Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

One mile and a quarter before we reached Fahlun, we turned a little out of the road, to visit the house in which Gustavus Vasa remained con

cealed, and whence he afterwards effected his escape, by means of a privy. It is at a place called Stora Ornås. This house is now the property of a Colonel in the Swedish service, who has been at great pains and expense to preserve, as much as possible in its pristine state, this asylum of the great father of the Swedish Kings. They shewed to us the chamber and bed in which he slept; his clothes, weapons, coat of mail, and many other things, even to his watch and his Bible. His watch and coat of mail appeared to us to be the most curious reliques. The watch was of an oval shape, but the figures upon it were like those now in use. The coat of mail was like the armour used by the Circassians; and

[blocks in formation]

ensign of office in the village; that he who had it in possession, pro tempore, was the Chief, the Civil Governor of the village, which consisted of ten families, each of which had its own distinguishing mark ;—that upon any very public and important emergency, which demanded the collected wisdom and experience of the heads of the families to decide upon, this stick was sent round to each family; and every head of a house, upon seeing his family-mark, immediately repaired to the house of him in whose custody the stick had been consigned, and there they all held their deliberations. In case they do not attend the summons, they are severally fined. No money therefore could have purchased it; and that which I at first regarded as an object of amusement, I found to be held an object of veneration." -Dr. Lee's MS. Journal.

CHAP.
IX.

was perhaps manufactured in Mount Caucasus, where the natives still sell such articles of their manufacture to the Russians. It is a shirt of twisted mail, fitting close to the body, through which no common weapon could penetrate. We found the weight of it by no means insupportable for men of much less prowess than was the hero to whom it belonged. Upon a table in the room were laid several books illustrating the history of Gustavus Vasa and of the province of Dalecar lia. This chamber was ornamented with portraits, very indifferently executed, of the Kings and Queens of Sweden since the time of Gustavus Vasa. There was also an immense genealogical-tree, exhibiting their pedigree. In the same room were figures, as large as life, representing the Dalecarlians according to their antient mode of dress, with high-crowned hats, white woollen clothes, and trowsers tied above the knee; bearing in their hands cross-bows, and having each a knife and a grease-pot suspended from a belt. These, they said, were the images of the very peasants who assisted Gustavus Fasa in making his escape. They were represented with long beards, and reminded us of some of the natives of the Swedish Alps which we had seen in the province of Herjeâdalen. Here there is also an effigy of Gustavus Vasa himself, placed

IX.

beneath a canopy; and also of his page or СНАР. esquire, in complete armour. The bed and the canopy terminate upwards in a point, upon which is placed a coronet. The complete preservation of this building will shew to what a length of time the wooden houses of Sweden may be made to last, if they be kept dry and in good repair.

to Fahlun.

From Stora Ornås to Fahlun, the roads, at this Approach season of the year (November), are not good; owing, as we supposed, to the very considerable traffic which is carried on, in consequence of the mines, and the heavy burdens made to pass and repass. Upon our right appeared beautiful views of the Lake Runn. Just before we arrived at Fahlun, we had a prospect of the town, with all the buildings, machinery, and other works belonging to its antient mine; but in the midst of such columns of smoke, and fumes of sulphur, that it seemed as if the great bed of the Solfaterra, near Naples, had taken flight and settled in Sweden. As we descended towards the town, the houses appeared like so many tarred boxes, in the midst of a bleak and barren soil. We passed under the enormous moving levers which are employed in working the pumps. The wheels giving motion to these levers are kept in covered buildings: they are moved by over-shot falls of

CHAP.
IX.

External aspect of its CopperMine.

water, brought from the Lake Runn. The road leading into the town passes close to the edge of the stupendous crater which is now the mouth of its famous copper-mine. We shall say much more of it in the next chapter. Considered only as to its external aspect, it is one of the most surprising artificial excavations which exist in the world. Knowing of no other work of a similar nature with which to compare it, we shall call in the aid of the pencil to supply the deficiencies of verbal description: but the ingenious artist who has afforded to us the means of doing this, is himself unequal to the task of representing a scene of so much fearful grandeur. All the magnitude of this amazing result of human labour loses much of its effect by that minuteness of detail which is necessary to a faithful representation of the machinery belonging to the mine. While we are forced to acknowledge this striking defect in the best drawing we could procure of the Fahlun mine, we are consoled with the reflection, that even this will be deemed by our Readers much better than if no representation whatever were given of a work so repowned, and a scene so remarkable.

[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Antiquity of the Fahlun Mine-Assessor Gahn-Copperore-Decent into the mine-Conflagration-Method of excavating the ore-Manner in which it is found deposited-Accident which caused the present Crater-Tradition of the miners-Appearance of the descent-Names of the different openings-Increase of temperature in the lower chambers-View of the bed of fire-Councilchamber-Subterraneous stables-Stalactites of greenvitriol-Pumps-Mode of dividing the ore-Value of

the

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »