Sumptuousness and Magnificence as that wherewith her Burial was accompanied Fifthly Whatever he ominates concerning the Swedes avoiding a further Matrimonial Tye with Danmark p. 193. Yet it is true that the general report of the World is concerning a double Marriage between the Prince Royal of Danmark and the Princess of Sweden as also between the Prince Royal of Sweden and the Princess of Danmark If so where is this Gentlemans assurance of the impossibility of a further Matrimonial Tye or the certainty of the Prince of Holstein's being contracted to the Princess of Sweden whom he falsly cal's p. 193. the only Daughter of the King of Sweden this King having two Princesses living by the lately deceased Queen Sixthly As the Author is pretty near in guessing that the King of Danmark would not sit down with the Duke of Zell's thrusting himself into the Dutchy of Saxe Lawenburg so he is out of the way when he says that the King of Sweden would uphold the Lunenburg Family though secretly For the Swede was one of the chief Mediators that made the Duke of Zell demolish Raâ—eburg last year and give the King of Danmark the satisfaction which he desired Seventhly When he says that the Duke of Holstein has by the Sister of the King of Danmark issue a very hopeful Prince one should think he has no more issue than this only Son whereas the Duke of Holstein has several Children of both Sexes CHAP. XIII The Manner of Dispossessing and Restoring the Duke of Holstein Gottorp ANY one who reads this and the foregoing Chapter will see the Authors partiality for the Duke of Holstein He seems to have undertaken his Cause and to display it in all its best Colours and Brightness It were an easy thing in answer to all this to transcribe the King of Danmark's Manifesto upon this occasion which those who are curious may consult if they please it having been spread about all Germany But I shall avoid meddling with any Justification of the King of Danmark upon this Account The reason is because there is at present an intire Reconciliation between the King and his Brother-in law the Duke and last year they met together with great Friendship in Holstein Now Reconciliation clears up a thousand things which Distruâ—â— Jealousy or Misunderstanding may have cast before one What hereâ—ofore may have seem'd unkind or unjust then will appear to have been necessary but especially upon thâ— renewing of Friendship there should be no Justification of former Proceedings made by either Party for such Justification shows as if the breach were not thoroughly repair'd and will give a handle for future disputes and difficulties Since no reconcilement will be perfect but such as carries along with it an entire oblivion of past differences and all their circumstances CHAP. XIV The Interests of Danmark in Relation to other Princes I Shall be very short in relation to this Chapter because it is of the same nature with the former What he says of Danmark that it resembles a Monster that is all Head and no Body all Soldiers and no Subjects p. 224. has been sufficiently confuted However if I were to have a Monster I would rather have one that is all Head and no Body than such a one as he would make which is all Body and no Head Neither am I of opinion that Danmark bears no greater proportion to France than the little Republick of St. Marino does to Venice and that Danmark is the least and poorest Kingdom in Europe p. 225. for as to its poverty I have given him an account and as to the Littleness of this Kingdom I must a second time make bold with the first words of his Book against him That if we consider the Extent of the King of Danmark's Dominions he may with Justice be reckon'd among the greatest Princes in Europe CHAP. XIV Of the Laws Courts of Justice c. THE Danes are sprung from the Goths who have always been a most warlike Nation they have left no Northern People free from their Incursions at least if not their Conquests and extended them from Island to the warmer Climates of Spain and Italy and the burning Shores of Africa Krantzius in Daniâ— Lib. 1. c. Meursius Hist. Dan. Lib. 2 3. Isaac Pontanus Rer. Dan. And have the honour never to have submitted to the Roman Empire nor to have any just pretences made from thence of Superiority or Dominion over them Their Historians affirm that they have had a continued Succession of Princes from a thousand and forty Years before Christ who have continually governed them They have always been ruled by their own Laws without foreign impositions These Laws and Customs were so agreeable to the Northern People that Roger Hoveden in his Annals of Hen. 2d of England says that when William the Conqueror was to give Laws to the English he made the greatest use of the Danish Laws to that purpose from the Love he bore to the Danes from whom the Normans took their Original Under the forementioned Laws and Customs the Danes lived which they might possibly explain or improve by the Civil or Roman Law that Pontanus Lib 6. says they made use of and which the Governors of their Monasteries understood and studied having learnt them in the Universities of France and Italy Georg. Lorich in addit ad cons. poster n. 92. Helmold Lib. 3. Chron. Slavorum c. 5. King Waldemar in the Year of Christ one thousand two hundred thirty two collected the Statutes of his Predecessors whâ—ch with the ancient Customs of the Danes and Cimbers he reduc'd into writing and adding several others together with the Consent of the States he made an entire Body of the Danish Law Pontanus Lib 6. Duck de Authoritate juris civilis Yet this was but for one Province for formerly each Province Jutland Sealand c. had their own particular Laws differing from one another And indeed since his present Majesties Collection and Reformation of the Laws the Danish and Norsh Law is still distinguished so that there is just such another Volume comprehending the Norsh Law as that of the Danish but there is no difference except in such things where the nature and situation of Norway require another Regulation than Danmark In Norway likewise is another high Court of Justice where the Viceroy is resident to which all Causes may come by Appeal But if the Parties be not contented with the Decision of that Court they have a further Appeal to the highest Court in Copenhagen Holstein is ruled by the Imperial Law as a Fier of the Empire and there is at Copenhagen two Chanceries the Danish for Danmark and Norway the German for Holstein and the other German Provinces belonging to the King of Danmark He has said nothing of the Ecclesiastical Courts in Danmark which are in every Diocess where the Bishop is Resident and several of the chief of the Clergy are his Assistants and the Governor of the Province always
