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diff --git a/20107.txt b/20107.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cde26a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/20107.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2579 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Denmark, by M. Pearson Thomson, Illustrated +by F. J. Hyldahl + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Denmark + + +Author: M. Pearson Thomson + + + +Release Date: December 13, 2006 [eBook #20107] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DENMARK*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Ralph Janke, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net/) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 20107-h.htm or 20107-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/0/20107/20107-h/20107-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/0/20107/20107-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's notes: + + Text that is printed in italic style in the original is + enclosed between underscores (_italic text_) + + The section of the book about Norway is not included. + + + + + +Peeps at Many Lands + +NORWAY +BY LIEUT.-COL. A. F. MOCKLER-FERRYMAN, +F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. + +and + +DENMARK +BY M. PEARSON THOMSON + +With Sixteen Full-Page Illustrations +in Colour + + + + + + + +The MacMillan Company +64 & 66 Fifth Avenue, New York +1921 + + + + +DENMARK + +[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF DENMARK.] + + + + +CONTENTS + + +DENMARK + +_By M. Pearson Thomson_ + + I. MERRY COPENHAGEN--I 1 + + II. MERRY COPENHAGEN--II 6 + + III. HANS ANDERSEN--THE "FAIRY-TALE" OF HIS LIFE 12 + + IV. FAMOUS DANES 18 + + V. LEGENDARY LORE AND FOLK-DANCES 25 + + VI. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 32 + + VII. A JAUNT THROUGH JUTLAND--I 39 + +VIII. A JAUNT THROUGH JUTLAND--II 45 + + IX. THE PEOPLE'S AMUSEMENTS 51 + + X. FARM LIFE--BUTTER-MAKING--"HEDESELSKABET" 54 + + XI. SOLDIERS AND SAILORS 59 + + XII. THE PEOPLE OF THE ISLES 66 + +XIII. FISHERMEN AT HOME AND AFLOAT 72 + + XIV. YOUTHFUL DANES AT WORK AND PLAY 78 + + XV. INGEBORG'S JOURNEY THROUGH SEELAND 83 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + +DENMARK + +_By F. J. Hyldahl_ + + FACING PAGE + +FLOWER MARKET IN COPENHAGEN 9 + +DRAGOeR PEASANT 16 + +CHILDREN'S DAY 33 + +HARVEST-TIME 40 + +VAGT-PARADEN 57 + +SUNDAY IN THE ISLAND OF LAESOe 64 + +SKAGEN FISHERMAN NEAR THE TOWER OF BURIED CHURCH 73 + +WINTER IN THE FOREST 80 + +_Sketch-Map, page ii, Denmark Section._ + + + + + + + + + +DENMARK + + + + +CHAPTER I + +MERRY COPENHAGEN--I + + +Copenhagen, the metropolis of Denmark, is a large and flourishing city, +with all the modern improvements of a commercial capital. It has an +atmosphere of its own, an atmosphere of friendliness and gaiety, +particularly appreciated by English people, who in "Merry Copenhagen" +always feel themselves at home. + +The approach to this fine city from the North by the Cattegat is very +charming. Sailing through the Sound, you come upon this "Athens of the +North" at its most impressive point, where the narrow stretch of water +which divides Sweden and Denmark lies like a silvery blue ribbon between +the two countries, joining the Cattegat to the Baltic Sea. In summer the +sparkling, blue Sound, of which the Danes are so justly proud, is alive +with traffic of all kinds. Hundreds of steamers pass to and from the +North Sea and Baltic, carrying their passengers and freights from +Russia, Germany, Finland, and Sweden, to the whole world. In olden times +Denmark exacted toll from these passing ships, which the nations found +irksome, but the Danes most profitable. This "Sundtold" was abolished +finally at the wish of the different nations using this "King's +highway," who combined to pay a large lump sum to Denmark, in order that +their ships might sail through the Sound without this annoyance in +future. + +Kronborg Castle, whose salute demanded this toll in olden days, still +rears its stately pinnacles against the blue sky, and looking towards +the old fortress of Kjaernan, on the Swedish coast, seems to say, "Our +glory is of a bygone day, and in the land of memories." + +Elsinore, the ancient town which surrounds this castle, is well known to +English and American tourists as the supposed burial-place of Hamlet, +the Prince of Denmark immortalized by Shakespeare. Kronborg Castle is +interesting to us, in addition, as being the place where Anne of Denmark +was married by proxy to James I. of England. Here, also, the "Queen of +Tears," Caroline Matilda, sister of George III., spent some unhappy +months in prison, gazing sadly over the Sound, waiting for the English +ships to come and deliver her. + +We pass up the Sound viewing the luxuriant cool green beech-woods of +Denmark, and the pretty fishing villages lying in the foreground. Villas +with charming gardens--their tiny rickety landing-stages, bathing sheds, +and tethered boats, adding fascination to the homely scene--seem to +welcome us to this land of fairy tales and the home of Hans Andersen. + +The many towers and pinnacles of Copenhagen, with the golden dome of the +Marble Church, flash a welcome as we steam into the magnificent harbour +of this singularly well-favoured city. Here she stands, this "Queen of +the North," as a gracious sentinel bowing acquiescence to the passing +ships as they glide in and out of the Baltic. The broad quays are +splendidly built, lined with fine warehouses, and present a busy scene +of commercial activity. The warships lying at their moorings in the +Sound denote that this is the station of the fleet; here also we see the +country's only fortress--the formidable bulwarks which surround the +harbour. + +Kjoebenhavn in Danish means "merchants' harbour," and as early as the +eleventh century it was a trading centre for foreign merchants attracted +by the rich supply of herrings found by the Danish fishermen in the +Baltic. Bishop Absalon was the founder of the city. This warrior Bishop +strongly fortified the place, in 1167, on receiving the little +settlement from King Valdemar the Great, and had plenty to do to hold +it, as it was continually harassed by pirates and the Wends. These, +however, found the Bishop more than a match for them. His outposts would +cry, "The Wends are coming!" and the Bishop would leave his preaching, +his bed, or anything else he might be doing, gather his forces together, +and fight gallantly for his little stronghold. He perhaps recognized +that this might one day be the key to the Baltic, which it has since +become. + +This city, therefore, is not a new one, but bombardment and +conflagrations are responsible for its modern appearance. Fortunately, +some of the handsome edifices raised during the reign of Christian IV. +(1588-1648) still remain to adorn the city. This monarch was a great +architect, sailor, warrior, and King, and is one of the most striking +figures in Danish history. He was beloved by his people, and did much +for his kingdom. The buildings planned and erected during this monarch's +reign are worthy of our admiration. The beautiful Exchange, with its +curious tower formed by four dragons standing on their heads, and +entwining their tails into a dainty spire; Rosenborg Castle, with its +delicate pinnacles; the famous "Runde Taarn" (Round Tower), up whose +celebrated spiral causeway Peter the Great is said to have driven a +carriage and pair, are amongst the most noteworthy. The originality in +design of the spires and towers of Copenhagen is quite remarkable. Vor +Frelsers Kirke, or Church of Our Saviour, has an outside staircase, +running round the outside of its spire, which leads up to a figure of +our Saviour, and from this height you get a fine view of the city. The +tower of the fire-station, in which the fire-hose hangs at full length; +the copper-sheathed clock and bell tower--the highest in Denmark--of the +Town Hall; the Eiffel-like tower of the Zoo, are among the most +singular. In all these towers there is a beautiful blending of copper +and gold, which gives a distinctive and attractive character to the +city. Other prominent features are the pretty fish-scale tiling, and the +copper and bronze roofs of many of the buildings, with their "stepped" +gables. Charming, too, are the city's many squares and public gardens, +canals with many-masted ships making an unusual spectacle in the +streets. But, after all, it is perhaps the innate gaiety of the +Copenhagener which impresses you most. You feel, indeed, that these +kindly Danes are a little too content for national development; but +their light-hearted way of viewing life makes them very pleasant +friends, and their hospitality is one of their chief characteristics. +Every lady at the head of a Danish household is an excellent cook and +manager, as well as being an agreeable and intelligent companion. The +Copenhagener is a "flat" dweller, and the dining-room is the largest and +most important room in every home. The Dane thinks much of his dinner, +and dinner-parties are the principal form of entertainment. They joke +about their appreciation of the good things of the table, and say, "a +turkey is not a good table-bird, as it is a little too much for one +Dane, but not enough for two!" A very pleasant side of Copenhagen life +has sprung up from this appreciation, for the restaurants and cafes are +numerous, and cater well for their customers. While the Dane eats he +must have music, which, like the food, must be good; he is very +critical, and a good judge of both. This gay cafe and restaurant life is +one of the fascinations of Denmark's "too-large heart," as this pleasant +capital is called by its people. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MERRY COPENHAGEN--II + + +The climate of Copenhagen is delightful in summer, but quite the reverse +in winter. Andersen says "the north-east wind and the sunbeams fought +over the 'infant Copenhagen,' consequently the wind and the 'mud-king' +reign in winter, the sunbeams in summer, and the latter bring +forgetfulness of winter's hardships." Certainly, when the summer comes, +the sunshine reigns supreme, and makes Copenhagen bright and pleasant +for its citizens. Then the many water-ways and canals, running up from +the sea as they do into the heart of the city, make it delightfully +refreshing on a hot day. Nyhavn, for instance, which opens out of the +Kongen's Nytorv--the fashionable centre of the town--is one of the +quaintest of water-streets. The cobbled way on either side of the water, +the curious little shops with sailors' and ships' wares, old gabled +houses, fishing and cargo boats with their forests of masts, the little +puffing motor-boats plying to and fro--all serve to make a distinctive +picture. On another canal-side the fish-market is held every morning. A +Danish fish-market is not a bit like other fish-markets, for the Dane +must buy his fish alive, and the canal makes this possible. The +fishing-smacks line up the whole side of the quay; these have perforated +wooden boat-shaped tanks dragging behind them containing the lively +fish. The market-women sit on the quay, surrounded by wooden tubs, which +are half-filled with water, containing the unfortunate fish. A +trestle-table, on which the fish are killed and cleaned, completes the +equipment of the fish-wives. The customers scrutinize the contents of +the tub, choose a fish as best they can from the leaping, gasping +multitude, and its fate is sealed. When the market-women require more +fish, the perforated tank is raised from the canal, and the fish +extracted with a landing-net and deposited in their tubs. Small fish +only can be kept alive in tanks and tubs; the larger kinds, such as cod, +are killed and sold in the ordinary way. This market is not at all a +pleasant sight, so it is better to turn our backs on it, and pass on to +the fragrant flower-market. + +Here the famous Amager women expose their merchandise. This market +square is a gay spectacle, for the Dane is fond of flowers, and the +Amager wife knows how to display her bright blooms to advantage. These +vendors are notable characters. They are the descendants of the Dutch +gardeners brought over by Christian II. to grow fruit and vegetables for +Copenhagen, and settled on the fertile island of Amager which abuts on +the city. Every morning these Amager peasants may be seen driving their +laden carts across the bridge which joins their island to the mainland. +These genial, stout, but sometimes testy Amager wives have it all their +own way in the market-place, and are clever in attracting and befooling +a customer. So it has become a saying, if you look sceptical about what +you are told, the "story-teller" will say, "Ask Amager mother!" which +means, "Believe as much as you like." These women still wear their +quaint costume: bulky petticoats, clean checked apron, shoulder-shawl, +and poke-bonnets with white kerchief over them; and the merry twinkle of +satisfaction in the old face when a good bargain has been completed +against the customer's inclination is quite amusing. These interesting +old characters are easily irritated, and this the little Copenhageners +know full well. When stalls are being packed for departure, a naughty +band of urchins will appear round the corner and call out: + + "Amager mother, Amager mo'er, + Give us carrots from your store; + You are so stout and roundabout, + Please tell us if you find the door + Too small to let you through!" + +The Amager wife's wrath is soon roused, and she is often foolish enough +to try and move her bulky proportions somewhat quicker than usual in +order to catch the boys. This of course she never manages to do, for +they dart away in all directions. By this means the Amager woman gets a +little much-needed exercise, the boys a great deal of amusement. + +[Illustration: THE FLOWER MARKET, COPENHAGEN.] + +Sunday is a fete-day in Copenhagen, and the Dane feels no obligation to +attend a Church service before starting out on his Sunday expedition. A +day of leisure means a day of pleasure to the Copenhagener. The State +helps and encourages him by having cheap fares, and good but inexpensive +performances at the theatre and places of entertainment on Sunday. Even +the poorest people manage to spare money for this periodical outing, +mother and children taking their full share in the simple pleasures of +the day. The Copenhagener looks forward to this weekly entertainment, +and longs for the fresh air. This is not surprising, for many homes are +stuffy, ventilation and open windows not seeming a necessity. A fine +summer Sunday morning sees a leisurely stream of people--the Danes never +hurry themselves--making for tram, train, or motor-boat, which will +carry them off to the beautiful woods and shores lying beyond the city. +Basking in the sunshine, or enjoying a stroll through the woods, +feasting on the contents of their picnic baskets, with a cup of coffee +or