s I went along. I wished I could
have found some trousers lined with leather, like those used by cavalry
soldiers and by men who ride much on horseback; these would have lasted
a long time.

The weather was getting colder every day, winter was coming, and we had
had a few falls of snow. I passed Oscarshamn and Westervik, and at last
about the middle of November I arrived in Stockholm. But I had yet to
travel more than nine hundred miles to the north before I came to the
southern border of "The Land of the Long Night."

I had to give up my New York overcoat for warmer clothing and get a new
winter outfit. I bought a long, loose overcoat coming down to my feet.
It was lined throughout with thick, hairy wolf skin, which is said by
the people of the far North to be the warmest lining after the skin of
the reindeer. I also purchased big top-boots lined inside with furry
wolf skin, and a round beaver cap with a border which, when turned down,
protected my ears and came to my eyes. I had besides a big, heavy hood,
lined with fur, to be used when it was very cold. I had a pair of
leather mittens lined inside with fur (mittens keep one's hands much
warmer than gloves, because they are not so tight and they do not impede
the circulation of the blood). The collar of my coat rose above my head
and almost hid my face, and when I wore my hood only my eyes could be
seen. In this winter costume I could drive all day long without feeling
cold.

From Stockholm I drove to Upsala by road--for I did not care for railway
travelling--changing horse and vehicle at every post station. When I
reached Gefle winter had come on in earnest. Now all the houses in the
hamlets and towns which I passed had double windows, and at the bottom,
between the two, a layer of cotton was spread to absorb the moisture.
Instead of sliding sashes, French windows opening like doors are used,
and one of the panes of each is free for ventilation. The rooms were
uncarpeted, just as in summer, but rugs were spread on the floors.

As I drove along it was pleasant to see at the windows, behind the panes
of glass, pots filled with roses, carnations, geraniums, and other
plants, all bending in the direction of the sun. The sun gave scarcely
any heat, yet all the plants in a room liked to look towards the light.

I was always so glad at the end of the day's travelling to rest at a
post station, to enter the "stuga," the every-day room, where the family
lives, and see th