MarriageMarriageable Age.—According to the law which is now in force, a girl need be no more than fifteen years of age in order to be marriageable. Very few girls, however, marry at such an early age. Among the peasantry, women, as a rule, marry earlier than they do among the cultivated classes.The Solemnisation of Marriages.—According to the law of 1734, which remained valid until 1864, a spinster could not marry without the consent of her father, or, if he were dead, of her mother. Both parents being dead, this duty devolved upon the eldest male member of the family.In the year 1864 (31st October) a law was enacted according to which girls, after their twenty-first year, are free to marry without the consent of either father or mother. For a marriage to be lawful the banns must be read from the pulpit on three several Sundays, and the marriage ceremony must be performed by a clergyman.Statutes of 1889.—In the statutes of 1889 the law on antenuptial marriage agreements was altered to the advantage of the wife. By means of antenuptial agreements a woman may now not only retain as her special property whatever she possessed before marriage, and whatever she may have, after marriage, inherited, received as a gift, or as a legacy, but she may alsoreserve for herself the right of taking charge of and managing her own property and the income thereof.
Marriage
Marriageable Age.—According to the law which is now in force, a girl need be no more than fifteen years of age in order to be marriageable. Very few girls, however, marry at such an early age. Among the peasantry, women, as a rule, marry earlier than they do among the cultivated classes.
The Solemnisation of Marriages.—According to the law of 1734, which remained valid until 1864, a spinster could not marry without the consent of her father, or, if he were dead, of her mother. Both parents being dead, this duty devolved upon the eldest male member of the family.
In the year 1864 (31st October) a law was enacted according to which girls, after their twenty-first year, are free to marry without the consent of either father or mother. For a marriage to be lawful the banns must be read from the pulpit on three several Sundays, and the marriage ceremony must be performed by a clergyman.
Statutes of 1889.—In the statutes of 1889 the law on antenuptial marriage agreements was altered to the advantage of the wife. By means of antenuptial agreements a woman may now not only retain as her special property whatever she possessed before marriage, and whatever she may have, after marriage, inherited, received as a gift, or as a legacy, but she may alsoreserve for herself the right of taking charge of and managing her own property and the income thereof.
In 1908, a law was passed enacting that no girl under the age of seventeen years should marry. How much wiser than in England.
As soon as the marriage ceremony has been performed, "the husband becomes the natural guardian of his wife," is responsible for her and managestheirproperty.
In spite, however, of a woman being under the legal guardianship of her husband, there is probably no country where women are held in more reverenceand respect than in Finland. While in Germany the middle classHausfrautakes a back seat, hardly speaking before her lord and master, and being in many cases scarcely better than a general servant (of the Jack-of-all-trades and master of none class), doing a little cooking, seeing to the dusting and cleaning, helping make the beds, wash the children, and everlastingly producing her big basket ofHandarbeit, the Finnish woman, although just as domesticated, is less ostentatious in her performance of such duties, and, like her sisters in England, attends to her household matters in the morning, according to a regulated plan worked out for herself; trains her servants properly, and, having set the clock going for the day, expects the machinery to work. Every decent household should be managed on some such plan, and we all know that the busier the woman the more comfortable, as a rule, she makes her home; the mere fact of her having an occupation, inspires those about her to work. Added to which, the busy woman knows order and method are the only means by which satisfactory results can possibly be obtained, and that order and method which she has acquired herself she is able to teach her less-educated domestics, or anyway inspire them with it.
Idle people are always apparently busy; but it is the business of muddle, while really busy people always have time for everything, and keep everything in its place.
Finnish ladies are thoroughly well educated. They are musical and artistic, beautiful needle-women, manage their homes well, and they haveread enough to join in any discussion in which they take an interest. They are, consequently, treated by their husbands as equals, and although until 1907 they had no political rights, women were much employed in government services. They were not debarred from becoming members of the great societies. For instance, as far back as 1897, among the two hundred and twelve Fellows that composed the Geographical Society of Finland there were seventy-three women, yet in 1913 our Royal Geographical Society shrieked at the idea of woman entering their portals. The Swedish Literary Society, with thirteen hundred members, has eighty-two women on its books. The same with the philanthropic societies, music, art, etc. In fact, all doors are open to women.
Ladies have done much for the cause of temperance, and in all philanthropic movements they are busy; they have organised schools for the deaf, dumb, blind, and crippled, and look after night shelters, mothers' unions, ragged unions, rescue homes, working homes for children, benevolent societies, etc.
The pamphlet, speaking of unmarried women, also says—
Rights of Unmarried Women enlarged.—In 1864 (on the 31st of October)the position of unmarried womenwas improved. According to the law that was then enacted, an unmarried woman—1. When she has reached her fifteenth year, may take charge of whatever she may earn.2. When she has reached her twenty-first year she may manage her own property, if she chooses to do so, provided that she informs the court of her intention.3. When she has reached her twenty-fifth year she is of age, and may manage her own property without informing the court thereof.Rights of Inheritance.—In the beginning of the Swedish rule our country probably conformed to the old Swedish laws and regulations, according to which women had a right toinherit propertyonly in cases where there were no male heirs.Legislation of Birger Jarl: Women inherited one-third.—In the middle of the thirteenth century, Finnish (as well as Swedish) women were awarded the right of inheritinga third partof the property left by their parents, whereas two-thirds accrued to the male heirs. For this improvement our women were indebted to Birger Jarl, the great Swedish legislator and statesman, who bears an honoured name in our history.Many exceptions, however, were made to this rule. Where the father was a landowner, for instance, the principal estate always descended to the son, whereas the daughter had to be content with some smaller estate of less value, or with part of the personal property.Legislation of 1734: Daughters and Sons of Town People, etc., inherit Equal Shares.—Such was the state of things for several centuries, till it was at last changed somewhat for the better when the law of 1734 came into force. This law decreed that the sons and daughters of commoners living in towns, and those of the clergy, were to inheritequal shares. The daughters of the nobility and of all landowners in the country, however, remained in the same position as before.Law now in force: Daughters and Sons inherit Equal Shares.—This lasted nearly one and a half centuries, untilin all classes of societythe daughters received the right of inheritingequal shareswith the sons, which they did, according to a law enacted on 27th June 1878.Hence Finnish women now possess the same rights of inheritance as men.The latter, however, still in some cases have the advantage over women;e.g.where there is landed property to be inherited and the principal estate cannot be conveniently divided, then the brother or male heir is entitled to purchase the sister's part. The benefit thus accruing to the son injures the position of the daughter, in case the brother is a spendthrift or unable to pay the sum which represents her share of the paternal estate. Among the peasantry it is still customary to buy off the daughter with a small sum of money, regardless of what the true value of the estate may be, or with part of the personality, so that the male heir may have the whole of the estate.
