But these streets are not paved; they have quite the look of so many fields or meadows

Torneo does not satisfy the expectation which we are led to form of a town, from which, as a central point, the trade with all the polar regions as far as the Frozen Ocean is carried on; and it disappoints us the more, as it is so much connected with the rich and cultivated country down the river. There are a number of streets, it is true; they are generally straight, and intersect one another at right angles. A plan of the town would exhibit it as large and regular. But these streets are not paved; they have quite the look of so many fields or meadows, they are so grown over with grass. We see few traces of footsteps in them, and carriages only go through the lower principal street. The upper streets are actually barred. The inhabitants have the exclusive right of feeding their own cows on them, and perhaps also of making hay; and hence it not unfrequently happens that when the people of the more southern parts of Sweden wish to divest themselves at the expence of Torneo, they assert that the market-place and the hay made from it belong to the regular revenues of the mayor ( burger meister ). However, the road from Stockholm to the Bothnian Gulph goes through the market-place , and the streets which run from it towards the river-side. In this quarter, therefore, every thing looks better and more respectable. We see several houses two stories high, painted and ornamented; and at the river-side the house of M. Carlenius, the merchant, has a most distinguished appearance. All the other houses are merely low huts, and they are situated at a distance from one another; for every hut has generally its little garden beside it, containing flowers, garden stuffs and herbs, and beautiful mountain-ash trees. The life and stir is confined to the landing-place on the banks of the river, and it is soon lost in the empty streets. The country round is altogether flat, and almost Dutch. Three windmills with the church cover the almost imperceptible hill before the town; and in the adjoining church-yard wall there is probably the same wooden steeple on which Charles XI. once saw the sun at midnight, and from which Manpertuis and his associates began to calculate their degree. The sea is not visible, and the stir in the harbour is not at present very great; I saw only two or three yachts. But the prospect down the river is rather beautiful; for the church of Nieder Torneo, on an island on the other side of the Elv, has a beautiful appearance . It is a shining stone building in the shape of a cross, and the steeple a high cupola rising from the middle with lanterns on it. There is something unexpected and singularly attractive in this view .

Leopold von Buch: Travels through Norway and Lapland, during the years 1806, 1807, and 1808. 1813

I did not expect to find any such place as this away up here

The appearance of Helsingfors, approaching from the sea, is very imposing, for its public buildings are large, elegant structures, the principal ones being on elevated ground. The inner harbor is nearly in the shape of a square, and vessels go up to the wharves on the left.

"What is that large building, Dr. Winstock?" asked Commodore Lincoln, as the ship stood up the harbor.

"That is the Russian church."

"It is a magnificent building," added the young officer, as he gazed with admiration upon the lofty building with its gilded dome.

"All the Russian churches are beautiful buildings; and you will find that those in St. Petersburg and Moscow far excel this one. The large structures in front of us are the Lutheran church, the University, - which was moved from Abo to this place, - and the Senate House."

" I did not expect to find any such place as this away up here. VWhy, it is one of the finest cities I ever looked upon! " exclaimed the commodore.

"I was as much astonished as you are when I first came here," added the doctor. 

William T. Adams: Northern lands or, young America in Russia and Prussia ; a story of travel and adventure . 1872

We hired, at a rouble each, a little miniature steam-boat

After dinner, unappalled by an inky sky, we hired, at a rouble each, a little miniature steam-boat, with a machine scarce bigger than a tea-kettle, which whizzed and fumed us about at the will of two Swedish lads, and landed us at Sveaborg. This island is about five acres in extent, loaded with crown buildings and a population of military, and sacred to the memory of Field-Marshal Count Ehrensward, whose monument stands here. Thence we steered for the Scheeren, literally the Scissors, a beautiful chasm of sea, between meeting and retreating islands, where trees with leaves grow by the water's edge; and where the Helsingforstians in their holiday expeditions land and bear off a leaf with as keen a pleasure as we should the choicest bouquet. But "pleasure suits itself to all,-the rich can but be pleased." The rain fell occasionally in torrents around us; but our little puffing bark seemed to bear a charm, or, as a ready Russian officer of the party observed, " pas un, mais plusieurs ;" and we passed dry on, while some delicious voices on board gave us alternately German and Russian melodies.

