The Express.
London, England, 1864-02-22 00:00:00

PUBLIC FEELING IN COPENHAGEN.

The following is an extract from a private letter
dated Copenhagen, Feb. 9, describing the manner
in which the news of the retreat of the army was
received in that capital :

Aped now a few lloU to tell you • little of the mad state
of things here. You have no doubt seen in the English
papers that the " Danish army had evacuated the Donne-
wake and retreated to another fortification." This might.
not seam so very dreadful to you ; but no words can d►
scribe the miserable sensation such intelligence measioud
here. On Saturday morning a telegram announced .that
"the Germans had posamion of the Dannewerke." This
wag had atoned, and everybody looked grave and
solemn ; but when the next telegram announced
" the Dense bad retreated," the excitement and rage of the
people knew no bounds. John and I were walking
down the street in which the King lives (knowing nothing
of this sad news), and saw Dotzac, the French minister,
with two other gentlemen standing on the pavement, gerti-
euleting violently as we paned them. I could only hear,
" Maim, Monsieur, a roe oar/Ivrea/is pea." A little farther
on another little knot of great men, Donut Daniskiold and
ethers, looking end talking u if the world had to an end.
A few yards further we found a man distributing telegrams
to little crowds of eager faces, and so we reached home
• little after 5 o'clock. At half-past six, juste' we had
begun dinner, Jaime, our fat-tot/00, appeared at
lila door with such • face. " What's the matter now,
Jansen said we both, with open months and knife and
fork in hand. "Oh, sir, there'll be such • rising to-night
Bredgade is quite full of people, and they swear they will
! have the King's life. The Life Guide are called out, and
what will happen no one ain talL" Well, we told him to go
land bur all he could, and come in again in an hour. We
finished our dinner, with rather diminished appetite', and
bad scarcely done so when fearful shoats announced the
approach of the mob. Of course we tamed down the gar
and rushed to the windows, sod on they poured
in streams, shouting, yelling, he., " Down with
the German," meaning the King, who they thought at
that time had been cognisant of the retreat, and betaayed
his country into the hands of the Germans. The mob was
on lie way to the Prime Minister's house when they broke
all his windows, and not iodine him returned pea our
house again to Bredpde, where a frightful seem took piece.
The Life Guards were obliged to charge with naked alma,
the people using large stones, with which they wounded 14
policemen, five very seriously, sad several of the Guards.
This went on till 3 in the morning, when things subsided
till Sanday evening, when/mother scene of the same kind took
place ; but instead of sang bayonets and guns, the authorities
had fire engines brought out, from which they pumped water
on the crowd. Yesterday and to-day have been quiet;
expluatious have taken place, the priocipal mash have
been recalled, and every one says they will forfeit their
lives for what they have dope : but I hope they will be able
to prove they could not help it. But the fact la, patriotism
!is such as absorbing passim of these people that I believe
they would lose relatives and fortune rather thee yield an
inch of their country or a tittle of their country's humour.
Among the better classes the effect of what they consider so
disgraceful an affair is something terrible to witness. You
c/moot epeak to a gentleman or lady bat the tears are in
their eyes, and they look as thoroughly dejected as if they
I had lost their all on earth. We were aimed to two dinner
parties this week—of mares both are put off, and misery is
the orderof the day. Added to this the weather is frightful.
The entire country is one sheet of ice. To day the cold
is more intense than they say has been known for yeah.
The people in the greasers literally sliding along, for they
cannot walk. I was amused to see in some English paper
that the weather here was " spring-like." I only know
that since the 30th of December we have sever
been without seeing fresh fallen or frozen mow
on the ground—so what sort of spring that
may be I don't know. Everybody is saying that heir
drab of the soldiers most be frozen to death tei-night ;
this, added to the endless number of people bewailing the
Ices of relatives and friends, makes everything frightfully
gloomy. Mr. H— saw yesterday over two thousand sol-
diers in the hospital, brought in vends from the seem of
action. Poor little Denmark ! Unless England emu to
the rescue, I fax there is no hops for her, with an the
frightful waste of life and money that is going on. Since
the war began letters are a full week coming ,or going to
England—sometimes we have a post in two days running,
and then not one for three or four.