Visit to Scandinavia
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terror-stricken people sought safety in flight. “They dived into the
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darkest parts of the forest; they burrowed in the bleakest moors; they
lurked in old clay pits and in masses of fallen masonry; and to this
day the people of those parts show the retreats where their wretched
forefathers sought refuge from the fury of the soldiery.” The war ended
in victory to the Protestants; and the religious toleration which was
then won, they have ever since enjoyed. But the long, awful strife had
covered the period of a generation. When peace was at last declared,
the whole land had become a tomb. Cities, towns, and villages were in
flames. The country was empty of men; the high-roads were without
travelers, and briers and thorns covered the once richly cultivated field.
In some parts no more than
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one-fiftieth of the population remained, and there were regions left
without inhabitant.
Such was the spirit of popery in the seventeenth century, and such
is her spirit today. Let Rome but gain the power, and our own favored
land would witness scenes like those that covered Germany with heaps
of slain, and made her harvest fields a lair for the wild beasts.
At Hamburg, about 7. P.M., we again changed cars, and had to
wait two hours. After walking from one station to the other, we were
shown into a waiting-room where men and women were eating and
drinking, and the air was full of tobacco smoke. We chose to remain
on the platform outside.
Hamburg, situated on the river Elbe, contains upwards of two
hundred and seventy thousand inhabitants. The trade of all Northern
Europe centers here; it is the great port of entry for the German empire,
and is the most important commercial town on the Continent. Though
very ancient, it is a beautiful city. It was here that Tyndale, when
forced to flee from England, began the publication of the English New
Testament. In wretched lodgings he endured hunger and cold while
toiling day and night to give the gospel to England. The Gospels of
Matthew and Mark, translated and printed here, were secretly sent to
London as the first-fruits of his great work.
A three-hours’ ride from Hamburg brings us at midnight to Kiel,
on an arm of the Baltic Sea. Here we are transferred to a little steamer,
and are soon at rest in our state-rooms, glad of an opportunity for a
few hours’ repose. In the early morning, we land at Corsor, Denmark,
and resume our journey by rail.