astardly attack upon the city, and the
shelling of it for three consecutive days, by the British fleet in
1807, during which uncalled for and reckless onslaught an immense
destruction of human life and property was inflicted upon the place.
Over three hundred important buildings were laid in ashes on that
occasion, because Denmark refused permission for the domiciling of
English troops upon her soil, and declined, as she had a most
unquestionable right to do, to withdraw her connection with the
neutral powers. It was one of the most outrageous examples of English
arrogance on record,--one which even her own historians feel
compelled to denounce emphatically. No wonder the gallant Nelson
expressed his deep regret at being sent to the Baltic on such
distasteful service. Copenhagen received the expressive name it bears
(Merchant's Haven) on account of its excellent harbor and general
commercial advantages. As in the Mediterranean so in the Baltic,
tidal influence is felt only to a small degree, the difference in the
rise and fall of the water at this point being scarcely more than one
foot. It should be remembered, however, that the level of the waters
of the Baltic are subject, like those of the Swiss lakes, to
barometric variations. Owing to the comparatively fresh character of
this sea, its ports are ice-bound for a third of each year, and in
extreme seasons the whole expanse is frozen across from the Denmark
to the Swedish coast. In 1658, Charles X. of Sweden marched his army
across the Belts, dictating to the Danes a treaty of peace; and so
late as 1809, a Russian army passed from Finland to Sweden across the
Gulf of Bothnia.

The possessions of Denmark upon the main-land are in our day quite
circumscribed, consisting of Jutland only; but she has besides
several islands far and near, of which Zeeland is the most populous,
and contains the capital. As a State, she may be said to occupy a
much larger space in history than upon the map of Europe. The surface
of the island of Zeeland is uniformly low, in this respect resembling
Holland, the highest point reaching an elevation of but five hundred
and fifty feet. To be precise in the matter of her dominions, the
colonial possessions of Denmark may be thus enumerated: Greenland,
Iceland, the Faroe group of islands, between the Shetlands and
Iceland; adding St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John in the West
Indies. Greenland is nearly as large as Germany and France combined;
b