282 EFFECTS OF FINKEL. 



the band playing some exhilarating tune or other, we marched 

 down from the forest to the road, which was hard by. 



The country was undulating and picturesque, and the 

 weather fine for the season of the year, so that the scene, 

 beautifully depicted by my friend M. von Dardel, aide-de- 

 camp to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Sweden, 

 was very gay and striking. 



After reaching the road, and whilst the people were 

 regaling themselves, a few of us started with a brace of good 

 dogs that had previously been in couplings, in search of the 

 wounded bear; but from the want of snow we were quite 

 unable to track him any distance, and after a time, therefore, 

 the search was given up as fruitless, and we made the best of 

 our way home. 



In the evening, the promised ball took place. It was 

 given at the expense of Lord Downshire, whose manly 

 person, shown to great advantage at the Skalls from his 

 being armed to the teeth, coupled with his courteous de- 

 meanour and liberality towards the peasants, made him a 

 great favourite with them. As is usual in Sweden amongst 

 the lower classes, a kind of waltz was the order of the 

 night. To quote the words of my ancient friend : " there 

 was great guzzling and great rattling of cups and platters." 

 The heels of many spun round in the mazy dance, and the 

 heads of not a few, from the potent effects of finkel, as the 

 common brandy of the country distilled from potatoes is 

 usually called. Had a stranger heard the men relate their 

 exploits, he would have supposed each had bagged a bear at 

 the least to his own gun ! The festivities were kept up to a 

 late hour, or rather early hour. " We won't go home till 

 morning," says the old song ; and so said the boors. 



