106 TEN YEARS IN SWEDEN. 



than one in each small town, they appear to charge very 

 high. 



Most country houses, however, are well supplied with 

 common medicines, and as all the ordinary ailments are 

 pretty well understood, the doctor is only called in, in ex- 

 treme cases. The principal sicknesses here are low fevers, 

 colds, agues, and diarrhoea. 



Bleeding is a universal panacea with the northern 

 peasants. They even bleed for the ague. This ague is a 

 horrid complaint, and if caught in the autumn is sure to 

 stick to a man through the winter. The strongest are not 

 proof against it, and when once in the frame I fancy it 

 always sticks to a man. Consumptions are not uncommon. 

 Diarrhoea is very prevalent. The best cure I know is a 

 handful of peppercorns washed down with a glass of brandy. 

 The peasants here adopt an excellent plan. They all wear 

 long leather aprons, like blacksmiths, which cover the 

 breast and reach to the knees. The great thing is to 

 keep the stomach warm in winter, and I would always 

 recommend the stranger who is much exposed to the 

 weather here to wrap a shawl or flannel round his body 

 under his clothes. 



The principal peasant doctors are old women, who cup, 

 bleed, and blister, most scientifically. These old women 

 are also the licensed midwives of the district, and rarely is a 

 doctor called in, in a case of labour. 



I fancy there is something in this climate very prejudicial 

 to the eyes, at least one sees such numbers of men (often 

 very young ones) who wear spectacles ; and I do not know 

 whether it arises from the heat of the stomach or from the 

 quantity of sugar which is eaten, but I have seen a great 

 many pretty faces spoiled by the total loss and decay of the 

 teeth. We had very nice neighbours round us, and if I had 

 chosen, I need not have been at home half the winter. 



Although the shooting could not be called first-rate, we 

 had capercaillie, hares, black game, and hazel grouse, in all 

 the forests. Plenty of ducks and snipe in the season, in 

 the grass, in the meadows, and in the rushes by the side of 