John H. Drummond: Letters from the Baltic. Kirjassa Western Barbary: its wild tribes and savage animals. 1844

When I arrived at Helsingfors, the whole city was in motion

 A steamboat plies several times a day between Helsingfors and Sveaborg, and conveys passengers to the foot of the fortress. If you penetrate the enclosure, you find only convicts dragging their chains, and soldiers. If you attempt to pause before an inscription, or to cross the threshhold of a gate, a sentry, with sabre at his side and gun on his shoulder, addresses to you immediately an energetic command which cuts short conversation and exploration.

When I arrived at Helsingfors, the whole city was in motion; they were awaiting the hereditary prince, and preparing for him a pompous reception. At last salvos of artillery resounded on the ramparts of Sveaborg. The Grand Duke arrived in a magnificent steamboat. He went at first to the church, according to the custom of Russian sovereigns; he is a tall and handsome young man, of a mild and interesting countenance. In the hasty conversation which he did me the honor to grant me, he spoke with great justice of several foreign countries, with a lively sympathy of this beautiful country of Finland, which he now saw for the first time, and whose aspect enchanted him. He was accompanied by Prince Menschikoff, governor-general of the province, admiral of the empire, and one of the most intelligent and well-informed men among the high Russian officers. The Grand Duke turned towards him at every instant, and seemed to consult him with the deference of a modest pupil who is interrogating his master. If the atmosphere of the court, and the exercise of power, do not affect his natural endowments, the Grand Duke promises to Russia a sovereign of noble character and rare amiability.

Anne T. Wilbur. Sveaborg. Translated from the French for Ballou's Pictorial. Ballou's pictorial drawing-room companion vol IX. 1855

We should have liked to remain in Uleaborg much longer

 Had circumstances permitted we should have liked to remain in Uleaborg much longer, but, had we done so, should have been obliged to abandon going to other attractive places. So, with heart-felt thanks for all his kindness, we bade adieu to the Consul, who accompanied us to the steamer, and started upon our journey up the Ulea river.

The steamer touched at many little villages on either side all the way. It was always interesting to see the people at the wharves, and we were not a little amused over the way the man who attended to the landing of the boat gave his orders. When he wished it to be stopped he made the same peculiar noise the drivers both in Finland and in Russia make to their horses to stop them. The sound is not difficult to imitate, but it is impossible to illustrate with letters or words, and I know of nothing to which it can be compared. The noise they make to start their horses is like the popping of champagne corks, that is if two popped in quick succession.

In about three hours we reached Muhus, which is the end of the steamer's run, as there is a five-mile rapid above. The rapid is a wild one; we could hear its roar very plainly as we drew near Muhus. Upon reaching the posthouse, and finding that the people spoke nothing but Finnish, we expected to experience some difficulty in making our wants known, and no doubt our anticipations would have been realized had it not been for the thoughtfulness of a lady residing some two miles distant, who, learning a party of Americans had arrived, and fearing we might be inconvenienced, very kindly came to see if she could render us any assistance. She spoke Finnish and French, and as two of our party spoke the latter language fluently we had no trouble whatever.

Harriet Cornelia Hayward, From Finland to Greece; or, Three seasons in Eastern Europe. 1892

Each passenger is provided with descriptive folders

The 10-kr. “joy flight” over Stockholm, mentioned in an earlier chapter, is a mere appetizer for this air classic to Finland and Esthonia. Your pilot taxis the big seaplane into the wind, rushes over the water, skims the wavelets with swift rat-tat-tat, rises decisively and — you're off! Over the garden city, the civilized suburbs, the lush inner skerries, the bleak outer skerries, and finally a fifteen-minute dash over the open Baltic, and then appear the myriad dots and dashes which are the outer isles of Finland.

Each passenger is provided with descriptive folders of the trip, a clear large-scale map, and (to wet flying whistles) a free bottle of mineral water. The only comfort which is denied is that of the smoking weed, for severe signs state not only Rökning Förbjuden but Tupakkaan Poltto Kielletty, which is the crisp Finnish warning against smoking.

