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called Finner), Finns [Kvcener; comp. p. 255"), and convicts, these
last being occasionally met with on tlieir way to the Slaveri, or
house of correction, at Throndhjem. If questioned as to the object
of their journey, they speak of it euphemistically as a ‘voyage to
the south’ or ‘in the king’s service’. Itinerant musicians (who in
accordance with the traditions of the country travel free) are often
a source of annoyance, and when the traveller hopes to get rid of
them by going ashore, they are pretty sure to re-appear at the
nearest inn or Gjcestgiveri. The sailors are generally a sober and
hard-working class, and the traveller will frequently have occasion
to admire the patience and perseverance they exhibit in loading
or discharging cargo.
The inhabitants of the small stations, who on the steamer’s
arrival crowd round her in their Ranebaade (p. 237), are another
object of interest. The charge forgoing ashore is usually 20 0.,
but the Taxt should always be asked for, lest the traveller
should unwittingly hurt the feelings of some landed proprietor or
local dignitary (albeit wielding the oars with upturned shirt
sleeves) by offering to pay. However far north the traveller
extends his voyage, he will be struck with the civility, honesty, and
intelligence of the natives, especially those who are not in
immediate contact with the influences of modern ‘civilisation’. In
Tromsø the telegraph official on one occasion insisted on
accompanying the writer for a quarter of an hour in the midst of a
deluge of rain to show him the way to the post-office, and at
Vadsø a merchant of the place showed him a collection of
valuable photographs from Vienna and a work on the philosophy of
Racon of which the owner was an admirer. Another native of
the far north mentioned that he had just returned from Rome
where he had spent the winter, while an intelligent native of
Kjelvik, close to the North Cape, had travelled over a considerable
part of Great Britain, but expressed a decided preference for the
freedom of his Arctic home, the greater purity of its air and water,
and even for its climate ! Clergymen, teachers, and
government-officials also travel frequently in these vessels, and will give much
interesting information regarding the Lapps, Finns, and other
inhabitants of the country.
The natural phenomena of this hyperborean region will not fail
to excite a keen interest even in the most experienced traveller.
The weather, the winds, and the fogs, the play of light and shade,
the purity of the atmosphere, are all quite unlike the corresponding
phenomena in other parts of Europe. The Alpine tourist will be
surprised to find how little his former practice aids him in estimating
distances here. The animal world is of extraordinary richness. The
sea teems with cod, herrings, skate, and other fish. Whales are
frequently seen spouting columns of water into the air, or rising to
the surface in unwieldy gambols. Swarms of eider-ducks swim
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