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diff --git a/old/vstil10.txt b/old/vstil10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..58ad973 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/vstil10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9604 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext Visit to Iceland, by Madame Ida Pfeiffer +#1 in our series by Madame Ida Pfeiffer + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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Second proofread by +Mike Ruffell. + + + + + +A Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian North +Translated from German + +by Madame Ida Pfeiffer + + + + +ADVERTISEMENT TO THE FIRST EDITION + + + +The success which attended the publication in this Series of +Illustrated Works of A Woman's Journey round the World, has induced +the publication of the present volume on a country so little known +as Iceland, and about which so little recent information exists. + +The translation has been carefully made, expressly for this Series, +from the original work published at Vienna; and the Editor has added +a great many notes, wherever they seemed necessary to elucidate the +text. + +In addition to the matter which appeared in the original work, the +present volume contains a translation of a valuable Essay on +Icelandic poetry, by M. Bergmann; a translation of an Icelandic +poem, the 'Voluspa;' a brief sketch of Icelandic History; and a +translation of Schiller's ballad, 'The Diver,' which is prominently +alluded to by Madame Pfeiffer in her description of the Geysers. {1} + +The Illustrations have been printed in tints, so as to make the work +uniform with the Journey round the World. + +London, August 1, 1852. + + + +AUTHOR'S PREFACE + + + +"Another journey--a journey, moreover, in regions which every one +would rather avoid than seek. This woman only undertakes these +journeys to attract attention." + +"The first journey, for a woman ALONE, was certainly rather a bold +proceeding. Yet in that instance she might still have been excused. +Religious motives may perhaps have actuated her; and when this is +the case, people often go through incredible things. At present, +however, we can see no just reason which could excuse an undertaking +of this description." + +Thus, and perhaps more harshly still, will the majority judge me. +And yet they will do me a grievous wrong. I am surely simple and +harmless enough, and should have fancied any thing in the world +rather than that it would ever be my fate to draw upon myself in any +degree the notice of the public. I will merely indicate, as briefly +as may be, my character and circumstances, and then I have no doubt +my conduct will lose its appearance of eccentricity, and seem +perfectly natural. + +When I was but a little child, I had already a strong desire to see +the world. Whenever I met a travelling-carriage, I would stop +involuntarily, and gaze after it until it had disappeared; I used +even to envy the postilion, for I thought he also must have +accomplished the whole long journey. + +As I grew to the age of from ten to twelve years, nothing gave me so +much pleasure as the perusal of voyages and travels. I ceased, +indeed, to envy the postilions, but envied the more every navigator +and naturalist. + +Frequently my eyes would fill with tears when, having ascended a +mountain, I saw others towering before me, and could not gain the +summit. + +I made several journeys with my parents, and, after my marriage, +with my husband; and only settled down when it became necessary that +my two boys should visit particular schools. My husband's affairs +demanded his entire attention, partly in Lemberg, partly in Vienna. +He therefore confided the education and culture of the two boys +entirely to my care; for he knew my firmness and perseverance in all +I undertook, and doubted not that I would be both father and mother +to his children. + +When my sons' education had been completed, and I was living in +peaceful retirement, the dreams and aspirations of my youth +gradually awoke once more. I thought of strange manners and +customs, of distant regions, where a new sky would be above me, and +new ground beneath my feet. I pictured to myself the supreme +happiness of treading the land once hallowed by the presence of our +Saviour, and at length made up my mind to travel thither. + +As dangers and difficulties rose before my mind, I endeavoured to +wean myself from the idea I had formed--but in vain. For privation +I cared but little; my health was good and my frame hardy: I did +not fear death. And moreover, as I was born in the last century, I +could travel ALONE. Thus every objection was overcome; every thing +had been duly weighed and considered. I commenced my journey to +Palestine with a feeling of perfect rapture; and behold, I returned +in safety. I now feel persuaded that I am neither tempting +Providence, nor justly incurring the imputation of wishing to be +talked about, in following the bent of my inclinations, and looking +still further about me in the world I chose Iceland for my +destination, because I hoped there to find Nature in a garb such as +she wears nowhere else. I feel so completely happy, so brought into +communion with my Maker, when I contemplate sublime natural +phenomena, that in my eyes no degree of toil or difficulty is too +great a price at which to purchase such perfect enjoyment. + +And should death overtake me sooner or later during my wanderings, I +shall await his approach in all resignation, and be deeply grateful +to the Almighty for the hours of holy beauty in which I have lived +and gazed upon His wonders. + +And now, dear reader, I would beg thee not to be angry with me for +speaking so much of myself; it is only because this love of +travelling does not, according to established notions, seem proper +for one of my sex, that I have allowed my feelings to speak in my +defence. + +Judge me, therefore, not too harshly; but rather grant me the +enjoyment of a pleasure which hurts no one, while it makes me happy. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + +VISIT TO ICELAND + + + +CHAPTER I + + + +In the year 1845 I undertook another journey; {2} a journey, +moreover, to the far North. Iceland was one of those regions +towards which, from the earliest period of my consciousness, I had +felt myself impelled. In this country, stamped as it is by Nature +with features so peculiar, as probably to have no counterpart on the +face of the globe, I hoped to see things which should fill me with +new and inexpressible astonishment. How deeply grateful do I feel +to Thee, O Thou that hast vouchsafed to me to behold the fulfilment +of these my cherished dreams! + +The parting from all my dear ones had this time far less bitterness; +I had found by experience, that a woman of an energetic mind can +find her way through the world as well as a man, and that good +people are to be met with every where. To this was added the +reflection, that the hardships of my present voyage would be of +short duration, and that five or six months might see me restored to +my family. + +I left Vienna at five o'clock on the morning of the tenth of April. +As the Danube had lately caused some devastations, on which occasion +the railroad had not entirely escaped, we rode for the first four +miles, as far as Florisdorf, in an omnibus--not the most agreeable +mode of travelling. Our omnibuses are so small and narrow, that one +would suppose they were built for the exclusive accommodation of +consumptive subjects, and not for healthy, and in some cases portly +individuals, whose bulk is further increased by a goodly assemblage +of cloaks, furs, and overcoats. + +At the barriers a new difficulty arose. We delivered up our pass- +warrants (passirscheine) in turn, with the exception of one young +man, who was quite astounded at the demand. He had provided nothing +but his passport and testimonials, being totally unaware that a +pass-warrant is more indispensable than all the rest. In vain did +he hasten into the bureau to expostulate with the officials,--we +were forced to continue our journey without him. + +We were informed that he was a student, who, at the conclusion of +term, was about to make holiday for a few weeks at his parents' +house near Prague. Alas, poor youth! he had studied so much, and +yet knew so little. He had not even an idea of the overwhelming +importance of the document in question. For this trifling omission +he forfeited the fare to Prague, which had been paid in advance. + +But to proceed with my journey. + +At Florisdorf a joyful surprise awaited me. I met my brother and my +son, who had, it appears, preceded me. We entered the train to +proceed in company to Stockerau, a place between twelve and thirteen +miles off; but were obliged to alight halfway, and walk a short +distance. The Embankment had given way. Luckily the weather was +favourable, inasmuch as we had only a violent storm of wind. Had it +rained, we should have been wetted to the skin, besides being +compelled to wade ankle-deep in mud. We were next obliged to remain +in the open air, awaiting the arrival of the train from Stockerau, +which unloaded its freight, and received us in exchange. + +At Stockerau I once more took leave of my companions, and was soon +securely packed in the post-carriage for transmission. + +In travelling this short distance, I had thus entered four +carriages; a thing sufficiently disagreeable to an unencumbered +person, but infinitely more so to one who has luggage to watch over. +The only advantage I could discover in all this was, that we had +saved half an hour in coming these seventeen miles. For this, +instead of 9 fl. 26 kr. from Vienna to Prague, we paid 10 fl. 10 kr. +from Stockerau to Prague, without reckoning expense of omnibus and +railway. It was certainly a dearly-bought half-hour. {3} + +The little town of Znaim, with its neighbouring convent, is situated +on a large plain, extending from Vienna to Budwitz, seventeen miles +beyond Znaim; the monotony of the view is only broken here and there +by low hills. + +Near Schelletau the scenery begins to improve. On the left the view +is bounded by a range of high hills, with a ruined castle, +suggestive of tragical tales of centuries gone by. Fir and pine +forests skirt the road, and lie scattered in picturesque groups over +hill and dale. + +April 11th. + +Yesterday the weather had already begun to be ungracious to us. At +Znaim we found the valleys still partly covered with snow, and the +fog was at times so thick, that we could not see a hundred paces in +advance; but to-day it was incomparably worse. The mist resolved +itself into a mild rain, which, however, lost so much of its +mildness as we passed from station to station, that every thing +around us was soon under water. But not only did we ride through +water, we were obliged to sit in it also. The roof of our carriage +threatened to become a perfect sieve, and the rain poured steadily +in. Had there been room for such a proceeding, we should all have +unfurled our umbrellas. + +On occasions like these, I always silently admire the patience of my +worthy countrymen, who take every thing so good-humouredly. Were I +a man, I should pursue a different plan, and should certainly not +fail to complain of such carelessness. But as a woman, I must hold +my peace; people would only rail at my sex, and call it ill- +humoured. Besides, I thanked my guardian-angel for these +discomforts, looking upon them as a preparation for what was to +befall me in the far North. + +Passing several small towns and villages, we at length entered the +Bohemian territory, close behind Iglau. The first town which we saw +was Czaslau, with its large open square, and a few neat houses; the +latter provided with so-called arbours (or verandahs), which enable +one to pass round the square dry-footed, even in the most rainy +weather. + +Journeying onwards, we noticed the fine cathedral and town of +Kuttenberg, once famous for its gold and silver mines. {4} Next +comes the great tobacco-manufactory of Sedlitz, near which we first +see the Elbe, but only for a short time, as it soon takes another +direction. Passing the small town of Collin, we are whirled close +by the battle-field where, in the year 1757, the great King +Frederick paid his score to the Austrians. An obelisk, erected a +few years since to the memory of General Daun, occupies a small +eminence on the right. On the left is the plain of Klephorcz, where +the Austrian army was drawn up. {5} + +At eleven o'clock on the same night we reached + + +PRAGUE. + + +As it was my intention to pursue my journey after two days, my first +walk on the following morning was to the police-office, to procure a +passport and the all-important pass-warrant; my next to the custom- +house, to take possession of a small chest, which I had delivered up +five days before my departure, and which, as the expeditor affirmed, +I should find ready for me on my arrival at Prague. {6} Ah, Mr. +Expeditor! my chest was not there. After Saturday comes Sunday; but +on Sunday the custom-house is closed. So here was a day lost, a day +in which I might have gone to Dresden, and even visited the opera. + +On Monday morning I once more hastened to the office in anxious +expectation; the box was not yet there. An array of loaded wagons +had, however, arrived, and in one of these it might be. Ah, how I +longed to see my darling little box, in order that I might--NOT +press it to my heart, but unpack it in presence of the excise +officer! + +I took merely a cursory glance at Prague, as I had thoroughly +examined every thing there some years before. The beautiful +"Graben" and Horse-market once more excited my admiration. It was +with a peculiar feeling that I trod the old bridge, from which St. +John of Nepomuk was cast into the Moldau for refusing to publish the +confession of King Wenceslaus' consort. {7} On the opposite bank I +mounted the Hradschin, and paid a visit to the cathedral, in which a +large sarcophagus, surrounded and borne by angels, and surmounted by +a canopy of crimson damask, is dedicated to the memory of the saint. +The monument is of silver, and the worth of the metal alone is +estimated at 80,000 florins. The church itself is not spacious, but +is built in the noble Gothic style; the lesser altars, however, with +their innumerable gilded wooden figures, look by contrast extremely +puny. In the chapel are many sarcophagi, on which repose bishops +and knights hewn in stone, but so much damaged, that many are +without hands and feet, while some lack heads. To the right, at the +entrance of the church, is the celebrated chapel of St. Wenceslaus, +with its walls ornamented with frescoes, of which the colours and +designs are now almost obliterated. It is further enriched with +costly stones. + +Not far from the cathedral is situated the palace of Count Czernin, +a building particularly favoured with windows, of which it has one +for every day in the year. I was there in an ordinary year, and saw +365; how they manage in leap-year I do not know. The view from the +belvedere of this palace well repays the observer. It takes in the +old and new town, the noble river with its two bridges (the ancient +venerable-looking stone structure, and the graceful suspension- +bridge, six hundred paces long), and the hills round about, clothed +with gardens, among which appear neat country-houses. + +The streets of the "Kleinseite" are not particularly attractive, +being mostly tortuous, steep, and narrow. They contain, however, +several remarkable palaces, among which that of Wallenstein Duke of +Friedland stands pre-eminent. {8} + +After visiting St. Nicholas' Church, remarkable for the height of +its spire and its beautifully arched cupola, I betook myself to +Wimmer's gardens, and thence to the "Bastei," a place of public +resort with the citizens of Prague. + +I could now observe the devastation caused by the rising of the +water shortly before my arrival. The Moldau had overstepped its +banks in so turbulent a manner, as to carry along with it several +small houses, and even a little village not far from Prague, besides +damaging all the dwellings upon its banks. The water had indeed +already fallen, but the walls of the houses were soaked through and +through; the doors had been carried away, and from the broken +windows no faces looked out upon the passers-by. The water had +risen two feet more than in 1784, in which year the Moldau had also +attained an unusual height. + +From the same tower of observation, I looked down upon the great +open space bought a few years ago, and intended to be occupied by +the termini of the Vienna and Dresden railroads. Although several +houses were only just being pulled down, and the foundations of but +few buildings were laid, I was assured that within six months every +thing would be completed. + +I have still to mention a circumstance which struck me during my +morning peregrinations, namely, the curious method in which milk, +vegetables, and other provisions are here brought to town. I could +have fancied myself transported to Lapland or Greenland, on meeting +every where carts to which two, three, or four dogs were harnessed. +One pair of dogs will drag three hundredweight on level ground; but +when they encounter a hill, the driver must lend a helping hand. +These dogs are, besides, careful guardians; and I would not advise +any one to approach a car of this kind, as it stands before the inn- +door, while the proprietor is quenching his thirst within, on the +money he has just earned. + +At five o'clock on the morning of the 15th of April I left Prague, +and rode for fourteen miles in the mail-carriage, as far as Obristwy +on the Elbe, at which place I embarked for Dresden, on board the +steamer Bohemia, of fifty-horse power, a miserable old craft, +apparently a stranger to beauty and comfort from her youth up. The +price charged for this short passage of eight or nine hours is +enormously dear. The travellers will, however, soon have their +revenge on the extortionate proprietors; a railroad is constructing, +by means of which this distance will be traversed in a much shorter +time, and at a great saving of expense. + +But at any rate the journey by water is the more agreeable; the way +lies through very picturesque scenery, and at length through "Saxon +Switzerland" itself. The commencement of the journey is, however, +far from pleasing. On the right are naked hills, and on the left +large plains, over which, last spring, the swollen stream rolled, +partly covering the trees and the roofs of the cottages. Here I +could for the first time see the whole extent of the calamity. Many +houses had been completely torn down, and the crops, and even the +loose alluvial earth swept away; as we glided by each dreary scene +of devastation, another yet more dismal would appear in its place. + +This continued till we reached Melnick, where the trees become +higher, and groups of houses peer forth from among the innumerable +vineyards. Opposite this little town the Moldau falls into the +Elbe. On the left, in the far distance, the traveller can descry +St. George's Mount, from which, as the story goes, Czech took +possession of all Bohemia. + +Below the little town of Raudnitz the hills gave place to mountains, +and as many enthusiasts can only find those regions romantic where +the mountains are crowned with half-ruined castles and strongholds, +good old Time has taken care to plant there two fine ruins, +Hafenberg and Skalt, for the delectation of such sentimental +observers. + +Near Leitmeritz, a small town with a handsome castle, and a church +and convent, the Eger flows into the Elbe, and a high-arched wooden +bridge connects the two banks. Here our poor sailors had difficult +work to lower the mast and the funnel. + +The rather pretty village of Gross-Czernoseck is remarkable for its +gigantic cellars, hewn out of the rock. A post-carriage could +easily turn round in one of these. The vats are of course +proportioned to the cellars, particularly the barrels called the +"twelve apostles," each of which holds between three and four +thousand gallons. It would be no more than fair to stop here +awhile, to give every hero of the bottle an opportunity to enjoy a +sight of these palace-cellars, and to offer a libation to the twelve +apostles; but the steamer passed on, and we were obliged to make the +most of the descriptions furnished by those who were more at home in +these parts, and had no doubt frequently emerged in an inspired +state from the depths of the cellars in question. + +The view now becomes more and more charming: the mountains appear +to draw closer together, and shut in the bed of the stream; romantic +groups of rocks, with summits crowned by rains yet more romantic, +tower between. The ancient but well-preserved castle of +Schreckenstein, built on a rock rising boldly out of the Elbe, is +particularly striking; the approaches to it are by serpentine walks +hewn out of the rock. + +Near the small town of Aussig we find the most considerable coal- +mines in Bohemia. In their neighbourhood is situated the little +mountain estate Paschkal, which produces a kind of wine said to +resemble champagne. + +The mountains now become higher and higher, but above them all +towers the gigantic Jungfernsprung (Maiden's Leap). The beauty of +this region is only surpassed by the situation of the town and +castle of Tetschen. The castle stands on a rock, between twenty and +thirty feet high, which seems to rise out of the Elbe; it is +surrounded by hot-houses and charming gardens, shelving downwards as +far as the town, which lies in a blooming valley, near a little +harbour. The valley itself, encompassed by a chain of lofty +mountains, seems quite shut out from the rest of the world. + +The left bank of the river is here so crowded with masses and walls +of rock, that there is only room at intervals for an isolated farm +or hut. Suddenly the tops of masts appear between the high rocks, a +phenomenon which is soon explained; a large gap in one of the rocky +walls forms a beautiful basin. + +And now we come to Schandau, a place consisting only of a few +houses; it is a frontier town of the Saxon dominions. Custom-house +officers, a race of beings ever associated with frontier towns, here +boarded our vessel, and rummaged every thing. My daguerreotype +apparatus, which I had locked up in a small box, was looked upon +with an eye of suspicion; but upon my assertion that it was +exclusively intended for my own use, I and my apparatus were +graciously dismissed. + +In our onward journey we frequently observed rocks of peculiar +shapes, which have appropriate names, such as the "Zirkelstein," +"Lilienstein," &c. The Konigstein is a collection of jagged masses +of rock, on which is built the fortress of the same name, used at +present as a prison for great criminals. At the foot of the rocks +lies the little town of Konigstein. Not far off, on the right bank, +a huge rock, resting on others, bears a striking resemblance to a +human head. The more distant groups of rocks are called those of +"Rathen," but are considered as belonging to Saxon Switzerland. The +"Basteien" (Bastions) of this Switzerland, close by which we now +pass, are most wonderful superpositions of lofty and fantastically +shaped rocks. Unfortunately, the steamer whirled us so rapidly on +our way, that whilst we contemplated one bank, the beauteous scenes +on the opposite side had already glided from our view. In much too +short a time we had passed the town of Pirna, situate at the +commencement of this range of mountains. The very ancient gate of +this town towers far above all the other buildings. + +Lastly we see the great castle Sonnenstein, built on a rock, and now +used as an asylum for lunatics. + +All the beautiful and picturesque portion of our passage is now +past, and the royal villa of Pillnitz, with its many Chinese gables, +looks insignificant enough, after the grand scenes of nature. A +chain of hills, covered with the country-houses of citizens, adjoins +it; and on the right extends a large plain, at the far end of which +we can dimly descry the Saxon metropolis. But what is that in the +distance? We have hardly time to arrange our luggage, when the +anchor is let go near the fine old Dresden Bridge. + +This bridge had not escaped unscathed by the furious river. One of +the centre arches had given way, and the cross and watchbox which +surmounted it were precipitated into the flood. At first, carriages +still passed over the bridge; it was not until some time afterwards +that the full extent of the damage was ascertained, and the passage +of carriages over the bridge discontinued for many months. + +As I had seen the town of Dresden several years before, and the only +building new to me was the splendid theatre, I took advantage of the +few evening hours of my stay to visit this structure. + +Standing in the midst of the beautiful Cathedral-square, its noble +rotunda-like form at once rivets the attention. The inner theatre +is surrounded by a superb broad and lofty corridor, with fine bow- +windows and straight broad staircases, leading in different +directions towards the galleries. The interior of the theatre is +not so spacious as, judging from the exterior, one would imagine it +to be, but the architecture and decorations are truly gorgeous and +striking. The boxes are all open, being separated from each other +merely by a low partition; the walls and chairs are covered with +heavy silken draperies, and the seats of the third and fourth +galleries with a mixture of silk and cotton. One single +circumstance was disagreeable to me in an acoustic point of view--I +could hear the slightest whisper of the prompter as distinctly as +though some one had been behind me reading the play. The curtain +had scarcely fallen before the whole house was empty, and yet there +was no crowding to get out. This first drew my attention to the +numerous and excellently contrived doors. + + +April 16th. + +The Dresden omnibuses may be cited as models of comfort; one is +certain of plenty of room, and there is no occasion to dread either +the corpulent persons or the furs and cloaks of fellow-passengers. +A bell-pull is fixed in the interior of the carriage, so that each +individual can give the coachman a signal when he or she wishes to +alight. These omnibuses call at the principal inns, and wait for a +moment; but the traveller who is not ready in advance is left +behind. + +At half-past five in the morning it called at our hotel. I was +ready and waiting, and drove off comfortably to the railway. The +distance from Dresden to Leipzig is reckoned at fifty-six miles, and +the journey occupied three hours. + +The first fourteen miles are very agreeable; gardens, fields, and +meadows, pine-forests in the plain and on the hills, and between +these, villages, farms, country-houses, and solitary chapels, +combine to form a very pretty landscape. But the scene soon +changes, and the town of Meissen (famous for its porcelain +manufactory), on the right hand, seems to shut out from our view all +that is picturesque and beautiful. + +From here to Leipzig we travel through a wearisome monotonous plain, +enlivened at long intervals by villages and scattered farms. There +is nothing to see but a great tunnel, and the river Pleisse--the +latter, or rather the Elster, is rendered famous by the death of +Prince Poniatowski. {9} + +The town of Leipzig, celebrated far and wide for its fairs, and more +for its immense publishing trade, presents an appearance of noise +and bustle proportionate to its commercial importance. I found +streets, squares, and inns alike crowded. {10} + +Perhaps there does not exist a town with its houses, and +consequently its streets, so disfigured with announcements, in all +sizes and shapes, covering its walls, and sometimes projecting +several feet, as Leipzig. + +Among the public buildings, those which pleased me most were the +Augusteum and the Burgerschule. The Bucherhalle (book-hall) I +should suppose indebted for its celebrity rather to its literary +contents than to its architectural beauty or its exterior. The hall +itself is indeed large, and occupies the whole length of the +building, while the lower story consists of several rooms. The +hall, the chambers, and the exterior are all plain, and without +particular decoration. The Tuchhalle (cloth-hall) is simply a large +house, with spacious chambers, containing supplies of cloth. The +Theatre stands on a very large square, and does not present a very +splendid appearance, whether viewed from within or from without. +The plan of having stalls in front of the boxes in the second and +third galleries was a novelty to me. The orchestra I could only +hear, but could not discover its whereabouts; most probably it was +posted behind the scenes. On inquiry, I was told that this was only +done on extraordinary occasions, when the seats in the orchestra +were converted into stalls, as was the case on the night of my +visit. The play given was "the original Tartuffe," a popular piece +by Gutzkow. It was capitally performed. + +In the Leipzig theatre I had a second opportunity of observing, that +as regards the love of eating our good Saxons are not a whit behind +the much-censured Viennese. In the Dresden theatre I had admired a +couple of ladies who sat next me. They came provided with a neat +bag, containing a very sufficient supply of confectionery, to which +they perseveringly applied themselves between the acts. But at +Leipzig I found a delicate-looking mother and her son, a lad of +fifteen or sixteen years, regaling themselves with more solid +provisions--white bread and small sausages. I could not believe my +eyes, and had made up my mind that the sausages were artificially +formed out of some kind of confectionery--but alas! my nose came +forward but too soon, as a potent witness, to corroborate what I was +so unwilling to believe! + +Neither did these two episodes take place in the loftiest regions of +Thalia's temple, but in the stalls of the second tier. + +Beautiful alleys are planted round Leipzig. I took a walk into the +Rosenthal (Valley of Roses), which also consists of splendid avenues +and lawns. A pretty coffee-house, with a very handsome alcove, +built in a semicircular form, invites the weary traveller to rest +and refreshment, while a band of agreeable music diffuses mirth and +good humour around. + +The rest of the scenery around Leipzig presents the appearance of a +vast and monotonous plain. + + +April 17th. + +I had intended to continue my journey to Hamburgh via Berlin, but +the weather was so cold and stormy, and the rain poured down so +heavily, that I preferred the shorter way, and proceeded by rail to +Magdeburg. Flying through the dismal plain past Halle, Kothen, and +other towns, of which I could only discern groups of houses, we +hurriedly recognised the Saale and the Elbe; and towards 10 o'clock +in the morning arrived at Magdeburg, having travelled seventy miles +in three hours and a quarter. + +As the steamer for Hamburgh was not to start until 3 o'clock, I had +ample time to look at the town. + +Magdeburg is a mixed pattern of houses of ancient, mediaeval, and +modern dates. Particularly remarkable in this respect is the +principal street, the "Broadway," which runs through the whole of +the town. Here we can see houses dating their origin from the most +ancient times; houses that have stood proof against sieges and +sackings; houses of all colours and forms; some sporting peaked +gables, on which stone figures may still be seen; others covered +from roof to basement with arabesques; and in one instance I could +even detect the remains of frescoes. In the very midst of these +relics of antiquity would appear a house built in the newest style. +I do not remember ever having seen a street which produced so +remarkable an impression on me. The finest building is +unquestionably the venerable cathedral. In Italy I had already seen +numbers of the most beautiful churches; yet I remained standing in +mute admiration before this masterpiece of Gothic architecture. + +The monument with the twelve Apostles in this church is a worthy +memorial of the celebrated sculptor Vischer. In order to view it, +it is necessary to obtain the special permission of the commandant. + +The cathedral square is large, symmetrical, and decorated with two +alleys of trees; it is also used as a drilling-ground for the +soldiers' minor manoeuvres. I was particularly struck with the +number of military men to be seen here. Go where I would, I was +sure to meet soldiers and officers, frequently in large companies; +in time of war it could scarcely have been worse. This was an +unmistakeable token that I was on Prussian territory. + +The open canals, which come from all the houses, and meander through +the streets, are a great disfigurement to the town. + +Half-past three o'clock came only too quickly, and I betook myself +on board the steamer Magdeburg, of sixty-horse power, to proceed to +Hamburgh. Of the passage itself I can say nothing, except that a +journey on a river through execrable scenery is one of the most +miserable things that can well be imagined. When, in addition to +this, the weather is bad, the ship dirty, and one is obliged to pass +a night on board, the discomfort is increased. It was my lot to +endure all this: the weather was bad, the ship was dirty, the +distance more than 100 miles, so that we had the pleasant prospect +of a delightful night on board the ship. There were, moreover, so +many passengers, that we were forced to sit crowded together; so +there we sat with exemplary patience, stared at each other, and +sighed bitterly. Order was entirely out of the question; no one had +time to think of such a thing. Smoking and card-playing were +perseveringly carried on all day and all night; it can easily be +imagined that things did not go so quietly as at an English whist- +party. The incessant rain rendered it impossible to leave the cabin +even for a short time. The only consolation I had was, that I made +the acquaintance of the amiable composer Lorzing, a circumstance +which delighted me the more, as I had always been an admirer of his +beautiful original music. + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +Morning dawned at length, and in a short time afterwards we reached +the great commercial city, which, half destroyed by the dreadful +conflagration of 1842, had risen grander and more majestic from its +ashes. {11} I took up my quarters with a cousin, who is married to +the Wurtemburg consul, the merchant Schmidt, in whose house I spent +a most agreeable and happy week. My cousin-in-law was polite enough +to escort me every where himself, and to shew me the lions of +Hamburgh. + +First of all we visited the Exchange between the hours of one and +two, when it is at the fullest, and therefore best calculated to +impress a stranger with an idea of the extent and importance of the +business transacted there. The building contains a hall of great +size, with arcades and galleries, besides many large rooms, which +are partly used for consultations, partly for the sale of +refreshments. The most interesting thing of all is, however, to sit +in the gallery, and looking downwards, to observe the continually +increasing crowd passing and repassing each other in the immense +hall and through the galleries and chambers, and to listen to the +hubbub and noise of the thousands of eager voices talking at once. +At half-past one o'clock the hall is at its fullest, and the noise +becomes absolutely deafening; for now they are marking up the rates +of exchange, by which the merchants regulate their monetary +transactions. + +Leaving the Exchange, we bent our steps towards the great harbour, +and entering a small boat, cruised in and about it in all +directions. I had resolved to count only the three-masted ships; +but soon gave it up, for their number seemed overwhelming, even +without reckoning the splendid steamers, brigs, sloops, and craft. +In short, I could only gaze and wonder, for at least 900 ships lay +before me. + +Let any one fancy an excursion amidst 900 ships, great and small, +which lined both shores of the Elbe in tiers of three deep or more; +the passing to and fro of countless boats busily employed in loading +or unloading these vessels; these things, together with the shouting +and singing of the sailors, the rattling of anchors which are being +weighed, and the rush and swell of passing steamers, combine to +constitute a picture not to be surpassed in any city except in that +metropolis of the world, London. {12} + +The reason of this unusual activity in the harbour lay in the +severity of the past winter. Such a winter had not been experienced +for seventy years: the Elbe and the Baltic lay for months in icy +chains, and not a ship could traverse the frozen river, not an +anchor could be weighed or lowered. It was only a short time before +my arrival that the passage had once more become free. + +In the neighbourhood of the harbour are situated the greater number +of the so-called "yards." I had read concerning them that, viewed +from the exterior, they look like common houses; but that they +constitute separate communities, and contain alleys and streets, +serving as the domicile of innumerable families. I visited several +of these places, and can assure the reader that I saw nothing +extraordinary in them. Houses with two large wings, forming an +alley of from eighty to a hundred paces in length, are to be met +with in every large town; and that a number of families should +inhabit such a house is not remarkable, considering that they are +all poor, and that each only possesses a single small apartment. + +The favourite walk in the town is the "Jungfernstieg" (Maiden's +Walk), a broad alley, extending round a spacious and beautiful basin +of the Alster. On one side are splendid hotels, with which Hamburgh +is richly provided; on the other, a number of private residences of +equal pretensions. Other walks are, the "Wall," surrounding the +town, and the "Botanical Garden," which resembles a fine park. The +noblest building, distinguished alike as regards luxury, skill, +tastefulness of design, and stability, is the Bazaar. It is truly a +gigantic undertaking, and the more to be admired from the fact that +it is not built upon shares, but at the expense of a single +individual, Herr Carl Sillem; the architect's name is Overdick. The +building itself is constructed entirely of stone, and the walls of +the great room and of the hall are inlaid with marble. A lofty +cupola and an immense glazed dome cover both the great room and the +hall; the upper staircases are ornamented with beautiful statues. +When in the evening it is brilliantly lighted with gas, and further +ornamented by a tasteful display of the richest wares, the spectator +can almost fancy himself transported to a fairy palace. + +Altogether the shops in Hamburgh are very luxurious. The wares lie +displayed in the most tasteful manner behind huge windows of plate- +glass, which are often from five to six feet broad, and eight or ten +feet high; a single sheet frequently costs 600 florins. This plate- +glass luxury is not confined to shops, but extends to windows +generally, not only in Hamburgh, but also in Altona, and is also +seen in the handsomest country-houses of the Hamburghers. Many a +pane costs eight or ten florins; and the glass is insured in case of +breakage, like houses in case of fire. + +This display of glass is equalled by the costliness of the +furniture, which is almost universally of mahogany; a wood which is +here in such common use, that in some of the most elegant houses the +very stair-banisters are constructed of it. Even the pilots have +often mahogany furniture. + +The handsomest and most frequented street is the "Neue Wall" (New +Wall). I was particularly struck with the number of shops and +dwellings underground, to which one descends by a flight of six or +eight stairs; an iron railing is generally placed before the +entrance, to prevent the passers-by from falling down. + +A very practical institution is the great slaughterhouse, in which +all cattle are killed on certain days of the week. + +Concerning the town of Altona, I have only to observe that it +appeared to me a continuation of Hamburgh; from which town, indeed, +it is only separated by a wooden door. A very broad, handsome +street, or, more properly speaking, an elongated square, planted +with a double row of large trees, is the most remarkable thing about +Altona, which belongs to the Danish Government, and is considered, +after Copenhagen, the most important place in the kingdom. + +It is a delicious ride to the village of Blankenese, distant nine +miles from Hamburgh; the road lies among beautiful country-houses +and large park-like gardens. Blankenese itself consists of +cottages, grouped in a picturesque manner round the Sulberg, a hill +from which the traveller enjoys a very extended view over the great +plain, in which it is the only elevated point. The course of the +Elbe, as it winds at moderate speed towards the sea, is here to be +traced almost to its embouchure at Cuxhaven. + +The breadth of the Elbe at Blankenese exceeds two miles. + +Another interesting excursion is to the "New Mills," a little +village on the Elbe, not more than half a mile from Altona, and +inhabited only by fishermen and pilots. Whoever wishes to form an +idea of Dutch prettiness and cleanliness should come here. + +The houses are mostly one story high, neatly and tastefully built; +the brightest of brass handles adorn the street-doors; the windows +are kept scrupulously clean, and furnished with white curtains. + +In Saxony I had found many dwellings of the peasantry tidy and neat +enough, displaying at any rate more opulence than we are accustomed +to find with this class of people; but I had seen none to compete +with this pretty village. + +Among the peasants' costumes, I only liked that worn by the women +from the "Vierlanden." They wear short full skirts of black stuff, +fine white chemisettes with long sleeves, and coloured bodices, +lightly fastened in front with silk cords or silver buckles. Their +straw hats have a most comical appearance; the brim of the hat is +turned up in such a manner that the crown appears to have completely +sunk in. Many pretty young girls dressed in this manner come to +Hamburgh to sell flowers, and take up their position in front of the +Exchange. + +The 26th of April, the day appointed for my departure, arrived only +too speedily. To part is the unavoidable fate of the traveller; but +sometimes we part gladly, sometimes with regret. I need not write +many pages to describe my feelings at the parting in Hamburgh. I +was leaving behind me my last relations, my last friends. Now I was +going into the wide world, and among strangers. + +At eight o'clock in the morning I left Altona, and proceeded by +railway to Kiel. + +I noticed with pleasure that on this railway even the third-class +carriages were securely covered in, and furnished with glass +windows. In fact, they only differed from those of the first and +second class in being painted a different colour, and having the +seats uncushioned. + +The whole distance of seventy miles was passed in three hours; a +rapid journey, but agreeable merely by its rapidity, for the whole +neighbourhood presents only widely-extended plains, turf-bogs and +moorlands, sandy places and heaths, interspersed with a little +meadow or arable land. From the nature of the soil, the water in +the ditches and fields looked black as ink. + +Near Binneburg we notice a few stunted plantations of trees. From +Eisholm a branch-line leads to Gluckstadt, and another from +Neumunster, a large place with important cloth-factories, to +Rendsburg. + +From here there is nothing to be seen but a convent, in which many +Dukes of Holstein lie buried, and several unimportant lakes; for +instance, those of Bernsholm, Einfeld, and Schulhof. The little +river Eider would have passed unnoticed by me, had not some of my +fellow-passengers made a great feature of it. In the finest +countries I have found the natives far less enthusiastic about what +was really grand and beautiful, than they were here in praise of +what was neither the one nor the other. My neighbour, a very +agreeable lady, was untiring in laudation of her beautiful native +land. In her eyes the crippled wood was a splendid park, the waste +moorland an inexhaustible field for contemplation, and every trifle +a matter of real importance. In my heart I wished her joy of her +fervid imagination; but unfortunately my colder nature would not +catch the infection. + +Towards Kiel the plain becomes a region of low hills. Kiel itself +is prettily situated on the Baltic, which, viewed from thence, has +the appearance of a lake of middling size. The harbour is said to +be good; but there were not many ships there. {13} Among these was +the steamer destined to carry me to Copenhagen. Little did I +anticipate the good reason I should have to remember this vessel. + +Thanks to the affectionate forethought of my cousin Schmidt, I found +one of his relations, Herr Brauer, waiting for me at the railway. I +was immediately introduced to his family, and passed the few hours +of my stay very agreeably in their company. + +Evening approached, and with it the hour of embarkation. My kind +friends the Brauers accompanied me to the steamer, and I took a +grateful leave of them. + +I soon discovered the steamer Christian VIII., of 180-horse power, +to be a vessel dirtier and more uncomfortable than any with which I +had become acquainted in my maritime excursions. Scrubbing and +sweeping seemed things unknown here. The approach to the cabin was +by a flight of stairs so steep, that great care was requisite to +avoid descending in an expeditious but disagreeable manner, by a +fall from top to bottom. In the fore-cabin there was no attempt at +separate quarters for ladies and gentlemen. In short, the +arrangements seemed all to have been made with a view of impressing +the ship vividly on the recollection of every traveller. + +At nine o'clock we left Kiel. The day and the twilight are here +already longer than in the lands lying to the south and the west. +There was light enough to enable me to see, looming out of the +surrounding darkness, the fortress "Friedrichsort," which we passed +at about ten o'clock. + + +April 27th. + +To-day I still rose with the sun; but that will soon be a difficult +matter to accomplish; for in the north the goddess of light makes +amends in spring and summer for her shortcomings during the winter. +I went on deck, and looked on the broad expanse of ocean. No land +was to be seen; but soon a coast appeared, then disappeared, and +then a new and more distant one rose out of the sea. Towards noon +we reached the island of Moen, which lies about forty {14} miles +distant from Copenhagen. It forms a beautiful group of rocks, +rising boldly from the sea. They are white as chalk, and have a +smooth and shining appearance. The highest of these walls of rock +towers 400 feet above the level of the surrounding ocean. Soon we +saw the coast of Sweden, then the island of Malmo; and at last +Copenhagen itself, where we landed at four o'clock in the afternoon. +The distance from Kiel to Copenhagen is 136 sea-miles. + +I remained seven days at Copenhagen, and should have had ample time +to see every thing, had the weather been more favourable. But it +blew and rained so violently, that I was obliged to give up all +thoughts of visiting the surrounding parks, and was fain to content +myself with seeing a few of the nearest walks, which I accomplished +with some difficulty. + +The first street in Copenhagen which I traversed on coming from the +harbour generally produces a great impression. It is called the +"Broad Street," and leads from the harbour through the greater part +of the town. In addition to its breadth it is very long and +regular, and the splendid palaces and houses on either side give it +a remarkably grand appearance. + +It is a peculiar sight, when, in the midst of this fine quarter, we +come suddenly upon a ruin, a giant building resting on huge pillars, +but half completed, and partly covered with moss and lichens. It +was intended for a splendid church, and is built entirely of marble; +but the soft ground would not bear the immense weight. The half- +finished building began to sink, and the completion of the +undertaking became for ever impossible. + +Many other streets rival the "Broad Street" in size and +magnificence. Foremost among them comes the Amalienstrasse. The +most bustling, but by far not the finest, are the Oster and +Gotherstrasse. To walk in these is at first quite a difficult +undertaking for a stranger. On one side of the pavement, which is +raised about a foot above the carriage-way, he comes continually in +contact with stairs, leading sometimes to warehouses above, at +others to subterranean warehouses below the level of the street. +The approaches to the latter are not guarded by railings as in +Hamburgh. The other side of the pavement is bounded by a little +unostentatious rivulet, called by unpoetical people "canal," into +which tributaries equally sweet pour from all the neighbouring +houses. It is therefore necessary to take great care, lest you +should fall into the traitorous depths on the one side, or stumble +over the projecting steps on the other. The pavement itself is +covered with a row of stone slabs, a foot and a half wide, on which +one walks comfortably enough. But then every body contends for the +possession of these, to avoid the uneven and pointed stones at the +side. This, added to the dreadful crowding, renders the street one +which would scarcely be chosen for a walk, the less so as the shops +do not contain any thing handsome, the houses are neither palace- +like nor even tastefully built, and the street itself is neither of +the broadest nor of the cleanest. + +The squares are all large and regularly built. The finest is the +Kongensnytorf (King's New Market). Some fine mansions, the chief +guard-house, the theatre, the chief coffee-houses and inns, the +academy of the fine arts, and the building belonging to the +botanical garden, the two last commonly known by the name of +"Charlottenburg," are among the ornaments of this magnificent +square, in the midst of which stands a beautiful monument, +representing Christian V. on horseback, and surrounded by several +figures. + +Smaller, but more beautiful in its perfect symmetry, is the +"Amalienplatz," containing four royal palaces, built exactly alike, +and intersected by four broad streets in the form of a cross. This +square also is decorated by a monument standing in the midst, and +representing Frederick V. In another fine square, the "Nytorf" (New +Market), there is a fountain. Its little statue sends forth very +meagre jets of water, and the fountain is merely noticeable as being +the only one I could find at Copenhagen. + +The traveller can hardly fail of being surprised by the number and +magnificence of the palaces, at sight of which he could fancy +himself in the metropolis of one of the largest kingdoms. The +"Christianensburg" is truly imperial; it was completely destroyed by +fire in the year 1794, but has since been rebuilt with increased +splendour. The chapel of this palace is very remarkable. The +interior has the appearance rather of a concert-room than of a +building devoted to purposes of worship. Tastefully decorated +boxes, among which we notice that of the king, together with +galleries, occupy the upper part of the chapel; the lower is filled +with benches covered with red velvet and silk. The pulpit and altar +are so entirely without decoration, that, on first entering, they +wholly escape notice. + +In the "Christianensburg" is also the "Northern Museum," peculiarly +rich in specimens of the ornaments, weapons, musical instruments, +and other mementoes of northern nations. + +The Winter Riding-school, in which concerts are frequently given, is +large and symmetrical. I admired the stalls, and yet more the grey +horses which occupied them--descendants of the pure Arabian and wild +Norwegian breeds--creatures with long manes and tails of fine silky +hair. Every one who sees these horses, whether he be a connoisseur +or one of the uninitiated, must admire them. + +Adjoining the "Christianensburg" is Thorwaldsen's Museum, a square +building with fine saloons, lighted from above. When I saw it, it +was not completed; the walls were being painted in fresco by some of +the first native artists. The sculptured treasures were there, but +unfortunately yet unpacked. + +In the midst of the courtyard Thorwaldsen's mausoleum is being +erected. There his ashes will rest, with his exquisitely finished +lion as a gravestone above them. {15} + +The largest among the churches is the "Woman's Church." The +building has no architectural beauty; the pillars, galleries, and +cupola are all of wood, covered with a mixture of sand and plaster. +But whatever may be wanting in outward splendour is compensated by +its contents, for this church contains the masterpieces of +Thorwaldsen. At the high altar stands his glorious figure of our +Saviour, in the niches of the wall his colossal twelve apostles. + +In the contemplation of these works we forget the plainness of the +building which contains them. May the fates be prosperous, and no +conflagration reach this church, built as it is half of wood! + +The Catholic Church is small, but tasteful beyond expression. The +late emperor of Austria presented to it a good full-toned organ, and +two oil-paintings, one by Kuppelweiser, the other by a pupil of this +master. + +In the "Museum of Arts" I was most interested in the ancient chair, +used in days of yore by Tycho de Brahe. {16} + +The Exchange is a curious ancient building. It is very long and +narrow, and surmounted by nine peaks, from the centre of which +protrudes a remarkable pointed tower, formed of four crocodiles' +tails intertwined. + +The hall itself is small, low, and dark; it contains a full-length +portrait in oil of Tycho de Brahe. Nearly all the upper part of the +building is converted into a kind of bazaar, and the lower portion +contains a number of small and dingy booths. + +Several canals, having an outlet into the sea, give a peculiar charm +to the town. They are, in fact, so many markets; for the craft +lying in them are laden with provisions of all kinds, which are here +offered for sale. + +The Sailors' Town, adjoining Copenhagen, and situated near the +harbour, is singularly neat and pretty. It consists of three long, +broad, straight streets, built of houses looking so exactly alike, +that on a foggy night an accurate knowledge of the locality is +requisite to know one from the other. It looks as though, on each +side of the way, there were only one long house of a single floor, +with a building one story high in the middle. In the latter dwell +the commandant and overseers. + +The lighting of the streets is managed in Copenhagen in the same way +as in our smaller German towns. When "moonlight" is announced in +the calendar, not a lamp is lighted. If the lady moon chooses to +hide behind dark clouds, that is her fault. It would be insolent to +attempt to supply the place of her radiance with miserable lamps--a +wise arrangement! (?) + +Of the near walks, the garden of the "Rosenburg," within the town, +pleased me much; as did also the "Long Line," an alley of beautiful +trees extending parallel with the sea, and in which one can either +walk or ride. A coffee-house, in front of which there is music in +fine weather, attracts many of the loungers. The most beautiful +place of all is the "Kastell," above the "Long Line," from whence +one can enjoy a beautiful view. The town lies displayed below in +all its magnificence: the harbour, with its many ships; the +sparkling blue Sound, which spreads its broad expanse between the +coasts of Denmark and Sweden, and washes many a beautiful group of +islands belonging to one or the other of these countries. The +background of the picture alone is uninteresting, as there is no +chain of mountains to form a horizon, and the eye wanders over the +boundless flats of Denmark. + +Among the vessels lying at anchor in the harbour I saw but few +three-masters, and still fewer steamers. The ships of the fleet +presented a curious appearance; at the first view they look like +great houses with flag-staves, for every ship is provided with a +roof, out of which the masts rise into the air; they are besides +very high out of the water, so that all the port-holes and the +windows of the cabins appear in two or three stories, one above the +other. + +A somewhat more distant excursion, which can be very conveniently +made in a capital omnibus, takes you to the royal chateau +"Friedrichsberg," lying before the water-gate, two miles distant +from the town. Splendid avenues lead to this place, where are to be +found all the delights that can combine to draw a citizen into the +country. There are a tivoli, a railway, cabinets, and booths with +wax-figures, and countless other sights, besides coffee-houses, +beer-rooms, and music. The gardens are planted at the sides with a +number of small arbours, each containing a table and chairs, and +all open in front, so as to shew at one view all the visitors of +these pretty natural huts. On Sundays, when the gardens are +crowded, this is a very animated sight. + +On the way to this "Prater" of Copenhagen, we pass many handsome +villas, each standing in a fine garden. + +The royal palace is situated on the summit of a hill, at the end of +the avenue, and is surrounded by a beautiful park; it commands a +view of a great portion of the town, with the surrounding country +and the sea; still I far prefer the prospect from the "Kastell." +The Park contains a considerable island, which, during some part of +the year, stands in the midst of an extensive lake. This island is +appropriated to the Court, but the rest of the park is open to the +public. + +Immediately outside the water-gate stands an obelisk, remarkable +neither for its beauty nor for the skill displayed in its erection, +for it consists of various stones, and is not high, but interesting +from the circumstance to which it owes its origin. It was erected +by his grateful subjects in memory of the late king Christian VII., +to commemorate the abolition of feudal service. Surely no feeling +person can contemplate without joyful emotion a monument like this. + +I have here given a faithful account of what I saw during my short +stay at Copenhagen. It only remains for me to describe a few +peculiar customs of the people, and so I will begin as it were at +the end, with the burial of the dead. In Denmark, as in fact in the +whole of Scandinavia, not excepting Iceland, it is customary not to +bury the dead until eight or ten days have elapsed. In winter-time +this is not of so much consequence, but in summer it is far from +healthy for those under the same roof with the corpse. I was +present at Copenhagen at the funeral of Dr. Brandis, physician to +the king. Two of the king's carriages and a number of private +equipages attended. Nearly all these were empty, and the servants +walked beside them. Among the mourners I did not notice a single +woman; I supposed that this was only the case at the funerals of +gentlemen, but on inquiry I found that the same rule is observed at +the burial of women. This consideration for the weaker sex is +carried so far, that on the day of the funeral no woman may be seen +in the house of mourning. The mourners assemble in the house of the +deceased, and partake of cold refreshments. At the conclusion of +the ceremony they are again regaled. What particularly pleased me +in Copenhagen was, that I never on any occasion saw beggars, or even +such miserably clad people as are found only too frequently in our +great cities. Here there are no doubt poor people, as there are +such every where else in the world, but one does not see them beg. +I cannot help mentioning an arrangement which certainly deserves to +be universally carried out;--I mean, the setting apart of many large +houses, partly belonging to the royal family, partly to rich private +people or to companies, for the reception of poor people, who are +here lodged at a much cheaper rate than is possible in ordinary +dwellings. + +The costumes of the peasants did not particularly please me. The +women wear dresses of green or black woollen stuff, reaching to the +ankle, and trimmed at the skirt with broad coloured woollen borders. +The seams of the spenser, and the arm-holes, are also trimmed with +smaller coloured borders. On their heads they wear a handkerchief, +and over this a kind of shade, like a bonnet. On Sundays I saw many +of them in small, pretty caps, worked with silk, with a border of +lace of more than a hand's breadth, plaited very stiffly; at the +back they have large bows of fine riband, the ends of which reach +half down to their feet. I found nothing very remarkable in the +dress of the peasants. As far as strength and beauty were +concerned, I thought these peasants were neither more nor less +gifted than those of Austria. As regards the beauty of the fair +sex, I should certainly give the preference to the Austrians. Fair +hair and blue eyes predominate. + +I saw but few soldiers; their uniforms, particularly those worn by +the king's life-guards, are very handsome. + +I especially noticed the drummers; they were all little lads of ten +or twelve years old. One could almost have exclaimed, "Drum, +whither art thou carrying that boy?" To march, and to join in +fatiguing manoeuvres, carrying such a drum, and beating it bravely +at the same time, is rather cruel work for such young lads. Many a +ruined constitution may be ascribed to this custom. + +During my stay in Copenhagen I spent many very delightful hours with +Professor Mariboe and his amiable family, and with the kind +clergyman of the embassy, Herr Zimmermann. They received me with +true politeness and hospitality, and drew me into their circle, +where I soon felt myself quite at ease. I shall never forget their +friendship, and