Books: Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
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Mary Wollstonecraft >> Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
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Those writers who have considered the history of man, or of the
human mind, on a more enlarged scale have fallen into similar
errors, not reflecting that the passions are weak where the
necessaries of life are too hardly or too easily obtained.
Travellers who require that every nation should resemble their
native country, had better stay at home. It is, for example, absurd
to blame a people for not having that degree of personal cleanliness
and elegance of manners which only refinement of taste produces, and
will produce everywhere in proportion as society attains a general
polish. The most essential service, I presume, that authors could
render to society, would be to promote inquiry and discussion,
instead of making those dogmatical assertions which only appear
calculated to gird the human mind round with imaginary circles, like
the paper globe which represents the one he inhabits.
This spirit of inquiry is the characteristic of the present century,
from which the succeeding will, I am persuaded, receive a great
accumulation of knowledge; and doubtless its diffusion will in a
great measure destroy the factitious national characters which have
been supposed permanent, though only rendered so by the permanency
of ignorance.
Arriving at Fredericshall, at the siege of which Charles XII. lost
his life, we had only time to take a transient view of it whilst
they were preparing us some refreshment.
Poor Charles! I thought of him with respect. I have always felt
the same for Alexander, with whom he has been classed as a madman by
several writers, who have reasoned superficially, confounding the
morals of the day with the few grand principles on which
unchangeable morality rests. Making no allowance for the ignorance
and prejudices of the period, they do not perceive how much they
themselves are indebted to general improvement for the acquirements,
and even the virtues, which they would not have had the force of
mind to attain by their individual exertions in a less advanced
state of society.
The evening was fine, as is usual at this season, and the refreshing
odour of the pine woods became more perceptible, for it was nine
o'clock when we left Fredericshall. At the ferry we were detained
by a dispute relative to our Swedish passport, which we did not
think of getting countersigned in Norway. Midnight was coming on,
yet it might with such propriety have been termed the noon of night
that, had Young ever travelled towards the north, I should not have
wondered at his becoming enamoured of the moon. But it is not the
Queen of Night alone who reigns here in all her splendour, though
the sun, loitering just below the horizon, decks her within a golden
tinge from his car, illuminating the cliffs that hide him; the
heavens also, of a clear softened blue, throw her forward, and the
evening star appears a smaller moon to the naked eye. The huge
shadows of the rocks, fringed with firs, concentrating the views
without darkening them, excited that tender melancholy which,
sublimating the imagination, exalts rather than depresses the mind.
My companions fell asleep--fortunately they did not snore; and I
contemplated, fearless of idle questions, a night such as I had
never before seen or felt, to charm the senses, and calm the heart.
The very air was balmy as it freshened into morn, producing the most
voluptuous sensations. A vague pleasurable sentiment absorbed me,
as I opened my bosom to the embraces of nature; and my soul rose to
its Author, with the chirping of the solitary birds, which began to
feel, rather than see, advancing day. I had leisure to mark its
progress. The grey morn, streaked with silvery rays, ushered in the
orient beams (how beautifully varying into purple!), yet I was sorry
to lose the soft watery clouds which preceded them, exciting a kind
of expectation that made me almost afraid to breathe, lest I should
break the charm. I saw the sun--and sighed.
One of my companions, now awake, perceiving that the postillion had
mistaken the road, began to swear at him, and roused the other two,
who reluctantly shook off sleep.
We had immediately to measure back our steps, and did not reach
Stromstad before five in the morning.
The wind had changed in the night, and my boat was ready.
A dish of coffee, and fresh linen, recruited my spirits, and I
directly set out again for Norway, purposing to land much higher up
the coast.
Wrapping my great-coat round me, I lay down on some sails at the
bottom of the boat, its motion rocking me to rest, till a
discourteous wave interrupted my slumbers, and obliged me to rise
and feel a solitariness which was not so soothing as that of the
past night.
Adieu!
LETTER VI.
The sea was boisterous, but, as I had an experienced pilot, I did
not apprehend any danger. Sometimes, I was told, boats are driven
far out and lost. However, I seldom calculate chances so nicely--
sufficient for the day is the obvious evil!
