Oliver Optic

“ Andersen is a tall gentleman, with a thin face,—the features of which are far from handsome,—and iron-gray hair. His countenance is always covered with smiles when he speaks, and his whole manner is child-like and simple. He is full of the love of God and of man, which seems to shine out in his face, and to be the interpretation of his ever-present smile. His dress was scrupulously neat and nice in every detail.
The doctor told him about the Academy squadron, of which he had read a brief notice in the newspapers, and invited him to visit the ship, which he promised to do, on the following day. ”

“ Involuntarily, every fellow put his hands into his pocket; and then, if not before, they recalled the suggestion of the coxswain, made before they took their places in the cutter, that they should bring their money and their pea-jackets; but then, it seemed simply absurd that the boat had been smashed by his contrivance.
“Was it for this, Sanford, that you told us to bring our money?” said Burchmore.
“I should say a fellow ought always to carry his money with him. No one can tell what will happen to him when he goes away from the ship,” replied the coxswain. ”

“ From the top, mountains fifty miles distant could be seen. Christiania Fjord lay like a panorama in the distance, stretching as far as the eye could reach. To the west the country looked wild and desolate, and was covered with wood-crowned mountains, though none of any considerable height could be seen. It was a magnificent view, and some of the most enthusiastic of the students declared that it was worth a voyage to Norway; but boys are proverbially extravagant. ”

“ He had to learn that there was a power greater than himself, to which he must submit. He had twice run away, and failed both times. Three days of fear and absolute misery on board of the Rensdyr had given him time to think. He determined, when he reached Stockholm, to return to his mother, and try to be a better boy. Peaks, in the little steamer, had come upon him like a ghost. He had expected never again to see the ship, or his particular tormentor ”

“ The shores of Sweden were in sight all the time, and at three o’clock in the afternoon land was also seen on the starboard bow. But the masters, who were constantly watching the chart, were not at all astonished, though the seamen were.
“What land is that, Scott?” asked Laybold.
“That? Why, don’t you know?”
“I’m sure I don’t. I know Germany is over there somewhere, but I didn’t expect to run into it so near Sweden.”
“That’s Gabogginholm.”
“Is it in Germany?”
“No; it’s an island, at least a hundred and fifty miles from Germany. The Baltic is rather a big thing out here.” ”

“ Up the Baltic, the first volume of the second series of “Young America Abroad,” like its predecessors, is a record of what was seen and done by the young gentlemen of the Academy Squadron on its second voyage to Europe, embracing its stay in the waters of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. ”

“ The boatswain still read, and still shook with suppressed laughter at the funny blunders and situations of Peter Simple. He had seen just such fellows as Clyde in the brig; had seen them behave just as the present prisoner did; and he had learned that it was better to let them have their own way till they were satisfied, for boys are always better satisfied when they solve such problems for themselves. ”

“ The King of Sweden is also the King of Norway; but each country has its own independent and separate government. Each has its own legislature, makes its own laws, and raises and expends its own revenues. The king exercises his functions as ruler over both kingdoms through a council of state, composed of an equal number of Swedes and Norwegians, whose duty it is to advise the sovereign, and, in accordance with a peculiar feature of monarchy, to take the responsibility when any blunder is made ”

“ Be you?”
“I am not; we are all Americans in this ship.”
“Americans!” exclaimed Ole, opening his eyes, while a smile beamed through the dirt on his face. “Are you going to America now?”
“No; we are going up the Baltic now,” replied Captain Cumberland; “but we shall return to America in the course of a year or two.”
“Take me to America with you—will you?” continued Ole, earnestly. “I am a sailor, and I will work for you all the time.”
“I don’t know about that. You must speak to the principal.” [Pg 17]
“Who’s he?”
“Mr. Lowington. He is in the cabin now. Where do you belong, Ole?” ”

“ You can’t complain of a fellow, who sells himself at all, for making as much money as he can. Ole only did that.”
“He sold us out,” growled Sanford.
“Of course he did; if you buy a man, you mustn’t grumble when he does a second time what you encouraged him to do in the first instance. But you were going to take us off to the Rjukanfos, fifty or sixty miles out of our way, without our knowledge or consent. I smelt a mice, and turned the tables,” laughed the cashier.
“Yes, and you cheated me,” interposed Clyde.
“I had nothing whatever to do with you,” answered Burchmore, mildly. ”

