A Winter Jaunt to Norway, with accounts of Nansen, Ibsen, etc

Front matter

a A WINTER JAUNT TO NORWAY By MRS. ALEC TWEEDIE (nee HARLEY) By THE SAME A UTHOR A GIRL'S RIDE IN ICELAND "A most attractive little volume, wherein Mrs. Alec Tweedie gives a spirited account of a spirited jaunt. . . . Mrs. Tweedie has persuaded her father, Dr. George Harley, F.R.S., to add a chapter on Geysers, which forms an instructive and valuable appendix to this charming little book. " — Athenæum. "A pleasant volume of travelling impressions, given in unpretending and workmanlike style by the author. A great deal of useful information and shrewd observation is brought together in compact space." — Graphic. "Mrs. Alec Tweedie is the authoress of this pleasing and instructive account of a tour round this remote island in the Arctic Circle. . . . She rode her pony, in a masculine attitude, to the Geysers and back, 160 miles, in four days, which, for a lady, seems to us to be a remarkable feat." — Illustrated London News.

"This account of an autumn trip to an unhackneyed land is much better worth reading than many more pretentious volumes. . . . The authoress has an eye for what is worth seeing, a happy knack of graphic description, and a literary style which is commendably free from adjectival exuberance." — Morning Post. "I can thoroughly recommend 'A Girl's Ride in Iceland.' It is a bright, direct, unaffected, and charming little work." — Truth. "... Many interesting details of the history and social life of the Icelanders are set forth in a pleasant, chatty style by the spirited and observant lady who rode 160 miles like a man." — St. James's Gazette. THE OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY ". . . Will be a most useful pocket companion to tourists and pilgrims who hope to attend the representation." — Times. SKI DRESS.

A By WINTER JAUNT MRS. ALEC .,_ TO TWEEDIE (nle HARLEY) NORWAY WITH ACCOUNTS OF NANSEN, IBSEN, BJORNSON, BRANDES, AND MANY OTHERS. TWENTY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON 15, CRAVEN STREET BLISS SANDS AND STRAND, W.C. 1894 FOSTER All rights reserved

Preface

. A couple of visits to Norway in winter, a season during which that country has hitherto been practically unknown to Englishmen, have left most vivid impressions on my mind. That this attempt to reproduce those im pressions is inadequate and faulty, I am sadly aware, for no language at my command could describe the splendour of that glorious land when clothed with snow and glistening with icicles. I trust, however, all my readers will pardon my deficiencies, and feel interested in my sketches of Ibsen, Bjornson, Nansen, Brandes, Sars, Rink, and various others, and that some may even feel sufficiently pleased with the account of what we beheld to go and see such wondrous scenes for themselves. Many of the following pages of our travels

PREFACE.

. VI have previously appeared in print, and are now issued in book form through the courtesy of the respective proprietors and editors of Temple Bar, Murray's Magazine, The Field, The Sketch, The Queen, etc. Already parties are being formed to spend a portion of this winter in Norway and join in " One of the World's Sports." I earnestly trust these travellers may prove as fortunate in their experiences as our small band chanced to be. We not only saw wonderful scenery, but were privileged to meet most interesting people — people never to be forgotten ; mental giants fitly framed by the enchanting beauty of their native land. Many of the illustrations are taken from pictures by Norway's best artists, such as Erik Werenskiold, Axel Endir, Fritz Thaulow, and Tiedermann, by whose generous permission they are reproduced from photographs by Abel of Christiania. For the cordial help given to me, I beg to return my most grateful thanks. E. B. T. London, December, 1S93. PAGE 1 2 6 CONTENTS.

Chapter I. An Adventurous Journey

Off at last — Severe winter — Means of exploding ice — An ice-boat — Collision with an ice-floe — Ice-boat sledging — Slipping into a crack — A strange encampment — Swedish girl — Christiania — Fog and sleighs — Drive in fairyland — A trotting-match on the ice — Eyeless fish — Market-women — Snow woman — How we missed a court ball — Viking ship

Chapter II. First Peep At Norwegian Life

Sledge-drive — Upset — Thermometer two degrees above zero — Old and modern farmhouses — Bridal crowns — Weddings — First walk on ski — Norwegian room and "peis" — Kjœlke-riding — Ladies' ski dress — " Smor brod " — Torchlight descent on kjcelke — A romantic incident ... CONTENTS. VIII PAGE 41 54 -1 84

