FINLAND AND THE AGITATORS.
The day which followed the excited meeting of officers and seamen on the island was Sunday, and the agitation of the subject which disturbed the ship's company in a measure ceased. The religious services were held on shore, in the shade of a pleasant grove, and the Bible classes gathered in favored spots chosen by the teachers. After these exercises were finished in the afternoon, a couple of hours were spent upon the island. Little groups gathered together to walk, or to engage in conversation, while single ones, here and there, enjoyed their own thoughts. Cantwell and Scott seated themselves on a rock near the water, and seemed to be talking together very earnestly. On such occasions the brilliant student usually remained alone, not because he was brilliant, but because his shipmates were inclined to shun his companionship. He was really grateful to Scott for the signal service he had rendered him the day before, not in defeating the new plan, for that had not yet been accomplished, but in preventing him from being wholly ignored, and for making him chairman of the meeting. He had sought the present interview himself.
"Of course these proceedings were all directed against me," saidCantwell, after the subject had been introduced.
"No doubt of it," replied Scott, candidly.
"I don't know why my shipmates should be so prejudiced against me."
"Don't you?" asked the joker, rather incredulously.
"I do not; I certainly have not injured them."
"You won't get mad if I tell you—will you?"
"No; surely not," protested Cantwell.
"I'll tell you, then."
"I shall be much obliged to you, if you will."
"I don't know; I'm afraid you won't be," laughed Scott.
"I am sincere; and whatever you say, I shall believe you intend to do me a kindness."
"That's so. The fellows are prejudiced against you because you are selfish, conceited, overbearing, and tyrannical," said Scott, squarely.
"You don't mean all that; you only repeat what you have heard others say."
"I do repeat what I have heard others say, and I'm bound to add that I believe it myself. When you give an order, you do it just as though you were a superior being; as though you were everybody, and I were nobody—that's so."
"I was not aware of it."
"Then you put on airs, even in the cabin, and with your superior. You go in for the breast of the chickens, and drown your coffee with the last gill of milk in the ship."
Cantwell bit his lips, and seemed to be very much annoyed.
"Then you think you know everything, and other fellows nothing. You are willing to give your own opinion, but you won't hear that of others," continued Scott, as bluntly as the case seemed to require.
"Go on; but of course you don't expect me to acknowledge all these charges," replied Cantwell, with one of his most savage sneers.
"Do as you like about that; I was only telling you why the fellows are prejudiced against you. You talk and act superciliously to your ship mates, and they don't like that sort of thing. I don't, for one."
"I am sorry you don't."
"Do you like a fellow that treats you with contempt?"
"Of course not; but that's what my shipmates do to me."
"In self-defence, perhaps, they do. I suppose every fellow has his faults, except me. I don't know that I have any," replied Scott, with one of his telling smiles.
"You don't?"
"No; do you suppose you have any, Mr. Cantwell?"
"I suppose so; but not so many as most of my shipmates, I know."
"Exactly so; you admit the little things, so as to deny the big ones."
"I know I am a better scholar than any other student in the cabin. They all know this, or they would not have raised this breeze."
"Better let others find that out before you discover it yourself. Onething more: the officers say you are no seaman, and they don't want a fellow in command of the ship who don't know his duty. No officer likes to have one above him who knows less than he does about seamanship."
"I don't suppose I know as much about a ship as those students who have been on board two or three years; but I think I am competent to perform my duty, at least with the advice of the principal, in any position."
"I have told you all I know about it."
"And some things that you don't know," added Cantwell, who could not believe that he was such a person as the joker had described.
"Just as you please about that."
"But I wish you to understand that I think you have been very fair and candid; and I am very much obliged to you for your plain speech, however disagreeable it may be to me."
"You are welcome to it," laughed Scott.
"Now, do you think the principal will make the change asked for by the committee?"
"I don't know; but I hope he will."
"You hope so!"
"Yes; and if he does, we will show those cabin nobs that 'fair play is a jewel,'" answered Scott, significantly.
The conversation continued until the students were piped into the boats.
The next morning exercises in seamanship were in order throughout the squadron, for the principal was aware that this element of the coursehad received but little attention during the month. Every officer and seaman in each vessel was required to perform his duty in getting under way, in making and furling sail, and coming to anchor. Evolutions in reefing, tacking, wearing, scudding, laying to, bending sails, and sending down topmasts, were performed, and each student marked according to his merit. In addition to this, each student was separately examined in problems in seamanship; and his knowledge of the standing and running rigging of a ship, bark, brig, hermaphrodite brig, schooner, and sloop, was tested. This examination was very carefully conducted, and the same questions were put to every boy. The crew were all sent below at the beginning, and four were called up at a time, so that no one could know in advance what the questions were to be. Only the simpler problems were required to be answered at this trial.
The principal, the boatswain, carpenter, and sail-maker, all of whom were thorough practical seamen, were the examiners.
Mr. Lowington and Peaks, the boatswain, were on each side of the mainmast, the carpenter at the foremast, and the sail-maker at the mizzenmast, though each was obliged to take his pupil to the different parts of the ship in the course of the examination. The questions were such as these:—
"Point out the main-topmast stay, the main-topmast back-stay, the weather main clew-garnet, the fore-sheet and fore-tack, with the wind on the port beam.
"What is a pendant, a lift, a horse, a gasket, a jewel-block?
"How would you take in a topsail, wind fresh?
