(54 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



discovered, although it is constantly in operation, 

 and on an immense scale. 



31 st. Frederick read to us, this evening, some 

 of De Capell Brooke's travels ; and I ran away 

 with the book afterwards, to copy for you this 

 account of the cataract of Trallhatta, in Norway, 

 which must be a singular scene. 



" The whole water of the Gotha tumbles with 

 fearful roarings down the rocky declivities, and 

 in its descent forms four principal falls, the per- 

 pendicular height of which, taken together, is 

 110 feet. Yet the navigation is not obstructed ; 

 for locks with sluices, like those on navigable ca- 

 nals, have been cut in the solid rock, with incre- 

 dible pains and labour ; through them, vessels 

 can be lowered to the level of the river below the 

 falls, preserving their course with ease ; and af- 

 fording a strong instance of the power and in- 

 genuity of man." 



In conversing about Norway, my uncle said, 

 he thought the ingenuity displayed by the Nor- 

 wegian peasantry was surprising. Living re- 

 mote from towns, and scattered among their 

 mountains, they become independent of assist- 

 ance. The same man is frequently his own 

 tailor, shoemaker, and carpenter, and sometimes 

 even his own clock and watch maker. Most of 

 them are very expert at carving, and the beautiful 

 whiteness of their fir wood furnishes them with 



