New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-04
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
scANnNAVIAN TRAVEL.

ro,onged periods of residence in varions paF's VI
sbo lands 10 which it is devoted. 1t is the well
6,oested literature of well digested travei, IL we
NAV so express our thought. Mr.. Du Chaiilu'
rightly believing that the people, and especially INC
,ural folk, of land like Scandinavia, can I've
known in their home life and character only to the
traveller who manages TO make himself one OF
them. learned the language of the people, Hved
Familiarity in their houses won their personal
friendship, called them by their Christian names
and was called by his own in turn. In woru' MI
Du Chaillu has done for Scandinavia what MI
Mackenzie Wallace did few years ago for Russia
and the result is a notable book revealing more
that is worth revealing than most otleT Polui"I
works on the subject have told
The interest of such book of travels must al
WAYS depend in large measure upon the taste nd
intellectual habits of the traveller All that he sees
mnst take color somewhat from the mood OF his
own mind The fastdous tourist with sensitive
nerves and imperfect sympathies. would nave
found the life among the peasants hard and I'M
lovely: ne would have been impressed chiefly with
IT'S discomfort, with the lack of refinement in eX-
terna matters with the difficulties and hardshlps
of travel and his impressions would have been OF
bleak country and a rude uacultlvaIed people. MT.
Du Chaillu, on the contrary, with his habitual
caIelessness of bodily comfort, his Keen relish ior
simplicity of life aud manners, his sympathetic APP
pIeciation of all homely virtues and his disposition
TO make friends by discovering and attaching MN
self TO whatever is best in the people among whom
no il thrown. was able to see in Northern peasant
life all that is hest worth seeing. Being good
puest be found good hosts wherever he went. FOR
the rest his habts of observation have enabled MIN
10 aid TO bis accounts Of men and women much
that is valuable concerning external nature, poht-
ical and industrial states, etc, etc.; so tha aSue
from its interest as picture OF lie among the
people of the far North his book is storehouse OF
varied and valuable information.
The book is one to tempt the scissors, especially
in those parts of it which emphasize the purity ana
simplicity of the rural folk-a theme of which the
author never tires. Whenever he met man or
woman who had son dalghter in America, he
was charged to visit the wandering one on MS re-
turn and to deliver some loving message. 1t was
ALWAYS impossible he says to make them under
stand the Inagnifcence of our distances. One
woman was sure that Mr. On Challlu as he lived IN
New-York. must have met her daughter, whose
home was n Chicago. Another especially desired
him. on his return. to call upon her son in Minnie
sofa. In the hill country of Norway the author
was entertained at the houses of we-todo farmers,
representing the richest and oldest famlhcs III the
district. The simplicity of their life, notwithsand-
ing their wealth. is strongly marked
Thor1 was fifty years of age, of medium height,
with hair tinged with gray, and benign couhte-
nance without much expression. There was not me
slightest degree of preten,ion IN his conversation OF
manner. -. My host lived in a patrIarchal way,
like all re bender of Norway and no one seeing
him with his simple manners. would have Sns-
pecied he of SO ancient lineage. Seven maids
and five men servants lived with him. These
maids had an independents AR, ior the TACT thdt
they worked for tier living Gid not IN Inc least
affect their social position; they were NoIthmehs
daughters and il was the custom for every bonde's
IL. Il a,1trbfp md a =
caste at social gatherings. The fathers OF these
girls were bender the equals OF Zoite and their
farms had descended to them from ancient tunes.
-. They had all accepted situations. either be-
cause the farms owned by their parents were too
small, or they wished TO make money Tor themselves
The scrupulons care with which everything like
arrogance or pretenson was avoided was manifest
in many ways:
strong feeling of conservatism OF holding fast
to old custOms-a hatred of any appearance OF PRIDE
are characteristics OF the bender. =. Often
when ThOrd dined with me he was not hungry;
"Why do you not take your meals with me = ]
asked; "yOu certainly cannot eat two dinners
within half an hour Of each other On, sad lac,
ut | did so I am afraid the servants Of the house
and neighbors would call me proud they would
say that ! am ashamed of them before strangers;
they would think that l sighted them" To
ThGrd and many other farmers, | have often said
why do you not paint your dwellings white
They would look so much prettler and more PIE
do so, but what would the people sayf They
would think wanted to appear better than they
are, and were ashamed to be bOnder, or that we
tried to initiate the city people, TEN intense con
servatism is often a drawback to Improvement for
those who wOuld like TO make changes dare not
BEGIN; hence the social forms of more primitive
state OF society," which have been lost IN other
countries, silll prevail here.
In many parts of the country visited by the
author still more primitive customs prevail, for the
better reason that the people really primitive III
their ideas and ways of life, and without Thought
of evil retain simple customs which the least trace
of that selfcOnscous oss that attcads complex
civilization would make harmful and even i'm.
possible: The absence OF guile in many districts
can hardly be believed or conceived by the
stranger When returning tired and wet from the
hunt or some mountain excursion, to friends
farm I have been put to bed by female mem
her of the family, as if had been child. and
tncked up with the admOnitiOn to sleep quietly
This primitive and guileless simplicity Is fonnd
especially in the extreme north and in the region
between the Gulf of Bothna and the North Cape.
In chapter describing some of the primitive Gus
toms the author says:
Some of them showed an innocent simplicity
which at first astOnished me. What struck ue
most forcibly was that the people did not see the
slightest immOdeSty in them, and there was an
utter Inconsistencies of any harm Had been
only once twice on Il visit TO this country unless
staying very long each time, | should have been
entirely ignorant OF many OF its customs
Wherever | went / was received with dcnOnstra-
tons of JOY or shonts of pladness " Welcome back,
Paulus, from among the Lappsp weIe the first
words that greeted me at the farms or hamlcts
where had taTTied several times before My way
of living among the people, as if were a native
had won their confidence and esteem. Only aS
q friend and brother can one enter the privacy Of
their households and get an actual insight into their
real life.
Among these primitive habits is the practice lof
promiscuous bathing without regard to differences
of sex. The family bath is taken in this way every
Saturday evening without thought of mmodesty
aud if guests who are personal friends of the family
are in the house they share the bath as they do the
family dinner. Personal cleanliness is a virtue
not generally found among peasantry, but 1t 10
common throughout Scandinavia, despite the
temptations offered by the climate to neglect the
bath. Even the nOmad Lapps are careful on this