The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-14 00:00:00

ENGLAND AND DENMARK.

(Ikondi War.)

(neon OUR ORX COItHESPONDT:Cf.)

The spirit of the Danes is essentially anti-German;
and everything that smacks of Germany is odious;
therefore it was that the Schleswig-}holstein war was
popular. The return of the Danish grenadiers from
the seat of war to Copenhagen was celebrated by s
grand festival which lasted a fortnight. The most
spacious hall of the royal palace in Copenhagen was
titled up at the expense of the town, and every day
in succession for a fortnight saw 1,500 guests assent-
bled to celebrate the victories of Denmark. Yet in
the midst of all this sensible men doubt the speedy
settlement of the question of Schleswig Holstein.
They doubt that Holstein can ever return to Danish
alleiumal under circumstances as thvourable as ex-.
isted previous to the breaking out of the war.
The most that will have been Realist by
strife which has lasted three years, and cost
30,000,000 doll. to the Danish nation is the
closer annexation of Schleswig to Denmark.
But even that can only be maintained by ensuring
to Schleswig such liberal institutions us will enable)
it freely to maintain those relations with Holstein
which render the duchies really inselswable, and
which, in fact, Denmark could nut if she would pre-
vent. It is an anomaly, indeed, in the position of
Denmatic, that she should be obliged, for the sake of
her existence, to preserve so German an element as
the duchies, yet without a hope of infusing into them
that anti-German feeling which characterises so
strongly the purely Danish portion of the kingdom.
But, though it is impossible to foresee the tanned°
fate of the Danish provine,a, labouring as they do
under the disadvantages of a complicated succession,
it is important to note that, beside thu democratic
and aristocratic parties which exist iu every state,
there is in Denmark a Scandinavian party, anxious
to establish a nationality opposed alike to German
and to Russian tendencies. The great obstacle to
Scandinavian unity is the jealousyof Sweden. That
jealousy is, it seems, much diminished, and were it
to la, completely overvome. the results could not but
he advantageous to the balance of power in Europe.
So at least think those men who have studied
the question here. But it must be ad-
mitted that a glance at the present stato
of parties leaves but little hope that tho
many difficulties in the way of the settlement of
Danish atlliirs can speedily be smoothed down.
Meanwhile the King of Denmark is ispular, the
people not unhappy, and the endeavoms of mer-
chants as well as ministers to Invoine indep.ndent of
Germany may already be reckoned as premonitory
symptoms of what will sltimately be the fate of
r/eninark. _ .

.....
The expensci of the lute war have much im-
paired the present vigour of the government. 'l'llo
only railway in the country iK that front Itoeskiklo

to Copenhagen, a distance of lti English miles; and
although the works surveyed tin• the completion of
the line to Korsor. on the Great Belt, are in pro-
gress, the want of funds is so severely tilt, that
man• years may elapse before they arc brom;ht to rt