glass of pilsener at a cafe where music is always going on, they +spend a thoroughly happy day. In the evening the tired but still joyous +throng return home, all the better for the simple and pleasant outing. +No country uses the bicycle more than Denmark, and Sunday is the day +when it is used most. For the people who prefer to take their dinner at +home on Sunday there is the pleasant stroll along the celebrated +Langelinie. This famous promenade, made upon the old ramparts, +overlooks the Sound with its innumerable yachts skimming over the blue +water, and is a delightful place for pedestrians. A walk round the moat +of the Citadel, on the waters of which the children sail their little +boats, is also enjoyable. This Citadel, now used as barracks, was built +by Frederik III. in 1663, and formerly served as a political prison. +Struensee, the notorious Prime Minister, was imprisoned here and +beheaded for treason. A few narrow, picturesque streets surrounding this +fort are all that remain of old Copenhagen. + +The art treasures contained in the museums of Copenhagen being renowned, +I must tell you a little about them. Two or three of the palaces not now +required by the Royal Family are used to store some of these treasures. +Rosenborg Castle, built by Christian IV., and in which he died, contains +a collection of family treasures belonging to the Oldenburg dynasty. +This historical collection of these art-loving Kings is always open to +the public. Besides Thorvaldsen's Museum, which contains the greater +portion of his works, there is the Carlsberg Glyptotek, which contains +the most beautiful sculpture of the French School outside France. The +Danish Folk-Museum is another interesting collection. This illustrates +the life and customs of citizens and peasants from the seventeenth +century to the present day, partly by single objects, and partly by +representations of their dwellings. The "Kunstmusaeet" contains a superb +collection of pictures, sculpture, engravings, and national relics. +Here a table may be seen which formerly stood in Christian II.'s prison. +History tells how the unhappy King was wont to pace round this table for +hours taking his daily exercise, leaning upon his hand, which in time +ploughed a groove in its hard surface. The Amalienborg, a fine +tessellated square, contains four Royal palaces, in one of which our +Queen Alexandra spent her girlhood. From the windows of these palaces +the daily spectacle of changing the guard is witnessed by the King and +young Princes. + +Copenhagen is celebrated for its palaces, its parks, porcelain, +statuary, art-treasures, and last, but not least, its gaiety. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, THE "FAIRY TALE" OF HIS LIFE + + +I suppose the Dane best known to English boys and girls is Hans +Christian Andersen, whose charming fairy-tales are well known and loved +by them all. Most of you, however, know little about his life, but are +interested enough in him, I dare say, to wish to learn more, especially +as the knowledge will give you keener delight--if that is possible--in +reading the works of this "Prince of Story-tellers." + +Andersen himself said: "My life has been so wonderful and so like a +fairy-tale, that I think I had a fairy godmother who granted my every +wish, for if I had chosen my own life's way, I could not have chosen +better." + +Hans C. Andersen was the son of a poor shoemaker, an only child, born in +Odense, the capital of the Island of Funen. His parents were devoted to +him, and his father, who was of a studious turn of mind, delighted in +teaching his little son and interesting him in Nature. Very early in +life Hans was taken for long Sunday rambles, his father pointing out to +him the beauties of woods and meadows, or enchanting him with stories +from the "Arabian Nights." + +At home the evenings were spent in dressing puppets for his favourite +show, or else, sitting on his father's knee, he listened while the +latter read aloud to his mother scenes from Holberg's plays. All day +Hans played with his puppet theatre, and soon began to imagine plays and +characters for the dolls, writing out programmes for them as soon as he +was able. Occasionally his grandmother would come and take the child to +play in the garden of the big house where she lived in the gardener's +lodge. These were red-letter days for little Hans, as he loved his +granny and enjoyed most thoroughly the pleasant garden and pretty +flowers. + +The boy's first great trouble came when his father caught a fever and +died, leaving his mother without any means of support. To keep the +little home together his mother went out washing for her neighbours, +leaving little Hans to take care of himself. Being left to his own +devices, Hans developed his theatrical tendencies by constructing +costumes for his puppets, and making them perform his plays on the stage +of his toy theatre. Soon he varied this employment by reading plays and +also writing some himself. His mother, though secretly rejoicing in her +son's talent, soon saw the necessity for his doing something more +practical with his time and assisting her to keep the home together. So +at twelve years of age Hans was sent to a cloth-weaving factory, where +he earned a small weekly wage. The weavers soon discovered that Hans +could sing, and the men frequently made him amuse them, while the other +boys were made to do his work. One day the weavers played a coarse +practical joke on poor sensitive Hans, which sent him flying home in +such deep distress that his mother said he should not again return to +the factory. + +Hans was now sent to the parish school for a few hours daily, and his +spare time was taken up with his "peep-show" and in fashioning smart +clothes for his puppets. His mother intended to apprentice her son to +the tailoring, but Hans had fully made up his mind to become an actor +and seek his fortune in Copenhagen. After his Confirmation--on which +great occasion he wore his father's coat and his first new boots--his +mother insisted on his being apprenticed without further delay. With +difficulty he finally succeeded in persuading her to let him start for +the capital with his few savings. His mother had married again, so could +not accompany him; therefore, with reluctance and with many injunctions +to return at once if all did not turn out well, she let him go. +Accompanying him to the town gate, they passed a gipsy on the way, who, +on being asked what fortune she could prophesy for the poor lad, said he +would return a great man, and his native place would be illuminated and +decorated in his honour! + +Hans arrived in Copenhagen on September 5, a date which he considered +lucky for ever after. A few days in the city soon saw an end to his +money. He applied and got work at a carpenter's shop, but was driven +away by the coarseness of his fellow-workers. Hans made a friend of the +porter at the stage-door of the theatre, and begged for some employment +in the theatre; so occasionally he was allowed to walk across the stage +in a crowd, but obtained scanty remuneration, and the lad was often +hungry. Starving and destitute, the happy idea occurred to our hero to +try and earn something by his voice. He applied to Siboni, the Director +of the Music School, and was admitted to his presence whilst the latter +was at dinner. Fortunately for Hans, Baggersen the poet and Weyse the +celebrated composer were of the party, so for their amusement the boy +was asked to sing and recite. Weyse was so struck by the quality of his +voice and Baggersen with his poetic feeling, that they made a collection +among them there and then for him, and Siboni undertook to train his +voice. Unfortunately, in six months' time his voice gave way, and Siboni +counselled him to learn a trade. Hans returned to the theatre in the +hope of employment, and his persistence finally gained him a place in a +market scene. Making a friend of the son of the librarian, he obtained +permission to read at the library, and he wrote tragedies and plays, +some of which he took to the director of the theatre. This man became +Andersen's friend for life, for the grains of gold which he saw in his +work, marred though it was by want of education, roused his interest. +The director brought Andersen to the notice of the King, and he was sent +to the Latin school, where he took his place--although now a grown +man--among the boys in the lowest class but one. The master's tongue was +sharp, and the sensitive youth was dismayed by his own ignorance. The +kindness and sympathetic encouragement of the director was the only +brightness of this period of Hans' life. University life followed that +of school, and Andersen took a good degree. He now wrote a play, which +was accepted and produced at the theatre with such success that he wept +for joy. Soon his poems were published, and happiness and prosperity +followed. Later the King granted him a travelling stipend, of forty-five +pounds a year, and travelling became his greatest pleasure. Andersen +visited England two or three times, and reckoned Charles Dickens among +his friends. He was the honoured guest of Kings and Princes, and the +Royal Family of Denmark treated him as a personal friend. + +Though his "Fairy Tales" are the best known of his writings, he wrote +successful novels, dramas and poems. Andersen's tastes were simple, and +his child-like, affectionate nature made him much beloved by all. His +native town, which he left as a poor boy, was illuminated and decorated +to welcome his return. Thus the gipsy's prophecy came true. He died +after the public celebration of his seventieth birthday, leaving all his +fortune to the family of his beloved benefactor, the director of the +theatre. A beautiful bronze monument is erected to his memory in the +children's garden of the King's Park, Copenhagen. Here the little Danes +have ever a gentle reminder of their great friend, Hans C. Andersen, who +felt--to use his own words--"like a poor boy who had had a King's mantle +thrown over him." + +[Illustration: DRAGOeR PEASANT.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +FAMOUS DANES + + +Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), the famous Danish sculptor, was born in +Copenhagen. His father was an Icelander, his mother a Dane, and both +very poor. Bertel's ambition when a little boy was to work his mother's +spinning-wheel, which, of course, he was never permitted to do. One +bright, moonlight night his parents were awakened by a soft, whirring +sound, and found their little son enjoying his realized ambition. In the +moonlit room he had successfully started the wheel and begun to spin, +much to his parents' astonishment. This was the beginning of his +creative genius, but many years went over his youthful head before he +created the works which made him famous. His father carved wooden +figure-heads for ships, and intended his son to follow the same calling. +Bertel, however, soon showed talent and inclination for something +better, and was sent to the Free School of the Art Academy, there making +great progress. He received very little education beyond what the Art +School gave him, and his youthful days were hard and poverty-stricken. +When his hours at the Academy were over he went from house to house +trying to sell his models, and in this way eked out a scanty living. In +spite of his poverty he was wholly satisfied, for his wants were few. +His dog and his pipe, both necessities for happiness, accompanied him in +all his wanderings. + +His true artistic career only began in earnest when he won a travelling +scholarship and went to Rome, where he arrived on his twenty-seventh +birthday. Stimulated to do his best by the many beautiful works of art +which surrounded him, he found production easy, and the classical beauty +of the Roman school appealed to him. Regretting his wasted years, he set +to work in great earnest, and during the rest of his life produced a +marvellous amount of beautiful work. A rich Scotsman bought his first +important work, and the money thus obtained was the means of starting +him firmly on his upward career. This highly talented Dane founded the +famous Sculpture School of Denmark, which is of world-wide reputation. +Thorvaldsen's beautiful designs--which were mainly classical--were +conceived with great rapidity, and his pupils carried many of them out, +becoming celebrated sculptors also. Dying suddenly in 1844, while seated +in the stalls of the theatre watching the play, his loss was a national +calamity. He bequeathed all his works to the nation, and these now form +the famous Thorvaldsen Museum, which attracts the artistic-loving people +of all nations to the city of Copenhagen. + +In the courtyard of this museum lies the great man's simple grave, his +beautiful works being contained in the building which surrounds it. + +At the top of this Etruscan tomb stands a fine bronze allegorical +group--the Goddess of Victory in her car, drawn by prancing +horses--fitting memorial to this greatest of northern sculptors. + +Holger Drachmann was the son of a physician, and quite early in life +became a man of letters. Following the profession of an artist, he +became a very good marine painter. This poet loved the sea in all its +moods, and was never happier than when at Skagen--the extreme northern +point of Jutland--where he spent most of his summers. His painting was +his favourite pastime, but poetry the serious work of his life. He was a +very prolific writer, not only of verse and lyrical poems, but of plays +and prose works, and was a very successful playwright. Drachmann's +personality was a strong one, though not always agreeable to his +countrymen. He had a freedom-loving spirit, and lived every moment of +his life. Some of his best poems are about the Skaw fishermen, and later +in life he settled down among them, dying at Skagen in 1907. He was a +picturesque figure, with white flowing locks, erratic and unpractical, +as poets often are. Like other famous Danes, he chose a unique +burial-place. Away at Grenen, in the sand-dunes, overlooking the +fighting waters of the Skagerack and Cattegat, stands his +cromlech-shaped tomb, near the roar of the sea he loved so much, where +time and sand will soon obliterate all that remains of the Byron of +Denmark. + +Nikolai Frederik Grundtvig, the founder of the popular high-schools for +peasants, was born at his father's parsonage, Udby, South Seeland. He +was sent to school in Jutland, and soon learned to love his wild native +moors. While attending the Latin School in Aarhus he made friends with +an old shoemaker, who used to tell him interesting stories of the old +Norse heroes and sagas, often repeating the old Danish folk-songs. The +lad being a true Dane, a descendant of the old vikings, he soon became +very interested in the history of his race. Being sent to the University +of Copenhagen, he chose to study Icelandic in order to read the ancient +sagas, English to read Shakespeare, and