and Rebus's for distinction but they do not deliver them down to posterity nor have they any farther mark of honour in them Among these Nobles there were twenty four persons of the chiefest Families who composed a standing Council call'd Rigens Raad or the Council of the Kingdom upon the death of one of these Councellors his Successor had a Patent from the King to constitute him so but he was always approved if not first chosen by the Nobility This Council had by degrees so enlarged their Authority as to interpose in most of the great Affairs of the Kingdom The entire body of the Nobility though standing possest of the Lands look'd upon it p. 50. as their Ancient Prerogative to pay nothing by way of Taxes The rest of the people of Danmark consisted of the Clergy the Burghers or Citizens and the Peasants who were either in the nature of ouâ—-Farmers or else the Vornede who resembled the Villains in our Law who were so called quasi Villae adscripti and so were these When a Diet was to meet which it did not do of course or at certain periods but upon great occasions as doing Homage or to raise Taxes the Nobility assembled together in the Palace and sate by themselves the King seldom coming among them all were summon'd and as many appear'd as could with their convenience The Clergy and Burghers who were sent in proportion by their several Districts sate in the Brewers Hall and the Peasants who had their Representatives likewise sate in some other Hall belonging to some of the Companies When the Nobility had deliberated concerning a Tax the Clergy Burghers and Peasants were sent for to their House to hear what was to be laid upon them and not to debate the matter or to pretend to controul+'em This was the condition of the Kingdom and the Danish Parliament when the War with Sweden was ended And it was this Prerogative of the Nobility that made the other States so willing to devolve a Power upon the King by which he could make the Nobility pay their proportion and either Clergyman or Citizen be able to purchase and so the Peasant who before could be a Farmer only if he could get Money might have licence to become a Free-holder And the Soldier was no doubt likewise desirous of it because he had a prospect then that his Arrears should be paid him There being so many advantages likely to accrue to the King whom they acknowledged by his Valor and Conduct to deserve them to the whole Royal Family and indeed to all the rest of the Danes and no damage toany except that which the Nobles received in contributing towards the defence of the Lands which they possest It is not so very strange that an alteration should be perfected in so few days all things not only being ripe for but necessity itself requiring it The Speech of Otto Craeg made the Commons eager to obtain this alteration especially being headed by their President Nauson who was a man of Vigor The Superintendent Swan was at the Head of the Clergy who were no less desirous of it Sestede was Prime Minister and concurred to their intention and several of the Nobles themselves who were in Court were not displeased at it and the Queen being a Woman of Spirit thought her self bound to her Posterity to advance it It was night when the Commons parted from the Nobles and that gave them time the better to concert their resolutions The next day they come again and declare their fixt design concerning the Power which they intended to place in his Majesty's Hands The Nobility desired farther time to deliberate concerning it and to do it with greater caution and solemnity Finding a delay in the Nobles and that they would not come up to equal resolutions with them the Commons go the same morning to the Palace where being introduc'd to the King they tender him an Hereditary and Soveraign Dominion His Majesty in answer tells them of the necessity there was for the concurrence of the Nobility before he should be willing to accept the Power they design'd him assuring them of his Protection and â—ase of Grievances dismissing them with advice to continue their Sessions till matters might be brought to greater perfection The same day Monsieur Scheel a Senator was to be buried with much magnificence and all the Nobility invited to a great Entertainment as is usual there upon such occasions In the mean time the Gates of the City were shut and whereas two or three of the Nobility had gone out the night before there was no opportunity left for the rest to do so Now being altogether upon the forementioned occasion they began to deliberate more seriously upon the assair and to send news to the Court of their compliance with the Commons and their unanimous agreement with them three days were thought requisite for an intermediate space before the Consummation of this Ceremony which was perform'd before the Castle the King and Royal Family being plac'd there in Chairs of State and receiving the Homage of all the Senators Nobility Clergy and Commons so an affair of this consequence was dispatched in four days without any farther trouble than what has been related We must allow our Author in his Description of these proceedings to use some of his own Ornaments and particularly that instance of his subtle Genius to dive into the hearts of men which he gives us when he speaks p. 56. about the Kings seeming Reluctancy through doubt of the event or sense of the dishonesty and crime of the action Whereas the King was all along willing to receive the profer of the Commons but declared that he thought the concurrence of the Nobility necessary that the consent might be universal He is very particular as to the Summs of Money that were given p. 74. Hannibal Sestled had two hundred thousand Crowns Swan the Bishop had 30000 and was made Archbishop The President Nauson had 20000. One might think he spoke with the person that paid the Bills This is a piece of secret history which may perhaps be revealed to Foreigners but the Danes know nothing of it and it seems to carry the less probability because Swan has an Archbishoprick and ten thousand Crowns more than Nauson who appears all along to have done equal service Besides these three persons the Clergy who always make sure bargains were the only gainers in this point p. 74. What are their Revenues enlarged Do they pay no Taxes Or what have they gained more than the Burghers Why e'en just nothing There are no Taxes rais'd upon the Burghers to which the Clergy must not pay their Quota And whereas before the alteration the Clergyman paid as it were no Taxes through the connivance of the Nobility now hâ—bears an equal share with any man of any other Profession in the Kingdom The Commons have since experienced that the little â—inger of an absolute Prince can be heavier than the loins of
became a Nobleman but the Nobility having got all the Lands to themselves might easily engross the Reputation of being brave and valiant None it seems then took their Degree or Patents of Honour from the King First If this were true it could not be for the good of any Nation where for an encouragement to glorious Actions there ought to be some fountain of Honour and the King certainly is the most proper one but in the second place 't is evident that as well before as after the alteration the King of Danmark made Noblemen and gave Patents of Honour to them that deserved well as can be proved by several instances in the Reign of Christian the IV. and Frederick the III. before he was made absolute as also in the Reigns of their Predecessors Of late years he says p. 79. some few Titles of Baron and Count and nothing higher have been given to Favorites who enjoy not the same priviledges by those Titles which our Lords in England do but content themselves with a few airy insignificant ones There is no necessity that the Nobility of another Country should in every thing correspond with that of England suppose the Counts and Barons in Danmark not to be just the same are therefore their Titles airy and insignificant On the quite contrary there 's no Country in Europe where Counts and Barons have such a Preeminence as in Danmark When the King there gives Sheild and Helm as they câ—ll it that is a Noblemans Coat of Arms with a Patent of Nobility to him then such a man is distinguished from the common people and such as these only were made