The awful sublimity of the coast fills the imagination with ideas of desolation and horror; the rocks dreadfully shattered by the impetuous billows of the great Northern Ocean, which here rolls it's vast watery mountains on the craggy shores, dashing and foaming over the sheers and desolate rocky islands, until it meets a proud defiance from the majestic frowning bulwarks of granite which form the barrier of the country.

The sheers are stupendous natural columns of stone, which by thousands en compass the coast; and though varying in their extent, form and distance, all per pendicularly rise through water from one to three hundred fathoms deep. Of these in numerous instances the summits are only marked by the spray dashing over their heads, or occasionally in the hollow of an immense wave, presenting a black and shapeless mass to the affrighted view. It has been calculated that there are near a million of these gigantic shapes around the coast.

This View was taken at sea about a mile from the shore.

The North Sea, which follows the coasts of Norway for three hundred leagues, by many narrow channels forms a multitude of larger and smaller islands, sorae of them being from three to six or nine leagues in length, and not destitute of vegeta tion ; but most of them are so small that they are inhabited only by some fisher men and pilots, who keep a few heads of cattle, which they send out for pasture to other the nearest little islands, rocks and sheers. By such a rocky rampart, which possibly may consist of myriads of those stone columns, founded in the bottom of the sea, the capitals whereof scarce rise higher than some fathoms above the waves, almost the whole western coast of Norway is defended; from whence arise many and various advantages. Among these the first is, security against any naval force of an enemy, whose ships, without the aid of a pilot from the country itself, would not dare to venture within the sheers : or, even, were they to succeed thus far, they would then be in danger from the least storm, which hereabouts gives no warning; insomuch, that in an instant, unless they have the good fortune of securing themselves in a safe harbour, they may be dashed to pieces in the creeks, which are all inclosed with steep enormous rocks.