situated near the present
centre of the city. It was once a royal residence, having been built
by Christian IV. as a dwelling-place, whither he might retire at will
from the noise and interruptions of the capital. At the time of its
erection in 1604 it was outside the walls, a radius which the modern
city has long since outgrown. The room in which the King died in
1648 is shown to visitors, and recalled to us the small apartment in
which Philip II. died at the Escurial, near Madrid. Among the few
paintings upon the walls of this apartment is one representing the
King upon his death-bed, as he lay in his last long sleep. The palace
is now devoted to a chronological collection of the belongings of the
Danish kings, spacious apartments being devoted to souvenirs of each,
decorated in the style of the period and containing a portion of the
original furniture from the several royal residences, as well as the
family portraits, gala-costumes, jewelry, plate, and weapons.
Altogether it is a collection of priceless value and of remarkable
historic interest, covering a period of about four hundred and fifty
years. One is forcibly reminded of the Green Vaults of Dresden while
passing through the many sections of Rosenborg Castle. The
extraordinary and valuable collection within its walls has, it is
believed, no superior in point of interest in all Europe. The founder
of this museum was Frederick III., the son and successor of Christian
IV. Some of the cabinets and other articles of furniture in the
various halls and rooms are marvellous works of art, inlaid with
ivory and mother-of-pearl, representing birds, flowers, landscapes,
and domestic scenes with all the finished effect of oil paintings by
a master-hand. In the cabinets and tables secret drawers are exposed
to view by the touching of hidden springs. While some tables are
formed of solid silver, as are also other articles of domestic use,
still others are composed of both gold and silver. Many of the royal
regalias are profusely inlaid with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds,
rubies, and other precious stones,--forming an aggregated value too
large for us to venture an estimate. The toilet sets were numerous,
and had belonged to the several queens, each embracing eight or ten
finely wrought pieces made of solid gold, superbly inlaid with
precious stones. Among these costly sets was observed the jewelled
casket of Queen Sophia Amalie, wife of Frederick III., a relic of
great inte