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diff --git a/33038-8.txt b/33038-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..558cad3 --- /dev/null +++ b/33038-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9962 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and +Russia, by Maturin M. Ballou + +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: Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia + +Author: Maturin M. Ballou + +Release Date: July 1, 2010 [EBook #33038] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLIMPSES OF SCANDINAVIA AND RUSSIA *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +4 pages of advertisements were printed on the first pages of the +book, and have been moved to the end of this ebook. + +The author's incorrect/inconsistent spelling of names has been +retained (e.g. Tröndhjem for Trondhjem, Röskilde for Roskilde and +Gotha Canal for Götha C.). + +The two first references to Fredericksborg Castle (in "city to +Fredericksborg" and "surrounds Fredericksborg") should correctly say +"Fredericksberg Castle". This is a mistake by the author. The two +later references to Fredericksborg Castle (in "palace of +Fredericksborg" and "window of Fredericksborg") are correct. + + * * * * * + + + + + DUE NORTH + + OR + + GLIMPSES OF SCANDINAVIA AND + RUSSIA + + + BY + + MATURIN M. BALLOU + + AUTHOR OF "EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH," "DUE SOUTH; OR, CUBA, PAST AND + PRESENT," "GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW," ETC. + + + Only that travelling is good which reveals to me the value of + home, and enables me to enjoy it better.--THOREAU. + + + BOSTON + TICKNOR AND COMPANY + 1887 + + + _Copyright, 1887_, + BY MATURIN M. BALLOU. + + _All rights reserved._ + + + University Press: + JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +About five years ago, the Author, having then just returned from +circumnavigating the globe, was induced to record his experiences of +the long journey, which were published in a volume entitled "Due +West; or, Round the World in Ten Months." The public favor accorded +to this work led, a couple of years later, to the issuing of a second +volume of travels, upon the Author's return from the West Indies, +entitled "Due South; or, Cuba, Past and Present." The popular success +of both books and the flattering comments of the critics have caused +the undersigned to believe that a certain portion of the public is +pleased to see foreign lands and people through his eyes; and hence +the publication of the volume now in hand. These pages describing the +far North, from which the Author has just returned,--including +Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Russian Poland,--seem naturally to +suggest the title of "Due North." Without permitting prejudice to +circumscribe judgment in treating of Russia, the effort has been to +represent the condition of that country and its Polish province +truthfully, and to draw only reasonable deductions. This special +reference is made to the pages relating to the Tzar's government, as +it will be found that the Author does not accord with the popularly +expressed opinion upon this subject. + + M. M. B. + BOSTON, March, 1887. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + PAGE +CHAPTER I. + +Copenhagen. -- First Stroll in a Strange City. -- Danish +Children. -- Antiquity of Copenhagen. -- English Arrogance. -- +The Baltic Sea. -- Danish Possessions. -- Descendants of the +Vikings. -- Covetous Germany. -- The Denmark of To-day. -- +Thorwaldsen's Remarkable Museum. -- The Ethnological Museum. +-- Educational Matters. -- Eminent Natives. -- Charitable +Institutions. -- Antique Churches. -- Royal Palaces. -- +Historical Memories. -- City Architecture. -- Zoölogical +Gardens + 1-23 + + +CHAPTER II. + +Public Amusements in Copenhagen. -- Danish Sovereigns. -- The +Fashionable Promenade. -- Danish Women. -- Palace of Rosenborg. +-- A Golconda of Gems. -- A Poet's Monument. -- A Famous +Astronomer. -- Our Lady's Church. -- The King's Square. -- The +Curious Old Round Tower. -- The Peasantry. -- A Famous Deer Park. +-- Röskilde. -- Elsinore. -- Gypsies. -- Kronborg Castle. -- The +Queen's Prison. -- Hamlet and Ophelia's Grave. -- A Danish +Legend + 24-40 + + +CHAPTER III. + +Gottenburg. -- Ruins of Elfsborg. -- Gustavus Adolphus. -- A +Wrecked Monument. -- The Girdle-Duellists. -- Emigration to +America. -- Public and Private Gardens. -- A Kindly People. -- +The Götha Canal. -- Falls of Trollhätta. -- Dainty Wild-Flowers. +-- Water-Ways. -- Stockholm and Lake Maelaren. -- Prehistoric +Tokens. -- Iron Mines of Sweden. -- Pleasing Episode with +Children. -- The Liquor Traffic Systematized. -- A Great +Practical Charity. -- A Domestic Habit + 41-56 + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Capital of Norway. -- A Grand Fjord. -- A Free and Independent +State. -- The Legal Code. -- Royal Palace and Gardens. -- Oscar's +Hall. -- The University. -- Public Amusements. -- The Ice Trade. +-- Ancient Viking Ships. -- Heathen Tombs. -- An Interesting +Hostelry. -- A Steam Kitchen. -- Environs of Christiania. -- +Horses and their Treatment. -- Harvest Time. -- Women's Work. -- +The Sæter. -- A Remarkable Lake. -- Wild Birds. -- Inland Travel. +-- Scandinavian Wild Flowers. -- Lonely Habitations. -- A Land of +Alpine Heights + 57-85 + + +CHAPTER V. + +Ancient Capital of Norway. -- Routes of Travel. -- Rain! -- +Peasant Costumes. -- Commerce of Bergen. -- Shark's _vs._ Cod +Liver Oil. -- Ship-Building. -- Public Edifices. -- Quaint Shops. +-- Borgund Church. -- Leprosy in Norway. -- Sporting Country. -- +Inland Experiences. -- Hay-Making. -- Pine-Forest Experiences. -- +National Constitution. -- People's Schools. -- Girls' Industrial +School. -- Celebrated Citizens of Bergen. -- Two Grand Norwegian +Fjords. -- Remarkable Glaciers + 86-101 + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Ancient and Modern Trondhjem. -- Runic Inscriptions. -- A Famous +Old Cathedral. -- Local Characteristics. -- Romantic Story of +King Olaf. -- Curious Local Productions. -- An Island Prison. -- +Lafoss Falls. -- Corn Magazines. -- Land-owners. -- Wood-cutters. +-- Forests. -- A Tumble Overboard. -- A Genuine Cockney. -- +Comparative Length of Days. -- Characteristics of Boreal Regions. +-- Arctic Winter Fisheries. -- The Ancient Town of Lund; the +Oxford of Sweden. -- Pagan Times + 102-115 + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Along the Coast of Norway. -- Education at the Far North. -- An +Interesting Character. -- A Botanical Enthusiast. -- Remarkable +Mountain Tunnel. -- A Hard Climb. -- The Seven Sisters. -- Young +England. -- An Amateur Photographer. -- Horseman's Island. -- +Ancient Town of Bodöe. -- Arctic Flowers. -- The Famous +Maelström. -- Illusions! -- The Wonderful Lofoden Islands. -- +Grand and Unique Scenery. -- Glaciers. -- Nature's Architecture. +-- Mysterious Effects. -- Attraction for Artists + 116-135 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Birds of the Arctic Regions. -- Effect of Continuous Daylight. +-- Town of Tromsöe. -- The Aurora Borealis. -- Love of Flowers. +-- The Growth of Trees. -- Butterflies. -- Home Flowers. -- +Trees. -- Shooting Whales with Cannon. -- Prehistoric Relics. -- +About Laplanders. -- Eider Ducks. -- A Norsk Wedding Present. -- +Gypsies of the North. -- Pagan Rites. -- The Use of the Reindeer. +-- Domestic Life of the Lapps. -- Marriage Ceremony. -- A Gypsy +Queen. -- Lapp Babies. -- Graceful Acknowledgment + 136-155 + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Experiences Sailing Northward. -- Arctic Whaling. -- The +Feathered Tribe. -- Caught in a Trap. -- Domestic Animals. -- The +Marvellous Gulf Stream. -- Town of Hammerfest. -- Commerce. -- +Arctic Mosquitoes. -- The Public Crier. -- Norwegian Marriages. +-- Peculiar Bird Habits. -- A Hint to Naturalists. -- Bird +Island. -- A Lonely Habitation. -- High Latitude. -- Final +Landing at the North Cape. -- A Hard Climb. -- View of the +Wonderful Midnight Sun + 156-168 + + +CHAPTER X. + +Journey Across Country. -- Capital of Sweden. -- Old and New. +-- Swedish History. -- Local Attractions. -- King Oscar II. -- +The Royal Palace. -- The Westminster Abbey of Stockholm. -- A +Splendid Deer Park. -- Public Amusements. -- The Sabbath. -- An +Official Dude. -- An Awkward Statue. -- Swedish Nightingales. -- +Linnæus and Swedenborg. -- Dalecarlia Girls. -- A Remarkable +Group in Bronze. -- Rosedale Royal Cottage. -- Ancient Oaks. -- +Upsala and its Surroundings. -- Ancient Mounds at old Upsala. -- +Swedenborg's Study + 169-192 + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The Northern Mediterranean. -- Depth of the Sea. -- Where Amber +Comes From. -- A Thousand Isles. -- City of Åbo. -- Departed +Glory. -- Capital of Finland. -- Local Scenes. -- Russian +Government. -- Finland's Dependency. -- Billingsgate. -- A Woman +Sailor in an Exigency. -- Fortress of Sweaborg. -- Fortifications +of Cronstadt. -- Russia's Great Naval Station. -- The Emperor's +Steam Yacht. -- A Sail up the Neva. -- St. Petersburg in the +Distance. -- First Russian Dinner + 193-205 + + +CHAPTER XII. + +St. Petersburg. -- Churches. -- The Alexander Column. -- +Principal Street. -- Cathedral of Peter and Paul. -- Nevsky +Monastery. -- Russian Priesthood. -- The Canals. -- Public +Library. -- Cruelty of an Empress. -- Religious Devotion of the +People. -- A Dangerous Locality. -- Population. -- The Neva and +Lake Ladoga. -- The Nicholas Bridge. -- Winter Season. -- Begging +Nuns. -- Nihilism. -- Scandal Touching the Emperor. -- The +Fashionable Drive. -- St. Isaac's Church. -- Russian Bells. -- +Famous Equestrian Statue. -- The Admiralty. -- Architecture + 206-240 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The Winter Palace. -- The Hermitage and its Riches. -- An Empress +and her Fancies. -- A Royal Retreat. -- Russian Culture. -- +Public Library. -- The Summer Garden. -- Temperature of the City. +-- Choosing of the Brides. -- Peter's Cottage. -- Champ de Mars. +-- Academy of Fine Arts. -- School of Mines. -- Precious Stones. +-- The Imperial Home at Peterhoff. -- Curious and Interesting +Buildings. -- Catherine's Oak. -- Alexander III. at Parade. -- +Description of the Royal Family. -- Horse-Racing. -- The +Empress's Companions + 241-264 + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Power of the Greek Church. -- Freeing the Serfs. -- Education +Needed. -- Mammoth Russia. -- Religion and Superstition. +-- Memorial Structures. -- Church Fasts. -- Theatres and Public +Amusements. -- Night Revels. -- A Russian Bazaar. -- Children's +Nurses in Costume. -- The one Vehicle of Russia. -- Dress of the +People. -- Fire Brigade. -- Red Tape. -- Personal Surveillance. +-- Passports. -- Annoyances. -- Spying Upon Strangers. -- The +Author's Experience. -- Censorship of the Press + 265-279 + + +CHAPTER XV. + +On the Road to Moscow. -- Russian Peasantry. -- Military Station +Masters. -- Peat Fuel for the War-Ships. -- Farm Products. -- +Scenery. -- Wild-Flowers. -- City of Tver. -- Inland Navigation. +-- The Great River Volga. -- The Ancient Muscovite Capital. -- +Spires and Minarets. -- A Russian Mecca. -- Pictorial Signs. -- +The Kremlin. -- The Royal Palace. -- King of Bells. -- Cathedral +of St. Basil. -- The Royal Treasury. -- Church of Our Saviour. -- +Chinese City. -- Rag Fair. -- Manufactures + 280-305 + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +Domestic Life in Moscow. -- Oriental Seclusion of Women. -- The +Foundling Hospital. -- A Christian Charity. -- A Metropolitan +Centre. -- City Museum. -- The University. -- Tea-Drinking. +-- Pleasure Gardens. -- Drosky Drivers. -- Riding-School. +-- Theatres. -- Universal Bribery. -- Love of Country. -- +Russians as Linguists. -- Sparrow Hill. -- Petrofski Park. -- +Muscovite Gypsies. -- Fast Life. -- Intemperance. -- A Famous +Monastery. -- City Highways. -- Sacred Pigeons. -- Beggars + 306-332 + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Nijni-Novgorod. -- Hot Weather. -- The River Volga. -- Hundreds +of Steamers. -- Great Annual Fair. -- Peculiar Character of the +Trade. -- Motley Collection of Humanity. -- An Army of Beggars. +-- Rare and Precious Stones. -- The Famous Brick Tea. -- A Costly +Beverage. -- Sanitary Measures. -- Disgraceful Dance Halls. -- +Fatal Beauty. -- A Sad History. -- Light-Fingered Gentry. -- +Convicts. -- Facts about Siberia. -- Local Customs. -- Russian +Punishment + 333-352 + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +On the Road to Poland. -- Extensive Grain-Fields. -- Polish +Peasantry. -- A Russian General. -- No Evidence of Oppression. +-- Warsaw and its Surroundings. -- Mingled Squalor and Elegance. +-- Monuments of the City. -- Polish Nobility. -- Circassian +Troops. -- Polish Language. -- The Jews of Warsaw. -- Political +Condition of Poland. -- Public Parks. -- The Famous Saxony +Gardens. -- Present Commercial Prosperity. -- Local Sentiment. +-- Concerning Polish Ladies and Jewish Beauties + 353-373 + + + + +DUE NORTH; + +OR, + +GLIMPSES OF SCANDINAVIA AND RUSSIA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + Copenhagen. -- First Stroll in a Strange City. -- Danish + Children. -- Antiquity of Copenhagen. -- English Arrogance. -- + The Baltic Sea. -- Danish Possessions. -- Descendants of the + Vikings. -- Covetous Germany. -- The Denmark of To-day. -- + Thorwaldsen's Remarkable Museum. -- The Ethnological Museum. -- + Educational Matters. -- Eminent Natives. -- Charitable + Institutions. -- Antique Churches. -- Royal Palaces. -- + Historical Memories. -- City Architecture. -- Zoölogical Gardens. + + +Having resolved upon a journey due north, twenty days of travel over +familiar routes carried the author across the Atlantic and, by the +way of Liverpool, London, Paris, and Hamburg, landed him in +Copenhagen, the pleasant and thrifty capital of Denmark. As the +following pages will be devoted to Scandinavia, Russia, and Russian +Poland, this metropolis seems to be a proper locality at which to +begin the northern journey with the reader. + +It was already nearly midnight when the Hôtel D'Angleterre, fronting +upon the Kongens Nytorv, was reached. So long a period of +uninterrupted travel, night and day, rendered a few hours of quiet +sleep something to be gratefully appreciated. Early the next morning +the consciousness of being in a strange city, always so stimulating +to the observant traveller, sent us forth with curious eyes upon the +thoroughfares of the Danish capital before the average citizen was +awake. The importunities of couriers and local guides, who are always +on the watch for visitors, were at first sedulously ignored; for it +would be foolish to rob one's self of the great pleasure of a +preliminary stroll alone amid scenes and localities of which one is +blissfully ignorant. A cicerone will come into the programme later +on, and is a prime necessity at the proper time; but at the outset +there is a keen gratification and novelty in verifying or +contradicting preconceived ideas, by threading unattended a labyrinth +of mysterious streets and blind alleys, leading one knows not where, +and suddenly coming out upon some broad square or boulevard full of +unexpected palaces and grand public monuments. + +It was thus that we wandered into the old Market Square where +Dietrick Slagheck, Archbishop of Lund and minister of Christian II., +was burned alive. A slight stretch of the imagination made the place +still to smell of roasted bishop. "Is this also the land of wooden +shoes?" we asked ourself, as the rapid clatter of human feet upon the +pavements recalled the familiar street-echoes of Antwerp. How eagerly +the eye receives and retains each new impression under such +circumstances! How sharp it is to search out peculiarities of dress, +manners, architecture, modes of conveyance, the attractive display of +merchandise in shop-windows, and even the expression upon the faces +of men, women, and children! Children! if any one says the Danish +children are not pretty, you may with safety contradict him. Their +delicately rounded, fresh young faces are lit up by such bright, +turquoise-colored, forget-me-not blue eyes as appeal to the heart at +once. What a wholesome appetite followed upon this pioneer excursion, +when we entered at breakfast on a new series of observations while +satisfying the vigorous calls of hunger, each course proving a +novelty, and every dish a fresh voyage of gastronomic discovery! + +Copenhagen was a large commercial port many centuries ago, and has +several times been partially destroyed by war and conflagration. It +has some two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, and is about six +miles in circumference. The site of the city is so low as to render +it necessary to protect it from the waters of the Baltic by +artificial embankments. Like Amsterdam and Venice, it may be said to +possess "remarkable water-privileges." We were told that the citizens +were making earnest remonstrance as to the inefficient drainage of +the city, which is believed to be the prime cause of a somewhat +extraordinary percentage of mortality. In past times it has more than +once been visited by the plague, which so late as 1711 caused the +death of over twenty-eight thousand of its inhabitants. It is only +some thirty years since, that over five thousand persons died here +of cholera in one season. Fevers of a typhoid character prevail +annually, which are no doubt with good reason attributed to want of +proper drainage. Notwithstanding Copenhagen is situated so nearly at +tide level, modern engineering could easily perfect a system of +drainage which would render it independent of this circumstance. The +safe and spacious harbor is formed by the channel between the islands +of Zeeland and Amager, where there is ample depth and room to answer +the demands of a far more extended commerce than the city is ever +likely to maintain. The houses are mostly of brick, some of the +better class being built of Norwegian granite, while the newer +portion of the town presents many examples of fine modern +architecture. The streets are of good width and laid out with an eye +to regularity, besides which there are sixteen spacious public +squares. Taken as a whole, the first impression of the place and its +surroundings is remarkably pleasing and attractive. As one approaches +the city, the scene is enlivened by the many windmills in the +environs, whose wide-spread arms are generally in motion, appearing +like the broad wings of enormous birds hovering over the land and +just preparing to alight. One is hardly surprised that Don Quixote +should mistake them for palpable enemies, and charge upon them full +tilt. Perhaps the earliest associations in its modern history which +the stranger is likely to remember, as he looks about him in +Copenhagen, is that of the dastardly attack upon the city, and the +shelling of it for three consecutive days, by the British fleet in +1807, during which uncalled for and reckless onslaught an immense +destruction of human life and property was inflicted upon the place. +Over three hundred important buildings were laid in ashes on that +occasion, because Denmark refused permission for the domiciling of +English troops upon her soil, and declined, as she had a most +unquestionable right to do, to withdraw her connection with the +neutral powers. It was one of the most outrageous examples of English +arrogance on record,--one which even her own historians feel +compelled to denounce emphatically. No wonder the gallant Nelson +expressed his deep regret at being sent to the Baltic on such +distasteful service. Copenhagen received the expressive name it bears +(Merchant's Haven) on account of its excellent harbor and general +commercial advantages. As in the Mediterranean so in the Baltic, +tidal influence is felt only to a small degree, the difference in the +rise and fall of the water at this point being scarcely more than one +foot. It should be remembered, however, that the level of the waters +of the Baltic are subject, like those of the Swiss lakes, to +barometric variations. Owing to the comparatively fresh character of +this sea, its ports are ice-bound for a third of each year, and in +extreme seasons the whole expanse is frozen across from the Denmark +to the Swedish coast. In 1658, Charles X. of Sweden marched his army +across the Belts, dictating to the Danes a treaty of peace; and so +late as 1809, a Russian army passed from Finland to Sweden across the +Gulf of Bothnia. + +The possessions of Denmark upon the main-land are in our day quite +circumscribed, consisting of Jutland only; but she has besides +several islands far and near, of which Zeeland is the most populous, +and contains the capital. As a State, she may be said to occupy a +much larger space in history than upon the map of Europe. The surface +of the island of Zeeland is uniformly low, in this respect resembling +Holland, the highest point reaching an elevation of but five hundred +and fifty feet. To be precise in the matter of her dominions, the +colonial possessions of Denmark may be thus enumerated: Greenland, +Iceland, the Faroe group of islands, between the Shetlands and +Iceland; adding St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John in the West +Indies. Greenland is nearly as large as Germany and France combined; +but its inhabitants do not quite reach an aggregate of ten thousand. +Iceland is about the size of our New England States, and has a +population of seventy-five thousand. The Faroes contain ten thousand +inhabitants, and the three West Indian islands united have a +population of a little over forty thousand. + +A slight sense of disappointment was realized at not finding more +visible evidences of antiquity while visiting the several sections of +the capital, particularly as it was remembered that a short time +since, in 1880, the Danish monarchy reached the thousandth +anniversary of its foundation under Gorm the Old, whose reign bridges +over the interval between mere legend and the dawn of recorded +history. Gorm is supposed to have been a direct descendant of the +famous Viking, Regnar Lodbrog, who was a daring and imperious ruler +of the early Northmen. The common origin of the three Baltic +nationalities which constitute Scandinavia is clearly apparent to the +traveller who has visited Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, or to any one +who has even an ordinary knowledge of their history. The race has +been steadily modified, generation after generation, in its more +vivid characteristics, by the progressive force of civilization. +These Northmen are no longer the haughty and reckless warriors who +revelled in wine drunk from the skulls of their enemies, and who +deemed death only respectable when encountered upon the battle-field. +Clearer intelligence and culture have substituted the duties of +peaceful citizens for those of marauders, and the enterprises of +civilized life for the exaggerated romance of chivalry. Reading and +writing, which were looked upon among them as allied to the black art +a few centuries ago, are now the universal accomplishment of all +classes, and nowhere on the globe will the traveller find a people +more cheerful, intelligent, frank, and hospitable than in the three +kingdoms of the far North. + +Though the Danes are physically rather small, resembling in this +respect the Japanese, still they spring, as we have seen, from a +brave and warlike race, and have never been subjugated by any other +people. On the contrary, in the olden time they conquered England, +dismembered France, and subjugated Norway and Sweden. The time has +been when the Danes boasted the largest and most efficient navy in +the world, and their realm still justly bears the title of "Queen of +the Baltic." As to seamanship, they are universally acknowledged to +be among the best sailors who navigate the ocean. That Germany covets +Denmark is more than hinted at. The author heard a loud-talking naval +gentleman, of German nationality, coolly express the opinion that +Denmark as an independent kingdom had nearly reached the close of its +existence. This was on board the German mail-steamer, while crossing +a branch of the Baltic between the ports of Kiel and Korsoer. Whether +this individual reflected the ambitious purposes of the present +German government, or only echoed a popular sentiment of his nation, +the reader is left to judge. Were Bismarck to attempt, upon any +subterfuge, to absorb Denmark, it is reasonable to suppose that other +European powers would have something to say upon the subject; but +that the map of Europe, as now constructed, is destined to undergo +radical changes in the near future cannot be doubted. + +The Denmark of to-day, typified by Copenhagen its capital, is a great +centre of science and of art, quite as much so as are Munich or +Dresden. It is surprising that so few travellers, comparatively, +resort thither. For the study of ethnological subjects, there is no +country which affords greater facilities, or which is more +interesting to scientists generally. The spirit of Thorwaldsen here +permeates everything; and in making his native city his heir, he +also bequeathed to her an appreciation of art, which her eminent +scientists have ably supplemented in their several departments of +knowledge. To visit the unique Thorwaldsen Museum alone would repay a +journey to Copenhagen, and no visitor to this Venice of the North +should fail thoroughly to explore its riches. It is in the very +centre of the city, situated close to the Palace of Christiansborg, +and was erected in 1845 from the great sculptor's own design, based +on the Egyptian order of architecture. It is two stories in height, +and quadrangular in form,--the lower story containing sculpture only; +the upper, both statuary and pictures. The external aspect of the +structure is certainly not pleasing, but within, "where the marble +statues breathe in rows," may be seen collected together and +appropriately arranged six hundred of the great master's works, +exhibiting the splendid and it is believed, as regards this +department of art, unequalled result of one man's genius and +industry. With galleries and vestibules the Museum contains over +forty apartments, ample space being afforded for the best display of +each figure and each group. The ceilings are elaborately and very +beautifully decorated with emblematical designs by the best Danish +artists. This enduring monument to art is also Thorwaldsen's +appropriate mausoleum, being fashioned externally after an Etruscan +tomb, and decorated in fresco with scenes illustrative of the +sculptor's life. These crude and unprotected frescos, however, have +become quite dim, and are being gradually effaced by exposure to the +elements. So far as any artistic effect is concerned, we are honestly +forced to say that the sooner they disappear the better. The interior +of the Museum is peculiar in its combined effect,--a little +depressing, we thought, being painted and finished in the sombre +Pompeian style. It contains only Thorwaldsen's works and a few +pictures which he brought with him when he removed hither from Rome, +where so many years of his artistic life were passed. We have here +presented to us the busts, models, sketches, and forms in clay, +plaster, or marble, which represent all his works. Thorwaldsen's +favorite motto was: "The artist belongs to his work, not the work to +the artist,"--a conscientious devotion which seems to invest +everything which came from his hand. His body lies buried in the +centre of the open court about which the building is constructed, +without any designating stone, the ground being slightly raised above +the surrounding pavement, and appropriately covered with a bed of +growing ivy. A sense of stillness and solemnity seems to permeate the +atmosphere as one pauses beside this lowly but expressive mound. + +Among the portrait-statues which linger in the memory are many +historic and familiar characters, such as Copernicus, Byron, Goethe, +Hans Andersen, Humboldt, Schiller, Horace Vernet, Christian IV., the +favorite monarch of the Danes, and many more. We have said that the +general effect of these artistic halls was a little depressing; +still, this was not the influence of the great sculptor's creations, +for they are full of the joyous, elevating, and noble characteristics +of humanity. Thorwaldsen revelled in the representation of +tenderness, of youth, beauty, and childhood. Nothing of the repulsive +or terrible ever came from his hand. The sculptor's regal fancy found +expression most fully, perhaps, in the _relievi_ which are gathered +here, illustrating the delightful legends of the Greek mythology. He +gives us here in exquisite marble his original conceptions of what +others have depicted with the pen and the brush. No one can wonder at +the universal homage accorded by his countrymen to the memory of the +greatest of modern sculptors. The bust of Luther is seen in the main +hall in an unfinished condition, just as the sculptor left it, and +upon which, indeed, he is said to have worked the day before his +death. It depicts a rude, coarse face, but one full of energy and +power. In the Hall of Christ, as it is called, is the celebrated +group of our Lord and the Twelve Disciples, the original of which is +in the Cathedral. The impressive effect of this remarkable group is +universally conceded; no one can stand before it unaffected by its +grand and solemn beauty. Thorwaldsen's household furniture, +writing-desk, books, pictures, and relics are here disposed as they +were found in his home on the day of his death,--among which a clock, +made by him when he was but twelve years of age, will interest the +visitor. + +A large proportion of the many persons whom we met in the Museum were +Danes, whose respectability and admirable behavior impressed us most +favorably,--a conviction which was daily corroborated upon the public +streets, where there was none of the grossness observable which is so +glaring among the middle and lower classes of more southern cities. +There are no mendicants upon the thoroughfares; order and cleanliness +reign everywhere, reminding one of Holland and the Hague. The young +trees and delicate flowers in the public gardens require no special +protection, and one looks in vain for anything like rowdyism in the +crowded thoroughfares. Though the Danes are free consumers of malt +liquors, not a case of intoxication met the author's eye while he +remained in Copenhagen. + +The Ethnological Museum of the city, better known as the Museum of +Northern Antiquities, is generally considered to be the most +remarkable institution of its class in Europe. Students in this +department of science come from all parts of the civilized world to +seek knowledge from its countless treasures. One is here enabled to +follow the progress of our race from its primitive stages to its +highest civilization. The national government liberally aids all +purposes akin to science and art; consequently this Museum is a +favored object of the State, being also liberally endowed by private +munificence. Each of the three distinctive periods of Stone, Bronze, +and Iron forms an elaborate division in the spacious halls of the +institution. In classifying the objects, care has been taken not +only to divide the three great periods named, but also in each of +these divisions those belonging to the beginning and the end of the +period are chronologically placed, as fast as such nice distinctions +can be wrought out by careful, scientific study and comparison. Here +the visitor gazes with absorbing interest upon the tangible evidences +of a race that inhabited this earth probably thousands of years +before it was broken into islands and continents. Their one token, +these rude, but expressive stone implements, are found equally +distributed from the Arctic Circle to the Equator, from Canada to +Brazil, from England to Japan. Scientists whose culture and +intelligence entitle their opinion to respect, place the Stone Age as +here illustrated at least twenty thousand years before the birth of +Christ. How absorbing is the interest attaching to these relics which +ages have consecrated! No matter what our preconceived notions may +be, science only deals with irrefutable facts. The periods delineated +may be thus expressed: first the Flint period, which comes down to +fifteen hundred years before Christ; followed by the Bronze, which +includes the next twelve or thirteen hundred years; then the Iron, +which comes down far into the Christian era. What is termed the +Mediæval brings us to 1536, since which time there is no occasion for +classification. No wonder the antiquarian becomes so absorbed in the +study of the past. "The earliest and the longest has still the +mastery over us," says George Eliot. Progress is daily making in the +correct reading of these comprehensive data, and those who may come +after us will be born to a great wealth of antiquity. Other countries +may learn much from the admirable management of this Museum in the +matter of improving the educational advantages which it affords. +Professors of eminence daily accompany the groups of visitors, +clearly explaining the purport and the historical relations of the +many interesting objects. These persons are not merely intelligent +employees, but they are also trained scientists; and, above all, they +are enthusiastic in freely imparting the knowledge which inspires +them. Such impromptu lectures are both original and impressive. +Indeed, to go through the Ethnological Museum of Copenhagen +understandingly is a liberal education. It should be added that the +zeal and affability of these able officials is as freely and +cheerfully extended to the humblest citizen as to distinguished +strangers. One returns again and again with a sort of fascination to +these indisputable evidences of history relating to periods of which +there is no written record. If they are partially defective in their +consecutive teachings, they are most impressive in the actual +knowledge which they convey. Without giving us a list of sovereigns +or positive dates, they afford collectively a clearer knowledge of +the religion, culture, and domestic life of the people of their +several periods than a Gibbon or a Bancroft could depict with their +glowing pages. + +The Danes are a cultured people, much more so, indeed, than the +average classes of the continental States. The large number of +book-stores was a noticeable feature of the capital, as well as the +excellent character of the books which were offered for sale. These +were in German, French, and English, the literature of the latter +being especially well represented. Copenhagen has more daily and +weekly newspapers, magazines, and current news publications than +Edinburgh or Dublin, or most of the provincial cities of Great +Britain. It may be doubted if even in this country, outside of New +England, we have many districts more liberally supplied with free +library accommodations, or with educational facilities for youth, +than are the populous portions of Zeeland and Jutland. Even small +country villages have their book-clubs and dramatic clubs. A very +general taste for the drama prevails. Indeed, Denmark has a national +drama of its own, which exercises a notable influence upon its +people. This Government was the first in Europe to furnish the means +of education to the people at large on a liberal scale, to establish +schoolhouses in every parish, and to provide suitable dwellings and +incomes for the teachers. The incipient steps towards this object +began as far back as the time of Christian II., more than three +centuries ago, while most of the European States were grovelling in +ignorance. Copenhagen has two public libraries,--the Royal, +containing over six hundred thousand books; and the University, which +has between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand volumes, +not to speak in detail of a particularly choice collection of +manuscripts. These under reasonable restrictions are free to all, +citizen or foreigner. The National University is of the first class, +and supports a well organized lecture-system, like that of the +Sorbonne in Paris, and which is also free to all, women having the +same facilities afforded them as those enjoyed by the sterner sex. +This institution, we were assured, is conducted upon the most modern +educational system. It was founded in 1478, and at the present +writing has between twelve and fifteen hundred students, instructed +by about fifty able professors. + +Though Denmark is a small kingdom, containing scarcely three millions +of people, yet it has produced many eminent men of science, of art, +and of literature. The names of Hans Christian Andersen, of Rasmus +Rask the philologist, of Oersted the discoverer of electro-magnetism, +of Forchhammer the mineralogist, and Eschricht the physiologist, will +occur to the reader's mind in this connection. It is a country of +legend and romance, of historic and prehistoric monuments, besides +being the very father-land of fairy tales. The Vikings of old have +left their footprints all over the country in barrows and tumuli. It +is not, therefore, surprising that the cultured portion of the +community are stimulated to antiquarian research. The masses are +clearly a pleasure-loving people, easily amused and contented, +troubling themselves very little about religious matters; the arts, +poetry, and the drama being much more reverenced than the church. The +accepted and almost universal doctrine is that of Lutheranism. One +meets comparatively few intelligent persons who cannot speak English, +while many speak French and German also. The Danish language is a +modified form of the old Gothic, which prevailed in the earliest +historic ages. + +Copenhagen is liberally supplied with free hospitals and charitable +institutions, but except the Communal Hospital, the buildings devoted +to these purposes have no architectural merit. A child's home was +pointed out to us designed for the children of the poor, whose +parents are unable to take care of them during their working hours. +Before going out to a day's labor, a mother can place her child in +this temporary home, where it will be properly cared for and fed +until she returns for it. "Is any charge made for this service?" we +asked. "Certainly," replied our informant, himself an official of +importance; and he named a sum equal to about five cents of our money +as the price per day for the care of each infant. "If it were +entirely gratuitous," he added, "it would not be nearly so well +appreciated, and would lead to imposition. The payment of this +trifling sum enhances the estimate of the privilege far beyond its +cost." The institution could not be sustained by such limited charges +however; its real support is by the local government. Another +institution was visited, designed for the sick and poor, where they +can be properly nursed when temporarily ill, yet not sufficiently so +to seek admission to a regular hospital. There have been as many as +eight thousand patients admitted within a twelve-month to this +establishment. There are also homes for old men and old women, +intended for indigent persons who are too old to work. From the +latter "home" there was observed driving upon the Lange Linie, beside +the sea, a large open wagon full of dames who were enjoying a +healthful outing. As the vehicle passed us, the driver was pointing +out to his charges the distant view of Sweden, across the intervening +Sound. The Royal Theatre or Opera House, situated on the King's +Square, was to us a surprise,--it is so similar, at first sight, to +the more elaborate and costly Opera House in the Place de l'Opéra in +Paris, and as it antedates that elegant structure, it would certainly +seem to have suggested some of its best lines. The Danish theatre +will accommodate seventeen hundred persons, and is usually well +filled, the royal box being seldom empty. The corridors are +remarkable for spaciousness, and form a popular promenade for both +sexes during the intervals between the acts. This furnishes an +agreeable social break to the often long-protracted performances. On +one side of the theatre facing the Square is a hideous bronze statue +of Adam Oehlenschlaeger, the Danish lyric author; and on the opposite +side is another representing Ludwig von Holberg, the Norwegian +dramatist. This latter, in an artistic sense, is still more +objectionable than the first named. The ballet as represented here is +unique, being mostly designed to illustrate the early history of +Scandinavia. + +On one of the main thoroughfares leading from the Square already +named, the triple domes of a Russian church dazzle the eye with +their bright gilded surface and long hanging chains, depending from +cross and crescent of the same metal, the whole reflecting the sun's +rays with the force of a Venetian mirror. The interior, however, is +plain, though rich in white marble, here and there carved in lattice +pattern to form balustrades and dädos. Near by this church is the +residence of the Russian Minister. On this same street, called the +Bredgade, is the Frederick's Church, begun as long ago as 1749, after +a grand design, and not yet finished. It is half surrounded to-day by +a broad high staging, upon which groups of mechanics were seen busily +at work, as has been the case for so many generations. This is known +as the Marble Church, and is surmounted by a grand if not graceful +dome of immense proportions. The English residents of the city are +building an Episcopal church on the Esplanade, the local government +having given the ground for this purpose. The corner-stone was laid +by the Prince of Wales in 1885, with a grand ceremony, at which the +Emperor and Empress of Russia assisted, with all the Danish royal +family. It is the first English church erected in the country. On the +Amaliegade, which runs parallel with the Bredgade and which is the +next street to it, are four spacious palaces, which form a square, in +the centre of which stands a bronze statue of Frederick V. These +palaces are the town residence of the present royal family, one being +also devoted to the business of the Foreign Office. The Amaliegade +ends at the Lange Linie, where the Esplanade begins. + +The spire of the large city Exchange is very curious, being formed of +the twisted tails of three marvellous dragons, their bulging heads +resting on the four corners of the tower,--altogether forming the +most ridiculous attempt at architectural ornamentation we have yet +chanced to behold. The building thus surmounted dates back to 1624, +forming a memento of the reign of Christian IV. The Church of our +Saviour has also a remarkable spire, with a winding staircase outside +leading to the pinnacle. The bell which surmounts this lofty spire, +and upon which stands a colossal figure of our Saviour, is said to be +large enough to contain twelve persons at a time; but without +climbing to the summit, the local guide's assurance that there were +just three hundred and ninety three steps between base and top was +unhesitatingly accredited. This church was consecrated in 1696. A +peculiarity of its steeple is the fact that the spiral stairs wind +upwards in the opposite direction from that which is usual. This was +undoubtedly an accident on the part of the mechanics. Christian IV. +detected the awkwardness and pointed it out to the architect, who, +singular to say, had not before realized a circumstance which is now +so obvious. His consequent chagrin was so great as nearly if not +quite to render him insane. He ascended the spire on the day when the +work was completed, and ended his life by throwing himself from the +summit. Such was the entertaining legend rehearsed with great +volubility to us by our local guide, who was evidently annoyed at +our smile of incredulity. + +The Christiansborg Palace, which was the Louvre of Copenhagen, +contained many fine paintings by the old masters, including choice +examples by Tintoretto, Nicholas Poussin, Raphael, Rubens, Salvator +Rosa, Vandyke, Rembrandt, and others. The building was partially +burned in 1884,--a fate reserved it would seem for all public +structures in this country, a similar fortune having befallen this +same palace seventeen or eighteen years ago. It still remains in +ruins, and the pictures and other works of art, which were saved, +have not yet found a fitting repository. Not even fire has purged +this now ruined palace of its many tragic histories, its closeted +skeletons, and its sorrowful memories. It was here that Caroline +Matilda was made the reigning queen, and here a court mad with +dissipation held its careless revels. From this place the dethroned +queen went forth to prison at Elsinore, and her reputed lover +(Struensee) was led to the scaffold. There was poetical justice in +the retributive conduct of the son of the unfortunate queen, one of +whose earliest acts upon assuming the reins of government was to +confine the odious queen-mother Juliana in the same fortress which +had formed the prison of Caroline Matilda. Though the Christiansborg +Palace is now in partial ruins, its outer walls and façade are +still standing nearly complete, quite enough so to show that +architecturally it was hugely ugly. When it was intact its vast +courts contained the chambers of Parliament, as well as those +devoted to the suites forming the home of the royal family, and +spacious art galleries. + +In strolling about the town one comes now and then upon very quaint +old sections, where low red-tiled roofs and houses, with gable ends +towards the street, break the monotony. The new quarters of +Copenhagen, however, are built up with fine blocks of houses, mostly +in the Grecian style of architecture,--palatial residences, with +façades perhaps a little too generally decorated by pilasters and +floral wreaths, alternating with nymphs and cupids. The two-story +horse-cars convey one in about fifteen minutes over a long, level, +tree-shaded avenue from the centre of the city to Fredericksborg +Castle in the environs. It is a palace erected by Frederick IV. as a +summer residence for himself and court, but though capacious and +finely located, it is void of all aspect of architectural grandeur. +As a portion of the grounds commands a fine view of the city, the +castle is generally visited by strangers. The spacious building is at +present used for a military educational school. The park which +surrounds Fredericksborg Castle is the great charm of the locality, +being ornamented in all parts by immemorial trees, deep sylvan +shades, purling streams, graceful lakes, and inviting greensward. It +forms the daily resort of picnic parties from the close streets of +the town near at hand, who come hither on summer afternoons in such +numbers as to tax the full capacity of the tramway. At the entrance +to the park stands a bronze statue of Frederick IV., which presents +so strong a likeness to Lamartine, in form and feature, as instantly +to recall the French orator and poet. Adjoining the extensive grounds +of the castle is the Zoölogical Garden, which appears to occupy about +ten acres of well-wooded and highly cultivated territory, ornamented +with choice flower-beds, small lakes for aquatic birds, and a large +brook running through the midst of the grounds. There is here an +admirable collection of animals. The author's visit chanced upon a +Saturday afternoon, when a bevy of primary-school children, composed +of boys and girls under twelve years, was being conducted from +section to section by their teachers, while the nature of each animal +was lucidly explained to them. No advantage for educational purposes +seems to be forgotten or neglected in Denmark. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + Public Amusements in Copenhagen. -- Danish Sovereigns. -- The + Fashionable Promenade. -- Danish Women. -- Palace of Rosenborg. + -- A Golconda of Gems. -- A Poet's Monument. -- A Famous + Astronomer. -- Our Lady's Church. -- The King's Square. -- The + Curious Old Round Tower. -- The Peasantry. -- A Famous Deer Park. + -- Röskilde. -- Elsinore. -- Gypsies. -- Kronborg Castle. -- The + Queen's Prison. -- Hamlet and Ophelia's Grave. -- A Danish + Legend. + + +Copenhagen is not without its ballets, theatres, Alhambras, +Walhallas, and _cafés chantants_. The principal out-door resort of +this character is the Tivoli Gardens, laid out in the Moorish style, +where the citizens, representing all classes,--the cultured, the +artisan, and the peasant,--assemble and mingle together in a +free-and-easy way. Here they enjoy the long summer evenings, which +indeed at this season of the year do not seem like evenings at all, +since they are nearly as light as the day. Whatever may be said in +advocacy of these public assemblies, enjoyed amid the trees, flowers, +soft air, and artistic surroundings, there seems to a casual visitor +to be too much freedom permitted between the sexes for entire +respectability, and yet nothing actually repulsive was observable. In +Berlin or Vienna these popular resorts would be designated as beer +gardens; here they are called tea-gardens. The Tivoli has a fine +ballet troup among its attractions, and employs two orchestras of +forty instrumental performers each, stationed in different parts of +the spacious gardens. The price of admission to these illuminated +grounds is merely nominal. Some of the wealthiest families as well as +the humbler bring their children with them, as is the custom of those +who frequent the beer gardens of Munich and Dresden. As a popular +place of varied and attractive amusements the Tivoli of Copenhagen +has hardly its equal in Europe. + +Just across the harbor is the spacious and fertile island of Amager, +some twenty square miles in extent, which serves as the kitchen or +vegetable garden of the capital. It was first occupied by a colony of +Flemings who were brought hither in 1516 by Charles II., for the +purpose of teaching his subjects how to cultivate vegetables and +flowers. The descendants of these foreigners still retain traces of +their origin, remaining quite distinctive in their costume and +personality. These peasants, or at least those who daily come to +market, must be well off in a pecuniary sense, judging by their gold +and silver ornaments and fanciful dresses. + +Tramways render all parts of the city and environs accessible, the +double-decked cars enabling them to carry a large number of +passengers. Broad streets and convenient sidewalks invite the +promenaders along the open squares, which are frequently lined with +umbrageous trees and embellished with monuments. The fashionable +drive and promenade is the Lange Linie (that is, the "Long Line"), +bordering the Sound and forming a complete circle. It reminded one +of the Chiaja of Naples, though there is no semi-tropical vegetation +to carry out the similitude. It was pleasant to meet here the members +of the royal family, including the Queen and Prince Royal. The two +servants upon the box in scarlet livery were the only distinctive +tokens of royalty observable, and there were no other attendants. Her +Majesty and the Prince were both prompt to recognize and salute us as +a stranger. The present king, Christian IX., it will be remembered, +was crowned in 1863, and is now in his sixty-fifth year. Being in +poor health, during our visit he was absent at Wiesbaden, partaking +of its mineral waters. It must be admitted that the past sovereigns +of Denmark have not always been so deserving of popular respect as +have the people of the country generally. The late king was by no +means a shining light of morality. He was married three times, +divorcing his first queen; the second divorced him, and the royal +roué ended by marrying his mistress, who was a fashionable milliner. +He first created her a countess, but he could not make a lady of her, +even in outward appearance, and she remained to the last a social +monstrosity to the court. She was fat, vulgar-looking, snub-nosed, +bourgeoise, and ruled the King in all things. She was totally ignored +by decent society in the capital, and became so obnoxious that she +nearly provoked open rebellion. However, the fortunate death of the +King finally ended this condition of affairs; and as he left no +children by any of his wives, the crown descended to his cousin the +present King, who, it is pleasant to record, has not failed to +dignify the throne. + +The ladies walk or drive very generally in the afternoon upon the +Lange Linie, and are certainly attractive with their fair +complexions, light golden hair, and smiling blue eyes. They have both +sunny faces and sunny hearts, emphasized by the merriest tones of +ringing laughter that ever saluted the ear. They are lovable, but not +beautiful, excelling in ordinary accomplishments, such as music and +dancing; "but above all," said a resident American to us, "they are +naturally of domestic habits, and care nothing for politics or +so-called woman's rights, except the right to make home happy." The +well-to-do portion of the community very generally live in "flats," +after the French and modern American style. Some large and elegant +buildings of this character were observed in course of construction +at the extreme end of the Bredgade. There is no very poor or squalid +district in the town, and one looks in vain for such wretched hovels +as disfigure so many European cities. + +The Palace of Rosenborg with its superb gardens, noble avenues of +chestnut trees, and graceful shrubbery is situated near the present +centre of the city. It was once a royal residence, having been built +by Christian IV. as a dwelling-place, whither he might retire at will +from the noise and interruptions of the capital. At the time of its +erection in 1604 it was outside the walls, a radius which the modern +city has long since outgrown. The room in which the King died in +1648 is shown to visitors, and recalled to us the small apartment in +which Philip II. died at the Escurial, near Madrid. Among the few +paintings upon the walls of this apartment is one representing the +King upon his death-bed, as he lay in his last long sleep. The palace +is now devoted to a chronological collection of the belongings of the +Danish kings, spacious apartments being devoted to souvenirs of each, +decorated in the style of the period and containing a portion of the +original furniture from the several royal residences, as well as the +family portraits, gala-costumes, jewelry, plate, and weapons. +Altogether it is a collection of priceless value and of remarkable +historic interest, covering a period of about four hundred and fifty +years. One is forcibly reminded of the Green Vaults of Dresden while +passing through the many sections of Rosenborg Castle. The +extraordinary and valuable collection within its walls has, it is +believed, no superior in point of interest in all Europe. The founder +of this museum was Frederick III., the son and successor of Christian +IV. Some of the cabinets and other articles of furniture in the +various halls and rooms are marvellous works of art, inlaid with +ivory and mother-of-pearl, representing birds, flowers, landscapes, +and domestic scenes with all the finished effect of oil paintings by +a master-hand. In the cabinets and tables secret drawers are exposed +to view by the touching of hidden springs. While some tables are +formed of solid silver, as are also other articles of domestic use, +still others are composed of both gold and silver. Many of the royal +regalias are profusely inlaid with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, +rubies, and other precious stones,--forming an aggregated value too +large for us to venture an estimate. The toilet sets were numerous, +and had belonged to the several queens, each embracing eight or ten +finely wrought pieces made of solid gold, superbly inlaid with +precious stones. Among these costly sets was observed the jewelled +casket of Queen Sophia Amalie, wife of Frederick III., a relic of +great interest, inlaid with scores of large diamonds. The costly and +very beautiful bridal dresses of several royal personages are here +exhibited, all being carefully and chronologically arranged, so that +the intelligent visitor clearly reads veritable history amid this +array of domestic treasures. + +It is difficult to designate the order of architecture to which the +Rosenborg Palace belongs, though it is clearly enough in the showy +renaissance of the seventeenth century. It is attributed to the +famous architect Inigo Jones. In the spacious grounds is a fine +monument erected to the memory of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish +poet and author, whose popular tales are the delight not only of all +Scandinavian children, but of those of larger growth, being full of +acute observation and profound views under a simple and familiar +guise. At the foot of this statue, as we passed by, there stood a +group of young children, to whom one evidently their teacher was +explaining its purport. A school of gardening is also established +here, with extensive conservatories and hot-houses. These grounds +are called the Kindergarten of the city, being so universally the +resort of infancy and childhood during the long summer days, but are +officially known as Kongen's Have (King's Garden). + +Close to the Rosenborg Palace is the Astronomical Observatory, in the +grounds of which is a monument to the astronomer Tycho Brahe, who +died in 1610. This monument was unveiled on the 8th day of August, +1876, just three hundred years after the founding of Brahe's famous +observatory on the Island of Hveen, where he discovered on the 1st of +November, 1572, the Cassiopeia, which is best known as Tycho Brahe's +star. "Only Venus at her brightest surpasses this new star," wrote +the enthusiastic astronomer. Science, however, has since shown that +it was no new star, but one that shines with great lustre for a few +months once in a period of three hundred years. One sunny afternoon +the author took a trip up the Sound to Hveen, familiarly known as +Tycho Brahe's Island, and which was presented to Tycho by the King of +Denmark. The foundation in ruins is all that remains of the famous +castle which the somewhat vain astronomer built here, and to which he +gave the name of Uraniborg ("Castle of the Heavens."). This man was a +strange compound of science and superstition; he was a poet of no +ordinary power, and was courted by many of the eminent men of his +day. James VI. of Scotland was at times his guest at Hveen. He was +well connected, but mortally offended his relatives by marrying an +humble peasant girl of Amager. + +The most interesting Christian temple in the capital is that of Our +Lady's Church, being also the oldest and best endowed. It was founded +early in the twelfth century, and is in the Greco-Roman style; but +its greatest attraction is the possession of some of Thorwaldsen's +finest sculpture. The sad-fated Caroline Matilda was married with +great ceremony in this church, in 1766, to her cousin Christian VII. +Outside of the church are two statues in bronze,--one of David by +Jerichau, and one of Moses by Bissen. The King's Square already +spoken of is situated very near the actual centre of the city, whence +radiates a dozen more or less of the principal streets, of which the +Bredgade (Broad Street) is one. In the middle of this area there is a +statue of Christian V. surrounded by grotesque, allegorical figures. +The material of the statue is lead, the whole forming a colossal +caricature upon art, entirely unworthy of its present situation. +There is a friendly collection of tall shrubbery clustered about the +leaden statue, forming a partial screen. The spacious square, or +circus as it would be called in London, or piazza in Rome, is +bordered by several public buildings, mingled with tall narrow +dwellings, characterized by fantastic gables and long sloping roofs +full of little dormer windows. The Royal Theatre, the Academy of +Arts, Count Moltke's picture gallery, and some hotels centre here. + +The Round Tower of Copenhagen has been pronounced one of the most +remarkable buildings in the world. It is certainly very peculiar, +designed as a sort of annex to the Church of the Holy Trinity. +Formerly it served as an astronomical observatory; and it is an +observatory still, since it affords one of the best and most +comprehensive views that can be had of the low-lying capital. The +tower consists of two hollow cylinders, and between them a spiral, +gradually-inclined foot-way leads from base to summit, somewhat +similar to the grand Campanile in the piazza of St. Mark, Venice. It +is quite safe for a horse and vehicle to ascend; indeed, this +performance is said to have been achieved by the Empress Catherine, +and it is also recorded that Peter the Great accomplished the same +feat on horseback in 1707. From the top of the Round Tower the +red-tiled roofs of the city lie spread out beneath the eye of the +visitor, mingled with green parks, open squares, tall slim steeples, +broad canals, public buildings, long boulevards, palaces, and +gardens. To this aspect is added the multitude of shipping lying +along the piers and grouped in the harbor, backed by a view of the +open sea. The Swedish coast across the Baltic is represented by a low +range of coast-line losing itself upon the distant horizon. Turning +the eyes inland, there are seen thick groves of dark woods and richly +cultivated fields, sprinkled here and there by the half-awkward but +picturesque and wide-armed wind-mills in lazy motion. The bird's-eye +view obtained of Copenhagen and surroundings from this eyrie is one +to be long and vividly remembered. + +The environs within eight or ten miles of the city are rather +sparsely inhabited, though there are many delightful villas to be +seen here and there. Everything is scrupulously neat; human and +animal life appears at its best. The whole of the island, from one +end to the other, is interspersed with thrifty farms, and no +dwellings, barns, or other farm buildings are so humble but that the +walls are kept of snowy brightness with whitewash, while all are +surrounded by well-kept shrubbery, birches, and flower-plats. The +peasant girls seen at work in large numbers in the field are smiling, +ruddy, and stout; the men are of low stature, but hale and hearty. We +were informed that the nominal increase of the population is so small +as to be hardly recognizable, being but about one per cent per annum, +and--singular fact--that suicide is more prevalent in Denmark than in +any other portion of Europe. Emigration from this country is far less +in proportion than from Norway and Sweden, but yet amounts to a +respectable aggregate annually. Some of the birch and linden woods +not far from the city form beautiful and picturesque groves, +particularly in the suburb north of the capital, where the Prince +Imperial has a large château, situated amid rich woodland glades. +Though the spruce and pine are so abundant in Norway and Sweden just +across the narrow Sound, no conifer will grow in Denmark. Tea-gardens +abound in these environs, the citizens knowing no greater pleasure +than to resort thither to enjoy their tea or supper in the open air. +The short summer season is more than tropical in the haste it imparts +to vegetation, making up for its brevity by its intensity. Were this +not the case, the crops would hardly reach maturity in Scandinavia. + +There is what is called the Dyrehave, or Deer Park, a couple of miles +beyond the Prince's château, where the people of Copenhagen annually +enjoy a mid-summer revel lasting some weeks, perhaps a little too +fast and free, if the truth be told, where even Nijnii-Novgorod is +exceeded in lasciviousness. A fair of some days' continuance is held +in the park, which reaches its climax on St. John's Eve, when its +well-arranged precincts, groves, cafés, shooting galleries, +flower-booths and verdant vistas make a rare picture of gayety and +sportive life. A large herd of the picturesque animals after whom the +park is named, roam at will over the more secluded portions. Among +them two noble white stags were observed, the first we had ever +chanced to see. The park is reached by a pleasant drive over an +excellent road, or by steam tramway cars any hour in the day. + +Twenty miles northwest of the city are situated the village and the +royal palace of Fredericksborg, one of the noblest of all the royal +residences of the kings of Denmark. It stands about midway between +the capital and Elsinore. The original building was begun under +Frederick II., grandfather of Charles I. of England, and completed in +1608 by his son and successor Christian IV. The palace occupies three +small islands in the middle of Lake Hilleröd, which is also the name +of the neighboring market-town, the islands being connected therewith +by a bridge. The building is four stories in height, composed of red +sandstone, elaborately ornamented with sculpture, the whole +surmounted by tall towers and a steeple containing a chime of bells. +It has been pronounced a dream of architectural beauty, quite +unequalled elsewhere in Denmark. + +It is not the author's purpose to take the reader far away from +Copenhagen, or at least from the shores of the Sound, as the plan of +the present volume is so comprehensive in other directions as to +circumscribe the space which can properly be devoted to Denmark. + +On the peninsula, as well as in Zeeland, the land is generally +undulating. There being as we have said no mountains or considerable +elevations, consequently no waterfalls or rapids are to be met with; +the rivers are smooth and the lakes mirror-like. The soil is sandy, +often marshy, but produces good crops of grain and affords fine +pasturage. The green fields were sprinkled far and near on the line +of the railroad from Korsoer to Copenhagen with grazing cattle, +sheep, and horses, forming a pleasing rural picture under a clear +azure sky. The produce of the dairy is the great staple of Denmark. +On this route one passes through the village of Leedoye, where there +was once a grand Pagan temple and place of sacrifice, exceeded in +importance in Scandinavia only by that at Upsala. Close at hand is +Röskilde, so historically interesting,--though save its grand +cathedral, dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century, it has +little left to show that for five hundred years it was the capital +of Denmark, even down to 1448. Here is to be seen the black marble +sarcophagus of the renowned Queen Margaret of Scandinavia, surmounted +by her recumbent effigy; also a mortuary chapel of Christian IV. and +Frederick V. Other queens and monarchs are here interred, from the +time of Harold to Frederick VII. The whole forms an exceedingly +interesting monument of mediæval days. + +Upon this line of road there are occasional districts so well wooded +as to be called forests; but that word does not signify the same in +Zeeland as it does in America. There are still to be seen occasional +groups of gypsy vagrants in the inland districts, but are rarely to +be found in the cities. Not many years ago they were here in great +numbers, but are now gradually disappearing. One group was observed +whose members presented all the peculiar characteristics of their +Asiatic origin. They are dark-skinned, with raven-black hair and +black piercing eyes, presenting a picture of indolence and +sensuousness. The young women were mostly handsome, even in their +dirt, rags, and cheap jewelry. + +The ramparts and fortifications generally which formerly surrounded +Copenhagen on the seaside have nearly all been demolished, the ground +being now turned into fine garden-walks planted with umbrageous trees +and bright-hued flowers, adding greatly to the beauty of the Danish +capital. The last unimproved portion of these now defunct +fortifications is being levelled and brought into ornamental +condition. The former moats have assumed the shape of tiny lakes, +upon which swans are seen at all hours; and where death-dealing +cannon were planted, lindens, rose-bushes, peonies, heliotrope, and +tall white lilies now bloom and flourish. The outer-island defences +have in the mean time been greatly strengthened and the more modern +weapons of warfare adopted, so that Copenhagen is even better +prepared for self-defence than ever before. + +No finer scenery is to be found in Europe than is presented by the +country lying between Copenhagen and Elsinore, composed of a +succession of forests, lawns, villas, cottages, and gardens for a +distance of twenty-five miles. Elsinore is a small seaport, looking +rather deserted, bleak, and silent, with less than ten thousand +inhabitants. From out of the uniformity of its red brick buildings +there looms up but one noticeable public edifice; namely, the Town +Hall, with a square, flanked by an octagonal tower built of brick and +red granite. The charm of the place is its remarkable situation, +commanding an admirable view of the Baltic with Sweden in the +distance, while the Sound which divides the two shores is always +dotted in summer with myriads of steamers and sailing vessels. The +author counted over eighty marine craft at one view, glancing between +"the blue above and the blue below." The position of Elsinore recalls +that of Gibraltar and the Dardanelles as surely as its name recalls +Hamlet and Shakspeare. North of the town, on the extreme point of the +land, stands the famous castle of Kronborg, with its three tall +towers, the central one overtopping the others by forty or fifty +feet. The tower upon the most seaward corner is now devoted to the +purpose of a lighthouse. The castle is about three centuries old, +having been built by Frederick II. for the purpose of commanding the +entrance to the Sound, and of enforcing the marine tolls which were +exacted from all foreign nations for a period of two or three +centuries. Kronborg contains a small collection of oil paintings, +nearly all of which are by Danish artists. A portrait of Rubens's +daughter by the hand of the great master himself was observed. There +is also an ideal portrait of considerable merit entitled Hamlet, by +Abildgaard. But to the author, as he strolled from one spacious +apartment to another, there came forcibly the sad memory of the young +and lovely Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and sister of George +III. It was here that she was confined, upon a preposterous charge of +infidelity to her husband,--that royal lunatic!--instituted by the +malignity of the Queen Dowager, who wished to secure the succession +to her son. After a trying period of imprisonment in this castle, the +ill-fated Matilda was permitted, through the influence of her royal +brother to retire to Zell, in Hanover, where she died of a broken +heart at the age of twenty-three. During her misfortune she wrote +that memorable line on the window of Fredericksborg Castle, with a +diamond ring,-- + + "Lord keep me innocent: make others great." + +One has only to study for a moment the serene and beautiful face of +the Queen, as exhibited in Rosenborg Palace, to feel entire +confidence in her innocence. + +If you come to Elsinore the guide will show you what is called +Hamlet's grave, located in a small grove of trees, where some cunning +hands long ago erected a rude mound of stones. Shakspeare, who had a +royal way of committing anachronisms, made Hamlet live in this place +after the introduction of gunpowder, whereas, if any such person ever +did exist, it was centuries earlier and hundreds of miles farther +north upon the mainland, in what is now Jutland. However, that is +unimportant. Do not leave Elsinore without visiting Ophelia's fatal +brook! To be sure it is not large enough for a duck to swim in, but a +little stretch of the imagination will overcome all local +discrepancies. + +Far back in Danish legendary story, a time when history fades into +fable, it is said there was a Hamlet in northern Denmark, but it was +long before the birth of Christ. His father was not a king, but a +famous pirate chief who governed Jutland in conjunction with his +brother. Hamlet's father married the daughter of a Danish king, the +issue being Hamlet. His uncle, according to the ancient story, did +murder Hamlet's father and afterwards married his mother; and this +was the basis of Shakspeare's grand production. + +The great, gloomy-looking castle of Kronborg, which has stood +sentinel here for three centuries, would require two thousand men and +more to defend it in time of war, but modern gunnery has rendered +it, for all offensive purposes, of no account. The Sound, which at +Copenhagen is about twenty miles wide, here narrows to two, the old +fort of Helsingborg on the Swedish coast being in full view. Thus the +passage here forms the natural gate to the Baltic. There are +delightful drives in the environs of Elsinore presenting land and sea +views of exquisite loveliness, the water-side bristling with reefs, +rocks, and lighthouses, while that of the land is picturesque with +villas, groves, and cultivated meads. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Gottenburg. -- Ruins of Elfsborg. -- Gustavus Adolphus. -- A + Wrecked Monument. -- The Girdle-Duellists. -- Emigration to + America. -- Public and Private Gardens. -- A Kindly People. -- + The Götha Canal. -- Falls of Trollhätta. -- Dainty Wild-Flowers. + -- Water-ways. -- Stockholm and Lake Maelaren. -- Prehistoric + Tokens. -- Iron Mines of Sweden. -- Pleasing Episode with + Children. -- The Liquor Traffic Systematized. -- A Great + Practical Charity. -- A Domestic Habit. + + +One day's sail due north from Copenhagen through the Sound and the +Cattegat--Strait of Catti--brings us to Gottenburg, the metropolis of +southwestern Sweden. The Strait, which is about a hundred miles in +width, is nearly twice as long, and contains many diminutive islands. +Gottenburg is situated on the Götha River, about five miles from its +mouth. In passing up this water-way the old fortification of Elfsborg +was observed, now dismantled and deserted, though it once did good +service in the war with the Danes. Cannon-balls are still to be seen +half embedded in the crumbling stonewalls,--missiles which were fired +from the enemy's ships. Though Gottenburg is less populous, it is +commercially almost as important as Stockholm the capital, and it is +appropriately called the Liverpool of Scandinavia. The town, with its +eighty thousand inhabitants, has a wide-awake aspect, especially in +the neighborhood of the river, where the numerous well-stocked +timber-yards along the wharves show that product to be a great staple +of the local trade. One is agreeably prepossessed upon landing here +by a certain aspect of neatness and cleanliness observable on all +sides. Indeed, few foreign towns produce so favorable a first +impression. The business centre is the Gustaf-Adolf-Torg, in which is +situated the Börs, or Exchange, decidedly the finest building +architecturally in the city. In the centre of the Torg is a bronze +statue of Gustavus Adolphus, the founder of the town, and which, as a +work of art, is extremely creditable to the designer, Fogelberg. The +history of the statue is somewhat curious. It seems that the first +one designed for this public square was wrecked at sea while on its +passage from Hamburg to Gottenburg, but was rescued by a party of +sailors off Heligoland, who claimed so extraordinary a sum as salvage +that the Gottenburgers refused to pay it, and ordered of the sculptor +a second one to replace that which had been saved from the sea. In +due time the second statue was furnished and set up in the Torg, Nov. +5, 1855, on the two hundred and twenty-third anniversary of the death +of Gustavus. The extortionate seamen who held the first statue were +finally glad to sell it to other parties for a comparatively small +sum, representing its bare metallic value. It now stands in the +Domshide of Bremen. + +The deep, broad watercourse which runs through the centre of the city +to the harbor is the beginning of the famous Götha Canal, which +joins fjord, river, locks, and lakes together all the way to +Stockholm, directly across southern Sweden, thus connecting the North +Sea and the Baltic. The two cities are also joined by railroad, the +distance between them being over three hundred miles. The rural parts +of the country through which the canal passes are not unlike many +inland sections of New England, presenting pleasant views of thrifty +farms and well-cultivated lands. There are some sharp hills and +abrupt valleys to be encountered, which are often characterized by +grand waterfalls, wild-foaming rivers, and surging rapids. + +Though there is no striking similarity between the two cities, one is +yet reminded of Amsterdam by Gottenburg, aided perhaps by the memory +that it was originally founded by Gustavus Adolphus, in 1619, and +that Dutch settlers were among its first inhabitants. The descendants +of such people are pretty sure to retain an ancestral atmosphere +about them which is more or less distinctive. The place is divided +into an upper and lower town, the latter being a plain cut up into +canals, and the former spread picturesquely over the adjoining hills. +The town is made up of two or three principal boulevards, very broad, +and intersecting one another at right angles, with a canal in their +centres, these waterways being embanked by substantial granite +borders, which are interspersed at convenient distances with granite +steps connecting the street with the water. The spacious harbor +admits of vessels drawing seventeen feet of water. + +Gottenburg is built mostly of brick, which are brought either from +Denmark or Holland; and yet the whole peninsula of Scandinavia +abounds in stone. Large blocks of dwelling-houses were observed in +course of construction which were of four or five stories, and quite +elegant in design. The citizens feel a just pride in a well-endowed +College, a large Public Library, an Exchange, two Orphan Asylums, a +flourishing Society of Arts and Sciences, a large Theatre, and two +spacious public parks. In front of the theatre is an admirable +reproduction of Molin, the Swedish sculptor's famous group of two +figures representing "the girdle-duellists," the original of which +stands in front of the National Museum at Stockholm. This popular and +vigorous composition is reproduced in plaster and terra-cotta, and +offered for sale in all the cities of the North, being particularly +numerous in the art stores of Copenhagen. It depicts one of the +ancient Scandinavian duels, wherein the combatants, stripped to the +skin, were bound together by their united leather belts, and thus +confined, fought out their battle with their knives, the result +proving nearly always fatal to both. Previous to engaging in the +conflict, each of the contestants drove the blade of his knife as +deep into a thick pine-board as he could do with one stroke of his +arm. All the rest of the blade was then blunted and bound securely +with cord, leaving only the inch, more or less, exposed which had +been buried in the wood. If the weapons had not been thus partially +protected, the first blow might have proved fatal, whereas these +ancient belt-duels were designed to exemplify strength and endurance. +The splendid pose and fine muscular development of the two figures, +represented at the height of their struggle, have justly given its +author lasting fame. This group has been declared to hold the same +place in modern sculpture that Meissonier's picture of "The Quarrel," +the original of which is the property of Queen Victoria, holds in +modern painting. + +Gottenburg is not without its cathedral and numerous fine churches, +but especially it has excellent common schools of the several grades, +primary, middle, and high. It will be remembered that education is +compulsory throughout Sweden. English is regularly taught in her +schools and very generally spoken by the educated classes. In +conversation with the common people, it was discovered that the goal +of their ambition was to emigrate to America. The departures for this +country, though not excessive, are yet steady both from this port and +Stockholm, aggregating in some years forty thousand from Sweden and +Norway combined, now and then a group of Finns going to make up the +number. Money among the lower classes is almost as scarce as it is in +Ireland; but those who have emigrated, and have been successful, +liberally remit money wherewith to enable family and friends to join +them in America. + +The Public Gardens of Gottenburg are beautifully arranged, and are +kept in exquisite condition,--one large division being designated as +the Botanical Gardens, and abundantly supplied with exotics, +especially from tropical regions. Blooming hawthorn, white and pink +lilacs, and a great variety of beautiful trees challenge admiration +on entering these grounds. Among many familiar flowers a species of +dwarf lobelia of azure blue and the Alpine forget-me-not, with +pale-blue flowers and yellow eyes, were particularly observable, +mingled with pansies in a confused variety of mammoth proportions. +The golden-leaved verbena and a large, tall, pearly-white +tiger-flower were both abundant, the latter speckled with +ruby-colored spots. The horse-chestnut trees were in great variety +and the largest we had ever seen. There were many grand old oaks and +fine Lombardy poplars in stately ranks, as upright as soldiers at a +review. Inland excursions showed the pine and the fir to be the +prevailing trees, the birch becoming more abundant farther north. +Fully one third of the country, as we were assured, is covered with +woods, some of which seemed almost endless in extent. The immediate +environs of Gottenburg are very attractive, well wooded, and adorned +with picturesque cottages and some large villas. Among others which +we visited was that of Oscar Dickson, famous for his interest in +Arctic expeditions. No private gardens in England or America are more +admirably kept, and the grape-houses we have never seen surpassed in +the varieties or perfection of the fruit. The low-lands were found +occasionally bright with the golden petals of the marsh-marigold, +which fairly blazed under the direct rays of the sun. There is a +saying here, that when it blooms the cuckoo comes and the roach +spawns. A fine old bit of mouldering, ivy-grown ruins in the shape of +a Martello tower, situated upon rising ground and overlooking the +entrance to the inland waters, is sure to attract the traveller's +admiring eye. + +The kindness of the common people and their pleasant manners are most +captivating, being characterized by quiet self-possession and +thoughtfulness for a stranger's well-being. In more than one instance +a casual inquiry was not only promptly responded to, but we were +taken pleasantly in hand, and other welcome though unsought guidance +and information were voluntarily offered. Education is far more +general and culture is of a higher grade in Sweden than is common +with the people of Southern Europe, while music seems to be as +universal an accomplishment here as it is in Italy. The population is +frugal, honest, self-helping, and in many respects resembles that of +Switzerland. + +The system of inland communication by means of the Götha Canal is one +of the most remarkable ever achieved by man, when the obstacles which +have been overcome and the advantages accomplished are taken into +consideration. Steam-vessels, limited to one hundred and six feet in +length on account of the size of the locks, are carried regularly +hundreds of miles by it across and over the highlands of southern +Sweden from sea to sea. The reader can easily realize what a triumph +of engineering skill it is when he sees a well-freighted steamboat +climb a mountain side, float through lock after lock, and after +reaching the apex of the hilly country, descend with equal facility +towards the coast and sea-level. Steamboats and sailing vessels +navigating the canal rise, in all, three hundred and eighty feet +above the level of the Baltic during the passage across the country. +At the little town of Berg the locks are sixteen in number, and form +a gigantic staircase, by means of which vessels are raised at this +point one hundred and twenty feet. Here, as well as at the famous +Falls of Trollhätta, the traveller can leave the steamer for three or +four hours, walking on in advance, and thus obtaining some charming +views of inland scenery. No intelligent person can fail to appreciate +the grandeur of the remarkable falls just mentioned, with their +pine-clad, precipitous banks and wild tumult of waters, partially +screened by a white foam-cloud reaching far heavenward. + +If possible, it is well to tarry for a day at Trollhätta, visiting +the various points of interest about the famous rapids, and watching +the many steamboats and other vessels which pass so mysteriously +through the ponderous locks, ascending and descending the elevations +with mathematical regularity and speed. The valley through which the +railroad passes, often parallel with the canal, on the way from +Gottenburg to Trollhätta, is one of the most fertile in Sweden, and +when we saw it was rich with ripening grains. The falls are +accessible from Gottenburg by rail in about two hours' travel, or by +canal leaving the city early in the morning and returning in the +evening, giving the visitor six or eight hours' time at the falls. +Trollhätta presents one of the great curiosities of Sweden, to visit +which tourists come from all parts of Europe. It is true that the +hoarse music of these falls is mingled with the din of sawmills, +foundries, and smithies,--but one need not specially regard them. A +little poetical latitude adds zest to imagination, and we see the +beauties and marvels which we come prepared to see. The falls consist +of a series of tremendous rapids extending over a distance of about +two hundred yards; and producing an uproar almost equal to the +ceaseless oratorio of Niagara. The rapids are intersected by two or +three rocky but well-wooded islands, on either side of which the +angry waters rush with a wild, resistless power, tossed by the many +sub-currents. The whole array of rapids forms a succession of falls +of which the first is called Gullöfallet, where on both sides of an +inaccessible little island the waters make a leap of twenty-six feet +in height, the rebound creating a constant cloud of feathery spray. +Then follows the highest of the falls, the Toppöfallet, of forty-four +feet in height, likewise divided by a cliff into two parts, against +which the frantic waters chafe angrily. The next fall measures less +than ten feet in height, followed a little way down the rapids by +what is called the Flottbergström,--all together making a fall of +foaming eddies and whirls equal to about one hundred and twelve feet. +While near to these roaring waters amid the general chaos, +conversation is impossible. As at all extensive falls, rainbows +constantly hang over and about the wild surging waters reflected in +the gauze-clouds of transparent mist. + +While strolling through the wood-paths and over the rocky ways which +line this sleepless disorder of the waters, the grounds in many +places were seen to be gorgeously decked with flowers of Nature's +planting,--many-colored, sunshine-loving things. Among those more +particularly abundant was the pretty violet-purple flower of the +butterwort, each circle of pale-yellow leaves, with the stalk rising +from the centre crowned with its peculiar bloom. "Beautiful objects +of the wild-bee's love." But for the glutinous exudation one would be +tempted to gather them by handfuls. The town of Trollhätta is a +village of three thousand inhabitants, and contains a graceful little +Gothic church. The people are mostly manufacturers, who manage to +utilize profitably a portion of the enormous water-power afforded by +the falls. The word Trollhätta, we were told, signifies "the home of +the water-witches." The local legends with which the traveller is +freely regaled by the guides would fill a good-sized volume in print, +but we feel disinclined to inflict them second-hand and wholesale +upon the patient reader. + +The Götha Canal, as before intimated, utilizes and connects several +of the great lakes of southern Sweden, the principal ones in +Scandinavia being located in this region. Lake Wener, which receives +the waters of eighty rivers large and small, has an area of +twenty-four hundred square miles, being nearly ten times as large as +the famous Lake of Geneva. Lakes Wetter and Maelaren are the next in +importance, either of which is fully twice the size of the Swiss lake +just named. The canal proper--that is, the portion which has been +artificially constructed--is ten feet deep, fifty wide at the bottom, +and ninety at the surface. Two hundred and seventy miles of the route +traversed by the vessels navigating the canal between Gottenburg and +Stockholm are through lakes and rivers, all of which are remarkable +for their clear spring-like character and the picturesqueness of +their surroundings. Stockholm is situated on the Maelaren lake, where +it finds an outlet into the Baltic. This large body of water is +studded all over with islands of every form and size, on some of +which are quaint old castles, mysterious ruins, and thick woods, +haunted only by those rovers of the sky, the eagle and the hawk. +Others are ornamented by charming villas, surrounded by fine +landscape gardening, with graceful groves of drooping willows and +birch-trees. Some contain only fishermen's huts, while here and there +clusters of their small cottages form an humble village. The marine +shells which are found in the bottom of some of the inland lakes of +both Norway and Sweden show that the land which forms their bed was +once covered by the sea. This is clearly apparent in Lake Wener and +Lake Wetter, which are situated nearly three hundred feet above the +present ocean level. The first-named body of water is some eighty +miles long by a width of thirty. The latter is as long, but averages +only ten miles in width. Complete skeletons of whales have been found +far inland, at considerable elevations, during the present century. +The oldest shell-banks discovered by scientists in Scandinavia are +situated five hundred feet above the present level of the ocean. How +significant are these deposits of a prehistoric period! + +Sweden has comparatively few mountains, but many ranges of hills. +Norway monopolizes almost entirely the mountain system of the great +northern peninsula; but the valuable large forests of pine, fir, and +birch which cover so much of the country are common to both. Though +iron is found in large deposits in Norway, it is still more abundant +in Sweden, where it is chiefly of the magnetic and hæmatite +character, yielding when properly smelted the best ore for the +manufacture of steel. It is believed that there is sufficient +malleable and ductile iron in the soil of Sweden to supply the whole +world with this necessary article for a thousand years to come. Mount +Gellivare, which is over eighteen hundred feet in height, is said to +be almost wholly formed of an ore containing fully eighty per cent of +the best quality of merchantable iron; so that a dearth of this +mineral is certainly not imminent. + +But let us not wander too far from our course due north. Nor are we +yet quite ready to depart from Gottenburg. While strolling alone +through its broad and pleasant avenues, the writer met a couple of +girls of about eleven and twelve years respectively. They were +evidently sisters, and they looked so bright and so pleasantly into +the stranger's face that he addressed them in the few native words at +his command. That we were a foreigner was at once realized, and the +eldest asked from whence we came. So much could be understood, and +happily the name America was plain enough to them. It acted like a +charm upon them, lighting up their soft blue eyes and wreathing their +lips with smiles, while it also elicited their confidence. Each put a +tiny hand within our own, and thus escorted we passed along until the +nearest confectioner's shop was reached. Here we met upon terms where +pantomime was quite sufficiently expressive, and we were soon engaged +in partaking gleefully of bon-bons, cakes, and cream. What a merry +half hour we three passed together, and how rapidly the time flew! +Was real pleasure ever more cheaply purchased than at the moderate +price demanded by the shop-keeper, who placed a little packet of +sweets in each of the children's hands as we parted? On passing out +upon the avenue we came full upon a person who was all astonishment +and courtesy combined. It was Réné, our Danish courier. "I did not +think, sir," he said, "that you knew any one in Gottenburg." "You +were right, Réné," was the reply, "but these little fairies took +possession of us, and we have had a delightful half hour together." +Then both of the children began to speak to him at the same time, and +he to reply to them. It was soon made apparent why they should so +have affiliated with and trusted a stranger. They understood, that +the writer was from America, where in the State of Pennsylvania they +had a well-beloved brother. It seemed to the dear little blondes that +we must have come as it were direct from him. On parting, a kiss was +pressed upon the innocent lips of each of the children, while +tremulous tears were only too obvious in the sweet, sympathetic eyes +of the elder. + +We were told of a rather curious system which originated here of +controlling the liquor traffic, and which has long been in successful +operation. + +It appears that a certain number of shops only are licensed for the +sale of pure, unadulterated spirits, wine, and beer within the town, +and none others are permitted to engage in the business. These +licensed establishments are all in the hands of an incorporated +company, whose members are content to take five per cent per annum +upon their invested capital, handing over the surplus to the town +treasury, the sum thus received being appropriated towards reducing +the regular tax-rates imposed upon the citizens. The managers of +these shops where liquor is sold have fixed salaries, not at all +contingent upon the profits realized from the business, and therefore +they have no inducement to urge customers to drink. We saw scarcely +any indications of intemperance here, and were assured by an +intelligent resident that there had been much less drunkenness since +this system had been adopted twelve years ago. As will be readily +conceived, there is now a smaller number of dram-shops opened to +tempt the weak. It is only too true that the "means to do ill deeds +makes ill deeds done." + +There is here also a system in operation designed to supply workingmen +and persons of humble means with permanent dwelling-houses,--with +homes which they may own. Comfortable brick houses are erected with +all reasonable accommodations, and a title is made out to the +would-be owner, he paying for the same by a small monthly instalment, +until finally he owns the establishment. This being a philanthropic +object, no profit above actual cost is designed to be realized by the +promoters. The moral effect of the plan is excellent, leading to a +sense of responsibility and economy among a class which is only too +prone to expend its earnings for drink, or to fritter them away +without realizing an equivalent. + +It was found that the people in their domestic establishments had an +odd way of prefacing their family meals; namely, partaking of raw +salted salmon, smoked herring, chipped beef, and pickles of various +kinds, which they washed down with one or two wine-glasses of strong +spirit. It seemed to be an obvious inconsistency of purpose. This +ceremony takes place at a side-table just before sitting down to the +regular meal, be it breakfast, luncheon, or dinner. This custom was +noticed afterwards at various places in Scandinavia as well as in +Russia, the practice in the latter country being universal in hotels +and private houses; but it seemed obvious to us that it was only an +excuse for dram-drinking as an appetizer. Bad habits are easily +acquired, and soon make slaves of their incautious victims. More than +one person admitted to us in Russia that without this preliminary +tipple, dinner to them would have no relish. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Capital of Norway. -- A Grand Fjord. -- A Free and Independent + State. -- The Legal Code. -- Royal Palace and Gardens. -- Oscar's + Hall. -- The University. -- Public Amusements. -- The Ice Trade. + -- Ancient Viking Ships. -- Heathen Tombs. -- An Interesting + Hostelry. -- A Steam Kitchen. -- Environs of Christiania. -- + Horses and their Treatment. -- Harvest Time. -- Women's Work. -- + The Sæter. -- A Remarkable Lake. -- Wild Birds. -- Inland Travel. + -- Scandinavian Wild Flowers. -- Lonely Habitations. -- A Land of + Alpine Heights. + + +In approaching the capital of Norway by sea from Gottenburg, the +Christiania fjord is ascended for a distance of seventy miles to its +head, bordered on either side nearly the whole way by finely-wooded +hills, and its surface dotted by emerald isles reflected in the deep +mirror-like waters. It must be understood that a fjord is not a +sound, nor is it a thoroughfare in the full sense of that word; it is +a _cul de sac_. This of Christiania at its _débouchure_ is just +fifteen miles in width, and like many other Norwegian fjords is much +deeper than the sea beyond its mouth. The entrance is marked by a +powerful and lofty lighthouse on the island of Færder. The ancient +citadel of Akershus, built upon a bold and rocky promontory some six +hundred years ago, commands the approach to the city. In this curious +old fortification are kept the regalia and national records, the +tree-adorned ramparts serving as a pleasant promenade for the +public. One is often reminded while sailing upon Norwegian fjords of +the Swiss lake-scenery. This leading to the capital is not unlike +Lake Geneva in the vicinity of Vevay and Chillon, except that it is +bolder in its immediate shores and is also broader and deeper than +Lake Leman. The city, which is built upon a gradual slope facing the +south, is seen to good advantage from the harbor. No more appropriate +spot could have been selected for the national capital by Christian +IV., who founded it, and after whom it is named, than the head of +this beautiful elongated bay. An ancient town named Oslo occupied the +site in the middle of the eleventh century. It is the seat of the +Storthing, or Parliament; and the King, whose permanent residence is +at Stockholm, is expected to reside here, attended by the court, at +least three months of the year. With its immediate suburbs, the +population of the city is a hundred and twenty-five thousand. It +should be remembered that Norway is a free and independent State, +though it is under the crown of Sweden, and that the people are +thoroughly democratic, having abolished all titles of nobility by +enactment of the Storthing (Great Court) so early as 1821, at which +time a law was also passed forbidding the King to create a new +nobility. Nevertheless, the thought occurs to us here that these +Northmen, who overran and conquered the British Isles, founded the +very nobility there which is the present boast and pride of England. +We find some problems solved in Norway which have created political +strife elsewhere. Though its Church is identical with the State, +unlimited toleration exists. There is also a perfect system of +political representation, and while justice is open to one and all, +litigation is sedulously discouraged. The meetings of the Storthing +are quite independent of the King, not even requiring a writ of +assemblage from him. Thus it will be seen that though nominally under +despotic rule, Norway is really self-governed. + +The legal code of Norway is well worthy of study, both on account of +its antiquity and its admirable provisions. The old sea-kings, or +free-booters as we have been accustomed to consider them, had a more +advanced and civilized code than any of the people whose shores they +devastated. Before the year 885 the power of the law was established +over all persons of all ranks, while in the other countries of Europe +the independent jurisdiction of the feudal lords defied the law until +centuries later. Before the eleventh century the Scandinavian law +provided for equal justice to all, established a system of weights +and measures, also one for the maintenance of roads and bridges, and +for the protection of women and animals,--subjects which no other +European code at that time embraced. These laws were collected into +one code by Magnus VII. about the year 1260. They were revised by +Christian IV. in 1604, and in 1687 the present system was drawn up. +So simple and compact is it that the whole is contained in a pocket +volume, which is in the possession of every Norwegian family. Each +law occupies but a single paragraph, and all is simple and +intelligible. Speaking of these early law-makers (as well as +law-breakers!) Carlyle says: "In the old Sea-Kings, what an +indomitable energy! Silent, with closed lips, as I fancy them, +unconscious that they were specially brave; defying the wild ocean +with its monsters, and all men and things; progenitors of our Blakes +and Nelsons!" + +The Royal Palace of Christiania is pleasantly situated on an elevated +site, the highest ground in fact within the city, surrounded by an +open park containing miniature lakes, canals, and groves of charming +trees. The park is called the Royal Gardens, which are always open to +the public. Fronting the palace is an admirable equestrian statue in +bronze of the citizen King Bernadotte, who ascended the throne of +Sweden under the name of Carl Johan XIV., and it bears his consistent +motto: "The people's love is my reward." The palace is a large plain +edifice of brick, quadrangular in shape and painted a dull ugly +yellow, with a simple portico. It was erected within the last fifty +years, and looks externally like a huge cotton-factory. The Queen's +apartments are on the ground floor and are very beautifully +furnished, especially the White Saloon, so called. Above these are +the King's apartments, embracing the usual variety of state halls, +audience chambers, reception rooms and the like, plainly and +appropriately furnished. The palace contains some of Tidemand's best +pictures. There is also a royal villa called Oscar's Hall, situated +in the immediate environs on the peninsula of Ladegaardsöen, less +than three miles from the city proper. It is a Gothic structure amid +the woods, eighty feet above the level of the waters of the harbor +which it overlooks. Oscar Hall, with its one castellated tower, is +scarcely more than a shooting-box in size, though it is dignified +with the name of palace. The grounds are wild and irregular, covered +mostly with a fine growth of trees, mingled with which the mountain +ash was conspicuous with its clusters of berries in royal scarlet. +The air was full of the fragrance of the lily-of-the-valley, which +lovely little flower grows here after its own sweet will in rank +profusion. There are a few choice paintings in the Hall, especially +some admirable panels by Tidemand representing scenes in Norwegian +peasant life, and called "The Age of Man from the cradle to the +grave." There are also, we feel constrained to say, some very poor +pictures on the walls of Oscar's Hall. In the garden near the villa +were many familiar flowers in a thrifty condition, such as lilacs, +white and scarlet honeysuckles, sweet peas, yellow tiger-lilies and +peonies, besides some curious specimens of cacti and a wonderfully +fragrant bed of low-growing mignonette. It was singular to see +flowers and fruits which with us have each their special season, here +hastening into bloom and ripeness all together. + +The streets of the city are quite broad, most of them running at +right angles with each other. The houses are generally of brick, +stuccoed, though there are some of stone, and all have the effect of +stone structures. There was once a richly endowed cathedral here, +where James I. of England was married to Anne of Denmark in 1589, but +it was destroyed by fire, which element has completely devastated the +place at different periods, so that the present aspect is one of a +substantial modern character. The old wooden houses have almost +entirely disappeared. The present cathedral is in the shape of a +Greek cross, but it is of no special interest. Over the altar is a +painting by a German artist representing our Saviour in the Garden of +Gethsemane, a work of much more than ordinary merit. The inhabitants +of Christiania are almost exclusively Protestants. + +The University founded by Frederick VI. in 1811 is a plain but +massive structure, the front ornamented with Corinthian pillars of +polished red granite. It accommodates at the present writing some +nine hundred students, the tuition being free to all native +applicants suitably prepared; it contains also a noble library of +over two hundred thousand volumes, besides many manuscripts of +inestimable value. The library is freely open even to strangers under +very simple restrictions. The University also contains an extensive +Museum of Zoölogy and Geology, which in the departments of the bronze +and iron periods excels even the admirable one at Copenhagen. +Christiania has a Naval, a Military, and an Art school, a Lunatic +Asylum, an Astronomical Observatory, and various charitable +institutions; nor should we forget to mention its admirably +conducted Botanical Garden situated about a mile from the town, +containing among other interesting varieties a very finely-arranged +collection of Alpine plants from Spitzbergen and Iceland. The town +has its Casino, Tivoli, or whatever we please to call it; the good +citizens here have named it the Klinkenberg. It is a place of +out-door amusement for old and young, where grown up children ride +wooden-horses and participate in childish games with apparently as +much zest as the little ones. Here we found peep-shows, +pistol-galleries, Russian slides, a small theatre, and cafés where +were dispensed beer, music, and Swedish punch,--this last very sweet +and very intoxicating! The acrobat, with his two small boys in +silver-spangles and flesh-colored tights, was present and especially +active, besides the conventional individual who eats tow and blows +fire from his mouth. On the occasion of our visit the last named +individual came to grief, and burned his nether lip severely. + +The commerce of Christiania is increasing annually. Over two thousand +vessels were entered at its custom house during the year 1885. There +are regular lines of steamers established between here and London, +Hull, Glasgow, Copenhagen, and other ports, which transact a large +amount of business in the freight department, with a considerable +incidental passenger trade. The harbor is frozen over at least three +months of the year, though that of Hammerfest, situated a thousand +miles farther north on the coast of Norway, is never closed by ice, +owing to the genial influence of the Gulf Stream,--an agent so +potent as to modify the temperature of the entire coast of +Scandinavia on its western border. Wenham Lake Ice, which was +originally and for some years shipped from Massachusetts to England, +now comes direct from the Christiania fjord! An English company has +long owned a lake near Dröbak, which yields them an ample supply of +ice annually. The London ice-carts still bear the name of "Wenham +Lake," but the ice comes from Norway. We were told that the quantity +shipped for use in England increases yearly as ice grows to be more +and more of a domestic necessity. + +The Storthing's Hus is quite a handsome and imposing building, of +original design in the Romanesque and Byzantine style, facing the +Carl Johannes Square, the largest open area in the city. It was +finished and occupied in 1866. The Market Place is adorned with a +marble statue of Christian IV. Another fine square is the Eidsvolds +Plads, planted with choice trees and carpeted with intensely bright +greensward. The chief street is the Carl Johannes Gade, a broad +boulevard extending from the railroad station to the King's Palace, +half way between which stands the imposing structure of the +University. Opposite this edifice is the Public Garden, where an +out-door concert is given during the summer evenings by a military +band. In a large wooden building behind the University is kept that +great unrivalled curiosity, the Viking ship, a souvenir of more than +nine hundred years ago. The blue clay of the district where it was +exhumed in 1880, a few miles south from Christiania at Gokstad, has +preserved it nearly intact. The men who built the graceful lines of +this now crumbling vessel, "in some remote and dateless day," knew +quite as much of the principles of marine architecture as do our +modern shipwrights of to-day. This interesting relic, doubtless the +oldest ship in the world, once served the Vikings, its masters, as a +war-craft. It is eighty feet long by sixteen wide, and is about six +feet deep from gunwale to keel. Seventy shields, spears, and other +war equipments recovered with the hull show that it was designed for +that number of fighting men. A curious thrill is felt by one while +regarding these ancient weapons and armor, accompanied by a wish that +they might speak and reveal their long-hidden story. In such vessels +as this the dauntless Northmen made voyages to every country in +Europe, and as is confidently believed they crossed the Atlantic, +discovering North America centuries before the name of Columbus was +known. Ignoring the halo of romance and chivalry which the poets have +thrown about the valiant Vikings and their followers, one thing we +are compelled to admit: they were superb marine architects. Ten +centuries of progressive civilization have served to produce none +better. Some of the arts and sciences may and do exhibit great +progress in excellence, but shipbuilding is not among them. We build +bigger but not better vessels. This ancient galley of oak, in the +beauty of its lines, its adaptability for speed, and its general +sea-worthiness, cannot be surpassed by our best naval constructors +to-day. An American naval officer who chanced to be present with the +author, declared that there were points about this exhumed vessel +which indicated retrogression rather than progress on the part of +modern builders of sea-going craft. The bent timbers on the inside +are of natural growth, the sheathing boards are an inch and a half in +thickness, firmly riveted, the iron bolts clinched on either end. +Near the gunwales the bolts are of oak. The planking slightly +overlaps, being bevelled for the purpose; that is, the hull is what +we technically call clinker-built, and would probably draw about four +feet of water in a sea-going trim. The bow and stern are of the same +pointed shape, and rise a considerable distance above the waist, +giving the vessel what sailors term a deep sheer inboard. + +The burial of this ship so many centuries ago was simply in +accordance with the custom of those days. When any great sea-king +perished, he was enclosed in the cabin of his galley, and either sunk +in the ocean or buried with his vessel and all of its war-like +appointments upon the nearest suitable spot of land. In this +instance, as has been intimated, weapons of war were buried with the +deceased, just as our Indian tribes of western America do to this +day. Tombs dating much farther back than the period when this +sepulchral ship was buried have been opened in both Norway and +Sweden, showing that the dead were sometimes burned and sometimes +buried in coffins. The cinerary urns were usually found to have been +either of terra-cotta or of bronze,--seldom, however, of the latter +material. In these tombs trinkets and weapons were also discovered, +with the skeletons of horses and other domestic animals. To the +period of these burials belong the earliest Runic inscriptions, +differing materially from those which were in use a few centuries +later. One may believe much or little of the extravagant stories +handed down by tradition concerning these ancient Scandinavians, but +certainly we have tangible evidence in these tombs that some of the +legends are literally true. We are told that when a chieftain died in +battle, not only were his war-horse, his gold and silver plate, and +his money placed upon his funeral pyre, but that a guard of honor +from among his followers slew themselves, that he might enter the +sacred halls of Odin properly attended. The more elevated the chief +the larger was the number who must sacrifice themselves as his escort +to the land of bliss. So infinite was the reliance of the Heathen +horde in their strange faith, that, far from considering their fate +to be a hard one, they adopted its extremest requirements with songs +of joy! + +A general aspect of good order, thrift, industry, and prosperity +prevails at Christiania. The simplicity of dress and the gentle +manners, especially among the female portion of the community, were +marked features. No stranger can fail to notice the low, sympathetic +tones in which the women always speak; but though decorous and +worthy, it must be admitted that the Norwegian ladies are not +handsome. The people resort to the ramparts of the old castle as a +promenade, with its grateful shade of lime-trees, and they also +throng the pleasant Central Park near the Royal Palace. One sees here +none of the rush and fever of living which so wearies the observer in +many of the southern cities of Europe,--notably in Paris, London, and +Vienna. The common people evince more solidity of character with less +of the frivolities, and yet without any of the frosty chill of +Puritanism. They may be said to be a trifle slow and phlegmatic, but +by no means stupid. The most careless schoolboy when addressed by a +stranger in the street instantly removes his hat, and so remains +until he has fully responded to the inquiry made of him, showing thus +the instinctive politeness which seems to permeate all classes in +Norway. + +The long-established Hotel Victoria is an interesting hostelry and +museum combined, at least so far as ornithology is concerned. Its +stuffed varieties of native birds disposed in natural positions here +and there about the establishment, would prove the envy of any +collector in this department of natural history. The house is built +about a spacious court, which is partly occupied by a broad and lofty +marquee or tent, under which the _table d'hôte_ is served. +Orange-trees and tropical plants are gracefully disposed, and +creeping vines give a sylvan appearance to the court. The whole area +is overlooked by an open and spacious balcony, where a band of +musicians during the season dispense enlivening music. Tame sparrows +and other birds hop about one's feet during each meal, even alighting +upon the chairs and tables to share tid-bits with the guests. The +whole formed a consistent purpose well carried out, and was entirely +unlike any hotel whose hospitality we have shared. There are three or +four excellent public houses besides the Victoria, including the +Grand Hotel and the Scandinavia, the last two quite centrally +located. We made our temporary home at the Grand, a spacious and +comfortable establishment. + +There is an original institution of a charitable nature in the +capital, called a Steam Kitchen, where food is cooked upon a large +scale, and entirely by steam. This large establishment, situated on +the Torv Gade, was built especially for the purpose of benefiting the +industrious poor of the city. Here two or three thousand persons are +daily provided with good wholesome dinners at a minimum charge, +calculated to cover the actual cost. While hundreds of persons carry +away food to their families, larger numbers dine at the neat tables +provided in the establishment for that purpose. The inference drawn +from a casual observation of the system was, that no possible +benevolence of a practical character could be better conceived or +more judiciously administered. It seemed to be the consummation of a +great charity, robbed of all objectionable features. None appeared to +feel humiliated in availing themselves of its advantages, since all +the supposed cost of the provisions was charged and paid for. + +Upon visiting a new city in any part of the world, the writer has +learned more of its people, their national characteristics and all +local matters worth knowing, by mingling with the throng, watching +their every-day habits and conventionalities, observing and analyzing +the stream of life pouring through its great thoroughfares, reading +the expression upon human faces, and by regarding now and again +chance domestic scenes, than from all the grand cathedrals, art +galleries, show palaces, and guide-books combined. Years of travel +fatigue one with the latter, but never with Nature in her varying +moods, with the peculiarities of races, or with the manners and +customs of every-day life as characterizing each new locality and +country. The delight in natural objects grows by experience in every +cultivated and receptive mind. The rugged architecture of lofty +mountains, tumbling waterfalls, noble rivers, glowing sunsets, broad +land and sea views, each has a special, never-tiring, and impressive +individuality. While enjoying a bird's-eye view of Christiania from +the height of Egeberg, a well-wooded hill four hundred feet in height +in the southern suburb, it was difficult to believe one's self in +Icelandic Scandinavia,--the precise latitude of the Shetland Islands. +A drowsy hum like the drone of bees seemed to float up from the busy +city below. The beautiful fjord with its graceful promontories, its +picturesque and leafy isles, might be Lake Maggiore or Como, so +placid and calm is its pale-blue surface. Turning the eyes inland, +one sees clustered in lovely combination fields of ripening grain, +gardens, lawns, cottages, and handsome villas, like a scene upon the +sunny shores of the Mediterranean near the foot-hills of the Maritime +Alps. An abundance of deciduous trees enliven the scene,--plane, +sycamore, ash, and elm in luxuriant foliage. Warmer skies during the +summer period are not to be found in Italy, nor elsewhere outside of +Egypt. As we stood upon the height of Egeberg that delicious sunny +afternoon, there hung over and about the Norwegian capital a soft +golden haze such as lingers in August above the Venetian lagoons. + +The houses in the vicinity of Christiania are generally surrounded by +well-cultivated gardens embellished with choice fruit and ornamental +trees. An unmistakable aspect of refinement was obvious about these +homesteads, and one would fain have known somewhat of the residents +of such attractive domiciles. The traveller who passes so few days in +each new city, and those occupied mostly in observations of a +different character, can hardly pretend to express an opinion of the +resident social life and domestic associations; but we were credibly +informed that there was no dearth of circles composed of intelligent, +polished, and wealthy individuals in Bergen, Gottenburg, or +Christiania. Evidences of the truth of this are certainly obvious to +the most casual observer. Here, and afterwards still farther north, a +tree new to us was found, called the Hägg (_Prunus Padus_), so +abundantly clothed in snow-white blossoms as to entirely hide its +leaves of green. It generally stood in the yards of dwelling-houses +as a floral ornament, and reminded one of a New England apple-tree in +full bloom. The blossoms emitted very little decided perfume, but the +luxuriant growth and the pure white flower were very beautiful. A +dainty bit of color now and again, caused by the single-leafed +dog-rose, recalled the inland roads of far-off Massachusetts, where +mingled blackberry and raspberry bushes and wild roses so often line +the quiet paths. The immediate environs of the capital are +characterized by fine picturesque elevations, the land rising +gradually on all sides until it becomes quite Alpine. The forest +road leading towards Rynkan Falls was fragrant with the soft, +soothing odor of pines and firs, mingled with that of blue, pink, and +yellow flowers, blossoms whose local names only served to puzzle +us,--"wee, modest, crimson-tipped flowers." The giant larkspur, +lilies-of-the-valley, and some orchids were familiar, and greeted the +senses like old friends. The juniper bushes were luxuriant, and there +were plenty of bilberries and wild strawberries in bloom. These last +berries when ripe, as we afterwards found them farther north, are a +revelation to the palate, being quite small, but of exquisite flavor, +recalling the tiny wood-strawberries of New England, which were of +such exquisite flavor and dainty aroma before we cultivated them into +monstrosities. The summer is so short here as to give the fruits and +flowers barely time to blossom, ripen, and fade, or the husbandman a +chance to gather his harvest. Vegetation is wonderfully rapid in its +growth, the sunshine being so nearly constant during the ten weeks +which intervene between seed-time and harvest. Barley grows here two +and a half inches and peas three inches in twenty-four hours, for +several consecutive days. It is an interesting fact that if the +barley-seed be brought from a warmer climate it requires to become +acclimated, and does not yield a good crop until after two or three +seasons. The flowers of the torrid and temperate zones as a rule +close their eye-lids like human beings, and sleep a third or half of +the twenty-four hours; but in Arctic regions life to these lovely +children of Nature is one long sunny period, and sleep comes only +with death and decay. It was also observed that the flowers here +assume more vivid colors and emit more fragrance during their brief +lives than in the south. The long delightful period of twilight +during the summer season is seen here in all its perfection, full of +suggestiveness and roseate loveliness, which no pen can +satisfactorily describe. There is no dew to be encountered and +avoided, no dampness. All is crystal clearness and transparency, +"gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy." + +Nothing can be pleasanter or more exhilarating than driving over the +Norwegian roads among the dark pine forests or by the side of dashing +torrents and swift-gliding, seething rivers. The roads are kept in +perfect condition upon all of the regular post-routes, and one rolls +over them in the native carriole nearly as smoothly as though +navigating a lake in a well-manned boat. The little horses, almost +universally of a dun-color and having their manes cropped short, are +wiry and full of life and courage, dashing down the hills at a +seemingly reckless pace, which carries the vehicle half way up the +next rising ground by the mere impetus of the descent. It was +particularly gratifying to observe the physical condition of the +horses both inland and in the streets of Christiania, all being in +good flesh. Not a lame or poor animal was to be found among them, +either in hack, dray, or country-produce cart. They are mostly +pony-shaped, rather short in the legs, few standing over fourteen +hands, and generally even less; but yet they are strong, tough, and +round in form. It was pleasing to observe the drivers, who seemed +also to be the owners, of these animals. When they came from the +house or establishment where their business called them, they would +often take some appetizing trifle from their pockets,--a small apple, +a lump of sugar, or bit of bread,--and tender it to the waiting +horse, who was evidently on the look-out for such a favor. The good +fellowship established between the animal and his master was +complete, and both worked the more effectively together. No observant +person can fail to see what docility and intelligence kindness to any +domestic animal is sure to elicit, while brutality and harshness +induce only reluctant and inefficient service. If the whip is used at +all upon these faithful animals it must be very uncommon, since a +watchfulness in regard to the matter did not discover a single +instance. When a driver has occasion to stop before a house and leave +his horse, he takes one turn of the rein about the animal's near +fore-foot and secures the long end loosely to the shaft. Custom has +taught the horses that this process ties them to the spot, and they +do not attempt to move away under any circumstances. Insects during +the brief but intense heat of summer are very troublesome to animals +exposed to their bite, and so the Norwegian horses are all wisely +permitted to wear long tails as a partial defence against flies and +gnats. The price at which they are valued is very moderate. A +nicely-matched pair, quite sound, young, and well broken for pleasure +driving, can be purchased for three hundred dollars or less. + +Between Christiania and Stockholm the railroad follows almost a +straight line due east across southern Norway and Sweden through a +country dotted over with little hamlets of a dozen houses more or +less, occupied by thrifty farmers. The people are of a social, kindly +disposition, but to be known among them as an American insures +instant service, together with unlimited hospitality. Nearly every +family has one or more representatives living in the United States, +and the very name of America is regarded by them with tenderness. A +large percentage of the young people look forward to the time when +they shall eventually make it their permanent home. Emigration is +neither promoted nor discouraged by the Government. Norway seems +generally to be more fertile than Sweden. True, she has her numerous +mountains, but between them are far-reaching and beautiful valleys, +while the sister country with less elevations has a soil of rather a +sandy nature, much less productive. But intelligent farming overcomes +heavy drawbacks; and there are large tracts of land in Sweden that +are rendered quite remunerative through the adoption of modern +methods of cultivation. Immediately about the railroad stations on +all the Scandinavian railroads there are fine gardens, often +ornamented with fountains, bird-houses, blooming flowers, and +miniature cascades. Some of the combinations of floral colors into +graceful figures showed the hand of experienced gardeners. Most of +these station-houses, all of which are constructed of wood, are +extremely picturesque, built in chalet style, rather over-ornamented +by fancy carvings and high colors, yet well adapted in the main for +their special purpose. The Government owns and operates three +quarters of all the railroads in either country, and will doubtless +ere long, as we were assured, control the entire system. + +In the rural districts women are very generally employed upon +out-of-door work, as they are in Germany and Italy, and there is +quite a preponderance of the sex in both Norway and Sweden. It was +the haying and harvesting season when the author passed over the +principal routes, and the fields showed four times as many women as +men engaged in mowing, reaping, loading heavy carts, and getting in +the harvest generally. What would our New England farmers think to +see a woman swing a scythe all day in the haying season, cutting as +broad and true a swath as a man can do, and apparently with as little +fatigue! Labor is very poorly paid; forty cents per day is considered +liberal wages for a man except in the cities, where a small increase +is realized upon this amount. The houses all through Norway outside +of the towns are built of logs, well-matched and smoothly finished, +laid horizontally one upon another, like our frontier cabins in the +far West. Each farm, besides the home acres, has also connected with +it what is termed a "sæter," being a tract of mountain pasture, where +a portion of the young members of the family (usually the girls only) +pass the nine or ten weeks of summer engaged in cheese-making, the +cattle being kept on the hills for that period. Here a very rude hut +with but two apartments serves for the girls, and a rough shed for +the cattle at night. The outer apartment of the hut contains a stove, +a table, and a coarse bed, forming the living-room, while the inner +one is improved for the dairy. The available soil about the home farm +in the valley must raise hay and grain for the long winter's use. +After being milked in the morning, at the sæter, the cows, goats, and +sheep go directly to their allotted feeding ground, perhaps more than +a mile away, and at the evening hour they by themselves as surely +return to be milked. The only inducement for such regularity on the +part of the intelligent creatures, so far as we could understand, was +a few handfuls of salt which was given them nightly, and of which +they seemed to be very fond. Great exertion is made by the girls in +the mountains to excel one another as to the aggregate production of +cheese for the season, much pride being felt also in the quality of +the article. The sturdy figures and healthy blooming faces of these +girls, "with cheeks like apples which the sun has ruddied," showed +what physical charms the bracing mountain air and a simple manner of +life in these regions is capable of producing. + +Norway has been appropriately called the country of mountains and +fjords, of cascades and lakes. Among the largest of the latter is +Lake Mjösen, which is about sixty miles long and has an average width +of twelve. It is certainly a very remarkable body of water. It +receives into its bosom one important river, the Lougen, after it has +run a course of nearly a hundred and fifty miles. At its southern +extremity is the port of Eidsvold, and at the northern is +Lillehammer. These are situated in the direct route between +Christiania and Tröndhjem. But the most singular fact attached to the +lake is that it measures over fifteen hundred feet in depth, while +its surface is four hundred feet above the level of the ocean. Its +bottom is known to be nearly a thousand feet below that of the North +Sea, which would seem to show that it must be the mouth of some +long-extinct volcano. Neither glacial action nor any other physical +agent known to us can have dug an abrupt hole eight or ten hundred +feet deep; and yet there are also some dry valleys in Norway whose +bottoms are considerably below that of the sea. The river Mesna +tumbles boisterously into the lake close to Lillehammer. A walk +beside its thickly-wooded banks brings to view many beautiful +cascades and waterfalls, some of which are worthier of a visit than +many of the more famous falls of Scandinavia. On all the important +inland routes not furnished with railroad or steamboat transit +Government supports a system of postal service, whereby one can +easily travel in almost any desired direction. On such excursions the +keen air and free exercise are apt to endow the traveller with an +excellent appetite, which Norwegian fare is not quite calculated to +assuage. However, the milk is almost always good, and eggs are +generally to be had. Even hard black bread will yield to a hammer, +after which it can be soaked in milk and thus rendered eatable. One +does not come hither in search of delicate and appetizing food, but +rather to stand face to face with Nature in her wildest and most +rugged moods. The pleasures of the table are better sought in the big +capitals of southern Europe or America, where "rich food and heavy +groans go together." + +As to the fauna of Norway, the reindeer, the bear, the wolf, the fox, +and the lynx about complete the list of indigenous animals. The +ubiquitous crow abounds; and fine specimens of the golden eagle, that +dignified monarch of the upper regions, may occasionally be seen +sailing through the air from cliff to cliff, across the fjords and +valleys. At certain seasons of the year this bird proves destructive +to domestic fowls and young lambs. But we escaped in Norway the +almost inevitable legend of a young child having been carried off by +an eagle to its nearly inaccessible nest; that story is still +monopolized by Switzerland. For some reason not quite understood by +the author, the mischievous magpie is here held as half sacred. That +is to say, the country people have a superstition that any injury +inflicted upon these birds entails misfortune upon him who causes it; +and yet the Government offers a premium for their destruction. +Magpies appear to be as much of a nuisance in Norway as crows are in +India or Ceylon, and to be quite as unmolested by the people +generally. What are called the wild birds of Scandinavia are in fact +remarkably tame, and they embrace a large variety. As the traveller +proceeds through the country, he will observe sheaves of unthrashed +grain elevated upon poles beside the farm-houses and barns, which are +designed to furnish the feathered visitors with food. These sheaves +are regularly renewed all through the winter season; otherwise the +birds would starve. The confiding little creatures know their +friends, and often enter the houses for protection from the severity +of the weather. Neither man, woman, nor child would think of +disturbing them, for they are considered as bringing good luck to the +premises which they visit. The bounty paid for the destruction of +bears and wolves in 1885 showed that nearly two hundred of each +species of these animals were killed by the hunters. Bears are +believed to be gradually decreasing, but wolves are still very +numerous in the northerly regions and the thickly-wooded middle +districts. In extreme seasons, when pressed by hunger, they prove +destructive to the reindeer herds of the Lapps in spite of every +ordinary precaution, and even in the summer season farmers never +leave their sheep unguarded when they are pastured away from the +homestead. + +In journeying from the capital to Tröndhjem (where the steamer is +taken for the North Cape) by the way of Lillehammer, one crosses the +Dovrefjeld, or mountain plateau; but a more popular route is by rail +from city to city. This fjeld lies a little above the sixty-second +parallel of latitude, and is about one third of the distance from the +southern to the northern extreme of the country, which reaches from +the fifty-eighth to the seventy-first parallel. The famous elevation +called the Sneehaettan--"Snow Hat"--forms a part of this Alpine +range, and is one of the loftiest in Norway, falling little short of +eight thousand feet in altitude. To be exact, it ranks sixth among +the Scandinavian mountains. It should be remembered that one eighth +of the country lies within the region of perpetual snow, and that +these lofty and nearly inaccessible heights are robed in a constant +garb of bridal whiteness. No other part of Europe or any inhabited +portion of the globe has such enormous glaciers or snowfields, +unless possibly some portions of Alaska. Here in Norway are glaciers +which cover from four to five hundred square miles, descending from +plateaus three and four thousand feet in height down to very near +sea-level, as in the instance of the mammoth Svartisen glacier, which +is visited by all travellers to the North Cape. Arctic and Alpine +flowers abound in the region of the Dovrefjeld,--and glacial flowers +are abundant, though not so much so as in the more frequently visited +snow regions of Switzerland. As the ice and snow recede in the early +summer, the plants spring up with magic promptness, so that within a +few yards the same species are seen in successive stages of growth, +spring and summer flowers blooming side by side in rather forced +companionship. The blue gentians are extremely lovely, and are among +the first to appear after the mantle of snow is lifted from the +awaking earth. The most remarkable and abundant of the spring flowers +however is the _linnæa borealis_, thus appropriately named after the +great Swedish botanist and naturalist. It is a long, low-creeping +plant bearing a pink blossom, and is in full bloom early in July, +luxuriating all over the Scandinavian peninsula. Harebells nodding +upon their delicate stems, primroses, snowdrops, and small blue +pansies are also common. In the southern districts roses of various +species thrive in glorious profusion in the open air annually during +the short genial period, and also as domestic favorites during the +long night of winter, adorning and perfuming the living-rooms of the +people of every class in town and country. + +Though the highest point in Norway or Sweden is only about +eighty-five hundred feet above sea-level, an elevation which is +reached only by the Jotunfjeld, or Giant Mountain, still no highlands +in Europe surpass those of Scandinavia in terrific and savage +grandeur, "rocked-ribbed and ancient as the sun." Mont Blanc is fully +one third higher than this Giant Mountain, but being less abrupt is +hardly so striking and effective in aspect. The grand elevations of +Norway are intersected by deep dark gorges and fearful chasms, +roaring with impetuous torrents and enormous waterfalls, and +affording an abundance of such scenes as would have inspired the +pencil of Salvator Rosa. The mountain system here does not form a +continuous range, but consists of a succession of plateaus like the +Dovrefjeld, and of detached mountains rising from elevated bases. The +length of this series of peculiar elevations--mountains and +plateaus--is that of the entire peninsula, from the North Cape to +Christiansand on the Skager Rack, some twelve hundred miles, having +an average width of about two hundred miles,--which gives to the +mountains of Norway and Sweden an area larger than the Alps, the +Apennines, and the Pyrenees combined, while the lakes, waterfalls, +and cascades far surpass those of the rest of Europe. There is no +other country where so large a portion is covered with august +mountains as in Norway. It includes an area of about one hundred and +twenty-three thousand square miles; and it has been said by those +most familiar with its topography, that could it be flattened out it +would make as large a division of the earth as would any of the four +principal continents. The ratio of arable land to the entire area of +Norway is not more than one to ten, and were it not that the support +of the people at large comes mainly from the sea, the country could +not sustain one quarter of even its present sparse population. +Undismayed by the preponderance of rocks, cliffs, and chasms, the +people utilize every available rod of land. Here and there are seen +wire ropes extending from the low lands to the mountain sides, the +upper ends of which are lost to sight, and which are used for sliding +down bundles of compressed hay after it has been cut, made, and +packed in places whither only men accustomed to scale precipices +could possibly climb. The aspect of such regions is severe and +desolate in the extreme, even when viewed beneath the cheering smiles +of a summer sun. What then must be their appearance during the long, +trying winter of these hyperborean regions? In snug corners, +sheltered by friendly rocks and cliffs from the prevailing winds, are +seen little clusters of cabins inhabited by a few lowly people who +live in seeming content, and who rear families amid almost incredible +deprivations and climatic disadvantages, causing one to wonder at +their hardihood and endurance. It is not uncommon to see along the +west coast of Norway, among the islands and upon the main-land, +farm-houses surrounded by a few low buildings of the rudest +character, perched among rocks away up on some lofty green terrace, +so high indeed as to make them seem scarcely larger than an eagle's +nest. To anybody but a mountaineer these spots are positively +inaccessible, and every article of subsistence, except what is raised +upon the few acres of available earth surrounding the house, must be +carried up thither upon men's backs, for not even a mule could climb +to these regions. A few goats and sheep must constitute the entire +animal stock which such a spot can boast, with perhaps a few domestic +fowls. These dwellings have been constructed of logs cut in some of +the sheltered gulches near at hand and drawn to the spot with +infinite labor, one by one. It would seem that such persistent and +energetic industry applied in more inviting neighborhoods would have +insured better results. What must life be passed in such an isolated, +exposed place, in a climate where the ground is covered with snow for +nine months of each year! Some few of these eyries have bridle-paths +leading up to them which are barely passable; and yet such are +thought by the occupants to be especially favored. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Ancient Capital of Norway. -- Routes of Travel. -- Rain! -- + Peasant Costumes. -- Commerce of Bergen. -- Shark's _vs._ Cod + Liver Oil. -- Ship-Building. -- Public Edifices. -- Quaint Shops. + -- Borgund Church. -- Leprosy in Norway. -- Sporting Country. -- + Inland Experiences. -- Hay-Making. -- Pine-Forest Experiences. -- + National Constitution. -- People's Schools. -- Girls' Industrial + School. -- Celebrated Citizens of Bergen. -- Two Grand Norwegian + Fjords. -- Remarkable Glaciers. + + +Bergen is situated some two hundred miles northwest of Christiania, +and may be reached from thence by a carriole journey across the +country over excellent roads, or by steamboat doubling the Naze. The +latter route, though three times as far, is often adopted by +travellers as being less expensive and troublesome. Still another and +perhaps the most common route taken by tourists is that by way of +Lake Mjösen, Gjöveg, the Fillefjeld and Laerdalsören, on the +Sognefjord. This is called the Valders route, and affords by far the +greatest variety of scenery. It involves railroad, steamer, and +carriole modes of conveyance, and in all covers a distance of at +least three hundred and fifty miles. It will be remembered that +Bergen was the capital of Norway when it was under Danish rule, and +was long afterwards the commercial rival of Christiania. Indeed, its +shipping interests we were informed still exceed those of the +capital, the verity of which statement one is inclined to question. +The period of its greatest prosperity was in the Middle Ages and +during the century when the great Hanseatic League flourished, at +which time there was a numerous German colony resident here. The town +appears very ancient, and naturally so, as it dates back to the +eleventh century. Many of the dwellings are quaint with sharp-peaked +roofs and gable-ends toward the streets. The boats which ply in the +harbor and throng the wharves differ but little from the style of +those used by the Norse pirates a thousand years ago, and who +congregated in force about these very shores. The oldest part of the +city lies on the eastern side of the harbor where the fortress of +Bergenhuus and the double-towered Maria Kirke are situated. The +inhabitants are not amphibious, but they certainly ought to be, since +it rains here five days out of every seven. Some one has aptly called +it the fatherland of drizzle, "where the hooded clouds, like friars, +tell their beads in drops of rain." The first and foremost business +of the place, therefore, is dealing in umbrellas and water-proof +clothing. We did not observe any special crest as indicating the +corporate arms of the city, but if such a design exists, it should be +surmounted by a full-length figure of Jupiter Pluvius. We were +assured that the rain-fall here averages six feet annually. There is +a tradition of sunny days having occurred in Bergen, but much +patience and long waiting are necessary to verify it. Still there is +plenty of life and business activity in the broad clean streets, and +more especially in and about the wharves and shipping. + +One sees here more of the traditional Norwegian costumes than are to +be met with either at Gottenburg or Christiania. Some of the old men +who came from the inland villages were particularly noticeable, +forming vivid and artistic groups, with their long snowy hair flowing +freely about face and neck in the most patriarchal fashion. They wore +red-worsted caps, open shirt-collars, knee-breeches, and jackets and +vests decked with a profusion of silver buttons, like a Basque +postilion. The women wear black jackets, bright-red bodices and +scarlet petticoats, with white linen aprons. On the street called the +Strandgade many Norse costumes mingle together like colors in a +kaleidoscope. Our guide pointed out one group, which was perhaps more +strongly individualized than the rest, as coming from the Tellemark +district. Various nationalities were also represented, not forgetting +the despised and much persecuted Jews, who are nearly as unpopular in +Scandinavia as they are in Germany and Russia. The Strandgade is the +longest thoroughfare in the city, and runs parallel with the harbor. +By turning to the left after reaching the custom-house and passing up +the rising ground, one reaches the Observatory, from whence a fine +view of Bergen and its environs is obtained. The dusky red-tiled +roofs crowded together, the square wooden towers of the churches +mingled with the public gardens dressed in warmest verdure, form +altogether a quaint and impressive picture. The town rises from the +bay nearly in the form of a crescent, nestling at the feet of the +surrounding hills on the west coast of Norway, between those two +broad and famous arms of the sea, the Sognefjord and the +Hardangerfjord. The first named indents the coast to a distance of +one hundred and six miles, the latter seventy miles,--the first being +north, and the last south of Bergen. The excellent situation of the +harbor and its direct steam communication with European ports give +this ancient city an extensive commerce in proportion to the number +of inhabitants, who do not aggregate more than forty thousand. A +large portion of the town is built upon a promontory, and between it +and the main-land on its north side is the harbor, which is rarely +frozen over owing to the influence of the Gulf Stream, while the +harbor of St. Petersburg, in about the same latitude, is annually +closed by ice for at least three months. + +The staple commodity of Bergen is dried fish, mostly cod, +supplemented by large quantities of cod-liver oil, lumber, and wood +for fuel. It may not be generally known that a considerable portion +of what is denominated cod-liver oil is produced from sharks' livers, +which in fact are believed to be characterized by the same medicinal +qualities as are those of the cod. At any rate, with this object +sharks are sought for along the upper coast of Norway in the region +of the Lofodens, and their livers are employed as described. An +average-sized shark, we were told, will yield thirty gallons of good +merchantable oil, but the article could not obtain a market except +under the popular name of cod-liver oil. Catching the sharks is not +an employment entirely devoid of danger, as they are often found to +be large and very powerful, measuring from twenty-five to thirty feet +in length. The shark like the whale, when it is struck with the +harpoon, must at first be given plenty of line or it will drag down +the boat in its rapid descent to deep water. Sometimes the struggle +to capture the fish is a long and serious one, as it must thoroughly +exhaust itself before it will yield. When finally drawn to the side +of the boat, a heavy well-directed blow upon the nose completely +stuns the creature, and the capture is then complete. The diminution +in the number of sharks upon the coast has led to a large natural +increase in the number of herring, the catching of which forms a +special and profitable branch of Norwegian industry. + +It is here at Bergen that the cargoes of fish caught on the coast at +the far North and within the Arctic Circle are packed and reshipped +to European ports. Lobsters are trapped in immense quantities just +off the coast, whence the London market is mostly supplied. We were +told that over two millions of this product were annually exported to +Great Britain. They are shipped alive to England, where owing to some +attributed excellence they are specially favored above those coming +from any other locality. The Fish Market is the great business centre +of Bergen, situated at the end of the Torv, at a small pier called +Triangelen. The fish intended for local domestic use are kept alive +in large tubs of water near the shore, and when desired by the +purchaser are scooped out with a net, killed by a sharp blow upon the +head, and sold by weight, the price being ridiculously low. Owing to +its topographical character and location, Bergen will never become a +railroad centre; its principal trade will remain in connection with +the sea alone. Ship-building is carried on here to a considerable +extent. We saw one iron steamer which was constructed and equipped in +this harbor; and a finely finished craft she was, of over a thousand +tons burden. There are some fine public squares, a People's Park, +wherein a military band plays twice a week, half-a-dozen churches, a +commodious Theatre, a Royal Palace, a Musical Institute, a Public +Library, and a Museum; but there is scarcely a trace of architectural +beauty in all Norway with the exception of the cathedral at +Tröndhjem, which is formed of a mixture of orders, the Norman +predominating. The Church of St. Mary is only interesting for its +antiquity, dating as it does from the twelfth century. Its curious +and grotesque façade bears the date of 1118. + +A glance at the map will show the reader that Norway is broadest +where a line drawn eastward from Bergen would divide it, giving a +width of a little over two hundred and eighty miles, while the length +of her territory is four times as great. The Gottenburg +liquor-system, as it is called, has long been adopted in this city, +and seems to operate as advantageously here as in the place of its +origin. Nevertheless, the people are what we call in America hard +drinkers, though little absolute drunkenness was observable. The +quaint little shops of the town, which are slightly raised above the +level of the street, have another and rather inferior class of stores +under them, accessible by descending steps from the thoroughfare. +This division of trade, by arranging a series of basement stores, is +so common here as to form a feature of the town; and the same is +observable in Copenhagen, where many jewelry, art, and choice retail +stores are located in the basement of the houses, with an +establishment devoted to some other line of trade above them. The +shops in Bergen are well filled with odd antique articles, mostly of +domestic use, such as old plate, drinking-cups, spoons, and silver +goblets bearing the marks of age and the date of two or three +centuries past. A little experience is apt to create considerable +doubt in the minds of inquiring travellers as to the genuineness of +these articles, which, like those found in the odd curio shops of +Japan, are very largely manufactured to order in this blessed year of +our Lord, however they may be dated. + +The native jewelry is curious and some of it quite pretty, not for +personal wear, but as a souvenir. Evidences of thrift and prosperity +impress the stranger on every side, while extremes in the social +condition of the people do not appear to exist. They are neither very +rich nor very poor. There are no mendicants or idlers to be seen; all +persons appear to have some legitimate occupation. One looks about +in vain for any sign of the thirty-two churches and half-score of +convents which history tells us once made of the place a noted +religious centre and a Mecca for devotional pilgrims. The Cathedral +of St. Olaf is venerable, dating from 1248; but except its antiquity +it presents nothing of special interest to the stranger. There are +numerous handsome villas in the immediate environs, where some very +creditable landscape gardening is to be seen, while the surrounding +fields are clothed in emerald vegetation. Some new villas were +observed in course of erection, but as we continued our stroll the +sterile and rocky hills which form the background to the picture of +Bergen were soon reached. A favorite walk in the suburbs is to the +Svartediket, a lake which supplies the city with water, pure and +excellent. At Tjosanger, not far away, is one of the ancient wooden +churches of the country, almost identical with the more noted one at +Borgund. This queer old structure at the last named place now belongs +to the Antiquarian Society of Christiania, and is very curious with +its numerous gables, shingle-covered roofs, and walls surmounted with +dragons' heads. It is strangely sombre, with its dark and windowless +interior, but is the best preserved church of its kind in all Norway, +dating as it does from the twelfth century. But we were speaking of +the immediate environs of Bergen. About a mile outside of the city +there is a leper hospital, devoted solely to the unfortunate victims +of this terrible disease. Notwithstanding the persistent and +scientific effort which has been made by the Government, still it +seems extremely difficult to eradicate this dreaded pest from the +country. The too free use of fish as a food is thought by many to be +a promoting cause of leprosy. Those who are affected by it are not +permitted to marry if the disease has once declared itself; so that +as a hereditary affliction it is very properly kept in check. There +are three hospitals set aside in the country for the exclusive +treatment of those thus afflicted; one is at Molde, one at Trondhjem, +and the other we have mentioned at Bergen. Physicians say that the +disease is slowly decreasing in the number of its victims, and the +patients now domiciled in the three districts amount to but fifteen +hundred, equally divided among them. One mitigating feature of this +loathsome affliction is the fact that it is not considered to be +contagious; but those who inherit it can never escape its fatality. + +The country lying between Bergen and Christiania, and indeed nearly +every part of Norway, presents great attractions to the angler, who +must, however, go prepared to rough it; but if he be a true lover of +the sport, this will enhance rather than detract from the pleasure. +The country is sparsely inhabited, and affords only the rudest +accommodations for the wandering pedestrian who does not confine +himself to the regular post-routes. The innumerable lakes, rivers, +and streams swarm with delicious fish,--trout, grayling, and salmon +being the most abundant species of the finny tribe. Many Englishmen +come hither annually, attracted solely by this sport. The disciples +of the rod who know these regions do not forget to bring with them +ample protection against mosquitoes; for these tiny creatures are in +wonderful abundance during the summer season, dividing the mastership +with that other Norwegian pest, the flea, who is here the +acknowledged giant of his tribe. Hotel accommodations even in Bergen +are nothing to boast of. Every foreigner is supposed to be craving +for salmon and reindeer meat, raw, smoked, pickled, or cooked. + +A drive of a few leagues inland upon the charming roads in any +direction will fill the stranger with delight, and afford +characteristic pictures of great beauty. The farmers hang their cut +grass upon frames of wood to dry, as we do clothes on washing-day. +These frames are arranged in the mowing-fields in rows of a hundred +feet in length, and are about five feet high. The effect in the +haying season is quite striking and novel to the stranger. The +agricultural tools used upon the farms are of the most primitive +character; the ploughs are single-handed, and as awkward as the rude +implement in use to-day in Egypt. The country houses are low, the +roofs often covered with soil, and not infrequently rendered +attractive with blooming heather and little blue-and-pink blossoms +planted by Nature's hand,--the hieroglyphics in which she writes her +impromptu poetry. In the meadows between the hills are sprinkled +harebells as blue as the azure veins on a lovely face; while here and +there patches of great red clover-heads are seen nodding heavily +with their wealth of golden sweets. Farther away in solitary glens +white anemones delight the eye, in company with ferns of tropical +variety of form and color. The blossoms of the multebær, almost +identical with that of the strawberry, are also abundant. The +humidity of the atmosphere of the west coast, and especially in the +latitude of Bergen, favors floral development. All through +Scandinavia one meets these bright mosaics of the soil with a sense +of surprise, they are so delicate, so frail, creations of such short +life, yet lovely beyond compare, born upon the very verge of eternal +frost. How Nature enters into our hearts and confides her amorous +scents through winsome flowers! In these rambles afield one meets +occasionally a peasant, who bows low, removing his hat as the +stranger passes. Without showing the servility of the common people +of Japan, they yet exhibit all their native courtesy. Now and again +the road passes through reaches of pine forest, still and aromatic, +the soil carpeted with soft yellow fir-needles, where if one pauses +to listen there comes a low, undefined murmur of vegetable and insect +life, like the sound that greets the ear when applied to an empty +sea-shell. Some wood-paths were found sprinkled with dog-violets and +saxifrage, fragrant as Gan Eden; others were daintily fringed with +purple heart's-ease, captivating in their sylvan loveliness. Of +song-birds there were none; and one could not but hunger for their +delicious notes amid such suggestive surroundings. + +English is very generally spoken by the merchants of Bergen, and may +almost be said to constitute its commercial tongue. It is taught in +all the "people's schools" as they are called, of which there are +twenty supported by the town. In conversing with the citizens, they +appear to be of more than average intelligence and liberal in +opinions save for a few local prejudices. A Norwegian does not waste +much love upon Sweden or its people. There is no bitterness +expressed, but the two kingdoms united in one are still in a certain +sense natural rivals. They are only combined to sustain their mutual +political interests as it regards other nations. They have a saying +at Bergen: "We love the English, and drink tea; the Swedes love the +French, and drink coffee." Still, it is so clearly for their national +interest to remain united that there is no fear of their seriously +falling out. The Norwegian constitution is perhaps as near an +approach to a perfect democracy as can possibly be achieved under a +constitutional monarchy. This constitution is of her own making. She +has "home rule" in its fullest sense, with her own Parliament and +ministers in all departments except that of foreign affairs. She has +even her own excise, and her own taxation direct and indirect. She +contributes five, and Sweden twelve, seventeenths of the support of +the royal family. She furnishes her proper quota of soldiers and +sailors for the army and navy. In short, she makes her own laws and +appoints her own officials to enforce them. No Swede holds any +political office in Norway. The constitution was proclaimed on the +4th of November, 1814. The whole of the legislative and part of the +executive power of the realm is invested in the Storthing, which is +an emanation from and the representative of the sovereign people. So +limited is the power of the King that he can make no appointment to +public office in Norway, and over the laws passed by the Storthing he +has but a limited veto. That is to say, he may veto a bill; but the +passage of it a second time, though it may be by only a bare +majority, places it beyond his prerogative. + +There are a few Moravians settled in various parts of the country, +but they are nowhere sufficiently numerous to establish organized +congregations. The doctrine of Luther seems to be almost universally +accepted, and appears to answer all the spiritual wants of the +people. + +Strangers visit with more than passing interest the admirable free +industrial school for girls which flourishes and does its grand work +faithfully at Bergen. Here female children from eight to sixteen +years of age are taught practically the domestic industries under +circumstances robbed of every onerous regulation, and are to be seen +daily in cheerful groups at work upon all sorts of garments, +supervised by competent teachers of their own sex. Such a +well-conducted and practical institution cannot but challenge the +admiration of even comparatively indifferent persons. Possessed of +all these prudential and educational appreciations, it is not +surprising that Bergen has sent forth some eminent representatives +in science, art, and literature. Among them the most familiar are +perhaps Ole Bull, the famous musician; Ludwig Holberg, the +accomplished traveller; Johann Welhaven, the Norse poet; and J. C. C. +Dahl, the justly celebrated painter. + +We spoke of Bergen as situated on the west coast of Norway, between +two of the most remarkable fjords in the country. The Hardanger +richly repays a visit. The beauty, grandeur, and variety of its +scenery is hardly surpassed in Scandinavia, which is so famous in +these respects in all its parts. It is easily accessible from Bergen, +as during the summer steamers sail thither three times a week, making +the entire tour of the fjord. In many respects it resembles the +Sognefjord. Though it is forty miles less in extent, it is yet the +largest fjord in superficial measurement of any on the coast. Both +are enclosed by rocky, precipitous, and lofty mountains, ranging from +three to four thousand feet in height, characterized by snow-clad +tops of virgin white, mingled with which are many extensive glaciers. +The Sognefjord is more especially important as a water-way extending +from the sea over a hundred miles inland, and averaging over four +miles in width, having in parts the remarkable depth of four thousand +feet. At its upper extremity is situated the largest glacier in +Europe. In the Hardangerfjord there are many pleasant and thrifty +hamlets near the water's edge, while broad fields of grain, thickly +growing woods, and acres of highly cultivated soil show a spirit of +successful industry seconded by the kindly aid of Nature. Wherever an +opportunity occurs, the greensward springs up in such vivid color as +to seem tropical, all the more intensified by its close proximity to +the region of ceaseless frost. The traveller who is familiar with the +Lake of Lucerne will be constantly reminded of that beautiful piece +of land-locked water while sailing up either of these remarkable, +grand, and interesting arms of the North Sea. So lofty are the +mountains, and so abruptly do they rise out of the water at certain +points, that while sailing near the shore within their deep shadow +the darkness of night seems to encompass the vessel. If one has not +time to go farther north in Norway, a visit to and careful inspection +of these two extensive fjords will give a very good idea of the +peculiarities of the entire coast. The grand fjords north of this +point are none of them more extensive, but some of the mountain +scenery is bolder and many of the elevations greater; the glaciers +also come down nearer to the coast-line and to the sea. + +Let no one who tarries for a few days at Bergen fail to make an +excursion to the Folgefonden, or Hardanger glaciers. Of course an +experienced guide is necessary, as fatal accidents sometimes occur +here, particularly after a fresh fall of snow which covers up the +huge clefts in the ice. These glaciers extend about forty miles in +length by fifteen or twenty in width, here and there intersected by +enormous chasms. Hunters and adventurous climbers have many times +disappeared down these abysses, never again to be seen or heard from. +Bears and reindeer have also fallen into and perished in these +clefts. Persons who explore these glaciers wear spiked shoes as a +necessary precaution, and to aid them in creeping along the slippery, +rubbled surface of the ice. With a proper guide and reasonable care, +however, there is little danger to be apprehended, or at least no +more than is encountered by climbers among the Swiss Alps. These +glaciers, as we have shown, are not confined to the mountain regions +and elevated plateaus, but extend gradually downward in their lower +portions very near to the shore, where vegetation in strong contrast +thrives close to their borders. Farther northward the glacial effects +are bolder and more numerous; but these accessible from Bergen are +by no means to be neglected by travellers who would study +understandingly this remarkable phase of Arctic and Alpine regions. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Ancient and Modern Trondhjem. -- Runic Inscriptions. -- A Famous + Old Cathedral. -- Local Characteristics. -- Romantic Story of + King Olaf. -- Curious Local Productions. -- An Island Prison. -- + Lafoss Falls. -- Corn Magazines. -- Land-owners. -- Wood-cutters. + -- Forests. -- A Tumble Overboard. -- A Genuine Cockney. -- + Comparative Length of Days. -- Characteristics of Boreal Regions. + -- Arctic Winter Fisheries. -- The Ancient Cathedral Town of + Lund; the Oxford of Sweden. -- Pagan Times. + + +Trondhjem is situated on a fjord of the same name occupying a +peninsula formed by the river Nid, and is surrounded by beautiful and +picturesque scenery. A delightful view of the town and its environs +may be had from the old fort of Kristiansten. Here resided the kings +of Norway in the olden time. It is now a thriving but small city, the +seat of a bishopric, and contains a Royal Academy of Sciences, a +Museum embracing some remarkable examples of ancient weapons besides +well-preserved armor, and there is here also a good Public Library. +The Cathedral of St. Olaf is quite famous, being the finest Gothic +edifice in all Scandinavia, and the only local object of special +interest to the traveller. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries it +was the burial-place of the kings of Norway. It is built in its +modern form of a soft gray stone which was quarried near the town, +but the older walls and foundation date back many centuries, it +being the restoration of a much more ancient church which was +partially destroyed by fire in the year 1719. For many centuries +carving in stone and wood has been a specialty in Scandinavia. The +old Runic inscriptions are all carved in stone. Some of these works +going back seven or eight hundred years, are of the most quaint and +curious character. In this old cathedral there is a fine display of +carvings in the way of bosses and capitals. Some of the Swedish +churches exhibit similar specimens of rude art, which are of great +interest to antiquarians. The Trondhjem cathedral contains a copy of +Thorwaldsen's Christ, the original of which is in the Frue Kirke at +Copenhagen. This colossal figure seen in the dim light of the +cathedral eloquently expresses its inscription: "Come unto me all ye +that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Many of +the tombs in the cemetery adjoining the cathedral were observed to be +decked with flowers so fresh as to indicate frequent renewals, and +yet many years had intervened since the date borne by the stone slabs +above the dead who were thus gracefully remembered. The +Scandinavians, like the Turks, make the graves of the departed a +pleasant resort for leisure hours. The services performed in the old +cathedral were those of the English Church on the occasion of our +visit, which was on a Sunday; but the attendance was so small as to +be remarked upon, not fifty persons being present, though there is +quite a colony of English residents here. + +After Christiania and Bergen Trondhjem is the next largest town in +Norway, having fully twenty-five thousand inhabitants and enjoying +quite an active commerce, as its shipping indicated. The +thoroughfares are broad and cheerful, and are liberally and +tastefully adorned with a fine growth of trees. The Kongensgade +(King's Street), two hundred feet in width, runs from end to end of +the city, and with the Munkegade, divides it like a cross. The latter +street intersects the great market-place, which is in the centre of +the town. The principal shops are found on the Strandgade. The +houses, rarely over two stories in height, are painted white and +roofed with red tiles, like scarlet caps upon light-haired men. The +façades are full of windows, which in turn are crowded with growing +and blooming plants. The irregularity of the cobble-stones used as +pavements for the streets renders pedestrianism very uncomfortable, +and riding in a vehicle even more so. The Arsenal on the left bank of +the Nid was once the palace home of the ancient kings, and the royal +throne is still exhibited to the curious visitor, preserved in an +unused portion of the structure. Those familiar with Scandinavian +history will remember that Trondhjem was founded about a thousand +years ago by King Olaf Trygvason, upon the site of a much older city +named Nidaros. There is certainly nothing visible to indicate its +great antiquity. The adventurous life of King Olaf, which recurs to +us in this connection, may be outlined in a few words, and is more +romantic than that of any other ruler of Norway known to us. Born a +prince, he barely escaped assassination at the hands of the usurper +of his rights, by fleeing from the country in charge of his mother. +They were captured by pirates, separated and sold into slavery. Then +followed a period of deprivation and hardship; but at a comparatively +early age Olaf was opportunely discovered and ransomed by a relative +who had never ceased to seek for the missing youth. He soon after +became a distinguished sea-king, of that class which we call pirates +in our day. His career in this field of adventure is represented to +have been one of daring and reckless hardihood, characterized by +merciless aggression and great success. Finally Olaf married an Irish +princess, embraced Christianity, and fought his way to the throne of +Norway, assuming the crown in the year of our Lord 991. From this +time he became a zealous missionary, propagating his faith by the +sword; and like all other religious zealots he was guilty of +outrageous acts of cruelty, proving the axiom that "the worst of +madmen is a saint run mad." Seven years subsequent to the last named +date he destroyed the Pagan temple of Thor and Odin at Trondhjem, +with all its venerated idols. Upon the site of this temple he built a +Christian church, making the city his seat of government; and so it +remained the capital down to the time of the union with Denmark. Olaf +was slain in battle while fighting for his throne, and was canonized +by the church, his shrine at Trondhjem being for centuries a Mecca +for pious pilgrims from all parts of Europe. In such veneration were +the memory and services of this converted pirate held by a certain +class of religionists, that churches were erected in his name at +Constantinople and elsewhere. His body lies buried in the present +cathedral; and, remarkable to relate, it was found to be incorrupt so +late as 1541, according to reliable historical record, at which time +the tomb underwent an official examination induced by some State +question of importance. It was in this cathedral that Bernadotte was +crowned King of Norway, in 1818; Oscar I., in 1844; Charles XV., in +1860; and Oscar II., the present sovereign of the two Kingdoms, in +1873. + +In some of the fancy-goods shops on the Strandgade one can purchase +silver ornaments of native design and workmanship, quite as original +and peculiar as those produced at Trichinopoly in middle India, or at +Genoa in Italy. Choice furs, such as delicate and well-cured skins of +sable and fox, can be had here at reasonable rates, made up in the +form of simple mantles and robes. It was observed that upon entering +a shop here the customer invariably removes his hat out of respect to +the store-keeper, whether man or woman, and remains thus uncovered +while perfecting his purchase. Courtesy is a cheap though potent +commodity, and wholesome lessons may often be acquired in unexpected +places. One curious local production was observed in the form of +eider-down rugs, capes, cloaks, and the like, which were also seen at +Christiania. One very fine specimen was in the form of a cloak +designed for ladies' wear, but which seemed to be rather an expensive +luxury at the price asked, which was a thousand dollars. + +A short walk from the town brings one to Hlade, where stands the +famous, or rather infamous, Jarl Hakon's castle, and from whence he +ruled over the country round about with an iron hand in the olden +time. He was a savage Heathen, believing in and practising human +sacrifices, evidences of which are pointed out to the curious +visitor. About a mile from the town, in the fjord, is the island of +Munkholm, once the site of a Benedictine monastery, as its name +indicates, and which was erected in 1028. The base of one of the +towers, mouldering and moss-grown, now only remains. Victor Hugo +graphically describes this island in his "Han d'Islande." Here the +famous minister of Christian V., Griffenfeldt, was confined for many +weary years. His crime was absolutely nothing, his incarceration for +this long period being purely the result of political intrigue. When +he was finally brought to the scaffold for execution, a messenger +interrupted the headsman at the last moment, and announced a pardon +from the King. "The pardon," said the worn out sufferer, "is severer +than the penalty!" + +A walk or drive of three or four miles up the beautiful valley of the +Nid carries one to the Lafoss Falls, upper and lower, situated about +a mile from each other; and though classed among the ordinary +waterfalls of Norway, they are superior to anything of the sort in +Switzerland. The upper fall is nearly a hundred feet high, with a +width of five hundred feet; the lower one is eighty feet in height +and about one third as wide as the other. The falls of the Rhine at +Schaffhausen may be compared to them; but these Scandinavian falls +are more remarkable in size, as well as more perpendicular. They are +annually visited by large numbers of tourists from Europe and +America, and have, like all such strong demonstrations of Nature, an +individuality quite impressive. The salmon-fishing in this +neighborhood is said to be the best in the country. The topographical +formation of Norway precludes the extensive building of railroads, +but three thousand square miles of the kingdom are covered with lakes +which greatly facilitate inland communication. Lake Mjösen, already +spoken of, and Randsfjord are respectively sixty and forty-five miles +long. The hundreds of fjords which indent the west coast form another +system of waterways, the four largest being the Hardangerfjord, +Sognefjord, Porsanger, and Christiania. The population concentrates +on and about these natural means of communication, and thus all are +more or less utilized. About the shores of the Trondhjemfjord are to +be seen delightful green fields and thrifty farms, vegetation +advancing as if by magic under the continuous heat of the ardent sun. +The latitude here is 64° 65'. The mean annual temperature is set +down in the local statistics at 42° Fahrenheit, which it will be +found by comparison corresponds with the winter temperature on the +southern coast of England. + +We were here told of a system of storage for grain, long established, +but which was quite new to us, and which as a local expedient appears +to possess considerable merit. It seems that there are what is called +Corn Magazines organized in various districts, to which farmers may +send a portion of their surplus produce, and whence also they may be +supplied with loans of grain when required. The depositors receive at +the rate of twelve and a half per cent increase upon their deposit of +grain for twelve months, and the borrowers replace the quantities +advanced to them at the expiration of the same period, paying an +interest of twenty-five per cent in kind. The difference in the +amount of interest on the grain received and that loaned pays the +necessary expenses of storage and of sustaining the system. As the +sole object is the mutual benefit of all concerned, no profit above +actual expenses is demanded or considered to be desirable. The +necessity for these magazines is owing to the precarious character of +the crops,--a peculiarity of which is that there may be an abundance +in one locality, and a partial or even total failure of the crop in +another, though they may be separated by only a few miles from each +other. These granaries are fostered by the Government. + +As one travels northward, it is found that farming as a permanent +occupation gradually and naturally ceases. The populace, gathered +about the fjords in small villages, devote their time to fishing, +trading in skins, reindeer-meat, and the like. In middle and +southern Norway, where farming is the principal occupation of the +people, at the death of the head of the family the land belonging to +the deceased is equally divided among the surviving children. No +estates are entailed in this country. The division of real property +tends to foster a spirit of independence and self-respect which will +be looked for in vain among those nations where the land is in the +possession of the few. It is a remarkable fact that the number of +landed proprietors in Norway, in proportion to the aggregate of the +population, is greater than in any other country in Europe. Reliable +statistics show that there is here one estate for every twenty-two +persons; while in Scotland, for instance, there is but one for each +seven hundred! The Scandinavian farmer is neither poor nor rich; he +raises from his own soil nearly all the necessities of life, even +including the family clothing,--exchanging a small portion of his +surplus for such articles as he requires, but which are not of home +product. The average farms in Norway consist of from sixty to +seventy-five acres each, though some are much larger. This does not +include a certain portion of mountain pasturage, only available in +summer, but which is attached to every farm located in the valleys, +known (as already described) as the sæter. + +The mountain scenery of the northern part of the country, especially +near the coast, is not excelled in its bold and rugged character in +any part of the world. Norway is here very sparsely inhabited,--a few +huts, as we have shown, being occasionally perched upon elevations +which seem to be accessible to eagles and reptiles only, where +footways or narrow paths are built upon piles across gaping ravines, +or are formed of timber suspended by chains securely fastened to the +rocks. The inhabitants of these desolate regions find occupation and +procure a precarious living by cutting wood for fuel, which they +transport upon their backs, or by the production of charcoal. In the +more accessible places they cut timber for building purposes, which +they float down the seething rapids and tortuous rivers to the +villages and cities. Occasionally these people kill a bear or trap a +wolf, from which sources they realize both food and a small +government bounty in money. The fir, the pine, and the white birch +abound, the first growing at an elevation of twenty-five hundred feet +above the level of the sea. Now and again the eye is arrested by the +gracefully-disposed mountain-ash, heavy with clusters of red berries; +and often intermingled with the undergrowth, the pale dog-rose is +seen growing far beyond the reach of human hands. In Sweden there are +immense forests of firs hundreds of miles in extent, where the aspen +and mountain-ash also abound. The oak is rare, but is found well +developed in some of the southern districts of both Norway and +Sweden. Wood is almost universally used for family fuel, as well as +for manufacturing purposes, though some considerable quantities of +peat are realized from the bogs in some of the southern districts, +which is also consumed in domestic use. + +The usual route of those who seek to gain a view of the "midnight +sun,"--that is, of witnessing the phenomenon of the sun passing round +the horizon without sinking beneath it,--is to depart from Trondhjem +by sea for the North Cape, skirting the iron-bound coast for a +distance of about seven hundred miles. This was the route taken by +the author, and over which he will ask the reader to accompany him. +As the steamer was just casting off her shore-lines and getting +underway, a passenger who seemed to have been accidentally detained +came running down the pier to get on board, in doing which he missed +his proper footing and fell into the water alongside. He was promptly +relieved from his somewhat perilous position, but in a decidedly +dripping condition. After descending to his cabin for a short time he +appeared in more presentable shape, wearing a plaid travelling suit +which was rather "loud" in the size of the diagonal figures. He wore +a single eye-glass, stuck after the English fashion before his right +eye, depending from which was a thin gold chain. His principal +occupation seemed to be the manipulation of that eye-glass, shaking +it out of place by a vigorous jerk of the head, and replacing it +again incessantly. The fellow was an unmistakable cockney, and a more +verdant specimen it would be difficult to conceive of. His great +simplicity as exhibited at times was almost beyond belief. He +appeared to be travelling alone, but though evidently near his +majority he was scarcely fit to do so. His ideas of geography, or +indeed of whither we were sailing, seemed to be ludicrously +involved. A Yankee schoolboy of ten years would have proved to be a +veritable Solomon compared with our cockney fellow-passenger. + +As we sail northward, the rapid lengthening of the days becomes more +and more obvious. At Lund, in the extreme south of Sweden, the +longest day experienced is seventeen hours and a half; at Stockholm, +two hundred miles farther north, the longest day of the year is +eighteen hours and a half; at Bergen, in Norway, three hundred miles +north of Lund, the longest day is nineteen hours; and at Trondhjem, +five hundred miles north of Lund, the longest day is twenty-one +hours. Above this point of latitude to the North Cape there is +virtually no night at all during the brief summer season, as the sun +is visible, or nearly so, for the whole twenty-four hours. From early +in May until about the first of August, north of Trondhjem, the stars +take a vacation, or at least they are not visible, while the moon is +so pale as to give no light, the Great Bear puts by his seven +lustres, and the diamond belt of Orion is unseen. But the heavenly +lamps revive by the first of September, and after a short period are +supplemented by the marvellous and beautiful radiations of the Aurora +Borealis. Winter now sets in, the sun disappears entirely from sight, +and night reigns supreme, the heavens shining only with subdued +light. Were it not for the brilliancy of the Auroral light, the +fishermen could hardly pursue their winter vocation, that being the +harvest-time with them, and midnight is considered to be the best +period of the twenty-four hours for successful fishing in these +frosty regions. In and about the Lofoden Islands alone five thousand +boats are thus regularly employed at the height of the season, giving +occupation to from twenty to twenty-five thousand men. These people +are mostly Scandinavians, properly so designated; but other countries +also contribute their quota to swell the number, many coming +especially from northern Russia and northern Finland east of the +Bothnian Gulf. + +Though Lund is not in the direct route over which we propose to take +the reader, still having mentioned this ancient and most interesting +locality, a few words in relation to it will not be out of place. +To-day it has a population of some twelve or fifteen thousand only, +but according to popular tradition it was once a city of two hundred +thousand inhabitants, and was a famous and flourishing capital two +thousand years ago, long before the birth of Christ. Its former +churches and monasteries have crumbled to dust, the grounds and +neighborhood being now only remarkable for the beautiful trees which +have sprung up and covered the wrinkles that ruthless time has scored +upon the face of the earth. The Lund of our day is a sleepy, dreamy +old town, called by some the Oxford of Sweden, because of the +acknowledged excellence of its University. The number of students +attached thereto we could not learn, but we saw them in goodly +numbers, living in separate lodgings about the town and only coming +together at the period of recitations and public lectures. The system +of instruction here is unique; enough was learned to satisfy one of +that, but the details were not clearly defined. + +Lund has also its cathedral, a noble Norman structure dedicated to +Saint Lawrence, and which is all things considered one of the finest +in Sweden, though it is a little grotesque by reason of the +marvellous giants and impossible dwarfs sculptured upon the pillars +of the interior. It was founded in the eleventh century, and has been +more than once fully renovated. The town is of easy access. One has +only to cross the Sound from Copenhagen, and it is richly worth +visiting. It was a "holy" city in Pagan times, containing in those +days temples to Odin and Thor, and was especially remarkable for the +ceremonies which took place there connected with the worship of these +Heathen deities, accompanied by human sacrifice. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Along the Coast of Norway. -- Education at the Far North. -- An + Interesting Character. -- A Botanical Enthusiast. -- Remarkable + Mountain Tunnel. -- A Hard Climb. -- The Seven Sisters. -- Young + England. -- An Amateur Photographer. -- Horseman's Island. -- + Ancient Town of Bodöe. -- Arctic Flowers. -- The Famous + Maelström. -- Illusions! -- The Wonderful Lofoden Islands. -- + Grand and Unique Scenery. -- Glaciers. -- Nature's Architecture. + -- Mysterious Effects. -- Attraction for Artists. + + +The coast of Norway from the most southerly part which is known as +the Naze, to the North Cape which is its extreme point in that +direction, is bordered by innumerable rocky islands, and also by deep +fjords winding inland from ten to fifty miles each among masses of +rock forming lofty, perpendicular walls, often towering a thousand +feet and more in height. The traveller is reminded by the aspect of +these fjords of the striking scenery of the Saguenay River in North +America. The turbulent waves of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans +hurled against the coast by the western gales for many thousands of +years, have steadily worn into the land, and thus formed these +remarkable fjords; or perhaps after they were begun by volcanic +action, the wearing of the water has gradually brought about their +present condition. The coast of Sweden, on the other hand, is formed +by the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, both of which are inland +waters; and though there are many islands on the Swedish coast, there +are no fjords worthy of mention. Notwithstanding that the extreme +length of Norway from north to south is hardly twelve hundred miles, +yet so numerous and extensive are these peculiar arms of the sea that +its coast-line is estimated to measure over three thousand +miles,--which gives to these deep indentures of the west coast a +length of eighteen hundred miles. The entire peninsula known under +the general name of Scandinavia is composed of Norway, Sweden, and a +small portion of the Russian possessions in the northeast. This +division of country supports a population of little less than seven +millions, and contains in round numbers three hundred thousand square +miles. To geologists it is especially interesting to know that the +mountains of this section of the globe are almost wholly of primitive +rocks, presenting as near as possible the same form as when they were +first solidified. They are rarely overlaid with more recent +formations, but stand forth as tangible evidence of the great +antiquity of this region. + +In her course northward the steamer winds in and out among the many +islands and fjords, touching occasionally at small settlements on the +main-land to discharge light freight, and to land or take on board an +occasional passenger. The few persons who came from the little +clusters of houses, which are not sufficient in number to be called a +village, were found to be of more than ordinary intelligence, neat +and clean in their appearance; and, much to our surprise, they often +spoke English. We were told that even in these sparsely inhabited +regions, education is provided for by what is termed the "ambulatory +system;" that is, one able teacher instructs the youth of three or +four neighboring districts, accommodating the convenience of all by +suitable variations of time and place in holding school-sessions. + +Among the passengers who came on board our steamer at Trondhjem as we +were starting for the north was one whose personal peculiarities had +attracted some attention. He was a man of fifty years or more, with +iron-gray hair, and a tall, slim figure. He wore a long gray surtout, +a flat, flabby cloth cap, with a broad, straight leather visor, +beneath which were shaggy grizzly brows, so heavy indeed as to throw +his eyes into shadow, deep as a well. His wrinkled face, long and +narrow, was supplemented by a double chin as full of folds as his +cap. This man glanced about him occasionally, with large blue eyes of +such marked intelligence as to indicate the possession of plenty of +brains. Fastened across his shoulder there depended upon his left +side a long round tin box painted green. He seemed quite wrapped up +in his own thought, and addressed no one. He had just seated himself +in one corner of the deck, apparently for a nap, when we rounded to +at a landing, on the second day of the voyage northward. Among those +who came on board from this place were two or three peasant women +destined for the next station, with whom was a young girl who held in +her hand a tiny bouquet of simple cut flowers. The drowsy figure of +the old German, for that was his nationality, suddenly became +animated, and he was seen hastening towards the girl, and extending a +piece of silver, which was quickly exchanged for the cluster of +flowers. A moment later he had assumed his former position, and with +his tin box open before him was arranging his floral prize. His +profession was no longer a mystery. He was a botanist,--a botanist +_con amore_. Meeting him upon this ground, he was found to be a most +delightful talker and a devout disciple of Linnæus. He was so +eloquent upon the properties of flowers,--their disposition, their +genealogy, their connubial ties, the fragrance of their breath, their +length of life,--that he might have been talking of humanity rather +than of the denizens of Flora's kingdom. Every bit of fern was +treasured; every leaf, every pale blossom possessed feeling, +consciousness of care, interesting habits, and spoke a familiar +language to him. It was delightful to hear him discuss their +properties with such enthusiasm, so tenderly and lovingly. It is to +the faithful researches of such simple and sincere devotees of +science that we are indebted for our knowledge of Nature's daintiest +secrets. Among the flowers brought on board by the young girl was a +deep blue orchis. "See," said the narrow-chested, thin-voiced old +man, "this is the _Orchis maculata_, the Virgin's and Devil's hand, +with one prong of the root dark and crooked, while the other is +straight and white. Behold! I place it in this basin of water; the +white hand floats upon the surface, the black hand sinks!" The old +man gazed in silence for a moment; then added: "It is the emblem of +good triumphing over evil." + +How gentle and benignant the nature that dwelt within the rough +exterior of this enthusiast! + +The course of the northern-bound steamers takes them by the +celebrated island of Torghatten, which is pierced entirely through by +a remarkable natural tunnel. The opening on the precipitous side +occurs about half way up between the sea-level and the apex. The +island rises gradually from the water at first, but soon becomes +abrupt, finishing at a height of about one thousand feet. Here the +steamer comes to anchor for a few hours, to enable tourists to land +and examine the tunnel. If the sea happens to be rough, however, this +is not possible. A steep and rather trying climb over the spongy moss +and rubble stones, where there is no definite path, brings one at +last to the mouth of the opening, which is so regular in form that it +would almost seem to have been constructed for some useful purpose by +human hands, rather than by any freak of Nature. The floor of the +tunnel is quite uneven and rough, being strewn with rocks that have +fallen from the roof, owing to atmospheric disintegrating influences +operating for many ages. It very naturally recalled the Grotto of +Posilippo at Naples, surmounted by Virgil's tomb, though the Italian +tunnel is artificial, while Torghatten is unmistakably natural. This +tunnel is sixty feet high at the mouth, and between five and six +hundred feet long, maintaining throughout about the same size. +Through the large opening one gets a very curious, half-telescopic +view of the sea and the many islands lying in range. Such a place +would be quite incomplete as a unique resort, and particularly in +Scandinavia, without its special legend attached; but the one we +heard upon the spot was far too extravagant and foolish to repeat in +these pages. This mountain island is said to contain caves which +extend some distance beneath the surrounding waters, but which are +nevertheless perfectly dry. A story is told of one of these being the +bridal chamber of a famous Viking in the olden time, and which is +said to be only accessible by diving beneath the surface of the sea. +Soon after leaving the perforated insular mountain, the "Seven +Sisters" come into view. These are elevations about three thousand +feet high, located upon the island of Alsten, which forms the west +side of Vefsenfjord. They are of remarkable similarity in form, with +deep valleys and dark gorges separating them. From the group there +rolled back across the waters a whole broadside of echoes in response +to the single boom of our forecastle gun fired for the purpose. These +"Sisters" have stood here, in their craggy and solitary grandeur, +unexplored and untrodden for perhaps twice ten thousand years. The +peaks are far too perpendicular for human access. The course in this +region is along the shore of what is called Nordland, extending +longitudinally about forty miles, the interior of which has not yet +been explored. + +We had already passed latitude 66° north, when the captain of the +steamer casually remarked to a group of passengers that we must be on +the look-out, for we should soon cross the line of the Arctic Circle. +Young England was instantly on the alert, with his sticking eye-glass +and fidgety manner, wanting to know what the "line" looked like. +Intelligent glances were exchanged between a couple of gentlemen +passengers, one of whom stepped into the captain's office and brought +out a ship's spy-glass. After carefully sweeping the horizon with the +instrument directed to the northwest, the gentleman thought that he +discovered indications of the "line" already. In this supposition he +was confirmed by his companion, after he also had taken a careful +survey through the glass. Young England stood by, nervously jerking +his eye-glass out of place and putting it back again, and anxious to +get a peep; so he was kindly accommodated. He shouted almost +immediately that he could see the "line," and indulged in rather +boisterous demonstrations of satisfaction at the sight. Presently the +gentleman who had borrowed the glass received it again; but before +returning it to the captain's office he removed a small silk thread +which had been extended across the object-glass. Young England in his +simplicity never suspected the trick played upon his ignorance. The +amateur photographer ("photographic fiend," as he was named by the +passengers) was also on board with his portable machine, aiming it at +everybody and everything. He too was an English cockney of the +shallowest kind; but as regarded any pictorial results from the +innocent machine which he set up all over the ship,--now on the +bridge, now at the taffrail, and again on the forecastle,--there were +none. Not a "negative" was produced during our eight days' voyage +whereby one might judge whether the whole affair was a "blind" or +otherwise. This youth was one degree less verdant than he with the +sticking eye-glass, but yet he had an opinion to offer upon every +topic of conversation, and was, as he believed, quite posted in all +national and political matters at home and abroad. If he lives for a +few years he will doubtless have less faith in his own wisdom, and +will exhibit less conceit to others. + +There is but one day in the year when the phenomenon of the midnight +sun can be seen at the imaginary line which we designate as the +Arctic Circle, a point twenty-three degrees and twenty-eight +minutes from the North Pole; but by sailing some three hundred +miles farther northward to the North Cape, the projecting point of +the extreme north of Norway, it may be observed under favorable +circumstances,--that is, when not obscured by clouds,--for over two +months dating from the middle of May. Soon after passing the Arctic +Circle, fourteen hundred and eight geographical miles from the North +Pole, a singularly formed island is observed, called by the natives +Hestmandö, or Horseman's Island,--a rocky and mountainous formation +of two thousand feet in height, more or less. On approaching the +island from the west, by a liberal aid from the imagination one can +discern the colossal figure of a horseman wrapped in his cloak and +mounted on a charger. It forms a well-known landmark to all +navigating the coast. The summit, it is believed, has never been +reached by human feet. + +The fishing village or town of Bodöe, on the main-land, is one of the +regular stopping places for the steamers that ply on the coast. It +contains some fifteen hundred inhabitants, all toilers of the sea, +and is the chief town of Nordland. Some few of the houses are large +and comfortable, being of modern construction, forming a strong +contrast to the low turf-roofed log-cabins which are to be seen in +such close proximity to them. There is an ancient stone church here +which the traveller should find time to visit,--a quaint building, +with a few antique paintings upon the walls and an atmosphere of past +ages permeating its dim interior. Only the sacred rust of this old +temple makes it worthy of attention. In and about the humble +settlement lovely wild-flowers were observed in profusion,--an +agreeable surprise, for we had hardly expected to find these "smiles +of God's goodness" so far north, within the Arctic Circle. Among them +were the butterfly-orchis and Alpine lady's-mantle, besides a goodly +crop of primroses, all the more attractive because of the seemingly +unpropitious region where they were blooming. Here our earnest but +simple old friend the botanist revelled in his specialty, indeed +lost himself as it seemed, for when we sailed he was nowhere to be +seen, and was surely left behind. "Did he take his baggage with him?" +we asked of an officer of the ship. "No, he had none," was the reply. +And so we had parted from the absorbed gentle old scientist, without +a word of farewell. Louis Philippe lived for a brief period at Bodöe +when travelling as a refugee under the name of Müller, and visitors +are shown the room which he occupied. Under favorable circumstances +the midnight sun is visible here for a period of about four weeks +each season, and many persons tarry at Bodöe to obtain the desired +view without the trouble of travelling farther northward. By +ascending the lofty hill called Lobsaas, one gets here also a grand +though distant view of the remarkable Lofoden Islands. + +After leaving Bodöe the course of the steamers lies directly across +the Vestfjord to the islands just referred to, whose jagged outlines +have been compared to the teeth which line a shark's mouth. They lie +so close together, particularly on the side by which we approached +them, that no opening was visible in their long undulating +mountain-chain until the vessel came close upon them and entered a +narrow winding passage among rocks and cliffs which formed an +entrance channel to the archipelago. In crossing the open sea which +lies between the main-land and the islands rough weather is often +encountered, but once within the shelter of the group, the waters +become calm and mirror-like in smoothness. The passage through the +myriad isles and from one to another, now rounding sharp points and +now making a complete angle in the course, renders it necessary to +"slow down" the steamer, so that she glides silently over the immense +depths of dark waters as if propelled by some strange mysterious +power below her hull. The Lofodens, owing to the clearness of the +atmosphere as seen from Bodöe, appear to be about fifteen or twenty +miles away on the edge of the horizon, but the real distance is +nearly or quite fifty. The play of light and shade is here so +different from that of lower latitudes that the atmosphere seems at +times to be almost telescopic, and the most experienced traveller +finds himself often deceived in judging of distances. + +A little to the westward of the steamer's course in coming hither +from the main-land lies the famous vortex known as the Maelström, the +theme of many a romance and wild conjecture which lives in the memory +of every schoolboy. At certain stages of the wind and tide a fierce +eddy is formed here, which is perhaps somewhat dangerous for very +small boats to cross, but the presumed risk to vessels of the size of +common coasting-craft under proper management is an error. At some +stages of the tide it is difficult even to detect the exact spot +which at other times is so disturbed. Thus we find that another fact +of our credulous youth turns out to be a fable, with a very thin +substratum of fact for its foundation. The tragedies recorded in +connection with the Venetian Bridge of Sighs are proven to be mostly +gross anachronisms; the episode of Tell and the apple was a Swiss +fabrication; and now we know that neither ships nor whales were ever +drawn into the Norwegian Maelström to instant destruction. There are +several other similar rapids in and about these pinnacled islands, +identical in their cause, though the one referred to is the most +restless and formidable. + +On close examination the Lofodens were found to consist of a maze of +irregular mountain-peaks and precipices, often between two and three +thousand feet in height, the passage between them being very +tortuous, winding amid straits interspersed with hundreds of small +rocky islets which were the home of large flocks of sea-birds. "It +seemed," as was expressively remarked by a lady passenger, "like +sailing through Switzerland." Dwarf-trees, small patches of green +grass and moss grew near the water's edge, and carpeted here and +there a few acres of level soil; but the high ridges were bleak and +bare rock, covered in spots with never-melting snow and ice. Most of +the coast of Norway is composed of metamorphic rock; but these +islands are of granite, and for marvellous peaks and oddly-pointed +shapes, deep, far-reaching gulches and cañons, are unequalled +elsewhere. It seemed to us marvellous that a steamer could be safely +navigated through such narrow passages and among such myriads of +sunken rocks. These elevations from beneath the sea varied from mere +turtle-backs, as the sailors called them, just visible above the +water, to mountains with sky-kissing peaks. For a vessel to run upon +one of the low hummocks would be simply destruction, the water +alongside being rarely less than two or three hundred fathoms in +depth. Fortunately the sea is mostly quite smooth within the shelter +of the archipelago, otherwise steam-vessels would rarely enter it. +The compass is brought but little into use. The pilots distinguish +rocks and promontories by their peculiar physiognomy, and they steer +from point to point with remarkable accuracy, arriving and departing +from given stations with the variation of but a few minutes from the +time laid down upon their schedules. Each steamer running upon the +coast carries two pilots, independent of the other officers of the +ship, one of whom is always at the wheel when the vessel is under +way. They are chosen for their responsible character and their +knowledge of the route, and they very justly command high wages. We +stopped briefly at Henningsvær, the centre of the Lofoden cod-fishery +establishments. It is a small town situated at the base of the +Vaagekelle Mountain, an elevation between three and four thousand +feet high. The place smells rank to heaven of dried fish and +cod-liver oil, the combined stench of which articles, with that of +decaying refuse lying everywhere, was truly overpowering. The hardy +fishermen work nearly all winter at their rough occupation, braving +the tempestuous Northern ocean in frail undecked boats, which to an +inexperienced eye seem utterly unfit for such exposed service. The +harvest-time to the cod-fishers here is from January to the middle +of April. Casualties are of course frequent, but we were told that +they are not remarkably so. Winter fishing on the banks of +Newfoundland is believed to be the annual cause of more fatalities +than are experienced among the Lofoden fishermen. Sometimes this +region is visited by terrible hurricanes, as was the case in 1848, on +which occasion five hundred fishermen were swept into eternity in one +hour. Their boats are built of Norway spruce or pine, and are very +light, scarcely more seaworthy than a Swampscott dory. Each has a +single, portable mast which carries one square sail. The crew of a +boat generally consists of six men. These live when on shore in +little log-huts, each containing a score or more of bunks ranged +along the sides one above another. The men come hither, as has been +intimated, from all parts of the North, and return home at the close +of the fishing season. + +It should be made clear to the reader's mind that these matchless +islands off the northwest coast of Norway consist of two +divisions,--the Lofoden and Vesteraalen isles. The Vestfjord +separates the former from the main-land and the Ofotenfjord; and a +prolongation of the Vestfjord separates the latter from Norway +proper. These two groups are separated from each other by the +Raftsund. All the islands on the west of this boundary belong to the +Lofoden, and those on the east and north to the Vesteraalen group. +The total length of all these islands is about a hundred and thirty +miles, and the area is computed at fifteen hundred and sixty square +miles. These estimates, we were informed, had lately been very nearly +corroborated by actual government survey. The population of the +islands will not vary much from twenty thousand. The entire +occupation of the people is fishing, curing the fish, and shipping +them southward. Some of the shrewdest persons engaged in this +business accumulate moderate fortunes in a few years, when they +naturally seek some more genial home upon the main-land. The large +islands contain rivers and lakes of considerable size, but the growth +of trees in this high latitude is sparse, and when found they are +universally dwarfed. There is, however, as the product of the brief +summer season, an abundance of fresh green vegetation, which is +fostered by the humidity of the atmosphere. Still the prevailing +aspect is that of towering, jagged rocks. Though the winters are +long, they are comparatively mild, so much so that the salt water +does not freeze in or about the group at any time of the year. As to +the scenery, the Lofodens must be admitted to surpass in true +sublimity and grandeur anything of their nature to be found in +southern Europe. There is ample evidence showing that in long past +ages these islands were much more extensive than at present, and that +they were once covered with abundant vegetation. But violent +convulsions in the mean time must have rent them asunder, submerging +some entirely, and elevating others into their present irregular +shapes. + +In pursuing her course towards the North Cape, the steamer for a +distance of twenty miles and more glides through a strait remarkable +for its picturesqueness and unique beauty, which is called the +Raftsund. Here the shore is studded by the tiny red cabins of the +fishermen, surrounded by green low-growing foliage, the earth-covered +roofs of the huts often spread with purple heather-bloom, mingled +about the eaves with moss of intensely verdant hue. The high slopes +of the hills are covered with Alpine moss, and the upper cliffs with +snow, whose yielding tears, persuaded by the warm sun, feed +opalescent cascades; while below and all about the ship are the deep +dark waters of the Polar Sea. Neither the majestic Alps, the glowing +Pyrenees, nor the commanding Apennines ever impressed us like these +wild, wrinkled, rock-bound mountains in their virgin mantles of +frost. The sensation when gazing in wonder upon the far-away +Himalayas, the loftiest range on the earth, was perhaps more +overpowering; but the nearness to these abrupt cliffs, volcanic +islands, mountains, and glaciers in boreal regions made it seem more +like Wonderland. The traveller looks heavenward from the deck of the +steamer to see the apex of the steep walls, stern, massive, and +immovable, which line the fjords, lost in the blue sky, or wreathed +in gauzy mantles of mist-clouds, as he may have looked upward from +the deep, green valley of the Yosemite at the lofty crowns of Mount +Starr King, El Capitan, or Sentinel Dome. On again approaching the +main-land the varying panorama is similarly impressive, though +differing in kind. It will be remembered that the coast of Norway +extends three hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, projecting +itself boldly into the Polar Sea, and that two hundred miles and more +of this distance is north of the Lofoden Island group. Now and then +reaches of country are passed affording striking and beautiful +landscape effects, where valleys open towards the sea, affording +views sometimes capped by glaciers high up towards the overhanging +sky, where they form immense level fields of dazzling ice embracing +hundreds of square miles. The enjoyment of a trip along the coast is +largely dependent upon the condition of the weather, which is +frequently very disagreeable. In this respect the author was greatly +favored. The absence of fog and mist was remarkable, while the water +most of the time was as smooth as a pleasure pond. With a heavy, +rolling sea and stormy weather, the trip northward from Bodöe, and +especially among the Lofodens, would be anything but enjoyable. +Sometimes fancy led us to gaze lazily over the bulwarks into the +mirroring sea for long distances, where mountains, gorges, foaming +torrents, and sheer precipices were even more sharply depicted than +when gazing directly at them. A feeling of loneliness is sure to +creep over the solitary traveller at such times, a longing for some +congenial companion with whom to share all this glowing experience. +"Joy was born a twin." Fulness of appreciation and delight can be +reached only by being shared. + +Amid such scenes as we have described rises the enormous Svartisen +glacier, its ice and snow defying the power of the sun. This glacier +is many miles in length and nearly as wide as it is long, covering a +plateau four thousand feet above the level of the sea. The dimensions +given the author upon the spot were so mammoth that he hesitates to +record them; but it is by far the most extensive one he has ever +seen. Sulitelma, the highest mountain in Lapland, six thousand feet +above the sea, crowned by a shroud of eternal snow, comes into view, +though it is nearly fifty miles inland. The snow-level about this +latitude of 69° north is five hundred feet above that of the sea, +below which, wherever the earth can find a foothold on the rocks, all +is delightfully green,--a tender delicate green, such as marks the +early spring foliage of New England, or the leaves of the young +locust. The heat of the brief summer sun is intense, and insect life +thrives marvellously in common with the more welcome vegetation. +Birch and willow trees seem best adapted to withstand the rigor of +these regions, and they thrive in the warm season with a vitality and +beauty of effect which is heightened by the ever-present contrast. +Every hour of the voyage seemed burdened with novelty, and ceaseless +vigilance possessed every faculty. A transparent haze at mid-day or +midnight lay like a golden veil over land and sea; objects even at a +short distance presented a shadowy and an unreal aspect. The rough +and barren islands which we passed in our midnight course often +exhibited one side glorified with gorgeous roseate hues, while +casting sombre and mysterious shadows behind them, which produced a +strangely weird effect, half of delight, half of awe, while the long +superb trail of sunlight crept towards us from the horizon. + +The attractions of Norway to the artist are many, and in a great +measure they are unique, especially in the immediate vicinity of the +west coast. No two of the many abrupt elevations resemble each other, +all are erratic; some like Alpine cathedrals seemingly rear their +fretted spires far heavenward, where they echo the hoarse anthems +played by the winters' storms. One would think that Nature in a +wayward mood had tried her hand sportively at architecture, +sculpture, and castle-building,--constructing now a high monumental +column or a mounted warrior, and now a Gothic fane amid, regions +strange, lonely, and savage. There are grand mountains and glaciers +in Switzerland, but they do not rise directly out of the ocean as +they do here in Scandinavia; and as to the scenery afforded by the +innumerable fjords winding inland, amid forests, cliffs, and +impetuous waterfalls, nowhere else can these be seen save on this +remarkable coast. Like rivers, and yet so unlike them in width, +depth, and placidity, with their broad mouths guarded by clustering +islands, one can find nothing in Nature more grand, solemn, and +impressive than a Norwegian fjord. Now and again the shores are lined +for brief distances by the greenest of green pastures, dotted with +little red houses and groups of domestic animals, forming bits of +verdant foreground backed by dark gorges. Down precipitous cliffs +leap cascades, which are fed by ice-fields hidden in the lofty +mountains so close at hand. These are not merely pretty spouts like +many a little Swiss device, but grand, plunging, restless torrents, +conveying heavy volumes of foaming water. An artist's eye would revel +in the twilight glory of carmine, orange, and indigo which floods the +atmosphere and the sea amid such scenery as we have faintly +depicted. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Birds of the Arctic Regions. -- Effect of Continuous Daylight. -- + Town of Tromsöe. -- The Aurora Borealis. -- Love of Flowers. -- + The Growth of Trees. -- Butterflies. -- Home Flowers. -- Trees. + -- Shooting Whales with Cannon. -- Pre-Historic Relics. -- About + Laplanders. -- Eider Ducks. -- A Norsk Wedding Present. -- + Gypsies of the North. -- Pagan Rites. -- The Use of the Reindeer. + -- Domestic Life of the Lapps. -- Marriage Ceremony. -- A Gypsy + Queen. -- Lapp Babies. -- Graceful Acknowledgment. + + +We have said nothing about the feathered tribes of Norway, though all +along this coast, which is so eaten and corroded by the action of the +sea, the birds are nearly as numerous as the fishes. They are far +more abundant than the author has ever seen them in any other part of +the world. Many islands, beginning at the Lofodens and reaching to +the extreme end of the peninsula, are solely occupied by them as +breeding places. Their numbers are beyond calculation; one might as +well try to get at the aggregate number of flies in a given space in +midsummer. They consist of petrels, swans, geese, pelicans, grebes, +auks, gulls, and divers; these last are more particularly of the duck +family, of which there are over thirty distinct species in and about +this immediate region. Curlews, wandering albatrosses, ptarmigans, +cormorants, and ospreys were also observed, besides some birds of +beautiful plumage whose names were unknown to us. Throughout all +Scandinavia the many lakes, so numerous as to be unknown by name, +also abound with water-fowl of nearly every description habitual to +the North. These inland regions afford an abundance of the white +grouse, which may be called the national bird of Norway, where it so +much abounds. The author has nowhere seen such fine specimens of this +bird except in the mountains of Colorado, where it is however very +rarely captured. In Scandinavia it changes the color of its plumage +very curiously, from a summer to a winter hue. In the first named +season these birds have a reddish brown tinge, quite clear and +distinctive; but in winter their plumage becomes of snowy +whiteness,--a fact from which naturalists are prone to draw some +finespun deductions. + +As we advanced farther and farther northward our experiences became +more and more peculiar. It seemed that humanity, like Nature about +us, was possessed of a certain insomnia in these regions during the +constant reign of daylight. People were wide awake and busy at their +various occupations during all hours, while the drowsy god seemed to +have departed on a long journey to the southward. The apparent +incongruity of starting upon a fresh enterprise "in the dead vast and +middle of the night" was only realized on consulting one's watch. + +To meet the temporary exigency caused by continuous daylight, as to +whether one meant day or night time in giving the figure on the dial, +the passengers adopted an ingenious mode of counting the hours. Thus +after twelve o'clock midday the count went on thirteen, fourteen, and +fifteen o'clock, until midnight, which was twenty-four o'clock. This +is a mode of designation adopted in both China and Italy. + +Tromsöe is situated in latitude 69° 38' north, upon a small but +pleasant island, though it is rather low compared with the +surrounding islands and the nearest main-land, but clothed when we +saw it, in July, to the very highest point with exquisite verdure. It +is a gay and thrifty little place built upon a slope, studded here +and there with attractive villas amid the trees; but the business +portion of the town is quite compact, and lies closely about the +shore. It is the largest and most important settlement in northern +Norway, being the capital of Norwegian Lapland, and having about six +thousand inhabitants. It rises to the dignity of a cathedral, and is +the seat of a bishopric. In the Market Place is a substantial Town +Hall, and a neat though small Roman Catholic church. There is also +here an excellent Museum, principally of Arctic curiosities and +objects relating to the history of the Lapps and Finlanders, with a +fair zoölogical department, also possessing a fine collection of +Alpine minerals. There are several schools, one of which is designed +to prepare teachers for their special occupation, somewhat after the +style of our Normal Schools. It must be admitted, however, that the +lower order of the people here are both ignorant and superstitious; +still, the conclusion was that Tromsöe is one of the most +interesting spots selected as a popular centre within the Arctic +Circle. Both to the north and south of the town snow-clad mountains +shut off distant views. During the winter months there are only four +hours of daylight here out of each twenty-four,--that is, from about +ten o'clock A. M. until two o'clock P. M.; but the long winter nights +are made comparatively light by the glowing and constant splendor of +the Aurora Borealis. The pride of Tromsöe is its cathedral, which +contains some really fine wood-carving; but the structure is small +and has no architectural merit. Though regular services are held here +on the Sabbath, that is about the only apparent observation of the +day by the people. Games and out-door sports are played in the very +churchyard, and balls and parties are given in the evening of the +Lord's Day; evidently they do not belong to that class of people who +think Sunday is a sponge with which to wipe out the sins of the week. +The streets are ornamented by the mountain-ash, birch-trees, and the +wild cherry, ranged uniformly on either side of the broad +thoroughfares. In one place it was noticed that a miniature park had +been begun by the planting of numerous young trees. The birches in +this neighborhood are of a grandly developed species, the handsomest +indeed which we remember to have seen anywhere. Just outside the town +there was observed a field golden with buttercups, making it +difficult to realize that we were in Arctic regions. A pink-blooming +heather also carpeted other small fields; and here for a moment we +were agreeably surprised at beholding a tiny cloud of butterflies, so +abundant in the warm sunshine and presenting such transparency of +color, as to suggest the idea that some rainbow had been shattered +and was floating in myriad particles on the buoyant air. The +short-lived summer perhaps makes flowers all the more prized and the +more carefully tended. In the rudest quarters a few pet plants were +seen, whose arrangement and nurture showed womanly care and +tenderness. Every window in the humble dwellings had its living +screen of drooping many-colored fuchsias, geraniums, forget-me-nots, +and monthly roses. The ivy is especially prized here, and is +picturesquely trained to hang gracefully about the architraves of the +windows. The fragrant sweet-pea, with its combined snow-white and +peach-blossom hues, was often mingled prettily with the dark green of +the ivy, the climbing propensities of each making them fitting +companions. In one or two windows was seen the brilliant flowering +bignonia (Trumpet-vine), and an abundance of soft green, rose-scented +geraniums. Surely there must be an innate sense of refinement among +the people of these frost-imbued regions, whatever their seeming, +when they are actuated by such delicate appreciations. "They are +useless rubbish," said a complaining husband to his hard-working +wife, referring to her little store of flowers. "Useless!" replied +the true woman, "how dare you be wiser than God?" + +Vegetation within the Arctic Circle is possessed of an individual +vitality which seems to be independent of atmospheric influence. +Plants seem to have thawed a little space about them before the +snow quite disappeared, and to have peeped forth from their +frost-surrounded bed in the full vigor of life, while the grass +springs up so suddenly that its growth must have been well started +under cover of the snow. One of the most interesting subjects of +study to the traveller on the journey northward is to mark his +progress by the products of the forest. The trees will prove, if +intelligently observed, as definite in regard to fixing his position +as an astronomical observation could do. From the region of the date +and the palm we come to that of the fig and the olive, thence to the +orange, the almond, and the myrtle. Succeeding these we find the +walnut, the poplar, and the lime; and again there comes the region of +the elm, the oak, and the sycamore. These will be succeeded by the +larch, the fir, the pine, the birch, and their companions. After this +point we look for no change of species, but a diminution in size of +these last enumerated. The variety of trees is of course the result +of altitude as well as of latitude, since there are mountain regions +in southern Europe, as well as in America, where one may pass in a +few hours from the region of the olive to that of the stunted pine or +fir. + +The staple commodities of Tromsöe are Lapps, reindeer, and midnight +sun. The universal occupation is that of fishing for cod, sharks, and +whales, to which may be added the curing or drying of the first and +the "trying out" of the latter, supplemented by the treatment of +cods' livers. From this place vessels are fitted out for Polar +expeditions, which creates a certain amount of local business in the +ship chandlery line. French, German, English, Russian, and Danish +flags were observed floating from the shipping in the harbor, which +presented a scene of considerable activity for so small a port. Some +of these vessels were fitting for the capture of seals and walruses +among the ice-fields of the Polar Sea, and also on the coast of +Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. A small propeller was seen lying in the +stream fitted with a forecastle gun, from whence to fire a lance at +whales,--a species of big fishing which is profitably pursued here. A +huge carcass of this leviathan was stranded on the opposite side of +the harbor from where we were moored, and it is hardly necessary to +add that its decaying condition rendered the atmosphere extremely +offensive. As we lay at anchor little row-boats, with high bows and +sterns, flitted about the bay like sea-birds on the wing, and rode as +lightly on the surface of the water. These were often "manned" by a +couple of sturdy, bronzed women, who rowed with great precision and +stout arms, their eyes and faces glowing with animation. These boats, +of the same model as that thousand-year old Viking ship at +Christiania, seemed to set very low in the water amidship, but yet +were remarkable for their buoyancy, sharp bows and sterns, and the +ease with which they were propelled. The tall wooden fish-packing +houses which line the wharves suggest the prevailing industry of the +place. A long, low white building upon the hill-side also showed +that the manufacture of rope and cordage is a prominent industry of +the locality. + +The Lapps in their quaint and picturesque costumes surrounded the +newly arrived steamer in their boats, offering furs, carved horn +implements, moccasons, walrus-teeth, and the like for sale. These +wares are of the rudest type, and of no possible use to civilized +people; but they are curious, and serve as mementos of the +traveller's visit to these northern latitudes. In the town there are +several stores where goods, manufactured by the better class of +Lapps, can be had of a finer quality than is offered by these +itinerants, who are very ready to pass off inferior articles upon +strangers. Their drinking-cups, platters, and dishes generally are +made of the wood of the birch. Spoons and forks are formed of the +horns and bones of the reindeer. In the fancy line they make some +curious bracelets from the roots of the birch-tree. These Lapps are +very shrewd in trade, and are not without plenty of low cunning +hidden behind their brown, withered, and expressionless faces. + +On the main-land near by, as we were told, there are some singular +relics of antiquity, such as a series of large stones uniformly +arranged in circles, and high cairns of stone containing in their +centres one or more square chambers. At one place in this district +there is a remarkable mound of reindeer's horns and human bones, +mingled with those of unknown species of animals. It is believed that +here, centuries ago, the Lapps sacrificed both animals and human +beings to their Pagan deities. There are also some deep earth and +rock caves found in the same vicinity, which contain many human bones +with others of huge animals, which have excited great interest among +scientists. In the neighborhood of Tromsöe, and especially still +farther north, large numbers of eider-duck are found, so abundant +that no reliable estimate can be made of their number. The eggs are +largely used by the natives for food, the nests being also regularly +robbed of the down, while the birds with patient resignation continue +for a considerable period to lay eggs and to renew the soft lining of +their nests. The birds themselves are protected by law, no one being +permitted to injure them. The male bird is white and black, the +female is brown. In size they are larger than our domestic ducks. +Landing almost anywhere in this sparsely inhabited region along the +coast, but more particularly upon the islands, one finds the +eider-ducks upon their low accessible nests built of marine plants +among the rocks, and during incubation the birds are quite as tame as +barn-yard fowls. The down of these birds forms a considerable source +of income to many persons who make a business of gathering it. It has +always a fixed value, and is worth, we were told, in Tromsöe, ten +dollars per pound when ready for market. The waste in preparing it +for use is large, requiring four pounds of the crude article as it +comes from the nest to make one pound of the cleansed, merchantable +down. Each nest during the breeding season produces about a quarter +of a pound of the uncleansed article. When thoroughly prepared, it is +so firm and yet so elastic that the quantity which can be pressed +between the two hands will suffice to properly stuff a bed-quilt. It +is customary for a Norsk lover to present his betrothed with one of +these quilts previous to espousal, the contents of which he is +presumed to have gathered with his own hands. A peculiarity of +eider-down, as we were informed, is that if picked by hand from the +breast of the dead bird it has no elasticity whatever. The natural +color is a pale-brown. Many of the localities resorted to by the +birds for breeding purposes are claimed by certain parties, who erect +a cross or some other special mark thereon to signify that such +preserves are not to be poached upon. The birds, like the people, get +their living mostly by fishing, and are attracted hither as much by +the abundance of their natural food as by the isolation of their +breeding haunts. + +The Lapps are to be seen by scores in the streets of Tromsöe. They +are small in stature, being generally under five feet, with high +cheek-bones, snub-noses, oblique Mongolian eyes, big mouths, large +ill-formed heads, faces preternaturally aged, hair like meadow hay, +and very scanty beards. Such is a photograph of the ancient race +that once ruled the whole of Scandinavia. By taking a short trip +inland one comes upon their summer encampment, formed of a few crude +huts, outside of which they generally live except in the winter +months. A Lapp sleeps wherever fatigue or drunkenness overcomes +him, preferring the ground, but often lying on the snow. He rises in +the morning refreshed from an exposure by which nearly any civilized +human being would expect to incur lasting if not fatal injury. They +are the gypsies of the North, and occupy a very low place in the +social scale, certainly no higher than that of the Penobscot Indians +of Maine. Their faculties are of a restricted order, and missionary +efforts among them have never yet yielded any satisfactory results. +Unlike our western Indians they are of a peaceful nature, neither +treacherous nor revengeful, but yet having many of the grosser +failings of civilized life. They are greedy, avaricious, very +dirty, and passionately fond of alcoholic drinks, but we were told +that serious crimes were very rare among them. No people could be +more superstitious, as they believe that the caves of the +half-inaccessible mountains about them are peopled by giants and +evil spirits. They still retain some of their half-pagan rites, such +as the use of magical drums and tom-toms for conjuring purposes, and +to frighten away or to propitiate supposed devils, malicious +diseases, and so on. The most advanced of the race are those who +inhabit northern Norway. The Swedish Lapps are considered as coming +next, while those under Russian dominion are thought to be the +lowest. + +An old navigator named Scrahthrift, while making a voyage of +discovery northward, more than three centuries ago, wrote about the +Lapps as follows: "They are a wild people, which neither know God +nor yet good order; and these people live in tents made of +deerskins, and they have no certain habitations, but continue in +herds by companies of one hundred or two hundred. They are a people +of small stature and are clothed in deerskins, and drink nothing but +water, and eat no bread, but flesh all raw." They may have drunk +nothing but water three hundred years ago, but they drink alcohol +enough in this nineteenth century to make up for all former +abstemiousness. Scrahthrift wrote in 1556, and gave the first account +to the English-speaking world of this peculiar race whom modern +ethnologists class with the Samoyedes of Siberia and the Esquimaux, +the three forming what is called the Hyperborean Race. The word +_Samoyedes_ signifies "swamp-dwellers," and _Esquimau_ means "eater +of raw flesh." + +The Lapps are natural nomads, their wealth consisting solely in their +herds of reindeer, to procure sustenance for which necessitates +frequent changes of locality. A Laplander is rich, provided he owns +enough of these animals to support himself and family. A herd that +can afford thirty full-grown deer for slaughter annually, and say ten +more to be sold or bartered, makes a family of a dozen persons +comfortably well off. But to sustain such a draft upon his resources, +a Lapp must own at least two hundred and fifty head. There is also a +waste account to be considered. Not a few are destroyed annually by +wolves and bears, notwithstanding the usual precautions against such +casualties, while in very severe winters numbers are sure to die of +starvation. They live almost entirely on the so-called reindeer moss; +but this failing them, they eat the young twigs of the trees. When +the snow covers the ground to a depth of not more than three or four +feet, these intelligent creatures dig holes in order to reach the +moss, and guided by some strong instinct they rarely fail to do so in +just the right place. The Lapps themselves would be entirely at a +loss for any indication where to seek the animal's food when it is +covered by the deep snow. + +What the camel is to the Arab of the desert, the reindeer is to the +Laplander. Though found here in a wild state, they are not common, +and are very shy sometimes occupying partially inaccessible islands +near the main-land, swimming back and forth as necessity may demand. +The domestic deer is smaller than those that remain in a state of +nature, and is said to live only half as long. When properly broken +to harness, they carry lashed to their backs a hundred and thirty +pounds, or drag upon the snow, when harnessed to a sledge, two +hundred and fifty pounds, travelling ten miles an hour, for several +consecutive hours, without apparent fatigue. Some of the thread +prepared by the Lapp women from the sinews of the reindeer was shown +to us, being as fine as the best sewing-silk, and much stronger than +any silk thread made by modern methods. + +These diminutive people are not so poorly off as one would at first +sight think them to be. The climate in which they live, though +terrible to us, is not so to them. They have their games, sports, +and festive hours. If their hardships were very trying they would not +be so proverbially long-lived. Though an ill-formed race, they are +yet rugged, hardy, and self-reliant. Their limbs are crooked and out +of proportion to their bodies; one looks in vain for a well-shaped or +perfect figure among them, and indeed it may be safely doubted +whether a straight-limbed Lapp exists. They are one and all +bow-legged. The country over which these people roam is included +within northern Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Finland, say extending +over seven thousand square miles; but the whole race will hardly +number thirty thousand in the aggregate. Lapland in general terms may +be said to be the region lying between the Polar Ocean and the Arctic +Circle, the eastern and western boundaries being the Atlantic Ocean +and the White Sea, two thirds of which territory belong to Russia, +and one third is about equally divided between Norway and Sweden. + +We repeat that the reindeer is to the Lapp what the camel is to the +Arab. This small creature is the Lapp's cow, horse, food, clothing, +tent, everything. Food is not stored for the animals, as they are +never under cover even in the severest weather, and they must procure +their own food or starve. The females give but a small quantity of +milk, not more than the amount yielded by a well-fed goat, but it is +remarkably rich and nourishing. Oddly enough, as it seemed to us, +they are milked but twice a week; and when this process is performed, +each animal must be lassoed and firmly held by one person while +another milks. Many of the doe on the occasion of our visit were +accompanied by their fawns, of which they often have two at a birth. +These little creatures are able to follow their dam twenty-four hours +after birth. We were told that the bucks are inclined to kill the +fawns when they are first born, but are fiercely attacked by the dams +and driven away. A Swiss chamois is not more expert in climbing +mountains than are these Norway deer; and were it not for the +efficient help of their dogs, which animals are as sagacious as the +Scotch sheep-dogs, the Lapps would often find it nearly impossible to +corral their herds for milking and other purposes. In their nature +deer are really untamable, being never brought into such complete +subjection as to be quite safe for domestic use. Even when broken to +harness, that is when attached to the snow-sledge or carrying burdens +lashed to their backs, they will sometimes without any premonition +break out into rank rebellion and violently attack their masters. We +were told by an intelligent resident of Tromsöe that the Lapps never +abuse these animals, even when they are attacked by them. They only +throw some garment upon the ground upon which the buck vents his +rage; after which the owner can appear and resume his former control +of the animal, as though nothing had happened out of the common +course of events. + +The Lapps live in low, open tents during the summer season, moving +from place to place as food is found for their herds, but keeping +near the sea-coast for purposes of trade, as well as to avoid those +terrible pests the gad-fly and the mosquito, insects too obnoxious +for even the endurance of a Laplander. In the winter they retire far +inland, where they build temporary huts of the branches of the trees, +plastering them inside and out with clay, but leaving a hole in the +top to act as a chimney and convey away the smoke, the fire being +always built upon a broad flat stone in the centre of the hut. In +these rude, and according to our estimate comfortless, cabins they +hibernate rather than live the life of civilized beings for eight +months of the year. Hunting and fishing occupy a portion of their +time; and to kill a bear is considered a most honorable achievement, +something to boast of for life, rendering the successful hunter quite +a hero among his associates. Though the forest, river, and sea +furnish this people with more or less food throughout the year, still +the Lapp depends upon his herd for fixed supplies of sustenance. The +milk made into cheese is his most important article of food, and is +stored for winter use. Few are so poor as not to own forty or fifty +reindeer. The Norwegians and Swedes who live in their neighborhood +have as great a prejudice against the Lapps as our western citizens +have against the North American Indians. This as regards the Lapps is +perhaps more especially on account of their filthiness and +half-barbarous habits. It must be admitted that a visit to their huts +near Tromsöe leads one to form an extremely unfavorable opinion of +the race. When a couple of young Lapps desire to become married a +priest is sometimes employed, but by common acceptation among them +the bride's father is equally qualified to perform the ceremony, +which is both original and simple. It consists in placing the hands +of the two contracting parties in each other, and the striking of +fire with a flint and steel, when the marriage is declared to be +irrevocable. Promiscuous as their lives seem to be in nearly all +respects, we were told that when a Lapp woman was once married the +attendant relationship was held sacred. Though it was our fate to +just miss witnessing a marriage ceremony here, the bride and groom +were pointed out to us, appearing like two children, so diminutive +were they. The dress of the two sexes is so similar that it is not +easy for a stranger to distinguish at a glance men from women, except +that the latter are not so tall as the former. Polygamy is common +among them. Men marry at the age of eighteen, women at fifteen; but +as a race they are not prolific, and their numbers, as we were +informed, are steadily decreasing. The average Laplander is less than +five feet in height, and the women rarely exceed four feet. The +latter are particularly fond of coffee, sugar, and rye flour, which +the men care nothing for so long as they can get corn brandy,--a +local distillation quite colorless but very potent. The Norwegians +have a saying of reproach concerning one who is inclined to drink too +much: "Don't make a Lapp of yourself." Both men and women are +inveterate smokers, and next to money you can give them nothing more +acceptable than tobacco. + +Nature is sometimes anomalous. Among the group of Lapp men and women +whom we met in the streets of Tromsöe, there stood one, a tall +stately girl twenty-two years of age, more or less, who presented in +her really fine person a singular contrast to her rude companions. +Unmistakable as to her race, she was yet a head and shoulders taller +than the rest, but possessing the high cheek-bones, square face, and +Mongolian cast of eyes which characterizes them. There was an air of +dignified modesty and almost of beauty about this young woman, spite +of her leather leggins, queer moccasons, and rough reindeer clothes. +Her fingers were busily occupied, as she stood there gracefully +leaning against a rough stone-wall in the soft sunshine, twisting the +sinews of the deer into fine thread, while she carelessly glanced up +now and again at the curious eyes of the author who was intently +regarding her. One could not but imagine what remarkable +possibilities lay hidden in this individual; what a change education, +culture, and refined associations might create in her; what a social +world there was extant of which she had never dreamed! It was +observed that her companions of both sexes seemed to defer to her, +and we fancied that she must be a sort of queen bee in the Lapps' +hive. + +There is one thing observable and worthy of mention as regards the +domestic habits of these rude Laplanders, and that is their apparent +consideration for their women. The hard work is invariably assumed +by the men. The women carry the babies, but the men carry all heavy +burdens, and perform the rougher labor contingent upon their simple +domestic lives. The women milk, but the men must drive the herds from +the distant pasturage, lasso the doe, and hold the animals by the +horns during the process. It is not possible to tame or domesticate +them so as to submit to this operation with patience like a cow. Up +to a certain age the Lapp babies are packed constantly in dry moss, +in place of other clothing during their infancy, this being renewed +as occasion demands,--thus very materially economizing laundry labor. +The little creatures are very quiet in their portable cradles, +consisting of a basket-frame covered with reindeer hide, into which +they are closely strapped. The cases are sometimes swung hammock +fashion between two posts, and sometimes hung upon a peg outside the +cabins in the sunshine. It is marvellous to what a degree of seeming +neglect semi-barbarous babies will patiently submit, and how quietly +their babyhood is passed. Probably a Japanese, Chinese, or Lapp baby +_can_ cry upon occasion; but though many hours have been passed by +the author among these people, he never heard a breath of complaint +from the wee things. + +Some of the Lapps are quite expert with the bow and arrow, which was +their ancient weapon of defence as well as for hunting, it being the +primitive weapon of savages wherever encountered. Few of this people +possess firearms. The long sharp knife and the steel-tipped arrow +still form their principal arms. With these under ordinary +circumstances, when he chances upon the animal, a Lapp does not +hesitate to attack the black bear, provided she has not young ones +with her, in which case she is too savage a foe to attack +single-handed. In starting out upon a bear-hunt, several Lapps +combine, and spears are taken with the party as well as firearms if +they are fortunate enough to possess them. + +As we were standing among the Lapps in Tromsöe, with some passengers +from the steamer, a bevy of children just returning from school +joined the group. A blue-eyed, flaxen-haired girl of ten or eleven +years in advance of the rest attracted the attention of a gentleman +of the party, who presented her with a bright silver coin. The child +took his hand in both her own, pressed it with exquisite natural +grace to her lips, courtesied and passed on. This is the universal +act of gratitude among the youth of Norway. The child had been taken +by surprise, but she accepted the little gift with quiet and +dignified self-possession. There is no importunity or beggary to be +encountered in Scandinavia. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + Experiences Sailing Northward. -- Arctic Whaling. -- The + Feathered Tribe. -- Caught in a Trap. -- Domestic Animals. -- The + Marvellous Gulf Stream. -- Town of Hammerfest. -- Commerce. -- + Arctic Mosquitoes. -- The Public Crier. -- Norwegian Marriages. + -- Peculiar Bird Habits. -- A Hint to Naturalists. -- Bird + Island. -- A Lonely Habitation. -- High Latitude. -- Final + Landing at the North Cape. -- A Hard Climb. -- View of the + Wonderful Midnight Sun. + + +After leaving Tromsöe our course was north by east, crossing broad +wild fjords and skirting the main-land, passing innumerable islands +down whose precipitous sides narrow waterfalls leaped hundreds of +feet towards the sea. Along the shore at intervals little clusters of +fishermen's huts were seen with a small sprinkling of herbage and +patches of bright verdure. Here and there were partially successful +attempts at vegetable culture, but the brief season which is here +possible for such purposes is almost prohibitory. Whales, sometimes +singly, sometimes in schools, rose to the surface of the sea, and +casting up tiny fountains of spray would suddenly disappear to come +up again, perhaps miles away. These leviathans of the deep are always +a subject of great interest to persons at sea, and were certainly in +remarkable numbers here in the Arctic Ocean. As we have said, small +steamers are in use along the coast for catching whales; and these +are painted green, to enable them to approach the animal unperceived. +They are armed with small swivel-guns, from which is fired a compound +projectile, consisting of a barbed harpoon to which a short chain is +affixed, and to that a strong line. This special form of harpoon has +barbs, which expand as soon as they have entered the body of the +animal and he pulls upon the line, stopping at a certain angle, and +rendering the withdrawal of the weapon impossible. Besides this an +explosive shell is attached, which bursts within the body of the +monster as soon as the flukes expand, producing almost instant death. +A cable is then affixed to the head, and the whale is towed into +harbor to be cut up and the blubber tried out upon the shore in huge +kettles. This business is carried on at Vadsö and Hammerfest as well +as at Tromsöe. The change was constant, and the novelty never +ceasing. Large black geese, too heavy it would seem for lofty flight, +rose awkwardly from the surface of the waves, and now and again +skimmed across the fjords, just clearing the surface of the dark blue +waters. Oyster-catchers, as they are familiarly called, decked with +scarlet legs and bills, were abundant. Now and then that daring +highwayman, among sea-birds,--the skua, or robber-gull,--was seen on +the watch for a victim. He is quite dark in plumage, almost black, +and gets a predatory living by attacking and causing other birds to +drop what they have caught up from the sea, seizing which as it +falls, he sails swiftly away to consume his stolen prize. The +movements of this feathered creature through the air when darting +towards its object are almost too rapid to follow with the human eye. +Not infrequently six or eight gulls of the common species club +together and make a combined onslaught upon this daring free-booter, +and then he must look out for himself; for when the gull is +thoroughly aroused and makes up his mind to fight, he distinctly +means business, and will struggle to the last gasp, like the Spanish +game-cock. There is proverbially strength in numbers, and the skua, +after such an organized encounter, is almost always found floating +lifeless upon the surface of the sea. + +We were told of an interesting and touching experience relating to +the golden eagle which occurred near Hammerfest, in the vicinity of +which we are now speaking. It seems that a young Norwegian had set a +trap far up in the hills, at a point where he knew that these birds +occasionally made their appearance. He was prevented from visiting +the trap for some two weeks after he had set and placed it; but +finally when he did so, he found that one of these noble creatures +had been caught by the foot, probably in a few hours after the trap +had been left there. His efforts to release himself had been in vain, +and he lay there dead from exhaustion, not of starvation. This was +plain enough, since close beside the dead eagle and quite within his +reach was the half-consumed body of a white grouse, which must have +been brought to him by his mate, who realizing her companion's +position thus did all that was in her power to sustain and help him. +Occasionally domestic animals in small numbers are seen at the +fishing hamlets, though this is very rarely the case above +Hammerfest. Goats, cows, and sheep find but a poor supply of +vegetable sustenance, mostly composed of reindeer moss; but, strange +to say, these animals learn to eat dried fish, and to relish it when +mixed with moss and straw. The cows are small in frame and quite +short in the legs, but they are hardy and prolific, and mostly white. +All domestic animals seem to be dwarfed here by climatic influences. + +Long before we reached Hammerfest the passengers' watches seemed to +be bewitched, for it must be remembered that here it is broad +daylight through all the twenty-four hours which constitute day and +night elsewhere. No wonder that sleep became little more than a +subterfuge, since everybody's eyes were preternaturally wide open. + +The Gulf Stream emerging from the tropics thousands of miles away +constantly laves these shores, and consequently ice is here unknown. +At first blush it seems a little queer that icebergs here in latitude +70° north are never seen, though we all know them to be plenty +enough in the season on the coast of America at 41°. The entire coast +of Norway is warmer by at least twenty degrees than most other +localities in the same latitude, owing to the presence and influence +of the Gulf Stream,--that heated, mysterious river in the midst of +the ocean. It also brings to these boreal regions quantities of +floating material, such as the trunks of palm-trees and other +substances suitable for fuel, to which useful purpose they are put at +the Lofoden fishing hamlets and also on the shores of the main-land. +By the same active agency West Indian seeds and woods are found +floating on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. + +Hammerfest, the capital of the province of Finmark, is situated in +latitude 70° 40' north, upon the island of Kvalöe, or "Whale +Island." It is overshadowed by Tyvfjeld,--that is, "Thief Mountain," +thus fancifully named because it robs the place of the little +sunshine it might enjoy were this huge elevation not at all times +intervening. It is the most northerly town in all Europe, and is +located about sixty-five miles southwest of the North Cape. It is a +compactly-built town of about three thousand inhabitants, who appear +to be exceptionally industrious and intelligent. Even here, in this +far-off region of frost, there are good schools and able teachers. +There is also a weekly newspaper issued, and some authorities claim a +population of nearly six thousand, which seemed to be an excessive +estimate. + +The harbor presents a busy scene, with its queer Norwegian boats +formed after the excellent but antique shape of the galleys of old. +On a little promontory near the entrance of the harbor is erected a +stone pillar, indicating the spot where the measurement of the +degrees of latitude between the mouth of the Danube and Hammerfest +was perfected. It is called the Meridianstötte. The trading-vessels +are many, and they fly the flags of several commercial nations; but +most numerous of all is the flag of Russia, whose trading-ships swarm +on the coast during the summer season. Many of these vessels were +from far-off Archangel and the ports of the White Sea, from whence +they bring cargoes of grain to exchange for dried fish. Truly has it +been said that commerce defies every wind, outrides every tempest, +and invades every zone. Hammerfest, consisting mostly of one long, +broad street, is neat and clean; but the odor of fish-oil is very +sickening to one not accustomed to it. We were twice compelled to +beat a retreat from certain localities, being unable to endure the +stench. Many of the people were seen to be shod in heavy leather +boots or shoes, similar in form to the fishing-boats, being curiously +pointed and turned up at the toes. Certain tokens in and about the +town forcibly reminded one of New Bedford in Massachusetts. On the +north promontory of the island is situated a picturesque lighthouse, +from which a fine view may be enjoyed of the rocky shore, the myriads +of islands, and the mountainous main-land. The mosquitoes, that +inexplicable pest even in this high latitude, scarcely wait for the +snow to disappear before they begin their vicious onslaught upon +humanity. The farther one goes inland the greater this annoyance +becomes, and some protection to face, neck, and hands is absolutely +necessary. The public crier pursues his ancient vocation at +Hammerfest, not however with a noisy bell, but with a more melodious +trumpet. After blowing a few clear, shrill notes thereon calculated +to awaken attention, he proclaims that there will be a missionary +meeting held at a certain hour and place, or that a steamer will sail +on the following day at a given time, the favorite hour being at +twelve midnight. The crier here understands his vocation, and by +introducing a certain melodious expression to his words, chanting +them in fact, he commands the pleased attention of the multitude. + +A wedding-feast in Norway is always looked upon as a grand domestic +event, and is ever made the most of by all parties concerned; but at +Hammerfest and the north part of the country generally, it becomes a +most important and demonstrative affair. No expense is spared by the +bride's parents to render the event memorable in all respects. The +revels are sometimes kept up for a period of three weeks, until at +last every one becomes quite exhausted with the excitement and with +dancing, when the celebration by common consent is brought to a +close. During the height of the revels, street parades constitute a +part of the singular performances, when bride, bridegroom, family and +friends, preceded by a band of musicians, march gayly from point to +point; or a line of boats is formed, with the principals in the +first, the musicians in the second, and so on, all decked with +natural and artificial flowers and bright-colored streamers. As we +started out of Hammerfest harbor we chanced upon one of these aquatic +bridal parties, accompanied by instrumental music and a chorus of +many pleasant voices, the diaphanous dresses of bride and +bridesmaids looking like mist-wreaths settled about the boats. It was +easy to distinguish the bride from her attendants, by the tall, +sparkling gilt crown which she wore. + +In sailing along the coast after leaving the point just described, it +is observed that vegetation grows more and more scarce. The land is +seen to be useless for agricultural purposes; habitations first +become rare, then almost entirely cease, bleakness reigning supreme, +while one seems to be creeping higher and higher on the earth. In +ascending lofty mountains, say in the Himalayan range, we realize +that there are heights still above us; but in approaching the North +Cape a feeling comes over us that we are gradually getting to the +very apex of the globe. Everything seems to be beneath our feet; the +broad, deep, unbounded ocean alone makes the horizon. Day and night +cease to be relative terms, while the strange effect and the magic +brightness of a Polar night utterly beggar description. As we rounded +one of the many abrupt rocky islets in our course, which came up +dark, steep, and inaccessible from an unknown depth, there flew up +from the smooth waters into which the steamer ploughed her way a +couple of small ducks, each with a young bird snugly ensconced upon +its back, between the broad-spread, narrow wings. This was to the +writer a novelty, though an officer of the ship said it was not +unusual to see certain species of Arctic ducks thus transporting +their ducklings. One reads of woodcock at times seizing their young +in their talons, and bearing them away from impending danger; but a +web-footed bird could not effectually adopt this mode in any +exigency. It seems however that Nature has taught the ducks another +fashion of transporting their helpless progeny. The birds we had +disturbed did not fly aloft with their tiny burdens, but skimmed over +the surface of the fjord into some one of the sheltering nooks along +the irregular shore. We were further told a curious fact, if fact it +be, that the young ducks of the female species, almost as soon as +they are able to fly, begin to practise the habit of carrying +something upon their backs. That is to say, they are not infrequently +found skimming along the surface of the water with a small wad of +sea-weed, such as is used by aquatic birds in nest-building, +carefully supported between their wings. Just so little girls are +prone to pet a doll, the maternal instinct exhibiting itself in early +childhood. The male and female birds are easily distinguished from +each other by the difference in their plumage. The former do not show +this inclination for carrying baby burdens, neither do young boys +display a predilection for dolls! We commend these facts to the +notice of naturalists. + +About forty miles northward from Hammerfest is situated what is +called Bird Island, a hoary mass of rock, famous as a breeding place +of various sea-birds, and where the nests of many thousands are to be +seen. This huge cliff rises abruptly to the height of over a thousand +feet from the surrounding ocean. Its seaward face being nearly +perpendicular is yet so creviced as to afford lodgement for the +birds, and it is literally covered by their nests from base to top. +The Norwegians call the island Sværholtklubben. It is customary for +excursion steamers to "make" this island in their course to the North +Cape, and to stand off and on for an hour to give passengers an +opportunity to observe the birds and their interesting habits. The +ship's cannon is fired also, when the echoes of its single report +become myriad, reverberating through the caves and broad chasms of +the rock, starting forth the feathered tribes, until the air is as +full of them as of flakes in an Arctic snow-storm. The echoes mingle +with the harsh, wailing screams, and roar of wings become almost +deafening as the birds wheel in clouds above the ship, or sail +swiftly away and return again like a flash to join their young, whose +tiny white heads may be seen peeping anxiously above the sides of the +nests. One or two dwelling-houses, surrounded by a few small sheds, +are to be seen in a little valley near the water's edge on the lee +side of Bird Island, where a dozen persons more or less make their +dreary home. These residents send off fresh milk by a boat to the +passing steamer, though how the cows can find sustenance here is an +unsolved riddle. They also make a business of robbing the +birds'-nests of the eggs, by means of ladders, but do not injure the +birds themselves. Of course there are but comparatively few of the +nests which they can manage to reach at all. + +The North Cape is in reality an island projecting itself far into the +Polar Sea, and which is separated from the main-land by a narrow +strait. The highest point which has ever been reached by the daring +Arctic explorer was eighty-three degrees twenty-four minutes, north +latitude; this Cape is in latitude seventy-one degrees ten minutes. +The island is named Mageröe, which signifies a barren place; and it +is certainly well named, for a wilder, bleaker, or more desolate spot +cannot be found on the face of the earth. Only a few hares, ermine, +and sea-birds manage to subsist upon its sterile soil. The western +and northern sides are absolutely inaccessible from their rough and +precipitous character. The Arctic Sea thundered hoarsely against its +base as we approached the windswept, weather-worn cliff of the North +Cape in a small landing-boat. It was near the midnight hour, yet the +warm light of the sun's clear, direct rays enveloped us. A few +sea-birds uttered dismal and discordant cries as they flew lazily in +circles overhead. The landing was soon accomplished amid the half +impassable rocks, and then began, the struggle to reach the top of +the Cape, which rises in its only accessible part at an angle of +nearly forty-five degrees. For half an hour we plodded wearily +through the débris of rubble-stones, wet soil, and rolling rocks, +until finally the top was reached, after which a walk of about a +third of a mile upon gently rising ground brings one to the point of +observation,--that is, to the verge of the cliff. We were now fully +one thousand feet above the level of the sea, standing literally +upon the threshold of the unknown. + +No difference was observed between the broad light of this Polar +night and the noon of a sunny summer's day in the low latitudes. The +sky was all aglow and the rays of the sun warm and penetrating, +though a certain chill in the atmosphere at this exposed elevation +rendered thick clothing quite indispensable. This was the objective +point to reach which we had voyaged thousands of miles from another +hemisphere. We looked about us in silent wonder and awe. To the +northward was that unknown region to solve the mysteries of which so +many gallant lives had been sacrificed. Far to the eastward was Asia; +in the distant west lay America, and southward were Europe and +Africa. Such an experience may occur once in a lifetime, but rarely +can it be repeated. The surface of the cliff, which is quite level +where we stood (near the base of the small granite column erected to +commemorate the visit of Oscar II. in 1873), was covered by soft +reindeer moss, which yielded to the tread like a rich carpet of +velvet. There was no other vegetation near, not even a spear of +grass; though as we climbed the steep path hither occasional bits of +pea-green moss were seen, with a minute pink blossom peeping out here +and there from the rubble-stones. Presently the boom of a distant gun +floated faintly upwards. It was the cautionary signal from the ship, +which was now seen floating far below us, a mere speck upon that +Polar sea. + +The hands of the watch indicated that it was near the hour of twelve, +midnight. The great luminary had sunk slowly amid a glory of light to +within three degrees of the horizon, where it seemed to hover for a +single moment like some monster bird about to alight upon a mountain +peak, and then changing its mind, slowly began its upward movement. +This was exactly at midnight, always a solemn hour; but amid the +glare of sunlight and the glowing immensity of sea and sky, how +strange and weird it seemed! + +Notwithstanding they were so closely mingled, the difference between +the gorgeous coloring of the setting and the fresh hues of the rising +sun was clearly though delicately defined. Indeed, the sun had not +really set at all. It had been constantly visible, though it seemed +to shine for a few moments with slightly diminished power. Still, the +human eye could not rest upon it for one instant. It was the mingling +of the golden haze of evening with the radiant, roseate flush of the +blushing morn. At the point where sky and ocean met there was left a +boreal azure resembling the steel-white of the diamond; this was +succeeded by pearly gray, until the horizon became wavy with lines of +blue, like the delicate figures wrought upon a Toledo blade. In the +Yellow Sea the author has seen a more vivid sunset, combining the +volcanic effects of lurid light; but it lacked the sublime, +mysterious, mingled glory of evening and morning twilight which +characterized this wondrous view of the Arctic midnight sun. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Journey Across Country. -- Capital of Sweden. -- Old and New. -- + Swedish History. -- Local Attractions. -- King Oscar II. -- The + Royal Palace. -- The Westminster Abbey of Stockholm. -- A + Splendid Deer Park. -- Public Amusements. -- The Sabbath. -- An + Official Dude. -- An Awkward Statue. -- Swedish Nightingales. -- + Linnæus and Swedenborg. -- Dalecarlia Girls. -- A Remarkable + Group in Bronze. -- Rosedale Royal Cottage. -- Ancient Oaks. -- + Upsala and its Surroundings. -- Ancient Mounds at Old Upsala. -- + Swedenborg's Study. + + +The reader will remember that we spoke in our early pages of the +inland trip across Norway and Sweden,--that is, from Gottenburg to +Stockholm. After visiting the North Cape, one returns by nearly the +same route along the coast to Trondhjem, thence to Christiania. Our +next objective point being the capital of Sweden, we took passage by +rail, crossing the country by way of Charlottenborg, which is the +frontier town of Sweden. Here there is a custom-house examination of +baggage; for although Norway and Sweden are under one crown, yet they +have a separate tariff, so that custom-house rules are regularly +enforced between them. As regards others than commercial travellers +however this is a mere form, and is not made a source of needless +annoyance, as is too often the case in other countries. In crossing +the peninsula by rail one does not enjoy the picturesque scenery +which characterizes the Gotha Canal route. The railroad journey takes +one through a region of lake and forest by no means devoid of +interest, and which is rich in mines of iron and other ores. Some +important viaducts, iron bridges, and tunnels are passed, and as we +approach Lake Maelaren on the east coast a more highly cultivated +country is traversed, some of the oldest towns in Sweden being also +passed, each of which is strongly individualized. There is a +considerable difference observable between the architecture of the +Norwegians and that of the Swedes, the former affecting the style of +the Swiss châlet, while the latter build much more substantially. +Their dwellings as a rule are better finished, and always neatly +painted, in town or country. + +Stockholm is a noble capital, in many respects exceptionally so. It +is situated on the Baltic at the outlet of Lake Maelaren, and is +built on several islands, all of which are connected by substantial +bridges,--the finest of which is the Norrbro, which has several grand +arches of stone, the whole measuring four hundred feet in length by +at least sixty in width, though we have no statistics at hand by +which to verify these figures. The city has a population of over a +hundred and eighty thousand, covering an area of five square miles, +and taken as a whole it certainly forms one of the most cleanly and +interesting capitals in Europe. It is a city of canals, public +gardens, broad squares, and gay cafés. It has two excellent harbors, +one on the Baltic and one on Lake Maelaren. Wars, conflagrations, +and the steady progress of civilization have entirely changed the +city from what it was in the days of Gustavus Vasa,--that is, about +the year 1496. It was he who founded the dynasty which has survived +for three hundred years. The streets in the older sections of the +town are often crooked and narrow, like those of Marseilles, or of +Toledo in Spain, where in looking heavenward one does not behold +enough of the blue sky between the roofs for the measure of a +waistcoat pattern, but in the more modern-built parts there are fine +straight avenues and spacious squares, with large and imposing public +and private edifices. Here as in most of the other Scandinavian +cities, in consequence of various sweeping fires, the old +timber-built houses have gradually disappeared, being replaced by +those of brick or stone, and there is now enforced a municipal law +which prohibits the erection of wooden structures within the +precincts of the city proper. + +Stockholm is the centre of the social and literary activity of +Scandinavia, hardly second in these respects to Copenhagen. It has +its full share of scientific, artistic, and benevolent institutions, +such as befit a great European capital. The stranger should as soon +as convenient after arriving ascend an elevation of the town called +the Mosebacke, whereon has been erected a lofty iron framework and +look-out, which is surmounted by means of a steam elevator. From this +structure an admirable view of the city is obtained and its +topography fixed clearly upon the mind. At a single glance as it +were, one overlooks the charming marine view of the Baltic with its +busy traffic, while in the opposite direction the hundreds of islands +that dot Lake Maelaren form a wide-spread picture of varied beauty. +The bird's-eye view obtained of the environs of the capital is +unique, since in the immediate vicinity of the city lies the primeval +forest, undisturbed and unimproved. This seems the more singular when +we realize how ancient a place Stockholm is, having been fortified +and made his capital by Birger Jarl, between seven and eight hundred +years ago. Though Sweden unlike Norway has no heroic age, so to +speak, connecting her earliest exploits with the fate of other +countries, still no secondary European power has enacted so brilliant +a part in modern history as have those famous Swedish monarchs +Gustavus Vasa, Gustavus Adolphus, and Charles XII. The latter fought +all Europe,--Danes, Russians, Poles, Germans,--and gave away a +kingdom before he was twenty years of age. It was he who at his +coronation snatched the crown from the hand of the archbishop and set +it proudly on his head with his own hands. + +Some of the local attractions of the city are the National Museum, +built of granite and marble in the Venetian Renaissance style, the +Academy of Sciences, the Art Museum, the Town Hall, and the Royal +Palace; but we will not weary the reader with detailed accounts of +them. The Royal Palace, like that at Christiania, is an exceedingly +plain building, with a granite basement and stuccoed bricks above, +forming an immense quadrangular edifice. Though it is very simple +externally, it is yet finely proportioned, and stands upon the +highest point of the central island. Its present master, King Oscar +II., is an accomplished artist, poet, musician, and an admirable +linguist, nobly fulfilling the requirements of his responsible +position. He has been justly called the ideal sovereign of the age, +and the more the world knows of him the more fully this estimate will +be confirmed. His court, while it is one of the most unpretentious, +is yet one of the most refined in Europe. It is not surprising +therefore that the King enjoys a popularity among his subjects +characterized by universal confidence, respect, and love. The State +departments of the palace are very elegant, and are freely shown to +strangers at all suitable times. In the grand State Hall is the +throne of silver originally occupied by Queen Christina, while the +Hall of Mirrors appears as though it might have come out of Aladdin's +Palace. Amid all the varied attractions of art and historic +associations, the splendid Banqueting Hall, the galleries of painting +and statuary, the Concert Room, audience chambers, saloons hung with +Gobelin tapestry, and gilded boudoirs, one simple chamber impressed +us most. It was the bed-room of Charles XIV. (Marshal Bernadotte), +which has remained unchanged and unused since the time of his death, +his old campaign cloak of Swedish blue still lying upon the bed. The +clock upon the mantle-piece significantly points to the hour and the +minute of the monarch's death. The life and remarkable career of the +dead King flashed across the memory as we stood for a moment beside +these suggestive souvenirs. It was recalled how he began life as a +common soldier in the French army, rising with rapidity by reason of +his military genius to be a Marshal of France, and finally to sit +upon the Swedish throne. Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte Corvo, is the +only one of Napoleon's generals whose descendants still occupy a +throne. + +The Royal Library is said to be a very choice collection of books in +all modern languages, occupying a hall which extends over nearly the +entire length of one wing of the palace, and contains a hundred +thousand bound volumes. One of the most conspicuous objects seen from +its windows is the Riddarsholm Church, a lofty, Gothic structure of +red brick, and the Westminster Abbey of the metropolis. Its tall +openwork spire of iron tracery reaches towards the sky as though it +would pierce the blue vault, forming a conspicuous object for the eye +of the traveller who approaches the city by water. This old church, +with its banner-hung arches, possesses considerable historic +interest. There is significance in the fact that its chime of bells +is only heard on the occasion of royal funerals. The broad aisle is +filled with grand colossal statuary by Sergei, Bystrom, and other +native sculptors. In one of the chapels is the tomb of Gustavus +Adolphus, and in another repose the ashes of the youthful hero +Charles XII. A long line of Swedish monarchs also rest beneath the +Riddarsholm Church. The central floor is covered with gravestones +bearing the titles of historic characters and of heroic names, in the +study of which and recalling of their mingled histories hours glide +swiftly away. There is a chapel of relics attached to the church +which contains many valuable historic souvenirs. In the large square +bearing the name of Birger Jarl's Torg, near by the church just +described, stands a bronze statue of this former ruler and founder of +the city, who was a great reformer in his day, living until 1266. It +was modelled by Fogelberg, and represents the famous original in the +armor which was common in the twelfth century, the general effect +being artistic and impressive; but it is by no means faultless. The +pedestal is formed by a heavy dwarfed pillar, which places the statue +too far above the line of sight for good effect. The church of +Adolphus Frederick is built in the form of a cross, and is rendered +quite conspicuous by its large tower, which is crowned by a copper +dome. This church is just a century old. A monument was observed +within its walls erected to the memory of Descartes, the famous +French philosopher, who died at Stockholm in 1650, but whose remains +were finally removed to Paris. The most conspicuous dome and tower in +the city is that of the Ladugardslands Church, surmounting an octagon +structure two centuries old. St. Catherine's Church is the highest in +the metropolis, and is built in the Grecian cross shape, with a lofty +dome and five spires. Its erection dates back two hundred years. + +The population of Stockholm seems to consist of a cheerful, +prosperous, and contented people, though few remarkable signs of +luxury or opulence meet the eye of a stranger. The shops on the +principal streets are elegantly arrayed, and in the spacious windows +choice merchandise, books, pictures, and jewelry are tastefully +displayed. There are not better supplied or more attractive shops on +the Rue de la Paix or the Italian Boulevard of Paris. A ceaseless +activity reigns along the thoroughfares, among the little steam +gondolas upon the many water-ways, and the myriad of passenger +steamers which ply upon the lake. Many pleasure seekers throng the +small parks in the city, while others seek the more extensive and +distant Djurgard, or "Deer Park," in the environs. These are the +finest grounds of the sort and by far the most extensive devoted to +such a purpose which the author has chanced to see. This remarkable +pleasure resort, originally laid out as a deer park by Gustavus III., +occupies an entire island by itself, and is some miles in +circumference, beautified with inviting drives, grassy glades, rocky +knolls, Swiss cottages, Italian verandas, and containing innumerable +thrifty trees, among which are some of the noblest oaks to be found +outside of England. Refreshment booths, cafés, music halls, +marionette theatres, gymnastic apparatus, and various other means of +public amusement are liberally distributed over the wide-spread area. +It is the great summer resort of the populace for picnicing, pleasure +outings, and Sunday holidays. The environs far and near, including +the Deer Park, are easily and cheaply reached by small steam +launches, or by tramway, at any hour of the day or evening. + +No population known to the author is so thoroughly devoted to public +amusement as are the citizens of the Swedish capital during the warm +season; the brief summer is indeed made the most of by all classes in +the enjoyment of out-door life. Beginning at an early hour of the day +and continuing until past midnight, gayety reigns supreme from the +middle of June until the end of August. To a stranger it seems to be +one ceaseless holiday, leading one to ask what period the people +devote to their business occupations. It is surprising to observe how +many theatres, circuses, concerts, fairs, casinos, field sports and +garden entertainments are liberally supported by a population of less +than two hundred thousand. At night the tide of life flows fast and +furious until the small hours, the town and its environs being ablaze +with gas and electric lights. The little omnibus steamers which flit +about like fire-flies are, like the tramways, taxed to their utmost +capacity, while the air is full of music from military bands. It is +the summer gayety of the Champs Elysées thrice multiplied by a +community which does not number one tenth of the aggregated +population of the great French capital. Not one but every day in the +week forms a link in the continuous chain of revelling hours, until +on the Sabbath the gayety culminates in a grand fête day of +pleasure-outings for men, women, and children. Scores of steamers +gayly dressed in flags and crowded with passengers start in the early +morning of this day for excursions on Lake Maelaren, or to visit some +pleasure resort on the Baltic, while the Deer Park and public gardens +of the city resound all day and night with mirth and music. + +The Royal Opera House is a plain substantial structure on the +Gustaf-Adolf-Torg, built by Gustavus III. in 1775, and will seat +fifteen hundred persons. A music-loving Swede told us of the début of +Jenny Lind years ago in this dramatic temple, and also described that +of Christine Nilsson, which occurred more recently. The excellent +acoustic properties of the Stockholm Opera House are admitted by +famous vocalists to be nearly unequalled. It was here, at a gay +masquerade ball on the morning of March 15, 1792, that Gustavus III. +was fatally wounded by a shot from an assassin, one of the +conspirators among the nobility. Our place of sojourn while in +Stockholm was at the Hotel Rydberg, which overlooks the +Gustaf-Adolf-Torg. Directly opposite our windows, across the bridge +where the waters of the Baltic and Lake Maelaren join, was the Royal +Palace, situated upon a commanding site. On the right of the square +and forming one whole side of it was the Crown Prince's palace; on +the left was the Opera House, with an equal frontage; while in the +centre stood the equestrian bronze statue of Gustavus Adolphus. On +the low ground beside the bridge leading to the royal palace close to +the water was one of those picturesque pleasure-gardens for which +the town is famous, where under the trees hung with fancy lamps an +animated crowd assembled nightly to enjoy the music of the military +band and to partake of all sorts of refreshments, but mainly +consisting of Swedish punch, Scandinavian beer, or coffee. The +distance of this pleasure-garden from the hotel was just sufficient +to harmonize the music with one's mood, and to lull the drowsy senses +to sleep when the hour for retiring arrived. + +Following the motley crowd one evening, indifferent as to where it +might lead, the author found himself on board one of the little +omnibus steamers, which in about fifteen minutes landed its +passengers at the Deer Park, near the entrance to which a permanent +circus establishment seemed to be the attraction; so purchasing a +ticket in our turn, we entered with a crowd which soon filled the +auditorium. Over two thousand spectators found accommodation within +the walls. The performance was excellent and of the usual variety, +including a ballet. Occupying a seat by our side was a man of about +seventy years of age, whose white hair, mutton-chop whiskers, and +snowy moustache were cut and dressed after the daintiest fashion. He +was a little below the average size, and was in excellent +preservation for one of his years. It was observed that his hands and +feet were as small as those of a young school-girl. He was in full +evening dress, with a button-hole bouquet in his coat lapel, held in +place by a diamond clasp. On three of the fingers of each hand were +diamond rings reaching to the middle joints. Diamonds mingled with +rubies and pearls glistened upon his wrists, upon which he wore +ladies' bracelets. His tawdry watch-chain was heavy with brilliants. +In his necktie was a large diamond, and a star-shaped clustre of +small ones furnished him with a breastpin. In short, this antique +dude sparkled all over like a jeweller's shop-window. Each of the +ballet-girls had a sign of recognition for the gay Lothario, who +exchanged signals with several of the women performers. We felt sure +that he must be some well-known character about town, and upon +returning to the hotel described him and asked who he was. "Oh!" said +the proprietor, "that was the Portuguese Minister!" + +Some of the public streets of the city are quite steep, so as to be +impassable for vehicles,--like those of Valetta in the island of +Malta, and those in the English part of Hong Kong. The northern +suburb is the most fashionable part of Stockholm, containing the +newest streets and the finest private residences. Among the statues +which ornament the public squares and gardens, that of Charles XII. +in King's Park is perhaps the most remarkable,--he whom Motley called +"the crowned gladiator." It stands upon a pedestal of Swedish +granite, surrounded by four heavy mortars placed at the +corners,--spoils which were taken by the youthful hero in battle. +Touching the individual figure, which is of bronze and colossal, it +struck us as full of incongruities, and not at all creditable to the +well-known designer Molin. + +The Swedish and Norwegian languages are very similar, and, as we were +assured by persons of both nationalities, they are becoming gradually +amalgamated. The former is perhaps the softer tongue and its people +the more musical, as those two delightful vocalists and envoys from +thence, Jenny Lind and Christine Nilsson, would lead us to infer. +Both countries are undoubtedly poor in worldly riches, but yet they +expend larger sums of money for educational purposes in proportion to +the number of their population than any other country except America. +The result here is manifest in a marked degree of general +intelligence diffused among all classes. One is naturally reminded in +this Swedish capital of Linnæus and Swedenborg, both of whom were +born here. The latter graduated at the famous University of Upsala, +the former in the greater school of out-door Nature. Swedenborg was +as eminent a scientist as religionist, and to him was first intrusted +the engineering of the Gotha Canal; but his visionary peculiarities +growing upon him it was found necessary to substitute a more +practical individual, so that the great work was eventually completed +by Sweden's most famous engineer and mechanician, Kristofer Polhem. + +The stranger often meets in the streets of Stockholm a conspicuous +class of peasant women dressed very neatly but somewhat gaudily in +stripes and high colors, wearing a peculiar head-gear. They are from +Dalecarlia, with sun-burned cheeks, splendid teeth, bright serious +eyes, soft light hair worn in braids hanging down their backs, and +universally possessing sturdy, well-shaped forms. These women are +from a favored province of Sweden, and for a long time enjoyed a +monopoly of the many ferry-boats of the city, it having been accorded +to them by royal consent in consideration of the patriotism exhibited +by them, and of aid which the women of that ancient province gave to +the cause of the throne at a critical moment in Swedish history. +Dalecarlian girls on arriving at a suitable age have for many +generations been in the habit of coming to the capital and remaining +long enough to earn by their industry sufficient means to return +home, become married, and set up their households for life. The small +omnibus-steamers have superseded the row-boat ferries, but still the +women of this province come to the city all the same, pursuing +various occupations of a laborious character, but always retaining +their native costumes. Swedish provinces have each to a certain +extent a special style of dress to which they tenaciously adhere, as +the several Highland clans of Scotland do to their plaids and colors. +These girls are often engaged by wealthy families as nurses for their +children; some few are to be seen at service in the cafés and public +gardens, others are engaged as porters, who transport light packages +while pushing before them a small two-wheeled handcart. They +certainly form a very picturesque feature with their peculiar costume +of striped aprons, party-colored waists, and tall caps, recalling the +Italian models one sees on the Spanish Stairs of the Piazza di +Spagna in Rome. As a rule, in point of morals they are represented to +be beyond reproach; but some of them inevitably drift into +temptation, and become lost to their country and home ties. But even +under these sad circumstances, the Dalecarlian girls adhere +tenaciously to their peasant costume to the last. The pride which +prevents them from returning to their village homes after the +blandishments have faded which led them astray, often prompts them to +seek a watery grave in the Lake Maelaren. + +The National Museum is a fine modern structure three stories in +height, the façade ornamented with appropriate statues and +medallions, among which was one of Linnæus. On entering the edifice +three colossal marble figures attract the eye, representing the chief +deities of Scandinavian mythology, Odin, Thor, and Freyr; but as +regards the curiosities collected here, they are in no way +remarkable, being much like those of other collections. One exception +should be made, however, in favor of the cabinet of ancient coins, +which is very complete and attractive; it is claimed for it that +there is no other in Europe of equal interest or importance. The +collection of ancient Arabian coins is unique, and would delight the +heart of the simplest numismatist. There is a large gallery of +paintings in the upper story of the Museum, with a few examples of +the old masters and many of the modern schools. In the open square +before the National Museum is to be seen the original of the bronze +group described in our chapter upon Gottenburg. This remarkable +production, called the "Girdle-Duellists," is the masterpiece of the +Swedish artist Molin, and is undoubtedly the finest piece of +sculpture to be seen in the country. The pedestal is ornamented with +four reliefs representing the origin and issue of the combat, with +Runic inscriptions signifying "Jealousy," "Drinking," "Beginning of +the Combat," and the "Widow's Lament." It seemed surprising to us +that an artist capable of such admirable work as this justly famous +group represents, could also have been the author of that hideous +conception, the bronze statue of Charles XII., so conspicuously +placed in the King's Park of Stockholm. + +One of the most popular of the many cafés and pleasure-gardens either +in the city proper or its environs, is that known as Hasselbacken, +which is situated quite near to the Deer Park. This garden is crowded +day and evening during the warm season with hundreds of visitors +intent upon enjoying the various entertainments characterizing this +resort, among which excellent instrumental and vocal music forms a +specialty, while refreshments of every sort are served by an army of +white-aproned and active waiters. A broad Turkish pavilion forms the +principal concert-room at Hasselbacken, picturesquely fitted up for +the purpose. In these grounds, under an ancient oak which reared its +tall head proudly above all its neighbors, there was observed a fine +statue of Bellman the composer, who, as we learned, was accustomed a +century ago to sit in this spot and sing his compositions to his +assembled friends, accompanying himself on his favorite instrument +the cithern. The sculptor Nyström has reproduced the poet in bronze; +and the composition is both beautiful as an ideal-historical monument +and excellent in an artistic point of view. Fountains and flower-beds +abound on all sides in these inviting grounds, the sylvan aspect +being carefully and ingeniously preserved. + +While driving in the Deer Park we accidentally came upon the royal +cottage of Rosedale, which was built by Charles XIV. about sixty +years ago, and was the favorite summer residence of the Queen-dowager +Josephine. It is a most delightful rural retreat, surrounded by +hothouses, graperies, flower-plats, broad gravelled walks, and trees +in great variety. Some of the ancient oaks about Rosedale are of +special beauty and of noble development, challenging the admiration +of every stranger. In the rear of the royal cottage is a remarkable +porphyry urn in three parts, foot, stem, and crown,--being nearly +forty feet in circumference, and weighing, we were told, over fifty +thousand pounds. Charles XIV. took great pride in perfecting the Deer +Park as a place of public resort and pleasure, for which object he +expended large sums from his private purse. From Rosedale one can +return to the city by boat or by a drive over the pleasant, +well-macadamized roads which intersect the country lying between the +Baltic and Lake Maelaren. + +Upsala is the oldest town in the country as well as the historical +and educational centre of the kingdom, situated just fifty miles +from Stockholm, and may be reached either by boat or by rail. Going +in one way and returning by the other adds a pleasing variety to the +trip, which by starting early in the morning can be satisfactorily +consummated in a single day. This is the Cambridge of Sweden,--the +name Upsala signifying the "Lofty Halls." It was the royal capital of +the country for more than a thousand years, and was the locality of +the great temple of Thor, now replaced by a Christian cathedral which +was over two centuries in building. "The religion of one age is the +literary entertainment of the next," says Emerson. The more modern +structure is in the Gothic style, built of brick, and the site being +on elevated ground renders it very effective. Originally it had three +spires four hundred feet high; but these were destroyed by lightning +in 1702, and were afterwards replaced by the present two incongruous +towers of circumscribed elevation, and which do not at all accord +with the original architectural design of the structure. This spot in +the Pagan ages was a famous resort for sacrifices. History, or at +least legend tells us that in those days the original temple was +surrounded by a sacred grove wherein the sacrifices were made to +propitiate the deities worshipped there,--human blood being +considered the most acceptable. So powerful was the heathenish +infatuation, that parents even immolated their children. An account +is still extant of seventy-two bodies of human beings being seen here +at one time, suspended and dead upon the trees. Odin was once a +sacred deity here; now the name represents among the peasantry that +of the Devil. The present temple in its architectural aspect is +nearly a duplicate of Notre Dame in Paris, and is the largest +cathedral in the north of Europe. The same architect, Étienne de +Bonnevil, designed them both, and came to Upsala, accompanied by a +small army of mechanics from France, to begin the work which was +destined, from various causes, to linger along through two centuries. +The interior is impressive from its severe simplicity. The flying +buttresses inside the structure give a peculiarly striking effect. +Between each of them is a small chapel. The vaulting is supported by +twenty-four soaring pillars. The dead, cold walls are finished in +glaring whitewash without any relief. Under the altar is an elaborate +and much-venerated shrine of silver containing the ashes of Saint +Eric, the patron saint of Sweden. + +Upsala has often been the scene of fierce and bloody conflicts. Saint +Eric was slain here in 1161. It has its university and its historical +associations; but it has neither trade nor commerce of any sort +beyond that of a small inland town,--its streets never being +disturbed by business activity or the "fever of living," though there +is a population here of at least fifteen or sixteen thousand persons. +The University, founded in 1477 and richly endowed by Gustavus +Adolphus, is the just pride of the country,--having to-day some +fifteen hundred students and forty-eight competent professors. No one +can enter the profession of law, medicine, or divinity in Sweden who +has not graduated either at this University or at that of Lund. Its +library contains nearly or quite two hundred thousand bound volumes +and over seven thousand important manuscripts. Among the latter is a +copy of the four Gospels, with movable silver letters placed on +parchment at the chapter heads, the whole being in the old Gothic +language. This book, named "Codex Argenteus," contains nearly two +hundred folios, and was made by Bishop Ulphilas one thousand years +before Gutenberg was born. It was in this University that Linnæus, +the great naturalist, was professor of botany and zoölogy for nearly +forty years. His statue still very properly ornaments the +lecture-room, and his journal is shown to visitors in the large hall +of the library. + +The former dwelling house of Linnæus may be seen by tourists at +Upsala, where he lived among his well-beloved flora, planted and +tended by his own hands. His remains lie interred within the +cathedral under a mural tablet of red porphyry, bearing upon the +surface a portrait of the grand old naturalist by Sergel, in +bas-relief. Many of the tombs and tablets in the aisles bore dates of +more than five hundred years ago, but none interested us so much as +that of Linnæus the great disciple of Nature. This humble shoemaker +by force of his genius alone rose to be a prince in the kingdom of +Science. Botany and Zoölogy have never known a more eminent exponent +than the lowly-born Karl von Linné, whom the Swedes very +appropriately denominate the King of Flowers. A certain knowledge of +plants and of natural history forms a part of the primary education +of every Swede. At Upsala one has abundant evidence to show how +liberally the Government of the country fosters education among all +classes, and also that special attention is given to the education of +women. + +About three or four miles from the University is the village of Old +Upsala, where there are three huge tumuli said to contain the remains +of Pagan deities. One is here forcibly reminded of the North American +mound-builders. In Illinois the author has seen examples double the +size of these at Upsala, while in the State of Ohio there are +thousands of these tumuli to be seen. Adjoining the three mounds at +Upsala is a quaint little church, more than two thousand years old, +built of rough field-stones. It contains a monument to Anders Celsius +the Swedish astronomer and some ancient ecclesiastical vessels, also +some old pictures upon canvas nearly consumed by mould. The huge key +with which the door was opened to admit the author bore a date of six +centuries ago. We noticed some Pagan idols in wood preserved in an +oaken chest inside the old church, which dated about the eleventh +century. What a venerable, crude, and miraculously-preserved old pile +it is! Who can say that inanimate objects are not susceptible to +minute impressions which they retain? Has not the phonograph proven +that it receives mechanically, through the waves of sound, spoken +words, which it records and repeats? What then may possibly be +retained in the memory of this old, old church, which has kept watch +and ward on the footsteps of time, these two thousand years! Few +temples are now in existence which are known to antedate the +Christian era, but undoubtedly these gray old walls form one of them. +The three mounds referred to--the tombs of heroes in their lifetime, +gods in their death--are said to be those of Thor, Odin, and Freyr. +They were found easy of ascent, and were covered with a soft, fresh +verdure, from whence we gathered a bouquet of native thyme and +various colored wild-flowers which were brought back with us to +Stockholm. Near these mounds is also a hill of forty or fifty feet in +height called Tingshog, from which all the kings down to Gustavus +Vasa used to address their subjects. In this same neighborhood also +are the famous Mora Stones, where in the Middle Ages the election +ceremony and the crowning of the Swedish kings took place with great +solemnity. Tangible evidence as well as the pages of history show +Upsala to have been the great stronghold of Paganism, and here the +apostles of Christianity encountered the most determined opposition. +There are many other mounds in the vicinity of the three specified, +all undoubted burial-places erected ages ago. The highest one, +measuring sixty-four perpendicular feet, was cut through in 1874 to +enable the Ethnological Congress then assembled here to examine the +inside. There were found within it a skeleton and some fragments of +arms and jewelry, which are now preserved in the Museum at +Stockholm. We were told that another of these mounds was opened in a +similar manner nearly fifty years ago, with a like result as to its +contents. + +Before leaving the Swedish capital a spot of more than passing +interest was visited; namely, the garden and summer-house in which +Emanuel Swedenborg, philosopher and theosophist, wrote his remarkable +works. It seems strange that here in his native city this man as a +religionist had no followers. It is believed to-day by many in +Stockholm that he wrote under a condition of partial derangement of +mind. The house which he owned and in which he lived has crumbled +away and disappeared, but his summer-house study--a small close +building fifteen feet in height and about eighteen feet square--is +still extant. In most countries such a relic would be carefully +preserved, and made to answer the purpose of an exhibition to the +visiting strangers; but here no special note is taken of it, and not +without some difficulty could it be found. One intelligent resident +even denied the existence of this object of inquiry, but a little +persistent effort at last discovered the interesting old study at No. +43 Hornsgatan, a few streets in the rear of the Royal Palace, from +which it is about one half of a mile distant. + +Every one is amenable to the influence of the weather. Had the same +dull dripping atmosphere greeted us at Stockholm which was +encountered at Bergen, perhaps the impression left upon the memory +would have been less propitious, but the exact contrary was the +case. The days passed here were warm, bright, and sunny; everything +wore a holiday aspect; life was at its gayest among the citizens as +seen in the public gardens, streets, and squares, even the big white +sea-gulls that swooped gracefully over the many water-ways, though +rather queer habitués of a populous city, seemed to be uttering cries +of bird merriment. In short our entire experience of the Swedish +capital is tinctured with pleasurable memories. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + The Northern Mediterranean. -- Depth of the Sea. -- Where Amber + Comes From. -- A Thousand Isles. -- City of Åbo. -- Departed + Glory. -- Capital of Finland. -- Local Scenes. -- Russian + Government. -- Finland's Dependency. -- Billingsgate. -- A Woman + Sailor in an Exigency. -- Fortress of Sweaborg. -- Fortifications + of Cronstadt. -- Russia's Great Naval Station. -- The Emperor's + Steam Yacht. -- A Sail Up the Neva. -- St. Petersburg in the + Distance. -- First Russian Dinner. + + +Embarking at Stockholm for St. Petersburg one crosses the +Baltic,--that Mediterranean of the North, but which is in reality a +remote branch of the Atlantic Ocean, with which it is connected by +two gulfs, the Cattegat and the Skager-Rack. It reaches from the +south of the Danish archipelago up to the latitude of Stockholm, +where it extends a right and left arm, each of great size, the former +being the Gulf of Finland, and the latter the Gulf of Bothnia, the +whole forming the most remarkable basin of navigable inland water in +the world. The Finnish Gulf is two hundred miles long by an average +width of sixty miles, and that of Bothnia is four hundred miles long +averaging a hundred in width. The peninsula of Denmark, known under +the name of Jutland, stands like a barrier between the Baltic and the +North Sea, midway between the two extremes of the general western +configuration of the continent of Europe. We have called the Baltic +the Mediterranean of the North, but it has no such depth as that +classic inland sea, which finds its bed in a cleft of marvellous +depression between Europe and Africa. One thousand fathoms of +sounding-line off Gibraltar will not reach the bottom, and two +thousand fathoms fail to find it a few miles east of Malta. The +maximum depth of the Baltic on the contrary is found to be only a +hundred and fifty fathoms, while its average depth is considerably +less than a hundred fathoms. It cannot be said that these waters +deserve the expressive epithet which has been applied to the sea that +laves the coast of Italy and the Grecian Isles; namely, "The cradle +of the human race," but yet the ages ancient and modern have not been +without their full share of startling episodes in these more northern +regions. + +It is a curious though familiar fact that the waters of the Baltic, +or rather the bottom of the basin in which it lies, is rich in amber, +which the agitated waters cast upon the shores in large quantities +annually,--a process which has been going on here for three or four +centuries at least. We all know that amber is an indurated fossil +resin produced by an extinct species of pine; so that it is evident +that where these waters ebb and flow there were once flourishing +forests of amber pines. These were doubtless submerged by the gradual +encroachment of the sea, or suddenly engulfed by some grand volcanic +action of Nature. Pieces of the bark and the cones of the pine-tree +are often found adhering to the amber, and insects of a kind unknown +to our day are also found embedded in its yellow depths. The largest +piece of amber extant is in the Berlin Museum, and is about the size +of a child's head. This is dark and lacks transparency, a quality +which is particularly sought for by those who trade in the article. +It is known that the peninsula of Scandinavia is gradually becoming +elevated above the surrounding waters at the north, and depressed in +an equal ratio in the extreme south,--a fact which is held to be of +great interest among geologists. The total change in the level has +been carefully observed and recorded by scientific commissions, and +the aggregate certified to is a trifle over three feet occurring in a +period of a hundred and eighteen years. + +We took passage on a neat little steamer of about four hundred tons +which plies regularly between the capitals of Sweden and Russia, +stopping on the way at Åbo and Helsingfors, a distance in all of +about six hundred miles. By this route, after crossing the open sea, +one passes through an almost endless labyrinth of picturesque islands +in the Gulf of Finland, including the archipelago known as the Aland +Isles, besides many isolated ones quite near to the coast of Finland. +This forms a most delightful sail, the waters being nearly always +smooth, except during a few hours of necessary exposure in the open +Gulf. The islands are generally covered with a variety of trees and +attractive verdure, many of them being also improved for the purpose +of small farms, embracing appropriate clusters of buildings, about +which were grouped domestic cattle and bevies of merry children, +making memorable pictures as we wound in and out among them pursuing +the course of the channel. The great contrast between these low-lying +verdant islands and those lofty, frowning, jagged, and snow-capped +ones which we had so lately encountered in the far North was striking +indeed. By and by we enter the fjord which leads up to Åbo from the +Gulf, which is also dotted here and there by the most beautiful, +garden-like islands imaginable, and upon which are built many pretty +châlets, forming the summer homes of the citizens of Finmark's former +capital. It would be difficult to name a trip of a mingled +sea-and-land character so thoroughly delightful; it constantly and +vividly recalled the thousand islands of the St. Lawrence in North +America, and the Inland Sea of Japan. The town of Åbo has a +population of about twenty-five thousand, who are mostly of Swedish +descent. It is thrifty, cleanly, and wears an aspect of quiet +prosperity. The place is venerable in years, and has a record +reaching back for over seven centuries. Here the Russian flag--red, +blue, and white--first begins to greet one from all appropriate +points, and more especially from the shipping; but we almost +unconsciously pass from one nationality to another where the dividing +lines are of so mingled a character. The most prominent building to +catch the stranger's eye on entering the harbor is the long +barrack-like prison upon a hillside. In front of us loomed up the +famous old castle of Åbo, awkward and irregular in shape, and snow +white. Here in the olden time Gustavus Vasa, Eric XIV., and John III. +held royal court. The streets are few but very broad, which causes +the town to cover an area quite out of proportion to the number of +its inhabitants. The buildings are all modern, as the fire-fiend +destroyed nearly the entire place so late as 1827, when nine hundred +buildings and over were consumed within the space of a few hours. + +The Russian Chapel is a conspicuous and characteristic building, and +so is the Astronomical Observatory, situated on the highest eminence +in the town. This structure has lately been converted into a +scientific school. Crowds of pupils were filing out of its doors just +as we made fast to the shore in full view. The cathedral is an object +of some interest, and contains many curious relics. Åbo however is a +very quiet little town, whose glory has departed since it ceased in +1819 to be the political capital of Finland. It formerly boasted a +University, but that institution and its large library were swept +away by the fire already mentioned. + +Helsingfors is situated still farther up the Gulf, facing the ancient +town of Revel on the Esthonian coast, and is reached from Åbo in +about twelve hours' sail, also through a labyrinth of islands so +numerous as to be quite confusing, but whose picturesqueness and +beauty will not easily be forgotten. This is the present capital of +Finland, and it contains from fifty to fifty-five thousand +inhabitants, but has several times been partially destroyed by +plague, famine, and fire. It was founded by Gustavus Vasa of Sweden, +in the sixteenth century. The University is represented to be of a +high standard of excellence, and contains a library of about two +hundred thousand volumes. A gentleman who was himself a graduate of +the institution and a fellow passenger on the steamer, entertained us +with an interesting account of the educational system enforced here. +The present number of students exceeds seven hundred, and there are +forty professors attached to the institution, which is the oldest +university in Russia, having been founded as far back as 1640. It is +interesting to recall the fact that printing was not introduced into +Finland until a year later. + +The most striking feature of Helsingfors as one approaches it from +the sea is the large Greek Church with its fifteen domes and +minarets, each capped by a glittering cross and crescent with pendant +chains in gilt, and as it is built upon high ground the whole is very +effective. The Lutheran Church is also picturesque and notable, with +its five domes sparkling with gilded stars upon a dark green ground, +a style of finish quite new to us, but which became familiar after +visiting the interior of Russia. The approach to the entrance of this +church is formed by many granite steps, which extend across the base +of the façade and are over two hundred feet in width. The streets of +the town are handsomely and evenly paved, of good width, and bordered +with excellent raised side-walks,--a convenience too generally +wanting in old European cities and towns. Through the centre of some +of the main streets a broad walk is constructed, lined on either side +by trees of the linden family, and very ornamental. The buildings are +imposing architecturally, being mostly in long uniform blocks, quite +Parisian in effect. Several large buildings were observed in course +of construction, and there were many tokens of prosperity manifest on +all hands. The Imperial Palace is a plain but substantial building, +with heavy Corinthian pillars in front. Its situation seemed to us a +little incongruous, being located in a commercial centre quite near +the wharves. + +We need hardly remind the reader that Finland is a dependency of +Russia; yet it is nearly as independent as is Norway of Sweden. +Finland is ruled by a governor-general assisted by the Imperial +Senate, over which a representative of the Emperor of Russia +presides. There is also resident at St. Petersburg a Secretary of +State, so to designate the official, for Finland. Still, the country +pays no tribute to Russia. It imposes its own taxes, and forms its +own codes of law; so that Norway, as regards constitutional liberty, +is scarcely freer or more democratic. When Finland was joined to +Russia, Alexander I. assured the people that the integrity of their +constitution and religion should be protected; and this promise has +thus far been honestly kept by the dominant power. + +The port of Helsingfors is defended by the large and famous fortress +of Sweaborg, which repelled the English and French fleets during the +Crimean war. It was constructed by the Swedish General Ehrenswärd, +who was a poet as well as an excellent military engineer. The fort is +considered to be one of the strongest in the world, and is situated +upon seven islands, each being connected with the main fortress by +tunnels under the waters of the harbor constructed at enormous +expense, mostly through ledges of solid granite. The natural rock of +these islands has, in fact, been utilized somewhat after the +elaborate style of Gibraltar. An extensive and most substantial +granite quay extends along the water in front of the town, where a +large fleet of fishing-boats managed mostly by women is moored daily, +with the freshly caught cargoes displayed for sale, spread out in +great variety both upon the immediate shore and on the decks of their +homely but serviceable little vessels. The energy of the fishwomen in +their efforts to trade with all comers, accompanied by loud +expressions and vociferous exclamations, led us to think that there +might be a Finnish Billingsgate as well as an English. While we stood +watching the busy scene on and near the wharves, a fishing-boat of +about twenty tons, with two masts supporting fore and aft sails and a +fore-stay-sail, was just getting under way outward bound. The boat +contained a couple of lads and a middle-aged woman, who held the +sheet of the mainsail as she sat beside the tiller. The little craft +had just fairly laid her course close-hauled towards the mouth of the +bay, and was hardly a quarter of a mile from the dock when one of +the sudden squalls so common in this region, accompanied by heavy +rain, came down upon the craft like a flash, driving her lee gunwales +for a moment quite under water. The main sheet was instantly let go, +so also with the fore and stay sails, and the boat promptly brought +to the wind, while the woman at the helm issued one or two orders to +her boy-crew which were instantly obeyed. Ten minutes later, under a +close-reefed foresail, the boat had taken the wind upon the opposite +tack and was scudding into the shelter of the dock, where she was +properly made fast and her sails quietly furled to await the advent +of more favorable weather. No experienced seaman could have managed +the boat better under the circumstances than did this woman. + +After leaving Helsingfors we next come upon Cronstadt, formed by a +series of low islands about five miles long by one broad, which are +important only as fortifications and as being the acknowledged key of +St. Petersburg, forming also the chief naval station of the great +empire. The two fortifications of Sweaborg and Cronstadt insure to +Russia the possession of the Gulf of Finland. The cluster of islands +which form the great Russian naval station are raised above the level +of the sea barely sufficient to prevent their being overflowed, while +the foundations of many of the minor works are considerably below the +surrounding waters, which are rather shallow, being less than two +fathoms in depth. The fortifications are of brick faced with granite, +and consist mainly of a rounded structure with four stories of +embrasures, from the top of which rises a tall signal-mast supporting +the Muscovite flag. The arsenals and docks here are very extensive, +and unsurpassed of their kind in completeness. The best machinists in +the world find employment here, the latest inventions a sure market. +In all facilities for marine armament Russia is fully abreast of if +it does not surpass most of the nations of Europe. The quays of +Cronstadt are built of granite and form a grand monument of +engineering skill, facing the mouth of the Neva, less than twenty +miles from the Russian capital. Six or eight miles to the south lies +Istria, and about the same distance to the north is the coast of +Carelia. The population of the adjoining town will aggregate nearly +fifty thousand persons, more than half of whom belong either directly +or indirectly to the army or navy. The Russian fleet, consisting of +iron-clads, rams, torpedo-boats, and sea-going steamers of heavy +armament, lies at anchor in a spacious harbor behind the forts. The +united defences here are so strong that the place is reasonably +considered to be impregnable. An enemy could approach only by a +narrow winding passage, which is commanded by such a cross-fire from +the heaviest guns as would sink any naval armament now afloat. As we +have intimated, every fresh improvement in ordnance is promptly +adopted by Russia, whose army and navy are kept at all times if not +absolutely upon what is called a war-footing, still in a good +condition for the commencement of offensive or defensive warfare. + +As we came into the river from the Gulf we passed the Emperor's +private steam-yacht, which is a splendid side-wheel steamer of about +two thousand tons burden. She was riding quietly at anchor, a perfect +picture of nautical beauty. Yet a single order from her quarter-deck +would instantly dispel this tranquillity, covering her decks with +sturdy seamen armed to the teeth, opening her ports for huge +death-dealing cannon, and peopling her shrouds with scores of +sharp-shooters. The captain of our own vessel told us that she was +the fastest sea-going steamer ever built. Behind the royal yacht, +some little distance upon the land, the Palace and surroundings of +Peterhoff were lit up by the sun's rays playing upon the collection +of gilded and fantastic domes. It was a fête day. A baby of royal +birth was to be christened, and the Emperor, Empress, and royal +household were to assist on the auspicious occasion; hence all the +out-door world was dressed in national flags, and the passenger +steamers were crowded with people bent upon making a holiday. The +sail up that queen of northern rivers presented a charming panorama. +Passenger steamers flitting about with well-peopled decks; noisy +tug-boats puffing and whistling while towing heavily-laden barges; +naval cutters propelled by dozens of white-clad oarsmen, and steered +by officers in dazzling uniforms; small sailing yachts glancing +hither and thither,--all gave life and animation to the maritime +scene. Here and there on the river's course long reaches of sandy +shoals would appear covered with myriads of white sea-gulls, scores +of which would occasionally rise, hover over our steamer and settle +in her wake. As we approached nearer and nearer, hundreds of gilded +domes and towers of the city flashing in the warm light came swiftly +into view. Some of the spires were of such great height in proportion +to their diameter as to present a needle-like appearance. Among these +reaching so bravely heavenward were the slender spire of the +Cathedral of Peter and Paul within the fortress, nearly four hundred +feet in height, and the lofty pinnacle of the Admiralty. + +Notwithstanding its giddy towers and looming palaces rising above the +level of the capital, the want of a little diversity in the grade of +the low-lying city is keenly felt. Like Berlin or Havana, it is built +upon a perfect level, the most trying of positions. A few +custom-house formalities were encountered, but nothing of which a +person could reasonably complain; and half an hour after the steamer +had moored to the wharf, we drove to the Hôtel d'Angleterre, on +Isaac's Square. Then followed the first stroll in a long-dreamed-of +city. What a thrilling delight! Everything so entirely new and +strange; all out-of-doors a novelty, from the Greek cross on the top +of the lofty cupolas to the very pavement under one's feet; and all +permeated by a seductive Oriental atmosphere, as stimulating to the +imagination as hashish. + +We will not describe in detail the bill of fare at the first regular +meal partaken of in Russia, but must confess to a degree of surprise +at the dish which preceded the dinner; namely, iced soup. It was +certainly a novelty to the author, and by no means palatable to one +not initiated. As near as it was possible to analyze the production, +it consisted of Russian beer, cucumbers, onions, and slices of +uncooked fish floating on the surface amid small pieces of ice. With +this exception, the menu was not very dissimilar to the sparse +service of northern European hotels. But let us dismiss this mention +of food as promptly as we did that odious, frosty soup, and prepare +to give the reader the impressions realized from the grandest city of +Northern Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + St. Petersburg. -- Churches. -- The Alexander Column. -- + Principal Street. -- Cathedral of Peter and Paul. -- Nevsky + Monastery. -- Russian Priesthood. -- The Canals. -- Public + Library. -- Cruelty of an Empress. -- Religious Devotion of the + People. -- A Dangerous Locality. -- Population. -- The Neva and + Lake Ladoga. -- The Nicholas Bridge. -- Winter Season. -- Begging + Nuns. -- Nihilism. -- Scandal Touching the Emperor. -- The + Fashionable Drive. -- St. Isaac's Church. -- Russian Bells. -- + Famous Equestrian Statue. -- The Admiralty. -- Architecture. + + +St. Petersburg is a city of sumptuous distances. There are no blind +alleys, no narrow lanes, no rag-fair in the imperial capital. The +streets are broad, the open squares vast in size, the avenues +interminable, the river wide and rapid, and the lines of architecture +seemingly endless, while the whole is as level as a chess-board. One +instinctively desires to reach a spot whence to overlook this broad +area peopled by more than eight hundred thousand souls. This object +is easily accomplished by ascending the tower of the Admiralty, from +whose base the main avenues diverge. The comprehensive view from this +elevation is unique, studded with azure domes decked with stars of +silver and gilded minarets. A grand city of palaces and spacious +boulevards lies spread out before the spectator. The quays of the +Neva above and below the bridges will be seen to present as animated +a scene as the busy thoroughfares. A portion of this Admiralty +building is devoted to school-rooms for the education of naval +cadets. The rest is occupied by the civil department of the service +and by a complete naval museum, to which the officers of all vessels +on their return from distant service are expected to contribute. +There are over two hundred churches and chapels in the city, most of +which are crowned with four or five fantastic cupolas each, and whose +interiors are opulent in gold, silver, and precious stones, together +with a large array of priestly vestments elaborately decked with gold +and ornamented with gems. It is a city of churches and palaces. Peter +the Great and Catherine II., who has been called the female Peter, +made this brilliant capital what it is. Everything that meets the eye +is colossal. The superb Alexander Column, erected about fifty years +ago, is a solid shaft of mottled red granite, and the loftiest +monolith in the world. On its pedestal is inscribed this simple line: +"To Alexander I. Grateful Russia." It is surmounted by an angelic +figure,--the whole structure being one hundred and fifty-four feet +high, and the column itself fourteen feet in diameter at the base; +but so large is the square in which it stands that the shaft loses +much of its colossal effect. This grand column was brought from the +quarries of Pytterlax, in Finland, one hundred and forty miles from +the spot where it now stands. It forms a magnificent triumph of human +power, which has hewn it from the mountain mass and transported it +intact over so great a distance. Arrived complete upon the ground +where it was designed to be erected, to poise it safely in the air +was no small engineering triumph. The pedestal and capitol of bronze +is made of cannon taken from the Turks in various conflicts. It was +swung into its present upright position one August day in 1832, in +just fifty-four minutes, under direction of the French architect, M. +de Montferrand. Just opposite the Alexander Column, on the same wide +area, are situated the Winter Palace,--the Hermitage on one side; and +on the other, in half-moon shape, are the State buildings containing +the bureaus of the several ministers, whose quarters are indeed, each +one, a palace in itself. This is but one of the many spacious squares +of the city which are ornamented with bronze statues of more or less +merit, embracing monuments of Peter, Catherine, Nicholas, Alexander +I., and many others. + +The Nevsky Prospect is the most fashionable thoroughfare and the +street devoted to the best shops. It is from two to three hundred +feet in width, and extends for a distance of three miles in nearly a +straight line to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, forming all together +a magnificent boulevard. On this street may be seen the churches of +several dissenting sects, such as Roman Catholics, Protestants, +Armenians, and a Mahometan mosque. Hereon also are the Imperial +Library, the Alexander Theatre, and the Foreign Office. The +metropolitan cathedral of St. Petersburg is also situated upon this +main artery of the city, and is called Our Lady of Kazan,--finished +with an elegant semi-circular colonnade, curving around a large +square much like that of St. Peter's at Rome. This edifice is superb +in all its appointments, no expense having been spared in its +construction. The aggregate cost was three millions of dollars. One +item of costliness was observed in the massive rails of the altar, +which are formed of solid silver. The church contains between fifty +and sixty granite columns brought from Finland, each one of which is +a monolith of forty feet in height, with base and capitol of solid +bronze. Why the architect should have designed so small a dome as +that which forms the apex of this costly temple with its extended +façade, was a question which often occurred to us. Within, upon the +altar, is an aureole of silver bearing the name of God, inscribed in +precious stones of extraordinary value. The sacred images before +which lamps are always burning are literally covered with diamonds, +rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. One of the diamonds in the crown of +Our Lady of Kazan is of fabulous value, and dazzling to look upon. +Within these walls was observed the tomb of Kutuzof, the so-called +"Savior of Russia" on the occasion of the French invasion of 1812. +Outside, in front of the cathedral, are two admirable statues in +bronze standing before the bending corridor of each wing, +representing historical characters in Russian story, but whose names +are quite unpronounceable in our tongue. The cosmopolitan character +of the population of St. Petersburg is indicated by the fact that +preaching occurs weekly in twelve different languages in the several +churches and chapels of the city. + +In the Cathedral of Peter and Paul rest the ashes of the founder of +the city; and grouped about his tomb are those of his successors to +the Russian throne, with the exception of Peter II., whose remains +are interred at Moscow. These sarcophagi are quite simple, composed +of white marble tablets raised three feet above the level of the +floor, with barely a slight relief of gilded ornamentation. At the +time of our visit they were covered with an abundance of fresh +flowers and wreaths of immortelles. Peter and Paul is a fortress as +well as a church; that is to say, it stands within a fortress +defended by a hundred guns and garrisoned by between two and three +thousand men. It is more venerable and interesting in its +associations than the grander Cathedral of St. Isaac's, while its +mast-like, slender spire, being fifty or sixty feet higher than any +other pinnacle in the city, is more conspicuous as a landmark. The +immediate surroundings constitute the nucleus about which the founder +of the city first began to rear his capital, being an island formed +by the junction of the Neva and one of its natural branches, but +connected with the main-land by bridges. We were told that the +present Emperor sometimes visits incognito the tombs of his +predecessors here, where kneeling in silence and alone, he seems to +pray long and fervently,--and that he had done so only a few days +previous to the time of our visit. That Alexander III. is actuated +by devout religious convictions, of which he makes no parade, is a +fact well known to those habitually near his person, and that he +seeks for higher guidance than can be expected from mortal +counsellors is abundantly proven. It was in the prison portion of +this fortress that the Czarowitz Alexis, the only son of Peter the +Great that lived to manhood, died under the knout while being +punished for insubordination and open opposition to his father's +reforms. What fearful tragedies are written in lines of blood upon +every page of Russian history! Peter's granddaughter, the Princess +Tarakanof, was also drowned in the Fortress of Peter and Paul by an +overflow of the Neva while confined in one of the dreary subterranean +dungeons. About the pillars and upon the walls inside the cathedral +hang the captured battle-flags of many nations,--Turkish, Persian, +Swedish, French, and Prussian, besides the surrendered keys of +several European capitals, including Paris, Dresden, Hamburg, +Leipsic, and others. The National Mint of Russia is within this +fortress-prison and cathedral combined. + +A brief visit to the Monastery of St. Alexander Nevsky was productive +of more than ordinary interest, and it chanced to be at an hour when +the singing was especially impressive and beautiful, being conducted, +as is always the case in the Greek Church, by a male choir. As +already intimated, this institution is situated at the extremity of +the Nevsky Prospect, about three miles from the heart of the city, +occupying a large space enclosed by walls within which are fine +gardens, thrifty groves, churches, ecclesiastical academies, +dwelling-houses for the priests, and the like. The main church is +that of the Trinity, which is appropriately adorned with some fine +paintings, among which one by Rubens was conspicuous. Hither the +Emperor comes at least once during the year to attend the service of +Mass in public. This monastery was founded by Peter the Great in +honor of Alexander surnamed Nevsky, who vanquished the Swedes and +Livonians, but who in turn succumbed to the Tartar Khans. This brave +soldier, however, was canonized by the Russian Church. His tomb, we +were told, weighs nearly four thousand pounds, and is of solid +silver. Close beside his last resting-place hang the surrendered keys +of Adrianople. The treasury of this monastery contains pearls and +precious stones of a value which we hesitate to name in figures, +though both our eyes and ears bore witness to the aggregate as +exhibited to us. The value of the pearls is said to be only exceeded +as a collection by that in the Troitea Monastery, near the city of +Moscow. We were here shown the bed upon which Peter the Great died, +across which lay his threadbare dressing-gown and night-cap. In the +crypt, among the tombs, is one which bears a singular inscription, as +follows: "Here lies Souvarof, celebrated for his victories, epigrams, +and practical jokes." This brave and eccentric soldier made the +Russian name famous on many a severely contested battlefield. He was +also quite as noted for his biting epigrams as for his victorious +warfare. He lies buried here in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, as +this peculiar inscription indicates; and the curious stranger is +quite as eager in seeking his tomb as that of the canonized soldier +whose name the institution bears. This monastery is the coveted place +of burial to the soldier, statesman, and poet. In the cemetery +attached there is seen a white marble column raised to the cherished +memory of Lomonosof, called the father of Russian poetry, who was +born a serf, but whose native genius won him national renown. He was +made Councillor of State in 1764. + +The monks who inhabit this and all other Russian monasteries are of +the one Order of St. Basil. They wear a black pelisse extending to +the feet and broad-brimmed dark hats, permitting their hair and +beards to grow quite long. They pretend never to eat meat, their +ordinary food consisting of fish, milk, eggs, and butter; but on fast +days they are allowed to eat only fruit or vegetables. They take vows +of chastity, to which they are doubtless as recreant as the Roman +Catholic priests of Italy and elsewhere. The Government gives to each +member of the Order an annuity of forty roubles per annum, which +forms their only fixed income; and consequently they must depend +largely on the liberality of their congregations and the fees for +attendance upon funerals, marriages, and christenings. The priesthood +is divided into two classes,--the parish priests, called the white +clergy; and the monks, who are called the black clergy; but the +latter are comparatively circumscribed in number. We have seen that +dissenters are as common in Russia as in other countries; religious +intolerance apparently does not exist. + +In returning from the monastery, the whole length of the Nevsky +Prospect was passed on foot. It was a warm summer afternoon of just +such temperature as to invite the citizens who remained in town for a +stroll abroad, and there was a world of people crowding the sidewalks +of this metropolitan road-way. The brilliant Russian signs in broad +gilt letters--so very like the Greek alphabet--which line the street, +must often be renewed to present so fresh an appearance. It is a +thoroughfare of alternating shops, palaces, and churches, the most +frequented and the most animated in the great city of the Neva. Four +canals cross but do not intercept this boulevard, named successively +the Moika, the Catherine, the Ligawa, and the Fontanka. These +water-ways, lined throughout by substantial granite quays, are gay +with the life imparted to them by pleasure and freight boats +constantly furrowing their surface. In our early morning walks, +pausing for a moment on the street bridges, large barges were seen +containing forests of cut-wood loaded fifteen feet high above their +wide decks, delivering all along the banks of the canals the winter's +important supply of fuel. Others, with their hulls quite hidden from +sight, appeared like immense floating hay-stacks moving mysteriously +to their destination with horse-fodder for the city stables. Barges +containing fruit, berries, and vegetable produce were numerous, and +these were often followed by flower-boats propelled with oars by +women and filled with gay colors, bound to the market square. The +canals seemed as busy as the streets they intersected. From one +o'clock to five in the afternoon the Nevsky Prospect, with the tide +of humanity pouring either way through its broad space, was like the +Rue Rivoli or the Rue Vivienne Paris on a fête day. + +The Imperial Library of St. Petersburg is justly entitled to more +than a mere mention, for it is one of the richest collections of +books in all Europe, both in quality and quantity. The number of +bound volumes aggregates a little over one million, while it is +especially rich in the rarest and most interesting manuscripts. In a +room specially devoted to the purpose there is a collection of +incunabula, or books printed previous to the year 1500, which is +considered unique. The noble building exclusively appropriated to +this purpose has several times been enlarged to meet the demand for +room to store and classify the accumulating treasures. So late as +1862 there was added a magnificent reading-room, quite as spacious +and well appointed as that of the British Museum at London. One +division of the manuscript department relates particularly to the +history of France, consisting of the letters of various kings of that +country, and those of their ambassadors at foreign courts, with many +secret State documents and a great variety of historical State +papers. These interesting documents were dragged from the archives +of Paris by the crazed mob during the French Revolution, and sold to +the first bidder. They were bought by Peter Dubrowski, and thus found +their way into this royal collection. Some of the Latin manuscripts +of the fifth century, nearly fourteen hundred years old are still +perfectly preserved, and are of great interest to antiquarians. The +stranger visiting St. Petersburg will be sure to return again and +again to this treasure-house, whose intrinsic riches surpass all the +gems of the Winter Palace and those of the Hermitage, marvellous as +their aggregate value is when measured by a criterion of gold. + +The Alexander Theatre and the Imperial Public Library both look down +upon a broad square which contains an admirable statue of Catherine +II. in bronze. This fine composition seemed to us to be the boldest +and truest example of recorded history, breathing the very spirit of +the profligate and cruel original, whose ambitious plans were even +paramount to her enslaving passions. History is compelled to admit +her exalted capacity, while it causes us to blush for her infamy. +This square opens on the right side of the Nevsky Prospect, and is +the spot where the Countess Lapuschkin received her terrible +punishment for having spoken lightly of the amours of the Empress +Elizabeth. The Countess is represented to have been as lovely in +person as in mind, the very idol of the court, and surrounded by +admirers to the last moment. She struggled bravely with her fate, +mounting the scaffold in an elegant undress which heightened the +effect of her delicate charms; and when one of the executioners +pulled off a shawl which covered her bosom, her modesty was so +shocked that she turned pale and burst into tears. Her clothes were +soon stripped to her waist, and before the startled eyes of an +immense concourse of people she was whipped until not one inch of the +skin was left upon her back, from the neck downward. The poor lady of +course became insensible before this was entirely accomplished. But +her inhuman punishment did not end here. Her tongue was cut out, and +she was banished to Siberia! + +The people of no city in Europe exhibit so much apparent religious +devotion as do the inhabitants of this Muscovite capital; and yet we +do not for a moment suppose that they are more deeply influenced in +their inner lives by sacred convictions than are other races. The +humblest artisan, the drosky driver, the man of business, the women +and children, all bow low and make the sign of the cross when passing +the churches, chapels, or any of the many religious shrines upon the +streets. No matter how often these are encountered, or in how much of +a hurry the passers may be, each one receives its due recognition of +devout humility. In the churches the people, men and women, not only +kneel, but they bow their bodies until the forehead touches the +marble floor, repeating this again and again during each service. It +was observed that children, seemingly far too young to understand the +purport of these signs of humility, were nevertheless sure to go +through with them precisely like their elders. As regards the +multiplicity of shrines, they are frequently set up in the private +houses of the common people, consisting of a picture of some saint +gaudily framed and set in gilt, before which a lamp is kept +constantly burning. Some of the shops also exhibit one of these +shrines, before which the customer on entering always takes off his +hat, bows low, and makes the sign of the cross. A custom almost +precisely similar was observed by the author as often occurring at +Hong Kong, Canton, and other parts of China, where images in private +houses abound, and before which there was kept constantly burning +highly-flavored pastilles as incense, permeating the very streets +with a constant odor of musk, mingled with fragrant spices. + +St. Petersburg is the fifth city in point of population in Europe, +but its very existence seemed to us to be constantly threatened on +account of its low situation between two enormous bodies of water. A +westerly gale and high tide in the Gulf of Finland occurring at the +time of the annual breaking up of the ice in the Neva, would surely +submerge this beautiful capital and cause an enormous loss of human +life. The Neva, which comes sweeping with such resistless force +swiftly through the city, is fed by that vast body of water Lake +Ladoga, covering an area of over six thousand square miles at a +level of about sixty feet above the sea. In 1880 the waters rose +between ten and eleven feet above the ordinary level, driving +people from their basements and cellars, as well as from the villas +and humbler dwellings of the lower islands below the city. However, +St. Petersburg has existed for one hundred and eighty years, and it +may last as much longer, though it is not a city of Nature's +building, so to speak. It is not a healthy city; indeed the death +rate is higher than that of any other European capital. The deaths +largely exceed the births, as in Madrid; and it is only by +immigration that the population of either the Spanish or the Russian +capital is kept up. Young men from the rural districts come to +St. Petersburg to better their fortunes, and all the various +nationalities of the empire contribute annually to swell its fixed +population. In the hotels and restaurants many Tartar youth are +found, being easily distinguished by their dark eyes and hair, as +well as by their diminutive stature, contrasting with the blond +complexion and stout build of the native Slav. Preference is given +to these Tartars in situations such as we have named because of +their temperate habits, which they manage to adhere to even when +surrounded by a people so generally given to intoxication. Among the +mercantile class there is a large share of Germans, whose numbers +are being yearly increased; and we must also add to these local +shopkeepers, especially of fancy goods, a liberal sprinkling of +French nationality, against whom popular prejudice has subsided. + +What the Gotha Canal is to Sweden, the Neva and its joining +water-ways are to Russia. Through Lake Ladoga and its extensive +ramifications of connecting waters it opens communication with an +almost unlimited region of inland territory, while its mouth receives +the commerce of the world. The Lake system of Russia presents a very +similar feature to that of the northern United States, though on a +miniature scale. They are mostly found close to one another, +intersected by rivers and canals, and bear the names of Ladoga, +Onega, Peipous, Saima, Bieloe, Ilmen, and Pskov,--the first named +being by far the largest, and containing many islands. The two +important lakes of Konevetz and Valaam have two famous mountains, +whose stream-falls and cascades are swallowed up in their capacious +basins. The sea-fish and the beds of shell found in Lake Ladoga show +that it must once have been a gulf of the Baltic. Vessels of heavy +burden have heretofore been obliged to transfer their cargoes at +Cronstadt, as there was not sufficient depth of water in the Neva to +float them to the capital; but a well constructed channel has just +been completed, and vessels drawing twenty-two feet of water can now +ascend the river to St. Petersburg. Since the perfection of this +ship-canal another marine enterprise of importance has been resolved +upon; namely, a large open dock is being prepared by deepening the +shallow water near the city, covering an area of twenty acres more or +less, in order that the merchant shipping heretofore anchoring within +the docks of Cronstadt may find safe quarters for mooring, loading, +and unloading contiguous to the city. The spacious docks thenceforth +at the mouth of the Neva will be devoted with all their marine and +mechanical facilities to the accommodation of the rapidly growing +Russian navy. + +The Neva is no ordinary river, though its whole length is but about +thirty-six miles. It supplies the city with drinking water of the +purest description, and is thus in this respect alone invaluable, as +there are no springs to be reached in the low marshy district upon +which the metropolis stands, resting upon a forest of piles. The +river forms a number of canals which intersect the town in various +directions, draining away all impurities, as well as making of the +city a series of closely-connected islands. In short, the Neva is to +this Russian Venice in importance what the Nile is to the Egyptians, +though effective in a different manner. The entire course of the +river from its entrance to its exit from the city is a trifle over +twelve miles, lined the whole distance by substantial stone +embankments, finished with granite pavements, parapets, and broad +stone steps leading at convenient intervals from the street to the +water's edge, where little steam-gondolas are always in readiness to +convey one to any desired section of the town. Many officials and +rich private families have their own boats, propelled by from two to +eight oarsmen. On Sundays especially a small fleet of boats is to be +seen upon the river, which is almost a mile in width opposite the +Winter Palace, where the shores are united by a long bridge of boats, +the depth in mid channel being over fifty feet. The main branch of +the Neva divides the city into two great sections, which are +connected by four bridges. The principal of these is the Nicholas +Bridge, a superb piece of marine architecture which was fifteen years +in the process of building, having been begun by the Emperor in 1843 +and finished in 1858. It crosses the river on eight colossal iron +arches resting on mammoth piers of granite. By patient engineering +skill the difficulties of a shifting bottom, great depth, and a swift +current were finally overcome, giving lasting fame to the successful +architect, Stanislas Herbedze. The Nicholas is the only permanent +bridge, the others being floating structures supported by pontoons, +or boats, which are placed at suitable distances to accommodate the +demands of business. Notwithstanding the populous character of the +city, the avenues and squares have a rather deserted aspect in many +sections, but this is mainly owing to their extraordinary size. A +marching regiment on the Nevsky Prospect seems to be scarcely more in +number than does a single company in most European thoroughfares. We +may mention, by the way, that the garrison of St. Petersburg never +embraces less than about sixty thousand troops of all arms, quite +sufficient to produce an ever-present military aspect, as they are +kept upon what is called a war-footing. In the event of a sudden +declaration of war this garrison is designed as a nucleus for an +efficient army. + +The winter season, which sets in about the first of November, changes +the aspect of everything in the Russian capital, and lasts until the +end of April, when the ice generally breaks up. In the mean time the +Neva freezes to a depth of six feet. But keen as is the winter cold +the Russians do not suffer much from it, being universally clad in +skins and furs. Even the peasant class necessarily wear warm +sheep-skins, or they would be liable often to freeze to death on the +briefest exposure. In the public squares and open places before the +theatres large fires in iron enclosures are lighted and tended by the +police at night, for the benefit of the drosky drivers and others +necessarily exposed in the open air. The windows of the +dwelling-houses are all arranged with double sashes, and each +entrance to the house is constructed with a double passage. So also +on the railroad cars, which are then by means of large stoves +rendered comparatively comfortable. Ventilation is but little +regarded in winter. The frosty air is so keen that it is excluded at +all cost. The nicely spun theories as to the fatal poison derived +from twice-breathed air are unheeded here, nor do the people seem to +be any the worse for disregarding them. The animal food brought to +market from the country is of course frozen hard as stone, and will +keep sweet for months in this condition, having finally to be cut up +for use by means of a saw or axe; no knife could sever it. But in +spite of its chilling physical properties, the winter is the season +of gayety and merriment in this peculiar capital. With the first +snow, wheels are cheerfully discarded, and swift-gliding sleighs take +the place of the uncomfortable droskies; the merry bells jingle +night and day a ceaseless tune; the world is robed in bridal white, +and life is at its gayest. Balls, theatres, concerts, court fêtes, +are conducted upon a scale of magnificence unknown in Paris, London, +or Vienna. Pleasure and reckless amusement seem to be the only end +and aim of life among the wealthier classes,--the nobility as they +are called,--who hesitate at nothing to effect the object of present +enjoyment. Morality is an unknown quantity in the general +calculation. When that Eastern monarch offered a princely reward to +the discoverer of a new pleasure, he forgot to stipulate that it +should be blameless. + +If there are poverty and wretchedness existing here it is not obvious +to the stranger. More or less of a secret character there must be in +every large community; but what we would say is that there is no +street begging, and no half-starved women or children obstruct the +way and challenge sympathy, as in London or Naples. There is to be +sure a constant and systematic begging just inside the doors of the +churches, where one passes through a line of nuns dressed in black +cloaks and peaked hoods lined with white. These individuals are sent +out from the religious establishments to which they belong to solicit +alms for a series of years, until a certain sum of money is realized +by each, which is paid over to the sisterhood,--and which, when the +fixed sum is obtained, insures them a provision for life. This to the +writer's mind forms the very meanest system of beggary with which he +has yet been brought in contact. These women, mostly quite youthful, +are apparently in perfect health and quite able to support themselves +by honest labor, like the rest of their sisterhood. As we have +intimated, there is no St. Giles, Five Points, or North Street in +St. Petersburg. The wages paid for labor are very low, amounting, as +we were told, to from forty to fifty cents per day in the city, and a +less sum in the country. The necessities of life are not dear in the +capital, but the price of luxuries is excessive. The common people +are content with very simple food and a share of steaming hot tea. +The drosky drivers are hired by companies who own the horses and +vehicles, and receive about eight dollars per month on which to +support themselves. They pick up a trifle now and then from generous +passengers in the way of _pourboire_, and as a class they are the +least intelligent to be found in the metropolis. There is a local +saying applied to one who is deemed to be a miserable, worthless +fellow. They say of him, "He is only fit to drive a drosky." The +Paris, New York, London, and Vienna cab-drivers are cunning and +audacious, but the Russian drosky-driver is very low in the scale of +humanity, so far as brains are concerned, and does not know enough to +be a rogue. + +Discontent among the mass of the people does not exist to any +material extent; those who represent the case to be otherwise are +seriously mistaken. It is the few scheming, partially educated, idle, +disappointed, and useless members of society who ferment revolution +and turmoil in Russia,--people who have everything to gain by public +agitation and panic; men actuated by the same spirit as those who +were so lately condemned to death for wholesale murder in our own +country. Nine tenths and more of the people of Russia are loyal to +"father the Tzar,"--loyal to his family and dynasty. Nihilism is +almost entirely stimulated from without. England is more seriously +torn by internal dissensions to-day than is Russia, and the German +people have a great deal more cause for dissatisfaction with their +government than have the Russian. To hold up the Russian government +as being immaculate would be gross folly; but for foreigners to +represent it to be so abhorrent as has long been the fashion to do, +is equally incorrect and unjust. Nihilism means _nothingness_; and +never was the purpose of a mad revolutionary combination more +appropriately named. This murderous crew has been well defined by an +English writer, who says, "The Nihilists are simply striving to force +upon an unwilling people the fantastic freedom of anarchy." The very +name which these restless spirits have assumed is an argument against +them. Some have grown sensitive as to having the title of Nihilists +applied to them, and prefer that of Communists or Socialists, which +are in fact synonymous names that are already rendered odious in +Europe and America. When Elliott, the Corn-law rhymer was asked, +"What is a Communist?" he answered: "One who has yearnings for equal +division of unequal earnings. Idler or burglar, he is willing to +fork out his penny and pocket your shilling." Socialism is the very +embodiment of selfishness; its aim is that of legalized plunder. +Communists, Socialists, Nihilists, are one and all disciples of +destruction. Just after the terrible explosion in the Winter Palace, +two of the conspirators met in St. Isaac's Square. "Is all blown up?" +asked one of the other. "No," was the reply, "the Globe remains." +"Then let us blow up the globe!" added the other. When these vile +conspirators are discovered, as in the case of those lately detected +in an attempt to burn the city of Vienna, they are found to be +composed of escaped convicts, forgers, and murderers, who naturally +array themselves against law and order. It was not when Russia was +little better than a military despotism under the Emperor Nicholas, +that Nihilism showed its cloven foot. Alexander II. was assassinated +in the streets of St. Petersburg after the millions of grateful serfs +had been given their liberty, the press granted greater freedom of +discussion, the stringent laws mitigated, and when the country was +upon its slow but sure progress towards constitutional government. +National freedom is not what these anarchists desire; they seek +wholesale destruction. The devotion to the Tzar evinced by the common +people is not slavish, or the result of fear; it is more of childlike +veneration. Whatever the Emperor commands must be done; no one may +question it. The same respect exists for the property of the Tzar. No +collector of government taxes fears for his charge in travelling +through the least settled districts. The money he carries belongs to +the Tzar and is sacred; no peasant would touch it. The Tzar is the +father of his people, commanding parental obedience and respect. The +author believes this sentiment to be largely reciprocal, and that the +monarch has sincerely the best good of the people at heart. + +A fresh scandal has lately been started in the columns of the +European press, notably in the English and German papers,--that the +Tzar is addicted to gross intemperance, and may at any time in a +moment of excess plunge headlong into a foreign war. Of course no +casual visitor to Russia can offer competent evidence to the +contrary; but it was our privilege to see Alexander III. on several +occasions, and at different periods of the day, being each time +strongly impressed with a very different estimate of his habits. The +Emperor presents no aspect of excess of any sort, but on the contrary +appears like one conscious of his great responsibility and actuated +by a calm conscientious resolve to fulfil its requirements. "What +King so strong can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue?" asks +Shakspeare. + +Our remarks as to the honesty of the peasantry in all matters +relating to the Tzar must not be taken as indicating the honesty of +the Russian masses generally, as regards strangers and one another, +especially those of the large cities and the habitués of the great +fairs. There are no more adroit thieves in Christendom than those of +St. Petersburg and Moscow. Some of the anecdotes relating to these +gentry seem almost incredible for boldness, adroitness, and success. +There is a familiar proverb here which says, "The common Russian may +be stupid, but he would only make one mouthful of the Devil himself!" + +Intemperance is the great bane of the lower classes, and the +aggregate quantity of spirit consumed by the people is almost beyond +belief, though St. Petersburg is not to be compared with Moscow in +this very objectionable respect. The chief means of intoxication is +the drinking of Vodka, brandy made from grain. The drunken Russian +however is not as a rule quarrelsome, he only becomes more lovingly +demonstrative and foolish. A ludicrous though sad evidence of this +peculiarity was observed in front of the Hôtel d'Angleterre. A +well-dressed and intelligent appearing citizen paused opposite the +principal entrance, took off his hat, and quietly but tenderly +apostrophized it, smoothing the crown affectionately, which he petted +and kissed. It was then replaced properly upon his head, and the +wearer passed on to the next corner, where his chapeau was again made +the recipient of his fond caresses and gentle assurances, ending as +before with a devoted kiss. This process was repeated several times +as he passed along the big square of St. Isaac's totally indifferent +to all observers. Singular to say, this behavior was the only +manifest evidence of the individual's inebriety; but the truth is, +our Muscovite was very drunk. + +Nearly every nationality of Europe and many of Asia are represented +on the business streets of St. Petersburg,--Persians, English, +Arabs, Greeks, Circassians, and so on, each more or less strongly +individualized. The close observer is not long in discovering that +the northern being the sunny side of the streets radiating from the +Admiralty, on that side are to be found the finest shops. The summer +days are long; twilight is not a period between light and darkness, +but between light and light. The street lamps are nearly useless at +this season of the year. Friday is the sacred day of the Moslem, the +turbaned Turk, and the black-bearded Persian; Saturday the Jews +appear in holiday attire (though they are not in favor here), Sunday +being appropriated by the professed Christian. Nowhere else is there +such an array of white palatial residences, such an airy metropolitan +aspect, such grand and costly statues of bronze, such broad and +endless boulevards. The English Quay is a favorite promenade and +drive; it is surrounded by the grand residences of wealthy Russians, +who live on a scale of splendor and expense equal to petty +sovereigns. A marked feature in the windows, balconies, and entrances +of these dwellings was the long, wavy, green leaves of tropical +plants, which must require a world of care to insure their healthful +existence in this climate. Handsome four-in-hand vehicles dash +through the fashionable streets, and though one sees both sexes in +public, there seems to be a half-Oriental exclusiveness surrounding +womanhood in the realm of the Tzar. Glare and glitter are manifest on +all sides, but the domestic virtues are little cultivated in any +class of society, marriage being scarcely more than a matter of +form, hardly ever one of sentiment. As in France and at Continental +courts generally, intrigue and sensuality prevail in those very +places to which the common people look for their example. Gaming is a +prevailing vice among the women, if we may credit what we were told +and judge from what little we saw. As to gentlemen, they have +practised that vice almost from boyhood; it is the universal habit of +Russian youth. But to all such general remarks there are noble +exceptions, and if these are rare they are all the more appreciable. + +We were speaking of the English Quay, which recalls the beauty and +spirited action of the Russian horses. No stranger will fail to +notice them. The author has seen animals more beautiful in form among +the Moors; but taken as a whole the horses of St. Petersburg, whether +we select them from those kept for private use, or from the cavalry +of the army, or the artillery attached to the garrison, are the +finest equine specimens to be seen anywhere. The dash of Tartar blood +in their veins gives them all the vigor, spirit, and endurance that +can be desired. The five islands of the city separated by the arms of +the Nevka and Neva, are named the "Garden Islands," which form the +pleasure-drive of the town. They have quite a country aspect, and are +a series of parks in fact, where the fine roads wind through shady +woods, cross green meadows, and skirt transparent lakes. Here every +variety of villa and châlet is seen embowered in attractive verdure, +where one is sure in the after part of the day to meet the best +equipages of the citizens, occupied by merry family parties. + +The city of the Neva is the most spacious capital ever built by the +hand of man, and one cannot but feel that many of its grand squares +presided over by some famous monument are yet dismally empty. The +millions of the Paris populace could find space sufficient here +without enlarging the present area. As we look upon it to-day, it +probably bears little resemblance to the city left by the great Peter +its founder, except in its grand plan; and yet it extends so little +way into the past as to have comparatively no root in history. The +magnificent granite quays, the gorgeous palaces, the costly churches +and monuments do not date previous to the reign of Catherine II. The +choice of the locality and the building of the capital upon it, is +naturally a wonder to those who have not thought carefully about it, +since it seems to have been contrary to all reason, and to have been +steadily pursued in the face of difficulties which would have +discouraged and defeated most similar enterprises. Ten thousand lives +were sacrificed among the laborers annually while the work was going +on, owing to its unhealthy nature; but still the autocratic designer +held to his purpose, until finally a respectable but not +unobjectionable foundation may be said to have been achieved upon +this Finland marsh. Yet there are those who reason that all was +foreseen by the energetic founder; that he had a grand and definite +object in view of which he never lost sight; and moreover that the +object which he aimed at has been fully attained. The city is +necessarily isolated, the environs being nearly unavailable for +habitations, indeed incapable of being much improved for any +desirable purpose. Like Madrid, it derives its importance from the +fact that it is the capital,--not from its location, though it has a +maritime relation which the Spanish metropolis cannot boast. The +great interest of the city to the author was its brief but almost +magical history, and the genius of him who founded it, of whom Motley +said that he was the only monarch who ever descended from a throne to +fit himself properly to ascend it. In population and its number of +houses St. Petersburg is exceeded by several European cities; but its +area is immense. + +St. Isaac's Cathedral was begun in 1819 and completed in 1858, being +undoubtedly the finest structure of its class in Northern Europe. So +far as its architecture is concerned, its audacious simplicity +amounts to originality. It stands upon the great square known as +Isaac's Place, where a Christian church formerly stood as early as +the time of Peter. Its name is derived from a saint of the Greek +liturgy,--St. Isaac the Delmatian,--and is altogether distinct from +the patriarch of that name in the Old Testament. As the Milan +Cathedral represents a whole quarry of marble, this church may be +said to be a mountain of granite and bronze. Nor is it surprising +that it occupied forty years in the process of building; its +completion was only a question of necessary time, never one of +pecuniary means. Whatever is undertaken in this country is carried +to its end, regardless of the cost. The golden cross on the dome is +three hundred and thirty-six feet from the ground, the form of the +structure being that of a Greek cross with four equal sides, +surmounted by a central dome, which is covered with copper overlaid +with gold. Two hundred pounds of the precious metal, we were told, +were required to complete the operation. The dome is supported by a +tiara of polished granite pillars. Each of the four grand entrances, +which have superb peristyles, is reached by a broad flight of granite +steps. The four porches are supported by magnificent granite columns +sixty feet in height, with Corinthian capitals in bronze, these +monoliths each measuring seven feet in diameter. The entire +architectural effect, as already intimated, is one of grandeur and +simplicity combined; but the impressive aspect of the interior, when +the lamps and tapers are all lighted, is something so solemn as to be +quite beyond description,--illumination being a marked feature in the +Greek, as in the Roman Catholic Church. No interment, baptism, or +betrothal takes place in Russia without these tiny flames indicative +of the presence of the Holy Spirit; and thus it is that the humblest +cabin of the peasant or city laborer supports one ever-burning lamp +before some hallowed and saintly picture. Instrumental music is not +permitted in the Greek Church, but the human voice forms generally +the most effective portion of the service; and of course the choir of +St. Isaac's is remarkable for its excellence. Some idea of the cost +of this cathedral may be found in the fact that to establish a +suitable foundation alone cost over a million roubles; and yet at +this writing a hundred skilled workmen are endeavoring to secure the +heavy walls so as to stop the gradual sinking which is taking place +at three of the corners! It is feared that these walls before many +years will have to come down all together, and a fresh and more +secure foundation created by the driving of another forest of piles. +It is to be hoped that St. Isaac's may be indefinitely preserved in +all its purity of design and splendor of material; and with its +foundation established this may reasonably be expected. Architecture +has been called the printing press of all time, from the period of +the Druids to our own day. Future generations will perhaps read in +this noble edifice a volume of history relating to the state of +society, the degree of culture existing, and the iron despotism which +entered into its construction. + +Russia has always been famous for its church bells. That of +St. Isaac's, the principal one of the city, weighs over fifty-three +thousand pounds and gives forth sounds the most sonorous we have ever +chanced to hear. These great Russian bells are not rung by swinging; +a rope is attached to the clapper, or tongue, and the operator rings +the bell by this means. Our hotel was on Isaac's Place, and our +sleeping apartment nearly under the shadow of the lofty dome of the +church. It seemed as though the bell was never permitted to rest,--it +was tolling and ringing so incessantly, being especially addicted to +breaking forth at the unseemly hours of four, five, and six o'clock +A. M. Of course sleep to one not accustomed to it was out of the +question, while fifty-three thousand pounds of bell-metal were being +so hammered upon. It was not content to give voice sufficient for a +signal to the specially devout, but its outbursts assumed chronic +form, and having got started it kept it up for the half-hour +together, causing the atmosphere to vibrate and the window sashes to +tremble with thrills of discomfort. Sometimes it would partially +subside in its angry clamor, and one hoped it was about to become +quiet, when it would suddenly burst forth again with renewed vigor, +and with, as we fancied, a touch of maliciousness added. Then,--then +we did not ask that blessings might be showered upon that bell, +but--well, we got up, dressed, and took a soothing walk along the +banks of the swiftly flowing river! + +On the right of Isaac's Place as one looks towards the Neva is the +spacious Admiralty, reaching a quarter of a mile to the square of +the Winter Palace. On the left is the grand and effective structure +of the Senate House. Immediately in front of the cathedral, between +it and the river, surrounded by a beautiful garden, stands the +famous equestrian statue of Peter the Great in bronze. The horse is +seventeen feet high, and the rider is eleven. Horse and rider rest +upon a single block of granite weighing fifteen hundred tons, which +was brought here from Finland at great cost and infinite labor. The +effect of this group struck us as being rather incongruous and far +from artistic; but it is only fair to add that many able judges +pronounce it to be among the grandest examples of modern sculpture. +Falconet, the French artist, executed the work at the command of +Catherine II. On the opposite side of the cathedral is the more +modern equestrian statue and group reared in memory of the +Emperor Nicholas, one of the most elaborate, costly, and +artistic compositions in bronze extant. At each corner of the +profusely-embossed pedestal stands a figure of life size, moulded +after busts of the Empress and her three daughters. We had not +chanced to know of this work of art before we came full upon it on +the morning following our arrival in the city; but certainly it is +the most remarkable and the most superb monument in St. Petersburg. +Well was the man it commemorates called the Iron Emperor, both on +account of his great strength of body and of will. His was a +despotism which permitted no vent for public opinion, and which for +thirty years kept an entire nation bound and controlled by his +single will. It was the misfortunes which befell Russia through the +Crimean war that finally broke his proud self-reliance. He died, it +is said, of a broken heart on the 2d of March, 1855. + +Before leaving the subject of St. Isaac's Cathedral, let us refer to +its interior, which is very beautiful, and to us seemed in far better +taste than the gaudy though costly embellishments of the Spanish and +Italian churches. The Greek religion banishes all statues, while it +admits of paintings in the churches, as also any amount of chasing, +carving, and gilding. The various columns of malachite and +lapis-lazuli, together with the abundant mosaic and bronze work, are +characterized by exquisite finish. The many life-size portraits of +the disciples and saints in the former material present an infinite +artistic detail. The small circular temple which forms the inmost +shrine was the costly gift of Prince Demidof, who is the owner of the +malachite mines of Siberia. The steps are of porphyry, the floor of +variegated marble, the dome of malachite, and the walls of +lapis-lazuli,--the whole being magnificently gilded. The intrinsic +value of this unequalled shrine is estimated at a million dollars. +Many others of the superb decorations of the interior are the gifts +of wealthy citizens of St. Petersburg. The numerous battle-trophies +which enter into the decoration of the interior of this cathedral +seemed to us a little incongruous, though quite common in this +country, and indeed in other parts of Europe. The banners of England, +France, Turkey, and Germany are mingled together, telling the story +of Russia's struggles upon the battlefield and of her victories. The +keys of captured fortresses are also seen hanging in clusters upon +the walls, flanked here and there by a silver lamp burning dimly +before some pictured saint. The cost of constructing and furnishing +St. Isaac's was over fifteen million dollars. + +All art decorations and objects of _virtu_ which one finds in Russia +seem to partake of other and various nationalities, a fact which is +perhaps easily accounted for. The Empire is located between the East +and the West, and has derived her tastes and art productions from +both, as the influence of Asia and Europe are mingled everywhere. +Assyria, China, India, Greece, Byzantium, France, and England, all +contribute both artists and materials to adorn the Russian palaces, +churches, and public buildings. The more practical Americans first +built her railroads and first established her now famous +machine-shops. Of originality there is very little; all is borrowed, +as it were. There is no such thing as Russian art pure and simple; +and yet over the broad territory which forms the dominion of the +Tzar, we know there have been in the past centuries large, +self-dependent communities, who must have been more or less skilled +in the various arts, but of whom we know only what may be gathered +from half-obliterated ruins of temples and of tombs. The obscurity +which envelops the early periods of Russian history is well known to +be more impenetrable than that of nearly any other civilized region +of the globe. If there can be said to be a Russian style of +architecture, it is a conglomerate, in which the Byzantine +predominates, brought hither from Constantinople with Christianity. + +St. Petersburg is not without its triumphal arches. Two very noble +and elaborate structures of this character connect the city with its +most important territories,--the one on the road to Narva, the other +on that leading to Moscow. The first named is specially noticeable, +and was built to commemorate the victorious return of the Russian +troops in 1815. The arch is supported by lofty metal columns, and +surmounted by a triumphal car drawn by six bronze horses, which have +never made a journey abroad like those in the piazza of St. Mark. In +the car is a colossal figure of Victory crowned with a laurel wreath +and holding emblems of war. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + The Winter Palace. -- The Hermitage and its Riches. -- An Empress + and her Fancies. -- A Royal Retreat. -- Russian Culture. -- + Public Library. -- The Summer Garden. -- Temperature of the City. + -- Choosing of the Brides. -- Peter's Cottage. -- Champ de Mars. + -- Academy of Fine Arts. -- School of Mines. -- Precious Stones. + -- The Imperial Home at Peterhoff. -- Curious and Interesting + Buildings. -- Catherine's Oak. -- Alexander III. at Parade. -- + Description of the Royal Family. -- Horse-Racing. -- The + Empress's Companions. + + +Only Rome and Constantinople contain so many imperial residences as +does St. Petersburg, within whose borders we recall twelve. Some idea +may be formed of the size of the Winter Palace, from the fact that +when in regular occupancy it accommodates six thousand persons +connected with the royal household. With the exception of the Vatican +and that at Versailles, it is the largest habitable palace in the +world, and is made up of suites of splendid apartments, corridors, +reception saloons, banqueting rooms, galleries, and halls. Among them +is the Throne Room of Peter the Great, the Empress's Reception-Room, +the Grand Drawing-Room, Hall of St. George, the Ambassadors' Hall, +the Empress's Boudoir, and so on. The gem of them all, however, is +the Salle Blanche, so called because the decorations are all in white +and gold, by which an almost aërial lightness and fascination of +effect is produced. It is in this apartment that the court fêtes take +place; and it may safely be said that no royal entertainments in +Europe quite equal those given within the walls of the Winter Palace. +One becomes almost dazed by the glare of gilt and bronze, the number +of columns of polished marble and porphyry, the gorgeous hangings, +the carpets, mosaics, mirrors, and candelabra. Many of the painted +ceilings are wonderfully perfect in design and execution; while +choice works of art are so abundant on all hands as to be confusing. +The famous Banqueting Hall measures two hundred feet in length by one +hundred in breadth. As we came forth from the grand entrance upon the +square, it was natural to turn and scan the magnificent façade as a +whole, and to remember that from the gates of this palace Catherine +II. emerged on horseback, with a drawn sword in her hand, to put +herself at the head of her army. + +The Hermitage, of which the world has read and heard so much, is a +spacious building adjoining the Winter Palace, with which it is +connected by a covered gallery, and is of itself five hundred feet +long. It is not, as its name might indicate, a solitude, but a grand +and elaborate palace in itself, built by Catherine II. for a +picture-gallery, a museum, and a resort of pleasure. It contains +to-day one of the largest as well as the most precious collections of +paintings in the world, not excepting those of Rome, Florence, or +Paris. The catalogue shows twenty originals by Murillo, six by +Velasquez, sixty by Rubens, thirty-three by Vandyke, forty by +Teniers, the same number by Rembrandt, six by Raphael, and many by +other famous masters. The Spanish collection, so designated, was sold +to the Russian Government by the late King of Holland. The more +modern French and Dutch schools are also well represented in this +collection, particularly the latter. Among the many pieces of antique +sculpture in the halls devoted to statuary, is the remarkable Venus +known as the Venus of the Hermitage, found at Castle Gandolfo, and +which is favorably compared by professional critics to the Venus di +Medici. The series of Greek and Etruscan vases, with many superb +examples of malachite from Siberia (over one thousand in all), are +quite unequalled elsewhere, and embrace the famous vase of Cumæ from +the Campana collection, as well as the silver vase of Nicopol and the +golden vase of Kertch. The treasury of gems exhibited to the visitor +is believed to be the finest and most valuable collection in the +world. It includes the well-known Orlof diamond, whose history is as +interesting as that of the Kohinoor (Mountain of Light), now in the +English Royal Treasury, and which it exceeds in weight by a little +over eight carats. This brilliant stone was bought by Count Orlof for +the Empress Catherine of Russia, and is considered to have an +intrinsic value of about eight hundred thousand dollars. The intimate +relation of Russia with Persia and India in the past has made her the +recipient of vast treasures in gems; while of late years the mines of +the Urals, within her own territory, have proved an exhaustless +Fortunatus's purse. The interior of the Hermitage is decorated with +Oriental luxuriance tempered by Western refinement. The gilding is +brilliant, the frescos elaborate to the last degree, and the masses +of amber, lapis-lazuli, gold, silver, and precious gems are a +never-ending surprise. Here are also preserved the private libraries +that once belonged to Zimmermann, Voltaire, and Diderot, besides +those of several other men of letters. There is a Royal Theatre under +the same roof, where plays used to be performed by amateurs from the +court circles for the gratification of the Empress Catherine, the +text of which was not infrequently written by herself. + +The Empress indulged her royal fancy to its full bent in the use she +made of the Hermitage. On the roof was created a marvellous garden +planted with choicest flowers, shrubs, and even trees of considerable +size. This conservatory was heated in winter by subterranean fires, +and sheltered by glass from the changeable weather at all times. At +night these gardens were illumined by fancy-colored lamps; and report +says that in the artificial groves and beneath the screen of tropical +plants scenes not quite decorous in a royal household were often +enacted. The will of the Empress was law; no one might question the +propriety of her conduct. Famous men from far and near became her +guests, musicians displayed their special talents, and various +celebrities their wit. With all her recklessness, dissipation, and +indelicacy, Catherine II. was a woman of great intellectual power +and of keen insight, possessing remarkable business capacity. Well +has she been called the Semiramis of the North. One evidence of her +practical character was evinced by her promotion of emigration from +foreign countries. By liberal gratuities transmitted through her +diplomatic agents in Western Europe, she induced artisans and farmers +to remove to her domain, and placing these people in well-selected +centres did much towards civilizing the semi-barbarous hordes over +whom she ruled. The visitor to the Academy of Arts at St. Petersburg +will not fail to regard with interest a fine original portrait of the +Empress, representing a woman of commanding presence, with a large +handsome figure, big gray eyes, and blooming complexion. + +Among other royal residences the Marble Palace erected by Catherine +for Prince Gregory Orlof stands but a short distance from the +Hermitage eastward. The Castle of St. Michael situated near the +Fontanka Canal was built by the Emperor Paul; and here he met his +sanguinary death. This structure is magnificently decorated. Close at +hand on the canal is the modern Michael Palace, before which +Alexander II. fell shattered by a Nihilist bomb on the 13th day of +March, 1881. Fortunately it also killed the miserable assassin who +threw it. The Taurida Palace presented by Catherine to her favorite +Potemkin is still a wonder of elegance, and is considered an object +of much interest to strangers, to whom it is freely shown at the +expense of the usual gratuities, though it is now occupied by an +humble branch of the imperial family. The ball-room is of enormous +proportions: here the musicians were originally suspended in the +chandeliers! When this gorgeous apartment was fully prepared for a +public entertainment, it required twenty thousand candles to light it +properly. The Amirtchkoff Palace situated on the Nevsky Prospect is a +favorite town residence of the Emperor Alexander III. To the newly +arrived visitor it would seem that one half the town belongs to the +Crown, and consists of public offices, military schools, charitable +institutions and palaces. In the immediate environs of the city, +within an extensive grove, is located what is called Catherine's +House, being little more than a cottage in a small forest. It is a +low wooden building two stories in height, and was shown to us as +containing the same furniture and belongings that surrounded the +Empress, who often retired here as a secluded spot where to indulge +in her erratic revels. The ceilings of the apartments are so low that +one can easily reach them with the hands when standing upright. There +are exhibited some pictures upon secret panels set in the walls, +which are of a character corroborative of the lewd nature attributed +to Catherine II. The situation of the cottage is really lovely, +surrounded by woods, lakes, and gardens. The rooms contain a number +of souvenirs of the Great Peter, manufactured by his own hands, and +who must certainly have been one of the most industrious of mortals. +One of these original productions was especially interesting, being +a large map some five or six feet square, drawn and colored upon +coarse canvas, and representing his dominions in considerable detail. +This map though somewhat crude in execution was yet an evidence of +Peter's versatile skill and tireless industry, modern survey having +in many respects corroborated what must have been originally only +conjecture drawn from the scantiest sources of information. + +In passing the Imperial Public Library already mentioned, one could +not but feel that its vast resources of knowledge must not be +considered as typifying the general intelligence of the mass of the +Russian people. That must, we are sorry to say, be placed at a low +estimate. The difference between Scandinavia and Russia in this +respect is very marked and entirely in favor of the former. A large +majority of the common people of St. Petersburg cannot read or write, +while eight out of ten persons in Norway and Sweden can do both +creditably. So can nearly the same ratio of the inhabitants of Canton +and Pekin. It is not surprising that a people having no mental resort +will seek animal indulgences more or less disgraceful. + +Let us be careful, however, not to give a wrong impression relative +to this matter of education. Until the time of Alexander II. the +village priests controlled all schools in the country, though often +they were utterly incompetent for teaching. But that liberal monarch +changed this, and gave the schools into the hands of the most capable +individuals, whether they were priests or otherwise. A manifest +improvement has been the consequence. Thirty years ago there were but +about three thousand primary schools in all Russia; to-day there are +nearly twenty-four thousand. This increase has been gradual, but is +highly significant. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography are +the branches which are taught in these schools. Statistics show that +in 1860 only two out of one hundred of the peasants drafted into the +army could read and write. Ten years later, in 1870, the proportion +had increased to eleven in a hundred, and in 1882 it had reached +nineteen in a hundred. Government organizes these village schools, +and holds a certain supervision over them, contributing a percentage +of their cost, the balance being realized by a small tax upon the +parents of the children attending them. Finland has an educational +system quite distinct from the empire, supporting by local interest +high schools in all the principal towns, and primary schools in every +village. + +In St. Petersburg the common signs over and beside the doors of the +shops are pictorially illustrated, indicating the business within, +these devices taking the place of lettered signs, which the common +people could not read. Thus the butcher, the barber, the pastry-cook, +and the shoemaker put out symbols of their trade of a character +intelligible to the humblest understanding. At times these signs are +very curious, forming ludicrous caricatures of the business which +they are designed to indicate, so laughable indeed that one +concludes they are designedly made ridiculous in order the more +readily to attract attention. There is a large population of +well-educated native and foreign-born people whose permanent home is +here, among whom a German element is the most conspicuous. Nor is +America unrepresented. There are good Russian translations of most of +the standard English and American authors, poets, and novelists. We +saw excellent editions of Shakspeare, Longfellow, and Tennyson; also +of Byron, Macaulay, Scott, and Irving. This list might be extended so +as to embrace many other names. The modern school of Russian romance +writers is not formed upon the vicious French standard, but rather +upon the best English; not upon that of Balzac and Dumas, but upon +Thackeray and George Eliot. Toorgenef, Gogol, Pisanski, and Goncharov +are Russian names whose excellence in literature have familiarized +them to English readers. There is upon the bookshelves of nearly +every cultured family in St. Petersburg and Moscow a translation of +Homer into Russian, the scholarly work of an assistant in the +Imperial library of St. Petersburg. Competent persons have pronounced +this to be equal to the best rendering which we possess in the +English language. The native Universities at Moscow, Kiev, +St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Odessa, Kazan, and Warsaw are all kept fully +up to modern requirements, and are all well attended. + +The Mineralogical Academy of St. Petersburg is extremely interesting, +where the various riches of the Ural Mountains are especially +displayed in all their natural beauty. Topazes, rubies, opals, +garnets, pearls, and diamonds are to be seen here as large and as +perfect as the world can produce. Many of these gems are now as +delicately and scientifically cut in Siberia as at Amsterdam or New +York. One golden nugget was observed here which weighed over eighty +pounds. This remarkable specimen of the precious metal was dug out of +the earth exactly in its present form and condition. It would seem +that the mineral riches of Russia rival those of all the rest of the +world; and we ceased to wonder, after visiting this exhibition of +native mineral products, at the lavish use of gems and the precious +metals in the palaces and churches. + +The extensive and remarkably beautiful promenade on the banks of the +Neva near the Trinity Bridge called the Summer Garden it would be +hard to equal elsewhere. The ever recurring surprise is that so many +acres of land in the very heart of a great capital can be spared for +a delightful pleasure-ground. It is laid out with long avenues of +fine trees, interspersed with lovely blooming flowers and musical +fountains. A grand specimen of the fuchsia, developed into a tree ten +or twelve feet in height, attracted our attention. It was laden with +its ever gracefully drooping flowers in dainty purple, scarlet, and +white. Marble statues are appropriately distributed representing the +Seasons, the goddess Flora, Neptune, and others, recalling the Prado +at Madrid, which is similarly ornamented. There is here also a fine +statue in memory of Kriloff, the La Fontaine of Russia. This +remarkable fabulist died as late as 1844. In the autumn these statues +are all carefully enclosed in boxes, and those of the shrubs and +trees which are not housed are also packed securely to protect them +from the extreme severity of the climate. It must be remembered that +although the thermometer rises here to 99° Fahrenheit in summer, +it also descends sometimes to 40° below zero in winter,--a range not +exceeded by the temperature of any other city in the world. It would +seem as though nothing which is exposed can withstand this frosty +climate. Even the granite monolith which forms the shaft of the +Alexander Column has been seriously affected by it. The same may be +said of the heavy stone-work which forms the embankment bordering the +Neva and the canals; so that workmen must rebuild annually what the +frost destroys. + +In this famous and popular Summer Garden, on Monday the second day of +Whitsuntide, a ceremony used to take place of which we have all heard +and many doubted; it was called "The Choosing of the Brides." Young +girls, mostly of the middling class, dressed for the occasion in +their finest clothes and ornaments, came hither with their mothers +and were marshalled in line upon the broad paths. In front paraded +the young men accompanied by their fathers, walking back and forth +and freely examining with earnest eyes the array of blushing maidens. +If signs of mutual attraction were exhibited, the parents of such +would engage in conversation, which was intended to introduce the +young people to each other. This often led to an acquaintance between +those who had heretofore been perfect strangers, and, being followed +up, it finally led to betrothal and marriage. This annual custom was +looked upon with favor by all the common people, and was continued +until late years; but as a recognized formality it has become a thing +of the past. We were told, however, that it is still indirectly +pursued by maidens appearing in the garden on that special day +dressed in their best, where they are sought by young men who are +matrimonially inclined. No indelicacy is thought to attach itself to +this admission of purpose on the maiden's part, who is as of yore not +only incited but always chaperoned by her mother. + +Near the Summer Garden is the little log building which was occupied +by Peter the Great while he superintended personally the work he +inaugurated here, and more especially the important part of laying +the foundations of the great city, so far back as 1703,--to use the +words attributed to him, while he was creating "a window by which the +Russians might look into civilized Europe." It is a rude affair built +of logs, the ceiling absolutely too low for a tall visitor to stand +under comfortably. The inside is lined with leather, and the +structure is preserved by a substantial brick house erected over and +about it, within which a few of the simple utensils that belonged to +the energetic autocrat are also to be seen. Among these articles was +a well made and still serviceable small-boat constructed by his own +hands, and in which he was accustomed to row himself about the Neva. +It will be remembered that Peter served an apprenticeship to this +trade in his youth. The apartment which was originally the workshop +of the royal carpenter has been transformed into a chapel, where the +common people crowd to witness the daily service of the Greek Church. +Some of these were seen to kiss the venerated walls,--an act of +devotion which it was difficult clearly to understand. True, the +Russians, like the Japanese and early Scandinavians, make saints of +their heroes; but we believe they forgot to canonize Peter the Great. + +Close at hand is situated the spacious Champ de Mars, where the troops +of the garrison of all arms are exercised,--a never-ending occupation +here, one taking precedence of all others in a nation so thoroughly +military. The Russians make the best of soldiers,--obedient, enduring, +faithful, and brave. It is true that there are but few "thinking +bayonets" in the ranks; yet for the duty they are trained to perform, +perhaps such qualification is neither required nor particularly +desirable. Stories are often told of the hardship and rigid severity +of the Russian military service, but many of them are gross +exaggerations. The knout, of which such cruel stories are told, has +long been banished as a punishment in the army and navy. The Champ de +Mars is a square and perfectly level field where twenty thousand +troops--cavalry, artillery, and infantry--can be manoeuvred at a +time. On the border of this parade-ground stands a fine bronze statue +in memory of Marshal Souvarof, the ablest Russian general of his day, +and who died so late as the year 1800. The figure, heroic in size, is +represented wielding a sword in the right hand and bearing a shield in +the left. + +On the Vassili Ostrof stands the spacious Academy of Arts, the front +on the Neva measuring over four hundred feet in length; and though it +is adorned with many columns and pilasters, its architectural effect +is not pleasing to the eye. Its size, however, makes it rather +imposing as a whole. The central portico is surmounted by a graceful +cupola, upon which a figure of Minerva is seated; beneath are seen +statues of Flora and Hercules. Two large and quite remarkable granite +sphinxes brought from Egypt stand in front of the Academy upon the +stone embankment of the river; but the broad business thoroughfare +between them and the building isolates these figures so that one +would hardly think they were in any way connected with the +institution. This Academy of Fine Arts is just one century old, +having been erected in 1786 after a design by a French architect. The +lower floor forms a series of halls devoted to sculpture, the +examples of which are arranged chronologically in various rooms +beginning with the early Greek and Roman schools and terminating with +the productions of the nineteenth century. In apartments over these +are the galleries devoted to paintings. One very interesting and +instructive division is that which is devoted to drawings +illustrating the progress of architecture. This gallery also affords +an admirable opportunity for studying the growth of what is termed +the Russian school of painting. + +At the western extremity of the Vassili Ostrof is located the +Institution of Mines, or the Mining School, which is a resort of +special interest to strangers, being in fact a technological college +conducted by the Government upon the most liberal principles, and +designed to fit its students for becoming accomplished mining +engineers. It contains the finest collection of models and +mineralogical specimens we have ever seen collected together, not +excepting those of the British Museum. This institution will +accommodate about three hundred pupils, and is always improved to its +fullest educational capacity. The specimens of native gold alone +which are here exhibited have an intrinsic value of nearly a hundred +thousand dollars, while the beryls, tourmalines, amethysts, topazes, +and other minerals from Siberia are unequalled in any other +collection. The interested visitor cannot fail to receive a correct +impression of the great mineral wealth of this wide-spread empire, +and which will be found to exceed all previously conceived ideas. A +very beautiful rose-colored rubellite from the Urals was observed, +also a green beryl valued at twenty-five thousand dollars. Specimens +of the Alexandrite, named after Alexander I., are also to be seen +here in beautiful form and clearness. A printed list of the gems and +treasures generally which are gathered here would prove of great +interest. In the garden of the institution there is a model of a +mine, through the winding passages of which a guide bearing a lighted +taper conducts the visitor, while he explains the Russian process of +mining in Siberia and the Urals. + +The Palace of Peterhoff is situated about sixteen miles from the city +of St. Petersburg, on the shore of the Neva where the river assumes a +width of eight or ten miles. It has always been famous for the +magnificent fêtes given here since the days when it was built by the +Great Peter. The main structure has no special merit in point of +architecture, but the location and the surroundings are extremely +beautiful. From the terrace, the great yellow Palace being built upon +a natural elevation some sixty feet above the level of the sea, one +gets a fine though a distant view of the coast of Finland,--a portion +of the Tzar's dominion which alone exceeds in size Great Britain and +Ireland, a widespread barren land of lakes and granite rocks, but +peopled by over two millions of souls. The parks, gardens, fountains, +hothouses, groves, flower-beds, and embowered paths of Peterhoff are +kept in the most perfect order by a small army of household +attendants. The whole forms a resort of regal loveliness and of +endless sylvan variety. The artificial water-works, cascades, and +fountains are arranged somewhat like those of St. Cloud, and nearly +equal to those of Versailles. In front of the Palace is a fountain +named Samson, which throws water to the height of eighty feet, and is +also constructed to form various fountains. It is called Samson from +the colossal bronze figure forcing open the jaws of a lion, and from +whence the water rushes copiously. The fountains are so arranged that +on the occasion of holidays and grand fêtes artificial lights can be +placed behind the liquid sheets, thus producing novel effects even +more wonderful than the golden waters of Parizade. Here the famous +Peter used to resort, and stroll about the gardens with his humble +favorite, a Polish girl, forgetting the cares of State. This lowly +companion besides great personal beauty possessed much force of +character, and exercised great influence over her melancholic and +morose master. Many instances are related of her interference in +behalf of mercy long before her final elevation, which showed a kind +and loving nature. + +There are several other royal residences in these spacious grounds. +One near the sea-shore is that of Montplaisir, a long, low, one-story +brick structure with tiled floors and numbers of Dutch pottery +stoves. It is an exceedingly plain residence but still very +comfortable, containing many Dutch pictures which the Tzar brought +from that country. Peter was very much attached to this comparatively +humble dwelling, and he breathed his last in it. While standing in +the little chamber where he slept and where he died, his last words +were recalled: "I believe, and I trust." Here the Empress Elizabeth +occasionally spent the brief summer days, amusing herself, as we were +told, by cooking her own dinner. The low building is shaded by tall +sky-reaching old pines, whose odor pleasantly permeated the air as +we wandered about the grounds among the choice flowers and the +carefully tended undergrowth, half expecting to come upon the Talking +Bird and Singing Tree of the Arabian fable. One or two cypress +avenues in the palace grounds are matchless in sylvan effect, +producing those charming lines of perspective which trees alone can +afford. Here the local guide pointed out an oak which Catherine II. +discovered springing from an acorn, and which she protected and +planted where it now stands. This little incident occurred on the day +before she ascended the throne; but her reign was long enough for the +royal lady to see the tiny sprout grow into a lofty and vigorous +tree. + +There is another small palace near by Montplaisir which was built +after the English style for the wife of the Emperor Nicholas, being +called Znamenska, and it is occupied at times by the present Empress. +The pictures in this summer resort are all of cabinet size and +numerous, but not of a very delicate or refined character; how +high-bred ladies could abide to have them constantly in sight was a +surprise to the author. The furniture is rococo, and almost too +delicate for domestic use. Two other small palaces at Peterhoff are +upon the islands Isola Bella and Isola Madre. These last are in the +Italian style, and as we saw them that soft, sunny July afternoon +they were embedded in gorgeous colors, "a snow of blossoms and a wild +of flowers." These may be enjoyed by strangers who understand that a +golden key opens all doors in Russia. The domestic arrangements in +these minor palaces are unique; the bathing apparatus in Montplaisir +is very curious, where the royal personages come even to-day to enjoy +steam baths, cold baths, and baths of every conceivable nature, often +submitting to a discipline which one would think might try the +physical powers of an athlete. + +One building which we visited within the royal grounds was a very +homely square structure of wood, with a brick basement. The house was +surrounded by a deep broad moat which could be flooded at will; the +little foot-bridge being then raised, the spot was completely +isolated. In this building there were but two large rooms, one above +the other, the whole being from a design by Catherine II., and was +called by her the Peterhoff Hermitage. Hither the fanciful Empress +would retire to dine with her ministers of State or the foreign +ambassadors. The table was so arranged that the servants had no +occasion to enter the apartment where the meal was partaken of. In +front of each person sitting at table there was a circular opening, +through which at a signal the dishes could descend upon a small +dumb-waiter to the carving and cooking room below, and fresh ones be +raised in their places. Thus any number of courses could be furnished +and no servants be seen at all; nor was there any danger that State +secrets could be overheard or betrayed by the attendants. The whole +machinery of this automatic table is still operative, and was put in +motion for our amusement,--dishes appearing and disappearing as if +by magic at the will of the exhibitor. + +The author's visit to Peterhoff occurred on a warm, bright Sabbath +day. Passage was taken at the English Quay on a steamer which plies +regularly between the two places. The decks were thronged with +well-dressed, well-behaved citizens, many of whom had wife and +children with them, to share the pleasure of a river excursion. Our +course was straight down the channel of the Neva; but long before the +landing was made, the gilded spires of the royal chapel and some +other surrounding golden minarets were discovered blazing under the +intense rays of the sun. At present, this beautiful retreat forms the +summer residence of the royal family. Lying half a mile off the +shore, above and below the landing at Peterhoff, was a light-draft +naval steamer, fully manned and armed, acting as a coast-guard. No +strange vessel or craft of even the smallest dimensions would be +permitted to pass within the line of these vessels. After driving +through the widespread royal gardens, dotted with flower-beds, +fountains, and mirror-like lakes shaded by a great variety of grand +old trees, we finally came upon the Champ de Mars,--and at an +opportune moment, just as the Emperor and Empress, with the Prince +Imperial and his brother next of age, came upon the ground in an open +barouche, to witness a review of the troops which are stationed here. +The Emperor, dressed in full uniform, alighted at once, and with +military promptness, began to issue his orders. As he moved here and +there, his tall commanding figure was quite conspicuous among his +attending suite. The Empress, who it will be remembered is the +daughter of the King of Denmark and sister of the Princess of Wales, +retained her seat in the vehicle, looking very quiet and composed; +but the young princes, dressed in white linen coats and caps of a +semi-military character, kept a little in the rear, though close to +the Emperor, as he walked back and forth directing the movements of +the troops. The Empress is tall and stately in figure, her fair and +really handsome features bearing no traces of age or care. If she has +secret pangs to endure,--common to both the humble and the +exalted,--her features record, like the dial-plate in the piazza of +St. Mark, only the sunny hours. Her dark eyes lighted up with +animation, and a pleased smile hovered about her lips, while the +whole corps d'armée, as with one voice, greeted the Emperor when he +alighted, and gave the military salute. + +The level parade-field was between thirty and forty acres in extent, +and the manoeuvres evinced the perfection of military drill. The +Queen of Greece and the Duchess of Edinburgh, with some attendant +ladies of the court, were also present in a carriage behind that +occupied by the Empress. The whole party, while it was of so +distinguished a character, was yet marked by great simplicity of +dress and quietness of manners. Nochili, brother of the late Emperor +and uncle to the present Tzar, was in the royal suite, wearing the +full uniform of an Admiral of the Russian navy, of which he is the +present efficient head. The Prince Imperial is a quiet, dignified lad +of seventeen, with features hardly yet sufficiently matured to +express much character. He bids fair to be like his parents, tall and +commanding in figure; a pleasant smile lighted up his face as he +watched with evident interest every detail of the parade. His brother +who accompanied him is about three years his junior, but was, we +thought, the more dignified of the two. When the whole body of +infantry passed the reviewing point at the double-quick, the +admirable precision of the movement elicited from the multitude of +civilians unlimited applause. In the several stages of the review +which the Emperor directed personally, he passed freely close by the +lines of the assembled citizens who were drawn hither from St. +Petersburg and elsewhere; also in and among the lines of soldiery. He +was calm, cool, and collected, the expression upon his features being +that of firmness, dignity, and assured power. The stories bruited +about concerning his hermit-like seclusion, caused by a realizing +sense of personal danger, are mostly exaggerations of the grossest +character. They are manufactured and set afloat by the cowardly +revolutionists, who strive in many subtle ways to create a false +sentiment against the Emperor. Here in St. Petersburg such stories +are known to be lies, but it is hoped that among the hidden nests of +anarchists in other parts of Europe, and even in America, they may +have their effect. That Alexander III. is popular with the masses of +Russia, both civil and military, there is no doubt. Of course the +avowed enmity of secret revolutionists renders it necessary to take +the usual precautions against outrage; consequently guards and +detectives are at all times on duty in large numbers, not only at +Peterhoff, but wherever the Emperor and royal family may happen to be +on public occasions. These detectives are composed of picked men +devoted to their duty, chosen for their known loyalty, courage, and +discretion, not one of whom but would lay down his life if called +upon so to do in order to protect that of the Emperor. The necessity +for employing such defensive agents is to be deplored; but it is not +confined to the court of Russia. Germany and Austria adopt similar +precautions; and even Victoria, amid all the boasted loyalty of her +subjects, is exercised by a timidity which leads to similar +precautions whenever she appears in public. + +After the review had taken place on the occasion which we have +described, a slight change in the arrangements of the grounds +transformed the level field into an admirable race-course. The +Empress is over-fond of the amusement of horse-racing, and is herself +an excellent horsewoman, said to have the best "seat" in the saddle +of any royal lady in Europe, not even excepting that remarkable +equestrienne the Empress of Austria. She remained with her +lady-companions and the princes to witness the races, while the +Emperor with his military suite retired to the Imperial Palace half a +mile away. The ladies in the Empress's immediate company were very +refined in appearance, possessing strong intellectual faces and much +grace of manners; but as to personal beauty among the Russian ladies +generally, one must look for it in vain, the few vivid exceptions +only serving to emphasize the rule. While the men have fine regular +features and are generally remarkable for their good looks, their +mothers, sisters, and wives are apt to be positively homely; indeed, +it has passed into an axiom that nowhere are the old women so ugly +and the old men so handsome as in this country. + +It will be remembered that Alexander III. succeeded to the throne on +the assassination of his father, March 13, 1881; and that he is far +more liberal and progressive than any of his predecessors is +universally admitted. We were told by influential Russians that a +constitutional form of government even may be established under his +rule, if his life is spared for a series of years. Though a true +soldier and an able one, he has not the ardent love for military +affairs which absorbed Nicholas I. While he is sensitive to national +honor as regards his relations with other countries, his home policy +is eminently liberal and peaceful. He has ably seconded his father's +efforts for the improvement of the judicial system, the mitigation of +the censorship of the press, the abolishment of corporal punishment +in the army and navy, and the improvement of primary educational +facilities. In such a country as Russia, progress in these directions +must be gradual; any over-zealousness to promote great reforms would +defeat the object. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + Power of the Greek Church. -- Freeing the Serfs. -- Education + Needed. -- Mammoth Russia. -- Religion and Superstition. -- + Memorial Structures. -- Church Fasts. -- Theatres and Public + Amusements. -- Night Revels. -- A Russian Bazaar. -- Children's + Nurses in Costume. -- The one Vehicle of Russia. -- Dress of the + People. -- Fire Brigade. -- Red Tape. -- Personal Surveillance. + -- Passports. -- Annoyances. -- Spying Upon Strangers. -- The + Author's Experience. -- Censorship of the Press. + + +It is not alone her military organization, colossal and complete as +it is, which forms the sole strength of the great Russian Empire, +embracing nearly two thirds of the earth's surface, and covering an +area of eighty millions of square miles. There is a power behind the +army which is nearly as potent as any other element in maintaining +the absolute sovereignty of the Emperor, and that is the Church which +recognizes him as its head; and where physical control might prove +inadequate to enforce the wishes of the Tzar, religious influence, as +directed by the priesthood, would undoubtedly accomplish as much with +the masses of the population as would force of arms. The clergy of +the Greek Church are the faithful servitors of absolutism, and from +the nature of things must always be hearty supporters of the reigning +monarch. It requires no remarkable insight for them to realize that +their very existence as a priesthood depends upon the stability of +the Empire. The Anarchists, who entertain but one distinctive idea, +admit of no fealty to God or man, and cherish as little respect for +the Church as for the State. + +Alexander III. has probably at this writing one hundred millions of +subjects, embracing the most remarkable diversity of nationalities +and races of which it is possible to conceive. Since March 3, 1861, +there have been no serfs in the Empire. Twenty millions of human +beings who were slaves the day before, on that auspicious date were +proclaimed freemen. All honor to the memory of him who made this +bold and manly stride towards universal emancipation against the +combined influence of the entire Russian nobility! Whatever of +political restlessness there may be existing among the upper classes +of the Tzar's subjects is traceable in its origin to this freeing of +the peasantry of the country. Like slavery in our own Southern +States serfdom died hard, and its supporters are not yet all +"reconstructed." Like the American negroes, the serfs were sold from +master to master and treated like chattels; humanity was not a +relative term between noble and serf. Masters sent them to Siberia +to work in the mines, or to serve in the army, or exchanged them for +cattle or money, and often gambled them away by the dozen in a +single night. They made or unmade families according to the +heartless caprice of the moment, and unhesitatingly outraged every +domestic tie. Before the abolishment of serfdom the Government and +the nobles owned all the land in Russia; but to-day the former +serfs own at least one third of the land whereon they live and which +they cultivate, and for every acre (to their honor be it said) they +have paid a fair market value, having accumulated the means by +industry and rigid economy. An intelligent native merchant informed +the author that self-respect seemed to have been at once implanted +among the common people by the manifesto of March, 1861, and that a +rapid social improvement has been clearly observable ever since. The +better education of the rising generation is what is now most +required to supplement the great act of emancipation; and though +this is being attempted in the various districts to a limited extent +as we have shown, still it is but a slow condition of progress. Not +until the Government takes the matter seriously in hand, using its +authority and lending its liberal pecuniary aid, will anything of +importance be accomplished in this direction. + +The Tzar's dominion embraces every phase of religion and of +civilization. Portions of the Empire are as barbaric as Central +Africa; others are semi-civilized, while a large share of the people +inhabiting the cities assume the highest outward appearance of +refinement and culture. This diversity of character spreads over a +country extending from the Great Wall of China on one side to the +borders of Germany on the other; from the Crimea in the South to the +Polar Ocean in the far North. As to the national or State +religion,--that of the Greek Church,--it seems to be based upon +gross superstition, and is therefore all the more effective as a +restraining principle from evil-doing among the great mass of poor +ignorant creatures who respect scarcely anything else. Much genuine +piety is observable among the Russians, a large proportion of the +educated people being zealous church-goers, strictly observing all +the outward forms of the religion they profess. In the churches there +is no distinction of person; all are deemed equal before the Almighty +Father. There are no seats in the temples of worship; all the +congregation stand or kneel, and during the services often prostrate +themselves upon the marble floor. The monks and nuns conduct a +thriving business in the sale of sacred tapers, holy relics, images, +wedding-rings, and also indulgences and prayers, as in the Roman +Catholic Church. Indeed, the resemblance in the forms and ceremonies +of the two are to one not initiated almost identical. + +To commemorate such an event as leads other nations to erect +triumphal arches, Russia builds churches. In St. Petersburg, the +Church of St. Alexander commemorates the first victory won by the +Russians over the Swedes; St. Isaac's, the birth of Peter the Great; +Our Lady of Kazan, the triumph of Russian arms against the Persians +and the Turks. In Moscow, St. Basil commemorates the conquest of +Kazan; the Donskoi Convent, the victory over the Crim Tartars; and +St. Saviour's, the expulsion of Napoleon. _Slava Bogu!_--"Glory to +God,"--is an expression ever upon the lips of the devout Russian, +and he is only consistent to his Oriental instincts in the +multiplication of fane and altar throughout his native-land. If +fasting and prayer are indications of sincerity, he must be actuated +by honest convictions, since he has twice the number of days in the +year devoted to self-denial which are known to other religionists. +Every Wednesday and Friday, be his situation or condition what it +may, he must abstain from meat. More than one half the days in a +Russian year are devoted to fasting and humiliation. During seven +weeks before Easter no flesh or fish, no milk, no eggs, and no butter +can be partaken of without outraging the familiar rules of the +Church. For fifteen days in August a fast of great severity is held +in honor of the Virgin's death. We do not pretend to give a list of +the periods devoted to fast; these we have named are only examples. +Every new house in which a man lives, every new shop which he opens +for trade, must be formally blessed at the outset. So closely have +religious passions passed into social life that the people are even +more alive to its requirements than the priesthood, save in those +instances where perquisites are anticipated. + +The cost of everything in Russia, except the bare necessities, seemed +to us to be exorbitant,--nice articles of dress or of simple wear +being held at such prices as naturally leads foreigners to avoid all +purchases which can conveniently be deferred. As to the native +population who are able to expend money freely, they do not seem to +care what price is charged them; their recklessness, indeed, in +money matters has long been proverbial. So long as they have the +means to pay with, they do so; when this is no longer the case, they +seem to live with equal recklessness on credit. We were told that one +third of the apparently affluent were bankrupt. Fancy articles which +are offered for sale in the city stores are nearly all imported from +Paris or Vienna; very few lines of manufactured goods are produced in +the country. Opera and theatre tickets cost three times as much as in +America; and all select public exhibitions are charged for in a +similar ratio, except a few which are organized on a popular basis +for the humbler classes, such as the tea and beer gardens. The +theatres of St. Petersburg are after the usual European style of +these structures,--all being large and convenient. As they are under +the sole charge of the Government, they are conducted on a grand +scale of excellence. Nothing but the choicest thing of its kind in +dramatic representation is permitted,--only the best ballet and +opera, aided by the most admirable scenery and mechanical effects. +The establishment known as the Italian Opera accommodates three +thousand spectators without crowding. In what is called the Michael +Theatre the best French troupes only appear; and it may be safely +said that the average performances excel those of Paris. A Government +censor critically examines every piece before its performance. The +prices paid by the directors for the services of the best European +performers are almost fabulous; no private enterprise could afford +to disburse such liberal compensations to artists. The necessity for +paying such extravagant rates arises partly from the disinclination +of prima-donnas and other dramatic artists to subject themselves to +the arbitrary direction of a censorship which is sure to hold them +strictly to the letter of their agreement, and which does not +hesitate to inflict exemplary punishment for wilful departure from +the same. Besides which, the rigor of the climate is such as to +create a dread among women-artists to encounter its exigencies. It is +only during the winter months that the theatres are open, as in the +summer season the court and fashionable people generally are absent +from the capital. + +Here, as in Copenhagen and Stockholm, the people are assiduous in +improving the short summer weeks by devoting themselves heart and +soul to out-door amusements. Night is turned into day; the public +gardens are crowded,--the entertainments consisting of light +theatricals, music, acrobatic performances, dancing, and the like, +which are kept up alternating with each other until long past +midnight. The people in the mean time sit at little marble tables, +and sip tea from tumblers, drink beer, coffee, and spirits, +supplemented by various light condiments, until finally those who +drink fermented liquors become more than jolly. These places of +course draw together all classes of people, and more especially are +the nightly resort of the demi-monde. In European cities, generally, +such resorts are compelled to close at midnight; here they may last +until daylight returns. The Sabbath is the most popular day of the +seven at the public gardens, when day and evening performances take +place. The Greek churches, like the Roman Catholic, are always open +through the entire week, so that the devoutly-inclined can turn aside +at any hour and bow before the altar, which to him typifies all that +is holy. The Sabbath is therefore regarded here as it is in Rome, +Paris, or Seville,--in the light of a holiday as well as a holy-day. +After having attended morning Mass, a member of either church +unhesitatingly seeks his favorite amusement. The horse-races of +Paris, the bull-fights of Madrid, and the grand military-parades of +St. Petersburg, all take place on Sunday. Few European communities +find that repose and calmness in the day which seems best to accord +with American sentiment. It cannot be supposed that a community which +goes to bed so late,--seldom before two or three o'clock A. M.,--can +be early risers, and they certainly are not. Only the bakers' and +butchers' shops and the bar-rooms are open before ten o'clock A. M., +while general business is not resumed before about midday. The +plodding laborer only is seen wending his way to work as the +church-bells chime out the six o'clock matins; and no matter how many +churches, shrines, or chapels he may pass, at each one he lifts his +hat, makes the sign of the cross upon his breast, and mutters a brief +prayer. + +Every Russian city has a Gostinnoi-Dvor, or Bazaar, meaning literally +the "Stranger's Court,"--a sort of permanent fair,--a "bon-marché" +on a large scale. That of St. Petersburg is situated on the Nevsky +Prospect; or rather it fronts upon that thoroughfare, but extends +through to Great Garden Street. The structure devoted to this purpose +is two stories in height, the second floor being reserved for +wholesale business, while the basement or ground-floor consists of a +multitude of retail shops, where nearly every conceivable kind of +goods is offered for sale. No fire is allowed in the bazaar even in +winter, except the tiny silver lamps which burn before the pictures +of saints. To suppose that these could be dangerous would be +sacrilege. There is one excellent rule in the Gostinnoi-Dvor: while +other city shops ask various prices, and sell for whatever they can +get, this great bazaar has fixed prices, and is supposed to adhere to +them. Regarding the quality of the goods sold here, truth compels us +to say that the intelligent traveller will hardly feel inclined to +invest much money in their purchase. Pictures of saints and packs of +cards are the two articles which find the largest sale in such +places. A propensity to gamble is as natural to this people as it is +to the Chinese. The popular cry of the Spanish lower classes is +"bread and bulls;" that of the Russians might be "saints and cards." +Next to vodka, cards are the evil genius of the masses. Many are the +dram-shops and potent the liquor where the idlers play with cards and +liquid fire. We were speaking to a resident upon these matters, when +he closed by saying: "Ah, yes, it is to be regretted; but what can +you expect? It is so hard to be good, and so very easy to be bad!" + +Coming out of the labyrinth of narrow alleys and long arcades of the +bazaar upon the Nevsky Prospect side, we overtook a bevy of nursery +girls with their juvenile charges bound for the shady paths and +fragrant precincts of the Summer Garden. These maids are here quite a +social feature, and in their showy distinctive dress recall those of +the Tuileries at Paris, the Prado at Madrid, or the Ceylon nurses of +English officers' children at Colombo. These St. Petersburg domestics +much affect the old Russian costume, with added vividness of color, +producing a theatrical and gala-day effect. It seems to be quite a +mark of family distinction to have a nurse thus bedecked about the +house, or abroad with its baby-representative, while there is evident +rivalry between the matronly employers in regard to the richness of +the dresses worn by the maids. These costumes consist often of a +bonnet like a diadem of red or blue velvet, embroidered with gold, +beneath which falls the hair in two long braids. The robe is of some +wadded damask, the waist just below the arms, supplemented by a very +short skirt. Plenty of gold cord decks these garments, which are +usually braided in fantastic figures. + +The one vehicle of Russia is the drosky, the most uncomfortable and +unavailable vehicle ever constructed for the use of man, but of which +there are, nevertheless, over fifteen thousand in the streets of the +imperial city. It has very low wheels, a heavy awkward body, and is +as noisy as a Concord coach. Some one describes it as being a cross +between a cab and an instrument of torture. There is no rest for the +occupant's back; and while the seat is more than large enough for +one, it is not large enough for two persons. It is a sort of sledge +on wheels. The noise made by these low-running ugly conveyances as +they are hurried by the drivers over the uneven rubble-stones of the +streets is deafening. Why the Russians adhere so tenaciously to this +ill-conceived four-wheeled conveyance, we could not divine. It has no +special adaptability to the roads or streets of the country that we +could understand, while there are half-a-dozen European or American +substitutes combining comfort, economy, and comeliness, which might +be profitably adopted in its place. The legal charge for conveyance +in droskies is as moderate as is their accommodation, but a foreigner +is always charged three or four times the regular fare. The poor +ill-paid fellows who drive them form a distinct class, dressing all +alike, in a short bell-crowned hat, a padded blue-cloth surtout, or +wrapper, reaching to their feet and folded across the breast. This +garment is buttoned under the left arm with a row of six small, +close-set silver buttons, while a belt indicates where the waist +should be. These drivers are a miserably ignorant class, sleeping +doubled up on the front of the droskies night and day, when not +employed. The vehicle is at once their house and their bed, and if +one requires a drosky he first awakens the driver, who is usually +curled up asleep like a dog. It is the only home these poor fellows +have, in nine cases out of ten. The horses are changed at night after +a day's service, but the driver remains at his post day and night. +Unlike the reckless drivers of Paris, Naples, and New York, the +Russian rarely strikes his horse with the whip, but is apt to talk to +him incessantly,--"Go ahead! we are in a hurry, my infant;" or, "Take +care of that stone!" "Turn to the left, my pigeon!" and so on. + +All St. Petersburg wear top-boots outside the pantaloons. Even +mechanics and common laborers adopt this style; but wherefore, except +that it is the fashion, one cannot conceive. The common people +universally wear red-cotton shirts hanging outside the pantaloons. It +was surprising to see gentlemen wearing overcoats in mid-summer, when +the temperature was such that Europeans would be perspiring freely +though clad in the thinnest vestment. In winter the Russian covers +himself up to the very eyes in fur, and perhaps the contrast between +fur and woollen makes sufficient difference with him. It was observed +that the apparatus and organization for extinguishing fires in the +city was very primitive, water being conveyed in a barrel-shaped +vehicle, and other very simple means adopted. The water-ways of the +city, with a proper hose-system, ought certainly to supply sufficient +water for any possible exigency. In the several districts of the town +lofty watch-towers are erected, from which a strict look-out is kept +at all hours for fires; and a system of signals is adopted whereby +the locality of any chance blaze can be plainly and promptly +indicated. In the daytime this is done by means of black balls, and +in the night by colored lights. But in St. Petersburg as in Paris +destructive fires are of rare occurrence; for if one breaks out, the +houses are so nearly fire-proof that the damage is almost always +confined to the apartment where it originates. + +In leaving St. Petersburg, it must be admitted that one encounters a +great amount of formality relating to passports and other matters +seemingly very needless. Though the principal sights of the city are +called free, yet one cannot visit them unattended by a well-known +local guide or without disbursing liberally of fees. Foreigners are +not left alone for a moment, and are not permitted to wander hither +and thither in the galleries, as in other countries, or to examine +freely for themselves. One is forbidden to make even pencil sketches +or to take notes in the various palaces, museums, armories, or +hospitals; and if he would afterwards record his impressions, he must +trust solely to memory. The author was subjected to constant +surveillance in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, which was to say the +least of it quite annoying; his correspondence was also withheld from +him,--but no serious trouble worth expatiating upon was experienced. +In passing from city to city it is absolutely necessary to have one's +passport _viséd_, as no railroad agent will sell a ticket to the +traveller without this evidence being exhibited to him; and finally, +upon preparing to leave the country, one's passport must show the +official signature authorizing this purpose. There is a proverb which +says, "The gates of Russia are wide to those who enter, but narrow to +those who would go out." No native of rank can leave the country +without special permission, which is obtainable on the payment of a +certain tax, though not unless it meets the Emperor's approval. +Under former emperors this has been a source of considerable +dissatisfaction to people who desired to travel abroad, and who could +not obtain the needed permission of the Tzar, but we were told that +under the present government much greater liberty of action is +accorded to subjects of all classes in this respect. It is hardly +necessary to remind the reader that in an absolute monarchy the will +of the ruler is law. In Russia all power is centred in the Emperor. +For the purpose of local administration, Poland, Finland, the Baltic +provinces, and the Caucasus have each their own form of government, +having been permitted to retain their local laws and institutions to +a certain extent when they were not at variance with the general +principle of the Empire. Though at the imperial headquarters of +government the Emperor is aided by four great Councils, he is free to +accept or reject their advice as he pleases. + +The censorship of the press is still enforced to a certain extent, +though as already intimated it is far from being so rigid as +heretofore. At the Hôtel d'Angleterre, where the author made his +temporary home, it was noticed that a copy of the "New York Herald" +was kept on file for the use of the guests; but it was also observed +that it was not delivered from the Post-office until the day +subsequent to its receipt, which gave the officials ample time to +examine and pass upon the contents. On the day following our arrival +the Herald was delivered at the hotel minus a leading article, which +had been cut out by the Post-office officials, who did not consider +the subject, whatever it may have been, wholesome mental food to lay +before the Emperor's subjects. On expressing surprise to our host at +this mutilation of the newspaper, we were answered only by a very +significant shrug of the shoulders. Residents are very careful about +expressing any opinion regarding the official acts of the Government. +Books, newspapers, or reading matter in any form if found among a +traveller's baggage is generally taken possession of by the officers +of the customs; but if one is willing to submit to the necessary red +tape and expense, they will be returned to him upon his leaving the +country. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + On the Road to Moscow. -- Russian Peasantry. -- Military Station + Masters. -- Peat Fuel for the War-Ships. -- Farm Products. -- + Scenery. -- Wild-Flowers. -- City of Tver. -- Inland Navigation. + -- The Great River Volga. -- The Ancient Muscovite Capital. -- + Spires and Minarets. -- A Russian Mecca. -- Pictorial Signs. -- + The Kremlin. -- The Royal Palace. -- King of Bells. -- Cathedral + of St. Basil. -- The Royal Treasury. -- Church of Our Saviour. -- + Chinese City. -- Rag Fair. -- Manufactures. + + +The distance from St. Petersburg to Moscow is a little over four +hundred miles, the railroad built by American contractors having been +constructed absolutely upon a straight line, without regard to +population or the situation of considerable towns lying near the +route. The Russians measure distance by versts. The line between the +two cities is six hundred and four versts in length, which is +equivalent to four hundred and three English miles. At the time when +the route for the railroad was surveying there was a great diversity +of interest developed as to the exact course it should follow, and +bitter disputes grew up between individuals and communities. These +varied antagonistic ideas at last culminated in so decided an +expression of feeling that the commissioners having the matter in +charge were forced to appeal to the Emperor to settle the matter. He +listened to the statement of facts, examined the topographical maps +laid before him representing the country over which the proposed road +was to pass, and settled the matter in true autocratic style. Taking +a rule, he laid it upon the map between the two cities and drew with +a pencil a perfectly straight line from one to the other, saying to +his commissioners, "Build the road exactly upon that line;" and it +was done. The cars upon this route carry the traveller directly into +the heart of Russia. One is apt to become a little impatient at the +moderate speed attained upon the railroads in this country, +twenty-five miles per hour being the average rate of progress. Yet +the roads are remarkably well built, and the rolling stock, as a +rule, is superior to that generally found in Southern Europe. It is a +remarkable fact that at the breaking out of the Crimean war there +were less than eight hundred miles of railroad in the Tzar's entire +dominions, while to-day there are about twenty thousand miles of +well-constructed and efficient roads of this character, forming a +complete system permeating all populous sections of the country; and +to this may be added an annual increase of from six to eight hundred +miles. Had Nicholas I. possessed the means of moving large bodies of +troops with promptness from one part of his extended domain to +another which now exist, England and France would have found their +dearly-bought and but partially-achieved victory in the Crimea an +impossibility. While her enemies possessed rapid transit from all +points, and open communication with their base of supplies both by +steamboat and railroad, Russia's soldiers had hundreds of miles to +march on foot, over nearly impassable roads, in order to reach the +seat of war. Now the Emperor can concentrate troops at any desired +point as promptly as any other European power. + +On the trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow one proceeds through +scenery of the most monotonous and, we must add, of the most +melancholy character,--flat and featureless, made up of forests of +fir-trees, interspersed with the white birch and long reaches of +wide, cheerless, deserted plains. The dense forest forms a prominent +feature of Russia north of the line of travel between the two great +cities, covering in that region fully a third part of the surface of +the country; indeed, the largest forest in Europe is that of +Yolskoniki, near the source of the Volga. On the contrary, to the +south of Moscow the vast plains or steppes are quite free from wood, +in fact only too often consisting of mere sandy deserts, unfit for +habitation. It seemed as though no country could be more thinly +inhabited or more wearisomely tame. Now and again a few sheep were +seen cropping the thin brown moss and straggling verdure, tended by a +boy clad in a fur cap and skin capote, forming a strong contrast to +his bare legs and feet. Few people are seen and no considerable +communities, though occasional sections exhibit fair cultivation. +This is partly explained by the fact that the road was built simply +to connect Moscow and St. Petersburg, as already explained. Though +inhabited for centuries by fierce and active races, the appearance +here is that of primitiveness; the log-cabins seem like temporary +expedients,--wooden tents, as it were. The men and women who are seen +at the stations are of the Calmuck type, the ugliest of all humanity, +with high cheek-bones, flattened noses, dull gray eyes, +copper-colored hair, and bronzed complexions. Their food is not of a +character to develop much physical comeliness. The one vegetable +which the Russian peasant cultivates is cabbage; this mixed with +dried mushrooms, and rarely anything else, makes the soup upon which +he lives. Add to this soup a porridge made of maize, and we have +about the entire substance of their regular food. If they produce +some pork and corn, butter and cheese, these are sold at the nearest +market, and are of far too dainty a character for them to indulge in, +since a certain amount of money must be raised somehow for the annual +visit of the tax-gatherer. We are speaking of the humble masses; of +course there are some thrifty peasants, who manage to live on a more +liberal scale, and to provide better subsistence for their families, +but they form the exception. The railroad is owned and operated by +the Government, and it was a little ludicrous to see the +station-masters in full uniform wherever the train stopped, with +their swords and spurs clanking upon the wooden platforms. A naval +officer might with just as much propriety wear spurs upon the +quarter-deck as a local railroad agent on shore. But the customs here +are unlike those of other lands; Russia resembles herself alone. + +With the exception of the provinces which border on the Caucasus, all +Russia is prairie-like in surface. The moderate slopes and elevations +of the Urals scarcely break this vast plain which covers so large a +share of the globe. Two fifths of European Russia are covered with +woods, interspersed with morass and arable land; but as regards fuel, +the peat beds in the central regions are practically inexhaustible, +forming a cheap and ever-present means for the production of heat in +the long dreary winters, as well as for steam-producing purposes on +railroads and in manufactories. In the general absence of coal mines, +the importance of the peat-product can hardly be over-estimated. It +is considered by consumers that the same cubic quantity of peat will +yield one third more heat in actual use than wood, retaining it +longer; besides which it possesses some other minor advantages over +the product of the forest. At some points on the line of the railroad +immense mounds of peat were observed which had been mined, dried, and +stacked for future use by the employees of the Government. The +visible amount of the article was often so great as to be quite +beyond estimate by a casual observer. The long broad stacks in more +than one instance covered several acres of land, closely ranged with +narrow road-ways between them. They were twenty feet or more in +height, and conical-shaped to shed the rain. Prepared with rock-oil, +coal-dust, and some other combustible, we were told that this peat +had been successfully used on the Russian war-steamers, proving +superior to coal in the ordinary form, besides taking up much less +room in the ships' bunks. As to procure fuel for her ships of war has +been a problem difficult to solve heretofore, this immense storage of +peat looked to us as if designed to meet this special purpose. The +peasantry, as we have said, are generally quite poor, though many of +them now own their little farms, which the want of pecuniary means +compels them to work with the most primitive tools; besides which +they are entirely unaided by the light of modern agricultural +experience. No other country, however, is so rich in horses, mines of +gold, silver, copper, and precious stones, or in the more useful +products of iron, lead, and zinc. The fecundity of the Russians is +something elsewhere unequalled; still the inhabitants average but +about fifteen to the square mile, while Germany has nearly eighty, +and England a hundred and fourteen. The average climate is not +unfavorable to health, though there are insalubrious districts whose +condition is traceable to local causes. The birch forests with their +tremulous, silvery aspect, delicate and graceful, increase as one +penetrates towards central Russia upon this line; and there is ample +evidence of fair fertility of soil, which is by no means made the +most of. Rye, barley, oats, and flax seem to constitute the +principal crops under cultivation: while it was observed that nearly +every cabin, however humble, had its low, sheltered line of +rudely-constructed beehives, honey taking the place of sugar among +the common people. The villages were of rare occurrence, but when +seen presented road-ways as broad as the boulevards of great cities, +yet only lined by low, turf-roofed cabins. The winter season is so +long and severe that it is difficult for the peasant to wrest from +the half-reluctant earth sufficient upon which to subsist. He lives +in a log-cabin of his own construction; wife, daughter, and son all +join the father in hard field-labor, not a small share of which was +observed to be ditching, in order to render the marshy soil available +for crops. The brief season must be made the most of, and therefore +many hours are given to work and few to sleep. These peasants are +surrounded by all sorts of superstitions from their very birth. Each +of the many festivals of the year has its strange rites, songs, and +legends. The woods are believed to be inhabited by demons and +water-sprites, and peopled by invisible dwarfs and genii. They still +trust to charms and incantations for the cure of diseases, like the +Lapps and other semi-barbarians, while their rude log-cabins are but +one degree better than the habitations of these nomads. Nothing could +be more simple than the interior arrangements of their cabins, never +omitting, however, the picture of some saint, before which a lamp is +kept burning day and night. There is always a rude table, some pine +benches, and a huge stove. A wooden shelf raised a few feet from the +floor is the sleeping-place, and the bedding consists of sheep-skins, +the condition of which, long used and seldom if ever washed, may be +imagined. A painted frame-house is hardly to be seen outside of the +large towns; no peasant would aspire to such a luxury. + +Forests of such density of undergrowth as to defy ingress to man +frequently line the railway for miles together; but the dull, dreary +loneliness of the way is relieved by occasional glimpses of +wild-flowers scattered along the road-side in great variety, +diffusing indescribable freshness. Among them, now and again, a tall, +glutinous, scarlet poppy would rear its gaudy head, nodding lazily in +the currents of air, and leading one to wonder how it came in such +company. A peculiar little blue-flower was frequently observed with +yellow petals, which seemed to look up from the surrounding nakedness +and desolation with the appealing expression of human eyes. +Snow-white daisies and the delicate little hare-bell came also into +view at intervals, struggling for a brief, sad existence, unless the +elfin crew consoled them beneath the moon's pale ray. We must not +fail to mention that the stations are beautified by floral displays +of no mean character. It seems that professional gardeners travel on +the line, remaining long enough at each place to organize the skilful +culture of garden-plants by the keeper's family during the summer +season; but it made one shudder to imagine what must be the aspect of +this region during the long frost-locked Russian winter. + +On reaching Tver we crossed the Volga by a high iron bridge,--one of +the greatest rivers of the world, the Mississippi of Russia. The +average traveller does not stop at Tver any longer than is necessary +for the purpose of the railroad officials, but it is a considerable +and rising place, especially since the railroad between the two great +cities chanced to run through its borders. It contains a little over +thirty thousand inhabitants; has its Kremlin, cathedral, theatre, +library, and public parks. An English-speaking Russian, evidently a +man of business and affairs who was bound for Moscow, gave us a very +good idea of Tver. Its locality upon the river makes it the recipient +of great stores of grain, wool, and hemp for distribution among +western manufacturers. Wood-cutting and rafting also engage a large +number of the population, the product in the shape of dimension +lumber, deals, etc. finally being shipped to western European ports. +Our informant also spoke of this being the centre of an intelligent +community scarcely exceeded by the best society of St. Petersburg. +From this point the river is navigable for over two thousand miles to +far off Astrakhan. In a country so extensive, and which possesses so +small a portion of seaboard, rivers have a great importance; and +until the introduction of the growing system of railroads, they +formed nearly the only available means of transportation. The canals, +rivers, and lakes are no longer navigated by barges propelled by +horse-power. Steam-tugs and small passenger steamboats now tow great +numbers of flat-bottomed boats, which are universally of large +capacity. Freight by this mode of conveyance is very cheap; we were +told at Nijni Novgorod that goods could be transported to that great +business centre from the Ural Mountains, a distance of nearly +fourteen hundred miles by river, for twenty-five shillings per ton. +The Volga is the largest river in Europe; measured through all its +windings, it has a length of twenty-four hundred miles from its rise +among the Valdai Hills, five hundred and fifty feet above the +sea-level, to its _débouchure_ into the Caspian. Many cities and +thriving towns are picturesquely situated mostly on its right bank, +where available sites upon elevated ground have been found,--as in +the case of Kostroma, and also at Nijni-Novgorod, where it is joined +by the Oka. In addition to these rivers there are also the Obi, the +Yenisei, the Lena, the Don, and the Dnieper, all rivers of the first +class, whose entire course from source to mouth is within Russian +territory, saying nothing of the several large rivers tributary to +these. We must not forget, however, those frontier rivers, the +Danube, the Amoor, and the Oxus, all of which are auxiliary to the +great system of canals that connect the headwaters of all the +important rivers of Russia. The Volga by this system communicates +with the White Sea, the Baltic, and the Euxine,--statistics showing +that no less than fifteen thousand vessels navigate this great river +annually. + +While we are placing these interesting facts before the reader +relating to the material greatness and facilities of the Empire, we +are also approaching its ancient capital, upon which the far-reaching +past has laid its consecrating hand. It is found to stand upon a vast +plain, through which winds the Moskva River, from which the city +derives its name. The villages naturally become more populous as we +advance, and gilded domes and cupolas occasionally loom up above the +tree-tops on either side of the road, indicating a Greek church here +and there amid isolated communities. As in approaching Cairo one sees +first the pyramids of Gheezeh and afterwards the graceful minarets +and towers of the Egyptian city gleaming through the golden haze, so +as we gradually emerge from the thinly-inhabited, half-cultivated +Russian plains and draw near the capital, first there comes into view +the massive towers of the Kremlin and the Church of Our Saviour with +its golden dome, followed by the hundreds of glittering steeples, +belfries, towers, and star-gilded domes which characterize the +ancient city. We were told that the many-towered sacred edifices of +Russia have a religious significance in the steeples, domes, and +spires with which they are so profusely decorated. Usually the middle +projection is the most lofty, and is surrounded by four others, the +forms and positions varying with a significance too subtile for one +to understand who is not initiated in the tenets of the Greek Church. +Though some of these temples have simply a cupola in the shape of an +inverted bowl, terminating in a gilded point capped by a cross and +crescent, few of them have less than five or six superstructures, and +some have sixteen, of the most whimsical device,--bright, gilded +chains depending from them, affixed to the apex of each pinnacle. +When one looks for the first time upon the roofs of the Muscovite +city as it lies under the glare of the warm summer sun, the scene is +both fascinating and confusing. The general aspect is far more +picturesque at Moscow than at the capital on the Neva, because the +city is here located upon undulating and in some parts even hilly +ground; besides which St. Petersburg is decidedly European, while +Moscow is Tartar in its very atmosphere. The first is the visible +growth of modern ideas; the last is the symbol of the past. + +Though Moscow has been three times nearly destroyed,--first, by the +Tartars in the fourteenth century; second, by the Poles in the +seventeenth century; and again, at the time of the French invasion +under Napoleon, in 1812,--still it has sprung from its ashes each +time as if by magic power, and has never lost its original character, +being a more splendid and prosperous capital than ever before since +its foundation, and is to-day rapidly increasing in the number of its +population. The romantic character of its history, so mingled with +protracted wars, civil conflicts, sieges, and conflagrations, makes +it seem like a fabulous city. The aggregate of the population is not +much if any less than that of St. Petersburg, while the territory +which it covers will measure over twenty miles in circumference. "In +spite of all the ravages and vicissitudes through which Moscow has +passed in the thousand years of its existence," said a resident to +us, "probably no city in the world is less changed from its earliest +years." Descriptions of the place written by travellers nearly three +centuries since might pass for a correct exhibit of the ancient +capital to-day. The impress of the long Tartar occupation in the +fourteenth and fifteenth centuries still remains both in the +architecture and the manners and customs of the people, while much +of its original barbaric splendor permeates everything. At +St. Petersburg the overpowering influence of European civilization +is keenly felt; here, that of Oriental mysticism still prevails. + +The city is unique taken as a whole. One seems to breathe in a +semi-Asiatic barbarism while strolling through its quaint streets and +antiquated quarters. There are no avenues long enough to form a +perspective, the streets winding like a river through a broad meadow, +but undulating so as occasionally to give one a bird's-eye view of +the neighborhood. Still there are modern sections which might be +taken out of Vienna, London, Dresden, or Paris, for one finds +characteristics of them all combined mingled with the gilded domes of +an Indian city, and the graceful minarets of Egypt. A certain modern +varnish is now and then observable. Gas has been introduced, and +tramways are laid in some of the principal thoroughfares. Like the +Manzanares at Madrid or the Arno at Florence, the Moskva is not a +deep river, though its channel conveys ten times the amount of water +that flows in those just named. It winds ribbon-like in and about the +city, adding greatly to its picturesqueness as seen from an +elevation. True, this city is in a central position as regards the +length and breadth of Russia, but that is about all one can say in +favor of the location. St. Petersburg reclaimed from the Finland +swamps has the commerce of the world at its door, and therein +presents a _raison d'être_, which almost excuses the labor and loss +of life and treasure which it cost. + +Moscow is to the Russian what Mecca is to the pious Moslem, and he +calls it by the endearing name of "Mother." Like Kief and the +Troitzkoi, it is the object of pious pilgrimage to thousands +annually, who come from long distances and always on foot. The +ludicrously illustrated signs are as numerous here as they are in the +capital, often running into caricature. For instance, a fruit-dealer +puts out a gaudily-painted scene representing a basket of fruit and +its carrier coming to grief, the basket and contents falling from the +carrier's head and the fruit flying in all directions. A milk-shop +exhibited a crude sign depicting a struggle between a hungry calf and +a dairy-maid as to which should obtain the lacteal deposit from the +cow. These signs answer their purpose, and speak a mute language +intelligible to the Russian multitude. The city is said to have once +contained "forty times forty churches and chapels," but it has not so +many to-day, though there must be between six and eight hundred. The +ambassadors of Holstein said in 1633 that there were two thousand +churches and chapels in the capital. The Kremlin which crowns a hill +is the central point of the city, and is enclosed by high walls, +battlement rising upon battlement, flanked by massive towers. The +name is Tartar, and signifies a fortress. As such it is unequalled +for its vastness, its historical associations, and the wealth of its +sanctuaries. It was founded six or seven hundred years ago, and is an +enclosure studded with cathedrals covering broad streets and spacious +squares. That of Krasnoi exhibits a bronze monument in its centre +erected in honor of Minimi and Tojarsky, two Muscovite patriots. The +Kremlin is a citadel and a city within itself, being the same to +Moscow that the Acropolis was to Athens. The buildings are a strange +conglomerate of architecture, including Tartarian, Hindu, Chinese, +and Gothic, exhibited in cathedrals, chapels, towers, convents, and +palaces. We did not count them, but were told that there were +thirty-two churches within the walls. The cathedral of the Assumption +is perhaps the most noteworthy, teeming as it does with historic +interest, and being filled with tombs and pictures from its dark +agate floor to the vast cupola. Here, from the time of Ivan the Great +to that of the present Emperor, the Tzars have all been crowned; and +here Peter placed the royal insignia upon the head of his second +wife, the Livonian peasant-girl. One picture of the Virgin in this +church is surrounded by diamonds and other precious stones which are +valued at half a million of dollars. It is to be presumed that on the +occasion of an Emperor's coronation, or that of some great religious +festival, the squares, streets, and areas generally of the Kremlin +become crowded with ecclesiastics, citizens, strangers, soldiers, and +courtiers in gala array; but it seemed a little dreary and lonely to +us amid all its antiquity and mildewed splendor. Silence reigned +supreme, save for the steady tread of the sentinels; all was +loneliness, but for the presence of the sight-seer and his guide. +However busy the city close at hand, commerce and trade do not enter +within the walls of the Kremlin. One's thoughts were busy enough, +over-stimulated in fact, while strolling through the apartments of +the Imperial Palace. In imagination, these low-studded apartments, +secret divans and closets became repeopled by their former tenants. +It was remembered that even to the days of Peter the Great Oriental +seclusion was the fate of empresses and princesses, upon whom the +highest state officials might not dare to look,--whose faces in short +were always hidden. But scandal says that thus unnaturally secluded, +their woman wit taught them ways of compensation; for in spite of +guards and bolts, they received at times visits from their secret +lovers, the great risk encountered but adding zest to such +clandestine achievements. To be sure, as a penalty a head was now and +then severed from the owner's body, and some gay Lothario was knouted +and sent off to Siberia to work out his life in the mines; but that +did not change human nature, to which royalty is as amenable as the +rest of creation. The grand Palace as it now stands was built by the +Emperor Nicholas, or rather it was repaired and enlarged by him, +embracing all the ancient portions as originally designed, but the +rest of the structure so extended as to afford suites of royal state +apartments which are unsurpassed by any palace in the world, either +in spaciousness, magnificence of finish or furniture. The Throne Room +is beyond comparison the most superb apartment of its character which +the author has ever seen. Magnificent as the interior is, the +external architectural effect of the Palace is in such decided +contrast with that of the surrounding churches, monasteries, towers, +and sacred gates as to create a singular incongruity. + +The venerable, crenellated walls of the Kremlin, which measure about +two miles in circumference, forming nearly a triangle, are pierced by +five gates of an imposing character, to each of which is attributed a +religious or historical importance. Often have invading hosts +battered at these gates, and sometimes gained an entrance; but +strange to say, they have always in the end been worsted by the +faithful Muscovites. Over the Redeemer's Gate, so called, is affixed +a wonder-working picture of the Saviour, which is an object of great +and universal veneration. No one, not even the Emperor, passes +beneath it without removing his hat and bowing the head. A miracle is +supposed to have been wrought in connection with this picture of the +Redeemer at the time when the retreating French made a vain attempt +to blow up the buildings of the Kremlin; hence the special honor +accorded to it. The gate itself was erected in 1491, and is like the +main tower of a large cathedral or an isolated campanile. It is +painted red, with green spires, and flanked on the sides by small +chapels. The National Armory, also within the walls, is of great +interest, quite unsurpassed in its collection of Oriental arms, but +those of all nations are also well represented. It will be remembered +that Moscow was in the olden time as celebrated for the excellence of +its steel weapons, and especially for the temper of its sword blades, +as were Toledo and Damascus. In the grand courtyard of the Kremlin, +near that pillar-like structure the Tower of Ivan, hundreds of +Napoleon's captured cannon lay idly on the earth, recalling the +tragic story of the French invasion; but then it was remembered that +the French have also at Paris their Column of Vendôme, the encircling +bas-reliefs of which contain the metal of many captured Russian +cannon. So while scores of battle-torn Muscovite flags hang aloft in +the church of the Invalides at the French capital, the tri-color also +decks the walls of Peter and Paul in the fortifications of St. +Petersburg,--toys in "that mad game the world so loves to play," but, +alas! what do they represent but condensed drops of blood? + +Opposite the Arsenal stands the Senate House of Moscow, the High +Court of Appeals, built by Catherine II. The main hall is of great +capacity and magnificence; the whole building underwent complete +restoration in 1866. The summit of the Tower of Ivan the Great, +erected in 1600, affords a widespread view of the city in every +direction; and perhaps it may be said to be the best that can be +obtained. It is one of the most conspicuous structures in the +Kremlin, standing partially by itself, and is seen from a long +distance as one approaches by rail. The tower consists of five +stories, and is three hundred and twenty-five feet in height. The +basement and three stories above it are octagonal, the last +cylindrical, the whole embracing a wild confusion of design. Half-way +up is a gallery from whence the former sovereigns used to harangue +the people. The lower story is a chapel dedicated to Saint John, +while the other stories contain many bells, the heaviest of which, we +were told, weighed over sixty tons. In the upper portion there is a +chime of silver bells which daily ring forth the national anthem at +meridian. The racket and din produced when _all_ the bells in the +tower are rung together, as they are on Easter eve, must be +deafening. + +The famous King of Bells of which we have all heard so much, and +which according to the records was tolled at the birth of Peter the +Great, stands near the foot of the Tower of Ivan. It is broken, but +weighs in its present condition nearly four hundred and fifty +thousand pounds. The piece broken from its side, which is seen close +at hand, weighs eleven tons. The height of the bell is twenty-one +feet. When it was cast in 1730, by order of the Empress Anne, the +gold, silver, and copper consumed in the operation weighed ninety-one +hundred and twenty tons, valued at the royal sum of half a million +dollars. History tells us that the casting took place with religious +ceremonies, and royal ladies vied with one another in throwing their +golden ornaments into the great caldron which supplied the molten +metal. Doubtless this very generosity of contribution only served to +impart brittleness to the bell. As to improving the purity of tone, +modern experience shows that foreign metals, however pure in +themselves, would detract from that. After the great bell fell from +the supporting-tower,--which was destroyed by fire, and which is +supposed to have stood very nearly over the spot where the bell now +rests,--it lay buried in the earth for over a hundred years, until it +was dug up and placed on its present foundation by order of the late +Emperor Nicholas I. As we stood there beside the monster bell, a +shudder passed over us sufficiently visible to attract the +observation of the guide. "Is monsieur cold?" he asked. "No, it was +only a passing thought that moved us," was the reply. "Ah! something +of far-off America?" he suggested. "Nearer than that," was the +response. "It was the recollection of that terrible fifty-three +thousand pounds of bell-metal which swings in the cupola of +St. Isaac's. If that comparatively baby-bell could make one so +thoroughly uncomfortable, what might not this giant do under similar +circumstances!" It is doubtful, however, if the guide clearly +understood to what the author referred. + +The most strikingly fantastic and remarkable structure +architecturally in all Moscow is the Cathedral of St. Basil, which is +absolutely top-heavy with spires, domes, and minarets, ornamented in +the most irregular and unprecedented manner. Yet as a whole the +structure is not inharmonious with its unique surroundings, the +semi-Oriental, semi-barbaric atmosphere in which it stands. It is not +within the walls of the Kremlin, but is located just outside and near +the Redeemer's Gate, from which point the best view of it may be +enjoyed. No two of its towering projections are alike, either in +height, shape, or ornamentation. The coloring throughout is as +various as the shape, being in yellow, green, blue, golden-gilt, and +silver. Each spire and dome has its glittering cross; and when the +sun shines upon the group, it is like the bursting of a rocket at +night against a background of azure blue. It is of this singular, +whimsical, and picturesque structure that the story is told how Ivan +the Terrible caused the architect's eyes to be blinded forever when +his work was completed and approved, in order that he might never be +able to produce another temple like it. The reader need hardly credit +the story however, since it has been attributed to so many other +structures and individuals as greatly to impair its application in +this instance. Space would not suffice us were we to attempt to +describe the interior of St. Basil; but it is as peculiar as is the +exterior. Each of the domes and towers forms the apex to a separate +chapel, so that the cathedral is divided into a dozen and more altars +dedicated to as many different saints. The interior is painted +throughout in arabesque. Napoleon ordered his soldiers to destroy +this cathedral; but fortunately, in the haste and confusion attending +the retreat of the French army, the command was not executed. While +looking upon St. Basil, with its myriad pinnacles flashing in the +rays of the sun, it was natural to recall Hawthorne's quaint idea, +that were edifices built to the sound of music some would appear to +be constructed under the influence of grave and solemn tones, others, +like this unique temple, to have danced forth to light fantastic airs +and waltzes. In front of the many-domed cathedral is a circular stone +from whence the Tzars of old were accustomed to proclaim their +edicts; and it is also known as the Lobnoé Mièsto, that is, "The +Place of the Skull," because of the many executions that have taken +place upon it. Ivan the Terrible rendered the spot infamous by the +series of executions which he ordered to take place here, the victims +being mostly innocent and patriotic persons of both sexes. Here +Prince Scheviref was impaled by order of this same tyrant, and here +several others of royal birth were recklessly sacrificed. In looking +upon St. Basil one is almost sure to be reminded of the Alhambra, in +Moorish Grenada. Notwithstanding its strangely conglomerate +character, no one can say that it is not symmetrical and justly +balanced in its various lines; still, so unreal is its whole as to +seem like a creation in some magic Arabian tale, an unsubstantial +structure of the imagination. + +The Treasury of the Kremlin, erected so late as 1851, is a historical +museum of crowns, thrones, state costumes, and royal regalia +generally, including in the latter department the royal robes of +Peter the Great; also his crown in which there are about nine +hundred large diamonds, and that of his widow Catherine I., which +contains about three thousand of the same precious stones, besides +one grand ruby of extraordinary value. One comes away from the +labyrinth of palaces, churches, arsenals, museums, and treasury of +the citadel, after viewing their accumulation of riches, absolutely +dazed and entirely surfeited. Properly to examine the Treasury alone +would require many days. It is a marvel of accumulated riches, the +proud spoils of time. Here are to be seen the crowns of many now +defunct kingdoms, such as those of Kazan, Georgia, Astrakhan, and +Poland,--all heavy with gold and precious stones. The crown-jewels of +England and Germany combined would hardly equal in value these +treasures. The most venerable of the crowns which were shown us here +is that of Monomachus, brought from Byzantium more than eight hundred +years ago. This emblem is covered with jewels of the choicest +character, among which are steel-white diamonds and rubies of +pigeon's-blood hue, such as do not find their way into jewellers' +shops in our day. Think of the centuries this vast wealth has lain +idle upon these royal crowns, and of the aggregate sum in current +money which it represents; then calculate the annual loss of +interest, say at three per cent per annum, and the result will reach +a sum approximating to the amount of the National debt of Great +Britain! + +While viewing the varied attractions within the walls of the Kremlin +one could not but recall a page from history, and remember the +brave, heroic, self-sacrificing means which the people of this +Asiatic city adopted to repel the invading and victorious enemy. It +was an act of sublime desperation to place the torch within the +sanctuary of Russia and to destroy all, sacred and profane, so that +the enemy should also be destroyed. It was a deed of undaunted +patriotism, and the grandest sacrifice ever made to national honor by +any people. "Who would have thought that a nation would burn its own +capital?" said Napoleon. + +The Church of our Saviour is perhaps one of the finest as it is also +the most modern cathedral in the country, its snow-white walls, +capped by five golden domes, being the most prominent object to meet +the eye as one looks at the city from the high terrace of the +Kremlin. It stands upon a natural rise of ground, a plateau +overlooking the Bridge of Moskva Rekoi, quite by itself, covering +seventy-three thousand square feet, surrounded by open grounds, which +are planted with flowering shrubs, blooming flowers, and thrifty +young trees. Begun in 1812 to commemorate the deliverance of Moscow +from the French, the edifice has but just been completed. It is in +the Græco-Byzantine style; the top of the cross upon the centre +cupola is three hundred and forty feet above the ground. The +foundation is of granite, but the entire building is faced with white +marble. The interior is gorgeously decorated with frescos from +Biblical and Russian history, and is dazzling in its vast richness of +detail. The interior of St. Isaac's at St. Petersburg has been +closely imitated in some important particulars. The entire floor is +of marble, and the walls are lined with exquisite varieties of the +same. Here on the 25th of December is annually celebrated, with great +pomp and ceremony, the retreat of the French invaders from Russian +soil. "God with us," is the motto sculptured over the grand entrance +of this magnificent temple, the aggregate cost of which was over +twelve millions of dollars. + +Lying on the east side of the Kremlin and adjoining its walls is a +section of the city also enclosed within high walls, known as the +Chinese City. It is a queer division of the metropolis, with towers +and buttresses like a fortification, called by the Russians "Kitai +Gorod." Herein assemble the thieves, pickpockets, and rogues +generally, who are to be seen throughout the day crowded together in +one of the largest squares, holding a sort of rag fair to exchange +their ill-gotten goods with one another. To the stranger they present +the aspect of a reckless mob, composed of the very dregs of the +population, and ready to engage in any overt act. Unmolested by the +police they busy themselves exchanging old boots and shoes, half-worn +clothing, stolen trifles, and various articles of domestic use, all +amid a deafening hubbub. The entire district is not however given up +to this "racket," but contains some fine shops, comfortable +dwellings, and two excellent hotels, as Russian hotels are rated. One +passes through this section in approaching the Redeemer's Gate from +the east side, but will wisely avoid all personal contact with the +doubtful denizens of Rag Fair. + +It was a source of surprise to the author to find Moscow so great a +manufacturing centre, more than fifty thousand of the population +being regularly employed in manufacturing establishments. There are +over a hundred cotton mills within the limits of the city, and +between fifty and sixty woollen mills; also thirty-three silk mills, +and a score of kindred establishments in the manufacturing line. It +appeared, however, that enterprise in this direction was confined +almost entirely to textile fabrics. The city is fast becoming the +centre of a grand railroad system, affording the means of rapid and +easy distribution for the several products of these mills, and there +is reason to anticipate their steady increase. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + Domestic Life in Moscow. -- Oriental Seclusion of Women. -- The + Foundling Hospital. -- A Christian Charity. -- A Metropolitan + Centre. -- City Museum. -- The University. -- Tea-Drinking. -- + Pleasure Gardens. -- Drosky Drivers. -- Riding-School. -- + Theatres. -- Universal Bribery. -- Love of Country. -- Russians + as Linguists. -- Sparrow Hill. -- Petrofski Park. -- Muscovite + Gypsies. -- Fast Life. -- Intemperance. -- A Famous Monastery. -- + City Highways. -- Sacred Pigeons. -- Beggars. + + +The domestic life of the people of Moscow (we speak of the +acknowledged upper class) is quite Oriental in its character. The +stranger, no matter how well he comes accredited, when he visits a +dwelling-house is hospitably entertained, as hospitality is +interpreted here; but it is by the master only. The ladies of the +household are very rarely presented to him, and are seldom seen under +any circumstances, even the opera being tolerated at Moscow half +under protest, on account of its bringing ladies into a more intimate +relation with the world at large. To the domestic caller scalding tea +is served in tumblers, with slices of lemon floating on the top; but +no other refreshments are offered. The host is courteous, he invites +you to drive with him, and seems glad to show you the monuments and +famous localities, and to give any desired information; but his +family, harem-like, are kept out of sight. Even a courteous inquiry +as to their health is received with a degree of surprise. The ladies +of Cairo and Constantinople are scarcely more secluded. This, +however, may be termed old Russian style; young Russia is improving +upon Eastern customs, and is becoming slowly more Europeanized. These +remarks apply less to St. Petersburg than to Moscow. As the Asiatic +comes more closely in contact with Europeans he assimilates with +their manners and customs, and women assume a different domestic +relationship. Thus ladies and their partially grown-up children, +accompanied by husband and friends, are not infrequently seen driving +in public at the capital; but scarcely ever is this the case at +Moscow. Indeed, we saw no instance of it here. Men were seen at the +public places of amusement, parks, tea-gardens, and the like, +accompanied by women; but they were not ladies, nor were they their +wives or daughters. + +One of the most interesting and important institutions of the city is +its remarkable Foundling Hospital, which is conducted by the +Government at an annual expense of five millions of dollars. The +royal treasury appropriates a large portion of this sum each year to +its support, besides which it is most liberally endowed by private +bequests. The building which is occupied by the hospital, or rather +the series of buildings, forms a large quadrangular group on the +north bank of the Moskva, half a mile east of the Kremlin. The length +of the frontage is fully a thousand feet, enclosing finely-kept, +spacious gardens which cover several acres of ground, divided +between pleasant paths, greensward, and shady groves. Here, on a +sunny afternoon at the close of July, the author saw between fifteen +and sixteen hundred infants paraded under the branches of the trees, +sleeping in their tiny cradles or in the sturdy arms of the +country-bred nurses, of whom there were over five hundred. These were +all wet-nurses, each hearty, well-fed peasant woman being expected to +nurse two infants. These women were all clad in snow-white cotton +gowns and muslin caps, appearing scrupulously neat and clean, the +muslin about head and face contrasting strongly with their nut-brown +complexions. Some of the little ones who seemed to thrive best by +such treatment are fed with the bottle, while careful and scientific +care is afforded to each and all alike. Besides three or four regular +attending physicians, the arrangements are presided over and the +detail carefully carried out by a corps of trained matrons, the most +thorough order, discipline, and system being observed as existing in +every department. Just within the garden gate, at the main entrance, +a bevy of thirty or forty children, rosy-cheeked, bright-eyed boys +and girls, not over six years of age, were amusing themselves in +childish games; but they came instantly to us with smiling, happy +faces, extending their little hands as a token of welcome to the +stranger. Selecting any one of these promising children, the thought +occurred how proud many a rich family would be to have such a one for +its rightful heir; and then we wondered what might be the future of +these graduating from here under the ban of a clouded parentage. It +seems that a few children are retained until about the age of these, +though the number is comparatively small. Their contented, vigorous, +healthful appearance showed how judicious and well-applied must be +the system that could produce such physical results. + +"There is no denying the fact that some of these boys have princely +blood in their veins," said our intelligent guide, pointing to a +merry group who were playing together. "Secrets are well kept in +Russia. They will be carefully watched, and their well-being +indirectly advanced. By and by they may get into the army, and be +gradually promoted if they are deserving, becoming officers by a +favor which they cannot analyze, and perhaps finally achieving a name +and filling a high station. We have many such instances in the army +and civil service,--men filling important positions, of whose birth +and early antecedents no questions are asked. Sometimes marked and +special resemblances may possibly lead to shrewd surmises, but no one +gives such thoughts the form of words." + +This institution was founded by Catherine II. in 1762, that at +St. Petersburg having been established a few years subsequent; but +the latter now equals the parent establishment both in size and in +the importance of the work which it accomplishes. The average receipt +of infants in each of these hospitals is over a thousand per month at +the present time, and perhaps eleven hundred would be even nearer +the aggregate. The hospitals are kept open night and day. No infant, +whatever its condition, is ever refused shelter, good care, and +proper nourishment. The little creatures are not left in secret, as +is the case in most similar European institutions, or by unknown +parties, but are openly received, no disguise whatever attending the +relinquishment. Probably one third of the children born in the two +great capitals of this country are illegitimate, while many who are +born of married parents are also brought here because of the +inability of their natural protectors properly to provide for them. +It is this last feature which leavens the whole system in the eyes of +the million; that is to say, because a mother is seen giving up her +child here it does not follow that it is illegitimate. But be the +individual circumstances what they may, the Government cheerfully +takes charge of all the infants that are offered. The only question +which is asked of those resigning their offspring is whether it has +been baptized by a priest, and what name is desired to be given to +it. The little one is then registered upon the books of the +establishment, and a metallic number placed about its neck, never to +be removed until it finally leaves the charge of the institution. As +soon as the children become a month or six weeks old and are +considered to be in perfect health, they are given in charge of +country people who have infants of their own. These peasants are paid +a regular weekly stipend for the support of the little strangers, +rendering an account monthly of their charge, which must also be +exhibited in person. All are under the supervision of a visiting +committee, or bureau of matrons, having no other occupation, and who +must regularly weigh the children and enter their progress or +otherwise upon the books of the hospital, an account being opened for +each infant received. One would think that among such large numbers +as are accommodated monthly confusion would ensue; but so perfect is +the system of accounts, that any child can be promptly traced and its +present and past antecedents made known upon reasonable application. +A mother, by proving her relationship and producing the receipt given +to her for her child, can at any time up to ten years of age reclaim +it, first proving her ability properly to support and care for her +offspring. If a child is not reclaimed by its parents at ten or +twelve years of age, it is apprenticed to some useful occupation or +trade, and in the mean time has been regularly sent to school. The +neatness, system, and general excellence observed at these Foundling +Hospitals is worthy of emulation everywhere, and the whole plan +seemed to us to be a great Christian charity, though no sensible +person can be blind to the fact that there are two sides to so +important a conclusion. There are many political economists who hold +that such a system encourages illegitimacy and vice. A late writer +upon the subject, whose means of observation may have been much more +extended than those of the author of these pages, has spoken so +decidedly that it is but proper to present his convictions in this +connection. He says: "Unfortunately this famous refuge [the +establishment in Moscow] has corrupted all the villages round the +city. Peasant girls who have forgotten to get married send their +babies to the institution, and then offer themselves in person as +wet-nurses. Having tattooed their offspring, each mother contrives to +find her own, and takes charge of it by a private arrangement with +the nurse to whom it has been officially assigned. As babies are much +alike, the authorities cannot detect these interchanges, and do not +attempt to do so. In due time the mother returns to her village with +her own baby, whose board will be well paid for by the State at the +rate of eight shillings per month; and perhaps next year and the year +after she will begin the same game over again." + +We were informed that a large proportion of the boys who survive +become farm-laborers, and that many of the girls are trained to be +hospital nurses; others are apprenticed to factory work. If any of +the latter become married at or before the age of eighteen, the State +furnishes them with a modest trousseau. Up to the period of eighteen +years, both sexes are considered to be "on the books of the +institution," as it is termed, and to be amenable to its direction. +When the young men arrive at this age, they are furnished with a good +serviceable working-suit of clothes, and also a better suit for +holiday wear, together with thirty roubles in money. These gratuities +serve as a premium upon good behavior and obedience to authority. One +sad feature of the system was admitted by the officials, and that is +the large percentage of the mortality which seems inevitable among +the infants. Notwithstanding every effort to reduce the aggregate of +deaths, still it is estimated as high as seventy per cent; or in +other words, not more than thirty out of each hundred admitted to the +Foundling Hospitals live to the age of twenty-one years. This heavy +loss of life is traceable in a large degree to hereditary disease, +not to the want of suitable treatment after the children come into +the charge of the institution. + +Moscow is isolated in a degree, having no populous neighborhood or +suburb. The forest and the plain creep up to its very walls; outlying +villages and increasing population generally announce the approach to +large cities; but both St. Petersburg and Moscow are peculiar in this +respect. This city, however, as we have before remarked, is gradually +becoming the centre of a great net-work of railways, like Chicago; +and therefore the characteristic referred to must gradually +disappear. It is built like Rome upon seven hills, and is the +culminating point of Russian as that capital is of Italian history. +While St. Petersburg is European, and annually growing to be more so, +Moscow is and must continue to be Asiatic. As one gazes about him, +the grandeur, sadness, and vicissitudes of its past, not exceeded by +that of any other capital in the world, crowd upon the memory. In +portions the confusion evinced in its composition of squares, +streets, avenues, and narrow lanes is almost ludicrous and quite +bewildering. There are no long uniform lines of architecture, like +those of the capital on the Neva. Miserable hovels, dirty +court-yards, and vile-smelling stables break the lines everywhere +after one leaves the principal thoroughfares, and not infrequently +even upon them. The barbarous as well as the semi-civilized aspect is +ever present. Mosque, temple, triumphal-arch, cabins, campaniles, +convents, and churches mingle heterogeneously together, as though +they had dropped down indiscriminately upon the banks of the Moskva +without selection of site. After the great conflagration of 1812 the +object must have been to build, and to do so quickly. This was +evidently done without any properly concerted plan, since there is +not a straight street in all Moscow. Around the barriers of the city +however there extends a boulevard, which occupies the site of the old +line of fortifications; which is decked with grassy slopes, limes, +maples, and elms, forming an attractive drive. + +The Moscow Museum is a modern establishment, but is rapidly growing +in importance. Here one can study comprehensively the progress of art +and science in Russia during the past century, the chronological +arrangement being excellent, and copied after the system inaugurated +for a similar purpose at Copenhagen. The Museum occupies a fine +building near the new Cathedral of Our Saviour, formerly the palatial +residence of the Pashkof family. Its library already exceeds two +hundred thousand bound volumes, and is especially rich in rare and +ancient manuscripts. The excellent and scientific arrangement of +this entire establishment was a source of agreeable surprise. The +fine-arts department presents some choice paintings and admirable +statuary, both ancient and modern; while the zoölogical collection +contains much of interest. The favorite seat of learning is the +Moscow University, founded by the Empress Elizabeth, daughter of +Peter the Great, in 1755; its four principal faculties being those of +History, Physics, Jurisprudence, and Medicine. It is a State +institution, under the immediate control of the Minister of Public +Instruction. At this writing, the University has some two thousand +students. The terms of admission, as regards cost to the pupils, are +merely nominal, the advantages being open to all youth above +seventeen, who can pass a satisfactory examination. Here also is +another large and valuable library open to the public, aggregating +over two hundred thousand bound volumes. This liberal multiplication +of educational advantages in the very heart of Oriental Russia is an +evidence of gradual progress, which tells its own story. + +It seemed especially odd that a people who drink so profusely of +fermented liquors, should also drink so much tea. It may be doubted +if even the Japanese exceed them in the consumption of this beverage, +and it is certain that the latter people use more tea in proportion +to the number of inhabitants than do the Chinese. At Moscow +tea-drinking is carried to the extreme. The _traktirs_, or +tea-houses, can be found on every street, and are crowded day and +evening by people who in summer sit and perspire over the steaming +decoction, while they talk and chatter like monkeys. The stranger +drops in to see native life, manners, and customs, while he sips +scalding tea like the rest, and listens to the music of the large +organ which generally forms a part of the furniture, and which when +wound up will discourse a score or more of popular waltzes, airs, and +mazurkas. These remarkable musical instruments are manufactured +especially for this region, and frequently cost, as we were told, a +thousand pounds sterling each. The habitués are from all classes of +the populace, soldiers, civilians, priests, and peasants,--these +last, slow, slouching, and shabby, with no coverings to their heads, +except such an abundant growth of coarse sun-bleached hair as to +suggest a weather-beaten hay-stack, "redundant locks, robustious to +no purpose." These peasants, mechanics, and common laborers, though +they drink tumbler after tumbler of nearly boiling hot tea, are only +too apt to wind up their idle occupation by getting disgracefully +tipsy on that fiery liquor corn-brandy, as colorless as water, but as +pungent as _aqua-fortis_. To the tea-gardens in the immediate +environs both sexes resort, and here one sees a very pleasant phase +of Russian life,--tea-drinking _en famille_ among the middle classes. +The article itself is of a superior quality, much more delicate in +flavor than that which is used in England or America; but it is never +made so strong as we are accustomed to take it. Happy family groups +may be seen gathered about the burnished urns in retired nooks, and +even love-episodes are now and then to be witnessed, occurring over +the steaming beverage. These gardens are decorated in the summer +evenings with the gayest of colored paper lanterns,--the flickering, +airy lamps festooned among the tall trees and the low shrubbery, as +they sway hither and thither, resembling clouds of huge fire-flies, +floating at evening over a tropical plantation. There are also +exhibitions nightly of fancy fire-works, minor theatricals, and comic +song-singing. Tramways lead from the centre of the town to these +popular resorts, or a drosky will take one thither at a mere trifling +charge. The drosky drivers of Moscow appear to be one degree more +stupid than those of St. Petersburg, impossible as that may seem. +Like the cocher of Paris they all expect and ask for a _pourboire_. +In the capital on the Neva the driver suggests "Na tchai" (tea), as +you hand him his fare,--that is, he desires a few pennies to procure +a drink of tea; but in Moscow the driver says more honestly, "Na +vodka" (brandy). And yet there are many who are satisfied with the +milder decoction, and will sit and sip it as long as any one will pay +for it,--recalling the jinrikisha men of Yokohama, who seemed to have +no desire for any stimulant but boiling hot tea, and plenty of it. +The drosky drivers of Moscow dress all alike, and precisely like +their brethren in the capital, in long blue padded pelisses, summer +and winter, with a low bell-crowned hat, from beneath which +protrudes an abundance of carrot-colored hair, of the consistency of +dried meadow-grass. + +It will interest the traveller to visit briefly the great National +Riding-School of Moscow, a building embracing an area of five hundred +and sixty feet long by one hundred and fifty-eight feet wide. It is +covered with what appears to be a flat roof, but is without +supporting pillars of any sort on the inside. A full regiment of +cavalry can be exercised here with perfect convenience. This was the +largest building in the world unsupported by prop of any kind, until +the St. Pancras railway station was built in London. The interior is +ornamented with bas-reliefs of men in armor and with ancient +trophies. By ascending a winding staircase one can see the net-work +of massive beams which sustain the roof, a perfect forest of stays +and rafters. In a climate such as prevails here at least two thirds +of the year, it is impossible to manoeuvre troops in the open air +with any degree of comfort, not to say safety; hence this structure +was raised and supplied with huge stoves to afford the means of +exercising the troops even in mid-winter. + +Moscow has four theatres, two only of which are worthy of the +traveller's notice. These are the Botshoi and the Italian Opera, +where only entertainments of a high order of merit are permitted to +be given. In many of the gay cafés young girls of free manners and +lax morals dance in national costumes, among whom one easily +recognizes those coming from Circassia, Poland, Lithuania, and the +country of the Cossacks. In their dances and grouping they present +scenes that do not lack for picturesqueness of effect. Most of the +melodies one hears at these places are quaint and of local origin, +quite new to the ear; though now and again a familiar strain will +occur, indicating from whence Chopin and others have borrowed. Some +of the performers were so strikingly handsome as to show that their +personal charms had been the fatal cause which had brought them into +so exposed a connection as these public resorts of evil repute. The +Bohemian or gypsy girls were the most attractive,--poor creatures +coming from no one knows where, wanderers from their birth, and with +lives ever enveloped in mystery. One could not but recall the Latin +Quarter of Paris and the gay, dissipated night-resorts of London and +Vienna. None of the European capitals are without these dark spots +upon the escutcheon of civilization. + +The author's observation in Cuba and continental Spain had led him to +believe the dishonesty of Spanish officials to be quite unequalled; +but the Russians far exceed the Spaniards in the matter of venality. +The last war between Russia and Turkey brought to light official +fraud and briberies, connected especially with the commissary +department of the army, which disgraced the whole nation in the eyes +of the world. Experiences of so outrageous and startling a character +were related to us, illustrative of these facts, as to almost +challenge belief, had they not been sustained by reliable authority. +So extensive and universal is the system of bribery in Russia, that +the question of right in ordinary matters, even when brought before +the courts for decision, scarcely enters into the consideration. It +is first and last purely a question of roubles. Counterfeit justice +is as plentifully disbursed as counterfeit money, and that does much +abound. To prove that this system of official bribery is no new thing +here, and that it is perfectly well known at headquarters, we have +only to relate a well-authenticated anecdote. A chief officer of +police, who was one day dashing along the Nevsky Prospect in a +handsome drosky drawn by a fine pair of horses, was met by the +Emperor Nicholas. His Majesty by a sign stopped the officer, and +inquired of him what salary he received from the government treasury. +"Two thousand roubles, your Majesty," was the reply. Whereupon the +Tzar asked how he contrived to own and keep such a smart equipage +upon that sum. "By presents, your Majesty, that I receive from the +people of my district," was the frank rejoinder. The Emperor laughed +at so straightforward an answer, adding: "I believe that I live in +your quarter, and have neglected sending you my present," at the same +time handing him his purse. The existence of a system of bribery +among the officials of the various departments was only too well +known to the Tzar; but such plain speaking was a novelty. + +A love, not to say pride, of country seems to be universal among the +people at large, in spite of all that may be said or inferred to the +contrary. No matter how poor the land may seem to the stranger, to +the native-born it is beautiful, or at all events it is well +beloved; no disparagement will be permitted for a moment. It was +amusing to observe the local rivalry existing between the citizens of +Moscow and St. Petersburg. The latter are regarded by the former as +parvenus, lacking the odor of sanctity that adheres to the citizens +of "holy Moscow." The more ancient metropolis has ever had a quasi +official recognition as the capital, though it is not so politically. +It will be remembered that in 1724, but a few months before his +death, even Peter the Great celebrated the coronation of his wife +Catherine at Moscow, not at St. Petersburg; and to this day it has +been the crowning place of all his successors. So far as the hearts +of the people are concerned, Moscow is their capital. + +We often hear surprise expressed that Russians who visit other +countries are generally such accomplished linguists; but this is very +easily accounted for when we remember that in every noble or wealthy +family of St. Petersburg or Moscow there is a German nurse for the +young children, an English governess for the young ladies, and a +French tutor for them all. Emulating those of more pretension and +wealth, the same custom extends to the class of successful merchants' +families; so that the average Russian grows up speaking two or three +languages besides his native tongue. Life is much less cosmopolitan +here than in St. Petersburg. Few emigrants from the far East stop in +Moscow; they press on to the more European, and commercial city, +where Tartars from Kazan, Adighes from the Caucasus, Swedes and +Norwegians from Scandinavia, Finlanders from the North, and Germans +from the South mingle together. In polite society French is the +language of St. Petersburg, while German is much in use among the +mercantile community; but in Moscow it is the native tongue which +prevails, as well as Oriental manners and customs. + +A drive of about three miles from the city over a wretchedly kept +road, where the ruts are positively terrible, brings one to Sparrow +Hill, the point from whence Napoleon first looked upon the devoted +city. "There is the famous city at last, and it is high time," said +Napoleon. He had left the battlefield of Borodino covered with +corpses forty miles behind. But what cared the ravaging warrior for +the eighty thousand lives there sacrificed? It was this terrible +encounter which caused him to say emphatically, "One more such +victory would be utter ruin!" From this elevation the invading host +pressed forward and entered the Muscovite capital, to find the +streets deserted, the public buildings stripped of all valuables, +and the national archives removed. There were no officials with +whom to treat; it was like a city of the dead. This unnatural +solitude gave birth to gloomy forebodings in the hearts of the +invaders,--forebodings which were more than justified by the final +result of that wholly unwarranted campaign. Soon at various points +the conflagration of the city began. If subdued here and there by the +French it broke out elsewhere, and at last became uncontrollable. +Napoleon entered Moscow on the fifteenth of September and left it in +ashes on the nineteenth of October, when there began a retreat which +was undoubtedly one of the greatest tragedies of modern times. Half +a million men in the flower of their youth had in a brief six months +been sacrificed to the mad ambition of one individual. + +At Sparrow Hill are many cafés where the native population come to +drink tea, and where foreigners partake of cheap, flat Moscow beer +and other simple refreshments. From here a notable view is to be +enjoyed, embracing the ancient capital in the distance; and it is +this charming picture which most attracts strangers to the spot. The +broad river forms the foreground, flowing through fertile meadows and +highly cultivated fields. When we saw it vegetation was at its prime, +a soft bright green carpeting the banks of the Moskva, while the +plain was wooded with thriving groves up to the convent walls and +outlying buildings of the town. Just back of the tea-houses, crowning +the hill, is an ancient birch forest which was planted by Peter the +Great, the practical old man having occupied many days in +consummating this purpose, during which he worked laboriously among +his people, setting out and arranging the birches. The local guides +never fail to take all travellers who visit the Muscovite city to +Sparrow Hill, where it is quite the thing to drink a tumbler of +steaming hot Russian tea, with the universal slice of lemon floating +thereon. This tasteless decoction has not even the virtue of +strength, but is merely hot water barely colored with an infusion of +leaves. However, as it is quite the thing to do, one swallows the +mixture heroically. A more pleasant drive of about four or five miles +from the centre of the city, over a far better road than that which +leads to Sparrow Hill, will take the stranger to a most delightful +place of resort known as the Petrofski Park, ornamented with noble +old elms in great variety, flower-beds, blooming shrubbery, +fountains, and delightfully smooth roads. The lime, the elm, the +sycamore, and the oak all flourish here, mingled with which were some +tall specimens of the pine and birch. The place is the very +embodiment of sylvan beauty, and has been devoted to its present +purpose for a century and more, having first been laid out in 1775. +Within these grounds is the interesting old Palace of Petrofski, a +Gothic structure which, though seldom inhabited, is kept always +prepared for noble guests by a corps of retainers belonging to the +Government. It is frequently the resort of the Emperor when he comes +to Moscow, and always the place from whence a new emperor proceeds to +the Kremlin to be officially crowned. It was to this palace that +Napoleon fled from his quarters in the city when Moscow was being +destroyed by the flames. The _cafés chantants_ are many, within the +precincts of the Park,--gay resorts of dissipation, whither the +people come ostensibly to drink tea, but really to consume beer, +wine, and corn-brandy, as well as to assist at the oftentimes very +coarse entertainments which are here presented, characterized by the +most reckless sort of can-can dancing and bacchanalian songs. Bands +of music perform in different parts of the extensive grounds, and +gaudily-dressed gypsy girls sing and dance after their peculiar and +fantastic style. One detects fine vocal ability now and then +exhibited by these wayward creatures, which by patient culture might +be developed into great excellence. The singing of these girls is +quite unlike such performances generally,--not particularly +harmonious, but bearing the impress of wild feeling and passionate +emotion. Many of the performers are of a marked and weird style of +beauty, and such are pretty sure to wear jewelry of an intrinsic +value far beyond the reach of honest industry,--which forms a glaring +tell-tale of their immodesty. + +The gypsy race of Russia, to whom these itinerants belong, are of the +same Asiatic origin as those met with in southern Europe; no country +has power to change their nature, no association can refine them. +They will not try to live by honest labor; everywhere they are +acknowledged outcasts, and it is their nature to grovel like animals. +The cunning instinct of theft is born in them; adroitness in stealing +they consider to be a commendable accomplishment,--parents teach it +to their children. They are wanderers wherever found, begging at one +country-house and stealing at the next; in summer sleeping on the +grass, in winter digging holes and burrowing in the ground. They are +called in central Russia "Tsiganie," and they group together in +largest numbers in and about the Eastern Steppe, just as those of +Spain do at Grenada and near to the Alhambra. All kindly efforts of +the Russian government to civilize these land-rovers has utterly +failed; not infrequently it becomes necessary to invade their +quarters, and to visit condign punishment upon the tribe by sabre and +bullet, to keep them within reasonable bounds. Quite a colony of +gypsies inhabit a certain portion of Moscow, having adopted the local +dress, and also conformed ostensibly to the conventionalities about +them; but they never in reality amalgamate with other races,--they +are far more clannish than the Jews. Both the men and women ply +trades which will not bear investigation or the light of day. The +former make an open business of horse-trading, and the latter of +public-dancing, singing, and fortune-telling. Belonging to this +community is a small body of singers who practise together, and who +are employed at all public festivals in the city,--which would, +indeed, be considered quite incomplete without them. This choir +consists of six or eight female voices and four male, capable of +affording a very original if not quite harmonious performance. + +As regards the Petrofski Park, the truth is it is a famous resort for +reckless pleasure-seekers, and largely made up of the demi-monde, +where scenes anything but decorous are presented to the eyes of +strangers during the afternoons and the long summer twilight. But +those who wish to see and study "life," fast life, have only to visit +the Châteaux des Fleurs, or Marina-Rostcha, which are also in the +environs of the town. As in Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, the police, +who cannot suppress these resorts, strive to control them so far that +they shall not outrage openly the conventionalities of society. Human +nature is much the same all over the world, though its coarsest +features are more obtruded upon observation in some lands than in +others. In extensive travel and experience, the author has learned +that it is not always in semi-barbarous countries that grossness and +indecency will be found most to prevail. It must be admitted that +there are temples of vice in Moscow which for ingenuity of +temptation, and lavish and gilded display, are not equalled elsewhere +in Europe. + +Under the shadow of the spacious and lofty tower which forms a +reservoir for the distribution of water for the domestic use of the +citizens, there is held in the open square each Sabbath day what is +called "The Market," but which might better be designated a weekly +fair, a sort of Nijni-Novgorod upon a small scale. Here Jew and +Gentile, Asiatic and European, exchange their goods or sell to the +citizens. There are confectioners, jewellers, clothiers, hard-ware +merchants, dried-fruit venders, fancy-dry-good dealers, tea-booths, +tin and earthenware tables,--in short, every domestic article that +can be named is here offered for sale. The crowd is great, the Babel +of voices deafening, the hustling incessant, occasional quarrels +being inevitable. Now one meets a group of courteous, well-dressed +people, now an itinerant in rags, now a bevy of boisterous girls and +boys, now a long-haired and bearded priest; some are sober, many are +drunk. Alas! Sunday is here a day of drunkenness. Speaking plainly +upon this subject, there are more intoxicated persons to be seen in +the streets of Moscow on the Sabbath than the author has ever +encountered upon any day of the week in any other capital. At this +Sunday-fair articles are offered at popular prices, presumed to be +much lower than is charged by regular merchants who have rent to pay +and large establishments to keep up. Upon this conviction the poorer +classes especially throng hither to purchase such articles as they +require, making the scene one of great activity and general interest. +The tall tower of the water-supply was not originally intended for +the use to which it has at last been appropriated. It was first +erected by the Tzar Peter to mark the northeastern gate of the town, +which was held by one faithful regiment when the rest revolted. This +same regiment escorted him and his mother for safety to the Troitzkoi +Monastery, situated thirty miles from the city, and which is +considered to-day as the holy of holies so far as monasteries are +concerned in Russia. Hither the Empress Catherine II. made the +pilgrimage on foot to fulfil some conditional vow, accompanied by all +her court, only advancing, however, five miles each day, and not +forgetting to have every possible luxury conveyed in her train +wherewith to refresh herself. It will be remembered that Napoleon in +his usual rashness had planned to destroy this monastery, and had +issued orders to that effect, just as he had done in the instance of +St. Basil already referred to; but he was defeated in his purpose by +the haste with which the demoralized army retreated from the country. + +The Troitzkoi is not merely a monastery, it is also a semi-fortress, +a palace, and a town containing eight churches, a bazaar, a hospital, +and many stately residences, altogether forming a confused though +picturesque group of towers, spires, belfries, and domes. It is +dominated by a famous bell-tower two hundred and fifty feet high, +containing one of the finest chimes of bells in all Russia, +thirty-five in number. In the Church of the Trinity is the shrine of +Saint Sergius, an elaborate piece of work of solid silver, weighing +nearly a thousand pounds; it is so constructed that the relics of the +saint are exposed. The whole of the monastery grounds are enclosed in +a high wall twenty feet in thickness, with heavy octagon towers +guarding the four principal corners. A deep moat surrounds the wall, +and against the attack of a hostile force in former times it was +thought to be remarkably protected, and is undoubtedly the strongest +fortified monastery in the East. The large prison within the walls +has been the scene of as great cruelty during the last two centuries +as any similar establishment in Europe or Asia. The name Troitzkoi +signifies the Trinity. The treasury of this monastery is famous among +all who are specially interested in such matters for its priceless +robes and jewels, to say nothing in detail of the aggregated value of +its gold and silver plate. It is asserted that there are more and +richer pearls collected here than are contained in all the other +treasuries in Europe combined. Among other precious gems there are +several mitres which contain rubies worth fifty thousand roubles +each, being set with other jewels of appropriate richness. The +Troitzkoi was pillaged by the Tartars about 1403, and was besieged by +the Poles in 1608, at which time the walls were seriously injured; +but all is now restored to its original strength and completeness. +This ancient monastery stands at the opening of the valley of the +Kliasma, a region fruitful with the smouldering ruins of by-gone +cities so much older than Moscow that their names even are forgotten. +The country between the stream just named and the Volga was the grand +centre of early Tartar history. As in the environs of Delhi, India, +where city after city has risen and crumbled into dust, so here large +capitals have mouldered away leaving no recorded story, and only +enforcing the sad moral of mutability. + +The idea of comfortable road-beds for the passage of vehicles and +good foot-ways does not seem to have entered the minds of the people +of Moscow. The cobble-stone pavements are universal, both in the +middle of the streets and on that portion designed for pedestrians. +These stones, without any uniformity of size, are miserably laid in +the first place, added to which they are thrown out of level by the +severity of the annual frosts, so that it is a punishment to walk or +to drive upon them. The natives are perhaps accustomed to this +needless discomfort, and do not heed it; but it is a severe tax upon +the endurance of strangers who remember the smooth roadways of Paris, +Boston, and New York. A few short reaches of the square granite-stone +pavements were observed, probably laid down as an experiment; but +great was the relief experienced when the drosky rolled upon them +after a struggle with the cobble-stone style of pavement. Many +otherwise fine streets both here and in St. Petersburg are rendered +nearly impassable by wretched paving. + +One is struck by the multitude of pigeons in and about the city. They +are held in great reverence by the common people, and no Russian will +harm them. Indeed, they are as sacred here as monkeys in Benares or +doves in Venice, being considered emblems of the Holy Ghost, and +under protection of the Church. They wheel about in large blue flocks +through the air so dense as to cast shadows, like swift-moving clouds +between the sun and the earth, alighting fearlessly where they +choose, to share the beggar's crumbs or the bounty of the affluent. +It is a notable fact that this domestic bird was also considered +sacred by the old Scandinavians, who believed that for a certain +period after death the soul of the deceased under such form was +accustomed to come to eat and drink with as well as to watch the +behavior of the mourners. Beggary is sadly prevalent in the streets +of the Muscovite capital,--the number of maimed and wretched-looking +human beings forcibly recalling the same class in Spanish and Italian +cities. This condition of poverty was the more remarkable when +contrasted with its absence in St. Petersburg, where a person seen +soliciting alms upon the streets or in tattered garments is very +rare. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + Nijni-Novgorod. -- Hot Weather. -- The River Volga. -- Hundreds + of Steamers. -- Great Annual Fair. -- Peculiar Character of the + Trade. -- Motley Collection of Humanity. -- An Army of Beggars. + -- Rare and Precious Stones. -- The Famous Brick Tea. -- A Costly + Beverage. -- Sanitary Measures. -- Disgraceful Dance Halls. -- + Fatal Beauty. -- A Sad History. -- Light-Fingered Gentry. -- + Convicts. -- Facts About Siberia. -- Local Customs. -- Russian + Punishment. + + +A journey of about three hundred miles (or as the Russians state it, +four hundred and ten versts) in a northeasterly direction from +Moscow, by way of the historic town of Vladimir, famous for its +battles with the Tartars, brings us to Nijni-Novgorod,--that is, +Lower Novgorod, being so called to distinguish it from the famous +place of the same name located on the Volkhov, and known as Novgorod +the Great. It is older than Moscow, antedating it a century or more, +and is the capital of a province bearing the same name. The residence +of the governor of the district, the courts of law, and the citadel +are within the Kremlin, where there is also a fine monument in the +form of an obelisk eighty feet high, erected to the memory of Mininn +and Pojarski, the two patriots who liberated their country from the +Poles in 1612. This Kremlin, like that at Moscow, is situated on an +elevation overlooking the town and the broad valley of the Volga. +The site of the upper town, as the older portion of the place +situated about the Kremlin is called, is quite remarkable, being a +sort of overhanging bluff, commanding a level view as far as the eye +can reach over an undulating country, through which winds the noblest +river of Russia. The climate here is subject to great extremes of +heat and cold,--the mercury freezing, it is said, in winter, and +sometimes bursting in the heat of the summer sun. As we stood upon +this bluff enjoying the comprehensive view, the heat of the mid-day +hour and the power of the sun were quite tropical. Indeed, without +the partial shelter of an umbrella it would have been as insufferable +as mid-day exposure in Ceylon or Singapore. All animal life, so far +as possible, sought the shade; and the fine black horses attached to +the vehicle which had transported us from the plain below, though +driven at a quiet pace, were flecked with foam and panted with +distended nostrils. The thermometer on the shady side of the +governor's palace close at hand indicated 89° Fahrenheit. To the +great extremes of overpowering cold and enervating heat some of the +apparent incongruities of the native character may doubtless be +attributed. For more than half the year the people are as it were +hermetically sealed up by the frost, and in the brief but intense +heat of the summer they are rendered inert and slothful by the effect +of tropical heat. + +We were told that there was here six hundred years ago a very large +city, but that to-day the place cannot boast over forty-five +thousand fixed population. Thus the story of faded grandeur is +written all over the plains of northern Europe and Asia. By ascending +what is called Mininn's Tower, one of the finest panoramic views is +obtained which can well be conceived of. A vast alluvial plain is +spread out before the eye covered with fertile fields and thrifty +woods, through which from northwest to southeast flows the Volga like +a silver thread upon a verdant ground, extending from horizon to +horizon. On this river, which is the main artery of central Russia, +are seen scores of swift-moving steamers bound to Saratoff, +Astrakhan, and the Caspian Sea, fourteen hundred miles away, while a +forest of shipping is gathered about the shore of the lower town and +covering the Oka River, which here joins the Volga. From this outlook +the author counted over two hundred steamboats in sight at the same +time,--all side-wheelers and clipper-built, drawn hither by the +exigencies of the local trade contingent upon the period of the great +annual fair. The first of these steamers was built in the United +States and transported at great trouble and expense to these Russian +waters, and has served as the model of the hundreds now employed on +the river. The flat-boats which the steamers had towed from various +distant points, having been unloaded, were anchored in a shallow bend +of the river, where they covered an area fully a mile square. On many +of these boats entire families lived, it being their only home; and +wherever freight was to be transported thither they went: whether it +was towards the Ural Mountains or the Caspian Sea, it was all the +same to them. + +The Volga has a course of over twenty-four hundred, and the Oka of +eight hundred and fifty miles. As the Missouri and Mississippi rivers +have together made St. Louis, so these Russian rivers have made +Nijni. This great mart lies at the very centre of the water +communication which joins the Caspian and the Black seas to the +Baltic and White seas, besides which it has direct railroad +connection with Moscow and thence with the entire east of Europe. The +Volga and its tributaries pour into its lap the wealth of the Ural +Mountains and that of the vast region of Siberia and Central Asia. It +thus becomes very apparent why and how this ancient city of +Nijni-Novgorod is the point of business contact between European +industry and Asiatic wealth. + +The attraction which draws the traveller so far into the centre of +European Russia, lies in the novelty of the great annual fair held at +Nijni for a period of about eight weeks, and which gathers for the +time being some two hundred thousand people,--traders and +spectators,--who come from the most distant provinces and countries, +as well as from the region round about. A smaller and briefer fair is +held upon the ice of the rivers Volga and Oka in January, but is +comparatively of little account; it is called a horse-fair, being +chiefly devoted to trade in that animal. The merchandise accumulated +and offered for sale at the grand fair in August and September is +gathered principally from the two richest quarters of the globe. It +is of limitless variety, and in quality varying from the finest to +the coarsest. As an example of this, jewelry was observed of such +texture and fashion as would have graced a store on the Rue de la +Paix, offered for sale close beside the cheapest ornaments of tinsel +manufactured by the bushel-basketful at Birmingham and Manchester. +Choice old silver-ware was exposed side by side with iron saucepans, +tin-dippers, and cheap crockery utensils,--variety and incongruity, +gold and Brummagem everywhere in juxtaposition. There is an abundance +of iron and copper from the Urals, dried fish in tall piles from the +Caspian Sea, tea from China, cotton from India, silks and rugs from +Persia, heavy furs and sables from Siberia, wool in the raw state +from Cashmere, together with the varied products of the +trans-Caucasian provinces, even including wild horses in droves. +Fancy-goods from England as well as from Paris and Vienna, toys from +Nuremberg, ornaments of jade and lapis-lazuli from Kashgar, precious +stones from Ceylon, and gems from pearl-producing Penang. Variety, +indeed! Then what a conglomerate of odors permeated everything, +dominated by the all-pervading musk, boiled cabbage, coffee, tea, and +tanned leather! Everything seemed to loom up through an Oriental +haze, a mirage of fabulous merchandise. In the midst of the booths +and lanes there rose the tall, pointed spire of a mosque, which we +were told was the most northerly Mahometan temple extant. If any +business purpose actuates the visitor, let him keep his wits about +him, and above all remain cool; for it will require an effort not to +be confused by the ceaseless buzzing of this hive of human beings. +Sharpers are not wanting, but are here in force to take advantage of +every opportunity that offers. Many who come hither thrive solely by +dishonesty. It is a sort of thieves' paradise,--and Asiatic thieves +are by far the most expert operators known in either hemisphere. Most +of them are itinerants, having no booth, table, or fixed location, +but yet carrying conspicuously about them evidences of some special +line of trade, and evincing a desire to sell at remarkably low +prices,--all of which is a specious disguise under which to prosecute +their dishonest purposes. + +The period of great differences in prices in localities wide apart +has, generally speaking, passed away, and everywhere the true value +of things is known. Circumstances may favor sellers and buyers by +turns, but intrinsic values are nearly fixed all over the world. +Nothing is especially cheap at this great Russo-Asiatic fair except +such articles as no one cares to purchase, though occasionally a +dealer who is particularly anxious to realize cash will make a +special sacrifice in the price demanded. The Tartar merchant from the +central provinces of Asia knows the true value of his goods, though +in exchange he pays large prices for Parisian and English luxuries. +Gems so abundant here can only be bought at a just approximation to +their value in the markets of the world; and unless one is willing to +encounter the risk of being grossly deceived in quality, and to lose +much time in bargaining, they had far better be purchased elsewhere. +All the tricks of trade are known and resorted to at such a +gathering. The merchant begins by demanding a price ridiculously +above the amount for which he is willing eventually to sell,--a true +and never wanting characteristic of Oriental trade. No dealer has a +fixed price at Nijni. The Asiatic enjoys dickering; it is to him the +life of his occupation, and adds zest if not profit to his business +transactions, and by long practice he acquires great adroitness in +its exercise. + +The principal attraction to the traveller, far above that of any +articles which form the varied collection of goods displayed for +sale, is to observe the remarkable distinction of races and +nationalities that are here mingled together. Tartars, Persians, +Cossacks, Poles, Egyptians, Finns, Georgians, with many others, crowd +and jostle one another upon the narrow lanes and streets. Many of +these are in neat national costumes. We recall as we write a group of +Greeks in their picturesque attire, who formed a theatrical picture +by themselves; while others were in such a mass of filthy rags as to +cause one to step aside to avoid personal contact and its possible +consequences. Though familiar with the Spanish and Italian cities +where they much abound, the author has never before seen so many +beggars--professional beggars--congregated together. The variety of +features, of physical development, of dress, manners, customs, and +languages was infinite. It would be impossible to convey an idea of +the ceaseless Babel of noise which prevailed,--the cries designating +certain goods, the bartering going on all about one in shrill +voices, laughter mingled with sportive exclamations, and frequent +trivial disputes which filled the air. But there was no actual +quarrelling,--the Russian police are too vigilant, too much feared, +too summary for that; open violence is instantly suppressed, and woe +betide the culprit! Such is this unique fair, which presents one of +the rude and ancient forms of trade that is rapidly disappearing by +the introduction of railroads. The glory of Nijni-Novgorod is, we +suspect, already beginning to wane; but it would seem that the fair +still represents all the gayest features of the olden time, having +been held here annually since 1366, tradition pointing to even an +earlier date. + +The site of the fair-grounds is triangular in shape, and lies between +the two rivers Volga and Oka, forming yearly a large and populous +temporary town, with numerous streets of booths, restaurants, small +shops, bazaars, tents, and even minor theatres, while the wharves of +the rivers are crowded with bales of rags, grain, hides, skins, casks +of wine, madder, and cotton. The aggregate value of the goods +disposed of at these yearly gatherings of traders is enormous, being +estimated as high as eighty millions of dollars! Centuries since, the +two extremes of western Europe and China used also to meet at Kazan +to exchange merchandise; but long ago this trade was transferred to +Nijni, which is now the only notable gathering-place of the sort in +Russia. We were told that the united length of the streets, lanes, +and alleys of the fair often reached a distance of thirty miles, and +this seemed to be rather an under than an over estimate. Some idea +may be formed of the great distances which traders pass over to meet +here, from the fact that there were seen Bucharians from the borders +of China as well as merchants from the north part of the Celestial +Empire. The former brought with them, in connection with other goods, +precious stones for sale. Some choice turquoises were observed in +their possession, such as one can purchase nowhere else in first +hands. Speaking of gems, there were also fine specimens of the native +product offered by those who dealt in jewelry,--among them some very +fine Alexandrites, a comparatively modern discovery from the Ural +mines, which were named after the Emperor Alexander I. The +Alexandrite is opaline, being dark green by daylight and ruby red by +artificial light at night, though strong artificial light will bring +out its peculiar properties at any time. In hardness it seems to be +of about the same texture as the emerald, and when a clear, flawless +specimen is obtained, it is valued almost as highly as that rare and +beautiful gem. The story told about the Alexandrite, and which we are +inclined to believe is true, is that only one "pocket," as it is +technically designated, was ever discovered, and that has long since +been exhausted, all subsequent search having utterly failed to +produce a single specimen. At first the value of this remarkable +stone was not realized, and it remained neglected upon the spot where +it was found, until a European geologist chanced to see and explain +its gem-like qualities, after which it became much sought for and +properly valued. Very few are to be found for sale in Europe, and +fewer in America. The author saw one of these stones at St. +Petersburg which was exquisitely cut and clear as a crystal, though +green in color, for which the sum of three thousand roubles was +demanded. As it weighed fifteen carats, this was at about the rate of +one hundred dollars per carat. At Nijni or St. Petersburg one must +pay nearly Paris and New York prices for real gems. + +Specimens of other gems from the Urals though not abundant were still +in considerable variety,--not offered at the booths, but by +itinerants who came to our hotel, and displayed them in a somewhat +secret manner, being very particular to keep quite out of sight of +the crowd. One of these dealers took from his bosom a small flat +leather receptacle wherein he showed some fine emeralds, colored +diamonds, rubies, and topazes. Of the latter gem there were specimens +in green, blue, yellow, and white, most of them too poorly cut to +show their fine beauty and brilliancy to advantage. The Armenian who +exhibited this collection had also garnets of several distinct +colors, the finest of which was of a light cinnamon hue. He had also +tourmalines black as jet, and pink rubellites with sapphires as fine +as those from Ceylon. All these precious stones, he said, were from +the Ural mines. The same region furnishes also gold, silver, copper, +and platinum, the latter valuable product in larger quantities than +comes from any other part of the world. An emerald mine was +accidentally discovered in the Ural range near Ekaterinburg so late +as 1830. A peasant who was passing through a wood chanced to see an +emerald gleaming among the upturned roots of a fallen pine; and +further research showed that many precious gems of the same sort were +mingled with the surrounding soil. Such discoveries soon become +known. The peasant was enriched for life, but Government as usual in +such cases claimed the mine. + +Thibet and North China merchants who come to Nijni occupy nearly six +months in travelling to and from their native districts. They bring +their famous brands of "brick tea," said to be the finest produced, +and of which the Russians partake so liberally, paying more than +double the price per pound that is usually charged for the best +brands that reach the American market. One who has travelled in Japan +is impressed with the idea that its people draw one half their +sustenance from tea-drinking, of which they partake many times each +day; but neither these Russians nor the Asiatics take the decoction +one quarter as strong as it is used with us. An idea prevails here +that the tea from China which comes by the overland route is much +superior to that which reaches Southern Europe and America by sea, +and the price is gauged accordingly; but even brick tea comes to +Nijni half the distance and more by water carriage, and if there is +any deteriorating effect traceable to that cause, it cannot be +exempt. There is a brand known as "yellow tea" in great favor +here,--a grade which we do not see in this country at all. It is of a +pale color when steeped and of delicate flavor, being used as an +after-dinner beverage in Russia, as we employ coffee. It is sold at +the fair in small fancy packages as put up in China, each containing +one pound of the leaves. Price six dollars for a package! + +Where there is so large and promiscuous an assemblage of human +beings, sickness of an epidemic character would be sure to break out +were it not that a most rigid sanitary system is established and +enforced. This precaution is especially important, as personal +cleanliness is a virtue little known and less practised among +Russians and Asiatics. In the large cities the Russian takes his +weekly bath of steaming water, nearly parboiling his body; and that +must last him for seven days. The average citizen sleeps in his +clothes during the interim without change, satisfied with bathing his +face and hands in a pint or less of water daily. The Nijni +fair-grounds have open canals in various parts to afford immediate +access to water in case of fire, and also ample underground sewerage +formed by stone-lined drains which extend all over the place. These +drains are flushed several times daily during the season of the fair +by water pumped from the Volga. + +The dance-halls, music-rooms, and places of general amusement are of +such a character as might naturally be anticipated, presenting +disgraceful features of frailty and vice scarcely surpassed in the +large European capitals. One spacious square of the grounds is +occupied by four large three-story houses, which are nothing less +than acknowledged dens of vice. From these houses, which are on the +four sides of the square, flags and streamers are all day gayly +flaunting, and fancy lanterns are grouped at night. Bands of +instrumental performers pour forth from their several piazzas noisy +refrains, while parading hither and thither upon the broad verandas, +or looking out from the windows, many a prematurely aged and saddened +face appears,--faces, alas! which assumed smiles and gayety of tone +cannot effectually disguise. The unfortunate girls who are attached +to these establishments are of varied nationalities. Many are +Russian, some are Poles, others are from far-off Cashmere and Nepaul; +even the Latin Quarter of Paris has its representatives here, as well +as the demi-monde of Vienna. + +One dark-eyed, handsome, even refined appearing girl, who kept quite +by herself, was detected as being a quadroon. Observing that the +author was American, she acknowledged that she came from New Orleans. +The brief truthful history of this girl, who possessed all the fatal +beauty of her race, may be found instructive. She had been the +travelling companion of a heartless titled Englishman, who had +induced her to run away from her respectable Louisiana home, and had +finally deserted her at St. Petersburg after a year of travel in +various parts of the world and a considerable sojourn in India. +Without a guinea in her purse or the means of honestly earning money, +her fate seemed to be inevitable; and so she had drifted she hardly +knew how or where, until she was here in this maelstrom of vice, +Nijni-Novgorod. One must have possessed a heart of stone to be able +to look unmoved into the tearful eyes of this poor unhappy girl, who +had bought her bitter experience at such terrible cost. Quietly +closing her hand upon the gold that was offered her with some +earnest, well-meant advice, she said: "This shall be the nucleus of a +sum wherewith to return to my mother and my Louisiana home, or it +shall purchase that which will end for me all earthly misery!" Poor +Marie Fleur! We shall probably never know what fate has befallen her. + +Interspersed about the lanes and streets were many gay eating and +drinking booths, cafés where gypsy dancers and singing girls appeared +in the evening. With the close of the day the business of the fair is +mostly laid aside, and each nationality amuses itself after its +native fashion. Rude musical instruments are brought forth, strange +and not inharmonious airs fall upon the ear, supplemented here and +there by songs the words of which are utterly unintelligible except +to a small circle of participants. The whole scene forms a motley +picture, as party-colored as Harlequin's costume, while the whole is +shadowed by the ever-present, vigilant Russian police. Smoking is not +permitted in the streets or among the booths; to light a match even +subjects one to a fine, such is the great fear of fire; but still the +unmistakable fumes of tobacco which permeated the atmosphere showed +that within the walls of their own apartments smokers were freely +indulging in their wonted habit. The governor's business residence +during the fair is very near its centre. The lower portion for the +time being is transferred into a grand bazaar, for the sale of the +lighter and more choice fancy articles, including European +manufactured goods. There is here also a large restaurant where a +good dinner may be had at a reasonable price, the bill of fare +embracing the peculiar dishes of many different nationalities,--and +though others did, the author did not partake of Tartar horse-flesh. +A boulevard extends from behind the governor's house towards the +cathedral and an Armenian church. The shops along this thoroughfare +are principally occupied by goldsmiths and dealers in silver-ware. +Some apparently very ancient examples of the latter would have +delighted the eye of a curio hunter; they were in the form of clasps, +mugs, drinking-horns, and spoons of quaint designs, no two alike, +affording an endless variety from which to choose. + +We were told of some curious doings of the light-fingered gentry who +are naturally attracted to the fair, and who drive a very successful +business during the few weeks of its continuance, provided they be +not detected and locked up. These rogues are not confined to any one +nationality, but are composed of immigrants from far and near. They +seem equally adroit however, whether Asiatics or Europeans. One was +arrested during the late season at Nijni upon whose person eleven +purses and porte-monnaies were found as the product of a single day's +operation. The rascal was a Polish Jew, "childlike and bland." He was +apparently a pedler, dealing in tapes and shoestrings. Some London +thieves the year before the last, having heard of the great Russian +fair which continued so many weeks, drawing together purchasers from +many lands, who came with well-lined pocket-books, accordingly +resolved to invade Nijni. They came, they saw, they conquered; but it +was a very brief triumph. The Asiatic thieves "spotted" the English +rogues at sight, but let them operate until they had possessed +themselves of ample booty, while the local rogues remained quiescent +and watched the fun. Then the Eastern experts picked their pockets of +every farthing they had stolen; having done which they adroitly drew +the attention of the police to them. The cockneys were compelled to +leave the place instantly, and to beg their way to an English port +where they sadly embarked for home, wiser if not richer than when +they resolved to "raid" the great Oriental fair. + +The numbers of persons arriving during the fair is so great as to +exhaust all reasonable means of comfortable lodgement, and where the +great mass sleep is generally considered to be a mystery; yet a +stroll about the town at day-break will solve it. Rolled up in their +rags, thousands drop down to rest like dogs upon the ground wherever +fatigue overtakes them. Other thousands sleep behind their stalls and +booths upon the softest place they can find. Open sheds are utilized +by hundreds, who lie there upon the floor packed like herring under a +temporary roof. It may be safely stated that not one person in fifty +who attends the fair removes his clothing from his body while he is +there. Even the weekly bath must be given up here, unless it consists +of a brief plunge into the Volga. + +On the route to Nijni from Moscow, at a station on the railway line, +a bevy of convicts was seen on their way to Siberia. They represented +all ages, from the lad of fifteen to the decrepit and gray-haired old +man of sixty or seventy. Condemned people are now conveyed as far on +their way as possible by rail, and then begin their long journey upon +foot towards the region which according to popular belief rarely +fails to become their grave in a few brief years. Some of these +men--there were no women among them--appeared to us as though society +were fortunate to be rid of them, and as if they very likely deserved +the fate which awaited them, be it never so severe. There were +others, however, if the human countenance may be trusted, who seemed +to merit a better fate. Some of them had grossly outraged the laws, +and some few were political prisoners. But be their condemnation +upon what ground it may, when once started upon this journey they +left all hope behind. The prisoners whom we saw did not appear to be +guarded with much strictness. They were permitted to walk about +freely within certain lines; still, military espionage is so thorough +and complete that any attempt to escape would surely cost the +prisoner his life. None of these prisoners were manacled or confined +by bonds of any sort; and though we watched them specially, no +harshness was exhibited by either soldiers or officers towards them. +The prisoners seemed to accept the position, and the soldiers to be +only performing routine duty. Feeling more than ordinary interest in +the subject, we were led to seek for information touching this penal +servitude. + +We were told by unprejudiced persons that many of the current stories +about Siberia were pure fiction, and that not a few of the attributed +terrors relating to that district were without truth. To sober, +honest, industrious enterprise it was not only a very habitable but +even desirable locality, undoubtedly with some drawbacks; but there +is no limit to its mineral wealth and other possibilities. In spite +of its climate, the soil under proper culture is represented to be +prodigiously fertile. Our principal informant had been there several +times, and had mercantile interests in the country: he was not of +Russian but German birth. It seems that many persons go to Siberia +voluntarily every year, some following closely in the track of each +lot of prisoners despatched thither. If what we heard and have reason +to believe is really true, Siberia will eventually prove to Russia +what Australia and Van Diemen's Land have to England. + +The Russian travels with all his toilet and sleeping necessaries with +him. Towels, soap, pillow, and blanket form a part of his regular +outfit when he travels by rail or otherwise at night. Though one pays +for sleeping-car accommodations, only reclining seats are furnished, +and not even a pitcher of water or a towel can be found inside of the +cars. This seemed to be the more surprising because of the excellence +of the road-bed, the remarkable perfection of the rolling stock, and +the manifest desire upon all hands, so far as the officials were +concerned, to render the passengers as comfortable as possible. +Anything like refreshing slumber was out of the question in a half +upright position, and after a night passed in coquetting with sleep, +at six or seven o'clock in the morning the cars stopped at a +way-station for twenty-five minutes, both in coming from Moscow to +Nijni and in returning, the journey both ways being made by the +night-express. On the platform of this station a line of peasant +women stand behind a series of basins placed temporarily upon a long +bench. One of these women pours a small stream of water from a +pitcher upon the traveller's hands, and he is thus enabled to make a +partial toilet, wiping his face upon a very suspicious-looking towel, +also furnished by the woman who supplies the water. For this service +she expects ten kopecks, the smallest current silver coin. However, +water upon the face and temples even in limited quantity, after a +long dusty night-ride in the cars, is grateful and refreshing, +incomplete though the ablution may seem, and one felt duly thankful. +It was quite as ample accommodation in that line as the average +Russian citizen required. + +Before closing this chapter, and apropos of the subject of Siberia, +let us say a few words more. It should be remembered as regards the +severity of punishment for crime in Russia, and particularly as to +banishment to Siberia, that the sentence of death is now rarely +inflicted in this country. Persons who are condemned to expiate their +crimes by deportation to this penal resort, would in other European +countries be publicly executed. Nearly all other nations punish +undoubted treason with death. Russia inflicts only banishment, where +the convicted party has at least air and light, his punishment being +also mitigated by obedience and good behavior. This is paradise +compared to Austrian, Spanish, German, and Italian prisons, where the +wretched dungeon existence is only a living death. It is a fact that +of late years, and especially since the accession of Alexander III. +to the throne, so mild has the punishment of banishment to Siberia +come to be considered that it has lost its terror to the average +culprit. We were assured that not one third of the convicts sent +thither for a limited term elect to return to their former homes, but +end by becoming free settlers in the country, and responsible +citizens. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + On the Road to Poland. -- Extensive Grain-Fields. -- Polish + Peasantry. -- A Russian General. -- No Evidence of Oppression. -- + Warsaw and its Surroundings. -- Mingled Squalor and Elegance. -- + Monuments of the City. -- Polish Nobility. -- Circassian Troops. + -- Polish Language. -- The Jews of Warsaw. -- Political Condition + of Poland. -- Public Parks. -- The Famous Saxony Gardens. -- + Present Commercial Prosperity. -- Local Sentiment. -- Concerning + Polish Ladies and Jewish Beauties. + + +From Moscow to Warsaw one travels a long and rather dreary seven +hundred miles, the first half of which is characterized by such +sameness, verst after verst, as to render the journey extremely +monotonous. The country through which we passed is heavily wooded, +and affords some attractive sport to foreign hunters who resort +hither for wolf-shooting. In the summer season these repulsive +creatures are seldom dangerous to man, except when they go mad (which +in fact they are rather liable to do), in which condition they rush +through field and forest heedless of hunters, dogs, or aught else, +biting every creature they meet; and such animals, man or beast, +surely die of hydrophobia. The wolves are at all seasons more or less +destructive to small domestic stock, and sometimes in the severity of +a hard winter they will gather in large numbers and attack human +beings under the craze of ravenous hunger. But as a rule they are +timid, and keep out of the way of man. There are also some desirable +game-birds in these forests which are sought for by sportsmen, but +the wolves are all that the foreign hunter seeks. The wild bison +still exist here, though it is forbidden to shoot them, as they are +considered to belong to the Crown, but the gradual diminution of +their numbers from natural causes threatens their extinction. If they +were not fed by man during the long winters they would starve. The +Emperor sometimes presents a specimen to foreign zoölogical gardens. + +As we advanced, the country put on a different aspect. The beautiful +lavender color of the flax-fields interspersed with the peach-bloom +of broad, level acres of buckwheat produced a cheerful aspect. These +fields were alternated by miles of intensely green oats, rye, and +other cereals; indeed, we have seen no finer display of grain-fields +except in western America. The hay-makers in picturesque groups were +busy along the line of the railroad, nine tenths of them being women. +The borders of Poland exhibited a scene of great fertility and +successful agricultural enterprise. As we crossed the frontier a +difference in the dress of the common people was at once obvious. Men +no longer wore red shirts outside of their pantaloons, and the +scarlet disappeared from the dress of the women, giving place to more +subdued hues. The stolid square faces of the Russian peasantry were +replaced by a more intelligent cast of features, while many +representatives of the Jewish race began to appear, especially about +the railroad stations, where they were sure to be offering something +for sale. At the frontier town of Brest the extensive fortifications +attracted notice, where considerable bodies of infantry and artillery +were also observed. These elaborate fortifications are said to +embrace a line of twenty miles, and are kept fully up to a war +standard. As to the defensive condition of Russian forts, Alexander +III. considers prevention better than cure, and is at all times +prepared for an emergency. The dwelling-houses which began to come +into view were of a much superior class to those left behind us in +Russia proper. Log-cabins entirely disappeared and thatched roofs +were rarely seen, while good substantial frame-houses appropriately +painted became numerous. Neat little flower-plats were seen fenced in +adjoining the dwellings, containing pretty shrubbery, flowers, and +fruit-trees. Lines of bee-hives found place near the dwellings, and +everything was suggestive of thrift and industry. + +On the same train in which we had travelled from Moscow was Prince +Gurkon, commander-in-chief of all the armies of Russia. He was a man +past the middle age, with a countenance of pleasing expression, not +wanting in firmness, but still quite genial. The Prince was almost +covered on the left breast with the insignia of various orders. He +was in full military uniform, attended by a staff of a dozen +officers, and being on an official tour of inspection was received +with a salvo of guns at Brest. He was inclined to conversation, and +was not a little curious about America, concerning whose political +and military status he had many questions to ask. Like all of his +countrymen he expressed hearty sympathy with our Republic, and spoke +intelligently of American history and progress. He had special +respect for General Grant as a soldier, and remarked that fortunately +Russia had disposed of the terrible incubus of serfdom at a less +bitter and bloody cost than America incurred in the suppression of +negro slavery. + +After crossing the borders of Poland, the thoughtful stranger cannot +divest himself of an earnest even though silent sympathy with the +people who are so thoroughly disfranchised in a political sense; and +yet truth compels us to say, that few if any outward signs of +oppression met the eye. We must confess that a decided effort to +discover something of the sort proved quite a failure. The masses of +the people are cheerful and talkative in the extreme, exhibiting a +strong contrast in this respect to those of Russia, who have a +chronic expression of dreariness and inanity, and who, as a rule, are +essentially silent and sad. With their national existence +annihilated, so to speak, we had been led to anticipate discontent +and grumbling among the Poles, neither of which we encountered. +Warsaw is seemingly as thoughtless over these matters and as gay as +any capital in Europe. As regards the nationality of Poland, her fate +is certainly decided for many years to come, if indeed it be not +settled for all time. And without prejudice or any false sentiment, +one is forced to think perhaps this is best for Poland. Dismembered +as she is, every new generation must amalgamate her more and more +completely with the three powers who have appropriated her territory +and divided the control of her people among them. We continue to +speak of Poland as a distinct country, though the name is all that +remains of its ancient independence. The map of Europe has long since +been reconstructed in this region,--Austria, Germany, and Russia +coolly absorbing the six millions of Poles, and Warsaw being the +capital of Russian Poland. + +It was at the close of the second day's journey since leaving Moscow +that we approached Warsaw in a course nearly due west, witnessing one +of those fiery sunsets which are only seen in their intensity towards +the close of summer in the north. The gorgeous light escorted us into +the capital across the long and lofty iron bridge which stretches +from the Praga suburb over the broad, sandy bed of the Vistula. This +remarkable bridge is one thousand nine hundred feet in length, and +was designed by the same architect that superintended the +construction of the Nicholas Bridge at St. Petersburg. The curtain of +night fell in sombre folds as we drove through the streets of the old +city amid a blaze of artificial light, the town being gayly illumined +on account of its being the birthday of Alexander III. It was +observed that this illumination was in some respects peculiar, long +rows of gas-jets, extending by means of temporary pipes along the +gutters by the sidewalks, supplementing the blaze in the windows of +stores and dwelling-houses, so that one seemed to be passing between +two narrow streams of liquid fire. It is a long drive from the +railroad station to the Hotel Victoria, but when it is once reached, +the traveller finds himself located in the centre of Warsaw and in +very comfortable quarters. + +The city extends about six miles along the left bank of the Vistula +and upon high land. The river--which is navigable, though at the time +of our visit it was very low--extends the whole length of Poland from +north to south, its source being in the Carpathians and its mouth at +Dantzic. The city, which covers a great surface in proportion to the +number of its inhabitants, is enclosed by ramparts pierced by ten +gates, and is defended by a castle of modern construction. The +fortification is well kept up to a war-standard, especially in the +department of modern artillery. The garrison was drilling at the time +of our visit in the management of some new and heavy guns. Warsaw has +nearly half a million of inhabitants, one third of whom are Jews, who +monopolize the main branches of trade, and who appear in an +exaggerated aspect of their repulsive peculiarities. There is but one +synagogue worthy of mention belonging to this people, who certainly +would require more were they composed of a race adhering strictly to +their religious professions. The temple referred to is an extremely +plain, unpretentious one, which is capable of accommodating twelve +or fifteen hundred persons, and is generally visited by strangers in +the city. The prevailing religion in Poland is Roman Catholic, and +doubtless much of the bitterness of feeling which exists between this +people and the Russians is caused by religious differences, fomented +by the Catholic priests. + +On arriving in a new city, an experienced traveller will +instinctively seek some suitable point from which to obtain a clear +and comprehensive view of the entire locality, which will thus become +mapped upon the brain, so that all after movements are prosecuted +with a degree of intelligence otherwise impossible. Here the St. +Petersburg railway station in the Praga district affords the desired +view. From hence a vast panorama spreads out before the eye in every +direction. On the banks of the Vistula opposite may be seen the +citadel, the older portions of the town, with its narrow streets and +lofty houses, the castle and its beautiful gardens, as well as the +newer sections of the city, including the public promenades and +groves about the royal villa of Lazienki. Viewed from Praga as it +slopes upward, the effect of the city is very pleasing, and a closer +examination of its churches, former palaces, and fine public +buildings confirms the favorable impression of its architectural +grandeur. This view should be supplemented by one of a bird's-eye +character to be obtained from the cupola of the Lutheran Church, +which will more clearly reveal the several large squares and main +arteries, bordered by graceful lime-trees, thus completing a +knowledge of its topography. + +In spite of its misfortunes, Warsaw ranks to-day as the third city in +importance as well as in population in the Russian empire. It was not +made the capital of Poland until 1566, when it succeeded to Cracow. +It is now but the residence of a viceroy representing the Emperor of +Russia. The town is heavily garrisoned by the soldiers of the Tzar; +indeed, they are seen in goodly numbers in every town and village of +any importance, and are represented even at the small railroad +stations on the line from Moscow. War and devastation have deprived +the city of many of its national and patriotic monuments, but its +squares are still ornamented with numerous admirable statues, and +with a grand array of fine public buildings. In the square of the +Royal Castle there was observed a colossal bronze statue of Sigismund +III.; in another quarter a bronze statue of Copernicus was found. It +will be remembered that he was a Pole by birth and was educated at +Cracow, his name being Latinized from Kopernik. There is a +thirteenth-century cathedral close by, whose pure Gothic contrasts +strongly with the Tartar style so lately left behind in middle +Russia. This old church was very gray and crumbling, very dirty, and +very offensive to the sense of smell,--partly accounted for by +obvious causes, since about the doors, both inside and out, swarmed a +vile-smelling horde of ragged men, women, and children, sad and +pitiful to look upon. The square close at hand has more than once +been the scene of popular demonstrations which have baptized it in +the life-blood of the citizens. The finest public buildings and +elegant residences were found strangely mingled with wooden hovels; +magnificence and squalor are located side by side, inexorably jumbled +together. We remember no other city in all Europe which has so many +private palaces and patrician mansions as may be seen in an hour's +stroll about Warsaw; but it must be admitted that the architecture is +often gaudy and meretricious. Here for centuries there were but two +grades of society; namely, the nobles and the peasants. Intermediate +class there was none. A Polish noble was by law a person who +possessed a freehold estate, and who could prove his descent from +ancestors formerly possessing a freehold, who followed no trade or +commerce, and who was at liberty to choose his own habitation. This +description, therefore, included all persons who were above the rank +of burghers or peasants. The despised Jews were never considered in +the social scale at all, and were looked upon by both nobles and +peasants as a necessary evil contingent upon trade. They were not +even subject to military service until the Russians assumed power. +Now the Jews enter in large numbers into the service of the Tzar, +especially as musicians forming the military bands. Being intelligent +and to a certain degree educated, they are also employed in places +where recruits only fit for service in the lower ranks would not be +trusted, and we were told that they make excellent common soldiers. + +Where the great iron bridge which spans the Vistula joins the shore +on the right bank, one comes upon the barracks of the Circassian +troops who form a portion of the local garrison. Here we chanced to +witness some of their peculiar cavalry drill, where, among other +manoeuvres, the exercise of dashing towards an object placed upon the +ground and catching it up on the point of the sword or lance while +the rider is at full speed, was practised. These soldiers are most +efficient as cavalry, being what is termed born horsemen. Russians, +Circassians, and other Eastern troops garrison Warsaw, while Polish +soldiers are sent elsewhere for good and sufficient political +reasons. The support of the entire scheme of power in Russia, as in +Germany and Austria, turns upon military organization and efficiency; +hence this element crops out everywhere, and its ramifications +permeate all classes in Warsaw, as at St. Petersburg or Berlin. + +In passing through Poland the country presents to the eye of the +traveller almost one unbroken plain, admirably adapted to +agriculture, so much so that it has long been called the granary of +Europe. The Polish peasants are extremely ignorant, if possible even +more so than the same class in Russia proper; but they are a +fine-looking race, strongly built, tall, active, and well-formed. +There are schools in the various districts, but the Polish language +is forbidden to be taught in them; only the Russian tongue is +permitted. The peasantry have pride enough to resist this in the only +way which is open to them; namely, by keeping their children from +attending the schools. Therefore, education not being compulsory, as +it is in Norway and Sweden, little benefit is derived from the +common-school system as here sustained. With a view utterly to +abolish the Polish language, it is even made a penal offence to use +it in commercial transactions. + +The Polish peasantry as a whole are by no means a prepossessing race. +Naturally dull, they are still more demoralized and degraded by an +unconquerable love of intoxicants, the dram being unfortunately both +cheap and potent. In every village and settlement, no matter how +small, there are always Jews who are ready and eager to administer to +this base appetite, and to rob the poor ignorant people of both +health and money. It is unpleasant to speak harshly of the Jewish +race, especially as we know personally some highly cultured, +responsible, and eminently respectable men who form a decided +exception to the general rule; but the despised and wandering +children of Israel, wherever we have met them, certainly appear to +exercise an evil influence upon the people among whom they dwell. We +record the fact with some hesitation, but with a strong sense of +conviction. Poland appears to be after Palestine a sort of Land of +Promise to the Jews; but they are certainly here, if nowhere else, a +terrible scourge upon the native race. Their special part of the +town--the Jews' Quarter--is a mass of filth, so disgusting, so +ill-smelling, that one would think it must surely breed all sorts of +contagious diseases; but here they live on in unwholesome dens, amid +undrained, narrow streets and lanes, often in almost roofless +tenements. Bayard Taylor wrote of the Polish Jews: "A more vile and +filthy race, except the Chinese, cannot disgust the traveller." Here, +as in other parts of the world, the Hebrew people have a history full +of vicissitudes, and are composed of various tribes, Galician, +Moldavian, Hungarian, and native Polish; but in their general +characteristics they are identical, being universally wedded to filth +and greed. While they are strangely interesting as a study they are +never attractive, with their cringing, servile manners and dirty +gabardines, their cadaverous faces, piercing black eyes, their hooked +noses and ringleted locks. Wherever met they are keen-witted, +avaricious, patient, frugal, long-suffering. The race is now banished +from what is known as Great Russia, and so far as Government is +concerned is barely tolerated in Russian Poland; but to drive them +hence would be to decimate the country in population. + +The present political condition of Poland is the more impressive, as +we remember that she was a great civil power when Russia was little +better than semi-barbarous. Now neither books nor papers are +permitted to be published in the native tongue, and all volumes +printed in the Polish language are confiscated wherever found, even +in private libraries. The public library of Warsaw, which contained +some hundred and sixty thousand bound volumes, was conveyed to +St. Petersburg long ago, and Polish literature may virtually be said +to be suppressed. While becoming conversant with these facts, it was +natural as an American that we should speak plainly of the outrageous +character of such arbitrary rule. The intelligent and courteous +Russian with whom we were conversing could not see why it was any +worse for his Government to claim possession and direction of Poland +than it was for England to do the same in the instance of Ireland. +This was a style of arguing which it was not very easy to meet. "It +became a political necessity for us to take our portion of Poland and +to govern it," said the gentleman to whom we refer, "but she is far +more of a burden than an advantage to Russia. Only the common people +of this country--the masses--have been really benefited by the +present state of affairs." + +The "Avenues" is the popular drive and promenade of the citizens of +Warsaw, bordered by long lines of trees and surrounded on all sides +by elegant private residences. Here also are located inviting public +gardens where popular entertainments are presented, and where cafés +dispense ices, favorite drinks, and refreshments of all sorts. The +well-arranged Botanical Gardens are not far away, affording a very +pleasing resort for all lovers of floral beauty. Just beyond these +gardens comes the Lazienki Park, containing the suburban palace +built by King Stanislaus Poniatowski in the middle of the last +century, and which is now the temporary residence of the Emperor of +Russia when he visits Warsaw. The grounds occupied by the Park are +very spacious, affording great seclusion and deep shady drives; for +though it so closely adjoins the city, it has the effect of a wild +forest composed of ancient trees. The royal villa stands in the midst +of a stately grove, surrounded by graceful fountains, tiny lakes, and +delightful flower gardens. There is a fine array in summer of +tropical plants in tubs and many groups of marble statuary, more +remarkable for extravagance of design than for artistic excellence, +if we except the statue of King John Sobieski. Adjoining the Park is +that of the Belvidere Palace, formerly the residence of the Grand +Duke Constantine; but the place is now quite deserted, though +everything is kept in exquisite order. + +Most of the city houses are built of brick or stone, the former being +stuccoed so as to give the general effect of the latter. The churches +are numerous and fine. It may be said, indeed, that the public +buildings throughout the city are on a grand scale. The two principal +streets are Honey Street and that of the New World, so called. There +are a plenty of hotels, but mostly of a very inferior character, +several being kept in what were once palaces, generally by Germans or +some other foreigners, never by Poles. The people whom one meets upon +the streets seem to be more Asiatic in their features and general +aspect than the residents of St. Petersburg, showing clearly their +Tartar descent; but in manners, customs, and dress they are much more +European than the Russians. + +There are several large open squares in Warsaw where provision +markets are held daily by the country people, but especially in the +early morning and forenoon. The principal one is located near the +Saxony Gardens, the trade of which is entirely conducted by women; +and so varied is the business here that it partakes of the character +of a public fair rather than that of a provision market. Vegetables, +flowers, fruit, fish, poultry, tools, clothing, toys, domestic +utensils, boots, shoes, and articles of female attire, all enter into +the objects collected and offered for sale. The women are mostly of +Jewish extraction, a large number of the middle-aged wearing wigs, +under which their natural hair was cut short. On inquiry it was found +that this is an old Jewish custom with women of that race in +Poland,--that is, as soon as they are married to shave their heads +and wear false hair, a practice which we have never observed +elsewhere, and which is not followed here by the more pretentious +families of the Hebrew population. The market square adjoining the +Saxony Gardens affords a highly picturesque sight, where the mingling +of colors, races, and costumes is curious to study. In the gardens we +have one of the most attractive and oldest city parks in Europe, +where the trees are very large and of great variety, while the +flowers which adorn the grounds on all sides, mingled with +artificial ponds and fountains, delight the eye and regale the +senses. We have all heard of the Saxony Gardens of Warsaw, but we +have never heard them overpraised. A military band performs here +night and morning during the summer season, while mineral waters--a +specialty here--are freely drunk by the promenaders, recalling +familiar scenes at Saratoga. + +The city to the practical eye of an American seemed to be +commercially in a state of more rapid growth and prosperity than any +capital which has been treated of in these pages. In matters of +current business and industrial affairs it appeared far in advance of +St. Petersburg. The large number of distilleries and breweries was +unpleasantly suggestive of the intemperate habits of the people. The +political division of Poland which we have incidentally spoken of was +undoubtedly a great outrage on the part of the three powers who +confiscated her territory, but the author is satisfied, while writing +here upon the spot, and after careful consideration, that this +radical change was a good thing for the people at large. With what +has seemed to be the bitter fortune of Poland we have all of us in +America been taught from childhood to sympathize to such an extent +that romance and sentiment have in a degree prevailed over fact, +blinding cooler judgment. There are those who see in the fate of +Poland that retributive justice which Heaven accords to nations as +well as to individuals. In past ages she has been a country always +savagely aggressive upon her neighbors, and it was not until she was +sadly torn and weakened by internal dissensions that Catherine II. +first invaded her territory. Nine tenths of the population were no +better than slaves. They were in much the same condition as the serfs +of Russia before the late emancipation took place. They were +acknowledged retainers, owing their service to and holding their +farms at the option of the upper class; namely, the so-called +nobility of the country. This overmastering class prided itself upon +neither promoting nor being engaged in any kind of business; indeed, +this uselessness was one of the conditions attached to its patent of +nobility. These autocratic rulers knew no other interest or +occupation than that of the sword. War and devastation constituted +their profession, while the common people for ages reaped the fruit +of famine and slaughter. Even in what were called days of peace, the +court and the nobles spent their time in vile intrigues and bloody +quarrels. However hard these reflections may seem, they are fully +sustained by the history of the country, and are frankly admitted to +be true by intelligent natives of Warsaw to-day. + +There is no denying the fact, leaving the question of right and +justice quite out of the discussion, that the breaking up of Poland +politically has brought about a degree of peace, wealth, prosperity, +and comparative liberty such as the masses of the people of this so +long distracted land have not known for centuries. That there is +shameful despotism exercised by the ruling powers all must admit; but +there is also peace, individual liberty, and great commercial +prosperity. In the days which are popularly denominated those of +Polish independence, the nobility were always divided into bitter +factions. Revolutions were as frequent as they are in Spain, Mexico, +or South America to-day, the strongest party for the time being +disposing of the crown and ruling the country amid tumult and +bloodshed. + +"The class who so long misruled Poland are now powerless," said a +native resident of Warsaw to us. "The sacrifice of our political +nationality has been indeed a bitter experience; but it has at least +given the country a breathing spell, and the rank and file of the +people a chance to recuperate their fallen fortunes. We had become +impoverished by internal dissensions and endless conflicts abroad; +now we enjoy peace and material prosperity. If the matter depended +upon a popular vote as exercised in America," he added, "there would +be found only a designing few who would vote for a restoration of the +old régime." The gentleman whom we have quoted belonged to the +mercantile class, and was native born; therefore we think his words +may be taken as reflecting the average sentiment of the citizens of +Warsaw. + +Let us not forget in these closing pages to speak of the Polish +ladies. They are almost universally handsome, with large expressive +eyes, dark and deep as the Norwegian fjords, lighting up faces full +of tenderness and sympathy. They are generally more accomplished in +what is considered womanly culture among the better classes than are +the ladies of Southern Europe, being almost universally good +musicians and fine vocalists, as well as possessing a natural gift of +languages. In secret these daughters of Poland are extremely +patriotic, though the public expression of such sentiments is hardly +admissible under the circumstances. It is not surprising that they +should regret the loss of a condition of society which made them all +princesses, so to speak. The representatives of this class are little +seen in public, very many having removed to Paris, where they +constitute a large and permanent colony. When encountered here, they +are vehemently earnest as to patriotism, and ready to encourage any +extravagant measure looking towards a possible restitution of Polish +nationality. + +A fellow traveller between Warsaw and Vienna, in responding to a +casual remark touching the extraordinary beauty of the Polish +ladies,--"ladies whose bright eyes rain influence,"--told the author +of a gallant friend's experience with the gentler sex of several +nationalities. It seems that the person referred to lost his heart in +Germany, his soul in France, his understanding in Italy, and was made +bankrupt of his senses in Poland. When his affections were thus +reduced to a complete wreck, the gentleman settled down to +matrimonial felicity in Russia! Some of the Jewish women of Warsaw, +of the wealthier class, are extremely handsome, so marked in this +respect that it was a pleasure to look at them. Many of the race are +blondes of the most decided stamp. Unlike Parisian, London, or Vienna +beauties, their charms are all quite natural. They require no rouge +to heighten the color of their glowing complexions, no shading of the +eyes, no dyeing of the hair, no falsifying of the figure, no padding. +These Jewesses are beholden to Nature alone for their charms of +person. + +The Polish language as spoken by the people of Warsaw is indeed a +puzzle to a stranger, being a sort of Slavic-Indo-European tongue. +When Poland enjoyed a distinctive nationality, no less than six +different dialects were spoken in the several provinces of the +kingdom. There is so much similarity, however, between the Polish +language proper and the Russian tongue that the people of the two +nationalities easily understand each other, and on the borders there +is a singular conglomerate of the two tongues spoken by the +peasantry. Until towards the close of the eighteenth century, the +Polish historians wrote almost exclusively in the Latin language, and +her poets also expressed themselves in that classic medium; hence the +paucity of Polish literature. As already intimated, the German and +Russian languages are spreading over the country, and will eventually +obliterate the native tongue without the enforcement of arbitrary +measures on the part of the dominant powers. + +Commercially, Warsaw seems destined to a steady growth and +prosperity; but in the higher paths of civilization as evinced by +mental culture, the growth and dissemination of scientific knowledge, +and the general education of the masses, it is and must remain for a +long time to come far behind the much more inviting and interesting +capitals of Scandinavia. + + + University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. + + + + +BY THE SAME AUTHOR: + +GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. + +_One Volume. 12mo. $1.50._ + + * * * * * + +NOTICES OF THE PRESS. + +BOSTON COURIER: + +"One of those pleasant, chatty, and gossipy volumes that everybody +enjoys reading. In his easy and flowing style he tells most +entertainingly the curious vagaries of the men of genius whom the +world has revered, and many a fact which escaped the ordinary reader +of biography will here be seized upon and remembered. The volume is a +most agreeable companion for solitary hours." + +PITTSBURG BULLETIN: + +"Mr. Ballou seems to have a positive genius for seizing upon +prominent traits of character or events in the lives of his subjects. +How many people who have read of Cromwell and Hampden know that they +were once on the point of setting out for America to live before they +took part in England's civil war? How many people remember Agassiz's +noble answer when offered a large salary to lecture,--'I cannot +afford to waste time in making money'?" + +BROOKLYN MAGAZINE: + +"Daniel De Foe, Keats, Oliver Cromwell, Hugh Miller, John Bunyan, +Benjamin Franklin, Elihu Burritt, Benjamin West, and hundreds of +others are cited as instances to illustrate that genius is +independent of circumstances. A galaxy of the names of the world's +great men is presented to demonstrate the fact that the humblest may +rise to be the greatest. Mr. Ballou's book is crowded full of +interest from cover to cover. He shows a wide knowledge of men and +events, and his strict regard for accuracy gives a permanent value to +the book. To place such a book as this in the hands of young men is +to confer a blessing upon them. It is full of beneficial +illustrations and lessons, and many a young man will take new heart +after a perusal of its pages." + +JOURNAL OF EDUCATION (Boston): + +"The book has much of the fascination of a conversation, chatting +leisurely about the gossip, history, anecdotes, etc., which the names +of hundreds of authors, artists, and other celebrities suggest. The +index is so complete and accurate as to make this marvellous +compilation as available as an encyclopædia." + +SUNDAY BUDGET: + +"A work of exceeding interest and value, for it is a veritable +epitome of biography, dealing with all the famous characters of +literature, science, and art, and presenting a wealth of instructive +data such as no volume of similar compass has ever contained. A more +instructive and interesting book has not been brought out the present +season, and its charm exerts a hold upon the reader that leads him on +from page to page." + +THE JOURNALIST (New York): + +"A charming, gossipy volume of literary anecdotes. It is this very +gossipy style which makes the book an easy one to read; and, while +the briefness of some of the references frequently piques the +reader's curiosity into further investigation, they are full enough +to furnish much valuable information concerning the masters of art +and literature. Mr. Ballou displays a broad and thorough knowledge of +men of genius in all ages, and the comprehensive index makes the +volume invaluable as a book of reference, while--a rare thing in +reference books--it is thoroughly interesting for consecutive +reading." + +THE WATCHMAN: + +"The book contains, in a condensed form, so large an amount of +interesting information concerning the personality of authors, +artists, and scientists as to cause us to wonder how one mind could +be sufficiently retentive to produce so comprehensive a collection. +The book is so easy and flowing in style as to seem more like +listening to agreeable conversation than the reading of printed +pages." + +BOSTON TRAVELLER: + +"One of the most permanently valuable publications of the year. It +has one very striking and curious element in being a kind of literary +phonograph, so to speak, with which one can sit down alone in one's +room and summon up spirits from the vasty deep of the past with far +better success than attended Glendower's efforts in that line. One +returns to Mr. Ballou's book again and again to discover the secret +of this peculiar quality; but, open the work where he will, the same +spell of fascination is over it. The wide range of literature in many +lands and languages, the fine and discriminating insight, and the +scholarly culture that were so conspicuous in Mr. Ballou's +'Edge-Tools of Speech,' are revealed in the 'Genius in Sunshine and +Shadow.' It is a book to live with,--a statement that can be +predicated of few of the latter-day publications." + +SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE: + +"A large store of delightful literary entertainment. It is written in +a graceful, fluent, and attractive style, and with an easy liveliness +that makes it peculiarly pleasing in the perusal. We know of no +volume in which is presented so vast a fund of interesting gossip +about the world's great ones in art, literature, and science as is +here set forth. Every page is abundant in anecdote, of which there is +such a copious shower that it even overflows into foot-notes. It +would be next to impossible to describe the work in detail, so +extensive is the field it covers and so luxuriant is it in +illustration. It is enough to state that it will be found fascinating +by every reader of refined and educated taste, and attractive and +edifying by all, not only for what it tells, but for the bright, +chatty, and spirited manner in which it is told." + +MASSACHUSETTS PLOUGHMAN: + +"One of the most agreeable books. It is a work teeming with +delightful information and anecdote gathered from the broad fields of +literature and art. The great charm of the book is its colloquial and +epigrammatic style, conveying a whole volume of suggestiveness and +facts on every page. Open it where we may, it reads charmingly, and +one is loath to lay it aside until every page has been perused. In +saying that the book is one of real and permanent value, we pay it a +just and merited tribute." + + +EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. + +By M. M. BALLOU. + +An Encyclopædia of Quotations, the Brightest Sayings of the Wise and +Famous. Invaluable for Debating Societies, Writers, and Public +Speakers. A Treasure for Libraries. 1 vol. 8vo. $3.50. + + * * * * * + +NOTICES OF THE PRESS. + +CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL: + +"A vast collection of pungent quotations.... Mr. Ballou has made this +immense collection in a liberal spirit. His test has been fitness and +excellence. The volume will be an addition to the working force of +writers, speakers, and readers." + +THE NORTHWESTERN: + +"An almost inexhaustible mine of the choicest thoughts of the best +writers of all ages and countries, from Confucius down to Garfield +and Gladstone,--a _potpourri_ of all the spiciest ingredients of +literature. There is a vacancy on every student's desk and in every +library which it alone can fill, and, we believe, soon will fill. The +book deserves the popularity which it is most certain to gain." + +THE BEACON (Boston): + +"The quotations cover a wondrous multitude of subjects. Indeed, the +book is like an endless string of pearls, with here and there a ruby, +a diamond, or a bit of honest glass interjected. Mr. Ballou's taste +is thoroughly catholic, his sympathy wide as the world, and his +judgment good. The friends of quotations will find these 'Edge-Tools' +inexhaustible, yet well arranged, and highly convenient for +reference. The book is a literary treasure, and will surely hold its +own for years to come. It deserves a place by the side of Mr. +Bartlett's 'Familiar Quotations,'--no mean honor for any book." + +THE CRITIC: + +"M. M. Ballou's 'Edge-Tools of Speech' shows a broader culture and a +wider range of thought and subject. He has classified his quotations +alphabetically under the head of subjects after the fashion of a +glossary ('Ability,' 'Absence,' etc.), and has collected the most +famous literary or historical sayings bearing on each subject. Every +side of the subjects finds an application and illustration in one +quotation or another. Thus the word 'Ability' is made the text of +wise utterances from Napoleon I., Dr. Johnson, Wendell Phillips, +Longfellow, Maclaren, Gail Hamilton, Froude, Beaconsfield, Zoroaster, +Schopenhauer, La Rochefoucauld, Matthew Wren, Gibbon, and Aristotle. +It has no rival." + +PHILADELPHIA TIMES: + +"There is a running fire of fine thoughts brilliantly expressed, and +hence a splendid fund of entertainment." + +BOSTON JOURNAL: + +"'Edge-Tools of Speech' will find its way into thousands of families. +It is a volume to take up when a few minutes of leisure are found, +and it will always be read with interest." + +CHURCH PRESS: + +"The work, indeed, is a dictionary or encyclopædia of wise and +learned quotations; and, beginning with the word 'Ability' and ending +with 'Zeal,' it presents in consecutive order the wisest and wittiest +sayings of all the best writers of all ages and countries upon all +subjects in theology, philosophy, poetry, history, science, and every +other topic that might be useful or entertaining. It is thus a +treasury of useful learning, and will prove valuable in suggesting +thoughts, or in supplying quotations for the illustration of ideas, +or the embellishment of style." + +BOOK NOTES: + +"It is a large collection of condensed expressions of thought on a +great variety of subjects, by the most distinguished or profound +writers of all ages. It is arranged by subjects. Take the word +'novel,' by which we mean a fictitious story. This book gathers +short, pithy expressions concerning it by Herschel, Goldsmith, +Emerson, Sir Walter Scott, Thackeray, Dryden, Carlyle, Sala, Beecher, +Willmott, Hamerton, Fielding, Swift, Macaulay, Sterne, Masson, +Balzac, George Curtis, and others. It is not within the range of +possibility for any reader to have read all these writers. Even had +he done so, how could he remember just where to turn to these authors +to find their thoughts, and yet how convenient it is for a writer or +a speaker to have quick access to them for illustrations. This book +for the uses for which it was made is invaluable." + +THE COMMONWEALTH: + +"A remarkable compilation of brilliant and wise sayings from more +than a thousand various sources, embracing all the notable authors, +classic and modern, who have enriched the pages of history and +literature. It might be termed a whole library in one volume." + +THE WATCHMAN: + +"Highly creditable, as evincing vast literary research and a catholic +spirit in the selections. Professional men and littérateurs can +hardly afford to be without a book which is calculated to aid and +stimulate the imagination in so direct a manner." + +BOSTON HOME JOURNAL: + +"The volume is not only of great value to students, professional men, +and littérateurs, but will be a rich treasury in the intelligent +home." + + * * * * * + +_For sale by all booksellers. 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