The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE SWEDES AND NORWEGIANS. 115the peninsula, for the old " Red Beard " forbade its profanation by manual labour.Whoso was born on Thursday had the gift of seeing the ghosts of the departed,and allincantations, to be efficacious, had to be performed on that day, but not sothe Christian rites attending births, deaths, and marriages, showing that the daydedicated to the old Thunder god is still held as pagan. Finn Magnusen tells usthat till the close of last century the custom survived in some Norwegian uplandvalleys of worshipping certain round stones on Thursday, which were smearedwith butter and placed on fresh straw in the seat of honour at the head of thetable. At fixed times they were washed in milk, and at Christmas sprinkled withbeer, in the hope of bringing luck to the domestic hearth.The Swedes and Norwegians.Coming from the shores of the Euxine and Danube, the Gotar and Svear, nowcollectively grouped as Scandinavians, had to cross half of Europe before reachingtheir northern homes. It has often been suggested that the migration flowedthrough North Russia and Finland—a view, however, which is not supported bythe arms and implements found in these regions. The people seem rather to havecome from the south-east and south to Denmark, passing thence first to Scania,and so on to Norway and North Sweden. Thus, while the Lapps and Finnspenetrated from the north, the Teutons arrived from the opposite extremity of thepeninsula.The Gotar, or Goths, were the first conquerors. These were followed by theSvear, or sons of the " blessed Ases," who, passing over the southern parts alreadyoccupied by the Goths, gradually overran the rest of the land, and their Asgard,shifting with each migration, was ultimately fixed in the centre of the country.The difference existing between the two groups is still very perceptible both intheir speech and customs, though scarcely to an appreciable extent in the form ofthe cranium and general physical type.Here, as elsewhere, the essential physicaldifferences are due rather to the manner of life than to origin. The typicalSwedish head, as described by A. Retzius and Nilsson, is a lengthened oval,slightly broader behind than in front, but rounded off on either side, greatest lengthand breadth standing in the ratio of 4 to 3 or 9 to 7.The Dalecarlian, or native of Dalarne, Upper Dal basin, is usually taken asrepresenting the purest type of the Svear, who have given their name to theSvenskar, or Swedes of our day. He is generally tall, slim, and lithe, with noblefeatures animated by beautiful deep blue eyes, and expanding to a broad, openbrow. He is unobtrusively courteous, cheerful without excess, firm withoutviolence. Honesty above all proof may be said to be the stock in trade broughtwith them by the thousands of Dalecarlians who come to settle in Stockholm,where they are employed in all work needing strength or skill.They are everywhererecognised, even at a distance, by the bright colours of their national dress.The Swedes differing most from the Dalecarlians are those of the lowlands, whooften wear a serious, almost stern expression.