CHAPTER V 
FIRST CROSSING OF THE THRESHOLD 
There is one part of the Arctic and Sub-arctic regions, 
and one only, where a country retaining the warmth 
and the adaptability of the temperate zone as an abode 
for civilised man extends far beyond the Arctic Circle, 
and, as it were, connects the vast tracts of ice and snow 
with the habitable earth. This is the Scandinavian 
peninsula. It stretches northwards to 71 0 10' N., main- 
taining a temperature throughout its length which 
renders it fit for the abode of a race of men who have 
been leaders in progress and civilisation. This remarkable 
phenomenon is due to the flow of warm water from the 
Atlantic, which passes northward along the coast of 
Norway. The Atlantic current has the effect of amelio- 
rating a climate which would otherwise be of Arctic 
severity, while at the same time it keeps off and checks 
the polar icebergs in their southerly drift, so that ice is 
never seen on the northern shores of Finmarken. Reclus 
has very truly said that this current has played a chief 
part in the modern history of mankind. 
The Norsemen appear to have arrived in the Scandi- 
navian peninsula, and superseded the Finnish tribes, 
a century or two before the Christian era. The physical 
geography of the region moulded the thoughts and lives 
of the new-comers. With a noble foundation to build 
upon, their character was evolved by their environment. 
The stormy seas and impenetrable fogs, the glories of the 
fjords with their mighty cliffs and glittering cascades, the 
valleys and lakes, the dense forests and mysterious ice 
f jells — all were made to form settings for the long array 
of fancies created by the glowing enthusiasm of the 
Norsemen. 
But the imagination of these people had a still wider 