German to read Goethe. This +studious youth was most patriotic, and the poetry of his country +appealed to him especially. Oehlenschlaeger's (a Danish poet) works fired +his poetical imagination. + +Grundtvig's poems were for the people, the beloved Jutland moors and +Nature generally his theme. His songs and poems are loved by the +peasants, and used at all their festivals. He wrote songs "that would +make bare legs skip at sound of them," and, "like a bird in the +greenwood, he would sing for the country-folk." So successfully did he +write these folk-songs, that "bare legs" do skip at the sound of them +even to-day at every festivity. He was an educational enthusiast, and +his high-schools are peculiar to Denmark. It is owing to these that the +country possesses such a splendid band of peasant farmers. Being a +priest, he was given the honorary title of Bishop, and founded a sect +called "Grundtvigianere." + +This noble man died in 1872, over ninety years of age, working and +preaching till the last, his deep-set eyes, flowing white hair and +beard, making him look like Moses of old. + +Adam Oehlenschlaeger, the greatest Danish dramatist and poet, was a +Professor at the University of Copenhagen, and a marvellously gifted +man. He developed and gave character to Danish literature, and is known +as the "Goethe of the North." Some of his finest tragedies have been +translated into English. These have a distinctly northern ring about +them, dealing as they do with the legends and sagas of the Scandinavian +people. These tragedies of the mythical heroes of Scandinavia, the +history of their race, and, indeed, all the works of this king of +northern poets, are greatly loved by all Scandinavians. Every young Dane +delights in Oehlenschlaeger as we do in Shakespeare, and by reading his +works the youths of Denmark lay the foundation of their education in +poetry. This bard was crowned Laureate in Lund (Sweden) by the greatest +of Swedish poets, Esaias Tegner, 1829. Buried by his own request at his +birth-place, Frederiksberg, two Danish miles (which means eight English +miles) from Copenhagen, his loving countrymen insisted on carrying him +the whole distance, so great was their admiration for this King of +dramatists. + +Niels Ryberg Finsen, whose name I am sure you have heard because his +scientific research gave us the "light-cure"--which has been established +at the London Hospital by our Queen Alexandra, who generously gave the +costly apparatus required for the cure in order to benefit afflicted +English people--was born at Thorshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. +These islands are under Denmark, and lie north of the Shetlands. His +father was magistrate there. His parents were Icelanders. At twelve +years of age Niels was sent to school in Denmark, and after a few years +at the Grammar School of Herlufholm, he returned to his parents, who +were now stationed in their native town, Reykjavik, the capital of +Iceland. Niels continued his studies there, and when old enough returned +to Denmark to commence his medical work at the University of Copenhagen. + +Hitherto he had shown no particular aptitude, but in his medical work he +soon distinguished himself, and his skill gained him a place in the +laboratory. He now began to study the effect of light as a curative +remedy. All his life Finsen thought the sunlight the most beautiful +thing in the world--perhaps because he saw so little of it in his +childhood. He had watched its wonderful effect on all living things, +being much impressed by the transformation caused in nature by the warm +life-giving rays. With observations on lizards, which he found +charmingly responsive to sun effects, he accidentally made his +discovery, and gave to the world this famous remedy for diseases of the +skin, which has relieved thousands of sufferers of all nations. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +LEGENDARY LORE AND FOLK DANCES + + +The legend of Holger Danske, who is to be Denmark's deliverer when heavy +troubles come upon her, is one which has its counterpart in other +countries, resembling that of our own King Arthur and the German +Frederick Barbarossa. When Denmark's necessity demands, Holger Danske +will come to her aid; till then he sits "in the deep dark cellar of +Kronborg Castle, into which none may enter. He is clad in iron and +steel, and rests his head on his strong arms; his long beard hangs down +upon the marble table, into which it has become firmly rooted; he sleeps +and dreams. But in his dreams he sees all that happens in Denmark. On +each Christmas Eve an angel comes to him and tells him all he has +dreamed is true, and that he may sleep again in peace, as Denmark is not +yet in real danger. But should danger ever come, then Holger Danske will +rouse himself, and the table will burst asunder as he draws out his +beard. Then he will come forth in all his strength, and strike a blow +that shall sound in all the countries of the world." + +Holger Danske was the son of the Danish King Gotrick. While he was a +youth his father sent him to Carolus Magnus, whom he served during all +his wars. Thus he came to India, where he ate a fruit which made his +body imperishable. When Denmark is near ruin, and all her young men have +been slain in defending her, then Holger Danske will appear, and, +gathering round him all the young boys and aged men, will lead them on +to victory, routing the enemy, and thus saving the country. When a +little plant growing in the Lake of Viborg has become a tree, so large +that you can tie your horse to it, then the time draws near when all +this will happen. + +Once upon a time the Danes were in great trouble, for they had no King. +But one day they saw a barque, splendidly decked, sailing towards the +coast of Denmark. As the ship came nearer the shore they saw it was +laden with quantities of gold and weapons, but not a soul was to be seen +on board. When the Danes boarded the ship, they found a little boy lying +asleep on the deck, and above his head floated a golden banner. Thinking +that their god Odin had sent the boy, they brought him ashore and +proclaimed him King. They named him Skjold, and he became a great and +good King. His fame was such that the Danish Kings to this day are +called "Skjoldunger." When this King died, his body was placed on board +a ship which was loaded with treasure; and when it sailed slowly away +over the blue water, the Danes stood on the shore looking after it with +sorrow. What became of the ship no one ever knew. + +Denmark is rich in legends. There is the legend about the "Danebrog," +Denmark's national flag, which is a white cross on a crimson ground. +This bright and beautiful flag looks thoroughly at home whatever its +surroundings. The story goes that when Valdemar Seir (the Victorious) +descended on the shores of Esthonia to help the knights who were hard +pressed in a battle with the heathen Esthonians (1219), a miracle befell +him. The valour of his troops soon made an impression on the pagans, and +they began to sue for peace. It was granted, and the priests baptized +the supposed converts. Very soon, however, the Esthonians, who had been +secretly reinforcing while pretending submission, in order to throw dust +in the eyes of the too confiding Danes, brought up their forces and +commenced fighting anew. "It was the eve of St. Vitus, and the Danes +were singing Vespers in camp, when suddenly a wild howl rang through the +summer evening, and the heathens poured out of the woods, attacked the +surprised Danes on all sides, and quickly thinned their ranks. The Danes +began to waver, but the Prince of Rugen, who was stationed on the hill, +had time to rally his followers and stay the progress of the enemy. It +was a terrible battle. The Archbishop Andreas Sunesen with his priests +mounted the hill to lay the sword of prayer in the scales of battle; the +Danes rallied, and their swords were not blunt when they turned upon +their enemies. Whilst the Archbishop and others prayed, the Danes were +triumphant; but when his arms fell to his side through sheer weariness, +the heathens prevailed. Then the priests supported the aged man's arms, +who, like Moses of old, supplicated for his people with extended hands. +The battle was still raging, and the banner of the Danes had been lost +in the fight. As the prayers continued the miracle happened. A red +banner, with the Holy Cross in white upon it, came floating gently down +from the heavens, and a voice was heard saying, 'When this sign is borne +on high you shall conquer.' The tide of battle turned, the Christians +gathered themselves together under the banner of the Cross, and the +heathens were filled with fear and fled. Then the Danes knelt down on +the battle-field and praised God, while King Valdemar drew his sword, +and for the first time under the folds of the Danebrog dubbed +five-and-thirty of the bravest heroes knights." Another legend tells the +fate of a wicked Queen of Denmark, Gunhild by name. This Queen was first +the consort of a Norwegian monarch, who, finding her more than he or his +people could stand, thrust her out of his kingdom. She made her way to +Denmark, and soon after married the Danish King. Though beautiful, Queen +Gunhild's pride and arrogance made her hateful to her new subjects, and +her attendants watched their opportunity to rid themselves of such an +obnoxious mistress. The time came for them when the Queen was travelling +through Jutland. A sign was given to her bearers, whilst journeying +through the marshes near Vejle, to drop her down into the bog. This was +done, and a stake driven through her body. To-day in the church at Vejle +a body lies enclosed in a glass coffin, with a stake lying beside it, +the teeth and long black hair being in excellent preservation. This body +was found in 1821, when the marshes near Vejle were being drained for +cultivation. The stake was found through it, thus giving colour to the +tradition. Poor Queen! lost in the eleventh century and found in the +nineteenth. + + +_Folk-dancers._ + +The Danes, like all the Scandinavians, are renowned for their love of +dancing. Lately they have revived the beautiful old folk-dances, +realizing at last the necessity of keeping the ancient costumes, dances +and songs before the people, if they would not have them completely +wiped out. A few patriotic Danes have formed a society of ladies and +gentlemen to bring about this revival. These are called the +folk-dancers, their object being to stimulate the love of old-time +Denmark in the modern Dane, by showing him the dance, accompanied by +folk-song, which his forefathers delighted in. Old-time ways the Dane of +to-day is perhaps a little too ready to forget, but dance and song +appeal to his northern nature. The beautiful old costumes of the Danish +peasants have almost entirely disappeared, but those worn by the +folk-dancers are facsimiles of the costumes formerly worn in the +districts they represent. These costumes, with heavy gold embroidery, +curious hats, or pretty velvet caps, weighty with silver lace, must have +been a great addition to local colouring. The men also wore a gay dress, +and it is to be regretted that these old costumes have disappeared from +the villages and islands of Denmark. + +In olden times the voice was the principal accompaniment of the dance, +and these folk-lorists generally sing while dancing; but occasionally a +fiddler or flautist plays for them, and becomes the leader in the dance. +Some of these dances are of a comical nature, and no doubt were invented +to parody the shortcomings of some local character. Others represent +local industries. A pretty dance is "Voeve Vadmel" (cloth-weaving). In +this some dancers become the bobbins, others form the warp and woof; +thus they go in and out, weaving themselves into an imaginary piece of +cloth. Then, rolling themselves into a bale, they stand a moment, +unwind, reverse, and then disperse. This dance is accompanied by the +voices of the dancers, who, as they sing, describe each movement of the +dance. A very curious dance is called "Seven Springs," and its principal +figure is a series of springs from the floor, executed by the lady, +aided by her partner. Another two are called respectively the "Men's +Pleasure" and the "Girls' Pleasure." In these both men and girls choose +their own partners, and coquet with them by alluring facial expressions +during the dance. The "Tinker's Dance" is a solo dance for a man, which +is descriptive and amusing; while the "Degnedans" is more an amusing +performance in pantomime than a dance, executed by two men. Many more +than I can tell you about have been revived by the folk-dancers, who +take a keen delight in discovering and learning them. They are +entertaining and instructive to the looker-on, and a healthy, though +fatiguing, amusement for the dancers. + +In the Faroe Islands the old-time way is still in vogue, and the dance +is only accompanied by the voice and clapping of hands. Thus do these +descendants of the old vikings keep high festival to celebrate a good +"catch" of whales. + +The old folk-songs, which were sung by the people when dancing and at +other times, have a national value which the Danes fully realize, many +being written down and treasured in the country's archives. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +MANNERS AND CUSTOMS + + +The Danes being a polite and well-mannered race, the children are early +taught to tender thanks for little pleasures, and this they do in a +pretty way by thrusting out their tiny hands and saying, "Tak" (Thank +you). It is the Danish custom to greet everybody, including the +servants, with "Good-morning," and always on entering a shop you give +greeting, and say farewell on leaving. In the market-place it is the +same; also the children, when leaving school, raise their caps to the +teacher and call out, "Farvel! farvel!" In the majority of houses when +the people rise from the table they say, "Tak for Mad"[1] to the host, +who replies, "Velbekomme."