kingdom continued to revive. The lands of the duke of Holstein Plan reverted to the Crown; but on the other hand, on the accession of Peter III. duke of Holstein, to the throne of Russia, Denmark was threatened with war by that formidable power, Peter wishing to restore to his line the dukedom of Sleswick, to which the Danish monarch had laid claim. The Russian army were already assembled in Mecklenburg, and the Danes in Holstein, when Peter was driven from the throne. On Catherine's accession it was arranged, that her son the grand duke Paul, the heir to the Holstein territory, should renounce his claim to that duchy in favour of Denmark, and should receive in exchange from the latter power the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. This exchange was confirmed on the grand duke's attaining majority in 1773, so that from this period the whole of Sleswick and Holstein have belonged to Denmark. Paul bestowed his new territories on the younger line of Gottorp in the person of the bishop of Lubec. The great advantage gained by this annexation, was the effectual removal of those grounds of differences which had so often been agitated between the different lines of Holstein and the kings of Denmark.

Christian VII.] Christian VII. had ascended the throne of Denmark in 1766. The early years of his government were disturbed by the affair with Struensee, a man of great talents, and a restless disposition, who had raised himself from the situation of king's physician to that of first minister. Struensee's administration soon became hateful to the nobility and ministry, and a plot having been formed for his overthrow, under the queen's mother, the favourite was disgraced, and soon afterwards brought to the scaffold, with his friend count Brand. The new ministry was displaced in 1784 by the Crown Prince on his assuming the regency during the derangement of the king. The head of the new ministry, Bernstorf, was an able man, and managed the external relations of the kingdom with considerable address. Among other wise acts of the regent, a decree was passed on 16th March 1792, which declared that from and after the commencement of 1803, the slave trade should be held illegal throughout his Danish majesty's dominions. Denmark had thus the honour of being the first of the European powers which proscribed that infamous traffic. During the French revolution, Denmark preserved a strict neutrality, but two Danish frigates having been brought into British ports under English search warrants, Denmark and Sweden joined the northern armed neutrality on the 16th December, 1800, whereupon the English ministry laid an embargo on all ships of these nations, and seized the colonies of both kingdoms. At the same time admirals Parker and Nelson, with a fleet of 47 ships of war, appeared in the Baltic. The Swedish fleet of 7 ships of the line and 3 frigates lay immovable at Carlscrona, while the British fleet passed through the Sound. The Russian fleet could not put to sea, on account of the season; and in the meanwhile the death of Paul changed the politics of Russia, so that Denmark was left single-handed to cope with the power of Great Britain. The Danish fleet lay in the inner harbour of Copenhagen; but a part of it, under admiral Fisher, defended themselves so honourably, that Nelson, after a bloody fight, on the 2d April, 1801, granted the Danes an honourable armistice. On the 23d October, 1801, Denmark and Russia entered into a treaty with England, whereupon the latter power

Struensee was born at Halle in 1737. His father was a clergyman in that city, and latterly in Altona.

restored the Danish colonies in the East and West Indies, while the Danes, on the other hand, withdrew their troops from Hamburg and Lubec.

In 1805, when the fall of Prussia had paved the way for an attack on Swedish Pomerania, and every thing was to be apprehended from the general policy of the French ruler, the Crown Prince drew together his troops in Holstein and Sleswick, but the storm swept past the boundaries of Denmark without touching them, the battle of Austerlitz having decided the war before the struggle in the North could begin. In the following year, upon the formation of the Rhenish confederation, and the dissolution of the German empire, the duchy of Holstein, which had formerly been restored to Germany, was declared to form an integral part of Denmark.

In October, 1806, the French had advanced their armies to Lubec; but they had not yet infringed upon the neutrality of the Danish territory, when the British ministry projected the seizure of the Danish fleet, under the pretext, that it had been arranged at Tilsit to force Denmark into an alliance against Great Britain, and to shut the Sound. A British fleet of 18 ships of the line and 7 frigates, commanded by admiral Gambier, having on board 28,000 troops, under the command of Lord Cathcart, entered the Sound, seeming at first destined to co-operate with the Swedes in the defence of Stralsund, and in reconquering the rest of Swedish Pomerania; and all that was feared, was, that it would arrive too late. This illusion was, however, dissipated on the approach of the fleet, and the arrival of Mr Jackson, the English plenipotentiary, at Copenhagen, who demanded the delivery of the whole Danish fleet, the arsenal, and the fortress of Cronenberg, in deposite to the British. These demands were rejected with indignation by the Crown Prince; whereupon, on the 16th of August the British armament disembarked at Webeck and Kiüge in Zealand, and proceeded to invest Copenhagen. The bombardment began on the morning of the 2d September, and lasted till the evening of the 5th, when 400 houses being laid in ashes, and 2000 inhabitants killed, the Danish General, Peymann, made a capitulation, consenting to give up the Danish fleet in the course of six weeks to the custody of England, till a general peace should be concluded. While this treaty was carrying into execution, the English remained in possession of Copenhagen and the two Holms; and on the 21st October, the British sailed from Zealand, taking along with them the Danish fleet, consisting of 18 ships of the line, 15 frigates, 6 brigs, and 25 gun-boats, after having destroyed the docks. During these transactions, Sweden remained a quiet spectator; but France, Russia, and Austria, protested against the line of conduct adopted by the British ministry, and on the 20th November, 1807, Denmark entered into an alliance with France, and declared war against England, and afterwards against Sweden. The Danish colonies, including Iceland, were thereupon seized by the English; but the Swedish attack upon Norway in 1808 was repulsed.

