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.
