Up The Baltic; Or, Young America in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XVI.

  AN EXCURSION TO KLAMPENBORG AND ELSINORE.

  Peaks sat near the brig and read his book, which he had procured fromthe librarian in anticipation of a dull and heavy afternoon. Clyde satin his cage, watching the boatswain. The book was evidently a veryinteresting one, for the reader hardly raised his eyes from it for afull hour, and then only to bestow a single glance upon the occupantof the ship's prison. The volume was Peter Simple, and the boatswainrelished the adventures of the hero. Once in a while his stalwartframe was shaken by an earthquake of laughter, for he had a certainsense of dignity which did not permit him to laugh outright all aloneby himself, and so the shock was diffused through all his members, andhis body quaked like that of a man in the incipient throes of a feverand ague fit. The magnanimous conduct of O'Brien, who flogged Peterfor seasickness, simply because he loved him, proved to be almost toomuch for the settled plan of the boatswain, and it was with the utmostdifficulty that he restrained an outbreak of laughter.

  For a full quarter of an hour Clyde convinced himself that he wasentirely satisfied with the situation. The brig was not a bad place,or, at least, it would not be, if the boatswain would only leave thesteerage and allow the prisoner to be by himself. He wished very muchto try the carpenter's saw upon the slats of his prison. At the end ofthe second quarter of an hour, the Briton was slightly nervous; theclose of the third found him rather impatient, and at the expirationof an hour, he was decidedly provoked with Peaks for staying where hewas so long. When the stout sentinel glanced at him, he flatteredhimself with a transitory hope; but the boatswain only changed hisposition slightly, and still appeared to be as deeply absorbed as everin the book.

  Clyde was disgusted, and emphatically angry at the end of another halfhour. The brig was a vile place, and putting a free-born Briton intosuch a den was the greatest indignity which had yet been offered tohim. It was even worse than ordering him to be silent, or to goforward. It was an insult which required both redress and vengeance.He rose from his seat, and walked to the door of his prison, but withhis gaze still fixed upon his jailer. He had come to the conclusionthat, if he moved, Peaks would, at least, look at him; but that worthydid not raise his eyes from his book. Clyde took hold of the barreddoor and began to shake it, making considerable noise by the act.Peaks took no notice whatever of him, and it seemed just as though theboatswain intended to insult him by thus disregarding him. He shookthe door again with more violence, but did not succeed in attractingthe attention of his custodian. Then he began to kick the door. Makinga run of the length of the brig, he threw himself against it with allthe force he could, hoping to break it down; but he might as wellhave butted against the side of the ship. It yielded a little, andrattled a great deal; but it was too strong to be knocked down in anysuch manner.

  The prisoner was boiling over with wrath, as much because Peaks didnot notice him, as on account of the indignity of his confinement.He kicked, wrenched, and twisted at the door, till he had nearlyexhausted his own strength, apparently without affecting that ofthe door. The boatswain still read, and still shook with suppressedlaughter at the funny blunders and situations of Peter Simple. He hadseen just such fellows as Clyde in the brig; had seen them behave justas the present prisoner did; and he had learned that it was better tolet them have their own way till they were satisfied, for boys arealways better satisfied when they solve such problems for themselves.

  "I'm not going to stay in this place!" howled Clyde, when he hadwasted all his powers upon the obstinate door.

  "No?"

  The boatswain happened to be at the end of a chapter in his book, andhe closed the volume, uttering only the single negative participle,with the interrogative inflection, as he glanced at his charge in thebrig.

  "No, I'm not!" roared Clyde, rousing from his seat, upon which he haddropped in sheer exhaustion, and throwing himself desperately againstthe unyielding door. "I won't stay in here any longer!"

  "Well, now, I thought you would," added Peaks, with the most provokingcalmness.

  "I won't!"

  "But it seems to me that you do stay there."

  "I won't any longer."

  "Well?"

  "I'll send for the British minister."

  "Do."

  "I won't stand it any longer."

  "Sit down, then."

  Clyde dashed himself against the door again with all the remainingforce he had; but the boatswain, apparently unmoved, opened his bookagain. It was terribly lacerating to the feelings of the Briton to beso coolly disregarded and ignored. Clyde had the saw, but he had senseenough left to know that any attempt to use it would attract theattention of his jailer, and end in the loss of the implement, withwhich he could remove a couple of the slats when left alone, or whenall hands were asleep at night. Finding that violence accomplishednothing, he seated himself on his stool,--which, however, was far frombeing the stool of repentance,--and considered the situation morecalmly. He was in a profuse perspiration from the energy of hisuseless exertions. Perhaps he was conscious that he had made a fool ofhimself, and that his violence was as impolitic as it was useless. Ina few moments he was as quiet as a lamb, and remained so for half anhour, though his bondage was no less galling than before.

