COXE’s TRAVELS IN DENMARK.

346

navigation of the Eyder between Rendfburgh and Tonningen, on account of the nu-merous fnoals occasioned by the {hifting fands, which not unfrequently render the en-trance into the Eyder impracticable, and always prevent any veffels from palling whichdraw more than nine feet of water. Few Clips, therefore, which navigate the Baltic,will unload their goods at Kiel, in order to embark them in fmaller veffels for Tonnin-gen, where the merchandize muff be again reimbarked. Ships failing from the Balticto the Englifh or French ports will doubtlefs prefer the navigation round the Cattegate,with all its dangers and difficulties. Thofe deftined for Hamburgh, or the adjacentparts, will choofe, perhaps, the fhorter and more fecure paffage of the canal. But it ismuch to be doubted, whether the commerce between Hamburgh and the north will befufficient to anfwer the expences of the conffrudion. The trade of Kiel, at all events,will be greatly increafed by this canal; but the principal depofitory of the merchandizewill be at Rendfburgh *.

Alter having examined the canal and town of Kiel, we continued our route, and, ineighteen miles, reached a fmall village beautifully feated between two lakes, in the midftof a romantic country, interfperfed with forefts of beech and oak. The largeft of thefelakes is that of Ploen, the banks of which are adorned with the town of Ploen, the ca-pital of the duchy, which efcheated to the King of Denmark in 1761, on the deceafeofthe laft Duke Charles without iffue male. The palace, formerly the ducal refidence,rifing in the midff of the town, on elevated ground, and overlooking the lake is a pic-turesque cbjed.

The road from Ploen to Eutin runs along a fertile country, through fields of comand paffure, enclofed with “ hedge-row elms and coppice green,” and beautifully in-terfperfed with groves of oak and beech.

Eutin is a town with a palace belonging to the Prince Bifhop, in which he ufually re-fides, and from which he affumes his title. The prefent Prince is brother to AdolphusFrederic, late King of Sweden : it is, like Ofnabrug, a fecular bifhoprick. The palaceis a large brick building, on the banks of a lake, and contains nothing worthy of obfer-vation, except a few indifferent family pictures; amongft which I remarked one of theDuke of Anhalt, father of the fortunate Catharine the Second, Emprefs of Ruflia,and another of Charles, Duke of Holftein, father of the unfortunate Peter the Third.

The grounds are laid out in ftraight walks, with cut hedges, ftagnant canals, and jetsd'eau ; an intermediate plot of ground is called an Englilh garden, and confifts chiefly ofzig-zag walks, which, according to the opinion of moft foreigners, are ridiculouflyfuppofed to form the peculiar excellence of our ftyle.

Lubec, the head of the Flanfeatic league, was formerly the moll commercial city, andpowerful republic of the north; her fleet bade defiance to the northern powers, androde miffrefs of the Baltic. How are the mighty fallen! Ihe no longer retains a lhadowof her former power, has loft great part of her trade, and her commerce, confiderablydiminilhed, will fuffer ftill more diminution, if the canal of Kiel fhould anfwer the pur-pofes for which it was planned : for by that means great part of the merchandize which

* This canal was opened in 1785, and the following isnine fuc'ceffive years :

1785 “ 453 veffels, including 4.4 foreign,

8f> — 400 - - 67

87— 645 . . 125

88— 626 . - 136

^ 89 — 1073 - - 280

a mi ua laic vcntio

1790— 961 veffels, including 293 foreign.

91

9 ’-

93

12 ,o-1509-2290

476

722

1441

now