Evening star., 1902-03-17
FUN IN FARCE ISLES
ADJUSTMENTS OF SONS OF MORSE
SEA KINGS.
Medieval Songs and Dances Preserved
by Homespun-Clad Men and
Women.

From the New York Sun.
There are about twelve thousand people
scattered over the twenty-odd rocks or islets
which constitute the Farce group. Every
man in the country Is in some way the de-
scendant of a king. that is the Morse sea
kings who fled to the islands In the ninth
century and peopled them.
In spite OF his homespuns, his turf hut
and his primitive life. every good Faroese
is conscious and proud of his ancestry, and
he bears himself like a Highland prince.
He has no newspapers or social problems,
but he knows the history OF his island home
and he is a constant reader of books, mostly
Danish. but not of the dime novel order.
His literary taste is inferior only to that of
the Icelanders, who for a thousand years
have raised and maintained an Ideal of ma
tional literature Of merit.
The Faroese Dress.
Tie Faroese dresses well. His chestnut
brown jacket, trimmed with silver buttons.
and his comfortable knickerbockers, are
made from the pure, uuadulterated wool
OF the Faroese mountain sheep. His warm.
handknit stockings, equal to those Of the
Scottish Highlanders, would fetch high
prices in America.
His boat has served as model for Euro
pean builders, who under the name Of
whaleboat supply navies with an imitation
Of the original, surf-fghting Farce shell.
His house is-well, mighty uncomfortable,
but snug to him. apparently. He drinks
excellent coffee. He gets the pure bean by
the sack. Each household roasts its own
supply. and fresh quantity is ground each
time coffee is made, so that none or the
flavor is lost. Sleeps or goats cream add
ed makes a beverage that even fine hotels
might take pride in duplicating.
Al Farce eiderdown cap usually contains
enough material for the making of thirty
dollar muff. The value would be twice this
amount If king eiderdown were used.
Island Dances.
The most remarkable feature of life in
this little group of islands where the At
lantic and the North meet Is the dane
ing They dance not merely for the fun of
It, or TO show off their new clothes Dane
ing with the Faroese is. to a great extent.
what athletics are to us. a sort of exer-
else enjoyed by young and old alike. Dur
ingthe summer months the FaroeSe gets
plehty Of exercise fowling in the mountains,
fishing on the deep. tending the sheep and
raising his garden produce. But when win
ter fills the sounds between the islands with
drifting ice there is nothing for him to do
outside, and SO he hugs the peat fire and
whites away the time storytelling and
dancing. 1t is not merely jig or two. but
the. dancing goes on for hours and some
times for days. The Faroese dances away
his cares. and if good fortune knocks at
his door he dances as eagerly. Dancing
seems to be the panacea for all kinds of
Farce trouble. and it is the feature of be-
trothals weddings and other festivities. Be
tween Christmas and Lent, Farce dancing
reaches It's elimination in frequency. On
Christmas night the great saga Of "Oluva
Kvadet' Is sung. The unhappy Queen
Oluva's faithfulness to the king, which is
the theme of the song, Is doubtless intended
as q reminder to young couples who engage
themselves during dancing time.