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VII.

CHAP. all that is praise-worthy among them';-as "rich men, furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations; honoured in their generations; the glory of their times." When we find it written in Sacred Scripture, that "a merchant shall hardly keep himself from doing wrong," be it always remembered, that the Ankers were of this class in society. " In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth, and in every people and nation, they had gathered to themselves a possession ;"-and the secret of their prosperity was divulged in the cheerful countenances of their tenants and dependants; in the comfort and the gladness which they so largely diffused; but especially throughout all the dwellings of the poor.

Visit to the
Governor.

In the evening we visited the Governor; and found an assembly, consisting of some of the principal people of the city. The gentlemen were engaged playing whist, with enormous Barbarisms. tobacco-pipes of Meerschaum in their mouths,

(1) “It is highly gratifying to read, that when the Island of Zealand was invaded, and taken possession of by a British army in 1807, and a country-seat belonging to the Hon. Carsten Anker was entered by a detachment of the Guards, such was the respect shewn by our troops to its hospitable owner, that his mansion remained unmolested during the whole time they remained in its vicinity." See Wolff's Northern Tour, p. 175. Lond. 1814.

smoking in the presence of the women, and spitting upon the floor. In this respect the inhabitants of Trönijem were more polite; as they neither smoke nor spit when ladies are present. The Governor told us he usually smoked about twenty pipes a day. But there is another custom, prevalent throughout Norway and Denmark, and some other parts of the continent, which in our country would be deemed almost too low for an alehouse: it is that of marking the points of a game at cards with chalk upon the table. A piece of chalk was laid for this purpose upon every card-table at the Governor's, and used both by ladies and gentlemen: the same practice is said to exist even at the Danish Court. These are trifling barbarisms; but they are nevertheless barbarous; and must be viewed, in any country, as among the marks of a want of refinement: they tell us, at a glance, of the state of the society in which these indications appear. A German lady spits upon the floor of her apartment, even when it is covered by an expensive carpet; and may attempt to justify such a breach of good manners, by urging that it is a practice tolerated even at Court. English Peers, and English dandies, aping foreign customs, have sometimes imitated such examples; but

CHAP.

VII.

CHAP. nothing can reconcile them to the canons of

VII.

A Rout.

civilization'.

From the Governor's we went to a rout and supper, at which was convened all the beaumonde of Christiania. The rooms were crowded with a variety of company; among which we observed several officers of the army and navy, and a number of beautiful women in elegant and fashionable dresses, exhibiting the latest modes of London. These evening parties, being held in routine at the different houses, had become so expensive, that Mr. Anker, and others, prevailed upon seventy of the principal inhabitants to consent to an agreement, which they all signed, that certain rules of economy should be observed;-that no person should be at liberty to exceed the stipulations made for every evening's entertainment;-that only a certain number of lustres should be allowed in each apartment, and that the number of wax

(1) The habits of the French women are in this respect abominable. "Some of their habits," says Henry Matthews, in his most interesting Volume of Travels, "must be condemned as shockingly offensive.What shall we say of the spitting about the floor, which is the common practice of women as well as men, at all times and seasons, not only in domestic life, but also upon the stage, in the characters of heroes and heroines, even in high imperial tragedy?"-See the Diary of an Invalid, &c. by Henry Matthews, Esq. A.M. Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, p. 425. Lond. 1820. Second Edition.

candles should be limited for each lustre ;that, instead of an expensive supper, a small collation should be prepared, to which the guests might go, without requiring any person to wait upon them. These new regulations explained to us the meaning of a sight which would otherwise have appeared remarkable; namely, a number of large chandeliers and sconces, which, in the different apartments, were all filled with wax-candles, but not lighted. Our reception was, as usual, of the most hospitable nature: but in Christiania a welcome had been prepared for us, by the previous intercession of our two friends, Malthus and Otter, who had visited this place before our coming: and it was heightened by the kind offices of the two English travellers to whom we had been introduced in the moment of our arrival, Messrs. Kent and Jarret. With these gentlemen we soon became intimate: their amiable qualities had already rendered them popular among the inhabitants, and we found great advantage in their society. The dancing began with the waltz, soon after nine o'clock; but the company had been coming in since six, and formed really a brilliant assemblage, particularly the ladies: there were full as many handsome women, in proportion to the number, as would be seen at

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CHAP.

VII.

VII.

gulations.

an assembly in England. Indeed, to English eyes, there was nothing foreign in the appearance of the company: the manners, abating only the smoking and spitting, were those of our own country; and we found the English language very generally understood. From the Governor and Mr. Anker we learned that a Army Re- change had just taken place in the laws relating to the enrolment of the peasants for the army. Every man in Denmark and Norway, born of a farmer or labourer, is a soldier. Those born of sailors, are sailors. Formerly, the officer of the district might take them at any age he pleased; and he generally preferred a man from twentyfive to thirty, before those that were younger. After being thus taken, the man could not marry without producing a certificate, signed by the minister of the parish, that he had substance enough to support a wife and family; and even then it was at the will of the officer to let him marry, or not. This, and the uncertainty in respect to the time of being taken, had hitherto operated as a strong preventive check to population in Norway; and accounts for its increasing so slowly, although the people live so long. No man could consider himself as perfectly free to marry, unless he had solid possessions, till he had served his time; which, from being taken

Laws respecting Marriage.

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