Up The Baltic Part 46

The Second Part of the Starboard Watch.

The Third Lieutenant.

The First Part of the Port Watch.

The Fourth Lieutenant.

The Second Part of the Port Watch.

The Captain of the Tritonia.

The Four Masters.

The First Lieutenant.

The First Part of the Starboard Watch, Consisting of Eight Seamen.

The Second Lieutenant.

The Second Part of the Starboard Watch.

The Third Lieutenant.

The First Part of the Port Watch.

The Fourth Lieutenant.

The Second Part of the Port Watch.

Sometimes the order was varied by placing all the officers at the head of the procession, except the lieutenants in command of sections, as,--

The Commodore and Staff.

The three Captains.

Three ranks of Masters.

One rank of Midshipmen.

But keeping all the officers and seamen of each vessel together, as in the first order, was generally preferred. Of course the ranks were not always full, as on the present occasion; but even when the full band was at the head of the column, there were enough for four full ranks in each half-watch of the ship, and two ranks in those of the other vessels. The students had practised so much that they marched exceedingly well, and being aligned according to their height, the effect was very fine. The Copenhageners left their occupations, and hastened to the doors and windows of their houses and shops to see the procession; and even the king and royal family were spectators at the palace windows, as the column moved through Frederiksplads. As it pa.s.sed the Royal Hotel, Mr. and Mrs. Kendall, with Dr. Winstock and Joseph, were entering a carriage, in which they intended to ride to Klampenborg, in order to see more of the country. At the railroad station, the officers and seamen took seats in the third-cla.s.s carriages, which were two stories high, the upper as well as the lower one having a roof. The distance to Klampenborg is eight and a half English miles, and the fare is sixteen skillings, or nine cents, third cla.s.s; twenty-four skillings, or thirteen and a half cents, second cla.s.s; and thirty-two skillings, or eighteen cents, first cla.s.s. The third-cla.s.s compartments are clean and neat, but there are no cushions on the seats. An aisle extends through the middle of them, but the seats are placed in pairs, on each side, so that half the pa.s.sengers are compelled to ride backwards. In about half an hour the train arrived at Klampenborg.

Paul Kendall's party drove first to the summer residence of Mr.

Melchoir, which was in the suburbs of the city, near the sea-sh.o.r.e.

The house was a very pretty one, with a neat garden, not unlike the little country places one sees in the vicinity of the large cities of the United States. Joseph rang the bell, and stated the errand of the party to the servant. They were shown up one flight of stairs, where the girl knocked at the door, which was immediately opened by Hans Christian Andersen, and the tourists were ushered into a plainly-furnished room, with a few engravings on the walls. On a table were the writing-materials of the great author, and Paul looked with interest at the little pile of letter sheets, closely written over, and the unfinished one, on which the ink was not yet dry.

Mr. Andersen's face was covered with a smile as he greeted the party.

Dr. Winstock had met him before, and stated the fact.

"O, I'm very glad to see you again," said the author, grasping the doctor's hand with both of his own.

"My young friend here, and his lady, have both read all your books, and desired to see you even more than to look upon the beautiful works of your great sculptor."

"Ah, you are very kind," added Mr. Andersen, again grasping the doctor's hand with both of his own.

Then, darting nervously to Paul, he seized his hand in the same manner.

"This is Captain Paul Kendall, commander of the yacht Grace," added Dr. Winstock.

"I am so pleased to see you!" said Mr. Andersen.

"I have read all your books with the most intense pleasure."

"O, you are too kind, Captain Kendall," replied the genial author, smiling all over his face, and once more grasping his hand as before.

"Mrs. Kendall," added Paul, presenting Grace.

"I am so pleased to see you! You are very kind to take so much trouble to visit me."

"Indeed, sir, you are very kind to permit us to trouble you, when you are so busy," continued Paul.

"O, I have plenty of time to see my good friends."

"In America we love your books, and they are in all our libraries and most of our houses."

"You are so kind to speak so pleasantly of my works!" replied Mr.

Andersen, grasping Paul's hand again.

"We value them very highly."

The conversation continued for a few moments, in which Paul and the doctor expressed the high appreciation of the reading public of the great writer's works. At least a dozen times more he grasped the hand of the speaker with both his. Mr. Andersen is a tall gentleman, with a thin face,--the features of which are far from handsome,--and iron-gray hair. His countenance is always covered with smiles when he speaks, and his whole manner is child-like and simple. He is full of the love of G.o.d and of man, which seems to shine out in his face, and to be the interpretation of his ever-present smile. His dress was scrupulously neat and nice in every detail.

The doctor told him about the Academy squadron, of which he had read a brief notice in the newspapers, and invited him to visit the ship, which he promised to do, on the following day. The party took their leave of him, and continued on the way to Klampenborg. The road was on the margin of the sea, and was lined with small country houses, with pleasant gardens. It was a lovely region, with an occasional large villa, and even a summer palace or two. All along this road, called the Strandway, are small and large houses of entertainment, on the sea-side, each one of which has a bathing establishment on a very small and simple scale.

