Connolly's Artificer-soldiers, Lane's Hydropathy; or the Natu- ral System of Medical Treatment, 135 Narrative of some of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller, 363 41 People at Sarawak, the, 93 No. 183. OF POPULAR LITERATURE Science and Arts. CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1857. THE BRIDE'S JOURNEY. On the banks of the river Lerg, where it forms its estuary with the Great Fiord of the North Sea, stood the quaint old town of Lerwig-a place that seemed from the rude harmony that characterised the buildings, to have sprung ready fashioned, ages before, out So primitive was its whole of the primeval forest. aspect, that, but for the vanity of each proprietor, who had branded his initials and the year of erection in iron hooks over the chamber-window, the spectator might have fancied the whole the work of a single night. Tall narrow houses of timber, with their overhanging gables towards the street, rudely carved, but warped in every conceivable manner, extended in two lines parallel to the river; while smaller streets, diverging north and south, led to the heavy wharfs and storehouses lining the primitive harbour, or to the few detached mansions that, standing in their own grounds, constituted the fashionable quarter, and comprised the wealth and aristocracy of the ancient burg. In the centre of the main street, and built, like the town itself, of timber, stood the venerable church, or what had once been the cathedral, a perfect marvel of picturesque architecture, from the stern Runic to the florid Norman. Not a foot of the heavy timber that comprised the building was left unadorned by carving or unrelieved by grotesque tracery; while every beam or lintel was terminated by a corbel head, perhaps that of a grinning satyr, which, with the towering roof, open spire, and covering of red tiles, contrasted not unpleasingly with the massive and sombre tone of the structure below. Facing the cathedral stood a double-gabled house of a more pretentious appearance than its neighbours, from the greater quantity of carving that ornamented the wooden mullions of the windows and adorned the door-posts of the low-arched entrance, denoting the some wealthy inhabitant or building to belong to official of the town. The house was the abode of Carl Underwaldent, the burghgrave or mayor, who on the present occasion was standing with some friends at the casement looking out inquisitively on the busy street in front. The period at which our story opens is mid-winter-that is, about the 20th of January 1740-a time of the year when the most intense frost prevails, not only here, but over the whole of Norway and the adjacent countries. For nearly six weeks at this epoch, the sun never rises above the horizon; and the only light during the brief day, is a faint glimmering that lasts for barely two hours, caused by the reflection of the VOL. VIII. PRICE 13d. sun's rays on the snows of the mountain-tops, which, being again reflected upon the plains, affords that dubious light which constitutes day. As soon as this light disappears, the heavens are illumined by the aurora borealis, which, with the exception of the two hours at mid-day, is always present during winter in the Norwegian skies, affording a light more steady and perfect than the dim substitute that rules at noon. The rivers, from the first setting in of the frost, are locked in sheets of ice, while the fiords into which they flow, like all the harbours on the western coast, owing to the warm sea-breezes, are, with rare exceptions, always open, so that the inhabitants of the coast have a free traffic with such winter commodities as are brought down by the mountaineers during the frost, by means of their sledges, when the rivers can no longer float their rafts. The mountainous range that, towering to a height of from 1000 to 2000 feet, encompasses the little burg of Lerwig, and forms part of that alpine chain that stretches through the whole extent of Norway, was, from pinnacle to base, covered for several yards deep with snow, which in the valleys and rifts lay to the depth of fifty fathoms. Along the plain, and spreading over the uneven streets of the grim old town, the snow lay compact as iron, from the friction of the sledges, that, loaded with merchandise or filled with chattering groups, were passing in rapid succession to and fro, the jingling of their horses' copper-bells keeping up a perpetual chime to their rapid and merry progress; while mountaineers and villagers in heelless boots or long arching skates, and every variety of costume, mingled with the inhabitants, and gave a singular animation to the wintery noon. The room into which we beg the reader to follow us was large, and extended the whole length of the house; the walls were lined from ceiling to floor with scantlings of pine, and so finely polished that they shone like dark mirrors. The floor, composed of the same material, was covered with a coarse carpet of Finnish matting; a few heavy settles stood against the walls; while an arm-chair, stuffed with Lapland grass, was placed near the stove, and presented a most luxurious seat, being, from the warmth and nature of the grass or hay, a perfect nest of downy softness. About a dozen stools of all sizes were ranged about a table, or rather board, supported on trestles and covered with a sheet of huckaback, engrossing the whole middle of the apartment. To a series of brass nails round the walls hung pewter platters, irou and horn spoons, trenchers, and such implements of domestic use as were to be seen in a remote Norway household, and went far to bespeak the refinement of the owner a century ago. The skeleton of a walrusthe bones as black as the beams from which it hung -afforded support to a set of iron lamps or cruses, that cast their light, when burning, directly on the table beneath, while the cavity of the thorax formed a receptacle for tobacco-pouches and sundry such articles. A round piece of bread like a Scotch bannock, hung by a hank of blue silk on the polished wall, and from a label duly engrossed, set forth that it was baked by Margarita, the frau of Carl Underwaldent, on the baptism of their first child, Gertruda, on the 17th day of January 1721.'* A flight of steps at the extremity of the room led to the sleeping apartments, while, at the opposite side, a door opened on the hall and domestic offices; an elk's head and antlers over the entrance completed the appurtenances of the room, with one exception-the stove, which, placed between the two doors at the end of the apartment, projected about six feet forward. The stoves of the north are everywhere applied to the same purposes-they heat the house, bake, boil, and roast; and among the poorer classes, their flat tops invariably form a bed. softened light, sufficiently clear for the minutest offices of daily life. 