"How would you furl a royal?
"How would you reef a topsail?
"How would you turn out the reefs of a topsail?
"If two vessels are approaching each other, one by the wind, the other going free, what is the rule for each?
"Make a square knot, a timber hitch, a bowling knot, a clove hitch, a short splice."
For the last requirement two bits of rope were given to each student, who was directed to bring in his work to the examiner, with a card on which his name was written attached to it. The knots and hitches were made with a whale line on a handspike. The other questions were answered orally, or by pointing out the part of the rigging indicated. There were twenty questions in the list, and the promptness, as well as the accuracy, of the answers or the work was to be considered in marking the value of them. If a student was obliged to try two or three times before he could make a square knot, or a clove hitch, he was marked lower. If he did what he was required without hesitation, he had five for each question; if not, he was marked lower, for seamen have no time to deliberate. Though the examination was a very simple and easy one, no student obtained above ninety, and several were below fifty. Most of the officers had over seventy. Captain Lincoln had ninety, and Cantwell only fifty-two, though none of them knew the results till the first of the next month. The addition of these marks to the merit roll for the month made some important changes in the relative standing of the students.
"What do you say now?" inquired Scott, when he met Beckwith, aftersupper.
"I say just the same that I have always said," replied the first master.
"Do you still desire to have the higher officers chosen by ballot?"
"Certainly I do."
"But the fellows all say that Cantwell can't well be captain or first lieutenant when to-day's marks are added in."
"No matter for that; I still think that it is better to vote for the captain and lieutenants."
"Just as you like; but I think you miss it."
"I don't believe I do," answered the first master, walking away.
The results of the examination were not known to the students; but they were speculated over and guessed at very freely. It was generally admitted that Cantwell's chances for either of the first two offices, were lost for the next month; but it was certain that, if he were not thrown off the track, he would be captain in two or three months, when he had brought up his seamanship to the proper standard. Indeed, the agitation had already roused the obnoxious officer to a realizing sense of his own deficiency, and stimulated him to make an earnest effort to acquire the needed knowledge. From that time he used all his spare hours in studying the nautical books in the library. For hours he pored over the large diagrams of a ship, in which the spars, sails, and rigging were explained. The old boatswain appeared to be his best friend, so much were they together; for Peaks delighted to instruct a willing pupil.
On the last day of the month the squadron sailed for Åbo, in Finland.During the week the vessels had remained among the islands; they had been working gradually to the eastward, till it was only a short run to this port. The town is on the Aurajoki River, about three miles from the Gulf of Bothnia. The squadron came to anchor off the mouth of the river, near the village of Boxholm. The steamers and small vessels go up to the town, but large craft are obliged to discharge their cargoes at this place. On a hill which commands the entrance to the river there is a fort, which is also a prison—an ancient structure with the ruins of a watch-tower, which has stood for centuries. Many of the houses on the shore were painted red,—as in the country towns of New England fifty years ago,—and were occupied by fishermen and laborers. The students, who had been in the solitudes of nature for a week, and had hardly seen a living creature, or anything connected with civilized life, were interested in observing every indication of civilization in the vicinity. For the time, even the exciting topic of the change in the "tenure of office" was dropped. Scott, who had been quietly at work ever since the meeting at the picnic, suspended his labors, and made queer comments upon the old castle, the boats, and the people around the ship. Though there was actually a village in sight, it did not entirely remove the impression from the minds of many of the students that they were almost "out of the world," for the oppressive fact that they were in sixty and a half degrees of north latitude was not entirely removed by the fort, the village, and the people.
"All hands, attend lecture!" shouted the boatswain, as his shrill piperang through the ship, and was repeated in the two consorts.
"Lecture!" exclaimed Scott. "That's too bad! What does the professor think we are made of? We have been patient and long-suffering in the matter of lectures, and I didn't suppose we were to be dosed with any more till we got to Russia."
"We are in Russia now," replied Laybold.
"Not much, if my soundings are correct. Finland isn't Russia, any more than the Dominion of Canada is Great Britain. It is subject to Russia, but the people here make their own laws, or at least have a finger in the pie, which they don't under the nose of the Czar. Do you see that big fish, Laybold?"
"What fish?" asked the other.
"Why, that one near the shore. He is over five feet long."
Scott pointed at a man who had just taken a small boy on his back, and was wading out to a boat, with a man on each side of him.
"I don't see any fish," added Laybold, straining his eyes as he gazed earnestly in the direction indicated by his companion.
"Don't you? Then you are a little blind in one of your ears. There he goes towards the boat."
"What is it?" asked several others.
"A big fish," replied Scott, demurely.
"I see some men, but no fish," said Laybold.
"There, he has stopped by the boat."
"That isn't a fish; it's a man."
"I tell you it is a fish. Do you think I don't know a fish when I see one."
"Nonsense!" shouted the others. "It's a man."
"I say he is a fish. Don't you see that he has a Finn on his back, and Finns each side of him?" returned Scott.
"You get out!" shouted Jones. "A fellow that will deliberately make a pun isn't fit to live in polite society."
"Then I'm finished for polite society," added Scott; "though I don't see how you know anything about it, for you never were there, or your manners belie you. By the way, did you know that our government had sent over to this country for a fortune-teller, or seer—one of those fellows they used to have in Scotland?"
"What for?" asked Laybold.
"They want to make him secretary of the treasury."
"Why so?" inquired Jones.