Rights of Unmarried Women enlarged.—In 1864 (on the 31st of October)the position of unmarried womenwas improved. According to the law that was then enacted, an unmarried woman—
1. When she has reached her fifteenth year, may take charge of whatever she may earn.
2. When she has reached her twenty-first year she may manage her own property, if she chooses to do so, provided that she informs the court of her intention.
3. When she has reached her twenty-fifth year she is of age, and may manage her own property without informing the court thereof.
Rights of Inheritance.—In the beginning of the Swedish rule our country probably conformed to the old Swedish laws and regulations, according to which women had a right toinherit propertyonly in cases where there were no male heirs.
Legislation of Birger Jarl: Women inherited one-third.—In the middle of the thirteenth century, Finnish (as well as Swedish) women were awarded the right of inheritinga third partof the property left by their parents, whereas two-thirds accrued to the male heirs. For this improvement our women were indebted to Birger Jarl, the great Swedish legislator and statesman, who bears an honoured name in our history.
Many exceptions, however, were made to this rule. Where the father was a landowner, for instance, the principal estate always descended to the son, whereas the daughter had to be content with some smaller estate of less value, or with part of the personal property.
Legislation of 1734: Daughters and Sons of Town People, etc., inherit Equal Shares.—Such was the state of things for several centuries, till it was at last changed somewhat for the better when the law of 1734 came into force. This law decreed that the sons and daughters of commoners living in towns, and those of the clergy, were to inheritequal shares. The daughters of the nobility and of all landowners in the country, however, remained in the same position as before.
Law now in force: Daughters and Sons inherit Equal Shares.—This lasted nearly one and a half centuries, untilin all classes of societythe daughters received the right of inheritingequal shareswith the sons, which they did, according to a law enacted on 27th June 1878.Hence Finnish women now possess the same rights of inheritance as men.The latter, however, still in some cases have the advantage over women;e.g.where there is landed property to be inherited and the principal estate cannot be conveniently divided, then the brother or male heir is entitled to purchase the sister's part. The benefit thus accruing to the son injures the position of the daughter, in case the brother is a spendthrift or unable to pay the sum which represents her share of the paternal estate. Among the peasantry it is still customary to buy off the daughter with a small sum of money, regardless of what the true value of the estate may be, or with part of the personality, so that the male heir may have the whole of the estate.
Divorce is somewhat uncommon in Finland. Indeed,next to Belgium, that country shows the smallest number of divorced marriages; still divorce may be granted on the following grounds:—
On the plea of adultery. It is not, however, enough for the guilty party to acknowledge his or her guilt, which must be fully proved, as well as the time when, the place where, and the person with whom, it was committed.If either husband or wife have, after the betrothal but before the marriage, committed adultery with some one else, and this is made known after marriage, the innocent party may claim a divorce, if he or she demand it.The law is in this respect severer with women than with men; for if a husband be informed of his wife having been seduced by some one else before her betrothal with him, he has the right to claim divorce from her, but the wife has not the same rightvice versâ.On the plea of deliberate desertion or prolonged absence. If either husband or wife absent himself or herself from home and do not return within a year after, the other party having inserted in the official newspapers of the country an advertisement calling on him or her to return, the one who remained at home has the right to sue for a divorce.
On the plea of adultery. It is not, however, enough for the guilty party to acknowledge his or her guilt, which must be fully proved, as well as the time when, the place where, and the person with whom, it was committed.
If either husband or wife have, after the betrothal but before the marriage, committed adultery with some one else, and this is made known after marriage, the innocent party may claim a divorce, if he or she demand it.
The law is in this respect severer with women than with men; for if a husband be informed of his wife having been seduced by some one else before her betrothal with him, he has the right to claim divorce from her, but the wife has not the same rightvice versâ.
On the plea of deliberate desertion or prolonged absence. If either husband or wife absent himself or herself from home and do not return within a year after, the other party having inserted in the official newspapers of the country an advertisement calling on him or her to return, the one who remained at home has the right to sue for a divorce.
Far more marriages are marred by incompatibility of temper than by actual immorality, and, surely, if two people find they have made a mistake, and are irritants instead of sedatives to one another, they should not be left to champ and fret like horses at too severe a bit, for all their long sad lives—to mar one another's happiness, to worry their children, and annoy their friends. Our hideously cruel separation orders merely encourage immorality. Finland shows us an excellent example. The very fact of being able to get free makes folk less inclined to struggle at their chains. If life is intolerable to Mrs. Jones in Finland, away she goes by herself; at the end of a year Mr. Jones advertises three timesin the paper for his wife or for information that will lead to his knowing her whereabouts; no one responds, and Mr. Jones can sue for and obtain a divorce without any of those scandalous details appearing in the press which are a disgrace to English journalism.
If either husband or wife be sentenced to imprisonment for life.Besides these cases, which are set forth in the law as sufficient causes for divorce, there are other circumstances in consequence of which a marriage may be dissolved,—but only by means of direct application to the Emperor and Grand Duke of Finland, who may grant it as a favour. A divorced wife is considered as a widow; she has no more duties toward her husband, and can dispose of her person as well as of her property. A divorced couple may peaceably settle all about the children; but if they cannot do this, the innocent parent is entitled to take charge of them. Both parents must contribute means for their maintenance and education.
If either husband or wife be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
Besides these cases, which are set forth in the law as sufficient causes for divorce, there are other circumstances in consequence of which a marriage may be dissolved,—but only by means of direct application to the Emperor and Grand Duke of Finland, who may grant it as a favour. A divorced wife is considered as a widow; she has no more duties toward her husband, and can dispose of her person as well as of her property. A divorced couple may peaceably settle all about the children; but if they cannot do this, the innocent parent is entitled to take charge of them. Both parents must contribute means for their maintenance and education.
Since 1906, women in Finland have had exactly the same political rights as men. Practically every man and woman over twenty-four years of age may not only vote for Parliament, but is also eligible as a member. At the election of 1907, nineteen women members were returned; this number has fluctuated, however, and in 1912 there are but fourteen women members.
They also have municipal rights. Unmarried women, widows, and divorced women, provided they submitted to the necessary conditions, were given the municipal vote in 1873. Women are members of School Boards, Poor Law Guardians, and are eligible as members of several other municipal and parochial Boards; but they may not be chosen for Town Councils or the corresponding councils in ruralparishes. In 1908 the Diet passed a new law concerning the municipal vote, giving equal rights to men and women, but that law being very Radical had—four years later—not received the sanction of the sovereign.
In the matter of education Finland is most advanced; and the fees all up the scale from folk-schools to the University itself are extremely low.
The folk-schools in 1910 were attended by 188,479 children, which was 6.11 per cent. of the population. The same year there were 2677 female teachers and 2222 male teachers in the folk-schools. Every country Commune has at least one permanent folk-school, but most have several. There are besides these, ambulatory schools, where teachers visit remote villages and hold classes, in order that children may not suffer by being a long distance from a folk-school.
