  waves,  which 
one  moment  ready  to  topple  on  the  head  of  the  seaman 
lashed  to  the  wheel,  noiselessly  slid  below  us  to  dash 
out  beneath  the  bows  in  a  broad  glittering  carpet  of 
foam. 

When  we  had  been  carried  hopelessly  beyond  any 
harbour  of  refuge,  far  out  near  Rockhall,  the  following 
gale  ceased,  and  after  a  short  interval  of  tumbled  repose 
we  encountered  a  "  whole  gale  "  right  in  our  teeth,  which 
compelled  us  to  "  lie  to "  for  many  hours  in  a  sea  as 
wildly  tumultuous  as  it  -has  ever  been  my  lot  to  en 
counter. 

The  little  ship,  fought  bravely.  At  one  moment,  reared 
on  her  hind  legs,  she  menaced  the  coming  seas ;  at  the 
next,  almost  standing  on  her  head,  she  dived  into  the 
deep  trough  which  divided  them,  and  again  rolling  from 
side  to  side,  nearly  sent  her  funnel  and  masts  overboard. 
She  certainly  met  most  of  the  rollers  fiercely,  but  occa- 
sionally a  great  seahorse  with  a  crest  of  foam  would  rise 
and  strike  her  such  a  blow  that  every  fibre  of  her  frame 
trembled.  It  was  as  if  old  Tor  was  trying  to  beat  us 
back  from  his  ancient  realm  with  heavy  strokes  of  his 
mighty  hammer. 

How  the  heart  leaps  when  that  terrible  crash  comes 
overhead  caused  by  a  heavy  sea  on  deck !  For  a  time 
the  ship  appears  completely  crushed  by  the  blow,  and 
unable  again  to  rise  from  the  trough  into  which  she 
sinks.  But  up  she  comes  again,  as  buoyant  as  a  cork, 
and  you  breathe  more  freely  till  you  instinctively  know 


O  ICELAND. 

that  it  is  time  for  another  alarm.  The  regular  rhythm 
of  the  waves  is  very  remarkable.  For  hours  I  could  tell 
within  a  second  or  two  in  what  direction  the  ship  would 
next  pitch,  and  how  the  approaching  wave  would  strike 
her. 

At  last,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  fifth  day,  the  sailors 
discovered  land  in  what  seemed  to  us  landsmen  a  thick 
itorm  cloud. 

A  high  bank  of  darkness  to  the  north  blended  sea  and 
sky,  but  gradually  out  of  this  blackness  indistinct  forms 
of  rocks  became  perceptible.  At  first  they  appeared  no 
more  than  denser  portions  of  the  darkness,  but  at  last, 
from  the  shroud-like  covering,  tremendous  precipices, 
rising  at  a  bound  from  the  foaming  breakers  beneath, 
could  be  clearly  made  out,  their  summits  crowned  by 
snow  and  their  high  valleys  filled  with  glancing  ice- 
streams.  As  the  flying  clouds  were  borne  rapidly  across 
their  precipitous  faces,  and  the  ocean  swell  broke  hoarsely 
on  their  base,  a  more  inhospitable  or  dangerous  looking 
coast  could  not  well  be  imagined. 

We  sailed  between  the  Westmann  Islands  and  the 
southern  coast  of  Iceland.  The  islands  referred  to  are 
volcanic  masses  thrown  out  into  the  sea,  and  linked 
together  by  low  reefs  over  which  the  foaming  breakers 
were  driving  madly. 

Here  we  first  encountered  the  whale,  which  is  so 
common  an  inhabitant  of  these  seas.  On  our  way  home 
thirty  of  them  were  at  one  time  visible  from  the  deck. 
In  mist  and  rain,  with  a  strong  southerly  breeze  and 


THE    ISLAND.  9 

rising  sea,  we  ran  along  a  lee  shore,  low,  dark,  and 
precipitous,  where  no  place  of  refuge  could  be  found  for 
a  luckless  ship  unable  to  hold  her  own.  Our  sixty 
horses  worked  away  bravely,  but  if  they  had  become 
restive  there  is  little  doubt  what  the  result  would  have 
been. 

Occasionally  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  jagged  and 
pinnacled  hills  of  the  interior,  their  size  and  gloomy 
character  enhanced  by  their  covering  of  clouds ;  but 
generally  a  low-lying,  black,  lifeless  shore,  guarded  by 
projecting  reefs  and  fiercely  beaten  by  surf,  was  what 
we  alone  saw  during  this  our  first  introduction  to  Ice- 
land. We  had  *o  steer  a  good  deal  by  the  fitful  light  of 
the  breakers,  out  and  in,  keeping  them  in  sight. 

"We  passed  the  "  Smoky  Cape  "  after  sunset,  and  well 
it  deserves  its  name.  Against  its  iron  face,  round  its 
basaltic  columns,  and  deep  into  its  wild  caverns,  the 
waves,  urged  on  by  the  southern  gale,  broke  themselves 
into  fragments  of  foam,  and  shot  up  in  long  tongues  of 
brilliant  white.  There  could  not  have  been  a  more 
imposing  or  appropriate  welcome  to  a  land  we  had  all 
pictured  as  the  abode  of  storm,  ice,  and  fire.  I  involun- 
tarily repeated  the  well-known  lines — 

"  A  waste  land  where  no  one  comes, 
Or  hath  come  since  the  making  of  the  world." 

If  I  had  seen  nothing  more  of  Iceland  than  that  gloomy 
picture,  I  should  have  carried  away  a  very  different  im- 
pression of  it  from  what  I  received  a  few  days  afterwards, 


10 


ICELAND. 


when  I  rode  along  the  same  coast  and  saw  it  steeped  in 
the  brightest  sunshine,  and  when  these  same  weird-like 
hills  stood  out  clear  and  purple  against  a  sky  as  trans- 
parent as  any  Italian  one. 

Nowhere  is  the  traveller .  more  dependent  on  weather 
than  in  Iceland.  Having  to  live  in  wooden  churches 
or  tents  without  fire,  the  existence  of  sunshine  or  rain 
makes  all  possible  difference  to  his  comfort.  The 
climate  generally  deals  in  extremes,  and  if  not  over- 
whelmed with  ruthless  rain,  you  are  baked  in  sun- 
shine. 

We  had  one  day's  experience  of  the  true  orthodox  rain 
of  the  country,  and  I  should  never  care  again  to  be  ex- 
posed to  it.  Cold  sleety  rain  and  wind,  which  pierced 
even  to  one's  very  marrow,  was  not  the  best  discipline 
for  a  preserved  meat  dinner  innocent  of  fire,  and  a 
bivouac  under  dripping  canvass.  But  when  the  sun  poured 
forth  in  splendour  over  the  splintered  rocks  and  wonder- 
fully coloured  hills,  lighting  up  the  icy  summits  of  the 
Jokulls  with  a  golden  haze,  and  pencilling  the  clouds  with 
the  most  delicate  tints  of  beauty,  and  filling  the  green 
valleys  with  light  and  colour,  and  the  air  with  that  elas- 
ticity and  joy  known  to  every  traveller  in  Switzerland, 
then  the  rain  and  the  wind  were  forgotten  in  the  all- 
pervading  pleasure  of  existence. 

It  is  to  its  volcanos  that  Iceland  owes  its  chief  and 
mos*  characteristic  feature.  In  no  part  of  the  world  is 
Buch  dire  destruction  or  such  terrible  evidence  of  thii 
fearful  agency  seen. 


THE    ISLAND. 


11 


Most  of  the  greater  mountains  have  been,  or  are  still, 
volcanos  ;  and  in  truth  the  whole  island  owes  its  birth  to 
volcanic  upheaval.  So  rough,  so  wild  and  rugged,  is  the 
land,  that  it  appears  like  a  fragment  torn  from  the  bottom 


MOUXT    HECKLA. 


of  the  deep,  and  elevated  above  the  waves  by  some  con- 
vulsion of  nature. 

Heckla  is   the  volcano  best  known,  because  it  lies   to 
the  south  of  the  island,  and  can  be  seen  by  passing  shipS| 


12  ICELAND. 

but  it  is  very  far  from  being  the  most  destructive  of  the 
"  Eruptors  "  of  Iceland.  On  an  average,  there  has  been 
an  explosion  somewhere  in  the  island  every  thirteen 
years,  and  several  of  these  have  been  unsurpassed  for 
their  violent  and  devastating  effects. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  in  a  land  where  bravery 
and  enterprise  have  never  been  wanting,  a  region  some 
3,000  square  miles  in  extent,  lying  in  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  island,  should  never  have  been  penetrated 
by  man.  In  that  wild  and  untrodden  desert  stand  some 
of  the  most  destructive  craters. 

Age  after  age,  wave  upon  wave  of  burning  lava  has 
been  poured  over  it,  earthquakes  have  rent  it  and  tor- 
mented it,  without  the  eye  of  man  ever  resting  on  its 
mysteries.  From  out  of  this  solitude,  perfect  seas  of 
molten  lava  have,  at  various  times,  flowed  over  the 
pastures  and  laboriously  cultivated  fields  of  the  wretched 
inhabitants.  Considerable  hills  have  been  thrown  up, 
water-courses  cut  deep  in  the  hills  filled  full  to  the 
brim,  and  long  reels  and  islands  cast  far  out  into  the 
sea. 

One  stream  is  50  miles  long,  15  miles  broad,  and 
600  feet  deep ;  and  it  has  been  calculated  that  one  volcano 
in  that  wilderness  threw  out,  during  one  eruption,  fifty 
to  sixty  millions  of  cubic  yards  of  material !  Into  the 
inhabited  regions  alone  a  greater  bulk  than  Mont  Blano 
was  projected ! 

The  accounts  which  have  been  handed  down  of  this 
event  present  to  us  a  picture  too  terrible  almost  to? 


THE    ISLAND.  18 

belief.  With  a  widespread  destruction  of  the  land,  the 
depths  of  the  sea  were  invaded,  and  the  fish  (the  Ice- 
landers' chief  means  of  subsistence)  driven  from  the  shore. 
The  flames  broke  out  even  through  the  waves  in  the  line 
of  movement,  and  the  sea  was  covered  with  pumice  for 
150  miles. 

A  thick  canopy  hung  over  the  island  for  a  year,  and 
the  winds  carried  the  ashes  over  Europe,  Africa,  and 
America.  The  very  sun  was  darkened,  and  showed  only 
as  a  ball  of  fire,  while  frightful  hurricanes,  hail-storms, 
thunder  and  lightning  added  their  horrors,  and  famine 
and  pestilence  still  further  reduced  the  number  of  those 
who  survived  the  catastrophe. 

The  great  lava  streams  are  inconceivably  wild.  A 
sight  of  one  is  a  sufficient  reward  for  crossing  the  ocean. 
A  more  complete  "  abomination  of  desolation  '  cannot 
else  be  found. 

To  describe  such  a  stream  as  like  a  billowy  sea  arrested 
in  its  wildest  frenzy  and  turned  into  stone,  would  give 
but  a  faint  notion  of  the  fretted  turbulent  twistings,  deep 
rents  and  chasms,  threatening  pinnacles,  and  overhanging 
crests  of  dull  cindery  lava,  which,  ghost-like,  stretch  to 
the  horizon. 

Sometimes  extraordinary  swirls  in  the  rock  show  how 
the  viscous  mass  was  moved  while  it  cooled.  Large 
corrugated  surfaces  thus  frequently  occur,  and  occa- 
sionally they  even  assume  patterns  like  a  tesselated 
pavement. 

Sometimes  you  pass  over  broad  domes  that  ring  to  the 


14  ICELAND. 

tread,  and  beneath  subterranean  chambers  stretch  to  a 
great  distance,  which  might  serve  as  dens  for  all  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  forest.  Hidden  from  the  summer  sun, 
banks  of  ice  and  snow  lie  in  some  of  these  caves  all  the 
year  round  ;  and  small  holes,  into  which  a  horse's  foot 
is  apt  to  slide,  are  a  constant  source  of  danger  to  the 
traveller. 

The  persistent  heat  of  these  masses  of  lava  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact,  that  many  years  after  their  effusion  they  con- 
tinue hot  and  smoking. 

Such  sterile,  howling  wildernesses  are  what  Rachel 
would  have  fitly  termed  "  a  sublime  horror."  Hardly  a 
trace  of  life  in  animal  or  plant  is  met  with. 

The  lowest  lichens  and  a  weather-beaten  grey  moss 
sear  the  rocks  with  faint  traces  of  colour,  and  at  long 
intervals  an  eagle,  or  one  of  the  apoplectic  ravens  which 
haunt  these  solitudes,  may  flit  noiselessly  past,  their  dark 
shadow  gliding  like  an  evil  spirit  over  the  barren  rocks. 
Not  another  sign  of  life  exists,  and,  in  truth,  the  absence 
of  insect  life  is  one  of  the  most  curious  and  striking 
features  of  the  country.  Except  in  some  of  the  valleys 
by  the  side  of  rivers,  where  hungry  gnats  abound,  there 
is  hardly  a  winged  insect  to  be  seen. 

No  bees  or  butterflies  fill  the  air  with  their  busy  hum, 
or  pass  glittering  down  the  breeze.  There  are  no  hedge- 
rows or  copses  "  melodious  with  tune,"  no  little  birds 
impetuous  with  song.  On  the  moors  the  melancholy  cry 
of  the  plover  may  at  intervals  be  heard,  but  the  thrush  and 
starling  and  corncrake  never  come  in  all  that  silent  land. 


THE    ISLAND.  15 

Among  the  grass  and  stones  few  worms  or  little  insects 
meet  your  eye.  I  saw  no  beetle,  or  spider,  or  snail. 
The  very  house-fly  did  not  visit  our  tent;  and  certain 
heavy  and  light  cavalry,  so  common  in  the  houses  of  more 
southern  lands,  are,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  prudently 
indifferent  to  so  cold  and  unpromising  a  field  of  industry 
and  enterprise  as  is  presented  to  them  in  Iceland. 

Everywhere  a  strange  silence  reigns,  like  that  of  the 
Great  Desert.  Over  head  and  under  foot  everything 
wears  the  lifeless  silence  of  desolation.  It  is  in  winter 
that  the  echoes  are  aroused,  and  then,  with  the  hurri- 
cane "  travelling  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength,"  and 
the  ice  artillery,  the  long  valleys  and  iron  hills  shout 
again. 

Craters  of  all  sizes  are  very  commonly  met  with. 
Occasionally,  a  lew  yards  from  the  road,  you  can  look 
down  a  black  funnel  into  an  unknown  abyss  ;  sometimes 
an  unfathomable  lake  occupies  an  old  vent ;  and  I  have 
heard  of  filled-up  craters  serving  as  sheep-folds.  But  it 
is  not  lava  alone  which  is  projected  from  the  subter- 
ranean chambers  of  Iceland.  Hot  mud,  boiling  water, 
liquid  sulphur,  are  at  different  places  thrown  up ;  and  it 
is  especially  in  those  valleys,  where  the  discoloured 
sloughs  of  sulphur  smudge  the  ground  and  streak  the  hill- 
side, and  where  the  vapours  of  boiling  cauldrons  con- 
stantly fill  the  air,  that  you  fully  realise  your  near 
approach  to  the  "ignes  suppositi,"  and  feel  disposed  to 
examine  suspiciously  all  the  hollows  and  lurking  places 
for  the  befitting  genius. 


IC2LANO. 

The  hot  springs  of  Iceland  have  been  for  ages  cele- 
brated, and  some  of  them,  have  even  ranked  among  the 
seven  wonders  of  the  world.  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
witness  a  very  successful  performance  of  the  Great 
Geyser  (i.e.  Gusher),  and  congratulate  myself  on  the 
same,  as  in  his  old  age  he  is  becoming  less  fond  of  display, 
and  has  even  remained  gloomy  and  taciturn  while  Prince 
Napoleon  and  his  photographers  and  painters  and  mathe- 
maticians were  standing  ready  for  days  to  picture, 
measure,  and  immortalise  him. 

Geysers  are  very  common  in  Iceland.  They  may  be 
frequently  seen  steaming  away  like  energetic  pots  in  the 
plains,  and  waving  their  white  flags  in  the  breeze.  Some- 
times they  obligingly  throw  their  hot  water  into  the  icy 
lakes,  and  doubtless  thereby  gladden  the  cold  toes  of  the 
fish ;  sometimes  they  bubble  and  boil  deep  down  below 
ground,  in  dark  holes  of  unpleasant  aspect. 

In  the  valley  of  "  Hawk-dale,"  where  the  Geyser 
presides,  it  is  said  above  one  hundred  hot  springs  are 
found  ;  but  only  a  few  of  them  are  in  any  way  remarkable. 
Most  of  these  are  placed  on  the  slope  of  a  low  hill  of  slaty 
tuffa,  which  rises  to  a  height  of  about  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  valley  ;  and  from  the  summit  of  this  hill  a  most 
beautiful  view  is  got,  not  only  of  the  boiling  springs  below, 
but  also  of  the  long  green  valley,  with  its  many  rivers 
and  purple  ridges  of  bordering  hills,  immediately  beyond 
which  towers  the  double  cone  of  Heckla,  and  the  range  of 
dome-shaped  Jokiills  on  either  side. 

Near  the  base  of  this  hill  there  is  a  most  beautiful, 


THE    GREAT    GEYSEK. 
C 


THE    ISLAND.  19 

delicately  tinted  cavern,  with  bossy  walls,  full  to  the  brim 
with  boiling  water,  which  is  as  clear  as  crystal,  and 
entirely  devoid  of  taste  or  smell.  This  is  the  favourite 
cooking-pot  of  travellers.  It  makes  admirable  tea ;  and 
we  anchored  in  its  depths  sundry  tin  cans  and  sausages, 
whose  flavour  afterwards  seemed  exquisite  to  our  hungry 
palates. 

This  fountain  was  at  one  time  the  chief  eruptor,  but 
after  an  sarthquake  it  ceased  to  play,  and  made  over 
the  performance  to  the  Great  Geyser,  which  then  began. 

The  "  Great  Geyser  "  has  built  up  for  itself  a  truncated 
conical  mound,  by  the  deposit  of  the  silicious  material  so 
largely  held  in  suspension  by  its  waters. 

On  the  summit  of  this  mound  stands  the  saucer-shaped 
basin,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  crater  or  pipe  opens. 
The  basin  is  about  four  feet  deep  at  the  edge  of  the 
crater,  but  shallows  gradually  to  the  lip.  It  measures 
above  seventy  feet  across,  and  the  pipe  is  about  ten  feet  in 
diameter,  and  perfectly  smooth  within,  where  it  has  been 
polished  by  the  constant  rush  of  the  boiling  water.  The 
basin  is  always  full,  except  for  a  short  interval  after  an 
eruption,  when  it  is  emptied,  and  then  you  can  walk  into 
the  edge  of  the  crater,  over  the  hot  stone,  and  look  down 
the  pipe  at  the  fiercely  boiling  flood,  filling  gradually  up 
again  to  its  old  level. 

When  full  the  basin  looks  very  beautiful,  from  the 
clearness  of  the  water  and  the  deep  blue  colour  of  the 
pipe.  The  water  is  always  boiling,  and  large  bubbles  of 
air  rise  to  the  surface  from  the  unknown  regions  below. 


20  ICELAND. 

The  interior  of  the  basin  is  rough,  like  cerebral  coral 
or  cauliflower,  and  plants  thrown  into  the  water  become 
covered  by  silicious  encrustation, 

We  witnessed  a  grand  display,  after  many  false  alarms, 
during  which  an  abortive  attempt  was  apparently  made 
by  the  master  of  the  ceremonies  to  gratify  us.  With  a 
slight  tremor  of  the  earth,  and  considerable  groaning  and 
sighing,  a  water-column,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  a  sheaf 
of  columns,  rose  higher  and  higher  out  of  the  basin. 
These  columns  partially  sank  again  and  again,  but  con- 
tinued at  each  renewed  effort  to  gain  greater  altitude, 
till,  with  a  final  attempt,  a  maximum  of  about  one  hundred, 
feet  was  reached.  This  height  was  only  maintained  for 
a  few  seconds,  and  down  like  a  telescope  the  whole 
mass  sank,  the  entire  period  consumed  in  the  display 
being  seven  minutes  and  a  half. 

The  explosion  was  accompanied  by  so  much  steam,  that 
the  water- column  was  greatly  concealed;  still  it  was  a  very 
wonderful  and  gratifying  spectacle.  As  throb  after  throb 
raised  the  dome  of  water  higher  and  higher,  the  excite- 
ment among  the  spectators  was,  as  may  be  believed,  very 
great. 

At  one  tune  the  Geyser  is  said  to  have  been  much 
more  powerful  than  in  our  day,  and  to  have  risen 
between  three  and  four  hundred  feet  every  six  hours  ; 
but  that  was  in  his  hot  and  fiery  youth :  he  is  now  old 
and  feeble,  and  gradually  builds  up  a  flinty  tomb,  which 
one  day  will  enclose  him  as  similar  formations  have  done 
not  a  few  of  his  brethren. 


THE    ISLAND. 


21 


The  Lesser  Geyser  erupts  at  short  intervals,  but  to  no 
great  height;  while  the  "Strokr"  (i.e.  "Churn"),  the 
remaining  hot  spring  of  chief  interest  in  this  locality,  is 
of  such  an  excitable  disposition  that  he  can  be  roused  to 
activity  by  a  trick,  and  made  to  contribute  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  every  passer. 


THE    STROKE. 


At  a  depth  of  twelve  feet  from  the  surface,  this  Geyser, 
when  quiescent,  pursues  his  boiling  trade  with  not  a  little 
sound  and  fury ;  but  as  his  throat  is  very  narrow,  it  can 
easily  be  closed,  and  so  our  friend  choked.  This  ignoble 
act  is  achieved  by  throwing  in  a  few  shovelfuls  of  sod. 
Naturally  enough,  he  warmly  resents  such  liberties  being 


2*2  ICELAND. 

taken  with  his  windpipe,  and  thus  no  sooner  has  the 
guide  hurled  in  the  proper  dose,  than,  like  a  man  with 
quinsy,  the  Strokr  hisses  and  splutters,  gasps  and 
grumbles,  till  he  can  no  longer  contain  himself,  and 
up  it  all  comes,  boiling  water,  steam,  and  earth,  in  explo- 
sion after  explosion,  till  the  whole  "ingesta"  have  been 
got  quit  of,  and  his  pipe  is  again  clear. 

After  many  efforts  and  much  excitement,  he  appears 
for  a  moment  to  calm,  but  again,  apparently  after 
thinking  over  it,  he  cannot  brook  the  recollection,  and 
at  it  he  goes,  almost  as  energetically  as  ever.  He  is  a 
great  performer  is  this  Strokr ;  he  would,  I  am  sure, 
make  the  fortune  of  any  showman  who  could  tame  and 
carry  him  to  the  Palace  at  Sydenham.  On  the  whole,  I 
think  that  if  the  water  were  clear,  the  eruption  of  the 
Strokr  is  more  graceful,  as  it  is  nearly  as  high,  as  that  of 
the  Great  Geyser. 


ICELAND. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    DESERT. 

HPHE  central  deserts  of  Iceland  are  unexplored.  A  man 
must  be  bold,  and  singularly  favoured  by  weather, 
to  investigate  their  mysterious  recesses  and  to  return 
with  life. 

One  region,  part  wild  tumbled  snow  and  glacier  moun- 
tains, part  plains  of  bristling  lava,  is  as  unknown  as  the 
heart  of  Africa.  The  glimmer  of  silver  peaks  has  been 
seen  from  afar  across  an  impassable  arm  of  lava,  the 
confines  of  the  great  sea  of  molten  matter  have  been 
skirted,  but  those  billows  of  black  ragged  stone  have 
never  been  traversed  even  in  the  old  adventuresome  days 
of  Iceland. 

Sometimes  violent  shocks  and  a  rising  column  of  black 
cloud  warn  distant  settlers  that  volcanic  fires  are  still 
23  ' 


24  ICELAND. 

active  in  the  heart  of  that  fearful  wilderness ;  then  the 
one  great  river  Jokuisa,  which  flows  from  its  mysterious 
depths,  is  tinged  with  volcanic  ash,  and  swollen  with 
melted  snows  ;  then,  too,  the  night  sky  gleams  scarlet 
over  some  unvisited,  unknown,  yawning  crater,  which  is 
pouring  forth  its  flood  of  molten  rock. 

This  sea  of  lava  sweeps  up  to  the  roots  of  a  chain  of 
snow  mountains  perfectly  unexplored,  themselves  vol- 
€anos  ready  to  toss  aside  their  mantles  of  white  and 
spread  destruction  for  miles  round. 

To  the  west  of  this  vast  region  of  lava  and  snow  lies 
an  upland  desert  of  black  sparkling  sand,  stretching 
completely  across  the  island.  This  sand  is  volcanic, 
-and  has  been  deposited  during  outbursts  of  the  neigh- 
bouring mountains,  when  the  clouds  rain  down  sand 
till  the  ground  is  covered  many  feet  deep,  and  every 
particle  of  vegetation  is  destro}Ted.  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  a  cutting  made  by  a  stream  in  this 
district,  and  I  found  traces  of  three  several  depositions 
of  volcanic  dust,  the  last  as  much  as  thirteen  feet  deep. 

Vegetation  advances  in  Iceland  with  none  of  that 
rapidity  with  which  it  covers  the  flanks  of  Vesuvius, 
and  sand  in  Iceland  is  many  hundreds  of  years  old 
before  it  becomes  covered  with  a  scanty  growth  of 
marram  and  moss  campion. 

Part  of  this  elevated  table-land  of  desert  is  studded 
with  countless  lakes  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  disconnected, 
landlocked ;  some,  quiet  tarns  of  crystal  clear  water 
others  winding  among  the  hills,  ruffled  and  tossed  iuta 


THE    DESER1.  27 

angry  waves  by  the  cutting  blasts  which  howl  over  the 
waste.  This  wild  region  is  utterly  barren.  The  hills 
are  bare,  exposed  stone,  broken  into  angular  fragments 
and  torn  into  gullies  by  the  melting  snows  of  spring. 
The  elevated  plains  are  masses  of  splintered  trap  and 
black  mud,  into  which  a  horse  will  flounder  to  its  belly. 
The  dales  are  occasionally  grey  with  moss,  and  partially 
clothed  with  stunted  willow. 

But  every  spring  thaw  helps  to  destroy  the  little 
amount  of  vegetation  which  exists,  as  the  icy  water  tears 
down  the  hill-slopes  and  rips  up  the  moss,  or  bears 
away  the  sandy  soil  in  which  the  willow  found  root. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  a  mossy,  willowy  bottom 
is  common.  You  may  travel  all  day  without  coming  to 
one,  but  a  few  do  exist,  known  only  to  certain  individuals 
who  haunt  the  waste  during  the  summer,  gathering  the 
lichen  islandicus,  or  seeking  swans. 

This  region  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  Siberian 
tundras,  but  it  is  more  barren.  The  tundras  are  moss- 
covered,  and  nourish  herds  of  reindeer;  but  the  heidis 
of  the  centre  of  Iceland  could  not  support  any  quadruped. 
For  the  most  part  this  desert  is  devoid  of  living  crea- 
tures, for  birds  will  not  frequent  spots  where  there  is  no 
vegetation. 

Wherever  a  morass  of  moss,  blaeberry,  and  willow  is 
to  be  found,  however,  multitudes  of  wild  fowl  congregate. 
The  lakes  teem  with  red-fleshed  Alpine  trout  and  magni- 
ficent char,  and  where  the  fish  are,  there  are  to  be  found 
the  swan  and  the  diver. 


£8  ICELAND. 

Swans  breed  in  considerable  numbers  among  these 
lakes,  unmolested  except  by  a  hardy  native  who  may 
venture  into  the  wilds  to  shoot  them  for  their  feathers. 
The  swan  is  of  only  one  species,  the  cygnus  musicus : 
some  naturalists  have  asserted  that  another  species  is  to 
be  found  in  the  island,  but  the  natives  are  very  positive 
that  one  kind  only  visits  the  island,  and  certainly  amongst 
those  which  I  saw,  I  noticed  none  but  the  hoopers. 
Glorious,  indeed,  is  the  note,  shrill  as  a  trumpet-call, 
uttered  by  this  majestic  bird,  when  the  labours  of  incu- 
bation are  completed,  and  it  sings  its  paean  of  triumph 
over  its  fledgelings. 

The  swans  generally  are  in  pairs  in  a  lake :  among 
these  tarns  it  is  rare  to  find  more  than  one  couple  to 
each  sheet  of  water.  An  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  second 
pair  to  intrude  is  resented  as  an  intrusion,  the  swans 
regarding  the  lake  as  an  Englishman  regards  his  house — 
as  a  castle.  But  this  is  not  the  case  always.  I  counted 
some  eighteen  swans  on  the  great  lake  in  the  Vatnsdalr ; 
but  there  the  sheet  was  extensive.  Perhaps  the  reason 
of  the  tenacity  of  the  swans  on  the  Arnarvatn  lieidi  to 
their  rights  is  the  scarcity  of  provender,  and  they  may 
be  aware  that  what  is  enough  for  two  would  be  starving 
for  four. 

Another  bird  frequenting  these  lakes,  also  in  couples, 
is  the  Great  Northern  Diver,  a  magnificent  fellow  in 
gorgeous  metallic  glitter  of  green  and  black,  his  wings 
and  back  sprinkled  with  white,  and  his  breast  of  spotless 
purity.  The  size  of  the  bird  is  great,  his  neck  and  head 


THE    LESEBT. 


29 


well  proportioned,  the  latter  narrow  and  armed  with  a 
pointed  dark-coloured  bill,  and  furnished  with  bright 
crimson  eyes,  like  rubies. 

The  diver  is  a  heavy  bird,  and  a  clumsy  walker  ;  but 
he  flies  well,  though  low,  rising  when  alarmed  from  his 
lone  dark  pool  with  a  weird  cry,  mingled  with  gulping 
whoops,  like  the  laughter  of  a  fiend.  The  diver  is  a  very 
powerful  swimmer,  and  it  is  difficult  for  a  boat  to  keep 


THE    GREAT    NORTHERN    DIYER. 


up  with  him.  He  laughs  at  a  storm,  dancing  like  a  cork 
on  the  waters,  plunging  through  the  waves  and  appearing 
on  the  other  side  with  a  fish  in  his  mouth,  which  he 
swallows  with  a  toss  of  his  head. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  lakes  where  there  is  ve^e- 

O  O 

tation  the  whimbrel  stands  on  his  long  legs,  uttering  his 
wild  sad  cry,  and  seeming  quite  unconcerned  if  you 


80  ICELAND. 

present  your  gun.  Have  him  we  must,  for  we  depend 
entirely  for  provisions  in  these  wastes  on  what  we  shoot ; 
and  whimbrel,  though  stringy  and  tasteless,  is  not  to  be 
despised  when  little  else  is  to  be  got. 

Ah  !  we  have  disturbed  a  covey  of  ptarmigans.  They 
looked  like  grey  stones,  crouching  so  unconcernedly  on 
the  ground  as  we  rode  by.  But  the  ptarmigan  is  sure 
before  long  to  give  notice  of  his  presence,  for  he  is  proud 
of  his  voice,  and  one  might  pass  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
bird  without  noticing  him,  but  for  his  tell-tale  call — rio, 
rio,  rio — which  has  given  him  his  name  in  Iceland  of 

Rjupr. 

We  catch  the  zick-zack  of  the  snipe  in  yon  morass, 
and  the  ceaseless  melancholy  pipe  of  the  golden  plover 
sounds  from  every  stony  hill  around  the  tarn.  Just  here 
there  is  abundance  of  life  ;  a  gun-shot  beyond  the  top  of 
the  rise  you  will  not  see  or  hear  a  bird.  If  you  are 
lucky,  you  will  catch  sight  of  the  great  snowy  owl,  like 
a  snow-ball,  sailing  by,  uttering  its  solemn  note.  Its 
haunts  are  somewhere  among  the  unvisited,  unknown 
recesses  of  the  vast  Jokiills  which  close  the  view  on  the 
south. 

Here,  close  to  us,  is  a  little  snow  bunting,  sitting 
wagging  its  tail  and  cheeping  ;  lucky  bunting  that  you 
are !  had  the  owl  but  seen  you,  you  would  not  be 
perched  so  unconcernedly  there.  How  tame  the  little 
being  is,  or  rather  how  stupid ;  you  have  only  to  steal 
up  softly  whilst  it  is  occupied  cheeping,  and  you  can 
catch  it  in  your  hand.  These  rocks  around  us  harbour 


THE    DESEBT.  81 

countless  buntings,  bnt  their  nests  are  BO  far  in  among 
the  crevices   that  it  is  a   difficult  matter  to  obtain  an 

egg- 

Have  done  with  the  birds :  let  us  take  a  glance  at  the 
flora  of  this  wild  spot.  This  is  scanty.  The  very  moss 
in  some  places  is  turned  black  as  coal  by  the  icy  trick- 
lings  from  the  snow,  and  it  is  only  where  there  is  a  dry 
sheltered  spot  that  any  flowers  can  blossom.  There  are 
a  few. 

The  pale  blue  butterwort,  on  its  sickly  leaves,  trembles 
timorously  in  the  piercing  blasts  which  roll  over  the 
Jokiills,  and  yet  bravely  endures  them.  I  do  not  think 
the  little  flower  has  as  cheerful  a  hue  here  as  in  the 
south.  It  seems  blanched  with  cold. 

The  grass  of  Parnassus  is  also  to  be  found,  but  the 
little  bullet  heads  are  not  yet  unfolded.  On  a  southern 
slope  of  volcanic  ash  a  scanty  growth  of  creeping  azalea 
may  be  discovered,  and  a  few  varieties  of  heath  which  I 
cannot  identify  just  now,  as  they  have  not  yet  flowered. 

In  the  marsh  at  the  head  of  this  tarn,  in  which  my 
poor  ponies  are  wading  after  the  young  willow-tops,  I 
find  the  bog  whortle  and  the  blaeberry,  now  coming 
into  flower ;  and  I  light  upon  a  bunch  of  Burtsia 
alpina,  its  rich  plum- coloured  flowers  just  beginning  to 
open. 

On  the  lava  rocks,  especially  when  old,  may  be  seen 
masses  of  pale  Dryas  octopetala — a  glorious  flower,  with 
its  eight  delicate  milky  petals  and  its  sunny  eye.     No 
where  have  I  seen  this  plant  in   such  perfection  as  in 


82  ICELAND. 

Iceland ;  the  blossoms  are  larger  there  than  I  have  sews 
in  the  Alps  or  the  Pyrenees,  but  probably  the  volcanic 
constituents  of  the  rock  on  which  it  lives  are  those  oest 
suited  for  its  development. 

We  may  find  a  few  saxifrages  also,  but  one  flower, 
which  is  sure  to  attract  the  eye,  is  the  dwarf  campion, 
of  all  gradations  of  colour,  from  pure  snow-white  to 
carmine  pink,  in  dense  masses  of  little  blossoms,  studding 
the  sand,  and  growing  where  nothing  else  can  grow. 
Brave,  bonny  little  plant !  I  have  become  attached  to  it 
from  association,  as  it  has  cheered  my  eye,  wearied  with 
the  unrelieved  monotony  of  black  wastes  for  miles  and 
miles  in  Iceland. 

It  was  impossible  to  cross  this  desert  in  a  day,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  obtain  a  guide  to  direct  me  to  some  spot 
where  I  could  encamp  for  the  night,  and  where  there  was 
sufficient  herbage  for  the  support  of  my  ponies.  We  were 
in  the  saddle  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  winding 
among  barren  stony  hills,  traversing  rolling  swells  of 
exposed  trap,  trotting  over  sandy  sweeps,  skirting  brist- 
ling barriers  of  lava,  and  threading  our  way  among 
countless  sheets  of  pale  milky  water,  holding  snow  in 
solution,  and  not  sufficiently  warm  to  become  trans- 
parent. 

At  last,  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  we  reached  a 
lake  about  three  miles  long  and  a  mile  wide,  on  which 
my  guide  kept  a  boat  for  the  purpose  of  fishing.  He  led 
us  to  a  node  of  rock,  covered  with  moss,  at  the  foot  o* 
which  was  a  heap  of  brushwood,  which  he  had  sent 


THE    DESERT. 


33 


thither  some  days  before,  on  the  backs  of  ponies,  to 
serve  him  as  fuel  when  he  came  to  spend  a  week  in 
fishing. 


LANDSCAPE    IN    THE    DESERT. 


Our  teeth  were  chattering  with  cold,  and  our  whole 
frames  shivering,  though  we  were  well  on  in  the  summer 
— within  a  day  or  two  of  the  end  of  June  ;  we  were  glad 


84  ICELAND. 

enough  accordingly  to  secure  some  of  this  wood  and  to 
make  a  fire.  We  had  a  couple  of  tents,  and  these  were 
soon  erected,  though  we  had  considerable  difficulty  in 
obtaining  a  suitable  site,  as  the  mossy  ground  was  covered 
with  lumps  like  enormous  mole-hills  as  close  together  as 
they  could  stand.  If  we  left  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  rock  just  mentioned,  we  found  ourselves  in  a 
quaking  bog ;  and  if  we  ascended  the  hill-side,  we  came 
upon  bare  stone  on  which  we  could  not  fix  our  tents, 
there  being  no  possibility  of  driving  in  the  pegs. 

And  now  I  must  give  an  idea  of  the  scene  from  the 
rise  above  this  tarn,  as  viewed  at  midnight,  when  I  made 
the  sketch. 

Imagine,  then,  the  lake,  bright  as  a  mirror,  reflecting 
the  .blue-green  of  the  sky,  which  was  kindled  with  the 
beams  of  the  sun,  now  touching  the  sea  in  the  north, 
which  is  invisible  to  us  as  some  miles  of  rolling  waste 
intervene.  The  middle  distance  is  the  Heidi,  swell  on 
swell  of  stone  and  sand,  of  a  deep  umber  hue,  deepening 
into  black.  Just  at  the  lake-edge  my  little  tent  stands 
out  a  flake  of  white  against  the  sombre  ground.  Ah  !  you 
think  there  was  moss  where  I  pitched  it.  True  ;  but  the 
moss  on  these  wastes  is  not  green,  but  ash  grey.  My 
little  flag,  an  admiral  of  the  white  pennant,  charged  with 
a  red  cross,  is  the  only  point  of  bright  colour  to  relieve 
the  monotony  of  the  tints. 

Over  the  last  swell  of  the  desert,  where  the  umber  ia 
becoming  purple  with  distance,  rises  with  one  start  a 
mighty  dome  of  ice,  raised  on  precipitous  flanks  of  trap, 


THE    DESERT.  35 

black  when  you  are  near  them,  but  tinted  the  sweetest 
violet  in  the  distance.  The  mighty  pile  of  snow  and  ice 
rises  from  these  abrupt  scarps  with  a  gentle  curve,  un- 
dinted  to  the  very  summit,  looking  soft  and  downy  as  a 
swan's  breast.  As  the  sun  rests  on  the  glittering  heap  it 
blushes  to  the  tenderest  rose  and  sparkles  like  a  precious 
gem.  The  scene  is  entrancingly  lovely. 

Far  off  behind  this  Jokiill,  which  by  the  way  is  called 
Eirek's  Jokiill,  stretches  another — Lang  Jokiill — like  a 
thread  of  white  cloud,  resting  on  the  horizon,  and  lost  in 
the  distance  of  the  south-east.  To  our  right,  Eirek's 
Jokiill  throws  out  a  spur  of  precipitous  rock,  jauntily 
tapped  with  snow,  and  beyond  that  rises  the  cone  of 
Strutur,  an  extinct  volcano.  To  the  north-west,  as  the 
air  is  BO  clear,  we  can  catch  sight  of  the  marvellous 
Baula,  a  mountain  which  is  considered  one  of  the  won- 
ders of  Iceland,  as  it  is  a  perfect  cone,  running  to  a  point, 
3,500  feet  high,  with  so  rapid  a  slope  that  snow  never 
rests  on  it. 

The  great  central  wilderness  is,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  almost  entirely  unexplored.  Three  "tracks"  alone 
cross  it  throughout  the  length  of  the  island,  and  the 
country  right  and  left  of  these  tracks  is  quite  unknown. 

When  I  speak  of  a  track,  I  do  not  mean  a  road.  Roada 
there  are  none  in  Iceland,  no,  not  even  paths.  A  track- 
way over  a  waste  is  simply  formed  by  piling  three  or 
four  stones  on  the  top  of  a  rock.  This  is  called  a  vardr. 
From  this  point  an  experienced  eye  can  detect  another 
vardr,  perhaps  on  the  horizon.  Often  I  could  not  866 


36 


ICELAND. 


them,  but  the  Icelander  has  the  eye  of  an  eagle,  and  he 
detects  one  immediately. 

The  horses  have  then  to  make  the  best  of  their  way 
from  one  vardr  to  another,  wriggling  among  stones, 
floundering  into  mud-bogs,  picking  their  way  among 
splinters  of  trap  or  lava,  often  making  the  most  cornpli- 


AN    "  INN  "    ON    THE    TRACK. 


cated  windings  to  reach  a  spot  on  the  horizon  of  a  hill 
which  you  could  strike  with  an  Enfield. 

The  reason  of  the  country  being  so  unexplored  is  just 
this  :  if  you  lose  your  track  in  these  wastes,  God  help 
you  !  you  are  lost.  The  compass  will  not  guide  you 
correctly,  for  the  needle  does  not  always  act  when  you 


THE    DESEKT. 


87 


are  crossing  igneous  rock.  You  may  wander  for  days 
before  you  reach  grass,  and  if  your  ponies  die  you  will 
hardly  be  able  to  reach  a  place  of  safety  on  foot. 

The  Icelanders  had,  and  in  some  parts  have  still,  a 
conviction  that  the  recesses  of  these  wilds  are  inhabited 
by  a  race  of  men  of  their  own  stock,  but  slightly  differing 
from  them  in  their  language  and  in  their  dress.  They 
call  these  people  Utlegumennir,  and  there  are  some 
curious  stories  told  about  them. 

They  are  supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of  outlaws 
and  robbers,  who  in  old  times  haunted  these  deserts,  and 
who  having  discovered  fertile  valleys  in  the  heart  of  the 
wilderness,  are  content  to  reside  there,  and  inherit  a 
feeling  of  enmity  against  the  coast-dwellers,  who  expelled 
their  ancestors  from  the  community  of  their  fellow-men. 
These  people  are  said  to  be  sadly  deficient  in  iron,  and 
to  shoe  their  horses  with  horn.  They  are  thought  to  have 
made  their  appearance  occasionally  when  merchant  ships 
have  entered  the  fiords  to  trade  with  the  natives. 

Of  course  the  existence  of  this  race  is  a  possibility,  but 
I  cannot  say  anything  for  its  probability.  When  we 
consider  that  the  population  of  Iceland  is  only  68,000, 
and  that  it  is  a  third  larger  than  Ireland,  and  that  this 
population  is  confined  to  the  coast  and  to  the  banks  of 
the  rivers  just  above  their  entrance  into  the  friths,  it 
leaves  ample  room  for  a  colony  in  the  heart  of  the 
country  to  live  undisturbed. 

About  two  o'clock  at  night — if  I  may  call  it  "night" 
when  it  is  light,  the  sun  just  beginning  to  struggle  up 


88  ICELAND. 

the  sky  again,  and  Eirek's  Jokiill  still  bathed  in  his 
beams — we  turned  into  our  tents  for  the  night,  putting 
four  guides  into  a  little  horseman's  tent,  5  ft.  6  in.  by 
8  ft.  6  in.,  which  was  close  enough  packing  to  keep  them 
warm. 

Storm  and  rain  came  on,  and  we  had  a  miserable  night, 
the  water  pouring  over  the  floor  of  our  tents  and  soaking 
all  our  bedding.  We  were  somewhat  aching  and  rheu- 
matic when  we  crawled  forth  the  next  morning  to  a 
breakfast  on  cold  boiled  plover  and  char.  But  travelling 
is  a  succession  of  pleasures  and  pain,  of  comfort  and 
discomfort,  of  enjoyment  and  annoyance,  and  we  moat 
take  all  as  it  cornea. 


ICELAND. 


CHAPTER   in. 

THE    PEOPLE. 

fPHERE  is  no  hotel  in  Iceland,  always  excepting  the 
miserable  pot-house  which  does  duty  at  the  capital. 
The  churches  are  the  hostelries,  and  the  clergy,  miserably 
poor  though  they  be,  are  the  public  exponents  of  a  hospi- 
tality which  is  a  national  virtue.  You  sleep  and  eat,  and 
may  even  smoke  at  your  ease,  in  the  churches.  The 
clergy  join  you,  if  you  wish  it,  at  such  festivity,  and 
frequently  the  meal,  or  its  choicest  portion,  is  their  con- 
tribution. 

The  churches  are  ridiculously-  small  buildings.  The 
one  which  formerly  stood  at  Tingvalla — one  of  the  great 
sights  of  the  island,  from  being  the  seat  of  the  old 
Athling  or  open-air  Parliament — was  only  twenty-five 
feet  by  ten,  and  when  the  clergyman  was  in  the  pul[it  his 


4.0  ICELAND. 

head  was  above  the  rafters  !  The  new  .church  at  tha 
place  mentioned  is  on  a  somewhat  larger  scale  than  its 
predecessor ;  but  many  sacred  edifices,  I  was  informed, 
still  exist  in  the  island,  not  larger  than  the  old  church 
referred  to.  The  people  are  so  widely  scattered,  that  it  is 
difficult  in  stormy  weather  to  fill  even  these  diminutive 
buildings. 

The  clergy  possess  incomes  varying  generally  from 
61.  to  10L  a  year,  exclusive  of  a  few  trifling  fees,  and 
they  have  a  house  and  farm  besides.  They  work  at 
their  farms  as  hard  as  the  meanest  of  their  parishioners  ; 
and,  as  a  rule,  are  not  very  much  elevated  above  them  in 
intelligence  or  learning.  To  this  remark,  however,  there 
have  been,  and  still  are,  many  notable  exceptions. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  the  traveller  to  find 
an  entertainment  set  out  for  his  acceptance  on  the  altar  of 
the  church  in  which  he  resides,  and  in  the  dark  evenings 
to  have  the  large  candles  on  the  altar  lit  for  his  use.  We 
did  not  stand  in  need  of  such  aid,  as  we  carried  our  own 
tent  and  commissariat ;  but  for  those  who  trust  to  church 
accommodation  and  clergy  entertainers,  it  is  a  common, 
but  at  first  a  somewhat  startling,  event. 

The  Icelanders  are  Lutherans,  and  very  strict,  and 
they  are  somewhat  bigoted.  I  believe  that  there  is  one 
solitary  Romanist  in  the  island,  and  for  his  benefit,  as 
well  as  for  the  good  of  the  French  fishermen  who 
annually  frequent  the  coast  for  a  few  months,  there  are 
two  Roman  Catholic  priests  at  Reykjavik  all  the  year 
round,  and  a  very  agreeable  gentleman  whom  we  mot, 


THE    PEOPLE. 

and  who  is  designated  by  the  ambitious  title  of  "Prefet 
Apostolique  du  Pole  Nord,"  visits  them  yearly  to  see  that 
their  duty  is  rightly  performed. 

The  mode  of  travelling  in  Iceland  is  somewhat  eccen- 
tric and  not  a  little  fatiguing.  The  ground  is  so  encum- 
bered with  masses  of  stone,  and  the  distances  from  place 
to  place  so  great,  that  a  pedestrian  has  no  chance  ;  and 


TRAVELLING    IN    ICELAND. 


as  railways  and  even  highways  are  unknown,  the  short- 
limbed,  big-headed,  shaggy,  intelligent  pony  of  the 
country  is  made  to  carry  everybody  and  everything  that 
requires  transport.  There  are  some  seventy  thousand  of 
these  most  useful  animals  on  the  island,  and  their  sure- 
footedness  is  such  that  the  traveller  soon  learns  to  dash. 


42  ICELAND. 

at  full  speed,  like  a  native,  across  ground  bristling  with 
countless  stones  that  razor-like  project  from  the  surface, 
ready  to  mutilate  him  grievously  if  he  fall  upon  them. 

The  only  roads  are  mere  tracks,  under  two  feet  broad, 
made  by  the  various  generations  of  ponies,  and  left 
entirely  to  the  care  of  snow-drift  and  glacier.  These, 
partly  covered  with  stones,  wind  zig-zag  between  the 
greater  rock-masses,  and  ford  innumerable  bridgeless 
rivers,  that  in  short  but  fierce  courses  roll  down  "  pale 
from  the  glaciers  "  to  lake  or  sea.  Wherever  there  :s 
soil  the  path  eats  its  way  into  the  ground,  and  thus  a 
high  turf  bank  stands  up  on  either  side,  thickly  studded 
with  rough  stones ;  and  in  avoiding  contact  with  such 
fracturing  and  dislocating  agencies,  feats  of  horsemanship 
have  to  be  performed  which  leave  most  unpleasant 
impressions  on  bone  and  muscle  when  repose  is  sought 
after  your  ten  hours'  scamper. 

The  ponies  are  so  diminutive,  and  the  traveller  is 
generally  so  enveloped  in  coats,  plaids,  and  capes,  that 
the  moving  mass  appears  at  a  little  distance  all  man  and 
no  pony.  When  things  look  ugly,  the  only  alternative  is 
to  shut  the  eyes  and  hold  the  breath,  and  if  the  reins  are 
left  loose,  your  intelligent  bearer  will  soon  extricate  you 
from  all  difficulty. 

Each  traveller  has  two  ponies  for  his  own  use,  and  two 
for  each  guide  and  load  of  baggage,  so  that  the  number  of 
animals  accompanying  even  a  small  party  is  very  con- 
siderable. The  relays  are  driven  by  lash  and  cry,  in  a 
wild  surging  wave  before ;  and  as  the  flying  column  windf 


THE    PEOPLE.  4.3 

round  the  shoulder  of  a  mountain,  or  flits  tike  a  cloud 
across  valleys  where  no  other  living  thing  is  seen,  a 
momentary  life  and  animation  is  imparted  to  scenes  other- 
wise often  singularly  unattractive. 

