testant countries; which has been imputed to the want of any peculiar fervour upon the subject. The wide extent and thin population of the northern districts must often render the provision for their religious instruction very defective. One of the subjects in which Sweden may most justly exult is, the general spread of education among the lower orders, which seems to equal or exceed that which Scotland enjoys; and to this may probably be in a great measure ascribed their generally meritorious conduct. Norway is not nearly so literary a country as Sweden: it has even been stated that there is not in the whole country a single bookseller's shop. This was in a great measure owing to the jealousy of Denmark, which would not allow an university to be founded even in Christiania, which used to be a rival to that of Copenhagen.

In science, the Swedes, considering their poverty and remote situation, have made a very distinguished figure. They have cultivated, with peculiar ardour, botany and mineralogy, which some of their countrymen mainly contributed to raise to the rank of sciences; and have also made large contributions to chemistry, which is still ably pursued by several distinguished individuals. Although history and poetry have been cultivated, they have not produced any writers whose reputation has spread throughout Europe. From the limited sphere of the Swedish language, few works of science are written in it, or translated into it: hence the literati of Sweden are particularly well versed in the languages of foreign nations.

Stockholm, the capital, is situated at the junction of the lake Malar with an inlet of the Baltic. It stands upon seven small rocky islands, besides two peninsulas, and is built upon piles. A variety of picturesque views are formed by numberless rocks of granite rising boldly from the surface of the water, partly bare and craggy, partly dotted with houses, or adorned with gardens and trees. The central island is bordered by a stately row of buildings, the residences of the principal merchants. It contains the palace and other public buildings; but the houses being high, and the streets narrow, its appearance is somewhat gloomy. The number of bridges, great and small, in this capital, is thirteen. At a short distance from the royal palace stands a fine statue of Gustavus III., in bronze, on a pedestal of polished porphyry. The city has likewise an arsenal, a mint, an exchange, and two theatres. The harbour is deep and capacious, though difficult of access: a thousand sail of shipping may lie here in safety, and the largest vessels can approach close to the quay. Population, 78,000.

Upsal, formerly the great metropolis of Sweden, is situated on an extensive plain, upon the small stream Fyrisa. In the centre is a square, from which the streets extend in straight lines. This town is famous for its beautiful cathedral, and for its university, which has a library of 40,000 volumes. Population 5000.

Gottenburg, near the mouth of the River Gota, has a circumference of three miles. It is regularly fortified, and in the upper part of the town, the streets rise above each other like an amphitheatre. Some of the modern buildings are of brick, but the greater number are of wood, and painted red. The harbour is spacious, and the commerce considerable. Population, 25,000.

Carlscrona, on the bay of the Baltic, is the station of the Swedish navy, and has a harbour which is defended at its entrance by two strong forts. It is celebrated for its docks, which are separated from the town by a high wall, and one of which is cut out of the solid rock. Population, 13,800.

Orebro, at the western extremity of Lake Hielmar, carries on an extensive trade. Population, 3400.

Malmoe, exactly opposite Copenhagen, contains about 5000 inhabitants, and possesses some commerce, though the harbour is bad.

Falun, 160 miles north of Stockholm, is remarkable for its extensive coppermines. The number of forges here give the town a very sombre appearance. Population, 4700.

Gefle, on the Gulf of Bothnia, is a well-built town, with some foreign commerce. Population, 10,000.

NORWAY.

THIS extensive portion of the Swedish monarchy, recently, by compulsion, but in all likelihood permanently, united, comprises a very long line of maritime territory, facing the boundless expanse of the Northern Ocean. Throughout its whole length, in an oblique line parallel to the sea, runs the chain of the Dofrafields, presenting many bold and lofty summits covered with perpetual snow. Sneehatta, the highest, is 8100 feet. Norway produces some corn, not nearly sufficient, however, for its own consumption; but exports large quantities of timber and fish, receiving, in return, those commodities of which it stands most in need. The southern provinces of Aggerhuus, Christiania, and Christiansund, include a considerably greater proportion of level territory than the others. They have the great range of mountains to the north and west, and are not separated from Sweden by these natural barriers. Through these provinces flow southward into the bay of Christiania the Drammen and the Glommen, the two greatest rivers of the North, and bring with them an immense quantity of timber, which is cut into deals, and exported to all parts of Europe. The export of iron is also considerable. Christiania, the capital of all this district, with a population of 20,581, now ranks as the capital of the whole kingdom. It is situated at the head of a long interior bay or fiord. Christiania is chiefly supported by the trade in deals; and those cut in its saw-mills are considered, by the traders in this article, to be superior to all others. Some of its merchants, particularly the Ankers, maintain the state of princes, and are considered equal in wealth and liberal views to any in Europe. Christiania comes more into contact than Bergen with the more advanced countries of Europe, and has adopted almost exclusively the improvements which distinguish them. The buildings are regular, and mostly of stone; so that in the course of 200 years, while other Scandinavian towns have been repeatedly reduced to ashes, Christiania has suffered only slight injury from fire. Since the union with Sweden, it has received an university, with two professors, who have moderate incomes, chiefly derived from grain.