shall make use of every opportunity to shew them my +appreciation of it. Herr Edouard Gottschalk and Herr Knudson have +also my best thanks. I applied to the first of these gentlemen to +procure me a passage to Iceland, and he was kind enough to use his +interest with Herr Knudson on my behalf. + +Herr Knudson is one of the first general dealers in Copenhagen, and +carries on a larger and more extended commerce with Iceland than any +other house trading thither. He is already beginning to retire, as +the continual journeys are becoming irksome to him; but he still +owns a number of great and small vessels, which are partly employed +in the fisheries, and partly in bringing all kinds of articles of +consumption and luxury to the different harbours of Iceland. + +He himself goes in one of his ships every year, and stays a few +months in Iceland to settle his affairs there. On the +recommendation of Herr Gottschalk, Herr Knudson was kind enough to +give me a passage in the ship in which he made the journey himself; +a favour which I knew how to value. It is certainly no small +kindness to take a lady passenger on such a journey. Herr Knudson +knew neither my fortitude nor my perseverance; he did not know +whether I should be able to endure the hardships of a journey to the +north, whether I would bear sea-sickness philosophically, or even if +I had courage enough, in case of storms or bad weather, to abstain +from annoying the captain by my fears or complaints at a time when +he would only have too much to harass him. The kind man allowed no +such considerations to influence him. He believed me when I +promised to behave courageously come what might, and took me with +him. Indeed his kindness went so far that it is to him I owe every +comfort I enjoyed in Iceland, and every assistance in furthering the +attainment of my journey's object. I could certainly not have +commenced a voyage under better auspices. + +All ships visiting Iceland leave Copenhagen at the end of April, or +at the latest in the middle of May. After this time only one ship +is despatched, to carry the mails of the Danish government. This +vessel leaves Copenhagen in October, remains in Iceland during the +winter months, and returns in March. The gain or loss of this +expedition is distributed in shares among the merchants of +Copenhagen. + +Besides this, a French frigate comes to Iceland every spring, and +cruises among the different harbours until the middle of August. +She superintends the fishing vessels, which, attracted by the large +profits of the fisheries, visit these seas in great numbers during +the summer. {17} + +Opportunities of returning from Iceland occur during the summer +until the end of September, by means of the merchant-ships, which +carry freights from the island to Denmark, England, and Spain. + +At length, on Sunday the 4th of May, a favourable wind sprung up. +Herr Knudson sent me word to be ready to embark at noon on board the +fine brig John. + +I immediately proceeded on board. The anchor was weighed, and the +sails, unfolding themselves like giant wings, wafted us gently out +of the harbour of Copenhagen. No parting from children, relations, +or old-cherished friends embittered this hour. With a glad heart I +bade adieu to the city, in the joyful hope soon to see the +fulfilment of my long-expected journey. + +The bright sky smiled above us, and a most favourable wind filled +our sails. I sat on deck and revelled in the contemplation of +scenes so new to me. Behind us lay spread the majestic town; before +us the Sound, an immense natural basin, which I could almost compare +to a great Swiss lake; on the right and left were the coasts of +Sweden and Denmark, which here approach each other so closely that +they seem to oppose a barrier to the further progress of the +adventurous voyager. + +Soon we passed the little Swedish town of Carlscrona, and the +desolate island Hveen, on which Tycho de Brahe passed the greater +portion of his life, occupied with stellar observations and +calculations. Now came a somewhat dangerous part, and one which +called into action all the careful seamanship of the captain to +bring us safely through the confined sea and the strong current,-- +the entrance of the Sound into the Cattegat. + +The two coasts here approach to within a mile of each other. On the +Swedish side lies the pretty little town of Helsingborg, on the +Danish side that of Helsingor, and at the extremity of a projecting +neck of land the fortress Kronburg, which demands a toll of every +passing ship, and shews a large row of threatening cannon in case of +non-compliance. Our toll had already been paid before leaving +Copenhagen; we had been accurately signalled, and sailed fearlessly +by. {18} + +The entrance once passed, we entered the Cattegat, which already +looked more like the great ocean: the coasts retired on each side, +and most of the shifts and barques, which till now had hovered +around us on all sides, bade us "farewell." Some bent their course +towards the east, others towards the west; and we alone, on the +broad desert ocean, set sail for the icy north. Twilight did not +set in until 9 o'clock at night; and on the coasts the flaming +beacons flashed up, to warn the benighted mariner of the proximity +of dangerous rocks. + +I now offered up my thanksgiving to Heaven for the protection +hitherto vouchsafed me, with a humble prayer for its continuance. +Then I descended to the cabin, where I found a convenient bunk (a +kind of crib fixed to the side of the ship); I laid myself down, and +was soon in a deep and refreshing sleep. + +I awoke full of health and spirits, which, however, I enjoyed but +for a short time. During the night we had left behind us the +"Cattegat" and the "Skagerrack," and were driving through the stormy +German Ocean. A high wind, which increased almost to a gale, +tumbled our poor ship about in such a manner, that none but a good +dancer could hope to maintain an upright position. I had +unfortunately been from my youth no votary of Terpsichore, and what +was I to do? The naiads of this stormy region seized me, and +bandied me to and fro, until they threw me into the arms of what +was, according to my experience, if not exactly after Schiller's +interpretation, "the horrible of horrors,"--sea-sickness. At first +I took little heed of this, thinking that sea-sickness would soon be +overcome by a traveller like myself, who should be inured to every +thing. But in vain did I bear up; I became worse and worse, till I +was at length obliged to remain in my berth with but one consoling +thought, namely, that we were to-day on the open sea, where there +was nothing worthy of notice. But the following day the Norwegian +coast was in sight, and at all hazards I must see it; so I crawled +on deck more dead than alive, looked at a row of mountains of +moderate elevation, their tops at this early season still sparkling +with their snowy covering, and then hurried back, benumbed by the +piercing icy wind, to my good warm feather-bed. Those who have +never experienced it can have no conception of the biting, +penetrating coldness of a gale of wind in the northern seas. The +sun shone high in the heavens; the thermometer (I always calculate +according to Reaumur) stood 3 degrees above zero; I was dressed much +more warmly than I should have thought necessary when, in my +fatherland, the thermometer was 8 degrees or 10 degrees BELOW zero, +and yet I felt chilled to the heart, and could have fancied that I +had no clothes on at all. + +On the fourth night we sailed safely past the Shetland Islands; and +on the evening of the fifth day we passed so near the majestic rocky +group of the Feroe Islands, that we were at one time apprehensive of +being cast upon the rocks by the unceasing gale. {19} + +Already on the seventh day we descried the coast of Iceland. Our +passage had been unprecedentedly quick; the sailors declared that a +favourable gale was to be preferred even to steam, and that on our +present voyage we should certainly have left every steamer in our +wake. But I, wretched being that I was, would gladly have dispensed +with the services both of gale and steam for the sake of a few +hours' rest. My illness increased so much, that on the seventh day +I thought I must succumb. My limbs were bathed in a cold +perspiration; I was as weak as an infant, and my mouth felt parched +and dry. I saw that I must now either make a great effort or give +up entirely; so I roused myself, and with the assistance of the +cabin-boy gained a seat, and promised to take any and every remedy +which should be recommended. They gave me hot-water gruel with wine +and sugar; but it was not enough to be obliged to force this down, I +was further compelled to swallow small pieces of raw bacon highly +peppered, and even a mouthful of rum. I need not say what strong +determination was required to make me submit to such a regimen. I +had, however, but one choice, either to conquer my repugnance or +give myself up a victim to sea-sickness; so with all patience and +resignation I received the proffered gifts, and found, after a trial +of many hours, that I could manage to retain a small dose. This +physicking was continued for two long, long days, and then I began +slowly to recover. + +I have here circumstantially described both my illness and its cure, +because so many people are unfortunately victims to the complaint, +and when under its influence cannot summon resolution to take +sustenance. I should advise all my friends not to hold out so long +as I did, but to take food at once, and continue to do so until the +system will receive it. + +As I was now convalescent, I tried to recruit my wearied mind by a +diligent study of the mode of life and customs of the mariners of +the northern seas. + +Our ship's company consisted of Herr Knudson, Herr Bruge (a merchant +whom we were to land at the Westmann Islands), the captain, the +mate, and six or seven sailors. Our mode of life in the cabin was +as follows: in the morning, at seven o'clock, we took coffee, but +whence this coffee came, heaven knows! I drank it for eleven days, +and could never discover any thing which might serve as a clue in my +attempt to discover the country of its growth. At ten o'clock we +had a meal consisting of bread and butter and cheese, with cold beef +or pork, all excellent dishes for those in health; the second course +of this morning meal was "tea-water." In Scandinavia, by the way, +they never say, "I drink TEA," the word "water" is always added: "I +drink TEA-WATER." Our "tea-water" was, if possible, worse than its +predecessor, the incomparable coffee. Thus I was beaten at all +points; the eatables were too strong for me, the drinkables too-- +too--I can find no appropriate epithet--probably too artificial. I +consoled myself with the prospect of dinner; but, alas, too soon +this sweet vision faded into thin air! On the sixth day I made my +first appearance at the covered table, and could not help at once +remarking the cloth which had been spread over it. At the +commencement of our journey it might perhaps have been white; now it +was most certainly no longer of that snowy hue. The continual +pitching and rolling of the ship had caused each dish to set its +peculiar stamp upon the cloth. A sort of wooden network was now +laid upon it, in the interstices of which the plates and glasses +were set, and thus secured from falling. But before placing it on +the table, our worthy cabin-boy took each plate and glass +separately, and polished it on a towel which hung near, and in +colour certainly rather resembling the dingy floor of the cabin than +the bight-hued rainbow. This could still have been endured, but the +article in question really did duty AS A TOWEL in the morning, +before extending its salutary influence over plates and glasses for +the remainder of the day. + +On making discoveries such as these, I would merely turn away my +eyes, and try to think that perhaps MY GLASS and MY PLATE would be +more delicately manipulated, or probably escape altogether; and then +I would turn my whole attention to the expected dishes. + +First came soup; but instead of gravy-soup, it was water-soup, with +rice and dried plums. This, when mingled with red wine and sugar, +formed a most exquisite dish for Danish appetites, but it certainly +did not suit mine. The second and concluding course consisted of a +large piece of beef, with which I had no fault to find, except that +it was too heavy for one in my weak state of health. At supper we +had the same dishes as at dinner, and each meal was followed by +"tea-water." At first I could not fancy this bill of fare at all; +but within a few days after my convalesence, I had accustomed myself +to it, and could bear the sea-diet very well. {20} + +As the rich owner of the vessel was on board, there was no lack of +the best wines, and few evenings passed on which a bowl of punch was +not emptied. There was, however, a reason found why every bottle of +wine or bowl of punch should be drunk: for instance, at our +embarkation, to drink the health of the friends we were leaving, and +to hope for a quick and prosperous voyage; then, when the wind was +favourable, its health was drunk, with the request that it would +remain so; when it was contrary, with the request that it would +change; when we saw land, we saluted it with a glass of wine, or +perhaps with several, but I was too ill to count; when we lost sight +of it, we drank a farewell glass to its health: so that every day +brought with it three or four distinct and separate occasions for +drinking wine. {21} + +The sailors drank tea-water without sugar every morning and evening, +with the addition of a glass of brandy; for dinner they had pease, +beans, barley, or potatoes, with salted cod, bacon, "or junk;" good +sea-biscuit they could get whenever they chose. + +The diet is not the worst part of these poor people's hardships. +Their life may be called a continual fight against the elements; for +it is precisely during the most dreadful storms, with rain and +piercing cold, that they have to be continually upon deck. I could +not sufficiently admire the coolness, or rather the cheerfulness and +alacrity with which they fulfilled their onerous duties. And what +reward have they? Scanty pay, for food the diet I have just +described, and for their sleeping-place the smallest and most +inconvenient part of the ship, a dark place frequently infested with +vermin, and smelling offensively from being likewise used as a +receptacle for oil-colours, varnish, tar, salt-fish, &c. &c. + +To be cheerful in the midst of all this requires a very quiet and +contented mind. That the Danish sailors are contented, I had many +opportunities of observing during the voyage of which I am speaking, +and on several other occasions. + +But after all this long description, it is high time that I should +return to the journey itself. + +The favourable gale which had thus wafted us to the coast of Iceland +within seven days, now unfortunately changed its direction, and +drove us back. We drifted about in the storm-tost ocean, and many a +Spanish wave {22} broke completely over our ship. Twice we +attempted to approach the Westmann Islands {23} (a group belonging +to Iceland) to watch an opportunity of casting anchor, and setting +ashore our fellow-traveller Herr Bruge; but it was in vain, we were +driven back each time. At length, at the close of the eleventh day, +we reached Havenfiord, a very good harbour, distant nine miles from +Reikjavik, the capital of Iceland. + +In spite of the very inopportune change in the direction of the +wind, we had had an unprecedentedly quick passage. The distance +from Copenhagen to Iceland, in a straight line, is reckoned at 1200 +geographical miles; for a sailing vessel, which must tack now and +then, and must go as much with the wind as possible, 1500 to 1600 +miles. Had the strong wind, which was at first so favourable, +instead of changing on the seventh day, held on for thirty or forty +hours longer, we should have landed in Iceland on the eighth or +ninth day--even the steamer could not have accomplished the passage +so quickly. + +The shores of Iceland appeared to me quite different from what I had +supposed them to be from the descriptions I had read. I had fancied +them naked, without tree or shrub, dreary and desert; but now I saw +green hills, shrubs, and even what appeared to be groups of stunted +trees. As we came nearer, however, I was enabled to distinguish +objects more clearly, and the green hills became human dwellings +with small doors and windows, while the supposed groups of trees +proved in reality to be heaps of lava, some ten or twelve feet high, +thickly covered with moss and grass. Every thing was new and +striking to me; I waited in great impatience till we could land. + +At length the anchor descended; but it was not till next morning +that the hour of disembarkation and deliverance came. + +But one more night, and then, every difficulty overcome, I should +tread the shores of Iceland, the longed-for, and bask as it were in +the wonders of this island, so poor in the creations of art, so rich +in the phenomena of Nature. + + +Before I land in Iceland, I must trouble the reader with a few +preliminary observations regarding this island. They are drawn from +Mackenzie's Description of Iceland, a book the sterling value of +which is appreciated every where. {24} + +The discovery of Iceland, about the year of our Lord 860, is +attributed to the spirit of enterprise of some Swedish and Norwegian +pirates, who were drifted thither on a voyage to the Feroe Isles. +It was not till the year 874 that the island was peopled by a number +of voluntary emigrants, who, feeling unhappy under the dominion of +Harold Harfraga (fine hair), arrived at the island under the +direction of Ingold. {25} As the newcomers are said to have found +no traces of dwellings, they are presumed to be the first who took +possession of the island. + +At this time Iceland was still so completely covered with underwood, +that at some points it was necessary to cut a passage. Bringing +with them their language, religion, customs, and historical +monuments, the Norwegians introduced a kind of feudal system, which, +about the year 928, gave place to a somewhat aristocratic +government, retaining, however, the name of a republic. The island +was divided into four provinces, over each of which was placed an +hereditary governor or judge. + +The General Assembly of Iceland (called Allthing) was held annually +on the shores of the Lake Thingvalla. The people possessed an +excellent code of laws, in which provision had been made for every +case which could occur. + +This state of things lasted for more than 300 years, a period which +may be called the golden age of Iceland. Education, literature, and +even refined poetry flourished among the inhabitants, who took part +in commerce and in the sea-voyages which the Norwegians undertook +for purposes of discovery. + +The "Sagas," or histories of this country, contain many tales of +personal bravery. Its bards and historians visited other climes, +became the favourites of monarchs, and returned to their island +covered with honour and loaded with presents. The Edda, by Samund, +is one of the most valued poems of the ancient days of Iceland. The +second portion of the Edda, called Skalda, dates from a later +period, and is ascribed by many to the celebrated Snorri Sturluson. +Isleif, first Bishop of Skalholt, was the earliest Icelandic +historian; after him came the noted Snorri Sturluson, born in 1178, +who became the richest and mightiest man in Iceland. + +Snorri Sturluson was frequently followed to the General Assembly of +Iceland by a splendid retinue of 800 armed men. He was a great +historian and poet, and possessed an accurate knowledge of the Greek +and Latin tongues, besides being a powerful orator. He was also the +author of the Heims-kringla. + +The first school was founded at Skalholt, about the middle of the +eleventh century, under Isleif, first Bishop of Iceland; four other +schools and several convents soon followed. Poetry and music seem +to have formed a staple branch of education. + +The climate of Iceland appears to have been less inclement than is +now the case; corn is said to have grown, and trees and shrubs were +larger and thicker than we find them at present. The population of +Iceland was also much more numerous than it is now, although there +were neither towns nor villages. The people lived scattered +throughout the island; and the General Assembly was held at +Thingvalla, in the open air. + +Fishing constituted the chief employment of the Icelanders. Their +clothing was woven from the wool of their sheep. Commerce with +neighbouring countries opened to them another field of occupation. + +The doctrines of Christianity were first introduced into Iceland, in +the year 981, by Friederich, a Saxon bishop. Many churches were +built, and tithes established for the maintenance of the clergy. +Isleif, first Bishop of Skalholt, was ordained in the year 1057. +After the introduction of Christianity, all the Icelanders enjoyed +an unostentatious but undisturbed practice of their religion. + +Greenland and the most northern part of America are said to have +been discovered by Icelanders. + +In the middle of the thirteenth century Iceland came into the power +of the Norwegian kings. In the year 1380 Norway was united to the +crown of Denmark; and Iceland incorporated, without resistance, in +the Danish monarchy. Since the cession of the island to Norway, and +then to Denmark, peace and security took the place of the internal +commotions with which, before this time, Iceland had been frequently +disturbed; but this state of quiet brought forth indolence and +apathy. The voyages of discovery were interfered with by the new +government, and the commerce gradually passed into the hands of +other nations. The climate appears also to have changed; and the +lessened industry and want of perseverance in the inhabitants have +brought agriculture completely into decline. + +In the year 1402 the plague broke out upon the island, and carried +off two-thirds of the population. + +The first printing-press was established at Hoolum, about the year +1530, under the superintendence of the Bishop, John Areson. + +The reformation in the Icelandic Church was not brought about +without disturbance. It was legally established in the year 1551. + +During the fifteenth century the Icelanders suffered more from the +piratical incursions of foreigners. As late as the year 1616 the +French and English nations took part in these enormities. The most +melancholy occurrence of this kind took place in 1627, in which year +a great number of Algerine pirates made a descent upon the Icelandic +coast, murdered about fifty of the inhabitants, and carried off +nearly 400 others into captivity. {26} + +The eighteenth century commenced with a dreadful mortality from the +smallpox; of which disease more than 16,000 of the inhabitants died. +In 1757 a famine swept away about 10,000 souls. + +The year 1783 was distinguished by most dreadful volcanic outbreaks +in the interior of the island. Tremendous streams of lava carried +all before them; great rivers were checked in their course, and +formed lakes. For more than a year a thick cloud of smoke and +volcanic ashes covered the whole of Iceland, and nearly darkened the +sunlight. Horned cattle, sheep, and horses were destroyed; famine +came, with its accompanying illnesses; and once more appeared the +malignant small-pox. In a few years more than 11,000 persons had +died; more than one-fourth of the whole present population of the +island. + +Iceland lies in the Atlantic ocean; its greatest breadth is 240 +geographical miles, and its extreme length from north to south 140 +miles. The number of inhabitants is estimated at 48,000, and the +superficial extent of the island at 29,800 square miles. + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +On the morning of the 16th of May I landed in the harbour of +Havenfiord, and for the first time trod the shores of Iceland. +Although I was quite bewildered by sea-sickness, and still more by +the continual rocking of the ship, so that every object round me +seemed to dance, and I could scarcely make a firm step, still I +could not rest in the house of Herr Knudson, which he had obligingly +placed at my disposal. I must go out at once, to see and +investigate every thing. I found that Havenfiord consisted merely +of three wooden houses, a few magazines built of the same material, +and some peasants' cottages. + +The wooden houses are inhabited by merchants or by their factors, +and consist only of a ground-floor, with a front of four or six +windows. Two or three steps lead up to the entrance, which is in +the centre of the building, and opens upon a hall from which doors +lead into the rooms to the right and left. At the back of the house +is situated the kitchen, which opens into several back rooms and +into the yard. A house of this description consists only of five or +six rooms on the ground-floor and a few small attic bedrooms. + +The internal arrangements are quite European. The furniture--which +is often of mahogany,--the mirrors, the cast-iron stoves, every +thing, in short, come from Copenhagen. Beautiful carpets lie spread +before the sofas; neat curtains shade the windows; English prints +ornament the whitewashed walls; porcelain, plate, cut-glass, &c., +are displayed on chests and on tables; and flower-pots with roses, +mignonnette, and pinks spread a delicious fragrance around. I even +found a grand pianoforte here. If any person could suddenly, and +without having made the journey, be transported into one of these +houses, he would certainly fancy himself in some continental town, +rather than in the distant and barren island of Iceland. And as in +Havenfiord, so I found the houses of the more opulent classes in +Reikjavik, and in all the places I visited. + +From these handsome houses I betook myself to the cottages of the +peasants, which have a more indigenous, Icelandic appearance. Small +and low, built of lava, with the interstices filled with earth, and +the whole covered with large pieces of turf, they would present +rather the appearance of natural mounds of earth than of human +dwellings, were it not that the projecting wooden chimneys, the low- +browed entrances, and the almost imperceptible windows, cause the +spectator to conclude that they are inhabited. A dark narrow +passage, about four feet high, leads on one side into the common +room, and on the other to a few compartments, some of which are used +as storehouses for provisions, and the rest as winter stables for +the cows and sheep. At the end of this passage, which is purposely +built so low, as an additional defence against the cold, the +fireplace is generally situated. The rooms of the poorer class have +neither wooden walls nor floors, and are just large enough to admit +of the inhabitants sleeping, and perhaps turning round in them. The +whole interior accommodation is comprised in bedsteads with very +little covering, a small table, and a few drawers. Beds and chests +of drawers answer the purpose of benches and chairs. Above the beds +are fixed rods, from which depend clothes, shoes, stockings, &c. A +small board, on which are arranged a few books, is generally to be +observed. Stoves are considered unnecessary; for as the space is +very confined, and the house densely populated, the atmosphere is +naturally warm. + +Rods are also placed round the fireplace, and on these the wet +clothes and fishes are hung up in company to dry. The smoke +completely fills the room, and slowly finds its way through a few +breathing-holes into the open air. + +Fire-wood there is none throughout the whole island. The rich +inhabitants have it brought from Norway or Denmark; the poor burn +turf, to which they frequently add bones and other offal of fish, +which naturally engender a most disagreeable smoke. + +On entering one of these cottages, the visitor is at a loss to +determine which of the two is the more obnoxious--the suffocating +smoke in the passage or the poisoned air of the dwelling-room, +rendered almost insufferable by the crowding together of so many +persons. I could almost venture to assert, that the dreadful +eruption called Lepra, which is universal throughout Iceland, owes +its existence rather to the total want of cleanliness than to the +climate of the country or to the food. + +Throughout my subsequent journeys into the interior, I found the +cottages of the peasants every where alike squalid and filthy. Of +course I speak of the majority, and not of the exceptions; for here +I found a few rich peasants, whose dwellings looked cleaner and more +habitable, in proportion to the superior wealth or sense of decency +of the owners. My idea is, that the traveller's estimate of a +country should be formed according to the habits and customs of the +generality of its inhabitants, and not according to the doings of a +few individuals, as is often the case. Alas, how seldom did I meet +with these creditable exceptions! + +The neighbourhood of Havenfiord is formed by a most beautiful and +picturesque field of lava, at first rising in hills, then sinking +into hollows, and at length terminating in a great plain which +extends to the base of the neighbouring mountains. Masses of the +most varied forms, often black and naked, rise to the height of ten +or fifteen feet, forming walls, ruined pillars, small grottoes, and +hollow spaces. Over these latter large slabs often extend, and form +bridges. Every thing around consists of suddenly cooled heaped-up +masses of lava, in some instances covered to their summits with +grass and moss; this circumstance gives them, as already stated, the +appearance of groups of stunted trees. Horses, sheep, and cows were +clambering about, diligently seeking out every green place. I also +clambered about diligently; I could not tire of gazing and wondering +at this terribly beautiful picture of destruction. + +After a few hours I had so completely forgotten the hardships of my +passage, and felt myself so much strengthened, that I began my +journey to Reikjavik at five o'clock on the evening of the same day. +Herr Knudson seemed much concerned for me; he warned me that the +roads were bad, and particularly emphasised the dangerous abysses I +should be compelled to pass. I comforted him with the assurance +that I was a good horsewoman, and could hardly have to encounter +worse roads than those with which I had had the honour to become +acquainted in Syria. I therefore took leave of the kind gentleman, +who intended to stay a week or ten days in Havenfiord, and mounting +a small horse, set out in company of a female guide. + +In my guide I made the acquaintance of a remarkable antiquity of +Iceland, who is well worthy that I should devote a few words to her +description. She is above seventy years of age, but looks scarcely +fifty; her head is surrounded by tresses of rich fair hair. She is +dressed like a man; undertakes, in the capacity of messenger, the +longest and most fatiguing journeys; rows a boat as skilfully as the +most practised fisherman; and fulfils all her missions quicker and +more exactly than a man, for she does not keep up so good an +understanding with the brandy-bottle. She marched on so sturdily +before me, that I was obliged to incite my little horse to greater +speed with my riding-whip. + +At first the road lay between masses of lava, where it certainly was +not easy to ride; then over flats and small acclivities, from whence +we could descry the immense plain in which are situated Havenfiord, +Bassastadt, Reikjavik, and other places. Bassastadt, a town built +on a promontory jutting out into the sea, contains one of the +principal schools, a church built of masonry, and a few cottages. +The town of Reikjavik cannot be seen, as it is hidden behind a hill. +The other places consist chiefly of a few cottages, and only meet +the eye of the traveller when he approaches them nearly. Several +chains of mountains, towering one above the other, and sundry +"Jokuls," or glaciers, which lay still sparkling in their wintry +garb, surround this interminable plain, which is only open at one +end, towards the sea. Some of the plains and hills shone with +tender green, and I fancied I beheld beautiful meadows. On a nearer +inspection, however, they proved to be swampy places, and hundreds +upon hundreds of little acclivities, sometimes resembling mole- +hills, at others small graves, and covered with grass and moss. + +I could see over an area of at least thirty or forty miles, and yet +could not descry a tree or a shrub, a bit of meadow-land or a +friendly village. Every thing seemed dead. A few cottages lay +scattered here and there; at long intervals a bird would hover in +the air, and still more seldom I heard the kindly greeting of a +passing inhabitant. Heaps of lava, swamps, and turf-bogs surrounded +me on all sides; in all the vast expanse not a spot was to be seen +through which a plough could be driven. + +After riding more than four miles, I reached a hill, from which I +could see Reikjavik, the chief harbour, and, in fact, the only town +on the island. But I was deceived in my expectations; the place +before me was a mere village. + +The distance from Havenfiord to Reikjavik is scarcely nine miles; +but as I was unwilling to tire my good old guide, I took three hours +to accomplish it. The road was, generally speaking, very good, +excepting in some places, where it lay over heaps of lava. Of the +much-dreaded dizzy abysses I saw nothing; the startling term must +have been used to designate some unimportant declivities, along the +brow of which I rode, in sight of the sea; or perhaps the "abysses" +were on the lava-fields, where I sometimes noticed small chasms of +fifteen or sixteen feet in depth at the most. + +Shortly after eight o'clock in the evening I was fortunate enough to +reach Reikjavik safe and well. Through the kind forethought of Herr +Knudson, a neat little room had been prepared for me in one of his +houses occupied by the family of the worthy baker Bernhoft, and +truly I could not have been better received any where. + +During my protracted stay the whole family of the Bernhofts shewed +me more kindness and cordiality than it has been my lot frequently +to find. Many an hour has Herr Bernhoft sacrificed to me, in order +to accompany me in my little excursions. He assisted me most +diligently in my search for flowers, insects, and shells, and was +much rejoiced when he could find me a new specimen. His kind wife +and dear children rivalled him in willingness to oblige. I can only +say, may Heaven requite them a thousand-fold for their kindness and +friendship! + +I had even an opportunity of hearing my native language spoken by +Herr Bernhoft, who was a Holsteiner by birth, and had not quite +forgotten our dear German tongue, though he had lived for many years +partly in Denmark, partly in Iceland. + +So behold me now in the only town in Iceland, {27} the seat of the +so-called cultivated classes, whose customs and mode of life I will +now lay before my honoured readers. + +Nothing was more disagreeable to me than a certain air of dignity +assumed by the ladies here; an air which, except when it is natural, +or has become so from long habit, is apt to degenerate into +stiffness and incivility. On meeting an acquaintance, the ladies of +Reikjavik would bend their heads with so stately and yet so careless +an air as we should scarcely assume towards the humblest stranger. +At the conclusion of a visit, the lady of the house only accompanies +the guest as far as the chamber-door. If the husband be present, +this civility is carried a little further; but when this does not +happen to be the case, a stranger who does not know exactly through +which door he can make his exit, may chance to feel not a little +embarrassed. Excepting in the house of the "Stiftsamtmann" (the +principal official on the island), one does not find a footman who +can shew the way. In Hamburgh I had already noticed the beginnings +of this dignified coldness; it increased as I journeyed further +north, and at length reached its climax in Iceland. + +Good letters of recommendation often fail to render the northern +grandees polite towards strangers. As an instance of this fact, I +relate the following trait: + +Among other kind letters of recommendation, I had received one +addressed to Herr von H-, the "Stiftsamtmann" of Iceland. On my +arrival at Copenhagen, I heard that Herr von H- happened to be +there. I therefore betook myself to his residence, and was shewn +into a room where I found two young ladies and three children. I +delivered my letter, and remained quietly standing for some time. +Finding at length that no one invited me to be seated, I sat down +unasked on the nearest chair, never supposing for an instant that +the lady of the house could be present, and neglect the commonest +forms of politeness which should be observed towards every stranger. +After I had waited for some time, Herr von H- graciously made his +appearance, and expressed his regret that he should have very little +time to spare for me, as he intended setting sail for Iceland with +his family in a short time, and in the interim had a number of +weighty affairs to settle at Copenhagen; in conclusion, he gave me +the friendly advice to abandon my intention of visiting Iceland, as +the fatigues of travelling in that country were very great; finding, +however, that I persevered in my intention, he promised, in case I +set sail for Reikjavik earlier than himself, to give me a letter of +recommendation. All this was concluded in great haste, and we stood +during the interview. I took my leave, and at first determined not +to call again for the letter. On reflection, however, I changed my +mind, ascribed my unfriendly reception to important and perhaps +disagreeable business, and called again two days afterwards. Then +the letter was handed to me by a servant; the high people, whom I +could hear conversing in the adjoining apartment, probably +considered it too much trouble to deliver it to me personally. + +On paying my respects to this amiable family in Reikjavik, I was not +a little surprised to recognise in Frau von H- one of those ladies +who in Copenhagen had not had the civility to ask me to be seated. +Five or six days afterwards, Herr von H- returned my call, and +invited me to an excursion to Vatne. I accepted the invitation with +much pleasure, and mentally asked pardon of him for having formed +too hasty an opinion. Frau von H-, however, did not find her way to +me until the fourth week of my stay in Reikjavik; she did not even +invite me to visit her again, so of course I did not go, and our +acquaintance terminated there. As in duty bound, the remaining +dignitaries of this little town took their tone from their chief. +My visits were unreturned, and I received no invitations, though I +heard much during my stay of parties of pleasure, dinners, and +evening parties. Had I not fortunately been able to employ myself, +I should have been very badly off. Not one of the ladies had +kindness and delicacy enough to consider that I was alone here, and +that the society of educated people might be necessary for my +comfort. I was less annoyed at the want of politeness in the +gentlemen; for I am no longer young, and that accounts for every +thing. When the women were wanting in kindliness, I had no right to +expect consideration from the gentlemen. + +I tried to discover the reason of this treatment, and soon found +that it lay in a national characteristic of these people--their +selfishness. + +It appears I had scarcely arrived at Reikjavik before diligent +inquiries were set on foot as to whether I was RICH, and should see +much company at my house, and, in fact, whether much could be got +out of me. + +To be well received here it is necessary either to be rich, or else +to travel as a naturalist. Persons of the latter class are +generally sent by the European courts to investigate the remarkable +productions of the country. They make large collections of +minerals, birds, &c.; they bring with them numerous presents, +sometimes of considerable value, which they distribute among the +dignitaries; they are, moreover, the projectors of many an +entertainment, and even of many a little ball, &c.; they buy up +every thing they can procure for their cabinets, and they always +travel in company; they have much baggage with them, and +consequently require many horses, which cannot be hired in Iceland, +but must be bought. On such occasions every one here is a dealer: +offers of horses and cabinets pour in on all sides. + +The most welcome arrival of all is that of the French frigate, which +visits Iceland every year; for sometimes there are dejeuners a la +fourchette on board, sometimes little evening parties and balls. +There is at least something to be got besides the rich presents; the +"Stiftsamtmann" even receives 600 florins per annum from the French +government to defray the expense of a few return balls which he +gives to the naval officers. + +With me this was not the case: I gave no parties--I brought no +presents--they had nothing to expect from me; and therefore they +left me to myself. {28} + +For this reason I affirm that he only can judge of the character of +a people who comes among them without claim to their attention, and +from whom they have nothing to expect. To such a person only do +they appear in their true colours, because they do not find it worth +while to dissemble and wear a mask in his presence. In these cases +the traveller is certainly apt to make painful discoveries; but +when, on the other hand, he meets with good people, he may be +certain of their sincerity; and so I must beg my honoured readers to +bear with me, when I mention the names of all those who heartily +welcomed the undistinguished foreigner; it is the only way in which +I can express my gratitude towards them. + +As I said before, I had intercourse with very few people, so that +ample time remained for solitary walks, during which I minutely +noticed every thing around me. + +The little town of Reikjavik consists of a single broad street, with +houses and cottages scattered around. The number of inhabitants +does not amount to 500. + +The houses of the wealthier inhabitants are of wood-work, and +contain merely a ground-floor, with the exception of a single +building of one story, to which the high school, now held at +Bassastadt, will be transferred next year. The house of the +"Stiftsamtmann" is built of stone. It was originally intended for a +prison; but as criminals are rarely to be met with in Iceland, the +building was many years ago transformed into the residence of the +royal officer. A second stone building, discernible from Reikjavik, +is situated at Langarnes, half a mile from the town. It lies near +the sea, in the midst of meadows, and is the residence of the +bishop. + +The church is capable of holding only at the most from 100 to 150 +persons; it is built of stone, with a wooden roof. In the chambers +of this roof the library, consisting of several thousand volumes, is +deposited. The church contains a treasure which many a larger and +costlier edifice might envy,--a baptismal font by Thorwaldsen, whose +parents were of Icelandic extraction. The great sculptor himself +was born in Denmark, and probably wished, by this present, to do +honour to the birth-place of his ancestors. + +To some of the houses in Reikjavik pieces of garden are attached. +These gardens are small plots of ground where, with great trouble +and expense, salad, spinach, parsley, potatoes, and a few varieties +of edible roots, are cultivated. The beds are separated from each +other by strips of turf a foot broad, seldom boasting even a few +field-flowers. + +The inhabitants of Iceland are generally of middle stature, and +strongly built, with light hair, frequently inclining to red, and +blue eyes. The men are for the most part ugly; the women are better +favoured, and among the girls I noticed some very sweet faces. To +attain the age of seventy or eighty years is here considered an +extraordinary circumstance. {29} The peasants have many children, +and yet few; many are born, but few survive the first year. The +mothers do not nurse them, and rear them on very bad food. Those +who get over the first year look healthy enough; but they have +strangely red cheeks, almost as though they had an eruption. +Whether this appearance is to be ascribed to the sharp air, to which +the delicate skin is not yet accustomed, or to the food, I know not. + +In some places on the coast, when the violent storms prevent the +poor fishermen for whole weeks from launching their boats, they live +almost entirely on dried fishes' heads. {30} The fishes themselves +have been salted down and sold, partly to pay the fishermen's taxes, +and partly to liquidate debts for the necessaries of the past +season, among which brandy and snuff unfortunately play far too +prominent a part. + +Another reason why the population does not increase is to be found +in the numerous catastrophes attending the fisheries during the +stormy season of the year. The fishermen leave the shore with songs +and mirth, for a bright sky and a calm sea promise them good +fortune. But, alas, tempests and snow-storms too often overtake the +unfortunate boatmen! The sea is lashed into foam, and mighty waves +overwhelm boats and fishermen together, and they perish inevitably. +It is seldom that the father of a family embarks in the same boat +with his sons. They divide themselves among different parties, in +order that, if one boat founder, the whole family may not be +destroyed. + +I found the cottages of the peasants at Reikjavik smaller, and in +every respect worse provided, than those at Havenfiord. This seems, +however, to be entirely owing to the indolence of the peasants +themselves; for stones are to be had in abundance, and every man is +his own builder. The cows and sheep live through the winter in a +wretched den, built either in the cottage itself or in its immediate +neighbourhood. The horses pass the whole year under the canopy of +heaven, and must find their own provender. Occasionally only the +peasant will shovel away the snow from a little spot, to assist the +poor animals in searching for the grass or moss concealed beneath. +It is then left to the horses to finish clearing away the snow with +their feet. It may easily be imagined that this mode of treatment +tends to render them very hardy; but the wonder is, how the poor +creatures manage to exist through the winter on such spare diet, and +to be strong and fit for work late in the spring and in summer. +These horses are so entirely unused to being fed with oats, that +they will refuse them when offered; they are not even fond of hay. + +As I arrived in Iceland during the early spring, I had an +opportunity of seeing the horses and sheep in their winter garments. +The horses seemed to be covered, not with hair, but with a thick +woolly coat; their manes and tails are very long, and of surprising +thickness. At the end of May or the beginning of June the tail and +mane are docked and thinned, their woolly coat falls of itself, and +they then look smooth enough. The sheep have also a very thick coat +during the winter. It is not the custom to shear them, but at the +beginning of June the wool is picked off piece by piece with the +hand. A sheep treated in this way sometimes presents a very comical +appearance, being perfectly naked on one side, while on the other it +is still covered with wool. + +The horses and cows are considerably smaller than those of our +country. No one need journey so far north, however, to see stunted +cattle. Already, in Galicia, the cows and horses of the peasants +are not a whit larger or stronger than those in Iceland. The +Icelandic cows are further remarkable only for their peculiarly +small horns; the sheep are also smaller than ours. + +Every peasant keeps horses. The mode of feeding them is, as already +shewn, very simple; the distances are long, the roads bad, and large +rivers, moorlands, and swamps must frequently be passed; so every +one rides, both men, women, and children. The use of carriages is +as totally unknown throughout the island as in Syria. + +The immediate vicinity of Reikjavik is pretty enough. Some of the +townspeople go to much trouble and expense in sometimes collecting +and sometimes breaking the stones around their dwellings. With the +little ground thus obtained they mix turf, ashes, and manure, until +at length a soil is formed on which something will grow. But this +is such a gigantic undertaking, that the little culture bestowed on +the spots wholly neglected by nature cannot be wondered at. Herr +Bernhoft shewed me a small meadow which he had leased for thirty +years, at an annual rent of thirty kreutzers. In order, however, to +transform the land he bought into a meadow, which yields winter +fodder for only one cow, it was necessary to expend more than 150 +florins, besides much personal labour and pains. The rate of wages +for peasants is very high when compared with the limited wants of +these people: they receive thirty or forty kreutzers per diem, and +during the hay-harvest as much as a florin. + +For a long distance round the town the ground consists of stones, +turf, and swamps. The latter are mostly covered with hundreds upon +hundreds of great and small mounds of firm ground. By jumping from +one of these mounds to the next, the entire swamp may be crossed, +not only without danger, but dry-footed. + +In spite of all this, one of these swamps put me in a position of +much difficulty and embarrassment during one of my solitary +excursions. I was sauntering quietly along, when suddenly a little +butterfly fluttered past me. It was the first I had seen in this +country, and my eagerness to catch it was proportionately great. I +hastened after it; thought neither of swamp nor of danger, and in +the heat of the chase did not observe that the mounds became every +moment fewer and farther between. Soon I found myself in the middle +of the swamp, and could neither advance nor retreat. Not a human +being could I descry; the very animals were far from me; and this +circumstance confirmed me as to the dangerous nature of the ground. +Nothing remained for me but to fix my eyes upon one point of the +landscape, and to step out boldly towards it. I was often obliged +to hazard two or three steps into the swamp itself, in order to gain +the next acclivity, upon which I would then stand triumphantly, to +determine my farther progress. So long as I could distinguish +traces of horses' hoofs, I had no fear; but even these soon +disappeared, and I stood there alone in the morass. I could not +remain for ever on my tower of observation, and had no resource but +to take to the swamp once more. I must confess that I experienced a +very uncomfortable feeling of apprehension when my foot sank +suddenly into the soft mud; but when I found that it did not rise +higher than the ankles, my courage returned; I stepped out boldly, +and was fortunate enough to escape with the fright and a thorough +wetting. + +The most arduous posts in the country are those of the medical men +and clergymen. Their sphere of action is very enlarged, +particularly that of the medical man, whose practice sometimes +extends over a distance of eighty to a hundred miles. When we add +to this the severity of the winter, which lasts for seven or eight +months, it seems marvellous that any one can be found to fill such a +situation. + +In winter the peasants often come with shovels, pickaxes, and horses +to fetch the doctor. They then go before him, and hastily repair +the worst part of the road; while the doctor rides sometimes on one +horse, sometimes on another, that they may not sink under the +fatigue. And thus the procession travels for many, many miles, +through night and fog, through storm and snow, for on the doctor's +promptitude life and death often hang. When he then returns, quite +benumbed, and half dead with cold, to the bosom of his family, in +the expectation of rest and refreshment, and to rejoice with his +friends over the dangers and hardships he has escaped, the poor +doctor is frequently compelled to set off at once on a new and +important journey, before he has even had time to greet the dear +ones at home. + +Sometimes he is sent for by sea, where the danger is still greater +on the storm-tost element. + +Though the salary of the medical men is not at all proportionate to +the hardships they are called upon to undergo, it is still far +better than that of the priests. + +The smallest livings bring in six to eight florins annually, the +richest 200 florins. Besides this, the government supplies for each +priest a house, often not much better than a peasant's cottage, a +few meadows, and some cattle. The peasants are also required to +give certain small contributions in the way of hay, wool, fish, &c. +The greater number of priests are so poor, that they and their +families dress exactly like the peasants, from whom they can +scarcely be distinguished. The clergyman's wife looks after the +cattle, and milks cows and ewes like a maid-servant; while her +husband proceeds to the meadow, and mows the grass with the +labourer. The intercourse of the pastor is wholly confined to the +society of peasants; and this constitutes the chief element of that +"patriarchal life" which so many travellers describe as charming. I +should like to know which of them would wish to lead such a life! + +The poor priest has, besides, frequently to officiate in two, three, +or even four districts, distant from four to twelve miles from his +residence. Every Sunday he must do duty at one or other of these +districts, taking them in turn, so that divine service is only +performed at each place once in every three or four weeks. The +journeys of the priest, however, are not considered quite so +necessary as those of the doctor; for if the weather is very bad on +Sundays, particularly during the winter, he can omit visiting the +most distant places. This is done the more readily, as but few of +the peasants would be at church; all who lived at a distance +remaining at home. + +The Sysselmann (an officer similar to that of the sheriff of a +county) is the best off. He has a good salary with little to do, +and in some places enjoys in addition the "strand-right," which is +at times no inconsiderable privilege, from the quantity of drift +timber washed ashore from the American continent. + +Fishing and the chase are open to all, with the exception of the +salmon-fisheries in the rivers; these are farmed by the government. +Eider-ducks may not be shot, under penalty of a fine. There is no +military service, for throughout the whole island no soldiers are +required. Even Reikjavik itself boasts only two police-officers. + +Commerce is also free; but the islanders possess so little +commercial spirit, that even if they had the necessary capital, they +would never embark in speculation. + +The whole commerce of Iceland thus lies in the hands of Danish +merchants, who send their ships to the island every year, and have +established factories in the different ports where the retail trade +is carried on. + +These ships bring every thing to Iceland, corn, wood, wines, +manufactured goods, and colonial produce, &c. The imports are free, +for it would not pay the government to establish offices, and give +servants salaries to collect duties upon the small amount of produce +required for the island. Wine, and in fact all colonial produce, +are therefore much cheaper than in other countries. + +The exports consist of fish, particularly salted cod, fish-roe, +tallow, train-oil, eider-down, and feathers of other birds, almost +equal to eider-down in softness, sheep's wool, and pickled or salted +lamb. With the exception of the articles just enumerated, the +Icelanders possess nothing; thirteen years ago, when Herr Knudson +established a bakehouse, {31} he was compelled to bring from +Copenhagen, not only the builder, but even the materials for +building, stones, lime, &c.; for although the island abounds with +masses of stone, there are none which can be used for building an +oven, or which can be burnt into lime: every thing is of lava. + +Two or three cottages situated near each other are here dignified by +the name of a "place." These places, as well as the separate +cottages, are mostly built on little acclivities, surrounded by +meadows. The meadows are often fenced in with walls of stone or +earth, two or three feet in height, to prevent the cows, sheep, and +horses from trespassing upon them to graze. The grass of these +meadows is made into hay, and laid up as a winter provision for the +cows. + +I did not hear many complaints of the severity of the cold in +winter; the temperature seldom sinks to twenty degrees below zero; +the sea is sometimes frozen, but only a few feet from the shore. +The snowstorms and tempests, however, are often so violent, that it +is almost impossible to leave the house. Daylight lasts only for +five or six hours, and to supply its place the poor Icelanders have +only the northern light, which is said to illumine the long nights +with a brilliancy truly marvellous. + +The summer I passed in Iceland was one of the finest the inhabitants +had known for years. During the month of June the thermometer often +rose at noon to twenty degrees. The inhabitants found this heat so +insupportable, that they complained of being unable to work or to go +on messages during the day-time. On such warm days they would only +begin their hay-making in the evening, and continued their work half +the night. + +The changes in the weather are very remarkable. Twenty degrees of +heat on one day would be followed by rain on the next, with a +temperature of only five degrees; and on the 5th of June, at eight +o'clock in the morning, the thermometer stood at one degree below +zero. It is also curious that thunderstorms happen in Iceland in +winter, and are said never to occur during the summer. + +From the 16th or 18th of June to the end of the month there is no +night. The sun appears only to retire for a short time behind a +mountain, and forms sunset and morning-dawn at the same time. As on +one side the last beam fades away, the orb of day re-appears at the +opposite one with redoubled splendour. + +During my stay in Iceland, from the 15th of May to the 29th of July, +I never retired to rest before eleven o'clock at night, and never +required a candle. In May, and also in the latter portion of the +month of July, there was twilight for an hour or two, but it never +became quite dark. Even during the last days of my stay, I could +read until half-past ten o'clock. At first it appeared strange to +me to go to bed in broad daylight; but I soon accustomed myself to +it, and when eleven o'clock came, no sunlight was powerful enough to +cheat me of my sleep. I found much pleasure in walking at night, at +past ten o'clock, not in the pale moonshine, but in the broad blaze +of the sun. + +It was a much more difficult task to accustom myself to the diet. +The baker's wife was fully competent to superintend the cooking +according to the Danish and Icelandic schools of the art; but +unfortunately these modes of cookery differ widely from ours. One +thing only was good, the morning cup of coffee with cream, with +which the most accomplished gourmand could have found no fault: +since my departure from Iceland I have not found such coffee. I +could have wished for some of my dear Viennese friends to breakfast +with me. The cream was so thick, that I at first thought my hostess +had misunderstood me, and brought me curds. The butter made from +the milk of Icelandic cows and ewes did not look very inviting, and +was as white as lard, but the taste was good. The Icelanders, +however, find the taste not sufficiently "piquant," and generally +qualify it with train-oil. Altogether, train-oil plays a very +prominent part in the Icelandic kitchen; the peasant considers it a +most delicious article, and thinks nothing of devouring a quantity +of it without bread, or indeed any thing else. {32} + +I did not at all relish the diet at dinner; this meal consisted of +two dishes, namely, boiled fish, with vinegar and melted butter +instead of oil, and boiled potatoes. Unfortunately I am no admirer +of fish, and now this was my daily food. Ah, how I longed for beef- +soup, a piece of meat, and vegetables, in vain! As long as I +remained in Iceland, I was compelled quite to give up my German +system of diet. + +After a time I got on well enough with the boiled fish and potatoes, +but I could not manage the delicacies of the island. Worthy Madame +Bernhoft, it was so kindly meant on her part; and it was surely not +her fault that the system of cookery in Iceland is different from +ours; but I could not bring myself to like the Icelandic delicacies. +They were of different kinds, consisting sometimes of fishes, hard- +boiled eggs, and potatoes chopped up together, covered with a thick +brown sauce, and seasoned with pepper, sugar, and vinegar; at +others, of potatoes baked in butter and sugar. Another delicacy was +cabbage chopped very small, rendered very thin by the addition of +water, and sweetened with sugar; the accompanying dish was a piece +of cured lamb, which had a very unpleasant "pickled" flavour. + +On Sundays we sometimes had "Prothe Grutze," properly a Scandinavian +dish, composed of fine sago boiled to a jelly, with currant-juice or +red wine, and eaten with cream or sugar. Tapfen, a kind of soft +cheese, is also sometimes eaten with cream and sugar. + +In the months of June and July the diet improved materially. We +could often procure splendid salmon, sometimes roast lamb, and now +and then birds, among which latter dainties the snipes were +particularly good. In the evening came butter, cheese, cold fish, +smoked lamb, and eggs of eider-ducks, which are coarser than hen's +eggs. In time I became so accustomed to this kind of food, that I +no longer missed either soup or beef, and felt uncommonly well. + +My drink was always