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diff --git a/old/61992-0.txt b/old/61992-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 80da10a..0000000 --- a/old/61992-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9473 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland, by Pliny -Miles - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland - - -Author: Pliny Miles - - - -Release Date: May 2, 2020 [eBook #61992] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORÐURFARI; OR, RAMBLES IN -ICELAND*** - - -E-text prepared by MWS, Bryan Ness, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/norurfariorram00milerich - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Small capitals have been converted to all capital letters. - - - - - -NORÐURFARI, -OR RAMBLES IN ICELAND. - -by - -PLINY MILES. - - - Nefndan Norðurfara - Nu á hann að svara - Fyrir fyrða tvo; - Virðið vel það gaman! - Við því sattir framan - Erum allir saman— - Eða mun ei svo? - Jú—allir Isalandi - Unum við og sandi - Er bláar bárur þvo. - - BRINJULFSSON. - - - - - - -New York: -Charles B. Norton, 71 Chambers Street, -1854. - -Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by -Charles B. Norton, -In the Clerk’s office of the District Court for the Southern District of -New York. - -Baker, Godwin & Co., Printers, -1 Spruce St., New York. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - TO - - PHILIP JAMES BAILEY, - - AUTHOR OF “FESTUS,” - - IN ADMIRATION OF HIS GENIUS, - - RESPECT FOR HIS CHARACTER, - - REMEMBRANCE OF HIS FRIENDSHIP - - AND THE MANY - - VALUABLE HOURS SPENT IN HIS SOCIETY, - - THIS UNPRETENDING VOLUME - - Is Affectionately - - INSCRIBED. - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - - CONTENTS. - - - PREFACE, XIII - - CHAPTER I. - - The Voyage—Stop a day at Elsinore—Elsinore Castle, Hamlet, - and Shakspeare—“Independence Day” at Sea—Fourth of July - Oration—Whales and Sharks—Passengers, Live Stock, Books, - and Amusements—The Meal Sack—Sea-Birds—The Gannet, or - Solan Goose—Land at Reykjavik, Page 17-32 - - CHAPTER II. - - Iceland, its Discovery and Settlement—Discovery and Settlement of - Greenland and North America by the Icelanders—Ericsson—Trading - and Skirmishing between the Icelanders and the North American - Indians—Voyage of Columbus to Iceland—Icelandic Congress, or - Althing—Thingvalla, the Capital—Administration of the Laws, 33-47 - - CHAPTER III. - - Geographical Features of Iceland—Productions and Minerals—Character - and Literary Taste of the People—Wild and Domestic Animals—Exports - and Imports—Chief Towns—Habits of the Icelanders of Olden - Time—Beards, 48-60 - - CHAPTER IV. - - Town of Reykjavik—Houses, Gardens, and Productions—A Ride in the - Country—Visit Hafnarfiorth—Preparations for a Journey in the - Interior—A Party of Travelers—Face of the Country—Salmon-Fishing—A - Tumble—Breakfast on the Hill-side—Stop at a Hotel!—Splendid - Scenery—Extraordinary Purity of the Atmosphere—Almannagjá, or - Chasm in the Rock—Arrive at Thingvalla—Trout-Fishing on a large - scale—Encamp for the Night, 61-75 - - CHAPTER V. - - Dining Out—Many Tongues, but no Confusion—A Merry - Dinner-Party—Angling—Thingvalla, and place of Meeting of - the Ancient Althing—Daring Act of a Criminal—“If you Hang a - Rogue, you must Catch him First”—Old Customs—Introduction - of Christianity, and Fall of Idolatry—A Lacteal - Disquisition—Company Separate, 76-84 - - CHAPTER VI. - - Etymology of Icelandic Words—Similarity of the Icelandic and - English—The Iceland Numerals—Counting—Geographical Terms, 85-88 - - CHAPTER VII. - - Journeying to the Eastward—A Forest—Blacksmithing—Game-Birds—The - Ptarmigan—Iceland Ladies Riding Horseback—Thingvalla Lake—Rough - Traveling—First View of Mount Hekla—Broad Valleys and Large - Rivers—A Cave, and Such a Cave!—Singular Cataract—Frail - Bridge—Arrive at the Geysers, 89-99 - - CHAPTER VIII. - - The Great Geyser—Its Size and Appearance—Numerous Hot - Springs in the Vicinity—Springs of Boiling Mud—Beautiful - Colored Clays—A Seething Cauldron—The Little Geyser—Wait - for an Eruption of the Great Geyser—Singular Warnings, or - Signal Guns—An Eruption—The Strokr, another Geyser—Forced - Eruption of the Strokr—Surtshellir, or the Devil’s Cave—A - Warm Bath—How to Cook a Dinner without Fire—Beautiful - Birds—Termination of the “Show,” 100-113 - - CHAPTER IX. - - Journey towards Mount Hekla—Iceland Rivers—Haying—An Iceland - Meadow—How the Horses Live—Beautiful Birds—The Pochard—Playing - Mazeppa—Swimming a River Horseback—A Hospitable Icelander—Herre - Johann Briem—Slanders and Falsehoods of Madame Pfeiffer, 114-123 - - CHAPTER X. - - Productions of Iceland—White Clover—A Singular Ferry—Horses - Swimming—Sleeping Under the Bed—Sleeping in a Church—An - Iceland Salute—Iceland Horses—An Icelander with a Brick in - his Hat—Boyish Sports—Rolling Stones down Hill—Guess I - rolled a Big One down—Guess it knocked the Stone Wall - over—“Guess” a certain Yankee had to pay for it, too, 124-131 - - CHAPTER XI. - - Ascent of Mount Hekla—Preparations and “Victualing” for the - Trip—Mountain Gorges—Hard Climbing for Ponies—Obliged to - Dismount, and leave our Horses—Streams of Lava—Smoke and - Fire—Variegated Appearance and Color of the Lava—Almost an - Accident—Up, up the Mountain—Hard Climbing—A Lonely Flower - on Mount Hekla—Beautiful Weather—Snow—Craters of the Late - Eruption—Fire and Brimstone—Awful Scene, and Dangerous - Traveling—Arrive on the Summit—An Elevated Dinner—Boundless - View from the Top—Descent into the Large Crater—Ancient - Snow-Banks—Descent of the Mountain, 132-146 - - CHAPTER XII. - - Volcanoes in Iceland—A Submarine Eruption—Awful Eruption of - Skaptar Jokull in 1783—Terrible Destruction of Life and - Property—Details of the Eruption—A River of Fire—“Fiske - Vatn”—A Mountain Giant Drinking up a Lake—Eruptions of - Mount Hekla since the year 1000, 147-155 - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Pleasing Customs—“Son of man, set thy face against the - daughters of thy people”—Roses in Iceland—Fields of - Beautiful Heath—Skarth—Crossing the Ferry—A Lofty Cataract—The - Westmann Islands—People on Volcanic Rocks, 3,000 feet - above the Sea—One Half of the World never knows how the - other Half lives—Climbing Crags for Sea-Fowl—Islands - Plundered by Pirates, 156-168 - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Game-Birds of Iceland—Wild Reindeer—Ravens—Skalholt—A Merry - Sysselman—Good Cheer in Prospect, “for he’s a jolly good - fellow!”—Finally concluded not to stay all night with - him—Took “a Horn,” and left, 169-176 - - CHAPTER XV. - - Stay at Hraungerthi—Rev. Mr. Thorarensen and Family—Christianity, - Comfort, and Refinement—Church-yard and Homes of the - Dead—Gardening and Farming in Iceland—Iceland Hospitality, 177-184 - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Leave Hraungerthi—A Pretty Girl, and a Man not so Pretty—Crossing - a Ferry—The Reykir Springs—Singular Group of Boiling Fountains - and Geysers—Nero, 185-192 - - CHAPTER XVII. - - An Icelander in a Warm Bath—A Churl—Not born to be - drowned—Vogsósar—Rev. Mr. Jonson—Hospitality - again—Drift-wood—Plum-pudding Stone—Arrive at Krisuvik, 193-199 - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - Krisuvik—The Sulphur Mountains—Fire and Brimstone—Sulphur - Mines—Jet of Steam from a Hole in a Rock—A Mud Geyser—“Stones - of Sulphur,” 200-207 - - CHAPTER XIX. - - Leave the Sulphur Mountains—Fun with Mr. Philmore—Stealing another - Man’s Thunder—Up and down Hills—A Horrible Road—Arrive at - Hafnarfiorth—Visit at Mr. Johnson’s—House full of Pretty - Girls—A Lady in a “fix”—A Bachelor in the same—Girls Riding - Horseback—The Town and Harbor of Hafnarfiorth—Journey to - Reykjavik, and Cordial Reception, 208-217 - - CHAPTER XX. - - Ornithology of Iceland—Eider-Ducks Half Domesticated, yet - Wild—A Bird that won’t be Caught—Cormorants—The Gannet, or - Solan Goose, 218-225 - - CHAPTER XXI. - - Snow-Birds—Gulls—The Iceland Gull—Skua Gull—The Great White - Owl—The Jer-Falcon, or Iceland Falcon—His Unequaled - Velocity on the Wing—Falcon of Henry IV. carrying the Mail - from Paris to Malta—Trained Falcons, 226-232 - - CHAPTER XXII. - - The Faroe Isles—Little known to Modern Travelers—Majestic - Scenery—Thorshaven—The “Witch’s Finger”—Men Climbing - Crags—A Terrible Chasm; a Home for Sea-Fowl—Anecdote of - Graba—Norwegian Collectors, and Faroese Maidens, 233-241 - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - Northern Mythology—The Chaotic World, and Scandinavian idea - of Creation—Surtur and Surturbrand—Ymir—The Myth of the - Ash—Mimir’s Well—Odin, Thor, and Baldur—Forseti, the God - of Justice—Bragi, the God of Poetry—Frey—Freyja, Heimdal - and Hödur—The Goddesses, the Valkyrjor, and the Norns, 242-253 - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - Mythology of the Northmen, Concluded—Day and Night—The Earth, - Sun, and Moon—Loki, the Wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent, - and Tyr—Hela, or Death—Valhalla—Death of Baldur—Adventures - of Thor with the Giants of Jötunheim—Ragnarök, 254-267 - - CHAPTER XXV. - - Early Literature of the Icelanders—Eddas and Sagas—Manners - and Customs of the Period—Extracts from the Poetic Edda, 268-280 - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - Modern Icelandic Literature—Icelandic Poetry—Jon - Thorlakson’s Translations of Milton and Pope—Burns’ - Bruce’s Address—Icelandic Hymn—Franklin’s Story of a - Whistle—Quotations from an Iceland Newspaper, 281-292 - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - Matters Personal, Literary, and General—Manners and Customs of - the People—Iceland Politics—Books and Newspapers—Congressional - Reports—Sir Henry Holland—Danish Laws Prohibiting Trade with - Iceland—Productions—Prospects of Trade being Opened to the - World—Letter from President Johnson on the Subject—Trade - Opened to the World, 293-302 - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - Agricultural Resources of Iceland—Improvements needed—Diseases - and Medical Practice—Public Worship in Reykjavik—Ancient - Costume—Further Extracts from President Johnson’s Letters—Social - Evenings—Young Ladies of Iceland; their Education and - Accomplishments—Mr. Brinjulfsson—Take Leave of - Friends—Embarkation, 303-312 - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - Voyage to Copenhagen—Snæfell Jokull from the Sea—Basaltic Cliffs - of Stapi—The “Needles”—Portland—Mountains on the South Coast - of Iceland—Hospitality of the Icelanders to French Sailors - Shipwrecked—Liberality of Louis Philippe—Loss of the - Lilloise—Scandinavian Commission—Geimar’s Great Work—Mr. - Sivertsen—Young Ladies on Ship-board—Music—Dancing on a - Rocking Deck—Captain of the Sölöven—Contrary Winds—Arrive - at Copenhagen, 313-320 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - - - - PREFACE. - - -A PREFACE to a book, is a sort of pedestal where the author gets up -to make a speech; frequently an apologizing ground, where he “drops -in—hopes he don’t intrude;” a little strip of green carpet near the -foot-lights, where he bows to the audience, and with a trembling voice -asks them to look with lenient eyes on his darling bantling that is -just coming before the world. Very likely he tells of the numerous -difficulties and disadvantages under which he has labored; perhaps -apologizes for his style, under the plea of writing against time, and -that he has been greatly hurried. Readers and critics are usually -indulgent towards the minor faults of an author, provided he entertains -or instructs them; but they pay little attention to special pleadings. -The writer who deliberately perpetrates a stupid or silly book, -deserves the fate of dunces—obloquy and contempt. If he adds to this -the double crime of setting up a justification, and asks that his work -be not subject to the usual canons of criticism, then the reviewers -should level their heaviest guns, pepper him pungently, and prove him -but a buzzard, while he claimed the honors of a game-cock. We however, -have a right to expect and demand more from a veteran author, than from -a young and inexperienced one. - -The world is so perverse, so incorrigibly an unbeliever, that very -likely it would not credit a word of it—without finding the statements -proved—if the author of this little volume were to say, that it was a -readable and valuable work, “just what has been wanted,”—a good thing, -and in season. Yet, gentle reader, “and still gentler purchaser,” -seeing you have paid your dollar!—it is most undoubtedly true of the -“Rambles” of this “Northurfari,” your humble and obliged servant. - -Dropping the εγω, he will tell you how it was. Spending a few years -in travel, he found himself after the “Great Exhibition” epoch, like -the unconquered and unconquerable Macedonian, seeking for a world -to pommel—with his footsteps—and after diligent and long-continued -search on all the maps of all the Wylds, Johnstones, and Coltons in -Christendom, could find but one land that was untrodden; but one that -was not as contemptibly common as Irkoutsk, Timbuctoo, or the Niger -itself. ICELAND was the shining bit of glacier, the one piece of virgin -ore, the solitary lump of unlicked lava; and straightway to Iceland -he went. It might not interest his readers any, were they to be told -whether these pages were written in the saddle, or on Mount Hekla; in -a tar-painted house in Reykjavik, or in a marble palace in London; on -the deck of a Danish schooner, in a continuous summer day of the Arctic -sea, or by the light of bright eyes in Scotia’s land. It so happens -that the most of them were penned in the ULTIMA THULE, the _Terra -Incognita_ which they attempt to describe; and very little has been -altered or amended since the original draft. The spirit of travel is -the freshest at the time the travel is enjoyed; and all impressions are -then the most vivid. What is written on the spot, carries with it a -_vraisemblance_; and, though an after revision may add some polish to -the style, yet to a certain extent, it takes away the life and vivacity -of the narrative. This “polishing” and “editing” process, may reduce -it to a dead flat, and, like an attempt to smooth a butterfly’s wing, -remove the bloom, and leave it but a bony shard. Slang may be bearable, -though it can hardly be creditable; puns may be so bad that some might -call them positively good; but dullness, and a style that is heavy to -stupidity, are the unpardonable sins of authorship. This work, however, -may have all, and more than all these faults. - -There are no accessible books, of a late date, in our language, that -give either an intelligible or faithful account of Iceland. The object -of the following chapters has been to present a readable and truthful -narrative, to create some interest in the people, the literature, and -the productions of the lonely isle of the north; and of the good or ill -performance of the task, the public must be the judges. - - - Washington City, June 1, 1854. - - - - - CHAPTER I - - - “And away to the North, ’mong ice-rocks stern, - And among the frozen snow; - To a land that is lone and desolate, - Will the _wand’ring traveler_ go.” - -HEIGHO! for Iceland. The little schooner “SÖLÖVEN” rides at anchor -before Copenhagen. His Danish Majesty’s mails are on board, and at 4 -o’clock, A. M., July 1st, we are set on deck. Yes; “we,” and a nice lot -we are,—at least a round dozen, and a cabin scarcely six feet square, -with only six berths and a sofa. “Every berth’s engaged,” said the -captain; “and you can’t go with us.” “Yes, but I can though, if I sleep -on deck.” So I ran my chance; and when sleeping hours arrived, I was -stretched out on a sort of swing sofa in the middle of the cabin, -suspended—like Mahomet’s coffin—between floor and skylight. As it turned -out, though I took Hobson’s choice, I had altogether the best berth in -the ship; the most room, and the best ventilation. So up the Cattegat we -sailed, or rather down, for the current runs north, towards the German -ocean. The SÖLÖVEN—Anglicé, SEA-LION—is a capital sailer, and we made -good headway—the first day exactly sixteen miles; and the next morning -found us fast at anchor under the guns of the far-famed castle of -Elsinore. Nearly a hundred vessels were in sight, wind-bound like -ourselves. “There goes a Yankee schooner!” says our skipper; and faith! -right in the teeth of the wind it dashed by, with the stars and stripes -flying. How the little fellow managed to get along, is more than I know; -but sail it did, and it was the only craft in sight that was not at -anchor. A fisherman came alongside to sell some codfish he had just -caught. He asked a dollar and a half—nine marks, Danish—for about a -dozen. He and the captain were a long time pushing the bargain, and -finally Piscator concluded to take four marks—less than half his first -price. - -There’s no prospect of a fair wind, and most tantalizing it is to be -cooped up in our little craft, scarce a stone’s throw from shore, and -right in sight of gardens, fields, streams, and waving trees. Signalling -for a pilot-boat, we soon had one along side. These water-ousels know -their trade, and by a combination among them no one stirs for less than -five dollars. The purse was soon made up, and we had a day at Elsinore. -Indeed I enjoyed it. Didn’t “come from Wittenberg,” Horatio. No, but we -came from Copenhagen. Though but twenty-four hours on board, it was a -joyous sensation to touch the ground. A lot of people on the quay; -sailors of all nations, land-lubbers—like your humble servant—merchants, -pilots, idlers, and various other specimens of the _genus homo_. One -nut-brown looking chap, with the round jacket and flowing trowsers that -gave the unmistakable stamp of his profession, rolling the quid in his -cheek, and looking at me, sings out, “Old England forever!” “Yes,” says -I, “and America a day longer.” - -Here, at Elsinore, are six or seven thousand people, who subsist on -contrary winds, shipwrecks, pilotage, and that celebrated “toll”—a mere -five-dollar bill, only—that all vessels pay that trade in the Baltic. -Danish vessels pay nothing. If a foreign vessel passes here without -paying, at Copenhagen she has to pay double. This toll has been paid for -over 500 years; and for this consideration, I am informed, the Danish -government keep up the light-houses that guide the mariner in and out of -the Baltic. It is not as heavy as the light-house fees of most other -nations. This place is sacred to Shakspeare, and Hamlet, Prince of -Denmark, and Ophelia, “the beautified Ophelia”—an “ill phrase” that, a -“vile phrase,” says old Polonius; and their names still live, albeit -their imperial persons, - - —————“dead and turned to clay, - Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.” - -All this the Danes seem to remember, for two splendid steamers, the -“HAMLET” and the “OPHELIA,” run regularly between here and Copenhagen; -and as if to disprove the poet’s account, they run in unison with one -another. We soon found our way to the castle, about half a mile from -town, through a long, shady walk overhung with trees. Somehow, when we -read of the castle of Elsinore, and of Bernardo and Francisco keeping -sentry before it, and the platform, and the ghost appearing there, it -hardly seems as if it was a real castle that we could now see and visit, -and climb over, and withal find sentries keeping guard over! But here it -is, and as substantial and real as that of Britain’s queen at Windsor. I -spent an hour on its lofty battlements. Here, too, is the “ordnance,” -such as the small-beer critics are always abusing Shakspeare for having -“shot off.” Yes, the theater manager, actor, and dramatist, in his play -of Hamlet, adds to his text, “_ordnance shot off within_”—while these -small-fry scribblers cry out “anachronism.” Yes, they have found out the -wonderful fact that king Hamlet reigned here about the year 1200, while -gunpowder—“thy humane discovery, Friar Bacon!”—was unknown for more than -a hundred years after. Go to: yes, go to Elsinore, and now you’ll find -ordnance enough to fire off, and blow up all the paltry criticism that -has been fired at Shakspeare since he first lampooned Sir Thomas Lucy. - -The castle of Elsinore stands close beside the water, the big guns -sticking out directly over the Cattegat. On the land side it is -defended by bastions, cannon, moat, gates, and draw-bridge. The castle -covers, perhaps, two acres of ground, inclosing a hollow square or -court yard in the center. It is unlike any other castellated pile I -have ever seen. At the corners are towers of different heights; the -tallest one is about 175 feet high, and looks like a pile of Dutch -cheeses, the largest at the bottom. The party I was with were all -Danes; and, though their language is cousin-German to our Anglo-Saxon, -and I could in part understand it, as if “native and to the manor -born,” yet I preferred my own. With another party was a very pretty -and intelligent German girl, who spoke English, and was acquainted -with the place; and to her I was indebted for the best _vivâ voce_ -account that I had. We were first taken into the chapel, a small and -very neat place of worship in the south-east angle of the castle. The -glaring and rather gaudy style of the coats of arms of the royal and -noble families whose dead are here, gave it something of a gingerbread -appearance; but otherwise I liked it. I looked in vain for a monument -to Mr. Shakspeare’s hero. Could I have found that skull of Yorick, “the -king’s jester,” I think I should have carried it off as a sacred relic, -and made a present of it to Ned Forrest. Alas! no Yorick, no Hamlet, -no Polonius—not one of their “pictures in little,” nor even a slab to -their memory, could I see. We ascended one of the corner towers—used -as a light-house and observatory, and provided with telescopes—from -whence we had a fine view of the Cattegat, the island of Zeeland, and -the lofty range of Swedish mountains on the opposite coast. Directly -across the strait, some three miles distant, is the Swedish town of -Helsingborg, a place about the size of Elsinore. The prominent object -in it is a tall square tower, probably the steeple of a church. In -one room of the castle, where I could fancy the “melancholy Dane” -in his “inky cloak,” the Queen, with “her husband’s brother,” and -Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, and old blear-eyed Polonius, too, there -was a broad fire-place, with the mantel-piece supported by caryatidæ -on each side. When some of our scenic artists are painting “a room in -the castle” of Elsinore, for a scene in Hamlet, if they have no better -guide, they may remember the above slight description, if they please. -Any traveler visiting Elsinore, will find this room in the northeast -corner of the castle, and on the second or third floor. We walked -out on the ramparts, and saw a few soldiers: wonder if any of them -have the name of Bernardo or Francisco! The men on guard were lolling -lazily about, not walking back and forth like English or American -sentries. The smooth-mown embankments, the well-mounted guns, and -the “ball-piled pyramid,” with the neat appearance of the soldiers, -showed the good condition in which the castle is kept. No marks of -ruin or decay are visible. I tried to find some musket bullet, or -something besides a mere pebble, that I could take away as a souvenir, -but I could get nothing. A woman was in attendance in the chapel, but -no one accompanied us about the castle; no gratuities were asked, -no “guides” proffered their obsequious services; but I believe the -German party knew the locality, for we found “open sesame” on every -latch. I thanked the fair German for her explanation; and we walked to -town, back, through the avenue of trees. At four we went to a hotel, -and had a capital dinner. I then strolled about the place, looked at -the “sights”—all there were to be found—went to a book-store and a -toy-shop, and bought some prints and some little porcelain dolls. - -A very merry day I’ve had at Elsinore, on the firm earth; and now for -the rocking ship. Yes, a pleasant day we’ve had, but perhaps we shall -pay for it hereafter. - -Our voyage through the Cattegat had all the delay and uncertainty that -ever attends these waters. Strong currents and light and contrary winds -make the passage slow; but it is usually far easier coming out than -going into the Baltic. In a few days we were north of the German ocean, -beating along the Norway coast with a northwest wind. We passed for two -days near the land, and had a good view of the bold mountain scenery -northwest of Christiansand. Long piles of mountains, reaching often -clear to the water’s edge, showed a poor country for cultivation. The -most distant were covered with snow, but the nearest were all of that -deep brown tint that reveals a scanty vegetation. Sometimes the strip of -green meadow land near the water had a house on it here and there; and -once or twice villages of twenty or thirty buildings were seen, all -built of wood, and covered with red tiles. We saw none of those famous -forests of Norway pine, where the ship timber grows, and which English -ship-builders tell you is “from the Baltic.” These must be in the -interior. On the fourth of July I was determined to have some fun. The -captain had two small cannon on board, and I asked him if I might have -some powder to wake up my patriotism. Yes, he was quite willing. I -produced some of the good things needful, lemons, sugar, et cetera, and -told the captain to mix a monster bowl of punch. He was good at it; the -punch was capital, and was soon smoking on the table. Our cannon were -iron pieces, not quite heavy enough to knock down the walls of Badajos, -but still of size sufficient for our purpose. They were mounted on each -side of the vessel, and revolved on swivels. The powder was furnished, -and we _banged_ away, waking up the echoes of liberty from all the -Norwegian mountains. I have no doubt but the pilots along the shore were -considerably astonished. Now, says the captain, we want the oration. So -up I jumped to the top of the boom, and in about nine minutes and a -quarter, gave them the whole account of the cause, the means, and the -manner of Brother Jonathan “lickin’ the Britishers.” The captain -translated it for the benefit of the Danish and Icelandic passengers, -and they applauded both the orator and translator. The punch was -glorious, the oration was undoubtedly a grand one, the cannon spoke up -their loudest; and altogether, for a celebration got up by one live -Yankee, it probably has never been surpassed since Burgoyne’s surrender -at Saratoga. It was a most beautiful evening, and very pleasing to think -that at that very hour millions of my countrymen, far far away over the -plains and valleys of my native land, were enjoying the festivities of a -day, the events of which will be remembered till time shall be no more. - -The weather was pleasant for some days, and we were gradually wafted -towards the northwest. Vessels bound to the southwest of Iceland, from -Denmark, generally sail near Fair Isle, passing between the Shetlands -and the Orkneys. We were carried much further north, the ninth day -finding us near the lofty cliffs of the Faroes. I thought after getting -past the parallel of 60° north, in the latitude of Greenland, that the -weather would be perceptibly colder; and probably it would with the wind -constantly from the west or northwest; but with a southwest breeze we -had mild, pleasant, summer weather. Sea-birds, particularly gulls, were -our constant companions, and while near the Faroe Isles they came about -us in immense numbers. One day one of these lubberly children of the -ocean tumbled down on the deck, and to save his life he couldn’t rise -again. He was on an exploring expedition, and I’ve no doubt he learned -something. He didn’t seem to admire the arrangements about our ship very -much, and altogether he seemed out of his element. We had one or two -confounded ugly women on board, and I don’t think he liked the looks of -them very much. I pitied his case, and raising him up in the air, he -took wing and soared away. No doubt he will ever retain pleasant -recollections of his Yankee acquaintance, one of a race, who, enjoying -their own liberty, greatly like to see others enjoy it too. We had a -fine view of the magnificent cliffs of the Faroe Isles, some of them -nearly three thousand feet high. They are basaltic, and often columnar, -looking much like the cliffs about the Giant’s Causeway and Fingal’s -Cave at Staffa, but far higher. - -We continued our course to the westward, lost sight of land, and for -some days were floating on a smooth sea, with very little wind. How -destitute of shipping is the Northern ocean! For near two weeks we did -not see a sail. Whales frequently came near the vessel, blowing water -from their spout like a jet from a fountain. In my travels by sea I had -never seen a whale before, and I looked on their gambols with much -interest. The sight of them very naturally called up the words of the -good old New-England hymn: - - “Ye monsters of the bubbling deep, - Your Maker’s praises spout; - Up from the sands ye codlings peep, - And wag your tails about.” - -It must be understood that I’m fond of quotations, particularly poetry; -and all must admit that this is a very appropriate one. Why couldn’t -good old Cotton Mather, or some of his compeers, have given us some more -of this sort? Perhaps he did, but if so, my memory has not recorded -them. - -The noise of a whale spouting can be heard from one to two miles. He -throws the water from thirty to fifty feet high. The whale rises clear -to the surface of the water, gives one “blow” and instantly goes under. -He generally rises again in one or two minutes, but is sometimes under -five minutes. Once as I sat on the bowsprit watching two or three that -were playing about, one swam nearly under me, rose up, blew a blast with -his water-trumpet, giving me quite a sprinkling, and then sank. I had a -good opportunity to see him, and got a fair view of his breathing pipe. -It was a round hole in the top of his head, had a slight rim round it, -and I should think was about two inches and a half in diameter. This -animal, as near as I could judge, was between sixty and seventy feet in -length. The top of his head and shoulders was broad and flat, and near -or quite twelve feet across. His back, instead of appearing round, was -nearly level, and showed room enough for a quartette of Highlanders to -have danced a reel thereon. ’Twould have been a rather slippery floor -though, and I think a dancer would have needed nails in his shoes. - -Loud sung out the captain one day, and looking over the side, close to -the ship, deep under the clear water, we saw a shark. O! it makes me -feel savage to see one of these monsters, I want to cut out his heart’s -blood. Many a good Christian do these villains swallow. The captain told -us that one Christmas day when he was in the Pacific, a shark came near, -and a large hook baited with a piece of pork was thrown into the water; -he instantly seized it, and they hauled the monster up the ship’s side, -and an officer on board drew his sword and cut him nearly in two, before -he was allowed on deck. Each passenger took some part of him as a trophy -of their Christmas-day fishing. - -I had a few books on board, and did the best I could to make the time -pass agreeably. But with all our resources, literary, ornithological, -piscatorial, and miscellaneous, there were many dull hours. One calm day -I got out my writing materials, and thought I would write a letter, or a -chapter of these wanderings. After getting fairly engaged, a sudden -shower seemed to dash over me; and looking up, a sailor “high on the -giddy mast,” while painting the yard had upset his paint pot, and down -the white shower came on my hat, coat, paper and every thing around. We -must take things coolly on shipboard, as well as elsewhere, I suppose; -for there is no use in getting vexed, whatever may chance. As for the -letter, I sent that to its destination, with all its imperfections on -its head. I scraped the paint off my hat, and the mate and I set to work -to clean my coat. After scrubbing it an hour or two, we fastened a rope -to it, and throwing it overboard, let it drag in the sea a few hours. -The soapsuds and old Neptune together took nearly all the paint out, but -it never entirely recovered from the effects of the shower from the -mainmast. As for books, I left England with the very smallest amount of -luggage possible, restricting myself in the reading line, to my small -Bible, Sir George Mackenzie’s Travels in Iceland, and one or two more. -At Copenhagen, I purchased six or eight volumes of Leipsic reprints of -English works—what the publisher calls “Tauchnitz’s edition of standard -English authors;” some of them are English works, but by what rule of -nationality he reckons among his _English_ authors the works of COOPER -and IRVING, I do not know. Among the volumes I purchased, were some from -Shakspeare, Byron, Scott, Dickens, and Bulwer. I found my reading, as I -knew I should, quite too scanty. I would have given something for -_Diodorus Siculus_, and good old _Froissart_; two books that it would -take a pretty long sea-voyage to get through. - -Among our passengers were two or three of the dignitaries of Iceland; -one Sysselman, and the landfoged or treasurer of the island, William -Finsen, Esq. On leaving London I took two or three late American papers -with me; and in one of them, the “Literary World,” there was by chance, -a notice of a late meeting of the Society of Northern Antiquaries at -Copenhagen. Among the names of distinguished persons present, there were -mentioned some Danes, some Englishmen, and “some Americans,” and among -the latter, William Finsen Esq. of Iceland! I showed this to Mr. -Treasurer Finsen, and he was greatly amused to learn that he was a -Yankee. We had among our passengers several ladies—one, a Miss Johnson, -a very pretty, intelligent, modest-appearing Iceland lassie, who had -finished her education at Copenhagen, and was returning to her native -land to establish a female school. The domestic animals on board, were -one large, curly-haired, black dog, who rejoiced in the name of -“Neeger,” and four rather youthful swine, who were confined, or rather -were pretended to be confined, in a box. The first day out they leaped -the barriers of their stye, and made a dinner on the slender contents of -several flower pots that the lady passengers were taking out to cheer -the windows of their parlors in their Iceland homes. The discovery of -the depredation was any thing but pleasant, and I believe had the -“prices of stock” been taken at that time, live pork would have been -quoted as falling, and if not clear down, would have been decided to be, -on that ship, a thorough bore. Though they went the “whole hog”—the -entire animal in the floral line—that day, they did not sleep or feast -on roses all the voyage. They did not like their quarters overmuch, and -would usually manage at least once a day, to get out and go on an -exploring expedition round the deck. - -Our living on board was, I believe, as it usually is on Danish merchant -vessels. It consisted principally of a thin, watery compound called -“soup,” of black potatoes, black beef, and yet blacker bread. At the -evening meal we had for drink, hot water frightened into a faint color -by a gentle infusion of China’s favorite plant. This drink our captain -called “tea.” Believing that good order on shipboard is much promoted -by subordination and submission to the commanding officer, I never used -to tell him it wasn’t “tea.” If strength, however, is a sign of life, -I must say that this showed very little sign of vitality. It probably -contained at least half a teaspoonful of tea, to a gallon of water; -but Oh! that black bread! it was not so bad an article, though, after -all. We had one blacker thing on board, and that was our dog “Nigger.” -The good boys and girls in America, who eat “Indian bread,” “wheat -bread,” “short cake” and “johnny cake,” have all read of the peasants -of Europe living on “black bread,” and wonder what it is. It is made of -rye, ground, but not bolted much, if any; and the bread is very dark, a -good deal darker than corn bread. At first I did not like it very well, -and at Elsinore I purchased a couple of large wheaten loaves. This -bread is very dear: I paid half a dollar a loaf; these lasted me about -ten days, but before that time, the mould had struck clear through -them. Not so the black bread. That keeps much better than wheaten -bread. The mould walks into it gradually however, but thoroughly. At -first there appeared a green coat, on the side that stood next to -another loaf in baking. This coat of mould kept growing deeper and -deeper, getting first the eighth of an inch, then a quarter of an inch, -and before the end of the voyage, over half an inch deep of solid -green. Inside of this the loaf was moist and fresh; and certainly, -after getting used to it, it is very good bread. It was the “staff of -life” with us; and considerably like a _staff_ the loaves were, being -in size and appearance about like a couple of feet of scantling cut out -of the heart of an oak. So much for living on shipboard. If we did not -fare like princes, we had the consolation of knowing that the fares -we paid were very light. So bad fare and light fares went together; -and that made it all fair. On the fifteenth day out, we first saw the -coast of Iceland. It was an irregular, rocky promontory, ending in -Cape Reykianess, the southwestern extremity of the island. In two days -we saw and passed the “Meal sack,”—(Danish _Meel sakken_)—a singular -rock island about eight miles southwest of Cape Reykianess. While -passing I took a drawing of it, and certainly very much like a bag of -meal it looks. It is near 200 feet high, and about that in diameter, -apparently perpendicular all round; on the north a little more so! -All over its craggy sides, we could see thousands of sea-birds. As -sunset approached we saw great numbers of gannets flying towards it, -going to rest for the night. This bird, known as the solan goose, is -larger than a goose, and while flying, from its peculiar color has a -most singular appearance. They are white, except the outer half of the -wing, the feet, and the bill, which are jet black, and the head a sort -of brownish yellow. A word more about these birds, and some others, -hereafter. Southwest of the Meal sack a few miles, is another singular -island called “the Grenadier.” It is a most striking looking object, -standing up out of the ocean several hundred feet high, like some tall -giant or lofty pillar. What a constant screaming of sea fowl there is -at all times about these lonely islands! But where is the night in this -northern latitude, in the summer season? Ask the lovely twilight that -continues for the two or three hours that the sun is below the horizon. -At midnight I read a chapter in the Bible, in fine print, with perfect -ease. At a distance of several miles I could tell the dividing line -between the rocks and the vegetation on the mountains. And what a -splendid panorama of mountain scenery this singular country presents! -Unlike any thing that I have ever seen on the face of the globe. -Finally on the nineteenth day of our voyage, our little bark dropped -anchor in the harbor of Reykjavik, and our cannon announced to the -Icelanders the arrival of the “Post ship” with letters and friends from -Denmark. Then with expectation about to be gratified, I stepped ashore -on the rocky coast of Iceland. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - - There is not one atom of yon earth, - But once was living man; - Nor the minutest drop of rain - That hangeth in its thinnest cloud, - But flowed in human veins; - And from the burning plains - Where Lybian monsters yell, - From the most gloomy glens - Of Greenland’s sunless clime, - To where the golden fields - Of fertile England spread - Their harvest to the day; - Thou canst not find one spot - Whereon no city stood. - SHELLEY. - -AND this is Iceland!—but I see no ice. This is the island that is shown -to us in our geographical books and maps, as a small white spot on the -borders of the Arctic ocean, and described as a cold, dreary, and -uninteresting region, inhabited by a few dwarfish and ignorant people, -who have little knowledge of the world, and of whom little is known. The -names of one or two of its mountains are given, and some place is -mentioned as its capital or largest town. That the country itself, or -any thing that is to be found here, is worth a journey to see, or that -the history or habits of the people possesses any degree of interest, -has not, probably, crossed the minds of a thousand persons. There is, -however, a vague tradition, and some persons actually believe that the -Icelanders or some other people from among the northern nations, once -sailed to the American shores, prior to the voyages of Columbus. What -may be the prominent characteristics of this ULTIMA THULE—this farthest -land—what its productions are, how extensive the country, how numerous -the population, and how the people live, there have been few means of -knowing. But Iceland is not a myth, it is actual and real, a solid -portion of the earth’s surface. It is not, either, what every one -supposes, nor what we have reason to believe it is, from its name, its -location, and the meager descriptions we have had of it. But it has not -been thought advisable to leave this country entirely alone, especially -in an age of travel and discovery like the present. The Yankee is here; -his feet tread its heath-clad hills and snow-covered mountains. He has -boiled his dinner in the hot-springs, cooled his punch in snow a hundred -years old, and toasted his shins by a volcanic fire. But a “chiel” may -come and take his notes: every thing of interest, past events and -present existing things, can not be seen by one pair of eyes. Let us -draw a little from the manuscripts of the Iceland historians. We can -find as reliable and as permanent records of this people, and their -early voyages and discoveries, as we have of the voyages of Columbus, -the warlike achievements of William the Conqueror, or the campaigns of -Napoleon Bonaparte. These records are the “Sagas” or historical writings -of the Icelanders, written soon after the events transpired; and they -are now in existence in the public libraries of Iceland and Denmark. -Some of these are in Latin, some in the old Norse, and some in -Icelandic; and duplicates of some of the more important have been made -by publishing them in _facsimile_, just as they stand on the original -parchment. The most important of these record with a good deal of -minuteness the “Ante-Columbian discovery of America.” Some account of -the early history of this singular people, and particularly a notice of -the early voyages of the Northmen, which I gathered from historical -records here in Iceland, and from the Icelanders themselves while -traveling through the land, will be of interest before speaking of the -present appearance of the country. - -Iceland was first discovered by Naddod, a Norwegian pirate, in the -year 860, almost one thousand years ago. He was thrown on the coast -in the winter, and from the appearance of the country, he called it -Snæland, or “Snow-land.” Four years after, Gardar Swarfarson, a Swede, -circumnavigating it, found it an island, and named it “Gardar’s Holm” -or Gardar’s Isle. His account of the country was so favorable, that -Floki, another sea-rover, went there to settle; but neglecting to cut -hay in the summer, his cattle perished in the winter. From the vast -accumulations of ice on the west coast, ice that was driven over from -Greenland, he called the country _Iceland_, a name it has ever since -borne. In 874, the first permanent settlement was made in Iceland, by -Ingolf a Norwegian chieftain. Greenland was discovered in 980, one -hundred and twenty years after the discovery of Iceland. In 982, Eric -surnamed the Red, sailed to Greenland, and, in 986, established a -settlement there which flourished for more than four hundred years. -To induce settlers to go and reside in the new country, the most -fabulous accounts were given of the climate and productions. The face -of the country was represented as clothed in green, and it was even -stated that “every plant dropped butter.” The name of _Greenland_ -thus given to it, was as great a misnomer as _Iceland_ applied to -the neighboring isle. In reality, the two countries should change -names for Iceland is a country of green fields and fair flowers, -while Greenland is covered with almost perpetual ice and snow. Eric -the Red had a companion in his Greenland settlement, whose name was -Heriulf. Biarni, the son of Heriulf, sailed from Iceland to join his -father in Greenland, was driven south, and landed on the American -coast—probably Labrador. Thus, the first discovery of America by -Europeans was in the year 986, by Biarni Heriulfson, a native of -Norway, though he sailed from Iceland. He returned north, landed in -Greenland, and gave an account of his discovery. Subsequent voyages -to the American coast, were made by Leif and his two brothers, sons -of Eric the Red, who after the style of names in Iceland were called -Ericsson. I am speaking on good authority in saying that a gifted -Swede, now an American citizen, and most prominent before the world, -is a direct descendant of Eric and his son. I allude to Captain -Ericsson, the inventor of the Caloric ship, a pioneer in American -discovery, and a worthy descendant of the Ericssons, pioneers in the -discovery of America. Another interesting fact may be noted. Among -the early settlers in America—for a settlement was formed, that -continued several years—some of the men had their wives with them. -One of these, the wife of Thorfin, while in America, gave birth to -a son, who was named Snorre. This Snorre Thorfinson, was the first -native-born American of whom we have any account, and may be set down -as the first Yankee on record. From this Thorfinson was descended -Thorwaldsen, and also Finn Magnusen the historian and antiquary, so -that we can almost claim the great sculptor of the North and the -great historian, as Americans. These facts I gathered from Icelandic -genealogical tables; and all who have investigated the history of the -northern nations, know with what accuracy these tables are compiled. -To return a little in my narrative. Leif Ericsson having purchased -the ship of Biarni Heriulfson, sailed from Greenland in the year -1000. The first land he made he called _Helluland_, or “land of broad -flat stones.” This was doubtless the coast of Newfoundland. The next -coast he saw was covered with forest, and consequently he named it -_Markland_, or “Woodland.” This was probably Nova Scotia. The next -land he discovered, still farther south, produced vines and grapes, -and this he named “VINLAND,” a name the Icelanders ever afterwards -used in speaking of the American Continent. We have the best of proof -in their account of the climate and productions, in the length of the -days, as well as in their maps and drawings, that their settlement was -on some part of our New-England coast, probably Massachusetts or Rhode -Island. In subsequent voyages, these adventurous navigators sailed -farther south; and it is supposed from the account they gave, that -they proceeded as far as Virginia and the Carolinas. Timber, furs and -grapes, were the most valuable articles the country produced; and for -these, several voyages were made to Vinland, from Greenland, houses -were built, and settlers resided in the country for at least three -years; from 1011 to 1014. In their intercourse with the Indians, the -Iceland and Greenland adventurers carried on their business about -after the same political code that Raleigh, John Smith, and others, -did afterwards. They first traded with the Indians, then fought them. -They sold them red cloth in strips the width of a finger’s length, and -in return, received their furs and skins. As their cloth grew scarce, -they cut the strips narrower; and finding they could buy just as many -skins for a strip an inch wide, as if it was four inches, they cut it -narrower and narrower, till they got it down to a finger’s breadth. -The Indians bound it about their heads, and were greatly delighted -with its ornamental appearance. Finally the red cloth grew scarce, -and then the Indians gave their furs for soup and other eatables; and -thus,—to use the words of an Iceland historian, they “carried off their -bargains in their bellies.” In the first skirmish that occurred in the -new settlement, the Northmen seemed to get the worst of it, and fled -towards their boats, when Freydisa, daughter of Eric the Red, and wife -of Thorvard, caught up a spear and turned on the Indians, reproaching -her countrymen for their cowardice. By her heroic example, the Indians -were defeated, so we find that the successful issue of the first -battle between Europeans and North American Indians, was owing to -the courage of a woman. Voyages continued to be made to America, from -both Greenland and Iceland, to as late a period as the middle of the -fourteenth century. The last trip of which we have any record, is that -of a vessel sent from Greenland to Markland (Nova Scotia) for timber -and other articles. While returning, it encountered heavy storms, -and was driven into port in the west of Iceland. The old Greenland -settlements continued for a long period, the latest account we possess, -coming down to the year 1484. When they perished, or from what cause, -is unknown. Remains of churches and other buildings are found there to -this day. We now come to one of the most significant facts connected -with the discovery of the American continent. It is doubly proved in -the records of that period, THAT COLUMBUS SAILED TO ICELAND, IN THE -YEAR 1477. An account of this is given by the Iceland historians, and -published in the “Antiquitates Americanæ.” It is also recorded by -Columbus himself, in a work of his “on the five habitable zones of the -earth.” In this book, which is now extremely rare, he says, in the -month of February, 1477, he visited Iceland, “where the sea was not -at that time covered with ice, and which had been resorted to by many -traders from Bristol.” It will be remembered that John and Sebastian -Cabot were both from Bristol. Humboldt, in his “Cosmos,” speaks of this -voyage of Columbus to Iceland, and of the record of it made by the -great navigator himself in his work on the zones. Humboldt also speaks -at considerable length of the early voyages of the Icelanders and -Greenlanders to America; and of all these events he speaks as he does -of other well-established historical facts. So let us hear no more of -the “vague tradition,” the mere “thought” or “belief,” that America was -known to the early navigators of the north. Let it be spoken of as one -of the well-known, and clearly authenticated historical facts in the -history of the world. It takes nothing from the merits and reputation -of Columbus. And what if it did? The reader of history is a seeker -after truth, and most certainly the writer of history should be. During -the visit of Columbus to Iceland, he might have conversed in Latin with -the bishop of Skalholt, or other learned Icelanders, on the subject of -the early voyages of the Northmen to America, but this does not seem -at all probable. Had this been the case, some record or mention of it -would probably have been made, either in the writings of Columbus or of -contemporary historians. Then, too, in his early struggles to obtain -material aid to prosecute his geographical researches, he omitted no -facts or arguments that would be likely to convince the kings and -queens whom he applied to, that his theory of the earth was correct, -and that land would be found by sailing to the west. His first voyage, -too, was for the purpose of finding China or the Indies, and not in -the direction of the Vinland of the Northmen. When he discovered land, -he believed it to be some part of the East Indies; and, to the day of -his death, Columbus never knew that he was the discoverer of a new -continent. One of the oldest of the sagas or historical documents -from which the facts were gathered respecting the early discovery and -settlement of America, was the saga of Eric the Red. The statements -in this and other historical papers, are corroborated in old Iceland -geographies, and also by some European writers, particularly by Adam -of Bremen, a theological writer, nephew of Canute, King of England. He -says that while he was in the north, propagating Christianity, Swein -Ethrithson, King of Denmark, gave him an account of these discoveries. -This was about the year 1070. - -If we trace the history of Iceland from its first settlement to -the present time, we shall find that the intelligence, activity, -prosperity, and happiness of the people, and the rise and progress of -the arts and sciences among them, has been exactly proportioned to -the liberal and republican spirit of their government. For fifty-four -years—from the first settlement of Iceland, in 874, to the year -928—it was a Norwegian colony, governed by chiefs. As the population -increased, and the infant settlement waxed strong, difficulties arose -between the rulers and the ruled; and finally the people threw off -their allegiance, framed a constitution, and set up a republican -government, which continued for 333 years. The close of this era was -in the year 1261. All the native historians agree in calling this the -Golden Age of Iceland. During this period Greenland was discovered and -settled, the continent of America was discovered, and an enterprising, -daring, and successful series of voyages was carried on, that eclipsed -the efforts of all previous navigators. Christianity was established -and bishops appointed both in Iceland and Greenland, poetry and history -were cultivated, and a degree of intellectual activity was shown, -beyond that of any country in the north of Europe. Thrown on their -own resources, in a cold and dreary climate, the same causes operated -in raising up a vigorous, moral, and intellectual people, that was -shown in the history of our own Pilgrim Fathers. It was during this -period that the most valuable and important sagas were prepared and -written; papers that show the successful enterprise of the northern -voyagers. “The wonderfully organized free state of Iceland maintained -its independence for three centuries and a half, until civil freedom -was annihilated, and the country became subject to Hakon VI. King of -Norway. The flower of Icelandic literature, its historical records, -and the collection of the sagas and eddas, appertain to the twelfth -and thirteenth centuries.”[1] During these two centuries, their -poets—skalds or minstrels—visited nearly every court in Europe, and -composed and sung their lyrical productions. They were attached to the -suites of kings and princes, attended warriors to the battle field, -and celebrated the exploits of their employers in undying verse. -Instances are recorded, where a king has died, that his praises were -sung so ably by his minstrel that he was installed in his place, and -filled the vacant throne. In the Iceland republic the chief officer -was called the “LAUGMAN,” or administrator of the laws. He was elected -by universal suffrage. Their national assembly or congress was known -as the “ALTHING,” and had both legislative and judiciary powers. The -members were elected by ballot, and when they met formed but one -body, the president, or laugman, presiding over their deliberations. -They assembled in the open air at a place called Thingvalla, and large -numbers of the people gathered round them as spectators. I walked over -the ground, where this primitive congress had met for nearly a thousand -years. It is a raised circle of earth, shaped like an amphitheater, -and now overgrown with grass. On one side was a mound, a little higher -than the rest, where the president sat. Though the powers of the -Althing were greatly abridged at the fall of the republic, yet they -have continued to meet in this house, without a roof, until the year -1800. At that time the Althing was removed to Reykjavik, and has ever -since met in a building. Their sessions are annual, and always held in -the summer. At the end of each session, a journal of their proceedings -and reports of the debates are published in a volume. The Icelanders -have ever regretted, and with good reason, the removal of their -congressional meetings from the primitive location of Thingvalla, to -the town of Reykjavik, where they are surrounded by dissipation and the -corrupting influence of foreign merchants. The scene at Thingvalla, at -the time of my visit, July, 1852, was solitary, quiet, and peaceful. -Oxen, sheep, and horses, were grazing on every side; and the mower was -whetting his scythe and cutting the grass where legislators and grave -judges had assembled and made laws for the people. The scenery is grand -and picturesque. It is directly before the Thingvalla lake, the largest -in Iceland, and surrounded, on the north and east, by lofty mountains. -Thingvalla has thus been the legislative capital of Iceland, until its -final removal to Reykjavik, in the year 1800; though Skalholt—once -the location of a church and a bishop’s see, though now nothing but a -farm—is erroneously given as the capital, in the most of our books of -geography. - -Foes within, not enemies without, overthrew the Iceland republic. A -corrupt body of chiefs and rulers sold it to Norway, in the year 1261; -and, one hundred and nineteen years afterwards—in 1380—it was, with that -power, transferred to Denmark; and under the government of that country -it has ever since remained. Until about the year 1490, their maritime -trade was open to all nations, and vessels of every flag were allowed to -take cargoes to Iceland. After that, for three hundred years, the -commerce of the country was either held by the Danish crown or farmed -out to merchants and traders, and often to foreign companies. The only -rule of action in letting out the trade of the country seemed to be, to -dispose of it to the highest bidder. The most of these companies -oppressed and starved the poor Icelanders into compliance with the most -rigorous and exacting measures. As the country produced neither grain, -fruit, coal, nor wood, they were dependent on commerce with foreign -countries for all the luxuries and many of the necessaries of life. -Trade being taken entirely out of the hands of the Icelanders, they -necessarily grew dis-spirited; their ambition was crushed, and, though -ardently attached to their country, they could but mourn over their -unhappy lot. Since 1788, commercial affairs have been on but little -better footing, the trade being entirely in the hands of the Danish -merchants, but not farmed out to a company. The trade, foreign and -domestic, is open to both Danes and Icelanders, but to no others. No -foreign vessels are allowed to visit Iceland for purposes of traffic, -unless they carry coal or timber, or go with cash to buy the products of -the country. As there are no merchants but Danes in all the commercial -towns, foreign traders would never find purchasers for their cargoes of -timber or coal were they to go there. - -At this time the legislative powers of Iceland are vested in the -Althing, and presided over by the governor, who is called the -Stifftamptman. This body is composed of twenty-six members, one from -each county or syssel—twenty in number, elected by ballot—and six -appointed by the king. All the members of the Althing must be residents -of the country, but they may be either Danes or Icelanders. When an act -is passed by a majority, it must be sent to Copenhagen for the approval -of the king, and if not signed by him does not become a law. The -Icelanders very naturally desire “free trade,” and wish to have their -ports thrown open to the competition of the world; but the Danish -merchants and ship-owners in Iceland and Denmark, enjoying as they now -do, a monopoly of the commerce, are all opposed to this. In the session -of 1851, the king’s councillors—the six he appointed—prepared a bill, -and introduced it, allowing foreign vessels to trade here, but with the -proviso that they should pay a tonnage duty of about one rix-dollar per -ton. The trade of Iceland being neither extensive nor lucrative, this -would amount to just about a complete prohibition. The other members -nearly all opposed the bill, saying, “Give us free trade or nothing;” -and it never passed the house. The governor was incensed to see the will -of his royal master thwarted; and like some governors in our old -colonial times, he dissolved the Althing, and they broke up in a grand -row. It was adjourned over for two years, to meet again in 1853. The -friends of free and unrestricted trade, in Iceland, are in hopes of -having a law passed before many years, opening their ports to the ships -of all nations alike. The “Stifftamptman” or governor is appointed by -the king, and holds his office during the pleasure of His Majesty. He is -usually a Danish nobleman, and receives a salary of 3,000 rix-dollars a -year, which is paid by the Danish government. There are three amptmen or -deputy governors, residing in the northern, southern, and eastern -quarters of the island. The Stifftamptman, residing in the west, renders -a fourth amptman unnecessary. The governor presides at all sessions of -the Althing, manages all state affairs, presides over the post-office -department, and carrying the mails, and is in every respect the head of -the state, without a cabinet or advisers. There is a treasurer—or -landfoged, as he is termed—who is also appointed by the crown, and -receives a salary of 2,000 rix-dollars a year. The public funds are kept -in an iron chest in the governor’s house, under the protection of a -double lock and two keys, one of which is kept by the governor and the -other by the treasurer. Both of these are necessary to open the chest. -The principal officer in each county, or syssel, is called the -sysselman, and is elected by the people. The sysselman is both sheriff -and magistrate; and all suits at law in his syssel are tried before him, -an appeal being allowed to the Supreme Court at Reykjavik. The Supreme -Court is presided over by the chief justice, who is appointed by the -crown, and holds his office permanently. The sysselman, in their -respective syssels, call all public meetings, convene elections, and -preserve order. In the useful arts, so far as their productions and -circumstances will allow, and in moral and religious improvement, -Iceland has kept pace with the world. Printing was introduced in the -year 1530; and the Reformation, which had been going on in Europe for -some time, extended to Iceland in 1551. The Roman Catholic Church at -this time, the established religion of the country, had become so -corrupt, that the last Catholic bishop and his two illegitimate sons -were beheaded for murder and other crimes. Since then to the present -day, the religion of the country has been Lutheran, and there is said to -be not one person residing in Iceland except Protestants. Such is a -slight sketch of the settlement and progress of this isolated country. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - Humboldt’s Cosmos. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - - Happy the nations of the moral North, - Where all is virtue. * * * - Honest men from Iceland to Barbadoes. - * * * * * * Man - In islands is, it seems, downright and thorough, - More than on continents. - BYRON. - -THE geographical features of Iceland, and the manners and customs of -the people, are no less interesting than the history of the nation. -Iceland lies just south of the polar circle, between sixty-three and -a half and sixty-six and a half north latitude, and between thirteen -and twenty-four degrees west longitude from Greenwich. Its length from -east to west, is about two hundred and eighty miles, and its average -width one hundred and fifty. In extent of surface it is nearly as -large as the State of New-York, containing not far from forty thousand -square miles. It is three hundred miles east of the coast of Greenland, -a little over five hundred from the north of Scotland, nearly one -thousand from Liverpool, thirteen hundred from Copenhagen, and about -three thousand miles from Boston. The coast is deeply indented with -bays, its valleys are drained by large rivers, and every part abounds -more or less with lofty mountains. Though volcanic regions have many -features in common, Iceland differs greatly from every country in -the known world. It presents a greater array of remarkable natural -phenomena than can be found throughout the whole extent of Europe and -America. To the naturalist and the man of science, to the geologist, -the botanist, and the ornithologist, it is probably less known than any -equal tract of accessible country in the world. The burning chimnies -of Ætna, Vesuvius, and Stromboli, have given inspiration to Horace and -Virgil, and been minutely described by the pens of Strabo, Diodorus -Siculus, and Pliny. Not so the region of Hekla and Skaptar Jokull. -In the Mediterranean states, art and nature can both be studied; in -Iceland, nature alone, but nature in her wildest moods. But how will -those mountains in the south compare with these in the north? All the -volcanoes in the Mediterranean would scarcely extend over more ground -than a single county in the State of New York, while Iceland is one -entire volcanic creation as large as the State itself. Though not -active all at once, yet throughout the length and breadth of the land -may be found smoking mountains, burning sulphur mines, hot springs that -will boil an egg, and jets of blowing steam that keep up a roar like -the whistle of a gigantic steam engine. The volcanic region of Iceland -may be set down as covering an area of sixty thousand square miles; for -volcanoes have repeatedly risen up from the sea near the coast, and -sometimes as far as seventy miles from land. Though Ætna is higher than -any mountain in Iceland, and of such enormous bulk that it is computed -to be 180 miles in circumference; yet if Skaptar Jokull were hollowed -out, Ætna and Vesuvius both could be put into the cavity and not fill -it! - -Iceland, too, is classic ground. Not, however, in the same sense that -Italy, Sicily, and Greece, are. The hundred different kinds of verse now -existing in many volumes of Iceland poetry, the sagas, and other -literary productions of the Icelanders, have not been read and re-read, -translated and re-translated, like the works of Herodotus, Xenophon, -Tacitus, and Cicero, and for very good reasons. The country is not one -of such antiquity; it is not a country renowned for arts and arms, and -overflowing with a numerous population. As a state, it is nearly -destitute of works of art, and its scanty population can only procure -the bare necessaries of life. Scarcely a page of Icelandic literature -ever put on an English dress and found its way among the Anglo-Saxons, -until the pen that gave us Waverley and Rob Roy, furnished us with a -translation of some of the more important of the Iceland sagas. The -author of the “Psalm of Life” and “Hyperion” has given us some elegant -translations of Iceland poetry. - -On stepping ashore in Iceland, the total absence of trees and forests, -and the astonishing purity of the atmosphere, strike the spectator as -among the more remarkable characteristics of the country. The fields are -beautifully green: the mountains, clothed in purple heath, appear so -near that you are almost tempted to reach forth your hands to touch -their sides. At fifteen or twenty miles distance, they appear but three -or four; and at seventy or eighty miles, they seem within ten or -fifteen. Such is the effect of the magical purity of the atmosphere. In -other countries you go and visit cities and ruins; here you see nature -in her most fantastic forms. In other states you pay a shilling, a -franc, or a piastre, for a warm bath in a vat of marble; here you bathe -in a spring of any desired temperature, or plunge into a cool lake, and -swim to the region of a hot spring in the bottom, guided by the steam on -the surface. In other lands you step into marble palaces that are lined -with gold and precious stones, and find hereditary legislators making -laws to keep the people in subjection; here you see a grass-grown -amphitheater where an elective congress met and legislated in the open -air for nearly a thousand years. In other and more favored climes, you -find comfortable houses, and “fruits of fragrance blush on every tree;” -here, not a fruit, save one small and tasteless berry, and not a single -variety of grain, will ripen, and their houses are mere huts of lava and -turf, looking as green as the meadows and pastures. In other lands, coal -and wood fires enliven every hearth, and mines of iron, lead, copper, -silver, and gold, reward the labor of the delver; but here, not a -particle of coal, not one single mineral of value, and not one stick of -wood larger than a walking-cane can be found. Many of the mountains are -clad in eternal snows, and some pour out rivers of fire several times -every century. But, though sterile the soil and scanty the productions, -our knowledge of the country must be limited if we consider it barren of -historical facts and literary reminiscences. A country like this, nearly -as large as England, must possess few agricultural and commercial -resources, to have at this time, nearly one thousand years after its -first settlement, a population of only sixty thousand souls. Yet the -Icelanders, while laboring under great disadvantages, are more -contented, moral, and religious, possess greater attachment to country, -are less given to crime and altercation, and show greater hospitality -and kindness to strangers, than any other people the sun shines upon. -Their contentment and immunity from crime and offense, do not arise from -sluggishness and indolence of character; nor are they noted alone for -their negative virtues. They possess a greater spirit of historical -research and literary inquiry, have more scholars, poets, and learned -men, than can be found among an equal population on the face of the -globe. Some of their linguists speak and write a greater number of -languages than those that I have ever met in any other country. Iceland -has given birth to a Thorwaldsen, a sculptor whose name will descend to -the latest posterity. His parents were Icelanders, but he was a child of -the sea, born on the ocean, between Iceland and Denmark. Among their -poets and historians will be found the names of Snorro Sturleson, -Sæmund, surnamed FRODE, or “THE LEARNED,” Jon Thorlaksen, Finn Magnusen, -Stephensen, Egilson, Hallgrimson, Thorarensen, Grondal, Sigurder -Peterssen; and these, with many others, will adorn the pages of -Icelandic literature as long as the snow covers their mountains, and the -heather blooms in their valleys. Their navigators and merchants -discovered and settled America long before Genoa gave birth to a -Columbus, and while Europe was yet immured in the darkness of the middle -ages. The works of their poets and literary men have been translated -into nearly every language in Europe; and they in their turn have -translated into their own beautiful language more or less of the -writings of Milton, Dryden, Pope, Young, Byron, Burns, Klopstock, Martin -Luther, Lamartine, Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving, and many -others. In the interior of the country a native clergyman presented me a -volume—an Iceland annual, the “NORTHURFARI,” for 1848-9—that contains, -among many original articles, the “Story of the Whistle,” by Dr. -Franklin; a chapter from Irving’s “Life of Columbus;” translations from -Dryden; Byron’s “Ode on Waterloo;” Burns’ “Bruce’s Address;” Kossuth’s -Prayer on the defeat of his army in Hungary; part of one of President -Taylor’s Messages to Congress; and extracts from the NEW YORK HERALD, -the LONDON TIMES, and other publications. With scarcely a hope of fame, -the intellectual labors of the Icelanders have been prosecuted from an -ardent thirst of literary pursuits. Personal emolument, or the applause -of the world, could scarcely have had a place among their incentives to -exertion. As an example we need only notice the labors of Jon -Thorlakson. This literary neophyte, immured in a mud hut in the north of -Iceland, subsisting on his scanty salary as a clergyman, which amounted -to less than thirty dollars a year, together with his own labors as a -farmer, yet found time during the long evenings of an Iceland winter, to -translate into Icelandic verse, the whole of Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” -Pope’s “Essay on Man,” and Klopstock’s “Messiah,” besides writing -several volumes of original poetry. Throughout their literary and -political writings can be seen that spirit of republicanism, and that -ardent love of political liberty, which always characterizes a thinking -and intellectual people. Interspersed with their own sentiments -expressed in their own tongue, will be seen quotations from other -writers, and in other languages. With Dryden they say, - - “The love of liberty with life is given, - And life itself the inferior gift of heaven.” - -From Byron they quote, - - “Better to sink beneath the shock, - Than moulder piecemeal on the rock.” - -And with the noble poet, again, they express their - - “—— plain, sworn, downright detestation - Of every despotism in every nation.” - -Such is the literary and republican spirit of this toiling and -intellectual people. - -The Icelanders live principally by farming and fishing. They take cod -and haddock, from five to forty miles out to sea. Whales often visit -their harbors and bays, and are surrounded by boats and captured. Their -season for sea-fishing is from the first of February to the middle of -May. In the summer they catch large quantities of trout and salmon in -their streams and lakes. They have no agricultural productions of much -value, except grass. Grain is not cultivated, and their gardens are very -small, only producing a few roots and vegetables. The climate of the -country is not what we would suppose from its location. Columbus, who -was there in February, tells us he found no ice on the sea. It is not as -cold in winter as in the northern States of America, the thermometer -seldom showing a greater degree of severity than from twelve to eighteen -_above_ zero. In summer, from June to September, it is delightfully mild -and pleasant, neither cold nor hot. The cold season does not usually -commence until November or December; and sometimes during the entire -winter there is but little snow, and not frost enough to bridge their -lakes and streams with ice. In summer, fires are not needed, and the -climate during this season is more agreeable than that of Great Britain -or the United States, having neither the chilly dampness of the one, nor -the fierce heat of the other. Thunder-storms in Iceland occur in the -winter, but not in the summer. - -Their domestic animals are sheep, cattle, horses, and dogs. They rarely -keep domestic fowls, but from the nests of the wild eider-duck they -obtain large quantities of eggs, as well as down. Reindeer run wild in -the interior, but are not domesticated. Blue and white foxes are common; -and these, with eagles, hawks, and ravens, destroy many of their sheep -and lambs. White bears are not found in the country, except as an -“imported” article, when they float over from Greenland on the drift -ice. The domestic animals in Iceland are estimated in the following -numbers:—500,000 sheep, 60,000 horses, and 40,000 cattle. All their -animals are of rather small size, as compared to those in more temperate -regions. Their horses are a size larger than the ponies of Shetland, and -average from twelve to thirteen hands high. Their hay is a short growth, -but a very sweet, excellent quality. The Icelanders speak of their -“forests,”—mere bunches of shrubbery from two to six feet high. These -are principally birch and willow. The beautiful heath, so common in -Scotland and the north of Europe, is found throughout Iceland. Their -game birds are the ptarmigan, the curlew, the plover, and the tern. -Nearly every variety of water-fowl common to Great Britain or America, -abounds in the bays, islands, and shores of Iceland, and in the greatest -numbers. The Icelanders export wool, about 1,000,000 lbs. annually, and -from two to three hundred thousand pairs each of woolen stockings and -mittens. Besides these articles, they sell dried and salted codfish, -smoked salmon, fish and seal oil, whale blubber, seal and fox skins, -feathers, eider-down, beef and mutton, hides, tallow, and sulphur. They -import their principal luxuries—flour, rye and barley meal, beans, -potatoes, wine, brandy, rum, ale and beer, tobacco, coffee, sugar, tea, -salt, timber, coal, iron, cutlery, fish-hooks and lines, cotton and silk -goods, leather, crockery, and furniture. From thirty to forty vessels -sail from Denmark to Iceland every year. Reykjavik, the capital, on the -west coast, is the largest town in the island—a place of about 1,200 -people. Then there are Eskifiorth and Vopnafiorth in the east, Akreyri -in the north, and Stykkisholm and Hafnarfiorth in the west, all places -of considerable trade. All goods are taken to Iceland duty free; and -letters and papers are carried there in government vessels, free of -postage, and sent through the island by government messengers. By the -present arrangement, the government “post-ship” makes five voyages to -and from Iceland in a year. It sails from Copenhagen to Reykjavik on the -first days of March, May, July, and October, and from Liverpool to -Reykjavik on the first day of January. It leaves Reykjavik, for -Copenhagen, February 1st, April 1st, June 1st, and August 10th; and from -Reykjavik for Liverpool on the 10th of November. One half of the trips -each way, it stops at the Faroe Isles. In addition to the mail service -by this ship, letter-bags are forwarded from Denmark by the different -vessels trading to Iceland. - -All travel and transportation of goods and the mail through the interior -of Iceland is on horseback. There’s not a carriage-road, a wheeled -vehicle, a steam-engine, a post-office, a custom-house, a police -officer, a fort, a soldier, or a lawyer in the whole country. Goods, -dried fish, and valuables are left out of doors, unguarded, with -impunity, stealing being almost unknown. There never was but one prison -in the island, and that was used also as an almshouse. Even then it was -nearly useless, and most always without a tenant; and finally, to put it -to some use, it was converted into a residence for the Governor, and is -now the “White House” in the capital of Iceland. Taxes are very light, -and do not amount to as much as the expense of carrying on the -government, paying the officers, and transporting the mail. The -Icelanders are universally educated to that extent that all can read and -write. There is but one school or institution of learning in the -country—the college at Reykjavik. This has a president and eight -professors, and usually from eighty to a hundred students. The boys -educated here are nearly all trained for clergymen, or else to fill some -of the civil offices in the island, or they expect to go abroad, or live -in Denmark. This institution is endowed by the Danish government, and -was formerly at Bessastath, a few miles south of Reykjavik, whence it -was removed a few years since. The president is Bjarni Johnson, Esq., a -native Icelander, a gentleman of rare accomplishments and learning, and -one of the first linguists in Europe. The Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Danish, -French and English languages are taught here, as well as most of the -sciences. It was during college vacation when I was in the country, and -I used to meet in the interior, at their fathers’ houses, young men who -were students of the college, and who could converse fluently in Latin, -Danish, French, or English. The Bible or Testament, and usually many -other books, particularly historical and poetical works, are found in -nearly every house in Iceland. The population being scanty, with the -great majority of the people it is impracticable to have schools, so -that education is confined to the family circle. During their long -winter evenings, while both males and females are engaged in domestic -labors, spinning, weaving, or knitting—by turns one will take a book, -some history, biography, or the Bible, and read aloud. The length of -their winter nights can be appreciated when we consider that the sun in -December is above the horizon but three or four hours. Before and after -Christmas he rises, sleepily, at about ten o’clock, and retires between -one and two in the afternoon. This is quite different from the earlier -habits and longer visits of that very respectable luminary in more -temperate and tropical climes. True, he makes atonement in the summer, -when he keeps his eye open and surveys the land daily from twenty to -twenty-one hours. Then he rises between one and two o’clock in the -morning, looks abroad over a sleeping world, and only retires behind the -mountains at near eleven o’clock at night. - -While traveling in the country, I used frequently to ask the children -in poor families to read to me in Icelandic, and I never saw one above -the age of nine years that could not read in a masterly style. Their -writing, too, is almost invariably of great elegance. This is partly -owing to their practice of multiplying copies in manuscript, of almost -all the historical and poetical works written in the country, copying -them in advance of their publication, and often afterwards. The manners -and customs of the people have changed with the progress of time and -the change in their form of government. In old times we are told, -that when the Icelanders or Norwegians were about setting out on any -expedition of importance they used to have a grand feast. At these -banquets, horse-flesh was one of their luxuries. Bards and minstrels -would recite poems composed for the occasion; and story, song, and -hilarity, added zest to the entertainment. After eating, drinking, and -singing, to a pretty high degree of elevation, they would close the -proceedings by throwing the bones at one another across the tables! We -are not informed, however, that the modern Icelanders indulge in these -luxuries. Their trade is gone, and they are now a simple, pastoral -people. In complexion the Icelanders resemble the Anglo-Saxon race, -often having florid and handsome countenances. They are fine figures, -frequently tall, several that I have seen being over six feet in -height. Light hair most usually prevails, but I have seen some that was -quite dark. In a large district in the northwest of Iceland, all the -men wear their beards, a practice that has been in vogue for hundreds -of years. They always seem pleased when a stranger appears among -them who has adopted a fashion so much in accordance with their own -philosophy, with nature, and the laws of health, and at the same time -that adds so much to the personal appearance of the lords of creation. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - - Ask where’s the North: at York ’tis on the Tweed, - In Scotland at the Orcades; and there - At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where. - Essay on Man. - - ——— Hvar er norður ytst? - Sagt er i Jork, það sé við Tveit; - Segir Skottinn: við Orkneyjar; - En þar: við Grænland, Zemblu, sveit - Sett meinar það—og guð veit hvar. - _Pope’s Essay_; _Icelandic version_. - -WE landed at Reykjavik at six o’clock in the morning. Though the sun -was near five hours high, scarce a person was up. At this season the -sun evidently rises too early for them. Sleep must be had, though, -whether darkness comes or not. Reykjavik with its 1,200 people, for a -capital city, does not make an extensive show. The main street runs -parallel with the low gravelly beach, with but few houses on the side -next the water. In one respect this is a singular-looking place. Nearly -all the houses are black. They are principally wooden buildings, one -story high, and covered with a coat of tar instead of paint. Sometimes -they use tar mixed with clay. The tar at first is dark red, but in a -little time it becomes black. They lay it on thick, and it preserves -the wood wonderfully. I walked through the lonely streets, and was -struck with the appearance of taste and comfort in the modest-looking -dwellings. Lace curtains, and frequently crimson ones in addition, and -pots of flowers—geraniums, roses, fuchsias, &c.—were in nearly every -window. The white painted sash contrasted strongly with the dark, -tar-colored wood. After hearing a good deal of the poverty of the -Icelanders, and their few resources, I am surprised to find the place -look so comfortable and pleasant. The merchant usually has his store -and house under one roof. The cathedral is a neat, substantial church -edifice, built of brick, and surmounted by a steeple. This, with the -college, three stories high, the hotel, a two-story building with a -square roof running up to a peak, and the governor’s house, a long, -low, white-washed edifice built of lava, are the largest buildings -in Reykjavik. Directly back of the town is a small fresh-water lake, -about a mile in length. What surprises me most is the luxuriance -of the vegetation. Potatoes several feet high, and in blossom, and -fine-looking turnips, and beds of lettuce, appear in most all the -gardens. In the governor’s garden I see a very flourishing-looking -tree, trained against the south side of a wall. This is not quite -large enough for a main-mast to a man-of-war, but still it might make -a tolerable cane, that is, provided it was straight. It is about five -feet high, and is, perhaps, the largest tree in Iceland. Certainly it -is the largest I have yet seen. The temperature, now, in midsummer, is -completely delicious. The people I am highly pleased with, so far as -I have seen them. There is an agreeable frankness about them, and a -hearty hospitality, not to be mistaken. - -I have just had a ride of six or seven miles into the country, to -Hafnarfiorth. Professor Johnson, the President of the College, -accompanied me. We rode the small pony horses of the country, and they -took us over the ground at a rapid rate. The country is rough, and a -great part of it hereabouts covered with rocks of lava. We passed one -farm and farm-house where the meadows were beautifully green, strongly -contrasting with the black, desolate appearance of the lava-covered -hills. One tract was all rocks, without a particle of earth or -vegetation in sight. The lava had once flowed over the ground, then it -cooled and broke up into large masses, often leaving deep seams or -cracks, some of them so wide that it took a pretty smart leap of the -pony to plant himself safe on the other side. At one place where the -seam in the lava was some twenty feet across, there was an arch of rock -forming a complete natural bridge over the chasm. The road led directly -across this. We passed near Bessasstath, for many years the seat of the -Iceland college. Near this, Prof. Johnson showed me his birth-place. The -house where he was born was a hut of lava, covered with turf, and -probably about as splendid a mansion as those where Jackson and Clay -first saw the light. Suddenly, almost directly under us, as we were -among the lava rocks, the village of Hafnarfiorth appeared. This is a -little sea-port town of some twenty or thirty houses, extending in a -single street nearly round the harbor. We called on a Mr. Johnson, a -namesake of my companion, and were very hospitably entertained. The -table was soon covered with luxuries, and after partaking of some of the -good things, and an hour’s conversation, we had our horses brought to -the door. Our host was a Dane, a resident merchant of the place, and he -had a very pretty and intelligent wife. They gave me a pressing -invitation to call on them again, the which I promised to do—whenever I -should go that way again! I returned the compliment, and I believe with -sincerity on my part. That is, I told them I should be very happy to -have them call at my house when they could make it convenient. Now, some -of the uncharitable may be disposed to say that all this ceremony on my -part was quite useless. True, I lived thousands of miles from the -residence of my entertainers, that is, if I may be said to “live” -anywhere; and, being a bachelor, I had no house of my own, nor never -had; but if I had a house, and Mr. and Mrs. Johnson would call on me, I -should be very glad to see them! - -I should mention that Prof. Johnson speaks English fluently; mine host, -not a word; neither could I speak much Danish; but with the learned -professor between us, as interpreter, we got along very well. A violent -rain had fallen, while we were coming; but it cleared up, and we had a -pleasant ride back to Reykjavik, arriving about eleven o’clock, a little -after sunset. - -After a few days at the capital, I prepared for a journey to the -interior. A traveler can take “the first train” for the Geysers, if he -chooses; but that train will hardly go forty miles an hour. It is only -seventy miles; but if he gets over that ground in two days, he will do -well. There’s plenty of steam and hot water here, and “high pressure” -enough; but you may look a long while for locomotives; or—if I may -perpetrate a bad pun—any motives but local ones, in the whole country. -Roads—except mere bridle paths—or vehicles of any kind, as I have -mentioned, are unknown in Iceland. All travel is on horseback. Immense -numbers of horses are raised in the country, and they are exceedingly -cheap. As for traveling 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 horseflesh. Their horses are certainly elegant, hardy little -animals. A stranger in traveling must always have “a guide;” and if he -goes equipped for a journey, and wishes to make good speed, he must have -six or eight horses; one each for himself and the guide, and one or two -for the baggage; and then as many relay horses. When one set of horses -are tired, the saddles are taken off and changed to the others. The -relay horses are tied together, and either led or driven; and this is -the time they rest. A tent is carried, unless a traveler chooses to take -his chance for lodgings. Such a thing as a hotel is not found in -Iceland, out of the capital. He must take his provisions with him, as he -will be able to get little on his route except milk; sometimes a piece -of beef, or a saddle of mutton or venison, and some fresh-water fish. -The luggage is carried in packing trunks that are made for the purpose, -and fastened to a rude sort of frame that serves as a pack-saddle. Under -this, broad pieces of turf are placed to prevent galling the horse’s -back. I prepared for a journey of some weeks in the interior, and -ordered my stores accordingly. I had packed up bread, cheese, a boiled -ham, Bologna sausages, some tea and sugar, a few bottles of wine, and -something a little stronger! I had company on my first day’s journey, -going as far as Thingvalla. There was a regular caravan; about a dozen -gentlemen, two guides, and some twenty horses. My “suite” consisted of -guide, four horses, and a big dog, Nero by name, but by the way a far -more respectable fellow, in his sphere, than was his namesake the old -emperor. Our cavalcade was not quite as large as the one that annually -makes a pilgrimage to Mecca, but a pretty good one for Iceland. We had -with us, Captain Laborde, commander of the French war frigate now lying -in the harbor, and several of his officers; Mr. Johnson, president of -the college, and some of the Reykjavik merchants. Nationally speaking, -we had a rather motley assemblage, albeit they were all of one color. -There were French, Danes, and natives; and—towering above the crowd (all -but one confounded long Icelander)—mounted on a milk-white charger -eleven hands high, was one live Yankee! We were to rendezvous in the -morning on the public square, and be ready to start at seven o’clock. -Notwithstanding great complaints that travelers sometimes make of the -slowness of Iceland servants, we were ready and off at half past seven. -On we went, at a high speed, for Thingvalla is a long day’s journey from -Reykjavik. The Iceland ponies are up to most any weight. There was one -“whopper” of a fellow in our company, mounted on a snug-built little -gray that seemed to make very light of him. Indeed ’twas fun to see them -go. The animal for speed and strength was a rare one; the rider, not -quite a Daniel Lambert:— - - “But, for fat on the ribs, no Leicestershire bullock was rounder; - He galloped, he walloped, and he flew like a sixty-four pounder.” - -No etiquette touching precedence on the road. You can go ahead and run -by them all, provided your pony is swift enough, but if not, you can go -behind. - -To all appearance, an Iceland landscape does not come up, in point of -fertility, to the Genesee country or the Carse of Gowrie. “Magnificent -forests,” “fields of waving grain,” and all that, may exist in western -New York, in old Virginia, or in California; but not in Iceland. We -passed, during the first five miles, one or two farms with their green -meadows; then, mile after mile of lava and rock-covered fields. Was the -reader ever in the town of De Kalb, St. Lawrence county, New York? That -fertile and beautiful grazing country, where the sheep have their noses -filed off to a point, so that they can get them between the rocks, to -crop the grass! That paradise of the birds, where the crows carry a sack -of corn with them while journeying over the country, lest they starve on -the way, and tumble headlong on the plain! That delightful region will -give a little, a very slight idea of some part of Iceland. By the way, -that old town in New York, methinks, is quite rightly named. The name -was given it in honor of that Polish nobleman who poured out his blood -and yielded up his life on the field of Camden, in the sacred cause of -American liberty. Brave Baron De Kalb! Green waves the pine—I once trod -the turf—where thou did’st fall. We treasure thy name and title, and -endeavor to remember thy virtues, by calling a town after thee—_barren -De Kalb_! - -In speaking of rocks in Iceland, it will be borne in mind that every -mineral substance here is volcanic—lava, pumice, trap, basalt, jasper, -obsidian, &c. The whole island is undoubtedly one entire volcanic -creation, produced by a submarine eruption. In the whole country there -has never been seen a particle of granite, limestone, mineral coal, iron -or precious metal, or any of the primitive formation of rocks. The lava -is most all of a dark color, usually brown; some of the very old is -quite red, and the new very black. It is scattered about, piled up in -heaps, regular and irregular, and of every imaginable shape and form. -About a mile and a half from Reykjavik is a large pleasant valley of -green grass. This is a common pasture for all the cows and some of the -horses that are owned in the town. A few miles brought us to the valley -of the Laxá or Salmon river; and here is a very good farm, the owner of -it hiring the salmon fishery, which is the property of the crown. -Several thousand salmon are taken here every year. The mode of catching -them is somewhat peculiar. The river has two separate channels, and when -the fishing season arrives, by means of two dams, they shut all the -current off of one, and, as the water drains away, there they are, like -whales at ebb tide; and all the fishermen have to do is to go into the -bed of the stream, and pick them up. Then the water is turned from the -other channel into the empty one, and there the unlucky fish are again -caught. The period of the salmon fishing is one of interest to the whole -community. They are sold very cheap throughout the country, and those -not wanted for immediate consumption are dried and smoked, and many of -them exported. These smoked salmon are often purchased here as low as a -penny sterling a pound, and taken to England and sold from sixpence to a -shilling. - -In traveling over the country our “road” was seldom visible for more -than a few rods before us, and sometimes it was rather difficult to -trace. On stony ground the ponies had to scramble along the best way -they could. On the grass lands there were paths, such as animals -traveling always make. Sometimes these were worn deep through the turf; -and a long man on a short pony, when the paths are crooked and the speed -high, has to keep his feet going pretty lively, or get his toe-nails -knocked off! I got one fall, and rather an ignominious one. My pony -threw me full length on the grass, but I had not far to fall and soon -picked myself up again. On assessing the damage, I found it consisted of -one button off my coat, a little of the soil of Iceland on both knees, -and a trifle on my face. The pony kicked up his heels and ran off; but -one of the gentlemen soon caught him, and on I mounted and rode off -again. About half way to Thingvalla, we stopped where there was some -grass for our horses, and had breakfast. Starting at seven gave a good -relish to a _dejeuner_ at eleven o’clock. An hour’s rest, and we were -again in the saddle. In the morning it rained hard, but towards noon it -cleared up, and we had pleasant weather. - -Our road led through one of the most desolate regions I ever saw on the -face of the earth. But, however rocky and forbidding in appearance the -country may be, there is always one relief to an Iceland landscape. A -fine background of mountains fills up the picture. Then, too, there is a -magical effect to the atmosphere here that I have never seen anywhere -else. The atmosphere is so pure, the strong contrasts of black, brown, -and red lavas, and the green fields and snowy mountains, make splendid -pictures of landscape and mountain scenery, even at twenty miles -distance. Captain Laborde said, in all the countries where he had -traveled, he never saw any thing at all like it, except in Greece. As we -approached lake Thingvalla, he said the mountains opposite formed a -perfect Grecian picture. I have thought myself a pretty good judge of -distances, and have been very much accustomed to measure distances with -my eye, but here all my cunning fails me. At Reykjavik I looked across -the bay at the fine range of the Esjan mountains, and thought I would -like a ramble there. So I asked a boatman to set me across, and wait -till I went up the mountain and had a view from the top. He looked a -little queer, and asked me how far I thought it was across the bay. -“Well,” I replied, “a couple of miles, probably.” As the Kentuckian -would say, I felt a little “chawed up” when I was told that it was -thirteen or fourteen English miles, that the mountain was near 3,000 -feet high, and I should require a large boat, several men, a guide, and -provisions, and that it would be a long day’s work to begin early in the -morning! I left, I did. - -There are few measured distances in inland travel here. They go by time, -and will tell you it is so many hours’ ride, or so many days’ journey to -such a place. We were seven hours to-day in going from Reykjavik to -Thingvalla, and I think we averaged five miles an hour. It is probably -thirty-five or thirty-six miles. Much of the way the roads were bad, and -we walked our horses; and when they were good we put them through at the -top of their speed. Our fat friend with his pony, did not steeple-chase -it much; - - “But, those who’ve seen him will confess it, he - Marched well for one of such obesity.” - -About ten miles from Thingvalla we came to a house, a solitary -caravansera in the desert. We concluded to patronize it, and -halted; and while the ponies were contemplating the beauties of -the mineralogical specimens that covered the ground, we took some -refreshment. That is, those who indulge in the use of the weed that -adorns the valleys of the land of Pocahontas, took a slight fumigation; -but having some ham in my provision-chest, I did not wish to make -smoked meat of myself then. So I pulled from my poke—look the other -way, Father Mathew!—a “pocket-pistol,” and extracted a small charge! -It was not loaded with any thing stronger than the products of the -vineyards of France. The “hotel” was one story high; and, without -trying to make much of a story about it, it had but one room, walls of -lava, and minus the roof. It is needless to say, the hotel-keeper had -stepped out. It had one piece of furniture, a wooden bench, and on the -slight timbers that supported what had been a roof, were the names of -sundry travelers. I took out my pencil, and in my boldest chirography -wrote the illustrious name of—“JOHN SMITH!” - -A few miles from our caravansera we came to the banks of the lake of -Thingvalla, or, in Icelandic, “Thingvalla vatn.” This lake is about ten -miles long, and the largest body of water in Iceland. It is of great -depth, in some places over 1,000 feet deep. The town, or place, or what -had been a place, is at the north end of the lake. Just before arriving -there, while jogging along on the level ground, we came suddenly upon -the brink of an immense chasm, 150 feet deep, and about the same in -breadth. This was one of those seams or rents in the earth, common in -Iceland; originally a crack in a bed of lava. Its precipitous sides -and immense depth seemed at once a bar to our progress; and without -a bridge over it, or ropes or wings, we saw no way of getting along -without going round it. Without seeing either end, and wondering how we -were to get round it, we were told we must go _through it_. And sure -enough, and the animals, as well as the guides, seemed to understand -it; and if we had kept in our saddles I actually believe they would -have found their way down this almost perpendicular precipice. We, -however, dismounted, and in a steep defile were shown a passage that -much resembled the “Devil’s Staircase,” at the Pass of Glencoe, in the -Highlands of Scotland. By picking and clambering our way down some -pretty regular stairs—and our horses followed without our holding their -bridles—we made our way to the bottom. There we found grass growing; -and, while our ponies were feeding, we lay on the turf and admired -this singular freak of nature. We were in the bottom of a deep chasm -or defile, the wall on the west side being over a hundred feet high -and on a level with the country back of it. The wall on the east side -was lower, and beyond this wall the country was on a level with the -bottom where we were. By walking a short distance to the north, in -this singular defile, we found the wall on the east side broken down -by a river that poured down the precipice from the west, and being -thus imprisoned between two walls, it had thrown down the lowest one, -and found its way into the Thingvalla lake. This chasm is called the -_Almannagjá_ (pronounced Al-man-a-gow), or “all men’s cave.” In former -days, when the Althing, or Icelandic Congress, met at the place, all -men of consequence, or nearly all, used to assemble here; and no doubt -they admired this singular freak of nature. The river here, the Oxerá, -in pouring over the precipice forms a most splendid cataract. Here -is Thingvalla, a once important place, and, as I have mentioned, for -nearly a thousand years the capital of the nation. It is now a mere -farm, and contains two huts and a very small church. This church is -on about the same scale of most of the churches in Iceland. It is -a wooden building, about eighteen feet long by twelve wide, with a -door less than five feet high. It is customary for the clergyman or -farmer—and the owner of the land is often both—to store his provisions, -boxes of clothing, dried fish, &c., in the church; and strangers in -the country often sleep in the churches. Some travelers have made a -great outcry about the desecration of turning a church into a hotel, -but with all their squeamishness have usually fallen into the general -custom. Surely if their tender consciences went against it, they had -“all out doors” for a lodging place. I have not yet arrived at the -honor of sleeping in a church, though I have slept out of doors; and -when I have tried both, I will tell which I like best. A tent has been -presented to the important “town” of Thingvalla, by the liberality -of the French officers who visit the coast; and this was pitched for -our use. The clergyman here—who is also farmer and fisherman—a pale, -spare, intellectual-looking young man, received us very kindly. It was -the haying season, and the ground was covered with the new-mown hay. -Two of the working-men of the farm had that day been out on the lake, -fishing in a small boat. They came to the shore as we rode up, and I -had the curiosity to go and see what they had caught. And what had -they? Who can guess? No one. Over two hundred and fifty fresh-water -trout, all alive “and kicking.” They were large, handsome fellows, and -would weigh from one to three pounds each. Not a fish that wouldn’t -weigh over a pound. But didn’t I scream? “Oh, Captain Laborde! Rector -Johnson! I say; come and see the fish. Speckled trout, more than two -barrels-full.” Well, hang up my fish-hooks; I’ll never troll another -line in Sandy Creek. The tent pitched, some trout dressed, and a fire -built in the smithy, and we soon had a dinner cooking. And such a -dinner! Well, say French naval officers on shore, Icelanders, Yankees, -and Cosmopolites, can not enjoy life “in the tented field”! But this -chapter is long enough, and I’ll tell about the dinner in my next. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - - ——“he was a bachelor, * * * - * * * * and, though a lad, - Had seen the world, which is a curious sight, - And very much unlike what people write.” - -HAD that celebrated Pope whose Christian name was Alexander, believed -that his immortal Essay would have been translated into Icelandic verse -by a native Icelander, and read throughout the country, he would not -have vaulted clear over the volcanic isle in his enumeration of places -at “the North.” And then, too, our poetical Pope is the only pontiff who -has any admirers in this northern land. The last Catholic bishop of the -country left few believers of that faith in the island. - -Yesterday, under the canvas of an Iceland tent, a party was seated -at dinner. It was on the bank of the Thingvalla vatn. The hospitable -clergyman furnished us trout, and a good sportsman among the French -officers produced several fine birds, plovers and curlews that he had -shot on the way, often without leaving his horse. We had excellent milk -and cream from the farm, and the packing-cases of the party furnished -the balance of as good a dinner as hungry travelers ever sat down to. -The Frenchmen—like those in the Peninsular war, who gathered vegetables -to boil with their beef, rather than roast it alone as the English -soldiers did theirs—our Frenchmen—gathered some plants, that looked -to me very like dandelions, and dressed them with oil and vinegar for -salad. Though it was rather a failure, it showed that an eye was open -to the productions of the country, albeit it was not a perfect garden. -I picked a bird for my share of the work—picked him clean, too, and -his bones afterwards—and found it as good as a grouse or pheasant. -With fine Iceland brushwood from a “forest” hard by, a fire was made -in the blacksmith shop, and there we roasted fish, flesh, and fowl. As -the rest of the party were to return the next day to Reykjavik, and as -I had a long tour before me, they would not allow me to produce any -thing towards the feast, but insisted on my dining with them. I was -too old a traveler to refuse a good invitation, and accepted at once. -The tent was pitched on a smooth plat of grass before the lake, and a -quantity of new-mown hay, with our traveling blankets and saddles, made -first-rate seats. I know not when I have enjoyed a dinner more than I -did this. The Frenchmen conversed with their own tongues in their own -language; some of the party spoke Danish, and several Icelandic; I gave -them English—and every other language that I knew—the modest Iceland -clergyman expressed himself in Latin, and Rector Johnson talked them -all. Time flew by—as he always flies, the old bird!—while the big white -loaves, the trout, the game-birds, the sardines, ham, and bottles of -wine, disappeared rapidly. We drank, not deeply, to all the people in -the world—kings and rulers excepted, for they always have enough to -drink to their good health and long life; and we toasted, among others, -“all travelers of every nation, and in all climes, whether on land or -sea,” and hoped that none were “seeing the elephant” more extensively -than we were. So passed our dinner. The clergyman was with us; and he -appeared to enjoy the foreign luxuries, as we all enjoyed everything -about us, viands, company, scenery, &c. - -Touching the fish that swim hereabouts, and the so-called “sport” -of angling, I am told that the Iceland trout and salmon show a most -barbarous indifference to the attractive colors of all artificial -flies that are ever thrown them by scientific piscators. Our clerical -farmer-fisherman who hauls up the finny tribes in the Thingvalla vatn, -uses no barbed piece of steel to tear their innocent gills—“a pole and -a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other”—but pulls -them up in crowds with a net. He seems to think as some others do of -the barbarous old angler, - - “Whatever Izaak Walton sings or says;— - The quaint old cruel coxcomb, in his gullet - Should have a hook, and a small trout to pull it.” - -After dinner, the clergyman took us about to show us the “lions” of the -place. Thingvalla, in a historical point of view, is by far the most -celebrated and interesting locality in Iceland. An account of their -republican congress or Althing, that met here, has been given in a -former chapter. The meeting of courts and legislative bodies, among all -the Scandinavian tribes, was in the open air. The word Thingvalla is -from _thing_, a court of justice, and _valla_, a plain. Undoubtedly from -the same origin are the names of Tingwall, in Shetland, and Dingwall, in -the north of Scotland. The cognomen “law” is given to several hills in -Scotland, and undoubtedly in consequence of courts of law being held on -them in former times. Such is the tradition attached to them. - -The place here where the Althing met was a most singular and convenient -one. Except from six to twelve inches or more of soil on top, the earth -here is solid rock that was once lava. There are two wide and deep seams -or cracks in this lava-rock, that meet at an acute angle, and stretch -away in different directions into the plain. Between these, in a small -hollow, shaped like an amphitheater, is the place where the Althing met. -These seams or chasms are like natural canals, from twenty to fifty feet -wide, and said to be two hundred feet deep. They are filled up to within -twenty or thirty feet of the top, with still, black-looking water, and -are said to have a subterranean communication with the lake about half a -mile distant. Here, on this triangular piece of ground, covered with -grassy turf, the general assembly of the nation gathered once a year, in -the summer season. Those connected with the Althing were inside these -natural chasms, but spectators were outside, beyond the boundaries of -the court. This was, indeed, a primitive house of representatives. -Though the Icelanders are a staid, sober, matter-of-fact people, -undoubtedly many anecdotes and singular legislative scenes could be -related of events that have transpired at this spot. One was told us by -the clergyman, which, from its singular character, has been handed down, -though it took place long years ago. The Althing, having both -legislative and judicial powers, tried criminals and adjusted -differences, as well as made laws. A man was undergoing his trial for a -capital offense; and, though in irons, he watched his opportunity and -ran, and with one fearful leap vaulted clear across one of the chasms -that formed the boundary of the court. We were shown the spot. It is -twenty feet wide, and on the opposite side the ground was several feet -higher than the bank where he started. The legend says he got clear off, -and thus saved his life; going on the principle which the Indian -adopted, that if you hang a rogue you must catch him first. Near this -primitive capitol is a pool of deep, black-looking water, where females -convicted of capital crimes were drowned. A little to the west, we were -shown an island in the river, where male culprits were beheaded. - -Another evidence of the civilization of the people during a former age, -was shown, quite as palpable as any similar signs in either Old or New -England. This was the spot where witches were burned; as late, too, as -the commencement of the eighteenth century. How singular are some -cotemporaneous events! As the unseen pestilence sweeps through the -atmosphere, from one nation to another, so will a moral plague, like the -delusion of witchcraft, enchain the minds of a Christian community, and -spread death and devastation before it. There are scenes and events in -the history of all nations, that the people would gladly blot out if -they could. One of our party, a very intelligent Icelander, told us he -had seen, not forty years before, heaps of charred bones, and ashes, on -this spot, where innocent people were sacrificed to a belief in -witchcraft. - -But these assemblies at Thingvalla were principally identified with more -pleasant scenes. There was something besides the mere sitting of the -supreme court, and the gathering of the people’s congress. Sir George -Mackenzie has happily expressed the interest of these gatherings. “At -the assemblies at Thingvalla,” he says, “though artificial splendor was -wanting, yet the majesty of nature presided, and gave a superior and -more impressive solemnity to the scene. On the banks of the river Oxerá, -where its rapid stream enters a lake embosomed among dark and -precipitous mountains, was held during more than eight centuries the -annual convention of the people. It is a spot of singular wildness and -desolation; on every side of which appear the most tremendous effects of -ancient convulsion and disorder, while nature now sleeps in a death-like -silence which she has formed. Here the legislators, the magistrates, and -the people, met together. Their little group of tents, placed beside the -stream, was sheltered behind by a rugged precipice of lava; and on a -small, grassy spot in the midst of them was held the assembly which -provided, by its deliberations, for the happiness and tranquillity of -the nation.” - -The people looked forward to these annual gatherings with great -interest. They met here in large numbers, and from all parts of the -country. Friend met friend, sociality prevailed, commodities were -interchanged, business was transacted, and all intermingled in -agreeable, social intercourse. Many families being here during the time, -young men found wives, and maidens obtained husbands; so that the bow of -Cupid flung his arrows near the scales of justice. Here, too, idolatry -first gave way in Iceland, and here the Christian religion was first -publicly acknowledged. This was in the year 1000. At that time, nearly -all the people were idolaters. Several zealous Christians were present, -and the subject was discussed at the Althing. The debate waxed warm, and -while the discussion was going on, a messenger rushed into the assembly -with the intelligence that a volcanic eruption had broken out but a -short distance to the south. The idolaters declared it was merely the -wrath of their gods at the people for turning away from their ancient -creed. “But what,” says Snorro Goda, a Christian, “were the gods angry -at, when the very rocks where we stand, hundreds of years ago, were -melted lava?” The question was unanswerable, the Christians triumphed, -and laws were immediately passed protecting all in the exercise of their -religion. The ecclesiastical courts were afterwards held here, under the -bishop of Skalholt. It is not to be wondered at, that the people wept -when the Althing was removed to Reykjavik. Hallowed by the reminiscences -of the past, they saw modern innovation and foreign customs break up one -of their ancient and venerable institutions. The Althing is forever -removed: their council circle is now a meadow, and I see oxen, sheep, -and horses grazing around it. - -Captain Laborde took me slily by the arm, led me one-side to a cleft -in the lava, and waving his hand towards it, said he begged to have the -honor of introducing me to an Iceland tree. And sure enough there it -stood, green and flourishing, but of such dimensions that, had I not -been aware I was in Iceland, I should have been irreverent enough to -have called it a mere shrub, a bush, or perhaps a bramble. I find I was -very rash in pronouncing the opinion which I did, that the bush, some -five feet in height, that I saw in the governor’s garden was probably -the largest tree in Iceland. Now, here was one towering alone in the -majesty of luxuriant nature, at least six feet perpendicular; and were -the various crooks and bends that adorn its trunk, straightened out, -I have no doubt but it would be nine or ten inches higher. I took off -my hat, and made a low bow to it. In a meadow near the house, was a -rather novel sight—two girls milking the ewes. Here, as elsewhere, we -were furnished with excellent milk and cream. Many a bowl of rich milk -have I drank in this country, and never asked where the article came -from. After riding all day, and at night going up to a farm-house, -half exhausted with hunger and thirst, and getting what would quench -it, I have found something else to think of besides letting my fancy -go wool-gathering among snowy fleeces, and bleating lambs that go -without their supper. When a man leaves his own fireside and country, -and goes abroad, he has no business to take all of his prejudices and -fastidiousness along with him.[2] - -With the new hay for a bed, our blankets spread over us, and our saddles -for pillows, we enjoyed a most refreshing sleep. At breakfast this -morning, the clergyman-farmer’s dairy and fishing-boat were again laid -under contribution. A large raven, one of a pair we had noticed -frequently, flew slowly up towards our tent, apparently looking for -something to break his fast. Our fowler saluted him with a charge of -fine shot, that sent him off at a tangent, and left him minus some of -his feathers. A word touching these ravens hereafter. They are among the -most ancient of the inhabitants of Iceland. - -It was with great regret that I parted from my most agreeable and -intelligent company—but separate we must. The French officers, Rector -Johnson, and the others, prepared to return to Reykjavik, and I to go -towards the east, on a tour of several hundred miles in the interior. -They would gladly have continued with me as far as the Geysers, but for -some good and weighty reasons. One was, they had no guide to return with -them who understood the road, and mine must go on with me. Another -reason was, we had all made such terrible havoc with their provision -chest, that the remainder would scarcely have stood before a Captain -Dugald Dalgetty for a day’s campaign. Then, too, fishing-ponds ten miles -long and a thousand feet deep, and yielding trout by the boat-load, are -not to be found in every valley, even in Iceland. So a hearty shaking of -hands, and a buckling of girths, and we were once more in our saddles; -they returning to town, and I and my guide, with faces towards the -rising sun, going to see those wonders of nature—the great Geysers of -Iceland. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 2: - - I have since learned that the milk used in Iceland is cows’ milk, and - that the milk of the ewes is made into cheese. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - - “You know I pique myself upon orthography, - Statistics, tactics, politics, and geography.” - -WE shall climb over the mountains and their hard names, and gallop -through the valleys a little more smoothly, if we look at the spelling, -pronunciation, and meaning of some of the Icelandic terms. A great -appropriateness will be seen in nearly all the geographical names in -Iceland. By translating the language, we shall see some characteristic -feature embodied in the name of about every place, river, lake, -mountain, bay, and island in the country. The explanation of a few -Icelandic words will show the signification of many of the names that I -shall have occasion to mention. The letter _á_ (pronounced _ow_) -signifies river, and is the last letter in the names of Icelandic -rivers. _Bru_ is a bridge, hence _bruará_, or bridge river. _Hvit_ is -white; _vatn_, water or lake; _hvitá_, white river; _hvitarvatn_, white -lake. _Hver_ is a hot spring; _laug_ (pronounced _lage_), a warm spring, -and _dalr_, a dale or vale. There is a valley north of Hekla, known as -_Laugardalr_, or vale of warm springs. The Icelanders pronounce double -_l_ at the end of words, like _tl_. They have a distinct name for each -description of mountain. _Jokull_ (pronounced _yo-kut-l_; or, spoken -rapidly as the Icelanders speak, it sounds about like _yo-kul_) is the -term used to designate mountains that are covered with perpetual ice. -_Fell_, _fjall_, and _fjöll_ (pronounced _fee-et-l_, _fee-aht-l_, and -_fee-ote-l_), all signify mountains, but _fell_ is applied to single -peaks, to small and isolated mountains, and _fjall_ and _fjöll_ to large -mountains, or chains of mountains. _Bla_ is blue; _snæ_, snow; and we -have _blafell_, or a blue mountain standing alone—an isolated peak in -the middle of a plain. A celebrated mountain in the west of Iceland, is -_Snæfell Jokull_ (_snef-el-yo-kul_), a snowy mountain, standing alone, -and covered with perpetual ice; and in the comprehensive language of the -Icelanders, it is all expressed in two words. _Oræfa_ signifies desert -or sandy plain, and _torf_ is turf or peat. There are two mountains, -_Oræfa Jokull_ and _Torfa Jokull_; one standing in a desert, and the -other in a large peat district. One portion of the immense mountain, the -Skaptar Jokull, is known as _Vatna Jokull_, as it is supposed to -contain, on a portion of its surface, large pools of standing water. The -points of compass are, _north_, _suth_, _æst_, and _vest_. _Eyjar_ -signifies islands. South of Hekla is a lofty and celebrated mountain -known as the _Eyjafjalla Jokull_. To an English reader, unacquainted -with the Icelandic, it is a crooked-looking mouthful; but on the tongue -of an Icelander, it flows off, a round, smooth, sonorous term. They call -it _i-a-fe-aht-la yo-kull_. It defines itself as ice mountain of -islands, having numerous knobs or peaks that stand up like islands in -the sea. Many Icelandic words are identical with the English, and many -others nearly so. It remains for some future lexicographer to show the -great number of English words that are derived from the Icelandic. The -points of compass have been noticed; a few more examples will suffice. -_Hestr_ is a horse; _holt_, a hill; _hus_, a house; _hval_, a whale; -_lang_, long; _men_, men; _mann_, man; _sandr_, sand; _sitha_, the side; -_gerthi_, a garden; _litil_, little; _mikla_, large (Scottish, -_muckle_); _myri_, a bog or miry place; _fjorth_, is a firth or bay; -_kirkja_, a church; _prestur_, a priest; _morgun_, morning; _ux_, ox; -_daga_, days. “July, or midsummer month,” stands literally in Icelandic, -_Julius etha mithsumar-manuthur_. _J_, at the beginning of words and -syllables in the Icelandic, is pronounced like _y_ consonant, and in the -middle of a syllable, like _i_ or long _e_. - -Their affirmative _yes_, is _já_ (pronounced _yow_), and their _no_ is -_nei_ (nay). Their counting is much like ours: einn (1), tveir (2), -thrir (3), fjorir (4), fimm (5), sex (6), sjö (7), atta (8), niu (9), -tiu (10), ellefu (11), tolf (12), threttan (13), fjortan (14), fimmtan -(15), sextan (16), seytjan (17), atjan (18), nitjan (19), tuttugu (20), -tuttugu og einn (21), thrjatiu (30), fiörutiu (40), fimmtiu (50), sextiu -(60), sjötiu (70), attatiu (80), niutiu (90), hundrath (100), fimm -hundrath (500), thusund (1000). The date 1851, in words, would be: einn -thusund atta hundrath fimmtiu og einn. This list might be extended to -great length, showing the similarity between the Icelandic and the -English; but these examples are sufficient for my purpose. - -I have a few words for my friends the geographers, who, in their -anxiety to Anglicize geographical names, so completely change them -that the natives of a country would not recognize their own rivers -and mountains when once disguised in an English dress. The Icelandic -is the only one of the old Scandinavian tongues that has the sound of -_th_; and they have two different letters, one to represent _th_ in -_thank_, and the other the _th_ as heard in _this_. The latter sound is -heard in _fiorth_ and in _north_[3]—different from our pronunciation of -north; and as the letter representing this sound of _th_ is a character -that some resembles the letter _d_, we find the above words written -and printed by the English as _fiord_ and _nord_. With the Danes and -Swedes, who have neither the sounds nor the letters, it is not to be -wondered at that they use _d_ or _t_ for these sounds. I shall give the -Icelandic names in their native spelling, as near as possible, with -perhaps the exception of the name of the country,—which they write -_Island_, but now with us is thoroughly Anglicized as Iceland. They -pronounce it _ees-land_, the _a_ in the last syllable rather broad. I -see no particular objection to using _y_ for _j_ in jokull, as it has -that sound; or in substituting _i_ for the same letter in _fjorth_, -_Reykjavik_, _Eyjafjalla_, and similar cases. I will, however, protest -against an Icelandic _Thane_ being turned into a _Dane_, without as -much as saying, “By your leave, sir,” or ever asking him if he wished -to change his allegiance. - -If this chapter is dry and technical, it has at least the merit of -brevity. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 3: - - _Icelandic_; fiorð, norð. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - - “And yet but lately there was seen e’en here, - The winter in a lovely dress appear.” - PHILLIPS. - -ON a bright and beautiful morning, as my agreeable company of the day -previous disappeared behind the walls of the Almannagjá, my small party -turned towards the east, the bridle-path leading through a forest -several miles in extent. Before getting into the thickest of the wood, -we found the ground covered with immense rocks of lava, and look which -way we would, except a few feet of the path directly before us, the -country appeared quite impassable. It may excite a smile to talk of a -forest, with the largest trees but six or seven feet high; but these -patches of shrubbery dispersed over Iceland, are of great value to the -people. They are composed principally of birch and willow. Though -nothing but scraggy brush, it is used to make roofs to their houses, and -much of it is burned into charcoal for their blacksmithing. I have seen -one of their coalpits where they were burning charcoal, and a bushel -basket would have nearly covered it. Attached to every farm-house is a -“smithy,” where scythes, pitchforks, spades, horse-shoes, and other -articles, are made. Every man is a blacksmith; and some travelers have -asserted that the clergy are the best shoers of horses in the land. A -Gretna Green blacksmith will answer in case of emergency for a -clergyman; and Sir George Mackenzie, while traveling here, had his horse -shod several times by Iceland priests. I have not yet had an opportunity -of testing the skill of one of these clerical blacksmiths. They have, at -least, a poetical license for practising the two trades; though perhaps -they do not put the shoe on the horse as much as formerly, but - - ———————“grown more holy, - Just like the very Reverend Rowley Powley, - Who shoes the glorious animal with stilts,— - A modern Ancient Pistol, by the hilts!” - -We crossed one of those deep chasms or cracks in the lava, so common in -volcanic regions. Here a natural bridge of lava was left, apparently on -purpose for a road across it. While riding along in this miniature -forest, a large flock or brood of ptarmigans flew up before us. This, -one of the fine game-birds of the mountainous parts of Scotland, is very -common in Iceland. From being long out of the habit of shooting, I -believe the murderous propensities bred in my youth—with “dad’s old -musket”—have pretty nearly all evaporated. And why should I regret it? A -more cheerful or happy sight than flocks of beautiful birds, young and -old, cannot be seen. Then see the terrible contrast of “sulphurous smoke -and dreadful slaughter,” that follows the “fowler’s murder-aiming eye,” -and all for “sport.” The ptarmigan, I believe, is seldom found in -America. It is about the size of the partridge of the State of New York, -a greyish brown in summer, and turning quite white in winter. The -Icelanders call this bird the _reaper_. Had they game laws here—and -thank heaven they don’t require them—it would not be permitted to shoot -this bird at this season. The young in this flock, though able to fly -short distances, were not over half grown. I have a bit of a confession -to make, and I may as well make it now. The day that I was traveling was -Sunday! I met several parties of Icelanders, traveling also; the -immediate object of our journeying being different: they were going to -church, and I was going to see the Geysers. The parties I met were going -towards the Thingvalla church, and had on their Sunday’s best. They were -all on horseback, the universal way of traveling in this country. -Indeed, indeed, it was very queer, the riding of the young Icelandic -ladies. These pretty damsels rode just like their brothers. My pen -refuses a more elaborate and bifurcated description. The matrons all had -a very convenient kind of side-saddle. It was like an arm-chair, the -back and arms forming part of a circle, all in one piece. The dame rides -exactly sideways, at a right angle with her horse, her feet placed on a -sort of wooden step. The saddle must be pretty heavy, but the little -animals and their riders seemed to get along very well. There was -nothing peculiar about the costume of the females, except the little -black caps with long silk tassels, universally worn in Iceland, in doors -and out, in place of any other cap or bonnet. - -We journeyed towards the south, skirting the shore of the lake some -five miles, and then turned to the east, climbing a sharp and steep -mountain, but not of great height. From the top we had a fine view -of the surrounding country, and to the west, the broad lake, the -“Thingvalla vatn.” Across the lake, some ten miles distant—though, -from the magical purity of the atmosphere, it seemed but a stone’s -throw—was a range of mountains, sloping down to the water’s edge, with -patches of snow on their sides. Directly beneath us, at the foot of -the mountain, lay the lake with its myriads of trout, and its water a -thousand feet deep. Two abrupt islands rise high above the surface. -They are mere hills of lava and volcanic matter, without a particle of -vegetation. They are called Sandey and Nesey. We traveled some little -distance on the broad, flat surface of the mountain, and crossed—by -descending into it—one of the deep lava chasms. We did not descend, -in going down the mountain to the east, as much as we had ascended; -but found it spread itself out into a broad table-land, a number of -hundred feet higher than the lake. With long ranges of mountains before -us, we traveled several miles over a most desolate volcanic region, -completely covered with lava rocks, scoriæ, and volcanic sand. Like all -the lava-covered country, it was broken up in huge, irregular masses, -and very cavernous, in some places showing caves thirty or forty feet -deep. No description or picture will give a good idea of the old lava -on the surface of the ground, to a person who has never been in a -volcanic country. Not the roughest lime-stone region I have ever seen -will bear the slightest comparison with the lava-covered districts—near -two-thirds of the surface—of Iceland. In written descriptions of -volcanic regions, we often see mention made of “streams of lava.” These -streams in other countries are usually down the sides of mountains, but -here in Iceland they extend for miles along the surface of the level -ground, and we are puzzled to know where it came from, for usually we -see no crater or mountain anywhere near. I have seen these “streams” -standing up in bold relief, a black, rough, horrid mass, from ten to -a hundred feet deep, several hundred yards wide, and one or two miles -in length. Brydone, in his observations of Mt. Ætna, pulled all the -old theologians about his ears by making a calculation respecting the -age of the lava, and proving conclusively—to himself—that some of the -lava streams from Ætna were fourteen thousand years old. I believe, -however, that philosophers have to own themselves baffled in trying to -get at the age of lava. After cooling—which often takes some years—and -breaking up by the expansion of the air in it, the lava is usually -nearly or quite black. After several hundred years it turns a little -more towards a brown, or rather gets grey with age, and is covered with -a very slight coating of one of the most inferior of the mosses. Very -old lava often gets quite rotten, light, and porous, and in this state -is frequently very red. Take a thick piece of zinc and break it with a -hammer, and you will have a rough surface that, multiplied ten thousand -times, will give some idea of a stream of lava. The word “horrible,” -both in the Icelandic and in English descriptions, is often and most -appropriately applied to the fields of lava. - -As we traveled east and approached nearer and nearer the range of -mountains, the way became much smoother till we found ourselves on a -plain of black, volcanic sand. Near the base of the mountain range -before us, the guide took me aside a hundred yards or so to see a -curious volcanic crater called the Tin Tron. It stands near twenty feet -above the surface of the ground, like a chimney, but on climbing up the -side of it and looking down into it, it appears like a well, but the -cavity grows much wider below the surface of the ground. On throwing in -a stone, after a little period, it quashed in a bed of water, seemingly -some fifty feet below where we stood. One side of it was partly broken -away, so we did not have to climb clear to the top of it to look down -the aperture. I broke off some pieces of lava from the top of the crater -with my hands, and found it very soft, light, and porous. This lava was -a beautiful purple, and some of it a bright red color. I brought away -several samples. We wound round the mountain and descended into a broad -and fertile valley called the “_Laugardalr_,” or vale of warm springs. -Broad meadows surrounded us, and we could see the steam rising from -numerous hot springs in the distance. This valley appeared like an -immense amphitheatre surrounded by mountains. I know not that a painter -could make much of it, but the Laugardalr is a fine landscape. It is not -like a vale in Derbyshire, or a country scene on the banks of the -Connecticut. No forests, no grain fields, orchards, fences, or houses, -and yet it is a scene of great interest, and not easily forgotten. - -I had plenty of time, as we wound our way slowly down the hillside from -the elevated table land, and an opportunity to observe the peculiarities -of the country. Certain little green hillocks to my now more practised -eye showed themselves to me as habitations. To the left lay a smooth -lake, and in bright lines through the green meadow land were several -white looking rivers. On every side were high mountains, many of them -covered on the tops with snow. Here I got the first view of Hekla, -though more than forty miles distant. It was black nearly to the top, -where were some small snow banks. This valley, including much that is -beyond the Laugardalr, is one of the most extensive and fertile farming -districts in Iceland. It extends nearly one hundred miles south to the -Atlantic ocean, and is bounded on the east and southeast by Mt. Hekla -and the Tindfjalla and Eyjafjalla Jokulls. This tract of country is -watered by Iceland’s largest rivers; the Hvitá or White river, the -Brúará, the Túngufljot, the Laxá, and the Thjorsá. - -We stopped near the first farm-house, and had the saddles taken off, -that the ponies could recruit a little on the fine meadow grass, while -we went through that very necessary daily ceremony of dining. The farmer -sent me out some excellent milk in a Staffordshire bowl, and soon after -he and his wife and daughter came out to see me hide it under my jacket. -Madame Pfeiffer, in her snarling, ill-tempered journal, complains -greatly of the idle curiosity of the people in crowding about and -looking at her. From what I heard of her, she was so haughty that the -simple and hospitable Icelanders could not approach her near enough to -show her any attentions. I exhausted my little stock of Icelandic in -talking with the farmer, praised his farm, his cows, the milk, his -country, his wife and daughter, called the latter handsome—“_fallegh -stulkey_”—what a lie!—and giving him a piece of silver, which he seemed -to like better than all the “fair words”—“butter without parsneps”—and, -jumping into our saddles, away we went. - -We passed near the small lake, the _Laugarvatn_, and saw the steam -rising from the hot springs near it, but being out of our way we did not -visit them. Several hot springs have their source in the bottom of the -lake, and only reveal their existence by the steam that rises from the -surface of the water. We got into a fine road in a large meadow or -bottom land, and I was having a fine gallop across the plain, when the -guide called to me to turn aside. I was greatly provoked on his taking -me a mile out of the way to show me a cave in the hill side, which he -seemed to think was a great curiosity. This wonderful cavern was about -twenty feet deep! I “blowed him up” well for a stupid fellow, and told -him he need not show a cave like that to an American, for we had caves -that extended under ground farther than from there to the Geysers—some -ten miles ahead—and cared very little for such a fox burrow as that. He -said he showed it to English gentlemen, and they thought it very grand! -Well, I told him, he might show it to English gentlemen, but he better -not to Yankees, if he consulted his reputation as a guide. Rising a hill -we saw to our right another lake, the _Apavatn_. We crossed the Brúará -or Bridge river, the only river in Iceland—with one exception, the -_Jokulsá_, in the east country—that has a bridge over it. This bridge -does not span the river by any means, but it merely crosses a chasm or -deep place in the middle of the stream. Our horses waded over the rocky -bottom and shallow water forty or fifty yards, when we came to a deep -chasm, perhaps ten yards across, and over this a slight wooden -structure, about six feet wide, was thrown. In this chasm the water is a -most furious torrent, roaring some fifty feet below the bridge. Our -horses were some frightened, and required considerable urging to get -them to cross the frail bridge. The chasm commences but a little way up -the river from the bridge, and there the greatest share of the water in -the river pours into it, forming a furious and singular cataract. I -stopped my horse a few moments on the bridge, and looked at the angry -torrent as it rushed beneath me. The water, except where broken into -foam, has a deep green appearance. On the road from Thingvalla to the -Geysers, nearly all the way, we had mountains on our left, and fine -fertile meadows on the right, towards the south. A great deal of the -way, a ridge of lava extends along the foot of the mountain, and -sometimes, for a long distance, I noticed a strip of fine meadow land -between the foot of the mountain and this ridge of lava, the meadow as -well as the strip of lava being several hundred yards wide. How this -came to be so I could not tell, unless it happened that, after the last -eruption of lava, large quantities of ashes were thrown out of the -mountain, covering the lava for some distance from its base, and thus -forming a coat of soil where now the green meadow is seen. As I have -mentioned before, nearly every foot of land in Iceland shows proofs of -volcanic origin, and, without doubt, the entire island was formed by -volcanic action. At whatever period that took place, if mortal man could -have seen it, there would have been a picture of the power of the -Almighty most awful to behold. What a scene! A tract of land forty -thousand square miles in extent, rising amidst fire and smoke and -earthquakes, from the bottom of the ocean. The proofs of subterranean -fire shown at the present day, in the occasional action of the -volcanoes, and constant spouting of numerous geysers and hot springs of -water and boiling mud, exhibit scenes of sublimity and grandeur -unequaled on the face of the globe. - -Crossing a high ridge of lava and winding around the Bjarnarfell -mountain, we came in sight of the Geysers, with the clouds of steam -rising up, at the base of a hill about three miles from us. We crossed -some small streams that came from the Geysers, and observed that the -waters were covered with a gilded kind of metallic lustre, such as we -often see in stagnant pools. This arose, undoubtedly, from some metallic -property in the water itself. Shakspeare, whose eye never missed an -appearance of nature, usual or unusual, observed this. In _Antony and -Cleopatra_, a man had been off on some expedition, and had no doubt -“seen the elephant” somewhere on his route, for on his return one of his -comrades said to him, - - ——“thou didst drink the gilded puddle - That beasts would cough at.” - -These waters are very good for immersion, if one wants an outward -application in the shape of a hot bath, but I think for drinking I would -imbibe the “gilded puddle” in Warwickshire rather than suck the slimy -waters that flow from the Geysers. Eager to see these wonders of nature, -I spurred my pony up to the margin of the basin of the Great Geyser, -and, though in a quiescent state, I shall never forget its appearance -while memory holds her seat in my brain. The guide soon led the way to -the farmhouse and church of Haukadalr, nearly a mile to the east, where -we were to pass the night. A drizzling rain had been falling; I was wet, -and greatly fatigued by the unusual exercise of riding on horseback, and -glad to get some rest, and defer my examination of the place and its -curiosities until the next day. The farmhouse, with its furniture, was -better than the average in Iceland, and offered passable accommodations -for a weary traveler. After a cup of tea, taken from stores in my own -knapsack, I went to my room, crawled under the bed, and soon fell -asleep. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - - “It makes my blood boil like the springs of Hekla.” - BYRON. - -MONDAY, July 26th, 1852, I spent at the Geysers. They rise out of the -ground near the base of a hill some three hundred feet in height. Most -of the hot springs I have seen in Iceland are at the base of hills. The -Geysers are on ground that is nearly level, sloping a little from the -hill, and cover fifty acres or more. The springs are over one hundred in -number, and of every size and form, some very large, others small, -scarcely discharging any water at all. The Great Geyser—“_the_ Geyser” -par excellence—attracts by far the most attention, as from its great -size, the quantity of water it discharges, and the magnitude and -splendor of its eruptions, it stands unequaled in the world. It is on a -little eminence that it has made for itself, a hollow rock or petrified -mass that has been formed by a siliceous deposit from the water. On -approaching the place, you readily see where the Great Geyser is, by its -large quantity of steam. I walked up the margin of it, and there it was, -perfectly quiescent, like a sleeping infant. It is shaped exactly like a -tea-saucer, in appearance circular, though it is a little elliptical. By -measurement, the larger diameter is fifty-six feet, and the smaller -diameter forty-six feet. When I arrived I found this saucer or basin -full of hot water, as clear as crystal. The temperature, by Fahrenheit’s -thermometer, was 209° above zero, only three degrees below the boiling -point. The basin itself is four feet deep, and in the centre there is a -round hole or “pipe,” as it is called, running down into the earth like -a well. At the top where it opens into the basin, this pipe is sixteen -feet across, but a little below the surface it is said to be but ten -feet in diameter. This pipe is round, smooth, and straight, and is said -by Sir George Mackenzie and others who have measured it, to extend -perpendicularly to a depth of 65 feet. The rocky bottom and sides of the -basin and pipe are smooth and of a light color, nearly white. The -quantity of steam that escaped from the surface was considerable, but -not nearly so great as I should suppose would come from such a body of -hot water. Such is the appearance of this most remarkable fountain while -still, and certainly it does not look like a violent or dangerous pool. -Without wishing to augur ill of it, certainly it is a great bore. When -in an active state, the Geyser is altogether a different thing. When I -arrived in the evening, the basin was not over half full of water, but -the next morning it was full and running over, though the quantity of -water that flows from it is not very great. A slight rising of the -water, as if boiling, is seen in the middle of the basin directly over -the pipe when in a quiescent state. Now arrived at the Geyser, we must -wait its motion, for the eruptions occur at very irregular intervals, -sometimes several times a day, and sometimes but once in two or three -days. Knowing that it gave a warning—by firing signal-guns—before each -eruption, I took the time to go about the grounds and see what there was -to be seen. I gathered some fine mineralogical specimens, some beautiful -samples of petrified peat, or turf, all roots and vegetable matter -turned to stone. Fifteen or twenty yards west of the Geyser is a gully -or ravine, with nearly perpendicular sides, and thirty or forty feet -deep. I went down into this, and found a little rivulet of warm water in -it, the banks being composed of volcanic matter and red earth. I heard a -gurgling noise in the bank, and went up to it, and there was a little -mud spring of blubbering clay, hot and steaming. While in this ravine, I -heard a sudden noise of explosions like cannon two or three miles away, -and yet it seemed to be near me, and under the Great Geyser. It was the -subterranean explosions that always precede an eruption. I ran up to the -Geyser, and saw the water in a violent state of agitation and boiling, -with considerable air coming up out of the pipe to the surface. This was -all; only a false alarm, and not an eruption. Off I went, on another -exploring expedition about the grounds. I heard a violent gurgling up -towards the foot of the hill to the west, and went to see the cause of -it. About 150 yards from the Great Geyser I found a jet of steam coming -out of a hole in the ground, and down out of sight I could hear mud -boiling and sputtering violently. I noticed here what I had heard was a -characteristic of the hot springs of Iceland, deposits of clay of -different colors and of great beauty. It was moist, in a state somewhat -like putty, and lying in layers, in several distinct colors. Red, blue, -and white were the prevailing tints. It was most fine-grained and -beautiful, and I could not help thinking would be of considerable value -as paints, if it were collected. I gathered some of it, but in the -absence of proper things to carry it in, and the long journey before me, -I reluctantly left the samples behind. About 140 yards southwest of the -Great Geyser I came upon two deep springs or pools of clear water, -hissing hot and steaming. These pools appeared two springs of irregular -outline, each from 10 to 15 feet across, and nearly or quite 30 feet -deep. The water was so clear I could see directly to the bottom. A -narrow, rocky boundary separated the two. This boundary, or rather -partition, as well as the sides of the spring, was apparently a -silicious deposit or petrifaction caused by the water itself. On going -up near the margin, and walking round on every side, I noticed that the -earth or rock overhung the springs on all sides, so I could see directly -under, and the crust near the margin was very thin, giving it a most -awful appearance. If one should approach too near the margin, and it -should break off, down he would go to inevitable death in the seething -cauldron. It is said, if a man is born to be hanged he can never be -drowned. Of course a like immunity attends such a man if he is in danger -of being boiled! I should rather meet the fate of Empedocles, and save -my boots! A person might very easily run splash into these springs, or -rather this double spring, for it is just even full of water, and on -level ground. I did not see it till I was just on the margin. Some late -traveler here said his guide repeatedly ran across the narrow rocky -partition that separated the two. Had he fallen in, whatever might be -the temperature of the future world that he would be destined to go to, -he would never require another hot bath in this. The guide now showed me -the Strokr, or what Sir John Stanley calls the New Geyser. It is a mere -hole in the ground, like a well, without a basin or raised margin. It is -nine feet in diameter at the top, and gradually grows smaller to about -five feet in diameter. The Strokr—a word signifying agitator—is a most -singular spring. I looked down into it, and saw the water boiling -violently about twenty feet below the surface of the ground. It is -situated 131 yards south of the Great Geyser. While looking at this, I -heard a noise, and looking up saw a burst of water and steam a little -way off, that the guide said was the Little Geyser. It is 106 yards -south of the Strokr. I went to it, and found an irregular but voluminous -burst of water, rising with considerable noise, eight or ten feet high. -It played about five minutes, and stopped. I found that it played in a -similar way at pretty regular intervals of about half an hour, -throughout the day. About noon, some two hours after the first alarm, I -heard again the signal-guns of the big Geyser. The discharges were near -a dozen, following one another in quick succession, sounding like the -firing of artillery at sea, at the distance of two or three miles. I ran -up to the Geyser, and saw the water in a state of violent agitation, and -soon it rose six or eight feet, in a column or mass, directly over the -pipe. It, however, soon subsided, and the water in the basin, from being -full and running over, sank down the pipe till the basin became nearly -empty. I was doomed to disappointment this time, there being no more -eruption than this. It was two or three hours before the basin got full -of water again. About four o’clock I heard the reports again, and louder -than before; the guide hallooed to me, and we ran up near the margin of -the basin. The explosions continued, perhaps, two minutes, the water -becoming greatly agitated, filling the basin to overflowing, and then, -as if the earth was opening, the fountain burst forth with a shock that -nearly threw me over. The water shot in one immense column from the -whole size of the pipe, and rose perpendicularly, separating a little -into different streams as it ascended. Such a spectacle no words can -describe. Its height, as near as I could judge, was about 70 or 75 feet. -The awful noise, as a renewal of the forces kept the water in play, -seemed as if a thousand engines were discharging their steam-pipes up -through a pool of boiling water. Great quantities of steam accompanied -it, but not enough to hide the column of water. We stood in perfect -safety within forty feet of the fountain all the time it was playing, -which was about six or eight minutes. Well was it said that, had Louis -XIV. of France seen the Geysers of Iceland, he never would have made the -fountains of Versailles. Compare the work of man, when he makes a -spurting jet from a pipe with a two inch bore, to a column of boiling -water ten feet in diameter, and near a hundred feet high, and rushing up -with the noise and actual force of a volcano! Fiddle-de-dee! As well put -a boy’s pop-gun beside of one of Paixhan’s sixty-four pounders. I had -thought that Niagara Falls was the greatest curiosity, and Fingal’s -Cave, at Staffa, the most pleasing one that I had ever seen; but—though -not at all alike—the great Geyser of Iceland, as a marvellous work of -nature, eclipses them both. Give a Barnum the power of a Prospero, and -let him gather together, in one place, the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, -Niagara Falls, the Natural Bridge in Virginia, Fingal’s Cave, and the -Great Geyser, and get a fence built round them. Fury! What a show-shop -he could open! Well, after all, it is a happy thing that the great -curiosities of the world are pretty well distributed over the earth’s -surface. The Geyser played lower and lower, and in the course of two or -three minutes after it began to recede, had all sunk down into the pipe, -leaving the basin quite empty, and the pipe also down for about ten -feet. This was the first time I had an opportunity of looking into the -pipe. The water was scarcely agitated at all, but slowly rising. In the -course of two and a half hours the basin was again full and overflowing. -According to the most reliable estimates, the maximum height of the -eruptions of the Great Geyser is from 90 to 100 feet. Olafsen and -Povelsen, two Icelandic writers who flourished near a hundred years ago, -estimated the height to be 360 feet; evidently a great exaggeration. -Some have attempted to prove by mathematics and the law of projectiles -that water cannot by any force or power be thrown in a stream over 95 or -96 feet high. Fire-engines disprove this, but at any rate that seems to -be about the height of the highest jets of the Great Geyser. Sir John -Stanley, in 1789, calculated the height by a quadrant, of the highest -eruption that he saw, at 96 feet. Dr. Hooker estimated it at 100, and -Sir George Mackenzie at 90 feet. The first account of these remarkable -fountains dates back about 600 years. To me, one of the most remarkable -circumstances connected with Iceland is, the constant and regular supply -of fire that keeps springs of water at a boiling heat, and sends forth -fountains with a force beyond all human power, and with a constant and -unceasing regularity, for hundreds, and, for aught we know to the -contrary, for thousands of years. Whence is the supply of fuel? Why does -it not all get consumed? But a child can ask a question that a man -cannot answer. Some have attempted by drawings and illustrations to -figure out a theory of pipes, cavities, and conduits under the earth, -that, supplied with a constant stream of hot water, would produce the -eruptions that we see. The great irregularity in time and in force seems -to set at naught the wisest calculations. We can see the effect -produced, and can look on and admire, but the springs of action are hid -by the Almighty in the wonderful laboratory of nature. - -When the poet spoke of his blood boiling like “the springs of Hekla,” he -undoubtedly meant the Geysers. A man’s blood would be in a state of -violent commotion if it equalled the activity displayed by the _Strokr_, -or his brother the Great Geyser. The _Strokr_ is little less remarkable -or interesting than the Great Geyser. Though of less magnitude, it -throws its stream of water higher, and wider too, and more varied, in -consequence of its rather irregular bore. This bore, or pipe, is -somewhat rough and a little crooked, like the Irishman’s gun, made for -“shooting round a corner.” One rule seems to pervade all the Geysers or -shooting springs of Iceland. The larger they are, the more seldom their -eruptions. The Great Geyser, from what I can learn, does not give one of -its highest eruptions oftener than once in one or two days, the _Strokr_ -once or twice a day generally, and the Little Geyser every thirty or -forty minutes. The _Strokr_ can be made to erupt by throwing in stones -or turf. The former sometimes choke it up, but turf and sods do not; and -moreover they produce a fine effect by giving a black, inky appearance -to the water. I had my guide cut up a quantity of turf with a spade, -and, piling them up on the margin, we threw them—several bushels at a -time—down the well of the _Strokr_. They splashed in the water, which -was boiling furiously, as usual, about twenty feet below the top. The -ebullition nearly ceased, and we watched it with great interest for some -little time, but no eruption seemed to come at the call we had made. We -walked away a few steps, thinking that this method of producing an -eruption was not infallible, when suddenly it shot forth with a -tremendous explosion, throwing its column of dirty water an immense -height. As near as I could judge, the water ascended just about one -hundred and thirty feet. The explosive, or, rather, eruptive force was -not quite as regular as in the Great Geyser, but would momentarily -slacken, and be renewed, the height of the column sometimes not being -over seventy or eighty feet high. How black and inky the water looked! -and occasionally pieces of turf were seen flying high in the air. I know -not how it was, but after the first surprise was over, I had a most -irresistible propensity to laugh; and, considering it a very innocent -exercise, I indulged it. After playing about fifteen minutes, it began -to slacken, and gradually settled down. It took some time, however, to -get over its “black vomit,” caused by the turf and earth that we -administered. After dropping below the surface, and sinking down into -the pipe, up ’twould come again; and, as the water would reach the -surface of the ground, it would seem to burst and shoot not only high -but wide. The falling water wet the earth for some twenty or thirty feet -from the pipe. I picked up some small fragments of the grass turf that -we had thrown in, and found them literally cooked. - -Some twenty years ago a horse fell into one of the mud springs here at -the Geysers, and never was seen afterwards. Poor pony! to be boiled in -seething mud was a worse punishment than Falstaff met with when he was -pitched into Datchett mead. In the northern part of Iceland, an ox fell -into a Geyser, and after he was fairly cooked he was blown out by an -eruption. Whether he was served up at a banquet afterwards, I have not -been able to learn. The pieces of turf that were thrown out of the -_Strokr_ looked more like pieces of seal-skin than they did like turf. -It was enough to alter the appearance of anything, a boiling of ten -minutes in this infernal cauldron. There is a singular cave, about a -mile in extent, a day’s journey north of Thingvalla, that the Icelanders -call _Surtshellir_, or Cave of Surtar (Satan)—in English, the Devil’s -Cave. No Icelandic guide will ever go into it. When travelers explore it -they must go alone. They believe it is the habitation of his satanic -majesty; and that when he comes above ground to set the world on fire, -he will come up out of this cave. I wonder if he don’t come to the -Geysers sometimes to cook his dinner. He might indulge in what Pope -calls a feast of “infernal venison.” In that case he probably catches a -wild reindeer—of which there are plenty in the island—and bakes him on -Mount Hekla, instead of taking the witty poet’s bill of fare, “a roasted -tiger, stuffed with tenpenny nails”! - -Though the _Strokr_ plays once or twice every day, of its own accord, -yet I took a malicious pleasure in provoking it to a “blow out;” and a -few hours after the first, I asked the guide to give it another dose of -turf. He looked into it, and seeing the boiling rather feeble, said it -was no use; it had not yet received strength for another effort. Still -he tried it, and we waited to see it “go on a bu’st”! It would not; but -about two hours afterwards it exploded, and we saw another grand -eruption, similar to the first. Our sensations are altogether different -in looking at these works of nature, from what they are at seeing an -artificial fountain, however brilliant. In the latter case we know the -power that propels the water, but here we look on and wonder at the -unseen power that for hundreds of years keeps these marvellous fountains -in operation. It would be a problem worth solving to see how far a shaft -or excavation in the vicinity of those springs could be carried in a -perpendicular direction, before finding water or earth that should be so -hot as to stop the progress of the works. Hot springs are scattered all -over Iceland, to the number of thousands, and at nearly every step you -see lava, volcanoes, or extinct craters. Seeing the constant proofs of -subterranean heat, as developed in the hot springs, it cannot be doubted -that heat, if not actual fire, would be found at a short distance below -the surface, in most any part of the country. A truce to speculation. I -hope the day is not far distant, when experiments and investigations of -a scientific character shall be made by men of learning, in different -parts of this extraordinary country. - -There are two or three farm-houses in the vicinity, and near one of -them, in a hot spring, I saw a large iron kettle placed, and in it were -clothes boiling. Indeed, if these hot springs were movable property, -would they not be worth something attached to a large hotel or bathing -establishment? I boiled a piece of meat for my dinner in one of the -springs, and while the culinary operation was going on, I went to a -pool in the brook that flows from the Great Geyser, and had a most -delicious warm bath. ’Twas all gratis—no charge for heating the water. -The brooks that flow from the Geysers all retain their heat more or -less for several hundred yards, until they are swallowed up in the -icy cold river into which they empty. Some travelers have spoken of a -sulphury taste to meat boiled in the Geysers, but I did not observe -it. A good many birds were all day flying about the Geysers. They were -the _tern_ or sea-swallow, a bird very common in Iceland, both on the -seashore and inland. The Icelanders call them the _cree_. This bird is -common in England, but I never remember to have seen them in America. -What light, elegant, and graceful creatures they are on the wing! -Their flight is as light and easy as that of the butterfly; in motion, -as swift as a swallow, and as graceful as a seagull. They are about the -size of the pigeon, with very long wings and a forked tail, like the -barn swallow. They are nearly white, with a slight blue shade, like -the clear sky; just like that delicate cerulean tinge that the ladies -like to give their white handkerchiefs. They kept up a constant cry or -scream that was not unpleasant, and often flew so near us that I could -see their eyes. I climbed to the top of the hill that is just west of -the Geysers, and found it higher than I had anticipated. It looks low -in comparison with the high mountain, the _Bjarnarfell_, that is back -of it. It is composed of lava, slags, scoriæ, volcanic sand, &c. The -back side of it is very precipitous; about perpendicular. This hill -is called Laugarfjall (pronounced _La-gar-fe-at-l_), or hot spring -mountain. Between this and the Bjarnarfell is a small river flowing -through green meadows. I should have been glad to have ascended the -larger mountain, but had not time without running the risk of missing -an eruption of the Great Geyser. I gathered some fine specimens of -the petrifactions formed by the water, by breaking them up from the -bottom of the brook a short distance from the basin. In appearance -they much resemble the heads of cauliflower; in color, nearly white. -The incrustations are far more beautiful a little way from the -fountain head than in the basin itself, as the silicious deposit is -made principally as the water cools. I noticed that grass grew over a -portion of the ground among the numerous hot springs; but near the -sources of them there is evidently too much heat, there being nothing -but bare earth around them. There are no springs of cold water in the -vicinity. - -But night has arrived, and I must depart. Though I had seen all of these -remarkable fountains in active play, I was reluctant to leave them. I -turned my steps towards the humble cottage of the peasant of Haukadalr, -for another night’s rest before starting south to see Mount Hekla. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - - —— It is no dream;— - The wild horse swims the wilder stream. - Mazeppa. - -OUR pleasant stay at the Geysers was finished, the last look taken; the -last piece of bacon that we had boiled in Dame Nature’s cauldron, had -disappeared; the farmer of Haukadalr had given us his good benediction -and a hearty grip of the hand, while he pocketed the dollars that we -gave him; and, our ponies being ready, we prepared to leave. The old -raven, too,—for here in Iceland “the raven croaks him on the chimney -top,” as he did when and where Richard the III. was born,—the old raven -had croaked out his farewell. There is no blinking the matter; we have -to face it. Mount Hekla is in the distance, and visit it we must. It was -two days journey there, and several terrible rivers lay in the route; -but hospitable Icelanders lived on the way, and the soft plank floors of -orthodox church “hotels” invite the traveler to spread down his blanket -and repose. Reader, just glance at a map of Iceland, such a one as Mr. -GUNNLAUGSONN’S—but you haven’t got one; then put one “in your mind’s -eye,” or imagine yourself in a balloon about “these parts,” and see what -a tract of country we have to travel through. - -To the north, just about the center of Iceland, the ranges of the Lang -Jokull and Hofs Jokull lift their heads and show their crowns of -perpetual snow; to the east lies Skaptar Jokull, once terrible, in an -eruption the most devastating that ever occurred, but now hushed in grim -repose, and covered with a snow-white blanket. Far to the south is Mount -Hekla, with a slight bit of snow near the top, and rearing its burning -summit near six thousand feet above the level of the sea. Encircled by -these mountains is a valley, the most extensive tract of fertile land in -Iceland, and drained by its largest rivers. Behind us lay the Bruará, -and next was the Arbrandsá; but the Hvitá (_Wheet-ow_), the Laxá, and -the Thjorsá, are far the largest, the last more than 150 miles in -length, and draining the extensive glaciers of the Hofs and Skaptar -Jokulls. These rivers flow in a southwestern direction, emptying into -the Atlantic between the Westmann Islands and Cape Reykjanes. We dashed -into the Arbrandsá, and were through it in a hurry, our ponies making -light of the three feet of water and a swift current. Don’t ask us how -we fared. The rain over head, and the rivers, lakes, and hot springs, -had made us amphibious before this, about as effectually as if we had -been born otters or sea-gulls. What a splendid meadow we pass through, -here in the beautiful valley of the Hvitá! Here the “mower whets his -scythe;” and such a scythe!—about two feet long and an inch wide, hung -on a straight snath. But don’t he cut the grass clean to the turf? He -shaves it down as close as some men reap their chins—those that shave at -all, I mean—“let the galled jade wince,” our beard is uncut. But we were -speaking of an Iceland meadow. How can grass grow in Iceland? you ask. -Why, right out of the ground; for the soil, though shallow, is quite -fertile. An Iceland meadow looks very much like a good pasture when -nothing has been in it for some six weeks: grass thick, green, and soft; -but very little of it running up to seed. The grass looks like our “red -top.” White clover would do well, undoubtedly, if they would sow it. -Almost every Icelander unites the occupations of farmer and fisherman. -In June he goes to sea “to fish for cod,” and in July and August cuts -and secures his hay. This is a very important operation with the -Icelander, for without hay his animals would die in the winter. The hay -is fed to the sheep and cattle; the horses have to do without. How a -race of animals like the horse manage to live without a particle of -attention, shelter, or food, for a long Iceland winter, except just what -they can get out of doors, is more than we can divine. Guess they’re -used to it! They eat the dead grass, often having to paw away the snow -to get it; they go on the mountains, gather moss, browse the stunted -shrubbery; and when driven from the fields and the mountains, they go -down on the sea-shore and pick up sea-weed. When badly pushed with -hunger, they will eat fish bones, offal, scraps of leather, wood, heath, -and shrubbery, and almost every thing but earth and stones. Still, they -very seldom die. They seem hardened by the climate, and fitted to endure -the changing seasons as they roll. In winter they get reduced to -skeletons, mere skin and bones; but towards the last of May, when the -grass begins to grow, it is surprising how quick they get fat. Every -horse in our troop is literally fat, and no oats did they ever eat; -neither have they swallowed the barrel, for you can’t see the hoops on -their sides! Were you to offer any grain to an Iceland horse, he would -not know what you meant, and undoubtedly would think you joking. - -Tell John Gossin, if Tom Spring had been an Iceland pony, Deaf Burke -never would have kicked him “where he put his oats.” Of course the -horses in the towns that are worked, are fed in the winter. The hay -being cut and dried is tied up in large bundles and “toted” off on men’s -backs to the stack-yard. If the distance is long, they sling large -bundles each side of a pony’s back, and he carries it off. And big loads -they will carry; a pony thus loaded looks like a moving hay-stack. The -farmer makes a square yard, walls of stone, and turf, and this he fills -with long, low stacks, which he covers with long strips of turf cut up -from the surface of a tough bog grass-field; and when the stack remains -over a second summer, this turf grows, and an Iceland settlement -presents the curious appearance of houses, stone walls, and hay-stacks -covered with green grass like the meadows and pastures on every side. - -Scythes, spades, small rakes with teeth about an inch and a half long, -pitchforks and ropes, are all the tools an Icelander uses on his farm. -His ropes are made of wool, braided, or wool and hair mixed, the manes -and tails of the horses being laid under contribution for the latter -article. At the farm of Haukadalr, this traveler astonished the natives -considerably, by taking hold of a scythe, and showing them that he could -mow. Leaving the fine farm and meadows, we crossed a long stream of -lava—a high bleak ridge—and soon reached the bank of the White River, -along which we traveled for several miles. Here, for the first time in -Iceland, we saw the red-headed pochard (_fuligula rufina_), the most -beautiful of all the duck tribe. This bird, naturalists inform us, is -found in North America, near to the Arctic circle, in Europe south, as -far as Italy, and east, to the Himalaya mountains in Asia; a pretty wide -range for one sweet bird. The pair we saw showed the spirit of ancient -Romans by manifesting an unconquerable hatred for _Nero_, our traveling -companion. They doubtless had a nest; for they chased us for miles, and -when they got tired of chasing the dog, he would chase them. As -beautiful as these birds were, had we carried a gun, it is barely -possible that an invitation might have been extended to these pretty -creatures to come down and dine with us. Blessed birds: of course I was -not so unfeeling as to wish to hurt them! - -The pochard is a bird that lives on inland waters, not at sea. His head -and neck are reddish brown, with a rich gloss, a “collar” round the -neck; back and throat black; other parts brown, white, and mottled. It -is about the size of the canvas-back duck. One species of pochard has a -beautiful crest of feathers adorning the top of its head. Soon after the -pair of birds left us, we saw three or four more. We traveled several -miles down the right bank of the Hvitá, and a magnificent river it is. -Twice the size of the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, confined between high -banks, it rushes its milky-looking flood onwards to the ocean. Indeed, -this is a terrible stream. - -The banks of the Hvitá, for several miles, are from 100 to 150 feet -high, and perpendicular. What an explosion there must have been when -that crack burst in the lava, and formed the chasm where the river -flows! The stream, too, has undoubtedly worn it much deeper than it was -at first. And how swift the river runs! Where will streams be swift, if -not on mountainous islands? The water, too, like milk; perhaps the snow -colors it! Some have dived a little deeper for the cause, and contend -the clay on the mountains colors it. We finally emerged on to a broad -plain; and here, near the church and farm of Bræthratunga, the high -banks became lower, and we prepared to cross. From certain ominous hints -thrown out by the guide, I made up my mind for a swim. The river was -nearly a mile wide, but the current was broken by several low islands. -We tightened girths, placed the baggage as near on the top of the -horses’ backs as possible, and rode in. The first island was gained -easily enough, the water not exceeding three feet deep. The next channel -was a turbulent and fearful-looking torrent. In we plunged, and as ill -luck would have it, my pony was the lowest one of the lot—scarcely -twelve hands high. The others were over their backs in the water, and -mine went a little lower down the stream, got out of his depth, and away -we went down the river. My head and shoulders were out of water, but -nothing could be seen of the poor pony except his nose and the tip of -his ears. I stuck to him like a kingfisher to a black bass, but let him -“gang his ain gait,” and he pulled for the island. Had it not been a -long one, and extended well down the stream, we should have missed it, -and gone out to sea, or else to Davy Jones’ locker. But we struck the -lower end of it, and just saved ourselves. Though I have not experienced -cold weather nor snow here, there is one thing that is cold in Iceland, -and that is, the milky-looking water in the turbulent rivers. It was a -little the coldest bath I ever took. The white pony did the swimming, -and he swam like a good fellow, or I should have jumped off and tried my -own flippers. The dog, too, had a hard time of it. Poor Nero, he did not -find his swim as comfortable as his imperial namesake used to in a Roman -bath. He swam after us, but the current carried him so swiftly away that -he got below the point of the island, and I thought he must be lost. The -poor dog howled in despair, and turned back. He was a noble animal, and -I really commiserated his unfortunate situation, for he was beyond any -help from us. By hard swimming he gained the shallow water, and got back -to the island we last left. Now, look at the sagacity of a dog. He saw -he must come to us, or be left the west side of the river, near a -hundred miles from home. So he went clear to the upper end of the -island, and started again. The diagonal course that his swimming and the -current took him, just lodged him on the lower end of the island, where -we were. The next two channels were wide, but not deep, and we forded -them without difficulty; and after about three-quarters of an hour, we -climbed up the eastern bank of the stream. We were now about ten miles -northeast of Skalholt, that apocryphal capital of Iceland. I saw a -beautiful red flower growing on one of the islands in this river, and I -stopped and gathered some seeds. Perhaps they will add one to our floral -variety in America. - -My swim did me no damage—the rain for some days past having seasoned me, -so that, like the skinned eels, I was used to it. Be it here recorded -for the benefit of poor, erring, and sinful man, the slave of habit, -fashion’s minion, Plato’s biped without feathers—all erring mortals who -mar what God hath made, those who scrape their faces with villainous -steel, those who doff Dame Nature’s garb, and find no substitute—all -these, and any others, if such there be, are informed that this wanderer -has never once “caught cold,” not the slightest, since this “beard” of -mine had six weeks’ pith. And this with the damp fogs of England, -steamboating in the Baltic, coasting by Norway, “schoonering” in the -Arctic sea, camping out in Iceland, swimming the cold rivers, sleeping -on the ground, climbing snowy mountains, and various “moving accidents -by flood and field,”—this is saying something for nearly three years’ -experience of throwing away the razor. But I see how it is, my friends -will never know what a “magnificent Turk” I am, until I get my phiz -engraved—brass on wood!