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DI LLINGHAM>^5'^ TCHE>^^J^ - ' ' im ) lEP 1 W& 7(^353^ mx- W* i ^■'il PH^ft 2^ THE ISLAND OF FIRE; OB, A Thousand Years of the Old Northmen's Home. 874-1874. aOUAUQ HVO, By rev. p. C. HEADLEY, Author op " Lifk of thk Eupkess Josephine," &o. U ^\VERS/r BOSTON : LEE AND SHEPARD, PU%LISH§g§|^^joON NEW YORK: >- -1^-4, CHARLES T. DILLINGHABOsL/^*^ TCHt^f t^% 1 1975 7<^353A Ill Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by Rev. p. C. HEADIiEY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. I* si m Boston: Stkreotyped and Printed bt Band, Aveby, & Co. TO DWIGHT CHESTER, ESQ.. OF MKWTON, MASS., CTMa Volume (» IngcrifieU, AS m MEMOnr OF MANV YKARS OP p.k^sanT BU8IKE8S INXEKCOURSE, WHICH HAV« I.^USTHATKI, Z HIGH CHARACTER IN ALL THK RELATIONS OF' LIFE, BY THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. This volume was suggested by a contribution to *' Tlie Corahill Magazine " upon Iceland, in connection with the then approaching Millennial Jubilee. In seeking historical light upon a subject respecting which the writer confesses he was m the dark, very few works could be found outside of our largest libraries ; and those, were imported books. It was the first thought to write a small volume for young people especially, and the preparation of it was commenced. But the field of history opened so rich in material, that the work grew to its present size and st3'le, instead of the juvenile narrative proposed. And if the reader nnds, in the pages of these annals, a tithe of the fascinating interest afforded in gathering the fa jts, nothing more, in this regard, could be desired. Historical accuracy has been kept constantly in view, with no other additions to authentic records than supply- ing the natural links, necessary to make the proper con- nections, and give to skeleton outline lifelike form. In historical fragments reaching so far back, and con- cerning a country so remote, there will necessarily be some unsettled and disputed points. When these have been met, the view or statement apparently the most in hariTYony with known facts has been accepted. And it 6 iSi PREFACE. I I J is to be borne in mind, in reading the Journals of tourists, that in few countries are tlie landscape- views, and the enthusiasm of travellers, more affected by the conditions of the weather than in Iceland. Consequently, descrip- tions will widely differ ; and a superficial knowledge of a people whose external life is sometimes unattractive reveals itself in unjust criticisms. Iceland is an exhaustless study ; and no *' flying '.I'sit," or brief reading, will give any proper estimate of it and its inhabitants. The authorities consulted are, Baronet Mackenzie's Journal, a remarkably clear and appre- ciative volume ; Prof. Baring-Gould's narrative, very readable, and finely illustrated ; the Journals of Com- mander Forbes, R. N., and Sir W. J. Hooker, both valua- ble narratives of personal observation ; Pliny Miles' s chatty pages, originally published in England ; Lord Dufferin's in- teresting Letters from High Latitudes ; the standard work of that eminent jurist and diplomatist, Henry Wheaton, LL.D. ; the Journal of Rev. E. Henderson, LL.D., of Edinburgh ; and Northern Antiquities, by Bishop Percy. To avoid any misunderstanding, it is proper to add, that not until the manuscript was in the hands of the pub- lishers, was our attention directed to a work for young people, entitled, " Off for the Geysers ; " whose sketches were evidently substantially from the grett work of Baring- Gould. For the account of the Millennial Jubilee, celebrated early in August last, Araerica is indebted mainly to Bay- ard Taylor's foreign correspondence of " The New- York Tribune," and "The New- York Herald's" letters from Dr. Hayes, which were also very valuable, and marked espe- cially by accurate statements. *'The Nation," with its usual reliability, gave, in advance of the Jubilee, a correct summary of the new Icelandic Constitution. " Harper's PREFACE. Magazine" contained the first and only illustrated sketches ly an American, so far as we know, of the island. We selected from Longfellow's Poetry of Europe, the fine translation of the *' Deatb-Song of Regner." The articles of any length besides, in the periodical press, to which attention was called, were, an editorial of great interest in " The New- York Evening Post ; " an able letter from a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries at Copenhagen, to "The New- York Evangelist;" and the republication, in part, by "The Boston Transcript," of Mr. Byrce's finished contribution to "The Cornhill Maga- zine," Impressions of Iceland. Very recently, we have seen an interesting statement of the evidence of the Norse discovery of America, entitled, " America not discovered by Columbus," from the pen of Prof. R. B. Anderson of the University of Wisconsin ; with whom we have had important correspondence. We are also under obligations to Prof. Jno Bjarnason of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, a native Icelander, for fresh facts touching his island home. To Willard Small, Esq., of the literary force of Messrs. Lee & Shepard, more is due than to the pen or voice of any other person. His familiarity with Norse literature and history, and genial freedom in the communication of his accurate information, has been of the highest value. We must acknowledge our dependence, for books of reference, upon the Boston Public Library, whose glory is second only to that of her free schools ; and also to bhe accomplished and obliging librarian of the Boston Athenaeum. In this connection we may add, that the records we have of Iceland clearly show, that, could the country and its population have made it possible, Iceland would ha^^e more nearly resembled our own in general culture, than MMMMmnaviMr 8 PREFACE. any other in Europe or in the >roild ; at least, out cf England. There would have been institutions correspond- ing to our own public schools, and other educational opportunities throughout our growing sisterhood of States. The tales from the Sagas, of which the outline of Grettir's romantic and tragic career is the principal one, were taken, with the exception of a portion of Sir Walter Scott's earliest translation, and a few other extracts, from the free English readings of Baring-Gould ; condensed, as far as practicable, and retaining the graphic power of the stories. On account of this necessary contraction, and not knowing, in nearly all cases, who was the original translator, quotation-marki, as a rule, have been omitted. This volume is intended to cover the; whole field of Ice- landic history. Whatever new and interesting details time for a more exhaustive and elaborate history might have supplied, the author may hope, at least, as the first American bock, excepting a reprint, on this distant, yet grand old Iceland, it may to some extent deepen the interest in the people, and add to the popular knowledge of a country so worthy of a better acquaintance. Since the first edition went to press, we have seen sketches by Mr. Waller, an English artist, who spent a few weeks in the soathern part of Iceland to pencil the scenery connected with the Burnt-Najal. While interest- ing passages occur, as a whole this small volume, by itself, is a caricature of the people generally. In the careful revision of this work, completeness in the order of events and places, and items of interest also, have been added in margins and In the supplemental chapter, making the history as full and authentic aa accessible autlvorities render it possible. OOIJ^TEIJ^TS. CHAPTER T, PACOi The Northflrn Sea-Bovers in the Land of the Moor — The First Battle. — The Terror of Europe. —Their Arms. —Their Tri- umphs.— Their Passion for Eloody Eucountera. — They dis- cover Iceland ...........9 CHAPTER n. The Northman's Contempt of Death. — Love of Ajms.— National Games.— National Worship. — The Ctods. — Moral Precepts. —The Historical Odin 18 CHAPTER in. Who lived in Northern Europe before the Goths ? — Lost History. —A Hundred Languages. — Five a Majority. —The Finns and Lapps 28 CHAPTER IV. Two Thousand Years Ago. — The Gift of Fire. — Tlie Lava- Island.— The Green Margins and Valleys. —Traveller's Im- pressions . 31 CHAPTER V. Emigration to Iceland. — Farewell Festivals. —Rafna Floke.— A Thousand l^ears Ago 84 CHAPTER VL Pllgrin; N bbles from Norway. — Harald's Trice, Four Ounces of Silver. — No Indians to flght. — They hava Conflicts. — A Eepublic made to Order. — Its Constitution. — The Althing. — The First Chief Magistrate . 39 CHAPTER vn. The Magnificent CapitoL — Built when the Island was made. — The National Court — Tents and Booths. — The Incendiary. — His Escape 40 6 CONTENTS. 11 ii CHAPTER Vm. Embarking for Beykjavik. — Copenhagen. — Rocky Isles. — The Needles and Arch of Portland Head. — Westman Islands. — Columbus visited theia. — Bird-Lamps. — First Glimpses. — Impressiire Scenes ....••••..49 CHAPTER IX. [celanders discover Greenland and America. — The Wonderful History. — Mysterious Disappearance. — The First Yankee born in Americ<», nearly Nine Hundred Years Ago. — Thorfinn returns to Iceland. —Death. — The Widow a Pilgrim and Recluse 08 CHAPTER X The Sea-Rovers' Ships. —An Illustrious Emigrant. —Interesting Ceremonies. — Tunnlang and the Poet Rafn. — A True Love- Story of the Early Period. —The Beautiful Helga. —An An- cient Poet-Tjauxeate. — He wins the Hand of Helga. — A Gloomy Festival.— A Duel.— A Traitor. —The Sad Ending of a Domestic Tragedy in High Life 66 CHAPTER XL A Gigantic Work. — Thorwaldsen's Funrral.— Common Phrases. — Some Words. —Jack and JUL — Old Nick .... 74 CHAPTER Xn. The Icelander's Home. — Dinner at Vidoe. — Occupations. — Dress. — Education. — Schools. — Pastoral Care. — Sabbath Scenes 80 CHAPTER Xm. An Icelandic Funeral. — A Wedding. — Kissing. — Peril of an Ignorant Bride. — The Parish Church Scene. — Religious Char- acter. —Parish Register. —Yule 91 CHAPTER XrV. Phenomena of the Heavens. — Mock Suns. — Storm Rings.— Aurora. — Meteors. — Tempests. — Icelander's Wealth. — Do- mestic Animals. — Swans and Ravens. — The Eider-Duck and its Down. — The Sacred Bird. — Reindeer. — Salmon-Festival. •> Sheep-Gathering 100 CHAPTER XV. Fairy-Land. — Witchcraft — Berkserkers. — Snpe<^titionti of Domestic Life. — Signs and Omens. — A Ghostly Saga . . 110 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVL Mdsfell. —The Ride from Reykjavik —Yankee Doodle.— Beau- tiful Midnight-Scene. — Sontarek, or Son's Loss . . . . 123 CHAPTER XVn. Grettir, the Hero and Outlaw of Iceland. — Hia Birthplace. — On the Sea. — The Red Rovers . 133 CHAPTER XVm. Sons of an Icelandic Chief In Norway.— Grettir stranded near their Winter Home. — He swims the Fiord. — Burning of the Hostel. — Grettir arrested. — The Trial by Burning Plough- shares.- Returns to Iceland.— His Mother . . .163 CHAPTER XIX. Hftunted Sheepfolds. — Strange Shepherd. — His Fate. — Grettir succeeds H'm. — Terrible Scenes. — Final Struggle. — The Vam- pire's Grave 106 CHAPTER XX. Grettir, In Despair, seeks Counsel. —His Last Refuge.— Out- law's Isle. —Solitary life. — Hunted there and killed . . 180 CHAPTER XXI. The Christian Era in Iceland — The Gathering at Thingvalla. — The High Debate. — The Thunder of a Convulsion. —The Great Decision — Golden Age. — Skalds. — An Icelandic Skald at Canute's Court. — Written Constitution. — A Challenge. — Nithing 208 CHAPTER XXn. The Northmen's Oldest Book of History. — Genius in Iceland. — The Illustrious Trio. —First Printing-Piosa. -First School. — Bill of Students' Fare. — Study of Poetry. — Its Fuoled Origin 216 CHAPTER XXm. Music. — Education in Common Life. — Preamble of Public Address. — Modern Authors. — ihe Txird's Prayer in 1686 and in 1874. — National Suicide. — Th** Reformation . . . .328 CHAPTER XXIV. An Excursion to the Guldbringb Syssel, or Goldbringing District. — The Outfit. — Besses tad. — Boiliug Springs, — An Unexplained Wonder. — Guldbringb Syssel. — Stappen. — Reykholt.— Scenes along Paths of Travel 238 8 CONTENTS. 11 CHAPTER XXV. Ejccnrsions among the Mountains, and along the Coast. — The Geyser. — Uncomplaining Resignation. — The Strokr . . 249 CHAPTER XXVI. Mount Hecla. — Magnificent View from its Top. — Sturtshellir Cavern. — Its "Wild Mythology and Traditions. — Bulandshofdi Pass. — Mud Caldron. — Dettif os^ Falls. — Eagle - Tarns. - - Orettis Tak. — Thurrisdale. — Fording Rivers. — Dog-Touraa- ment— Flora 256 CHAPTER XXVn. Calamities. — Plague. — Black-Death. — Famine. — Pirates. — Volcanoes and Earthquakes. — Effect on the Condition and Character of the People. —Discouragement and Decline. — A Revolution. — A Petitioner 265 CHAPTER XXVin. The Gathering to the Millennial Juhilee. — The Scenes in the Bay, and Streets of the Capital. — The King's Arrival. — Ban- quet. — People's Festival. — The Visit to ThingvaUa. — A Grand Occasion. — Speeches. — Poetry. — New Ensign. — The Present and Future of Iceland 277 CHAPTER XXIX. The Millennial at the West. — Norsemen in Prsdrie-Land.— First Icelandic Service. — The Sermon. — Speeches. — Banners. — My Native Land 813 SUPPLEMEITTAL CHAPTER. Changes in Customs and Peculiarities. — Different Forms and Pronunciationof Words. —libraries and Newspapers in Ice- land. — Sporting. — Modem National Sacred Melodies THE ISLAND OF FIRE. CHAPTER I. The Northern Sea-Bovers in t'ne Land of the Moor. — The First Battle. — The Terror of Europ e. — Their Anna. - Their Triumphs. —Their Passion for Bloody Encounters. — They discover Iceland. " O IGNAL-FIRES on the hiUs of Carmona I '' This O awakening shout from the lips of Bexir, a veteran Moorish warrior, rang along the streets of ancient Cordova, in the twilight of a September day, 844. The alarm-bells pealed forth the call to arms. A fleet of the sea-rovers of the north had made their descent, like a falling thunderbolt, upon the coast of Spain. They swept along the banks of the Tagus, pillaging the unresisting people, paralyzed with terror. They then sailed up the Guadalquiver, and entered beautiful Seville, whose soldiers soon retireii before their foes, who to their excited fancy, were armed magicians. Bexir, at King Alderahman*s command, hastened preparations to meet the unknown enemy. With flashing arms and armor, his columns marched to the waiting flotiUa. With a favoring wind, they to THE ISLAND OF FIRE. sailed down the broad current, whose banks were green with richest verdure, and fragrant with flow- ers and fruits. The Northmen, from the valleys near arctic frost, are ready to receive the Arabian conquerors of the warm, rich plains of the south. For the fiist time the fair-haired, fresh-visaged sea-rovers of Scandi- navia meet the swarthy, turbaned Moors in deadly combat. Swords and lances cross ; and confronting eyes gleam with the passion for carnage, inspired by religious frenzy. To the Northmen's faith, the air above them ia filled with the shadowy forms of Valkyrior, the vir- gins^ who, in the palace of their deity, wait on de- parted heroes, and preside over battles. They turn the tide of victory, and select for Odin the warriors who are to be slain. The devotees of Allah and his prophet see, in the skjr arching them, the " dark- eyed houris waving their green kerchiefs" to wel- come the dauntless heroes to the paradise of sensual joys, when they fall upon the field of honor. But no decisive victory followed the terrific battle. The Norsemen carried away spoils and captives, and, unmolested, descended the Guadalquiver to the sea, their boundless home. Writes an old chronicler, " Among those captives, we may picture many a weeping damsel, who, amidst the frozen regions of the north, would long sigh in vain for the sunny plains and vine-covered hiils of Andalusia." This expedition was one of countless similar for- rays, which made these piratical corsairs from North- ern, Europe the terror of a continent. They knew THE NORTHERN SEA-ROVERS. 11 no fear, and gloried in deeds of reckless daring and peril. They pillaged Paris, Bordeaux, Orleans, and nearly every other city of France and adjacent pro- vinces accessible by water; also the borders of En^'nd, Scotland, and Ireland. They would suddenly appear before a town, land, and march through it bearing away the spoils, then weigh anchor, and disappear with their booty. Their galleys cut the foam, till the shadow of some grim promontory, guarding the entrance to a rocky isle, fell upon their fluttering canvas. Once within their natural Gibraltar, they could laugh, over their foaming goblets, at the threatened revenge of plundered nations. They also haunted the islands north and west of Denmark, which was itself the earliest home of the most sanguinary free- booters. In the summer of 860, sixteen years after the bat- tle of Camiciia,Naddodd, a famous sea-rover, spread his sails for the Faroe Isles. Suddenly a terrible gale struck the brave navigator's vessel, and swept it along the path of the storm. In vain the helm was grasped by a strong, untrembling hand: the bark drifted away upon unknown waters. With the returning calm he caught sight of lefty summits, and sought a landing-place among the foam- lashed rocks at their feet. Ascending a height, he gazed upon the drear landscape, to find a human form or habitation. In vain his anxious eye scanned the horizon of snow mantling the mountains, and falling down their rugged sides beyond the view. He hastened to the beach, and, re-embarking, called I' i 19 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. i!t!l the new country Snae-land, or Snow-land, from the most striking feature of the solitude, which, by acci- dent, he had discovered. This was Iceland. Four years afterwards Garder Svarson, a Swed- ish sea-rover, by a similar experience lost his way, and sailed to and around the same strange, wild land. He found, with delight, green, inviting mar- gins by the inlets, and valleys among the gloomy hills ; and named the country after himself, Garder*s- holm, or Garder's Isle. There were no spoils, no strong men and fair women, to carry away ; and he returned to Norway, with only the story of his dis- covery. But these stem Norsemen had both the savage and the tender side of our humanity, which are put in vivid contrast in a little love-tragedy composed over a thousand years ago. It is translated freely, in lowing English rhyme ; and nothing besides, per- haps, in the same compass, contains so many graphic pictures of old Scandinavian warrior-life, as the SONG OP BEGNER, KING OF DENMARK. He heard that Thora, the daughter of a chieftain, was held in captivity by an enormous serpent, and resolved to deliver her. Clothing himself with shaggy trousers, so that the serpent's fangs and ven- om could not reach his flesh, he sought and saved her. He was called, ever after, Regner Lodbrock, oi Shaggy -Brogues, Later, when upon one of his expe- ditions, he was captured, and thrown into a dimgeon to die by the bite of serpents. We introduce the story by giving the first verse SONG OF REGNER. Id rom the by acci- k Swed- lis way, ;e, wild ng mar- gloomy rarder*8- loils, no and he his dis- savage are put >mposed I freely, les, per- graphic the in \hQ original language, which has been that of Ice- land for a thousand years, with a literal translation. Hjugpim vtfr med Hjorvl: Hitt var ei fyrir laungw, er ^ Gautlandi Gengtim at Grafvitnis* raordi; THa fen gum ve'r THorv, THadau hotu inik fyrdar, tlia er h"r'v, I CHAPTER IV. Two Thousand Years Ago. — The Gift of Fire. — Tlie Lava-Tsland. -• The Oreen Margins and Valleys. — Traveller's Impressions. TWO thousand years ago I No islAnd then may have broken the sweep of the ocean across the Arctic Circle, west of Norway. We have no data from which to learn when Ice- land came from the depths beneath the sea; but how, is written all over it, in characters as legible as inscriptions on monumental marble. The signal, in the ocean-solitudes, of a war of the elements, was an earthquake-shock, convulsing the sea for hundreds of miles around the centre of the tremendous explosion at hand. With the increasing agitation of the waters, their surface became mottled with foam, and discolored by the matter cast up from the foundations on which, for unnumbered ages, they had rested. The rising billows met like armed hosts, and their roar was louder than fiercest human battle. Dense columns of steam rolled upward ; glowing tidos of pumice followed, lighting up with their glare the silent northern sky. Between these, great showers of cinders were falling through the eddying air, all **• heralding the approach of the crater's mouth." Then rose the rim 81 d2 THF ISLAND OF FIRE. m of the volcano, from whose furnace depths flowed on the streams of lava. Broader and broader grew the rounded mass ; the fires began to wane ; the hot surges subsided ; and the molten earth stood, as now it stands, in black, stony battlements and towers, with swiftly-flowing rivers, crystal lakes, and quiet valleys. And thus Iceland was indeed the gift of fire, an oasis of lava in countless forms of grandeur, softened with lines and intervales of beauty, on the very edge of the Arctic Ocean. Fire and water, from the hour of the island's birth, have kept up a lively contest for supremacy. First one, and then thc^ other, and then again both together, have tried theii strength ; as if the very object of the isle's creation were to be a plaything for their destructive forces in those distant seas. The waves and earthquakes, sinking old shores, have made new ones, filling valleys, and burying meadows with the deluge of stones and sand from melting glacier-fields, or more terrible streams of lava, flowing down the mountains, or bursting up from the opening plains. These charges during ages have modified both soil and climate, making details of description at one period unlike those of later centuries. Iceland contains about forty thousand squaie miles, three-fourths of which remain an uninhabited solitude. Here the thunder of convulsions, and. of the fall of the avalanche, with the whir of the raven's wing, are the only sounds that break the silence of a smoking waste of mountains, chasms, caverns, lakes, and rivers. ITS SITUATION AND FEATURES. 88 The island stretches over three hundred miles of latitude, from 63° 23' to 66° 33' north, and nearly the same of longitude, from 13° 15' to 24° 40', touching the curve of the arctic line. Such is the Icelander's world, in the cold embrace of the sea, whose majestic voice unceasingly rises around it. If we except borders touching the ocean, with slopes of pasture-land, and the verdant dales along the fiords and river-courses running towards the interior, with this general description alone, we might agree with the old unfriendly Danes, that '^ God made the rest of the world, but the Devil made Iceland." And yet nowhere is the mighty power and tender care of God more visible, or does the history of a people possess more singular interest, than among the great solitudes, and scattered, happy homes of Iceland. It was the reverent and appropriate exclamation of a traveller, who, when he first beheld this work of volcanic forces, quoted the words of the prophet : " Verily there is One whose * fury is poured out like fire ; the rocks are thrown down by him ; the moun- tains quake at him, and the hlUs melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence.' > )) rr W CHAPTER V. Emigration to Iceland. —Farewell Festivals. — Bafna Floke. — A Thousand Years Ago. A BOLD and famous viking, Floki Rafna (that is, Floki of the ravens), who, Icelandic tradition says, was a descendant of " Goa, a sister of Nor, the fabled founder of the kingdom of Norway " wiiS seized, in 865, with a desire to emigrate to luaiand. He gathered his family and followers to his temple, and celebrated the sacrificial banquet. This temple, owned by the chieftain whose retainers were num- bered by hundreds, was nothing more than a large hall for feasting, with a small recess at th^ end for i worship. At every festival a fire was built in the centre of the hall upon a lava floor, and its smoke escaped through openings in the roof, which served also as the only windows. The chieftain took his seat upon a rude throne opposite the fire on tfc southerly side, between two columns bearing inscrip- tions in Runic letters, the written alphabet, such as it was, invented by the Northmen. Opposite him> on a similar, yet inferior seat of honor, according to custom, was his principal guest. To the right and left, on benches against the wall, sat his retainers and servants. The offerings of cattle and sheep were slain, and their flesh thrown into a o^dion EMIGRATION TO ICELAND. 85 over the blazing fire. When cooked, it was passed around, beginning with the chief, and ending with his humblest menial. After they were satiated with the meat, they imbibed freely a kind of ale. With the rising hilarity, these revellers threw at each other, across the hall, the bones they had picked. Just imagine the yet warm, greasy missiles flpng back and forth, in tjhat " dim, religious licch^, " of Odin's hall! This sacrificing and feasting lasted several days. At the close Floke took into the recess where stood the altar, three ravens, and consecrated them, in the name of his god, to his own guidance on the voyage ; then removed them, with the sacred columns of his temple-throne, to the ship ready to receive him. Without a tear, but a fond, lingering gaze, he watched the dark hill-tops of his native Norway, as they sank below the horizon, and he became a wan- derer, in search of that strange land, somewhere in the untravelled northern waters. It seems that he first touched the Faroe Isles. Trusting to the in- stinct of the ravens, when he thought he might be nearer Iceland than their shores, he released one, to mark its flight, as the compass by which to steer his ship. The bird showed no hesitation re- specting his course, but flew straight for the land which he had left. A few days later, ano^^^her black messenger was sent forth upon the ocean. The bird seemed bewildered, and, after an uncertain skyward flight, gave up the altempt to find a resting-place, and returned to the ship. Pursuing his course un- daunted, Floki uncaged the third raven, who flew 36 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. I to h> in the direction he was sailing, unmistakably indi- cating that the island was near. Soon after, he dropped anchor within the arms of a fiord, or inlet. The succeeding winter was intensely severe, filling the bays with ice, and burying the land by frequent snow-storms for months. His cattle died, and his brave heart sighed for fatherland. Setting sail, he named his abandoned place, of so brief abode, Island, which in his own tongue was Iceland ; be- cause the blockade of icebergs, from the shores pf Greenland, sometimes so walled it in, that the ocean could not be seen over their crystal heights. But the Norwegian heroes were not easily dis- heartened, nor were they afraid of perils and suffer- ing. In 870 Ingolf, threatened with vengeance by the kindred of an adversary he had slain, cpent a winter in Iceland, and liked it so well, that he determined, upon his return, to raise a colony, and go back. He was urged to this, like our Pilgrim Fathers, by op- pression. Harald * Haarfagr had taken the reins of power over the chieftains of Norway, and increased their taxes. These old liberty-loving sea-rovers rebelled against this tyranny; and families banded together to seek a home in Iceland. Their illustrious leader, Ingolf, set sail in his dragon-headed gaHey, the " Mayflower " of 874, for Iceland. Approaching the land, he threw into the sea the sacred columns, to learn the will of the gods by the place to which they drifted. But they floated out of sight ; and he sought a harbor in the southern coast, at a point which still bears the name of Ingolfshodi. * The Fair-haired. ASSASSINATION. 37 Afterwards, when the "clumns were found by his slaves, he removed to th^m at once, ai^d founded the present capital, Reykjavik. His brother-in-law Hjorleif landed, and settled at a place on the south coast, which is to this day called Hjorleifs- hofdi. Being decoyed into a wood by his Irish slaves in the following spring, in search of a bear, he was treacherously murdered by them, together with the rest of the company. The slaves fled with his goods to the Westman Isles, named after them, but were pursued and killed by Ingolf. In his lament over the dead body of his friend, who had ceased to honor pagan altars, as it is recorded in the Sagas, he is made to say ; *' What an ignoble thing for so excellent a man to fall by the hand of vile slaves I But such must ever be the fate of those who will not sacrifice to the gods." This was a thousand years ago. Our fatherland, the British empire of to-day, was then only a re- spectable kingdom, formed out of seven petty sover- eignties. America was one vast, ** howling wilderness.'* The mariner's compass, and the art of printing, were unknown for centuries later ; and gunpowder, with- out which modern armies would not know how to fight, had never flashed on the brain of the old Chinaman or Arab who gave his bright discoveiy to the world. The most ancient Icelandic history, the Landa- nama Book, tells us of crucifixes, bells, and other 7.'elics of a people from Ireland, who had embraced Christianity, called Papas, from an island on which 4 It Hii 38 TRE ISLAND OF FIRE. they lived. There may have been voyages thither from that greener isle ; and it would be a wonderful thing indeed, if bells calling to the worship of God, rang along the "stern and rock-bound coast" of Iceland, beibre the pagan Northmen reared their a} tare. CHAPTER VI. Pilgrim Nobles from Norway. — Harald's Price, Four Ounces of SHI- ver. — No Indians to fight. — They have Conflicts. — A Bepublio made to Order. — Its Constitution. — The Althing. — The First Chief Magistrate. BRAVE Norway Pilgrims I Pagans though they were, they had in their veins, like the founders of New England, the best blood of Europe. Dur- ing the long summer days, had one been qu those lava heights above the sea, he might have seen their old galleys creeping along the perilous coast, freighted with kindred and attendants, seeking the new land of the free. And how does Harald feel about the increasing emigration of his most valuable subjects following the fearless pioneer, Ingolf, from the hated shadow of his throne ? At first, as all tyrants regard rebel- lious spirits, in the pride of power, he smiled at their rash adventure. But, when their number grew to thousands, it was another matter: their money and influence he could not well afford to lose. One day, through all the region of disaffection, went the royal decree, that every subject who left the kingdom for Iceland should pay the crown foui ounces of silver ; a heavy fine for those times, and not easy to raise. But freedom was more 80 ;l ij i! I 40 THE ISLAND CF FIRE. precious than silver to the untamed Northmen. Unchecked, the living tide flowed on. All along the accessible borders of the volcanic land, they moored their vessels; the stern leaders of house- hold bands, leaping into the foam, were followed by the family, and then the retainers, " armed to the teeth." The procession turned their faces towards the distant and frowning heights. By the wide fiords, they threaded roughest paths, which no feet had trodden before, seeking green pasturage, and fresh streams, beside which to build their lava cabins. These Icelandic exiles had their own curious ways of getting and holding possession of the unfenced slopes and valleys. One of these was, to light fires at the mouths of all the streams running into a fiord, and claiming the whole district through which they ran. Shooting a fiery arrow across a stream, was ex- tending the right to the land from the spot where it fell upon the other side, to the terminus of the river. Then, again, estates were separated by the natural boundaries of mountains, and ridges of hills. These colonists fou)xd no Indians to oppose their progress, as did those of New England eight hundred years later. Had the fierce Northmen been saluted with the war-whoop, what fighting there wuld have been I For those chieftains and their warriors, as we have seen, have no rivals in the world's history : a passion for arms was the master one. They had no higher ambition than to die with their weapons of war in their hands, dripping with the blood of the slain. When the district of a chieftain was determined, FAMILY FEUDS. 41 he allotted to each of the freemen who followed him a portion of it, built a temple, or Ao/, and became, aa he had been in Norway, a godi^ and was so called after the deity he worshipped. The chieftain was both priest and leader. Men were compelled to pay a tax on the Ao/, and follow their lord on his journeys and expeditions. It must have been a splendid and imposing spectacle, when, with their burnished arms, these physically splendid warriors marched behind their chief, mounted on his richly caparisoned steed. All went on peacefully for a few years, till new-comers found the best lands occupied, and thought, very naturally, they ought to have a share of the extensive farms appropriated without any- body's permission. If the lord of the manor refused to divide, the question must be decided by " wager of battle," or trial of the case by arms. If the ag- gressor won the day, he quietly took the coveted portion ; if he lost, and survived the combat, he re- tired from the field, and sough t elsewhere a home. Quarrels multiplied, and all classes were getting restless. The sensible, shrewd old Northmen saw something must be done to unite and protect the whole people. But where shall they find the model for a constitution, and a mind to frame it for the conflicting elements? A council was called, and all eyes turned to Ulfljot, a man distinguished foi learning and justice. But, like the truly great of every age, he shrank from a responsibility demand- ing the rarest powers. One summer day this thoughtful Icelander stole away from his quiet home, to the harbor, and sailed for Norway. He li f Ji 42 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. m-. q,,. sought Thorlief the Wise. Under him, for three years, he studied national laws and customs, and talked freely with the most enlightened minds. This Jefferson of the tenth century returned to Iceland, and the people assembled to hear his plan for a distinct nationality. How well he knew the spirit of his countrymen I The clashing of sword and shield, ringing out upon the clear air, proclaims their adoption of a republican form of government ; a miracle in the worM of politics, and on a continent of kings and lawless tribes. And thus a republic was made to order, on the farthest land known in the cold north, with the smiling realms of Europe at their feet, caived up by monarchs, great and small. There remained, unavoidably, the aristocracy of the old chiefs and nobles, with other defects ; which, considering its antiquity, were no more than spots upon the face of the rising sun. The glory of that republic is reflected to-day f i*om English law and liberty, and re-appears in the freer institutions of America. In the new order of things, the island had four quartei-s, corresponding to the points of compass, and named after them. Each of these was subdi- vided into three districts ; and these, again, into tliree more, called godords. There were governors over the provinces ; under them were prefects, or magis- trates ; ant"" five officei-s were appointed to maintain peace and good order in each of the smaller dis- tricts, and especially to care for the poor. The needy must be cared for by kindred, if able to do it ; and, if not, by the parish. 1 .11 > ,;[\\ A REPUBLIC FORMED, 48 In all these divisions were held assemblies for public purposes. In the third, or the smaller dis- tricts, they were composed of all the citizens who held real estate to a given amount, and were of an "unblemished moral character.'* The district assembly was called a Thing, that b, *o say^ presided over by the goda, selected for their wisdom, and love of justice. Near the Thingstead, or place of meeting, was Odin's temple. The judges sat within the dom-ringh, or doom-ring, formed of upright stones or hazel-twigs. In its centre was the hlotsteinriy or stone of execution; a huge block of basalt, with a ridge across it, apon wh^ch were broken the backs of certain criminals. The Althing, or general assembly, was the great annual court of the nation, held at Thingvalla. Ulfljot was chosen unanimously the first chief magistrate, who held his office three years. The " pen, mightier than the sword," or unwritten speech, won the honor unsought by him or p clitic partisans. " After the year 999, the Althing was opened on the Thursday between the 28th of June and 4th July, and remained in session fourteen days. Since agri- culture could not be carried on in Iceland, and the raising of cattle required little labor, the men early acquired the habit of travelling to Thingvalla every year; so that finally many thousands of persons assembled in the valley, exchanged information, traded, feasted, and thus established a kind of national fair. The civil ari criminal cases were practically tried before the whole people ; and what- ever law was decreed went immediately into action. ;!! i ;| 1 m i !| ! II 44 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. ** After Iceland fell to Norway, and then to Den- mark, the form of holding the Althing was stiU obfierved, although it was scarcely more than an empty form. The meetings were held in the open air, as in the old and glorious ages, until the year 1690 ; when a wall of blocks of lava was erected, and a canvas roof spanned over it to protect the delegates from inclement weather. Here Danish law was proclaimed to the people, up to the year 1800, when the seat of justice was removed to Reykj- avik. Even the old wall has been taken away ; and the Hill of the Law is now as bare and grand as when it witnessed the deliberations of a free people." There is one short word, of pure Icelandic origin, which is a Drummond light in its significance, pour- ing a flood of radiance from that lone island, and the far past, wherever human rights are, or sir H be pro- tected. It is KVIBR ; a verdict^ or trial h y. The neighbors of the man arraigned, whose number might be four, six, or ten, accompanied him to the court, and there took the oath of impartial judgment. The tolf- tar-kvidir was the verdict of twelve^ or special jury ; called also goda-kvidir, or priest-verdict^ because the godi of the district summoned the jury, and was ex- officio its foreman. This guardian of the rights of freemen was transplanted to English ground ; for the settlers of England were kith and kin to those of Ice- land. This old Scandinavian institution gradually died out in the mother countries, and came to an end in Iceland A.D. 1271-1281, with the faU of the com- monwealth ; whereas it was naturalized in England, which became the classical land of trial by jury. CHAPTER VII. The MagniAcent Capitol. — Built when the Island was made. —The National Oourt. — Tents and Booths. — The Incendiary. — His Escape. FALLING into the procession from Reykjavik, and other towns, the most of which are single farms, we are on the way to Thingvalla, over a narrow pathway, and through varied, but always wild scen- ery. Here and there, for a few miles, a farm-house is nestled in a green valley. Now we cross a broad ^ iva-bed, which gleams in the sun's rays like a vast iron plain, torn and seamed by the convulsions which made it. Beyond it an ocean of peaks spreads away to the horizon. " There is a magical effect to the atmosphere, seen in no other country. The air is so pure, the strong con- trasts of black, brown, and red lavas, and the green fields, and snowy mountains, make splendid pictures, even at twenty miles' distance." Farther on, we en- ter the valley of the Lax4, or Salmon River, rushing madly to the sea. Fording the stream, our narrow way leads through utter desolation to a broad plateau of barren rock. Suddenly we halt on the brow of a precipice ; and what a panorama bursts on the view ^ It is the vale of Thingvalla. No pen or pencil can sketch its wonders. 46 it lU r ; 1/ » ''J n 46 THE ISLAND OF FIRU. Mtl We are on the edge of the Almanne-Gja, or All- Men's Chasm. Half a dozen miles across the valley, is the Hrafna Gja, or Raven's Chasm, the correspond- ing wall ; their very angles revealing the rent where they were driven asunder. Between these pinnacled barriers, lie fifty square miles of once molten lava, which sank a hundred feet below the land-level along these gigantic ramparts. The first glance from the plain to the ragged walls, converging in the distance, is bewildering by the magnitude and grandeur of the scene. Great shad- ows fall at thoir base, in the changing light that brightens the gloomy battlements. Towards the south, the plain slopes gradually to the crystal " Thingvalla Vatn," or Tlilngvalla Wa- ter, whose cleai expanse is ten miles long, half as many wide, and in some places over a thousand feet deep. Through a gorge in the Hrafna Gja, a river comes tumbling and foaming, as if crazy with delight over its escape, and glides avvay into its placid bosom. Beneath its transuicent waters, as everywhere in Ice- land, are seams and chasms, — the savage scars of that great battle of elements, in which the victorious land was enthroned in grim majesty amid the sea. Two pretty islands, Sandej and Vesey, dot its bosom. The only human life there is in the little parsonage. The train moves forward to nearly the middle of the beautiful valley. On the checkered floor open chasms similar, but broader and deeper, to those which surround and guard ancient castles. Straight down, they go sometimes far below a sounding-line. THE CAFITOL. 47 Three of these form a triangle, enclosing a stony floor, with only a narrow causeway connecting it with the surrounding valley. This is the Capitol of the republic, in which the Althing annually sits. At the upper extremity, is an elevation of rock, crowning the Loeberg, or Mount of Laws. Upon this is the seat of the chief magistrate. A simple illustration will convey a sufficiently clear idea of the spot. With threo gashed and ragged blocks, make an acute triangle. Into this, drop another, wedge-shaped, the point touching the apex of the triangular wall around it. That central block is the place where sits the national court ; the spaces between it and the enclosing blocks are the chasms ; and the point of contact, the narrow and natural bridge leading to it. Standing at the base, and looking up the valley beyond it, on the right nearly a quarter of a mile distant, the river dashes over the Almanne-Gja ; and beyond it are the secluded church and lava-turf parsonage. Farther away, "spreads the lake, with the far-off horizon of magnificent mountains. One of the contorted columns in the north-west side is " Hanging Rock," to which certain culprits (tradition says) were tied by a rope around the neck, and then hurled into the frightful abyss. Below the second fall of the river, " where it tears through the south-east wall," is a pool of blue foaming water, used for the execution of women convicted of child-murder or -vitchcraft. Of the island in the Axard. where duels were fought, a patch of mud only remains. To the south, 48 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. li : 1 il rise picturesque mountains, on whose slopes four hot springs send up their incense of vapor, adding to the strange solemnity of the scene. The majestic walls are not equally high and perpendicular, the falling fragments of the Almanne-Gja having filled the angles on the plain below. It is August of the year 950. The judges and dooms- men take the three rows of stone benches on each side of the inclosure. A single policeman strides over the area to keep order. Outside of this open court, be- yond the chasms, are pitched the tents, and gather groups of the people who throng the broad galleries of this Capitol of their national Congress. Gay attire and polished weapons flash in the sunlight of the long summer day. An incendiary is summoned to trial. The evi- dence is clear; and the Logesagumadr, or promulgator of the law, from the Logberg, asks the doomsmen, "Guilty, or not guilty?" The clashing of sword and shield seals his fate. With a sudden bound, Flose breaks away from the fatal ring, and flies to the narrowest part of the encircling gorge. The abyss yawns twenty feet between him and the ascending slope on the opposite side. But dear life is at stake ; and, like a hunted deer, he scales the chasm, and disappears among the dismal solitudes, beyond the reach of his pursuers. The volcanic convulsions in the neighborhood were made the pretext for removing the courts to Reyk- javik in 1800 ; an act neither the Icelanders nor their friends can forgive or forget. !»' t I 41 ! ij i i^ Ij yffl, ^! ! ^ i 1 1 ' 1 . t ' Hi 1 j ! y in ai th C( th i. iii A] wl ret of cla wl] aw cap " ■'TJHSbSSSH^*' CHAPTER Vra. m i li.r Embarking for Keykjavik. — Copenhagen. — Rocky Isles. — The Needles and Arch of Portland Head. — Weatman Islands. — Co- lumbus visited them. — Bird Ijamps. — First Glimpses. — Impress- ive Scenes. " "T^ EAR, dear I and you are going to Iceland I a ~jLy long way from America. I would like to visit your country ; but it is very dangerous to travel by sea. A vessel was burned up not long since, and many of my friends were lost. It was a dreadful affair." So chatted Hans Christian Andersen, in his out-of- the-way chambers, by one of the bustling canals of Copenhagen, to the first " Yankee " whose pencil gave us, from his own portfolio, graphic pictures of the most wonderful scenery and country in the world. Young people everywhere know Hans Christian Andersen as their friend ; the gifted Danish author, who has been the delight not only of children, but read by all ages. He moves about the ancient city of his birth from one neighborhood of the poor classes to another, to study the qaaint characters which re-appear in his sprightly pages. We bid him good-by, and *' The Arcturus " steams away from the capital of Denmark towards the capital of Iceland. ft 49 11 ;i : 50 TBE ISLAND OF FIRE. " The most wonderful land in the world." Yes ; although scarcely known in this country, beyond its name, till the visit of our famous delegation to the Millennial Jubilee of 1874, we shall find it so. It is wonderful in its origin and scenery, in its fascinating old traditions, and real history. Nor did the pulse of the youthful reader ever quicken more wildly over a tale of fiction, than it will over some of the earliest written adventures in Europe, by descend- ants of the daring vikings. By the many who have thought of Iceland as I have done nearly all my life, the people, and their sea-girdled home, have been sadly libelled in the chambers of imagery. A few huts among snow-banks most of the year, their occupants resembling the fur-clad Esquimaux, was the outlined view of both, whenever any mention of the far-off, desolate spot brought them to mind. From Copenhagen, the voyage is through the Skager Rack towards the north of Scotland, from whose ports Englishmen sail for Iceland. Upon leaving the glorious land of Bruce (once itself a powerful realm), swarms of rocky isles attract the eye. The Shetlands, Hebrides, Orkneys, and many more, dot the expanse of waters breaking against those northern walls of the British Empire. Farther on, about half way to Icebud, are the Faroe Isles. Ov\j a few of all these are inhabited. The people are shepherds, tending their flocks in the lonely val- leys, fishermen, rocking in their light boats through storm and sunshine, and egg-hunters, hanging by cords from lofty cliffs, to rob the numberless wild birds of their eggs. OCEAS SCENES. 