We had to steer amongst islands and huge rocks, rarely losing sight
of the shore, though it now and then appeared only a mist that
bordered the water's edge. The pilot assured me that the numerous
harbours on the Norway coast were very safe, and the pilot-boats
were always on the watch. The Swedish side is very dangerous, I am
also informed; and the help of experience is not often at hand to
enable strange vessels to steer clear of the rocks, which lurk below
the water close to the shore.
There are no tides here, nor in the Cattegate, and, what appeared to
me a consequence, no sandy beach. Perhaps this observation has been
made before; but it did not occur to me till I saw the waves
continually beating against the bare rocks, without ever receding to
leave a sediment to harden.
The wind was fair, till we had to tack about in order to enter
Laurvig, where we arrived towards three o'clock in the afternoon.
It is a clean, pleasant town, with a considerable iron-work, which
gives life to it.
As the Norwegians do not frequently see travellers, they are very
curious to know their business, and who they are--so curious, that I
was half tempted to adopt Dr. Franklin's plan, when travelling in
America, where they are equally prying, which was to write on a
paper, for public inspection, my name, from whence I came, where I
was going, and what was my business. But if I were importuned by
their curiosity, their friendly gestures gratified me. A woman
coming alone interested them. And I know not whether my weariness
gave me a look of peculiar delicacy, but they approached to assist
me, and inquire after my wants, as if they were afraid to hurt, and
wished to protect me. The sympathy I inspired, thus dropping down
from the clouds in a strange land, affected me more than it would
have done had not my spirits been harassed by various causes--by
much thinking--musing almost to madness--and even by a sort of weak
melancholy that hung about my heart at parting with my daughter for
the first time.
You know that, as a female, I am particularly attached to her; I
feel more than a mother's fondness and anxiety when I reflect on the
dependent and oppressed state of her sex. I dread lest she should
be forced to sacrifice her heart to her principles, or principles to
her heart. With trembling hand I shall cultivate sensibility and
cherish delicacy of sentiment, lest, whilst I lend fresh blushes to
the rose, I sharpen the thorns that will wound the breast I would
fain guard; I dread to unfold her mind, lest it should render her
unfit for the world she is to inhabit. Hapless woman! what a fate
is thine!
But whither am I wandering? I only meant to tell you that the
impression the kindness of the simple people made visible on my
countenance increased my sensibility to a painful degree. I wished
to have had a room to myself, for their attention, and rather
distressing observation, embarrassed me extremely. Yet, as they
would bring me eggs, and make my coffee, I found I could not leave
them without hurting their feelings of hospitality.
It is customary here for the host and hostess to welcome their
guests as master and mistress of the house.
My clothes, in their turn, attracted the attention of the females,
and I could not help thinking of the foolish vanity which makes many
women so proud of the observation of strangers as to take wonder
very gratuitously for admiration. This error they are very apt to
fall into when, arrived in a foreign country, the populace stare at
them as they pass. Yet the make of a cap or the singularity of a
gown is often the cause of the flattering attention which afterwards
supports a fantastic superstructure of self-conceit.
Not having brought a carriage over with me, expecting to have met a
person where I landed, who was immediately to have procured me one,
I was detained whilst the good people of the inn sent round to all
their acquaintance to search for a vehicle. A rude sort of cabriole
was at last found, and a driver half drunk, who was not less eager
to make a good bargain on that account. I had a Danish captain of a
ship and his mate with me; the former was to ride on horseback, at
which he was not very expert, and the latter to partake of my seat.
The driver mounted behind to guide the horses and flourish the whip
over our shoulders; he would not suffer the reins out of his own
hands. There was something so grotesque in our appearance that I
could not avoid shrinking into myself when I saw a gentleman-like
man in the group which crowded round the door to observe us. I
could have broken the driver's whip for cracking to call the women
and children together, but seeing a significant smile on the face, I
had before remarked, I burst into a laugh to allow him to do so too,
and away we flew. This is not a flourish of the pen, for we
actually went on full gallop a long time, the horses being very
good; indeed, I have never met with better, if so good, post-horses
as in Norway. They are of a stouter make than the English horses,
appear to be well fed, and are not easily tired.
