THROUGH LAPLAND. 
5 
fon had a gaiety and natural vivacity very uncommon in a coun¬ 
try like this. Her figure was fine, though very tall, being near 
fix feet in height. She fpoke with eafe, and replied to our dumb 
ftiew by fmart repartees, at which we laughed upon truft, but 
which our interpreter found excellent, and full of wit and humour. 
The village is fituated upon a fmall ifiand, which is the property of 
the inhabitants. The ifiand is formed by the river Muonio, which 
here divides itfelf into two branches. The people cultivate barley, 
and have fome meadow grounds with excellent hay. 
The fir ft favour the women conferred upon us was to fill our 
room fo full of fmoke, that it brought tears in our eyes. Their 
intention w T as good, they wiflied to deliver us from the molefta- 
tion of the gnats ; and as a mean of very effectual prevention, they 
made a fecond fire near the entrance of the apartment to ftop the 
frefh myriads of thofe infedts which were ready to rufli in upon 
u$ from without. A thick fmoke is an objedt of great luxury in this 
part of the w T orld. Thofe infedts, which are the fcourge of that 
country, became indeed very troublefome to us; and our gauze 
veils and gloves could give us no protedlion againft their finging in 
our ears, and interrupting our fleep. Here our own refolution, as 
that of our fervants formerly, for the firft time, began to be ftiaken. 
The landfcape at this place is pleafing: all along the banks you 
have the birch and other trees, which form a contraft with the 
uniformity of the pines and the firs. The face of the country is 
rather flat, and it is only at a certain diftance that you difeover 
hills of fome fize. 
We 
