The Land of the Long Night | Page 4

trotting at the usual gait of post-horses,
going at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. He knew every stone,
ditch, bridge, and house on the road, for many and many a time the dear
old animal had made this journey to and fro, often twice each way in a
day. He had been a post-horse for over twelve years.
His master, my driver, was very kind to him. He always alighted when

there was a hill to ascend, and walked by his side, gently urging him to
go on. When the top of the hill was reached, he stopped to give the
animal time to take breath; then, before starting again, he would give
him a piece or two of black bread, sometimes a potato, which he had
put in his pocket before leaving. The people of Scandinavia are always
kind to their dumb animals. Believe me, dear young folks, there is
something mean and cowardly about a man who is not kind to dumb
creatures. Do not have him for a friend!
As I looked at the ships sailing from the Baltic, a sudden yearning to go
home took hold of me, and I forgot all about "The Land of the Long
Night." I thought of all my dear friends, of all the school girls and boys
whom I knew, and I wanted to see them ever so much, even if it might
be only for a day. It would have made me so happy to look upon their
faces once more. Sometimes one feels very lonely when away from
home, and that day I could not help it. I thought of dear Jeannie, of
sweet Gertrude, and Hilda, of Marie, of Pauline, of Helen, of Laura, of
Blanche, of Julia, of Melissa, of Rowena, of Beatrice, of Alice, of
Maude, of Ethel, of Evelyn, of Louise, of Iphigenia, and others that
were also dear to me. Then I thought of Charles, of Arthur, of William,
of Louis, of John, of Robert, of Frank, of George, of Anson, of
Mortimer, of Eddy, of Fred, and of many others.
Many of the girls and boys call me either "Paul," "Friend Paul," or
"Uncle Paul;" some of the girls call me "Cousin Paul." These are my
chums, and it is lovely to have chums! I thought of the fun and good
times I had had with all of them; and I felt on that day that I loved them
more than ever as the great ocean separated us.
I thought of all the young folks whom I had talked to in the public or
private schools in many of the States,--for if there is a thing Friend Paul
likes, it is to talk to the young folks at school. As I thought of this, it
seemed as if I could see them listening to me.
I suddenly became very homesick. I said to myself: "I will go to
America and see my dear friends, and then return to go to 'The Land of
the Long Night.'" I could cross the Sound, go to Copenhagen,--the city
was almost in sight, and a nice city it is,--and take one of the

comfortable steamers of the Thingvalla Line, now called
Scandinavian-American Line, for New York.
As I was thinking of this, it suddenly seemed to me that I heard voices
coming across the Atlantic,--voices from friends, from school girls and
boys, calling: "Friend Paul, go on, go on to 'The Land of the Long
Night' first, and then come and tell us how it is there. Be of good cheer;
no harm will befall you; you will be all right."
Friend Paul cheered up when in imagination he had heard the voices of
his young friends urging him to go on, and he answered back: "Girls
and boys, you are right. I am going to 'The Land of the Long Night'
first, and on my return I will tell you all that I have seen there."
The dear old horse did not know what I was thinking, and was trotting
along--until suddenly he made a sharp turn and entered the post station,
the end of his journey. There I changed horse and vehicle, took some
refreshment, and started again. During the afternoon, I came to the
town of Landskrona. There, looking towards the Sound, I saw a
steamer of the Thingvalla Line gliding over the sea on its way to New
York, and I said aloud, "Steamer, you are not going to take me home
this time. I am going to 'The Land of the Long Night' first, to the land
of snow and of gales, the land of the bear, of the wolf, of the fox, and of
the ermine. Good-bye, good-bye, dear steamer! I hope you will have a
successful passage,