But
Neither The Rocky Mountains, Nor The Woods That Graced Them, Could
Be Compared With The Sublime Prospects I Had
Seen to the westward;
and as for the hills, "capped with ETERNAL snow," Mr. Coxe's
description led me to look
For them, but they had flown, for I
looked vainly around for this noble background.
A few months ago the people of Christiania rose, exasperated by the
scarcity and consequent high price of grain. The immediate cause
was the shipping of some, said to be for Moss, but which they
suspected was only a pretext to send it out of the country, and I am
not sure that they were wrong in their conjecture. Such are the
tricks of trade. They threw stones at Mr. Anker, the owner of it,
as he rode out of town to escape from their fury; they assembled
about his house, and the people demanded afterwards, with so much
impetuosity, the liberty of those who were taken up in consequence
of the tumult, that the Grand Bailiff thought it prudent to release
them without further altercation.
You may think me too severe on commerce, but from the manner it is
at present carried on little can be advanced in favour of a pursuit
that wears out the most sacred principles of humanity and rectitude.
What is speculation but a species of gambling, I might have said
fraud, in which address generally gains the prize? I was led into
these reflections when I heard of some tricks practised by
merchants, miscalled reputable, and certainly men of property,
during the present war, in which common honesty was violated:
damaged goods and provision having been shipped for the express
purpose of falling into the hands of the English, who had pledged
themselves to reimburse neutral nations for the cargoes they seized;
cannon also, sent back as unfit for service, have been shipped as a
good speculation, the captain receiving orders to cruise about till
he fell in with an English frigate. Many individuals I believe have
suffered by the seizures of their vessels; still I am persuaded that
the English Government has been very much imposed upon in the
charges made by merchants who contrived to get their ships taken.
This censure is not confined to the Danes. Adieu, for the present,
I must take advantage of a moment of fine weather to walk out and
see the town.
At Christiania I met with that polite reception, which rather
characterises the progress of manners in the world, than of any
particular portion of it. The first evening of my arrival I supped
with some of the most fashionable people of the place, and almost
imagined myself in a circle of English ladies, so much did they
resemble them in manners, dress, and even in beauty; for the fairest
of my countrywomen would not have been sorry to rank with the Grand
Bailiff's lady. There were several pretty girls present, but she
outshone them all, and, what interested me still more, I could not
avoid observing that in acquiring the easy politeness which
distinguishes people of quality, she had preserved her Norwegian
simplicity.
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