TOUR IN SKANE 275 



shrieks F , who had begun to sketch the ignorant 



pretty maiden at the Kanal Kontor as a nixie. Off 

 we pelted in our usual mad, metropolitan, breakneck 

 way. When shall we learn not to hurry so, but to 

 let things wait politely for us ? A tall vessel was 

 gliding in. F - ran on to stop it. There was 

 no crossing the lock! The steamer was in the lock 

 already, and we had, of course, half an hour to wait 

 and write the memoirs. 



This boat belonged to another company. There 

 are many companies, each with its own time-table and 

 code of regulations. The best plan is to sit on the 

 tank and wait till the first boat crosses the scene, then 

 step aboard of her and go on, as you would step into 

 any omnibus in Piccadilly that is going your way. 

 You may have to wait a fortnight, but the likelihood is 

 that one will arrive sooner. 



Linnaeus frequently traversed the scenery of Lake 

 Roxen, climbing on foot to the top of what is now 

 a gigantic staircase of fifteen locks, at Berg, but was 

 then a cataract unbridled by the engineer's hand ; and 

 then following the Motala River, which the passengers 

 by the present canal look down upon from the lofty 

 height of the huge lock-staircase, set in a green ter- 

 raced slope lined with avenues a striking and peculiar 

 scene. The views are beautiful as the steamer glides 

 high-raised above the Motala River winding in the 

 valley, through the long Dutch-like reaches of canal 

 with trees shaking hands across the water, steaming 



T 2 



