Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-01-17
Land Of the Midnight Sun,

Paul Du Chaillu, the noted traveller,
says: There is beautiful country far
away towards the icy north. 1t is a
glorious land, with snowy, bold and
magnificent mountains; deep, narrow
and delightful valleys bleak plateaux
and slopes; wild ravines clear and
picturesque lakes immense forests of
white birch and fir trees; gigantic and
superb glaciers, unrivaled in size by
any in Europe. 1t is OF this country I
come to tell you. The rivers of this
country in their hurried flights from
the heights above to the valleys below,
tumble down as if from heaven in gigan-
tic waterfalls and cascades, so beauti-
full, so lovely, so white and chaste, SO
matchless in their beauty, that the be-
holder never tires of looking upon
them. I have told you of the leading
features of the country, Topographic
cally considered let me now say q few
words about the people, their mode of
living, their code of morality. 1 have
been an extensive traveller, but never, in
all my experience have met with such
an honest and simple class of people as
the inhabitants of Norway, Sweden and
Lapland. Their faith in human nature
is something incredible, and their hon
esty exceeds all bounds. Often have
left my money behind me in farm
house, and as often have / been fol-
lowed on the road by my late host with
the treasure forgot in his domicile.
They scorn to take any reward for do
ing what they consider their duty, and
as often as I have offered them rewards
they have been rejected. They are a
very religious people and very demo-
cratic people. Of their religious sim
plicity, volumes could be written. They
are for the most part, in fact all, Pro-
testants or Lutherans. They bury their
dead in graveyards around the churches,
and if a man dies 200 miles away, his
body must be brought to the graveyard
and inferred. A stranger can tell the
condition of almost any lady he meets.
Those that are engaged to be married
have one plain gold ring; those who
are married wear two, and those who
have family wear three. When q
mans wife dies in this northern cline,
the husband and his friends have a
three days jollifcation. About their
democratic ideas l cannot give you
better notion than by mentioning the
fact that sought an interview with the
King, and was accorded the same. Be
fore / was five minutes in the royal
presence, 1 was asked to smoke a cigar,
and at separating was asked to call
again, which I did. When returned,
I had to look for the King myself,
there being no guards or servants
around the house. I found him put
ting on his coat upstairs, having just
put the finishing touch on one of his
pictures. few words about the mid
night sun. witnessed this grand phe-
nomenon while standing on Cape North,
the most northern extremity of Europe.
The sun, instead of setting as it does
here, and running course from east to
west, keeps going around in a circle,
the lower periphery of which is just on
the horizon. When it makes the lower
curves it is partially ebscured, but it
rises again and describes circles in the
air for nearly two and a half months.
It then goes away, but total darkness
does not ensue, for the moon, the stars
and the northern lights illumine the
land,