Except  potatoes,  and  a  few  other  hardy  vegetables,  no 
crops  come  to  maturity  in  Iceland,  and  corn  is  never  sown* 
Truly 

"No  products  here  the  barren  hills  afford, 
But  man  and  steel — the  soldier  and  his  sword.'* 

The  sea  is  the  Icelander's  great  storehouse.  From  it  he 
obtains  the  chief  staple  of  his  diet  and  the  main  item  of 
his  export.  Providence  has,  in  the  seething  shoals  of 
every  species  of  fish  which  frequent  these  seas,  compen- 
sated in  a  great  measure  for  the  sterility  of  the  land.  A 
few  hours,  in  the  proper  season,  suffices  to  fill  a  boat  with 
magnificent  fish,  and  the  whole  population,  men,  women, 
and  children,  abjectly  worship  the  cod,  who  is  here  undis- 
puted king. 

Every  house  near  the  coast  is  redolent  of  cod.  The 
eaves  are  festooned  with  their  bodies,  the  doorways  are 
straitened  by  them,  the  children  cut  their  teeth  on  them, 
and  the  very  ponies  love  and  eat  them.  Stacks — 
veritable  stacks  of  cod,  roped  and  thatched  like  peats  in 
Scotland — meet  you  by  the  highways,  and  ships  freighted 
with  them  sail  for  the  delectation  of  Catholic  countries. 
These  Icelanders  are  the  veritable  Ichthyophagi.  It  ia 
only  after  seeing  a  native  develop  ths  hidden  mysteries  of 
a  cod's  head  that  you  become  aware  of  how  much 


ICELAND. 


"curious  eating'1  it  affords.  Many  boat-loads  of  cod 
from  these  distant  seas  find  their  way  to  the  London 
market,  whose  wealth  attracts  the  products  of  the  whole 
known  world. 


INTERIOR    OF    A    HOUSE. 


If  Mr.  Cod  was  aware  of  what  an  interest  the  Icelander 
has  in  his  welfare,  I  doubt  not  he  would  feel  deeply 
.gratified.  He  little  thinks,  as  he  rubs  his  cold  nose  on 


THE    PEOPLE.  45 

the  tangle,  and  gazes  with  his  glassy  unimaginative  eye 
at  the  inviting  bait,  how  many  firesides  up-stairs  are 
rendered  warm  at  the  expense  of  himself  and  his  rela- 
tions. 

Besides  fish,  the  Icelander  feeds  on  milk-curd  (similar 
to  that  used  by  the  Arabs  and  Kaffirs),  occasionally  rye- 
bread  and  mutton,  and,  on  rare  occasions,  potatoes, 
and  even  coffee.  Notwithstanding  their  unvaried  and 
not  very  wholesome  diet,  the  Icelanders  are  large, 
strong,  flaxen-haired,  and  healthy-looking  men.  Their 
houses  cannot  certainly  contribute  to  their  healthful- 
ness,  as  they  are  built  apparently  with  the  sole  object 
of  excluding  light  and  air,  and  imprisoning  every  fetid 
effluvium. 

Violent  epidemics,  very  similar  in  their  nature  and 
malignancy  to  those  which  devastated  our  own  country 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  have,  within  recent  times, 
swept  over  the  land ;  and  now  leprosy,  such  as  is  seen 
throughout  the  East,  is  a  common  disease.  As  the 
whole  population  of  the  island  is  below  70,000,  an 
epidemic  produces  a  most  terrible  effect  on  the  native 
society. 

There  are  no  tradesmen,  properly  so  called,  in  Iceland, 
and  there  are  no  village  schools.  The  distances  between 
the  farms  make  both  impossible.  "  In  the  nights  of 
winter,"  however,  "  when  the  cold  north  winds  blow  and 
the  long  howling  of  the  wolves  is  heard  amidst  the  snow," 
the  farmer  acts  in  turn  the  part  of  tailor,  shoemaker, 
smith,  and  carpenter,  and  so  carefully  instructs  his 


46  ICEIAND. 

children,  that  the  whole  population  are  said  to  be  very 
efficiently  educated. 

The  Icelanders  are  true  Scandinavians  of  the  unmixed 
sangre-bleu.  They  speak  the  pure  Norse,  from  which 
some  60  per  cent,  of  our  own  language  is  derived.  In 
their  honesty,  truthfulness,  hospitality,  maritime  enter- 
prise, courage,  and  humble  piety,  we  British  are  fain  to 
trace  some  of  our  most  cherished  national  traits,  and 
from  them  undoubtedly  we  obtained  our  ideas  of  repre- 
sentative parliaments,  trial  by  jury,  and  other  honoured 
institutions. 

In  manners,  the  Icelanders  are  quiet,  subdued,  and 
contented.  Music  and  dancing  are  said  to  be  almost 
unknown ;  we  certainly  saw  no  evidence  of  either  art 
being  practised.  The  long,  dawnless  winter  nights,  when 
the  sun  is  replaced  by  the  pale  reflection  of  the  stars  from 
snow  and  ice,  or  the  flashing  coruscations  of  the  Aurora 
wandering  from  horizon  to  zenith  in  brilliant  tints  of 
evanescent  glory,  must  give  a  complexion  to  the  thoughts 
and  dispositions  as  it  moulds  the  habits  and  occupations 
of  men. 

So  frigid  and  inhospitable  a  climate  must  cramp  the 
conception  and  harden  the  temperament.  How  different 
are  the  external  influences  which  surround  the  Icelander 
from  those  affecting  the  Italian,  Egyptian,  or  Indian  !  And 
yet  that  the  grand  scenes  of  the  North  are  well  fitted  to 
fire  the  imagination,  and  develop  the  more  thoughtful 
faculties,  is  well  evinced  in  the  Eddas  and  Sagas  of  the 
many  Icelandic  writers.  It  is  now  well  understood  that 


THE    PEOPLE.  47 

mot  a  few  of  those  wild,  fanciful  German  legends  which 
we  value  so  much,  are  but  translations  of  Icelandic  tales ; 
and  we  know  that  histories  and  poems  were  written  in 
Iceland  long  before  we,  in  Great  Britian,  had  emerged 
from  barbarism. 

Much  of  the  domestic  history  of  Iceland  is  an  account 
of  contests  waged  with  physical  evils  ;  and  when  we  thus 
see  men  successfully  contending  with  storm  and  pestilence, 
with  volcanos  and  earthquakes,  with  long  seasons  of 
darkness,  with  enow  and  ice,  with  a  land  "  whose 
stones  are  iron,  and  whose  hills  are  brass,"  almost  cut 
off  from  intercourse  with  other  nations,  and  having 
but  few  natural  resources  on  which  to  fall  back,  we 
cannot  but  award  them  our  highest  admiration  and 
respect. 

Their  love  of  country  is  proverbial,  notwithstanding 
"  the  small  mercies  "  for  which  they  have  to  be  thankful. 
So  true  is  it  that — 

*•  The  shuddering  tenant  of  the  Frigid  Zone 
Boldly  proclaims  that  happiest  spot  his  own, 
Extols  the  treasures  of  his  stormy  seas, 
And  his  long  nights  of  revelry  and  ease  ; 
So  the  loud  torrent,  and  the  whirlwind's  roar, 
But  bind  him  to  his  native  mountains  more." 

The  discomfort  of  a  residence  in  Iceland  is  much  en- 
hanced by  the  want  of  fuel.  The  springs  of  hot  water 
would  be  most  providential  institutions  in  such  a  land 
if  the  inhabitants  turned  them  to  economic  uses.  There 
are  no  trees,  unless  the  pigmy  willows  and  birch,  some 


i8  ICELAND. 

few  inches  high,  which  are  found  in  a  few  spots,  and 
ambitiously  called  "forests,"  are  to  be  so  designated. 
There  is  little  or  nc  turf  also ;  yet  there  is  no  lack  of 
wood,  though  no  ship  or  human  hand  brings  it  to  their 
shores. 

The  Gulf-Stream  sweeps  part  of  the  coast,  assuaging  in 
a  most  notable  degree  the  severity  of  their  climate.  It 
also  bears  to  them,  from  the  long  circuit  of  its  stately 
march,  innumerable  trees  of  many  species  with  roots  and 
branches  attached,  and  logs  of  valuable  wood,  gnawed  by 
the  sea,  to  brighten  the  hearth  and  build  their  log  houses 
firm  against  the  storm. 

Game  is  very  plentiful  in  Iceland.  With  salmon  and 
sea-trout  in  the  streams,  and  teal,  snipe,  golden  plover, 
ptarmigan,  wild  goose,  and  wild  swan  on  the  fiords  and 
moors,  the  sportsman  need  never  be  at  a  loss ;  not  to 
speak  of  the  countless  flocks  of  sea-birds  which  frequent 
the  coast,  from  the  "  Great  Northern  Diver  "  to  the  little 
fat  puffin,  which  only  needs  to  be  shorn  of  its  feathers, 
have  a  wick  passed  through  his  body,  and  be  set  on  end 
in  a  saucer,  in  order  to  form  a  brilliant  light  for  th& 
household. 

Besides  fish,  there  are  exported  from  Iceland,  wool, 
eider-down  feathers,  knitted  things  in  great  numbers,  and 
sulphur.  The  whole  public  annual  income  of  the  island 
is  but  3,000/.,  and  the  Government  expends  fully  twice 
that  sum  upon  it,  so  that  the  connection  is  not  a  very 
profitable  one  for  the  mother  country. 

I  would  add  that  of  the  many  natural  beauties  of  the 


BIRD-CATCHING. 

E 
I 


THE    PEOPLE.  61 

country,  none  struck  me  more  than  the  wonderfully 
diversified  shape  and  colour  of  the  mountains. 

Some  are  sharp,  like  needles,  others  form  regular  cones, 
others  stand  out  in  long  splintered  ridges,  "  bitten  into 
barrenness  by  the  hunger  of  the  north  wind,"  or  tor- 
mented into  great  rough  masses  of  tumbled  rock,  and 
so  present  an  infinite  variety  of  beautiful  objects  in  the 
landscape. 

The  colouring,  too,  especially  in  the  morning  and  even- 
ing, is  really  extraordinary.  Not  only  are  the  varieties 
of  shade  great,  bat  they  are  most  brilliant  and  intense: 
deep  brown  and  black,  relieved  by  many  degrees  of  green 
and  grey,  with  dashes  of  purple,  orange,  and  even  rose 
and  red.  These,  combined  for  the  most  part  in  the  most 
harmonious  hues,  and  reflected  by  an  atmosphere  of  the 
most  dazzling  clearness,  far  surpass  the  artist's  power  of 
imitation. 

Some  of  the  mountain  masses  rise  dark  and  desolate 
without  soil  or  trace  of  vegetation.  They  look  like  great 
beams  of  iron  binding  the  land  together.  Others  spring, 
a  glorious  glittering  pyramid  of  snow  and  ice,  from  the 
blue  sea  or  the  green  grassy  plain.  Yet,  with  all  this—- 
and we  intensely  enjoyed  it — how  inexpressibly  we 
admired  our  own  dear  land,  when,  after  seeing  so  much 
barren  sterility,  we  found  ourselves  travelling  through  the 
harvest  fields  of  Aberdeenshire,  and  saw  "  the  swathes  of 
its  corn  glowing  and  burning  from  field  to  field,"  and 
looked  into  the  peaceful  homesteads  and  orchards,  full  to 
overflowing  with  the  generous  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  saw 


02  ICELAND. 

again  the  "  bosky  knowes,"  brilliant  with  purple  heatiies, 
rise  up  amidst  glades  of  tangled  wild  flowers  and  soft- 
creeping  moss  1  Truly  it  seemed  "  a  generous  land, 
gilded  with  corn,  and  fragrant  with  deep  grass ;  bright 
with  capricious  plenty,  and  laughing  from  vale  to  vfefc  80 
iifal  fulness  kiad  aad 


NORTHERN   KUSSIA. 


]STOKTHEKN  KUSSIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THROUGH    THE    BALTIC. 

. 

I  HAVE  little  to  say  about  it.  The  fact  is  that  almost 
all  voyages  out  of  sight  of  land  are  much  the  same. 

In  every  ship  there  is  the  same  sort  of  steward  and 
passengers ;  the  same  bustle  for  berths  at  starting ;  the 
same  running  about  through  the  cabin  and  on  deck,  with 
hat-boxes,  carpet-bags,  and  new  portmanteaus,  getting 
settled  down. 

The  same  smells  too  ! — blame  me  not  for  dwelling  on 
them — most  notable  facts  are  they,  inasmuch  as  the  nose 
conveys  to  the  soul  fully  as  much  information  regarding 
the  external  world  as  any  other  of  the  senses.  Hence 
there  is  a  seashore  smell ;  a  highland  moor  smell ;  a 
coach  smell ;  a  first,  second,  and  third  class  smell ;  a 
church  smell ;  "a  subtle  smell  which  spring  unbinds,"  as 

55 


66  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

Wordsworth  well  knew,  having  had  the  advantage  of  a 
large  poetic  nose  to  perceive  it.  No  man  feels  himself 
abroad  until  he  has  inhaled  the  smell  of  the  "  salle  a 
manger"  or  the  "  Speise  Saal."  And  thus  no  man 
realizes  that  he  is  at  sea  until  he  has  felt  the  smell  of  the 
cabin,  and  of  those  submarine  cells  called  state-rooms— 
an  aroma  which  stands  alone,  a  product  of  sea  and 
land,  ye't  nothing  else  on  sea  or  land  having  a  scent, 
like  it! 

Then  there  are  much  about  the  same  kind  of  waves  on 
every  sea,  that  is  to  say,  on  ordinary  occasions ;  for 
when  put  to  it  by  a  gale  of  wind,  I  would  back  the 
Atlantic,  anywhere  between  Cape  Race  and  Cape  Clear, 
against  all  the  treasures  of  the  great  deep,  for  breaking, 
topping,  sweeping,  roaring  blue  seas.  The  North  Sea  is 
not,  indeed,  to  be  despised,  especially  when  it  fights  with 
the  winds,  as  Duncan  did  with  the  Dutch  over  the 
Dogger-bank ;  but  the  Baltic,  though  ambitious,  and 
often  seriously  angry,  has  all  the  testiness  of  a  fresh- 
water lake,  but  wants  the  grand  majesty,  the  mountain- 
swing  of  the  real  old  Ocean.  It  is  fierce  and  furious,  not 
awful  and  overwhelming  like  the  Atlantic. 

Our  passengers  were,  of  course,  divided  between  the 
whole  and  the  sick,  with  various  species  under  this  last 
genus,  from  those  possessing  a  solemn  gravity  and 
pensive  meditativ.eness,  down  to  a  solitary  inert  mass  of 
helpless  agony,  unconscious  apparently  of  every  existence 
except  that  of  the  steward,  whose  name  was  feebly 
ottered,  by  day  and  night,  in  spasmodic  intervals.  I  have 


THROUGH    THE    BALTIC. 


ever  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  among  the  whole  and 
hearty. 

Our  good  ship,  I  may  add,  was  the  Admiral,  sailing 
from  Hull ;  and  our  good  captain,  than  whom  a  worthier 


FISHIXG-SMACK. 


man  or  more  experienced  sailor  sails  not  the  sea,  was 
Brown. 

We  took  seven  days  to  St.  Petersburg.  Remember 
that  fact  ere  ye  thoughtlessly  venture  to  peep  into  Russia. 
The  most  interesting  spectacle  on  the  North  Sea  was 


5«  NORTHiftX    RUSSIA. 

fishing-smacks.  We  passed  several  out  of  sight  of  land. 
They  trawl  over  those  endless  banks  for  months,  consign- 
ing their  cargoes  from  time  to  time  to  vessels  which 
convey  them  to  British  or  continental  markets,  but  the 
same  crew  always  remaining  in  the  smack.  There  they 
lie,  pitching  and  tossing,  reefing  and  tacking,  hauling  and 
trawling,  lying  to  and  bearing  away,  night  and  day, 
through  mist,  and  spit,  and  salt  sea-foam,  with  wet 
nets,  wet  fish,  wet  sails,  wet  ropes,  wet  clothes,  wet 
skies! 

How  cosy  and  comfortable  is  any  returned  convict,  or 
inhabitant  of  one  of  our  well-regulated  prisons,  compared 
with  these  poor  fellows !  We  would  recommend  "  Four 
months'  fishing  on  the  North  Sea,"  as  a  sentence  to  be 
passed  upon  all  those  genteel  criminals  who.  would  miss 
the  theatre  and  comfortable  tavern.  It  would  cool  their 
passions,  improve  their  health,  cultivate  their  good  habits, 
or  kill  them. 

After  three  days,  we  saw  in  the  distant  horizon  a  few 
specks,  and  were  told  that  they  represented  Jutland  ; 
then,  by-and-by,  came  the  Olrnan  light ;  then,  some  ten 
hours  after,  the  Skagen  lighthouse,  marking  a  low  line  of 
sands,  on  which  we  counted  five  old  wrecks ;  then, 
twelve  hours  farther,  with  occasional  peeps  of  misty 
streaks  which  were  called  dry  land,  the  hitherto  almost 
unseen  shores  began  to  come  nearer.  In  a  few  hours  we 
could  see  corn-fields,  and  trees,  and  then  houses,  both  on 
the  Swedish  and  Danish  coast,  but  no  scenery  worth 
remarking,  until  at  last,  right  ahead,  at  some  distance,  we 


THROUGH    THE    BALTIC. 


59 


saw  a  large  square  building,  which  we  were  told  was  the 
Castle  of  Kronberg,  by  Elsineur. 

We  anchored  for  an  hour  at  Elsineur  to  take  in  a 
pilot;  and  landed  in  honour  of  Hamlet. 

I  saw  nothing  very  noticeable  about  this  classic  spot, 


except  excellent  cherries  and  some  good  cherry  cordial ; 
also  two  tug-boats,  representing  the  genius  and  the 
influence  of  Shakspere  in  this  harbour  of  prose — the  one 
being  called  Hamlet,  and  the  other  Ophelia!  We  were 


6C  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

surprised  at  finding  Elsineur  neither  "wild,"  "stormy," 
nor  "  steep,"  but  a  quiet  little  wooden  town,  full  of  fish 
and  sailors  ;  with  its  old  castle,  half  a  mile  off,  riting 
from  the  very  margin  of  the  sea,  and  wearing  the  look 
more  of  a  decayed  palace  than  of  a  warlike  fortress.  One 
would  think  from  its  appearance  that  it  is  fit  for  little 
more  than  firing  royal  salutes. 

A  few  hours  after  passing  Elsineur,  the  sea  widens  out 
again  until  Copenhagen  is  reached,  sweeping  round  the 
margin  of  an  ample  bay.  The  day  we  first  saw  it  was 
lovely,  the  sea  a  dead  calm,  and  the  waters  alive  with 
vessels.-  Various  buildings  were  pointed  out  as  we 
leisurely  surveyed  the  city  while  landing  our  pilot;  but  I 
eaw  only  the  two  batteries  before  which  the  British  fleet 
poured  their  broadsides,  sixty  years  ago,  for  three  hours, 
during  the  hottest  fight  ever  witnessed  by  Nelson ;  and  I 
also  saw  more  clearly  than  these  the  little  man  himself, 
putting  the  telescope  to  his  blind  eye,  and  turning  it 
through  the  smoke  towards  Parker  and  his  No.  39  signal, 
ordering  the  hero  to  withdraw  his  ships  from  the  terrific 
combat.  I  need  only  say,  that  every  man  of  us  got  up 
his  "Nelson  and  the  North,"  to  the  best  of  his  ability, 
and  with  becoming  patriotism. 

Away  we  went  out  of  the  Cattegat  and  up  the  Baltic, 
passing  the  long  island  of  Gothland,  flat  and  shaped  like 
a  tombstone  seen  sideways ; — on,  across  the  Gulf  of 
Bothnia,  with  sunsets  of  surpassing  glory,  and  skies  red 
and  fiery  from  the  west  up  to  the  zenith,  and  down  to  the 
eastern  horizon,  which  glowed  as  if  with  sunrise  ; — on  we 


THROUGH    THE    BALTIC. 

went  rolling  and  pitching  away  with  a  quarter  wind,  and 
all  sail  set,  the  right  paddle  now  buried  in  the  sea,  and 
apparently  dying  of  suffocation,  the  steam  giving  ft 
wheezing  groan  as  if  in  sympathy,  then,  after  a  roll  to 
port,  lightly  capping  the  top  of  the  foaming  billows,  while 
the  opposite  paddle  was  struggling  for  existence;  the 
persevering  and  strong  engine  all  the  while  doing  its  duty 
with  an  air  of  dignified  respectability,  but  greatly  wanting 
in  zeal ;— on,  passing  the  time  with  the  usual  routine  of 
meals  and  conversation,  enlivened  by  the  screams  of  two 
pigs  who  paraded  the  main-deck,  and  received  daily  a 
powerful  scrubbing  from  the  sailors,  while  a  sheep,  tawny 
with  coal  dust,  contemplated  the  scene  in  peace  ; — on  w« 
went,  with  a  fresh  breeze  and  broken  sea,  passing  several 
cold  and  dreary  lighthouses  and  lightships,  until,  one 
morning,  we  were  told  that  a  few  scratches  on  the 
horizon  were  Cronstadt. 

Then  came  Sir  Charles  Napier's  farthest  point  of 
observation,  Tamboukin  lighthouse,  until,  finally,  we 
bravely  advanced  towards  the  dreaded  forts,  which  did  not 
presume  to  stop  our  progress,  until  we  blew  off  our  steam, 
and  anchored  close  to  the  pier  in  the  busy  harbour.  So 
ended  our  voyage. 

Before  getting  into  the  little  steamer  which  conveys  us 
to  St.  Petersburgh,  twenty  miles  up  "  the  firth,"  let  me 
tell  you  a  short  adventure  of  one  of  the  passengers,  the 
Bussian  Lieutenant  K — y,  who  left  us  at  Cronstadt.  The 
story  has  been  told  before,  but  I  will  tell  it  in  as  nearly 
as  possible  the  words  of  the  Lieutenant,  and  as  I 


62  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

took  it  down  at  the  time  in  my  note-book.  I  may  add 
that,  like  most  educated  Russians,  the  Lieutenant  spoke 
excellent  English. 

"The  Diana  frigate,  of  which  I  was  an  officer,  was 
commanded  by  Admiral  Pontaveen.  We  anchored  on 
the  23rd  of  December  1855,  in  the  harbour  of  Sinoda,  in 
Japan.  We  had  on  board  about  500  of  a  crew.  About 
half-past  nine  in  the  morning  we  were  surprised  to  see 
the  boats  afloat  which  we  had  sent  on  shore,  and  which 
had  been  all  drawn  up  on  the  beach.  But,  immediately, 
our  surprise  was  still  greater,  in  seeing  wooden  houses 
floating  past  us  1 

"  We  guessed  at  once  that  an  earthquake  beneath  and 
around  us  was  taking  place.  Our  conjectures  were,  alas  I 
too  true.  It  proved  to  be  a  very  fearful  earthquake,  and 
continued  for  seven  hours,  or  until  half-past  four  in  the 
afternoon.  During  this  dreadful  time  our  frigate  was 
swept  out  of  and  into  the  bay  by  the  sea.  Anchors  were 
of  no  use,  for  land  and  sea  were  changing  places.  We  were 
now  on  the  ground,  and  the  next  moment  afloat,  and 
again  on  shore,  swinging  back  and  forward,  guns  break- 
ing loose,  killing  some,  and  terrifying  all.  Our  keel  was 
torn  off  and  our  rudder  lost.  At  last  we  were  suddenly 
swept  up  from  the  outer  bay  into  an  inner  harbour. 
Having  reached  it,  we  were  seized  by  the  waves  as  by  a 
whirlpool,  and  the  frigate  spinned  round  and  round  forty- 
fi.ve  times  in  thirty  minutes ! 

"  It  was  awful,  more  especially  as  nothing  whatever 
could  be  done  to  save  us.     No  one  could  guess  what  the 


THROUGH    THE    BALTIO.  68 

next  minute  would  bring  forth.  We  were,  of  course, 
unable  to  save  a  single  life  of  the  poor  people,  except  that 
of  an  old  woman  whom  we  seized  as  she  was  sweeping 
past  us  on  the  roof  of  her  wooden  house. 

"  After  the  earthquake  ceased,  we  found  the  ship  leaking 
so  much  that  we  landed  all  her  guns  as  speedily  as 
possible,  wrapped  a  sail  round  her  to  try  and  stop  the 
leak,  and  then  in  our  miserably  disabled  state  endea- 
voured to  navigate  her  to  a  harbour  not  far  off  where 
we  could  refit.  But  our  misfortunes  were  not  ended  ! 

"  We  had  no  sooner  entered  the  open  sea  than  a  violent 
gale  arose,  and  at  night  too.  All  now  seemed  over  with 
us  and  our  poor  ship.  We  tried  to  hold  her  fast,  or  at 
least  check  her  way,  by  dropping  two  anchors.  But 
early  in  the  morning  we  descried,  about  a  cable's  length 
to  leeward,  a  wild  and  rocky  coast,  up  whose  steep 
precipices  the  sea  was  dashing  its  spray.  One  small 
nook  of  white  sand,  among  the  rocks,  was  at  last  seen. 

"  A  boat  was  sent  on  shore  with  a  rope ;  its  crew 
managed  to  land  and  to  fasten  it.  By  this  means  we  got 
the  rest  of  the  crew  on  shore,  at  first,  by  tying  round 
each  man  a  line  which  was  conveyed  to  the  party  on 
shore,  who  hauled  him  to  land,  half  drowned,  through  the 
surf.  But  we  improved  upon  this  by  anchoring  a  boat 
immediately  outside  the  breakers,  and  thus  the  drag 
through  the  water  was  shorter.  Thus  every  man  of  our 
500  got  on  shore  in  safety. 

"Next  day  the  gale  ceased,  and  the  frigate,  to  our 
nurprise,  still  rode  a.t  her  anchors. .  Was  it  possible  yet 


64  NORTHEBN    BUSS1A. 

to  save  the  good  ship  ?  It  was  resolved  to  make  the 
attempt.  We  were  able  to  collect  very  speedily  100 
Japanese  junks  to  tow  her  into  a  safe  harbour.  The 
junks  were  all  made  fast,  the  ship's  anchors  raised,  and 
away  they  rowed,  towing  her,  when,  suddenly,  down  she 
went,  head  foremost,  to  the  bottom,  like  a  stone  1  Well, 
we  all  went  on  shore  again,  and  I  must  here  say,  that 
from  first  to  last  we  were  most  kindly  treated  by  the 
Japanese.  Onr  numbers  may  possibly  have  awed  them ; 
but  it  is  but  fair  to  give  them  all  credit  for  what  they  did, 
and  did  so  well. 

"  What  now  was  to  be  done  ?  We  resolved  at  once  to 
build  a  schooner.  Everything  had  to  be  extemporized, 
but  so  heartily  did  we  work,  that  from  the  time  we  cut 
down  the  first  tree  to  build  our  craft,  until  she  was  afloat, 
was  only  four  mouths.  The  admiral  (as  noble  a  fellow  as 
ever  lived,  and,  by  the  way,  married  to  an  English  lady, 
which,  of  course,  accounts  for  his  excellence!)  set  sail 
with  as  many  of  the  crew  as  he  could  stow  away,  for  the 
river  Amoor,  distant  about  1,300  miles.  In  her  voyage 
the  schooner  was  obliged  to  pass  through  the  British 
Fleet.  So  little  idea  had  good  John  Bull  that  a  Russian 
admiral  was  near  him,  that,  on  perceiving  the  approach  of 
the  unknown  vessel,  supposing,  of  course,  that  in  those 
distant  seas  she  was  one  of  their  own,  he  even  showed  a 
light,  while  another  ship  hailed  her  to  '  keep  off.'  The 
admiral  was  ready  to  throw  his  valuable  charts  and  also 
his  despatches  overboard,  had  he  been  taken.  Bat  he 
escaped  into  the  'Amoor/ 


THEOUGH    THE    BALTIC.  65 

•'The  next  division  of  the  shipwrecked  crew  chartered  an 
American  ship,  and  escaped  the  British.  The  tnird  and 
last  division,  of  which  I  was  one,  tried  to  escape,  but 
were  captured  by  the  British  man  of  war  the  Baraccoota. 
I  remained  a  prisoner  of  war  for  about  a  year,  visiting 
various  ports  in  India,  and  I  was  treated  with  such 
courtesy  and  kindness  that,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  would 
have  no  objections  to  be  again  taken  prisons/  by  a  ship 
of  the  British  navy  !  At  all  events,  I  shall  never  forget 
my  generous  friends  and  the  Baraccoota."  Such  wai 
the  story  of  the  Russian  lieutenant. 


NOETHEEN   EUSSIA. 


CHAPTER   II. 

CEONSTADT. 

is  nothing  very  imposing  about  Cronstadt — I 
-»-  mean  in  the  sense  in  which  Gibraltar,  or  Quebec,  or 
any  such  mountain  fortresses  are  imposing.  But  to  a  skilled 
eye  the  soldier  lying  on  the  ground  behind  a  bush  with 
an  Enfield  rifle,  is  much  more  awing  than  a  huge  Goliath 
with  his  spear  boastfully  challenging  the  armies  of  Israel ; 
and  so  these  forts,  built  on  low  islands,  or  rising  out  of 
the  water  like  three-storied  cotton-factories,  have  a  firm, 
dogged,  business  look  about  them.  They  are  evidently 
built  for  guns,  and  for  nothing  else,  to  knock  down  every- 
thing, and  to  defy  anything  to  return  the  compliment. 

And  so  with  great  respect  we  first  passed  Fort  Alex- 
ander, rising  out  of  the  sea  on  our  left,  and  Peter  Vahki 
on  an  island  to  the  right  (a  narrow  channel  intervening), 

66 


CRONSTADT.  07 

with  the  Risbank  between  it  and  the  opposite  shore ;  and 
then  with  a  respect  increasing  with  the  forts  and  their 
number  of  guns,  we  sailed  past  Fort  Constantino  backing 
Alexander,  and  Fort  Menschikoff  in  the  rear  of  all. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  no  fleet,  unless  cased  in  iron, 
could  run  the  gauntlet,  first  between  Alexander  and  Peter 
Vahki,  and  then  past  Constantine  and  Menschikoff,  with 
hundreds  of  guns  on  the  shore  supporting  them.  But  no 
one  doubts  the  certainty  of  their  destruction  during  the 
war,  had  Sir  Charles  Napier  attacked  the  island  of 
Cronstadt  from  the  rear.  But  the  water  was  too  shallow 
for  anything  but  gun  and  mortar  boats,  and  of  course 
there  were  none  provided,  until  the  Czar  had  time  to 
make  any  attempt  in  the  rear  impracticable. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  relative  positions  of 
Cronstadt  and  St.  Petersburg.  The  Neva  empties  its 
waters  into  a  shallow  firth  about  twenty  miles  long  and, 
as  far  as  I  remember,  two  or  three  miles  broad.  The 
entrance  of  the  firth  is  guarded  by  the  island  and  docks 
of  Cronstadt,  which  is  connected  with  the  opposite  shore  to 
our  right  in  going  to  the  capital  by  two  small  fortified 
islands.  The  water  is  too  shallow  to  admit  of  any  vessels, 
but  those  of  a  light  draught,  reaching  the  anchorage  at 
Cronstadt  (except  by  one  passage  close  to  the  forts),  or 
of  going  beyond  that  point  to  St  Petersburg,  which  ifl 
twenty  miles  up  the  firth. 

The  port  of  Cronstadt  is  therefore  a  busy  place,  with 
all  sorts  and  sizes  of  shipping  in  its  docks,  and  a  goodly 
array  of  ships  of  war  lying  side  by  side,  with  their  rig« 


68  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

ging  down,  in  the  navy  dock,  and  looking  by  no  means 
imposing. 

The  confusion  for  more  than  an  hour  at  Cronstadt, 
after  we  were  moored  near  the  wharf,  and  before  we  got 
ourselves  and  our  baggage  transferred  to  the  small 
steamer  which  conveyed  us  to  St.  Petersburg,  cannot 
be  described.  The  grey-coated  and  large -booted  men  who 
came  on  board  from  the  custom-house,  seemed  portraits 
from  the  Illustrated  News  of  the  Crimean  Russian  soldiers 
come  alive. 

Once  they  were  on  board,  there  arose  such  a  medley  of 
sounds  from  the  roar  of  steam ;  the  Babel  of  Russian ;  the 
rushing  to  and  fro  with  papers ;  the  meeting  of  friends  ; 
the  searching  for  luggage ;  the  affectionate  kisses  between 
Russian  men  and  old  friends  among  our  passengers ;  the 
roaring  out  questions  and  answers  by  everybody;  and 
everybody  apparently  frantic  with  haste,  or  some  mys- 
terious burthen,  that  it  was  an  immense  relief  when  the 
steam  of  our  small  vessel  was  choked  in  the  boiler,  and 
with  rapid  paddle  we  skimmed  through  the  shipping,  and 
between  long  poles  which  marked  the  passage,  and  were 
off  for  the  capital.  To  the  right,  along  the  wooded  bank» 
we  could  discern  white  houses  thickly  scattered,  and  we 
heard  that  this  was  the  fashionable  summer  retreat  of  the 
citizens  who  could  afford  a  country  cottage.  The  left- 
hand  shore  is  low,  wooded,  and  without  the  slightest 
interest. 

As  we  rapidly  approached  St.  Petersburg,  one  of  the 
most  magnificent  rainbows  I  eve"  beheld  spanned  the  sky 


on 

S 


XD 


CKONSTADT.  71 

before  us  from  horizon  to  horizon.  Behind  us  was 
another  resplendent  sunset,  with  the  mighty  orb  like  a 
globe  of  molten  gold,  slowly  descending  amidst  gorgeous 
colours  of  amethyst,  emerald,  and  gold,  until  a  single  star 
of  light  rested  for  a  moment,  like  a  glittering  diamond  on 
a  cushion  of  gleeming  ruby,  and  then  disappeared,  while 
we  held  our  breath  with  wonder,  and  a  hundred  suns  then 
danced  before  our  eyes.  Already  were  the  gilt  domes  of 
St.  Isaac's  Church  and  of  the  Admiralty  reflecting  the 
last  rays  of  evening  above  a  low  fringe  of  forest. 

In  about  two  hours  after  leaving  Cronstadt,  on  our 
taking  a  sudden  turn  to  the  left,  we  entered  the  Neva. 

When  made  fast  to  the  landing-wharf  on  the  shores  of 
the  Neva,  and  before  the  custom-house,  the  first  thing 
unquestionably  which  strikes  one  as  new  and  quite  Rus- 
sian, that  is  to  say,  like  what  we  have  heard  of  Russia 
from  our  picture-books,  are  the  droskies — they  are 
thoroughly  national,  and  long  may  they  continue  so  ! 

The  drosky  is  a  low  four-wheel,  with  two  seats  sup- 
ported by  old-fashioned,  hanging  leather  springs  that 
make  large  semicircles  behind.  The  one  seat  behind  is 
for  the  driven,  a  small  one  above  his  knees  before  for  the 
driver.  Two  persons  of  small  bulk  can  cram  themselves 
into  the  seat,  but  if  one  of  the  occupants  happens  to  be  a 
"portly  man  i'  faith,"  he  or  his  neighbour  must  suffer 
grievously. 

Every  driver  or  Vostick  is  dressed  in  exactly  the  same 
national  costume — the  large  blue  dressing-gown,  or  kaftan, 
reaching  to  the  boots,  and  tied  round  the  waist  with  • 


72  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

sash,  while  a  low-crowned  black  felt  hat  and  turned-up 
brim  covers  a  head,  the  back  of  which  has  thick  reddish- 
brown  hair,  arrested  by  the  scissors  as  it  touches  the  coat, 
while  the  front  is  adorned  by  a  face  with  cocked  nose, 
large  mouth,  and  a  general  dusty,  turnipy,  and,  on  the 
whole,  stolidly  kind  expression. 

There  is  a  myth  about  shepherds  being  able  to  distin- 
guish one  sheep  from  another  by  the  expression  of  their 
countenances.  We  don't  believe  James  Hogg  himself, 
after  marking  the  idiosyncrasies  of  all  the  black  or 
white  faces  on  Ettrick,  would  ever  be  able  to  discover 
the  difference  between  one  Vostick  (Isvostchik)  and 
another. 

When  the  traveller,  for  the  first  time,  hazards  his  per- 
son in  one  of  those  small  droskies,  and  his  driver  securing 
a  rein  in  each  hand,  gets  off  with  rapid  speed  along  the 
quays  and  streets  of  St.  Petersburgh,  he  has  entered  on  a 
new  experience  in  locomotion,  unless  he  has  had  some 
personal  knowledge,  as  I  have  had,  of  the  corduroy  roads 
of  America., 

Those  streets,  those  memorable  streets,  surely  leave 
impressions  never  to  be  obliterated.  They  are  all  paved 
with  small  stones,  and  seldom  level,  but  descending  in  the 
centre,  along  which  is  an  open  water-course.  But  the 
holes  in  that  pavement  1  the  roughness  of  those  stones  1 
the  rattle,  plunges,  knocks  endured !  while  following  a 
swift- trotting  horse  and  remorseless  Vostick  in  a  drosky, 
forms  an  element  of  sight-seeing  in  hot  weather  which 
every  traveller  should  carefully  consider  before  he  leavei 


CRONSTADT. 


73 


home.     Every    bone,    thew,    muscle,   and    sinew   of  his 
frame  must  be  in  perfect  order  to  undergo  this  ordeal. 

Rascally-looking  Cossack  police  on  their  small  horses 
and  with  their  long  spears,  galloped  past ;  Greek  priests 
with  their  black  robes  and  broad-brimmed  hats,  and  hair 
down  their  back,  moved  along ;  and  various  other  types 


A  VOSTICK. 


A   BEGGAR. 


A   PRIEST. 


of  humanity  never  seen  before.  But  the  eye  feebly  took 
in  the  panorama  of  a  new  country.  The  whole  soul  was 
concentrated  on  the  bones  of  the  body,  and  all  natural 
emotions  of  gratitude  for  our  safe  arrival,  and  wonder  at 
finding  one's-self  in  Russia,  began  to  dawn  only  when  the 
drosky  was  left  with  a  bound  of  delighted  deliverance,  as 


74  NORTHERN   RUSSIA. 

it  stopped  at  Dom  Felinson's  Anglitzke,  Nabroshne  (so 
the  words  sounded  to  me),  which  meant,  as  I  afterwards 
learned,  Miss  Benson's  English  Quay,  being  the  comfort- 
able pension  to  which  we  were  recommended,  and  into 
which  we  gladly  entered. 


:NTORTHEBN  EUSSIA. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ST.  PETERSBURG. 

SIGHT-SEEING  in  a  new  country  is  a  necessity,  a 
doom:  the  city  must  be  "done."  Yet  I  maintain 
that  it  is  a  serious  bore  to  do  it  in  hot  weather,  and  such 
weather  we  experienced  in  Russia — when  the  air  was  at 
what  seemed  the  boiling-point,  with  the  pavement  like  a 
furnace,  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  and  the  sun  fierce  and 
intolerable. 

Where  is  the  man  who,  in  such  circumstances,  has  not 
felt  a  nervous  shiver,  in  spite  of  all  his  curiosity,  as  he 
stood  at  the  hotel  door,  "  Murray  "  in  hand,  about  to  pace 
it  till  dinner  time  through  palaces,  museums,  churches, 
streets,  and  squares  ?  After  all  is  finished  with  a  late 
dinner,  the  irresistible  doom  still  remains  to  spend  the 
evening  at  Tivoli,  the  "  gardens,"  or  some  of  those  places 

75 


76  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

attached  to  every  continental  city,  with  crowds  of  people, 
coloured  lamps,  bands  of  music,  chairs  in  the  open  air, 
waiters  rushing  to  and  fro  with  white  aprons,  and  serving 
coffee,  ices,  or  anything  to  refresh  the  languid  nerves, 
or  cool  the  parched  throat;  but  all  this  must  be  "  done," 
there  is  no  help  for  it. 

"Why  did  you  come  abroad  unless  to  see  all  that 
was  to  be  seen  ?  '  asks  the  new  traveller,  up  to  any- 
thing. 

It  is  possible,  however,  slightly  to  mitigate  this 
heavy,  imperious  duty. 

Beware,  first  of  all,  of  an  enthusiastic,  able-bodied, 
patient,  determined  sight-seer,  who  desires  to  obtain 
accurate  information  about  everything,  who  is  always 
discovering  national  peculiarities — "  things  one  never  sees 
at  home  " — who  takes  notes,  asks  innumerable  questions, 
replies  to  which  no  memory  can  retain  were  it  desirable 
to  do  so,  and  who  insists  on  seeing  everything  in  the 
museum  down  to  the  last  Emperor's  stocking,  or  in  the 
palaces  down  to  the  Emperor's  kitchen.  Neither  body 
nor  spirit  of  ordinary  mould  can  stand  him  this  amount 
of  excessive  culture. 

Then  again,  if  possible,  never  take  a  guide.  Yet  how 
seldom  is  it  possible  to  get  quit  of  that  attached  incubus 
with  shabby-genteel  sui'tout,  gloves,  and  polished  old  hat. 
Who  on  going  abroad  ever  thinks  of  the  trials  that  await 
him  with  "commissionaires  "  or  "  valets  de  place  1"  Can 
any  man  recall  the  architectural  glories  of  the  famous  old 
continental  towns,  without  the  presence  of  a  "commission- 


ST.    PETERSBURG.  77 

cire/'  mingling  itself  in  memory  with  the  beautiful,  like  a 
patch  on  a  royal  robe. 

After  considerable  experience,  we  advise  the  solitary 
stroll  through  the  town  ;  the  discovery  of  sights  for  one's- 
self;  the  enjoyment  of  freedom;  the  delight  of  calm,  un- 
disturbed observation ;  the  power  to  gaze  into  shop 
windows  without  being  waited  for,  or  of  sitting  alone  in 
a  cathedral,  without  an  arm  and  finger  of  a  guide  com- 
pelling your  eyes  to  follow  their  directions.  Only  be 
assured  that  everywhere  human  beings  may  be  found  who 
will  tell  you  all  you  wish  to  know,  in  every  place  where 
you  wish  to  wander,  and  where  you  seek  to  feel  rather 
than  to  know. 

The  language,  alas !  that  in  Kussia  is  a  fearful  demand. 
French  and  German  go  far,  but  when  Russ  is  required, 
you  must  get  Mr.  Schaff  to  accompany  you.  But  let  this 
be  the  last  resource  of  desperation.  Fortunately  for  us, 
we  had  a  perfect  guide  in  one  of  our  travelling  companions 
who  knew  Bussia  and  the  Russians. 

Now,  I  will  not  trouble  my  readers  by  dragging  them 
after  me  through  all  the  sights  of  St.  Petersburg  and 
Moscow ;  this  would  be  almost  as  bad  as  driving  through 
their  streets  in  a  drosky.  Let  me  just  give  an  abridged 
catalogue  of  the  chief  things  which  I  saw. 

In  St.  Petersburg  I  visited  the  principal  churches, 
specially  St.  Isaac's,  great  in  granite,  magnificent  in 
malachite,  and  hoary  in  nothing  save  superstition ;  with 
the  Kazan  church  draped  with  innumerable  banners 
taken  in  war — never  did  an  English  flag  form  a  part  io 


78  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

any  such  collections  ! — with  keys  of  many  fortresses, 
the   baton   of  Davoust,  dropped  in  his  cold  race  from 
Moscow  to  Paris. 

I  <saw  in  these  churches  the  most  august  services  of 
the  Greek  communion,  getting  my  pocket  picked  at  the 
most  solemn  of  them. 

I  paced  through  the  Winter  Palace,  from  room  to  room, 
from  bedroom  to  bedroom,  saw  all  the  glories  of  lapis- 
lazuli  and  crown  jewels ;  I  revelled  among  the  very 
beautiful  and  choice  pictures  of  the  Hermitage,  one 
fine  building  at  least ;  the  citadel,  with  its  mint,  was 
not  neglected ;  and  I  stood  among  the  tombs  of  the 
Romanoffs — beside  the  sleeping  body  of  Peter  the  Great, 
great  in  stature,  in  resolution,  in  genius,  in  whim,  in 
war,  in  shipbuilding,  in  city-building,  and  wood-turning  ; 
the  tornbs  also  of  Paul,  the  madman  and  murdered;  of 
Catherine,  great  in  genius  and  in  crime ;  Alexander, 
the  hero  of  the  great  war,  overcome  by  the  talk  of 
Napoleon  on  the  Niemen  raft,  and  paying  him  back 
at  the  old  Kremlin  ;  and  last  of  all,  the  tomb  of  Nicholas, 
the  grand  despot,  who  died  of  his  wounds  in  the 
Crimea. 

Ah !  it  was  sad  to  see,  as  I  entered  that  church,  the 
widow  of  Nicholas  coming  out  of  it,  old,  infirm,  tottering, 
and  agonized  by  cancer,  taking  her  last  look  where  her 
once  mighty  "  Czar  of  all  the  Russias  "  lay  cold  and 
senseless  as  a  stone,  and  where  she  has  since  joined  him. 
Oh,  sickness,  pain,  and  death !  what  republican  levellers 
are  these  of  ns  all,  and  how  they  unite  us  more  than 


ST.    PETERSBURG.  81 

armies  or  fleets  can  do,  by  the  tender  bonds  of  sympathy 
and  pitying  love ! 

I  need  not  say  that  I  wandered  through  the  busy 
streets,  paused  before  the  Admiralty,  admiring  the  noble 
Alexander  column,  and  the  long  vista  of  the  Nevski 
Prospect,  and  stood  beside  the  statue  of  Peter  the  Great, 
whose  chief  interest  to  me  was  the  memory  of  its  picture 
at  the  corner  of  an  old  school  atlas  ;  and  I  drove  (that 
cannot  be  forgotten  !)  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Alexander 
Nevski,  and  also  through  the  wild  islands,  the  finest 
park  I  have  ever  seen  near  a  great  city,  rejoicing  in  the 
woods  and  in  the  flashing  streams  of  the  noble  Nevas  that 
sweep  through  the  Delta. 

We  visited  all  or  several  of  the  islands — Kammenoi, 
Yelaginskoi,  Yelagin,  Krestorski,  Yassali  Ostroff,  Pe- 
trosky,  Aptekarskoi,  &c.,  pausing,  as  the  wont  is  in  the 
evening,  to  see  the  glorious  sunset  from  the  nearest  point 
to  the  Baltic  ;  and  I  wandered  through  the  best  sight  of 
all  to  study  Eussia  and  mankind,  the  Bazaars,  the  Gos- 
tinnoi  Dvor,  the  Appraxin  Rinok,  and  Tshukin  Dvor — 
those  worlds  of  everything  bought  or  sold  in  Russia  by 
tens  of  thousands  of  dealers ;  and  I  paced  down  the 
Nevski  Prospect  more  than  once ;  and  I  visited  the 
museum,  and  actually  saw,  not  only  the  skeleton,  but 
the  skin  and  hair  of  a  brute,  known  to  all  schoolboys  aa 
the  Siberian  mammoth,  which  trod  the  earth,  ate,  slept, 
giew  old  and  stupid,  and  finally  died,  before  Adam  was 
born ! 

Is  the  reader  wearied  of  this  catalogue  ? 


82 


NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 


Yet  I  am  not  half  done,  for  I  also  went  twenty  miles 
in  one  direction  to  see  the  Rrtyal  Palace  of  Tzarskoi  Selo, 
built  by  Peter  the  Great,  with  its  amber  room,  its  museum 
full  of  every  species  of  arms  from  every  nation  that  ever 
fought,  where  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  sword  and  Kos- 


THE    MAMMOTH. 


ciusko's  sleep  together  as  harmless  as  two  primroses ; 
and  in  the  grounds  of  which  is  the  summer-house  where 
that  old  randy,  Catherine,  used  to  entertain  company 
round  a  table  so  constructed  that  every  plate  descended 
by  machinery  to  the  kitchen,  was  filled  and  returned, 


ST.    PETERSBURG.  38 

without  the  necessity  of  any  servant  entering  the  room, 
which  was  a  great  advantage  to  the  morals  of  the  ser- 
vants ;  and  finally — for  this  sight-seeing  puts  one  out  ot 
breath — I  visited  another  palace  on  the  left  shore  of  the 
firth  going  to  Cronstadt,  called  Peterhoff,  built  by  the 
half-mad  Czar  Peter,  in  which  is  still  shown  his  bed,  and 
dirty  flannel  night- cap  lying  on  his  pillow  ;  and  another 
palace  in  the  same  place,  where  the  royal  family  reside 
in  summer,  which  has  grounds  with  no  end  of  splendid 
jets-d'eau,  bands  of  music,  Circassian  guards,  and  fine 
soldiers. 

This  was  a  small  portion  of  St.  Petersburg  sight- 
seeing without  a  word  of  Alexandrofski  and  old  General 
Wilson ;  and  besides  these,  all  Moscow  is  before  us  yet, 
and  Moscow  has  its  Kremlin,  worth  all  St.  Petersburg 
put  together. 

But  before  we  part  for  the  present,  please,  reader,  take 
in  fancy  a  chair  with  me  on  the  balcony,  entered  from 
the  dining-room,  on  the  second  story  of  Miss  Benson's 
excellent  boarding-house. 

The  guests  who  are  seated  beside  me  and  in  the  room 
are  all  English,  with  one  exception,  who  shall  be  men- 
tioned. Almost  all  of  them  are  commercial  men.  Two 
or  three  of  them  with  unrevealed  names  are  probably  not 
BO.  They  maintain  the  usual  silence  and  reserve  of 
Englishmen  on  their  travels ;  talk  among  themselves, 
and  gaze  around  them  with  eyes  educated  to  express  a 
vacanf  stare.  Yet  these  are  very  likely  fire  fellows,  if 
you  only  knew  them.  They  have  travelled  bsforo 


34  NOBTHERN   RUSSIA. 

have  just  come  from  a  fishing  tour  in  Norway,  nave 
"  done  "  Sweden,  Finland,  and  intend  visiting  the  great 
fair  of  Novgorod.  They  study  to  appear  unconscious  of 
the  presence  of  any  other  human  being  in  the  room,  and 
it  is  to  be  presumed  that  "  you  must  love  them,  ere  you 
know  that  they  are  worthy  of  your  love."  Pray  don't 
trouble  them,  and  they  won't  trouble  you.  Yet,  ten  to 
one  the  ice  will  be  broken  between  you,  if  you  are  not 
intrusive,  and  you  will  find  Jones  and  Robinson  right 
good  fellows. 

