C H A P T E R X V I I .
JOURNEY FROM X6nKOPING TO HELSINGBURG AND GOTTENBURG.
Stages to Helsingburg—Appearance of Smoland—River Laga—Extensive Heath—Beech
Trees—Adelfors—Account of Helsingburg—The Sound—Zealand—Account of the
Coal Mines at Hoganas—Geognostic Constitution of Sconia—Chalk found in it—
Oland—Gottland—Stages from Helsingburg to Gottenburg—Nature of the Country—
Embark in the Packet for England.
I L E F T Ionkoping about one o’clock on Wednesday the 7 th o f October.
This delay was owing to the slowness o f the artificer whom
I had employed to mend my unfortunate carriage wheel, which had
given wa y so often, and been such a source o f vexation to me during
the greater part o f my journey. The slowness o f the Swedish workmen
is very disagreeable to a man in a hurry or upon a journey. I t
seems to me to be every where alike, and to be quite incompatible
with the nation ever becoming eminent for its manufactures; as they
will always be undersold by their more industrious neighbours.
I was very much amused at one part o f the charge o f my landlord
at Ionkoping. I had gone to Taberg in a one horse cart belonging to
him, and had taken my servant along with me. When he presented his
bill, I found he had charged me exactly the same price as i f I had taken
two horses. Upon asking the meaning o f such a charge, I was gravely
told that by the laws o f the country 1 ought to have taken two horses;
that he had violated these laws out o f friendship for me; but I could
not expect on that account that he should deprive himself o f the sum
o f money to which he would have heen entitled i f I had taken two
horses. This was such a whimsical argument, and delivered with so
much coolness, that there-was no resisting it. I could not but be
struck at this surprising proof o f friendship in my Ionkoping landlord,
to allow me to drive ten miles up hill and back again with one horse,
and then to make me pay the price of two.
From Ionkoping to Helsingburg I travelled across the whole province
of Smoland, the worst peopled part o f Sweden, and suffered a
good deal of vexation from the length o f time that I was obliged to
wait at every stage for horses. I had been warned o f this circumstance
at Stockholm, and advised to employ a forbod all the way from Ibnko-
ping to Helsingburg. This advice I neglected to follow, and I suffered
for my negligence. I would advise future travellers, who take
this direction, by no means to set out without sending a forbod to bespeak
horses for them at every stage, as by that precaution you get on
without any delay, avoid a great deal o f very tiresome sauntering, and
by being much sooner at your journey’s end, travel, upon the whole
nearly as cheap as if you had not employed any forerunner.
My stages on this journey, which was almost due south, and which
took me two days and a half, were the following:
Swedish miles. English miles*
Barnarp.................. l ................
Byarum.................. 2 134.
Skillingyrad 14 . . . . . . . . 84.
Klafshult . I ................ 64.
Varamo.................. 2 ................ 134
Tonno .................. 1 ......... 64.
Dorarp............. .. 14 ................. 10
Ljungby 1 ............. 2 ................ 134
Hamnedal, . . . . . . . 1 4 ................ 104
Trahqryd 1,4 ............... 10
Mprkaryd............... 2 . . . . . . . . 134
Carried over 4 l@ ................. 112-4
2 Q