The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-02-21


lance from home Tho chief cities Of seAndi
navia are. It IL true. connected BY railroads, bu
In fhe more remote districts you must trAvs
to-day exactly as the Swedes travelled hun
dfeds NJ ycars a9o-by skjuts-- wagons with
out springs. drawn by n pair OF pony-bufl
horscs. The rosds. however. are good. man!
ofthem being macadamizcd. and thcy are 81
smooth md hard that II 10 a pleasure to drv'
owe. them The horses. too. though small.ar'
tough and speedy. 1t IL also to be noted tina
every eight or ten miles along the roet
10 post station. established BY th'
Government. where fresh horses are Supplied
ana where you may atop for IN col or pHss ths
might However unprctending the station
house may be-. we are told that II Is always
clean and neat with comfortable beds and
simple but nourishing fare. The whits-pine
floors arc secured Till they shine and then
sprinkled with the fragrant tips OF tho spruce
and FIR. To exemplify the spirit OF the popula.
ton aud the equality enforced by tho laws, Mr.
Thomas recalls y significant Incident : A
peasant had taken the last two horses IN
the stable at post house. but the Gov
ernor OF the province arriving n little
later. ordered the horses to be taken
from tho peasants cart and harnessed
his carriage. The peasant refused to per
nit this and the Governor had to yield. The
| truth Ia that the bender. or peasants OF
| Sweden, have never been slaves or sorrs. They
have always been. frcemen, very GENERALLY
owners OF t,e freehold Of their farms. and by
their courage and independence hnvo made
and unmadc kings Of the realm.
-
o.. II.
One Of the most interesting chapters OF the
book is the outcome or A visit to the island OF
aothand and tho nncient CITY OF visby. The
history OF .his island begins In myths. and Is
first distinctly tracenble In the ninth century,
whom Il rlaced itself by treaty under tho
crown OF Sweden The island Ia n low lying
plateau o. limestone rising in the middle OF
tho Baltic Sea. mud nearly euui. distant
from Sweden nn, Russia. 1t IL about the size
OF the state of Rhode Island. being 10 miles
long. rs broad, and comprising 1900 SQUARE
miles. Tho soil Is generally good and the
climate peculiarly mild for 50 high latitn,lc.
II contains today population Of some 90 900.
who are chiefly engaged In farming. cattle
breeding. and fishing. From its commanding
position Gothland has been appropriately
called the EYE OF the Baltic. and during
the middle nges there WAS no spot
in northern Europe 40 well nttcd for
the eyrio OF sea traders Its trade con.
tinunily' Increased. md early in the eleventh
century city sprung UP on tho west coast,
ncar a safe harbor. and beneath q clifY where
heather priests had sacrificed their victims. u
was this fact which gave the town the name OF
Nisby. which means the city OF the place OF
sacrifice. As time went on. visby became the
CHIEF entrepot for the products Of tho Russian
and Scandinavian fields and forests upon the
ono hand. and Of the manufactures OF Ger
many. Flanders and England upon tho other
Moreover. many OF the precious wares OF India
Persia. and the furthest Orient found their
way up tho Nol9a and Dnieper, and SO over
land and sea to Visby. whence they were dis
tributed throughout western Europe. During
the thirteenth century visby was situated
upon one OF the principal limos Of tho worlds
1lc. and was unquestionably the most i'm.
portnnt mart upon that line. Hundreds Of
rich merchants moved their business hither
from the German and other ports OF the Baltic
and North Sea- Nearly every nation and fnith
of northern Europe built its own house
OF worship at this prosperous port. Sixteen |
great churches. some OF them almost POO feet
in length. aud three inconsistencies we're erected.
massive wall Of stone thirty feet high and |
nearly two and half miles long was built |
around the city. and forty eight lofty towers |
rose above this girdlo Of rock. How large n !
population Visby had cannot be accurately as
certeined The old chronicles, however, state
that the number OF merchants alone residing
within the walls was 10000 and 1t is expressly
mentioned that all mechanics nd artisans, save
only bakers and guldsIniths, reHded in two OK. |,
tramural suburbs. 80 opaient did the inhab- |;
Ltants become that tho doors Of MANY OF the |
private houses were made OF copper
and tho window frames gilt with gold.
This Scandinavian London OF the tbir.
.eenth century was not oniy rich
but OF such paramount oommercjaI nuthoritv
that she promu;oated n code of sea Ia,rs vb;on
we're obeycd throughout northern nnd westorn
Europe. In fact, the maritime code OF yisbv
orms much OF the groundwork of tn, adj.
niralty laws OF the world to day. The de,l;na
II this great trade centre dates from IaaI
when It was captured and nillauad Inv yoldo
mar Atterdae. King OF Denmnrk, The dsstrno-
Ion OF Astrakhon by tho Monpols thirty ve.rs
alter cut on from Gothland tho ureator nortion
II the traffic with tho Fast. and tha ronnan.
vas lost a century late nv the Discovery NJ tha
quite to India around the Cane Of Good Hone
I