Two and a half hours after quitting Stockholm you seem to be settling down upon a pine forest, but the plane slides just over the tree tops and settles as gracefully as a silver gull in the haven of Åbo, Finland's western port. It is but an hour thence across "The Land of Forty Thousand Lakes” (the more enthusiastic brochures say sixty thousand) to the bright capital of Finland, known in that nationalistic country as Helsinki, though its more limpid Swedish name, Helsingfors, refuses to die out.

Sidney A. Clark: Sweden on fifty dollars. 1936

It is appropriate here to present the reader with some account of Abo

It is appropriate here to present the reader with some account of Abo. "The city of Abo, pronounced Obo (the Finnish name is Turtu), contains about 14,000 inhabitants. It has four or five barracks, some of them built of wood, which in time of peace have in them from 3000 to 4000 Russians, as the Fins call all soldiers. The town is defenceless as to forts and fortifications. 

There is an old Swedish palace at the mouth of the river, called the Slott (palace or castle), now used as a prison and barrack; but it has no guns or defence except its walls, strongly grated with thick bars of iron. The low buildings in front appear much older than the two long wings. There has been a moat in front, from the river to the sea to the right; but it has little water, and resembles a large ditch. 

Behind the Slott is a bridge, half a mile long, made of piles, and connecting the island of Runsalla with the main-land. Runsalla was given by the government a few years ago to the town; it is one of the very few islands off the Finnish coast upon which the oak grows; it is divided into lots, which are sold for building villas upon; but the purchaser may not cut down an oak, even if it interferes with his view or his building, as they are reserved by the crown for shipbuilding, though they are nearly all rotten. 

Opposite Runsalla is the island of Beckholm, where large ships anchor and discharge into lighters, as there is not water enough in the river for vessels drawing more than twelve to fourteen feet. Passenger steamers proceed up to the lower bridge, though they sometimes get aground in the river when the water is low, as it is when there is an east wind."

The illustrated history of the war against Russia. 1857

What is the meaning of the barefoot women and girls in rural Finland?

 What marvels are the Finnish rural women — marvels of vitality, industry, robust interest! They seem to do all that any man can do, and then some. Cheerfully they tend the cows, feed them, milk them, clean their stalls, make cheese, make butter, care for their children, keep house; then weave, knit, read, go to school. They hold to their bosom ideals of art, learning, music, home, country. Boys bow and click their heels together. Girls modestly curtsy. Hospitality is naive, direct, neither stilted nor nervous.

What is the meaning of the barefoot women and girls in rural Finland? Is it a relic of age-old inferiority in the masculine mind? Is it an economic necessity? Why no running water in houses? Why no washing machines? Would rural sociological research mend matters any more quickly? Would statistics help? Must a country wait till a Grundtvig comes? Or a Snellman?

My drift into rural sociology : memoirs of Charles Josiah Galpin. (1938)

The market at Helsingfors

It is a showery day. Along this stone pier, nearly up to its level, now at high water, lie a hundred fishing-boats, the prow of each touching the pier. Each rude vessel is a residence and a place of business. Looking down into one dark, smoke-begrimed cabin — a junk shop and blacksmith forge in one — you see two men eating. Salt fish in one hand and hard tack in the other, these form a fisherman's lunch. These huge, dark wheels, a foot in diameter, are sometimes strung together by twine passing through a hole in the center of each. Soaked in coffee I have found them palatable, if one be hungry, but the Russian black bread is too much like asphaltum pavement a year old, both in color, density and weight. A wedge and heavy hammer would be needed to break it. The Emperor is said to have kept a block of it, cut into the form of a cube, for a paper weight. Irony, if not iron, is in it. The absence of sweets and other delicacies which ruin American teeth is a compensation for coarse food, and explains the superior integrity and beauty of the teeth of foreign peasantry. Thousands who never saw a tooth-brush have never felt a toothache.

Here are milk-boats with firkins holding a dozen gallons; butter-boats with buckets of butter, nice and yellow ; potato-boats filled with bags and boxes ; fish-boats with nameless and numberless specimens, animate and exanimate. Fish squirming in a net were weighed by steelyards. If there were too many the fish were dropped into the water bucket. Scores of stalls, covered and open, filled the square near the boats. A hundred sunburnt women sold cheap dry goods, fancy ware, or stationery. The greengrocer, the baker, and the farmer sold from their carts as well as from stands.

