witneffes ourfelves of their reality. To this determination the
fuccefs of our undertaking is chiefly to be afcribed.
W e were given to underfland that we might poflibly meet with
fome Lapland fiihermen upon the lake of Pallajervi; and with
this view we afcended the little river Pallajoki, which derives its
fource from it. This river is fo ffiallow, of fo little width, and
twifted into fo many windings, that it is with great difficulty navigated.
Our embarraffments in afcending it multiplied as we
proceeded: we were under the neceffity, for the greater part of
the courfe, to carry our baggage upon our backs, in order to
lighten our boat. When we arrived at the lake there atofe fo
flrong a wind, that our boat was in danger o f linking before we
could make the little ifland of Kintafari. When we gained the
ifland, we difoovered three fiihermen, who had eredled a kind of
h u t with boughs of trees, plaftered over with mud, and had hung
up in it a quantity of fiffi to dry. This little ifland might take
up about half an hour to walk round it. Near it was another
ifland, about a fourth part lefs; but this was fo inconfiderable as
to be without a name.
T h e lake was furrounded with little hills covered with reindeer
mofs, interfperfed with woods of birch and fir.. W e were
every where prefented with the contralled view defcribed before,
which ailed fo forcibly upon our imagination, th a t we could not
but fancy ourfelves upon fome inchanted ifland. When we looked
round us, we difoovered nothing that refombled any country we
had hitherto feen, and we feemed to be tranfported into a new
world.
world. T h e fun, which fhone upon us, never funk below our
horizon; and we beheld almofl no colour but white intermixed
with green. Thefo objects, joined to the habitation of the fiihermen,
the novelty of the flowers which ornamented the ille, that
of the birds which made the woods refound with their notes, all
contributed to aftonifh our fenfes, that had not anticipated fuch
extraordinary foenes. Our tent, when fet up, appeared to be the
palace o f the ifland, and was as flrikingly fuperior to the hut of
the Laplanders, as the refidence of fovereign princes to the dwellings
of their fubjeits. W e got into our boat on purpofe to take a
iurvey of our fituation from the lake, and we pleafed ourfelves
with the contemplation of the magnificent appearance of our new
kingdom. T h e infide of our tent was carpetted with birchen-
leaves flrewed over the mofs, which afforded a delicious perfume.
Our fiihermen foemed furprifed at the fplendour of our manfion,
and, for the firfl time, had a pattern of luxury exhibited before
them of which they had conceived no idea. The three days we
paffed on this ifland were fpent delightfully: the lake furnifhed
our table with the finefl fiffi, we found plenty of game in the
w’oods; we fiffied, we hunted, we bathed in the la k e ; we took
views o f the landfoapes furrounding us, and collected plants and
infefts. W e followed thefe feveral amufements without the leaft
interruption from the mufquetoes, which, fortunately, had been
driven off the ¡Hand by the violent wind before mentioned, which
likewife had contributed to cool the air, infomuch, as to make the
thermometer fall feven degrees.
W e '