clear fresh water; the gentlemen began their +dinner with a small glass of brandy, and during the meal all drank +beer of Herr Bernhoft's own brewing, which was very good. On +Sundays, a bottle of port or Bordeaux sometimes made its appearance +at our table; and as we fared at Herr Bernhoft's, so it was the +custom in the houses of all the merchants and officials. + +At Reikjavik I had an opportunity of witnessing a great religious +ceremony. Three candidates of theology were raised to the +ministerial office. Though the whole community here is Lutheran, +the ceremonies differ in many respects from those of the continent +of Europe, and I will therefore give a short sketch of what I saw. +The solemnity began at noon, and lasted till four o'clock. I +noticed at once that all the people covered their faces for a moment +on entering the church, the men with their hats, and the women with +their handkerchiefs. Most of the congregation sat with their faces +turned towards the altar; but this rule had its exceptions. The +vestments of the priests were the same as those worn by our +clergymen, and the commencement of the service also closely +resembled the ritual of our own Church; but soon this resemblance +ceased. The bishop stepped up to the altar with the candidates, and +performed certain ceremonies; then one would mount the pulpit and +read part of a sermon, or sing a psalm, while the other clergymen +sat round on chairs, and appeared to listen; then a second and a +third ascended the pulpit, and afterwards another sermon was +preached from the altar, and another psalm sung; then a sermon was +again read from the pulpit. While ceremonies were performed at the +altar, the sacerdotal garments were often put on and taken off +again. I frequently thought the service was coming to a close, but +it always began afresh, and lasted, as I said before, until four +o'clock. The number of forms surprised me greatly, as the ritual of +the Lutheran Church is in general exceedingly simple. + +On this occasion a considerable number of the country people were +assembled, and I had thus a good opportunity of noticing their +costumes. The dresses worn by the women and girls are all made of +coarse black woollen stuffs. The dress consists of a long skirt, a +spencer, and a coloured apron. On their heads they wear a man's +nightcap of black cloth, the point turned downwards, and terminating +in a large tassel of wool or silk, which hangs down to the shoulder. +Their hair is unbound, and reaches only to the shoulder: some of +the women wear it slightly curled. I involuntarily thought of the +poetical descriptions of the northern romancers, who grow +enthusiastic in praise of ideal "angels' heads with golden tresses." +The hair is certainly worn in this manner here, and our poets may +have borrowed their descriptions from the Scandinavians. But the +beautiful faces which are said to beam forth from among those golden +locks exist only in the poet's vivid imagination. + +Ornamental additions to the costume are very rare. In the whole +assembly I only noticed four women who were dressed differently from +the others. The cords which fastened their spencers, and also their +girdles, were ornamented with a garland worked in silver thread. +Their skirts were of fine black cloth, and decorated with a border +of coloured silk a few inches broad. Round their necks they wore a +kind of stiff collar of black velvet with a border of silver thread, +and on their heads a black silk handkerchief with a very strange +addition. This appendage consisted of a half-moon fastened to the +back of the head, and extending five or six inches above the +forehead. It was covered with white lawn arranged in folds; its +breadth at the back of the head did not exceed an inch and a half, +but in front it widened to five or six inches. + +The men, I found, were clothed almost like our peasants. They wore +small-clothes of dark cloth, jackets and waistcoats, felt hats, or +fur caps; and instead of boots a kind of shoe of ox-hide, sheep, or +seal-skin, bound to the feet by a leather strap. The women, and +even the children of the officials, all wear shoes of this +description. + +It was very seldom that I met people so wretchedly and poorly clad +as we find them but too often in the large continental towns. I +never saw any one without good warm shoes and stockings. + +The better classes, such as merchants, officials, &c. are dressed in +the French style, and rather fashionably. There is no lack of silk +and other costly stuffs. Some of these are brought from England, +but the greater part come from Denmark. + +On the king's birthday, which is kept every year at the house of the +Stiftsamtmann, the festivities are said to be very grand; on this +occasion the matrons appear arrayed in silk, and the maidens in +white jaconet; the rooms are lighted with wax tapers. + +Some speculative genius or other has also established a sort of club +in Reikjavik. He has, namely, hired a couple of rooms, where the +townspeople meet of an evening to discuss "tea-water," bread and +butter, and sometimes even a bottle of wine or a bowl of punch. In +winter the proprietor gives balls in these apartments, charging 20 +kr. for each ticket of admission. Here the town grandees and the +handicraftsmen, in fact all who choose to come, assemble; and the +ball is said to be conducted in a very republican spirit. The +shoemaker leads forth the wife of the Stiftsamtmann to the dance, +while that official himself has perhaps chosen the wife or daughter +of the shoemaker or baker for his partner. The refreshments consist +of "tea-water" and bread and butter, and the room is lighted with +tallow candles. The music, consisting of a kind of three-stringed +violin and a pipe, is said to be exquisitely horrible. + +In summer the dignitaries make frequent excursions on horse-back; +and on these occasions great care is taken that there be no lack of +provisions. Commonly each person contributes a share: some bring +wine, others cake; others, again, coffee, and so on. The ladies use +fine English side-saddles, and wear elegant riding-habits, and +pretty felt hats with green veils. These jaunts, however, are +confined to Reikjavik; for, as I have already observed, there is, +with the exception of this town, no place in Iceland containing more +than two or three stores and some half-dozen cottages. + +To my great surprise, I found no less than six square piano-fortes +belonging to different families in Reikjavik, and heard waltzes by +our favourite composers, besides variations of Herz, and some pieces +of Liszt, Wilmers, and Thalberg. But such playing! I do not think +that these talented composers would have recognised their own works. + +In conclusion, I must offer a few remarks relative to the travelling +in this country. + +The best time to choose for this purpose is from the middle of June +to the end of August at latest. Until June the rivers are so +swollen and turbulent, by reason of the melting snows, as to render +it very dangerous to ride through them. The traveller must also +pass over many a field of snow not yet melted by the sun, and +frequently concealing chasms and masses of lava; and this is +attended with danger almost as great. At every footstep the +traveller sinks into the snow; and he may thank his lucky stars if +the whole rotten surface does not give way. In September the +violent storms of wind and rain commence, and heavy falls of snow +may be expected from day to day. + +A tent, provisions, cooking utensils, pillows, bed-clothes, and warm +garments, are highly necessary for the wayfarer's comfort. This +paraphernalia would have been too expensive for me to buy, and I was +unprovided with any thing of the kind; consequently I was forced to +endure the most dreadful hardships and toil, and was frequently +obliged to ride an immense distance to reach a little church or a +cottage, which would afford me shelter for the night. My sole food +for eight or ten days together was often bread and cheese; and I +generally passed the night upon a chest or a bench, where the cold +would often prevent my closing my eyes all night. + +It is advisable to be provided with a waterproof cloak and a +sailor's tarpaulin hat, as a defence against the rain, which +frequently falls. An umbrella would be totally useless, as the rain +is generally accompanied by a storm, or, at any rate, by a strong +wind; when we add to this, that it is necessary in some places to +ride quickly, it will easily be seen that holding an umbrella open +is a thing not to be thought of. + +Altogether I found the travelling in this country attended with far +more hardship than in the East. For my part, I found the dreadful +storms of wind, the piercing air, the frequent rain, and the cold, +much less endurable than the Oriental heat, which never gave me +either cracked lips or caused scales to appear on my face. In +Iceland my lips began to bleed on the fifth day; and afterwards the +skin came off my face in scales, as if I had had the scrofula. +Another source of great discomfort is to be found in the long +riding-habit. It is requisite to be very warmly clad; and the heavy +skirts, often dripping with rain, coil themselves round the feet of +the wearer in such a manner, as to render her exceedingly awkward +either in mounting or dismounting. The worst hardship of all, +however, is the being obliged to halt to rest the horses in a meadow +during the rain. The long skirts suck up the water from the damp +grass, and the wearer has often literally not a dry stitch in all +her garments. + +Heat and cold appear in this country to affect strangers in a +remarkable degree. The cold seemed to me more piercing, and the +heat more oppressive in Iceland, than when the thermometer stood at +the same points in my native land. + +In summer the roads are marvellously good, so that one can generally +ride at a pretty quick pace. They are, however, impracticable for +vehicles, partly because they are too narrow, and partly also on +account of some very bad places which must occasionally be +encountered. On the whole island not a single carriage is to be +found. + +The road is only dangerous when it leads through swamps and moors, +or over fields of lava. Among these fields, such as are covered +with white moss are peculiarly to be feared, for the moss frequently +conceals very dangerous holes, into which the horse can easily +stumble. In ascending and descending the hills very formidable +spots sometimes oppose the traveller's progress. The road is at +times so hidden among swamps and bogs, that not a trace of it is to +be distinguished, and I could only wonder how my guide always +succeeded in regaining the right path. One could almost suppose +that on these dangerous paths both horse and man are guided by a +kind of instinct. + +Travelling is more expensive in Iceland than any where else, +particularly when one person travels alone, and must bear all the +expense of the baggage, the guide, ferries, &c. Horses are not let +out on hire, they must be bought. They are, however, very cheap; a +pack-horse costs from eighteen to twenty-four florins, and a riding- +horse from forty to fifty florins. To travel with any idea of +comfort it is necessary to have several pack-horses, for they must +not be heavily laden; and an additional servant must likewise be +hired, as the guide only looks after the saddle-horses, and, at +most, one or two of the pack-horses. If the traveller, at the +conclusion of the journey, wishes to sell the horses, such a +wretchedly low price is offered, that it is just as well to give +them away at once. This is a proof of the fact that men are every +where alike ready to follow up their advantage. These people are +well aware that the horses must be left behind at any rate, and +therefore they will not bid for them. I must confess that I found +the character of the Icelanders in every respect below the estimate +I had previously formed of it, and still further below the standard +given in books. + +In spite of their scanty food, the Icelandic horses have a +marvellous power of endurance; they can often travel from thirty- +five to forty miles per diem for several consecutive days. But the +only difficulty is to keep the horse moving. The Icelanders have a +habit of continually kicking their heels against the poor beast's +sides; and the horse at last gets so accustomed to this mode of +treatment, that it will hardly go if the stimulus be discontinued. +In passing the bad pieces of road it is necessary to keep the bridle +tight in hand, or the horse will stumble frequently. This and the +continual urging forward of the horse render riding very fatiguing. +{33} + +Not a little consideration is certainly required before undertaking +a journey into the far north; but nothing frightened me,--and even +in the midst of the greatest dangers and hardships I did not for one +moment regret my undertaking, and would not have relinquished it +under any consideration. + +I made excursions to every part of Iceland, and am thus enabled to +place before my readers, in regular order, the chief curiosities of +this remarkable country. I will commence with the immediate +neighbourhood of Reikjavik. + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +May 25th. + +Stiftsamtmann von H- was today kind enough to pay me a visit, and to +invite me to join his party for a ride to the great lake Vatne. I +gladly accepted the invitation, for, according to the description +given by the Stiftsamtmann, I hoped to behold a very Eden, and +rejoiced at the prospect of observing the recreations of the higher +classes, and at the same time gaining many acquisitions in specimens +of plants, butterflies, and beetles. I resolved also to test the +capabilities of the Icelandic horses more thoroughly than I had been +able to do during my first ride from Havenfiord to Reikjavik, as I +had been obliged on that occasion to ride at a foot-pace, on account +of my old guide. + +The hour of starting was fixed for two o'clock. Accustomed as I am +to strict punctuality, I was ready long before the appointed time, +and at two o'clock was about to hasten to the place of rendezvous, +when my hostess informed me I had plenty of time, for Herr von H- +was still at dinner. Instead of meeting at two o'clock, we did not +assemble until three, and even then another quarter of an hour +elapsed before the cavalcade started. Oh, Syrian notions of +punctuality and dispatch! Here, almost at the very antipodes, did I +once more greet ye. + +The party consisted of the nobility and the town dignitaries. Among +the former class may be reckoned Stiftsamtmann von H- and his lady; +a privy councillor, Herr von B-, who had been sent from Copenhagen +to attend the "Allthing" (political assembly); and a Danish baron, +who had accompanied the councillor. I noticed among the town +dignitaries the daughter and wife of the apothecary, and the +daughters of some merchants resident here. + +Our road lay through fields of lava, swamps, and very poor grassy +patches, in a great valley, swelling here and there into gentle +acclivities, and shut in on three sides by several rows of +mountains, towering upwards in the most diversified shapes. In the +far distance rose several jokuls or glaciers, seeming to look +proudly down upon the mountains, as though they asked, "Why would ye +draw men's eyes upon you, where we glisten in our silver sheen?" In +the season of the year at which I beheld them, the glaciers were +still very beautiful; not only their summits, but their entire +surface, as far as visible, being covered with snow. The fourth +side of the valley through which we travelled was washed by the +ocean, which melted as it were into the horizon in immeasurable +distance. The coast was dotted with small bays, having the +appearance of so many lakes. + +As the road was good, we could generally ride forward at a brisk +pace. Occasionally, however, we met with small tracts on which the +Icelandic horse could exercise its sagacity and address. My horse +was careful and free from vice; it carried me securely over masses +of stone and chasms in the rocks, but I cannot describe the +suffering its trot caused me. It is said that riding is most +beneficial to those who suffer from liver-complaints. This may be +the case; but I should suppose that any one who rode upon an +Icelandic horse, with an Icelandic side-saddle, every day for the +space of four weeks, would find, at the expiration of that time, her +liver shaken to a pulp, and no part of it remaining. + +All the rest of the party had good English saddles, mine alone was +of Icelandic origin. It consisted of a chair, with a board for the +back. The rider was obliged to sit crooked upon the horse, and it +was impossible to keep a firm seat. With much difficulty I trotted +after the others, for my horse would not be induced to break into a +gallop. + +At length, after a ride of an hour and a half, we reached a valley. +In the midst of a tolerably green meadow I descried what was, for +Iceland, a farm of considerable dimensions, and not far from this +farm was a very small lake. I did not dare to ask if this was the +GREAT lake Vatne, or if this was the delicious prospect I had been +promised, for my question would have been taken for irony. I could +not refrain from wonder when Herr von H- began praising the +landscape as exquisite, and farther declaring the effect of the lake +to be bewitching. I was obliged, for politeness' sake, to +acquiesce, and leave them in the supposition that I had never seen a +larger lake nor a finer prospect. + +We now made a halt, and the whole party encamped in the meadow. +While the preparations for a social meal were going on, I proceeded +to satisfy my curiosity. + +The peasant's house first attracted my attention. I found it to +consist of one large chamber, and two of smaller size, besides a +storeroom and extensive stables, from which I judged that the +proprietor was rich in cattle. I afterwards learnt that he owned +fifty sheep, eight cows, and five horses, and was looked upon as one +of the richest farmers in the neighbourhood. The kitchen was +situated at the extreme end of the building, and was furnished with +a chimney that seemed intended only as a protection against rain and +snow, for the smoke dispersed itself throughout the whole kitchen, +drying the fish which hung from the ceiling, and slowly making its +exit through an air-hole. + +The large apartment boasted a wooden bookshelf, containing about +forty volumes. Some of these I turned over, and in spite of my +limited knowledge of the Danish language, could make out enough to +discover that they were chiefly on religious subjects. But the +farmer seemed also to love poetry; among the works of this class in +his library, I noticed Kleist, Muller, and even Homer's Odyssey. I +could make nothing of the Icelandic books; but on inquiring their +contents, I was told that they all treated of religious matters. + +After inspecting these, I walked out into the meadow to search for +flowers and herbs. Flowers I found but few, as it was not the right +time of the year for them; my search for herbs was more successful, +and I even found some wild clover. I saw neither beetles nor +butterflies; but, to my no small surprise, heard the humming of two +wild bees, one of which I was fortunate enough to catch, and took +home to preserve in spirits of wine. + +On rejoining my party, I found them encamped in the meadow around a +table, which had in the meantime been spread with butter, cheese, +bread, cake, roast lamb, raisins and almonds, a few oranges, and +wine. Neither chairs nor benches were to be had, for even wealthy +peasants only possess planks nailed to the walls of their rooms; so +we all sat down upon the grass, and did ample justice to the capital +coffee which made the commencement of the meal. Laughter and jokes +predominated to such an extent, that I could have fancied myself +among impulsive Italians instead of cold Northmen. + +There was no lack of wit; but to-day I was unfortunately its butt. +And what was my fault?--only my stupid modesty. The conversation +was carried on in the Danish language; some members of our party +spoke French and others German, but I purposely abstained from +availing myself of their acquirements, in order not to disturb the +hilarity of the conversation. I sat silently among them, and was +perfectly contented in listening to their merriment. But my +behaviour was set down as proceeding from stupidity, and I soon +gathered from their discourse that they were comparing me to the +"stone guest" in Mozart's Don Giovanni. If these kind people had +only surmised the true reason of my keeping silence, they would +perhaps have thanked me for doing so. + +As we sat at our meal, I heard a voice in the farmhouse singing an +Icelandic song. At a distance it resembled the humming of bees; on +a nearer approach it sounded monotonous, drawling, and melancholy. + +While we were preparing for our departure, the farmer, his wife, and +the servants approached, and shook each of us by the hand. This is +the usual mode of saluting such HIGH people as we numbered among our +party. The true national salutation is a hearty kiss. + +On my arrival at home the effect of the strong coffee soon began to +manifest itself. I could not sleep at all, and had thus ample +leisure to make accurate observations as to the length of the day +and of the twilight. Until eleven o'clock at night I could read +ordinary print in my room. From eleven till one o'clock it was +dusk, but never so dark as to prevent my reading in the open air. +In my room, too, I could distinguish the smallest objects, and even +tell the time by my watch. At one o'clock I could again read in my +room. + + +EXCURSION TO VIDOE. + + +The little island of Vidoe, four miles distant from Reikjavik, is +described by most travellers as the chief resort of the eider-duck. +I visited the island on the 8th of June, but was disappointed in my +expectations. I certainly saw many of these birds on the +declivities and in the chasms of the rocks, sitting quietly on their +nests, but nothing approaching the thousands I had been led to +expect. On the whole, I may perhaps have seen from one hundred to a +hundred and fifty nests. + +The most remarkable circumstance connected with the eider-ducks is +their tameness during the period of incubation. I had always +regarded as myths the stories told about them in this respect, and +should do so still had I not convinced myself of the truth of these +assertions by laying hands upon the ducks myself. I could go quite +up to them and caress them, and even then they would not often leave +their nests. Some few birds, indeed, did so when I wished to touch +them; but they did not fly up, but contented themselves with coolly +walking a few paces away from the nest, and there sitting quietly +down until I had departed. But those which already had live young, +beat out boldly with their wings when I approached, struck at me +with their bills, and allowed themselves to be taken up bodily +rather than leave the nest. They are about the size of our ducks; +their eggs are of a greenish grey, rather larger than hen's eggs, +and taste very well. Altogether they lay about eleven eggs. The +finest down is that with which they line their nests at first; it is +of a dark grey colour. The Icelanders take away this down, and the +first nest of eggs. The poor bird now robs herself once more of a +quantity of down (which is, however, not of so fine a quality as the +first), and again lays eggs. For the second time every thing is +taken from her; and not until she has a third time lined the nest +with her down is the eider-duck left in peace. The down of the +second, and that of the third quality especially, are much lighter +than that of the first. I also was sufficiently cruel to take a few +eggs and some down out of several of the nests. {34} + +I did not witness the dangerous operation of collecting this down +from between the clefts of rocks and from unapproachable precipices, +where people are let down, or to which they are drawn up, by ropes, +at peril of their lives. There are, however, none of these break- +neck places in the neighbourhood of Reikjavik. + + +SALMON FISHERY. + + +I made another excursion to a very short distance (two miles) from +Reikjavik, in the company of Herr Bernhoft and his daughter, to the +Laxselv (salmon river) to witness the salmon-fishing, which takes +place every week from the middle of June to the middle of August. +It is conducted in a very simple manner. The fish come up the river +in the spawning season; the stream is then dammed up with several +walls of stone loosely piled to the height of some three feet; and +the retreat of the fish to the sea is thus cut off. When the day +arrives on which the salmon are to be caught, a net is spread behind +each of these walls. Three or four such dams are erected at +intervals, of from eighty to a hundred paces, so that even if the +fishes escape one barrier, they are generally caught at the next. +The water is now made to run off as much as possible; the poor +salmon dart to and fro, becoming every moment more and more aware of +the sinking of the water, and crowd to the weirs, cutting themselves +by contact with the sharp stones of which they are built. This is +the deepest part of the water; and it is soon so thronged with fish, +that men, stationed in readiness, can seize them in their hands and +fling them ashore. + +The salmon possess remarkable swiftness and strength. The fisherman +is obliged to take them quickly by the head and tail, and to throw +them ashore, when they are immediately caught by other men, who +fling them still farther from the water. If this is not done with +great quickness and care, many of the fishes escape. It is +wonderful how these creatures can struggle themselves free, and leap +into the air. The fishermen are obliged to wear woollen mittens, or +they would be quite unable to hold the smooth salmon. At every +day's fishing, from five hundred to a thousand fish are taken, each +weighing from five to fifteen pounds. On the day when I was present +eight hundred were killed. This salmon-stream is farmed by a +merchant of Reikjavik. + +The fishermen receive very liberal pay,--in fact, one-half of the +fish taken. And yet they are dissatisfied, and show so little +gratitude, as seldom to finish their work properly. So, for +instance, they only brought the share of the merchant to the harbour +of Reikjavik, and were far too lazy to carry the salmon from the +boat to the warehouse, a distance certainly not more than sixty or +seventy paces from the shore. They sent a message to their +employer, bidding him "send some fresh hands, for they were much too +tired." Of course, in a case like this, all remonstrance is +unavailing. + +As in the rest of the world, so also in Iceland, every occasion that +offers is seized upon for a feast or a merry-making. The day on +which I witnessed the salmon-fishing happened to be one of the few +fine days that occur during a summer in Iceland. It was therefore +unanimously concluded by several merchants, that the day and the +salmon-fishing should be celebrated by a dejeuner a la fourchette. +Every one contributed something, and a plentiful and elegant +breakfast was soon arranged, which quite resembled an entertainment +of the kind in our country; this one circumstance excepted, that we +were obliged to seat ourselves on the ground, by reason of a +scarcity of tables and benches. Spanish and French wines, as well +as cold punch, were there in plenty, and the greatest hilarity +prevailed. + +I made a fourth excursion, but to a very inconsiderable distance,-- +in fact, only a mile and a half from Reikjavik. It was to see a hot +and slightly sulphurous spring, which falls into a river of cold +water. By this lucky meeting of extremes, water can be obtained at +any temperature, from the boiling almost to the freezing point. The +townspeople take advantage of this good opportunity in two ways, for +bathing and for washing clothes. The latter is undoubtedly the more +important purpose of application, and a hut has been erected, in +order to shield the poor people from wind and rain while they are at +work. Formerly this hut was furnished with a good door and with +glazed windows, and the key was kept at an appointed place in the +town, whence any one might fetch it. But the servants and peasant +girls were soon too lazy to go for the key; they burst open the +lock, and smashed the windows, so that now the hut has a very +ruinous appearance, and affords but little protection against the +weather. How much alike mankind are every where, and how seldom +they do right, except when it gives them no trouble, and then, +unfortunately, there is not much merit to be ascribed to them, as +their doing right is merely the result of a lucky chance! Many +people also bring fish and potatoes, which they have only to lay in +the hot water, and in a short time both are completely cooked. + +This spring is but little used for the purpose of bathing; at most +perhaps by a few children and peasants. Its medicinal virtues, if +it possesses any, are completely unknown. + + +THE SULPHUR-SPRINGS AND SULPHUR-MOUNTAINS OF KRISUVIK. + + +The 4th of June was fixed for my departure. I had only to pack up +some bread and cheese, sugar and coffee, then the horses were +saddled, and at seven o'clock the journey was happily commenced. I +was alone with my guide, who, like the rest of his class, could not +be considered as a very favourable specimen of humanity. He was +very lazy, exceedingly self-interested, and singularly loath to +devote any part of his attention either to me or to the horses, +preferring to concentrate it upon brandy, an article which can +unfortunately be procured throughout the whole country. + +I had already seen the district between Reikjavik and Havenfiord at +my first arrival in Iceland. At the present advanced season of the +year it wore a less gloomy aspect: strawberry-plants and violets,-- +the former, however, without blossoms, and the latter inodorous,-- +were springing up between the blocks of lava, together with +beautiful ferns eight or ten inches high. In spite of the trifling +distance, I noticed, as a rule, that vegetation was here more +luxuriant than at Reikjavik; for at the latter place I had found no +strawberry-plants, and the violets were not yet in blossom. This +difference in the vegetation is, I think, to be ascribed to the high +walls of lava existing in great abundance round Havenfiord; they +protect the tender plants and ferns from the piercing winds. I +noticed that both the grass and the plants before mentioned throve +capitally in the little hollows formed by masses of lava. + +A couple of miles beyond Havenfiord I saw the first birch-trees, +which, however, did not exceed two or three feet in height, also +some bilberry-plants. A number of little butterflies, all of one +colour, and, as it seemed to me, of the same species, fluttered +among the shrubs and plants. + +The manifold forms and varied outline of the lava-fields present a +remarkable and really a marvellous appearance. Short as this +journey is--for ten hours are amply sufficient for the trip to +Krisuvik,--it presents innumerable features for contemplation. I +could only gaze and wonder. I forgot every thing around me, felt +neither cold nor storm, and let my horse pick his way as slowly as +he chose, so that I had once almost become separated from my guide. + +One of the most considerable of the streams of lava lay in a +spacious broad valley. The lava-stream itself, about two miles +long, and of a considerable breadth, traversing the whole of the +plain, seemed to have been called into existence by magic, as there +was no mountain to be seen in the neighbourhood from which it could +have emerged. It appeared to be the covering of an immense crater, +formed, not of separate stones and blocks, but of a single and +slightly porous mass of rock ten or twelve feet thick, broken here +and there by clefts about a foot in breadth. + +Another, and a still larger valley, many miles in circumference, was +filled with masses of lava shaped like waves, reminding the beholder +of a petrified sea. From the midst rose a high black mountain, +contrasting beautifully with the surrounding masses of light-grey +lava. At first I supposed the lava must have streamed forth from +this mountain, but soon found that the latter was perfectly smooth +on all sides, and terminated in a sharp peak. The remaining +mountains which shut in the valley were also perfectly closed, and I +looked in vain for any trace of a crater. + +We now reached a small lake, and soon afterwards arrived at a larger +one, called Kleinfarvatne. Both were hemmed in by mountains, which +frequently rose abruptly from the waters, leaving no room for the +passage of the horses. We were obliged sometimes to climb the +mountains by fearfully dizzy paths; at others to scramble downwards, +almost clinging to the face of the rock. At some points we were +even compelled to dismount from our horses, and scramble forward on +our hands and knees. In a word, these dangerous points, which +extended over a space of about seven miles, were certainly quite as +bad as any I had encountered in Syria; if any thing, they were even +more formidable. + +I was, however, assured that I should have no more such places to +encounter during all my further journeys in Iceland, and this +information quite reconciled me to the roads in this country. For +the rest, the path was generally tolerably safe even during this +tour, which continually led me across fields of lava. + +A journey of some eight-and-twenty miles brought us at length into a +friendly valley; clouds of smoke, both small and great, were soon +discovered rising from the surrounding heights, and also from the +valley itself; these were the sulphur-springs and sulphur-mountains. + +I could hardly restrain my impatience while we traversed the couple +of miles which separated us from Krisuvik. A few small lakes were +still to be crossed; and at length, at six o'clock in the evening, +we reached our destination. + +With the exception of a morsel of bread and cheese, I had eaten +nothing since the morning; still I could not spare time to make +coffee, but at once dismounted, summoned my guide, and commenced my +pilgrimage to the smoking mountains. At the outset our way lay +across swampy places and meadow lands; but soon we had to climb the +mountains themselves, a task rendered extremely difficult by the +elastic, yielding soil, in which every footstep imprinted itself +deeply, suggesting to the traveller the unpleasant possibility of +his sinking through,--a contingency rendered any thing but agreeable +by the neighbourhood of the boiling springs. At length I gained the +summit, and saw around me numerous basins filled with boiling water, +while on all sides, from hill and valley, columns of vapour rose out +of numberless clefts in the rocks. From a cleft in one rock in +particular a mighty column of vapour whirled into the air. On the +windward side I could approach this place very closely. The ground +was only lukewarm in some places, and I could hold my hand for +several moments to the gaps from which steam issued. No trace of a +crater was to be seen. The bubbling and hissing of the steam, added +to the noise of the wind, occasioned such a deafening clamour, that +I was very glad to feel firmer ground beneath my feet, and to leave +the place in haste. It really seemed as if the interior of the +mountain had been a boiling caldron. The prospect from these +mountains is very fine. Numerous valleys and mountains innumerable +offered themselves to my view, and I could even discern the isolated +black rock past which I had ridden five or six hours previously. + +I now commenced my descent into the valley; at a few hundred paces +the bubbling and hissing were already inaudible. I supposed that I +had seen every thing worthy of notice; but much that was remarkable +still remained. I particularly noticed a basin some five or six +feet in diameter, filled with boiling mud. This mud has quite the +appearance of fine clay dissolved in water; its colour was a light +grey. + +From another basin, hardly two feet in diameter, a mighty column of +steam shot continually into the air with so much force and noise +that I started back half stunned, and could have fancied the vault +of heaven would burst. This basin is situated in a corner of the +valley, closely shut in on three sides by hills. In the +neighbourhood many hot springs gushed forth; but I saw no columns of +water, and my guide assured me that such a phenomenon was never +witnessed here. + +There is more danger in passing these spots than even in traversing +the mountains. In spite of the greatest precautions, I frequently +sank in above the ankles, and would then draw back with a start, and +find my foot covered with hot mud. From the place where I had +broken through, steam and hot mud, or boiling water, rose into the +air. + +Though my guide, who walked before me, carefully probed the ground +with his stick, he several times sank through half-way to the knee. +These men are, however, so much accustomed to contingencies of this +kind that they take little account of them. My guide would quietly +repair to the next spring and cleanse his clothes from mud. As I +was covered with it to above the ankles, I thought it best to follow +his example. + +For excursions like these it is best to come provided with a few +boards, five or six feet in length, with which to cover the most +dangerous places. + +At nine o'clock in the evening, but yet in the full glare of the +sun, we arrived at Krisuvik. I now took time to look at this place, +which I found to consist of a small church and a few miserable huts. + +I crept into one of these dens; it was so dark that a considerable +time elapsed before I could distinguish objects, the light was only +admitted through a very small aperture. I found in this hut a few +persons who were suffering from the eruption called "lepra," a +disease but too commonly met with in Iceland. Their hands and faces +were completely covered with this eruption; if it spreads over the +whole body the patient languishes slowly away, and is lost without +remedy. + +Churches are in this country not only used for purposes of public +worship, but also serve as magazines for provisions, clothes, &c., +and as inns for travellers. I do not suppose that a parallel +instance of desecration could be met with even among the most +uncivilised nations. I was assured, indeed, that these abuses were +about to be remedied. A reform of this kind ought to have been +carried out long ago; and even now the matter seems to remain an +open point; for wherever I came the church was placed at my disposal +for the night, and every where I found a store of fish, tallow, and +other equally odoriferous substances. + +The little chapel at Krisuvik is only twenty-two feet long by ten +broad; on my arrival it was hastily prepared for my reception. +Saddles, ropes, clothes, hats, and other articles which lay +scattered about, were hastily flung into a corner; mattresses and +some nice soft pillows soon appeared, and a very tolerable bed was +prepared for me on a large chest in which the vestments of the +priest, the coverings of the altar, &c., were deposited. I would +willingly have locked myself in, eaten my frugal supper, and +afterwards written a few pages of my diary before retiring to rest; +but this was out of the question. The entire population of the +village turned out to see me, old and young hastened to the church, +and stood round in a circle and gazed at me. + +Irksome as this curiosity was, I was obliged to endure it patiently, +for I could not have sent these good people away without seriously +offending them; so I began quietly to unpack my little portmanteau, +and proceeded to boil my coffee over a spirit-lamp. A whispering +consultation immediately began; they seemed particularly struck by +my mode of preparing coffee, and followed every one of my movements +with eager eyes. My frugal meal dispatched, I resolved to try the +patience of my audience, and, taking out my journal, began to write. +For a few minutes they remained quiet, then they began to whisper +one to another, "She writes, she writes," and this was repeated +numberless times. There was no sign of any disposition to depart; I +believe I could have sat there till doomsday, and failed to tire my +audience out. At length, after this scene had lasted a full hour, I +could stand it no longer, and was fain to request my amiable +visitors to retire, as I wished to go to bed. + +My sleep that night was none of the sweetest. A certain feeling of +discomfort always attaches to the fact of sleeping in a church +alone, in the midst of a grave-yard. Besides this, on the night in +question such a dreadful storm arose that the wooden walls creaked +and groaned as though their foundations were giving way. The cold +was also rather severe, my thermometer inside the church shewing +only two degrees above zero. I was truly thankful when approaching +day brought with it the welcome hour of departure. + + +June 5th. + +The heavy sleepiness and extreme indolence of an Icelandic guide +render departure before seven o'clock in the morning a thing not to +be thought of. This is, however, of little consequence, as there is +no night in Iceland at this time of year. + +Although the distance was materially increased by returning to +Reikjavik by way of Grundivik and Keblevik, I chose this route in +order to pass through the wildest of the inhabited tracts in +Iceland. + +The first stage, from Krisuvik to Grundivik, a distance of twelve to +fourteen miles, lay through fields of lava, consisting mostly of +small blocks of stone and fragments, filling the valley so +completely that not a single green spot remained. I here met with +masses of lava which presented an appearance of singular beauty. +They were black mounds, ten or twelve feet in height, piled upon +each other in the most varied forms, their bases covered with a +broad band of whitish-coloured moss, while the tops were broken into +peaks and cones of the most fantastic shapes. These lava-streams +seem to date from a recent period, as the masses are somewhat scaly +and glazed. + +Grundivik, a little village of a few wretched cottages, lies like an +oasis in this desert of lava. + +My guide wished to remain here, asserting that there was no place +between this and Keblevik where I could pass the night, and that it +would be impossible for our horses, exhausted as they were with +yesterday's march, to carry us to Keblevik that night. The true +reason of this suggestion was that he wished to prolong the journey +for another day. + +Luckily I had a good map with me, and by dint of consulting it could +calculate distances with tolerable accuracy; it was also my custom +before starting on a journey to make particular inquiries as to how +I should arrange the daily stages. + +So I insisted upon proceeding at once; and soon we were wending our +way through fields of lava towards Stad, a small village six or +seven miles distant from Grundivik. + +On the way I noticed a mountain of most singular appearance. In +colour it closely resembled iron; its sides were perfectly smooth +and shining, and streaks of the colour of yellow ochre traversed it +here and there. + +Stad is the residence of a priest. Contrary to the assertions of my +guide, I found this place far more cheerful and habitable than +Grundivik. Whilst our horses were resting, the priest paid me a +visit, and conducted me, not, as I anticipated, into his house, but +into the church. Chairs and stools were quickly brought there, and +my host introduced his wife and children to me, after which we +partook of coffee, bread and cheese, &c. On the rail surrounding +the altar hung the clothes of the priest and his family, differing +little in texture and make from those of the peasants. + +The priest appeared to be a very intelligent, well-read man. I +could speak the Danish language pretty fluently, and was therefore +able to converse with him on various subjects. On hearing that I +had already been in Palestine, he put a number of questions to me, +from which I could plainly see that he was alike well acquainted +with geography, history, natural science, &c. He accompanied me +several miles on my road, and we chatted away the time very +pleasantly. + +The distance between Krisuvik and Keblevik is about forty-two miles. +The road lies through a most dreary landscape, among vast desert +plains, frequently twenty-five to thirty miles in circumference, +entirely divested of all traces of vegetation, and covered +throughout their extreme area by masses of lava--gloomy monuments of +volcanic agency. And yet here, at the very heart of the +subterranean fire, I saw only a single mountain, the summit of which +had fallen in, and presented the appearance of a crater. The rest +were all completely closed, terminating sometimes in a beautiful +round top, and sometimes in sharp peaks; in other instances they +formed long narrow chains. + +Who can tell whence these all-destroying masses of lava have poured +forth, or how many hundred years they have lain in these petrified +valleys? + +Keblevik lies on the sea-coast; but the harbour is insecure, so that +ships remain here at anchor only so long as is absolutely necessary; +there are frequently only two or three ships in the harbour. + +A few wooden houses, two of which belong to Herr Knudson, and some +peasants' cottages, are the only buildings in this little village. +I was hospitably received, and rested from the toils of the day at +the house of Herr Siverson, Herr Knudson's manager. + +On the following day (June 6th) I had a long ride to Reikjavik, +thirty-six good miles, mostly through fields of lava. + +The whole tract of country from Grundivik almost to Havenfiord is +called "The lava-fields of Reikianes." + +Tired and almost benumbed with cold, I arrived in the evening at +Reikjavik, with no other wish than to retire to rest as fast as +possible. + +In these three days I had ridden 114 miles, besides enduring much +from cold, storms, and rain. To my great surprise, the roads had +generally been good; there were, however, many places highly +dangerous and difficult. + +But what mattered these fatigues, forgotten, as they were, after a +single night's rest? What were they in comparison to the unutterably +beautiful and marvellous phenomena of the north, which will remain +ever present to my imagination so long as memory shall be spared me? + +The distances of this excursion were: From Reikjavik to Krisuvik, +37 miles; from Krisuvik to Keblevik, 39 miles; from Keblevik to +Reikjavik, 38 miles: total, 114 miles. + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +As the weather continued fine, I wished to lose no time in +continuing my wanderings. I had next to make a tour of some 560 +miles; it was therefore necessary that I should take an extra horse, +partly that it might carry my few packages, consisting of a pillow, +some rye-bread, cheese, coffee, and sugar, but chiefly that I might +be enabled to change horses every day, as one horse would not have +been equal to the fatigue of so long a journey. + +My former guide could not accompany me on my present journey, as he +was unacquainted with most of the roads. My kind protectors, Herr +Knudson and Herr Bernhoft, were obliging enough to provide another +guide for me; a difficult task, as it is a rare occurrence to find +an Icelander who understands the Danish language, and who happens to +be sober when his services are required. At length a peasant was +found who suited our purpose; but he considered two florins per diem +too little pay, so I was obliged to give an additional zwanziger. +On the other hand, it was arranged that the guide should also take +two horses, in order that he might change every day. + +The 16th of June was fixed for the commencement of our journey. +From the very first day my guide did not shew himself in an amiable +point of view. On the morning of our departure his saddle had to be +patched together, and instead of coming with two horses, he appeared +with only one. He certainly promised to buy a second when we should +have proceeded some miles, adding that it would be cheaper to buy +one at a little distance from the "capital." I at once suspected +this was merely an excuse of the guide's, and that he wished thereby +to avoid having the care of four horses. The event proved I was +right; not a single horse could be found that suited, and so my poor +little animal had to carry the guide's baggage in addition to my +own. + +Loading the pack-horses is a business of some difficulty, and is +conducted in the following manner: sundry large pieces of dried +turf are laid upon the horse's back, but not fastened; over these is +buckled a round piece of wood, furnished with two or three pegs. To +these pegs the chests and packages are suspended. If the weight is +not quite equally balanced, it is necessary to stop and repack +frequently, for the whole load at once gets askew. + +The trunks used in this country are massively constructed of wood, +covered with a rough hide, and strengthened on all sides with nails, +as though they were intended to last an eternity. The poor horses +have a considerable weight to bear in empty boxes alone, so that +very little real luggage can be taken. The weight which a horse has +to carry during a long journey should never exceed 150lbs. + +It is impossible to remember how many times our baggage had to be +repacked during a day's journey. The great pieces of turf would +never stay in their places, and every moment something was wrong. +Nothing less than a miracle, however, can prevail on an Icelander to +depart from his regular routine. His ancestors packed in such and +such a manner, and so he must pack also. {35} + +We had a journey of above forty miles before us the first day, and +yet, on account of the damaged saddle, we could not start before +eight o'clock in the morning. + +The first twelve or fourteen miles of our journey lay through the +great valley in which Reikjavik is situated; the valley contains +many low hills, some of which we had to climb. Several rivers, +chief among which was the Laxselv, opposed our progress, but at this +season of the year they could be crossed on horseback without +danger. Nearly all the valleys through which we passed to-day were +covered with lava, but nevertheless offered many beautiful spots. + +Many of the hills we passed seemed to me to be extinct volcanoes; +the whole upper portion was covered with colossal slabs of lava, as +though the crater had been choked up with them. Lava of the same +description and colour, but in smaller pieces, lay strewed around. + +For the first twelve or fourteen miles the sea is visible from the +brow of every successive hill. The country is also pretty generally +inhabited; but afterwards a distance of nearly thirty miles is +passed, on which there is not a human habitation. The traveller +journeys from one valley into another, and in the midst of these +hill-girt deserts sees a single small hut, erected for the +convenience of those who, in the winter, cannot accomplish the long +distance in one day, and must take up their quarters for the night +in the valley. No one must, however, rashly hope to find here a +human being in the shape of a host. The little house is quite +uninhabited, and consists only of a single apartment with four naked +walls. The visitor must depend on the accommodation he carries with +him. + +The plains through which we travelled to-day were covered throughout +with one and the same kind of lava. It occurs in masses, and also +in smaller stones, is not very porous, of a light grey colour, and +mixed, in many instances, with sand or earth. + +Some miles from Thingvalla we entered a valley, the soil of which is +fine, but nevertheless only sparingly covered with grass, and full +of little acclivities, mostly clothed with delicate moss. I have no +doubt that the indolence of the inhabitants alone prevents them from +materially improving many a piece of ground. The worst soil is that +in the neighbourhood of Reikjavik; yet there we see many a garden, +and many a piece of meadow-land, wrung, as it were, from the barren +earth by labour and pains. Why should not the same thing be done +here--the more so as nature has already accomplished the preliminary +work? + +Thingvalla, our resting-place for to-night, is situated on a lake of +the same name, and only becomes visible when the traveller is close +upon it. The lake is rather considerable, being almost three miles +in length, and at some parts certainly more than two miles in +breadth; it contains two small islands,--Sandey and Nesey. + +My whole attention was still riveted by the lake and its naked and +gloomy circle of mountains, when suddenly, as if by magic, I found +myself standing on the brink of a chasm, into which I could scarcely +look without a shudder; involuntarily I thought of Weber's +Freyschutz and the "Wolf's Hollow." {36} + +The scene is the more startling from the circumstance that the +traveller approaching Thingvalla in a certain direction sees only +the plains beyond this chasm, and has no idea of its existence. It +was a fissure some five or six fathoms broad, but several hundred +feet in depth; and we were forced to descend by a small, steep, +dangerous path, across large fragments of lava. Colossal blocks of +stone, threatening the unhappy wanderer with death and destruction, +hang loosely, in the form of pyramids and of broken columns, from +the lofty walls of lava, which encircle the whole long ravine in the +form of a gallery. Speechless, and in anxious suspense, we descend +a part of this chasm, hardly daring to look up, much less to give +utterance to a single sound, lest the vibration should bring down +one of these avalanches of stone, to the terrific force of which the +rocky fragments scattered around bear ample testimony. The +distinctness with which echo repeats the softest sound and the +lightest footfall is truly wonderful. + +The appearance presented by the horses, which are allowed to come +down the ravine after their masters have descended, is most +peculiar. One could fancy they were clinging to the walls of rock. + +This ravine is known by the name of Almanagiau. Its entire length +is about a mile, but a small portion only can be traversed; the rest +is blocked up by masses of lava heaped one upon the other. On the +right hand, the rocky wall opens, and forms an outlet, over +formidable masses of lava, into the beautiful valley of Thingvalla. +I could have fancied I wandered through the depths of a crater, +which had piled around itself these stupendous barriers during a +mighty eruption in times long gone by. + +The valley of Thingvalla is considered one of the most beautiful in +Iceland. It contains many meadows, forming, as it were, a place of +refuge for the inhabitants, and enabling them to keep many head of +cattle. The Icelanders consider this little green valley the finest +spot in the world. Not far from the opening of the ravine, on the +farther bank of the river Oxer, lies the little village of +Thingvalla, consisting of three or four cottages and a small chapel. +A few scattered farms and cottages are situated in the +neighbourhood. + +Thingvalla was once one of the most important places in Iceland; the +stranger is still shewn the meadow, not far from the village, on +which the Allthing (general assembly) was held annually in the open +air. Here the people and their leaders met, pitching their tents +after the manner of nomads. Here it was also that many an opinion +and many a decree were enforced by the weight of steel. + +The chiefs appeared, ostensibly for peace, at the head of their +tribe; yet many of them returned not again, but beneath the sword- +stroke of their enemies obtained that peace which no man seeketh, +but which all men find. + +On one side the valley is skirted by the lake, on the other it is +bounded by lofty mountains, some of them still partly covered with +snow. Not far from the entrance of the ravine, the river Oxer +rushes over a wall of rock of considerable height, forming a +beautiful waterfall. + +It was still fine clear daylight when I reached Thingvalla, and the +sky rose pure and cloudless over the far distance. It seemed +therefore the more singular to me to see a few clouds skimming over +the surface of the mountains, now shrouding a part of them in +vapour, now wreathing themselves round their summits, now vanishing +entirely, to reappear again at a different point. + +This is a phenomenon frequently observed in Iceland during the +finest days, and one I had often noticed in the neighbourhood of +Reikjavik. Under a clear and cloudless sky, a light mist would +appear on the brow of a mountain,--in a moment it would increase to +a large cloud, and after remaining stationary for a time, it +frequently vanished suddenly, or soared slowly away. However often +it may be repeated, this appearance cannot fail to interest the +observer. + +Herr Beck, the clergyman at Thingvalla, offered me the shelter of +his hut for the night; as the building, however, did not look much +more promising than the peasants' cottages by which it was +surrounded, I preferred quartering myself in the church, permission +to do so being but too easily obtained on all occasions. This +chapel is not much larger than that at Krisuvik, and stands at some +distance from the few surrounding cottages. This was perhaps the +reason why I was not incommoded by visitors. I had already +conquered any superstitious fears derived from the proximity of my +silent neighbours in the churchyard, and passed the night quietly on +one of the wooden chests of which I found several scattered about. +Habit is certainly every thing; after a few nights of gloomy +solitude one thinks no more about the matter. + + +June 17th. + +Our journey of to-day was more formidable than that of yesterday. I +was assured that Reikholt (also called Reikiadal) was almost fifty +miles distant. Distances cannot always be accurately measured by +the map; impassable barriers, only to be avoided by circuitous +routes, often oppose the traveller's progress. This was the case +with us to-day. To judge from the map, the distance from Thingvalla +to Reikholt seemed less by a great deal than that from Reikjavik to +Thingvalla, and yet we were full fourteen hours accomplishing it-- +two hours longer than on our yesterday's journey. + +So long as our way lay through the valley of Thingvalla there was no +lack of variety. At one time there was an arm of the river Oxer to +cross, at another we traversed a cheerful meadow; sometimes we even +passed through little shrubberies,--that is to say, according to the +Icelandic acceptation of the term. In my country these lovely +shrubberies would have been cleared away as useless underwood. The +trees trail along the ground, seldom attaining a height of more than +two feet. When one of these puny stems reaches four feet in height, +it is considered a gigantic tree. The greater portion of these +miniature forests grow on the lava with which the valley is covered. + +The formation of the lava here assumes a new character. Up to this +point it has mostly appeared either in large masses or in streams +lying in strata one above the other; but here the lava covered the +greater portion of the ground in the form of immense flat slabs or +blocks of rock, often split in a vertical direction. I saw long +fissures of eight or ten feet in breadth, and from ten to fifteen +feet in depth. In these clefts the flowers blossom earlier, and the +fern grows taller and more luxuriantly, than in the boisterous upper +world. + +After the valley of Thingvalla has been passed the journey becomes +very monotonous. The district beyond is wholly uninhabited, and we +travelled many miles without seeing a single cottage. From one +desert valley we passed into another; all were alike covered with +light-grey or yellowish lava, and at intervals also with fine sand, +in which the horses sunk deeply at every step. The mountains +surrounding these valleys were none of the highest, and it was +seldom that a jokul or glacier shone forth from among them. The +mountains had a certain polished appearance, their sides being +perfectly smooth and shining. In some instances, however, masses of +lava formed beautiful groups, bearing a great resemblance to ruins +of ancient buildings, and standing out in peculiarly fine relief +from the smooth walls. + +These mountains are of different colours; they are black or brown, +grey or yellow, &c.; and the different shades of these colours are +displayed with marvellous effect in the brilliant sunshine. + +Nine hours of uninterrupted riding brought us into a large tract of +moorland, very scantily covered with moss. Yet this was the first +and only grazing-place to be met with in all the long distance from +Thingvalla. We therefore made a halt of two hours, to let our poor +horses pick a scanty meal. Large swarms of minute gnats, which +seemed to fly into our eyes, nose, and mouth, annoyed us dreadfully +during our stay in this place. + +On this moor there was also a small lake; and here I saw for the +first time a small flock of swans. Unfortunately these creatures +are so very timid, that the most cautious approach of a human being +causes them to rise with the speed of lightning into the air. I was +therefore obliged perforce to be content with a distant view of +these proud birds. They always keep in pairs, and the largest flock +I saw did not consist of more than four such pairs. + +Since my first arrival in Iceland I had considered the inhabitants +an indolent race of people; to-day I was strengthened in my opinion +by the following slight circumstance. The moorland on which we +halted to rest was separated from the adjoining fields of lava by a +narrow ditch filled with water. Across this ditch a few stones and +slabs had been laid, to form a kind of bridge. Now this bridge was +so full of holes that the horses could not tell where to plant their +feet, and refused obstinately to cross it, so that in the end we +were obliged to dismount and lead them across. We had scarcely +passed this place, and sat down to rest, when a caravan of fifteen +horses, laden with planks, dried fish, &c. arrived at the bridge. +Of course the poor creatures observed the dangerous ground, and +could only be driven by hard blows to advance. Hardly twenty paces +off there were stones in abundance; but rather than devote a few +minutes to filling up the holes, these lazy people beat their horses +cruelly, and exposed them to the risk of breaking their legs. I +pitied the poor animals, which would be compelled to recross the +bridge, so heartily, that, after they are gone, I devoted a part of +my resting-time to collecting stones and filling up the holes,--a +business which scarcely occupied me a quarter of an hour. + +It is interesting to notice how the horses know by instinct the +dangerous spots in the stony wastes, and in the moors and swamps. +On approaching these places they bend their heads towards the earth, +and look sharply round on all sides. If they cannot discover a firm +resting-place for the feet, they stop at once, and cannot be urged +forward without many blows. + +After a halt of two hours we continued our journey, which again led +us across fields of lava. At past nine o'clock in the evening we +reached an elevated plain, after traversing which for half an hour +we saw stretched at our feet the valley of Reikholt or Reikiadal; it +is fourteen to seventeen miles long, of a good breadth, and girt +round by a row of mountains, among which several jokuls sparkle in +their icy garments. + +A sunset seen in the sublime wildness of Icelandic scenery has a +peculiarly beautiful effect. Over these vast plains, divested of +trees or shrubs, covered with dark lava, and shut in by mountains +almost of a sable hue, the parting sun sheds an almost magical +radiance. The peaks of the mountains shine in the bright parting +rays, the jokuls are shrouded in the most delicate roseate hue, +while the lower parts of the mountains lie in deep shadow, and frown +darkly on the valleys, which resemble a sheet of dark blue water, +with an atmosphere of a bluish-red colour floating above it. The +most impressive feature of all is the profound silence and solitude; +not a sound can be heard, not a living creature is to be seen; every +thing appears dead. Throughout the broad valleys not a town nor a +village, no, not even a solitary house or a tree or shrub, varies +the prospect. The eye wanders over the vast desert, and finds not +one familiar object on which it can rest. + +To-night, as at past eleven o'clock we reached the elevated plain, I +saw a sunset which I shall never forget. The sun disappeared behind +the mountains, and in its stead a gorgeous ruddy gleam lighted up +hill and valley and glacier. It was long ere I could turn away my +eyes from the glittering heights, and yet the valley also offered +much that was striking and beautiful. + +Throughout almost its entire length this valley formed a meadow, +from the extremities of which columns of smoke and boiling springs +burst forth. The mists had almost evaporated, and the atmosphere +was bright and clear, more transparent even than I had seen it in +any other country. I now for the first time noticed, that in the +valley itself the radiance was almost as clear as the light of day, +so that the most minute objects could be plainly distinguished. +This was, however, extremely necessary, for steep and dangerous +paths lead over masses of lava into the valley. On one side ran a +little river, forming many picturesque waterfalls, some of them +above thirty feet in height. + +I strained my eyes in vain to discover any where, in this great +valley, a little church, which, if it only offered me a hard bench +for a couch, would at any rate afford me a shelter from the sharp +night-wind; for it is really no joke to ride for fifteen hours, with +nothing to eat but bread and cheese, and then not even to have the +pleasant prospect of a hotel a la villa de Londres or de Paris. +Alas, my wishes were far more modest. I expected no porter at the +gate to give the signal of my arrival, no waiter, and no +chambermaid; I only desired a little spot in the neighbourhood of +the dear departed Icelanders. I was suddenly recalled from these +happy delusions by the voice of the guide, who cried out: "Here we +are at our destination for to-night." I looked joyfully round; +alas! I could only see a few of those cottages which are never +observed until you almost hit your nose against one of them, as the +grass-covered walls can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding +meadow. + +It was already midnight. We stopped, and turned our horses loose, +to seek supper and rest in the nearest meadow. Our lot was a less +fortunate one. The inhabitants were already buried in deep +slumbers, from which even the barking set up by the dogs at our +approach failed to arouse them. A cup of coffee would certainly +have been very acceptable to me; yet I was loath to rouse any one +merely for this. A piece of bread satisfied my hunger, and a +draught of water from the nearest spring tasted most deliciously +with it. After concluding my frugal meal, I sought out a corner +beside a cottage, where I was partially sheltered from the too- +familiar wind; and wrapping my cloak around me, lay down on the +ground, having wished myself, with all my heart, a good night's rest +and pleasant dreams, in the broad daylight, {37} under the canopy of +heaven. Just dropping off to sleep, I was surprised by a mild rain, +which, of course, at once put to flight every idea of repose. Thus, +after all, I was obliged to wake some one up, to obtain the shelter +of a roof. + +The best room, i.e. the store-room, was thrown open for my +accommodation, and a small wooden bedstead placed at my disposal. +Chambers of this kind are luckily found wherever two or three +cottages lie contiguous to each other; they are certainly far from +inviting, as dried fish, train-oil, tallow, and many other articles +of the same description combine to produce a most unsavoury +atmosphere. Yet they are infinitely preferable to the dwellings of +the peasants, which, by the by, are the most filthy dens that can be +imagined. Besides being redolent of every description of bad odour, +these cottages are infested with vermin to a degree which can +certainly not be surpassed, except in the dwellings of the +Greenlanders and Laplanders. + + +June 18th. + +Yesterday we had been forced to put upon our poor horses a wearisome +distance of more than fifty miles, as the last forty miles led us +through desert and uninhabited places, boasting not even a single +cottage. To-day, however, our steeds had a light duty to perform, +for we only proceeded seven miles to the little village of +Reikiadal, where I halted to-day, in order to visit the celebrated +springs. + +The inconsiderable village called Reikiadal, consisting only of a +church and a few cottages, is situated amidst pleasant meadows. +Altogether this valley is rich in beautiful meadow-lands; +consequently one sees many scattered homesteads and cottages, with +fine herds of sheep, and a tolerable number of horses; cows are less +plentiful. + +The church at Reikiadal is among the neatest and most roomy of those +which came under my observation. The dwelling of the priest too, +though only a turf-covered cottage, is large enough for the comfort +of the occupants. This parish extends over a considerable area, and +is not thinly inhabited. + +My first care on my arrival was to beg the clergyman, Herr Jonas +Jonason, to procure for me, as expeditiously as possible, fresh +horses and a guide, in order that I might visit the springs. He +promised to provide me with both within half an hour; and yet it was +not until three hours had been wasted, that, with infinite pains, I +saw my wish fulfilled. Throughout my stay in Iceland, nothing +annoyed me more than the slowness and unconcern displayed by the +inhabitants in all their undertakings. Every wish and every request +occupies a long time in its fulfilment. Had I not been continually +at the good pastor's side, I believe I should scarcely have attained +my object. At length every thing was ready, and the pastor himself +was kind enough to be my guide. + +We rode about four miles through this beautiful vale, and in this +short distance were compelled at least six times to cross the river +Sidumule, which rolls its most tortuous course through the entire +valley. At length the first spring was reached; it emerges from a +rock about six feet in height, standing in the midst of a moor. The +upper cavity of the natural reservoir, in which the water +continually boils and seethes, is between two and three feet in +diameter. This spring never stops; the jet of water rises two, and +sometimes even four feet high, and is about eighteen inches thick. +It is possible to increase the volume of the jet for a few seconds, +by throwing large stones or lumps of earth into the opening, and +thus stirring up the spring. The stones are cast forcibly forth, +and the lumps of earth, dissolved by the action of the water, impart +to the latter a dingy colour. + +Whoever has seen the jet of water at Carlsbad, in Bohemia, can well +imagine the appearance of this spring, which closely resembles that +of Carlsbad. {38} + +In the immediate neighbourhood of the spring is an abyss, in which +water is continually seething, but never rises into the air. At a +little distance, on a high rock, rising out of the river Sidumule, +not far from the shore, are other springs. They are three in +number, each at a short distance from the next, and occupy nearly +the entire upper surface of the rock. Lower down we find a +reservoir of boiling water; and at the foot of the rock, and on the +nearest shore, are many more hot springs; but most of these are +inconsiderable. Many of these hot springs emerge almost from the +cold river itself. + +The chief group, however, lies still farther off, on a rock which +may be about twenty feet in height, and fifty in length. It is +called Tunga Huer, and rises from the midst of a moor. On this rock +there are no less than sixteen springs, some emerging from its base, +others rather above the middle, but none from the top of the rock. + +The construction of the basins and the height and diameter of the +jets were precisely similar to those I have already described. All +these sixteen springs are so near each other that they do not even +occupy two sides of the rock. It is impossible to form an idea of +the magnificence of this singular spectacle, which becomes really +fairy-like, if the beholder have the courage to climb the rock +itself, a proceeding of some danger, though of little difficulty. +The upper stratum of the rock is soft and warm, presenting almost +the appearance of mud thickened with sand and small stones. Every +footstep leaves a trace behind it, and the visitor has continually +before his eyes the fear of breaking through, and falling into a hot +spring hidden from view by a thin covering. The good pastor walked +in advance of me, with a stick, and probed the dangerous surface as +much as possible. I was loath to stay behind, and suddenly we found +ourselves at the summit of the rock. Here we could take in, at one +view, the sixteen springs gushing from both its sides. If the view +from below had been most interesting and singular, how shall I +describe its appearance as seen from above? Sixteen jets of water +seen at one glance, sixteen reservoirs, in all their diversity of +form and construction, opening at once beneath the feet of the +beholder, seemed almost too wonderful a sight. Forgetting all +pusillanimous feelings, I stood and honoured the Creator in these +his marvellous works. For a long time I stood, and could not tire +of gazing into the abysses from whose darkness the masses of white +and foaming water sprung hissing into the air, to fall again, and +hasten in quiet union towards the neighbouring river. The good +pastor found it necessary to remind me several times that our +position here was neither of the safest nor of the most comfortable, +and that it was therefore high time to abandon it. I had ceased to +think of the insecurity of the ground we trod, and scarcely noticed +the mighty clouds of hot vapour which frequently surrounded and +threatened to suffocate us, obliging us to step suddenly back with +wetted faces. It was fortunate that these waters contain but a very +small quantity of brimstone, otherwise we could scarcely have long +maintained our elevated position. + +The rock from which these springs rise is formed of a reddish mass, +and the bed of the river into which the water flows is also +completely covered with little stones of the same colour. + +On our way back we noticed, near a cottage, another remarkable +phenomenon. It was a basin, in whose depths the water boils and +bubbles violently; and near this basin are two unsightly holes, from +which columns of smoke periodically rise with a great noise. Whilst +this is going on, the basin fills itself more and more with water, +but never so much as to overflow, or to force a jet of water into +the air; then the steam and the noise cease in both cavities, and +the water in the reservoir sinks several feet. + +This strange phenomenon generally lasts about a minute, and is +repeated so regularly, that a bet could almost be made, that the +rising and falling of the water, and the increased and lessened +noise of the steam, shall be seen and heard sixty or sixty-five +times within an hour. + +In communication with this basin is another, situate at a distance +of about a hundred paces in a small hollow, and filled like the +former with boiling water. As the water in the upper basin +gradually sinks, and ceases to seethe, it begins to rise in the +lower one, and is at length forced two or three feet into the air; +then it falls again, and thus the phenomenon is continually repeated +in the upper and the lower basin alternately. + +At the upper spring there is also a vapour-bath. This is formed by +a small chamber situate hard by the basin, built of stones and +roofed with turf. It is further provided with a small and narrow +entrance, which cannot be passed in an upright position. The floor +is composed of stone slabs, probably covering a hot spring, for they +are very warm. The person wishing to use this bath betakes himself +to this room, and carefully closes every cranny; a suffocating heat, +which induces violent perspiration over the whole frame, is thus +generated. The people, however, seldom avail themselves of this +bath. + +On my return I had still to visit a basin with a jet of water, in a +fine meadow near the church; a low wall of stone has been erected +round this spring to prevent the cattle from scalding themselves if +they should approach too near in the ardour of grazing. Some eighty +paces off is to be seen the wool-bath erected by Snorri Sturluson. +It consists of a stone basin three or four feet in depth, and +eighteen or twenty in diameter. The approach is by a few steps +leading to a low stone bench, which runs round the basin. The water +is obtained from the neighbouring spring, but is of so high a +temperature that it is impossible to bathe without previously +cooling it. The bath stands in the open air, and no traces are left +of the building which once covered it. It is now used for clothes +and sheep's wool. + +I had now seen all the interesting springs on this side of the +valley. Some columns of vapour, which may be observed from the +opposite end of the valley, proceed from thermal springs, that offer +no remarkable feature save their heat. + +On our return the priest took me to the churchyard, which lay at +some distance from his dwelling, and showed me the principal graves. +Though I thought the sight very impressive, it was not calculated to +invigorate me, when I considered that I must pass the approaching +night alone in the church, amidst these resting-places of the +departed. + +The mound above each grave is very high, and the greater part of +them are surmounted by a kind of wooden coffin, which at first sight +conveys the impression that the dead person is above ground. I +could not shake off a feeling of discomfort; and such is the power +of prejudice, that--I acknowledge my weakness--I was even induced to +beg that the priest would remove one of the covers. Though I knew +full well that the dead man was slumbering deep in the earth, and +not in this coffin, I felt a shudder pass over me as the lid was +removed, and I saw--as the priest had assured me I should do--merely +a tombstone with the usual inscription, which this coffin-like +covering is intended to protect against the rude storms of the +winter. + +Close beside the entrance to the church is the mound beneath which +rest the bones of Snorri Sturluson, the celebrated poet; {39} over +this grave stands a small runic stone of the length of the mound +itself. This stone is said to have once been completely covered +with runic characters; but all trace of these has been swept away by +the storms of five hundred winters, against which the tomb had no +protecting coffin. The stone, too, is split throughout its entire +length into two pieces. The mound above the grave is often renewed, +so that the beholder could often fancy he saw a new-made grave. I +picked all the buttercups I could find growing on the grave, and +preserved them carefully in a book. Perhaps I may be able to give +pleasure to several of my countrywomen by offering them a floweret +from the grave of the greatest of Icelandic poets. + + +June 19th. + +In order to pursue my journey without interruption, I hired fresh +horses, and allowed my own, which were rather fatigued, to accompany +us unloaded. My object in this further excursion was to visit the +very remarkable cavern of Surthellir, distant a good thirty-three +miles from this place. The clergyman was again kind enough to make +the necessary arrangements for me, and even to act as my Mentor on +the journey. + +Though we were only three strong, we departed with a retinue of +seven horses, and for nearly ten miles rode back the same way by +which I had come from Reikholt on the preceding morning; then we +turned off to the left, and crossing hills and acclivities, reached +other valleys, which were partly traversed by beautiful streams of +lava, and partly interspersed with forests--FORESTS, as I have +already said, according to Icelandic notions. The separate stems +were certainly slightly higher than those in the valley of +Thingvalla. + +At Kalmannstunga we left the spare horses, and took with us a man to +serve as guide in the cavern, from which we were now still some +seven miles distant. The great valley in which this cavern lies is +reckoned among the most remarkable in Iceland. It is a most perfect +picture of volcanic devastation. The most beautiful masses of lava, +in the most varied and picturesque forms, occupy the whole +immeasurable valley. Lava is to be seen there in a rough glassy +state, forming exquisite flames and arabesques; and in immense +slabs, lying sometimes scattered, sometimes piled in strata one +above the other, as though they had been cast there by a flood. +Among these, again, lie mighty isolated streams, which must have +been frozen in the midst of their course. From the different +colours of the lava, and their transitions from light grey to black, +we can judge of the eruptions which have taken place at different +periods. The mountains surrounding this valley are mostly of a +sombre hue; some are even black, forming a striking contrast to the +neighbouring jokuls, which, in their large expanse, present the +appearance almost of a sea of ice. I found one of these jokuls of a +remarkable size; its shining expanse extended far down into the +valley, and its upper surface was almost immeasurable. + +The other mountains were all smooth, as though polished by art; in +the foreground I only noticed one which was covered with wonderful +forms of dried lava. A deathlike silence weighed on the whole +country round, on hill and on valley alike. Every thing seemed +dead, all round was barren and desert, so that the effect was truly +Icelandic. The greater portion of Iceland might be with justice +designated the "Northern Desert." + +The cavern of Surthellir lies on a slightly elevated extended plain, +where it would certainly not be sought for, as we are accustomed to +see natural phenomena of this description only in the bowels of +rocks. It is, therefore, with no little surprise that the traveller +sees suddenly opening before him a large round basin about fifteen +fathoms in diameter, and four in depth. It was with a feeling of +awe that I looked downwards on the countless blocks of rock piled +one upon the other, extending on one side to the edge of the hollow, +across which the road led to the dark ravines farther on. + +We were compelled to scramble forward on our hands and knees, until +we reached a long broad passage, which led us at first imperceptibly +downwards, and then ran underneath the plain, which formed a rocky +cavern above our heads. I estimated the different heights of this +roof at not less than from eighteen to sixty feet; but it seldom +reached a greater elevation than the latter. Both roof and walls +are in some places very pointed and rough: a circumstance to be +ascribed to the stalactites which adhere to them, without, however, +forming figures or long sharp points. + +From this principal path several smaller ones lead far into the +interior of this stony region; but they do not communicate with each +other, and one is compelled to return from each side-path into the +main road. Some of these by-paths are short, narrow, and low; +others, on the contrary, are long, broad, and lofty. + +In one of the most retired of these by-paths I was shewn a great +number of bones, which, I was told, were those of slaughtered sheep +and other animals. I could gather, from the account given by the +priest of the legend concerning them, that, in days of yore, this +cave was the resort of a mighty band of robbers. This must have +been a long, long time ago, as this is related as a legend or a +fable. + +For my part, I could not tell what robbers had to do in Iceland. +Pirates had often come to the island; but for these gentry this +cavern was too far from the sea. I cannot even imagine beasts of +prey to have been there; for the whole country round about is desert +and uninhabited, so that they could have found nothing to prey upon. +In fact, I turned over in my mind every probability, and can only +say that it appeared to me a most remarkable circumstance to find in +this desert place, so far from any living thing, a number of bones, +which, moreover, looked as fresh as if the poor animals to whom they +once belonged had been eaten but a short time ago. Unfortunately I +could obtain no satisfactory information on this point. + +It is difficult to imagine any thing more laborious than to wander +about in this cavern. As the road had shewed itself at the entrance +of the cavern, so it continued throughout its whole extent. The +path consisted entirely of loose fragments of lava heaped one upon +the other, over which we had to clamber with great labour. None of +us could afford to help the others; each one was fully occupied with +himself. There was not a single spot to be seen on which we could +have stood without holding fast at the same time with our hands. We +were sometimes obliged to seat ourselves on a stone, and so to slide +down; at others, to take hands and pull one another to the top of +high blocks of stone. + +We came to several immense basins, or craters, which opened above +our heads, but were inaccessible, the sides being too steep for us +to climb. The light which entered through these openings was +scarcely enough to illumine the principal path, much less the +numerous by-paths. + +At Kalmannstunga I had endeavoured to procure torches, but was +obliged to consider myself fortunate in getting a few tapers. It is +necessary to provide oneself with torches at Reikjavik. + +The parts of the cavern beneath the open craters were still covered +with a considerable quantity of snow, by which our progress was +rendered very dangerous. We frequently sunk in, and at other times +caught our feet between the stones, so that we could scarcely +maintain our balance. In the by-paths situated near these openings +an icy rind had formed itself, which was now covered with water. +Farther on, the ice had melted; but it was generally very dirty, as +a stratum of sand mixed with water lay there in place of the stones. +The chief path alone was covered with blocks of lava; in the smaller +paths I found only strata of sand and small pieces of lava. + +The magical illumination produced by the sun's rays shining through +one of these craters into the cavern produced a splendid effect. +The sun shone perpendicularly through the opening, spread a dazzling +radiance over the snow, and diffused a pale delicate light around +us. The effect of this point of dazzling light was the more +remarkable from its contrasting strongly with the two dark chasms, +from the first of which we had emerged to continue our journey +through the obscurity of the second. + +This subterranean labyrinth is said to extend in different +directions for many miles. We explored a portion of the chief path +and several by-paths, and after a march of two hours returned +heartily tired to the upper world. We then rested a quarter of an +hour, and afterwards returned at a good round pace to Kalmannstunga. + +Unfortunately I do not possess sufficient geognostic knowledge to be +able to set this cavern down as an extinct volcano. But in +travelling in a country where every hill and mountain, every thing +around, in fact, consists of lava, even the uninitiated in science +seeks to discover the openings whence these immense masses have +poured. The stranger curiously regards the top of each mountain, +thinking every where to behold a crater, but both hill and dale +appear smooth and closed. With what joy then does he hail the +thought of having discovered, in this cavern, something to throw +light upon the sources of these things! I, at least, fancied myself +walking on the hearth of an extinct volcano; for all I saw, from the +masses of stone piled beneath my feet and the immense basin above my +head, were both of lava. If I am right in my conjecture, I do not +know; I only speak according to my notions and my views. + +I was obliged to pass this night in a cottage. Kalmannstunga +contains three such cottages, but no chapel. Luckily I found one of +these houses somewhat larger and more cleanly than its neighbours; +it could almost come under the denomination of a farm. The +occupants, too, had been employed during my ride to the cavern in +cleansing the best chamber, and preparing it, as far as possible, +for my reception. The room in question was eleven feet long by +seven broad; the window was so small and so covered with dirt that, +although the sun was shining in its full glory, I could scarcely see +to write. The walls, and even the floor, were boarded--a great +piece of luxury in a country where wood is so scarce. The furniture +consisted of a broad bedstead, two chests of drawers, and a small +table. Chairs and benches are a kind of terra incognita in the +dwellings of the Icelandic peasantry; besides, I do not know where +such articles could be stowed in a room of such dimensions as that +which I occupied. + +My hostess, the widow of a wealthy peasant, introduced to me her +four children, who were very handsome, and very neatly dressed. I +begged the good mother to tell me the names of the young ones, so +that I might at least know a few Icelandic names. She appeared much +flattered at my request, and gave me the names as follows: +Sigrudur, Gudrun, Ingebor, and Lars. + +I should have felt tolerably comfortable in my present quarters, +accustomed as I am to bear privations of all kinds with +indifference, if they would but have left me in peace. But the +reader may fancy my horror when the whole population, not only of +the cottage itself, but also of the neighbouring dwellings, made +their appearance, and, planting themselves partly in my chamber and +partly at the door, held me in a far closer state of siege than even +at Krisuvik. I was, it appeared, quite a novel phenomenon in the +eyes of these good people, and so they came one and all and stared +at me; the women and children were, in particular, most unpleasantly +familiar; they felt my dress, and the little ones laid their dirty +little countenances in my lap. Added to this, the confined +atmosphere from the number of persons present, their lamentable want +of cleanliness, and their filthy habit of spitting, &c., all +combined to form a most dreadful whole. During these visits I did +more penance than by the longest fasts; and fasting, too, was an +exercise I seldom escaped, as I could touch few Icelandic dishes. +The cookery of the Icelandic peasants is wholly confined to the +preparation of dried fish, with which they eat fermented milk that +has often been kept for months; on very rare occasions they have a +preparation of barley-meal, which is eaten with flat bread baked +from Icelandic moss ground fine. + +I could not but wonder at the fact that most of these people +expected to find me acquainted with a number of things generally +studied only by men; they seemed to have a notion that in foreign +parts women should be as learned as men. So, for instance, the +priests always inquired if I spoke Latin, and seemed much surprised +on finding that I was unacquainted with the language. The common +people requested my advice as to the mode of treating divers +complaints; and once, in the course of one of my solitary wanderings +about Reikjavik, on my entering a cottage, they brought before me a +being whom I should scarcely have recognised as belonging to the +same species as myself, so fearfully was he disfigured by the +eruption called "lepra." Not only the face, but the whole body also +was covered with it; the patient was quite emaciated, and some parts +of his body were covered with sores. For a surgeon this might have +been an interesting sight, but I turned away in disgust. + +But let us turn from this picture. I would rather tell of the +angel's face I saw in Kalmannstunga. It was a girl, ten or twelve +years of age, beautiful and lovely beyond description, so that I +wished I had been a painter. How gladly would I have taken home +with me to my own land, if only on canvass, the delicate face, with +its roguish dimples and speaking eyes! But perhaps it is better as +it is; the picture might by some unlucky chance have fallen into the +hands of some too-susceptible youth, who, like Don Sylvio de +Rosalva, in Wieland's Comical Romance, would immediately have +proceeded to travel through half the world to find the original of +this enchanting portrait. His spirit of inquiry would scarcely have +carried him to Iceland, as such an apparition would never be +suspected to exist in such a country, and thus the unhappy youth +would be doomed to endless wandering. + + +June 20th. + +The distance from Kalmannstunga to Thingvalla is fifty-two miles, +and the journey is certainly one of the most dreary and fatiguing of +all that can be made in Iceland. The traveller passes from one +desert valley into another; he is always surrounded by high +mountains and still higher glaciers, and wherever he turns his eyes, +nature seems torpid and dead. A feeling of anxious discomfort +seizes upon the wanderer, he hastens with redoubled speed through +the far-stretched deserts, and eagerly ascends the mountains piled +up before him, in the hope that better things lie beyond. It is in +vain; he only sees the same solitudes, the same deserts, the same +mountains. + +On the elevated plateaux several places were still covered with +snow; these we were obliged to cross, though we could frequently +hear the rushing of the water beneath its snowy covering. We were +compelled also to pass over coatings of ice spread lightly over +rivers, and presenting that blue colour which is a certain sign of +danger. + +Our poor horses were sometimes very restive; but it was of no use; +they were beaten without mercy until they carried us over the +dangerous places. The pack-horse was always driven on in front with +many blows; it had to serve as pioneer, and try if the road was +practicable. Next came my guide, and I brought up the rear. Our +poor horses frequently sank up to their knees in the snow, and twice +up to the saddle-girths. This was one of the most dangerous rides I +have ever had. I could not help continually thinking what I should +do if my guide were to sink in so deeply that he could not extricate +himself; my strength would not have been sufficient to rescue him, +and whither should I turn to seek for help? All around us was +nothing but a desert and snow. Perhaps my lot might have been to +die of hunger. I should have wandered about seeking dwellings and +human beings, and have entangled myself so completely among these +wastes that I could never have found my way. + +When at a distance I descried a new field of snow (and unfortunately +we came upon them but too frequently), I felt very uncomfortable; +those alone who have themselves been in a similar situation can +estimate the whole extent of my anxiety. + +If I had been travelling in company with others, these fears would +not have disturbed me; for there reciprocal assistance can be +rendered, and the consciousness of this fact seems materially to +diminish the danger. + +During the season in which the snow ceases to form a secure +covering, this road is but little travelled. We saw nowhere a trace +of footsteps, either of men or animals; we were the only living +beings in this dreadful region. I certainly scolded my guide +roundly for bringing me by such a road. But what did I gain by +this? It would have been as dangerous to turn back as to go on. + +A change in the weather, which till now had been rather favourable, +increased the difficulties of this journey. Already when we left +Kalmannstunga, the sky began to be overcast, and the sun enlivened +us with its rays only for a few minutes at a time. On our reaching +the higher mountains the weather became worse; for here we +encountered clouds and fog, which wreaked their vengeance upon us, +and which only careered by to make room for others. An icy storm +from the neighbouring glaciers was their constant companion, and +made me shiver so much that I could scarcely keep my saddle. We had +now ridden above thirteen hours. The rain poured down incessantly, +and we were half dead with cold and wet; so I at length determined +to halt for the night at the first cottage: at last we found one +between two or three miles from Thingvalla. I had now a roof above +my head; but beyond this I had gained nothing. The cottage +consisted of a single room, and was almost completely filled by four +broad bedsteads. I counted seven adults and three children, who had +all to be accommodated in these four beds. In addition to this, the +kvef, a kind of croup, prevailed this spring to such an extent that +scarcely any one escaped it. Wherever I went, I found the people +afflicted with this complaint; and here this was also the case; the +noise of groaning and coughing on all sides was quite deplorable. +The floor, moreover, was revoltingly dirty. + +The good people were so kind as immediately to place one of their +beds at my disposal; but I would rather have passed the night on the +threshold of the door than in this disgusting hole. I chose for my +lodging-place the narrow passage which separated the kitchen from +the room; I found there a couple of blocks, across which a few +boards had been laid, and this constituted the milk-room: it might +have been more properly called the smoke-room; for in the roof were +a few air-holes, through which the smoke escaped. In this smoke or +milk-room--whichever it may be called--I prepared to pass the night +as best I could. My cloak being wet through, I had been compelled +to hang it on a stick to dry; and thus found myself under the +necessity of borrowing a mattress from these unhealthy people. I +laid myself down boldly, and pretended sleepiness, in order to +deliver myself from the curiosity of my entertainers. They retired +to their room, and so I was alone and undisturbed. But yet I could +not sleep; the cold wind, blowing in upon me through the air-holes, +chilled and wetted as I already was, kept me awake against my will. +I had also another misfortune to endure. As often as I attempted to +sit upright on my luxurious couch, my head would receive a severe +concussion. I had forgotten the poles which are fixed across each +of these antechambers, for the purpose of hanging up fish to dry, +&c. Unfortunately I could not bear this arrangement in mind until +after I had received half a dozen salutations of this description. + + +June 21st. + +At length the morning so long sighed for came; the rain had indeed +ceased; but the clouds still hung about the mountains, and promised +a speedy fall; I nevertheless resolved rather to submit myself to +the fury of the elements than to remain longer in my present +quarters, and so ordered the horses to be saddled. + +Before my departure roast lamb and butter were offered me. I +thanked my entertainers; but refrained from tasting any thing, +excusing myself on the plea of not feeling hungry, which was in +reality the case; for if I only looked at the dirty people who +surrounded me, my appetite vanished instantly. So long as my stock +of bread and cheese lasted, I kept to it, and ate nothing else. + +Taking leave of my good hosts, we continued our journey to +Reikjavik, by the same road on which I had travelled on my journey +hither. This had not been my original plan on starting from +Reikjavik; I had intended to proceed from Thingvalla directly to the +Geyser, to Hecla, &c.; but the horses were already exhausted, and +the weather so dreadfully bad, without prospect of speedy amendment, +that I preferred returning to Reikjavik, and waiting for better +times in my pleasant little room at the house of the good baker. + +We rode on as well as we could amidst ceaseless storms of wind and +rain. The most disagreeable circumstance of all was our being +obliged to spend the hours devoted to rest in the open air, under a +by no means cloudless sky, as during our whole day's journey we saw +not a single hut, save the solitary one in the lava desert, which +serves as a resting-place for travellers during the winter. So we +continued our journey until we reached a scanty meadow. Here I had +my choice either to walk about for two hours, or to sit down upon +the wet grass. I could find nothing better to do than to turn my +back upon the wind and rain, to remain standing on one spot, to have +patience, and for amusement to observe the direction in which the +clouds scudded by. At the same time I discussed my frugal meal, +more for want of something to do than from hunger; if I felt +thirsty, I had only to turn round and open my mouth. + +If there are natures peculiarly fitted for travelling, I am +fortunate in being blessed with such an one. No rain or wind was +powerful enough to give me even a cold. During this whole excursion +I had tasted no warm or nourishing food; I had slept every night +upon a bench or a chest; had ridden nearly 255 miles in six days; +and had besides scrambled about bravely in the cavern of Surthellir; +and, in spite of all this privation and fatigue, I arrived at +Reikjavik in good health and spirits. + +Short summary of this journey: + + Miles +First day, from Reikjavik to Thingvalla 46 +Second day, from Thingvalla to Reikholt 51 +Third day, from Reikholt to the different +springs, and back again 19 +Fourth day, from Reikholt to Surthellir, and +back to Kalmannstunga 40 +Fifth day, from Kalmannstunga to Thingvalla 51 +Sixth day, from Thingvalla to Reikjavik 46 +Total 253 + + + +CHAPTER VI + + + +The weather soon cleared up, and I continued my journey to the +Geyser and to Mount Hecla on the 24th June. On the first day, when +we rode to Thingvalla, we passed no new scenery, but saw instead an +extremely beautiful atmospheric phenomenon. + +As we approached the lake, some thin mist-clouds lowered over it and +over the earth, so that it seemed as if it would rain. One portion +of the firmament glowed with the brightest blue; while the other +part was obscured by thick clouds, through which the sun was just +breaking. Some of its rays reached the clouds of mist, and +illuminated them in a wonderfully beautiful manner. The most +delicate shades of colour seemed breathed, as it were, over them +like a dissolving rainbow, whose glowing colours were intermingled +and yet singly perceptible. This play of colours continued for half +an hour, then faded gradually till it vanished entirely, and the +ordinary atmosphere took its place. It was one of the most +beautiful appearances I had ever witnessed. + + +June 25th. + +The roads separate about a mile behind the little town of +Thingvalla; the one to the left goes to Reikholt, the right-hand one +leads to the Geyser. We rode for some time along the shores of the +lake, and found at the end of the valley an awful chasm in the rock, +similar to the one of Almanagiau, which we had passed on such a +wretched road. + +The contiguous valley bore a great resemblance to that of +Thingvalla; but the third one was again fearful. Lava covered it, +and was quite overgrown with that whitish moss, which has a +beautiful appearance when it only covers a portion of the lava, and +when black masses rise above it, but which here presented a most +monotonous aspect. + +We also passed two grottoes which opened at our feet. At the +entrance of one stood a pillar of rock supporting an immense slab of +lava, which formed an awe-inspiring portal. I had unfortunately not +known of the existence of these caves, and was consequently +unprepared to visit them. Torches, at least, would have been +requisite. But I subsequently heard that they were not at all deep, +and contained nothing of interest. + +In the course of the day we passed through valleys such as I had +seen nowhere else in Iceland. Beautiful meadow-lawns, perfectly +level, covered the country for miles. These rich valleys were, of +course, tolerably well populated; we frequently passed three or four +contiguous cottages, and saw horses, cows, and sheep grazing on +these fields in considerable numbers. + +The mountains which bounded these valleys on the left seemed to me +very remarkable; they were partly brown, black, or dark blue, like +the others; but the bulk of which they were composed I considered to +be fine loam-soil layers, if I may trust my imperfect mineralogical +knowledge. Some of these mountains were topped by large isolated +lava rocks, real giants; and it seemed inexplicable to me how they +could stand on the soft soil beneath. + +In one of these valleys we passed a considerable lake, on and around +which rose circling clouds of steam proceeding from hot springs, but +of no great size. But after we had already travelled about twenty- +five miles, we came to the most remarkable object I had ever met +with; this was a river with a most peculiar bed. + +This river-bed is broad and somewhat steep; it consists of lava +strata, and is divided lengthwise in the middle by a cleft eighteen +to twenty feet deep, and fifteen to eighteen feet broad, towards +which the bubbling and surging waters rush, so that the sound is +heard at some distance. A little wooden bridge, which stands in the +middle of the stream, and over which the high waves constantly play, +leads over the chasm. Any one not aware of the fact can hardly +explain this appearance to himself, nor understand the noise and +surging of the stream. The little bridge in the centre would be +taken for the ruins of a fallen bridge, and the chasm is not seen +from the shore, because the foaming waves overtop it. An +indescribable fear would seize upon the traveller when he beheld the +venturous guide ride into the stream, and was obliged to follow +without pity or mercy. + +The priest of Thingvalla had prepared me for the scene, and had +advised me to WALK over the bridge; but as the water at this season +stood so high that the waves from both sides dashed two feet above +the bridge, I could not descend from my horse, and was obliged to +ride across. + +The whole passage through the stream is so peculiar, that it must be +seen, and can scarcely be described. The water gushes and plays on +all sides with fearful force; it rushes into the chasm with +impetuous violence, forms waterfalls on both sides, and breaks +itself on the projecting rocks. Not far from the bridge the cleft +terminates; and the whole breadth of the waters falls over rocks +thirty to forty feet high. The nearer we approached the centre, the +deeper, more violent, and impetuous grew the stream, and the more +deafening was the noise. The horses became restless and shy; and +when we came to the bridge, they began to tremble, they reared, they +turned to all sides but the right one, and refused to obey the +bridle. With infinite trouble we at last succeeded in bringing them +across this dangerous place. + +The valley which is traversed by this peculiar river is narrow, and +quite enclosed by lava mountains and hills; the inanimate, silent +nature around is perfectly adapted to imprint this scene for ever on +the traveller's memory. + +This remarkable stream had been the last difficulty; and now we +proceeded quietly and safely through the beautiful valleys till we +approached the Geyser, which a projecting hillock enviously +concealed from my anxiously curious gaze. At last this hillock was +passed; and I saw the Geyser with its surrounding scenery, with its +immense steam pillars, and the clouds and cloudlets rising from it. +The hill was about two miles distant from the Geyser and the other +hot springs. There they were, boiling and bubbling all around, and +through the midst lay the road to the basin. Eighty paces from it +we halted. + +And now I stood before the chief object of my journey; I saw it, it +was so near me, and yet I did not venture to approach it. But a +peasant who had followed us from one of the neighbouring cottages, +and had probably guessed my anxiety and my fear, took me by the hand +and constituted himself my cicerone. He had unfortunately, it being +Sunday, paid too great a devotion to the brandy-bottle, so that he +staggered rather than walked, and I hesitated to trust myself to the +guidance of this man, not knowing whether he had reason enough left +to distinguish how far we might with safety venture. My guide, who +had accompanied me from Reikjavik, assured me indeed that I might +trust him in spite of his intoxication, and that he would himself go +with us to translate the peasant's Icelandic jargon into Danish; but +nevertheless I followed with great trepidation. + +He led me to the margin of the basin of the great Geyser, which lies +on the top of a gentle elevation of about ten feet, and contains the +outer and the inner basins. The diameter of the outer basin may be +about thirty feet; that of the inner one six to seven feet. Both +were filled to the brim, the water was pure as crystal, but boiled +and bubbled only slightly. We soon left this spot; for when the +basins are quite filled with water it is very dangerous to approach +them, as they may empty themselves any moment by an eruption. We +therefore went to inspect the other springs. + +My unsteady guide pointed those out which we might unhesitatingly +approach, and warned me from the others. Then we returned to the +great Geyser, where he gave me some precautionary rules, in case of +an intervening eruption, and then left me to prepare some +accommodation for my stay. I will briefly enumerate the rules he +gave me. + +"The pillar of water always rises perpendicularly, and the +overflowing water has its chief outlets on one and the same side. +The water does indeed escape on the other side, but only in +inconsiderable quantities, and in shapeless little ducts, which one +may easily evade. On this side one may therefore approach within +forty paces even during the most violent eruptions. The eruption +announces itself by a dull roaring; and as soon as this is heard, +the traveller must hastily retire to the above-named distance, as +the eruption always follows very quickly after the noise. The +water, however, does not rise high every time, often only very +inconsiderably, so that, to see a very fine explosion, it is often +necessary to stay some days here." + +The French scholar, M. P. Geimard, has provided for the +accommodation of travellers with a truly noble disinterestedness. +He traversed the whole of Iceland some years ago and left two large +tents behind him; one here, and the other in Thingvalla. The one +here is particularly appropriate, as travellers are frequently +obliged, as stated above, to wait several days for a fine eruption. +Every traveller certainly owes M. Geimard the warmest thanks for +this convenience. A peasant, the same who guides travellers to the +springs, has the charge of it, and is bound to pitch it for any one +for a fee of one or two florins. + +When my tent was ready it was nearly eleven o'clock. My companions +retired, and I remained alone. + +It is usual to watch through the night in order not to miss an +eruption. Now, although an alternate watching is no very arduous +matter for several travellers, it became a very hard task for me +alone, and an Icelandic peasant cannot be trusted; an eruption of +Mount Hecla would scarcely arouse him. + +I sat sometimes before and sometimes in my tent, and listened with +anxious expectation for the coming events; at last, after midnight-- +the witching hour--I heard some hollow sounds, as if a cannon were +being fired at a great distance, and its echoing sounds were borne +by the breeze. I rushed from my tent and expected subterranean +noises, violent cracking and trembling of the earth, according to +the descriptions I had read. I could scarcely repress a slight +sensation of fear. To be alone at midnight in such a scene is +certainly no joke. + +Many of my friends may remember my telling them, before my +departure, that I expected I should need the most courage on my +Icelandic journey during the nights at the Geyser. + +These hollow sounds were repeated, at very short intervals, thirteen +times; and each time the basin overflowed and ejected a considerable +quantity of water. The sounds did not seem to proceed from +subterranean ragings, but from the violent agitation of the waters. +In a minute and a half all was over; the water no longer overflowed, +the caldron and basin remained filled, and I returned to my tent +disappointed in every way. This phenomenon was repeated every two +hours and a half, or, at the latest, every three hours and a half. +I saw and heard nothing else all night, the next day, or the second +night. I waited in vain for an eruption. + +When I had accustomed myself to these temporary effusions of my +neighbour, I either indulged in a gentle slumber in the intermediate +time, or I visited the other springs and explored. I wished to +discover the boiling vapour and the coloured springs which many +travellers assert they have seen here. + +All the hot-springs are united with a circumference of 800 to 900 +paces: several of them are very remarkable, but the majority +insignificant. + +They are situated in the angle of an immense valley at the foot of a +hill, behind which extends a chain of mountains. The valley is +entirely covered with grass, and the vegetation only decreases a +little in the immediate vicinity of the springs. Cottages are built +every where in the neighbourhood; the nearest to the springs are +only about 700 to 800 paces distant. + +I counted twelve large basins with boiling and gushing springs; of +smaller ones there were many more. + +Among the gushing springs the Strokker is the most remarkable. It +boils and bubbles with most extraordinary violence at a depth of +about twenty feet, shoots up suddenly, and projects its waters into +the air. Its eruptions sometimes last half an hour, and the column +occasionally ascends to a height of forty feet. I witnessed several +of its eruptions; but unfortunately not one of the largest. The +highest I saw could not have been above thirty feet, and did not +last more than a quarter of an hour. The Strokker is the only +spring, except the Geyser, which has to be approached with great +caution. The eruptions sometimes succeed each other quickly, and +sometimes cease for a few hours, and are not preceded by any sign. +Another spring spouts constantly, but never higher than three to +four feet. A third one lies about four or five feet deep, in a +rather broad basin, and produces only a few little bubbles. But +this calmness is deceptive: it seldom lasts more than half a +minute, rarely two or three minutes; then the spring begins to +bubble, to boil, and to wave and spout to a height of two or three +feet; without, however, reaching the level of the basin. In some +springs I heard boiling and foaming like a gentle bellowing; but saw +no water, sometimes not even steam, rising. + +Two of the most remarkable springs which can perhaps be found in the +world are situated immediately above the Geyser, in two openings, +which are separated by a wall of rock scarcely a foot wide. This +partition does not rise above the surface of the soil, but descends +into the earth; the water boils slowly, and has an equable, moderate +discharge. The beauty of these springs consists in their remarkable +transparency. All the varied forms and caves, the projecting peaks, +and edges of rock, are visible far down, until the eye is lost in +the depths of darkness. But the greatest beauty of the spring is +the splendid colouring proceeding from the rock; it is of the +tenderest, most transparent, pale blue and green, and resembles the +reflection of a Bengal flame. But what is most strange is, that +this play of colour proceeds from the rock, and only extends eight +to ten inches from it, while the other water is colourless as common +water, only more transparent, and purer. + +I could not believe it at first, and thought it must be occasioned +by the sun; I therefore visited the springs at different times, +sometimes when the sun shone brightly, sometimes when it was +obscured by clouds, once even after its setting; but the colouring +always remained the same. + +One may fearlessly approach the brink of these springs. The +platform which projects directly from them, and under which one can +see in all directions, is indeed only a thin ledge of rock, but +strong enough to prevent any accident. The beauty consists, as I +have said, in the magical illumination, and in the transparency, by +which all the caves and grottoes to the greatest depths become +visible to the eye. Involuntarily I thought of Schiller's Diver. +{40} I seemed to see the goblet hang on the peaks and jags of the +rock; I could fancy I saw the monsters rise from the bottom. It +must be a peculiar pleasure to read this splendid poem in such an +appropriate spot. + +I found scarcely any basins of Brodem or coloured waters. The only +one of the kind which I saw was a small basin, in which a brownish- +red substance, rather denser than water, was boiling. Another +smaller spring, with dirty brown water, I should have quite +overlooked, if I had not so industriously searched for these +curiosities. + +At last, after long waiting, on the second day of my stay, on the +27th June, at half-past eight in the morning, I was destined to see +an eruption of the Geyser in its greatest perfection. The peasant, +who came daily in the morning and in the evening to inquire whether +I had already seen an eruption, was with me when the hollow sounds +which precede it were again heard. We hastened out, and I again +despaired of seeing any thing; the water only overflowed as usual, +and the sound was already ceasing. But all at once, when the last +sounds had scarcely died away, the explosion began. Words fail me +when I try to describe it: such a magnificent and overpowering +sight can only be seen once in a lifetime. + +All my expectations and suppositions were far surpassed. The water +spouted upwards with indescribable force and bulk; one pillar rose +higher than the other; each seemed to emulate the other. When I had +in some measure recovered from the surprise, and regained composure, +I looked at the tent. How little, how dwarfish it seemed as +compared to the height of these pillars of water! And yet it was +about twenty feet high. It did, indeed, lie ten feet lower than the +basin of the Geyser; but if tent had been raised above tent, these +ten feet could only be deducted once, and I calculated, though my +calculation may not be correct, that one would need to pile up five +or six tents to have the height of one of the pillars. Without +exaggeration, I think the largest spout rose above one hundred feet +high, and was three to four feet in diameter. + +Fortunately I had looked at my watch at the beginning of the hollow +sounds, the forerunners of the eruption, for during its continuance +I should probably have forgotten to do so. The whole lasted four +minutes, of which the greater half must have been taken up by the +eruption itself. + +When this wonderful scene was over, the peasant accompanied me to +the basin. We could now approach it and the boiler without danger, +and examine both at leisure. There was now nothing to fear; the +water had entirely disappeared from the outer basin. We entered it +and approached the inner basin, in which the water had sunk seven or +eight feet, where it boiled and bubbled fiercely. + +With a hammer I broke some crust out of the outer as well as out of +the inner basin; the former was white, the latter brown. I also +tasted the water; it had not an unpleasant taste, and can only +contain an inconsiderable proportion of sulphur, as the steam does +not even smell of it. + +I went to the basin of the Geyser every half hour to observe how +much time was required to fill it again. After an hour I could +still descend into the outer basin; but half an hour later the inner +basin was already full, and commenced to overflow. As long as the +water only filled the inner basin it boiled violently; but the +higher it rose in the outer one, the less it boiled, and nearly +ceased when the basin was filled: it only threw little bubbles here +and there. + +After a lapse of two hours--it was just noon--the basin was filled +nearly to the brim; and while I stood beside it the water began +again to bubble violently, and to emit the hollow sounds. I had +scarcely time to retreat, for the pillars of water rose immediately. +This time they spouted during the noise, and were more bulky than +those of the first explosion, which might proceed from their not +rising so high, and therefore remaining more compact. Their height +may have been from forty to fifty feet. The basins this time +remained nearly as full after the eruption as before. + +I had now seen two eruptions of the Geyser, and felt amply +compensated for my persevering patience and watchfulness. But I was +destined to be more fortunate, and to experience its explosions in +all their variety. The spring spouted again at seven o'clock in the +evening, ascended higher than at noon, and brought up some stones, +which looked like black spots and points in the white frothy water- +column. And during the third night it presented itself under +another phase: the water rose in dreadful, quickly-succeeding +waves, without throwing rays; the basin overflowed violently, and +generated such a mass of steam as is rarely seen. The wind +accidentally blew it to the spot where I stood, and it enveloped me +so closely that I could scarcely see a few feet off. But I +perceived neither smell nor oppression, merely a slight degree of +warmth. + + +June 28th. + +As I had now seen the Geyser play so often and so beautifully, I +ordered my horses for nine o'clock this morning, to continue my +journey. I made the more haste to leave, as a Dutch prince was +expected, who had lately arrived at Reikjavik, with a large retinue, +in a splendid man-of-war. + +I had the luck to see another eruption before my departure at half- +past eight o'clock; and this one was nearly as beautiful as the +first. This time also the outer basin was entirely emptied, and the +inner one to a depth of six or seven feet. I could therefore again +descend into the basin, and bid farewell to the Geyser at the very +brink of the crater, which, of course, I did. + +I had now been three nights and two days in the immediate vicinity +of the Geyser, and had witnessed five eruptions, of which two were +of the most considerable that had ever been known. But I can assure +my readers that I did not find every thing as I had anticipated it +according to the descriptions and accounts I had read. I never +heard a greater noise than I have mentioned, and never felt any +trembling of the earth, although I paid the greatest attention to +every little circumstance, and held my head to the ground during an +eruption. + +It is singular how many people repeat every thing they hear from +others--how some, with an over-excited imagination, seem to see, +hear, and feel things which do not exist; and how others, again, +tell the most unblushing falsehoods. I met an example of this in +Reikjavik, in the house of the apothecary Moller, in the person of +an officer of a French frigate, who asserted that he had "ridden to +the very edge of the crater of Mount Vesuvius." He probably did not +anticipate meeting any one in Reikjavik who had also been to the +crater of Vesuvius. Nothing irritates me so much as such falsehoods +and boastings; and I could not therefore resist asking him how he +had managed that feat. I told him that I had been there, and feared +danger as little as he could do; but that I had been compelled to +descend from my donkey near the top of the mountain, and let my feet +carry me the remainder of the journey. He seemed rather +embarrassed, and pretended he had meant to say NEARLY to the crater; +but I feel convinced he will tell