FIELD SPORTS

OF

THE NORTH OF EUROPE,

&c.

CHAPTER I.

Setting-in of the winter.-Winter clothing.- Frozen feet.Removal to Lapp Cottage.-My new Landlord; his farm, &c. -Intelligence of Bears being ringed.- Disappearance of Birds of Passage.-Visit to Jan Finne.-Jan Svensson.

Indeed,

THE weather was now rather severe. on the morning and evening of the 28th and 29th October, we had 12 degrees of cold according to the scale of Fahrenheit: at this period, however, there was no snow upon the ground.

The peasants at this time were generally attired in their winter garments. This, for the females, consisted of short jackets, made of sheepskins, with the woolly side inwards; and for the men, of coats of the same material. Over this, which was called pels, the latter often wore, when at church, or on other occasions, their ordinary coats.

The greater part of the men were provided with gloves, to which no fingers were attached, reaching half-way up their arms. These, which were frequently made of white wool, and handsomely embroidered, were of so great a size, as much to resemble gauntlets. They were capital preservatives against the cold.

My own dress, when in the forest at this period of the year, with the exception of the " 'pels " which I never made use of, was very similar to that of the peasants. It consisted of a straight coat without a collar, which reached to my knees, and buttoned well about my neck; trowsers, warm stockings, and gaiters. It was composed of coarse cloth, the manufacture of the country, the cost of which was the merest bagatelle. In this dress, however, which was well lined throughout, I was able, when using exercise, to set the weather, let it be ever so severe, almost at defiance.

My favourite colours were green and gray. The former is perhaps the best for the summer season, when a person is on sporting excursions, as it more nearly resembles the foliage of the trees; the latter for the winter, when, all nature being clothed in frost and snow, a man, if standing still, may in the distance readily be taken for the trunk of a pine. Some attention should be paid to this point, for the eye of a bird or beast is quickly caught by any object, the colour of

which materially differs from the surrounding

scenery.

I seldom wore linen shirts in the winter-time, but substituted, in their stead, such as were made of fine flannel: these are the greatest preservatives of health in a cold climate, when using violent exercise.

I rarely made use of a hat at that season; for, unlike the peasants, my hair was cut quite short, and in consequence, had I had no other covering for my head, my ears would soon have been frostbitten. I therefore always substituted a cap in lieu of that article of dress: the peasants nevertheless generally wore their hats the whole of the winter.

When I was in the forest, I was commonly habited in a cap of the same colour and materials as my clothes. To this, three lappets were attached; two of a small size, one on either side, to fall over my ears, which guarded them from the effects of the cold; and the third, about six inches square, was fastened behind, and in a degree prevented the snow, which at times came from the trees almost in avalanches, from penetrating down my neck. These lappets were removable at pleasure, by turning them under the lining of the cap, and in consequence I only made use of them in snowy and severe weather.

I usually wore very similar shoes to the peasants: the cost of a pair was less than two-and