some trade, nå and barber ord, bas a ren abundance bility, which though reduced from its ancient splendor, contains many who live in elegance, if not in ostentation. There are two orders of knighthood. The Germans occupy Holstein, Lubec and the most of Sleswic, and there are a few gypsies. 22. DRESS. The women of the middle classes are very fond of show in their dress, which is composed of many colors, red being the most prevalent. In summer many of the people retain their great-coats, and in winter they assume furs. The French fashions are common in the cities. 23. LANGUAGE. The Danish language is allied to the Swedish and Norwegian. The Frisish is used in some of the islands, and the German in Holstein, Lubec, and a part of Sleswic. 24. MANNER OF BUILDING. The houses in the cities are generally of brick; in the country they are of wood with piazzas; few of them have much pretension to elegance. 25. FOOD AND DRINK. The general food of the lower class is oat cake, rye-bread, potatoes, fish and cheese, Much beer and spirits, chiefly brandy, are consumed, and the use of tobacco is general, but less so than in Germany. 26. TRAVELLING. The mode of travelling is less convenient than in Germany and few foreigners visit Denmark. The common post vehicles do not exceed four or five miles an hour. 27. CHARACTER, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. The Danes are brave but not adventurous. They would do more for defence than for glory. They are less cordial than the Germans, and less cheerful than their northern neighbors. They are faithful and honest, but not strongly marked with national peculiarities. They are addicted to the use of spirituous liquors, and the proverbial expression of a drunken Dane' has some foundation in the national character. 28. AMUSEMENTS. The Danes are much less cheerful than either the Swedes, or the Norwegians. Cards and dancing are the most common amusements, but these are not followed with much spirit. 29. EDUCATION. There is a university at Copenhagen, and another at Kiel. There are many Gymnasiums, and every town has a primary school: 2,302 of these schools are on the Lancasterian plan. The nobility are educated at Scröa. There is a school at Copenhagen for the instruction of teachers, and there are several learned societies. The largest library has 260,000 volumes, of which 30,000 are of a date prior to 1500. There are 80 periodical publications in Denmark, 70 of which are in Danish. 30. STATE OF THE ARTS, SCIENCE, AND LITERATURE. The arts are not in a flourishing state, though Thorwaldsden the sculptor is by birth a Dane. The ancient literature is the Scandinavian, which will be mentioned under another head. In the 12th century Saxo Grammaticus wrote his Danish History. Holberg and Pontoppidan were Danes, and Malte Brun was born in Denmark. The sciences are cultivated with success, but the literature is limited. There are some popular songs, and good dramas. 31. RELIGION. The religion is chiefly Lutheran, and the church government partakes of the English hierarchy, and of the calvinistic discipline. Few of the clergy have livings of more than $1800, or less than $250 a year. In Jutland however some have but $130. There are a few nunneries. 32. GOVERNMENT AND LAWS. The government is an hereditary and unlimited monarchy. But though the king has power to make, interpret, and abrogate the laws, there is much practical freedom. The laws are equitable, and justly administered. The police is strict. 33. HISTORY. Denmark, Norway and Sweden were anciently called Scandinavia. A century before the Christian era the inhabitants of the peninsula of Jutland were known to the Romans by the name of the Cimbri. The Gothic conquerors gave this country a new set of rulers. In the middle ages these people with the Swedes and Norwegians were called Normans or Northmen. They conquered Normandy in France, peopled the Feroe Islands, T the Orkneys, Shetland and Iceland, and carried their arms into the south of Europe. Canute, king of Denmark, conquered in the 11th century the whole of Norway and nearly all England and Scotland. Under this prince Christi anity was introduced; and the progress of civilization begun; but since this period the influence of Denmark upon the political affairs of Europe has declined. 1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. Norway is bounded north by the Northern Ocean, east by Sweden, south by the Cattegat, west and northwest by the German Ocean. It extends from 58° to 71° 11' N. lat., and from 5 to 23o E. lon. It is a narrow strip of territory, for the most part not exceeding 60 miles in length, and contains 151,171 square miles. 2. MOUNTAINS. The Norwegian mountains form a grand chain, extend ing northeast and southwest nearly 1200 miles. The northern part of this chain forms the boundary between Norway and Sweden; in the south it bears the name of the Seveberget, and Dovrefield, and farther north, the name of the Kioelen mountains. The highest point of the chain, is the Sneehatta, in the Dovrefield range, which is 8,115 feet above the sea. There are glaciers in these mountains presenting beautiful and fantastic masses of ice, which are ascribed by the simple northern tribes, to the powers of magic. It is the peculiar character of the Norwegian mountains, that they combine the grandeur of Alpine scenery, with the luxuriant softness of the vales of Italy. 3. RIVERS. Numerous streams descend from the mountains, but none are navigable, and none are considerable for length except the Glommen, which rises in Lake Oesting, and flows southerly into the sea at Frederickstadt. Cataracts and shoals obstruct its course in every part, and the only use to which it is applied, is that of floating down timber from the mountains. 