"Because they need a financier; for the fellow would certainly be one. There, do you see that French conjunction on the shore? Hear him bark."
"That is a dog," protested Laybold.
"What of it? Isn't itafin que?Well, those are strange people," continued Scott, shaking his head.
"What's the matter with them?"
"Matter? Did you oversee the 'finny tribe' walking about on shore before?"
"You are a monster, Scott," laughed Jones.
"Yes, a sea-monster; and if I were monarch of all I surveyed, I should have plenty of Finns. Do you suppose those women have any nephews and nieces?" asked Scott, still gazing at the group of men, women, andchildren, who had gathered on the beach to see the squadron.
"Of course they have."
"Then we must go on shore and be introduced to them."
"But we can't speak Finnish."
"In that case we shall be obliged to finish speaking."
"But why should we be introduced to the 'women with nephews and nieces?'"
"Because it is eminently proper and right that American young gentlemen should be acquainted with finance. The boats are coming, and I am like that shed on the beach."
"I don't see it."
"Yes—Finnish shed. Come, tumble down the hatchway," said Scott, as he led the way to the steerage.
Mr. Mapps, the instructor in geography and history, was already at his post, which post was the foremast of the ship, whereon was hung a large map of Finland, drawn by himself on the back side of another map, with black paint and a marking brush; for he had not been able to find a printed one on a large scale. The students from the consorts soon appeared, and a few raps with the professor's pointer procured silence.
"Where are we now, young gentlemen?" he began.
"Here, sir," responded Scott.
"A little more definitely, if you please."
"Eastern hemisphere, sir," added Scott.
"Excellent; but couldn't you venture to come a little nearer to the point."
"Near Åbo, in Finland," said another student.
"Right; but the little ring which you see over the A in the printed name of the town makes the pronunciation as though it were written O-bo. The proper style of the country is the Grand Duchy of Finland; and in his relations to it, the Czar of Russia has been called the Emperor Grand Duke. The Finnish name of the country isSuomema, which means 'the region of lakes.' You see, by a glance at the map,—which is rather rudely drawn,—that this is the character of the country, even to a greater degree than in Norway and Sweden. It has the Gulf of Bothnia on the west, and the Gulf of Finland on the south, with Finmark, a province of Norway, on the north, and Russia proper on the east."
"But where is Lapland?" asked a student.
"Lapland is a region which belongs to Russia and Norway, and part of it is included in Finland. The name is not applied to a political division, but to the country of a particular people. Finland has about one hundred and forty thousand square miles of territory; about the size of Montana Territory, more than half as large as Texas, or eighteen times as large as Massachusetts. Its population is about the same as this last state—in round numbers, one million four hundred thousand. A large portion of the country is a desolate region. In the southern part; the soil is good, and in former times Finland was the granary of Sweden; but its agriculture has since declined. Vast forests cover a considerable portion of its territory, and the lumber from them is the principal source of wealth to the people, who are also largely engaged in thefisheries. There are some extensive cotton and iron manufactures. All the principal towns are on the coast, except Tavastehus; but the largest place, Helsingfor, has only sixteen thousand inhabitants.
"Not much is known of the early history of Finland; but the country was governed in tribes by chiefs, or kings. They took to the water very naturally, and became pirates, harassing the Swedes to such a degree, that Eric, their king, sent an expedition to Finland in the twelfth century, where he established Swedish colonies, and introduced Christianity. One of the colonies was planted here in Åbo, where the first Christian church in the country was built. From this time the Swedes and Finns blended, and the history of Finland was merged in that of Sweden. Birger Jarl built Tavastehus, and confirmed the conquest. But Russia coveted this desolate region, and first conquered Wyborg, its most eastern province, and the Finns fought with Sweden in the various wars with her powerful neighbor. The people suffered terribly from these wars, and from famine. From 1692 to 1696, sixty thousand perished from famine in the province of Åbo alone. In the wars of Charles XII., thousands of Finns were sacrificed, and five regiments of them were killed or captured during the march into the Ukraine, and in the battle of Pultowa. After this battle, in 1709, in which Charles XII. was totally defeated, the Russians invaded the whole of Finland, and held it until 1721, when, with the exception of Wyborg, it was restored to Sweden.
"In 1741 the Swedes made an attempt to recover what they had lost, but utterly failed. Again, in 1788, Gustavus III., commanding the Swedisharmy in person, tried to regain the ancient province of Wyborg; but a conspiracy at home compelled him to return, and the favorable opportunity was lost. In 1790 the king renewed the attack by sea, and his fleet of thirty-eight vessels was blockaded at Wyborg by a Russian squadron of fifty-one ships. The Swedes cut their way out of the trap, but with the loss of fifteen ships. The fleet, reduced by these heavy losses, was again attacked by the Russians in overwhelming force; but the result was a glorious victory for the Swedes, in which their enemy lost fifty-three vessels and four thousand men. This event ended the war for the time, and a treaty honorable to the Swedes was signed. In 1808 Finland was again invaded by the Russians, without even the formality of a declaration of war. The Swedes were unprepared for the contest, and slowly retired to the north, fighting several battles, and gaining some unimportant victories, but were completely overwhelmed in the battle of Orawais. By the treaty which followed, all of Finland and the Aland Islands were ceded to Russia.
