“I don’t understand your outlandish talk,” he cried at last, angrily turning his back uponthem. He could not, however, find the bridge nor any railings.“What a scandalous condition this place is in,” said he; never, certainly, had he found hisown times so miserable as on this evening. “I think it will be better for me to take a coach; butwhere are they?” There was not one to be seen! “I shall be obliged to go back to the king’s newmarket,” said he, “where there are plenty of carriages standing, or I shall never reach Christian’sHaven.” Then he went towards East Street, and had nearly passed through it, when the moon burst forth from a cloud.“Dear me, what have they been erecting here?” he cried, as he caught sight of the East gate,which in olden times used to stand at the end of East Street. However, he found an openingthrough which he passed, and came out upon where he expected to find the new market. Nothingwas to be seen but an open meadow, surrounded by a few bushes, through which ran a broadcanal or stream. A few miserable-looking wooden booths, for the accommodation of Dutchwatermen, stood on the opposite shore.“Either I behold a
fata morgana
, or I must be tipsy,” groaned the counsellor. “What can it be? What is the matter with me?” He turned back in the full conviction that he must be ill. Inwalking through the street this time, he examined the houses more closely; he found that most of them were built of lath and plaster, and many had only a thatched roof.“I am certainly all wrong,” said he, with a sigh; “and yet I only drank one glass of punch.But I cannot bear even that, and it was very foolish to give us punch and hot salmon; I shallspeak about it to our hostess, the agent’s lady. Suppose I were to go back now and say how ill Ifeel, I fear it would look so ridiculous, and it is not very likely that I should find any one up.”Then he looked for the house, but it was not in existence.“This is really frightful; I cannot even recognize East Street. Not a shop to be seen; nothing but old, wretched, tumble-down houses, just as if I were at Roeskilde or Ringstedt. Oh, I reallymust be ill! It is no use to stand upon ceremony. But where in the world is the agent’s house.There
is
a house, but it is not his; and people still up in it, I can hear. Oh dear! I certainly am veryqueer.” As he reached the half-open door, he saw a light and went in. It was a tavern of the oldentimes, and seemed a kind of beershop. The room had the appearance of a Dutch interior. Anumber of people, consisting of seamen, Copenhagen citizens, and a few scholars, sat in deepconversation over their mugs, and took very little notice of the new comer.“Pardon me,” said the counsellor, addressing the landlady, “I do not feel quite well, and Ishould be much obliged if you will send for a fly to take me to Christian’s Haven.” The womanstared at him and shook her head. Then she spoke to him in German. The counsellor supposedfrom this that she did not understand Danish; he therefore repeated his request in German. This,as well as his singular dress, convinced the woman that he was a foreigner. She soon understood,however, that he did not find himself quite well, and therefore brought him a mug of water. It hadsomething of the taste of seawater, certainly, although it had been drawn from the well outside.Then the counsellor leaned his head on his hand, drew a deep breath, and pondered over all thestrange things that had happened to him.“Is that to-day’s number of the
Day?
”
he asked, quite mechanically, as he saw the woman putting by a large piece of paper. She did not understand what he meant, but she handed him thesheet; it was a woodcut, representing a meteor, which had appeared in the town of Cologne.“That is very old,” said the counsellor, becoming quite cheerful at the sight of this antiquedrawing. “Where did you get this singular sheet? It is very interesting, although the whole affair
Leave a Comment