Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/192

158 northwards and the sun set a little before 9  On the 24th I remained on deck till 10-30  and there was light enough for one to read a book at that hour.

The next morning, 25th, we found ourselves in the quiet harbour of Allesund, a pretty little port on the western coast of Norway. We did not stop there long, and as soon as we came out to the open sea, we felt the cold north wind blowing full on us. The wind had sprung up on the previous day and had made the sea somewhat rough, but it was much worse this morning. The sky was cloudy and the tops of the Norwegian mountains were shrouded with mist. The thermometer in the saloon stood at 58°, but it was much colder on the deck where the strong wind blowing from the Arctic seas feathered the ocean and made it uncomfortably cold. The steamer pitched and rolled a good deal, until we got behind some islands and in still water. Nearly the whole of the west coast of Norway is thus protected by innumerable rocky islands, and the water between the line of islands on one side and the main land on the other, is pretty smooth, and navigation comparatively pleasant. The rocks on both sides are quite bleak and barren, very unlike the wooded mountains in the interior, and in sheltered spots.

We reached Christiansund at about 1 The town is a quaint and picturesque place along both sides of a creek, and the houses, as in most Norwegian towns, are all of timber and look very clean and picturesque. The