“ Late as was the hour, the first person he saw at the landing was Mr. Blaine, the chief steward of the ship.
“I’m glad to see you, Blaine,” shouted the boatswain when he identified his shipmate, and grasped his hand. “Shiver my timbers if I’m not rejoiced to see a man that speaks plain English! Where’s the ship?”
“She sailed for Copenhagen this evening.”
“No; you don’t say so!”
“It’s a fact. The students went up the canal as far as the falls, and returned about dark. The squadron got under way at once. I suppose you have the cutter’s crew with you, Peaks?” ”

“ Petersburg, captain?” asked the coxswain.
“No; we return to London, touching only at Copenhagen,” replied the officer.
“That’s too bad!” exclaimed Stockwell.
“So it is,” said a tall man, who had followed the runaways up the steps from the lower deck. “But you are not going to St. Petersburg without the rest of us—are you?”
Sanford was startled, and turning sharp around, saw Peaks, who had come out of the cabin as the boys stepped on board. He had followed them to the hurricane deck, and suspecting that something was wrong, he had waited till the coxswain’s question betrayed their intention. ”

“ Austria favored the claim of the duke, while Prussia denied it, and accused her then powerful rival of encouraging revolutionary movements in Holstein dangerous to the thrones of Europe. Then followed the great war of 1866, which resulted in the utter humiliation of Austria, and the annexation of all the disputed territories to Prussia. Denmark, thus shorn of her territories and her power, has become an insignificant kingdom. With less than two million inhabitants, she supports all the costly trappings of royalty, and keeps an army and navy. ”

“ It was terribly lacerating to the feelings of the Briton to be so coolly disregarded and ignored. Clyde had the saw, but he had sense enough left to know that any attempt to use it would attract the attention of his jailer, and end in the loss of the implement, with which he could remove a couple of the slats when left alone, or when all hands were asleep at night. Finding that violence accomplished nothing, he seated himself on his stool,—which, however, was far from being the stool of repentance,—and considered the situation more calmly. ”

“ We have seen the effect of “finkel” upon one unaccustomed to the use of liquor, and upon boys of fifteen or sixteen it could not but be entirely overpowering. It is a dangerous fluid, and is taken by the Swedes at all times, being the first thing at meals, and especially at the inevitable “snack” that precedes a regular dinner. There is, doubtless, good ground for the fear which has been expressed that the people of Sweden are in danger of becoming “a nation of drunkards.”
Scott was the first to open his eyes and come to his senses. ”

“ But won’t you tell us your story, Ole?”
“A story? O, yes. Once there was a king of Norway whose name was Olaf, and half the men of his country were named after him, because—”
“Never mind that story, Ole. We want to hear the story about yourself.”
“About myself? Well, last year things didn’t go very well with me; the crop of potatoes was rather short on my farm, and my vessels caught but few fish; so I decided to make a voyage up the Mediterranean, to spend the winter.”
“What did you go in, Norway?” asked Wilde.
“In my boat. We don’t make voyages on foot here in Norway.” ”

“ We don’t want to leave Norway without seeing something of the country, and the rest of the fellows won’t go. So we are going to take them along with us.”
“Excellent! That will be a magnificent joke,” exclaimed Clyde. “I’m with you. I suppose you all ran away from the ship when you found the tyranny was too much for you.”
“O, no! We didn’t run away. We wouldn’t do that. Somehow, by an accident, our boat was stove, and we were carried off by a steamer. Then we couldn’t get back to Christiansand before the ship sailed, and we were obliged to come across the country to Christiania, you see.” ”

“ The steamer leaves the Baltic, and passing another piece of canal, enters the waters of the Mäler Lake, seventy-five miles long, and containing fourteen hundred islands. The boys were up in season to see the beauties of this lake. Many of the islands rise to a considerable height above the water, and are so thick that one hardly believes he is sailing on a large lake. For quiet beauty and “eternal stillness,” the Mäler can hardly be surpassed. In the middle of the forenoon, the spires of Stockholm were to be seen, and the tourists were all attention. ”

“ She told me to be sure and put you on board of the ship, and I’m going to do it.”
“Where is the ship?”
“She sailed for Gottenburg yesterday morning; but we shall find her in good time,” replied Peaks, taking a bundle from the bureau, which contained the young Briton’s uniform. “Now, my bantam, you don’t look like a gentleman in that rig you’ve got on. Here’s your gear; put it on, and look like a man again, whether you are one or not. Those long togs don’t become you.”
The boatswain unfolded the uniform of Clyde, which he had left in his chamber when he leaped out of the window. ”

