Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1882-05-18
a Letter From p. N. Christensen
SToKKEMARKE, April ID. 80

s. pondence. [ am well and have bee,
al throughout the journey, excepting N
little experience with sea sickness.
# feel quite contented here at my DO,
hood home, visiting all the lit
4 hooks and corners where I used
play and while away so many idle an
happy hours. [ will now take I'D tb
thread of the description of my journe
y about where left off. One day O
the steamer Republic, I visited, i
. company with the keeper, the refrigi
rator, in which meat is shipped fror
America to England. 1t is larg
room with double walls filled With saw
dust through which pass pipes tina
carry salt and ice water. We mad
the voyage of 1885 miles in l.:
days. middling quick passage. W.
stopped just long enough in Liverpool
to have our baggage inspected by tn.
custom officers, and then took the
Lancashire R. R. for Hull. The first
that attracted our attention was the
scenery. Instead of every thing look
ing black and wiDtery, as in America,
the fields were green and the farmers
were busy putting in their crops. On
our way across England l noticed that
there were many manufacturing cities,
SO close together that the train would
hardly get under Roadway after leav.
Ing one before we came to another.
There are also canals crossing England
In which barges, loaded with coal and
other materials were towed from place
to place. In some places they are
built above, the water in the canal be-
ing many feet higher than the level of
the ground. Besides looking unnatur-
al, 1t shows the ingenuity and psrsever-
ance of mankind. We arrived at Hull
about dark, where We stayed one day
looking over the city. 1t is an old
city with narrow streets but we'll
paved, and clearly kept. We visited
an auction room in which were sold
chinaware and cutlery, southern fruit,
such as oranges, lemons etc., were very
cheap. [ had expected to find tobac-
co unreasonably high but the best CT
gars range in price from two to three
pence This reminds me Of an Incl
dent that happened in the custom
house at Liverpool. The officer asked
gentleman whether he had any cigars
or tobacco. he said he had some CT
gars tor his own use. The officer
looked and found hat full and almost
handkerchief full of loose ones. They
were confscated and he was fined
w. w The 3Oth day of March we
left Hull, and made our way slowly
across the North Sea towards Ham-
burgh. On the eve of the 3lst we es-
pied the land at the mouth of the river
Elbe. 1t was a calm, moonlight night
the bluff varying with level land in
some places, grand looking buildings
surrounded with woods and the smooth
CLASSY looking river, covered win
ships, caused the whole to look to our
eye like paradise on earth.
The next morning we "took i'm the
city of Hamburger, 1t is nice, clean
city. We admired the grand archftec-
ture Of all the large public buildings.
We visited the Bourse, large edifcs,
divided by rows of pillars into large
number of rooms, where the CONNER
ciaf dealers and stock gamblers meet
to transact their business. In the
evening we took the train for Ikiel, a
seaport city on the northern coast of
Holestein. At midnight we took a
steamer for 1korsier. in Denmark. We
came in sight of the islands at day
break, and it was with peculiar feel
ing somewhere under the vest, that l, {
after all absence of 16 years. saw a
part of my native island. We landed S.;
and soon took the train for the capital
Copenhagen, where we arrived at
l0:30 a. M. We spent day or two S
in looking over the city. There are
many places of curiosity The garden
Of zoology, in which are kept a large :
number of foreign animals and birds,
md also the garden of Botany in
which are planted all kinds of foreign
and domestic trees, occupied consider I
able of our time. These two gardens (
ire open to the public nearly every ,
lay the garden of Botany being free.
and the admission to che garden of
zoology being 40 Oere 90 cents.
The most interesting place [ visited a
vas the Kings museum. which con- 7
aims great number of fine oil paint >
ngs. The museum is open ON certain
lays of the week to- all respectable
ooking persons, and rs we'll worth Wis
ting as often as one can find time to
spare. The museum of statuaty vel
also visited and admired the skill with I
which the great artist. Thorwald.en,
vas able to chisel out of cold marble {
correct likenesses Of trees, birds, ami
mails and people. This museum is {
,hree stories high filed with the pro-
auctions of this great MASTER for it
vas presented to the state by him.
On the 8th Of April 1 left the city and
ook the train for my native Island,
called Holland, at which [ arrived in
bout seven hours, where my parents
till reside ard where [ was welcomed
" number of old friends.
I should like 60 hear from you. TO
rear what nsws there is, but remember
hat it takes about three weeks for al