THROUGH FINLAND. 
2 35 
noife of the water, the rapidity of the current, which fliewed it- 
felf at two openings, and by the apparent fragility of the cruft of 
ice which was to fupport us in the midft of the ftream. With 
exemplary difcretion we embraced the wife expedient (which 
made our Finlandifti peafants laugh immoderately) of creeping 
upon our knees, palling a hillock of ice that obftrudled our way in 
that humble pofture, and of Hiding on our feat to the oppofite fide, 
where we joined our fledge, which waited our arrival. This ridi¬ 
culous feene was highly entertaining, and converted into mirth 
the terror of all our dangers. 
Having croffed the river at this place, our guides informed us, 
that we had no farther occafion for them, and that we might pur- 
fue our journey without the fmalleft apprehenfion. They inftantly 
left us without waiting for any fort of recampence for their fer- 
vices ; and when we called them back and offered them money, 
they feemed aftonifhed that we Ihould think of rewarding them. 
One of them remained deaf to all our importunities, refufed our 
money with firmnefs and dignity, and went away without it. Our 
narrow minds, that are filled with notions of what is called refine¬ 
ment, are at a lofs to conceive how thofe people, who appear fo 
poor and low~ in our eyes, merely becaufe they have not a coat cut 
after the model of our’s, Ihould refufe money, and fubmit to fo 
much toil only for the pleafure of being ufeful to others, and for 
the injipid fatisfadiion of doing good. Such examples, but too 
rare and too little known in the poliftied circles of great towns, are 
not fo in thofe places which are far removed from a metropolis, 
H h 2 where 
