Indiana State sentinel., 1861-01-16

with which il was garlanded-was led through
the rooms by ropes Of roses held by six young
maidens. Six young hunters followed, each with
drawn sword, with which they were presently to
figure in the ancient sword dance of Scandinavia
The orchestra, composed of the strangest- looking
instruments, still managed-for the Laps are a
very musical peOple-to discourse sweet sounds,
now Of wild pathos, now almost maddeningly gay
and exciting. Such hearty, vigorous agile dane
ing never beheld. Even to the gayest circles of
Stockholm, primitive capital, in which the ell
egant world has not become too languid for en-
joyment, those Lapland dancers would have been
wonders, and yet there was nothing boisterous or
ungainly in their movements. Indeed, they were
as sprightly and almost as small as fairies and
had something of fawn-ike elasticity and grace
of childhood in all their motions. Indeed it was
marvellous sight, that assembly of small folks
under the level of the earth, and it put me in
mind of what l had heard of the Danione Shear
of the Scottish legends, and their revelry within
some haanted hill / could hardly help fancying
/ was really captive or guest of a troop of
carousing gnomes, or that like the Rhymer, i had
been borne away to Fairyland, and had but a
faint prospect of revisiting the real daylight world
again.
The next morning had surprise indeed. 4
shout from the upper earth aroused me, and,
scrambling to the outer air, | beheld the rocks,
the black pine copse, the illimitable moorlands,
one dazzling, all pervading sheet of binding snow.
All gomez the fair flowers the song birds, the un-
cultured fruits that offered their profusion every
where, blooming heather and green grass, all
gOnel buried until next summer brought back the
daylight, beneath spotless, unvarying cloud of
virgin snow. To my great relief it was not as
dark as | expected. A sort of hazy, shimmerng
light prevailed, like moonbeams through mist
The northern winds blew keen; and even as
gazed, the binding snow fakes came whirlng
down again, and seemed to bury the dead sum
mer deeper at every instant
We all laid by our summer clothes, put on our
manifold wrappers of fur and wooden, and betook
US to winter avocations. And now came a strange
season, when it was hard to say whether it was
day or night, or both, or neither. The lamps
were never suffered to 90 out; the fiddles and
drums, the bone flute anG the musk ox's horn,
were 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 as could be performed un-
derground and dancing and cooking, to say moth
ing of eating, drinking and gossippng, went on
in promiscuous fashion through the twenty -four
hours of what would, down South, have been a
legal day. If any one felt tired or sleepy, he or
she went to sleep; the hungry ate, the thirsty
drank; the perpetual fires constantly cooked the
most outlandish messes; the fddle5 and drums
went on as if self-acting; the reindeer were fed,
tended and MIXED; bowls were carved horn
trinkets were chiseled and stories were related to
gaping listeners, all at once and forever. left
off looking at my watch at all, except mechani-
cally. went about as sleep walker, dreamed
standing. passed great part of that wonder
full winter not unpleasantly, but in sort of
amiable nightmare. OF course | saw no news
papers, the world might wag as it pleased. TWAS
in the daylight; l in the dark. OF course, re-
eeived no letters; the post courier was shut out
along with the sun, and | was the tenant of a
strange, lamplit, moOnshiny world.
We were not always under ground. In the
fine weather the reindeer was driven out TO
browse on the lichens and MOSES, from which
they scratched away the snow with their fore
feet There were hunting parties, too, when we
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 ermne chase, and the chase of the white
fox, and a grand battle with an old giant OF a
bear, who presumed on the superstitious respect
the Laps have for ssOld Grandfather Wizard as
they call him, and robbed the storehouse until
his thefts became unbearable The wolf hunts
were rather dangerous; but the bear a terrible
fellow; he wounded four of our best hunters,
cowed the dogs with his ursuline hugs and nearly
beat the whole community when lucky shot
laid him low. And then there were the glorious
Grivesl O, the wild excitement of sweeping over
the frozen snow in deer-drawn sledge, swift as
hawk on the wing, every bell jingling, and the
wild driver singing as he cheers ON his antlered
team, that fy like the wind over the dazzling
white moorlandsi The worst of it is, it takes
away your breath uncommonly; and when |
waxed confident, and would drive personally,
was run away with, of course, upset with an
awful hurl into a drift five fathoms deep, and dug
out ANONYMOUSLY, amidst much laughter of the
little folks, VINO greatly crowed over clumsy Gull
liver. Still the drives were famous fun. | was
frost bitten twice, and revived by snow-rub-
bing; but worse, | was struck with snow blind
ness; for had to pass a fortnight in my cabin in
absolute darkness, and was not the happier for
the reflection that my own obstinacy in refusing
TO wear snow spectacles had brought this agree
able secluson upon me.
But the kind little folks hustled about me, and
told me the most wonderful stories of gnomes
witches, genii, and so forth, all with perfect
childish belief and gravity, and sang and played
to me, and lghtened my loneliness considerably
When recovered, was thankful for the specta-
cles, and never suffered from the glare any more
So the winter wore on.
| But the Merry Dancersl | was going to omit
the most strangely splendid sight that ever aston
/ ished nv eyes, and to which whole Roya
Academy of artists could never do justice. The
Northern Lights, the customary auroras and me
teors were unusually splendid about md-winter
but once, as / was returning from sledge excur
sion, an exclamation from my guide made me
start. l shall never forget the scene. Tn,
heavens were one vast pavilion Of many colors
light blue, orange, fiery red, deep violet, nov
paved with fiery gold, now spangIed with lustrou
gems; all blended in one glowing mass; while
beneath, and touching the snowy plain, wheeles
and sparkled, as in fantastic dance, hundres
columns of prismatic fire, that seemed the crea
ton of some wild dream. These were the Merr,
Dancers, the wondrous Light of the North. All
it was pleasant winter, and / protest wa
sorry when we all went up the hill again, ant
hailed the rising sun, and day and summer cam
pouring in at once; and the boat was prepared
and | babe my gnome hosts adieu, and went OF
20 the daylight, open air, Gloucestershire worl
again.