Edward P. Thwing: Outdoor life in Europe or sketches of seven summers abroad. 1888

The room swarmed with vermin

I had arranged for my onward passage in an office which led me to expect by its appearance and the formalities of the agent, accommodation superior to the Fürst Menchikoff; but imagine my surprise, as I groped my way on board the Abo boat, to find myself among a cargo of oxen, through which I had to work to reach the stern of the vessel. The return of daylight explained this arrangement ; and the good-humoured civility of the little skipper made his craft far more agree able than the haughty exclusiveness and artificial consequence of the Fürst Menchikoff. The vessel was as large, but was decked only fore and aft, the midship being open and appropriated entirely to the transport of cattle ; they proved to be no annoyance, and the unpretending arrangements for the passengers were enhanced by an anxiety to please. Our society was small but agreeable and friendly — a Russian general taking his young wife to Abo to meet her parents ; some other officers, a Swedish baron, a Danish general returning from a mission to St. Petersburg, and two or three students.

At no period of our passage were we really in open water, the islands thickening as we advanced; some barren rocks, and others clothed to the water's edge with fir trees; few inhabited, and those only by solitary fishermen, whose little huts gave the only indications of life. It was a beautiful day, and the waters were as a sheet of glass, showing distinctly the ripples of the numerous wild-fowl as they swam by, and the lazy plunge of the seal as it scrambled off the rocks at our approach. It was the most peaceful scene I have ever witnessed : it was Sunday, and nature was in harmony with the day of rest : the very birds seemed to possess a sense of protection ; for, unalarmed by the steam-boat, they floated on the water within gun-shot, and stood preening them selves on the rocky islets, so close that I could distinguish their varieties with my naked eye. I have made a vow to read this page of the book of nature a little closer; and if ever I have the power, I will spend a month in the spring of the year to learn a little more of these my favourites.

It was evening as we neared Abo, whose now forsaken observatory, perched high on an eminence, we had occasionally caught glimpses of in the distance ; and, after following the sinuosities of a creek imbedded in hills of rock, the town suddenly opened on our view, and we were moored alongside a vessel from Hull. It was a fragment of English ; and, notwithstanding my cosmopolitish feelings, my heart glowed and vibrated as if the chord of home had been touched, the home of my early recollections and affections, for the later ones bore no fruit of promise. Again I was a wanderer in search of shelter, and again I found it in a Society's house; but the rest I required, after the fatigue of the three previous days and exposure at night on the deck, was impossible; for the room swarmed with vermin, which sprang into activity before I lost consciousness in sleep. I passed the night on a bench in the garden, the only safe place I could have found, as the landlord told me, for the whole town is infested with these scourges of rest, beyond all belief.

Edward P. Thompson: Life in Russia; or, The discipline of despotism. 1848

Farther on, the road and the country improve

Since the peace, however, the whole of Finland has become part of the Russian Empire, and is incorporated with the Government of Wyburg. The distance between St. Petersburg and Abo is about 640 versts, and the road from the capital, as far as Wyburg, sandy, dreary, and uninteresting. Wyburg, the capital of the Government which bears its name, carries on some trade in deals, tar, and timber, but in every other respect is unworthy of notice. Farther on, the road and the country improve; and before we reach the Kymen we have to pass through Friederickshamn, where there is a garrison and a good many inhabitants, but no foreign trade. The road to the west of the Kymen is excellent as far as Abo, and the country fertile and variegated in a great degree. When this tract belonged to Sweden, it furnished Stockholm with large supplies of corn, and was considered one of the richest appendages of the Swedish Crown.

We pass through some pretty little towns, such as Louisa, Borgo, and Helsingfors. The celebrated fortress of Sveaborg lies within a mile of Helsingfors; and now that it is in the possession of the Russians, they will no doubt render it perfectly impregnable.

The accommodation generally all through Finland is very bad; and travellers would do well to have a bed in their carriage to be used in case of need, and to have moreover some cold provisions, tea and sugar.

