A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark and Sweden

Front matter

— . A YACHT VOYAGE TO NORWAY, DENMARK, AND SWEDEN. BY W. A. ROSS, ESQ. Ver erat: errabam : Zephyrus conspexit; abibam ; Insequitur : fugio Ovid. Fast., Lib. v IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1848. LONDON PRINTED DY T. R HARRISON, ST. martin's T.ANK. To AN AMIABLE AND A GENEROUS FRIEND, ROBERT, LORD RODNEY, I DEDICATE THESE VOLUMES, IN TOKEN OF ADMIRATION, GRATITUDE, AND AFFECTION. A YACHT VOYAGE TO NORWAY, SWEDEN, & DENMARK.

Chapter I. Departure From Greenwich The History Of The Iris Yacht Sheerness

HARWICH — ■ UNDER WEIGH — THE NORTH SEA SAIL IN SIGHT — THE MAIL OVERBOARD — SPEAKING THE NORWEGIAN. I believe the old Italian proverb says, that every man, before he dies, should do three things: "Get a son, build a house, and write a book." Now, whether or not I am desi rous, by beginning at the end, to end at the beginning of this quaint axiom, I leave the reader to conjecture. My book may afford VOL. I. B amusement to him who will smile when I am glad, and sympathize with the impressions I have caught in other moods of mind ; but I have little affinity of feeling, and less companionship with him who expects to see pictures of life coloured differently from those I have beheld. At three o'clock on the boisterous afternoon of the 1st of May, 1847, I left Greenwich with my friend Lord R , in his yacht, to cruise round the coasts of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; and, although the period of the year at which I quitted London was the one I most desired to remain in it, and join, as far as I was able, in the pomps and gaieties of Old Babylon, I did not hke to miss this opportunity, offered under such favourable circumstances, of seeing countries so rarely visited by Englishmen, more particularly as the invitation had been pressed upon me so unaffectedly and kindly, that I could not, with any reason, decline it.

Dropping down with the tide, we arrived the same evening alongside the guardship at Sheerness ; and, being desirous of making ourselves snug, and of landing two unfortunate friends whom we had originally promised to send ashore at Gravesend, we made fast to a Government buoy, and remained in smooth water till the following morning. The " Iris" cutter belongs to the R. Y. S., and is the sister-vessel of the " Corsair." She was built by Ratsey for the late Mr. Fleming, with whom she was a great favourite, and for whom she won many valuable prizes. From Eng land to the Mediterranean, she safely bore her first master many times ; but with flowing can vass and with rapid keel at last enticed him once too often from his native shore ; for, during a cruise in the Mediterranean, after many months of pain, he died while gazing on her.

Passing through several hands, serving all equally weU in gale or calm, she came at last into the possession of Lord R , who B has travelled farther, and made more extra ordinary voyages in her than any member of the Squadron; and in spite of all improve ments adopted of late years in yacht-building, there are but few, if any, vessels of seventy five tons, that can surpass her in speed and symmetrical beauty, or in the buoyant ease with which she has encountered the fiercest storms. Her crew consisted of seven or eight regular seamen, a sailing-master, mate, cook, steward, and a boy to assist him. A fine Newfound land dog, caded " Sailor," and a drod little ringtail monkey, called " Jacko," also joined in the mess for'ard. Lord R , with Captain P and myself, made up the entire com plement.

On Sunday morning, the 2nd, at eleven, as the church bells of Sheerness were chiming a merry peal, we commenced preparations for our departure, by sending our two friends off in the jolly-boat, in which they must have got pretty wet ; for a sea was running sufficiently high to cause them some little discomfort. After a gloomy day's work, we reached Har wich, and at nine in the evening rested again in five fathoms water. We rose betimes the following day, and strolled about the town in search of stores. We collected on board every kind of preserved meat and vegetable one could think of; and every kind of wine, from champagne down to cherry cordial, the taste of man could relish. We had milk, too, in pots, and mint for our peasoup; lard in bladders, and butter, both fresh and salt, in jars; flour, and suet, which we kept buried in the flour; a hundred stalks of horseradish for roast beef; and raisins, citron, and currants, for plum-pudding.

