. THE CADET. 5
  Day before yesterday we were entertained by the . —
li Mayor in behalf of the city, and this also was a very
  elegant affair ; but the grandest of all was the excursion
  to the Falls of Iniatia in Finland, a six hour’s ride by
  train through this country of swamps and lades and
tig. buried boulders of granite brought us to this beautiful `
Q; falls, made by the water of the river Wuoski as it rushes
j_4 · from Lake Saima by a short and narrow channel into
I ‘'‘— Lake Ladoga. Here we found a spacious pavillion, 340
x80 feet, built especially for us, and plates laid for 1,000
_ people. In wines and delicacies this entertainment was
. g not behind any we have yet had, and in addition we were
  » served with the greatest variety of substantials, the most
It of them special Finnish dishes. This entertainment was
Y given us by the Finnish Senate in behalf of the Finnish
government.
  We found that the ideas ordinarily entertained of the
I Finns are entirely erroneous. We commonly confound
,f them and the Lapps with the Esquimaux. I have
[ learned that the Finns are ethnologically entirely dis-
3 tinct f1·om the Lapps, and that they are really a very .
~ ancient and honorable people, being, in fact, the most
" ancient people of Eastern Europe, with a center of dis-
tribution in the middle Volga region (Moscow is a name
* of Finnish origin). Though their cli1nate is inhospi-
I table and their land simply a dump heap of glacial
_ boulders, serving as interstices for the thousands of lakes
· and swamps, these people have attained a degree of cul-
ture that is remarkable. Their common schools are
_ probably the best in Europe. In every one of these
L wretched hamlets you will find the people speaking some
v six different languages——at least three besides their own
. well. These three are German, French and English,
  and they have learned these in the common schools.
, Notices in the railroad cars and stations are posted in