220 
TRAVELS 
covered his breaft. He had the look of thofe bards who are de- 
fcribed with fo much enthufiafm in the hiflory of the North, not 
one of whom probably was equal to this poor man in fcience or 
intelligence. His audience were not gathered round him for 
nothing: he fang verfes, and related to them tales and anecdotes; 
but our prefence broke in upon the filence and tranquillity of the 
aflembly; every body withdrew; children are children in all 
countries. The fight of Grangers was fuch a novelty, that, for¬ 
getting the bard, they began to mock at our figure, and to laugh 
in our faces, while the poor mendicant finifhed by afking us, in 
bad Swedifh, fome halfpence or {killings in charity. 
Night was approaching, and we were extremely fatigued with 
our amphibious mode of travelling, half on foot and half in the 
fledge. In this emergency I had a flrong proof of the utility of 
an invention which I was fhewn in the model repofitory at Stock¬ 
holm : it was a fledge, with four w'heels fufpended from its fides, 
which by means of a fpring could be placed under the fledge, and 
raife it from the ground; and thus in a moment convert the 
fledge into a fpecies of wheel carriage. 
On the 30 th of March towards midnight, we were {fill upon 
the road, fuffering from a cold of 13 degrees of Celfius, when an 
aurora borealis prefented us with a magnificent fpe&acle, which 
ferved to relieve the irkfome monotony of our journey. The 
heavens began to appear illuminated in the quarter of the north ; 
prefently it affumed a bright ruby colour, fuch as we have on a 
fine evening in Italy with the fetting fun, when, as Virgil fays, 
and 