01 Occasionally, by the sea, a village bursts on the Bight ; rows of low houses, with turf or tarred roofs, separated by narrow, dirty streets, with a chapel, and sometimes a public-library building. The people are a mixed race, in which the emigra- tion many centuries ago from Scandinavia is largely represented. A vessel from Copenhagen, through the Skager Rack and Cattegat, will be likely to approach the coast of Iceland farther on the southerly side than by the other route, feeling its way along through fogs and storms, near Portland Head, about seventy miles from the capital, on the western side of the island. Needle-shaped columns of rock stand in gigantic spires of lava, entirely separated from each other. A little farther on, is a circular opening through a promontory of the same dark rock, two hundred feet by ninety, drilled by the perpetual dash of the waves through the projecting wall, and extend- ing below the water. A vessel can march through this triumphal arch ot the sea. Then, again, a cata- ract plunges down fifty feet, without a break, into the ocean, whose waves, chafed to a foam against the solid barrier, receive the bounding torrent. Looking away towards the interior, a greaster wonder meets the vision. A cascade falls eight hun- dred feet down the bare summit, shining like a silver streamer on the walls of lava. Tt is the largest and most wonderful barometer in the world. For, when the secluded dwellers on the Westman Islands see the broad white ribbon tossed into mist by the wind, they know it is useless to attempt to reach with their i \' 52 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. ill. ( ■ ■.: jfrail boats the shores of Iceland, over the reefs, and through the angry billows. Those Westman Islands are a group of fifteen piles of black lava, seven miles from the southern coast of Iceland ; only one of which, Heimaey, or Home Isle, three miles long, is inhabited. There is a time- worn church near the harbor, which was sacked, and robbed of its silver and vestments, by pirates, two centuries ago. Near it are a pastor, a doctor, and a magistrate. Sheep are lifted to the green spots on the gloomy heights by ropes, and, when the storm rages, are folded in caverns, to save them from being swept into the sea. Life here is indeed wild and lonely. Only occasionally, duiing the short summer- time, can the people get even to Iceland. The ful- mar petrel, a curious bird of very strange odor, with its eggs, which are gathered by hanging from the rocks, suspended by small cords, such as were used hundreds of years ago, are the principal articles of food. Offer the daring egg-hunter a strong rope, instead of this frail cord of hair, and he will reject it, almost with indignation, because his ancestors for several hundred years used simply the line. Not unfrequently, a bold, strong man loses his hold, or a shSrp edge cuts his cord, and away he goes, like a falling fragment of lava, down, a thousand feet below, either into the sea, or is dashed upon the rocks. A nd how did these imprisoned islanders light their huts? You could not guess in a lifetime. They took young petrels, and, running wicks down their throats, turned the balls of oil into lamps, the small flames tipping their bills. The tails reseirbled Jian- VISIT OF COLUMBUS. S8 dh'8^ but the natives carried the plump bodies in their palms. Infants cannot live on this savage spot, and are sent to the mainland during their early childhood. The air and food for them and their mothers are such, that, during the first seven days after birth, they are seized with a strange malady, attended with spasms, and nearly always die. It would do any kind heart good, when some ship is approaching, to see these poor people rush to the shore, with a heart-hunger intense as the wolfs appe- tite for prey, and watch and wait for letters from far- off kindred, or Danish newspapers, to learn from them the events of the great outside world, from which no tidings have come for many a monotonous month. Shipwrecks, tragedies of the most sanguinary kind, pillage by outlaws, and, through all these, the un- ceasing roar of ^he boiling deep, and the fearful music of storms -sweeping over the ban on heights, make' an outline of the history of the Westman Isles. Fame's laurels, like every thing earthly, are surely a very uncertain possession ; and an unexpected frost may at any time nip some of their leaves. It seems quite evident that Columbus visited these islands in 1477, and also the mainland ; it may be, gathering valuable hints concerning the direction from Europe, of the distant continent, which the bold pioneer Northmen had discovered before him. The shrewd navigator kept his own secrets, if he had any of value to him, and used them in securing for himself 54 TEE ISLAND OF FIRE. i ■11 a deserved place on the world's scroll of immortal names. Eight miles west of Cape Reykjanes, there is a circular column of rock, called the " Meal-sack," ris- ing two hundred feet above the sea. It leans a little like the tower at Pisa, Italy, and is more than four hundred feet in circumference. Its top is covered and fringed with guano, giving it the appearance of a bag of gigantic size, filled to overflow with meal. It has never been scaled by any other feet than those of the myriad birds which circle around it, and make it their grand dormitory at night; a m mu- mental column of some great volcanic upheaval in the ages past. Whether we embark from Scotland or from Den- mark, after sailing five hundred miles, and within nearly one hundred and sixty of Greenland, as you approach the coast of Iceland, upon the horizon glit- ter in the wonderfully transparent air, if clear, the jokuls, or snow-covered mountains, of the unexplored heart of Iceland. These are the majestic sentinels, which look down upon the surrounding and varied landscape, sloping to the sea. Around the shining summits, bright, even in the long arctic night, with auroral splendors, and the flashing stars of the clear heavens, rise the fells, or dark lava mountains, with- out crowns of perpetual snow. On their sides are spread broad table-lands, dropping off into un- fathomed gulfs, and long ravines, whose gloom the sun's rays never enter beyond the black crags which border them. In their perpetual night, the frost- king reigns undisturbed as among the glaciers of the Alps. ICELAND BCENERT. 55 Nearer the sea, you behold piles of solid rock ; then slopes of loose stone, as if some of those grim heaps had been torn up and pounded by giants in their pastime. Below these, are terraces of the same dark basalt, in whose shadow madly dash the widening rivers towards the sea, and lie the peaceful valleys. From this largest part of the island, in which there is no human life, wind away the many fiords^ or inlets, at whose mouths beetling promonto- ries guard the only entrance within the borders of this desolate land. The shores are fringed with lit- tle islands of the same lava rock, over which the in- coming tides and waves break into foam, encircling the island with a white and beautiful wreath, from the protecting deep. North-east of Iceland, and nearly east of Green- land, there is Jan Mayen, a very wonderful island, seldom seen by man. It rises nearly eight thousand feet from the sea, with scarcely margin enough for landing. It is covered with glaciers, the terraces and pinnacles making it look as if a Niagara, while pouring its fl'^od over the majestic mountain, dash- ing downwards on every side of it in a deluge of eddying floods and cascades, had in a moment been congealed into shining crystal. Lord DufFerin, now governor-general of Canada, visited it in his yacht in 1856, and speaks of it as grand beyond the power of language to describe. An American traveller pleasantly tells us how Icelandic scenery impressed him upon his first ride into its solitudes : — " The weird, fire-blasted, and flood-scourged wil- =1 M THE rSLAND OF ffRR. derness on all sides was as silent as death, save when we approached some dark lagoon, and startled up the flocks of water-fowl that dwelt in its sedgy borders. Then the air was pierced with wild screams, and strange cries, and the rocks resounded to the flap- ping of many wings. To me there was a peculiar charm in all this. It was different from any thing r had recently experienced. The roughness of the trail, the absence of cultivated fields, the entire exemption from the restraints of civilization, were perfectly delightful after a dreary residewce of nearly a year in Germany. Here, at least, there were no passport bureaus, no meddlesome police, no conceited and disagreeable hahituSs of public places with fierce dogs running at their heels, no Verbotener Wegs staring one in the face at every turn. Here all ways possible to be travelled were open to the public; here was plenty of fresh air, and no lack of elbow- room; here an unsophisticated American could travel without being persecuted every ten minutes by applications from distinguished officers in livery for six kreutzers. " It seemed very strange to be travelling in Iceland, actually plodding my way over deserts of lava, and breathing blasts of air fresh from the summit of Mount Hekla. I was at last in the land of the Sagas ; the land of fire and brimstone, and boiling fountains 5 the land which, as a child, I had been accustomed to look upon as the Ultima Thule, where men and fish and fire and water were pitted against each other in everlasting strife. How often had the fascinating vision of Icelandic travel crossed my REAirZATIONS. 57 mind ! and how often had I dismissed it with a sij^h, as too much happiness to hope for in this world I And now it \/as all realized. Was I any the hap- pier? Was it what I expected? Well, we won't probe these questions too far. It was a very strange reality, at all events." The five grand features of Iceland's natural scenery are, the gja (pronounced gee-ou)^ or chasm, with the kindred caverns and ancient craters ; the fjords, or friths, including the bays ; the lakes, of which Thing- valla-vatn is the broadest, being ten miles in width, and Logarfljot the longest, being thirty miles in ex- tent ; the great number of large, rushing rivers ; and, towering among and over all, the white-capped jokuls and gloomy fells. The flords, or friths proper, push more than fifty miles among the precipitous heights, winding between overhanging pinnacles and through smiling valleys ; and on the eastern and western coasts, especially, resemble in form the parted fingers of the open hand, lying among the mist-covered mountains ; while broad bays open between smoking capes for forty miles. Surely, no mean home had the old vikings (so named from vie^ a bay or inlet, in which they watched for passing sails in that vast solitude of arctic storms), since whose earliest life thirty generations have passed away. i I w m i'i' m llSl 1 : li CHAPTER IX. Icelanders discover Greenland and America. — The Wonderful History. — Mysterious Disappearance. — The first Yankee b-^m in America, nearly Nine Hundred Years A^o. — Thorfinn returns to Iceland. — Death. — The Widow a Pilgrim and Kecluse. IT is not upon the island only, that the Northmen of Iceland had achieved wonders as a nation : they led a continent, if not the world, in discoveries. For a hundred years they had roamed the surround- ing seas^ when there came to its shores, one day, a stately chieftain from Norway. He was accompa- nied by his son, without attendants, and with the steru, sad air of an unwilling exile. And so he was. He had smitten down an enemy with his blade, in Norway, and was banished from the realm. Father and son lived undisturbed, alone in their solitude, for three years. Meanwhile the young man, whose name was Eerik, had a quarrel with a native of the island, and slew him. He, in turn, was sentenced to banishment. Whither shall he fly ? Not to Nor- way, with the guilt of both himself «>,nd Thorwald known to his countrymen. He turns the prow of his galley towards islands somewhere to the north- west, of which an old rover had brought tidings. Heroic young man, launching out on unknown i seas, to find a hermit home I ** Land I land I " GREENLAND. 59 breaks from the lips of the fugitive, after several days of wandering. He drops anchor by a small island, and, securing his bark, builds his winter-hut. Spring at length thaws out the imprisoned Eerik ; and his sails are unfurled for a larger stretch of land, out- lined on the distant horizon. After exploring ver- dant valleys with crystal streams, it was called Graenland, or Greenland; he shrewdly saying to himself, that a good name will attract people thither. When his three years of exile were ended, Eerik rettlmed to Iceland. A year later a group of gal- leys left its coast for Greenland. Ten years afterwards his son Leif visited Nor- way, was induced by the king to embrace Christi- anity, and, in spite of opposition from his father, introduced it into his adopted country. Across the ocean from Norway to Greenland, con- tinued to come the laden ships, till in the twelfth cen- tury, in that now so desolate region, there were one hundred and ninety farms, a cathedral, eleven churches, and two monasteries. The climate was then comparatively mild. With the dawn of the fifteenth century, the col- on}'^ mysteriously disappeared ; and no further records of it remain. Whether the population perished with cold and famine, from a blockade of icebergs, or were swept off by the " black death," a terrible epi- demic that prevailed in portions of Northern Europe, none can tell us. Mysterious silence will hang over that grave of a once prosperous people, till the final resurrection of earth's buried humanity. Four hundred years afterwards Danish missiona* i { 60 THE ISLAAiJ OF FIRE. ries found ruins of churches, walls, and tombstones. Upon one of the memorials of the dead, had sur- vived a very touching and beautiful epitaph in Runio characters : — " ViGDis M. D. HviLER ; Glede, Gud, Sal Henna.** Vigdis rests here : God gladden her soul I What more beautiful? a flower of human love, adorning the burial-place of a nation, like a fra- grant blossom in the silence and gloom of an Alpine glen, or on the walls of some old catacomb. • But, out of this banishment to Greenland, came a discovery of far greater interest to us Americans. Among the colonists led by Eerik to its slopes, was one Hurjulf, an Icelander, whose son Bjarni at the time was off the coast of Norway on a trading ex- pedition. He had heard nothing of the desertion of the old homestead. How could he? No mails crossed those northern seas; and, if years passed without tidings from the absent and loved, it was no more to them than the delay of the post for a day is to us who live by telegraph and steam. So Bjarni, who had no idea of being left behind, steered his vessel in the direction he guessed the fam- ily had sailed. His men stood by him, more faithful than the crew of Columbus, four hundred years afterwards. Many days he tossed about, going he kne\v not whither. At last a strange land appeared in the distance. Coasting along by it, and repelled by its forbidding aspect, he sailed away. Upon his re- turn, the tale of his adventures was discussed during the long winter evenings, in the dwelling of the now in VINLAND. 61 renerable Eerik, until his son, Leif Erikson, encour- aged by his father's enthusiasm, determined to seek the far land. Buying Bjarni's ship, it was fitted out for a long voyage, and its sails were spread for the mysterious shores. After keeping the course Bjarni indicated for several days, he discerned the very spot his predecessor had seen, which was doubtless New- foundland. The name given to it, on account of the surface of large flat stones it presented upon approaching it, was Helluland, or Flat-Stone Land. Pushing on westward, another coast rose upon the unknown waste of waters, which he called Markland, or Woodland, from its abundance of forest-trees. This was doubtless Nova Scotia. Onward still, the bold navigator kept his westward course. A river, which connected a lake with the sea, in- vited him to drop anchor, from its safety and pleas- ant banks. A German, named Tyker, who belonged to the crew, came in one day from the country, to which he had strayed, wild with delight. He had found and feasted upon grapes I Leif, at first in- credulous, was equally glad to find it true : the coun- try was named Vinland, or Vineland. This region historians belie\o, beyond a doubt, to have been the eoasL of Massachusetts. Leifs brother Thorwald, upon 1 aring the report of the returning explorers, set saii and went up Buzzard's Bay, touching at Martha's Vineyard, and Mount Hope ; and it is quite probable that Taunton River is the one up which his galley ploughed its way. He was afterwards slain by the natives. The possible truth of the following statement of J.J S M 1 s m 62 THE ISLAND OP FIRE. Prof. Anderson adds interest to the fate of the slain adventurer. " In the year 1831 there was found in the vicinity of Fall River, Mass., a skeleton in armor; and many of the circumstances connected with it are so wonderful that it might indeed seem almost as though it were the skeleton of Thorwald Erikson. This skeleton in armor, which attracted much atten- tion at the time, was the subject of much learned dis- cussion ; and our celebrated poet Longfellow wrote, in the year 1841, a poem about it, beginning, — " Speak, speak! thou fearful g^estl ti " After which, he makes the skeleton tell about his adventures as a viking, about the pine forests of Norway, about his voyage across the stormy deep, and about the discovery of America ; concerning which he says, — •* Three weeks we westward bore And, when the storm was o'er, Cloudlike we saw the shore Stretching to leeward ; There for my lady's bower Built I the lofty tower,* Which to this very hour Stands looking seaward.'* These are the last two verses of the poem : — " Still grew my bosom then, Still as a stagnant fen; Hateful to me were men, * The lower here referred to is the famous Newport tower la Bhode Island, which undoubtedly was built by the Norsemen. THE FIRST WHITE AMERICAN. The sunlight hateful! In the vast forest here, Clad in my warlike gear, Fell I upon my spear: Oh, death was grateful! 03 *' Thus seamed with many scars. Bursting these prison-bars, Up to its native stars My soul ascended. There from the flowing bowl Deep drinks the warrior's soul : Skaal! to the Northland, skaall Thus the tale fended." ij ^1 M i^ " The great Swedish chemist Berzelius analyzed a part of the breastplate which was found on the skele- ton, and found that m composition it corresponded with metals used in the north during the tenth cen- tury ; and, comparing the Fall-River breastplate with old northern armors, it was also foimd to correspond with these in style." In 1006 Thorfinn visited Vinland, in a vessel ; and his significant name was Karlsefni ; that is, " pos- sessing manly abilities." And now we have the first native American of European blood. Gudrid, the beautiful wife of Thorfinn, who was with him, gave birth to a son at Straumfjord, or Stream-Frith ; in other words, River Inlet. This is believed to be Buzzard's Bay; and Strawnly, or Stream Isle (because the tide flowed so rapidly by it), " either Martha's Vineyard, or the island of Cutty hunk and Nashawna, which then were probably connected." n IT" 1' '"•?- 4 ! !■ ' • : u ^:i; : .1 B4 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. The boy was named Snorri ; his whole name being Snorri Thorfinnson, or, the son of Thorfinn. He founded one of tho most distinguished families in Iceland. Americans in Iceland for more than eight hundred years I Where in history is Columbus ? Where are the old Virginia cavaliers ? and where the Pil- grim Fathers ? Who knows but that, centuries before the sea-rovers ran " against our rock-bound coast," some more ancient wanderer upon the sea ate grapes on our soil, but left no record behind ? In Thorfinn's colony were 158 persons. Seven of them, including Gudrid his wife, were women. Three years Thorfinn passed in Vinland, receiving visits from the Indians, who had not seen any kind of edged tools before. One seized an axe, and ran away with it to the encampment of his tribe. Another took it, and, as an experiment, sunk it into the brain of a companion. The result so terrified them all, that a chief, after a careful examination of the wonderful instrument, threw it into the sea. The sea-roving Thorfinn returned to Iceland, and resumed his cherished " life upon the ocean-wave." Age and a fortune induced him at length to retire ; and, building a large mansion, he became a revered patriarch, whose halls rang with festive hospitality, rivalling the wealthy chiefs of Norway in the ricli entertainments and style of his establishment. He died lamented, and was honored with a mag- nificent funeral. His widow made a pilgrimage to Rome with Snorri, and then retired to a convent near a church which her priccely husband had erected m MONUMENT TO LIEF ERIK80N. 65 Prof. Rafn, and other learned antiquarians, think the evidence sufficient, that the Dighton WBiTiKa Rock, on the banks of Taunton River, Bristol Co., Mass., is a Norae memorial of Thorfinr'i expedition ; and the translation is rendered as follows : " Thorfinn, with one hundred and fifty-one Norse seafaring men, took possession of this land (landnam)." Great men sometimes wait long, or, rather, their graves do, for the recognition of their greatness. The dream did not haunt the wildest fancy of the North- men, just eight hundred and seventy-four years ago, that now two nations would be interested in the erection of a fitting monument to the memory of him to whom belongs the honor of the pre-Columbian discovery of America, Lief Erikson, the remote ancestor of the man whose monitor well-nigh saved this Republic. At the head of the movement is Ole Bull, president of a society organized for the purpose. The famous Norwegian poet, Bjornstjeme Bjom- son, is to write the cantata for the dedication of the memorial shaft, and Griegg is to compose the music. Col. T. W. Higginson, in his popular " Young Folks' United States," now in press, maintains, on the contrary, that Gov. Benedict Arnold's will, made in 1677, refers to the Newport relic when he writes, " my stone-built windmill," which resembled struc- tures for the same purpose in England. He also insists that the Norsemen did not wear brass armor, while old Indian warriors did have breastplates made from kettles of that metal; and that inscriptions on Dighton Rock had the same aboriginal origin. n 4j it ilfi 1 m -i :t r h * i m CHAPTER X. the Sea-Boven' Ships, — An Illustrions Emigrant. — Interesting Ceremonies. — Tunnlaug and the Poet Ilafn> —A True Love-Story of the Early Period. — The Beautiful Helga. — An Ancient Poet- Laureate. — He wins the Hand of Helga. — A Gloomy Festival — A Duel. — A Traitor. — The Sad Ending of a Domestic Tragedy in High Life. A NORTHMAN'S ship is among the relics in the University of Norway, and a good speci- men of ancient naval architecture. One of the Sagas gives us an account of Olaf Tiyggvason's galley : " That part of the keel which rested on the ground was a hundred and forty feet long. None but the choicest material was used in its construction. It contained thirty-four rowing- benches, and its stem and stem wei 3 overlaid with gold. Their vessels would compare favorably with those of other nations, which have been used in later times in expeditions around the world, and were in every way adapted for an ocean-voyage. They cer- tainly were as well fitted to cross the Atlantic as were the ships of Columbus. " This ship of Olaf Tryggvason was called the Long Serpent, and was built by the ship-carpenter Thor- berg, who is celebrated in the annals of the north for his ship-building. The Earl Hakon had a dragon containing forty rowing-benches ; King Canute had 66 EMIGRATION OF A COLONY. 67 one containing sixty ; and King Olaf, the saint, pos- sessed two ships capable of carrying two hundred men each. The Norse dragons glided on the waters as gracefully as ducks or swans, of which they also had the form." A graphic description of the emigration of a colony about this time, as it is told in the Sagas, will pos- sess the value of detail and genuine nariative. The chieftain Rolf, or Thorolf, resided in the northern parts of Norway, and, like all other petty kings and chiefs of the country, was the pontiff of religion, as well as the patriarchal head of his clan. Rolf pre- sided in the great temple of Thor, the peculiar national deity of Norway, in the island of Moster ; and wore a long beard, from which he was called Thorolf-Moster-skegg(Thorolf thebeardedof Moster.) Thorolf had incurred the resentment of King Har- rald H^rfager, by giving an asylum to Bjorn, one of Thorolf s relations, who was persecuted by that mon- arch. Harald held an assize, or Thing, and pro- claimed Thorolf an outlaw, unless he surrendered himself, with Bjorn, into the king's hands, within a limited period. Thorolf offered a great sacrifice to his tutelary deity, and consulted the oracle of Thor, whether he should surrender himself to the king, or migrate to Iceland, which had been settled by Ingolf ten years before. The response of the oracle determined him to seek an asylum in this remote and sequestered island. He set saU. carrying with him the earth upon which the throne of Thor had been placed, the image of the god, and the greater part of the w^ooden wo k t ;■ I, 68 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. !■! !l ' I mn of his temple. He took also his goods, his slaveSi and his family. Many friends followed him. When the vessel approached the south-western coast of Iceland, and entered the Faxa-Fiord, the adventurer cast into the sea the columns of the sanc- tuaiy, on which the image of the god was carved ; intending to land wherever they should be carried by the winds and waves. He followed them to the northward, round the promontory of Snaefellsness, and entered the bay on the other side ; to which, from its extreme breadth, he gave the name of Breida-Fjord or Broad-Ford. Here Thorolf landed, and took formal possession of that part of the coast in the ancient accustomed manner, by walkinr^ with a burning firebrand in his hand, round the lauv^s he intended to occupy, and marking the boundaries by setting fire to the grass. He then built a large dwelling-house on the ehores of what was afterwards called the Hofs-vog, or Tem- ple Bay, and erected a spacious temple to Thor, having an entrance-door on each side ; and towards the inner end were erected the sacred columns of the former temple, in which the regin-naglar^ or nails of the divinity, were fastened. Within these columns was a sanctuary, on which is placed a silver ring, two ounces in weight, which was used in the ministration of every solemn oath, and adorned the person of the pontiff-chieftain in every public assembly of the people. The basin for receiv- ing the blood of the sacrifice was placed by the side of the altar, with the instrument of sprinkling ; and around it stood, in separate niches, the images of tl n( AN ICELANDIC ROMANCE. 69 the other deities worshipped by the people of the north. The assize, or Herjar-thing^ of the infant com- munity, was held in the open air near this temple ; and the oaths of the jurors and witnesses were sanc- tioned, amidst the blood of sacrifice, by a soloran appeal to the national deities : " So help me, Freyr, Njord, and the almighty As!"* [that is, Odin], The site of the temple, and the place of the popular assembly, were both considered as consecrated ground, not to be defiled with blood, nor polluted with any of the baser necessities of nature. A tribute was established and collected by Thorolf from all the members of his little community, to defray the expenses of the temple and the worship there maintained. 1 »« . .; Jl. There is a fine romance in the Gunnlaug Saga, which flings a soft, clear light upon the love-affairs of the Icelandic Scandinavians. The best of it is, that there is no doubt about its reality. Thorstein and Illuge, both men of wealth and power, dwelt in the great vale of the Boorgar-Fiord, in the western part of Iceland. The former, who was son to the celebrated poet Egill, had a daughter named Helga, the pride of her family, and the love- liest among the women of the island. In the house of Illugi, the most remarkable person was his young- est son, Gunnlang. Born in 988, he early acquired reputation from his stature, strength, and prowess, •-4s, God; plural, Aesir^ the Gods; here limited to the chief deity by the epithet almighty. 70 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. y inexorable fate ; and this made them bold and fear- less in action. Si *t [ ■;:r i i '<■ V m n If HI iliii CHAPTER XL 4 (Gigantic "Work. — Thorwaldsen's Funeral. — Common Phrases, — * Some Words. — Jack and Jiil. — Old Kick, THE pre-eminent claim of Iceland to the world's grateful admiration is finely presented in a re- cent article in " The Edinburgh Review," on the firsc great lexicon of Icelandic words recently published, which cost ten years' labor of love by Richard Cleasby of the Craig House, Northumberland, Eu- rope's unrivalled linguist, and Gudebrand Vigf usson, who succeeded him at hU death. Mr. Cleasby, while getting the materials at Copen- hagen, March 25, 184-:^, attended the funeral of ;he illustrious Thorv/alusen, a native of Iceland; of which he say&, "The king and qaeen, and whole royal family, were present at the service ; and seven or eight thousand persons followed in the procession. That may be said of him which can b^ said of few, — he has not left his like behind him." After speaking of the fjw remains of the ancient literature of other countries, including England, which are soon exhausted, turning enthusiastically to Iceland, he writes, " Far otherwise is it with the Icelandic, that noble language, the sole depository of literary treasures of Scandinavian races, which would have perished had it not been for faithful Ice- T4 ICELANDIC WORDS. 75 land." Every tribe once traced their origin to Odin, or Wodin. Dr. Dasent says, " No other country in Europe possesses an ancient vernacular to be compared to this. No romance-literature, and the homilies, and works of religious edification, as well as those on physical and moral science, whether literary or philosophical, can compete with that of Iceland." The reviewer inquires, What could we do without such words as call^ skilly score^ same, its^ mieting^ cast^ skin (hide is Anglo-Saxon), which are all of Icelandic or old Norse origin ? A few samples of fugitive phrases from the lone island will reveal further our literary indebtedness to it: — Brag (to boast), Icelandic hrag^ rumor, renown. C%ap, kappi^ a fighting man, a hero. Dandy, ddindi, any thing good ; ddindis mati, a worthy fellow. The word has certainly changed its signification considerably. Fellow, filag, a comrade ; literally, one who goes shares in money. To go the whole hog. This signifies, it is thought, to do all in one stroke, "hog" to be the Icelandic hogg. The Icelanders similarly speak of doing some- thing "me hoggi," all at once. Land-luhher. In the early part of last century, the word was spelt •' loper ; " " land-loper " was a vagabond who begged in the attire of a sailor, and the sea-phrase " land-lubber " was synonymous. Ninny-hammer (a silly fellow). The old Norse used einn-hammer to signify a man in his right senses ; with nei before it, it would have a contrary meaning, and may have originated our word. is . * '. i * "T.iu. ^^i m p fli ! 11 ■' ■ fP ;! 76 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. it r: ■ ■ i ' iliii 1; ■ fh; H;',' 1 :: '1 "ii !|l 1i i ! , ^i IP Ransack : Icelandic ramacha has the same meaning. Skulk., skelk, fear, from the verb skelka., to frighten, related to skjdifa., to tremble. Some translated Icelandic words and terms are added as a key to many others. The letter a, sounded like ow., is river, and is the ending of the names of the streams. Bru is bridge ; therefore Bruard is Bridge River. Hvit is wliite, and vatn water, which makes Hvitavatn, White Water. Jokull is pronounced yo-kut-1, or, in the rapid utterance of the Icelanders, yokul, the distinc- tive term applied to the ice-crowned mountains. Fell is pronounced fee-et-1, fee-aht-1, and fee-at-1, and designates other suiiimits not capped with snow. Bla is blue, suae snow ; and we have Blafell, oi a blue mountain, standing alone, an isolated peak in the middle of a plain. A celebrated mountain in the west of Iceland is Snaefdl Jokull (snef-el yo-kul').f a snowy mountain standing alone, and covered with perpetual ice ; and thus, in the comprehensive lan- guage of the Icelanders, it is all expressed in two words. Oroefa signifies desert, or sandy plain, and torf is turf, or peat. There are two mountains, Oroefa Jokull and Torf a JokulL; one standing in a desert, and the other in a large peat-district. South of Hecla is a lofty and celebrated mountain, known as the Eyjafjalla Jokull. To the English reader, unac- quainted with the Icelandic, it is a crooked-looking mouthful ; but on the tongue of an Icelancikr it flows off a round, smooth, ':onorous term. They call it i- a-fe-«/ii-la ^o-kull. it defines itself as ice mountain that of islands, havmg numerous knobs, or ^^ ..ut^, ':,j^j.v ICELANDIC WORDS. 77 f^iiiui] up like islands in the sea. Many Icelandic words are identical with the English, and many otheiH nearly so. It remains for some future lexicog- raphor to Bhow ilie great number of English words tldfiyiii] hnin iUo Icelandic. Ilestr is a horse, holt a hill, hUs a house, hval a whale, lang long, men men, THUdf man, sandr sand, sitha the side, litil little, mikla large (Scottish, muckle^^fjorth a firth or bay, Tcirkja a church, preatur a priest, morgum morning, wa; ox, daga days. "July, or midsummer month," stands literally in Icelandic, Julius eda mithsumar-manu- thur, J, at the beginning of words and syllables in the Icelandic, is pronounced like 1/ consonant, and in the middle of a syllable, like i or long e. Their affirmative, yes, is jd (pronounced yot^), and their no is net (nay). Their counting is much like ours : einn (1), tveir (2), thrir (3), fj6rir (4), fimm (5), sex (6), sjo (7), atta (8), niu (9), tiu (10), fimmtigir (50), hundrad ClOO), thusund (1000). The date 1874 in words is " einn thusund dtta hun- drad sjotigir og fj6rir." *' Jack andJill went up a hill To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down, and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after." It is interesting to trace this familiar nursery rhyme to Iceland ; to find there also the origin of many common phrases, whose origin not many well- read people suspect. Jack and Jill are mentioned in the " Younger Edda," under the names Hjuki and Bil (which have become, in course of time, Jack and Jill), as fetching 7» 78 THE ISLAND OF FIR. water from the well Byrger. They were taken up iuto heaven to follow the moon. Hjuke signifies the quickening, Bil the failing ; and their attendance on the moon simply means that it waxes and wanes. The bucket of water evidently refers to the effect of the orb upon the weather. It will be seen, that, like the Germans, Icelanders, when they want a new word, do not go to some for- eign tongue, but manufacture one from their own language, and always describe forcibly the fresh thought or object for which it is needed. We must even go to the Northmen tc find " Old Nick." Ilnikars was r title of Odin ; and, when he disappeared before the light of Christianity, " Old Nick " remained, and multiplied in the kingdoms from which he had retired. In Norway, No'k hauf)t«i lakes and rivers, demanding annu»illy a human offer- |p|^ In Sweden, Neck is a han/lMoniu young man, with his extremities like a horse j i ki/id of water- centaur. And here we Kave a bit of fairy romance, the moral of which is very beautiful. " Once upon a time, an old priest wtis ambling homewards on his nag ; and as, towards eveniall, he ineared 4 pooL to his astonishment he saw a lad, naked to the WAKt, sitting on the surface of the water, hiss long ^>lden curls flt^ating over his delicate shoulders from beneath a jaunty red cap. The Neck held a shining harp in his hand ; and from it rang the sweetest harmony as he chanted, ' I know, I know that my Rtnleemei liveth.* The old priest was indignant that a Neck should ti A FAIRY ROM AN ""E. n apply these words to himself ; and in his zeal he cried to him, ' Why dost thou sound thy harp so gleefully O Neck ? Sooner shall this dried cane that I hold in my hand grow green, and blosvsom, than thou shalt obtain salvation.' Thereupon the gentle minstrel flung aside his harp, and rocked himselL bitterly weeping, on the water. The priest turned his horse, and continued his course. But, lo ! before he had proceeded far, he noticed that tender shoots and leaves began to bud forth from his old staff, soon bursting into most glorious and fnu^raait flowers ; so that, as the old man rode, he seen^tid like some saint bearing a branch from paradise- This seemed to him a sign from heaven, direcnng him to preach redemption after another fashion. He therefore hastened back, and found die sobbing Neck on liia pool, which was full of water, ready to trickle over, like an eye full of tears just ere they fall.'* ■— ?=» — CHAPTER XIT. The Icelander' s Home. — Dinner at Vidoe. — Occupations. — Dress. • Education, — Schools. — Pastoral Care. — Sabbath Scenes, ODD homes have these enlightened Icelanders. The dwelling of a well-to-do farmer resembles a small village. The picture of Grettir's birthplace at Bjarg will furnish a partial view. " How they build houses in a country with no trees and no brick-kilns," is a natural and interest- ing question. We will look over a snug farmhouse, and see. Its front view, to begin with, is unlike that of any other civilized mortal's home. It is composed of half a dozen gable ends of low cottages, all joined together at the sides into a single habitation, facing the north. This point of the compass is the most common outlook. On the ridges are horns, or unpre- tending vanes ; below them, doors painted red, in this instance, as the dwellings frequently have them. Excepting the few houses built of imported or drift wood, the roof is covered with grass, and the walls are blocks of lava, laid one upon the other, six feet in thickness, and four and a half high, making a miniature fortress. Over these rises the narrow arch- way of roo^, whose rafters are the ribs of a whale, or whatever can be picked up, which will serve the purpose ; and on these is spread the coarse turf 80 A FARMnOUSE. 81 Tlirough it, here and thore, the light enters hy three or four inches square of glass and the opening over the kitchen-fire. We go through a long narrow passage-way, from which are entrances to the different apartments. The bathstofa, or kitchen, is the most importa nt of them to a hungry traveller. Around the forge-like fireplace, on the floor, or stored in corners, lie the few utensils for cooking. These prepare the sago- soup, the mutton, stock-fish, lichen , skyr, and curds. Milk and " corn-brandy " are common. The lichens are made quite palatable by cooking. The skier is a kind of cheese, made of milk and rennet, and the curds not unlike those everywhere made from milk. The sour whey is the common drink. The stock-fish are the cod and haddock, split, the backbone removed, and dried fresh in the pure air and winds, then eaten like bread, with or without butter. The natives prefer the last article »our ; in which condition the butter will keep for years. The family bedroom is one apartment, with lock- ers on each side, under the low roof, resembling the berths in the ship's side of the hold. To a stranger accustomed to more space and better ventilation, they are not at first inviting. In the few villages, many of the houses are built of imported lumber; and occasionally one is more spacious, and neatly finished and well furnished. Of the dwellings at the capital, as he saw them, " swept and garnished " for a holiday, Taylor writes, " The best houses in Reykjavik are very much alike. There is usually a hall about large enough to puU h n lil 1' 4 _!•*! d2 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. 1 \ ' ',-A ' ' ! iiliil m Li'i I II off an overcoat in, then the reception-room, and beyond it the salon where the ladies receive their guests. White curtains, pots of flowers in the win- dows, a carpet on the floor, a sofa, centre-table with books and photographs, are the invariable features of this apartment ; and the guest easily forgets both lat- itude and locality while conversing with a grave, earnest-faced young lady upon Shakspeare, German literature, or the latest music." The summer-time is given to the business of the farm, including the cultivation of the few vegetables sometimes planted in the small gardens. In the late winter and spring months, is gathered the harvest of the ocean, the abundance of fish. Men come from a great distance, in the darkness of the long night, to the coast, to engage in this indis- pensable yet rough occupation. With the meal and skyr they get for their labor, they dry, and carry to their homes, the supply of fish on which they mainly depend for subsistence the rest of the year. The stems and roots of the angelica are gathered for food, and eaten raw with butter, also the rumex ; one species furnishing when steeped a pleasant bev- erage. The lichens are an important article of food. Of the diandria, and other willows and plants, ink and dyes are made. To gather the lichen islandicus in the deserts of Skaaptar-fel, companies come from a great distance, and encamp among the rocks, transporting in their panniers on the backs of their ponies the gathered loads to the factory at Reykjavik, or elsewhere, and sell to the Danish merchants. f .i;- A WINTER EVENim SCENE. H • The wild com, and other coarse products, are ground in hand-mills of original pattern, but resem- bling all similar manual machines. . • During the ^rinlci' imprisonment, as we should regard it, the men prepare for spring toil, and tend their flocks ; the women dress the wool and eider- down, and look after the usual details of domestic life. i ,. We will enter a home-circle upon one of the long winter nights. High winds toss the falling snow from the cliffs, and almost bury with a white mantle the humble dwelling. Parents, children, and domes- tics are seated on their lockers, or stools, in the prin- cipal apartment, under the light of the single lamp suspended from the ceilinP". A member of the group designated takes from the shelf an ancient Saga, or Shakspeare or Milton, in their native language, and reads aloud, while the rest hsten, with busy hands in various work. ^ _ , ■ > , Sometimes, owing to the scarcity of bc>oks in this " sequestered country," recitations from some favor- ite historical poem will be the entertainment. Such domestic scenes have been common for centuries in Iceland. *.v ■ '-ur ^' v^v.*- ^■„-..^"':i '>■. Very young children will read excellently, and write with elegance. -^ v There are here, as everywhere, the abodes of pov- erty in rags ; ;nd there is generally, and naturally, from the scanty materials for building, the small houses in consequence, and the isolated manner of life, great indifference to neatness, often repulsive to strangers. Nor was theie ever, from the days when I i'4 >4. 1 .*• ^ IM IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) t J.O I.I ^ 1^ 12.2 :!: 1^ III 2.0 1.8 L25 illiu IINI.6 c& ^ Wa ^ rf 'm w» ^m '/A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAtN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (7(6) 872-4503 tmmra ' 4'> L