[2] The children kiss their parents and say +the same, while the parents often kiss each other and say, "Velbekomme." +The Danes are rather too eager to wipe out old customs, and in +Copenhagen the fashionable people ignore this pretty ceremony. The +majority, however, feel uncomfortable if not allowed to thank their host +or hostess for their food. + +[Illustration: CHILDREN'S DAY.] + +A Danish lady, about to visit England for the first time, was told +that here it was customary to say "Grace" after meals. The surprise of +the English host may be imagined when his Danish guest, on rising from +the table, solemnly put out her hand and murmured the word "Grace!" +After a day or two, when this ceremony had been most dutifully performed +after every meal, the Englishman thought he had better ask for an +explanation. This was given, and the young Dane joined heartily in the +laugh against herself! + +The Danes begin their day with a light breakfast of coffee, fresh rolls, +and butter, but the children generally have porridge, or "oellebroed," +before starting for school. This distinctly Danish dish is made of +rye-bread, beer, milk, cream, and sometimes with the addition of a +beaten-up egg. This "Ske-Mad"[3] is very sustaining, but I fear would +prove a little too much for those unaccustomed to it. Ollebroed also is +the favourite Saturday supper-dish of the working-classes, with the +addition of salt herrings and slices of raw onion, which doubtless +renders it more piquant. + +At noon "Mid-dag"[4] is served. Another peculiar delicacy common both to +this meal and supper is "Smoerrebroed," a "variety" sandwich consisting of +a slice of bread and butter covered with sausage, ham, fish, meat, +cheese, etc. making a tempting display, not hidden as in our sandwich by +a top layer of bread. The Danes are very hospitable, and often invite +poor students to dine with them regularly once a week. Dinner consists +of excellent soup (in summer made of fruit or preserves), meat, pudding +or fruit, and cream, and even the poorest have coffee after this meal. + +Prunes, stewed plums or apples, and sometimes cranberry jam, are always +served with the meat or game course, together with excellent but rather +rich sauce. The Danish housewife prides herself on the latter, as her +cooking abilities are often judged by the quality of her sauces. It is +quite usual for the Danish ladies to spend some months in learning +cooking and housekeeping in a large establishment to complete their +education. + +"Vaer saa god"[5] says the maid or waiter when handing you anything, and +this formula is repeated by everyone when they wish you to enter a room, +or, in fact, to do anything. + +Birthdays and other anniversaries are much thought of in Denmark. The +"Foedelsdagsbarn"[6] is generally given pretty bouquets or pots of +flowers, as well as presents. Flowers are used on every joyous occasion. +Students, both men and women, may be seen almost covered with bright +nosegays, given by their friends to celebrate any examination +successfully passed. + +Christmas Eve, and not Christmas Day, is the festive occasion in +Denmark. Everybody, including the poorest, must have a Christmas-tree, +and roast goose, apple-cake, rice porridge with an almond in it, form +the banquet. The lucky person who finds the almond receives an extra +present, and much mirth is occasioned by the search. The tree is lighted +at dusk, and the children dance round it and sing. This performance +opens the festivities; then the presents are given, dinner served, and +afterwards the young people dance. + +Christmas Day is kept quietly, but the day after (St. Stephen's Day) is +one of merriment and gaiety, when the people go from house to house to +greet their friends and "skaal" with them. + +New Year's Eve brings a masque ball for the young folk, a supper, +fireworks, and at midnight a clinking of glasses, when healths are drunk +in hot punch. + +On Midsummer's Night fires are lighted all over the country, and people +gather together to watch the burning of the tar-barrels. Near a lake or +on the seashore the reflections glinting on the water make a strangely +brilliant sight. On some of the fjords a water carnival makes a pretty +addition to these fires, which the children are told have been lighted +to scare the witches! + +The Monday before Lent is a holiday in all the schools. Early in the +morning the children, provided with decorated sticks, "fastelavns Ris," +rouse their parents and others from slumber. All who are found asleep +after a certain time must pay a forfeit of Lenten buns. Later in the day +the children dress themselves up in comical costume and parade the +streets, asking money from the passer-by as our children do on Guy +Fawkes' Day. + +A holy-day peculiar to Denmark is called "Store-Bededag" (Great Day of +Prayer), on the eve of which (Danes keep eves of festivals only) the +church bells ring and the people promenade in their best clothes. +"Store-Bededag" is the fourth Friday after Easter, and all business is +at a standstill, so that the people can attend church. On Whit-Sunday +some of the young folks rise early to see the sun dance on the water and +wash their faces in the dew. This is in preparation for the greatest +holiday in the year, Whit-Monday, when all give themselves up to outdoor +pleasure. + +"Grundlovsdag," which is kept in commemoration of the granting of a free +Constitution to the nation by Frederik VII., gives the town bands and +trade-unions an opportunity to parade the streets and display their +capability in playing national music. "Children's Day" is a school +holiday, and the children dress in the old picturesque Danish costumes; +they then go about the town and market-places begging alms for the +sanatoriums in their collecting-boxes. In this way a large sum is +collected for these charities. + +"Knocking-the-cat-out-of-the-barrel" is an old custom of the peasantry +which takes place the Monday before Lent. The young men dress themselves +gaily, and, armed with wooden clubs, hie them to the village green. Here +a barrel is suspended with a cat inside it. Each man knocks the barrel +with his club as he runs underneath it, and he who knocks a hole big +enough to liberate poor puss is the victor. The grotesque costumes, the +difficulty of stooping and running under the barrel in them, when all +your energies and attention are required for the blow, result in many a +comical catastrophe, which the bystanders enjoy heartily. Puss is +frightened, but not hurt, and I think it would be just as amusing +without the cat, but the Danish peasants think otherwise. Another +pastime which takes place on the same day is called "ring-riding." The +men, wearing paper hats and gay ribbons, gallop round the course, trying +to snatch a suspended ring in passing. The man who takes the ring three +times in succession is called "King," he who takes it twice "Prince." +When the sport is over, King and Prince, with their train of +unsuccessful competitors, ride round to the farms and demand refreshment +for their gay cavalcade, of which "AEleskiver," a peasant delicacy, +washed down by a glass of aqua-vitae, forms a part. + +On the eve of "Valborg's Dag" (May-Day) bonfires are lighted, and the +young Danes have a dinner and dance given to them. Each dance is so long +that it is customary for the young men to change their partners two or +three times during the waltz. + +A beautiful custom is still preserved among the older peasantry: when +they cross the threshold of their neighbour's house they say, "God's +peace be in this house." + +All domestic servants, students, and other people who reside away from +home for a time, take about with them a chest of drawers as well as a +trunk. I suppose they find this necessary, because in Denmark a chest of +drawers is seldom provided in a bedroom. + +When the first snowdrops appear, the boys and girls gather some and +enclose them in a piece of paper, on which is written a poem. This +"Vintergaekke-Brev," which they post to their friends, is signed by +ink-spots, as numerous as the letters in their name. The friend must +guess the name of the sender within a week, or the latter demands a +gift. + +Confirmation means coming-out in Denmark. As this is the greatest +festival of youth, the young folk are loaded with presents; then girls +put up their hair and boys begin to smoke. + +The marriage of a daughter is an expensive affair for parents in +Denmark, as they are supposed to find all the home for the bride, as +well as the trousseau. The wedding-ring is worn by both while engaged, +as well as after the marriage ceremony. + +The Epiphany is celebrated in many homes by the burning of three +candles, and the children are given a holiday on this, the festival of +the Three Kings. No doubt you know this is a commemoration of the three +wise men of the East presenting their offerings of gold, frankincense, +and myrrh to our Lord. + +Storks are considered the sacred birds of Denmark. These harbingers of +good-luck the children take great interest in, and more especially in +the growth of the stork family on the roof-tree. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A JAUNT THROUGH JUTLAND--I + + +Jutland is the only province left to Denmark which can claim to be +mainland, and though it is the most northern part of the country, some +of its scenery is very beautiful. + +The "Jyde," as the people of Jutland are called, are proud of their +birthplace, of their language, and of their pronunciation, which the +Copenhageners call "accent," but the Jyde declare they speak the purest +Danish in the kingdom. However this may be, I am not in a position to +judge, but I do know that I can understand the Jyde Danish better, and +that it falls upon my ear with a more pleasing sound than does the +Danish of the Copenhageners. + +The east coast of Jutland is quite charming, so we will start our tour +from the first interesting spot on this route, and try to obtain a +glimpse of the country. + +In Kolding stands a famous castle, which was partially burnt down in +1808. This gigantic ruin is now covered in, and used as an historical +museum for war relics. + +Fredericia is a very important place. Here that part of the train which +contains the goods, luggage, and mails, as well as the first-class +passenger carriages for Copenhagen, is shunted on to the large steam +ferry-boat waiting to receive it. This carries it across the smiling +waters of the Little Belt. A fresh engine then takes it across the +island of Funen to the steam-ferry waiting to carry it across the Great +Belt to Korsoer, on the shores of Seeland, when a locomotive takes the +train to Copenhagen in the ordinary way. These steam-ferries are +peculiar to Denmark, and are specially built and equipped for this work. +Danish enterprise overcomes the difficulties of transport through a +kingdom of islands by these ferries. + +Fredericia is an old fortified town with mighty city walls, which make a +fine promenade for the citizens, giving them a charming view of the +Little Belt's sunlit waters. In this town the Danes won a glorious +victory over the Prussians in 1849. + +Vejle is one of the most picturesque places on the east coast. Along the +Vejlefjord the tall, straight pines of Jutland are reflected in the +cool, still depths of blue water, and the tiniest of puffing steamers +will carry you over to Munkebjerg. The fascinating and famous Munkebjerg +Forest is very beautiful--a romantic place in which the youthful lovers +of Denmark delight. These glorious beech woods extend for miles, the +trees sloping down to the water's edge from a high ridge, whence you +have a magnificent view of the glittering fjord. Most inviting are +these cool green shades on a hot summer's day, but when clothed in the +glowing tints of autumn they present to the eye a feast of gorgeous +colour. A golden and warm brown carpet of crisp, crackling leaves +underfoot, the lap of the fjord as a steamer ploughs along, sending the +water hissing through the bowing reeds which fringe the bank, make the +soothing sounds which fall on lovers' ears as they wander through these +pleasant glades. + +[Illustration: HARVEST TIME.] + +In winter this forest is left to the snow and hoarfrost, and cold, cairn +beauty holds it fast for many days. + +The pretty hotel of Munkebjerg, standing on the summit of the ridge, +which you espy through a clearing in the trees, is reached by some +scores of steps from the landing-stage. Patient "Moses," the hotel +luggage-carrier, awaits the prospective guests at the pier. This +handsome brown donkey is quite a character, and mounts gaily his own +private zigzag path leading to the hotel when heavily laden. His +dejection, however, when returning with empty panniers, is accounted for +by the circumstance of "No load, no carrot!" at the end of the climb. + +Grejsdal is another beautiful spot inland from the fjord, past which the +primitive local train takes us to Jellinge. In this quaint upland +village stand the two great barrows, the reputed graves of King Gorm and +Queen Thyra, his wife, the great-grandparents of Canute the Great, the +Danish King who ruled over England for twenty years. A beautiful Norman +church stands between these barrows, and two massive Runic stones tell +that "Harald the King commanded this memorial to be raised to Gorm, his +Father, and Thyra, his Mother: the Harald who conquered the whole of +Denmark and Norway, and Christianized the Danes." Steps lead to the top +of these grassy barrows, and so large are they that over a thousand men +can stand at the top. The village children use them as a playground +occasionally. + +Skanderborg, which is prettily situated on a lake, is a celebrated town. +Here a famous siege took place, in which the valiant Niels Ebbesen fell, +after freeing his country from the tyrannical rule of the German Count +Gert. + +Aarhus, the capital of Jutland, is the second oldest town in Denmark. +Its interesting cathedral is the longest in the kingdom, and was built +in the twelfth century. The town possesses a magnificent harbour, on the +Cattegat, the shores of which make a pleasant promenade. + +Randers is a pretty place, with many quaint thatched houses belonging to +the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The Gudenaa, +Denmark's only river, skirts the town. This river is narrow and +slow-moving, as there are no heights to give it force. + +Hobro, situated on a fjord, wears an air of seclusion, lying as it does +far away from the railway-station. A sail on this fjord will bring us to +Mariager, the smallest town in Denmark. Renowned are the magnificent +beech-woods and ancient abbey of this tiny town. In the surroundings we +have a panoramic view of typical Jutish scenery--a charming landscape in +the sunset glow, forest, fjord, farmsteads, and moor affording a rich +variety of still life. + +Aalborg, the delightful old market town on the Limfjord, is fascinating, +especially at night, when its myriad lamps throw long shafts of light +across the water. Scattered through the town are many old half-timbered +houses. These beautiful buildings, with their cream-coloured rough-cast +walls, oak beams, richly carved overhanging eaves, and soft-red tiled +roofs, show little evidence of the ravages of time. The most famous of +these houses was built, in the seventeenth century, by Jens Bang, an +apothecary. The chemist's shop occupies the large ground-floor room, the +windows of which have appropriate key-stones. On one is carved a man's +head with swollen face, another with a lolling tongue, and similar +grotesques. + +To be an idler and watch the traffic going to and fro over the pontoon +bridge which spans the Limfjord is a delightful way of passing the time. +Warmed by the sun and fanned by the breezes which blow along the fjord, +you may be amused and interested for hours by the life that streams past +you. Occasionally the traffic is impeded by the bridge being opened to +allow the ships to pass through. Small vessels can in this way save time +and avoid the danger of rounding the north point of Jutland. If you +look at your map you will see that this fjord cuts through Jutland, thus +making a short passage from the Cattegat to the North Sea. + +Jutland north of the Limfjord is called Vendsyssel. Curious effects of +mirage may be seen in summer-time in the extensive "Vildmose"[7] of this +district. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A JAUNT THROUGH JUTLAND--II + + +As we pass through Vendsyssel homely farmsteads and windmills add a +charm to the landscape, while tethered kine and sportive goats complete +a picture of rural life. + +When we arrive at Frederikshavn we come to the end of the State railway. +This terminus lies close to the port, which is an important place of +call for the large passenger and cargo steamers bound for Norway and +other countries, as well as being a refuge for the fishing-fleet. + +A slow-moving local train takes us across the sandy wastes to Skagen, a +straggling village, with the dignity of royal borough, bestowed upon it +by Queen Margaret, in the fourteenth century, as a reward to the brave +fishermen who saved from shipwreck some of her kins-folk. Skagen is a +picturesque and interesting place, the home of many artists, as well as +a noted seaside resort. + +Broendum's Hotel, a celebrated hostelry, where the majority of visitors +and artists stay, is a delightfully comfortable, homely dwelling. The +dining-room, adorned with many specimens of the artists' work, is a +unique and interesting picture-gallery. + +On the outskirts of the town the white tower of the old church of Skagen +may be seen peeping over the sand-dunes. This "stepped" tower, with its +red-tiled, saddle-back roof, forms a striking feature in this weird and +lonely landscape. The church itself is buried beneath the sand, leaving +only the tower to mark the place that is called the "Pompeii of +Denmark," sand, not lava, being answerable for this entombment. It is +said that the village which surrounded the church was buried by a +sandstorm in the fourteenth century. This scene of desolation, on a +windy day, when the "sand fiend" revels and riots, is best left to the +booming surf and avoided by those who do not wish to be blinded. + +To the south of Skagen lie other curious phenomena created by this +"Storm King." The "Raabjerg Miler" are vast and characteristic dunes of +powdery sand in long ridges, like huge waves petrified in the very act +of turning over! In the neighbouring quicksands trees have been planted, +but refuse to grow. + +Viborg, the old capital of Jutland, possesses an historically +interesting cathedral. In the crypt stands the tomb of King Eric +Glipping, as well as those of other monarchs. The interior of the +cathedral is decorated with fine frescoes by modern artists. + +As we journey to Silkeborg we pass through the vast heathland, "Alhede," +and are impressed by the plodding perseverance of the heath-folk. The +marvellous enterprise of the Danes who started and have so successfully +carried out the cultivation of these barren tracts of land deserves +admiration. The convicts are employed in this work, planting, trenching, +and digging, making this waste land ready for the farmer. These men have +a cap with a visor-like mask, which can be pulled over the face at will. +This shields the face from the cold blasts so prevalent on these moors; +also, it prevents the prying eyes of strangers or fellow-workers. + +Many baby forests are being nursed into sturdy growth, as a protection +for farm-lands from the sand and wind storms. + +This monotonous-looking heath is not without beauty; indeed, it has a +melancholy charm for those who dwell on it. The children love it when +the heather is in bloom, and spend happy days gathering berries from out +of the gorgeous purple carpet. The great stacks of peat drying in the +sun denote that this is the principal fuel of the moor-folk. + +From Silkeborg we start to see the Himmelbjerget, the mountain of this +flat country. It rises to a height of five hundred feet, being the +highest point in Denmark. + +'Tis the joy and pride of the Danes, who select this mountain and lake +district before all others for their honeymoons! + +A curious paddle-boat, worked by hand, or a small motor-boat will take +us over the lake to the foot of Himmelbjerget. Our motor-boat, with +fussy throb, carries us away down the narrow river which opens into the +lake. The life on the banks of the river is very interesting. As we sail +past the pretty villas, with background of cool, green beech-woods, we +notice that a Danish garden must always have a summer-house to make it +complete. In these garden-rooms the Danes take all their meals in +summer-time. The drooping branches of the beech-trees dip, swish, and +bend to the swirl of water created by our boat, which makes miniature +waves leap and run along the bank in a playful way. How delightfully +peaceful the surrounding landscape is as we skim over the silvery lake +and then land! The climbing of this mountain does not take long. There +is a splendid view from the top of Himmelbjerget, for the country lies +spread out like a map before us. This lake district is very beautiful, +and when the ling is in full bloom, the heather and forest-clad hills +encircling the lakes blaze with colour. + +At Silkeborg the River Gudenaa flows through the lakes Kundsoe and Julsoe, +becoming navigable, but it is only used by small boats and barges for +transporting wood from the forests. The termination "Soe" means lake, +while "Aae" means stream. Steen Steensen Blicher, the poet of Jutland, +has described this scenery, which he loved so much, quite charmingly in +some of his lyrical poems. He sings: + + "The Danes have their homes where the fair beeches grow, + By shores where forget-me-nots cluster." + +This poet did much to encourage the home industries of the +moor-dwellers, being in sympathy with them, as well as with their lonely +moorlands. + +The old-time moor-dwellers' habitations have become an interesting +museum in Herning. This little mid-Jutland town is in the centre of the +moors, so its museum contains a unique collection from the homes of +these sturdy peasants. The amount of delicate needlework these lonely, +thrifty folks accomplished in the long winter days is surprising. This +"Hedebo" needlework is the finest stitchery you can well imagine, +wrought on home-spun linen with flaxen thread. Such marvellous patterns +and intricate designs! Little wonder that the best examples are +treasured by the nation. The men of the family wore a white linen smock +for weddings and great occasions. So thickly are these overwrought with +needlework that they will stand alone, and seem to have a woman's +lifetime spent upon them. Needless to say, these family garments were +handed down as heirlooms from father to son. + +Knitting, weaving, the making of Jyde pottery and wooden shoes (which +all wear), are among the other industries of these people. + +As we journey through Skjern and down the west coast to Esbjerg, the end +of our journey, we notice the picturesque attire of the field-workers. +An old shepherd, with vivid blue shirt and sleeveless brown coat, with +white straggling locks streaming over his shoulders, tends his few +sheep. This clever old man is doing three things at once--minding his +sheep, smoking his pipe, and knitting a stocking. The Danes are great +knitters, men and women being equally good at it. Many girls are +working in the fields, their various coloured garments making bright +specks on the landscape. Occasionally a bullock-cart slowly drags its +way across the field-road, laden with clattering milk-cans. We pass +flourishing farmsteads, with storks' nests on the roofs. The +father-stork, standing on one leg, keeping guard over his young, looks +pensively out over the moors, thinking, no doubt, that soon it will not +be worth his while to come all the way from Egypt to find frogs in the +marshes! For the indefatigable Dalgas has roused the dilatory Danes to +such good purpose that soon the marshes and waste lands of Jutland will +be no more. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE PEOPLE'S AMUSEMENTS + + +"Have you been in Tivoli?" is the first question a Copenhagener would +ask you on your arrival in the gay capital. If not, your Danish friend +will carry you off to see these beautiful pleasure-gardens. Tivoli is +for all classes, and is the most popular place of amusement in Denmark. +This delightful summer resort is the place of all others in which to +study the jovial side of the Danish character. Even the King and his +royal visitors occasionally pay visits, incognito, to these fascinating +gardens, taking their "sixpenn'orth of fun" with the people, whose good +manners would never allow them to take the slightest notice of their +monarch when he is enjoying himself in this way. To children Tivoli is +the ideal Sunday treat. Every taste is catered for at Tivoli, and the +Saturday classical concerts have become famous, for one of the Danes' +chief pleasures is good music. Tivoli becomes fairyland when illuminated +with its myriad lights outlining the buildings and gleaming through the +trees. The light-hearted gaiety of the Dane is very infectious, and the +stranger is irresistibly caught by it. The atmosphere of unalloyed +merriment which pervades when tables are spread under the trees for the +alfresco supper is distinctly exhilarating. These gardens have +amusements for the frivolous also, such as switchbacks, pantomimes of +the "Punch and Judy" kind, and frequently firework displays, which last +entertainment generally concludes the evening. + +The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen is a national school of patriotism, and +the healthy spirit of its plays has an ennobling effect on the people. +Everything is Danish here, and Denmark is the only small nation in +Europe which has successfully founded a national dramatic art. The +"Moliere of the North," Ludwig Holberg, was the father of the Danish +drama, and the first to make the people realize the beauty of their own +language. This gifted Dane was a great comedy-writer, and had the +faculty of making his fellows see the comic side of their follies. + +The "Royal Ballet" played at this theatre is quite distinctive. +Bournonville, its creator, was a poet who expressed himself in motion +instead of words, and these "dumb poems" appeal strongly to the +Scandinavian character. This poet aimed at something more than +spectacular effects upon the people: his art consisted in presenting +instructive tableaux, which, while holding the attention of his +audience, taught them their traditional history. The delicate daintiness +of the Danish ballet everyone must appreciate. The exquisite and +intricate dances, together with the magnificent tableaux, are +accompanied by wild and magical music of Danish composition. +Bournonville ballets represent scenes from classical mythology, as well +as from ancient Scandinavian history, and the Danish people are much +attached to this Northern composer of ballet. "Ei blot til Lyst"--Not +only for pleasure--is the motto over this National Theatre door, and it +is in the Ballet School here that the young Danes begin their training. +These young folk take great pleasure in learning the beautiful dances, +as well as in the operatic and dramatic work which they have to study, +for they must serve a certain period in this, as in any other +profession. + +Another place of amusement which gives pleasure to many of the poorer +people is the Working Men's Theatre. Actors, musicians, as well as the +entire management, are all of the working classes, who are trained in +the evenings by professionals. The result is quite wonderful, and proves +the pleasure and interest these working people take in their tuition, +and how their artistic abilities are developed by it. On Sundays, and +occasionally in the week, a performance is given, when the working +classes crowd into the theatre to see their fellows perform. This +entertainment only costs sixpence for good seats, drama and farce being +the representations most appreciated. Notwithstanding that smoking is +prohibited during the performances--a rule which you would think no Dane +could tolerate, being seldom seen without pipe or cigarette--it is a +great success, and denotes that their love of the play is greater than +their pleasure in the weed. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +FARM LIFE--BUTTER-MAKING--"HEDESELSKABET" + + +Farming in Denmark is the most important industry of the kingdom, and +gives employment to half the nation. The peasant is very enlightened and +advanced in his methods; agricultural and farm products form the +principal exports of the country. England takes the greater part of this +produce. Three or four times a week the ships leave Esbjerg--this port +being the only Danish one not blocked by ice during some part of the +winter--for the English ports, laden with butter, bacon and eggs for the +London market. Now, why can the Danish farmer, whose land is poorer and +his climate more severe than ours, produce so much? Education, +co-operation and the help given by the State to small farmers lay the +foundation, so the Danes will tell you, of the farmer's prosperity. The +thrift and industry of the peasant farmer is quite astonishing. He is +able to bring up a large, well-educated family and live comfortably on +seven or eight acres of land; whereas in England we are told that three +acres will not keep a cow! The Danish farmer makes six acres keep two +cows, many chickens, some pigs, himself, wife and family, and there is +never any evidence of poverty on these small farms--quite the reverse. +The farmer is strong and wiry, his wife fine and buxom, and his children +sturdy, well-cared-for little urchins. All, however, must work--and work +very hard--both with head and hands to produce this splendid result. The +Danish farmer grows a rapid rotation of crops for his animals, manuring +heavily after each crop, and never allowing his land to lie fallow as we +do. On these small farms there is practically no grass-land; hedges and +fences are unnecessary as the animals are always tethered when grazing. +Omission of hedges is more economical also, making it possible to +cultivate every inch of land. There is nothing wasted on a Danish farm. +Many large flourishing farms also exist in Denmark, with acres of both +meadow and arable land, just as in England; but the peasant farmer is +the interesting example of the Danish system of legislation. The +Government helps this small holder by every means in its power to become +a freehold farmer should he be willing and thrifty enough to try. + +The typical Danish farmstead is built in the form of a square, three +sides of which are occupied by the sheds for the animals, the fourth +side being the