water, to which a bright sun, distinctly marking, out the little island of Arroe to the south, and the greater one of Funen in front, distant about eight English miles, added new charms. The boatmen, with un common dexterity, in about ten minutes hoisted, by means of tackles, our carriage entire and luggage into an open boat, and having a fair breeze, we crossed the little Belt in about an hour and a half, and landed at Assens.

At Assens we, for the first time, experienced the change of a large feather-bed, instead of a blanket and sheet.

At Odensee, which is a large respectable town, an episcopal See, the richest in Denmark, next to that of Copenhagen, and the capital of the island, we dined.

There is a public school here, where a small number of boys are educated and maintained gratuitously, and a gymnasium for students of sixteen years of age. The cathedral is an ancient pile of brick, and is remarkable for nothing more than containing the tombs of John and the sanguinary Christian II. who seized upon the crown of Sweden by the right of conquest, and, in a cold-blooded massacre, put six hundred of the flower of her nobility to the sword.

The thatch of the cottage in this island, and in most parts of the north, is bristled at the top with cross braces of wood, to keep it together, and has very inferior appearance to the warm compact neatness of the English thatch. The road from hence to Nioborg is good, partly paved, and the country on all sides very picturesque. The lambs, in the flocks which we passed, had one foot fastened to the body by a piece of string.

I was much surprized at not seeing either in Den mark or any other part of the north that I visited, a single member of a very ancient family, the most useful, the most ill-treated and despised of any that moves upon all-fours, an ass. leylib bas 2927od ed) bus

About nine o'clock in the evening we arrived at Nioborg, which is a small but handsome fortified town, containing about nine hundred inhabitants; and determined, as the wind was fair, to cross the Great Belt that night, and after a delightful sail of about two hours and a half, we effected our passage, which is twenty English miles, and landed at Corsoer, in the metropolitan island of Zealand.

As I passed over this mighty space of water I could not help reflecting with astonishment, that in the month of February 1658, it formed a bridge of ice for the hardy troops of the warlike and ambitious Charles X., who, contrary to the advice of his council of war, marched over it to give battle to the Danes.

The island of Zealand is said to be very luxuriant, and abounding with picturesque scenery; its shores are lined with pretty towns, noble chateaus, and extensive and well-wooded demains, but upon the high road we did not observe, until our near approach to the capital, any indication of such exuberance and beauty; although it was at this time the third of June, the gooseberries and currants were but just formed into berries.

The mile-stones here, the first which we saw in the country, are formed of granite in the shape of a handsome obelisk, and enumerate the miles and half miles, and bear the names of Christian and sometimes of Fred. V.

The country from Slagelse to Ringsted was very picturesque. The most ancient church in Denmark is in this town; it is built of brick, with two low towers: there are some royal tombs here very ancient, which are principally filled with the ashes of the descendants of Sweyn II., and are level with the pave ment. We passed many forests of fine beach and oak, feathering the shores of several extensive and beauti ful lakes. As we approached the capital, we were a little surprized to find every thing become cheaper, and the horses and drivers leaner and shabbier.

We arrived on a Sunday at Roskild, which, according to Holberg, was formerly a city of many parishes, and contained within its walls twenty-seven churches, and an equal number of convents, though now, a place of very little import. We went to the cathedral, a heavy pile of brick covered with copper, with two spires, the most ancient part of which was erected under the auspices of Harold, the grandfather of Camute the Great, king of England and Denmark; and in a subterranean vault, repose the remains of the royal family of Denmark, in several raised stone cof fins, which are covered with black velvet palls, embroidered with small crowns of gold, falling in full drapery upon the floor. It is foreign to my purpose to enumerate them all. The most superb tomb is that of Juliana Maria, whose sanguinary conduct towards the hapless queen Matilda and the unfortunate Counts Struensee and Brandt, excited so much sensation some years since.

We met with nothing to denote our approach to the capital till we reached Fredericksberg, one of the king's country palaces, about two English miles from Copenhagen; the appearance of much bustle, and lounging lacqueys in scarlet and silver, announced that the court was here. As we rolled down from the beautiful eminence, upon the open summit of which the palace stands, the city, crowned by its palace in ruins, the Sound, and the surrounding country, presented a delightful prospect. The road was crowded with people in their Sunday dresses and merry faces, hurrying to pass the evening in the gardens of Fredericksberg, which, with the permission of his majes ty, is the favourite resort of the people.

As we approached the hotel, to which we were recommended, we passed by the walls of the royal palace, which bore ample and afflicting testimony to the colossal size and magnificence which must have formerly distinguished it, before it fell a victim to the flames in 1794.

Copenhagen is a small but very neat city, its circumference between four and five English miles; the streets are broad and handsome; the houses, of which there are about four thousand, exclusive of the quarter belonging to the sailors, and garrisons for three regiments, are generally of brick stuccoed to resemble stone, and some are of free-stone, and in an elegant style of Italian architecture; the shops are in the basement story, and by making no prominent appearance, do not disfigure the beauty of the rest of the building.

No respectable stranger can enter Copenhagen without speedily becoming the object of its frank and generous hospitality. The day after our arrival enabled us to partake of the bearty profusion of a DaBish dinner; it was given at the country house of one of the most respectable inhabitants of the city, and appeared in the following succession: soups top and bottom, Norwegian beef boiled, ham strongly salted, fish, pigeons, fowls, stewed spinage, and asparagus: the meat is always cut into slices by the master of the house, and handed round by the servants. Etiquette proscribes the touching of any particular dish out of its regular course, although the table may be groaning under the weight of its covers; this ceremony is occasionally a little tantalizing. Creams, confectionary, and dried fruits followed; the wines were various and excellent. Our party was composed of English, Norwegians, Flemish, Swiss, Russians, Danish, and French: would to heaven that their respective nations could for ever be as cordial and joyous as was this chequered collection of their merry natives! The repast lasted a formidable length of time it was two hours of hard stuffing in a fog of hot meats. The appetite of the fair ones present, was far, I might say, very far from being puny or fastidious, but in the homely phrase, what they eat did them good. I

1.

The Danish ladies are en bon point, and possess that

frank and generous countenance, which, the moment the eye sees, the heart understands and loves; they much resemble the higher class of Wouvermann's figures, and very largely partake of that gay good humour, which is so generally the companion of a plump and portly figure. Having said so much in their favour, which they eminently deserve, I cannot help hinting that they are not so attentive to neatness of dress as their neighbours; they want such a man as Addison, to rally them with his delicate satire out of a slovenly habit, which induces them, when they buy a gown, almost always to prefer a dark cotton, because it does not want washing.

Upon my complimenting a Danish lady on her accurate knowledge of the English language, she said, "We are obliged to learn that, and French and German, in our own defence, otherwise we should frequently be obliged to sit mute, which you know is a very unpleasant situation for any woman, for beyond the islands," meaning Zealand and Funen, "our language, which is a dialect of the Teutonic, is not understood." This I found afterwards verified: upon my return to Holstein from Prussia, a Danish serjeant in drilling a recruit from the former place, was obliged to speak to him in German.

On our return to the city, and about a mile from it, a tufted hillock of small poplars attracted our notice: it was the national tomb of the heroes who fell in the memorable battle of Copenhagen roads, on the second of April, 1801, and stood in a meadow about two hundred yards from the road, and looked towards the Crown battery.

La place Frederic, or the Octagon, containing the palaces of the royal family, is composed of four small palaces all uniform, each having two wings: four very noble streets, principally inhabited by the nobility, lead to this place: the grand entrance is through a gate composed of double rows of Corinthian pillars and a rich entablature; one of the streets is ter