When I had retired to my chamber, the constant dashing of the fountain in the court-yard, the frequent crowing of a little hoarse bantam cock, two cats making violent love, and a party of foraging fleas, united their powers most successfully to keep "tired nature's sweet restorer" from my lids the greater part of the night. In the morning, at five o'clock, we entered the great road to Copenhagen, from the city of Slesvig, and proceeded along the shores of the Baltic, through a sandy and dreary country; our progress was now encreased to five English miles an hour. We found the population very thin, the land but little cultivated, and the solitary cottage, which appeared to cover more misery than industry, had rarely a little garden by the side of it. The only vegetables which we met with were small stinted asparagus and parsnips, both of which the good people here boil in their soup. The few houses which we saw on the road side, were, however, neatly built, with a light brown brick, and thatched. The steeple and the body of the church were every where divided from each other; whence their separation arose in Denmark can be no more accounted for, I should suppose, than their conjunction in England.

Upon strolling into one of the church-yards, I remarked that their monuments were principally composed of a frame of an oblong square, divided by cross pieces of wood painted black, and the spaces between filled with stones.

The country about Abenraac, a small fishing town, where we changed horses, was very pretty, and much resembled that beautiful slope of wood in Lord Borringdon's park at Saltram, which parts the high road to Plymouth. The country from Abenraac to Hadersleb is hilly, woody, fertile, and romantic. The cattle were every where tethered, or fastened by a cord to a circle of pasture.

At Hadersleb, whilst dinner was preparing, we went to the Bank, to exchange our Holstein and Slesvig money for the currency of Denmark Proper, previous to our embarking for the island of Funen. Here the exchange, which is governed by that of Hamburg, is always in favour of the traveller going to Copenhagen, For one hundred and thirty-five rix dollars Slesvig we procured one hundred and fifty-six current dollars and six skillings, which was at a premium of seventeen pounds per cent. in our favour. Upon our showing the banker one of the new dollars from Bolton's mint, he арpeared to be much gratified with its beauty, and begged that we would permit him to exchange it; a little favour, which we gladly granted him.

On our return, we found a good dinner, in a long room, painted of a leaden blue colour, having the floor well sanded, three little windows decorated with festoons of muslin, an oldfashioned chandelier threatening peril to those who passed

E

under it, and two ancient portraits of a king and queen of Denmark, who looked very smirkingly upon each other.

I must not omit to introduce the reader to the kitchen, in which, in Denmark as well as in Germany, the fire-place is raised about two feet and a half high from the floor, and very much resembles that of a blacksmith's forge; the meat is baked, or, as they call it, roasted, in a sort of cheese-toaster, and having undergone the previous operation of three parts boiling: such is a Danish inn. The traveller in this country would do well to confine his supper solely to bread, butter, and eggs. wine every where is very poor, and the beer detestable.

The

The peasantry appear to be clean and happy. It was pleasing to see, early in the morning, as we travelled, groupes of young milkmaids, whose cheeks glowed with the bloom of health, balancing their pails with great dexterity, and knitting and singing as they went.

As we could save several tedious miles by crossing the Little Belt at its broadest part, we proceeded to Aversund instead of Snoghoi, where we found the country very undulating and beautiful, but the roads rather heavy. Nothing can be prettier than the situation of the post-house, with its gardens sloping to the 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 uncommon 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.

A stranger cannot but be surprised to see a kingdom so composed of islands. The province which we had just left notwithstanding the desolate appearance of some parts of it from the main road, is, on account of the independent spirit of its peasantry, the most valuable of the crown of Denmark.

The

Rix
Dollars. Mark. Skills.

for ourselves and carriage was 3 0 8 passage To assistants getting the latter into the boat 0 0 12

At Assens we, for the first time, experienced the change of a large feather-bed, instead of a blanket and sheet. To an untravelled Englishman nothing can be more singular. In the morning, as the horses were putting to, a singular procession passed us: a young woman in gala, whose hair was stiffened almost to the consistency of stucco with powder and pomatum, on which was raised a high cap of lace, decorated with a profusion of artificial flowers, and with a large nosegay of spring and artificial flowers in her bosom, and a book in her hand, and turning-in her toes most abominably, passed in

the most stately manner up the street, preceded by three girls in mob caps, decorated with little bits of silver and gold lace, and in red jackets, each with a book in her hand, and followed by two old women, holding books also. The fair heroine of this singular groupe moved to me as she passed. She was proceeding to the church, where her bridegroom was counting the lagging moments of her absence. The old and the young peeped out of the doors and windows as they passed. Heavens keep me from any thing like pomp or publicity on the marriage day!

In this island, as I have before intimated, the coin is provincial, thus

16 skillings make 1 mark.

6 marks

1 rix-dollar Danish currency.

And one skilling of Holstein and Slesvig is equal to two of

the currency of Denmark Proper.

The post regulation as under:

I horse per Danish mile

For fetching horses per pair
To the ostler

2 marks Danish currency.
6 skillings Danish.
4 ditto.

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 was nothing singular in our repast, but that the first dish was manna soup.