Chapter III. One Of The World's Sports

Ski (snow-shoes) — Shape and use — Ski boots — Absolute necessity for ski — The Norwegian Derby — Procession thither — Ski race for speed — Mode of manipulation for men and women — Time and distance — Soldiers in ski — Jumping competition — Broken ski and falls — Jump of eighty-eight feet

Chapter IV. Life And Customs

Honefos waterfalls — A love scene — Glass coffins — A tricky pony — Charms of winter in Norway — Aurora — Pillion on ski — Peasants'_/tV<* — Wonderful linguists — A dinner-party — Old silver — The menu — Health-drinking — " Storthing" — -Norwegian names — Schools

Chapter V. An Incident In

A RAILWAY CARRIAGE. Market-day — Two types of men — Slowness versus sharpness — A bartered watch — A primitive meal — Much discussion — An amusing meal — Kongsberg — Norwegian foods — Soap or cheese ?

Chapter VI. Up Country

Fishing on the ice — Frozen moustaches — Icicle dog — Yards of icicles — Snowdrift — Turn over — Nearly turned back — Dragging pine-trees — Horse's snowshoes — The fur trade — A bear-hunt — Bolkesjo CONTENTS. IX PAGE 98 112

Chapter VII. The Tellemachen Valley

Pretty girl's dress — Frozen luggage — The kitchen and its arrangements — Mine host — Appellations— Resemblance to Icelanders— Horses — First lady visitors for four months — " Spidsslœde" — Sitting astride one — Postman on ski — Elk and bear track — Wind — Frostbitten ear — Simultaneous sunset and moonrise —Benumbed with cold-*-An ice-pudding

Chapter VIII. Odds And Ends

Sunday — Snowflakes — Folk going to church — Stavekirker — Carvings — Detached belfry — Probable origin same as Mahomedan — The service — Funeral cortege — Highland and Norwegian similarity of custom — A Highland wake — Remnants of Catholicism — Dread of the dead — Burning the death-bed — Belief in the " evil eye " — Norwegian wake — Friends' contributions — Feasting and revelry — Lap dogs — Feeding frozen-out birds — Man from Manitoba — A quaint hostelry — Telephones — Weaving

Chapter IX. Peep At

A SILVER MINE. Few in Europe — How discovered — Quantity of silver found — Hideously unbecoming garments — Considerate photography — Piece of silver value ,£1300 — Silver process — Dark ride on a truck — -Two and X CONTENTS. PAGE 127 140 166 a half miles into the earth — A strange letter — End less ladders — Blasting — Men at work — Movable ladders — A refreshing draught .. .

Chapter X. How We Reached The Saeter

A saeter — Dr. Nansen detained — Our party — Bergen post — A strange lake — A talkative lady — Attempts to make her understand — A practical joke — An ice-bridge — Farm kitchen — Lengthy discussions — Ascent nearly abandoned— A pedlar — Our costumes — Steps cut in the snow — A primitive meal — On ski — First view of the saeter — Disappeared into a snowdrift— Arrived at last !

Chapter XI. Life In

A SAETER. Clearing the balcony — The rooms — Our cook — His menu — Everything frozen — Northern lights — Aurora — A storm — Locked in — A walk on ski — Four thousand feet above the sea — Suitable climate for bronchitis — Races and tumbles — Farewell to the saeter

Chapter XII. Dr

NANSEN AT HOME. Colder than Greenland — His welcome — No top coat — Description of Nansen — A party and his knowledge of English* — Fru Nansen— The Nansens' delight in music — Undecided whether to take his wife on the CONTENTS. XI PAGE 180 217 245 North Pole Expedition — Nansen's drawing-room — Otto Sinding — Dining-room — Original pictures of Greenland — Nansen's own den — His work-table — A French lady's offer — Samples of food — Clothing for the Expedition — Map for cargo — Greenland relics — Eskimo — Sad death on ski — Kaiaks CHAPTER XIIT. DR. NANSEN'S SHIP AND PLANS. How he came to be an explorer — Build of ship — Ticket with the ice — Extra boats — Probability of walking across the Pole — A good photographer — The men of the Polar Expedition — The cabins— The library— A sleeping-pocket — Locked in — The object of the Expedition — -The ice-current — Nipped in the ice-ring — Nansen's enthusiasm— The start from Christiania — Nansen alone on the bridge ...

