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[Illustration: YOUNG AMERICA IN NORWAY. Page 159.]
[Illustration]
YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD
UP THE BALTIC
BOSTON
LEE & SHEPARD.
_YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD--SECOND SERIES._
UP THE BALTIC;
OR,
YOUNG AMERICA IN NORWAY,
SWEDEN, AND DENMARK.
A STORY OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.
BY
WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
(_OLIVER OPTIC_),
AUTHOR OF "OUTWARD BOUND," "SHAMROCK AND THISTLE," "RED CROSS,"
"DIKES AND DITCHES," "PALACE AND COTTAGE," "DOWN THE RHINE," ETC.
BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
NEW YORK:
LEE, SHEPARD AND DILLINGHAM,
NOS. 47 AND 49 GREENE ST.
1875.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871,
BY WILLIAM T. ADAMS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Electrotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry,
No. 19 Spring Lane.
TO MY EVER-CHEERFUL AND GOOD-NATURED FRIEND
SHEPARD K. MATTISON,
WHOM I MET FOR THE FIRST TIME AT TROLLHAeTTEN, ON THE GOETA CANAL, AND
WITH WHOM I JOURNEYED THROUGH SWEDEN, RUSSIA, AUSTRIA, SPAIN, AND
PORTUGAL,
_This Volume_
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD.
BY OLIVER OPTIC.
A Library of Travel and Adventure in Foreign Lands. First and Second
Series; six volumes in each Series. 16mo. Illustrated.
_First Series._
I. _OUTWARD BOUND_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA AFLOAT.
II. _SHAMROCK AND THISTLE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND.
III. _RED CROSS_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN ENGLAND AND WALES.
IV. _DIKES AND DITCHES_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN HOLLAND AND BELGIUM.
V. _PALACE AND COTTAGE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND.
VI. _DOWN THE RHINE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY.
_Second Series._
I. _UP THE BALTIC_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND DENMARK.
II. _NORTHERN LANDS_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA.
In preparation.
III. _CROSS AND CRESCENT_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN TURKEY AND GREECE.
In preparation.
IV. _SUNNY SHORES_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN ITALY AND AUSTRIA.
In preparation.
V. _VINE AND OLIVE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
In preparation.
VI. _ISLES OF THE SEA_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA HOMEWARD BOUND.
In preparation.
PREFACE.
UP THE BALTIC, the first volume of the second series of "YOUNG AMERICA
ABROAD," like its predecessors, is a record of what was seen and done
by the young gentlemen of the Academy Squadron on its second voyage to
Europe, embracing its stay in the waters of Norway, Sweden, and
Denmark. Agreeably to the announcement made in the concluding volume
of the first series, the author spent the greater portion of last year
in Europe. His sole object in going abroad was to obtain the material
for the present series of books, and in carrying out his purpose, he
visited every country to which these volumes relate, and, he hopes,
properly fitted himself for the work he has undertaken.
In the preparation of UP THE BALTIC, the writer has used, besides his
own note-books, the most reliable works he could obtain at home and in
Europe, and he believes his geographical, historical, and political
matter is correct, and as full as could be embodied in a story. He has
endeavored to describe the appearance of the country, and the manners
and customs of the people, so as to make them interesting to young
readers. For this purpose these descriptions are often interwoven with
the story, or brought out in the comments of the boys of the squadron.
The story is principally the adventures of the crew of the second
cutter, who attempted "an independent excursion without running away,"
which includes the career of a young Englishman, spoiled by his
mother's indulgence, and of a Norwegian waif, picked up by the
squadron in the North Sea.
The author is encouraged to enter upon this second series by the
remarkable and unexpected success which attended the publication
of the first series. Difficult as it is to work the dry details of
geography and history into a story, the writer intends to persevere in
his efforts to make these books instructive, as well as interesting;
and he is confident that no reader will fail to distinguish the good
boys from the bad ones of the story, or to give his sympathies to the
former.