Abo is a bishopric, and contains about 10,000 inhabi tants. It is a town of great antiquity; and in addition to a fine cathedral, they have an Academy, which was founded by Queen Christina, and formely very much resorted to. Under the Swedish Government, Abo served as a place of security for their galley fleet and sea-stores; and its situation, close to the Gulf of Bothnia, is admirably adapted for that purpose. During my short stay there, I received the kindest attentions from the celebrated Professor Porthan, for whom I had letters of introduction.

Thomas Brown: The reminiscences of an old traveller throughout different parts of Europe. 1843

Better collections of animals and exotic plants than are possessed by the combined cities of New York, Boston, and Chicago

The city of Abo, about five miles from the sea, contains a population of over 20,000 souls. It has good hotels, stores, manufacturing establishments, schools, parks, and fountains; a botanical garden, a theatre, telegraph lines, a daily newspaper, and a fine railroad depot. On either side of the river leading to the sea are numerous fine private residences having their docks, yachts, and bath houses, and surrounded by lawns and flowers, rivaling Long Branch and surpassing the approaches to the American metropolis. A New Yorker, accustomed to viewing with placid satisfaction the beauties of the shores of his city's harbor, and visiting Finland with the expectation of finding a scene of almost Arctic sterility and hyperborean frosts, soon realizes his mistake.

Helsingfors, the Capital of Finland, contains about 50,000 population, and is the principal distributing city of the country. It has many magnificent five-story stores, two theatres, a military academy, a great university, a telegraph school, an astronomical observatory, electriclights, two daily newspapers, an immense sugar refinery, one of the best hotels in Europe, and better collections of animals and exotic plants than are possessed by the combined cities of New York, Boston, and Chicago.

Demas Barnes: In search of summer breezes in northern Europe. 1887

incomprehensible melancholy of the people of the North

On entering these whitened deserts, a poetic terror takes possession of the soul ; you pause, affrighted, on the threshold of the palace of winter. As you advance in these abodes of cold illusions, of visions, brilliant, though with a silvered rather than a golden light, an indefinable kind of sadness takes possession of the heart ; the failing imagination ceases to create, or its feeble conceptions resemble only the undefined forms of the wanly glittering clouds that meet the eye.

When the mind reverts from the scenery to itself, it is to partake of the hitherto incomprehensible melancholy of the people of the North ; and to feel, as they feel, the fascination of their monotonous poetry. This initiation into the pleasures of sadness is pain- ful, while it is pleasing ; you follow with slow steps the chariot of death, chaunting hymns of lamentation, yet of hope ; your sorrowing soul lends itself to the illusions around, and sympathises with the objects that meet the sight ; the air, the mist, the water, all produce a novel impression. There is, whether the impression be made through the organ of smell or of touch, something strange and unusual in the sensa- tion ; it announces to you that you are approaching the confines of the habitable world ; the icy zone is before you, and the polar air pierces even to the heart. This is not agreeable, but it is novel and very strange.

Marquis de Custine's "Empire of the Czar". Curiosities of modern travel; a year-book of adventure. 1844

Such is a Finnish church service

Sunday morning I paid a visit to the church, the exterior of which was under repair. The two great silver crosses on the towers flashed in the sun. There were about half-a-dozen people seated in the great body of the church, formed by the four wings. The high walls are covered with dark, rough deals, on which there are some strange ornamentations in red and green. But where is the clergyman ? Twist your neck, so that the line of sight forms an angle with the horizon of 45°, and you will see, high above the altar, a little, barrel-shaped pulpit, and in this the head and shoulders of the parson. He wears a fur coat and cap, a little white " bib " alone indicating his dignity. He preaches in the peculiar Finnish tongue, the many "ä's" of which impart to it a very strange sonorousness. But what has become of the parson ? In the middle of the sermon he has suddenly disappeared in the barrel ; in about a minute he re appears, and continues where he left off. This is one of the prescribed forms of the Finnish ritual. Then an attempt is made to sing a hymn, previous to which a figure clad in furs, sitting to the right of the altar, has attached the number to a moveable disk. This over, the parson proceeds with his drawling address. Such is a Finnish church service.