We had rifles and guns to shoot bears and wolves; and large rods, large as small maypoles, to catch salmon, and small rods to secure the bait. We had fishing-tackle which, when unwound, went all the way into the after cabin, and then back again ten times round the main cabin. We had water-proof boots, reaching up to the hips, for wading the rivers; and India rubber pilot-jackets for keeping the chest and back secure from the spray of foss, or wave. Indeed, we had all that the heart of man could wish, and aU that his judgment could devise. I contrived, before the day had passed, to become very sick of Harwich and myself ; for of all dull holes in this kingdom of England, does not this one claim the superlative degree? Tuesday, the 4th, still found me on the same spot, gazing on the two light houses ; and, to enhance my gaiety, R and P went to Ipswich to see a schooner yacht, being budt for an old friend of R and at that moment on the stocks.

They returned laden with turnips, carrots, radishes, and cabbages. The luckless schooner was rated in great style — berths too numerous, and cabin not lofty enough. A fiddle also was bought to-day for Jerome, a sailor, who though self-taught, had some idea of music, and afterwards, wiled away, in Norway, and on the ocean, during the calm evenings, many a weary hour, by playing to us some of Old England's most plaintive airs. The following day came and went in the same monotonous fashion as its predecessor, since I find its events recorded thus : — " Fine day — nothing new. Went ashore. Bought fish, mutton, and beef. Eat ad the fish, and some of the beef. Wind E.S.E." Thursday dawned beautifully calm, and not a cloud was visible between earth and the blue Heaven. As I paced up and down the deck, yet damp with dew, I thought the serenity of the morning emblematic of our future wanderings — and was I wrong?

As the sun gained altitude and power, the water became rippled with a light air, and nine o'clock found us fairly under weigh. There was not a heavy heart on board ; even Jacko chirupped, and, swinging by his tail from the bowsprit shroud, revelled in the warm sunshine. Being desirous of showing the exuberance of our spirits, R , who had observed an old dame and her maid plying in a wherry round the cutter — probably to take a nearer view of our beautiful craft and her adventurous crew, or, perhaps to breathe the morning air, I know not which — ordered the two quarter swivels to be loaded, and watching his opportunity, when the cautious wherry came rather near, fired both of them right over the old lady's black bonnet, and sent the wad fizzing and smoking into the servant-girl's lap. I need not describe the alarm of the old woman, nor the shriek of the young one; but the grin of the well seasoned tar who rowed, coupled with his efforts to keep the fair freight quiet where he had stowed it, were worth our whole cargo.

We shipped from this port a man named King, who was to act as interpreter. He had been in Norway, and was well acquainted with the people and language, having been for many previous years of his life employed in the lobster fisheries. He proved a most willing, houest, good-tempered servant, and a most usefid linguist. The wind being light, the Iris found it tough work in stemming the strong tide which sets into Harwich; but we contrived at half past eleven to pass Orfordness Light. At six, the breeze having eastern'd a little, and increased till it became what sailors term " pleasant," we lost sight of Lowestoff; and lastly, being this day's work, as well as for the information of all nautical men, we sounded at half-past seven on Smith's Knoll, in seven fathoms. Friday morniug, the 7th, dawned upon our glorious craft dashing through the water in great style, with a moderate breeze from S. to S.S.E. As I cast my eye round the horizon, and descried no land, thoughts of old days crowded to my recollection, when I left home for the first time, and England for the West Indies.

How all the high hopes of youth had vanished; and how unaltered my condition now from what it was then! Had an angel come down from Heaven and told me, twelve years ago, when I, a boy, stood on the hencoop of a West Indiaman, gazing at the Lizard, that I should be the same creature in feeling and condition, I should have ques tioned the prophecy. But the wind is fair, and this is no time for sorrowful thoughts. " Hard-up the helm ! Dick," said D " Ay, ay, sir." "Steady!— So." " Steady, sir." "Some man there, heave the lead!" and down it went, rushing, in five-and-twenty fathoms on the Silver Pits. At nine, the ves sel was hove to, and we tried our lines for fish, but did not succeed. We fided on her again, and stood away, as before, to the N.E. At two o'clock, while we were trying our lines for the second time, I felt, suddenly, squeamish; and, in spite of the splendid weather and pure air, wished myself most heartily in the middle of Bond-street, or any, the most ignoble alley in the neighbourhood of Leicester-square.

