516 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



rises in the back ground in beau- 

 tiful perspective above the bright 

 and clear Fiord, and the prospect 

 is closed by mountains covered 

 with snow, which rise above the 

 water wholly in the distance. No- 

 thing can be conceived more at- 

 tractive. We should scarcely cre- 

 dit a drawing, however faithfully 

 it might represent nature ; but no 

 drawing could convey the perpe- 

 tual fluctuations of light on the 

 works and towers of the island, 

 and the deep ground which dis- 

 appears in the blue setherial moun- 

 tains, the tops of which are illu- 

 mined by snow. 



On proceeding down the Mun- 

 kegade, we perceive a large, sim- 

 ple, and beautiful stone ediflce, 

 which was erected a few years 

 ago : the flrst and only building of 

 the kind in the northern part of 

 Norway- This house is occupied 

 by the Drontheim society of sci- 

 ences, and the high school. The 

 school-rooms are below : the so- 

 ciety occupies the first story, and 

 the teachers of the school live in 

 the second story. The society is 

 an institution well adapted for the 

 extending and advancing of sci- 

 ence in these northern latitudes ; 

 for they have ample means at com- 

 mand, and amidst all the rubbish 

 heaped up in these rooms, there 

 are, at the same time, good mate- 

 rials for excellent collections. It 

 possesses the libraries of two fa- 

 mous historians, the Rector Dass, 

 and the learned Schionning, both 

 of them of considerable extent, and 

 a great number of manuscripts for 

 the most part connnected with the 

 topography of the country. A very 

 vain collector of curiosities, coun- 

 sellor (Justizrath ) HammerinHade- 

 land; who died about six years 



ago, bequeathed all his collections 

 to this institution, with a very con- 

 siderable sum of money, which 

 might be very usefully applied, 

 were there not an oppressive and 

 almost impracticable stipulation 

 tacked to the testament, that this 

 money should, in the first place, be 

 applied to the printing of all the 

 manuscripts of the deceased. That 

 the manuscripts of such a man as 

 Hammer should remain unpublish- 

 ed, is a circumstance which the 

 world has certainly no great cause 

 to regret. 



It is consolatory to observe, that 

 all these means are in existence, 

 and cannot easily perish, and that 

 they only require the presence of 

 an active mind to watch over. the 

 institution, and enrich the country 

 and community at large with the 

 scientific advantages which may be 

 drawn from it. But every thing 

 vital in the society, as at present 

 constituted, is limited to a few 

 sparks which are hardly visible 

 through the gloom ; and it bears 

 scarcely any resemblance now to 

 what it was in the times when its 

 founder, bishop Gunnerus, Suhm, 

 and Schionning, gave it so high a 

 celebrity, and when its writings 

 might contest the palm of supe- 

 riority with those of the most 

 distinguished societies of Europe. 

 The demon of popular utility has 

 extended its workings to them, as 

 well as many other institutions, 

 and, as has always been, and ever 

 will be the case, completely de- 

 stroyed every beneficial result. New- 

 statutes have, it is true, been 

 lately enacted ; but these only in- 

 crease the dreariness of the pros- 

 pect. Writings and instruction 

 cannot soon be expected; and the 

 hope that the union of the sciences 