"Here is Charlottelund Castle, in this park," said Joseph, as they pa.s.sed what seemed to be merely a grove, with a rather dilapidated fence.

"It was formerly the country-seat of the Landgrave of Hesse, I believe," added Dr. Winstock.

"Yes, sir; but it is now the summer residence of the crown prince. He comes out here in June."

"These carriages are called 'privateers,'" continued the guide, pointing to several vehicles like a small omnibus with no top. "They formerly went by the name of 'coffee-mills,' because they made a noise like those machines."

Constantia Tea-Garden, where the Copenhageners go to spend the evening in hot weather, and several fishing villages, were pa.s.sed, and then the carriage reached the Deer Park, where the students had already arrived, which is a very extensive enclosure, with a few roads extending through it. A portion of it is covered with groves, and it contains about a thousand deer, which are quite tame, and may be seen grazing in herds on the gentle slopes. There is nothing very attractive in the park, though it is much frequented by the people from the city. Neither the roads nor the grounds are well kept, and the government "turns an honest penny" by the letting of it out for the pasturage of horses. On some rising ground, which Denmarkers call a hill, is a large, square, barn-like building, known as the "Hermitage," which was built by Christian VI. for a hunting lodge.

This park and that at Charlottelund contain thousands of acres of excellent land, which is almost useless, and which the government cannot afford to keep in condition as pleasure-grounds. They would make thousands of farms, and thus increase the productive industry and the revenues of the nation, if they could be cut up and sold. Royalty is an expensive luxury, which a small kingdom like Denmark cannot afford to support.

Near the entrance to the park is the garden proper of Klampenborg, where music is provided on summer evenings, and refreshments sold.

What is called a Norwegian house is erected in the middle of the grounds, which contains a bar and private rooms, and is surrounded by tables and chairs, where the pleasure-seekers may sit and enjoy their beer and the music. A small fee for admission is paid at the gate, where the ticket-seller is kept honest by the aid of the "control-mark." Near this garden is a hotel built for a water-cure establishment, though it is now mainly used as a summer boarding-house. Close by it is a village of small cottages, devoted to the same use, with concert-rooms and bathing-houses in abundance. This place is a favorite resort of the Copenhageners in summer,--in fact, their Newport or Long Branch. For a couple of hours the students wandered through the park and gardens. The railroad station is very near the entrance, where, indeed, the whole beauty of the place is concentrated.

The railway to Klampenborg is a branch of the one which extends from Copenhagen to Elsinore, and in another hour the entire party were transported to the latter place. This town has nine or ten thousand inhabitants, and is located on a basin of the Sound, nearly land-locked by natural and artificial dikes. The Danish name of the place is Helsingor, and is the scene of Shakespeare's tragedy of Hamlet. The excursionists visited the cathedral, which is the princ.i.p.al object of interest in Elsinore, and contains several very old tombs. Near the town, and on the sh.o.r.e of the Sound, is the Castle of Kronberg, erected in 1580. It is a large, oblong, Gothic structure, built of a whitish stone. It contains a chapel and other apartments.

Those occupied by the commandant were the prison of Caroline Matilda, who was confined here for a high crime, of which she is now universally believed to be innocent.

Under the castle are casemates for a thousand men, one of which is said to be the abode of _Holger Danske_, who was the Cid Campeador of Denmark, and the hero of a thousand legends. When the state is in peril, he is supposed to march at the head of the armies, but never shows himself at any other time. A farmer, says the story, happened into his gloomy retreat by accident, and found him seated at a stone table, to which his long white beard had grown. The mystic hero demanded the hand of his visitor, who was afraid to trust flesh and blood in the grasp of one so mighty, and offered the iron bar used to fasten the door. Holger Danske seized it, and squeezed it so hard that he left the print of his fingers on the iron.

"Ha, I see there are still _men_ in Denmark!" said he, with a grim smile of satisfaction.

Near the castle are a couple of natural ponds, small and round, which are called "Holger Danske's Spectacles."

"This is where Hamlet lived, I suppose," said Captain Lincoln.

"Where Shakespeare says he lived," replied Dr. Winstock.

"But I was told his grave was here."

"Perhaps Hamlet divided himself up, and occupied a dozen graves, for I think you may find a dozen of them here," laughed the doctor. "A resident of this vicinity had what was called the grave of Hamlet in his grounds, which proved to be a nuisance to him, on account of the great number of visitors who came to see it. In order to relieve himself of this injury to his garden, he got up another 'grave of Hamlet,' in another place, which he proved to be the authentic one."

"It is too bad to trifle with history in that manner," protested the captain.