dwelling-house, which is generally connected with the +sheds by a covered passage--a cosy arrangement for all, as in bad +weather the farmer need not go outside to attend to the animals, while +the latter benefit by the warmth from the farmhouse. + +The Danes would never speak crossly to a cow or call her by other than +her own name, which is generally printed on a board over her stall. The +cow, in fact, is the domestic pet of the Danish farm. In the winter +these animals are taken for a daily walk wearing their winter coats of +jute! + +These small farmers realize that "Union is Strength," and have built up +for themselves a marvellous system of co-operation. This brings the +market literally to the door of the peasant farmer. Carts collect the +farm produce daily and transport it to the nearest factories belonging +to this co-operation of farmers. At these factories the milk is turned +into delicious butter, the eggs are examined by electric light, and "Mr. +Pig" quickly changes his name to Bacon! These three commodities form the +most remunerative products of the farm. + +The Danish farmer is a strong believer in education, thanks to the +Grundtvig High-schools. Bishop Grundtvig started these schools for the +benefit of the sons and daughters of yeomen. When winter comes, and +outside farm-work is at a standstill, the farmer and his family attend +these schools to learn new methods of farming and dairy-work. The +farmer's children are early taught to take a hand and interest +themselves in the farm-work. The son, when school is over for the day, +must help to feed the live-stock, do a bit of spade-work or +carpentering, and perhaps a little book-keeping before bedtime. These +practical lessons develop in the lad a love of farm-work and a pride +in helping on the family resources. + +[Illustration: VAGT-PARADEN. LIFEGUARDS DRAWING UP OUTSIDE THE PALACE.] + +Butter-making is an interesting sight at the splendidly equipped +steam-factories, and we all know that Danish butter is renowned for its +excellence. When the milk is weighed and tested it runs into a large +receiver, thence to the separator; from there the cream flows into the +scalder, and pours over the ice frame in a rich cool stream into a +wooden vat. + +Meanwhile the separated milk has returned through a pipe to the waiting +milk-cans and is given back to the farmer, who utilizes it to feed his +calves and pigs. The cream leaves the vat for the churn through a wooden +channel, and when full the churn is set in motion. This combined churn +and butter-worker completes the process of butter-making, and when the +golden mass is taken out it is ready to be packed for the English +market. The milk, on being received at the factory, is weighed and paid +for according to weight. It takes 25 lbs. of milk to make 1 lb. of +butter. + +"Hedeselskabet" (Heath Company) is a wonderful society started by +Captain Dalgas and other patriotic Danes, in 1866, for the purpose of +reclaiming the moors and bogs. The cultivation of these lands seemed +impossible to most people, but these few enthusiasts with great energy +and perseverance set to work to overcome Nature's obstacles. These +pioneers have been so successful in their efforts that in less than half +a century three thousand square miles of useless land in Jutland have +been made fertile. Trees have been planted and carefully nursed into +good plantations, besides many other improvements made for the benefit +of the agriculturalist and the country generally. All along the sandy +wastes of the west coast of Jutland esparto grass has been sown to bind +the shifting sand, which is a danger to the crops when the terrible +"Skaj"[8] blows across the land with unbroken force. Thanks to the +untiring energies of this society for reclaiming the moors, Denmark has +gained land almost equal to that she lost in her beautiful province of +Schleswig, annexed by Prussia in the unequal war of 1864. + +In the town of Aarhus, the capital of Jutland, a handsome monument has +been raised to the memory of Captain Dalgas, the father of the movement +for reclaiming the moors, by his grateful countrymen. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +SOLDIERS AND SAILORS + + +Every Danish boy knows he must undergo a period of training as a soldier +or sailor when he reaches his twentieth year. This is because Denmark is +small and poor, and could not maintain a standing army, so her citizens +must be able to defend her when called upon. This service is required +from all, noble and peasant alike, physical weakness alone bringing +exemption. This six or twelve months' training means a hard rough time +for young men accustomed to a refined home, but it has a pleasant side +in the sympathy and friendship of comrades. The generality of conscripts +do not love their soldiering days, and look upon them as something to be +got over, like the measles! "Jens" is the Danish equivalent for "Tommy +Atkins," and "Hans" is the "Jack Tar" of Denmark. + +To see the daily parade of Life Guards before the royal palace is to see +a splendid military display. This parade the King and young Princes +often watch from the palace windows. The crowd gathers to enjoy the +spectacle of "Vagt-Paraden" (changing the guard) in the palace square, +when the standard is taken from the Guard House and borne, to the +stirring strains of the "Fane-Marsch," in front of the palace. As the +standard-bearer marches he throws forward his legs from the hips in the +most curious stiff way. This old elaborate German step is a striking +feature of the daily parade. When the guard is changed and the band has +played a selection of music, the same ceremony is repeated, and the +standard deposited again in its resting-place. Then the released guard, +headed by the band playing merry tunes, march back to their barracks +followed by an enthusiastic crowd. The fresh guard take their place +beside the sentry-boxes, which stand around the palace square. These are +tall red pillar-boxes curiously like giant letter-boxes! + +In the Schleswig-Holstein War of 1864, the last war Denmark was engaged +in, many Danish soldiers proved their valour and heroism in the unequal +encounter. These gallant men were buried in Schleswig, and as the Danish +colours were forbidden by the tyrannical Prussian conquerors, the loyal +Schleswigers hit upon a pretty way of keeping the memory of their heroes +green. The "Danebrog" was designed by a cross of white flowers on a +ground of red geraniums over each grave. In this way the kinsmen of +these patriots covered their last resting-place with the colours of +their glorious national flag, under which they fell in Denmark's +defence. In Holmens Kirke, Copenhagen, many heroes lie buried. This +building, originally an iron foundry, was converted into a church by +the royal builder, Christian IV., for the dockyard men to worship in, +and it is still used by them. This King's motto, "Piety strengthens the +realm," stands boldly over the entrance of this mortuary chapel for +famous Danes. + +As Denmark is a kingdom composed mainly of islands and peninsula, she +has a long line of sea-board to defend, and a good navy is essential for +her safety. The Danes being descendants of Vikings and sea-rovers, you +may be sure that their navy is well maintained. + +A boy who chooses the navy as his profession must leave school at the +age of fourteen years, and go for nine months' training on a warship as +a voluntary apprentice. At the end of this time he knows whether he +likes the profession well enough to join it--if so, two years' coaching +is given to enable him to pass the necessary examinations for entering +the Naval Academy. Here he is trained for four years, spending the four +summer months of each year in cruising. This Naval Academy, where +officers are trained, is a fine old institution, and prides itself on +the record of the famous men it has turned out. The present King of +Greece, and many other members of the Danish Royal Family, have also +been trained at this Academy. The Academy course is expensive, and as +promotion is slow, and pay small in the navy, the Lieutenants are +sometimes permitted to captain a ship in the merchant service for three +years. This they are glad to do, as it increases their pay and +knowledge of navigation. Denmark being too small to maintain a large +cruising fleet, these officers would have little opportunity of proving +their sailing powers without this arrangement. + +When cruising, the high spirits of the young cadets sometimes lead them +into mischief, thereby bringing trouble upon their heads. I knew a naval +captain who hit upon a very original and effective form of punishment +for wrong-doers. The cadet cap is a blue "tam-o'-shanter" with the usual +woolly bob of the same colour on the top. "The naughty boys shall have a +red bob," said the "Kaptejn," "and thus be branded for misdemeanour!" +The culprits disliked this badge intensely, I imagine mostly because +their comrades derisively admired the colour which made them +conspicuous. One day royalties were being shown over the ship, and a +young Princess asked "why some of the boys had those pretty red tufts on +their caps?" You may imagine the chagrin and confusion of the culprits; +scarlet faces and crimson tufts told their own tale! The boys, you may +be sure, thought twice in future before risking another penitential week +of branding and ridicule for breach of discipline. + +In Copenhagen one of the discarded warships is used as public restaurant +and training-school for ships' cooks. Here the sailor-men are taught +every branch of cooking and kitchen-work. When trained, these cooks are +employed on the merchant-ships, as well as on the men-of-war. + +Some interesting stories are told of the naval heroes of Denmark which +you will like to hear. Peder Tordenskjold is the Nelson of Denmark. This +man, besides being a great Admiral, was a most genial character, and had +a striking and original personality. Many true tales are told about this +hero which the young Danish lads never tire of hearing. There is a +favourite one which tells of the ingenious way by which he discovered +the weak points in his enemy's stronghold. Dressing himself as a +fisherman, he accompanied two other fishers in a little rowing-boat +laden with fish to the enemy's shores. Taking a basket of fish, he +mounted the hill to the fort, saying he had brought the fish for the +commandant. He was allowed to pass in to the fort with his fish, and, +pretending stupidity, kept losing his way--gaining knowledge +thereby--till he reached the commandant's residence. Gaining permission +from the latter to supply the garrison with fish, he inquired for how +many men he should provide. "Let me see," said the commandant, half to +himself, "a hundred guns--two hundred men; you may bring fish for a +hundred men." Tordenskjold then left the fort, having obtained all the +information he required, and returned to his boat. At this moment the +captain of one of the ships lying in the bay arrived on shore, and the +pretended fisherman at once accosted him, asking permission to serve his +men with fish. This being granted, he at once rowed to the ship, where +he soon disposed of his fish, and conversing with the sailors, he +gained the information that in two days' time there would be a great +festivity held on shore, at which most of them would be present. With +this valuable knowledge he returned to his own shore from the Swedish +coast, and laid plans which gave Denmark a victory and proved fatal to +the Swedes. In Holmens Kirke, where this hero lies buried, a splendid +black marble tomb has been erected to his memory by King Frederik IV. +Near by lies another naval hero, Niels Juel, whose gilt and copper +coffin is surmounted by a tablet which tells of his brave deeds. + +Captain Hvitfeldt, the hero of Kjoege Bay, blew up his ship with three +hundred men to save the Danish fleet from destruction. In the war of +1710, between Denmark and Sweden, this captain's ship, the _Danebrog_, +took fire. To save the ships which were being driven by the wind towards +his burning vessel, he and his gallant crew sacrificed their lives. + +Herluf Trolle was a Danish noble and a famous Admiral, who left all his +wealth to found a school for orphans. His noble wife, Fru Bergitta, was +greatly distressed that the Admiral's will could not be found, as she +was most anxious that his wishes, which were also her own, with regard +to the school, should be carried into effect. The Admiral's relatives +would inherit the property, and were already clamouring for it, when one +night Fru Bergitta had a dream. She dreamed she saw someone walking +round her husband's writing-table, attentively inspecting the legs. +These she examined on awakening, and found one to be hollow. +Discovering a secret spring, she pressed it, and beheld the will lying +in the hollow space. So Herluf Trolle's school was founded, and although +this brave old Admiral died from wounds received in battle centuries +ago, yet his school is considered to be one of the best at the present +day. + +[Illustration: SUNDAY IN THE ISLAND OF LAESOe.] + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE PEOPLE OF THE ISLES + + +One of the most storm-swept and barren of Denmark's many islands is the +island of Fanoe. Lying, as it does, exposed to the full force of the +North Sea gales, it yet serves to protect the harbour of Esbjerg from +these storms. It is eight miles long, and three miles at its broadest +part. A trim little steamer will carry you across from Esbjerg to +Nordby--the fishing town on the east coast of Fanoe--in twenty minutes. +Nordby is both quaint and picturesque. The low thatched houses, with +rough-cast, whitewashed walls, nestle close to each other for shelter +from the winds. + +The Fanoe women have a practical but peculiar costume; the +thickly-pleated skirt has a bright-coloured border, while the +close-fitting bodice is adorned with embroidery, and pretty antique +buttons. A folded cotton kerchief and accordion-pleated apron give a +daintiness to the whole dress. The head-dress, however, gives the most +singular finish to the costume. A dark, checked-bordered handkerchief +tied over a stiff, cambric frame, entirely envelops the head. The four +ends of this handkerchief are tied in an odd way, two being left +upstanding like rabbits' ears! This striking head-dress gives the Fanoe +wife a fantastic appearance. When the good-natured, smiling faces of +these women are hidden behind a mask, the combination of dress and mask +makes them awesome-looking folk. The men of the island are nearly all +fishermen; the women are the farmers, and it is to protect their faces +from the blinding sand-storms, while working on the land, that these +masks are worn. This mask obliterates all comeliness, for only the eyes +peep out from the weird face-protector. + +This island of heath, dune, and quicksand is wild and romantic. The +cultivated fields are protected by sand-hills, and