A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden

by William A. Ross · English · Gutenberg #28073 · 645,628 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden

Author: William A. Ross

Release date: February 14, 2009 [eBook #28073]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28073

Credits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Barbara Kosker and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A YACHT VOYAGE TO NORWAY, DENMARK, AND SWEDEN ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Barbara Kosker and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

[Illustration]

YACHT VOYAGE

NORWAY,

DENMARK, AND SWEDEN.

W. A. ROSS, ESQ.

Ver erat: errabam: Zephyrus conspexit: abibam:
Insequitur: fugio.

OVID. _Fast._, Lib. v.

Second Edition.

LONDON:

HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER,

GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

1849.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY T. R. HARRISON,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.

AN AMIABLE AND A GENEROUS FRIEND,

ROBERT, LORD RODNEY,

I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME,

IN TOKEN

OF ADMIRATION, GRATITUDE,

AND

AFFECTION.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Departure from Greenwich--The History of the Iris Yacht
--Sheerness--Harwich--Under Weigh--The North Sea--Sail
in Sight--The Mail Overboard--Speaking the Norwegian 1

CHAPTER II.

Foggy Weather--First View of Norway--Christiansand Fiord
--Arrival at Christiansand--Description of the Town--The
Toptdal River--Excursion Inland--The Enthusiastic
Angler--Rustic Lodgings--Hunting the Bear--The Trap--The
Death--Norwegian Liberality 13

CHAPTER III.

Departure from Christiansand--The Pilot's Pram--Skaw Point
--Delinquencies of Jacko--Expensive Cannonading--Elsineur
--Hamlet's Walk--The Minister, Struensee--Story of Queen
Caroline-Matilda--Legend of the Serf 46

CHAPTER IV.

The Pilot--Tempestuous Weather--Distant View of Copenhagen
--Lord Nelson--The Battle of the Baltic--The Harbour-Master
--Interest excited by the Yacht's Arrival--The Artist--The
Angler--We go Ashore 58

CHAPTER V.

Copenhagen--The Cape--The Dilemma--The Guard--Compliment to
England--Description of the Harbour and Fortifications--
Delinquent Sailors--The City on Sunday--Negro Commissionaire
--A Walk through the City--Notices of the various Public
Buildings 74

CHAPTER VI.

The Casino--The Royal Family of Denmark--Succession to
Holstein--The English Consul--Visit to the English Ambassador
--Colossal Statue of Christian the Fifth--Anecdote of Belzoni
--Trinity Church--Extraordinary Feat of Peter the Great
--Ducking an Offender--Palace of Christiansborg--The Exchange
--The Castle of Rosenberg 91

CHAPTER VII.

Dinner at the Embassy--Manners and Customs of the Danes--The
Spanish Ambassador and the English Exile--The Citadel--Story
of the Two Captives--Joe Washimtum, again--A Danish Dinner
--Visit to the Theatre--Political Reflections--Festivities
on Board the Yacht--Merry Party at the American Ambassador's
--The Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein 106

CHAPTER VIII.

The Exile's Souvenir--The Disappointed Artist--Departure
from Copenhagen--Arrival at Elsineur--Description of the
Town--The Castle of Cronenborg--Hamlet's Garden--Esrom
Lake--The Legend of Esrom Monastery--The French War-Steamer
--Sailing up the Cattegat 140

CHAPTER IX.

Arrival at Falkenborg--The Storm--The Yacht in Danger--Safe
Anchorage--Visit to Falkenborg--Ludicrous Adventure--A
Drive into the Interior--Great Scarcity experienced by the
Inhabitants--Description of the Country--The Disappointed
Anglers--Kongsbacka--The Yacht runs aground--Gottenborg 154

CHAPTER X.

The Casino at Gottenborg--Awkward Dilemma--The Watchman
and the Northern Star--Swedish Artillery--The Grove--An
Old Man's History--The Alarm of Fire--The Carriage
overturned--The River Gotha--Washing in the Stream--The
Narrow Streets--Description of Gottenborg--Its Decayed
Commerce--The Herring Fishery 172

CHAPTER XI.

Return to Norway--Sail up the Gulf--Approach to Christiania
--Its Appearance from the Water--Anecdote of Bernadotte--
Description of the City--The Fortress--Charles the XIIth
--The Convicts--Story of the Captured Cannon--The Highwayman
--Prospect from the Mountains--The Norwegian Peasant Girl 204

CHAPTER XII.

A Drive into the Interior--Extensive and Sublime Prospect
--Norwegian Post-Houses--Repair of the Roads--Preparations
for Departure 215

CHAPTER XIII.

The Yacht under sail--Jacko overboard--Fredricksvaern--The
Union Jack--Scenery on the Larvig River--Transit of Timber
--Salmon Fishing--The Defeated Angler--Ludicrous Adventure
with an Eagle--Result of the Angling Expedition--The Bevy of
Ladies--Norwegian Dinner-Party, Singular and Amusing Customs 240

CHAPTER XIV.

Another Fishing Excursion--Landing a Salmon--The Carriole--
Boats rowed by Ladies--Departure from Larvig--Christiansand
Harbour--Return to Boom--Sincere Welcome--Angling at the
Falls--The Forsaken Angler--A Misunderstanding--Reconciliation
--St. John's Day--Simplicity of Manners 260

CHAPTER XV.

Sailing up the Gron Fiord--Dangerous Swell--Excursion Ashore
--Trout-Fishing--Mountain Scenery--Ant-Hills--Hazardous
Drive--The Scottish Emigrant--Miserable Lodging--Condition
of the Peasantry--A Village Patriarch--Costume of the Country
People--Arrival at Faedde 287

CHAPTER XVI.

Return to the Yacht--Poor Jacko--Ascending the Stream--
Description of the Faedde Fiord--Adventures of an Angler--Sail
to the Bukke Fiord--The Fathomless Lake--The Maniac, and her
History--The Village of Sand--Extraordinary Peculiarities of
the Sand Salmon--Seal Hunting--Shooting Gulls--The Seal
caught--Night in the North 303

CHAPTER XVII.

The Dangerous Straits--British Seamanship--The Glaciers
of Folgefonde--Bergen--Habits of the Fishermen--The Sogne
Fiord--Leerdal--Arrival at Auron--A Hospitable Host--
Ascending the Mountains--The Two Shepherdesses--Hunting
the Rein-Deer--Adventure on the Mountains--Slaughtering
Deer--The Fawn 336

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Sick Sailor--The Storm--The Lee-Shore--"Breakers
a-head"--The Yacht in Distress--Weathering the Storm--Return
to Bergen--The Physician--The Whirlpool--The Water-Spout
--Homeward Bound--Scarborough--Yarmouth Roads--Erith--
Greenwich Hospital--Conclusion 397

ERRATA.

Page
79, line 14, _for_ "Nelson," _read_ "Gambier."
92, omit "to the eye."
100, line 12, _for_ "Nelson's," _read_ "Gambier's."
145, last line, _for_ "Braggesen," _read_ "Baggesen."
165, line 31, _for_ "they had endured," _read_ "each of them had endured."
201, line 9, _read_ "as here at Gottenborg."
239, line 33, _for_ "immovably," _read_ "immoveably."
243, line 6, _for_ "jibbed," _read_ "jibed."
286, line 18, _for_ "everywhere," _read_ "ever where."
327, line 10, _for_ "than me," _read_ "than I."
338, line 31, _for_ "jibbing," _read_ "jibing."

A YACHT VOYAGE
TO
NORWAY, SWEDEN, & DENMARK.

CHAPTER I.

DEPARTURE FROM GREENWICH--THE HISTORY OF THE IRIS
YACHT--SHEERNESS--HARWICH--UNDER WEIGH--THE NORTH
SEA--SAIL IN SIGHT--THE MAIL OVERBOARD--SPEAKING
THE NORWEGIAN.

I believe the old Italian proverb says, that every man, before he dies,
should do three things: "Get a son, build a house, and write a book."
Now, whether or not I am desirous, by beginning at the end, to end at
the beginning of this quaint axiom, I leave the reader to conjecture. My
book may afford amusement to him who will smile when I am glad, and
sympathise with the impressions I have caught in other moods of mind;
but I have little affinity of feeling, and less companionship with him
who expects to see pictures of life coloured differently from those I
have beheld.

At three o'clock on the boisterous afternoon of the 1st of May, 1847, I
left Greenwich with my friend Lord R----, in his yacht, to cruise round
the coasts of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; and, although the period of
the year at which I quitted London was the one I most desired to remain
in it, and join, as far as I was able, in the pomps and gaieties of Old
Babylon, I did not like to miss this opportunity, offered under such
favourable circumstances, of seeing countries so rarely visited by
Englishmen, more particularly as the invitation had been pressed upon me
so unaffectedly and kindly, that I could not, with any reason, decline
it.

Dropping down with the tide, we arrived the same evening alongside the
guard-ship at Sheerness; and, being desirous of making ourselves snug,
and of landing two unfortunate friends whom we had originally promised
to send ashore at Gravesend, we made fast to a Government buoy, and
remained in smooth water till the following morning.

The "Iris" cutter belongs to the R.Y.S., and is the sister-vessel of the
"Corsair." She was built by Ratsey for the late Mr. Fleming, with whom
she was a great favourite, and for whom she won many valuable prizes.
From England to the Mediterranean, she safely bore her first master many
times; but with flowing canvass and with rapid keel at last enticed him
once too often from his native shore; for, during a cruise in the
Mediterranean, after many months of pain, he died while gazing on her.
Passing through several hands, serving all equally well in gale or calm,
she came at last into the possession of Lord R----, who has travelled
farther, and made more extraordinary voyages in her than any member of
the Squadron; and in spite of all improvements adopted of late years in
yacht-building, there are but few, if any, vessels of seventy-five tons,
that can surpass her in speed and symmetrical beauty, or in the buoyant
ease with which she has encountered the fiercest storms.

Her crew consisted of seven or eight regular seamen, a sailing-master,
mate, cook, steward, and a boy to assist him. A fine Newfoundland dog,
called "Sailor," and a droll little ring-tail monkey, called "Jacko,"
also joined in the mess for'ard. Lord R----, with Captain P---- and
myself, made up the entire complement.

On Sunday morning, the 2nd, at eleven, as the church bells of Sheerness
were chiming a merry peal, we commenced preparations for our departure,
by sending our two friends off in the jolly-boat, in which they must
have got pretty wet; for a sea was running sufficiently high to cause
them some little discomfort. After a gloomy day's work, we reached
Harwich, and at nine in the evening rested again in five fathoms water.

We rose betimes the following day, and strolled about the town in search
of stores. We collected on board every kind of preserved meat and
vegetable one could think of; and every kind of wine, from champagne
down to cherry cordial, the taste of man could relish. We had milk, too,
in pots, and mint for our peasoup; lard in bladders, and butter, both
fresh and salt, in jars; flour, and suet, which we kept buried in the
flour; a hundred stalks of horseradish for roast beef; and raisins,
citron, and currants, for plum-pudding.

We had rifles and guns to shoot bears and wolves; and large rods, large
as small maypoles, to catch salmon, and small rods to secure the bait.
We had fishing-tackle which, when unwound, went all the way into the
after cabin, and then back again ten times round the main cabin.

We had water-proof boots, reaching up to the hips, for wading the
rivers; and India-rubber pilot-jackets for keeping the chest and back
secure from the spray of foss, or wave. Indeed, we had all that the
heart of man could wish, and all that his judgment could devise.

I contrived, before the day had passed, to become very sick of Harwich
and myself; for of all dull holes in this kingdom of England, does not
this one claim the superlative degree? Tuesday, the 4th, still found me
on the same spot, gazing on the two lighthouses; and, to enhance my
gaiety, R---- and P---- went to Ipswich to see a schooner yacht, being
built for an old friend of R---- and at that moment on the stocks. They
returned laden with turnips, carrots, radishes, and cabbages. The
luckless schooner was rated in great style--berths too numerous, and
cabin not lofty enough. A fiddle also was bought to-day for Jerome, a
sailor, who, though self-taught, had some idea of music and afterwards,
wiled away, in Norway, and on the ocean, during the calm evenings, many
a weary hour, by playing to us some of Old England's most plaintive
airs.

The following day came and went in the same monotonous fashion as its
predecessor, since I find its events recorded thus:--"Fine day--nothing
new. Went ashore. Bought fish, mutton, and beef. Eat all the fish, and
some of the beef. Wind E.S.E."

Thursday dawned beautifully calm, and not a cloud was visible between
earth and the blue Heaven. As I paced up and down the deck, yet damp
with dew, I thought the serenity of the morning emblematic of our future
wanderings--and was I wrong? As the sun gained altitude and power, the
water became rippled with a light air, and nine o'clock found us fairly
under weigh.

There was not a heavy heart on board; even Jacko chirupped, and,
swinging by his tail from the bowsprit shroud, revelled in the warm
sunshine. Being desirous of showing the exuberance of our spirits,
R----, who had observed an old dame and her maid plying in a wherry
round the cutter--probably to take a nearer view of our beautiful craft
and her adventurous crew, or, perhaps to breathe the morning air, I know
not which--ordered the two quarter swivels to be loaded, and watching
his opportunity, when the cautious wherry came rather near, fired both
of them right over the old lady's black bonnet, and sent the wad fizzing
and smoking into the servant-girl's lap. I need not describe the alarm
of the old woman, nor the shriek of the young one; but the grin of the
well-seasoned tar who rowed, coupled with his efforts to keep the fair
freight quiet where he had stowed it, were worth our whole cargo.

We shipped from this port a man named King, who was to act as
interpreter. He had been in Norway, and was well acquainted with the
people and language, having been for many previous years of his life
employed in the lobster fisheries. He proved a most willing, honest,
good-tempered servant, and a most useful linguist.

The wind being light, the Iris found it tough work in stemming the
strong tide which sets into Harwich; but we contrived at half-past
eleven to pass Orfordness Light. At six, the breeze having eastern'd a
little, and increased till it became what sailors term "pleasant," we
lost sight of Lowestoff; and lastly, being this day's work, as well as
for the information of all nautical men, we sounded at half-past seven
on Smith's Knoll, in seven fathoms.

Friday morning, the 7th, dawned upon our glorious craft dashing through
the water in great style, with a moderate breeze from S. to S.S.E. As I
cast my eye round the horizon, and descried no land, thoughts of old
days crowded to my recollection, when I left home for the first time,
and England for the West Indies. How all the high hopes of youth had
vanished; and how unaltered my condition _now_ from what it was _then_!
Had an angel come down from Heaven and told me, twelve years ago, when
I, a boy, stood on the hencoop of a West Indiaman, gazing at the Lizard,
that I should be the same creature in feeling and condition, I should
have questioned the prophecy. But the wind is fair, and this is no time
for sorrowful thoughts.

"Hard-up the helm! Dick," said D----.

"Ay, ay, sir."

"Steady!--So."

"Steady, sir."

"Some man there, heave the lead!" and down it went, rushing, in
five-and-twenty fathoms on the Silver Pits. At nine, the vessel was hove
to, and we tried our lines for fish, but did not succeed. We filled on
her again, and stood away, as before, to the N.E. At two o'clock, while
we were trying our lines for the second time, I felt, suddenly,
squeamish; and, in spite of the splendid weather and pure air, wished
myself most heartily in the middle of Bond-street, or any, the most
ignoble alley in the neighbourhood of Leicester-square. I closed my eyes
and fancied myself seated on a bench in the Green Park, watching the
sheep browsing round me, and listening to the rumbling of carriages as
they passed along Piccadilly. I opened my eyes; the vision fades, and,
lo!

"Nil nisi pontus et aer."

However, I plucked up courage, and remained on deck until half-past six,
when the gaff-topsail was unbent and the top-mast struck; D----, the
sailing-master, anticipating no good from the calm, and the dense fog,
which had succeeded a fine wind and cheerful sunshine.

Early in the morning, about four o'clock, I was awakened by a good deal
of laughing and shuffling of feet on deck, and by an occasional thump,
as if a cargo of pumpkins was being taken on board.

I leaped out of my berth, and, putting my head above the companion, saw
all the men who composed the watch hard at work with their
fishing-lines, and the main-deck covered with several large codfish.
Witnessing the pugnacity of one or two fish when they were hauled out of
the water, I turned in again: for it was no easy matter to stand, the
swell increasing as we got more on the Dogger Bank.

While we were at breakfast, eating cods' sound and talking of smoked
salmon, the sailing-master came below and told us a small vessel was in
sight, and, by running down to her, we might speak her and send letters
home by her. Of course, all the married men commenced scratching in
great style both paper and their pates, and in a shorter time than could
be imagined, made up a small mail. The more strenuously, however, we
endeavoured to approach the vessel, the more she bore away; and, being a
long way to the eastward of us, and going before the wind with her
square-sail set, it was doubtful whether we should fetch her. At last,
we fancied she mistook us for pirates; for, I must confess, we looked
suspicious; and the squadron ensign flying at the peak made our cutter
appear more warlike and determined than she really was. By eleven,
notwithstanding our friend's manoeuvring, we were pretty close to her,
and, lowering the dingy as quickly as possible, two men were ordered to
pull to the strange smack, and, ascertaining her destination, to deliver
the letters. This last action on our part took the poor craft by
surprise; for it was curious to observe the pertinacity with which this
little vessel avoided our boat, although we used every stratagem devised
by seafaring men to allay the consternation of the weak: such as the
waving of our caps, the hoisting of pacific signals, the lowering of our
gaff-topsail, &c., &c.; nor could she be persuaded of our amicable
intentions before poor King had shouted, at the top of his lungs, that
we were Englishmen in search of pleasure, and destined for no marauding
purpose.

She turned out to be, what our glasses had anticipated at daylight, a
Norwegian, laden with dried fish, and bound to the coast of Holland;
and, therefore, our letters were brought back.

Scarcely had the incident I have just mentioned come to a conclusion,
than another sail, just emerging from the horizon, was discovered on our
weather bow. We rubbed our hands, plucked our caps over the forehead,
and walked up and down the deck more briskly than ever; for there is no
man who has not been to sea can imagine the feelings of sailors when,
far from land, a sail is seen.

Every minute now brought us closer, and at two P.M. we had come
within hail. There was little wind, but a nasty short sea was running;
and it was comical in the extreme to observe each man endeavouring to
steady himself, and place his hands to his mouth for the purpose of
hailing, when a sudden swell would send him rolling over Sailor's hutch,
or seat him gently on the sky-light behind. After a little trouble, the
speaking-trumpet was found and brought on deck, and by its assistance a
communication was opened with the vessel. She was a large Norwegian
bark from Christiansand, and bound to London. To our request that they
would take charge of some letters, the captain, leaning over the
weather-quarter, assented in a loud Norwegian dialect. The question
which now arose was, how were we to get the said letters on board; but
necessity, being here established as the mother of invention, gave a
prompt answer. P----, holding the letters in his hand, desired that a
potato might be brought. The largest from the store was presented. It
was then lashed with a piece of twine to the letters, now transposed
into a tidy brown-paper parcel, which P----, balancing in the palm of
his left hand, suggested was not of sufficient weight to reach the ship.
We were not long at a loss, for the cook appeared, grim and smiling,
with a tolerable-sized coal exposed to view and approbation, between his
thumb and forefinger. Side by side, like a fair-haired youth with his
swarthy bride, the coal and potato were placed; and P----, poising for
the second time the precious parcel, rolled up his shirt-sleeve, and,
throwing himself well back, hurled, with all the elegance of a Parthian,
coal, potato, and parcel toward the Norwegian captain's head. But,
horror! the potato and coal combined proved rather too heavy, and,
retaining their impetus longer than intended, carried the luckless
brown-paper bundle over the lee-side and into the North Sea.

The ship immediately backed her main-yard, and, lowering one of her
stern boats, sent her off in search of the unhappy letters; but having
rowed about for some time without catching a glimpse of coal, paper, or
potato, the search was abandoned, and the boat came alongside of us.
After delivering another packet of brown paper, and presenting each man
(there were four) with a bottle of brandy, we parted company with mutual
good wishes conveyed through our interpreter, King, not omitting sundry
well-meaning gesticulations telegraphed between the fat Norwegian
captain on the weather quarter and ourselves. This was the first
specimen we had met with of northern kindness; and, although we had
heard a great deal of their unaffected goodness of heart, this act of
civility made no slight impression upon us. At four o'clock, while our
Norwegian bark was just _hull down_, the gaff-topsail was taken in, a
strong S.E. wind with rain having arisen. The wind still increasing, at
seven the first reef in the mainsail was also taken in, jibs shifted,
and the bowsprit reefed.

During the rest of the evening I was a martyr to all the miseries of
sea-sickness, and, stretched at full length on the cabin sofa, I closed
my eyes, and, allowing my thoughts to wander where they would, hoped to
cheat myself out of my present discomfort; but nausea, like no other ill
to which we are subservient, is not to be pacified, and I lay the whole
night sensible of the keenest pain.

CHAPTER II.

FOGGY WEATHER--FIRST VIEW OF NORWAY--CHRISTIANSAND
FIORD--ARRIVAL AT CHRISTIANSAND--DESCRIPTION OF THE
TOWN--THE TOPTDAL RIVER--EXCURSION INLAND--THE
ENTHUSIASTIC ANGLER--RUSTIC LODGINGS--HUNTING THE
BEAR--THE TRAP--THE DEATH--NORWEGIAN LIBERALITY.