this story so often that he will +at last believe it himself. + +I hope I do not weary my readers by dwelling so long on the subject +of the Geyser. I will now vary the subject by relating a few +circumstances that came under my notice, which, though trifling in +themselves, were yet very significant. The most unimportant facts +of an almost unknown country are often interesting, and are often +most conclusive evidences of the general character of the nation. + +I have already spoken of my intoxicated guide. It is yet +inexplicable to me how he could have conducted me so safely in such +a semi-conscious state; and had he not been the only one, I should +certainly not have trusted myself to his guidance. + +Of the want of cleanliness of the Icelanders, no one who has not +witnessed it can have any idea; and if I attempted to describe some +of their nauseous habits, I might fill volumes. They seem to have +no feeling of propriety, and I must, in this respect, rank them as +far inferior to the Bedouins and Arabs--even to the Greenlanders. I +can, therefore, not conceive how this nation could once have been +distinguished for wealth, bravery, and civilisation. + +On this day I proceeded on my journey about twenty-eight miles +farther to Skalholt. + +For the first five miles we retraced our former road; then we turned +to the left and traversed the beautiful long valley in which the +Geyser is situated. For many miles we could see its clouds of steam +rising to the sky. The roads were tolerable only when they passed +along the sides of hills and mountains; in the plains they were +generally marshy and full of water. We sometimes lost all traces of +a road, and only pushed on towards the quarter in which the place of +our destination was situated; and feared withal to sink at every +pace into the soft and unresisting soil. + +I found the indolence of the Icelandic peasants quite unpardonable. +All the valleys through which we passed were large morasses richly +overgrown with grass. If the single parishes would unite to dig +trenches and drain the soil, they would have the finest meadows. +This is proved near the many precipices where the water has an +outlet; in these spots the grass grows most luxuriantly, and daisies +and herbs flourish there, and even wild clover. A few cottages are +generally congregated on these oases. + +Before arriving at the village of Thorfastadir, we already perceived +Hecla surrounded by the beautiful jokuls. + +I arrived at Thorfastadir while a funeral was going on. As I +entered the church the mourners were busily seeking courage and +consolation in the brandy-bottle. The law commands, indeed, that +this be not done in the church; but if every one obeyed the law, +what need would there be of judges? The Icelanders must think so, +else they would discontinue the unseemly practice. + +When the priest came, a psalm or a prayer--I could not tell which it +was, being Icelandic--was so earnestly shouted by peasants under the +leadership of the priest and elders, that the good people waxed +quite warm and out of breath. Then the priest placed himself before +the coffin, which, for want of room, had been laid on the backs of +the seats, and with a very loud voice read a prayer which lasted +more than half an hour. With this the ceremony within the church +was concluded, and the coffin was carried round the church to the +grave, followed by the priest and the rest of the company. This +grave was deeper than any I had ever seen. When the coffin had been +lowered, the priest threw three handfuls of earth upon it, but none +of the mourners followed his example. Among the earth which had +been dug out of the grave I noticed four skulls, several human +bones, and a board of a former coffin. These were all thrown in +again upon the coffin, and the grave filled in presence of the +priest and the people. One man trod the soil firm, then a little +mound was made and covered with grass-plots which were lying ready. +The whole business was completed with miraculous speed. + +The little town of Skalholt, my station this night, was once as +celebrated in religious matters as Thingvalla had been politically +famous. Here, soon after the introduction of Christianity, the +first bishopric was founded in 1098, and the church is said to have +been one of the largest and richest. Now Skalholt is a miserable +place, and consists of three or four cottages, and a wretched wooden +church, which may perhaps contain a hundred persons; it has not even +its own priest, but belongs to Thorfastadir. + +My first business on arriving was to inspect the yet remaining +relics of past ages. First I was shewn an oil-picture which hangs +in the church, and is said to represent the first bishop of +Skalholt, Thorlakur, who was worshipped almost as a saint for his +strict and pious life. + +After this, preparations were made to clear away the steps of the +altar and several boards of the flooring. I stood expectantly +looking on, thinking that I should now have to descend into a vault +to inspect the embalmed body of the bishop. I must confess this +prospect was not the most agreeable, when I thought of the +approaching night which I should have to spend in this church, +perhaps immediately over the grave of the old skeleton. I had +besides already had too much to do with the dead for one day, and +could not rid myself of the unpleasant grave-odour which I had +imbibed in Thorfastadir, and which seemed to cling to my dress and +my nose. {41} I was therefore not a little pleased when, instead of +the dreaded vault and mummy, I was only shewn a marble slab, on +which were inscribed the usual notifications of the birth, death, +&c. of this great bishop. Besides this, I saw an old embroidered +stole and a simple golden chalice, both of which are said to be +relics of the age of Thorlakar. + +Then we ascended into the so-called store-room, which is only +separated from the lower portion of the church by a few boards, and +which extends to the altar. Here are kept the bells and the organ, +if the church possesses one, the provisions, and a variety of tools. +They opened an immense chest for me there, which seemed to contain +only large pieces of tallow made in the form of cheeses; but under +this tallow I found the library, where I discovered an interesting +treasure. This was, besides several very old books in the Icelandic +tongue, three thick folio volumes, which I could read very easily; +they were German, and contained Luther's doctrines, letters, +epistles, &c. + +I had now seen all there was to be seen, and began to satisfy my +physical wants by calling for some hot water to make coffee, &c. As +usual, all the inhabitants of the place ranged themselves in and +before the church, probably to increase their knowledge of the human +race by studying my peculiarities. I soon, however, closed the +door, and prepared a splendid couch for myself. At my first +entrance into the church, I had noticed a long box, quite filled +with sheep's wool. I threw my rugs over this, and slept as +comfortably as in the softest bed. In the morning I carefully +teased the wool up again, and no one could then have imagined where +I had passed the night. + +Nothing amused me more, when I had lodgings of this description, +than the curiosity of the people, who would rush in every morning, +as soon as I opened the door. The first thing they said to each +other was always, "Krar hefur hun sovid" (Where can she have +slept?). The good people could not conceive how it was possible to +spend a night ALONE in a church surrounded by a churchyard; they +perhaps considered me an evil spirit or a witch, and would too +gladly have ascertained how such a creature slept. When I saw their +disappointed faces, I had to turn away not to laugh at them. + + +June 29th. + +Early the next morning I continued my journey. Not far from +Skalholt we came to the river Thiorsa, which is deep and rapid. We +crossed in a boat; but the horses had to swim after us. It is often +very troublesome to make the horses enter these streams; they see at +once that they will have to swim. The guide and boatmen cannot +leave the shore till the horses have been forced into the stream; +and even then they have to throw stones, to threaten them with the +whip, and to frighten them by shouts and cries, to prevent them from +returning. + +When we had made nearly twelve miles on marshy roads, we came to the +beautiful waterfall of the Huitha. This fall is not so remarkable +for its height, which is scarcely more than fifteen to twenty feet, +as for its breadth, and for its quantity of water. Some beautiful +rocks are so placed at the ledge of the fall, that they divide it +into three parts; but it unites again immediately beneath them. The +bed of the river, as well as its shores, is of lava. + +The colour of the water is also a remarkable feature in this river; +it inclines so much to milky white, that, when the sun shines on it, +it requires no very strong imaginative power to take the whole for +milk. + +Nearly a mile above the fall we had to cross the Huitha, one of the +largest rivers in Iceland. Thence the road lies through meadows, +which are less marshy than the former ones, till it comes to a broad +stream of lava, which announces the vicinity of the fearful volcano +of Hecla. + +I had hitherto not passed over such an expanse of country in Iceland +as that from the Geyser to this place without coming upon streams of +lava. And this lava-stream seemed to have felt some pity for the +beautiful meadows, for it frequently separated into two branches, +and thus enclosed the verdant plain. But it could not withstand the +violence of the succeeding masses; it had been carried on, and had +spread death and destruction everywhere. The road to it, through +plains covered with dark sand, and over steep hills intervening, was +very fatiguing and laborious. + +We proceeded to the little village of Struvellir, where we stopped +to give our horses a few hours' rest. Here we found a large +assembly of men and animals. {42} It happened to be Sunday, and a +warm sunny day, and so a very full service was held in the pretty +little church. When it was over, I witnessed an amusing rural +scene. The people poured out of the church,--I counted ninety-six, +which is an extraordinarily numerous assemblage for Iceland,--formed +into little groups, chatting and joking, not forgetting, however, to +moisten their throats with brandy, of which they had taken care to +bring an ample supply. Then they bridled their horses and prepared +for departure; now the kisses poured in from all sides, and there +was no end of leave-taking, for the poor people do not know whether +they shall ever meet again, and when. + +In all Iceland welcome and farewell is expressed by a loud kiss,--a +practice not very delightful for a non-Icelander, when one considers +their ugly, dirty faces, the snuffy noses of the old people, and the +filthy little children. But the Icelanders do not mind this. They +all kissed the priest, and the priest kissed them; and then they +kissed each other, till the kissing seemed to have no end. Rank is +not considered in this ceremony; and I was not a little surprised to +see how my guide, a common farm-labourer, kissed the six daughters +of a judge, or the wife and children of a priest, or a judge and the +priest themselves, and how they returned the compliment without +reserve. Every country has its peculiar customs! + +The religious ceremonies generally begin about noon, and last two or +three hours. There being no public inn in which to assemble, and no +stable in which the horses can be fastened, all flock to the open +space in front of the church, which thus becomes a very animated +spot. All have to remain in the open air. + +When the service was over, I visited the priest, Herr Horfuson; he +was kind enough to conduct me to the Salsun, nine miles distant, +principally to engage a guide to Hecla for me. + +I was doubly rejoiced to have this good man at my side, as we had to +cross a dangerous stream, which was very rapid, and so deep that the +water rose to the horses' breasts. Although we raised our feet as +high as possible, we were yet thoroughly wet. This wading across +rivers is one of the most unpleasant modes of travelling. The horse +swims more than it walks, and this creates a most disagreeable +sensation; one does not know whither to direct one's eyes; to look +into the stream would excite giddiness, and the sight of the shore +is not much better, for that seems to move and to recede, because +the horse, by the current, is forced a little way down the river. +To my great comfort the priest rode by my side to hold me, in case I +should not be able to keep my seat. I passed fortunately through +this probation; and when we reached the other shore, Herr Horfuson +pointed out to me how far the current had carried us down the river. + +The valley in which Salsun and the Hecla are situated is one of +those which are found only in Iceland. It contains the greatest +contrasts. Here are charming fields covered with a rich green +carpet of softest grass, and there again hills of black, shining +lava; even the fertile plains are traversed by streams of lava and +spots of sand. Mount Hecla notoriously has the blackest lava and +the blackest sand; and it may be imagined how the country looks in +its immediate neighbourhood. One hill only to the left of Hecla is +reddish brown, and covered with sand and stones of a similar colour. +The centre is much depressed, and seems to form a large crater. +Mount Hecla is directly united with the lava-mountains piled round +it, and seems from the plain only as a higher point. It is +surrounded by several glaciers, whose dazzling fields of snow +descend far down, and whose brilliant plains have probably never +been trod by human feet; several of its sides were also covered with +snow. To the left of the valley near Salsun, and at the foot of a +lava-hill, lies a lovely lake, on whose shores a numerous flock of +sheep were grazing. Near it rises another beautiful hill, so +solitary and isolated, that it looks as if it had been cast out by +its neighbours and banished hither. Indeed, the whole landscape +here is so peculiarly Icelandic, so strange and remarkable, that it +will ever remain impressed on my memory. + +Salsun lies at the foot of Mount Hecla, but is not seen before one +reaches it. + +Arrived at Salsun, our first care was to seek a guide, and to +bargain for every thing requisite for the ascension of the mountain. +The guide was to procure a horse for me, and to take me and my +former guide to the summit of Hecla. He demanded five thaler and +two marks (about fifteen shillings), a most exorbitant sum, on which +he could live for a month. But what could we do? He knew very well +that there was no other guide to be had, and so I was forced to +acquiesce. When all was arranged, my kind companion left me, +wishing me success on my arduous expedition. + +I now looked out for a place in which I could spend the night, and a +filthy hole fell to my lot. A bench, rather shorter that my body, +was put into it, to serve as my bed; beside it hung a decayed fish, +which had infected the whole room with its smell. I could scarcely +breathe; and as there was no other outlet, I was obliged to open the +door, and thus receive the visits of the numerous and amiable +inhabitants. What a strengthening and invigorating preparation for +the morrow's expedition! + +At the foot of Mount Hecla, and especially in this village, every +thing seems to be undermined. Nowhere, not even on Mount Vesuvius, +had I heard such hollow, droning sounds as here,--the echoes of the +heavy footsteps of the peasants. These sounds made a very awful +impression on me as I lay all night alone in that dark hole. + +My Hecla guide, as I shall call him to distinguish him from my other +guide, advised me to start at two o'clock in the morning, to which I +assented, well knowing, however, that we should not have mounted our +horses before five o'clock. + +As I had anticipated, so it happened. At half-past five we were +quite prepared and ready for departure. Besides bread and cheese, a +bottle of water for myself, and one of brandy for my guides, we were +also provided with long sticks, tipped with iron points to sound the +depth of the snow, and to lean upon. + +We were favoured by a fine warm sunny morning, and galloped briskly +over the fields and the adjoining plains of sand. My guide +considered the fine weather a very lucky omen, and told me that M. +Geimard, the before-mentioned French scholar, had been compelled to +wait three days for fine weather. Nine years had elapsed, and no +one had ascended the mountain since then. A prince of Denmark, who +travelled through Iceland some years before, had been there, but had +returned without effecting his purpose. + +Our road at first led us through beautiful fields, and then over +plains of black sand enclosed on all sides by streams, hillocks, and +mountains of piled-up lava. Closer and closer these fearful masses +approach, and scarcely permit a passage through a narrow cleft; we +had to climb over blocks and hills of lava, where it is difficult to +find a firm resting-place for the foot. The lava rolled beside and +behind us, and we had to proceed carefully not to fall or be hit by +the rolling lava. But most dangerous were the chasms filled with +snow over which we had to pass; the snow had been softened by the +warmth of the season, so that we sank into it nearly every step, or, +what was worse, slipped back more than we had advanced. I scarcely +think there can be another mountain whose ascent offers so many +difficulties. + +After a labour of about three hours and a half we neared the summit +of the mountain, where we were obliged to leave our horses. I +should, indeed, have preferred to do so long before, as I was +apprehensive of the poor animals falling as they climbed over these +precipices--one might almost call them rolling mountains--but my +guide would not permit it. Sometimes we came to spots where they +were useful, and then he maintained that I must ride as far as +possible to reserve my strength for the remaining difficulties. And +he was right; I scarcely believe I should have been able to go +through it on foot, for when I thought we were near the top, hills +of lava again rose between us, and we seemed farther from our +journey's end than before. + +My guide told me that he had never taken any one so far on +horseback, and I can believe it. Walking was bad enough--riding was +fearful. + +At every fresh declivity new scenes of deserted, melancholy +districts were revealed to us; every thing was cold and dead, every +where there was black burnt lava. It was a painful feeling to see +so much, and behold nothing but a stony desert, an immeasurable +chaos. + +There were still two declivities before us,--the last, but the +worst. We had to climb steep masses of lava, sharp and pointed, +which covered the whole side of the mountain. I do not know how +often I fell and cut my hands on the jagged points of the lava. It +was a fearful journey! + +The dazzling whiteness of the snow contrasted with the bright black +lava beside it had an almost blinding effect. When crossing fields +of snow I did not look at the lava; for having tried to do so once +or twice, I could not see my way afterwards, and had nearly grown +snow-blind. + +After two hours' more labour we reached the summit of the mountain. +I stood now on Mount Hecla, and eagerly sought the crater on the +snowless top, but did not find it. I was the more surprised, as I +had read detailed accounts of it in several descriptions of travel. + +I traversed the whole summit of the mountain and climbed to the +adjoining jokul, but did not perceive an opening, a fissure, a +depressed space, nor any sign of a crater. Lower down in the sides +of the mountain, but not in the real cone, I saw some clefts and +fissures from which the streams of lava probably poured. The height +of the mountain is said to be 4300 feet. + +During the last hour of our ascent the sun had grown dim. Clouds of +mist blown from the neighbouring glaciers enshrouded the hill-tops, +and soon enveloped us so closely that we could scarcely see ten +paces before us. At last they dissolved, fortunately not in rain +but in snow, which profusely covered the black uneven lava. The +snow remained on the ground, and the thermometer stood at one degree +of cold. + +In a little while the clear blue sky once more was visible, and the +sun again shone over us. I remained on the top till the clouds had +separated beneath us, and afforded me a better distant view over the +country. + +My pen is unfortunately too feeble to bring vividly before my +readers the picture such as I beheld it here, and to describe to +them the desolation, the extent and height of these lava-masses. I +seemed to stand in a crater, and the whole country appeared only a +burnt-out fire. Here lava was piled up in steep inaccessible +mountains; there stony rivers, whose length and breadth seemed +immeasurable, filled the once-verdant fields. Every thing was +jumbled together, and yet the course of the last eruption could be +distinctly traced. + +I stood there, in the centre of horrible precipices, caves, streams, +valleys, and mountains, and scarcely comprehended how it was +possible to penetrate so far, and was overcome with terror at the +thought which involuntarily obtruded itself--the possibility of +never finding my way again out of these terrible labyrinths. + +Here, from the top of Mount Hecla, I could see far into the +uninhabited country, the picture of a petrified creation, dead and +motionless, and yet magnificent,--a picture which once seen can +never again fade from the memory, and which alone amply compensates +for all the previous troubles and dangers. A whole world of +glaciers, lava-mountains, snow and ice-fields, rivers and lakes, +into which no human foot has ever ventured to penetrate. How nature +must have laboured and raged till these forms were created! And is +it over now? Has the destroying element exhausted itself; or does +it only rest, like the hundred-headed Hydra, to break forth with +renewed strength, and desolate those regions which, pushed to the +verge of the sea-shore, encircle the sterile interior as a modest +wreath? I thank God that he has permitted me to behold this chaos +in his creation; but I thank him more heartily that he has placed me +to dwell in regions where the sun does more than merely give light; +where it inspires and fertilises animals and plants, and fills the +human heart with joy and thankfulness towards its Creator. {43} + +The Westmann Isles, which are said to be visible from the top of +Hecla, I could not see; they were probably covered by clouds. + +During the ascent of the Hecla I had frequently touched lava,-- +sometimes involuntarily, when I fell; sometimes voluntarily, to find +a hot or at least a warm place. I was unfortunate enough only to +find cold ones. The falling snow was therefore most welcome, and I +looked anxiously around to see a place where the subterranean heat +would melt it. I should then have hastened thither and found what I +sought. But unfortunately the snow remained unmelted every where. +I could neither see any clouds of smoke, although I gazed steadily +at the mountain for hours, and could from my post survey it far down +the sides. + +As we descended we found the snow melting at a depth of 500 to 600 +feet; lower down, the whole mountain smoked, which I thought was the +consequence of the returning warmth of the sun, for my thermometer +now stood at nine degrees of heat. I have noticed the same +circumstance often on unvolcanic mountains. The spots from which +the smoke rose were also cold. + +The smooth jet-black, bright, and dense lava is only found on the +mountain itself and in its immediate vicinity. But all lava is not +the same: there is jagged, glassy, and porous lava; the former is +black, and so is the sand which covers one side of Hecla. The +farther the lava and sand are from the mountain, the more they lose +this blackness, and their colour plays into iron-colour and even +into light-grey; but the lighter-coloured lava generally retains the +brightness and smoothness of the black lava. + +After a troublesome descent, having spent twelve hours on this +excursion, we arrived safely at Salsun; and I was on the point of +returning to my lodging, somewhat annoyed at the prospect of +spending another night in such a hole, when my guide surprised me +agreeably by the proposition to return to Struvellir at once. The +horses, he said, were sufficiently rested, and I could get a good +room there in the priest's house. I soon packed, and in a short +time we were again on horseback. The second time I came to the deep +Rangaa, I rode across fearlessly, and needed no protection at any +side. Such is man: danger only alarms him the first time; when he +has safely surmounted it once, he scarcely thinks of it the second +time, and wonders how he can have felt any fear. + +I saw five little trees standing in a field near the stream. The +stems of these, which, considering the scarcity of trees in Iceland, +may be called remarkable phenomena, were crooked and knotty, but yet +six or seven feet high, and about four or five inches in diameter. + +As my guide had foretold, I found a very comfortable room and a good +bed in the priest's house. Herr Horfuson is one of the best men I +have ever met with. He eagerly sought opportunities for giving me +pleasure, and to him I owe several fine minerals and an Icelandic +book of the year 1601. May God reward his kindness and benevolence! + + +July 1st. + +We retraced our steps as far as the river Huitha, over which we +rowed, and then turned in another direction. Our journey led us +through beautiful valleys, many of them producing abundance of +grass; but unfortunately so much moss grew among it, that these +large plains were not available for pastures, and only afforded +comfort to travellers by their aspect of cheerfulness. They were +quite dry. + +The valley in which Hjalmholm, our resting-place for this night, was +situated, is traversed by a stream of lava, which had, however, been +modest enough not to fill up the whole valley, but to leave a space +for the pretty stream Elvas, and for some fields and hillocks, on +which many cottages stood. It was one of the most populous valleys +I had seen in Iceland. + +Hjalmholm is situated on a hill. In it lives the Sysselmann of the +Rangaar district, in a large and beautiful house such as I saw no +where in Iceland except in Reikjavik. He had gone to the capital of +the island as member of the Allthing; but his daughters received me +very hospitably and kindly. + +We talked and chatted much; I tried to display my knowledge of the +Danish language before them, and must often have made use of curious +phrases, for the girls could not contain their laughter. But that +did not abash me; I laughed with them, applied to my dictionary, +which I carried with me, and chatted on. They seemed to gather no +very high idea of the beauty of my countrywomen from my personal +appearance; for which I humbly crave the forgiveness of my +countrywomen, assuring them that no one regrets the fact more than I +do. But dame Nature always treats people of my years very harshly, +and sets a bad example to youth of the respect due to age. Instead +of honouring us and giving us the preference, she patronises the +young folks, and every maiden of sixteen can turn up her nose at us +venerable matrons. Besides my natural disqualifications, the sharp +air and the violent storms to which I had been subjected had +disfigured my face very much. They had affected me more than the +burning heat of the East. I was very brown, my lips were cracked, +and my nose, alas, even began to rebel against its ugly colour. It +seemed anxious to possess a new, dazzling white, tender skin, and +was casting off the old one in little bits. + +The only circumstance which reinstated me in the good opinion of the +young girls was, that having brushed my hair unusually far out of my +face, a white space became visible. The girls all cried out +simultaneously, quite surprised and delighted: "Hun er quit" (she +is white). I could not refrain from laughing, and bared my arm to +prove to them that I did not belong to the Arab race. + +A great surprise was destined me in this house; for, as I was +ransacking the Sysselmann's book-case, I found Rotteck's Universal +History, a German Lexicon, and several poems and writings of German +poets. + + +July 2d. + +The way from Kalmannstunga to Thingvalla leads over nothing but +lava, and the one to-day went entirely through marshes. As soon as +we had crossed one, another was before us. Lava seemed to form the +soil here, for little portions of this mineral rose like islands out +of the marshes. + +The country already grew more open, and we gradually lost sight of +the glaciers. The high mountains on the left seemed like hills in +the distance, and the nearer ones were really hills. After riding +about nine miles we crossed the large stream of Elvas in a boat, and +then had to tread carefully across a very long, narrow bank, over a +meadow which was quite under water. If a traveller had met us on +this bank, I do not know what we should have done; to turn round +would have been as dangerous as to sink into the morass. +Fortunately one never meets any travellers in Iceland. + +Beyond the dyke the road runs for some miles along the mountains and +hills, which all consist of lava, and are of a very dark, nearly +black colour. The stones on these hills were very loose; in the +plain below many colossal pieces were lying, which must have fallen +down; and many others threatened to fall every moment. We passed +the dangerous spot safely, without having had to witness such a +scene. + +I often heard a hollow sound among these hills; I at first took it +for distant thunder, and examined the horizon to discover the +approaching storm. But when I saw neither clouds nor lightning, I +perceived that I must seek the origin of the sounds nearer, and that +they proceeded from the falling portions of rock. + +The higher mountains to the left fade gradually more and more from +view; but the river Elvas spreads in such a manner, and divides into +so many branches, that one might mistake it for a lake with many +islands. It flows into the neighbouring sea, whose expanse becomes +visible after surmounting a few more small hills. + +The vale of Reikum, which we now entered, is, like that of Reikholt, +rich in hot springs, which are congregated partly in the plain, +partly on or behind the hills, in a circumference of between two and +three miles. + +When we had reached the village of Reikum I sent my effects at once +to the little church, took a guide, and proceeded to the boiling +springs. I found very many, but only two remarkable ones; these, +however, belong to the most noteworthy of their kind. The one is +called the little Geyser, the other the Bogensprung. + +The little Geyser has an inner basin of about three feet diameter. +The water boils violently at a depth of from two to three feet, and +remains within its bounds till it begins to spout, when it projects +a beautiful voluminous steam of from 20 to 30 feet high. + +At half-past eight in the evening I had the good fortune to see one +of these eruptions, and needed not, as I had done at the great +Geyser, to bivouac near it for days and nights. The eruption lasted +some time, and was tolerably equable; only sometimes the column of +water sank a little, to rise to its former height with renewed +force. After forty minutes it fell quite down into the basin again. +The stones we threw in, it rejected at once, or in a few seconds, +shivered into pieces, to a height of about 12 to 15 feet. Its bulk +must have been 1 to 1.5 feet in diameter. My guide assured me that +this spring generally plays only twice, rarely thrice, in twenty- +four hours, and not, as I have seen it stated, every six minutes. I +remained near it till midnight, but saw no other eruption. + +This spring very much resembles the Strukker near the great Geyser, +the only difference being that the water sinks much lower in the +latter. + +The second of the two remarkable springs, the arched spring, is +situated near the little Geyser, on the declivity of a hill. I had +never seen such a curious formation for the bed of a spring as this +is. It has no basin, but lies half open at your feet, in a little +grotto, which is separated into various cavities and holes, and +which is half-surrounded by a wall of rock bending over it slightly +at a height of about 2 feet, and then rises 10 to 12 feet higher. +This spring never is at rest more than a minute; then it begins to +rise and boil quickly, and emits a voluminous column, which, +striking against the projecting rock, is flattened by it, and rises +thence like an arched fan. The height of this peculiarly-spread jet +of water may be about 12 feet, the arch it describes 15 to 20 feet, +and its breadth 3 to 8 feet. The time of eruption is often longer +than that of repose. After an eruption the water always sinks a few +feet into the cave, and for 15 or 20 seconds admits of a glance into +this wonderful grotto. But it rises again immediately, fills the +grotto and the basin, which is only a continuation of the grotto, +and springs again. + +I watched this miraculous play of nature for more than an hour, and +could not tear myself from it. This spring, which is certainly the +only one of its kind, gratified me much more than the little Geyser. + +There is another spring called the roaring Geyser; but it is nothing +more than a misshapen hole, in which one hears the water boil, but +cannot see it. The noise is, also, not at all considerable. + + +July 3d. + +Near Reikum we crossed a brook into which all the hot springs flow, +and which has a pretty fall. We then ascended the adjoining +mountain, and rode full two hours on the high plain. The plain +itself was monotonous, as it was only covered with lava-stones and +moss, but the prospect into the valley was varied and beautiful. +Vale and sea were spread before me, and I saw the Westmann Islands, +with their beautiful hills, which the envious clouds had concealed +from me on the Hecla, lying in the distance. Below me stood some +houses in the port-town, Eierbach, and near them the waters of the +Elvas flow into the sea. + +At the end of this mountain-level a valley was situated, which was +also filled with lava, but with that jagged black lava which +presents such a beautiful appearance. Immense streams crossed it +from all sides, so that it almost resembled a black lake separated +from the sea by a chain of equally black mountains. + +We descended into this sombre vale through piles of lava and fields +of snow, and went on through valleys and chasms, over fields of +lava, plains of meadow-land, past dark mountains and hills, till we +reached the chief station of my Icelandic journey, the town of +Reikjavik. + +The whole country between Reikum and Reikjavik, a distance of 45 to +50 miles, is, for the most part, uninhabited. Here and there, in +the fields of lava, stand little pyramids of the same substance, +which serve as landmarks; and there are two houses built for such +persons as are obliged to travel during the winter. But we found +much traffic on the road, and often overtook caravans of 15 to 20 +horses. Being the beginning of August, it was the time of trade and +traffic in Iceland. Then the country people travel to Reikjavik +from considerable distances, to change their produce and +manufactures, partly for money, partly for necessaries and luxuries. +At this period the merchants and factors have not hands enough to +barter the goods or close the accounts which the peasants wish to +settle for the whole year. + +At this season an unusual commotion reigns in Reikjavik. Numerous +groups of men and horses fill the streets; goods are loaded and +unloaded; friends who have not met for a year or more welcome each +other, others take leave. On one spot curious tents {44} are +erected, before which children play; on another drunken men stagger +along, or gallop on horseback, so that one is terrified, and fears +every moment to see them fall. + +This unusual traffic unfortunately only lasts six or eight days. +The peasant hastens home to his hay-harvest; the merchant must +quickly regulate the produce and manufactures he has purchased, and +load his ships with them, so that they may sail and reach their +destination before the storms of the autumnal equinox. + + Miles. + +From Reikjavik to Thingvalla is 45 +From Thingvalla to the Geyser 36 +From the Geyser to Skalholt 28 +From Skalholt to Salsun 36 +From Salsun to Struvellir 9 +From Struvellir to Hjalmholm 28 +From Hjalmholm to Reikum 32 +From Reikum to Reikjavik 45 + 259 + + + +CHAPTER VII + + + +During my travels in Iceland I had of course the opportunity of +becoming acquainted with its inhabitants, their manners and customs. +I must confess that I had formed a higher estimate of the peasants. +When we read in the history of that country that the first +inhabitants had emigrated thither from civilised states; that they +had brought knowledge and religion with them; when we hear of the +simple good-hearted people, and their patriarchal mode of life in +the accounts of former travellers, and which we know that nearly +every peasant in Iceland can read and write, and that at least a +Bible, but generally other religions books also, are found in every +cot,--one feels inclined to consider this nation the best and most +civilised in Europe. I deemed their morality sufficiently secured +by the absence of foreign intercourse, by their isolated position, +and the poverty of the country. No large town there affords +opportunity for pomp or gaiety, or for the commission of smaller or +greater sins. Rarely does a foreigner enter the island, whose +remoteness, severe climate, inhospitality, and poverty, are +uninviting. The grandeur and peculiarity of its natural formation +alone makes it interesting, and that does not suffice for the +masses. + +I therefore expected to find Iceland a real Arcadia in regard to its +inhabitants, and rejoiced at the anticipation of seeing such an +Idyllic life realised. I felt so happy when I set foot on the +island that I could have embraced humanity. But I was soon +undeceived. + +I have often been impatient at my want of enthusiasm, which must be +great, as I see every thing in a more prosaic form than other +travellers. I do not maintain that my view is RIGHT, but I at least +possess the virtue of describing facts as I see them, and do not +repeat them from the accounts of others. + +I have already described the impoliteness and heartlessness of the +so-called higher classes, and soon lost the good opinion I had +formed of them. I now came to the working classes in the vicinity +of Reikjavik. The saying often applied to the Swiss people, "No +money, no Swiss," one may also apply to the Icelanders. And of this +fact I can cite several examples. + +Scarcely had they heard that I, a foreigner, had arrived, than they +frequently came to me, and brought quite common objects, such as can +be found any where in Iceland, and expected me to pay dearly for +them. At first I purchased from charity, or to be rid of their +importunities, and threw the things away again; but I was soon +obliged to give this up, as I should else have been besieged from +morning to night. Their anxiety to gain money without labour +annoyed me less than the extortionate prices with which they tried +to impose on a stranger. For a beetle, such as could be found under +every stone, they asked 5 kr. (about 2d.); as much for a +caterpillar, of which thousands were lying on the beach; and for a +common bird's egg, 10 to 20 kr. (4d. to 8d.) Of course, when I +declined buying, they reduced their demand, sometimes to less than +half the original sum; but this was certainly not in consequence of +their honesty. The baker in whose house I lodged also experienced +the selfishness of these people. He had engaged a poor labourer to +tar his house, who, when he had half finished his task, heard of +other employment. He did not even take the trouble to ask the baker +to excuse him for a few days; he went away, and did not return to +finish the interrupted work for a whole week. This conduct was the +more inexcusable as his children received bread, and even butter, +twice a week from the baker. + +I was fortunate enough to experience similar treatment. Herr +Knudson had engaged a guide for me, with whom I was to take my +departure in a few days. But it happened that the magistrate wished +also to take a trip, and sent for my guide. The latter expected to +be better paid by him, and went; he did not come to me to discharge +himself, but merely sent me word on the eve of my departure, that he +was ill, and could therefore not go with me. I could enumerate many +more such examples, which do not much tend to give a high estimate +of Icelandic morality. + +I consoled myself with the hope of finding simplicity and honesty in +the more retired districts, and therefore anticipated a twofold +pleasure from my journey into the interior. I found many virtues, +but unfortunately so many faults, that I am no longer inclined to +exalt the Icelandic peasants as examples. + +The best of their virtues is their honesty. I could leave my +baggage unguarded any where for hours, and never missed the least +article, for they did not even permit their children to touch any +thing. In this point they are so conscientious, that if a peasant +comes from a distance, and wishes to rest in a cottage, he never +fails to knock at the door, even if it is open. If no one calls +"come in," he does not enter. One might fearlessly sleep with open +doors. + +Crimes are of such rare occurrence here, that the prison of +Reikjavik was changed into a dwelling-house for the chief warden +many years since. Small crimes are punished summarily, either in +Reikjavik or at the seat of the Sysselmann. Criminals of a deeper +dye are sent to Copenhagen, and are sentenced and punished there. + +My landlord at Reikjavik, the master-baker Bernhoft, told me that +only one crime had been committed in Iceland during the thirteen +years that he had resided there. This was the murder of an +illegitimate child immediately after its birth. The most frequently +occurring crime is cow-stealing. + +I was much surprised to find that nearly all the Icelanders can read +and write. The latter quality only was somewhat rarer with the +women. Youths and men often wrote a firm, good hand. I also found +books in every cottage, the Bible always, and frequently poems and +stories, sometimes even in the Danish language. + +They also comprehend very quickly; when I opened my map before them, +they soon understood its use and application. Their quickness is +doubly surprising, if we consider that every father instructs his +own children, and sometimes the neighbouring orphans. This is of +course only done in the winter; but as winter lasts eight months in +Iceland, it is long enough. + +There is only one school in the whole island, which originally was +in Bessestadt, but has been removed to Reikjavik since 1846. In +this school only youths who can read and write are received, and +they are either educated for priests, and may complete their studies +here, or for doctors, apothecaries, or judges, when they must +complete their studies in Copenhagen. + +Besides theology, geometry, geography, history, and several +languages, such as Latin, Danish, and, since 1846, German and also +French, are taught in the school of Reikjavik. + +The chief occupation of the Icelandic peasants consists in fishing, +which is most industriously pursued in February, March, and April. +Then the inhabitants of the interior come to the coasting villages +and hire themselves to the dwellers on the beach, the real +fishermen, as assistants, taking a portion of the fish as their +wages. Fishing is attended to at other times also, but then +exclusively by the real fishermen. In the months of July and August +many of the latter go into the interior and assist in the hay- +harvest, for which they receive butter, sheep's wool, and salt lamb. +Others ascend the mountains and gather the Iceland moss, of which +they make a decoction, which they drink mixed with milk, or they +grind it to flour, and bake flat cakes of it, which serve them in +place of bread. + +The work of the women consists in the preparation of the fish for +drying, smoking, or salting; in tending the cattle, in knitting, +sometimes in gathering moss. In winter both men and women knit and +weave. + +As regards the hospitality of the Icelanders, {45} I do not think +one can give them so very much credit for it. It is true that +priests and peasants gladly receive any European traveller, and +treat him to every thing in their power; but they know well that the +traveller who comes to their island is neither an adventurer nor a +beggar, and will therefore pay them well. I did not meet one +peasant or priest who did not accept the proffered gift without +hesitation. But I must say of the priests that they were every +where obliging and ready to serve me, and satisfied with the +smallest gift; and their charges, when I required horses for my +excursions, were always moderate. I only found the peasant less +interested in districts where a traveller scarcely ever appeared; +but in such places as were more visited, their charges were often +exorbitant. For example, I had to pay 20 to 30 kr. (8d. to 1s.) for +being ferried over a river; and then my guide and I only were rowed +in the boat, and the horses had to swim. The guide who accompanied +me on the Hecla also overcharged me; but he knew that I was forced +to take him, as there is no choice of guides, and one does not give +up the ascent for the sake of a little money. + +This conduct shows that the character of the Icelanders does not +belong to the best; and that they take advantage of travellers with +as much shrewdness as the landlords and guides on the continent. + +A besetting sin of the Icelanders is their drunkenness. Their +poverty would probably not be so great if they were less devoted to +brandy, and worked more industriously. It is dreadful to see what +deep root this vice has taken. Not only on Sundays, but also on +week-days, I met peasants who were so intoxicated that I was +surprised how they could keep in their saddle. I am, however, happy +to say that I never saw a woman in this degrading condition. + +Another of their passions is snuff. They chew and snuff tobacco +with the same infatuation as it is smoked in other countries. But +their mode of taking it is very peculiar. Most of the peasants, and +even many of the priests, have no proper snuff-box, but only a box +turned of bone, shaped like a powder-flask. When they take snuff, +they throw back their head, insert the point of the flask in their +nose, and shake a dose of tobacco into it. They then, with the +greatest amiability, offer it to their neighbour, he to his, and so +it goes round till it reaches the owner again. + +I think, indeed, that the Icelanders are second to no nation in +uncleanliness; not even to the Greenlanders, Esquimaux, or +Laplanders. If I were to describe a portion only of what I +experienced, my readers would think me guilty of gross exaggeration; +I prefer, therefore, to leave it to their imagination; merely saying +that they cannot conceive any thing too dirty for Iceland delicacy. + +Beside this very estimable quality, they are also insuperably lazy. +Not far from the coast are immense meadows, so marshy that it is +dangerous to cross them. The fault lies less in the soil than the +people. If they would only make ditches, and thus dry the ground, +they would have the most splendid grass. That this would grow +abundantly is proved by the little elevations which rise from above +the marshes, and which are thickly covered with grass, herbage, and +wild clover. I also passed large districts covered with good soil, +and some where the soil was mixed with sand. + +I frequently debated with Herr Boge, who has lived in Iceland for +forty years, and is well versed in farming matters, whether it would +not be possible to produce important pasture-grounds and hay-fields +with industry and perseverance. He agreed with me, and thought that +even potato-fields might be reclaimed, if only the people were not +so lazy, preferring to suffer hunger and resign all the comforts of +cleanliness rather than to work. What nature voluntarily gives, +they are satisfied with, and it never occurs to them to force more +from her. If a few German peasants were transported hither, what a +different appearance the country would soon have! + +The best soil in Iceland is on the Norderland. There are a few +potato-grounds there, and some little trees, which, without any +cultivation, have reached a height of seven to eight feet. Herr +Boge, established here for thirty years, had planted some mountain- +ash and birch-trees, which had grown to a height of sixteen feet. + +In the Norderland, and every where except on the coast, the people +live by breeding cattle. Many a peasant there possesses from two to +four hundred sheep, ten to fifteen cows, and ten to twelve horses. +There are not many who are so rich, but at all events they are +better off than the inhabitants of the sea-coast. The soil there is +for the most part bad, and they are therefore nearly all compelled +to have recourse to fishing. + +Before quitting Iceland, I must relate a tradition told me by many +Icelanders, not only by peasants, but also by people of the so- +called higher classes, and who all implicitly believe it. + +It is asserted that the inhospitable interior is likewise populated, +but by a peculiar race of men, to whom alone the paths through these +deserts are known. These savages have no intercourse with their +fellow-countrymen during the whole year, and only come to one of the +ports in the beginning of July, for one day at the utmost, to buy +several necessaries, for which they pay in money. They then vanish +suddenly, and no one knows in which direction they are gone. No one +knows them; they never bring their wives or children with them, and +never reply to the question whence they come. Their language, also, +is said to be more difficult than that of the other inhabitants of +Iceland. + +One gentleman, whom I do not wish to name, expressed a wish to have +the command of twenty to twenty-five well-armed soldiers, to search +for these wild men. + +The people who maintain that they have seen these children of +nature, assert that they are taller and stronger than other +Icelanders; that their horses' hoofs, instead of being shod earth +iron, have shoes of horn; and that they have much money, which they +can only have acquired by pillage. When I inquired what respectable +inhabitants of Iceland had been robbed by these savages, and when +and where, no one could give me an answer. For my part, I scarcely +think that one man, certainly not a whole race, could live by +pillage in Iceland. + + +DEPARTURE FROM ICELAND.--JOURNEY TO COPENHAGEN. + + +I had seen all there was to be seen in Iceland, had finished all my +excursions, and awaited with inexpressible impatience the sailing of +the vessel which was destined to bring me nearer my beloved home. +But I had to stay four very long weeks in Reikjavik, my patience +being more exhausted from day to day, and had after this long delay +to be satisfied with the most wretched accommodation. + +The delay was the more tantalising, as several ships left the port +in the mean time, and Herr Knudson, with whom I had crossed over +from Copenhagen, invited me to accompany him on his return; but all +the vessels went to England or to Spain, and I did not wish to visit +either of these countries. I was waiting for an opportunity to go +to Scandinavia, to have at least a glance at these picturesque +districts. + +At last there were two sloops which intended to sail towards the end +of July. The better of the two went to Altona; the destination of +the other was Copenhagen. I had intended to travel in the former; +but a merchant of Reikjavik had already engaged the only berth,--for +there rarely is more than one in such a small vessel,--and I deemed +myself lucky to obtain the one in the other ship. Herr Bernhoft +thought, indeed, that the vessel might be too bad for such a long +journey, and proposed to examine it, and report on its condition. +But as I had quite determined to go to Denmark, I requested him to +waive the examination, and agree with the captain about my passage. +If, as I anticipated, he found the vessel too wretched, his warnings +might have shaken my resolution, and I wished to avoid that +contingency. + +We heard, soon, that a young Danish girl, who had been in service in +Iceland, wished to return by the same vessel. She had been +suffering so much from home-sickness, that she was determined, under +any circumstances, to see her beloved fatherland again. If, thought +I to myself, the home-sickness is powerful enough to make this girl +indifferent to the danger, longing must take its place in my breast +and effect the same result. + +Our sloop bore the consolatory name of Haabet (hope), and belonged +to the merchant Fromm, in Copenhagen. + +Our departure had been fixed for the 26th of July, and after that +day I scarcely dared to leave my house, being in constant +expectation of a summons on board. Violent storms unfortunately +prevented our departure, and I was not called till the 29th of July, +when I had to bid farewell to Iceland. + +This was comparatively easy. Although I had seen many wonderful +views, many new and interesting natural phenomena, I yet longed for +my accustomed fields, in which we do not find magnificent and +overpowering scenes, but lovelier and more cheerful ones. The +separation from Herr Knudson and the family of Bernhoft was more +difficult. I owed all the kindness I had experienced in the island, +every good advice and useful assistance in my travels, only to them. +My gratitude to these kind and good people will not easily fade from +my heart. + +At noon I was already on board, and had leisure to admire all the +gay flags and streamers with which the French frigate anchoring here +had been decked, to celebrate the anniversary of the July +revolution. + +I endeavoured to turn my attention as much as possible to exterior +objects, and not to look at our ship, for all that I had +involuntarily seen had not impressed me very favourably. I +determined also not to enter the cabin till we were in the open sea +and the pilots had left our sloop, so that all possibility of return +would be gone. + +Our crew consisted of captain, steersman, two sailors, and a cabin- +boy, who bore the title of cook; we added that of valet, as he was +appointed to wait on us. + +When the pilots had left us, I sought the entrance of the cabin,-- +the only, and therefore the common apartment. It consisted of a +hole two feet broad, which gaped at my feet, and in which a +perpendicular ladder of five steps was inserted. I stood before it +puzzled to know which would be the best mode of descent, but knew no +other way than to ask our host the captain. He shewed it me at +once, by sitting at the entrance and letting his feet down. Let the +reader imagine such a proceeding with our long dresses, and, above +all, in bad weather, when the ship was pitched about by storms. But +the thought that many other people are worse off, and can get on, +was always the anchor of consolation to which I held; I argued with +myself that I was made of the same stuff as other human beings, only +spoiled and pampered, but that I could bear what they bore. In +consequence of this self-arguing, I sat down at once, tried the new +sliding-ladder, and arrived below in safety. + +I had first to accustom my eyes to the darkness which reigned here, +the hatches being constructed to admit the light very sparingly. I +soon, however, saw too much; for all was raggedness, dirt, and +disorder. But I will describe matters in the order in which they +occurred to me; for, as I flatter myself that many of my +countrywomen will in spirit make this journey with me, and as many +of them probably never had the opportunity of being in such a +vessel, I wish to describe it to them very accurately. All who are +accustomed to the sea will testify that I have adhered strictly to +the truth. But to return to the sloop. Its age emulated mine, she +being a relic of the last century. At that time little regard was +paid to the convenience of passengers, and the space was all made +available for freight; a fact which cannot surprise us, as the +seaman's life is passed on deck, and the ship was not built for +travellers. The entire length of the cabin from one berth to the +other was ten feet; the breadth was six feet. The latter space was +made still narrower by a box on one side, and by a little table and +two little seats on the other, so that only sufficient space +remained to pass through. + +At dinner or supper, the ladies--the Danish girl and myself--sat on +the little benches, where we were so squeezed, that we could +scarcely move; the two cavaliers--the captain and the steersman-- +were obliged to stand before the table, and eat their meals in that +position. The table was so small that they were obliged to hold +their plates in their hands. In short, every thing shewed the cabin +was made only for the crew, not for the passengers. + +The air in this enclosure was also not of the purest; for, besides +that it formed our bed-room, dining-room, and drawing-room, it was +also used as store-room, for in the side cupboards provisions of +various kinds were stored, also oil-colours, and a variety of other +matter. I preferred to sit on the deck, exposed to the cold and the +storm, or to be bathed by a wave, than to be half stifled below. +Sometimes, however, I was obliged to descend, either when rain and +storms were too violent, or when the ship was so tossed by contrary +winds that the deck was not safe. The rolling and pitching of our +little vessel was often so terrible, that we ladies could neither +sit nor stand, and were therefore obliged to lie down in the +miserable berths for many a weary day. How I envied my companion! +she could sleep day and night, which I could not. I was nearly +always awake, much to my discomfort; for the hatches and the +entrance were closed during the storm, and an Egyptian darkness, as +well as a stifling atmosphere, filled the cabin. + +In regard to food, all passengers, captain and crew, ate of the same +dish. The morning meal consisted of miserable tea, or rather of +nauseous water having the colour of tea. The sailors imbibed theirs +without sugar, but the captain and the steersman took a small piece +of candied sugar, which does not melt so quickly as the refined +sugar, in their mouth, and poured down cup after cup of tea, and ate +ship's biscuit and butter to it. + +The dinner fare varied. The first day we had salt meat, which is +soaked the evening before, and boiled the next day in sea-water. It +was so salt, so hard, and so tough, that only a sailor's palate can +possibly enjoy it. Instead of soup, vegetables, and pudding, we had +pearl-barley boiled in water, without salt or butter; to which +treacle and vinegar was added at the dinner-table. All the others +considered this a delicacy, and marvelled at my depraved taste when +I declared it to be unpalatable. + +The second day brought a piece of bacon, boiled in sea-water, with +the barley repeated. On the third we had cod-fish with peas. +Although the latter were boiled hard and without butter, they were +the most eatable of all the dishes. On the fourth day the bill of +fare of the first was repeated, and the same course followed again. +At the end of every dinner we had black coffee. The supper was like +the breakfast,--tea-water, ship's biscuit and butter. + +I wished to have provided myself with some chickens, eggs, and +potatoes in Reikjavik, but I could not obtain any of these luxuries. +Very few chickens are kept--only the higher officials or merchants +have them; eggs of eider-ducks and other birds may often be had, but +more are never collected than are wanted for the daily supply, and +then only in spring; for potatoes the season was not advanced +enough. My readers have now a picture of the luxurious life I led +on board the ship. Had I been fortunate enough to voyage in a +better vessel, where the passengers are more commodiously lodged and +better fed, the seasickness would certainly not have attacked me; +but in consequence of the stifling atmosphere of the cabin and the +bad food, I suffered from it the first day. But on the second I was +well again, regained my appetite, and ate salt meat, bacon, and peas +as well as a sailor; the stockfish, the barley, and the coffee and +tea, I left untouched. + +A real sailor never drinks water; and this observation of mine was +confirmed by our captain and steersman: instead of beer or wine, +they took tea, and, except at meals, cold tea. + +On Sunday evenings we had a grand supper, for the captain had eight +eggs, which he had brought from Denmark, boiled for us four people. +The crew had a few glasses of punch-essence mixed in their tea. + +As my readers are now acquainted with the varied bill of fare in +such a ship, I will say a few words of the table-linen. This +consisted only of an old sailcloth, which was spread over the table, +and looked so dirty and greasy that I thought it would be much +better and more agreeable to leave the table uncovered. But I soon +repented the unwise thought, and discovered how important this cloth +was. One morning I saw our valet treating a piece of sailcloth +quite outrageously: he had spread it upon the deck, stood upon it, +and brushed it clean with the ship's broom. I recognised our +tablecloth by the many spots of dirt and grease, and in the evening +found the table bare. But what was the consequence? Scarcely had +the tea-pot been placed on the table than it began to slip off; had +not the watchful captain quickly caught it, it would have fallen to +the ground and bathed our feet with its contents. Nothing could +stand on the polished table, and I sincerely pitied the captain that +he had not another tablecloth. + +My readers will imagine that what I have described would have been +quite sufficient to make my stay in the vessel any thing but +agreeable; but I discovered another circumstance, which even made it +alarming. This was nothing less than that our little vessel was +constantly letting in a considerable quantity of water, which had to +be pumped out every few hours. The captain tried to allay my +uneasiness by asserting that every ship admitted water, and ours +only leaked a little more because it was so old. I was obliged to +be content with his explanation, as it was now too late to think of +a change. Fortunately we did not meet with any storms, and +therefore incurred less danger. + +Our journey lasted twenty days, during twelve of which we saw no +land; the wind drove us too far east to see the Feroe or the +Shetland Isles. I should have cared less for this, had I seen some +of the monsters of the deep instead, but we met with scarcely any of +these amiable animals. I saw the ray of water which a whale emitted +from his nostrils, and which exactly resembled a fountain; the +animal itself was unfortunately too far from our ship for us to see +its body. A shark came a little nearer; it swam round our vessel +for a few moments, so that I could easily look at him: it must have +been from sixteen to eighteen feet long. + +The so-called flying-fish afforded a pretty sight. The sea was as +calm as a mirror, the evening mild and moonlight; and so we remained +on deck till late, watching the gambols of these animals. As far as +we could see, the water was covered with them. We could recognise +the younger fishes by their higher springs; they seemed to be three +to four feet long, and rose five to six feet above the surface of +the sea. Their leaping looked like an attempt at flying, but their +gills did not do them good service in the trial, and they fell back +immediately. The old fish did not seem to have the same elasticity; +they only described a small arch like the dolphins, and only rose so +far above the water that we could see the middle 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 Copenhagen cannot be +reached at the expected time. + +If a ship is unfortunate enough to reach Helsingor on a dark night, +she may not enter at all for fear of a collision. She has to anchor +in the Cattegat, and thus suffer two interruptions. If she arrives +at Helsingor in the night before four o'clock, she has to wait, as +the custom-house is not opened till that time. + +The skipper is, however, at liberty to proceed direct to Copenhagen, +but this liberty costs five thalers (fifteen shillings). If, +however, the toll may thus be paid in Copenhagen just as easily, the +obligation to stop at Helsingor is only a trick to gain the higher +toll; for if a captain is in haste, or the wind is too favourable to +be lost, he forfeits the five thalers, and sails on to Copenhagen. + +Our captain cared neither for time nor trouble; he cleared the ship +here, and so we did not reach Copenhagen until two o'clock in the +afternoon. After my long absence, it seemed so familiar, so +beautiful and grand, as if I had seen nothing so beautiful in my +whole life. My readers must bear in mind, however, where I came +from, and how long I had been imprisoned in a vessel in which I +scarcely had space to move. When I put foot on shore again, I could +have imitated Columbus, and prostrated myself to kiss the earth. + + +DEPARTURE FROM COPENHAGEN.