Chapter XIV. Henrik Ibsen

His study — Description of Ibsen — Excellent German scholar — Admiration of Englishmen — His correspondence — Ibsen's fetichism — Love of pictures — His own work — Ibsen on heredity — His early life and subsequent career— " Brand "—" Peer Gynt" — Camilla Collette — Ibsen's present life

Chapter XV. Bjornstjerne Bjornson

Invited to a supper-party through the telephone — The Sars family— A delightful evening— Excellent music CONTENTS. XII PAGE 266 287 300 —Norwegian politics and Bjornson's position — An enthusiast on many subjects— Personal appearance —Love of music— Disciple of Herbert Spencer- Digging — Early youth — Wanderings — Present life — Mode of writing— Eldest son Bjorn — Actor-manager —"Peer Gynt"

Chapter XVI. Georg Brandes

Copenhagen — Brandes the critic — His study — Its occupant — A strange translation — Political and social position — Writings — High appreciation of Ibsen — Present life — Danish butter trade — Enormous exports to England — Combined labour — Success — A million eggs reach England daily — Our farmers' lethargy

Chapter XVII. Latest News Of Dr

NANSEN. Auspicious start — Kara Sea clear — Great current changed N.N.W.- — Probably not necessary to go to New Siberian Islands — Professor Seebohm agrees with the current theory — Success of the Fram — Wonderful capabilities — Captain Sverdrup — Nansen's account of his sledge-dogs — Former Polar expeditions — Cairns left in case of necessity — A search-party — Summing up — Nansen's only fear — A peep in the cabin — Farewell LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Author in Ski Dress ... ... Frontispiece Viking Ship ... ... ... ... ... i Ice Boat ... ... ... ... To face 8 Trotting Match over Ice ... ... „ 18 Bridal Crown ... ... ... ... ,, 31 Peise Stube. From a painting by Axel Endir „ 34 Procession of Peasants. From a painting by Fritz Thaulow ... ... ... ... „ 41 Jumping in Ski. By Lancelot Speed ... „ 49 Children in Ski ... ... ... ... „ 68 Icicle Dog.

By Dr. Julius Nicolaysen ... ... 84 Room at Bolkesj0... ... ... To face 98 Old Norwegian Church ... ... ,, 112 Church Service. From a painting by Tiedemann ,, 115 Peasant's Funeral (Summer). From a painting by Erik Werenskiold ... ... ... ,, 116 Arrival at Saeter. By the Author ... „ 140 Inside the Saeter. By the Author ... ... „ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE House at Lysaker ... ... ... To face 180 Fridtjof Nansen ... ... ... ... „ 182 Nansen at Work ... ... ... „ 201 The "Fram" ... ... ... ... „ 217 Henrik Ibsen ... ... ... ... ,, 245 Bjornstjerne Bjornson. From a painting by Erik Werenskiold ... ... ... „ 266 Bjorn Bjornson as "Peer Gynt" „ 2*4 Georg Brandes ... ... ... ... t 287 Map of Nansen's Route ... ... ;| 300 Cover designed by George Milligan

Chapter I. An Adventurous Journey

Norway in winter ! Yes, Norway in winter. Norway covered with snow and ice ; its rivers, fjords, waterfalls and lakes all frozen ; its moun tains cloaked with purest snow ; its people swathed in fur. When securing our tickets for this distant land, the clerk laughed at the idea of two ladies going at all, as none but commercial travellers ever venture there between October and May. Nothing daunted, we (my sister and I) paid our money and left the office with repeated h assurances from the clerk that the Kiel-Korsor route was reopened after the long-continued ice block. Arrived at Victoria, our luggage safely regis tered (for the small sum of fourpence, the whole journey to Christiania, a distance of about thirteen hundred miles), we had taken our seats in a first class carriage and were quietly chatting, when two men suddenly arrived, almost breathless, at the door.