Sunday, the 9th, dawned on us, tossed about on a troubled sea indeed;
for a strong wind was blowing from E.S.E. However, at eight o'clock,
just before breakfast, we sounded in thirty-five fathoms. We had
scarcely concluded this cautious operation before the wind began to
lull; and after conjecturing, both from our calculations and soundings,
that land was not far away, we were confirmed in this opinion by a thick
fog rising above the horizon on our lee beam. We went to dinner in great
glee, and, in spite of the hazy atmosphere which now surrounded us,
compensation was felt and accepted by us at the hour of six, when a
perfect calm prevailed; and our peasoup and curry were threatened, for
the first time this week, to be demolished in that gentlemanly and
collected mode which the usages of society had rendered familiar to our
observation in England.

At eleven o'clock at night the haziness cleared away, and in about half
an hour afterwards a light was seen. It was imagined to be the light at
the mouth of the Christiansand Fiord, the name of which, amidst the
bustle and joyousness of the moment, I could but indistinctly learn, and
cannot now remember. As midnight approached, our old friend the fog
gathered density, and effectually deprived us of the slightest glimpse
of the light; and we retired to rest ill at ease, plunged into the vale
of anxiety in the same ratio as we had been exalted on the peaks of
expectation and joy.

Sunday at sea retains all the monotony of the shore; for the waves seem
to show deference to the day, and move their crests with more solemnity
and order; while the sailors gather round the vessel's bows, and, in a
group, listen with wrapt attention to the sublime and poetic sentences
of prophetic Isaiah.

I cannot, in all my wanderings at sea, call to mind a tempestuous
Sabbath, nor the sailors who would profane it. Mark them! How solemnly
the shadow of thought hangs over their countenances; and how, with cheek
cradled on the hand, with pipes unsmoked in their mouths, leaning over
the bulwarks, their eyes intently riveted on the clear distant horizon,
as, carried away by the inspiration and fervour of the great prophet, a
messmate, who reads with energy of gesture, ever and anon raises his
voice, which, by its tremulous intonation, tells the deep feeling of his
heart, and the quickness with which its pulse vibrates in answer to the
burning words he utters aloud!

Monday, the 10th, the most lovely of May mornings, fanned by the softest
of south winds. Land in all its grandeur of mountain and of cloud lay
before me, the towering peaks of the mountains, capped with everlasting
snow, and piercing an atmosphere of the intensest blue.

I sat down on the after-lockers, and looked with swelling heart on the
sublime scene. As far as the eye could reach inland, mountain over
mountain, extending round half the horizon, the land of old Norway, I
had read of in my earliest years, expanded itself. On my left hand the
Naze hung, frowning, over the Northern Ocean. How memory, in a moment,
rushed back to the quaint schoolroom at Ditton, and its still quainter
little bookcases huddled up in one corner, where and whence I first
began to pronounce and find the "Lindsnes!"

Just at this instant, poor old "Sailor," who had been poking his nose
over the vessel's side, and snuffing and whining, rushed up to me, and,
placing his head in my lap, turned his eyes towards my face, and looked
as much as to say, "Are we not near our journey's end; and don't I smell
the land?" Little Jacko, too, came out of his crib, and chirped, and
chattered, and scratched himself, and rolled about on the deck in the
sunniest corners; and then, all of a sudden, up he would jump, and,
seizing hold of "Sailor's" tail, pull it as if he was hauling taut the
weather runner. How everything was replete with life; and how happiness,
without the heart's reservation, was written on every face! I cannot
conceive anything more exhilarating than a beautiful morning at sea, and
land in sight; I could have passed the remaining portion of my life
without a pang of sorrow, or a gush of joy, but with equanimity, on this
dark blue wave, surpassed only in its dark dye and eternity by the dome
on which it looked.

When I returned upon deck after breakfast, the first object that
attracted my attention was the helmsman. He smiled as soon as his eye
met mine, and raised, in recognition, his Spanish-looking hat. He was a
stout, tall, fair-complexioned man, with a mild expression of
countenance, blue eyes, a long, straight-pointed nose, high cheekbones,
and light flaxen hair flowing down almost to his shoulders. He made some
observation to me in a dialect which sounded as being a mixture of
German, Celtic, and English; but the sense of it was incomprehensible.

"Norway?" I said in reply, pointing to the land now not three miles from
us.

"Ja, ja," he answered; and, turning to King, our interpreter, begged, in
the Norwegian language, that some of the sails might be trimmed.

I need not say he was the pilot who had come on board to take us up to
Christiansand. His dress differed not from the ordinary costume of our
own pilots; but I could not help gazing on him with a feeling of mystery
and interest which cannot easily be described. His whole appearance bore
a close resemblance to all I had read and seen in pictures of the
Esquimaux; and now I have formed their acquaintance personally, I feel
assured that the Norwegians are a branch of that family.

The scenery, the nearer we approached the shore, heightened in grandeur.
Though we were now not a mile from the most bold and formidable rocks,
no harbour or creek of any kind could be seen where we might find
shelter; yet our northern guide continued to point out with his finger
and explain as well as he could in his strange but harmonious idiom, the
mouth of the Fiord, up which we were to proceed to Christiansand.

The rocks along this coast of Norway are terrific, the sea breaking and
rushing upon them with tremendous noise and fury. Nor do the waves ever
rest peaceably here: for the tides of the North Sea and of the Cattegat
both meet together at this point of the "Sleeve," and cause a fearful
swell, which, when aided at times by the wind, rises to such a great
height that vessels are obliged to run for protection into some of the
smaller fiords abounding in this quarter.

It was now mid-day, and the sun shone with more heat than I had felt in
the tropics. Indeed, everything around us reminded one so vividly of a
tropical climate, that it required some resolution to keep imagination
in subserviency. The thermometer was at 80 on deck; and our
good-tempered pilot told us it was "manga varm" in August.

At one o'clock, the gallant Iris might be seen gliding along, with her
accustomed speed and elegance, in smooth water, up the Christiansand
Fiord. As we sailed along we would now and then catch a glimpse of large
and small vessels in all directions, in full sail, wending their way
through the tributary fiords to some town in the interior. On each side
of us rose from the surface of the water, perpendicularly into the clear
sky, mountains of solid stone, covered to their very summits with no
other vegetation than the fir, which springs out of the crevices of the
rocks. We pursued our course for many miles amidst the grandest scenery,
changing like a panorama, at every point of land round which the vessel
wound, and amidst the most profound silence, which is a peculiarity of
these fiords. Ever and anon the gulls, in flocks of thousands, would
soar into the air, only the flapping of their wings echoing through
these silent mountains.

At three o'clock, as we sailed round an enormous rock about a mile high,
with not a tree or shrub of any sort on its surface, the town of
Christiansand burst upon the view.

We had no sooner anchored, and the sails were not yet furled, when
Captain P----, who was an inveterate sportsman, went ashore to gather
what intelligence he could about the salmon fishing, it being for that
amusement Lord R---- had been induced to visit Norway.

During the absence of P----, R---- and I lay down on the deck, and
feasted our eyes with the beautiful prospect around us. The novelty of
every object which met the view acted in broad contrast to England. The
cutter was soon surrounded by boats without number, of the most
primitive construction and fantastic form. One old man, wearing a
bear's-skin cap and a black frock coat, rowed off to us in the family
"pram," for the purpose of recommending his hotel to our notice, the
cleanliness and comfort of which, he said, were unquestionable; since,
to test the verity of his assertions, he handed to us a piece of paper,
not larger than the palm of my hand, containing the names of those
persons who had lodged under his roof; and the Earl of Selkirk, Sir John
Ross, Sir Hyde Parker, and one or two other eminent men stood in bold
relief and large Norwegian type. This was the only deed approximating to
British we had yet witnessed.

Christiansand is considered as a tolerably important town, and is about
half the extent of Dover. The houses are all painted a pure white
colour, which has a fine effect when brought so immediately in contrast
with the surrounding scenery. There being no ebb or flow of the sea in
this part of the earth, no beach exists, and the houses are built on
piles close to the water's edge, ships of 500 or 600 tons being moored
at the very doors of the warehouses.

I could discover only one church within the precincts of Christiansand,
and close to it a dancing academy; for the Norwegians, though they are
pious, are as partial to the recreation of a dance as any of our Gallic
neighbours; and, during the long and dark days of winter, the merchants
and other persons employed in business of any description, close their
offices, and devote their time to sleighing and dancing. The town is
clean and romantically situated, being girt on the E. and the S. by the
picturesque fiord, dotted with islands, which bears its name, and on the
N. and W. by mountains rising one above the other until the eye loses
them in the mist of distance.

The sun had already sunk beyond the mountains, when P---- returned on
board; and, near as the day seemed to its end, it was determined to
start for the Toptdal River, and proceed as far as Boom, a small village
about twelve miles from Christiansand, where a merchant of some note had
granted us permission to fish.

Fishing-rods and fishing-books, and gaffs, and landing-nets, and
everything piscatory, were pulled from their cupboards and packed up,
that is to say, tied together in three distinct bundles by the mate; and
the steward removed from the custody of the cook a large iron pot, which
he filled with potatoes, as well as a smaller copper pot for stewing,
but which, for the present, received a mustard-pot, some salt in paper,
some black pepper, three teaspoons, and a similar number of knives and
forks. A good-sized game-basket, cocked hat in shape, was then, after a
diligent search, found, brought forth, and replenished with biscuits
(for we had not, and could not buy, any bread), three pots of preserved
meats, three bottles of champagne, the same of claret, one bottle of
brandy, one of Twining's chocolate tin cases filled with tea, both green
and black, and a like, though larger, one concealed from the inquisitive
gaze some white sugar.

About six o'clock, these items were stowed at the bottom of the gig,
under the immediate superintendence of the steward, and the men, with
their oars raised aloft in the air, showed all was prepared to convey us
on our excursion. After taking leave of one or two Norwegian gentlemen
who had come on board to welcome us, with their characteristic
kindheartedness, to their country, and, with their usual unaffected
hospitality, to invite us to dine with them, we started.

We had proceeded some distance when P----, after lighting his
meerschaum, and looking the ideal of comfort and delight, commenced
rummaging the baggage of pots and baskets; and he had not given up his
energies to that occupation more than a few seconds when his pipe almost
dropped, paralyzed, from his mouth, and, with much vehemence of manner
and voice, he exclaimed,

"Hang that fellow! Just like him; he has forgotten the pot."

"What pot?" said R----.

"Why, the copper one, of course," retorted P----. "The knives and forks
are in it, and the tea and sugar."

"Avast pulling!" said the Coxswain.

"We must go back," said R----.

"Very good, my Lord. Easy, starboard oars," again said the Coxswain; and
in a quarter of an hour, we were taking the copper kettle into the gig,
which P---- placed quietly away, within his reach and sight, in the
stern sheets.

As we rowed on, our fingers (bringing to my recollection my school-days)
would occasionally be thrust over the boat's side into the water to test
its temperature; for it had been hinted to P---- at Christiansand, that
the rivers might yet be too cold for the salmon to leave the sea and
enter them.

The Toptdal River is narrow, shallow, and swift of current; so that it
is no facile task to contend with its rapidity and force. When we had
proceeded about half-way, the boat and its crew were left to contend
with the stream, and we commenced walking.

It was now seven o'clock; and, though we were sheltered from the sun's
rays by the huge mountain-shadows, the air was warm, and I felt in a
short time as greatly fatigued as if it were a dog-day in England.

P----, who, as I said before, was excessively fond of fishing, led the
van; and, as we toiled along the bank of the river, would, himself
insensible of weariness, scramble down declivities to its edge whenever
the projecting rocks formed a kind of pool, and, scrambling up to us
again, would assert with emphasis, the convincing proofs the river
showed of containing much fish. He would, likewise, plunge his hand into
the tide, and deem it temperate in the extreme.

"There now," he said, as we turned a point of land, and saw below us a
small bay formed by the indentation of the river,--"there now; do you
mean to say there's no fish there?"

"I should think there were a great many," replied R----.

The river flowed on, and brought on its surface the foam of some
neighbouring foss, floating unbroken in small lumps like soap-suds;
which, borne by the eddying stream, revolved round and round a piece of
fallen rock elevated a little above the water. P----, with the eye of a
fisherman, gazed on the little bay; and it was with difficulty we could
dissuade him from putting his rod together and having a cast. However,
we did eventually dissuade him; but he had barely gone on in front, with
his usual velocity of motion, when, at the suggestion of R----, I hurled
a good-sized stone into the centre of the pool which had so riveted
P----'s fancy.

"By Jove!" he shouted, and, starting back, "did you hear _that_? It was
a rise. Holloa!" and he hailed the boat which was struggling against the
stream on the opposite bank. He seemed now determined to throw a fly;
but the night was so near at hand, and Boom was yet so distant, that we
exhorted him to mark the spot for our return on the following day.

"Why, my dear fellow, in two minutes I shall have a bite. Walk on, I'll
follow."

"No, no;" and, after a little consideration, he assented to what we
said.

The stars now began to show themselves, and shone forth with great
brilliancy in the deep blue Heaven. The roar of the first foss, or fall,
where we intended to fish, could be heard distinctly; and, about ten
o'clock, we arrived at Boom.

We presented, on our arrival, a letter our merchant friend had written
to an old and confidential servant, to whose care he recommended us, and
desired that every facility should be afforded us in the attainment of
our sport. Although it was almost dark, we walked about with the old
Norwegian, who, in order to obtain our kind thoughts and inclinations,
told us, that he had, in his youth, been apprenticed to a carpenter at
Hull. He spoke English sufficiently well to understand what we said, and
make himself understood by us.

The first check P---- received to his ardour, was the Norwegian's
assertion, that the river was still too cold for angling; and that no
salmon had yet been seen or caught in the neighbourhood. He then
recommended us to leave Norway and go to Copenhagen, or some other
capital in the south, and enjoy ourselves until the snows in the
interior had melted, and return to Christiansand about the end of the
first week in June, when he guaranteed we should have salmon-fishing in
all its phases to our heart's content.

After a slight allusion to the letter we had delivered to him, and which
he still held crumpled and soiled in his hand, he said, that his
master's house was being painted, and he could not accommodate us as he
had been commanded; but, if we had no objection, he would lodge us for
the night at a cottage hard by. Many Englishmen, he added, had slept
there, and found the people to whom it belonged, clean, attentive, and
honest. We replied, that we were content and wearied enough to rest any
where, and were prepared to take in good part any abode he could offer
us for the night.

We strolled on; and, in a few minutes, a cottage, with thatched roof,
and standing lonelily at the base of one of the high mountains, by which
we were surrounded, loomed through the grey tint of evening.

Its outward appearance at first, I must confess, staggered my sense of
comfort and cleanliness very wonderfully; and its internal arrangements
did not at all help to quiet my apprehensions. In one corner of the room
into which we were shown, stood a bedstead. Implements of cookery were
scattered negligently about the floor, and on a huge hob bubbled a huge
saucepan. The presence of salt-herrings and other dried fish, the common
Norwegian diet, could, by no art, be concealed. The ceiling was so low,
that I could hardly stand upright with my hat on; and the floor being
strewed with juniper leaves, the smell of which, though not ungrateful
in itself, aided by the villainous compound of stale tobacco smoke, in
no way prepossessed me in favour of the cottager's nicety; and, finally,
to consummate the discomfort, the small windows were closed as tightly
as a coffin, while the evening teemed with all the sultriness of an
oriental latitude.

R---- and P---- enjoyed my long face, and each, seating himself on the
only two deal chairs, laughed immoderately at my doleful complaints. The
gaunt Norwegian, the owner of this humble dwelling, made such comical
grimaces, and winked his little eyes so frequently and eruditely, in
endeavouring to fathom their mirth, that I could not restrain myself,
and took a conspicuous part in the joke. After arranging, through King,
who had come with us, as forming one of the boat's crew, where and how
we should sleep, we went into the open air, and R---- and P----,
lighting their cigars, again entered into conversation with the
Anglo-Norwegian regarding the sports of the country. He told us, with
brightening eyes, that, at the top of the mountain, which towered in the
rear of our cot, a large bear had been seen for some weeks past, and his
depredations had been so extensive, that the peasantry many miles round
were terrified out of their wits. This was something to hear; but the
old man went on to say, that a bait, consisting of a dead horse, had
been laid, and he doubted not, but that in a day or two a shot might be
had at the brute. After this narrative our sporting curiosity had
reached its zenith; and mutually promising to meet at a certain hour on
the morrow, we parted with our voluble informant.

Some bread and cheese, and Bass's stout, formed our supper, and
reconciled us to our dormitory; and, while we smoked our pipes at the
now opened window, we wandered back to old England, and talked of
friends and fair ones left behind.

It was near midnight. Descending from the hills, the smell of the
evening air, impregnated with the sweet odour of a thousand wild
flowers, refreshed us, jaded as we were by a long journey, and added
delight to the novelty of our situation. The lofty mountains, too, on
either hand, seemed, with their summits, to touch the stars; and, except
the roar of a cataract, no sound interrupted the silence, which, amidst
such vast natural creations, almost amounted to pain.

Notwithstanding my many antipathies, I went to bed, and slept soundly
till the next morning, having awaked but once during the night to throw
off my eider coverlet. The Norwegians hold the eider in great
estimation, and, invariably, whether it be in summer or winter, place it
on the bed of a stranger; but I would recommend those who travel in that
part of Europe, as we did, during the three summer months, to decline
this domestic attention. The eider appears very much like a feather
mattress, but is so light, that, when used as a coverlet, you can
scarcely feel the difference between its weight and that of an ordinary
linen sheet.

At six o'clock the following morning, we were up and on the banks of the
river, which flowed within sight of the cottage windows. Our old
Norwegian, punctual to his appointment, was walking by our sides in the
joint capacity of spectator and mentor. Captain P---- threw the first
fly, and continued throwing fly after fly, various as the tints of the
rainbow, but with the same result as the Norwegian had anticipated. I
soon became grieved at seeing the river well thrashed, and left P---- to
persevere in his sport, and R----, like Charon, standing bolt upright in
a punt, rod in hand, and tackle streaming in air, to be ferried about in
search of some quiet nook for his particular diversion. Besides, it was
now nine, and I felt interiorly that breakfast would be more pleasant
than loitering on the banks of a river, pinched exteriorly by the
eagerness of a N.E. wind; for the climate of Norway, in the early part
of summer, is influenced by the same fickleness as the climate of
England; and the wind, during the night, will visit the cardinal points
of the compass, breathing as it did last night, from a warm quarter, and
will blow as it does this morning, from the opposite extreme.

I had scarcely made myself a cup of coffee, and not yet added the cream,
which encouraged the spoon to stand upright in its thickness, when R----
and P----, tired with their angling, came in. After demolishing nearly a
dozen eggs amongst us, and two capital salmon-trout, which our fast
friend, the Anglo-Norwegian, had filched from a large cistern, where
they are placed during the winter, for the benefit of his master's
table; and after imbibing cauldrons of coffee--so delicious was its
flavour--we showed and expressed great anxiety to pay Bruin the
compliments of the season, and as strangers and Englishmen to testify to
him, as loudly as we could, the repute his fat had obtained in England.

Our cicerone raised no objection; and, turning to one of his countrymen
who had entered the room to gape at us, for I could not then, and I
cannot now conceive the nature of his business, addressed him in his
native language. The man immediately disappeared, and in half an hour
returned with two rifles over each shoulder, and one pistol in his
breeches' pocket. The rifles were larger and heavier than the
fowling-pieces formerly used by our regiments of the line, and the
pistol was of the horse genus, and had a rusty muzzle and a flint lock.
However, we were going to annihilate a ruthless foe; and the clumsiness
of our accoutrements was of little moment. A few good-natured
observations passed between us and the Norseman concerning the
susceptibility and quality of the powder, for its grains were coarser
than those black beads of which ladies in England make their purses. The
said powder for security, was poured into an empty porter-bottle, and
corked down.

We started; but we had barely proceeded three-quarters of a mile before
our little Anglo-Norwegian, who had abided by our good or ill fortune
constantly from the beginning, suddenly remembered that some important
business required his presence in the low lands where dwelt industry
and peace, and accordingly recommending us to the skill of two guides,
shook hands cordially with us, and in a few minutes his ominous face and
oval form were hidden from our sight by the shrubs and stunted firs
which covered the mountain's side.

The waning of his courage did not darken ours; for, like all Englishmen,
we instantly commenced a political discussion, which terminated, after
an hour's duration, in the British fleet attacking, fatally, the
Norwegian gun-boats at Christiansand, nemine contradicente, and the two
boors grinning from ear to ear.

At length our guides, by signs, signified that silence was requisite. A
quarter of an hour more elapsed when one of them motioned us to keep
close, and going down on his hands and feet, intimated the proximity of
our game.

We were now five and thirty yards from the brow of the mountain, and,
crawling with the stealth and silence of a cat, the principal guide
reached the summit, at the same moment levelling his gun, which made us
imagine that Bruin was in full view; but gradually lowering his piece,
till the butt reached the ground, and leaning on it with both hands, the
man turned towards us, shook his head, and smiled. We were instantly by
his side.