Sitting  in  the  corner  of  the  balcony,  slowly  whiffing 
his  cigar,  is  a  British  naval  officer  who  has  been  for 
many  months  in  St.  Petersburg.  He  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  for  arranging  the  boundary  between  Turkey 
and  Persia.  He,  too,  is  silent  and  reserved,  though  an 
Irishman  ;  but  only  draw  him  out,  and  you  will  soon 
discover  what  a  mine  of  inexhaustible  information  there 
is  in  him,  and  what  sly,  pawky  humour. 

What  part  of  the  earth  does  he  not  know  ?  He  will 
tell  you  the  soundings  of  every  mile  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  ;  and  there  is  hardly  a  spot  from  Labrador  to 
New  Zealand  which  does  not  suggest  a  story.  For 
years  he  has  wandered  with  the  Arabs  of  the  Desert, 
from  Bagdad  to  the  ruins  of  Babylon.  The  Sheiks 
Hassim  and  Selim,  and  evsry  vagabond  who  wanders 
over  Mesopotamia,  are  his  familiars.  No  one,  except 
perhaps  "  Hakim  Ross,"  the  famous  Scotch  doctor  of 
Bagdad,  knew  them  better.  A  most  agreeable  companion 
is  tho  captain. 


ST.    PETERSBURG.  85 

Gliding  in  on  noiseless  tread  is  an  old  Russian  man  of 
science.  He  dines  daily  at  this  table.  Why,  no  one 
knows,  for  the  English  alone  frequent  it.  "  The  Pro- 
fessor" is  upwards  of  seventy,  but  is  still  hale  and 
active.  What  has  he  not  seen  ?  Whom  does  he  not 
know  ?  What  scientific  meeting  of  savans  was  ever  held 
in  Europe  without  "  our  distinguished  friend  from  St. 
Petersburg '  being  among  them  ?  What  invention  of 
any  great  importance  was  ever  patented,  that  the  in- 
ventor did  not  find  a  card  and  letter  of  introduction  pre- 
sented by  "  Professor "  from  St.  Petersburg  ?  Is 

the  Great  Eastern  commenced,  finished,  launched — the 
Professor  is  there  at  each  of  these  moments  of  her 
existence.  Is  the  Transatlantic  telegraph  laid  ?  He  is 
the  first  at  Valentia,  and  the  last  to  leave.  "Please 
transmit  the  names  of  the  Royal  Family  of  Russia,"  he 
whispers  to  the  clerks.  He  is  sure  to  receive  one  of 
the  first  messages  transmitted,  and  shows  it  to  the 
Emperor, 

Oh,  how  simple  he  is  —  a  child  —  mere  scientific 
curiosity ;  but  is  he  not  wide  awake !  He  knows  far 
more  of  persons  and  things  in  every  part  of  Great 
Britain  than  any  inhabitant  of  the  nation  does.  Yet 
ask  that  man  one  question  about  Russia — try,  if  you 
can,  and  screw  one  ounce  of  information  out  of  him — 
interrogate  him  about  serfage,  the  political  liberty,  or 
any  other  question — oh,  what  ignorance  seizes  him  I 
How  defective  his  memory  becomes  !  He  does  not 
know ;  he  does  not  remember.  He  regrets  to  be  unable 


NOBTHEBN   RUSSIA. 

to  inform  yon.  He  has  indeed  no  information  on  such 
points !  Most  amiable,  accomplished,  and  learned,  yet 
ignorant  professor !  I  mention  him  merely  as  a  type  of 
a  large  class  of  Russians.  Their  rule  is  "get"  (never 
"  give  ")  all  thou  canst. 

•*  High  Heaven  rejects  the  lore, 
Of  nicely  calculated  less  or  more." 

No  wonder  such  persons  should  be  considered  "  spies." 
If  we  conclude  that  they  are  not,  no  thanks  to  them  for 
so  favourable  a  judgment.  But  look  abroad  1 

Below  is  the  street,  with  a  drosky-stand,  bounded 
fifty  feet  across  by  the  granite  quay,  and  beyond,  the 
Neva  flowing  past,  broad,  deep,  and  swift.  There  are 
no  vessels  so  high  up,  except  a  steamer  or  two  on  the 
opposite  wharf. 

"  What  a  stupid,  dull  place,"  exclaims  the  naval  officer ; 
4t  how  I  hate  it  I  " 

"And  I." 

"  Ditto,  ditto,"  exclaim  others. 

"  Please  give  me  a  light  for  my  cigar,"  asks  a  com- 
mercial man  of  his  neighbour,  "  I  am  dying  of  ennui." 

"What  a  glorious  evening!  What  a  sunset!  Only 
look  ! '  cries  an  enthusiastic  new-comer. 

It  is  indeed  a  glorious  evening.  Just  watch  across  the 
Neva  the  remains  of  the  sunset  over  Vassali  Ostroffl 
What  a  marvellous  combination  of  colour  in  the  sky! 
How  deeply  calm  and  lovely  are  the  heavens,  from  the 
horizon  to  the  zenith  1  What  exquisite  colouring  of  blues, 


3T.    PETERSBURG.  87 

purples,  reds,  yellows,  greens,  and  tints  of  yellow- green , 
with  broad  streaks  of  light,  widespread  oceans,  golden 
islands,  amethyst  promontories,  unfathomable  abysses  of 
glory — all  are  there,  and  they  will  remain  there  till 

/ 

early  dawn,  at  two  o'clock,  in  unchanged,  undecaying 
beauty,  while  we  bid  them  good-night,  and  go  sleep ! 

I  confess  to  the  disappointment  which  I  have  always 
experienced  when  comparing  any  place  I  have  ever 
visited  with  the  best  descriptions  of  it  which  I  had 
previously  read. 

The  pictures  drawn  by  the  writers,  or  perhaps  these  as 
misrepresented  by  the  mind  of  the  reader,  have  never  at 
once  adjusted  themselves  to  the  actual  reality. 

A  revolution  is  necessary,  in  order  to  exchange  the  old 
image  of  the  fancy  for  the  new  one  of  the  eye.  Moun- 
tains, lakes,  and  rivers,  require  a  new  arrangement — 
yet  the  descriptions  may  have  been  admirable,  and,  when 
read  on  the  spot,  have  probably  assisted  in  pointing 
out  beauties  and  features  of  the  landscape  which  other- 
wise might  have  escaped  our  notice.  With  this  expe- 
rience I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  in  detail,  but  only 
very  generally,  what  I  saw  in  St.  Petersburg  and 
Moscow. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  the  site  on  which 
the  capital  is  now  built  was  a  dreary  morass,  shaded  by 
the  primitive  forest,  and,  like  a  huge  black  sponge,  was 
charged  with  moisture  from  absorbing,  since  creation,  the 
waters  of  the  Neva  that  flowed  through  it  and  over  it  as 
they  pleased. 


88  HORTHEBN    RUSSIA, 

i 

The  Czar  Peter,  a  giant  man,  with  a  giant's  will,  hoots, 
and  walking  stick,  and  with  a  genius  which  bordered  on 
insanity,  determined,  as  all  the  world  knows,  that  here 
should  he  built  the  capital  of  his  Empire.  And  so,  after 
having  learned  shipbuilding  and  other  useful  handicrafts, 
while  he  lived  in  that  small  wooden  house  in  Holland — 
which  I  have  visited  with  all  tourists  to  that  wet,  flat 
land  of  ditches,  canals,  and  windmills — the  said  Peter 
built  a  similar  hut  among  the  marshes  of  "  the  Islands  * 
of  the  Neva,  and  began  to  drive  piles,  build  quays,  and 
accumulate  stones,  to  rear  a  new  Amsterdam. 

Peter  determined  to  have  ships,  to  beat  the  Swedes,  and 
thus  gain  the  command  of  the  Northern  Sea,  and  open  a 
grand  gate  to  his  future  empire — how  much  greater  since 
his  day ! — and  also  to  have  always  open  a  back-door  to 
Europe. 

The  genial  spirit  of  the  great  man  is  well  illustrated 
in  his  reception  of  the  first  ship  which  entered  his  new 
port. 

The  story  is  told  how  a  ship  was  sailing  in  the  northern 
seas,  loaded  with  cargo  for  the  market  of  Revel,  at  that 
time  a  notable  and  flourishing  port.  The  cargo  was 
valuable,  and  the  time  to  reach  the  port  for  the  market 
was  short. 

"  If  the  wind  hold  fair,"  said  Auke,  the  owner  and 
helmsman  of  the  ship,  to  Karl  the  merchant-owner  of  its 
cargo,  "  we  shall  make  the  port  before  noon  to-day. 
Yonder  is  the  gulf  just  coming  in  sight." 

The  wind  was  then  doubtful,  but  soon  it  rose  into  a 


BT.    PETERSBURG.  8$ 

gale.  Long  before  noon  the  sea  and  wind  and  clouds 
seemed  mingled  in  a  common  fury. 

Through  the  storm,  Auke  heard  the  sound  of  a  bell- 
*'  A  bell !  "  cried  he,  "  there's  a  ship  somewhere  in  trouble.'* 

He  put  his  ship  about  in  the  direction  of  the  sound. 

"  What  are  you  doing  ? '    said  Karl. 

"Doing?     I  am  steering  for  that  ship." 

"  Steer  for  Revel,  Auke,  I  command  you,  steer  for 
Revel;  we  shall  miss  the  market,  and  I'm  a  ruined 
man!  ' 

"  Heaven  help  you,  then  !  "  said  Auke  firmly,  "  for  I  am 
for  that  ship." 

At  this  moment  a  small  boat  was  sighted.  It  was  fixed 
on  a  bank.  Two  or  three  miserable  men  clung  to  its 
rigging,  and  mountain  breakers  washed  over  it. 

"  Out  with  the  boat,"  cried  Auke,  and  the  sailors  looked 
alarmed. 

Karl  protested  that  it  was  madness.  "  What  1  lose 
the  market,  and  ship,  and  all  I  ' 

"  Lose  everything,  sir,  but  self-respect,"  said  Auke, 
fixing  his  eye  so  as  to  bring  his  ship  as  near  as  he  dare 
come  to  the  wreck.  "  I  cannot  leave  them,  sir  ;  I  won't ! 
It  may  be  your  plight  and  mine  some  day.  Man  the 
boat  1  " 

The  sailors  obeyed.  Auke  left  the  helm  with  the 
mate,  and  himself  took  charge  of  the  boat  for  the  rescue. 

Surely  it  was  an  awful  yet  grand  sight  even  to  Karl, 
to  see  the  brave  man  bent  on  his  mission  of  mercy,  in  hifl 
tiny  boat,  amid  that  terrible  sea. 


90  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

One  by  one  the  miserable  fellows  were  got  from  the 
rigging,  and  Auke  and  his  prize  were  safely  on  board  his 
ship  again. 

But  now  the  chance  of  the  market  was  gone.  They 
had  missed  their  tide,  got  themselves  into  the  teeth  of 
the  wind,  and  were  bound  to  put  for  shelter  into  the 
Neva,  a  Russian  river  on  which  the  Czar  was  then  build- 
ing his  new  town. 

Karl  was,  therefore,  still  more  angry  with  his  helms- 
man, and  said  to  him,  "  The  cargo  will  be  robbed,  and  we 
shall  be  made  into  serfs,  and  compelled  to  work  on  the 
walls  of  the  town." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Auke,  "  we've  done  our  duty,  what- 
ever comes.  I  could  not  leave  that  ship." 

Karl  said  no  more.  The  ship  was  now  flying  before  the 
storm  at  a  terrific  speed,  Auke  keeping  her  head  to  the 
river's  mouth. 

Now,  on*  month  before  this,  Peter  the  Great  had  laid 
the  first  stone  of  St.  Petersburg.  There  was  no  town 
yet,  and  Peter  the  Great  had  not  yet  earned  the  name  of 
Great.  He  was  very  little  known,  and  the  town  he  was  to 
build  was  less  known. 

For  the  new  town,  however,  these  disappointed,  storni- 
d riven  seamen  were  unconsciously  making  as  fast  as  their 
canvas  would  carry  them.  This  canvas  was  no  sooner 
seen  at  the  little  town  of  St.  Petersburg  than  a  great 
stir  arose. 

"  Please  your  Majesty,"  said  one  of  the  excited  courtiers 
of  the  Czar,  "  there  is  a  large  ship  standing  in  the  Neva.'* 


ST.    PETERSBURG. 


91 


"  Snip  !  "  replied  the  Czar;  "  the  first  to  my  town; 
it  must  be  honoured.  Where  is  it  ?  Get  me  out  a  hoat." 

The  boat  was  got  out,  and  richly-clad  courtiers  and 
officials  accompanied  the  Czar  to  go  on  board  the  new 
arrival. 

Karl  saw  the  approaching  boat.  "  There  they  come," 
said  he,  pale  with  fear,  "  as  I  said.  That's  you,  Auke." 


THE    CZAR    AND    KARL. 

Auke  himself  now  began  to  fear,  and  was  half  disposed 
to  put  Lis  ship  round  and  face,  as  best  he  could,  the 
storm. 

Second  thoughts  prevailed,  and  the  brave  helmsman 
uv.-aited,  with  Karl,  his  fate. 

By  this  time  Peter  was  at  the  ship's  side.     Karl  met 


92  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

him,  and  implored  mercy,  and  blamed  poor  Auke. 
"  We've  missed  our  market  at  Revel,"  said  he,  "  and 
have  put  in  only  for  shelter.  Pray  let  us  shelter,  your 
Majesty ! " 

"  No  fear,  brave  fellows.  Welcome,  welcome  to  my 
new  port.  Your  ship  is  the  first  bark  that  ever  sailed  to 
my  new  town.  Henceforth  she  is  duty  free,  whatever 
she  brings  for  a  cargo.  Come  to  my  town,  and  we'll 
toast  to  your  health." 

Karl  and  Auke  landed,  the  rescued  crew  landed  too. 

Karl's  cargo  was  bought  at  a  price  which  more  than 
satisfied  him,  and  the  trade  which  then  began  made  him 
one  of  the  wealthiest  merchants  of  Europe,  and  the  town 
one  of  its  wealthiest  ports. 

We  may  in  passing  add  that  Auke's  words,  when  full 
of  fear  he  sailed  up  the  Neva,  often  came  to  Karl, "  Well, 
well,  we've  done  our  duty,  whatever  comes  ;  "  and  no  man 
more  frequently  in  public  and  in  private  gave  the  advice 
to  the  young,  "  Well,  well,  do  your  duty,  whatever  comes." 

Peter  ordered  every  strange  ship  to  bring  thirty 
paving  stones  as  a  part  of  her  cargo,  and  every  boat  ten, 
and  every  land  carriage  three,  and  the  stones  accumu- 
lated, and  the  city  was  built.  All  his  plans  succeeded. 
When  he  beat  Charles  xn.  at  Pultowa  in  1709,  he 
exclaimed  that  "  the  foundations  of  St.  Petersburg  at 
length  stood  firm." 

He  fought  many  enemies,  but  the  Neva  was  his  greatest, 
and  may  yet  prove  one  of  the  most  invincible  if  provoked 
by  any  opposition  of  the  Baltic.  Twenty-five  feet  of  rise, 


ST.  PETERSBURG*. 


93 


such  at  has  occurred,  will  probably  decide  the  battle 
against  the  capital  of  the  Czars.  But  for  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half  Peter's  plans  have  beat  the  Neva's 
stream. 

Upwards  of  600  streets  cover  the  surface  of  the  morass, 
12,000  public  and  private  conveyances  drive  over  it, 
11,000  shops  and  stalls  adorn  it,  and  half  a  million  of 
people  live  upon  it. 

But,  alas  1  the  morass  has  so  far  its  triumphs.  If  a 
pit  is  dug  in  any  part  of  the  town,  three  feet  deep,  the 
water  oozes  from  its  sides  and  bottom.  This  probably 
affects  the  health  of  the  population,  as  the  deaths  every 
year  exceed  the  births  by  8,000. 

Knowing  the  admiration  which  most  travellers  have 
expressed  for  St.  Petersburg,  I  &in  almost  afraid  to 
acknowledge  my  great  disappointment  with  it.  It  by 
no  means  came  up  to  what  I  expected  irom  the  descrip- 
tion I  had  read,  or  the  "  illustrations '  I  had  seen 
of  it. 

The  finest  view,  I  think,  is  from  the  centre  of  the 
Admiralty,  in  that  grand  open  space  where  100,000  men 
may  be  manoeuvred.  In  front  is  the  Nevskoi  Prospect, 
one  of  the  widest,  streets  in  Europe,  and  stretching  in  a 
straight  line  for  three  miles.  To  the  left  is  the  noble 
Alexander  column,  flanked  on  one  side  by  the  Winter  and 
Hermitage  Palaces,  and  on  the  other  by  the  handsome 
quadrant  of  public  offices,  opening  by  a  large  arch  into 
streets  beyond,  having  on  its  summit  a  car  of  victory. 
The  extreme  right  of  the  view,  and  of  the  place,  if 


94  IfOBTHEBN   RUSSIA. 

bounded  by  the  buildings  of  the  Holy  Synods,  and  the 
farthest  angle  filled  up  by  St.  Isaac's  Cathedral. 

The  open  space  on  the  opposite  side  to  St.  Isaac's,  and 
next  the  Neva,  is  marked  by  the  statue  of  the  Czar 
Peter;  while  beyond  the  broad,  noble  river  itself  appear 
the  long  buildings  on  the  quays  of  the  islands.  There  is 
no  doubt  a  vastness  in  the  scale  of  this  Place  d'Armes 
which  is  imposing.  There  are,  moreover,  'details  in  this 
great  whole  which  stand  minute  examination.  St.  Isaac's 
Church — which  by  the  way  cost  about,  as  some  say, 
£16,000,000 ! — is  a  stately  and  solid  building  without, 
but  too  bizarre  within,  and  too  over-loaded  with  gildings, 
and  too  flash  with  colour,  to  produce  the  solemn  effects 
of  York  or  Westminster  as  a  place  of  worship.  It  is, 
however,  admirably  adapted  for  those  spectacles  in  which 
the  Greek  Church  delights. 

The  Hermitage  Palace,  with  its  noble  staircase  and 
magnificent  collection  of  paintings,  is  worthy  in  every 
respect  of  a  great  capital ;  nor  is  there  any  monolith  in 
Europe  to  be  compared  with  the  Alexander  Column,  the 
shaft  alone  being  eighty  feet  of  unbroken  polished  granite. 
But  in  spite  of  all  this,  and  much  more  which  might  be 
said  in  favour  of  other  views  and  of  particular  objects, 
the  general  impression  which  the  whole  made  on  mo 
irresistibly  was  that  of  a  rapidly-got-up  city,  with  a 
singularly  waste  and  unfinished  look  about  it,  barbaric 
vastness  and  oriental  display,  without  real,  endurable, 
unmistakable  grandeur.  The  platform  or  base-line  from 
which  the  buildings  spring  is  ugly,  being  a  desert  of 


ST.    PETERSBUBG. 

uneven  stones,  full  of  mud  or  dust-holes,  open  water- 
ways, and  undulations,  excruciating  to  the  miserable 
travellers  in  a  drosky.  This  sadly  mars  the  general  aspect. 

The  vast  majority  of  the  palaces  are  mere  brick  and 
stucco,  with  a  very  decayed,  shabby  look  about  them, 
while  the  immense  space  seems  to  dwarf  every  building 
into  paltry  dimensions,  and  themselves  to  appear  empty 
of  people,  who  are  but  dots  on  their  acres  of  surface. 

The  Nevskoi  Prospect  has  nothing  very  striking  in  it, 
except  its  breadth  and  length.  The  shop-windows  are 
small,  owing,  I  presume,  to  the  necessities  of  winter ; 
the  show  of  goods  is  commonplace ;  the  pavement, 
wretched  and  uncomfortable,  made  up  of  round,  flinty 
stones,  or  uneven  blocks  of  wood ;  the  equipages  are 
mean  ;  the  passengers,  on  the  whole,  poor  looking ;  while 
every  street  seems  to  end  at  last  in  wretched  houses, 
dreary  spaces,  with  horses,  carts,  and  all  sorts  of  rubbish; 
and,  finally,  to  be  lost  in  "nowhere,"  unless  in  the 
primeval  forest  or  morass. 

Then  there  is  the  absence  of  monumental  interest.  No 
doubt,  to  the  native  of  Russia,  many  "  vitches,"  and 
"  ditches,"  and  "  offs,"  are  full  of  patriotic  remem- 
brances. But  most  travellers,  like  myself,  have  never 
heard  of  these  names,  or  the  deeds  which  have  made 
them  illustrious,  performed  beyond  the  Caucasus. 

The  Czars  are,  in  fact,  the  nation  to  a  stranger.  One 
knows  and  hears  only  of  them — the  great,  the  mad,  the 
bad,  the  murdered,  from  Peter  down  to  our  late  enemy 
Nicholas,  who  combined  not  a  few  of  these  characteristics. 


96 


NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 


The  associations  which  chiefly  fill  the  mind  are  connected 
with  immense  armies,  distint  conquests,  Cossacks,  the 
knout,  serfs,  political  criminals,  Siberia,  with  a  Czar 
over  all,  and  a  background  of  bribery,  and  of  political  and 
moral  corruption,  which  darkens  the  whole  Russian  sky. 

The    finest    sights    in     St.    Petersburg   are    the    great 
bazaars   and   the   islands.     The    former   are  thoroughly 


PLAN*- 


SIPETERSBUIMl 


. 

2.WINTER    PALAC 
3.HERMITAGBE 
4.  STATUE  OE  PET5IB* 
5  ISAK   CHURCH* 
<>  .COLUMN  OF  ALEKC 
7.MINT. 


MAP    OF    ST.    PETERSBURG    AND    THE    ISLANDS. 

Russian  and  oriental,  and  there  is  no  stroll  so  interesting 
as  through  those  interminable  arcades,  perfectly  sheltered 
from  the  rain,  and  admitting  as  much  daylight  from  above 
as  is  desirable,  with  the  open  warehouses,  containing 
every  article  bought  and  sold  over  a  counter  in  Russia, 
and  swarming  with  the  most  motley  assemblage  of  buyers  ' 
and  sellers  to  be  anywhere  seen. 


ST.    PETERSBURG. 


97 


The  drive  through  the  is1  and s  was  to  me  peculiarly 
interesting  from  its  endless  extent,  the  presence  of  uncul- 
tivated, untouched  nature,  with  her  Neva  streams  and 
quiet  Baltic  inlets,  and  primeval  trees,  and  peasant-houses, 
as  rude  as  if  in  a  distant  forest ;  while  everywhere  are  as 
unexpectedly  met  with,  the  country  seats  and  beautiful 
cottages  of  wealthy  citizens,  and  here  and  there  cafes  and 


PEASANTS     HOrSES. 


theatres,  and  scenes  of  gay  amusement,  as  false  and 
gaudy  as  in  the  Champs-Elysees.  On  the  whole,  wild 
nature  has  the  best  of  it. 

But  perhaps  the  finest  feature  in  St.  Petersburg  is  the 
noble  Neva  !  The  hotels  are  filthy  ;  the  police,  villains  ; 
the  droskies,  tortures ;  the  palaces,  shams ;  the  natives, 
ugly ;  but  the  Neva  seems  to  redeem  all !  It  flows  on, 


98  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

deep,  pure,  rapid,  proud,  and  majestic  ;  whether  one 
gazes  on  its  waters  flowing  beneath  sun-set,  crosses 
them  in  the  light  and  painted  ferry-boats,  quafis  them, 
or  bathes  in  them,  one  is  in  no  case  disappointed. 

But  why  should  we  express  any  astonishment  that 
this  great  capital  should  in  any  respect  disappoint  us  ? 
The  wonder  rather  is  that  such  a  city  has  risen  in  such  a 
country  in  so  short  a  time.  Old  General  Wilson  told  me 
that  he  had,  when  a  child,  been  spoken  to  by  "  Catherine 
the  Great,"  whom  he  distinctly  remembered,  and  she  was 
married  to  Peter  the  Third,  the  grandson  of  Peter  the 
First,  who  founded  St.  Petersburg. 


NOBTHEBN  EUSSIA. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MOSCOW. 

I  LONGED  to  see  the  real  old  capital  of  Russia.  Yet  I 
had  no  preconceived  idea  of  it  in  my  mind,  except 
that  of  an  undefined  picture  of  a  mysterious  old  Kremlin, 
with  flames  and  smoke  surrounding  it,  and  Napoleon 
beginning  his  terrible  march  from  the  unexpected  cold. 
I  was  happy,  therefore,  to  find  myself  in  the  train,  which 
was  snorting  along  its  iron  path  en  route  to  the  Kremlin. 

I  have  little  to  say  about  the  journey.  It  occupies 
about  eighteen  hours,  the  distance  being  400  miles. 
The  line  is  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  quite  as  unin- 
teresting. It  passes  through  a  forest  as  prosaic  as  a  few 
brooms  stuck  in  a  marsh.  No  tunnel  darkens  it ;  no 
cutting  flanks  it.  Not  a  town  is  seen,  along  its  course  ; 
for  though  a  few  are  stations,  yet  the  station-house  alone 


100 


NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 


is  visible.  I  would  have  liked  to  have  stopped  at  Tver, 
on  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Volga,  and  the  starting 
point  of  the  steam  navigation  down  that  noble  river. 

The  route  is  extremely  comfortable  by  the  railway  to 
Moscow,  the  carriages,  as  everywhere  else,  being  far 
superior  to  those  in  Britain,  especially  the  second  class. 
The  officials  are  most  civil.  The  refreshment  rooms  are 
equal  to  any  in  Europe,  and  the  tea  unrivalled. 


RUSSIAN    TEA-SELLERS. 


I  cannot  mention  its  name  without  expressing  my 
thankful  acknowledgment  for  this  one  unmatched  Kussian 
luxury.  The  Russian  tea,  or  "  Tchai,"  is  the  product,  I 
have  been  told,  of  provinces  in  China  too  far  north  to  be 
able  to  supply  the  European  markets  through  the  southern, 
ports  of  the  Empire.  It  is  conveyed  overland  to  Russia, 


MOSCOW.  101 

packed  in  skins,  which  are  seen  in  the  tea-shops,  in 
parcels  ahout  a  yard  square.  It  is  consequently  more 
expensive  than  our  tea,  its  price  varying  from  8s.  to 
upwards  of  20s.  the  pound.  But  a  much  smaller  quantity 
is  required  to  make  a  cup,  or  rather  a  tumbler,  as  it  is 
only  in  such  that  tea  is  served  in  Russia.  It  is  the 
universal  and  most  refreshing  beverage,  and  costs  to  the 
drinker,  as  far  as  I  remember,  about  6d.  a  glass.  In 
some  of  the  "  Tractirs '"  or  restaurants  of  Moscow,  such 
as  the  famous  one  near  the  Exchange,  about  forty  pounds' 
weight  of  tea  are  consumed  daily. 

The  food  supplied  at  the  principal  railway  stations  had 
nothing  which  I  could  discover  very  peculiar  about  it, 
except  its  general  excellence.  The  Russian  dishes,  par 
excellence,  must  be  demanded  by  the  traveller  before  they 
can  be  obtained. 

In  the  best  restaurants  of  Moscow,  where  one  sees  two 
friends  eating  with  their  spoons  out  of  one  tureen,  he 
naturally  assumes  that  this  is  a  national  rather  than  an 
individual  custom ;  and,  when  dining  out,  he  may  pro- 
bably be  startled  by  his  iced  soup  with  cold  salmon  in  it. 
But  along  the  railway  he  is  not  reminded  by  the  cooking 
of  his  distance  from  France  or  England,  except  by  the 
high  charges  for  wine  above  the  former,  and  by  the 
abundance  of  time  granted  at  every  station  for  meals,  as 
compared  with  the  latter. 

Next  to  tea,  the  common  drink  is  excellent  beer,  or 
"piva,"  and  a  sour  but  not  unpleasant  acid  decoction? 
void  of  alcohol,  called  quota. 


102  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

The  supplies  of  fruit  are  neither  cheap  nor  tempting. 
Most  of  it  comes  from  the  south. 

The  stoppages  on  the  railway  are  frequent  and  long. 
But  a  walk  an.d  saunter  refresh  the  system,  and  I  saw 
several  really  nice-looking  young  ladies,  who  were  in  the 
same  carriage  with  us,  employ  these  seasons  of  repose  to 
smoke  their  cigarettes,  which  they  did  with  such  grace 
as  unfortunately  to  tempt  both  strangers  and  foreigners  to 
follow  their  bad  example. 

I  found  myself  early  in  the  forenoon  in  the  busy 
parlour  of  Mr.  Billo,  well  known  to  all  travellers  to  Mos- 
eow  as  a  most  civil  landlord. 

"  To  the  Kremlin  !  '  was  the  first  and  anxious  desire 
of  our  party.  So  to  the  Kremlin  we  went. 

How  shall  I  describe  it  ?  for  it  is  unquestionably  one 
of  the  most  remarkable,  odd,  out-of-the-way,  like-nothing- 
else  spots  I  have  ever  visited,  and  indeed  the  thing  to  be 
Been  in  Moscow,  if  not  in  Russia. 

The  first  sign  of  the  Kremlin,  as  we  walked  along  the 
street  towards  it,  was  a  high  whitewashed  wall,  with 
Tartar-like  embrasures,  and  separated  from  the  town  by 
an  open  boulevard.  Beyond  this  nothing  was  visible; 
until,  on  passing  through  a  gateway,  behind  which  was  a 
very  small  chapel,  which  seemed  from  its  lamps,  its 
pictures,  and  crowded  worshippers  to  be  some  "  holy 
place,"  we  entered  on  what  seemed  a  busy  town.  This 
was  the  "  Kitai  Gorod  "  or  Chinese  city. 

Proceeding  along  the  narrow  crowded  street,  we  de- 
bouched into  a  vast  oblong  space,  half  a  mile  or  so  in 


MOSCOW. 


103 


length,  and  about  half  this  or  less  in  breadth.     This  wa& 
the  krasnoi  ploscliad  (red  place). 

The  one  side  was  bounded,  opposite  to  us,  and  also  to 
the  right,  by  another  high  whitewashed  wall,  with  towers., 
which  contained  the  Kremlin  proper ;  the  other  side  by 


THE    CATHEDRAL    OF    ST.    BASIL. 

the  back  of  the  low  houses  of  the  great  bazaar.  The  end! 
to  the  left  was  occupied  by  that  most  fantastical  and 
indescribable  of  all  buildings,  that  compound  of  twenty 
domes  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  of  stairs,  and  chapels, 
and  mass  of  colour,  blue,  green,  yellow,  white,  red,  and 
gilt ;  that  Tartar-like  Chinese  Pagoda  (ridiculous  were  it 


104  NOBTUEKN    RUSSIA. 

not  so  venerated),  and  the  venerable  Basil,  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Basil  or  Basiliki  Blagennci. 

Nearly  opposite  this  church  is  the  sacred  entrance  to 
the  Kremlin,  by  the  Holy  Gate  or  the  "  Spass  vorota." 
Over  it  there  hangs,  under  a  glass,  and  before  a  lamp 
which  burns  from  age  to  age,  a  picture  of  the  Saviour. 
From  various  traditions,  which  need  not  here  be  enume- 
rated, every  passenger,  high  and  low,  from  the  Emperor 
to  the  serf,  must  keep  off  his  hat  as  he  passes  through 
this  covered  archway,  which  leads  upwards,  by  a  slight 
ascent  of  a  few  yards,  to  the  acropolis  and  capital  of 
Moscow.  So  have  passed  many  a  stately  procession, 
many  a  weary  pilgrim,  many  a  conqueror  and  soldier 
from  conquests  extending  from  Paris  to  Persia,  and  from 
the  Volga  to  the  Amoor. 

Bareheaded,  I  found  myself  at  last  on  the  stone  plateau 
of  the  old  Kremlin.  Anxious  to  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
the  whole  before  examining  any  of  its  details,  I  directed 
my  steps  at  once  to  the  highest  point  in  the  city,  the 
summit  of  the  high  tower  of  "  Ivan  Valiki,"  or  Long 
John. 

But  I  could  not  help  pausing  as  I  recalled  an  early 
dream  which,  along  with  many  others,  was  suggested 
by  a  dear  old  book  I  have  long  since  lost  sight  of,  called 
Ten  Wonders  of  the  World,  a  dream  now  realised  in 
the  "Great  Bell  of  Moscow."  There  it  lay,  the  "  Tzar 
Kolokoi,"  or  King  of  Bells,  a  huge  inverted  cup,  twenty- 
one  feet  high,  and  upwards  of  sixty  feet  in  circumference, 
whose  very  metal  is  worth  £850,000,  and  with  a  piece 


MOSCOW. 


105 


out  of  its  side  which  leaves  a  door  open  for  easy  access 
to  the  curious  who  wish  to  visit  its  ample  interior. 
What  a  tongueless  mouth  !  What  a  dead  thunderer  !  But 
we  must  ascend  the  tower.  We  first  pass  a  huge  bell 


THE    GREAT    BELL    OF    MOSCOW. 


•which  in  size  looks  like  the  eldest  son  or  wife  of  the  dead 
one  below,  weighing  about  sixty-four  tons,  and  requiring 
three  men  to  swing  its  clapper ;  then  up  another  storey, 
meeting  about  fifty  more  bells,  diminishing  in  size  as  the 


106  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

summit  of  the  tower  is  reached — yet  the  least  of  them 
great.' 

When  the  summit  is  at  last  attained,  let  a  cursory 
glance  only  be  given  at  the  Kremlin  below,  and  at  Moscow 
beyond,  through  the  clear,  transparent,  and  brilliant 
atmosphere,  and  then,  perhaps,  for  the  first  time,  one 
feels  amply  repaid  for  coming  so  far  to  gaze  on  such  a 
peculiar  and  wonderful  spectacle. 

Immediately  below  is  the  flat  summit  of  the  low  hill 
which  is  properly  called  the  Kremlin  or  fortress,  and 
which  occupies  about  a  mile  square.  Rising  out  of  this 
flat  plateau,  and  without  apparent  order,  but  closely 
grouped  together,  are  about  sixty  gilded  domes,  marking 
the  oldest  and  most  revered  churches  in  Russia — with 
palaces  for  metropolitans,  bishops,  and  czars,  old  as  the 
Tartars,  and  modern  as  Nicholas ;  with  treasuries, 
arsenals,  and  nunneries.  And  then  there  are  the  walls 
of  all  the  buildings  whitewashed  with  snowy  whiteness, 
topped  with  coloured  roofs  of  every  hue  ;  the  vacant  spots 
and  small  squares  dividing  the  closely-packed  buildings, 
occupied  by  thronging  worshippers,  soldiers,  monks,  nuns, 
and  pilgrims,  all  clearly  denned  in  their  many  shadows 
in  the  pure  atmosphere ;  while  the  visible  portion  of  the 
wall,  which  bounds  the  view  on  two  sides,  is  so  singularly 
picturesque  in  old,  curious  watch-towers,  mouldering 
turrets,  all  covered  with  coloured  tiles — all  making  up  a 
most  remarkable  picture.  But  when  the  eye  passed  from 
the  more  immediate  objects  beneath,  and  took  in  the 
rude  panorama  beyond,  the  spectacle  was  magnificent. 


2 
C 
GO 
O 
C 


MOSCOW.  109 

On  one  side,  the  river  Moskwa  curled  itself  like  a  snake, 
one  of  its  bends  being  immediately  under  the  Kremlin 
walls.  Farther  away,  a  few  miles  to  the  right,  rose  a  low 
ridge  of  hills  or  steep  wooded  banks,  called  the  Sparrow 
Hills,  whose  base  was  washed  by  the  river,  from  which 
the  whole  city  first  burst  upon  the  gaze  of  Napoleon  and 
his  army ;  and  after  visiting  the  scene,  I  can  hardly 
imagine  a  more  imposing  view  of  a  vast  city. 

In  turning  to  the  other  side,  to  gaze  on  the  city  from 
the  summit  of  the  tower,  what  can  be  finer  ?  It  covers  a 
great  area  for  its  population  (which  is  only  about  500,000), 
chiefly  owing  to  the  fact  of  most  of  the  houses  standing 
apart,  and  having  gardens  attached  to  them. 

The  characteristic  feature  unquestionably  of  the  city  is 
its  churches.  How  many  there  are  of  those  I  know  not 
(it  is  said  600),  for  I  tried  in  vain  to  count  them.  But 
as  each  has  several  copper-covered,  gilded,  or  ornamental 
domes  (generally  five),  with  high  gilded  crosses,  and  these 
everywhere  glittering  in  the  sun,  mingling  with  the  green 
of  the  trees  and  the  white  of  their  houses,  all  form  a 
most  brilliant  and  singular  panorama,  spread  over  a  great 
area.  Add  to  this  the  domes  of  great  monasteries,  such 
as  the  Seminoff  and  Donskoi  (sacred  to  the  Don  Cos- 
sacks), which  gleam  to  right  and  left  beyond  the  city,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Moskwa,  and  the  brilliant  impression 
which  the  gazer  receives  from  the  summit  of  Ivan  Valiki 
as  deepened. 

It  is  a  spectacle  which  one  never  tires  of,  and  few 
travellers  grudge  the  toil  of  a  second  ascent,  at  least,  in 


110  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

even  the  hottest  weather,  to  have  the  splendid  vision  re- 
newed. 

Before  leaving  this  "  standpoint,"  the  mystery  of  the 
walls  within  walls  around  the  Kremlin  is  explained. 
These  hut  represent  the  defences  built  at  different  timef 
as  the  town  extended  beyond  the  "fortress,"  which  occu- 
pied the  summit  of  the  highest  point,  for  hill  it  can  hardly 
be  called,  in  the  original  Muscovite  settlement  of  tha 
fourteenth  century. 

Perhaps  the  reader  asks,  whether  "the  great  fire"  of 
1812,  which  roasted  the  French  out  of  the  capital  into 
the  frost,  has  not  altered  the  features  of  the  city  ? 

I  could  see  no  evidences  of  the  fire,  nor  were  any 
changes  in  the  town  pointed  out  between  what  it  was  and 
is,  which  enabled  me  in  the  least  degree  to  realise  its 
effects.  The  Kremlin  was  saved.  But  the  line  of  retreat 
which  Napoleon  himself  was  obliged  to  follow,  in  order 
to  pass  with  his  staff  from  the  Kremlin  to  the  Palace  of 
Petrovski,  in  the  northern  suburbs,  and  from  whence  he 
gazed  on  the  tremendous  conflagration,  is  easily  traced, 
and  from  its  detour,  indicates  a  great  area  of  fire,  which 
barred  his  progress  by  the  more  direct  route.  Nor  has 
it  in  reality  been  ascertained  with  any  certainty  how  the 
fire  originated. 

Many  of  the  romantic  stories  told  about  it  have  been 
denied.  The  Emperor  Alexander  repeatedly  declared 
that  he  had  never  sanctioned  it ;  and  the  then  Governor 
of  Moscow,  Bostopchin,  who  was  thought  to  have  first 
•at  hia  own  palace  on  fire,  published  a  pamphlet,  asserting 


MOSCOW.  Ill 

fhat  the  whole  thing  was  accidental !  Whatever  glory, 
therefore,  has  been  attributed  to  the  Russians,  for  thia 
supposed  grand  sacrifice,  has  been  thrust  upon  them  by 
others,  but  rejected  by  themselves. 

But  we  must  descend  from  Long  John  and  examine  the 
Kremlin,  its  churches,  nunneries,  palaces,  treasury. 

Impossible !  The  mere  catalogue  of  its  curiosities 
would  occupy  pages.  We  should  be  compelled  to  dege- 
nerate into  the  "  Look  now  before  you,  and  here  you 
see,*'  &c.,  of  the  penny  showman.  Yet,  without  doubt, 
a  collection  of  objects  are  here  congregated  expressive  of 
the  history  and  rise  of  Russia. 

The  palaces  are  extremely  interesting.  The  New 
Palace  has  the  most  magnificent  suite  of  apartments  I 
have  ever  seen.  The  St.  George's,  Alexander's,  St. 
Andrew's,  St.  Catherine's,  in  which  the  knights  of  those 
several  orders  are  invested,  are  finer  than  any  in  St. 
Petersburg,  and  are  not  surpassed  by  any  in  the  world. 
The  old  Tartar  palace,  with  its  low-roofed  small  apart- 
ments, almost  closets,  its  narrow  screw  staircase  to  tha 
council-chamber,  its  thrones,  beds,  arabesque  and  fantas- 
tic ornaments  on  the  walls  of  trees  with  birds,  and  fruits, 
squirrels,  mice,  painted  in  every  colour,  are  all  thoroughly 
Oriental  and  Moorish.  It  was  from  the  roof  of  this  palace 
that  Napoleon  first  beheld  Moscow,  from  within  the  walls ; 
and  the  view  is  superb. 

The  treasury,  again,  is  a  world  in  itself  of  national 
curiosities.  It  contains,  among  other  provincial  wonders, 
crowns  01  ail  her  emperors,  and  those  of  the  several 


112  NORTHERN   RUSSIA. 

countries  they  have  conquered,  including  the  crown  and 
sceptre  (broken,  too  !)  of  Poland ;  crowns  dating  as  far 
back  as  the  twelfth  century,  and  all  sparkling  with 
clusters  of  jewels  of  immense  value  and  splendour.  The 
thrones,  too,  are  there — one  of  massive  silver,  all  en- 
riched with  jewels — on  which  successive  czars  have  sat, 
most  of  them  uncomfortably,  I  doubt  not ;  and  huge 
gilded  chariots,  like  those  in  old  pictures  of  Lo*4  Mayor's 
shows,  with  wheels  and  harness  suited  to  a  menagerie, 
in  which  these  bears  of  the  north  have  driven ;  and  the 
clothes,  which  these  same  czars  have  worn  on  State 
occasions ;  with  things  innumerable,  including  Napo- 
leon's camp-bed,  and  the  chair  which  Charles  XII.  used 
at  the  battle  of  Pultowa. 

In  passing  out  of  this  treasury,  900  cannon  taken  in 
war  are  seen  arranged  in  the  Place  d'Armes.  The  most 
of  them  were  taken  from  the  French,  in  their  retreat,  by 
their  victorious  but  barbarous  pursuers  I  need  hardly 
say,  that  no  specimens  of  English  cannon  are  there. 
These  are  guns  too  rare  to  be  found  in  foreign  arsenals. 
"  Our  national  vanity  is  great ! "  laments  the  foreigner, 
It  may  be  so,  but  I  trust  our  national  gratitude  is  greater, 
Wellington  never  lost  a  gun. 

But  I  am  forgetting  the  Kremlin.  What  else  have  we 
to  see  there  ?  Why,  the  valet  de  place  tells  us  we  "  have 
seen  nothing ; "  and  that,  too,  after  pacing  for  hours, 
under  oppressive  heat — "  up-stairs,  down-stairs,  and  in 
my  lady's  chamber." 

We  have  yet  to  see,  he  says,  the  Palace  of  the  Patri- 


MOSCOW.  118 

arch,  with  its  venerable  public  halls  ;  and  the  House  ?f 
the  Holy  Synod,  with  its  ancient  library  ;  and  its  htJls 
with  the  two  great  silver  kettles,  and  thirty  silver  jars, 
in  which  the  holy  oil,  or  "  wir,"  is  manufactured,  having 
as  its  elixir  vita  drops  of  the  oil  from  the  flask  used  by 
Mary  Magdalene  when  she  anointed  Christ's  feet.  This 
is  sent  to  every  part  of  the  empire,  to  anoint  infants 
when  baptized,  from  the  "  vitches  "  of  the  Czar  down  to 
queer-looking  creatures  beyond  the  Caspian,  among  the 
forests  of  Siberia,  near  the  walls  of  China,  or  on  the 
shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  ;  and  applied  also  to  the 
dying,  who  are  passing  into  the  land  where  there  is 
neither  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond,  nor  free. 

We  have  also  to  enter  the  Cathedral  of  the  Archangel 
Michael,  so  holy  to  the  Russians.  Just  glance  at  that 
fresco  of  Jonah,  in  which  there  are  three  Jonahs,  each 
with  his  name  over  his  head  ;  one  Jonah  thrown  over- 
board, the  other  disgorged,  and  the  other  received  by 
the  King  of  Nineveh.  What  a  delightful  and  primitive 
combination  of  ship,  waves,  whale,  sailors,  prophet  or 
prophets,  kings,  and  nobles,  with  Nineveh  itself,  in  that 
space  above  the  door !  Within  are  the  tombs,  side  by 
side,  like  huge  coffins,  of  the  Russian  monarchs  down  to 
Peter  the  Great. 

There  is  also  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  in  which 
the  czars  are  crowned,  paved  with  jasper,  agate,  and 
cornelian  (without  beauty),  having  the  throne  of  the 
czars,  and  relics  without  number,  gold  and  silver  counted 
by  the  pound  weight,  and  with  a  picture  of  the  Virgin 

i 


114  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

Mother,  painted  by  St.  Luke — the  only  real  and  authen- 
tic one,  of  course  ;  and  with  a  real  drop  of  blood,  no 
doubt,  which  once  belonged  to  John  the  Baptist. 

And  after  that  we  shall  visit  the  great  Military  School, 
capable  of  drilling  within  its  four  walls,  and  beneath  one 
roof,  eight  thousand  men ;  and  the  Foundling  Hospital, 
and — and — 

In  some  such  strain  as  this,  our  well-informed,  intelli- 
gent bore,  the  valet  deplace^  addressed  us  on  the  Kremlin, 
when  the  sun  was  pouring  down  its  hottest  rays,  and 
these  were  reflected  from  the  stone  pavement,  which 
glowed  like  a  furnace. 

I  have  too  intense  a  memory  of  the  utter  hopelessness 
of  "  doing  "  these  wonders,  and  many  more,  satisfactorily 
to  repeat  the  dose,  even  in  fancy,  to  my  readers.  They 
are,  I  doubt  not,  almost  as  tired  by  this  recital  of  the 
sights  as  I  was  by  the  reality.  I  resolved  to  take  a 
Russian  bath. 

"  What  like  was  it  ?  " 

Pardon  me  if  I   do  not  reveal  the   mystery,  beyond 
stating  that  it  was  very  hot,  very  soapy,  very  dear,  very 
.  and  utterly  indescribable. 


NOETHEEN   ETJSSIA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 

AN  ordinary  amount  of  common  sense,  apart  from 
an  ordinary  amount  of  experience  from  travel 
in  foreign  countries,  may  suffice  to  teach  a  man  the 
absurdity  of  giving  forth  his  opinions,  with  the  slightest 
confidence  in  their  being  founded  on  sufficient  evidence, 
regarding  the  political  or  social  condition,  from  his  own 
observation,  of  any  country  which  he  has  visited  for  a  few 
weeks  only. 

The  first  day  I  landed  in  the  United  States,  I  took  my 
seat  on  the  top  of  an  omnibus — by  no  means  an  aristo- 
cratic position,  but  a  most  interesting  one  in  passing 
through  the  streets  of  a  great  city — when  my  attention 
was  called  to  the  fact  of  the  driver  seating  himself  on  the 
left  or  "off"  side  of  the  ample  "  Box." 

115 


116  NORTHERN    RUSSIA. 

With  the  disposition  of  a  traveller  to  watch  for  national 
characteristics,  I  was  inclined  to  "book"  this  fact  aa 
peculiar  to  drivers  in  America.  But  I  thought  it  best, 
before  doing  so,  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  this  unusual 
phenomenon. 

"  Pray,  why  do  you  sit  on  that  side  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  'Cause,  stranger,  I  guess  I  'm  left-handed  1 ' 

I  gained  some  experience  by  this  reply,  and  resolved, 
accordingly,  never  to  generalize  too  hastily,  lest  I  should 
make  mere  exceptions  prove  the  rule  of  manners  and 
customs. 

I  don't  wish  to  forget  this  principle  in  presuming  to 
speak  about  the  Russians.  But,  just  as  a  Parliamentary 
committee,  which  itself  knows  little  of  a  subject,  never- 
theless obtains  information  by  examining  competent 
witnesses,  so  may  a  traveller  have  opportunities  abroad  of 
examining  those  who  ought  to  possess  information  from 
long  residence,  and  whose  evidence  he  has  the  means  of 
constantly  sifting,  and  in  some  degree  of  testing,  by  his 
own  limited  observation.  Accordingly,  I  naturally  em- 
braced every  opportunity  given  me  of  ascertaining  what 
those  long  resident  in  Russia  knew  about  its  people. 
Circumstances  enabled  me  to  come  into  contact  with 
several  well-informed  persons,  whose  character  for  truth 
was  above  suspicion. 

Well,  then,  let  me  give  my  readers  a  specimen  of  one 
conversation  of  several  I  had  with  such  witnesses.  I 
do  not  pretend  to  give  the  very  words,  nor  the  exact 
sequence  of  the  remarks. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  117 

The  dinner  is  ended ;  the  clatter  of  plates  and  of  all 
the  European  languages  has  ceased ;  the  most  of  the 
guests  have  dispersed — some  have  gone  out  on  pleasure 
or  business,  some  to  read  the  newspapers  in  the  next 
room,  and  others  to  arrange  about  their  journey  to  the 
great  fair,  then  going  on  at  Nijni  Novogorod.  But  at  the 
end  of  the  empty  table,  half  a  dozen  Englishmen  and 
Scotchmen  have  remained,  by  special  invitation,  to  chat 
with  the  travellers  who  have  brought  some  of  them  letters 
of  introduction. 

One  man  has  been  twenty  years  at  the  head  of  pros- 
perous works  for  the  manufacture  of  machinery ;  another, 
nine  years  in  a  similar  business  ;  another,  fifteen  years  a 
superintendent  of  one  of  the  largest  cotton  mills;  two 
others,  partners  in  an  establishment  which  has  neces- 
sitated a  large  amount  of  travelling  for  sixteen  years  in 
every  part  of  Russia;  while  one  or  two  more  are 
acquainted  with  the  country  during  a  residence  of 
several  years,  either  in  Moscow  or  in  St.  Peters- 
burg. 

Such  are  the  witnesses.  Let  us  examine  them  on 
several  points. 

We  begin. 

"One  hears  a  great  deal  about  the  Russian  police," 
was  remarked,  "but  it  is  difficult  to  know  how  far  the 
stories  recorded  of  them  in  anonymous  books  are  true, 
or  how  far  they  may  be  the  mere  invectives  or  inventions 
of  men  who  suffered  righteously  from  them." 

44  A  greater  set  of  scoundrels  don't  exist  I "  pronounce§ 


118  mjKTHERN    BUSSIA. 

my  cotton  friend ,  calmly  and  coolly,  as  if  speaking  from 
the  heart. 

