the serene loveliness of the sky and calm water, on
which the mountains with their peaks of snow were distinctly reflected,
even to the diminutive waterfall, and the whole solemn, yet sweet
character of the scenery, pressed upon me with an indefinite feeling of
delight and awe; and, sometimes yielding to the eternal aspirations and
impulsive passions of the soul, my heart heaved with gratitude, that I
had opportunity, health, and youth to see and feel with ardour the
infinity of God's good creation; and, then, I would relapse into the
humility of man's condition, the recollection of his trivial existence;
and the combination of excessive beauty filled my mind with sadness.

Arming ourselves with two guns and a rifle, we scoured the Fiord for
many miles round. No sooner did we fire at one seal that rose on the
gig's bow, than another would poke his rat-like head above the water, at
the stern, and a third and fourth on either beam. The report of our guns
was incessant; and the multitudes of crows, wild geese, ducks, eagles,
and gulls that croaked, and screamed, and whirled about above our heads,
to hear the echoes rattling among their silent fastnesses, were
incalculable.

Our seal-hunts, however, were most entertaining, and the excitement
relaxed not for an instant. The seal dives as soon as it is fired at, or
alarmed; but cannot remain for a prolonged period under water, nature
making it compulsory that the animal should ascend to the surface for
respiration. Having selected a particular seal, that appeared nearly as
large as a sheep, we were determined, by dint of perseverance, to hunt
it down. We divided our force in such a manner, that, rise where the
animal would, one of us must immediately see it; for R---- took the
starboard side of the gig, P---- went to port, and I stood at the stern,
while the two sailors, one being a crack shot, kept watch a-head. None
of us spoke; for the seal is as quick of hearing as of sight, and timid
to a proverb; but it was arranged, that, whoever saw it first was to
fire. We kept the boat broadside on, that is to say, her bow and stern
faced either shore, and her two sides swept, up and down, the entire
length of the Fiord. Regardless of myriads of gulls that flew close
round our heads, screaming angrily, we abated not in attention to the
water; and watched with straining eyes for the score of bubbles that
usually precede the rising of a seal; and the water being brilliant and
smooth