On The Arrival Of The Boats At Rostoe, Quirini Was Quartered With The
Principal Person Of The Island:
This man's son led him to his father's
dwelling, as his debility was so great he was unable to walk without
assistance.
The mistress of the house and her maid came forwards to meet
him, when he would have fallen at her feet; but she would not permit him,
and immediately got him a bason of milk from the house, to comfort him and
restore his strength. During three months and a half that Quirini dwelt in
this house, he experienced the greatest friendship and humanity from the
owners; while in return he endeavoured by complaisance to acquire the good
will of his kind hosts, and to requite their benevolence. The other
partners of his misfortunes were distributed among the other houses of the
place, and were all taken good care of.
The rocky isle of Rost, or Rostoe, lies 70 Italian miles to the westwards
of the southern promontory of Norway, which in their language they call the
worlds backside, and is three miles in circumference[2]. This rocky isle
was inhabited at this time by 120 souls, of whom 72 received the holy
communion on Easter-day like good catholics. They get their livelihood and
maintain their families entirely by fishing, as no corn of any kind grows
in this very remote part of the world. From the 20th of November to the
20th of February, the nights were twenty-one hours long; and on the
contrary, from the 20th of May to the 20th of August the sun is either
always seen, or at least the light which proceeds from it. Thus during
June, July and August, they may be said to have one continued day of three
months; while in the opposite months of winter they have one almost
continued night. During the whole year they catch an incredible quantity of
fish; which, however, are almost solely of two kinds. One of these they
catch in prodigious quantities in the great bays, which they call
stockfish[3]. The other, called Halibut, is a kind of flat fish of an
astonishing size, for one of them was found to weigh near two hundred
pounds. The stockfish are dried without being salted, in the sun and air;
and, as they have little fat or moisture, they grow as dry as wood. When
they are to be prepared for eating, they arc beaten very hard with the back
part of a hatchet, by which they are divided into filaments like nerves;
after which they are boiled, and dressed with butter and spices to give
them a relish. The people of this country carry on a considerable trade
with these dried stockfish into Germany. The halibuts, are cut into pieces
on account of their great size, and are then salted; in which state they
are very good eating. With these two kinds of fish the people of Rostoe
load every year a ship of about 50 tons burthen, which they send to Bergen,
a place in Norway, about a thousand miles from their island; and from
whence a great number of ships of 300 or 330 tons burthen, carry all the
produce of the fisheries of different parts of Norway into Germany,
England, Scotland, and Prussia, where they are exchanged against the
produce of these countries, particularly for every necessary article of
food, drink and clothing, as their own country is so extremely barren and
unfruitful, that they cannot raise these things for themselves.
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