"By a special grant of Alexander I., graciously renewed by his successors, Finland retains her ancient constitution, which provides for a national parliament. The right to legislate and impose taxes upon the people is nominally in this body, but is really exercised by a senate appointed by the Emperor Grand Duke. The executive power is in the hands of a governor general, who represents the sovereign. The people still retain their national customs and language, and when you go on shore this afternoon, you will find very little that is Russian. The moneyis in marks and pennies, with the decimal system; and Russian paper is not current in Finland. A mark is worth about twenty cents of our money, and four of them make one ruble, the gold value of which is eighty cents. The currency of Russia in actual circulation is all paper, so that the value of the ruble is reduced about twenty per cent. Finland also has a paper currency, which is of depreciated value, as is the case in all countries where gold and silver are not in actual use."
The professor finished his lecture, and the students were about to separate, when the stroke of the bell called them to order again, and Mr. Lowington stepped upon the platform. The officers and seamen were all attention in an instant, for it was expected that he would say something upon the exciting subject which had been so thoroughly discussed in all the vessels of the squadron.
"Young gentlemen," the principal began, "I have something to say to you concerning the application which has been made to me to make certain of the offices of the squadron elective. I have not the slightest objection to the plan, if the elections can be fairly and honorably conducted. I have considered the plan in substance, which has been presented to me several times, and I like it, though in its practical workings I think that grave objections will be developed. By the present plan, one with very little experience and very little seamanship may reach the highest offices, especially, as will sometimes happen, when the nautical branch of the institution receives less attention in any one month than the scholastic. By the plan you propose, you may elect the least worthy ofthe officers to the rank of captain. Votes may be bought and sold, and electioneering excitements carried to excess. The plan in use has worked very well, and I am not aware that any injustice has ever been worked by it. It has always happened that the best and most reliable students have attained the highest places; though I must acknowledge that it may not always happen so. For a change, I am willing to try your plan."
A demonstration of applause greeted this announcement, but it came mainly from the officers.
"But I wish to say, that though I have considered substantially the same plan several times, I should not now introduce it if you had not asked for it. The present is certainly the fairest plan, for it places all upon an absolute equality, and under it every officer is indebted entirely to his own merit for his position, and not at all to the favor of his instructors or his friends among the ship's company. A change, therefore, is more properly inaugurated by you than by me.
"I am informed by the committee that the vote was not unanimous, and one member of the committee did not choose to appear with the delegation."
"He was notified of the meeting of the committee," said De Forrest.
"I was notified," replied Scott; "but the meeting of the committee was held in the after cabin, which I am not permitted to enter."
The opposition applauded till the snap of the bell silenced them.
"This does not look exactly like fair play, especially as Scott issupposed to represent the opposition to the change."
"He was notified of the time when the committee would wait upon you, sir, in the main cabin, but he declined to attend," answered De Forrest.
"If there was a preliminary meeting of the committee, he ought not to have been excluded from it," added Mr. Lowington. "Your proceedings must be revised, and the opposition must be heard."
"Mr. Lowington, as a member of the committee, I withdraw all opposition," interposed Scott.
"I do not know that you are authorized to do so," replied the principal; "but I am very glad to see this spirit of accommodation on your part."
"I don't think the new plan is so fair as the old one; but I wish to have a fair trial of it. The new method was got up by the nobs in the cabin—"
"The what?" inquired the principal, with a smile.
"The nobs, sir."
"If by an accident, or by any extra exertion on your part, you were elected to an office in the cabin, would you be a nob?"
"Yes, sir."
"Though you do not seem to use the word in an offensive sense, I prefer some other form of expression. You say that the plan was devised by the cabin officers."
"Yes, sir."
"But we consulted the seamen, and they agreed to the plan before the meeting. It would have been a unanimous vote if Scott had not got up an opposition just for the sake of a joke," said De Forrest, rather bitterly.
"I opposed the thing in my own way, and I never agreed to it; but we allconsent to it now."
"Does any one object to it?" asked Mr. Lowington.
Cantwell looked at Scott, but the latter shook his head.
"If there is any objection, I desire to hear it now."
No one offered any objection.
"There being no opposition, with the understanding on my part that unanimous consent is given to the plan, I will adopt it—"
Violent applause on the part of the officers and others interrupted the principal, which was silenced by a stroke of the bell.
"I will adopt it with an amendment," added Mr. Lowington. "I will explain the amendment. By the new plan, the offices of commodore, captain, and lieutenant are made elective within certain limits. The commodore must be elected from the three captains; the captain must be chosen from the cabin officers of the vessel to which he belongs. Now suppose, for example, that one of the lieutenants for next month, relying upon his popularity among his shipmates for his position the following month, neglects his studies; what check have we upon him?"
There was no answer, for this case has not occurred to the agitators.
"Suppose the captain of this ship—but I grant in the beginning that this is not a supposable case—should utterly fail in his duty so far as study is concerned; you elect him captain or commodore, while the present rule would send him back into the steerage. The amendment I propose will correct this defect in your plan. It consists of twosections," continued the principal, as he proceeded to read from a paper in his hand. "1. No captain shall be eligible to the office of commodore whose merit-rank is below No. 6 in the Young America, or below No. 5 in the Josephine, or Tritonia. 2. No officer shall be eligible to the office of captain or lieutenant whose merit-rank is below No. 16 in the ship, or below No. 9 in the other vessels. Are you satisfied with the amendment?"
"We are," replied the students.
"Then the merit-roll will be read and the elections take place to-morrow, on the first day of the month," continued the principal. "We will now go up to Åbo."
