A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden Part 8

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 unsurpa.s.sed 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. Pa.s.sing 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 pa.s.sed, 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 pa.s.sage, 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 gla.s.s-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 acc.u.mulation. 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 gla.s.ses 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 a.s.sa.s.sin, 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 sh.e.l.l 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-b.a.l.l.s 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 EMBa.s.sY--MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE DANES--THE SPANISH AMBa.s.sADOR 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 AMBa.s.sADOR'S--THE DUCHIES OF SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN.

At the Emba.s.sy we met, besides other guests, whose names I remember not, the Baron de B----, a Holstein n.o.ble, 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 n.o.blemen had pa.s.sed some brief period of their lives in London, as amba.s.sadors 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 grat.i.tude 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 pa.s.sing an hour on board, we all started with him for the sh.o.r.e.

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 gla.s.ses, 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 gla.s.s, 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 inst.i.tutions 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 a.s.s, 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.