THROUGH FINLAND. 
309. 
‘‘the cat’s fkin, thefe gentry will take our pufs for a fine Paldama 
« hare, and grow more and more in love with our good things; 
<t and thus the fledges of our poor townfmen will never efcape 
« being plundered: no, no, fays I, they fhall have the cat, fkin 
« and all, and then they will fee that we can be a match for their 
“ thievery. 
“ My wife was not very well pleafed to give up the cat’s fkin, 
“ but fbe was fain to comply, and fo the cat was put into the 
“ pafty with the fkin on, and the pafty was put into the oven. 
“ When the pafty was baked, it was fet by till morning, and 
tc then clapped into a fack, and away I fet off merrily for Ulea- 
“ borg. Upon the road I lighted upon a peafant who was travel- 
“ ling the fame way. Says my new acquaintance, Can we crofs 
“ the river by the bridge ? I cannot tell you, anfwered L But 
“ when we came to the river llde, we found orders had been given 
“ to flop the paffage over the bridge; for, fays the carpenter, who 
“ was hard at work upon the barricade, None of you peafants of 
“ Paldamo are to pafs this way.—So we crofted the river over the 
“ ice farther up, and when we came to the cuftom-houfe I pre- 
tl fented the officer with a fmall pafty out of my fack. What 
“ do you mean by this, fays he; you do not finely intend to 
“ make the firft commiftary of the cuftoms fo trifling a prefent 
“ as this is ! Come, come, I know you Paldamo peafants are never 
“ without a good large pafty of jack, or fome other excellent fifh ; 
“ give me the largeft you have, one that will do credit to your 
“ town. This, you muft fuppofe, was juft what I wifhed to hear;’ 
« fo 
