A romantic country
thinly inhabited, and these inhabitants struggling with poverty.
The Norwegian peasantry, mostly independent, have a rough kind of
frankness in their manner; but the Swedish, rendered more abject by
misery, have a degree of politeness in their address which, though
it may sometimes border on insincerity, is oftener the effect of a
broken spirit, rather softened than degraded by wretchedness.
In Norway there are no notes in circulation of less value than a
Swedish rix-dollar. A small silver coin, commonly not worth more
than a penny, and never more than twopence, serves for change; but
in Sweden they have notes as low as sixpence. I never saw any
silver pieces there, and could not without difficulty, and giving a
premium, obtain the value of a rix-dollar in a large copper coin to
give away on the road to the poor who open the gates.
As another proof of the poverty of Sweden, I ought to mention that
foreign merchants who have acquired a fortune there are obliged to
deposit the sixth part when they leave the kingdom. This law, you
may suppose, is frequently evaded.
In fact, the laws here, as well as in Norway, are so relaxed that
they rather favour than restrain knavery.
Whilst I was at Gothenburg, a man who had been confined for breaking
open his master's desk and running away with five or six thousand
rix-dollars, was only sentenced to forty days' confinement on bread
and water; and this slight punishment his relations rendered
nugatory by supplying him with more savoury food.
The Swedes are in general attached to their families, yet a divorce
may be obtained by either party on proving the infidelity of the
other or acknowledging it themselves. The women do not often recur
to this equal privilege, for they either retaliate on their husbands
by following their own devices or sink into the merest domestic
drudges, worn down by tyranny to servile submission. Do not term me
severe if I add, that after youth is flown the husband becomes a
sot, and the wife amuses herself by scolding her servants. In fact,
what is to be expected in any country where taste and cultivation of
mind do not supply the place of youthful beauty and animal spirits?
Affection requires a firmer foundation than sympathy, and few people
have a principle of action sufficiently stable to produce rectitude
of feeling; for in spite of all the arguments I have heard to
justify deviations from duty, I am persuaded that even the most
spontaneous sensations are more under the direction of principle
than weak people are willing to allow.
But adieu to moralising. I have been writing these last sheets at
an inn in Elsineur, where I am waiting for horses; and as they are
not yet ready, I will give you a short account of my journey from
Gothenburg, for I set out the morning after I returned from
Trolhaettae.
The country during the first day's journey presented a most barren
appearance, as rocky, yet not so picturesque as Norway, because on a
diminutive scale. We stopped to sleep at a tolerable inn in
Falckersberg, a decent little town.
The next day beeches and oaks began to grace the prospects, the sea
every now and then appearing to give them dignity. I could not
avoid observing also, that even in this part of Sweden, one of the
most sterile, as I was informed, there was more ground under
cultivation than in Norway. Plains of varied crops stretched out to
a considerable extent, and sloped down to the shore, no longer
terrific. And, as far as I could judge, from glancing my eye over
the country as we drove along, agriculture was in a more advanced
state, though in the habitations a greater appearance of poverty
still remained. The cottages, indeed, often looked most
uncomfortable, but never so miserable as those I had remarked on the
road to Stromstad, and the towns were equal, if not superior, to
many of the little towns in Wales, or some I have passed through in
my way from Calais to Paris.
The inns as we advanced were not to be complained of, unless I had
always thought of England. 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.