" Are you the ladies who have registered for Christiania ? " inquired one of the strangers. " Yes," we replied. " I'm very sorry, madam, but we have just received orders not to book you through." Was this a case of mistaken identity ? Were they detectives, or what ? " Why not ? " we inquired. " Because it is wired that Kiel is again closed by ice," he replied. We breathed again. It was all right, and yet it was all wrong. What were we to do ? Risk being turned back from Kiel we certainly would not, so out of the train we jumped, and just succeeded in securing our luggage, before the Flushing mail left the platform. In calmer moments we learnt that a wire had been received by the railway officials not to book further than Hamburg, and, as they imagined ice must be the cause, they thought it right to let us know.

Before leaving the station we telegraphed to friends in Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Christiania, with the result that the following morning we received three telegrams to say the route, after all, was open ; so we started again the same night. Few English people are aware of the dangers and difficulties experienced by the boats that traverse the Baltic during the winter. The winter of 1892-93 was unusually severe. For nearly a month the great German naval station of Kiel had been so completely ice-bound, that no vessel had been able to enter or leave its harbour ; but the moment the milder weather set in, an artificial passage had been made in the ice by the aid of dynamite. Making this passage-way through the ice had cost the town of Kiel nearly ten thousand marks, although the work had been done by a regiment of marines, under the superintendence of their own officers.

A series of small wooden buckets were filled with a certain amount of the explosive, and then placed in a straight line on the ice, at intervals of about three hundred feet. They were connected by a metallic wire, when a single electric spark was sufficient to explode them, and what had been a solid sheet of ice was, in a moment, rent asunder. Once the passage was completed — a matter of some days' work — ice breakers were continually employed up and down the channel to keep it open. Like all the Baltic boats, those running between Kiel and Korsor in winter are specially built to encounter ice, and consequently are not beautiful in shape or large in size, though admir ably suited for the purpose. We arrived at Kiel at midnight, expecting to go straight on board ; but the captain had decided it was too dangerous to venture at night, and that he would not make the attempt until the morrow.

This was only the second time the boat had attempted to cross. We were terribly late in starting from Kiel, for the parcel-post had been so long interrupted (over a month), that there were an unusually large number of packets. The parcels were quite a sight. They filled the hold, they covered the deck — they were everywhere. There were parcels of every shape and every size. At last they were all arranged on board, and a curious cracked old bell warned us we were really off on our adventurous voyage. The whole arm of the sea had been one frozen mass, right down the middle of which there was now a channel. Although this passage itself was fairly open, on either side a field of ice still remained, over which we could have walked or driven to the shore. Crack, crack, crack went the floating masses of ice on every side as the ship ploughed its way through them.

The cracking sound was exactly like the breaking of china, though of course much louder. It was beautiful to watch the wash from the steamer ; ofttimes the blocks of ice were quite raised from the water, and balanced for a moment in the air, only to disappear with a plunge beneath the surface of the water, whence they rose again in a moment, to join the vast floating mass. We passed a lighthouse surrounded by acres of ice, and saw the lighthouse men pulling their boat as if it were a sledo-e over the frozen mass, gaily singing the while. All were well protected from the cold, wearing not only fur caps, but huge fur collars, which completely covered their ears. Gradually we emerged from the bluff cliffs of floating ice, and sped along briskly through the open sea. Every one went to luncheon, and we were quietly enjoying a fairly well-served meal, when, with a terrific bang and crash, the whole ship quivered from stem to stern under the effects of a collision.

What could it be ? Of course there was an immediate rush on deck. Then the mystery was explained, for, lo and behold ! we had run into, and were entirely surrounded by a floe of unbroken ice. Imagine the sudden disappear ance of the whole sea, and nothing but solid ice left in its stead ! That such an encounter had not been ex pected we soon learned, and that it was a moment of some peril we soon saw, from the anxious faces of the four men on the bridge, who incessantly used their glasses in the hope of discovering an opening through which we might steer with safety. So extensive was this ice-field, reaching as far as the eye could see, it seemed as if it would be impossible to penetrate it. The steamer was coated with metal, and her bow was so arranged with a curious upturned knife, that, as she " skated " on to the ice, if one might use such a term, she broke the frozen mass.