Round a hollow piece of table-land, tending to a swamp, we saw, standing
at equal distances from each other, three sheds, constructed of long fir
poles driven into the earth and tapering, like a cone, into the air,
covered scantily with the branches of the pine or fir, and having an
only inlet by which a man, crouching, might reach the interior. In the
centre of this swamp the carcass of a horse lay, mangled and scattered
in every direction. The trunks of trees, which had been felled for the
purpose, were piled on the dead body; and this was done that the bear,
finding it too troublesome, for he is economical of labour, to remove
the body nearer to his den, would satisfy his hunger on the spot, and
offer an opportunity to overtake him at his meals; besides, the bear,
being quick of sight and shy, and so sensitive of scent that he can
smell a man at the distance of a mile or more if he approaches _with_
the wind, will frequently leave his food and as frequently return to it;
and, therefore, the Norwegians conceal themselves in the kind of sheds I
have described above, and remain for days and nights under such
precarious roofs in order to circumvent and destroy the animal.

We felt rather disappointed at not having even seen old Bruin, but a
good laugh in some degree compensated us for the fatigue we had
undergone. For my own part, armed as I was with the rusty horse pistol,
and intent on the manufacture of my own bear's grease, I had heard so
many pleasing anecdotes of the bear's noble nature, that I did not
regret his retreat had been commenced in time. These animals, unless
severely pressed by hunger, will never attack any living creature, and
will even avoid with much care those parts of the mountains where cattle
are wont to feed; and it is beyond the recollection of the oldest
inhabitant, or, indeed, the reach of tradition, when a child has been,
in the slightest degree, hurt by the Norwegian bear. On the contrary, it
is well known that these animals have met children in their track, and,
though at the time much oppressed by thirst and famine, have passed them
harmlessly by.

We sate down on a large rock, about twelve feet square, slightly
elevated above the ground, and entirely overgrown with moss. A small fir
tree, not ten inches high, grew in its centre, and the symmetry of its
diminutive trunk, rendered more beautiful by the regularity with which
its little branches sprung forth and drooped around first attracted our
notice to the spot as one where we should rest.

It was so situated that we could see for many miles around us in one
direction; but were excluded from any prospect at the other points. A
bog, filled with animalculae of all forms sporting about in the water,
which was black from long stagnation, surrounded three parts of the
rock, leaving but one approach to it, which was the side least raised
above the level of the earth. The bog, therefore, acted as a moat; and
it was with that, or some similar feeling of security, we stretched
ourselves at full length on the soft moss, and basked in the sun.
P----, as usual, drew forth his pipe, and soothing himself with its
fumes, exemplified absolute comfort and contentment in the placidity of
his countenance. R---- dangled his legs over the edges of the rock; and
I, assuming the same attitude, gazed with him on the mountains towering
and straggling, at a great distance above and beneath us.

"What a bore it is" said R----, "fagging all the way up here, and not
getting a shot at that brute."

"Why, yes," I replied, "but bears, you know, are as likely to deceive
people now-a-days, as will-o'-the-wisps did monks of yore."

"That's all very well," observed R----, "but I am no monk, and I think
those Norwegians tell a good many lies; and this dead horse has been
only pulled about up here by a herd of famished dogs, and no bear. These
fellows say there _are_ bears to make their country appear finer than it
is."

"No, no," answered P----, "the fact is, we are too late; the day is hot,
as you feel, and these animals disliking the heat, feed at daylight, and
then retire into the heart of the forest, where they can escape the
oppression of the mid-day sun."

"Always?" R---- asked.

"Of course," replied P----.

"Oh! of course;" R---- reiterated, "that may be natural philosophy, but
my way of thinking seems as natural; and I take it, that, when animals,
like men, know where food is to be found and eat for the mere walking,
sunlight and moonlight, heat and cold are alike to them."

"I know," answered P----, "these Norwegian fellows tell enormous
crammers; but you may depend upon it, if we wish to get sport we must
get up earlier."

"Well," R---- replied, "all I can say to the bears and sporting animals
in general is, that if they don't breakfast a little later, or indulge
in luncheons, they won't hear much of _me_. Fun is fun, and sport is
sport; but catch _me_ out of bed at half-past 2 A.M."

"I abide by R----," I said, "I hold his logic in high repute, since its
principle is good."

P---- replied not; but, removing the pin from his silk neckcloth,
stirred up with its sharp point the smouldering ashes of his pipe. R----
looked in silence at the surrounding scene, and then broke into an
exclamation of rapture.

"Is it not beautiful?" concurred P----, turning his eyes in the
direction of the mountains. "There is nothing in the world to be
compared to the sublimity of this scenery, defined as the outlines are
by the clearness of the atmosphere and its deep blue tint." After a
short pause he continued, "When we can see at one glance such an
immensity of space, and know that this vast tract of mountain and of
valley must be full of animal life, is not this silence awful?"

We made no answer, but tacitly complied with his observation.

The rustling of dried leaves and the sharp crack of a breaking twig now
crept upon the ear; and P----, a sportsman at all points and at all
times, had already turned in the direction whence the interruption came;
and, as I was about to speak, he grasped me convulsively by the arm,
and, without any other intimation of danger, began slowly to raise his
rifle from the ground. R---- and I immediately started up, utterly at a
loss to know the cause of his dismay.

"For God's sake!" P---- whispered, without removing his eyes from the
quarter where they had been fixed, "don't speak: here he is!"

"Here is what?" in imitative whispers, breathed R----; but, at the same
time, cocking the trigger of his rifle, "I don't see him."

"Don't fire!" again whispered P----; "take your time."

"'Don't fire!' and 'take your time,'" said R----; "but _what_ do you
see?"

"Look _there_! don't you see him--close to that old stump?"

"Oh! ah! _now_ I do. By Jove! he's a wapper!"

"Where are those fellows?" asked P----, glancing round. I guessed to
whom he alluded, and beckoned to our guides, who were sitting at some
short distance, in ignorance of our plight, but had been watching our
actions with all the attention, and listening to our conversation with
all the comprehension of persons who did not understand our language. An
instant sufficed to range them at our elbows.

P---- pointed to the spot he had already suggested as the focus of
attention, and they both saw, with the quick-sightedness of men
accustomed to live by the chase, the cause of his excitement.

"Ja! ja!" they exclaimed simultaneously, their countenances radiant with
joy, "goot."

P---- bowed his head in the affirmative; and we could not help admiring
the courage of the Norwegians, which seemed to merge into enthusiasm,
the more imminent the risk and danger of our sport became.

An enormous bear, apparently fatigued by long travel, and panting loudly
with protruding tongue, slowly stalked forth from a mound of earth which
had accumulated round the stump of a beech-tree grown to maturity, but
now decaying in the midst of rushes and briars of every sort. Bruin, no
doubt, overheard our voices, for he stopped on his way, drew in his
tongue, ceased his violent respiration; and, raising his head on high,
snuffed the air on all sides, and then placing his nose close to the
ground, kept it there for some little time. He was eighty or ninety
yards from the spot where we stood. As again his head was lifted up,
his small tuft of a tail moved quickly from right to left, revealing his
turbulence and hesitation.

"Don't let us all fire together," hinted P----, in an under tone; "but
let those Norwegians blaze away first, as we don't know anything about
their skill."

"Then, I'll follow," said R----.

"And my pistol next," I interceded.

"Very well; and I will try my luck last," said P----. "Are all ready?"

"All right," we both answered, and the two Norwegians assented with a
nod.

The bear kept moving gradually near and nearer to the bait, and
approached within a very short space of the rock where we lay hid,
thickly surrounded by the branches of the fir and beech.

"Fire!" breathed P----, lowly.

One guide, elevating his gigantic rifle, pulled the trigger. A
tremendous report was one result, and the total disappearance of the
Norwegian was the other; the fowling-piece having kicked him completely
off the edge of the rock into our natural moat, the bog. We heard the
splash of the man's body below, and thought, at first, he was killed by
the bursting of his rifle; but when his companion, who had leaped down
to his assistance, helped him, reeking and muddy, from the dominions of
the tadpole, and placed him, uninjured, though stunned, on his legs, we
could not resist a burst of merriment at his countenance of unmitigated
disgust, as the liquid filth oozed from the tips of his dependent
fingers.

The sound of our laughter alarmed Bruin, and revealed us to his sight,
and, rising immediately on his hind-legs, he commenced moving towards
the Norwegians, and hissing like a hot coal dipped in cold water.

"Hang the mud, jump up!" exclaimed P----.

"Grin and _bear_ it, old fellow," and, saying so, R---- quietly levelled
his rifle, with some misgiving, for it was of Norwegian manufacture, and
fired at the animal. Poor Bruin received the ball in his left fore-leg;
and, with a piteous moan, he instantly assumed his natural position on
all fours, and hissed and growled, and licked the blood which streamed
from the wound. The animal, nothing daunted, even in this extremity,
still moved towards us with great ferocity; and, as he came within forty
feet, P---- lodged a second bullet in his loin. The pain exasperated him
to the quick, and he rushed furiously towards the rock.

"Where's the powder?" shouted P----.

"I don't know," echoed from every one. No powder could be found; the
Norwegian having taken possession of the porter bottle, and placed it in
his pocket, had doubtlessly fallen with it into the quagmire; and they
had now absconded.

"Don't let him get up!" continued P---- emphatically.

"Not to my knowledge," R---- replied, assuming a long recognised
attitude of great military defence.

I now presented my rusty old horse-pistol at Bruin's head, at an
interval sufficient under the circumstances, of three yards, and fired
it; when, whether from having received its contents, or from alarm at
its loud report, the bear rolled over on his back; but, recovering
himself in a moment, he made an awkward spring, short of the rock, and
received, in commemoration of his false agility, a blow on the head from
the butt-end of R----'s rifle. The shock removed R----'s glazed cap from
his head, and it fell, bounding from the rock, close to Bruin's nose.
Mistaking, no doubt, this ingenious covering for R----'s especial skull,
the bear, infuriated, flew at it impetuously, and seizing it in his
mouth, shook it as an angry dog would have shaken a rag.

The blood was now fastly trickling down his tongue, which hung from his
mouth, and through his side at every pulsation, spouted, smoking, the
warm element of life. Gradually, slowly, yet reluctantly, his head
drooped towards the ground, and, faint from loss of blood, the animal,
tottering from side to side, sate, weakened as he was, upright on his
haunches, showing his teeth, and growling until the coagulated blood,
accumulating in his throat, would make him cough, and threatened
suffocation.

Descending from the rock, we came near to the dying creature, and,
striving to reach one of us, he lifted his paw, and, as he did so, lost
his balance, and tumbled over on the earth. Although, as we supposed, on
the point of death, the gallant brute still growled, and attempted to
rise again and renew the fight, but complete exhaustion denied what his
courage prompted.

The Norwegians now reappeared, and one of them knelt down to remove
R----'s cap from the bear's clutches; but the undaunted Bruin, as if
desirous of giving his countryman a final embrace, seized him round the
neck, and drew him tightly to his clotted breast. We were, of course,
alarmed a second time for the man's safety, and by great exertions tried
to release him from his perilous condition; but our efforts were not a
little crippled by the legs of the Norwegian, which he flung violently
about at every possible tangent; and one arm, moving with the rapid
oscillating motion of a steam-engine, brought the fist in sharp contact
with the other Norwegian's chest, and threw him, head over heels, into
the identical pool whence he had himself but lately escaped.

The accident was so ludicrous, that in the ecstasies of mirth, we forgot
the man lying prostrate and kicking in the arms of the bear; until, by
dint of his own exertions, he released himself, and, standing upright
before us, showed his face plastered from forehead to chin, and ear to
ear, with a multitude of withered leaves, which adhered to the blood he
had borrowed from the animal's wounds.

The poor bear was now dead; and, behaving bravely as he did to the last,
we could not help regretting his end. Though young, he almost reached an
Alderney cow in height and standard, and great power was developed in
the sinews and breadth of his chest. His coat to the touch and sight was
soft and glossy as silk.

After standing over his body for a few minutes in silent observation,
R---- wiped the gore from his cap, and placing it, shattered as it was,
on his head, we all left the bear, for the present, where he lay; and
wandering through the forest for some time, enjoyed the coolness of the
air at this great elevation, pursuing, by a circuitous route, our
descent to the cottage.

Our fame, unlike the

"Fama malum," &c., &c.

of Virgil, did, certainly, precede us with great velocity, but with
beneficial effects; for the women came forth to meet us, and looking up
in our faces, found out our eyes were beautiful, and our noses better
moulded than their own, and called us handsome "Ingerleesh;" and the
men, grasping us by the wrists, said we were brave and "goot
Ingerleesh."

One little blue-eyed girl, the elegance of her light form unaided by the
care of art, attracted my attention; and, with finger in her mouth,
sidling coaxingly to me, took my hand gently in hers, and begged in the
sweet idiom of her country, and in the earnest tones of her own sweeter
voice, that I would carry her with me to "Ingerlaand," where she would
serve me, like a slave, till she died.

The sun had long passed the meridian before the felicitations on our
success were at an end; and then, having recommended the bear's carcass
to the custody of our ancient and well-tried friend, the
Anglo-Norwegian, who promised to preserve the skin for us till our
return, (and who, by the way, was the first to meet us and thank his
pagods for our safe issue out of the skirmish,) and having made a
trifling present to our host, we packed up our pots and pans, and,
seating ourselves in the gig, were again floating on the Toptdal River.

P----'s first love, the pool, was not forgotten, for he gave it a
wistful glance in passing; but the wind drawing aft, our sail was set,
and stopping was beyond all question. We continued our course without
any interruption until we arrived at the mouth of the river, when a
sudden puff took a fancy for R----'s renowned cap, and, forcing it from
his head, raised it high in its embrace, and kept it there for a second
or two; then, as if suddenly relaxing in its caresses, tossed it
vehemently away into the water.

We all witnessed the gyrations of the cap, and saw it fall; but, before
we could row to the spot, the great _tile_ sank from repletion, and--for
ever!

The same puff in its subtlety nearly capsized us, and completely carried
away the step of the mast. No other incident befell us; and we jumped on
board the Iris as the church at Christiansand was striking six.

Wednesday, the 12th, did us the kindness of showing the aspect of Old
Norway under the effect of a different atmosphere than we had yet
inhaled; for it rained the whole day with all the accumulated
steadiness, rheumatic rawness, slowness, and obstinacy of a Scotch, or
English November mist. We did not, however, heed the weather, but rowed
round the Bay, and strolled on the islands in its vicinity, stimulated
by the hope of getting a shot at some animal, fish or bird; but no such
luck overtook us. We returned on board, wet through, after being absent
for three hours, and while removing our damp boots, concluded that we
were deceived on our first arrival, and, that Norway was the same
"humbugging" sort of a place as the rest of Europe; and, indeed, that
the whole world was subject to the identical changes of shower, fog, and
sunshine.

Some Norwegian gentleman, just at this nick of time and temper, sent on
board a salmon, a brace of black cock, and a cock of the north, as
large as a turkey, and we immediately admitted the generosity of
foreigners, particularly these Norsemen, but shut out the drizzle of
Wednesday, the 12th of May, from any kind of sympathy.

CHAPTER III.

DEPARTURE FROM CHRISTIANSAND--THE PILOT'S PRAM--SKAW
POINT--DELINQUENCIES OF JACKO--EXPENSIVE CANNONADING
--ELSINEUR--HAMLET'S WALK--THE MINISTER, STRUENSEE--
STORY OF QUEEN CAROLINE-MATILDA--LEGEND OF THE SERF.

Thursday broke without a cloud. The wind breathed softly over the
mountains from the West. We had no object to detain us longer, for the
present, in Norway, and so the cutter was got under weigh. The wind
gradually increased, and, at eight o'clock, we passed the Oxoe Light, at
the eastern extremity of the Fiord.

The pilot, unaccustomed to the speed of an English yacht, was much
alarmed about the safety of his boat towing at the cutter's stern; for,
now and then, the antiquated pram would dip its nose so deeply into the
water, being drawn swiftly through it, as to threaten instant
submersion; and his attention divided between the tiller of a vessel,
which flew up in the wind's eye with the slightest negligence, and his
anxiety for the well-being of his own boat,--the countenance of the
Norse tar was a book on whose leaves the student might have seen how
truly "the ridiculous and sublime" can be united.

"Now then, my man," said D----; "mind your helm, or you'll have her up
in the wind in a minute."

"Ja; but luke at moin praam--moin Got!"

"Curse your pram,--she won't hurt; haul her on board," said D---- to
some of the sailors.

"Nej, nej," exclaimed the Norwegian; "zare--luke zare! Moin Got! luke at
moin praam!"

"Her timbers are good, ain't they? If they're good, and will hold
together, this lop wont hurt her," observed D----.

"Ja,--goot; but ze vater _ville_ come into moin praam. Moin Got!"

The fellow was glad to take his dollars and his leave, and, as soon as
he did so, we shaped our course for the Skaw Point, the most northerly
headland of Denmark. The wind now blew strongly from W.S.W., and the
Iris tore furiously along, revelling with her favourite breeze, three
points on the quarter; and, bounding from wave to wave, she seemed to
dally with their soft white crests, which curved half playfully, half
reluctantly, as her proud bows met and kissed them lightly, then threw
them, hissing, in her wake.

At noon, the latitude observed, was 57.54; and at five o'clock we made
the Skaw through the crevices of a fog.

We had run nearly one hundred miles in nine hours, and the reader may
easily understand the alarm of the pilot for the safety of his boat. At
six o'clock, the fog cleared away, and we discerned with our glasses
five vessels which had run ashore during the thickness of the weather.
These mishaps frequently occur along this part of the Danish shore, for
it is very low, and invariably shrouded in mist.

We did not lack society; as hundreds of vessels of all shapes and sizes,
from the lumbering Dutchman to the trim American, were scattered over
the surface of the water. We amused ourselves by signalling, first to
one ship, and, then, to the other brig, and so on, in rotation, from
schooner to smack; and, thus occupied, the afternoon wagged on.

Jacko was convicted of a few misdemeanours to-day, and the principal
witness against him was his particular friend, Alfred, the boy. Jacko
was seen to descend into the cabin, and, entering my berth, to take
thence my best London-made and only remaining tooth-brush; and, after
polishing his own diminutive teeth, and committing other pranks with it,
such as the scrubbing of the deck, and currying of Sailor's back, left
it to batten on the fish-bones in the said Sailor's hutch; and was,
moreover, seen by the aforesaid complainant to remove R----'s small
ivory box of cold cream from the dressing-case, and, ascending the
deck,--not as human creatures do by the companion-stairs, but along the
companion-banisters, carrying the purloined article in his tail,--to
anoint, in the first instance, his own pugged nose; and, in the second
instance, to transfer the obligation to Sailor's (always Sailor!) shaggy
ears and shaggier coat; and then, that his guilt might be concealed,
till the day of judgment for ring-tailed monkeys should come, the little
box itself was sent overboard through one of the scuppers. Jacko was
found guilty of these two charges by the steward and helmsman, (whose
pipe Jacko had also committed to the waters of the Scaggerack,) and
ordered to the mast-head; and there he remained for three hours sitting
close to the jaws of the gaff, and chattering, without cessation, his
annoyances to the gaff halliard blocks.

At midnight, the Trindelen light-ship bore west, distance six or seven
miles. Although Cronenborg Castle had been in sight all day, we did not
anchor off the town of Elsineur (the wind being so light) until six
o'clock on Friday evening. Immediately on our arrival, a boat was sent
ashore to deliver the vessel's papers; for, though the ancient
privileges of Cronenborg are not held with such paramount sovereignty as
they used to be of yore, some form, and merely form, is, however,
observed. For instance--in passing the castle, the ensign of the
country to which the vessel belongs must be hoisted at the peak, or at
the fore, according to the character of the vessel; and, should this
regulation be encroached upon, a gun from the citadel is immediately
fired, and is followed by others until the flag is hoisted, and
continues to be fired until the flag is seen at its proper place; and,
when the commotion is at an end, an artillery officer, or his deputy,
boards the refractory vessel and demands payment, (every gun, fired, at
so much) for the powder expended in bringing the crew to their senses.
Many droll scenes occur between the Castle and the Dutch
merchant-vessels going up the Baltic; for the Dutchmen, either from
their unwieldiness, or from the confused cargo they carry, cannot always
be made, on the instant, to conform to some of these regulations; and
the artillerymen, being desirous of profiting by the apparent
negligence, knowing well the cause, open an unremitting cannonade on the
passive Hollanders, and, in the course of a few minutes, will run up a
tolerably long bill.

The night was most beautiful, and the sea calm as death. The fine old
Castle of Cronenborg, casting a dark shadow over the water even to the
vessel's side, made me dream of days and legends gone by as I remained
silently gazing on its elegant tower. My mind, filled with melancholy
fancies, flew to centuries long past, when the philosophic Hamlet mused,
perhaps, on calm evenings like this, pacing to and fro the very
ramparts I was looking on, or sought, on that night of "a nipping and an
eager air," the coming of him whose

"Form and cause conjoined, preaching to stones,
Would make them capable."

Those old walls, too, are full of poor, Struensee's fate,--he, whose
great soul, sundering aristocratic power, first gave liberty to Denmark,
and added to her natural blessings the moral beauty of our own dear
England. And how does history speak?