mF^ 84 TffE mi AND OF FIRE. 'r I i Norwegian vikings threw the bones at each other, their hands and mouths had picked, across Odin's hall, that regard for domestic refinements, so far as external habits are concerned, to which most nations, even those less enlightened, are accustomed. There was a rough civility at the festal board, and little care how they got their nightly rest. Some travellers record a curious custom, which does not appear, however, to have been geneial in the island, respecting entertainment at night in their iso- lated homes. When a guest retires to his room, the wife or daughter of the host assists the traveller in preparing for rest. After depositing by his pillow a little lunch, the really modest attendant offers to " lend a helping hand '^ in the disrobing for the couch, whose covering she has turned down for his reception. When under the coverlet of down, and sinking into it beneath him, she tucks him up, and leaves him with a good-night kiss. Such has been for centuries the simple and sincere hospitality of the pure-hearted Icelanders. Around the culinary department, are a bedroom, dairy, fuel-room, storehouse, outhouse, and sometimes a smithy. No morning dawns on a summer night, unless we dignify with the name of night, twilight for an hour or two. The sun is high in the heavens at six o'clock ; when you do not look out of the window, having none, but only catch through a pane of glass in the roof, or a crevice, the gleams of the flood of light poured over the still landscape. Soon after the wife or daughter enters with a cup of coffee for refreshment, before rising. Sipping this, M i;iii!l!i llif HOSPITALITr. 85 and making toilet, you emerge into tlie bathstofa, and thence into the glorious solitude of nature. The kindly summons to breakfast breaks in upon quiet meditation, followed by a retvirn to the bath- stofa, to sit on a locker, witn a plate in hand or by a table, to be served with a joint of good mutton, skyr, and, it may be, fresh fish and milk. It has been customary for men to eat firit, the women following by themselves ; not as a mark of inferiority, but a notion founded on their Hebrew ideas of the j roper relation of the sexes, along with the inconvenience of all eating together. Especially is it an honorable custom for the ladies of the house, when guests are entertained, to wait upon the table. Politeness is ingrained in their very natiires. The humblest peasant lifts his cap to another when they meet. They shake hands together with the air of nobility. The "powdered weed" they carry in a horn flask like that we use for ammunition, and, throwing back the head, tip the small end into the nostril. The Icelandei's c)£fer their hospitahty freely to strangers ; and as iii the experience of a recent trav- eller, who, when he handed one of them money for showing him the way to a dwelling, laughingly ran away, do not expect nor desire compensation for trivial acts of friendly aid. Owing to their Hmited means, they do receive, and sometimes, like humanity the world over, ask, a high price for services requir- ing time and toil. One could scarcely believe, without the testimony of some of England's noblest men, who were guests *» ' ill h Ml A i t t 86 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. m sixty years ago, that such a dinner as we shall briefly describe could have been spread on the isle of Vidoe, among the eider-ducks, by Stiptamptmadr, or Ex- Gov. Stephensen, who had the sinecure of the island given him for life, in recognition of hiu " distin- guished services." Sixty engravings hung on the walls of the house built of stone. The governor was dressed in full ofl&cial suit, — coat of scarlet cloth, turned up with green, and ornamcnced with lace ; pantaloons of blue cloth, trimmed with gold lace ; half-boots with gold bii:* dings ; and three-cornered hat with gold tassels. But to the dinner. The ladies, as is the rule, were the waiters. They first served a large tureen of soup, made of sago, raisins, and claret ; next, two boiled fresh salmon ; then came another tureen, filled with boiled eggs of sea- fowl, with sauce of cream and sugar ; the succeeding course was roast mutton, with prepared herbs ; and, finally, waffles, with coffee and wines. The worst of it is, it is expected that a guest, for the first time, will eat freely of each course, whether surfeited or not. To do otherwise would be an mcivility . The full dress of the fashionable ladies of the olden time was often gorgeous. Here is a sample, bought by a tourist half a century ago. The underskirt iv of blue cloth, with a waist of scarlet, ornamented with gold lace, and silver loop- holes for lacing it. Strips of black velvet co\ er the seams the whole length, and similar ones of blue fabric, stamped, run across the bottom. Over the waist is worn a jacket of black cloth, having on ita I- -■: m\ COSTUMES. 81 front two strips, same color, and a like number of gold lace. Upon the" shoulders and back are slips of orange velvet. The belt is black velvet, with rich silver-gilt ornaments. The ruff is of the mate- rial in the belt, black and crimson, bright with silver lace ; and, connected with it, a tippet of rich black and brown velvet. Plated silver chains and medals were also worn. With all these trappings upon a beautiful form, the fair Icelander must have presented a 'ery strik- ing contrast to the world around her ; especially if slie were walking out upon the lava pavement, under the shadow of some savage cliff, with only the ever- present raven for her companion. If going to church or a reception, a cloak of wadmal, fastened by three large, convex, figured silver buttons, was thrown over her shoulders. The head-dress was made of white linen or cotton, shaped Hke a large flat horn, leaning forwards. On horseback (the side-saddle somewhat like the circular seat of an arm-chair), she wore over that a conbal cap, completely covering and protect- ing it. A tall " beaver " of the sugar-loaf style, without a brim, would give a good idea of this curi- ous covering. The girls and boys wore gaudy little caps. The men have not been peculiar and showy in their wardrobe since the ancient days of the no- bility and chieftains. Their jackets of wadmal have a resemblance to ouv sacks, and their hats to the common felts. They are quite equal to the average American ph3''sically. Their height is medium, or a little below; com- •I n- > J CSTS I ill ll!l III I,' II 88 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. plexion very light and ruddy; hair blonde, and seldom curled; their eyes blue or gray; and their " build " compact, rather than graceful. Their gen- eral physique does not, however, differ materially from that of the Anglo-Saxon. Physicians have never been numerous in Iceland, for two reasons: invalids do not abound, and the patients are scattered sparsely over the wild country. Sometimes the doctor's circuit will have a diameter of a hundred miles or more. Four physicians have the island in charge, one each to the four divisions. There are no liomoeopaths, electricians, or hydropaths there. The world's *' peacemakers " have never been wanting in Iceland. No visitor to a court-room of our day listens to keener retorts, more artful eva- sions, or sharper chicanery, than were heard in the Althing, long before a parliament sat in London. But, unlike our present, they had no " members of the bar," as such. All the leading men were Iheii. own attorneys ; from boyhood studying the verbal, and then the written enactments by which they were governed. Everybody must have an education in Iceland. Re- flect upon this marvel of history, — in such a country, in mere huts, amid loneliest, barrenest solitudes, culture that would shine in tne most brilliant circles of our " best society." Such triumphs of mind and Iieart as this nation presents have no parallel in all the wide world's arena of knowledge and virtue. The school-year is from October to the end of May; the remaining four months of vacation are fii 1-1 1 iii bjMilr! EDUCATION. 89 devoted to rural pursuits, in which all classes are to share. After mastering Latin, and making some progress in Hebrew and Greek, with the rules of interpreta- tion of the Old and New Testaments, the student becomes a demissus; that is, leaves school to studi/ at home. Here he reads ecclesiastical history, homi- letics, &c. Some scholars, in addition, visit Copen- hagen or Stockholm, or both, to complete their general culture. Most of the churches and families have libraries, in which " light literature," beyond the romances of the old Sagas, has no placo. A vast number of manuscripts on various subjects, from Sagas to science, have been deposited in libraries at^the Danish capital, and transferred to private collections. Excepting the few who attend the academical course at Reykjavik, the children pur- sue their studies under the parental roof. We have a pleasant sketch of this part of domestic life, in Mr. Byrce's "Impressions of Iceland." In one regard "the women of Iceland have obtained completer equality than their sisters in Continental Europe. They receive exactly the same education as the men do. There are no schools in the islands, natural^, as families live mostly a dozen miles apart ; and instruc- tion is therefore given by the father to his sons and daughters alike and together; the priest — where there is a priest — sometimes adding a little Latin or Danish. Thus the girl learns all her parents can teach her ; and is as good an arithmetician, jmd as familiar with the Sagas, as her brothers. Accomplish^ 8» ,' s 1 Ill rr M'!i!!i 90 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. ments, of coui-se, are pretty well out of the question j painting, not only from the difficulty of procuring materials, but because there is really nothing to paint; dancing, because you can seldom gather a sufficiently large party, and have no rooms big enough ; instrumental music, on account of the im- possibility of transporting a piano over rocks and bogs on the back of a pony. Nevertheless, we found in a remote house (a good wood house, by the way) upon the coast, where we were hospitably entertained for a day and night, not only a piano, but several young ladies who could play excellently on it, and a guitar, accompanying themselves to songs in four or five languages ; the Swedish, as we thought, the prettiest of all." Their drinking cTistoms are those qf the times before the temperance lecturer was abroad, and who has not yet visited Iceland. Wine or corn-brandy is always offered to guests, yet drunkenness is com- paratively rare. The/ have not the temptation of social excitements, nor have they ever seen the blight- ing curse of alcohol as it is forced upon our observa tion in constant and wide-spread ruin. t- ^!,i CHAPTER XIII, An Icelandic Funeral. — A "Wedding. — Kissing. — Peril of an TgnO" rant Bride. — The Parish Church Scene. — Eeligious Character. —Parish Register. — Yule. "TTXE have from a spectator a sketch of an Ice- VV lander's funeral. The body of a sailor who died upon the sea was borne to the beach, where it was met by the clergyman, dressed in his priestly robe. The small procession moved toward the nar- row enclosure of unmarked mounds, the rlinister chanting as they entered it, joined by the people, till the plain coffin rested*in its lava-grave. With a wooden spade he then threw a little earth on it, repeating words like those in the beautiful burial-service, " Dust to dust," &c. The chanting followed again, until the grave was filled. Then, in silence, the group placed their hats before their faces in prayer. With a reverent bow of respect and farewell to the dead, they walked with serious air away. To this the marriage-ceremony furnishes a pleasant contrast. The bride in full dress, attended by her mother, is seated one side of the par- ish church. On the opposite side is the bridegroom in sealskin slippers fastened by cross-bands of white tape, and striped garters around about his legs, accom- panied by his friends, indulging in the common luxury 01 I 92 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. of snuff. The pastor commences the service with a chant, and those present follow him. After prayer the happy couple come forward to listen to the long exhortation. The usual questions are asked, and the hands joined by the clergyman, who also lays his hands in benediction upon their shoulders. They are conducted to their separate seats, and chanting closes the wedding. Upon leaving the church the bride leads the pro- cession, with her group of female friends ; the bride- groom follows with his company. After the supper the bride retires ; and, when her new lord "^.rrives at the apartment, he finds it barricaded with the fiiends of the bride. He is not permitted to pass them until ho pledges a generous gift to his wife. A clergyman might decline to maiTy a coapis if the bride were unable to read. The old Northmen's statute fined a man, for kiss- ing an unmarried woman without her consent, three marks of silver ; money enough V) buy a suit of clothes. If the victim were a wife or widow, exclu- sion was the penalty ; that is, 'mprisonment within certain Umits around his home for monthrs or years. Elopement was punished with banishment. Surely fair lips and peaceful homes were pro- tected, by the strong arm of the law, against any other arm more tangible, yet less dreaded by lovers. A kiss is now the common "good-night,'* and the morning salutation, and v.rh8never they meet each other by the wayside. The following story from the Laxdaela-Saga will serve to show in what light marriage was regarded in A MATRIMONIAL STORY. 98 e Iceland, and in what a very equivocal manner a mater-familiaa sometimes exercised her authority. Olaf, the son of HiJskuld and Melkorka, was accompanied, we are told, on his return from Nor- way, where he had been to purchase timber, by one of his old sea-roving friends, named Geirmund, at whose house he hid passed the winter. Geirmund, ill his turn, became the winter guest of Olaf in Ice- land, and soon fell in love with that chieftain's daughter, the beautiful Thurida. Olaf, though he was very fond of his Norwegian friend, would not hear talk of a marria-^e. Geir- mund, seeing that he had no chance of succeeding with the young lady's father, began to flatter her mother Thorgerda, and, by dint of entreaties and costly presents, at length obtained her consent. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp ; Olaf invit- ing his numerous friends and dependents to a sump- tuous feast in a large banque ting-hall he had recently erected, the walls of which were hung with tapestry representing the story of Baldur and the prowess of Thor. When Geirmund had passed three j^ears in the married state, he began to weary of his wife ; . and Thorgerda was at length obliged to tell her hus- band that she had ascertained that their son-in-law intended to return to Norway, leaving Thurida and her daughter Groa without making any provision for their support. Olaf said the marriage was her doing, not his ; and, instead of showing any sign of displeas- ure, he was more friendly than usual with Geirmund, and even mad e him a present of a fine trading-vessel, being probably very glad to get rid of him. Geir- ■'Sl m ■ n ;<3 ]]'■' 'It ^ ;r«i m H THE ISLAND OF FIRE. i i |!""l!i i' ' i ; "ii 1^ , ,; 1 i 1 1 II liJii iil mund went on board this vessel, and wan waiting only for a favorable wind, when one morning, at break of day, Thurida entered the eabin when ho was asleep, placed lier child in his bed, and, taking a splendid sword wl.ich she knew he set great value on, got into her boat, and told her men to row off again. Geirmund awoke at the moment, and, becoming aware of what had happened, called en his wife to come back, and take Groa, and return him his sword ; for which he offered to give her any sum she might think proper to demand. Thurida told him that she would do no such thing ; that he had acted dishonor- ably towards her, and that they were no longer man and wife ; and accordingly returned home, and gave Geirraund's sword to her cousin Bolli. Thurida, after this proceeding, could of course re-marry ; and we presume, that, in those days, the want of maternal affection she had evinced by exchanging her only child for a sword, would not have prevented her from finding a second husband. The Icelander's religious faith has for centuries been very simple, and often, as everywhere, superfi- cial ; but infidelity, in its multiplying forms among us, is unknown. If no other volumes are in his dwelling, the Bible, and books for church-services, are there ; and, in their scattered homes, prayer and praise ascend to the in- finite Father and Saviour of all who trust in him. Before setting out on a journey, it has been the custom to invoke a blessing ; and, when the fishing- boat was ready, for the crew, reverently placing their RKLIGIOUS SERVICEB. 95 hats before their faces, to pray for suecess and safe- ty, repeating ihc same ceremony upon reaching their destination. In seasons of great calamity, days of public fast- ing and prayer were appointed. The Icelander's sabbath, like that of colonial New England, which has not yet wholly disappeared from its valleys, commences at six o'clock Saturday even- ing, and closes the same hour the following day. To have made simset the evening limit would give three hours of day in midwinter, and nearly twenty-three in summer. Baronet Mackenzie's picture is touching, in its simplicity, of the sabbath scenes, the religious character of the people, and the pastor's relation to his parish. " The ordinary service of the churches, in Iceland, consists of prayer, psalms, a sermon, and readings from the Scriptures. The prayers and readings are rather chanted than spoken by the priest, who per- forms this part of the service at the altar of the church. The sermons appear in general to be pre- viously composed, and are delivered from notes. Of the style and character of these compositions, we had not the means of forming an accurate judgment ; but, in those instances where we attended the public worship of the country, it seemed from the warm and impassioned manner of their delivery, and from the frequent use of the figure of interrogation, that a powerful appeal was made to the feelings, as well /«.s to the understanding, of the audience. In the ccnduct of the religious service, much decorum is maix^^tained. ■I ■) i .<5 M".;: if \H -I 1 ;- ' : 96 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. " The moral and religious habits of the people at large may be spoken of in terms of the most exalted commendation. In his domestic capacity the Ice- lander performs all tho duties which his situation re- quires, or renders possible : and while, by the severe labor of his hands, he obtains a provision of food for his children, is it not less his care to convey to tbeir minds the inheritance of knowledge and virtue. In his intercourse with those around him, his char- acter displays the stamp of honor and integrity. His religious duties are performed with cheerfulness and punctuality ; and this even amidst the numerous obstacles which are afforded by the nature of the country, and the climate under which he lives. The sabbath scene at an Icelandic church is one of the most singular and interesting kind. The little edifice, constructed of wood and turf, is situated perhaps amid the rugged ruins of a stream of lava, or beneath mountains which are covered with never- melting snows ; in a spot where the mind almost sinks under the silence and desolation of surround- ing nature. Here the Icelanders assemble to per- form the duties of their religion. A group of male and female peasants may be seen gathered about the church, waiting the arrival of their pastor ; all hab- ited in their best attire, after the manner of the country,; their children with them ; and the horses, which brought them from their respective homes, grazing quietly around the little assembly. The ar- rival of a new-comer is welcomed by every one with the kiss of salutation ; and the pleasures of social intercourse, so rarely enjoyed by the Icelanders, ara .^.^^^^ m^iumh^^^ o ac on Q »-^ b o o U H IsuHHI II ii^i^ ■1 1' Mill I'? 1) ""P^ ;_ii>l^.* ) 1 fT I N \l • ( It ' i ■mv PASTOR AND PEOPLE. 91 Iiappily connected with the occasion which summons them to the discharge of their religious duties. The priest makes his appearance among them as a friend : he salutes individually each member of his flock, and stoops down to give his almost parental kiss to the little ones who are to grow up under his pastoral charge. These offices of kindness performed, they all go together into the house of prayer." The young people are certainly sensible in relation to marriage, which usually takes place between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. In the year 1858 there were four hundred and eighty-seven weddings, and in no instance were the parties under twenty. There were tb^ee suicides, sixty-five drowned, seven- teen died of other accidents, and nineteen hundred and thirty-nine of disease. Four hundred and eighty-nine children died between the p.ges of one and five, and only sixty-eight between five and ten. Fifteen persons lived to be over ninety, and five to be nearly a century old. We have a page copied from the records kept by a quiet, faithful pastor. There are two views, through the lattice-work of this record, into the interior life of the Icelanders, — their moral and religious culture, and the origin of surnames. The pastoral care is next to the parental, in watch- ful oversight of the family, without interfering at all with the proper authority of the father and mother. The presence of the preacher is not dreaded as an interference with domestic order or social frce- dcm and innocent pleasures. 8 i i'^^, mmmm 98 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. '! M til 3 i I a 6 O S Mb; s a o I 3 o eS fc. O t! a " > c9 ; q Q 4 ft ft ;zi •pauuguoo ^ Q » A Q 12, 1 g Oi C; 00 t» lO o ■■-< a I I g « d £ * o ■a s ^ •1^ o S 5 II 5 "3. a 7 (»« ■a J- ?.§ £S O CO ss I? ©•« -"3 Co •CO si * OJ o «£« •C fl _ « :« ■Cod ©d" IS SI <« S2 •a5 . O tj dx! O — tc«a— ajdcja-S A > 01 n Aim 2"« a C o 4) •50 be «;-• S a -o A d • !« c«0 S d d d d ! (H A Q 1 S d d d d IH « Q 1^ a ^ 1 5 « 2 JO 5,« «o ce *: « . 2d -as S "^S d 1-5 3 oc ^ tcC d d c- -S J^3 o o d« Si'? CHRISTMAS. 99 Id christening the children, the boy's name is taken from the Christian name of his father, adding sun to it ; and the daugliter adds dottir in the same manner. Yule, or Christmas, has ever been the anticipated holiday at the north, as it is, indeed, by the young everywhere. In towns the women go forth with lanterns to the markets, to make purchases for the joyous occasion ; the fabulous Santa Claus contrib- utes to the excitement ; and feasting, wine, and rev- elry have been the unfailing variety in this annual gathering. Old and young enter into the festivities and amusements with an enthusiasm which lights up with intensest social pleasure the long winter of darkness relieved only by a diurnal noon. In the marking of time, the mountains are some- times used as diala, indicating by their shadows the hour of the day. The day was divided into morning vigil, 2, A.M. ; mid-morning, 5, A.M. ; shepherds' ris- ing, 8, A.M. ; high-day, or noon ; nona, 2, P.M. ; mid- evening, 6, P.M. ; night, 8, p.m. ; midnight, 11, p.m. Watches and clocks, even yet, are not common. i- ' :) i ■^]\ :o r CHAPTER XIV. • f ; i 1 1 t i i 1 1. .4^ IN 1 Flienoinena ( f the Heavens. —Mock Swns.— Storm Kings.— Auro ra. — Meteors. — Tempests. — Icelander's Wealth. — Domestic An* imals. — Swans and Ravens, — The Eider-Duck, and its Down. — The Sacred Bird. — Reindeer. — Salmon-Festival. — Sheep Gath- ering. THE Icelanders have, for their alternately long days and nights, fine displays upon the skies ; while the same kind we have here are much more beautiful in their pure, transparent air. Mock suns, sometimes nine of them at once, will blaze around the " king of day." When thickening haze changes the blue to gray, brilliant storm-rings herald the conn'ng tempest. Night, with the twilight, has her peculiar glories. It is Christmas, a little after one o'clock in the after- noon. We walk: out to watch the declining sun from the hill. The iron cliffs are tipped and belted with golden light, until the brown heather wears a blush of deepest hu(5. The sea flashes back the farewell splendor, as the orb sinks for a score of hours be- neath the horizon. The colors fade gradually into the starry night, and away to t]ae north come out the scarlet stream- ers of the aurora. From the zenith they stretch to the horizon, swaying and quivering as if they were moved by the frosty wind, until the grim rock be- 100 BEAUTY OF THE SCENERY. 101 neath and around glows in the mystical radiance they fling over the dark " Maid of the North," as the Icelanders fondly call their cherished island. We have no more tha: * faint idea of this exhibition on an arctic sky. Then such meteors as dart across the arch, with their transient lines of silver, in quick succession ! But there are great contrasts to these: winter nights, when the hurricane rages and howls till the lava-houses tremble, and the heavens seem a fright- ful chaos of warring elements; or when the snow comes down in blinding storms, and buries all the blackness of mountain and valley and plain with its drifted wealth of crystal mist from the frost-king's arctic stores. The wild beauty of the northern scenery struck the poetic soul of Alfieri, as it must that of every other traveller of genius and sensibility. He was moved by the magnificent splendor of its winter nights ; and, above all, by the rapid transition from the rudeness of that season to the mild bloom of spring. "Oh! 'tis the touch of fairy hand That wakes the sprmg of northern land. It warms not there by slow degrees, With changeful pulse, the uncertam breeze; But sudden on the wondering sight Bursts forth the beam of living light, And instant verdure springs around, And magic flowers bedeck the ground." The graceful swan and the eider-duck are the only birds valuable to the Icelander. They fmnish him I f! : i ' I .:j I, 102 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. quills and down for his own use, and foi market. The swans are killed upon the solitary lakes. But the harvesting of down, and the habits of the duck, are too interesting to pass without a visit to their favorite island Videy. And no better companion to describe what we can see on Vidoe, can we have than Baronet Mackenzie, the polished, gentle, truthful historian of Iceland. It is early June. " The eider-ducks had now assembled in great numbers to nestle : at all other times of the year these birds are perfectly wild. They are protected by the laws, a severe penalty being inflicted on any person who kills one. During the breeding season, the fine is thirty dollars for each bird. As our boat approaches the shore, we pass through multitudes of these beautiful fowls, which scarcely give themselves the trouble to go out of the way. Between the land- ing-place and the old governor's house, the ground is strewed with them ; and it requires some caution to avoid treading on the nests. The drakes walk about, uttering a sound very like the cooing of doves, and are even more familiar than the common domes- tic ducks. All around the house, on the garden-wall, on the roofs, and even in the inside of the houses, and in the chapel, are ducks sitting on their nests. " Such as have not been long on the nest leave it on being approached ; but those that have more than one or two eggs sit perfectly quiet, suffering us to touch them, and sometimes making a gentle use of their bills to remove our hands. If a drake happens to be near his mate, he is extremely agitated if any one approaches her. He passes and repasses between EIDER DUCK. 103 her and the object of his suspicion, raising his head, and cooing. •'The nei^ts are lined with down, which the duck takes from her own breast ; apd there is a sufficient quantity laid around the nest for covering up the eggs when the duck goes to feed, which is generally during the time of low water. The '^ 3wn, which is a valuable article of commerce, is removed at two dif- ferent times from the nest. Sometimes the poor duck is compelled to provide a fourth lining ; and, when her down is exhausted, the drake supplies the deficiency. *' A certain number of eggs is also removed, as they are esteemed a great delicacy. Our good friend at Vidoe used to send us two hundred at a time. When boiled hard, they are tolerably good, but much inferior to the eggs of common poultry. Swan's eggs are superior, and really excellent, when boiled hard. "When taken from the nest, the eider-down is mixed with feathers and straws. To separate them, and make the down fit for market, is part of the em- ployment of the women during winter. As soon as the young birds leave the eggs, the duck takes them on her back, and swims to a considerable distance from the shore. She then dives, and leaves the little ones to exercise themselves in swimming about. As soon as they have the use of their feet in this way, the duck return':, and becomes their guidi'. Several broods, often great numbers, join company, and are seen quite wild for a few weeks ; after which they totally disappear." 104 THE ISLAND OF FIRE, The wealth of the Icelandic farmer is estimated by the number of his horses, cows, and sheep. No 8\iine have an enclosure neajhis house; no geese and ducks float on the waters, and salute him with the music so familiar to the yeomanry of other lands. His Esquimau dog is his only domestic animal, ex- cepting very small ones, often haunting the interior of his habitation. Rats and mice do not gambol under his roof of turf, nor in the solid walls : he does not, therefore, need the services of the cat, excepting in Danish factories, in a few of the towns, to which rats were brought over in ships. The ravens in pairs make themselves at home around every dwelling, to devour such garbage as may be thrown within their reach. You can see, everywhere, these sombre birds perched on the house-tops, or ledges not far distant. The raven held the highest rank among birds in the old mythology of the north. We have an illustration in .the battle of Thromund and Thorbiorre, who inter- pret the prophecies of the bird : — THR. **Hark! the raven's croak I hear: '. Lol the bird of fate is near. In the dawn, with dusky wings, Hoarse the song of death she sings. Thus in days of yore she sang, When the dm of battle rang, When the hour of death drew nigh, And mighty chiefs were doomed to die, THOE. The raven croaks; the warriors slain With blood her dusky wings distain; h-:\ \ ARCTIC BfhDS. 106 Tired, her movninff prey she seeks. And with blood and carnage reeks. Thus, perched upon an aged oak. The boding bird was heard to croak; When all the plain with blood was spread, Thirsting for the mighty dead." The great varieties of arctic birds, many of them the most beautiful in the world, excepting a few gor- geous natives of tropical lands, are found in Iceland. Here the mysterious auk has had for ages his home ; the razor-l)ill, who, to teach his young to fly, carries them on his back out to sea, and, diving, leaves them to paddle or fly, as they can ; the gay puffin ; the graceful tern ; the piratical skua, who snatches his prey from the bills of gulls and gannets ; the solan- goose, with black- bordered plumage ; the magnificent snowy owl ; and, to crown this partial list, there is the swift falcon, now the national bird of the island. The noble reindeer, the Laplander's dependence, was imported into Iceland a century ago ; and in some parts of the interior roams in large herds, but is left quite unmolested. Polar bears sometimes make a voyage of pleasure on icebergs from Greenland, but find themselves on unfriendly shores, and soon fall before the weapons of the natives. On the last of July occurs the salmon-catching festival. For a few days before, across the Laxa, six miles from Reykjavik, and near its confluence with the sea, a net has lain to keep the fish, returr:- ing after the spawning season, from escaping to the ocean. Smaller nets, upon the appointed day, are ymm 106 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. li'f 1 1 11 11 stretched across the stream. Hundreds of the Iceland- ers, in tlieir ))est attiio, on norseback an;• i II! i III Grettir caught a stick aimed at him, while it was in the air, and dealt »uch blows with it, that he cleared a ring about him ; whilst still, with a voice clear as a bell, he called to the mob to come on man- fully, and not shrink back like cowards. In the mean time the king and bishop had been waiting in church ; the processional psalm was ended, the red-hot ploughshares were laid in the choir, and were gradually cooling ; but no Grettir came. At the same time sounds of uproar entered the church, and the king sent out to know what was the matter. His messenger returned a moment after with a report, that, without the cathedral, the Ice- lander was fighting the whole town. ; The king thereupon sprang from his throne, hastened down the nave, and came out of the great western door whilst the conflict was at its height. " O sire ! " exclaimed Grettir : " see how I can fight the rascals ! " and, at the word, he knocked a man over at the king's feet. , ;-^; r. "Hold, hold!" exclaimed Olaf. "What have you done, throwing away the chance of exculpating yourself from the charge laid against you ? " " I am ready now, sire," answered Grettii, wiping the perspiration and blood from his face, and smooth- ing down his hair, which was standing on end. " Let us go into the church at once : I am longing for the red-hot ploughshare ," He would have pushed past the king, had not Olaf prevented him, saying that his opportunity was past, as he was guilty of mortal sin in having killed the young man who had assaulted him, and maimed so many other persons. GRETTIR OUTLAWED. 163 I II *' What is to be done ? " exclaimed Gretur. " I have undergone all that week of fasting for nothing. Sire, might not I become your henchman ? You will find me stronger than most men." "True enough," answered the king: "few men have the strength and courage which you possess ; but ill-luck attends on you. Besides, I dare not keep you by me, as you woul I continually be getting into hot water. Now this I decree : vou shall be in peace during the winter ; but with the return of sum- mer you shall be outlawed, and go to Iceland, where I forewarn you, you shall lay your bones." Grettir answered, " I should like first to get rid of the charge of the hostel-burning, for, honor bright I I never intended to do the mischief." " That is likely enough," said the king ; " but it is quite impossible now for you to go through the or- deal." After this, Grettir hung about the town for some while ; but Olaf paid no further attention to him ; so at last he went off to stay the rest of the winter with a kinsman. On the return of spring, the news of what Grettir had done reached Iceland ; and, when they came to the ears of Thorir of Garth, he rode with all his friends and clients to Thing, and brought an action against Grettir for the burning of his sons. Some men thought that the action was illegal, as the de- fendant was not present to take exception ; however, the end of the action was, that Grettir was outlawed through the length and breadth of Iceland. Thorir set a price on his head, and proved the bitterest of Grettir's foes. I «>i .1 . ' ; ;] 'ii i i: j ■Vy V'\\ M '1 i i 1 if ■/' I jl . il shattered. He is conveyed to the churchyard, and a cross is set up at his head. He sleeps till the resiir- rection peacefully. Not so Gldmr: he becomes more furious than ever. No one will remain with Thorhall now except an old cowherd who has always served the family, and Aiho had long ago dandled his present master on his knee. " All the cattle will be lost if I leave," said the carle. " It shall never be told that I deserted Thor- hall from fear of a spectre." Grettir was in Iceland ; and, as the hauntings of this vale were matter of gossip throughout the dis- trict, he heard of them, and resolved on visiting the scene. So Grettir busked himself for a cold ride, mounted his horse, and, in due course of time, drew rein at the door of Thorhall's farm, with the request that he might be accommodated there for the night. " Ahem I " coughed the bonder ; " perhaps you axe not aware " — ).^,....^^.,\.:.- ,\^_ .-r/..:.y^,r' " I am perfectly aware of all. I want to catch sight of the troll." % >' :: ;^,^^^^^ " But your horse is sure to be killed." *' I will risk it. Gldmr I must meet, so there's an end of it." " I am delighted to see you," spoke the bonder ; " at the same time, should mischief befall you, don't lay the blame at my door." *' Never fear, man." So they shook hands ; the horse was put into the Btrongest stable ; Thorhall made Grettir as good cheei TnORHALL. 173 as ho was ahle, and thon, aa the visitor was sleepy, all retired to rest. The night passed quietly enough, and no sounds indicated the presence of a restless spirit. The horse, moreover, wa. found next morn- ing in good condition, enjoying his hay. " This is unexpected," exclaimed the bonder glee- fully. *' Now wher.'s the saddle ? We'll clap it on, and then good-by, and a merry journey to you ! " " Good-by I " echoed Grettir : " I am going to stay here another night." " You had better be advised," urged Thorhall. "If misfortune should overtake you, I know that all your kinsmen would visit it on my head." " I have made up my mind to stop," said Grettir ; and he looked so dogged that Thorhall 'apposed him no more. All was quiet next night; not a sound roused Grettir from his slumber. Next morning he went with the farmer to the stable. The stiong wooden door was shivered, and driven in. They stepped across it : Grettir called to his horse, but there was no responsive whinny. "I cim afraid," began Thorhall. Grettir leaped in, and found the poor brute dead, and with its neck broken. - •"-< " Now," said Thorhall quickly, " I've got a capital horse, a skewbald, down by Tunga. I shall not be many moments in fetching it : your saddle is here, I think, and then you will just have time to reach " — " I stay here another night," interrupted Grettir. *' I in.plore you to depart," said Thorhall. " My horse is slain." . _ _ 16* IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) "^^ \/j^^4i. ( 1.0 I.I 11.25 itiK» 12.5 s "^ Ilia Ui B^n llll|2.0 1.4 illlM 1.6 *l m ^ v^l V] "^ >^^ X"^ ^ .>'*' ^ ^ r ^^ ^^ # Hiotographic Sciences Corporation r\ WEST MAIN STREET WEBSi£R,N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 r ; 174 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. ! illll ; h- illil f! ! 4( (( " But I shall provide you with another." " Friend," answered Grettir, turning so sharply round that the farmer jumped back, half frightened, "no man ever did me an injury without rueing it. Now, your demon herdsman has been the death ol my horse. He must be taught a lesson." *' Would that he were I " groaned Thorhall ,* " but mortal must not face him. Go in peace, and receive compensation from me for what has happened." I must revenge my horse." An obstinate man must have his own way. But, if you will run your head against a stone wall, don't be angry because you get a broken pate." Night came on : Grettir eat a hearty supper, and was right jovial ; iiot so Thorhall, who had his mis- givings. At bedtime the latter crept into his crib, which, in the manner of old Icelandic beds, opened out of the hall, as berths do out of a cabin. Grettir, however, determined on remaining up ; so he flung himself on a bench with his feet against the posts of the high seat, and his back against Thorhall's crib ; then he wrapped one lappet of his fur coat around his feet, the other about his head, keeping the neck- opening in front of his face, so that he could look through into the hall. There was a fire burning on the hearth, a smoul- dering heap of red embers ; every now and then a • twig flared up, and crackled, giving Grettir glimpses of the rafters as he lay with his eyes wandering ■ among the mysteries of the smoke-blackened roof. The wind whistled softl}' overhead. Soothingly th3 river prattled over its shingly bed as it swept round {Hill; THE VAMPIRE, 175 fM the knoll on wMch stood the farm. Grettir jeard the breathing of the sleeping women in the adjoin- ing chamber, and the sigh of the housewife as she turned into her bed. Click, click ! It is only the frozen turf on the roof cracking with intense cold. The wind lulls completely. The night is very still without. Hark I a heavy tread, beneath which the snow crackles. Every footfall goes straight to Grettii''s heart. A crash on the turf overhead I By ail the saints in paradise ! the vampire is treading on the roof! For one moment the chimney-gap is com- pletely darkened; the n^onster is looking down it: the llash of the red ash is reflected in two lustreless eyes. Then tlie moon glances sweetly in once more, and the heavy tramp of Glamr is audibly moving towards the farther end of the hall. A thud I He has leaped down. Grettir feels the board at his back quivering ; for Thorhall is awake, and is trem- bling in his bed. The steps pass round to the back of the house, and then ths snapping of wood shows that the creature is destroying some of the out-house doors. He tires of this, apparently ; for his footfall comes clear towards the main entrance to the hall. The moon is veiled behind a watery cloud, and, by the uncertain glimmer, Grettir fancies that he sees two dark hands thrust in above the door. His apprehensions are verified ; for, with a loud snap, a long strip of panel breaks, and light is admitted. Snap, snap I another portion gives way, and the gap becomes larger. Then the wattles flip out of their laces, and a dark arm rips them out in bunches, ■) - i' I I i \ r I Ml f t I Hi i ii»i' W iln 176 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. and flings them away. There is a cross-beam to the^ door, holding a bolt which slides into a stone groove. Against the gray light Grettir sees a huge black figure heaving itself over the bar. Crack ! that has given way, and the rest of tna door fills in shivers to the earth. - "OGod!" exclaims the bonder. Stealthily the dead man creeps on, feeling at the beams as he comes ; then he stands in the hall with the fire-light on him. A fearful sight : the tall fig- ure distended with the corruption of the grave, the nose fallen off, the wandering, vacant eyes, with the glaze of death on them, the eallow flesh patched with green masses of decay ; the wolf-gray hair and beard have grown in the tomb, and hang matted about the shoulders and breast ; the nails too, they have grown. It is a sickening sight, a thing to shudder at, not to see. Motionless, with no nerve quivering now, Thorhall and Grettir hold their breath. Glamr's lifeless glance strayed round the chamber : it rested on the shaggy bundle by the high-seat. Cautiously he stepped towards it. Gretdr felt him groping about the lower lappet, and pulling at it. The cloak did not give way. Another jerk ; Grettir kept his feet firmly pressed against the posts, so that the rug was not pulled off. The vampire seemed puzzled : he plucked at the upper flap, and tugged. Grettir held to the bench and bed-board, so that he was not moved himself, but the cloak was rent in twain ; and the corpse staggered back, holding half in his hands, and gazing wonderingly at it. Before !i STRUGGLE WITH THE VAMPIRE. it had done examining the shred, Grettir started to his feet, bowed his body, flung his arms about the carcass, and, driving his head into the chest, strove to bend it backward, and snap the spine. A vain at- tempt I The cold hands came down on Grettir'a arms with diabolical force, driving them from their hold. Grettir clasped them about the body again ; then the arms closed round him, and began dragging him along. The brave man clung by his feet to benches and posts, but the strength of the vampire was greatest : posts gave way, benches were heaved from their places, and the wrestlers at each moment neared the door. Sharply writhing loose, Grettir flung his hands round a roof-beam. He was dragged from his feet ; the numbing arms clinched him about the waist, and tore at him ; every tendon in his breast was strained, the strain Tjnder his shoulders became excruciating, the muscles stood out in knots. Still he held on: his fingers were bloodless; the pulses of his temples throbbed in jerks ; the breath came in a whistle through his rigid nostrils. All the while, too, the long nails of the dead man cut into his side, and Grettir could feel them piercing like knives between his ribs. Ah ! his hands gave way, and the monster bore him reeling towards the porch, crashing over the broken fragments of the door. Hard as the battle had gone with him indoors, Gret- tir knew that it would go worse outside : so he gath- ered up his remaining strength for one final desperate struggle. As the wrestlers neared the opening, Grettir planted both his feet against the stone posts, holding '!( 1 i ' i , 11 't ,/t, I? i; 1 i i * X '11 [ t 1 » ■ f I! ' if \ .-,. ■ -4il ' n 178 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. III: J I m : III M? I '11! i ! 