e ramparts of a citadel, bristling with guns of
tremendous calibre, not a cable's length from the Iris; so, that, I
could see, without being much observed, the gaiety which was in vogue,
and could almost hear, did I understand the language, the anxiety
expressed to know what and whence we were. The ladies in their French
pink bonnets, and English dresses, pointed, gathering in knots, to the
white Ensign and red cross of St. George,--which drooping, dipped, like
a swallow, to the water's surface, then floated lazily in the air,--and
concluded at once in their sweet minds from what part of the sunny South
we came, and what the errand was which had brought us so far from home
to Denmark. I could almost tell, by the fervour of their manner, how the
men viewed with admiration the slight downward curve of the cutter's
bowsprit, her burnished copper, and low, raking hull. Boats of all sizes
and shapes, each containing a cargo, varying from four to thirteen
persons, put off from the shore, and each individual whispering one to
the other, that we were English, paddled round the cutter. Removed at a
short distance from the little fleet, like the leading drake of a flock
of ducks, a boat, rowed by a sailor and carrying two gentlemen, one with
spectacles, standing, and the other quietly seated, steering, described
continuously an elliptical circle round and round the vessel. Now and
then, the gentleman, who stood, would make an exclamation to his
companion, but whether of admiration or dislike, I had no other means of
conjecturing than from the frequency with which he arranged,
disarranged, and re-arranged his spectacles, first, fixing them tightly
to the bridge of his nose, then, unfixing them, with a pettish jerk, to
wipe them with his handkerchief, and, at last, refixing them with much
precision, by removing the hat from his head and clasping it between his
knees, till the yielding pasteboard crackled again. This
circumnavigation continued for some time, much to my amusement, but more
to the annoyance of Sailor, who leaped from stern to bow, following the
motion of the boat, and barked, till the echo of his voice struck
sharply against the bastions of Fredrikshavn, then flew, bounding, back
again.

At last, the boat was pulled boldly to the gangway, and the excitable
gentleman in spectacles, seizing hold of the after-braces, bowed and
handed me a card, and begged, in bad French, that he might be permitted
to come on board. Permi