The father and mother, if the father can be ascertained, are obliged
to maintain an illegitimate child at their joint expense; but,
should the father disappear, go up the country or to sea, the mother
must maintain it herself. However, accidents of this kind do not
prevent their marrying, and then it is not unusual to take the child
or children home, and they are brought up very amicably with the
marriage progeny.

I took some pains to learn what books were written originally in
their language; but for any certain information respecting the state
of Danish literature I must wait till I arrive at Copenhagen.

The sound of the language is soft, a great proportion of the words
ending in vowels; and there is a simplicity in the turn of some of
the phrases which have been translated to me that pleased and
interested me. In the country the farmers use the THOU and THEE;
and they do not acquire the polite plurals of the towns by meeting
at market. The not having markets established in the large towns
appears to me a great inconvenience. When the farmers have anything
to sell they bring it to the neighbouring town and take it from
house to house. I am surprised that the inhabitants do not feel how
very incommodious this usage is to both parties, and redress it;
they, indeed, perceive it, for when I have introduced the subject
they acknowledged that they were often in want of necessaries, there
being no butchers, and they were often obliged to buy what they did
not want; yet it was the custom, and the changing of customs of a
long standing requires more energy than they yet possess. I
received a similar reply when I attempted to persuade the women that
they injured their children by keeping them too warm. The only way