There are other havens of some importance in this southern tract of Norway. On the western coast of Christiania fiord, the two, Bragenæs and Stromsoe, unite in forming what is called Dram or Drammen, at the mouth of the important river of that name. Tongsberg, at the bottom of the same side, is a town of some ancient celebrity, but now a good deal decayed. On the eastern side of the same bay is Moss, watered by a stream, turning twenty saw-mills, by which an immense quantity of deals is prepared for exportation. Frederickshall, an ancient and still important frontier town, is beautifully situated in an interior bay, winding among mountains. Near it is the strong fortress of Frederickstadt, the scene of the death of Charles XII. Christiansund, the most southern province of Norway, has a capital of the same name, the fourth town in the kingdom, which, from its situation on the Skagerrack, is visited for shelter and supplies by numerous vessels entering and leaving the Baltic.

The province of Bergen is rude, rocky, and mountainous, consisting of the slope downwards to the sea of the highest part of the Dofrafield range. The town of Bergen, at the head of a long interior bay, was formerly accounted the capital, and contains a population of 18,511. Its commerce, which is considerable, is founded on the exportation, less of the produce of the country behind it, than of the northern fishery at Daffoden, of which the produce is brought to Bergen by numerous barks. Its merchants had long the monopoly of this, and still retain much the greatest share. They are chiefly Dutch, and send a vessel weekly to Amsterdam for a supply of the garden stuffs which their own soil does not yield. Bergen is built of large masses of wooden houses, amid rocks, and has suffered severely by fire.

The province of Drontheim, to the north of Bergen and Christiania, is separated from them by vast mountains. The capital, of the same name, is situated on the shore of a winding fiord, but subsists less by foreign commerce than by the internal communication between numerous valleys and districts to which it forms a central

point of union. The society of Drontheim is always held forth as representing under the happiest light the genuine Norwegian character; its warmth of kindness, and generous hospitality. Drontheim is built wholly of wood, and has in consequence been seven times burnt to the ground; yet the houses are handsome, and ornamented with taste. There is a spacious palace, built wholly of this material, and partaking its imperfection. Drontheim also contains the remains of a cathedral, the largest edifice in the country, and to which the whole population of the north came once in pilgrimage. The environs are very beautiful, with numerous country-seats, and lofty snow-crowned hills in the distance. Christiansund is also a small sea-port and fishing town in this province.

Beyond Drontheim commences Norrland, a district rather than a province, the name being vaguely applied to all the north of Scandinavia. Relatively to Norway, it is marked by an increasing severity of cold; the mountains, even at 3000 feet high, being capped with perpetual snow, and vast table-plains or fields remaining covered with it during the whole summer. Grain, even of the coarsest descriptions, ripens only in a few favoured spots. The climate, however, is somewhat milder than that of regions under the same latitude on the Baltic; so that, while the ports of Stockholm and Carlscrona are shut during several months of the year, those of Norrland remain continually open. Yet in this dreary region occurs a busy scene of human action and existence. The numerous islands, and the deep bays between them and the land, afford spots to which shoals of fish come from the farthest depths of the North Sea to deposit their spawn. During the whole year, the herring affords a regular occupation to the Norrland boatmen; but from February to April, the shoals, migrating from thence, and from all the surrounding coasts, crowd to the Loffoden Islands, the central seat of the northern fishery. These islands form a chain parallel to the land, and separated by narrow channels, through which the tides of the Northern Ocean rush with tremendous rapidity. Malström, the famous whirlpool, when the tide is high, produces the effect of a mighty cataract. Waves are seen struggling against waves, towering aloft, or wheeling about in whirlpools; the dashing and roaring of which are heard many miles out at sea. The produce of the fishery is conveyed to Bergen in a great number of little barks.