'Illi i;^ n 1 i G15,mr by the middle. He had the advantage nov? The dead man writhed in his arms, drove his talons into Grettir's back, and tore up great ribbons of flesh ; but the stone-jambs held firm. "•' Now," thought Grettir, " I can break his back,'* and thrusting his head under the chin, so that the grizzly beard covered his eyes, he forced the face from him, and the back was bent as a hazel-rod. " If I CPU but hold on," thought Grettir, and he tried to shout for Thorhall ; but his voice was muf- fled in the hair of the corpse. Crack ! One or both of the door-posts gave way. Down crashed the gable-trees, ripping beams and rafters from their beds ; frozen clods of turf rattled from the roof, and thumped into the snow. Glkmr fell on his back, and Grett'j staggered down on top of him. Grettir's strength was failing him, his hands quiv- ered in the snow, and he knew that he could not support himself from dropping flat on the dead man's face, eye to eye, hp to lip, nose to where the nose had been. The eyes of the corpse were fixed on him, lit with the cold glare of the moon. His head swam, as his heart sent a hot stream through his brain. Then a voice from the gray lips said, — " Thou hast acted madly in seeking to match thy- bolf with me. Now learn, that henceforth ill-luck shall constantly attend thee, that thy strength shall never exceed what it is now, and that by night these eyes of mine shall stare at thee through the darkness till thy dying day, so that for very horror thou shalt not endure to be alone." TEE VAMPIRE DEh^TROTED. 179 Grettir at this moment noticed that his dirk had slipped from its sheath during the fall, and that it now lay conveniently near his hand. The giddiness which had oppressed him passed away ; he clutched at the sword-haft, and with a blow severed the vampire's throat. Then, kneeling on the breast, he hacked till the head came off. Thorhall came out now, his face blanched with terror ; but, when he saw how the fray had termi- nated, he assisted Grettir, gleefully, to roU the corpse on top of a pile of fagots which had been collected for winter fuel. Fire was applied ; and soon, far down Vatnsdalr, the flames of the p}Te startled peo- ple, and made them wonder what new horror wis being enacted in the Vale of Shadows. ? fti I 11 M 1 1 1 r ' . I I ■ :',' • ' ir ! 'i ' 1 ^ : i ■ " 1 k i ! I ii ! ,1 i 1 IIS' Ii ! f^i:i: I ill III CHAPTER XX. Orettir, in Despair, seeks Counsel. — His Last Eefnge. — Oittlaw'fl Isle. — Solitary Life. — Hunted there and killed. POOR Grettirl hustled from pillar to post, hunted from one retreat to another, he had spent fifteen years of hardship such as few men have undergone ; yet the hatred of his deadly foe, Thorir, had not expended itself. The outlaw's career drew to a close. At length, about the year 1029, finding that no cor- ner of Iceland was safe, he asked Guthmundr the wealthy to advise him whither he should flee, to be safe from his pursuers. " There is only one spot that I know of where you can be in perfect security." Grettir replied that he had hitherto found no such spot. Guthmundr continued, " There is an islet in the Skaga-fjord, hight Drdngey, abounding in fish and fowl ; and no one can ascend it except by a rope- ladder which hangs down on one of the sides. If you can reach that spot, then you may be assured that it is in no man's power to touch you, so long as you are safe and somid, and able to guard the ladder." " I will venture out there," said Grettir ; " yet I 180 ' > V, GRETTin IN DESPAIR. 181 am so timorous in the dark, that, to save my life, t cannot abide alone." Guthmundr answered, " Nay, but I advise you to trust no one but your own self." Grettir thanked him for his advice, and then ha.3t- ened home to his mother, at Bjarg, in the Middle Frith. The fear of the dark to which he alluded hiid come on him ever since his wrestle with Gldinr, but had increased considerably of late. No sooner did darkness set in, than the terrible eyes of the vampire seemed to stare at him from the gloom. He slept lightly, starting in his dreams, and waking repeatedly during the night. This was undoubtedly brought on by the unceasing strain on his mind, and the excitability of nerves, caused by the hourly peril in which he had been living for so many years. On his arrival at Bjarg, his mother greeted him affectionately, and told him that she would indeed be glad if he could remain with her ; though she feared it would be too venturesome to do so, as Thorir would certainly discover his retreat before many days had elapsed. The outlaw replied that he would give her no incon- venience. " For," said he, " I care to take no more trouble about preserving my life. I can bear my solitude no longer." He then told I lis mother of Guthmundr's advice ; adding, that he would try his best to reach Drdngey, but that he must endeavor to secure some trustworthy companion ^o be with him. lUugi, his brother, now fifteen years old, a fine, noble boy, was present during the conversation ; and, 16 iMI I jH' 182 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. - ' at these words of Grettir, he started up, caught his hand, and said, — " Brotlier, I will go with you if I may, though I fear you. will look upon me as a feeble helpmate ; yet I will be faithful to you, and stand by you to the last." Grettir answered, " Of all men, my brother, T would rather have you with me ; and willingly wi]l I consent to your joining your lot with mine, if our mother has no objection." "Sorrows never come singly," replied the aged woman. " I can hardly bear to part with Illugi ; yet I know how dire is your necessity of a comrade, son Grettir : therefore I will not be i jlfish, and keep him. It costs me a bitter pang to part with both my sons in one day." Illugi was delighted at having thus easily obtained that on which he had set his heart, and he thanked his mother cordially. The mother provided her sons with money, and such chattels as they would require on the island ; and then she accompanied them outside the farm- yard, and, before parting with them, said, " Farewell, my two brave boys I I know that I shall never see you again ; but, what will befall you in Drdngey, I know not. Only of this I am certain, that there you will die, for many will resent your occupation of that island. My dreams have long forewarned me that you will not be divided in your deaths. Be- ware of treachery, shun any dealings with sorcery ; for nothing is more powerful than witchcraft. My blessing be upon you both I " She could speak no GRETTIR ON THE ISLAND. 183 more, for her voice was choked w'lih. sobs ; so, sit- ting down on a stone, she covered her eyes with her hands, and the teara trickled between her fingers, falling in bright drops on her lap. " Do not weep, mother," said Grettir : '' what though we both die ? It shall ever be said of you that you bore sons, and not daughters. Long life and health attend you I " Then they parted ; and the brothers went north, and visited their kiiisraen. Here they met a tall, tliin, ragged man, a bachelor, whose chatty, gossip- ing ways Grettir liked, and induced him to join them in exile. His name was Glaum. After this they went to Reynines ; thence they proceeded to the strand, where there is a li title byre, Reykir, with a hot spring, in the tun, belonging to a man named Thorwaldr. Grettir offered him a bag of silver if he would flit him across to Drdngey by moonlight, and to this the man agreed. On arriving at his destination, Grettir was well pleased with the spot ; for it was covered with a pro- fusion of grass, and was so precipitous that it seemed impossible for any one to ascend it without the aid of the rope-ladder, which hung from strong staples, at the summit. In summer the place would swarm with sea-birds, and at that time there were eighty sheep ^eft on the island for fattening. One of the principal chiefs in the Skaga-fjord was Thorbjorn, nicknamed " The Hook," a hard-hearted, ill-disposed fellow. As many as twenty farmers had rights of pastur- age on Drtogey ; but the Hook and his brother had the greatest share. (i t .J n- ■ I ''''I I II Iff [fll™ M i it!'!!' ill! t i I ; iltlliiiiUM! { . if: jjijiiii iiiij >i I ;i ! I H J r- * ^ ■ ' ' 1 ' . ■! : ■ ' f f ■ : 184 THE INLAND OF FTRE. About the time of the winter solstice, the bonct- ers busked them to visit the island, and biin<^ home their sheep. They rowed out in a large l)oat, and, on ncaring the island, were surprised to see figures moving on the top of the cliffs. How any one had reached the islet without their knowledge was a puzzle to them, and they had not the slightest suspicion who these occupants could be. Tliey pulled hard for the landing-place where hung the ladder, but Grettir drew it up before the boat stranded. The bonders shouted to know who those were on the crags ; and Grettir, looking over, told them. The bonders asked who had flitted him across to the island. Grettir answered, " If you wish partic- ularly to know, I will tell you : it was a man with a good boat and strong arms, and one who was rather my friend than yours." " Let us get our sheep," cried the bonders ; " and you come to land with us. We will charge you nothing for those of our sheep which you have eaten, and we will let you go from us in pe^ce."' " Well offered," answered Grettir ; ** but he who takes keeps hold, and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Believe me, I never leave the island till I am canied from it dead." The bonders were silenced : it seemed to them that they had got an ugly customer on Drdngey, to get rid of whom would be no easy matter ; so they rowed home, very ill pleased at the result of their expedition. The news spread like wildfire, and was talked : P I ORETTIR AT THE COVNCIL. 18ft about all tlirongli the neighborhood ; but no ouo could devise a plan for getting rid of the outlaw. Winter passed ; and, at the beginning of spring, the whole district met at the " Thing," or Council, of Hegraness, an extensive island at the mouth of Heradsvatn River. The gathering was thronged, and the litigations and merry-making made the Thing last over many days. Grettir guessed what was going on, by seeing a number of boats pass the head of the fjord. He became very restless, and at last announced to his brother that he intended being present at the council. Illugi thought this sheer madness, but Grettir was resolute. He begged Illugi and Glaum to watch the ladder, and await his return. Then he crossed to the mainland, and hastened in disguise to the council, where he found that sports of all kinds were going on among the able-bodied young men. Grettir was dressed in an old-fashioned suit, very dirty, and falling to tatters. He had on a fur cap, which was drawn closely over his eyes, and concealed his face so that no one recognized him. He sauntered among the booths till he reached the spot where the games were taking place. Among the wrestlers, no man surpassed Thorb- jorn Hook in skill and prowess. He threw all the strongest men of the neighborhood ; and when he had cleared the ground of antagonists, and found that there was no one to oppose him, he stood still, Q.nd cast his eyes round him. Suddenly they rested on a tall fellow in the shabbiest and quaintest of suits, but who looked so strongly built that Thorbjorn 16* ' \ •.! ■J I M^|i ii Pi' m m ■• I ii • 186 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. 'M ^'! ; f i walked up to him, and caught him by the shoulders. But the man sat still, and he could not move him from his seat. " Well," exclaimed the Hook, *' you are the first fellow I have seen for many a day whom I couldn't pull off his stool. Come now, and wrestle with me ; yet tell me first what is youi' name ? " " Guest," answered the stranger. "A welcome guest too," quoth the bully, "^'if you will wrestle with me." The man replied that they would not be fairly matched, as he was little skilled in athletic sports. Several men now chimed in, begging the stranger to try what he could dc with Thorbjom, or, at all events, with one of the others. " Long, long ago," quoth he, " I was able to throw my man as well as the best of you ; but those days are gone by, and now I am out of practice." As he only half refused, the bystanders urged him all the more. *' Now mark you I " said he ; "I yield on one con- dition ; and that is, that you take your oath to let me go free to my home, without one of you lifting a hand again?t me." There was a general shout of acquiescence ; and Hafr, one of the number, recited the peace-oath, which was, in its curses upon the violation of it, more fearful than the anathemas of papal Rome. He was to be ** cast out of the presence of God, good men, and the heavenly kingdom ; banished from churches, the company of Christian men, from heathen folk, from house and den, from every home save hell I " W'f GBETTIR AT THE COUNCIL. 187 . ! After a little hesitation the oath was taken by all Then said Guest, *' No^^r you have done well, onl^ beware of breaking your oaths. I am ready on my part, without delay, to fulfil your wishes." Then he flung aside his hood, and almost all his tatters. The assembled chiefs looked at each other, and were rather disconcerted ; for they saw that there i. ood before them the redoubted Grettir, Asmund'f son. They were silent, and Hafr thought that he had acted somewhat rashly. The throng broke up into knot3, and began to discuss whether the oath should be kept or not. " Come now," shouted Grettir : " let me know your purpo^s, for I shall not long sit naked. There is more danger to you than to me, in the breach of your oaths." He got no answer, but the chiefs moved away to discuss the question. Some wanted to break the truce ; others wanted to keep it. Then Grettir sang, — ■ " Many trees of vealth, this morning. Failed the well-krown, well to know, Two ways turn the sea-flame branches, When a trick on them is tried. Falter folk their oath fulfilling, Hafr's talking lips are dumb." Said a man bight Tongue-stone, " Yon think so, do you, Grettir ? Well, you are a man of dauntlesa courage : I will say that for you. Look now I the chiefs are in deep consultation about what is to be don« with you." l! K 11 w &i 'i 188 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. , Then Grettir sang, — "Lifters of shields rub their noses, Shield-tempest gods shake their beards, Fierce-hearted serpents' lair scatterers Go on their waj, much regretting, Peace they have made, — now they Jcnow me I " Then out spake Hjalii of H6f, brother of TJHorb- jorn Hook : " Never let it be said of us, that we break an oath, even though it were inconsiderately taken. Grettir shall be at full liberty to go to his home in peace ; and woe betide him who lays hand on him to do him injury I But, should he venture again ashore, we are free from our oath." All, except Thorbjorn Hook, agreed to this, and were glad that Hjalti had spoken out as became a chieftain. ■:"'/''-:-r'^''^y'-'.-''- The wrestling began by Grettir being matched with Thorbjorn ; and, after a short struggle, Grettir freed himself from his antagonist, leaped over his back, caught him by the belt of his trousers, lifted him off his legs, and flung him over his back. It was next proposed that Grettir should be matched against the two brothers together, and he readily agreed to this. The wrestling continued with unabated vigor, and it was impossible to tell which side had the mastery; for, though Grettir repeatedl}' threw one brother after the other, yet he was unable to hold them both down at the same time. After that all three were covered with biood and bruises, the match was closcu bj'^ the judges deciding that the two brothers conjointly were not I GRETTIR ON THE ISLAND. 180 stronger than Grettir alone, though they were each of them as powerful as two ordinary abie-hodied men. Grettir at once left the Thing, rejecting all the entreaties of the farmers, that he should leave Drangey ; and, on his return to the little island, he was received by his brother lUugi with open arms. The smaller bonders began to feel seriously their want of the island for autumn pasture ; and, as there seemed no prospect of their getting rid of Grettir, they sold their rights to Thorbjorn Hook, who set himself in earnest to devise a plan by which he could possess himself of the island. When Grettir had been two winters on the island, be had eaten all the sheeD, except one ram, a piebald fellow with magnificent horns, which became so tame, that every evening he came to the hovel which Grettir had erected, and butted at the door till he was admitted. The brothers liked their place of exile, as there was no dearth of eggs and birds, besides which, a considerable amount of drift-timber was thrown upon the strand, and served as fuel. Grettir and Illugi spent their days in clambering among the rocks, and riflirig the nests ; and the occu- pation of the thrall was to collect drift-wood, and keep up the fire in the cottaije. The inhabitants of Skaga-fjord were ang-y with Thorbjorn Hook for not having rid the island of its tenants, notwithstanding all his fine promises ; but Tliorbjorn was sorely puzzled to know what measures t") take. During the summer, a ship arrived in the frith, m m\ 190 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. .m ftiliilillii ■T I*' :ti I commanded by a young, active fellow, Hoering by name, who was famous for his skill in climbing. He lodged with Thorbjorn during the autumn, and was continually urging his host to row him out to Drangey, that he might escalade the precipitous sides of the islet. Thorbjorn required very little pressing ; and, one fine afternoon, he flitted his guest out to the island, and put him stealthily ashore, without attracting the notice of those on the height. On reaching the usual landing-place, which was on the opposite side of the island, Thorbjorn shouted, and brought Grettir and his brother to the verge of the cliff. The old arguments were repeated, to per- suade Grettir to come to the mainland, and with the usual success. The Hook, however, succeeded com- pletely in his attempt to withdraw the outlaw's attention from the farther side of the islet, up ^ hich Hoering was clambering. The young merchant reached the top by a way never attempted before nor since ; then, pausing only to take breath, he advanced towards the brothers, who were leaning over the verge of the cliff, little dreaming of danger in their rear. Grettir was engaged in angry altercation with the Hook, bat the young brother took no part in the conversation; and, beginning to feel weary of his position, he turned on one side to relieve his elbows, which had rested on the rock. In so doing, he caught sight of Hoering. " Brother, brother ! exclaimed he, " here comes a man towards us, brandishing an axe, and bent on mischief." 'i nOERING'8 LEAP. u 191 I '(jro after him yourself, lad I " said Grettir. will guard the ladder." Illugi sprang up, and rushed towards the young merchant, who at once took to flight, ran to the edge of the crag, leaped over, and was dashed to pieces among the rocks. That spot is called Hoering's Leap to this day. "Now, Thorbjorn," shouted Grettir, when Illugi returned, and told him what had taken place, "you had better row round to the other side of the isle, aud gather up the remains of your friend." The Hook pushed off from the strand, and returned home, ill enough pleased with what had taken place ; and Grettir remained at Drangey unmolested through the winder. Thorbjorn Hook was exasperated beyond measure at the prospect of Grettir slipping through his fingers after all; and he returned from the Thing brooding over fresh schemes against the outlaw. It happened that he had an old, feeble foster- mother, a woman of malicious disposition ; and, when Thorbjorn could get help nowhere else, he came to her, as in her youth she had dabbled in sorcery, but had long ceased to practise it, when, after the intro- ducticn of Christianity, it became illegal, and was punishable with banishment. " Ah ! " said she, when Thorbjorn came to her, " I see that, as a last resource, you come to m(;, a bed-ridden old woman, and ask my help. Well, I will assist you to the best of my power, on one condition ; and that is, that you yield me implicit obedience." >! Si' i fll'iilliitfiBji 192 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. The Hook answered her that he was quite willing to consent, a^i he had long since learned to rely on his foster-mother's advice as being most salutary. When the month of August came round, the hag said to her foster-son, one beautiful day, " The sea is calm, and the sky bright : what say you to our rowing over to Drtingey, and stirring up the old quarrel with Grettir? I will accompany you, and listen to what he says. I shall then be able to judge what lot awaits him ; besides, I can death-doom him as I please." The Hook answered, " I am tired of going to Drangey, for I never return from it a whit the bet- ter off than when I started." " Remember your promise," said the old woman : " I shall have nothing to do with you unless you fol- low my advice." " Well, then, foster-mother," quoth Thorbjorn, " let us go, though I vowed that my third visit should be the death of Grettir." " Have patience," said the hag : " time and trouble are needed before that man is laid low ; and, what the result will be, I know not. It may be to your gain, and it may be to your ruin." Thorbjorn ran out a long boat, and entered it with twelve men. The hag sat in the bows, coiled up amongst wraps and rugs. When they reached the island, the brothers ran to the ladder, and Thorbjorn asked whether Grettir was yet tired of his island. Grettir replied as he had repl'ed before, " Do what you will : in this spot I await my destiny." ^m CURSES OF THE HAG. 193 Thorbjorn saw now that hia journey was likely to be without avail. " I see," said he, " that I have to do wi, ilie worst of men. One thing is clear enough : it will be a long time before I pay you another visit." " So much the better," answered Grettir. " I shall not count it as a misfortune if I never see you again." At this moment the hag began to stir in the bows of the boat. Grettir had not previously observed her presence. Now, with a shrill voice, she cried, *' These men are sturdy, but luck has deserted them. See what a difference there is between folk. You, Thorbjorn, make them good offers, which they fool- ishly reject. Those who refuse good when it is offered them, always come to a bad end. Grettir, I wish you to be lost to health, wisdom, luck, and pru- dence. May these blessings be constantly on the wane the longer you live ! and may your days hence- forth be fewer and sadder than those preceding them ! " As she spoke, a cold shudder ran over Grettir's limbs, and he asked what fiend that was in the ship. Illugi replied that she must be the foster-mother of Thorbjorn. " Since an evil fiend is with our foes, we can ex- pect nothing but the worst," said Grettir. " Never before have I been so agitated at words spoken, as whikt the hag was pouring forth her curses on us. I know now that evil must befall me from her witch- craft, but she shall have a reminder of her visit to me. »> 11 Then he snatched up a large stone, and flung it 17 ) 194 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. into the boat, so that it fell upon the bundle of ruga among which lay the aged woman. As it struck, there rose a wild shriek from the witch, for the stone had fallen on her leg, and snapped it asunder. " Brother, you should not have done this," said Illugi. " Blame me not ! " answered Grettir. " I onlj' wish that the stone had fallen on her skull, and that her life had been sacrificed instead of ours." On the return of Thorbjorn to the mainland, the hag was put to bed ; and the Hook was less pleased than ever with his trip to the island. " Be not downcast," said his foster-mother : '* this is the turning-point of Grettir's fortunes, and his luck will leave him more and more. I have no fear of not having my revenge, should my life be spared." " You are a resolute woman, foster-mother," said Thorbjorn Hook. After a month the old woman was able to leave Ker bed, and limp across the room. She one day demanded to be led down to the shore. Her wishes were compUed with ; and, on reaching the strand, she hobbled up and down till she found a large piece of drift-timber, just large enough for a man to carry upon his shoulder. Then she ordered it to be rolled towards her, and turned over. She examined it attentively. The log seemed to have been charred on one side, and this burned portion she ordered to be planed away ; then, taking a knife, she cut runes on it, and smeared them with her blood, chanting over them, as she limped round the beam, a wild spell that it might ^ \M THE CHARMED LOO. 195 be home to Drdngey, and there work Grettir's ill. The piece of timber was then pushed into the waves, and thrust off from shore. A fresh northerly wind was blowing ; but the beam swam against wind and tide, and held on its course direct for the outlaw's isle. The old witch returned to Vithoik. Thorbjorn did not think that any thing would come of what she had done ; but she bade him be of good cheer, and wait till she gave him fresh orders. In the mean time Grettir his brother and the churl, were on Drangey, catching fish and fowl for their winter supplies. The day after that on which the hag had charmed the piece of timber, the two brothers were walking on the strand to the west of the island, looking for drift-wood. " Here is a fine log I " exclaimed Illugi. " Help me to lift it on my shoulder, and I will carry it home." Grettir spurned the beam with his foot, saying, " I do not like the looks of it, Kttle brother. Runes are cut on it, and they may betide us ill : who knows but this log may have been sent hither for our de- struction?" Then they sent it adrift, and Grettir warned his brother not to bring it to the fire. They returned in the ev ^ning to their hovel, and did not mention the matter before the thrall. The next day they found the same beam washed up not far from the foot of the ladder. Grettir thrust it out to sea again, sayiBg that he hoped he bad seen the last of it. m pr e«i j 5 i! r i h ■ , r. I M J 96 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. The weather began to break up, and several days of storm and rain succeeded each other, so that tlie three men remained indoors till their stock of fire- wood was nearly expended. Then they ordered Glaum to search the shore for fuel. The fellow started up with an angry niunnur, and left the room muttering that the weather was too bad for a dog to be sent out in it. Then he went to the rope-ladder, descended it, and found the same beam cast up at its very foot. Rejoiced at having so soon obtained what he wanted, he threw it over his shoulder, strode with it to the hut, and flung it down by the door. Grettir heard the sound ; and, springing up, he ex- claimed, " Glaum has got something at last ! Let us see what he has found." Then, taking his axe, he went outside. " Now," says Glaum, " you chop it up, as I have had all the trouble of bringing it." Grettir was angry with the fellow, and, without paying much attention to the log itself, he brought his axe down upon it with a sweep. The blade struck, glided ofp, and cut into Grettir's right leg below the knee with such force that it stuck in the bone'. Grettir looked at the beam, and, recognizing it at once, said, " The worst is at hand I Misfortunes never come singly. This is the very log which I have rejected twice, Glaum. You have done us two ill turns ; first, in letting out the fire, secondly, in bring- ing home this accursed beam ; and, if you commit a third, it will be thp death of you." GRETTIR WOUNDED. 197 Tllugili Hind lip his brother's wound with a raj^: there was but little flow of blood, but it was an ugly gash. Grettir slept well that night. For three days and nights, he was without paii., and the wound s'^emed to be healing nicely, and skin to be forming healthily over it. " Well, brother," said Illugi, " I think this^cut will not trouble you long." " I hope not," answered Grettir, " Jret I have my fears." On the fourth evening they laid them down to sleep as usual. Towards midnight the lad Illugi awoke, hearing Grettir tossing about in his bed, as though in pain. " Why are you so restless?" he asked. Grettir replied that he felt great anguish in his leg, and that he thought some slight change must have taken place in the wound. The boy blew some embers on the hearth into a flame, and by its light examined his brother's leg. He found that the foot was swollen and purple, and that the wound had re-opened, and looked far more angry than when first made. Intense pain followed ; so that the poor outlaw could not remain quiet for one moment, and sleep no more visited his eyes. Illugi remained by him, continually holding his brother's hand, or bringing him water to slake his unquenchable thirst. " We must prepare for the worst," said Grettir. " This sickness is the result of sorcery. The hag is revenging on me that stone which I cast at her." 17* it, *•' l.i i !, 198 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. i ^% Illiigi roplied, "• I ever thought evil would come of it." " Let us be cautious now," said Grettir, " for Thorbjorn will make another venture. Glaum, do you watch the steps by day, and draw them up at dusk. Be a faithful servant to us, for much depends on jour fulfilling your duty ; and I forewarn you, that, if you betray your trust, it will cost you your life." Glaum promised well. The weather daily became worse ; and a fierce north-e.ist wind blustered over the country, bearing with it cold and sleet, and powdering the highlands with snow. Grettir asked nightly whether the lad- der had been drawn up. Glaum answered churlish- ly, " How can you expect people to come out in such a storm as this ? Do you think that folk are so anxious to kill you that they will be crazy enough to jeopardize their own lives in the attempt ? No, no I You have lost all your pluck and manliness since you have been a little unwell. You are now scared and frightened at the merest trifles." Grettir answered, " You have none of our pluck and manliness yourself I Go now, and guard the ladder as you have been bidden, instead of standing here reproaching me with cowardice I " So lUugi and his brother drove the churl from the house every morning notwithstanding all his angry remonstrances. The pain became more acute, and the whole leg became ''nflamed and swollen ; signs of mortification appeared, and wounds opened in different parts of THE HAG'S BCIIEMES. 191 the limb, so that Grettir felt that the shadow of death was upon him. Illugi sat night and day with his brother's head on his shoulder, bathing his fore- head, and doing his utmost to console the fleeting spirit. A week had elapsed since the wound had been made. Thorbjorn Hook was at home, ill pleased at the failure of all his schemes for dispossessing Grettir of the island. One day his foster-mother came to him, and asked whether he was ready now to pay the out- law his final visit. Thorbjorn replied that he had no wish to do so, as it would come to nothing ; and asked his foster-mother whether she had any desire to seek out Grettir again, or whether she had been satisfied v/ith the success of her former visit. " I may not ask him myself," answered the hag ; " but I have sent him my greeting, and by this time it has reached him. Speed now to Drangey as swiftly as you can row ; for, if you delay, he will be beyond your reach." The Hook had come off so ignominiously on every former occasion when he had visited the island, that he did not much relish the notion of making another attempt, especially on a day when it would be dan- gerous to venture on the water in a boat. " You're a helpless fellow I " exclaimed his foster- "lother, when Thorbjorn told her his objections to ner scheme. " Do you think that I, who have called 'ip this storm, cannot refrain it from doing you njury ? " Thorbjorn went with his men to Haganess, where ',6 borrowed a large sailing-boat. None of them t-^ 200 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. If I %i were in good spirits, as the weather was so bad, and they had no conridence in their leader. By dusk they got the vessel afloat, spread sail, and, with a lurch, she ran out to sea. As the wind was from the north-east, they were under the lee of the high cliffs, and were not exposed to the vdolence of the gale. A line of white foam marked the base of Drdngey ; and now and then a great wave from the mouth of the fjord thundered against the crags, and shot in spouts of foam high into the air. Upon the top, one ruddy spark shone from the window of the hovel in which lay the dying outlaw, and it was reflected as a streak of fire on the tossing deep. Grettir had been in less pain that day : lUugi had not left him, but remained faithful to his post. The churl had been sent out as usual to watch the ladder, and draw it up at nightfall. But, instead of doing as he was bid, the fellow laid himself down at the head of the steps, in a sheltered nook, and went to sleep." When Thorbjorn and his party reached the shore, they found that the ladder still hung down. '•We are in luck's way I" exclaimed the Hook. " Now, my men, perhaps you will think that our journey will not prove as bootless as you expected. Up the ladder with you I and let us all be of good courage I " Then they ascended, one after another, Thorbjorn taking the lead. On reaching the top, they noticed Glaum asleep under a rock, snoring loudly. Thorb- jorn recognized the man at once, and struck him ovei ^ GRETTIR SURPRISED. 201 the shoulders with his sword-hilt, bidding him wake up, fool that he was, and tell them truly all that he knew about those whom they sought. Glaum turned over on his side, rubbed his eyep, and growled forth, " Cannot you leave a poor wretch alone ? assuredly never was man so ill-treated before ; you won't even let me sleep out here in the cold I '* " Idiot I " exclaimed the Hook ; "' look up, and see who are come I We are your foes, who purpose slay- ing every man of you." Glaum started up,, and screamed with terror when he saw the black figures around him. " Silence I " cried Thorbjorn : ** I give you your choice of two things, — answer the questions I put to you, or die on the spot." The churl was silenced, and stood trembling before the Hook, with great drops of perspiration rolling off his face. " Are the brothers in the house ? " asked Thorb- jorn ; " or shall we find them out of doors ? " " Oh I " cried Glaum, " they are both within ; Grettir sick to death, and Ulugi watching, and never leaving him." All that evening the sick man's eyes had been wandering among the rafters, watching the light play among them, as the firewood blazed up, or smouldered away. Presently he turned his head towards his brother, saying that he thought he could sleep ; and in a few moments he closed his eyes. lUugi watched his face kindled by the scarlet glow from the embers. It was more tranquil than hz had seen it for many days ; the muscles were relaxed j and m m ^■11 4' 1 H! r h if'i 202 THE ISLAND OF FIRE wrinkles, furrowed on the brow by the intense pain whicli the poor outlaw had suffered, were now smoothed quite away. Grettir's face was not hand- some, but it was grave and earnest, tanned dark by continual exposure to the weather. His breath came evenly in sleep ; one hand lay open, palm uppermost, on the floor ; the other played with the tassel of his spear, which stood ever by his side. Suddenly there was a crash at the door, and the sleeper openo.\ his eyes dreamily. "It is only the old ram, brother : he wants to come in," said lUugi, " and is butting at the door." *' He butts hard, he butts hard I " muttered Gret- tir, and at that moment the door burst open. They saw faces looking in. lUugi sprang to his feet, grasped a sword, flew to the doorway, and defended it valiantly ; so that none could come within a spear's length of it, for the lad brought down his weapon on their lances, and smote off the heads. Then some of the men clambered up on the roof, and began to rip off its covering of turf. Grettir tried to rise to his feet, but could only stagger to his, knees. He seized his spear, and drove it through the roof, among those who were tearing it down. It struck Karr in the breast, and pierced him. " .Be careful I " cried the Hook ; " be careful, and no harm can happen to you." Then the men pulled at the gable-ends,. heaved the ridge-piece aside, and broke it asunder, so that a chower of rafters and turf fell into the chamber. Grettir drew his sword, and smote at the men, as they leaped upon him from the wall. With one DEATH OF GRETTIR. 209 the ,t a blow he struck Vikan-, the servant of Hjalti, over the left shoulder, as he was upon the point of spring- ing down. The sword sliced through him, and came out below his right arm, and the corpse dropped upon Grettir. The blow was so violent that Grettir feLl forward; and, before he could raise himself, Thorbjorn Hook struck him between the shoulders, and made a fearful wound. Then cried Grettir, " Bare is man's back without brother behind it I " and instantly Ulugi threw his shield over him, planted a foot on either side of him, as lie lay on the floor, and defended him gallantly, so that all were amazed at his courage. " Who showed you the way to the island ? " asked Grettir of the Hook. " Christ showed us the way," answered Thor- bjorn. " Nay, nay I '* muttered Grettir : "it was that hag, your foster-mother, who directed you hither ! " The mist of death was in his eyes : he attempted to raise himself, but sank again on the sheepskins, whi' h were now drenched in blood. No one could toucii him, for the brave lad warded off every blow that was aimed at his brother. Then the Hook or- dered his men to form a ring aiound them, and to close in on them with shields and beams. They did so, and Illagi was taken and bound ; but not till he had wounded the majority of his opponents, and killed three of Thorbjorn's churls. ** You are a brave fellow I " said the Hook ; " and never have I seen one of your age who fought so weU I " R ■ i i i t : . II . 204 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. i: ':■ * a M^ Then they went up to Grettir, who lay in a stata of unconsciousness, without being able to make any resistance. They dealt him many a blow, but little blood flowed from the wounds. Wht i all thought that he was dead, Thorbjorn tried to disengage the sword from his cold, damp fingers, saying that Grettir h -d wielded ic long enough. But the strong man's hand was clinclicd around the hand so firmly, that his enemy could not free the sword from his grasp. Several of the men came up, and endeavored to unweave the fingers, but they were unable to do so. Then the Hook exclaimed, '* Why should we spare this vile outlaw ? off with his hand I " and they held it down, whilst he hewed it from the arm, at the wrist. Then the muscles of the fingers relaxed ; and the Hook was able to loosen them, and possess him- self of the sword. Standing beside the body, and grasping the hilt with both hands, he smote at Gret- tir's head : the edge of the blade was notched with the blow. " See I " laughed Thorbjorn : " this mark will be famous in the history of my sword. I shall show the notch, and say, ' This was done by Gret- tii's skull I'" He smote twice and thrice at Ihe outlaw's neck, till the head came off in his hands. " Here have I slain a famous warrior I " exclaimed Thorbjorn : " this head shall come with me to land, that I may claim the price that nas been set upon it, and that none may be able to deny that I slew the redoubted Grettir." The rest of the party told him to do as he chose, ILLUGT. 205 but they did not think much of his act ; for they be- lieved Grettir to have been dead before Thorbjorn smote at liis head, and they suspected that he had wrought his foe's «ickness and death by unhallowed means. Then the Hook turned to Illugi, saying, ** It would be a pity that a brave lad like you should die, because you have associated yourself with outlaws and evil-doers " Illugi answerea, " At Althing you shall be sum- moned to give an account of this cursed deed, and answer to the charge of witchcraft, which I shall bring against you if I live." " Listen to me, boy,*' said the Hook. '* Lay your hand to my hand, and take a vow never to revenge that which has taken place to-night, and I will give you life ard liberty." " And listen to me, Thorbjorn," replied Illugi. "If I survive, but one thought shall occupy my heart, night and day ; and that will be, how I can best avenge my brother. Now that you know what to expect from me, choose whether I shall hve or die." Thorbjorn took his companions aside to ask their advice ; but they shrugged their shoulders, and re- plied that, as he had planned the expedition, he must carry it through as he thought best. " Well," exclaimed the Hook, " I have no fancy for having the young viper ready to sting me wher- ever I tread. So he shall die." Now, when Illugi knew that they had determined on slaying him, he smiled, and said, -^ 18 !.:■ H J:!;* I ?% THE ISLAND OF FIRE. " You have chosen that course which is most to my mind." As the day began to dawn, they led him to the east side of the island, and slew him there. It is said that they neither bound his hands nor eyes, and that he looked fearlessly at them as they smote him, and neither winked, nor changed color. Then they buried the brothers beneath a cairn ; but they took the head of Grettir, and bore it with them to land. As they rowed home, the thrall. Glaum, made such outcries that they were tired of his noise ; and on reaching the mainland they slew him. One morning Thorbjorn Hook 7ode with twenty men to Bjarg, in the Middle Frith, with Grettir's head hanging at his saddle-bow. On reaching the house he dismounted, and stalked into the hall, where Grettir's mother was seated with her servant. Thorbjorn flung her son's head at her feet, and sang, — " Flitted I from the island, With me the head of Grettir ; That yellow head, which women Weep ; with it I am standing. Look you 1 the peace-destroyer's Head lycth on the pavement ; Look you ! it cannot moulder Now that it well is salted. " The lady sat proudly in her seat, and did not shed a tear ; but, lifting lier voice in reply, she sang, — " Milksop 1 no less than sheep Flee before the fox, Would you have fled before* Grettir strong and hale I " THE OLD SAGAS. 207 After this the Hook returned home y and folk won- dered at Asdisa, saying that none but she could have borne such sons as those twain who slept in Drdngey. East of Dr4ngey, across the northern borders of Iceland, are some of the finest valleys, farms, and scenery on the island. Vatnsdalr (pronounced Vatz- dalur)^ Water-dale, the home of lugimund the Old, Hof, the scene of the Vatnsdaela Saga about 'the hateful Hrolleifr (Hrodlayver), and Oxnadals Heithi, with its Alpine heights and glens, and its crater- chasms of bewildering magnificence, lie along that coast-line to thundering Detifoss, elsewhere briefly described. But from these, some of them memorable on account of their tragical Sagas, we pass now to the second crisis in the general history of Iceland ; a transition which in the life of any nation is always far-reaching in its results. ■ km ■I « •|8^l! ). / :: f.'^HHBIIB^H CHAPTER XXI. riie Christian Era in Iceland. —The Gathering? at Thingv&lla. -'Th# High Debate. — The Thunder of a Convulsion. — The Great De- cision. — Grolden Age. — Skalds. — An loelandic Skald at Cat.ute's Court. —Written Constitution. — A Challenge. — Nithing. IT is a summer day of year 1000, and Iceland was never so deeply moved through all its borders as now. A. throng, larger than ever gathered before in Thingvalla, is defiling into it on this calm afternoon. Down the precipitous entrance of the Almanne-Gja, and the causeway of the Rafne, the processions emerge into the grand audience-room built by fire. The chiefs with their attendants, and the wealthy landholders on their richly caparisoned horses, suc- ceed each other. On horseback and afoot, the poorer classes pour into the broad valley. Tents and booths rapidly go up on the patches of grass, and on the dark stone floor. The scene is impressive and ani- mated. An anticipated debate possesses interest reaching far beyond the duration of the munition of rocks around the excited throng. The leading men of the nation cross the narrow bridge which leads into the enclosure of legislation. The assembly is formally opened, amid the stillness and grandeur of Jehovah's temple, where an issue ia to be made between his claims and Odin's. 208 w CHRISTIAN CONVERTS. 209 Among the people, some had never renounced Thor, the principal god of the north, bofore Odin supplanted him from the East ; others had abandoned idols altogether ; and each household had pretty much its own way, in forms of worship. Ingolf s grandson, Thorkill, when he felt death was near, desired to be carried into the open air, where the cheerful light might gladden his eyes while looking their last upon the loved mountain- tops, and there commend his spirit to Him who created them, and, high above them, the sun, moon, and stars. In their voyages to England and Denmark, Ice- landers had seen and accepted Christian rites, as then observed; but like the idolatrous Hebrews three thousand years before, who mixed their devo- tions so absurdly, upon their return home they wor- shipped again Odin or Thor. The latter part of the tenth century, Thorwald, a bold sea-rover, " who had been baptized on the banks of the Elbe by a German priest," brought him to Iceland, the first missionary from the continent. This was under the presidency of Thorkel Maiini. The stranger had some success, and was followed, a few years later, by priests from Norway. They were sent cut by King Olaf, who was zealous in the propagation of the faith among the colonies from his realm. Among them were two Icelandic converts, who had been compelled to go abroad, on accoimt of their active part in the introduction of the new re- ligion. 