HARRISON SQUARE, BOSTON,
May 10, 1871.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. A WAIF ON THE NORTH SEA 11
II. OFF THE NAZE OF NORWAY 27
III. AN ACCIDENT TO THE SECOND CUTTER 43
IV. NORWAY IN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT 59
V. MR. CLYDE BLACKLOCK AND MOTHER 76
VI. A DAY AT CHRISTIANSAND 92
VII. UP THE CHRISTIANIA FJORD 110
VIII. SIGHTS OF CHRISTIANIA, AND OTHER MATTERS 128
IX. THE EXCURSION WITHOUT RUNNING AWAY 146
X. GOTTENBURG AND FINKEL 164
XI. ON THE WAY TO THE RJUKANFOS 181
XII. THE BOATSWAIN AND THE BRITON 201
XIII. THE MEETING OF THE ABSENTEES 218
XIV. THROUGH THE SOUND TO COPENHAGEN 237
XV. COPENHAGEN AND TIVOLI 255
XVI. EXCURSION TO KLAMPENBORG AND ELSINORE 274
XVII. TO STOCKHOLM BY GOETA CANAL 292
XVIII. UP THE BALTIC 310
XIX. THE CRUISE IN THE LITTLE STEAMER 329
XX. STOCKHOLM AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 349
* * * * *
UP THE BALTIC;
OR,
YOUNG AMERICA IN NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND DENMARK.
CHAPTER I.
A WAIF ON THE NORTH SEA.
"Boat on the weather bow, sir!" shouted the lookout on the top-gallant
forecastle of the Young America.
"Starboard!" replied Judson, the officer of the deck, as he discovered
the boat, which was drifting into the track of the ship.
"Starboard, sir!" responded the quartermaster in charge of the wheel.
"Steady!" added the officer.
"Steady, sir," repeated the quartermaster.
By this time a crowd of young officers and seamen had leaped upon the
top-gallant forecastle, and into the weather rigging, to obtain a view
of the little boat, which, like a waif on the ocean, was drifting down
towards the coast of Norway. It contained only a single person, who
was either a dwarf or a boy, for he was small in stature. He lay upon
a seat near the stern of the boat, with his feet on the gunwale. He
was either asleep or dead, for though the ship had approached within
hail, he neither moved nor made any sign. The wind was light from the
southward, and the sea was quite calm.
"What do you make of it, Ryder?" called the officer of the deck to the
second master, who was on duty forward.
"It is a flat-bottomed boat, half full of water, with a boy in it,"
answered Ryder.
"Hail him," added the officer of the deck.
"Boat, ahoy!" shouted Ryder, at the top of his lungs.
The person in the boat, boy or man, made no reply. Ryder repeated the
hail, but with no better success. The officers and seamen held their
breath with interest and excitement, for most of them had already come
to the conclusion that the occupant of the boat was dead. A feeling
akin to horror crept through the minds of the more timid, as they
gazed upon the immovable body in the dilapidated craft; for they felt
that they were in the presence of death, and to young people this is
always an impressive season. By this time the ship was within a short
distance of the water-logged bateau. As the waif on the ocean
exhibited no signs of life, the first lieutenant, in charge of the
vessel, was in doubt as to what he should do.
Though he knew that it was the first duty of a sailor to assist a
human being in distress, he was not sure that the same effort was
required in behalf of one who had already ceased to live. Captain
Cumberland, in command of the ship, who had been in the cabin when
the excitement commenced, now appeared upon the quarter-deck, and
relieved the officer of the responsibility of the moment. Judson
reported the cause of the unwonted scene on deck, and as the captain
discovered the little boat, just on the weather bow, he promptly
directed the ship to be hove to.
"Man the main clew-garnets and buntlines!" shouted the first
lieutenant; and the hands sprang to their several stations. "Stand by
tack and sheet."
"All ready, sir," reported the first midshipman, who was on duty in
the waist.
"Let go tack and sheet! Up mainsail!" continued Ryder.
