Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-24

HSosc tuey SnuS Them
selves W. pour hot water on the stones, raise
tremendous steam, and then proceed To
hageiiate ore another with birch twios ~ ,,ro.
mote the action OF the skin. When thew
have had enough of the bath they issue forth
again into the cold air. glowing all over like
boiled Holsters, and sometimes they procure
pleasant reaction by rolling themselves in
the snow. On returning to the house one
must not dress directly, but remain naked
awhile to get cool, and while in this Paradi-
saical state it seems to be customary to hold
little levees.
Thus our author. after describing his
participation in a family Tor neighborhood)
bath, says: Ga returning one does not dress
at once. for he must caol gradually and
" check the dripping perspiration. 1 had
hardly been fifteen minutes in my room.
"whsn suddenly the door opened (the people
there never knock at the door,, and the
wife, who had dressed herself, came in, and
was not the least abashed at nv appear.
"ance she talked with me as if was in NV
morning gown. The door opened, and
grown daughter entered, and then another.
began to fear that all the neighbors were
coming, as to a reception. Though thew
did not seem in the least troubled, I was"
Fortunately forhis peace of mind and medesty
they left him at last, and he was enabled to
dress himself. When he entered the stuoa,
or family room, afterwards, he says: II
could hardly keep my countenance, for the
sight was extremely ludicrous. There
was crowd of visitors, neighbors of differ.
'ent ages, and among them three old fellows
"a grandfather, father, and an uncle
who were sitting upon the benches with
legs crossed, minus particle of clothing.
shaving themselves without looking. glass.
Nobody seemed to mind them, for the
women were knitting, weaving, and chat
ting. This was certainly a scene primi-
tive enough" And perhaps what makes
the thing more interesting ia that NJ. Du
Challu was the only person present TO whom
the idea Of immodesty presented itself. OF
course we are prepared to believe after this
that the primitive Scandinavians are very
chaste and moral people The Japanese,
who have many similar customs. are the
same, and it is the common experiences of all
travellers that where there is the least arti.
fetal modesty there is usually the most real
confluence. These simple people battle every
Saturday, and are therefore cleaner than the
majority of the population of any country
outside Of Japan.
1t Is curious to observe that in Scandinavia
there still exists a practice analogous to what
used to be called bundiing," and which was
at one time commonly supposed to be a
purely New England practice. The veracious
Diedrich Kuicker5ccker, in his History of
New York, states that the custom was in
troduced to the Dutch settlements from
Connecticut. 1t is certain that it fourished
in the latter State. as also in Massachusetts,
and it was for long time countenanced bv
the Church. But at length new ideas came
into vogue, and fierce attack was made On
the ancient custom. La fact it was so de-
nounced, whether justly or unjustly, that it
was abandoned. 1t is, however, certain that
it was not of American invention, but that it
was imported from Europe. It has been
traced to Wales, indeed. and it seems possible
from what NJ. Du Chaillu says that it NAV
have been handed down from the Viking
times, and thus be as venerable as the be.
ginnings Of Anglo-Saxon civilization. There
seems little doubt that it is identical in origin
with the custom, still to be seen among GER
tain savageI.tribes, of compelling men to do
their counting by night. At first there was
no counting at all. The savage seized the
female of his species forcibly, and held and
used her as his captive or slave. By slow
degrees, as women through Natural Selection
acquired more charms, men found that some
thing more than brute force was re-
quired to gain their approval, while
the general scarcity of attractive women
secured for those who possessed any beauty
comparative freedom. But for long time
any concession to the sex regarded as inferior
was deemed to be degrading. and SO, though
it was admitted that the humiliation had
become unavoidable. it was also agreed that
it should only be endured under the cover of
night. This probably was the real origin of
"bundling," though il has come to have quite
another raiSon Fetre in primitive agricultural
countries like Sweden and Norway. There
the young men are all busy in the daytime,
and often the girls they seek in marriage live
many miles away. So they must visit them
at night, and to save fuel and lights, and not
to keep the old folks awake, the girl admits
her wooer to a share of her blankets and
hay-lined coverlid for a couple of hours, both
being fully dressed. Our author does not in.
innate that the custom has any ill conse-
quercss in Scandinavia, though such allega.
tions were very positively made when it
existed in New England.
NJ Du Chaillu travelled among the Lapps
considerably, and in learning to drive rein
deer he appears to have displayed an extraor.
binary degree Of courage and perseverance.
for it is evidently most difficult thing to do,
and il involves more tumbles than even the
mastering Of the treacherous and unstable
bicycle. The Lapps are very amiable, ex-
cessively filthy, vermin- haunted, hard-work-
ing, honest sort of people. 1t seems that the
people of the plains are afraid of them, and
gave them bad reputation, but Du Chaillu
trusted himself to them completely, and they
treated him well. The customs of the Lapps
are very primitive Also For instance, on one
occasion our friend Paul visited Lapp fam
lily and they gave him coffee. They all pos
sess silver spoons mostly heirlooms) of which
they are very proud. 4 Lapp girl took cut
one of these spoons to stir his coffee, but see.
ing that it was dirty she calmly put out her
:. little red tongue, carefully licked it clean,
and then cheerfully stirred the coffee with it.
Ths custom of biting off pieces of rock candy
for the visitor to sweeten his coffee withal,
seems to bs quite general, but Paul did not
object to this when the girl who did it had
red lips and white teeth.
The honesty of the Scandinavians appears
to be very remarkable. and there are several
striking instances of it in these volumes.
On one occasion the author left his satchel
containing all his money, at the house where
he had passed the night, and did not discover
his loss until he was many miles on his road.
He sent back after the satchel, but the farm.
er's wife at whose house il had been left did
not wait for it to be sent for, but was met