Eleven days of
weariness on board a vessel not intended for the accommodation of passengers
have so exhausted my spirits, to say nothing of the other causes, with which
you are already sufficiently acquainted, that it is with some difficulty I
adhere to my determination of giving you my observations, as I travel through
new scenes, whilst warmed with the impression they have made on me.
The captain, as I
mentioned to you, promised to put me on shore at Arendall
or Gothenburg in his way to Elsineur, but contrary
winds obliged us to pass both places during the night. In the morning,
however, after we had lost sight of the entrance of the latter bay, the vessel
was becalmed; and the captain, to oblige me, hanging out a signal for a pilot,
bore down towards the shore.
My attention was
particularly directed to the lighthouse, and you can scarcely imagine with what
anxiety I watched two long hours for a boat to emancipate me; still no one
appeared. Every cloud that flitted on the horizon was hailed as a
liberator, till approaching nearer, like most of the prospects sketched by
hope, it dissolved under the eye into disappointment.
Weary of expectation,
I then began to converse with the captain on the subject, and from the tenor of
the information my questions drew forth I soon concluded that if I waited for a
boat I had little chance of getting on shore at this place. Despotism, as
is usually the case, I found had here cramped the industry of man. The
pilots being paid by the king, and scantily, they will not run into any danger,
or even quit their hovels, if they can possibly avoid it, only to fulfil what is termed their duty. How different is it
on the English coast, where, in the most stormy
weather, boats immediately hail you, brought out by the expectation of
extraordinary profit.
Disliking to sail for
Elsineur, and still more to lie at anchor or cruise
about the coast for several days, I exerted all my rhetoric to prevail on the
captain to let me have the ship’s boat, and though I added the most forcible of
arguments, I for a long the addressed him in vain.
It is a kind of rule
at sea not to send out a boat. The captain was a good-natured man; but
men with common minds seldom break through general rules. Prudence is
ever the resort of weakness, and they rarely go as far as they may in any
undertaking who are determined not to go beyond it on
any account. If, however, I had some trouble with the captain, I did not
lose much time with the sailors, for they, all
alacrity, hoisted out the boat the moment I obtained permission, and promised
to row me to the lighthouse.
I did not once allow
myself to doubt of obtaining a conveyance from thence round the rocks—and then
away for Gothenburg—confinement is so unpleasant.
The day was fine, and
I enjoyed the water till, approaching the little island, poor Marguerite, whose
timidity always acts as a feeler before her adventuring spirit, began to wonder
at our not seeing any inhabitants. I did not listen to her. But
when, on landing, the same silence prevailed, I caught the alarm, which was not
lessened by the sight of two old men whom we forced out of their wretched
hut. Scarcely human in their appearance, we with difficulty obtained an
intelligible reply to our questions, the result of which was that they had no
boat, and were not allowed to quit their post on any pretence. But they
informed us that there was at the other side, eight or ten miles over, a
pilot’s dwelling. Two guineas tempted the sailors to risk the captain’s
displeasure, and once more embark to row me over.
The weather was
pleasant, and the appearance of the shore so grand that I should have enjoyed
the two hours it took to reach it, but for the fatigue which was too visible in
the countenances of the sailors, who, instead of uttering a complaint, were,
with the thoughtless hilarity peculiar to them, joking about the possibility of
the captain’s taking advantage of a slight westerly breeze, which was springing
up, to sail without them. Yet, in spite of their good humour,
I could not help growing uneasy when the shore, receding, as it were, as we
advanced, seemed to promise no end to their toil. This anxiety increased
when, turning into the most picturesque bay I ever saw, my eyes sought in vain
for the vestige of a human habitation. Before I could
determine what step to take in such a dilemma (for I could not bear to think of
returning to the ship), the sight of a barge relieved me, and we hastened
towards it for information. We were immediately directed to pass
some jutting rocks, when we should see a pilot’s hut.
There was a solemn
silence in this scene which made itself be felt.
