New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-08-21
GLIMPSES OF DENMARK.
A LAND OF STEADY HABITS AND CHEER
FULNESs-THE ROYAL HOCSE-A
REPRESENTATIVE CAPITAL
Copenhagen. August D.

Copenhagen, August o.
denmark f. prominently the land OF STEADY
habits and uniformity In the list OF KINGS VI
the house Of Oldenburg Christians ana rreue''''
follow each other as regularly as reaos anu
risers I'm a staircase. Every kins 'h'Is"'
named his Oldest son after his royal faher rreu-
eric. and every King Frederic reFer'e" " '''
own fathers name. Christian. when ne" '''"''
prince was horn and christencd. There was only
one break in the alternate line OF ChrIstia"S ""'
Frederics during five centuries one King Hans
came between two Christians That was ABOUT
the time IF the discovery of America. when the
unexpected was likely TO happen. SlHce INC
Reformation every Danish King has named MS
Oldest son after his father, and by force Of habit
Christians and Fredercs have followed each
other With perfection OF method. Royalty mas
set the stvle and the humbest subject has re-
snected the time honored custom until Denmark
has been filed with alternating crops OF Chris
tians and Frederics.
The kingdom is almost a, we'll regulated as the
royal family There is common level OF uni
formity in race and religion. The popuia''"n
is almost exclusively Scandinavian IN STOCK anu
Lutheran in faith. out of every hundred IN
habitants nnety-seven are nauve-borh ana
ninety-nine are Luthcrans belonging 70 the Ma
tional Church. There are few countries "here
the percentage OF foreign-born population Is SO
small or where the old faith. when suihceo
for the spiritual requirements or the fa'hers' mas
been accepted with less reserve by the SONS
II Is a HOMOGENEOUS well-regulated nation WIN
fixed habits resembling the royal house py
which II has been governed since the Reforma-
ton.
Regularity Of habits in common life may have
been induced by uniformity Of scenery and en-
vironmert Jutland, when traversed from
Elsiberg to Frederick. is revealed as iow-
lying heath. fit only for .pasturage ana peat
gathering with barren hummocks in place ot
hills and with few patches Of woodland. There
are monotonous vistas Of grazing lands dotted
with sleek cattle; and the windmiIs ana
matched cottages lack the elements OF quaint
ness and soft color which render Hollahd piC'-
uresoue. When the Little Belt IS crossed by
ferry the island OF Funen stretches eastward 20
the Great Belt. and there too. the scenery is so
dull and commonplace that one must needs
wonder how so imaginative a man as Hans
Christian Andersen could have been born there.
Beyond the Great Belt is iceland, with rolling
country dense thickets of woodland and bold
coast scenery toward Helsngor. ICELAND, with
Copenhagen on it's flank. picturesque island
with hillsides valleys lakes and forests. other-
wise Denmark IS without natural beauty. Dairy
farming is the chief occupation OF a plodding'
industrious people. and it is conducted laboroUs-
IL on low levels Of badly drained land unsuita-
bic for tillage.
LOW PRICES AND GOOD CHEER.
Denmark shares the Scandinavian heritage OF
povertv The bulk Of the population is agri-
cultural and receives meagre returns Tor us
labor. II is the land of steady habits and low
nrices The same conservatism which has IN
duced the Dane 10 cling TO the old family names
and 70 his fathers simple faith has reconcied
him TO a low cost OF living. There are few couh-
tries open 20 tourists where travel Is more eco
nomcal krone, worth an EnGhsh shlii'hs
with one and one-third pence added, VIII puy a
delicious breakfast of broiled fish, grlHed STEAK
and fried potatoes. with a bottle OF beer win
a subsidiary coinage based on hundredths oI an
ordinary shilling the most frugal traveller can
he generous in rewarding minor service without
falling into spendthrift habits. There are a
hundred ore to a krone. and each is worth ABOUT
half a farthing Yet the tiny ore coin Is CRATE
fullv aclnowl lodged when bestowed as Up
For tenth Of a shilling a travellers trunks are
transferred from wharf 10 station nine Ehsish
narce will he an ordinary cab hire; hotel charges
are one-thrd of the provincial rates IN England
and AL the incidental expenses are proportions
nra children Of nature have old-fashioned ideas
,hout n,ices and have not yet learned how 70
thunder tourists. Probably they will do so IN
o,,rsa os time II is an art readily acquired.
10 rho scandinavian inheritance of poverty
has noan added an endowment which is essen
,iall,. Danish-the happy gift Of deriving enjoy
ment from small things and Of taking cheer
fuI light hearted view cf life. There are bright
and happy faces to be seen wherever one goes
in Denmark The people may be poor, nut they
are contented and they contrive 10 find much
entertainment in ordinary life Copenhagen IS
not a brilliant capital but it is city where
good -humor and gayety - spirits prevail Ami
ability is a Scandinavian virtue. but in Denmark
II &c illuminated with innocent mirth and JOY
BUSINESS.
II were asked to name the most character
istic institution in Copenhagen l would not men,
tion the Thorwaldsen Museum, but the Tlvoi
Garden ThCrwaldsen was an lc"landers son.
and began his artistic career as carver OK
shins' dgurcheads in Copenhagen; but his genius
was Greek and was developed by industrious
st,,dv in Italy. The Frue Kirke. with its marble
Christ and Apostles and lovely Angel kneelng
with 2 shell. is "A splendid memorial to the great
est scIlptor of the North; but the principles OF
ART which he taught his pupils were as out OF
nlaca I'm Denmark as an iceberg would nave
been in the Mediterranean. The Tivoli Garden
is simply a popular place of amusement ire
nuented by all classes; but IL reveals the char
acteristic Danish instinct for rollicking gayety
and good humor without this pleasure ground
Copenhagen would he staid and sober IKE
Christiania or possibly dignifed and even brill
iant like Stockholm: bat it would not be the
tovous Danish metropolis fairly bubbhns over
with volatile spirits.
4 NIGHTLY CARNIVAL.
Tho Tgvou IS the largest and most successful
,,o,,,,ar garden on the Continent 1t is situated
- ,ho oertra Of .he city on ground leased from