ddle part of their body.

These fish are not caught; they have little oil, and an unpleasant taste.

On the thirteenth day we again saw land. We had entered the Skagerrak,
and saw the peninsula of Jutland, with the town of Skaggen. The
peninsula looks very dreary from this side; it is flat and covered with
sand.

On the sixteenth day we entered the Cattegat. For some time past we had
always either been becalmed or had had contrary winds, and had been
tossed about in the Skagerrak, the Cattegat, and the Sound for nearly a
week. On some days we scarcely made fifteen to twenty leagues a day. On
such calm days I passed the time with fishing; but the fish were wise
enough not to bite my hook. I was daily anticipating a dinner of
mackerel, but caught only one.

The multitude of vessels sailing into the Cattegat afforded me more
amusement; I counted above seventy. The nearer we approached the
entrance of the Sound, the more imposing was the sight, and the more
closely were the vessels crowded together. Fortunately we were favoured
by a bright moonlight; in a dark or stormy night we should not with the
greatest precaution and skill have been able to avoid a collision.

The inhabitants of more southern regions have no idea of the
extraordinary clearness and brilliancy of a northern moonlight night; it
seems almost as if the moon had borrowed a portion of the sun's lustre.
I have seen splendid nights on the coast of Asia, on the Mediterranean;
but here, on the shores of Scandinavia, they were lighter and brighter.

I remained on deck all night; for it pleased me to watch the forests of
masts crowded together here, and endeavouring simultaneously to gain the
entrance to the Sound. I should now be able to form a tolerable idea of
a fleet, for this number of ships must surely resemble a merchant-fleet.

On the twentieth day of our journey we entered the port of Helsingor.
The Sound dues have to be paid here, or, as the sailor calls it, the ship
must be cleared. This is a very tedious interruption, and the stopping
and restarting of the ship very incommodious. The sails have to be
furled, the anchor cast, the boat lowered, and the captain proceeds on
shore; hours sometimes elapse before he has finished. When he returns to
the ship, the boat has to be hoisted again, the anchor raised, and the
sails unfurled. Sometimes the wind has changed in the mean time; and in
consequence of these formalities, the port of Copenha