The sunbeams that played on the ocean, scarcely ruffled by the lightest breeze,
contrasted with the huge dark rocks, that looked like the rude
materials of creation forming the barrier of unwrought space, forcibly struck
me, but I should not have been sorry if the cottage had not appeared
equally tranquil. Approaching a retreat where strangers, especially
women, so seldom appeared, I wondered that curiosity did not bring the beings who inhabited it to the windows or door. I did not
immediately recollect that men who remain so near the
brute creation, as only to exert themselves to find the food necessary to
sustain life, have little or no imagination to call forth the curiosity
necessary to fructify the faint glimmerings of mind which entitle them to rank
as lords of the creation. Had they either they could not contentedly
remain rooted in the clods they so indolently cultivate.
Whilst the sailors
went to seek for the sluggish inhabitants, these conclusions occurred to me;
and, recollecting the extreme fondness which the Parisians ever testify for
novelty, their very curiosity appeared to me a proof of the progress they had
made in refinement. Yes, in the art of living—in the art of escaping from
the cares which embarrass the first steps towards the attainment of the
pleasures of social life.
The pilots informed
the sailors that they were under the direction of a lieutenant retired from the
service, who spoke English; adding that they could do nothing without his
orders, and even the offer of money could hardly conquer their laziness and
prevail on them to accompany us to his dwelling. They would not go with
me alone, which I wanted them to have done, because I wished to dismiss the
sailors as soon as possible. Once more we rowed off, they following
tardily, till, turning round another bold protuberance of the rocks, we saw a
boat making towards us, and soon learnt that it was the lieutenant himself,
coming with some earnestness to see who we were.
To save the sailors
any further toil, I had my baggage instantly removed into his boat; for, as he
could speak English, a previous parley was not necessary, though Marguerite’s
respect for me could hardly keep her from expressing the fear, strongly marked
on her countenance, which my putting ourselves into the power of a strange man
excited. He pointed out his cottage; and, drawing near to it, I was not
sorry to see a female figure, though I had not, like Marguerite, been thinking
of robberies, murders, or the other evil which instantly, as the sailors would
have said, runs foul of a woman’s imagination.
On entering I was
still better pleased to find a clean house, with some degree of rural elegance.
The beds were of muslin, coarse it is true, but dazzlingly white; and the floor
was strewed over with little sprigs of juniper (the custom, as I afterwards
found, of the country), which formed a contrast with the curtains, and produced
an agreeable sensation of freshness, to soften the ardour
of noon. Still nothing was so pleasing as the
alacrity of hospitality—all that the house afforded was quickly spread on the
whitest linen. Remember, I had just left the vessel, where, without being
fastidious, I had continually been disgusted. Fish, milk, butter, and
cheese, and, I am sorry to add, brandy, the bane of this country, were spread
on the board. After we had dined hospitality made them, with some degree
of mystery, bring us some excellent coffee. I did not then know that it
was prohibited.
The good man of the
house apologised for coming in continually, but
declared that he was so glad to speak English he could not stay out. He
need not have apologised; I was equally glad of his
company. With the wife I could only exchange smiles, and she was employed
observing the make of our clothes. My hands, I found, had first led her
to discover that I was the lady. I had, of course, my quantum of
reverences; for the politeness of the north seems to partake of the coldness of
the climate and the rigidity of its iron-sinewed
rocks. Amongst the peasantry there is, however, so much of the simplicity
of the golden age in this land of flint—so much overflowing of heart and
fellow-feeling, that only benevolence and the honest sympathy of nature
diffused smiles over my countenance when they kept me standing, regardless of
my fatigue, whilst they dropped courtesy after courtesy.
The situation of this
house was beautiful, though chosen for convenience. The master being the
officer who commanded all the pilots on the coast, and the person appointed to
guard wrecks, it was necessary for him to fix on a spot that would overlook the
whole bay. As he had seen some service, he wore, not without a pride I
thought becoming, a badge to prove that he had merited well of his
country. It was happy, I thought, that he had been paid in honour, for the stipend he received was little more than
twelve pounds a year. I do not trouble myself or you with the calculation
of Swedish ducats. Thus, my friend, you perceive the necessity of
perquisites. This same narrow policy runs through everything. I
shall have occasion further to animadvert on it.
