The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1879-11-08
hat mover fail to meet The eye in tom-


perate climate.
The next morning had surprise. A
shout from the upper earth aroused me,
and scrambling to the outer air, ] beheld
the rocks, the black pine eopse, the illimi-
table moorlands, one dazzling all-preyading
sheet Of binding snow All gone the
fair flowers, the song thirds, the uncultured
fruits that offered their profusion every
where, blooming heather, and green grass,
all gone buried, until next summer
brought back the daylight, beneath spot,
less, unyarying shroud Of virgin snow.
To my great relief, it was not as dark as | /
had expected. A sort Of hazy, shimmering
light prevailed, like moonbeams through
mist. The northern wind blew keen; and |
even as l gazed the binding snowfakes
came whirling down again, and seemed to
bury the dead summer deeper at every in.
slant, "They are plucking the wild
gooses feathers finely up there, north"
said Peter Wow, unconscious that his pro-
verb was an English as well as Lapland
one.
We all laid by our summer clothes, put
on our manifold wraps Of fur and wooden,
aud betook US to winter avocatious And
now came strange season, when it was
hard to say whether it was day or night,
or both, or neither, The lamps were
never suffered to go out the fiddles and
drums, tho bone.hute and musk OK Z horn,
we're 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 as could be performed underground,
and dancing and cooking, to say nothing
Of eating, drinking, and gossiping, went
on in promiscuous fashion through the
twenty-four hours Of what would, down
south, have been legal day. If any one
felt tired or sleepy, he or she went to sleep;
the hungry ate, the thirsty drank; the per-
petual fires constantly cooked the most
outlandish messes; the fiddles and drums
went on as il sell-actiug; the reindeer we're
fed, tended, and MIXED; birchen bowls
we're carved, horn-triaketS chlseled, and
stories related TO gaping listeners, all at
once, and all forever. l left of looking
at my watch, except mechanically /
went about as a sleep-walker might;
dreamed standing. | passed grea. part OF
that wonderful winter not unpleasantly
but in q sort Of amlable nightmare. Oh
course, | saw no newspapers; the world
might wag as il pleased. 1t was in the
Daylight in the dark. OF course,
received no letters; the post courier wa.
shut out along with the sun, and | wa,
the tenant Of a strange lamplit, moonshinJ
world
We were not always underground. Ii
the fine weather, the reindeer were driver
out to browse on the lichens and MOSES
from which they scratched away the snow
with their fore.fect. There were huntin!
parties, too, when We chased and slew the
white wolves, the white hares, the martens
the deer, the birds, all AID every one il
their winter livery of white. There wa
the crmine chase, and the chase Of tn,
white fox, and grand battle with an ol,
giant Of bear, who presumed on the su
perstitious respect the Laps have for "Ol'
Grandfather Wizard" as they call him
and robbed the storehouses, until his theft
became unbearable, and lucky shot lai
him low
; And then there were the glorious drive
/ Oh. .h~ .-il1 avnifament nf sweanino nvf
! the snow in deer-drawn sedge, swift q
| hawk on the wing, every bell jangling
aud the wild driver singing as be cheer
on his antlered team, that fly like the win
over the dazzling white moOrlands tn
worst of it is, it takes away your breat
uncommonly; and when waxed coniiden
. and ,couid drive personally, was run ava
; with, Of course, upset with an awful pul
J into drift FIVE fathoms deep, and dug on
. ignominiously, amid much laughter Of tn
r little folks, who greatly crowed over clum
sy Gulliver. Still the drives were fnmou
fun. was frostbtten twice, and revive
by a snow-rubbing but worse, was struc
with blindness, for had to pass
fortnight in my cabin in absolute darkness
and was not happy in the reflection tha
my own obstinaey in refusing to wear snow
spectaclcs had brought this agreeable SC
cusion upon me. But the kind little folk
hustled about me, and told me the mos
wonderful stories Of gnomes, witches, gen
and 50 forth, all with perfect childish be
lief aud gravity, and sang and played t
me, and lightened my loneliness consider
ably. When | recovered, was thankfu
for the spectacles, and never suffered fror
the glare any more.
The northern lights, the customary au
roras and meteors, were unusually splcndi
about midwinter; but once, as | was re
turning from a sledge excursion, an ex
clamation from my guide made me start
l shall never forget the scene. The heay
I ems we're one vast pavilion Of many -colore
light; blue, orange, fiery red, deep violet
now paved with fiery gold, now spangle
with lustrous gems, all blended in on
glowing mass; while beneath, and touchin
the snowy plain, wheeled aud sparkled, a
! 10 fantastic dance, hundred columns
prismatic fire, that seemed the creation
some wild dream. These were the merr
dancers, the wondroas lights of the Nortl
So the winter wore on. The Laps wel
, always kind, gentle, and gay, in the
semipagan way, though trembled lest
should really be i'll, beyond cure of thei
simple remedies, and abandoned to th
|, wizard, sort of medicine man anon
them, who beats his magic drum, and mu
! ters spells over tAe sick, as among III
North American indians.
All Il was a pleasant winter; aud
protest that was half sorry when we q
went up the hill again, aud hailed the ri
! ing sun, aud day and summer came pou
ing il at once, and the boat was prepare,
and | bade my hosts adieu, aud went 0
. to the daylight, open air, English worl
again,
! The Hanging Gardens Of Assyria.
--~=--
/ Mr.. Rassau's excavations ON the Mini.