13^ TORXEA. 



that have been given of them may be con- 

 sulted. The Greenland alps would also be 

 worth examining, to see how far these dif- 

 ferent countries agree in their native plants, 

 in varieties of situation, and in plenty of 

 soil, compared with the proportion of rocks 

 or large stones. Do they all agree in the 

 diminutive stature of their plants ? 



The tranquil existence of the Laplanders 

 answers to Ovid's description of the golden 

 age, and to the pastoral state as depicted 

 by Virgil. It recalls the remembrance of 

 the patriarchal life, and the poetical de- 

 scriptions of the Elysian fields. 



So many Finlanders crowded about me, 

 that I scarcely knew what to do. They 

 were all blear-eyed to such a degree as to 

 be nearly blind. Many of them were per- 

 fectly deprived of sight, and ninety-nine 

 out of a hundred that were so had their 

 eyes shut. It seems in vain to prescribe 

 any remedy for this evil, so long as its 

 cause is every where so prevalent. This 

 consists in their smoky dwellings. If I had 