Frederic VI.] The death of Christian VII. which happened on the 13th March, 1808, effected no change on the political system of Denmark, as his son Frederick VI. had in reality governed for the last twenty-four years. The change in the government of Sweden in 1809, was followed by a peace with Denmark on the status quo. The death of Christian Augustus, prince of Sleswick Holstein, who had been named Crown Prince of Sweden, occasioned another change, for although Bernadotte,

who was then named his successor, declared war in 1810 against Great Britain, he changed his system on finding himself placed between the two great allied powers of Britain and Russia, from whom he had most to fear or hope. In 1812, he entered into treaties with England, and had designed, by an alliance with the two powers, to obtain the kingdom of Norway from his weaker neighbour the king of Denmark, as a recompense for Finland. Frederick VI. had already entered into negotiation with England. In 1813 he found himself compelled to defend Hamburg against the French; but count Bernstorff returning at the same moment from London, after an unsuccessful negotiation, and Napoleon gaining the victories of Lutzen and Bautzen, Denmark, on the 18th July, renewed her alliance with France, and engaged to declare war against Sweden, Russia, and Prussia, the two latter powers continuing to insist on the surrender of Norway to Sweden. The Danish army, in concert with the French, occupied Lubec. After the battle of Leipsig, the Crown Prince of Sweden penetrated into Holstein, and compelled the Danes to enter into the peace of Kiel with Sweden and Great Britain, in which it was stipulated, that Norway should be given to Sweden, and the Island of Heligoland to England. In return, Denmark received from Sweden an acknowledgment of the rights of the Sound, the renunciation of the claims which Sweden had upon Denmark, amounting to 12,000,000 of francs; the evacuation of Sleswick and Holstein, and the surrender of Pomerania; and from England the cession of Tranquebar. In February, 1814, Denmark concluded peace with Russia, and in June, 1815, obtained Lauenburg and a sum of money from Prussia in exchange for Pomerania and Rugen. The same year the king of Denmark entered the German confederation, in which he now possesses three votes on the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg.

sea.

CHAP. II-PHYSICAL FEATURES-SOIL-CLIMATE

PRODUCTIONS.

THE appearance of Denmark, particularly of the Islands of Zealand and Funen, and of Sleswick upon the continent, is that of a level country, in general well-cultivated. It affords nothing which can properly be called a mountain; and few eminences, which, in many countries, would be called a hill-the most elevated point rising only 1200 feet above the The coasts are in some parts steep and bold; but, in general, they are low and sandy. In the isles there are some woods, and forests are found in Jutland. Zealand is a fertile and pleasant country, with fields separated by mud walls; cottages either of brick or white-washed; woods of beech and oak, vales, small lakes, and gentle hills. Funen is equally so; and is said to be as well-cultivated as most of the counties in England. Toward the west, where the Jutland peninsula terminates in the Baltic, every thing assumes an aspect of barrenness and desolation. It has been compared to Arabia, without its rivers or its verdant oases; but not without its tempests and sands, which sometimes overwhelm what little feeble agriculture they may have cultivated, and convert the habitual wretchedness of the Jutlander into severe and cruel misfortune. The Danish

For the purpose of consolidating these sands, various kinds of trees and shrubs are planted, to destroy which is prohibited under a severe penalty. They sow also in these places a plant called by botanists elymus arenaria, whose spreading roots bind the sand, while its large leaves break the force of the wind.

continent may be described as a vast plain, through which a sandy barren ridge stretches from south to north, commencing in the German counties of Mecklenburg and Lauenburg, and terminating in the extreme north in the promontory of Skagen. The coast of the peninsula is quite flat towards the German Ocean, but intermixed with quicksands, and, towards the Elbe protected by large dams against the encroachments of the sea. Towards the Baltic the land is more elevated, and offers finer and more picturesque points of view than the west coast, which has no wood. The German Ocean has frequently burst through the isthmus which connects the northern extremity of Jutland with the rest of the peninsula. In 1826, three rapid currents united the North Sea with the Lym-fiord, similar devastations have repeatedly occurred along the western

coast.

