IN BEAUTIFUL DELECARLIA 



439 



IN THEIR SUNDAY ATTIRE 



are specially fond of milk. In about 

 two hours all hands are ready for more 

 coffee, and this stays them until they 

 stop for dinner at i or 2. This resembles 

 breakfast with the occasional addition of 

 meat, and the frequent appearance of 

 "Svagdricka" — a weak drink. This na- 

 tional beverage is made of hops, and al- 

 though it quickly becomes sour, it is al- 

 ways held in high esteem. The after- 

 noon work is broken at 4 for more cof- 

 fee, and if the laborers are in the field 

 some one stops long enough to fetch it. 



I have often had the pleasure of join- 

 ing the happy group, sitting with them 

 on the ground and enjoying for a while 

 their merry chat and well-earned rest. In 

 Dalarne it is customary to pour enough 

 into the cups to completely fill it and at 

 least half the saucer, for anything less 

 than that would betoken stinginess — an 

 accusation most hateful to these generous 

 people. When the day's work is done 

 and the tools put away, all sit down to 



"grot och mjolk," a kind of porridge of 



rye-flour and water. This dish would 

 hardly be palatable to an American, but 

 to the Swede it has a natural taste. When 

 cooked it is put in a big earthen dish in 

 the middle of the table so as to be m 

 reach of all. Each one being provided 

 with a bowlful helps himself to milk, and 

 taking up the porridge, a spoonful at a 

 time, dips it into the milk and eats, the 

 operation being continued until hunger is 

 satisfied. 



Nothing is more enjoyable than the 

 farm life here. The people in their nat- 

 ural simplicity are a continual source of 

 interest, their honesty is proverbial even 

 in Sweden, and they place such a high 

 estimate upon truth that they never sus- 

 pect falsehood nor deception. 



PICTURESQUE ORSA 



The most interesting, but the least 

 known of the parishes of Dalecarlia, is 

 Orsa. It is the least known because 