--CHRISTIANIA. + + +On the 19th August, the day after my arrival from Iceland, at two +o'clock in the afternoon, I had already embarked again; this time in +the fine royal Norwegian steamer Christiania, of 170 horsepower, +bound for the town of Christiania, distant 304 sea-miles from +Copenhagen. We had soon passed through the Sound and arrived safely +in the Cattegat, in which we steered more to the right than on the +journey to Iceland; for we not only intended to see Norway and +Sweden, but to cast anchor on the coast. + +We could plainly see the fine chain of mountains which bound the +Cattegat on the right, and whose extreme point, the Kulm, runs into +the sea like a long promontory. Lighthouses are erected here, and +on the other numerous dangerous spots of the coast, and their lights +shine all around in the dark night. Some of the lights are movable, +and some stationary, and point out to the sailor which places to +avoid. + + +August 20th. + +Bad weather is one of the greatest torments of a traveller, and is +more disagreeable when one passes through districts remarkable for +beauty and originality. Both grievances were united to-day; it +rained, almost incessantly; and yet the passage of the Swedish coast +and of the little fiord to the port of Gottenburg was of peculiar +interest. The sea here was more like a broad stream which is +bounded by noble rocks, and interspersed by small and large rocks +and shoals, over which the waters dashed finely. Near the harbour, +some buildings lie partly on and partly between the rocks; these +contain the celebrated royal Swedish iron-foundry, called the new +foundry. Even numerous American ships were lying here to load this +metal. {46} + +The steamer remains more than four hours in the port of Gottenburg, +and we had therefore time to go into the town, distant about two +miles, and whose suburbs extend as far as the port. On the landing- +quay a captain lives who has always a carriage and two horses ready +to drive travellers into the town. There are also one-horse +vehicles, and even an omnibus. The former were already engaged; the +latter, we were told, drives so slowly, that nearly the whole time +is lost on the road; so I and two travelling companions hired the +captain's carriage. The rain poured in torrents on our heads; but +this did not disturb us much. My two companions had business to +transact, and curiosity attracted me. I had not at that time known +that I should have occasion to visit this pretty little town again, +and would not leave without seeing it. + +The suburbs are built entirely of wood, and contain many pretty one- +story houses, surrounded, for the most part, by little gardens. The +situation of the suburbs is very peculiar. Rocks, or little fields +and meadows, often lie between the houses; the rocks even now and +then cross the streets, and had to be blasted to form a road. The +view from one of the hills over which the road to the town lies is +truly beautiful. + +The town has two large squares: on the smaller one stands the large +church; on the larger one the town-hall, the post-office, and many +pretty houses. In the town every thing is built of bricks. The +river Ham flows through the large square, and increases the traffic +by the many ships and barks running into it from the sea, and +bringing provisions, but principally fuel, to market. Several +bridges cross it. A visit to the well-stocked fish-market is also +an interesting feature in a short visit to this town. + +I entered a Swedish house for the first time here. I remarked that +the floor was strewed over with the fine points of the fir-trees, +which had an agreeable odour, a more healthy one probably than any +artificial perfume. I found this custom prevalent all over Sweden +and Norway, but only in hotels and in the dwellings of the poorer +classes. + +About eleven o'clock in the forenoon we continued our journey. We +steered safely through the many rocks and shoals, and soon reached +the open sea again. We did not stand out far from the shore, and +saw several telegraphs erected on the rocks. We soon lost sight of +Denmark on the left, and arrived at the fortress Friedrichsver +towards evening, but could not see much of it. Here the so-called +Scheren begin, which extend sixty leagues, and form the Christian's +Sound. By what I could see in the dim twilight, the scene was +beautiful. Numerous islands, some merely consisting of bare rocks, +others overgrown with slender pines, surrounded us on all sides. +But our pilot understood his business perfectly, and steered us +safely through to Sandesund, spite of the dark night. Here we +anchored, for it would have been too dangerous to proceed. We had +to wait here for the steamer from Bergen, which exchanged passengers +with us. The sea was very rough, and this exchange was therefore +extremely difficult to effect. Neither of the steamers would lower +a boat; at last our steamer gave way, after midnight, and the +terrified and wailing passengers were lowered into it. I pitied +them from my heart, but fortunately no accident happened. + + +August 21st + +I could see the situation of Sandesund better by day; and found it +to consist only of a few houses. The water is so hemmed in here +that it scarcely attains the breadth of a stream; but it soon widens +again, and increases in beauty and variety with every yard. We +seemed to ride on a beautiful lake; for the islands lie so close to +the mountains in the background, that they look like a continent, +and the bays they form like the mouths of rivers. The next moment +the scene changes to a succession of lakes, one coming close on the +other; and when the ship appears to be hemmed in, a new opening is +suddenly presented to the eye behind another island. The islands +themselves are of a most varied character: some only consist of +bare rocks, with now and then a pine; some are richly covered with +fields and groves; and the shore presents so many fine scenes, that +one hardly knows where to look in order not to miss any of the +beauties of the scenery. Here are high mountains overgrown from the +bottom to the summit with dark pine-groves; there again lovely +hills, with verdant meadows, fertile fields, pretty farmsteads and +yards; and on another side the mountains separate and form a +beautiful perspective of precipices and valleys. Sometimes I could +follow the bend of a bay till it mingled with the distant clouds; at +others we passed the most beautiful valleys, dotted with little +villages and towns. I cannot describe the beauties of the scenery +in adequate terms: my words are too weak, and my knowledge too +insignificant; and I can only give an idea of my emotions, but not +describe them. + +Near Walloe the country grows less beautiful; the mountains decrease +into hills, and the water is not studded with islands. The little +town itself is almost concealed behind the hills. A remarkable +feature is the long row of wooden huts and houses adjoining, which +all belong to a salt-work established there. + +We entered one of the many little arms of the sea to reach the town +of Moss. Its situation is beautiful, being built amphi-theatrically +on a hillock which leans against a high mountain. A fine building +on the sea-shore, whose portico rests upon pillars, is used for a +bathing institution. + +A dock-yard, in which men-of-war are built at the expense of the +state, is situated near the town of Horten, which is also +picturesquely placed. There does not seem to be much work doing +here, for I only saw one ship lying at anchor, and none on the +stocks. About eight leagues beyond Horten a mountain rises in the +middle of the sea, and divides it into two streams, uniting again +beyond it, and forming a pretty view. + +We did not see Christiania till we were only ten leagues from it. +The town, the suburbs, the fortress, the newly-erected royal palace, +the freemasons' lodge, &c., lie in a semicircle round the port, and +are bounded by fields, meadows, woods, and hills, forming a +delightful coup-d'oeil. It seems as if the sea could not part from +such a lovely view, and runs in narrow streams, through hills and +plains, to a great distance beyond the town. + +Towards eleven o'clock in the forenoon we reached the port of +Christiania. We had come from Sandesund in seven hours, and had +stopped four times on the way; but the boats with new-comers, with +merchandise and letters, had always been ready, had been received, +and we had proceeded without any considerable delay. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + + +My first care on arriving in this town was to find a countrywoman of +mine who had been married to a lawyer here. It is said of the +Viennese that they cannot live away from their Stephen's steeple; +but here was a proof of the contrary, for there are few couples +living so happily as these friends, and yet they were nearly one +thousand miles from St. Stephen's steeple. {47} + +I passed through the whole town on the way from the quay to the +hotel, and thence to my friend. The town is not large, and not very +pretty. The newly-built portion is the best, for it at least has +broad, tolerably long streets, in which the houses are of brick, and +sometimes large. In the by-streets I frequently found wooden +barracks ready to fall. The square is large, but irregular; and as +it is used as a general market-place, it is also very dirty. + +In the suburbs the houses are mostly built of wood. There are some +rather pretty public buildings; the finest among them are the royal +castle and the fortress. They are built on little elevations, and +afford a beautiful view. The old royal palace is in the town, but +not at all distinguishable from a common private house. The house +in which the Storthing {48} assembles is large, and its portico +rests on pillars; but the steps are of wood, as in all stone houses +in Scandinavia. The theatre seemed large enough for the population; +but I did not enter it. The freemasons' lodge is one of the most +beautiful buildings in the town; it contains two large saloons, +which are used for assemblies or festivities of various kinds, +besides serving as the meeting-place of the freemasons. The +university seemed almost too richly built; it is not finished yet, +but is so beautiful that it would be an ornament to the largest +capital. The butchers' market is also very pretty. It is of a +semi-circular shape, and is surrounded by arched passages, in which +the buyers stand, sheltered from the weather. The whole edifice is +built of bricks, left in their natural state, neither stuccoed with +mortar nor whitewashed. There are not many other palaces or fine +public buildings, and most of the houses are one-storied. + +One of the features of the place--a custom which is of great use to +the traveller, and prevails in all Scandinavian towns--is, that the +names of the streets are affixed at every corner, so that the +passer-by always knows where he is, without the necessity of asking +his way. + +Open canals run through the town; and on such nights as the almanac +announces a full or bright moon the streets are not lighted. + +Wooden quays surround the harbour, on which several large +warehouses, likewise built of wood, are situated; but, like most of +the houses, they are roofed with tiles. + +The arrangement and display of the stores are simple, and the wares +very beautiful, though not of home manufacture. Very few factories +exist here, and every thing has to be imported. + +I was much shocked at the raggedly-clad people I met every where in +the streets; the young men especially looked very ragged. They +rarely begged; but I should not have been pleased to meet them alone +in a retired street. + +I was fortunate enough to be in Christiania at the time when the +Storthing was sitting. This takes place every three years; the +sessions commence in January or February, and usually last three +months; but so much business had this time accumulated, that the +king proposed to extend the length of the session. To this +fortunate accident I owed the pleasure of witnessing some of the +meetings. The king was expected to close the proceedings in +September. {49} + +The hall of meeting is long and large. Four rows of tapestried +seats, one rising above the other, run lengthways along the hall, +and afford room for eighty legislators. Opposite the benches a +table stands on a raised platform, and at this table the president +and secretary sit. A gallery, which is open to the public, runs +round the upper portion of the hall. + +Although I understood but little of the Norwegian language, I +attended the meetings daily for an hour. I could at least +distinguish whether long or short speeches were made, or whether the +orator spoke fluently. Unfortunately, the speakers I heard spoke +the few words they mustered courage to deliver so slowly and +hesitatingly, that I could not form a very favourable idea of +Norwegian eloquence. I was told that the Storthing only contained +three or four good speakers, and they did not display their talents +during my stay. + +I have never seen such a variety of carriages as I met with here. +The commonest and most incommodious are called Carriols. A carriol +consists of a narrow, long, open box, resting between two immensely +high wheels, and provided with a very small seat. You are squeezed +into this contrivance, and have to stretch your feet forward. You +are then buckled in with a leather apron as high as the hips, and +must remain in this position, without moving a limb, from the +beginning to the end of your ride. A board is hung on behind the +box for the coachman; and from this perch he, in a kneeling or +standing position, directs the horses, unless the temporary resident +of the box should prefer to take the reins himself. As it is very +unpleasant to hear the quivering of the reins on one side and the +smacking of the whip on the other, every one, men and women, can +drive. Besides these carriols, there are phaetons, droschkas, but +no closed vehicles. + +The carts which are used for the transport of beer are of a very +peculiar construction. The consumption of beer in Christiania is +very great, and it is at once bottled when made, and not sold in +casks. The carts for the transport of these bottles consist of +roomy covered boxes a foot and a half high, which are divided into +partitions like a cellaret, in which many bottles can be easily and +safely transported from one part to another. + +Another species of basket, which the servants use to carry such +articles as are damp or dirty, and which my readers will excuse my +describing, is made of fine white tin, and provided with a handle. +Straw baskets are only used for bread, and for dry and clean +provisions. + +There are no public gardens or assemblies in Christiania, but +numerous promenades; indeed, every road from the town leads to the +most beautiful scenery, and every hill in the neighbourhood affords +the most delightful prospects. + +Ladegardoen is the only spot which is often resorted to by the +citizens by carriage or on foot. It affords many and splendid views +of the sea and its islands, of the surrounding mountains, valleys, +and pine and fir groves. The majority of the country-houses are +built here. They are generally small, but pretty, and surrounded by +flower-gardens and orchards. While there, I seemed to be far in the +south, so green and verdant was the scenery. The corn-fields alone +betrayed the north. Not that the corn was poor; on the contrary, I +found many ears bending to the ground under their weight; but now, +towards the end of August, most of it was standing uncut in the +fields. + +Near the town stands a pine-grove, from which one has splendid +views; two monuments are raised in it, but neither of them are of +importance: one is raised to the memory of a crown-prince of +Sweden, Christian Augustus; the other to Count Hermann Wenel +Jarlsberg. + + +JOURNEY TO DELEMARKEN. + + +All I had hitherto seen in Norway had gratified me so much, that I +could not resist the temptation of a journey to the wildly romantic +regions of Delemarken. I was indeed told that it would be a +difficult undertaking for a female, alone and almost entirely +ignorant of the language, to make her way through the peasantry. +But I found no one to accompany me, and was determined to go; so I +trusted to fate, and went alone. + +According to the inquires I had instituted in respect to this +journey, I anticipated that my greatest difficulties would arise +from the absence of all institutions for the speedy and comfortable +progress of travellers. One is forced to possess a carriage, and to +hire horses at every station. It is sometimes possible to hire a +vehicle, but this generally consists only of a miserable peasant's +cart. I hired, therefore, a carriol for the whole journey, and a +horse to the next station, the townlet of Drammen, distant about +twenty-four miles. + +On the 25th August, at three o'clock in the afternoon, I left +Christiania, squeezed myself into my carriage, and, following the +example of Norwegian dames, I seized the reins. I drove as if I had +been used to it from infancy. I turned right and left, and my horse +galloped and trotted gaily on. + +The road to Drammen is exquisite, and would afford rich subjects for +an artist. All the beauties of nature are here combined in most +perfect harmony. The richness and variety of the scenery are almost +oppressive, and would be an inexhaustible subject for the painter. +The vegetation is much richer than I had hoped to find it so far +north; every hill, every rock, is shaded by verdant foliage; the +green of the meadows was of incomparable freshness; the grass was +intermingled with flowers and herbs, and the corn-fields bent under +their golden weight. + +I have been in many countries, and have seen beautiful districts; I +have been in Switzerland, in Tyrol, in Italy, and in Salzburg; but I +never saw such peculiarly beautiful scenery as I found here: the +sea every where intruding and following us to Drammen; here forming +a lovely lake on which boats were rocking, there a stream rushing +through hills and meadows; and then again, the splendid expanse +dotted with proud three-masters and with countless islets. After a +five hours' ride through rich valleys and splendid groves, I reached +the town of Drammen, which lies on the shores of the sea and the +river Storri Elf, and whose vicinity was announced by the beautiful +country-houses ornamenting the approach to it. + +A long, well-built wooden bridge, furnished with beautiful iron +palisadings, leads over the river. The town of Drammen has pretty +streets and houses, and above 6000 inhabitants. The hotel where I +lodged was pretty and clean. My bedroom was a large room, with +which the most fastidious might have been contented. The supper +which they provided for me was, however, most frugal, consisting +only of soft-boiled eggs. They gave me neither salt nor bread with +them, nor a spoon; nothing but a knife and fork. And it is a +mystery to me how soft eggs can be eaten without bread, and with a +knife and fork. + + +August 25th. + +I hired a fresh horse here, with which I proceeded to Kongsberg, +eighteen miles farther. The first seven miles afforded a repetition +of the romantic scenery of the previous day, with the exception of +the sea. But instead I had the beautiful river, until I had +ascended a hill, from whose summit I overlooked a large and +apparently populous valley, filled with groups of houses and single +farms. It is strange that there are very few large towns in Norway; +every peasant builds his house in the midst of his fields. + +Beyond this hill the scenery grows more monotonous. The mountains +are lower, the valley narrower, and the road is enclosed by wood or +rocks. One peculiarity of Norwegian rocks is their humidity. The +water penetrates through countless fissures, but only in such small +quantities as to cover the stones with a kind of veil. When the sun +shines on these wet surfaces of rock, of which there are many and +large ones, they shine like mirrors. + +Delemarken seems to be tolerably populous. I often met with +solitary peasant-huts in the large gloomy forests, and they gave +some life to the monotonous landscape. The industry of the +Norwegian peasant is very great; for every spot of earth, even on +the steepest precipices, bore potatoes, barley, or oats; their +houses also look cheerful, and were painted for the most part of a +brick-red colour. + +I found the roads very good, especially the one from Christiania to +Drammen; and the one from Drammen to Kongsberg was not very +objectionable. There is such an abundance of wood in Norway, that +the streets on each side are fenced by wooden enclosures; and every +field and meadow is similarly protected against the intrusion of +cattle, and the miserable roads through the woods are even covered +with round trunks of trees. + +The peasantry in this district have no peculiar costume; only the +head-covering of the females is curious. They wear a lady's hat, +such as was fashionable in the last century, ornamented with a bunch +behind, and with an immense shade in front. They are made of any +material, generally of the remains of old garments; and only on +Sundays better ones, and sometimes even silk ones, make their +appearance. + +In the neighbourhood of Kongsberg this head-dress is no longer worn. +There they wear little caps like the Suabian peasantry, petticoats +commencing under the shoulders, and very short spencers: a very +ugly costume, the whole figure being spoilt by the short waist. + +The town of Kongsberg is rather extended, and is beautifully +situated on a hill in the centre of a splendid wooded valley. It +is, like all the towns in Norway except Christiania, built of wood; +but it has many pretty, neat houses and some broad streets. + +The stream Storri Elf flows past the town, and forms a small but +very picturesque waterfall a little below the bridge. What pleased +me most was the colour of the water as it surged over the rock. It +was about noon as I drove across the bridge; the sun illuminated the +whole country around, and the waves breaking against the rocks +seemed by this light of a beautiful pale-yellow colour, so that they +resembled thick masses of pure transparent amber. + +Two remarkable sights claimed my attention at Kongsberg,--a rich +silver-mine, and a splendid waterfall called the Labrafoss. But as +my time was limited and I could only remain a few hours in +Kongsberg, I preferred to see the waterfall and believe the accounts +of the silver-mine; which were, that the deepest shaft was eight +hundred feet below the surface, and that it was most difficult to +remain there, as the cold, the smoke, and the powder-smell had a +very noxious effect on the traveller accustomed to light and air. + +I therefore hired a horse and drove to the fall, which is situated +in a narrow pass about four miles from Kongsberg. The river +collects in a quiet calm basin a little distance above the fall, and +then rushes over the steep precipice with a sudden bound. The +considerable depth of the fall and the quality of water make it a +very imposing sight. This is increased by a gigantic rock planted +like a wall in the lower basin, and opposing its body to the +progress of the hurrying waters. The waves rebound from the rock, +and, collecting in mighty masses, rush over it, forming several +smaller waterfalls in their course. + +I watched it from a high rock, and was nevertheless covered by the +spray to such a degree, that I sometimes could scarcely open my +eyes. My guide then took me to the lower part of the fall, so that +I might have a view of it from all sides; and each view seemed +different and more splendid. I perceived the same yellow +transparent colour which I had remarked in the fall at Kongsberg in +the waters which dashed over the rock and were illuminated by the +sun. I imagine it arises from the rock, which is every where of a +brownish-red colour, for the water itself was clear and pure. + +At four o'clock in the afternoon I left Kongsberg, and drove to +Bolkesoe, a distance of eighteen miles. It was by no means a +beautiful or an agreeable drive; for the road was very bad, and took +me through passes and valleys, across woods and over steep +mountains, while the night was dark and unilluminated by the moon. +The thought involuntarily entered my mind, how easily my guide, who +sat close behind me on the vehicle, could put me out of the world by +a gentle blow, and take possession of my effects. But I had +confidence in the upright character of the Norwegians, and drove on +quietly, devoting my attention entirely to the reins of my little +steed, which I had to lead with a sure hand over hill and valley, +over ruts and stones, and along precipices. I heard no sound but +the rushing of the mountain-river, which leaped, close beside us, +over the rocks, and was heard rushing in the far distance. + +We did not arrive at Bolkesoe until ten o'clock at night. When we +stopped before an insignificant-looking peasant's cot, and I +remembered my Icelandic night-accommodations, whose exterior this +resembled, my courage failed me; but I was agreeably disappointed +when the peasant's wife led me up a broad staircase into a large +clean chamber furnished with several good beds, some benches, a +table, a box, and an iron stove. I found equal comforts on all the +stations of my journey. + +There are no proper hotels or posthouses on the little-frequented +Norwegian roads; but the wealthy peasants undertake the duties of +both. I would, however, advise every traveller to provide himself +with bread and other provisions for the trip; for his peasant-host +rarely can furnish him with these. His cows are on the hills during +the summer; fowls are far too great a luxury for him; and his bread +is scarcely eatable: it consists of large round cakes, scarcely +half an inch thick, and very hard; or of equally large cakes +scarcely as thick as a knife, and quite dry. The only eatables I +found were fish and potatoes; and whenever I could stay for several +hours, they fetched milk for me from the hills. + +The travelling conveniences are still more unattainable; but these I +will mention in a future chapter, when my experience will be a +little more extensive. + + +August 26th. + +I could not see the situation of the town of Bolkesoe till daylight +to-day, for when I arrived the darkness of night concealed it. It +is situated in a pretty wooded vale, on a little hill at whose foot +lies a beautiful lake of the same name. + +The road from here to Tindosoe, about sixteen miles, is not +practicable for vehicles, and I therefore left my carriol here and +proceeded on horseback. The country grows more quiet and +uninhabited, and the valleys become real chasms. Two lakes of +considerable size form an agreeable variety to the wildness of the +scenery. The larger one, called the Foelsoe, is of a regular form, +and above two miles in diameter; it is encircled by picturesque +mountains. The effect of the shadows which the pine-covered +mountain-tops throw on the lakes is particularly attractive. I rode +along its shores for more than an hour, and had leisure to see and +examine every thing very accurately, for the horses here travel at a +very slow pace. The reason of this is partly that the guide has no +horse, and walks beside you in a very sleepy manner; the horse knows +its master's peculiarities by long experience, and is only too +willing to encourage him in his slow, dull pace. I spent more than +five hours in reaching Tindosoe. My next object of interest was the +celebrated waterfall of Rykanfoss, to reach which we had to cross a +large lake. Although it had rained incessantly for an hour, and the +sky looked threatening, I at once hired a boat with two rowers to +continue my journey without interruption; for I anticipated a storm, +and then I should not have found a boatman who would have ventured a +voyage of four or five hours on this dangerous lake. In two hours +my boat was ready, and I started in the pouring rain, but rejoiced +at least at the absence of fog, which would have concealed the +beauties of nature which surrounded me. The lake is eighteen miles +long, but in many parts only from two to three miles wide. It is +surrounded by mountains, which rise in terraces without the least +gap to admit a distant view. As the mountains are nearly all +covered with dark fir-groves, and overshadow the whole breadth of +the narrow lake, the water seems quite dark, and almost black. This +lake is dangerous to navigate on account of the many rocks rising +perpendicularly out of the water, which, in a storm, shatter a boat +dashed against them to pieces, and the passengers would find an +inevitable grave in the deep waters. We had a fresh and a +favourable breeze, which blew us quickly to our destination. One of +the rocks on the coast has a very loud echo. + +An island about a mile long divides the lake into equal parts; and +when we had passed it, the landscape became quite peculiar. The +mountains seemed to push before each other, and try whose foot +should extend farthest into the sea. This forms numerous lovely +bays; but few of them are adapted for landing, as the dangerous +rocks seem to project every where. + +The little dots of field and meadow which seem to hang against the +rock, and the modest cottages of the peasants, which are built on +the points of the most dangerous precipices, and over which rocks +and stones tower as mountains, present a very curious appearance. +The most fearful rocks hang over the huts, and threaten to crush +them by falling, which would inevitably carry cottage and field with +them into the sea. It is difficult to say whether the boldness or +the stupidity of the peasants induces them to choose such localities +for their dwellings. + +From the mountains many rivers flow into the lake, and form +beautiful falls. This might only have been the case at that time, +because it was raining incessantly, and the water poured down from +all sides, so that the mountains seemed embroidered with silver +threads. It was a beautiful sight; but I would willingly have +relinquished it for a day of sunshine. It is no trifle to be +exposed to such a shower-bath from morning till night; I was wet +through, and had no hope for better weather, as the sky was clouded +all round. My perseverance was nearly exhausted; and I was on the +point of relinquishing the purpose of my journey,--the sight of the +highest Norwegian waterfall,--when it occurred to me that the bad +weather was most favourable for my plan, as each drop of water would +increase the splendour of the waterfall. + +After three hours and a half's rowing we reached Haukaness-am-See, +where it is usual to stop a night as there is a pretty farm here, +and the distance from the fall is still considerable. + + +August 27th. + +My first care in the morning was the weather; it was unchanged, and +the experienced peasants prophesied that it would remain wet. As I +would not return nor wait for better weather, I could only take to +my boat again, put on my half-dried cloak, and row on boldly. + +The termination of the lake, which we soon reached, was already +sufficient to compensate for my perseverance. A high mountain +advances into the lake, and divides it into two beautiful bays. We +entered the left bay, and landed at Mael, which lies at the mouth of +the river Rykaness. The distance from Haukaness is a little more +than two miles. I had to mount a horse to reach the waterfall, +which was yet eleven miles distant. The road runs through a narrow +valley, which gradually narrows still more until it can only contain +the river; and the traveller is obliged to ascend the heights and +grope on along the sides of the mountains. Below in the vale he +sees the foam of the waves surging against the rocks; they flow like +a narrow band of silver in the deep chasm. Sometimes the path is so +high that one neither sees nor hears the river. The last half mile +has to be journeyed on foot, and goes past spots which are really +dangerous; numerous waterfalls rush from the mountain-sides, and +have to be crossed on paths of tree-trunks laid alongside each +other; and roads scarcely a foot wide lead along giddy precipices. +But the traveller may trust unhesitatingly to his guide's arm, who +has hitherto led every one in safety to his destination. + +The road from Haukaness to the waterfall must be the finest that can +be imagined on a bright sunny day; for I was enchanted with the +wildly-romantic scenery in spite of the incessant rain and my wet +clothes, and would on no consideration have missed this sight. +Unfortunately the bad weather increased, and thick fogs rolled down +into the valleys. The water flowed down from the mountains, and +transformed our narrow path into a brook, through which we had to +wade ankle-deep in water. At last we reached the spot which +afforded the best view of the fall. It was yet free from mist, and +I could still admire the extraordinary beauty of the fall and its +quantity of water. I saw the immense mountain-rock which closes the +valley, the tremendous pillar of water which dashes over it, and +rebounds from the rock projecting in the centre of the fall, filling +the whole valley with clouds of spray, and concealing the depth to +which it descends. I saw this, one of the rarest and of the most +magnificent of natural beauties; but alas, I saw it only for a +moment, and had scarcely time to recover from the surprise of the +first view when I lost it for ever! I was not destined to see the +single grandeurs of the fall and of the surrounding scenery, and was +fain to be content with one look, one glance. Impenetrable mists +rolled from all sides into the wild glen, and shrouded every thing +in complete darkness; I sat on a piece of rock, and gazed for two +hours stedfastly at the spot where a faint outline of the fall was +scarcely distinguishable through the mist sometimes this faint trace +even was lost, and I could perceive its vicinity only by the +dreadful sounds of the fall, and by the trembling of the rock +beneath my feet. + +After I had gazed, and hoped, and raised my eyes entreatingly to +heaven for a single ray of sunshine, all in vain, I had at last to +determine on my return. I left my post almost with tears in my +eyes, and turned my head more backwards than forwards as we left the +spot. At the least indication of a clearing away of the fog I +should have returned. + +But I retired farther and farther from it till I reached Mael again, +where I sadly entered my boat, and proceeded uninterruptedly to +Tindosoe. I arrived there towards ten o'clock at night. The wet, +the cold, the want of food, and, above all, the depressed and +disappointed state of my mind, had so affected me, that I went to +bed with a slight attack of fever, and feared that I should not be +able to continue my journey on the following day. But my strong +constitution triumphed over every thing, and at five o'clock in the +morning I was ready to continue my journey to Bolkesoe on horseback. + +I was obliged to hurry for fear of missing the departure of the +steamer from Christiania. The journey to Delemarken had been +represented to me as much shorter than I found it in reality; for +the constant waiting for horses, boats, guides, &c. takes up very +much time. + + +August 28th. + +I had ordered my horse to be ready at five o'clock, but was obliged +to wait for it until seven o'clock. + +Although I made only a short trip into the interior, I had +sufficient opportunities for experiencing the extortions and +inconveniences to which a traveller is liable in Norway. No country +in Europe is so much in its infancy as regards all conveniences for +locomotion. It is true that horses, carriages, boats, &c. can be +had at every station, and the law has fixed the price of these +commodities; but every thing is in the hands of the peasants and the +publicans, and they are so skilled in tormenting the traveller by +their intentional slowness, that he is compelled to pay the two-fold +tax, in order to proceed a little more quickly. The stations are +short, being rarely above five or six miles, and one is therefore +constantly changing horses. Arrived at a station, it either happens +that there is really no horse to be had, or that this is an +ostensible excuse. The traveller is told that the horse has to be +fetched from the mountain, and that he can be served in one and a +half or two hours. Thus he rides one hour, and waits two. It is +also necessary to keep the tariff, as every trifle, the saddle, the +carriage, the harness, fetching the horse, the boat, &c., has to be +paid for extra; and when the traveller does not know the fixed +prices, he is certain to be dreadfully imposed upon. At every +station a book lies, containing the legal prices; but it is written +in the language of the district, and utterly unintelligible to the +stranger. Into this book, which is examined by the judge of the +district every month, one may enter complaints against the peasant +or publican; but they do not seem to fear it, for the guide who +accompanied me to the fall of Rykanfoss endeavoured to cheat me +twice in the most barefaced manner, by charging me six-fold for the +use of the saddles and the fetching of the horse. When I threatened +to inscribe my complaint in the book, he seemed not to care, and +insisted on his demand, till I was obliged to pay him. On my return +to Mael, I kept my word, asked for the book, and entered my +complaint, although I was alone with all the peasants. It was not +so much the money which annoyed me, as the shameless imposition. I +am of opinion that every one should complain when he is wronged; if +it does not benefit him, it will make the matter more easy for his +successor. + +I must confess, in justice to the peasants, that they were very +indignant when I told them of the dishonesty of their countryman, +and did not attempt to prevent my complaint. + +To conclude my journey, I need only remark that, although the rain +had ceased, the sky was still covered with clouds, and the country +shrouded in mist. I therefore took the shorter road to Christiania, +by which I had come, although I thereby missed a beautiful district, +where I should, as I was told, have seen the most splendid +perspective views in Norway. This would have been on the road from +Kongsberg over Kroxleben to Christiania. The finest part is near +Kroxleben. + +But the time was too short to take this round, and I returned by way +of Drammen. In the village of Muni, about five miles from +Kongsberg, where I arrived at seven o'clock in the evening, the +amiable host wished to keep me waiting again two hours for a horse; +and as this would probably have happened at every station, I was +obliged to hire a horse for the whole distance to Christiania, at a +threefold price. I slept here for a few hours, left in the night at +one o'clock, and arrived at Christiania the following afternoon at +two. + +On this journey I found all those people very kind and obliging with +whom I came into no sort of pecuniary relation; but the hosts, the +boatmen, the drivers, the guides, were as selfish and grasping as in +any other country. I believe that kindness and disinterestedness +would only be found in any district by him who has the good fortune +to be the first traveller. + +This little excursion was very dear; and yet I think I could now +travel cheaply even in this country, universally acknowledged to be +dear. I would go with the steamer along the coast to Hammerfest, +buy a little vehicle and a good horse there, and then travel +pleasantly, and without annoyance, through the whole country. But +for a family who wished to travel in a comfortable covered carriage, +it would be incalculably dear, and in many parts impossible, on +account of the bad roads. + +The Norwegian peasantry are strong and robust, but their features +are not the most comely, and they seemed neither wealthy nor +cleanly. They were generally very poorly clad, and always +barefooted. Their cottages, built of wood and covered with tiles, +are more roomy than those of the Icelanders; but they are +nevertheless dirty and wretched. A weakness of the Norwegians is +their fondness for coffee, which they drink without milk or sugar. +The old women, as well as the men, smoke their pipes morning and +night. + + Miles. +From Christiania to Kongsberg is about 41 +From Kongsberg to the waterfall Labrafoss 5 +From Kongsberg to Bolkosoe 14 +From Bolkosoe to Tindosoe 16 +From Tindosoe across the lake to Mael 16 +From Mael to the waterfall Rykanfoss 11 + 103 + + + +CHAPTER IX + + + +August 30th. + +At seven o'clock this morning I left Christiania, accompanied by the +good wishes of my countrywoman and her husband, and went back to +Gottenburg by the same steamer which had brought me thence ten days +before. I need only mention the splendid view of a portion of +Christian's Sound--also called Fiord--which I lost on the former +journey from the darkness of the night. We passed it in the +afternoon. The situation of the little town of Lauervig is superb. +It is built on a natural terrace, bordered in the background by +beautiful mountains. In front, the fortress of Friedrichsver lies +on a mountain surrounded by rocks, on which little watch-towers are +erected; to the left lies the vast expanse of sea. + +We were delayed an hour at Friedrichsver to transfer the travellers +for Bergen {50} to a vessel waiting for them, as we had stopped on +our previous journey at Sandesund for the same purpose. + +This is the last view in the fiord; for now we steered into the open +sea, and in a few hours we had lost sight of land. We saw nothing +but land and water till we arrived the next morning at the Scheren, +and steered for Gottenburg. + + +August 31st. + +The sea had been rough all night, and we therefore reached +Gottenburg three hours later than usual. In this agitated sea, the +surging of the breakers against the many rocks and islets near +Gottenburg has a very curious effect. + +The few travellers who could keep on their feet, who did not suffer +from sea-sickness, and remained on deck, spoke much of the dangerous +storm. I had frequently marvelled to hear people who had made a +journey, if it were even only a short one of forty to sixty leagues, +relate of some fearful storm they had witnessed. Now I comprehended +the reason, when I heard the travellers beside me call the brisk +breeze, which only occasioned what seamen call a little swell, a +dreadful storm; and they will probably tell at home of the dangers +they have passed. Storms are, fortunately, not so frequent. I have +travelled many thousand leagues, and have often met with stormy +weather, especially on the passage from Copenhagen to Iceland; but I +only experienced one real storm, but a violent and dangerous one, as +I was crossing the Black Sea to Constantinople in April 1842. + +We arrived at Gottenburg at nine instead of at six o'clock in the +morning. I landed at once, to make the celebrated trip through the +locks, over the waterfalls of Trollhatta, with the next Stockholm +steamer. By the junction of the river Gotha with some of the +interior lakes, this great construction crosses the whole country, +and connects the North Sea with the Baltic. + +I found the town of Gottenburg very animated, on account of the +presence of the king of Sweden, who was spending a few days here on +his way to Christiania to prorogue the Storthing. I arrived on a +Sunday, and the king, with his son, were in the church. The streets +swarmed with human beings, all crowding towards the cathedral to +catch a glimpse of his majesty on his departure. I, of course, +mingled with the crowd, and was fortunate enough to see the king and +prince come out of the church, enter their carriage, and drive away +very near to me. Both were handsome, amiable-looking men. The +people rushed after the carriage, and eagerly caught the friendly +bows of the intelligent father and his hopeful son; they followed +him to his palace, and stationed themselves in front of it, +impatiently longing for the moment when the royal pair would appear +at a window. + +I could not have arrived at a more favourable time; for every one +was in holiday attire, and the military, the clergy, the officials, +citizens and people, were all exerting themselves to the utmost to +do honour to their king. + +I noticed two peasant-girls among the crowd who were peculiarly +dressed. They wore black petticoats reaching half way down the calf +of the leg, red stockings, red spensers, and white chemises, with +long white sleeves; a kerchief was tied round the head. Some of the +citizens' wives wore caps like the Suabian caps, covered by a little +black, embroidered veil, which, however, left the face free. + +Here, as in Copenhagen, I noticed boys of ten to twelve years of age +among the drummers, and in the bands of the military. + +The king remained this day and the next in Gottenburg, and continued +his journey on the Tuesday. On the two evenings of his stay the +windows in the town were ornamented with wreaths of fresh flowers, +interspersed with lighted tapers. Some houses displayed +transparencies, which, however, did not place the inventive powers +of the amiable Gottenburgers in a very favourable light. They were +all alike, consisting of a tremendous O (Oscar), surmounted by a +royal crown. + +I was detained four days in Gottenburg; and small consideration +seems to be paid to the speedy transport of travellers in Sweden. +The steamer for Stockholm started on the day I arrived from +Christiania, but unfortunately at five o'clock in the morning; and +as in the month of September only two steamers go in the week to +Stockholm, I was compelled to wait till Thursday. The time hung +heavily on my hands; for I had seen the town itself, and the +splendid views on the hills between the suburbs, during my former +visit to the town, and the other portions only consisted of bare +rocks and cliffs, which were of no interest. + + +September 4th. + +The press of travellers was so great this time, that two days before +the departure the cabins were all engaged; several ladies and +gentlemen who would not wait for the next steamer were compelled to +be satisfied with the deck, and I was among them; for the +probability of such a crowd of passengers had not occurred to me, +and I applied for a place only two days before our departure. +During the journey fresh passengers were taken in at every station, +and the reader may conceive the misery of the poor citizens unused +to such hardships. Every one sought a shelter for the night, and +the little cabins of the engineer and steersman were given up to +some, while others crept into the passages, or squatted down on the +steps of the stairs leading to the cabins. A place was offered to +me in the engineer's cabin; but as three or four other persons were +to share the apartment calculated only for one person, I preferred +to bivouac night and day upon deck. One of the gentlemen was kind +enough to lend me a thick cloak, in which I could wrap myself; and +so I slept much more comfortably under the high canopy of heaven +than my companions did in their sweating-room. + +The arrangements in the vessels navigating the Gotha canal are by no +means the best. The first class is very comfortable, and the cabin- +place is divided into pretty light divisions for two persons; but +the second class is all the more uncomfortable: its cabin is used +for a common dining-room by day, and by night hammocks are slung up +in it for sleeping accommodation. The arrangements for the luggage +are worse still. The canal-boats, having only a very small hold, +trunks, boxes, portmanteaus, &c. are heaped up on the deck, not +fastened at all, and very insufficiently protected against rain. +The consequence of this carelessness on a journey of five or six +days was, that the rain and the high waves of the lakes frequently +put the after-deck several inches under water, and then the luggage +was wetted through. It was worse still in a squall on the Wenner +lake; for while the ship was rather roughly tossed about, many a +trunk lost its equilibrium and fell from its high position, +frequently endangering the safety of the passengers' heads. The +fares are, however, very cheap, which seemed doubly strange, as the +many locks must cause considerable expense. + +And now for the journey itself. We started at five o'clock in the +morning, and soon arrived in the river Gotha, whose shores for the +first few miles are flat and bare. The valley itself is bounded by +bare, rocky hills. After about nine miles we came to the town of +Kongelf, which is said to have 1000 inhabitants. It is so situated +among rocks, that it is almost hidden from view. On a rock opposite +the town are the ruins of the fortress Bogus. Now the scenery +begins to be a little more diversified, and forests are mingled with +the bleak rocks; little valleys appear on both the shores; and the +river itself, here divided by an islet, frequently expands to a +considerable breadth. The peasants' cottages were larger and better +than those in Norway; they are generally painted brick-red, and are +often built in groups. + +The first lock is at Lilla Edet: there are five here; and while the +ship passes through them, the passengers have leisure to admire the +contiguous low, but broad and voluminous fall of the Gotha. + +This first batch of locks in the canal extends over some distance +past the fall, and they are partly blasted out of the rock, or built +of stone. The river past Akestron flows as through a beautiful +park; the valley is hemmed in by fertile hills, and leaves space +only for the stream and some picturesque paths winding along its +shores, and through the pine-groves descending to its banks. + +In the afternoon we arrived at the celebrated locks near Trollhatta. +They are of gigantic construction, which the largest states would be +honoured in completing, and which occasion surprise when found in a +country ranking high neither in extent nor in influence. There are +eleven locks here, which rise 112 feet in a space of 3500 feet. +They are broad, deep, blasted out of the rock, and walled round with +fine freestone. They resemble the single steps of a giant's +staircase; and by this name they might fitly rank as one of the +wonders of the world. Lock succeeds lock, mighty gates close them, +and the large vessel rises miraculously to the giddy heights in a +wildly romantic country. + +Scarcely arrived at the locks, the traveller is surrounded by a +crowd of boys, who offer their services as guides to the waterfalls +near Trollhatta. There is abundance of time for this excursion; for +the passage of the ship through the many locks occupies three to +four hours, and the excursion can be made in half the time. Before +starting, it is, however, advisable to climb the rock to which the +locks ascend. A pavilion is erected on its summit, and the view +from it down over all the locks is exceedingly fine. + +Pretty paths hewn out of the wood lead to Trollhatta, which is +charmingly situated in a lovely valley, surrounded by woods and +hills, on the shore of a river, whose white foaming waves contrast +strongly with the dark foliage of the overshadowing groves. The +canal, which describes a large semicircle round the chief stream, +glitters in the distance; but the highest locks are quite concealed +behind rocks; we could neither observe the opening of the gates nor +the rising of the water in them, and were therefore surprised when +suddenly the masts and then the ship itself rose from the depth. An +invisible hand seemed to raise it up between the rocks. + +The falls of the river are less distinguished for their height than +for their diversity and their volumes of water. The principal arm +of the river is divided at the point of decline into two equal falls +by a little island of rock. A long narrow suspension-bridge leads +to this island, and hangs over the fall; but it is such a weak, +frail construction, that one person only can cross it at a time. +The owner of this dangerous path keeps it private, and imposes a +toll of about 3.5d. on all passengers. + +A peculiar sensation oppresses the traveller crossing the slender +path. He sees the stream tearing onwards, breaking itself on the +projecting rock, and fall surging into the abyss; he sees the +boiling waves beneath, and feels the bridge vibrate at every +footstep, and timidly hastens to reach the island, not taking breath +to look around until he has found footing; on the firm island. A +solid rock projects a little over the fall, and affords him a safe +position, whence he sees not only the two falls on either side, but +also several others formed above and below his point of view. The +scene is so enchanting, that it is difficult to tear oneself away. + +Beyond Trollhatta the river expands almost to a lake, and is +separated into many arms by the numerous islands. The shores lose +their beauty, being flat and uninteresting. + +We unfortunately did not reach the splendid Wennersee, which is from +forty-five to sixty-five miles long, and proportionally broad, until +evening, when it was already too dark to admire the scenery. Our +ship remained some hours before the insignificant village +Wennersborg. + +We had met six or seven steamers on our journey, which all belonged +to Swedish or Norwegian merchants; and it afforded us a peculiarly +interesting sight to see these ships ascend and descend in the high +locks. + + +September 5th. + +As we were leaving Wennersborg late on the previous night, and were +cruising about the sea, a contrary wind, or rather a squall, arose, +which would have signified little to a good vessel, but to which our +small ship was not equal. The poor captain tried in vain to +navigate the steamer across the lake; he was at last compelled to +give up the attempt, to return and to cast anchor. We lost our boat +during this storm; a high wave dashed over the deck and swept it +away: it had probably been as well fastened as our boxes and +trunks. + +Though it was but nine o'clock in the morning, our captain declared +that he could not proceed during the day, but that if the weather +became more favourable, he would start again about midnight. +Fortunately a fishing-boat ventured to come alongside, and some of +the passengers landed. I was among them, and made use of this +opportunity to visit some cottages lying at the edge of a wood near +the lake. They were very small, but consisted of two chambers, +which contained several beds and other furniture; the people were +also somewhat better clad than the Norwegians. Their food too was +not so unpalatable; they boiled a thick mess of coarse black flour, +which was eaten with sweet milk. + + +September 6th. + +We raised anchor at one o'clock in the morning, and in about five +hours arrived at the island Eken, which consists entirely of rock, +and is surrounded by a multitude of smaller islets and cliffs. This +is one of the most important stations in the lake. A large wooden +warehouse stands on the shore, and in it is stored the merchandise +of the vicinity intended for export; and in return it receives the +cargo from the ships. There are always several vessels lying at +anchor here. + +We had now to wind through a cluster of islands, till we again +reached the open lake, which, however, was only remarkable for its +size. Its shores are bare and monotonous, and only dotted here and +there with woods or low hills; the distant view even is not at all +noteworthy. One of the finest views is the tolerably large castle +of Leko, which lies on a rock, and is surrounded by fertile groves. + +Further off rises the Kinne Kulle, {51} to which the traveller's +attention is directed, because it is said to afford an extended +view, not only over the lake, but far into the country. A curious +grotto is said to exist in this hill; but unfortunately one loses +these sights since the establishment of steamers, for we fly past +every object of interest, and the longest journey will soon be +described in a few words. + +A large glass-factory is established at Bromoe, which fabricates +window-glass exclusively. We stopped a short time, and took a +considerable cargo of the brittle material on board. + +The factory and the little dwellings attached to it are prettily +situated on the undulating ground. + +Near Sjotorp we entered the river again through several locks. The +passage of the Wennersee is calculated at about ten or eleven hours. + +The river at first winds through woods; and while the ship slowly +passes through the locks, it is pleasanter to walk a portion of the +distance in their shade. Farther on it flows through broad valleys, +which, however, present no very attractive features. + + +September 7th. + +Early in the morning we crossed the pretty Vikensee, which +distinguishes itself, like all Swedish lakes, by the multitude of +its islands, cliffs, and rocks. These islands are frequently +covered with trees, which make the view more interesting. + +The lake is 306 feet above the level of the North Sea, and is the +highest point of the journey; from thence the locks begin to +descend. The number of ascending and descending locks amounts to +seventy-two. + +A short canal leads into the Boltensee, which is comparatively free +from islands. The passage across this little lake is very charming; +the shores are diversified by hills, woods, meadows, and fields. +After it comes the Weltersee, which can be easily defended by the +beautiful fortress of Karlsborg. This lake has two peculiarities: +one being the extraordinary purity and transparency of its waters; +the other, the number of storms which prevail in it. I was told +that it frequently raged and stormed on the lake while the +surrounding country remained calm and free. The storm sometimes +overtakes the ship so suddenly and violently, that escape is +impossible; and the sagas and fables told of the deceitful tricks of +these waves are innumerable. + +We fortunately escaped, and crossed its surface cheerfully and +merrily. On its shores are situated the beautiful ladies' +pensionary, Wadstena, and the celebrated mountain Omberg, at whose +foot a battle was fought. + +The next canal is short, and leads through a lovely wood into the +little lake of Norbysee. It is customary to walk this distance, and +inspect the simple monument of Count Platen, who made the plans for +the locks and canals,--a lasting, colossal undertaking. The +monument is surrounded by an iron railing, and consists of a slab +bearing an inscription, simply stating in Swedish his name, the date +of his death, &c. Nearly opposite the monument, on the other side +of the canal, is the town of