“ He don’t toss me round in that way without suffering for it.”
“Well, don’t hurt him,” suggested the good-natured seaman.
“He’ll get a broken head before he grows much older,” added Clyde, drawing out a belaying-pin from the fife-rail. “I shall not be in this ship a great while longer; but I mean to stay long enough to settle my accounts with the big boatswain and the two nobs on the quarter-deck.”
“How are you going to do it, my dear Albion?”
“Leave that to me. No man can insult me without suffering for it.”
“Perhaps the officers will apologize, but I don’t believe Peaks will. ”

“ If any of the Orlando’s passengers came near him, he could retreat into his room. He walked up and down several times, but this soon became stale amusement.
“Who’s in the next room to mine?” he asked, as one of the waiters passed him in his promenade.
“Gentleman and lady from America, sir,” replied the man; “an uncommon handsome young woman, sir.”
Before the waiter could further express his opinion of the guests in No. 31, Paul Kendall came out of the room, and, seeing the servant, ordered a carriage to be ready in half an hour.
“Is there much to see in this place, sir?” asked Clyde, politely. ”

“ The Young America was the first, and for more than a year the only, vessel belonging to the Academy. The Josephine, a topsail schooner, had been added the second year; and now the Tritonia, a vessel of the same size and rig, was on her first voyage. The three vessels of the squadron were officered and manned by the students of the Academy. As on the first cruise, the offices were the rewards of merit bestowed upon the faithful and energetic pupils. The highest number of merits gave the highest office, and so on through the several grades in the cabin, and the petty offices in the steerage. ”

“ For half an hour the several crews were occupied in furling sails, squaring yards, hauling taut the running rigging, and putting everything in order on board.
The accommodation ladder of the ship, which was a regular flight of stairs, had hardly been rigged before a white barge, pulled by four men, came alongside. The oarsmen were dressed in blue uniform, and wore tarpaulin hats, upon which was painted the word “Grace,” indicating the yacht to which they belonged. The bowman fastened his boat-hook to the steps, and the rest of the crew tossed their oars in man-of-war style. ”

“ Olaf looked at the three stout men before him, and prudence triumphed over his angry passions.
“I will have the boy yet,” said he, as he walked to the stairs, closely attended by the three forward officers.
He went down into his boat, declaring that he would seize upon Ole the first time he caught him on shore.
“Where is Clyde?” asked Mr. Lowington, as soon as the savage skipper had gone.
“He is forward, sir; he behaves like a new man, and says he will not run away,” replied Peaks. ”

“ But the students of the squadron were gradually and carefully accustomed to the water, so that they could swim a reasonable distance without wearing themselves out, could rest their limbs by floating, and were taught to avail themselves of any expedient to secure their safety. If a boat was stove on the rocks in a surf, or was run down by a vessel, the fact of being in the water did not frighten them out of their wits, for they had been trained to feel quite at home, as in their native element. ”

“ In half an hour Clyde and Sanford were on excellent terms. The former, when he learned that his new acquaintance had not been sent after him, was quite communicative, and even told the story of his experience on board of the ship, and of his escape from bondage. Sanford laughed, and seemed to enjoy the narrative; but straightway the coxswain began to tremble when he learned that Clyde had with him a Norwegian who spoke English. It was necessary to get rid of so dangerous a person without any delay. The Briton liked Sanford so well that he was not willing to leave him ”

“ The rocks were often of curious formation, and the shore of one island was as regular and smooth as though it had been a piece of masonry. After rounding a point of rocks, the fleet came into full view of Christiania. The city and its environs are spread out on the southern slope of a series of hills, and presents a beautiful landscape to the eye. On the left the country was covered with villas, prominent among which was Oscarshal, a summer palace of the late king. ”

“ They won’t let you pay more than seventy-five cents or a dollar for a day’s board in this country.”
“You went to a sailor’s boarding-house, Scott. When you are at a first-class hotel, you will find that they bleed you enough.”
“I hope they do better than the landlord where we staid last night; if they don’t I shall make money in Sweden. Why, they wouldn’t even pick our pockets when we were boozy on ‘finkel.’ I’m sure they are a great deal more accommodating at sailors’ boarding-houses in Boston and New York.”
“Come, be serious, Scott. Shall you give up your money when you return to the ship?” ”