52 



and in the evening of that day we set sail for Drontheim, but the wind 

 being light, it was midnight before we were abreast of the Noss Head, 

 our point of departure. In the forenoon of the 11th, we attempted 

 to dredge about 40 miles N.E. of the Noss Head, and obtained bottom 

 in 80 fathoms, but the wind was too strong to admit of our working 

 with effect in such deep water. During the afternoon and through the 

 night, the wind was very fresh from S.W., with dull weather, affording 

 no opj^ortunity for an observation. On the moruing of the l'2th, it was 

 so thick that we could see but a very short distance, and at 9 a.m., 

 when, by our reckoning, we should have been 40 miles from the coast 

 of Norway, we suddenly got sight of two small islands or rocks, right 

 ahead, very near, and presently, the atmosphere becoming a little 

 clearer, we discerned what appeared to be a high mountainous 

 promontory looming over them through the mist. We shaped our 

 course N.E. by compass, endeavouring to follow the line of coast, along 

 which we sailed very rapidly, the wind continually increasing and the 

 sea running high. Our situation possessed a certain grandeur, but 

 was by no means free from anxiety, as we got sight in rapid 

 succession of lofty headlands and islands and rocks. A boat was 

 reported ahead, but it proved to be a small I'ock, and immediately after- 

 wards we discovered breakers upon our weather bow, proving that we 

 were nearer the coast than was consistent with safety ; we accordingly 

 stood off the land for some miles and then hove to, to reef sails and 

 secure our boats upon deck. While thus engaged, one of the Norwe- 

 gian vessels, called yachts, which trade along the coast bringing fish 

 from the North and frequently returning in ballast, came in sight, 

 standing to the N.E., and we determined to follow in her track. The 

 weather cleared sufficiently to admit a view of the high mountain coast, 

 in part covered with snow, while the opening of a fiord occasionally 

 admitted to the eye a glimpse of more distant mountains clothed 

 entirely in white. On the morning of the 13th, having laid-to a great part 

 of the previous night for fear of running too far to the northward, we 

 stood in for tlie land. The weather now nearly calm and clear, though 

 showery, afforded a magnificent view of the great mountain banier or 

 rampart, of which the northern portion of the Norwegian territory 

 mainly consists, presenting a singular contrast of black and white, the 

 snow with which the mountains were perhaps half covered, not being 

 confined to the upper regions, but distributed in large patches down to 

 the sea margin. We made an attempt to dredge, but obtained 

 no bottom at 170 fathoms. Soon after noon, being still far 

 from the mainland, though at no great distance fi'om a group of rocks, 

 we were boarded by a pilot, who had come out a distance of some 10 