18» I ' I If II m Hi, i h ■ I : It - i hi i 210 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. But an ancient idolatry would not easily die, resisting instinctively all attacks upon its life. To appease the gods, its devotees determined to offer to them two human sacrifices from each of the four quarters of Iceland. It is related that the mis- sionaries,- to display as great a zeal, decided to seal their own faith with the blood of four martyrs. Thorgeir, the Logosmodr, appealed to both parties to stop on the edge of civil war, before they wrought destruction and ruin. The stirring address produced conviction, which ripened into a truce ; and they returned to their places in the Althing, to submit their cause to the great assembly. In the midst of the high debate, a messenger enters Thingvalla with the tidings of a volcanic eruption near, whose thunders shake the earth. " Behold I the gods are angry because we question their power and right to our homage ! " excl 'ms a worshipper of Odin. He pauses, and Snorre Gode hurls back the charge, by asking, " What excited their wrath when these rocks of lava, which we ourselves tread, were a glowing torrent?" The splendid . retort, with the appeal which followed, thrilled the assembly, and turned the tide of feeling decisively towards the altars of a Christian, although, through human traditions, a superstitious devotion. The doom of a pure idolatry was sealed from that hour ; the temples of Odin and of Thor crumbled before the hands that reared them ;. and the Bible and prayer-book supplanted their ancient mythology. Public idol-worship was forbidden, on penalty of THE GOLDEN AGE. 911 banishment ; but Kberty in privato worship per- mitted, and the continued eating of hoi*se-flesh, and the exposure of infants. These "innocents " were left to die, to prevent an increase of population be- yond the means of subsistence. But both practices gradually disappeared. Duels, protected hy the laws of the wild vikings of early years, who decided disputes with the sword, alone on some solitary is- land, could not bear the light of even a corrupted Christianity, and were also abolished. The centuries following the introduction of Chris- tianity were the golde»i age of the republic. Under the protection of its patriarchal-republican form of government, the people studiously cultivated their native dialect, and collected the literary fragments of their ancestors. Unlike other European nations, whose literature, at the dawn of it, was a servile imitation of the Roman and Greek classics, the Ice- landers, with a singular independence of intellectual character, created one of their own. They gave the world an original literature, before the more favored south in material resources, had commenced the revival of learning. Of this, the golden age of Icelandic history, Adam of Bremen speaks as follows : " Thus spending in simplicity a holy life, since they seek for nothing beyond what nature yields, the Icelanders can cheer- fully say with the apostle, ' Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.' For they have their mountains for towns, and springs for delights. Happy, I say, tho race whose poverty no one envies ; and h'^-'jiest in this, that they have now all received '' y'v -'B ' % iiM -f I, 'B i '■ 2n THE ISLAND OF FIRE. m. * 1 3 i Cliristianity. There are many remarkable points among the.r customs, especially charity ; from which it comes, that, with them, all things are common both to strangers as well as to natives. For a king they have their bishop, and to his nod all the people at- tend : whatever he has laid down, whether from God or from Scripture, or from the customs of other na- tions, that they have for law." Like the baids of classic story, the skalds, or poets, of Iceland, were its best historians. Travelling minstrels, ihey visited other countries, weaving into their strains the myths, traditions, and real history of their own and kindred nations. They became the ambassadors of the age, and were honored in palaces, like the laureates of a later period. One of these saved his life, while imprisoned in England, by his song of twenty strophes, or stanzas, in praise of the tyrant into whose power he fell. Another from Iceland, Snorro relates, kept at the court of Canute, composed a poem in honor of the king, and went to his banqueting-hall to recite it ; offering, as an apology for his apparent haste to be heard, that it was *' ^^ri'A short." The monarch fixed upon him his falcon eye, and sternly said, " Are you not ashamed to do what none but yourself has dared, — to write a short poem upon me ? Unless, by the hour of dinner to-morrow, you produce thirty strophes, your life shall pay the penalty." The skald was equal to the occasion ; and next day, instead of the executioner's blade, he received thirty marks of silver. These incidents show us the world's loss of numberless " flowers of poetry, which sprang up and bloomed amidst eternal snows." A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION. 218 day, There were female skjildn, as there were warriora, who made no mean fijifure in the vindication of (he riglit, re-asserted nowadays, to cope with the " lorda of creation," in every fiehl of action. A verj strong reason, and easily understood, why the skalds adhered more closely to actual history than poets of the south, is found in their having the whole field to themselves. In the warmer climes, the priesthood wero the chroniclers, and the minstrels had to depend mainly upon creations of the imagina- tion for their themes. According to an ancient MS., Iceland's poets, long ago, numbered two hundred and thirty, many of them honored at foreign courts. Two centuries and a half, Ulfljot's form of govern- ment was perpetuated only by tradition. Annually Thing valla echoed to the repetition of it by the Logeosamadr, from the Hill of Laws. This gives peculiar interest to the republic, the preservation of so great a degree of constitutional freedom for centu- ries, without a word of it printed or written. There is nothing like it in the annals of the past ; and, whatever defects there were, it was the best thing liberty-loving and gifted men had given to tlie world. So loyal were the people, that the number of years each chief magistrate held the high office became a distinct epoch ; and its anniversary quite as important, in their estimation, as to us is the recur- rence of the presidential election. It was not till 1117, under Beigthor Rafin, who summoned to his aid the ablest lawyers of the tune in its preparation, that Iceland had a wiitten consti- tution. I: 214 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. Early in the twelfth century, the most learned men began to collect and write the poems and tradi tions which had come down from human lips alone, in their own unconupted dialect. This is a strange and extraordinary thing ; adhering exclusively to their own vernacular, while as a written, then a spoken language, it was fading out in those kingdoms from which it had been transplanted. What glory for that sea-girdled, far-away country, to give to Europe the first national literature, under the earliest government which could be justly called republican ! The Icelander's very weapons of com- bat were oftener his fertile brain, than his sword or lance or battle-axe. The lampoon of the skald, or poet, and the bitter sarcasm, were more dreaded than weapons of steel, by the object of hate. And, even when an injured party wanted to fight, he would publicly brand his foe " nithing," or a vil- lain. Thus disgraced, he must wash out the stain with blood. A little story will show how they man- aged this matter. Two old warriors sent a challenge to two others, to meet them at a place and time des- ignated. The day came amid one of those terrific storms that sometimes lift pedestrians from their feet. But Jokull, one of the challenged, was on the spot at the hour with nobody to fight him. He had, how- ever, Ids revenge upon Finbogi, his enemy. He took a block of wood, shaped it into the resemblance of a human head, wrote on it runic letters, and, after kill- ing a horse, opened the animal's breast, and fastened it in the wound, pointing towards the home of Fin- Jii,.! '.ill <■' ■ '' THE NITHINO-POST. 215 bogi. This was the " nithing-post," to which the duellist resorted, to make his ar v^ersary own himself a coward, or seek a deadly meeting. The moral de- scendant of the heathen gentleman has only ehantj^ed the battle-axe to pistols, and the " nithing-post " to "The Morning Post," or some other journal of a higher civilization. lan- mge des- frlfic I feet, spot lOW- Itook of a kill- jned Fin- m i I' i' CHAPTER XXII. fil il if iW ■ 'M The Northmen's Oldest Book of History. — Qenius in Iceland. — The IllustTious Trio. —First Printing-Press. —First School. —Bill of Students' Fare. —Study of Poetry. — Its Fabled Origin. SIXTY-SEVEN years after the nati rra' uncil, and its great decision at Thingvalla, under the shadow of lofty jokuUs near the Great Geyser, was born Ari the Wise. Of hit early life we know nothing further, nor where he is buried. His monument is the North- men's most ancient book of history, — the Land- nama-Bok, or general annals of Iceland from its settlement, giving a full account of its real-estate operations. Saemund the Learned, who was born in 1056, .yd studied theology in Germany and France, first^^ I- lected and published in a volume the mythologies ' songs he found in manuscripts, and heard from the lips of minstrel skalds. He added some of his own compositions, which have in them the leaven of that Christianity for which he had renounced the heathen- ism of his fathers. This was the poetic, or Elder Edda, from which the extracts on Scandinavian paganism were taken. But the last of the grand trio of Iceland's earliest authors is Snorro Stuiieson. His illustrious ances S16 T^ 8N0RR0 8TURLES0N 217 ild tors went back to the fabled dynasties of Norway's royalty. South from Reykjavik an hour's ride is Bessestad. The path is paved, as everywhere, with lava, the yawning chasms bridged with rock, and the gleam- ing summits leaning against the transparent sky. Bessestad was the most ancient seat of learning in Iceland. What utter seclusion I Before it is spread an oasis of grass, and behind it bleak moorland, and the ever-moaning sea. Near it is a solid and gigan- tic mound of upheaved lava-rock, making a near horizon, with its unchanging curve of iron. For no green thing ever adorns it. or flower smiles upon the desolation. You are alone with memories of the ages, with Nature, and Nature's God. Here lived. Snorro Sturleson. This is the man '^o whom his country's history and literature are most indebted ; whose great historical work justly earned for him the title of the Northern Herodotus. He was born in the year 1178, at Hvam, on the Hvamsfjord, a small bay on the western coast of Ice- land. His father, Sturle, was a distinguished chieftain in that part of the island; and his mother was con- nected, as well, with the most illustrious families of the island. At the early age of three years, Snorro was placed under the guardianship of Jen Loftson, who in- herited both the wealth and learning of his grand- fr.ther, Saemund Sigfusson. Here young Snorro remained till twenty years of 19 / ! ' If ;^ It-'- f! > I M i ^as secreted, and, changing into a worm, crept in by a hole made through the connivance of the fair keeper ; then changed his form to that of an eagle, and flew away with the treasure drawn into his bill. And so it is the ''gift of the gods." ; this into the I ! I ! i CHAPTER XXin. MiihIo. — Education in Common Life. — Preamble of Public Ad- dress. —Modem Authors. —The Lord's Prayer in 1685 and in 1874. — National Suicide. —The Refonnation. NATIVE Icelandic music is embalmed in sacred tunes, whose manuscripts are preserved in pri- vate libraries. The art was once taught upon the island. They have, too, an original instrumcT ^jtill found in inland homes. It is the langspie ghtly re- sembling a guitar lying edgewise, having three brass- wire strings, played by bow and fingers. The tones, at a distance, are not unlike those of a piano. Although music and poetry are less cultivated than formerly by the Icelanders, both are yet strik- ingly visible in their national life and literature. ^ On public occasions their ascriptions of praise still sound forth with great power, always with the undertone of that solemnity inspired by every thirg around them. It is not singular, therefore, that sacred poetry should be in the ascendant among such a people. Their compositions of this kind would make a small library ; among which David and Paul are inspiring themes. We may have one of the pleasant surprises com- mon to tourists in Iceland, if we call upon the 226 ICELANDIC PRAYER. 227 wreathei -beaten fiHherman, Zoega, whose little boat rocks upon the waves, while he drojjs his line for hours to<^ethor, amid storm and aunshino, to seuurc a scanty supply of food for his lava-sheltered family. We cannot speak Icelandic ; so Zoega tries the pur- est Latin : if he fails here, he may resort to Greek, ceitainly to Danish, or some other modern tongue. Or pause before that smithy, where another plain, poor man hammers out, in small jobs, his Hvelihood. His salutation is in elegant Latin. These are literal descriptions of interviews with men whose dress and surroundings form a contrast seen only in Ice- land. What they know of our English literature is learned mainly ' hrough the Danish and German tongues, in which are read Milton, Addison, Pope, Young, and other standard authors. For some centuries past, it has been customary among the Icelanders, during the period of any great volcanic eruption, to appoint a day of united prayer and supplication. This was first done in the north- em parts of the island in 1477, when a general as- sembly of the inhabitants of the district was con- vened. The following is the preamble to the ad- dress, preserved in old Latin, in their archives : — " In the name of God, amen I On the first day of March (the last month of winter), in the year of the Lord 1477, the clergy and laity who lived between Vargaa and Gleraa assembled at Grund in Eyafiord,' and there held a conference concerning the terror- inspiring wonders which were troubling the people in those days ; to wit, the fires bursting forth, the sand and ashes which had fallen and been spread far M iH: i f i t-n l-t 228 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. and wide, the darkness, and the dreadful hissings. On account of these port*}nts, the flocks and herds had been robbed of their food, though the earth was free from snow. " The assembly agreed that surely this had hap- pened to punish the sins and misdoings of men ; wherefore they all thought that they should seek favor and pity where these graces abound, — with God himself, so thot he should will to turn away from them the consequences of his anger. They promised, therefore, that they would not seek further to avert his punibhments in this world ; and, that he might not close the kingdom of heaven to them, they declaied their choice that God, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, he who willed those things which were best, should be their protector for time present and time to come. First they paid their vows to tho all-powerful God." To those who are cuiious to see how little change the centuries have made in the language, we quote the Icelandic Lord's Prayer in 1585, and also in 1874: — Lobd'p Pbayeb m 1585. " Fader vor, thu sem ert d himnum. Helgist thitt nafn. Tilkome thitt rfke. Verde thinn vilie, so d jordhu sem k Limne. Gief oss i dag vort dagUgh braudh. Og fyrerldt oss vorar skuUder, so sem vier fyierlatum vorum skulldunautum. Og innleidh oss ecke i freistne. Heldur frelsa thu oss frd illu, thviat t^hxut er rikit> mdtturenn og d^dhen um allder allda A.men." MODEHN AUTHORS. Lord's Pbayea in 1874. 229 " Fadir vor, thu sem ert 4 himnum. Helgisfc thitt iiafii. Tilkomini thitt rlki. Verdi thiDn vilji, 8\o & jordu sem a himni. Gef thu oss i dag vort daglegt braud. Og fyrirgef oss vorar skuldir, svo sem vjer og fyrer-gefum vorum skuldnautum. Og leid oss ekki i freistni. Helldur trelsa oss fr4 illu; thvfad thitt er rfked og mdtturinn og dyrdin um aldir alda. Amen." The progress of neighboring nations, during the centuries, very greatly changed the relative impor- tance and pre-eminence of Iceland ; and " the flame which was again kindled among the people shone dimly beneath the splendors of the sun of science which had now risen over the kingdoms of Europe." Among the new and splendid lights which ap- peared during this period, was Gudbrand Thor- lakson, Bishop of Holar. He completed his edu- cation at Copenhagen ; and among his intimate friends was the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. His bishopric extended over fifty-six years ; and his devotion to educational interests, including the printing establishments, was unwearied. Nearly one hundred works were written and published by him. He gave his people the first translation of the entire Bible in their own tongue, and also published the IceHndic code of laws. Among modern authors. Assessor Benedikt Gron- dal, judge in the higher court over half a century since, published a large number of translations and original poems ; his elegant satires on the vices and ao I 11 230 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. follies of his countrymen being suppressed by a law forbidding the lampooning, which was so dreaded a weapon of revenge in olden times. Chief- Justice Stephenson, president, sixty years ago, of a literary society, would eclipse the majority of writers in any land, in the variety and scholarly character of his works. We add the titles of a few of his twenty volumes : " Treatise on Meteors," " Amusements for Friends," " Volcanic Eruptions," " Hymns and Psalms for Churches," " Treatise on Fusd," " Treatise on Cattle and Horses." To the cai^hedral, as it is called, at Holar, in the northern district, an elaborately-sculptured baptismal font was presented by the family of Thorwaldsen in memoriam of the great artist, who was a native of the island. It has been removed to the church at Reykjavik. Among his countrymen, there has been nothing to stimulate and develop sculpture and painting ; nor could materials for either be had without an expense quite beyond their limited means, with few excep- tions. That far-reaching religious revolution, set in mo- tion by Luther, reached Iceland from Denmark early in the sixteenth century. Christian III., who had made Lutheran Christianity the national religion of his realm, determined to extend the blessing to his provinces. He was resisted by the priesthood, among whom Areson, Bishop of Holar, organized an armed force, and was beheaded with his sons. After his death, in 1550, the Lutheran Church be- came the national form of Protestant worship in Ice- THE ICELANDIC LANGUAGE. 231 land. A jew life was breathed into the nation, and learning received a fresh impulse. Iceland has mpdestly waited long for her high place in the regard of echolari, but her day dawns apace. Writes our republican poet-laureate, H. W. Long- fellow, — " The Icelandic language is as remarkable as the Anglo-Saxon for its abruptness, its obscurity, and the boldness of its metaphors. Poets are called Songsmiths ; poetry, the Language of the Gods ; gold, the Daylight of Dwarfs ; the heavens, the Skull of Ymer ; the rainbow, the Bridge of the Gods ; a battle, a Bath of Blood, the Hail of Odin, the Meet- ing of Shields ; the tongue, the Sword of Words ; river, the Sweat of Earth, the Blood of the Valleys ; arrows, the Daughters of Misfortune, the Hailstones of Helmets ; the earth, the Vessel that floats on the Ages ; the sea, the Field of Pirates ; a ship, the Skate of Pirates, tho Horse of the Waves. The an- cient skald (bard) smote the strings of his harp with as bold a hand as the Berserk smote his foe. When heroes fell in battle, he sang t them in his Drapa, or death-song, that they had gone to drink ' divine mead in the secure and tranquil palaces of the gods,' in that Valhalla upon whose walls stood the watchman Heimdal, whose ear was so acute that he could hear the grass grow in the meadows of earth, and the wool on the backs of sheep. He lived in a credulous age, — in the dim twilight of the past. He was ' The skylark in the dami of years, The poet of the mom.' 232 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. m :■ i It i V IW 'U. In the vast solitudes of Norway, the heart of Nature beat against his own. From the midnight gloom of groves, the deep-voiced pines answered the deeper- voiced and neighboring sea. To his ear these were not the voices of dead, but living things. Demons rode the ocean like a weary steed, and the gigantic pines flapped their sounding wings to smite the spirit of the storm. " Still wilder and fiercer were these influences of Nature in desolate Iceland, than on the mainlai.d of Scandinavia. Fields of lava, icebergs, geysers, and volcanoes, were familiar sights. When the long winter came, and the si.owy Hecla roared through the sunless air, and the flames of the northern au- rora flas^hed along the sky like phantoms from Val- halla, the soul of the poet was fiUed with images of terror and dismay. He bewailed the death of Bal- dur, the sun, and saw in each eclipse the horrid form of the wolf Managamer, who swallowed the moon, and stained the sky with blood." Lossing says, "It is back to the Norwegian vi- kings we must look for the hardiest elements of prog- ress in the United States." The Howitts of England enthusiastically declare, " There is nothing, besides the Bible, which sits in a divine tranquillity of unapproachable nobility, like a king of kings amongst all other books, and the poem of Homer itself, which can compare, in all the ele- ments of greatness, with the Edda. There is a lofti- ness of stature, and a growth of muscle, about it, which no poets of t^e same race have ever since reached. The obscurity which hangs over some I :. INFLUENCE OF THE NORTHMEN. 233 lOon, parts of it, like the deep shadows crouching 'mid the ruins of the past, is probably the result of dilapida- tions ; but amid this stand forth the boldest masses of intellectual masonry. Springing from the old Norse of far-off time, surrounded by the densest shadows of forgotten ages, we come at once into the midst of gods and heroes, goddesses and fair women, giants and dwarfs, moving about in a world of wonderful construction." The great German poet Schlegel, after giving the highest place to Iceland's earliest literary produc- tions, adds, " The spiritual veneration for Nature, to which the sensual Greek was an entire stranger, gushes forth in their mysterious language and pro- phetic traditions, with a fulTtide of enthusiasm and inspiration, sufficient to endure for centuries, and to supply a whole race of future bards and poets with a precious and animating elixir." Writes Laing in his " Heimskringla : " " For all that men hope for good of government, and future improvement in their physical and moral condition ; all that civilized men enjoy at this day of civil, reli- gious, and political liberty, — representative legisla- tion, the trial by jury, security of property, freedom of mind and person, the influence of public opinion over the conduct of public affairs, the Reformation, the liberty of the press, the spirit of the age, — all that is or has been of value to man in modern times, as a member of society, either in Europe or in the New World, may be traced to the spark left burning on our shores by those northern barbarians." Adds Commander C. S. Forbes, R. N., " As for the much- ab* 1 "^ipim 234 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. I. ! 5 ■ vaunted pre-eminence of the Anglo-Saxon race among the moderns, in intellect and in arms, which has passed into a stereotyped platitude with many of our countrymen, — why, the English branch of that race was as socially and morally degenerate, and as devoid of spirit and nationality, as its present direct representatives, the Germans, are at this moment, until the irruption of the cognate branch of Norse into our island, between the ninth and twelfth cen- turies; whose descendants, inheriting that precious viking energy, have since sown the earth with colo- nies." Other scholarly writers tell us, *' The ancestors (at least morally) of Raleigh and Nelson, and Kane and Farragut, appear among these sea-rovers, whose pas- sion was danger and venture on the waters. Here, too, among such men as the ' Raven Floke,' is the prototype of those American pioneers who follow the wild birds into pathless wildernesses to found new republics. And it is the Norse ' udal ' property^ not the European feudal property., which is the model for the American descendants of the ancient Norsemen. " Here we have no dissolute Pantheon, with gods revelling eternally in earthly vices, and the evils and wrongs of humanity continued forever. Gods and men die in the heat of the conflict ; and there sur- vives alone Baldur, the ' God of Love,' who shall create a new heaven and a new earth. " While German literature darkens under the malignant star of Deutschthum ; while French art, sickening of its long disease, crawls like a leper through the light and wholesome world ; while JtU CHANGE IN THE GOVERNMENT. 235 race 4iich lyof that id as lirect ment, Norse L cen- Bcious I colo- urs (at le and je pas- Here, is the follow found opert'fj^ model ler the :h art, leper lile all over the European Continent one wan influence or another asserts its despair-engendering sway over books and men, — whither shall a bewildered student fly for one deep breath of pure air and wholes0me ozone ? " Turn northward, traversing the great valleys of Scandinavia, and not halting until you look upon ' that slowly heaving Polar Ocean, over which, in the utmost north, the great sun hangs low.' " Suicide has been the epitaph of fallen nations. Iceland is no exception. The old Scandinavian blood, which chafed against any restraint or rivalry in political or social importance and power, lost none of its fire during three and a half centuries of free- dom. Deadly feuds, largely instigated and kept alive by Norway, wearied the nation, and created a feeling bordering on desperation. In 1261, aided by Snorro Sturleson, a favorite at the Norwegian court, where he resided two years, Iceland gave her glory to another. The eastern portion, and, three years after, the western, quietly passed under the shadow of Hacon's throne ; a shadow whose blight was imperceptible at first, but sure in its ultimate work. The people gave no visible signs of the great and bloodless change to the condition of dependence. They cherished educational institutions, and enjoyed i^ereral prosperity ; but Thingvalla's walls echoed no longer to the eloquence of freemen, acknowledging no sovereignty outside of their island-republic. We can only speculate upon the possible effect, in .saving Iceland from hopeless decline, of a more vigor- 236 THE ISLAND OF F/RE. ■•• I 0118 Christianity, unenfeebled by union with the state, which created and has preserved the American Republic for a century, and, if made controlling, will perpetuate it while governments exist. In the loss of power from this exhaustless source of re-enforcement, and quickening of all life, includ- ing the individual and public conscience, depress- ing conditions were the more influential ; and the ancient spirit of independence, whose original law- lessness and rivalries were its inspiration, declined. The people " yielded the more easily to the encroach- ments first of Norway, and then of Denmark, upon the rights at first reserved for themselves. The latter gradually disappeared, or were so curtailed that they barely continued to exist in form ; and about the year 1660 the island virtually lost every vestige of independence. Denmark's rule was abso- lute, and there was no appeal from it. Even the few traders appointed by the Danish government for the island, and allowed the entire monopoly of its commerce, were Danes, not Icelanders. The peo- ple grew steadily poorer, and powerless in propor- tion to their poverty. This state of things lasted, with slight variations, for nearly two centuries." As many have had no opportunity of becoming acquainted with Iceland's national religion, whose name is derived from the gifted and heroic leader in the great Reformation, it may interest them to read a brief outline of public worship, and the general status of the denomination. The " Augsburg Confession " drawn up by Me- LUTHERAN IBM. 237 the licaii , will ource Lclud- press- l the law- dined, roach- , upon The rtailed ; and every s abso- len the nment oly of lie peo- ropor- liations, lanethon, and approved by Luther, has been, and is, the acknowledged standard of doctrine. The mem- bership, in our country alone, is nearly half a mil- lion, with two thousand clergymen. They have a liturgy ; and the clergy, in their official duties, wear a robe, usually black. " The Church Year," with its great festivals, is kept. The hymns are sung by all the people, with organ accompaniment. The hymn- ology of the Lutheran Church surpasses that of all other churches in the world in sweetness, richness, power, and unction. Even in their English dress, there are few hymns more beautiful or soul-inspiring than Luther's " A mighty Fortress is our God," or " O Head so bruised and wounded 1 " or " Jerusalem the Golden." Before tracing the history of the people more in detail to the )resent, we mount our " galloway " for views of some of the impressive natural sceneiy o\ Iceland. ! 'i I i iilt Icommg whose iader in read a i-eneral T » ^ li ' 'I i ill li i 11 lit It' i ,i ll IB) I . .1. CHAPTER XXIV. An Excursion to the Guldbringfe Syssel, or Golubringing District. — The Outfit. — Bessestad. — Boiling Springs. — An Uuexflaiued Wonder. — Guldbringfe Syssel. — Stappen. — Reykholt. — Scenesi along Paths of Travel IT is six o'clock in the morning ; and yonder, at an easy pace which says, " I never huny," comes the guide towards the only hotel at the capital, with his " shaggy cavalcade." And at last in earnest commences the packing away of tents, food, &c., upon the baggage-horses, whose number depends on the variety and quantity of those articles. These white, black, mottled, and intelligent animals cost from ten to thirty dollars each ; for the tourist usually buys to sell again when done with them. Such saddles I they are seen nowhere else. Square pieces of spongy turf from the bogs are tied on the backs by a rope ; and on them is fastened a piece of wood fitted to the place. The ends project, with pegs in each, on which with woollen cords the load is hung. It is a nice operation to balance the burdens, and seldom done so well, that before travelling far they do not require re-adjustment. When all is ready, the animals are tied together head to tail, to prevent separation, and getting astray. At night, to keep them near the encampment, their 288 BE8SESTAD. 239 heads and tails are tied together, forming a living ring of horse-flesh and tani^^led extremities. Away they scamper tandem, at the crack of their master's whip along the foot-higliway. A harness never fetters their free motions, nor does the sound of carriage-wheels ever diown the noise of their uon- shod hoofs. The intelligence of thn ironies is not only seen in the almost superhuman caution on perilous roads, but, when he makes a tangent from the way, " Ho, ho I " from the guide, brings the wanderer back. But it is understood between him and his master, that when they reach a stopping-place, if the reins are left upon his neck, he is at liberty to wander at will for pasture : if thrown on the grass, he does not ven- ture out of sight ; it is as if he had heard his rider say, " Pony, 1 shall want you shortly ; don't go away." The patient animal stands, it maybe, weary and hungry, waiting for his burden again. Every man in Iceland is his own blacksmith, and carries with him on long journeys the plain, simple shoes and nails, fitting them as they are needed. To the south, and through the wildest possible region of rocks, thrown into "all sorts of fantastic forms," making yawning chasms and caverns, the path leads to Hafnprfiord, sheltered by vast parallel ledges of rock, once destroying streams of fire. Near this town is ancient Bessestad, where, for many years, was Iceland's only seat of learning, after- ward removed to Reykjavik. No college in our own land makes a greater display of classical lore on examination-day than did famous Bessestad. 240 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. o A few miles beyond it, many years ajijo, a travelling j)iii'ty stumbled upon the bonea and clothes, strewed around on the rocks, of a woman lost twelve months before, and of whom no tidings had been heard. The eagles and foxes had entirel}'^ consumed the flesh. There is a boiling spring not far distant, under a natural dome, where the cottagers in tliat part of the valley cook their food. What a saving in fuel, and in the getting and liJindling of water I And now we have a succession of exciting wondei*s before us. A mile farther, and there is one unri- valled in the world. From the face of a rock rising twenty feet, and a hundred and fifty in length, burst sixteen boiling springs, two of which, during the ages, have played at hide-and-seek. From an opening, shoots up a column of water for a few moments, then suddenly is gone ; when from another orifice a similar jet, but smaller, immediately rises into the ai'^. And thus at regular interv;ds, un- ceasingly, do these streams of hot water lise and fall. We know of no explanation of a performance in which a system of natural valves seems indispensa^ ble. Boiling springs border the serpentine way, sending up white clouds of incense upon the startlingly silent air. At Krisuvik is the well-known Sulphur Mountain, whose slope is a grand manufactory of the article of commerce after which it is named ; a steaming, crystal-frosted, mud-boiling laboratory, equal to the wants of the world in the staple it produces. The most gifted observer has no language ade- CRATER-CHASM. — Page 239. I 1 p WILD SCENERY. 241 quate to portray the " wonders and terrors of this place. The sensations of a person even of fiim nerves, standinj^ on a support which feebly sustains him, over an abyss, where, literally, fire and brim- stone are in dreadful and incessant action; before tremendous proofs of what is going on beneath him ; enveloped in thick vapors ; his ear stunned wit? thundering noises, — these can hardly be expresset^ in words." Krisuvik lies on the south side. Guldbringd Syssel, or Gold-bringing, because of its fisheries, as may be seen on any map of the Island, stretches far out into the sea, south-west of Reykjavik, and terminating in Cape Reykianes. North of it, and running farther into the ocean, is the peninsula whose remarkable extremity is the grand Snaefell Jokul. Its northern shore is quite unlike the scenery of Guldbringd. A valley, which spreads from the sea to Mount Esian, is level, and green with verdure. An hour's travel, and we reach Saurbar, fi'om whose parish register we have copied a page of the pastor's memoranda. At Leira, a neighboring parish, was formerly the headquarters of a literary society, whose printing-office was here. Farther along the coast is Stapskape, with its mar- vellous columnar rocks, bearing some resemblance to our own Palisades on the Hudson, caverns not unlike Fingal's Cave, and immense arches of the same lava-granite. In the clear air looms ice-crowned Snaefell Jokul. Few feet have ever attempted to scale it, and none ever crossed the awful chasm guard- ing its crest for a hundred feet below, the object of superstitious awe to the islanders. 21 V m V i i 1 -n- 242 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. East of Olafsik, on the north coast of Snaefellsness, is Bulandshofdi Pass, which is along the almost per- pendicular side of a promontory rising two thousand feet from the ocean-surf. The fearful magnificence of this naiTow pathway, the precipice towering a thousand feet above and below, cannot be surpassed. The awe-inspiring sublimity of such desolate heights, often splintered and turreted, which stand like swarthy giants upon the shores that encircle Iceland, is peculiar to it ; and although destitute of verdure, or Scottish glens smiling in their fastness, they leave an impression unsurpassed in vividness and power by any other coast-views, unless Jan Mayen, which but few eyes have ever beheld, be an excep- tion. It was no trivial compliment paid by the French Abb^ Bernard, at the trading-station of Grundar Fiord, not far from this pass, when he said to an Eng- lish tourist, " lis sont si b^tes ; " that is to say, no impression could be made upon the natives. During a two-years' residence, not a convert had been made to the Romish faith, abjured three centuries before. Iceland has its own odd bog-lands. From the sur- face of the land, like small bundles of straw standing endwise, are scattered miniature mounds, covered with fine grass. These are not growths, but thrown up by the action of the frost; and consequently, if any are removed, likely to be restored again. Whatever direction is taken towards the interior, there bursts on the view continually, "some new wonder in the unearthly landscape.*' Sometimes it will be a grassy plain lying in a horse-shoe range of SABBATH AT REYKBOLT. 243 no nor, new es it e of parti-colored hills; beyond which, nearly encircling it, is another line of heights, black, red, and yellow, making the " 5ire-moulded circle seem weird and im- passable. But, doubling the horn, there succeeds a rampart of green hills, opening into glens, gorges, and plains, beyond which is moorland watered by rivers and silvery lakes. Here and there, rise vol- umes of sulphur vapor and steam, from the slopes, and even the surface, of swiftly-flowing streams. In the distance, rises grandly a lofty fell or jokul, burying its crown in a cloud, or gleaming in the sun." We stand at the entrance of the wonderful valley of Reykiiolt. More columns than the eye can dis- tinguish of vapor slowly ascend in the perspective. Advancing along the valley, first from a platform of lava, through several apertures the boiling water is thrown, warning the incautious traveller to keep at a safe distance from all but the smallest jets of the caldron below. Still farther, a massive rock ten feet high, and about forty long, stands in the middle of a rushing ri.er; and from its highest point furiously dashes upward a steaming column. Near it, from the )c ed of the stream itself, issue springs of boiling water. Tt is sabbath day at Reykholt, Aug. 21 ; and without a cloud on the intense blue, since soon after the " noon of night " the sun has been moving along his high arctic curve, flooding the landscape, whose " YQvy volcanic agencies seem to relax their energies, as their steam-columns languidly rise towards the heavens, beckoning the scattered inhabitants of this wild valley to direct their tlioughts above, with more I i < iwn mi > 1 s !f f In u m wi f! iiiii i.,M ri ! n ill k 24 i THE ISLAND OF FIRE. solemnity than the sound of the village bell. Even the cattle, as if conscious of the day, relinquish their rich pastures by the river's bank, and, collected in a group at the entrance of the ' t6n,' appear to enjoy more perfectly at their ease the rare rays of the re- splendent morning. "Files of mounted peasants and their children, dressed in holiday best, are now threading their way from the neighboring farms, and converging to the church ; where, on their arrival, they tether their ponies, and cluster around the entrance, awaiting the appearance of the pastor." A suggestive link, indeed, are these ** motley cav- alcades," between a past generation and the present, including, as they do, all ages, from the sleeping infant, to the aged grandmother, sitting astride her pony, his bushy tail and mane flying in all directions. Silver belts, gilt buttons and breastpins, below the fantastic head-dress, reflect the sunbeams that fall amid the sabbath stillness. Yonder he comes, with tottering step, — the dear old pastor, the venerable patriarch of the valley, attended by three clergymen from adjoining parishes, to assist him in the services his own strength is insufficient to perform. Saluting each member of his flock, he passes into the hushed sanctuary, and the anthem of praise floats out upon the slumbering air. It is eleven o'clock; and, until nearly one, worship is rendered to Him who ia nev^r confused nor deceived by the manifold dialects an^l forms of homage, in the same pure Norse that invoked the smiles of Odin a thousand years ago. We have a fine illustration of the peculiar fascina- SKETCH OF AN ENGLISH TOURIST. 245 the Iked tion of the most desolate portions of Iceland, in the finiohed sketches by Mr. Byrce, an English tourist, of an excursion there in the summer of 1872. The picture we copy is from the side washed by the Arctic Sea. " We reached a high, undulating plateau, strewn with loose, rough slabs of stone, like the pavem'^nt of a ruined city, with here and there sheets of black water, too small for lakes, too big for pools ; patches of bog, and beds of half-thawed snow. The slowly rising clouds showed all round the same country, a land without form and void, a land that seemed as if only half-created, with no feature for the eye to dwell upon ; neither peaks nor valleys, neither rocks nor grass, but everywhere bare, bleak, blank desola- tion. It was not always the same, for sometimes there was more snow, sometimes bog, sometimes only stone ; but one had no sense of progress in it, and felt as if it might go on forever. Late in the after- noon, the stone changed to a rolling plain of black volcanic pebbles ; and, coming at last to an oasis of short grass, we halted to give the horses a feed, though a scanty one, and to discuss our course ; for the clouds had now settled down upon us, and there was no seeing more than a few hundred yards in any direction. Track, or mark to indicate a track, there was of course none. " Next morning early, when we again mounted, and started, unrefreshed, upon our way, every thing was still wrapped in cloud. About nine o'clock, however, the mist suddenly rose, and then vanished ; the sun shone out, and the wished-for jokuU appeared, a 11 if! * : S-1 n'i 246 TEE ISLAND OF FIRE. I \ * -'t m^ '[ I long, flat-topped, smooth-sloped ridge of ice, four oi five miles to the east of us, trending away south far- ther than eye could reach. So the way was now plain ; and we rode on as fast as the roughness of the ground permitted, where flats covered with the over- flow of glacier torrents alternated with rocky or shingly hills, and with the iron billows of successive lava-flows. The scene was unlike yesterday's, aa drear and solitary, but with a certain weird splendor of its own ; on one side, the smooth, endless line of snow-field ; on the other, an immense plain, flooded with sunlight, with a few tiny volcanic cones rising on its extreme western marge ; right in front, two bold, snowy mountain groups, the square mass of Lang JokuU, and opposite it five sharp icy pinnacles capping the ridge of Bldngny Jokull ; between them a depression, through which we were to pass to the south, and which, so clear was the air, seemed no nearer at six o'clock, after incessant quick riding, than when we had caught sight of*it before noon. ^ " The unfruitful sea is not more lonely or more waste than this wilderness, shut in by frozen barriers. Yet it was not a howling wilderness, such as that which awes a child is imagination in the Hebrew prophets, such as that we had traversed the day before ; but full of a strange, stern beauty, stilling the soul with the stillness of nature. There was not a cloud in the sky, not a bird, not an insect, not a flow- eret at our feet ; only the blue dome of air raining down brightness on the black desert floor, the daz- zling snows in front, and far away exquisite tints of distance upon the western peaks. And then the SKETCH BY AN ENGLISH TOURIST. 247 silence, what was ever like it ? a silence, not as of death, but as of a time before life was. To us, the scene was all the more solemn becp'ise of yesterday's cloud, and the weary night ; for there was nothing to connect what we now saw with the region we had left on the northern side of the desert ; we could no more tell how we had got there than how we should pet out. It was like a leap into fairy-lard, and, in- deed, despite our exhaustion, a delicious leap, for the air was so fine and keen, the sky so brilliant, the aspect of every thing so novel, that the barrenness underfoot, and the sense of danger in case any mis- fortune befell us so far from human help, did not seem to depress us ; and each rode alone in a sort of grave exhilaration, 'gazing as in a dream at the hills, and drinking in the sunlight, content with silence and the present. " The sun went down as we entered the majestic, sand-strewn portal between the two jokulls ; and the eastern one, on whose snows his light lingered long- est, glowed with colors more glorious than any we could remember in the Alps ; the rose, perhaps, less vivid than that which burns at dawn upon the Silber- horn, but with it an infinitely varied and tender ftlternation of violet and purple, opal and pink and grange, passing from one tint to another in swift iri- lescent pulses till they died away into chilly blue. Darkness had hardly descended before what had seemed a steel-gray bank of cloud in the north-east turned to an auroral arch, which soon shot forth its streamers across the zenith, throbbing and glancing from one side of heaven to the other, and flinging 1 ii I ^im !