Motala, distinguished principally for +its large iron factories, in which the spacious work-rooms are +especially remarkable. + +Fifteen locks lead from the Norbysee into the Roxersee, which is a +descent of 116 feet. The canal winds gracefully through woods and +meadows, crossed by pretty roads, and studded with elegant little +houses and larger edifices. Distant church-steeples point out the +village of Norby, which sometimes peeps forth behind little forests, +and then vanishes again from the view of the traveller. When the +sun shines on the waters of this canal, it has a beautiful, +transparent, pea-green colour, like the purest chrysolite. + +The view from the hill which rises immediately before the lake of +Roxen is exceedingly fine. It looks down upon an immense valley, +covered with the most beautiful woods and rocks, and upon the broad +lake, whose arm flows far in land. The evening sun shed its last +rays over a little town on the lake-shore, and its newly-painted +tiles shone brightly in its light beams. + +While the ship descended through the many locks, we visited the +neighbouring church of the village of Vretakloster, which contains +the skeletons of several kings in beautifully-made metal coffins. + +We then crossed the lake, which is from four to five miles broad, +and remained all night before the entrance of the canal leading into +a bay of the Baltic. + + +September 8th. + +This canal is one of the longest; its environs are very pretty, and +the valley through which it runs is one of the largest we had +passed. The town of Soderkoping is situated at the foot of high, +picturesque groups of rocks, which extend to a considerable +distance. + +Every valley and every spot of soil in Sweden are carefully +cultivated. + +The people in general are well dressed, and inhabit small but very +pretty houses, whose windows are frequently decorated with clean +white draperies. I visited several of these houses, as we had +abundance of time for such excursions while the ship was going +through the locks. I think one might walk the whole distance from +Gottenburg to Stockholm in the same time that the ship takes for the +journey. We lose some hours daily with the locks, and are obliged +to lie still at night on their account. The distance is calculated +at from 180 to 250 miles, and the journey takes five days. + +In the evening we approached the Baltic, which has the same +character as the Scheren of the North Sea. The ship threads its way +through a shoal of islands and islets, of rocks and cliffs; and it +is as difficult to imagine here as there how it is possible to avoid +all the projecting cliffs, and guide the ship so safely through +them. The sea divides itself into innumerable arms and bays, into +small and large lakes, which are formed between the islands and +rocks, and are hemmed in by beautiful hills. But nothing can exceed +the beauty of the view of the castle Storry Husby, which lies on a +high mountain, in a bay. In front of the mountain a beautiful +meadow-lawn reaches to the shores of the sea, while the back is +surrounded in the distance by a splendid pine-forest. Near this +picturesque castle a steeple rises on a neighbouring island, which +is all that remains of the ancient castle of Stegeborg. Nothing can +be more romantic than the scenery here, and on the whole journey +over the fiord; for it presents itself in ever-varying pictures to +the traveller's notice. + +But gradually the hills become lower, the islands more rare; the sea +supersedes every thing, and seems jealously anxious to exclude other +objects from the traveller's attention, as if it wished to +monopolise it. Now we were in the open sea, and saw only water and +sky; and then again we were so hemmed in by the rocks and cliffs, +that it would be impossible to extricate the ship without the +assistance of an experienced pilot. + + +September 9th. + +We left the sea, and entered another lake, the Malarsee, celebrated +for its numerous islands, by a short canal. The town of Sotulje +lies at its entrance, charmingly situated in a narrow valley at the +foot of a rather steep hill. This lake at first resembles a broad +river, but widens at every step, and soon shews itself in its whole +expanse. The passage of the Malarsee takes four hours, and is one +of the most charming excursions that can be made. It is said to +contain about a thousand islets of various sizes; and it may be +imagined how varied in form and feature the scenery must be, and, +like the fiord of the Baltic, what a constant succession of new +scenes it must present. + +The shores also are very beautiful: in some spots hills descend +sharply to the water's edge, the steep rocks forming dangerous +points; on others dark, sombre pine-forests grow; and again there +are gay valleys and meadows, with villages or single cottages. Many +travellers assert that this lake is, after all, very monotonous; but +I cannot agree with their opinion. I found it so attractive, that I +could repeat the journey many times without wearying of this lovely +sameness. It certainly has not the majestic backgrounds of the +Swiss lakes; but this profusion of small islands is a pleasing +peculiarity which can be found on no other lake. + +On the summit of a steep precipice of the shore the hat of the +unfortunate Eric is hoisted, fastened to a long pole. History tells +that this king fled from the enemy in a battle; that one of his +soldiers pursued him, and reproached him for his cowardice, +whereupon Eric, filled with shame and despair, gave spurs to his +horse and leaped into the fearful abyss. At his fall his hat was +blown from his head, and was left on this spot. + +Not far from this point the suburbs of Stockholm make their +appearance, being spread round one of the broad arms of the lake. +With increasing curiosity we gazed towards the town as we gradually +approached it. Many of the pretty villas, which are situated in the +valleys or on the sides of the hills as forerunners of the town, +come into view, and the suburbs rise amphi-theatrically on the steep +shores. The town itself closes the prospect by occupying the whole +upper shore of the lake, and is flanked by the suburbs at either +side. The Ritterholm church, with its cast-iron perforated towers, +and the truly grand royal palace, which is built entirely in the +Italian style, can be seen and admired from this distance. + +We had scarcely cast anchor in the port of Stockholm, when a number +of Herculean women came and offered us their services as porters. +They were Delekarliers, {52} who frequently come to Stockholm to +earn a livelihood as porters, water-carriers, boatwomen, &c. They +easily find employment, because they possess two excellent +qualities: they are said to be exceedingly honest and hard-working, +and, at the same time, have the strength and perseverance of men. + +Their dress consists of black petticoats, which come half way over +the calf of the leg, red bodices, white chemises with long sleeves, +short narrow aprons of two colours, red stockings, and shoes with +wooden soles an inch thick. They twist a handkerchief round their +head, or put on a little close black cap, which fits close on the +back part of the head. + +In Stockholm there are entire houses, as well as single rooms, +which, as in a hotel, are let by the day. They are much cheaper +than hotels, and are therefore more in demand. I at once hired one +of these rooms, which was very clean and bright, and for which, with +breakfast, I only paid one riksdaler, which is about one shilling. + + + +CHAPTER X + + + +As my journey was ostensibly only to Iceland, and as I only paid a +flying visit to this portion of Scandinavia, my readers will pardon +me if I treat it briefly. This portion of Europe has been so +frequently and so excellently described by other travellers, that my +observations would be of little importance. + +I remained in Stockholm six days, and made as good use of my time as +I could. The town is situated on the shores of the Baltic Sea and +the Malar lake. These two waters are connected by a short canal, on +whose shores the most delightful houses are erected. + +My first visit was to the beautiful church of Ritterholm, which is +used more for a cemetery and an armory than for a place of worship. +The vaults serve as burial-places for the kings, and their monuments +are erected in the side-chapels. On each side of the nave of the +church are placed effigies of armed knights on horseback, whose +armour belonged to the former kings of Sweden. The walls and angles +of the church are profusely decorated with flags and standards, said +to number five thousand. In addition to this, the keys of conquered +towns and fortresses hang along the side-walls, and drums are piled +upon the floor; trophies taken from different nations with which +Sweden has been at war. + +Besides these curiosities, several coats of armour and garments of +Swedish regents are displayed behind glass-cases in the side- +chapels. Among them, the dress which Charles XII. wore on the day +of his death, and his hat perforated by a ball, interested me most. +His riding-boots stand on the ground beside it. The modern dress +and hat, embroidered with gold and ornamented with feathers, of the +last king, the founder of the new dynasty, is not less interesting, +partly perhaps from the great contrast. + +The church of St. Nicholas stands on the same side of the canal, and +is one of the finest Protestant churches I had seen; it is very +evident that it was built in Catholic times, and that its former +decorations have been allowed to remain. It contains several large +and small oil-paintings, some ancient and some modern monuments, and +a profusion of gilding. The organ is fine and large; flanking the +entrance of the church are beautiful reliefs, hewn in stone; and +above it, carved in wood, a statue of the archangel Michael, larger +than life, sitting on horseback on a bridge, in the act of killing +the dragon. + +Near the church is situated the royal palace, which needs a more +fluent pen than mine to describe it. It would fill a volume were I +to enumerate and describe the treasures, curiosities, and beauties +of its construction, or its interior arrangement; I can only say +that I never saw any thing to equal it, except the royal palace of +Naples. Such an edifice is the more surprising in the north, and in +a country which has never been overstocked with wealth. + +The church of Shifferholm is remarkable only for its position and +its temple-like form; it stands on the ledge of a rock facing the, +royal palace, on the opposite shore of the same indentation of the +Baltic. A long bridge of boats leads from the one to the other. + +The church of St. Catharine is large and beautiful. In an outer +angle of the church is shewn the stone on which one of the brothers +Sturre was beheaded. {53} + +On the Ritterplatz stands the Ritterhouse, a very fine palace; also +the old royal palace, and several other royal and private mansions; +but they are not nearly so numerous nor so fine as in Copenhagen, +and the streets and squares also cannot be compared with those of +the capital of Denmark. + +The finest prospect is from a hill in one of the suburbs called the +Great Mosbecken; it affords a magnificent view of the sea and the +lake, of the town and its suburbs, as far as the points of the +mountains, and of the lovely country-houses which border the shores +of lake and sea. The town and its environs are so interspersed with +islets and rocks, that these seem to be part of the town; and this +gives Stockholm such a curious appearance, that I can compare it to +no other city I have seen. Wooded hills and naked rocks prolong the +view, and their ridges extend into the far distance; while level +fields and lawns take up but a very small proportion of the +magnificent scenery. + +On descending from this hill the traveller should not fail to go to +Sodermalm, and to inspect the immense iron-stores, where iron is +heaped up in countless bars. The corn-market of Stockholm is +insignificant. The principal buildings besides those already +enumerated are, the bank, the mint, the guard-house, the palace of +the crown-prince, the theatre, &c. The latter is interesting, +partly because Gustavus III. was shot in it. He fell on the stage, +while a grand masquerade was taking place, for which the theatre had +been changed into a ball-room. The king was shot by a mask, and +died in a few hours. + +There is not a representation in the theatre every night; and on the +one evening of performance during my visit a festival was to be +celebrated in the hall of antiquities. The esteemed artist +Vogelberg, a native of Sweden, had beautifully sculptured the three +heathen gods, Thor, Balder, and Odin, in colossal size, and brought +them over from Rome. The statues had only been lately placed, and a +large company had been invited to meet in the illuminated saloon, +and do honour to the artist. Solemn hymns were to be sung at the +uncovering of the statues, beside other festivities. I was +fortunate enough to receive an invitation to this festival, which +was to commence a little past seven. Before that I went to the +theatre, which, I was told, would open at half-past six. I intended +to remain there half an hour, and then drive to the palace, where my +friends would meet me to accompany me to the festival. I went to +the theatre at six, and anxiously waited half an hour for the +commencement of the overture; it was after half-past six, and no +signs of the commencement. I looked again at the bill, and saw, to +my annoyance, that the opera did not begin till seven. But as I +would not leave until I had seen the stage, I spent the time in +looking at the theatre itself. It is tolerably large, and has five +tiers of boxes, but is neither tastefully nor richly decorated. I +was most surprised at the exorbitant price and the variety of seats. +I counted twenty-six different kinds; it seems that every row has a +different price, else I don't understand how they could make such a +variety. + +At last the overture began; I listened to it, saw the curtain rise, +looked at the fatal spot, and left after the first air. The door- +keeper followed me, took my arm, and wished to give me a return- +ticket; and when I told him that I did not require one, as I did not +intend to return, he said that it had only just commenced, and that +I ought to stop, and not have spent all the money for nothing. I +was unfortunately too little acquainted with the Swedish language to +explain the reason of my departure, so I could give him no answer, +but went away. I, however, heard him say to some one, "I never met +with such a woman before; she sat an hour looking at the curtain, +and goes away as soon as it rises." I looked round and saw how he +shook his head thoughtfully, and pointed with his forefinger to his +forehead. I could not refrain from smiling, and enjoyed the scene +as much as I should have done the second act of Mozart's Don +Giovanni. + +I called for my friends at the royal palace, and spent the evening +very agreeably in the brilliantly-illuminated galleries of +antiquities and of pictures. I had the pleasure also of being +introduced to Herr Vogelberg. His modest, unpretending manners must +inspire every one with respect, even if one does not know what +distinguished talent he possesses. + +The royal park is one of the finest sights in the neighbourhood of +Stockholm, and is one of the best of its kind. It is a fine large +natural park, with an infinity of groves, meadows, hills, and rocks; +here and there lies a country-house with its fragrant flower-garden, +or tasteful coffee and refreshment houses, which on fine Sundays are +filled with visitors from the town. Good roads are made through the +park, and commodious paths lead to the finest points of view over +sea and land. + +The bust of the popular poet Bellmann stands on an open sunny spot, +and an annual festival is given here in his honour. + +Deeper in the park lies the so-called Rosenthal (Rose valley), a +real Eden. The late king was so partial to this spot, that he spent +many hours in the little royal country-house here, which is built on +a retired spot in the midst of groves and flower-beds. In front of +the palace stands a splendid vase made of a single piece of +porphyry. I was told that it was the largest in Europe, but I +consider the one in the Museum of Naples much larger. + +I spent the last hours of my visit to Stockholm in this spot, with +the amiable family of Herr Boje from Finnland, whose acquaintance I +had made on the journey from Gottenburg to Stockholm. I shall +therefore never forget this beautiful park and the agreeable +associations connected with it. + +I made a very agreeable excursion also to the royal palace of Haga, +to the large cemetery, and to the military school Karlberg. + +The royal castle of Haga is surrounded by a magnificent park, which +owes little to art; it contains some of the finest trees, with here +and there a hill, and is crossed by majestic alleys and well-kept +roads for driving and walking. The palace itself is so small, that +I could not but admire the moderation of the royal family; but I was +informed that this is the smallest of their summer palaces. + +Nearly opposite to this park is the great cemetery; but as it has +only existed for about seventeen years, the trees in it are yet +rather young. This would be of little consequence in other +countries, but in Sweden the cemeteries serve as promenades, and are +crossed by alleys, ornamented with groves, and provided with seats +for the accommodation of visitors. This cemetery is surrounded by a +dark pine-forest, and really seems quite shut off from the outer +world. It is the only burial-place out of the town; the others all +lie between the churches and the neighbouring houses, whose fronts +often form the immediate boundary. Burials take place there +constantly, so that the inhabitants are quite familiar with the +aspect of death. + +From the great cemetery a road leads to the neighbouring Karlberg, +which is the academy for military and naval cadets. The extensive +buildings attached to this seminary are built on the slope of a +mountain, which is washed on one side by the waters of the lake, and +surrounded on the other by the beautiful park-plantations. + +Before leaving Stockholm I had the honour of being introduced to her +majesty the Queen of Sweden. She had heard of my travels, and took +a particular interest in my account of Palestine. In consequence of +this favour, I received the special permission to inspect the whole +interior of the palace. Although it was inhabited, I was conducted, +not only through the state-rooms, but through all the private rooms +of the court. It would be impossible to describe the splendour +which reigns here, the treasures of art, the magnificent +appointments, and the evident taste every where displayed. I was +delighted with all the treasures and splendour, but still more with +the warm interest with which her majesty conversed with me about +Palestine. This interview will ever dwell on my memory as the +bright salient point of my northern expedition. + + +EXCURSION TO THE OLD ROYAL CASTLE OF GRIPTHOLM ON THE MALARSEE + + +Every Sunday morning, at eight o'clock, a little steamer leaves +Stockholm for this castle; the distance is about forty-five miles, +and is passed in four hours; four hours more are allowed for the +stay, and in the evening the steamer returns to Stockholm. This +excursion is very interesting, although we pass the greater part of +the time on that portion of the lake which we had seen on our +arrival, but for the last few miles the ship turned into a pretty +bay, at whose apex the castle is situated. It is distinguished for +its size, its architecture, and its colossal turrets. It is +unfortunately, however, painted with the favourite brick-red colour +of the Swedes. + +Two immense cannons, which the Swedes once gained in battle from the +Russians, stand in the courtyard. The apartments in the castle, +which are kept in good condition, display neither splendour nor +profusion of appointments, indeed almost the contrary. The pretty +theatre is, however, an exception: for its walls are inlaid from +top to bottom with mirrors, its pillars are gilt, and the royal box +tapestried with rich red velvet. There has been no performance here +since the death of Gustavus III. + +The immensely massive walls are a remarkable feature of this palace, +and must measure about three yards in thickness in the lower +stories. + +The upper apartments are all large and high, and afford a splendid +view of the lake from their windows. But it is impossible to enjoy +these beautiful scenes when one thinks of the sad events which have +taken place here. + +Two kings, John III. and Eric XIV., the latter with four of his +ministers, who were subsequently beheaded, were imprisoned here for +many years. The captivity of John III. would not have been so bad, +if captivity were not bad enough in itself. He was confined in a +large splendid saloon, but which he was not permitted to quit, and +which he would therefore probably have gladly exchanged for the +poorest hut and liberty. His wife inhabited two smaller apartments +adjoining; she was not treated as a prisoner, and could leave the +castle at will. His son Sigismund was born here in the year 1566, +and the room and bed in which he was born are still shewn as +curiosities. + +Eric's fate was much more unfortunate, for he was kept in narrow and +dark confinement. A small rudely-furnished apartment, with narrow, +iron-barred windows, in one of the little turrets was his prison. +The entrance was closed by a solid oaken door, in which a small +opening had been made, through which his food was given him. For +greater security this oaken door was covered by an iron one. Round +the outside of the apartment a narrow gallery had been made, on +which the guards were posted, and could at all times see their +prisoner through the barred windows. The spot is still shewn at one +of the windows where the king sat for hours looking into the +distance, his head leaning on his hand. What must have been his +feelings as he gazed on the bright sky, the verdant turf, and the +smiling lake! How many sighs must have been echoed from these +walls, how many sleepless nights must he have passed during those +two long years in anxious expectation of the future! + +The guide who took us round the castle maintained that the floor was +more worn on this spot than any where else, and that the window-sash +had been hollowed by the elbow of the miserable king; but I could +not perceive any difference. Eric was kept imprisoned here for two +years, and was then taken to another prison. + +There is a large picture-gallery in this castle; but it contains +principally portraits of kings, not only of Sweden, but of other +countries, from the Middle Ages down to the present time; also +portraits of ministers, generals, painters, poets, and learned men; +of celebrated Swedish females, who have sacrificed themselves for +their country, and of the most celebrated female beauties. The name +and date of birth of each person are affixed to his or her portrait, +so that each visitor may find his favourite without guide or +catalogue. In many of them the colouring and drawing are wretched +enough, but we will hope that the resemblance is all the more +striking. + +On our return several gentlemen were kind enough to direct my +attention to the most interesting points of the lake. Among these I +must mention Kakeholm, its broadest point; the island of Esmoi, on +which a Swedish female gained a battle; Norsberg, also celebrated +for a battle which took place there; and Sturrehof, the property of +a great Swedish family. Near Bjarkesoe a simple cross is erected, +ostensibly on the spot where Christianity was first introduced. +Indeed the Malarsee has so many historical associations, in addition +to the attractions of its scenery, that it is one of the most +interesting seas not only of Sweden but of Europe. + + +JOURNEY FROM STOCKHOLM TO UPSALA AND TO THE IRON-MINES OF DANEMORA + + +September 12th. + +The intercourse between Stockholm and Upsala is very considerable. +A steamer leaves both places every day except Sunday, and traverses +the distance in six hours. + +Tempted by this convenient opportunity of easily and quickly +reaching the celebrated town of Upsala, and by the unusually fine +weather, I took my passage one evening, and was greatly disappointed +when, on the following morning, the rain poured down in torrents. +But if travellers paid much attention to the weather, they would not +go far; so I nevertheless embarked at half-past seven, and arrived +safely in Upsala. I remained in the cabin during the passage, and +could not even enjoy the prospect from the cabin-windows, for the +rain beat on them from the outside, while inside they were obscured +by the heat. But I did not venture on deck, hoping to be favoured +by better weather on my return. + +At last, about three o'clock, when I had been in Upsala more than an +hour, the weather cleared up, and I sallied out to see the sights. + +First I visited the cathedral. I entered, and stood still with +astonishment at the chief portal, on looking up at the high roof +resting on two rows of pillars, and covering the whole church. It +is formed in one beautiful straight line, unbroken by a single arch. +The church itself is simple: behind the grand altar a handsome +chapel is erected, the ceiling of which is painted azure blue, +embossed with golden stars. In this chapel Gustavus I. is interred +between his two wives. The monument which covers the grave is +large, and made of marble, but clumsy and void of taste. It +represents a sarcophagus, on which three bodies, the size of life, +are laid; a marble canopy is raised over them. The walls of the +chapel are covered with pretty frescoes, representing the most +remarkable scenes in the life of this monarch. The most interesting +among them are, one in which he enters a peasant's hut in peasant's +attire, at the same moment that his pursuers are eagerly inquiring +after him in front of the hut; the other, when he stands on a +barrel, also dressed as a peasant, and harangues his people. Two +large tablets in a broad gold frame contain in Swedish, and not in +the Latin language, the explanation of the different pictures, so +that every Swede may easily learn the monarch's history. + +Several other monuments are erected in the side-chapels; those of +Catharine Magelone, John III., Gustavus Erichson, who was beheaded, +and of the two brothers Sturre, who were murdered. The monument of +Archbishop Menander, in white marble, is a tasteful and artistic +modern production. The great Linnaeus is buried under a simple +marble slab in this church; but his monument is in one of the side- +chapels, and not over his grave, and consists of a beautiful dark- +brown porphyry slab, on which his portrait is sculptured in relief. + +The splendid organ, which reaches nearly to the roof of the church, +also deserves special attention. The treasure-chamber does not +contain great treasures; the blood-stained and dagger-torn garments +of the unfortunate brothers Sturre are kept in a glass case here; +and here also stands a wooden statue of the heathen god Thor. This +wooden affair seems to have originally been an Ecce Homo, which was +perhaps the ornament of some village church, then carried off by +some unbeliever, and made more shapeless than its creator, not +proficient in art, had made it. It has a greater resemblance now to +a frightful scarecrow than to any thing else. + +The churchyard near the church is distinguished for its size and +beauty. It is surrounded by a wall of stone two feet high, +surmounted by an iron palisading of equal height, broken by stone +pillars. On several sides, steps are made into the burying-ground +over this partition. In this cemetery, as in the one of Stockholm, +one seems to be in a lovely garden, laid out with alleys, arbours, +lawns, &c.; but it is more beautiful than the other, because it is +older. The graves are half concealed by arbours; many were +ornamented with flowers and wreaths, or hedged by rose-bushes. The +whole aspect of this cemetery, or rather of this garden, seems +equally adapted for the amusement of the living or the repose of the +dead. + +The monuments are in no way distinguished; only two are rather +remarkable, for they consist of tremendous pieces of rock in their +natural condition, standing upright on the graves. One of these +monuments resembles a mountain; it covers the ashes of a general, +and is large enough to have covered his whole army; his relatives +probably took the graves of Troy as a specimen for their monument. +It is moreover inscribed by very peculiar signs, which seemed to me +to be runic characters. The good people have united in this +monument two characteristics of the ancients of two entirely +distinct empires. + +The university or library building in Upsala is large and beautiful; +it is situated on a little hill, with a fine front facing the town. +The park, which is, however, still somewhat young, forms the +background. {54} + +Near this building, on the same hill, stands a royal palace, +conspicuous for its brick-red colour. It is very large, and the two +wings are finished by massive round towers. + +In the centre of the courtyard, behind the castle, is placed a +colossal bust of Gustavus I., and a few paces from it two artificial +hills serve as bastions, on which cannons are planted. This being +the highest point of the town, affords the best view over it, and +over the surrounding country. + +The town itself is built half of wood and half of stone, and is very +pretty, being crossed by broad streets, and ornamented with +tastefully laid-out gardens. It has one disadvantage, which is the +dark brownish-red colour of the houses, which has a peculiarly +sombre appearance in the setting sun. + +An immense and fertile plain, diversified by dark forests +contrasting with the bright green meadows and the yellow stubble- +fields, surrounds the town, and in the distance the silvery river +Fyris flows towards the sea. Forests close the distant view with +their dark shadows. I saw but few villages; they may, however, have +been hidden by the trees, for that they exist seems to be indicated +by the well-kept high roads crossing the plain in all directions. + +Before quitting my position on the bastions of the royal palace I +cast a glance on the castle-gardens, which were lying lower down the +hill, and are separated from the castle by a road; they do not seem +to be large, but are very pretty. + +I should have wished to be able to visit the botanic garden near the +town, which was the favourite resort of Linnaeus, whose splendidly- +sculptured bust is said to be its chief ornament; but the sun was +setting behind the mountains, and I repaired to my chamber, to +prepare for my journey to Danemora. + + +September 13th. + +I left Upsala at four o'clock in the morning, to proceed to the far- +famed iron-mines of Danemora, upwards of thirty miles distant, and +where I wished to arrive before twelve, as the blasting takes place +at that hour, after which the pits are closed. As I had been +informed how slowly travelling is done in this country, and how +tedious the delays are when the horses are changed, I determined to +allow time enough for all interruptions, and yet arrive at the +appointed hour. + +A few miles behind Upsala lies Old Upsala (Gamla Upsala). I saw the +old church and the grave-hills in passing; three of the latter are +remarkably large, the others smaller. It is presumed that the +higher ones cover the graves of kings. I saw similar tumuli during +my journey to Greece, on the spot where Troy is said to have stood. +The church is not honoured as a ruin; it has yet to do service; and +it grieved me to see the venerable building propped up and covered +with fresh mortar on many a time-worn spot. + +Half way between Upsala and Danemora we passed a large castle, not +distinguished for its architecture, its situation, or any thing +else. Then we neared the river Fyris, and the long lake of +Danemora; both are quite overgrown with reeds and grass, and have +flat uninteresting shores; indeed the whole journey offers little +variety, as the road lies through a plain, only diversified by +woods, fields, and pieces of rock. These are interesting features, +because one cannot imagine how they came there, the mountains being +at a great distance, and the soil by no means rocky. + +The little town of Danemora lies in the midst of a wood, and only +consists of a church and a few large and small detached houses. The +vicinity of the mines is indicated before arriving at the place by +immense heaps of stones, which are brought by horse-gins from the +pits, and which cover a considerable space. + +I had fortunately arrived in time to see the blastings. Those in +the great pit are the most interesting; for its mouth is so very +large, that it is not necessary to descend in order to see the pit- +men work; all is visible from above. This is a very peculiar and +interesting sight. The pit, 480 feet deep, with its colossal doors +and entrances leading into the galleries, looks like a picture of +the lower world, from which bridges of rocks, projections, arches +and caverns formed in the walls, ascend to the upper world. The men +look like pigmies, and one cannot follow their movements until the +eye has accustomed itself to the depth and to the darkness +prevailing below. But the darkness is not very dense; I could +distinguish most of the ladders, which seemed to me like children's +toys. + +It was nearly twelve, and the workmen left the pits, with the +exception of those in charge of the mines. They ascended by means +of little tubs hanging by ropes, and were raised by a windlass. It +is a terrible sight to see the men soaring up on the little machine, +especially when two or three ascend at once; for then one man stands +in the centre, while the other two ride on the edge of the tub. + +I should have liked to descend into the great pit, but it was too +late on this day, and I would not wait another. I should not have +feared the descent, as I was familiar with such adventures, having +explored the salt-mines of Wieliczka and Bochnia, in Gallicia, some +years before, in which I had had to let myself down by a rope, which +is a much more dangerous method than the tub. + +With the stroke of twelve, four blasting trains in the large pit +were fired. The man whose business it was to apply the match ran +away in great haste, and sheltered himself behind a wall of rock. +In a few moments the powder flashed, some stones fell, and then a +fearful crash was heard all around, followed by the rolling and +falling of the blasted masses. Repeated echoes announced the +fearful explosion in the interior of the pits: the whole left a +terrible impression on me. Scarcely had one mine ceased to rage, +when the second began, then the third, and so on. These blastings +take place daily in different mines. + +The other pits are deeper, the deepest being 600 feet; but the +mouths are smaller, and the shafts not perpendicular, so that the +eye is lost in darkness, which is a still more unpleasant sensation. +I gazed with oppressed chest into the dark space, vainly +endeavouring to distinguish something. I should not like to be a +miner; I could not endure life without the light of day; and when I +turned from the dark pits, I cast my eyes thankfully on the cheerful +landscape basking in the sun. + +I returned to Upsala on the same day, having made this little +journey by post. I can merely narrate the facts, without giving an +opinion on the good or bad conveniences for locomotion, as this was +more a pleasure-trip than a journey. + +As I had hired no carriage, I had a different vehicle at every +station, and these vehicles consisted of ordinary two-wheeled wooden +carts. My seat was a truss of hay covered with the horse-cloth. If +the roads had not been so extremely good, these carts would have +shaken terribly; but as it was, I must say that I rode more +comfortably than in the carriols of the Norwegians, although they +were painted and vanished; for in them I had to be squeezed in with +my feet stretched out, and could not change my position. + +The stations are unequal,--sometimes long, sometimes short. The +post-horses are provided here, as in Norway, by wealthy peasants, +called Dschns-peasants. These have to collect a certain number of +horses every evening for forwarding the travellers the next morning. +At every post-house a book is kept, in which the traveller can see +how many horses the peasant has, how many have already been hired, +and how many are left in the stable. He must then inscribe his +name, the hour of his departure, and the number of horses he +requires. By this arrangement deception and extortion are +prevented, as every thing is open, and the prices fixed. {55} + +Patience is also required here, though not so much as in Norway. I +had always to wait from fifteen to twenty minutes before the +carriage was brought and the horses and harness prepared, but never +longer; and I must admit that the Swedish post-masters hurried as +much as possible, and never demanded double fare, although they must +have known that I was in haste. The pace of the horse depends on +the will of the coachman and the powers of his steed; but in no +other country did I see such consideration paid to the strength of +the horses. It is quite ridiculous to see what small loads of corn, +bricks, or wood, are allotted to two horses, and how slowly and +sleepily they draw their burdens. + +The number of wooden gates, which divide the roads into as many +parts as there are common grounds on it, are a terrible nuisance to +travellers. The coachman has often to dismount six or eight times +in an hour to open and close these gates. I was told that these +delectable gates even exist on the great high road, only not quite +in such profusion as on the by-roads. + +Wood must be as abundant here as in Norway, for every thing is +enclosed; even fields which seem so barren as not to be worth the +labour or the wood. + +The villages through which I passed were generally pretty and +cheerful, and I found the cottages, which I entered while the horses +were changed, neatly and comfortably furnished. + +The peasants of this district wear a peculiar costume. The men, and +frequently also the boys, wear long dark-blue cloth surtouts, and +cloth caps on their heads; so that, at a distance, they look like +gentlemen in travelling dress. It seems curious to a foreigner to +see these apparent gentlemen following the plough or cutting grass. +At a nearer view, of course the aspect changes, and the rents and +dirt appear, or the leathern apron worn beneath the coat, like +carpenters in Austria, becomes visible. The female costume was +peculiar only in so far that it was poor and ragged. In dress and +shoes the Norwegian and Swedes are behind the Icelanders, but they +surpass them in the comfort of their dwellings. + + +September 14th. + +To-day I returned to Stockholm on the Malarsee, and the weather +being more favourable than on my former passage, I could remain on +deck the whole time. I saw now that we sailed for several miles on +the river Fyris, which flows through woods and fields into the lake. + +The large plain on which old and new Upsala lie was soon out of +sight, and after passing two bridges, we turned into the Malar. At +first there are no islands on its flat expanse, and its shores are +studded with low tree-covered hills; but we soon, however, arrived +at the region of islands, where the passage becomes more +interesting, and the beauty of the shores increases. The first fine +view we saw was the pretty estate Krusenberg, whose castle is +romantically situated on a fertile hill. But much more beautiful +and surprising is the splendid castle of Skukloster, a large, +beautiful, and regular pile, ornamented with four immense round +turrets at the four corners, and with gardens stretching down to the +water's edge. + +From this place the scenery is full of beauty and variety; every +moment presents another and a more lovely view. Sometimes the +waters expand, sometimes they are hemmed in by islands, and become +as narrow as canals. I was most charmed with those spots where the +islands lie so close together that no outlet seems possible, till +another turn shews an opening between them, with a glimpse of the +lake beyond. The hills on the shores are higher, and the +promontories larger, the farther the ship advances; and the islands +appear to be merely projections of the continent, till a nearer +approach dispels the illusion. + +The village of Sixtuna lies in a picturesque and charming little +valley, filled with ruins, principally of round towers, which are +said to be the remains of the Roman town of Sixtum; the name being +retained by the new town with a slight modification. + +After this follow cliffs and rocks rising perpendicularly from the +sea, and whose vicinity would be by no means desirable in a storm. +Of the castle of Rouse only three beautiful domes rise above the +trees; a frowning bleak hill conceals the rest from the eye. Then +comes a palace, the property of a private individual, only +remarkable for its size. The last of the notabilities is the Rokeby +bridge, said to be one of the longest in Sweden. It unites the firm +land with the island on which the royal castle of Drottingholm +stands. The town of Stockholm now becomes visible; we turn into the +portion of the lake on which it lies, and arrive there again at two +o'clock in the afternoon. + + +FROM STOCKHOLM TO TRAVEMUNDE AND HAMBURGH + + +I bade farewell to Stockholm on the 18th September, and embarked in +the steamer Svithiold, of 100-horse power, at twelve o'clock at +noon, to go to Travemunde. + +Few passages can be more expensive than this one is. The distance +is five hundred leagues, and the journey generally occupies two and +a half to three days; for this the fare, without food, is four +pounds. The food is also exorbitantly dear; in addition to which +the captain is the purveyor; so that there is no appeal for the +grossest extortion or insufficiency. + +It pained me much when one of the poorer travellers, who suffered +greatly from sea-sickness, having applied for some soup to the +steward, who referred him to the amiable captain, to hear him +declare he would make no exception, and that a basin of soup would +be charged the whole price of a complete dinner. The poor man was +to do without the soup, of which he stood so much in need, or scrape +every farthing together to pay a few shillings daily for his dinner. +Fortunately for him some benevolent persons on deck paid for his +meals. Some of the gentlemen brought their own wine with them, for +which they had to pay as much duty to the captain as the wine was +worth. + +To these pleasures of travelling must be added the fact, that a +Swedish vessel does not advance at all if the weather is +unfavourable. Most of the passengers considered that the engines +were inefficient. However this may be, we were delayed twenty-four +hours at the first half of our journey, from Stockholm to Calmar, +although we had only a slight breeze against us and a rather high +sea, but no storm. In Calmar we cast anchor, and waited for more +favourable wind. Several gentlemen, whose business in Lubeck was +pressing, left the steamer, and continued their journey by land. + +At first the Baltic very much resembles the Malarsee; for islands, +rocks, and a variety of scenery make it interesting. To the right +we saw the immensely long wooden bridge of Lindenborg, which unites +one of the larger islands with the continent. + +At the end of one of the turns of the sea lies the town of +Wachsholm; and opposite to it, upon a little rocky island, a +splendid fortress with a colossal round tower. Judging by the +number of cannons planted along the walls, this fortress must be of +great importance. A few hours later we passed a similar fortress, +Friedrichsborg; it is not in such an open situation as the other, +but is more surrounded by forests. We passed at a considerable +distance, and could not see much of it, nor of the castle lying on +the opposite side, which seems to be very magnificent, and is also +surrounded by woods. + +The boundaries of the right shore now disappear, but then again +appear as a terrible heap of naked rocks, at whose extreme edge is +situated the fine fortress Dolero. Near it groups of houses are +built on the bare rocks projecting into the sea, and form an +extensive town. + +September 19th. + +To-day we were on the open, somewhat stormy sea. Towards noon we +arrived at the Calmar Sound, formed by the flat, uniform shores of +the long island Oland on the left, and on the right by Schmoland. +In front rose the mountain-island the Jungfrau, to which every Swede +points with self-satisfied pride. Its height is only remarkable +compared with the flatness around; beside the proud giant-mountain +of the same name in Switzerland it would seem like a little hill. + + +September 20th. + +On account of the contrary wind, we had cast anchor here last night, +and this morning continued the journey to Calmar, where we arrived +about two in the forenoon. The town is situated on an immense +plain, and is not very interesting. A few hours may be agreeably +spent here in visiting the beautiful church and the antiquated +castle, and we had more than enough leisure for it. Wind and +weather seemed to have conspired against us, and the captain +announced an indefinite stay at this place. At first we could not +land, as the waves were too high; but at last one of the larger +boats came alongside, and the more curious among us ventured to row +to the land in the unsteady vessel. + +The exterior of the church resembles a fine antiquated castle from +its four corner towers and the lowness of its dome, which rises very +little above the building, and also because the other turrets here +and there erected for ornament are scarcely perceptible. The +interior of the church is remarkable for its size, its height, and a +particularly fine echo. The tones of the organ are said to produce +a most striking effect. We sent for the organist, but he was +nowhere to be found; so we had to content ourselves with the echo of +our own voices. We went from this place to the old royal castle +built by Queen Margaret in the sixteenth century. The castle is so +dilapidated inside that a tarrying in the upper chambers is scarcely +advisable. The lower rooms of the castle have been repaired, and +are used as prisons; and as we passed, arms were stretched forth +from some of the barred windows, and plaintive voices entreated the +passers-by to bestow some trifle upon the poor inmates. Upwards of +140 prisoners are said to be confined here. {56} + +About three o'clock in the afternoon the wind abated, and we +continued our journey. The passage is very uniform, and we saw only +flat, bare shores; a group of trees even was a rarity. + + +September 21st. + +When I came on deck this morning the Sound was far behind us. To +the left we had the open sea; on the right, instead of the bleak +Schmoland, we had the bleaker Schonen, which was so barren, that we +hardly saw a paltry fishing-village between the low sterile hills. + +At nine o'clock in the morning we anchored in the port of Ystadt. +The town is pretty, and has a large square, in which stand the house +of the governor, the theatre, and the town-hall. The streets are +broad, and the houses partly of wood and partly of stone. The most +interesting feature is the ancient church, and in it a much-damaged +wooden altar-piece, which is kept in the vestry. Though the figures +are coarse and disproportionate, one must admire the composition and +the carving. The reliefs on the pulpit, and a beautiful monument to +the right of the altar, also deserve admiration. These are all +carved in wood. + +In the afternoon we passed the Danish island Malmo. + +At last, after having been nearly four days on the sea instead of +two days and a half, we arrived safely in the harbour of Travemunde +on the 22d September at two o'clock in the morning. And now my sea- +journeys were over; I parted sorrowfully from the salt waters, for +it is so delightful to see the water's expanse all around, and +traverse its mirror-like surface. The sea presents a beautiful +picture, even when it storms and rages, when waves tower upon waves, +and threaten to dash the vessel to pieces or to engulf it--when the +ship alternately dances on their points, or shoots into the abyss; +and I frequently crept for hours in a corner, or held fast to the +sides of the ship, and let the waves dash over me. I had overcome +the terrible sea-sickness during my numerous journeys, and could +therefore freely admire these fearfully beautiful scenes of excited +nature, and adore God in His grandest works. + +We had scarcely cast anchor in the port when a whole array of +coachmen surrounded us, volunteering to drive us overland to +Hamburgh, a journey of thirty-six miles, which it takes eight hours +to accomplish. + +Travemunde is a pretty spot, which really consists of only one +street, in which the majority of the houses are hotels. The country +from here to Lubeck, a distance of ten miles, is very pretty. A +splendid road, on which the carriages roll smoothly along, runs +through a charming wood past a cemetery, whose beauty exceeds that +of Upsala; but for the monuments, one might take it for one of the +most splendid parks or gardens. + +I regretted nothing so much as being unable to spend a day in +Lubeck, for I felt very much attracted by this old Hanse town, with +its pyramidically-built houses, its venerable dome, and other +beautiful churches, its spacious squares, &c.; but I was obliged to +proceed, and could only gaze at and admire it as I hurried through. +The pavement of the streets is better than I had seen it in any +northern town; and on the streets, in front of the houses, I saw +many wooden benches, on which the inhabitants probably spend their +summer evenings. I saw here for the first time again the gay- +looking street-mirrors used in Hamburgh. The Trave, which flows +between Travemunde and Lubeck, has to be crossed by boat. Near +Oldesloe are the salt-factories, with large buildings and immensely +high chimneys; an old romantic castle, entirely surrounded by water, +lies near Arensburg. + +Past Arensburg the country begins to be uninteresting, and remains +so as far as Hamburgh; but it seems to be very fertile, as there is +an abundance of green fields and fine meadows. + +The little journey from Lubeck to Hamburgh is rather dear, on +account of the almost incredible number of tolls and dues the poor +coachmen have to pay. They have first to procure a license to drive +from Lubeck into Hamburgh territory, which costs about 1s. 3d.; then +mine had to pay twice a double toll of 8d., because we passed +through before five o'clock in the morning, and the gates, which are +not opened till five o'clock, were unfastened especially for us; +besides these, there was a penny toll on nearly every mile. + +This dreadful annoyance of the constant stopping and the toll-bars +is unknown in Norway and in Sweden. There, an annual tax is paid +for every horse, and the owner can then drive freely through the +whole country, as no toll-bars are erected. + +The farm-houses here are very large and far-spread, but the reason +is, that stable, barn, and shippen are under the same roof: the +walls of the houses are of wood filled in with bricks. + +After passing Arensburg, we saw the steeples of Wandsbeck and +Hamburgh in the distance; the two towns seem to be one, and are, in +fact, only separated by pretty country-houses. But Wandsbeck +compared to Hamburgh is a village, not a town. + +I arrived in Hamburgh about two o'clock in the afternoon; and my +relatives were so astonished at my arrival, that they almost took me +for a ghost. I was at first startled by their reception, but soon +understood the reason of it. + +At the time I left Iceland another vessel went to Altona, by which I +sent a box of minerals and curiosities to my cousin in Hamburgh. +The sailor who brought the box gave such a description of the +wretched vessel in which I had gone to Copenhagen, that, after +having heard nothing of me for two months, he thought I must have +gone to the bottom of the sea with the ship. I had indeed written +from Copenhagen, but the letter had been lost; and hence their +surprise and delight at my arrival. + + + +CHAPTER XI + + + +I had not much time to spare, so that I could only stay a few days +with my relatives in Hamburgh; on the 26th September, I went in a +little steamer from Hamburgh to Harburg, where we arrived in three +quarters of an hour. From thence I proceeded in a stage-carriage to +Celle, about sixty-five miles. + +The country is not very interesting; it consists for the most part +of plains, which degenerate into heaths and marshes; but there are a +few fertile spots peeping out here and there. + + +September 27th. + +We arrived at Celle in the night. From here to Lehrte, a distance +of about seven miles, I had to hire a private conveyance, but from +Lehrte the railway goes direct to Berlin. {57} Many larger and +smaller towns are passed on this road; but we saw little of them, as +the stations all lie at some distance, and the railway-train only +stops a few minutes. + +The first town we passed was Brunswick. Immediately beyond the town +lies the pretty ducal palace, built in the Gothic style, in the +centre of a fine park. Wolfenbuttel seems to be a considerable +town, judging by the quantity of houses and church-steeples. A +pretty wooden bridge, with an elegantly-made iron balustrade, is +built here across the Ocker. From the town, a beautiful lane leads +to a gentle hill, on whose top stands a lovely building, used as a +coffee-house. + +As soon as one has passed the Hanoverian domains the country, though +it is not richer in natural curiosities, is less abundant in marshes +and heaths, and is very well-cultivated land. Many villages are +spread around, and many a charming town excites the wish to travel +through at a slower pace. + +We passed Schepenstadt, Jersheim, and Wegersleben, which latter town +already belongs to Prussia. In Ashersleben and in Magdeburg we +changed carriages. Near Salze we saw some fine buildings which +belong to the extensive saltworks existing here. Jernaudau is a +colony of Moravians. I should have wished to visit the town of +Kotten,-- for nothing can be more charming than the situation of the +town in the midst of fragrant gardens,--but we unfortunately only +stopped there a few minutes. The town of Dessau is also surrounded +by pretty scenery: several bridges cross the various arms of the +Elbe; that over the river itself rests on solid stone columns. Of +Wittenberg we only saw house tops and church-steeples; the same of +Juterbog, which looks as if it were newly built. Near Lukewalde the +regions of sand begin, and the uniformity is only broken by a little +ridge of wooded hills near Trebbin; but when these are past, the +railway passes on to Berlin through a melancholy, unmitigated desert +of sand. + +I had travelled from six o'clock this morning until seven in the +evening, over a distance of about two hundred and twenty miles, +during which time we had frequently changed carriages. + +The number of passengers we had taken up on the road was very great, +on account of the Leipzic fairs; sometimes the train had thirty-five +to forty carriages, three locomotives, and seven to eight hundred +passengers; and yet the greatest order had prevailed. It is a great +convenience that one can take a ticket from Lehrte to Berlin, +although the railway passes through so many different states, +because then one needs not look after the luggage or any thing else. +The officials on the railway are all very civil. As soon as the +train stopped, the guards announced with a loud voice the time +allowed, however long or short it might be; so that the passengers +could act accordingly, and take refreshments in the neighbouring +hotels. The arrangements for alighting are very convenient: the +carriages run into deep rails at the stations, so that the ground is +level with the carriages, and the entrance and exit easy. The +carriages are like broad coaches; two seats ran breadthwise across +them, with a large door at each side. The first and second class +contain eight persons in each division, the third class ten. The +carriages are all numbered, so that every passenger can easily find +his seat. + +By these simple arrangements the traveller may descend and walk +about a little, even though the train should only stop two minutes, +or even purchase some refreshments, without any confusion or +crowding. + +These conveniences are, of course, impossible when the carriages +have the length of a house, and contain sixty or seventy persons +within locked doors, and where the doors are opened by the guards, +who only call out the name of the station without announcing how +long the stay is. In such railways it is not advisable for +travellers to leave their seats; for before they can pass from one +end of the carriage to the other, through the narrow door and down +the steep steps, the horn is sounded, and at the same time the train +moves on; the sound being the signal for the engine-driver, the +passengers having none. + +In these states there was also not the least trouble with the +passport and the intolerable pass-tickets. No officious police- +soldier comes to the carriage, and prevents the passengers alighting +before they have answered all his questions. If passports had to be +inspected on this journey, it would take a few days, for they must +always be taken to the passport-office, as they are never examined +on the spot. + +Such annoying interruptions often occur several times in the same +state. And one need not even come from abroad to experience them, +as a journey from a provincial to a capital town affords enough +scope for annoyance. + +I had no reason to complain of such annoyances in any of the +countries through which I had hitherto passed. My passport was only +demanded in my hotel in the capitals of the countries, if I intended +to remain several days. In Stockholm, however, I found a curious +arrangement; every foreigner there is obliged to procure a Swedish +passport, and pay half-a-crown for it, if he only remains a few +hours in the town. This is, in reality, only a polite way of taking +half-a-crown from the strangers, as they probably do not like to +charge so much for a simple vise! + + +STAY IN BERLIN--RETURN TO VIENNA + + +I have never seen a town more beautifully or regularly built than +Berlin,--I mean, the town of Berlin itself,--only the finest +streets, palaces, and squares of Copenhagen would bear a comparison +with it. + +I spent but a few days here, and had therefore scarcely time to see +the most remarkable and interesting sights. + +The splendid royal palace, the extensive buildings for the picture- +gallery and museums, the great dome--all these are situated very +near each other. + +The Dome church is large and regularly built; a chapel, surrounded +by an iron enclosure, stands at each side of the entrance. Several +kings are buried here, and antiquated sarcophagi cover their +remains, known as the kings' graves. Near them stands a fine cast- +iron monument, beneath which Count Brandenburg lies. + +The Catholic church is built in the style of the Rotunda in Rome; +but, unlike it, the light falls from windows made around the walls, +and not from above. Beautiful statues and a simple but tasteful +altar are the only ornaments of this church. The portico is +ornamented by beautiful reliefs. + +The Werder church is a modern erection, built in the Gothic style, +and its turrets are ornamented by beautiful bronze reliefs. The +walls inside are inlaid with coloured wood up to the galleries, +where they terminate in Gothic scroll-work. The organ has a full, +clear tone; in front of it stands a painting which, at first sight, +resembles a scene from heathen mythology more than a sacred subject. +A number of cupids soar among wreaths of flowers, and surround three +beautiful female figures. + +The mint and the architectural college stand near this church. The +former is covered with fine sculptures; the latter is square, of a +brick-red colour, without any architectural embellishment, and +perfectly resembling an unusually large private house. The ground- +floor is turned into fine shops. + +Near the palace lies the Opera Square, in which stand the celebrated +opera-house, the arsenal, the university, the library, the academy, +the guardhouse, and several royal palaces. Three statues ornament +the square: those of General Count Bulov, General Count +Scharnhorst, and General Prince Blucher. They are all three +beautifully sculptured, but the drapery did not please me; it +consisted of the long military cloth cloak, which, opening in front, +afforded a glimpse of the splendid uniforms. + +The arsenal is one of the finest buildings in Berlin, and forms a +square; at the time of my stay some repairs were being made, so that +it was closed. I had to be content with glimpses through the +windows of the first floor, which showed me immense saloons filled +by tremendous cannons, ranged in rows. + +The guardhouse is contiguous, and resembles a pretty temple, with +its portico of columns. + +The opera-house forms a long detached square. It would have a much +better effect if the entrances were not so wretched. The one at the +grand portal looks like a narrow, miserable church-door, low and +gloomy. The other entrances are worse still, and one would not +suppose that they could lead to such a splendid interior, whose +appointments are indescribably luxurious and commodious. The pit is +filled by rows of comfortably-cushioned chairs with cushioned backs, +numbered, but not barred. The boxes are divided by very low +partitions, so that the aristocratic world seems to sit on a +tribune. The seats in the pit and the first and second tiers are +covered with dark-red silk damask; the royal box is a splendid +saloon, the floor of which