第53章 LETTER XX(2)
I have not visited any other palace,excepting Hirsholm,the gardens of which are laid out with taste,and command the finest views the country affords.As they are in the modern and English style,Ithought I was following the footsteps of Matilda,who wished to multiply around her the images of her beloved country.I was also gratified by the sight of a Norwegian landscape in miniature,which with great propriety makes a part of the Danish King's garden.The cottage is well imitated,and the whole has a pleasing effect,particularly so to me who love Norway--its peaceful farms and spacious wilds.
The public library consists of a collection much larger than Iexpected to see;and it is well arranged.Of the value of the Icelandic manuscripts I could not form a judgment,though the alphabet of some of them amused me,by showing what immense labour men will submit to,in order to transmit their ideas to posterity.
I have sometimes thought it a great misfortune for individuals to acquire a certain delicacy of sentiment,which often makes them weary of the common occurrences of life;yet it is this very delicacy of feeling and thinking which probably has produced most of the performances that have benefited mankind.It might with propriety,perhaps,be termed the malady of genius;the cause of that characteristic melancholy which "grows with its growth,and strengthens with its strength."There are some good pictures in the royal museum.Do not start,Iam not going to trouble you with a dull catalogue,or stupid criticisms on masters to whom time has assigned their just niche in the temple of fame;had there been any by living artists of this country,I should have noticed them,as making a part of the sketches I am drawing of the present state of the place.The good pictures were mixed indiscriminately with the bad ones,in order to assort the frames.The same fault is conspicuous in the new splendid gallery forming at Paris;though it seems an obvious thought that a school for artists ought to be arranged in such a manner,as to show the progressive discoveries and improvements in the art.
A collection of the dresses,arms,and implements of the Laplanders attracted my attention,displaying that first species of ingenuity which is rather a proof of patient perseverance,than comprehension of mind.The specimens of natural history,and curiosities of art,were likewise huddled together without that scientific order which alone renders them useful;but this may partly have been occasioned by the hasty manner in which they were removed from the palace when in flames.
There are some respectable men of science here,but few literary characters,and fewer artists.They want encouragement,and will continue,I fear,from the present appearance of things,to languish unnoticed a long time;for neither the vanity of wealth,nor the enterprising spirit of commerce,has yet thrown a glance that way.
Besides,the Prince Royal,determined to be economical,almost descends to parsimony;and perhaps depresses his subjects,by labouring not to oppress them;for his intentions always seem to be good--yet nothing can give a more forcible idea of the dulness which eats away all activity of mind,than the insipid routine of a court,without magnificence or elegance.
The Prince,from what I can now collect,has very moderate abilities;yet is so well disposed,that Count Bernstorff finds him as tractable as he could wish;for I consider the Count as the real sovereign,scarcely behind the curtain;the Prince having none of that obstinate self-sufficiency of youth,so often the forerunner of decision of character.He and the Princess his wife,dine every day with the King,to save the expense of two tables.What a mummery it must be to treat as a king a being who has lost the majesty of man!
But even Count Bernstorff's morality submits to this standing imposition;and he avails himself of it sometimes,to soften a refusal of his own,by saying it is the WILL of the King,my master,when everybody knows that he has neither will nor memory.Much the same use is made of him as,I have observed,some termagant wives make of their husbands;they would dwell on the necessity of obeying their husbands,poor passive souls,who never were allowed TO WILL,when they wanted to conceal their own tyranny.
A story is told here of the King's formerly making a dog counsellor of state,because when the dog,accustomed to eat at the royal table,snatched a piece of meat off an old officer's plate,he reproved him jocosely,saying that he,monsieur le chien,had not the privilege of dining with his majesty,a privilege annexed to this distinction.
The burning of the palace was,in fact,a fortunate circumstance,as it afforded a pretext for reducing the establishment of the household,which was far too great for the revenue of the Crown.
The Prince Royal,at present,runs into the opposite extreme;and the formality,if not the parsimony,of the court,seems to extend to all the other branches of society,which I had an opportunity of observing;though hospitality still characterises their intercourse with strangers.
But let me now stop;I may be a little partial,and view everything with the jaundiced eye of melancholy--for I am sad--and have cause.
God bless you!