farther off from Aberfoil than we had been when we set out in the
morning. What was to be done? We were far from any inn, exhausted
with fatigue, and exceedingly hungry. In'this perplexity we
went up to a shepherd, whom we saw at some distance, and inquired
o f him if there was any inn at hand. He told us there was none
nearer than 12 miles; but said at the same time, that if we went home
with him, he would give us breakfast. W e went accordingly, and he
set before us tea, bread, butter, and every thing requisite for an excellent
breakfast. When we had finished, we asked him what we had
to pay? Nothing at all, says he, my name is Charles Stuart; I am
always happy to confer a favour of that kind upon any person that
comes in my w a y ; and i f ever I take it in my head to visit Edinburgh,
I shall see you there, and you will have it in your power to return the
civility.— But I must put an end to this discussion, which is already
sufficiently long.
We left Karra about half-past seven in the morning. Our first stage
was to Forss. The country was beautiful, being covered with young
pines. The valleys were wider and better cultivated, and the river,
which occasionally came in sight, and sometimes was hid from our
view, had a striking effect. The rocks were lower, and hot so visible
at a distance, though they still continued of the same nature as those
about Gottenburg. At Forss we breakfasted, and then drove for
Trollhatte. It lies out of the common road, about two Swedish miles,
or 134- English miles. We went: nearly due west, through a flat muir,
and the road consisted.of a natural pavement of gneiss, quite flat and
sihooth. It was the most striking, example of flat rocky country I had
ever seen.
We reached Trollhatte about twelvh o’clock, ordered dinner, and
then went immediately to see the falls and the canal. Upon inquiry,
we found that the only guide was a German, who understood no language
but his own. This was a disappointment, as German was a
language in which we could not converse freely.
.The falls of Trollhatte constitute an object that must ever be viewed
with astonishment and delight. The river above the falls is nearly a
lr,;iP broad; but at Trollhatte it is confined by two low hills o f gneiss
into a very narrow channel, which is rendered still less by several
rocky islands scattered through it. The falls are four in number, and
occupy the space of two miles. The whole height from which the
water descends amounts, we were told, to loo feet. This, divided by
four, gives only 2 5 feet for the height of each fall. There is, therefore,
no visible fall as in some rivers, I mean no visible interval between the
river and the bottom in any place, as when water issues from a spout ;
all that we see is the water moving with prodigious rapidity, boiling
up in every place, and all covered over with foam. The vapour rises
visibly in the form o£ steam. The noise which this vast body of
water makes in falling at such a rate for the apaec o f two miles is prodigious,
and adds greatly to the grandeur of the scene. There is one
fall o f sixty feet, but only a small part o f the river goes that way. I
conceive it is one of the sluices cut by Pohlem, during the reign of
Charles XII.; though no person on the spot could give me any accurate
information on the subject.
An inland navigation, which should join the sea at Gottenburg with
the Gulf o f Finland, or Bothnia, has always been a favourite speculation
in Sweden. The project was originally started by Gustavus Yasa,
and has been taken up with more or less enthusiasm by almost all his
successors. Sweden abounds so ; much in lakes that the project does
not appear to he attended with much difficulty. But the Swedes did
not take the proper method to accomplish it. Instead of forming private
companies for the purpose of cutting the proposed canals, they were
undertaken by the sovereign himself, who carried on his plans without
a sufficient regard to economy, and without being at the requisite
pains in selecting the proper engineers. Hencè the projects were carried
on with gréât vigour for some time, and generally gave way at last
after putting the nation to an enormous expense.
There are three lakes which occupy very nearly the whole breadth
o f Sweden, from east to west. These are the Venner, the Hjellmar,
(pronounced Yellmar) which commences at Örebro ; and the
Malar, at the east end of which is Stockholm. Thé Gotha forms a
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