Though my host amused
me with an account of himself, which gave me aim idea of the manners of the
people I was about to visit, I was eager to climb the rocks to view the
country, and see whether the honest tars had regained their ship. With
the help of the lieutenant’s telescope, I saw the vessel under way with a fair
though gentle gale. The sea was calm, playful even as the most shallow stream, and on the vast basin I did not see a
dark speck to indicate the boat. My conductors were consequently arrived.
Straying further, my
eye was attracted by the sight of some heartsease that peeped through the
rocks. I caught at it as a good omen, and going
to preserve it in a letter that had not conveyed balm to my heart, a cruel
remembrance suffused my eyes; but it passed away like an April shower. If
you are deep read in Shakespeare, you will recollect that this was the little
western flower tinged by love’s dart, which “maidens call love in
idleness.” The gaiety of my babe was unmixed; regardless of omens or
sentiments, she found a few wild strawberries more grateful than flowers or
fancies.
The lieutenant
informed me that this was a commodious bay. Of that I could not judge,
though I felt its picturesque beauty. Rocks were piled on rocks, forming
a suitable bulwark to the ocean. “Come no further,” they emphatically
said, turning their dark sides to the waves to augment the idle roar. The
view was sterile; still little patches of earth of the most exquisite verdure, enamelled with the sweetest wild flowers, seemed to promise
the goats and a few straggling cows luxurious herbage. How silent and
peaceful was the scene! I gazed around with rapture, and felt more of
that spontaneous pleasure which gives credibility to our expectation of
happiness than I had for a long, long time before. I forgot the horrors I
had witnessed in France, which had cast a gloom over all nature, and suffering
the enthusiasm of my character—too often, gracious God! damped
by the tears of disappointed affection—to be lighted up afresh, care took wing
while simple fellow-feeling expanded my heart.
To prolong this
enjoyment, I readily assented to the proposal of our host to pay a visit to a
family, the master of which spoke English, who was the drollest dog in the
country, he added, repeating some of his stories with a hearty laugh.
I walked on, still
delighted with the rude beauties of the scene; for the sublime often gave place
imperceptibly to the beautiful, dilating the emotions which were painfully
concentrated.
When we entered this
abode, the largest I had yet seen, I was introduced to a numerous family; but
the father, from whom I was led to expect so much entertainment, was
absent. The lieutenant consequently was obliged to be the interpreter of
our reciprocal compliments. The phrases were awkwardly transmitted, it is
true; but looks and gestures were sufficient to make them intelligible and
interesting. The girls were all vivacity, and respect for me could
scarcely keep them from romping with my host, who, asking for a pinch of snuff, was presented with a box, out of which an artificial
mouse, fastened to the bottom, sprang. Though this trick had doubtless
been played the out of mind, yet the laughter it excited was not less genuine.
They were overflowing
with civility; but, to prevent their almost killing my babe with kindness, I
was obliged to shorten my visit; and two or three of the girls accompanied us,
bringing with them a part of whatever the house afforded to contribute towards
rendering my supper more plentiful; and plentiful in fact it was, though I with
difficulty did honour to some of the dishes, not
relishing the quantity of sugar and spices put into everything. At supper
my host told me bluntly that I was a woman of observation, for I asked him men’s
questions.
The arrangements for
my journey were quickly made. I could only have a car with post-horses,
as I did not choose to wait till a carriage could be sent for to
Gothenburg. The expense of my journey (about one or two and twenty
English miles) I found would not amount to more than eleven or twelve
shillings, paying, he assured me, generously. I gave him a guinea and a
half. But it was with the greatest difficulty that I could make him take
so much—indeed anything—for my lodging and fare. He declared that it was
next to robbing me, explaining how much I ought to pay on the road.
