86 
TRAVELS 
trees and brufhwood, about three hundred paces from the banks of 
the river. If in the whole of our travels in thofe northern regions 
we had not fo much as feen one Laplander, or had landed near 
this church from a balloon, we could not poffibly have formed any 
other opinion than that we had come to a land of pigmies. I w 7 as 
greatly {truck with the architecture and the dimenfions of this 
building: the whole was on fo dwarfifh a fcale, fo little, fo low, 
and fo narrow, that at firft fight I lhould have been tempted to 
take it not for a real church, but for the model of one. To have 
an adequate idea of its diminutive fize, imagine a door of little 
more than three feet high, a roof no more than fix, and the whole 
edifice, comprifing a veftibule, the body of the church, and a fa- 
crifty, or veflry, not exceeding eight yards in length, by four in 
breadth. It feemed as if I, who was thought in thefe parts, 
11 In bignefs to furpafs earth’s giant fons,” 
might, when placed in a corner of the church, the fartheft from 
the pulpit, have almoft touched the minifler’s nofe with the point 
of my boot, by ftretching out my leg without even rifing from 
my feat. The native of Italy could not reftrain a fmile at this 
fpecimen of Lapland architecture. 
When we had paffed about two Norwegian miles and a half 
farther down the river, we met with two Laplanders of Kauto- 
keino, who had travelled thus far for the purpofe of fifhing. We 
had now arrived at the place where it became neceffary for us to 
quit our boats, and to purfue our journey on foot over that great 
0 chain 
