"I have," replied the surgeon. "Several years ago I went from Copenhagen to Christiania, rode across the country in a cariole to Bergen, and from there made the trip by steamer to the North Cape, where I saw the sun at midnight. I came by steamer along the coast to Frederiksværn, and from there to Gottenburg, and through Sweden. At Stockholm I embarked in the steamer Aura, which starts at two o'clock in the morning now, as she did then." "I went on board of a steamer of the same line in Stockholm--I forget her name." "Perhaps the Grefve Berg, which is the best one. The other two are the Dagmar and the Wyborg. The trip in one of these vessels to St. Petersburg is a very delightful one. She arrives at this place the first day, and spends the night here; the second day she goes to Helsingfors, and the third to Wyborg, arriving at St. Petersburg in the forenoon of the fourth day. Nearly the whole voyage is made among the islands, which, almost without an exception, are as silent and still as those we have visited. She stays long enough at these Finnish towns to enable one to see them. The steamers are Finnish, the captains of them speak English, and the table on board is very good. The fare is twenty rubles--meals extra." "Did you go into the interior?" "Yes; I went as far as the group of lakes in the centre of the country, and had some capital fishing there. I rode in a cariole, like those in use in Norway. But some people use a _kabitka_, which is a cart, very long and narrow, with a leather covering over about one half of its length. In the bottom of the vehicle, which has no springs, there is a quantity of hay or straw, or a feather bed, on which the traveller stretches himself; but it is very hard riding, for the roads are rough, and the hills are full of sharp pitches. All expenses are about six cents a _verst_." "How much is a verst?" asked the captain. "Two thirds of a mile; or, more exactly, .6626 of a mile. Three versts are two miles. Travelling in Finland is rather exciting at times, for the horses rush at full gallop down the hills and over sharp pitches. But the roads are pretty good, and an average speed of ten miles an hour may be attained." "How could you get along without the language?" "I picked, up a few words, which I have forgotten, and had no trouble at all. I went to Tavastehus, which is on one of the vast chain of lakes in the interior of Finland. Small steamers ply upon them; and a trip by water in this region is very pleasant. There is now a railroad from this town to Helsingfors." "There seems to be some business even in this out-of-the-way part of the world," said Lincoln, as the squadron of boats passed a series of buildings. "Those are government works--founderies and machine shops."