However, as I was positive, he took the guinea for himself; but, as a
condition, insisted on accompanying me, to prevent my meeting with any trouble
or imposition on the way.
I then retired to my
apartment with regret. The night was so fine that I would gladly have
rambled about much longer, yet, recollecting that I must rise very early, I
reluctantly went to bed; but my senses had been so awake, and my imagination
still continued so busy, that I sought for rest in vain. Rising before
six, I scented the sweet morning air; I had long before heard the birds
twittering to hail the dawning day, though it could scarcely have been allowed
to have departed.
Nothing, in fact, can
equal the beauty of the northern summer’s evening and night, if night it may be
called that only wants the glare of day, the full light which frequently seems
so impertinent, for I could write at midnight very well without a candle.
I contemplated all Nature at rest; the rocks, even grown darker in their
appearance, looked as if they partook of the general repose, and reclined more
heavily on their foundation. “What,” I exclaimed, “is this active
principle which keeps me still awake? Why fly my thoughts abroad, when
everything around me appears at home?” My child was sleeping with equal
calmness—innocent and sweet as the closing flowers. Some recollections,
attached to the idea of home, mingled with reflections respecting the state of
society I had been contemplating that evening, made a tear drop on the rosy
cheek I had just kissed, and emotions that trembled on the brink of ecstasy and
agony gave a poignancy to my sensations which made me feel more alive than
usual.
What are these
imperious sympathies? How frequently has melancholy and even misanthropy
taken possession of me, when the world has disgusted me, and friends have
proved unkind. I have then considered myself as
a particle broken off from the grand mass of mankind; I was alone, till some
involuntary sympathetic emotion, like the attraction of adhesion, made me feel
that I was still a part of a mighty whole, from which I could not sever
myself—not, perhaps, for the reflection has been carried very far, by snapping
the thread of an existence, which loses its charms in proportion as the cruel
experience of life stops or poisons the current of the heart. Futurity,
what hast thou not to give to those who know that there is such a thing as
happiness! I speak not of philosophical contentment, though pain has
afforded them the strongest conviction of it.
After our coffee and
milk—for the mistress of the house had been roused long before us by her
hospitality—my baggage was taken forward in a boat by my host, because the car
could not safely have been brought to the house.
The road at first was
very rocky and troublesome, but our driver was careful, and the horses
accustomed to the frequent and sudden acclivities and descents; so that, not
apprehending any danger, I played with my girl, whom I would not leave to
Marguerite’s care, on account of her timidity.
Stopping at a little
inn to bait the horses, I saw the first countenance in Sweden that displeased
me, though the man was better dressed than any one who had as yet fallen in my
way. An altercation took place between him and my host, the purport of
which I could not guess, excepting that I was the occasion of it, be it what it
would. The sequel was his leaving the house angrily; and I was
immediately informed that he was the custom-house officer. The
professional had indeed effaced the national character, for, living as he did
within these frank hospitable people, still only the exciseman
appeared, the counterpart of some I had met with in England and France. I
was unprovided with a passport, not having entered
any great town. At Gothenburg I knew I could immediately obtain one, and
only the trouble made me object to the searching my trunks. He blustered
for money; but the lieutenant was determined to guard me, according to promise,
from imposition.
To avoid being
interrogated at the town-gate, and obliged to go in the rain to give an account
of myself (merely a form) before we could get the refreshment we stood in need
of, he requested us to descend—I might have said step—from our car, and walk
into town.
I expected to have
found a tolerable inn, but was ushered into a most comfortless one; and,
because it was about five o’clock, three or four hours after their dining hour,
I could not prevail on them to give me anything warm to eat.
The appearance of the
accommodations obliged me to deliver one of my recommendatory letters, and the
gentleman to whom it was addressed sent to look out for a
lodging for me whilst I partook of his supper. As nothing passed
at this supper to characterise the country, I shall
here close my letter.
Yours truly.