The well-trained crew promptly obeyed the several orders, and the
mainsail was hauled up in much less time than it takes to describe the
manoeuvre.
"Man the main braces!" proceeded the officer of the deck.
"Ready, sir," reported the first midshipman.
"Let go and haul."
As the hands executed the last order; all the yards on the mainmast
swung round towards the wind till the light breeze caught the sails
aback, and brought them against the mast. The effect was to deaden the
headway of the ship.
"Avast bracing!" shouted the first lieutenant, when the yards on the
mainmast were about square.
In a few moments the onward progress of the Young America was entirely
checked, and she lay motionless on the sea. There were four other
vessels in the squadron, following the flag-ship, and each of them, in
its turn, hove to, or came up into the wind.
"Fourth cutters, clear away their boat!" continued the first
lieutenant, after he had received his order from the captain. "Mr.
Messenger will take charge of the boat."
The young officer indicated was the first midshipman, whose quarter
watch was then on duty.
"All the fourth cutters!" piped the boatswain's mate, as Messenger
crossed the deck to perform the duty assigned to him.
"He's alive!" shouted a dozen of the idlers on the rail, who had not
removed their gaze from the waif in the small boat.
"He isn't dead any more than I am!" added a juvenile tar, springing
into the main rigging, as if to demonstrate the amount of his own
vitality.
The waif in the bateau had produced this sudden change of sentiment,
and given this welcome relief to the crew of the Young America, by
rising from his reclining posture, and standing up in the water at the
bottom of his frail craft. He gazed with astonishment at the ship and
the other vessels of the squadron, and did not seem to realize where
he was.
"Avast, fourth cutters!" interposed the first lieutenant. "Belay,
all!"
If the waif was not dead, it was hardly necessary to lower a boat to
send to his relief; at least not till it appeared that he needed
assistance.
"Boat, ahoy!" shouted Ryder.
"On board the ship," replied the waif, in tones not at all sepulchral.
"What are you doing out here?" demanded the first lieutenant.
"Nothing," replied the waif.
"Will you come on board the ship?"
"Yes, if you will let me," added the stranger, as he picked up a
broken oar, which was floating in the water on the bottom of his boat.
"Yes, come on board," answered the first lieutenant, prompted by
Captain Cumberland, who was quite as much interested in the adventure
as any of his shipmates.
The waif, using the broken oar as a paddle, worked his water-logged
craft slowly towards the ship. The accommodation ladder was lowered
for his use, and in a few moments, with rather a heavy movement, as
though he was lame, or much exhausted, he climbed up the ladder, and
stepped down upon the ship deck.
"Fill away again!" said the captain to the first lieutenant, as a
curious crowd began to gather around the stranger. Ryder gave the
necessary orders to brace up the main yards, and set the mainsail
again, and the ship was soon moving on her course towards the Naze of
Norway, as though nothing had occurred to interrupt her voyage.
"What are you doing out here, in an open boat, out of sight of land?"
asked Captain Cumberland, while the watch on deck were bracing up the
yards.
The waif looked at the commander of the Young America, and carefully
examined him from head to foot. The elegant uniform of the captain
seemed to produce a strong impression upon his mind, and he evidently
regarded him as a person of no small consequence. He did not answer
the question put to him, seeming to be in doubt whether it was safe
and proper for him to do so. Captain Cumberland was an exceedingly
comely-looking young gentleman, tall and well formed in person,
graceful and dignified in his manners; and if he had been fifty years
old, the stranger before him could not have been more awed and
impressed by his bearing. So far as his personal appearance was
concerned, the waif appeared to have escaped from the rag-bag, and to
have been out long enough to soil his tatters with oil, tar, pitch,
and dirt. Though his face and hands, as well as other parts of his
body, were very dirty, his eye was bright, and, even seen through the
disguise of filth and rags that covered him, he was rather
prepossessing.
"What is your name?" asked Captain Cumberland, finding his first
question was not likely to be answered.
"Ole Amundsen," replied the stranger, pronouncing his first name in
two syllables.
"Then you are not English."