14 4. LAKES. The lakes are numerous, and many are of considerable size. The Mioesen is 60 miles in length, and 18 wide. The Rundsion is 50 miles long, and 2 in width. The lake of Famund is 35 miles long, and 8 wide.a In many of the lakes are floating islands or mardynes, composed of pieces of turf or sea grass, torn from the shores by the water, and matted together byrer the force of the currents. B 5. ISLANDS. The Loffoden Islands lie on the northwestern coast, and formals a crescent round a bay called the West Fiord. The largest is Hindoen. They consist of high mountains covered with perpetual snow. Nearly all the remainder of the coast is strewed with small rocky islands, called in the language of the country, holms. 6. BAYS. The branches of the sea, which indent the whole coast of Nor way, are almost innumerable but they afford scarcely one good harbor. Among the Loffoden islands is the whirlpool of Maelstrom, which in rough weather is very dangerous to ships.* * An American captain gives the following description of this celebrated phenomenon. I had occasion some years since to navigate a ship from the North Cape to Drontheim, nearly all the way between the islands or rocks, and the main. On inquiring of my Norwegian pilot about the practicability of running near the whirlpool, he told me, that with a good breeze it could be approached near enough for examination without danger, and I at once determined to satisfy myself. We began to near it about 10, A. M. in the month of Septem ber, with a fine leading wind, northwest. Two good seamen were placed at the helm, the mate on the quarter deck, all hands at their station for working ship, and the pilot standing on the bowsprit between the night-heads. I went on the main-topsail yard with a good glass. I had been seated but a few moments, when my ship entered the dish of the whirl ber Dr E ed their me 7. CAPES. The two most remarkable capes lie at the two extremities of the country. North Cape, at the northern extremity, is formed by several islands lying close to the shore: they consist of high craggy rocks, and exhibit the most andreary and desolate appearance. The southern extremity of Norway is called nical as the Naze, and forms the northern point of the entrance to a strait called the Sleeve, which communicates with the Baltic. The 8. CLIMATE. Norway extends within the Arctic circle, and its northern part is exposed to all the rigors of a polar winter; here the sun continues above the horizon in summer for two months and a half, and in winter remains below for an equal space. There is hardly such a thing in Norway, as spring or autumn, the summer's heat so suddenly succeeds the cold of winter. 9. SOIL. In the southern part are some tracts of considerable fertility, yet the soil of Norway, generally, is stony and barren; and in many parts it may be said there is none at all. 10. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. Immense forests of pine, fir, birch, ash, &c, cover the mountains, and furnish the only important natural productions of the country. 11. MINERALS. Mines of silver exist at Kongsberg, which yield larger masses of this metal than any other mine in Europe. They produce annually 240,000 dollars. There are also mines of gold, iron, lead, and copper. Some districts furnish sulphur. 12. ANIMALS. Norway has the same animals with Sweden: but the glutTeton and the lemming or Norway mouse, are in some degree, peculiar to this country. the 13. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. A great part of this territory is occupied by mountains, interspersed with romantic glens and fertile valleys, especially in the southern parts. It is intersected by many streams full of cataracts, and lakes and ponds bordered with trees of variegated foliage, and forests of tall and stately pines and firs. These afford the most striking scenery, but the multitude of naked rocks and barren mountains, give the landscape rather the appearance of grandeur than of beauty. Marshes and fens occupy large districts, and nowhere in Europe are found such a number of precipices, cataracts and glaciers as here. 14. Towns. Christiania, the capital, stands in a fertile valley on the shore of a bay. It is built with regular streets which are kept very clean there are many beautiful villas in the neighborhood, and the country around it has several productive mines. The town has a military hospital, a university, four churches, two theatres, and enjoys a considerable trade in the exportation of deals, tar, and the product of the mines. Pop. 20,581. Bergen, stands upon a small bay skirted by mountains. It is built mostly of wood, and has a theatre, and two printing offices. The commerce and fisheries of the place are pretty active. The most noted buildings are the castle and cathedral. Pop. 20,844. Drontheim, or Tronyem, is one of the most flourishing towns in the king pool. The velocity of the water altered her course three points towards the centre, although the Orkneys, Shetland and Iceland, and carried their arms into the south of Europe. Canute, king of Denmark, conquered in the 11th century the whole of Norway and nearly all England and Scotland. Under this prince Christi anity was introduced; and the progress of civilization begun; but since this period the influence of Denmark upon the political affairs of Europe has declined. 1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. Norway is bounded north by the Northern Ocean, east by Sweden, south by the Cattegat, west and northwest by the German Ocean. It extends from 58° to 71° 11' N. lat., and from 5 to 23o E lon. It is a narrow strip of territory, for the most part not exceeding 60 miles in length, and contains 151,171 square miles. 