  "Mr. Peaks," said he, in the gentlest of tones.

  "Well, my lad, what shall I do for you?" replied the boatswain,closing his book, and going to the door of the brig.

  "I'm very thirsty, and want a glass of water. Will you give me one?"

  "Certainly, my boy."

  The boatswain passed a mug of water through the bars, and Clyde drankas though he was really thirsty.

  "You have worked hard, and it makes you dry," said Peaks. "You cankeep a mug of water in the brig if you like."

  "I will," replied Clyde, as he placed the mug on the deck, after theboatswain had filled it. "Can't you let me out, Mr. Peaks?"

  "Certainly I can."

  "You will--won't you?"

  "With all my heart."

  "Do, if you please."

  "On certain conditions, you know."

  "What conditions?"

  "That you won't attempt to run away. But, my lad, it is only a fewhours since you said the brig was a very nice place, and you wouldgrow gray in it before you would promise not to leave when you got agood chance."

  "I hadn't tried it, then. But I think it is an insult to a fellow toput him in here. I would rather be flogged outright."

  "We don't flog the boys."

  "I would rather take a flogging, and have it done with."

  "That's one of the reasons why we don't do it. We don't want to haveit done with till the boy means to do about right. You are a smartboy, my lad; but you have got a heap of bad blood in your veins,which ought to be worked off. If you would only do your duty like aman, you would be comfortable and happy."

  "I never can stay in this ship."

  "Why not?"

  "I don't understand the duty."

  "You will soon learn all the ropes in the ship, and they will all comeas handy to you as the key of your own watch."

  Clyde pulled out his watch, and glanced at the boatswain.

  "That's a nice time-keeper you have, my lad; gold, I suppose."

  "Yes; it cost thirty pounds. Wouldn't you like it?"

  "I?"

  "Yes."

  "Well, I have a pretty good silver one, which answers my purpose verywell," replied Peaks, smiling.

  "I'll give it to you, if you will let me out, and permit me to go onshore," added Clyde, in an insinuating tone.

  "Thank you, my lad, I don't want it bad enough to do that."

  "You can sell it, you know. Or I will give you thirty pounds in cash,if you prefer."

  "I can't afford to do it for that," laughed the boatswain.

  "I'll give you fifty pounds then," persisted Clyde.

  "Can't afford to do it for that, either."

  "Say sixty, then."

  "Say a hundred, if you like, my lad; and then say a thousand
. I can'tafford to do it for all the money your mother is worth. You are onthe wrong tack, my lad. I can't be bought at any price."

  "I won't ask you to let me out. If you will only go on deck, and keepout of the way, I will manage it all myself."

  "No, no; sheer off, my hearty. When I have a duty to do, I always meanto do it; and if it isn't done, it isn't my fault. You can't leave theship with my consent."

  "I can't stay here, I say. I should die in a month."

  "Very well, die like a man, then," said Peaks, good-naturedly; for,though he could not be bought at any price, he did not indulge in anyrighteous indignation against his victim. "Learn your duty, and thendo it. There is plenty of fun going on in the ship, and you will enjoyyourself as soon as you get on the right tack. That's the up and downof the whole matter."

  "I can't take off my cap to these young squirts of officers, and beordered around by them. It isn't in an Englishman to do anything ofthe sort."

  "Upon my word, I think it is in them. They make first-rate sailors,and always obey their officers."

  "Common sailors do; but I'm a gentleman."

  "So am I; but I always obey orders," replied the democratic Peaks,warmly. "The officers of this ship are required to behave likegentlemen, and give their orders in a gentlemanly manner. If theydon't do it, they are liable to be reduced. Do your duty, and you maybe an officer yourself."

  Peaks continued for some time to give the prisoner good advice,assuring him that he was no better than the rest of the crew, andthat it would not hurt him any more than others to obey the orders ofthe officers. But it was sowing seed in stony ground, and Clyde,finding he could make nothing out of the honest boatswain, decided toawait his time with what patience he could command, which, however,was not much. Peaks was permitted to follow Peter Simple in hisstirring career during the rest of the afternoon. The crew returnedfrom Tivoli at eleven in the evening, and soon the ship was quiet,with only an anchor watch, consisting of an officer on thequarter-deck, and two seamen on the forecastle.