The students applauded, and left the steerage. The boatswains piped all hands into the boats, and in half an hour the squadron of barges and cutters were pulling in single file up the narrow river.
TWO HOURS A IN ÅBO, AND THE BANGWHANGERS.
In the captain's gig was Dr. Winstock, with whom Captain Lincoln always delighted to walk or ride on shore, and whom he always invited to take a seat in the stern-sheets of his boat. The doctor had inherited a considerable fortune, which placed him above the necessity of practising in his profession, and he had travelled all over Europe. He had not been an idle wanderer abroad, going from place to place in search of mere amusement; but he had been a diligent inquirer into the system of government, the history, the agricultural and manufacturing interest, and the manners and customs of the countries he visited. He was, therefore, as he was often called, a walking encyclopædia of information; and for this reason Lincoln sought his company.
"Of course you have been in Finland before, Dr. Winstock," said Lincoln, as soon as the gig took her place in the line.
"I have," replied the surgeon. "Several years ago I went from Copenhagen to Christiania, rode across the country in a cariole to Bergen, and from there made the trip by steamer to the North Cape, where I saw the sunat midnight. I came by steamer along the coast to Frederiksværn, and from there to Gottenburg, and through Sweden. At Stockholm I embarked in the steamer Aura, which starts at two o'clock in the morning now, as she did then."
"I went on board of a steamer of the same line in Stockholm—I forget her name."
"Perhaps the Grefve Berg, which is the best one. The other two are the Dagmar and the Wyborg. The trip in one of these vessels to St. Petersburg is a very delightful one. She arrives at this place the first day, and spends the night here; the second day she goes to Helsingfors, and the third to Wyborg, arriving at St. Petersburg in the forenoon of the fourth day. Nearly the whole voyage is made among the islands, which, almost without an exception, are as silent and still as those we have visited. She stays long enough at these Finnish towns to enable one to see them. The steamers are Finnish, the captains of them speak English, and the table on board is very good. The fare is twenty rubles—meals extra."
"Did you go into the interior?"
"Yes; I went as far as the group of lakes in the centre of the country, and had some capital fishing there. I rode in a cariole, like those in use in Norway. But some people use akabitka, which is a cart, very long and narrow, with a leather covering over about one half of its length. In the bottom of the vehicle, which has no springs, there is a quantity of hay or straw, or a feather bed, on which the traveller stretches himself; but it is very hard riding, for the roads are rough, and the hills are full of sharp pitches. All expenses are about six cents averst."
"How much is a verst?" asked the captain.
"Two thirds of a mile; or, more exactly, .6626 of a mile. Three versts are two miles. Travelling in Finland is rather exciting at times, for the horses rush at full gallop down the hills and over sharp pitches. But the roads are pretty good, and an average speed of ten miles an hour may be attained."
"How could you get along without the language?"
"I picked, up a few words, which I have forgotten, and had no trouble at all. I went to Tavastehus, which is on one of the vast chain of lakes in the interior of Finland. Small steamers ply upon them; and a trip by water in this region is very pleasant. There is now a railroad from this town to Helsingfors."
"There seems to be some business even in this out-of-the-way part of the world," said Lincoln, as the squadron of boats passed a series of buildings.
"Those are government works—founderies and machine shops."
The river rapidly diminished in size, until at the town it was a small stream, over which was a bridge, connecting the two parts of the place. The boats went up to the quay just below this bridge, and the students landed. Dividing into parties, they went where they pleased. Some crossed the bridge, and others went in the direction of the cathedral, which is on the left bank of the river. Dr. Winstock and Lincoln were of the latter.
"They have wide streets here," said the young captain.
"Yes; land is cheap, and they can have them as wide as they please. In all modern-built Russian cities you will find broad avenues."
"The buildings are all but one story high."
"Nearly all; and the houses are very much scattered, so that the people do not appear to be very neighborly. Large as the town seems to be, it contains only thirteen thousand inhabitants."
"The houses look very neat and nice."
"Only a few of them can be very old, for in 1827 nearly the whole city was destroyed by fire, including the university with its library, and many other public edifices. When the town was rebuilt, the people placed the houses at a considerable distance from each other, and built them but one story, because they had not the means to erect larger ones."
Passing along the street next to the river, the tourists reached an extensive square, in which there was a statue of Professor Porthan, a learned Finlander. Just beyond it was the cathedral, which is of brick, and far from elegant or imposing in its external appearance.
"This is the cradle of Christianity in Finland," said the doctor. "As Mr. Mapps told you, this town was founded by Eric of Sweden, who introduced Christianity into this region. The first bishop was located here; and in this church, for centuries, the first families were buried; and you will not only see their tombs, but also some of their bodies, if you desire."
"I should not think that would be permitted," replied Lincoln.
"Nor I; but it is. The great fire burned out the interior of this church, destroying the altar and organ, and even melting the bells. The building was repaired by subscription. A baker, who had accumulated about twelve thousand dollars in his business, having no near relatives, gave his little fortune for the purchase of another organ,and his wishes were carried out after his death."
A man with a bundle of keys presented himself at this time, bowed, and solemnly opened the door of the cathedral. As the visitors ascended the steps, the man pointed to a rusty ring.
"What's that?" asked Lincoln.
"In ancient times offenders used to be fastened to that ring, and were compelled to do penance there," replied the doctor.