'It will be a famous evening,' replied Christopher. 'With the air so light, we shall reach the second stove on the Lulians by midnight; and by starting early, descend the Tornea by breakfast; after that, we can easily cross the plain to Gora in time for dinner. But who are those people who seem older than Gustavus Adolphus, or even Vasa himself, so out of all memory is the shape of their garments?' he inquired, pointing to several passengers, who moved on foot or in sledges along the street. 'Here's Herr Peterhoff, he will tell thee the meaning of these matters,' replied his father-in-law, who readily availed himself of the opportunity to pass to another the explanation demanded of himself. "Why, Christopher,' began Herr Peterhoff, turning to his young friend, we Norwegians are very primitive in our habits, and like to remain as our fathers left us; and it is only in the towns that any change takes place at all, for in the mountains, things remain stock still; and each parish is known by its costume; and some of the dresses have come down unaltered in fashion or material for several hundred years. That strile (farmer or peasant) with his breeches and stockings all of one piece, and his loose jerkin of Fiord; that Herdanger beside him, as you see, wears all black, with a bordering of red; the man in black and yellow is from Sogneford: so we know by his colours where the strile comes from; but as every Norwegian is his own smith and carpenter, each man has got his axe, saw, and gimblet hanging in a chain by his side.' 'Thank you,' cried Christopher, in return for the explanation. I have only one more question, which, as I'm a Swede, you will excuse my asking. Why have so many men letters chalked on their backs? Is it some trick of the boys, or do your people make slates of each other's coats to cast their accounts on?' and he pointed to several persons hurrying along, who with the utmost circumspection avoided the least contact, as with bent shoulders, and their coats on the stretch, they hastened on their several destinations. "The sun has set, Christopher, and taken his last kiss of purple Luhea, who is now as white as Hecla's night-cap,' exclaimed Carl Underwaldent, a broadfaced, jovial-looking man, as he turned his good-wadmel and braided waistcoat, comes from the Salten humoured countenance from the window and addressed a tall muscular youth, who, seated beside his young wife-a handsome girl of nineteen-was adjusting a shaggy bear's skin over the back of the hard seat, so as to protect her from the rough unpadded settle. 'You'll have a prime night for your travel, Chris,' he continued, as Christopher Steinhoff, the young man addressed, kissing the approving lips of his blushing bride, joined his father-in-law at the casement. "There's a sky for you!' he went on, pointing to the firmament with a feeling of exultation. Talk of your sun all day, and your moon all night-ah, bosh!" he added contemptuously. I wouldn't give a dried ling or a cod's sound for such; boo! There, you have all the colours of the rainbow. See! how they shoot like jets of purple and orange flame! It's a good augury, lad, and sent to light you homewards. There's a dart of blue, now, might shame the brightest amethyst!' And, in his enthusiasm, Carl slapped his listener's shoulder, to rouse him to a keener sense of the beauties of the aurora borealis, as, the moment the sun faded from the tops of the mountains, it began shooting its dazzling streamers over the sky-at first, in darts and leaping coruscations, that, bounding here and there in puffs of coloured light, seemed to break the whole face of heaven into dimples; then converging over the Polar Star, spread out their belts of luminous colour like a vast fan, and waving in stately undulations, looking like Juno's bird majestically walking the heavens; again, with erratic bounds, streaking the vault with separate rainbows, that, blending into one whole of mingled colours, seemed to carpet the entire sky with interlacing gold and purple, till, with a leap and flash like lightning, the whole vanished, leaving the expanse a leaden darkness. You don't get such lights as those in Sweden, Chris,' resumed Carl, in a triumphant tone, to his son-in-law. Now, having had their frolic, they'll come out soberly. There! I told you so. And, as he spoke, a bright trembling blush of the most exquisite rose began to gradually intensify round the north pole, till a deep belt of orange skirted the northern half of the firmament, when, like darts from a bow, it shot out a thousand pencils of colour, the whole pouring down a toned and ་ *The Norwegian housewives are justly proud of their breadmaking; they bake but seldom, and their bread will generally keep good a year. It is a common custom to bake bread at the christening of their first child, and preserve it for the feast given on the coming of age or marriage of the child. 'Ha ha!' shouted his father Carl, in boisterous merrriment. 'Now, by St Nicholas, the patron of salt-fish, thou hast made a great mistake, son Chris. Trick, quotha! A slate; no, no!' and he laughed again at the conceit of his son-in-law. Tell him, Frantz; tell him, neighbour;' and referring the explanation to one of his friends, he indulged in an inward chuckle at his son's remark. 'Why, friend Christopher,' observed the person addressed, our strile farmers are better skilled at the saw and adze than at the horn-book; so, when they bring down their deals in exchange for goods for the frau's housekeeping, the store-keeper chalks on their backs so many lippards of rosin, or so many lengths of deal; and as that is their only voucher for the delivery, they are careful not to get it rubbed out on their way to the pay-office, where all they have to do is to present their back to the clerk, who runs up the figures, pays down the thalers, and brushes out the reckoning. But, neighbour,' he added, turning to Carl, and snuffing with considerable gusto the aroma that issued from the stove, I smell the odour of roast-meats, and think the good frau has gotten dinner waiting in the oven; and it is a sin to do meat a shade too much, when the appetite is ready, and the time come for eating.' 'You are right, Frantz; so now, wife, set out the table at once, for I've a hunger on me as sharp as an east wind. Help yourselves, neighbours, and waeshail to all!' So saying, Carl turned, and taking from the wall his platter, knife, and spoon, invited his guests to help themselves in the same manner, an invitation that required no second urging. In the meantime, the |