On the 16th of June, 1772, a masked ball was given at the Court of
Denmark, surpassing the imaginary brilliancy of an Oriental tale. A
thousand tapers threw their splendour over a scene already glittering
with the beauty, youth, and power of Copenhagen. The mean and daily
feelings which give impulse to the actions of political men, seemed
absorbed in the joyousness of the moment; and the gravest senators might
have been seen on this night, unravelling the mazes of the dance, with
the speed and light-heartedness of the youngest girl. The king himself,
throwing aside the apathetic reserve of his state, danced a
country-dance with the queen; and, at its conclusion, he having retired
to play at quadrille with General Gahler and Counsellor Struensee, the
youthful queen gave her hand to Count Struensee during the remainder of
the evening. At one end of the room, apart from all, and apparently
lost in their own thoughts, stood the Dowager-queen, and her son,
Prince Frederick. While his royal mother shone with the dazzling
brightness of numberless precious stones attired in all the outward pomp
of her high position, the Prince was habited in the splendid uniform of
a Danish regiment of horse; and the most honourable Order of the
Elephant, surmounted with a castle, set in diamonds, and suspended to a
sky-blue watered ribbon, passed over his right shoulder; a white ribbon
from which depended a small cross of diamonds, and an embroidered star
on the breast of his coat denoted him to be also a Knight of the most
ancient Order of Daneburg.

Keeping their eyes intently fixed on the beautiful Caroline-Matilda, as
she moved through the dance with Count Struensee, they would
occasionally, in whispers, make an observation to each other, but in
tones so low, that their nearest attendants could not catch its purport.
The young Queen, fatigued at last, retired at two o'clock from the
ball-room, followed by Struensee and Count Brandt. About four the same
morning, Prince Frederick got up and dressed himself, and went with his
mother to the King's bed-chamber, accompanied by General Eichstedt and
Count Rantzan. As soon as they had reached the lobby of the royal
chamber, the page was roused, and ordered to awake the King; and, in the
midst of the surprise and alarm that this unexpected intrusion excited,
they informed him, that his Queen and the two Struensees were at that
instant busy in drawing up an act of renunciation of the crown, which
they would immediately afterwards compel him to sign; and, that the only
means he could use to prevent so imminent a danger, was to validate by
his signature those orders, without loss of time, which they had brought
with them, for arresting the Queen and her accomplices. The King
hesitated for some time, and, it is said, was not easily prevailed upon
to sign these orders; but at length complied, though with reluctance and
expressions of great grief. Count Rantzan and three officers were
dispatched, at that untimely hour, to the Queen's apartment, and
immediately arrested her. She was hurried into one of the King's
carriages, and conveyed at once to the Castle of Cronenborg, where she
remained until May, when the King of England sent a small squadron of
ships to carry her to Germany. The City of Zell was appointed her place
of residence, where she died of a malignant fever on the 10th of May,
1775, at the early age of twenty-three. Some most unjust charges, in
connection with the Queen, Caroline-Matilda, were brought against
Struensee, and, on the 28th April, 1772, he was, together with his old
friend, Count Brandt, beheaded, his right hand being previously cut
off.

Caroline-Matilda was the sister of George III.; and her infant son, the
late King of Denmark, Christian VIII., was at this period taken from his
mother, though only five years of age; and this separation from her
little son, on whom she doted, hastened to an untimely grave this
innocent and unfortunate queen.

The Danish traditions say that for many ages the clang of arms, and
groans of human beings, as if in torture, were occasionally heard in the
dismal vaults beneath the Castle of Cronenborg. No human creature knew
the cause of these strange noises, and desirous, as all people were, to
learn the mystery, there was not in all the land of Denmark a man bold
enough to descend into the vaults. The sentinels, as they kept watch by
night, would be driven by superstitious terror from their posts, nor
could they be induced to resume their duty. On stormy nights, when the
rain descended, and thunder and lightning disturbed the face of nature,
these unearthly sounds would begin, at first by low moans, to join the
universal din; then, increasing loud and more loud, add horror to the
raging elements. At last, a poor serf, who had forfeited his life, was
told that all the errors of his youth should be regarded no more, and
his crimes be forgiven, if he would descend and bring intelligence to
his countrymen of what he saw and found in these vaults. Oppressed by
the ignominy of his fate, he went down, and following, carefully, to an
immense depth, the winding of a stone staircase, came to an iron door,
which opened, as if by a spring, when he knocked. He entered, and found
himself on the brink of a deep vault. In the centre of the ceiling hung
a lamp, which was nearly burnt out, and, by its flickering light, he
saw, below, a huge stone table, round which many warriors, clad in
armour, sate, resting, as if in slumber, their heads on their arms,
which they laid crossways. He who reclined at the farthest end of the
table--a man of great stature--then rose up. It was Holger, the Dane.
When he raised his head from his arms, the foundations of the vault
shook, and the stone table burst instantly in twain, for his beard had
grown through it. He beckoned the slave to approach; and, when he had
come near, said,

"Give me thy hand!"

The slave, alarmed, durst not give him the hand he had required, but,
taking up an iron bar from the ground, put it forth; and Holger,
grasping it, indented it with his fingers. This friendly response (for
Holger perceived not the difference between flesh and iron,) to the
feelings of Holger made a deep impression on his heart, unaccustomed
though it had been for centuries to the sympathy of his kind, and
smiling, he muttered to the trembling slave,

"It is well! I am glad that there are yet _men_ in Denmark."

The serf returned to earth as soon as permission was obtained, and,
relating the story exactly as I have repeated it, received his freedom
and a pension from the king.

The Castle of Cronenborg was commenced by Frederick II. in 1574, and
finished by Christian IV.

The boat returned at eight o'clock, and brought off some bread; but it
was so hard and heavy, we could not touch it, though some Danes, who had
accompanied our men from the shore, assured us it was the best bread
baked in Elsineur, and eaten by the native nobility. It was darker in
colour than the brown bread in England; and so acid, that the sailors,
who were cormorants at food, and ostriches in digestion, declined the
loaf as a gift. Sailor ate it, and had the cholic for three weeks.

Earlier than the sun I arose on Saturday morning. From the spot where
the yacht lay at anchor, the town of Elsineur had an imposing
appearance; and, besides the number of fishing-vessels which kept
popping out of the harbour, one by one, round the pier-head, at this
early time, amidst the shouts and merry laughter of their crews,
betokening the light hearts with which they went forth to their daily
labour,--the wind-mills on the tops of the neighbouring hills, outvying
each other in velocity, showed that the inhabitants entertained, at
least, habits of industry, and were not, perhaps, unacquainted with the
advantages of traffic. But, since we did not land to-day, I will revert
to this celebrated little town on our return from Copenhagen, when, I
hope, to make myself more familiar with it.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PILOT--TEMPESTUOUS WEATHER--DISTANT VIEW OF
COPENHAGEN--LORD NELSON--THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC
--THE HARBOUR-MASTER--INTEREST EXCITED BY THE
YACHT'S ARRIVAL--THE ARTIST--THE ANGLER--WE GO
ASHORE.

At twelve o'clock the pilot stepped on board, and, in a few minutes,
with a freshening wind from the westward, we were on our way to the
Danish capital. To a warm, unclouded morning, a wet dark day succeeded;
and, except between the chasms of flying clouds, the sun wholly withheld
its light. The rain fell, at intervals, in torrents; and, concealing
myself under the lee of the gig, which was hoisted on the davits, I
endeavoured to enter into conversation with the pilot. The silvery hand
of time, or heavier one of toil, had tinged his hair; and though (to
judge from his sad and thoughtful mien,) life seemed protracted longer
than he wished, his career, I learned by hints, had not been without
excitement to himself, and could not be recited without interest and
instruction to others. The old man was short and stout, and little gray
eyes twinkled beneath an intellectual forehead, scarred by a sabre
wound. After I had watched him with attention for some time, his
firmly-compressed lips and sombre countenance showed the solidity of his
character, and no weak point at which I might attack him with an
observation. Sailor, who had been reclining in his hutch, disliking to
wet his hide, and who was still labouring from the ill effects of the
Danish brown bread, now came forth to stretch himself; and, seeing a
man, unknown, standing by the compass-box, approached, and, with all the
diffidence of his tribe, determined to form no friendship, without
previously ascertaining whence he came, and what his business was.
Sailor therefore walked with resolution up to the man, and smelt his
coat. The dog also applied his nose to a little bundle tied with a dark
silk handkerchief stowed unintrusively away between the pumps; and then,
turning round, he looked up at me, and wagged his tail. I could almost
see a smile upon his face. The old man laughed, and said, half nettled
by Sailor's contemptuous way of smelling his whole wardrobe, "Dat is von
vine dog."

Though the allusion to the dog's well-proportioned form, or extreme
sagacity, was one which answered itself, I replied,

"Yes; and that is the way he makes friends."

"I know, I know," he answered, "if von maan's schmell vosh as goot, ve
shoult schmell de tief vary shoon."

"True; but if we are fond of sweet scents, and had to judge virtue and
vice by smell, we should very soon leave off smelling, or leave the
world."

He did not seem to comprehend my meaning, for a vague expression of
neither assent nor dissent passed over his countenance. He now, however,
became talkative, and told me he commenced life by entering the Danish
navy, and had been present in many engagements. Travelling from one end
of the world to the other, though seated together under the gig's keel,
and wrapped in tarpaulin, we contrived to meet in the West Indies; and
the old sailor's heart opened towards me as I spoke of scenes and things
familiar to him in his youth. I told him how I had been going "up and
down on the earth," and "walking to and fro on it;" and he took my hand
in his and shook it, because I, like him, had been a wanderer. And so we
whiled away the time, and heard and felt neither wind nor rain.

P---- had gone below to arrange his flies; and I could occasionally hear
R----'s voice, above the whistling of the wind through the shrouds,
modulating "Buffalo Gals," "The Great Plenipotentiary," and other
favourite ballads. We were now half way between Elsineur and
Copenhagen, and rising above a cape of level land on our starboard bow,
the high buildings and steeples of Copenhagen could be distinguished. I
formed, from this view, a grand idea of the Northern Capital, and, had I
not done so, I might have been less disappointed, beautiful though the
city is, when I found myself the following day walking through its
streets. But the same event happens to man's works as to man himself.
The nearer I view a picture, the harsher become those lines which, at a
distance, seemed so soft; and had I seen Caesar, I should not now worship
the deity I have raised on the pedestal of Imagination. I desire to
foster the poetic feeling which, like a mountain mist, surrounds the
ordinary habits and character of great men, and so I stand aloof and
look on them. I exist on the Pagan creed,

"Omne ignotum pro magnifico."

The pilot, pointing with his finger, showed the spot where Nelson landed
some of his men the day before his action in 1801; and, as the Dane
reminded me of the crafty manner in which the officers of the English
fleet imposed on the credulity of the good folks at Elsineur, the sound
of distant thunder was heard. He ceased to speak, and listened to the
low, rumbling peals, as they swelled, now loudly on the tops of the far
mountains of Sweden, then sank faintly in the valleys. The old man went
on to say, he remembered the action well; and, with bitterness,
regretted that it ever occurred. This was the first time I had heard
England spoken of discreditably, and the arrow pierced deep, and deeper,
as familiar intercourse told, that the Danes, a brave and noble people
themselves, always remember this battle with a sorrowful resignation,
and grieving, feel, without vindictiveness, that, though Time may heal
the outward wound, the moral pain remains for ever.

The scenery all along this coast of Denmark is very beautiful, the royal
forests, extending nearly from Elsineur to Copenhagen, contributing with
their masses of trees, and their rich green tints, to relieve the
occasional gloomy aspect of the Swedish shore. These forests are
strictly preserved, and are full of game; and, reared above the loftiest
trees, the roof of one of the king's hunting-palaces may be seen. With
its usual bounty, the wind increased to a gale, and we entered
Copenhagen harbour at three o'clock, with a reef in the mainsail, and
ploughing up the water in furious fashion.

The Harbour-Master came on board as soon as we had anchored, and
requested, with much civility, that we would move from the berth we had
taken, since we obstructed the free passage between the docks and the
harbour; and the cutter, he hinted, might be injured by merchant-vessels
being warped from one to the other place. R---- made no demur; but
turned round, and rated in good English the old pilot for his stupidity;
while the old pilot, in unintelligible Danish, roared at his countryman
for not coming off before the anchor had gone. When the little stout
pilot was pacified, and unanimity restored, the Harbour-Master, a man of
immense stature, and great personal beauty, came up to me, and said,
with an excellent dialect, in the English language,

"I could perceive, Sir, your vessel was an English one, the moment she
weathered that point; for none but a British vessel could dash along in
such style as yours did."

I bowed, and thanked him for the compliment.

"I only hope, Sir," he continued, "that the Crown Prince will return
before you leave Copenhagen; for this yacht would soon disgust him with
his own."

"Is the Prince then away from Copenhagen?" I asked.

"Yes, Sir; he is gone for a cruise towards the Baltic, and that is the
reason you have not met him on the passage here. He is partial to the
English; and so are we. He would have chased you; but, Sir, his yacht is
no better than a fisherman's smack."

After a multitude of other aspirations, that we might encounter the
Crown Prince, now, by the way, king, to disgust him with his property,
the Dane took his leave; and, although his bland, Saxon face, with his
seemingly open disposition, drew me towards him, I was not sorry to be
alone.

The sun seemed at last to have gained its desire, by lulling the wind,
and, instead of bursting, fretfully, through squally clouds, now shone
forth with warmth and unblemished splendour. Many ladies and gentlemen
walked up and down on a promenade, evidently a favourite and fashionable
lounge, within the ramparts of a citadel, bristling with guns of
tremendous calibre, not a cable's length from the Iris; so, that, I
could see, without being much observed, the gaiety which was in vogue,
and could almost hear, did I understand the language, the anxiety
expressed to know what and whence we were. The ladies in their French
pink bonnets, and English dresses, pointed, gathering in knots, to the
white Ensign and red cross of St. George,--which drooping, dipped, like
a swallow, to the water's surface, then floated lazily in the air,--and
concluded at once in their sweet minds from what part of the sunny South
we came, and what the errand was which had brought us so far from home
to Denmark. I could almost tell, by the fervour of their manner, how the
men viewed with admiration the slight downward curve of the cutter's
bowsprit, her burnished copper, and low, raking hull. Boats of all sizes
and shapes, each containing a cargo, varying from four to thirteen
persons, put off from the shore, and each individual whispering one to
the other, that we were English, paddled round the cutter. Removed at a
short distance from the little fleet, like the leading drake of a flock
of ducks, a boat, rowed by a sailor and carrying two gentlemen, one with
spectacles, standing, and the other quietly seated, steering, described
continuously an elliptical circle round and round the vessel. Now and
then, the gentleman, who stood, would make an exclamation to his
companion, but whether of admiration or dislike, I had no other means of
conjecturing than from the frequency with which he arranged,
disarranged, and re-arranged his spectacles, first, fixing them tightly
to the bridge of his nose, then, unfixing them, with a pettish jerk, to
wipe them with his handkerchief, and, at last, refixing them with much
precision, by removing the hat from his head and clasping it between his
knees, till the yielding pasteboard crackled again. This
circumnavigation continued for some time, much to my amusement, but more
to the annoyance of Sailor, who leaped from stern to bow, following the
motion of the boat, and barked, till the echo of his voice struck
sharply against the bastions of Fredrikshavn, then flew, bounding, back
again.

At last, the boat was pulled boldly to the gangway, and the excitable
gentleman in spectacles, seizing hold of the after-braces, bowed and
handed me a card, and begged, in bad French, that he might be permitted
to come on board. Permission was soon obtained from R----, and, with hat
in hand, on board the Dane, as I fancied, jumped, accompanied, of
course, by the other gentleman. The whiteness of the deck attracted his
attention, and turning to me he made, smiling, an observation in a
language which I did not understand, but could not help desiring to hear
its silvery sounds again.

"Vous n'etes pas Francais?" he then asked.

"Non, je ne suis pas."

"Mais la langue, ne la comprenez-vous pas?"

"Pas beaucoup," I replied.

"Dat is pitty; for I have been for shome toime past in Ingerlaand, but I
not learn ze langwage. Ze Ingerleesh varry difficolt."

"You seemed," I replied, "to have overcome that difficulty, and you
speak it with a pretty good accent."

"No, Zare, you varry goot to say so; but I feel I can at all not--at all
not,--qu'est que veut dire, 'exprimer?'--ach! ach!" he exclaimed,
putting his finger in his mouth, and pressing it, meditatively, between
his front teeth, "I can at all not speak moin feeling in ze vay I shoult
vish."

"How long were you in England?" I said.

"En fjor--une annee," he replied.

"If then, Sir," I went on, "after being one year in Denmark, I can speak
the language so correctly as you do the English, I should think myself
no deficient scholar."

"Oh! Zare, you too goot. I am not Dane, zough; I am from
Sweden--ffr[=a]n Svenska landet; but I come to Kjobenhagen for ze
painting. Zare," he said, turning round, and looking from stem to stern,
and from the burgee at the top-mast head to the brass belaying pins,
"dish Engelskt skepp varry--ach! ach!" again he exclaimed, stamping his
foot and thrusting his finger in his mouth, "fy!--vat you call 'skoent'?"

"Fine, beautiful," I said, assistingly.

"Ja; jag tackar. Det aer skoent!" he exclaimed to his companion, who bowed
in assent, and observed in the Swedish tongue,

"Det ser ut som en fregatt;" which, being interpreted, meant that the
yacht was like a frigate.

"Ja," answered my friend; and, after allowing time that they might
admire everything, which they did, walking to and fro the deck, looking
down the pumps and up the rigging, I requested that they would follow
me, and I would show them below. The compactness of the cabin, the
comfort of the berths, the height between decks, the combination of ease
and elegance in the furniture, the copper-plate drawings, the swinging
table, the pantry with every drawer and cupboard exactly where they
ought to be, and nowhere else, the forecastle, and, wonder upon wonder!
the cooking apparatus with its moveable jack, and its particular copper
for hot water,--all these things, and a thousand others too minute to
tell, acted so impressively on their minds, that I could hear them
extolling, in barbarous grammar, to the cook the singular sagacity of an
English mechanic, and the collective greatness of the English nation.
They remained on board nearly three hours; and, after conversing with
R----, P----, and myself as well as they could, they presented each of
us with their cards, and, begging that we would honour them with a
visit, took their leave. I returned on deck with them; and the
gentleman, whom I have distinguished from his fellow visitor by his
spectacles, before he stepped into his boat, said to me,

"Zare, I can at all not say how mooch dish skepp delight me to look at.
I am von artiste, and I should like varry mooch to draw dish skepp."

"I am sure," I replied, "Lord R---- will make no objection, for you
compliment him in expressing such a wish."

"I tank you, Zare; I can at all not help eet, but I look at dish skepp
like von--like von--ach! ach!--" and again the top of the forefinger was
lodged in his mouth, "vat is 'skoent'?--bootifool?--jag tacker;--like von
bootifool flicka, gal, and ze odare skepps like old vomans."

So saying, he raised his hat and gravely wished me good day.

"Good dag," he exclaimed again, standing upright in the boat--"Farvael!"

"Good dag. Farvael!" repeated his companion. And still, in an erect
position, the gentleman in spectacles kept his eyes fixed on the vessel
until a projecting portion of the quay hid the Iris from his sight. I
then joined R---- and P---- in the cabin. We were endeavouring to settle
what could be done in the evening, and at what point we should commence
to see all the lions in Copenhagen, and regretting that we were
unacquainted with an Englishman resident in the capital, when the
steward gave a very small card, having a very large inscription on it,
to R----, and said that a gentleman wished to speak to us. R---- desired
that the stranger would walk below.

"Gentlemen," said a stout man about fifty-five years of age, who, with a
red face, was standing uncovered at the threshold of the cabin door, "I
hope you will forgive the liberty I have taken in boarding your yacht."

"Oh! yes, certainly," said R----, "I am happy to see a countryman."

"That is just my case," replied the stout man, advancing farther into
the cabin. "I have been driven from my own country by adversity, and
whenever I see an Englishman I cannot resist forming his acquaintance,
that I might speak to some one who has come from the land where I was
born. Have you seen my card? My name is A--l--r C."

"Won't you sit down?" said P----, offering him a chair.

"I thank you," answered Mr. C----, and sate down. "I suppose you are
come to fish."

"We are," P---- replied, "and should like to learn something about the
art, and the places where it may be applied."

"You can't fish so far to the south as Copenhagen," said Mr. C. "There
are no fish here. I suppose you know that?"

"Yes, we know that," interposed R----, "we are from Christiansand, and
there we heard of fish, but caught none."

"That's very likely; the rivers are yet too cold, and will continue so
for a month or more. I am an old fisherman," exclaimed Mr. C----
challengingly. "I have caught my sixty in a week;" and he slapped his
thigh.

P---- rubbed his hands with satisfaction, and R---- rose from the sofa
on which he was reclining, and looked at Mr. C---- with curiosity.

"Well, now," proceeded Mr. A--l--r C----, "I would suggest, that, you
three gentlemen, being in search of pleasure or sport, should remain a
few days where you are. After having worn out the enjoyments, and there
are many, of Copenhagen, coast it up to Gottenborg, Falkenborg, and so
on till you reach Christiania; and at Falkenborg, or Kongsbacka, you may
get a few fish. Have you brought any tackle, or flies?"

"Lots of both," said P----, rising at the same moment, and taking from
the bookcase behind him his whole fishing apparatus. The fly-book was
soon opened, and Mr. C---- scrutinized tackle and flies with the
attention of an angler.

