The Baptists in Sweden. By Mrs. M.F. Anderson ...

DALECARLIA. 117
hair-chains, bracelets, etc. But however far he may
wander, or however lucrative the employment in
which he may be engaged, the heart of the Darlecarlian still fondly turns toward home, and the approach of winter finds him once more among his
native mountains and valleys, which the charms of
no other country can ever rival in his eyes.
The influence which the parish priests exert over
this true-hearted, simple-minded people, is very
great. Their duties are by no means confined to
the spiritual guidance and instruction of the people. They are the school-managers, the leaders
of education, the chief representatives in the Diet,
and the legal advisers of their flocks. They also
possess the influence which wealth ordinarily gives.
For their incomes from tithes, fees for baptisms,
marriages, and funerals, and other offerings, amount
to from $3000 to $4000 a year. This is a very
large income in the interior of Sweden, and enables
the parish priest to exercise an almost unlimited
hospitality.
The following extracts from the journal of a
traveler, who spent the summer of 1856 in Sweden
and Norway, present a vivid picture of a Sunday
among the Dalecarlians, and enable us to form
some idea of the intercourse subsisting between
pastor and people; and also of the kind of instruction which is likely to be imparted by such a pastor
to his flock. It offers a strange spectacle to our
eyes-the minister standing in the morning by the