Had I determined to
travel in Sweden merely for pleasure, I should probably have chosen the road to
Stockholm, though convinced, by repeated observation, that the manners of a
people are best discriminated in the country. The inhabitants of the
capital are all of the same genus; for the varieties in the species we must,
therefore, search where the habitations of men are so separated as to allow the
difference of climate to have its natural effect. And with this difference
we are, perhaps, most forcibly struck at the first view, just as we form an
estimate of the leading traits of a character at the first glance, of which
intimacy afterwards makes us almost lose sight.
As my affairs called
me to Stromstad (the frontier town of Sweden) in my way to Norway, I was to
pass over, I heard, the most uncultivated part of the country. Still I
believe that the grand features of Sweden are the same everywhere, and it is
only the grand features that admit of description. There is an individuality
in every prospect, which remains in the memory as forcibly depicted as the
particular features that have arrested our attention; yet we cannot find words
to discriminate that individuality so as to enable a stranger to say, this is
the face, that the view. We may amuse by setting the imagination to work;
but we cannot store the memory with a fact.
As I wish to give you
a general idea of this country, I shall continue in my desultory manner to make
such observations and reflections as the circumstances draw forth, without
losing time, by endeavouring to arrange them.
Travelling in Sweden
is very cheap, and even commodious, if you make but the proper
arrangements. Here, as in other parts of the Continent, it is necessary
to have your own carriage, and to have a servant who can speak the language, if
you are unacquainted with it. Sometimes a servant who can drive would be
found very useful, which was our case, for I travelled in company with two
gentlemen, one of whom had a German servant who drove very well. This was
all the party; for not intending to make a long stay, I left my little girl
behind me.
As the roads are not
much frequented, to avoid waiting three or four hours for horses, we sent, as
is the constant custom, an avant courier the night before, to order them
at every post, and we constantly found them ready. Our first set I
jokingly termed requisition horses; but afterwards we had almost always little
spirited animals that went on at a round pace.
The roads, making
allowance for the ups and downs, are uncommonly good and pleasant. The
expense, including the postillions and other incidental things, does not amount
to more than a shilling the Swedish mile.
The inns are
tolerable; but not liking the rye bread, I found it necessary to furnish myself
with some wheaten before I set out. The beds, too, were particularly
disagreeable to me. It seemed to me that I was sinking into a grave when
I entered them; for, immersed in down placed in a sort of box, I expected to be
suffocated before morning. The sleeping between two down beds—they do so
even in summer—must be very unwholesome during any season; and I cannot
conceive how the people can bear it, especially as the summers are very
warm. But warmth they seem not to feel; and, I should think, were afraid
of the air, by always keeping their windows shut. In the winter, I am
persuaded, I could not exist in rooms thus closed up, with stoves heated in
their manner, for they only put wood into them twice a day; and, when the stove
is thoroughly heated, they shut the flue, not admitting any air to renew its
elasticity, even when the rooms are crowded with company. These stoves
are made of earthenware, and often in a form that ornaments an apartment, which
is never the case with the heavy iron ones I have seen elsewhere. Stoves
may be economical, but I like a fire, a wood one, in preference; and I am
convinced that the current of air which it attracts renders this the best mode
of warming rooms.
We arrived early the
second evening at a little village called Quistram, where we had determined to
pass the night, having been informed that we should not afterwards find a
tolerable inn until we reached Stromstad.
Advancing towards
Quistram, as the sun was beginning to decline, I was particularly impressed by
the beauty of the situation. The road was on the declivity of a rocky
mountain, slightly covered with a mossy herbage and vagrant firs. At the
bottom, a river, straggling amongst the recesses of stone, was hastening
forward to the ocean and its grey rocks, of which we had a prospect on the
left; whilst on the right it stole peacefully forward into the meadows, losing
itself in a thickly-wooded rising ground. As we drew near, the loveliest
banks of wild flowers variegated the prospect, and promised to exhale odours to
add to the sweetness of the air, the purity of which you could almost see,
alas! not smell, for the putrefying herrings, which they use as manure, after
the oil has been extracted, spread over the patches of earth, claimed by
cultivation, destroyed every other.
It was intolerable,
and entered with us into the inn, which was in other respects a charming
retreat.
Whilst supper was
preparing I crossed the bridge, and strolled by the river, listening to its
murmurs. Approaching the bank, the beauty of which had attracted my
attention in the carriage, I recognised many of my old acquaintance growing
with great luxuriance.