"This is too yellow," he said of one fly, removing it from the book, and
placing it on the table for observation. "Here--here's too much red and
blue," of another; "there are no flies of that colour in Sweden, or
Norway; and all this green on the belly is rubbish,--no fish will take
_that_. What's this? Ha! The dragon-fly,--'t won't do." After rummaging
for a little while, he said, "By the Lord Harry! come out!" seizing by
the wings a fourth fly about the size of a humming bird. "This'll do for
the coast of Greenland where whales are caught. Shall I tell you what?"
asked Mr. C----, putting an end to his criticism, and looking round at
us all. "Make your own flies. It's impossible for a fellow in the Strand
to put a fly together which would suit fishermen like you. Observe the
flies and insects of the country as they flutter under your nose, and
imitate them the best way you can."

"That's not a bad idea," was the simultaneous answer of R---- and P----;
but they liked not their London-made goods rated so lowly.

"Now," exclaimed Mr. C----, glancing steadfastly all round the cabin at
each of us, "I hear this yacht belongs to an English nobleman, and the
name is familiar to me. Which one of you is Lord R----?"

P---- and I made no reply; and R----, quite _taken a-back_, resumed
instantly, with a comic air, his declining attitude sideways on the
sofa, with his face turned next to the bulk-head.

"_You_ are Lord R----," continued Mr. C----, pointing to me.

"As much as you have exalted me in the grade of society, so much has it
pleased Fate at last to depress me," I replied. "That is Lord R----," I
continued, pointing to R----, or, at least, towards the centre seam in
the back of his pilot-jacket.

"I hope your Lordship," said old C----, addressing R----'s back front
view, "will forgive the robbery of your due; but, had I observed your
face, I could not have mistaken you."

R---- rose laughing, and told him no apology was requisite.

"You are very like the pictures I have seen, when I was in England, of
the Admiral." Then, after a pause, "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"
said Mr. C----. "How can I serve you? To-day is Saturday. Nothing is
going on to-night; but if, after dinner, you will allow me to wait on
you, I will do my best to amuse in a stroll about the town."

"But won't you dine on board?" asked P----.

"I thank you; I have already ordered my own chop," Mr. C---- replied,
"and I would in that case beg you to permit my meeting you after I have
demolished it. Say half-past seven."

"As you like," said R----; "but I can give you a good bottle of claret."

"Thank you, my Lord; but not to-day." And Mr. C. commenced a retrograde
motion towards the companion.

"Have you a boat?" inquired R----; "because you can have one of mine, if
you like."

"If you will, I shall feel obliged," replied Mr. C----.

"Alfred!" shouted R----, at the top of his lungs.

"Yes, my Lord," echoed from the recesses of the pantry, and then the
cause of the echo became visible at the door of the pantry.

"Man the gig!" said R----.

"Yes, my Lord," and Alfred again disappeared as quickly as a falling
star. A few minutes more, and Mr. C---- was over the gangway, in the
gig, and ashore.

CHAPTER V.

COPENHAGEN--THE CAFE--THE DILEMMA--THE GUARD--COMPLIMENT
TO ENGLAND--DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOUR AND FORTIFICATIONS
--DELINQUENT SAILORS--THE CITY ON SUNDAY--NEGRO
COMMISSIONAIRE--A WALK THROUGH THE CITY--NOTICES OF THE
VARIOUS PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

Punctual to our engagement, we met Mr. C----, after dinner at half-past
seven. After wandering over the town for some time without any definite
object, I grumbled at the system of enjoyment we had adopted. The
streets not being paved so well as the worst streets in London are, the
stones, projecting with sharp points three or four inches above the
ground, wound and irritate the feet to a serious extent; and my ankles
were almost sprained several times in consequence of the high heels I
had to my boots. I recommend thick shoes without heels to the traveller
in _all_ the northern capitals.

"You are always rusty, Bill," said R----. "Come on."

"Let us stop," I replied, "and determine where we are going."

We therefore stopped in a large square, at the base of an equestrian
statue, the beauty or imperfection of which I could not see at the late
hour; and, with Mr. C---- in the centre, consulted what could be done.
Being in ignorance of the habits of the people, and the haunts where
amusements existed, we three could only look at each other and be mute.

"Come along," at last exclaimed Mr. C----, as if a great idea had dawned
on his mind; "let's turn into this cafe," directing our attention to a
spacious building brilliantly illuminated.

"Port your helm, Jack," said R----, in a jesting tone of voice, and
moved quickly away towards the cafe.

We entered, and to say that we saw anything at our first entrance beyond
an atmosphere of tobacco smoke, so thick as to be palpable to the touch,
would be out of the question. After opening and closing my eyes twice or
three times, and, wiping away the tears which the pungent tobacco smoke
excited, I began to take an observation.

The room in which I found myself was literally crammed with men of all
denominations and all ages, and each having a cigar in his mouth in full
play. Some, in this dense hot region, were reading books full of deep
thought, (for I looked over their shoulders); some meditating over a
game of chess, more chattering vehemently and loudly, and many playing
at billiards. Mr. C----, R----, and P---- had seated themselves in the
vicinity of a billiard-table, and, when I partially recovered my senses,
I followed their example. The table was about half the size of the
billiard-tables in England, and the pockets were twice as large. The
four balls, with which they played, were not much bigger than those
generally used at bagatelle. The queus were uncovered at the top with
leather; and the player had the satisfaction of hearing the sharp twang
of his bare-headed queu as each time it struck the little ivory ball. No
chalk was in the room. The Danes possess no word in their language
expressive of that convenient mineral. In Denmark, credit is never
given. You must pay, or go to prison. Thank God, I am an Englishman.

We remained an hour in this cafe; and after tasting, each of us, a glass
of maraschino, which Mr. C---- would insist on paying for, we left the
oven. We did not, I promise you, go into another during the week we
remained at Copenhagen; and I would urge those "troubled and disquieted
spirits," who desire health and good lungs to pursue their wanderings on
meadow or mountain, strenuously to avoid these gasometers and
receptacles of tobacco smoke.

As it was now nearly twelve o'clock, we took leave of Mr. C----, and
walked towards the harbour, when, on our arrival at the Custom House, we
found the gates, through which we had passed when landing, closed, and
thus cutting off all communication between the yacht and ourselves. What
was to be done? The Heaven, decked out in its deep blue mantle, shone
brightly over our heads; and the poppy-dew of Sleep, descending on the
Soul of Copenhagen, had lulled all into the profoundest silence. Lying
calmly at anchor on the smooth water which reflected a thousand stars,
our floating home, not a mile off, could be seen. The tramp of a
sentinel struck on the ear.

"Hi! ho!" exclaimed P----, distinguishing the soldier's accoutrements.
The Dane approached the iron gate, and, leering through the bars, seemed
to doubt our gentility. We could not speak Danish; he did not speak
English; and what was to be done with a common soldier at dead of night?
P---- went near to the gate.

"Hi! ho!" a second time he exclaimed, as the soldier commenced walking
the other way; "We English gentlemen want to get board jhat;" persevered
P----, endeavouring, by the adoption of a broken accent, to convey his
meaning.

The Dane shook his head.

"We are done," said P---- calmly, "I wish we could get him to call the
officer on guard;" and, turning to the gaping sentinel again, "Officer,"
he continued, "appelez officer," speaking half French, half English.

The man ducked his shakko, and departed. Almost immediately the officer
of the guard came out, wrapped in the huge folds of a military cloak,
and, gazing at us through the bars, uttered a sentence in Danish. Making
no reply to him, he then said, saluting us with much politeness,

"Que voulez vous, Messieurs?"

"Nous sommes des Messieurs Anglais qui desirent passer d'ici jusqu'a
notre jhat," replied P----.

"Certainement;" so saying, a second time the officer raised his cap,
and, turning to two serjeants who had followed him from the guard-room,
gave directions that the gates should be unlocked, and we passed
unmolested through.

This was an act of courtesy and kindness which, we learned the next day,
we were fortunate in receiving; for it was the stringent order of the
Governor of Copenhagen, the Prince of Hesse, that the gates of the city,
particularly this one, should be closed at ten o'clock, and no one
permitted, on any pretence, to go in or out after this hour. The
smuggling between the coast of Sweden and the town of Copenhagen being
carried on to a great extent, render these restrictions very necessary;
and we could only be indebted to our country for the exception which had
been made to us by the officer on guard.

I rose betimes the following day, and went on deck before breakfast, in
order to take a view of the harbour, its position and defences. The
mouth of Copenhagen Harbour opens to the eastward. In the centre of its
entrance is a small island, called Armager, well fortified; and to the
south of it is another battery separated from Armager by a narrow
channel, which is so shallow, that, a reef of rocks may be noted by the
foam of the waves as they curl and break over it; while to the North is
the tremendous citadel of Fredrikshavn, and the only passage into the
harbour is between this fortress and the Island of Armager.

Gambier may have effectually bombarded Copenhagen in 1807, but, I think,
such an achievement would be scarcely practicable now. However, I am no
judge of either naval or military tactics, but if the metal of guns, and
the strength as well as position of fortifications promise to a city
protection from an enemy, be he ever so mighty, Copenhagen has that
promise well guaranteed to her.

In the midst of my political meditations, the steward popped his head
above the companion, touched his hair, as he always did when he had no
hat on, and said,

"Breakfast ready, Sir."

My appetite soon clambered to the summit on which my mind had been
perched, and desired obedience to what I heard; and in justification of
my health, I ate a good breakfast. I returned on deck, an hour
afterwards, holding little Jacko in my arms, who was surfeited with
coffee, marmalade, fish, and egg, even to lethargy.

It was ten o'clock. R---- and I sitting on the taffrail aft, P----
having gone ashore, were basking in the bright sunshine of the Sunday
May morning, and comparing the temperature, scenes, and manners of
Copenhagen, with the variable winds, the Primrose Hill, and the
exuberant Sabbath spirits of London, when the sailing-master came, with
rather a longer face than usual, to the spot where we were lounging,
and, after his customary greeting of "Good morning, my Lord," and "Good
morning, Sir," said,

"I have a complaint to make, my Lord."

"Well, out with it" R---- replied.

"You know, my Lord," D---- continued, "old Tom, Dick, and George were
allowed to go ashore yesterday, and, instead of behaving like decent
fellows, as they ought to have done on arriving at a foreign port, they
must get drunk, and nearly drown themselves in trying to get off to the
vessel."

"The deuce they did; and when did this occur?" inquired R----.

"They got drunk last night; but they nearly got drowned this morning, my
Lord," D---- answered.

"Where are the men?" asked R----.

"On board, my Lord," D---- said.

"Send them aft."

Away went D---- in search of the delinquent tars; and, as soon as he had
got out of ear-shot, R---- observed to me,

"Is not this like these English blackguards? I dare say they have kicked
up the devil's own row ashore, and, by squabbling with the inhabitants,
brought my vessel into disrepute."

"Let us hear their story before we condemn them," I said; and in two
minutes more old Tom, Dick, and George, were arranged in a line before
R----, who still continued sitting, cross-legged, on the taffrail, abaft
the tiller. They all three looked sheepish enough, and, if one might
judge innocence and guilt from the countenance, they seemed criminal in
the extreme.

"Well, Tom," R---- commenced, "what is all this about?"

"The Cap'n, my Lord," said Tom, twitching up his duck trowsers on the
port side, "gave us leave to go ashore; and we had barely set foot on
dry land, than a sort of fellow, neither fish nor man, comes to us, and,
says he, in a rum kind of a lingo, 'My lads, I'll show you about the
town,' You know, my Lord, as well as I does,----"

"I don't want any of your palavering," interrupted R----; "but I want to
know why the devil you went and made beasts of yourselves?"

"Wery good, my Lord, I'm coming to the sarcumstances; but we warn't
drunk, my Lord--notottoll."

"D---- saw you drunk," said R----.

"No, my Lord, no;" calmly said Tom, "the Cap'n carn't substanshate that
air. We warn't drunk, my Lord,--notottoll."

"How can you stand there," interrupted D---- warmly, "and try to humbug
my Lord in that kind of a way?"

"Not a bit of it," said R----; "he can't humbug me; and don't fret
yourself about that."

"That's nothing more nor less than I would ax of your Lordship,"
interposed Tom; and, edging in a piece of opportune sentiment, he
continued, "I have sailed three seasons with your Lordship, and I have
always bore myself like a British sailor, as I be. We was joyful-like to
stretch our timbers; but we warn't drunk, my Lord, notottoll."

"If you were not at all drunk," replied R----, "you were very nearly
drowned; and you don't mean to tell me, that you could ever capsize that
dingy without being drunk?"

"Notottoll, my Lord," persisted Tom; "Dick, my Lord, took a broad sheer
to starboard, and capsized the boat. We warn't drunk, my Lord,
notottoll."

"Do you intend to say you three had no spirits to drink the whole time
you were ashore?" asked R----.

"Sperits, my Lord! they ain't got such gear in this air place."

"How do you know?" R---- said.

"Bekase, I enkquired, my Lord."

"Oh! did you inquire in the streets?" questioned R----.

"No, my Lord; I axes in a cabbarette, as they calls it," Tom answered.

"Then you went into a cabaret, and drank nothing. _Very_, like, a,
whale," said R---- slowly.

"Notottoll, my Lord, we had a bottle of ordonnor_y_."

"What's that?" asked R----, a little puzzled.

"_Rot-gut_, my Lord," ejaculated Tom, with emphasis; "and if, my Lord, a
man wants to get the jandiss, I recommends vang ordonnor_y_;" and down
went Tom's fist, with a loud report, into the palm of his left hand. I
burst into a shout of laughter at the comicality of Tom's melancholy
face, and the smacking of his lips, as he called to mind the acidity of
the wine; and R----, judge as he was, could not resist the farce.

"I tell you what," said R----, "and I tell you _all_ plainly, if you
fellows go ashore, and get into a row, and the police take you in
charge; instead of defending you, as you fancy I will, I will appear
_against_ you, and assist the law in punishing you; and, what is more,
if you are sent to prison, I will up stick, and leave you there."

"Thank you, my Lord," they murmured, and old Tom assisting in the
thankful murmurs of Dick and George, kept reiterating till the sounds
died away as he descended the fore-hatch.

"We warn't drunk, my Lord,--notottoll;" and Tom was the most notorious
drunkard on board.

The story was simply this:--He and his two companions, after trudging
over the town, sight-seeing, till past ten, found, to their dismay, on
arriving at the outer gates, that they were closed. In self-defence, all
three were compelled to take shelter for the night in some low cabaret,
where, meeting with a few jovial Danes, unreluctant to shun the bout,
they drank the night away. Feeling the weight of Danish grog aloft,
Dick, a stalwart young fellow of six feet, lost his balance in stepping
into the boat next morning, and, falling athwart the little dingy's
gunwale, capsized it. Poor old Tom, out of the three, went like a
24-pounder to the bottom; but the transparency of the water allowed some
bystanders to observe his carcass stretched out among the cockles as
composedly as in his hammock, and to raise him, after the lapse of a
short time, by applying a boat-hook to the hole of his breeches' pocket.

P---- returned at one, and told us, that he called at the guard-room,
and, making the harbour-master his marshal and interpreter, had hunted
up the officer so civil to us last night; and expressed our gratitude
for the favour which we had received. To every one who travels
inconveniences must occur, or else travelling loses half its excitement.
I would rather remain all my days at home, my mind compressed within its
narrow precincts, and never see the sunny South, or mingle, as I do,
with people whose warm hearts are softer than the genial air they
breathe, and feel, that extreme nobility of soul and sensitiveness of
wrong are entwined with the purest simplicity of thought and manners,
than lack the slight annoyances of a Scythian life. P---- gave us to
understand that he had inquired about _the gates_; and all the
information he could collect was, that no respect could be paid to our
condition; and, if we remained on shore after ten, we should run the
risk of being kept out of our beds all night. The plan suggested was to
write to the Prince of Hesse, and, stating our position, beg that his
Royal Highness would grant us permission to pass backward and forward
at any hour. Reconsidering, however, the matter, we determined not to do
so; but to call on our Consul, and, through him, represent the hardship
of our case to the British Minister. This determination was adopted, and
ordered to be carried into execution the following day, this one being
the Sabbath. Is it not strange how Englishmen long to break through all
restraint, and regard the laws of foreign countries as so many
impediments in their path of pleasure?

As in England, many well-dressed people were walking about under the
shade of the trees planted with great regularity along the ramparts of
Fredrikshavn. We could hear children calling aloud, as soon as they
caught sight of the yacht, decked out with all the elegance of her
whitest ensign, and best Burgee "Engelskt! Engelskt!" with shrill
tongues they cried; and, denoting with their little hands the object of
delight, disturbed the stillness of the holy day.

The French customs are generally followed, I fancy, in this country; for
to-day, being Sunday, more entertainment is to be met with in Copenhagen
than on any other day of the week. The theatres are all open, and the
casino, sacred by the royal presence of Christian, lures, with its sweet
tones of operatic music, the prudish Englishman from thoughts of
Paradise and the fourth commandment. Moses, Daniel, and the Chronicles
are quite forgotten; and, putting Ecclesiastes in our pocket, we are
going to the casino to-night.

"Do you know," suddenly said P----, as he closed a large chart of
Norway, up and down the rivers of which he had been floating for some
time on the tip of his pen-knife, "I met old C---- ashore, and he stuck
to me like birdlime. He is a bore; I wonder who he is!"

Like a black cloud, you sometimes see on sultry summer days, moving
sluggishly across the purely azure sky; so this remark of
P---- overshadowed my mind with a misgiving feeling; and Horace's Ninth
Satire, seizing my memory with prophetic tenacity, made me involuntarily
mutter,--

"Ibam forte via sacra, sicut meus est mos,
Nescio quid meditans nugarum, et totus in illis;
Accurrit quidam notus mihi nomine tantum,
Arrep----"

"A note, my Lord," and the steward placed a most diminutive note in
R----'s hand. It ran thus:--

"My Lord and Gentlemen,

"I will accompany you to the Casino this evening at 8.
I feel it my duty to show you all the attention I can.

"Yours faithfully,

"A--l--r C----."

"Deuce take him!" said R----; "let us go at six."

"From Mr. C----, I suppose," remarked P----, taking up and glancing at
the piece of paper. "I see how it is. We must give him a civil hint; and
if he won't take it, we must do the best we can. Poor old fellow! I
should not like to hurt his feelings."

When we had made an end of the treatment it was suggested Mr. C----
should receive, I put on my best coat, and went ashore. Scarcely had I,
for the second time, rested my foot on the soil of Denmark, than I
caught, riveted on me, two small pig-like eyes twinkling in the centre
of an ebony face.

"Me berry glad to see you, Sir," said the owner of this countenance,
and, accompanying the welcome voice, the removal of a high-crowned white
hat exposed to the African warmth of noon a head of true African wool.

"Thank you, Solomon."

"No, Sir; me Joe--Joe Washimtum," replied the black man, proudly; "but
me brudder name Dabid--him better dan Sarlaman."

Deeming this the beginning and result of our acquaintance, I walked on,
paying no attention to the sable Mr. C----; but I had anticipated
blacky's intentions wrongfully, for a few minutes were sufficient time
to place him on my left hand.

"Hab you, Sir, no cumsidumration to see um town?" he inquired.

"Not to-day, Joe," I answered. "I have formed my plans; but some other
day we will navigate the town together."

"Berry good, Sir." And, again elevating his steeple white hat, away
marched Joe, Commissionaire of l'Hotel d'Angleterre.

The day was very hot, and my feet, swollen by the heat, suffered more
than they did last night from the effects of the uneven stones. I limped
from one street to the other, and found the "Amalien-Gade," not much
inferior in breadth and length to Portland Place. Palaces of great
symmetry, though of immense size, rose before the eye at every corner;
and the residence of the Prince of Hesse is one of the most beautiful
structures I have ever seen. The white colour, as at Christiansand, with
which all these large buildings are painted, forces directly on the
stranger's mind their lightness and elegant proportions.

At the end of the "Amalien-Gade," which is about a mile in length, is a
large odiously-paved square intersected by four streets; and, between
each of these streets, are four small palaces in the style of Italian
architecture. They are inhabited by the royal family; and the old king,
Christian, may be seen sometimes, of an evening, walking across to play
a game of whist with the dowager-queen. Infantry and cavalry officers,
gossipping in groups, and flashing in the sun's rays, their light-blue
uniform embroidered elaborately with silver lace, remind you of the
Court's vicinity; and the eternal sound of a sentinel's challenge, as
files of men march and re-march by him, proclaims, that, deference to
kings is much the same in simple Denmark, as in pageant England.

In the centre of this square stands an equestrian bronze statue of
Frederick the Fifth; and, though the horse's head is considered a
perfect piece of statuary, I am obstinate enough to differ, from the
general opinion; and Monsieur Gorr, who executed it, will, with the
politeness and generosity of his country, permit me to think as I do,
and pardon me, if I be wrong. Since its foundation in 1168, three awful
fires in 1729, 1794, and 1795, nearly burned down the whole city of
Copenhagen; but Christiansborg, the colossal palace of the Danish kings,
was levelled with the ground; and Christian, deeming, perhaps, this
abode of his ancestors doomed to be destroyed a second time, avoids it
with superstitious care; and has selected for himself and family the
four mansions, for they are nothing more, to which I have alluded. Queen
Caroline-Matilda being taken from this palace to Cronenborg, her son,
Frederick the Sixth, would never reside in it afterwards; and, I think,
it is more from this mingled feeling of affection and painful regret,
and a desire to obliterate from their memories the recollection of her
fate, that his descendants have followed the filial example of
Frederick, than from any dread of sudden destruction by fire.