Besides the folk-schools there are secondary schools, most of them leading up to the University. These numbered, in 1912, one hundred and twenty-seven. Seventy-four of them are mixed schools, and twenty-seven for boys only, the other twenty-six being for girls.
Many preparatory schools exist under private auspices, over which there is no State inspection.
The better-class children go to the secondary schools, though they are open to all classes, the fees being only thirty-two shillings per annum, with a reduction for brothers or sisters, and 20 per cent. of the whole number of pupils are received free of charge. In the private schools the annual fee varies, but rarely rises above ten pounds.
In Helsingfors the salaries for teachers in folk-schools are different for men and women, the latter receiving from 2000 to 3000 marks a year, and the men from 2400 to nearly 4000 marks per annum.
In the country Communes, however, salaries are now the same for men and women; but a teacher with a family dependent on him receives a bonus in addition to the salary, and this applies to men and women equally.
Could anything be better? Truly, a eugenic doctrine in the best sense. Could we in England not learn one of our many needed lessons in education from Finland on this point? All are entitled to a pension after thirty years' service.
Beyond the folk-schools are practical continuation classes for needlework, cooking, weaving, household work, and book-keeping.
And then, again, there are People's Colleges for both sexes aged about eighteen, for the advancement of culture and knowledge, and to kindle noble impulses.
One of these People's Colleges was established by a woman for women, and has now obtained a grant from the public funds.
Besides all the foregoing there are normal institutes or seminaries for folk-school teachers of both sexes; six of these seminaries are for Finnish folk-school teaching, and two for Swedish ones.
The instruction is free, candidates must be eighteen years of age, and the subjects are:—Biblical history and the Bible, Christianity and moral philosophy,popular psychology, pedagogics and the science of teaching, school-keeping, the mother tongue and the reading of suitable works in it, mathematics, geography, history, the statistics of Finland, natural history, calligraphy, writing of short essays, drawing and modelling, singing and instrumental music, elementary anatomy, physiology, and the care of small children according to the laws of hygiene. To all this long list there are added for female students, instruction in needlework and weaving, housekeeping, and gardening; and for the male,slöjd, gardening, and fieldwork.
There are also State high schools for girls doing excellent work.
InHelsingforsandWiborg, where the living is more expensive than in other Finnish towns, the principals and the lady teachers (but not the "kollegas")are in receipt of an addition to their salaries. Thus inHelsingforsa lady principal receives from the beginning 2800 marks, and after fifteen years' service, 4000.
Although this does not sound high remuneration, it must be remembered that salaries and expenses are proportionately low inSuomi.
Every woman entering the University must obtain permission from the Chancellor. He always grants it now, though formerly he often refused. There are, in 1912, 730 women out of a total of 3030 students—that is, 24 per cent.
There is no general annual fee at the University; at matriculation every student pays thirty-six shillings, and there is a small extra charge for the use of the laboratories; and, of course, students needing special instruction in any particular subject pay their professor a separate fee, about a pound per annum. In addition there are small fees for the examinations.
Men and women pay exactly the same, and enter for the same examinations, working side by side. The first woman to take a degree at the University (bacca laureate) wasFröken Emma Irene Aströmin 1873, when she was appointed professor (lector) at one of the seminaries for the education of folk-school teachers.
In 1884 the Finnish Women's Association was formed, having obtained permission from the State for their name. Their object is to work for the elevation of their sex, intellectually and morally, and to better women's social and economical position.
Thirty years have seen the formation of many such societies; perhaps the greatest of them is an association called "Martha," similar to our English Mothers' Union. Its purpose is to approach the different classes and to heighten the standard of life among the poor by developing the women's ability in housekeeping and educating their children. It is spread all over the country, and has more than a hundred and fifty affiliated associations.
As we have already noticed, women follow many occupations which in the British islands are regarded as entirely men's employments—bricklaying, carpentry, paper-hanging, slaughtering, ship-loading, were all to be found in the returns, when I was in the country, underwomen's work. In public offices they were constantly employed long before women in Britain were recognised as capable of doing clerical work on a large scale; and even now, while our banks are staffed entirely by men, women in Finland are largely employed as clerks in banks as well as in insurance offices. They monopolise the telephone, and are in great request as compositors.
But turning to the more domestic duties of women; the Finns are as thorough in these as in other branches of education. It was at one time rather a fashion for the young ladies of Finland to go over to Sweden and enter what is called aHushållskola, the literal translation of which is a "household school." They are taught cooking, laundry-work, weaving, dressmaking, house-maid's work, everything, in fact, that a woman could possibly want to know if she were left withoutany servants, or even on a desert island. They are practically instructed how to garden, they are sent marketing, they are taught to fish, and, having landed their prey, how to clean and cook it. In fact, they are fitted to be maids-of-all-work, skilled labourers and sportsmen, at one and the same time.
The full course occupies about eighteen months, and met with such success in Sweden that Finlanders have now organised severalHushållskolain Finland itself.
In 1799 oneWibeleinsstarted a sort of technical education scheme. He printed books to further the weaving trade, gave prizes for spun thread, etc., to encourage the old trade then dying away—for women in the time ofKalevalawove, embroidered, spun, and worked in silver and bronze, at least so say the bards. Indeed, in 1529,Åbolinen was so famous that it was always used by the King of Sweden, therefore it is not surprising that weaving is still quite a pastime among Finnish ladies, and every cottager knows how to ply her shuttle. Where it has fallen into disuse women go about the country to teach and revive the decaying industry.
It is very sad when old trades disappear in rural districts, for nothing can take their place. No modern factories are started near at hand to employ the folk, and the result is they give up their old occupations and too often do not take to new instead. For instance, the once famous lace ofRaumo, formerly sent in large quantities to Sweden and Russia (the thread came from England), was almost a forgotten art; but as with us, care hasbeen taken to restore these old local industries, andRaumolace-making is now in a most flourishing state.
The many employments open to women do not make the more fortunate forget those in trouble. Nursing the sick is a favourite profession in Finland, the emolument varying from two to six hundred marks per annum, in addition to board, etc.
Massage is a very old institution, so ancient that every village since the olden times has had at least one rubbing woman, as they call her. In the country they are generally given food in payment, but in towns from twenty-five penni to a mark for the time occupied. So many women do massage that really every one seems to know something about it, and one almost feels that massage must have originated inSuomi. It is certainly a great feature of Finnish life; and in addition to these massage women, who work for next to nothing, and who are merely peasant women, there are now everywhere in Finland highly trained masseuses, or, as they prefer to be called, "sick-gymnasts."
The University maintains courses, lasting for three years, for the training of such "sick-gymnasts," and the pupils are very often ladies from the best families. A qualified "sick-gymnast" often gets a remunerative practice, and may make an annual income of 10,000 marks or more.
The physical development of women is given a high place in the school curriculum in Finland, as was instanced in the Olympic games at Stockholm in 1912, when a group of Finnish girls proved by their suppleness of body and gymnastic proficiencythat the traditions of Southern Greece are ably maintained to-day in Finland in the North.
