Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1857-06-25

After the Arctic weather described IN my
last. the temperature rose suddenly to 20
degrees below zero. We were happy and
Jolly at getting fairly started for Stockholm
at last, and having such mild , weather
to travel in The difference in our sensa-
tions was remarkable We could boldly
bare our faces and look about us; our feet
kept warm and glowing, and we felt no
m ,re the hazardous chill and torpor of the
preceding days. On the second stage the
Winter road crossed an arm of the Both
Man Gulf The path was well marked out
with fir-trees-a pretty avenue, four or five
miles in length, over the broad, white
plain. On the way we saw an eruption of
the ice, which had been violently thrown
ND by the confined air. Masses three feet
thick and solid as granite were burst asun-
der and piled atop of each other.
We travelled too fast this day for the
proper enjoyment Of the wonderful scenery
on the road. thought / had exhausted
my admiration of these Winter forests
but no, miracles will never cease. Such
fountains, candelabra, Gothic pinnacles,
tufts of plumes, colossal sprays of coral,
and the embodiments of the fairy pencil
ings Of frost and window panes, wrought
in chrystal and silver, are beyond the pow
er OF. pen or pencil 1t was a wilderness
ofbeauty, we knew not where to look nor
which forms to choose, in the dazzling COR
fusion Silent and all unmoved by the
wind they stood, sharp and brittle as OF yir-
gin ore-not trees Of earth, but the gloriied
forests Of All Father Odin's paradise, the
celestial city of Asgaard. No living forms
of vegetation are so lovely. Tropical
palms, the three-ferns of Penang, the lotus
of the Indian rivers, the feathery bamboo,
the arrowy areca-what are they beside these
marvellous growths of Winter, these shi-
ming sprays of pearl, ivory and opal, glcam-
ing in the soft orange light of the Arctic
SUM-
As we descended upon the Lulea River
in the morning we met ten sleighs coming
from the ball. The horses were all in re-
QUESTION at the various stations, but an ex-
ira supply had been provided, and we were
not detained anywhere. The Norrland
sleds are'so long that man may place his
baggage in the front part and lie down at
full length behind it. A high back shields
the traveller from the wind, and upon step
in the rear stands the driver, with pair OF
reins as long as main-top-bowline, in
Order to reach the horse, who is at the oppo-
site end of very long pair of shafts. In
these sleds one may travel with much COM
fort, and less danger of overturning, though
not so great speed as in the short, light,
open frames we bought in Sundsvall The
latter are seldom seen so far north, and are
frequent object Of curiosity to the peas
ants at the stations. There is also sled
with body something like Hanson cab,
entirely closed, with window in front,
but they are heavy, easily overturned, anu
only fit for luxurious travellers.
We approached Pitea at sunset. The
view over the broad embouchure of the riv-
er, staddeI with islands, was quite pictur-
esque, ami the town itself, scattered along
the shore AMI over the slopes of the hills,
made fair appearance. 1t reminded me
somewhat of small New England country
town. with its square frame houses and an
occasional garden. Here / was rejoiced
Ey the sight of a cherry tree, the most
northern fruit tree have SEEN On our
way up.swe thought Pitea at night and in
a snow storm next door to the North Pole.
Now, coming from the North, seeing its
snowy hills and house-roofs rosy with the
glow of sunset, it vas warm and southern,
by contrast. The four principal towns OF
West and North Bothnia are thus charac-
terized in an old verse of Swedish doggerel:
Umea, hef ss,;; Pitea, the matchmaking,
Eulea, TIE lazy AMI in Tornea eyery5ody
gets drank.
Our inn, in this little Norrland village,
is about as comfortable and as elegant as
three-fcurths of the hotels in Stockholm.-
The rooms are we'll furnished, none of the
usual appliances are wanting, the attend
ance is all that can be desired, the fare is
good and abundant, and the charges are
less than half of what would be demanded
in the capital. Yet Stockholm, small as
it is, ella inns to be for Sweden what Paris
is to France, and its inhabitants look with
an eye of compassion on those of the prov
inces- Norrland in spite of its long Win
ter, has a braeing, healthy climate, and
wereit not for letters from home, facih-
ties for studying Swedish, OCCASION
al recreation and other attractions of cap
ital, I should prefer waiting in some of
these wild valleys for the Spring to open
The people, Notwithstanding their seclu-
sion from the world, have brighter and
more intelligent look than the peasants OF
Uppland, and were there liberal system
of common school education In Sweden,
the raw material here might be worked up
into products alike honorable and useful to
the country.
The Norrlanders seem to me to possess
and indolent. almost plegmatic tempera-
ment, and YET there are few who do not
show a latent capacity for exertion. The
latter trat, perhaps, is the true core and
substance OF their nature; the former il an
overgrowth resulting from habits and cir
cumstances. Like the peasants, or rather
small farmers, further north, they are ex.
posed to the risk Of seeing their Summer
lsbors rendered fruitless by single night
Of frost. Such catastrophe, which no
amount Of industry and foresight can pre-
vent, recurring frequently (perhaps once in
three years on an avenge), makes them in
different, If notr eckless; While that patience
and cheerfulness which is an integral par,