I had to pass over, I was informed, the most fertile and best
cultivated tract of country in Norway. The distance was three
Norwegian miles, which are longer than the Swedish. The roads were
very good; the farmers are obliged to repair them; and we scampered
through a great extent of country in a more improved state than any
I had viewed since I left England. Still there was sufficient of
hills, dales, and rocks to prevent the idea of a plain from entering
the head, or even of such scenery as England and France afford. The
prospects were also embellished by water, rivers, and lakes before
the sea proudly claimed my regard, and the road running frequently
through lofty groves rendered the landscapes beautiful, though they
were not so romantic as those I had lately seen with such delight.
It was late when I reached Tonsberg, and I was glad to go to bed at
a decent inn. The next morning the 17th of July, conversing with
the gentleman with whom I had business to transact, I found that I
should be detained at Tonsberg three weeks, and I lamented that I
had not brought my child with me.
The inn was quiet, and my room so pleasant, commanding a view of the
sea, confined by an amphitheatre of hanging woods, that I wished to
remain there, though no one in the house could speak English or
French. The mayor, my friend, however, sent a young woman to me who
spoke a little English, and she agreed to call on me twice a day to
receive my orders and translate them to my hostess.
My not understanding the language was an excellent pretext for
dining alone, which I prevailed on them to let me do at a late hour,
for the early dinners in Sweden had entirely deranged my day. I
could not alter it there without disturbing the economy of a family
where I was as a visitor, necessity having forced me to accept of an
invitation from a private family, the lodgings were so incommodious.
Amongst the Norwegians I had the arrangement of my own time, and I
determined to regulate it in such a manner that I might enjoy as
much of their sweet summer as I possibly could; short, it is true,
but "passing sweet."
I never endured a winter in this rude clime, consequently it was not
the contrast, but the real beauty of the season which made the
present summer appear to me the finest I had ever seen. Sheltered
from the north and eastern winds, nothing can exceed the salubrity,
the soft freshness of the western gales. In the evening they also
die away; the aspen leaves tremble into stillness, and reposing
nature seems to be warmed by the moon, which here assumes a genial
aspect. And if a light shower has chanced to fall with the sun, the
juniper, the underwood of the forest, exhales a wild perfume, mixed
with a thousand nameless sweets that, soothing the heart, leave
images in the memory which the imagination will ever hold dear.
Nature is the nurse of sentiment, the true source of taste; yet what
misery, as well as rapture, is produced by a quick perception of the
beautiful and sublime when it is exercised in observing animated
nature, when every beauteous feeling and emotion excites responsive
sympathy, and the harmonised soul sinks into melancholy or rises to
ecstasy, just as the chords are touched, like the AEolian harp
agitated by the changing wind. But how dangerous is it to foster
these sentiments in such an imperfect state of existence, and how
difficult to eradicate them when an affection for mankind, a passion
for an individual, is but the unfolding of that love which embraces
all that is great and beautiful!
When a warm heart has received strong impressions, they are not to
be effaced. Emotions become sentiments, and the imagination renders
even transient sensations permanent by fondly retracing them. I
cannot, without a thrill of delight, recollect views I have seen,
which are not to be forgotten, nor looks I have felt in every nerve,
which I shall never more meet. The grave has closed over a dear
friend, the friend of my youth. Still she is present with me, and I
hear her soft voice warbling as I stray over the heath. Fate has
separated me from another, the fire of whose eyes, tempered by
infantine tenderness, still warms my breast; even when gazing on
these tremendous cliffs sublime emotions absorb my soul. And, smile
not, if I add that the rosy tint of morning reminds me of a
suffusion which will never more charm my senses, unless it reappears
on the cheeks of my child. Her sweet blushes I may yet hide in my
bosom, and she is still too young to ask why starts the tear so near
akin to pleasure and pain.
I cannot write any more at present. To-morrow we will talk of
Tonsberg.
LETTER VII.