Seated on it, I could
not avoid noting an obvious remark. Sweden appeared to me the country in
the world most proper to form the botanist and natural historian; every object
seemed to remind me of the creation of things, of the first efforts of sportive
nature. When a country arrives at a certain state of perfection, it looks
as if it were made so; and curiosity is not excited. Besides, in social
life too many objects occur for any to be distinctly observed by the generality
of mankind; yet a contemplative man, or poet, in the country—I do not mean the
country adjacent to cities—feels and sees what would escape vulgar eyes, and
draws suitable inferences. This train of reflections might have led me
further, in every sense of the word; but I could not escape from the detestable
evaporation of the herrings, which poisoned all my pleasure.
After making a
tolerable supper—for it is not easy to get fresh provisions on the road—I
retired, to be lulled to sleep by the murmuring of a stream, of which I with
great difficulty obtained sufficient to perform my daily ablutions.
The last battle
between the Danes and Swedes, which gave new life to their ancient enmity, was
fought at this place 1788; only seventeen or eighteen were killed, for the
great superiority of the Danes and Norwegians obliged the Swedes to submit; but
sickness, and a scarcity of provision, proved very fatal to their opponents on
their return.
It would be very easy
to search for the particulars of this engagement in the publications of the
day; but as this manner of filling my pages does not come within my plan, I
probably should not have remarked that the battle was fought here, were it not
to relate an anecdote which I had from good authority.
I noticed, when I
first mentioned this place to you, that we descended a steep before we came to
the inn; an immense ridge of rocks stretching out on one side. The inn
was sheltered under them; and about a hundred yards from it was a bridge that
crossed the river, the murmurs of which I have celebrated; it was not
fordable. The Swedish general received orders to stop at the bridge and
dispute the passage—a most advantageous post for an army so much inferior in
force; but the influence of beauty is not confined to courts. The
mistress of the inn was handsome; when I saw her there were still some remains
of beauty; and, to preserve her house, the general gave up the only tenable
station. He was afterwards broke for contempt of orders.
Approaching the
frontiers, consequently the sea, nature resumed an aspect ruder and ruder, or
rather seemed the bones of the world waiting to be clothed with everything
necessary to give life and beauty. Still it was sublime.
The clouds caught
their hue of the rocks that menaced them. The sun appeared afraid to
shine, the birds ceased to sing, and the flowers to bloom; but the eagle fixed
his nest high amongst the rocks, and the vulture hovered over this abode of
desolation. The farm houses, in which only poverty resided, were formed
of logs scarcely keeping off the cold and drifting snow: out of them the
inhabitants seldom peeped, and the sports or prattling of children was neither
seen or heard. The current of life seemed congealed at the source: all
were not frozen, for it was summer, you remember; but everything appeared so
dull that I waited to see ice, in order to reconcile me to the absence of
gaiety.
The day before, my
attention had frequently been attracted by the wild beauties of the country we
passed through.
The rocks which
tossed their fantastic heads so high were often covered with pines and firs,
varied in the most picturesque manner. Little woods filled up the
recesses when forests did not darken the scene, and valleys and glens, cleared
of the trees, displayed a dazzling verdure which contrasted with the gloom of
the shading pines. The eye stole into many a covert where tranquillity
seemed to have taken up her abode, and the number of little lakes that
continually presented themselves added to the peaceful composure of the
scenery. The little cultivation which appeared did not break the
enchantment, nor did castles rear their turrets aloft to crush the cottages,
and prove that man is more savage than the natives of the woods. I heard
of the bears but never saw them stalk forth, which I was sorry for; I wished to
have seen one in its wild state. In the winter, I am told, they sometimes
catch a stray cow, which is a heavy loss to the owner.
The farms are
small. Indeed most of the houses we saw on the road indicated poverty, or
rather that the people could just live. Towards the frontiers they grew
worse and worse in their appearance, as if not willing to put sterility itself
out of countenance. No gardens smiled round the habitations, not a potato
or cabbage to eat with the fish drying on a stick near the door. A little
grain here and there appeared, the long stalks of which you might almost
reckon. The day was gloomy when we passed over this rejected spot, the
wind bleak, and winter seemed to be contending with nature, faintly struggling
to change the season. Surely, thought I, if the sun ever shines here it
cannot warm these stones; moss only cleaves to them, partaking of their
hardness, and nothing like vegetable life appears to cheer with hope the heart.
So far from thinking
that the primitive inhabitants of the world lived in a southern climate where
Paradise spontaneously arose, I am led to infer, from various circumstances,
that the first dwelling of man happened to be a spot like this which led him to
adore a sun so seldom seen; for this worship, which probably preceded that of
demons or demigods, certainly never began in a southern climate, where the
continual presence of the sun prevented its being considered as a good; or
rather the want of it never being felt, this glorious luminary would carelessly
have diffused its blessings without being hailed as a benefactor. Man
must therefore have been placed in the north, to tempt him to run after the
sun, in order that the different parts of the earth might be peopled. Nor
do I wonder that hordes of barbarians always poured out of these regions to
seek for milder climes, when nothing like cultivation attached them to the
soil, especially when we take into the view that the adventuring spirit, common
to man, is naturally stronger and more general during the infancy of
society. The conduct of the followers of Mahomet, and the crusaders, will
sufficiently corroborate my assertion.