One must not leave the subject of women inSuomiwithout touching upon their achievements in literature and the sister arts.
The earliest woman writer wasSarah Wacklin(1790-1846), who has left a valuable record of Finnish life in the first years of the nineteenth century. Her successors took up the question of the rights of women, and their emancipation; and the works ofMrs. Fredrika Runeberg(1807-1879) andMiss Adelaide Ehrnrothboth set forth the arguments of the cause most strongly, not only in articles and pamphlets, but in novels of a high standard.
Since then many women have entered their names on the roll of the country's literature, and, strangely enough, the two girls I chaperoned through Finland—for, of course, being married I could act as a chaperone—were so inspired by the work of writing and its manifold interests, that both of them took to the pen later, and one is known to-day asPaul Waineman, and the other asBaroness Léonie Aminoff.
When we went toKuopiowe hoped to meetMinna Canth, one of the first Finnish writers in the country, whose powers as a dramatist we had learnt atSordavala. We inquired where she lived, and found that she had a drapery store.
Every one in Finland works in some way, and, all work being considered honourable, the shopkeeper is equal to the noble.
Minna Canth'shusband died some years ago, and being left with a family, she started this store, and certainly, when one realised that she was a woman with children to look after, that she wrote much—which we know takes time—it is perfectly wonderful how she could find energy and leisure to look after her shop. Yet it was so, and the business was in a most flourishing condition.
Finnish lady artists for the first time received international prizes and medals at the great World's Exhibition in Paris in the year 1889.
Of the achievements of Finland's women artists during the last twenty years I must not write in detail, for Finland has forged ahead in art as in other matters. At the time of my first visit, few Finnish women had devoted themselves to sculpture, and only one—Miss Sigrid af Forselles—had accomplished really good work. But to-day she no longer stands alone.
Already we see the first generation that benefited by the recognition of the power of women enjoying the prime of early manhood and womanhood; and it is certain that in the enormous upheaval in the old order of things that is going on all over the world,Suomiwill hold her own in the forefront of education, for the learning of the mother must prove a valuable asset in moulding the characters of the citizens of the future.
The bells rang! It was fourA.M.when the shipConcordia, which had been our home for thirty-six hours, arrived atNyslott, one of the small towns which are sparsely scattered over Finland.
Nyslottis famous for two things: its very modern "bath cure" accompanied by a "kasino"—of which French watering-places need have no jealousy—and, by way of extreme from such modernity, its other attraction is an old ruined castle, built originally in 1475. The castle is the most perfect left in Finland, and its position is certainly the most picturesque, for it stands quite alone on an island of rock, round which the current forms endless whirlpools. It is built with sharp buttresses, and once had five towers, of which, alas, only three remain, but those three are very perfect.
What stories that castle could tell of wars and sieges, of Russian and Swedish possessors, of Catholic and Lutheran sway, and of cruelty too horrible to dwell upon, although one cannot help realising its possibilities after entering the little dark cell in which two men were built up to live together indarkness and in hunger till death ended their sufferings.
The Roman Catholic Chapel still remains; windowless, save for a small hole over the stone altar, which certainly suggests artificial light having been thrown from behind on some sacred relic or picture—a theatrical effect not unknown to that faith. Its uneven stone floor, and its niches for the sacramental cup, all remain in weird darkness to remind one of ages long gone by. In turn the Castle has been Catholic, Lutheran, and Greek—so three persuasions have had their sway, and each has left its mark.
Our thoughtful friend, Grandpapa, whom we had left a fortnight before atRättijärvi, was waiting for us atNyslott, or rather, a moment after the ship stopped at the quayside in the early dawn of morning, he arrived, accompanied by a man in a boat, one of those regular Finnish boats pointed at each end known as akuiru.
"Where are we to live?" we called, over the side.
"In the Castle, as you wished," was the reply; and overjoyed at the prospect of anything so romantic, we quickly transferred ourselves and our baggage into the boat below.
"I'm very anxious about this arrangement," said our youthful old friend. "When I arrived a fortnight ago, and found there was not a room to be had in the town, I was in despair; after wandering from house to house, again I beseeched the little hotel to take me in; but even their sofas wereoccupied. However, determining not to leaveNyslotttill I had seen the famous castle, I got a boat and rowed across.Veni, vidi, vici—for I persuaded the watchman to put me up for the night, and there I am still. When, yesterday, I could find no habitation for you, I reluctantly telegraphed that the town was full and I was only put up by theVahtimestariof the Castle. Imagine my horror when I got your reply—'Arrive4A.M.,arrange stay Castle.'"
"Were you so very much horrified?" we laughed. "We thought it would be such fun, and so delightfully romantic."
"It was no fun to me. I felt utterly taken aback, and went off to consult an artist friend, who was painting the queer old place.
"'Nonsense, my dear fellow,' he said, 'you can't lodge ladies in this barrack. It's all very well for two watchmen, or for you, if you like, to rough it—but for women—nonsense, it is impossible.'
"'But,' I remarked, 'they are very enterprising, and one of them, who is writing a book, loves queer corners, odd experiences, and native life.'
"'I daresay,' replied he, 'but this Castle, I repeat, is impossible, especially for Englishwomen, who are all accustomed to much luxury.'
"Back into the town I went again to try for rooms, but without success. What was to be done? You were on the way, time was growing short, and I had arranged nothing. So once more to my watchman I returned and told him my awful dilemma, and the depths of my despair. He so thoroughlyentered into the spirit of the thing, that he promised to do the best he could, and in an hour's time he had arranged for extra towels and a few necessaries to be sent over from the town."
"Delightful!" we exclaimed; "what a dear man! It is like a romance in a story book."
"But my story is not finished," Grandpapa replied, with a rueful face; "we had set to work to sweep, and brush, and clean with a will, in order to make the room more worthy of its occupants, when theVahtimestarisuddenly said—
"'I'm afraid, after all, you will have to go and get permission from the Mayor, or I may get into trouble for allowing ladies to sleep in this ruined Castle.'"
Here was an adventure. Our hearts quailed a little as we waited breathlessly for the finish of the story.
"I got into the boat," went on our friend, "pulled on shore, and set off to the Mayor, in order to obtain permission for you to sleep there. At first he sternly refused.
"'Ridiculous!' he said, 'bats and owls, goblins and ghosts! that is not a fit home for ladies—ridiculous, and quite impossible.'
"I explained and argued, told him how enterprising you were, and how well versed in travel, and at last he gave in, saying, 'Well, the old Castle has withstood many sieges, and it is hard it must give in without powder or shot to two Englishwomen.'
"Thus his reluctant permission was granted, and away I came triumphant. You are to havethe watchmen's room, they the kitchen, and I am to sleep in the Lutheran Church, which chances to have a roof."
