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68 TRAVELS
the fame notes. The Laplanders, after exhaufting their breath,
perfeyered in uttering the fame cry in a kind of fainting or fading
voice, as long as there was a particle of air in their lungs. Their
mufic, without meaning and without meafure, time or rythmus,
was terminated only by the total wafte of breath; and the length
of the fong depended entirely on the largenefs of the ftomach,
and the ftrength of the lungs. With all my knowledge of the
mufical art, I was quite reduced to a nonplus amidft thofe mufi-
cians of Lapland; and I envied more than ever the {kill of the
Abbé Renauld; an advantage which would have ftood me in
great ftead in the circumftances in which I was then placed.*
While the Laplanders were uttering cries in the manner juft
defcribed, they articulated certain words, which induced me to
_afk our interpreter their meaning, and whether they were any
verfes or fragments of poetry. But I foon learnt that their ge-
nius for poetry did not tranfcend their turn for mufic. The
words they pronounced in their vociferation were only repetitions
of the fame expreffions over and over again. For example, “ A
good journey, my good gentlemen—gentlemen—gentlemen-—
“« gentlemen—a good journey—journey——_journey—my good gen-
« tlemen—gentlemen—a good journey—journey—journey—jour-
“ ney,’ &c. and fo on as long as they were able to fetch any
breath: when this was exhaufted, the fong was ended.
* The Abbé, in a note under the article Sivan, in that part of Buffon’s work
which treats of birds, affures us very gravely, que les cris des cygnes ef? foumis a un
rithme conftant et reglé a la mefure a deux tems. CEuvres de Buffon, vol. xxiv.
age 25. Edition de Paris, 1783.
pag
CHAPTER
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