Approaching nearer to
Stromstad, the appearance of the town proved to be quite in character with the
country we had just passed through. I hesitated to use the word country,
yet could not find another; still it would sound absurd to talk of fields of rocks.
The town was built on
and under them. Three or four weather-beaten trees were shrinking from
the wind, and the grass grew so sparingly that I could not avoid thinking Dr.
Johnson’s hyperbolical assertion “that the man merited well of his country who made
a few blades of grass grow where they never grew before,” might here have been
uttered with strict propriety. The steeple likewise towered aloft, for
what is a church, even amongst the Lutherans, without a steeple? But to
prevent mischief in such an exposed situation, it is wisely placed on a rock at
some distance not to endanger the roof of the church.
Rambling about, I saw
the door open, and entered, when to my great surprise I found the clergyman
reading prayers, with only the clerk attending. I instantly thought of
Swift’s “Dearly beloved Roger,” but on inquiry I learnt that some one had died
that morning, and in Sweden it is customary to pray for the dead.
The sun, who I
suspected never dared to shine, began now to convince me that he came forth
only to torment; for though the wind was still cutting, the rocks became
intolerably warm under my feet, whilst the herring effluvia, which I before
found so very offensive, once more assailed me. I hastened back to the
house of a merchant, the little sovereign of the place, because he was by far
the richest, though not the mayor.
Here we were most
hospitably received, and introduced to a very fine and numerous family. I
have before mentioned to you the lilies of the north, I might have added, water
lilies, for the complexion of many, even of the young women, seem to be
bleached on the bosom of snow. But in this youthful circle the roses
bloomed with all their wonted freshness, and I wondered from whence the fire
was stolen which sparkled in their fine blue eyes.
Here we slept; and I
rose early in the morning to prepare for my little voyage to Norway. I
had determined to go by water, and was to leave my companions behind; but not
getting a boat immediately, and the wind being high and unfavourable, I was
told that it was not safe to go to sea during such boisterous weather; I was,
therefore, obliged to wait for the morrow, and had the present day on my hands,
which I feared would be irksome, because the family, who possessed about a
dozen French words amongst them and not an English phrase, were anxious to
amuse me, and would not let me remain alone in my room. The town we had
already walked round and round, and if we advanced farther on the coast, it was
still to view the same unvaried immensity of water surrounded by barrenness.
The gentlemen,
wishing to peep into Norway, proposed going to Fredericshall, the first
town—the distance was only three Swedish miles. There and back again was
but a day’s journey, and would not, I thought, interfere with my voyage.
I agreed, and invited the eldest and prettiest of the girls to accompany
us. I invited her because I like to see a beautiful face animated by
pleasure, and to have an opportunity of regarding the country, whilst the
gentlemen were amusing themselves with her.
I did not know, for I
had not thought of it, that we were to scale some of the most mountainous
cliffs of Sweden in our way to the ferry which separates the two countries.
Entering amongst the
cliffs, we were sheltered from the wind, warm sunbeams began to play, streams
to flow, and groves of pines diversified the rocks. Sometimes they became
suddenly bare and sublime. Once, in particular, after mounting the most
terrific precipice, we had to pass through a tremendous defile, where the
closing chasm seemed to threaten us with instant destruction, when, turning
quickly, verdant meadows and a beautiful lake relieved and charmed my eyes.
I had never travelled
through Switzerland, but one of my companions assured me that I should not there
find anything superior, if equal, to the wild grandeur of these views.
As we had not taken
this excursion into our plan, the horses had not been previously ordered, which
obliged us to wait two hours at the first post. The day was wearing
away. The road was so bad that walking up the precipices consumed the
time insensibly; but as we desired horses at each post ready at a certain hour,
we reckoned on returning more speedily.
We stopped to dine at
a tolerable farm; they brought us out ham, butter, cheese, and milk, and the
charge was so moderate that I scattered a little money amongst the children who
were peeping at us, in order to pay them for their trouble.
Arrived at the ferry,
we were still detained, for the people who attend at the ferries have a stupid
kind of sluggishness in their manner, which is very provoking when you are in
haste. At present I did not feel it, for, scrambling up the cliffs, my
eye followed the river as it rolled between the grand rocky banks; and, to
complete the scenery, they were covered with firs and pines, through which the
wind rustled as if it were lulling itself to sleep with the declining sun.