before the Alteration except some few Counts created by foreign Monarchs and Princes But when the King will promote a person to a degree higher which he never does unless he has so great an Estate as is requisite to sustain his Honour and Character then he gives the Titles of Baron or Count for Dukes there are none in Danmark that Title of old time properly belonging to the Royal Family this Honour is far greater and has several Priviledges above the rest of the Nobility as may be seen in the Danish Law And yet it may more easily be imagin'd that that honour must be so much the greater by reason of the rarity of such Titles there not being twenty in the whole Kingdom The following paragraph that 't is only this kind of Nobility with Titles that have liberty to make a Will and thereby to dispose of any Estate otherwise than as the Law has determined unless such Will in the Life of the Testator be approved of and signed by the King has more than one mistake in it for not only this kind but all the Nobility have Titles from the Lands they possess and are Lords of these indeed have the highest Titles of Count and Baron and then not only they but all the Nobility nay any one among the Clergy and Citizens can make a Will only it is to be observed that it is required to every such Testament from whomsoever it comes that it be approv'd and sign'd by the King to render it of force and valid that the Estate may go otherwise than the Law hath determined Neither is it true that the King p. 81. assumes to himself the power of disposing all Heirs and Heiresses of any consideration Sometimes the King may interpose his Mediation for the Marriage of some of the chief Nobility but it is far from being his usual custom much less does he assume any power to constrain them or cause them who do not hearken to his Recommendation to lye under the pain of his displeasure p. 81. which is too weighty to be born The Nobility being forc'd to endure the forementioned hardships It is possible p. 81. most of the present Possessors would quit the Country the first opportunity if there were not such a severe Law against alienations That if any one would transport himself the third part of his Purchase Money shall accrue to the King This Law is not more hard than it is unnecessary for there being no buying and selling of Land in Danmark p. 80. the Kings third part of Purchase Money will amount to but little and where Estates are a charge ibid. and the Proprietors can scarce obtain the favour of the King to be so gracious as to take their Estates from them p. 77. one would fancy that all landed men would lay the Key under the door and be scampering now to mend their condition and to get free from Monarchy and Taxes I would advise them to hasten to a neighbouring Commonwealth the Seat of Liberty where the chief Minister of their State has not above 5001. salary and where their Excise and Taxes laid on their Estates amount often to above their yearly income After all the Law aâ— it is reasonable to prevent the Subject from following his own humour to the prejudice of his native Country so iâ— does require but a sixth part to the King and a tenth part of the rest to the Magistrate of the place both which according to my Arithmetick will not amount to a third part aâ— is reported by our Author with his Geometrical Exactness Land being worth nothing how must the Counts and Barons do to live Why they are obliged by all manner of ways to keep in with the Court as indeed all are who have a mind to live and eat bread p. 79. What then will become of the rest of the Adelen or native Gentry Why military employments are mightily covered by them p. 81. almost as much as the civil and for the same reason that the Priest's Office was among the Jews viz. That they may eat a piece of Bread Bread Bread is the universal Cry and our Author seems to have borrowed his Images not from the Jews but rather from the Egyptians calling upon Pharoah towards the latter end of the seven years of Famine Want of Bread is not the only misfortune for it comes attended with other miseries for he says that the King of Danmark p. 81. imitates the French practice in this particular to make the Gentry poor and render Traffick unprofitable and dishonourable Men of birth must live and one half of the Nation by giving themselves up to Slavery will contribute their assistance afterwards to put Chains upon the other Yet in Danmark Natives are considered less than Strangers and all sorts of places civil and military are fill'd more by Foreigners than Gentlemen of the Country c. Were all these things true they would be very great evidences of a corrupt Government But I shall beg leave to set the Reader right as to these particulars and the condition of the people The Plenty of the whole Country has been sufficiently described and in the midst of this the chief Nobility enjoy the Governments of the several Provinces and the chief Offices of the Kingdom the rest of the Adelen or Nobility have subordinate Governments and
assurances from the Mufti that any Rebellion shall be raised there speedily Come we now to the grand Query Whither matters are like to last at the same rate they are now at in Danmark p. 264. Our Author would willingly have it resolv'd in the Negative and gives important reasons why it should be so And more important why it should not be so Let us see his self-encounter at pro and con and the mighty tumults and bustles raised in our Authors fallacious Judgment p. 264. First That natural Love of Liberty eminent in the antient Goths and Vandals perswade him to think of a change ib. But alas the Love of Liberty which was that of Knight â—rrantry and Rambling to seek their Fortunes in foreign Countries being now quite extinct in the North they find sufficient conveniencies at home where Obedience to their Prince secures their Ease and is preferr'd by them before those brisk Traverses as he calls them which commotions would occasion p. 267. So Love of Liberty might do something but that Duty prevails Well but again may not the freshness and newness of this alteration of their condition produce an alteration in the Government p. 265. Why truly no because he finds it to have little or no influence upon the people who are wonderfully well pleas'd both with one and t'other So that if the Father should propose any methods of change to his Son he would not be heard by him with patience pâ— 268. Buâ—â— however to try again What should hinder the Swedes who have their Eye upon Danmark from introducing Liberty p. 266. Why truly they use their own Subjects so ill and there is such a â—â—â—t hatred betwixt these two Nations that the Danes are resolv'd to keep them out as long as they are able p. 2â—8 The last hope then is in the numerousness of the Royal Family for there being four Princes it will be rare if Concord be maintained among them all p. 266. And thence something in favour of Liberty might arise 'T is a thousand pities that matters should not be brought to this pass But such is the Wickedness of this cursed Soil that those Jealousies which use to reign in the Families of Princes are not so common nor fatal in these parts as elsewhere p. 270. Besides there is a terrible thing call'd Unity of Religion p. 268. which spoils all manner of hopes and cuts away the very root of Sedition So then the sum of the grand controversy amounts to this That the Government of Danmark might be shaken were it not supported by a firm security from foreign attempts by a mutual concord in the