^s T f ' ? > I ' 1 ■• ■ .1 1 j i ■ if 1 248 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. themselves into exuberant folds and curves of vapor- ous light. " When the saffron robe of morning was spread over the east, we were among new mountains, with the pass already far away ; and when from behind one of their pinnacles the sun suddenly flamed up, we were descending towards the Great White Lake, My- vatn, one of the largest in the country, over whose bosom two glaciers streaming down between savage, ink-black cliffs, scattered a shower of miniature ice- bergs, that sailed about, sparkling in the morning Hght." Krossholm, in Northern Iceland, received its name from a cross raised on the highest summit, along the beautiful valley of Hvam, by the widow of Baldur the Rich, a sea-rover who, having embraced Christianity in England, was slain there. After his death she returned to Iceland, and erected the sacred symbol ; which, after she died, was removed, and a heathen temple erected on the very spot where it stood. In this connection, we are reminded that the most memorable domestic festivals were the funeral feasts, which were sometimes on a grand scale, attended by many hundreds of guests, and continued several days. It is related, that, at Hjalke's death, fourteen hundred persons kept this Viking *' wake." A man of wealth named And, when he knew death was near, made a magnificent feast, distributing his pro- perty to his heirs, and presents to his friends. It was a custom sacredly regarded to have th■■ i (."■' 'm m H M Hk rt ti^Kij Ie W Hk 11 Si- < U vv hi" f i is THE GREAT OEYBER. 351 through which the boiling flood is thrown upward £i'om its mysterious depths. When the Geyser is at rest, the eye looks down upon a pool of water, clear as crystal ; none more pellucid, perhaps, in the world. Watching it, tlio surface is troubled with the unceasing ebullition, ready for the tremendous explosion, whose approach is heralded by signal-guns, exactly resembling distant cannon, and by the trembling of the earth. The agitation increases ; the water rolls over the basin's edge ; and jets, a dozen feet in heijj^ht, are thiown upwards with a roar like that of artillery. And this is all the traveller may see for days. At length subterranean thunders and shocks increase, like the "firing from a fleet of ships on a rejoicing day," when the cannon are discharged without regularity, — now singly, and now two or three at the same moment. Then follows jet after jet, increasing in volume and height, till a hundred feet of the col- umnar waters rise in the air, the base a vast mound of foam, indescribable in magnificence and beauty. It rolls and flashes through the cloud of mist which veils its impressive wonders, mounting up- ward in compact shafts, then burating into number- less long and slender " streamlets of spray," shot like rockets in every direction ; all sparkling like a cascade of diamonds in the sun. In a few moments, suddenly the pageant falls and disappears, while the beholder is spellbound with its glories ; and only the basin, with its cloud of steam, is left again. The provision nature furnishes always for making If I'i ■i 252 THE ISLAND OF FTRE. 11 ■ a cup of the indispensable tea, is pleasantly told by one who drank it on the spot. A shepherd-boy brought into camp some milk and cream, when Zoega the guide exclaimed, — " * Just in time, sir. I'll make the tea in a min- ute.* ,v • .; ... :, ... .,: " ' Where's your fire ? * " * Oh I we don't reed fire here : the hot water is always ready. There's the big boiler up yonder.' " I looked where Zoega pointed, and saw, about a hundred yards off, a boiling caldron. This was our grand tea-kettle. Upon a nearer inspection, I found that it consisted of two great holes in the rocks, close together, the larger of which was about thirty feet in circumference, and of great depth. The water was as clear as crystal. It was easy to trace the white stratum of rocks, of which the sides were formed, down to the neck of the great shaft through which the water was ejected. Flakes of steam floated off from the surface of the crystal pool, which was generally placid. Only at occasional intervals did it show any symptoms of internal commotion. By dipping my finger down a little way, I found that it was boiling hot. Five minutes' immersion would be sufficient to skin and boil an entire man. / '* Nature has bountifully put these boilers here for the use of travellers. Not a stick or twig of wood grows wi hin a circuit of many miles ; and, without fuel, of course it would be impossible to cook food. Here a leg of mutton, submerged in a pot, can be beautifully boiled, plum-puddings cooked, eggs, fish, or any thing you please, done to a nicety. AU SUNRISE. 253 this I knew before ; but I had no idea that the vater was pure enough for drinking purposes. Such, how- ever, is the fact. No better water ever came out of the earth, in a boiled condition. To make a pot of tea, you simply put your tea into your pot, hold on to the handle, dip the whole concern down into the water, keep it there a while to draw, and your tea is made. "I found it excellent, and did not, as I appre- hended, discover any unpleasant flavor in the water. It may be slightly impregnated with sulphur, though that gives it rather a wholesome smack. To me, however, it tasted very much like any other hot water." The same traveller thus complains of the nightless days while camping here : — " How in the world could anybody be expected to sleep where there was no night ? At twelve o'clock, when it ought tc be midnight, and ghosts stirring about, it was broad day. '* After an uneasy doze, I looked out, and the sun's rays appeared upon the distant mountains. A strange time of the night for the sun to be getting up, only half-past one ; when people in most other parts of the world are snug in bed, and don't expect to see a streak of sunshine for at least foiu* or five hours. How different from any thing I had ever before seen was the sunrise in Iceland ! No crow- ing of the cock, no singing of the birds, no merry ploughboys whistling up the horses in tho barnyard, no cherry-cheeked milkmaids singing love-ditties aa they tripped the green with their pails pon theii 2a i" t i T ^wtrngm 254 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. heads. All was grim, silent, and deathlike. And yet surely, for all that, the delicate tints of the snow- capped mountains, the peaks of which were now steeped in the rays of the rising sun, the broad valley slumbering in the shade, the clear, sparkling atmos- phere, and the exquisite coloring of the Laugafell, — (he mighty crag that towers over the geysers, — rere beauties enough to redeem the solitude, and unbue the deserts with a celestial glory." A few rods from the Geyser, is the Strokr, or ihurn, which occasionally makes an exhibition sec- ond in grandeur only to the Geyser. It seems to be there for the amuj- ement of travellers, while waiting for the uncertain explosions of the monarch of boil- ing springs. Its crater, in form, is the reverse of its superior, resembling a saucer in its natural position, minus the bottom ; while that is like the same piece of crockery Inverted. Visitors and their guiles dig turf, and pne it in heaps by the mouth ; and, when large enor.gh to choke Strokr badly, it is turned over into his throat, After a brief time spent in a noisy but vain effort to masticate or swallow the mass, with a tremendous spasm the angry Strokr sends it forth and upward, mottling the crystal cata- ract with the ascendiiig earth and stones. The word "geyser" itself is very descriptive, meaning, to rush out impetuously. The most plausible theory of the cause of these marvellous springs, is that of immense cavities of water so confined in the depths below, that in- crease of heat, and consequently steam, at any time, upon the surface, forces it through the orifice beneath » i.' THE GREAT GEYSER. 255 the water-level, upward into the air. The heating forces are always at work, but are so irregular in the supply of steam that tourists frequently wait several days before they have a first-class exhibition of the Great Geyser. Dr. Henderson, who, it seems, discovered the effect of choking the Strokr with stones or turf, gives the different heights of the column of the Great Geyser in the years 1762, 1772, 1789, 1804, 1809, and 1810, riidng from three hundred and sixty feet^ first date, and the last, ninety feet. Nor is there any record of an elevation since 1804, when it was two hundred and twelve feet, as measured by Lieut. Oplsen, a Danish officer, with a quadrant of over one half that height. these ies of t in- time, neath : , -fi *;--;r = n < ■i] I ! ' 1 nf il . iP .^ 1 ;:» ^•^J' :i . I CHAPTER XX^l. Mount Hekla.— Magnificent "View fr its Top, — Sturtshelllr Cav- ern. — Its Wild Mythology and Traditions. — Bulandshofdi Pann, — Mud Caldron. — Dettifoss Falls. — Eagle - Tanis. — Grettis Tak. — Thurrisilale.— Fording liivers. — Dog-tournainent. — Flora. a'^HE perilous path south-easterly to Hekla is - through the usual variety of volcanic scenery, but wilder and more difficult in some of its features as the traveller approaches the volcano. The ascent is toilsome, and, like Alpine mountain-paths, some- times crossed with chasms, and attended with perils. But we can look over the landscape from its brow, with the eyes of the first American, so far as we know, who reached its top. r < " Here I stood on the highest summic of Mount Hekla. A more magnificent prospect was never seen. Iceland was spread below and around me like a map. We were nearly five thousand feet above the level of the sea, and higher than the tops of nearly every mountain in Iceland. To the west and north-west 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 rib))ons. Far in the north, and to the north-east, were the snowy mountains, not in peaks, but stretching avvay in immense T^l'ius of brilliant white, and glisteniug in the 8r.j.cbme. MOUNT HECLA. 267 map. level every L-west kered iVhite, s like ,0 the Ipeaks, illiant '* fn a valley, some twenty miles to the north-\»^e8t, W/Wi n Ijeaiitifiil cluster of lakes, the water often of a dcf'j) gree/i fjolor, as they reflected the meadows on their hnnkn. Now and then in the landscape would appear Ih'! Iceland ' forest,' like patches of shrub- hery of a dark green hue. Some hills and old lava diijtricts were covered with heath, now in full bloom, and clothing the land in a robe of purple. The sur- face of Hekla itself, and the ground on every side some distance from the base, was one black mass of lava. ^ ^' "- >^ - ' " To the north-west, and near at hand, rising ab- ruptly from the plain to the height of twenty-five hundred feet, was Bjolfell, a bold and singular- looking mountain. A dark cloud lay in the south- east, intercepting the view ; but en every other side the sky was clear, and the prospect uninterrupted. To the south, far out to sea, — distant about forty miles, — were the Westman Islands, rising abruptly out of the water to the height of more than two thousand 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, not excepting iEtna in Sicily, and Vesuvius in Italy. Though these latter countries are far richer in natu- ral productions, and abound in cities and towns, and the Bay of Naples is proverbial for its beauty, yet I must say that the v^ew from Mount Hekla is far 2a» !!' ' i;;-(^alh'd Icelandic forest, where, in addition to the usual birch and willow trtes, there are bushes bearing a siaall berry, called the "blueberv)," the only thing of the fruit kind in Iceland. " Here, too, is found that most beautiful ot all the shrubs and floWers of Iceland, the frac^raut heath." This beautiful carpet of the lava is one of the first plants found growing upon the thin lava-beds, and A FAMOUS CAVERN. 25$ SI nting alK'tl l)ivch laall >f the most 3 first Vi and covers nearly one-half of Iceland. The course of the journey brings us to the Thiors{i's banks, where we behold a turbulent and mighty current, sweeping with resistless force to the southern coast. The river is larger than the Hudson at Newburgh, swift as an arrow, white with clay from the mountains, and cold as ice, — in appearance a most formidable stream. Travellers are ferried across in a frail skiff, the guide sitting in the stern of the boat, and leading the horses as they swim behind- Travelling directly down the Thiorsa, and from thence Joaig the south- ern coast, we gain a fine view in clear whither of Eyjafelle and Tindfelle Jokuls- which stand in bold relief against the eastern sky. This route brings the traveller to Skulholt, situated in the forks of the Bruar4 and the Hvita Rivers. Though dignified, on some of our maps, with the title of the " capital " of Iceland, it is simply a farm ; aid contains the ruins of a smitll cathedral church, wbere one of the bishops of Iceland used to ofl&ciate. The tourist north will be likely to visit the famous cavern at Sturtsheller. Here, according to the Voluspa, Surtur, the demon " who is one day to destroy the universe with fire," had his abode. Bandits, during the early centuries, found a safe hid- ing-place within it« gloomy j>ortals. Of the savage and tragical life here, we have som^ account in writ- ten traditions. Among these is the story of the Cave-men ; a mixture, doubtless, of fact and fiction. The lawless heroes of the narrative were fifteen pu- pils of the school at Holar. Having murdered an old woman, they fled with her daughters, seeking a r W iti-T fT-r nm .; , 260 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. m j ' :| ' . . i \ m 1 '■' i »ii _ 1 \ r ! ■ iii i .-i secure solitude. At length they made Sturtshellir their lonely retreat. They became an organized band, foraging among the flocks and herds of the nearest farms. They appeared at the parish church at Kalmanstunga, armed, placing themselves back to back, in two rows in the nave, for mutual de- fence. Drowning their own children, they rarely, if ever, murdered the peasants, who lived in constant fear of death at their liands. To get rid of these Cave-men, a courageous young man joined the band, learned their haunts and habits, and betrayed them. After various fortunes, feigning sickness, he was left alone one day, with their women ; when, mounting a horse grazing at the mouth of the cavern, he gal- loped home. He soon after led an armed force to their wayside camping-ground, and fell upon them wliile asleep. After a deadly fight, the outlaws w^ere slain. The victors then marched to the cavern, only to have another bloody encounter with the women, who defended themselves bravely by hurling down firebrands, and pouring water upon them. They at last were also conquered. The daring young leader lost a foot in this adventure, but won the highest ad- miration of his countrymen. About midway from Husafell to Sturtsheller * is the depopulated village of Kahnanstunga ; a sad memo- rial of famine and disease, which have left only a single farmhouse, the ruins of a stone church, and an overgrown burying-ground, with its scarcely visi- ble hillocks. What tales of lonely agony, death, and hasty interment, had they voices, could they tell us ! The proprietor of the byre is a stone-cutter, carv- * See page 205. s the icino- mly a , and r visi- , and 11 us ! carv- CAVE OF STURSHELLlUk. — Page 259. Il'ii i *• ('". ill i'O i a ' • u i ': ii ■ i • f ; t j ! f ' f ^ : II % II REGIONS OF SOLITUDE. 261 Ing headstone . for the graves of his remote country- ^ men, a silversmith, and a genius generally. Not far beyond his home, rolls swiftly a branch oi the White Kiver, boi«lering a forest many of whose birches are eight feet in height; so that here, at least, it may be said, Icelandic woods '•'•wave their boughs in the breeze." * • ' Between Reykholt and Miklaholt, along a wild and unfrequented path, westward on the southern line of the Snaefells Syssel, travelled only by sheep-hunt- ers, and amid scenery in which " new forms and new colors present themselves at every moment, the red, vitrified-looking inland sea tossed hither and . thither by the once surging vapors beneath, the sur- face of its waves blo\7n ^''^to a thousand fantastic shapes, as if regiments of demon glass-blowers had chosen this as the scene of their labors,'" rises Eld- ', borg, or the Fortress of Fire. It is an old crater, eighteen hundred feet in diameter, resembling the turret of a monitor — "a sand-and-cind-jr " height, encircled by a rampart, and a relic of fiery floods. There are regions of unvisited solitude, where re- pose crystal lakes, into which the curious traveller sometimes looks, the home only of wild birds, among which the eagle holds his kingly eyrie. They are called after him. Eagle-tarns. On the way north- ward from Thingvalla, is Grettis-Tak, and the mys- terious Thorirsdale. The Tak is a massive slab of stone, with an aperture evidently intended for guid- ance to the mountain depths of dreariest seclusion it is possible to imagine. Fable says Grettir carried that rock, which he had perforated, too heavy for a II ,! < I * f 'l! * "I I ,, 1 i m ttl ^ /a om 4V IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 1.4 2.5 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation mJ/ ''/ # ^ sr ^^ ^ ,.v / A. I "^ 23 WEST MAIN n I iiiiii I 280 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. tion to royalty was the perfection of dignity and graco. Then the bishop and other dignitaries, advancing from the foot of the garden, led by a scarlet-coated chamberlain, entered the governor's residence. In the crowd outside were seen a few of the an- cient costumes, mingled with the prevailing modern styles of dress. Many of the women " wore square bodices of some dark color, a gown with many plaits about the waist, with bright blue or red aprons. Nearly all had a flat cap, or, rather, a circular piece of black cloth, on the top of the head, with a long black tas- sel on one side, hanging from a silver or gilded cyl- indrical ring, an inch or two in length. Some of the girls had their hair braided, but many wore it loose ; and one maiden's magnificent pale-yellow mane sug- gested a descent from Brynhilde. The men showed only two colors, — the brown of their wadmal coats and trousers, and the ruddy tan of their faces. Few of them are handsome, and their faces are grave and undemonstrative ; but they inspire confidence by the simple strength expressed in the steady blue eye, and the firm set of the lips. There were plenty of tawny or piebald ponies, with manes like lions, in the streets." While the king is resting in the cheerful hospi- tality of Gov. Finsen's home, we turn to see and hear who came, and what they brought to the jubilee of a thousand years since Naddod's colony built their habitations on the island. Among the large number of foreigners besides the FOREIGN CELEBRITIES. 281 American delegation, which includes Mr. Murat Hal- stead, England has sent Mr. William II. Gladstone, son of the late premier ; Mr. George Browning, secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts ; Mr. Eirik Magnu jn, one of the Hbrarians of the University of Cambridge ; Dr. David Ker, of *' The London Daily News," and many others. From the Scandinavian lands have come a bmall host of au- thors and artists and students, including, besides those already mentioned, the poets Karl Andersen and Nordal Rolfsen, the marine painters Sorensen and Boll, the antiquary Worsaae, and the Danish critic, Richard Kaufmann. The *' Pester Lloyd," one of the chief journals of Hungary, commissioned one of its editors. Dr. Max Nordau, to be present at the pro- ceedings. Even "farthest Ind" has its represen- tative, in the person of Dr. G. W. Leitner, head of the government college at Lahore, and editor of the " India Public Opinion." The collection of books sent to the National Li- brary of Iceland by American authors and scholars, as a contribution in connection with the celebration, was unexpectedly large. Mr. Henry Braem, the Danish consul at New York, generously forwarded, at his own expense, no fewer than twenty-two cases and twelve packages, given by Harvard College, Yale College, Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin, by the State libraries at Albany and Har- risburg, and by the cities of Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, &c. Numerous packages were also sent forward, either directly, by way of Scotland, or through the Smithsonian Institution. 282 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. i::''i From England, the most important gift was that of the University of Oxford, consisting of the publica- tions of the Clarendon Press; a series of standard works, numerous enough to constitute a library of themselves. The old Scandinavian spirit had responded during the summer, wherever the descendants of the North- men lived, to the appeal made by the approaching millennial to their historic pride. While Norwegian authors and societies republished ancient, and added new memorials of Iceland's former greatness, public meetings were called, and addresses voted to its peo- plg. Universities appointed delegates ; and even the Norwegian Parliament passed enthusiastically the motion to forward their formal congratulations. Nor was our own land, which absorbs " every kindred, ^ongue, and people," wanting in the Norse blood, and its quickened flow in prospect of the millennial. A celebration was appointed and observed at Mil- waukee, an account of which is given in another chapter. .„,; ., The Lutheran bishop of Iceland, Petursson, culti- vated and finished gentleman ; Herr Thorberg, gov- ernor of the southern district; and the faculty of the university, with inferior officials, — spared no possible attentions to make our American delegation at home and happy in their visit. ; v«i y^- -»-^ The prevailing languages in conversation, between the inhabitants and foreigners, were French, Danish, and English ; the latter more frequently employed by the ladies, who spoke it with " fluency and ele- gance," and the first-named by the gentlemen. All t 'ill THE MILLENNIAL. 283 classes ace sensitive on the single point, recognized equality, whatever the outward relation for the time. It is the grand old Gothic independence and self- respect, which demands the regard for his humanity and its rights claimed by another, unaffected by the trappings and badges of merited or unmerited dis- tinction. Sunday morning, Aug. 2, dawned gloriously upon the island, after the storm of previous days. The distant jokuls, through the marvellously transparent air, lifted their crowns of empurpled white ; beneath which, tinged with brown, their dark sides sloped away, like majestic robes, into shadows softened with the golden light. The harbor presented a fairy scene. The flags of a dozen nationalities flut- tered in the breeze ; even " the fishing-smacks were gay with bunting," the interlinked banners all radi- ant with the splendors which played upon their ever- changing folds. It can scarcely create wonder, that, on such an anniversary, the sabbath lost its usual quiet, and, with a subdued festivity, presented the stu- and ani- mation of a national jubilee. Among the banners flying from every house on shore, was conspicuous " Young Iceland's " standard, supplanting the Danish stock-fish ; its blended colors, white, red, and blue, with the lordly falcon embroi- dered in the centre. At half-past ten o'clock the crowd began to move towards the open door of the cathedral. The build- ing id plain, with a tower, and cMme of bells. On this great occasion the relics of the dress of olden time re-appeared. f I 1 ! -J .'iiJii:-.! I- tl .' '1 284 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. ** The open, grassy square around the old building was covered with picturesque groups of people ; tlie lake in the rear of the town glittered in the sun, and the high peaks of Keylur slept in the blue dis- tance. Genuine Icelandic costumes appeared at last, and original and graceful they were. The women wore white helmets of a curious pattern ; the horn curving over in front, six inches above the head, the base richly embroidered with gold, and a white veil thrown over all, and floating upon the shoulders. They had also closely-fitting jackets of dark cloth, heavily braided with gold or silver, and broad belts of silver filagree work. Not more than half a dozen of the men, in all, wore the old national costume. It consists of a jacket and knee-breeches of dark- gray homespun cloth, stockings of the same cloth, sealskin shoes, and a round hat, with the brim turned up. , The only ornament is a bow of red ribbon at the knee." The royal party, followed by foreign naval officers, soon entered the church, the choir singing an anthem, ten having been composed for the occa- sion. The chandeliers flung their light upon the altar, and from gallery pillars festooned with wreaths of Iceland's mountain heather. A wreath of flowers encircled the beautiful marble font given by Thor- waldsen, formerly kept at Holar. The liglifc-red walls and dark panelling of the audience-room, enlivened by these simple decorations, gave an impressive air, whose harmony with the day, place, and ceremonies, was felt by all. ICELAND'S TnOUSAND TEARS. 285 lilding e ; tlie e sun, ae dis- at last, women e horn ad, tho ite veil ulders. cloth, d belts I dozen >stume. f dark- cloth, turned bon at ifficers, |ng an occa- The usual order of Lutheran worship now opened before a crowded assembly, but only a fraction of the gathered multitude. " At the same hour the same service, with its striking lesson for the day, — parts of the Ninetieth Psalm, — was celebrated in more than two hundred churches throughout the island. Bisho23 Petursson wore a pallium presented ages ago, by one of the popes, to an old Icelandic bishop ; the altar ablaze with candles ; and the verses, * Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations : for a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past,' produced, under the circumstances, feelings of no ordinary interest." The " Psalm of Praise," written by Mathias Joch- umson, tho music by Sveinbjornasson, moved the Ice- landers as never before any multitude was stirred, in their humble temples of worship. The refrain, " Islands Pusand Ar " ( " Iceland's Thousand Years "), rang with solemn, subdued power through the cathedral, filling the eyes of the native population with tears of chastened gladness, and rev- erent homage to Him with whom " a thousand years are as one day." The sermon, intelligible only to the Icelanders, was delivered in the customary half-chanting style ; but they gave to it close attention, as is their habit in all religious services. This rehgious celebration of an hour and a half closed with another anthem of great pathos and mel- ody, to which the language is so well adapted. Without a formal procession, the invited guests i M 286 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. !• i I:ti repaired, at four o'clock, to the royal banquet at the University Build' n^. Muny from inland were per- mitted to look in upon the appetizinj^ wonders of the table, which they for the first time beheld, — a con- tiiujntal table spread in Iceland. Those that sat down to the feast were nearly all dressed in civil, naval, or military uniform. " The royal marshal. Baron Holten, who seems to have been chosen, like his fellow-marshals at all courts, for love of good cheer and good fellowship, Gov. Finssen, Minister Klein, Capt. Malte-Brun, Adm. Lagercrautz of the Swedish navy, the bishop, Chief- Justice Jonasson, and, finally, hale and hearty Dr. Ajaltalin, vere among the number. Last of all came Madam Finssen, preceding the king and Prince Waldemar. Tall and stately, in her black moire robe, she was as composed and perfect in manner as when she descended the garden steps to welcome his majesty. " The king walked around the circle without any ceremony, exchanging a few words with each person as he passed. Prince Waldemar is not more than eighteen or nineteen, and still boyishly diffident in his manner. He seemed inclined to keep in the background as much as possible." At the blast of the trumpets of the band, the king, with Madam Finssen on his arm, led the company to the banqueting hall, decorated with flags and arms, to partake of a dinner, for the most part imported in cans from Copenhagen. Danish silver shone on the tables, and by it lay a gold-lettered bill of Dan- ish fare j with a sight of all others^ the rarest and THE PEOPLE'S FESTIVAL. S97 most tempting to the natives, — black Hamburg giaj)eH. After the feast, the king rose, and warmly thanked the people for the hearty welcome which had greeted him, and gave the sentiment, " Long live old Ice- land 1 " The band played ; a signal from the roof opened the iron tongues of the war-ships, sending their battle-music along the i>eaceful shores. Speeches and toasts from Klein, minister of justice, and other distinguished guests, completed the ban- quet. At six o'clock the crowd moved towards the hill- side a mile distant, to hold the " People's Festival ; '* passing the prison, Reykjavik's finest structure, but without an inmate to appreciate its cleanly rooms and verdant lawn. The declivity is crowned with a tower, built by the students for sheltered pastimes, now serving the purpose of a beacon for the harbor, and also for in- land travellers. Upon the cleared, broad brow of the hill, around the speaker's stand, gathered two thousand people. The king's tent was pitched near, and another for refreshments. The elevation commanded a fine view of Reykjavik, cradled between two hills ; the harbor dotted with islands, and the dark ranges of hills and mountains piled away against the horizon. The king's suite entered the area, and a salute with hand-grenades cost a gunner his right hand. Then a grand old song floated away to the sea, and blended with its dashings upon the same dhores it i^^mmm i f i ! 1 f il! " V ' f" u 'i" •- : i ■■ ? :' It . 1 1 1 - ■ • ? ' ' 5 • 1 i : i ' 288 r/7f: ISLAND OF FIRE. washed a thousand years ago, changed only in out- lines by fire and flood. Speeches were next in order from foreign visitors, with songs between them by a male choir from the capital. Bayard Taylor contributed a beautiful poem to the occasion, extemporized on shipboard, and translated into Icelandic by Mathias Jochums- Bon, who has given his countrymen, in Icelandic, some of the plays of Shakspeare. The effusion needed no apology from its author. He was introduced on this occasion by Mr. Magniisson, as the skald from America. He made a brief and enthusiastic speech in Danish, concluding with the sentiment, "Hail to Iceland, and the whole Norse race I '* AMERICA TO ICELAND. We come, the children of thy Vinland, The youngest of the world's high peers, O land of steel and song and saga, To greet thy glorious thousand years! Across that sea, the son of Erik Dared with his venturous dragon's prow: From shores where Thorfinn set thy banner Their latest children seek thee now. \$ Hail! motherland of skalds and heroes, By love of freedom hither hurled ; Fire in their hearts as in tiiy mountains, Aud strength like thine to shake the world I When war and ravage wrecked the nations, The bird of song made thee her home; The ancient godd, the ancient glory, Still dwelt within thy shores of foam. Here, as a fount may keep its virtue Where all the rivers turbid run. The manly growtli of deed and daring Was thine beneath a scantier sun. i EXCURSIONS. Set far apart, neglected, exiled, Thy children wrote tiieir nines of pride, With power that brings, in this thy triumph, The conquering nations to thy side. What though thy native harps be silent? The chord they struck shall ours prolong: We claim thee kindred, call thee mother, O land of saga, steel, and song! 289 A half-hour's reception was given by the king, and improved by a large number of the assemblage. The impression made by the kindly dignity and interest in the people, by Christian IX., was expressed in quiet admiration by the words, *' He is very friendly, and we are sure he is honest." Aug. 5, the royal party mounted ponies for the geysers, through Thingvalla, to return there in time for the closing festivities of the Millennial. At the same time the American party started on a similar excursion. The falling rain did not prevent the gathering of the natives to see the cavalcades leave their capital. The interpreter of the Yankee procession was the daughter of '^'oega ; the honest guide, if we mistake not, of the second tourist from this country who visited the island, and the first, if not the only one, to make sketches of its scenery. Zoega had taught the sprightly girl English, during the long winter evenings, which she was now making useful. The clouds broke away ; and the " stony promon- tory of Reykjavik " gleamed in the bursts of sunlight, as the companies disappeared along its narrow path, Bending back, through an atmosphere clear as evei 26 Iff mi ,! 2dO THE ISLAND OF FIRE. il ? i ■■ '■'!' ft ■! ii I i bi h-i ,1: : fanned the lungs of man or heast, the crack of the whip, and the clatter of hoofs. Fording the Salmon iiiver, and on through the lovely vale of Soljadialr, beside its crystal stream, they galloped rapidly, " the curlew and the plover piping their melancholy notes from the darip hollows sprinkled here and there." As the day wore away, they defiled from the gorge of the Almanne-Gjo. into Thingvalla, and halted near the parsonage. The rain came down, and the tents went up. A little later, and the king's ser- vants in red coats were preparing supper In the cor- ner of a stone wall, in a fireplace among the rocks ; the royal silver " scarcely distinguished, in the twi- light, from republican tin" in the American camp. Christian IX. was quite at ease, replying to salu- tations with one hand, while the other held a piece of bread or m'^at. A pleasant day may be passed in this grand valley, among the numberless chasms, in whose fathomless depths of clear, imprisoned water glide young trout, whose only entrance there must have been by sub- terranean channels far below, connecting with the lake half a mile away. The ragged borders and the mouths of caverns are fringed with beautiful lichens, mosses, and two or three varieties of modest flowers, smiling in the gloom, — beauty on the bosom of gigantic strength. The next night's encampment was by the Great Geyser, where the exhibitions of the boiling, up- springing floods were enjoyed by their royal proprie- tor, and at the same time by the republicans, who A ROYAL PICNIC. 291 had sailed over a wider sea than he had crossed, to see them. While here, the king, with his attendants, as- cended a hill, where he carved on the lava-rock his royal monogram. " Among the visitors who came in from the scat- tered farms were several sick persons, who had made long visits, in the hope of finding a physician in the king's suite. Disappointed in this, they turned to Di. Hayes and Dr. Iljal " ^ The first case was a man suffering from Bright's Disease ; for which, un- fortunately, we had no raedicines. But the medi- cine-chest, when it was opened, attracted the visitors with a singular power. " Soon afterwards came a married couple, the mother carrying a baby ; which, as it needed but a glance to see, was almost dying of croup. They had carried the poor child on horseback for five hours, in the hope of finding relief. There was no time to be lost. Hot baths and poultices were ordered at the byre near at hand, and in the mean time an opiate was administered. The gasping and writhing of the child was too much for those strong Icelandic men. The mother stood, calm and firm, holding it ; but Zoega ran away in one direction, and Eyvindur in another, crying like children ; and the farmers turned aside their heads to hide their tears. " At the byre, nothing could exceed the kindness of tlie farmer's family ; in fact, of all who could help. The king's purveyor furnished white bread for a poultice ; a hot bath was made ready ; and the father stuffed the child's clothes into his bosom, to 292 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. r ffi.i i m > i m keep them warm for it. All night the people watched with it ; and the next morning everybody looked happy on hearing that its condition had somewhat improved." Aug. 6 the tents were struck, and the processions were on the march to Thingvalla. When the sun hung low upon its heights, the scene was rare as it was striking. Along the base of Almanne-Gja, tents were pitched upon the green slopes ; on the river-bank were four large pavilions, flanked with smaller ones ; from the Mount of Laws shot up a flagstaff, with the new banner, a white falcon on ground of blue, streaming in the e^'^citlug breeze ; opposite, towards the cataract of the Ayas, was the platform gayly festooned, and shaded with the interlockiixg flags of the nationaUties represented at the jubilee. Up and down the valley, upon grassy- elevations, were grouped the thousands of people, and over them banners were flying ; camp-fires sent up their lazy columns of smoke ; while ringing laugh- ter, and shouts of merriment, echoed along the mu- nition of rocks. Before the entrance of the grand pavilion, was one of the most impressive occasions of the jubilee. It was the singing, by the choi^, of Mr. Jochumsson's " Minni Konung's a Thingvelli," or, " The King's Welcome to Thingvalla." It was sung to the fine Danish air, " King Christ- ian lays uside his Sword." THE KING'S WELCOME TO THINGVALLA. 293 nsson s THE KING'S WELCOME TO THINGVALLA. I. With strong foot treatl the holy ground, Our snow-land's king, the lofty-hearted, Who from thy royal home has parted. To greet these liills thaf guard ur round! Our freedom's scroll thy hand has lent us, The ftrst of kings whom God has sent us, Hail! welcome to our country's heart I n. Land's-father, here the Law-Mount view! Behold God's works in all their vastnessi Where sawest thou Freedom's fairer fastness, With fire-heaved ramparts, waters blue? Here sprang the sagas of our splendor; Here every Iceland heart is tender: GkMi built this altar for his flock I in. Here, as in thousand years of old, Sound the same words, a voice unended, As when their life and law defended The spearmen with their shields of gold: The same land yet the same speech f^veth. The ancient soul of Freedom liveth, And hither, king, we welcome thee! IV. But now are past a thousand years, As in the people's memory hoarded, And in G^d's volume stand recorded Their strife and trial, woes and fears; Now let the hope of better ages Be what thy presence, king, presages! Now let the prosperous time be sure! V. Our land to thee her thanks shall yield, A thousand years thy ncune be chanted. Here, where the Hill of Law is planted, 'Twixt fiery fount and lava-field: We pray All-Father, our dependence. To bless thee and thy far descendants, And those they rule, a thousand years! 85* 294 TUE ISLAND OF FIRE. ' f .■^ The effect was owerful and very apparent. Calm, almost expressionless eyes grew bright, and the flush of excitement rose on many cheeks. The guests then moved into the spacious tent; and an excellent breakfcist was served, in which Icelandic salmon, and other fish of native waters, reminded tliem of soil on which the tables were spread. Thomsson of Bessestad made the opening speech in Danish. ' " He repeated the old legend of the first discoverer of Iceland meeting a dragon, a bull breathing flame, and a giant coming down from the mountains with an iron staff, all three of which the hero must over- come before he could possess the land ; and then, likening Christian IX. to the hero, left us in doubt as to whom or what was typified by the three mon- sters. The compliment to the king found the Ice- landers warmed, and prepared to receive it ; and the end was his majesty's health, with nine tremendous cheers. The king returned thanks, with evident feeling, p,nd gave as a toast, * Prosperity to sublime Iceland ! ' " After a health to Queen Louise of Denmark, pro- posed by Chief-Justice Jonasson, Eirikr Magntissen made the speech of the occasion. It was in Ice- landic ; but the rich rhythm and resonance of the ancient tongue were a delight to the ear. Its con- trast with the previous Danish speeches was surpris- ing. The natives present kindled and warmed as the speaker proceeded, until there was a burst of * Bravo ! ' after almost every sentence. In fact, in spite of the open loyalty of the speech; it was power- A NOVEL OATnERtNO. 295 fully calculated to arouse the national pride. Mag- nusson spoke of the Icelanders as being themselves of kingly blood, as obedient only to honor and hon- esty, and as claiming an equal measure of respecc with that they yielded. His words were manly, not defiant. The very beginning of the address, * Sir King,* instead of ' Your Majesty,' struck the old independent keynote ; and the close, hoping that the second thousand years of Iceland's history might find the same dynasty in power, was only uttered after a distinct declaration of what was expected from the dynasty in the mean time." Never before had those turreted walls looked down on such a gathering ; for not till then, since the fire- waves surged over them, and sunk the moiten floor a hundred feet or more, had a jubilee filled their dark embrasures with sounds of peaceful gladness. From Scandinavian, French, and American hearts, in fullest sympathy, they rose upon the evening air. The king and his party now appeared in the arena, escorted by a body of bonder^ or landholders, picked men in standing and stature, who had met \ 'm a mile away. These twelve grave men formed in two lines of six along the path through which his majesty re-entered the historic spot. The brief address of welcome by Fredriksson, chairman, of the commit- tee, called forth cheers so frequent and vociferous, that the ponies, unaccustomed to such demonstra- tions, displayed their resentment by sudden tangents from the arena ; Gov. Finssen's steed tossing him un- ceremoniously from the saddle ; while the king, who is said to be an accomplished rider, quieted his by lit' u (I llm 296 TJIE ISLAND OF FIRE. gently patting the neck of the animal, who seemed to understand perfectly the wishes of his illustrious master, or appreciate the honor of bearing royalty on the great occasion. Before the king, maiched twenty-four young ladies, scattering Iceland's wild flowers — anemone, thyme, and saxifrage — in his pathway ; while the choir, standing on the lava-floor not far distant, sang a sacred chant, completing the beautiful and thrilling sights and sounds, which mov^d the most stolid of the spectators. The formal address of Iceland to her king was read by Herr Thornssen of Bessestad, expressing both loyalty and undisguised desire for enlarged freedom in the administration of home affairs. Christian's response was brief but gratifying, followed by cheers and the natioral anthem of Denmark. After an interval of rest, the usual services of such occasions followed, — the speeches of dele- gates, presentation of elegantly engrossed addresses from kindred nations, literary societies, and art academies. ^ Rain! rain I was Nature's order of the day, but ihis evidently did not disturb the equanimity of the Danish king ; for, at one o'clock, his caval- cade stood in order, the long line of ponies impa- tient for the homeward march of seventy miles, befo: J the midnight sun went down. When the royal party reached the shadows of Almanne-Gjd, in them Scood the choir, who had gone before to await his coming, and sing a parting song. Strange and impressive farewell! Over king and singers hung the lava battlement ; behind them, the • "REMEMBRANCE OF ICELAND.'* 297 emed :riouH .yalty rched wild n his i-floor leting which ts read ; both eedom istian's cheers ces of dele- iresses id art 5 day, nimity caval- impa- miles, |)WS of d gone song, ig and jm, the deserted, grand old court-room of the ancient re- public ; before them, the narrow gorge through the Gjd; while the sounding melody floated over all, and died away in vanishing echoes upon the eternal solitudes. A gracious bow, and, one by one, the kingly suite disappear in a winding, ascending path ; the last act in the Millennial Jubilee is over ; and Thingvalla returns to the deep quietude of ages. There is an Icelandic national song, composed by a former governor of the northern province of the island, Biarni Thorarensen, when he was far away from his home, completing his studies at the Univer- sity of Copenhagen. It is called, and very appro- priately, the " Remembrance of Iceland," and is sung to the music of '* God save the Queen ; " which, curiously enough, the Icelanders have adopted as their national air. We give a literal prose translation, in English, of a stanza, which ex- presses beautifully patriotic sentiments expressed in the flowing, rhythmic music of the original. The words are : — " Eldgarala Isaf old Astkaera fo»termold, Fyallkonan frid! Mogum thin muntu kaer, Medan lond girdir saer Og gumar gimast inaer; Gljar sol & hlid." Old land of ice, Dearly beloved native land, Fair maid of the mountains, Dear thou shalt be to thy sons As long as men love women, Or sun-gleam falls on the hillside! M "■fli f I 298 THE ISLAND OF FIRE, .'■T The tribute of Dr. Hayes to the musical powers of the Icehmders, in connection with a serenade to tlie king while at the governor's house, is very beautiful : " This was tne first occasion on which I had ever henrd an Icelandic song ; and, while already struck with the great sweetness of the language in conversation, I was now more than ever captivated by it when used in song. The singers, who were not accompanied by any musical instrument, were a dozen in number, and were led by a blacksmith, who certainly has a most remarkable voice. Several national songs were sung in a most excellent and stirring manner ; and the king was evidently moved by the earnestness with which these simple people greeted him. Hitherto I had regarded the Iceland- ers as a rude race of fishermen ; but here I discovered men with natural, inborn refinement, with true deli- cacy of feeling, and possessing marvellous skill in vocal music. So much was the king pleased, that he came down among the crowd, shook hands with the song -loving blacksmith and his brother singers, and thanked them all with genuine heartiness. After this the crowd aspersed, and all was quiet in the sunlit nigh'.