But I did not like to see a number of saw-mills crowded
together close to the cataracts; they destroyed the harmony of the
prospect.
The sight of a bridge erected across a deep valley, at a little
distance, inspired very dissimilar sensations. It was most
ingeniously supported by mast-like trunks, just stripped of their
branches; and logs, placed one across the other, produced an
appearance equally light and firm, seeming almost to be built in the
air when we were below it, the height taking from the magnitude of
the supporting trees give them a slender graceful look.
There are two noble estates in this neighbourhood, the proprietors
of which seem to have caught more than their portion of the
enterprising spirit that is gone abroad. Many agricultural
experiments have been made, and the country appears better enclosed
and cultivated, yet the cottages had not the comfortable aspect of
those I had observed near Moss and to the westward. Man is always
debased by servitude of any description, and here the peasantry are
not entirely free. Adieu!
I almost forgot to tell you that I did not leave Norway without
making some inquiries after the monsters said to have been seen in
the northern sea; but though I conversed with several captains, I
could not meet with one who had ever heard any traditional
description of them, much less had any ocular demonstration of their
existence.