"There's nothing very fine about this," said the captain, as they entered the church.
"Certainly not. I hope you did not expect to find a cathedral like St. Peter's, or those at Antwerp and Cologne. This structure has been built upon, increased in size, and improved, several times. There is the organ which the baker gave. It has five thousand pipes—for a dollar would buy more organ pipes years ago than now. Whatever there is here in the way of ornament, including the frescoes, is the work of native artists," continued the doctor, as they walked up to the altar. "In the crypt under this altar lie the remains of Queen Christina of Sweden."
"Mr. Mapps said she was buried in St. Peter's, at Rome," interposed the captain.
"Not the celebrated Queen Christina, but the wife of St. Eric, whose remains are intombed in the cathedral of Upsala. Here is an epitaph to Katrina Mänsdotter," said the doctor, as they passed to the side of the church.
"I never heard of her before, which is not very strange," replied Lincoln.
"Do you remember who was the son and successor of Gustavus Vasa?"
"Eric XIV. He was deposed by the Swedish parliament, kept a prisoner nine years, and then poisoned."
"Good! That is more than I could have told about him. Eric's father proposed to marry him to Queen Elizabeth of England; and Eric, while the negotiations were still pending, proposed to Mary, Queen of Scots, and to two other princesses. He was actually flirting with four ladies of royal blood at the same time. The accepting of either, he felt, would make trouble; and he relieved himself of any difficulty by marrying Miss Mänsdotter. She was a very pretty girl, the daughter of a petty officer of the Guards, who had attracted his attention while she was selling fruit in the market of Stockholm. She was sincerely attached to him, tyrant and oppressor as he was, and clung to him through his misfortunes. After his imprisonment she retired to Finland, and passed the remainder of her days in obscurity."
"That's a good story for a novelist to work upon," suggested Lincoln.
"Very likely the incidents of the career of Katrina have been used by the Swedish novelists; but I am not as familiar as I intend to be with them. I see that the works of Madame Schwartz, a celebrated Swedish writer, are now in process of translation in the United States. Several volumes have been published, and they are having a large circulation. This lady locates some of her stories, or parts of them, in Finland."
Many of the tombs in which the Finland worthies were buried are half above and half below the pavement of the church. The conductor of thelittle party opened the door of one of them, and the captain looked into the gloomy space. Within it several coffins were crumbling to decay. The man raised one of them, exhibiting the body of the occupant. The features of the face were well preserved, though the person had been dead three hundred years. They were of a brownish color, not unlike guano. Following the example of the conductor, the visitors touched the face, which was hard and rather spongy.
"I should think this body would decay," said the captain.
"No; there is something in the atmosphere which has changed it to adipocere. Sometimes bodies buried in the ground are petrified, or turned into stone. In Italy, and in some other countries, you will see the bodies of saints in the churches, though I remember none as perfect as this, for they are very black, and much shrivelled. In the vaults at Palermo vast numbers of the dead are preserved by the conditions of the vault in which they are buried."
Other monuments were examined, and the party left the church, giving the solemn man—who had not yet spoken a single word—a mark for his services, at which he solemnly bowed as he put the money in his pocket. Crossing the river, Dr. Winstock and Lincoln walked over the rest of the town, which, however, contained nothing worthy of note. There was nothing in the costume of the people to distinguish them, and the shops and houses were hardly different from those in England or America. The streets are paved with cobble stones, and a few droskies may be seen; but the people, who are more intensely Swedish than in the easternprovinces of Finland, do not take kindly to Russian customs and institutions. After the destruction of the university by fire, it was removed to Helsingfors, and the hostility of the province to their new ruler caused the transfer of the seat of government to the same place. The town wears an aspect of desolation in its streets, for very few people are seen in them; and, except on the wharf at the arrival of a steamer there, nothing of the bustle of business is seen. The place has lost much of its former importance.
The students wandered idly through the deserted streets, and it was noticeable that but few of them paid any attention to their surroundings. A group of the seamen sat on the quay above the bridge, apparently engaged in an animated discussion. Though the Finnish women were pulling about in boats on the narrow river, the boys were not interested in their movements. Their conversation did not relate to Finland or the Finns. Scott, the joker, was in the centre of the ring, and did the greater part of the talking, and of course the subject was that which had been introduced at the picnic on the island. Without having any distinct plan in the beginning, Scott had become a leader among the democratic element of the ship. His crude ideas, which had formed themselves into objections to the De Forrest scheme, were now seeking recognition as a plan. He had been laboring very earnestly to defeat the wishes of the cabin "nobs," as he persisted in calling them.
"We can't go for such a fellow as Cantwell," said one of the students. "He is a conceited and overbearing fellow."
"I don't care a fig for Cantwell, personally," replied Scott. "It is theprinciple of the thing that I'm looking after. I know that Cantwell is unpopular in the steerage as well as in the cabin. But there's a conspiracy against him. Just as soon as he had earned his rank, the fellows in the cabin put their heads together to cheat him out of it. I was appointed on the committee, and they called a meeting in the cabin, where I was not allowed to go, to prevent me from attending. Was that fair?"
"No, no!" responded the seamen.
"Right! Besides, I want those swells in the cabin to know that we are a power."
"But they came to us before the meeting on the island," suggested one of the group.