"  Ha  1  ha  I  ha  !  my  boy,  you  are  sore  upon  the  point," 
said  an  acquaintance  of  his,  sitting  beside  him. 

"  Now  do  tell  our  friends  about  what  happened  to 
yourself  the  other  day.  It  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  set," 
suggests  a  third  party. 

After  some  joking  and  coaxing,  the  story  was  told. 
But  I  wish  my  readers  could  have  seen  the  figure  of  the 
splendid  Yorkshireman  who  told  it.  He  was  upwards  of 
six  feet,  with  a  bronzed,  handsome  face,  and  light  curly 
hair,  apd  fists  from  whose  grasp  most  men  would  shrink 
if  they  seized  hi  order  to  shake  I  I  wish  also,  if  the 
reader  loves  Yorkshire  as  I  do,  that  he  heard  the  story 
told  in  the  dialect  of  the  great  county,  so  full  of  force  and 
humour. 

The  story  ran  thus : — The  cotton  mills  had  suffered, 
more  than  once,  considerable  losses  in  their  cotton  bales. 
It  was  difficult  to  detect  the  thief — for  no  doubt  the  bales 
were  stolen — and  difficult,  when  he  was  detected,  to 
convict  him.  So  utterly  corrupt  is  justice,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  so  combined  are  all  interested 
parties  to  act  solely  with  reference  to  their  own  probable 
gain  in  money,  that  it  is  always  a  very  complex  problem 
to  solve,  whether  more  is  lost  or  gained  by  ever  going 
into  court  in  order  to  recover  property.  The  bribery  ip 
so  immense,  so  shameful,  and  reduced  to  such  a  science 
and  art,  that  the  complainer  is  always  in  the  dark ;  for 
the  police  he  employs  to  search,  the  advocate  he  employs 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 


119 


to  plead,  the  judge  who  tries  the  case— each  and  all  may 
be  bribed  by  higher  sums  on  the  part  of  the  defender  than 
on  that  of  the  cornplainer.  Therefore,  in  Russia  alone 
can  the  rule  be  followed  by  selfishness,  of  permitting  him 
who  takes  your  coat  to  take  your  cloak  also,  rather  than 
go  to  law.  But  in  this  case  a  carrier  volunteered  (for  a 
consideration)  certain  intelligence  regarding  the  missing 
cotton  bags. 


A    RUSSIAN*    8U.U.MER    CARRIAGE. 

It  was  thus  discovered  that  the  son  of  one  of  the 
leading  merchants  in  Moscow,  and  a  member  of  its 
highest  "  guild,"  had  been  in  the  habit  of  bribing  the 
carriers  of  the  cotton  to  drop  a  bag  occasionally  at  a 
certain  spot  in  a  wood  near  the  public  road,  and  from 
which  the  "  gentleman  "  picked  it  up  shortly  afterwards. 

Mr.  S.  laid  his   scheme   of  detection  founded  on  this 


120  NORTHERN  RUSSIA. 

information.  He  armed  himself  with  a  loaded  revolver; 
and  hid  himself  in  the  wood,  in  the  environs  of  Moscow, 
to  watch  his  prey.  The  carrier  appeared  in  due  time ; 
dropped  and  concealed  the  cotton  bale  in  the  wood ; 
passed  on ;  and  in  a  short  time  was  followed  by  the 
young  merchant  in  his  drosky,  accompanied  by  an  empty 
cart.  The  bale  was  conveyed  into  the  empty  cart  by  its 
driver,  and,  along  with  the  drosky  and  its  driver,  was 
proceeding  on  their  journey,  when  the  Moscow  gentleman 
found  himself  suddenly  seized  by  a  huge  man  who 
sprang  into  his  vehicle  beside  him,  threatening  to  shoot 
him  if  he  offered  any  opposition  while  pinioning  his  hands. 
A  mouse  might  as  well  have  opposed  a  wild  cat !  Mr.  S. 
drove  him  to  the  police-office  of  the  district. 

Now  it  so  happened  that  the  head  police-officer  was 
bribed  by  Mr.  S. 

"  Bribed  1 "  I  exclaimed,  interrupting  his  story ;  "  how 
could  you  do  that  ?  '  A  general  smile  prevailed  on  the 
countenances  of  the  company,  while  Mr.  S.  replied — 

"  Every  man  must  bribe  in  this  country.  It  is  a  tax, 
understood  and  fixed.  Unless  merchants  bribed  the  post- 
office " 

"At  what  rate?" 

"  I  know  some  houses  that  p>y  about  £1  a  week;  and 
the  merchant  who  refused  this  would  not  get  his  letters 
until  long  after  they  were  due.  Unless  we  bribed  the 
police,  neither  we  nor  they  could  live.  For  example,  the 
police-officer  I  speak  of  only  receives  as  his  nominal 
salary  say  £100.  But  he  has  to  keep  four  horses  and 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  121 

two  assistants,  each  at  £50  per  annum,  while  his  allow- 
ance for  his  horse  goes  as  his  bribe  to  his  superintendent. 
How  then  is  he  to  live,  unless  we  pay  him  ?  We  give 
him  about  £20  a  year,  and  this  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
secure  that  his  services  shall  not  be  against  us." 

To  continue  the  story.  Mr.  S.  appeared  with  his 
prisoner  at  the  bureau  of  the  police-office,  and  found 
himself  immediately  charged  by  him  with  an  attempt  at 
murder,  while  he  denied,  at  the  same  time,  all  knowledge 
of  the  transaction  regarding  the  cotton,  which  he  was 
ready  to  swear  he  had  never  seen  or  touched  1 

The  tables  thus  seemed  suddenly  turned  against  th« 
Yorkshireman.  But  while  he,  the  young  gentleman, 
was  drawing  up  his  protest  and  charge,  the  police- 
officer  gave  a  sign  to  Mr.  S.  to  follow  him  to  the  next 
room. 

"Pray,  Mr.  S.,  u-as  your  pistol  loaded  ?  " 

"  It  was,  and  no  mistake  ! ' 

"  Then  draw  the  bullet  instantly,  or  you  will  find  your- 
self in  a  scrape." 

Mr.  S.  tried  to  do  so  in  vain,  but  the  policeman  effec- 
tually aided  him.  They  returned  to  the  room,  and  the 
charge  was  presented. 

"I  see,"  said  the  officer,  "that  you  charge  this  highly 
respectable  foreigner  with  a  threat  to  shoot  you  1  Pooh  ! 
pooh  1  It  was  all  a  joke !  " 

"  Joke  !  I  wish  you  had  only  seen  him  !  Joke  1  " 

"  But  are  you  sure  there  were  bullets  in  his  pistol  ? 
Mr.  S.,  please  inform1  me  as  to  this  fact." 


122  NORTHEEN   BUSSIA. 

Mr.  S.  instantly  handed  the  pistol  to  the  policen,&nf 
And  asked  him  to  examine  and  decide  for  himself. 

*'  I  knew  it !  The  barrels  are  empty  1  I  cannot 
tolerate  this  stupid  charge ;  it  is  malicious  and  shameful  I 
Please  compromise  matters.  I  presume,  Mr.  S.,  you  are 
willing  to  admit  that  there  is  no  proof  that  this  gentleman 
stole  your  cotton  ?  and  you,  sir,"  addressing  the  Russian, 
"  must  admit  that  there  is  no  proof  that  Mr.  S.  intended 
to  do  anything  else  but  to  give  you  a  fright."  • 

And  so  a  compromise  in  these  terms  was  agreed  upon. 
But  the  policeman  whispered  to  Mr.  S. — 

"  Would  you  like  to  thrash  the  rascal  ?  for,  if  so,  I  can 
easily  give  you  an  opportunity  of  doing  so,  eh  ? ' 

But  Mr.  S.  declined  the  honour.  "  For,"  said  he,  as  he 
told  the  story,  "  I  knew  that  the  policeman  was  another 
rascal,  and  that,  if  I  had  accepted  the  privilege  offered  to 
me,  he  would  have  kept  it  over  my  head  for  years,  and 
threatened  me  with  a  trial ;  and  every  time  I  attempted 
to  leave  the  country  the  trial  would  be  reopened  anew, 
until  they  were  heavily  bribed  to  let  me  off  without 
it  I" 

So  both  parties  left  the  office.  But,  as  the  door  was 
closed  behind  them,  the  young  Russian  merchant,  finding 
himself  alone  with  Mr.  S.,  put  his  finger  to  his  nose  and 
said — 

"  When  you  wish  to  catch  a  thief  again,  pray  let  me 
advise  you  to  take  a  little  more  time,  to  restrain  your 
passion,  to  be  more  careful  of  evidence,  and  you  may 
probably  succeed ;  in  the  meantime,  I  rattier  think  J  hav* 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 

done  you ! '      And  with  a  triumphant  laugh  knd  bow, 
bade  Mr.  S.  a  good  afternoon. 

This  fact,  which  had  happened  a  few  weeks  before,  is  a 
fair  specimen  of  the  stories  which  were  told  illustrative  of 
the  police,  and  is  characteristic  of  the  whole  system  of 
" justice "  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  There  is 
nothing,  in  fact,  in  the  civilized  world  more  infamous 
than  the  execution  of  the  civil  and  criminal  law  in  Russia. 

One  other  trifling  incident  I  cannot  help  recording. 

"  Well,  S.,"  asked  one  of  the  company,  "  how  do  you 
and  the  government  doctor  get  on  now  ?  ' 

"  Better  a  little,"  replied  S.  "  Do  you  know,  I  have- 
found  out  the  reason  why  the  fellow  annoyed  us  so 
much,  and  made  so  many  complaints.  I  knew  he  was 
a  drunkard,  and  that  he  insisted  on  being  supplied  well 
with  liquor  as  It-is  bribe.  So,  as  I  did  not  drink  myself,  I 
hired  a  man,  and  paid  him  regular  wages,  to  drink  with 
the  medical  inspector.  Was  that  not  liberal  ?  But  the 
rascal  got  offended,  and  determined  to  revenge  himself  on 
me,  because  I  drank  with  him  by  proxy,  and  did  not  give 
him  my  own  company  !  ' 

"  Are  you  afraid,"  I  asked  another  person  present,  "  ta 
travel  on  the  roads  at  night  ?  " 

"  Never,  unless  we  meet  the  Cossack  mounted  police, 
who  are  sure  to  rob  if  they  catch  an  unarmed  traveller  I ' 

So  much  for  the  police.  But  this  led  to  a  further 
conversation  on  the  cotton  mills,  working  classes,  and 
general  morality. 

There  are  in  Russia  about  140  cotton  mills,  containing 


124  KORTHEBN    RUSSIA. 

1,600,000  spindles.  Taking  all  things  into  account,  tht 
protection  of  the  trade  raises  the  price  of  the  article  fifty 
per  cent,  above  England.  Smuggling,  therefore,  exists  to 
a  great  extent.  The  workmen  employed  are  serfs,*  who 
generally  live  in  the  country,  but  leave  their  villages 
and  their  wives  behind  them  to  work  for  a  time  at  the 
factories.  Their  wages  amount  to  about  £2  10s.  monthly. 
Barracks  are  provided  for  the  workmen.  The  work  ifa 
continued  by  relays  day  and  night.  Out  of  280  work- 
days, about  30  are  fast  or  feast  days,  in  which  no  work  is 
done. 

The  Russians  have  hitherto  been  unable  to  make 
good  factory  machinery ;  any  who  have  succeeded, 
apparently,  in  doing  so,  have  really  been  indebted  to 
England  for  its  chief  portions. 

The  habits  and  morals  of  the  working  classes  are  of 
the  lowest  possible  description.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  publish  in  these  pages  the  unquestionable  facts  illus- 
trative of  their  depraved  condition.  Virtue  and  truth 
seem  scarcely  known.  As  regards  stealing,  not  one 
working  man  or  woman  is  ever  permitted  to  pass  out  of 
the  premises  without  being  carefully  searched  by  persons 
employed  for  this  purpose.  In  spite  of  this,  they 
manage  to  pilfer  cotton  and  other  articles.  Baths  are 
regularly  taken  weekly,  but  during  the  other  days  their 
persons  are  filthy.  They  lie  on  bare  boards,  and  never 

*  This  was  written  before  1863,  3n  which  year  the  serfs  weiw 
emancipated  ;  but  the  improvement  of  their  intellectual  and  moral 
•condition  will  be  a  work  of  time. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 


125 


change  their  clothes.  When  a  new  and  commodious 
lodging-house  was  built  for  the  workmen  of  a  well-con- 
ducted factory  at  Alexandrofski,  near  St.  Petersburg, 
the  workmen,  after  examining  it,  sent  a  deputation  to 
the  manager,  who  was  my  informant,  asking  him  what 


WORKMEN    AT    DINNER. 

additional  wages  he  meant  to  give  if  they  went  to  his 
new  house  ! 

But  I  have  been  given  to  understand  that  the  habits  of 
even  the  middle  and  higher  classes  of  society  in  Moscow 
and  St.  Petersburg,  with  some  exceptions,  are  said  t& 


126  NOBTHEBN    RUSSIA. 

be  as  polluted  as  those  of  the  serfs.  The  moral  leprosy 
is  covered  with  silk  garments,  and  splendid  uniforms, 
and  highly  respectable  outsides,  but  there  it  is,  never- 
theless, in  all  its  vileness.  I  have  never  in  Austria  or 
France  heard,  from  those  best  informed  as  to  the  state 
of  national  morality,  of  more  corruption  than  exists  in 
Russia.  But  it  is  impossible  to  enter  into  details  on  this 
topic. 

Few  things  gave  me  a  more  painful  impression  of  the 
morality  of  the  people  than  the  Asylum  in  Moscow — and 
there  is  one  as  great  in  St.  Petersburg — for  poor 
children.  The  building  is  magnificent,  the  education 
given  in  it  excellent,  and  all  its  arrangements  princely. 
Any  child  brought  to  it  is  at  once  received.  I  witnessed 
the  process.  Two  women  of  the  working  classes  brought 
each  a  child.  The  clerk  handed  a  ticket,  with  a  number 
attached  to  it,  to  be  tied  round  its  wrist ;  a  corresponding 
number  was  inscribed  in  the  ledger.  No  questions  were 
asked. 

The  women  delivered  up  their  children  -with  more 
indifference  than  most  people  would  part  with  a  cat  or 
dog.  The  children  are  next  day  baptized  and  vaccinated, 
and  though  they  may  be  afterwards  claimed,  yet  the  vast 
majority  never  are.  About  sixty  children  are  each  day 
thus  received  at  this  one  institution.  There  were  in  the 
house  about  800  infants,  under  the  care  of  several  hundred 
nurses.  The  whole  number  of  children  under  the  charge 
of  the  institution  is  80,000 !  The  vast  majority  are 
boarded  out  in  the  country  districts. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  127 

God  preserve  to  us  our  family  life !     And  defend  us 

** 

from  such  premiums  upon  selfishness  and  immorality  I 
The  poor-laws  are  bad  enough,  but  this  is  worse. 

But  I  am  forgetting  the  group  at  the  end  of  the  table. 
A  word  or  two  more,  ere  we  part. 

The  authentic  anecdotes  related  of  the  late  Emperor 
during  the  Crimean  war  make  it  more  than  likely  that  his 
mind  was  latterly  affected. 

Hi  a  fits  of  ungovernable  passion,  even  with  old  Nessel- 
rode,  were  notorious.  The  victory  on  the  Alma,  which 
Nicholas  at  first  would  not  believe,  abusing  the  officer 
who  brought  him  the  despatch,  was  known  by  him  for 
some  days  before  it  was  made  public.  An  American 
gentleman,  who  saw  him  almost  daily  among  his  troops, 
told  me  that  so  changed  had  he  become  during  that 
short  period,  that,  without  knowing  the  cause,  he  had 
remarked  to  several  friends  that  the  Emperor  must  be 
severely  ill.  and  that  he  looked  like  a  dying  man. 

The  effect  of  his  death  was  as  if  some  great  weight 
had  been  taken  off  society.  All  acknowledged  his  power, 
and  felt  the  presence  of  a  giant  among  them.  But  there 
was  an  intolerable  sense  of  bondage  experienced  by  all. 
.Liberty  of  speech  was  impossible.  But  since  the  acces- 
sion of  the  present  Emperor,  men  can  breathe  and  speak 
without  fear  of  a  secret  police,  of  secret  agents,  or  of  a 
journey  to  Siberia.  The  liberty  of  the  press  is  every 
day  becoming  more  unshackled.  The  police  laws,  also, 
which  affected  the  admission,  residence,  and  departure  of 
strangers,  are  being  almost  entirely  done  away  with,  and 


128  NORTHERN    EUSSIA. 

brought  into  harmony  with  the  usages  of  other  European 
countries.  Let  us  not  forget  at  what  a  late  period  of  his* 
tory  Russia  has  entered  the  European  family  of  nations. 

The  immense  boundaries  of  Russia  extend  almost  with 
an  unbroken  stretch  over  a  hundred  degrees  of  longitude, 
from  the  Baltic  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  embrace 
more  than  the  half  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  habitable 
globe.  They  descend  from  the  snows  of  the  Arctic  Ocean 
to  the  burning  steppes  of  Asia.  She  reigns  supreme  over 
a  vast  and  busy  population,  as  well  as  over  hordes  of 
roving  barbarians. 

Her  means  of  internal  communication  by  her  numerous 
and  gigantic  rivers ;  the  facilities  afforded  by  her  plains 
and  forests  for  railways  and  telegraphs  ;  her  immense 
mineral  riches  and  boundless  plains  of  fertile  soil ;  her 
unassailable  military  position  when  on  the  defensive ; 
her  almost  unlimited  command  of  men  to  supply  her 
armies  ;  the  subtlety,  perseverance,  and  governing  power 
of  her  officials ;  and  the  hardihood  of  her  people — all 
promise  a  future  for  Russia  which,  without  affording  any 
great  cause  of  alarm  to  Europe,  affords  great  cause  of 
joyful  anticipation  to  herself,  and  to  all  who  wish 
civilisation  to  supplant  barbarianism. 

And  if  to  this  is  added  the  hope  of  Christian  truth 
imbuing  a  Church  whose  authority  is  acknowledged  by 
eighty  millions  of  the  human  race,  we  may  well  look 
with  profound  interest  on  all  that  is  taking  place  ic 
Russia,  and  from  our  hearts  wish  her  God-speed  in  the 
course  on  which  she  has  entered. 


GREENLAND. 


GEEEKLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    COAST. 

THE  coast  of  Greenland  is  visited  by  the  whaling  ships 
which  annually  make  their  voyages  to  the  icy  seas  of 
Davis'  Strait  and  Baffin's  Bay ;  lately  by  the  different  ex- 
ploring vessels  sent  by  the  English  and  American  govern- 
ments to  search  for  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  missing 
companions  ;  and  by  the  Danish  ships  which,  during  the 
navigable  season,  are  dispatched  to  supply  the  settlements 
scattered  along  the  coast  with  a  renewed  stock  of  pro- 
visions, and  to  carry  back  to  Denmark  the  products  of 
Eskimo  hunting  and  fishing. 

Greenland  belongs  to  Denmark,  and  its  trade  is  mono- 
polized by  the  government,  the  Royal  Danish  Company 
yearly  sending  out  ships  freighted  with  European  goods 
and  provisions,  and  bringing  back  skins  of  the  reindeer, 

131 


132  GREENLAND. 

seal,  walrus,  bear,  &c.,  vast  quantities   of  codfish,  and 
occasionally  dried  salmon. 

The  Danish  settlements  and  habitations  of  the  Eskimo 
are  situated  along  the  coast  from  Cape  Farewell,  the 
most  southern  point  of  Greenland,  to  lat.  73°  N.,  and  at 
each  settlement  a  governor  or  chief  factor  resides  with 
his  small  staff  of  Danish  officials  and  workmen.  Round 
them  gather  a  mixed  Eskimo  population,  subsisting  by 
the  chase,  the  results  of  which  they  bring  to  the  Danish 
storehouse,  and  barter  for  goods  and  provisions. 

It  was  in  the  middle  of  July  that  I  first  saw  the  coast 
of  Greenland.  The  mountains  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Cape  Farewell  looked  in  the  distance  like  the  teeth 
of  a  jagged  saw,  peak  after  peak  looming  out  of  the 
mist,  and  showing  their  uneven  tops  covered  with  snow, 
which  clothed  their  slopes  down  to  the  sea,  or  inland 
to  the  valleys  lying  between  them  and  the  mountains 
of  the  interior.  No  name  seemed  to  be  more  inappro- 
priate than  Greenland ;  nothing  appeared  but  dark  rock 
and  unsullied  snow.  On  landing,  however,  I  found  some 
little  vegetation.  Greener  than  other  Arctic  lands  it 
may  be,  but  to  one  whose  recollections  were  fresh 
of  the  pleasant  grassy  fields  of  our  own  country  the 
name  seemed  a  mockery. 

On  a  nearer  approach  to  the  coast,  the  low  land 
appears  stretching  out  as  islands  with  interlying  pas- 
sages and  sounds,  barren  and  bare  enough  in  appear* 
ance,  but  free  from  snow  during  the  summer.  Nearer 
still,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  so,  there  appears  a 


THE    COAST.  133 

considerable  quantity  of  verdure  among  the  small  valleys, 
though  the  vegetation  which  covers  them  is  of  a  brown- 
ish colour.  Following  the  windings  which  are  visible 
between  the  islands,  we  pass  up  the  deeper  fiords,  where 
is  the  greatest  quantity  of  vegetation  to  be  seen  in  all 
Greenland :  some  six  or  eight  miles  up  the  fiords  the 
land  is  even  covered  with  stunted  willow  and  birch 
bushes;  these  are  the  only  representatives  of  "forests" 
in  this  barren  land,  and  never  attain  a  greater  height 
than  four  feet.  The  hollows  and  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains are  covered  with  loose  stones  of  considerable  size, 
barely  hidden  by  these  bushes. 

The  vast  icebergs  which  thickly  strew  these  seas 
have  their  origin  from  the  ice-fiords  and  the  coast 
glaciers,  thus :  this  frozen  mass  being  constantly  pushed 
forward,  a  sort  of  outward  draught  takes  place,  its 
surface  becomes  crevassed  and  fissured  by  passing  over 
uneven  ground,  and  the  exposed  face  of  the  glacier  being 
eaten  away  by  the  warm  water  at  its  base,  becomes 
top-heavy,  breaks  away  from  the  mass,  and  a  new 
child  of  the  Arctic  IB  launched  into  the  world. 

The  icebergs  vary  in  size  according  to  the  glaciers 
from  which  they  have  been  formed  and  the  conditions 
under  which  tfcey  have  been  separated. 

Imagine  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  St.  George's  Hall,  or 
Holyrood  Palace  floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  water, 
having  five  or  six  times  its  own  size  underneath :  picture 
it  made  of  the  purest  white  marble,  carved  into  innumer- 
able domes,  turrets,  and  spires.  Again,  imagine  somt 


184  GREENLAND. 

vast  island  undulated,  caverned,  and  massive,  or  some 
immense  but  mastless  Great  Eastern,  glistening  in  the 
sun,  reflecting  hues  oi'  the  emerald,  beryl,  and  turquoise; 
here  you  may  see  one  towering  heavenward— 

"  As  a  stately  Attic  temple 
Bears  its  white  shafts  on  high  ;  ** 

then  another  without  a  single  elevation,  presenting  to 
the  eye  nothing  but  an  irrogular  crevassed  surface. 

The  spired  bergs  are  not  more  beautiful  than  danger- 
ous ;  the  ice  navigator  knows  that  they  may  turn  over  at 
»ny  moment;  the  water  in  which  they  float  gradually 
melting  that  portion  which  is  submerged,  the  centre  of 
gravity  slowly  moves  up  toward  the  water-line,  and  the 
slightest  shock  is  sufficient  to  upset  the  whole  mass. 

The  solid,  squarish  bergs  are  those  used  by  the  ship- 
masters as  temporary  moorings.  Drawing  perhaps  some 
800  to  1,000  feet  they  ground  and  act  as  anchors  to  the 
Bliips.  On  these  bergs  are  usually  found  small  lakes  of 
fresh  water,  the  ice  being  of  land  origin.  The  constant 
action  of  the  powerful  Arctic  sun  thawing  the  surface,  the 
water  either  collects  in  pools  or  miniature  lakes,  OP 
trickles  down  the  side. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  those  who  have  not  seen 
them  to  imagine  the  sublimity  and  grandeur  of  a  belt  of 
these  ice-islands.  Their  fantastic  shapes  traced  out  in 
pure  glistening  white  against  a  pale  blue  sky,  floating  in 
water  of  a  still  deeper  hue,  form  a  picture  which  but  few 
artist*  could  paint.  They  strew  the  Arctic  seas  in 


THE    COAST.  185 

• 

* 

thousands,  and  float  south  to  be  dissolved  in  the  warm 
waters  of  the  Atlantic,  becoming  the  dread  of  the  navi- 
gator of  the  Newfoundland  banks. 

The  reader  may  try  to  conceive  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  which  beset  vessels  navigating  the  northern  seas, 
and  picture  the  imminence  of  the  peril  should  they 
encounter  a  heavy  gale.  The  air  thick  with  fog  and 
Bnow-flakes,  the  ropes  stiff  with  frozen  spray,  the  bitter 
temperature  benumbing  the  hands  and  feet,  the  ship 
surrounded  by  huge  mountains  of  ice,  roaring  and  crash- 
ing, heaving  and  rearing,  one  against  the  other,  and 
against  the  poor  ship  ;  now  she  is  tossed  against  the  ice, 
now  the  ice-blocks  beat  and  bump  against  her  side, 
masts  and  yards  crack,  bells  ring,  men  shout,  the  storm 
howls,  every  minute  seems  to  be  the  last — 


"  And  the  boldest  hold  their  breath  for  a  time.'* 

As  we  approached  the  Spitzbergen  ice-stream,  wa 
found  the  sea  strewed  with  detached  pieces  of  ice,  with 
occasional  small  packs  some  four  or  five  miles  in  extent, 
their  colour  varying  from  the  purest  white  to  a  deep  blue, 
according  to  the  shape  and  the  reflected  light.  The 
waves  surging  against  the  masses  sounded  like  the  dash- 
ing of  the  sea  against  a  rocky  coast.  The  wind  falling 
calm,  we  were  enveloped  in  fog,  and  had  to  get  up  steam 
to  urge  our  way  through  this  frozen  barrier,  which  often 
fouled  the  ship,  and  caused  her  to  shake  from  stem  to 
stern,  and  at  times  altogether  arrested  her  progress. 

The  most  fantastic  shapes  were  at  times  assumed  by 


136 


GREENLAND. 


the  ice.  I  remember  one  group  in  particular,  the  gro 
tesqueness  of  which  was  remarkable.  It  consisted  of  a 
gracefully-formed  pelican  of  ice,  escorted  by  a  huge  water- 
jug,  and  both  apparently  surrounded  by  barn-door  fowls. 
All  round  these  were  multitudes  of  the  most  queerly- 
shaped  monsters  :  you  can  hardty  mention  one  family  of 
animals  which  did  not  seem  to  have  its  icy  representative, 


THE    SPITZBERGEN    ICE-STREAM. 


the  oddity  of  their  forms  causing  as  much  amusement  as 
the  beauty  of  their  tints  occasioned  admiration. 

Having  passed  through  this  ice-stream,  we  still  con- 
tinued our  landward  course.  Finding,  however,  by  the 
afternoon  of  the  18th  July,  that  we  could  not  get  sight  of 
the  shore,  we  shortened  sail,  let  down  steam,  and  lay-to 
till  the  fog  should  clear  off  and  show  us  our  position. 


THE    COAST.  187 

This  it  did  at  six  P.M.,  revealing  a  beautiful  coast-line  as 
it  lifted  off  the  land,  the  landscape  bounded  by  the  far 
inland  white  mountain-tops,  clear  cut  against  the  deep 
blue  sky.  Farther  north,  along  the  coast,  we  saw  the 
"blink*  of  the  glacier,  which  there  stretches  along,  or 
rather  forms  the  coast-line,  for  eight  or  ten  miles,  re- 
lieving, with  its  gleaming  whiteness,  the  sombre  aspect  of 
the  black  and  barren  peaks  of  primary  rock  on  either  side. 

And  now  we  saw  a  couple  of  kajaks  coming  off  towards 
the  ship.  These  kajaks  are  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet 
long,  tapering  to  a  point  at  both  ends  like  a  weaver's 
shuttle,  some  fifteen  inches  wide,  and  eight  or  nine  deep, 
flattish  above  and  convex  below.  The  frame  is  made  of 
laths  of  wood,  and  covered  over  with  sealskin  prepared 
by  the  Eskimo,  and  sewed  on  whilst  wet.  A  small  hole 
is  left  in  the  middle,  surrounded  by  a  ledge  ;  into  this  the 
native  "wriggles,"  sitting  with  his  body  at  right  angles  to 
his  legs;  then  fastening  his  sealskin  shirt,  or  "jumper," 
he  forms  a  continuous  water-tight  surface  up  to  his  throat. 

Seated  thus,  with  his  "payortit,"  or  paddle,  held  by 
the  middle  in  his  hands,  by  alternate  strokes  with  its 
right  and  left  blades  he  propels  the  canoe  at  the  rate  of 
six  to  eight  miles  per  hour,  passing  through  waves  and 
encountering  seas  which,  in  an  ordinary  boat,  would  b« 
neither  safe  nor  pleasant. 

These  natives  brought  us  some  eider-duck  eggs,  and 
received  biscuit  in  exchange.  We  then  stood  in  toward 
Frederikshaab,  eight  or  nine  bergs  appearing  in  sight,  but 
nope  very  close  to  us. 


GBEENLAND. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FUE^ERIKSHAAB. 

evening  was  beautiful,  and  seemed  warm  and 
-*-  agreeable  compared  with  the  previous  one.  Cau- 
tiousl}*  sailing  between  the  islands,  guided  by  an  Eskimo 
pilot,  we  reached  our  destination  in  the  morning,  and 
moored  near  the  Danish  brig  which  had  arrived  with 
provisions,  &c.,  for  the  use  of  the  settlement.  We  were 
at  anchor  in  a  small  cove,  flanked  on  either  side  by  hills 
600  or  800  feet  high.  The  end  of  the  bay  opened  to  the 
interior,  which,  some  two  or  three  miles  off,  was  shut  in 
Tby  mountains. 

Scarcely  was  our  anchor  down  before  the  ship  was 
surrounded  by  kajaks.  Soon  numbers  of  women,  girls, 
and  children  trooped  along  the  rocks  abreast  of  the  ship 


FEEDERIKSHAAB. 


139 


to  the  nearest  point,  where  they  sat  laughing  and  jabber- 
ing to  their  hearts'  content. 

On  the  ladies  of  the  community  being  pointed  out  to 
me,  I  was  rather  incredulous ;    a  glance  at  the  portraits 


A   YOUNG    MAN.  AN    OLD    WOMAN.  A   YOUXG    WOMAN. 

(iN    SUMMER   DRESS.) 

will  show  the  reason.  The  only  mark  which  distin- 
guishes their  dress  from  that  of  their  lords  is  the  presence 
of  a  "  top-knot."  Their  hair,  instead  of  being  dressed  ia 


140  GREENLAND. 

the  ordinary  way,  is  drawn  upwards  to  the  crown  of  the 
Head,  and  then  tied  in  a  knot ;  this  is  surrounded  by  a 
ribbon,  the  colour  of  which  varies  with  the  social  position 
af  the  wearer.  Some  of  then,  displayed  considerable 
taste  in  the  selection  of  the  pattern  of  the  ribbons,  which 
are,  of  course,  imported  from  Denmark,  and  are  very 
probably  of  English  manufacture. 

We   were    speedily   visited    by  the    Danish   officials, 
namely,  the   chief  factor,  his  assistant,   and  the   priest. 
Dr.  Eink,  the  Koyal  Inspector  of  South  Greenland,  who 
happened  to  be  at  the  settlement  at  the  time,  also  came 
on  board.     We  found  these  gentlemen  very  agreeable  and 
intelligent.     The  inspector,  a  man  of  high  scientific  ac- 
quirements, was  promoted  to  his  present  position  after 
having  been  for  many  years  engaged  in  a  mineralogical 
survey  of  Greenland.     Pastor  Barnsfeldt,  who,  with  his 
wife,  had  been  for  some  time  resident  in  the  country,  gave 
us  some  interesting  statistics,  illustrating  the  social  con- 
dition of  the   Eskimos.     The  assistant-factor  had   only 
been  two  or  three  years  in  Greenland.     He  had  formed 
one  of  the  noble  band  of  volunteers  engaged  in  the  war 
with  Sleswig  and  Holstein  ;  he  was  a  knight  of  the  order 
of  Dannebrog,  and  wore  his  decoration.     Chief- trader 
Holier,  father-in-law  to   the   inspector,  for  many  years 
resident  in  the    country,   was    becoming  tired    of   its 
monotony,  and  anxious  to  return  to  Copenhagen. 

Accompanied  by  these  gentlemen,  we  went  on  shore, 
and  partook  of  their  hospitality. 

The  houses  of  the  officials  are  ail  built  of  wood,  thicKiy 


rKEDERIKSHAAB. 

coated  on  the  outside  with  black  tar,  the  windows  and 
doors  being  double,  and  painted  white.  They  are  kept 
spotlessly  clean,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Scandi- 
navian peoples.  The  beams  supporting  the  ceiling  are 
plainly  seen,  giving  to  the  room  an  aspect  not  unlike  the 
ward-room  of  a  man-of-war.  The  side-panels  are  painted 
blue  or  green,  the  rest  of  the  walls  being  white.  The 
stove  in  the  corner  is  brightly  polished  ;  the  floor  with- 
out carpet,  and  beautifully  clean ;  the  windows  adorned 
with  a  few  European  garden  flowers,  which  bloom  with 
difficulty  in  this  inhospitable  region. 

After  luncheon,  we  walked  some  way  into  the  interior, 
visiting,  on  our  way,  some  of  the  huts.  These  are  essen- 
tially dirty  and  disagreeable  to  one  unused  to  their 
ways.  The  better  class  have  a  wooden  frame  and  a 
window ;  but  the  greater  part  have  only  a  shell  made  of 
sods  and  earth,  with  a  few  props  of  wood  or  bones  of 
tke  whale  in  the  inside.  The  approach  to  the  interior  is 
through  a  narrow  passage  some  three  feet  and  a  half  high, 
opening  into  the  hut,  which  rises  to  an  elevation  of  five 
feet  or  so.  A  raised  dais  serves  the  purpose  of  a  seat  by 
day  and  a  bedstead  by  night.  On  this  dais  the  ladies  sit, 
tailor-fashion,  and  occupy  themselves  in  domestic  work. 
Cooking  is  performed  by  means  of  a  stone  lamp  hanging 
at  one  extremity  of  the  platform,  and  supplied  with 
blubber  and  moss. 

In  a  small  hut  of  about  six  feet  square,  seven,  eight,  of 
ev*p  a  Jarger  number  of  persons  will  contrive  to  exist ; 
and  as  personal  cleanliness  is  not  a  virtue  practised  by 


GBEENLAND. 

the  Eskimos,  the  heat  and  the  offensive  smell  may  more 
easily  be  imagined  than  described.  The  ablutions  of  the 
men  generally  consist  in  moistening  their  fingers  with 
saliva,  and  rubbing  the  salt  spray  from  their  faces ;  the 
mothers  use  their  tongues,  like  cats,  to  clean  and  polish 
(Leir  children. 

The  men  do  not  dress  their  hair  in  any  particular 
fashion,  merely  shortening  it  over  the  forehead,  and 
allowing  it  to  hang  down  on  the  cheeks  and  neck ;  the 
women  often  wrap  a  handkerchief  round  their  heads  to 
keep  them  warm,  as  the  drawing  up  of  the  hair  to  the 
crown  leaves  the  greater  part  of  the  head  uncovered. 

The  shape  of  the  Eskimo  face  is  somewhat  oval,  the 
greatest  breadth  being  below  the  eye,  at  the  cheek  bones; 
the  forehead  arches  upward,  ending  narrowly ;  the  chin 
is  a  blunt  cone  ;  the  nose  is  more  or  less  depressed,  broad 
at  the  base,  with  somewhat  thickened  nostrils ;  the  lips 
thickish,  but  the  teeth  generally  very  white  and  regular. 

Occasionally,  among  the  young  women,  we  saw 
a  good-natured,  pretty  face  ;  but  the  old  women  are 
frightfully  ugly.  Their  teeth  drop  out ;  they  discontinue 
the  use  of  the  head-band,  showing  a  bald  place  where 
the  hair  has  fallen  out  by  being  pulled  against  the  grain ; 
the  face,  deeply  furrowed,  assumes  a  very  harsh  expres- 
sion ;  and  the  legs  are  bowed  by  the  constant  use  of  the 
"  tailor  posture  "  while  sitting.  The  resemblance  between 
the  sexes  is  further  increased  by  the  absence  of  beard  and 
monstache  among  the  men,  any  stray  evidence  of  either 
being  ruthlessly  pulled  out  by  means  of  a  couple  of  sheila* 


FBEDERIKSHAAB.  145 

We  were  not  sorry  to  escape  from  the  stifling  atmo- 
sphere of  the  huts ;  and  presently  leaving  the  settlement 
behind  us,  and  crossing  a  swampy  valley  traversed  by 
numerous  streams,  we  proceeded  np  the  mountains,  over 
some  ridges  of  yet  undissolved  snow.  I  was  fortunate 
in  my  companion.  Dr.  Rink  never  seemed  at  a  loss  ;  he 
had  a  ready  and  instructive  answer  to  all  my  questions, 
whether  they  related  to  flowers,  minerals,  or  the  physical 
condition  of  the  country. 

Climbing  to  the  top  of  the  first  hill,  we  took  a  survey 
of  the  district ;  wild  and  rugged  in  the  extreme,  the 
whole  interior  visible  from  the  point  where  we  stood 
appeared  to  consist  of  mountains  with  intervening  wind- 
ing passages — I  cannot  call  them  valleys,  for  our  idea  of 
a  valley  is  connected  with  verdure  and  softened  beauty, 
while  these  passes  are  covered  with  blocks  of  stones  and 
boulders,  very  few  flowers  interspersed  among  them, 
and  those  apparently  pleading  for  life.  We  were  happy 
enough  to  obtain  a  few  minerals,  some  specimens  of 
rough  garnets,  allanite,  tantalite,  molybdenite,  &c.,  with 
copper,  tin,  and  iron  ores  in  small  quantities. 

Passing  round  the  corner  of  one  of  the  huge  blocks 
which  bestrewed  our  way,  we  startled  a  couple  of  hares 
quietly  feeding  at  its  base  ;  they  scampered  off  some 
distance  before  one  of  them  fell  at  the  discharge  of  my 
gun.  At  that  season  it  did  not  differ  in  appearance  and 
jolour  from  the  hares  of  this  country,  but  its  coat  be- 
comes completely  white  in  the  winter  time,  giving  it  a 
greater  chance  of  escape  from  its  enemies ;  it  is  then 


146 


GEEENLAND. 


generally  traced  by  its  footprints,  an  Eskimo  being 
able  to  distinguish  by  the  shape  and  feeling  of  these 
whether  the  track  has  been  made  days,  hours,  or  minutes 
before. 

As  the  spring  advances  after  the  long  winter,  they  are 


THE    INTERIOR    IN    SVMMER. 

often    found    sitting   at  the   corner  of   a  stone,   intently 
gazing  at  the  sun. 

We  found  a  pretty  good  sprinkling  of  flowers  during 
our  ramble  :  a  species  of  buttercup  was  occasionally 
seen  in  the  marshy  plain  behind  the  settlement ;  a  variety 
of  poppy,  with  its  large  yellow  flower,  looking  like  a 


FREDEEIKSHAAB.  147 

ffckly  child  with  an  overgrown  head,  peeped  out  from 
under  the  shelter  of  a  piece  of  rock ;  while  the  Alpine 
stitchwort  occasionally  showed  itself,  reminding  me  of 
the  common  flower  in  our  own  hedges.  In  some  few 
favoured  places  the  hill-sides  would  be  covered  with  the 
purple  saxifrage,  while  still  more  rarely  specimens  of 
other  species  of  this  Alpine  genus  of  flowers  were  ob- 
tained. In  one  sequestered  nook  my  eye  was  delighted 
with  the  sight  of  a  violet  and  a  campanula  in  cordial 
juxtaposition,  and  the  presence  of  a  dandelion  and  an 
alchemilla  almost  induced  the  idea  that  I  was  on  a  Scotch 
mountain,  among  civilised  people,  rather  than  among 
glaciers  and  Eskimos. 

The  most  ambitious  growth  here  was  that  of  beech  and 
willow  bushes,  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  high,  having 
stems  about  the  thickness  of  a  man's  thumb.  These  are 
gathered  by  the  natives  as  firewood  for  the  winter  in  the 
Danish  houses. 

As  we  continued  our  walk  we  came  to  the  edge  of  a 
email  lake,  on  the  far  corner  of  which  some  ducks  were 
quietly  floating.  By  a  series  of  manoeuvres,  the  chief  of 
which  consisted  in  almost  breaking  one's  back  by  stoop- 
ing, we  crawled  from  behind  one  block  to  the  next,  and 
succeeded  in  getting  within  shot,  when  we  obtained  a 
couple  of  brace. 

On  our  way  back  to  the  ship  a  thick  fog  came  on,  and 
had  it  not  been  that  my  companion  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  country  we  should  have  been  at  a  loss  to  find 
our  way,  as  scarcely  a  landmark  was  visible.  When  we 


148  GREENLAND. 

got  on   board   and   changed   our  clothes,   we  felt  quite 
ready  for  dinner. 

Our  conversation  was  at  first  limited  to  an  interchange 
of  looks  and  gestures,  as  only  one  of  our  party  under- 
stood Danish  thoroughly.  Dr.  Kink,  however,  speaking 
English  fluently,  by  the  additional  aid  of  French  and 
German,  we  contrived  after  a  time  to  be  quite  a  voluble 
party.  It  was  amusing  to  hear  the  disjointed  sentences 
at  one  end  of  the  table  commenced  in  German  and  eked 
out  with  French  at  the  other,  the  patois  consisting  of  an 
alternation  of  English  and  Danish. 

After  coffee  we  went  on  shore,  where  we  found  our  men 
had  preceded  us,  and  were  showing  their  gallantry  to  tho 
Eskimo  young  ladies.  The  sound  of  the  fiddle  attracted  . 
us  to  a  very  small  ball-room,  twenty-five  feet  square, 
where  from  sixty  to  eighty  people  had  managed  to  crowd 
themselves,  and  were  dancing  to  their  hearts'  content. 
The  drapery  of  the  ladies  not  requiring  much  extra  space, 
it  was  marvellous  to  see  the  ease  with  which  they  glided 
in  and  out  of  this  close-packed  assemblage,  always  keep- 
ing time  to  the  music,  which  consisted  of  two  violins,  a 
flute,  and  a  tub-end  covered  over  with  seal-skin,  serving 
as  drum  for  the  nonce. 

One  of  the  sailors  had  elected  himself  master  of  the 
ceremonies,  and,  seated  in  the  window,  endeavoured  to 
keep  proper  order,  greatly  to  the  detriment  of  the  room, 
it  must  be  admitted.  This  had  evidently  not  been 
cleaned  since  the  last  stock  of  blabber-casks  and  seal- 
skins had  left  it ;  and  filled  with  thia  crowd  of  not  very 


FEEDERIKSHAAB. 


149 


cleanly  persons,  going  through  the  exciting  exercise  of  a 
sailor's  reel  or  an  Eskimo  dance,  with  only  the  door 
and  one  window  as  ventilators,  the  effect  may  be 
imagined  when  the  latter  was  obstructed  by  the  major- 
domo. 

A  glance  in  was  quite  sufficient  for  us,  and  we  pro- 


SEAL-HUNTING    ON   ICE-FIELDS. 


ceeded  to  have  a  look  at  the  different  "  buildings "  of 
•which  the  settlement  consists.  The  principal  are  the 
governor's  house  and  the  neat  little  wooden  Lutheran 
church,  which  boasted  its  belfry  and  organ,  and  had 
seats  for  some  150  people.  Clo?e  down  to  the  water's 
edge  was  the  storehouse,  in  which  the  fruits  of  the  last 


160  GREENLAND. 

winter's  hunt  were  deposited,  consisting  of  seal  and  rein- 
deer skins,  blubber,  &c.,  to  the  value  of  about  15,000 
dollars.  Then  there  is  the  import  storehouse,  where  a 
miscellaneous  assortment  of  articles — biscuit,  blankets, 
and  bullet-moulds ;  stockings,  shot,  sugar,  and  stew- 
pans  ;  rice,  rifles,  and  ropes,  &c. — were  to  be  found  in 
incongruous  proximity.  Currency  consists  of  paper 
notes,  printed  in  Copenhagen,  which  become  valuable  on 
their  arrival  in  Greenland,  little  silver  money  changing 
hands. 

After  seeing  the  different  piles  of  goods  stowed  away 
in  these  buildings,  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  exterior 
of  the  dwellings  of  the  Eskimo.  Round  one  of  them 
were  grouped  a  number  of  natives,  talking  in  a  slow, 
hesitating  way  ;  one  of  them  seemed  from  his  looks  to  be 
rather  irate,  but  the  easy  manner  in  which  he  allowed 
his  words  to  gurgle  out  of  his  throat  would  not  have  led 
any  one  to  suppose  that  he  was  otherwise  than  at  peace 
with  all  mankind. 

The  interesting  operation  of  cutting  up  a  seal,  which 
had  just  been  brought  in,  was  going  on  inside  one  of  the 
huts ;  the  dainty  bits,  such  as  the  liver,  &c.,  were  taken 
possession  of  by  the  favoured  ones  of  the  household,  to 
be  cooked  over  the  stone  blubber-lamp.  A  couple  of  old 
dames  were  entertaining  each  other  over  a  cup  of  coffee, 
which  luxurious  beverage  was  the  first-fruits  of  the  seal- 
skin just  deposited  in  the  store. 

Heartily  tired  after  my  day's  ramble,  I  joyfully  tamed 
in  for  the  night. 


GBEENLAND, 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOLSTEIXBOEG. 

ON  the  28th  of  April  we  made  the  land  near  Holstein- 
borg ;  not  being  aware  of  the  exact  position  of  the 
settlement,  we  kept  along  the  coast  to  avoid  the  nume- 
rous shoals  and  sunken  rocks.  Being  early  in  the  season, 
the  latter  were  topped  by  sea-ice  of  considerable  thick- 
ness, which  was  somewhat  an  aid  to  us  in  finding  out 
their  position  ;  but  being  similar  in  appearance  to  small 
pieces  of  ordinary  floating  ice,  they  were  often  mistaken 
for  it,  to  the  great  risk  and  danger  of  the  ship.  We  passed 
many  icebergs  aground  near  the  off-lying  islands. 

The  afternoon  being  thick  and  foggy,  as  it  often  is  in 
spring  in  Greenland,  and  a  native  who  had  been  out  seal- 
hunting  in  his  kajak  coming  alongside,  with  the  bight  of 
a  rope  at  either  end  of  the  kajak,  he  and  it  were  brought 


152  GEEENLAND. 

on  board.  Being  acquainted  with  the  coast-line  even  in 
a  fog,  be  piloted  the  ship  in  and  out  of  the  island  passages 
AS  easily  as  if  she  had  been  his  own  canoe. 

Presently  the  sun  burst  through  the  clouds  for  a  while, 
dissipating  the  mist,  and  affording  us  a  peep  of  the  coast 
along  which  we  were  creeping.  Occasionally  we  passed 
the  mouth  of  one  of  those  wondrous  fiords,  the  sight  of 
which  would  alone  repay  a  visit  to  the  north  ;  its  deep 
and  placid  waters  winding  inland  amid  every  variety  of 
scenery  and  colouring  of  which  these  grim  Arctic  regions 
are  capable,  or  we  coasted  under  cliffs  some  thousand  feet 
high  with  their  miniature  glaciers  between  rocks  of  gneiss  ; 
the  stillness  of  the  uninhabited  land,  the  smooth  clear 
water,  the  ship  stealing  along  with  nothing  to  break  the 
solemn  silence,  save  the  plunge  of  the  seaman's  lead  or 
the  flap  of  some  wild-fowl  passing  us,  while  the  awe  oi 
our  silenco  was  intensified  by  the  constant  fear  of  being 
overwhelmed  by  an  avalanche. 

Our  pilot  soon  left  us,  as  he  had  some  distance  to  go 
before  he  reached  his  home.  Scarcely  were  we  left  alone 
before  it  began  to  snow ;  the  fog  came  down  again  from 
off  the  land ;  again  we  had  to  grope  our  way. 

Fortunately  other  Eskimos  had  been  out  hunting ; 
two  of  whom  came  on  board  and  piloted  as  between  the 
islands  to  the  sheltered  bay,  at  the  head  of  which  the 
settlement  stands,  just  outside  which  the  assistant  factor 
came  alongside  with  a  boat's  crew,  the  coxswain  taking  the 
ship  in  to  her  berth,  where  we  let  go  in  seventeen  fathoms, 
mooring  her  to  the  rocks  with  bow  and  stern  hawsers. 


HOLSTEINBORa. 


153 


The  natives  in  their  kajaks  at  once  crowded  round  the 
ship  ;  fastening  their  frail  canoes  together  with  pieces  of 
seal  line,  numbers  of  them  came  on  board,  and  showed,  by 
hauling  on  the  hawsers,  ropes,  &c.,  that  they  would  will- 
ingly do  us  a  kindness.  When  the  deck  was  cleared,  and 
all  the  ropes  coiled  down,  an  immediate  barter  was  set 
up  between  the  sailors  and  the  natives  ;  seal-skin  boots, 


DANISH    SETTLEMENT    AT    HOi  M' 


trousers,  and  jumpers  soon  changed  hands,  and  many  an 
old  jacket,  &c.,  went  on  shore.  The  greatest  demand 
among  the  young  ladies  was  for  silk  handkerchiefs,  which 
they  used  as  head  bandages,  and  their  triumph  was  con- 
siderable when  one  of  them  became  the  happy  possessor 
of  so  rare  and  prized  an  article  ;  as  there  were  but  few 


154  aSEENLAND, 

I 

on  board  available  for  barter,  they  Tere  soon  at  a  high 

premium. 

