The Water Is So Hemmed In Here
That It Scarcely Attains The Breadth Of A Stream; But It Soon Widens
Again, And Increases In Beauty And Variety With Every Yard.
We
seemed to ride on a beautiful lake; for the islands lie so close to
the mountains in the background, that they look like a continent,
and the bays they form like the mouths of rivers.
The next moment
the scene changes to a succession of lakes, one coming close on the
other; and when the ship appears to be hemmed in, a new opening is
suddenly presented to the eye behind another island. The islands
themselves are of a most varied character: some only consist of
bare rocks, with now and then a pine; some are richly covered with
fields and groves; and the shore presents so many fine scenes, that
one hardly knows where to look in order not to miss any of the
beauties of the scenery. Here are high mountains overgrown from the
bottom to the summit with dark pine-groves; there again lovely
hills, with verdant meadows, fertile fields, pretty farmsteads and
yards; and on another side the mountains separate and form a
beautiful perspective of precipices and valleys. Sometimes I could
follow the bend of a bay till it mingled with the distant clouds; at
others we passed the most beautiful valleys, dotted with little
villages and towns. I cannot describe the beauties of the scenery
in adequate terms: my words are too weak, and my knowledge too
insignificant; and I can only give an idea of my emotions, but not
describe them.
Near Walloe the country grows less beautiful; the mountains decrease
into hills, and the water is not studded with islands. The little
town itself is almost concealed behind the hills. A remarkable
feature is the long row of wooden huts and houses adjoining, which
all belong to a salt-work established there.
We entered one of the many little arms of the sea to reach the town
of Moss. Its situation is beautiful, being built amphi-theatrically
on a hillock which leans against a high mountain. A fine building
on the sea-shore, whose portico rests upon pillars, is used for a
bathing institution.
A dock-yard, in which men-of-war are built at the expense of the
state, is situated near the town of Horten, which is also
picturesquely placed. There does not seem to be much work doing
here, for I only saw one ship lying at anchor, and none on the
stocks. About eight leagues beyond Horten a mountain rises in the
middle of the sea, and divides it into two streams, uniting again
beyond it, and forming a pretty view.
We did not see Christiania till we were only ten leagues from it.
The town, the suburbs, the fortress, the newly-erected royal palace,
the freemasons' lodge, &c., lie in a semicircle round the port, and
are bounded by fields, meadows, woods, and hills, forming a
delightful coup-d'oeil.
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