"No, sir. Be you?"
"I am not; we are all Americans in this ship."
"Americans!" exclaimed Ole, opening his eyes, while a smile beamed
through the dirt on his face. "Are you going to America now?"
"No; we are going up the Baltic now," replied Captain Cumberland; "but
we shall return to America in the course of a year or two."
"Take me to America with you--will you?" continued Ole, earnestly. "I
am a sailor, and I will work for you all the time."
"I don't know about that. You must speak to the principal."
"Who's he?"
"Mr. Lowington. He is in the cabin now. Where do you belong, Ole?"
"I don't belong anywhere," answered the waif, looking doubtfully about
him.
"Where were you born?"
"In Norway, sir."
"Then you are a Norwegian."
"I reckon I am."
"In what part of Norway were you born?"
"In Bratsberg."
"That's where all the brats come from," suggested Sheridan.
"This one came from there, at any rate," added Mayley. "But where is
Bratsberg, and what is it?"
"It is an _amt_, or province, in the south-eastern part of Norway."
"I came from the town of Laurdal," said Ole.
"Do the people there speak English as well as you do?" asked the
captain.
"No, sir. I used to be a _skydskarl_, and--"
"A what?" demanded the crowd.
"A _skydskarl_--a boy that goes on a cariole to take back the horses.
I learned a little English from the Englishmen I rode with; and then I
was in England almost a year."
"But how came you out here, alone in an open boat?" asked the captain,
returning to his first inquiry.
Ole put one of his dirty fingers in his mouth, and looked stupid and
uncommunicative. He glanced at the young officers around him, and
then over the rail at the sea.
"Were you wrecked?" inquired the captain.
"No, sir; not wrecked," replied Ole. "I never was wrecked in my life."
"What are you doing out here, out of sight of land, in a boat half
full of water?" persisted the captain.
"Doing nothing."
"Did you get blown off from the shore?"
"No, sir; a southerly wind wouldn't blow anybody off from the south
coast of Norway," answered Ole, with a smile which showed that he had
some perception of things absurd in themselves.
"You are no fool."
"No, sir, I am not; and I don't think you are," added Ole, again
glancing at Captain Cumberland from head to foot.
The young tars all laughed at the waif's retort, and the captain was
not a little nettled by the remark. He pressed Ole rather sharply for
further information in regard to his antecedents; but the youth was
silent on this point. While the crowd were anxiously waiting for the
stranger to declare himself more definitely, eight bells sounded at
the wheel, and were repeated on the large bell forward by the lookout.
From each vessel of the fleet the bells struck at nearly the same
moment, and were followed by the pipe of the boatswain's whistle,
which was the signal for changing the watch. As the officers of the
ship were obliged to attend to their various duties, Ole Amundsen was
left alone with the captain. The waif still obstinately refused to
explain how he happened to be alone in a water-logged boat, asleep,
and out of sight of land, though he promptly answered all other
questions which were put to him.
Mr. Lowington, the principal of the Academy Squadron, was in the main
cabin, though he had been fully informed in regard to the events which
had transpired on deck. The young commander despaired of his own
ability to extort an explanation from the waif, and he concluded to
refer the matter to the principal.
"How long have you been in that boat?" asked Captain Cumberland, as he
led the way towards the companion ladder.
"Eighteen hours," answered Ole, after some hesitation, which, perhaps,
was only to enable him to count up the hours.
"Did you have anything to eat?"
"No, sir."
"Nothing?"
"Not a thing."
"Then you are hungry?"
"I had a little supper last night--not much," continued Ole,
apparently counting the seams in the deck, ashamed to acknowledge his
human weakness.
"You shall have something to eat at once."
"Thank you, sir."