Being  early  in  the  season,  there  was  some  little  night ; 
consequently  the  ship's  deck  was  deserted  soon  after  ten 
o'clock  by  all  except  the  quartermaster  of  the  watch. 
The  next  morning  was  bright  and  lovely,  with  a  pleasant 
breeze  off  the  land ;  the  harbour  in  which  we  lay  was 
well  land-locked,  so  that  we  were  secure  from  any  of 
those  williewaws  so  frequent  in  the  fiords  of  this  coast. 
Snow  lay  thickly  over  all  the  land,  the  summer  sun  hav- 
ing only  denuded  the  surface  of  a  few  rocks ;  the  houses 
of  the  settlement  having  a  coating  of  black  tar,  had  almost 
entirely  thrown  off  their  winter  covering,  and  stood  out 
well  on  the  white  background.  The  little  chapel,  with 
its  heaven-pointing  turret,  was  buried  on  all  sides  in 
snow,  the  windows  and  doors  being  the  only  spots  free 
from  it ;  a  deep  pathway,  with  a  four-foot  bank  of  snow 
on  either  side,  formed  the  approach  to  this  house  of  God. 

As  the  evening  closed  in,  the  sight  of  the  setting  sun 
was  splendid.  Close  to  us  was  the  arm  of  a  fiord,  at  the 
upper  end  of  which,  as  if  wedged  in  between  the  rocks, 
the  sun  was  sinking.  The  few  clouds  immediately  above 
were  of  a  deep  golden  hue,  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  dark  purple  of  those  some  distance  beyond ;  the  rays 
reflected  from  white  snow,  dark  rock,  and  blue  water  gave 
innumerable  and  gorgeous  tints ;  the  moon  came  peeping 
over  an  adjoining  headland ;  the  rocks  were  mirrored  in 
the  water,  which  seemed  rising  to  kiss  the  golden  sun- 
beams ;  our  boat  lay  idly  by  the  shore ;  and  it  was  only 


HOLSTEINBOHG.  15ft 

when  the  low  qnack  of  a  coming  flock  of  ducks  brought 
us  back  to  material  things  that  we  were  reminded  thai 
the  game-bag  was  not  yet  full. 

The  next  day  being  Sunday,  we  had,  as  usual,  divine 
service  on  the  lower  deck,  after  which  I  went  on  shore, 
as  the  sound  of  the  bell  told  that  the  time  for  service 
approached. 

u  It  was  a  little  church,  and  plain,  almost 
To  ugliness,  yet  lacking  not  its  charm." 

Groups  of  Eskimo  women  and  children  were  walking 
quietly  thither  as  I  landed,  and,  when  I  reached  it,  it 
was  almost  full. 

After  dinner,  taking  a  walk  over  the  rocks,  I  had  a  fine 
view  of  the  sea  and  its  countless  islands.  It  was  indeed  a 
lovely  maritime  landscape,  out  of  the  power  of  better 
pencils  than  mine  to  depict.  In  the  evening  there  was  a 
halo  round  the  sun — that  is,  a  circle  of  light  45°  in 
diameter,  with  the  sun  for  a  centre,  and  the  mock  sun  on 
either  side,  on  a  plane  passing  horizontally  through  it. 
This  phenomenon  is  dependent  on  the  reflection  of  the 
solar  rays  from  small  snow  crystals,  with  which  the  air  is 
often  loaded  in  these  northern  climes. 

Returning  from  my  walk  late,  I  remained  on  shore, 
and  supped  with  the  governor.  The  priest,  his  wife,  and 
the  two  assistants  joined  us.  We  partook  of  an  excellent 
repast,  consisting  of  venison,  dried  salmon,  ptarmigan, 
and  other  delicacies,  which  seemed  strangely  out  of  place 
in  this  secluded  spot. 


156 


GKEENLAKD. 


As  I  proceeded  to  my  boat,  the  Eskimo  dogs  which 
were  there  collected  made  the  night  hideous  by  baying 
the  moon,  the  coming  gale  seeming  to  have  stirred  all 
their  innate  powers  of  howling.  Seaward  all  looked 
black,  even  our  vessel,  whose  tall  masts  pointing  heaven- 


THE    HALO. 


wards,  seemed  to  invite  the  storm.  On  Monday  it  blew 
half  a  gale  all  day,  and  snowed  constantly.  It  was 
miserably  cold,  so  that  I  did  not  leave  the  ship,  except 
for  a  couple  of  hours  to  sit  with  the  governor.  On 


HOLSTEINBOBQ. 

Tuesday  there  was  only  a  gentle  breeze  from  the  nctft- 
ward,  and  scarcely  a  cloud  to  be  seen. 

**  Blue,  sunny  sky  above ;  below, 

A  btae  and  sunny  sea ; 
A  world  of  blue,  wherein  did  blow 
One  soft  wind  steadily." 

An  iceberg,  about  160  feet  high,  had  come  into  the  harbour 
during  the  night,  and  gleamed  brightly  against  the  dark 
rocks.  I  again  ascended  a  neighbouring  mountain,  and, 
from  an  elevation  of  1,800  to  2,000  feet,  had  a  good 
/panoramic  view.  As  the  sun  reached  its  highest,  and 
seemed  to  rest  before  it  declined,  the  same  formed  a 
splendid  picture.  The  hues  of  silver  frost,  purple  and 
neutral,  would  have  enchanted  a  painter,  while  the  hope- 
lessness of  any  attempt  to  catch  them,  and  transfer  their 
fleeting  beauty  to  his  canvas,  would  well-nigh  have 
broken  his  heart. 

In  the  evening  I  visited  the  carcases  of  three  whales, 
which,  having  been  denuded  of  their  blubber,  lay  stranded 
on  the  shore,  and  served  as  banqueting-rooms  for  the 
Eskimo  dogs.  These  were  so  satiated  with  their  repast, 
they  could  hardly  screw  up  their  tails  upon  their  backs — 
their  way  of  manifesting  pleased  recognition — but  lay 
alongside  the  scene  of  their  enjoyment,  smiling  benignly, 
and  unable  to  movet 

Our  approach  frightened  away  some  half-dozen  ravens, 
which  had  been  attracted  by  the  carrion  lying  at  our  feet. 
These  birds  are  found  very  far  north  ;  I  remember  seeing 
two  in  the  middle  of  January,  at  a  temperature  of  — 60 '. 


158  GS FINLAND. 

flying  as  leisurely  as  if  it  had  been  the  hottest  day  expe- 
rienced by  any  of  their  species.  These  same  birds  built 
tneir  nest  and  bred  in  lat.  72°  N.,  showing  an  instance  of 
a  bird  which  breeds  both  in  arctic  and  tropico-temperate 
climates.  Those  which  we  now  disturbed  from  their 
feast  flew  lazily  away,  and  settled  on  a  rock  a  few  yards 
from  us,  evidently  looking  upon  us  as  intruders,  and 
patiently  waiting  our  departure. 

A  few  words  about  the  Eskimo  dog,  which  has  been  here 
mentioned  for  the  first  time.  This  animal,  whose  services 
are  indispensable  to  the  inhabitants  of  Northern  Green- 
land, is  not  unlike  our  shepherd's  dog  in  its  general  aspect, 
but  is  more  muscular,  and  has  a  broader  chest,  owing, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  the  hard  work  it  is  inured  to.  The 
ears  are  pointed,  and,  with  its  long  muzzle,  serve  to 
increase  the  wolfishness  of  its  appearance.  An  ordinary 
well-grown  dog  will  be  somewhat  smaller  than  a  New- 
foundland dog,  but  broad,  like  a  mastiff.  The  coat  of 
this  dog  consists  of  long  hair,  and  in  the  winter  it  is 
further  protected  by  a  soft,  downy  under-covering,  which 
does  not  appear  during  the  warm  weather. 

Their  education  begins  at  a  very  early  age.  When 
about  two  months  old,  eight  or  ten  puppies  are  harnessed 
to  a  sledge  with  two  experienced  runners,  and  by  means 
of  frequent  and  cruel  beatings,  and  angry  repetitions  of 
their  names,  they  are  taught  their  duty,  but  not  without 
much  hard  labour  on  the  driver's  part,  and  great  patience. 
Personal  experience  has  taught  me  some  of  the  peculiar 
difficulties  cf  managing  a  puppy-dog  team. 


HOLSTEINBORG. 


159 


Each  dog  is  harnessed  to  a  separate  line ;  and  these, 
being  about  eight  abreast,  fully  endowed  with  all — ami 
more  than  all — the  playfulness  of  young  animals  in  this 
country,  the  effect  may  be  pictured  when,  all  jumping  on 
each  other  in  most  admired  confusion,  the  lines  become 
entangled,  and  are  only  set  right  after  many  efforts. 
This  process  has  to  be  repeated  again  and  again,  as 
the  gambols  or  quarrels  of  the  young  dogs  render  it 
necessary. 

The  whip,  too,  would  puzzle  a  London  cabby,  and  is  not 


THE    DOG-SLEDbK. 


easy  for  a  novice  to  use — a  lash  from  twenty  to  twentv- 
four  feet  long,  attached  to  a  handle  one  foot  long;  it 
requires  no  small  amount  of  dexterity  to  avoid  wounding 
your  own  person  in  an  attempt  to  make  an  example  of 
one  of  your  pupils.  When  trained,  however,  they  are 
guided  only  by  a  touch  of  the  whip  to  the  near  or  off 
leader,  and  over  smooth  ice,  with  a  light  load,  can  be 
made  to  go  seven  or  eight  miles  per  hour. 


GEEENLA^D. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GODHAVEN. 

THE  voyage  from  Holsteinborg  to  Godhaven  was  rather 
tedious.     Being  prevented  by  fog  and  ice  from  at 
once  reaching  our  destination,  I  was  enabled  to  dredge, 
and  procured  a  considerable  varietj^  of  treasures — star- 
fishes, holothurias,  Crustacea,  annelids,  and  shells. 

On  the  evening  of  the  10th  May  we  had  hoped  to  be 
in  port,  but  our  wishes  were  not  realised,  and  we  were  in 
much  danger.  At  one  time  we  were  startled  by  finding 
the  end  of  one  of  the  Kron  Prins  Islands  right  under  our 
bow.  We  had  not  much  time  to  make  our  escape,  being 
hardly  more  than  half  the  ship's  length  off  before  per- 
ceiving our  perilous  position.  At  another  time  we  found 
ourselves  within  forty  yards  of  a  formidable  iceberg, 
•which  the  fog  had  hindered  our  seeing. 


SODHAVEN.  161 

For  six  days  we  were  detained  at  the  Whalefish 
Islands;  but  on  the  17th  May  we  at  last  anchored  close 
to  the  settlement  of  Godhaven,  the  seat  of  the  Northern 
Inspectorate  of  Greenland.  It  is  situated  on  a  spur 
of  metamorphic  rock,  which  juts  out  in  a  peninsular  form 
from  Disco  Island,  the  mainland  of  which  is  composed 
of  trap  or  basalt  of  recent  igneous  origin.  These  rocks 
reach  the  height  of  3,000,  4,000,  or  even  5,000  feet,  and 
are,  in  some  places,  formed  into  pillars,  in  a  manner 
which  may  be  imagined  by  those  who  have  visited  Staffa 
or  the  Giant's  Causeway. 

The  situation  is  singularly  beautiful,  with  its  beetling 
cliff  of  dark  rock,  like  the  turrets  of  some  giant  fortifica- 
tion, stretching  darkly  before  the  traveller,  and  presenting 
the  same  aspect  from  seaward — inaccessible,  inhabited 
only  by  sea-birds,  such  as  guillemots,  loons,  ducks,  gulls, 
&c. 

It  was  not  till  1721  that  any  attempt  was  made  to 
ascertain  the  religious  condition  of  the  Eskimos,  or  to 
Christianize  them. 

The  "wild "  Eskimos  of  the  Arctic  regions  believe  in  tho 
existence  of  two  great  and  a  number  of  inferior  spirits. 
The  chief  of  these,  "  Tongarsuk,"  the  great  spirit,  is 
supposed  to  give  power  to  the  "  angerkok,"  or  priest, 
who  is  the  medium  of  communication  between  him  and 
the  people,  by  whom  he  is  only  known  by  name,  which  is 
never  mentioned  without  becoming  reverence. 

This  great  spirit  is  supposed  to  assume  different  forms, 
— at  one  time  that  of  a  man,  at  another  that  of  a  beajr, 


162  GRKENL,AJN1>. 

while  often  he  is  spoken  of  as  purely  spirit.  The  other 
great  spirit,  supposed  to  be  the  principle  of  evil,  is  repre- 
sented as  a  female,  but  has  no  name. 

The  angerkoks  profess,  by  means  of  their  familiar 
spirit,  to  charm  away  bad  luck  from  the  hunter,  to 
change  the  weather,  or  to  heal  the  sick.  The  lesser 
spirits  are  believed  to  control  the  different  elements,  and 
from  their  ranks  Tongarsuk  selects  the  familiars  for  the 
priests.  One  of  these  lesser  spirits,  who  rules  the  air, 
is  supposed  to  be  so  vicious,  that  the  Eskimos  are  loath 
to  stir  out  after  dark  for  fear  of  offending  him. 

They  suppose  the  sun  and  moon  to  be  brother  and 
sister,  who  having  quarrelled,  the  sun  bit  off  one  of  his 
sister's  breasts  ;  and  the  maimed  appearance  presented  by 
the  moon  is  caused  by  her  turning  her  wounded  side  to  the 
earth.  The  aurora  borealis  is  supposed  to  be  the  game 
of  "  hockey,"  played  by  the  departed  spirits  of  their 
friends  and  relatives. 

Now,  however,  owing  to  the  unwearied  labours  of 
missionaries  in  Danish  Greenland,  I  believe,  there  is  not 
one  heathen  remaining.  A  few  customs,  which  are  fol- 
lowed more  from  habit  than  belief,  however,  remain, 
though  these  are  not  more  absurd  than  many  which 
obtain  in  any  country  district  in  Great  Britian  or  Ireland. 

In  Smith  Sound,  and  on  the  western  shores  of  Baffin's 
Bay  or  Davis'  Strait,  the  Eskimos  are  yet  in  the  darkness 
of  heathenism,  and  there  are  many  "angerkoks"'  who 
believe  all  the  superstitions  I  have  mentioned. 

From   incidental    reference    to    the    social    life   of  the 


H 

a 


o 
ps 
« 

— 
00 


05 
03 


GODHAVEN. 


165 


Greenlanders,  some  idea  will  have  been  already  gained  of 
its  nature.  Filthy  in  his  person  and  habits,  and  regard- 
less of  the  amenities  of  civilised  life,  yet  the  Eskimo  is 
not  a  savage,  being  possessed  of  a  certain  negative  ami- 
ability of  nature  which  would  prevent  his  being  placed  in 
that  category.  On  the  whole,  he  behaves  well  in  his 


HUNTING    THE    SEAL. 


social  relations,  is  a  moderately  affectionate  son,  hus- 
band, and  father. 

The  occupation  of  the  Eskimos,  though  substantially  the 
same  throughout  Greenland,  differs  somewhat  according 
to  the  latitude. 

In  South  Greenland,  it  is  seal-hunting  and  cod-fishing; 


166  GREENLAND. 

Seated  in  his  kajak,  with  his  spear  al?  ogside,  his  coil  of 
line  in  front,  his  seal-skin  buoy  behind,  two  bird-spears  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  canoe,  and  his  rifle  inside,  the  hunter 
takes  his  departure,  putting  on  a  white  calico  jumper  over 
his  sealskin,  if  he  be  likely  to  meet  with  ice. 

• 

Paddle  in  hand,  and  gliding  through  the  water  at  six 
miles  per  hour,  he  soon  sees  a  seal's  head  above  the 
surface.  Cautiously  getting  his  spear  ready,  as  he  rests 
on  his  paddle,  and  clearing  his  line,  he  quietly  follows  in 
the  track  of  the  animal,  whose  keenness  of  hearing  obliges 
him  to  be  as  noiseless  as  possible.  Arrived  within  proper 
distance,  he  launches  the  spear,  which,  striking  the  seal, 
leaves  the  harpoon-head  sticking,  and  away  go  line,  buoy, 
and  prey.  The  buoy  prevents  the  seal  from  sinking  too 
low,  or  swimming  to  any  distance.  If  the  wound  be  not 

• 

fatal,  the  animal  quickly  rises  to  the  surface  to  breathe, 
ind,  the  spot  being  indicated  by  the  buoy,  the  ready 
hunter,  adroitly  darting  another  spear,  ultimately  suc- 
ceeds in  his  object.  It  is  then  hauled  on  the  top  of  the 
kajak,  or  fastened  alongside. 

The  hunter  then  generally  returns  to  his  home,  con- 
tent with  killing  one ;  but  should  he  meet  with  any  piece 
of  floating  ice,  knowing  the  propensity  of  the  seal  to  bask 
and  rest  on  these,  he  paddles  up  to  them.  The  white 
jumper  now  stands  him  in  good  stead.  The  animal, 
aroused  by  the  plashing  of  the  paddle,  rises  on  its  hind 
flippers,  gazes  with  its  large,  lustrous  eyes  at  the  kajak; 
seeing  the  white  surface,  mistakes  it  for  a  piece  of  ice^ 
And  resumes  its  former  position.  The  hunter,  now 


GODHAVEX. 


167 


balances  himself  as  well  as  possible,  and,  taking  a  good 
aim,  fires,  often  killing  the  seal,  but  occasionally  missing 
his  aim. 


THE    WALRUS. 


In  Middle  Greenland,  the  Eskimos  add  the  pursuit  of 
the  deer,  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  to  the  two  descrip- 
tions of  hv.nting  mentioned  above.  The  hunters  resort  to 


168  GREENLAND. 

the  passes  and  valleys  frequented  by  the  deer ;  then, 
lying  in  wait  for  the  herd,  they  single  out  their  game,  and 
either  get  it  at  once,  or,  wounding  it,  stalk  as  is  done  in 
Scotland.  The  numbers  which  are  daily  destroyed  in 
this  manner,  during  the  season,  are  so  great,  that  the 
natives  often  do  not  encumber  themselves  with  anything 
but  the  skin  and  the  tongue,  the  latter  being  considered  a 
delicacy ;  they  leave  the  bodies  to  go  to  waste.  At 
times,  however,  the  deer  are  very  scarce. 

In  North  Greenland,  besides  seal-hunting  and  deer- 
stalking, the  Eskimos  are  occasionally  engaged  in  the 
chase  of  the  walrus  and  the  narwhal  (or  sea-unicorn) ; 
but  as  the  danger  is  great,  the  natives  are  loath  to  attack 
either  single-handed.  !»  ac<*  ~f  **»<»  settlements  I  met  a 
man  whose  brotner  .e*-r>s  „»>.-. >-x,oi*aa  a  walrus,  was  at 
once  turned  upon  by  the  infuriated  beast,  who,  in  the 
sight  of  my  informant,  struck  him  in  the  back  with  his 
tusks,  and  killed  him  at  one  blow.  This  same  man  had 
another  brother  drowned  in  his  kajak,  after  having  har- 
pooned a  walrus.  The  line  not  being  clear,  the  animal, 
in  sinking,  dragged  the  canoe  under  water. 

Sometimes  a  gale  off  the  land  springs  up  whilst  the 
hunter  is  out  at  sea.  His  only  chance  then  is  to  make  for 
the  nearest  ice,  and  hauling  his  canoe  upon  it,  to  drift 
with  it  till  the  gale  be  over.  This  ice  has  at  times, 
though  rarely,  drifted  more  than  half  way  across  Da  via' 
B  trait*. 


OEKXEY. 


0  E  K  N  E  Y. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SCENERY    OF    THE    GROUP. 

islands  of  Orkney  and  Shetland  are  so  little 
known  that  many  persons,  in  other  respects  well 
informed,  seem  to  look  upon  them  as  a  collection  of 
rocks  either  uninhabitable  or  inhabited  by  a  race  of  men 
almost  as  untamed  as  the  seals  which  play  upon  their 
shores,  and  with  intellects  little  more  developed ;  a  race 
with  whom  the  civilised  world  has  no  communion,  living 
on  fish,  dressing  in  sealskin,  gloriously  ignorant  of  civili- 
zation, destitute  of  education.  But  these  northern 
islands  and  their  inhabitants  are  in  reality  very  interest- 
ing, and  it  is  in  the  hope  of  making  them  better  known 
and  appreciated  that  I  now  attempt  to  give  some  account 
of  the  nearer  group — the  Orkneys. 

Separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  Pentland  Frith? 


172  OBKNEY. 

from  ten  to  twelve  miles  in  width,  and  "  confronting " 
(as  Mr.  Balfour,  their  latest  historian,  remarks),  within  a 
few  hours'  sail,  the  mouths  of  the  Baltic  and  the  Elbe ; 
indented  with  fine  harbours,  easily  made  as  impregnable 
as  any  in  Northern  Europe,  and  never  boomed  like  them 
by  half  a  year  of  ice  ;  with  a  soil  of  more  than  ordinary 
fertility  ;  and  a  sea-loving  people,  hardy,  intelligent,  and 
enterprising — Orkney  was  well  adapted  to  become  the 
vanguard  of  northern  civilization  and  commerce." 

The  Orkney  Islands  are  upwards  of  sixty  in  number, 
containing  from  400,000  to  500,000  acres,  and  a  popu- 
lation of  32,416,  according  to  the  census  of  1861. 
Twenty-five  are  inhabited,  and  to  these  only  'the  name  of 
island  is  generally  giVin.  Tx&st  sot  inhabited,  and  used 
only  for  pasture,  arc  <••%!]*£  ksfas. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  group  is  flat,  and  to 
some  extent  tame.  The  only  very  high  hill  is  Hoy  Head, 
which  is  upwards  of  1,300  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea. 

No  trees  meet  the  eye.  You  must  look  for  them 
in  some  sheltered  spot  under  the  protecting  care  of  a 
large  building.  In  some  of  the  islands  attempts  are  being 
made  to  foster  them,  but  with  little  prospect  of  success ; 
in  others  again  there  is  not  as  much  wood  growing  as 
•would  make  a  walking-stick. 

Orkney  must  have  undergone  a  most  remarkable 
change  in  respect  to  climate,  for  in  the  mosses  trunks  ol 
very  large  trees  are  found;  and  I  have  seen  many  deer's 
horns  that  have  been  dug  up,  proving  that  in  some  pre- 


SCENERY    OF    THE    GROUP.  178 

historic  a^e  this  now  treeless,  deerless  country  had  not 
only  deer  but  forests  to  she  *er  them. 

The  mosses  containing  these  remains — trees,  deer's 
horns,  and  hazel  nuts — extend  under  the  present  sea 
level ;  and  at  very  low  tides  they  are  sometimes  exposed, 
as  in  Otterwick  Bay,  Sanday,  and  JDeerness. 

Pomona,  or  Mainland,  is  by  far  the  largest  of  the  Orkney 
group ;  its  length  from  east  to  west  is  upwards  of  thirty 
miles,  and  its  breadth  in  some  places  from  six  to  eight 
miles.  The  two  largest  towns  of  Orkney  are  in  Pomona 
— Stromness,  in  the  south-west,  with  a  population  of 
about  3,000,  and  a  very  fine  harbour ;  and  Kirkwall,  the 
capital  of  Orkney,  which  lies  on  the  north  side,  and  con- 
tains above  4,000  inhabitants,  many  good  shops,  three 
banks,  two  newspapers,  churches  and  schools  in  propor- 
tion to  the  population. 

The  principal  street  is  about  a  mile  in  length,  and  is 
made  up  of  houses  that  would  not  seem  out  of  place  in 
any  county  town.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  metropolis 
of  Orkney  should  now  contain  all  the  necessaries,  and 
most  of  the  luxuries,  which  modern  refinement  demands ; 
but  it  is  strange  to  find  that  seven  hundred  years  ago,  on 
this  extreme  verge  of  civilisation,  and  so  near  the  polar 
regions,  there  arose  a  cathedral,  more  perfect,  very 
little  smaller,  and  in  some  respects  finer,  than  that  of 
Glasgow. 

Near  the  cathedral  are  the  ruins  of  the  bishop's  palace. 
Within  an  easy  walk  from  Kirkwall  is  Wideford  Hill 
from  the  top  of  which  nearly  all  the  islands  may  be  seen ; 


174  ORKNEY. 

and  no  one  who  goes  there  on  a  clear  day  will  hesitate  to 
admit  that  the  r  eene  before  him,  looking  seaward,  is  one 
of  exquisite  beauty. 

In  calm  weather,  the  sea,  land-locked  by  the  islands, 
resembles  a  vast  lake,  clear  and  brigiit  as  a  mirror,  and 
without  a  ripple  save  from  the  gentle  impulse  of  the  tide. 
Here,  a  bluff  headland  stands  out  in  bold  relief  against 
the  horizon  ;  there,  the  more  distant  islet  is  lost  in  sea  and 
sky ;  on  one  side  a  shelving  rock  sends  out  a  black 
tongue-like  point,  sharp  as  a  needle,  losing  itself  in  the 
water,  where  it  forms  one  of  those  reefs  so  common 
among  the^  islands,  and  so  fatal  to  strangers,  but  which 
every  Orkney  boatman  knows  as  we  do  the  streets  of  our 
native  town ;  while  on  the  other  side  a  green  holm, 
covered  with  cattle  and  ponies,  slopes  gently  to  the 
water's  edge. 

Then  there  is  the  dovetailing  and  intercrossing  of  one 
point  with  another,  the  purple  tints  of  the  islands,  the 
deep  blue  of  the  sea,  the  indentations  of  the  coast,  the 
boats  plying  their  oars  or  lingering  lazily  on  the  waters, 
the  white  sails  of  the  pleasure  yachts  contrasting  with  the 
dark  brown  canvas  of  the  fishing  craft,  and  here  and  there 
a  large  merchant  vessel  entering  or  leaving  the  harbour ; 
— all  these  combine  to  make  a  most  lovely  picture,  in 
which  the  additional  ornament  of  trees  is  not  missed. 

And  again,  in  a  storm,  the  boiling  tides,  the  green  and 
white  billows,  the  pillars  of  foam  which  spout  aloft  when 
dashed  against  the  rocks,  make  a  scene  with  which  the 
absence  of  trees  is  in  perfect  harmony.  You  feel  thai 


SCENERY  OF  THE  GROUP.  175 

trees  here  would  be  out  of  their  element.  In  calm 
weather  they  are  not  needed,  in  a  storm  they  would  seem 
out  of  place. 

Any  one  who  has  seen  an  Orkney  sunset  in  June  or 
July,  tracing  its  diamond  path  across  island,  reef,  and 
tideway,  must  confess  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
suggest  an  addition  to  its  beauty. 


THE   STEXNIS    STONES. 


From  Wideford  Hill  you  can  cast  your  eye  upon 
structures  that  are  memorials  of  every  form  of  religion 
that  has  ever  existed  in  Scotland.  Stennis  and  its 
standing  stones  are  in  sight,  eight  or  ten  miles  off. 
Nearer  to  you  are  some  of  those  inscrutable  mounds 
called  Picts'  houses.  On  the  Isle  of  Eagleshay,  which 


176  OBKNEI . 

may  be  seen  from  the  same  spot,  stand  the  wails  and 
tower  of  probably  the  earliest  Christian  church  in 
Britain. 

The  Standing  Stones  of  Stennis  are  still  about  thirty  in 
number,  forming  portions  of  two  circles,  the  larger  of 
which  measures  above  a  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  and 
the  smaller  about  thirty-four.  These  circles  are  not  now 
complete,  as  many  of  the  stones  have  fallen  and  many 
have  disappeared,  but  sufficient  traces  remain  to  show 
what  they  were.  The  stones  vary  in  form  and  size,  and 
are  all  totally  unhewn.  The  largest  is  about  fourteen 
feet  high,  but  the  average  height  is  from  eight  to  ten. 
They  are  grand,  solemn-looking  old  veterans,  painfully 
silent  regarding  their  past  life,  as  if  ashamed  to  speak  of 
those  bloody  rites  in  which  they  may  have  had  a  share. 

They  were  formerly  called  Druidical  Circles,  perhaps 
for  no  better  reason  than  that  their  history  is  utterly 
unknown. 

Of  the  mounds  called  Picts'  houses,  of  which  there  are 
hundreds  in  Orkney,  we  know  as  little  as  we  do  of  the 
stones,  save  that  they  are  of  two  kinds,  very  similar  in 
construction,  and  that  the  smaller  seem  to  have  been  the 
dwellings  of  ihe  early  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  the 
others  the  sepulchres  of  their  dead.  These  structures  are 
cot  strictly  subterranean,  although  they  are  covered  with 
earth.  They  were  either  erected  on  level  ground,  or 
excavated  in  the  side  of  a  hill.  They  are  built  of  large 
stones  converging  towards  the  centre,  where  an  aperture 
seems  to  have  been  left  for  air  and  light.  Bones  ana 


SCENERY    OF    THE    GROUP. 


177 


teeth  of  the  horse,  cow,  sheep,  and  boar  were  found  in 
the  Picts'  houses  on  Wideford  Hill  opened  in  1849. 

The  climate  of  Orkney  is  moist  and   mild  ;  there   are 
neither  such  warm  summers  nor  such  cold  winters  as  in 


A    PICTS      HOUSE. 

the  south  and  west  of  Scotland.  A  gentleman  who  has 
lived  in  Orkney  the  greater  part  of  his  life  told  me  that 
he  had  seldom  seen  ice  strong  enough  to  bear  a  man's 
•weight.  The  Gulf  Stream  is,  no  doubt,  the  cause  of  this. 

N 


178  OBKNEY. 

The  length  of  daylight  makes  these  islands  a  desirable 
summer  residence.  I  have  myself  read  a  newspaper 
without  difficulty  at  midnight  in  the  month  of  June ;  and 
I  have  been  told  by  a  friend  who  lives  in  Orkney,  that  on 
the  shortest  day  he  has  read  the  Times  at  four  o'clock 
P.M.  by  daylight,  or  rather  by  the  beautiful  twilight  of 
that  region,  for  in  winter  the  sun  is  only  about  four  hours 
above  the  horizon. 

The  soil  is  in  many  parts  mossy,  but  there  is  almost 
everywhere  a  stiff  clay  underneath,  and  this,  when 
ploughed  up,  and  mixed  with  the  moss,  makes  a  very  good 
loam.  In  many  places,  the  ground  merely  requires  to  be 
"tickled  with  the  plough,  that  it  may  smile  with  the 
harvest,"  as  somebody  has  said. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  district  in  Scotland  where  BO 
much  is  being  done  in  the  way  of  improving  the  land. 
In  1814,  very  considerable  progress  had  been  made  on 
some  of  the  larger  estates  in  Orkney,  more  especially  in 
the  North  Isles,  where  turnips  were  pretty  extensively 
grown,  and  at  least  one  flock  of  fine  Cheviot  merino  sheep 
was  profitably  kept ;  but  it  was  not  until  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago  that  the  agricultural  movement  began  in 

earnest. 

Previous  to  that  time,  the  sea  had  been  the  sole  support 
of  the  working  man.  He  rented  land,  and  paid  his  rent 
out  of  fish  and  seaweed.  The  women  were  generally 
the  farmers,  while  the  men  fished. 

It  is  not  many  years  since  Orkney  made  out  of  her 
seaweed  alone  an  annual  income  of  15,OOOZ.,  20,OOOZ., 


SCENES*  OF  THE  GBOUP.  179 

and  even  25,0001.  There  is  a  kind  of  seaweed,  the 
fucus  palinatuSy  commonly  called  tangle,  thrown  up  in 
great  abundance  on  the  shores  of  the  Orkneys,  and  also 
of  the  Western  Isles.  From  this  a  substance  called  kelp 
is  made,  valuable  from  the  large  amouut  of  iodine  it 
contains,  and  once  extensively  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  soap  and  glass. 

The  process  of  kelp-making  is  as  follows :— The  sea- 
weed is  collected  and  dried,  and  put  into  a  hole  in  the 
ground  about  three  feet  wide.  A  live  coal  is  then  put  in, 
and  the  heap  is  allowed  to  smoulder.  During  the 
•mouldering  it  is  stirred  with  an  iron-hook,  until  in 
course  of  time  it  gets  into  a  ^state  somewhat  like  molten 
lead.  When  it  cools  and  dries,  it  is  kelp.  Besides  iodine, 
it  contains  glauber  salts,  common  salt,  and  carbonate  of 
•oda. 

The  thriftlessness  of  the  farming  of  past  days  is  well 
illustrated  by  an  anecdote  I  had  from  Mr.  Balfour,  the 
proprietor.  His  father,  observing  that  one  of  his  tenants 
was  always  in  difficulties,  though  he  did  not  pay  a 
farthing  of  rent,  said  to  him  one  day,  that  he  was  sur- 
prised at  his  being  so  much  in  want,  seeing  that  he  had 
a  good  croft,  and  paid  nothing  for  it. 

"  Oh,  Captain  Balfour,"  he  replied,  "  I  das  pay  a 
rent." 

"  Why,  what  rent  do  you  pay  ?  M 

"  Weel — I  sud  pay  a  hen." 

Shapinshay  is  now  in  a  very  satisfactory  state  of 
cultivation,  about  5,000  acres  being  under  the  plough, 


180  ORKNEY. 

although  the  rental  is  as  yet  only  about  1,1  OOZ.  A  doze  A 
years  ago  it  imported  meal  for  the  support  of  its  inha- 
bitants ;  it  now  exports  largely  grain,  potatoes,  cattle, 
sheep,  pigs,  eggs,  &c. 

The  habits  and  mode  of  life  of  the  islanders  were  very 
primitive  even  fifty  years  ago.  The  chimney  of  the 
cottage  was  simply  a  hole  in  the  roof,  and  the  fire  was  m 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  so  that  the  smoke  had  to  find  its 
way  out  as  best  it  might.  Such  fire-places  have,  I  think, 
almost  disappeared  from  Orkney,  at  least  I  do  not  re- 
member seeing  one. 

In  old  times  the  islanders  had  many  strange  beliefs  and 
antipathies,  which  some  of  the  older  people  still  cherish. 
For  instance,  they  have  a  prejudice  against  turbot,  and 
will  not  eat  it — nor  even  name  it  at  sea — although  they 
constantly  eat  halibut,  a  much  less  delicate  fish  of  the 
same  species. 

A  strange  belief  was  held  generally  at  one  time  that 
drowned  persons  are  changed  into  seals.  The  island  of 
Borey  in  the  Bay  of  Milburn,  is  sometimes  called  the 
Seal  Island,  and  a  romantic  legend  is  told  in  connection 
with  it,  which  has  already  found  its  way  into  print,  but 
not  so  fully  as  it  was  related  to  me. 

It  was  a  fine  summer  evening,  and  Harold  of  the  isle  of 
Gairsay  had  been  fishing  till  late,  when,  as  the  sun  went 
down,  he  heard  the  most  enchanting  music.  He  followed 
the  sound  till  he  reached  the  island  of  Borey,  where  he 
saw  a  company  of  gaily-dressed  people  dancing  to  it, 
but  no  musicians  were  visible.  He  went  close  inshore, 


SCENES Y    OF    THE    GROUP.  181 

and  saw  a  number  of  black  objects  like  beasts.  They 
lay  so  still  that  he  landed  and  took  np  one,  and  found  ii 
to  be  a  seal-skin.  He  watched  the  dancers  for  some 
time,  and  when  the  sun  began  to  rise  the  music  suddenly 
ceased,  and  they  all  hurried  down  to  the  shore.  Harold 
dropped  the  seal-skin  into  his  boat,  pushed  off,  and  pulled 
away  to  a  short  distance,  to  see  what  would  happen  next. 
Each  person  seized  a  seal-skin,  put  it  on,  and  plunged 
into  the  sea. 

One  woman  alone  was  left,  and  she  went  along  the 
shore  seeking  the  seal-skin  which  Harold  had  taken.  He 
put  back  to  the  island,  spoke  to  her,  and  then  recognised 
her  as  his  own  mother,  who  had  been  drowned  many 
years  before.  She  told  him  that  all  drowned  persons 
became  seals,  and  once  a  month  they  were  allowed  to 
resume  their  human  form  and  come  on  shore  at  sunset, 
and  dance  till  sunrise.  She  begged  hard  for  her  seal- 
skin, which  at  first  he  refused  to  give  up ;  but  on  her 
promising  that  he  should  have  the  prettiest  maiden  in  all 
Seal-land  for  his  wife,  he  gave  it  back.  She  desired  him 
to  return  to  Borey  that  day  month :  she  would  then 
show  him  the  seal-skin  of  the  girl  who  should  be  his 
bride,  and  he  was  to  keep  the  skin  carefully  hidden  from 
the  owner,  whom  he  would  thus  have  in  his  own  power. 

On  the  night  appointed  Harold  went  again  to  Borey ; 
again  he  heard  the  beautiful  music,  and  saw  the  mys- 
terious dancers.  His  mother  went  to  the  shore  and  laid 
her  hand  on  a  seal-skin,  which  Harold  put  into  his  boat, 
then  rowed  home  and  concealed  it.  Before  sunrise  he 


182  ORKNEY. 

returned  to  Borey.  The  music  ceased  as  before,  tha 
dancers  resumed  their  seal-skins,  and  disappeared  in  the 
sea — all  but  one  beautiful  girl,  who  went  about  wringing 
her  hands  and  weeping  for  the  loss  of  hers. 

After  a  little  time  Harold  approached  and  spoke  to  her. 
She  told  him  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  pagan  king. 
He  endeavoured  to  comfort  her,  and  succeeded  so  well, 
that  she  consented  to  go  home  with  him  and  become  his 
wife.  He  loved  her  fondly,  and  she  bore  him  several 
children ;  but  at  length  she  fell  sick — some  secret  grief 
was  consuming  her.  Often  she  asked  for  her  seal-skin, 
but  Harold  never  suffered  her  to  see  it ;  and  at  last  she 
confessed  that  she  was  anxious  about  her  soul.  A  priest 
was  sent  for,  and  she  was  baptized ;  yet  still  she  was  not 
satisfied,  and  pined  away. 

"  Harold,"  she  said  one  day,  "  we  have  lived  long  and 
happily  together.  If  we  part,  we  part  for  ever.  If  I  die, 
you  cannot  be  sure  that  my  soul  is  saved,  for  I  have  long 
lived  a  pagan.  To-night  is  the  dancing  night ;  roll  me  in 
my  seal-skin  and  leave  me  on  the  beach ;  they  cannot 
take  me  away  if  I  am  a  Christian.  But  you  must  go  out 
of  sight,  and  return  for  me  in  the  morning ;  then  you  will 
know  my  fate." 

Harold  yielded  to  her  wish.  He  laid  her  on  the  shore, 
and  went  himself  to  the  other  side  of  Gairsay  to  wait  till 
sunrise.  All  night  he  sat  with  his  face  buried  in  his 
hands.  Once  he  heard  a  sudden  wail ;  they  had  found 
his  wife  on  the  shore,  but  he  dared  not  move.  That 
short  midsummer  night  seemed  endless  to  him;  at  laat 


BJENEBY    OP    THE    GROUP.  188 

the  enn  appeared,  and  ho  hastened  to  the  place  where  he 
had  left  her.  She  was  still  there.  They  had  not  taken 
her  away,  for  she  was  a  Christian.  She  was  dead,  but 
with  a  smile  on  her  face  that  spoke  of  a  soul  at  peace. 
That  smile  comforted  Harold,  and  assured  him  that  their 
parting  would  not  be  for  ever. 


0  E  K  N  E  Y 


CHAPTER  II. 

OCCUPATION    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

islanders  are  brave  and  hardy.     During  the  season 
of  egg-gathering    they    may  be    seen   at    one    time 
climbing  a  precipice  to  rob  the  nests,  at  another  swing- 
ing from  the  face  of  a  rock  with  nothing  between  them 
and  almost  certain  death  but  a  rope  round  their  waists. 

They  thus  naturally  acquire  the  habit  of  talking  of 
danger  and  even  of  death  in  a  way  that  seems  to  indicate 
indifference  to  both.  Probably  few,  however,  reach  the 
degree  of  coolness  exhibited  by  an  old  man  who  went  out 
one  day  with  his  son  to  gather  eggs.  The  son  descended 
the  face  of  a  high  rock  with  one  end  of  a  rope  round  his 
waist,  the  other  being  fastened  to  a  stake  above,  while 
the  old  man  remained  In  his  boat  at  the  base,  in  case  of 
accident.  The  precaution  was  not  unnecessary,  for  the 


OCCUPATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  185 

rope  gave  way,  and  the  lad  fell  into  the  sea.  There  was 
a  considerable  ground  swell,  and  the  poor  boy  had  sunk 
once  or  twice  before  his  father  could  rescue  him,  but  at 
last  he  was  taken  into  the  boat  almost  lifeless.  This 
elicited  from  the  father  the  simple  remark,  "Eh I  I'm 
thinking  thou's  wat,  Tarn." 

x 

The  saying  that  those  born  to  be  hanged  will  never  be 
drowned,  is  probably  no  truer  of  hanging  than  of  other 
deaths.  Tarn  was  reserved  for  a  different  but  scarcely 
less  enviable  fate.  An  acquaintance  of  the  old  man's, 
years  afterwards,  reminded  him  of  Tarn's  escape,  and 
asked  him  what  had  become  of  him,  to  which  the  father 
replied  in  the  same  indifferent  tone  :  "  Tarn  ?  our  Tarn  ? 
Oh  1  Tarn  gaed  awa'  to  a  far  country,  and  the  haithens 
ate  him." 

This  anecdote  I  know  to  be  perfectly  true,  and  I  have 
as  reliable  authority  for  another  of  the  same  kind. 

A  man  was  one  day  gathering  eggs  on  the  face  of  a 
precipitous  rock,  and  while  creeping  cautiously  yet  fear- 
lessly along  a  ledge  little  broader  than  the  sole  of  his 
foot,  he  came  to  an  angle  round  which  he  must  pass. 
The  wall-like  steepness  of  the  rock  and  the  narrowness 
of  the  ledge  made  this  under  any  circumstances  difficult 
and  dangerous.  The  difficulty,  however,  grew  into  aa 
apparent  impossibility,  when  he  found  on  reaching  the 
corner  that  he  had  the  wrong  foot  first.  To  turn  back 
was  impossible,  to  get  round  while  his  feet  were  in  that 
position  was  equally  so. 

The  danger  was  observed  by  the  friend  who  related  the 


186  ORKNEY. 

occurrence  to  me,  and  who  looked  on  with  terror  at  the 
probable  consequences,  for  a  false  step  or  a  stumble 
involved  certain  death.  The  man  paused  for  a  moment, 
took  off  his  broad  bonnet,  in  which  he  carried,  as  was 
customary,  his  snuff-horn,  and  after  shaking  up  the  snufl 
in  the  most  unconcerned  way,  he  took  three  hearty 
pinches,  and  then  returned  the  horn  to  his  bonnet,  and 
the  bonnet  to  his  head.  Then  straightening  himself  up, 
he  made  an  agile  spring,  and  got  the  right  foot  first. 

It  was  an  awful  moment  for  the  looker-on,  and  an 
awful  risk  for  the  performer.  Happily  it  was  successful ; 
he  got  round  the  point,  and  finally  reached  the  top  of  the 
rock  in  safety. 

My  friend,  who  had  waited  for  his  ascent,  said  to  him  : 
"  Man,  Johnnie,  were  ye  no  feared  ?  " 

"  Eh  man,  if  I  had  been  feared,  I  wudna  be  here." 

"  I  dare  say  that,"  replied  my  friend ;  "  but  what  made 
you  think  of  taking  a  snuff  when  you  were  in  such 
danger  ? ' 

"  Weel,"  he  answered,  with  admirable  simplicity  and 
truth,  "I  thocht  I  was  needin't." 

It  is  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a  short  paper,  to 
give  a  detailed  description  of  the  various  islands.  Nor  is 
tkis  necessary. 

I  cannot,  however,  omit  giving  some  account  of  North 
Ronaldshay,  the  most  curious,  most  primitive,  and  most 
remote  of  the  whole  group.  It  is  also  the  most  difficult 
of  access.  Perhaps  I  was  unusually  unlucky,  but  I 
made  five  several  attempts  to  reach  it  without  success. 


EGG-GATHEhlXG. 


OCCUPATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  189 

In  my  sixth  attempt,  however,  three  years  ago,  I  was 
more  fortunate,  though  even  then  it  was  with  some 
difficulty.  The  frith  between  North  Ronaldshay  and 
Sanday  is  a  very  dangerous  one,  and  the  wind  and  tide 
must  be  carefully  consulted.  If  you  start  too  late  to 
reach  it  before  the  turn  of  the  tide,  you  are  almost 
inevitably  carried  back  to  your  starting  point,  unless  the 
wind  be  all  the  more  favourable. 

A.  friend  of  mine,  with  his  wife  and  some  ladies,  had 
once  got  within  gun-shot  of  the  shore  as  the  tide  turned, 
when,  caught  in  the  fringe  of  it,  they  were  carried  off  as 
in  a  mill-stream,  and  in  a  very  short  time  were  miles  off. 

It  is  very  flat,  the  highest  elevation  being  only  47  feet. 
What  strikes  one  at  first  sight  as  most  peculiar,  is  a  dry 
•tone  wall,  between  five  and  six  feet  high,  with  small 
holes  left  at  regular  intervals.  It  stretches  along  the 
beach  as  far  as  you  can  see,  and  is  but  a  little  above  high- 
water  mark.  You  are  still  more  surprised  to  learn  that 
it  goes  right  round  the  island. 

The  purpose  of  this  wall  is  very  pnzzling  to  a  stranger. 
The  island  is  a  small  one,  only  4,000  acres.  Can  it  be 
meant  to  keep  the  young  islanders  from  tumbling  into  the 
sea  ?  or,  if  they  are  supposed  to  have  more  sense,  is  it  to 
keep  the  sheep  from  the  shore,  lest  they  should  be  swept 
off  by  the  waves  which  often  play  wildly  there  ?  No, 
but  exactly  the  reverse. 

The  wall  was  built  for  the  double  purpose  of  depriving 
the  winds  as  they  pass  through  it  of  the  saline  vapour 
which  used  to  blight  the  crops,  and  of  keeping  the  sheep 


190  OBItNEY. 

ont.  The  grass  is  very  valuable,  being  required  for  the 
cattle,  so  the  sheep  must  have  other  fare.  What  other 
fare,  we  naturally  ask,  can  a  sheep  have  than  grass  ? 
Seaweed — nothing  but  seaweed. 

The  sheep  here  are  unlike  any  animals  of  the  species 
I  ever  saw.  They  are  called  wild  sheep,  are  lean  and 
scraggy,  and  are  like  goats.  Their  mutton  is  dark 
eoloured.  The  natives  like  it  very  much,  and  some 
people  say  it  has  the  flavour  of  venison.  The  taste  is 
certainly  peculiar,  and  suggests  the  idea  of  seaweed. 

Almost  every  rood  of  the  island  is  under  cultivation. 
There  are  therefore  no  peats,  and  there  is  no  wood, 
except  when  an  unfortunate  ship  is  "wrecked.  Coals  and 
peats  are  very  expensive.  To  obtain  a  supply  of  fuel,  the 
people  have  recourse  to  an  expedient  practised  by  the 
Arabs  in  the  desert,  and  also  by  the  inhabitants  of  Cornwall. 

Every  family  has  a  cow,  and  when  the  byre  is  cleaned 
out,  the  dung  heap,  instead  of  being  used  for  agricultural 
purposes,  is  mixed  with  straw,  and  then  cut  into  pieces, 
which  are  called  scones.  These  are  laid  in  the  sun  to 
dry,  and  are  not  used  until  "they  are  a  year  old,  when 
fche  sulphuretted  hydrogen  is  gone,  and  the  smell  in 
burning  is  not  so  offensive.  One  can  see  from  this  why 
the  cow  is  made  so  much  of,  and  has  the  grass  all  to  her- 
self, to  the  detriment  of  the  sheep.  It  is  not  every 
animal  that  can  supply  us  with  meat,  drink,  clothing,  and 
fire.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  the  atmosphere 
of  houses  heated  by  this  kind  of  fuel  is  not  particularly 
pleasant. 


OCCUPATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 


191 


Wnen  I  saw  some  smoked  fish  hanging  in  a  cottage,  I 
could  not  help  asking  if  they  had  been  smoked  with 
scones. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  " 

"  But  does  it  not  spoil  the  fish  '? ' 

"  Well,  peat  or  wood  is  better,  but  we  soon  get  used  to 
it." 


AX  ORXXEY  FARMHOUSE. 


I  could  not  help  thinking  that  this  eel-like  facility  in 
getting  "  used"  to  things  is  very  fortunate,  and  that  it  is 
the  same  kind  of  happy  knack  which  discovers  the  flavour 
of  venison  in  seaweedy  mutton.  The  same  fuel  is  used 
in  Sanday,  and  was  until  lately  in  Papa  Westray. 

There  is   no  inn   on  North   Ronaldshay,   and   as    the 


192  ORKNEY. 

minister  was  from  home,  I  was  thrown  on  the  hospita- 
lity of  a  farmer,  whose  genuine  kindness  I  shall  not  soon 
forget,  and  with  whom  I  spent  a  very  happy  day  and 
Bight.  He  is  a  very  ingenious,  clever  fellow,  who  can 
turn  his  hand  to  anything,  and  do  everything  well.  He 
unites  in  his  own  person  the  varied  offices  of  farmer, 
watchmaker,  smith,  carpenter,  kelp-maker,  and,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  doctor — in  all  of  which  capacities  he  is  purely 
self-taught.  He  has  never  been  further  south  than  Kirk- 
wall,  and  has  no  desire  to  leave  his  little  world,  to  which 
he  is  passionately  attached.  He  knows  all  about  it ;  but 
his  knowledge,  like  charity,  though  it  begins  at  home, 
does  not  end  there.  He  is  thoroughly  up  in  the  politics 
of  the  day,  has  a  keen  sense  of  humour,  is  full  of  anec- 
dote, and  well  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Scott,  Thac- 
keray, and  Dickens. 

There  is  a  post  once  a  week  to  this  island ;  to  West- 
ray,  Sanday,  and  Rousay  twice  a  week ;  and  to  some  of 
the  less  remote  islands  once  a  day.  This  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent state  of  things  from  what  existed  formerly.  At 
the  time  of  the  Revolution,  a  Scotch  fisherman  was  im- 
prisoned at  Kirkwall,  in  May,  1689,  for  saying  that 
King  William  III.  had  been  crowned  the  previous  No- 
vember; and  he  was  just  about  to  be  hanged  for  the 
treasonable  statement  when  a  vessel  arrived  to  con- 
firm it. 