Behold us now in
Norway; and I could not avoid feeling surprise at observing the difference in
the manners of the inhabitants of the two sides of the river, for everything
shows that the Norwegians are more industrious and more opulent. The
Swedes (for neighbours are seldom the best friends) accuse the Norwegians of
knavery, and they retaliate by bringing a charge of hypocrisy against the
Swedes. Local circumstances probably render both unjust, speaking from
their feelings rather than reason; and is this astonishing when we consider
that most writers of travels have done the same, whose works have served as
materials for the compilers of universal histories? All are eager to give
a national character, which is rarely just, because they do not discriminate
the natural from the acquired difference. The natural, I believe, on due
consideration, will be found to consist merely in the degree of vivacity, or
thoughtfulness, pleasures or pain, inspired by the climate, whilst the
varieties which the forms of government, including religion, produce are much
more numerous and unstable.
A people have been
characterised as stupid by nature; what a paradox! because they did not
consider that slaves, having no object to stimulate industry; have not their
faculties sharpened by the only thing that can exercise them,
self-interest. Others have been brought forward as brutes, having no aptitude
for the arts and sciences, only because the progress of improvement had not
reached that stage which produces them.
Those writers who
have considered the history of man, or of the human mind, on a more enlarged
scale have fallen into similar errors, not reflecting that the passions are
weak where the necessaries of life are too hardly or too easily obtained.
Travellers who
require that every nation should resemble their native country, had better stay
at home. It is, for example, absurd to blame a people for not having that
degree of personal cleanliness and elegance of manners which only refinement of
taste produces, and will produce everywhere in proportion as society attains a
general polish. The most essential service, I presume, that authors could
render to society, would be to promote inquiry and discussion, instead of
making those dogmatical assertions which only appear calculated to gird the
human mind round with imaginary circles, like the paper globe which represents
the one he inhabits.
This spirit of
inquiry is the characteristic of the present century, from which the succeeding
will, I am persuaded, receive a great accumulation of knowledge; and doubtless
its diffusion will in a great measure destroy the factitious national
characters which have been supposed permanent, though only rendered so by the
permanency of ignorance.
Arriving at
Fredericshall, at the siege of which Charles XII. lost his life, we had only
time to take a transient view of it whilst they were preparing us some
refreshment.
Poor Charles! I
thought of him with respect. I have always felt the same for Alexander,
with whom he has been classed as a madman by several writers, who have reasoned
superficially, confounding the morals of the day with the few grand principles
on which unchangeable morality rests. Making no allowance for the
ignorance and prejudices of the period, they do not perceive how much they
themselves are indebted to general improvement for the acquirements, and even
the virtues, which they would not have had the force of mind to attain by their
individual exertions in a less advanced state of society.
The evening was fine,
as is usual at this season, and the refreshing odour of the pine woods became
more perceptible, for it was nine o’clock when we left Fredericshall. At
the ferry we were detained by a dispute relative to our Swedish passport, which
we did not think of getting countersigned in Norway. Midnight was coming
on, yet it might with such propriety have been termed the noon of night that,
had Young ever travelled towards the north, I should not have wondered at his
becoming enamoured of the moon. But it is not the Queen of Night alone
who reigns here in all her splendour, though the sun, loitering just below the
horizon, decks her within a golden tinge from his car, illuminating the cliffs
that hide him; the heavens also, of a clear softened blue, throw her forward,
and the evening star appears a smaller moon to the naked eye. The huge
shadows of the rocks, fringed with firs, concentrating the views without
darkening them, excited that tender melancholy which, sublimating the
imagination, exalts rather than depresses the mind.
My companions fell
asleep—fortunately they did not snore; and I contemplated, fearless of idle
questions, a night such as I had never before seen or felt, to charm the
senses, and calm the heart. The very air was balmy as it freshened into
morn, producing the most voluptuous sensations. A vague pleasurable
sentiment absorbed me, as I opened my bosom to the embraces of nature; and my
soul rose to its Author, with the chirping of the solitary birds, which began
to feel, rather than see, advancing day. I had leisure to mark its
progress. The grey morn, streaked with silvery rays, ushered in the
orient beams (how beautifully varying into purple!), yet I was sorry to lose
the soft watery clouds which preceded them, exciting a kind of expectation that
made me almost afraid to breathe, lest I should break the charm. I saw
the sun—and sighed.
One of my companions,
now awake, perceiving that the postillion had mistaken the road, began to swear
at him, and roused the other two, who reluctantly shook off sleep.
We had immediately to
measure back our steps, and did not reach Stromstad before five in the morning.
The wind had changed
in the night, and my boat was ready.
A dish of coffee, and
fresh linen, recruited my spirits, and I directly set out again for Norway,
purposing to land much higher up the coast.
Wrapping my
great-coat round me, I lay down on some sails at the bottom of the boat, its
motion rocking me to rest, till a discourteous wave interrupted my slumbers,
and obliged me to rise and feel a solitariness which was not so soothing as
that of the past night.
Adieu!