I curtseyed to her Majesty, the proper thing to do,

And seeing ladies standing round, I curtseyed to them too;

I honour maids of honour so, I wished to be polite,

And the Queen and all the ladies smiled, which proved that I was right.

I knew (though ne'er at Court before!) well what I was about-
Of course I did not turn my back, but tried to sidle out;

But walking so, I tripped and fell—(they make them trains so big !)
And, catching at the first thing near, pull'd off a lady's wig!

And then I fainted dead away!—a dreadful thing to do-
Until I found myself at home, no earthly thing I knew!
I've graced a Court! indeed I'll add, by way of being witty,
'Twas in a court that father dwelt-a back court in the city!

THE GIRL OF KOUTOKEINO.

A STORY OF LAPLAND.

66

BY THE AUTHOR OF OUR ISLAND."

THEY who have traversed the dreary wastes of Lapland, full well remember the huts of Koutokeino. The busy merchant or passing stranger who has left the gloomy thicket of Skovbredden, views with rejoicing the lonely cots and log-built parsonage which yield him his first shelter from the rushing of the snow drift. Yet it is a lonely spot, and while the blast of the hurricane sleeps a solemn dulness reigns. The boundless trackless solitudes which reach from Alp to Alp and vale to vale, till the dwarf birch fails, and the cloudberry gives its fruit no longer, stretch around the village. The frozen river, the deeply bedded trees, the icy hills, and snowembosomed plains, present the silent landscape.

On a bleak dark day in January, when the sky threatened heavily, and the wind began to prophesy in sullen tones, a party of travellers set out from Koutokeino on their route to Alten. But though the journey promised cold and suffering, they were bound on a joyous errand, and many were the reindeer which sped forward on that morning to the scene of a Lapland wedding. And the herd went forth sportive and healthful amidst the shouting of the drivers; their bells rang

merrily, and their clicking hoofs sent out the well-known sound which is heard from afar. There were also, besides the peasantry, the foged*, two merchants of Alten, and an English wanderer, who had come up from the very borders of the Euxine, and had trod with safety the wilds of Siberia. The pulk† of the Englishman, was open, after the custom of the native Laplander, and he had in vain been urged to travel in the closer sledge which the merchants commonly made use of. His deer too was fresh and vigorous, and though he had securely skimmed along the Russian snows, the weather had been favourable, and the country as yet smooth and free from danger. But he who dares the peril of a northern winter, and treads within the Arctic circle, must stand prepared for change. The moon shone brightly on the glittering waste, and gleamed cheerfully on the spangled mountains when the group set forth, but, nimbly as they started, they had not reached the passes of the Solivara heights before the cold advanced, and the snow deepened, and the mist hovered in the distance. The light now declined, the precipices were at hand, the fog was hastening onwards, and the deer were at their fullest speed. The party, however, had gained the summit of the hills before this march of night, but they had scarcely gazed upon the deeps below, when the heavens became darkened, and the eastern stars, to which their anxious eyes had often turned, were seen no longer. The dense cloud had shadowed all, but the speed of the journey was unrelaxed. The wappus tarried not. The Laplanders flanked the sides of their deer. It was a race in the

*Sheriff.

Sledge, like a canoe or cockboat.

Guide.

night alone the frozen Solivara, the highest of the Finmark Alps. The bellowing of the tempest increased the terrors of the time, for in these distant lands the fatal snow-drift succeeds often to the shrouding mist. There was a general halt. The descent of the mountain presented a formidable danger. The guide, though a well-travelled native, had forgotten the usual pass. But it was determined to go forward, and the least headlong path along the mighty chain was eagerly sought for. The pulks were again put in motion, and the deer approached the gaping declivity. There was no delay. Each driver fastened the rein tightly round his arm, and trusted to his beast. The sledges flew like the lightning. It was still dark, and neither moon, nor star, nor northern flash appeared to mark the track. Deer, carriage, traveller, and guide, were hurried on in equal confusion. The master of the pulk lost his power; the animal, tangled in the trace, his footing; but whilst man and beast were struggling in the snow, the sledge dashed down the height, dragging along its inmate, and rolling like a ball. Every one was in dread of his neighbour. The sheriff's pulk dashed against that of his nearest countryman, and there might now be seen driver upon driver, deer by the side of deer, and sledge upon sledge, in the general overturn. Loud shouts sounded on all sides, and "Wappus !"-" wappus !"—was echoed by the routed assembly. But the wappus was himself in jeopardy, and some moments went by before the guide could detach himself from his own pulk in order to give the needful aid. Happy were the foged and his fellows, when safe from storm, and frost, they pushed their jaded cattle into Alten. The peasant's heart was joyous

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as he beheld once more the gammes* of his country, and looked forward to the brandy bumpers of the wedding. The sheriff blessed himself as he looked upon his dwelling circled by stately firs, and the merchant was cheered by the sight of the well known fiord† where his ships and riches lay. It was indeed Alten with its glassy waters, its rocks towering above the flood, its tall birches, and tufts of pine with naked summits in the distance high surmounting all.

The nuptial rites had begun before the arrival of the party from Koutokeino. The chapel, two Finmark miles from Alten, had been early crowded with Laplanders, and the holy ordinances of marriage and the sacrament were administered with the customary solemnities. Each Lap was arrayed in his best attire, and paid an attention to the Norsk service (of which he understood not one word)-which would have done honour to our English congregations. Conspicuous amongst the assembly were the bride and her spouse. The first with her blue koften ‡ gaily trimmed with divers colours, her ribands streaming from her head, and hair banded by a golden fillet-the bridegroom with his blue frock also, set off with red and white embroidery. The day passed on joyfully; the shops of the merchants were crowded with natives, who quaffed brandy till their money would hold out no longer; and the very stripling girls clubbed together to gain their jovial glass. But the grand festivity was reserved for the evening. The supper, to which the people of the neighbourhood were invited, was given in a large outhouse lent for the purpose by the traders of the place. The deep vessels filled with savoury venison, such as man's heart delighteth in, were already + Frock.

* Huts.

+ Firth.