Sophus Tromholt: Under the rays of the aurora borealis : in the land of the Lapps and Kvaens. Vol. II. 1885

He sold his farm to his brother

In Kuopio we met with some good people, particularly a peasant, of whom I had formerly heard much. He is an active promoter of the cause of God in Finland. After he was brought to the knowledge of the truth, he formed the resolution of devoting himself wholly to the cause of God among his countrymen. He sold his farm to his brother, for a reasonable price, on condition that he would furnish him with clothes and board, provide a warm room for him, and feed his horse. His money lies at interest in his brother’s hand, and he devotes the annual income to the cause of religion. His chief object is the circulation of Tracts. He has had nine or ten of our best Tracts translated into Finnish, and printed at his own expense, among which is The Dairyman’s-Daughter. As soon as he gets a quantity of Tracts ready, he puts his horse to his cart, and sets off. selling them, and giving them away all over the country. He also exhorts the people to flee from the wrath to come, and has been useful in the conversion of some. He is connected with all the good people within his circle, visits them, and encourages them to persevere in the way of the Lord. In short, he is almost an Apostle. He has also borne the expense of a young man’s education at Abo, who promises to be a. most useful preacher of the Gospel, and who at present assists in translating his Tracts and getting them printed.

Annual report of the New York Religious Tract Society. ... 1816/17-1818/19.

There is only one thing to be seen — the uncouth Gothic cathedral

Abo is a deserted village : a few vessels lie idly in the harbor ; one or two small hotels wait idly on the quay. In the broad, silent streets, the houses, built of wood, are only one story high and very far apart, their doorways level with the ground. There is only one thing to be seen — the uncouth Gothic cathedral ; and unless one is in a mood for horrors it may better be avoided, for in the crypt the dead stand dressed in the garb of the living, as they do in the ghastly church of the Capucines at Rome and the cemetery at Palermo.

By the captain's advice we decided on a drive to the park of Runsala, four or five miles away, which would at least take us to fresh fields and pastures new. The national "droschkies" are small, narrow, dingy one-horse vehicles which possess unlimited capacity for jolt and rattle ; are started at full gallop, and continued at as breathless a pace as if pursued by a pack of wolves. Remonstrance was hopeless, for the drivers talked Finnish, and we did not ; and moreover it is the national pace. However, the park was reached without accident ; and though it has no merit of cultivation, it affords pretty views and shaded walks. The restaurant dinner served on the veranda was rather eccentric in quality and condiment ; but on the whole this excursion is more entertaining than to sit idly on the deck while the steamer pauses in the harbor.

Mrs. S. M. Henry Davis: Norway nights and Russian days. 1887

Finnish sledge

At Hudiksvall, I procured, at the small cost of thirty-six shillings, a kind of sledge, that I had been looking out for during the whole journey, and which I recommend to those who travel so far to the north. It is that in general use in Finland, and is as convenient as the most luxurious carriage. Being narrow, it is not suited for more than one person, but is sufficiently long to admit of his lying in it at full length, and using it as a bed, if he be not inclined to try the comforts of the post-houses. The driver sits on the fore part, which is boarded over, and forms a box large enough to contain a moderate quantity of luggage. Throughout the north of Sweden, the form of the sledge varies every hundred miles, and the shape adopted in one part is unsuited to the style of country in another, but the Finnish sledge answers for hill or plain, and is rarely stopped by any depth of snow.

Arthur Dillon: A winter in Iceland and Lapland. v.2. 1840

The first intention was to replace the destroyed boats, nets, &c.

F. Uhden remarked to us that the printing of 100,000 copies, by the Bible Society, of the New Testament and the Psalms, in their own language, had made a deep impression on the Finnish people ; but after the ravages committed on the property of unarmed and unoffending fishermen and peasants, during the war, the cry was, ' Can these be the English — our friends ? ' — to which he sometimes replied, ' The English who send you the Bible are not the same persons as the English who carry on the war.'

