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.
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. Idid 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 pityfor 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 asthedrunken 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.Bothof 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 themuzzles 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 foundguilty, 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 Hôtel 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 theynot?" said the Baron de B., appealing to the exquisite Joe.
"No doubt at arl, sir, in de questchums," replied Joe quickly, and with his Æthiopian 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, hewouldstand 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 theBunseppalouse, "you black pudding, you; what do you mean by myLard? 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 thepecuniary 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 shalldigestit," 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 whattorture, 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 apencil 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 whatwill 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 regularjollificationto-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 reasonwhatever, 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 thefirst 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 ofthe 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——, agentleman 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," addedthe 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 theharbour; 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——,andhis 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——andhis 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!areyou 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; "itmeans 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; butall 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 saythatis 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 thedifficulties 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 inNorthern 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 itto 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.