Captain Cumberland therefore conducted the stranger to the steerage,
instead of the main cabin, and directed one of the stewards to give
him his supper. The man set half a cold boiled ham on one of the mess
tables, with an abundant supply of bread and butter. Cutting off a
large slice of the ham, he placed it on the plate before Ole, whose
eyes opened wide with astonishment, and gleamed with pleasure. Without
paying much attention to the forms of civilization, the boy began to
devour it, with the zeal of one who had not tasted food for
twenty-four hours. Captain Cumberland smiled, but with becoming
dignity, at the greediness of the guest, before whom the whole slice
of ham and half a brick loaf disappeared almost in a twinkling. The
steward appeared with a pot of coffee, in time to cut off another
slice of ham, which the waif attacked with the same voracity as
before. When it was consumed, and the young Norwegian glanced
wistfully at the leg before him, as though his capacity for cold ham
was not yet exhausted, the captain began to consider whether he ought
not to consult the surgeon of the ship before he permitted the waif to
eat any more. But the steward, like a generous host, seemed to regard
the quantity eaten as complimentary testimony to the quality of the
viands, and helped him to a third slice of the ham. He swallowed a
pint mug of coffee without stopping to breathe.
As the third slice of ham began to wax small before the voracious
Norwegian, Captain Cumberland became really alarmed, and determined
to report at once to the principal and the surgeon for instructions.
Knocking at the door of the main cabin, he was admitted. Dr. Winstock
assured him there was no danger to the guest; he had not been without
food long enough to render it dangerous for him fully to satisfy
himself. The quantity eaten might make him uncomfortable, and even
slightly sick, but it would do the gourmand no real injury. The
captain returned to the steerage, where Ole had broken down on his
fourth slice of ham; but he regarded it wistfully, and seemed to
regret his inability to eat any more.
"That's good," said he, with emphasis. "It's the best supper I ever
ate in my life. I like this ship; I like the grub; and I mean to go to
America in her."
"We will see about that some other time; but if you don't tell us how
you happened to be off here, I am afraid we can do nothing for you,"
replied the captain. "If you feel better now, we will go and see the
principal."
"Who's he?" asked Ole.
"Mr. Lowington. You must tell him how you happened to be in that leaky
boat."
"Perhaps I will. I don't know," added Ole, doubtfully, as he followed
the commander into the main cabin.
Captain Cumberland explained to the principal the circumstances under
which Ole had come on board, and that he declined to say anything in
regard to the strange situation in which he had been discovered.
"Is the captain here?" asked the midshipman of the watch, at the
steerage door.
"Yes," replied Captain Cumberland.
"Mr. Lincoln sent me down to report a light on the lee bow, sir."
"Very well. Where is Mr. Beckwith?"
"In the cabin, sir."
The captain left the main cabin, and entered the after cabin, where he
found Beckwith, the first master, attended by the second and third,
examining the large chart of the North Sea.
"Light on the lee bow, sir," said the first master.
"Do you make it out?"
"Yes; we are all right to the breadth of a hair," added the master,
delighted to find that his calculations had proved to be entirely
correct. "It is Egero Light, and we are about fifty miles from the
Naze of Norway. We are making about four knots, and if the breeze
holds, we ought to see Gunnarshoug Light by one o'clock."
Captain Cumberland went on deck to see the light reported. Though it
was half past eight, the sun had but just set, and the light, eighteen
miles distant, could be distinctly seen. It created a great deal of
excitement and enthusiasm among the young officers and seamen, who had
read enough about Norway to be desirous of seeing it. For weeks the
young gentlemen on board the ship had been talking of Norway, and
reading up all the books in the library relating to the country and
its people. They had read with interest the accounts of the various
travellers who had visited it, including Ross Brown, in Harper's
Monthly, and Bayard Taylor, and had studied Harper, Murray, Bradshaw,
and other Guides on the subject. The more inquiring students had read
the history of Norway, and were well prepared to appreciate a short
visit to this interesting region.
They had just come from the United States, having sailed in the latter
part of March. The squadron had had a fair passage, and the students
hoped to be in Christiansand by the first day of May; and now nothing
less than a dead calm for forty-eight hours could disappoint their
hopes. Five years before, the Young America and the Josephine, her
consort, had cruised in the waters of Europe, and returned to America
in the autumn. It had been the intention of the principal to make
another voyage the next year, go up the Baltic, and winter in the
Mediterranean; but the war of 1866 induced him to change his plans.
