lively, and poffeffed fome degree o f natural wit. ' One o f them
played on the piano-forte, and tolerably well for a dilettante o f
that climate. There is an organift here for the fervice o f the
church. The organ is a pretty good one, and was the objeft of
the miniftcr’s higheft ambition, who has the honour to be clergyman
o f the moil northern church in Europe that has an organ.
W e palled twro days in the fociety of this family, which, owing to
the many different avocations that fucceeded to each other with
great rapidity, appeared very lhort.
Our vifit to mount Avafaxa was the pleafanteft and moft in-
terefting o f all our excurfions. It is concerning this mountain
that Maupertuis ipeaks in his book on the theory o f the earth.
Our walk was very fimilar to his, direffed on the lame fide, and
in the lame manner as it is defcribed by that academician. Our
bodily labour was the fame ; and his delcription o f the view from
the top o f the mountain is fo exadlly true, that I need only copy
it to exprefs my ideas. W e even faw the falcons he mentions,
and which he made fome unfuccefsful attempts to kill. T he
accuracy o f his account gave us great pleafure, and I fancied I
Ihould gratify the reader by placing it here.
A V A SA X A .
“ This mountain is lituated about fifteen leagues from Tornea,
“ on the margin o f the river, from which the accefs to it is not
“ very eafy. The afcent lies through a foreft, reaching up nearly
to its middle. The foreft itlelf is interrupted by a great aggre-
“ gate
M gate o f rocks and llippery ftones, after which you again find the
“ wood which formerly extended to the top; I fay formerly, becaufe
“ we had all the trees cut down with which the fummit was co-
“ vered. T he north fide o f the mountain confifts in a frightful
“ precipice o f rocks, in which the hawks build their nefts. A t
“ the foot o f this rock runs the Tenglio, which winds round the
“ Avafaxa before it difcharges itfelf into the Tornea. From this
“ mountain the prolpeft is very beautiful. Towards the fouth it
“ is open and unbounded, and the river Tornea is feen to a vaft
“ extent. On the eaft, the eye traces the Tenglio as far as its
“ courfe through fundry lakes. T he view to the' north extends
“ to twelve or fifteen leagues, where it is interrupted by an affem-
“ blage o f mountains heaped on one another, reminding the Ipec-
“ tator o f the reprefentations that are made o f chaos, but among
“ which it would not be eafy.to find one that would do juftice to
“ the profpcct from Avafaxa.” Maupert. vol. iii. 8vo. p. 1 1 0 .
On the higheft fummit o f the mountain we found a quantity
o f the remains o f burnt wood, and many fragments which the
lapfe o f time had rotted and reduced to decay. W e imagined
that they might be the relics o f the trees which Maupertuis employed
in eredling his fignals; but we were informed by the pea-
fants, that they were left from the fignals o f alarm which had
been raifed in the year 1 747, and likewife in the laft war o f F inland.
Thefe fignals confift in heaps o f wood which are fct on
fire to apprife the natives o f the approach o f an enemy. W e our-
felves made a large fire for our amufement as well as to mark
the