>, E'l Ml nil hi :i: must have a systematic representation, and a local form of administration ; and this, I think, the new constitution grants them.' " * If your majesty please,' I continued, ' might I ask how it is that the new government differs from the old?' " The king answered with great frankness, * By the new constitution, there is given to Iceland (which hitherto had only a consultative influence over its own affairs, through its Althing) a full power of legislation and taxation ; while the affairs of Iceland were formerly divided between the bureaus of dif- ferent ministers in Denmark. Iceland has nor li own special minister, to whose portfolio belongs all that concerns the island ; while such affairs as con- cern Denmark and Iceland in common continue to be in the hands of the Danish legislature.' " I took the liberty of asking the specific nature of their common affairs. " ' Such as concern the dynasty, intercourse with foreign powers, and the ordinary regulations of com- merce.' '•' » Then the Icelanders are quite free, as concerns their local legislation ? ' " * Quite so, in fact ; and I think the new arrange- ment will work for their prosperity and good. It is with this hope that I have undertaken this voyage to Iceland, at the time when the new arrangement comes into operation. Iceland has a great history, and her resources are large enough to give her a great fu- ture ; and this, taken in connection with this cele- bration of the thousandth anniversary cf the country, a local the new might I ^ers from ess, *By i (which over its )ower of f Iceland .8 of dif- nosr Iv (longs all s as con- atinue to aature of urse with s of com- concerns r arrange- od. It is voyage to ent comes , and her great fu- this cele- e country, THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 803 makes the mission doubly interesting and important to me.' *' I spoke then of the manifestations of loyalty which I had everywhere witnessed. " * It has, of course, not escaped me. I think the Icelanders understand me, and appreciate my inten- tions.' "The king said, *No one ever doubted the thorough loyalty of Iceland.' He was thankful for the cordial greeting he had met with since he had first landed. He was proud to be the first of the Danish kings who had visited the island ; and he hoped that the new constitution which he had brought with him would promote the prosperity of the country, and more strongly than ever cement the bond which unites Iceland with Denmark. " The king is a capital speaker ; his voice is good, and his manner hearty and pleasing ; and is hand- some ; and if fifty-six, and the father of the future king of Denmark, the present king of Greece, the sometime-to-be queen consort of England, and the czarina of Russia, he does not look forty-five." Of the new constitution, Icelanders said, " Well, it is a good step in the right direction, and an enter- ing wedge for something better." Others spoke more warmly, declaring "it would be all right enough, if we were rid of this Danish governor and tlio royal spies." This hopeful unrest is the position of a people pursuing their simple avocations, with no occasion for military force or police, and no reason wiy the treasury of Denmark should receive so large a portion of their scanty earnings upon the stormy ■Ui I u m 304 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. deep, and along the valleys which afford scarcelj? more than pasture for their flocks and herds. Attention has been called, within a few years, to the vast sulphur-fields, the largest of which are at Krisuvik, called by a distinguished writer on Ice- land's mineral resources •* a mine of wealth." These could furnish the market of the world with their staple, and may yet open a remunerative trade to both the people and those who inaugurate the enterprise. Mr. Sushby, an Englishman with a shrewd fore- sight, some time ago purchased the Krisuvik Moun- tain, securing a large district. A passable road could be greatly improved, connecting it with Grun- devik, on the coast, lying south-west from Reykjavik, across the Guldbringe Syssel. Along the Breida Fiord, on the north-west coast, the French fisheries number over two hundi-ed and fifty vessels, employing seven thousand men. In the south-west corner of the Guldbringe Syssel, near Buela, is Iceland's coal-mine, the " Surturbrimd ; " ledges of bituminous wood, evidently formed by the accumulation of drift-wood in the ages past, brought there by the Gulf Stream from America, and the current that sets in from the northern coast of Asia. These ocean-rivers have floated down to treeless Iceland materials for building and fuel, — a very providential provision for their supply. Prof. Bjarnasson furnishes some notes of interest on those mineral resources. " As for the sulphur-mines in Iceland, there are very important ones in two places : the Krisuvikir- MINES. 305 nlimur (the mines of Krisuvik), On oiie southern coast of the great peninsula, limiting the south side of the Faxafl6i (the gulf of Faxi) ; and the various mines in the * Pingeyjarsyrla, in north-east of Iceland (Hlidarndmur, Fremrinamur, Peystareykjanamur, Kroflunkmur), in the vicinity of the volcano Krafla and the lake Myvatn. I cannot tell how valuable those mines are ; but according to a statement of Prof. Johnstrup of Copenhagen, who, sent by the government in 1871, made a journey to Iceland to examine the mines in the Pingeyjarsyrla, some of them, especially the Hlidarndmur, — the mines of Hlid, Reykjahlid, a noted farm on the north-eastern shore of Myvatn (the lake of gnats), must be of very great value. Those northern mines of Iceland the government rented to an Englishman, Alfred Loch, for a term of fifty years. But this rent is very low, and much lower than it had been proposed by the Alping, the renter having only to pay fifty pounds sterling the first year ; the second year ten pounds more, &c. ; adding ten pounds to the amount every year for five years, when the rent has amounted to a hundred pounds, which rent is to be paid for forty-four years. Security of only five thousand Danish Rigsdalers was asked. In connection with this it ought to be observed, that in the sixteenth century, in the reign of the Danish King Frederick II., the government began to work those mines; and then the surplus of the production of them in one year was ten thousand Rigsdalers. As you know, there \& in some places, especially in the western part of ( I HR'i Hi^ 1 K'|( ^K |! H^K^ i ^^Bi II »• p=th. 306 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. the country, a kind of coal called surbarbrandur; but hitherto it has been of no use, caused by the great difficulty of transportation ; and in 1871, the com- mon species of coal has been discovered in the Myrasysla. Lime is found in Mount Esja in the vicinity of Reykjavik ; and surely it is to be had in many more places ; ana the Iceland calcareous spar (called " silfurberg," which means silverstone) is found in great quantities in the Helgusladafjall (the mountain of Helgurtadir, a farm thus named) in the '"' Reydarfjordur," the largest of the fiords in the eastern coast of the country. This mine has been wrought in the last decennaries, but without energy." Emigration from Iceland I and that after ten cen- turies without any thing of the kind, beyond coloniz- ing Greenland, and a few other similar attempts else- where by the old vikings. It evidently is the turn of the tide in Icelandic national life; and no one can see the end of the movement. It may yet leave the historic isle a memorial only of past marvels of prowess and progress ; in whose sheltered coves, and along whose fiords, the fishermen alone will have their habitations. We are glad to put on record the ^.dews of an in- telligent Icelander, and of an American Norseman, on this quiet yet significant exodus. Writes Prof. Bjarnasson : " I answer your letter in great haste, being very busy in writing and sending my last letters to Iceland this year. I am of the opinion, that the future of Iceland will be hap- pier and brighter than its past for many centuries. Although its new constitution, this year granted by EMIGRATION. 807 the King of Denmark, does not fulfil the wishes of the people, and in some points may be very deficient, it will make the Icelanders able to develop their abili- ties to a much higher degree than they have been allowed to do hitherto. The resources of the country, though very few, being mainly raising sheep, and fishing, must be able to yield much larger quan- tities of support than at this time. The want of knowledge of practical sciences has hindered those resources from being developed. The government in past times has entirely neglected the coui,.hy iii that respect ; but at present the Icelanders are convinced of the necessity of rapid improvements in that branch of their national education ; and the legisla- tive power now bestowed upon the general assembly (Alping, Althing) makes them able to amend this want. The people have got a great deal more courage to act than before, and are not obliged to look for assistance in its social and political progress only to the Danish government, as they have begun to be acquainted with some other foreign countries and nations than that of Denmark. The study of the national tongue and literature among the scholars of Iceland is making great progress ; and the literature has increased considerably in the last years. " Notwithstanding those bright prospects, I think the emigration from Iceland, commenced years ago, will continue. The emigration only coafirms the assertion, that the people have more courage and inclination to act than ever before. The horizon of the common people of Iceland has been extended, and they are longing for better circumstances than 808 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. i I ', . those of their past. The emigrants wish a more rapid progress in their social and economical matters than may be hoped for at home. Therefore they emigrate to America. The number of the Icelandic emigrants in America last winter was about two hundred ; and of those about one-half lived in Can- ada (Ontario), and the rest in the United States, mainly in different places of Wisconsin and Michigan. This summer about three hundred and sixty emigrants came from Iceland, most of them settling in Canada." Prof. Anderson, whose father came to America in the first ship which brought Norse emigrants to its shores, and who has " consecrated his life to the North European or Gothic languages, history, and literature," adds, — " The Icelanders began to emigrate to America, their ancient Vinland, in 1872 ; and there are now about one thousand in this country, half of whom are in Wisconsin, a • a the other half in Canada. Four thoroughly educated Icelanders are among this num- ber, — Prof. J6n Bjarnasson, who is now in Luther College, Decorah, lo. ; Paul Thorackson, who is preparing for the ministry in St. Louis, Mo. ; Olafur Olafsson, a mechanic (a self-made man) ; and Jdn Olafsson, a poet, who was compelled to leave Ice- land on account of his strong republican tendencies. He is a thoroughly educated man, and writes poetry of the highest order. The last two, Olafur Olafsson and J6n Olafsson, have been furnished means by a gentleman in New York, and have gone to Alaska, to see whether that would not prove an excellent place '^11 I more matters re they lelandic ut two in Can- States, n and •ed and ►f them \.merica rants to J to the )iy, and ( ICELAND'S FUTURE. 309 menca, ire now lom are Four Ins num- Luther who is Olafur and J6n ive Ice- dencies. poetry Olafsson ans by a laska, to nt place for the Icelanders to make a settlement in; but I have grave doubts about this Alaska business : I mean, about its expediency. It may, however, look better in time. It is said that our government intends to give active co-operation, and much depends on this. " So long as Denmark does not make Iceland per- fectly independent, I think the Icelandic emigration will increase ; and I see no hopes that more will be done voluntarily, at any early day, than was done last 2d of August, when the Danish king gave the island a new constitution. It is my opinion, however, that, if the Icelanders were left to themselves, they would become satisfied, and Iceland would soon have five hundred thousand, instead of seventy thousand inhabitants. The island is large, and has great resources that are yet undeveloped. Their fisheries, for instance, might alone return a revenue of millions and millions, instead of the paltry thou- sands that are now realized. A nation in which every man is educated (and such is the case in Ice- land) has great possibilities, if it is let alone ; and we may yet see a unique republic thrive in the float- ing sanctuary of Gothic liberty, poetry, and liter- ature." It is not impossible that the locomotive may yet mingle its steam with that of sulphur mountains in Iceland. Although now only horses carry burdens, enterprise may yet build short railways from those exhaustless mines to the nearest ports. Stranger things have been done already in remote lands, un- til the " iron horse, whose sinews are of steel, and whose provender is fire," thunders over Asiatic plains and Egyptian deserts. m ii m IVJ 310 T/IE ISLAND OF FIRE. f;,tfj P f-f 1 iUili Already the telegraph has been in prospect. In influential quarters in England, a North-Atlantic line from Scotland to the Faroes, two hundred and fifty miles; thence to Iceland, three hundred and fifty more ; next touching Greenland, five hundred farther ; and landing the American end of the cable on the coast of Labrador, — has been earnestly advo- cated. Sixty years ago, among prominent statesmen, a scheme for the annexation of Iceland to England was agitated ; an arrangement which would give that realm resources of vast importance, and bind to- gether kindi'ed nations. Such a transfer of alle- giance, however, seems now quite improbable. And yet, amid the increasing changes in political and social existence, along with impending crises whose results no political seer can estimate, the future of a deeply interesting, but hitherto almost unknown and unmolested people, can only be the object of purest speculation. But whatever there may be in the future, of progress and increased intercOlirse with nations of greater commercial activity and social refinement, it is to be devoutly hoped, that the vices of outside civilizations will not weaken the sterling integrity of the prevailing character of the people, nor their sim- ple, intelliger *■ faith in God. Material growth at the expense of moral stamina has always been the fasci- nating, deceptive process of national decay and death. We copy, as a curiosity of the kind, a poster of the third public service, which was very conspicuous along the streets of Reykjavik, before the Millennial Jubilee. It i A UNIQUE POSTER. 811 5ct. In Atlantic red and red and lundred ae cable [y advo- smen, a ngland ive that )ind to- of alle- B. And Lcal and 8 whose ;ure of a own and ►f purest tiire, of ,tions of inement, I outside 3grity of heir sim- th at the the fasci- id death, ter of the ispicuous lillennial THE THIRD ACT OF THE MILLENNIAL DRAMA. PJODHATID. OSKJU HLID 2an August, 1874. Kl. 3i e. m. safioMt menn saman £ Austurvelli, eg er setlast til, ad menn gangl padan I fylkiug, 6 i rod, a hatldarstadinn. El. 4- Gi e. Di. Bsedur og songvar. Kl. 6i-lli e. m. Skemtanlr, svo sein songiir, hljddfserasKttur. dans, o. fl. El. Hi e. m. i'lugeldar miklir LTTLU-OSKJUHUD. Bjerhver, sem saeldr h^tidna, og dskar ad verafyrir inuan hid hrein- Bada sv^di, fuUordnir edur born, eru Bkyldir ad bera merki, er kostar 16 sk., og fsest keypt i solubiidum herra Consul M. Siuitos og hera kaupmanns V. Fisliers, h^r i b8enum. It was, of course, after the fashion of all posters, ai very large and very small letters. The following is the translation : — NATION'S HIGH TIDE (THJODHATID) At Oskjuhlid (Basket Slope Hill,) August 2, 1874, at 3i P. M., the people will gather together at the east wall (Austervelli), and it is meant that the i)eople go thence in procession, six abreast, to the festin place. From 4 to GJ o'clock. Speeches and Songs. From 6i to Hi, Amusements, such as Songs, Music, Dancing, &c. From Hi, Fireworks (Flugeldar Miklir); literally, great flying fires. Each one who seeks the high tide, and wishes to be inside the cleared space, must wear a badge, which costs 16 shillings (8 cents.) II Mmiis) ;': i1 H' CHAPTER XXIX. rhe Millennial at the West. — Norsemen In Prairie-Land. — First Icelaiidic Service. — The Sermon. — Speeches. — Banners. — My Native Land. A NORSE millennial in Prairie-land I The cycles of history are forever mocking all hu- man wisdom, and bringing, in their sweep, impress- ive or startling surprises. The descendants of the vikings of many cent^ is ago are seeking a home, not only on a cont j their gaUeys touched before the parents of Colum- bus were born, but among the relics of races of whose origin, and of whose advent here, no records can tell us ; their mute, uninscribed mounds as yet giving no certain answer to the questioning of the antiquarian. Aug. 2, 1874, the Norse population residing in and near Milwaukee, including about seventy native Icelanders, gathered in the Danish Lutheran Church oi Pastor Gulmuyder. The usual service introduced the sermon by Prof. J6n Bjarnasson. An outline of this first Icelandic sermon upon his native island, by one bom and edu- cated there, will have an interest independent of any views of a purely religious character ; the more BO, as even these represent the prevailing sentiment 812 A 8F.RM0N. 813 of the people, and not of a single or several ecclesi- astical organizations. He preached from the text appointed for all the ministers of Iceland as their theme on the Millennial Sunday. It is found in the Book of Psalms, xc. 1-4, 12-17. He showed how Jehovah had been the ref- uge of the Icelanders during all the generations for the thousand years since the settlement of their island ; that the people, few in numbers, like Israel in olden time, had been kept, in a wonderful mnnner, from destruction. In illustration, he noticed some of the most important events in the history of Iceland, from the land-taking (land-nam) time to the present. In the heathen age, the forc^fathers were led away from their native land, to tli cold and lonely island in the great northern ocean, that they might be taught their own weakness, as compaitjd with his omnipotent grace. It was just the right place to tame the proud viking race, trusting in their own might and strength. It was also a resting-place for the heroes, weary with fighting and the tumults of war. The Pagan religion prevailed in Iceland long enough to prepare the people, by softening their hearts, and awakening a longing for Christ's redeem- ing word. To show how near the most educated Icelanders in the first century of their history we;*e to Christianity,*he referred to Ingemund the Old, the heathen, who, dying, prayed God to pardon his enemy who had slain him ; and Thorkel Ulaane, who would worship no other god but Him who had created the sun, and in his death prayed to the Father of light that he should be a light unto hid spirit in tlie darkness of death. S7 B14 THE ISLAND 01 FIRE. IM ,' ' In brief outline, the events in Icelandic history, after the introduction of Christianity, were sketched* the establishment and development of a govern- mental system, which is gradually becoming more and more recognized among the civilized nations of the earth, as the one which, in its fundamental prin- ciples, better than any other corresponds with the spirit and spread of Christianity ; the creation and preservation of wise statutes, the main pillars of a free and progress^ive commonwealth, and which, in new forms, have been called to life among some of the noblest and mightiest nations of the eartli. The discovery of America, the. new world of civilization and Christianity, was no unimportant part of the, mission of the Noi*semen. And now, just at the close <: f the first period of p thousand years, Jeho- vah called to the children of the land once more with his mighty voice, " Ccme again I " This voice they had to obey ; and thus Icelanders had returned to America ; and on this day a little band were j^ath- ered here, also, in the far-off America, to praise the Lord for their history through the many bygone cen- turies; and with pious devotion to get new courage, a rejuvenated strength of faith, to work in the future ; and, by a Christian life in this land, call back to memory the recollection of the first visit of Icelandei-s to this part of the worW, in a brighter and fairer light. And then the treasures of literature, especially in history and poetry, which had been produced in the poorest and most isolated country in Christendom, had been written in their own pure and powerful ver- A SERMON. 315 nacular ; and that, too, in an age when the European nations generally were in a state of mental letliargy, and Christianity withered among the nations ; when the little that wjis written was composed in a foreign tongue that had long been dead, and which the mass of the people did not understand. The Icelandic language contained the key to the history of the (lark middle ages. Pjissing over to the evil days of Ic^3land, when its liberty was taken away, Prof. Bjarnasson spoke feel- ingly of his native island, in its time of trouble and misfortune ; but pointed with pride to the fact, that the Church of Christ had perj^aps never flour- ished more at any time, than just during the saddest period of political oppression. God had also spoken to the Icelanders through volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, inundations, t'e- structive epidemics, famines. His voice in tlie ele- ments had been loud and clear; and thn)ugh all these things he had drawn the heart of the Iceland- ers to himself. It was a wonderful miracle, that, in view of all oppression from an unfriendly govern- ment, and the inclemency of the elements, the Ice- landic people still existed, and could praise the holy Dame of God, after a life of one thousand years. The professor's sermon was very eloquent and inter- esting. After the service at the church, the Icelanders congregated outside the church, to move in proces- sion to a park which they previously had engagtul for the festivities of this day. The procession was led by two standard-bearers, clad in the recently Hi V i I; : 'i I' '4: H I R^ ^ I I! I 111 i , II li -1 t: 816 TEE ISLAND OF FIRE. restored Icelandic costume, which is very pretty and appropriate. One of them carried the star-spangled banner, the other the national Icelandic banner, which represents the "falco Islandicus" on a sky- blue background. The standard-bearers were fol- lowed by the men g,nd then the women ; some clad in their classical and poetical skaut-costume, while others wore their no less elegant and becoming cap- dress. There being free admission to the park for everybody, a large number, in addition to the Ice- landv^rs, congregated, chiefly of Scandinavians. The flags were placed in an appropriate place, and the people rested a^ while. The skaut is a large white head-dress. After a brief interval of rest, the celebrated Icelandic poet and republican, Jdn Olafsson, ascended the tribune, and delivered the speech of the day. He recounted, in appropriate words, the political events in the history of Iceland, and grew especially eloquent when he spoke of its struggle for independ- ence during the last century ; which, in spite of the new constitution that had been given to Iceland this year by the Danish king, certainly would be contin- ued in the future. He wished the dear land of their fathers success and prosperity in this struggle, and asked for the blessings of heaven for the Icelandic nation ; and, finally, requested all present to drink a cup of gladness for Iceland, which was done with re- peated shouts of " Hurrah I " Then an earnest speech was delivered by Olafur Olafsson, in regaj'd to the Icelanders who have emigrated to America ; encour- aging them to preserve unity and brotherly love ADDRESSES. 817 •etty and spangled banner, a sky- ere fol- •me clad , while mg cap- park for the Ice- s. The and the je white lebrated scended the day. political pecially depend- 5 of the ind this contin- of their ?^le, and ielandic drink a v^ith re- i speech to the 3ncour- [y love towards each other. The theological student, Paul Thorlaksson, spoke in Norse for America, the adopted land of the emigrated Icelanders. He called attention to the Norsemen, as that part of the American people which the Icelanders especially ought to regard as their brothers and friends ; first, on account of the old re- lationship, but not less, because they (the Norsemen) had received the Icelanders in this country with open arms and cordial friendship. He closed by ex- pressing their most hearty thanks of his countrymen to the Norsemen. For this speech, the Rev. Gulmuy- der, with thanks in behalf of the Norsemen, in well- chosen words wished the Icelanders success and prosperity in America. Then the audience was ad- dressed by Prof. Jdn BJarnasson, who spoke of the Icelandic tongue, encouraging his countrymen to esteem it an honor to preserve the dialect, in this land also, as pui-e as possible. Finally, J6n Olafsson ascended the tribune the second time, te remind the Icelanders of some very notable foreigner, who, in these later times, had turned up as friends of Ice- land, — the celebrated poet, Bjornstjerne Bjornson^ who, by his excellent articles about Iceland in " Norsk Folkeblad," had awakened so great interest in is^or- way for the people in their renewed political strug- gle. But especially did he speak of the scholars in America who during this year had shown so much attention, and done so great honor, to Iceland, by sending to that remote island a large collection of books. Prof. W. Fuk^ of Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., was the one scholarly American who had done the most in this matter; and, among the 27* P lib i, 318 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. (i^ Norsemen, Prof. R. B, Anderson of the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. Both were warmly inter- ested in Iceland and its future history. They had both been invited to the Millennial, but were enable to gladden the hearts of their Icelandic friends by their presence. Therefore, before the celebration closed, three rousing cheers for these honored friends of Iceland were given. Theirs was the last toast, and it was drunk with intense enthusiasm. Between the speeches several Icelandic songs were sung, and some of the Scandinavians took part in these. Dur- ing the celebration the most perfect order prevailed ; and, about nine o'clock in the evening, all went home in excellent spirits, having celebrated the first Ice- landic festival in the New World with far greater success than was anticipated by the most sanguine Icelander or Norseman. Prof. Anderson's address was an eloquent tribute. He said, — " It is a source of great pleasure to me, that I have an opportunity to speak to my Icelandic friends on this their day of festivity. " I have for several years spent a part of my lei- sure hours in studying the songs and Sagas of your ancestors ; but I never ventured even to hope that it ever should be permitted me to speak face to face with the descendants of Ingolf and Lief, and, least of all, here in the remote West. It is not more than a year since I met the first Icelander. I visited him in his own home in La Crosse. I had an opportunity to talk with him about Iceland and its Sagas ; and heard, foi' the first time in my life, the language of iii I f « PROF. ANDERSON'S ADDRESS. 319 my ancestors. He was friendly and hospitable ; but what interested me most of all was, that he actually was an Icelander. " Since then, I have had the honor and pleasure of receiving visits from several excellent Icelanders ; and among these are, especially, your celebrated skkld and republican J6n Olafsson, and your thor- ough linguist and theologian Paul Thorlackson, who is no less genial as a companion than he is proficient in his scholarship. I need not assure you that I value their visits very highly, and that both of them com- pletely have won my heart. " I love the Icelanders, because they are of tho same blood as I am. The Icelanders and Norsemen are one people; they are brothers who have now been separated just a thousand years ; and what a remarkable event it is, that we now meet again in the distant Vesterheim (America) ! " I love them for the spirit of freedom and inde- pendence which they manifested when after the battle of Hafi'fjord, when Harald Haarfagr usurped the freehold tenure of property from the peasants, they sacrificed every thing to protect their liberties, and chose to leave their fertile farms in Norway, risk their lives on the stormy sea, and settle down amid the jokuUs, glaciers, volcanoes, lava-streams, geysers, and gravel-deserts of Iceland, rather than to surrender their udal-right to Harald Haarfagr. They demonstrated the truth of the principles laid down the Eld«r Edda, where it h ■■4 High Song said, — JWt !| Si fl ¥ : IT; ■'I 'A m i ^0 |i if -'i 320 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. ' One's own house is better, Though it be humble : Each man is master at home. Though a man own but Two goats, and a willow-thatched house, 'Tis better tlian begging. The man's heart bleedeth At every meal- time, Who his food beggeth.' And standing here, as we do, face to face with Ice- landers, we Norsemen cannot but feel a sense of shame in behalf of our ancestors, when we reflect that they did not manifest the same love of liberty as your own. "I love and respect the Icelanders, because in spite of the severe climate, the long winters, when the sun nearly or entirely disappeared from above the horizon, and nothing but streaks of northern lights painted the colors of the rainbow on their gloomy sky, they produced sk&lds and saga-men, who look in vain for their peers among all the nations of the earth. By this they gave evidence to the human race, that it is liberty that unfolds the blossoms of poetry and literature. Was it not in the time of the republic, that the literature of Greece blossomed most luxuriantly? Were not the most celebrated Roman authors produced in the time of the Roman republic ? Search the history of the world through and through, and you will find that liberty is the grand elixir that has blessed the nations of the earth. Nay, where thrives aught good and beautiful and great in slavery ? Smother the pasture, and the grass will not grow green ; bind the eagle, and it will die on its lofty pinnacle ; dam the stream, that hastens PROF. ANDERSON'S ADDRESS. 321 in its musical meanderings to the sea, and it will Boon turn into a putrid pool. Nature, strong and free, hates all bondage. Can, then, the fountains of the spirit, the flights of thought, endure bondage ? Shall truth only shine beautifully, locked up in its own heart, like lamenting Aladdin in his narrow cave ? ' No press ! lift thy valiant arms, Free the world, in all thy wrath, From bondage.' (( Because the Icelanders preserved the spirit of freedom, their island became a sacred sanctuary in which the old Gothic literature was preserved. »* Yes, Iceland has a literature, which will yet be loved and admired throughout the world. The time will come, when Saemund's Edda and Snorri's Edda, Heimskringla, Njalla, Egill, Skallagrims Saga, Lax- daela, and Graetti's Saga, will be found in the house of every man of culture and letters over all the earth. " In connection with this, I will add that Iceland has reason to be proud of its excellent sons which it has fostered in modem times. Vigfusson and Eiri- kur Magnusson and J6n Hjabtalin are worthy repre- sentatives of your race in England and Scotland. The world-famed sculptor, Albert Thorwaldsen, was an Icelander. A friend of me and of you. Prof. Fiske, recently wrote that he regards Jon Sigurdsson as one of the most remarkable men now living ; wor- thy of being placed by the side of Gladstone in England, as a scholar and a statesman. Permit me to propose three cheers for this noblest man among It I 1 ?■ I« I !y J 1 1 'I' I'l'' M s A It II •if p 11 If j ','£1 < HI ^1 1 322 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. the Icelanders, on this your millennial celebration. Long may he live I Permit me also to remind you on this your day of festivity, of the German schol- ars, Ilonrad Maurer and Theodore Moebins, the Englishman Dr. Dasent, and the American Prof. Fiske. I name these foreigners to-day, for they have all distinguished themselves by their successful cultivation of the Icelandic literature and history. " I love and respect the Icelanders, because they never permitted despotism to quench the spark of liberty in their breasts, but even now dare to arise and demand a recognition of their rights. No, my friends, the spirit of freedom has not been dead these five hundred years, nor disappeared with the outward forms of liberty. Through these five hun- dred years, the spirit of freedom has shone upon their minds and hearts like the glowing colors that tint the clouds in the evening after the sun has set. The spirit of freedom has lingered Irke auroral rays over the sunken Iceland, — proofs of independence, which have been developed like autumnal flowers in this unfortunate epoch of Iceland; and, in the present seventy thousand inhabitants of that far-off island, there shine no less than seventy thousand stars of lib- erty. Yes, my friends, there is hope beaming forth out of all this. Did not bright rays of Icelandic independence flash from the Thingvalla meeting a year ago ? " The Icelander can, like his chill and austere island, seem cold and indifferent ; but in his veins the blood runs warm as the water in the gey r era. "I have only to add, that it is a great pleasure to ■;i[' PROF. ANDERSON'B ADDRESS. 823 me to meet you in America, the land of liberty, where the banner of equal rights and of progress is unfurled to the breeze. And let me hope that you may here find for yourselves and for your chil- dren the freedom and independence, on account of the loss of which your fathers, a thousand years ago this summer, left Norway, — that freedom that your people, whom you left behind you within the ice-clad walls of your native island, are striving to re-establish. Born, as I am, an American citizen, I take the liberty to bid you, and as many of your kindred as desire to come and enjoy freedom to- gether with us, welcome to the great and rich and independent America. Here is ample room for us all ; here every one may think and speak his convic- tions ; and here every one may worship God accord- ing to the dictates of his own conscience. " It would be exceef^ingly gratifying to me, if you could find a place where you could form a settlement, in order that you may be the better able to extend to each other a helping hand ; but especially in order that you may be able to preserve for yourselves and for your children the dear old Icelandic language, and unite your strength in vindicating the claims of gen- uine Norseland speech on American soil. " We send to-day our greeting home to * eyna vid norduskant' (the isle by the North Pole)." In connection with the notes upon this celebra- tion, we have the views of Prof. Bjarnasson, upon the general moral and social character of his country- men, which have been criticised, often unjustly we think, by travellers. He wrote in pure Icelandic, / II and Prof. Anderson translated into English. They will have peculiar interest, from their simplicity and truthfulness, to all thoughtful minds. He says, — " The Icelanders, I believe, are quite as religious as the majority of the Gothic-Germanic peoples ; but the religion is more of an intellectual and reflective than emotional character. Hence the Icelander is, to a great extent, a stranger to fanaticism : a cool, rea- soning reflection is, on the other hand, a predominat- ing trait in the spiritual life of the people. Many strangers have thought that the leading tempera- ment of the Icelanders is the phlejrmatic. But I think this to be a mere assertion, founded upon a superficial knowledge of the people. It cannot bb denied that the Icelanders frequently appear to be quite phlegmatic ; they do not, as a general thing, show their emotions very much ; but, that this is far from being real, any one may convince himself by forming a more intimate acquaintance with them. I am more inclined to believe that melancholy is their predominating temperament, of course not without a considerable amount of the phlegmatic. The Ice- lander is, to be sure, slow to receive new impres- sions ; but the impressions which he has received, he clings to with the greater tenacity, and is not apt to give them up before they have been properly ma- tured in his soul. In the Sagas, this peculiar trait in the character of many Icelanders is expressed by the word * tortryggr^ that is, slow of confidence in all that is new and strange ; but also furthermore by the words * tryggr ok vinfastr^ that is, faithful in friend- ship ; likewise by the word ' langrakinn^ that is, CHARACTER OF THE ICELANDERS. 325 ;| Blow to forget (insults). This is a universal charac- teristic of the Icelandic people, and shows itself not the least in their religion. This manifested itself already at the introduction of Christianity in Ice- land. The people were slow to give up heathenism : their minds had to have time for preparation and reflaction ; but, when Christianity was introduced, it was without any violence whatever. The same was the case with the reformation, although there was at this time some bloodshed. The last Catholic bishop in Iceland, J6n Areson (1550), was be- headed; but this was caused by personal political interests, not by the change of faith. The Iceland- ers have never been willing to believe blindly : they must examine for themselves the Jocuiiie which they are required to believe. On the other hand, there is no doubt that many a zealot will be inclined to accuse them of rationalism on account of their speculative, investigating nature ; but I venture to assert that true religion and genuine devotion, as compared with other peoples, is quite general in Ice- land. From olden times it has been the prevailing custom, all over the land, to engage in devotional exercises every day, especially during the winter. For this purpose are used, on the week-days, various short devotional chapters from older and more mod- ern times ; while on Sundays, and other sacred days, sermons are read from so-called house-postils on the \rarious Gospels of the ecclesiastical year. Among these house-postils, the one written by Bishop J6n Thorkelsson Vfdalin (1720) is the best on account of the heroic Christianity, unsurpassed eloquence, 28 '■I 826 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. thorough classical training, peculiarly northern tone of language, and glowing warmth of faith, of its author. The home-devotion in Iceland consists not only in reaaing, but also in singing. Both before and after the reading quite long hymns are sung. During no season of the year is family devotion considered so important as during Lent (Quadra- gesima) before Easter. For this time there is a special set of devotional books, treating exclusively of the sufferings of Christ. Of these books, we may especially mention fifty passion-hymns of the minis- ter Hallgrimur Petursson (1674) ; a work that is universally admitted to be a perfect masterpiece of literature, which has stirred every Icelander's heart to the bottom, expressing, as it really does, the no- blest and most elevated feelings of every Christian. " The public worship always begins and ends with a prescribed prayer, which the deacon reads. The sermon ends with a general blessing and prayer. "Children are usually baptized a few days after they are born, not in the churches, but at home, both on account of long and diflBcult roads to the churches, and on account of the severe and change- able weather. The youths are confirmed by the minister at the age of fourteen to sixteen, and are prepared for confirmation exclusively at home until the last year, when they are instructed by the minis- ter. The ministers usually are present at the mar- riage-feasts, which are celebrated throughout the country with perhaps too great expense. Nor are funeral-feasts uncommon. There is never a fuuerai, unless the minister is present, who then throws three m NORSEAfAfra SONG. n2? Bniall spades of dirt on the grave ; he always speaks to the mourners in the church, and frequently also in the house of the departed one, before the coffin is taken to the graveyard. Nearly all Icelandic churches are situated in the graveyards, wherefore every corpse is brought into the church before it is buried. A solemn hymn is always sung while the grave is being filled with dirt; and, when this is done, the funeral company usually proceed into the church again, where the minister reads a prayer. This ends the ceremony." The Millennial Jubilee was not only celebrated throughout Norway and Sweden, but also in parts of England and Germany. There was an enthusi- astic celebration in Paris, and one in Rome. It was observed by Scandinavians of this country at Chicago, New York City^ and noticed at Cornell University, Ithaca, besides a few other places. We close these annals with the Norseman's love to his own colder home, expressed in lines, — "TO MY NATIVE IJLND." The spot of earth where, f lom the heart of woe, My eye first rose, and, in the purple glow Of morning, and the dewy smile of love. Marked the first gleamings of the Power above, — i kPi 'm m < I i ■I ;li' Mi m "When, wandering at its birth, my spirit rose, Called forth from nothing by his word sublime. To run its mighty race of joys and woes, The proud coeval of immortal time, — Where my first trembling accents were addressed To lisp the dear, the unforgotten name; And, clasped to mild affection's throbbing breast, My spirit caught from her the kindly flame, — S*' THE ISLAND OF FIRE. My country ! have T found a spot of joy, Through the wide precincts of the checkered eartht So cabu, so sweet, so guileless of alloy, As thou art to his soul, whose best employ Is to recall the joys that blest his birth? i f \m I SUPPLEMENTAL CHAPTER. Changes in Customs. —Pronunciation and Signification of some Words, — Libraries and Newspapers. — The Stiorn, and Transla- tions of the Bible. — The Transition from I'aganism to Christian- t; Ity. —Ancient Courts. — Outlawry. — The Kali. — Btimt-Najal. — The Berkserkia Lava. — Lava-Streams. — Salutations. — Sa<;red Melodies. — Epitaph. — Dr. Henderson's Tour. — The Midnight Sun. — Absence of Forests in Landscape Views. — Fishermen. — • Icelandic Birds in the Museum of Central l*ark. — Divisions of the Island. — Causes of Decline. — The Coasts. — Temperature. — Nile of Iceland. — View near Lake Myvatn, the Scene of llecent Vol- canic Action. — Description of the Calamity — Attractions in Ice- land for Sportsmen. — Admiration of Tourists. - After these sketches were in type, and since the first edition was issued, correspondence with Danish and Icelandic professors at the West, and access to other authentic sources of information, have fur- nished additional items, which will interest those who have found pleasure in the annals of the lone island. To follow the process and dates of transition from ancient to modern customs has not been attempted ; but simply an outline picture of the island during its thousand yeai*s of settlement. We give two or three illustrations. Emigrants of intelligence affirm that the form of hospitality attending "good-night,'' which tourists relate, does not to any extent, if at nil, exist beyond, it may be, exceptional cases of fa- miliar hospitality in the domestic sanctuary. It is also stated that the singular method of lighting the M il m 329 330 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. In f \ humble habitations on the Westman Islands, during the last fifty years has disappeared ; and that the deadly disease, which for centuries prevailed among children, has yielded to medical skill, and no longer makes it impossible to rear them there. In the spelling of Icelandic words, the best author- ities in this country have been followed, instead of either the pure Icelandic, or the Continental standard ; although to some extent, the Norse, with the marks of accent, occurs. Consequently, that uniformity and exactness which a Scandinavian scholar might desire was quite impossible. In some future edition, while of no importance to the general reader, a closer conformity to the foreign standards of spelling and pronunciation may appear. By those foreign author- ities, " Norsemen " is preferred to " Northmen," and "Norse" to "Norwegian." The termination "e" is employed instead of " i " in proper names ; as " Floke " instead of " Floki," and " Bj^rne " rather than "Bjk-ni." " *Pingvellir," or " Thingvalla," on the Continent we usually find written " Thing- void." Now, it is for the reader to decide which spelling he prefers. ' .