  Clyde's supper was given to him in his prison, and a bed made up forhis use. He kept awake till all the students came on board, and whilehe was waiting for the crew to slumber, he dropped asleep himself, anddid not wake till all hands were called in the morning. He was vexedwith himself for his neglect, and afraid that the carpenter would missthe saw, and remember where he had left it. He was determined to keepawake the next night, and make his escape, even if he was obliged toswim to the land.

  After breakfast, all the students went on shore for an excursion toKlampenborg and Elsinore. In the custom-house enclosure, a processionof four in a rank was formed, to march to the railroad station, whichwas near the Tivoli Garden. The students were generally rather fond ofprocessions, not at home, but in the streets of foreign cities. Theparade was quite imposing, when every officer and seaman wore his bestuniform. They had been carefully taught to march, and Professor Badoishad organized a band of eight pieces, which performed a few tunesvery well. Unfortunately, on the present occasion, the band was notavailable, for Stockwell, the cornet player, and Boyden, the bassdrummer, belonged to the absent crew of the second cutter, and theprocession moved to the sterling notes of the drum and fife.

  On parades of this kind, the first and second pursers acted as thefleet staff of the commodore, who would otherwise have been "alone inhis glory," and these two useful officers seemed like "odds and ends"in any other position. As this procession was frequently formed, andmarched through the streets of various cities, the order is given tosatisfy the reasonable curiosity of the reader.

  Music. The Commodore, And Staff of the Fleet. The Captain of the Young America. The Four Masters. The Four Midshipmen. The First Lieutenant. The First Part of the Starboard Watch, Consisting of Eighteen Seamen. The Second Lieutenant. The Second Part of the Starboard Watch. The Third Lieutenant. The First Part of the Port Watch. The Fourth Lieutenant. The Second Part of the Port Watch. The Captain of the Josephine. The Four Masters. The First Lieutenant. The First Part of the Starboard Watch, Consisting of Eight Seamen. The Second Lieutenant. The Second Part of the Starboard Watch. The Third Lieutenant. The First Part of the Port Watch. The Fourth Lieutenant. The Second Part of the Port Watch. The Captain of the Tritonia. The Four Masters. The First Lieutenant. The First Part of the Starboard Watch, Consisting of Eight Seamen. The Second Lieutenant. The Second Part of the Starboard Watch. The Third Lieutenant. The First Part of the Port Watch. The Fourth Lieutenant. The Second Part of the Port Watch.

  Sometimes the order was varied by placing all the officers at the headof the procession, except the lieutenants in command of sections,as,--

  The Commodore and Staff. The three Captains. Three ranks of Masters. One rank of Midshipmen.

  But keeping all the officers and seamen of each vessel together, as inthe first order, was generally preferred. Of course the ranks were notalways full, as on the present occasion; but even when the full bandwas at the head of the column, there were enough for four full ranksin each half-watch of the ship, and two ranks in those of the othervessels. The students had practised so much that they marchedexceedingly well, and being aligned according to their height, theeffect was very fine. The Copenhageners left their occupations, andhastened to the doors and windows of their houses and shops to see theprocession; and even the king and royal family were spectators at thepalace windows, as the column moved through Frederiksplads. As itpassed the Royal Hotel, Mr. and Mrs. Kendall, with Dr. Winstock andJoseph, were entering a carriage, in which they intended to ride toKlampenborg, in order to see more of the country. At the railroadstation, the officers and seamen took seats in the third-classcarriages, which were two stories high, the upper as well as the lowerone having a roof. The distance to Klampenborg is eight and a halfEnglish miles, and the fare is sixteen skillings, or nine cents, thirdclass; twenty-four skillings, or thirteen and a half cents, secondclass; and thirty-two skillings, or eighteen cents, first class. Thethird-class compartments are clean and neat, but there are no cushionson the seats. An aisle extends through the middle of them, but theseats are placed in pairs, on each side, so that half the passengersare compelled to ride backwards. In about half an hour the trainarrived at Klampenborg.