While walking through the streets, I could hardly dissuade myself I was
not in the tropics, for the capacious archways, and central court-yards
were quite oriental; and the large and numerous windows of the private
houses, with jalousies thrown open, at cool of day, against the wall,
reminded me also of the Antilles; and, had a black face but peeped out
at me, the fancy might have seemed reality.

CHAPTER VI.

THE CASINO--THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DENMARK--SUCCESSION
TO HOLSTEIN--THE ENGLISH CONSUL--VISIT TO THE ENGLISH
AMBASSADOR--COLOSSAL STATUE OF CHRISTIAN THE FIFTH--
ANECDOTE OF BELZONI--TRINITY CHURCH--EXTRAORDINARY
FEAT OF PETER THE GREAT--DUCKING AN OFFENDER--PALACE
OF CHRISTIANSBORG--THE EXCHANGE--THE CASTLE OF ROSENBERG.

At seven o'clock, we went to the Casino; and, trusting that we had
deceived Mr. C----, renewed our acquaintance with the gentleman in
spectacles.

The room, an immense one, was lighted from the lofty ceiling with four
splendid chandeliers. The people sat in seats appropriated to them, and
listened attentively to some exquisite pieces of music, played as
exquisitely, by a large band. There was no dancing; nor indeed was the
room adapted for such recreation. The king, the queen, and their niece,
the beautiful Princess Louise, sat in a gallery, speaking to those
around them, and watching with interest the group below. This is that
princess whose hand the Crown Prince, Frederick, thrice divorced, has
sought in vain; for, he failing heirs, Holstein passes from the present
dynasty to the Ducal House of Augustenburg. This political flaw is,
while I write, being adjusted by the Danish Senate, as the impotency of
Frederick, now reigning Sovereign of Denmark, has been pretty well
admitted. The company took no heed of the royal presence, but walked and
talked, and stood with hats on; and when I observed to my late excitable
friend in spectacles, that the English behaved not so in the sight of
their queen, he replied,

"Zat is nuttin. Ze king is nuttin."

"That is to say, though it be done, no feeling of disrespect is meant,"
I continued.

"Ja."

We wandered through illuminated galleries and conservatories sweetly
perfumed with the most delicate flowers. Continually, on every hand, was
revealed some marble statue to attract attention, or living beauty to
gratify the eye. Borne away by these delightful sights and sounds, and
feeling life only in the ideal, this lethargy of soul and body burst,
convulsively, into common existence, as the indomitable Mr. C----
issued, gaping in all directions, from behind a fluted column; and, when
his glance fell on us, the face of Minerva looked not more luminous when
she leaped from the brain of Jove.

"Ah! gentlemen," delightedly he exclaimed, "you gave me the slip; but
the guard below told me three Englishmen were here."

P---- answered him with civility, and said that we had altered our
plans, and could not communicate with him, being in ignorance of his
address. He showed us great attention, and, by explanation, smoothed all
those excrescences of conventional usages which we did not understand.
So far, Mr. C---- was useful; but, seeming a character of doubtful
respectability by the cold indifference with which some Danish gentlemen
received his warm advances, we did not like to be accompanied in public
by a man of whom we knew nothing. His companionship, therefore, hurried
us from the Casino; and, the cathedral clock was tolling midnight, as we
were rowed alongside the yacht. The closed gates again gave us trouble;
and, we thanked the bright stars above us, that knowledge of the French
grammar had survived the tenderness of Anacreon. Nevertheless, this
brought the irksomeness of our situation to a climax, and P---- made up
his mind to call on the Consul in the morning. For my part, I believe, I
became feverish through the night, and in my sleep talked to the
binnacle about Magna Charta.

At eleven o'clock on Monday morning, R----, P----, and I, formed a
deputation, and started for the Consul's office. While R---- was giving
directions to the men when to return with the boat for us, I felt a
gentle tap on my left shoulder; and turning round, received a nod, and
"good morrow," from Mr. C----. His services were, however, required, and
his pertinacity in retaining our friendship was not so unwelcome. We
told him the object we had in view; he appreciated our national conduct,
and begged to take us the pleasantest and shortest way to the Consul's.
Many people were abroad; and hardly one person failed to stop and
recognise us as Englishmen. I do not doubt that the population of
Copenhagen is upwards of 100,000; but I judge from the multitudes which,
in some parts, thronged the principal thoroughfares. The bee-like
movements of the males,--stopping, in the bustle of business, to greet
each other, then hurrying off again,--and the fondness of the females
for gazing in the shop-windows where fine wares lay exposed, frequently
blocking up the small foot-pavement in the gratification of this
idiosyncrasy, assimilated them to my own countrymen and women. I looked
under many a blue bonnet, and caught the sly glance of many a blue eye;
but they were not the blue eye and bonnet of England. I gazed upon many
a sweet, smiling face, and saw many an elegant form; but they had not
the pouting, red lip, and roundness of England. No! wander where I
will--and I have wandered far--I never saw aught to match the pure
beauty of England's Daughter. Stamped on her fair brow, the hand of
Heaven owns no other mould for loveliness; and the die was broken when
sensibility of soul blended with her tender frame the strong feelings of
the heart.

Before I saw enough of life in the streets, we were under the great
gateway which led to the Consul's apartments; for the houses here, as in
Edinburgh and Paris, are divided between several families, and have one
common staircase. The Consul heard attentively our tale, and then told
us he could in no way interfere; but that we had better make a personal
application to the Minister, Sir Henry Whynne.

To Sir Henry we went; and the result with him was the same as with the
Consul. Sir Henry said, he could with just as much propriety interrupt
for our benefit the closing of the gates at a certain hour, as the
Danish Minister in London could interrupt, for the benefit of three
Danes, the closing of the Horse Guards. He recommended us to make
friends with the officer on duty, and he doubted not every facility
would be afforded us in our ingress and regress, to and from the town at
night.

On the strength of that concession by the proper authority, Sir Henry
asked us to dine with him the following day; we thanked him for his
information, and accepted the invitation. Before parting, he offered to
introduce us to the king, who, he assured us, entertained a partiality
for the English, and would be happy to see us and have a game of whist
with us every night at the palace. Mr. C----, who had waited for us
outside, now conducted us round the town, and gave us all the
information he had mustered during a residence of many years in
Copenhagen.

In the centre of the second square,--better paved than the other
one,--where are situated the Theatre, Hotel d'Angleterre, and several
other large hotels, stands another colossal statue of Christian the
Fifth, as devoid of admiration as its prancing fellow. Its remarkable
size has exceeded the bounds of elegance. The horse is about to trample
on a serpent with distended mouth and forked extended tongue, being the
symbol of Discord. Around the pedestal are many figures; and, amongst
them, Minerva's arms and legs are sculptured in prodigious relief: but
it is to be hoped the Goddess of the Fine Arts will, some day, descend
to Copenhagen, and prove to the Danes how symmetrical are her limbs,
since, in this allegorical group, the neck of the wild bull of Crete
must have been a withe to her proportions. An anecdote is told of
Belzoni, when Feldborg showed this statue to him.

"I hope this is not the work of a Danish artist?" demanded Belzoni.

"No; oh, no," replied Feldborg. "If you want to see statues executed by
Danish artists, go to England, or your own country; don't come here.
The statue you are now looking at was sculptured, and no doubt
conceived, by a Frenchman, named Amoureux, who was sent here by Louis
XIV. for the purpose, Louis being excessively anxious, in every
imaginable way, to promote the welfare of the Danish sovereign of that
day."

"Well, the Frenchman who executed this statue has been a clever fellow,"
observed Belzoni; "the only animation I notice in his work, is in the
horse's _tail_."

We clambered up the Round Tower of the Trinity Church, which was founded
by Christian IV. in the year 1673, and finished five years afterwards.
It is 115 feet high, and was used as an observatory about the time of
Tycho Brahe. There are no steps, but the ascent is made by a gentle
spiral plane; and, as we wound our way up, thinking of Peter the Great,
who drove a carriage drawn by four horses to the top, and of the manner
the Czar contrived to reach the bottom without backing; all the names of
all the families of Smiths, Smythes, and Joneses, deeply incised on the
wall, pulled us, with a jerk, to vulgarities again.

From the summit is a fine view of Copenhagen. Before we had finished
moralizing about views and heights, the afternoon had slipped
imperceptibly away. Where we stood, the cowherd's long whoop at
intervals, and, in answer to his call, the faint low of cattle, could
be heard; and, from some cottages beyond the city walls, the bark of
dogs, and noise of faggots being hewn, were interrupted only by the loud
jests of fishermen, who sat at the cottage-doors, unravelling their
nets; while the dewy mist of evening kept rising till it reached the
elm-tree tops, then hung there, like a girdle of thin white gauze. It
was quite an English scene.

We descended; and lagging behind, I followed my companions in silence
home.

We remained on board during the evening, and played at whist. It was
some time before we could muster the ace of spades; but, after diligent
search, it was found, torn in twain, and the fragments stuck upright, in
a pot of marmalade. A small hole bored in the centre of the skin which
covered the preserve, not exceeding the dimensions of Jacko's finger,
proclaimed it to be his handywork. Jacko, fortunately, had retired for
the night to Alfred's hammock; and, out of humanity, the period and
severity of his castigation were deferred till the morrow.

As soon as we rose on Tuesday morning, Jacko was placed in a canvass
bucket, and thrice ducked in the sea; when his yells were caught up by a
flock of little Danes dabbling in the water along the shore, who gave
shriek for shriek.

Remembering Sir Henry Whynne's injunctions, we went, after breakfast,
to the guard-room; and, through the harbour-master, held a long
conversation with the officer in command of the _objectionable gates_;
and, after a while, our names were written in a large book, and we
received permission to go and come as we pleased.

We went to-day to the palace of Christiansborg, which is not remarkable
for anything else but its magnitude. The stables, which are built in the
form of a crescent, are filled with horses, some of them most beautiful
and valuable. Eight cream-coloured ponies, and a similar number of grey
horses, were unsurpassed in colour and elegant proportions by those in
possession of the English sovereign. There were upwards of one hundred
horses; and what use King Christian, with his small Court, can find for
so many steeds, may come within the corn-factor's reach, but it is
certainly beyond mine.

For those who do not mind revolving to a great height by a back
staircase, the pictures in this palace may be a treat, since one or two,
painted by the old Dutch masters, are worthy of attention. Passing from
room to room, we stumbled on Mr. C----, who, with the keen scent of a
spaniel, had tracked us to our present elevation. There was no shaking
him off, and so, making the best use of him we could, we beset him with
questions; in answering which, by the way, he never wearied, but
chattered with all the perseverance of an old woman.

The only pump in Copenhagen is to be found in a vault beneath this
palace. A Dane led us through numerous dark cloisters; and, arriving at
last in front of this pump, stood still, and, with brightening eyes, as
well as great exultation of manner, pointed to it.

By the traveller who loiters along the streets of Copenhagen,
half-buried in the walls of many houses, a cannon-ball may here and
there be seen. In remembrance of Gambier's action, the Danes preserve,
like the apple of their eyes, these destructive missiles in the same
place and position they were lodged forty years ago; and, that the
stranger may not fail seeing these emblems of "British friendship," as
the term goes, their visible sections are daubed all over with black
paint, so that they stand boldly out from the snowy aspect of the
houses.

The Exchange, opposite to the Palace windows, is an exquisite building,
constructed in 1624, by order of Christian IV. It is four hundred feet
in length, and sixty in breadth. The steeple is the most curious you can
imagine. Three dragons, their throats resting on the roof, intertwine
their bodies, and, tapering a hundred feet gradually upwards, point with
their tails to the sky. At a little distance, their large heads and
mouths opened to show some formidable teeth and tongues, have a very
good effect.

From Christiansborg we went to the Castle of Rosenberg. In the middle of
a park, not larger than St. James's, rise the slender red towers of
Rosenberg above the tops of the trees; and, as you catch a glimpse of
it, glancing in the sunshine, down an avenue of oak and elm, you wonder
not how the Fourth Christian, two centuries ago, made this his favourite
abode.

Crossing a drawbridge, we arrived at an arched door; and Mr. C----,
taking hold of an antique iron chain, pulled it. The noisy tongue of a
hollow-sounding bell roused not the bark of slumbering hound, but had
all the desolation to itself, and echoed loudly and longly, then slowly,
stroke by stroke, through the deserted corridors. In a few minutes a
man, courtierly and well dressed, grasping a huge bunch of keys in his
left hand, opened the door; and, judging from our countenances--for I
know not by what else he could judge--the nature of our visit,
requested, in Danish, that we would enter. Mr. C---- replied, and told
him we were Englishmen. He bowed, and addressed us afterwards in our own
language.

The hall in which we now stood was surrounded, near the roof, with the
escutcheons of the old Kings of Denmark; and, in niches, three or four
feet from the marble floor, were bright suits of armour belonging also
to the ancient Danish Monarchs. From one anteroom to another, and from
presence-chamber to throne-room, we passed, and found in each one some
remnant of chivalry to admire, and heard of some deed to regret.

In the room where Christian IV. used to hold his councils is a Throne of
state, exceeding, by a great deal, the dimensions of a large arm-chair,
and composed of solid silver, and carved at the back in the most
fantastic and beautiful fashion. Placed at intervals of a yard round
this room, upwards of fifty feet long, are many other chairs, not so
large as the first one, but also of pure silver. In these the king's
privy councillors sate. Along the walls is hung the most curious
tapestry, worked by the hand nearly three centuries ago, and
representing battles with the Swedes, and the naval victories of
Christian. Walking along, you leave this magnificent room on the left
side; and, at the end of a long passage, a small door admits you, by
touching a spring in the panel, to a boudoir, about twelve feet square,
entirely walled, ceiled, and floored, with mirrors, so that, the face
and back, the right and the left sides, the crown of the head and the
sole of the foot, may be seen, simultaneously, at one glance. The
ingenious and amorous Christian, being far advanced beyond the ideas of
his time, conceived this room and its adaptation; for, in this Boudoir
Christian's mistresses were wont to revel with their royal lord, after
ablution in a bath close at hand.

Adjoining this apartment is another boudoir, filed with jewels of
inestimable value, not to mention swords of gold, and spurs of gold,
armour, and casques of gold. In a glass-case, which is kept locked, are
the entire accoutrements of a horse; and the saddle, even to the
stirrup-straps and girths, was studded with pearls, emeralds, rubies,
and torquoises. On the pommel, inlaid, were four emeralds, having a ruby
for their centre, each stone being little less than an inch square.
Every day Christian must have dismounted his horse some hundred pounds
poorer than when he mounted; and yet the eye could detect no flaw in
this precious saddle by the absence of a single pearl. It struck me at
the time as being very astonishing that, a small kingdom like Denmark,
and not a rich one, could find a surplus revenue sufficient to collect
such immensity of wealth, and the resources of the country not flag by
its useless accumulation. Why, the sale of all the jewellery, and gold,
and silver in the castle of Rosenberg would pay off half the national
debt of Denmark.

The earthenware and china, manufactured many centuries ago, are also
very curious and valuable. We visited a room literally crammed from top
to bottom with vases, tumblers, and glasses of all sizes and
denominations; and, while we were almost speechless in the admiration of
a bowl sufficiently large to admit its being mistaken for a bath, and
not less delicate in thickness than the rice paper made by natives of
the East, the Dane drew our attention to a rent in the ceiling, and
asked if we would not regret that any accident should destroy a
collection so curious, and the manufacture of which was now lost to
science. We replied altogether, with much indignation, that a man who
attempted the deed would be no better than an assassin, and might,
without reference to an impartial advocate, be hanged from one of the
portcullis' spikes below.

"Do you think so, really, gentlemen?" inquired the Dane, with an odd
kind of a smile.

"We do, we do," we all unanimously said; and Mr. C. wound up with
monosyllabic emphasis,

"Yes!"

"Well, then," with measured tone, answered the Dane, "that rent you see
there was done some forty years ago, and a shell from Nelson's ship did
it."

He stopped to mark the effect this disclosure would have upon us; and,
finding we regretted the policy of our country, but could not control
the cannon-balls of our ships, he continued, smiling,

"Never mind, never mind, he did no harm; and I hope no other Englishman
will again."

Leading us into another small room, the Dane approached a large iron
chest, and raising, with difficulty, its heavy lid, shewed us the
coronation robes of Christian lying at the bottom.

"In these robes," he said, "Christian, the present King of Denmark, was
crowned; and they will never be removed hence until he is dead."

"Why?" we asked.

"It is an ancient custom still preserved in Denmark," he replied, "that
her kings be buried in their robes of coronation."

He closed the lid.

To me, woven with their greatness, the fate of kings is ever one of
melancholy; and the incident I have just recounted so shadowed, in a
moment, the cheerfulness which had accompanied me throughout the day,
that I could not observe with attention any other object of interest
which presented itself, my only wish being to leave Rosenberg as
speedily as I had entered it; nor could I forget the utter desolation of
a man's soul, who, standing in the midst of all earthly magnificence,
knows himself clad as he will be for the coffin. How impotent must seem
all authority! how wan all mirth! how false all the envied supremacy of
his birth!

Finding it was five o'clock, we gave a small fee to the Dane, who still
kept chuckling at the capital trick he had played us with the split
ceiling, and we left Rosenberg to prepare for dinner.

The good people at Copenhagen generally dine at the early hour of our
English forefathers; but Sir Henry Whynne had altered his dinner time to
meet our habits.

Mr. C---- _would_, in spite of all the civilities we called to forbid
it, see us to the boat; and, then, promising to "look us up" on the
morrow, vanished as suddenly as Fortunatus would have done with his
invisible cap.

CHAPTER VII.

DINNER AT THE EMBASSY--MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE
DANES--THE SPANISH AMBASSADOR AND THE ENGLISH
EXILE--THE CITADEL--STORY OF THE TWO CAPTIVES--JOE
WASHIMTUM, AGAIN--A DANISH DINNER--VISIT TO THE
THEATRE--POLITICAL REFLECTIONS--FESTIVITIES ON
BOARD THE YACHT--MERRY PARTY AT THE AMERICAN
AMBASSADOR'S--THE DUCHIES OF SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN.

At the Embassy we met, besides other guests, whose names I remember not,
the Baron de B----, a Holstein noble, and the Spanish Minister, from
both of whom, during the time we remained afterwards at Copenhagen, we
received the most marked kindness and attention. These two noblemen had
passed some brief period of their lives in London, as ambassadors to the
English court; and they ceased not telling us how great were the
hospitality, and how sincere the friendship, which had been heaped upon
them by our countrymen; and they said, they could never, either by
expression or deed, show too much gratitude for the happiness they had
felt.

While watching Jacko's gambols on deck this morning, I heard some one
hail the yacht; and, taking up a telescope, I discerned on the quay, the
Spanish Minister waving his handkerchief. The gig was immediately sent
for him. He came for the purpose of conducting us over the town, and
showing us all the public buildings and offices we had not yet seen.
After passing an hour on board, we all started with him for the shore.

I observed to-day, that the houses in Copenhagen, like the houses in
Holland, are inhabited by people equally inquisitive, and who desire to
know all that is going on in the streets, without being subjected to the
trouble of leaving their seats; for all the windows are supplied with
reflecting glasses, which are so placed, that you may see from the top
of one street to the bottom of another. This custom is peculiar, also,
to Norway and Sweden; for, I remember, when I was at Gottenborg, paying
a visit to a Swedish lady, she told me that she knew an Englishman was
in the town, although she had never met me in the streets, or even heard
of me from her friends. I begged to learn the charm. She then took me to
a window, and, directing my attention to a reflecting glass, requested
that I would look in it. I did so; and could see upwards of a mile from
the window while seated in an arm-chair. She had observed me, some days
before, standing on a bridge about three quarters of a mile from her
residence, looking at some Swedish washerwomen hard at their work.

A beggar is rarely to be seen in Copenhagen, since the charitable
institutions for the sick, the poor, and cripple, are very numerous. Now
and then, a little girl or boy, accosts an Englishman in a plaintive
tone; but it is merely for the sake of gaping at him. At an early hour
of the morning prisoners are made to clean the streets; and you may know
them by the attendant soldier, and the heavy chain attached to their
legs. After visiting several public museums, we walked towards the
Spanish Minister's residence. When within a short distance of the house,
turning suddenly round a corner, we met our old friend Mr. C----. His
delight in stumbling upon us so opportunely, as he was on his way to the
yacht, was evident both by his ecstasy of manner and voice. The Spaniard
thought him an acquaintance of ours; and, when we arrived at his gate,
begged Mr. C----, who needed no solicitation, to enter. After we had
taken off our hats, and not yet taken our seats,

"Well, now," began the voluble Mr. C----, "have you seen every thing?
Have you been to the University Library, or the Church of Our Saviour?"

"No, we had not," we said; "but at any rate we were too tired to go
anywhere else to-day."

"Bless me!" he exclaimed, "when I was as young as you are, I could walk
to Elsineur, and back again; and did. Let's go to the Thorwaldsen
Museum, eh?"

"I don't think it is open," replied the Spanish Minister.

"I'll go and see;" and away started Mr. C---- to make inquiry.

"Do you know who that is?" I asked, addressing myself to the Spanish
Minister, as soon as Mr. C---- had left the room.