We were delighted, and at once started for our haunted Castle. We rowed away to our island home, and, when we appreciated the difficulty of steering through the fast-running whirlpool, to the only gate with its fine portcullis, we realised we were indeed on adventure bent.
It was barely dawn, and as we swept over the seething waters, and stood under the ancient archway, we felt like Mary Queen of Scots before the gates of Fotheringay.
We were indeed triumphantly triumphant. Far from the whistle of a train, right in the interior of Finland, standing beneath the portals of a famous castle virtually ruined and uninhabited—we felt at home.
The streaks of early morning sunlight lent enchantment to the romantic surroundings, as we wandered along queer passages, where the walls varied from five to fifteen feet thick, peeped into cellars and dungeons, and bending our heads under Norman arches, at last entered the first courtyard. We saw mysterious winding staircases, generally spiral, leading up and down into deep dark mystery. Certainly so far the ruins did not look as though they would protect any one from wind and rain, and we passed on, through walls that seemed impregnable, to ruined chambers, utterly roofless, in and out of which pigeons were flying happily at their sweet will.
The second courtyard was gravelled; but round its sides tangled beds of syringa in full flower, red and black currants nearly ripe, pretty wild roses and lilac almost looked homely, while white and yellow marguerites shadowed dear little wild strawberries, and a general air of naturalness prevailed. We had reached the very centre of our enchanted castle! How often had this courtyard been the scene of revelry, of tournaments and joustings, at which lovely woman had smiled and distributed her favours from the surrounding battlements.
"There is your room," exclaimed Grandpapa at last, pointing to a modern little bit of building erected for the custodian's use, in which, sure enough, was a real glass window.
Up the modern steps we mounted, to find a nice big room, poorly furnished, 'tis true, with one bed and a garden seat, two wooden chairs and a long wooden school bench, a table on which stood a brown earthenware bowl, and a large glass water carafe, that glass bottle which had haunted us since we set foot in Finland. The bench was to do duty for washstand and the impedimenta thereto. The wooden floor was delightfully scrubbed, and what mattered the simplicity when all was so delightfully clean!
Lo and behold, a bouquet of flowers stood in a tumbler on the table, the votive offering of the Finnish custodian himself; a charming welcome to his English visitors.
Out of this large bare chamber led a dear little kitchen, and farther along a passage and up somestairs we came to the old church—capable of seating a couple of hundred persons, although it did not really possess a single seat—which was to serve as Grandpapa's bedroom. Churches invariably do service for sleepers even to-day in Iceland, where hotels are practically non-existent, except in two or three instances, and even habitations are few and far between.[C]
So this was to be for a brief space our home; a real, wild, weird, romantic home, seated on its rocky island away from the world, away from every sign of life save pigeons or bats; full of grim spirits—if tradition were to be believed—and nightly walked by strange women and blood-stained men—for stories there are in plenty concerning the great Castle ofOlavin Linnaas the Finns call it, atSavonlinna, the Finnish name forNyslott.
We wandered everywhere: we peered into all the mysteries. Verily a ruin. Mounting to an upper floor by the solid stone steps outside, we found ourselves in another chamber, the roof of which was supported by rafters, through the thick walls of which a long dark passage led us round two sides of the courtyard, passing a small tower by the way from which we could see yet another court, whose wide grass-grown ramparts overhung the rapidly-flowing current of the lake.
Here was the hall of the knights, a long and dark chamber—so dark, in fact, that we wondered how any one had ever been able to see clearly in it. On all sides were rooms and pitch-black dungeons,for at the time the Castle was built (1475) the powers-that-were thought nothing of shutting people up in dark little holes, where they left them to die, and theOlavin Linnaseems to have been particularly rich in such choice chambers. From where we stood, a few steps up a winding staircase led us to a big tower containing a large round room, called the ladies' drawing-room. The dames of that period certainly had a glorious view all round for miles and miles, although they were far removed from the life going on below. From this point of vantage we saw how the Castle literally covered the whole of the rock, and occupied a most commanding position where three lakes met. As we wandered down again, we chanced into a queer sort of chamber, wherein half a dozen weird straggling trees struggled to exist. It was almost dark; the storms of winter could rustle through those blank windows, and the trees were white, and gray, and sickly—more like phantoms than real trees—so queer and withered and pale and anæmic were their leaves, and yet they stood eight or ten feet high, showing they had boldly struggled for life.
After having thus gained a general idea, snatched a sort of bird's-eye view of this strange Castle, we returned to our room and investigated its capabilities.
There wasonesmall bed, already honourably mentioned, and a garden seat—one of those well-known benches made of thin wooden laths, with a rounded uncomfortable seat and back.
"Could we manage with such meagre accommodation?"Grandpapa asked timorously, "or must another bed be hired; that is to say, if another bed can be hired, or bought, in a town already overcrowded."
We looked at our friend's troubled face, and, feeling we had already caused him a sad amount of inconvenience, valiantly replied, "We will manage." And manage we did.
To the "elderly scribe" was allotted the bed, a very finely carved wooden erection; but let me at once own that, although I had slept on hay in a tent in other lands, passed a night on a dining-room table, several on the floor, and in deck-chairs, I never slept in anything quite so "knobby" as that extraordinary bed. A lump here, and a lump there, always seemed to select the most inconvenient part of one's frame to stick in, and sometimes getting on a nerve quite numbed the spot. After the first night I asked theVahtimestarito turn and knead the mattress, which he cheerfully promised to do, and no doubt did. But all his turning and pounding was perfectly useless, so after a second restless night, which left me beautifully black and blue from head to foot, I determined to investigate the mysteries of that bed for myself.
When I removed the under-sheet a bewildering problem was solved. On the top of the mattress lay an enormous coat, linedthroughoutwith black sheepskin. Its double-rolled collar had made a huge ridge down the middle of my back, across which a thick waist-belt had not unsuccessfully tried to form a bridge—the sleeves could only beaccounted mountains, while innumerable buttons had left their impress on every inch of my body! I felt very sorry for my flesh that morning!
Four nights passed on a hard garden seat does not sound entrancing; nevertheless, on such a non-captivating couch, my sister, helped by rugs and a pillow, slept the sleep of the just, and of youth.
Her "plank bed" may have been—nay, certainly must have been—hard, and the Castle certainly was primitive, but everything, bedding included, was spotlessly clean, and, after all, cleanliness and a quiet conscience compensate for much—anyhow she slept; that is a fact for which I can vouch.
During the first night of our stay atNyslottone of us lay and dreamed a semi-waking dream, in which the old rock—Nature's fortress—appeared in the lake bleak, bare, grim, and lonely until 1475, when the first stones ofOlavin Linnawere laid. After that the scene suddenly shifted, and the bloody battles of 1743, whenNyslottwas taken by the Russians, were again fought for the benefit of a new spectator, only, as it seemed, for the Castle to be given back four years later to Finland! A very curious reminiscence to occur to any person's mind between "sleeping and waking." Later on, that over-tired traveller mused dreamily on the three periods of history, pictured scenes during the two hundred and sixty-eight years of Swedish sovereignty, the half century under Russian sway, and the more modern happenings under Finnish rule,its troubles practically ended in 1871, from which date they have been but a souvenir in the history of Europe.