  Paul Kendall's party drove first to the summer residence of Mr.Melchoir, which was in the suburbs of the city, near the sea-shore.The house was a very pretty one, with a neat garden, not unlike thelittle country places one sees in the vicinity of the large cities ofthe United States. Joseph rang the bell, and stated the errand of theparty to the servant. They were shown up one flight of stairs, wherethe girl knocked at the door, which was immediately opened byHans Christian Andersen, and the tourists were ushered into aplainly-furnished room, with a few engravings on the walls. On a tablewere the writing-materials of the great author, and Paul looked withinterest at the little pile of letter sheets, closely written over,and the unfinished one, on which the ink was not yet dry.

  Mr. Andersen's face was covered with a smile as he greeted the party.Dr. Winstock had met him before, and stated the fact.

  "O, I'm very glad to see you again," said the author, grasping thedoctor's hand with both of his own.

  "My young friend here, and his lady, have both read all your books,and desired to see you even more than to look upon the beautiful worksof your great sculptor."

  "Ah, you are very kind," added Mr. Andersen, again grasping thedoctor's hand with both of his own.

  Then, darting nervously to Paul, he seized his hand in the samemanner.

  "This is Captain Paul Kendall, commander of the yacht Grace," addedDr. Winstock.

  "I am so pleased to see you!" said Mr.
Andersen.

  "I have read all your books with the most intense pleasure."

  "O, you are too kind, Captain Kendall," replied the genial author,smiling all over his face, and once more grasping his hand as before.

  "Mrs. Kendall," added Paul, presenting Grace.

  "I am so pleased to see you! You are very kind to take so much troubleto visit me."

  "Indeed, sir, you are very kind to permit us to trouble you, when youare so busy," continued Paul.

  "O, I have plenty of time to see my good friends."

  "In America we love your books, and they are in all our libraries andmost of our houses."

  "You are so kind to speak so pleasantly of my works!" replied Mr.Andersen, grasping Paul's hand again.

  "We value them very highly."

  The conversation continued for a few moments, in which Paul and thedoctor expressed the high appreciation of the reading public of thegreat writer's works. At least a dozen times more he grasped the handof the speaker with both his. Mr. Andersen is a tall gentleman, witha thin face,--the features of which are far from handsome,--andiron-gray hair. His countenance is always covered with smiles when hespeaks, and his whole manner is child-like and simple. He is full ofthe love of God and of man, which seems to shine out in his face, andto be the interpretation of his ever-present smile. His dress wasscrupulously neat and nice in every detail.

  The doctor told him about the Academy squadron, of which he had read abrief notice in the newspapers, and invited him to visit the ship,which he promised to do, on the following day. The party took theirleave of him, and continued on the way to Klampenborg. The road wason the margin of the sea, and was lined with small country houses,with pleasant gardens. It was a lovely region, with an occasionallarge villa, and even a summer palace or two. All along this road,called the Strandway, are small and large houses of entertainment, onthe sea-side, each one of which has a bathing establishment on a verysmall and simple scale.

  "Here is Charlottelund Castle, in this park," said Joseph, as theypassed what seemed to be merely a grove, with a rather dilapidatedfence.

  "It was formerly the country-seat of the Landgrave of Hesse, Ibelieve," added Dr. Winstock.

  "Yes, sir; but it is now the summer residence of the crown prince. Hecomes out here in June."

  "These carriages are called 'privateers,'" continued the guide,pointing to several vehicles like a small omnibus with no top. "Theyformerly went by the name of 'coffee-mills,' because they made a noiselike those machines."

  Constantia Tea-Garden, where the Copenhageners go to spend the eveningin hot weather, and several fishing villages, were passed, and thenthe carriage reached the Deer Park, where the students had alreadyarrived, which is a very extensive enclosure, with a few roadsextending through it. A portion of it is covered with groves, andit contains about a thousand deer, which are quite tame, and maybe seen grazing in herds on the gentle slopes. There is nothing veryattractive in the park, though it is much frequented by the peoplefrom the city. Neither the roads nor the grounds are well kept, andthe government "turns an honest penny" by the letting of it out forthe pasturage of horses. On some rising ground, which Denmarkerscall a hill, is a large, square, barn-like building, known as the"Hermitage," which was built by Christian VI. for a hunting lodge.This park and that at Charlottelund contain thousands of acres ofexcellent land, which is almost useless, and which the governmentcannot afford to keep in condition as pleasure-grounds. They wouldmake thousands of farms, and thus increase the productive industry andthe revenues of the nation, if they could be cut up and sold. Royaltyis an expensive luxury, which a small kingdom like Denmark cannotafford to support.