—or else put in “dagger o’ type;” and this will -emphatically say to all my miserable, chin-shaven brethren, Go and do -likewise. Ahem, where was I? On the east bank of the White River, -shivering with the effects of a cold bath. A broad tract of lava was our -road, and no vegetable life for a long distance, save the heath that -appeared here and there, now in full bloom. A few hours’ ride, part of -it through a good farming country, brought us to Hruni. In various -directions on our route, we saw the steam of hot springs rising up. -Hruni is not a large town. It contains a church, a farm, and the -residence of the clergyman. Indeed, I was glad to see a friendly roof. -It had rained for hours, and though the rain had warmed the ice-water, -still ’twas _wet_. I felt as if a log cabin would have been a palace; -but here was a house, a good one, a framed building with a wooden roof. -Never was hospitality more welcome, nor was it ever extended more -freely. It was about three o’clock, and we had been in our saddles since -nine, and a long, rough, and wet time we had had of it. The clergyman, -Herre Johann Briem, one of nature’s noblemen, indeed, gave me a hearty -welcome. He set before me bread, butter, cheese, coffee, milk; and a -most capital bottle of port wine he uncorked. I shall not tell how many -glasses of it went under my jacket before I left. Indeed, I never -counted them. - -Mr. Briem was physically one of the finest men I have ever seen. At -least six feet three inches high, and well-proportioned, he would have -been a striking figure among the grenadiers of Frederick the Great. The -house had good furniture, and a fine library covered one wall of his -parlor. Here I saw, for the first time in Iceland, the “_Antiquitates -Americanæ_,” a work issued by the Society of Northern Antiquaries at -Copenhagen, giving the full account of the “Ante-Columbian Discovery of -America.” Admiring a little book in Mr. Briem’s library, a volume of the -“_Northurfari_,” an Icelandic Annual for 1849, he very politely made me -a present of it. I felt ashamed at accepting it; but I could do no -otherwise, though I had nothing, not the slightest thing about me, -either English or American, that I could present him in return. A fine -intellect beamed from Mr. Briem’s countenance, and his hospitalities -were as graceful as his person was comely. He showed me a splendidly -printed volume, a large octavo Danish and Icelandic Dictionary. - -I can inform the old Austrian dame—that Madame Trollope, the conceited -Ida Pfeiffer—that all the Iceland clergymen I met, were as hospitable as -Mr. Briem. Some of the very same clergymen who entertained her, also -opened their houses to me; and not a penny of compensation could I ever -get them to take, although she most falsely states they received her -money for entertaining her. This is the woman that runs all over the -world, and writes books about what she sees, and much that she does not -see; and because the governor of Iceland would not be bored by her -shallow Highness, then she pens all manner of false and libelous stories -of the most kind, hospitable, unoffending race of people that the sun -shines upon. The best comment that can be made on her book is, that she -describes her journey to Mt. Hekla, and _ascent to the summit_, when the -people here on the ground told me she never put her foot on the mountain -at all! - - - - - CHAPTER X - - - Up the high hill he heaves a huge round stone. - The huge round stone resulting with a bound, - Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground. - HOMER. - -ALL pleasant sojourns must end; all oases must fade in the distance -as we journey o’er the desert sands of life. Though it rained hard, -an hour after I stopped with “mine host,” the intelligent clergyman -of Hruni, we were in our saddles, and the white, the black, and the -chestnut ponies were scampering “over the hills and far away.” The -farmer of Haukadalr left us here, and Mr. Briem sent one of his farm -servants to show us the way. It is two pretty good days’ ride from -the Geysers to Hekla; and we had yet two large rivers to cross, and -sundry mountains, valleys, lava-beds, and green fields to go over or -get round, before we were half way to the celebrated volcano. Near -the house we passed a very large spring of limpid water that looked -most deliciously tempting for a swim. Getting off my horse, I tried -the temper of it, and found it 96° of Fahrenheit, just comfortable -for a warm bath. Our route took us across the Laxá, a broad, shallow -river; and here were some of the best farms I had seen in Iceland. The -white clover was here, the first I had seen of it, and the meadows -evidently produced nearly or quite double the hay that those did which -were seeded down with the native grass alone. The blooming clover -whitening the fields gave the land a fine appearance, and half made me -think I was back home again. A forest of maple and beech trees would -have completed the illusion. I saw here, as I did in other places, -caraway growing spontaneously in the fields; and it was as tall, as -finely-flavored, and as well-seeded as you find it with us. It is not -indigenous here; but some being brought to Iceland and planted, it has -propagated itself over a good portion of the cultivated parts of the -island. The same is true of the white clover. - -The meadow lands in Iceland are rough in surface, just in a state of -nature, not one acre in ten thousand ever having had the turf broken. -They are not plowed and “seeded down,” but get seeded and grassed over -by nature. As I have mentioned, there is not a plow or a harrow in the -whole country. The garden spots round the houses seldom exceed the -sixteenth part of an acre, and they are dug up with a spade. The -angelica—_angelica archangelica_—the same that grows in our wet meadows -in America, is here grown and used as a salad. It is a native of -Iceland. With us it is reputed poisonous; but here I have eaten it, and -think it has a very pleasant taste. Many a boy in our northern States -has made a _flute_ out of an “angelica stalk;” but probably few of them -ever ate it afterwards, or thought of applying the Highland proverb to -it, “Here’s baith meat and music, quoth the dog when he ate the piper’s -bag.” Every thing in Iceland seems to go by contraries, the angelica and -“red-top” grass, and other of our aquatic and swamp plants, flourishing -everywhere, on dry as well as on wet soil. - -The peasant soon returned, leaving us pursuing our way south. In the -valley of the Laxá the lava is seen in great variety of color. Much of -it is in high, red hills, as bright as if it had been painted. Some of -it is black, and some brown. The red was the softest and most porous. -Some of the hilly river-banks were crumbling down like slate cliffs, but -a near view showed them to be lava. A few miles travel brought us to the -banks of the Thiorsá, a mighty river, far larger than any we had seen, -and I believe the largest in Iceland. It comes from near the interior of -the island, and cannot be much less than 200 miles long. It drains the -waters that flow from the glaciers of Hekla, Hofs Jokull, Skaptar -Jokull, Vatna Jokull, and Torfa Jokull. A profile view of this river, as -laid down on the large map of Iceland, shows the highest branches of it -to be 3,000 feet above the level of the sea; half as high as Mt. Hekla. - -Here was a ferry, the first we had seen. The Thiorsá is nearly -three-quarters of a mile wide here; and its depth—I believe I will not -tell how deep it is—ask the great northern diver, for he may have been -to the bottom of it: I have not. The farmer-ferryman and his son left -their hay-field, and in a stout skiff rowed us across. The horses were -tied together in a string, the nose of one to the tail of another; -and the guide sat in the stern of the boat, and led the forward one. -The poor ponies had hard work in swimming the cold river, and seemed -to suffer some. They tried hard to get into the boat, but that would -have shipwrecked us inevitably. The powerful current threw us a long -distance down the river before we landed on the south side. The boatman -charged me half a dollar, Danish, about thirty cents; cheap enough -certainly for his fatigue and danger. At eight o’clock we arrived -at the farm and church of Skarth, where we tarried all night. The -clergyman of the parish does not live here, but the obliging farmer -did every thing he could to make me comfortable. I think I stated -that I had arrived at the dignity of sleeping under the bed. That is -a luxury that until lately has only been accorded to princes. The -eider-down bed, from the Iceland eider-duck, has long been noted for -its lightness and softness. It is perhaps the greatest non-conductor -of heat that can be used as a covering. It is altogether too warm. A -down bed a foot thick looks as if it would smother you when put on top -of the bed, but its perceptible weight is nothing. I usually kicked -off this down covering long before morning, for it is impervious to -all the insensible perspiration, and consequently in less than half an -hour the sleeper finds himself perspiring profusely. I sometimes put -the down bed under me, and used my Highland plaid for a covering. The -unhealthiness of down beds has been discovered, and kings and nobles -have ceased, in a great measure, to use them; and consequently the -price of down has greatly fallen, and now every peasant can afford -to have a bed of down. Here I slept in a church for the first time. -Learning that it was customary for travelers in Iceland, I had no -scruples at sleeping under the same roof with the church mice. As we -are all destined to take a long sleep some day in a church yard, or -somewhere else, I thought I might as well begin now, try it by degrees, -and see how I liked it. I did not know but the rapping ghost of old -Thor with his sledge hammer would rap confusion into my noddle, after -his usual Iceland style of “thunder in the winter;” but I was not -disturbed. I slept perfectly sound, till the sun was high in heaven. -The green mounds around the church looked as peaceful, and no doubt the -spirits of the dead were as quiet in heaven, as if no Sassenach had -been here to disturb their slumbers. A good reason why old Thor did not -disturb me. He is a heathen deity, and totally indifferent to any use -whatever that churches may be put to. Perhaps, were I to go into one -of his caves without reverently laying my shoes aside, and offering up -my guide as a sacrifice, he might jump out of the crater of Hekla, and -hit me a rap that would give my “daylights” their exit, or knock me -where the sun never sets. I gave the farmer a dollar, for milk, cream, -horse-pasture, and church-rent, and for the first time got a hearty -Iceland salute. Throwing his arms round my neck he gave me a smack that -fairly echoed from the surrounding hills. - -From Skarth, the Eyjafjalla and Tindfjalla Jokulls show their broad, -snowy sides and summits; but Hekla is the most conspicuous. The whole -mountain, near to the top, is black. Near the summit there are some -spots of snow that extend more or less down the north side, while a -curling wreath of smoke on the apex reveals the existence of the fire -within. We started directly towards the mountain, with the farmer for -our guide. On every side of Hekla, as far as we could see, much of the -ground was covered with black lava. The land over which we rode here was -covered with lava and volcanic sand, and, what is seldom seen in such a -situation, tufts of grass grew here and there. Heath is nearly the first -vegetation that finds root on the lava. Here, in a pasture near a river, -we saw a splendid lot of horses. What a wild, untamed look they had; -sleek and fat, with long, flowing tails and manes! They appeared like -the flock that crossed the path of Mazeppa. The Iceland farmers usually -keep great numbers of horses, and there is no country in the world where -they can be raised so cheaply. And they sell these animals cheap. I saw -a beautiful, jet black, four-year old, at the Geysers, an entire horse, -that had never been saddled. His form was symmetry itself. He was just -about twelve and a half hands high. I asked the price—less than ten -dollars, our money. In Boston or New York he would bring $150 or $200. -We crossed the Vestri Rangá, a small stream, and arrived about the -middle of the afternoon at Næfrholt, the last farm and the last green -spot this side of Hekla. The farmer was from home; and our farmer from -Skarth, who had accompanied us, started off after him. He had not got -far before down he came, thrown by his horse, or rather falling off, for -I could see nothing to bring him out of the saddle. Perhaps Mr. Cogniac -Brandy, or somebody else, had put a “brick” in his hat. He was a big, -beefy fellow, and fell tumbling down like a meal-sack. I thought he must -be killed, and ran to help him; but he was up in a jiffy, and under full -gallop in less than a minute, vaulting into his saddle on the off side -at that. It takes an Icelander, to fall and not hurt him. I rather think -this one would tumble down Mount Hekla and never bruise his shins. The -farmer came home, and told us we could put up at his house; and then the -Skarth farmer returned to his home. This was the first really pleasant -evening I had seen during my journey, and it bid fair for a clear day on -the morrow. Unless it were so, it would be useless to attempt the ascent -of Hekla, and expect to see any thing. I took the guide, and climbed to -the top of a steep mountain, one of several about a thousand feet high -that skirt the base of Hekla, and seemed to stand as sentries near their -fiery and warlike monarch. Here the recollection of my boyish days and -boyish sports came up, and I felt like having a little fun. There was a -grand chance for rolling stones down hill, and we improved it. After -setting off a number of different sizes, we noticed a ponderous boulder -partly buried in the earth. It looked as if it could be moved. It was -nearly round, and would weigh five or six tons. I called the guide to -help me push it off, but he looked ominously at the house far on the -plain below. I convinced him that it could not go there; and then he -showed me the farmer’s wall, a beautiful dyke of stones and turf that -separated the meadow below from the mountain pasture. I told him I would -pay all damage; and we got behind it. With our backs to the mountain, -and feet against it, we crowded it out of its bed. It fell with an awful -crash through about a hundred feet of jagged rocks, nearly -perpendicular, and then took the sloping plain below. But didn’t it -streak it? The ground fairly smoked. The surface was smooth sand and -gravel, and within thirty or thirty-five degrees of the perpendicular. -Lower down, the grass began to grow. The rock took a bee-line for two or -three hundred yards, till near the bottom, when it commenced a series of -flights of “ground and lofty tumbling” that would have done honor to -Ducrow. One leap that I measured was thirty-four feet, and there it -struck the farmer’s wall. It walked through it as if it had been a -cobweb, making a horrible gap near six feet wide, and moving one stone -that would weigh at least a ton. Well, it was capital fun. The old rock -curled round in a circuit, and rested in the meadow. The farmer and his -family ran out of the house at the noise, and he came up to meet us. The -guide got a furious blowing up, all of which he took very coolly. I -ended the confab by paying him a dollar for the damage done, and he went -away quite satisfied. As I had had my dance, it was all fair that I -should pay the fiddler. - -The evening came on; as glorious a sunset as ever gilded the tops of -Arctic mountains. I retired early, hoping in the morning to climb the -rugged steep of Mount Hekla. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - - Thule, the period of cosmographie, - Doth vaunt of Hekla, whose sulphureous fire - Doth melt the frozen clime, and thaw the skie; - Trinacrian Ætna’s flames ascend not hier: - These things seem wondrous. - Old Ballad. - -HEIGHO for Hekla! Thursday, July 29th, was a lofty one in my calendar. -The sun had many hours the start of us, getting up as he does here at -two o’clock in the morning. An early hour, though, found us in our -saddles. The morning was magnificently bright, the mountain being -visible, clear to the curling wreath of smoke on the summit. Little -patches of snow, here and there near the top, made a break in the broad, -black streams of lava that covered every part of the mountain. We -provided ourselves with every requisite for a long day’s journey. My -knapsack was well stored with good things—solids and fluids; and then I -had my old Scotch companion, the tartan plaid, to keep the cold away; -and each of us had a fine staff—what the Swiss travelers call an Alpen -stock, but ours were Hekla stocks, Iceland staffs—some six feet long, -and armed with a strong, sharp, iron pike. My traveling guide, the -farmer of Næfrholt, and the reader’s most humble servant, made up the -party—not quite a princely retinue, but enough. Yes, and there was our -dog, Nero. The top of the mountain was distant about seven miles, of -which we could ride nearly four. Away we galloped through some fine -green meadows, till we came to a mountain gorge on our right, down which -in numerous cascades poured a small river. Several ducks and water-hens -flew away as we approached their mountain home. Passing through this -gorge, we came into a circular meadow entirely shut in by mountains, -like an immense amphitheater, and this was the last bit of productive -land on our way towards the summit of Hekla. A hut was erected here, as -a temporary residence for the farmer while gathering his hay. High, -precipitous hills of red lava overhung our path on the right, but the -ascent for some distance was gradual. For near a mile, we galloped our -horses over a gently ascending plain of fine volcanic sand. High up the -mountain side were several sheep, but scarce a blade of grass could be -seen where they stood. Perhaps they went up to enjoy the prospect of the -green meadows far in the distance. We soon found our mountain climbing -was not going to be play. Our ponies found it so too. Our route was -intercepted by a broad and high stream of lava that extended six or -seven miles from the summit of the mountain. We turned to the right in a -southerly direction, and for four or five hundred yards found it about -as steep as our ponies could climb. We took a zig-zag course to relieve -the animals, and after half an hour’s climbing found ourselves on a -level table-land, nearly half a mile across. We were now about a -thousand feet above the lower region, where we left the farm house; and -here we were obliged to leave our horses. The Icelanders have an -ingenious way of fastening their animals so they will not stray away. -They fasten all their horses in a circle, tying the head of one to the -tail of another, and bringing the head of the first round to the tail of -the last. If they choose to travel, they can; but like John on his -rocking-horse, they may gallop all day in one interminable circle, and -not get far. Near where we left the horses, extending away to our right, -was a large stream of lava—one that came from the eruption of 1845; and -though seven years had elapsed, it was not yet cool, and smoke was -rising from it in many places. The “streams of lava” that run from the -craters of volcanoes, and which here in Iceland are seen on the plains -as well as on the mountains, are usually from twenty to forty feet deep, -from a hundred yards to half a mile in breadth, and from one to ten -miles long. They are vast ridges of rough, black rocks, of a most -forbidding aspect, the largest masses weighing from one to three or four -tons. When it flows from the mountain, it is a stream of molten mineral, -and its progress generally rather slow, but dependent on the steepness -of the mountain, and the size and the force of the stream. Melted lava -often does not move more than from fifty to one hundred yards in a day, -but in some cases it may run several miles. It soon begins to explode -and break up; by the expansion and escape of the air within it, and by -the force of the steam created by moisture on the surface of the ground -beneath. While the lava is breaking up, for several days, it keeps up a -terrible roaring. Then this rough mass, as black as charcoal, lies -unchanged in appearance for centuries. After a long time, it begins to -turn a little brown, and on its surface appears in minute particles one -of the lowest order of mosses. - -The learned Spallanzani, Brydone, Dr. Holland, and others who have -investigated the subject, have all agreed that there is no data on -which a rule can be established, or a judgment formed, as to the age -of the lava. It is light and porous, usually not more than half the -specific gravity of granite. Pumice, among other volcanic substances, -is lighter than water, and will float. Very old lavas are often of -a bright red color, and soft and light, having something of the -consistency of chalk. Much of the matter thrown out of a volcano, -at certain periods of the eruption, is in the form of fine, black -sand. We amused ourselves by rolling some masses of old lava down a -steep declivity into a valley. It was very red, and so rotten that -it broke into innumerable pieces. Leaving our horses, we commenced -the ascent. While crossing a rough stream of lava, a mass, weighing -one or two tons, rolled as I stepped on it, and threw me down, and I -had a narrow escape from a severe accident. I got off with a bruised -shin, certainly not so unpleasant a companion as a broken bone would -be, especially in a region like this, where there is not a skillful -surgeon within a thousand miles. Our ascent led up a valley, having -on our left the stream of lava aforesaid, and on our right and before -us a hill of volcanic sand. Into this our feet sank deeply at every -step. A half an hour brought us to the steep front of the mountain, -and now commenced the ascent in real earnest. There was no bilking -it; climb we must. Up, up we went, like crows scaling Ben Nevis. -How the guides traveled so easy I could not tell. They had a heavy -knapsack and bottles of water and bottles of milk, and I had nothing; -but they tripped lightly along under their burdens, while I found it -hard work. At first I could go ten or fifteen minutes without resting; -but after an hour or so I had to stop every five or six yards, throw -myself on the ground and recruit. Though nearly “tired to death,” as -boys say, yet in an astonishingly short space of time the fatigue -would vanish. Here the surface was volcanic sand—beaten hard by the -wind, apparently—and a good road to travel on. There were fragments -of lava—“slag” and “scoriæ”—scattered over the ground. Some of these -I started down the mountain, but they were so rotten that they broke -into pieces before rolling a hundred yards. We were getting between two -and three thousand feet high, nearly half way up the mountain; and yet -vegetation had not entirely ceased. Now and then, we could see a bit of -grass, and sometimes a very small plant. One tiny, yellow flower, not -bigger than a gold dollar, I gathered and put in my pocket-book; and it -proved to be the last flower that I saw in going up. While stopping to -rest, I found I had frequent recourse to a certain glass thing that I -carried—_vulgo vocato_, a “pocket pistol”—but what it was charged with -is nothing to nobody! After about two hours hard climbing, we arrived -at the top of an eminence where I had hoped we should at least see the -summit of the mountain, and that not far off; but we were yet a long -distance from it; hills peeping o’er hills, and one peak rising above -another. The weather was beautiful; and, far to the west, we could see -the rivers with their green valleys, and beyond them the snow-covered -jokulls of the far north. To the south we could see the Atlantic, -though more than thirty miles distant. But we must climb, and up, up -we go. I noticed here and there, among the dark-colored lava and sand, -a white-looking boulder, bearing evident marks of fire; some the size -of a cannon-shot, and some that would weigh nearly half a ton. They -were not granite, neither were they chalk; but I could not break them -or carry away a specimen; so I had to be content with knowing they -were not ordinary lava, but still something that must have been thrown -out of the volcano. Our ascent grew less precipitous, and we veered -to the left, not going directly towards the summit. At the height of -about 4,000 feet, we first struck the snow. This was the first snow -I had trod since arriving in Iceland; and, as if the whole order of -nature must be reversed here, this snow was black. This was not exactly -the natural color, but a complexion it had assumed from being so near -the mouth of the volcano. Sand, ashes, dust, and smoke had coated -and begrimed it so thoroughly that the whole surface was like fine -charcoal. A long valley was filled with it. As near as I could judge, -it was from five to fifty feet deep. We passed over several snow-banks -that were many hundred yards in breadth, some of which had not lost -their white color. From the level country in the distance, these -snow-banks looked like mere patches, but here we found some of them -nearly a quarter of a mile across. We ascended the mountain from the -west, but now we were north of the summit, and where most of the snow -lay. Clouds now gathered round us, and we had to grope our way in the -fog for some time. The ascent grew more precipitous, and the climbing -was exceedingly toilsome. The earth and lava now appeared of a red -color. We seemed to be approaching the region of fire. Sulphurous fumes -saluted our nostrils; the weather cleared a little, and, suddenly, -before us yawned a deep crater. What a horrible chasm! Indeed, it -seemed like hell itself. Fire and brimstone literally. Dark, curling -smoke, yellow sulphur, and red cinders, appearing on every side of it. -The crater was funnel-shaped, about 150 feet deep, and about the same -distance across at the top. This was one of four craters where the fire -burst out in 1845. After the eruption, they had caved in, and remained -as we now saw them. In a row above this one, extending towards the top -of the mountain, were three other craters, all similar in appearance. - -Our progress now was one of great danger. At our left was the north side -of the mountain; and for a long distance it was a perpendicular wall, -dropping off more than a thousand feet below us. A large stone thrown -over, never sent back an echo. The craters were on our right, and -between these and the precipice on our left we threaded a narrow ridge -of sand, not wider than a common foot-path. A more awful scene, or a -more dangerous place I hope never to be in. Had it not been for my long -staff, I never could have proceeded. The dangers and terrors of the -scene were greatly increased by the clouds and cold wind that came up on -our left, and the smoke and sulphurous stench that rose from the craters -on our right. One moment in danger of falling over the perpendicular -side of the mountain on the one hand, and the next of being swallowed up -in the burning crater on the other. Our path was exceedingly steep, and -for nearly a quarter of a mile we pursued it with slow and cautious -steps. Old Nero saw the danger, and set up a dismal howl. A few moments -after, he slipped, and came near falling into the fiery pit. In five -minutes, an animal or a man would have been baked to a cinder. Pursuing -our way by the four craters, our path widened, and half an hour more -brought us to the top of the mountain. Our purpose was accomplished; we -stood on the summit of Mount Hekla, and a toilsome journey it had been -for us. I threw myself on the ground, and took a look at the scene -before me. The top of the mountain was not a peak, but broad and nearly -flat, with here and there a little irregularity of surface. It was about -a quarter of a mile across in one direction—from west to east—and some -fifty rods the other way. In several places were deep snow-banks, but as -yet we saw no crater on the summit. - -It was now two o’clock, it having taken us about eight hours to make the -ascent. Though we saw no crater, we had very direct evidence that we -were in close proximity to volcanic fires. Little eminences of lava -stood up around us, from which smoke issued; and the ground under our -feet felt warm. On removing the earth to the depth of two or three -inches, it felt hot; and on digging down anywhere to the depth of six -inches, smoke would burst out. Six inches deeper, and no doubt a man -might light a segar. I went close to a bank of snow—to have something to -cool my punch—spread out my tartan plaid on a warm piece of lava, opened -my knapsack, sat down and dined. That was the loftiest dinner I had ever -partaken. I had nearly a bottle of claret left, and a small drop of -something stronger. The guides had a bottle of milk, the snow did the -cooling, and I made a capital lot of milk punch. I drank several toasts; -gave “the good health of all creation,” toasted “the girl I left behind -me,” and “a health to all good fellows.” Yes, and I thought, too, of my -friends far, far away; and the distance I had traveled, and must travel -again before I could see them. In that half hour—in that dinner on -Hekla’s smoking summit, I seemed to enjoy a sociality in the thought of -friends and home, that I would not suppose a communion with one’s -thoughts in solitude would bring. _Nero_ lay at my feet, the guides were -conversing at a little distance, the lava around me was warm; and after -a little time the weather cleared up, and left a blue sky and clear -atmosphere, with a full opportunity to survey the wondrous panorama of -nature that lay spread out below and around us. - -A little way to the east was a slight elevation. To this I directed my -steps. Here I stood on the highest summit of Mount Hekla. A more -magnificent prospect was never seen. Iceland was spread below and around -me like a map. We were more than six thousand feet above the level of -the sea, and higher than the tops of nearly every mountain in Iceland. -To the west and northwest were vast green tracts of meadow land, -checkered with hills and surrounded by mountains. White, shining rivers -intersected the valleys and plains like long silver ribbons. Far in the -north, and to the northeast, were the snowy mountains, not in peaks, but -stretching away in immense plains of brilliant white, and glistening in -the sunshine. - -In a valley, some twenty miles to the northwest, was a beautiful cluster -of lakes, the water often of a deep, green color as they reflected the -meadows on their banks. Now and then in the landscape would appear the -Iceland “forests,” like patches of shrubbery of a dark green hue. Some -hills and old lava districts were covered with heath, now in full bloom, -and clothing the land in a robe of purple. The surface of Hekla itself, -and the ground on every side, some distance from the base, was one black -mass of lava. To the northwest, and near at hand, rising abruptly from -the plain to the height of 2,500 feet, was _Bjolfell_, a bold and -singular-looking mountain. A dark cloud lay in the southeast -intercepting the view, but on every other side the sky was clear and the -prospect uninterrupted. To the south, far out to sea—distant about forty -miles—were the Westmann Islands, rising abruptly out of the water to the -height of more than 2,000 feet, and showing their basaltic cliffs in a -clearly-defined outline. Cities, villages, and human habitations filled -no part of the landscape. The magical purity of the atmosphere, and the -singular character of this volcanic country, make a view from the top of -Mount Hekla one of the most extensive and varied of any on the earth’s -surface.[4] The view from this mountain must extend more than 200 miles, -showing a visible horizon of at least 1,500 miles in circuit. Most -fortunately the day was beautifully clear; and, after the first half -hour on the summit—except a bank of clouds in the east—the whole country -was visible. To the northeast, seemingly quite below us, in the valley -of the river Tungná, was a landscape of tiny streams, little lakes, -green meadows, and heath-clad hills. One small lake—the Grænavatn -(_green lake_)—was shaped like the moon when nearly full, and looked -scarcely larger than a saucer. The mountains to the south, the lofty -Tindfjalla and Eyjafjalla Jokulls, rose up in separate knobs or peaks, -the latter justifying its name of “mountain of islands.” - -I thought I never should tire of contemplating the varied scene around -me. - - “Though sluggards deem it but a foolish chase, - And marvel men should quit their easy chair, - The toilsome way, and long, long league to trace, - Oh! there is sweetness in the mountain air, - And life that bloated ease can never hope to share.” - -Time sped too quickly. The day was fast wearing away, and much yet -remained to be seen on the mountain top. As yet, I had observed no -crater on the summit; but going to the top of a little elevation, about -one hundred yards from my dining table, it yawned before me. This was -the principal crater of the mountain, and larger than all the four that -we had seen on our way up. It was of very irregular form, nearly a -quarter of a mile in extent one way—a long chasm some two or three -hundred feet deep—and not over one hundred yards wide. Some parts of the -sides were perpendicular, and smoke was coming out of fissures and -crevices in many places. There were several deep snow-banks in it; and -though the entrance to a region of perpetual “fire and brimstone,” yet -there has been no eruption from this crater for ages. We rolled some -stones down the steep side of the crater, that crashed and thundered to -the bottom, and were lost in a vast cloud of smoke. The guides now did -nothing without urging; but I was determined, if possible, to go down -into the crater. We went to the east end of it, where the descent was -most gradual, and on a steep bank of snow, by a process well known to -boys as “sliding down hill,” we soon found ourselves at the bottom. -Rather a risky place, inside of Hekla’s burning crater; but if the lava -and smoke proved too warm friends, we could cool off by jumping into a -snow-bank. - -We went through every part of this wonderful pit, now holding our hands -in a stream of warm smoke, and again clambering over rocks, and standing -under arches of snow. The ground under our feet was principally moist -earth; the sides of the crater, rock-lava, and in many places loose -slags and scoriæ. One most remarkable basaltic rock lay near the center -of the crater. It was spherical, nearly as round as a cannon-ball, and -about twenty or twenty-five feet in diameter. It lay, apparently, -entirely on the surface of the ground, and though of compact and solid -structure, there were small cracks all over it, from the twentieth of an -inch to a quarter of an inch across. Out of these cracks, on every side -of the rock, smoke and hot steam constantly issued. The ground all round -it was moist earth and volcanic sand, and showed few signs of heat. Not -ten feet from this rock was an abrupt bank of snow, at least twenty feet -deep. In one place under it was a crevice in the lava, where the heat -came out; and it had melted away the snow, forming a beautiful arch some -ten feet high. We walked under it, and found streams of clear water -running from the snow. At these pure fountains we filled some of our -empty bottles. For the benefit of any future travelers here, I will -mention, that had it not been for my own curiosity and perseverance, I -never should have gone into this crater, or even have seen it at all. My -mountain guide, the farmer of Næfrholt, seemed to think his duty -performed after we were once on top of the mountain. I hunted up the -crater, quite out of sight from where we arrived on the broad summit of -the mountain, went to the brink, and then insisted on descending into -it. After getting down to the bottom of the crater, a way selected -entirely by myself, he very coolly informed me that he had a short time -before gone down into it with some Danish gentlemen. After I had -satisfied my curiosity in varied explorations, the guide proposed a -place for our exit on the west, but where, I am sure, had we attempted -an ascent, we should have broken our necks. As we could not well slide -up the hill where we had slidden down, I proposed an egress just to the -north of our enormous smoking boulder; and it was so terribly steep that -I thought we should inevitably tumble back into the crater after we were -nearly to the top. “_Festus_,” while traveling with Lucifer, says, - - “Let us ascend, but not through the charred throat - Of an extinct volcano.” - -Not so with us: we did come straight out of such a “charred throat.” We -emerged from our warm pit, directly on the north edge of the mountain, -where it fell off a vast distance in one perpendicular crag. There’s a -kind of fearful pleasure in gazing from a mountain’s craggy summit. - - “And there’s a courage which grows out of fear, - Perhaps of all most desperate, which will dare - The worst to know it:—when the mountains rear - Their peaks beneath your human foot, and there - You look down o’er the precipice, and drear - The gulf of rock yawns,—you can’t gaze a minute, - Without an awful wish to plunge within it.” - -The little green lake lay in its nest like a drop of water, some ten -miles away, and the majestic Bjolfell reared its black form in solemn -state nearly half as high as Hekla itself. We walked clear round the -crater, and came to a deep, broad crack in the lava, that we had to leap -across, and then returned to the place of our ascent, crossing a broad -field of snow. - -This snow was many years old, and from five to thirty or forty feet -deep; and in several places heat came from the mountain, and melted it -out in a great hole—the shape of an inverted potash-kettle. I thrust -my pike into the snow; and on withdrawing it, it showed that deep blue -tint which I had supposed was only seen in new snow. Having gathered -samples of all the lavas that I had seen, and loaded the guides with -them, we prepared to descend. Our last six hours of the upward journey, -in going back, was performed in two hours. Perhaps the loads of lava -that the guides carried, increased their speed, urging them along in -their down-hill course. The narrow pathway between the craters and the -north brink of the mountain, we found far less dangerous on returning, -as the weather was clear and the wind had gone down. When we came to -the steep, sandy side of the mountain, it would be safe to believe that -we went down pretty middling fast. Perhaps we didn’t run, exactly, but -it was a specimen of rather tall walking. About half way down, I drank -the last drop of——, the contents of my pocket-flask. “Farewell, thou -lingering sweetness!” Our horses—condemned to fast or eat lava—had gone -round a few circles, circumnavigating one another by chasing their -tails; but they had not journeyed far. Leading them from the table-land -down the steep acclivity, we mounted: their hunger gave them speed; and -after a sharp gallop, we arrived at the farm-house about ten o’clock, -a little before sunset, having escaped the dangers, and enjoyed the -novelty of the loftiest journeying I had spent in all my travels. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 4: - - Since the above was written, the writer has ascended Ætna in Sicily, - and Vesuvius in Italy. Though these countries are far richer in - natural productions, and abound in towns and cities, and the bay of - Naples is proverbial for its beauty, yet he must say that the view - from Mount Hekla is far more varied and beautiful on account of the - clearness of the atmosphere, and the variety of the mountain, valley, - and island scenery. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - - —————Fire that art slumbering there, - Like some stern warrior in his rocky fort, - After the vast invasion of the world! - Hast not some flaming imp or messenger - Of empyrean element, to whom - In virtue of his nature are both known - The secrets of the burning, central void below, - And yon bright heaven, out of whose aëry fire - Are wrought the forms of angels and the thrones? - Festus. - -VOLCANIC eruptions in Iceland have presented some remarkable features. -There are volcanoes that are much higher than any in this country; -but, in the amount of lava thrown out at one time, no eruption on -record ever equaled that of Skaptar Jokull in 1783. A notice of this -may not be considered out of place. In May, about a month before this -eruption, a volcano rose up from the bottom of the sea, over seventy -miles from land, to the southwest of Cape Reykianes, and more than a -hundred and fifty miles from Skaptar Jokull. This was one of the most -remarkable submarine eruptions ever recorded. It formed a large island, -and ejected vast quantities of pumice, a light, volcanic substance that -floated on the surface of the water. It covered the sea for more than -a hundred and fifty miles, and in such immense quantities that ships -were detained in their progress while sailing along the coast. The -sea-birds paused and screamed in their wheeling flight, and the more -adventurous took a ride on a new volcanic raft. His Danish Majesty, -on hearing of a creation of new territory near his ancient possession -of Iceland, sent a ship with orders for its immediate annexation. The -commander took formal possession of it in the name of the king. But -the end was not yet. The flag of Denmark had not waved above it for -a twelve-month, before it sunk back into the ocean and disappeared -forever. Soon after this eruption in the sea—from the first to the -eighth of June—violent earthquakes were experienced in the vicinity of -Skaptar Jokull, and clouds of smoke obscured the sun for some days. It -was often so dark in the middle of the day, that a sheet of white paper -could not be seen when held up before the eyes. An immense shower of -ashes, sand, and sulphur filled the air, and completely covered the -land. It poisoned the vegetation, destroying every green thing where -it fell. Fortunately the wind carried it to the south, and it soon -reached the ocean. Incredible as it may seem, this shower of ashes and -sulphur was borne over the Northern Sea to the Faroe Isles, Shetland -and Orkney, entirely over Great Britain, across to Holland, and far on -to the continent of Europe, nearly two thousand miles from the place -where it started. Around the mountain, for many miles, darting flames -and lightning filled the air, and the sulphur flashed and burned far up -into the heavens. The next effect produced, was the heat of the volcano -melting the ice that had shrouded it for centuries; and this caused -such a deluge, that the rivers, particularly the Skaptá, overflowed -their banks, and submerged, washed up, and even carried away farms. -On the 10th of June, ten days after the first symptoms of an eruption -appeared, the torrent of lava burst forth, and poured down the side -of the mountain. This followed so quickly after the flood of water, -that in less than twenty-four hours the river was entirely dried up, -and people walked across its bed, where, for years, it had only been -passable in boats. While the fire was contending with the water, a -terrible and deafening, roaring sound was heard, and immense quantities -of steam filled the air. The fiery torrent poured down the bed of -the river, often from 400 to 600 feet deep, and over two hundred in -breadth. Lightning flashed through the heavens, thunder and concussions -of the earth were constantly heard and felt, and the volcano kept up -a continued and terrible roaring. In its course down the bed of the -river, the lava came to an immense chasm or pit, into which for many -hours it poured with a deafening noise. The stream of lava flowed first -south, then east, destroying farms, houses, and churches, and burning -up the thickets of wood near Kirkubær. Often great chasms in the earth -would get filled with the melted lava, and then, as it cooled on top, -the heat below would cause it to explode, and blow large masses of it -high in the air. For three months the lava continued to flow, but it -was not until the next February that the mountain ceased throwing out -ashes, sand, flames, and hot stones. The effects of this eruption were -more terrible than any thing of the kind that ever happened in Iceland. -The showers of ashes, sand, and sulphur, completely destroyed every -green thing for a long distance. Another most singular effect of this -eruption, extended to the ocean. The fish that had always frequented -the coast, were entirely driven away, and never returned. A terrible -famine ensued. Within two years, over 190,000 sheep, 28,000 horses, and -11,000 cattle, died of starvation. About 10,000 inhabitants—one-fifth -of the entire population of the island—perished from want and exposure. -The amount of lava ejected from this volcano was probably greater than -that of any eruption of the same duration, ever recorded. It covered a -tract of country 500 square miles in extent; and had it lain of equal -thickness over the entire surface, would have been over 300 feet deep. -The lava would have filled the channels of fifty rivers as large as the -Hudson from Albany to New York. - -It is said that the personal appearance of a certain quadruped does not -give an unfailing indication of the distance he can jump. This can -scarcely be true of Skaptar Jokull. If size is an indication of power, -the vast magnitude of this mountain would seem to show that its -eruptions would be terrible. It is over one hundred miles in diameter at -the base, and more than three hundred and thirty in circumference. The -most of it is wrapped in a pall of eternal snow, and centuries sometimes -elapse without an eruption. Inaccessible, except in some places around -the edges, it appears from different points of view like several -distinct mountains; and in different parts it goes by different names. -On the west, it is known as Skaptar Jokull; and on this side the great -eruption occurred. On the south, it is called Oræfa Jokull; and at this -point it is the highest mountain in Iceland, being over seven thousand -feet above the level of the sea. Its vast central surface, and all -throughout its northern boundary, is known as Vatna Jokull or Klofa -Jokull, and is supposed to contain in its hollows large pools of -standing water. This particular account I had given me in a conversation -with Herre Biarni Gunnlaugson, the indefatigable Icelandic geographer, -who traveled over every part of Iceland for a period of twelve years. -During this time, he saw the entire country, and gathered the -information and executed the drawings for his most elaborate and -valuable map of the island. I can lay claim to some personal -acquaintance with Skaptar Jokull. Standing on the summit of Hekla, I -could look directly over nearly the entire surface of the mountain. It -does not rise from all sides to one peak in the center, like Ætna, -Stromboli, Hekla, and Vesuvius; but to the eye it presents the -appearance of one vast, glittering plain of snow. The few travelers who -have ascended the jokulls of Iceland, have described them as presenting -immense cracks in the snow and ice; making their ascent more dangerous, -in proportion to their height, than probably any other mountains in the -world. The enormous bulk of Skaptar Jokull may be imagined from one -comparison. Were it as steep and high in proportion to its breadth of -base, as the Peak of Teneriffe, its perpendicular height would be more -than ten miles above the level of the sea. Next to this mountain and -Hekla, the most noted in Iceland are the Eyjafjalla and Tindfjalla -Jokulls, in the south, and Snæfell Jokull in the west. - -As an instance of the effects of volcanic eruptions, and also of the -inaccuracy of geographers respecting Iceland, one fact may be mentioned. -On nearly every English or American map where Iceland is represented, -there will be noticed a large lake called the “Fiske Vatn,” or _Fish -Lake_. There is not such a lake in existence, nor has not been for many -years. There _was_ such a lake, long ago—I have not the date, but think -it was nearly a hundred years since; and a volcano rose up from the -bottom, filled its entire bed, and literally drank it up at a draught! -Now there is no vestige of a lake in the vicinity; but there is a -mountain, and I saw it. It lies between Hekla and Skaptar Jokull, and -goes by the name of FISKIVATNAVEGR, or “Fish-lake-mountain.” Nature -works by general laws, but this particular sample of its work seems to -us rather singular. Now, this is a geographical and historical fact, and -poetry can be quoted to prove things that are quite as strange. -_Festus_, in describing his tour in “giant-land,” related some of the -customs of the inhabitants, and told how they lived. - - ——“A wheat-stack here would but make - One loaf of bread for them. Oak trees they use - As pickles, and tall pines as tooth-picks; whales, - In their own blubber fried, serve as mere fish - To bait their appetites. Boiled elephants, - Rhinoceroses, and roasted crocodiles— - Every thing dished up whole—with lions stewed, - Shark sauce and eagle pie, and young giraffes, - Make up a pot-luck dinner,—if there’s plenty. - - STUDENT. And as to beverage? - - FESTUS. Oh! if thirsty, they - Will lay them down and drink a river dry, - Nor once draw breath. - - * * * * * - - When death takes place, - They burn the bodies always in a lake, - The spray whereof is ashes, and its depths - Unfathomable fire.” - -Now, either of these can be taken to prove the other. The poetry is -consistent, for it agrees, in all essential particulars, with the -natural phenomena in this case. - -Mount Hekla has a greater celebrity than any other mountain in Iceland, -owing to the frequency of its eruptions. All of these, for eight hundred -and fifty years, are said to be recorded, and amount to twenty-four in -number. They have averaged about three in a century; and, though -occurring at irregular intervals, at no time has more than seventy-seven -years elapsed from one eruption to another. The following are the -periods of - - - THE ERUPTIONS OF MOUNT HEKLA SINCE THE YEAR 1000. - - Interval between the - eruptions. - 1. A. D. 1004 - 2. “ 1029 25 years. - 3. “ 1105 76 “ - 4. “ 1113 8 “ - 5. “ 1157 44 “ - 6. “ 1206 49 “ - 7. “ 1222 16 “ - 8. “ 1294 72 “ - 9. “ 1300 6 “ - 10. “ 1340 40 “ - 11. “ 1374 34 “ - 12. “ 1390 16 “ - 13. “ 1436 46 “ - 14. “ 1510 74 “ - 15. “ 1554 44 “ - 16. “ 1583 29 “ - 17. “ 1619 36 “ - 18. “ 1625 6 “ - 19. “ 1636 11 “ - 20. “ 1693 57 “ - 21. “ 1728 35 “ - 22. “ 1754 26 “ - 23. “ 1766-68 12 “ - 24. “ 1845,46 77 “ - -According to the Icelandic records, the surface of the land in the -vicinity of Mount Hekla has been entirely changed by the eruptions. -Formerly, there were beautiful farms on every side, and the country was -thickly settled close up to the base of the mountain. The successive -eruptions or inundations of lava have covered the land for many miles -around, with a charred and blackened mass. - -The Icelanders are much more devoted to history and poetry than to exact -science; and on this account the various eruptions of their volcanoes, -and other remarkable natural phenomena, have received much less -attention, and been recorded with far less accuracy and minuteness, than -historical events. Owing to this, we have not as many records of their -volcanoes, spouting springs, and submarine eruptions, as would be -desirable. Had we a more extended series of facts, much that now seems -irregular and mysterious, could be reduced to system. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - - I’ve traversed many a mountain strand, - Abroad and in my native land, - And it hath been my lot to tread, - Where safety more than pleasure led; - Thus many a waste I’ve wandered o’er, - Clomb many a crag, crossed many a moor; - But, by my halidome, - A scene so rude, so wild as this, - It ne’er hath been my lot to pass, - Where’er I happ’d to roam. - SCOTT. - -AFTER our sojourn of two days in explorations of Mount Hekla, we took -leave of the farmer of Næfrholt and his family, and traveled towards the -southwest coast, the Reykir Springs, and the Sulphur Mountains. There -are some pleasing and original customs among the Icelanders; and with -these are their ways of saluting, at meeting and parting. Young and old, -male and female, have the same affectionate greeting and parting -compliments. They first shake hands, then embrace with arms about each -other’s necks, and then bring their lips in close contact. I have -sometimes fancied, when they took their faces apart, that I could hear a -slight _clicking_ sound; but this might have been imagination. When I -have been kindly entertained at a house, and especially if there have -been one or two pretty girls in the family, I have at parting adopted -the same kind of salute. Some of these compliments came off at the base -of Mount Hekla on the morning of July 30th. This day I had a charming -ride. Our road for some distance lay through a wood, and I have before -spoken of the stately grandeur of an Iceland forest. In addition to the -usual birch and willow trees, some of which were a little higher than -our horses’ backs, there were many bearing a small berry—the “blue -berry” they called it; and this is the only thing of the fruit kind in -all Iceland. They are eaten by the natives, usually with milk or cream, -and wherever they are found are highly prized. I have tasted them, but -they seem almost destitute of flavor. It takes a hot sun to give flavor -to fruit, and old Sol does not give much of his caloric to this country. -What would these northern people think of a luscious peach, just as it -is picked from a tree in New Jersey? One species of rose is found in -Iceland—the _Rosa Hibernica_; and I suppose they (the roses) hardly know -the difference between Iceland and Ireland. I have frequently observed -these rose bushes here, but I have never yet seen them in flower. A rose -in Iceland would be a sight. You might as well expect to see - - “Roses in December, ice in June.” - -Here, too, we found that most beautiful of all the shrubs and flowers of -Iceland, the fragrant heath. It is very plentiful, and of the same -species so common in the Highlands of Scotland. Here it is of small -size, seldom more than a foot in height. It is one of the first -vegetables found growing on the lava beds. It seems to grow on a medium -soil between the naked barren lava and the fertile meadows. Nearly one -half of Iceland is covered with heath, and some day it may be fertile -enough to produce grass. I have been told more than once that this -beautiful shrub will not grow in North America, but I cannot believe it. -In Europe and the northern isles, and Africa and Madeira, there are over -a hundred different varieties of heath. Why will not some -horticulturists rear a good variety, and try them from various climes, -Madeira, Scotland, and Iceland, and get some of them naturalized with us -in America, that they might cover our barren hills and waysides, and -adorn our gardens and fields? The heath and the ivy—two plants almost -unknown in America—are more beautiful and do more in Great Britain to -cover up and adorn barren hills and old walls and ruins than all other -vegetation, and yet they are rarely seen with us. I have been told, -however, that the late lamented Mr. Downing has planted and naturalized -the beautiful evergreen ivy, obtaining it from England. Let gardeners -and farmers blush or boast, neither nature nor cultivation has adorned -our hills with one nor ten plants that look half so beautiful as the -blooming heather that covers the hills of far-off northern Iceland. The -same species that grows here, I have seen in the Orkney and Shetland -Islands, the Hebrides, the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland, England, -Ireland, France, Germany, Holstein, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. It also -grows in Africa, as far south as the Cape of Good Hope, the Cape heaths -forming the most beautiful varieties of floral contributions that are -seen at the splendid Chiswick flower-shows in London. Wilkes, in his -Exploring Expedition, describes and pictures the forests of heath in -Madeira, the trees nearly or quite a foot in diameter, and forty or -fifty feet in height. I have an idea of offering a prize for the most -beautiful variety of heath that will flourish in the open air in our -Northern States, and then I think I will import some Iceland heath, and -carry off the reward myself! Perhaps some of our horticultural societies -will take the hint, go to work, and get it all done before I get back to -America. Leaving Næfrholt, we took our back track as far as Skarth, -where I had stayed all night, and slept in the church a few days before. -The farmer seemed glad to see me, gave me “a grip of his flipper,” and a -fine bowl of milk. I returned the grip, gave him a piece of silver, -mounted my horse, and off we galloped to the southwest. If the world was -not “all before us where to choose,” all Iceland was, and on we -journeyed. Some hours’ travel brought us to the banks of the Thiorsá, -and we prepared to face its turbulent and mighty current. Any one who -supposes that that little white spot in the Arctic sea, called Iceland, -cannot produce a river worthy of the name, had better try to swim across -this one. I should far rather breast the Hellespont, and follow Leander. -Larger than the Hudson at Newburgh, swift as an arrow, white with clay -from the mountains, and cold as ice,—really it is the most formidable -stream in appearance that I have ever seen. But we had ferried it once, -and could again; and a frail skiff put off from the opposite shore to -take us across. The only ferryman was a small boy, and so I manned one -oar myself. The guide sat in the stern of the boat, and led the horses -as they swam after us. The boy could not row evenly with me; the current -bore us furiously down the stream; the boat leaked badly; and, by the -time we were in the middle of the river, the horses got unmanageable, -nearly upset our frail craft, and finally broke loose altogether, and -floated and swam down the stream, the tips of their noses and their ears -just out of water. We let the horses go, and rowed like good fellows, -and landed on the west side of the river, but a good long way farther -down than the point opposite where we started. The poor ponies followed -the boat as well as they could, and after a while all came ashore, some -in one place, and some in another. We now traveled directly down the -Thiorsá, towards the south coast, bordering the Atlantic. We had a fine -journey through the valley of this great river. There was no crossing -except at the ferries; but the fine farming region, and a wish to get a -near view of the Westmann Islands, and, if possible, visit them, induced -me to make a long and circuitous journey on the southern coast. The -weather was clear and fine, and Hekla, and the Eyjafjalla and Tindfjalla -Jokulls stood up in bold relief against the eastern sky. The Eyjafjalla -Jokull, as its name imports—Mountain of Islands—shows, on its broad, -sloping summit, several knobs that stand up like islands. Near the top, -where it inclines towards the west, I could see a broad, deep chasm, -filled with snow. This pit must be of immense depth, for while it is -nearly filled with snow it is plainly visible for over thirty miles. On -the more even summit of the Tindfjalla Jokull, there are several little -elevations like islands or miniature mountains. Hekla looks black, clear -to the summit, except now and then a small spot of snow. I do not know -where those writers get their information from, regarding this mountain, -when they speak of the “three-coned Hekla.” From different points of -compass, including nearly every position whence Hekla can be seen, and -also from a sojourn on its summit, I must say that I have never seen -three cones, nor even two. From all sides, the highest point rises in -one single cone, like the profiles of most other volcanoes. On arriving -at the top, it is rather broad and flat, as I have mentioned; but this -is not observed from a distance. It is steeper than Ætna, but not so -steep as Vesuvius. That old Madam Pfeiffer should speak of Hekla as -having three cones, and _no crater at all_, is exactly in accordance -with the most of her statements about Iceland. Where she does not -knowingly tell direct falsehoods, the guesses she makes about those -regions that she does not visit—while stating that she does—show her to -be bad at guess-work, and poorly informed about the country. The valleys -of the Hvitá, the Thiorsá, and the Markarfliot, south, southwest, and -west of Hekla, comprise the largest tract of grass land in all Iceland. -A large share of it is in cultivated farms, and the rest is bog. In -drawing near to the coast, how magnificent the Westmann Islands appear! -Rising up like columns, they stand from one to two thousand feet above -the ocean. Formed of perpendicular, basaltic rocks, these and other -islands of the north of Europe rank with the most splendid coast-scenery -in the world. The Westmann Islands are most difficult to approach. The -place of landing is so treacherous, that unless the weather is calm and -the sea very still, a landing cannot be effected. A high cascade on the -main land of Iceland, near the town of Holt, is a sort of weatherometer -that decides whether a boat can put off with a prospect of gaining the -island. This cascade is one long stream of spray, formed by a small -brook falling a height of 800 feet. In windy weather, the spray is blown -entirely away, so that from the landing no cascade is in sight. If it is -still enough for this cascade to appear constantly two days in -succession, then the sea is usually calm enough to allow boats to land, -and they venture out. In the winter, it sometimes happens that for weeks -no boats can pass between the islands and the main shore. - -The Westmann Islands—Icelandic, _Vestmannaeyjar_—were settled by a -colony of Irish slaves, in 875, one year after the first settlement of -Iceland. A Norwegian pirate cruising in the Atlantic, came upon the -coast of Ireland, landed, and captured forty or fifty persons, men, -women, and children, and carried them off as slaves. Before he got home, -they rose on their captors, slew them, and went ashore at the first land -they met. This was on the largest of the Westmann Islands; that name -being given them by the Icelanders, as these people came from the west. -Christianity came here with these Irish people; and to this day, -crosses, croziers, and other articles of a like nature are dug up on the -island, and were undoubtedly carried here by the first settlers. The -islands are fourteen in number; but only four of them produce any -vegetation or pasturage, and of these only one is inhabited. This is -very appropriately called Heimaey or Home Island. This is fifteen miles -from the coast, and forty-five from Hekla. On this island is a harbor, -partly encircled by a high, perpendicular rock. Here they land and -embark in boats. A precipitous path leads to the top of the island, -where the people, with their habitations, a few sheep, and their little -church, remain two thousand feet above the ocean. The islands are -basaltic, like Fingal’s Cave and the Giant’s Causeway; but, instead of -being one or two hundred feet in height, rise like immense columns, -nearly half a mile above the sea. The inhabitants draw their entire -subsistence from the ocean and the cliffs, catching codfish and killing -sea-birds, myriads of which haunt the rocks of their sea-girt shores. -The sea-fowl furnish large quantities of feathers. Some of the birds are -used for food, and some for fuel. They split them open, dry them, and -then burn them, feathers and all. From the accounts given of this novel -sort of firewood, the odor rising from it must be “most tolerable, and -not to be endured”! The birds most used for food are young puffins—the -_Fratercula arctica_—a rather small sea-bird, with a bill shaped like a -short, thick plow coulter. In England and Scotland, they are called the -coulter-neb puffin. This beak is a most wonderful one, large to -deformity—nearly as bulky as all the rest of the bird’s head. There are -several circular marks entirely round it, making it look like a small -barrel with the hoops on it. But do not these hardy islanders show skill -and daring in the pursuit of birds and eggs for subsistence? Wonder how -the Yankees would take the birds? Shoot them with rifles, I suppose, -“knocking their daylights out,” one at a time. But these islanders do -not take this slow method—not they. In the egg season they go to the top -of the cliffs, and, putting a rope round a man’s waist, let him down the -side of the perpendicular rock, one, two, or three hundred feet; and on -arriving at the long, narrow, horizontal shelves, he proceeds to fill a -large bag with the brittle treasures deposited by the birds. Getting his -bag full, he and his eggs are drawn to the top by his companions. If the -rope breaks, or is cut off by the sharp corners of the rocks, the -luckless duck-egging fowler is precipitated to the bottom, perhaps two -thousand feet into the sea, or is dashed to pieces on the rocks below. -Accidents happen but rarely, and here these hardy men glean a scanty -subsistence. At a later period in the season, they go and get the young -birds. - -If the old birds object, they are ready for them, and serve them sailor -fashion, knocking them down with a handspike. The old often fight -desperately for their young, and will not give up till their necks are -broken or their brains knocked out with a club. Where the cliffs are not -accessible from the top, they go round the bottom in boats, and show a -wonderful agility and daring in climbing the most terrible precipices. -They furnish nothing for export on these islands, except dried and -salted codfish and feathers. With these they procure their few -necessaries and luxuries, consisting principally of clothing, tobacco -and snuff, spirits, fish-hooks and lines, and salt. The habit of living -entirely on fish and sea-fowl produces a disease among them, that -carries off all their children before they are seven years of age. I am -told that unless they are taken to the main shore to be brought up, not -one single one would live through childhood. Some well-informed -Icelanders have told me that the inhabitants of the Westmann Islands -would live as well, and be as free from disease, as the natives of -Iceland, were it not for their intemperance. Give a people few or no -luxuries—bread and vegetables as food being almost unknown—and expose -them to great fatigue, wet, cold, and danger; and would we not suppose -ardent spirits would be acceptable? The inhabitants of the far-off St. -Kilda, the most western of the Western Isles of Scotland, are said to -lose all their children that are kept on the island, and from the same -causes that occasion the mortality on the Westmann Islands. These -islands form a separate Syssel or county, and they have a church, and -usually two clergymen. Their church was rebuilt of stone, at the expense -of the Danish government, in 1774, and is said to be one of the best in -Iceland. It is supported by tithes, still raised here according to the -Norwegian mode. Christianity was brought here with the first settlers -from Ireland, and here it still remains; and I have sometimes wondered -if, during the changes of a thousand years, any of the brogue of the -Tipperary boys, or the lads of Connaught, could be discerned in their -conversation. Probably it has all been frozen up, or exchanged for the -more meliffluous tones of the followers of Odin and Thor. - -Doubly secure as these inhabitants are, by their poverty and their -almost inaccessible cliffs, one would suppose that they would be secure -from any warlike or piratical depredations. Notwithstanding this, they -have twice been attacked and pillaged by sea-rovers. As early as the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, piratical cruisers—many of them -fitted out in the English and French ports—came north; and plunder, -rapine, and murder desolated all the western and southern coasts of -Iceland. One English pirate, named John, was noted for his success and -daring. He was called “Gentleman John,” being probably, like the Greek -cruiser, - - ——“the mildest manner’d man - That ever scuttled ship, or cut a throat - With all true breeding of a gentleman.” - -This courteous corsair came to the Westmann Islands in 1614, pillaged -the church, and carried off their sacred relics. He probably knew the -inhabitants were descendants of the Hibernians, and only showed the -spirit of an Englishman towards the Irish. He also plundered their -houses, and no doubt from the contents of their beds managed to feather -his own nest considerably. He returned to Great Britain, but King James -I. caught and punished him, and with the true honesty of a Scotchman, -returned their church ornaments. In 1627, a vessel of Turkish or -Algerine pirates, after plundering several places on the eastern and -southern coasts of Iceland, landed on the Westmann Islands. They -murdered between forty and fifty of the inhabitants, plundered the -church and set it on fire, robbed the houses, carried off all the food, -clothing, and valuables, and then burnt their habitations. They took -near four hundred men, women, and children prisoners, bound them in -fetters, took them on board their vessel, and carried them in captivity -to Algiers. There were two clergymen among them, one of whom, Jon -Thorsteinson, was murdered at the time. He was the first translator of -the Psalms of David into Icelandic verse. He also translated the Book of -Genesis, and some other parts of the Bible, in a similar manner. He is -spoken of in Icelandic history as the “martyr.” The other clergyman, -Olaf Egilson, with his wife and children, and the rest of the prisoners, -were sold into slavery in Algiers. - -Mr. Egilson got away two years after, and wrote an account of their -sufferings and privations, which was afterwards published in Danish. -It was not until 1636, nine years after their capture, that the -unfortunate Icelanders were released, and then only by being ransomed -by the king of Denmark. Their treatment and sufferings can be imagined; -only thirty-seven of the whole number survived, and of these but -thirteen persons lived to regain their native island. Notwithstanding -the sufferings, calamities, and hardships of the people, the Westmann -Islands continue to be inhabited. - -Since the earthquakes and great volcanic eruptions of 1783, the fish in -the neighborhood of the Westmann Islands, and all along the south coast -of Iceland, have nearly all disappeared, so that the principal -dependence of the inhabitants is on the sea-fowl. Besides the puffin, -they use for food the fulmar—_Procellaria glacialis_. For their winter -supply, they salt them very slightly, and pack them down in barrels. I -wonder how one of these poor mortals, accustomed to so little variety, -would relish such a dinner as they serve up at the London Tavern, the -Astor, or the Revere House! Thor and Epicurus! He would probably surfeit -himself, unless it so happened that he could relish none of their -dishes, and refused to eat. - -But my pony’s head is turned towards the west, and I am probably as near -the Westmann Islands as I ever shall be. The disappearing spray of the -“Driving Cascade” shows a rough and stormy coast; so good-bye to the -contented islanders, their sea-girt cliffs, and their sea-bird food. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - - —— A merrier man, - Within the limits of becoming mirth, - I never spent an hour’s talk withal. - SHAKSPEARE. - -MY ride along the banks of the Thiorsá, before my detour to the south -coast, near the Westmann Islands, was a pleasant one. The little green, -turf-covered hillocks—not appearing much like houses, though they were -so—gave an air of solitude to the landscape, that but few civilized -countries possess. The air was vocal with birds, that constantly flew -about us. The mournful note of the plover, and the wild scream of the -curlew, were constantly heard, as they rested on the signal-cairns by -the way-side, or flew away towards a thicket. These birds, as well as -the ptarmigan, are quite plentiful in Iceland, and all reckoned as -game-birds. - -A man could travel through Iceland in the summer, carrying a gun, a few -loaves of bread, some tea, coffee, and sugar, get plenty of milk and -cream at the farmers’ houses, and shoot game enough for his meat, -without once leaving his horse. Some might not consider it a great -luxury, after a hard day’s ride, to sit down to a banquet of roasted -raven, a fricasseed hawk, or a broiled sea-gull; but it would be quite -as good as the buzzard soup that Prince Achille Murat used to get in -Florida. Some nice ptarmigan, or plover, with a piece of a loaf, tea or -coffee, and butter, would make a feast that many a traveler would be -glad to have. Then, too, in the interior are large herds of wild -reindeer, where a good marksman could select a nice piece of venison. -Henderson, the missionary, saw a large flock, that approached quite near -him before offering to retreat. White and blue foxes, seals, and -sometimes an importation of white bears from Greenland, who not -unfrequently float over on fields of ice, might afford a little sport, -and perhaps profit, but would be rather tough eating. I, however, -carried no arms, except the “pickers and stealers” that Dame Nature -furnished me; so I did not speak to the birds in the loud tones of -villainous saltpetre. I have had my murderous propensities—nurtured when -a lad, by shooting crows and squirrels—the most excited here, in -Iceland, by some old ravens, who seemed to me to act with a very -unbecoming familiarity. These birds were sacred to Odin, and I believe -the Icelanders never molest them. Odin had two, one for memory, and the -other for news. They used to fly abroad during the day, and return at -night, bringing intelligence from all parts of the world. One would -perch on his right shoulder, and the other on his left, and relate to -him every thing that was going on, at the same time refreshing his -memory in regard to past events. The old Scandinavians never used to -make a voyage, or go a journey, without them. Floki, a Norwegian pirate, -one of the first settlers of Iceland, took three of them with him when -he started on his voyage, taking them as pilots, to show him the way. -After getting some distance beyond the Faroe Isles, he let off one, and -he returned to Faroe. Sailing awhile longer, he sent off another; and, -after a wide circuit in the air, he returned to the ship. Sailing some -days more, he released the third; and he flew away to the north-west. -Following him, he soon reached the coast of Iceland. There seems to be a -pair of these birds living near almost every house in Iceland. I have -never seen a church, with a house near by, where there was not a pair of -ravens. They seem to be a much larger bird here, than any of the kind -that I ever saw in America. At the little church and farm-house of -Haukadalr, near the Geysers, were two; and they would often alight on -the church, and sometimes on a gate-post, but a few feet from me. One of -them showed a great aversion to _Nero_, and would sometimes swoop down, -and nearly hit the dog’s head. Believing him to be nothing but a -heathen, I had a most Christian wish to send a bullet through him. But -my Colt’s pistol was far away, and his black ravenship could worship -Odin, Thor, or any other deity he pleased. - -If these birds are not Christians, there is one excuse for them. They -are very long-lived, and, perhaps, having a distinct recollection that -some of the buildings now used as places of worship, were built and used -for worship during the days of idolatry and heathenism, they have been -unconscious of the introduction of Christianity. The ravens here have -the same costume as in other countries, dressing in the “inky cloak,” -and “customary suits of solemn black.” Their language, too, always being -uttered in slow and solemn tones, adds to their appearance of gravity -and wisdom. - -But as for the corbies, the corn-fed pirates! they never come here. A -crow was never seen in Iceland. Here, there are no grain-fields to -plunder, nor trees to build their nests in. Ill-bred rascals, living on -bread-stuffs, were they to come here and ask for a loaf, they would get -a stone. - -In my journey to-day, I passed near Skalholt, situated in the forks of -the Bruará and the Hvitá rivers. This place, dignified with the title of -the “capital” of Iceland, in most of the books of geography that I have -seen, is simply a farm, and contains the ruins of one small cathedral -church, where one of the bishops of Iceland used to officiate. It is now -only interesting as a locality connected with the ecclesiastical history -of the country. On the banks of the mighty Thiorsá, I traveled some -distance. I find it difficult to leave this river. I like its roaring, -turbulent torrent—to look at—wouldn’t like to swim it though, unless I -desired a much colder bath than I have been accustomed to. I believe it -would be difficult to find a river of the magnitude, or strength of -current, of this, in an island that only contains 40,000 square miles. -The Thiorsá is nearly a hundred and fifty miles long, falls over 3,000 -feet in less than sixty miles, and carries far more water to the ocean -than the Hudson does. - -We left the river near the church of Olafsvell, and bore away to the -west, through meadows and farms, and one large tract of lava. On our -left, for some distance, it was all lava; and on the right was a range -of hills and mountains. Our prospective stopping-place for the night, -was at the house of the sysselman of the district; and, a part of the -day having been rainy, I did not care how soon we arrived there. The -roads were tolerably good—that is, for Iceland—and custom had made a -seat in the saddle for eight or ten hours in the day, a comparatively -easy exercise. - -But, ho! the sysselman’s house appears in sight. Some large flocks of -ptarmigan seemed to be tokens of good cheer and comfortable quarters. -Riding up a long lane between fences, we arrived at the house, a fine -framed building, and the only house I had seen in some time, that -appeared fit for the home of a Christian. Round it were out-buildings, -and a large number of hay-stacks. The afternoon had cleared off finely; -and the shining of the western sun, and the presence of a good many -well-clad people and children—some piling up the fragrant hay—made one -of the most pleasant and comfortable scenes that can be imagined. - -We dismounted, and the guide went among the men, and first spoke to a -clerical-looking personage, dressed in black. He next saw and talked -with the sysselman, who was giving directions about gathering and -stacking the hay. The guide returned to me, and I understood him to -say the man in black was the parish clergyman. Still the sysselman -did not come near me; but he was busy, and his tardiness was only -the prelude to a most hearty welcome; for he finally came forward, -and shook me cordially by the hand, an operation he repeated several -times while walking towards the house. He was a native Icelander, -tall, well-dressed, and a man of intelligence. He spoke some English, -and was, evidently, a right down, merry, hospitable good fellow. -Opening the front door of his house, he ushered me into his parlor, a -well-furnished room, having chairs, sofa, a fine carpet, and on the -walls several pictures, looking-glass, &c., &c. - -Here I was in clover, for once. Visions of down-beds, a plastered and -papered room, and capital cheer, crowded thick and fast upon me. The -good cheer was not long coming, either—for wine, brandy, hot water, -sugar, glasses, silver spoons, et cetera, and sugared cakes, soon -covered the table. He spoke most every language under heaven, I have no -doubt; but to me it seemed a mixture of Danish, English, Latin, Greek, -Icelandic, and French, with some broad patches straight from Babel, that -my learning couldn’t exactly sort out. The priest too was present; and -mine host characterized him as a finished scholar, and one who could -talk excellent Latin. His lingo, though, was many removes from the -language of Cicero and Horace. The sysselman poured out some brandy, and -mixed a glass of punch; and so did I; and so did the preacher; and we -sipped it. I had often heard of the Iceland sysselmen, and their -hospitality to travelers; but this was my first experience of it, and it -went clear up to the portrait my imagination had drawn. - -We drank and ate; and he took me through his house, showed me -his library, his sleeping rooms, his handsome wife, and several -rosy-cheeked, well-dressed children. He showed me an octavo volume, -the journal of their Althing or Assembly; and I saw his name among the -national legislators, where he had figured as a statesman. He took -down from his library a life of Lord Byron, in Danish, with portraits, -and extracts from his works in English and translated, and, writing my -name in it, gave it to me.[5] - -Meantime, the liquor seemed to improve him. He gradually grew mellow; -was first kind, then cordial, then sociable, then talkative, then -argumentative, then jolly, then affectionate, then drunk—or at least -rather “how come you so?” We walked out doors, and saw his people -building hay-stacks. It was a beautiful approaching sunset. I ran and -jumped on to a half-finished stack, to see how it was formed; but I came -off again pretty quick, and found I had a small brick in my hat! No -matter, however, considering the day’s travel was over. The guide, -though, didn’t take the saddles off, and only opened one of the trunks -to get a book I wished to show the sysselman. It seemed barely possible -we were not to stay all night here, after all. In fact, he hadn’t asked -me to stay. He would not have had to ask me but once. Our friend in the -clerical garb became very merry too. He made signs of departure, but -seemed waiting for me. Was it possible we were not to stay all night at -the sysselman’s? The guide had all day told me we should. But the fact -began to stare me in the face: so did a very extensive bog meadow, -directly to the west. But the sysselman didn’t ask me to stay all night. -I wished he had. But he didn’t. And our horses were led to the door, and -the saddles adjusted, and every thing got ready; and we mounted and rode -off. The jolly, clerical-looking chap accompanied us; though he was no -clergyman at all, but a drunken ferry-man, who lived on a river a long -way to the west. He was to be our guide over the interesting bogs, to -some very nice caravansera, no doubt; but where it could be, I neither -knew nor did I inquire. We left—we did—and I gave my kind entertainer a -very affectionate and cordial good-night. He is a merry, hospitable, -good fellow, I am sure; but I didn’t repose under his eider-down. - -Our ride was a cheering one—in a horn! And miles we traveled, -and—and—and—wait till the next chapter, and we’ll see what. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 5: - - The presentation read thus: “Til Herre Pliny Miles, Raburky, fra New - York; erkjendtligst fra Th. Gudmundsen, Sysselmandi, Arnes Sysla, 30 - Juli, 1852.” - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - - Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, - When our deep plots do pall; and that should teach us - There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, - Rough-hew them how we will. - Hamlet. - -NO, I did not stay at the sysselman’s; but I had a ride of a -couple of hours, through a bog meadow, and arrived about sunset at -Hraungerthi—_Islandsk_—“Garden of Lava.” This, like many other towns -that may be seen laid down on the map of Iceland, contains nothing but -a farm and farm-house, the residence of a clergyman, and his church. -The pastor owns the farm and pastures, and labors in his own vineyard, -as well as in the vineyard of the Lord. During the week he looks after -his flocks and herds; and on Sunday he gathers his own little flock -of immortals together, and tells them of the green meadows and still -waters that lie in the domain of the Good Shepherd in that bright realm -where winter never comes, and where earthquakes and volcanoes are heard -not. The clergyman of this district is Herre Sigurthur Thorarensen, -and I soon found I had lost nothing by leaving the sysselman’s to come -under his hospitable roof. He was not a _bon vivant_ and a “jolly -good fellow;” but he was a man of sense and learning, a Christian -and a philosopher. He spoke Latin excellently; and his son, Stefan -Thorarensen, could converse fluently in English, as well as in four -or five other languages. I know not when I have enjoyed myself as -pleasantly and profitably as in my visit at this hospitable mansion. I -soon found that I had gained, not lost, by coming here, and that, as in -many other cases, what seems to be a misfortune or inconvenience turns -out for the best. - -Mr. Thorarensen had a fine library of books in various languages, and a -copy of the large and elegant map of Iceland that had been lately -published. His house had excellent furniture, and he was everyway as -well lodged as his official neighbor, the sysselman. The church, a few -steps from the house, was a neat wooden building; and in it were two -monumental tablets—rather unusual in Iceland—one with an inscription in -gilt letters to the memory of Mr. Thorarensen’s late wife. Every-thing -in and about this church was in excellent order and good taste. Around -the church were small, green mounds, where— - - “The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.” - -Not a “head-stone,” a “piece of mouldering lath,” or single mark or -inscription was seen. Nothing but the little grass-grown mounds erected -over the dead in one of their churchyards. How simple such a mode of -burial! Shall any of these be forgotten at the sound of the last trump? -Would a “storied urn or animated bust” give them a surer passport to -heaven, or make the sleepers sleep more soundly? Would a lying epitaph -cheat the Great Jehovah, or be admissible testimony at heaven’s bright -gate? Sleep on! “All that breathe shall share thy destiny.” All shall -“mix forever with the elements,” or be a portion of “the clod that -the rude swain turns with his share and treads upon.” When time comes -to an end, and the earth is withered up like a scroll, fame will say -as much for these humble islanders as for the proud sons of genius in -more genial climes—those whose names adorn marble columns and gilt -title-pages. - -Mr. Thorarensen and his son showed me their farm, a very neat, well -conducted one, and gave me a good deal of information respecting the -_modus operandi_ of farming in Iceland. - -The great bar to improvement here, as in most old countries, is the -objections the people make to change old customs. On the banks of the -Nile and in Syria, in the days of Moses and Aaron and in Solomon’s -time, they plowed with a crooked stick, and for a team used a cow yoked -to a camel, or a ram harnessed to a donkey. To the present day, the cow -and camel and crooked stick scratch up the ground in Syria. In Iceland, -in the days of the Vikings, they had no plows, but dug up their fields -with a spade or a piece of iron. The spade is used to this day, and the -plow is still unknown. In the garden here at Hraungerthi, I saw Swedish -turnips, potatoes, cabbages, lettuce, radishes, parsley, caraway, -horse-radish, angelica, and some other vegetables. - -One great difficulty with them in their gardening, is the want of seed. -Their seasons are often short, and the vegetables, though grown -sufficiently for the table, frequently will not go to seed; so that they -must obtain fresh supplies every year from Denmark. Aside from the -expense of this, the vessels that come from Denmark to some of the -Iceland ports arrive but once or twice in the year; and an order for any -article from Copenhagen cannot be executed unless given six months or a -year beforehand—often a longer period than a man will know his wants. -Accustomed as I had been to see plenty of vegetables, it did not seem -like good living to find few articles of food except beef and mutton, -fish, milk, butter, cheese, curds, tallow, and lard—all animal food—with -now and then a little black bread, or barley porridge. At Mr. -Thorarensen’s, I had set before me a fine piece of roast lamb, coffee, -wheat bread, Danish butter, and good wine. These articles, however, are -not all found in the houses of the poorer classes of Iceland. They can -all have mutton and beef, and coffee is a common beverage, and Danish -brandy is rather too common. The most of the Icelanders indulge rather -freely in the use of tobacco (snuff) and brandy. Having few, or, I may -say, no amusements, and families often living so far apart, that for -five or six months—the winter season—their nearest neighbors are not -seen, can it be wondered at that some excitement to the animal spirits -will be sought from stimulants? I never saw a man intoxicated in -Iceland, and am sure drunkenness is not common; but the poorer classes -do often indulge in too much strong drink. They generally keep a bottle -at the head of their beds; and when I have slept in the huts of the -farming peasants—not the better classes—I have always found a bottle of -brandy under the pillow, or at the head of the bed; not probably placed -there for their guest, but as its usual resting-place. I have sometimes -gone into a slight _nosological_ investigation of the contents, but have -never pursued the subject farther. Perhaps I’ll “look into it” at some -future time. I once, while sleeping in a farm-house, waked up, and saw -an Icelander, in another bed in the same room, pull a bottle out from -under his pillow, and give a long pull at the contents, then lie down -again. I profess a complete innocence and ignorance respecting the -peculiar qualities of the Danish brandy drunk in Iceland. If it is not -better than some of the “good and evil spirits” seen in some parts of -the world—Western United States, for example—then I should hardly care -to cultivate a close acquaintance. I never had a “pull” at one of these -“bottle imps;” but I have drunk champagne with His Excellency the -governor of Iceland, and had a very excellent glass of port wine with -mine host of Hraungerthi. - -I said the Icelanders took snuff. They do; and a way peculiar to -themselves they have of taking it. Their snuff-boxes are much like -a Scotch snuff-mull. I have seen them made of the horn of a goat, a -calf, or a yearling, and sometimes ivory—the tusk of a walrus or a -sea-horse—and elegantly tipped with silver. They take a little stopper -out of the small end, and pouring out two little parcels of it on -the back of the left hand, apply each nostril, one after the other, -and snuff it up. It is very quickly done, and quite as neatly as the -method we are accustomed to see with us. That is, comparatively -speaking; for, in strict truth, I will scarcely allow the applicability -of any interpretation of the word _neat_ to a practice, one of the -most filthy—chewing always excepted—that ever besmeared and disgraced -human nature. I should have been glad to have been able to report the -Icelanders free from this vice; but in this they have been contaminated -by habits introduced from older civilized countries, and the truth must -be told. Smoking is not so common, though pipes and segars are often -seen in the sea-port towns. - -Respecting cultivation on the Iceland farms, the term is scarcely -applicable. The meadow lands are rough by nature, and they make it still -more so by the way they put manure on it, leaving it in heaps. I am told -that the Icelanders imagine that more grass will grow on any given -number of acres if the surface is uneven, from the fact that there is -more area. They forget that the grass grows perpendicularly, and that no -more blades can stand on an uneven than on an even surface. Then, too, -it is so very uneven, that the turf is broken in many places, and, of -course, produces less than as if there were a level, unbroken turf. -Better counsels, however, are beginning to prevail; and many farmers are -leveling down their meadows, and improving their farms; and they find on -trial that level land produces more than that which is covered with -hillocks. - -Here, at Hraungerthi, I saw considerable timber, and asking how it was -conveyed here, was told that it was brought on the backs of ponies, just -as every thing else is carried. Not very large timber, some that is four -inches square, and twelve to eighteen feet long, is carried long -distances. One or more pieces are lashed to each side of a horse, and -with one end dragging, they will go from fifteen to twenty miles in a -day. They cannot carry timber that is quite as ponderous as the staff of -Satan, described by Milton—a Norway pine, or “mast of some tall -admiral,” being but “a wand” to it. I asked about their heavy articles -of furniture, and was told that their sofa, bureau, and some other -articles, were made there. - -The church of Hraungerthi was the best I had seen out of Reykjavik, -large enough, I should think, to hold two hundred people. Many of the -Iceland churches in the interior of the country, are not more than -twelve feet by eighteen, inside measurement. - -I was so well entertained at Hraungerthi, and got so much information -about the country, that I did not leave till one o’clock the day after -my arrival. A fine breakfast was served at nine, coffee having been sent -me in my room as soon as I was up. I know not when I shall ever return -any of the numerous acts of hospitality and kindness extended to me by -the Icelanders; and I greatly fear the opportunity never will come, -unless Icelanders oftener go to America than they ever have. In fact, -since old Eric and his friend sailed to the American continent, near a -thousand years ago, I believe it would be difficult to find an account -of a single Icelander that has ever been in Brother Jonathan’s land. If -ever one does go to America, may I be there to meet him! and if the neck -of at least one champagne bottle doesn’t get wrung off, then—then—then -I’ll see what. - -If the Danish government will open the trade of Iceland to the world—an -event not improbable—we might expect some commerce between that country -and this; and then the inhabitants of VINLAND, in their own cities, -could greet the followers and descendants of Eric and Heriulf. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - - A heart that, like the Geyser spring - Amidst its bosom’d snows, - May shrink, not rest,—but with its blood - Boils even in repose. - P. J. BAILEY. - -WHETHER Americans will ever have the opportunity of returning any of the -hospitality that the Icelanders extended to one of their countrymen, is -uncertain. At any rate, their guest was made welcome. Mr. Stefan -Thorarensen insisted on presenting me with a fine copy of the poems of -Jonas Hallgrimson, one of the modern poets of Iceland. Perhaps, some day -I’ll translate it into English verse! The pleasantest meetings must have -an end; and, after the sun had passed the meridian, we had our horses -caught, and bade adieu to Hraungerthi. Two hours’ riding brought us to -the ferry of Laugardælir, on the Hvitá, too formidable a stream to ford -at this place, and far larger than I found it above Skalholt, where it -came so near carrying me away. Here we found our clerical-looking friend -who helped make the brandy-toddy disappear at the sysselman’s. He was -the ferryman, his house standing near the bank of the river. Like some -other sanctimonious-looking fellows, he was evidently a pretty hard -case—something of a sinner. No hospitalities in his house; not even a -glass of brandy and water. He was agent for an Iceland newspaper, and -seeing copies of the last number, I offered to purchase one. I took a -copy of the paper, and then held a handful of money towards him, for him -to help himself to the price. There were all sizes and values of Danish -coin down to a skilling, to select from; and, though the price of a -paper was just about one penny sterling, he took a third of a dollar! At -the ferry, he “tried it on” again, but there it didn’t fit. He asked me -a dollar, double the uniform price, for rowing me across, but I gave him -only the customary rate. This was the first little variety that I had -seen in Iceland character; but there are few flocks composed of all -white sheep. When we arrived at the bank of the river, we saw the boat -in the center of the stream, apparently coming towards us, but on the -opposite bank were two or three travelers, vociferating violently to be -taken across. We halloo’d to the boatman furiously, and seeing his -clerical-looking master, he came to us first. A hook was set near the -landing, and honest black-coat drew it up, and found he had hooked a -small trout. A comely, handsome girl came down to the water-side; and -our honest ferry-master told me, a number of times, that she was his -“dottir.” He seemed very proud of her; and well he might, for she was a -strong contrast to himself. If he ever gets to heaven, it will probably -be on her account. The prettiest girl I have seen since leaving England, -was selling flowers in the market, at Hamburg; and the next prettiest -stood bare-headed and bare-footed, in an old brown petticoat, on the -bank of the Hvitá, with a fish in her hand, and her long hair streaming -in the wind. - -We had the usual variety in crossing the river. Several of the horses -got loose, and then tried to get into the boat, or overturn it; and some -of them went swimming and floating far down the stream before they -landed. The boat was rowed by the boatman, and the ferry-master in his -“suit of sables.” The master was a regular “lazy;” and I thought the -boatman would, though on the down-stream side, turn the boat round in a -circle. This boatman was the wildest-looking man I ever saw in my life. -He had no hat, coat, nor vest, and his long hair, hanging down on all -sides of his head, made him look like a wild man. He was a picture, and -would have made a subject fit for a Wilkie. He was not a man, though, to -be afraid of; and, in fact, I should rather trust him than his master. - -Our journey, to-day, led through a country mostly level meadows and -bogs, with a constant range of hills and mountains on our right. The -same continued evidences of a volcanic region presented themselves, that -we see more or less, all over Iceland. - -There was not as much lava, except on the hills, as we found in some -other places; but a constant succession of hot springs. Since crossing -the Thiorsá river, yesterday, we have passed at least six different -localities where the smoke arises from hot and warm springs. We were now -approaching some springs far more celebrated than any we had seen -lately, and perhaps the third in point of interest of any to be found in -Iceland. These springs are known as the Reykir springs, and are visited -by most everybody that comes to Iceland, being but one day’s journey -from Reykjavik, and far easier of access than the Geysers. The Reykir -springs, to be enjoyed, must be seen before visiting the Geysers, as -they are far inferior to their more celebrated spouting brethren in the -north. I was told I should come to these springs after winding round a -range of hills on my right; but we kept “winding round,” and I thought -the springs never would appear. The weather was rainy, and the roads -bad, and though we had but a short journey to-day, I was glad when the -wreaths of smoke announced the day’s travel nearly over. I had here a -hotel of the usual dimensions, and the ordinary sacred character—a small -church, and the poorest I had seen in Iceland. “Frouzly” haired men, and -fat, red-cheeked girls, with large pails of milk, were, as usual, seen -about the farm-house. A bed of down—what all the Icelanders have—and one -of those small and prettily-checked coverlets, the manufacture of the -family, were brought out to the church, and with some dry clothes, hot -water for my tea, and a large bowl of milk, _Nero_ and I were soon fast -by the altar, and enjoying ourselves as much as any two sinners in the -world. Oh! if a man wants to enjoy his loaf, whether it is white bread -or black, and if he wishes sound sleep, either in a church or on the -ground, let him mount a pony every day, and ride in storm and calm, -through bush and bog, brake and brier, and over fields of Iceland lava. - -The Reykir springs are nearly a hundred in number, and cover some fifty -acres—a tract nearly as large as the Geysers occupy. These springs also -comprise every variety of hot, warm, spouting, and mud springs. The -springs here that spout, are more regular than the Geysers, but do not -perform on so extensive a scale. They don’t bore with so big an auger; -haven’t the caliber, nor the capital to do business on. They are very -beautiful; but, to be appreciated fully, should be seen before going to -the Geysers. The spouting ones are intermittent, giving their eruptions -at regular periods. I found, by consulting my watch, that the largest -one commenced an eruption once in three hours and sixteen minutes. Each -eruption continues about half an hour. This spring, or Geyser, is like a -well, about five feet in diameter. It has been nearly filled up, by -persons throwing large stones into it. When I arrived, it was not in an -eruption, and down among the stones I could see the hot water, boiling -violently. It was on the top of a rise or knoll of ground, and I could -see that the water had made an aperture, and escaped through the -petrified wall of the well, and appeared on the surface of the ground, a -little way down the knoll, making a fair-sized brook. No water ran over -the top of the well, only when in action. - -At the time of an eruption, it rushed suddenly, without any warning, -up through the stones, separating into a great many streams. There it -continued playing beautifully, much like an artificial fountain, for -nearly half an hour. The noise could be heard for half a mile, or more. -The first time it played, after my arrival, was near midnight, after I -had got to sleep. Hearing the roar and rush of water, I was instantly -awakened, and ran to the church window, and looked out. There it was, -throwing up its broad, white, foamy jets, about a quarter of a mile -from me. There being no darkness here, at this season, sights and shows -appear to about as good advantage in the Iceland twilight as in the -noonday sun. I watched it from my window, till it settled down, and -gradually sunk into the earth. I saw it in eruption twice the next -morning, before I left. Its height was scarcely forty feet, but it -would be a grand addition to the artificial fountains and warm baths -in one of our cities. Wonder if the Icelanders would sell it? Guess -not; it is one of the “lions” of the country; and, if their curiosities -were gone, there would be nothing to attract the foreigners here. If a -stretch of the imagination could make a spring movable property, one -would hardly think of carrying off Mount Hekla or Skaptar Jokull. This -Geyser is near the foot of a range of hills, the same as the Geysers -in the north. The brook of hot water from this, ran near half a mile -before it emptied into a cold stream that flowed past. One of the -prettiest fountain-springs in the world is near the bank of this cold -brook, at the foot of a very steep ridge, near half a mile from the -larger Geyser. The basin itself was ten or fifteen feet across, and -shaped some like the half of an oyster, or rather a clam-shell. The -side next the hill was far the deepest, sinking into a kind of well -three or four feet in diameter, where the water came out. The direction -of the well was slanting or diagonal, the opening coming outward from -the hill. The brow of the hill hung partly over the spring, so that in -an eruption the water could not rise perpendicularly, but was forced -out at an angle of thirty or forty degrees with the ground. It did -not throw the water more than ten or twelve feet high, and fifteen -or twenty feet outwardly. This spring makes up for its lack of size -and grandeur, in the frequency of its eruptions, and the beauty of -the incrustations and petrifactions in and around it. All the bottom -of the spring is a mass of petrifaction, and nearly as white as the -purest marble. After an eruption, the water would gradually recede -from the basin, and sink down into the earth, nearly all disappearing, -so that the water could just be seen down the aperture of the spring. -Then it would at once commence rising gradually; and in three or four -minutes it would get to spouting, and continue going till the basin was -full, and run over considerably. After three or four minutes it would -gradually stop, and sink back again. A whole round of performance, -rising up, blowing off, and sinking down again, occupied about fifteen -minutes. - -With a hammer that the guide brought me, I broke up some beautiful -incrustations to bring home. The samples of these petrifactions are -not unlike some found in the limestone caves of Virginia and Kentucky. -The mud-springs here are very curious. Some of them are like large -and sputtering cauldrons of black pudding. Again, some of them are -seen gurgling away down in the earth; and, attracted by the noise and -the steam, I would go and look down a hole, and see it sputtering and -boiling, apparently pure clay in a semi-liquid state. The clays here -are very beautiful, and a great variety of colors, as I had found them -at the Geysers. In many places near the springs—particularly near the -mud-springs—the clay is soft and hot, often dangerously so. Visitors -sometimes get into a soft place, and sink into it, getting their feet -and legs dreadfully scalded. In these places it is boiling hot. What -a terrible fate for a man to sink down here out of sight! _Nero_ -accompanied me from the house up to the Geyser, and when he came to the -brook of hot water that ran from it, he stopped, and gave a howl. Poor -_Nero_! he knew it was hot, and would scald his feet, and it was too -wide for him to jump it. So I took him up in my arms, and carried him -across. He seemed to appreciate the favor perfectly. The poor dog did -not know but he had escaped being drowned in the rivers, or roasted in -Mount Hekla, to come here and be boiled in the Reykir springs. Good old -_Nero_! many a long league we’ve traveled together, and you have got so -you scarcely know whether you like your Iceland or your Yankee master -best. I rather think you like the one best for the time being, who -gives you the most boiled bacon, and fresh milk. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - - “By water shall he die, and take his end.” - -HAVING seen the Reykir springs, I prepared to leave. I paid the man -the usual sum for the privilege of sleeping in the parish church, and -for the grass for our horses, and milk for ourselves. He was evidently -dissatisfied; returned no thanks, and did not offer his hand as a -token of satisfaction. From his demeanor now, and more from some -circumstances hereafter to be related, I think him a bad man. He was -of a much darker complexion than the most of the Icelanders, and a -morose, churlish-looking fellow. Perhaps, from the fact that he was the -landlord of the Reykir Springs—a “fashionable watering-place”—he had -grown worldly, and considered a stay on his premises worth more than it -is at most caravanseras. He saddled his horse, however, and prepared to -accompany us; probably, though, as a favor to the guide, rather than to -me, as he would not like to forfeit his future custom. The guide rode -ahead with the pack-horses, and I went a little way to the right to see -some hot and warm springs—a part of the great family here, that I had -not seen the night before. There were two, similar to two that I had -seen at the Geysers, large and deep; perhaps twenty feet across, and -entirely full of hot water, so clear that I could see perfectly plain -to the bottom—about thirty or thirty-five feet, as near as I could -judge. These springs did not discharge a very great quantity of water; -but there they were level, full, and hot enough to boil a dinner, and -there they had been in that state, probably, - - “Amid the flux of many thousand years, - That oft had swept the toiling race of men - And all their labored monuments away.” - -A little way off—perhaps twelve rods—was a cold spring, and between that -and the hot ones was one of tepid water. “Mine host” rode out near me, -to call my attention to this tepid spring. It was more like a well, -about ten feet across at the top of the water, which was below the -surface of the ground some six or eight feet. I got off my horse, and -with some caution went down the steep, sloping side of the well, and -felt of the water. It was about blood heat, and no steam escaped from -it. The water was pitchy black, and showed no bottom, appearing of -unfathomable depth. The Icelander also went down the bank, and felt of -the water; and while he did so, his feet gave way, and down he went into -the horrible-looking pool. As he sank, he turned his face towards me -with a look of terror and fear more horrible than I ever saw on a man’s -countenance before. May I never be a witness to another such sight! His -death seemed inevitable. To my utmost astonishment, he floated. To go in -after him was out of the question, and would only have resulted in -drowning us both. He floated over on his back, his face just out of -water, and reached his hands imploringly towards me. I stretched my whip -to him; and as he caught the end of the lash, I pulled him slowly -towards the bank, then grasped his hand, and got him out. The man was -drunk! It was brandy that threw him into the water, and no doubt ’twas -brandy that kept him afloat. Not being very fond of water, I think -’twould be very difficult to drown an Icelander. Certainly this one did -not show the “alacrity in sinking” that Falstaff did. He pulled off his -coat, and wrung the water out of it; and then, in his wet clothes, -mounted his horse, and we rode on after the guide, who by this time was -a long way ahead, crossing the green meadows. - -To the left, towards the river Hvitá and the sea, it was level; and -on the right, ranges of hills and mountains. In the course of six -or eight miles, we arrived at the little town and church of Hjalli -(_he-aht-li_). It was Sunday, and the people for many miles around were -assembling for worship. Every one came on horseback. As for traveling -on foot any distance, such a thing is unknown in Iceland. Here the -landlord of the Reykir Springs left us. He showed the same ungrateful, -unthankful spirit that he did that morning at home, although I had -saved his life. Holding forth my hand, to shake his at parting, with -a wrathful look he drew his back, and said “Nay.” He had no reason to -treat me thus; but according to an old superstition, common in Orkney -and Shetland, and I believe in Iceland, I ought to beware of him. It is -related by northern journalists—see Scott’s _Pirate_—that when a ship -is wrecked, or under other circumstances, no one must try to save the -lives of the unfortunates; for if they do, the person so saved will -some day take the life of his benefactor, or in some way prove his -evil genius. I don’t think this Icelander can stand much of a chance -to be mine, for in all human probability we shall never meet again. He -is evidently not born to be drowned, but he better be cautious how he -imbibes too much brandy before going to the margin of a deep well. He -may not, at another time, have a Yankee to pull him out if he falls -in. Leaving Hjalli, we crossed a broad tract of country covered with -the beautiful heath, now in full bloom. I stopped and gathered a large -bouquet to carry home. This day it rained the most of the time; and, -though not near night, I was glad when we arrived at Vogsósar, where -the guide said we were to put up. We rode up to the house—bear in mind, -the Iceland towns often consist of just one tenement—and dismounted. -The resident was a clergyman—Rev. Mr. Jonson. He came out, and after -saluting me, had a long talk, in Icelandic, with the guide. It seemed -as if I had fallen on evil men and evil times, for I did not like the -appearance of this man at all. Somehow, he had a forbidding look; and -I fancied we should have to travel further, as I did not believe his -heart or house would open for me that night. How easy it is to be -mistaken! He was like all the Iceland clergy—and like almost every -one of the Icelanders—one of the most hospitable of men. Having got -the history of our former travels—as I presume he did—from the guide, -and finding, no doubt, that I was one whose character would bear -investigation, he “took me in;” not, however, as the landlady did Dr. -Syntax; but he took me into his house, showed me a warm fire, had some -fresh trout cooked for me, a fine cup of coffee, and with a change of -dry clothes, I was once more “in clover.” This was near the sea-shore, -on a lake known as Hlitharvatn, a kind of bottle-like arm of the sea, -where the water flowed in, through a neck or strait, at every flow -of the tide. About a mile south of the house, with the waves of the -Atlantic nearly washing it, stood the church. This bears the name of -“Strandar Kirkja,” or, Church on the Strand. - -Southeast of this, a mile or two, is a cape known as the “Nes.” These -names of “kirk,” “strand,” and “Nes,” show the similarity in the -languages in the north of Europe. There is Inverness, on the north coast -of Scotland; Cape Lindesness, on the southwest point of Norway; and -Reikianess, on the southwest point of Iceland. Mr. Jonson had some good -books in his house, and was evidently a gentleman and a scholar. He -talked excellent Latin, in which dead language we exchanged our live -thoughts. He evidently lived rather comfortably; and, like most of the -Iceland clergy, was both farmer and preacher. He made some inquiries -about America, but seemed extremely contented, and well satisfied with -his own country. He told me, in order to cross the neck or strait that -led to the lake, I must start the next morning at six o’clock—“_hora -sexta_”—when it would be low tide. We accordingly made preparations for -an early start. I found it totally useless to offer him money for my -entertainment. Like all the clergy, not a penny would he take. I offered -a piece of silver to one of his servants, who brought up our horses; but -a half-dollar had no charms for him; he would not take it. He knew the -value of money, but he knew it was not the custom for his master or his -household to take money from strangers. Giving him, and his wife and -family, our best thanks and a hearty shake of the hand, while the -morning sun was gilding the broad Atlantic, and lighting up the mountain -tops, we rode away. - -Our ride to-day, going west from Vogsósar, was quite a contrast to -yesterday’s journey. At six o’clock we found low tide, and the water -nearly out of the arm of the sea that supplies Lake Hlitharvatn with -water. A young tern, half fledged, was on a little island near us, as we -passed; and the old bird showed great signs of alarm. The little fellow -had not been in the world long, but we certainly were not among his -enemies. The mother bird swooped down at the dog and then at us, and -screamed at the whole party, and kept it up till we were far away from -the little one. Skirting the strand for some distance, the guide pointed -out with great interest several logs of drift wood that had been washed -ashore. - -The gales from the southwest bring a good deal of drift wood on shore -along here, every stick of which is valuable. The coast being low, there -is a long line of breakers pitching their white caps on to the strand. -Large numbers of sea-fowl were riding and rocking on the waves, - - “As free as an anchored boat.” - -It seems to me that the life of a sea-fowl must be a continued romance. -I would like to fly and swim as they do, if I could. But some of them -have floated, and swam, and fished their lives away; for their skeletons -lie about on the beach. How black the whole line of coast is along here! -How different from the chalky cliffs of old England, or the clear-white -sand on the shores of America! Here it is all lava and volcanic sand, -and quite black. From Vogsósar we continued our journey west to -Krisuvik, a very small town near the coast, but it has no harbor. Never -were the striking features of a volcanic country shown more palpably -than where we traveled to-day. We rode on the plain, with the mountains -on our right and the sea to the left. Earthquakes, many of them very -violent, happen here every few years. Then large fragments of rocks and -lava are rolled down from the mountain tops far out into the plain. -These were very numerous and of all sizes, some that would weigh fifteen -or twenty tons having rolled from one to two miles. Here the old lava, -particularly that which had rolled down from the mountains, had a -different appearance from any I had before seen in Iceland. Much of this -looks like the conglomerate or “plum-pudding stone” found on the coast -of Scotland, in our New England States, in California, and in various -parts of the world. It looks just as if in the volcanic times, when -there was a general melting, that a quantity of sea-worn pebbles and -very hard round stones of various sizes would not melt, but became -incorporated or rolled up in the dough-like mass, and here they remain -like enormous plum-puddings at Christmas time. - -Many of the hills and mountains are very abrupt and precipitous, like -those near Reykir, and farther east, near Hraungerthi. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - - My hour is almost come, - When I, to sulphurous and tormenting flames, - Must render up myself. - GHOST of old MR. HAMLET. - -KRISUVIK is not a very flourishing city. It contains a church and one -farm-house, the latter comprised in several edifices, as the farmers’ -houses here usually are, and all covered with green grass. Sir George -Mackenzie’s book, which I have with me, gives a picture of this place; -and every building and object now, even to the garden wall, are an exact -facsimile of the Krisuvik of forty-two years ago. Two and three miles to -the north are the sulphur mountains, and at this distance show plainly -the yellow sulphur, the variegated clays, and the smoke arising from the -springs, “and the _mountains_ dimly burning.” The people at Krisuvik, -looked very poor and wretched, more so than any I had seen in a long -time. They let us have some excellent milk, for which I paid them, and -made them several presents of trifling articles, with all of which they -seemed greatly pleased. - -We sat on an old grass-covered wall made of turf and lava, and -dispatched our dinner; and then, mounting our horses, rode to the -north towards the sulphur mountains. If there is an interesting -development of volcanic heat in all Iceland, it is in this most -remarkable place. The sulphur mountains are a great curiosity. The -name in Icelandic—_Brennisteinnamur_—looks a little “brimstony.” In -about two miles, we came to a beautiful lake of green water,—another -“Grænavatn”—like the one near Hekla. Near this, in order to examine the -mountains in all their glory and fire, and see the sulphur mines, I had -to leave my horse and climb for it. Sir George Mackenzie gives a very -interesting, but rather terrible, account of this mountain-pass and the -dangers he and the companions went through in exploring it. The guide, -with the horses, kept the plain, and I turned to the left; agreeing -after I had explored the mountains to come down one or two miles ahead -and meet him near some hot springs, the smoke of which we could see. As -the guide with our little cavalcade rode off, Nero followed me towards -the mountains. As the distance widened between the guide and me, the -dog would stop and cast a wistful look across the plain towards his -master. As all our separations had been temporary, he felt himself -safe, and with a little encouragement followed me. Still he would now -and then give a lingering look towards his master, and it required -more and more urging to get him to follow. The distance grew wider -and wider; and now we were near a mile and a half apart, when Nero, -with one glance at me, started upon the run. He flew like a deer, and -taking a bee-line across the plain, was very soon with his good master -and the ponies. Some sharp climbing up the mountain, nearly a thousand -feet, brought me to the sulphur mines—a scene I shall never forget, a -literal pool of fire and brimstone. - -Had Milton ever visited the sulphur mountains of Iceland, I could have -forgiven him his description of the infernal regions. Here was a little -hollow scooped out of the side of the mountain; and all over and through -it, yellow sulphur, burning hillocks of stone and clay, and stifling -sulphurous smoke. The surface, too, was semi-liquid; in fact as near a -literal lake of fire and brimstone as this world probably shows. - - “Dusky and huge, enlarging on the sight, - Nature’s volcanic amphitheater - * * * * * * - Beneath a living valley seems to stir; - * * * * * * - Pluto! If this be hell I look upon, - Close shamed Elysium’s gates, my shade shall seek for none.” - -Here was sulphur, bred in heat, coming up out of “the bowels of the -harmless earth,” like saltpeter, that was so abhorred by Hotspur’s -dandy. The earth itself here was principally a fine pink or -flesh-colored clay; and all over this I could see holes communicating -with the mighty laboratory of nature below; and as the steam and smoke -came out of these holes, the fine particles of sulphur seemed to be -brought up to the surface. The clayey ground where the sulphur lay, -was in most places soft, and could not be walked over without the -greatest danger of sinking down through it, perhaps into the fiery -depths, in the bowels of the mountain. Indeed, it possesses a kind of -horrible and fascinating interest. Around the edges, and in certain -places, the soil is hard, and some stones are seen where one can go -in safety. By having a couple of boards, a man might walk all over -the ground. In some places, the sulphur was a foot thick; and as it -gathered, it seemed to consolidate, and I found I could break up large -pieces, beautifully crystallized. This sulphur appeared about as pure -as the sulphur sold in the shops, but not as dense. It had not half -that strong odor that sulphur and brimstone have, in a prepared state. -These mines showed signs that they had been worked, as some bits of -boards and planks lay about, and there were some paths to be seen. The -sulphur is taken off the surface, and then the ground is left for two -or three years for it to collect again. Sulphur is so cheap, and these -mines being so far from a seaport—Havnefiord, some twenty miles north, -being the nearest—and roads and means of transport being so scanty, -gathering it is not very profitable, nor carried on to a great extent. -There are other sulphur mines in the north; some productive ones near -Kravla mountain, on the shores of Lake Myvatn. How did Shakspeare get -his knowledge of sulphur mines? He was never in a volcanic country. I -think he got it, as he did every thing else, by inspiration. He knew -that sulphur was generated in heat. In Othello, he says: - - “Dangerous conceits are, in their natures, poisons, - Which at the first are scarce found to distaste, - But with a little act upon the blood, - Burn like mines of sulphur.” - -After Othello kills Desdemona, he calls all the vengeance of heaven down -on his head. He says: - - “Blow me about in winds! roast me in sulphur! - Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire! - -King Lear speaks of a - - ——“sulphurous pit, burning, scalding—stench.” - -In the Tempest, Ariel, when he bothers the enemies of Prospero on their -ship, shows them - - ——“the fire and cracks - Of sulphurous roaring.” - -The “beginning, end, and aim” of sulphur seems to be fire. Poets and -imaginative writers ever associate sulphur with fire. They give it a -home equally with the lightnings of heaven and flames of hell, the -roaring of artillery and the blazing of the volcano. It seems to have -birth in the thunder-cloud; for, after the flash of lightning, we can -smell it, and after the shower is over, it is often seen floating on the -rain-water. To give one more quotation; King Lear says: - - ——“Merciful heaven, - Thou rather, with thy sharp and sulphurous bolt, - Split’st the unwedgeable and gnarled oak, - Than the soft myrtle.” - -To drive a thunderbolt to split the myrtle, the game would not be worth -the powder, I suppose. - -Near the large bed of sulphur, were several mud springs, one several -feet in diameter. Here the boiling hot mud, like pitch, was spluttering -and splashing up into the air in jets. I gathered several large lumps -of sulphur, and then climbed over a mountain ridge, and came to another -similar place. Here sulphur had been gathered, and was constantly -accumulating. It seems to be brought up by the heat that exhales from -the interior of the earth, as it collects on every thing there is on -the surface. If left for ages, I presume it would gather in some places -hundreds of feet deep. Some have proposed the plan of laying boards -on the ground for it to collect on. It would then be very clean, and -easily gathered. In collecting it from the clay surface, considerable -earth must often get in it, but there is a way of cleaning it. In -places away from the sulphur, I saw the variety of beautiful colored -clays, such as appeared so plentiful at the Geysers, and at Reykir. -I had a comparatively easy walk down the mountain, through a sort of -ravine, towards some hot springs and a green plain where the guide -and horses were. Hearing a roaring sound on my left, I turned aside -to learn the cause; and there was a _steam spring_, or rather a jet -of steam, that rushed out of the mountain with a loud and constant -roaring. The noise and escape of steam were incessant, the steam coming -out in a slanting direction, at least twenty feet in a direct line. The -noise it made was greater than that of one of our largest steamship -engines “blowing off.” Without a doubt, if this was in a manufacturing -country, a house could be built over this natural steam fountain, an -engine erected, and by catching the steam in a cylinder, it could be -made to do good service, and all without fuel, fire, or water, and -perpetually. In Sir George Mackenzie’s book was a description and an -illustration of this same jet of steam; and I held the picture up, and -compared it to the present appearance of it, and apparently it had -not altered a particle in forty-two years. This, with the six hundred -years’ record of the Geysers, and the twenty-four eruptions of Hekla, -shows the perpetual and constant volcanic heat near the surface of the -ground in Iceland. Near to this was the most extraordinary mud spring -I have ever seen. It was the largest and most active. It was a regular -mud geyser. Imagine an enormous kettle ten feet across, sunk down into -the earth, and filled to within six feet of the top, with hot, boiling, -liquid mud. There it kept boiling and spouting; jets rising from its -pudding-like surface ten and fifteen feet high; and it kept constantly -going. Wouldn’t a fall into this cauldron of liquid pitch be boiling -enough for one live animal! Perhaps a boiled rabbit in this unpromising -kettle of “hell broth,” would be as good as the Indians’ way of rolling -a fowl in the mud, and then roasting it. The sulphur mountains, and all -that abound near them, are among the greatest curiosities of Iceland; -but Mr. Barrow, the “very enthusiastic” yachter, did not visit them, -because the morning he thought of going proved a little rainy! He also -consoled himself for not going to visit Mount Hekla, because “it might -have been cloudy” when he got there! This is your English traveler, -all over. Many is the time that I have seen them forego the pleasure -and profit—if such travelers could profit at all—of visiting the most -interesting scenes, just because it would make a dinner-hour a little -later or a little earlier than common. - -A fine brook ran through the green plain, and emptied into a little lake -not far away. It looked delicious enough to bathe in; and a bath in a -warm pool or brook in Iceland _is_ a luxury, such as I have tasted. In -speaking of these sulphur mines where the sulphur is hot—and it is -gathered on or near Mount Ætna in similar situations—it may be -mentioned, that there are places where sulphur is to be found cold, and -dug up like other minerals. When a boy, I recollect being laughed at -greatly by my oldest brother, for asking if there were not “brimstone -mines.” Go to! He that runs may read, and he that runs far enough may -write. “The gods throw stones of sulphur on thee.”—_Cymbelline._ Go to. