e no hills there;
nor 'the dreadful summit of the cliff, that beetles o'er his base into
the sea.' It is a flat region, with only a low cliff to border the
sea; certainly with no such tremendous steeps as the poet describes.
Besides, Hamlet lived and died in Jutland. But Shakespeare used the
poet's license.

"Nearly all of Denmark lies between latitude fifty-five and
fifty-eight; but, though the thermometer sometimes falls to twenty-two
degrees below zero in winter, the average temperature is mild. The
climate does not materially differ from the eastern coast of
Massachusetts. The air is so humid that the grass and trees have a
livelier green than the countries farther south, and droughts are
almost unknown. When France and Germany are parched and dry, Denmark
is fresh and green. The people are engaged principally in agriculture
and commerce. The chief exports are grain, cattle, and horses.

"The government is a constitutional monarchy. The king is assisted in
the executive department by a 'Royal Privy Council' of seven
ministers. The legislature is called the Rigsdag, and consists of the
Landsthing, or upper house, and the Folkething, or lower house. Of the
former, twelve are nominated for life, by the king, from the present
or past members of the lower house, and the remaining fifty-four are
elected, in four classes, by the largest tax-payers in country
districts, in towns, in cities, and by deputies representing the
ordinary voters. The members of the lower house are chosen directly by
the people. All male citizens of twenty-five, except paupers, and
servants who are not householders, are voters.

"The established religion of the state is Lutheran, and the king must
be of this church. He nominates the bishops, who have no political
power, as in England. They have the general supervision and management
of all the affairs of the church in the kingdom. Although there are
only about thirteen thousand non-Lutherans in Denmark, entire
religious toleration prevails, and no man can be deprived of his
civil and political rights on account of his creed.

"Free education is provided by the government for all children whose
parents cannot afford to pay for tuition, and attendance at school,
between the ages of seven and fourteen, is compulsory. All the people,
therefore, are instructed in the elementary branches; and, besides
the University of Copenhagen, there is a system of high and middle
schools, available for the child