"Why, yes; I do know a little about him," answered the Spaniard; "but I
deemed him a friend of yours." We then explained the origin of our
acquaintance.

"Exactly," replied the Minister, when he had listened to all. "He is a
man who makes it his habit to introduce himself to all Englishmen who
may come to Copenhagen; and although he may, by his importunate bearing,
torment them, he is, at the same time, of some service; and only desires
to be attentive."

"Is he a respectable person?" I said. "By his dress he seems poor; but
that is not fatal to his respectability."

"Why, no; you are right," the Minister said. "Mr. C---- has no enemy in
Copenhagen but himself. He came here without a friend some years ago,
and received, in pity for his condition of poverty, a lucrative
appointment from the Danish Government. Mr. C---- could have held that
appointment till this moment; but his partiality for the society of
Silenus, and the punctuality with which he every day mounted his ass,
caused him to ride at last out of the bounds of all moderation; and the
Government was compelled to deprive him of his office. From that day
till this morning he has been known as an amiable, inoffensive man, and
as _the_ drunken Englishman."

"He is a man, then," we all three said, "whose intimacy it were wise to
drop."

"Why, I think so," agreed the Spaniard; "for, though no one can accuse
him of a dishonest action, it is as well, for the sake of
appearance,--and society is made of appearances,--to be without him in
public."

"But how can we rid ourselves of him without giving offence, or hurting
his feelings?"

"Allow me," said the Spanish Minister, "to arrange that the best way I
can."

We had scarcely spoken, and the Minister made an end of recounting this
error in the life of Mr. C----, than he entered the room, hurriedly,
panting with the information he had obtained.

"It is open," he uttered, breathlessly,--"it is open;--and I will
conduct you. I have told--the authorities that you are three countrymen
of mine,--and you will receive attention--depend upon it."

"These gentlemen," interceded the Spanish Minister, "do not desire to go
to the Museum to-day; they have altered their minds."

"Oh!--very well," said Mr. C----, nothing daunted; "let's go elsewhere.
Time's my own--time's my own. I suppose time is yours, my Lord,--and
yours, and yours?" addressing himself to us individually, and noting us,
as a shepherd would count his flock, with the tip of his forefinger.

"Yes, certainly," we replied; "yes, time is ours."

"But," again interposed the Spanish Minister, "if these gentlemen do go
anywhere, I have offered to accompany them, and my services have been
accepted. _Both_ of us are needless."

"Of course, your Excellency," replied poor old C----, "I yield; for you
are, by your rank, abler than I am to secure for them that attention
which, as strangers, they merit." He held his hand out to us, which we
received with cordiality; and he took his leave, hoping that we might
find gratification in everything we saw.

When Mr. C---- had gone, the Minister showed us several curiosities in
his possession, and amongst them a beautiful Spanish dagger. The steel
was so hard, that, a Danish copper coin, about the size and solidity of
an English penny, was placed horizontally on a marble slab, and the
Spanish Minister, with one blow, pierced the piece of money with the
dagger's point without blunting it in the least.

The cloudless sky and grateful warmth of the sun made us prefer the open
air to the confined gases of museums, libraries, laboratories,
cathedrals, and their vaults; and, wandering along the fortifications
which surround the city till we reached Fredrikshavn, we passed through
a private way and entered the fortress itself. As we sauntered along,
conversing on various subjects, a culprit of some kind--for this
fortress is full of them--would occasionally cross our path, and add
interest to our discourse by the Minister's recital of some remarkable
incident in the man's life, which had brought him to the condition of a
slave. Although the inner ramparts, or citadel, of Fredrikshavn are not
allowed to be approached by any one, the rank of the Spanish Minister
seemed to cause an exception in his favour; for, as we came near to the
drawbridge leading over the inside moat of all, the two sentinels, who
were on duty, recognised the Minister, and, instead of stopping us,
presented arms.

Within these ramparts, on a wooden bench, from which the Sound, spotted
with the white sails of many ships,--and, faintly, the distant mountains
of Sweden,--might be seen, two black men sat. Removed at a distance of
twenty yards from them, four sentinels stood, resting carelessly, with
folded arms, on the muzzles of their fire-locks; but, even in this
negligence, paying much attention to the movements of these black men.
We stopped and observed the strange group; and our sympathy was moved by
the dress and melancholy demeanour of the two men. The one nearest to
us, who appeared the eldest, rested his chin on the back of his hands,
which were clasped round the top of a large walking-stick; and in that
attitude kept his eyes fixed on the blue waters of the Sound; his
thoughts, no doubt, wandering to his home, some pleasant spot, far away.
His hat was brown by long use, and rent at the rims, beneath which his
white hair, here and there, straggled forth. His coat, once black, was
now thread-bare and worn at the elbows; while his shoes, almost without
soles, kept sad unison with the other parts of his dress. The other old
man, whose clothes were equally squalid, sat more upright, and seemed
livelier, and of a lighter heart, misfortune not having yet touched so
blightingly the natural volatility of his disposition; for, now and
then, he spoke in low tones to his companion, who sometimes smiled, but
rarely made answer.

"You are observing those black men?" said the Spanish Minister. "They
are the most interesting objects in Copenhagen."

"Who are they?" we asked.

"Those two men," continued the Spaniard, "were once men of note in their
own country; and their misfortune resolves itself into this simple
tale. The man with grey hair, nearest to us, seemingly bent with excess
of sorrow, was the king of some Danish colony in the East Indies; and
the other, his favourite minister. After having reigned for many years
with equity and wisdom, and having seen his little island, cradled in
the lap of peace, put forth the strength of prosperity, the old
monarch's bright day of happiness and glory was suddenly overshadowed by
a cloud, which, though, by its insignificance, at first unobserved,
gradually gained bulk and darkness, and replete, at last, with all the
elements of storm and destruction, burst upon his head. A man murdered a
woman, his wife; and, according to the criminal code of his country, was
arrested, tried, and convicted; and this king, by the advice of his
minister, ordered the assassin to be executed. The intelligence reached
the ears of the Court of Denmark, and by command of Christian, the black
monarch and his adviser were arrested, on the plea, that, the one being,
though a monarch, a subject of Denmark, had no power to carry the
statutes of his own realm summarily into effect, without the previous
assent of the Danish Government; and, that, the other, being the
principal minister, was as culpable as his master in permitting such an
infringement of the law. They were both subsequently tried for the
offence, and being found guilty, were placed on board a Danish ship of
war, and brought to Copenhagen, where, within this fortress, they are
doomed to pass, in solitary confinement, the small portion of life which
may yet remain to them."

The guns of the citadel, as I said before, are of immense dimensions;
and I do not think I exaggerate when I state that the body of a child,
nine or ten years old, may very easily be placed inside of them. I never
saw such heavy cannon either at Portsmouth, Plymouth, Dover, or any
other fortified port in England. The sentinels would not allow us to
take a minute survey of these ordnance; but as soon as we walked round
from the muzzle to the breech, in order to examine their really
herculean proportions, a bayonet, thrust before our eyes, would be sure
to interrupt the stream of information which commenced flowing through
them to the mind. I suppose the soldier had read or heard of England,
and thinking the people who lived in it, or came from it, were wonderful
creatures, deemed it not impossible we might put a few of the guns under
his charge into our pockets, and walk off with them; and unless that was
his thought, I cannot conceive what mischief can arise from four
gentlemen looking at four dismounted guns. However, governments, like
men, have their whims; and it is of very little use trying to talk them
out of their fallacies. It is as likely, that, when meeting a maniac in
Bedlam, who fancies himself Napoleon Buonaparte, or any other pagod, you
will be able to point out the delusion under which he labours, and to
assure him that his social position, though respectable, was never
imperial. He will understand you as soon, and as soon assent to the
truth of your observations.

Our scrutiny had been thus interrupted, when the Baron de B---- came up
to us. We had expressed a desire to eat, for the mere sake of saying
hereafter that we had eaten, a real Copenhagen dinner, and the Baron
offered to show us an hotel, where we could gratify our wish to the
utmost extent. Having made no arrangements to dine on board, we started
at once for the hotel; and it turned out to be the identical one at
which my old acquaintance, Joe Washimtum, held the official post of
commissionaire. Like those useful and diligent bees of the great hive of
mankind, Joe was standing, with his black hands in his black breeches'
pocket, beneath the huge arch of the Hotel d'Angleterre, chattering and
laughing with a few other bees of a similar calling, but of a different
colour to himself. Joe raised his white hat five distinct times the
instant he saw our party, and, advancing towards us, he observed, still
with doffed hat and bended body,

"Good accummumdashum, gentlemen!"

"These gentlemen can dine here, can they not?" said the Baron de B.,
appealing to the exquisite Joe.

"No doubt at arl, sir, in de questchums," replied Joe quickly, and with
his AEthiopian face shining like a bright boot.

After the Baron de B., and the Spanish Minister had seen that we were
likely to encounter no difficulties under the protection of Joe, they
left us, expressing much regret they could not remain with us, being
obliged to dine at the Palace. When they had gone, "Dis way, gentlemen,
dis way," Joe breathed softly, and marshalled us his own peculiar way.
Joe soon put the whole hotel in an uproar by his magnificent description
of our personal rank and appearance; and in about ten minutes every
lacquey and scullery maid in the establishment knew that we were the
identical Englishmen who had come to Copenhagen in a yacht.

Joe had ascertained, somehow or other, there was a nobleman among us;
but his sagacity failed on this occasion, and he could not make out
which was the substantive Briton. Joe, however, was not to be done, and
so, after awhile, he addressed us all, as "my Lard;" and, though quite
out of his province, he _would_ stand at the door of the room where we
dined, and see that the waiters attended properly, and were sufficiently
agile in their movements. Joe, moreover, acted as interpreter.

"Waiter, some bread?"

"Es, my Lard," Joe would reply to me, and transfer the command in Danish
to the waiter.

"Hock, waiter;--bring some hock."

"Suttinlee, my Lard," said Joe to P.; then coming up to the table, and,
leaning confidentially over it, observed.

"Me would recumdate, my Lard, de Bunseppalouse, it bery good wine,
cumsiddumrately dan de hock."

"How do you know; have you tasted it?" said R.

"No, my Lard; me only go by de smell--him bery rifferous, bery, my
Lard;" and Joe sniffed till the steam from the vegetables rushed up his
nostrils.

"I say," R called out to Joe, as he was disappearing over the threshold
in search of the _Bunseppalouse_, "you black pudding, you; what do you
mean by my _Lard_? can't you pronounce your O's? what do you with your
A's, when you meet them?"

"Leeb um to himself, my Lard," replied Joe, deferring his exit; "nebber
trouble him; if me do, me bery quick wid him."

"Oh! that's your syntax, is it?" said R.

"Hebben forbid, my Lard, me gib de King money;" answered Joe solemnly.
"Dat d-- bad polumcy."

Joe had evidently mistaken the signification of the word "syntax," and,
catching the last syllable, concluded that R. referred to the system
universally adopted to supply the pecuniary wants of a government; and
therefore the solemnity of his answer.

I cannot say much in favour either of the dinner or the wine, vinegar
being the dominant ingredient of both; and, do what we would with
mustard and pepper, its pungent taste remained.

The evening turned out very wet, so that the only amusement we could
find was to stand at the window, and criticise the different carriages
as they passed on their way to the theatre. I certainly never saw such
rusty old rattle-traps, and I do not except the king's equipage, since
the hackney landaus have been abolished in England.

While we were smoking our cigars, Joe came into the room, and desired to
know if we would allow him to show us the "Coal Holes" and "Cider
Cellars" of Copenhagen; but we told him we were travelling in order to
gather information and reform our morals, and not to pass the night in
revelling. Convincing Joe that we were not in the vein to leave our
arm-chairs, and begging him not to call us all "my Lard," since there
was but one "Lard" between the three, we asked him whence he came.

"Me jist leebe Flora."

"No, no," I said; "in what part of the world were you born?"

"Oh! dat one oder ting. Me barn in Jamaikee, sir; but me leebe um two
tree year ago."

"What made you leave the island?" I inquired.

"Bekase him not de same kind of place, sir, as before--de niggers grow
so d---- imperant."

"But you must find Copenhagen very cold and uncomfortable," I replied;
"and surely impudence in one's own country is more tolerable than
discomfort and winter here."

"No, sir," answered Joe, all the soul of his great namesake, Washington,
beaming through his eyes; "me no tollumrate imperance; one imperant
raskill make me blood cold more dan de winter do. Jamaikee no de place
for de man of eddumcashum."

"In fact, you left it in disgust," I suggested.

"Suttinlee, sir," replied Joe; then seeming anxious to forget Jamaica,
and every thing connected with it, he said,

"Me hope you like you dinner, gentlemen; and will disgest him," he
continued.

"I hope we shall _digest_ it," I answered; "but there was vinegar enough
to stop any human creature's growth."

"Me said so, sir!" exclaimed Joe; "me tell Monsieur Sangnette so; dem
French cooks, debilish fond of souring deir tings. Me nebber widout um
stomick ache; d-- de feller!" and Joe hurried out of the room, before
his anger had cooled, to inform M. Sangnette how dissatisfied we were
with the dinner, and what torture, similar to his own, we should soon
undergo.

Before ten o'clock I was in my berth, listening to the rain pattering on
the deck, the trickling noise of which conveyed to my mind, as I lay in
my warm bed, an absorbing feeling of comfort, which can only be
conceived by those who have a roof to shelter their heads from the
pitiless storm. I remained awake for some hours; and, beside the falling
of the rain, and the sharp bubbling sound of its big drops as they fell
into the sea close to the vessel's side, the night was so still, that I
could hear the sentinels in the citadel of Fredrikshavn demanding the
pass-word, as the officer went his rounds. When our watch, too, struck
the hour, I could follow the echo of the bell, rising and sinking, half
way across the Sound.

Early on Thursday morning, before I had dressed, I heard the scraping of
feet on deck, and a man, in a broad Yorkshire dialect, as I thought,
asking a thousand questions, one after the other, and answering himself
before any person else could find time even to open his own mouth. I
could hear R---- in his berth make reply to the steward; and,

"Say I am in bed," rose in muffled tones above the sheets.

I looked through the sky-light in my cabin, and saw two gentlemen
standing in mid-ship on the lee side, and one of them with a pencil was
writing on a piece of paper, which he placed against the lee-runner
block to supply the conveniences of a desk. As soon as I was dressed, I
learned that the American Minister, Mr. I----, and a Captain W---- had
been on board, and that the Minister had requested us to dine with him
on the following day. R---- hesitated about accepting the invitation,
for he had half made up his mind to leave Copenhagen to-day; but after a
little consideration, it was deemed advisable to defer our departure
till Saturday, and dine with Mr. I----.

At twelve o'clock I rowed myself ashore and passed half the afternoon
under the shady trees on the ramparts of Fredrikshavn. At the mouth of
the harbour lies a Danish frigate at anchor; and, I suppose, from the
position she has taken up, is intended for the guard-ship. The Danish
ships of war are in no way inferior to the British; and, at Elsineur, we
brought up alongside a 36-gun frigate which was the perfect combination
of elegance and strength; nor did I at Portsmouth, or anywhere else, see
a finer model. From the spot where I stand, I can catch a glimpse of the
dockyards, and the hulls of six dismounted men-of-war. I have been told,
that the Danish Government intends to build steam-frigates, and will
have nothing more to do with sailing vessels of war. The Danes may be
right, or they may be wrong; but what will be the result of any future
naval engagement where steam alone, or canvass alone is used, is beyond
the intelligence of any living creature. On all human events, such as
the issues of peace and war, human beings may conjecture, but cannot
determine so precisely.

When I returned on board, I found the cook very busily binding, with a
piece of yarn, an immense round of beef, which had been purchased for
the crew by R----, in order that they might have a regular
_jollification_ to-morrow, it being his birthday. Along the rigging were
white trowsers, check shirts, and all the other paraphernalia of a
sailor's wardrobe, hung up to swing to the wind, and dry; and, as Jerome
sat on the windlass, scraping and screwing his fiddle by way of tuning,
I could plainly be made to understand that Friday, the 21st of May, was
not intended to be passed over with the indifference of any ordinary
day,--at least, not on board the Iris. In a few minutes, while I still
listened to the plaintive screams of Jerome's fiddle, as he urged the
strings to their proper tension, the dingy shot alongside laden with
bundles of brown sugar, multitudes of raisins and currants, and a small
bucket of lemons. Jacko, also, mounted, as wont, on Sailor's back, rode
from end to end of the yacht, like a general officer, reviewing, and
sometimes descending to taste the different dainties as they arrived
from the shore; while Sailor would, for no reason whatever, but from
mere delight, burst into a loud bark, much to the consternation of
Jacko, who would leap from his seat in an instant, and standing, at a
little distance, on his hind legs, chatter with excessive alarm.

We dined early and went to the theatre. A play in fifteen acts was
performed. Tedious by its prolixity, the language, unintelligible to me,
made it still more wearisome. The music played in the orchestra was very
beautiful; and the officer, who had behaved so politely to us in
permitting the gates, on the first night of our arrival, to be opened,
seated on a high stool, rose conspicuously above the other musicians,
and seemed indeed the _first fiddle_. This is an act in no way
derogatory to the dignity of an officer, or a gentleman; for, throughout
our travels in Scandinavia, I often recognised in the orchestra of the
different theatres I visited, officers whom I had met in the streets
during the day. The interior decorations of the house were tawdry, and
could not for an instant bear comparison with the simple adornment of
the Haymarket theatre. The body of the theatre was not illuminated as in
Southern Europe; but large green tin shades cover the lights toward the
audience, and, all the reflection being thrown on the stage, the blaze
of light on the performers is very great and effective. The house was
much crowded; and, as at the casino, the King, the Queen, and the
Princess Louise were part of the audience, and conversed familiarly
with different people about them.

The theatres are entirely supported by the Government, and the actors
and actresses receive their salaries from the same quarter. Whether this
be a system which works well in Copenhagen, I have had no opportunity of
knowing; but I should fancy it would be more beneficial to the
Government, to the players, and the public, that individual labour, or
ability, should seek and find its own remuneration; for I do not believe
it is in the power of any Government to discriminate properly, and
reward the services of a particular class of the community. I do not
think I am at fault when I say, that England has produced more great
men, eminent in every department of the professions, politics, and
trade, than any other nation of the earth; and this superiority of
mental, intellectual, and physical greatness, is to be ascribed to that
timidity which the English Government manifests at all times to
interfere with individual exertions or collective industry.

To-day was our last day at Copenhagen, and the crew seemed determined to
make it the gayest. At early dawn, floating from the mast head to the
bowsprit end, then down again to the boom-end, even to the water; and
from the cross-trees along both back-stays, every flag and pennant on
board the yacht might have been seen.

"There's not a prettier craft in Denmark," I heard one man say, as he
sat in the boat, hauled up close to the port-hole of the cabin, where I
was dressing, "and I don't know as how there's a drier thing in a gale."

"No, nor I neither," replied another; "I'm blowed if it 'taint as good
as a picture to look at her."

This short dialogue had scarcely been brought to a conclusion, when I
heard some one in a raised tone of voice, as if at a distance from the
cutter, ask if Lord R, or P, or I, was up, but being answered in the
negative, the same person inquired what all the flags were flying for;
and being told that it was R's birthday, all further interrogation
ceased. It was the American Minister, who had rowed off to the yacht, to
repeat his invitation. At 12 o'clock, the conviviality of the crew
commenced; and as I sat down with R and P, near the binnacle, toast
after toast could be heard unanimously proposed, and more unanimously
drank. As the afternoon began to decline, their jollity began to rise,
and ere the sun had set, the grog had risen high in their heads.

"Here's to the Governor!" I could distinguish from a multitude of
noises, which issued upwards from the forecastle; and then snatches of
such Bacchanalian songs as,

"He's a jolly good fellow,
He's a jolly good fellow,"

interrupted the calm serenity of the coming evening.

"Now then, 'order,' my lads," I heard D. shout aloud, "and let's drink
the Governor's health, and long life to him!"

"Hurrah!" replied eight or ten voices;--"Hurrah!"

"Where's Jacko?" was then the cry; "where is he? out with the young
lubber, George--give him a glass."

"Ay, give him a glass;" echoed in answer.

"Time, my sons, time," shouted D., "attend to time. One--two--three;
hip! hip! hip! hurra!--hurra!--hurra!--nine times nine, my sons;
hip!"--and his voice was drowned in a perfect uproar. The next thing I
heard was that Jacko, confused by the din of joviality, had decamped
from the middle of the table where they had placed him, and broken his
glass. In the midst of all this merriment, we were rowed ashore to keep
our engagement with the American Minister; and, on reaching the land,
about half a mile off, we could hear the whole yacht's company joining
in the chorus, and Jerome's fiddle screaming the accompaniment, of

"True blue for ever."

Our party at the American Minister's consisted of the Spanish Minister,
the Baron de B----, R----, P----, Captain W----, Mr. A----, the nephew
of Lord F----, a gentleman farmer from Holstein, and myself. The dinner
was an excellent one, and an improvement on the French system of
cookery; and every fruit and wine which could be bought in Copenhagen
were on the table. After we had dined, the American Minister rose, and
drank the health of the Queen of England. P---- immediately replied, and
proposed the President of the United States, and that also was drunk in
a bumper. A pause now took place in the proposal and drinking of
healths, and the conversation turned into a political current, and
flowed towards the merits and demerits of Christian, King of Denmark.
Public opinion was rather in opposition to the king, because he had
shown himself reluctant to give the people that limit of reform which
they asked.

