during the reign of Christian IV.
(1588-1648) still remain to adorn the city. This monarch was a great
architect, sailor, warrior, and King, and is one of the most striking
figures in Danish history. He was beloved by his people, and did much
for his kingdom. The buildings planned and erected during this monarch's
reign are worthy of our admiration. The beautiful Exchange, with its
curious tower formed by four dragons standing on their heads, and
entwining their tails into a dainty spire; Rosenborg Castle, with its
delicate pinnacles; the famous "Runde Taarn" (Round Tower), up whose
celebrated spiral causeway Peter the Great is said to have driven a
carriage and pair, are amongst the most noteworthy. The originality in
design of the spires and towers of Copenhagen is quite remarkable. Vor
Frelsers Kirke, or Church of Our Saviour, has an outside staircase,
running round the outside of its spire, which leads up to a figure of
our Saviour, and from this height you get a fine view of the city. The
tower of the fire-station, in which the fire-hose hangs at full length;
the copper-sheathed clock and bell tower--the highest in Denmark--of the
Town Hall; the Eiffel-like tower of the Zoo, are among the most
singular. In all these towers there is a beautiful blending of copper
and gold, which gives a distinctive and attractive character to the
city. Other prominent features are the pretty fish-scale tiling, and the
copper and bronze roofs of many of the buildings, with their "stepped"
gables. Charming, too, are the city's many squares and public gardens,
canals with many-masted ships making an unusual spectacle in the
streets. But, after all, it is perhaps the innate gaiety of the
Copenhagener which impresses you most. You feel, indeed, that these
kindly Danes are a little too content for national development; but
their light-hearted way of viewing life makes them very pleasant
friends, and their hospitality is one of their chief characteristics.
Every lady at the head of a Danish household is an excellent cook and
manager, as well as being an agreeable and intelligent companion. The
Copenhagener is a "flat" dweller, and the dining-room is the largest and
most important room in every home. The Dane thinks much of his dinner,
and dinner-parties are the principal form of entertainment. They joke
about their appreciation of the good things of the table, and say, "a
turkey is not a good table-bird, as it is a little too much for one