Though the king of Denmark be an absolute monarch, yet the
Norwegians appear to enjoy all the blessings of freedom. Norway may
be termed a sister kingdom; but the people have no viceroy to lord
it over them, and fatten his dependants with the fruit of their
labour.
There are only two counts in the whole country who have estates, and
exact some feudal observances from their tenantry. All the rest of
the country is divided into small farms, which belong to the
cultivator. It is true some few, appertaining to the Church, are
let, but always on a lease for life, generally renewed in favour of
the eldest son, who has this advantage as well as a right to a
double portion of the property. But the value of the farm is
estimated, and after his portion is assigned to him he must be
answerable for the residue to the remaining part of the family.
Every farmer for ten years is obliged to attend annually about
twelve days to learn the military exercise, but it is always at a
small distance from his dwelling, and does not lead him into any new
habits of life.
There are about six thousand regulars also in garrison at
Christiania and Fredericshall, who are equally reserved, with the
militia, for the defence of their own country. So that when the
Prince Royal passed into Sweden in 1788, he was obliged to request,
not command, them to accompany him on this expedition.
These corps are mostly composed of the sons of the cottagers, who
being labourers on the farms, are allowed a few acres to cultivate
for themselves. These men voluntarily enlist, but it is only for a
limited period (six years), at the expiration of which they have the
liberty of retiring. The pay is only twopence a day and bread;
still, considering the cheapness of the country, it is more than
sixpence in England.
The distribution of landed property into small farms produces a
degree of equality which I have seldom seen elsewhere; and the rich
being all merchants, who are obliged to divide their personal
fortune amongst their children, the boys always receiving twice as
much as the girls, property has met a chance of accumulating till
overgrowing wealth destroys the balance of liberty.
You will be surprised to hear me talk of liberty; yet the Norwegians
appear to me to be the most free community I have ever observed.
The mayor of each town or district, and the judges in the country,
exercise an authority almost patriarchal. They can do much good,
but little harm,--as every individual can appeal from their
judgment; and as they may always be forced to give a reason for
their conduct, it is generally regulated by prudence. "They have
not time to learn to be tyrants," said a gentleman to me, with whom
I discussed the subject.
The farmers not fearing to be turned out of their farms, should they
displease a man in power, and having no vote to be commanded at an
election for a mock representative, are a manly race; for not being
obliged to submit to any debasing tenure in order to live, or
advance themselves in the world, they act with an independent
spirit. I never yet have heard of anything like domineering or
oppression, excepting such as has arisen from natural causes. The
freedom the people enjoy may, perhaps, render them a little
litigious, and subject them to the impositions of cunning
practitioners of the law; but the authority of office is bounded,
and the emoluments of it do not destroy its utility.
Last year a man who had abused his power was cashiered, on the
representation of the people to the bailiff of the district.
There are four in Norway who might with propriety be termed
sheriffs; and from their sentence an appeal, by either party, may be
made to Copenhagen.
Near most of the towns are commons, on which the cows of all the
inhabitants, indiscriminately, are allowed to graze. The poor, to
whom a cow is necessary, are almost supported by it. Besides, to
render living more easy, they all go out to fish in their own boats,
and fish is their principal food.
The lower class of people in the towns are in general sailors; and
the industrious have usually little ventures of their own that serve
to render the winter comfortable.
With respect to the country at large, the importation is
considerably in favour of Norway.
They are forbidden, at present, to export corn or rye on account of
the advanced price.
The restriction which most resembles the painful subordination of
Ireland, is that vessels, trading to the West Indies, are obliged to
pass by their own ports, and unload their cargoes at Copenhagen,
which they afterwards reship. The duty is indeed inconsiderable,
but the navigation being dangerous, they run a double risk.
There is an excise on all articles of consumption brought to the
towns; but the officers are not strict, and it would be reckoned
invidious to enter a house to search, as in England.
The Norwegians appear to me a sensible, shrewd people, with little
scientific knowledge, and still less taste for literature; but they
are arriving at the epoch which precedes the introduction of the
arts and sciences.