Royal Family by the Ease Content Loyalty and Religion of the Subject in a word by all the Blessings and Cements which make Governments happy and consequently will render this of Danmark fixt and durable Since nothing hitherto will do the work what if this Author could get his Account translated into the Danish Tongue might not that when publisht have so blessed an effect as to occasion a change not only in their Condition but also in their Masters Why truly whatever his aim may have been nearer home and though it has been printed in English yet he has not perswaded his Countrymen to endeavour an alteration in either of theirs So that if the present State of both Kingdoms be fixt and durable then his Book poor Gentleman has lost its design and he his labour FINIS Books Printed for and sold by Tho Bennet at the Half Moon in St. Pauls Church-yard FOLIO's Athenae Oxonienses Or an exact History of all the Writers and Bishops who have had their Education in the University of Oxford from 1500. to the end of 1690. Representing the Birth Fortunes Preferments and Death of all those Authors and Prelates the great Accidents of their Lives with the Fate and Character of their Writings The Work being so Compleat that no Writer of Note of this Nation for near two hundred years past is omitted In Two Volumes A New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam by Monsieur de la Loubere Envoy Extraordinary from the French King to the King of Siam in the Years 1687 1688. Wherein a full and curious Account is given of their Natural History as also of their Arithmetick and other Mathematick Learningâ— In two Tomes Illustrated with Sculptures Done out of French By A. P. Fellow of the Royal Society The Works of Mr. Abraham Cowley The Eighth Edition To which is added The Cutter of Colemanstreer Never before Printed in any Edition of his Works Sir William D'avenants Works Dr. Pocock's Commentary on the Prophets Joel Micah Malachi and Hosea Voyages and Adventures of Ferdinand Pinto who was five times Shipwrakt sixteen times sold and thirteen times made a Slave in AEthiopia China c. Written by himself The Second Edition 1693. Quarto's A Critical History of the Text and Versions of the New Testament wherein is firmly Established the Truth of those Acts on which the Foundation of Christian Religion is laid In Two Parts By Father Simon of the Oâ—atory Together with a â—â—â—uâ—ation of such Passages as seem contrary to the Doctrine and Practice of the Church of England The Works of the Learned Or an Historical Account and Impartial Judgment of the Books newly Printed both Foreign and Domestick Together with the State of Learning in the World By J. de la Crose a late Author of the Universal Bibliotheques The first Volume is finished with compleat Indexes A Sermon before the King and Queen By the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Châ—â—ter's Charge to his Clergy at at his Primary Visitution May 5. 1691. and his Sermon before the King and Queen 1694. Five Sermons before the King and Queen By Dr. Mâ—ggot Dean of Winchester Two Sermons One before the Honourable House of Commons on a Thanksgiving in November 1691â— The other before the King and Queen in November 1692. By Dr. Jane Dean of Gloucester Three Sermons One on a Thanksgiving the two others before the King and Queen By Dr. Talbot Dean of Worcester Mr. Atterbury's Sermon before the Queen at White-â—all May 29. 1693. Dr. Resbury's three Sermons before the Queen A Discourse â—ent to the Late King James to perswade â—â—â— to embrace the Protestant Religion By Sam. Parker late Lord Bishop of Oxon. To which are perfixed two Letters the first from Sir Lionel Jenkins on the same Subject the second from the said Bishop with the Discourse All Printed from the Original Manuscripts The Plagiary Exposed or an old Answer to a newly revived Calumny against the Memory of King Charles the first under the Title of Colonel Ludlows Letter By Mr. Butler Author of Hudibras Never brfore Printed A short Defence of the Orders of the Church of England By Mr. Luke Milbourn The first Book of Virgill's AEneis Made English by Mr. Luke Milbourn The Reasons of Mr. Bayes's Changing his Religion In Three Parts By Mr. Tho. Brown Novus Reformator
Chap. 2. Of Danmark in particular and the Island of Sealand 9 Chap. 3. Of the Sound 25 Chap. 4. Of the other Islands and Jutland 32 Chap. 5. Of the rest of the King of Danmark's Countries 40 Chap. 6. Of their Form of Government 56 Chap. 7. The manner how the Kingdom of Danmark became Hereditary 77 Chap. 8. The Conditions Customs and Manners of the People 89 Chap. 9. Of the Revenue 131 Chap. 10. Of the Army Fleet and Fortresses 145 Chap. 11. Of the Court. 153 Chap. 12. The Disposition and Inclinations of the King of Danmark towards his Neighbours 160 Chap. 13. The Manner of dispossessing and restoring the Duke of Holstein Gottorp 164 Chap. 14. The Interests of Danmark in relation to other Princes 166 Chap. 15. Of the Laws Courts of Justice c. 167 Chap. 16. The State of Religion of the Clergy and Learning c. 172 Conclusion 194 Errata Typographica PAge 1. line 7. for scituation read situation and so in p 15 c. p. 4. l. 11. after Blegind add and. p. 5. l. 7. for bis r. this p. 9. l. 7. for Denmark r. Danmark p. 11. l. 17. for Kjerfeminde r. Kierfeminde p. 20. l. 7. for Frederickborg r. Fredericksborg p. 21. l. 5. for Guidenlew r. Guldenlâ—w p. 24. l. ult for outhwark r. Southwark p. 34. l. â—â— for Stifts-Amt r. Stifts Amtmand p. 35. l. 14. for Giâ—â— r. Gioe l. 24. for Stifts-Amts r. Stifts-Amtmaend p. 36. l. 10. for Stifts-Amts r. Stifts Amtmaend p. 43. l. 21. for recuit r. recruit p. 44. l. 21. for Clausten r. Clausson p. 46. l. r. for Tonsborg r. Tonsberg l. 3. for Zarwick r. Larwick l. 8. for Writers r. Writer p. 59. l. 18. for tell r. tells p. 64. l. 23. for we r. â—e p. 83. l. 7. for Nauson r. Nanson p. 86. l. 2. for Sestâ—ed r. Sebested l. 5. for Nauson r. Nanson l. 13. for Nauson r. Nanson p. 90. l. 23. for Hospitaliay r. Hospitality p. 119. l. 17. for consumate r. consâ—mmate p. 131. l. 12. for persue r. pursue p 148. l. 18. for Emperor r. Emperors p. 150. l. 15. for Naxkew r. Nakskow p. 156. l. 27. for Hederig r. Hedewig p. 158. l. 9 10. for Daneburg r. Danebroge p. 164. l. 5. for Rakeburg r. Ratzeburg p. 171. l. 16. for iu r. in p. 173. l. 21. for Tousson r. Tausson p. 186. l. 11. for Glaudius Lyscander r. Claudius Lyscander l. 18. for Paxous r. Parvus p. 190. l. 27. for Erâ—ticam r. Eroticum ANIMADVERSIONS On the Pretended Account of DANMARK In the Year 1692. CHAP. I. Of the Territories belonging to the King of Danmark and their Scituation DAnmark has always had a particular Interest with England Our very Ancestors came originally from one of its Provinces it has once been our Master and we are now govern'd by Princes whose Great-grand mother was a Daughter of it nor can there be any dearer Pledge of the Danish Affection to us than that the only Brother to its King resides amongst us and has made us happy in a Young Prince who promises one day to equal the great Families from which he is descended Whilst 7000 Danes are fighting for us in their Majesties Service it is very ungenerous in the Author of the Account to reslâ—â— upon them who if he must have been malicious should rather have chosen an Enemies Country for the subject of his Satyr If we consider the frequent Applications that have been made both by the Confederates and the French King to have the King of Danmark declare in their savour we shall be apt to look upon him