Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia

Maturin Murray Ballou

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• Publié par: anyi
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 22
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and
Russia, by Maturin M. Ballou
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Title: Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia
Author: Maturin M. Ballou
Release Date: July 1, 2010 [EBook #33038]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Transcriber's notes
4 pages of advertisements were printed on the first pages of
the book, and have been moved to the end of the ebook.
The author's incorrect/inconsistent spelling of names has
been retained (e.g. Tröndhjem for Trondhjem, Röskilde for
Roskilde and Gotha Canal for Götha C.). Other word errors
have been corrected and a list of corrections can be found
after the book.
The two references to "Fredericksborg Castle" on page 22,
should correctly say "Fredericksberg Castle". This is a
mistake by the author. The two references to
"Fredericksborg Castle" on pages 34 and 38 are correct.
The Table of Contents is here.
DUE NORTH
ORGLIMPSES OF
SCANDINAVIA AND
RUSSIA
BY
MATURIN M. BALLOU
AUTHOR OF "EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH," "DUE
SOUTH; OR, CUBA, PAST AND PRESENT,"
"GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW," ETC.
Only that travelling is good which reveals to me the
value of home, and enables me to enjoy it better.
—Thoreau.
BOSTON
TICKNOR AND COMPANY
1887
Copyright, 1887,
By Maturin M. Ballou.
All rights reserved.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.
[Pg v]PREFACE.About five years ago, the Author, having then just returned from
circumnavigating the globe, was induced to record his experiences of the long
journey, which were published in a volume entitled "Due West; or, Round the
World in Ten Months." The public favor accorded to this work led, a couple of
years later, to the issuing of a second volume of travels, upon the Author's
return from the West Indies, entitled "Due South; or, Cuba, Past and Present."
The popular success of both books and the flattering comments of the critics
have caused the undersigned to believe that a certain portion of the public is
pleased to see foreign lands and people through his eyes; and hence the
publication of the volume now in hand. These pages describing the far North,
from which the Author has just returned,—including Norway, Sweden, Russia,
and Russian Poland,—seem naturally to suggest the title of "Due North."
[Pg vi]Without permitting prejudice to circumscribe judgment in treating of Russia, the
effort has been to represent the condition of that country and its Polish province
truthfully, and to draw only reasonable deductions. This special reference is
made to the pages relating to the Tzar's government, as it will be found that the
Author does not accord with the popularly expressed opinion upon this subject.
M. M. B.
Boston, March, 1887.
[Pg vii]CONTENTS.
PAGECHAPTER I.
Copenhagen.—First Stroll in a Strange City.—
Danish Children.—Antiquity of Copenhagen.
—English Arrogance.—The Baltic Sea.—
Danish Possessions.—Descendants of the
Vikings.—Covetous Germany.—The
Denmark of To-day.—Thorwaldsen's
Remarkable Museum.—The Ethnological
Museum.—Educational Matters.—Eminent
Natives.—Charitable Institutions.—Antique
Churches.—Royal Palaces.—Historical
Memories.—City Architecture.—Zoölogical
Gardens 1–23
CHAPTER II.
Public Amusements in Copenhagen.—Danish
Sovereigns.—The Fashionable Promenade.
—Danish Women.—Palace of Rosenborg.—
A Golconda of Gems.—A Poet's Monument.
—A Famous Astronomer.—Our Lady's
Church.—The King's Square.—The Curious
Old Round Tower.—The Peasantry.—A
Famous Deer Park.—Röskilde.—Elsinore.—
Gypsies.—Kronborg Castle.—The Queen's
Prison.—Hamlet and Ophelia's Grave.—A
Danish Legend 24–40
CHAPTER III.Gottenburg.—Ruins of Elfsborg.—Gustavus
Adolphus.—A Wrecked Monument.—The
Girdle-Duellists.—Emigration to America.—
Public and Private Gardens.—A Kindly
People.—The Götha Canal.—Falls of
Trollhätta.—Dainty Wild-Flowers.—Water-
Ways.—Stockholm and Lake Maelaren.—
Prehistoric Tokens.—Iron Mines of Sweden.
—Pleasing Episode with Children.—The
Liquor Traffic Systematized.—A Great
Practical Charity.—A Domestic Habit 41–56
[Pg viii]CHAPTER IV.