Olavin Linnawas the spot around which three different races met and struggled; the Russians, the Finns, and the Swedes. The Russians with their superior numbers, their riches, and their sharpness, pushed the Finns towards the North and took their country, the now northern half of Russia in Europe. The Swedes came and conquered the Slavs; founded a dynasty and called their State Russia (i.e.Sweden,Ruotsibeing the Finnish name for Sweden to this day). The Swedes also conquered the remaining part of ancient Finland, and introduced Christianity, and the strong and freedom-loving Scandinavian law.
The struggle now remained between the Scandinavians and the Slavs—between a democratic and courageous race and an oligarchic and diplomatic one. Then our Castle—our own—for had we not conquered it?—was built on the frontier to resist the inroads of the Slavs. But again the Russians were triumphant. Sweden succumbed, while Russia took the remainder of ancient Finland. Since then Russia has become a great power.
Alexander I. granted to that part of Finland, imbued with Scandinavian law, the privilege of considering itself a nation, and continuing its former laws and government. Under this state of things the country grew prosperous. It arose and shook itself from its dormant existence of the previous six hundred years, collected its own traditions,and worked hard for education, so that it might continue a distinct race.
Then was built the large modern red brick schoolhouse atSavonlinna—a fortress of learning to take the place of the old Castle, and to teach the people that "the pen is indeed mightier than the sword."
One of us twain dreamed again! Saw the Castle built byErik Tott, a member of one of the greatest Finnish-Swedish families, and read the inscription—
Anno Domini 1475 leth iag Erik Axelsson Ridder i Lagnö, bygia thette Slåt, Gud till loff, Christum, helga Christna tro till styrkielse, och thå var hustra min Elin Götstaffsdotter i Lagmansöö.
Anno Domini 1475 leth iag Erik Axelsson Ridder i Lagnö, bygia thette Slåt, Gud till loff, Christum, helga Christna tro till styrkielse, och thå var hustra min Elin Götstaffsdotter i Lagmansöö.
Translation—
Anno Domini 1475 let Erik, son of Axel Knight of Lagnö, build this Castle to the Glory of God, to strengthen the Holy Christian Faith in Christ: and then was my wife's name Elin, daughter of Götstaff[D]in Lagmansöö.
Anno Domini 1475 let Erik, son of Axel Knight of Lagnö, build this Castle to the Glory of God, to strengthen the Holy Christian Faith in Christ: and then was my wife's name Elin, daughter of Götstaff[D]in Lagmansöö.
That weary traveller saw the indignation at its erection atNyslott, just within the Russian limits of the frontier, saw the five splendid towers finished, of which three now remain, and theBastion Dickproperly rebuilt.
And then all grew suddenly dark, and, in a deeper sleep, that dreamer groped along the gloomy subterranean passage, said to run from the clock tower to the town, seemed to hear the rushing water, a hundred and twenty feet deep at this point, tearing like a cataract overhead, peered into those many strange dark chambers, and hearkened, appalled, to the piercing shrieks of those two wretched menbricked up together in yonder small chamber, in darkness till death brought relief.
What a life, and what a death! Four stone walls round a room about six feet by ten—with an earthen floor and a low ceiling—no window for light, no stove for warmth in that bitterly cold land.
Half waking from troubled slumber the weary traveller shivered to think of the horror that had been enacted so close to her elaborately carved bedstead and its lumpy mattress.
How hot it still was! The day had been almost tropical, but it is a merciful provision of Providence that all days, even one beginning at fourA.M., must end at last, and as I, the nineteenth century traveller, the "elderly scribe," aroused myself sufficiently to shake off those terrible visions of a cruel past, I realised it was getting on for midnight. I heard our friend going to rest in his chapel-chamber, and, turning over, tried to go to sleep. How quiet everything was! Except for the gnawing of the rats or mice under the floor—no unusual sound in an old castle, of course—and so unconsciousness came—I slept—yes, I slept—till——
Ah! what was that! Was it? yes, it was—some one calling; and yet it could not be.
The custodians had both retired to their kitchen to rest I knew—for had I not heard them trudging upstairs to seek their improvised couches long before?—and yet, most certainly, a loud strange call had broken the silence of night. Was it, really uttered by a human being, or could it be—no, no, of course not. A spirit? Ridiculous! The veryidea was preposterous, and, lying down again, I argued how absurd were such fears, how I had been simply dreaming; over-fatigued after a long day's travel—how, in fact, my mind was disorganised, and the best thing to do was to fall asleep at once. At that moment a tremendous peal of thunder broke overhead, while, simultaneously, the whole room was flooded with light. It played over the walls, it danced over the floor, and then a clap more tremendous than the first seemed to shake the very building. Yet through the roll of heaven's artillery I heard that hideous weird cry distinctly audible.
Starting up again in response, I began to think sleeping in a haunted castle was not such fun after all; that theremust besomething very uncanny aboutNyslott, more especially when a strange door creaked on its hinges, that sort of rasping squeak one associates with the opening of a door generally kept firmly closed—and muffled feet pattered over the stairs.
Nearer came the sound, nearer, yet nearer. My heart jumped into my mouth, it ceased almost to beat as the strange footsteps stopped on the very threshold of our room. "Oh!" I gasped, thinking that in another moment spirit fingers would turn the handle, and a ghostly figure enter the room. What form would it take? Would the phantom be man or woman—tall or short—an assassin, murderer, or victim? Yes, the steps had ceased at our very door, and the next moment they would be upon us.
But after that brief pause the muffled patter passed on, it became more and more indistinct, and again all was still.
What a relief! it was perhaps nothing after all—imagination, hallucination probably, but nothing real—nothing any way to fear.
Stay though! The voice, a voice, another voice unheard before, spoke in murmured accents, and then a deeper bass than that which had previously called shouted again and again in muffled reply.
This was too horrible!
It must be a ghost; nay, not even a single ghost but two, and what chance had one poor living woman and a sleeping girl against such odds from the spirit land?
The whole thing, even atNyslott, seemed too terribly impossible; so I pinched myself to make sure I was awake, only to hear the awful footsteps—duplicated—coming back! By this time my sister was awake, and lazily asking "What is the matter?"
"H-st-st," I answered under my breath.
Thud, thud—the mysterious footsteps drew nearer and nearer—
They were almost again at our door, when absolutely petrified by fear, and clammy by reason of the awfulNyslottstories we had been told, we twain sat up straight feeling creepy and cold all over.
The footsteps came on apace, and we held our breath, thinking our time had come; but was it? could it be? Yes, yes, thank heaven it was! We recognised the voice ofour own custodian talking softly to his comrade.
