Thursday. 17. In the morning at the museum of "Northern Antiquities." The collection has been made since 20 years & is the largest in Europe. We were first shown the knives, chisels, arrows, &c., used before any metal was discovered & many--many years before Christianity. They were all of stone. We also saw the first rude urns which were used for the burial of dead bodies. Gold, silver & copper were discovered before iron; when iron was discovered it was for a long time so valuable, that we saw that instruments were made of copper & only pointed with iron. Thus we were shown these instruments from their first rude state till they arrived quite at perfection. We also saw the gold rings & bracelets which the ancients wore, & which they cut off, piece by piece, to give in exchange for clothing or food before the use of money. We saw a beautiful ebony altar piece with gold & silver figures raised upon it. It was intended for a chapel of one of the former kings; but he afterwards altered his plan & erected a large church,--so that it has never been used. I fear, my dear Aunt, you will find this all very stupid & tedious, & will not thank me much for the _copious_ extracts from my poor little journal. I flatter myself, however, you will take an interest in all that we do & see, so I give you the best descriptions in my power. Copenhagen appears like a different place to us, from what it did when here before. Henry would like to pass the winter here, he is now so charmed with it. We have a much pleasanter situation, than when here before, & coming from Sweden any place would be quite delightful. Indeed it seems now quite like London--the cries remind us of that city & it appears almost as noisy. How different from our first impression of Copenhagen! but then we were direct from London & after that immense and overpowering place everything seems dull and lifeless. We shall probably leave here this week Thursday, & shall take these letters to Hamburg with us, with the hopes of sending them directly to America from there. Henry sends books to the college from here, but it is so uncertain when they go I do not like to leave my letters. How lonely you will be without Sammy this winter; I feel very glad he has entered as Freshman, for we shall have him a year longer with us. Give much love to all from us--Clara is very well and seems very happy. She enjoys travelling very much, & is just as good & excellent a girl as ever--Henry desires very much love to Aunt Lucia--accept much from your ever affectionate MARY. To MISS LUCIA WADSWORTH, Portland, Me. {30 _Life_, i. 205; also _Harvard College Papers_ [MS.], vi. 290.} {31 _Harvard College Papers_, 2d ser. vii. 1.} {32 _Harvard College Papers_, 2d ser. vii. 10.}