I  have  only  to  add  one  word  on  the  people.  They  are, 
of  course,  first-rate  sailors.  In  appearance  there  is  not 
any  very  striking  indication  of  their  descent,  though  now 


OCCUPATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  193 

and  then  you  see  a  decidedly  Scandinavian  face.     Seott 
describes  them  as  known  by 

"  The  tall  form,  blue  eye,  proportion  fair, 
The  limbs  athletic,  and  the  long  light  hair  ;  ** 

and  this  type  you  not  unfrequently  find. 

I  was  much  struck  by  the  exceeding  gentleness  of  the 
working  classes.  A  brawny,  bearded  man,  who  has  not 
a  particle  of  cowardice  or  sneaking  in  his  composition, 
speaks  to  you  with  all  the  softness  of  a  woman.  Swear- 
ing is  a  vice  from  which,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  they  are 
singularly  free.  Their  language  is  Scotch,  with  some 
unusual  words,  and  a  slightly  peculiar  accent,  which  no 
doubt  are  the  remains  of  the  Norse.  In  talking  to  each 
other,  the  common  people  use  the  familiar  and  kindly 
"  thou "  instead  of  "  you,"  and  their  bearing  towards 
each  other  is  gentle  and  pleasing. 

I  was  one  day  crossing  a  frith  in  a  pretty  rough  sea. 
The  smack  was  being  steered  by  one  of  the  passengers, 
as  the  whole  crew  were  required  for  other  duties.  He 
had  a  difficult  task,  but  he  managed  it  well,  and  one  of 
the  men  said  in  banter:  "Robbie,  I'm  thinking  when 
thou  was  a  young  man  [Robbie  was  not  above  forty] 
thou  could  steer  a  boat  a  little." 

"  Weel,"  he  replied,  "  my  han'  has  been  oot  o't  for 
some  time ;  but  when  I  was  a  younger  man  and  in  the 
way  o't,  if  onybody  had  said  that  I  kent  naething  aboot 
it  I  uwd  hoe  leofdt  at  him." 

In  many  other  parts  of  Scotland  the  "  wud  has  lookit 
at  him  "  would  probably  have  taken  an  uglier  form. 

o 


194  ORKNEY. 

I  have  seen  some  pretty  female  faces  in  Orkney,  but 
the  men  are  generally  handsomer  than  the  women. 
They  are  a  people  of  whom  I  have  formed  a  very  high 
opinion,  both  morally  and  intellectually.  The  criminal 
and  pauper  rolls  of  Orkney  will,  I  believe,  bear  a  most 
favourable  comparison  with  those  of  any  part  of  the 
kingdom. 

The  country  presents  many  objects  of  interest  to  the 
antiquarian,  the  naturalist,  the  farmer,  and  the  merchant. 
Hospitable,  intelligent,  industrious,  and  self-reliant,  the 
Orcadians  are  sure  to  keep  well  abreast  of  their  neigh 
boon. 


8HETLAWD, 


197 


SHETLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

LERWICK. 

STARTING  from  Orkney,  we  may  find  some  things  to 
interest  us  during  our  eleven  or  twelve  hours'  sail. 
Having  got  clear  of  the  Orkneys,  it  is  not  very  long  till 
we  come  in  sight  of  Fair  Isle,  midway  between  the  two 
groups,  one  of  the  most  lonely  and  unapproachable  of 
human  habitations,  of  which  I  shall  speak  more  particu- 
larly by-and-by.  Meanwhile,  if  our  voyage  is  made  by 
day,  we  shall  see,  as  we  come  abreast  of  it,  that  our 
course  is  dotted  over  with  ten  or  a  dozen  little  boats, 
which  seem  in  a  fair  way  of  being  either  run  down  by  the 
steamer,  or  swamped  by  the  wash  of  her  paddles.  The 
boatmen  evidently  have  no  such  fear,  for  instead  of 
avoiding  the  apparent  danger,  they  pull  close  up,  and 
amid  the  roar  and  rush  of  the  steamer,  which  has  not 


108  SHETLAND. 

Blackened  speed,  they  are  heard  addressing  the  passenger! 
hurriedly,  but  eargerly  and  clearly,  with  "  Throw  a  paper, 
throw  a  paper." 

Such  an  appeal  is  of  course  irresistible  to  every  man 
with  a  Scotsman  in  his  pocket,  and  a  particle  of  kindliness 
in  his  composition,  and  the  poor  Fair  Isle  boatmen  get  the 
benefit  of  both.  Dozens  of  papers  may  be  thrown  over- 
board, but  every  one  is  picked  up.  The  plunge  made  by 
the  little  sharp-pointed  boats  into  the  rough  waters  in  the 
wake  of  the  steamer  seems  perilous,  and  resemble! 
nothing  so  much  as  the  bobbing  up  and  down  of  duck! 
in  a  very  stormy  pond ;  but  the  capabilities  of  the  boat! 
and  the  skill  of  the  rowers  are  well  known,  and  have 
been  tried  in  many  a  wild  sea. 

This  little  incident  causes  quite  a  commotion  on  board, 
and  those  of  the  passengers  to  whom  it  is  new  are  very 
much  interested  by  it,  and  receive,  I  have  no  doubt,  ft 
livelier  impression  of  the  loneliness  and  isolation  of  that 
almost  unvisited  island  than  anything  else  could  give 
them. 

Two  or  three  hours  more  and  we  are  in  Sumburgh 
roost,  and  are  lucky  if  we  escape  a  severe  tossing.  And 
now  with  Sumburgh  Head  in  front,  and  the  much  grander 
Fitful  Head  to  the  left,  we  begin  to  contrast  the  quiet 
and  comparatively  tame  beauty  of  Orkney  with  the 
rugged  grandeur  of  Shetland,  which  for  rook  scenery  is 
perhaps  unsurpassed  in  Northern  Britain. 

A  little  further  on  we  pass  the  Island  of  Mousa,  with  itf 
famous  Pictish  tower,  the  most  complete  specimen  of 


LEBWICK. 

* 

this  structure  in  existence.  It  is  moi-«>  cmiuus  than 
picturesque,  as  may  be  inferred  from  its  striking  likenesi 
to  a  giasswork  chimney  with  a  part  of  the  top  broken  oft, 
It  is  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  and  between  forty  and 
fifty  feet  high.  It  consists  of  two  concentric  walls, 
between  which  a  winding  stair  leads  up  to  a  number  of 
small  apartmemts.  The  inner  «rcular  space  enclosed  by 
the  walls  seems  to  have  been  an  open  court.  The  use 
and  origin  of  these  towers,  remains  of  which  are  numerous 
in  Shetland,  are  uncertain.  Each  is  said  to  be  in  sight  of 
the  other,  so  that  intelligence  of  the  approach  of  enemies 
might  be  conveyed  by  beacons  lighted  on  the  various 
summits.  The  peculiar  shape,  wide  at  bottom,  tapering 
towards  the  middle,  and  again  widening  towards  the  topt 
seems  to  indicate  that  scaling  was  one  mode  of  attack 
which  the  architect  meant  to  guard  against. 

In  another  half-hour  the  steamer's  gun  is  fired,  the 
anchor  is  dropped,  and  you  are  placed  face  to  face  with 
the  most  irregular-looking  town  that  was  ever  built.  A 
stranger  will  not  soon  forget  his  impression  on  seeing 
Lerwick  for  the  first  time,  especially  if  he  has  been 
taking  a  snooze  in  the  saloon,  and  is  wakened  by  the  gun, 
so  that  its  peculiarities  burst  full  upon  him  at  once.  He 
sees  nothing  but  gables,  and  these  so  huddled  together  in 
the  most  happy-go-lucky  style,  that  he  cannot  see  Low 
locomotion  through  the  place  is  possible,  unless  it  be  on 
the  tops  of  the  houses.  The  town  is  situated  on  a  very 
steep  slope,  and  the  houses  on  the  shore  are  built  right 
down  into  the  sea. 


200 


SHETLAND. 


And  now  what  a  scramble  there  is  at  the  side  of  the 
steamer !  Boats  by  the  dozen  are  clamouring  for  pas- 
sengers and  jostling  each  other  in  the  most  uncere- 
monious way  in  their  eagerness  to  get  close  to  the 
steps.  You  get  ashore  somehow,  though  you  are  sure  to 


GIRL   AND    BOY    OF   THE   BETTER    CLASS. 

find  on  landing  that  your  luggage  has  come  by  one  boat, 
and  yourself  by  another.  This  is  more  annoying  than  at 
first  sight  appears,  for  every  house  on  the  shore  has  a 
pier  to  itself,  and  to  join  company  with  your  luggage  may 
thus  require  a  long  search. 


LERWICK.  201 

On  taking  a  walk  through  the  town,  you  find  that  your 
first  impression  as  to  its  irregularity  was  pretty  correct. 
If  one  could  fancy  all  the  houses  in  a  town  of  upwards  of 
3,000  inhabitants  engaged  in  dancing  a  Scotch  reel,  and 
that  just  as  they  were  going  through  the  reel  the  music 
had  ceased  and  the  houses  had  suddenly  taken  root,  he 
would  form  a  pretty  accurate  impression  of  the  plan  of 
Lerwick.  The  houses,  examined  individually,  improve 
on  a  nearer  acquaintance. 

Besides  comfortable  lodgings  there  is  boundless  hos- 
pitality. Any  man  with  a  decent  coat  on  his  back,  and 
a  fair  appearance  of  respectability,  can  count  not  only  on 
hearty,  but,  if  necessary,  prolonged  entertainment  at  a 
Shetland  fireside. 

i 

Shetland  contains  about  a  hundred  islands ;  of  these 
nearly  thirty  are  inhabited,  and  the  population  is  upwards 
of  30,000.  The  climate  is  very  variable,  and  there  is  great 
liability  to  sudden  and  sometimes  violent  storms.  Of  this 
two  Crimean  officers  had  good  proof  a  year  or  two  ago. 
They  paid  a  visit  to  Shetland  for  the  purpose  of  shooting 
and  fishing,  and  called  on  a  friend  of  mine  with  letters  of 
introduction.  They  had  supplied  themselves  with  patent 
pots  and  pans  for  cooking,  and  a  portable  tent,  under 
cover  of  which  they  meant  to  rough  it  during  their  sojourn. 
My  friend,  who  knows  Shetland  well,  told  them  that  none 
but  the  sappers  and  miners  had  tried  the  experiment,  and 
that  they  had  great  difficulty  even  with  their  substantial 
honse-like  tent. 

"  Oh,"    said    one    of    them,   who   lisped   very  much, 


202  SHETLAND. 

•'  bleth  you,  we've  been  uthed  to  all  that  thort  of  thing  in 
the  Crimea.     We'll  get  on  nithely,  no  thoubt." 

They  went  accordingly  and  pitched  their  tent  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  some  fishing  ground,  and  get  on  pretty 
well  for  a  couple  of  nights.  During  the  third  night, 
however,  a  gust  came  suddenly  sweeping  down  the  gully 
where  they  were  encamped  and  asleep,  and  carried  ofi 
their  tent  bodily,  poles  and  all,  leaving  them  completely 
al  fresco  on  the  ground.  The  tent  was  never  more  seen. 

The  harvest  in  average  years  is  generally  so  late,  and 
the  weather  so  uncertain,  that  crops  which  promise  all 
that  could  be  wished  to-day,  are  to-morrow  blackened 
and  blasted  by  an  unexpected  change  to  rain,  sleet,  or 
enow. 

To  the  Shetlander  the  pony — by  the  way  it  is  always 
called  a  horse,  unless  you  wish  to  lay  yourself  open  to 
the  charge  of  speaking  disparagingly — is  invaluable,  and 
yet,  from  the  small  amount  of  care  bestowed  on  it,  one 
would  infer  that  it  is  not  much  valued.  Generally, 
grooming  is  unknown,  and  corn  an  untasted  luxury.  He 
must  pick  up  his  food  as  best  he  may,  at  least  in  ordinary 
seasons.  During  snow-storms,  when  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  do  so,  he  is  supplied  with  some  scanty  fodder. 

And  yet  what  a  wonderful  creature  he  is  for  endurance  i 
His  height  ranges  from  thirty  to  between  forty  and  fi% 
inches.  A  pony,  to  whose  diminutive  size  and  apparently 
slender  build  you  would  think  it  a  risk  to  entrust  yourself, 
will  carry  you  pluckily,  and  sometimes  rapidly,  over  forty 
miles  a-day  of  the  worst  roads  without  a  stumble,  and 


LERWICK. 


203 


without  more  refreshment  than  naif  an  hour's  nibbling  at 
stunted  grass  midway.  It  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  him  with 
broken  knees.  Over  shingle,  bog,  or  quagmire,  up-hill  or 
down,  leave  him  to  himself  and  you  are  tolerably  safe. 

Extensive    use    is    made    of  him    during    the    annual 
visit  of  the  Dutch  fishermen.      On  these  occasions  the 


THE   FISHERMAN  S    GALLOP. 


more  sedate  walk  about  smoking  and  staring  at  the 
shop  windows,  while  the  younger  seek  a  more  excit- 
ing exercise,  viz.,  riding  on  horseback.  One  day — 
mutually  and  immemorially  agreed  upon — is  .devoted  to 
this.  On  that  day  dozens  of  those  who  have  horses 
assemble,  steeds  in  hand,  on  a  piece  of  ground  above  th« 


SHETLAND. 

thither  too  .betake  themselves  the  horsey  por 
tym  of  the  Dutchman  for  twopfwe worth  of  equestrianism, 
whv?h  consist  or1  a  gallop  out  for  half  &  mile  o*  so  and 
back  agaip. 

For  the  most  part  women  and  hoys  are  In  charge  of 
the  steeds,  with  every  conceivable  kind  of  halter,  from 
the  decent  leather  to  the  old  and  apparently  rotten  rope ; 
some  with  saddles  and  stirrups,  some  with  saddles  with- 
out stirrups,  some  with  an  unambitious  piece  of  coarse 
cloth  or  straw  mat.  Here  a  great  tall  fellow  goes  up  to  a 
very  little  pony,  pays  his  twopence — it  is  always  prepaid 
— and  prepares  to  mount.  But  how  is  he  to  get  the 
sabot,  with  a  point  like  the  prow  of  his  own  buss,  into 
the  stirrups  ?  It  evidently  can't  be  done.  Off  go  the 
sabots— a  shake  is  all  that  is  necessary — and  he  gets  into 
the  saddle. 

At  first  he  grasps  only  the  bridle,  but  as  the  pace 
^quickens — and  it  soon  does  that,  for  he  means  to  have  his 
twopenceworth — you  see  his  hand  slip  round  to  the  back 
part  of  the  saddle  and  take  a  firm  hold.  This  is  all  very 
well,  but  the  saddle  itself  is  shaky,  and  the  pony's  back 
short ;  so  he  must  have  more  leverage  by  grasping  the 
tail.  There,  now  he's  all  right;  but  the  motion  is 
neither  graceful  nor  easy,  and  his  hat  flies  off.  This  was 
expected,  for  the  woman  or  boy  in  charge  follows  behind 
for  the  double  purpose  of  increasing  the  pace  by  whip- 
ping, and  picking  up  anything  that  may  be  shaken  loose. 

And  now  that  he  gets  toward  the  end  of  his  ride,  heel, 
&sidk>,  and  leeh  are  pressed  into  service.  One  hand  is 


IiEBWICK.  205 

require*!  to  hold  on  either  by  saddle  or  tail,  the  other  is 
needed  for  the  lash.  How  then  can  he  dispose  of  the 
bridle  ?  In  his  teeth  of  course,  and  there  he  holds  it.  On 
he  comes  full  swing.  The  road  is  very  rough  and  down- 
hill now.  His  legs  are  well  extended,  and  he  is  making  no 
prehensile  use  of  his  knees.  This  can't  last  long.  Hallo  I 
there  he's  off  rolling,  with  tittle  harm  done. 


206 


SHETLAND. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FAIE    ISLE    AND    FOULA. 

ON  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  August  we  sailed 
Spiggie  Bay  in  the  cutter  Xclsun.  on  an  excursion  :0 
Fair  Isle  and  Foula.  Crossing  the  sands  we  observed  3 
great  many  huge  backbones,  and  learned  that  they  were 
the  remains  of  a  shoal  of  the  bottlenose  or  ca'ing  whales, 
which  had  stranded  themselves  and  been  expeditiously 
slaughtered  by  the  natives. 

It  was  a  perfectly  beautiful  morning,  and  the  wind 
though  fair  was  extremly  light.  The  skin  of  the  sea,  if 
I  may  use  the  expression,  was  as  smooth  as  glass.  We 
had  a  very  deliberate  view  of  the  west  side  of  the  grand 
headland  of  Fitful  Head,  and  an  excellent  opportunity  of 
shooting  dozens  of  porpoises  as  they  came  to  the  surface, 
with  their  peculiar  wheel-like  motion,  to  sun  themselves 


FAIR    ISLE    AND    FOULA. 


207 


for  a  second  or  two.     This  opportunity  we  availed  our- 
selves of  to  the  extent  of  frightening  a  few  of  them. 

We  got  near  enough  the  island  to  see  its  physical  features 
distinctly.  The  extreme  north  end  rises  sheer  up  from  the 
sea  like  a  wall,  and  on  the  top  the  grass  grows  to  the  very 
edge  of  the  precipice.  We  see  numberless  incipient  caves, 


THE    COAST. 


•and  the  process  of  cave-making  is  made  very  plain,  layer 
after  layer  being  washed  off  by  the  upward  action  of  the 
water,  each  layer  as  it  peels  off  making  the  arch  higher. 

The  stacks  and  rocks  have  the  most  fantastic  shapes. 
^n*  is  surmounted  by  a  lump  exactly  like  a  lion  couchant 


208  SHETLAND. 

and  looking  over  its  shoulder.  The  sheeprock,  connected 
with  the  island  by  a  ridge  not  many  feet  above  the  sea  level, 
is  like  a  hugh  sphinx  with  the  features  blurred  by  too  much 
washing,  and  another  is  like  an  old  Rhine  castle  in  ruins. 

No  sooner  is  it  plain  that  we  are  making  for  the  shore 
than  groups  of  women  and  children  are  seen  on  the 
hillocks,  and  almost  immediately  a  boat  is  making  for  us, 
while  another  crew  are  seen  rushing  down  to  launch  a 
second.  Dividing  our  forces,  we  are  rowed  ashore  in  the 
two  boats,  and  find  a  considerable  number  awaiting  our 
arrival.  The  island  is  nearly  three  miles  long  and  one 
and  a  half  broad.  Its  highest  point  is  about  700  feet. 
The  population  is  280 — about  100  less  than  it  was  a  year 
or  two  ago,  but  still  too  great.  The  bane  of  the  islanders 
is  their  unwillingness  to  remove. 

Another  drawback  to  their  prosperity  is  the  want  of  a 
proper  harbour,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  carry  on  fishing 
on  a  more  extensive  scale.  Their  only  fishing  is  along 
the  shores  for  saithe.  The  more  remunerative  deep-sea 
fishing  is,  I  understand,  not  prosecuted  to  any  large 
extent. 

Foula,  the  etymology  of  which  is  said  to  be  Fughloe  or 
bird  island,  is  now  our  destination,  lying  between  fifteen 
and  twenty  miles  west  of  Shetland,  and  upwards  of  fifty 
from  Fair  Isle.  It  is  not  quite  so  large  as  Fair  Isle,  but  is 
much  more  picturesque.  Viewed  from  the  east  it  presents 
a  serrated  appearance,  having  five  large  hills  and  two  or 
three  stacks,  all  leaning  in  the  same  direction  like  the 
teeth  of  a  saw.  The  highest  of  them  is  about  1,400  feet. 


FAIB    ISLE    AND    POULA.  209 

s  landing,  one  of  onr  party  and  myseli  started  on  an 
expedition  to  the  top  of  the  Sneug  Hill  to  see  a  species  of 
gull  called  the  bounxie  or  aqua-gull,  which  is  to  be  found 
only  here  and  on  Roeness  Hill.  This  bird  used  to  be 
common  enough,  but  bird-fanciers  have  almost  killed 
them  out.  Some  years  ago  the  proprietor  of  the  island, 
Dr.  Scott  of  Melby,  began  to  preserve  them,  and  they  are 
now  not  so  very  rare. 

We  had  scarcely  started  on  our  expedition  when  we  were 
overtaken  by  a  short  wiry  man,  about  sixty  years  of  age, 
who  told  us  that  he  was  bound  to  accompany  every  one 
who  landed  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  the  bounxie. 
He  was  barefoot,  and  several  times  expressed  his  pity  for 
us  in  climbing  the  hill  with  boots.  We  ware  rewarded 
for  our  walk  by  a  sight  of  the  bounxie.  It  is  not  much 
larger,  but  more  compact  in  build,  than  the  common  gull, 
and  grey,  with  speckles  of  white.  Its  flight  ia  rapid,  and 
its  temper  fierce,  so  much  so  that  it  is  the  terror  of  the 
eagle,  and  hence  a  protection  to  the  lambs.  It  ia 
certainly  a  very  plucky  bird,  as  we  found  on  a  nearer 
approach  to  its  nest.  It  kept  hovering  close  around  us, 
and  every  now  and  then  with  a  rapid  sweep  passed  close 
to  our  heads.  Had  we  gone  much  nearer  the  keeper 
assured  ns  it  would  attack  us,  as  it  had  often  done  him, 
striking  him  on  the  face  with  its  wings.  I  have  no  doubt 
his  account  was  true. 

Another  rare  bird,  the  allan,  is  found  almost  exclusively 
on  this  island,  and  is  also  protected. 

The  rocks  on  the  west  side  of  Foula  are 


210 


SHETLAND. 


grand,  rising  sheer  from  the  sea  to  a  height  of  1,300 
feet.  The  natives  are  daring  fowlers,  and  many  lives  are 
lost  in  the  pursuit  of  eggs,  It  is  said  of  the  Foula  man, 
"His  gutcher  (grandfather)  gaed  before,  his  father  gaed 
before,  and  he  must  expect  to  go  over  the  Sneug  too." 
In  my  six  visits  to  Shetland,  I  have  only  once  failed  to 


inc.    Cit.ULE    OF   N"S:3. 


•visit  the  Noup  of  Noss  and  the  Orkneyman's  Cave — two 
of  the  most  accessible  and  interesting  sights. 

The  Noup,  to  be  seen  in  all  its  grandeur,  should  be 
approached  by  sea.  The  view  from  the  top  is  very  fine, 
but  the  giddy  height  of  600  feet  can  be  fully  appreciated 
only  from  the  base  of  the  wall-like  rock.  Starting,  then, 


FATE    ISLE    AND    FOUL  A.  211 

by  boat,  we  pass  round  the  south  end  of  Bressay,  where 
there  is  some  grand  rock  scenery,  in  some  places  quite 
precipitous,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  300  or  400  feet. 
The  action  of  the  sea  on  some  softer  parts  of  the  rock  has 
cut  out  several  large  arches,  through  which  I  have  passed 
in  a  boat  without  lowering  sail.  One  immediately  under 
the  lighthouse  is  like  a  handsome  bridge  with  an  almost 
symmetrical  arch.  Another,  called  the  giant's  leg,  also 
affords  passage  for  a  boat.  The  leg  rises  up  from  the  sea 
like  a  flying  buttress,  as  if  to  prop  up  the  huge  rock 
against  which  it  leans,  which  certainly  seems  to  need  no 
such  propping.  And  now  we  are  in  sight  of  Noss,  though 
as  yet  we  see  only  the  landward  grassy  side  of  the  peak. 

After  a  tack  or  two  we  get  round  the  end  of  the 
island,  and  a  view  that  for  rugged  grandeur  can  hardly  be 
surpassed  is  presented  to  us.  Close  to  the  island  lies  the 
Holm  of  Noss,  a  huge  solid  rock  cut  off  from  the  island 
by  a  chasm  or  passage  which  seems,  in  comparison  with 
the  height,  a  mere  fissure,  but  which  affords  a  good 
wide  berth  for  a  boat.  The  Holm  is  quite  inaccessible, 
except  by  the  apparently  perilous  but  experimentally 
safe  enough  passage  by  what  is  known  as  the  "  cradle." 

The  chasm  is  about  100  feet  wide  and  under 
200  deep.  Across  it,  the  cradle,  a  box  large  enough  to 
contain  a  man  and  a  sheep,  is  slung  by  rings  on  two 
parallel  ropes,  which  are  fastened  to  stakes  on  either  side 
of  the  chasm. 

This  is  the  only  mode  of  communication  with  the  Holm, 
and  it  seems  a  dangerous  one,  a  fall  being  certain  death; 


212  SHETLAND. 

and  yet,  though  it  has  been  in  use  for  two  centuries,  nfi 
life  has  been  lost  by  it. 

Communication  with  it  was  first  suggested  by  the 
innumerable  eggs  with  which  it  was  seen  to  be  covered. 
The  offer  of  a  cow  was  sufficient  to  tempt  a  fowler  to 
scale  it.  The  island  being  higher  than  the  Holm,  the 
ropes  slope  a  little,  and  the  cradle  descends  by  its  own 
weight.  In  returning,  the  passenger  must  either  work 
his  own  passage,  or  be  pulled  up  by  his  friends,  no  great 
efiort  being  required  in  either  case.  The  Holm  pastures 
about  a  dozen  sheep. 

Steering  our  way  between  the  island  and  the  Holm,  we 
come  in  full  view  of  the  Noup,  which  rises  perpendicularly 
from  the  sea  to  a  height  of  about  600  feet.  Even  after 
repeated  visits  it  is  a  very  grand  sight ;  when  seen  for  the 
first  time  it  is  almost  overpowering.  I  saw  it  first  in  the 
month  of  June,  and  at  that  season  the  face  of  the  rock 
from  bottom  to  top  was  literally  covered  with  sea-birds, 
and  had  the  speckled  look  which  a  pretty  heavy  sprinkling 
of  snow  would  produce.  We  fired  a  gun  and  a  cloud  of 
birds  shot  out,  darkening  the  air  and  almost  deafening  us 
with  the  noise.  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  that  on 
that  occasion  my  feeling  was  more  akin  to  nervousness 
than  I  have  ever  experienced  when  there  was  no  real 
cause  for  fear.  At  its  base  there  is  a  natural  pavement 
of  considerable  breadth,  the  scene  of  many  a  pleasant 
pic-nic. 

Returning  by  the  way  we  came,  and  taking,  as  we  pass 
beneath  it,  a  last  look  at  the  airy  cradle,  to  put  a  foot  in 


FAIR    ISLE    AN7D    FOULA. 


213 


which  seems  a  tempting  of  Providence,  we  coast  along 
Bressay,  and  after  a  not  very  long  pull  reach  the  cave,  an 
opening  about  forty  feet  square  at  the  mouth,  but  sixty  feet 
in  height  inside.  I  am  unable  to  say  how  far  it  extends 
inwards.  I  know  that  you  can  go  in  either  so  crookedly, 
or  so  far,  or  perhaps  both,  as  to  lose  the  daylight.  Hence 


HOMES    OF   THE  POORER   CLASS. 

it  is  necessary  to  take  torches  with  you,  for  without  them 
you  will  neither  see  your  way  nor  the  beautiful  stalactites 
which  adorn  the  sides,  some  like  birds,  others  like  draped 
figures,  and  others  which  want  similitude. 

It  is  called  the  Orkney  man's  Cave,  from  the  circum- 
stance of  an  Orkney  sailor,  when  pursued  by  the  press- 
gang,  having  taken  refuge  in  it.  Once  in,,  he  got  on  to  a 


214  SHETLAND. 

shelving  rock,  but  did  not  take  care  to  secure  his  boat, 
which  drifted  away,  as  there  was  a  considerable  ground 
swell.  He  remained  a  prisoner  for  two  days,  when,  the  sea 
having  calmed  down,  he  plunged  in  and  swam  to  a  point, 
from  which  he  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  rock,  and  escaped. 

The  effects  of  a  generally  tempestuous  sea  are  every- 
where apparent.  Near  the  peninsula  of  Northmavine  is  a 
lofty  rock  called  the  Dorholm,  through  which  the  sea  has 
«aten  a  wonderful  arch,  140  feet  in  height,  and  above  500 
feet  wide.  Not  far  from  this  is  another  magnificent  rock, 
called  the  Drenge,  or  Drongs,  so  fantastically  cleft  and 
shattered  by  the  action  of  the  sea  as  to  present,  from 
certain  points  of  view,  the  appearance  of  a  small  fleet  of 
vessels  in  full  sail. 

There  is  perhaps  no  community  that  gives  such 
indications  of  industry  among  the  female  population  as 
Shetland.  The  knitting  needles  and  the  worsted  are 
continually  in  their  hands,  and  seem  to  form  part  and 
parcel  of  the  woman  herself.  If  you  take  a  walk  towards 
Tingwall,  you  will  meet  or  pass  dozens  of  women  going 
for  or  returning  with  peats  from  the  hill,  all  busy 
knitting — one  a  stocking,  another  a  stout  shawl  or  cravat. 
The  finer  articles — scarfs,  veils,  and  lace  shawls,  which 
are  often  exquisitely  fine— cannot  be  worked  in  this 
off-hand  way,  and  are  reserved  for  leisure  hours  at  home. 

The  poorer  classes  generally  wear,  not  shoes,  but 
"  rivlins" — a  kind  of  sandal  made  of  untanned  cow-hide, 
or  sometimes  sealskin,  with  the  hair  outside,  and  lashed 
to  the  foot  with  thongs. 


FAIR    ISLE    AND    FOULA. 


215 


All  the  wool  of  the  pure  Shetland  sheep  is  fine,  but  the 
finest  grows  under  the  neck,  and  is  never  shorn  off,  but 
"rooed,1'  that  is,  gently  pulled.  It  is  said  that  an 
ounce  of  wool  can  by  skill  be  spun  into  upwards  of 
1,000  yards  of  three-ply  thread.  Stockings  can  be 


knitted  of  such  fineness  as  to  be  easily  drawn  through 
a  finger-ring. 

To  Shetlanders  the  sea  and  its  products  are  of  para- 
mount importance,  and  some  account  of  their  fisheries  is 
accordingly  indispensable. 

The  boat  used  is  the  Norway  yawl,  fitted  either  for 
sailing  or  rowing,  and  with  six  of  a  crew.  Each  boat  has 


218  SHETLAND. 

between  seven  and  eight  miles  of  line  and  1,000  hook* 
The  lines  are  set  in  the  evening,  and  if  the  first,  haul  in 
not  successful  they  may  bait  and  set  them  again.  They 
sometimes  remain  out  two  nights,  if  the  weather  is  fine, 
during  which  they  must  content  themselves  with  very 
little  sleep  and  scanty  fare.  They  generally  take  nothing 
with  them  but  oat-cakes  and  water. 

The  ha'af  fishing  has  many  a  sad  tale  to  tell  of  drowning 
and  disaster.  Their  boats  of  eighteen  feet  keel  and  six 
feet  beam  are  little  fitted  to  weather  a  severe  storm. 
Anxious  not  to  lose  their  lines — in  many  cases  their  all — 
the  poor  fishers  bravely  try  to  keep  their  ground,  and 
often  lose  their  lives  as  well.  Such  calamities  are  more 
overwhelming,  from  the  fact  that  the  crew  of  a  boat  are  often 
all  members  of  the  same  family.  At  such  terrible  times 
the  warmth  and  kindliness  of  the  Shetland  character  come 
out  admirably,  one  family  bringing  up  one  orphan,  another 
another,  doubtless  from  the  feeling  that  next  season,  or 
next  week,  their  own  little  ones  may  be  in  similar  case. 

Hibbert,  in  his  "  History  of  Shetland,"  mentions  a 
toast  that  used  to  be,  and  perhaps  is  still,  given  at  a  rude 
festival  about  the  beginning  of  the  ha'af  fishing : — "  Men 
an'  brethren,  lat  wis  (us)  raise  a  helt  (health).  Here's 
first  to  da  glory  o'  God,  an'  da  guid  o'  wir  (our)  ain  puir 
sauls,  wir  wordy  landmaister,  an'  wir  lovin'  meatmither ; 
helt  to  man,  death  to  fish,  an'  guid  growth  i'  da  grund." 
When  this  fishing,  is  over,  and  they  are  about  to  return  to 
their  harvest,  the  toast  is,  "  God  open  the  mouth  of 
da  gray  fish  (sillocks),  an'  haud  His  hand  aboot  da  com." 


ARCTIC   SEAS. 


ARCTIC   SEA&,; 


FOB 

'HETHEB  61*  net  it  were  right  for  Government  &j) 
despatch  uiis  ezpediticn  cf  1845,  it  was  undoub'j- 
-ight,  wher.  thai  expedition  was  felt  to  be  in  peril 
of  destruction,  ihai  svery  effort  should  be  made  to  rsscu3 
the  brs.73  men  oi  wli3_n  it  was  ccnipcsec"1. 

And  nobly  was  uhs  claty  fulfilled.  From  1848,  when. 
fears  first  began  to  be  entertained  for  the  safety  c~2 
Franklin's  crews,  seventeen  different  attempts  have  been 
made  to  save  them,,  and,  when  rescue  seemed  all  bu^ 
Jhcpeless,  to  ascertain  at  least  their  fate. 

The  melancholy  knowledge  has  at  last  been  gained, 
£,nd  we  propose  briefly  to  repeat  ths  story,  than  whiek 
W3  know  nans  -XLCO  c/OBcSung  7.31  Jlio  history  of 


220  AKCTIO    SEAS. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1845,  Sir  John  Franklin  sailed 
from  England  in  command  of  her  Majesty's  ships  the 
Erebus  and  Terror,  already  well  tried  in  the  expedition 
to  the  Antarctic  Ocean  under  Sir  James  Ross.  He  was 
accompanied  by  Captain  Crozier,  whose  experience  in 
the  Arctic  Seas  had  been  gained  under  Parry  and  Boss, 
and  by  a  picked  body  of  officers  and  men,  numbering  in 
all  134  persons. 

His  orders  were  to  endeavour  to  force  his  way  through 
Lancaster  Sound  and  Barrow's  Strait  to  the  longitude  of 
Cape  Walker,  and  thence  to  seek  a  passage  to  Behring 
Strait  in  a  southerly  direction ;  or,  in  the  event  of  the 
ice  not  permitting  him  to  adopt  this  route,  to  explore  the 
great  opening  to  the  north,  called  Wellington  Channel, 
and  endeavour  to  pierce  westward  in  a  higher  latitude. 
The  naval  service  had  none  better  fitted  for  so  responsible 
and  arduous  a  post. 

The  courage  and  the  nerve  of  Franklin  had  been  tried 
in  the  actions  of  Copenhagen  and  Trafalgar.  His  integrity 
and  fitness  for  command,  besides  the  power  of  gaining  the 
affections  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  had  been 
displayed  in  his  administration  under  circumstances  of 
no  ordinary  difficulty  of  the  governorship  of  Tasmania. 
In  former  days  he  had  earned  from  the  sailors  for  his 
vessel  the  title  of  Franklin's  Paradise.  Already,  too,  he 
had,  on  three  different  occasions,  conducted — once  as 
second  in  command,  once  in  conjunction  with  Sir  John 
Richardson,  and  once  as  leader  —  expeditions  to  the 
Arctic  Sea  and  to  the  northern  shores  of  America.  In 


SEABCH    FOB    FRANKLIN.  221 

these  he  had  acquired  a  reputation  for  daring  and  en- 
durance, tempered  with  a  sagacity  and  consideration  foi 
the  lives  of  those  under  his  charge,  which  made  his  name 
even  then  a  household  word  in  the  service. 

No  one  who  has  read  the  thrilling  history  of  his  retreat 
on  the  second  of  these  expeditions,  across  the  wastes 
which  extend  to  the  east  of  the  Coppermine  Eiver,  can 
doubt  that,  in  this  new  field,  every  effort  of  which 
humanity  is  capable  would  be  made  to  win  the  goal, 
and  when  that  was  no  longer  possible,  to  save  the  rem- 
nants of  his  crew. 

And,  above  all,  he  was  a  sincere  and  earnest  Christian. 
"  He  had  a  cheerful  buoyancy  of  mind,  which,  sustained 
by  religious  principles  of  a  depth  known  only  to  his  most 
intimate  friends,  was  not  depressed  in  the  most  gloomy 
times."  So  writes  Richardson,  who  knew  him  well,  and 
who,  "  during  upwards  of  twenty-five  years,  had  his 
entire  confidence,  and  in  times  of  great  difficulty  and 
distress,  whea  all  conventional  disguise  was  out  of  the 
question,  beheld  his  calmness  and  unaffected  piety." 

With  such  a  leader,  the  prospect  of  success  seemed 
doubly  bright,  and  officers  and  men  were  alike  sanguine 
of  a  speedy  and  triumphant  issue.  The  letters  received 
from  them  from  the  coast  of  Greenland  spoke  in  the 
warmest  language  of  then*  admiration  of  their  commander, 
and  their  happiness  in  serving  under  him.  And  Franklin's 
own  last  utterance,  as  he  sailed  away  into  the  night 
which,  for  him  and  them,  was  never  more  to  know  a 
dawn,  was  one  of  strong  reliance  on  the  hand  of  Him 


222 


ARCTIC    SEAS. 


whom  he  had  served  through  life,  and  b)7  whom,  we  may 
feel  well  assured,  though  no  word  has  come  forth  from 
his  icy  grave  to  tell  us,  he  was  not  forsaken  in  his  time  of 
need. 

"  Again,"  he  writes  to  Parry,  in,  we  believe,  the  last 


AVHALERS    IX    BAFFIN  S    BAY. 


letter  received  from  the  expedition,  and  just  a  fortnight 
jbefore  it  was  seen  for  the  last  time.     "  Acrain,  ray  dear 

o  «/ 

Parry,  1  will  recommend  my  dearest  wife  and  daughter 
to  your  kind  regards  ;  I  know  that  they  will  heartily 
Join  v,Tit!"  many  dear  friends  in  fervent  prayer  that  the 


SEABCn    FOB    FRANKLIN.  223 

almighty  Power  may  guide  and  protect  us,  and  that  the 
blessing  of  his  Holy  Spirit  may  rest  upon  us.  Our 
prayers,  I  trust,  will  be  offered  up  with  equal  fervour  for 
those  inestimable  blessings  to  be  vouchsafed  to  them,  and 
to  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  in  sincerity  and  truth. 
I  humbly  pray  that  God's  best  blessing  may  attend  your- 
self, Lady  Parry,  and  your  family." 

The  vessels  were  seen  by  a  whaler  in  Baffin's  Bay  on 
the  26th  of  June,  1845,  waiting  for  an  opening  in  the  ice 
to  permit  them  to  enter  Lancaster  Sound.  They  were 
never  seen  again. 

In  1847,  public  anxiety  began  to  be  shown  for  the 
safety  of  the  explorers,  and  in  the  following  year  two 
expeditions  were  despatched  in  search ;  the  one,  consist- 
ing of  two  vessels,  to  Behring  Strait ;  the  other,  under 
the  command  of  Sir  John  Richardson,  overland,  to  the 
north-eastern  shores  of  America,  which  in  that  and  the 
following  year  were  traced  from  the  extreme  west  to 
the  estuary  of  the  Coppermine. 

In  1849,  Sir  James  Boss,  also  with  two  vessels, 
examined  the  shores  of  Barrow's  Strait,  and  in  a  sledge 
excursion,  traced  the  western  coast  of  North  Somerset 
to  the  latitude  of  72°  38',  or  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  spot  where,  as  we  shall  see,  Captain  M'Clintock 
wintered  on  his  last  voyage,  and  in  the  direct  track,  as 
it  has  since  proved,  of  the  missing  ships.  But  next  year 
on  leaving  his  winter  quarters,  he  was  surrounded  by  the 
drift-ice,  and  carried  helplessly  eastward  through  the 
whole  length  of  Lancaster  Sound,  into  Davis'  Strait, 


224  ARCTIC    SEAB, 

where  he  was  only  released  at  a  period  of  the  year  too 
late  to  allow  of  the  resumption  of  the  search. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  work  was  being  vigorously 
pursued  by  other  hands  ;  and  in  1850  no  less  than  five 
distinct  expeditions  started  from  England,  and  two  ves- 
sels, fitted  out  by  the  munificence  of  Mr.  Grinnell,  an 
American  merchant,  from  New  York.  Into  the  details 
of  these  several  explorations  we  need  not  enter ;  but  two 
of  them,  of  which  the  Grinnell  expedition  was  one,  divide 
the  merit  of  having  discovered  the  first  traces  of  the 
missing  ships. 

These  were  found  in  Beechey  Island,  at  the  mouth  of 
Wellington  Channel,  where  it  was  discovered  that  Frank- 
lin had  spent  the  winter  of  1845-6,  and  where  the  tombs 
of  three  of  his  men,  who  had  died  early  in  the  latter 
year,  remained.  Curiously  enough,  not  one  record  or 
indication  of  any  kind  was  found  to  point  to  the  route 
which  had  been  subsequently  pursued  by  them  ;  but  it 
was  augured  by  many  that  they  would  follow  a  northern 
course  through  Wellington  Channel,  and  should  be  sought 
for  on  the  shores  of  the  great  Polar  Ocean,  indicated 
by  Penny  and  by  Kane. 

In  this  dubiety  as  to  their  after  course,  the  search  went 
on  in  various  directions.  Kane,  in  command  of  the 
Advance,  fitted  out  by  the  renewed  liberality  of  Mr. 
Grinnell,  made  that  wonderful  voyage  to  Smith's  Strait, 
which  stands  without  an  equal  even  in  these  stirring 
annals  ;  Kennedy,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Bellot  of 
the  French  navy,  wno  fell  a  martyr  to  ma  devotion  in  tiie 


WINTER  IN"  WELLINGTON    CHANNEL. 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN.  227 

cause  of  humanity,  all  but  touched  the  spot  where,  as  we 
now  know,  the  abandoned  vessels  were  lying  in  the  ice  ; 
Oollinson  and  M'Clure  forced  their  way  along  the 
northern  coasts  of  America,  the  one  to  complete  in 
safety  the  longest  voyage  ever  known  in  the  Arctic  seas, 
the  other — after  two  winters  spent  in  the  ice,  and  at  last 
abandoning  the  vessel  in  despair — to  effect,  on  foot,  the 
escape  of  himself  and  his  crew  to  another  of  the  ships 
engaged  in  the  search,  and  win  the  proud  distinction 
of  being  the  first  to  pass  from  west  to  east  across  these 
dreary  wastes. 

Many  other  attempts  were  also  made,  fifteen  vessels  in 
all  being  engaged  in  the  search  between  1850  and  1853, 
but  all  hi  vain.  The  stanchion  of  a  ship's  ice-plank, 
picked  up  by  Dr.  Rae,  and  the  fragment  of  an  iron  bolt 
and  of  a  hutch  frame,  seen  by  Captain  Collinson  in  the 
possession  of  the  Eskimos,  were  the  only  indications 
that  could  be  connected  with  Franklin,  and  even  these 
were  susceptible  of  other  explanations. 

But  in  1854  the  veil  was  lifted  at  last,  and  the  traces 
of  a  terrible  tragedy  dimly  disclosed  to  the  startled 
seekers.  In  that  year  Dr.  Rae,  who,  with  indefatigable 
perseverance,  had  returned  a  third  time  to  the  search  in 
the  vicinity  of  King  William's  Land,  encountered,  in  the 
course  of  his  explorations  between  Pelly  and  Inglis  Bays, 
a  party  of  Eskimos,  in  whose  possession  were  found  a 
great  variety  of  articles,  and  many  pieces  of  silver  plate, 
known  to  have  belonged  to  officers  both  of  the  Erebu* 
and  Terror. 


228 


AKCTIC    SEAS. 


From  these  natives  he  learned  that  another  party  of 
the  same  tribe  had  met,  in  the  spring  of  1850,  a  band  of 
about  forty  white  men  dragging  a  boat  and  sledges  along 
the  coast  side  of  King  William's  Land,  and  making 
apparently  for  the  Great  Fish  River.  None  of  them 
could  speak  the  Eskimo  language ;  but,  from  their  signs, 
the  natives  understood  that  their  vessels  had  been* 


DRAGGING   BOAT   ACROSS    ICE-FIELDS. 

crushed  in  the  ice,  and  that  they  were  then  proceeding 
where  they  hoped  to  find  deer  to  shoot,  They  had 
purchased  a  small  seal  from  the  natives,  and  from  the 
thin  appearance  of  the  men — all  of  whom,  with  the 
exception  of  one,  who  appeared  to  be  an  officer,  were 
dragging  on  the  haul-ropes  of  the  sledge— were  thought 
to  be  running  short  of  provisions. 


SEAKCH    FOB    FRANKLIN.  229 

At  a  later  period  of  the  same  year,  the  corpses  *f  some 
thirty  persons,  as  well  as  some  graves,  were  found  by  the 
Eskimos  on  the  mainland,  and  five  dead  bodies  on  an 
island  close  by — points  agreeing  in  description  with 
Montreal  Island  aud  Point  Ogle,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
above  referred  to.  Some  of  the  unfortunate  band  must 
have  survived  even  as  late  as  May  or  June,  (or  until  the 
return  of  the  wild  fowl,)  as  shots  had  been  heard  about 
that  time,  and  fresh  bones  and  feathers  gathered  in  the 
immediate  vicinity. 

The  melancholy  news  was  verified  by  the  articles 
received;  but  the  moment  it  was  learned,  an  anxious 
desire  was  felt  to  explore  the  spot  where  the  last  moments 
of  the  ill-fated  crews  had  been  spent,  and  which  Dr.  Kae, 
from  the  failure  of  his  provisions  and  the  state  of  the 
health  of  his  party,  had  been  unable  to  accomplish.  Mr. 
Anderson,  one  of  their  chief  factors,  was  accordingly 
despatched  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  1855,  down 
the  Great  Fish  Eiver,  to  visit  the  scene  of  the  cata- 
strophe, and  endeavour  to  procure  additional  informa- 
tion fro;n  a  careful  search  for  any  records  that  might 
have  been  deposited,  as  well  as  from  the  tribes  in  the 
vicinity. 

4 

Unfortunately,  this  journey  had  a  very  imperfect  result. 
The  expedition  was  poorly  supplied  with  the  means  of 
extending  its  operations.  No  interpreter  could  be  pro- 
cured, and  all  communication  with  the  tribes  had  to  be 
carried  on  by  signs. 

Numerous  traces  were  indeed  discovered  of  the  missing 


280  ARCTIC    SEAS. 

«rews,  and  a  number  of  additional  articles  purchase^ 
from  the  Eskimos,  but  not  a  scrap  of  paper  or  record 
of  any  kind.  The  absence,  too,  of  any  graves,  or  cairns, 
or  human  bones,  led  many  to  the  inference  that  the 
actnal  spot  referred  to  by  the  natives,  in  their  common!* 
cation  with  Eae,  had  not  yet  been  reached. 

Under  these  circumstances,  an  earnest  appeal  was 
made  to  Lord  Palmerston,  in  June,  1856,  by  a  number  of 
men  of  science,  and  others  who  had  taken  a  deep  interest 
in  Arctic  discovery,  and  repeated,  in  an  admirable  letter 
addressed  to  him  by  Lady  Franklin,  in  the  December  of 
the  same  year,  to  despatch  a  final  expedition  to  the 
narrow  and  circumscribed  area  now  known  as  that  within 
which  the  missing  vessels  or  their  remains  must  lie,  and 
the  access  to  which  appeared  to  be  free  from  many  of  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  which  had  hitherto  attended  the 
search.  The  Prime  Minister,  it  is  understood,  had 
personally  every  desire  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  his 
memorialists,  but  was  precluded  from  acceding  to  their 
petition. 

Lady  Franklin,  however,  had  resolved  that,  if  the 
Government  declined,  she  should  herself  exhaust  her 
fortune  in  this  last  effort ;  and,  aided  by  the  contributions 
of  many  tried  friends,  she  purchased  the  little  screw 
yacht,  the  Fox,  of  177  tons,  and  placed  her,  in  April  1857, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  M'Clintock,  who  had 
earned  a  distinguished  name  in  the  Arctic  Seas,  under 
Sir  James  Ross  and  Austin  and  Kellett. 

The  refitting  of  the  vessel  was  pressed  forward  with 


SEABCH    FOB    FRANKLIN.  231 

the  utmost  speed  at  Aberdeen  by  her  original  builders*, 
and  a  small  body  of  twenty-five  men,  seventeen  of  whom 
had  previously  served  in  the  search,  carefully  selected  for 
her  crew.  The  difficulty,  indeed,  was  to  know  whom 
to  prefer  from  the  number  of  volunteers  who  came 
forward. 

"Expeditions  of  this  kind,"  says  M'Clintock,  "are 
always  popular  with  seamen,  and  innumerable  were  the 
applications  made  to  me ;  but  still  more  abundant  were 
the  offers  '  to  serve  in  any  capacity,'  which  poured  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  from  people  of  all  classes, 
many  of  whom  had  never  seen  the  sea.  It  was  of  course 
impossible  to  accede  to  any  of  these  latter  proposals  ;  yet, 
for  my  own  part,  I  could  not  but  feel  gratified  at  such 
convincing  proofs  that  the  spirit  of  the  country  was 
favourable  to  us,  and  that  the  ardent  love  of  hardy 
enterprise  still  lives  among  Englishmen  as  of  old,  to  be 
cherished,  I  trust,  a«  the  most  valuable  of  our  national 
characteristics — as  that  which  has  so  largely  contributed 
to  make  England  what  she  is." 

The  Government,  though  declining  to  send  out  an 
expedition  themselves,  liberally  contributed  to  the  pro- 
visioning of  the  vessel. 

By  the  end  of  June,  the  preparations  were  complete ; 
and  on  the  30th,  Lady  Franklin,  accompanied  by  her 
niece,  visited  the  vessel  to  bid  farewell.  The 
the  vessel  set  sail. 


AECTIC     SEAS. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN. 

ON  the  12th  July,  the  Fox  was  off  Cape  Farewell,  the 
southernmost  part  of  Greenland,  and  on  the  24th 
reached  the  Danish  settlement  of  Godhaab,  on  the  east 
coast  of  Davis'  Strait,  and  transferred  one  of  the  crew, 
who  had  shown  symptoms  of  diseased  lungs,  to  a  vessel 
:about  to  leave  for  Copenhagen. 