On their return to England the two gentlemen immediately set on foot a subscription by which nearly £9,000 was raised. The first intention was to replace, as far as the money would go, the destroyed boats, nets, &c. But the failure of the crops in Finland that autumn, and the severity of the succeeding winter, rendered it necessary to expend the greater part in food. This was done, and corn, meal, potatoes, with some clothes, fishing-nets, &c, were purchased and were distributed through resident merchants and the Lutheran clergy. This work of true Christian charity produced the happiest effects. " On behalf of all the suffering poor," wrote one correspondent, " who have received food and clothes out of the £50, I beg to return you their most heartfelt thanks ; ' God bless the English gentlemen ! ' has already been uttered by many lips." "We wish," said another, "to express the joy which this subscription has excited, both amongst us and amongst all our friends who have already been informed of it, not only on account of the relief afforded, but also for the sympathy shown for our country." E. Julin, of Abo, says : " I am sure the feeling of good-will of the Finnish nation towards England and Englishmen, which certainly became weakened during the war, is now regained." Two gentlemen of Birmingham, one of them Joseph Sturge's nephew, who visited, in 1857, the places to which help had been sent, reported to the same effect. " Those feelings," they say, " of hostility and bitterness towards England which were caused by the wanton and unjustifiable destruction of private property by our cruisers during the war, are now being effectually removed by the knowledge that the friendly hand of England has been spontaneously and generously extended towards them, at a time when Finland was suffering from famine and its attendant evils.

Charles Tylor: The Faggot. 1876

The Geography of the North owes much to the researches of Professor Parrot

The Geography of the North owes much to the researches of Professor Parrot, well known for his ascent of Mount Ararat, who made a journey in the course of last summer to North Cape, at the expense of the University of Dorpat, for the purpose of making astronomical and magnetical observations, and of noting the oscillations of the pendulum. He left Dorpat, and travelling through Russian Finland by Wyborg, Kuopio, and Uleaborg. reached Torneo. In that remote little town, at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia, he was surprised to find a comfortable inn, and markets well supplied with the produce of the South. He proceeded on his route by an interesting navigation of 380 miles up the rivers Tornea and Muonio, sometimes between hills well peopled and cultivated, but more frequently through thick woods. The rivers, in some places, opened into lakes, in others they fell in bold cascades. At length he reached the sources of the Muonio, about 1400 feet above the sea, and close to the borders of the three kingdoms, Sweden, Norway, and Russia. Leaving his boat on the shores of the lake, and placing his instruments and baggage on the shoulders of eight sturdy Finlanders, M. Parrot crossed on foot the Scandinavian ridge, through the most diversified scenery imaginable ; patches of snow lying in the clefts of the rocks, while at their feet was a most luxuriant herbage, with berries of many kinds, and the full bloom of a short but vigorous summer. The little lakes and cascades were without number. He had not advanced far through this wild scenery before he descried the waters of Lyngenfiord, an inlet which runs a long way into the land.

The monthly magazine, or, British register. v. 25 (Jan. -June 1838)

Guided to his home by the light of a conflagration

At Uitzoki the party found the pastoral residence occupied by one of those men who sacrifice on the shrine of Christian duty, not merely the comforts of civilized life, but talents and acquirements of a high order. On accepting his charge he had performed the journey from Tornea in the depth of winter, accompanied by a young wife and a female relation of the latter, fifteen years of age. He had found the parsonage vacated by his predecessor a wretched edifice, distant some fifteen miles from the nearest Lap habitation. After establishing himself and his family in this, he had returned from a pastoral excursion, guided to his home by the light of a conflagration from which its inmates had escaped with difficulty, but with a total loss of everything they possessed. A wretched hut, built for the temporary shelter of the Laps who resorted thither for divine service, afforded the family a shelter for the winter. He had since contrived to build himself another dwelling, in which our party found him, after five years' residence, the father of a family, and the chief of a happy household. The latter was destined to be diminished by the visit of our travellers. The susceptible Durmann fell a victim to the attractions and accomplishments, musical especially, of the young lady, and he left Uitzoki, in company with our author, for Enare, a betrothed man. Their journey was hurried, for Mr. D. was engaged to perform service at the church of Enare, and love had delayed his departure to the last moment. The second of their three days' journey was one of eight Swedish, or nearly sixty English, miles, performed in wet clothes, and almost without rest or sustenance, for sixteen consecutive hours.

Essays on history, biography, geography, engineering &c. contributed to the 'Quarterly Review' by the late Earl of Ellesmere. 1858