I closed my eyes and fancied myself seated on a bench in the Green Park, watching the sheep browsing round me, and listening to the rumbling of carriages as they passed along Piccadilly. I opened my eyes; the vision fades, and, lo! " Nil nisi pontus et aer. However, I plucked up courage, and remained on deck until half-past six, when the gaff topsail was unbent and the topmast struck; D , the sailing-master, anticipating no good from the calm, and the dense fog, which had succeeded a fine wind and cheerful sunshine. Early in the morning, about four o'clock, I was awakened by a good deal of laughing and shuffling of feet on deck, and by an occasional thump, as if a cargo of pumpkins was being taken on board. I leaped out of my berth, and, putting my head above the companion, saw all the men who composed the watch hard at work with their fishing-lines, and the main-deck covered with several large codfish.

Witnessing the pugnacity of one or two fish when they were hauled out of the water, I turned in again : for it was no easy matter to stand, the swed increasing as we got more on the Dogger Bank. While we were at breakfast, eating cods' sound and talking of smoked salmon, the sad ing-m aster came below and told us a small vessel was in sight, and, by running down to her, we might speak her and send letters home by her. Of course, all the married men com menced scratching in great style both paper and their pates, and in a shorter time than coidd be imagined, made up a smaU mail. The more strenuously, however, we endeavoured to approach the vessel, the more she bore away; and, being a long way to the eastward of us, and going before the wind with her square-sail set, it was doubtful whether we should fetch her.

At last, we fancied she mistook us for pirates; for, 1 must confess, we looked suspicious ; and the squadron ensign flying at the peak made our cutter appear more warlike and determined than she really was. By eleven, notwithstanding our friend's manœuvring, we were pretty close to her, and, lowering the dingy as quickly as possible, two men were ordered to pull to the strange smack, and, ascertaining her destination, to dehver the letters. This last action on our part took the poor craft by surprise; for it was curious to observe the pertinacity with which this little vessel avoided our boat, although we used every stratagem devised by seafaring men to allay the consternation of the wreak: such as the waving of our caps, the hoisting of pacific signals, the lowering of our gaff-topsail, &c, &c. ; nor could she be persuaded of our amicable intentions before poor King had shouted, at the top of his lungs, that we were Englishmen in search of plea sure, and destined for no marauding purpose.

She turned out to be, what our glasses had anticipated at day-light, a Norwegian, laden with dried fish, and bound to the coast of HoUand; and, therefore, our letters were brought back. Scarcely had the incident I have just mentioned come to a conclusion, than another sail, just emerging from the horizon, was discovered on our weather bow. We rubbed our hands, plucked our caps over the forehead, and walked up and down the deck more briskly than ever; for there is no man who has not been to sea can imagine the feelings of sailors when, far from land, a sail is seen. Every minute now brought us closer, and at two p.m. we had come within hail. There was little wind, but a nasty short sea was running ; and it was comical in the extreme to observe each man endeavouring to steady himself, and place his hands to his mouth for the purpose of hailing, when a sudden swell would send him roUing over Sailor's hutch, or seat him gently on the skylight behind.

After a little trouble, the speaking-trumpet was found and brought on deck, and by its assistance a com munication was opened with the vessel. She was a large Norwegian bark from Christian sand, and bound to London. To our request that they would take charge of some letters, the captain, leaning over the weather-quarter, assented in a loud Norwegian dialect. The question which now arose was, how were we to get the said letters on board; but necessity, being here estabhshed as the mother of inven tion, gave a prompt answer. P , holding the letters in his hand, desired that a potato might be brought. The largest from the store was presented. It was then lashed with a piece of twine to the letters, now transposed into a tidy brown-paper parcel, which P , balancing in the palm of his left hand, suggested was not of sufficient weight to reach the ship.

