A fine building
on the sea-shore, whose portico rests upon pillars, is used for a
bathing institution.
A dock-yard, in which men-of-war are built at the expense of the
state, is situated near the town of Horten, which is also
picturesquely placed. There does not seem to be much work doing
here, for I only saw one ship lying at anchor, and none on the
stocks. About eight leagues beyond Horten a mountain rises in the
middle of the sea, and divides it into two streams, uniting again
beyond it, and forming a pretty view.
We did not see Christiania till we were only ten leagues from it.
The town, the suburbs, the fortress, the newly-erected royal palace,
the freemasons' lodge, &c., lie in a semicircle round the port, and
are bounded by fields, meadows, woods, and hills, forming a
delightful coup-d'oeil. It seems as if the sea could not part from
such a lovely view, and runs in narrow streams, through hills and
plains, to a great distance beyond the town.
Towards eleven o'clock in the forenoon we reached the port of
Christiania. We had come from Sandesund in seven hours, and had
stopped four times on the way; but the boats with new-comers, with
merchandise and letters, had always been ready, had been received,
and we had proceeded without any considerable delay.
CHAPTER VIII
My first care on arriving in this town was to find a countrywoman of
mine who had been married to a lawyer here. It is said of the
Viennese that they cannot live away from their Stephen's steeple;
but here was a proof of the contrary, for there are few couples
living so happily as these friends, and yet they were nearly one
thousand miles from St. Stephen's steeple. {47}
I passed through the whole town on the way from the quay to the
hotel, and thence to my friend. The town is not large, and not very
pretty. The newly-built portion is the best, for it at least has
broad, tolerably long streets, in which the houses are of brick, and
sometimes large. In the by-streets I frequently found wooden
barracks ready to fall. The square is large, but irregular; and as
it is used as a general market-place, it is also very dirty.
In the suburbs the houses are mostly built of wood. There are some
rather pretty public buildings; the finest among them are the royal
castle and the fortress. They are built on little elevations, and
afford a beautiful view. The old royal palace is in the town, but
not at all distinguishable from a common private house. The house
in which the Storthing {48} assembles is large, and its portico
rests on pillars; but the steps are of wood, as in all stone houses
in Scandinavia. The theatre seemed large enough for the population;
but I did not enter it. The freemasons' lodge is one of the most
beautiful buildings in the town; it contains two large saloons,
which are used for assemblies or festivities of various kinds,
besides serving as the meeting-place of the freemasons. The
university seemed almost too richly built; it is not finished yet,
but is so beautiful that it would be an ornament to the largest
capital. The butchers' market is also very pretty. It is of a
semi-circular shape, and is surrounded by arched passages, in which
the buyers stand, sheltered from the weather. The whole edifice is
built of bricks, left in their natural state, neither stuccoed with
mortar nor whitewashed. There are not many other palaces or fine
public buildings, and most of the houses are one-storied.
One of the features of the place - a custom which is of great use to
the traveller, and prevails in all Scandinavian towns - is, that the
names of the streets are affixed at every corner, so that the
passer-by always knows where he is, without the necessity of asking
his way.
Open canals run through the town; and on such nights as the almanac
announces a full or bright moon the streets are not lighted.
Wooden quays surround the harbour, on which several large
warehouses, likewise built of wood, are situated; but, like most of
the houses, they are roofed with tiles.
The arrangement and display of the stores are simple, and the wares
very beautiful, though not of home manufacture. Very few factories
exist here, and every thing has to be imported.
I was much shocked at the raggedly-clad people I met every where in
the streets; the young men especially looked very ragged. They
rarely begged; but I should not have been pleased to meet them alone
in a retired street.
I was fortunate enough to be in Christiania at the time when the
Storthing was sitting. This takes place every three years; the
sessions commence in January or February, and usually last three
months; but so much business had this time accumulated, that the
king proposed to extend the length of the session. To this
fortunate accident I owed the pleasure of witnessing some of the
meetings. The king was expected to close the proceedings in
September. {49}
The hall of meeting is long and large. Four rows of tapestried
seats, one rising above the other, run lengthways along the hall,
and afford room for eighty legislators. Opposite the benches a
table stands on a raised platform, and at this table the president
and secretary sit. A gallery, which is open to the public, runs
round the upper portion of the hall.
Although I understood but little of the Norwegian language, I
attended the meetings daily for an hour. I could at least
distinguish whether long or short speeches were made, or whether the
orator spoke fluently.
