24-2 N A X U R A h, H li SIT O R Y ofl JV:0 M WAX.
fuMfij àt mm iti îiisagno vttumëroj.^ irf ; fblb illi 't?ï$#n ■ eec^payè-
:;tinti-|: -..'. 'Itri'itAA SgP$iA-Wn»/; f iViir'-:;, ^r’n.M ■ - .?*'-'■> ■ ■ |
Jf ail thkbeprobabfe which, howcm tfie readefs.
own Jwjgmefit, thgnJf?fnay fuppqfe thftt.tb^r? hf£; bpfm
thing as a Sê0 and padnaj! decline |ft itfifc th^hnmm r&oe
anaongft tis^.- §om? & , om!hMer; Wiçgiaçis
hérpçs f§f vmcpmmon fize, ftrength, and conitg?, imN&rWay>
particularly the renowned Harald Haaxderaadé/w;hoJiôjfegttfïid
himfilfin ùreepe,. and is faid-to h^Vf bfàl | fi?n1 fe%«bi§h- : i T °
tfiis We may add lèverai fiuman
pp mythe mwntainsîqfdn uncommon but às I have never
fignapy ç f fiiem, I cannai voü<^/oFvt|ie tr-iidi of theaq£QqnÈs
concerning them. -Not tq me'nfipo §tftrfch4i S tooth, which according
to Tliorm. Tprfieus’s apcpunt, p.i. h\ip?|c.; %$. p.454, is
fifil £0 have been ufed for g beü-ekpper j .and Eigel BkaUegrimvs
Jodi, which the fàmeauthoft p. i i .fi j .Cy Ap.jii$,nfkys, was
jhewsed in Iceland as a.prodigy, both on account (p the. largegels
and weight " It was laid to be fo hard
not be. chopp’d through withjgdÉI ; Aflé mat- lofflg?i®0* Mte&oi.
Weflel, at Biomoer in theiio^efi of/XKaihe^, opined, one nf
thoft ancient mmuli e4fi4 ^gnt-gravg^ > agdfotuilitfegrg ta human
haek-bpne of a prodigious fizç, ; All thefe accounts I /hall leave
strength and to mft op the crédit of the relators,- But waving tlefe iloriesy it
hardinefe. js certain the Norvqgians are a very • ftrong, robuft, arid hardy
people, and, in feme méafuré, differ ageordiagto thefitftation
they live in. About the rocks and cliffs, and in moft parts of
Norway, especially on the mountains, t f e air -they ^l^eitfe1 is
ftefh, clear, and whoiefom ; their plain and homely diet, their
continuai labour, which they are obliged to' undergo both hy
fea and land, and their cheerful difpofition, which is natural
to moft of the Norwegians, give them, aconftant feries of health ;
lb that, I believe, a grater number of them* than of any other
nation, exceed the age of a hundred years. But of this I ftiall
take notice hereafter. They aye inured to .cold and hardships
from their childhood ; for, in the latter end of November, they
will run about bare-footed even upon the ice. The mountaineers,
• Gommifti hoftri generis hôminibus hybrâks proerearunt, fçmigigantes verç vor
eatos. H i in mores & manfùetù^inem huniânam, feritate paulatim micefcente -,8f
proceffu .temporis éranefcehte, tranfierunt, Thorm. f o r f . . tîift. Nprv. p. i. 1. iii.
. M B » I hj f e l ^ I? ,
who
H
N A T U R A.B H I S T © R Y ofi N Q & W A T ,
.who. daily, go in thesWuod% toise their beards .often full of
ifieles, and: their bs&JiJ filled with Ciow: and when their naked
-ferea&g as hairy a& their
x^ijns. Oii any travds w£t the high&ft monntainji of Norway,
Mh|^'#@\g0!ne|cd:'^4llt where horibs are of no ferviee, I
have feen the pgafants,;;.;in grfseat numbers.,. do the work of horfes,
an4 ii^4 ee4 i^ y alniollii%,c^:tt9-l titefe' animals in ftrength.
I h#vO:0b%3Ved, :th|#. :^h^pj^y have b^n in a profufe fiveatj
they hsive thrown tkemfslves every half hour upon the filow, to
Bed and r-gfoefla themleivePj and have even fucked it to quench
thejir thirft. All this they undergo without the leaft apprehem
fi@ns of a i c o h i a i d without jhuifflujring, or, fctrayii^
§ny difeontenb Qn the contrary, they go on finding merrily all
the while, and. hold out fop nine hours together at the hardeft
lahour imaginable, wiA iqeredibfc diSerfutels and alacrity. What
ftroilg conftiintions are the fiftiqrmen and lea-faring people in this
Country endowed with, by‘that Wife and graciops being whogiveth
to every one what their refpe<£rive wants require J A remarkable
inftftn.ee oTthis may her feen ion the i£land$ near our coaft, and
$hpfe wo call the owtnillaiids; where the pealants of both fexes
aftembl® together by hundreds, I may fey tfioulands, about the
middle lef Jtouary, to make their wanter-harvdl of t^e rich pro*
.duee of the ocean. At thefe times evfeiy family takes with them
five ©f fix. weeks provifioBi, chiefly dried fifti, and keep out at fea
all day, and & great part of the night by xnoonfhine, • in ©pen
boats} aqd after that crowd together by fcores into little huts,
where they can hardly have room to lay themlelves down in their
Wet-cloathp. Here they repofe themlelves the remainder of the
night, and the next morning they return to the fame laborious employment,
witfi as mpich pleaipre and che^rfuli^i as i f they were
going tp a merry-making. JJ^en tfie weaker fix is not exempt
from theft h^rfihips any more than the men ; but the women
have not beards m oimmcn Wfth fihem, as Adam* Bremen pretends
to fay, Jn bis hook dje fiqj JJanias & reliquaium, &c. page
29. This feems of a piece with what Jh.e fays of tfte Norwegian
men jn the fame page, namely, that they live in woods, and are
hardly ever feen. His words are, <c Audiyi muheres effe barba-
tas, vfi]QS; antem filvicolas, raro fe prasbere videndos.” The hair
and eyes of the Norwegians are lighter than that of moft other
nations i
24-J
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