At  Disco  Bay,  they  secured  the  services  of  a  young 
Eskimo  as  dog-driver,  and  a  team  of  dogs,  afterwards 
supplemented  at  the  settlements  of  Proven  and  Uperna- 
vick,  still  farther  to  the  north.  On  the  6th  August,  they 
arrived  at  the  latter  cluster  of  huts,  well  known  to  the 
readers  of  Kane's  second  voyage  as  the  first  inhabited 
spot  he  reached  in  his  memorable  escape  from  Smith's 
Strait  in  1855. 


SEAKCH    FOR    FRANKLIN.  288 

They  had  on  board,  as  interpreter,  Petersen,  one  of 
the  party  who  accompanied  Kane  on  that  expedition, 
whose  enthusiasm  in  the  cause  had  led  him  to  join 
M'Clintock  from  Copenhagen,  just  before  the  yacht  left 
Aberdeen,  though  he  had  only  returned  six  days  pre- 
viously from  Greenland,  after  a  year's  absence  from  his- 
family.  Here  the  last  letters  for  home  were  landed,  and 
the  vessel's  head  turned  seaward. 

The  drifting  ice,  which  invariably  obstructs  the  passage 
to  Baffin's  Bay,  was  reached  next  day;  and  after  an 
attempt  to  find  a  middle  passage,  in  the  course  of  which 
they  were  once  caught  in  the  margin  of  the  floe,  and  only 
escaped  by  the  assistance  of  the  screw,  it  was  resolved  to 
look  for  an  opening  on  the  north.  On  the  12th,  they 
reached  Melville  Bay,  in  lat.  79°,  but  found  the  whole  sea 
to  the 'northward  blocked  up  by  the  ice. 

It  was  too  late  in  the  year  to  retrace  their  steps  with  a 
reasonable  hope  of  reaching  Barrow's  Strait  before  the 
season  closed ;  and  in  the  hope  of  the  autumnal  winds 
drifting  southwards  the  pack,  and  so  opening  up  a  passage, 
they  anchored  to  a  berg,  and,  after  three  days'  calm, 
were  gladdened  by  their  anticipations  being  realised,  and 
finding  themselves  steaming  along  a  widening  lane  of 
water  through  the  ice  to  the  north-west.  But  on  the 
following  evening  the  pack  closed  in  around  them,  and 
they  were  cut  off  from  all  power  either  of  advancing  or 
retreating. 

The  drift  next  day  continued  to  the  north-west,  and 
carried  the  little  vessel,  of  course,  along  with  it;  but  OQ 


234  ARCTIC    SEAS. 

the  20th  it  ceased,  and  M'Clintock  already  beg&c  to 
apprehend  the  possibility  of  having  to  winter  in  the  pack. 
It  was  a  trying  thought ;  but  he  could  only  abide  his  fate, 
and  resolve,  if  it  was  to  be  such  as  he  feared,  "  to  repeat 
the  trial  next  year,  and  in  the  end,  with  God's  aid, 
perform  his  sacred  duty." 

It  was  clear,  at  last,  that  there  was  to  be  no  escape  till 
spring,  and  the  preparations  for  wintering  were  forthwith 
begun.  They  faced  the  gloomy  prospect  of  more  than 
half  a  year  of  absolute  inutility  with  cheerful  resignation ; 
and  the  disappointment  which  the  delay  would  entail  on 
the  highly-wrought  expectations  of  Lady  Franklin, 
appears  to  have  caused  more  regret  than  any  mere 
selfish  anticipations  as  to  themselves. 

A  school  was  opened  on  board  by  Dr.  Walker,  the 
Burgeon  and  naturalist  of  the  expedition,  and  the  spirit  of 
inquiry  shown  by  his  pupils  is  spoken  of  by  M'Clintock 
as  gratifying  in  the  extreme.  This,  with  the  exercising 
the  men  in  the  construction  of  snow  huts,  as  preparative 
for  their  spring  travelling,  and  the  hunting  the  seal  and 
bear,  did  much  to  while  away  the  monotonous  days  of 
their  imprisonment.  On  the  1st  of  November,  they  bade 
farewell  to  the  sun ;  on  the  80th,  the  thermometer  had 
descended  to  64°  below  freezing. 

On  the  4th  December,  the  first  death  took  place  on 
board — the  engine-driver  having  fallen  down  a  hatchway, 
and  received  such  injuries  that  he  died  two  daye 
afterwards. 

And  now,  too,  a  steady  drift  from  the  north  set  in, 


POLAP.  BEAKG. 


235 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN.  287 

and,  day  by  day,  they  became  aware  that,  in  their  icy 
prison,  they  were  driving  farther  and  farther  from  their 
destination.  In  the  course  of  December,  they  had  been 
carried  southward  sixty- seven  miles. 

The  month  of  April  was  full  of  days  of  anxiety  and 
excitement.  Gales  from  the  north  told  severely  on  the 
continuity  of  the  ice ;  and  on  one  occasion  a  rift  was 
escaped  with  difficulty.  At  last,  on  the  17th,  the  ship 
was  fairly  adrift,  and,  in  a  heaving  gale,  running  fast 
along  the  narrow  channels  that  opened  up  t-o  the  south 
and  east ;  but  only  to  be  again  frozen  up  on  the  following 
day. 

A  week  later,  and  the  great  swell  of  the  Atlantic  was 
felt  for  the  first  time,  "  lifting  its  crest  five  feet  above  the 
hollow  of  the  sea,  causing  its  thick  covering  of  icy  frag- 
ments to  dash  against  each  other"  and  the  little  bark. 
"The  pack  had  taken  upon  itself,"  as  Dr  Kane  had  ex- 
pressed it,  "  the  functions  of  an  ocean,"  and,  amidst  a 
chaos  of  contending  masses  and  shattered  bergs,  they  had 
to  steer  their  course  to  the  open  sea. 

Knowing  well  that  near  the  edge  of  the  pack  the  sea 
would  be  very  heavy  and  dangerous,  he  had  yet  taken 
advantage  of  a  favourable  wind  to  run  what  he  well  calls 
his  ice-tournament,  and  make  an  effort  for  escape.  A 
few  hours  after  the  wind  failed,  and  the  vessel  had  to 
trust  to  her  steam-power  alone.  By  this  time  the  swell 
of  the  ocean,  covered  with  countless  masses  of  ice  and 
numerous  large  berg-pieces,  to  touch  one  of  which  latter 
must  have  been  instant  destruction,  was  rising  ten  feet 


238 


ARCTIC    SEAS. 


above  the  trough  of  the  sea.  The  shocks  became  alarm- 
ingly heavy;  it  was  necessary  to  steer  head  on  to  the 
Swell,  which  was  sufficient  to  send  the  waves  in  showers 
of  spray  over  an  iceberg  sixty  feet  high,  as  they  slowly 
passed  alongside. 


THE  EDGE  OF  A  PACX. 


Gradually,  as  the  day  wore  on,  the  swell  increased  into 
a  sea;  but  still,  as  by  magic,  they  escaped  all  contact 
with  any  but  the  young  ice,  and,  by  tha  afternoon,  found 
the  latter  become  more  loose,  and  clear  spaS<5D  of  v/ater 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN.  289 

visible  ahead.  They  steered  on  at  greater  speed — 
received  fewer,  though  still  more  severe,  shocks — had 
room  at  length  to  steer  clear  of  the  heavier  pieces — and 
at  last,  at  8  p.m.  on  the  25th,  "  emerged  from  the  vil- 
lanous  pack,  and  were  running  fast  through  straggling 
pieces  into  a  clear  sea.  The  engines  were  stopped,  and 
Mr.  Brand  (the  engineer,  and  the  only  one  since  the  death 
of  Scott  able  to  work  them)  permitted  to  rest,  after 
eighteen  hours'  duty." 

"  Throughout  the  day,"  says  M'Clintock,  "  I  trembled 
for  the  safety  of  the  rudder  and  screv.  Deprived  of  the 
one  or  the  other,  even  for  half  an  hour,  I  think  our  fate 
would  have  been  soaled.  ...  On  many  occasions  the 
engines  were  stopped  dead  by  ice  checking  the  screw ; 
once  it  was  some  minutes  before  it  could  be  got  to 
revolve  again.  Anxious  moments  those !  After  yester- 
day's experience,  I  can  understand  how  men's  hair  has 
grown  grey  in  a  few  hours.  Had  self-reliance  been  my 
only  support  and  hope,  it  is  not  impossible  that  I  might 
have  illustrated  the  fact.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  did 
my  best  to  ensure  our  safety,  looked  as  stoical  as  possible, 
and  inwardly  trusted  that  God  would  favour  our  exer- 
tions. 

"  What  a  relief  onrs  has  been,  not  only  from  eight 
months'  imprisonment,  but  from  the  perils  of  that  one 
day !  Ha<?  STIT  little  vessel  been  destroyed  after  the  ice 
broke  up,  tLeie  remained  no  hope  for  us.  But  we  have 
beec  lroagi-1  safely  througn,  and  are  an  truiy  grateful,  I 


240  ABCTIC    SEAS. 

During  the  242  days  in  which  they  had  been  embedded 
in  the  ice,  they  had  been  carried  southwards  no  less  than 
1,885  miles. 

They  now  steered  for  Holsteinborg,  a  port  of  Green- 
land ;  and,  after  a  short  stay  to  take  in  provisions,  began 
again  to  coast  southwards  to  their  old  quarters  in 
Melville  Bay,  which,  after  more  than  one  hard  battle 
with  the  ice,  and  a  narrow  escape  of  leaving  their  vessel 
an  a  reef  of  rocks  near  Buchan  Island,  on  which  she  ran 
aground,  they  reached  on  the  19th  June,  two  months 
earlier  than  in  the  previous  year.  The  passage  across 
Baffin's  Bay  to  the  mouth  of  Lancaster  Sound  was  still 
one  of  extreme  difficulty,  in  the  course  of  which  the 
imprisonment  of  last  year  seemed  more  than  once  likely 
to  be  their  fate  again ;  but,  on  the  16th  July,  they  were 
fairly  over,  and  "  dodging  about  in  a  tub  of  water  "  off 
Cape  Warrender. 

The  ice  still  blocked  up  the  whole  of  Lancaster  Sound, 
and  three  weeks  were  devoted  to  a  visit  to  Pond's  Bay, 
gome  seventy  miles  farther  north,  and  to  a  close  interro- 
gation of  the  Eskimo  tribes  in  the  vicinity,  as  to  some 
rumours  of  wrecks  reported  to  have  taken  place  in  their 
neighbourhood,  but  which  it  was  ascertained  were 
unfounded.  On  the  9th  of  August,  they  were  again  off 
Lancaster  Sound,  now  comparatively  open ;  and,  two 
days  later,  anchored  off  Beechey  Island,  where,  as  already 
mentioned.  Franklin  spent  his  first  winter. 

On  the  16th.  the  Fox  sailed  from  Beechey  Island  for 
Peel  Channel,  by  which  it  was  hoped  that  an  access 


SEARCH    FOB    FRANKLIN.  248 

might  be  gained  to  Victoria  Strait,  on  the  shores  of  which 
the  expected  traces  of  the  Erebus  and  Terror  were  to  be 
sought. 

For  two  days  this  ronte  was  pursued  without  inter- 
ruption ;  but  on  the  evening  of  the  second,  the  dis- 
appointed crew  beheld  in  their  front  a  sheet  of  un- 
broken ice,  extending  from  shore  to  shore.  Not  daring 
to  lose  a  moment  in  what  would  most  probably  have  been 
a  fruitless  attempt  to  force  a  passage,  the  vessel's  head 
was  again  turned,  and  the  last  chance  of  an  access  by 
the  parallel  estuary  of  Prince  Regent's  Inlet  and  Bellot'a 
Strait,  reported  to  form  a  passage  to  the  open  water  on 
the  west,  tried  by  their  now  doubly -anxious  commander. 

The  crisis  of  the  voyage  was  fast  approaching.  "Does 
Bellot  Strait  really  exist  ?  If  so,  is  it  free  from  ice  ?  " 

They  reached  its  mouth  on  the  20th,  and  found  locked 
ace  streaming  out  of  the  opening.  The  next  day  they  had 
forced  their  way  half  through,  but  the  lock  to  the  west 
was  so  consolidated,  that  though  seventeen  days  were 
spent  in  repeated  efforts,  and  they  were  at  last  enabled 
on  the  6th  September  to  steer  right  through  the  passage, 
all  further  progress  was  at  last  abandoned  as  hopeless, 
and  the  yacht,  on  the  28th,  made  secure  for  the  second 
winter  in  a  little  creek  on  the  northern  shore. 

"  To-day    we    are    unbending    sails    and   laying  up    the 
«ngines  ;    uncertainty    no     longer    exists,     here    we 
compelled    to    remain  ;    and    if    we    have    not    beep 
successful    in    our   voyaging  as  a  month  ago  we  h^ 

reason   to   expect,   we    may   still    hope  that  F<» 

,rtune 


214  ABCTIG    SEAS. 

smile  upon  our  more  humble,  yet  more  arduous,  pedestritE 
explorations — '  Hope  on,  hope  ever  1 ' 

We  hurry  over  the  details  of  the  winter  months,  the 
monotonous  and  dreary  solitude  of  which  was  endured 
with  a  cheerfulness  which  speaks  volumes  for  the  crew 
and  their  officers ;  and  look  in  again  upon  the  little 
band  as  on  the  17th  of  February,  1859,  the  sledge 
parties  left  the  ship  for  the  first  time  on  their  several 
journeys. 

From  the  western  extremity  of  Bellot's  Strait,  the 
coast  of  Boothia,  and  the  whole  coast  of  King  William's 
Island,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Fish  River,  was  to  be 
thoroughly  explored  ;  while  to  the  north,  the  coast  of 
Prince  of  Wales'  Island  was  to  be  traced  to  the  point  in 
latitude  72°  50',  reached  by  Sherard  Osborn  in  1851. 

Captain  Young,  of  the  mercantile  marine,  whose  enthu- 
siasm in  the  cause  had  not  only  induced  him  to  abandon 
lucrative  appointments  in  command,  and  accept  of  ya 
subordinate  post  on  board  the  Fox,  but  to  subscribe 
JB500  in  aid  of  her  outfit,  was  now,  with  a  few  men, 
about  to  start  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  provisions  in 
the  last  -  mentioned  direction,  in  view  of  the  more 
extended  search  in  the  spring,  and  Captain  M'Clintock, 
with  Petersen  and  another,  to  leave  for  the  south,  for  a 
similar  purpose,  and  to.  communicate  with  the  Eskimos 
of  Boothia.  Both  parties  returned  in  safety  in  the  follow- 
ing month,  and  M'Clintock  with  important  intelligence, 
bearing  on  the  main  object  of  the  expedition. 

H<  had   encountered,  in  the    immediate   vicinity  of  the 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN. 


245 


magnetic  pole,  in  latitude   70°,  a  small  bamd  of  natives 
one  of  whom  had  on  his  dress  a  naval  button. 

"  It  came,"  they  said,   "  from   some  white   men  who 
were    starved   upon  an  island  where  there  are    salmon 


AN   ESKIMO    VILLAGE. 


(that  is,  in  a  river),  and  that  the  iron  of  which  their 
knives  were  made  came  from  the  same  place.  One  of 
these  men  said  he  had  been  to  the  island  to  obtain  wood 
and  i*«»n,  but  none  of  them  had  seen  the  white  ment"> 


246  ABOTIO    SEAS. 

"  Next  morning,  the  entire  village  population  arrive^ 
Amounting  to  about  forty-five  souls,  from  aged  people  to 
infants  in  arms,  and  bartering  commenced  very  briskly. 
First  of  all  we  purchased  all  the  relics  of  the  lost  expedi- 
tion, consisting  of  six  silver  spoons  and  forks,  a  silver 
medal,  the  property  of  Mr.  A.  M'Donald,  assistant-sur- 
geon, part  of  a  gold  chain,  several  buttons,  and  knives 
made  of  the  iron  and  wood  of  the  wreck,  also  bows  and 
arrows  constructed  of  materials  obtained  from  the  same 
source. 

"  None  of  these  people  had  seen  the  whites ;  one  man 
said  he  had  seen  their  bones  upon  the  island  where  they 
died,  but  some  were  buried.  Petersen  also  understood 
him  to  say  that  the  boat  was  crushed  by  the  ice.  Almost 
all  of  them  had  part  of  the  plunder. 

"  Next  morning,  4th  March,  several  natives  came  to  us 
again.  I  bought  a  spear  six  and  a  half  feet  long  from  a 
man  who  told  Petersen  distinctly  that  a  ship  having  three 
masts  had  been  crushed  by  the  ice  out  in  the  sea  to  the 
west  of  King  William's  Island,  but  that  all  the  people 
landed  safely ;  he  was  not  one  of  those  who  were  eye- 
witnesses of  it ;  the  ship  sunk,  so  nothing  was  obtained 
by  the  natives  from  her ;  all  that  they  have  got,  he  said, 

came  from  the  island  in  the  river." 

M'Clintock,  on  receiving  this  intelligence,  harried  back 
to  the  Fox  with  all  the  speed  in  his  power,  and  organised 
plans  for  a  careful  and  deliberate  search  of  the  district  in 
question.  He  had  encountered  great  hardships  on  this 
rapid  journey,  daring  which  he  had  travelled,  in  twenty 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN,  247 

five  days,  420  miles,  in  a  temperature  the  mean  of  which 
was  62°  below  freezing. 

On  the  2nd  of  April  all  was  ready  for  the  start. 
Lieutenant  Hobson,  the  second  in  command,  was  en- 
trusted with  the  examination  of  the  western  coast  of 
King  William's  Island,  M'Clintock  following  the  bend  of 
Boothia  to  the  east,  exploring  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
island,  and,  after  a  visit  to  Montreal  Island,  returning  in 
the  track  of  Hobson.  The  two  parties  proceeded  in 
company  to  the  spot  where  the  natives  had  been  met 
with,  and  gained  from  them,  on  this  second  visit,  addi- 
tional information. 

"  The  young  man  who  sold  the  knife  told  us  that  the 
body  of  a  man  was  found  on  board  the  ship  ;  that  he  must 
have  been  a  very  large  man,  and  had  long  teeth  ;  this  ia 
all  he  recollected  having  been  told,  for  he  was  quite  a 
child  at  the  time. 

"  They  both  told  us  it  was  in  the  fall  of  the  year — that 
is,  August  or  September — when  the  ships  were  destroyed ; 
that  all  the  white  people  went  away  to  the  '  large  river,' 
taking  a  boat  or  boats  with  them,  and  that  in  the  following 
winter  their  bones  were  found  there." 


AECTIC    SEAS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN. 

AT  Cape  Victoria,  Hobson  and  M'Cliritock  parted 
company,  and  we  now  follow  the  steps  of  the  latter. 
Crossing  over  the  channel  which  separates  Boothia  from 
King  William's  Island,  he  passed  several  deserted 
villages  of  the  Eskimos,  around  which  numerous  chips 
and  shavings  of  wood  from  the  last  expedition  were  seen, 
and  at  last  reached  a  cluster  of  thirty  or  forty  inhabited 
huts,  where  he  purchased  for  a  few  needles  six  spoons 
and  forks  with  the  crests  or  initials  of  Franklin,  C rosier, 
and  others  of  their  companions,  and  was  told  that  it  was 
five  days'  journey  across  the  island  to  the  scene  of  the  ' 
wreck,  of  which  but  little  now  remained. 

The  site  of  the  wreck  lying  exactly  in  Hobson's  track, 
in  which  he  was  himself  to  return,  M'Clintoek  contused 


BZAECH    FOR    FRANKLIN.  249 

his  journey  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  island,  and 
thereafter  crossed  over  to  Point  Ogle  and  Montreal 
Island,  at  the  foot  of  the  Great  Fish  River.  A  careful 
examination  of  the  latter,  the  last  spot  in  which  the 
survivors  of  the  last  party  had  been  seen  by  the  natives, 
yielded  nothing  to  the  seekers  but  a  piece  of  a  preserved 
meat  tin  and  some  scraps  of  copper  and  iron  hoops  ;  and 
with  much  disappointment  they  again  turned  northwards 
on  the  19th  of  May. 

Five  days  afterwards  they  recrossed  to  King  William's 
Island,  and  folio \ved  the  windings  of  the  western  shore. 
Here,  on  the   25th,  "  while  slowly  walking  along  on  a 
gravel   ridge    near   the    beach,    which    the    winds    kept 
partially  bare  of  snow,"  in  all  the  solemn  stillness  of  an 
Arctic   midnight,    they   came   upon    a    human    skeleton 
stretched  upon  its  face,  with    scraps    of  clothing   lying 
round,  and  appearing  through  the  snow.     The  victim  ap- 
peared to  have  been  a  young  man,  slight  build,  and,  from 
his  dress,  a  steward  or  officer's  servant.     A  pocket-book 
found  close  by  afforded  hopes  of  his  identification,  but 
though  every  effort  was  made  to  decipher  the  hard  frozen 
leaves,  nothing  but  a  few  detached  sentences,  in  no  way 
bearing  on  the  fate  of  the  expedition,  has  been  made  out. 
"  It  was  a  melancholy  truth  that  the  old  woman  spoke 
when  she  said,  '  they  fell  down,  and  died  as  they  walked 
along.'  ....  This  poor  man  seems  to  have  selected  the 
bare  ridge  top,  as   affording  the  least  tiresome  walking, 
and  to  have  fallen  upon  his  face  in  the  position  in  which 
we  found  him." 


250  ARCTIC    SEAS. 

They  now  approached  a  large  cairn,  originally  built  by 
Simpson  in  1839,  and  where,  as  it  must  have  been 
passed  by  the  last  crews,  they  eagerly  anticipated  finding 
some  record  ;  but  a  careful  search  proved  wholly  fruitless, 
and  from  the  appearance  of  the  cairn,  they  were  led  to 
believe  that  it  had  already  been  examined  and  rifled 
by  the  Eskimos.  Twelve  miles  further,  however,  they 
came  upon  a  cairn  built  by  Hobson's  party,  who  had 
reached  the  same  point  a  few  days  before,  and  in  which 
was  deposited  a  note,  announcing  the  discovery  of  the 
record  so  ardently  sought,  under  a  third  cairn,  still 
further  to  the  south,  and  on  the  site  of  one  formerly  built 
by  Sir  James  Ross. 

"  There  is  an  error  in  this  document,"  says  Captain 
M'Clintock  ;  "  namely,  that  the  Erebus  and  Terror 
wintered  at  Beechey  Island  in  1846-7 ;  the  correct 
dates  should  have  been  1845-6.  A  glance  at  the  date  at 
the  top  and  bottom  of  the  record  proves  this,  but  in  all 
other  respects  the  tale  is  told  in  as  few  words  as  possible 
of  their  wonderful  success  up  to  that  date,  May, 
1847 

"  Seldom  has  such  an  amount  of  success  been  accorded 
to  an  Arctic  navigator  in  a  single  season,  and  when  the 
Erebus  and  Terror  were  secured  at  Beechey  Island  for 
the  coming  winter  of  1845-6,  the  results  of  their  first 
year's  labour  must  have  been  most  cheering.  These 
results  were  the  exploration  of  Wellington  and  Queen's 
Channel,  and  the  addition  to  our  charts  of  the  extensive 
lands  on  either  hand.  In  1846  they  proceeded  to  the 


« 1 


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— 
T 

O 

w 


B 


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DO 
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!'      r  J.' 
\M 
U 


SEAKCH    FOB    FRANKLIN.  253 

»outh-west,  and  eventually  reached  within  twelve  miles 
of  the  north  extreme  of  King  William's  Land,  when  their 
progress  was  arrested  by  the  approaching  winter  of 
1846-7.  That  winter  appears  to  have  passed  without 
any  serious  loss  of  life  ;  and  when  in  the  spring  Lieu- 
tenant Gore  leaves  with  a  party  for  some  especial 
purpose,  and  very  probably  to  connect  the  unknown 
coast-line  of  King  William's  Land  between  Point  Victory 
and  Cape  Herschel,  those  on  board  the  Erebus  and  Terror 
were  'ail  wail,'  and  the  gallant  Franklin  still  com- 
manded." 

But,  alas !  round  the  margin  of  the  paper  upon  which 
Lieutenant  Gore,  in  1847,  wrote  those  words  of  hope 
and  promise,  a  sad  and  touching  postscript  had  been 
added  by  another  hand  on  the  28th  April  in  the  following 
year. 

'*  There  is  some  additional  marginal  information  relative 
to  the  transfer  of  the  document  to  its  present  position 
(viz.,  the  site  of  Sir  James  Ross's  pillar)  from  a  spot  four 
miles  to  the  northward,  near  Point  Victory,  where  it  had 
been  originally  deposited  by  the  late  Commander  Gore. 
This  little  word  late  shows  us  that  he  too,  within  the 
twelvemonth,  had  passed  away. 

"  In  the  short  space  of  twelve  months  how  mournful 
had  become  the  history  of  Franklin's  expedition,  how 
changed  from  the  cheerful  '  all  well '  of  Graham  Gore ! 
The  spring  of  1847  found  them  within  90  miles  of  the 
known  sea  off  the  coast  of  America ;  and  to  men  who 
had  already,  in  two  seasons,  sailed  over  500  miles  of 


254  ABOTIO    SEA8. 

previously  unexplored  waters,  how  confident  must  they 
then  have  felt  that  that  forthcoming  navigable  season  of 
1847  would  see  their  ships  pass  over  so  short  an  inter- 
vening space  1  It  was  ruled  otherwise.  Within  a  month 
after  Lieutenant  Gore  placed  the  record  on  Point  Victory, 
the  much-loved  leader  of  the  expedition,  Sir  John 
Franklin,  was  dead ;  and  the  following  spring  found  Cap- 
tain Crozier,  upon  whom  the  command  had  devolved,  at 
King  William's  Land,  endeavouring  to  save  his  starving 
men,  105  souls  in  all,  from  a  terrible  death,  by  retreating 
to  the  Hudson  Bay  territories  up  the  Back  or  Great  Fish 
River. 

"  A  sad  tale  was  never  told  in  fewer  words.  There  is 
something  deeply  touching  in  their  extreme  simplicity, 
and  they  show  in  the  strongest  manner  that  both  the 
leaders  of  this  retreating  party  were  actuated  by  the 
loftiest  sense  of  duty,  and  met  with  calmness  and  decision 
the  fearful  alternative  of  a  last  bold  struggle  for  life, 
rather  than  perish  without  effort  on  board  their  ships  ;  for 
we  well  know  that  the  Erebus  and  Terror  were  only 
provisioned  up  to  July,  1848 

"  Lieutenant  Hobson's  note  told  me  that  he  found 
quantities  of  clothing  and  articles  of  all  kinds  lying  about 
the  cairn,  as  if  these  men,  aware  that  they  were  retreating 
for  their  lives,  had  there  abandoned  everything  which  they 
considered  superfluous." 

But  there  was  yet  a  third,  and  not  the  least  affecting, 
discovery  to  be  made  by  the  returning  band.  As  they 
reached  the  western  extremity  of  the  island,  they  came 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN.  255 

in  sight  of  a  wide  and  desolate  bay,  on  the  southern 
shore  of  which  was  found  a  large  boat,  mounted  on  a 
sledge  ;  "  another  melancholy  relic  which  Hobson  had 
found  and  examined  a  few  days  before,  as  his  note  left 
here  informed  me,  but  he  had  failed  to  discover  record, 
journal,  pocket-book,  or  memorandum  of  any  descrip- 
tion." 

In  the  boat  was  that  which  transfixed  the  searchers 
with  awe :  the  portions  of  two  skeletons — the  one  of  a 
slight  young  person  ;  the  other  of  a  large,  strongly-made, 
middle-aged  man.  Near  the  former,  which  lay  in  the 
bow  of  the  boat,  was  found  the  fragment  of  a  pair  of 
worked  slippers,  and  beside  them  a  pair  of  small  strong 
shooting  half- boots. 

"  The  other  skeleton  was  in  a  somewhat  more  perfect 
state,  and  was  enveloped  with  clothes  and  furs ;  it  lay 
across  the  boat,  under  the  after-thwart.  Close  beside  it 
were  found  five  watches  ;  and  there  were  two  double- 
barrelled  guns — one  barrel  in  each  loaded  and  cocked — 
standing  muzzle  upwards  against  the  boat's  side.  It  may 
be  imagined  with  what  deep  interest  these  sad  relics  were 
scrutinised,  and  how  anxiously  every  fragment  of  cloth 
ing  was  turned  over  in  search  of  pockets  and  pocket- 
books,  journals,  or  even  names.  Five  or  six  small 
books  were  found,  all  of  them  scriptural  or  devotional 
works,  except  the  'Vicar  of  Wakefield.'  One  little  book, 
*  Christian  Melodies,'  bore  an  inscription  upon  the  title- 
page  from  the  donor  to  G.  G.  (Graham  Gore  ?)  A  small 
Bible  contained  numerous  marginal  notes,  and  whole 


266  ARCTIC    SEAS*. 

passages  underlined.  Besides  these  books,  the  covers  <•/ 
a  New  Testament  and  Prayer-book  were  found 

"  The    only  provisions  we  could    find   were    tea   aui 

•  chocolate ;  of  the   former  very  little  remained,  but  there 

were  nearly  forty  pounds  of  the  latter.     These  articles 

alone  could  never  support  life  in  such  a  climate,  and  we 

found  neither  biscuit  nor  meat  of  any  kind 

"  I  was  astonished  to  find  that  the  sledge  was  directed 
to  the  N.E.,  exactly  for  the  next  point  of  land  for  which 
we  ourselves  were  travelling  I 

"  A  little  reflection  led  me  to  satisfy  my  own  mind  at 
least,  that  the  boat  was  returning  to  the  ships  ;  and  in 
no  other  way  can  I  account  for  two  men  having  been  left 
in  her,  than  by  supposing  the  party  were  unable  to  drag 
the  boat  further,  and  that  these  two  men,  not  being  able 
to  keep  pace  with  their  shipmates,  were  therefore  left  by 
them  supplied  with  such  provisions  as  could  be  spared,  tc 
last  until  the  return  of  the  others  from  the  ship  with  a 
fresh  stock. 

"  The  same  reasons  which  may  be  assigned  for  the 
return  of  this  detachment  from  the  main  body,  will  also 
serve  to  account  for  their  not  having  come  back  to  their 
boat.  In  both  instances  they  appear  to  have  greatly 
overrated  their  strength,  and  the  distance  they  could 
travel  in  a  given  time." 

What  thoughts  must  those  have  been  of  that  lonely 
pair  in  the  deserted  boat,  as  hour  by  hour  they  gazed 
across  the  dreary  wastes  for  the  comrades  who  never 
returned,  or  of  that  strong  man  ID  his  solitary  death- 


SEARCH    FOR    FRANKLIN. 


257 


-watch  when    his    sole    companion   had  sunk  beside  him 
into  his  eternal  sleep  ! 

Neither  by  Hobson  nor  M'Clintock  had  any  trace  been 
found  of  the  missing  vessels,  and  at  last  the  latter  reached 
the  cairn  where  the  record  above  referredto  had  been 


ARCTIC    BIRDS. 


discovered  by  his  lieutenant.  Around  it  were  found  an 
immense  variety  of  relics — stores,  pick-axes,  shovels, 
compasses,  medicine-chest,  &c.,  and  a  heap  of  clothing 
four  feet  high — but  not  one  scrap  of  writing. 

From  this  point  the  coast  was  carefully  explored  to  the 


258  ABOTIO    SEAS. 

south,  but  no  further  traces  were  found,  &nd  on  the  19th 
June  the  weary  searchers  reached  once  more  "  their  poor 
dear  lovely  little  Fox" 

Little  is  said  by  M'Clintock  of  the  determination  01 
endurance  required  bearing  on  so  extended  and  minute  a 
search  on  an  Arctic  shore  for  a  period  of  more  than  two 
months  and  a-half.  The  temperature  was  frequently 
nearly  30°  below  zero,  with  cutting  north  winds,  bright 
sun,  and  intense  severe  glare.  The  men  had  each  to  drag 
a  weight  of  200  Ibs.,  to  encamp  every  evening  in  snow 
huts,  which  it  cost  something  like  two  hours  of  hard 
labour,  at  the  close  of  a  long  day's  walk,  to  build,  and  in 
which  the  very  blankets  and  clothes  became  loaded  with 
ice. 

"  When  onr  low  doorway  was  carefully  blocked  Tip 
with  snow,  and  the  cooking  lamp  alight,  the  tempera- 
ture quickly  rose,  so  that  the  walls  became  glazed  and 
our  bedding  thawed ;  but  the  cooking  over,  as  the  door- 
way partially  opened,  it  as  quickly  fell  again,  so  that  it 
was  impossible  to  sleep,  or  even  to  hold  one's  pannikin  of 
tea  without  putting  our  mitts  on,  so  intense  was  the  cold.'* 

Under  these  privations,  Hobson  at  last  had  fairly 
broken  down,  and  for  many  days  before  he  reached  the 
yacht  had  been  totally  unable  to  walk  or  even  stand  with- 
out assistance.  He  was  obliged  in  consequence  to  be 
dragged  home  in  one  of  the  sledges,  but  by  the  time 
M'Clintock  arrived  had  already  begun  to  mend.  One 
death  had  taken  place  during  their  absence,  making, 
with  that  of  the  engineer,  who  had  suddenly  died  of 


SEARCH    FOB    FBANEUR.  259 

apoplexy  during  the  winter,  the  third  that  had  occurred 
in  the  voyage. 

Captain  Young  had  been  compelled  to  return  some  time 
before  from  his  explorations  to  the  north  for  medical 
assistance,  his  health  having  been  greatly  injured  by 
exposure  and  fatigue ;  but  after  having  recruited,  had 
started  again  to  renew  the  search,  in  the  face  of  a  strong 
written  protest  by  the  doctor ;  and  his  continued  absence 
was  now  the  only  cause  of  anxiety  to  the  little  band.  At 
last  M'Clintock,  with  five  men,  set  off  to  seek  him,  and 
two  days  after,  to  his  great  joy,  encountered  him  on  his 
return,  so  weakened  that  he  too  was  travelling  in  the 
dog-sledge,  but  with  the  particulars  of  a  long  and  most 
interesting  exploration  of  new  ground,  though  without 
any  traces  of  the  missing  crews. 

Every  part  of  the  proposed  search  had  now  been  fully 
and  efficiently  performed,  and  all  thoughts  were  busied 
towards  home.  By  the  middle  of  July,  they  were  ready 
to  start ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  10th  of  the  following 
month,  and  after  many  anxious  hours,  that  the  little 
vessel  was  fairly  under  way. 

Their  passage  homewards  was  almost  without  inter- 
ruption from  the  ice,  except  for  four  days,  when,  though 
it  closed  them  in,  its  friendly  shelter  apparently  saved 
them  from  the  worse  fate  of  being  driven  ashore  in  a 
heavy  gale  off  Ores  well  Bay.  Without  either  engineer  or 
engine-driver,  M'Clintock  had  himself  to  superintend  the 
working  of  the  engines,  and  found,  at  first,  the  unwonted 
task  not  a  little  arduous  ^ot  ->nlv  from  its  novelty,  but 


250  ARCTIC  SEAS. 

the  continuous  attention  required,  extending,  OB  on« 
occasion,  to  twenty-four  hours'  incessant  work.  On  the 
21st,  they  gained  the  open  sea,  and,  eight  days  later, 
were  lying  in  the  quiet  security  of  Godhaven,  reading 
their  first  letters  from  home,  after  a  lapse  of  two  yea»s ; 
and,  on  the  20th  September,  arrived  in  safety  in  the 
Irish  Channel. 

{t  I  will  not,"  writes  the  commander,  in  the  simple  and 
manly  phrase  which  lends  to  his  volume  such  an  addi- 
tional charm,  "  intrude  upon  the  reader,  who  has  followed 
me  through  the  pages  of  this  simple  narrative,  any  de- 
scription of  my  feelings  on  finding  the  enthusiasm  with 
which  we  were  all  received  on  landing  upon  our  native 
ihores.  The  blessing  of  Providence  had  attended  our 
efforts,  and  more  than  a  rou  measure  of  approval  from 
our  friends  and  countrymen  has  been  our  reward.  For 
myself,  the  testimonial  given  me  by  the  officers  and  crew 
of  the  Fox  has  touched  me  perhaps  more  than  all.  The 
purchase  of  a  gold  chronometer,  for  presentation  to  me, 
was  the  first  use  the  men  made  of  their  earnings ;  and  as 
long  as  I  live,  it  will  remind  me  of  that  perfect  harmony, 
that  mutual  esteem  and  good- will,  which  made  our  ship'i 
company  a  happy  little  community,  and  contributed  ma- 
terially to  the  success  of  the  expedition/9 


NORWAY. 


NORWAY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THS    LAND. 

DO  you  wish  your  lungs  to  expand,  your  eyes  to  dilate, 
your  muscles  to  spring,  and  your  spirits  to  leap  ? — 
then  come  to  Norway !  I  repeat  it — be  you  man  or 
woman,  grave  or  gay  ;  if  you  ever  indulge  in  lofty  aspi- 
rations, in  bold  contemplations,  in  desperate  imaginings — 
come  to  Norway,  and  you  will  receive  much  satisfaction, 
I  assure  you. 

Are  you  a  man  ?  You  will  find  subject  and  occasion 
for  your  manhood.  Are  you  a  woman  ?  You  will  find 
yourself  at  the  fountain-head  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful. 
Are  you  scientific  ?  The-  rocks  are  bold  and  bare — the 
flora  rich  and  varied.  Birds  and  beasts  of  many  kinds 
there  are  ;  glaciers,  too,  miles  and  miles  of  them,  filling  up 
the  valleys,  and  covering  the  mountain  tops — awaiting  the 


264  NORWAY. 

inspection  of  yonr  critical  eye.    Are  you  a  painter  ?    There 

is  ample  field  for  the  wildest  pencil  and  the  boldest  brush. 

Are  you  a  fisher  ?     Here  is  your  terrestrial  paradise. 

i 

But  you  must  be  a  fisher  of  the  rough  school,  not  "a 
follower  of  the  gentle  art."  Can  you  wade  all  day  in 
snow-water  ?  Can  you  swim  down  a  roaring  rapid — 
perchance  shoot  over  a  cataract,  and  count  it  but  a  trifle — 
with  a  twenty  foot  rod  in  your  hands,  and  a  thirty-pound 
ealmon  at  the  end  of  your  line,  making  for  the  sea  at  the 
rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour  ?  Then,  by  all  means  come 
to  Norway.  But  you  must  be  possessed  of  a  singularly 
patient  and  self-denying  character.  Mark  that  well. 

Are  you  a  daring  mountaineer  ?  The  mountains  of 
Gamle  Norge  (Old  Norway),  though  not  so  high  as  those 
of  the  Himalaya  range,  are  high  enough  for  most  men. 
The  eagle  will  guide  you  to  heights — if  you  can  follow 
him — on  which  human  foot  has  never  rested. 

Do  you  love  the  sunshine  ?  Think  of  the  great 
luminary  that  rules  the  day,  rolling  through  the  bright 
blue  sky  all  the  twenty-four  hours  round.  There  is  no 
night  here  in  summer,  but  a  long,  bright,  beautiful  day, 
as  if  Nature  were  rejoicing  in  the  banishment  of  night 
from  earth  for  ever. 

But,  above  all,  do  you  love  simplicity,  urbanity,  unso- 
phisticated kindness  in  man  ?  Are  you  a  student  of 
human  nature,  and  fond  of  dwelling  on  its  brighter 
aspects  ?  Then  once  more  I  say,  come  to  Norway,  for 
you  will  find  ner  sons  and  daughters  overflowing  with  the 
milk  of  human  kindness. 


THE    LAND.  265 

1  was  fortunate  enough  to  come  to  Norway  in  a  friend's 
yacht,  and  voyaged  along  the  west  coast  from  south  to  north. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  any  one  an  adequate  idea  of 
what  is  meant  by  sailing  among  the  islands  off  the  coast 
of  Norway,  or  of  the  delights  attendant  on  snm  navi- 
gation. If  you  would  understand  this  thoroughly,  yon 
must  experience  it  for  yourself.  Here  is  a  brief  sum- 
mary of  pleasures. 

Yachting  without  sea-sickness.  Scenery  ever  changing, 
always  beautiful  and  wild  beyond  description.  Landing 
possible,  desirable,  frequent.  Expectation  ever  on  tiptoe. 
Hope  constant.  Agreeable  surprises  perpetual.  Tremen 
dous  astonishments  numerous,  and  variety  without  end. 
Could  any  one  desire  more  ? 

The  islands  extend  along  the  whole  coast  in  myriads. 
I  presume  that  their  actual  number  never  has  been,  and 
never  can  be,  ascertained.  Some  are  so  huge  that  you 
mistake  them  for  the  mainland.  Others  are  so  small  that 
you  might  take  them  for  castles  floating  on  the  sea.  And 
on  many  of  them — most  of  them,  perhaps — you  find 
small  houses — quaint,  gable-ended,  wooden,  and  red-tile- 
roofed — in  the  midst  of  small  patches  of  verdure,  or,  not 
unfrequently,  perched  upon  the  naked  rock. 

In  some  cases  a  small  cottage  may  be  seen  unrelieved 
by  any  blade  of  green,  sticking  in  a  crevice  of  the  rock 
like  some  miniature  Noah's  Ark,  tnat  had  taken  the 
ground  there  and  been  forgotten  whep  the  flood  went 
down.  , 

You  come  or  deck  in  the  morning  ;  the  snn  is  blazing 


260 


NORWAY. 


in  the  bright  blue  sky  ;  the  water  is  flat  as  a  mill-pond — 
clear  as  a  sheet  of  crystal.  Sky-piercing  mountains  sur- 
round you,  islands  are  scattered  everywhere,  but  no  niain- 


AMONG   THE    ISLANDS. 


land  is  visible ;  yet  much  of  what  you  see  appears  to  be 
mainland,  for  the  mountains  are  islands  and  the  island? 
are  mountains.  Indeed  it  is  almost  impossible  to  tel' 


THE    LAND.  267 

where  the  mainland  begins,  and  where  the  island-world 
ends. 

The  white  mists  of  early  morning  are  rolling  over  the 
deep — shrouding,  partially  concealing,  partly  disclosing, 
mingling  with  and  ramifying  everything,  water  and  sky 
inclusive.  On  one  side  an  island  mountain,  higher  and 
grander  than  Ben  Nevis,  rears  itself  up  so  precipitously 
and  looks  down  on  the  sea  so  frowningly,  that  it  appears 
as  if  about  to  topple  over  on  your  head.  On  the  other 
side  a  group  of  low  skerries,  bald  and  grey,  just  peep  out 
above  the  level  of  the  water,  bespattered  with  and  over- 
shadowed by  myriads  of  clamorous  sea-gulls.  You  gaze 
out  ahead,  you  glance  over  the  stern,  and  behold  similar 
objects  and  scenes  endlessly  repeated,  and  diversified. 

The  ascending  sun  scatters  the  mists,  glitters  on  the 
sea,  and  converts  the  island  world  into  gold.  You  almost 
shout  with  delight.  You  seize  your  ^etch-book  (if  a 
painter),  your  note-book  (if  an  author),  and,  with  brush 
or  pencil,  note  down  your  fervid  impressions  in  glowing 
colours  or  in  words  that  burn.  Ten  to  one,  however,  you 
omit  to  note  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  beauty  in  the 
midst  of  which  you  are  revelling  is  transient,  and  owes  its 
existence  very  much  to  the  weather. 

Another  traveller  passes  through  the  same  scenes  under 
less  favourable  circumstances.  The  sky  is  grey,  the 
mountains  are  grey,  the  water  is  grey  or  black,  and  a 
stiff  breeze,  which  tips  tho  wavelets  with  sno\v-wirite 
crests,  causes  him  to  feel  disagreeably  cold.  The  gulls 
are  silent  and  melancholy  ;  the  sun  is  nowhere ;  perhapi 


268  NORWAY. 

a  drizzle  of  rain  makes  the  deck  sloppy.  The  great 
island  mountains  are  there,  no  doubt,  but  they  are  dis- 
mally, gloomily  grand.  The  rocky  islets  are  there  too  ; 
but  they  look  uncomfortable,  and  seem  as  if  they  would 
fain  hide  their  heads  hi  the  troubled  sea,  in  order  to 
escape  the  gloom  of  the  upper  world. 

The  traveller  groans  and  brushes  away  the  raindrops 
that  hang  from  the  point  of  his  lugubrious  nose.  If,  in 
the  eccentricity  of  despair,  he  should  retire  to  the  cabin, 
draw  forth  his  note-book,  and  apply  his  stiffened  fingers 
and  chilled  intellect  to  the  task  of  composition,  what  does 
he  write  ?  "  Detestable  weather.  Beauty  of  scenery 
absurdly  overrated.  Savage  enough  it  is,  truly ;  would 
that  I  were  not  in  a  like  condition."  Thus  difference  of 
opinion  arises,  and  thus  the  nun- travelling  public  is 
puzzled  in  its  mind  by  the  conflicting  statements  of  men 
•of  unimpeachable  veracity. 

Through  this  island-world  we  sailed  until  the  great 
mountain  ranges  of  the  interior  became  clearly  visible, 
and  as  we  gazed  into  the  deep  fiords  we  felt  that  that 
boldness  and  ruggedness  so  eminently  characteristic  of 
the  old  Norse  vikings  must  have  been  fostered,  if  not 
created,  by  the  scenery  of  their  fatherland. 

As  we  gazed  and  pondered,  a  huge  old-fashioned  ship 
came  out  suddenly  from  behind  an  island,  as  if  to  increase 
the  archaic  character  of  the  scenery.  There  it  was,  un- 
doubtedly  (and  there  it  may  be  seen  every  day),  with  the 
game  high  stempost  as  the  galleys  of  old,  only  wanting  a 
curve  at  the  top  and  a  dragon's  head  to  make  it  complete, 


ENTRANCE  TO   A    JIOKD. 


THE    LAND.  271 

and  the  same  hnge  single  mast  with  its  one  unwieldy 
square  sail. 

Presently  a  boat  shot  alongside  and  a  sedate  seaman 
stepped  on  board — a  blue-eyed,  fair-haired,  sallow  man 
with  knee-breeches  and  long  stockings,  rough  jacket,  no 
vest,  a  red  night-cap,  and  a  glazed  hat  on  the  top  of  it. 
This  was  the  pilot.  He  was  a  big,  placid-looking  man  of 
about  forty,  with  a  slouching  gait  and  a  pair  of  immensely 
broad  shoulders.  We  found  that  he  had  been  away  north 
for  several  weeks,  piloting  a  vessel  of  some  sort  beyond 
the  Arctic  circle.  He  was  now  close  to  his  home,  but  our 
signal  had  diverted  him  from  his  domestic  leanings,  and, 
like  a  thorough  sea-monster,  he  prepared,  at  a  moment's 
notice,  for  another  voyage. 

The  obvious  advantage  that  a  yachter  has  over  the 
voyager  by  steamboat  is,  that  he  can  cast  anchor  when 
and  where  he  pleases,  and  diverge  from  his  course  at  will. 
Thus  he  discovers  unsuspected  points  of  interest  and 
visits  numberless  spots  of  exquisite  beauty,  which,  I 
verily  believe,  lie  thickly  hidden  among  these  isles,  as 
completely  unknown  to  man  (with  the  exception  of  a  few 
obscure  native  fishermen  in  the  neighbourhood)  as  are 
the  vast  solitudes  of  Central  Africa.  The  yachter  may 
sail  for  days,  ay,  for  weeks,  among  these  western  islands, 
imbued  with  the  romantic  feelings  of  a  Mungo  Park,  a 
Livingstone,  or  a  Robinson  Crusoe  ! 

This  is  by  no  means  a  wild  statement.  When  we  con- 
sider the  immense  extent  of  the  Norwegian  coast,  the 
umumerable  friths  of  all  sizes  by  which  it  is  cut  up,  and 


272 


NORWAY. 


the  absolute  impossibility  of  being  certain  as  to  whether 
the  inlets  which  you  pass  in  hundreds  are  fiords  running 
into  the  main  or  mere  channels  between  groups  of  islands, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  there  is  comparatively  little 
traffic  in  the  minor  fiords  except  such  as  is  carried  on  by 
native  boats  and  barges,  we  can  easily  conceive  that  there 
are  many  dark  friths  along  that  coast  which  are  as  little 


A   FIOIID    SEEN   FROM   ABOVE. 


known  to  travellers  now,  as  they  were  in  the  days  when 
Rolf  Ganger  issued  from  them  with  his  vikings  to  conquer 
Normandy  and  originate  those  families  from  which  have 
sprung  the  present  aristocracy  of  England. 

"\Ve  ascended  a  fiord  of  this  kind  which  we  knew  had 
not  up  to  that  time  been  visited,  because  there  was  a 
glacier  at  the  head,  which  is  mentioned  by  Professor 


TliE    LAND.  27<l 

Farbes  as  being  known  only  through  native  report — no 
traveller  having  seen  it.  This  was  the  Skars  fiord  in  lat. 
67°  N.  The  mere  fact  of  this  glacier"  being  unknown, 
except  by  report,  induced  us  to  turn  into  the  fiord  with 
all  the  zest  of  explorers.  A  run  of  twelve  miles  brought 
us  within  sight  of  the  object  of  our  search,  the  first 
glance  at  which  filled  us  with  awe  and  admiration.  But 
the  longer  we  stayed  and  explored  this  magnificent  "ice- 
river,"  the  more  were  we  amazed  to  find  how  inadequate 
were  our  first  conceptions  of  its  immense  size. 

Appearances  here  are  to  our  eyes  very  deceptive, 
owing,  doubtless,  to  our  being  unaccustomed  to  scenery 
of  such  grandeur  and  magnitude. 

This  glacier  of  the  Skars  fiord  appeared  to  be  only  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide.  On  measuring  the  valley,  which 
it  entirely  filled  up,  we  found  it  to  be  nearly  two  miles  in 
breadth.  Its  lower  edge  appeared  to  be  a  few  feet  thick, 
and  about  twenty  yards  or  so  from  the  sea,  the  shore  of 
which  was  strewn  with  what  appeared  to  be  large  stones. 

On  landing,  we  found  that  the  space  between  the  ice 
and  the  sea  was  upwards  of  half  a  mile  in  extent ;  the 
large  stones  turned  out  to  be  boulders,  varying  in  size 
from  that  of  a  small  boat  to  a  large  cottage ;  while  the 
lower  edge  of  the  glacier  itself  was  an  irregular  wall  of 
ice  about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height. 