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - - “Over the hills and far away.” - -ON and about the sulphur mountains are a great many curious sights, and -none more singular than the various-colored clays. At the distance of -several miles the contrast between the sulphur beds and the different -kinds of clay was so great, that the hills looked as if they had been -experimented on by a company of painters, so clearly did they show their -coats of many colors. I stopped some time admiring the great steam-blast -and its blubbering neighbor, the gigantic cauldron of boiling mud. Fury! -I wonder how beef and plum pudding would boil, if wrapped in a tight bag -and immersed in this boiling clay. Very well, no doubt. Methinks ’twas -very wise in the Almighty placing these prominent and numerous -exhibitions of internal heat in a “far off” and thinly peopled land, -where all the folks are incurious, and not disposed to pry into nature’s -sublime secrets farther than she chooses to show them. Now, if these -ebullitions of old Dame Nature’s cauldron were in America, some shrewd -Yankee or joint-stock company would go to boring right down to the -center, to get at the fountain head; and after getting a supply of -steam, proceed to let it out in streams, to turn grist-mills, saw logs, -cook hotel dinners, pump water, drain marshes, and do many other “acts -and things that a free and independent” people “may of right do.” They -would dig for gold, and finding it not, be content with fire. With that -fire they would cook, roast and boil, warm themselves, and make baths. -With the steam they would turn machinery and spin cotton. Whatever -compound of metals, mines, or elements they found, of that they would -make riches, or at any rate attempt it, and some would succeed. Some, I -fear, would come off as the alchemist in _Festus_ did, when the Devil -taught him. Lucifer, in the garb of a gentleman, and manners of a -scholar, says— - - “I have a secret I would fain impart - To one who would make right use of it. Now mark! - Chemists say there are fifty elements, - And more;—would’st know a ready recipe - For riches? - - FRIEND. That, indeed, I would, good sir. - - LUCIFER. Get, then, these fifty earths, or elements, - Or what not. Mix them up together. Put - All to the question. Tease them well with fire, - Vapor, and trituration—every way; - Add the right quantity of lunar rays; - Boil them and let them cool, and watch what comes. - - FRIEND. Thrice greatest Hermes! but it must be; yes! - I’ll go and get them; good day—instantly. [_Goes._ - - LUCIFER. He’ll be astonished, probably. - - FESTUS. He will, - In any issue of the experiment. - Perhaps the nostrum may explode, and blow him, - Body and soul, to atoms and to——.” - -And I wonder where he’ll find himself? Somewhere, no doubt. But I am not -going to moralize on what might be, or what will be, when philosophers -come to Iceland and bore out artesian wells. Perhaps if they do, they’ll -come to the conclusion that some of the Icelanders have, that the -entrance to a certain warm region is not far from this country. These -good people are very sensible, in leading upright, moral lives. - -But a mountain lies before me, and I must ride. We had sharp climbing -for nearly a mile, and relieved the ponies by getting off and walking up -a portion of the way. On the summit of the mountain pass—perhaps 1,500 -feet above the plain—we had an extensive view. A long range of mountains -extended far to the east and northeast; on the west were separate peaks; -and to the south we could see far out on the ocean. Smoke and steam from -hot springs and sulphur mines, rose up in various places. - -Our descent on the north side of the sulphur mountains was far more -gradual, and quite circuitous. Passing from a plain through a rocky -defile, there I saw the foot-prints of a former traveler, and where he -had attempted to immortalize himself. It was not President Fillmore, of -the United States, but plain Mr. Philmore, of England. He was here the -year before, and my present guide had been his. There, on the face of a -large rock, he had cut with considerable labor, the letter “P,” the -initial of his name. As it happened to be one of the initial letters of -my name, I dismounted, and finished the business with my knife, by -cutting in the rock my other initial, the letter “M.” The rock was a -soft kind of pumice, and soon a gigantic M. stood at the right of the P. -Now, future travelers who come this way, will learn with delight that -the illustrious “Plinio Myghellz” one day penetrated the rocky defiles, -and clambered up the snow clad mountains of Iceland! By the scrupulously -conscientious, it may be alleged that I stole another man’s thunder, or -at least the P with which he put it down. But of what use is half of a -man’s initials? It scarcely means any thing; and, like half a pair of -scissors, cannot cut any thing; or like an old bachelor, without t’other -half, “isn’t good for nothing.” Now, he put down the P, and I mated it -with the M, and there the two, keeping one another company, will -flourish to everlasting glory. “Plinio Myghellz,” you are famous; and -you, Mr. Philmore, you’re “no whar.” - -We now traveled over the most extraordinary road I’ve ever seen on the -face of the globe. It must have been a vast labor to make it passable; -but passable it was, and that was all. It was a bed of lava several -miles in extent, and known as the “horrible lava.” Indeed the road was a -horrible one, and I only wonder a road could have been made at all that -would be passable for man or beast. Imagine a plain overflowed with -melted lava to an indefinite depth, say fifty to a hundred feet. Then on -cooling, this broke up in masses of rock of every imaginable shape and -size; only none of it was small or smooth or regular,—rough and sharp -peaks and edges, twenty feet above the average surface; and deep, -yawning cracks or seams appeared, fifty or a hundred feet deep, and -large enough to swallow up horse and rider. To make a road, the rocks -were broken down, and crevices were filled up, to that extent that the -sure-footed Iceland ponies got over it with safety. Sometimes they -jumped over the seams, and sometimes they clambered or crawled over the -rugged rocks. For five or six miles it was all desolation; not one drop -of water, not a single blade of grass, not one living bird, not a house, -not a single scrubby tree, nor, apparently, a single specimen of animal -or vegetable life, save an inferior kind of moss or lichen that clung to -the rocks. We could see, now and then, a patch of stunted heather. Such -is the process and progress of nature in Iceland. Lava overflows the -land, and for hundreds of years it stands up, cold, black, and naked. -Finally, a slight and thin species of moss—one of the most inferior -lichens—begins to cover the rocks with a delicate brown or pale green. -After a long period—somebody else must tell how long, for I can not,—by -the winds carrying on the dust, by the flight and rest of birds, by -insects and the growth of mosses, a little soil appears, just sufficient -to support a scattering and scanty growth of heather. And now this -beautiful little shrub lights up and adorns the desert waste. If you -look on Gunnlaugsson’s large map of Iceland—a map made from surveys and -observations extending over Iceland for twelve years, it will be seen -that the green, or agricultural portion, is not more than one-third of -it; and about one-half of the remainder—another third of the island—is a -pink color, indicating the growth of the heath; and the balance is snowy -mountains, sandy deserts, and black and barren lava. Such is the surface -of Iceland. After the bare lava tract has been succeeded by a growth of -heath, another long period is necessary to get a sufficient accumulation -of soil to support a growth of grass, the most valuable and extensive -vegetable product of the country. I have noticed on a beautiful meadow, -where the turf had been disturbed, that only six or eight inches below -the surface, the rugged lava appeared. I have mentioned that no country -shows more beautiful meadows, or produces more fragrant hay than -Iceland. It is of short growth, but remarkably sweet, and I am sure more -valuable, taken by weight, than the coarser hay grown in England and -America. - -Soon after getting across the plain of “horrible lava,” we rode over a -low mountain; and before us was the town of Hafnarfiorth. This is a nice -village, nestled in a quiet little nook; and in its harbor were two or -three vessels. To those who have seen the town of Scalloway, in -Shetland, this place bears some resemblance. Back of Scalloway, the -hills rise more abruptly than here. The village, though apparently near, -was several miles away, and we rode by a good many fine farms, with -beautiful, green meadows, showing a marked contrast to the lava tract -that we had passed. I had been here once before, as mentioned in a -former chapter, and made the acquaintance of a very agreeable and -hospitable Danish gentleman and his wife. My first visit was with -Professor Johnson, and he did the talking on both sides; mine host, -whose name also was Johnson, conversing only in Danish and Icelandic. -Knocking at the door of the nice little white house, it was opened at -once, and there was a house full of young Icelandic ladies,—indeed the -prettiest lot of Iceland fair ones that I had seen at one time. Neatly -dressed, and beautiful girls they were; not one plain one among them. -All were at work, knitting, just as we see the good dames in America, -when they “go visiting” in the country. One had on the little Icelandic -black woolen cap, with silk tassel, the head-dress of the country; and -the others wore nothing on their heads, dressing in the Danish style, -which differs but little from the “fashions” in Paris, London, and New -York. The good little lady of the house greeted me very cordially; but -she was in a terrible fix, for she could not talk with me. She tried -Danish, then Icelandic; and I _attempted_ the same, stumbled through two -or three sentences, stuck fast, went on again, and finally broke down -altogether, ending in a hearty laugh all round, at my expense. Never -mind; it’s no hard task to be laughed at by a bevy of pretty girls. Mr. -Johnson was not at home, having gone to Reykjavik. Though the poor -little lady couldn’t find her tongue, at least to any effect; but I can -tell what she did find. She went to her closet and found a bottle of -capital wine, and she put it on the table at once; and I shall not tell -how many glasses of it went under my jacket before I left. - -After partaking of the solids and fluids that my fair hostess set before -me, I rose to depart. Wishing them all a very good day in the best -Icelandic I could muster, and shaking hands all round—the usual -affectionate parting salute I did not dare attempt, being a naturally -bashful man!—I mounted my horse and rode off. It was after nine o’clock -in the evening, and the sun was bending low toward the Greenland sea. -Hafnarfiorth is the finest Iceland town I have seen, except the capital; -and it has a fine harbor. It is quite as beautiful in shape, and as -secure for shipping, as Sackett’s Harbor, on Lake Ontario. The land -nearly surrounds the harbor, forming about three quarters of a circle. -Large stacks of codfish were piled up, and great quantities were -scattered about on the gravelly beach, drying. After once thoroughly -dry, they tell me it does not hurt the fish to rain on them; and they -leave them out of doors with impunity. They put boards and heavy stones -on the piles to keep them from blowing away. In this primitive -community, all goods are safe under the broad canopy of heaven, as -“thieves do not break through, nor steal.” Visiting seemed to be the -order of the day at Hafnarfiorth. Several horses stood about, with the -curiously shaped side-saddles on them—like an arm-chair—peculiar to the -country. Boys were holding some of these; and some little girls, having -got helped to seats in the large saddles, were galloping the little -ponies round in fine style. They were bare-headed, with their long hair -streaming in the wind; and they seemed to think riding was capital fun. -In fact, I never saw an Icelander, male or female, who was too young to -sit in the saddle. These little northern nymphs seem to take to riding -as naturally as the South Sea islanders do to swimming. The village of -Hafnarfiorth has twenty or thirty houses, and perhaps two hundred -inhabitants. There is but one street, and that is bounded on one side by -the water, with the houses and stores on the other; and it runs in a -circle nearly round the harbor, close to the water’s edge. If any one -comes here and wants to know where my friend Johnson lives, I can tell -him; always provided he does not move, and no houses are built beyond -his. It is the last house—a neat little white, story-and-a-half one—on -the southern side of the harbor, the side opposite to Reykjavik. In -journeying from here north, we had to climb directly up a very steep -ascent, to get on the lava bed that covers the ground for many miles. It -was six miles to Reykjavik, the road passing within about a mile of -Bessastath, for a great many years the site of the Iceland college. Had -I not by this time been accustomed to all sorts of traveling—swimming, -tumbling, flying, and ballooning—I should have called this road a bad -one. Indeed, it was abominable; but I was accustomed to it. There’s -nothing like habit. Long practice may make sleeping on a solid rock go -as well as a bed of down. - -Rocks were piled on rocks, and deep and broad cracks and seams were seen -at intervals. Across one chasm through which, deep in the earth, we -could hear a stream of water running, was thrown a natural arch of lava, -that served as a bridge where the road crosses. Winding round a couple -of deep bays that set back from the sea, we put our ponies through, at -the top of their speed; they seemed to appreciate their approach towards -home; and at about 11 o’clock, we jumped from our saddles, and with a -loud hurrah, dashed into the hotel at Reykjavik, where I met my old -friend, President Johnson, - - “A drinking of his wine.” - -He shook my hand so heartily I thought he would unjoint the elbow: “My -dear Yankee friend, how are you; and how is old mount Hekla, and the big -Geyser, and all the little Geysers; and how are my friends the sulphur -mountains?” “Why, high, hot, and smoking; how should they be, my -literary loon?” “And a fine tour you’ve had, I hope.” “Well, I have, my -boy; clear to the top of old King Coal. Yes, and a peep into the -crater.” “Well, you’re one of the boys; and I wish I could go across the -Atlantic, and see old Niagara with you.” And here I had a bed; no more -sleeping in churches; a bed on an old-fashioned camp bedstead—two letter -X’s; high diddle diddle, the fool in the middle, like the circus clown -with a hoop over his head. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - - The nice young man, the modern youth, - Who drinks, and swears, and rakes, - Does little work, speaks little truth, - But plays at DUCKS and DRAKES. - Old Play. - -IF a man wishes to study ornithology, let him go to Iceland. The most -beautiful birds in the world, those having the most brilliant, and -finest, and warmest plumage, are to be found in the Arctic regions. Some -of the game-birds of Iceland, I have spoken of. The greatest favorites -and the most valuable of all the feathered tribes here are the eider -ducks. Their down is the lightest and softest of animal coverings, -probably the worst conductor of heat, and therefore the warmest -clothing, that is known. The eider down has long been one of the most -important of the products of Iceland, and until lately has usually sold -at several dollars a pound. The kings and princes of the north of Europe -do not sleep on the down of the cygnets of the Ganges, but on and under -the down of the eider duck. The increased products, the varied -manufactures, and the widely extended commerce of the world, have -brought into use other materials more conducive to comfort and health -than the eider down; and the consequence has been, the price has greatly -fallen, so that now the poor peasant can sleep on down, and it can be -purchased for less than fifty cents a pound. - -The eider duck—_Somateria molissima_—is a large and fine-looking bird. -The male is over two feet in length, and weighs six or seven pounds. -His back, breast, and neck are white, inclining to a pale blue; the -sides white; the lower part of the wings, the tail, and the top of the -head black. On the water, he is as graceful as a swan. The female is -much smaller than the male, and differently colored. The female is pale -yellowish brown, mottled with both white and black. The tips of the -wings are white, the tail a brownish black. But a poor idea is given, -however, of the looks of these birds by an enumeration of their colors. -The down is a sort of brown or mouse color. These singular birds have -both the character of wild and domesticated fowls. In the winter they -are so wild that it is difficult to come near them, but in the breeding -season—the month of June—they are tamer than barn-door fowls. On the -islands all around Iceland, and many parts of the main shore, they -cover the land with their nests. When left to themselves the brood of -the eider duck does not exceed four; but remove the eggs daily, and she -will continue to lay for weeks. The drake is a very domestic husband, -and assists in all the little household arrangements previous to the -advent of the little ducklings. They build not far from the water, -making the nest of sea weeds and fine grass, and lining it with the -exquisite, soft down which the female plucks from her breast. If you -approach the nest—which is always near the water—the drake will give a -hostile look at you, then plunge into the sea with great violence; but -the female stands her ground. If in a gentle humor and used to seeing -company, she will let you stroke her back with your hand, and even -take the eggs and down from under her. Sometimes she will fight and -strike with her sharp beak, and she gives a blow in earnest. On finding -the down gone from the nest, she plucks off more, and when the supply -fails, the drake assists in furnishing it. I have been told, if their -nests are robbed of the down more than twice, they abandon the place, -and will not return there the following season. Half a pound is the -usual quantity taken from a nest, and this seems a great deal, for the -domestic goose at a single picking rarely yields more than a quarter -of a pound of feathers. A greater quantity of down is gathered in wet -seasons than in dry. What immense quantities of these birds come around -Reykjavik, and spend the breeding season, particularly on the islands -of Engey and Vithey in the harbor! Around the houses and frequently -all over the roofs, their nests are so thick that you can scarcely -walk without treading on them. The inhabitants get eggs enough to half -supply them with food. The eggs are the size and about the color of -hen’s eggs, though not quite so white, rather inclining to a yellow. -They are nearly equal in quality to those of barn fowls. After the -young are hatched, their education commences immediately. They graduate -after two lessons. The old duck takes them on her back, swims out into -the ocean, then suddenly dives, leaving the little mariners afloat. - -Of course they swim. It gets their feet wet; but they don’t mind that, -as they never wear any stockings. In the winter the eider ducks seldom -go far from Iceland. They visit the outer skerries, and go to the -Faroes, and some to Orkney and Shetland. They breed some in these -islands and the Hebrides, and sometimes on the main shore of Great -Britain. Varieties of the eider duck are found in all the northern -regions, Siberia, Kamtchatka, Behring’s Straits, Labrador, and as far -south as New Brunswick. It seems a wonder, among all the bird fanciers, -that some attempt is not made in England or our Northern States to -domesticate them. Let some Captain Waterton give them a chance; and even -if they fly away after the breeding season, it gives them the wider -liberty, and the owner saves their keeping. The flesh of these birds is -excellent, better than any other sea-fowl. In Iceland their value is so -great, for their eggs and down, that there is a law against shooting -them. For the first offense a man is fined a dollar, and for the next he -forfeits his gun. They are greatly alarmed at guns, and, if often fired -among, they quit the coast. So, with kind treatment they give a good -return, but treat them unkindly and they will not return at all. The -power of flight of this bird, considering his weight, is almost -incredible. Mudie puts it down at ninety miles an hour. One variety, the -“western eider”—_somateria dispar_—is only found a native of the -northern part of the Pacific, on both the Asiatic coast and in the -Russian possessions of North America. One of these birds, in a wild -state, a solitary straggler, in “good condition,” was found near -Yarmouth, on the eastern coast of England. That was the only specimen of -this species ever seen in the British isles. What a journey was that! He -must have flown from eastern Siberia entirely across Asia and Europe! -Were man endowed with such powers, either natural or artificial, would -he not be a traveler? I can only speak for one, but I say this boy would -be a rover if he could go like the eider duck! I wonder if there are any -Humboldts among birds. If this one had not been invited to stay in -England to adorn some museum, he would have had a good budget of -adventures to relate by the time he had completed the circuit of the -globe. And is it unreasonable to suppose that birds sometimes actually -fly round the world? - -But there’s one beautiful and interesting bird that has never revealed -himself to the ornithologists of Europe, except on the lonely cliffs of -the Meal Sack Island, far from the main land and the haunts of men. Here -they can be found for about three months in the summer. Not a specimen -of this bird is known to exist in any collection. Some Danish -naturalists have for years offered $200 for a pair, either dead or -alive. The great danger in approaching this almost inaccessible island, -with the strong currents that run by it, and the wild nature of the -bird, have, so far, defied the efforts of yachtsmen, travelers, hunters, -and fishermen. The Icelander scarcely ever does any thing for the sport -or adventure of the thing; and rarely will a large reward tempt him to -go into any scene possessing much novelty or danger, unless his own -direct duty lies in that direction. I have seen a water-color drawing of -this bird, at a gentleman’s house at Reykjavik. He evidently belongs to -the penguin tribe. He is not as large as the penguin, but about two feet -in height, and stands as straight up as a man. His back is dark colored, -nearly black, and the belly white. It is evidently a marine bird, and -one fond of lonely regions and cold climates, and at this time possesses -much interest, simply because we cannot catch him. He is entitled to his -liberty; at least I shall give him my vote to allow him to remain in his -present free and independent state. I have his Latin name written down; -and anyone that is good at deciphering bad writing, and thinks he can -read this language of the Cæsars when written by a Dane, may examine -this singular specimen of chirography. It appears to me, to be as -difficult to hunt out as a sample of the bird itself. - -I have now to speak of a far different specimen of the feathered -tribe—the cormorant. He is a vile bird. I say vile, for he’s a glutton; -his flesh is rank and unsavory, and he’s far from being a neat, tidy -bird. The cormorant—_Carbo cormoranus_—is common on the shores of -Europe and America, and in the islands of the sea as far north as the -Arctic circle. They are apparently larger than the goose, but not so -heavy. Color black, except the wings dark brown, and sides of the head -and a spot on the thigh white. Though web-footed, he perches on trees, -and sometimes builds his nest there. The bill of the cormorant is about -five inches in length, the upper mandible much hooked. With this he -takes his prey, the unlucky loiterers of the finny tribe. He catches -them usually across, and, if large, he often rises in the air, throws -up the fish, and as it falls head first he catches him endwise, and -the fish, while struggling with life, finds a grave in the cormorant’s -stomach. He will eat his own weight of fish in one day; and then, -gorged to stupidity, he flies to a lonely cliff, spreads out his wings -to dry, and lays there in a state of half torpor for several hours, -like an anaconda after he has swallowed an ox. In this state, if his -resting-place is accessible, the bird can be captured readily. At one -season of the year—the breeding time—this bird and the _shag_, another -species of cormorant, have a crest on the head, of greenish feathers. -These afterwards disappear. - -A far more elegant and interesting bird, is the gannet or Solan -goose—_Sula bassana_. On the wing, the gannet is the most -striking-looking bird I have ever seen. They are three feet in length, -and their wings stretch six feet. They are white, except the outer -half of the wing, which is black, the bill, legs, and feet black, and -head yellow. What crowds of them we saw, both in the air and on the -water, off Cape Skagen, near the southwestern part of Iceland! During -the summer, the Meal-Sack Island swarms with them. The female lays but -one or two eggs, nearly white, but not much larger than the common -duck’s egg, though the bird is as large as the goose. The gannet is -exceedingly fond of rocky islands a little way from the main shore, -like the Bass rock in the Forth, the Ailsa Craig in the Clyde, and on -the Iceland Meal-Sack. By these and similar places is either a strong -current or a strong run of tide, and here are plenty of fish. Herrings, -and very often cod and haddock, are their favorite prey. On the wing -as well as in the water, the gannet is a powerful bird. With terrible -impetuosity, they descend from a great height, and plunging into the -water, seize and carry off their prey. Like all fishing birds, the -gannet has a keen sight, keener probably than the eagle, for he can -discern his prey in the water, while at a great height, and when the -curl of the surface so scatters the light that human vision, aided by -all the contrivances of science, cannot penetrate a single inch. How -singular is nature in all her operations! But for a peculiar structure, -this bird, as swift as he has to plunge into the water, would be -killed, or at least stunned and rendered helpless. The cellular tissue -beneath the skin, on the under part of the bird, is formed into -air-cells, and inflated by a peculiar muscular action; and this gives a -surface of great elasticity, and both breaks the force of the blow, and -prevents the bird going very deep under water. When the gannet comes -up with his prey, he rises by a regular momentum directly out of the -water, and is on the wing the instant he appears above the surface. - -In one more chapter, I shall complete my brief notices of some of the -more interesting of the birds common in Iceland. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - - The little boat she is tossed about, - Like a sea-weed to and fro; - The tall ship reels like a drunken man, - As the gusty tempests blow: - But the sea-bird laughs at the pride of man, - And sails in a wild delight, - On the torn up breast of the night-black sea, - Like a foam-cloud calm and white. - MARY HOWITT. - -AMONG the birds of the far North, the snow-bunting—_Emberiza nivalis_—is -one of the most interesting. Who has not seen the pretty “snow-bird” -during a driving snow-storm, come round the barn for some hay-seed, or -to the house for a crumb? But where do they go in summer? Why, they go -to Iceland, and a nice time they have of it. They build their nests in -the crags; and the male perches on some rock in the vicinity and sings -all day long, while the female lays five small round eggs. The male bird -takes his turn in sitting on the nest; and they feed on the seeds of -grass, rushes, and other hardy northern plants. How extensively this -bird migrates, it is difficult to tell. We naturally suppose that small -birds have less power of flight than large ones; but the Mother Carey’s -chicken is found on the stormy ocean, a thousand miles from land. In -America, the snow-bird probably goes to the region of Labrador and -Hudson’s Bay in summer. Some may fly across Baffin’s Bay to Greenland, -or even across the Greenland Strait, from there to Iceland, a journey -that would not require a sea-flight of over 300 miles at any one place. -The snow-birds that summer in Iceland may, and very likely do, fly -south, taking the range of the Faros, Shetland, and Orkney, and so to -Scotland, England, and the Continent. Great numbers of these birds spend -their summer in Lapland, where they get very fat on the seeds that they -gather on the plains, and in the lowlands. The Laplanders kill many of -them for food, and prize them highly. In their winter plumage they are, -like the ptarmigan, almost entirely white; but in summer they are more -of a brown. In summer, this bird is fond of rocky and mossy places, -where there are no trees and few bushes. - -A singular characteristic of most migrating birds, is very conspicuous -in the snow-bunting. The male is most sensitive to heat, and the female -to cold. In northern climes the male of this, as well as some other -birds, is often seen in spring several days before the female. Then -in their autumn migration the female appears in the region of its -winter residence considerably before the male. We should suppose they -would migrate together, when the male bird would have an opportunity -of showing off his gallantry; which, with another class of bipeds, is -considered mutually agreeable. Many of these modest and unostentatious -birds have I seen, while riding across the dreary heaths of Iceland, -perched on a stone or a mossy ridge, and singing and chippering away, -as much as to say, “Here I am, as far north as old Boreas will let -me go.” The snow-birds undoubtedly take pretty long flights at sea, -for they usually appear on the coast of England and Scotland late in -the autumn, along with, and apparently driven by the northeast winds, -having undoubtedly flown across the German Ocean, from the Norwegian -coast. On their arrival, they appear sadly emaciated and exhausted, and -some of them perish. With the wind that brings them, or soon after, -generally comes a fall of snow. Without resting on the water, like the -Mother Carey’s chicken, the gull, the pochard, the Solan goose, and -other sea-birds, the snow-bunting must have a weary time of it in his -flight across the stormy sea. - -Of gulls, there is almost an endless variety in Iceland; and, -apparently, quite an endless quantity. Some of these are very large, -larger than geese; and, though much “run to feathers,” and not as much -solid flesh as the goose, will often weigh six or eight pounds. Their -wings extend over six feet. This bird is common, in some of its numerous -families, wherever there is salt water; but there is one species -peculiar to this country, and rarely found south of here—the Iceland -gull—_Larus Icelandicus_. It is a kind of bluish ash-color on the back, -and the rest of the bird white. Like all his brethren, he is a great -fisherman, and he knows where he can go and catch his dinner. - -The skua gull—_Lestris Cataractes_—is a bird of very peculiar habits. -It is seldom found except in the Arctic or Antarctic regions. Captain -Cook found it while he was skirting the polar ice. They are a very -exclusive sort of bird, living in large colonies, where none but -their own species are allowed to come. They are terrible fighters; and -other gulls, or even the eagle or the raven, or scarcely man himself, -can invade their colony with impunity. Against a large bird of prey, -during the breeding-season, they will charge _en masse_; and wo be to -their enemy! He will get pierced with scores of angry beaks. It is -hazardous for man, and instances are mentioned of some who have gone -among them without much protection to their heads, and actually got -their skulls broken by these powerful birds. These gulls are not fond -of fishing; they prefer that others should fish for them. When the -great gull, or any other of the fishing-tribes, has got a load, and -filled his stomach, neck, and bill, with fish, and is flying slowly and -heavily away to his expectant brood, this arrant freebooter, the skua -gull, dashes at the sober fisherman; and his only chance of life is to -disgorge all he has, and the skua catches it in its fall, or picks it -up from the surface of the water or land. The Icelanders sometimes, in -visiting the haunts of skua, carry a sharp pike projecting a little -above the head, and the heedless gull comes dashing down at the man, -and is transfixed on the murderous iron. - -One of the birds found in Iceland, and peculiar to high Arctic and -Antarctic regions, is the large snowy owl—_strix nyctea_. This is a -magnificent bird, two feet in length, and four feet and a half in the -stretch of its wings. One of these birds adorns the parlor of Mr. -Simpzen, an Iceland merchant at Reykjavik. This bird is literally as -white as snow, though the females and the younger birds have some -brownish feathers. The snowy owl is a bird of prey, and night and day -are the same to him. The ptarmigan and the tern, cannot, all of them, -find food during the long Iceland winters; therefore, some of them, in -their turn, furnish dinners for his majesty, the white owl. When the -wind beats, and the snow drives, so that they would sweep the birds to -destruction, out comes this king of the wilds, clad in his armor of -impenetrable down and feathers; and, riding on the wings of the tempest, -keeps holiday amid the wildest turmoil of nature. All parts of the bird, -except the point of the beak, the nails, and the eye-balls, are covered -with feathers, so that he fears not the cold. This bird remains the -whole year in Iceland, and is very rarely, and that in the coldest of -weather, found as far south as Great Britain. - -One more feathered resident, and I have done. One of the hawk-tribe, -peculiar to this country, the Jer-Falcon—_Falco Icelandicus_—is a most -remarkable bird. He is peculiarly adapted to the wilds of Iceland, and -the cold, naked cliffs of the Northern Isles. Though not often seen, -there is no reason to believe their numbers are as small as might be -supposed. They are no parasites, like the skua gull. Not they. They -catch their prey alive and on the wing; and so terrible and unerring is -their flight, that nothing can escape them. Except his near relative, -the peregrine falcon, there is probably not a bird in the world that can -equal his speed on the wing. Gray, like his native cliffs, he will sit -on a projecting crag, quiet for hours, until a flock of rock-doves or -some ducks, are seen flying by. He leaps into the air, vaulting upwards -till he has “got the sky” of his prey, to a sufficient height for -gaining the necessary impetus; his wings shiver for a moment, as he -works himself into a perfect command and poise, and to the full extent -of his energy. Then he dashes downwards with such velocity that the -impression of his path remains on the sky, like that of the shooting -meteor or the flashing lightning, and you fancy there is a torrent of -falcons rushing through the air. The stroke is as unerring as the motion -is fleet. If it take effect in the body, the bird is trussed, and the -hunt is over; but if a wing only is broken, the maimed bird is allowed -to flutter to the earth, and another victim is selected. It sometimes -happens that some inferior bird of prey comes in for the wounded game; -but in order to get it, he must proceed cautiously and stealthily, for -wo betide it if it rises on the wing, and meets the glance of the -falcon. The raven himself, never scoops out another eye, if he rises to -tempt that one. This bird is found in Norway, and sometimes in the north -of Scotland. In former days they were used in hawking, and, in -consequence of their strength and daring and their unerring stroke, they -were more prized in falconry than any other; but they were difficult to -train; and, consequently, in the days of falconry they brought very high -prices. The velocity of their flight, as well as that of the peregrine -falcon, is put down at one hundred and fifty miles an hour. Compare that -to a modern “express train!” How the latter lags behind! The flight of -birds on long journeys is well ascertained, and numerous instances are -recorded of the amazing velocity of falcons. King Henry IV., of France, -had a peregrine falcon that flew to Malta, thirteen hundred and fifty -miles, and arrived there the same day that he left Fontainbleau. Mudie -says, the peregrine falcon is THE falcon, _par excellence_, of the -falconers, on account of his rapid, powerful flight, great tractability, -and other good qualities. - -The _falcon_, in falconry, always means the female, as they only are -trained. The male is called the _tercel_. Indeed, our Saxon ancestors -must have had some lofty sport. Wish I had been there! The jer-falcon, -our Iceland bird, is not by any means confined to his native cliffs. -Iceland is four or five hundred miles from Scotland, but only a -morning’s flight for this fleet traveler! He could take his breakfast in -his native wilds, with the sun high in the heavens, fly over to -Scotland, dine on a ptarmigan or a rock-dove, sleep through the heat of -the day, and return to Iceland long before sunset. Such is the flight of -this powerful, swift-winged bird of prey. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - THE FAROE ISLES. - - ——“It is a wild and wondrous scene, - Where few but nature’s footsteps yet have been.” - -IN our outward as well as return voyage we passed near the Faroe -Islands. These, like Iceland, are under the jurisdiction of Denmark, -and, though near 300 miles from their northern neighbor, have many -features in common with it. The scenery is singularly wild and -picturesque. We sailed nearly under some of the tall cliffs, and could -plainly see the pillared columns of basalt, so common throughout Iceland -and nearly all the northern isles. From conversation with two English -gentlemen that I met a short time since, who had just returned from -Faroe, where they had been “birds’ nesting,”[6] and from one or two -authentic narratives, I gathered some interesting particulars of their -topography and history. The Faroe Isles are probably less known to -modern travelers than any inhabited land in the northern sea. Many there -are that visit Greenland—some catching whales and seal; a few to convert -the heathen; some on a scientific tour; and, latterly, many in search of -a distinguished navigator and the hapless screws of two long-missing -ships—and not unfrequently do civilized men land on the bleak and frozen -shores of Spitzbergen; and any one can visit Lapland by steam; but one -may go round the world and not meet a christian man that has stepped on -one of the seventeen of the inhabited islands of Faroe. The whole group -consists of twenty-five islands, extending about sixty-five miles from -north to south, and forty-five from east to west; and containing a -little less than a thousand square miles. They lie between 61° 26″ and -62° 25″ N. Latitude, and 6° 40″ and 7° 40″ West Longitude from -Greenwich. They are 185 miles northwest of Shetland, and 400 from -Norway. This much for their location and size. The surface of the -different islands varies in appearance considerably, but they all have -remarkably bold, perpendicular banks. The northeastern one, Fugloe—or -Bird-island—is quite flat on the top; but the banks on every side are -high and perpendicular, so that boats must always be raised and lowered -with ropes. Oesteroe, the largest but one, is the highest of the entire -group, rising 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. On some parts of -its precipitous cliffs are majestic octagonal pillars of basaltic rock, -a hundred feet high and six feet in diameter. Were these in a land of -population and wealth they would undoubtedly be selected by builders, -and be seen supporting and adorning the porticoes of temples of Grecian -or Roman architecture. One of these pillars, sixty feet in length, has -fallen across a deep chasm, and forms a natural bridge from one side to -the other. Another enormous mass of rock, twenty-four feet long by -eighteen broad is so exactly balanced across another that the strength -of a finger will vibrate it; and though the waves have been dashing -against it for ages, there it remains, poised on a pivot, like the -famous rocking stone in Cornwall. - -Stromoe, south of Oesteroe, is the largest of the Faroe group, and is 27 -miles long by about 7 broad, and contains 140 square miles. On this -island is Thorshaven, the capital and principal seaport. The Danish -post-ship between Denmark and Iceland, lands here twice or three times -in a year. Thorshaven has a church, and about 100 dwellings; some of -them comfortable framed houses. This important place is well protected -by a substantial fort—an excellent fortification, that lacks but one -essential article, cannon! However, there is little chance that they -would ever be needed did they have them. Were there any thing here worth -the trouble of an invading army or a piratical crew, at the most -favorable landing on the islands, the natives would stand a good chance -to crush their invaders with their natural means of defense, and keep -them off by rolling stones down upon them. But what freaks old nature -plays here among these tall cliffs! What houses for sea-monsters does -old ocean create! The island of Nalsoe is pierced from side to side, so -that in calm weather a boat can sail through it, under a natural arch, -with near 2,000 feet of solid rock overhead. At the northern end of -Stromoe is the promontory of Myling, which rises perpendicularly to the -height of 2,500 feet. If the spectator had nerve enough, he might go to -the brink, and toss a pebble clear into the sea from the lofty summit. -One singular rock in this group of islands, rises out of the water like -a lofty spire, and is called by the natives the Trollekone-finger, or -_witch’s finger_. The most western of the islands is Myggeness; and, -though inhabited, is so difficult of access that communication between -that and the rest of the group is not usually more than three or four -times a year. It is surrounded by precipitous cliffs, from 1,200 to -1,400 feet in height; and the passage or fiorth between this and the -neighboring island is the most dangerous in the group. Off Myggeness, is -Myggenessholm,—a precipitous rock standing alone in the sea, like a -solitary sentinel attendant on the larger isle. Any one who has seen the -Meal-sack island off the southwest coast of Iceland, or the Holm of the -Noss in the Shetland group, or Ailsa Craig in the Clyde, will have an -idea of the appearance of this rocky islet. This is the only island in -the Faroe group where the Gannet, or Solan Goose, builds its nest. The -choice of such a location as this, or Ailsa Craig, or the Meal-sack—all -favorite localities of this bird—is not altogether from the generally -inaccessible nature of the place and its consequent immunity from -hostile man—though this is some consideration. These haunts of the -gannet are always near a good “run” of fish, and this is usually where -there is a strong flow of the tide between two islands or between an -island and the main shore. Graba, a late traveler in Faroe, speaks of -landing on the small island of Store Dimon. He says the clergyman visits -this island but once a year, and the sides are so steep they have to -pull him up with ropes as they would a bag of meal. When Graba landed, -the natives pushed one of their number up the rocks, with their long -sticks that they use in bird-catching, and then he drew up the rest. In -this way they all passed from one cliff to another, till they arrived at -the top, 250 feet above the water. The steepness of the rock was fully -appreciated on their return, when a basket of eggs was let down into the -boat by a rope. In passing up and down they sometimes walked on a narrow -shelf of rock; and when this ceased, the “highway” was continued by -having holes cut in the perpendicular face of the cliff, once in two or -three feet, for the fingers and toes. Along this frightful precipice, a -drunken native passed in safety with a sack of barley on his back. - -One of the great natural curiosities of the islands, is the Vogelberg; a -terrible chasm, of an elliptical form, almost entirely surrounded by -rocks, at least a thousand feet in height. The entrance is by a narrow -passage at one end; and here, in this remarkable house, with the sea for -a floor and the sky for a roof, are thousands of birds. Sheltered from -every wind, the boat glides along with perfect safety. Gulls and -guillemots swim by without fear; the seal looks from his watery cave in -fancied security; and the lazy cormorant stretches out his neck to scan -the appearance of the newly-arrived visitors. Long lines of kittiwakes -show their white breasts and dove-like eyes; from narrow shelves of the -rock, nest succeeds nest, and the downy young appear in frightful -proximity to the edge of the precipice beneath. The puffins take the -highest stations, perhaps because they are puffed up with ideas of their -own importance, being favorites of man, and often captured for their -flesh and feathers. In sheltered and dark places, will be found the -rock-dove; and dashing past like a pirate, is seen the skua, pursuing -the gull or the puffin, and striving for a dinner he has never earned. -Graba visited this singular place in a boat, accompanied by several -natives. He describes the noise made by the innumerable sea-fowl, as -almost deafening. Seeing a rare bird that he was desirous of obtaining a -specimen of, he raised his gun and fired. “What became of it,” says he, -“I know not. The air was darkened by the birds roused from their repose. -Thousands hastened out of the chasm with a frightful noise, and spread -themselves in troops over the ocean. The puffins came wondering from -their holes, and regarded the universal confusion with comic gestures; -the kittiwakes remained composedly in their nests; while the cormorants -tumbled headlong into the sea.” That was, undoubtedly, the first gun -that was ever fired there since the creation of the world. In a little -time, the confusion and smoke passed away, and every thing resumed its -wonted appearance. - -Suderoe, the most southern of the islands, as indicated by its name, is -of very irregular shape, contains about forty-four square miles, and -differs materially from the most northern of the group. This island -produces more and better grain, is better cultivated, and has some -valuable beds of coal. Several kinds of land birds, the lark, the rail, -and the swallow, are found in Suderoe, and not in the islands farther -north. The natives of Suderoe are said to be more industrious and -ingenious, and to speak a language differing considerably from the -inhabitants of the other islands. Their principal town, Qualhoe, is the -finest and best-built village in Faroe. - -The climate of Faroe is much more genial and mild than would be supposed -from its latitude, and far less severe in winter than many places in a -more southern latitude on the continent of Europe. The curlew and some -other birds winter here, while they are not found on the continent, at -this season, as far north as Hamburg. The ground is seldom frozen for a -month, and snow never falls deep, or lasts over a week at a time. The -summer, neither here or in Iceland, is hot, though there are some warm -days in July and August. While grain is never grown in Iceland, here -they cultivate barley and oats, at a height of from two to six hundred -feet above the level of the sea. Grass grows at an elevation of two -thousand feet, but a little above that vegetation ceases, and the land -is a desert. Sometimes a violent wind occurs, that will roll up the -grassy turf like a side of sole leather; and in this way the tops of -some hills get entirely denuded, the turf being carried into the sea. -Trees do not grow here; these islands resembling, in that respect, -Iceland, and the groups of Shetland and Orkney. Thunder here, as in -Iceland, is heard in winter, but seldom in summer. There are a few lakes -in the islands; Leinumvatn, in Stromoe, being one of the largest. It is -in a somber, melancholy-looking valley, and resembles some of the small -lakes in the Highlands of Scotland. As in all mountainous and peat -districts, there are plenty of springs of fresh water. - -The spoken language of the Faroese resembles that of the Icelanders, but -the people have not the same literary taste and love of history. Their -written language is the Danish. Originally settled from Norway by -piratical cruisers, and about the time of the settlement of Iceland, the -history of the islands has much in common with the more northern land. -They paid tribute, or were expected to, to the reigning chief in Norway; -but the latter was very unfortunate in his collection of it. The deputy -or collector sent out for this purpose seldom returned, and was rarely -or never seen in Norway again. Some, attracted by the independent -bearing of the people, took wives from among the fair Faroese, and -settled permanently; thus paying a very direct and unmistakable -compliment to a brave, independent, and republican people. Others -declared themselves firm and incorruptible, and determined to execute -their trust. Marriage is a most excellent institution and all the -Norwegian collectors who took brides from among the Faroe maidens, found -it, no doubt, particularly to their own advantage, and, at the same -time, in accordance with the good wishes and prosperity of the islanders -themselves. Those who would not accept wives on such fair terms, were -never heard of again. Their bones were buried at low tide! The king of -Norway kept sending his deputies to Faroe, and they and their ships -disappeared one after another, till finally none of his majesty’s -subjects would undertake the voyage. At last, Karl Mære, a celebrated -pirate, offered his services; left Norway, and arrived at Thorshaven -safely. He commenced collecting the tribute, and succeeded until he was -himself compelled to pay a capitation tax. He was decapitated, and his -companions returned without the money. Had the “wanderer” in Iceland -been favored with the office of collector, he might perhaps have visited -Faroe; and, in that case, he probably would not much longer have -continued a WANDERING BACHELOR. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 6: - - Obtaining birds’ eggs of every variety that could be had, for an - ornithological collection. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - - “Good workmen never quarrel with their tools; - I’ve got new mythological machinery, - And very handsome supernatural scenery.” - -THE mythology of the Northmen is so intimately connected with their -literature, that any notice of the one would be incomplete without some -reference to the other. The whole system is as complicated and -ingenious, and quite as interesting, as the mythology of the Greeks and -Romans. At the dawning of time, according to the Scandinavian theory, -there were two primitive worlds,—MUSPELL, or MUSPELHEIM, and NIFLHEIM. -Muspell was located in the south, or _above_; and Niflheim, _below_, or -in the north. Muspell is the world of light and fire. On its border, -guarding it, sits SURTUR, the god of the flaming sword, and chief of the -chaotic demons. At the period of RAGNAROK, or end of time, Surtur comes -forth with his flaming falchion, enters the last great battle, -vanquishes all the gods, and consumes the universe with fire.[7] -NIFLHEIM, or the world below, is the region of cold and darkness; and in -the middle of it is the fountain Hvergelmir, from which flow twelve -rivers.[8] Between Muspell, above, and Niflheim, below, was a wide -chaotic space, known as GINNUNGAGAP. In this space, as will be seen, the -earth was formed and peopled. The part of Ginnungagap towards the north, -was filled with vast piles of congealed vapor from the rivers of -Niflheim. The part towards the south was full of sparks from Muspell.[9] -When the congealed vapor was met by the heat and sparks, it melted into -drops; and, “by the might of him who sent the heat,” the drops quickened -into life, and put on human form.[10] This being, so made, was called -Ymir; and from him the Frost-giants are descended. There was also formed -from the drops of vapor, a cow named Audhumla, and on the milk of this -cow Ymir subsisted. From the stones that the cow licked, there sprang a -man who was endowed with agility, power, and beauty. This man was called -Bur, and he had a son named Bör, who took for his wife Besla, the -daughter of the giant Bölthorn, Bör had three sons, ODIN,[11] VILI, and -VE; though the two latter are usually considered as attributes of Odin -himself. The sons of Bör slew the giant Ymir; and so much blood flowed -from his body, that all the race of Frost-giants were drowned in it, -except one—Bergelmir—who, with his wife, escaped on board of his bark. -From these two all the Frost-giants, or race of Jötuns, are -descended.[12] - -The sons of Bör dragged the body of Ymir into the middle of -Ginnungagap, and from it formed the earth. From his blood they made the -ocean, which encompassed the earth on every side, like a broad ring. -Out of his flesh they made the land, and from his bones the mountains; -from his hair they formed the trees, and with his teeth and jaws, and -some pieces of broken bones, they made stones and pebbles. Of his skull -they formed the arched heavens, which they raised over the earth; and -in the four quarters of the heavens, like four sentries on the watch, -they placed four dwarfs,—East, West, North, and South[13]—and there -they keep their places, and bear up the sky. The brains of Ymir they -threw in the air, and of these the clouds were formed. The earth, or -Midgard,[14] was represented as level and circular, and midway between -Muspell, above, and Niflheim, below. Around the outer edge, next to -the ocean, the sons of Bör raised a bulwark of Ymir’s eyebrows, as a -protection against the Jötuns. Outside of Midgard, flows the great -ocean; and beyond this, in another circle, is Jötunheim,[15] the land -of the Jötuns, a rough mountain waste. - -One of the most intricate and sublime conceptions, is the myth of -the ash Yggdrasill. This tree is typical of nature, and intimately -connected with and partly supporting the earth. The branches of this -tree extend over the whole world, and reach above heaven. It has three -roots, which are very wide asunder. One springs from the region of the -Frost-giants, in Jötunheim; the second, from Niflheim; and the third is -in heaven. The second root, in Niflheim, is gnawed by the great dragon -Nidhogg; and under it is the fountain Hvergelmir, whence flow the -twelve great rivers. Under the root of the ash that is in heaven, is -the holy Urdar-fount, where the gods sit in judgment. Under the root in -Jötunheim is Mimir’s well, and in this well wisdom lies concealed. All -who desire wisdom or knowledge, must drink of the water of this well. -The Jötuns are represented as older than the gods, and in consequence -they look deeper into the past. For this reason, the gods must go to -the Jötuns for knowledge. Odin came to Mimir one day, and asked for a -draught of water from the well; but Mimir would not furnish it, till -he left one of his eyes in pledge. In the branches of the ash sits -an eagle that knows many things; and the squirrel Ratatösk runs up -and down the tree, bearing words of strife between the eagle and the -dragon Niddhogg at the root. Four harts run over the branches of the -tree, and bite off the buds. - -From earth to heaven is a bridge called Bifröst, or the rainbow. Over -this bridge the gods ride on horseback, every day, going to and from -their judgment-seat in heaven. Their horses all have names. The most -celebrated is Sleipnir, the horse of Odin. He is a beautiful gray color, -has eight legs, and excells all horses ever possessed by gods or men. -This famous steed, as will be seen hereafter, when ridden by Hermod the -Nimble, once sprang over the gates of Hel. - -The gods, or race of ÆSIR, live in Asgard, a city in heaven, in the -center of the universe. ODIN, the first and eldest of the Æsir, is at -the head, governs all things, and all the other deities obey him, as -children do a father. He is the highest, the supreme deity, and is -supposed to be the progenitor of all the other gods; and, on this -account, is called ALL-FATHER.[16] Seated on his throne Hlidskjalf, he -sees throughout the world, and comprehends all things. His mansion, -called Valaskjalf, was built by the gods, and has a roof of pure silver. -Odin is represented seated on his throne, with a spear in his right -hand, and on each side his two wolves, Geri and Freki. On his shoulders -are his two ravens, who fly abroad throughout the earth during the day, -and return at night, and give him tidings of all that is going on. They -are named HUGIN and MUNIN, or _Thought_ and _Memory_; and nothing -transpires but what is caught up by them, and whispered in the ear of -Odin. All the meat that is set before him, he gives to his wolves, for -wine to him is both meat and drink. As related in the Edda:[17] - - Geri and Freki - Feedeth the war-faring, - Famed father of hosts; - For ’tis with wine only - That Odin, in arms renowned, - Is nourished for aye. - -The wife of Odin is FRIGA the daughter of Fjorgyn; and from these two -are descended the race of the Æsir. Friga foresees the destinies of men, -but never reveals what is to come.[18] - -THOR,[19] the son, the first-born of Odin and Friga, is “the mightiest -of gods and men.” He is the god of thunder, is armed with a mallet -called Mjölnir, has a belt of strength or prowess, and wears iron -gauntlets. His favorite employment is fighting the Jötuns, with whom he -is at perpetual war. With his gauntlets on his hands—without which he -cannot grasp his weapon—he hurls at them his terrible mallet, and -crushes in their skulls. He is favorable to the race of men, and keeps -watch in Midgard—the home of man, or Manheim—and defends them from the -giants of Jötunheim. He has two sons, Modi and Magni. Thor is -represented in a car drawn by two goats; hence he is called Auku-Thor, -or Charioteer Thor.[20] He is attended by the nimble-footed boy Thjálfi, -and the girl Roskva the Quick. - -Thor’s home is Thrudvang—the home of strength—and his mansion is called -Bilskirnir. This is “the largest house ever built,” and contains five -hundred and forty halls. Thor’s marvelous exploits, his combats with the -enemies of mankind—the Jötuns and the Midgard serpent—are favorite -themes with all the old Icelandic writers. Though Thor is the son of -Odin, he is not always considered as his inferior. Temples for the -separate worship of Thor, and statues dedicated to him, were erected in -various parts of Scandinavia. - -The next god in rank, is BALDUR, the second son of Odin.[21] He is -represented as fair in form and feature, as universally beloved, and the -mildest, the wisest, and most eloquent of all the Æsir. Such is his -nature, that his judgment once pronounced, can never be altered. His -hair is supremely fair, and in allusion to it, a beautiful plant that is -almost white—the _Anthemis Cotula_—is called Baldur’s Eyebrow.[22] -Baldur dwells in the mansion called Breidablik, one of the fairest in -heaven. Nothing impure or unclean can enter it. His wife is NANNA, the -daughter of Nep. The myth of Baldur’s death, is one of the most -beautiful in the Northern Mythology. All the deities, as well as men, -joined in his praise; and at his death, the whole universe was in -mourning. - -FORSETI, the son of Baldur and Nanna, is the god of Righteousness, and -presides over Justice. He possesses the heavenly mansion called Glitnir, -the walls, columns, and beams of which are of solid gold, and the roof -pure silver. He reconciles all disputants at law; those bringing their -cases before him never failing to find perfect satisfaction in his -decisions.[23] - -BRAGI, the son of Odin, is the god of Poetry: hence the art of poetry is -called _Bragr_. Bragi has a flowing beard,[24] and is noted for his -eloquence, and the correct use of language. His wife is IDUNA, the -goddess of Eternal Youth. She is entrusted with the keeping of the -apples which the gods, on feeling old, have only to taste, to become -young again. - -ÆGIR is the deity of the Ocean, though a Jötun, and not reckoned with -the Æsir. His wife is RAN; and with a net she catches unfortunate -mariners. Ægir entertains all the Æsir, at a grand feast of the gods -given at the autumnal equinox. - -NJORD, who dwells in the heavenly region called Noatun, rules over the -winds and the waves, and checks the fury of the elements, the sea, and -the fire. His aid is invoked by fishermen and sea-farers. The wife of -Njord is SKADI, the daughter of a Jötun. Njord and Skadi have two -children; FREY, a son, and a daughter named FREYJA. Frey is one of the -most celebrated and beloved of all the gods. He rides in a car drawn by -a boar, presides over the rain, the sunshine, and the fruits of the -earth. His aid is invoked for good harvests, and also for peace; and he -dispenses wealth to those who do him honor.[25] Frey fell violently in -love with Gerda, one of the most beautiful of all the women, and ordered -Skirnir, his trusty messenger, to go and ask her hand for him. Skirnir -promised to do so if Frey would give him his sword, a weapon of such a -rare quality, that it would strew a field with slain, at the bidding of -its owner. Impatient for the possession of Gerda, he gave Skirnir the -sword; and afterwards, in a battle with Beli, he slew him with the -antlers of a stag. In the last great battle, where all of the gods are -engaged, Frey is without a weapon.