termination.
The line already laid down has cost upwards of
10,000/. a mile, and that, too, in a level country in
which the heaviest gradient is one in 'no. this
seems to be a heavy charge; but we were assured
that the works could not be made at a cheaper rate,
and this great expense is another cause which mili-
tates against the completion of the line. At present
the 10 miles at work are run at the slow pate of an
hour. Such is the slow progress of railways ill Den-
mark. The government in the meanwhile is doing
all in its power to reduce its expenditure; largo
numbers of soldiers are daily s. at home. 'the house-
hold is reduced to its smallest ligutr, and many of
the royal palaces are being sold otf in order to avoid
the necessity of keeping thou up. A trip from
Copenlee.,ssi to Elsinore took us througlitwo nt theso
royal residences that are übout to pies into other
lauds, viz., Friedensburg, about 2'2 miles frout Co.
penhul„wn ; and Nlarienhast. at Elsinore.
Alarientust is a desolate place in April, but mast
beautiful when its trees, garden, and statues aro
decked in summer's garb. Situated ott n ffielivity
sloping to the sea, the little cluttean looks out upon
the clear waters of the Sound, glistening Ns ith sharp
reflections in the Mall light, and bounded on tho
horizon by the pleasant hills of the Swedish coast.
On taw side the stronghold of Cronborg, which de-
fends the passage of the Sound, rears its Elizaleethaa
towers, whilst ill the distance behind glisten the
white hawses of Helmsborg in Sweden, crowned by
an ancient tower frowning in dark tones on the sur-
rounding country. The itmumerable shipping that
stud the waters increase the Omni of a Linelseapo
unsurpassed in the beauty of its hues, the variety of
its componeut parts, and the brilliancy of its colours.
Turning for an instant from this pleasing picture,
a diffisent one presents itself. In a shady nook
away front the sea. the eye rests on a pleasant grovo
of trees. There, in a sequestered spit. near a
brawling limpid stream. staid; the tomb of Ilandet.
'Ti,, a little mound of earth. un the top of which
stands a small obelisk. This obelisk, formed of stones
neatly superposed. resembles a section of a cone. No
inscription breaks the mystery of the place, and tho
mind wanders undisturbed in Shakspearian dreams,
and such reveries as moss and lichens can create..
'The ghost of the Prince of ttttt ark has never
frightened the peaceful habitants Mariodust. and
to this may be ascribed the unbelief of Elsinore gos-
sips, that Daudet ever lived in aught but the
imagination of our best known dramatist.
The Cronborg of Elsinore is supposed to defend
the passage of the Sound. Its butteries, now for the
most part unmanned, are raised above one soother
in tiers, simulating those of a man-of-war. But this
distance to the Sweden side of the Sound is three
miles, and though perhaps one ship might not bo
able to pass undamaged, it seems possible for a
squadron to me through with many chances of
escape. The Castle of Cronborg is a splendid build-
ing of Elizabethan style and solid stone—a strong-
hold of sufficient strength. It is a vast quadrangle
standing in the midst of waters, which are its de-
fence and ornament. In ono of the stone-walled
chambers in the basement was once immured a scion
of our royal house, the unfortunate Caroline Matilda
of England. Cold and cheerless was the stay which
she made in these dungeon-like apartments. A rusty
stove, emblazoned with the royal urns, is now the
only furniture that connects the place with such
ideas of comfort as Englishmen bring front
home. But many a year has passed since a ray
of heat has warmed the wretched walls of this state
prison, and it was with a chill alike on mind and
body that we left the place which for a time enclosed
a princess in whose fault there was so mueh to excuses
and to pity.
Besides the Cronborg there is little either grander
beautiful in the buildings of Elsinore. The streets
1 are narrow mud ill-paved as usual—frequented, too, for
the most part by-sailors of all nations, whose drunken
brawls at times disturb the sleep of the more peace-
able inhabitants. A little harbour giving shelter
front the powerful stream of the Sound, and a capital
collection of birds gathered together by the assiduous
care of Mr. Shack Steenberg, arc the only sights of
Elsinore.
Friedensborg is but a few miles from Elsinore, and
has been rarely used except as a hunting rendezvous
by the royal family. Nothing can be more beautiful
than the park and the avenue leading up to this vast
hunting lodge. In the glades of greenwood lie hid
many a deer, and many are the silent nooks enclosed
in verdure where moss-decked statues rear their
solitary forms, and where such love scenes us Wat-
teau was wont to paint might not =appropriately
be laid. A curious collection of old pictures
fills the numerous rooms of Friedensburg, none of
them of such importance as to warrant special notico
or comment.
Friederithshorg is the royal residence of the kings
of' Denmark, built by Christian IV., it is said, after
the designs of Inigo Jones; it is a splendid specimen.
of Elizabethan architecture, and well worthy tho
fame of that celebrated architect. Wander where
you may through its numberless apartments, you sco
nought but portraits of deceased kings, queens, and
their relations, devoid indeed of pictorial merit, but
I gaining some importance from their being genuine
likenesses.
It is not of these reminiscences of Friederichsborg,
however, that I should first speak, but rather of the
kind hospitality with which we were received there.
The King who was then residing in the palace,
honoured us withal' interview, i tutuirmg with interest
into the incidents of our jousiev, stating leis belief
that the disagree:abilities we had ;offend in the shape
of bad roads in Jutland would soon be remedied, and
concluding by expressing his deep sense of gratitude