Capital of Norway.—A Grand Fjord.—A Free
and Independent State.—The Legal Code.—
Royal Palace and Gardens.—Oscar's Hall.—
The University.—Public Amusements.—The
Ice Trade.—Ancient Viking Ships.—Heathen
Tombs.—An Interesting Hostelry.—A Steam
Kitchen.—Environs of Christiania.—Horses
and their Treatment.—Harvest Time.—
Women's Work.—The Sæter.—A
Remarkable Lake.—Wild Birds.—Inland
Travel.—Scandinavian Wild Flowers.—
Lonely Habitations.—A Land of Alpine
Heights 57–85
CHAPTER V.
Ancient Capital of Norway.—Routes of Travel.
—Rain!—Peasant Costumes.—Commerce
of Bergen.—Shark's vs. Cod Liver Oil.—
Ship-Building.—Public Edifices.—Quaint
Shops.—Borgund Church.—Leprosy in
Norway.—Sporting Country.—Inland
Experiences.—Hay-Making.—Pine-Forest
Experiences.—National Constitution.—
People's Schools.—Girls' Industrial School.
—Celebrated Citizens of Bergen.—Two
Grand Norwegian Fjords.—Remarkable
Glaciers 86–101
CHAPTER VI.
Ancient and Modern Trondhjem.—Runic
Inscriptions.—A Famous Old Cathedral.—
Local Characteristics.—Romantic Story of
King Olaf.—Curious Local Productions.—An
Island Prison.—Lafoss Falls.—Corn
Magazines.—Land-owners.—Wood-cutters.
—Forests.—A Tumble Overboard.—A
Genuine Cockney.—Comparative Length of
Days.—Characteristics of Boreal Regions.—
Arctic Winter Fisheries.—The Ancient Town
of Lund; the Oxford of Sweden.—PaganTimes 102–115
CHAPTER VII.
Along the Coast of Norway.—Education at the
Far North.—An Interesting Character.—A
Botanical Enthusiast.—Remarkable
Mountain Tunnel.—A Hard Climb.—The
[Pg ix]S e v e n Sisters.—Young England.—An
Amateur Photographer.—Horseman's Island.
—Ancient Town of Bodöe.—Arctic Flowers.
—The Famous Maelström.—Illusions!—The
Wonderful Lofoden Islands.—Grand and
Unique Scenery.—Glaciers.—Nature's
Architecture.—Mysterious Effects.—
Attraction for Artists 116–135
CHAPTER VIII.
Birds of the Arctic Regions.—Effect of
Continuous Daylight.—Town of Tromsöe.—
The Aurora Borealis.—Love of Flowers.—
The Growth of Trees.—Butterflies.—Home
Flowers.—Trees.—Shooting Whales with
Cannon.—Prehistoric Relics.—About
Laplanders.—Eider Ducks.—A Norsk
Wedding Present.—Gypsies of the North.—
Pagan Rites.—The Use of the Reindeer.—
Domestic Life of the Lapps.—Marriage
Ceremony.—A Gypsy Queen.—Lapp
Babies.—Graceful Acknowledgment 136–155
CHAPTER IX.
Experiences Sailing Northward.—Arctic
Whaling.—The Feathered Tribe.—Caught in
a Trap.—Domestic Animals.—The
Marvellous Gulf Stream.—Town of
Hammerfest.—Commerce.—Arctic
Mosquitoes.—The Public Crier.—Norwegian
Marriages.—Peculiar Bird Habits.—A Hint to
Naturalists.—Bird Island.—A Lonely
Habitation.—High Latitude.—Final Landing
at the North Cape.—A Hard Climb.—View of
the Wonderful Midnight Sun 156–168
CHAPTER X.
Journey Across Country.—Capital of Sweden.
—Old and New.—Swedish History.—Local
Attractions.—King Oscar II.—The Royal
Palace.—The Westminster Abbey of
Stockholm.—A Splendid Deer Park.—Public
Amusements.—The Sabbath.—An Official
Dude.—An Awkward Statue.—Swedish
Nightingales.—Linnæus and Swedenborg.—Dalecarlia Girls.—A Remarkable Group in
Bronze.—Rosedale Royal Cottage.—
Ancient Oaks.—