This Island Is
Appropriated To The Court, But The Rest Of The Park Is Open To The
Public.
Immediately outside the water-gate stands an obelisk, remarkable
neither for its beauty nor for the skill displayed in its erection,
for it consists of various stones, and is not high, but interesting
from the circumstance to which it owes its origin.
It was erected
by his grateful subjects in memory of the late king Christian VII.,
to commemorate the abolition of feudal service. Surely no feeling
person can contemplate without joyful emotion a monument like this.
I have here given a faithful account of what I saw during my short
stay at Copenhagen. It only remains for me to describe a few
peculiar customs of the people, and so I will begin as it were at
the end, with the burial of the dead. In Denmark, as in fact in the
whole of Scandinavia, not excepting Iceland, it is customary not to
bury the dead until eight or ten days have elapsed. In winter-time
this is not of so much consequence, but in summer it is far from
healthy for those under the same roof with the corpse. I was
present at Copenhagen at the funeral of Dr. Brandis, physician to
the king. Two of the king's carriages and a number of private
equipages attended. Nearly all these were empty, and the servants
walked beside them. Among the mourners I did not notice a single
woman; I supposed that this was only the case at the funerals of
gentlemen, but on inquiry I found that the same rule is observed at
the burial of women.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 38 of 329
Words from 9916 to 10190
of 87606
