s and downs singularly varied in outline and
picturesque at every point of view. Beyond the main part of the town,
toward the interior, the country is mountainous, and covered for the
most part with dense forests of pine. Cultivation has made but little
progress beyond the immediate suburbs. A few miles from the waters of
the bay the eye rests upon an apparently untrodden wilderness of rocky
heights and pine forests, and toward the Gulf nothing can exceed the
desolate grandeur of the scene. Rock-bound islands, upon which the
surf breaks with an unceasing moan; points and promontories covered
with dark forests; a rugged coast, dimly looming through the mist;
innumerable sea-gulls whirling and screaming over the dizzy pinnacles,
are its principal features. While I was seated on a bank of moss near
the Observatory, enjoying the beauties of the scene, strains of music
were wafted up on the breeze from the shady recesses of the Botanical
Gardens, toward which I saw that the citizens were wending their way.
It was Sunday, which here as well as in Germany is a day of
recreation. I took a by-path and speedily joined the crowd. The people
of every degree are well dressed and respectable, and I was somewhat
surprised to find so much politeness, cultivation, and intelligence in
such an out-of-the-way part of the world. The music was excellent, and
the display of style and fashion in the gardens was quite equal to any
thing I had seen in my European travels. From what little I saw of the
Finns, I was greatly prepossessed in their favor. They seem to me to
be a primitive, substantial, and reliable race, strong in their
affections, kind and hospitable toward strangers, amiable and
inoffensive, yet brave and patriotic--hating the Russians with a
cordiality truly refreshing. I formed a casual acquaintance with
several of them during my rambles about the Garden. No sooner did they
discern my nationality than they gave me to understand that their
Constitution had been violated, their liberties trampled under foot,
their rights disregarded, and their patience under all these injuries
misconstrued. "We only await an opportunity," they said, "to prove to
the world that we are still a free-born people. The time is not
distant. In the heart of every Finn burns the spirit of a freeman and
a patriot! We are not a race doomed to slavery. You who are an
American can understand us! We only want a chance to cast off the
chains of despotism which now