396 A SPRING AND SUMMER IN LAPLAND. 



variably observed, that when a parcel of foreigners 

 and Englishmen get drinking together, each one 

 seems to feel bound, out of compliment, to address 

 the foreigner in his own native language. For 

 instance, I tried Finnish with the Russian, he tried 

 English, and the English skipper tried Swedish — 

 and I must say that one was about as good as the 

 other. The English skipper was as good a singer 

 as ever I heard, and the pathos which he threw 

 into " Nelly Gray," and some other of those sweet 

 nigger melodies, was really worthy of a better 

 audience. Of course we wound up with " The 

 Red, White, and Blue/' at which the Russian took 

 offence. " I like not de blue." He spoke feel- 

 ingly, for he said it was "von Admiral of de 



Blue " who burnt his ship. Luckily we had but 

 one bottle of brandy, and as there are no "finishes" 

 in Lulea, we were perforce obliged to be " merry 

 and wise." However, I agreed to go on board 

 with the skipper to wind up, and see him off, and 

 come back with the pilot boat. He took a great 

 fancy to a large reindeer skin and a pair of very 

 neat small horns which lay in my room, and I 

 gave them to him, just to show them at home that 

 he had been in Lapland. Tying the skin around 

 him, forming a hood over his head, and fixing the 

 horns on the top, out we sallied, and a curious 

 figure he looked rolling down the quiet street 