Seas.] The coasts of Denmark are indented by numerous branches of the sea, called fiords, or firths, which, in a commercial country, would be accounted very advantageous. Among these, by far the most considerable, is the Lym-fiord, which deserves the appellation of an inland sea. It crosses the northern part of the peninsula of Jutland, from west to east, and joins that part of the entrance to the Baltic which is called the Cattegat or Skagerack. It expands into several extensive bays, contains many islands, and at a very small expense might be made to communicate with the German Ocean. Two other considerable firths are the Staving-fiord and the Schley-fiord. The Sound, or Oresund, one of the three Straits which connect the Cattegat and Baltic, does not exceed 1335 fathoms in breadth, between Helsingoer and Helsingborg.5 It is undoubtedly the most frequented Strait in the whole world. Its depth is from 10 to 19 fathoms; but close upon the coast, and round some of the islands, it is only 4 fathoms. The Great Belt between Zealand and Funen is about 9 miles broad opposite Wyburg, but of very dangerous navigation, on account of its varying depths and sand-banks. The Little Belt is 40 miles long, but not above 2 miles broad opposite Middelfahrt; and, on account of the rapid current which runs from the Baltic into the Cattegat, and the numerous shallows, of dangerous navigation.

Lakes.] The lakes of Denmark are numerous, but none of them are of great extent. The most remarkable are those of Arre, Esrom, Sial, Fuse, and Tiis in Zealand; the Arreskov, and Brendagaard in Funen; the Marienbua in Laaland; the lake of Wyburg, the Long lake, and the Garboal in Jutland; the lake of Plon in Holstein and that of Selent; and in Lauenburg, the lake of Ratzeburg.

Rivers.] The rivers of Denmark are not large; indeed the extent of the country does not admit of great length of course. Zealand and the other islands boast no rivers at all; but only a few small brooks. The most considerable Danish river is the Eider, upon the northern boundary of Holstein-once the Terminus imperii, and still separating Germany from Denmark Proper-which, originating near the Baltic, runs westward, and after a course of 56 miles, falls into the German Sea at Tunningen. The Gudensaal has its source between Silkeborg and Halds; running from west to east, it becomes navigable at Randers, and then, turning towards the north, enters the Baltic at Udbye. The other rivers, or more pro

This breadth is about 100 fathoms less than that of the Hellespont. The ships belonging to the fleet of Harold Hildetond, a celebrated hero of the North, are said to have covered this Strait so completely, that one could have crossed it as over a bridge.

perly rivulets, are numerous; but are so inconsiderable as not to require even enumeration. The Elbe is a German stream, but touches the boundaries of Denmark towards the east of Lauenburg. The Trave, which rises in Holstein and falls into the Baltic, is navigable, and most of the rivers afford convenient harbours and anchorage at their mouths.

Canals.] Denmark has three canals. The canal of Sleswick-Holstein, or Kiel, which unites the German Ocean with the Baltic, is about 16 miles long, and 10 feet deep; it is 54 feet broad at the bottom, and 100 at the surface. This canal is extremely favourable to the internal commerce of Denmark, by rendering unnecessary the long and dangerous voyage round the peninsula of Jutland. The canal is navigable by vessels of 120 tons burden. Its whole expense was estimated at £200,000. The canal of Steckenitz unites the Elbe with the Baltic. The canal of Odensee unites Odensee, the capital of Funen, with the sea. There are only two mineral springs in Denmark; but there are several bathing places.

Climate.] The climate of Denmark Proper is in general humid, and subject to thick fogs, but more temperate than might be expected from the latitude. In winter, however, the cold is frequently severe, particularly in Jutland, and the navigation of the neighbouring seas is prevented by great quantities of ice. The summer is often oppressively warm. The humidity of the atmosphere is, however, particularly advantageous to Denmark, as one-half the soil consists of a light sand, which would otherwise be quite sterile. The average temperature at Copenhagen is 6° of Reaumur; but the cold in winter is often so severe that the Sound freezes. Upon a mean of 26 years, it rains 130 days in the year, and thunders 13. The summer begins with June and ends with September. Upon the whole, the climate appears not less propitious to human life than to the vegetable kingdom, as instances of longevity are very common throughout this kingdom.

Soil.] The soil is of various qualities, but the prevailing character is the sandy. In some parts it consists of a very rich mould, called marsch, of which the component substances are marle and a bituminous matter. The soil in the island of Alsen and Anglen is chiefly composed of a very rich vegetable mould. Marshes are found every where; the whole of Vendsyssal is one continuous marsh.

Vegetable Productions.] The southern parts of Denmark, and the larger islands in the Baltic, are well-cultivated; agriculture, favoured by the soil and the nature of the country, has there arrived at considerable perfection. Zealand chiefly produces barley and oats; Funen, buckwheat; while wheat is confined to Laaland and Holstein. In Holstein, and the southern parts of Jutland, the soil is fertile. Potatoes are becoming very common in Denmark. The festucea fluitas yields a fine flour, while the plant feeds horses. This plant thrives in marshes. The most celebrated grazing tracts are found in the province of Holstein, and on the east coast of Jutland. The soil in the islands generally consists of a good clay, more or less mixed with sand lime. From the Elbe to Jutland, the land is taken from the sea, and is low, flat, without stone or tree; it consists of a very fine fruitful blue clay; and produces wheat, barley, cole, and large fields of grass. The middle part is more sandy, but abounds with small rivers. It produces rye, oats, and phagopyrum. The eastern coast is diversified with small hills, and overgrown with trees; and consists of a yellow clay, more or less mixed with sand.

It