Hamburg.
Our rail ride was across the island of Zealand—flat, poor, wet, cold soil; the peasants’ houses were low, of stone, and thatched. The windows were so few and small, they must be ill ventilated, and probably unwholesome. Mustard was growing in large quantities, fields of rye were fair, and grass was looking well. Cattle abounded in the meadows,—not on the hills, for those were not in sight.
At ten o’clock at night, and while it was yet light, we reached the steamer at Corseow. It was a large, commodious, and well-furnished vessel, excepting that it had no state-rooms. The berths were good, but were all in one open cabin. The decks were crowded with live-stock,—pigs, calves, cows,—whose squeals, bleating, and moaning were to be our serenade till the morning light. A bountiful supper was served,—tea and coffee, meats, eggs, &c.,—and the charge for the whole was twenty-seven cents! And this being over, I spent the livelong night fighting, not wild beasts, nor the tame ones overhead, but those pestering fleas, which seem to be one of the pet annoyances of the travelling world.
We arrived at Kiel very early in the morning, and went ashore through mud and rain; and the only way to ride was on the outside of an omnibus, to the railroad station. This is a famous seaport, and like all other seaports, so that Kiel will not have a sketch. We make no stay, but by rail set off for Hamburg. Wheat and rye and buckwheat cover the fields. Little Indian corn is raised in these countries, where the soil and climate are as well suited to it as parts of our country where it flourishes. The gardens are filled with the same vegetables as our own,—potatoes, pease, beans, lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage,—making it pleasant to know that the good things at home are just as abundant here. The flowers, too,—roses and lilies and lilacs, others wild, and cultivated,—make the wayside and the court-yards of the humble dwellings smile. All the fields of grass and grain are ridged, and a ditch is made about every twenty feet for a drain. Small tiles are used for underground draining. Few evidences appear of high cultivation; very little attention is paid to scientific preparation of manures, which might greatly enhance the value of the land.
At Elmshorn,—a very pretty village where we stopped a few moments, and large numbers of people gathered about the train, as if they were quite at leisure,—old women brought baskets of strawberries and cherries to the cars for sale; as large and of as fine a flavor, and of such varieties as were quite familiar to the eye and taste.
The train moves slowly on, and the spires of Hamburg appear in the distance. We are now fairly out of Scandinavia. With hearts full of thanksgiving to Him who has safely led us through our journey, we turn away from the land of Odin and Thor, and in a few weeks are
Home Again.