The People Were Civil, And Much More
Moderate In Their Demands Than The Norwegians, Particularly To The
Westward, Where They
Boldly charge for what you never had, and seem
to consider you, as they do a wreck, if not as
Lawful prey, yet as a
lucky chance, which they ought not to neglect to seize.
The prospect of Elsineur, as we passed the Sound, was pleasant. I
gave three rix-dollars for my boat, including something to drink. I
mention the sum, because they impose on strangers.
Adieu! till I arrive at Copenhagen.
LETTER XVIII. - COPENHAGEN.
The distance from Elsineur to Copenhagen is twenty-two miles; the
road is very good, over a flat country diversified with wood, mostly
beech, and decent mansions. There appeared to be a great quantity
of corn land, and the soil looked much more fertile than it is in
general so near the sea. The rising grounds, indeed, were very few,
and around Copenhagen it is a perfect plain; of course has nothing
to recommend it but cultivation, not decorations. If I say that the
houses did not disgust me, I tell you all I remember of them, for I
cannot recollect any pleasurable sensations they excited, or that
any object, produced by nature or art, took me out of myself. The
view of the city, as we drew near, was rather grand, but without any
striking feature to interest the imagination, excepting the trees
which shade the footpaths.
Just before I reached Copenhagen I saw a number of tents on a wide
plain, and supposed that the rage for encampments had reached this
city; but I soon discovered that they were the asylum of many of the
poor families who had been driven out of their habitations by the
late fire.
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