Molde i 1800, fra Boydell's picturesque scenery of Norway
No. LXXVIII. TOWN OF MOLDE. This small town is situated on the margin of an extensive bay, on the north coast of Norway, near the sea, in the district of Romsdal, and not very distant from Christiansund. It has a good church, built in the form of a cross, with a tower and spire, erected on a gentle eminence, which commands views of the town and bay, as well as of the entrance from the sea. On the approach to the town on this side, is an agreeable walk, under an avenue of tall trees, greatly esteemed at this place; and the hills, in its environs are more covered with trees, than many regions in this high latitude; yet the supplies of timber for exportation, are very inconsiderable, and the few cargoes collected, are at best of an indifferent But ample amends for this loss are derived from the abundant products of their fishing establishments, which are conducted on a very large scale, and with indefatigable care and attention. This town in common with almost all those along the northern coast, from the Naze to the north cape, containing in the aggregate a population of one hundred thousand souls? depends solely for subsistence on the finny tribes of the great northern ocean. They thence obtain ample supplies of fish of the primest quality, particularly cod, ling, turbot, hollibut, herrings, sturgeon, salmons, crabs, lobsters, and other shellfish. Of the larger kind are the unicorn, finfish, sawfish, grampus, porpoise, and whales. The torpedo, sucking-fish, and others of disgusting forms, are not eaten, and the mackarel, through prejudice, is rejected. The merman and mermaid, it is said, have been seen about these shores, and also enormous sea serpents, not to mention a doubtful creature, supposed to inhabit the great depths of the north sea, called the kraken. Well-attested accounts of the appearance of this monster may be read in the Bishop Pontoppidan's History of Norway. The herring fishery perhaps exceeds all others in Europe, and may justly be called their staple commodity; cod is next in estimation, then lobsters and other shellfish, and lastly oil, skins, &c. The general tempestuousness of the north sea, with its dreadful sheers and rocks, so numerously distributed all along this coast, render it so dangerous, that the poor fisherman's life, is of all human conditions, the least enviable. Subject to privations of food, and of sleep, buffeting the ocean in the most inclement weather, and the darkest nights, in a crazy boat, on a precarious employment for a wretched subsistence; frequently foundering at sea, or driven to distant, and to him, unknown shores, he often feels his miseries augmented by the apprehension, that his already half-famished family, despairing of his return, and disappointed of their daily support, are but too likely to sink under the agonizing calamity. In some cases, the loss of one parent, is supplied by the survivor; the women are from their infancy very expert in the joint management of the boat and lines, and have more than their proportion of the labour. They are stout, and hardy, with a fair complexion, and generally go without stockings, shoes, or hat; and their lower garments extend but a little below the knee.