belts of stunted, +wind-swept trees that afford some slight protection to the crops. The +island belongs to the people, who cultivate it assiduously. The courage +and perseverance of these women agriculturalists is rewarded by fair +crops, notwithstanding an adverse climate. + +At the south end of the island, far away from any dwelling, is the +interesting "Fuglekoejerne,"[9] where three or four hundred wild-duck are +taken in a day during the season. Decoy-ducks are used for this purpose. + +The west side of the island is the most fashionable watering-place in +Denmark. Large hotels and pretty villas line the shore, and here the +well-to-do Danes inhale bracing sea-breezes. + +On a windy day this western shore is not amusing. Clouds of blinding +sand whirl high in the air, while the booming surf rolls and plunges on +the beach with deafening roar, and makes rank and fashion fly to shelter +in hotel or villa till the storm is over. Visitors in summer and storms +in winter have it all their own way on this west coast--the people of +Fanoe trouble it not. + +Bornholm, situated in the middle of the Baltic, is both beautiful and +fertile. Its products are very valuable to Denmark. From here comes the +clay of which the exquisite Copenhagen porcelain is made. Here, too, the +granite for building the country's defences and docks is quarried. I +fancy if you were to ask a young Dane what Bornholm is most famed for he +would say, "Turkeys," for the island supplies the Copenhagen market with +these birds. + +The chief town, Roenne, is charming, with its many low-roofed houses, +which overlook the Baltic. It is noted for its terra-cotta ware, clocks, +and Museum of Antiquities. + +Most of the towns are upon the coast. Four singular round churches, +built of granite, were formerly used as places of refuge for the people +when beset by pirates. These "Rundkirker" are peculiar to Bornholm. + +A high festival is celebrated every year on the anniversary of the day +when the inhabitants succeeded in throwing off the Swedish yoke, which +they had borne for a short time in the seventeenth century with +resentment. + +Hammershus Castle, on the northern extremity of Bornholm, was built in +the thirteenth century. There is a sad tale connected with this romantic +castle, about a Danish noble and his wife. This noble, Corfitz Ulfeldt, +was imprisoned there for treason. His beautiful wife, Eleonora, the +favourite daughter of Christian IV., accompanied him, preferring +imprisonment with him to liberty without him. After the Count died, +Eleonora, who had a mortal enemy in Queen Caroline Amalia, was sent by +the latter to the "Blaataarn"[10] of Slotsholmen, Copenhagen, and there +incarcerated for twenty-two years. The illustrious Eleonora was only +liberated on the death of the vindictive Queen, but the long years of +captivity--without reason--had wrecked her life. + +Laesoe is a small island in the Cattegat, the inhabitants of which are +mainly farmers and fishermen, and the old women wear a particular +costume for Sunday, which is called the "church costume." + +The people of Amager are great market-gardeners. They are of Dutch +extraction. Christian II., after flying from his country, took refuge in +Holland, and some of the Dutch helped him in trying to regain his +throne. For this service he gave his Dutch followers the island of +Amager. The descendants of these Dutch people still retain their old +customs and characteristics. Clattering about in wooden shoes, the old +women, in quaint costume, may be seen driving their geese down the +picturesque streets to the meadows. Besides being market-gardeners and +florists, these Amager folk rear and fatten the geese for the Christmas +market. + +The natural beauty of the island of Moeen is striking, and unlike the +rest of Denmark. "Moeen's Klint" are great, jagged white cliffs rising +abruptly from the sea. Enchanting beech-woods thickly crown the summit, +giving distinctive and unusual beauty to it. From Sommerspiret, the +highest point, we have an extensive view over the Ostersoeen and Koejge +Bay, where the famous victory over the Swedes was won by Niels Juel in +1677. + +In Denmark the town-crier beats a drum to draw attention to the notice +he is about to give. + +Danish postmen present a gorgeous appearance, in red coats, with smart +cloaks of the same brilliant hue for winter wear. These and the bright +yellow mail-vans, which they drive sometimes, arrest attention, and give +importance to the carriers of His Majesty's mails. + +In many of the houses the "Forhoejning" is still used. This is a raised +platform close to the window, on which the lady of the house sits to do +her embroidery. While she is here she can follow all that goes on in the +street below by an ingenious arrangement of oblique convex mirrors fixed +to the outside of the window, and reflecting the life in the streets +both ways. + +The numerous pretty articles made of amber, which adorn the ladies' +dressing-tables, and of which beads and ornaments for the girls are +composed, are of local manufacture, amber being found in quantities on +the west coast of Jutland. + +In the islands of Funen and Seeland there are many grand old +manor-houses belonging to the nobility, whose fine estates give +employment to many peasants. A story is told of a certain noble, +Christian Barnekow by name, who saved his King, Christian IV., by his +heroic self-sacrifice. The King had lost his horse, and was on the point +of being killed or made prisoner when Barnekow came to his rescue. +Giving the King his own horse, he said, "I give my horse to my King, my +life to the enemy, and my soul to God." A street in Copenhagen is called +after this brave nobleman "Kristenbernikovstrade." + +It is characteristic of the Danes to run words into each other, and +streets in Denmark often have prodigiously long names. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +FISHERMEN AT HOME AND AFLOAT + + +The class of people most lauded by their own and other nations is that +of the brave and hardy fishermen of Denmark. These men are always +willing to man the life-boat and to risk their lives to save those in +peril on the dangerous coast of Jutland. Although hundreds of ships are +wrecked on this dreaded "Jernkyst" (iron coast), their crews are +invariably saved by these courageous men. The whole length of the west +coast of Jutland is bleak and exposed to the storms and fogs of the +North Sea. Not one single harbour of refuge can be found between Esbjerg +and the Skaw. Dangerous sandbanks and massive cliffs guard the coast, +making navigation both difficult and hazardous. All along this perilous +coast life-saving apparatus of the newest and best type is stored in the +life-boat houses placed at intervals close to the seashore. On stormy +nights the watching sentinels summon by telephone the fishermen of the +tiny hamlets near. At sound of a rocket the distressful cry, "A wreck, a +wreck!" runs over the telephone, and immediately brave hearts and hands +are putting off to the rescue, while trembling women anxiously wait +their husbands' return with warm restoratives for the saved. These +fishermen's wives are brave too, for it is anxious work waiting and +watching. It is not to be wondered at that this merciless and cruel +coast is dreaded by all seamen. How thankful they must feel when they +see the great lighthouse at Grenen--the northernmost point of +Jutland--and can signal "All's well!" "Alt vel! passeret Grenen" flash +the lights across the water, and both passengers and crew breathe a +little more freely if it has been a stormy passage. Something like +eighty thousand vessels pass by this coast in a year, so you may be sure +the gallant fishermen of Denmark who live on the iron coast have plenty +of rescue work to do. + +[Illustration: SKAGEN FISHERMAN NEAR THE TOWER OF BURIED CHURCH.] + +You should see this coast on a stormy day, more especially at Grenen, +where those two mighty seas, the Skagerack and Cattegat, meet. When the +tempest rages here, far as eye can see a long ridge of seething, tossing +water denotes the meeting-place of the currents. The great "white +horses" in battle array fight, plunge, and roar--each striving for the +mastery which neither gains. This wrestling-match is a splendid +spectacle to those who are safe on shore, also to those at sea if the +day is clear, because they can then give the reef a wide berth. Tossing +spray is thrown high into the air and wind-borne to the shore, so even +at a distance from the waves you may have a salt shower-bath should you +be able to "keep your legs" against the fury of the gale. The screaming +gulls which fly around, dipping and rising, enjoying as only +"storm-birds" can the roar and tumult of these tempestuous waters, +enhance the fierce loneliness of the scene. This awe-inspiring +"Nature-barrier" saddens you--even while you exult in the madness of its +fury--when you think what it means on a foggy night to the poor mariner. +What a comfort for the seafarer to know that there is such a famous race +of fishermen here, willing and ready to man the life-boat and rescue +them from the angry, engulfing waters! You would never guess these seas +could be otherwise than kind when you enter their smiling depths for a +swim on a calm, sunny day. How gentle and invigorating they can be the +fishermen as well as the visitors know, and any morning you may see the +former returning from their daily dip with dripping heads and towels +along the shore. Somehow these fishermen are always picturesque. In the +summer evening, sitting or lying on the sunlit beach, smoking their +cutty-pipes and waiting for the time to launch their boats for the +fishing, they make an impressive picture. Kindly blue eyes and +weather-beaten faces look at you from under the sou'westers, while blue +jerseys, long sea-boots with curled-over tops and oil-skins, complete +the sea-going outfit. Fully equipped, they charm the eye of the most +fastidious, and it is little wonder that they have become subjects for +famous artists and poets. + +These fishermen are very devout, and before launching their boat they +all stand round it with clasped hands and bowed heads, offering up a +short, silent prayer for help and protection on these dangerous waters. +Then, pushing the boat out into the water, they jump in while it +floats--sea-boots getting wet in the process--and wave farewell to their +children on the shore, who cry in return "Farvel Fa'er!" + +Lars Kruse, the late captain of the life-boat at Skagen, has had a +beautiful monument raised to his memory, and his son will show you with +great pride the cups and medals he left behind as mementoes of his brave +deeds. These medals have been presented by many different nations whose +sea-farers have been saved by him. Amongst these is one given by Queen +Victoria. + +Captain Larsen, a well-known mariner, who, on retiring from his post on +one of the light-ships, settled at Old Skagen, has left a unique +collection to the village. This now constitutes a museum of exquisitely +carved furniture, much of it inlaid with ivory, marbles and metals in +dainty designs, all made by this old sailor during the last twelve years +of his life--a wonderful record of industry. Old Skagen is a quaint +fisher-village, nestling behind the sand-dunes, trying to shelter itself +from the sand and sea-storms to which these shores are subjected. + +Many of these fisher-folk are farmers also, tilling and cultivating the +heath-lands which lie beyond the village. The fisher cottages are quite +pretty, with thatched or red-tiled roofs, white or buff rough-cast +walls, green painted doors and windows, with black painted foundations +which protect them from the sand. Bright flowering plants in the windows +and the neat and clean appearance of the whole betoken the joy and +comfort that reigns in the fisherman's home. Many household duties are +performed at the cottage door in the sandy enclosure surrounding the +little homestead. Here the old men mend the nets, keeping a watchful eye +on the babies, while the women clean and salt the fish, hanging them up +in rows to dry in the sun. In these garden enclosures, also, many +quaintly pretty miniature houses may be seen erected on tall poles. +These are to encourage the starlings and other songsters to settle in +them, as there are no trees. Hen-roosts and outhouses are adorned with +the name-boards of wrecked boats washed up on the shore, while discarded +boats turned over and tarred make the roofs of these curious shelters +worthy of royal hens! + +The older fishermen have a safe and effective way of trawling from the +strand. Putting out in a small boat, taking their net with them, to +which a long rope is attached--the end of this being left in charge of +the fishermen on the shore--they row gaily over the water, paying out +the rope as they go. When the limit of this rope is reached, the men +drop their weighted net overboard and pull for the shore, bringing with +them another attached rope which is paid out till they reach the strand. +When they have landed and the boat is beached, half a dozen men or more +take hold of each rope--these are fastened to each side of the +submerged net--and begin hauling it to the shore. The straining muscles +of the men as they march up the beach with a strong, steady, overhand +pull on the rope denotes that this is heavy work. It is a grand sight! +As the net nears the shore the gleaming, glittering mass of fish can be +seen leaping and jumping in vain endeavour to escape from their prison, +only the smaller fry succeeding. At last the net with its silver load +reaches the shore with the noise as of a great wave breaking upon the +beach, which is caused by the efforts of the fish to gain their freedom. +The best fish are picked out and the others returned to the sea, while +the gulls swoop down with querulous cry and gobble all that float on the +surface of the water. These fishermen have a prejudice against skate, +and use it only for bait. + +St. Clement is the patron saint of Danish fishermen, and many of the +churches in the coast towns are dedicated to him. + +As the Cathedral of Aarhus is dedicated to St. Clement, the Skaw +fishermen have given an exquisite model of a ship to the church. This +ship is a perfect representation in miniature of a man-of-war. It was +made in Holland for Peter the Great, but the ship which carried it was +wrecked near Grenen, and the model was saved by the Skaw fishermen. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +YOUTHFUL DANES AT WORK AND PLAY + + +Denmark is renowned for its educational system and for its schools. +These schools are all under Government control, and meet the wants of +every class. The authorities are upheld by the parents, both being +determined there shall be no such thing as an ignoramus in Denmark, so +whether the children are educated at home or sent to school, they must +begin lessons at the age of seven. If they have a governess at home the +parents must give a guarantee to the authorities that the governess is +efficient and capable of giving the standard education to the children. +Should parents elect to take their children abroad during the school +term, they must notify their intention, undertaking that a teacher shall +accompany them and lessons continue while away. Shirking lessons is +quite an impossibility for little Danes, as everybody thinks that +education comes before all else, so parents do not encourage idleness or +extra holidays during the school year. + +School attendance is compulsory for all children between the ages of +seven and fourteen. The hours are not long nor wearisome, as the lessons +are arranged with a view to holding the attention of young minds during +the period of instruction. The classes are small, even in the free +schools, never more than thirty-five pupils to a teacher, and generally +less. The lesson lasts forty minutes, and then there is an interval for +play. The thorough education of the pupils for their future work in life +is considered, so lessons in writing, reading, and arithmetic, in the +Kommune schools, are varied by tailoring lessons for boys, and cookery +for girls, after they are ten years of age. At every school gymnastics +play an important part--pleasant lessons these are for all--but perhaps +the lesson the boys most delight in is their instruction in Sloeyd. Each +lad has his carpenter's bench with necessary tools, and as we know every +boy is happy when making or marring with hammer and nails, I am sure you +will think these must be enviable lessons. I have seen some charming +models as well as useful things made by the boys--a perfect miniature +landau, complete in every detail, benches, bureaux, carts, tables, +chairs, besides many other serviceable articles. Besides this +pleasure-work at school, the boys, if they are farmers' sons, have +practical lessons at home by helping their father on the farm. The +authorities being anxious to help the farmer, they allow him to keep a +boy at home half the day for instruction in farm-work, but the other +half must be spent at school. The prizes at the municipal schools not +infrequently consist of clothes, watches, clocks, or tools, all of which +are worked for eagerly by the pupils. + +The boys and girls of Denmark begin early with gymnastic exercises, and +soon become sturdy little athletes from sheer love of the exhilarating +practice. All Danes pride themselves--and with good reason--on their +national athletic exercises. At the Olympic Games, held at the Stadium +in London, the Danish ladies carried away the gold medal by their fine +gymnastic display. This was a triumph with so many competitors in the +field. It is an amusing sight to see the Danes at a seaside resort +taking their morning swim; each one on leaving the water runs about on +the sun-warmed beach, and goes through a gymnastic display on his own +account, choosing the exercise he considers most calculated to warm and +invigorate him after his dip. The children require no second bidding to +follow father's example, and as they emerge from the water breathless, +pantingly join in the fun. Sons try to go one better than the father in +some gymnastic feat which the latter's stoutness renders impossible! The +merry peals of laughter which accompany the display speak eloquently of +the thorough enjoyment of all the bathers. + +Yachting in Denmark is not merely a pleasure for the rich, it is +inexpensive, so all classes and every man capable of sailing a boat can +enjoy it. In the summer-time the Sound and other waters seem alive with +the multitudes of white sails and speeding craft of all sizes. The +Oresund Week, as the Royal Yacht Club's regatta-week is called, is the +time of all others for yachtsmen to display their skill, and a gay +event in the Copenhagener's year. The pleasant waters of Denmark are +beloved of yachtsmen. Sailing round the wooded islands, you are +impressed by their picturesque beauty, which is seen to advantage from +the water. One is not surprised that this popular pastime comes first +with every Danish boy, who, whether swimming, rowing, or sailing, feels +perfectly at home on the water. Everybody cycles in Denmark. +Cycle-stands are provided outside every shop, station, office, and +college, so that you have no more difficulty in disposing of your cycle +than your umbrella. + +[Illustration: WINTER IN THE FOREST.] + +Football is a summer game here--spirited matches you would think +impossible at this season--but the Danes have them, and what is more, +they will inform you that they quite enjoy what appears to the spectator +a hot, fatiguing amusement. Cricket has few attractions for the Danish +lads, but that is because they cannot play, though their schoolmasters +and parents would have them try. All things English are much admired, +and when a Dane intends to do a thing he generally succeeds, so we can +only suppose he is too indifferent about cricket--although it is an +English game--to excel. + +Golf and hockey are also played, and "bandy"--_i.e._, hockey on the +ice--is a favourite winter sport. A "bandy" match is quite exciting to +watch. The players, armed with a wooden club, often find the ice a +difficulty when rushing after the solid rubber ball. This exhilarating +game is known in some parts of the world as "shinty." The Danes are +proficient skaters, and of late years an artificial ground for winter +sport of all kinds has been made in the Ulvedal, near Copenhagen. Here +they have "bandy" matches, ski-ing, and tobogganing, as well as other +winter games. Fox-hunting is unknown in Denmark, but frequently foxes +are included in the sportsman's bag when shooting. These are shot +because it is necessary to keep Mr. Reynard's depredations under +control. Trotting-matches are held on Sunday on the racecourse near +Charlottenlund, and horse-racing takes place too. Lawn-tennis and +croquet are very popular, but the latter is the favourite pastime of the +Danish ladies. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +INGEBORG'S JOURNEY THROUGH SEELAND + + +Funen, the island which lies between the Great and Little Belts, is +known as the "Garden of Denmark," on account of its beauty and +fertility. In Odense, the capital, Ingeborg had lived happily all the +fifteen summers of her life. Now she was to have an unexpected treat. +Her grandfather intended taking her with him on the morrow to see some +of the historical places in Seeland. Ingeborg loved history, and had +given her grandfather much pleasure by the knowledge she displayed when +showing him over her own church, St. Knud's. This ancient Gothic Church +is the finest specimen of mediaeval architecture in Denmark. St. Knud, +the grand-nephew of Canute the Great, was slain before the altar while +praying for his people. This brave King could have saved himself by +flight, but would not, lest his subjects should suffer at the hands of +his enemies. He was canonized by the Pope, and his brother built the +church to his memory. Besides being the shrine of St. Knud, this church +is the burial-place of King Christian II. and his Queen, as well as of +King Hans and his Consort. The beautiful altar-piece, given by Queen +Christina, is of the most exquisite workmanship, and took the artists +many years to execute. + +Ingeborg's excitement was great when she crossed from Nyborg. She +remembered that an army once crossed this water on foot, so severe was +the winter, and that ice-breakers are still used occasionally. The girl +wished it was winter as she watched for the first time the huge +paddle-wheels of the steam-ferry ploughing through the waters of the +Great Belt. By the time Korsoer was reached, Herr Nielsen, her +grandfather, had made acquaintance with a student who was returning to +his college at Soroe, the town which they intended making their first +stopping-place. The student, whose name was Hans, informed them that he +lived at Ribe, a quaint old town of South Jutland, left very much to +memories and the storks, but possessing a fine twelfth-century +Cathedral. The college at Soroe was founded by Ludvig Holberg, the father +of Danish comedy, who left his fortune and library for that purpose. +Hans was proud of belonging to this college, as it had educated many men +of letters famous in Danish history. + +In the Cistercian Church of Soroe, Bishop Absalon, the founder of +Copenhagen, lies buried. It is said that this Bishop's spirit appears, +with menacing attitude, if anyone desecrates the place by irreverence. +Ludvig Holberg is also buried in this cloister church, as well as three +Danish Kings. + +Ingemann the poet spent most of his time at this charming town, which +stands on the lake of the Soroe Soe. In the luxuriant beech-woods which +surround the lake, Saxo Grammaticus, the first historian of Denmark, was +wont to wander. Both these celebrated men also lie in the old church, +which Ingeborg felt was a fitting resting-place for the noble dead. + +On the advice of Hans, Herr Nielsen took his young grand-daughter to see +the old convent church of Ringsted. Here many Danish Kings were buried +in the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The interesting +Romanesque Church of Kallundborg was also visited. This Church, with its +four octagonal towers and a square tower in the middle, forms a Greek +cross. This is the most unique specimen of mediaeval architecture in the +North. + +Ingeborg had long looked forward to seeing Roskilde Cathedral, and the +day was bright and sunny when they arrived at the sleepy little town on +the Roskilde Fjord. This stately Cathedral, with its two tall pointed +spires, is called the "Westminster Abbey" of Denmark. It is the +burial-place of the Danish Royal Family: thirty-three Kings and many +Queens rest in it. A beautiful alabaster tomb marks the resting-place of +Queen Margrethe, the famous Queen who united the three Crowns--Norway, +Sweden, and Denmark--and was ever ambitious for the glory and +development of these countries. She ruled with wisdom and wonderful +diplomacy, and was the most powerful Queen Denmark ever had. She has +been called the "Semiramis of the North." Though the three crowns are +still on the shield of Denmark, the other two kingdoms were lost to her +in the sixteenth century. Queen Margrethe was the daughter of Valdemar +IV., known as "Atterdag," because of his favourite proverb: "I Morgen er +der atter en Dag."[11] This powerful monarch kept his subjects in such +incessant turmoil by his numerous wars for acquiring territory "that +they had not time to eat"! The Renaissance chapel erected by Christian +IV., in which his tomb stands, is very beautiful. This popular monarch, +alike celebrated as architect, sailor, and warrior, was one of the most +impressive figures in Danish history. The mural paintings of the chapel +represent scenes in the life of this great King. + +Ingeborg was glad she remembered her history, and could tell her +grandfather so much as they went through the Cathedral. He, however, +informed her that Frederik VII. was the last of the Kings of the +Oldenburg line, which had been on the throne of Denmark for over four +hundred years. + +The sarcophagus of the beloved Christian IX., father of many European +crowned heads, including Queen Alexandra of England, is still kept +covered with fresh flowers. This King, whose memory is so revered in all +countries, inaugurated a new dynasty in Denmark. The curious old clock +at the western end of the cathedral interested Ingeborg, and she watched +with delight, when it struck the hour of noon, St. George, mounted on +his fiery steed, with many groans and stiff, jerky movements, kill the +dragon, which expired with a gruesome death-rattle! + +In the thirteenth century this quiet town of Roskilde was the capital, +and the archiepiscopal see of Denmark. An English Bishop, William of +Roskilde, is supposed to have built the Cathedral. + +We will now follow our little friend and her grandfather to +Frederiksborg Castle. The castle, with its many towers and pinnacles +reflected in still waters, stands in the middle of a lake. This handsome +Dutch Renaissance building is now used as an historical museum. Many of +the Danish Kings have been crowned in its magnificent chapel. Wandering +through the splendid rooms of the castle, Ingeborg could read the +history of her country in a very pleasant and interesting manner. The +collection being confined to one period for each room made instruction +an easy affair for the grandfather. Beginning with King Gorm the Old and +Canute the Great, it comprises all periods up to the last century. + +The autumn residence of the Royal Family, Fredensborg Castle, was the +next place of interest visited. This Castle of Peace was built to +commemorate the end of the war between Denmark and Sweden. "Fred" means +"peace" in Danish, and, indeed, this place proves a home of peace to +tired Royalty. Its park is considered the most beautiful in Denmark. The +magnificent avenues of lime-trees are lined by marble statues of +peasants in national costumes, Faroese, Icelandic and Norwegian, as well +as those of Denmark. + +The Open-Air Museum at Lyngby, with its ancient farm and peasant +buildings, the interiors of which are fitted up just as they used to be, +gave Ingeborg a peep into the past and old-time Denmark. Here she saw a +curious rolling-pin hanging in the ingle-nook of the farmhouse from the +village of Ostenfeld. This wooden pin, so her grandfather told her, was +a Clogg Almanac or Runic Calendar. It had four sides, each marking three +months, large notches denoting Sundays, small ones showing week-days. +Saints' days were marked by the symbol of each saint. He had seen some +of these old calendars in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, when he had +been in England, which were relics of Danish government there. These +quaint and curious Clogg Almanacs were used throughout Scandinavia, +small ones made of horn or bone being for the pocket. + +But here we must say good-bye to Ingeborg and her grandfather, as after +seeing Kronborg Castle and Elsinore they will return by the beautiful +coast-line to Copenhagen, there to enjoy many of the sights we have seen +in "dear little Denmark." + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: Thank you for the food.] + +[Footnote 2: May it agree with you.] + +[Footnote 3: Spoon-food.] + +[Footnote 4: Luncheon.] + +[Footnote 5: Be so good.] + +[Footnote 6: Birthday child.] + +[Footnote 7: Impenetrable swamp.] + +[Footnote 8: The sharp, dry, north-west wind which blows in the spring.] + +[Footnote 9: Retreat of wild-duck.] + +[Footnote 10: Blue Tower.] + +[Footnote 11: To-morrow comes another day.] + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DENMARK*** + + +******* This file should be named 20107.txt or 20107.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/0/1/0/20107 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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