LAPLAND.

THE vast region of Lapland is divided from the rest of Scandinavia by a line drawn across it nearly coinciding with the Polar Circle, so as to render it almost entirely an arctic region. It consists partly of great chains of mountains, some of which are 4000 feet high, while other extensive tracts are level. Through these roll the Tornea, the Lulea, the Pitea, and other rivers of long course, and navigable for the few boats which have any occasion to pass along them.

The Laplanders are a peculiar race, short, stout, brown, with black hair, pointed chin, and eyes rendered weak by exposure to the smoke and snow. They are divided into the mountain or wandering Laplanders, and those who dwell in what are called villages. The swift-footed rein-deer, which they train to draw them in sledges over the snow, form their riches; the flesh and milk of these animals compose their food, and the skins their furniture. The tents of the Laplanders are formed by six beams of wood meeting nearly at top, covered with cloth, a flap of which, left between two of the beams, serves as the door. The floor is spread with rein-deer skins, having the hair upwards, and which thus serve for either lying or sitting, the tent being too low to stand in, except in one place. A stone frame is made in the middle, for the fire; and there is a hole at the top, to which the smoke must find its way; but this it does not effect till it has thickly impregnated the whole tent with its fumes; which, however, are valued as affording a protection in winter against the cold, and in summer against the swarms of musquitoes with which, during a period of short and extreme heat, the air is infested. The herds of rein-deer vary from 300 to upwards of 1000, according to the wealth

of the possessor. All day they wander over the hills, and in the evening are driven, not without some occasional resistance, into an enclosed park, where they are milked. Each yields only about a tea-cupful of milk; but rich, aromatic, and of exquisite taste.

The Laplanders travel from place to place, and move their families, usually at the beginning of winter and summer, in sledges made in the form of a boat, and drawn by rein-deer. These animals are tamed and trained with considerable difficulty; and they are sometimes restive: but, in general, they bound over hill and dale with surprising celerity. Their dress is carefully contrived for the purposes of warmth. The under part, or shirt, is composed of sheep's skin with the wool inwards; while the exterior coat is formed by the skin of the rein-deer, or some other animal, having the fur outwards. They add fur gloves, and a woollen pointed red cap.

The entire population of Lapland is about 60,000, or one inhabitant to every three square miles. Even this scanty measure is supported on the sea-coasts only by a supply of fish.

The Laplanders are a harmless race, among whom great crimes are unknown. Only one murder has been heard of in twenty years; and the absence of theft is proved by that of bars, bolts, and other safeguards. They do not show that open hospitality and warmth of heart, for which rude nations are so often celebrated. They are cold, shy, mistrustful, and difficult to treat with, at least unless tobacco or brandy be brought in as a mediator. They were formerly very superstitious; and the Lapland witches were famous for their empire over the winds, which they enclosed in bags, and sold to the mariner. The magic drum and the enchanted chain are still in occasional use. Yet the Laplanders have been converted to Christianity, and are attentive to its duties, coming often from vast distances to attend divine service, though the instructions are conveyed to them only through the broken medium of an interpreter.

The sea-coast of Lapland presents a continuation of the same bold and rocky features which distinguish that of Norway. Here, too, the fishery is carried on with activity. It is chiefly in the hands of a Finnish race, called Quans, who have pushed across Lapland, and exert an activity unknown to the natives of that region. The Russians from Archangel, also, not only bring their meal to exchange for fish, but carry on the fishery themselves to a great extent. In July and August they cover with their small three-masted vessels all the fiords and sounds, and throw out lines that are sometimes two miles long, and contain 600 or 700 hooks; so that their vessels are filled with the utmost rapidity.

The government has founded, on the large island of Qualoe, the town of Hammerfest, one of the most northern in Europe, and destined as a rival to Archangel; but the settlement has never taken root in this ungenial climate, and continues also, with one exception, to be the smallest that exists. Mageroe, the most northerly of the islands, consists of steep rocks rising perpendicularly from the sea, and ascended as if by stairs. The northern point of this island is formed by the North Cape, the grand boundary of the European continent, facing the depths of the Polar Ocean. It consists of an enormous mass of naked rock, parted by the action of the waves into pyramidal cliffs, down which large fragments are continually falling.