We were not long at a loss, for the cook appeared, grim and smding, with a tolerable-sized coal ex posed to view and approbation, between his thumb and fore-finger. Side by side, like a fair-haired youth with his swarthy bride, the coal and potato were placed ; and P , poising for the second time the precious parcel, rolled up his shirt-sleeve, and, throwing himself weU back, hurled, with all the elegance of a Parthian, coal, potato, and parcel toward the Norwegian captain's head. But, horror ! the potato and coal combined proved rather too heavy, and, retaining their impetus longer than intended, carried the luckless brown-paper bundle over the lee-side and into the North Sea. The ship immediately backed her main-yard, and, lowering one of her stern boats, sent her off in search of the unhappy letters ; but having rowed about for some time without catching a glimpse of coal, paper, or potato, the search was abandoned, and the boat came alongside of us.

After delivering another packet of brown paper, and presenting each man (there were four) with a bottle of brandy, we parted company with mutual good wishes conveyed through our interpreter, King, not omitting sundry wed-meaning gesticulations telegraphed between the fat Norwegian captain on the weather quarter and ourselves. This was the first specimen we had met with of northern kindness; and, although we had heard a great deal of their unaffected goodness of heart, this act of civility made no slight impression upon us. At four o'clock, while our Norwegian bark was just hull down, the galf-topsail was taken in, a strong S.E. wind with rain having arisen. The wind stiU increasing, at seven the first reef in the mainsail was also taken in, jibs shifted, and the bowsprit reefed. During the rest of the evening I was a martyr to all the miseries of sea-sickness, and, stretched at fuU length on the cabin sofa, I closed my eyes, and, allowing my thoughts to wander where they would, hoped to cheat my self out of my present discomfort ; but nausea, like no other iU to which we are subservient, is not to be pacified, and I lay the whole night sensible of the keenest pain. vol. i. c

Chapter II. Foggy Weather First View Of Norway Christiansand Fiord Arrival At

CHRISTIANSAND DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN THE TOPTDAL RIVER EXCURSION INLAND THE ENTHUSIASTIC ANGLER RUSTIC LODGINGS HUNTING THE BEAR — THE TRAP THE DEATH — NORWEGIAN LIBERALITY. Sunday, the 9th, dawned on us, tossed about on a troubled sea indeed ; for a strong wind was blowing from E.S.E. However, at eight o'clock, just before breakfast, we sounded in thirty-five fathoms. We had scarcely con cluded this cautious operation before the wind began to lud; and after conjecturing, both from our calculations and soundings, that land was not far away, we were confirmed in this opinion by a thick fog rising above the hori son on our lee beam. We went to dinner in great glee, and, in spite of the hazy atmo sphere which now surrounded us, compensation was felt and accepted by us at the hour of six, when a perfect calm prevailed ; and our pea soup and curry were threatened, for the first time this week, to be demohshed in that gen tlemanly and collected mode which the usages of society had rendered familiar to our observation in England.

At eleven o'clock at night the haziness cleared away, and in about half an hour after wards a light was seen. It was imagined to be the light at the mouth of the Christiansand Fiord, the name of which, amidst the bustle and joyousness of the moment, I could but indistinctly learn, and cannot now remember. As midnight approached, our old friend the fog gathered density, and effectuaUy deprived us of the slightest glimpse of the light; and we retired to rest iU at ease, plunged into the vale of anxiety in the same ratio as we had been exalted on the peaks of expectation and joy. Sunday at sea retains aU the monotony of the shore ; for the waves seem to show deference to the day, and move their crests with more solemnity and order; whde the sadors gather round the vessel's bows, and, in a group, listen with wrapt attention to the sublime and poetic sentences of prophetic Isaiah. c I cannot, in all my wanderings at sea, call to mind a tempestuous Sabbath, nor the sailors who would profane it.