It was no ghost after all! only the underVahtimestariwho, having spent the evening on shore, shouted as usual to be admitted. It was his strangevoice echoing through those empty corridors and vaulted chambers that had waked us from our first sleep. His cries not being heard by reason of thunder roaring and rolling, he had called and called again with increasing energy till admitted.
What an unromantic ending to a most weird story, with every surrounding at hand, every element ready except the actual ghost himself! A happy ending. Stay, now it is over, I almost wish the ending had been less happy and more romantic.
Woman is seldom satisfied, and man never! One woman, however, I am not ashamed to say, was never in all her previous life so frightened as during that midnight hour atNyslott.
Happy days followed after this terrifying episode. We explored dark chambers with a candle and matches, we cooked coffee on the stove for breakfast, and boiled eggs in an enormous tea-kettle, aided in our pleasant toil by two smiling much-interested watchmen, and afterwards ate our meal among tangled shrubs in a courtyard shaded from the sun's heat by a linden tree.
We idled generally; wrote letters, scribbled up our diaries, chatted or made sketches in theBastion Dickwith its eight windows, each of which are at the narrow end of a wall measuring fifteen feet thick, thus forming the deep recesses of a large octagonal chamber with long benches stretching down the side of each of the fifteen feet walls. A wondrous and remarkable hall, always cool even on a hot day with its windowless look-outs over that beautiful lake.
Up the centre of this huge hall was a column of solid masonry coming from the chamber below, and rising some thirty feet to support the arched roof.
We enjoyed it all; but, be it owned, the life was very primitive, and to many people would have seemed ghastly.
For dinner (which is always between two and four in Finland), we were obliged to cross to theKasinoorSocietetzhuset(Hotel), our commissariat andchef de cuisinenot rising to the requirements of such a meal.
We learnt how ugly ordinary small Finnish towns are, with their one-storey wooden houses, ill-paved roads, totally devoid of side paths—how very like cheap wooden Noah's arks, such as children have; all straight and plain with glaring windows painted round with white paint, no gardens of any kind, while every casement is blocked with a big indiarubber plant. Generally they possess a huge stone or brick school-house, large enough to contain all the thousand inhabitants in the district, instead of the town's two hundred children, but then it is built ready for contingencies.
All this hideous inartistic modernity contrasted sadly with the massive beauty and vast strength of our castellated home.
Nyslott, as already said, is famous for its baths, which are a great institution, and charmingly arranged—douche baths, steam, mud, swimming, etc., and about forty or fifty little private rooms, some containing sofas—and at least a dozen women toattend to the comfort of visitors. They are regular Finnish bathing-women, wearing the ordinary uniform of their calling, viz. a thick blue serge skirt, red flannel outside stays, opening at the lacing in front and showing the white cotton chemise that isde rigueur, cut low at the neck and with quite short sleeves, a very pretty simple dress that allows great freedom to the arms when massaging, one of the important items of every Finnish bath.
We always returned to our castellated home for our evening meal, and, armed with a basket containing sardines, bread, butter, cold tongue, or ham, delicious cakes or fruit for dessert, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Our table in the courtyard was gray with age, and notched with the initials of young Philistines of former generations. We had no cloth, why should we; our forefathers ate without cloths and were happy nevertheless. We had a large brown earthenware pot, such as is used as a bread pan in England, at the head of the table filled with milk, which we served by dipping a cup into its depths. A mat of birch bark was our bread trencher, a cabbage leaf our butter dish, for although we had plates and knives and forks, cups and tumblers, there were not enough to accommodate the many articles displayed upon our liberal board.
The pigeons generally joined us at our meal, and seemed to know when we sallied forth in solemn procession, each with a black tin tray, what coming event was casting its shadow before, for they began to arrive whenever they heard the first rattle of cupsand saucers. Our feathered friends guessed intuitively that scraps would immediately follow the pleasant music, more delectable than any the Castle had hitherto furnished. If our bedroom was quaint, our youthful Grandpapa's was quainter.
Never was there a more strange sleeping-chamber than the old church where Grandpapa reposed on a mattress on the floor. It was a long narrow room with windows on both sides, the only place which boasted real windows except our own room, and the wee kitchen in that rambling oldOlavin Linna.
Although this church had been Catholic, Lutheran, and Greek, and then Lutheran again, all that remained of decoration were the remnants of an altar, at the far end, above which hung a large picture of the Crucifixion, and below a representation of the Lord's Supper; both badly painted, if one might judge from the scant colour remaining on the canvas. On one side stood a pulpit with a top like an extinguisher, much the worse for wear; formerly it had been painted all over with bright colours, the panels of the saints being surrounded by garish festoons and queer designs. In the opposite corner of the room was a very remarkable representation of Our Lord, with the five foolish virgins on one side, and the five wise ones on the other. It was a truly wonderful picture, for all the arms were out of drawing and all the heads too big for the bodies, and every one of the faces hideous. But even more wonderful than all the rest was the dado painted on a wooden panelling which ran round the church. The background was pale green, and the personsrepresented were prophets, apostles, and saints in the most rude form of art. Finnish art about a hundred and fifty years ago closely resembled the very earliest examples known of the Italian, only it was yet a hundredfold more primitive. But then, we presume, the village artist had never really seen a good picture in his life, and had nothing to go by.
On the panels were the following:—
P. Isak(P. standing for Pylia = saint), dressed in a blue kilt, with black top boots, a red cape, and a black billycock hat!
P. Jacob, who was next to him, wore brown knickerbockers and long stockings, a red and blue plaid, and a red felt hat.
P. Samuelhad a hat like a Jewish Rabbi and a long black cloak.
Judas Iskariota most wonderful red head and beard, and carried in his hand a Finnish peasant's tobacco pouch.
But the most wonderful wasNoakor Noah in blue and white tartan knickerbockers with a short kilt above them, carrying a red cloak and black slouch hatover his arm.
At the end of the room, opposite the altar, was a sort of wide wooden stair, on which prisoners used to sit during service at the commencement of the nineteenth century.
We bathed in that hot weather from the rock on whichNyslottis built, and enjoyed the cool water amazingly. To find a safe spot, however, from which to make our plunge proved a difficulty, and one we had to solve for ourselves.
Leaving the main and only entrance of the Castle, and descending some wide steps leading to the water edge, bathing dresses and towels in hand, we found a little ledge of stone-work barely twelve inches broad, just above the level of the lake. Literally only a foothold. Any nervous person inclined to turn giddy would hardly have dared to venture along such a path at all. But it led to the only spot where we could stand on solid earth outside the Castle walls, so completely did the edifice cover the rock on which it was built. A gust of wind at the turn of the tower almost blew us over, it was so sudden and unexpected.
