During the summer, which may be reckoned
to last from the middle of May till towards the
latter part of August, the port of Hammerfest
presents a lively appearance. The weather then
is intensely hot, for, as the sun never sets from
July 19th till August 21th, the earth and the
air can never become cool.

"We would recommend the traveller who may
be bound for the far north, to see the midnight
sun, or to place his foot on the extreme verge
of the European continent, not to forget to
bring with him a liberal supply of eau-de-
Cologne. He will find it useful at Hammerfest,
for the whole place reeks with a fishy odour.
There is a tolerable hotel, perhaps rather dear
in its charges; but to be able to drink English
porter, champagne, and even to play billiards
under the same degree of latitude as that which
runs over Disco Island, one must not grumble.

A good deal of eider-down is brought to
Hammerfest for exportation, though not so
much as formerly, owing to the reckless way in
which these birds have been slaughtered. The
Norwegian Storthing has, however, recently
passed a law to protect them. The eider-duck
abounds along the whole coast of Norway.
Generally speaking, they build their nests on
the small islands which fringe the coast, though
they will often repair to the mainland, building
close to the farm-houses and fishermen's huts,
even under the very doorsteps.

The best eider-down is taken from the nests,
which the female bird has plucked from her own
breast. This is termed "live down," in
contradistinction to the "dead down" which is stripped
off the dead bird. A quarter of a century ago,
it was by no means a rarity for small vessels to
bring from five to six thousand pounds of eider-
down to this port from Spitzbergen. The usual
price for eider-down in London is about a
guinea the pound, but I have bought it direct
from Hammerfest at about one quarter the
price.

A great, quantity of multer berries (Rubus
chamæmorus) is exported from Hammerfest,
principally for the Christiania market. These
have a much finer aroma than is the case with
those that are grown in the southern parts of
the country. To give some idea of the importance
in which these fruit are held, it will be
sufficient to mention that the Norwegian
Storthing passed a law in 1854 rendering any one
amenable to a fine who plucked the berries on
the "multer lauds" in Finmark and Nordland,
unless to eat on the spot.

I can scarcely imagine anything but necessity
inducing a man to pitch his tent so far north as
Hammerfest, and yet a friend of mine, who has
lived there several years, declares it to be a
delightful residence, and one which he would on
no account, leave. It should be added, that he
does a large business as a general merchant,
that he has taken unto himself a Norwegian
wife, and has several pledges of affection. From
May 24 to July 19 the sun never sinks below
the horizon, but for a corresponding time in the
winter not a glimpse of him is to be seen. But
it is a mistake to think that even then there is
total darkness during the daytime. At mid-day
it is usually sufficiently light to be able to
read without candles, for the moon and the
slars shine with a much greater brilliancy the
further north one goes; while the reflexion of
the aurora borealis on the snow contributes in
no little degree to illumine the scene. I have
witnessed some very brilliant appearances of the
northern lights in the south of Norway, but have
never been so fortunate as to see them in the far
north. The phenomenon is said to be extremely
beautiful in Finmarken. The following descrip-
tion may serve to give a faint idea: "Across
the sky to the north stretched a white arch of
light, with a span as broad as a rainbow. A
large streak shaped like a comet lay within the
arch, and this was continually changing both its
figure and position. Sun, moon, or stars never
gave so lovely, so hallowed a light." At times
it appears like a curtain of fire falling
perpendicularly to the earth and lifting again; at
others, like a golden shower; or, again, like a
huge fan, displaying all the colours of the rainbow.

During my visit to the north I had occasion
to pass a few days at Hammerfest, waiting for
the steamer round the North Cape. What with
playing billiards and catching codfish, we
managed to pass the time. It is rather good fun
this fishing. They called it "pilking." At the
end of a long plaited horsehair line, several
fathoms in length, a piece of lead is attached,
armed at the extremity with two hooks, like a
gorge bait for pike. It bears the very faintest
resemblance to a small fish, so that it was always
a matter of surprise to us that any fish could
be so stupid as to take it. But codlish are very
stupid creatures, and the Norwegian word for
them, "Torsk," is, perhaps, the most contemptuous
epithet you can apply to any one. The
mode of fishing is as follows: Let the line run
out till it touches the bottom, then raise it three
or four feet, and keep jerking it. Presently
you feel a snatch. Now is the time to draw in
quickly hand over hand. We caught several
fine fellows; the largest, I should think, weighed
fifteen pounds, and it was rare sport, increased,
perhaps, by the fact of my friend B., in a
moment of excitement in pulling up a big one,
losing his balance and toppling overboard.

There were several Lapps in Hammerfest
when we were there, bartering reindeer skins
for the necessaries of life, especially for brandy
and tobacco. They are queer little fellows, more
agreeable at a distance, I am inclined to think. I
speak feelingly, for once I had to pass the night
in a Lapp hut, having been overtaken by a
storm in the interior of Fiumarken. That they
never wash I need scarcely say, but they wear
next the skin a thick woollen jersey, which I feel
convinced is only changed once, and that is
when it is quite worn out, and has to be replaced
by another. It will not, therefore, be a matter
of surprise when I remark that I found them
very lively companions during the night.

It is a strange phenomenon, but I never