Standing  at  its  base  we  looked  up  the  valley  over  the 
fissured  surface  of  the  ice  to  that  point  -where  the  white 
snow  of  its  upper  edge  cut  clear  and  sharp  against  the 
blue  sky,  and,  after  much  consultation,  we  came  to  tb* 

T 


274  NORWAY. 

conclusion  that  it  might  be  three  or  four  miles  from  top 
to  bottom.  But,  after  wandering  the  whole  day  up  the 
valley  by  the  margin  of  the  ice  and  carefully  exploring  it, 
we  were  forced  to  believe  that  it  must  be  at  least  eight  or 
ten  miles  in  extent,  and  undoubtedly  it  was  many  hun- 
dreds of  feet  thick.  When  we  reflect  that  this  immense 
body  of  ice  is  only  one  of  the  many  tongues  which,  de- 
scending the  numerous  valleys,  carry  off  the  overflow  of 
the  great  mer  de  glace  on  the  hill-tops  of  the  interior, 
we  can  form  some  conception  of  the  vast  tract  of 
Norwegian  land  that  lies  buried  summer  and  winter 
under  the  ice. 

There  was  a  little  blue  spot  in  the  glacier  at  a  short 
distance  from  its  lower  edge  which  attracted  our  atten- 
tion. On  reaching  it  we  found  that  it  was  a  hole  in  the 
roof  of  the  sub-glacial  river. 

The  ice  had  recently  fallen  in,  and  I  never  beheld  such 
intensely  soft  and  beautiful  blue  colour  as  was  displayed 
in  the  caverns  thus  exposed  to  view,  varying  from  the 
faintest  cerulean  tinge  to  the  deepest  indigo.  Immense 
masses  of  rock  which  had  fallen  from  the  cliffs  lay 
scattered  along  the  surface  of  the  ice  near  the  edge,  and 
were  being  slowly  transported  towards  the  sea — so 
slowly,  that  probably  months  would  pass  before  the 
smallest  symptom  of  a  change  in  position  could  be 
observed. 

There  were  very  few  natives  in  this  wild  spot — so  few 
that  their  presence  did  not  in  any  appreciable  degree 
tffect  the  solitude  and  desolation  of  the  scene.  They 


UHE    iAND.  277 


expressed  much  surprise  at  seeing  us,  and  said  that 
travellers  like  ourselves  had  never  been  there  before. 
Indeed,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  in  many  out-of- 
the-way  places  we  were  absolutely  the  first  individuals  of 
a  class  somewhat  different  from  themselves  that  these 
poor  Norse  fishermen  and  small  farmers  of  the  coast  had 
ever  set  eyes  upon.  Their  looks  of  surprise  in  some 
cases,  and  of  curiosity  in  all,  showed  this  plainly  enough. 

In  one  chaotic  glen  or  gorge  where  we  landed  we 
distributed  a  few  presents  among  the  people  —  such  aa 
knives,  scissors,  and  thimbles  —  with  which  they  were 
immensely  delighted.  Three  of  our  party  were  ladies  ; 
and  the  curiosity  exhibited  by  the  Norse  women  in  regard 
to  our  fair  companions  was  very  amusing.  By  the  way, 
one  of  the  said  "fair"  companions  was  a  brunette,  and 
her  long  jet  black  ringlets  appeared  to  afford  matter  for 
unceasing  wonder  and  admiration  to  the  flaxen-haired 
maidens  of  Norway. 

Of  course  I  am  now  speaking  of  the  untravelled  dis- 
tricts. In  the  regular  highways  of  the  country,  travel- 
lers of  every  class  and  nation  are  common  enough.  But 
Norway,  in  the  interior  as  well  as  on  the  coast,  has 
this  advantage  over  other  lands,  that  there  are  regions, 
plenty  of  them,  where  travellers  have  never  been,  and  to 
reach  which  is  a  matter  of  so  great  difficulty  that  it  is 
probable  few  will  ever  attempt  to  go.  This  fact  is  a 
matter  of  rejoicing  in  these  days  of  railroads  and  steam- 
boats! 


NOEWAY. 


CHAPTER.  II. 

THE    NATIVES    AT    HOME. 

WHILE  we  were  sailing  up  the  Sogney  fiord,  which 
runs  between  stupendous  mountains  about  a  hun- 
dred miles  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  we  came  to 
a  gap  in  the  mountains  into  which  ran  a  branch  of  the 
fiord. 

The  spirit  of  discovery  was  strong  upon  my  friend,  the 
owner  of  the  yacht,  so  he  ordered  our  skipper  to  turn  into 
it.  We  were  soon  running  into  as  wild  and  gloomy  a 
region  as  can  well  be  conceived,  with  the  mountains  rising, 
apparently,  straight  up  from  the  sea  into  the  clouds,  and 
tongues  of  the  great  Justedal  glacier  peeping  over  their 
summits.  We  turned  into  a  large  bay  and  cast  anchor 
under  the  shadow  of  a  hill  more  than  5,000  feet  high. 

Here  we  found  the  natives  kind  and  hospitable ;  but, 


THE    NATIVES    AT    HOME.  279 

indeed,  this  is  the  unvarying  experience  of  travellers  in 
Norway.  They  were  not,  in  this  fiord,  like  the  poverty- 
stricken  fishermen  of  the  outer  islands.  They  were  a 
civilised,  comfortable-looking,  apparently  well  off.  and 
altogether  jovial  race  of  people,  some  of  whom  took  a 
deep  interest  in  us,  and  overwhelmed  us  with  kind 
attentions. 


A    NORWEGIAN"    CAKKIAGK. 


Their  houses,  which  were  built  of  wood,  did  not 
present  much  appearance  of  luxury,  but  there  was  no 
lack  of  all  the  solid  comforts  of  life.  No  carpets  covered 
the  floors,  and  no  paintings,  except  a  few  badly-coloured 
prints,  graced  the  walls.  But  there  were  huge,  quaint- 


280  NORWAY. 

looking  stoves  in  every  room,  suggestive  of  a  genial 
temperature  ;  and  there  were  scattered  about  numbers  of 
immense  meerschaum  pipes  and  tobacco  pouches,  sugges- 
tive of  fireside  gossip — perchance  legends  and  tales  of  the 
old  sea-kings — in  the  long  dark  nights  of  winter. 

I  was  strengthened  here  in  my  belief  in  the  indis- 
soluble connection  between  fat  and  good-humour ;  for  all 
the  people  of  this  fiord  seemed  to  me  to  be  both  good- 
humoured  and  fat.  It  was  here,  too,  that  I  was  for  the 
first  time  strongly  impressed  with  my  own  lamentable 
ignorance  of  the  Norse  language.  Nevertheless,  the  old 
proverb — "Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way" — held 
good,  for  the  way  in  which  I  managed  to  hold  converse 
with  the  natives  of  that  region  was  astounding  even  to 
myself ! 

One  bluff,  hearty  fellow  of  about  fifty,  with  fair  hair,  a 
round,  oily  countenance,  and  bright  blue  eyes,  took  me 
off  to  see  his  wife  and  family.  Up  to  this  time  our  party 
had  always  kept  together,  and,  being  a  lazy  student,  I 
had  been  wont  to  maintain  a  modest  silence  while  some 
of  my  companions,  more  versed  in  the  language,  did  all 
the  talking.  But  now  I  found  myself,  for  the  first  time, 
alone  with  a  Norwegian !  —fairly  left  to  my  own  re- 
sources. Well,  I  began  by  stringing  together  all  the 
Norse  I  knew  (it  was  not  much),  and  endeavouring  to 
look  as  if  I  knew  a  great  deal  more.  But  I  soon  found 
that  Murray's  list  of  sentences  did  not  avail  me  in  e 
lengthened  and  desultory  conversation. 

My  fat  friend  and  I  soon  became  very  amicable  and 


THE    NATIVES    AT    HOiEE.  2&1 

communicative  on  this  system.  He  told  me  innumerable 
Btories  of  which  I  did  not  comprehend  a  sentence  ;  but* 
nevertheless,  I  looked  as  if  I  did,  smiled,  nodded  my 
head,  and  said  "  Ya,  ya ; "  to  which  he  always  replied, 
"  Ya,  ya,"  waving  his  arms  and  slapping  his  chest,  and 
rolling  his  eyes,  as  he  bustled  along  towards  his  dwelling. 

The  cottage  was  a  curious  little  thing — a  sort  of  huge 
toy,  perched  on  a  rock  close  to  the  water's  edge.  If  it 
had  slipped  of?  that  rock — a  catastrophe  which  had  at 
least  the  appearance  of  being  possible — it  would  have 
plunged  into  forty  or  fifty  fathoms  of  water,  so  steep  were 
the  hills  and  so  deep  the  sea  at  that  place.  Here  my 
friend  found  another  subject  to  expatiate  upon  and  dance 
round,  in  the  shape  of  his  own  baby — a  soft,  smooth 
counterpart  of  himself — which  lay  sleeping  like  Cupid  in 
its  crib.  The  man  was  evidently  extremely  fond  of  this 
infant,  not  to  say  proud  of  it.  He  went  quite  into 
ecstasies  about  it ;  now  gazing  at  it  with  looks  of  pen- 
sive admiration,  anon  starting  and  looking  at  me  as  if 
to  say,  "Did  you  ever  in  all  your  life  behold  such  a 
beautiful  cherub  ?  "  The  man's  enthusiasm  was  really 
catching — I  began  to  feel  quite  a  paternal  interest  in  the- 
cherub  myself. 

"  Oh  ! '  he  cried  in  rapture,  "  det  er  smook  burn  " 
(that  a  pretty  baby). 

"Ya,  ya,"  said  I,  "  rnegit  smook'  (very  pretty)^ 
although  I  must  confess  that  smoked  bairn  would  have 
been  equally  appropriate,  for  it  was  as  brown  as  a. red* 
herring. 


282 


NORWAY. 


I    spent    an    agreeable,    though    mentally    confused, 
afternoon  with  this  hospitable  man  and  his  two   sister's, 


PEASANTS    AND    MINISTER. 


who  were    placid,    fat,    amiable,    and    fair.      They  gave 
me    the    impression  of  having    never   been    in  a    condi- 


THE    NATIVES    AT    HOME.  288 

tion  of  haste  or  perturbation  from  their  birthdays  up  to 
that  time.  We  sat  in  a  sort  of  small  garden,  round  a 
green  painted  table,  drinking  excellent  coffee,  of  which 
beverage  the  Norwegians  seem  to  be  uncommonly 
fond. 

The  costume  of  these  good  people  was  of  an  uncom- 
monly sombre  hue ;  indeed,  this  is  the  case  throughout 
Norway  generally.  But  when  a  Norse  girl  marries,  she 
comes  out  for  once  in  brilliant  plumage.  She  decks  her- 
self out  in  the  gaudiest  of  habiliments,  with  a  profusion 
of  gold  and  silver  ornaments.  The  most  conspicuous 
part  of  her  costume  is  a  crown  of  pure  silver,  gilt,  and  a 
scarlet-cloth  breast-piece,  which  is  thickly  studded  with 
silver-gilt  brooches  and  beads  of  various  hues,  besides 
little  round  mirrors  1  This  breast-piece  and  the  crown 
usually  belong,  not  to  the  bride,  but  to  the  district ! 
They  are  a  species  of  public  property  hired  out  by  each 
bride  on  hr?  wedding-day  for  the  sum  of  about  five  shil- 
lings. This  costume  is  gorgeous,  and  remarkably  becom- 
ing, especially  when  worn  by  a  fair-haired,  blue-eyed, 
and  pretty  Norse  girl. 

Some  time  after  the  little  touch  of  domestic  life  above 
narrated,  we  had  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
peasants  of  these  remote  glens  indulge  in  a  little  public 
recreation.  We  chanced  to  be  up  at  the  head  of  the 
Nord  fiord  on  the  eve  of  St.  John's  day,  not  the  day 
of  the  Evangelist,  but  of  the  Baptist.  This  is  a  £-;eat 
day  in  Norway ;  and  poor  indeed  must  be  the  hamlet 
where,  or,  the  eve  of  that  day,  there  is  not  an  attempt 


284  NORWAY. 

made  to  kindle  a  mighty  blaze  and  make  merry.  On 
St.  John's  Eve,  bonfires  leap  and  roar  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land. 

The  manner  in  which  the  people  rejoiced  upon  thil 
occasion  was  curious  and  amusing.  But  here  I  must 
turn  aside  for  one  moment  to  guard  myself  from  miscon- 
struction. It  needs  little  reasoning  to  prove  that  where 
the  mountains  rise  something  like  walls  into  the  clouds, 
and  are  covered  with  everlasting  ice,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  valleys  may  have  exceedingly  little  intercourse  with 
each  other.  The  doings  on  this  occasion  may  or  may 
not  have  been  peculiar,  in  some  points,  to  this  particular 
valley  at  the  head  of  the  Nord  fiord.  I  simply  describe 
what  I  saw. 

It  was  midnight  when  we  went  to  a  field  at  the  base 
of  a  mountain  to  witness  the  rejoicings  of  the  people. 
But  the  midnight  hour  wore  not  the  sombre  aspect  of 
night  in  our  more  southerly  climes.  The  sun  had  indeed 
set,  but  the  blaze  of  his  refulgent  beams  still  shot  up  into 
the  zenith,  and  sent  a  flood  of  light  over  the  whole  sky. 
In  fact,  it  was  almost  broad  daylight,  and  the  only  change 
that  took  place  that  night  was  the  gradual  increasing  of 
the  light  as  the  sun  rose  again,  at  a  preposterously  early 
hour,  to  recommence  his  long- continued  journey  through 
the  summer  sky. 

Assembled  on  the  greensward  of  the  field,  and  sur- 
rounded by  mountains  whose  summits  were  snow-capped 
and  whose  precipitous  sides  were  seamed  with  hundreds 
of  cataracts  that  gushed  from  frozen  caves,  were  upwards 


THE    NATIVES    AT    HOME. 


285 


of  a  thousand  men  and  women.     There  seemed  to  me  to 
be  comparatively  few  children. 


AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  NORD  FIORD. 

To  give  a  pretty  fair  notion  of  the  aspect  of  this  con- 
course, it  is  necessary  to   give   an   account  of  only  two 


286  NOEWAT. 

individual  units  thereof.  One  man  wore  a  dark  brown 
pair  of  coarse  homespun  trousers,  a  jacket  and  vest  o3 
the  same  material,  and  a  bright  scarlet  cap,  such  as 
fishermen  are  wont  to  wear.  One  woman  wore  a  dark 
coarse  gown  and  a  pure  white  kerchief  on  her  head  tied 
under  her  chin.  There  were  some  slight  modifications, 
no  doubt,  but  the  multiplication  of  those  two  by  a  thon- 
sand  gives  very  nearly  the  desired  result.  The  men 
resembled  a  crop  of  enormous  poppies,  and  the  women  a 
crop  of  equally  gigantic  lilies. 

Yet,  although  the  brilliancy  of  the  red  and  white  was 
intense,  the  deep  sombreness  of  the  undergrowth  was 
overpowering.  There  was  a  dark  rifle -corps-like  effect 
about  them  at  a  distance,  which — albeit  suggestive  of 
pleasing  military  memories  in  these  volunteering  days — 
was  in  itself  emphatically  dismal. 

Having  come  there  to  enjoy  themselves,  these  good 
people  set  about  the  manufacture  of  enjoyment  with  that 
grave,  quiet,  yet  eminently  cheerful  demeanour,  which  is 
a  characteristic  feature  of  most  of  the  country  people 
of  Norway  whom  I  have  seen.  They  had  delayed 
commencing  operations  until  our  arrival.  Several  of 
the  older  men  came  forward  and  shook  hands  with  us 
very  heartily  after  which  they  placed  three  old  boats 
together  and  covered  them  outside  and  in  with  tar,  so 
that  when  the  torch  was  applied  there  was  such  a  sudden 
blaze  of  light  as  dimmed  the  lustre  of  the  midnight  sun 
himself  for  a  time. 

Strange  to  say,  no  enthusiasm  seemed  to  kindle  in  the 


THE    NATIVES    AT    HOME.  287 

breasts  of  the  peasants.  A  careless  observer  would  have 
deemed  tbom  apathetic,  but  this  would  have  been  a  mis- 
taken op'r;i<-;n.  They  evidently  looked  on  the  mighty 
blaze  with  calm  felicity.  Their  enjoyment  was  clearly  a 
matter  of  fact ;  it  may  have  been  deep,  it  certainly  wag 
not  turbulent. 

Soon  we  heard  a  sound  resembling  the  yells  of  a  pig. 
This  was  a  violin.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  noise 
resembling  the  beating  of  a  flour-mill,  which,  we  found, 
proceeded  from  the  heel  of  the  musician,  who  had 
placed  a  wooden  board  under  his  left  foot  for  the 
purpose  of  beating  time  with  effect.  He  thus,  as  it 
were,  played  the  fiddle  and  beat  the  drum  at  the  same 
time. 

Round  this  musician  the  young  men  and  maidens 
formed  a  ring  and  began  to  dance.  There  was  little 
talking,  and  that  little  was  in  an  undertone.  They 
went  to  work  with  the  utmost  gravity  and  decorum. 
Scarcely  a  laugh  was  heard — nothing  approaching  to  a 
shout  during  the  whole  night — nevertheless,  they  enjoyed 

/ 

themselves  thoroughly ;    I  have   no   doubt  whatever   of 
that. 

The  nature  of  their  dances  was  somewhat  incomprehen- 
sible. It  seemed  as  if  the  chief  object  of  the  young  men 
was  to  exhibit  their  agility  by  every  species  of  impromptu 
bound  and  fling  of  which  the  human  frame  is  capable, 
including  the  rather  desperate  feat  of  dashing  themselves 
flat  upon  the  ground.  The  principal  care  of  the  girls 
seemed  to  be  to  keen  out  of  the  wav  of  the  men  and 


288 


NORWAY. 


avoid  being  killed  by  a  frantic  kick  or  felled  by  a  random 
blow.  But  the  desperate  features  in  each  dance  did  not 
appear  at  first 

Every  man  began  by  seizing  his  partner's  hand,  and 
dragging  her  round  the  circle,  ever  and  anon  twirling 
her  round  violently  with  one  arm,  and  catching  her 


round  the  waist  with  the  other,  in  order — as  it  appeared 
to  me — to  save  her  from  an  untimely  end.  To  tlii-; 
treatment  the  fair  damsels  submitted  with  pleased  though 
bashful  looks. 

But    soon    the    men    flung    them    off,   and   went   at   it 
entirely  on  their  own  account ;  yet  they  kept  up  a  sort 


THE    NATIVES    AT    HOME.  28S 

of  revolving  course  round  their  partners,  like  satellites 
encircling  their  separate  suns.  Present!}  the  satellites 
assumed  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  comet.  They 
rushed  about  the  circle  in  wild  erratic  courses  ;  they 
leaped  into  the  air,  and,  while  in  that  position,  slapped 
the  soles  of  their  feet  with  both  hands.  Should  any  one 
deem  this  an  easy  feat,  let  him  try  it. 

Then  they  became  a  little  more  sane,  and  a  waltz,  or 
something  like  it,  was  got  up.  It  was  really  pretty,  and 
some  of  the  movements  were  graceful ;  but  the  wild 
spirit  of  the  glens  re-entered  the  men  rather  suddenly. 
The  females  were  expelled  from  the  ring  altogether,  and 
the  youths  braced  themselves  for  a  little  really  heavy 
work  ;  they  flung  and  hurled  themselves  about  like 
maniacs,  stood  on  their  heads  and  walked  on  their  hands 
—in  short,  became  a  company  of  acrobats,  yet  always 
kept  up  a  sympathetic  feeling  for  time  with  the  music. 
But  not  a  man,  woman,  or  child  there  gave  vent  to  his 
or  her  feelings  in  laughter  ! 

They  smiled ;  they  commented  in  a  soft  tone ;  they 
looked  happy — nay,  I  ana  convinced  they  were  happy — 
but  they  did  not  laugh.  Once  only  did  they  give  vent 
to  noisy  mirth,  and  that  was  when  an  aspiring  youth 
(after  having  made  the  nearest  possible  approach  to 
suicide)  walked  round  the  circle  on  his  h^nds  and  shook 
his  feet  in  the  air.  We  left  them,  after  a  time,  in  the 
full  swing  of  a  prosperous  manufacture  of  enjoyment, 
and  walked  home,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  by 
brilliant  daylight. 

u 


NORWAY. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    NATIVES    ABEOAD. 

TTTHILST  travelling  from  place   to   place  by  steamer 
one    enjoys   many    opportunities    of    studying   the 
character  and  habits  of  the  people. 

I  chanced,  once,  to  be  the  only  Briton  on  board  the 
steamer  that  plied  between  the  Nord  fiord  and  Bergen, 
and  I  was  particularly  struck,  on  that  occasion,  with  the 
silence  that  seemed  to  be  cultivated  by  the  people  as  if  it 
were  a  virtue.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  passengers 
and  crew  were  taciturn — far  from  it ;  they  bustled  about 
actively,  and  were  quite  sociable  and  talkative ;  but  all 
their  talk  was  in  an  undertone — no  voice  was  ever  raised 
to  a  loud  pitch.  Even  the  captain,  when  he  gave  orders, 
did  so  in  a  quiet  voice,  usually  walking  up  to  the  men 
and  telling  them  gently  to  do  so  and  so.  When  I  called 


THE   NATIVES   ABROAD.  291 

to  mind  the  bellowing  of  our  own  nautical  men, 
this  seemed  to  me  a  remarkably  modest  way  of  getting 
on,  and  very  different  from  what  one  might  have  ex- 
pected from  the  descendants  of  the  rough  vikings  of 
old. 

Tie  prevailing  quiescence,  however,  reached  its  cul- 
nunating  point  at  the  dinner  table,  for  there  the  silence 
vas  total,  although  a  good  deal  of  gesticulative  ceremony 
and  vigorous  muscular  action  prevailed.  When  we  had 
all  assembled  in  the  cabin  at  the  whispered  request  of 
the  steward,  and  had  stood  for  a  few  minutes  looking 
benign  and  expectant,  but  not  talking,  the  captain  en- 
tered, bowed  to  the  company,  was  bowed  to  by  the 
company,  motioned  us  to  our  seats,  whispered  "  ver  so 
goot,"  and  sat  down. 

This  phrase  versogoot  (I  spell  it  as  pronounced)  merits 
explanation  in  passing.  It  is  an  expression  that  seems 
to  me  capable  of  extension  and  distension,  and  is  fre- 
quently on  the  lip  of  a  Norwegian.  It  is  a  convenient, 
flexible,  jovial  expression,  which  is  easily  said,  easily 
remembered,  and  means  much.  I  cannot  think  of  a 
better  way  of  conveying  an  idea  of  its  signification  than 
7  by  saying  that  it  is  a  compound  of  the  phrases,  "  be  so 
good" — "by  your  leave" — "if  you  please" — "go  it, 
my  hearties" — and  "that's  your  sort."  The  first  oi 
these,  be  so  good,  is  the  literal  translation,  the  remainder 
are  the  superinduced  sentiments  resulting  from  the  tone 
and  manner  in  which  the  words  are  uttered.  You  ma> 
rely  upon  it  that  when  a  Norwegian  offers  you  anything 


292  NORWAY. 

and  says  (>ver  so  yoot,"}ie  means  you  well,  and  hopes 
will  make  yourself  comfortable. 

But,  to  return  to  our  dinner  party.  There  was  no 
carving  at  this  meal — a  circumstance  worthy  of  con- 
§ideration  and  imitation.  The  dishes  were  handed  round 
by  waiters.  First  of  all  we  had  sweet  rice  soup  with 
wine  and  raisins  in  it,  the  eating  of  which  seemed  to  me 
like  the  spoiling  of  one's  dinner  with  a  bad  pudding. 
This  finished,  the  plates  were  removed. 

The  silence  had  by  this  time  began  to  impress  me. 
"Now,"  thought  I,  "  surely  some  one  will  converse 
with  his  neighbour  during  this  interval."  No ;  not  a  lip 
moved !  I  glanced  at  my  right  and  left  hand  men.  I 
thought  for  a  moment  of  venturing  out  upon  the  un- 
known deep  of  a  foreign  tongue,  and  cleared  my  throat ; 
but  every  eye  was  on  me  in  an  instant,  and  the  sound  of 
my  own  voice,  even  in  that  familiar  process,  was  so 
appalling  that  I  subsided.  I  looked  at  the  pretty  girl 
opposite  me.  I  felt  certain  that  the  young  fellow  next 
her  was  on  the  point  of  addressing  her,  but  I  was  mis- 
taken. Either  he  had  forgotten  what  he  meant  to  say, 
or  his  thoughts  were  too  big  for  utterance.  I  am  still 
under  the  impression  that  this  youth  would  have  broken 
the  ice  had  not  the  next  course  come  on  and  claimed  his 
undivided  attention. 

The  second  course  began  with  a  dish  like  bread  pud- 
ding, minus  currants  and  raisins — suggesting  the  idea 
that  these  ameliorative  elements  had  been  put  into  the 
Boup  by  mistake.  It  looked  as  if  it  were  a  sweet  dish, 


THE    NATIVES    ABKOAD.  293 

but  it  turned  out  to  be  salt ;  and  pure  melted  butter, 
without  any  admixture  of  flour  and  water,  was  handed 
round  as  sauce.  After  this  came  veal  and  beef  cutlets, 
which  we  ate  mixed  with  cranberry  jam,  pickles,  and 
potatoes.  Then  came  the  concluding  course — cold  sponge 
cake,  with  almjnds  and  raioins  scattered  over  it.  By 
this  arrangement  we  were  enabled,  after  eating  the  cake 
as  pudding,  to  slide  naturally  and  pleasantly  into  dessert 
without  a  change  of  plates. 

There  was  a  general  tendency  in  the  company  to  bend 
their  heads  over,  and  rather  close  to,  their  plates  while 
eating,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  communing  privately  with 
the  viands,  and  a  particular  tendency  on  the  part  of  the 
man  next  me  to  spread  his  arms  and  thrust  one  of  his 
elbows  into  my  side,  in  regard  to  which  I  exercised 
much  forbearance.  The  only  beverages  used,  besides 
cold  water,  were  table  beer  and  St.  Julien,  the  latter  a 
thin  acid  wine  much  used  in  Norway ;  but  there  was 
no  drinking  after  dinner.  It  seemed  to  be  the  eti- 
quette to  rise  from  table  simultaneously.  We  did  so 
on  this  occasion,  and  then  a  general  process  of  bowing 
ensued. 

In  regard  to  this  latter  proceeding  I  have  never  been 
able  to  arrive  at  a  clear  understanding  as  to  what  was 
actually  done  or  intended  to  be  done,  but  my  impression 
is,  that  each  bowed  to  the  other,  and  all  bowed  to  the 
captain ;  then  the  captain  bowed  tc  each  individually, 
and  to  all  collectively  ;  after  which  a  comprehensive  bow 
was  made  by  everybody  to  all  the  rest  all  round,  and 


NORWAY. 


then  we  went  on  deck.  In  fact,  it  seemed  as  if  tha 
effect  of  dinner  had  been  to  fill  each  man  with  such 
overflowing  benignity  and  goodwill  that  he  would  hava 
smiled  and  bowed  to  a  bedpost  had  it  come  in  his  way, 
*nd  I  am  certain  that  the  obliging  waiters  came  in  for  a 
large  share  of  these  civilities,  and  repaid  the  company  in 

kind. 

As  each  guest  passed  out,  he  or  she  said  to  the  captain, 
"tak  for  mad."  This  is  a  "manner  and  custom,*' 
throughout  all  Norway,  and  means  thanks  for  meat.  The 
expression  is  usually  accompanied  with  a  shake  of  the 
host's  hand,  but  that  part  of  the  ceremony  was  not  per- 
formed upon  this  occasion,  probably  because  the  captain 
was  not  a  bona  fide  host,  seeing  that  we  had  paid  for  onr 
dinner.  With  the  exception  of  these  three  words  at  the 
end,  and  "ver  so  goot"  at  the  beginning,  not  a  single 
syllable  was  uttered  by  any  one  during  the  whole  course 
of  that  meal. 

When  the  deck  was  gained  the  gentlemen  immediately 
took  to  smoking.  As  a  matter  of  course,  Norwegians 
smoke,  and  they  entertain  enlarged  ideas  on  that  subject, 
if  one  may  judge  from  the  immense  size  of  their  meer- 
schaums, and  the  large  fat  tobacco-pouch  that  is  worn  by 
every  man,  strapped  across  his  shoulders. 

There  was  a  youth  in  this  steamer  —  a  beardless  youth 
—  whose  first  thought  in  the  morning,  and  whose  last 
glimmer  of  an  idea  at  night,  was  his  pipe,  the  bowl  ol 
which  was  as  large  as  his  own  fist. 

I  remember  watching  him  with  deep  interest.     He  wai 


THE    NATIVES    ABROAD.  295 

long,  cadaverous,  and  lanky — in  these  respects  unlike  his 
countrymen.  He  slept  on  the  sofa  just  opposite  the  spot 
whereon  I  lay,  so  that,  unless  I  turned  my  face  to  the 
iide  of  the  vessel  or  shut  my  eyes,  he  was  an  unavoidable 
•abject  of  contemplation.  On  awaking  he  stretched  him 
self,  which  act  had  an  alarming  appearance  in  one  so  long 
by  nature,  and  so  attenuated.  Then  he  filled  his  pipe 
with  an  air  of  deep  abstraction  and  profound  melancholy 
—the  result,  I  suppose,  of  his  being  unrefreshed  by  his 
recent  slumbers. 

Of  course,  no  one  of  sense  would  think  of  attributing 
this  to  excessive  smoking ! 

The  pipe  filled,  he  arose ;  on  rising,  he  lit  it ;  while 
dressing,  he  smoked  it ;  and  till  breakfast  it  burned 
fiercely  like  a  blast-furnace.  During  the  morning  meal 
it  went  out,  but  before  the  big  bowl  had  time  to  cool  it 
Was  rekindled.  He  smoked  till  dinner-time  ;  dined,  and 
smoked  till  tea-time ;  tea'd,  and  smoked  till  bed-time. 
Then  he  lay  down  for  the  night,  and  still  continued  to 
«tnoke  until  I  or  he,  I  forget  which,  fell  asleep.  He 
awoke  before  I  did  next  morning,  so  that  when  I  opened 
my  eyes  the  first  object  they  rested  on  was  the  bowl  i* 
that  youth's  meerschaum  enveloped  in  clouds  of  smoke  ! 

1  am  tempted  to  moralise,  but  I  refrain.  Mankind  is 
smitten  with  the  c&aease,  and  I  am  afraid  that  it  w 


NOBWAY. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DAY      AND     NIGHT. 

fllEEE  farther  north  you  go  in  voyaging  along  the  coast 
-*-  during  the  months  of  June  and  July  the  brighter 
and  longer  becomes  the  daylight,  until  at  last  you  arrive 
at  the  regions  of  perpetual  day. 

The  charm  of  this  state  of  things  is  beyond  the  com- 
prehension of  those  who  have  not  experienced  it.  Apart 
altogether  from  the  gladdening  influence  of  sunshine, 
there  is  something  delightfully  reckless  in  the  feeling  that 
there  is  no  necessity  whatever  for  taking  note  of  the 
flight  of  time — no  fear  lest  we  should,  while  wandering 
together,  or  perchance  alone,  among  the  mountains,  be 
overtaken  by  night.  During  several  weeks  we  lived  in 
the  blaze  of  a  long  nightless  day. 

While  we  were  in  this  bright  region  most  of  us  laid 


DAY    AND    NIGHT.  297 

iside  our  watches  as  useless,  leaving  it,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  to  the  skipper  cf  our  yacht  to  tell  us  when 
Sunday  came  round,  for  we  always,  when  practicable, 
spent  that  day  at  anchor,  and  had  service  on  board. 

I  do  not  use  hyperbolical  language  when  speaking  of 
this  perpetual  daylight.  During  several  weeks,  after  we 
had  crossed  the  Arctic  circle,  the  sun  descended  little 
more  than  its  own  diameter  below  the  horizon  each 
night,  so  that  it  had  scarcely  set  when  it  rose  again,  and 
the  diminution  of  the  light  was  quite  insignificant ;  it  did 
not  approach  in  the  slightest  degree  to  twilight.  If  I  had 
suddenly  awakened  during  any  of  the  twenty-four  hours 
in  the  cabin  of  the  yacht,  or  in  any  place  from  which  it 
was  impossible  to  observe  the  position  of  the  sun,  I  could 
not  have  told  whether  it  was  night  or  day ! 

Having  said  that,  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  add  that 
we  could,  even  in  the  cabin,  read  the  smallest  print  at 
midnight  as  easily  as  at  noonda}\  Moreover,  a  clear 
midnight  was  absolutely  brighter  than  a  cloudy  fore- 
noon. Nevertheless,  there  was  a  distinct  difference 
between  night  and  day — a  difference  with  which  light 
had  nothing  to  do. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  incalculable  myriads  of 
minute  and  invisible  creatures  with  which  God  has  filled 
the  solitudes  of  this  world,  even  more  largely  than  its 
inhabited  parts,  exercise  a  much  more  powerful  influence 
on  our  senses  than  we  suppose. 

During  the  day-time  these  teeming  millions,  bustling 
about  in  the  activities  of  their  tiny  spheres,  create  a& 


298  NORWAY. 

actual,  though  unrecognisable  noise.  I  do  not  refer  to 
gnats  and  flies  so  much  as  to  those  atomic  insects  whose 
little  persons  are  never  seen,  and  whose  individual  voices 
are  never  heard,  but  whose  collective  hum  is  a  fact 
that  is  best  proved  by  the  silence  that  follows  its 
cessation. 

In  the  evening  these  all  retire  to  rest,  and  night  i? 
marked  by  a  deep  impressive  stillness,  which  we  are  apt 
erroneously  to  suppose  is  altogether  the  result  of  that 
noisy  giant  man  having  betaken  himself  to  his  lair. 
Yet  this  difference  between  night  and  day  was  only 
noticeable  when  we  were  alone,  or  very  quiet ;  the 
preponderating  noises  resulting  from  conversation  or 
walking  were  more  than  sufficient  to  dispel  the  sweet 
influence. 

We  were  often  very  far  wrong  in  our  ideas  of  time. 
Once  or  twice,  on  landing  and  going  into  a  hamlet  on 
the  coast,  we  have  been  much  surprised  to  find  the 
deepest  silence  reigning  everywhere,  and,  on  peeping  in 
at  a  window,  to  observe  that  the  inhabitants  were  all 
in  bed,  while  the  sun  was  blazing  high  in  the  heavens. 

Sometimes,  too,  on  returning  from  a  shooting  or  fishing 
expedition,  I  have  seen  a  bush  or  a  tree  full  of  small  birds, 
each  standing  on  one  leg,  with  its  head  thrust  under  its 
wing  and  its  round  little  body  puffed  up  to  nearly  twice 
its  usual  size,  and  have  thus  been  reminded  that  the 
hours  for  rest  had  returned.  Of  course  a  little  observa- 
tion and  reflection  would  at  any  time  have  cleared  up  our 
minds  as  to  whether  day  or  night  was  on  the  wing— 


DAY    AND    NIGHT. 


299 


nevertheless,  I  state  the  simple  truth  when  I  say  that  we 
were*  often  much  perplexed,  and  sometimes  ludicrously 
deceived,  by  the  conversion  of  night  into  day. 

On  one  occasion  we  lay  becalmed  in  a  fiord  somewhere 
beyond  the  Arctic  circle.     It  was  fine  weather,  but  the 


AX    HOUR    AFTER    MIDNIGHT. 


sky  was  not  so  bright  as  usual,  being  obscured  by  clouds. 
A  fisherman's  boat  happening  to  pass,  we  resolved  to  take 
advantage  of  it  and  escape  the  monotony  of  a  calm  by 
having  a  row  up  the  fiord.  The  fisherman  said  there 


800  NORWAY. 

was  a  good  salmon  river  and  plenty  of  ptaimigan  at  a 
place  little  more  than  a  Norse  mile  off — equal  to  about 
seven  English  miles— so  we  took  rods  and  guns  with  us. 
It  was  evening  when  we  set  forth,  but  I  did  not  knott 
the  exact  hour. 

The  scenery  through  which  we  passed  at  thib  particu- 
lar place  was  on  a  smaller  scale  than  is  usual  in  Norway, 
and  we  enjoyed  our  row  more  than  usual  in  consequence  ; 
ecenery  on  a  small  scale  is  more  enjoyable  than  scenery 
on  a  large  scale  ;  the  reason  of  this  seems  to  be  that, 
when  in  the  midst  of  scenery  on  a  small  scale,  the 
traveller  is  constantly  and  rapidly  presented  with  new 
views,  as  well  as  with  beautiful  and  varied  combina- 
tions of  the  same  views,  while  in  that  on  a  large 
ecale  the  eye  becomes  indifferent  to  the  almost  change- 
less grandeur  of  prospects  which  are  so  vast  that  they 
are  necessarily  presented  to  the  view  for  hours  at  a 
time. 

On  our  way  we  met  with  a  Finn.  He  stood  on  a  rock, 
gazing  at  us  with  much  interest.  I  know  not  in  what 
circle  of  Finnish  society  this  individual  moved,  but  his 
class  and  tribe  had  certainly  no  reason  to  be  proud  of  his 
personal  appearance.  He  was  diminutive,  dishevelled, 
and  dirty.  His  dress  was  a  leathern  tunic,  belted  round 
the  waist ;  his  leggings  were  of  the  same  material.  But 
the  most  conspicuous  portion  of  his  costume  was  a  tall, 
conical  worsted  night-cap,  which  we  neatly,  but  acci- 
dentally, knocked  off  his  head  with  a  piece  of  tobacco. 
He  looked  angry  at  first,  but  on  becoming  aware  of  th« 


DAY    AND   NIGHT.  801 

nature  and  quality  of  our  missile,  his   weather-beaten 
visage  beamed  with  forgiving  smiles. 

Next  we  came  upon  an  eagle,  which  alighted  on  a  tree 
and  allowed  us  to  come  within  long  range — at  least  out 
sanguine  temperaments  induced  us  to  hope  that  i't  was 
long  range — before  taking  flight.  Of  course  it  took  no 
notice  whatever  of  the  three  shots  we  fired  at  it.  Boon 
after  that  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Here  we  found  a  small  hamlet  of  exceedingly  poor 
people,  who  received  us  hospitably,  but  with  such  evident 
astonishment,  that  we  concluded  they  had  never  seen 
civilised  visitors  before.  Their  fiord  was  off  the  track  of 
steamers,  and  far  distant  from  any  town.  They  them- 
selves were  little  if  at  all  better  than  North  American 
Indians. 

They  gathered  round  us  with  open  eyes  and  mouths, 
and  the  women  handled  our  clothes  with  evident  wonder. 
We  presented  them  with  several  pairs  of  scissors,  where- 
upon they  shook  hands  with  us  all  round  and  said  "tak" 
— thanks — very  heartily.  In  this  custom  ot  shaking 
hands  when  a  gift  is  presented,  I  usually  found  that 
the  receiver  shook  hands  not  only  with  the  donor,  but, 
in  the  exuberance  of  his  gratitude,  with  the  whole  party. 

The  looks  of  the  people  betokened  either  that  scissors 
were  entirely  new  implements  to  them,  or  tnm  those  we 
presented  were  of  unusually  good  quality.  They  went 
about  snipping  everything  in  the  most  reckless  manner. 
One  woman  caught  hold  of  the  ends  of  her  daughter's 
neckerchief  and  snipped  them  both  off ;  whereupon  hel 


802  NOBWAY. 

husband  plucked  them  out  of  her  hand,  and  snipped  ofl 
the  ends  of  his  beard. 

Here,  the  huts  being  dirty,  we  picnicked  on  the  green- 
sward. We  had  brought  tea  and  biscuit  with  us,  and  the 
natives  supplied  us  with  some  thick  sour  milk  with  half 
an  inch  of  sour  cream  on  it — a  dish  which  is  common  all 
over  Norway,  and  is  much  relished  by  the  people  as  well 
ap  by  many  of  their  visitors. 

This  disposed  of,  we  set  out — some  to  fish,  and  others 
to  shoot.  I  went  off  alone  with  my  gun.  Ptarmigan,  in 
summer  plumage,  which  is  brown,  with  pure  white 
feathers  intermixed,  were  numerous,  but  wild.  They 
were  just  tame  enough  to  lead  me  on  in  an  excited  and 
hopeful  state  of  mind  for  several  hours,  regardless  of  the 
flight  of  time. 

At  last  I  became  tired,  and  having  bagged  four  or  five 
birds  I  returned  to  the  boat,  where  I  found  my  comrades. 
One  of  them  chanced  to  have  a  watch,  and  from  him  I 
learned  that  it  was  just  two  o'clock  in  the  morning!  so  that 
I  had  actually  been  shooting  all  night  by  daylight ;  and 
the  sun  had  set  and  risen  again  without  my  being  aware  of 
the  fact.  We  did  not  get  back  to  the  yacht  till  eiglrt 
o'clock  A.M.,  when  we  found  the  crew  just  sitting  down 
to  a  breakfast  of  oatmeal  porridge.  Some  of  us  having 
refreshed  ourselves  with  a  dip  in  the  sea,  took  a  plate  of 
this.  Then  we  went  to  bed,  and  rose  again  at  six  o'clock 
that  evening  to  breakfast. 

During  one  of  my  solitary  rambles  with  the  gun,  I  had 
the  good  fortune  to   shoot  a  magnificent  eagle.     I  say 


DAT   AND    NIGHT.  808 

good  fortune  advisedly,  because  the  eagle  is  so  wary  that 
few  sportsmen  succeed  in  killing  one.  and  those  who  do 
have  more  cause  to  be  thankful  for  their  luck  than  proud 

fi 

of  their  prowess.  It  happened  thus  :  About  two  o'clock 
one  beautful  morning  in  July  I  lay  wide  awake  in  my 
berth,  looking  up  through  the  skylight  at  the  bright  blue 
heavens  ;  the  yacht  being  becalmed  somewhere  between 
latitudes  64°  and  65°,  and  the  sun  having  commenced 
to  ascend  the  vault  from  which  it  had  disappeared  for 
only  half  an  hour. 

On  that  night — if  I  may  be  permitted  the  inappropriate 
expression — I  could  not  sleep.  I  counted  the  hours  as 
they  passed  slowly  by;  practised  without  success  the 
various  little  devices  that  are  erroneously  supposed  to 
bring  slumber  to  the  sleepless ;  grew  desperate,  and 
finally  jumped  up  at  four  a.m.,  resolving  to  row  myself 
to  the  nearest  island  and  shoot.  There  were  usually 
eider  ducks  in  the  little  creeks,  and  ptarmigan  among  the 
scrub.  Should  these  fail  me  I  could  vent  my  spleen  on 
the  gulls. 

Arming  myself  with  a  double-barrel,  I  quaffed  a  tumbler 
of  water  and  sallied  forth,  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  it  con- 
tained a  large  dose  of  morphia,  which  had  been  prescribed 
for  an  ailing  but  refractory  member  of  our  party  the  pre- 
vious evening.  No  one  was  stirring.  It  was  a  dead 
calm. 

Landing  on  a  lovely  island,  of  perbaps  five  or  six  milet 
In  extent,  which  rose  in  the  form  of  a  rugged  mountain 
to  a  height  of  about  4,000  feet,  I  rambled  for  son* 


804  NORWAY. 

time  among  low  bushes  and  wild  flowers,  but  found 
no  game.  The  gulls,  as  if  aware  of  my  intentions,  had 
forsaken  the  low  rocks,  and  were  flying  high  up  among 
the  precipices  and  serried  ridges  and  peaks  of  the  moun- 
tain. Resolved  not  to  be  discomfited  I  began  to  ascend, 
and  as  I  mounted  upward  the  splendour  of  the  island 
scenery  became  more  apparent.  The  virtuous  feelings 
consequent  upon  early  rising  induced  a  happy  frame  of 
mind,  which  was  increased  by  the  exhilarating  influence 
of  the  mountain  air. 

It  was  a  wild  lonesome  place,  full  of  deep  dark  gorges 
and  rugged  steeps,  to  clamber  up  which,  if  not  a  work  of 
danger,  was  at  least  one  of  difficulty.  While  I  stood  on 
a  rocky  ledge,  gazing  upwards  at  the  sinuosities  of  the 
ravine  above  me,  I  observed  a  strange  apparition  near  the 
edge  of  a  rock  about  forty  yards  off.  It  was  a  face,  a 
red,  hairy,  triangular  visage,  with  a  pair  of  piercing  black 
eyes,  that  gazed  down  upon  me  in  unmitigated  amaze- 
ment. The  gun  flew  to  my  shoulder ;  I  looked  steadily 
for  a  moment ;  the  eyes  winked ;  bang !  went  the  gun, 
and  when  the  smoke  cleared  away  the  eyes  and  head 
were  gone.  Clambering  hastily  up  the  cliff,  I  found  a 
red  fox  lying  dead  behind  a  rock. 

Bagging  Reynard,  I  ascended  the  giddy  heights  where 
the  gulls  were  circling.  Here  the  clouds  enshrouded  me 
occasionally  as  they  sailed  past,  making  the  gulls  loom 
gigantic.  Suddenly  an  enormous  bird  swooped  past  me, 
looking  so  large  in  the  white  mist  that  I  felt  assured  it 
must  be  an  eagle.  I  squatted  behind  a  rock  at  once, 


DAY    AND    NIGH7. 


305 


as  the  mists  cleared  away  a  few  minutes  later  I  saw  him 

V 

clearly  enough  sailing  high  up  in  the  sky.  I  glanced 
down  at  the  yacht  that  lay  like  a  speck  on  the  water  far 
below,  and  up  at  the  noble  bird  that  went  soaring  higher 
and  higher  every  moment,  and  I  felt  a  species  of  awe 


TJ'E    EAGLE. 


creep  over  me  when  I  thought  of  the  tremendous  gulf 
of  space  that  lay  between  that  eagle  and  the  world 
below. 

He  was  evidently  bent  on  making  closer  acquaintance 
with  some  of  the  gulls,  so  I  sat  down  behind  a  rock  to 


806  NORWAY. 

watch  him.  But  knowing  the  shyness  and  sharp -sighted* 
ness  of  the  bird  I  soon  gave  up  all  hope  of  getting  a  shot, 
Presently  he  made  a  rapid  circling  flight  downwards,  and, 
after  hovering  a  few  minutes,  alighted  on  a  cliff  several 
hundred  yards  distant  from  my  place  of  concealment. 
Hope  at  once  revived  ;  I  rose,  and  began,  with  the  ut- 
most caution,  to  creep  towards  him.  The  rugged  nature 
of  the  ground  favoured  my  approach,  else  I  should  never 
have  succeeded  in  evading  the  glance  of  his  bold  and 
watchful  eye. 

When  I  had  approached  to  within  about  eighty  or 
ninety  yards,  I  came  to  an  open  space,  across  which  it 
was  impossible  to  pass  without  being  seen.  This  was 
beyond  conception  vexing.  To  lose  him  when  almost 
within  my  grasp  was  too  bad !  I  thought  of  trying  a 
long  shot,  but  feeling  certain  that  it  would  be  useless, 
I  prepared,  as  a  last  resource,  to  make  a  sudden  rush 
towards  him  and  get  as  near  as  possible  before  he  should 
rise. 

The  plan  was  successful.  Cocking  both  barrels  I  darted 
out  of  my  place  of  concealment  with  the  wild  haste  of  a 
maniac,  and,  before  the  astonished  eagle  could  launch 
himself  off  the  cliff,  I  had  lessened  the  distance  between 
us  by  at  least  thirty  yards.  Then  I  took  rapid  aim,  and 
fired  both  barrels  almost  simultaneously. 

I  might  as  well,  apparently,  have  discharged  a  pop-gun 
at  him.  Not  a  quiver  of  wing  or  tail  took  place.  He  did 
not  even  accelerate  his  majestic  flight,  as  the  shots  rever» 
berated  from  cliff  t N  cliff,  and  I  watched  him  sail  slowly 


DAT  AND   NIGHT.  807 

found  a  crag  and  disappear.  Ke-loading,  I  sauntered  in 
moody  desperation  in  the  direction  of  his  flight,  and  soon 
gained  the  point  round  which  he  had  vanished,  when, 
behold  !  he  lay  on  the  ground  with  his  broad  wings 
expanded  to  their  full  extent  and  his  head  erect.  I  ran 
towards  him,  but  he  did  not  move,  and  I  soon  saw  that 
he  was  mortally  wounded.  On  coming  close  up  I  was 
compelled  to  halt  and  gaze  at  him  in  admiration.  He 
raised  his  head  and  looked  at  me  with  a  glance  of  lofty 
disdain  which  I  shall  never  forget. 

The  conformation  of  the  eagle's  eye  is  such  that  its 
habitual  expression,  as  every  one  knows,  resembles  that 
of  deep  indignation.  This  bird  had  that  look  in  perfec- 
tion. His  hooked  beak  was  above  four  inches  long,  and 
it  struck  me  that  if  he  were  disposed  to  make  a  last 
gallant  struggle  for  life  when  I  grasped  him,  such  a  beak, 
with  its  corresponding  talons,  would  give  me  some  ugly 
wounds  before  I  could  master  him.  I  therefore  laid  my 
gun  gently  across  his  back  and  held  him  down  therewith 
while  I  caught  him  by  the  neck.  But  his  fighting  days 
were  over.  His  head  drooped  forward  and  his  bold  eye 
closed  in  death  a  few  seconds  later. 

Afterwards  I  found  that  the  whole  charge  of  both 
barrels  had  lodged  in  his  body  and  thighs,  yet,  on  re- 
ceiving this,  he  did  not  wince  a  hair's  breadth,  or  in  any 
other  way  indicate  that  he  had  been  touched.  He  mea- 
s cured  exactly  six  feet  six  inches  across  tb<*  expanded 
wings. 

Alas  1  his  staffed  skin,  which  I  have   preserved  aa  • 


308 


NORWAY. 


Norwegian  trophy,  gives  but  a  feeble  idea  of  wbat  the 
bird  was  when,  in  all  the  fire  of  strength,  courage, 
and  freedom,  he"  soared  above  the  mountain  peaks  of 
Norway. 


a 

LJLJ 

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