Before I saw enough of life in the streets, we were under the great gateway which led to the Consul's apartments; for the houses here, as in Edinburgh and Paris, are divided between several families, and have one common staircase. The Consul heard attentively our tale, and then told us he could in no way interfere; but that we had better make a personal application to the Minister, Sir Henry Whynne.
To Sir Henry we went; and the result with him was the same as with the Consul. Sir Henry said, he could with just as much propriety interrupt for our benefit the closing of the gates at a certain hour, as the Danish Minister in London could interrupt, for the benefit of three Danes, the closing of the Horse Guards. He recommended us to make friends with the officer on duty, and he doubted not every facility would be afforded us in our ingress and regress, to and from the town at night.
On the strength of that concession by the proper authority, Sir Henry asked us to dine with him the following day; we thanked him for his information, and accepted the invitation. Before parting, he offered to introduce us to the king, who, he assured us, entertained a partiality for the English, and would be happy to see us and have a game of whist with us every night at the palace. Mr. C----, who had waited for us outside, now conducted us round the town, and gave us all the information he had mustered during a residence of many years in Copenhagen.
In the centre of the second square,--better paved than the other one,--where are situated the Theatre, Hôtel d'Angleterre, and several other large hotels, stands another colossal statue of Christian the Fifth, as devoid of admiration as its prancing fellow. Its remarkable size has exceeded the bounds of elegance. The horse is about to trample on a serpent with distended mouth and forked extended tongue, being the symbol of Discord. Around the pedestal are many figures; and, amongst them, Minerva's arms and legs are sculptured in prodigious relief: but it is to be hoped the Goddess of the Fine Arts will, some day, descend to Copenhagen, and prove to the Danes how symmetrical are her limbs, since, in this allegorical group, the neck of the wild bull of Crete must have been a withe to her proportions. An anecdote is told of Belzoni, when Feldborg showed this statue to him.