These huge broken masses, often thirty or forty feet broad and two or three feet deep, rose up on either side of her like veritable walls, and as she passed on, closed in behind her again, until we saw no sea, nothing but ice, ice, ice everywhere. Our ship literally trembled in the process, while the sound of the cracking mass was quite bewildering. At times the little vessel made no way at all, and shivered from end to end in her fruitless endeavours. When this happened we stopped, reversed engines, and after going backwards a few paces, plunged with renewed force into the ice again. The sensation was extraordinary ; but where the frozen mass was very thick, this proved the only way of making any impression. This backing process was often repeated, and so successfully, that in about two hours and a half we had crossed the ice-floe, and were in fairly clear water again.

It was indeed a novel experience, although a somewhat anxious one ; but all new experiences are worth having, although not necessarily worth repeating. Our troubles, alas ! did not end here. We slept at Copenhagen, and received such grue some accounts of the ice in the Sound between Denmark and Sweden that we feared even now we should be turned back. No boats were running, nor was there any likelihood of their doing so, and consequently the only way to cross the Cattegat was in little sledge-boats drawn by men or on our own feet. When we arrived at Elsinore in the morning we found quite a number of people waiting to cross the Belt with the post convoy. Some of them had already waited a day in consequence of fog and bad weather; but it was now clear and bright, and the guides and the boats were ready to take us across.

There was a good deal of packing and arranging to be gone through before we were ready, and much time had to be devoted to the security of the mail-bags. All the sailors wore very thick jerseys, enormous woollen scarves, some of which were of that saffron colour so loved by the Icelanders, and the curious double-thumbed gloves also peculiar to Ultima Thule. All had fur-lined top-boots, and over the boot a sort of iron stirrup, with two huge spikes under the feet to prevent slipping on the ice. Five men were told off to each boat, to which they were regularly harnessed. These tub-like craft were a sort of whale-boat, pointed at both ends. The keel was rounded off so as to be more easily turned on the ice. The oars were lashed across the boat in the middle, and a man at each side was able, by holding them, to keep her on her keel.

AN ICE-BOAT. Two men were harnessed to either side of the bowsprit to steer. There were six boats, in single file, with a considerable space left between every two, and in front of each couple walked a guide with a long pole, with which he tested the strength of the ice before allowing his train of boats to follow. The women, the post bags, and the luggage were placed in the boats, and the men passengers, having invested in rush shoes, walked behind in solemn file. It was, indeed, a curious procession. Old women com pletely rolled up in shawls and furs ; children enveloped in wolf-skins, till the existence of the child became a mystery ; men in huge fur-lined coats, with the collars turned up and the hats turned down, till nothing but the eyes were visible ; and yet other men who had donned the conventional top hat of civilization.

Every one looked very cold, and many not a little anxious. It was a lovely morning, with a beautiful blue sky and a bright sun, which threw lights and shades of almost every hue over the snowy ice. As we left the shore the surface was smooth and easy walking, but as we advanced we came into pack ice, which was heaped up in irregular masses ; and besides being most difficult to walk over was ofttimes very wet. We could but marvel at the strength and skill of the sailors, who managed to pull these lumbersome ice-boats along such an uneven path, for often the blocks of ice lying on the surface were two and sometimes three feet thick, and the boats had continually to be pulled over them, and yet these men kept on their way securely, while the foot-passengers were tumbling about in every direction.

We had been going along fairly quietly for a time, when suddenly we noticed one of the guides ahead gesticulating violently with his long pole. His gesticulations unhappily were not in time to save the first boat of the procession from slip ping into an ice crack, which immediately opened under the weight and let the boat into the water. The occupants, luckily for them, remained dry, but the unfortunate sailors walking at her sides got a ducking. Consternation for a moment reigned. All the boats stopped, and the men, unharnessing themselves, went off at once to their comrades' assistance. This caused some delay, but the boat was ultimately hauled on to the ice again, and no one was any the worse for the little adventure, except the poor men, whose wet clothes were frozen stiff in a few minutes.

Presently, when one of the boats caught on an ice-block, the men again had to assist, and the foot-passengers joined them in pushing and pulling hard. With the combined force the boat got loose and spun away over the ice almost too fast for the men harnessed to her. The women sat with bated breath, or screamed, according to their temperaments, and every one felt what a dangerous proceeding it all was. The water was so frozen that, by zigzagging so as to avoid the cracks, we were able to keep entirely on the ice, instead of having to put our boats in the water, as sometimes happens. About five miles out we passed quite a little encampment. A boat turned on her side and covered with canvas formed the shelter of some half-dozen men, who by means of flags were able to communicate with either shore ; thus report ing ice, or clear water, the advent of ice-floes from the north, or fogs creeping up, as the case might be.