DENMARK.

DENMARK is an ancient kingdom, formerly very powerful, holding sway over the surrounding regions, and, as a predatory state, the terror of all Europe. Though now reduced to the secondary rank, her situation renders her of importance in the general system of the Continent.

Denmark consists mainly of an extensive peninsula, shooting out from the northwest corner of Germany, and a cluster of large islands to the east of the peninsula. The Danish peninsula is termed Jutland; and the islands in the interior of the Baltic, interposed between Jutland and Scandinavia, are Zealand, Funen,

Odensee, and a few others of smaller note. Denmark holds also the German territories of Sleswick and Holstein; with Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and some settlements on the coast of Greenland, remnants of her former maritime power; together with the colonies in the East and West Indies, and on the coast of Guinea.

The extent of the dominions of a country broken into such a variety of detached portions can with difficulty be estimated. The only compact mass consists of Jutland, Sleswick, and Holstein; bounded on the west and north by the North Sea or German Ocean; on the east by the sounds which form the entrance of the Baltic; on the south by the Elbe. This tract lies generally between 534° and 57° north latitude, and 8° and 11° east longitude. We have thus a length of 280 miles, and a breadth of 120. The total area of the Danish monarchy, is about 22,000 square miles.

The surface of Denmark is nearly flat; forming, with the exception of Holland, the lowest part of the great plain of Northern Germany. The islands, in particular, in many places, rise only a few feet above the level of the sea. The soil, as in the rest of this plain, is frequently sandy and marshy; the climate humid, though not liable to those severe frosts which prevail in the interior of Scandinavia. Hence it affords good pasturage, and its soil is favourable to the growth of the coarser species of grain. The insular and peninsular character of her territory gives Denmark an extent of coast which certainly does not fall short of 600 miles; and there is said to be no part of the land more than ten miles distant from the sea. This structure leaves no room for the formation of any rivers of the least consequence, except the Eyder in Holstein, and the canal of Kiel, by which an important communication is formed between the ocean and the Baltic. Jutland contains a number of shallow but extensive lakes, closely bordering on the sea, with which they in many places communicate, and may hence be regarded as bays.

The agriculture of Denmark is conducted under considerable disadvantages, both of climate and soil. The climate, though not subject to severe frost or intense cold, is chill and damp; and the land consists, in a great measure, of sand and marsh. Every part of the kingdom, however, is capable of some cultivation, and occasional tracts of luxuriant fertility occur. Such are the islands of Zealand, Laaland, and Falster; and, in a still greater degree, the sea-coast of Sleswiek and Holstein; for the interior is arid and sandy. The industry of the peasant in Denmark Proper suffers many severe checks; he has been but recently emancipated from personal bondage, and is still subjected to many feudal usages. Life-leases, under which the payment is made in produce or personal services, are common. The proprietors are generally embarrassed, and unable to expend much on the improvement of their lands. The farmers of Holstein and Sleswick carry on the process of cultivation with great skill and activity. The chill moisture of the climate is less favourable to the cultivation of wheat than of barley, rye, and oats; all of which afford a large surplus for exportation. The rearing of cattle is also an extensive branch of industry, though too little attention has been paid to the improvement of the breeds, unless on the west coast of Sleswick, on whose moist and rich meadows is produced what bears a high reputation under the name of Hamburg beef." Over all Denmark, the produce of the dairy forms the basis of a large export trade.

66

A

The manufactures of Denmark are extremely rude, and consist chiefly in working up the flax and wool of the country in a coarse form for domestic use. great proportion also of the wool is exported. Government have employed great efforts to raise Denmark to the rank of a manufacturing country; and some fabrics in the different kinds of cloth, brandy, sugar-refining, &c., have, under its patronage, been set on foot in the large towns; but these are all languishing, and with difficulty support foreign competition.

The commerce of Denmark is in a more active state than the other branches of industry; though it is still not such as to give her a prominent place among the powers of Europe. The basis consists in the exportation of its raw produce. The grain exported from Jutland, consisting of wheat, rye, barley, and cats,