[26] - -HEIMDAL—called also the White god—is a sacred and powerful deity, the -son of nine Jötun virgins, who were sisters. He is called Gold-toothed, -his teeth being of pure gold. He dwells in Himinbjorg, at the end of -Bifröst, and has a famous horse named Gulltopp. He is the warder or -sentry of the gods, and therefore was placed on the borders of heaven, -to prevent the Jötuns from forcing their way over the bridge. His ear is -so acute, that no sound escapes him; he can even hear the grass grow, or -the wool on the backs of sheep. He requires less sleep than a bird, sees -a hundred miles around him on every side, and by night as well as by -day. In time of danger, or when he wishes to call the gods together, he -blows a blast on his Gjallar-horn, that sounds throughout all worlds; -and the gods immediately assemble. - -HÖDUR is a deity who is blind, but possesses great strength. He is more -fully described in the account of Baldur’s death. - -VIDAR, surnamed the Silent, and noted for his heavy shoes, is the son of -Odin and the Jötun-woman Grida. He possesses immense strength, being -nearly as strong as Thor himself. Great reliance is placed on him in -cases of emergency. - -VALI, the son of Odin and Rinda, is most valiant in war; and, in his -youth, was as precocious as the Mercury of the ancients. He slew Hödur, -the murderer of Baldur, before he was a day old. - -ULLUR, the son of Sif, and step-son of Thor, has great skill in the use -of the bow. His name signifies the White, or the Wool-like. He favors -the winter, and travels with great speed on skates and snow-shoes. He is -very handsome, has every quality of a warrior, and is often invoked by -those who engage in single combat. Vidar and Vali will survive the -destruction of the world by the fire of Surtur, and dwell on the plain -of Ida, where Asgard formerly stood. Thither shall come to meet them, -Modi and Magni, the sons of Thor, bringing with them their father’s -mallet. - -Of the goddesses, FRIGA, the wife of Odin, is the highest. Her mansion -is called Fensalir. The next in rank is SAGA, the goddess of History. -Her house is Sökkvabek, and is of great size. The goddess EIR presides -over the art of Healing.[27] GEFJON is a maid, and all who die maids -go to her, and become her hand-maidens. FULLA is also a maid. She has -beautiful hair that flows over her shoulders, and a gold ribbon adorns -her head. She is an attendant and confidant of Friga, and is entrusted -with her secrets. FREYJA is the wife of Odur; and they have a daughter, -Hnossa, who is celebrated for her beauty. Odur travels through distant -countries; and, in his absence, Freyja weeps, and her tears are pure -gold. As she goes over the world in search of her husband, the people -give her different names. She rides in a chariot drawn by two cats. The -goddess LOFNA is mild in her demeanor, and takes delight in smoothing -the path of lovers, and promoting the success and union of those who -are sincerely attached to each other. VORA is a goddess that punishes -lovers’ false vows and perjuries. GNA is the messenger of Friga, and -is sent by her on various errands through different worlds. She has a -horse called Hófvarpnir, that can travel through water or air. Besides -these, there are many other goddesses whose duty it is to serve in -Valhalla, wait on the gods, take care of their drinking horns, &c. -These are called the Valkyrjor.[28] Odin sends the Valkyrjor to every -battle-field, to decide who shall be slain, and declare on which side -victory shall rest. They carry the spirits of the slain to Odin, in -Valhalla. - -Among the inferior deities are three maidens called Norns. Their names -are Urd, Vernandi, and Skuld; or, Past, Present, and Future. They -preside over the birth and destinies of men, and determine their fate -and length of life. There are also other Norns besides these three. Some -of them are of heavenly origin, and dispense good destinies. Others are -of the races of elves, or evil spirits; and men who meet with numerous -misfortunes are said to be under the influence of evil Norns. There is -also a class of inferior beings known as Dwarfs. They dwell in caves and -caverns of the earth. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 7: - - Surtur, as interpreted to me by an intelligent Icelander, corresponds - pretty nearly to the evil one, the arch-fiend, and great enemy of - mankind. The gods, or Æsir, protect and defend man; Surtur is the - enemy of them all. The bituminous mineral or mineralized wood found in - Iceland, is very inflammable, and known as Surturbrand, or the devil’s - fire. The cave of Surtshellir, mentioned on page 109, is an - illustration of the character of Surtur; and from this cave, many of - the Icelanders to this day believe that Surtur will one day emerge, to - destroy the world. - -Footnote 8: - - The names of these rivers are, Svaul, Gunnþrá, Fiörm, Fimbul, Þulr, - Slið, Hrið, Sylgr, Ylgr, Við, Leiptur, and Giöll. - -Footnote 9: - - These, after the earth was made, became the stars that filled the - heavens. - -Footnote 10: - - The ingenuity of the heathen could not imagine a world created without - the power of a deity. - -Footnote 11: - - Oðinn. - -Footnote 12: - - This seems like a heathen version of the history of Noah and the great - flood. - -Footnote 13: - - Austri, Vestri, Norðri, and Suðri. - -Footnote 14: - - Miðgarð. - -Footnote 15: - - Yo-tun-hime, or _giant’s home_. - -Footnote 16: - - Alfaðir. - -Footnote 17: - - The Grimnis-mál. - -Footnote 18: - - A very rare quality for a female, to keep secrets! - -Footnote 19: - - Þor, supposed to be a contraction of Þonar; hence his title, the - Thunderer. - -Footnote 20: - - It will be observed that Odin and Thor, in their various attributes, - are represented much like Saturn and Jupiter. Thor’s youthful - attendants are like the Hebe and Ganymede of Jove. - -Footnote 21: - - He is known as Baldur the Good; and corresponds very nearly to the - Apollo of the ancient Greeks. - -Footnote 22: - - Balldursbrá; and so known in Sweden to this day. - -Footnote 23: - - In this he certainly excels the lawyers and judges of the present day. - -Footnote 24: - - There is no account of any of the Scandinavian deities using the - razor; not even the weakest and simplest of them; that folly being - specially reserved for men. Bragi in preserving the manly appendage, - the beard, showed himself in this, as in other things, one of the - foremost of his race, and a fit associate for superior intelligences. - -Footnote 25: - - A character much like Ceres. - -Footnote 26: - - In this myth we see a quiet satire on those, who to gratify some - darling passion or desire, sacrifice their most valuable possessions. - -Footnote 27: - - A sort of female Æsculapius. - -Footnote 28: - - Their names are Geirölul, Göll, Herfjötur, Hlökk, Hrist, Mist, - Radgrid, Randgrid, Reginlief, Skeggold, Skögul, and Þrudur. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY CONCLUDED.—ADVENTURES OF THOR, AND THE DEATH OF - BALDUR. - - -NEARLY all the deities have been noticed. The origin of night and day, -and the sun and moon are thus given. The giant Njörvi, who dwelt in -Jötunheim, had a daughter called Night,[29] who, like all of her race, -was of a dark and swarthy complexion. Night married a man named Annar, -and had a daughter called Earth.[30] She next espoused Delling, one of -the Æsir; and their son was Day,[31] a child light and beauteous like -its father. Odin then gave to Night and her son Day two horses and two -cars, and set them up in the heavens, to drive successively one after -the other round the world in twelve hours’ time. Night goes first, -driving the horse Hrimfaxi; and he, every morn, as he ends his course, -bedews the earth with foam that falls from his bit. Day follows with his -horse Skinfaxi; and from his mane light is shed over the earth and the -heavens. The man Mundilfari had two children so lovely and graceful that -he called the boy Máni (moon), and the girl Sol (sun). The gods, being -angry at the man’s presumption, placed his children in the heavens. The -bright and illuminated car of the sun, which the gods made out of the -sparks that fell from Muspelheim, to give light to the world, was drawn -by the horses Arvak and Alsvid, and driven by Sól. Máni was set to -direct the moon in his course, and guide his increasing and waning -aspect. Two wolves, Sköll and Hati, are constantly in pursuit of the sun -and moon; and it is on this account that they fly so swiftly through the -heavens. One day these wolves will overtake and devour them. - -One of the gods is named LOKI; and to him is ascribed nearly all the -evil that is suffered in the world. He was the calumniator of the -Æsir, the contriver of frauds and mischief, and the disgrace of both -gods and men. He had a terrible offspring by Angurbodi, a giantess of -Jötunheim. These were, the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent, and Hela, -or Death. The wolf Fenrir could only be fed by TYR, the god of Bravery, -who, as will be seen, was called the one-handed. Tyr is the most daring -and intrepid of the gods. He dispenses valor in battle, and his aid -is invoked by warriors. The gods were warned by the oracles, that the -power of the wolf was becoming dangerous; and Tyr attempted to make -a fetter to bind him. The first trial failed, the wolf snapping the -cords asunder as if they had been threads. Tyr next made the fetter -called Gleipnir, fashioning it out of six things; namely, the noise -made out of the foot-fall of a cat, the beards of women, the roots of -stones, the sinews of bears, the breath of fish, and the spittle of -birds. Though this cord was as fine and soft as silk, the wolf would -not consent to be bound with it, unless Tyr would let him take one of -his hands in his mouth. To this he consented; and the gods then bound -the wolf; and, finding he could not free himself by breaking the -fetter, he revenged himself by biting off the right hand of Tyr. When -the offspring of Loki were born, Odin sent for them; and after having -the wolf put in fetters, threw the Midgard serpent into the ocean -that surrounded the earth. Here the monster grew to such size that he -encircled the whole earth, with his tail in his mouth. HELA (Death) -was cast by Odin into Niflheim; and her abode is known as Helheim, -or Hel. Her habitation is surrounded by exceedingly high walls, and -strongly-barred gates. Her hall is called Elvidmir; Hunger is her -table; Starvation, her knife; Delay, her man; Slowness, her maid; -Precipice, her threshold; Care, her bed; and Burning Anguish forms the -hanging of her apartments. - -The spirits of those who fell in battle, were carried at once to Odin, -in Valhalla—the hall of the slain; and on this account Odin is called -Val-father, or father of the slain. Those who die a natural death, or of -old age, were taken to Hel. These abodes, however, were not of eternal -duration, but only continued until Ragnarok—the final judgment and -destruction of the earth and all material things. Valhalla is not -represented as a place of unalloyed happiness, nor Hel of continued -misery; yet the former was far the most desirable abode. The joys of -Valhalla are imagined and pictured on the basis of all our ideas of -happiness in another world—the highest degree of felicity known in -this.[32] - -The joys and employments in Valhalla, will consist of eating, drinking, -and fighting. The spirits of the slain will roam through the vast hall, -and eat and drink with the Æsir. The whole celestial banquet will -consist of ale, and the flesh of one wild boar, which, being cut off -every day, renews itself every night. The goddesses, or women, wait at -table, and fill the drinking horns. When the morning repast is over, -they all ride out into the plain, and fight, and cut one another to -pieces. They are, however, perpetually renewed; and, towards evening, -all resume their usual form, and return to drink ale together. Valhalla -was of immense size, had five hundred and forty doors, and was spacious -enough to contain the Æsir, and all the brave spirits that Odin called -to him from earth. In all the accounts of Hel and Valhalla, to be found -in the ancient Eddas, there is nothing that goes to prove that the -Scandinavians believed in a place of eternal punishment. One or two -brief passages from the Younger Edda are quoted, to show that such was -the case; but these are proved to have been interpolations in the -manuscript of the Edda, by a modern christian writer. - -An early period is spoken of, called the Golden Age. Odin had -constructed a court, or hall, of great magnificence. It was resplendent -on all sides, within and without, with the finest gold. He appointed -rulers or judges, to judge with him the fate of men; and in the hall he -had twelve seats for them, besides his own throne. This court of justice -was called Gladsheim. Another edifice, a very fair structure, was -erected for the goddesses. This was called Vingolf. Lastly, a smithy was -built, and furnished with hammers, tongs, anvils, and all manner of -tools for working in wood, stone, and metal. All the movable things -belonging to the gods, were made of gold; and from this the period was -known as the Golden Age. - -The age lasted until women arrived from Jötunheim, and corrupted it. - -The exploits of Thor form the subjects of the most lengthy and -characteristic legends in the mythology of the Scandinavians. At one -time Ægir, the ocean deity, entertained all the gods in Asgard, giving -them a great feast, at the period of the autumnal equinox. He furnished -enough to eat, but drink was greatly wanting; for he had no vessel large -enough to brew ale for such a numerous company. Thor hearing that the -giant Hymir owned a famous cauldron of great size, he, in company with -Tyr, set out for Jötunheim, to obtain it, determined either by fair -means or foul to carry it away. After various adventures he gets it, -claps it on his head like a huge hat, and walks off with it, the ears of -the cauldron reaching down to his heels! The giants follow and attack -him; but he slays them all with his terrible mallet. Having obtained the -cauldron, Ægir brewed as much ale as was required; and Loki, Thor, and -all the company, have a regular drinking bout. It ended as such scenes -usually do—in a fight; and Loki killed one of Ægir’s servants, for which -he was expelled by the gods, and kicked out of doors. He was afterwards, -however, restored to his place. - -Thor and Loki had a famous journey to Jötunheim, the land of the giants. -Thor, as usual, rode in his car drawn by two goats; and when night came -they put up at the cottage of a peasant, both the travelers assuming the -form and costume of men. Thor killed his goats, and after flaying them, -put them in a kettle to cook for their supper, and asked the peasant and -his family to partake with him. The peasant’s son was named Thjálfi, and -the daughter Röskva. Thor told them to throw all the bones into the -goats’ skins, which were spread out on the floor; but Thjálfi broke one -of the bones to get at the marrow. The next morning, Thor raised his -mallet, consecrated the goats’ skins, and they instantly assumed their -usual form, alive and well and ready to pursue the journey; but one of -the goats was found to be lame in one leg. To appease the anger of Thor, -the peasant offered any thing he possessed as a compensation. Thor chose -both his children; and ever after Thjálfi the Nimble and Röskva the -Quick were his attendants. They then continued their journey, passed out -of Mannheim, crossed a broad ocean, and entered a deep forest. They saw -a large hall, and, entering it, went to sleep in a deep room at one end. -During the night, there was an earthquake and a terrible roaring, which -shook the whole edifice. In the morning they found a giant of enormous -size, sleeping and snoring near them; and the vast edifice was his glove -which he had thrown off, and they had slept in the thumb of it. The -giant’s name was Skrymir, and when he awoke he knew Thor at once and -called him by name. He offered to carry the wallet of provisions and -relieve Thjálfi, and after breakfast they journeyed together. Thor, -wishing to get rid of his new fellow-traveler, when night arrived, -hurled his mallet at him after he was asleep; and it was buried deep in -his skull. Waking up, the giant asked if a leaf had fallen on his head. -He slept again, and Thor made two more efforts—once his mallet going -deep into his cheek; and again, burying it in his head up to the handle. -The giant merely put up his hand and asked if a bit of moss or an acorn -had fallen on him. He soon, however, left Thor, and pursued his journey -to the north. The travelers arrived at the city of Utgard, situated in a -vast plain, and immediately paid their respects to Utgard-Loki, the -king. His majesty looked at the Thunderer with great contempt, called -him a stripling, and said if he was not mistaken it must be Aku-Thor. -The king challenged Thor and his companions to try various feats of -skill and strength with his subjects, the giants of Jötunheim. Loki sat -down to a trough filled with meat, and to eat a race with a giant; but -he got vanquished, his competitor eating the most, and swallowing bones -and all. Thor then produced Thjálfi to run a race, and he was completely -distanced. Thor himself then attempted a drinking bout with the giants; -but at three long pulls he could not empty a single horn. He then tried -his hand at lifting; but though the giants only furnished a common gray -cat to be lifted, Thor could not raise him from the ground, only lifting -one foot a short distance. Then he tried wrestling; but though his -competitor was a wrinkled old woman, he could not throw her, but came -near being thrown himself. Thor confessed that he was vanquished, and -turned his steps away, being accompanied without the walls of the city -by his majesty Utgard-Loki, in person. Then the king tells Thor that, if -he has his way, the god shall never come into his place again, for he -fears him and only got the better of him that time by stratagem. He said -it was he that met him in the forest, and he had a mountain before him -when he slept; and if Thor would see it on his return, he would observe -two deep vallies where he buried his mallet, while he thought he struck -Utgard himself. The two immense glens that could be seen in the mountain -were but the dints of Thor’s mallet. In the contest of eating, the -competitor of Loki was Fire itself, that consumed all before it. Thjálfi -ran a race with Hugi—Thought—which flies faster than the fleetest being -that is created. The old woman who wrestled with Thor was Old Age, which -could in time lay every thing low. What appeared to be a cat, was the -great Midgard serpent, that encompassed the whole earth. The horn he -drank from extended to the sea itself; and in this he performed a most -prodigious feat, for he settled it greatly, as could be seen, and which -was called the ebb. Thor, on hearing how he had been vanquished by -stratagem, raised his mallet to strike down the giant; but on turning, -he had disappeared, and, instead of a city near by, he saw nothing but a -vast plain. This was the end of Thor’s adventures in Jötunheim. Then to -reëstablish his reputation, Thor went out to fish for the great Midgard -serpent. He took no companions, not even his car or goats. He traveled -in the guise of a young man, and put up at the house of a giant named -Hymir, who was going fishing; and he asked Thor to provide some bait. He -went into a herd of the giant’s oxen, and seizing the largest bull, -wrung off his head; and returning with it, the two put off to sea -together. They rowed much further than the giant had ever gone before; -and Thor, baiting a hook and line of great strength with the head of the -bull, cast it out. The Midgard serpent immediately swallowed it, and -Thor drew upon him. The scene was now most dreadful. Thor pulled so hard -that his feet broke through the boat, and went down to the bottom of the -sea. Thor darted looks of ire at the serpent, and he in turn spouted -floods of venom upon him. The giant turned pale with fright, took out -his knife and cut the line, when the serpent sunk under water. Thor then -grasped his mallet and hurled it at the monster; but he was low down in -the sea, and escaped, though some say his head was struck off at the -bottom of the ocean. Thor then, with his fist, hit the giant a blow -under the ear that knocked him out of sight; and then, with rapid -strides, he waded ashore. - -Baldur the Good having dreamed that harm was to come to him, Friga, his -mother, hearing of it, exacted an oath from every thing, animate and -inanimate, stones, trees, fire, metals, and all living things, that they -would not hurt Baldur. One thing only was omitted—the misletoe. It was -then a favorite amusement for Baldur to stand up, and have the Æsir -throw at him their darts, javelins, battle-axes, and other missiles; for -none could harm him. Loki, under the guise of an old woman, hearing that -the misletoe had not taken the oath, gathered a branch, and calling -Hödur, the blind god, told him to hurl it at Baldur, saying he would -guide his arm, and it being only a twig, it could not hurt him. Hödur -threw it, under the guidance of Loki; and Baldur the Good was slain. The -gods were speechless with horror, looked at each other, and broke out -into violent lamentations of grief. Odin was most sensible of the great -loss the Æsir had suffered; and Friga asked who would gain her love and -good will by riding to Hel, and trying to find Baldur, and offer to Hela -a ransom for his return to Asgard. Hermod offered his services, and -left, mounted on Odin’s famous horse, Sleipnir. While Hermod was on this -mission, Baldur’s body was borne to the sea shore to be burnt. His ship -Hringhorn, the largest in the world, was required for a funeral pile; -but no one could move it, till they sent to Jötunheim for a famous -giantess named Hyrrokin. She came mounted on a wolf, with twisted -serpents for a bridle, and with one push moved the vessel as they wanted -it. Baldur’s body was borne to the funeral pile on board the ship; and -the ceremony had such an effect on Nanna, that she died of grief, and -her body was burned on the same pile with her husband’s. Thor hallowed -the pile with his mallet, and during the ceremony kicked a dwarf into -the fire, because he ran before him. At Baldur’s obsequies was a vast -concourse. First, there was Odin, with Friga, the valkyrjor, and his -ravens; then Frey, in his car drawn by the boar with golden bristles. -Heimdall rode his horse, Gulltopp; Freyja drove in her chariot drawn by -cats. There were also present many Frost-giants and giants of the -mountains. Baldur’s horse, fully caparisoned, was burned along with the -body of his master. - -Hermod pursued his journey till he arrived at the gates of Hel, and -found them barred. He alighted, tightened the girths, mounted, put spurs -to the horse, and at one leap sprang over the gate without touching. He -found Baldur occupying the most distinguished seat in the hall; and -after spending a night with him, asked Hela (death) to let Baldur return -to Asgard. She said she would consent to it, provided Baldur was so -beloved that every thing would weep for him. Hermod then returned, -bearing a gold ring as a present to Odin from Baldur, and some valuable -gifts from Nanna to Friga. Every thing wept for Baldur, except one old -woman, who refused. This was found to be Loki in disguise, who never -ceased to work evil among the Æsir. To escape the wrath of the gods, -Loki changed himself into a salmon, was pursued down a river, and in -leaping a net was caught by Thor in his hands. The gods then confined -him in a cavern, with a serpent directly over him; and as the venom -drops on him, he writhes and howls, and this makes that shaking of the -earth that men call earthquakes. Loki’s two children were taken, and one -changed to a wolf; and he immediately devoured the other. - -The end of all material things is known as Ragnarök,—the twilight of the -gods, and conflagration of the universe. The world becomes corrupt; a -wolf devours the sun, and another wolf the moon; trees fall, and -mountains tumble to pieces. The wolf Fenrir opens his enormous mouth, -the lower jaw being on the earth, and the upper reaching to heaven; the -Midgard serpent gains the land, and heaven is cleft in twain. The sons -of Muspell ride through the breach, led by Surtur, in the midst of -flaming fire. Bifröst breaks in pieces, and a vast assemblage gathers on -the battle-field of Vigrid, which is a hundred miles long. Heimdall -stands up, and, with all his might, blows a blast on the Gjallar-horn, -which arouses all the gods. Odin asks advice of Mimir; the Æsir, and all -the heroes of Valhalla, led by the All-father, go forth to the field of -battle. The ash, Yggdrasill, begins to shake; a dissolution of all -things is at hand. Odin places himself against the wolf Fenrir, and Thor -encounters the Midgard serpent. Frey meets Surtur, and they exchange -terrible blows; but Frey falls, as he has been without his trusty sword -ever since he fell in love with Gerda. The dog, Garm, that had been -chained in a cave, breaks loose, and attacks Tyr, and they kill each -other. Thor slays the Midgard serpent, thereby gaining great renown; -but, retiring nine paces, he falls dead on the spot, being suffocated -with the venom that the dying serpent throws over him. Odin is swallowed -by the wolf; and Vidar, coming up, with his foot on the lower jaw and -his hand on the upper, he tears the animal’s jaws apart, and rends him -till he dies. Loki and Heimdall fight, and kill each other. This most -terrible battle being over, Surtur darts fire and flame over the world, -and the whole universe is consumed by it. A heaven, and many abodes, -both good and bad, are supposed to exist after this; for the spirits of -all who have lived are immortal. A new earth, most lovely and verdant, -shall rise out of the sea, and grain shall grow unsown. During the -conflagration, a woman named Lif (Life) and a man named Lifthrasir, lie -concealed in Hodmimir’s forest. They feed on morning dew, and their -descendants soon cover the earth again. Vidar and Vali survive the -conflagration, and dwell on the plain of Ida, where Asgard formerly -stood. Thither went the sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, carrying with them -their father’s mallet, Mjölnir. Baldur and Hödur repaired thither from -the abode of death (Hel) and there they hold converse on their past -perils and adventures. A famous ship, called Skidbladnir, is spoken of, -that is so large that it would hold all the Æsir, and their weapons. It -was built by the dwarfs, and presented to Frey; and, being constructed -of many pieces and with great skill, when not wanted Frey could fold it -up like a piece of cloth and put it in his pocket. In the language of -the Edda, - - The ash, Yggdrasill, - Is the first of trees; - As Skidbladnir of ships, - Odin of Æsir, - Sleipnir of steeds, - Bifröst of bridges, - Bragi of bards, - Hábrok of hawks, - And Garm of hounds, is. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 29: - - Nót. - -Footnote 30: - - Jörð. - -Footnote 31: - - Dagr. - -Footnote 32: - - The learned and enlightened Christian imagines Heaven as a place or - state of being, where evil, sin, and pain are unknown; and where the - celestial employments will consist of investigating the works of the - Creator, and glorifying his name. The poor Indian dreams of pleasant - hunting-grounds—some happy island in the watery waste—and thinks, - - ——“admitted to that equal sky, - His faithful dog shall bear him company.” - - An old lady who had just “experienced religion,” was asked what she - thought would be the employments of the good in heaven; or how they - would pass their time. She replied, that she thought she would be - permitted to sit all day, in a clean, white apron, and sing psalms. We - need not smile at the simplicity of the good old dame; for, is it not - probable that the celestial labors and enjoyments will as far exceed - the ideas of the most learned Christian, as his imagination goes - beyond that of the good woman, or the rude joys of the unlettered - savage? - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - EARLY LITERATURE OF THE ICELANDERS—EDDAS AND SAGAS—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS - OF THE PERIOD—EXTRACTS FROM THE POETIC EDDA. - - -ACCORDING to the system of the Northmen, man and woman were the last -and most perfect productions of the creative power. After the Æsir, -the Jötuns and the Dwarfs had a being. Odin and two other deities were -walking on the sea-shore, and came to two trees, and from them they -made the first man, ASK, and the first woman, EMBLA. They had allotted -to them, for a residence, Midgard, which, from being the home of man, -was called Mannheim; and from these two, Ask and Embla, are descended -the whole human race. Some time after this, Heimdal, the warder and -trumpeter of the gods, wandered over the earth under the name of -Rigr. He was received and hospitably entertained by the descendants -of Ask and Embla; first by Ai—Great Grandfather,—and Edda—Great -Grandmother,—who dwelt in a lowly hut; next by Afi—Grandfather,—and -Amma—Grandmother,—living in a comfortable habitation; and, lastly, by -Father and Mother,[33] who occupied a splendid mansion. The deity, -by his beneficent presence, infuses a vital energy into his hosts; -and, in due time after his departure, Edda, Amma, and Mother, each -give birth to a son. The infants are sprinkled with water at the -moment of their birth: Edda’s son is called Thræll—_Thrall_; Amma’s, -Karl—_Churl_; and Mother’s, Jarl, or _Noble_; and these three, -Thrall, Churl, and Noble, have each a numerous offspring. Here is an -aristocratic explanation of the three castes that appear, at an early -period, to have formed the frame-work of Scandinavian society,—the -thralls, or slaves; the churls, or free peasants—odalsmen, as they were -afterwards termed; and the nobles. The poet, in his Edda,[34] describes -the thralls as having black hair, an unsightly countenance, uncouth -appearance, and of low and deformed stature; physiological traits -characteristic of the Lapps, who were probably reduced to a state of -vassalage by their Scandinavian conquerors. The destiny of the thralls -is to toil incessantly, in order that by their labor the churls may -obtain sufficient produce from the earth to enable the nobles to live -with becoming splendor. The poet shows his contempt for this class, by -giving Thrall’s sons such names as Frousy, Stumpy, Plumpy, Sootyface, -Slowpace, Homespun, &c., and calling his daughters Lazybody, Cranefoot, -Smokynose, and Tearclout. Among the churls, sons of Karl, we find -such names as Stiffbeard, Husbandman, Holder (of land), and Smith; -the daughters being designated Prettyface, Swanlike, Blithespeech, -Chatterbox, &c. The poet, though, reserves the most of his eloquence -for the nobles, who, he says, have fair hair, a clear complexion, and -fine piercing eyes; their sole avocations being to wield the sword, -dart the javelin, rein the fiery steed, chase the deer, and other -elegant amusements, which Jarl’s descendants still delight to astonish -the churls with. Jarl—equivalent to Earl—marries Erna—Lively—the -daughter of Hersir—Baron; but the poet only gives the names of the -sons; names that usually designate relationship, as Cousin, Nephew, &c. - -The literary history of Iceland, in the early ages of the republic, is -of a most interesting character. When we consider the limited population -of the country, and the many disadvantages under which they labored, -their literature is the most remarkable on record. The old Icelanders, -from the tenth to the sixteenth century, through a period in the history -of the world when little intellectual light beamed from the surrounding -nations, were as devoted and ardent workers in the fields of history and -poetry as any community in the world, under the most favorable -circumstances. Previous to the present century, the learned world seemed -to consider the writings of the Icelanders as almost unworthy of notice. -With the discovery through old manuscripts that the early voyages of the -Icelanders extended to the American coast, there was an interest -aroused, and curiosity was excited to learn the entire history of this -energetic and intellectual race. Springing from the old Norse, or -Norwegian stock, they carried the language and habits of their ancestors -with them to their island home. During a period of nearly one thousand -years, since the first settlement of the country, the Icelandic has -undergone less change—with perhaps one exception—than any language now -spoken. Though a very large number of our English words are derived -direct from the Icelandic, yet the most learned and indefatigable of our -lexicographers, both in England and America, have acknowledged their -ignorance of this language. Through the labors of Professors Rask, Rafn, -and Müller, M. Mallett, Mr. Finn Magnusen, and others, the language and -literature of this country is now open to us. - -The writings of the early Icelanders are principally Eddas and Sagas. -The Eddas are the heroic poems of the day, and describe the deeds and -prowess of heroes and warriors; and some of them abound in mythological -machinery to an extent quite equal to the writings of Homer and Virgil. -The two principal Eddas are known as the Poetic, or _Elder_ Edda, and -the _Younger_, or Prose Edda. The Sagas are historical writings, give a -picture of the public and private life of the Icelanders, their manners -and customs, feuds, combats, voyages, and discoveries, biography of -eminent persons, and such a description of their national and social -state, as enables us to see the character and habits of the people -during the early years of the Icelandic Republic. - -The ELDER EDDA consists of thirty-nine poems, and is ascribed to SÆMUND -SIGFUSSON, surnamed FRODE, or, “the _learned_.” He flourished at the -close of the eleventh, and beginning of the twelfth century; was -educated at the Universities of France and Germany, and returned to -Iceland, and became the parish priest of Oddi, a village near the foot -of Mt. Hekla. He devoted himself to the education of youth, deciphering -Runic manuscripts, and the cultivation of letters. Some suppose that he -was only the author of one of these poems; that he found the others in -manuscript, or obtained them from oral tradition. In proof of this, one -only—the Sólar-ljóth—Lay of the Sun—contains the least allusion to -Christianity. All the others bear marks of greater antiquity than the -eleventh century. - -The PROSE, or YOUNGER EDDA, was written many years subsequent to the -Elder Edda. It contains a complete system of Scandinavian Mythology, -all, or nearly all, derived from the Elder. - -The account of the Mythology of the Northmen in the former chapters, is -principally from Mallett’s account of the younger Edda,—Bishop Percy’s -translation. Snorri Sturlason, one of the most remarkable men in the -annals of Iceland, is said to be the writer and compiler of the younger -Edda. The prominent incidents of his life give a striking picture of -the manners of the age in which he lived. This was several generations -later than the time of Sæmund Frode. Snorri was born at Hvam, in Myra -Sysla, in the year 1178. He was a historian and poet, as well as a -powerful political chieftain, and at one time the wealthiest man in -Iceland. During his life he was twice elected Supreme Magistrate, or -President of the Republic. At three years of age, he was taken into -the care of John Lopston, of Oddi, grandson of Sæmund Frode, and -lived with him till he was twenty years of age. He flourished in a -stormy period, and led a turbulent and ambitious life. He received an -excellent education from his foster-father, and turned every favorable -circumstance to his own advantage. Appreciating the adage, that “money -is power,” he married Herdisa, the daughter of a priest called Bersi -the Rich—a very enviable surname, which, no doubt, enabled the reverend -gentleman to brave the bulls and decrees of popes and councils, and -take to himself a wife—who brought him a very considerable fortune. -If we judge by the career of Snorri, Christianity had not, at this -period, much improved the character of the Icelanders. We have the -same turbulent and sanguinary scenes, the same loose conduct of the -women, and the perfidy and remorseless cruelty of the men, as in Pagan -times. Snorri lived twenty-five years with Herdisa, obtained a divorce, -married a rich heiress, quarreled with a son and daughter of his first -wife respecting pecuniary matters, had a number of illegitimate, or, -rather, adulterine children, and was finally murdered by three of his -sons-in-law and a step-son. Three of his illegitimate daughters were -married to men of rank, and in more respects than one, were like the -daughters of Lear. Their husbands were obliged to get rid of them by -suing for legal divorces, on account of their loose conduct. One of -them, Ingjibjörg, married a second time, but was again divorced, and -became notorious, even in Iceland, for her debaucheries.[35] By his -marriages, his learning, shrewdness, and ambition, Snorri became the -most wealthy and powerful man in the country, and, for some time the -political head of the state. We are told that sometimes he made his -appearance at the national assembly with eight or nine hundred men -in his train. His ambition was literary, as well as political, and -his celebrity was not confined to his own country. He visited Norway, -composed and recited a poem in praise of Hacon, a powerful jarl; and -strengthened his position at home by an alliance with neighboring -chiefs on the continent. Like the emperors of Rome, he constructed a -sumptuous bath of cut stone and cement, which, to this day, is called -_Snorri-laug_, or Snorri’s Bath. It is circular, and spacious enough -to swim in. It is supplied with hot water from a spouting fountain or -geyser, by a conduit over five hundred feet in length. Though more than -six hundred years have passed since it was built, it is in good repair -at the present day, and has been used as a temporary bathing-place by -some modern travelers. - -After a period of unexampled prosperity, Snorri began to experience the -frowns of fortune. His avarice, ambition, and turbulent disposition, -made him unpopular at home, and embroiled him in quarrels with -neighboring chiefs and rulers. Gissur Thorvaldsen, formerly his -son-in-law, was ordered by Hacon, king of Norway, to make him a -prisoner, and bring him before the king; and if he could not take him -alive, to bring him dead. Having an eye on his estates, Thorvaldsen -assassinated him, on the night of the 22d of September, 1241, and -immediately took possession of his property. Snorri fell in the 63d -year of his age. A letter in the Runic character, was sent to him, a -few hours before his death, warning him of his danger; but we are told, -notwithstanding his great learning and extensive acquaintance with the -antiquities and literature of the country, that he could not decipher -it. In addition to his poetical and other works, he was author and -compiler of the HEIMSKRINGLA, or “Chronicle of the Kings of Norway,” a -historical work of great interest and celebrity. - -A bare recital of the titles of the different poems forming the Eddas, -would be of little interest. One was entitled the VÖLUSPA—_Völu-spá, The -Song of the Prophetess_. Another is the _Háva-mál_,[36] and contains a -complete code of Odinic morality; and, as will be seen by the following -extracts, translated by Bishop Percy, are, many of them, worthy of a -christian age and a christian people. We will close this chapter, and -our account of the Literature and Mythology of the early Icelanders, by -the following quotations from the Old Eddaic poem, the HÁVAMÁL: - -1. Consider and examine well all your doors before you venture to stir -abroad; for he is exposed to continual danger, whose enemies lie in -ambush, concealed in his court. - -3. To the guest who enters your dwelling with frozen knees, give the -warmth of your fire; he who hath traveled over the mountains, hath need -of food and well-dried garments. - -4. Offer water to him who sits down at your table; for he hath occasion -to cleanse his hands; and entertain him honorably and kindly, if you -would win from him friendly words, and a grateful return. - -5. He who traveleth hath need of wisdom. One may do at home whatsoever -one will; but he who is ignorant of good manners, will only draw -contempt upon himself when he comes to sit down with men well -instructed. - -7. He who goes to a feast where he is not expected, either speaks with a -lowly voice, or is silent; he listens with his ears, and is attentive -with his eyes; by this he acquires knowledge and wisdom. - -8. Happy he who draws upon himself the applause and benevolence of men! -for whatever depends upon the will of others, is hazardous and -uncertain. - -10. A man can carry with him no better provision for his journey, than -the strength of understanding. In a foreign country, this will be of -more use to him than treasures; and will introduce him to the table of -strangers. - -12-13. A man cannot carry a worse custom with him to a banquet, than -that of drinking too much; the more the drunkard swallows the less is -his wisdom, till he loses his reason. The bird of oblivion sings before -those who inebriate themselves, and steals away their souls. - -16. A coward thinks he shall live forever, if he can but keep out of the -reach of arms; but though he should escape every weapon, old age, that -spares none, will give him no quarter. - -17. The gluttonous man, if he is not upon his guard, eats his own death; -and the gluttony of a fool makes the wise man laugh. - -21. The flocks know when to return to the fold, and to quit the pasture; -but the worthless and the slothful know not how to restrain their -gluttony. - -22. The lewd and dissolute man makes a mock of every thing; not -considering how much he himself is the object of derision. No one ought -to laugh at another until he is free from faults himself. - -23. A man void of sense ponders all night long, and his mind wanders -without ceasing; but when he is weary at the point of day, he is nothing -wiser than he was over night. - -32. Many are thought to be knit in the ties of sincere kindness; but -when it comes to the proof, how much are they deceived! Slander is the -common vice of the age. Even the host backbites his guest. - -37. One’s own home is the best home, though never so small. Every thing -one eats at home is sweet. He who lives at another man’s table, is often -obliged to wrong his palate. - -41. Let friends pleasure each other reciprocally with presents of arms -and habits. Those who give and those who receive, continue a long time -friends, and often give feasts to each other. - -43. Love both your friends and your friends’ friends; but do not favor -the friend of your enemies. - -45. Hast thou a friend whom thou canst not well trust, but wouldst make -him useful to thee; speak to him with bland words, but think craftily, -and thus render him levity for lies. - -47. When I was young, I wandered about alone; I thought myself rich if I -chanced to light upon a companion. A man gives pleasure to another man. - -51. Peace, among the perfidious, continues for five nights to shine -bright as a flame; but when the sixth night approaches, the flame waxes -dim, and is quite extinguished; then all their amity turns to hatred. - -55. Let not a man be over wise; neither let him be more curious than he -ought. Let him not seek to know his destiny, if he would sleep secure -and quiet. - -67. They invite me up and down to feasts, if I have only need of a -slight breakfast: my faithful friend is he who will give me one loaf -when he has but two. - -70. Whilst we live, let us live well; for be a man never so rich when he -lights his fire, death may perhaps enter his door before it be burnt -out. - -72. It is better to have a son late than never. One seldom sees -sepulchral stones raised over the graves of the dead by any other hands -but those of their own offspring. - -77. Riches pass away like the twinkling of an eye; of all friends, they -are the most inconstant. Flocks perish; relations die; friends are not -immortal; you will die yourself; but I know one thing alone that is out -of the reach of fate; and that is the judgment which is passed upon the -dead. - -81. Praise the fineness of the day when it is ended; praise a woman when -she is buried; a sword when you have proved it; a maiden after she is -married; the ice when once you have crossed it; and the liquor after it -is drunk. - -84. Trust not to the words of a girl, neither to those which a woman -utters; for their hearts have been made like the wheel that turns round; -levity was put into their bosoms. - -86-87. Trust not to the ice of one day’s freezing; neither to the -serpent that lies asleep; nor to the caresses of her you are going to -marry; nor to a sword that is cracked or broken; nor to the son of a -powerful man; nor to a field that is newly sown. - -90. Peace between malicious women is compared to a horse that is made to -walk over the ice not properly shod; or to a vessel in a storm without a -rudder; or to a lame man who should attempt to follow the mountain goats -with a young foal, or yearling mule. - -92. He who would make himself beloved by a maiden, must entertain her -with fine discourses, and offer her engaging presents; he must also -incessantly praise her beauty. It requires good sense to be a skillful -lover. - -95. The heart alone knows what passes within the heart, and that which -betrays the soul, is the soul itself. There is no malady or sickness -more severe than not to be content with one’s lot. - -119. Never discover your uneasiness to an evil person, for he will -afford you no comfort. - -121. Know that if you have a friend, you ought to visit him often. The -road is grown over with grass, the bushes quickly spread over it, if it -is not constantly traveled. - -123. Be not the first to break with your friend. Sorrow gnaws the heart -of him who has no one to advise with but himself. - -130. I advise you to be circumspect, but not too much: be so, however, -when you have drunk to excess, when you are near the wife of another, -and when you find yourself among robbers. - -131. Do not accustom yourself to mocking; neither laugh at your guest -nor a stranger: they who remain at home often know not who the stranger -is that cometh to their gate. - -136. Laugh not at the gray-headed declaimer, nor at the aged grandsire. -There often come forth from the wrinkles of the skin, words full of -wisdom. - -140. The fire drives away diseases; Runic characters destroy the effect -of imprecations; the earth swallows up inundations; and death -extinguishes hatred and quarrels. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 33: - - Faðir and Moðir. - -Footnote 34: - - The _Rigsmál_, a poem of the Mythic-ethnologic class. - -Footnote 35: - - Mallet. - -Footnote 36: - - _Mál_, song, discourse, speech, a word cognate with the Anglo-Saxon - _mal_, _mæl_, the Greek μέλος, &c. Háva-mál signifies the discourse or - canticle of the sublime; _i. e._ deity. Odin himself was supposed to - have given these precepts of wisdom to mankind. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - - ——“Litera scripta manet,” - The poet saith. Pray let me show my vanit- - Y, and have “a foreign slipslop now and then, - If but to prove I’ve traveled; and what’s travel, - Unless it teaches one to quote and cavil?” - -THE modern literature of the Icelanders is of quite a different -character from that in heathen times, and in the early history of the -country, from the tenth to the sixteenth century. They seem as much -devoted to poetry as their ancestors, and their style of versification -is similar; but they court the muse in a different strain. The poetry -of the modern Icelanders does not abound in mythology, hyperbole, and -fable; and it may reasonably be supposed that works of imagination -have lost something of the hue of romance that is thrown around -the productions of a heroic age. A study of the works of foreign -authors—translations from eminent christian poets, in Norway, Germany, -England, and the United States, are favorite pursuits of the modern -Icelanders; and works of this description are among the most popular -published in the country. - -Among the original writers and translators of the present century, none -rank as high as Jon Thorlakson. Receiving a scanty salary of less than -fifty dollars a year, as parish priest of Bægisa, and laboring hard as a -farmer, he yet found time to translate from English and German writers, -and to compose original poetry, to the extent of several octavo volumes, -About the year 1818, his case attracted the attention of a learned -society in London, and a sum of money was forwarded to him to smooth his -declining years; but he survived only till 1821, being over seventy -years of age at the time of his death. His translation of Milton was -published in Icelandic, in octavo—double columns—a volume of over 400 -pages, in 1828. The “Essay on Man,” and a volume of original poetry of -great merit were published in 1842. Among his original poems are two -versions of the story of Inkle and Yarico. - -The style of versification in vogue among the early Icelandic writers -was very peculiar. Its harmony was dependent, not so much on rhyme and -the number of syllables in a line, as upon peculiar alliterations. Their -language abounding in consonants, this seemed easier than rhymes, which -were seldom used. Some of their kinds of verse had regular alliterations -at the commencement of the lines; other varieties, just so many -alliterations in a line, or alliterations in a similar position in -certain words of corresponding lines. The following is a very good -example. It is from an “Address to the New Year,” or, more literally, -“The sight of the New Year.” - -NYARS VISUR. - - Verði bliðda veðurs! - Viðir blómgi hliðar! - Veiðist vel á miðum! - Vaxi gengdin laxa! - Glitri grund og flötur! - Groi tun og floi! - Neytist afl til nota! - Nytist allt til hlitar! - -How ingenious and regular are the alliterations! This is from a poem, -written in 1847. During the present century, rhymes have been gaining in -favor greatly. A longer meter and more perfect rhythm is also -cultivated. The old verse, and much of the more modern, is a very short -meter, which, to us, does not seem as poetical as a more stately and -majestic tread. Formerly, and sometimes at the present day, verse was -printed without capitals, except at the commencement of a stanza. Let us -see how old John Milton looks in an Icelandic dress; and how Mr. -Thorlakson sings:— - - Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit - Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste - Brought death into the world and all our woe. - - UM fyrsta manns - felda hlýðni - ok átlystíng - af epli forboðnu, - hvaðan óvægr - upp kom dauði, - Edens missir, - ok allt böl manna; - Þartil annarr einn, - æðri maðr, - aptr fær - oss viðreista, - ok afrekar nýan - oss til handa - fullsælustað - fögrum sigri; - Sýng þú, Menta- - móðir himneska! - þú sem Hórebs fyrr - á huldum toppi, - eða Sínaí, - sauðaverði - innblést fræðanda - útvalit sæði, - hve alheimr skópst - af alls samblandi; - Eða lysti þik - lángtum heldr - at Zíons hæð - ok Sílóa brunni, - sem framstreymdi - hjá Frétt guðligri! - -We can barely recognize the “heavenly Muse”—“Mentamothir -hymneska”—Mother of hymns!— - - ——“that, on the secret top - Of Oreb, or of Sinai, did’st inspire - That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed, - In the beginning, how Heaven and Earth - Rose out of chaos.” - -Thorlakson’s version of Pope’s great Essay is a later translation, and, -probably, a better one. It is longer meter, is all in rhyme, and more in -accordance with the structure of English verse.[37] Here is a selection -from the fourth epistle of the Essay, with the translation:— - - But, by your fathers’ worth, if yours you rate, - Count me those only who were good and great. - Go! if your ancient but ignoble blood - Has crept through scoundrels ever since the flood, - Go! and pretend your family is young; - Nor own your fathers have been fools so long. - What can ennoble sots, or slaves, or cowards?— - Alas! not all the blood of all the Howards. - -Mr. Thorlakson gives it in this style. - - En sé yðvart hið aldna bólð - i ótérligum runnið straum - þartil nu siðan Nóa flóð, - narra-registar gegnum aum, - segið þá heldur yðar ætt - unga; látið ei heyra neinn - að sér hafi svo lengi lædt - i legg þeim dáraskapur einn! - Hvað skarn-þræl, narra, skelmskum hal, - skapa kann aðals-mæti góð? - ei heilar ættar tallaust tal - til vinnst, ei gjörvalt Hovarðs blóð. - -One of the finest specimens of Icelandic poetry, is a translation of -Bruce’s Address to his Army, on the following page. It shows the -flexibility of the Icelandic language in a striking light; the piece -preserving the exact number of stanzas, the same number of lines to a -stanza, and rhymes precisely like the song of Burns, so that in the -Icelandic version it can be sung to the same air. - - - BANNOCKBURN. - - AVARP ROBERT BRUCE TIL HERLITHS SINS. - EPTIR BURNS. - - Skotar, er Wallace vörðust með, - Víg með Bruce opt hafið sjeð; - Velkomnir að blóðgum beð, - Bjartri eða sigurfrægð! - - Stund og dagur dýr nú er; - Dauðinn ógnar hvar sem sjer; - Játvarðs að oss æðir her— - Ok og hlekkja nægð! - - Hverr vill bera níðings nafn? - Ná hver bleyðu seðja hrafn? - Falla þræl ófrjálsum jafn? - Flýti hann burtu sjer! - - Hverr vill hlinur Hildar báls - Hjör nú draga hins góða máls, - Standa bæði og falla frjáls? - Fari hann eptir mjer! - - Ánauðar við eymd og grönd! - Yðar sona þrældóms bönd! - Vjer viljum láta líf og önd, - En leysa úr hlekkjum þá! - - Fellið grimma fjendur því! - Frelsi er hverju höggi í! - Sjái oss hrósa sigri ný - Sol, eða orðna að ná! - -We give the original, so they may be readily compared. - - - BANNOCKBURN. - - ROBERT BRUCE’S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY. - - Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled! - Scots wham Bruce has aften led! - Welcome to your gory bed, - Or to victory. - - Now’s the day and now’s the hour; - See the front o’ battle lour; - See approach proud Edward’s power— - Chains and slavery! - - Wha will be a traitor knave? - Wha can fill a coward’s grave? - Wha sae base as be a slave? - Let him turn and flee! - - Wha for Scotland’s king and law, - Freedom’s sword will strangly draw? - Freeman stand, or freeman fa’, - Let him follow me! - - By oppression’s woes and pains! - By your sons in servile chains! - We will drain our dearest veins, - But they shall be free. - - Lay the proud usurpers low! - Tyrants fall in every foe! - Liberty’s in every blow! - Let us do or die! - -These examples, though but _disjecta membra poetæ_, are sufficient to -show something of the structure and appearance of Icelandic poetry; and, -probably to the general reader, as interesting as a dissertation that -would fill a volume. - -One more specimen, however, of their verse, shall be given; a couple of -stanzas of a very popular Icelandic hymn. It is entitled, “The weeping -of Jacob over Rachel,” or, - - GRÁTUR JACOBS YFIR RAKEL. - - Hvert er farin hin fagra og blíða? - Fórstu Rakel í svipanna heim? - Fyrir sunnu sje jeg nú líða - Svarta flóka og dimmir í geim. - Rakel! Rakel! daprast nú dagar, - Dvín mjer gleði, brátt enda mun líf; - Leiðir eru mjer ljósgrænir hagar— - Liggur í moldu hið ástkæra víf. - - Drottinn Abrahams! deyr nú minn rómur, - Dauðans skuggi í hjarta mjer er; - Drottinn Abrahams! auður og tómur - Er nú heimur og dagsbirta þver; - Drottinn Abrahams! barn Þitt sjá bifa! - Blóðug falla tár þess á mund; - Drottinn Abrahams! lát mig ei lifa!— - Liggur í moldu hið harmdauða sprund. - -We will now have a specimen of Icelandic prose. See how queer our good -old plain philosopher Franklin looks in a Northern dress. Here is his -“Story of a Whistle.” - - HLJÓTHPÍPAN. - - EPTIR DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. - Sönn saga—skrifuð frænda hans ungum. - - Það bar til einhvern helgidag þegar eg var eitthvað sjö vetra - gamall, að kunningjar mínir fylltu vasa mína koparskildingum. - Jeg gekk þá strax beina leið til búdar þar sem barnagull voru - seld; en á leiðinni mætti jeg dreng, sem hjelt á _hljóðpípu_, og - þótti mjer svo fallegt hljóðið í henni, að jeg bauð honum af - fyrra bragði allt fje mitt fyrir hana. Siðan fór eg heim og gekk - um öll hús blásandi á _hljóðpípuna_ mína, og var hinn kátasti þó - eg gjörði öllum heimamönnum ónæði. Bræður mínir, systur, og - frændur komust brátt að um kaupskap minn, og sögðu mjer þa að eg - hefði gefið fjórum sinnum meira fyrir pípuna enn hún væri verð. - Þá fór eg að hugsa um hvað marga góða gripi eg hefði getað - eignast fyrir það, sem eptir hefði mátt vertða af skildingum - minum; og þau hlóu svo lengi að heimsku minni, að jeg grjet af - gremju, og umhugsanin um þetta hriggði mig meira enn - _hljóðpípan_ gladdi mig. - - Þetta atvik kom mjer þó síðan til nota, því áhrifin urðu eptir í - sál minni; og opt, þegar freistni kom að mjer að kaupe einhvern - óþarfann, sagði eg við sjálfan mig, _gefðu ei of mikið fyrir - hlóðpípuna_; og með því móti hjelt eg fje mínu. - - Þegar eg óx upp, komst út í heiminn, og fór að taka eptir - breitni manna, þá fannst mjer svo sem eg hitti marga, mjög - marga, sem _gáfu of mikið fyrir hljóðpípuna_. - - Þegar eg sá mann, af eintómri eptirsókn eptir hylli konunga, - eyða aldri sínum í því að bíða eptir hentugleikum þeirra, fórna - næði sínu, frelsi, dygð og jafnvel vinum sínum, til að ná henni, - þá sagði jeg við sjálfan mig, _þessi maður gefur of mikið fyrir - hljóðpípu sína_. - - Þegar eg sá annan mann láta mikið af alþýðu hylli, og verja - stundum sínum til að kvetja menn til óspekta, en sjálfum sjer - til óbætanlegs skaða vanrækja efni sín; _hann gefur sannarlega_, - sagði eg þá, _of mikið fyrir hljóðpípu sína_. - - Ef eg sje einhvern armingja, sem einasta til þess að geta hrúgað - saman auðæfum, afneitar sjer um alla þægilegleika lífsins, alla - þá ánægju, sem í því er að gjöra vel við aðra, alla virðingu - segi eg þa, _þjer gefið vissulega of mikið fyrir hljóðpípu - yðar_. - - Þegar eg mæti gleðimandi, sem fórnar hverju tækifært til að - auðga sál sína eða bæta hag sinn á lofsverðan hátt, og það vegna - eintómrar holdlegrar nautnar: _óláns-maður_, segi eg þá, _þjer - bakið yður böl en ei gleði_: _þjer gefið of mikið fyrir - hljóðpípu yðar_. - - Sjái jeg mann af tómri hjegómadýrð sækjast eptir dýrindis fötum, - hússgögnum og öðrum útbunaði, allt meira enn efni hans leyfa, - safna fyrir þá sök skuldum og lenda loks í díflissu; _æ_, segi - eg þá, _hann hefur dýrkeypt, mjög dýrkeypt, hljóðpípu sína_. - - Þegar eg sje fagra, blíðlynda meyju, gefna illum og hroðalegum - svola; _mikil hörmung er það_, segi eg þá, _að hún skuli hafa - gefið svona mikið fyrir eina hljóðpípu_. - - Í stuttu máli, eg komst að raun um að mikill hluti af eydum - manna kemur af því að þeir meta ranglega gildi hluta, og gefa of - mikið fyrir _hljóðpípur_ sínar. - -The word _Hljothpipan_, literally translated, is a pipe, or musical -instrument, made out of a reed. These extracts from Icelandic literature -are undoubtedly very interesting! If not so readily perused as our -English, they at least show the literary taste of the Icelanders, and -something of the variety and style of their composition. Here is an -extract from a newspaper published in Reykjavik a few days after I left; -a copy of which I received by mail after arriving in New York. - - From the Þjoðolfur[38] of Aug. 20th, 1852. - - Eptirfylgjandi GREIN bað ferðamaðurinn herra PLINY MILES rektor - herra BJARNA JÓNSSON að láta prenta í Þjóðólfi, og senda honum - svo til Vesturheims. - - Herra _Pliny Miles_, Vesturheimsmaður og meðlimur - Sagnafjelagsins í Nýju Jórvík, hefur um bríð dvalið á Íslandi og - farið víða um hjeröð landsins. Hann hefur skoðað _Geisir_, litla - _Geisir_, brennisteinnámurnar í _Krisuvik_, og hann kom upp á - tindinn á _Heklu_. Herra _Miles_ hefur skoðað og aðgætt nokkrar - bækur landsins, og hefur hann haft heim með sjer til Vesturheims - nokkrar íslenzkar bækur. Stiptsbókasafnið hefur sent böggul af - bókum þjóðbókasafni Vesturheims, er _Smithson_ er höfundur að, - til endurgjalds fyrir dýrar bækur, er stiptsbókasafnið hafði - nýlega fengið frá bókasafni _Smithsons_. Herra _Miles_ siglir á - póstskipinu til meginlands Norðurálfunnar, og tjáir hann sig - mikillega ánægðan með allt, sem hann hefur sjeð út á Íslandi. - -A translation of this is scarcely required, as its purport can be -readily seen. It is a short article written by Mr. Bjarni Johnson, for -the THIOTHOLFUR, and giving an account of the author’s visit to Iceland. - -In the Icelandic, whole sentences from other languages are thrown -into one word. The word _Vesturheimsmathur_, fully translated, -is _a man who has his home on the western continent_. It goes on -to speak of this native of the West, as a member of the New York -Historical Society—“Sagnafjelagsins”—and that, during a somewhat -rainy period, he visited Iceland, traveled through the interior of -the country, went to the Geyser, the little Geyser, the Sulphur -Mountains—“brennisteinnámurnar”—of Krisuvik, and climbed to the top of -Hekla. It speaks of the visit as a pleasant one, and that on the return -of the traveler to America—“Vesturheims”—he took some books from the -Iceland public library—“stiptsbókasafnith”—as a present to the American -Smithsonian library, in return for a similar present formerly received -from Smithson’s. Then he journeyed on the mail packet—“póstskipinu”—to -the continent of Europe, after a long tour and an agreeable stay in -Iceland. - -This shall close our extracts. Lest some may think that the writer of -this volume is an enthusiast, and overrates the value of Icelandic -literature, the following statement is quoted from the preface to the -English translation of Rask’s Icelandic Grammar, by Hon. George P. -Marsh, and shows the high estimate placed on the language and literature -of the Northmen, by this eminent linguist. - - The translator cannot here enter upon so copious a subject as - the character and value of the literature of Iceland; and it - must suffice to remark, that in the opinion of those most - competent to judge, it has never been surpassed, if equaled, in - all that gives value to that portion of history which consists - of spirited delineations of character, and faithful and lively - pictures of events among nations in a rude state of society. - - That the study of the Old-Northern tongue may have an important - bearing on English grammar and etymology, will be obvious when - it is known that the Icelandic is most closely allied to the - Anglo-Saxon, of which so few monuments are extant; and a slight - examination of its structure, and remarkable syntactical - character, will satisfy the reader, that it may well deserve the - attention of the philologist. - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 37: - - A sample is given at the head of Chapter IV., page 61, of this volume. - -Footnote 38: - - “The Statesman.