VII.

CHAP. branches of the Teutonic tribes. At Mr. Collet's table, we had the satisfaction of witnessing some of those old customs, which one grieves to see laid aside, because they characterize historically the distinctions of nations. The master and mistress of the house, rising from their seats, perform a brief recitative, as a preliminary song to the toast which they are about to propose. In these solemn airs the whole company joined; and they had a very fine effect; not being rendered the less interesting to us when we found they were the preludes to sentiments which Englishmen hail with enthusiasm. In this manner we drank "THE WOODEN WALLS OF OLD ENGLAND"-" BRITISH COMMERCE"-" RULE BRITANNIA"-" GOD SAVE THE KING”—and, with what grief of heart is it called to mind, as it stands written in our journals, and was so often reiterated from one end of the country to the other-"A PERPETUAL ALLIANCE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND NORWAY." No one, at this period, had even dreamed of the probability of an event which was to separate the inhabitants of the two nations, perhaps for ever. The links by which they were united were "the very bonds of peace, and of all virtue." Every feeling which animates the heart, and is the boast of an Englishman; which

Lamentable conduct of

Gt. Britain towards Norway.

VII.

induced a native of Great Britain to sit down by CHAP. a Norwegian as by his friend; were those which are most congenial to the inhabitants of Norway;-holy patriotism; manly courage; unblemished integrity; a sacred regard for all the duties which hold men together in society; the father to his child; the husband to his wife; the subject to his King; the creature to his Creator: and that Jesuitical policy, which, while it dissolves these ties, teaches that "it is lawful to accomplish a great good by doing a little wrong," is therefore disowned and scouted by every worthy inhabitant of these now divided

countries.

As soon as the company rise from table, it is customary to shake hands with the master and mistress of the house, and to make an obeisance; or, being upon an intimate footing with the family, to salute the fair hand of the lady who has presided. All present then adjourn to another room, where coffee is served. There is no separation of the two sexes, as in England; where a custom, more barbarous than any thing in Norway, enjoins that the ladies be expelled soon after dinner, and sent into a sort of solitary exile until midnight. In Norway, as in more polished circles of society upon the continent, both men and women retire together. The

Ceremo

ries of re.

tiring from

Table.

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CHAP. gentlemen then light their pipes. A clean pipe is seldom offered; and this want of cleanliness, connected with a custom in itself barbarous and uncleanly, is one of the few disagreeable things of which a stranger has to complain. The cardtables are never covered with cloth; and they are chalked all over, as at an ale-house. In playing cards, the game to which the better sort of Norwegians are most partial, is a species of whist, called Boston: it is in vogue all over Scandinavia, and is less simple and more hazardous than our common game of whist, at which they also play. Whatever the game may be, the stakes are always low. Gambling seems to be almost unknown in Norway, in polite company.

cent Villa

of Peter Anker.

Upon the following day, October the sixteenth, we had a still more sumptuous entertainment Magnifi- provided for us, at the stately country-seat, not to call it a palace, of Mr. Peter Anker, distant only three English miles from Christiania. We went to dine with him, accompanied by his brother. He received us with as much magnificence as any foreign Prince, but with all the hearty welcome and hospitality of his country, added to the splendor of a King. The suite of apartments was quite princely, and they were fitted up in the most elegant style. His gardens

VII.

were laid out in the English taste; and the CHAP. situation of his mansion, upon the borders of a lake at the foot of a rocky mountain, gave to the whole an appearance of great grandeur. In the gardens we were shewn an old Norwegian dwelling, preserved as a specimen of what the Norwegian houses were two centuries before, with all its furniture, and other appurtenances, as it then stood. Upon the walls of this building we observed the names of many travellers who had visited the spot, and, among others, that of the late Mrs. Godwin, thus inscribed, with a pencil, near the door-" Mary Wollstonecraft."

In the manners of Mr. Peter Anker there was something remarkably distinguished from the generality of his countrymen. His appearance, in the midst of the splendid scene over which he presided, was altogether that of the most accomplished potentate. Every part of his vast establishment was in itself a curiosity, and merited particular attention. He himself conducted us over it. "We shall pass through the kitchens," said he, "that English gentlemen, who are fond of neatness, may be convinced that what we have to set before them is dressed and served with cleanliness:" and certainly we never beheld any thing similar. The dinner was preparing in large airy apart

VII.

CHAP. ments, where every thing was in the utmost order. Not a cloth was to be seen in the hands of any of the attendants, but what was perfectly white and clean, and of the finest linen. All the kettles and dishes and tables were polished, and without the smallest appearance of being soiled by use. One of the most pleasing sights in these lower apartments was the table spread for the poor: upon which, with the same degree of neatness as for his own family, all the pieces of broken victuals were collected, and set forth for distribution, into portions, according to the size of the different families for whose use they were appropriated. His stables and greenhouses were next exhibited; and everywhere we observed the same display of decent order and superior arrangement. In the greenhouses were pines, apples, melons, and peaches. We saw also the cellars, as storehouses, for preserving meat and vegetables through the winter. Every housekeeper lays in his stock of provisions in October. Returning to the grand saloon, we began to examine his collection of pictures, made by himself, at a great expense, during his travels in Italy. It filled several chambers, which, opening into each other, presented altogether such a series of apartments as one sees in the Italian palaces, and especially in

His Collection of Pictures.