第46章 LETTER XVII(2)

The Norwegian peasantry,mostly independent,have a rough kind of frankness in their manner;but the Swedish,rendered more abject by misery,have a degree of politeness in their address which,though it may sometimes border on insincerity,is oftener the effect of a broken spirit,rather softened than degraded by wretchedness.

In Norway there are no notes in circulation of less value than a Swedish rix-dollar.A small silver coin,commonly not worth more than a penny,and never more than twopence,serves for change;but in Sweden they have notes as low as sixpence.I never saw any silver pieces there,and could not without difficulty,and giving a premium,obtain the value of a rix-dollar in a large copper coin to give away on the road to the poor who open the gates.

As another proof of the poverty of Sweden,I ought to mention that foreign merchants who have acquired a fortune there are obliged to deposit the sixth part when they leave the kingdom.This law,you may suppose,is frequently evaded.

In fact,the laws here,as well as in Norway,are so relaxed that they rather favour than restrain knavery.

Whilst I was at Gothenburg,a man who had been confined for breaking open his master's desk and running away with five or six thousand rix-dollars,was only sentenced to forty days'confinement on bread and water;and this slight punishment his relations rendered nugatory by supplying him with more savoury food.

The Swedes are in general attached to their families,yet a divorce may be obtained by either party on proving the infidelity of the other or acknowledging it themselves.The women do not often recur to this equal privilege,for they either retaliate on their husbands by following their own devices or sink into the merest domestic drudges,worn down by tyranny to servile submission.Do not term me severe if I add,that after youth is flown the husband becomes a sot,and the wife amuses herself by scolding her servants.In fact,what is to be expected in any country where taste and cultivation of mind do not supply the place of youthful beauty and animal spirits?

Affection requires a firmer foundation than sympathy,and few people have a principle of action sufficiently stable to produce rectitude of feeling;for in spite of all the arguments I have heard to justify deviations from duty,I am persuaded that even the most spontaneous sensations are more under the direction of principle than weak people are willing to allow.

But adieu to moralising.I have been writing these last sheets at an inn in Elsineur,where I am waiting for horses;and as they are not yet ready,I will give you a short account of my journey from Gothenburg,for I set out the morning after I returned from Trolhaettae.

The country during the first day's journey presented a most barren appearance,as rocky,yet not so picturesque as Norway,because on a diminutive scale.We stopped to sleep at a tolerable inn in Falckersberg,a decent little town.

The next day beeches and oaks began to grace the prospects,the sea every now and then appearing to give them dignity.I could not avoid observing also,that even in this part of Sweden,one of the most sterile,as I was informed,there was more ground under cultivation than in Norway.Plains of varied crops stretched out to a considerable extent,and sloped down to the shore,no longer terrific.And,as far as I could judge,from glancing my eye over the country as we drove along,agriculture was in a more advanced state,though in the habitations a greater appearance of poverty still remained.The cottages,indeed,often looked most uncomfortable,but never so miserable as those I had remarked on the road to Stromstad,and the towns were equal,if not superior,to many of the little towns in Wales,or some I have passed through in my way from Calais to Paris.

The inns as we advanced were not to be complained of,unless I had always thought of England.The people were civil,and much more moderate in their demands than the Norwegians,particularly to the westward,where they boldly charge for what you never had,and seem to consider you,as they do a wreck,if not as lawful prey,yet as a lucky chance,which they ought not to neglect to seize.

The prospect of Elsineur,as we passed the Sound,was pleasant.Igave three rix-dollars for my boat,including something to drink.Imention the sum,because they impose on strangers.

Adieu!till I arrive at Copenhagen.