m in case of fire; but the observatory has been moved to the tower
of St. Nicholas, and now we have a telegraphic fire alarm. Won't you
walk up to the top of this tower, where you can have a fine view of
the whole city? The ascent is very easy," continued Joseph.

There were no stairs, but an inclined plane, gradual in its rise,
permitted the tourists to ascend to the summit with very little labor.

"We might have driven up in the carriage," said Captain Lincoln.

"There would be no difficulty at all in doing so. In fact, Peter the
Great, when he was in Copenhagen, in 1716, drove to the top with the
Empress Catharine, in a coach and four."

"Is that so?" asked the captain.

"I can't remember so far back myself," chuckled Joseph, "for I'm not
much over a hundred years old; but everybody says it is true, and I
see no reason to doubt the story. Peter the Great liked to do strange
things, and you can see for yourself that a carriage would run very
well here."

"If he went up with a coach and four, of course he must have come
down, unless the carriage and horses are up there now. How did he turn
his team?"

"It is easier to ask some questions than to answer them," replied
Joseph. "History does not say that he drove down, only that he drove
up."

"Perhaps he backed down, which kings and emperors are sometimes
obliged to do, as well as common people," suggested Paul Kendall.

"Very likely he did; I don't see any other way for the team to
descend," added Joseph. "This tower was begun in 1639."

At the top of the structure the travellers took a general survey of
the city, and then proceeded to examine it in detail.

"Do you remember the latitude of Copenhagen, Captain Lincoln?" asked
Dr. Winstock.

"About fifty-five and a half."

"The same as the middle of Labrador. Quebec is about forty-seven, and
this is a long way farther north. What is the population of this city,
Joseph?" asked the doctor.

"One hundred and eighty-one thousand," replied the guide, giving the
census of 1870. "Formerly the city was a walled town, with ramparts
and moats. It was built partly on Seeland, and partly on the small
island of Amager. The channel between them is the harbor. You can see
where the old line of fortifications was. The old town lies nearest to
the sea, but the city is now spreading rapidly out into the country."

"What is that broad sheet of water, with two bridges over it?" asked
Lincoln, pointing to the land side.