Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XXVII - Skibby
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
Chap. XXVII.
DANISH CEMETERIES.
407
Still the Danes do not shine in cemeteries. Above
each grave they raise an oblong mound of earth,—a
Scandinavian custom, handed down to them from their
forefathers; in the middle of this they plant their
flowers, leaving the borders unedged and most untidy.
In some places, in the centre of each grave they form a
medallion of sand, like the bottom of a bird’s-cage:
what for, I never could divine. Later they become
neglected, tended only once a year, on All Saints’
Day.* The small gravestones are in good taste—a
crucifix or a square tablet, resting on a heap of
rocks, with ivy planted round. And now, as we
proceed, passing by the ancient manorial mansion of
Krabbesholm, the country improves: not beautiful, but
richly cultivated, undivided by hedge or fence; patches
of corn, patches of peas, grass, and the inevitable mose,
give a varied colouring to the landscape. The flat land
undulates its little best; a barrow or stray menhir adds
to the excitement. Then we have peeps at the fiordes
—very blue—and sunny woodlands. Koeskilde’s spires,
too, rise trim up always when least expected; villages
and gaards, churches and cattle; she-storks astride
upon their nests, evidently on the look-out for the
return of their mates from a foraging expedition. We
saw him — foraging, indeed! much more like
amusing himself—whilst his wife waits dinner at home.
All the feathery tribe appeared assembled in gala:
wagtails and wheatears, finches and larks, sandpipers
and webfooted bipeds beyond my ornithology. And
* In 835 Pope Gregory established All Saints’-day, to be kept on
November 1st, and decreed that people on that one day of the year
should visit the tombs of their relatives.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