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - - MATTERS PERSONAL, LITERARY, AND GENERAL. - -THE Icelanders, as I have pictured them, are intellectual in their -tastes; and in domestic life they are highly social. Their amusements -are few, their enjoyments being principally in the family, at their -labor, and attending public worship. Throughout the country, they gather -from a circuit of many miles, to hear their ministers proclaim “glad -tidings,” and tell them of the reward that awaits a well-spent life. In -the long winter evenings, one member of the family is much of the time -reading aloud, while the others are engaged in domestic duties, -spinning, weaving, knitting, and making clothing and domestic utensils, -in which the males as well as the females, all engage. In their personal -demeanor, the Icelanders are generally quiet, sober, and somewhat -taciturn. A love of amusement, and a fondness for sport, is not common. -Some of the Icelanders that I have seen, have had a great deal of -vivacity, and large conversational powers. Some that have visited -foreign countries, have returned home so impressed with their experience -of the great and busy world; that they have infused a spirit of activity -and inquiry into the whole circle where they move. They tell of one man, -an Icelander, who got off to the continent, and went through all the -wars of Napoleon, and after many years returned to his native land. He -was so glad to see his own good island, that he fell down and embraced -the earth, and declared, in the words of the national proverb, “Iceland -is the best country the sun shines upon.”[39] With all that the poor -soldier had seen of the luxury and variety of foreign countries, there -was, to him, “no place like home.” While the Icelander is fond of -conversation, when in the presence of strangers he rather listen than -talk. They come well up to Dr. Johnson’s favorite character, a good -listener. When a foreigner calls at the house of an Icelander, he -attends first to the personal wants of his guest; then he is desirous of -learning all the stranger has to communicate. He is shrewd and -inquisitive, and asks the most pertinent and ingenious questions, and -never rests satisfied till he has learned with great minuteness all that -the stranger has to tell him respecting the great world, and the foreign -countries he has seen. He is always most respectful and obliging, and -ready to communicate information, and answer questions about every thing -relating to his country or pursuits. He seems to appreciate the greater -amount of wealth and luxury abroad, and the superior magnificence and -splendor of cities like Copenhagen, Paris, London, or New York, as -compared to his own small towns; yet his _amor patriæ_ and contentment -make him superior to all temptations to emigrate. His industry, fondness -for reading and conversing, his great integrity of character, a -devotional spirit, and ardent love for the precepts and practices of -Christianity—these, with his contentment and love of liberty, are the -most prominent characteristics of the Icelander. They do not show much -fondness for exact science, though they pay some attention to the -studies of geography and natural history. Having no fuel but turf—except -what is imported—none of the precious or useful metals, no material, -except wool, for the manufacture of textile fabrics, raising no fruits -or grain, and having little use for water or steam power, they have few -incentives to exert themselves in acquiring a knowledge of chemistry, -mineralogy, geology, electricity, magnetism, hydraulics, pneumatics, or -many of the mechanic and useful arts. “Circumstances make men,” or bring -out certain traits of character; and the Icelander forms no exception to -the general rule. We see how he is placed. Obtaining his subsistence -from the products of the earth and the sea, engaged little in traffic, -he does not experience much of the fraud and wrong that is found in the -busy haunts of men; and in him we see little but the gentle and better -characteristics of our nature. - -The Icelander is poor, and books are to him a luxury; yet he possesses -more, in proportion to his means, than the natives of any other country. -We shall see by comparison and looking at facts, what their intellectual -resources are. The number of books, of all sizes, published in Iceland -in each of the years 1847 and 1848, was seventeen—thirty-four volumes in -two years; and these for a community of 60,000 people. Were there as -many in proportion printed for our population of twenty-five millions, -the number of books—distinct works, independent of periodicals—published -annually in the United States, would be over seven thousand. The most of -the Iceland books are duodecimos and octavos; the largest volume for the -year 1847 containing 928 pages. This was a sort of “Congressional -Globe,” though not issued in numbers—a record of the proceedings of -their Althing or Congress.[40] This seems like a pretty lengthy journal -of a session that lasted but little over a month. They passed a number -of acts of much importance to the people; and very likely the session -was enlivened with as many “speeches to Buncombe,” as we hear in the -same length of time on Capitol Hill. - -Some of the works published in Icelandic, are issued from the press in -Copenhagen; but the majority of them are printed and bound in Iceland. -They have several printing-presses constantly at work, and three -newspapers—one once a week, and two issued once a fortnight. In -mechanical execution, their books and newspapers are turned out in -better style than the average of those issued from the American press. -They are, however, always without illustrations. - -From what has been said, it will be seen that the Icelanders of the -present day are a different people from those of an earlier period. In -former times, the tyranny of rulers and the ambition of demagogues, kept -up a warlike spirit, and an ardent love of political liberty. While they -were less amiable and peaceful, they showed, both in letters and -politics, a greater degree of activity. Lest it may be thought that I -have drawn too favorable a picture of the early Icelanders, I will here -give an extract from a learned dissertation on the history and -literature of Iceland, by the distinguished Dr. (now Sir Henry) Holland, -who visited the country in 1810, in company with Sir George Mackenzie. - - Like the aurora borealis of their native sky, the poets and - historians of Iceland not only illuminated their own country, - but flashed the lights of their genius through the night which - then hung over the rest of Europe. Commerce was pursued by the - inhabitants with ardor and success; and they partook of the - maritime adventures of discovery and colonization, which gave so - much merited celebrity to the Norwegians of this period. Of the - several features which distinguish this remarkable period in the - history of Iceland, the literary character of the people is - doubtless the most extraordinary and peculiar. We require much - evidence to convince us of the fact that a nation remote from - the rest of Europe, dwelling on a soil so sterile, and beneath - such inclement skies, should have sent forth men whose genius, - taste, and acquirements did honor to their country, and to the - times in which they lived. Such evidence, however, of the most - distinct and decisive kind, we possess in the many writings - which have come down from this period to the present age, and in - the testimonies afforded by the cotemporaneous writers of other - countries. The reality of the fact, indeed, can admit of no - doubt; and it is only left for us to speculate upon the causes - which led to this singular anomaly in the history of - literature.[41] - -The above was written forty years ago, and by one of the most -intelligent travelers that ever visited Iceland. - -I was asked by the Icelanders, if it would not be an object for some of -my countrymen to settle in Iceland, and teach them the practical and -productive arts as understood in my country. I told them, I did not -think it would be an object for the natives of any country I knew to go -and settle there. The restrictive laws of Denmark do not favor trade -with foreigners; the country produces too little variety, and too small -quantities of suitable articles for exportation, to create a trade of -much magnitude. Their soil is, a majority of it, entirely unproductive; -and the balance produces too little ever to support a numerous -population. The articles they have are good of the kind; they raise -excellent beef and mutton; the wool of their sheep is soft and durable, -but not fine or handsome. It is not so good for first-class -manufactures, as the sheep are often pied, spotted, and variegated in -color; and it is not so good for coloring, as they always pull it off of -the animals, instead of shearing it.[42] Fish—salmon and cod—are -important articles of export; and their horses, though small, are very -desirable animals. A little larger than the Shetland pony, often of -singular color, hardy, gentle, and docile; for pony carriages, and for -children and females to ride, I think they would be a desirable addition -to our stock of horses in the United States. A schooner-load of them -went from Iceland to Scotland, when I was in the country; and I have no -doubt they sold at a good profit, as the average cost was less than ten -dollars a head. As these animals are never fed in winter, they are -necessarily raised very cheaply; and, were trade open with foreign -countries, I have no doubt a great demand would spring up for them, and -add largely to the profits of the Iceland farmer. Apropos of this -subject of free trade, I will here give an extract from the letter of an -intelligent Icelander, which I have just received, and which was written -after the commencement of hostilities in Europe. There is no reason why -the king of Denmark should not open the trade of Iceland equally to all -nations. It is not a particle of pecuniary benefit to his kingdom, as -there are no duties charged; but, by restricting the trade to Danish -vessels, it is kept as a kind of monopoly by a few merchants of -Copenhagen; while the poor Icelanders complain greatly of the oppression -and hardship of being dependent for their foreign necessaries and -luxuries, entirely on a few grasping speculators. Whenever the Iceland -Althing passes an act opening their ports to all nations, the king -vetoes the bill. They murmur at it as great injustice; but what avail -the murmurs of the weak? During the last war in Europe—1810-12—Denmark -came near losing the colony in two different ways. One was, the enemy -came near taking possession; and another escape they had, the “mother -country” not being able to protect the island, or send them supplies, -the people came near starving to death; and were only saved from the -greatest destitution by the clemency and liberality of Great Britain, in -treating the Icelanders as “friends,” while the country was at war with -Denmark. If his Danish Majesty should feel compelled to take up arms in -the present struggle, the island would be in similar peril. Respecting -this, and some other subjects, the following letter, from a learned -Icelander—the President of the Iceland College—will be read with -interest: - - Reykjavik, March 1st, 1854. - - SIR: - - * * * * * - - As to political news, I have not much to relate; nor, I am sure, - do you expect much from this quarter; yet, a change is about to - take place in our commercial relations. In all probability, the - Danish government will, after a monopoly of two and a half - centuries, at length, this year, condescend to allow of our free - intercourse, for mercantile purposes, with all nations. It would - be superfluous to write you any thing about the impending war; - but I cannot forbear stating, that in case of war between - England and Russia, to which Denmark would probably be - constrained to become a party, our situation here, in this - island, would needs become very precarious. - - * * * * * - - Sir: I should be charmed to visit your stately country, to get - an idea of her soaring aspirations, to view her wonders of - civilization, with all her rapid improvements. She seems to be - the only country that at present enjoys the blessings of - freedom, and on whose soil liberty can prosper. But I very much - fear my desire of paying a visit there will ever remain a “_pium - votum_” which neither my financial circumstances nor my - occupation will allow of. - - * * * * * - - Though you have, dear sir, already rendered me so many important - services, I must, before concluding this letter, once more - importune you with a boon, which is in the interest of my - college, to procure me a copy of the following work, a most - excellent one, by one of your countrymen—“Report on Education in - Europe, to the Trustees of the Girard College for Orphans, by - Alex. Dallas Bache, Philadelphia, 1839.” I have made several - applications to my bookseller in Copenhagen, but all in vain. - Then, I should feel much obliged to you, if you could procure - me, by the means of your influential friends in America and - Great Britain, some examination papers from some of your - colleges or schools of England, especially from Eton, Harrow, or - Winchester, containing the questions put to the pupils, as well - as copies of the best answers to them; together with specimens - of their exercises in Latin and Greek. If you could comply with - this desire of mine, you would render yourself one of the - benefactors of our college. I could send the expense to Mr. - Younghusband, your correspondent in Liverpool. - - I remain, sir, - Your faithful and obliged friend, - BJARNI JOHNSON. - - To PLINY MILES, Esq., - Washington. - - -A man who can write thus, who can so express himself, in the purest and -most forcible English, does not belong to a community of people who are -entirely ignorant of the world at large, or indifferent to the national, -political, and educational movements of the powerful nations of the -earth. If the Danish government should open the ports of Iceland to all -nations, it would be in accordance with the advanced and progressive -spirit of the age, and while conferring a great benefit on a quiet, -peaceful, and isolated colony, knit more closely the ties of affection -and union between the colonists and the parent country. Then we might -chronicle the arrival and departure of vessels, _a little oftener_, -between the northern isle of the ocean and our own seaports. - -Last year, a ship bearing the classic name of the “SAGA,”[43] sailed -into the harbor of New-York, direct from Iceland, _being the first -arrival from that country to this, in a period of more than eight -hundred years_! I think the maritime records of the world would be -searched in vain for a parallel case. The crew of this ship were the -“followers” of Eric the Red, and his compeers, who discovered the -American continent, and gave it the name of Vinland; but they were -certainly a long time in following him.[44] - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 39: - - “_Island er hinn besta land, sem solinn skinnar uppá._” - -Footnote 40: - - “Tiðindi frá Alþingi. Annað þing, 1 Juli til 7 Agust, 1847.” - -Footnote 41: - - From “Mackenzie’s Iceland;” “Preliminary Dissertation” on the - Literature and History of the country, by Dr. Henry Holland. - -Footnote 42: - - This may be thought barbarous and cruel; but probably it is not; for - it is pulled at two or three different times, and only that portion - pulled off that comes easy. Then, perhaps, too, custom is something, - like the adage of the eels, &c. - -Footnote 43: - - A vessel—the “BALDAUR,” as it was printed in the newspapers—seems to - have derived its name from Northern Mythology—“Baldur, the Fair.” This - ship was spoken of as having sailed near a steamer on the track of the - missing “_Glasgow_.” Now and then, it seems, a name, or maritime - event, connects us with the far north. - -Footnote 44: - - Since the above was in type, intelligence has arrived from Denmark, - that a law has just been passed, throwing open the ports of Iceland to - the trade of the world. For this, none will rejoice more than the - Icelanders themselves; for a more relentless, grinding, and hated - monopoly never oppressed a poor people. The resident Danish merchants - will now not be able to have every thing their own way. As the law - takes effect in April, 1855, a trade between Iceland and England, and - Iceland and America, will soon spring up. The articles that the - Icelanders most require from foreign countries, and the productions of - the island which they have to export, will be found enumerated in - preceding chapters. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - RAMBLES BROUGHT TO A CLOSE—EMBARKATION. - - -THOUGH this little book was not written for the Iceland market, I cannot -help making one or two remarks respecting their own internal affairs. -Most undoubtedly they have learned more from experience than a foreigner -from a hasty visit could teach them, but I believe they do not -appreciate the productiveness and value of their soil. As scanty as are -the agricultural resources of Iceland, and as short as their seasons -are, I am confident that this “art of arts” might be greatly advanced -here. Plowing would, certainly, in many places, greatly improve their -land, smooth the surface, and enable them to lay it down with a better -quality of grass. Their seed would, the most of it, however, have to be -brought from foreign countries. On seeing their fine meadows of “red -top”—the kind of grass most prevalent,—I at once told them that the -white, if not the red clover, would be much more productive than their -native grasses. Afterwards, I saw many farms in the valleys of the Laxá -and the Thiorsá rivers, that were well seeded with white clover; and as -it was the haying season, I could see that these farms yielded about -double the hay that other farms did, where there was no clover. The -clover had once been sown, and then it had propagated itself. I believe -many of the more favorably located farms could be made to produce barley -and oats, if the land were properly prepared. These grains are raised in -Orkney, Shetland, and the Faroe Isles; and the latter group is but -little south of Iceland. Nothing would do, however, without plowing; and -in Iceland never a horse wore harness yet, so it would take a little -time to get such a business started. If the governor of Iceland were a -thoroughly practical man, he could do much towards introducing these and -other improvements. A good opening place for the plow would be the -“public square” in Reykjavik, about two acres of irregular grass; that, -once broken up, and leveled, and seeded down to white clover, would make -a beautiful village green. If they had plows, they would make larger -gardens than they now do with the spade, and more table vegetables would -be raised. This would be conducive to the health and comfort of the -people, and would, probably, in time, if not entirely eradicate at least -greatly reduce the diseases of the skin, and that terrible plague, the -leprosy; both of which are somewhat common, and undoubtedly produced, or -greatly aggravated, by living to a great extent on animal food. - -The Icelanders, like all other ancient people, are extremely attached to -their own customs, and averse to innovation. I noticed one thing here, -that—though, as Captain Cuttle would say, there was not much wisdom in -it—is characteristic of every people under the sun. While fond of every -foreign article, particularly of ornament, they about entirely neglected -the native productions. With great pains and trouble, they would rear in -their houses, geraniums, roses, fuchsias, violets, and other exotics, -and yet neglect to plant one single native flower. The beautiful and -fragrant heath, common over much of Iceland, does not grow within -several miles of Reykjavik; and yet not one single resident had planted -by his dwelling a stalk of this elegant little shrub, to bloom and give -out perpetual fragrance. I saw, also, beautiful annual flowers growing -wild in the fields, and on the river banks, but which were never -cultivated. Sir George Mackenzie has given a list of the Iceland Flora, -and a pretty long catalogue it is. - -I believe a carriage road could be made in some places, particularly -between Reykjavik and Hafnarfiorth; but then it might not pay to attempt -to make many carriage roads, and introduce wheeled vehicles in Iceland. -If the land was leveled and seeded down, and bogs and wet places -drained, and converted into dry, productive meadows, I believe it would -be an object for the larger farmers to have carts to draw their hay on, -rather than carry it in bundles on the backs of men or horses. Then, -too, if their meadows were smooth the product would be much greater, and -they would be able to introduce a much larger scythe than the little -two-foot knife-blade affair used there at present. With the improvement -of their land, their tools could be greatly improved. The population of -Iceland has been stated at 60,000 souls, and probably the increase is -not one-and-a-half per cent. annually. Women, as well as men, work in -the fields, during the hay season; but, in fishing, the men only are -engaged. The exposure attendant on this latter business gives many -complaints of the lungs; and probably more die of consumption than of -any other disease. The plague, about five hundred years ago, visited -Iceland; but cholera and yellow fever have never been here. There are -but few physicians in the country, and the distances they have to travel -often make their services of no avail, Death calling on the patient -before the doctor does. In countries of more luxury and refinement, -Death often calls soon after the doctor! From what I learn, I should -judge longevity was not as great here as in most countries in the -temperate zones. - -The last Sunday I was in Iceland I attended church at the Reykjavik -cathedral. This is a beautiful little edifice, of brick, with a fine -altar—altogether of an ornamental appearance. The sermon was in -Icelandic, the service Lutheran, but much after the style of the Church -of England. Three Sundays out of four, I think it is, that the service -in this place is in Icelandic, and every fourth Sunday in Danish. What -the use may be of having any service in Danish is more than I can tell, -for a more worldly, ungodly set than the Danish merchants of Iceland I -never saw in a Christian country. At this place, their example has -driven nearly all religious observances away from the Icelanders. Though -the day was beautiful, and but one church in the village, and all -professing the same religion, and all the people, too, understanding -both languages, there were not, from among the twelve hundred people of -the place, fifty worshipers. This certainly does not accord with what I -have said of the moral and religious habits of the Icelanders in -general. I do not think I do the Danes injustice, when I lay the -immorality in and around Reykjavik to their influence and example. In -several villages and country places I had a good opportunity of -observing, and I know that ten times greater proportion of the people -attended church than here in Reykjavik. A class like these merchants, -who notoriously do nothing but traffic, make money, gamble, and drink, -cannot improve the morals of a simple, pious, and intellectual people. - -The people assembled at the church very quietly, and took their seats -without tarrying at the door, or entering into conversation. They were -all dressed neatly, and two or three females wore the ancient costume of -the country. It is very picturesque, but - - “Description will not suit itself in words.” - -I cannot do better than give another extract from the letter of -President Johnson—quoted in last chapter—under date of March 1st, 1854, -as well as part of one written the November previous. Only a portion of -the letters are given, and all of this is of a private and personal -nature, intended for no eye but my own. Barring the compliments that are -given, the extracts will be read with interest, both as showing the -composition of an Icelander in a foreign language, and the educational, -parochial, and local news communicated. Commencing his letter of March -1st, he says: - - “MY DEAR SIR! - - “I have to acknowledge from you the third letter since we - parted—of Dec. 4th, last (Washington)—together with a large - parcel of books, all sent to me by the care of your friend Mr. - Younghusband, at Liverpool, who, besides, had the kindness to - write me a very friendly letter, and send me the last copies of - the leading newspapers of Great Britain.—Indeed, sir, I feel - quite ashamed at receiving so many proofs of your friendship, - without being capable of giving you the least mark of my - gratitude; for all I can furnish is our little “Þjoðolfur,”[45] - a poor return for all your liberality. To this I take the - liberty to add an examination paper—(Program[46])—in Icelandic - and Danish—of the management and teaching of our College, for - the year 1852, ’53. - - * * * * * - - I have forwarded all your presents to the persons interested - that are living here in town and neighborhood: such as were - destined for the interior of the country, I must keep till the - spring, all communication therewith being impracticable except - on foot. Now I am charged with the task of bringing you their - thanks, for your kindness in remembering them when you had so - little to thank for. I left your direction with them, intimating - that a letter from them would be much esteemed by you, even - though written in Danish or Icelandic. And as to news concerning - your acquaintances here, all is unchanged. None of the ladies - you mention, are married. The Misses Johnson are keeping a - female school pretty successfully; the Misses Sivertsen living - with their parents, and I am to tell you the compliment of their - father.[47] He has delivered to me the flask you so kindly - presented me with, and which I shall keep as a souvenir of you, - though rather too small for my capacious stomach! The Dean - Johnson is going to leave in March, to the regret of his - friends. He is to have another living in the interior of the - country. Thorarensen has left the College, and you will find his - name (S. Thorarensen) as well as that of Jon Sveinson in the - examination paper I send you here inclosed. Mrs. Egilson,[48] - Mr. Ranthrys, the Apothecary, and his lady, Mr. Jon Arnason,[49] - were all extremely pleased with the _N. Y. Illustrated News_ you - sent them. I have also to salute you from the Bishop.” - -In Mr. Johnson’s letter of Nov. 15th, 1853, he says: - - “I have to acknowledge from you the reception of two letters; - the former of Sept. 24, 1852 (Glasgow), the latter of Sept. 5, - this year (Washington), both attended with newspapers, for which - I feel very much obliged to you, as for your friendship in - general. I am very glad to learn by your latter letter, that you - are returned sound and safe to your native country, from your - long and checkered journey. But I trust you will not repent the - toils and hardships inseparably connected with such a ’tour’ - almost around the world. You will, I am sure, allow of its - important consequences for our own mental improvement and - development. Old Horace says: ’_Qui multorum providus urbes et - mores hominum inspexit—latumque per æquor, aspera multa pertulit - adversis rerum immersabilis undis_.’ - - “I am very much indebted to you for the copies of newspapers you - so kindly have sent to me. However, I deeply regret none of them - contained your lectures upon the curiosities of this country, as - in general what attracted your notice on your extensive journey. - But then I console myself by your kind promise to send me a copy - of your Travels in Iceland, when ready from the press. - - * * * * * - - I have to announce to you Jon Sveinson’s most heartfelt thanks - for your letter of introduction to your friend at Hull,[50] - which benefited him very much during his stay there; and I feel - obliged to join my thanks to his, as it was on my recommendation - that you gave him the said letter. Indeed, sir, he feels very - much bound in gratitude to you and your friends for all the - kindness they poured on him. He has now left the college—last - season—with a very honorable testimonial; and but for the - cholera that has been raging in Denmark during the latter part - of the last summer, he would have gone to the University of - Copenhagen; but now having postponed his journey thither to the - next spring, he passes this winter at his father’s, who is a - reputed clergyman of easy circumstances, in the interior of this - country. Jon Sveinson’s visit to Hull, has also procured me a - friend there. The last summer, I had successively received some - copies of English newspapers, without knowing from what quarter - they came. I thought of you or some of my other friends in Great - Britain; but a couple of months ago I received a letter from Mr. - Archibald Kidd, Saville street, Hull (if I decipher his name - correctly), who informed me that it was to him I was indebted - for the favor of the newspapers, and who asked me some - information about the means of studying Icelandic literature, - and the method of setting out about it. I most readily complied - with his request, as far as I could, and wrote him by the last - post-ship for Liverpool. As he intimated to know you, I expect - you to be so kind as to give me in your next letter some - information about this gentleman. - - * * * * * - - I send you enclosed a copy of the _Thiotholfur_ for the whole - year 1852-53. I wish you to tell me whether I am to continue it. - This I might easily do, especially in the summer time, as at - that season there are frequent occasions for sending to England; - whereas, in winter it is more difficult, the only ship going - there being the post-ship, and my extensive official - correspondence with the ministry of public instruction seldom - permitting me sufficient leisure to write to my private friends. - - “Now, I wish these lines may find you in good health and - happiness; and I sign myself, my dear sir, - - “Your very much indebted friend, - “BJARNI JOHNSON.” - - “To Mr. PLINY MILES, - Washington.” - -It should be stated that the great _capacity_ of my friend does not -consist in the appetite, so much as a certain _embonpoint_, coming, as -he does partly up to Shakspeare’s description of Cardinal Wolsey—“a man -of an unbounded stomach.” - -In closing my account of the Icelanders at Reykjavik, I have to record -the pleasure and profit that I derived from the friendly attentions of -these excellent people. I spent many and most pleasant hours with -President Johnson, and with Mr. Sivertsen and his wife and daughters; -also a most agreeable evening at the house of the Dean, Rev. Mr. -Johnson, who made a small party on my account. The young ladies in this -family, as also in Mr. Sivertsen’s, and Mr. Ranthry’s, contributed much -to the agreeable socialities of my stay in Reykjavik. Were these fair -daughters of the North to appear in society in England or America, a -comparison to their disadvantage could not be drawn. Speaking several -languages—always two or more—good players on the pianoforte and the -guitar, skilled also in vocal music, and to these accomplishments, add a -knowledge of household duties, and I fear that many of the graduates of -our female boarding-schools could not successfully come into competition -with them. I also partook of the hospitalities of their most excellent -bishop, who lives a little way out of town, on a pleasant part of the -coast, opposite the island of Vithey. Before leaving Copenhagen, and on -my return there, I formed a most agreeable acqaintance with Mr. Gisli -Brinjulfsson, quite a young man, but already enjoying a good literary -reputation, both in his own country and in Denmark. He is a graduate of -the Iceland College, and edited for two successive years the -“NORTHURFARI,”[51]—an Iceland “Annual.” This volume gives a _résumé_ of -the political news of the world for the year previous, together with -tales, original poetry, and many interesting translations from English -and American writers. But the time of my departure from the country, -arrives and these jottings must close. As the vessel prepared to sail, -several of my Iceland friends came to see me off, and wish me a pleasant -journey. As I took their parting hands, I could not but think that this, -in all human probability, was our last meeting on earth. Promises to -write and send newspapers were mutually interchanged. The booming gun -echoes o’er the broad waters—the sail is set—the mountains fast -disappearing in the distance, and the shores of Iceland grow dim on my -sight. The little ship with the wandering pilgrim goes dancing over the -waves. - - “The land is no longer in view, - The clouds have begun to frown; - But, with a stout vessel and crew, - We’ll say, let the storm come down. - - “And the song of our hearts shall be, - While the winds and waters rave,— - A home, a home, on the firm-set lea! - And _not_ on the bounding wave!” - - - FOOTNOTES: - ------ - -Footnote 45: - - “Þjoðolfur,” the Reykjavik newspaper. - -Footnote 46: - - “Efterretninger.” - -Footnote 47: - - To this excellent gentleman, Mr. Sivertsen, I am indebted for numerous - hospitalities. Forty-two years before, in 1810, he entertained at his - house Sir George Mackenzie and his companions. - -Footnote 48: - - Widow of Sweinborn Egilson, a poet and literary man, who died a few - days after I left the country. - -Footnote 49: - - Librarian of the public library at Reykjavik. - -Footnote 50: - - Mr. Joseph W. Leng, Publisher and Bookseller, Saville street, Hull; a - gentleman of intelligence and high worth, to whom I am indebted for - many kind attentions to myself, as well as for his favors to my young - Iceland friend. - -Footnote 51: - - “Norðurfari,”—literally, Northern Journalist. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - - - And we sailed, and we flew, and went near the Maelstrom bay, - And we danced, and we frolicked, and we fiddled all the way. - OLD SONG. - -A FINE morning in August found our little schooner dancing over the -waves of the Greenland strait. Towering up on our right, was the lofty -Snæfell Jokull, one of the highest mountains in Iceland. It has the -regular conical shape of most volcanoes. It is six thousand feet high, -being one-third higher than Vesuvius. At this season about two-thirds of -its height is black, and the rest is covered with perpetual snow. When -more than fifty miles to the south, I took a drawing of it. It is near -the end of a long peninsula, south of Breithifiorth, and very nearly the -westernmost point of Iceland. The sharp outline of the mountain is -distinctly visible in the clear atmosphere here for more than a hundred -miles. This volcano has not had an eruption for several centuries. Two -or three parties of modern travelers have been to the summit. They have -described the ascent, after reaching the snow-line, as extremely -dangerous. Wide and deep cracks in the everlasting ice, and treacherous -bridges of snow, made the danger so great that they tied themselves in a -string, to a long rope, and walked about six feet apart. Then, if one -man fell through into a chasm, the rest pulled him out. No lives were -lost, however, in these excursions; the toil sweetened the pleasure, the -danger spiced it, and they were much gratified with their lofty journey. -To the east of Snæfell Jokull, we sailed by Stapi, a small town near -some famous basaltic cliffs, on the coast. Immense perpendicular -columns, and many thrown down, give the coast much the appearance of the -vicinity of the Giant’s Causeway, and the island of Staffa. The coast -here is more varied, and the scenery more magnificent, than the north of -Ireland; but there is no cave yet discovered that will vie with the -famed one of Fingal’s. Some of the pillars here at Stapi are near eight -feet in diameter, and all of them of the regular geometrical shape so -often seen in basaltic rocks. They are like the cells in honeycombs, but -solid, and generally hexagonal, but sometimes heptagons and pentagons. -Though the time when these basalts were in a state of fusion is very -remote, yet there is no doubt of their volcanic character. If geologists -and mineralogists wish to see volcanic matter in every variety of form, -let them come to Iceland. - -We passed by the Meal Sack and the Grenadier Islands, the first day, and -rounded the long nose of Cape Reykjanes, and the second found us driving -before a southwest wind; due east, along the south coast of Iceland. We -sailed near the Westmann Islands, and plainly in sight of the lofty -summits of Hekla, Torfa, Eyjafjalla, and Tindfjalla Jokulls. The most -singular curiosity on the south coast of Iceland, that can be seen from -the sea, is a group of rocks that I should call _The Needles_, from -their great resemblance to the “Needles” of the Isle of Wight. They are -near a little fishing village called Dyarholar, or “Portland.” The rocks -are shaped a little more like bodkins than needles, and some of them -rear their pointed heads near a hundred feet high. They all stand in the -ocean, some of them over a mile from land. As we sailed east, the craggy -summit of the Oræfa Jokull showed his lofty and chilly head. The sides, -too, were visible as well as the summit, and perpendicular rocks and -dark-looking caverns showed the foot-prints of mighty convulsions of -nature. The Oræfa Jokull, forming part of that immense mountain known as -Skaptar Jokull, is, as I have mentioned before, the highest in Iceland. -By trigonometrical measurement, it is 6,760 feet high. Snæfell Jokull is -6,000 feet; Eyjafjalla Jokull, 5,900; and Hekla, 5,700. The Thiorsá -river, a stream larger than the Hudson or the Rhine, rises high up on -the side of Skaptar Jokull, 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and -in a deep cañon in the lava, pours its resistless torrent down into the -ocean. Its rapid and turbulent current may be imagined. These mountains -in the interior of the country, the volcanic islands out at sea, the -rapid and powerful rivers, the Geysers, and innumerable hot springs, -along with the magnificent coast scenery, form the most prominent -physical features of Iceland. - -For two days we were skirting the island on the south coast. This, and -the eastern part of Iceland, has few harbors. The coast is, much of it, -low and sandy, and difficult of approach. Some years since, a French -vessel was wrecked here in the winter season, and the crew cast ashore, -perfectly destitute. A few poor Icelanders that lived in the vicinity, -carried them to their huts, fed and took care of them, and gave them -shelter till spring. The next summer, on the annual return of the French -war-vessel that visits Iceland, the sailors were taken home; and king -Louis Philippe ordered a handsome compensation and reward in money, to -the Icelanders who had so hospitably protected his shipwrecked sailors. -They, however, did not wish it; said they had only done their duty, and -neither wanted nor deserved compensation; and steadily refused to accept -a single penny. Determined to do something in return for their kindness, -Louis Philippe ordered his representative in Iceland to state that he -would educate at the University of France, four young Icelanders; and -the Governor, the Bishop, and the President of the College, made choice -of the young men who were to be recipients of the favor. At the end of -their term—four years—as many more were selected; and thus the French -government undertook the constant care and expense of the education of -four Iceland boys, who were appointed for their ability, diligence, and -good conduct, to receive the bounty of the French government; and all -for an act of humanity towards a crew of shipwrecked sailors. The whole -transaction reflects the highest honor on all concerned. One of the -young gentlemen who was a recipient of this privilege, was a son of my -friend Mr. Sivertsen. After the French war-vessel, the unfortunate -LILLOISE, was lost, or failed to return from the Arctic sea, in -connection with one of the expeditions that went in search of her, there -was a scientific corps—a “Scandinavian Commission”—organized, of learned -men from France, Denmark, and Iceland, to gather information, make -drawings of landscapes, and collect specimens of mineralogy, botany, and -the various branches of natural history. The commission was headed by M. -Paul Geimar, and our young Icelander was one of the party. The results -of the expedition, in a scientific point of view, were of the highest -value. A work was published, containing several folio volumes of plates, -many of them colored, and the Journal of the Expedition, in six octavos; -and altogether it forms the most valuable work of the kind extant. It -comprises Iceland, Greenland, Lapland, and Spitzbergen; and nothing, -either of a geographical, scientific, or historical nature has been -omitted. Along with portraits of Geimar and others of the Commission, is -a “counterfeit presentment” of young Sivertsen; and his is one of the -finest faces ever delineated. It has the lively, intelligent -countenance, lofty brow, and beaming eye of the Anglo-Saxons, and equal -to the finest specimens of the Caucasian race in any part of the world. -This promising young man died in France, a few years after his return -from the North, universally esteemed by all, and by none more than by -Louis Philippe himself. - -But the winds are drifting us lazily to the eastward. We sailed north of -Faroe, and saw the cliffs of the lofty Stromoe towering upwards like the -ruins of some gigantic temple. The return voyage was all beautiful -September weather. Our passengers—except the bachelor of the present -writing—consisted of twelve young Iceland ladies, and a small lad; and -we had a regular “jolly” time. Several of the young ladies were singers, -and two of them had guitars. Nearly every afternoon we had a dance. The -young ladies made fast progress in English—and Yankee—manners, customs, -language, _and_ dancing. I also got well posted up in Icelandic, -particularly in the sentimental,—or, as Sam Weller would say, in the -more “tenderer vords.” Guitar music, Iceland hymns, the violin, and -“threading the dance” on a rocking deck, were all matters of every-day -occurrence. Did I say every day? Not with me. But the master of the -Sölöven, Captain Heinrich Stilhoff, was certainly the most reckless, -irreligious man for a sea-captain, that ever I saw in my life. Had a -sober traveler come alongside of us on Sunday, he would have been -bothered to have found out what kind of worship we had aboard. His -reflections would probably have been like old Lambro’s, when he -returned, from his piratical cruise, to his island and his daughter. -Suppose such a one in his yacht had come up with us: - - A Christian he, and as our ship he nears, - He looks aboard, and finds no signs of idling, - He hears—alas! no music of the spheres, - But an unhallowed, earthly sound of fiddling! - A melody which makes him doubt his ears, - The cause being past his guessing or unriddling: - But, lo! it is the sailors all a prancing, - The women, too, and Captain Stilhoff, dancing! - -It does not speak well for the Danish people and nation, that their -mail-ship, the only government vessel running between Denmark and -Iceland, is commanded by a man of the character of Captain Stilhoff; and -I cannot think it will long continue so. Commanding a vessel carrying -the Government dispatches, and having the most popular and direct -passenger traffic between the two countries, a profligate who openly -boasts of debauching his female passengers, defenseless women, the -sisters and daughters of the citizens of both countries; a state of -things that certainly does not reflect any honor on the proprietors of -the vessel, or show much sagacity in their choice of a commander. - -On, on, goes our little bark; the northern shore - - “Fades o’er the waters blue; - The night winds sigh, the breakers roar, - And shrieks the wild sea-mew.” - -Old Norway’s coast appears, and we are several days in sight of the -brown and snowy mountains, and little villages of wooden houses. The -thirteenth day, we passed Cape Lindesness, and Christiansand. We were -then within two hundred and fifty miles of Copenhagen—only a few hours’ -voyage for a steamship; but we had no steam a-board, except what might -be found in certain kettles and casks, and these did not aid our -progress much. I thought two days, at farthest would suffice for the -rest of our voyage; but Boreas was not in the ascendant, nor any of his -brethren either, much, for we had very little wind from any quarter. The -current in the Skager Rack took us outwardly about two miles an hour, -and the wind was southeasterly, and we were bound in. One tack would -throw us near the coast of Norway, and the next brought us along the -low, flat sands of Jutland. We progressed from twenty-five to fifty -miles a day. Several huge steamers boomed past us, with their black -sides, and volumes of smoke, and swift progress. Some of them were bound -into the Baltic, and some out, and some to Norwegian ports. At last we -rounded the Skagen Horn, and entered the Cattegat. Finally, the towers -of Elsinore Castle appeared; and, a breeze springing up from the north, -we dropped anchor before Copenhagen, the twentieth day after leaving -Iceland; and, in a most terrible rain—so anxious were we to tread the -land again—all the passengers were set on the quay, and found lodgings -amid the turmoil of a great city. - - - - - GENERAL INDEX. - - - Adam of Bremen, page 41. - - Ætna, 142, 151. - - Agriculture in Iceland, 178, 303. - - Almannagjá, 73. - - Althing, or Iceland Congress, 42, 45, 78. - - Althing, Journal of, 296. - - America discovered by the Northmen, 36. - - Angelica Archangelica, 125. - - Angling, 78. - - Annexation of an island to Denmark, 148. - - Apavatn Lake, 97. - - Arbrandsá river, 115. - - Arnason, Jon, Librarian of Public Library, 309. - - Atmosphere, its transparency, 141. - - - Barrow, the English traveler, 206. - - Bath in the Geyser, 111. - - Beard a protection against the elements, 121. - - Beards worn in Iceland, 60. - - Beards worn by the gods, 249. - - Bessastath, 63. - - Biarni Heriulfson, the First Discoverer of America, 63. - - Birds—the curlew, 169; - cormorant, 223; - eider-duck, 219; - western eider, 221; - fulmar, 168; - gannet, or solan goose, 31, 224; - Iceland gull, 228; - skua gull, 228; - jer-falcon, 230; - white owl, 229; - penguin, 222; - plover, 169; - pochard, 118; - ptarmigan, 90; - puffin, 163, 168; - ravens, 114, 170; - sea-fowl on the Westmann Islands, 163; - on the coast of Iceland, 198; - snow-birds, 226; - tern, or sea-swallow, 107, 198. - - Bjarnarfell mountain, 112. - - Bjolfell mountain, 141, 145. - - Blacksmithing, 89. - - Blue berry, the only fruit in Iceland, 157. - - Books published in Iceland, 295. - - Bræthratunga church, 119. - - Brandy, use of it in Iceland, 180. - - Breithifjorth, 313. - - Briem, Rev. Johan, 123. - - Brinjulfsson, Gisli, 311. - - Bruará or Bridge River, 97. - - Bruce’s Address, in Icelandic and English, 286-7. - - Brydone, 93, 135. - - - Caraway growing spontaneously in Iceland, 125. - - Cathedral worship in Reykjavik, 306. - - Cattegat, 17, 21, 22, 320. - - Cave in a hill, 96. - - Cave of Surtshellir, 109, 243, note. - - Christianity introduced into Iceland, 82. - - Christiansand, 23, 319. - - Churchyards and burial customs, 178. - - Clays, beautifully colored, 102, 191, 200, 208. - - College at Reykjavik, 57. - - Columbus, his visit to Iceland, 39. - - Copenhagen, 17, 320. - - Craters of Hekla, 138, 143. - - - Dancing on ship-board, 317. - - Danish laws in Iceland, 298. - - Danish merchants in Reykjavik, 306. - - Dining on Mount Hekla, 140. - - Diseases in Iceland, 305. - - Domestic animals of Iceland, 55. - - Domestic labor of the Icelanders, 58, 293. - - - Eddas, poems of the early Icelanders, 271. - - Edda, the Elder; ascribed to Sæmund Frode, 271. - - Edda, the Younger; ascribed to Snorri Sturlason, 272. - - Egilson, Sweinborn, 52, 308. - - Eider-down beds, 127, 218. - - Elsinore castle and town, 17, 22, 320. - - Eric the Red, 35. - - Ericsson, descendant of Eric the Red, 36. - - Exports of Iceland, 56, 298. - - Eyjafjalla Jokull, 142, 151, 160, 315. - - - Farming in Iceland, 179, 182, 303. - - Farming tools, 117. - - Faroe Isles, 24, 25, 233. - - Feasts, in old times, 59. - - Ferryman on the Hvitá river, 185. - - Fish, Iceland method of curing, 215. - - Fishing season in Iceland, 116. - - Fish lake, its disappearance, 152. - - Finn Magnusen, 37. - - Finnsen, William, Treasurer of Iceland, 28. - - Floki, a pirate, 170. - - Flower on Mount Hekla, 136. - - Flowers on a desert island, 121. - - Fourth of July at sea, 23, 24. - - Franklin’s Story of a Whistle, in Icelandic, 289. - - French officers traveling in Iceland, 66, 70, 76, 84. - - French vessel wrecked in Iceland, 315. - - - Game in Iceland, 55, 56, 90, 169, 170. - - Gardar Swarfarson, 35. - - Garden vegetables, 62, 179. - - Geimar’s Iceland, Greenland, and Spitzbergen, 317. - - Geographical names and terms, 85. - - Geyser, Eruptions of, 105. - - Geyser, its appearance when still, 100. - - Gissur Thorvaldsen, son-in-law of Snorri Sturlason, 274. - - Graba, a Danish traveler in Faroe, 236. - - Greenland, discovery of, 35. - - Grenadier island, 31, 314. - - Grænavatn, or Green Lake, 142, 201. - - Gudmundsen, Thomas, 175. - - - Hacon, King of Norway, 274. - - Hafnarfiorth, 63, 213, 215. - - Hávamál, an Eddaic Poem, 275. - - Haying season, 303. - - Heath, 157, 158, 159. - - Heimskringla, 275. - - Hjalli, 195. - - Hekla, ascent of, 132. - Catalogue of its eruptions, 153. - its height, 315. - its last eruption, in 1845, 134, 138. - seen from a distance, 95, 115, 128, 161, 314. - View from the summit, 140, 151. - - Helsingborg, 21. - - Herdisa, wife of Snorri Sturlason, 273. - - Hlitharvatn, 198. - - Holland, Dr. 135, 297. - - “Horrible Lava,” 211. - - Horses in Iceland, 65, 116, 129, 298. - - Hospitality of the Icelanders, 197. - - Hot Springs, 187. - - Hraungerthi, 177. - - Hruni, and its hospitable clergyman, 122. - - Hunting sea-fowl in the Westmann islands, 163. - - Hvitá or White river, 118, 119, 185. - - - Iceland, its discovery and settlement, 35. - its situation and extent, 48. - Hymn, Jacob weeping over Rachel, 288. - Newspaper, quotation from, 291. - Youths educated in France, 316. - - Icelander in the Wars of Napoleon, 293. - - Icelandic language, 270. - - Icelandic poetry, its peculiar construction, 282. - - Imports of Iceland, 56. - - Indians in America in battle with the Icelanders, 38. - - Ingolf, plants the first settlement in Iceland, 35. - - Islands, Sandey and Nesey, in Thingvalla Lake, 92. - - Johnson, Bjarni, President of the Iceland college at Reykjavik, 63, 66, - 74, 77, 217. - Bjarni, letters from, 300, 307, 309. - Misses, 308, 311. - Mr. of Hafnarfiorth, 63, 213. - - Jonson, Rev. at Vogsósar, 196. - - - Kirkubær, 139. - - Krisuvik, 200. - - - Ladies riding on horseback, 91, 215. - - Laugardalr, or Vale of Warm Springs, 94. - - Laugarfjall mountain, 112. - - Laugman, or administrator of the laws, 42. - - Lava, 93, 126, 211. - - Lava from eruption of Mount Hekla, 134, 146. - - Laxá, or Salmon river, 68, 124. - - Lilloise, French vessel lost in the Arctic Sea, 316. - - Lindesness, Cape, 319. - - Literature of Iceland, 52, 270, 281. - - Louis Philippe’s liberality to the Icelanders, 316. - - - Markarfliot river, 161. - - Marsh, Hon. Geo. P., opinion of the Icelandic language, 292. - - Meadows in Iceland, 115, 116, 125. - - Meal Sack island, 31, 314. - - Milton’s Paradise Lost, translated by Thorlakson, 53; - extracts from, 283. - - Mud Geyser, 206. - - Myggeness island, 236. - - Mythology of the Scandinavians, 242. - Index to, 331. - - Myvatn, 203. - - - Needles, the, 314. - - Newspapers in Iceland, 296. - - Newspaper, quotation from, 291. - - Næfrholt, 129, 159. - - Norðurfari, 312. - - Norway, coast of, 23, 319. - - Norwegian collectors in Faroe, 240. - - - Ornithology of Iceland, 218, 226. - - - Petrifactions, 191. - - Pfeiffer, Madam, 95, 123, 161. - - Philmore, Mr., an English traveler, 210. - - Plum-pudding Stone, 199. - - Pope’s Essay on Man, in Icelandic, 53. - Quotation from, 285. - - Portland, or Dyarholar, 315. - - Postal arrangements in Iceland, 56. - - Post-ship, time of sailing, 56. - - Products of Iceland, 55, 56, 295, 298. - - - Ranthrys, Mr., 308. - - Reindeer in Iceland, 55, 170. - - Reykir Springs, 187. - - Reykjaness Cape, 31, 314. - - Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, 32, 306. - - River of fire, 149. - - Rolling stones down hill, 130. - - Roses in Iceland, 157. - - - Sæmund Frode, 271. - - Sagas, historical writings of the Icelanders, 271. - - Scandinavian Commission, 316. - - Scythes used by the Icelanders, 115, 305. - - Sharks, 26. - - Ship from Iceland; the “Saga,” 302. - - Sivertsen, the Misses, and Mr., 308, 311. - - Sivertsen, Mr., jun., 316, 317. - - Skagen Horn, 320. - - Skager Rack, 319. - - Skalds or Minstrels, 42. - - Skalholt, 44, 172. - - Skaptar Jokull, 115, 147, 151. - Great eruption of, 147. - - Skarth, 127, 159. - - Sleeping in a church, 127. - - Snæfell Jokull, 151, 313. - - Snorri Thorfinson, first European born in America, 37. - - Snow on Mount Hekla, 137, 146. - - Spallanzani, 135. - - Stapi and basaltic cliffs, 314. - - Steam jet in the Sulphur Mountains, 205. - - Steam power without fuel, 205, 208. - - Stifftamptman, 45. - - Stilhoff, Captain, 318. - - Strandar Kirkja, 197. - - Strokr or New Geyser, 104, 108. - - Submarine eruption, 147. - - Sulphur Mountains, 200-208. - - Superstition among the Northmen, 195. - - Surtshellir cave, 109, 243, note. - - Sveinson, Jon, 309. - - Swein Ethrithson, 41. - - Swimming a river, 119. - - Sysselman, a merry one, 173. - - - Thingvalla, 43, 73, 78. - - Thingvalla Lake, 72. - - Thiorsá river, 115, 126, 159, 172, 315. - - Thorarensen, Rev. S., 177. - - Thorarensen, Stefan, 178, 185. - - Thorlakson, Jon, the Iceland Poet, 53, 281. - - Thorlakson’s Translation of Milton and Pope, 282. - - Thorwaldsen, 37, 52. - - Tindfjalla Jokull, 142, 151, 160, 314. - - Tin Tron, an exhausted crater, 94. - - Torfa Jokull, 314. - - Trade of Iceland; probable results of opening it to the world, 299, - 302. - - Trollekone-finger, or Witch’s-finger, in Faroe, 236. - - Trout-fishing in Iceland, 74, 76. - - - Vestri Rangá river, 129. - - Vesuvius, 142, 151. - - Vinland, the name given to America by the Icelanders, 37. - - Vogelberg chasm, in Faroe, 237. - - Vogsósar, 196. - - Volcanic island rising from the sea, 147. - - Volcanic sand, 135, 199. - - Voluspá, the song of the Prophetess, 275. - - - Westmann Islands, 141, 161, 165, 166. - - Whales, 25, 26. - - - - - INDEX - - TO THE - - Scandinavian Mythology. - - Ægir, the deity of the ocean; - a Jötun, 249, 258. - - Æsir, the gods of the Scandinavians, 242, 246, 265. - - Afi, grandfather, and Ammi, grandmother, and their descendants, 268. - - Ai, great grandfather, and Edda, great grandmother, and their - descendants, 268. - - Annar, husband of Night, and father of Jörd, 254. - - Arvak and Alsvid, the horses of Sol, 255. - - Asgard, the city of the Æsir, or home of the gods, 246. - - Ask and Embla, the first man and first woman, 268. - - Audhumla, the cow on whose milk Ymir subsisted, 243. - - - Baldur the Good, son of Odin, 248, 266. - his death, 263. - - Beli, a giant, slain by Frey, 250. - - Bergelmie, a frost-giant, 244. - - Besla, wife of Bör, 243. - - Bifröst the Rainbow, a bridge from earth to heaven, 246. - - Bilskirnir, the mansion of Thor, 248. - - Bör, father of Odin, Vili, and Ve, 243. - - Bragi, the god of Poetry, son of Odin, 249. - - Breidablik, the mansion of Baldur, 248. - - Bur, the father of Bör, 243. - - - Castes, or classes in Scandinavian society, 269. - - - Day, son of Night and Delling, 254. - - Dwarfs, 253. - - - Eir, presides over the art of healing, 252. - - Embla, the first woman, 268. - - Elvidnir, the hall of Hela, 256. - - - Fenrir, a wolf, offspring of Loki, 255, 265. - - Fensalir, the mansion of Friga, 252. - - Forseti, the god of Justice, 249. - - Freki and Geri, Odin’s wolves, 246. - - Frey, the son of Njörd and Skadi, 250. - - Frey in battle with Surtur, 265. - - Freyja, daughter of Njörd, and wife of Odur, 250, 252. - - Friga, wife of Odin, 247, 252. - - Fulla, a maid, attendant of Friga, 252. - - - Garm, a dog that kills Tyr, 266. - - Gefjon, a maid, attendant of Friga, 252. - - Gerda, one of the most beautiful of women, 250. - - Geri and Freki, wolves of Odin, 246. - - Ginnungagap, the space between the upper and lower worlds, 243. - - Gjallar-horn, the trumpet of Heimdal, 251, 265. - - Gladsheim, Odin’s hall of Justice, 258. - - Gleipnir, a fetter, 255. - - Glitnir, the mansion of Forseti, 249. - - Gna, messenger of Friga, 253. - - Golden Age, 258. - - Gulltopp, the horse of Heimdall, 251. - - - Hati and Sköll, two wolves, 255. - - Heimdall, the sentry of the gods, 251, 265, 266. - - Hel or Helheim, the abode of Death, 256-258. - - Hela, or Death, 255, 256. - - Hermod the Nimble, son of Odin, 246, 263. - - Hlidskjalf, Odin’s throne, 246. - - Hnossa, daughter of Odur and Freyja, 252. - - Hodmimir’s forest, where Lif is concealed, 266. - - Hödur, a blind deity, 251, 263, 266. - - Hófvarpnir, the horse of Gna, 253. - - Hrimfaxi, the horse of Night, 254. - - Hringhorn, the ship of Baldur, 263. - - Hugin and Munin, Odin’s ravens, 246. - - Hvergelmir, a fountain in Niflheim, 243, 245. - - Hymir, a giant, 259. - - Hyrrokin, a giantess of Jötunheim, 264. - - - Ida, a plain where Asgard formerly stood, 266. - - Iduna, the goddess of Eternal Youth, 249. - - - Jötunheim, or land of giants, 245. - - Jötuns, giants of Jötunheim, 245. - - - Lif a woman, and Lifthrasir a man, who survive the destruction of the - world, 266. - - Lofna, the friend of Lovers, 252. - - Loki, the god of all evil, 255, 259, 263, 265, 266. - - - Magni and Modi, sons of Thor, 248, 252, 266. - - Manheim, the home of man, 247, 268. - - Máni, the Moon, 254. - - Midgard, or Mid-earth, 244, 247. - - Midgard serpent, 255, 256, 265. - - Mimir and Mimir’s Well, 245. - - Mjölnir, Thor’s Mallet, 247. - - Modi and Magni, sons of Thor, 248, 252, 266. - - Munin or Memory, one of Odin’s ravens, 246. - - Muspell or Muspelheim, the upper world, 242. - - Mythology of the Northmen, 242. - - - Nanna, wife of Baldur, 249, 264. - - Nidhogg, a dragon, 245. - - Niflheim, the lower world, 242. - - Night, the daughter of Njörvi, 254. - - Njord, the ruler of the sea, 250. - - Njörvi, a giant, father of Night, 254. - - Norns, inferior deities, 253. - - - ODIN, the supreme head, leader of the Æsir, and father of all the gods, - 170, 244, 245, 246, 247, 266. - - - Ragnarök, the end of all things, 256, 265. - - Ran, wife of Ægir, 249. - - Ratatösk, the squirrel on the Ash, 245. - - Rinda, the mother of Vali, 251. - - Roskva the Quick, attendant of Thor, 248, 259. - - - Saga, the goddess of history, 252. - - Skadi, the wife of Njord, 250. - - Skidbladnir, a famous ship belonging to Frey, 266-7. - - Skinfaxi, the horse of Day, 254. - - Skirnir, messenger of Frey, 250. - - Sköll and Hati, wolves that pursue the sun and moon, 255. - - Sleipnir, the horse of Odin, 246. - - Sokkvabek, the house of Saga, 252. - - Sol, the source of light, 254. - - Surtur, chief of the chaotic demons, 242, 265. - - Surturbrand, or fire of Surtur, 109, 242, note. - - - Thjálfi, the Nimble, attendant of Thor, 248, 259. - - Thor, son of Odin, the god of Thunder, 128, 247. - - Thor encounters the Midgard serpent, 262-265, 266. - - Thor’s adventures in Jötunheim, 258, 259, 260, 261. - - Thrudvang, the home of Thor, 248. - - Tyr, the god of Bravery, 255, 259. - - - Ullur, the archer, son of Sif, 251. - - Utgard, a city in Jötunheim, 260. - - Utgard-Loki, King of Utgard, 260. - - - Valaskjalf, the mansion of Odin, 246. - - Valhalla, the home or world of the slain, 253, 256, 257, 258. - - Vali, son of Odin and Rinda, 251, 252, 266. - - Valkyrjor, the goddesses of Valhalla, 253. - - Vidar the Silent, son of Odin, 251, 252, 266. - - Vigrid, the last battlefield of the gods, 265. - - Vili and Ve, sons of Bör, 244. - - Vora, the punisher of perjured lovers, 252. - - - Yggdrasill, the Ash tree, 245. - - Ymir, progenitor of the Frost-giants, 243, 244. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation have been retained, but - obvious typographical errors have been corrected. 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