Most of the towns are seaports, and seaports are not favourable to
improvement. The captains acquire a little superficial knowledge by
travelling, which their indefatigable attention to the making of
money prevents their digesting; and the fortune that they thus
laboriously acquire is spent, as it usually is in towns of this
description, in show and good living. They love their country, but
have not much public spirit. Their exertions are, generally
speaking, only for their families, which, I conceive, will always be
the case, till politics, becoming a subject of discussion, enlarges
the heart by opening the understanding. The French Revolution will
have this effect. They sing, at present, with great glee, many
Republican songs, and seem earnestly to wish that the republic may
stand; yet they appear very much attached to their Prince Royal,
and, as far as rumour can give an idea of a character, he appears to
merit their attachment. When I am at Copenhagen, I shall be able to
ascertain on what foundation their good opinion is built; at present
I am only the echo of it.
In the year 1788 he travelled through Norway; and acts of mercy gave
dignity to the parade, and interest to the joy his presence
inspired. At this town he pardoned a girl condemned to die for
murdering an illegitimate child, a crime seldom committed in this
country. She is since married, and become the careful mother of a
family. This might be given as an instance, that a desperate act is
not always a proof of an incorrigible depravity of character, the
only plausible excuse that has been brought forward to justify the
infliction of capital punishments.
I will relate two or three other anecdotes to you, for the truth of
which I will not vouch because the facts were not of sufficient
consequence for me to take much pains to ascertain them; and, true
or false, they evince that the people like to make a kind of
mistress of their prince.
An officer, mortally wounded at the ill-advised battle of Quistram,
desired to speak with the prince; and with his dying breath,
earnestly recommended to his care a young woman of Christiania, to
whom he was engaged. When the prince returned there, a ball was
given by the chief inhabitants: he inquired whether this
unfortunate girl was invited, and requested that she might, though
of the second class. The girl came; she was pretty; and finding
herself among her superiors, bashfully sat down as near the door as
possible, nobody taking notice of her. Shortly after, the prince
entering, immediately inquired for her, and asked her to dance, to
the mortification of the rich dames. After it was over he handed
her to the top of the room, and placing himself by her, spoke of the
loss she had sustained, with tenderness, promising to provide for
anyone she should marry, as the story goes. She is since married,
and he has not forgotten his promise.
A little girl, during the same expedition, in Sweden, who informed
him that the logs of a bridge were out underneath, was taken by his
orders to Christiania, and put to school at his expense.
Before I retail other beneficial effects of his journey, it is
necessary to inform you that the laws here are mild, and do not
punish capitally for any crime but murder, which seldom occurs.
Every other offence merely subjects the delinquent to imprisonment
and labour in the castle, or rather arsenal at Christiania, and the
fortress at Fredericshall. The first and second conviction produces
a sentence for a limited number of years--two, three, five, or
seven, proportioned to the atrocity of the crime. After the third
he is whipped, branded in the forehead, and condemned to perpetual
slavery. This is the ordinary course of justice. For some flagrant
breaches of trust, or acts of wanton cruelty, criminals have been
condemned to slavery for life time first the of conviction, but not
frequently. The number of these slaves do not, I am informed,
amount to more than a hundred, which is not considerable, compared
with the population, upwards of eight hundred thousand. Should I
pass through Christiania, on my return to Gothenburg, I shall
probably have an opportunity of learning other particulars.
There is also a House of Correction at Christiania for trifling
misdemeanours, where the women are confined to labour and
imprisonment even for life. The state of the prisoners was
represented to the prince, in consequence of which he visited the
arsenal and House of Correction. The slaves at the arsenal were
loaded with irons of a great weight; he ordered them to be lightened
as much as possible.
The people in the House of Correction were commanded not to speak to
him; but four women, condemned to remain there for life, got into
the passage, and fell at his feet. He granted them a pardon; and
inquiring respecting the treatment of the prisoners, he was informed
that they were frequently whipped going in, and coming out, and for
any fault, at the discretion of the inspectors. This custom he
humanely abolished, though some of the principal inhabitants, whose
situation in life had raised them above the temptation of stealing,
were of opinion that these chastisements were necessary and
wholesome.
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