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128 COPENHAGEN. Chap. IX.
back, descend the steps of the quay, enter the boat, and
timidly announce their wants to the owner of the wares.
The man points to a basket in the comer of the vessel;
they investigate its contents, and, after much
hesitation, return, each triumphantly bearing a “juul sviin”
(yule pig), as it is called, with a slit down the middle
of his back ; this unclean beast serves as a money-box,
but the money once deposited therein cannot be recovered
without its destruction.
Before us rises the Palace of Christiansborg
(Christiansborg Slot), a vast, heavy, unsightly pile of buildings,
flanked on one side by the Thorvaldsen Museum; to
the left of the palace stands the Chancellerie, and
beyond the Exchange (Børs), with its quaint spire
of twisted dragons, the pride of the capital. But we
are going too fast, and before proceeding further it
is as well you should learn something of the early
history of the town you are now visiting. We stand on
classic ground; and if you do not mind resting on the
banks of the quay, I will endeavour while you repose to
give you some slight information as to the origin and
foundation of the capital of Denmark.
On the island where we now stand, in the year 1168,
our old friend Archbishop Absalon constructed a
fortress, which bore the name of Axelhuus in compliment
to its founder.* It was later changed to that of
Steile-borg, or Wheel Castle, from the fact of the strand
before its gates being selected as the place of execution
—breaking on the wheel (steile), or some such pleasant
operation—of the pirates from Rugen and elsewhere,
* See note p. 96.
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