"Yes; just so. But what did they come for? To know if we approved the plan? Not a bit of it. The plan was cooked up in the cabin. They came to us just as the politicians go to the dear people—for votes. They argued, talked, and begged for our votes at the meeting. By and by they will get up a plan by which no fellow shall be promoted from the steerage to the cabin. Cantwell and Victory! That's my motto."
"I say, Scott, don't you think it is absurd for us to vote for the most unpopular fellow in the ship?" asked Wainwright.
"No, I don't. He's the only fellow in the cabin that is not in the ring, and therefore the only one we can vote for. Don't you see it?"
"I don't want to vote against Captain Lincoln," another objected. "He is a first-rate fellow, and a good sailor."
"But Lincoln went in for this plan, was present at the meeting, andvoted in favor of it," replied Scott. "I like Lincoln as well as any fellow, but I don't like this trying to keep any one out of the place he has fairly earned."
"That's so," said a dozen of the boys.
This was only a specimen of the electioneering which was going on in a dozen different places in Åbo at the same time. Only a few of the students entered the cathedral, and not many of them could tell, when they returned to the squadron, whether the streets of the town were broad or narrow, or whether the houses were one or two stories high. While the seamen were at work for Cantwell, the officers were speaking a good word for Captain Lincoln, whom they desired to reëlect to his present position.
At six o'clock most of the students were in the vicinity of the bridge, ready to repair to the boats when the boatswains gave the signal. Dr. Winstock and Lincoln were at the hotel on the quay called the Society's House, which is said to be the most northern one in the world. Students were arriving in the droskies, which many of them had employed for the sake of a ride; and when they came to pay their fare there were many amusing scenes, for neither party understood a word of the language of the other. Most of the students, too, had changed their Swedish money into Russian in Stockholm, and were unprovided with Finnish currency, for they supposed that Russian money was current in Finland. The drivers would not take the rubles and copecks, and some very cheerful rows ensued. But the principal, with Professor Badois—who spokeSwedish—at his elbow, interfered, and paid the fares. The students embarked, the line of boats was formed, and the squadron moved down the river, with half of Åbo on the quay, gazing in solemn silence at the departure of the strange visitors, for as such they certainly regarded them. In less than an hour the boats were alongside the vessels to which they belonged, and were soon hoisted up to the davits.
The signal for sailing was shown on board of the Young America, and a lively scene followed. Anchors were hove short, sails shaken out, and the Finnish pilots were at their stations. As the breeze was fresh and fair, the principal desired to take advantage of it; and, after a stay of only five hours at Åbo, the squadron was under way again, threading its course through the channels among the numerous islands. In the watch on deck, and that below, the business of electioneering was continued with the utmost vigor. Scott and his friends were busy everywhere, and even the stale expedient of a secret society among the "anti-De Forresters" was proposed, and enthusiastically adopted. Scott and Jones were intrusted with the task of furnishing a constitution, and inventing the necessary dark-lantern machinery for the organization.
Boys have a decided taste for secret associations, though, as the experience of the present time shows, not more than adults, male and female. The number of these "orders" among full-grown men is on the increase, and the boys, in all parts of the United States, have manifested a strong desire to keep up with the times, and follow the example of their elders. Secret societies had several times beenformed on board of the Young America, but generally for purposes of mischief, such as running away, or capturing one of the vessels. The present association appeared to be for political purposes—to influence the election of officers. Scott was, in the main, a very sensible fellow; and his only idea of a secret society was to make some fun out of it, though he was quite willing to have it used for accomplishing his purpose, which, in its turn, was little more than a gigantic joke, so far as he was concerned.
The wind, which had been fresh all day, diminished in force after the squadron sailed, and at half past eight, while the sun was still above the horizon, there was a dead calm, and the vessels were obliged to anchor for the night, for the pilots declined to run during the darkness in the intricate navigation of these seas. The squadron anchored near a rocky island, the top of which was covered with trees. The same "eternal silence" seemed to pervade the region as among the Aland Islands. When everything was made snug on board, a portion of the students asked permission to go on shore, which was readily granted to all who desired to do so. This number was found to include the entire crew of the ship.
"The Bangwhangers will meet at the farther side of the island," whispered Scott. "Pass it along."
"The what?" asked Laybold.
"The Bangwhangers. Don't you belong to the night-bloomers?"
"I don't understand you," replied Laybold.
"You don't? Well, your head is thicker than a quart of molasses.Didn't you fellows ask me to get up a secret society?"
"Yes."
"Well, I have done it; but you popsquizzles don't seem to know your own chickens. The new institution is to be called the Bangwhangers, of whom you are which. Now, don't tell any one who isn't a Bangwhanger anything at all about it."
"I see."
"I should think you might, if your ears were only half as long as a donkey's."
The students tumbled into the boats; and, as most of the officers were busy preparing ballots for the election on the following day, none of them went on shore, the boats being in charge of the several coxswains. Ordinarily the seamen would not have been permitted to visit the shore without at least one officer in each boat; but as it did not seem possible that any mischief could be done on this uninhabited island, the rule was waived. The students landed; and in a few moments several boats from the Josephine and Tritonia brought a majority of the crews of these vessels. Scott and several of his most intimate friends went to the highest part of the island.
"Every Cantwell man may join our society; no one else," said Scott, after he had told them the name.
"All right."
"And we will give them the first degree at once."
"What's that?"
"The first degree is next to nothing; only to get the fellows together to organize," said Scott, as he leaped upon a rock. "Come up here, Jones; I'll give you the first degree."