as a Prince that is very considerable and not agree with this Author pag. 2. who tells us that if he were put in ballance with the King of Portugal he would be sound lighter This is a Comparison no reasonable man would be guilty of making for the Armies Navy and Strength of the former will certainly very much overpoise the latter And then Danmark lies so as to be able to make use of these advantages either to the offending of itâ— Enemies or relief of its Friends and though Portugal has a good East-India Trade yet the Commodities of Danmark and Norway especially those that relate to Shipping make its Trade necessary to Portugal it self and most other Countries in Europe Besides the Kingdom of Danmark with all its Provinces is very large insomuch that the first words of this Authors Book are p. 1. that if we consider the extent of the King of Danmark's Dominions he may with justice be reckon'd amongst the greatest Princes of Europe For though Schone Halland and Blegind by Treaty remain to the Swedes yet I cannot allow this Author what he says pag. 3. that they were the best Provinces belonging to Danmark Nor do I really think that he has a sufficient knowledge which Provinces are the most considerable for he seems only to have been in Copenhagen and thereabouts the reason is because what he speaks as to the nature and constitution of Danmark in relation to the fertility of the Country or the common life of the People can in no manner be applied to any other part but to Sealand only where Copenhagen stands and is not above a fourth part of Danmark Now this Island lying under the disadvantages of a particular Law is not in so good a condition as the other Provinces though that and a great deal of Jutland is still better than either Halland or Blegind though Schone be a fine Province yet does no way excel Funâ—n as well as other parts of Danmark However this Author says p. 3. that these three Provinces are still looked upon by the Danes with a very envious Eye and for this reason 't is reported that the Windows of Croneborg Castle whose Prospect lay towards Schone were walled up that so hateful an Object might not cause continual Heart-burnings Very well Sir Pray did your own Knowledge or Experience confirm this to be a truth p. 2. or did some of your sensible grave Persons p. 2. impose this silly story upon you For when you was at Croneborg you might have found that some Windows were indeed walled up for the Advantage of the Fortress but not to hinder the sight of Schone the Situation of Croneborg being such that now thâ—se Windows are close yet Schone must be seen from the Apartments of both the other sides so that to make his suggestion true all the Rooms must be quite darkned and then Sir it would be a fit place in which you might employ your fancy and invention in framing more such stories Nay this Fable is so ridiculous that if the King of Danmark should avoid the pretended Heart burnings occasioned by seeing Schone p. 3. he must not only forbear coming to Cronâ—borg but also leave Copenhagen and that side of Sealand opposite to Schone and must also chuse his Residence in Jutland or some other remote place where he could be free from that hateful Object
from whence we may rationally conclude the Banisht will amount to very near the forementioned number the more Incorrigible were sometimes destroyed There 's five or six sent that way I warrant you others were either formally Eâ—ecuted by the sentence of a high Court of Justice or dispatched without any more Ceremony the best way for Endeavouring to secure themselves against the Insults of their own Subjects A very moderate computation And here how few Kings are left to end their days in Peace One would think a succession would not be much contended for where a Crown is tendred upon such â—icklish conditions yet he tells us p. 45. they always elected a better man in his Roomâ— sometimes the next of Kin sometimes the Valiant man that had exposed himself so far as to undertake the Expulsion or the Killing of the Tyrant at other times a private Person of good Reputation who possibly least dream't of such an advancement I suppose the next of Kin were seldom so desperate as to venture and therefore they oftener threw their voices away upon some private Person who according to this Authors description might possibly be some honest drunken sleepy fellow that had a Crown dropt into his mouth as he lay yawning But generally the Murtherer was likewise the Thief and the Villain who had dispatched his Prince succeeded him hence there arose a well ordered Government and all men became ambitious of Imitating their new King the meanest Subjects duly weighing the faults of their Superiors in their own breasts the proper Tribunal the Servant soon stabs his cruel Master the Tenant shoots his wasteful Lord and the Son poisons his covetous old Father that having so done they may by the common Law and Justice of the Kingdom succeed in their respective Inheritances Having done with that Government the loss of which he so much complains of we enter upon his account of the present State and find him telling us p. 46 47. that about thirty two years ago at one Instant the face of affairs was changed so that the Kings have ever since been absolute and arbitrary not the least Remnant of Liberty remaining to the Subject the first and principal Article in the Danish law being that the King has the Priviledge reserved to himself to explain the Law nay to alter and change it as he shall find good The consequences of this are excessive Taxes in times of peace little regard being had to the occasion of them Poverty in the Gentry Misery in the Peasants and Partiality in the distribution of Justice The occasion of the Change of Government shall be declared in the next Paragraph in the mean time any one that knows Danmark must confess that the King is absolute but no further so than a Christian King of oâ—r own Protestant Religion may be wherefore amongst other of the obligations which he lies under are the Holy Scriptures and the Confession of Aâ—gsburg as is declared in the beginning of the Danish Law Aâ— for that Law which the Author â—â—livers it is declaratory of the Kings Authority and since it is necessary that a legislative Power should be lodged somewhere shows that it is placed in him Pursuant to this the present King has compiled a Book of Laws the Character of which is given by our Author p. 232 233. That for Justice Brevity and Perspicuity they exceed all in the world That they are grounded upon Equity and are all contain'd in one Quarto Volume written in the Language of the Country with so much plainness that no man who can write and read is so ignorant but he may presently understand his own Case and plead it too if he pleases without the assistance of Councilor Attorney Being thus constituted they are so agreeable and adapted to the Danish Nation that they continue still the same the King having never yet changed nor altered much less explained any part to the Prejudice of any particular Person whatsoever the execution of them throughout the whole Kingdom is with great equality and more eminently in the High Court of Justice in Copenhagen where the King himself is President and sits frequently where Causes are often decided in favour of the meanest Peasant against the greatest Favorites who for wrongs done have been condemned to vast Mulcts and Penalties as might be shown by several instances if it were needful or proper to insert them By this Law every man possesses