Throughout Russia all classes salute each other by kissing. “When a lady would only courtesy a welcome in England, she must kiss it in Russia;” and if a man salutes her in this way, she must on no occasion refuse to return it. The higher classes, both in Denmark and Sweden, imitate the French manners and customs very closely. The ladies generally have the northern physiognomy; viz. fair complexion, light hair, blue eyes, and a mild, clear expression. They have little of the ardor of the Italians, or the vivacity of the French. Ambition is more easily excited in their breasts than love. Their manners are modest and reserved. Gallantry toward ladies is not the characteristic of any of the northern nations. The Swedes are generally industrious and sincere, and perhaps there is no country in the world where women perform so much and such various labor. They serve the bricklayers, carry burdens, row boats, thresh grain, and manage the plough. Swedish children are wrapped up in bandages like cylindrical wicker baskets, to keep them straight, from one to eighteen months old. They are suspended from pegs in the wall, or laid in any convenient part of the room, where they remain in great silence and good humor. M’Donald, in his Travels, says, “I have not heard the cries of a child since I came to Sweden.” Travellers in these northern countries are surprised to see women drink strong, spirituous liquors, with as much freedom as the men. Among the half-savage Laplanders, this bad habit is carried to a great extent. There a lover cannot make a more acceptable present to the girl of his choice, than a bottle of brandy; and when he wishes to gain the favor of her relations, he endeavors to do it by a liberal distribution of the same liquor.