2. MOUNTAINS. The Norwegian mountains form a grand chain, extending northeast and southwest nearly 1200 miles. The northern part of this chain forms the boundary between Norway and Sweden; in the south it bears the name of the Seveberget, and Dovrefield, and farther north, the name of the Kioelen mountains. The highest point of the chain, is the Sneehatt, in the Dovrefield range, which is 8,115 feet above the sea. There are glaciers in these mountains presenting beautiful and fantastic masses of ice, which are ascribed by the simple northern tribes, to the powers of magic. It is the peculiar character of the Norwegian mountains, that they combine the grandeur of Alpine scenery, with the luxuriant softness of the vales of Italy. 3. RIVERS. Numerous streams descend from the mountains, but none are navigable, and none are considerable for length except the Glommen, which rises in Lake Oesting, and flows southerly into the sea at Frederickstadt. Cataracts and shoals obstruct its course in every part, and the only use to which it is applied, is that of floating down timber from the mountains. 4. LAKES. The lakes are numerous, and many are of considerable size. The Mioesen is 60 miles in length, and 18 wide. The Rundsion is 50 miles 14 long, and 2 in width. The lake of Famund is 35 miles long, and 8 wide. In many of the lakes are floating islands or mardynes, composed of pieces of turf or sea grass, torn from the shores by the water, and matted together by er the force of the currents. 5. ISLANDS. The Loffoden Islands lie on the northwestern coast, and form a crescent round a bay called the West Fiord. The largest is Hindoos. Br They consist of high mountains covered with perpetual snow. Nearly all the remainder of the coast is strewed with small rocky islands, called in the lar guage of the country, holms. 6. BAYS. The branches of the sea, which indent the whole coast of Not Dr way, are almost innumerable but they afford scarcely one good harbor. Among the Loffoden islands is the whirlpool of Maelstrom, which in rough weather is very dangerous to ships.* whi the * An American captain gives the following description of this celebrated phenomenon. had occasion some years since to navigate a ship from the North Cape to Drontheim, nearly elves all the way between the islands or rocks, and the main. On inquiring of my Norwegian pilot about the practicability of running near the whirlpool, he told me, that with a goal breeze it could be approached near enough for examination without danger, and I at once determined to satisfy myself. We began to near it about 10, A. M. in the month of Septe ber, with a fine leading wind, northwest. Two good seamen were placed at the helm, the mate on the quarter deck, all hands at their station for working ship, and the pilot standing on the bowsprit between the night-heads. I went on the main-topsail yard with glass. I had been seated but a few moments, when ntered the dish of arried their : 7. Caps. The two most remarkable capes be at the two extrem pes of red in thello the country. North Cape, in the sorbent extremity, s irmed by sever and Codes lying close to the store they consist of high craggy rocks, and exillatt le most dization au dreary and desolate appearince. The seither extremity of Norway is called political affisielthe Naze, and forms the northern point of the entrance to a strait called the Sleeve, which communicates with the Balno. 8. CLIMATE. Norway extends within the Arctic circle, and its northern part is exposed to all the rigors of a polar winter: here the sun continues above the horizon in summer for two months and a half, and in winter renains below for an equal space. There is hardly such a thing in Norway, is spring or autumn, the summer's heat so suddenly succeeds the cold of ORWAY winter. 9. Sort. In the southern part are some tracts of considerable fertility, yet card the soil of Norway, generally, is stony and barren; and in many parts it may be said there is none at all. 10. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. Immense forests of pine, fir, birch, ash, &c, cover the mountains, and furnish the only important natural productions of the country. 11. MINERALS. Mines of silver exist at Kongsberg, which yield larger Their masses of this metal than any other mine in Europe. They produce annually 240,000 dollars. There are also mines of gold, iron, lead, and copper. Some districts furnish sulphur. 12. ANIMALS. Norway has the same animals with Sweden: but the glutton and the lemming or Norway mouse, are in some degree, peculiar to this Country. 13. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. A great part of this territory is occupied by mountains, interspersed with romantic glens and fertile valleys, especially in the southern parts. It is intersected by many streams full of cataracts, and lakes and ponds bordered with trees of variegated foliage, and forests of tall and stately pines and firs. These afford the most striking scenery, but the mul titude of naked rocks and barren mountains, give the landscape rather the appearance of grandeur than of beauty. Marshes and fens occupy large d tricts, and nowhere in Europe are found such a number of precipices, cararacts and glaciers as here. ere 14. Towns. Christiania, the capital, stands in a fertile valley on the spure of a bay. It is built with regular streets which are kept very clean are many beautiful villas in the neighborhood, and the country round several productive mines. The town has a military hospital, a univer, TMT churches, two theatres, and enjoys a considerable trade in the porta f deals, tar, and the product of the mines. Pop. 20,581. Bergen, stands upon a small bay skirted by mountains. it's mit posre of wood, and has a theatre, and two printing offices. The merre und The most noted use he fisheries of the place are pretty active. castle and cathedral. Pop. 20,844. Drontheim, or Tronyem, is one of the most flourishing towns a the kn pool. The velocity of the water altered her course three points owards the entre 11. . - she was going three knots through the water. This alarmed me extreme! thought destruction was inevitable. She, however, answered her le "en of our ! al vess wn, and diet whales have also Jeen I. 1 |