are not taught to read.
Denmark for the blind.
gaged in repeating what they had heard, or in working.
Their chief employment is to knit. Several of them
seemed to have considerable taste for music. And they
all joined in singing a few sweet hymns for us, whilst one
or two played on the violin. And surely it would be dif-
ficult to find a scene on this earth more touching to the
heart of a man who has any degree of feeling, than that of
thirty or forty blind children, ranged around a room, singing
with much earnestness and apparent happiness, and whose
sightless eyeballs indicate to every spectator the great pri-
vation which they have suffered. It is a scene which we
need often to behold, and which can never be witnessed by
a good man without making him both more benevolent and
more grateful.

Nothing has yet been printed in
The children seemed happy, en-

CHAPTER XI.

ENVIRONS OF COPENHAGEN.

The more distant environs of Copenhagen beautiful-Interesting localities in the immediate vicinity-Scene of the Battle of the Baltic-Fortifications on Amager Island-The Trekroner-The Citadel-The position of the Danish fleet in the Battle of the Baltic-The position of Nelson's fleet-His arrangementsDreadful slaughter-Sir Hyde Parker makes signals for Nelson's retreat-His refusal to obey-The fate of Riou-The termination of the battle-The consideration of the question whether Nelson gained a victory -The Truce-Nelson lands and visits the Crown Prince-The Armistice-The burial of the slain Danes-The spot where they repose-The Cemetery-The Column of Liberty-The present condition of the peasants of Denmark-The Palace of Frederiksberg and its garden-An account of the second attack upon Copenhagen by the English, under Lords Gambier and Cathcart.

rons.

If there is much in the city of Copenhagen to interest an intelligent stranger, there is scarcely less in its enviOn the one side is the Sound, which is a fine sheet of water, and on which, in the season of navigation, many a white sail is to be seen, moving northward or southward, or approaching Copenhagen, or bearing away from it; whilst a level, or rather a gently undulating country, of exuberant fertility, encircles the city in another direction, and stretches far away to the north, the south, and the west. Every where one sees, in the summer season, either fields covered with the growing or ripening grain, or extensive orchards and innumerable gardens. The whole scene, in this direction, is studded with noble villas, clustering villages, or neat and isolated cottages. And every where, the almost ceaseless movements of the arms of many wind-mills, give an air of animation which it is not easy to describe.

On the south lies the island of Amager, which is almost perfectly level. It is covered with vegetable gardens and rich meadows, and is cultivated by frugal and industrious peasants, who supply the markets of the city, to a great extent, with vegetables and fruits. We have already alluded to their peculiar costume. They are of Flemish origin, their ancestors having removed hither some three centuries ago.

BATTLE OF THE BALTIC.-But, turning away from the view of the wider and more remote scene, let us fix our attention on some particular spots, in the immediate vicinity of this city, which are invested with a peculiar interest. And first, let us contemplate the scene of the great battle which Nelson here fought, on the 2d of April, 1801. A brief notice of this battle, the hardest which that celebrated hero ever fought, may not be unacceptable. All have read more or less respecting this dreadful engagement; but few, we apprehend, have any clear idea of the scene in which it occurred, of the respective positions of the Danish and English forces, or of the precise truth as to the question of the victory. As to the first and second of these points, we hope to give the reader some definite conceptions, by means of the Plan of Copenhagen which he will find in this work; and as to the last, we shall leave him to form his own opinions from the brief and impartial history of this battle which we subjoin.

And now, as to the scene of the battle, and the position of the respective parties who were engaged in it, let the reader mark well what we say, and trace out every thing on the Plan just referred to. On the eastern side of that Plan, or rather what represents the eastern part of the scene, he will notice the island of Amager, or the upper portion of it, between which and the main body of the city, lies the inner harbor. He will notice the position of the Danish Royal Navy Yard, which is on the inner side

of the north part of that island. This end of that island, and the outer side of it, for a mile or two south of the point, has long been strongly fortified. Low, but very impregnable, batteries line the shore throughout this distance, and make an approach in that direction extremely dangerous.

At the distance of a mile, or a mile and a half, due north from the upper end of the island of Amager, stands, in an isolated position, the strong fortress called the Trekroner, of which we have spoken in Chapter IX. From the upper end of the island of Amager to the Trekroner, there runs a shoal, only a few feet beneath the surface of the water, over which it is not possible for ships of very great draught to pass. In fact, the Trekroner stands on what might be called the most northern point of that shoal or hidden sand-bar. The site of it, we believe, is wholly artificial, or if there were originally two or three little islands there, they were scarcely visible, and have been united by vast labor, so as to form the foundation of an exceedingly strong fortress. The entrance into the harbor, for large vessels, lies between the Trekroner and the island of Zealand, on which the chief part of Copenhagen stands.

On the island of Zealand, and just at the northeast corner of the city, stands the large and very strong fortress called the citadel of Frederikshavn. Like the Trekroner, it is not very high. But its walls and its bastions of brick and of earth, covered with the green sward, are so thick as to bid absolute defiance to balls of any description. The area of the citadel is far greater than that of the Trekroner. Of course, it would require many more troops to man it completely. At present, there are so many trees on the ramparts of this citadel, and about them, that its appearance, as seen from the Sound, is not imposing, and gives a very inadequate idea of its strength.

The reader will remark with care the true position of the citadel. It is not opposite to the Trekroner, but stands more to the south, and is almost exactly in face of the open space lying between the Trekroner and the upper end of the island of Amager. Its heavy guns could sweep every vessel which might attempt to cross the shallow water lying between those two points. On the other hand, its guns could play most effectually on any vessel endeavoring to pass down the deep channel and entrance into the port, which lies between the Trekroner and the island of Zealand. And although it is certain that none of these fortifications which we have now indicated were as strong in the year 1801 as they are now, yet it is equally true that they were then very formidable.

From the description which we have just given of the position of the fortifications on the northern extremity of the island of Amager, and of the fortresses of the Trekroner and the citadel, it is obvious that if the Danish fleet had lain in the inner or proper harbor, it could not have been attacked by Lord Nelson. Indeed the English fleet could not by any possibility have thrown a single solid shot into it. But the Danish navy, which was at Copenhagen at the time of Lord Nelson's visit, did not lie in the harbor at all. For, in that case, it could not have contributed to the defence of the city. On the contrary it was brought out of the harbor, and the greater part of it was stationed in a line on the outer verge of the shoal which we have spoken of, as extending from the upper end of the island of Amager to the fortress of the Trekroner. The position of the ships and other vessels of war which the Danes placed between those two points, is indicated on the plan or map of Copenhagen, which we have given, by a line of asterisks. These vessels were of all descriptions, ships of the line, frigates, sloops, and gun-boats.