114 VISIT TO DENMARK |>799- 



JOUEXAL. 



1799. Sej)t. 24?/i to the 30th. We had a slow, 

 Imt agreeable enough passage of a week. The 

 weather was bad, particularly in the Cattegat, where 

 we were very near a bad lee-shore with a gale : the 

 wind shifting, almost contrary to expectation, saved 

 us ; and after beating off and on, we made the straits 

 of the Sound early on Monday the 30th. 



At 9 o'clock A.M. we saw the coasts on both sides 

 of the Sound the Danish seemed finely wooded to 

 the very shore, on which several houses were scattered. 

 At some distance we saw the town and castle of 

 Helsingor, Elsingor, or Elsingoer, or Elsinore, or 

 ELsineur, or Elsinoor for it is spelt in each of these 

 different ways. On the opposite side is Helsingborg, 

 a Swedish town ; and in sailing up to anchorage we 

 observed on the Danish coast a neat white house, 

 well situated among the woods, and surrounded by 

 gardens and terraces, apparently in the English taste. 

 The captain called it Matilda's Palace, and at Elsinore 

 we found it was called by Englishmen Hamlet's 

 Palace. It is said that the murder happened in the 

 garden. It is now occupied by a ranger of the parks. 



Sept. 30. After having a salute for our convoy 

 from the fort, we anchored, and dressed to go ashore. 

 In the roads there were a vast number of ships, and 

 several Danish men-of-war; yet we were told that 

 the anchorage is often infinitely more crowded. No 

 less than five boats came off to us, each asking less 