his own Real or Personal Estate without the least Eâ—croachment from the King 't is true that the Subject pays Taxes but they are such only as Necessity requires for Danmark being surrounded with many potent Neighbours who are all in Arms it must for its own preservation support a Fleet and Army unless it could perswade them to disband their Forces The Taxes being for the common good are laid equally upon all and the Kings Moderation in his Expences both as to himself and the Royal Family being so conspicuous the Subject has the greater satisfaction to see what he contributes laid out only for his own Preservation Notwithstanding these Taxes the People live in Plenty wanting nothing either for Conveniency or Pleasure All this they enjoy although the Government is indeed absolute and they with all willingness and due obedience submit themselves to this Government because they are sufficiently satisfied that this absolute Power was not given to his Majesty of Danmark till the necessity for it was unavoidable The Nobility was that part of the Danish Constitution which first broke in upon the Symmetry of the whole in several Ages and by insensible degrees they encroached upon the Kings Prerogative but all along made larger progresses towards the enslaving of the Commonalty insomuch that all burthens and publick Taxes were imposed upon them alone After the War with Sweden the Commons found themselves unable longer to live under such oppressions they had bravely defended their Country with the hazard of their Lives and would have done so with their Fortunes if they had had any remaining but these were wholly swallowed up by the Nobility who yet would contribute nothing toward the maintaining of a just War against foreign Enemy and Invader Danmark being upon the brink of Ruine the Commons in these circumstances as the weaker and more oppresâ—ed part fly to their Head for succour Neither the King alone nor the Commons alone nor both King and Commons joyntly could controul the Nobility so far as to make them pay Taxes therefore it was necessary that all three should consent to a new Government so the Commons proposed it to the Lords and both Lords and Commons offer the King to make him absolute which offer if he had not accepted of neither himself nor the Commons could have supported the State Supplies were of necessity to be raised the Commonalty could not raise them without assistance and there was no other way but this to make the Nobility in some equal measure bear their proportion After this alteration
Men may talk of Barbadoes and Negroes but the Danes are never us'd so much like Slaves as when they meet with some sort of Envoys According to the account hitherto of People in all stations one would imagine the Beggars to be innumerable but it seems that you will scarce see a Beggar in the streets of Copenhagen except before some Burghers door who that day gives Alms to the poor of his Parish For all the poor People of a Parish go about one day to one another to another Citizen â—ho knows his day when he is to give them Mâ—at or Money both for Diâ—ner and Supper If any other Beggar is seen in the street an Officer carries him immediately to Prison or Punishment After what has been said concerning the state of all sorts of persons even to the meanâ—st who do not appear to want acomfortable subsistence what man will not presently agree with the Author when he says Danmark at present is but competently peopled p. 88. Vexation of Spirit ill Diet and Poverty being great obstructions to Procreaâ—ion and the Peasants who before used to have a large piece of Plate or two Gold Rings Silver Spoons c. not having them now or indeed any other utensil of value unless it be Featherbeds whereof there are better and in greater plenty than in any place he ever saw I should have imagin'd Featherbeds to have been as proliâ—ick a piece of Furniture as Gold Rings and Silver Porringers However the People have continued much about the same number for these two or three hundred years As to the Multitudes that have been there heretofore this may be observed that since from all the three Northern Kingdoms Danmark Norway and Sweden and the adjacent Provinces near the Elbe and Weser so many swarms went out so often to conquer and inhabit other more fertile and Southern Countries it is probable at last so great deductions might exhaust the number as Saxo Grammaticus in his eighth Book in the Life of King Sâ—io says that when the Lombards went out of Danmark in the great famine and dearth that reigned then the Kingdom was so deserted that great Woods and Forests grew up in maâ—y places where before had been fertile ground and to this day the signs of the Plough are to be seen among the Trees Another great reason is attributed to the Plague called the Black Death that ravaged all the Northern Kingdoms in the year 1348. when so many died that scarce the tenth man was left to till the ground Our Author gives another reason why they are not so numerous as formerly for discontent kills 'em and 't is usual to have them die of a Slatch which is an Apoplexy proceeding from trouble of mind The Falling Sickness is more common in the Northern Kingdoms than with us but not to that degree that our Author talks of p. 90. And their Apoplexies are not half so â—atal as they have been in England within these few years 'T is scarce reconcileable that people should die in such number for discontent whom in the beginning of the Chapter he describes p. 75. as taken up with a dull pleasure of being careless and insensible Let us proceed to the description of their Diet in which the Reader may eâ—pâ—ct exactness seeing our Author all along seems to have been a good Trencher-man Their Tables are usually well furnished with Dishes yet he cannot commend their cheer p 92. Other English-men have mightily commended their Cheer and never complained of the Leanness of their Meat The truth is the Danes like it the better for not being very fat the greatest fault which they and other strangers find with the English Meat is that it is too fat which disagrees with most of ' em This may be one reason and perhaps a better than that of Properly not being secure why they have not been over diligent to Introduce the Faâ—ning of Tame Fowl it being an Art not known to above two or three in Copenhagen And yet Fat Capons were in Danmark and Norway long before any English-man brought in the Cramming Manufacture p. 92. Beef and Veal p. 42. he allows them Wether Mutton is scarce and seldom good not so scarce or bad though not in such plenty or so fat as in England Wild Ducks taste as well as in England Plovers they have but do not care for but Snipes and other Sea Fowl in abundance through all Danmark According to him here are no wild Pheasants Woodcocks Rabbits or Fallow Deer Red Deer being the Kings game not to be bought for mony What game is permitted by Law to be sold in our English Markets Wild Pheasants are not there as yet but the Prince Royal having a Nursery of tame ones near Copenhagen and they increasing prodigiously it is thought they will soon grow wild and common Their Woodcocks call'd Agerhons are most delicious in Danmark They have all sorts of Venison in plenty and perfection nor is it kept so strictly for the Kings own use but that it is very often to be had among any people of Fashion For the King's Huntsmen have great priviledges in this case and most of the Nobility and Gentry having their Game in the Country can communicate enough of all sorts to