Jones joined the joker on the rock.
"Do you agree to vote for Cantwell, to say nothing to nobody, and never to eat soup with a darning-needle?" asked Scott, in a low tone.
"Of course I do," laughed Jones.
"Answer in these words:—
"To all these three I do agree."
Jones repeated the words in due form.
"All right. I appoint you R. P. F.pro tem."
"R. P. F.! What does that mean?"
"I can't tell you till you have taken your second degree; only remember the letters. Now, bring the fellows to me, one at a time."
Wainwright was the next one, who was obligated in the same manner, and Jones was instructed to tell the candidates what to say in token of their assent.
"To all these three, I do agree," replied Wainwright.
"I declare you a Bangwhanger, and appoint you L. P. F."
"What does that mean?" demanded the initiate.
"We can't tell you till you take your second degree," replied Jones.
In half an hour fifty had joined the association. The third one was appointed I. L. M., and the fourth; O. L. M. Thus far only those who were known to be ready to vote for Cantwell were invited to join; and those who were admitted formed a ring to keep the outsiders at a reasonable distance.
But there were plenty of applicants, and the number increased as thoseoutside of the circle heard the laughter of those on the rock. If Scott was at the bottom of the affair, it was fun. One after another the R. P. F. and the L. P. F. continued to bring in the candidates.
"Do you agree to vote for Cantwell, to—"
"No; I don't agree to that," interposed one of them.
"Turn him out!" added Scott. "R. P. F., do your duty."
This duty was a very simple one, and consisted only in leading the refractory applicant outside of the ring. A dozen more that followed, and had before refused to commit themselves, promptly agreed to all the conditions. All on the island had joined except about twenty, who had been turned out; but so great was the curiosity of some of these, that they promised to accept the conditions, if admitted.
"Bangwhangers, I congratulate you on your admission to this honorable and most respectable order," said Scott, when all who wished to join had been admitted. "But there may be some black sheep among you, and the obligation will be repeated;" and he repeated again, loud enough for all to hear him, "All that agree will repeat the couplet in due form, and sit down on the ground. Officers, turn out every fellow that don't sit down."
"All down!" shouted the students, and all of them suited the action to the word.
"All good men and true; but you must prove yourselves to be such. Do as I do;" and the joker put the forefinger of his right hand on the end of his nose.
All the members did the same.
"When I meet a Bangwhanger, I put my finger to my nose, and say, 'Bang.'In reply, he puts his finger to his nose, and answers, 'Whang.' Now I will do it with the R. P. F. Bang!"
"Whang!" replied Jones: putting his finger to his nose.
"Right. You can try it on with the brother nearest to you."
While the fraternity were practising this important part of the work, Scott instructed Jones still further in the mysterious art. When the R. P. F. fully understood his part, the joker called the members to order again, and told them to learn the dialogue which he would rehearse with Jones, for it was the form by which a Bangwhanger was to know a brother of the order.
"Bang!" said Scott, putting his finger to his nose.
"Whang!" replied Jones, doing the same.
"Who knows?"
"Eye, nose," answered Jones, drawing his finger over his right eye, and then placing it on the end of his nose, as he mentioned the name of each organ.
"Who knows?"
"Eighty noes."
"Right, Brother Bangwhanger; come to my arms," added Scott. "But the number is to be modified so as always to show the exact strength of this honorable and most respectable order."
The joker and his companion went through the dialogue several times, till every member was familiar with it, and then they practised it among themselves, amid peals of laughter.
"Now, Brother Bangwhangers, we are to elect officers. The first andhighest is the C. B.," continued Scott.
"What does it mean?" asked half a dozen or more.
"I can't tell you till you take the second degree," replied the joker. "Please to nominate."
"Scott!" shouted the members.
"Brother R. P. F., spare my modesty, and put the question," said the joker.
Jones put the question, and of course Scott was unanimously elected.
"The next office, is the D. C. B. Please to nominate."
"Wainwright."
He was elected.
"Now for the Q. D."
"Hobbs." And he was chosen.
"The Y. D. K."
"Edson." And no one objected.
"The I. L. M."
"Merrill." And the vote was unanimous.
"The O. L. M."
"Hall." And he went in.
"The R. P. F."
"Jones." And the nomination was confirmed.
"The L. P. F."
"Brown." And he was the choice of the members.
"Eight officers, and they are all chosen. They will constitute the original second degree men, and, after they have been instructed, we shall be ready to admit you all to that enviable distinction. Now, the Q. D. and the Y. D. K. will count the members."
The number reported was eighty-two, which was nearly a majority of thestudents in the squadron.
"Who knows?" called the C. B.
"Eighty-two knows," replied several.
"That's enough to put a veto on the De Forresters. Now, remember the solemn pledge you have taken, to vote for Cantwell, to say nothing to nobody, and never to eat soup with a darning-needle."
"To all these three I do agree," responded the members, laughing.
"Although the last is the most important, the first is not to be neglected; and any memberwho knows, and don't do, shall be headed up in a mackerel kit and thrown overboard by the R. P. F., before he takes the second degree, in which the sublime mysteries of the order will be fully elucidated. Who knows?"
Scott coined jokes and puns for a few moments, to the intense enjoyment of the members; and by this time four of the outsiders desired to become members. They were immediately admitted.
"Who knows?"
"Eighty-six noes."
"Good! All hands to the boats."
The coxswains called their crews, and the students returned to their vessels.