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.
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 inallthe 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, atthe 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 café," 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 café.
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——, andP—— 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 café; 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, throughwhich 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 désirent passer d'ici jusqu'à 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 wenton 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 ordonnory."
"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 ordonnory;" 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 youallplainly, 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 appearagainstyou, 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 lastnight; 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 aboutthe 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 asso 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 viâ sacrâ, 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 onme, 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'Hôtel 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 ofimmense 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 tothink 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.
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.
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 CrownPrince, 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 agentle 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, thehand 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 apartiality 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, Hôtel 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'stail."
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'sinjunctions, we went, after breakfast, to the guard-room; and, through the harbour-master, held a long conversation with the officer in command of theobjectionable 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 oneanteroom 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 itsbeing 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, andraising, 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.