Mark them! How solemnly the shadow of thought hangs over their countenances; and how, with cheek cradled on the hand, with pipes unsmoked in their mouths, leaning over the bulwarks, their eyes intently riveted on the clear distant horizon, as, carried away by the inspiration and fervour of the great prophet, a messmate, who reads with energy of gesture, ever and anon raises his voice, which, by its tremulous intonation, tells the deep feeling of his heart, and the quickness with which its pulse vibrates in answer to the burning words he utters aloud ! Monday, the 1 Oth, the most lovely of May mornings, fanned by the softest of south winds. Land in ad its grandeur of mountain and of cloud lay before me, the towering peaks of the mountains, capped with everlasting snow, and piercing an atmosphere of the intensest blue.

I sat down on the after-lockers, and looked with swelling heart on the sublime scene. As far as the eye could reach inland, mountain over mountain, extending round half the horizon, the land of old Norway, I had read of in my earliest years, expanded itself. On my left hand the Naze hung, frowning, over the Northern Ocean. How memory, in a moment, rushed back to the quaint schoolroom at Ditton, and its stdl quainter little book cases huddled up in one corner, where and whence I first began to pronounce and find the "Lindsnes!" Just at this instant, poor old " Sailor," who had been poking his nose over the vessel's side, and snuffing and whining, rushed up to me, and, placing his head in my lap, turned his eyes towards my face, and looked as much as to say, " Are we not near our journey's end ; and don't I smed the land?"

Little Jacko, too, came out of his crib, and chirped, and chattered, and scratched himself, and roUed about on the deck in the sunniest corners; and then, all of a sudden, up he would jump, and, seizing hold of "Sailor's" tail, puU it as if he was hauling taut the weather runner. How everything was replete with Use; and how happiness, without the heart's reservation, was written on every face! I cannot conceive any thing more exhdarating than a beautiful morn ing at sea, and land in sight; I could have passed the remaining portion of my Use with out a pang of sorrow, or a gush of joy, but with equanimity, on this dark blue wave, sur passed only in its dark dye and eternity by the dome on which it looked. When I returned upon deck after breakfast, the first object that attracted my attention was the helmsman.

He smded as soon as his eye met mine, and raised, in recognition, his Spanish-looking hat. He was a stout, tall, fair-complexioned man, with a mdd expression of countenance, blue eyes, a long, straight pointed nose, high cheekbones, and light flaxen hair flowing down almost to his shoulders. He made some observation to me in a dialect which sounded as being a mixture of German, Celtic, and English ; but the sense of it was incomprehensible. " Norway ?" I said in reply, pointing to the land now not three mdes from us. "Ja, ja," he answered; and, turning to King, our interpreter, begged, in the Nor wegian language, that some of the sads might be trimmed. I need not say he was the pilot who had come on board to take us up to Christiansand. His dress differed not from the ordinary costume of our own pilots; but I could not help gazing on him with a feehng of mystery and interest which cannot easdy be described.

His whole appearance bore a close resem blance to aU I had read and seen in pictures of the Esquimaux; and now I have formed their acquaintance personady, I feel assured that the Norwegians are a branch of that family. The scenery, the nearer we approached the shore, heightened in grandeur. Though we were now not a mile from the most bold and formidable rocks, no harbour or creek of any kind could be seen where we might find shelter; yet our northern guide continued to point out with his finger and explain as well as he could in his strange but harmonious idiom, the mouth of the Fiord, up which we were to proceed to Christiansand. The rocks along this coast of Norway are terrific, the sea breaking and rushing upon them with tremendous noise and fury. Nor do the waves ever rest peaceably here: for the tides of the North Sea and of the Cat tegat both meet together at this point of the " Sleeve," and cause a fearful sweU, which, when aided at times by the wind, rises to such a great height that vessels are obhged to run for protection into some of the smaUer fiords abounding in this quarter.

It was now mid-day, and the sun shone with more heat than I had felt in the tropics. Indeed, everything around us reminded one so vividly of a tropical climate, that it required some resolution to keep imagination in sub serviency. The thermometer was at 80 on deck; and our good-tempered pilot told us it was " manga varm" in August. At one o'clock, the gallant Iris might be seen gliding along, with her accustomed speed and elegance, in smooth water, up the Chris tiansand Fiord. As we sailed along we would now and then catch a glimpse of large and smaU vessels in all directions, in sud sail, wending their way through the tributary fiords to some town in the interior. On each side of us rose from the surface of the water, perpendicularly into the clear sky, mountains of sohd stone, covered to their very summits with no other vegetation than the fir, which springs out of the crevices of the rocks.