their â—riends Rabbits the Danes have but they do not care for them they not being so good as in England but Hares are plenty and the Author says good p. 92. As likewise their Bacon excellent As to their Fish I have spoke before Their Butter is very good and they have Melons Grapes Peaches and all sorts of Sallads in great perfection However in general their way of Cookery would hardly be pleasing to an Englishman p92 93. The â—anes generally roast and boil their Meat more than the English If you call their's over-roasted they would say yours was raw but this might easily be adjusted Their Broaths and Soops are extraordinary I fancy together with them a man might contrive a Good Dinner and a Desert out of what has been mentioned To Consumate the Entertainment The Liquors are Rhenish-wine Cherry-Brandy and all sorts of French Wine p. 93. The Fair Sex do not refuse them in such a quantity as is agreable to their health and becoming their Sex and Modesty The men are fond of them p. 93. more addicted to drinking perhaps than is necessary But for these Twenty years last past that Humor has declined and does in some measure continue to do so daily There are some few other Customs of the Danish Nation which He represents after his fashion and so concludes Their Marriages are usually preceeded by Contracts p 94. and there is some Interval between that and the Wedding according to the conditions of the Persons What he says concerning three four or more years before they proceed to a Publick Wedding by the Minister p. 94. is to introduce his following Scandal upon the young People That often the young Couple grow better acquainted before such formalities are
is better pleased with another Scituation As for several of the King of Danmark's Palaces they are old uncouth Buildings used by former Kings disused now and therefore not kept in so good order as Fredericksborg Jagersborg and others where the King passes some part of the Year The Author it seems has met with another understanding Person p. 119. who has informed him in several things as first that it is very difficult to make any rational computation of the running Cash of these Kingdoms ib. or indeed of any Kingdom besides these and so his Labour might have been superseded certainly it is but very lâ—ttle and not near the hundredth part of that of England ib. When he is able to give a Rational Computation of the Running Cash of England then it will be time enough to guess what proportion that of Danmark may bear to it but till I find that understanding Persons agree in the computation of that of my own Country I shall despair of finding them exact as to that of another If they have no Cash by them and are indebted over head and ears to their Creditors at Amsterdam and Hamborough ib. how comes it to pass that the Danish Merchants have so good Credit in both those Cities and how come they to have it in London But the Officers of the Army transport their Money to other Countries This may be true in some very few instances but for the most part these Officers are Danes or married and settled in Danmark as has before been intimated That few or none of the Ministers of State purchase any Lands p. 118. is as true as other of his Remarks for there is no publick Minister be he Dane or not that has not one two or more Seats with Lands appertaining to them in the Country That these Kingdoms consume more of Foreign Commodities than their own Product can countervail ib. cannot certainly be said of Norway nor of several Provinces of Danmark as Jutland Laaland c. and any person who has the least knowledge of their Traffick will easily confute this Aslertion As for the running of Brass Money amongst the common People it is as Farthings amongst us Their Silver Coin is very good in respect of several other Nations although not equal to Sterling but whether the goodness of Coin be a way to preserve Running Cash in a Kingdom may perhaps hereafter come to be considered by the English Under these circumstances I cannot think this understanding Person a competent Judge of the Running Cash of Danmark any more than I take the Author to be of the King of Danmark's Revenue though he is so very particular as to make it Two Millions two hundred twenty two thousand Rixdollars p. 122. and I am the more confirmed in this opinion because the Taxes not being every year the same the Revenue received by several Officers and no account given but to the King himself the calculation of the Revenue can hardly be made by those who are most employed in these Affairs at the Court much less by a Foreigner To conclude with Norway the Revenue of the Southern part amounts to between five and six hundred thousand Rixdollars and of the Northern to between two and three hundred thousand and so the Total may be communibus annis 800000 Rixdollars so says the Author p. 117. But when he comes to sum up the whole Revenue p. 121â— there all the Revenue of Norwayâ— comes but to 700000 Rixdollars Were their Losses in Danmark to be so great the Natives p. 120. might well think that it was impossible for the Taxes to continue and wish for an Invader since they have little or no property to lose For you were pleased Sir to drop four thousand Rixdollars in the Customs of the Sound and here you defalk a hundred thousand Rixdollars more Might I advise whatever Foreigners may be preferr'd in the Danish Court you should never come into the Treasury if you can make up your Accounts no better CHAP. X. Of the Army Fleet and Fortresses THE Author begins this Chapter with bewailing the Misery of Danmark that the Revenue is expended upon a standing Army and upon the maintaining of a Fleet and Fortresses And if Danmark had not sufficient reasons for the maintenance of all these they would have just cause to complain But it seems it is the King of France that Great Master of the Art of Reigning that has instructed the Court of Danmark p. 123. and the King is his Pupil p. 124. and in pursuance to such a character he has taught him the pernicious secret of making one part of the People both the Bridle and Scourge to the other This is not so great a secret but that it has been known and practised in all Ages and Countries that when one part of a Nation is factious and mutinous the more honest and sober part should bridle them and if part of a Nation rebel the other that is for quietness should endeavour to scourge and correct them But God be thanked Danmark has no occasion for an Army upon these accounts nor necessity of going to France for such a Maâ—im In the next place France has taught him to raise more Men than his Country can maintain p. 124. Very well And then his own Prudence teaches him to disband such as he thinks unnecessary or burthensome to him as he has done several times But the great thing that he has taught him is that Souldiers are the only true Riches p. 125 126 127. The thing that the Author would here reflect upon is that the German Princes often receive Money before they will send their Troops into a Foreign Service and hence he would infer that at present Souldiers are grown as saleable Ware as Sheep and Oxen p. 125. What a strange Country this must be where the Souldiers are Sheep and Oxen and the Peasants Timber Trees p. 86. But the King of Danmark esteems his Souldiers to be his Wealth only as he can make them serviceable to his Allies or as they preserve his Subjects from any foreign attempts and so are the causes of Quiet and consequently of true Riches Yet whatever the matter is it happens p. 127. that the Pupil improves but ill upon the example which the French King has set him The Toad may emulate the Ox and swell but he shall sooner burst than equal him p. 127. Truly a very decent similitude for a couple of Crown'd Heads I find the Author mightily taken with these kind of Animals for p. 232. speaking with reference to and commendation of the Laws of Danmark p. 232. he says there is no Plant or Insect how venemous or mean soever but is good for something upon which a Friend of mine observed that there may be a creature in the world that has as much Venom and Malice as any Vermin and yet be good for nothing It were to be wisht that there could be a Remedy found for keeping up so great a number of