- Hver is warm or boiling spring ; reyker, one that sends up steam-clouds ; laug, a fountain of sufficiently high temperature for warm bath ; and nama, boiling mud. Solheimer is sun's home, or " sunny home." "Reykjavik, rej'^kja is gen. plur. of reykr, which means smoke ; vfk means a small hay. Dalr is valley ; fiord, frith ; fljot, river; foss, a fall or cataract; tun, enclosed field around a house ; byre, a farm ; bonder, *P=th. SIGNIFICATION OF WORDS. 331 a fanner ; holm, a rocky island ; wadmal, coarse homespun cloth. Amptmand is deputy governor ; to busk, is to get ready. Except Reykjavik, there are only two small cities in Iceland, — Akureyri on the north coast, and Isafjordr on the north-west coast. Oskjuhlid is a small, stony bluff in the near vicinity of Reykjavik; oskju, gen. sing, of askja, which means a small round box ; a butter-box is said to have been lost there, and thence the name ; lilld means a sloping hill ; ' Seljadalr ' is a little green valley, through which the road leads from Reykjavik to Pingvellir (thing, congress, assembly, and vellir plur. of vollr, a plain) ; the word 'seljadalr' means the valley ('dalr') of 'sels,' *selja' being gen. plur. of sel, which means a shepherd's hut and dairy in a mountain pasture, in Norway called Saeter. There have certainly, in past times, been such shepherd- huts in this valley ; but now there are none. * Arne ' in Taylor's letters must be ' Arnarfells-jokul,' or ' Hofs-jokul,' a very extensive ice-plateau in about the middle of Iceland. The largest of the 'jokuls' in Iceland is the * Vatnajokul,' the jokul of waters, in the south-east part of the country, embracing one hundred ; id sixty geographical square miles. In the lies from the Sagas, the translator's or- thography as been follo;yved, with no attempt at critical revision with regard to Norse orthography or accent. There are two libraries in Iceland, one in Reykja- vik, and the other in Akureyri. The one in Reykja- vik is the larger, and contained in 1870 about ten thousand volumes ; but the large donation of books :;*!!. ?;■ ).: i; If- 1 1- f ■l:;i'l i ! itpili:, lit II! m U|. „.)!j 1 I t i. ), ! ■ S I 4 if 'i i h A< i\ i lili, (1 'till 832 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. Ij % f 4i 1 i ^ sent from America in 1874, on the occasion of tLe millennial, together with additions made from other sources, has no doubt increased it to at least twenty thousand volumes. For this library Iceland is in- debted to the celebrated, enthusiastic Danish scholar, Prof. C. C. Rafn. By his untiring efforts, libraries were established both in Iceland and in Tborshafn, on the Faroe Isles. Iceland has for a long period had several news- papers. ■; •^' 4^ . ' :■• !.v; ;■'■•:>; -i'^w,-:. In proportion to the number of inhabitants, the newspapers have a large circulation, owing to the fact that all Icelanders are not only ablo to read, but like to read ; and especially do they take a deep in- terest in all matters pertaining to their own country. There k scarcely a hamlet, be it ever so humble, where there cannot be found a political newspaper. The two oldest papers in Iceland are " Thodolfr," " The National," and " Nordanfari," " The Northern- Farer." --iv '-.r-'^v^ 4.' > «;^^w;jki. •...:' s-:!.:,.." " Thodalfr" has lately changed hands, and is now owned and edited by the most famous living poet of Iceland, Matthias Jochunson. This paper is excel- lently edited. It contains editorial leaders which manifest a patriotic interest in the affairs of Iceland ; it gives a synopsis of the q;^ost important events from the political arena of the great nations ; it furnishes correspondence from Copenhagen and London ; and criticises every thing of importance in literature, especially if in any way touching Iceland. It is printed on good paper, in clear, readable type. " Nordanfari " is published at Akureyri, in the II NEWSPAPERS. 333 of the n other twenty i is in- scholar, libraries orshafn, il news- nts, the • to the ead, but leep ill- country, humble, paper, lodolfr," orthern- is now poet of s excel- which celand ; nts from urnishes on ; and ;erature, It is in the north of Iceland, by Bjorn Jonsson, and is in every way a respectable paper, but has not the literary ability of " Thodolfr." In the struggles agiiinst the oppression of Iceland by this Danish government, " Thodolfr " and " Nor- danfari " fearlessly defended the cause of Iceland ; and these papers were supported, on one hand, by Jon Sigurdsson, a most excellent Icelander, who at present resides in Copenhagen, takes a most intense interest in the welfare of Iceland, and under his aus- pices is published an Icelandic annual called " Ny Felagerit," which of course also supported the na- tional cause ; and, on the other hand, by the very talented and energetic poet J6n Olafsson, who is now in Alaska, in company with two other Icelanders, to see whether this American possession is suitable for an Icelandic colony. This J6n Olafsson edited an able paper called " Gongu-Krolfr," but the Danish governor of the island charged him with high trea- son : he was found guilty by a Danish court, and fined; and, although the fine was paid by a volun- tary subscription from Mr. Olafsson's friends, he still found it advisable to leave the country, and so he came to America ; and his paper, as a matter of course, stopped. A paper called " Islendingur " (The Icelander) flourished some years ago in Reykjavik ; but, if the writer mistake not, it died and was buried in the year 1865 or 1806. Then we have " Timiun " (The Times), which was started in 1871, neutral in its tendencies, and, so far as we know, still flourishing. >'■ ■ m ■.\m.\ I Bill ■ :< 1 II 534 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. m Finally " Vikverji " was started in 1873, and took a decided position in favor of the Danish government. What the political tendencies of that paper now are, we cannot say with absolute certainty, but we should judge that it has taken sides with the national party ; for, from a letter written by the poet J6n Olafsson, it seems that he is a correspondent for it. It may, therefore, be inferred that Danish governmentisw is a " lost cause " in Iceland. There are, besides these political papers, a couple of literary magazines that do the Icelanders marked credit ; and a considerable number of books are pub- lished in Reykjavik, the famous capital of Iceland. Thus it will be seen that the Icelanders, in propor- tion to their numerical strength, need not be ashamed of their periodical literature. Of the ecclesiastical annals, which include so largely general history. Prof. Bjarnason says, — " The precious ' Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae ' (i.-iii. tomi, 4to. Havniae, about 1775) by Finnur Jonsson (Finnus Johannaeus), bishop of Skdlholt diocese in Iceland, 1789, is indispensable ; but that work, written in Latin, is very difficult to get. This work was continued after the death of its author, until almost the middle o\ this century, by the Rev. Pdtur Petursson, the present bishop of Iceland, * Historia Ecclesiastica Isl.,' one volume 4to., edited in Copenhagen, about the year 1840." Formerly Iceland was divided into two dioceses : 1 hat of Holar embracing the northern quarter; and that of Skdlholt embracing the eastern, southern, and western quarters of the country. DESCRIPTIVE NAMES. 3f^d Ac the beginning of this century, the two dioceses were combined ; and the names of the Icelandic bishops, residing at Reykjavik or in the vicinity of it for the last half-century, are as follows : — Geir J6nsson Vidalin, 1823 ; Steingrfmur Jonsson, 183G ; Helgi Gudraundarson Thordersen, 18G7 ; and since then Petur Petursson. A traveller in Iceland is interested in the signifi- cance of descriptive names, — the '* vale of smoke,'* where steam-jets rise in the air ; " valley of silence," a dale depopulated by the plague ; and so with nearly'" every thing, from the magnificent jokul to the soli- tary rock amid the waves. There is a " station of swans," where, on a lake, they gather in large num- bers. A little farther, were the Klaffci-hamars-rettor, or the "pens of the cloven precipice," which are formed by a tremendous i-avine hemmed in by a river and mountains, and used for collecting together the sheep in autumn, from the mountain pastures. Nowhere is this annual gathering more romantic and interesting. The converging droves, the mountain fastness, the solitude, and the echoes of the bleat- ing, make a scene beheld only in volcanic Iceland. Over the door of the parsonage of Hrafnseyri, in the Syssel of Isaford, in the north-western part of the island, the following inscription greets the eye of the traveller: — i i'jif I I. 11 "'if ! ■i: ** Intbanlibus sit Has DoMua Pax Et Quies, at Exjeuntibus Salus." Vreely translated, it reads, " May they have peace i.il: m- i 336 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. \\\. m i r. fcv and quiet who enter tliis dwelling, and safety when they depart ! " The earliest fragment of Bible translation found in Iceland is that mysterious volume, entitled the " STIORN," composed by Brandr Jonson. abbot of Thyckvabae Monastery, about the middle of the tliirteenth century. It is a curious mixture of He- brew history and purest traditions ; mi exceedingly rare manuscript of 887 folio pages, embellished with a variety of curious figures, done with red, green, and violet tints, from natural products of the island. The annals begin with the creation, and close with the Je^vish captivity. They were written according to the mandate of Kins? Mfisjnus Haconson of Nor- way, who was famous for reducing the laws of the realm to one code ; the name Stlorn, signifying gov- ernment or direction, and indicating the monarch's intention to make theocratic law the foundation of his own legislation. The true pioneer in translating the Bible into old Norse was Oddur Gotshalkson, who, when six years of age, was sent "o Norway in the care of an uncle ; .where a few years later, like Luther, the light of whose reformation had reached his mind, he passed through a great spiritual struggle, into the rest of faith. He went to Germany to learn more fully the new doctrines, and heard both Luther and Melanc- thon. Returning to Iceland, and fearing the wrath of the bishop of Skalholt, in whose diocese Oddur lived, he retired to a cell in a cow-house^ — reminding one of the manger of Bethlehem, — where, undis- turbed, he might become the noblest benefactor c J" TNTIiOnUCTTON OF CftRISTIANITY. 337 jis native land. In 1539 he completed the New Testament on the farm of Reykium, which he had leased for his secluded residence. Christian III. of Norway, ftfter its approval by the university of his realm, ordered its publication. On the title-page is a cut, representing a venerable preacher, before whom stands a man with a key in his hanc , which another is trying to wrench away ; white-bearded monks are running affrighted from them, indicating the effect of circulating among the people the Word of God. The volume was printed at Oddur's expense. In 1554 he was appointed lawyer of the northern divis- ion of the island ; and lost his life in the river Laxa in 1556. It was not till 1586, that the entire Scriptures were given to 1 lie Icelanders in their own tongue, by the gifted, devout, beloved, and honored Gudbrand Thorlakson, bishop of Holum ; whose means failing, Frederic II. printed them by his own liberality, and a tax upon the native population. A few additional data respecting the introduction of Christianity may be instructive. In 981 Thor- wald Kodranson, a pirate, was baptized by a bishop in Saxony named Frederick, was his guest, and finally took him to Iceland. This missionary went over the island with but little success. Tliorwald having killed two men for lampooning him, he and the bishop left the country. A few of the people had been baptized, while others destroyed their idols, and staid away from the temples. In 984 the first Catholic church was built by Thorbard Spakbodrar- 29 " 1 ^' I n 338 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. son, amid opposition by his heathen neighbors. In 996 King Olaf of Norway sent Stifner over to pros- elyte ; converts were few, but the spirit of inquiry went abroad, especially after the legislation of Althing protected the spread of Christianity. In the 3'ear 1000, Hiallti and Gisur, who had been exiled on account of their faith, returned, and with seven others went to Thingvalla in solemn procession, bearing crosses, and offering incense. The effect on the great assembly was very impressive, and won adherents. Then followed the great discussion, else- where noticed, and of which we have no record in detail. In 1057 an Icelander who had studied at Erfurt was installed bish at Skalholt, and held the episcopal office till 1080, when he was succeeded by his son Gissur, who, to meet the wants of the people, established another episcopate at Holum, in 1107, under Jon Agmundson. Early Icelandic jurisdictions and cares were pe- culiar to their own nationality. The priests (the godar), or pontiff-chiefs, adini\- istered religion and law ; but the people were free to choose their temple of worship. The power of the priests was personal, not territorial. Thus all around the coast, and in valleys, were " little king- doms " ruled by these godar. Each convened his adherents and retainers at stated limes ; and the meetings were called " Things.''^ Quarrels between separate kings were settled by treaty between the priests, or war. There was no common bond nor central power for sixty years. Frequent feuds, therefore, were the result. While Ulfljot was prepar- THE COURTS. 889 ing his code, his foster-brother, Grim (goat-shoe or cragsman), travelled over the island to select a place for the national courts. Thingvalla, whose broad lands were confiscated because their owner, Thor, had committed murder, slaying Kol, was chosen. Althing opened in 929-930. It was both deliberative and executive ; and attended with solemn sacrifices, great festivals, and games. The parliament and high court were combined in Althing, or Congress and superior court, and was composed of chiefs and priests ; and was an aristocracy, because so many were chiefs, and a " common man was so uncommon." As there was no written law, a " speaker of the law,'* the Logsogumadr, was indispensable. He recited law, and expounded the enactments, and was presi- dent of Althing. With Althing dates the common- wealth. An aggrieved man could go to the one who had done the wrong, and demand a fine ; sometimes the latter claiming to make his own award, i.e., self- doomed, or revenge with arms, or resort to the courts, with the evidence of others, under oath ; and by going to the proper quarter court. Outlawry allowed three years for leaving the island, with certain places of safet}^ and the right to go to the seashore, to find a ship in which to sail. If the outlaw did not depart during that period, he became outlawed at home, and could be islain any- where, and his goods confiscated. The removal of Althing from the grand, historic Thingvalla, thronged with stirring associations, and endeared by the island's best sagas, was an unpar- w ■■ ■ !!ii : , i > I i! J if I Mi 340 Tin-: ISLAND OF FIRE doiuvble mistake of the Danish Government, when regarded only as a means of national culture, and social enjoyment. There the people loved to meet, revive old friendships, and recall departed ^y. The kali, the ancient domicil, of the up^ classes, was a capacious and irregular structure, sometimes a hundred feet m length, or more. Two hearths were under an opening in the roof, for fires ; seats of honor at one end and the sides ; lodging rooms under the sloping roof around it, and sometimes in chambers : ^hile there were at the front apartments for storage of the viands. Tables and benches were the furni- ture within the large hall. Near by, and separate, was the kitchen, or cooking department. Such establishments gradually disappeared with the changes of the centuries, until the present style of architecture, already described, prevailed. The Burnt Najal, translated by Dr. Dasent, of England, is a saga ot great popularity in Iceland. Unlike the story of Grettir the outlaw, it is the tragic narrative of a pre-eminent lawyer, a 'r odel gentle- man of the times, who, as the result of the sanguinary leuds of the principal families, perished in his own house, fired over his head, and all escape cut off by the flames. Next to him, the leading hero of the saga is Gunnar, a dashing, brave, popular man, who also came to a violent death. Around these central figures, are gathered many domestic broils, revenges by bloodshed, and trials at Thingvalla, presenting in the shifting scenes all the phases of life nine cen- turies ago in Iceland ; from the gatherings of Vikings in the kali, to the adventures by sea aud land, assiissi- BERSERKIRS. 341 enges ing ill ceu- ikings ssimsi- nations, Things and Althing, with tlieir manifold and exciting scenes, which made their sea-girdled arena a little world of pageantry, social and pnhlic excite ments, and bloody encounters. The Berkserkia lava, in the syssel of Snaefellsness, is one of the relic-wonders of Iceland. Vermund, who spent a winter in Norway, induced two of those famous champions, the Berserkirs, to return with him, to aid him in a strife with his brother about the division of property. But they proved to be too fierce for his management, and he craftily transferred them by mutual consent to his brother Styr. One of them, Halli, soon fell in love with Styr's daughter Asdisa. The conditions of such an alliance were, the building by Halli of a gigantic causeway, or raised path, across a stretch of almost impassable lava, a fence of that material around his possessions, and a house for his flocks. Styr supposed the enter- prise impossible of achievement ; but, with his com- panion, it was soon accomplished, and the herculean work is still traceable in the ruins which remain. To get rid of the Berserkirs, Styr, who had built a bath, invited them to take a refreshing ablution, when he put down the trap-door, turned on hot water, and so scalded to death his troublesome allies. In the south-western part of the island, solid streams of lava are often seen of great width, and many miles in extent, hardened into stone during their fearful flow. There are six of these between Reykjavik and Cape Reykianess. Some of them are so warm that when covered with snow, and the steam thus confined, caverns in them are intolerable or. account of the sulphurous fumes. m m 342 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. } t. i^r' •ii i I {■ . The ancient custom, not uncommon now, of salu- tations similar to those of Oriental nations, is a pleas- ant one. When approaching a dwelling, the traveller said, " Her se Gud,'' " May God be in this place ! " The response was, " Drottin blessa thik^*^ " The Lord bless thee ! " On leaving, the farewell was, " Se i Guds Fridi^'^ " May you remain in the peace of God ! " The reply, " Guds Fridi veri med ydr,'^ " The peace of God be with you." -- ''• -■^"^■'^ '^'- ■-'.'-;'■•. .:\--';:^- These salutations often broke on the midnight air, when a visitor unexpectedly roused the inmates of a solitary house, seeking its hospitality; a repulse or complaint never met the untimely intruder upon nightly repose. We have received, from Prof. Bjarnasson, Icelandic national melodies, whose serious undertone is en- tirely characteristic of the people. He says of them : — "The first and second of them are old national ones ; and, as for tlie best of those hymns, they are both funeral, the former always being sung while the grave is filled up with earth. The author of that hymn is the most celebrated of all Iceland!'; psalmists, the Rev. Hallgrimur P^tursson (1674). The third melody is composed by my father-in-law, Pdtur Gud- j6nsson, organist at the cathedral of Reykjavik, who also has harmonized the other two. He is the author of an Icelandic cLoral book ('Islenzk salma songs-og messub6k.' Kaupsmannahofn, 1861). I only send these melodies lo you as specimens of Icelandic church-music. There are not a few of the same ; I ICELANDIC MELODIES. 343 kind. As you see, those melodies are rendered In the thorough bass. I send you a prose version of the first of those hymns, which I have translated into Norwegian (Danish), that you might get an idea of the contents of one genuine Icelandic hymn." We give specimens, introducing the first with two stanzas in the original. Prof. Anderson has made a literal translation, without an attempt at metrical arrangement. " AUt eins og bl6mstrid eina.** 1. Ligesora. den fagre og frodige Blomst, der tidlig i Morgen- stunden fremspirer paa Mar ken, i et Oieblik afmeies og med det sam me nedlaeggcr sine farved Blade, saaledes ender det menneskelige Liv i en Hast. Saaledes iler saavel den spaede Ungdora som dem modigo Alderdom henad Dodens dunkle Vei. Ailing skrider freni paa den san me Bane. Fntet Menneske har modtaget Pant paa sin Levetids Forloengelse, ivertimod have Alle maattet forpligte sig til at gaae herfra. <". ^ SONG NO. 1. As the fair and flourishing flower, that early in the morning hour shoots forth in the field, in a moment is cut down, and immediately sheds its gorgeous leaves, thus human life sud- denly ends. It therefore truly seems to me. that death may be likened unto an energetic reaper, who cuts down all that comes before hira, and regards the green herbs, the beautiful, shining flower, the reeds, the rushes, and the fair roses, the one hs valueless as the other. 1 1. 1 Bl! j. f '! Ml i 'i; f M «s s i i !, 344 TffE ISLAND OF FIRE I live and die in the name of Jesus. Althongh healtli and life depart f\om me, I fear not d«iath. Death, I am not alarmed at thy mighty power. With the power of Chiist, I exclaim, Be welcome when thou comest 1 II. FIRST STANZA. Let mi% O Lord, each day rememl>er death , and let me never forgot that my time approaches its end. Enligliten my heart, my Lord ! that I may fear thy judgment, which will be rendered on the last day. Praise God, praise him all who can I All nations, gladly honor him ! ' ■• III. FIRST STANZA. All men, in all lands, praise Jehovah always. Honor the Lord of hosts every day. As liis mercies are Laown unto the races of the earth, he will not forget the inhabitants of this land. He is firm and steadfast i;i Ms love to us. AH that can stir the breath, honor him. A J that is born, honor him and praise him. Amen. ^ In the churchyard at Holt, on the southern coast, is a tablet with the following epitaph, — the translatiun literal : — " Here are preserved the mortrl reitjains — the spirit lives with the Father of spints; only the precious iiieiuory of Ami Svirnoason remains behind. He was born 1 'Tov., 1780; married 7 June, 1821, with mai'len Joruiui Sif^hvatsdotter, who still survives him here below. God blessed tlieiu nith tluee sons, one of whom fell asleep at an early age; '-' -^ — the other, followed by three children, ;.- -- hiters his father, who departed this life 25 June, 1853 (durinii the absence of his beloved eldest sou), after having been mediator of the ' Arbitration Court' for twenty -four years. DR. HENDERSON'S TOUR. 845 Calm in mind, firm in counsel, watchful, active, his friends' friend, hospital, bountiful, upright towards all, the affectionate father of his house and children. Therefore vrill many He was sorely miss him, in the society of men; but among blessed spirits will the gracious God always gladden his spirit with pleasant occupations. Thus a beloved brother is remembered in the family, and in society. — E." When, in 1815, the learned and devout Dr. Hen- derson was making his tour of the island for the distribution of the Bible in the native dialect, and to establish a branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society, while travelling from Reykjavik westward, he found at Point Kiliarness, jutting out fri m Mount Esian, the ruins of a Hof, or pagan temple, erected nine centuries ago. Sailing across the Whale Frith, he saw at Innraholm, where Chief Justice Stevenson had a tine estate, a water-wheel gristmill, probably the only one in Iceland. Farther on, at Staffliolt, he says the bleakness of the mountain and desert scenery was relieved by the number of swans "singing melodiously in the river; " which must have been the whistling variety of the graceful birds, whose notes are not unmusical when heard in the distance. Journeying northward, he passed by Bitrufoird, " the beautiful ford," to the byre of Bae, on the Arctic coast. From this point, he struck towards Borgaford, southward along the wild pathway called Malta- Vorder-Heidi. When he reached tlie highest patli of this moun- tain road, he witnessed a scene he had longed to enjoy, but despaired of beholding, — the unsetting I ! 346 TDE ISLAND OF FIRE. if ; -'i^Y^ midnight sun. There it hung, apparently motionl*-ss for nearly half an hour, over the sea; then moved along the eastern arc with a slow majestic march, pouring a golden flood along the distant fiords, and bathing the solemn summits with a misty and myste- rious splendor. Near by rose the Trolla-kyrkia, < r "Giant's Church," a wild old crater lifting its fantas- tic, grim walls above a broad belt of snow, into tlio softly luminous air; and away to the south spread inaccessible wastes dotted with lakes glistening in the same midnight glory, which tipped the crystal crowns of the distant jokuls with a golden halo. Prof. C. W. Paijkill of the University of Upsala, in his very interesting journal, writes thoughtfully of the treeless landscapes : — ** Woods are not really missed here ; and this is, of course, owing to the physical appearance of Ice- landic nature. When, for instance, one stands on some eminence, and looks towards a mountain scene some nine miles distant, which is clad in it -. dark biae summer dress, or whose summit is enveloped in a cap of snow ; or else if one sees it all aglow in the rays of the setting sun, the absence of forest-tracts does not strike the mind. Or, if one gazes on a grassy plain, where no disfiguring fences obstruct the view, but where a river wuids along its sinuous course, or a lake reveals its shining surface to the eye, the senses do not feel the want of forest-land, h* a plain such as this is not the forest's proper home ; neither in their absence noticed wiien orazinGf )ver the barren saadj wastes, which one knows to be jeriodicaily deluged by the destructive v -.,.;■ (-^ the if! I I :S WANT OF TREES. 347 Jokill, 01 when wondering at some rigid lava-stream. And fig'iinj if one directs the eye up towards the mountain filofjes, wliich properly should be the forest's home^ it imU them covered with such a brilliant carpet of mJ/ij^lcd grass a;xd flowers, that no wood is needed ; or else they are so steep and inaccessible, that jt would be childish to wish it to grow tliere. W^herever one turns the eye, he finds an ample com- pensation; and the impression which the mind re- ceives is, ' I do not miss the forest.' No, the feel- ings would be rather outraged were the prospect to be shut out by forests. Wherever trees do grow on the sloping side of a field or a heidi, owing to their stunted form, they resemble more a mossy carpet than a wood ; they do not obstrilct the view, and therewith the mind is content. Thus the thought of the non- appearance of woods or forests is pushed into the background by the magnificent style in which Nature has revealed herself there ; and that is the whole matter. Truly a little wooded land would be accept- able on the bare, bleak heights round Reykjavik ; but the sea-blasts rage there with such violence, as to render it an impossibility for them to thrive there." Of a fine cataract he adds, — " Under the magnificent Eyafjalla-Jokul, a sudden bend in the mountain wall presents Skogafoss to view, — one of Iceland's most beautiful fosses, falling perpendicularly two hundred feet." It is on the southern coast, between Holt and Skoga. There is no travelling in the winter, excepting by two or three postmen crossing the island, and often one or more perish every season among the moun- II W ' h^ f ' til I II m i .^im 348 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. tains. The families are shut up withi. the limits of their farm and its immediate neighborhood. Towards Bpring, the fishermen in groups move in the light of the aurora and the moon towards the coast ; and in the summer, they cross the country to the trading- stations, as Fisker-manna-lester, or Fish-carriers, with their laden ponies, presenting a nomadic appear- ance, transporting one in imagination to Oriental lands. The fishing-dress of the Icelander is warm, al- though without a redeeming attraction to the eye ; made of sheep-skins, the short-clothes and stockings in one piece, over which, at the hips, the jacket is tightly drawn to keep ^ ut the water. In dressing hides, and in all their dyeing, they use their native resources. The fish are dressed by the women, generally, when landed by tho tired fishermen ; and I i ; ! ^ i .' f: ! f 1 ' I M' . f N ,1 j ' :• • ! :, j: 1 ■ •i ; ■ : i : ■t |:| I ■ I 1 i: i ^ M ki_ there seemed to be a general upheaval of the earth in the whole central portion of the island ; new mounds, as it were, rose to the surface, some to a height of several hundred feet, and over a thousand feet in diameter at the base, amid tremendous shocks of thundering beneath. They split open at the top, and vomited forth their burning contents upon the surface around them, covering a distance of two hundred miles. Ten thousand people are said to have lost nearly all their possessions ; and the remain- der, who live nearer to and along the coasts, some forty thousand in number, are themselves too poor to supp' t such a vast number of needy people. Sev- eral hundred persons are also reported to have per- ished. The world-renowned geysers have dried up since the terrible eruption began ; and, instead of water, these mysterious funnels emit immense quan- tities of hot smoke and ashes, which during the night, rising several thousand feet into the air, ap- pear like gigantic columns of flameless fire, visible for hundreds of miles. It is said that no historic record of any volcanic eruption anj^where in the world compares with this, either in territory over which it extends, the number of newly-opened cra- ters, or the time of its duration. The Copenhagen Government has issued an appeal for aid to the suf- ferers." The rumor that Icelanders will abandon the island has no foundation in any action taken by them, or expressed determination ; their attachment to their rent and often rocking plains is too strong to yield LETTER FROM PROF. BJARNASON. 353 now, in the wake o** the last terrific visitation. The emigration may increase^ in connection with the favor- able imj)ressions of Alaska made by the late survey of a delegation sent thei -, and the nucleus already formed by Scandinavian settlers at the West. But nowhere on the face of the earth, is the love of coun- try more intense, than among the almost hermit pop- ulation of the arc lie isle. We have just received the following letter from Prof. Bjarnason, upon the eruptions, which is an interesting summary of the present condition of the island so far as known here : — Decorah, June 25, 1875. Dear Sir, — Your kind letter I must answer with giving you some short statements of the volcanic catastrophes in Ice- land as far as known to me. Withii. a few days before receiv- ing your letter, I read in a newspaper a correspondence from London, dated 12th inst., which contained some terrible news from Iceland, far surpassing those news of the same kind I previously had got. I suppose the awful accounts you speak of must be all the same. I have a letter from a count'*)- man of mine in Edinburgh, Scotland, dated 3d instant ; and then he had not heard of any later calamity at home, than that con- tained in my last letters from Iceland, which were written on 8th of May. I therefore hope that ail that in the London corre- spondence, which does not coincide with the accounts I have directly from Iceland, is only an exaggeration of the truth ; which, indeed, in itself is very sad. The Icelandic statements are as follows : The present volcanic eruptions in Iceland began this winter, rl:)out Christmas, before which time eartlujuakc^ were observed in the northern quarter of the country from the Skagaiiord to the southern tracts of Miilasysla. Being aware of the smoke from the volcanic fire, people first did not know the exa IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 I !^ ilia !^ ii£ ill 10 - 6" !.8 14 III 1.6 ^m .^/# W ^ ^^> ^ <^?i ^? z!^ f Hiotographic Sciences Corporation ,-\ ^ ^v ;\ ^ 73 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4S03 i% ;/'. •^mtmrna H'j ^ 354 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. n » f ( i vicinity, who found out that the subterranean fire had broken out on two distant places. At the north sida of the great ice- desert, the famous Vatnajokul, there extends a vast tract of considerable height, widely dispersed with elevated lava masses or high mounds of burned stone substances, the common name of which is Odadahraun. This word means lava-tract (hraun) of misdeeds (odada gen. pi. of 6dad). In the southern part of this vast tract, which is quite uninhabited, there is a group of mountain ranges, forming on elliptic circle ; on account of tlieir forms called Askja, which means an oblong round box. Within the basin included by those mountains, one of the said subter- raneous fire-openings was found to be situated; there was namely a great crater and some smaller ones, emitting consid- erable quantity of burned lava and asbes. The eastern part of Odadahraun is continued in northerly direction by a level sand- tract, on many places with a substratum of volcanic origin, commonly c Uled My vatnsorxfi (the desert of the gnat's lake), bordered on t' ewest side by an inhabited oasis called Myvatns- sveit (the tract of the gnat's lake), round the Lake llyvatn, and on the east side by tlie Jokulsa on the highlands, farther down called Jokulsa ia the Axarfiord, the length of which river surpasses that of any other in Iceland. On this sand- tract the place cf the other great fire-opening is situated ; and it is said to have emitted much more quantity of lava than the other. Until the 29th of March (Easter Monday) nothing was heard of devastations in the inhabited tracts of the country of any importance. People only were anxious lest the moun- tain pastures in the Thingeyjarsysla should be destroyed by the volcanic ashes. But on the said day there poured from the atmosphere a great rarn-shower of ashes over the best parts of Mulasysla, viz., the Upper Jokuldal and the great Fljotsdals- hferad, which is located on both sides of the River Lagarfljot and its tributaries. In a moment this vast region, which is one of the best farming districts of the country, was covered with a three-inches-deep layer of ashes, of course totally ruining the pasturage of that whole territory, at least for the present. At the same time it is stated that there suddenly arose some volcanic craters in the vicinity of the noterl farm Modrudal, wholly laying it waste ; and another thriving farm too, named ■wsi SPORT. 355 Grimsstadir, in five geographical miles' distance from the former. Both were situated in the highland plain ^ast af tlie before-named River Jokulsd. The vapt pasture-land belonging to the said fai'ms is said to be covered on many places with a pumice layer of some yards depth. That the rain of the ashes has caused ruin and desolation in some other places is to be feared; but as yet I have got no information directly from lo i- land of any thing else, except that the newspaper " Isafold," of almost the same date as my last letters, states that an eruptir n probably has taken place in th" southern part of VatnajOkul, far from the above-mentioned places ; great clouds of volcanic smoke having been seen in that direction from the Rangarvellir (the Plains of Ranga) and many other farming districts of Southern Iceland. These statements are quite reliable in their details. When- ever I have got any further accounts of the calamity, caused by this dreadful eruption, I shall with pleasure write to y^u. Very sincerely yours, Jon BjARNAgoN. To the sportsman who is not of delicate constitu- tion, nor nice about accommcdations, Iceland is a paradise. There are reindeer, the white and blue fox, wild fowL and fish. At Myvatn, fifty brace of the ptarmigan have been " bagged " in a single day. The fisliing is nowhere surpassed, and is free to any one " who cares to pursue the gentle craft." Disciples of Izaak Walton have " killed nineteen fish in three hours, weighing thirty-nine pounds." Sal- mon, trout, and char are favorite game, and may be caught with minnows and flies ; of the latter, the grilse is the best. Expenses of travelling in Icelard will vary, as everywhere, according to one's means, and the free- dom with which they are expended, but will scarcely WPP" K'n 356 THE ISLAND OF FIRE. (all below three dollars per day. The ponies may be purchased or hired, the latter method being the least expensive, if well managed. Baring-Gould's routes of travel during the months of June and July, 1862, were as follows : — From Reykjavik to Mosfell, Thingvalla to the Gey- sers, and back to Thingvalla; thence to Kalman- stunga along the broad valley of Armansfell, in sight of Broadshield and Graetland Jokuls and By Ok, where is the wildest desolation. From Kalman- stunga, he passed Eagle Tarns, stopping at a farm of twenty square miles,, which the proprietor rented for 9X 10«. per year. Thence he pursued the route to Arkeureyri and Detifoss, Iceland's grandest cataract ; when, retracing his steps to Holar, he travelled along the north-western coast, and returned southward by Bjarg to Reykjavik. This route takes in Sturtshel- lir, Oxnadals, and Bulanshofdi pass. Some of the necessary items of travel are plenty of small change, and but little baggage. He says of his farewell, " I was sorry to leave Iceland, for I had spent many happy days in it, and had learned to feel a very strong attachment to the wildly beautiful island." Commander Forbes, R. N., closes his annals with similar expressions of admiring interest : " Though my sojourn in the far North may be only reckoned by weeks, the open-hearted hospitality which every- wliere welcomed me, from the governor to the peas- ant, had converted those weeks into years, as regards identifying myself with -their island-home, and the many sympathies which their peculiar position do- FAREWELL TO ICELAND 367 mands. For, in world-wide experience of wandering by sea and land, I have seldom met a community less ''nfluenced by ulterior objects, or whose innate ingen- uousness more commended itself at first sight; for their veiy weaknesses desei/e to be tenderly con- sidered, and certainly, as a Britisher, I felt no right to thro y stones. And it was with feelings of poign- ant regret that I mechanically followed my portman- teau to the steamer, and turned my back on Iceland." Writes Prof. Paijkill, "And so I bade farewell to Iceland. A few blue tints in the now scarcely discernible outlines of the distant fells was the last impression I received of a country that had become 60 inexpressibly endeared to me." t: i f ,* I LEE AND SHEPARD'S HANDBOOKS. "JUST AS THE TWIQ IS BENT, THE TREE'S INCLINED." LESSONS ON MANNERS. For home and Bchooi ime. A Manual by Edith E. VViuuin. Cloth, 50 cents ; echool edition, boardB, 30 ccntn net. This Uttle booli i^ being rapidly introduced into schools as a text-boolc. SHOWS WHY THE WINDS BLOW. WHIRLWINDS, CYCLONES, AND TORNADOES. By I'rof. W. M. Davis of Harvard unlverHity. IlluHtrated. SOce-ilK. The cyclones of our great West, the whirlwinds of the desert, every thing in the shape of storms, scientiticully and popularly treated. "THIS VOLUME IS SUBLIME POETRY" THE STARS AND THE EARTH; or. 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ADVENTURES " Tin Gnmii'H hiHtoiy Ih full uf Htrikiiiif .idvcntiirt'M, tlirlllini; Incident*, aim! pcrliuii*' HitmitionH; niid Mr. Towlo, wiiiiu not micrlHclnif liiMtorlcal Hccumcy. oaH HO eltilfully iiHc-f romantic and spirited adventures any briglit boy could want than Ik to be found in this series of liUtorical biography, It is dilllcult to imagine. 'I'his volume is written in a most sprightly manner; and the life of its liero, Kernan Magellan, with its rapid stride from the softiiess of a petted youtli to tlie sturdy courage and persevering fortitude of uianbuod| makes a tale of marvellous fascination." — VArintinn Union. MARCO POLO: HTS TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES. " The story of tlie adventurous Venetian, who six Imndred years ago pene^ trated into India and Cathay and TliHtet and AbysNinia, is pleasantly and clearly told; and nothing bette- nan be put into the liands of llie scliool boy or girl tiian this series of tlie rec t-ds or noted travellers. The lieroism dis. played by tliese men was certainly in great as tliat ever siiown by conqueriij^f ■warrior; and it was e.xercised in a far nobler cause, — tlie cause of knowledgu and discovery, which has made the nineteenth century what it is." — (Jrapldc. RALEGH: HIS EXPLOITS AND VOYAGES. "This belongs to the ' Young Folks' Heroes of History ' series, and deals •witli a greater and more interesting man than any of its predecessors. With ail tlie black spots on his fame, there are few more brilliant and striking figures in Kiiglish history than the soldier, sailor, courtier, author, and ex- plorer. Sir Walter llalegh. Even at this distance of time, more than two hundred am! titty years after his head fell on Jhe scaflbld, we cannot read hi? Btoiy wiiliout emotion. It is graphically written, and is pleasant reading, Rot only for young folks, but for old folKs with young hearts." — Womatv» Jouniui. DRAKE: THE SEA-LION OF DEVON. Drake was the foremost sea-captain of ills age, the first Kiglish admiral to send a ship completely round tlie world, the hero of the magnificent victory wliich the Knglish won over the Invincible Armada. Ills career was atirring, bold, and adventurous, from early youth to old age. Sold by all Booksellers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishsrs .... BOSTON. TROrHIES OF TRAVEL. /i ^111 DRIFTING ROUND THE WORLD ; A Boy's Adven- tures by Oea and Land. Hy ('apt. Chaui.kh W. IIai.i., author of " Adrift 111 the ki- Klcl(!n," " The (J rt-at lioiiunza," olc. With iiumurouM fuli-puKe and lettui'-preMttllluHlratioiiii. Uoyul Svu. IlikiidHomc cover. $1.75. (Moth. Uilt. $2.5<). " Out of the bt .»teti track " in Uh course of travel, recoi-d of adventurca, and deHcriptiuiiH of life in (Greenland, I.at)rudor, Ireland, Kcotlarid, EiiK* land, !I(I und colors, deriigucd 'ly the author. $1.75. 'Jloth, black and gold, $2.50. ••A book full of delightful Information. The author has the happy gift of permitting the reader to vie thingH as he naw them. The illu«- trationn are moHtly drawn by a JapancHC ai tiHt, and are very unique. " -• Chicago //era Id. THE BEAR WORSHIPPERS OF YEZO AND THB ISLAND OF KARAFUTO ; being the further Ad- ventures of the Jewett Family and their Friend Oto Nambo. iSO llUmtrutionrt. Hoardn. $1.75. Cloth, $2.50. Gmphie pen and pencil pictureH of the remarkable Itearded "people who live In tlie north of Japan. The illuHtrationn are by native .lapaneHe artiHtH, and give queer plctu.'ca of a queer people, who have been tieldom Visited. HARRY W. FRENCH'S BOOKS. OUR BOYS IN INDIA. The wanderings of two young Americana in tlindui illuHtraiioiis. Koyal 8vo, 7x9^ inches. Bound in emblematic covcra of Oriental design, $1.75. Cloth, black and gold, $2.50. While it has all the exciting Interest of a romance, it is remarkably ▼ivid in its pictures of manners and customs in the land of the Hindu. The illustrations are many and excellent. OUR BOYS IN CHINA. The adventures of two young Amerf. cans, wrecked in the (Jhina Sea on their return from India, with their strange wanderings through the Chinese Em|)lre. 188 illus. trations. Boards, ornamental covera in colors and gold. $1.75. Cioth, $2.50. This gives the further adventures of " Our Boya" of India famo in tba land of Teas and (jueuea. S0ld by all booksellers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of pric*. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. Miss Virginia f. Townsend's Books. Uniform Edition. Cloth. $1.50 Each. BUT A PHILISTINE •• Another novel bj' th« author of ' A Woma.i'i. Won! • and • T^nol Dai«.' will be warmly wolcorned by hostH of n-aderii of Mlw Townwnd'i •lOiieH. There lit nothing of the ' f)i'n>er and tone the volume In calculuUtd to exert • healthful and «levkiiug Influence." — Ifetc-England Jfethotliat. D ARYLL GAP ; or, Whetner it Paid. A Ptory of the petroleum daytt, and of a family who Btnick oil. 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Hoards, ornamental covers in colors and gold, $1.75. Cloth, f2.-'>0. After successfully starling the young heroes of his previous book, "Our Boys in India," on their honieuard trip, the |)Oj)ular lecturer, extensive traveller, and remarkalile story-teller, ha« theni wrecked in the China Hea, saved, and transported across China; giving him an opportu- nity to spread for young folks an appeli/iiig feast of good things. Sold by all boGkaellers, and Kent by mail, postpaid, on receipt o/ price, LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. COMPANIONS OF "SEVEN LITTLE SISTERS." TEN BOYS WHO LIVED ON THE ROAD FROM LONG AGO TO NOW. • BY JANE ANDRE"WS. AUTHOR OP "SEVEN LITTLE SISTEKS," "THE fc'EVEN LITTLE SISTERS PROVE THEIR SISTERHOOD," " QEOQRAPHICAL PLAYS," ETC. Cloth. Twenty Illustrations. INTRODUCING THE STORIES OF Kab/u, the Aryan Boy. who came down to the plains of the Indus. Darius, the Persian Boy, who knew about Zoroaster. Cleon, the Greek Boy. who ran at the Olympic Games. 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