They had been there for many days, and seemed quite happy in their icy home. We learnt that several venturesome people, thinking they could cross the ice without guides, had started on foot alone. Sudden fog or storm arising, they had lost their way, or, becoming fatigued, had sat down to rest, and been frozen into their eternal sleep. Others had slipped and lost their lives in the cracks. Two or three such deaths were matters of weekly occurrence during the severe winter of 1892-93. Although the journey by sea had been miser ably cold and extremely dangerous, the journey by land from Helsingborg to Christiania was delightful. The Swedish railway carriages are perfect. Large, light, and well ventilated, they are agreeably warmed in the winter, have thick curtains at the doors, and double windows, electric light, excellent lavatories, and passengers can walk from one end of the train to the other.

The windows are double, an absolute necessity, as a single pane is not only draughty, but, from the heat within and the cold without, becomes so opaque that it is impossible to see through it. The first-class compartments have armchairs which pull out and form beds at night, without any extra charge, and the military-looking con ductor, who is too great a swell to accept a tip, and generally can speak German or English as well as his own language, brings pillows and blankets, and makes up these comfortable beds in the most improved fashion. As the trains move very slowly, and do not shake, a really comfortable night can be passed in them. Through Sweden the snow only lay in patches, so we were dragged along by an ordinary engine ; but when we awoke next morning in Norway, a snow-plough preceded us, like those used in America.

It brushed the snow back on either side of the engine until in many places, from the constant working of the plough, it was standing as high as a wall to right and left of the train. In some parts, where there is a strong wind, the snow is blown into unmanageable drifts ; to prevent which wooden barriers, standing ten or twelve feet high, and a few feet back from the rails, have been erected. Consequently for miles at a time one often steams past these barriers, against which tons upon tons of snow lie piled. Meals are well arranged at railway stations in Sweden, where the train always stops opposite the refreshment-room, on the door of which the hungry traveller joyfully discerns the word " Matsal." At Halmstad it was a nice room with a long table in the middle, and small ones all round, spread with snowy linen and glasses.

On the centre table were several hot and cold dishes, with piles of knives, forks, spoons, and plates beside them. It was four o'clock, and having breakfasted in Copenhagen at nine, we were consequently very hungry. We did not under stand we were to fetch our own knives and forks and help ourselves, until a very pretty fellow passenger said, " I guess you don't comprehend our fashions. You must just pick for yourselves." We took the hint, and helping ourselves to steaming soup, bore it off to a little table, then fetched hot cod with excellent sauce, followed by veal, potatoes, and artichokes, finishing with stewed prunes and cream. This well-cooked repast, with a bottle of Swedish beer, cost rather less than two kroner, or two shillings each, which is paid at the door on entering. We were only given twenty minutes, but everything being ready, this time proved ample.

We found our pretty girl was a Swede, returning from a couple of years' visit to friends in America, whose intonation she had picked up to perfection. She was alone, so we per suaded her to come into our compartment as far as Gottenburg, which was her destination. She amused us much. Her comments on America were delightful, and her excitement on being in her own land again tremendous. Indeed, before we reached Gottenburg, she became so impatient we could hardly get her to sit still, and, as the engine steamed into the station, she vaulted from the high steps into her mother's arms while the train was yet moving. It was very pretty to see her joy and delight at being at home again, and we quite regretted parting with such an unsophisticated companion. It was a bitter cold, foggy morning when we alighted at the Christiania station.

To our surprise, we found a regular London fog, thick and black. Fancy travelling thirteen hundred miles to find a peasoup effect similar to that we had left behind in London. These fogs are not common, we learnt, but occur sometimes in winter from the proximity of the ice, and also because Christiania is a manufacturing town, and lies in a hollow. We were greeted by a darkness which at least made us feel at home, though happily we never saw another fog, and were always charmed with brilliant blue skies. We were met by our brother, Dr. Vaughan Harley, and his friend, Professor Dr. Torup, who had come to the station at six a.m. to bid us a kindly welcome to the Norwegian capital. The luggage was soon passed by a very polite, fur-coated, and fur-capped Custom-house officer, and we turned to the street to find a cab.