is covered with the finest carpets. +Beautiful oil-paintings, in tasteful gold frames, ornament the +plafond; but the magnificent chandelier is the greatest curiosity. +It looks so massively worked in bronze, that it is painful to see +the heavy mass hang so loosely over the heads of the spectators. +But it is only a delusion; for it is made of paste-board, and +bronzed over. Innumerable lamps light the place; but one thing +which I miss in such elegant modern theatres is a clock, which has a +place in nearly every Italian theatre. + +The other buildings on this square are also distinguished for their +size and the beauty of their architecture. + +An unusually broad stone bridge, with a finely-made iron balustrade, +is built over a little arm of the Spree, and unites the square of +the opera with that on which the palace stands. + +The royal museum is one of the finest architectural piles, and its +high portal is covered with beautiful frescoes. The picture-gallery +contains many chefs-d'oeuvre; and I regretted that I had not more +time to examine it and the hall of antiquities, having only three +hours for the two. + +From the academy runs a long street lined with lime-trees, and which +is therefore called Under-the-limes (unter den Linden). This alley +forms a cheerful walk to the Brandenburg-gate, beyond which the +pleasure-gardens are situated. The longest and finest streets which +run into the lime-alley are the Friedrichs Street and the Wilhelms +Street. The Leipziger Street also belongs to the finest, but does +not run into this promenade. + +The Gens-d'arme Square is distinguished by the French and German +churches, at least by their exterior,--by their high domes, columns, +and porticoes. The interiors are small and insignificant. On this +square stands also the royal theatre, a tasteful pile of great +beauty, with many pillars, and statues of muses and deities. + +I ascended the tower on which the telegraph works, on account of the +view over the town and the flat neighbourhood. A very civil +official was polite enough to explain the signs of the telegraph to +me, and to permit me to look at the other telegraphs through his +telescope. + +The Konigstadt, situated on the opposite shore of the Spree, not far +from the royal palace, contains nothing remarkable. Its chief +street, the Konigsstrasse, is long, but narrow and dirty. Indeed it +forms a great contrast to the town of Berlin in every thing; the +streets are narrow, short, and winding. The post-office and the +theatres are the most remarkable buildings. + +The luxury displayed in the shop-windows is very great. Many a +mirror and many a plate-glass window reminded me of Hamburgh's +splendour, which surpasses that of Berlin considerably. + +There are not many excursions round Berlin, as the country is flat +and sandy. The most interesting are to the pleasure-gardens, +Charlottenburg, and, since the opening of the railway, to Potsdam. + +The park or pleasure-garden is outside the Brandenburg-gate; it is +divided into several parts, one of which reminded me of our fine +Prater in Vienna. The beautiful alleys were filled with carriages, +riders, and pedestrians; pretty coffee-houses enlivened the woody +portions, and merry children gambolled on the green lawns. I felt +so much reminded of my beloved Prater, that I expected every moment +to see a well-known face, or receive a friendly greeting. Kroll's +Casino, sometimes called the Winter-garden, is built on this side of +the park. I do not know how to describe this building; it is quite +a fairy palace. All the splendour which fancy can invent in +furniture, gilding, painting, or tapestry, is here united in the +splendid halls, saloons, temples, galleries, and boxes. The dining- +room, which will dine 1800 persons, is not lighted by windows, but +by a glass roof vaulted over it. Rows of pillars support the +galleries, or separate the larger and smaller saloons. In the +niches, and in the corners, round the pillars, abound fragrant +flowers, and plants in chaste vases or pots, which transform this +place into a magical garden in winter. Concerts and reunions take +place here every Sunday, and the press of visitors is extraordinary, +although smoking is prohibited. This place will accommodate 5000 +persons. + +That side of the park which lies in the direction of the Potsdam- +gate resembles an ornamental garden, with its well-kept alleys, +flower-beds, terraces, islets, and gold-fish ponds. A handsome +monument to the memory of Queen Louise is erected on the Louise +island here. + +On this side, the coffee-house Odeon is the best, but cannot be +compared to Kroll's casino. Here also are rows of very elegant +country-houses, most of which are built in the Italian style. + + +CHARLOTTENBURG *** DP PROOFED AND CORRECTED TO HERE *** + + +This place is about half an hour's distance from the Brandenburg- +gate, where the omnibuses that depart every minute are stationed. +The road leads through the park, beyond which lies a pretty village, +and adjoining it is the royal country-palace of Charlottenburg. The +palace is built in two stories, of which the upper one is very low, +and is probably only used for the domestics. The palace is more +broad than deep; the roof is terrace-shaped, and in its centre rises +a pretty dome. The garden is simple, and not very large, but +contains a considerable orangery. In a dark grove stands a little +building, the mausoleum in which the image of Queen Louise has been +excellently executed by the famed artist Rauch. Here also rest the +ashes of the late king. There is also an island with statues in the +midst of a large pond, on which some swans float proudly. It is a +pity that dirt does not stick to these white-feathered animals, else +they would soon be black swans; for the pond or river surrounding +the island is one of the dirtiest ditches I have ever seen. + +Fatigue would be very intolerable in this park, for there are very +few benches, but an immense quantity of gnats. + + +POTSDAM. + + +The distance from Berlin to Potsdam is eighteen miles, which is +passed by the railroad in three-quarters of an hour. The railway is +very conveniently arranged; the carriages are marked with the names +of the station, and the traveller enters the carriage on which the +place of his destination is marked. Thus, the passengers are never +annoyed by the entrance or exit of passengers, as all occupying the +same carriage descend at the same time. + +The road is very uninteresting; but this is compensated for by +Potsdam itself, for which a day is scarcely sufficient. + +Immediately in front of the town flows the river Havel, crossed by a +long, beautiful bridge, whose pillars are of stone, and the rest of +the bridge of iron. The large royal palace lies on the opposite +shore, and is surrounded by a garden. The garden is not very +extensive, but large enough for the town, and is open to the public. +The palace is built in a splendid style, but is unfortunately quite +useless, as the court has beautiful summer-palaces in the +neighbourhood of Potsdam, and spends the winter in Berlin. + +The castle square is not very good; it is neither large nor regular, +and not even level. On it stands the large church, which is not yet +completed, but promises to be a fine structure. The town is +tolerably large, and has many fine houses. The streets, especially +the Nauner Street, are wide and long, but badly paved; the stones +are laid with the pointed side upwards, and for foot-passengers +there is a stone pavement two feet broad on one side of the street +only. The promenade of the townspeople is called Am Kanal (beside +the canal), and is a fine square, through which the canal flows, and +is ornamented with trees. + +Of the royal pleasure-palaces I visited that of Sans Souci first. +It is surrounded by a pretty park, and lies on a hill, which is +divided into six terraces. Large conservatories stand on each side +of these; and in front of them are long alleys of orange and lemon- +trees. + +The palace has only a ground floor, and is surrounded by arbours, +trees, and vines, so that it is almost concealed from view. I could +not inspect the interior, as the royal family was living there. + +A side-path leads from here to the Ruinenberg, on which the ruins of +a larger and a smaller temple, raised by the hand of art, are +tastefully disposed. The top of the hill is taken up by a reservoir +of water. From this point one can see the back of the palace of +Sans Souci, and the so-called new palace, separated from the former +by a small park, and distant only about a quarter of an hour. + +The new palace, built by Frederick the Great, is as splendid as one +can imagine. It forms a lengthened square, with arabesques and flat +columns, and has a flat roof, which is surrounded by a stone +balustrade, and ornamented by statues. + +The apartments are high and large, and splendidly painted, +tapestried, and furnished. Oil-paintings, many of them very good, +cover the walls. One might fill a volume with the description of +all the wonders of this place, which is, however, not inhabited. + +Behind the palace, and separated from it by a large court, are two +beautiful little palaces, connected by a crescent-shaped hall of +pillars; broad stone steps lead to the balconies surrounding the +first story of the edifices. They are used as barracks, and are, as +such, the most beautiful I have ever seen. + +From here a pleasant walk leads to the lovely palace of +Charlottenburg. Coming from the large new palace it seemed too +small for the dwelling even of the crown-prince. I should have +taken it for a splendid pavilion attached to the new palace, to +which the royal family sometimes walked, and perhaps remained there +to take refreshment. But when I had inspected it more closely, and +seen all the comfortable little rooms, furnished with such tasteful +luxury, I felt that the crown-prince could not have made a better +choice. + +Beautiful fountains play on the terraces; the walls of the corridors +and anterooms are covered with splendid frescoes, in imitation of +those found in Pompeii. The rooms abound in excellent engravings, +paintings, and other works of art; and the greatest taste and +splendour is displayed even in the minor arrangements. + +A pretty Chinese chiosque, filled with good statues, which have been +unfortunately much damaged and broken, stands near the palace. + +These three beautiful royal residences are situated in parks, which +are so united that they seem only as one. The parks are filled with +fine trees, and verdant fields crossed by well-kept paths and +drives; but I saw very few flower-beds in them. + +When I had contemplated every thing at leisure, I returned to the +palace of Sans Souci, to see the beautiful fountains, which play +twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, from noon till evening. The +columns projected from the basin in front of the castle are so +voluminous, and rise with such force, that I gazed in amazement at +the artifice. It is real pleasure to be near the basin when the sun +shines in its full splendour, forming the most beautiful rainbows in +the falling shower of drops. Equally beautiful is a fountain rising +from a high vase, enwreathed by living flowers, and falling over it, +so that it forms a quick, brisk fountain, transparent, and pure as +the finest crystal. The lid of the vase, also enwreathed with +growing flowers, rises above the fountain. The Neptune's grotto is +of no great beauty; the water falls from an urn placed over it, and +forms little waterfalls as it flows over nautilus-shells. + +The marble palace lies on the other side of Potsdam, and is half an +hour's distance from these palaces; but I had time enough to visit +it. + +Entering the park belonging to this palace, a row of neat peasants' +cottages is seen on the left; they are all alike, but separated by +fruit, flower, or kitchen-gardens. The palace lies at the extreme +end of the park, on a pretty lake formed by the river Havel. It +certainly has some right to the name of marble palace; but it seems +presumption to call it so when compared to the marble palaces of +Venice, or the marble mosques of Constantinople. + +The walls of the building are of brick left in its natural colour. +The lower and upper frame-work, the window-sashes, and the portals, +are all of marble. The palace is partly surrounded by a gallery +supported on marble columns. The stairs are of fine white marble, +and many of the apartments are laid with this mineral. The interior +is not nearly so luxurious as the other palaces. + +This was the last of the sights I saw in Potsdam or the environs of +Berlin; for I continued my journey to Vienna on the following day. + +Before quitting Berlin, I must mention an arrangement which is +particularly convenient for strangers--namely, the fares for +hackney-carriages. One need ask no questions, but merely enter the +carriage, tell the coachman where to drive, and pay him six-pence. +This moderate fare is for the whole town, which is somewhat +extensive. At all the railway stations there are numbers of these +vehicles, which will drive to any hotel, however far it may be from +the station, for the same moderate fare. If only all cab-drivers +were so accommodating! + + +October 1st. + +The railway goes through Leipzic to Dresden, where I took the mail- +coach for Prague at eight o'clock the same evening, and arrived +there in eighteen hours. + +As it was night when we passed, we did not enjoy the beautiful views +of the Nollendorf mountain. In the morning we passed two handsome +monuments, one of them, a pyramid fifty-four feet high, to the +memory of Count Colloredo, the other to the memory of the Russian +troops who had fallen here; both have been erected since the wars of +Napoleon. + +On we went through charming districts to the famed bathing-place +Teplitz, which is surrounded by the most beautiful scenery; and can +bear comparison with the finest bathing-places of the world. + +Further on we passed a solitary basaltic rock, Boren, which deserves +attention for its beauty and as a natural curiosity. We +unfortunately hurried past it, as we wished to reach Prague before +six o'clock, so that we might not miss the train to Vienna. + +My readers may imagine our disappointment on arriving at the gates +of Prague, when our passports were taken from us and not returned. +In vain we referred to the vise of the boundary-town Peterswalde; in +vain we spoke of our haste. The answer always was, "That is nothing +to us; you can have your papers back to-morrow at the police- +office." Thus we were put off, and lost twenty-four hours. + +I must mention a little joke I had on the ride from Dresden to +Prague. Two gentlemen and a lady beside myself occupied the mail- +coach; the lady happened to have read my diary of Palestine, and +asked me, when she heard my name, if I were that traveller. When I +had acknowledged I was that same person, our conversation turned on +that and on my present journey. One of the gentlemen, Herr Katze, +was very intelligent, and conversed in a most interesting manner on +countries, nationalities, and scientific subjects. The other +gentleman was probably equally well informed, but he made less use +of his acquirements. Herr Katze remained in Teplitz, and the other +gentleman proceeded with us to Vienna. Before arriving at our +destination, he asked me if Herr Katze had not requested me to +mention his name in my next book, and added, that if I would promise +to do the same, he would tell me his name. I could not refrain from +smiling, but assured him that Herr Katze had not thought of such a +thing, and begged him not to communicate his name to me, so that he +might see that we females were not so curious as we are said to be. +But the poor man could not refrain from giving me his name--Nicholas +B.--before we parted. I do not insert it for two reasons: first, +because I did not promise to name him; and secondly, because I do +not think it would do him any service. + +The railway from Prague to Vienna goes over Olmutz, and makes such a +considerable round, that the distance is now nearly 320 miles, and +the arrangements on the railway are very imperfect. + +There were no hotels erected on the road, and we had to be content +with fruit, beer, bread, and butter, &c. the whole time. And these +provisions were not easily obtained, as we could not venture to +leave the carriages. The conductor called out at every station that +we should go on directly, although the train frequently stood +upwards of half an hour; but as we did not know that before, we were +obliged to remain on our seats. The conductors were not of the most +amiable character, which may perhaps be ascribed to the climate; for +when we approached the boundary of the Austrian states at +Peterswalde, the inspector received us very gruffly. We wished him +good evening twice, but he took no notice of it, and demanded our +papers in a loud and peremptory tone; he probably thought us as deaf +as we thought him. At Ganserndorf, twenty-five miles from Vienna, +they took our papers from us in a very uncivil, uncourteous manner. + +On the 4th of October, 1845, after an absence of six months, I +arrived again in sight of the dear Stephen's steeple, as most of my +countrywomen would say. + +I had suffered many hardships; but my love of travelling would not +have been abated, nor would my courage have failed me, had they been +ten times greater. I had been amply compensated for all. I had +seen things which never occur in our common life, and had met with +people as they are rarely met with--in their natural state. And I +brought back with me the recollections of my travels, which will +always remain, and which will afford me renewed pleasure for years. + +And now I take leave of my dear readers, requesting them to accept +with indulgence my descriptions, which are always true, though they +may not be amusing. If I have, as I can scarcely hope, afforded +them some amusement, I trust they will in return grant me a small +corner in their memories. + +In conclusion, I beg to add an Appendix, which may not be +uninteresting to many of my readers, namely: + +1. A document which I procured in Reikjavik, giving the salaries of +the royal Danish officials, and the sources from whence they are +paid. + +2. A list of Icelandic insects, butterflies, flowers, and plants, +which I collected and brought home with me. + + + +APPENDIX A + + + +Salaries of the Royal Danish Officials in Iceland, which they +receive from the Icelandic land-revenues. + +Florins {58} + +The Governor of Iceland 2000 + Office expenses 600 +The deputy for the western district 1586 + Office expenses 400 + Rent 200 +The deputy for the northern and eastern districts 1286 + Office expenses 400 +The bishop of Iceland, who draws his salary from + the school-revenues, has paid him from this + treasury 800 +The members of the Supreme Court: + One judge 1184 + First assessor 890 + Second assessor 740 +The land-bailiff of Iceland 600 + Office expenses 200 + Rent 150 +The town-bailiff of Reikjavik 300 +The first police-officer of Reikjavik, who is + at the same time gaoler, and therefore + has 50 fl. more than the second officer 200 + The second police-officer 150 +The mayor of Reikjavik only draws from this + treasury his house-rent, which is 15O +The sysselman of the Westmanns Islands 296 +The other sysselmen, each 230 +Medical department and midwifery: + The physician 900 + House-rent 150 + Apothecary of Reikjavik 185 + House-rent 150 + The second apothecary at Sikkisholm 90 + Six surgeons in the country, each 300 + House-rent for some 30 + For others 25 + A medical practitioner on the Northland 110 + Reikjavik has two midwives, each receives 50 + The other midwives in Iceland, amounting + to thirty, each receives 100 + These midwives are instructed and + examined by the land physician, who + has the charge of paying them annually. + +Organist of Reikjavik 100 +From the school-revenues + The bishop receives 1200 + The teachers at the high school: + The teacher of theology 800 + The head assistant, besides free lodging 500 + The second assistant 500 + House-rent 50 + The third assistant 500 + House-rent 50 + The resident at the school 170 + + + +LIST OF INVERTEBRATED ANIMALS collected in Iceland + + + +1. CRUSTACEA. + +Pagarus Bernhardus, Linnaeus. + +2. INSECTA. + +a. Coleoptera. Nebria rubripes, Dejean. Patrobus hyperboreus. +Calathus melanocephalus, Fabr. Notiophilus aquaticus. Amara +vulgaris, Duftsihm. Ptinus fur, Linn. Aphodius Lapponum, Schh. +Otiorhynchus laevigatus, Dhl. Otiorhynchus Pinastri, Fabr. +Otiorhynchus ovatus. Staphylinus maxillosus. Byrrhus pillula. + +b. Neuroptera. Limnophilus lineola, Schrank. + +c. Hymenoptera. Pimpla instigator, Gravh. Bombus subterraneus, +Linn. + +d. Lepidoptera. Geometra russata, Hub. Geom. alche millata. +Geom. spec. nov. + +e. Diptera. Tipula lunata, Meig. Scatophaga stercoraria. Musca +vomitaria. Musca mortuorum. Helomyza serrata. Lecogaster +islandicus, Scheff. {59} Anthomyia decolor, Fallin. + + + +LIST OF ICELANDIC PLANTS collected by Ida Pfeiffer in the Summer of +the year 1845 + + + +Felices. Cystopteris fragilis. + +Equisetaceae. Equisetum Teltamegra. + +Graminae. Festuca uniglumis. + +Cyperaceae. Carea filiformis. Carea caespitosa. Eriophorum +caespitosum. + +Juncaceae. Luzula spicata. Luzula campestris. + +Salicineae. Salix polaris. + +Polygoneae. Remux arifolus. Oxyria reniformes. + +Plumbagineae. Armeria alpina (in the interior mountainous +districts). + +Compositae. Chrysanthemum maritimum (on the sea-shore, and on +marshy fields). Hieracium alpinum (on grassy plains). Taraxacum +alpinum. Erigeron uniflorum (west of Havenfiord, on rocky soil). + +Rubiaceae. Gallium pusillum. Gallium verum. + +Labiatae. Thynus serpyllum. + +Asperifoliae. Myosotis alpestris. Myosotis scorpioicles. + +Scrophularineae. Bartsia alpina (in the interior north-western +valleys). Rhinanthus alpestris. + +Utricularieae. Pinguicula alpina. Pinguicula vulgaris. + +Umbelliferae. Archangelica officinalis (Havenfiord). + +Saxifrageae. Saxifraga caespitosa (the real Linnaean plant: on +rocks round Hecla). + +Ranunculaceae. Ranunculus auricomus. Ranunculus nivalis. +Thalictrum alpinum (growing between lava, near Reikjavik). Caltha +palustris. + +Cruciferae. Draba verna. Cardamine pratensis. + +Violariceae. Viola hirta. + +Caryophylleae. Sagina stricta. Cerastium semidecandrum. Lepigonum +rubrum. Silene maritima. Lychnis alpina (on the mountain-fields +round Reikjavik). + +Empetreae. Empetrum nigrum. + +Geraniaceae. Geranium sylvaticum (in pits near Thingvalla). + +Troseaceae. Parnassia palustris. + +OEnothereae. Epilobium latifolium (in clefts of the mountain at the +foot of Hecla). Epilobium alpinum (in Reiker valley, west of +Havenfiord). + +Rosaceae. Rubus arcticus. Potentilla anserina. Potentilla +gronlandica (on rocks near Kallmanstunga and Kollismola). +Alchemilla montana. Sanguisorba officinalis. Geum rivale. Dryas +octopela (near Havenfiord). + +Papilionaceae. Trifolium repens. + + + +Footnotes: + +{1} In this Gutenberg eText only Madame Pfeiffer's work appears-- +DP. + +{2} Madame Pfeiffer's first journey was to the Holy Land in 1842; +and on her return from Iceland she started in 1846 on a "Journey +round the World," from which she returned in the end of 1848. This +adventurous lady is now (1853) travelling among the islands of the +Eastern Archipelago.--ED. + +{3} A florin is worth about 2s. 1d.; sixty kreutzers go to a +florin. + +{4} At Kuttenberg the first silver groschens were coined, in the +year 1300. The silver mines are now exhausted, though other mines, +of copper, zinc, &c. are wrought in the neighbourhood. The +population is only half of what it once was.--ED. + +{5} The expression of Madame Pfeiffer's about Frederick "paying his +score to the Austrians," is somewhat vague. The facts are these. +In 1757 Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Bohemia, and laid +siege to Prague. Before this city an Austrian army lay, who were +attacked with great impetuosity by Frederick, and completely +defeated. But the town was defended with great valour; and during +the time thus gained the Austrian general Daun raised fresh troops, +with which he took the field at Collin. Here he was attacked by +Frederick, who was routed, and all his baggage and cannon captured. +This loss was "paying his score;" and the defeat was so complete, +that the great monarch sat down by the side of a fountain, and +tracing figures in the sand, was lost for a long time in meditation +on the means to be adopted to retrieve his fortune.--ED. + +{6} I mention this little incident to warn the traveller against +parting with his effects. + +{7} The true version of this affair is as follows. John of Nepomuk +was a priest serving under the Archbishop of Prague. The king, +Wenceslaus, was a hasty, cruel tyrant, who was detested by all his +subjects, and hated by the rest of Germany. Two priests were guilty +of some crime, and one of the court chamberlains, acting under royal +orders, caused the priests to be put to death. The archbishop, +indignant at this, placed the chamberlain under an interdict. This +so roused the king that he attempted to seize the archbishop, who +took refuge in flight. John of Nepomuk, however, and another +priest, were seized and put to the torture to confess what were the +designs of the archbishop. The king seems to have suspected that +the queen was in some way connected with the line of conduct pursued +by the archbishop. John of Nepomuk, however, refused, even though +the King with his own hand burned him with a torch. Irritated by +his obstinate silence, the king caused the poor monk to be cast over +the bridge into the Moldau. This monk was afterwards canonised, and +made the patron saint of bridges.--ED. + +{8} Albert von Wallenstein (or Waldstein), the famous Duke of +Friedland, is celebrated as one of the ablest commanders of the +imperial forces during the protracted religious contest known in +German history as the "Thirty Years' War." During its earlier +period Wallenstein greatly distinguished himself, and was created by +the Emperor Ferdinand Duke of Friedland and generalissimo of the +imperial forces. In the course of a few months Wallenstein raised +an army of forty thousand men in the Emperor's service. The +strictest discipline was preserved WITHIN his camp, but his troops +supported themselves by a system of rapine and plunder unprecedented +even in those days of military license. Merit was rewarded with +princely munificence, and the highest offices were within the reach +of every common soldier who distinguished himself;--trivial breaches +of discipline were punished with death. The dark and ambitious +spirit of Wallenstein would not allow him to rest satisfied with the +rewards and dignities heaped upon him by his imperial master. He +temporised and entered into negotiations with the enemy; and during +an interview with a Swedish general (Arnheim), is even said to have +proposed an alliance to "hunt the Emperor to the devil." It is +supposed that he aspired to the sovereignty of Bohemia. Ferdinand +was informed of the ambitious designs of his general, and at length +determined that Wallenstein should die. He despatched one of his +generals, Gallas, to the commander-in-chief, with a mandate +depriving him of his dignity of generalissimo, and nominating Gallas +as his successor. Surprised before his plans were ripe, and +deserted by many on whose support he had relied, Wallenstein retired +hastily upon Egra. During a banquet in the castle, three of his +generals who remained faithful to their leader were murdered in the +dead of night. Roused by the noise, Wallenstein leapt from his bed, +and encountered three soldiers who had been hired to despatch him. +Speechless with astonishment and indignation, he stretched forth his +arms, and receiving in his breast the stroke of a halbert, fell dead +without a groan, in the fifty-first year of his age. + +The following anecdote, curiously illustrative of the state of +affairs in Wallenstein's camp, is related by Schiller in his History +of the Thirty Years' War, a work containing a full account of the +life and actions of this extraordinary man. "The extortions of +Wallenstein's soldiers from the peasants had at one period reached +such a pitch, that severe penalties were denounced against all +marauders; and every soldier who should be convicted of theft was +threatened with a halter. Shortly afterwards, it chanced that +Wallenstein himself met a soldier straying in the field, whom he +caused to be seized, as having violated the law, and condemned to +the gallows without a trial, by his usual word of doom: "Let the +rascal be hung!" The soldier protested, and proved his innocence. +"Then let them hang the innocent," cried the inhuman Wallenstein; +"and the guilty will tremble the more." The preparations for +carrying this sentence into effect had already commenced, when the +soldier, who saw himself lost without remedy, formed the desperate +resolution that he would not die unrevenged. Rushing furiously upon +his leader, he was seized and disarmed by the bystanders before he +could carry his intention into effect. "Now let him go," said +Wallenstein; "it will excite terror enough.""--ED. + +{9} Poniatowski was the commander of the Polish legion in the +armies of Napoleon, by whom he was highly respected. At the battle +of Leipzig, fought in October 1813, Poniatowski and Marshal +MacDonald were appointed to command the rear of Napoleon's army, +which, after two days hard fighting, was compelled to retreat before +the Allies. These generals defended the retreat of the army so +gallantly, that all the French troops, except those under their +immediate command, had evacuated the town. The rear-guard was +preparing to follow, when the only bridge over the Elster that +remained open to them was destroyed, through some mistake. This +effectually barred the escape of the rear of Napoleon's army. A +few, among whom was Marshal MacDonald, succeeded in swimming across; +but Poniatowski, after making a brave resistance, and refusing to +surrender, was drowned in making the same attempt.--ED. + +{10} Leipzig has long been famous as the chief book-mart of +Germany. At the great Easter meetings, publishers from all the +different states assemble at the "Buchhandler Borse," and a large +amount of business is done. The fairs of Leipzig have done much +towards establishing the position of this city as one of the first +trading towns in Germany. They take place three times annually: at +New-year, at Easter, and at Michaelmas; but the Easter fair is by +far the most important. These commercial meetings last about three +weeks, and during this time the town presents a most animated +appearance, as the streets are thronged with the costumes of almost +every nation, the smart dress of the Tyrolese contrasting gaily with +the sombre garb of the Polish Jews. The amount of business +transacted at these fairs is very considerable; on several +occasions, above twenty thousand dealers have assembled. The trade +is principally in woollen cloths; but lighter wares, and even +ornaments of every description, are sold to a large extent. The +manner in which every available place is taken advantage of is very +curious: archways, cellars, passages, and courtyards are alike +filled with merchandise, and the streets are at times so crowded as +to be almost impassable. When the three weeks have passed, the +wooden booths which have been erected in the market-place and the +principal streets are taken down, the buyers and sellers vanish +together, and the visitor would scarcely recognise in the quiet +streets around him the bustling busy city of a few days ago.--ED. + +{11} The fire broke out on 4th May 1842, and raged with the utmost +fury for three days. Whole streets were destroyed, and at least +2000 houses burned to the ground. Nearly half a million of money +was raised in foreign countries to assist in rebuilding the city, of +which about a tenth was contributed by Britain. Such awful fires, +fearful though they are at the time, seem absolutely necessary to +great towns, as they cause needful improvements to be made, which +the indolence or selfishness of the inhabitants would otherwise +prevent. There is not a great city that has not at one time or +another suffered severely from fire, and has risen out of the ruins +greater than before.--ED. + +{12} There are no docks at Hamburgh, consequently all the vessels +lie in the river Elbe, and both receive and discharge their cargoes +there. Madame Pfeiffer, however, is mistaken in supposing that only +London could show a picture of so many ships and so much commercial +activity surpassing that of Hamburgh. Such a picture, more +impressive even than that seen in the Elbe, is exhibited every day +in the Mersey or the Hudson.--ED. + +{13} Kiel, however, is a place of considerable trade; and doubtless +the reason why Madame Pfeiffer saw so few vessels at it was +precisely the same reason why she saw so many at Hamburgh. Kiel +contains an excellent university.--ED. + +{14} At sea I calculate by sea-miles, of which sixty go to a +degree. + +{15} This great Danish sculptor was born of poor parents at +Copenhagen, on the 19th November, 1770; his father was an Icelander, +and earned his living by carving figure-heads for ships. Albert, or +"Bertel," as he is more generally called, was accustomed during his +youth to assist his father in his labours on the wharf. At an early +age he visited the Academy at Copenhagen, where his genius soon +began to make itself conspicuous. At the age of sixteen he had won +a silver, and at twenty a gold medal. Two years later he carried +off the "great" gold medal, and was sent to study abroad at the +expense of the Academy. In 1797 we find him practising his art at +Rome under the eye of Zoega the Dane, who does not, however, seem to +have discovered indications of extraordinary genius in the labours +of his young countryman. But a work was soon to appear which should +set all questions as to Thorwaldsen's talent for ever at rest. In +1801 he produced his celebrated statue of "Jason," which was at once +pronounced by the great Canova to be "a work in a new and a grand +style." After this period the path of fame lay open before the +young sculptor; his bas-reliefs of "Summer" and "Autumn," the "Dance +of the Muses," "Cupid and Psyche," and numerous other works, +followed each other in rapid succession; and at length, in 1812, +Thorwaldsen produced his extraordinary work, "The Triumph of +Alexander." In 1819 Thorwaldsen returned rich and famous to the +city he had quitted as a youth twenty-three years before; he was +received with great honour, and many feasts and rejoicings were held +to celebrate his arrival. After a sojourn of a year Thorwaldsen +again visited Rome, where he continued his labours until 1838, when, +wealthy and independent, he resolved to rest in his native country. +This time his welcome to Copenhagen was even more enthusiastic than +in 1819. The whole shore was lined with spectators, and amid +thundering acclamations the horses were unharnessed from his +carriage, and the sculptor was drawn in triumph by the people to his +atelier. During the remainder of his life Thorwaldsen passed much +of his time on the island of Nyso, where most of his latest works +were executed. On Sunday, March 9th, 1842, he had been conversing +with a circle of friends in perfect health. Halm's tragedy of +Griselda was announced for the evening, and Thorwaldsen proceeded to +the theatre to witness the performance. During the overture he rose +to allow a stranger to pass, then resumed his seat, and a moment +afterwards his head sunk on his breast--he was dead! + +His funeral was most sumptuous. Rich and poor united to do honour +to the memory of the great man, who had endeared himself to them by +his virtues as by his genius. The crown-prince followed the coffin, +and the people of Copenhagen stood in two long rows, and uncovered +their heads as the coffin of the sculptor was carried past. The +king himself took part in the solemnity. At the time of his decease +Thorwaldsen had completed his seventy-second year.--ED. + +{16} Tycho de Brahe was a distinguished astronomer, who lived +between 1546 and 1601. He was a native of Denmark. His whole life +may be said to have been devoted to astronomy. A small work that he +published when a young man brought him under the notice of the King +of Denmark, with whose assistance he constructed, on the small +island of Hulln, a few miles north of Copenhagen, the celebrated +Observatory of Uranienburg. Here, seated in "the ancient chair" +referred to in the text, and surrounded by numerous assistants, he +directed for seventeen years a series of observations, that have +been found extremely accurate and useful. On the death of his +patron he retired to Prague in Bohemia, where he was employed by +Rodolph II. then Emperor of Germany. Here he was assisted by the +great Kepler, who, on Tycho's death in 1601, succeeded him.--ED. + +{17} The fisheries of Iceland have been very valuable, and indeed +the chief source of the commerce of the country ever since it was +discovered. The fish chiefly caught are cod and the tusk or cat- +fish. They are exported in large quantities, cured in various ways. +Since the discovery of Newfoundland, however, the fisheries of +Iceland have lost much of their importance. So early as 1415, the +English sent fishing vessels to the Icelandic coast, and the sailors +who were on board, it would appear, behaved so badly to the natives +that Henry V. had to make some compensation to the King of Denmark +for their conduct. The greatest number of fishing vessels from +England that ever visited Iceland was during the reign of James I., +whose marriage with the sister of the Danish king might probably +make England at the time the most favoured nation. It was in his +time that an English pirate, "Gentleman John," as he was called, +committed great ravages in Iceland, for which James had afterwards +to make compensation. The chief markets for the fish are in the +Catholic countries of Europe. In the seventeenth century, a great +traffic in fish was carried on between Iceland and Spain.--ED. + +{18} The dues charged by the Danish Government on all vessels +passing through the Sound have been levied since 1348, and therefore +enjoy a prescriptive right of more than five hundred years. They +bring to the Danish Government a yearly revenue of about a quarter +of a million; and, in consideration of the dues, the Government has +to support certain lighthouses, and otherwise to render safe and +easy the navigation of this great entrance to the Baltic. Sound- +dues were first paid in the palmy commercial days of the Hanseatic +League. That powerful combination of merchants had suffered +severely from the ravages of Danish pirates, royal and otherwise; +but ultimately they became so powerful that the rich merchant could +beat the royal buccaneer, and tame his ferocity so effectually as to +induce him to build and maintain those beacon-lights on the shores +of the Sound, for whose use they and all nations and merchants after +them have agreed to pay certain duties.--ED. + +{19} The Feroe Islands consist of a great many islets, some of them +mere rocks, lying about halfway between the north coast of Scotland +and Iceland. At one time they belonged to Norway, but came into the +possession of Denmark at the same time as Iceland. They are +exceedingly mountainous, some of the mountains attaining an +elevation of about 2800 feet. The largest town or village does not +contain more than 1500 or 1600 inhabitants. The population live +chiefly on the produce of their large flocks of sheep, and on the +down procured, often at great risk to human life, from the eider- +duck and other birds by which the island is frequented.--ED. + +{20} I should be truly sorry if, in this description of our "life +aboard ship," I had said any thing which could give offence to my +kind friend Herr Knudson. I have, however, presumed that every one +is aware that the mode of life at sea is different to life in +families. I have only to add, that Herr Knudson lived most +agreeably not only in Copenhagen, but what is far more remarkable, +in Iceland also, and was provided with every comfort procurable in +the largest European towns. + +{21} It is not only at sea that ingenious excuses for drinking are +invented. The lovers of good or bad liquor on land find these +reasons as "plenty as blackberries," and apply them with a +marvellous want of stint or scruple. In warm climates the liquor is +drank to keep the drinker cool, in cold to keep him warm; in health +to prevent him from being sick, in sickness to bring him back to +health. Very seldom is the real reason, "because I like it," given; +and all these excuses and reasons must be regarded as implying some +lingering sense of shame at the act, and as forming part of "the +homage that vice always pays to virtue."--ED. + +{22} The sailors call those waves "Spanish" which, coming from the +west, distinguish themselves by their size. + +{23} These islands form a rocky group, only one of which is +inhabited, lying about fifteen miles from the coast. They are said +to derive their name from some natives of Ireland, called West-men, +who visited Iceland shortly after its discovery by the Norwegians. +In this there is nothing improbable, for we know that during the +ninth and tenth centuries the Danes and Normans, called Easterlings, +made many descents on the Irish coast; and one Norwegian chief is +reported to have assumed sovereign power in Ireland about the year +866, though he was afterwards deposed, and flung into a lough, where +he was drowned: rather an ignominious death for a "sea-king."--ED. + +{24} This work, which Madame Pfeiffer does not praise too highly, +was first published in 1810. After passing through two editions, it +was reprinted in 1841, at a cheap price, in the valuable people's +editions of standard works, published by Messrs. Chambers of +Edinburgh.--ED. + +{25} It is related of Ingold that he carried with him on his voyage +the door of his former house in Ireland, and that when he approached +the coast he cast it into the sea, watching the point of land which +it touched; and on that land he fixed his future home. This land is +the same on which the town of Reikjavik now stands. These old sea- +kings, like the men of Athens, were "in all things too +superstitious."--ED. + +{26} These sea-rovers, that were to the nations of Europe during +the middle ages what the Danes, Norwegians, and other northmen were +at an earlier period, enjoyed at this time the full flow of their +lawless prosperity. Their insolence and power were so great that +many nations, our own included, were glad to purchase, by a yearly +payment, exemption from the attacks of these sea-rovers. The +Americans paid this tribute so late as 1815. The unfortunate +Icelanders who were carried off in the seventeenth century nearly +all died as captives in Algiers. At the end of ten years they were +liberated; but of the four hundred only thirty-seven were alive when +the joyful intelligence reached the place of their captivity; and of +these twenty-four died before rejoining their native land.--ED. + +{27} This town, the capital of Iceland, and the seat of government, +is built on an arm of the sea called the Faxefiord, in the south- +west part of the island. The resident population does not exceed +500, but this is greatly increased during the annual fairs. It +consists mainly of two streets at right angles to each other. It +contains a large church built of stone, roofed with tiles; an +observatory; the residences of the governor and the bishop, and the +prison, which is perhaps the most conspicuous building in the town.- +-ED. + +{28} As Madame Pfeiffer had thus no opportunity of attending a ball +in Iceland, the following description of one given by Sir George +Mackenzie may be interesting to the reader. + +"We gave a ball to the ladies of Reikjavik and the neighbourhood. +The company began to assemble about nine o'clock. We were shewn +into a small low-roofed room, in which were a number of men, but to +my surprise I saw no females. We soon found them, however, in one +adjoining, where it is the custom for them to wait till their +partners go to hand them out. On entering this apartment, I felt +considerable disappointment at not observing a single woman dressed +in the Icelandic costume. The dresses had some resemblance to those +of English chambermaids, but were not so smart. An old lady, the +wife of the man who kept the tavern, was habited like the pictures +of our great-grandmothers. Some time after the dancing commenced, +the bishop's lady, and two others, appeared in the proper dress of +the country. + +"We found ourselves extremely awkward in dancing what the ladies +were pleased to call English country dances. The music, which came +from a solitary ill-scraped fiddle, accompanied by the rumbling of +the same half-rotten drum that had summoned the high court of +justice, and by the jingling of a rusty triangle, was to me utterly +unintelligible. The extreme rapidity with which it was necessary to +go through many complicated evolutions in proper time, completely +bewildered us; and our mistakes, and frequent collisions with our +neighbours, afforded much amusement to our fair partners, who found +it for a long time impracticable to keep us in the right track. +When allowed to breathe a little, we had an opportunity of remarking +some singularities in the state of society and manners among the +Danes of Reikjavik. While unengaged in the dance, the men drink +punch, and walk about with tobacco-pipes in their mouths, spitting +plentifully on the floor. The unrestrained evacuation of saliva +seems to be a fashion all over Iceland; but whether the natives +learned it from the Danes, or the Danes from the natives, we did not +ascertain. Several ladies whose virtue could not bear a very strict +scrutiny were pointed out to us. + +"During the dances, tea and coffee were handed about; and negus and +punch were ready for those who chose to partake of them. A cold +supper was provided, consisting of hams, beef, cheese, &c., and +wine. While at table, several of the ladies sang, and acquitted +themselves tolerably well. But I could not enjoy the performance, +on account of the incessant talking, which was as fashionable a +rudeness in Iceland as it is now in Britain. This, however, was not +considered as in the least unpolite. One of the songs was in praise +of the donors of the entertainment; and, during the chorus, the +ceremony of touching each other's glasses was performed. After +supper, waltzes were danced, in a style that reminded me of soldiers +marching in cadence to the dead march in Saul. Though there was no +need of artificial light, a number of candles were placed in the +rooms. When the company broke up, about three o'clock, the sun was +high above the horizon." + +{29} A man of eighty years of age is seldom seen on the island.-- +Kerguelen. + +{30} Kerguelen (writing in 1768) says: "They live during the +summer principally on cod's heads. A common family make a meal of +three or four cods' heads boiled in sea-water."--ED. + +{31} This bakehouse is the only one in Iceland, and produces as +good bread and biscuit as any that can be procured in Denmark. [In +Kerguelen's time (1768) bread was very uncommon in Iceland. It was +brought from Copenhagen, and consisted of broad thin cakes, or sea- +biscuits, made of rye-flour, and extremely black.--ED.] + +{32} In all high latitudes fat oily substances are consumed to a +vast extent by the natives. The desire seems to be instinctive, not +acquired. A different mode of living would undoubtedly render them +more susceptible to the cold of these inclement regions. Many +interesting anecdotes are related of the fondness of these +hyperborean races for a kind of food from which we would turn in +disgust. Before gas was introduced into Edinburgh, and the city was +lighted by oil-lamps, several Russian noblemen visited that +metropolis; and it is said that their longing for the luxury of +train-oil became one evening so intense, that, unable to procure the +delicacy in any other way, they emptied the oil-lamps. Parry +relates that when he was wintering in the Arctic regions, one of the +seamen, who had been smitten with the charms of an Esquimaux lady, +wished to make her a present, and knowing the taste peculiar to +those regions, he gave her with all due honours a pound of candles, +six to the pound! The present was so acceptable to the lady, that +she eagerly devoured the lot in the presence of her wondering +admirer.--ED. + +{33} An American travelling in Iceland in 1852 thus describes, in a +letter to the Boston Post, the mode of travelling:- "All travel is +on horseback. Immense numbers of horses are raised in the country, +and they are exceedingly cheap. As for travelling on foot, even +short journeys, no one ever thinks of it. The roads are so bad for +walking, and generally so good for riding that shoe-leather, to say +nothing of fatigue, would cost nearly as much as horse-flesh. Their +horses are small, compact, hardy little animals, a size larger than +Shetland ponies, but rarely exceeding from 12 or 13.5 hands high. A +stranger in travelling must always have a 'guide,' and if he does go +equipped for a good journey and intends to make good speed, he wants +as many as six horses; one for himself, one for the guide, one for +the luggage, and three relay horses. Then when one set of horses +are tired the saddles are exchanged to the others. The relay horses +are tied together and are either led or driven before the others. A +tent is often carried, unless a traveller chooses to chance it for +his lodgings. Such an article as an hotel is not kept in Iceland +out of the capital. You must also carry your provisions with you, +as you will be able to get but little on your route. Plenty of milk +can be had, and some fresh-water fish. The luggage is carried in +trunks that are hung on each side of the horse, on a rude frame that +serves as a pack-saddle. Under this, broad pieces of turf are +placed to prevent galling the horse's back." + +{34} The down of the eider-duck forms a most important and valuable +article of Icelandic commerce. It is said that the weight of down +procurable from each nest is about half a pound, which is reduced +one-half by cleansing. The down is sold at about twelve shillings +per pound, so that the produce of each nest is about three +shillings. The eider-duck is nearly as large as the common goose; +and some have been found on the Fern Islands, off the coast of +Northumberland.--ED. + +{35} The same remark applies with equal force to many people who +are not Icelanders. It was once the habit among a portion of the +population of Lancashire, on returning from market, to carry their +goods in a bag attached to one end of a string slung over their +shoulders, which was balanced by a bag containing a stone at the +other. Some time ago, it was pointed out to a worthy man thus +returning from market, that it would be easier for him to throw away +the stone, and make half of his load balance the other half, but the +advice was rejected with disdain; the plan he had adopted was that +of his forefathers, and he would on no account depart from it.--ED. + +{36} The description of the Wolf's Hollow occurs in the second act +of Der Freyschutz, when Rodolph sings: + +"How horrid, dark, and wild, and drear, +Doth this gaping gulf appear! +It seems the hue of hell to wear. +The bellowing thunder bursts yon clouds, +The moon with blood has stained her light! +What forms are those in misty shrouds, +That stalk before my sight? +And now, hush! hush! +The owl is hooting in yon bush; +How yonder oak-tree's blasted arms +Upon me seem to frown! +My heart recoils, but all alarms +Are vain: fate calls, I must down, down." + +{37} The reader must bear in mind that, during the season of which +I speak, there is no twilight, much less night, in Iceland. + +{38} The springs of Carlsbad are said to have been unknown until +about five hundred years ago, when a hunting-dog belonging to one of +the emperors of Germany fell in, and by his howling attracted the +hunters to the spot. The temperature of the chief spring is 165 +degrees.--ED. + +{39} History tells of this great Icelandic poet, that owing to his +treachery the free island of Iceland came beneath the Norwegian +sceptre. For this reason he could never appear in Iceland without a +strong guard, and therefore visited the Allthing under the +protection of a small army of 600 men. Being at length surprised by +his enemies in his house at Reikiadal, he fell beneath their blows, +after a short and ineffectual resistance. [Snorri Sturluson, the +most distinguished name of which Iceland can boast, was born, in +1178, at Hoam. In his early years he was remarkably fortunate in +his worldly affairs. The fortune he derived from his father was +small, but by means of a rich marriage, and by inheritance, he soon +became proprietor of large estates in Iceland. Some writers say +that his guard of 600 men, during his visit to the Allthing, was +intended not as a defence, as indicated in Madame Pfeiffer's note, +but for the purposes of display, and to impress the inhabitants with +forcible ideas of his influence and power. He was invited to the +court of the Norwegian king, and there he either promised or was +bribed to bring Iceland under the Norwegian power. For this he has +been greatly blamed, and stigmatised as a traitor; though it would +appear from some historians that he only undertook to do by +peaceable means what otherwise the Norwegian kings would have +effected by force, and thus saved his country from a foreign +invasion. But be this as it may, it is quite clear that he sunk in +the estimation of his countrymen, and the feeling against him became +so strong, that he was obliged to fly to Norway. He returned, +however, in 1239, and in two years afterwards he was assassinated by +his own son-in-law. The work by which he is chiefly known is the +Heimskringla, or Chronicle of the Sea-Kings of Norway, one of the +most valuable pieces of northern history, which has been admirably +translated into English by Mr. Samuel Laing. This curious name of +Heimskringla was given to the work because it contains the words +with which begins, and means literally the circle of the world.-- +ED.] + +{40} A translation of this poem will be found in the Appendix. +[Not included in this Gutenberg eText--DP] + +{41} In Iceland, as in Denmark, it is the custom to keep the dead a +week above ground. It may be readily imagined that to a non- +Icelandic sense of smell, it is an irksome task to be present at a +burial from beginning to end, and especially in summer. But I will +not deny that the continued sensation may have partly proceeded from +imagination. + +{42} Every one in Iceland rides. + +{43} I cannot forbear mentioning a curious circumstance here. When +I was at the foot of Mount Etna in 1842, the fiery element was +calmed; some months after my departure it flamed with renewed force. +When, on my return from Hecla, I came to Reikjavik, I said jocularly +that it would be most strange if this Etna of the north should also +have an eruption now. Scarcely had I left Iceland more than five +weeks when an eruption, more violent than the former one, really +took place. This circumstance is the more remarkable, as it had +been in repose for eighty years, and was already looked upon as a +burnt-out volcano. If I were to return to Iceland now, I should be +looked upon as a prophetess of evil, and my life would scarcely be +safe. + +{44} Every peasant in tolerably good circumstances carries a little +tent with him when he leaves home for a few days. These tents are, +at the utmost, three feet high, five or six feet long, and three +broad. + +{45} "Though their poverty disables them from imitating the +hospitality of their ancestors in all respects, yet the desire of +doing it still exists: they cheerfully give away the little they +have to spare, and express the utmost joy and satisfaction if you +are pleased with the gift." Uno von Troil, 1772.--ED. + +{46} The presence of American ships in the port of Gottenburg is +not to be wondered at, seeing that nearly three-fourths of all the +iron exported from Gottenburg is to America.--ED. + +{47} "St. Stephen's steeple" is 450 feet high, being about 40 feet +higher than St. Paul's, and forms part of St. Stephen's Cathedral in +Vienna, a magnificent Gothic building, that dates as far back as the +twelfth century. It has a great bell, that weighs about eighteen +tons, being more than double the weight of the bell in St. Peter's +at Rome, and four times the weight of the "Great Tom of Lincoln." +The metal used consisted of cannons taken from the Turks during +their memorable sieges of Vienna. The cathedral is 350 feet long +and 200 wide, being less than St. Paul's in London, which is 510 +feet long and 282 wide.--ED. + +{48} The Storthing is the name given to the Norwegian parliament, +which assembles once every three years at Christiania. The time and +place of meeting are fixed by law, and the king has no power to +prevent or postpone its assembly. It consists of about a hundred +members, who divide themselves into two houses. The members must +not be under thirty years of age, and must have lived for ten years +in Norway. The electors are required to be twenty-five years of +age, and to be either burgesses of a town, or to possess property of +the annual value of 30l. The members must possess the same +qualification. The members of the Storthing are usually plain- +spoken, sensible men, who have no desire to shine as orators, but +who despatch with great native sagacity the business brought before +them. This Storthing is the most independent legislative assembly +in Europe; for not only has the king no power to prevent its meeting +at the appointed time, but should he refuse to assent to any laws +that are passed, these laws come into force without his assent, +provided they are passed by three successive parliaments.--ED. + +{49} The present king of Sweden and Norway is Oscar, one of the few +fortunate scions of those lowly families that were raised to royal +power and dignity by Napoleon. His father, Bernadotte, was the son +of an advocate, and entered the French army as a common soldier; in +that service he rose to the rank of marshal, and then became crown- +prince, and ultimately king of Sweden. He died in 1844. The mother +of Oscar was Desiree Clary, a sister of Julie Clary, wife of Joseph +Bonaparte, the elder brother of Napoleon. This lady was asked in +marriage by Napoleon himself, but her father refused his assent; and +instead of becoming an unfortunate empress of France, she became a +fortunate queen of Sweden and Norway. Oscar was born at Paris in +1799, and received his education chiefly in Hanover. He accompanied +his father to Sweden in 1810, and ascended the throne on his +father's death in 1844. In 1824 he married Josephine Beauharnois, +daughter of Prince Eugene, and granddaughter of the brilliant and +fascinating Josephine, the first and best wife of Napoleon. Oscar +is much beloved by his subjects; his administration is mild, just, +and equable; and his personal abilities and acquirements are far +beyond the average of crowned heads.--ED. + +{50} Bergen is a town of about twenty-five thousand inhabitants, +situated near the Kons Fiord, on the west coast of Norway, and +distant about 350 miles from Christiania. It is the seat of a +bishopric, and a place of very considerable trade, its exports being +chiefly fish. It has given its name to a county and a township in +the state of New Jersey. There are three other Bergens,--one in the +island of Rugen, one in the Netherlands, and another in the +electorate of Hesse.--ED. + +{51} Kulle is the Swedish for hill. + +{52} Delekarlien is a Swedish province, situated ninety or one +hundred miles north of Stockholm. + +{53} The family of Sturre was one of the most distinguished in +Sweden. Sten Sturre introduced printing into Sweden, founded the +University of Upsala, and induced many learned men to come over. He +was mortally wounded in a battle against the Danes, and died in +1520. + +His successors as governors, Suante, Nilson Sturre, and his son, +Sten Sturre the younger, still live in the memory of the Swedish +nation, and are honoured for their patriotism and valour. + +{54} The University of Upsala is the most celebrated in the north. +It owes its origin to Sten Sturre, the regent of the kingdom, by +whom it was founded in 1476, on the same plan as the University of +Paris. Through the influence of the Jesuits, who wished to +establish a new academy in Stockholm, it was dissolved in 1583, but +re-established in 1598. Gustavus Vasa, who was educated at Upsala, +gave it many privileges, and much encouragement; and Gustavus +Adolphus reconstituted it, and give it very liberal endowments. +There are twenty-four professors, and the number of students is +between four and five hundred.--ED. + +{55} See novel of Ivar, the Skjuts Boy, by Miss Emilie Carlen. + +{56} At Calmar was concluded, in 1397, the famous treaty which +bears its name, by which Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were united +under one crown, that crown placed nominally on the head of Eric +Duke of Pomerania, but virtually on that of his aunt Margaret, who +has received the name of "the Semiramis of the North."--ED. + +{57} There is now a railway direct from Hamburgh to Berlin.--ED. + +{58} A florin is about two shillings sterling.--ED. + +{59} Herr T. Scheffer of Modling, near Vienna, gives the following +characteristic of this new dipteral animal, which belongs to the +family muscidae, and resembles the species borborus: + +Antennae deflexae, breves, triarticulatae, articulo ultimo phoereco; +seda nuda. + +Hypoctoma subprominulum, fronte lata, setosa. Oculi rotundi, +remoti. Abdomen quinque annulatum, dorso nudo. Tarsi simplices. +Alae incumbentes, abdomine longiores, nervo primo simplici. + +Niger, abdomine nitido, antennis pedibusque rufopiceis. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext Visit to Iceland, by Madame Ida Pfeiffer + |