  Near the entrance to the park is the garden proper of Klampenborg,where music is provided on summer evenings, and refreshments sold.What is called a Norwegian house is erected in the middle of thegrounds, which contains a bar and private rooms, and is surroundedby tables and chairs, where the pleasure-seekers may sit and enjoytheir beer and the music. A small fee for admission is paid at thegate, where the ticket-seller is kept honest by the aid of the"control-mark." Near this garden is a hotel built for a water-cureestablishment, though it is now mainly used as a summerboarding-house. Close by it is a village of small cottages, devoted tothe same use, with concert-rooms and bathing-houses in abundance. Thisplace is a favorite resort of the Copenhageners in summer,--in fact,their Newport or Long Branch. For a couple of hours the studentswandered through the park and gardens. The railroad station is verynear the entrance, where, indeed, the whole beauty of the place isconcentrated.

  The railway to Klampenborg is a branch of the one which extends fromCopenhagen to Elsinore, and in another hour the entire party weretransported to the latter place. This town has nine or ten thousandinhabitants, and is located on a basin of the Sound, nearlyland-locked by natural and artificial dikes. The Danish name of theplace is Helsingoer, and is the scene of Shakespeare's tragedy ofHamlet. The excursionists visited the cathedral, which is theprincipal object of interest in Elsinore, and contains several veryold tombs. Near the town, and on the shore of the Sound, is the Castleof Kronberg, erected in 1580. It is a large, oblong, Gothic structure,built of a whitish stone. It contains a chapel and other apartments.Those occupied by the commandant were the prison of Caroline Matilda,who was confined here for a high crime, of which she is nowuniversally believed to be innocent.

  Under the castle are casemates for a thousand men, one of which issaid to be the abode of _Holger Danske_, who was the Cid Campeador ofDenmark, and the hero of a thousand legends. When the state is inperil, he is supposed to march at the head of the armies, but nevershows himself at any other time. A farmer, says the story, happenedinto his gloomy retreat by accident, and found him seated at a stonetable, to which his long white beard had grown. The mystic herodemanded the hand of his visitor, who was afraid to trust flesh andblood in the grasp of one so mighty, and offered the iron bar used tofasten the door. Holger Danske seized it, and squeezed it so hard thathe left the print of his fingers on the iron.

  "Ha, I see there are still _men_ in Denmark!" said he, with a grimsmile of satisfaction.

  Near the castle are a couple of natural ponds, small and round, whichare called "Holger Danske's Spectacles."

  "This is where Hamlet lived, I suppose," said Captain Lincoln.

  "Where Shakespeare says he lived," replied Dr. Winstock.

  "But I was told his grave was here."

  "Perhaps Hamlet divided himself up, and occupied a dozen graves, for Ithink you may find a dozen of them here," laughed the doctor. "Aresident of this vicinity had what was called the grave of Hamlet inhis grounds, which proved to be a nuisance to him, on account of thegreat number of visitors who came to see it. In order to relievehimself of this injury to his garden, he got up another 'grave ofHamlet,' in another place, which he proved to be the authentic one."

  "It is too bad to trifle with history in that manner," protested thecaptain.

  "There is no history about it, Lincoln. His residence in this part ofDenmark is all a fiction. Shakespeare makes terrible blunders in hisallusions to this place; for there is no 'eastern hill,' no 'dreadfulsummit of the cliff,' or anything of the sort. Hamlet lived inJutland, not in Seeland, about four centuries before Christ, and wasthe son of a pirate chief, instead of a king, who, with his brother,was governor of the province. He married the daughter of the king,who was Hamlet's mother. The chief was murdered by his brother, whomarried the widow, and was then the sole governor. Hamlet, in order toavenge his father's death, feigned madness; but his uncle, suspectingthe trick, sent him to England, with a message carved in wood,requesting the king to destroy him. During the voyage, he obtained thewooden letter, and altered it so as to make it ask for the killing ofthe two men, creatures of his uncle, who had charge of him, which wasdone on their arrival. According to the style of romances, he marriedthe king's daughter, and afterwards returned to Jutland, where, stillpretending insanity, he contrived to surprise and slay his uncle. Hesucceeded his vict
im as governor, and married a second time, to aqueen of Scotland, and was finally killed in battle. The main featuresof the tragedy correspond with the incidents of the story, but thelocality is not correct."

  The party walked to Marienlyst, a pleasant watering-place, whichcontains a small royal chateau. The view from this place, as from thetower of Kronberg, is very beautiful. At four o'clock the party tookthe steamer, and arrived at Copenhagen before dark.