The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1860-11-30


cal people-to discourse sweet sounds, no,
OF wild pathos, now almost maddcningly ga.
and exciting. Such hearty, vigorous, agil
dancing never bchcld. Even in the gaycs
circles Of Stockholm. primitive capital, II
which tho elegant world has not yet bccom
too languid for enjoyment, those Laplan'
dancers would have been wonders, and yc
there was nothing bolstcrous or ungainly IL
tho J, movements. Indeed, these wcro a
sprightly and almost rs small as fairies. ant
had something Of the fawnliko elasticity an,
grace of childhood in all their motions.
felt the thrill of the music awake forgotten
sympathics, and half wished to dance too
and regretted that was too mature and to'
bulky to be fitting partner for one Of thos'
litho, small.limbed clfins Of IApland, whit
wero sweeping so trippingly past me. Pete
Wow did offer to procure me partner; but
! saw, by the twinkle Of his eye. that b
meant nothing more than jest, and Ishoult
have felt like Gulliver, afraid of crushing thu
whole Liliputian company. Indeed, 1t wa,
q marvellous sight, that assembly of small
folks under the level Of the earth, and 1t put
mo in mind of what had heard OF the
Daione Shcah of the Scottish lcgncd, and
their revelry within some haunted hill.
could hardly help fancying l was really q
captive or a guest Of troop of carousing
gnomes, or that, like the Rhymcr, had been
borne away to Fairyland, and had but q faint
prospect OF rcyisiting!tho real daylight world
again.
Peter Wow, the tallcst man in the com.
munity, had attained the gigantic stature OF
five feet four, and with high red cap set
jauntily on his gray locks, his enormous
white beard and mustaches flowing down
like frozen river, and his uniform costume
of reddish-brown cloth. looked uncommonly
like the king Of the Drows or Gnomcs, as
Morse superstitions describe him. The still
more dwarfish asscmblagc presented every
variety, from the grotesqno and wicthlike
uglncss of the old woman, to the infantinc
and diminutiyo beauty OF some of the young
girls. Tho children were almost nll pretty
and rosy Of complexion, but age, IT seems,
comes on with terribly swift strides among
these dwcllers of tho frozen world, as well
rs with the sun-scorched Asiatic; and looked
in vain for the pleasant matronly faces that
never fail to meet the eye in temperate eli
mate. There seemed to be quick transition
from delicate youth to weird age. Some Of
tho men were fine active littlo fellows, won
derlully strong in spite oftheir pygmy staurc,
and full of life and fire. II has boon cssayed
more than once, to raise troops among the
Laplandcrs; but In vain, for the little war
riors cannot endure tho ridiculc Of their big
comrades of Swedish and Norsc stock, and
cndlcss quarrels are sure to kccpa garrison
in hot water if the Lap is enlisted. There is
the Swcdish-Iapland corps Of sharpshooters,
who serve on snow shoes, and form militia
on the border; and there the sensitive little
heroes are less exposed to be derided because
their heads can barely touch the sixty-inch
standard. The Laps profess to dcspisc all
Swcdcs, Norwcgians and Southcrncrgcncr
ly, a, heavy and stupid race, whose largo
limbs and lofty forms arc given them rs o
compensation for their scanty stock OF brains.
And indeed the Norscmcn always say, 'lie
who deals with Lap gets tho worst Of tho
bargain : for tho small folks have wonderful
acutcness with all their simple bearing. But
| believe that In their secret hearts the tiny
tribe value sizc and height above all things.
know Peter Wow was prodigiously vain
because his head was within an acc Of being
level with my shoulder; and think many
young fellow would have bartered his youth
for my six feet Of perpendicular elevation,
which never gained its owner any remarkable
popularity elsewhere.
Tho next morning,I had surprise indeed.
A shout from the upper earth aroused me,
and scrambling 10 the outer air, behcld the
rocks, tho black pine copse, the illimitablc
moorlands, ono dazzling, all-prcvading sheet
Of binding snow. All gone! the fair flowers,
the song bird, the unculturcd fruits that Of
iercd their profusion everywhere, blooming
heather and green grass, all gone buried,
until next summer brought back tho day
light, beneath spotlcss unyarying shroud OF
virgin snow. To my great relief, 1t was not
as dark Ms had expected. A sort of hazy,
shimmcring light prevailed, like moonbeams
through q INST. The northern wind blow
keen; and even rs gazcd, tho binding snow
flakes came whirlins down again, and seem
ed to bury tho dead summer deeper at every
instant.
They are plucking the wild gooso's feath-
ears finely up there, north, said Peter Wow,
unconscious that his proverb was British
rs we'll rs Lapland one.
We oil laid by our summer clothes, put
on our manifold wraps OF fur and w0olen,
and betook us to winter ayocations. And
now came strange season, when II was hard
to say whether 1t was day or night, or both,
or neither The lamps were ncyersunered to
90 out; the fiddles and drums, and bone flute
and the musk ox's horn, were never silent
for three consecutive hours, and there seemed
no regular times for meals or sleep, or work,
or recreation. On the contrary, music, and
such simple labors us could DO performed un-
dergound. and dancing and cooking, to say
nothing of eating, drinking and gossiping,
went ON ina promiscuous fashion through the
twenty-lour hours Of what down south, would
have been legal day. II any one felt tired
or slccpy,hc or she went to sleep; the hungry
ate, the thirsty drank; the perpetual fires
constantly cooked the most outlandish messes;
the Gddlcs and drums went on as IL self.act-
ing; the rcindeers were fed, tended, and
MIXED; birchen bowls were carved, horn
trinkets chselled, and stories related TO gap
ing listeners, all at once, and oil forever. !
left of looking at my watch mt all, except
mechanically. went about rs sleep-walk-
er might; I dreamed standing. lpassed great
mart of that wonderful winter not unpleasant
", but in q sort of amiable nightmare. OF
course, saw no newspapers; the world might
wag az 1t pleased. Ii was in the daylight
in the dark. Ofcourse received no letters;
the post-courier was shut out. along with the
sun, and was the tenant Of strange lamp
lit. moonsbiny world.
We wcre not always underground. In
the fine weather tho reindeer were driven out
to browse on the lichcns and mcSes, from
which they scmtchod away tho snow with
their fore feet. There were hunting parties,
too, when VIC chased and slew the white
wolves, the white hares, the martens, the
deer, the birds, all and every one in their
winter livery OF white. There was the err
mine chase. and tho chase oil the white fox
and grand battle with On old giant Of q
bear, who presumed, on the supcrstitious TO
st.act tha Vav.o havo fnp u0tJ E-uoJc. tl.o~