"Well," exclaimed Captain W----, who, though a boisterous, was an
amiable man, "I have not the honour of knowing King Christian; but I
believe him a good fellow."

"Bravo! bravo!" and the Baron de B---- touched the table gently with his
hand.

"And I believe," continued Captain W----, "any reluctance he may show in
acceding to popular opinion is for the ultimate benefit of the country."

"Good, good," said the Baron de B----, and tapped his wine glass with a
small salt spoon.

"And he is partial to the English," added the American Minister,
looking towards our end of the table, "therefore he can't fail to have
some liberality of soul."

"The Danes have always been our old allies," said P----, "and I drink
with sincerity to the health of Christian, King of Denmark, and long may
he be so!"

P---- rose from his seat as he spoke, and held a brimming glass above
his head. The whole company followed his example, and with a round of
"hurrahs," quaffed to the personal welfare of the aged monarch in whose
dominions we had been enjoying ourselves for the last week. The Holstein
gentleman, having learned from the Baron de B---- what P---- had said,
walked round the table, and, cordially shaking hands with us, said
something in Danish which we did not understand, but at the conclusion
of every sentence, each one, except ourselves, exclaimed "Hear, hear;"
and so I am led to conclude it was complimentary. The Baron de
B---- thanked us in English for the kind feeling we had shown in drinking
the health of his sovereign, and which he appreciated the more, because
it came from an Englishman. He drank to P----, and, of course, all
present joined in the toast.

"My Lord," said the American Minister, addressing himself to R----, "I
saw your yacht to-day, looking pretty--excessively--among the other
vessels which lay in the harbour; and, from her mast-head to the
surface of the sea, I also saw streamers resting their full length on
the air. This must be a day of jubilee, and one, no doubt, replete with
good fortune to you, or your two friends; and my guests are desirous,
and I am too, of noting this day with white chalk. If I be not exceeding
the bounds of curiosity, and, in a moment of conviviality, the
conventionalities of society, may I ask the reason of so much
festivity?"

"Oh! nothing," replied R----, laughing carelessly; "I suppose my
sailing-master has merely hoisted the signals to give them an airing."

"That won't do, my Lord. Now, gentlemen," exclaimed the American
Minister, "I am not accredited minister to Denmark, without by secret
sources receiving information of all that passes in Copenhagen. Lord
R----, gentlemen, has done me the honour of dining with me on his
birthday."

This rather staggered R----, for he had no idea the American Minister
knew anything about the matter; and it was the last circumstance he
would have wished the company to know.

"Therefore," continued the American Minister, "I beg to propose Lord
R----'s health with all the honours."

"With all the honours," reiterated Captain W----.

Of course the clatter of glasses, the rapping of knuckles, the bravos,
and hears, are nothing more on all similar occasions than the
reverberations of such an appeal. Captain W---- mounted on his chair.

"Come down, W----," said Mr. A----.

"Not a bit," answered Captain W----. "Let me alone. I'm all right." The
Captain was elevated, and would remain so.

"I beg, with the permission of his Excellency," continued Mr. A----, "to
suggest an amendment,--the health of Lord R----, _and_ his two friends."

"My health has been drunk already," observed P----.

"Never mind. Bravo!" said Captain W----, from his point of elevation,
and, stooping down, he rapped the table. "Lord R---- _and_ his two
friends--good idea!"

"It was my intention to have them one by one," said the American
Minister.

"No, no;" interrupted Captain W----. "All together--three jolly chaps."

"Just as you like," answered the American Minister.

"Yes. We'll have two girls afterwards, instead," replied Captain W----.

"As you are so conspicuous, then," said the American Minister to Captain
W----, "perhaps you had better do the toast with honours."

"To be sure," replied Captain W----, "nine times nine, and one over for
a fair breeze. Gentlemen! _are_ you charged?"

"Yes, yes, yes," came from all quarters.

"Well, then, gentlemen," continued Captain W----, "reserve your fire,
till I give the word.--Now!" and, with all the hubbub of a toast, our
united healths were drunk. R---- was called upon to return thanks, which
he did; and another jingling of spoons, forks, and finger-basins, rose
in reply. The gentleman-farmer from Holstein now commenced a speech,
which none of us, but the Baron de B----, thoroughly understood; but it
evidently alluded to our three selves, for he often turned, and, looking
in our faces, delivered whole sentences without wincing. The Holsteiner
was much applauded. Captain W---- having come down to our level, now
offered to sing a song; and he dashed headlong into a pretty air, which
had an eternal chorus of

"Trik-a-trik, trik,"

or some such monotonous burden at every sixth word. The gallant Captain
had executed but a small portion of his ditty, when the Holstein farmer
rose quickly from his chair, and addressed the songster at the moment
when he had reiterated for the second time,

"Trik-a-trik, trik."

"I don't care," replied Captain W----, who knew the Danish language
slightly; "it means nothing. My friends here have never heard the air,
and that is the reason I sing it."

The Holsteiner still resisted. What could the matter be? The farmer must
be, I thought, a married man, and the song an immoral one. The Captain
made a second attempt with another song, and the Holsteiner resisted a
second time. What could the matter now be? Why, that the farmer was a
loyal subject, and a strenuous supporter of monarchy, and that Captain
W---- had pitched, at last, upon a revolutionary song, which had been
prohibited.

"It is so absurdly radical," said the American Minister, "that it
carries with it its own antidote. I am sure there can arise no harm from
Captain W---- singing it to our English friends, who are monarchy men
sufficiently staunch to disallow any defection from royalty."

"Yes," replied the Baron de B----; "it is not for ourselves my friend
from Holstein feels alarmed; but for those who attend upon us, and who,
knowing us, may disseminate reports prejudicial to our position. God
knows, my Sovereign has no truer subject than myself."

"Perhaps it is better," admitted the American Minister, "that the song
should not be sung, W----. King Christian possesses no heart more loyal
than my noble friend's," and he took the hand of the Baron de B----,
who sat close to him, and shook it.

"A stone," exclaimed Captain W----, "thrown into a brook dams it not,
but swells the current only to make it run swifter. What will you have?

"Min skaal og din skaal,
Alla vackra flickors skaal;"

and chanting these two lines of a Swedish drinking-song, he threw
himself back in his chair, and emptied his overflowing glass. The party
now began to get extremely merry; and from claret we turned to port,
and, by imperceptible degrees, descended to punch. The smoke of our
cigars soon accumulated in a dense mass, and, ascending to the ceiling
of the room, hung like a canopy of clouds over our heads; and Satan
would have envied the hot atmosphere which we now breathed and caroused
in. We were all pretty well elated; and as the wine warmed Captain
W----'s heart and feelings, he sang the sweetest Swedish song I shall
ever hear again. The melodious air, the sweet silvery reiteration of the
words, the language with its soft idioms, and the poetical beauty and
liveliness of the song itself, were a combination of harmony I could
never have anticipated. It would be useless endeavouring to embody "the
viewless spirit" of those lovely sounds; but as the words were then
translated to me, so I write them here:--

"The happy hours,
Amid the flowers,
Familiar to the Spring's warm breast;
When memory burneth,
And the soul returneth,
Day dreaming, to its own unrest.
I know of looks, to me more sweet and clear,
Than Light's glad beam, than heaven's own blue,
The Spring's soft breath, the flower's bright hue;
None so true,
As his I cherish here,
Whose image is so dear.
Will he love, and love me duly?
Fairy flowers, tell me truly.
What shall be my lot hereafter?
Shall it end in sighs, or laughter?
Pull them lightly!
Count them rightly!
Yes! No! Yes! No! Yes! No! _Yes!_
Counted rightly."

Captain W---- received much applause, but no more than his song
deserved. After awhile, I observed to the American Minister, that we had
drunk the health of nearly every one present except the Baron de B----,
and with his permission I would suggest that we toasted him. The hint
was no sooner given than it was adopted.

The probable separation of Holstein and Schleswig from Denmark, then
became the subject of discussion during the remainder of the evening;
and, indeed, this was the topic common in the mouths of all men whom we
met in Copenhagen.

"It is impossible to foresee the decrees of Time," said the Baron de
B----, "and tell what may, or may not befall this country; but all I
hope, is, that my present sovereign may live for many long years to
come, his life being a guarantee of peace to Denmark, and his death the
beginning of disaffection."

"Do you think, Baron," observed Mr. A----, "that the people of Holstein
and Schleswig are so much opposed to the rule of Denmark?"

"No," replied the Baron de B----, "I am not at liberty to say _that_ is
the general feeling of Holstein and Schleswig; for I am one among a
thousand who hold, that the disunion of Holstein and Schleswig from the
Parent Kingdom, would be fatal to the well-being of both, but more
particularly to Denmark; for I do not doubt, but that when Holstein and
Schleswig are lopped off from Denmark, some other State, like Prussia,
for instance, will take the duchies under its protection, and join them
ultimately to its dominions; but such a result could never happen to
Denmark, and she must sink into utter insignificance as a European
Power."

"Why, my dear Baron," said the American Minister, "is not care taken
that these evils should not occur to Denmark? If you do not mind
yourselves, you may rest satisfied no State in Europe will trouble
itself about you."

"The fact is this," answered the Baron de B----, "the present ministers
have not the moral courage, or mental ability to meet the difficulties
of the approaching crisis. When Christian dies, you may say the existing
dynasty of Denmark dies too; and I do not think the Duke of Augustenburg
will listen to an alteration in the law of succession to these realms,
prejudicial to his interest in Holstein, at the coronation of Prince
Frederick. If Denmark desires to retain Holstein and Schleswig, she must
show her determination now. The same trumpet that announces the decease
of Christian, will sound the proclamation of civil contention."

"Will England stand aloof," observed Captain W----, "and see Denmark
mutilated? I think not."

"I hope not," said the Baron de B----; "but as years roll on, who can
divine the political condition of any country. My Lord," continued the
Baron de B----, turning and addressing himself more exclusively to
R----, "you have, by hereditary right, a voice in the legislative
community of your country, and if ever you should hear that Denmark is
threatened with the loss of her dependencies, maintain her in her right;
remember the position of England without the aid and protection in the
West, however ill given, of Ireland; and, calling to mind the words of
myself, an old Holstein noble, be assured, that the apathetic
indifference of England to the dismemberment of this kingdom, her old
ally, will destroy, only for a time, the balance of power in Northern
Europe, but will entail on future generations the misery of restoring by
the sword, what can now be done with the pen, the independence of the
Danish Crown."

"I do not wish, Baron," I said, "to interfere with the opinion you
entertain of the intellectual refinement of men, and their inclination
to have their quarrels arranged rather by the silent aid of the pen,
than the roar of cannon; but of this I am convinced, that, the more
enlightened the human race appear to become, the more frequently
submission and order seem to be appalled by a total disregard of many
social institutions. That day is distant indeed, when the legislators of
two disaffected countries will sit down and calm their differences by
philosophic deliberation."

"I do not quite agree with you," answered the American Minister; "but, I
still think, that the irritability of human nature will overcome reason,
and so, in anger, men seize the sabre while they throw down the pen; but
that is only temporary. 'Ira furor brevis est.'"

"A great deal of mischief may be done in a short time," I replied. "I do
not, however, wish your Excellency to take all hope from the Baron de
B----, but the separation of Holstein and Schleswig from this country
will scarcely be opposed by England, and, if the interference of England
should be tendered, the other Powers will hardly permit it to be
accepted in quietude. I am no prophet, but however much Europe may boast
of her intellectual advancement, and point, as she may, to her sons of
mind, the innate love of destruction is so clearly marked on the
character of mankind, that, at any, the least provocation, war may
trample again on liberty and peace with all the increased malice and
horror of the Bonaparte dynasty."

Not many of the company would support me, but thought better of their
kind. I am now pleased that I then stood alone; for recent events have
shown how, in the midst of the most intellectual era since the world's
formation, glittering not only with the fruit of man's mental garden,
but beautified by the miracles of his manual skill, the total subversion
of conventional and political order is severely menaced; and how
doubtful the contest is between the earnest endeavour of one faith to
overcome every tenet of another, and the outrages of vulgar audacity to
supersede noble sentiment and refinement of manner.

We did not part until much past midnight, and I shall not forget that
last night at Copenhagen for many a long day; and for the time which is
to come I shall ever, lingeringly, look back with memory on the glad
faces which endear the happiness of that evening.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE EXILE'S SOUVENIR--THE DISAPPOINTED ARTIST
--DEPARTURE FROM COPENHAGEN--ARRIVAL AT ELSINEUR
--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN--THE CASTLE OF CRONENBORG
--HAMLET'S GARDEN--ESROM LAKE--THE LEGEND OF ESROM
MONASTERY--THE FRENCH WAR-STEAMER--SAILING UP THE
CATTEGAT.

I rose early on the following morning, and went ashore with R----, who
desired to purchase some cherry cordial, rum and brandy, since this was
the last city of any importance we should visit, before our arrival at
Christiania, or Bergen.

The first object which attracted our attention when we returned on
board, was a large nosegay, of sweet colour and perfume, in a jar of
water, standing in the centre of the cabin table; and a small note
directed, to us, lay by its side. When opened, the note read thus:--

"A poor, but proud countryman, begs that you will accept this trifling
present, as it is the only one within his means of offering; and, when
you are again in England, think sometimes of an outcast."

It had no signature; but the hand-writing was Mr. C----'s. A large boat
was seen putting off from the shore, and we hoped that it was Mr.
C----; for R---- was always happy to see him on board his vessel,
however much he might have objected to his companionship in the streets.
As the boat approached, we saw that it was not Mr. C----, but our old
friend the gentleman in spectacles, who had, unhappily, selected this
morning to sketch the yacht; and in ignorance of our intended departure,
had evidently hired a good-sized boat for the day, and brought all the
necessary appendages of his art. In a few seconds we slipped our
moorings, and jib, foresail, and gaff-topsail were hauled out to the
wind, and the main tack dropped, sooner than I have written it.

"Vare de skepp go?" I heard the artist exclaim to the boatman; "det
bl[)a]ser h[)a]rdt--de vind blow hard--moin Gud! vare de skepp go?"

We were soon out of hearing; but we could still see the mute
astonishment of the disappointed Swede, as he stood bolt upright, a
pencil in one hand, and a large drawing-book in the other.

Like a wild horse, startled, would fly over the plains of Pampas, and
hurl with sounding hooves the turf behind him, our little bark darted
through the water, and, envious of her freedom, crushed and tossed each
resisting wave into foam, and a thousand bubbles. As we hauled closer to
the wind, and hugged the tongue of land which forms the most easterly
point of the citadel of Fredrikshavn, we discerned, leaning against the
flag-staff, poor old C----. He held a handkerchief in his hand, but
waved it not; yet it would be raised slowly to his face, and fall
heavily to his side again; and, after we had proceeded two miles out to
sea, with the aid of a telescope, we could still trace his form resting
in the same place and position, and his eyes still turned towards us.

When we drew further from the shore, the wind increased, and the
gaff-topsail was unbent, and a reef taken in the mainsail. We were soon
a second time anchored off Elsineur; and, as the sun declined from the
meridian, the wind almost lulled to a calm. We went ashore; and
although, on our arrival at the pier-head, the sentinels and police did
not speak to us, or demand our passports, they walked round and viewed
us, as a man would observe the points of a horse before he purchased it.

Elsineur appeared to me a more bustling town than Copenhagen itself; and
I suppose that arises from the number of sailors connected with the
vessels in the roadstead, who are to be met in the narrow lanes and
alleys of the town; and here all the pilots in Denmark mostly wait for
ships bound up the Baltic.

Over the door of every third house, generally swings a sign-board,
villainously painted, and exhibiting, in emblematical form to the
stranger's eye, the proprietor's name, and the nature of the goods
which may be bought of him. The streets are very long and confined; and
herds of fishwomen, dogs, and children, get in your way and under your
feet. Elsineur is the Wapping of Denmark, or comparable to the worst
parts of Portsmouth.

We walked through the town to the Castle of Cronenborg. After wandering
over drawbridges, through archways, and dark tunnels, we found ourselves
in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by the solitary
walls of the seemingly deserted castle. We rang a bell several times,
and could just hear its noisy clatter, stealing through narrow,
longitudinal slits of windows at the top of an old tower; and, after
repeating the summons several times, without waiting, we walked away as
we had entered this famous citadel. From the ramparts we enjoyed a
magnificent view of the Sound, and the coast of Sweden.

In Hamlet's garden, about a mile from the castle, across a dreary
common, the willow-sheltered tomb is still to be seen, where, it is
said, sleeps that Spirit "the potent poison quite" o'ercrew. A house
stands, tenantless, in the centre of this garden, protected at the back
from the north wind by a bank, on which spring here and there flowers
and weeds entwined; while its front, turned to the south's warm breath,
is enlivened by a few statues, round the pedestals of which creep the
vine and honey-suckle. Though the footfall of time is scarcely heard on
the soft moss, which oozes in patches from the broad terrace where
princes trod, the hand of desolation seemed to be busy here; and as I
looked around me, and observed how each relic of antiquity was crumbling
into dust, the oblivion of every thing connected with man, except the
monuments of his intellect, crawled coldly, like a slug, over my senses,
and apart from all visible objects, I felt, and saw with the mind's eye,
the immortality of poetry only in the air which I breathed.

Not far from Elsineur is Esrom. Near the Castle of Fredensborg, a
boat-house, on Esrom Lake, may be seen by the traveller; and there it
was, on this calm summer evening, I lay down upon the grass, looking on
hill, wood, dale, and water. The still air, the unrippled surface of the
lake, the tops of the trees, which form the vast and majestic avenues
leading to the castle, appearing to melt into the blue sky, were so
imposing, that the spirit of melancholy, not unpleasing, descended on
me; and leaping from scene to scene, and from one epoch of my life to
another, I found myself a boy again, and the heart, like a bended bow,
returning to its full length, sprung swifter to the thoughts of home;
and I could not help muttering aloud these verses to myself:

"There was a time, and I recall it well,
When my whole frame was but an ell in height;
Oh! when I think of that, my warm tears swell,
And therefore in the mem'ry I delight.

"I sported in my mother's kind embraces,
And climb'd my grandsire's venerable knee;
Unknown were care, and rage, and sorrow's traces:
To me the world was blest as blest could be.

"I mark'd no frowns the world's smooth surface wrinkle,
Its mighty space seemed little to my eye;
I saw the stars, like sparks, at distance twinkle,
And wished myself a bird to soar so high.

"I saw the moon behind the hills retiring,
And thought the while--'Oh! would I were but there!'
Then could my eye examine, without tiring,
That radiant thing, how large, how round, how fair.

"Wond'ring, I saw the Sun of God depart,
To slumber in the golden lap of Even;
And, from the East again in beauty dart,
To bathe in crimson all the field of heaven.

"I thought on Him, the Father all-bestowing,
Who made me, and that silver orb, on high,
And all the little stars, that, nightly glowing,
Deck'd, like a row of pearls, the azure sky.

"To Him, with infant piety, I faltered
The prayer my tender mother taught me:
'Oh! gracious God! be it my aim unalter'd
Still to be wise and good, and follow Thee!'

"For her I pray'd, and for my father, too,
My sisters dear, and the community;
The king, whom yet by name alone I knew,
And mendicant that, sighing, totter'd by.

"Those days were matchless sweet; but they are perish'd,
And life is thorny now, and dim, and flat;
Yet rests their memory--deeply--fondly cherish'd;
God! in thy mercy, take not--take not that."[1]

That the placid and serious beauty of Esrom Lake might be enjoyed,
undisturbed, in intimate union and rare purity, some monks of the
Cistercian order built, in days of yore, a monastery in the island, the
ruins of which now alone remain; and it would do the eye good to see the
beautiful spot where these monks raised their dwelling.

On such an evening as the one of which I am now almost a part, a light
might have been seen dancing strangely round the trunk of a beech, the
oak of Denmark. It was no will-o'-the-wisp produced by exhalations of
the earth; for, now it would shine brightly, and at the next moment
vanish, as if it had mingled with the old tree's leaves. Reappearing,
the light would assume an oscillating motion for a short time; then
revolve with such rapidity, that it would seem a continuous circle of
fire; and, at last, as if wearied with its gyrations, burn with the
upward quivering glare of a candle. Suddenly, a slight puffing noise,
like the ignition of a small quantity of gunpowder, stole on the night,
and the beech, without noise, fell withered to the ground. In its stead
stood the figure of a man hid in the travelling hood and mantle worn by
the peasants of those days. Folding the mantle close to his form, the
man moved with quick steps towards the monastery of Esrom; and,
arriving, knocked gently, at the gates. He sought admission, and said
that his name was Ruus, and that the abbot had engaged him to be cook's
apprentice. The lateness of the hour pleading in his favour, a monk,
doubting not the truth of his assertion, admitted the stranger, who
entered without further question on the duties of his humble office.

Being one day alone with the master-cook, Ruus showed so much
disobedience, and raised the anger of his superior to such a pitch, that
he received chastisement severely for his contumely. At this Ruus felt
wroth; and, having previously placed a cauldron of water on the fire,
and perceiving the water boiled, he seized, in the apparent frenzy of
the moment, the master-cook by his ankle and the nape of his neck, and
thrust him head foremost into the hissing liquid. Tearing hi

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