Various circumstances had postponed the cruise until 1870, when it was
actually commenced.
The Young America was the first, and for more than a year the only,
vessel belonging to the Academy. The Josephine, a topsail schooner,
had been added the second year; and now the Tritonia, a vessel of the
same size and rig, was on her first voyage. The three vessels of the
squadron were officered and manned by the students of the Academy. As
on the first cruise, the offices were the rewards of merit bestowed
upon the faithful and energetic pupils. The highest number of merits
gave the highest office, and so on through the several grades in
the cabin, and the petty offices in the steerage. The routine and
discipline of the squadron were substantially the same as described in
the first series of these volumes, though some changes had been made,
as further experience suggested. Instead of quarterly, as before, the
offices were given out every month. Captains were not retired after a
single term, as formerly, but were obliged to accept whatever rank and
position they earned, like other students.
There was no change from one vessel to another, except at the end of a
school year, or with the permission of the principal. The ship had six
instructors, three of whom, however, lectured to all the students in
the squadron, and each of the smaller vessels had two teachers.
Mr. Lowington was still the principal. He was the founder of the
institution; and his high moral and religious principles, his love of
justice, as well as his skill, firmness, and prudence, had made it a
success in spite of the many obstacles which continually confronted
it. As a considerable portion of the students in the squadron were
the spoiled sons of rich men, who had set at defiance the rules of
colleges and academies on shore, it required a remarkable combination
of attributes to fit a gentleman for the difficult and trying position
he occupied.
Mr. Fluxion was the first vice-principal in charge of the Josephine.
He was a thorough seaman, a good disciplinarian, and a capital
teacher; but he lacked some of the high attributes of character
which distinguished the principal. If any man was fit to succeed Mr.
Lowington in his responsible position, it was Mr. Fluxion; but it was
doubtful whether, under his sole administration, the institution could
be an entire success. His love of discipline, and his energetic manner
of dealing with delinquents, would probably have increased the number
of "rows," mutinies, and runaways.
The second vice-principal, in charge of the Tritonia, was Mr. Tompion,
who, like his two superiors in rank, had formerly been an officer of
the navy. Though he was a good sailor, and a good disciplinarian, he
lacked that which a teacher needs most--a hearty sympathy with young
people.
The principal and the two vice-principals were instructors in
mathematics and navigation in their respective vessels. Mr. Lowington
had undertaken this task himself, because he felt the necessity of
coming more in contact with the student than his position as mere
principal required. It tended to promote friendly relations between
the governor and the governed, by creating a greater sympathy between
them.
The Rev. Mr. Agneau still served as chaplain. In port, and at sea when
the weather would permit, two services were held in the steerage every
Sunday, which were attended, at anchor, by the crew of all the vessels.
Prayers were said morning and evening, in the ship by the chaplain, in
the schooners by the vice-principal or one of the instructors.
Dr. Winstock was the instructor in natural philosophy and chemistry,
as well as surgeon and sanitary director. He was a good and true man,
and generally popular among the students. Each vessel had an adult
boatswain and a carpenter, and the ship a sailmaker, to perform such
work as the students could not do, and to instruct them in the details
of practical seamanship.
After the lapse of five years, hardly a student remained of those who
had cruised in the ship or her consort during the first voyage. But in
addition to the three vessels which properly constituted the squadron,
there were two yachts, each of one hundred and twenty tons. They were
fore-and-aft schooners, of beautiful model, and entirely new. The one
on the weather wing of the fleet was the Grace, Captain Paul Kendall,
whose lady and two friends were in the cabin. Abreast of her sailed
the Feodora, Captain Robert Shuffles, whose wife was also with him.
Each of these yachts had a first and second officer, and a crew of
twenty men, with the necessary complement of cooks and stewards. They
were part of the fleet, but not of the Academy Squadron.