Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-08-26
The Religion Of the Laplanders.

Inc cnurcn was Iull OF LappS, ana al
though saw here and there as fine young
fellow us l would wish to meet, the major
part of them were little, brown, weather.
beaten figures, standing about five fee.
nothing, all clad in reil Lapp co,tume.
Has it ever been the readers luck to attend
benefit ut a low fighting house in London
and to take notes Of the countenances of
the smaller class of fighting men who form
| the principal actors in the scene? If SO,
he can form very good idea of the gen
eral character of Lappy physiognomy.
One and all seem to have been Cast in the
same pugilistic mold-bullet heads, high
| cheek-bones, low foreheads, bright sunken
eyes and fiattened noses. In fact, if they
had only been cropped close, and dressed
in tight trousers and Newmarket coats.
would have challenged all London to pick
out II bunch of more thorough paced little
| black guards than | could have collected
| from this congregation. The women were
| ranged in pews on one side, the men on
the other (und this is the fashion in all
Swedish churches), and, except that the
| former kept their high peaked sugar loaf
caps on during the service, you could see
| little difference between the two. None of
| these ladies could boast of much personal
| attraction, their countenances being exact
| " like those of the men, and quite us brown
and knotty. But there was one face which
peeped down from the gallery, from which
| | could hardly take my eyes off, and which
even haunts me to this day. 1t was that
of young, tlaxen-haired Lapp girl. about
seven years old; and sweeter or more
cherublooking face | never set my eyes
| on; and the little blue peaked cap, braided
with silver, perched jauntily on her head,
gave lively kind of expression to perhaps
| The sweetest face L ever saw in my life. |
| never yet saw IA child SO beautiful as this
wild Lapp, and a painter might have made
his fortune if he could only have transferred
the expression of that cOuntenance to his
| canvas. Certainly there can be no truth
in breeding if such Il little angel came
from the rough stock that filled the body
| of this church. The services passed off
quietly enough, the communion began
and a curious sight it was to see these vag-
abonds run along the tops of the pews,
like so many rats on II plank, in hot haste
| to reach the altar; and now commenced n
scene such as | never witnessed in ii e
house of God and trust | shall never wit
ness again.
1t seems that within the last few years
a kind of fanaticism has crept in among
| these Lapps, and the Word of God, instead
of pouring oil upon a bruised spirit" as
every one is taught to believe who will
read the Scriptures Alright, only fills them
with imaginary terrors, and, far different
| from the creed of the real Christian, they
seem to think the best atonement they
can make for their sins lies in outward
show. | have seen little of this kind of
humbug in other churches in Sweden,
where at certain parts of the service the
women commence grooming and sob5ing
50 loud that you can scarcely hear the
clergyman. This however, soon passes
| of, and is scarcely worth notice. These
Lapps, however must have been far MOI c
susceptible, OF far more wicked, for all at
once, when the communion service began,
| two or three women sprang up in differ
ent parts of the church, and commenced
frantically jumping. bowling, shrieking.
and clapping their hands. | observed one
middle-aged female particularly energetic,
and who sank down in a kind of fit after
about five minutes eXertion. The infec-
ton soon spread, and in few minutes
TWO thirds of the congregation "ioined in
the cry" and all order was at an end
Five or six would cluster round one indi
vidual, hugging, kissing, weeping, ant
>hrieking, till 1 really thought that some
one would be smothered. One old patr
arch in particular who sat close behint
me, seemed an object of peculiar venera
ton, and the Lapps crowded from al
parts of the church to hug him. How h
stood it | cannot imagine. The religious
orgies of the wild aborigines in Australi;
round their campfire are not half St
! frightful rs this scene, for they at least d,
not desecrate place of worship with thei
mad carousals.-Shliin1 -Naqa.ine