Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Pages ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
OUTHIER’s JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO THE NORTH. 297
at Corten Niemi, and on the mountain: the fhaft of ftone was finifhed, and fecured
with clamps; the fixed telefcope was fet up, and an excellent pendulum of Julien Le
Roi was inits place, on Thurfday night, the thirteenth. The two laft nights there had
been an abundance of rain; this was remarkable, for a very beautiful aurora borealis,
whofe ftreams of light formed at times a vault, gufhing upwards from every fide, and
joining at the zenith: inceflantly they changed their fhape ; in every quarter frefh ones
were thrown out, lefs however in the north than in the other divifions of the fky.
lage of Pello are exempted, for fear of accidents happening from fire, or any other
caufe; and each inhabitant in his turn fucceeds to the exemption. At church the names
of thofe who attend are regiftered, and there are penalties for fuch families as are ab-
fent without fatisfaétory reafon: on thefe days they remain very long at church. At Ofwer
Torneo there were two fucceflive fermons, and the people were in church from nine or
ten in the morning until three in the afternoon.
Saturday, the fifteenth, a man coming from Wardhus, M. Celfius had a long con-
verfation with him: if we had had nothmg elfe to do than to fatisfy our curiofity, he
would have created in us a defire to vifit a country ftill colder and more defart than that
which we were in. ‘There came fome Laplanders, moft frightful figures, to afk charity
of us, crying all the time : they came in without tapping at the door, entering our apart-
ment without ceremony ; and whatever they faid, we could only comprehend the word
Jefou Chriftou, which they repeated pretty often. Some girls of the village who were
betrothed came with their mothers, to beg a few pieces of money towards celebrating
their nuptials. As we paid our workmen well, in fo poor a country, it caufed a high
opinion of our opulence. M. Camus had provided a cafe of drugs and medicines for
our voyage; this made him efteemed throughout the country fome famous phyfician.
A girl who had fallen ill at Torneo, fent an exprefs to Pello to confult him on her com-
plaint, and to requeft the proper remedies : he anfwered with fo much gravity, that fhe
certainly would be cured if all that were wanted in the cure were to {trike the imagina-
tion. Thefe little adventures added to the gaiety which we conftantly enjoyed in midft
of our operations.
The fky was cloudy, and we had not hitherto been able to obferve by ourfixed tele-
{cope the paflage of aftar: neverthelefs the obfervatories were ready on Kittis. Sunday
afternoon, the fixteenth, we placed the fextant in the grand obfervatory ; the weather
continued heavy with a little rain the reft of the day, and all Monday, the feventeenth,
and Tuefday morning, the eighteenth.
Tuefday afternoon it began to be fine, and Mefirs. de Maupertuis, Clairaut, Somme-
reux, and myfelf, went to take a walk ; at night the fky being clear, we obferved the
paflage of the bright part of the Eagle over the threads of the fixed telefcope, which
was faftened to the ftone fhaft. We had fixed another telefcope again{t the planks of
wood, which ferved as a wall to the apartment ; but we very foon perceived that the
wood gave, and that no reliance could be placed on the obfervations made with this
telefcope.
During the night there were aurore boreales, and it froze. Wednefday, the nine-
teenth, the weather changed, the wind got round to the fouth, it was mifty, with an
appearance of fnow. It rained very hard during the night, fo that no opportunity
offered of obferving an eclipfe of the moon: we only began at a quarter paft four on
VOL. I. QQ Thurfday
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