We pursued our course for many miles amidst the grandest scenery, changing like a panorama, at every point of land round which the vessel wound, and amidst the most profound silence, which is a peculiarity of these fiords. Ever and anon the guUs, in flocks of thousands, would soar into the air, only the flapping of their wings echoing through these sdent mountains. At three o'clock, as we saded round an enormous rock about a mde high, with not a tree or shrub of any sort on its surface, the town of Christiansand burst upon the view. We had no sooner anchored, and the sads were not yet furled, when Captain P , who was an inveterate sportsman, went ashore to gather what inteUigence he could about the salmon fishing, it being for that amusement Lord R had been induced to visit Norway. During the absence of P , R and I lay down on the deck, and feasted our eyes with the beautiful prospect around us.

The novelty of every object which met the view acted in broad contrast to England. The cutter was soon surrounded by boats without number, of the most primitive construction and fantastic form. One old man, wearing a bear's-skin cap and a black frock coat, rowed off to us in the family " pram," for the purpose of recommending his hotel to our notice, the cleanliness and comfort of which, he said, were unquestionable ; since, to test the verity of his assertions, he handed to us a piece of paper, not larger than the palm of my hand, contain ing the names of those persons who had lodged under his roof; and the Earl of Selkirk, Sir John Ross, Sir Hyde Parker, ancl one or two other eminent men stood in bold relief and large Norwegian type. This was the only deed approximating to British we had yet witnessed.

Christiansand is considered as a tolerably important town, and is about half the extent of Dover. The houses are aU painted a pure white colour, which has a fine effect when brought so immediately in contrast with the surrounding scenery. There being no ebb or flow of the sea in this part of the earth, no beach exists, and the houses are built* on piles close to the water's edge, ships of 500 or 600 tons being moored at the very doors of the warehouses. I could discover only one church within the precincts of Christiansand, and close to it a dancing academy ; for the Norwegians, though they are pious, are as partial to the recreation of a dance as any of our Gadic neighbours; and, during the long and dark days of winter, the merchants and other persons employed in business of any description, close their offices, and devote their time to sleighing and dancing.

The town is clean and romantically situated, being girt on the E. and the S. by the picturesque fiord, dotted with islands, which bears its name, and on the N. and W. by mountains rising one above the other until the eye loses them in the mist of distance. The sun had already sunk beyond the mountains, when P returned on board; and, near as the day seemed to its end, it was' determined to start for the Toptdal River, and proceed as far as Boom, a smad village about twelve miles from Christiansand, where a merchant of some note had granted us per mission to fish. Fishing-rods and fishing-books, and gaffs, and landing-nets, and everything piscatory, were pulled from their cupboards and packed up, that is to say, tied together in three distinct bundles by the mate; and the steward removed from the custody of the cook a large iron pot, which he filled with potatoes, as well as a smader copper pot for stewing, but which, for the present, received a mustard-pot, some salt in paper, some black pepper, three tea spoons, and a simdar number of knives and forks.

A good-sized game-basket, cocked hat in shape, was then, after a diligent search, found, brought forth, and replenished with biscuits (for we had not, and could not buy, any bread), three pots of preserved meats, three bottles of champagne, the same of claret, one bottle of brandy, one of Twining's chocolate tin cases fided with tea, both green and black, and a like, though larger, one concealed from the inquisitive gaze some white sugar. About six o'clock, these items were stowed at the bottom of the gig, under the immediate superintendence of the steward, and the men, with their oars raised aloft in the air, showed ad was prepared to convey us on our excursion. After taking leave of one or two Norwegian gentlemen who had come on board to welcome us, with their characteristic kindheartedness, to their country, and, with their usual un affected hospitality, to invite us to dine with them, we started.