Denmark

Denmark, by M. Pearson
Thomson, Illustrated

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Illustrated by F. J. Hyldahl
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Title: Denmark
Author: M. Pearson Thomson

Release Date: December 13, 2006 [eBook #20107]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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DENMARK***
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Peeps at Many Lands
NORWAY BY LIEUT.-COL. A. F. MOCKLER-FERRYMAN,
F.R.G.S., F.Z.S.
and
DENMARK BY M. PEARSON THOMSON
With Sixteen Full-Page Illustrations in Colour

The MacMillan Company 64 & 66 Fifth Avenue, New York 1921

DENMARK
[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF DENMARK.]

CONTENTS
DENMARK

By M. Pearson Thomson
I. MERRY COPENHAGEN--I 1
II. MERRY COPENHAGEN--II 6
III. HANS ANDERSEN--THE "FAIRY-TALE" OF HIS LIFE 12
IV. FAMOUS DANES 18
V. LEGENDARY LORE AND FOLK-DANCES 25
VI. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 32
VII. A JAUNT THROUGH JUTLAND--I 39
VIII. A JAUNT THROUGH JUTLAND--II 45
IX. THE PEOPLE'S AMUSEMENTS 51
X. FARM LIFE--BUTTER-MAKING--"HEDESELSKABET" 54
XI. SOLDIERS AND SAILORS 59
XII. THE PEOPLE OF THE ISLES 66
XIII. FISHERMEN AT HOME AND AFLOAT 72
XIV. YOUTHFUL DANES AT WORK AND PLAY 78
XV. INGEBORG'S JOURNEY THROUGH SEELAND 83

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

DENMARK
By F. J. Hyldahl

FACING PAGE
FLOWER MARKET IN COPENHAGEN 9
DRAGÖR PEASANT 16
CHILDREN'S DAY 33
HARVEST-TIME 40
VAGT-PARADEN 57
SUNDAY IN THE ISLAND OF LÆSÖ 64
SKAGEN FISHERMAN NEAR THE TOWER OF BURIED
CHURCH 73
WINTER IN THE FOREST 80
Sketch-Map, page ii, Denmark Section.

DENMARK
CHAPTER I
MERRY COPENHAGEN--I
Copenhagen, the metropolis of Denmark, is a large and flourishing city,
with all the modern improvements of a commercial capital. It has an
atmosphere of its own, an atmosphere of friendliness and gaiety,
particularly appreciated by English people, who in "Merry
Copenhagen" always feel themselves at home.
The approach to this fine city from the North by the Cattegat is very
charming. Sailing through the Sound, you come upon this "Athens of
the North" at its most impressive point, where the narrow stretch of
water which divides Sweden and Denmark lies like a silvery blue

ribbon between the two countries, joining the Cattegat to the Baltic Sea.
In summer the sparkling, blue Sound, of which the Danes are so justly
proud, is alive with traffic of all kinds. Hundreds of steamers pass to
and from the North Sea and Baltic, carrying their passengers and
freights from Russia, Germany, Finland, and Sweden, to the whole
world. In olden times Denmark exacted toll from these passing ships,
which the nations found irksome, but the Danes most profitable. This
"Sundtold" was abolished finally at the wish of the different nations
using this "King's highway," who combined to pay a large lump sum to
Denmark, in order that their ships might sail through the Sound without
this annoyance in future.
Kronborg Castle, whose salute demanded this toll in olden days, still
rears its stately pinnacles against the blue sky, and looking towards the
old fortress of Kjärnan, on the Swedish coast, seems to say, "Our glory
is of a bygone day, and in the land of memories."
Elsinore, the ancient town which surrounds this castle, is well known to
English and American tourists as the supposed burial-place of Hamlet,
the Prince of Denmark immortalized by Shakespeare. Kronborg Castle
is interesting to us, in addition, as being the place where Anne of
Denmark was married by proxy to James I. of England. Here, also, the
"Queen of Tears," Caroline Matilda, sister of George III., spent some
unhappy months in prison, gazing sadly over the Sound, waiting for the
English ships to come and deliver her.
We pass up the Sound viewing the luxuriant cool green beech-woods of
Denmark, and the pretty fishing villages lying in the foreground. Villas
with charming gardens--their tiny rickety landing-stages, bathing sheds,
and tethered boats, adding fascination to the homely scene--seem to
welcome us to this land of fairy tales and the home of Hans Andersen.
The many towers and pinnacles of Copenhagen, with the golden dome
of the Marble Church, flash a welcome as we steam into the
magnificent harbour of this singularly well-favoured city. Here she
stands, this "Queen of the North," as a gracious sentinel bowing
acquiescence to