present on the Kings behalf These Ecclesiastical Courts are proper for all the Clergy but if the Cases are of little importance they are first judged by the Praepositus who is like our Rural Deans and some of the eldest Ministers in his District which may be called an Inferiour Court but in both these nothing is judged but things of Ecclesiastical Nature In Copenhagen there is a Consistory where the Rector Magnisicus chosen every year out of the Professors and like the Vice-chancellors at Oxford and Cambridge is President and most of the Professors his Assistants in this Court all things relating to the University are debated As for his politick comparison of the Trap to kill Vermin in Dovc-houses p. 239. and his nice Description of the Headsman and Kennel-raker I shall only tell the Reader that they are false and so leave them to our Authors further Reflection CHAP. XVI The State of Religion of the Clergy and Learning c. WE must not expect great Accuracy in what he says of the Reformation of Danmark neither as to the Time nor the King that then reigned For not only Frederick the First p. 249. but his Cousin Chrisliern the Second favoured Luthers Doctrine and both he and his Queen who was Sister to Charles V. died in that Profession Frederick who succeeded his Nephew in the year 1524. by a Publick Edict enjoyned that no body in his Kingdoms or Provinces under the Forfeiture of Life and Goods should do the other any hurt either Papist or Lutheran but every one should so behave himself in his Religion as he would answer it before God Almighty with a good Conscience At the same time seriously commanding that the People should be well informed in the Doctrine of the Gospel that the Romish Abuses might be the sooner extirpated This he repeated in the Diet of Odensee A. D. 1527. and more was not done by this King till his death which happen'd A.D. 1533. saving that he himself adhered to the Protestant Religion and favoured both that and its Preachers where-ever he could in his whole Dominions But Popery was tolerated however nay as yet carried the Sway by the great Oppositions and Power of the Bishops This appeared in the Diet which was called upon the Death of Frederick in which Diet one of the chief Lutheran Preachers Mr. John Tousson had been oppressed by the Power of the Bishops if the Citizens of Copenhagen who adhered firmly to the Protestant Religion had not rescued him with force of Arms from whence we see that though Frederick the First brought it in yet he did not establish so generally Luthers Doctrine in his Dominions as we are told by this Author p. 249. Afterwards King Christian III. finding great opposition from the Popish Party with much trouble and not without effusion of blood having besieged Copenhagen a whole year and at last forced it to surrender by Famine began to establish the Reformation with vigor for the seven Popish Bishops were suddenly surprized and imprisoned by the King and after having been publickly before the Diet of the Kingdom accused and convicted of many enormous crimes were all deposed and seven other Superintendants or Protestant Bishops afterwards consecrated in their places The King was crowned by Dr. John Bugenhagen who had been a Fellow-Labourer with Luther in the work of the Reformation and in the year 1539. in the Diet of Odensee the last hand was set to the Reformation and it was wholly and universally introduced and settled in Danmark as it is at this day Now I leave the Reader to judge of the great Accuracy of our Author when he says that Frederick the First established Luther's Doctrine about 150 years ago p. 235. First 150 years ago Frederick the First had been dead for above nine years and next it was his Son Christian the Third who established the Protestant Religion in the year 1539. There is a Union and Harmony of Religion throughout the whole Kingdom and this our Author says p. 251. Cuts off occasion of Rebellion and Mutiny 'T is very reasonable it should and a sign that the Clergy do their duty in preaching such due obedience as the Gospel enjoyns and the People show their sence of Religion in being directed by them not that the Priests depend entirely upon the Crown as this Author intimates p. 251. any more than the rest of the King of Danmark's Subjects nor the People absolutely governed by the Priests ibid. with a blind obedience any further than Scripture and Reason obliges them The Clergy have full Scope given them to be as bigotted as they please ib. I know not what he means by their being bigotted unless it is that they are zealous in teaching their People the Doctrines of Salvation and resisting Vice and Scandal in their peculiar Churches as they ought to be perhaps this Author would not have them trouble their heads much about Religion nor be zealous for any one in particular but content themselves with an idle Despondency and scepticism concerning all That the Clergy have no common Charity for any that differ from them in opinion except the Church of England p. 251. is a proposition very boldly advanced against a body of men in whom Charity ought always to be conspicuous and for a Defence against this Charge they appeal to those numerous French Protestants who have fled to them for Relief to whom at present they allow a Church for their publick Worship though there has been no example before since the Reformation and the Law is directly against it They confess that they cannot joyn in Communion with them because they differ as to the real Presence in the Sacrament and in the point of absolute Predestination which they take to be essential for 't is the Doctrine of Reprobation which has been the greatest stumbling block between them and the Calvinists but the Lutherans seeing the great Moderation of the Church of England both in that particular and in the other of the Real Presence they have always had a great veneration for it and could be very desirous that their Doctrines especially that concerning the Sacrament were but rightly understood so as to come to a Union with it for 't is a general mistake in England to call the notion of the Lutheran Protestants concerning the Sacrament Consubstantiation p. 252. for no such word is used amongst them their notion amounts to this that they believe stedfastly a real and true Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament in a manner ineffable which our Saviour himself is best able both to know and do whereas Consubst antiation would imply something more natural and material Did Princes think it worth their while to promote this Union our Author is confident p. 252. that the business of Consubstantiation would make no difference It would be of wonderful consequence if Princes should really promote this Union between Churches so considerable and no better work could be performed