After climbing on in this way for a short while we came to a little cove between two towers, with enough land for three or four trees to find soil to grow on, and beneath them a perfect bed of wild strawberries. It was a very small and very primitive bath chamber, but trees afforded shade from the sun's powerful rays, and two massive walls shut us in from curious eyes.
Near the Castle gate the water was smooth, but the current round other parts of the battlements was great, and almost baffled the wonderful swimming powers of Grandpapa and his friend, the delightful student who joined us atNyslott, fresh from his newly-won honours at the University. They swam round it—but they had a struggle to accomplish their feat.
Our student was a great acquisition to the party, though many scenes we lived together were not altogether devoid of embarrassment. We spokeEnglish, French, and German, but he knew no language that we knew. For his University work he had learned book-German, and could read it well, but he had never heard it spoken, and his tongue had never framed the words. Still, with this solid foundation, we soon taught him, and at the end of the three weeks that he spent with us, we flatter ourselves his German wasexcellent! Many a laugh we had over his deliciously amusing struggles, and, in spite of being a Finlander, he laughed too.
We also had many quaint linguistic adventures with our "hotel keeper."
That custodian was a poet—a real live poet. He used to disappear for hours; and we wondered where he was, until one fine day, as we rowed home to our enchanted Castle, we saw a man on the top of the watch tower waving his arms and gesticulating with dramatic gestures into space. This was ourVahtimestari. From his exalted position, with one of the most beautiful panoramas eye could wish lying at his feet—resting on a famous battlement, that had withstood the ravages of love and war—he evolved his magic verse. Truly no scene could be more inspiring, no motive more sublime, for even we humble humdrum matter-of-fact Englishwomen felt almost inspired to tempt the poet's muse. But happily no—our friends are spared—the passion was but fleeting.
One day ourVahtimestarimet us all smiles. We could not quite understand what he meant, but Grandpapa and our student told us some strange news as soon as theVahtimestarihad imparted it to them.
It seemed that a party of people had rung the bell on the shore for the Castle boat to go to fetch them, so, accordingly, our nocturnal host had gone across to earn his penny per head for ferrying them over. A papa, mamma, son, and daughters, with a couple of acquaintances, comprised the party. They calmly owned they had not come to see the Castle—they had seen it before. They had come to see the English ladies. Was it really true that two Englishwomen were staying there as the papers stated? Had they actually come from London? What were they like? What did they do? And why on earth did they sleep among the ghosts and hobgoblins?
Then, in a hushed voice and with subdued breath they asked—
"Are they mad?"
"No," the man answered, "he didn't think they were, they seemed much like other folk."
"Could they talk."
"Not Finnish; but they understand a little Swedish, and talk French and German with their friends."
"Did they do anything very remarkable or strange?"
"No. They cook their breakfast, and afterwards eat it; write, work, sketch, and bathe; in fact, they are ordinary people and seem quite sane."
"Could they see the strange ladies?"
"He was afraid not, as they were on shore."
"Might they see where they slept?"
"Certainly," replied theVahtimestari.
And on reaching the room they exclaimed—
"Why, this is an ordinary room with windows, how very disappointing," whereupon, much distressed and disillusioned, they turned and departed.
At this very time we were walking on the promenade in front of the bath-houses, where a nice fat comfortable-looking old gentleman stood before me, and cap in hand asked in English—
"Excuse me, do you like Finland?"
"Very much," I replied, smiling at the question; "but why do you ask?"
"I am a Finn—we all are Finns, and we are very proud of our country, about which most of Europe knows nothing, or at least next to nothing, and I am desirous to hear what you think of it all?"
"I am delighted with it. But again I must ask why you inquire?"
"Because we all know aboutyoufrom the newspapers (not one word of which we could read ourselves), and we are very anxious you should like us and our land, and tell the people in England we are not barbarians as they suppose. Please excuse my speaking to you, but I am the spokesman of many, who will be delighted to hear you are satisfied, and wish you a pleasant journey. If a stranger may be so bold—I thank you for coming."
"Finland certainly deserves to be better known," I replied.
"You think so? oh, I am glad;" and after a few minutes more conversation he said, "I hope you will enjoyPunkaharju."
"How do you know I am going toPunkaharju?"
"I heard so, and that you are actually living in our Castle, and that you are going through the country toUleåborg."
I almost collapsed; but he was so nice and so smiling I dared not be angry at his somewhat inquisitive interest in my movements.
On another occasion it was an elderly general who calmly sat down and addressed me in German, in order to inquire what I was going to write, how I was going to write it, and when it would appear.
These are only three instances of several, all showing the keen interest of the people that the land may be known and the Finlander a little better understood than he is by half the world to-day, who seem to imagine him to be a cross between a Laplander and an Esquimo—instead of what he really is, a very cultured gentleman.
My sister eased the troubles of life for me by kindly doing the packing; but once, so she says, virtue seized me in a rigid grip—and I packed.
It was atOlavin Linna—at our Castle. We were leaving next day, and one Gladstone had to be filled with things we did not want for a short time, and the other to be packed with everything we required immediately.
I worked hard. Sorted everything; filled the Gladstone with clean linen, guide books, foods, papers, etc., strapped it, and then,feelingthe incarnation of industry and pride, threw myself on that precious deck-chair to rest and read.
Presently my sister danced into the room. I told her of my virtue, received her congratulations andthanks, beamed with delight at my success, and answered her question as to the whereabouts of her bathing cap that "I had never seen it."
"Strange," she said, "I feel sure I left it on the window-sill to dry last night as usual, and it has gone, and I want a swim."
We both looked. We went down into the courtyard and scrambled among the lilac bushes immediately below the window. Finally, we decided it had been left on the tree at the bathing ground the night before. So off she went round that dangerous edge to find the cap. It was not there.
We called Grandpapa—Grandpapa called theVahtimestari—theVahtimestaricalled his under man; every one explained to every one else what was missing. At last the custodian remarked—
"Oh, now I understand what you mean; that sponge bag which lies beside the bathing dresses to dry; I didn't know what you meant by 'cap to bathe.'"
"Yes, yes, that is it," replied Grandpapa; "where is it?"
"I don't know."
"But it must be found. This lady dives and swims under water, and her long hair would get wet without it."
And so we looked, and looked, and all looked again.
"Let us go and buy another," remarked my sister in desperation.
"Impossible," replied our student, who had now joined in the search, "you might get one inHelsingfors, but nowhere else."
We were in despair. Before evening the whole town had heard of the English ladies' strange loss, and the bathing cap was as much commented upon as though it had been a dynamite bomb.
Confession, they say, is good for the soul. Then let me own my sin. The next day that bathing cap was found—I had packed it up!
Wherefore my sister on all inconvenient occasions says—
"Yes, she packedonce; she put away everything we wanted, and left out everything we had no use for."
How cruelly frank one's relations are!
Alas! my haunted Castle is restored, and the revels of the ghosts and the goblins are now disturbed by the shrieks and snorts of the modern locomotive.